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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14898-8.txt b/14898-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd97d71 --- /dev/null +++ b/14898-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4994 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In The Amazon Jungle, by Algot Lange + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In The Amazon Jungle + Adventures In Remote Parts Of The Upper Amazon River, Including A + Sojourn Among Cannibal Indians + + +Author: Algot Lange + +Release Date: February 4, 2005 [EBook #14898] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman & the PG Distributed Proofreaders Team + + + + + + In the Amazon Jungle + + Adventures in Remote Parts of the + Upper Amazon River, Including a + Sojourn Among Cannibal Indians + + By + + Algot Lange + + Edited in Part by J. Odell Hauser + + With an Introduction by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh + + + + + + + + + To + + The Memory of + + My Father + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +When Mr. Algot Lange told me he was going to the headwaters of the +Amazon, I was particularly interested because once, years ago, I had +turned my own mind in that direction with considerable longing. I knew +he would encounter many set-backs, but I never would have predicted +the adventures he actually passed through alive. + +He started in fine spirits: buoyant, strong, vigorous. When I saw +him again in New York, a year or so later, on his return, he was +an emaciated fever-wreck, placing one foot before the other only +with much exertion and indeed barely able to hold himself erect. A +few weeks in the hospital, followed by a daily diet of quinine, +improved his condition, but after months he had scarcely arrived at +his previous excellent physical state. + +Many explorers have had experiences similar to those related in +this volume, but, at least so far as the fever and the cannibals +are concerned, they have seldom survived to tell of them. Their +interviews with cannibals have been generally too painfully confined +to internal affairs to be available in this world for authorship, +whereas Mr. Lange, happily, avoided not only a calamitous intimacy, +but was even permitted to view the culinary preparations relating to +the absorption of less favoured individuals, and himself could have +joined the feast, had he possessed the stomach for it. + +These good friends of his, the Mangeromas, conserved his life when +they found him almost dying, not, strange as it may appear, for +selfish banqueting purposes, but merely that he might return to his +own people. It seems rather paradoxical that they should have loved +one stranger so well as to spare him with suspicious kindness, and +love others to the extent of making them into table delicacies. The +explanation probably is that these Mangeromas were the reverse of +a certain foreign youth with only a small stock of English, who, on +being offered in New York a fruit he had never seen before, replied, +"Thank you, I eat only my acquaintances"--the Mangeromas eat only +their enemies. + +Mr. Lange's account of his stay with these people, of their weapons, +habits, form of battle, and method of cooking the human captives, +etc., forms one of the specially interesting parts of the book, and +is at the same time a valuable contribution to the ethnology of the +western Amazon (or Marañon) region, where dwell numerous similar tribes +little known to the white man. Particularly notable is his description +of the wonderful wourahli (urari) poison, its extraordinary effect, +and the _modus operandi_ of its making; a poison used extensively +by Amazonian tribes but not made by all. He describes also the +bows and arrows, the war-clubs, and the very scientific weapon, the +blow-gun. He was fortunate in securing a photograph of a Mangeroma in +the act of shooting this gun. Special skill, of course, is necessary +for the effective use of this simple but terrible arm, and, like that +required for the boomerang or lasso, practice begins with childhood. + +The region of Mr. Lange's almost fatal experiences, the region of +the Javary River (the boundary between Brazil and Peru), is one of +the most formidable and least known portions of the South American +continent. It abounds with obstacles to exploration of the most +overwhelming kind. Low, swampy, with a heavy rainfall, it is inundated +annually, like most of the Amazon basin, and at time of high water +the rivers know no limits. Lying, as it does, so near the equator, +the heat is intense and constant, oppressive even to the native. The +forest-growth--and it is forest wherever it is not river--is forced +as in a huge hothouse, and is so dense as to render progress through +it extremely difficult. Not only are there obstructions in the way of +tree trunks, underbrush, and trailing vines and creepers like ropes, +but the footing is nothing more than a mat of interlaced roots. The +forest is also sombre and gloomy. To take a photograph required an +exposure of from three to five minutes. Not a stone, not even a pebble, +is anywhere to be found. + +Disease is rampant, especially on the smaller branches of the +rivers. The incurable _beri-beri_ and a large assortment of fevers +claim first place as death dealers, smiting the traveller with fearful +facility. Next come a myriad of insects and reptiles--alligators, +huge bird-eating spiders, and snakes of many varieties. Snakes, +both the poisonous and non-poisonous kinds, find here conditions +precisely to their liking. The bush-master is met with in the more +open places, and there are many that are venomous, but the most +terrifying, though not a biting reptile is the water-boa, the sucurujú +(_Eunectes murinus_) or anaconda. It lives to a great age and reaches +a size almost beyond belief. Feeding, as generally it does at night, +it escapes common observation, and white men, heretofore, have not +seen the largest specimens reported, though more than thirty feet is +an accepted length, and Bates, the English naturalist, mentions one +he heard of, forty-two feet long. It is not surprising that Mr. Lange +should have met with one in the far wilderness he visited, of even +greater proportions, a hideous monster, ranking in its huge bulk with +the giant beasts of antediluvian times. The sucurujú is said to be +able to swallow whole animals as large as a goat or a donkey, or even +larger, and the naturalist referred to tells of a ten-year-old boy, +son of his neighbour, who, left to mind a canoe while his father went +into the forest, was, in broad day, playing in the shade of the trees, +stealthily enwrapped by one of the monsters. His cries brought his +father to the rescue just in time. + +As the Javary heads near the eastern slopes and spurs of the great +Peruvian Cordillera, where once lived the powerful and wealthy Inca +race with their great stores of pure gold obtained from prolific mines +known to them, it is again not surprising that Mr. Lange should have +stumbled upon a marvellously rich deposit of the precious metal in +a singular form. The geology of the region is unknown and the origin +of the gold Mr. Lange found cannot at present even be surmised. + +Because of the immense value of the rubber product, gold attracts less +attention than it would in some other country. The rubber industry +is extensive and thousands of the wild rubber trees are located and +tapped. The trees usually are found near streams and the search for +them leads the rubber-hunter farther and farther into the unbroken +wilderness. Expeditions from time to time are sent out by rich +owners of rubber "estates" to explore for fresh trees, and after +his sojourn at Remate de Males and Floresta, so full of interest, +Mr. Lange accompanied one of these parties into the unknown, with +the extraordinary results described so simply yet dramatically in +the following pages, which I commend most cordially, both to the +experienced explorer and to the stay-by-the-fire, as an unusual and +exciting story of adventure. + +FREDERICK S. DELLENBAUGH. + +NEW YORK, November 24, 1911. + + + +PREFACE + + +It is difficult, if not impossible, to find a more hospitable and +generous nation than the Brazilian. The recollection of my trip through +the wilds of Amazonas lingers in all its details, and although my +experiences were not always of a pleasant character, yet the good +treatment and warm reception accorded me make me feel the deepest +sense of gratitude to the Brazilians, whose generosity will always +abide in my memory. + +There is in the Brazilian language a word that better than any +other describes the feeling with which one remembers a sojourn +in Brazil. This word, _saudades_, is charged with an abundance of +sentiment, and, though a literal translation of it is difficult to +arrive at, its meaning approaches "sweet memories of bygone days." + +Although a limitation of space forbids my expressing in full my +obligation to all those who treated me kindly, I must not omit to state +my special indebtedness to three persons, without whose invaluable +assistance and co-operation I would not have been able to complete +this book. + +First of all, my thanks are due to the worthy Colonel Rosendo da Silva, +owner of the rubber estate Floresta on the Itecoahy River. Through +his generosity and his interest, I was enabled to study the work and +the life conditions of the rubber workers, the employees on his estate. + +The equally generous but slightly less civilised Benjamin, high +potentate of the tribe of Mangeroma cannibals, is the second to whom I +wish to express my extreme gratitude, although my obligations to him +are of a slightly different character: in the first place, because +he did not order me to be killed and served up, well or medium done, +to suit his fancy (which he had a perfect right to do); and, in the +second place, because he took a great deal of interest in my personal +welfare and bestowed all the strange favours upon me that are recorded +in this book. He opened my eyes to things which, at the time and under +the circumstances, did not impress me much, but which, nevertheless, +convinced me that, even at this late period of the world's history, +our earth has not been reduced to a dead level of drab and commonplace +existence, and that somewhere in the remote parts of the world are +still to be found people who have never seen or heard of white men. + +Last, but not least, I wish to express my deep obligation to my +valued friend, Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, who, through his helpful +suggestions, made prior to my departure, contributed essentially to +the final success of this enterprise, and whose friendly assistance +has been called into requisition and unstintingly given in the course +of the preparation of this volume. + + +A.L. + +NEW YORK, January, 1912. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Chapter + + I Remate de Males, or "Culmination of Evils" + II The Social and Political Life of Remate de Males + III Other Incidents During My Stay in Remate de Males + IV The Journey up the Itecoahy River + V Floresta: Life Among the Rubber-Workers + VI The Fatal March Through the Forest + VII The Fatal "Tambo No. 9" + VIII What Happened in the Forest + IX Among the Cannibal Mangeromas + X The Fight Between the Mangeromas and the Peruvians + Index + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + A Little Village Built on Poles + The Javary River + The Mouth of the Itecoahy River + Nazareth + Trader's Store + Remate de Males or "Culmination of Evils" + The Street in Remate de Males + General View of Remate de Males + Sunset on the Itecoahy River + An Ant Nest in a Tree + The Launch "Carolina" + The Banks of the Itecoahy + The Mouth of the Ituhy River + The Toucan + The Banks of the Itecoahy River + Clearing the Jungle + Urubus + "Nova Aurora" + "Defumador" or Smoking Hut + Matamata Tree + The Urucu Plant + The Author in the Jungle + The Mouth of the Branco + Branding Rubber on the Sand-Bar + The Landing at Floresta + The Banks at Floresta + A General View of Floresta + Morning + Coronel Rosendo da Silva + Chief Marques + Interior of A Rubber-Worker's Hut + João + The Murumuru Palm + A "Seringueiro" Tapping a Rubber Tree + Smoking the Rubber-Milk + Forest Interior + A Fig-Tree Completely Overgrown with Orchids + Chico, The Monkey + Turtle Eggs on the Sand-Bank + The Pirarucu + The Last Resting-Place of the Rubber-Workers + "Seringueiros" + João + Floresta Creek + Lake Innocence + Alligator from Lake Innocence + Another Alligator from Lake Innocence + Rubber-Workers' Home near Lake Innocence + Harpooning a Large Sting-Ray + Shooting Fish on Lake Innocence + The Pirarucu + Amazonian Game-Fish + The Track of the Anaconda--The Sucuruju + The Paca + Rubber-Worker Perreira and Wife in their Sunday Clothes + A "New Home" Sewing-Machine in an Indian Hut + The Remarkable Pachiuba Palm-Tree + Kitchen Interior + The Beginning of the Fatal Expedition + A Halt in the Forest + Jungle Scenery + Forest Creek + Top of Hill + Page Marsh-Deer and Mutum-Bird + Jungle Darkness + Creek in the Unknown + Eating our Broiled Monkey at Tambo No. 5 + Hunting + The Fatal Tambo No. 9 + A Photograph of the Author + The Front View of Tambo No. 9 + Caoutchouc Process No. 1 + Caoutchouc Process No. 2 + Caoutchouc Process No. 3 + Creek Near Tambo No. 9 + The Author's Working Table at Tambo No. 9 + Forest Scenery Near Tambo No. 9 + Our Parting Breakfast + Mangeroma Vase 399 + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +REMATE DE MALES, OR "CULMINATION OF EVILS" + + +My eyes rested long upon the graceful white-painted hull of the +R.M.S. _Manco_ as she disappeared behind a bend of the Amazon River, +more than 2200 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. After 47 days of +continuous travel aboard of her, I was at last standing on the +Brazilian frontier, watching the steamer's plume of smoke still +hanging lazily over the immense, brooding forests. More than a plume +of smoke it was to me then; it was the final link that bound me to +the outside world of civilisation. At last it disappeared. I turned +and waded through the mud up to a small wooden hut built on poles. + +It was the end of January, 1910, that saw me approaching this house, +built on Brazilian terra firma--or rather terra aqua, for water was +inundating the entire land. I had behind me the Amazon itself, and to +the right the Javary River, while the little house that I was heading +for was Esperança, the official frontier station of Brazil. The +opposite shore was Peru and presented an unbroken range of dense, +swampy forest, grand but desolate to look upon. + +A middle-aged man in uniform came towards me and greeted me cordially, +in fact embraced me, and, ordering a servant to pull my baggage out +of the water, led me up a ladder into the house. I told him that +I intended to go up the Javary River, to a place called Remate de +Males, where I would live with a medical friend of mine, whereupon +he informed me that a launch was due this same night, which would +immediately proceed to my proposed destination. Later in the evening +the launch came and I embarked after being once more embraced by the +courteous Cor. Monteiro, the frontier official. The captain of this +small trading launch was an equally hospitable and courteous man; he +invited me into his cabin and tried to explain that this river, and +the town in particular, where we were going, was a most unhealthy and +forbidding place, especially for a foreigner, but he added cheerfully +that he knew of one white man, an Englishman, who had succeeded in +living for several years on the Javary without being killed by the +fever, but incidentally had drank himself to death. + +The night was very dark and damp, and I did not see much of the passing +scenery; a towering black wall of trees was my total impression +during the journey. However, I managed at length to fall asleep on +some coffee-bags near the engine and did not wake till the launch +was exhausting its steam supply through its whistle. + +My next impression was that of a low river bank fringed with dirty +houses lighted by candles. People were sitting in hammocks smoking +cigarettes, dogs were barking incessantly, and frogs and crickets were +making a deafening noise when I walked up the main and only street +of this little town, which was to be my headquarters for many months +to come. + +After some inquiry, I finally found my friend, Dr. M----, sitting in +a dark, dismal room in the so-called _Hotel Agosto_. With a graceful +motion of his hand he pointed to a chair of ancient structure, +indicating that having now travelled so many thousand miles to reach +this glorious place, I was entitled to sit down and let repose overtake +me. Indeed, I was in Remate de Males. + +Never shall I forget that first night's experience with mosquitoes and +ants. Besides this my debut in a hammock for a bed was a pronounced +failure, until a merciful sleep temporarily took me from the sad +realities. + +Remate de Males lies just where a step farther would plunge one into +an unmapped country. It is a little village built on poles; the last +"blaze" of civilisation on the trail of the upper river. When the +rainy winter season drives out of the forests every living creature +that can not take refuge in the trees, the rubber-workers abandon +the crude stages of the manufacture that they carry on there and +gather in the village to make the best of what life has to offer them +in this region. At such times the population rises to the number of +some 500 souls, for the most part Brazilians and domesticated Indians +or _caboclos_. + +Nothing could better summarise the attractions (!) of the place than +the name which has become fixed upon it. Translated into English this +means "Culmination of Evils," Remate de Males. + +Some thirty years ago, a prospector with his family and servants, +in all about a score, arrived at this spot near the junction of the +Javary and the Itecoahy rivers, close to the equator. They came by +the only possible highway, the river, and decided to settle. Soon the +infinite variety of destroyers of human life that abound on the upper +Amazon began their work on the little household, reducing its number +to four and threatening to wipe it out altogether. But the prospector +stuck to it and eventually succeeded in giving mankind a firm hold +on this wilderness. In memory of what he and succeeding settlers went +through, the village received its cynically descriptive name. + +Remate de Males, separated by weeks and weeks of journey by boat +from the nearest spot of comparative civilisation down the river, +has grown wonderfully since its pioneer days. Dismal as one finds +it to be, if I can give an adequate description in these pages, it +will be pronounced a monument to man's nature-conquering instincts, +and ability. Surely no pioneers ever had a harder battle than these +Brazilians, standing with one foot in "the white man's grave," as the +Javary region is called in South America, while they faced innumerable +dangers. The markets of the world need rubber, and the supplying of +this gives them each year a few months' work in the forests at very +high wages. I always try to remember these facts when I am tempted to +harshly judge Remate de Males according to our standards; moreover, I +can never look upon the place quite as an outsider. I formed pleasant +friendships there and entered into the lives of many of its people, +so I shall always think of it with affection. The village is placed +where the Itecoahy runs at right angles into the Javary, the right-hand +bank of the Itecoahy forming at once its main and its only street. The +houses stand facing this street, all very primitive and all elevated +on palm-trunk poles as far as possible above the usual high-water +mark of the river. Everything, from the little sheet-iron church +to the pig-sty, is built on poles. Indeed, if there is anything in +the theory of evolution, it will not be many generations before the +inhabitants and domestic animals are born equipped with stilts. + +Opposite Remate de Males, across the Itecoahy, is a collection of +some ten huts that form the village of São Francisco, while across +the Javary is the somewhat larger village of Nazareth. Like every real +metropolis, you see, Remate de Males has its suburbs. Nazareth is in +Peruvian territory, the Javary forming the boundary between Brazil and +Peru throughout its length of some 700 miles. This same boundary line +is a source of amusing punctiliousness between the officials of each +country. To cross it is an affair requiring the exercise of the limits +of statesmanship. I well remember an incident that occurred during my +stay in the village. A sojourner in our town, an Indian rubber-worker +from the Ituhy River, had murdered a woman by strangling her. He +escaped in a canoe to Nazareth before the Brazilian officials could +capture him, and calmly took refuge on the porch of a house there, +where he sat down in a hammock and commenced to smoke cigarettes, +feeling confident that his pursuers would not invade Peruvian soil. But +local diplomacy was equal to the emergency. Our officials went to the +shore opposite Nazareth, and, hiding behind the trees, endeavoured to +pick off their man with their .44 Winchesters, reasoning that though +their crossing would be an international incident, no one could +object to a bullet's crossing. Their poor aim was the weak spot in +the plan. After a few vain shots had rattled against the sheet-iron +walls of the house where the fugitive was sitting, he got up from among +his friends and lost himself in the jungle, never to be heard of again. + +About sixty-five houses, lining the bank of the Itecoahy River over a +distance of what would be perhaps six blocks in New York City, make up +Remate de Males. They are close together and each has a ladder reaching +from the street to the main and only floor. At the bottom of every +ladder appears a rudimentary pavement, probably five square feet in +area and consisting of fifty or sixty whiskey and gin bottles placed +with their necks downwards. Thus in the rainy season when the water +covers the street to a height of seven feet, the ladders always have +a solid foundation. The floors consist of split palm logs laid with +the round side up. Palm leaves form the roofs, and rusty corrugated +sheet-iron, for the most part, the walls. Each house has a sort of +backyard and kitchen, also on stilts and reached by a bridge. + +Through the roofs and rafters gambol all sorts of wretched +pests. Underneath the houses roam pigs, goats, and other domestic +animals, which sometimes appear in closer proximity than might be +wished, owing to the spaces between the logs of the floor. That is +in the dry season. In the winter, or the wet season, these animals +are moved into the houses with you, and their places underneath are +occupied by river creatures, alligators, water-snakes, and malignant, +repulsive fish, of which persons outside South America know nothing. + +Near the centre of the village is the "sky-scraper," the _Hotel +de Augusto_, which boasts a story and a quarter in height. Farther +along are the _Intendencia_, or Government building, painted blue, +the post-office yellow, the _Recreio Popular_ pink; beyond, the +residence of Mons. Danon, the plutocrat of the village, and farther +"downtown" the church, unpainted. Do not try to picture any of these +places from familiar structures. They are all most unpretentious; +their main point of difference architecturally from the rest of the +village consists in more utterly neglected façades. + +The post-office and the meteorological observatory, in one dilapidated +house, presided over by a single self-important official, deserve +description here. The postmaster himself is a pajama-clad gentleman, +whose appearance is calculated to strike terror to the souls of +humble _seringueiros_, or rubber-workers, who apply for letters +only at long intervals. On each of these occasions I would see this +important gentleman, who had the word _coronel_ prefixed to his name, +João Silva de Costa Cabral, throw up his hands, in utter despair at +being disturbed, and slowly proceed to his desk from which he would +produce the letters. With great pride this "Pooh-Bah" had a large sign +painted over the door. The post-office over which he presides is by no +means overworked, as only one steamer arrives every five weeks, or so, +but still he has the appearance of being "driven." But when he fusses +around his "_Observatorio meteorologico_," which consists of a maximum +and minimum thermometer and a pluviometer, in a tightly closed box, +raised above the ground on a tall pole, then indeed, his air would +impress even the most blasé town-sport. I was in the village when +this observatory was installed, and after it had been running about +a week, the mighty official called on me and asked me confidentially +if I would not look the observatory over and see if it was all right. + +My examination showed that the thermometers were screwed on tight, +which accounted for the amazingly uniform readings shown on his +chart. The pluviometer was inside the box, and therefore it would have +been difficult to convince scientists that the clouds had not entirely +skipped Remate de Males during the rainy season, unless the postmaster +were to put the whole observatory under water by main force. He also +had a chart showing the distribution of clouds on each day of the +year. I noticed that the letter "N" occupied a suspiciously large +percentage of the space on the chart, and when I asked him for the +meaning of this he said that "N"--which in meteorological abbreviation +means Nimbus--stood for "_None_" (in Portuguese _Não_). And he thought +that he must be right because it was the rainy season. + +The hotel, in which I passed several months as a guest, until +I finally decided to rent a hut for myself, had points about it +which outdid anything that I have ever seen or heard of in comic +papers about "summer boarding." The most noticeable feature was the +quarter-of-a-story higher than any other house in the village. While +this meant a lead as to quantity I could never see that it represented +anything in actual quality. I would not have ventured up the ladder +which gave access to the extra story without my Winchester in hand, +and during the time I was there I never saw anyone else do so. The +place was nominally a store-house, but having gone undisturbed for +long periods it was an ideal sanctuary for hordes of vermin--and +these the vermin of the Amazon, dangerous, poisonous, not merely the +annoying species we know. Rats were there in abundance, also deadly +scolopendra and centipedes; and large bird-eating spiders were daily +seen promenading up and down the sheet-iron walls. + +On the main floor the building had two large rooms across the centre, +one on the front and one on the rear. At each side were four small +rooms. The large front-room was used as a dining-room and had two +broad tables of planed palm trunks. The side-rooms were bedrooms, +generally speaking, though most of the time I was there some were +used for stabling the pigs and goats, which had to be taken in owing +to the rainy season. + +It is a simple matter to keep a hotel on the upper Amazon. Each room +in the _Hotel de Augusto_ was neatly and chastely furnished with +a pair of iron hooks from which to hang the hammock, an article +one had to provide himself. There was nothing in the room besides +the hooks. No complete privacy was possible because the corrugated +sheet-iron partitions forming the walls did not extend to the roof. The +floors were sections of palm trees, with the flat side down, making +a succession of ridges with open spaces of about an inch between, +through which the ground or the water, according to the season, was +visible. The meals were of the usual monotonous fare typical of the +region. Food is imported at an enormous cost to this remote place, +since there is absolutely no local agriculture. Even sugar and rice, +for instance, which are among the important products of Brazil, +can be had in New York for about one-tenth of what the natives pay +for them in Remate de Males. A can of condensed milk, made to sell +in America for eight or nine cents, brings sixty cents on the upper +Amazon, and preserved butter costs $1.20 a pound. + +The following prices which I have had to pay during the wet season +in this town will, doubtless, be of interest: + + + One box of sardines $ 1.20 + One pound of unrefined sugar .30 + One roll of tobacco (16 pounds) 21.30 + One basket of farinha retails in Para for $4.50 13.30 + One bottle of ginger ale .60 + One pound of potatoes .60 + Calico with stamped pattern, pr. yd. .90 + One Collins machete, N.Y. price, $1.00 12.00 + One pair of men's shoes 11.00 + One bottle of very plain port wine, 22,000 reis or 7.30 + + +Under such circumstances, of course, the food supply is very +poor. Except for a few dried cereals and staples, nothing is used +but canned goods; the instances where small domestic animals are +slaughtered are so few as to be negligible. Furthermore, as a rule, +these very animals are converted into jerked meat to be kept for months +and months. Some fish are taken from the river, but the Amazon fish +are none too palatable generally speaking, with a few exceptions; +besides, the natives are not skilful enough to prepare them to suit +a civilised palate. + +A typical, well provided table on the Amazon would afford dry farinha +in the first place. This is the granulated root of the Macacheira +plant, the _Jatropha manihot_, which to our palates would seem like +desiccated sawdust, although it appears to be a necessity for the +Brazilian. He pours it on his meat, into his soup, and even into his +wine and jams. Next you would have a black bean, which for us lacks +flavour even as much as the farinha. With this there would probably be +rice, and on special occasions jerked beef, a product as tender and +succulent as the sole of a riding boot. Great quantities of coffee +are drunk, made very thick and prepared without milk or sugar. All +these dishes are served at once, so that they promptly get cold and +are even more tasteless before their turn comes to be devoured. + +For five months I experienced this torturing menu at the hotel with +never-ceasing regularity. The only change I ever noticed was on Sundays +or days of feast when beans might occupy the other end of the table. + +But what can the Brazilians do? The cost of living is about ten times +as high as in New York. Agriculture is impossible in the regions +where the land is flooded annually, and the difficulties of shipping +are enormous. When I left the hotel and started housekeeping on my +own account, I found that I could not do a great deal better. By +specialising on one thing at a time I avoided monotony to some +extent, but then it was probably only because I was a "new broom" +at the business. + +As illustrating the community life that we enjoyed at the hotel, +I will relate a happening that I have set down in my notes as +an instance of the great mortality of this region. One afternoon +a woman's three-months-old child was suddenly taken ill. The child +grew worse rapidly and the mother finally decided that it was going +to die. Her husband was up the river on the rubber estates and she +did not want to be left alone. So she came to the hotel with the +child and besought them to let her in. The infant was placed in a +hammock where it lay crying pitifully. At last the wailings of the +poor little creature became less frequent and the child died. + +Before the body was quite cold the mother and the landlady commenced +clearing a table in the dining-room. I looked at this performance +in astonishment because it was now evident that they were going to +prepare a "_lit de parade_" there, close to the tables where our +meals were served. The body was then brought in, dressed in a white +robe adorned with pink, yellow, and sky-blue silk ribbons. Loose +leaves and branches were scattered over the little emaciated body, +care being taken not to conceal any of the fancy silk ribbons. Empty +whiskey and gin bottles were placed around the bier, a candle stuck +in the mouth of each bottle, and then the whole thing was lighted up. + +It was now getting dark fast, and as the doors were wide open, +a great crowd was soon attracted by the brilliant display. All the +"400" of the little rubber town seemed to pour in a steady stream into +the dining-room. It was a new experience, even in this hotel where +I had eaten with water up to my knees, to take a meal with a funeral +going on three feet away. We had to partake of our food with the body +close by and the candle smoke blowing in our faces, adding more local +colour to our jerked beef and beans than was desirable. More and more +people came in to pay their respects to the child that hardly any +one had known while it was alive. Through it all the mother sat on +a trunk in a corner peacefully smoking her pipe, evidently proud of +the celebration that was going on in honour of her deceased offspring. + +The kitchen boy brought in a large tray with cups of steaming coffee; +biscuits also were carried around to the spectators who sat against +the wall on wooden boxes. The women seemed to get the most enjoyment +out of the mourning; drinking black coffee, smoking their pipes, and +paying little attention to the cause of their being there, only too +happy to have an official occasion to show off their finest skirts. The +men had assembled around the other table, which had been cleared in +the meantime, and they soon sent the boy out for whiskey and beer, +passing away the time playing cards. + +I modestly inquired how long this feast was going to last, because +my room adjoined the dining-room and was separated only by a thin +sheet-iron partition open at the top. The landlady, with a happy smile, +informed me that the mourning would continue till the early hours, +when a launch would arrive to transport the deceased and the guests +to the cemetery. This was about four miles down the Javary River and +was a lonely, half-submerged spot. + +There was nothing for me to do but submit and make the best of it. All +night the mourners went on, the women drinking black coffee, while the +men gambled and drank whiskey in great quantities, the empty bottles +being employed immediately as additional candlesticks. Towards morning, +due to their heroic efforts, a multitude of bottles totally obliterated +the "_lit de parade_" from view. I managed to fall asleep completely +exhausted when the guests finally went off at nine o'clock. The +doctor diagnosed the case of the dead child as chronic indigestion, +the result of the mother's feeding a three-months-old infant on jerked +beef and black beans. + +Life in the hotel during the rainy season is variegated. I have spoken +of having eaten a meal with water up to my knees. That happened often +during the weeks when the river was at its highest level. Once when +we were having our noon-day meal during the extreme high-water period +a man came paddling his canoe in at the open door, sailed past us, +splashing a little water on the table as he did so, and navigated +through to the back room where he delivered some supplies. + +During this feat everybody displayed the cheerful and courteous +disposition usual to the Brazilians. At this season you must +wear wading boots to eat a meal or do anything else about the +house. Sleeping is somewhat easier as the hammocks are suspended about +three feet above the level of the water, but an involuntary plunge +is a thing not entirely unknown to an amateur sleeping in a hammock; +I know this from personal experience. + +Every morning the butcher comes to the village between five and +six o'clock and sharpens his knife while he awaits calls for his +ministrations. He is an undersized man with very broad shoulders and +a face remarkable for its cunning, cruel expression. His olive-brown +complexion, slanting eyes, high cheek-bones, and sharp-filed teeth +are all signs of his coming from the great unknown interior. His +business here is to slaughter the cattle of the town. He does this +deftly by thrusting a long-bladed knife into the neck of the animal +at the base of the brain, until it severs the medulla, whereupon +the animal collapses without any visible sign of suffering. It is +then skinned and the intestines thrown into the water where they +are immediately devoured by a small but voracious fish called the +_candiroo-escrivão_. This whole operation is carried on inside the +house, in the back-room, as long as the land is flooded. + +It must be remembered that during the rainy season an area equal in +size to about a third of the United States is entirely submerged. There +is a network of rivers that eventually find their way into the Amazon +and the land between is completely inundated. In all this immense +territory there are only a few spots of sufficient elevation to be +left high and dry. Remate de Males, as I have explained, is at the +junction of the Itecoahy and the Javary rivers, the latter 700 miles +in length, and thirty miles or so below the village the Javary joins +the Amazon proper, or Solimoés as it is called here. Thus we are in +the heart of the submerged region. When I first arrived in February, +1910, I found the river still confined to its channel, with the water +about ten feet below the level of the street. A few weeks later it +was impossible to take a single step on dry land anywhere. + +The water that drives the rubber-workers out of the forests also drives +all animal life to safety. Some of the creatures seek refuge in the +village. I remember that we once had a huge alligator take temporary +lodgings in the backyard of the hotel after he had travelled no one +knows how many miles through the inundated forest. At all hours we +could hear him making excursions under the house to snatch refuse +thrown from the kitchen, but we always knew he would have welcomed +more eagerly a member of the household who might drop his way. + +And now a few words about the people who lived under the conditions +I have described, and who keep up the struggle even though, as they +themselves have put it, "each ton of rubber costs a human life." + +In the first place I must correct any erroneous impression as to +neatness that may have been formed by my remarks about the animals +being kept in the dwellings during the rainy season. The Brazilians +are scrupulous about their personal cleanliness, and in fact, go +through difficulties to secure a bath which might well discourage +more civilised folk. + +No one would dream, for an instant, of immersing himself in the +rivers. In nine cases out of ten it would amount to suicide to do +so, and the natives have bathhouses along the shores; more literally +bathhouses than ours, for their baths are actually taken in them. They +are just as careful about clothing being aired and clean. Indeed, the +main item of the Brazilian woman's housekeeping is the washing. The +cooking is rather happy-go-lucky; and there is no use cleaning and +polishing iron walls; they get rusty anyhow. + +The people are all occupied with the rubber industry and the town +owes its existence to the economic necessity of having here a shipping +and trading point for the product. The rubber is gathered farther up +along the shores of the Javary and the Itecoahy and is transported +by launch and canoe to Remate de Males. Here it is shipped directly +or sold to travelling dealers who send it down to Manaos or Para via +the boat of the Amazon Steam Navigation Co., which comes up during +the rainy season. Thence it goes to the ports of the world. + +The rubber-worker is a well paid labourer even though he belongs to +the unskilled class. The tapping of the rubber trees and the smoking of +the milk pays from eight to ten dollars a day in American gold. This, +to him, of course, is riches and the men labour here in order that they +may go back to their own province as wealthy men. Nothing else will +yield this return; the land is not used for other products. It is hard +to see how agriculture or cattle-raising could be carried on in this +region, and, if they could, they would certainly not return more than +one fourth or one fifth of what the rubber industry does. The owners of +the great rubber estates, or _seringales_, are enormously wealthy men. + +There are fewer women than men in Remate de Males, and none of the +former is beautiful. They are for the most part Indians or Brazilians +from the province of Ceara, with very dark skin, hair, and eyes, and +teeth filed like shark's teeth. They go barefooted, as a rule. Here +you will find all the incongruities typical of a race taking the +first step in civilisation. The women show in their dress how the +well-paid men lavish on them the extravagances that appeal to the +lingering savage left in their simple natures. + +Women, who have spent most of their isolated lives in utterly +uncivilised surroundings, will suddenly be brought into a community +where other women are found, and immediately the instinct of +self-adornment is brought into full play. Each of them falls under +the sway of "Dame Fashion"--for there are the _latest things_, even +on the upper Amazon. Screaming colours are favoured; a red skirt with +green stars was considered at one time the height of fashion, until an +inventive woman discovered that yellow dots could also be worked in. In +addition to these dresses, the women will squander money on elegant +patent-leather French slippers (with which they generally neglect to +wear stockings), and use silk handkerchiefs perfumed with the finest +Parisian eau de Cologne, bought at a cost of from fourteen to fifteen +dollars a bottle. Arrayed in all her glory on some gala occasion, +the whole effect enhanced by the use of a short pipe from which she +blows volumes of smoke, the woman of Remate de Males is a unique sight. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE OF REMATE DE MALES + + +The social life of the town is in about the same stage of development +as it must have been during the Stone Age. When darkness falls over the +village, as it does at six o'clock all the year round, life practically +stops, and a few hours afterwards everyone is in his hammock. + +There is one resort where the town-sports come to spend their +evenings, the so-called _Recreio Popular_. Its principal patrons are +_seringueiros_, or rubber-workers, who have large rolls of money that +they are anxious to spend with the least possible effort, and generally +get their desire over the gaming boards. The place is furnished with +a billiard table and a gramophone with three badly worn records. The +billiard table is in constant use by a certain element up to midnight, +and so are the three eternal records of the gramophone. It will take +me years surrounded by the comforts of civilisation to get those three +frightful tunes out of my head, and I do not see how they could fail +to drive even the hardened _seringueiros_ to an early grave. + +Another resort close by, where the native _cachassa_ is sold, is +patronised principally by negroes and half-breeds. Here they play +the guitar, in combination with a home-made instrument resembling +a mandolin, as accompaniment to a monotonous native song, which +is kept up for hours. With the exception of these two places, the +village does not furnish any life or local colour after nightfall, +the natives spending their time around the mis-treated gramophones, +which are found in almost every hut. + +The men of the village, unlike the women, are not picturesque +in appearance. The officials are well paid, so is everyone else, +yet they never think of spending money to improve the looks of the +village or even their own. Most of them are ragged. A few exhibit an +inadequate elegance, dressed in white suits, derby hats, and very +high collars. But in spite of the seeming poverty, there is not a +_seringueiro_ who could not at a moment's notice produce a handful of +bills that would strike envy to the heart of many prosperous business +men of civilisation. The amount will often run into millions of reis; +a sum that may take away the breath of a stranger who does not know +that one thousand of these Brazilian reis make but thirty cents in +our money. + +The people of the Amazon love to gamble. One night three merchants +and a village official came to the hotel to play cards. They gathered +around the dining-room table at eight o'clock, ordered a case of +Pabst beer, which sells, by the way, at four dollars and sixty cents +a bottle in American gold, and several boxes of our National Biscuit +Company's products, and then began on a game, which resembles our +poker. They played till midnight, when they took a recess of half +an hour, during which large quantities of the warm beer and many +crackers were consumed. Then, properly nourished, they resumed the +game, which lasted until six o'clock the next morning. This was a +fair example of the gambling that went on. + +The stakes were high enough to do honours to the fashionable gamblers +of New York, but there was never the slightest sign of excitement. At +first I used to expect that surely the card table would bring forth all +sorts of flashes of tropic temperament--even a shooting or stabbing +affair. But the composure was always perfect. I have seen a loser +pay, without so much as a regretful remark, the sum of three million +and a half reis, which, though only $1050 in our money, is still a +considerable sum for a labourer to lose. + +Once a month a launch comes down from Iquitos in Peru, about five +days' journey up the Amazon. This launch is sent out by Iquitos +merchants, to supply the wants of settlers of the rubber estates on +the various affluents. It is hard to estimate what suffering would +result if these launches should be prevented from reaching their +destinations, for the people are absolutely dependent upon them, +the region being non-producing, as I have said, and the supplies +very closely calculated. In Remate de Males, the superintendent, or +the mayor of the town, generally owns a few head of cattle brought +by steamer, and when these are consumed no meat can be had in the +region but Swift's canned "Corned Beef." + +Then there are the steamers from the outer world. During the rainy +season, the _Mauretania_ could get up to Remate de Males from +the Atlantic Ocean without difficulty, though there is no heavy +navigation on the upper Javary River. But steamers go up the Amazon +proper several days' journey farther. You can at the present get a +through steamer from Iquitos in Peru down the Amazon to New York. + +These boats occasionally bring immigrants from the eastern portions of +Brazil, where they have heard of the fortunes to be made in working the +rubber, and who have come, just as our prospectors came into the West, +hoping to take gold and their lives back with them. Besides passengers, +these boats carry cattle and merchandise and transport the precious +rubber back to Para and Manaos. They are welcomed enthusiastically. As +soon as they are sighted, every man in town takes his Winchester down +from the wall and runs into the street to empty the magazine as many +times as he feels that he can afford in his exuberance of feeling at +the prospect of getting mail from home and fresh food supplies. + +On some occasions, marked with a red letter on the calendar, canoes +may be seen coming down the Itecoahy River, decorated with leaves +and burning candles galore. They are filled with enthusiasts who are +setting off fireworks and shouting with delight. They are devotees of +some up-river saint, who are taking this conventional way of paying +the headquarters a visit. + +The priest, who occupies himself with saving the hardened souls of +the rubber-workers, is a worthy-looking man, who wears a dark-brown +cassock, confined at the waist with a rope. He is considered the +champion drinker of Remate de Males. The church is one of the neatest +buildings in the town, though this may be because it is so small as +to hold only about twenty-five people. It is devoid of any article +of decoration, but outside is a white-washed wooden cross on whose +foundation candles are burned, when there is illness in some family, +or the local patron saint's influence is sought on such a problem as +getting a job. The religion is, of course, Catholic, but, as in every +case where isolation from the source occurs, the natives have grafted +local influences into their faith, until the result is a Catholicism +different from the one we know. + +The administration of the town is in the hands of the superintendent, +who is a Federal officer not elected by the villagers. His power is +practically absolute as far as this community is concerned. Under +him are a number of Government officials, all of whom are extremely +well paid and whose duty seems to consist in being on hand promptly +when the salaries are paid. + +The chief of police is a man of very prepossessing appearance, but +with a slightly discoloured nose. His appointment reminded me of that +of Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., in _Pinafore_, who was made "ruler of +the Queen's navee" in spite of a very slight acquaintance with things +nautical. Our chief of police had been _chef d' orchestre_ of the +military band of Manaos. They found there that his bibulous habits +were causing his nose to blush more and more, so he was given the +position of Chief of Police of Remate de Males. It must be admitted +that in his new position he has gone on developing the virtue that +secured it for him, so there is no telling how high he may rise. + +The police force consists of one man, and a very versatile one, +as will be seen, for he is also the rank and file of the military +force. I saw this remarkable official only once. At that time he was +in a sad condition from over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages. There +are exact statistics of comparison available for the police and +military forces. The former is just two-thirds of the latter in +number. Expressed in the most easily understood terms, we can put it +that our versatile friend has a chief to command him when a policeman, +and a coronel and lieutenant when he is a soldier. Whether there +is any graft in it or not, I do not know, but money is saved by the +police-military force being one man with interchangeable uniforms, and +the money must go into somebody's pocket. It might be thought that when +the versatile one had to appear in both capacities at once, he might be +at a loss. But not a bit of it. The landing of one of the down-river +steamers offers such an occasion. As soon as the gangplank is out, +the policeman goes aboard with the official papers. He is welcomed, +receives his fee, and disappears. Not two minutes afterwards, the +military force in full uniform is seen to emerge from the same hut +into which the policeman went. He appears on the scene with entire +unconcern, and the rough and ready diplomacy of Remate de Males has +again triumphed. + +One of the reasons for the flattering (!) name of the town, +"Culmination of Evils," is the great mortality of the community, which +it has as a part of the great Javary district. Its inhabitants suffer +from all the functional diseases found in other parts of the world, +and, in addition, maladies which are typical of the region. Among the +most important of these are the paludismus, or malarial swamp-fever, +the yellow-fever, popularly recognised as the black vomit, and last but +not least the beri-beri, the mysterious disease which science does not +yet fully understand. The paludismus is so common that it is looked +upon as an unavoidable incident of the daily life. It is generally +caused by the infectious bite of a mosquito, the _Anopheles_, which +is characterised by its attacking with its body almost perpendicular +to the surface it has selected. It is only the female mosquito +that bites. There are always fever patients on the Amazon, and the +_Anopheles_, stinging indiscriminately, transfers the malarial microbes +from a fever patient to the blood of well persons. The latter are sure +to be laid up within ten days with the _sezoes_, as the fever is called +here, unless a heavy dose of quinine is taken in time to check it. + +The yellow fever mosquito, the _Stygoma faciata_, seems to prefer other +down-river localities, but is frequent enough to cause anxiety. They +call the yellow fever the black vomit, because of this unmistakable +symptom of the disease, which, when once it sets in, always means +a fatal termination. The beri-beri still remains a puzzling malady +from which no recoveries have yet been reported, at least not on the +Amazon. On certain rivers, in the Matto Grosso province of Brazil, +or in Bolivian territory, the beri-beri patients have some chance +of recovery. By immediately leaving the infested district they can +descend the rivers until they reach a more favourable climate near +the sea-coast, or they can go to more elevated regions. But here +on the Amazon, where the only avenue of escape is the river itself, +throughout its length a hot-bed of disease where no change of climate +occurs, the time consumed in reaching the sea-coast is too long. The +cause of this disease, and its cure, are unknown. It manifests itself +through paralysis of the limbs, which begins at the finger-tips and +gradually extends through the system until the heart-muscles become +paralysed and death occurs. + +The only precautionary measures available are doses of quinine and +the use of the mosquito-net, or _mosquitero_. The latter's value as +a preventive is problematical, however, for during each night one +is bound to be bitten frequently, yes, hundreds of times, by the +ever-present insects in spite of all. + +But if we curse the mosquito, what are we to say of certain other +pests that add to the miseries of life in that out-of-the-way corner +of the globe, and are more persistent in their attentions than +even the mosquito? In the first place, there are the ants. They are +everywhere. They build their nests under the houses, in the tables, +and in the cracks of the floors, and lie in ambush waiting the arrival +of a victim, whom they attack from all sides. They fasten themselves +on one and sometimes it takes hours of labour to extract them. Many +are the breakfasts I have delayed on awaking and finding myself to +be the object of their attention. It proved necessary to tie wads +of cotton covered with vaseline to the fastenings of the hammock, +to keep the intruders off. But they even got around this plan. As +soon as the bodies of the first arrivals covered the vaseline, the +rest of the troops marched across them in safety and gained access to +the hammock, causing a quick evacuation on my part. Articles of food +were completely destroyed by these carnivorous creatures, within a +few minutes after I had placed them on the table. + +I present here a list of the various species of ants known to the +natives, together with the peculiarities by which they distinguish +them. I collected the information from Indians on the Seringal +"Floresta" on the Itecoahy River. + + +_Aracara_--the dreaded fire-ant whose sting is felt for hours. + +_Auhiqui_--lives in the houses where it devours everything edible. + +_Chicitaya_--its bite gives a transient fever. + +_Monyuarah_--clears a large space in the forest for its nest. + +_Sauba_--carries a green leaf over its head. + +_Tachee_--a black ant whose bite gives a transient fever. + +_Tanajura_--one inch long and edible when fried in lard. + +_Taxyrana_--enters the houses like the _auhiqui_. + +_Termita_--builds a typical cone-shaped nest in the dry part of +the forests. + +_Tracoã_--its bite gives no fever, but the effect is of long duration. + +_Tucandeira_--black and an inch and a half long, with a bite not only +painful but absolutely dangerous. + +_Tucushee_--gives a transient fever. + +_Uça_--builds large nests in the trees. + + +While convalescing from my first attack of swamp-fever, I had +occasion to study a most remarkable species of spider which was a +fellow lodger in the hut I then occupied. In size, the specimen was +very respectable, being able to cover a circle of nearly six inches +in diameter. This spider subsists on large insects and at times on +the smaller varieties of birds, like finches, etc. Its scientific +name is _Mygale avicularia_. The natives dread it for its poisonous +bite and on account of its great size and hairy body. The first time +I saw the one in my hut was when it was climbing the wall in close +proximity to my hammock. I got up and tried to crush it with my fist, +but the spider made a lightning-quick move and stopped about five or +six inches from where I hit the wall. + +Several times I repeated the attack without success, the spider +always succeeding in moving before it could be touched. Somewhat +out of temper, I procured a hammer of large size and continued +the chase until I was exhausted. When my hand grew steady again, +I took my automatic pistol, used for big game, and, taking a steady +aim on the fat body of the spider, I fired. But with another of the +remarkably quick movements the spider landed the usual safe distance +from destruction. Then I gave it up. For all I know, that animal, I +can scarcely call it an insect after using a big game pistol on it, +is still occupying the hut. About nine months later I was telling +Captain Barnett, of the R.M.S. _Napo_ which picked me up on the Amazon +on my way home, about my ill success in hunting the spider. "Lange," +he asked, "why didn't you try for him with a frying-pan?" + + + +CHAPTER III + +OTHER INCIDENTS DURING MY STAY IN REMATE DE MALES + + +Remate De Males, with Nazareth and São Francisco, is set down in the +midst of absolute wilderness. Directly behind the village is the +almost impenetrable maze of tropical jungle. If with the aid of a +machete one gets a minute's walk into it, he cannot find his way out +except by the cackling of the hens around the houses. A dense wall +of vegetation shuts in the settlement on every side. Tall palms stand +above the rest of the trees; lower down is a mass of smaller but more +luxuriant plants, while everywhere is the twining, tangled _lianas_, +making the forest a dark labyrinth of devious ways. Here and there +are patches of tropical blossoms, towering ferns, fungoid growths, or +some rare and beautiful orchid whose parasitical roots have attached +themselves to a tree trunk. And there is always the subdued confusion +that betokens the teeming animal life. + +Looking up the Itecoahy River, one can see nothing but endless forest +and jungle. And the same scene continues for a distance of some eight +or nine hundred miles until reaching the headwaters of the river +somewhere far up in Bolivian territory. No settlements are to be found +up there; a few _seringales_ from seventy-five to a hundred miles +apart constitute the only human habitations in this large area. So +wild and desolate is this river that its length and course are only +vaguely indicated even on the best Brazilian maps. It is popularly +supposed that the Itecoahy takes its actual rise about two weeks' +journey from its nominal head in an absolutely unexplored region. + +I found the life very monotonous in Remate de Males, especially when +the river began to go down. This meant the almost complete ending of +communication with the outer world; news from home reached me seldom +and there was no relief from the isolation. In addition, the various +torments of the region are worse at this season. Sitting beside the +muddy banks of the Itecoahy at sunset, when the vapours arose from the +immense swamps and the sky was coloured in fantastical designs across +the western horizon, was the only relief from the sweltering heat of +the day, for a brief time before the night and its tortures began. Soon +the chorus of a million frogs would start. At first is heard only the +croaking of a few; then gradually more and more add their music until +a loud penetrating throb makes the still, vapour-laden atmosphere +vibrate. The sound reminded me strikingly of that which is heard when +pneumatic hammers are driving home rivets through steel beams. There +were other frogs whose louder and deeper-pitched tones could be +distinguished through the main nocturnal song. These seemed always +to be grumbling something about "_Rubberboots--Rubberboots_." + +By-and-bye one would get used to the sound and it would lose +attention. The water in the river floated slowly on its long journey +towards the ocean, almost 2500 miles away. Large dolphins sometimes +came to the surface, saluting the calm evening with a loud snort, +and disappeared again with a slow, graceful movement. Almost every +evening I could hear issuing from the forest a horrible roar. It came +from the farthest depths and seemed as if it might well represent +the mingled cries of some huge bull and a prowling jaguar that had +attacked him unawares. Yet it all came, I found, from one throat, +that of the howling monkey. He will sit alone for hours in a tree-top +and pour forth these dreadful sounds which are well calculated to +make the lonely wanderer stop and light a camp-fire for protection. + +On the other hand, is heard the noise of the domestic animals of +the village. Cows, calves, goats, and pigs seemed to make a habit of +exercising their vocal organs thoroughly before retiring. Dogs bark +at the moon; cats chase rats through openings of the palm-leaf roofs, +threatening every moment to fall, pursued and pursuers, down upon the +hammocks. Vampires flutter around from room to room, occasionally +resting on the tops of the iron partitions, and when they halt, +continuing to chirp for a while like hoarse sparrows. Occasionally +there will come out of the darkness of the river a disagreeable +sound as if some huge animal were gasping for its last breath before +suffocating in the mud. The sound has its effect, even upon animals, +coming as it does out of the black mysterious night, warning them not +to venture far for fear some uncanny force may drag them to death in +the dismal waters. It is the night call of the alligator. + +The sweet plaintive note of a little partridge, called _inamboo_, +would sometimes tremble through the air and compel me to forget +the spell of unholy sounds arising from the beasts of the jungle and +river. Throughout the evening this amorous bird would call to its mate, +and somewhere there would be an answering call back in the woods. Many +were the nights when, weak with fever, I awoke and listened to their +calling and answering. Yet never did they seem to achieve the bliss +of meeting, for after a brief lull the calling and answering voices +would again take up their pretty song. + +Slowly the days went by and, with their passing, the river fell lower +and lower until the waters receded from the land itself and were +confined once more to their old course in the river-bed. As the ground +began to dry, the time came when the mosquitoes were particularly +vicious. They multiplied by the million. Soon the village was filled +with malaria, and the hypodermic needle was in full activity. + +A crowd of about fifty Indians from the Curuça River had been brought +to Remate de Males by launch. They belonged to the territory owned by +Mons. Danon and slept outside the store-rooms of this plutocrat. Men, +women, and children arranged their quarters in the soft mud until they +could be taken to his rubber estate some hundred miles up the Javary +River. They were still waiting to be equipped with rubber-workers' +outfits when the malaria began its work among them. The poor mistreated +Indians seemed to have been literally saturated with the germs, as +they always slept without any protection whatever; consequently their +systems offered less resistance to the disease than the ordinary +Brazilian's. In four days there were only twelve persons left out +of fifty-two. + +During the last weeks of my stay in Remate de Males, I received an +invitation to take lunch with the local Department Secretary, Professor +Silveiro, an extremely hospitable and well educated Brazilian. The +importance of such an invitation meant for me a radical change in +appearance--an extensive alteration that could not be wrought without +considerable pains. I had to have a five-months' beard shaved off, and +then get into my best New York shirt, not to forget a high collar. I +also considered that the occasion necessitated the impressiveness +of a frock-coat, which I produced at the end of a long search among +my baggage and proceeded to don after extracting a tarantula and +some stray scolopendra from the sleeves and pockets. The sensation of +wearing a stiff collar was novel, and not altogether welcome, since the +temperature was near the 100° mark. The reward for my discomfort came, +however, in the shape of the best meal I ever had in the Amazon region. + +During these dull days I was made happy by finding a copy of Mark +Twain's _A Tramp Abroad_ in a store over in Nazareth on the Peruvian +side of the Javary River. I took it with me to my hammock, hailing +with joy the opportunity of receiving in the wilderness something +that promised a word from "God's Own Country." But before I could +begin the book I had an attack of swamp-fever that laid me up four +days. During one of the intermissions, when I was barely able to move +around, I commenced reading Mark Twain. It did not take more than +two pages of the book to make me forget all about my fever. When I +got to the ninth page, I laughed as I had not laughed for months, and +page 14 made me roar so athletically that I lost my balance and fell +out of my hammock on the floor. I soon recovered and crept back into +the hammock, but out I went when I reached page 16, and repeated the +performance at pages 19, 21, and 24 until the supplementary excitement +became monotonous. Whereupon I procured some rags and excelsior, +made a bed underneath the hammock, and proceeded to enjoy our eminent +humourist's experience in peace. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE JOURNEY UP THE ITECOAHY RIVER + + +With the subsiding of the waters came my long-desired opportunity +to travel the course of the unmapped Itecoahy. In the month of June +a local trader issued a notice that he was to send a launch up the +river for trading purposes and to take the workers who had been +sojourning in Remate de Males back to their places of employment, +to commence the annual extraction of rubber. The launch was scheduled +to sail on a Monday and would ascend the Itecoahy to its headwaters, +or nearly so, thus passing the mouths of the Ituhy, the Branco, +and Las Pedras rivers, affluents of considerable size which are +nevertheless unrecorded on maps. The total length of the Branco River +is over three hundred miles, and it has on its shores several large +and productive _seringales_. + +When on my way up the Amazon to the Brazilian frontier, I had stopped +at Manaos, the capital of the State of Amazonas. There I had occasion +to consult an Englishman about the Javary region. In answer to one of +my inquiries, I received the following letter, which speaks for itself: + +Referring to our conversation of recent date, I should wish once +more to impress upon your mind the perilous nature of your journey, +and I am not basing this information upon hearsay, but upon personal +experience, having traversed the region in question quite recently. + +Owing to certain absolutely untrue articles written by one H----, +claiming to be your countryman, I am convinced that you can not rely +upon the protection of the employees of this company, as having been +so badly libelled by one, they are apt to forget that such articles +were not at your instigation, and as is often the case the innocent +may suffer for the guilty. + +On the other hand, without this protection you will find yourself +absolutely at the mercy of savage and cannibal Indians. + +I have this day spoken to the consul here at Manaos and explained +to him that, although I have no wish to deter you from your voyage, +you must be considered as the only one responsible in any way for +any ill that may befall you. + +Finally, I hope that before disregarding this advice (which I offer +you in a perfectly friendly spirit) you will carefully consider the +consequences which such a voyage might produce, and, frankly speaking, +I consider that your chance of bringing it to a successful termination +is Nil. + +Believe me to be, etc., + +J.A.M. + + +During the time of my journey up the river and of my stay in Remate +de Males, I had seen nothing of the particular dangers mentioned +in this letter. The only Indians I had seen were such as smoked +long black cigars and wore pink or blue pajamas. The letter further +developed an interest, started by the hints of life in the interior, +which had come to me in the civilisation of Remate de Males. I was, +of course, particularly desirous of finding out all I could about the +wild people of the inland regions, since I could not recall that much +had been written about them. + +Henry W. Bates, the famous explorer who ascended the Amazon as far +as Teffé, came within 120 miles of the mouth of the Javary River in +the year 1858, and makes the following statement about the indigenous +tribes of this region: + +The only other tribe of this neighbourhood concerning which I obtained +any information was the Mangeromas, whose territory embraces several +hundred miles of the western banks of the river Javary, an affluent +of the Solimoës, a hundred and twenty miles beyond São Paolo da +Olivença. These are fierce and indomitable and hostile people, like the +Araras of the Madeira River. They are also cannibals. The navigation +of the Javary River is rendered impossible on account of the Mangeromas +lying in wait on its banks to intercept and murder all travellers. + +Now to return to the letter; I thought that perhaps my English friend +had overdrawn things a little in a laudable endeavour to make me more +cautious. In other words, it was for me the old story over again, of +learning at the cost of experience--the story of disregarded advice, +and so I went on in my confidence. + +When the announcement of the launch's sailing came, I went immediately +for an interview with the owner, a Brazilian named Pedro Smith, +whose kindness I shall never forget. He offered me the chance of +making the entire trip on his boat, but would accept no remuneration, +saying that I would find conditions on the little overcrowded vessel +very uncomfortable, and that the trip would not be free from actual +bodily risk. When even he tried to dissuade me, I began to think +more seriously of the Englishman's letter, but I told him that I had +fully made up my mind to penetrate the mystery of those little known +regions. I use the term "little known" in the sense that while they +are well enough known to the handful of Indians and rubber-workers +yet they are "terra incognita" to the outside world. The white man +has not as yet traversed this Itecoahy and its affluents, although +it would be a system of no little importance if located in some other +country--for instance, in the United States. + +My object was to study the rubber-worker at his labour, to find out the +true length of the Itecoahy River, and to photograph everything worth +while. I had with me all the materials and instruments necessary--at +least so I thought. + +The photographic outfit consisted of a Graflex camera with a shutter +of high speed, which would come handy when taking animals in motion, +and a large-view camera with ten dozen photographic plates and a +corresponding amount of prepared paper. In view of the difficulties +of travel, I had decided to develop my plates as I went along and make +prints in the field, rather than run the risk of ruining them by some +unlucky accident. Perhaps at the very end of the trip a quantity +of undeveloped plates might be lost, and such a calamity would +mean the failure of the whole journey in one of its most important +particulars. Such a disastrous result was foreshadowed when a porter, +loaded with my effects, clambering down the sixty-foot incline extreme +low water made at Remate de Males, lost his balance in the last few +feet of the descent and dropped into the water, completely ruining +a whole pack of photographic supplies whose arrival from New York I +had been awaiting for months. Luckily this was at the beginning of +this trip and I could replace them from my general stock. + +A hypodermic outfit, quinine, and a few bistouries completed my +primitive medical department. Later on these proved of the greatest +value. I would never think of omitting such supplies even in a case +where a few pounds of extra weight are not rashly to be considered. It +turned out that in the regions I penetrated, medical assistance was +a thing unheard of within a radius of several hundred miles. + +A Luger automatic pistol of a calibre of nine millimetres, and several +hundred cartridges, were my armament, and for weeks this pistol became +my only means of providing a scant food supply. + +Thus equipped I was on hand early in the morning of the day of +starting, anxious to see what sort of shipmates I was to have. They +proved all to be _seringueiros_, bound for the upper river. Our +craft was a forty-foot launch called the _Carolina_. There was a +large crowd of the passengers assembled when I arrived, and they +kept coming. To my amazement, it developed that one hundred and +twenty souls were expected to find room on board, together with +several tons of merchandise. The mystery of how the load was to be +accommodated was somewhat solved, when I saw them attach a lighter to +each side of the launch, and again, when some of the helpers brought +up a fleet of dugouts which they proceeded to make fast by a stern +hawser. But the mystery was again increased, when I was told that +none of the passengers intended to occupy permanent quarters on the +auxiliary fleet. As I was already taken care of, I resolved that if +the problem was to worry anybody, it would be the _seringueiros_, +though I realised that I would be travelling by "slow steamer" when +the little old-fashioned _Carolina_ should at length begin the task +of fighting the five-mile current with this tagging fleet to challenge +its claim to a twelve-horse-power engine. + +The _seringueiros_ and their families occupied every foot of space +that was not reserved for merchandise. Hammocks were strung over +and under each other in every direction, secured to the posts which +supported the roof. Between them the rubber-coated knapsacks were +suspended. On the roof was an indiscriminate mass of chicken-coops +with feathered occupants; and humanity. + +About midships on each lighter was a store-room, one of which was +occupied by the clerk who accompanied the launch. In this they +generously offered me the opportunity of making my headquarters +during the trip. The room was about six feet by eight and contained +a multitude of luxuries and necessities for the rubber-workers. There +were .44 Winchester rifles in large numbers, the usual, indispensable +Collins machete, and tobacco in six-feet-long, spindle-shaped +rolls. There was also the "***" Hennessy cognac, selling at 40,000 +reis ($14.00 gold) a bottle; and every variety of canned edible from +California pears to Horlick's malted milk, from Armour's corned beef +to Heinz's sweet pickles. + +Every one was anxious to get started; I, who had more to look forward +to than months of monotonous labour in the forests, not the least. At +last the owner of the boat arrived, it being then two o'clock in the +afternoon. He came aboard to shake hands with everyone and after a +long period of talking pulled the cord leading to the steam-whistle, +giving the official signal for departure. It then developed that one +of the firemen was missing. Without him we could not start on our +journey. The whistling was continued for fully forty minutes without +any answer. Finally, the longed-for gentleman was seen emerging +unsteadily from the local gin-shop with no sign of haste. He managed +to crawl on board and we were off, amid much noise and firing of guns. + +After a two-hours' run we stopped at a place consisting of two houses +and a banana patch. Evidently the owner of this property made a +side-business of supplying palm-wood as fuel for the launch. A load +was carried on board and stowed beside the boiler, and we went once +more on our way. I cannot say that the immediate surroundings were +comfortable. There were people everywhere. They were lounging in the +hammocks, or lying on the deck itself; and some were even sprawling +uncomfortably on their trunks or knapsacks. A cat would have had +difficulty in squeezing itself through this compact mass of men, +chattering women, and crying children. But I had no sooner begun to +reflect adversely on the situation, than the old charm of the Amazon +asserted itself again and made me oblivious to anything so trivial +as personal comfort surroundings. I became lost to myself in the +enjoyment of the river. + +That old fig-tree on the bank is worth looking at. The mass of its +branches, once so high-reaching and ornamental, now lie on the ground +in a confused huddle, shattered and covered with parasites and orchids, +while millions of ants are in full activity destroying the last +clusters of foliage. It is only a question of weeks, perhaps days, +before some blast of wind will throw this humbled forest-monarch over +the steep bank of the river. When the water rises again, the trunk +with a few skeleton branches will be carried away with the current +to begin a slow but relentless drift to old Father Amazon. Here and +there will be a little pause, while the river gods decide, and then it +will move on, to be caught somewhere along the course and contribute +to the formation of some new island or complete its last long journey +to the Atlantic Ocean. + +As the launch rounds bend after bend in the river, the same magnificent +forest scenery is repeated over and over again. Sometimes a tall +matamatá tree stands in a little accidental clearing, entirely +covered with a luxuriant growth of vegetation. But these are borrowed +plumes. Bushropes, climbers, and vines have clothed it from root +to topmost branch, but they are only examples of the legion of +beautiful parasites that seem to abound in the tropics. They will +sap the vitality of this masterpiece of Nature, until in its turn +it will fall before some stormy night's blow. All along the shore +there is a myriad life among the trees and beautifully coloured birds +flash in and out of the branches. You can hear a nervous chattering +and discern little brown bodies swinging from branch to branch, +or hanging suspended for fractions of a second from the network of +climbers and aerial roots. They are monkeys. They follow the launch +along the trees on the banks for a while and then disappear. + +The sun is glaring down on the little craft and its human freight. The +temperature is 112 degrees (F.) in the shade and the only place for +possible relief is on a box of cognac alongside the commandant's +hammock. He has fastened this directly behind the wheel so that he +can watch the steersman, an Indian with filed teeth and a machete +stuck in his belt. + +Would anyone think that these trees, lining the shore for miles and +miles and looking so beautiful and harmless by day, have a miasmatic +breath or exhalation at night that produces a severe fever in one who +is subjected for any length of time to their influence. It would be +impossible for even the most fantastical scenic artist to exaggerate +the picturesque combinations of colour and form ever changing like +a kaleidoscope to exhibit new delights. A tall and slender palm +can be seen in its simple beauty alongside the white trunk of the +embauba tree, with umbrella-shaped crown, covered and gracefully +draped with vines and hanging plants, whose roots drop down until +they reach the water, or join and twist themselves until they form a +leaf-portière. And for thousands of square miles this ever changing +display of floral splendour is repeated and repeated. And it would be +a treat for an ornithologist to pass up the river. A hundred times +a day flocks of small paroquets fly screaming over our heads and +settle behind the trees. Large, green, blue, and scarlet parrots, +the araras, fly in pairs, uttering penetrating, harsh cries, and +sometimes an egret with her precious snow-white plumage would keep +just ahead of us with graceful wing-motion, until she chose a spot +to alight among the low bushes close to the water-front. + +The dark blue toucan, with its enormous scarlet and yellow beak, +would suddenly appear and fly up with peculiar jerky swoops, at the +same time uttering its yelping cry. Several times I saw light green +lizards of from three to four feet in length stretched out on branches +of dead trees and staring at us as we passed. + +Night came and drew its sombre curtain over the splendours. I was +now shown a place of unpretentious dimensions where I could suspend +my hammock, but, unluckily, things were so crowded that there was +no room for a mosquito-net around me. Under ordinary circumstances, +neglect of this would have been an inexcusable lack of prudence, +but I lay down trusting that the draft created by the passage of the +boat would keep the insect pests away, as they told me it would. I +found that experience had taught them rightly. + +To the post where I tied the foot-end of my hammock there were fastened +six other hammocks. Consequently seven pairs of feet were bound to +come into pretty close contact with each other. While I was lucky +enough to have the hammock closest to the rail, I was unlucky enough +to have as my next neighbour a woman; she was part Brazilian negro +and part Indian. She had her teeth filed sharp like shark's teeth, +wore brass rings in her ears, large enough to suspend portières from, +and smoked a pipe continually. I found later that it was a habit to +take the pipe to bed with her, so that she could begin smoking the +first thing in the morning. She used a very expensive Parisian perfume, +whether to mitigate the effects of the pipe or not, I do not know. + +Under the conditions I have described I lay down in my hammock, but +found that sleep was impossible. There was nothing to do but resign +myself to Fate and find amusement, with all the philosophy possible, +by staring at the sky. I counted the stars over and over again and +tried to identify old friends among the constellations. Among them the +Southern Cross was a stranger to me, but the Great Dipper, one end +of which was almost hidden behind the trees, I recognised with all +the freedom of years of acquaintance. My mind went back to the last +time I had seen it; across the house-tops of old Manhattan it was, +and under what widely different conditions! + +At last a merciful Providence closed my eyes and I was soon transported +by the arms of Morpheus to the little lake in Central Park that I had +liked so well. I dreamed of gliding slowly over the waters of that +placid lake, and awoke to find myself being energetically kicked in the +shins by my female neighbour. There was nothing to do but indulge in +a few appropriate thoughts on this community-sleeping-apartment life, +and then I got up to wander forward, as best I could in the dark, +across the sleeping forms and take refuge on top of my case of cognac. + +We seemed to be down in a pool of vast darkness, of whose walls no +one could guess the limits. I listened to the gurgling of water at +the bow and wondered how it was possible for the man at the wheel +to guide our course without colliding with the many tree trunks that +were scattered everywhere about us. The river wound back and forth, +hardly ever running straight for more than half a mile, and the pilot +continually had to steer the boat almost to the opposite bank to keep +the trailing canoes from stranding on the sand-bars at the turns. Now +and then a lightning flash would illuminate the wild banks, proving +that we were not on the bosom of some Cimmerian lake, but following a +continuous stream that stretched far ahead, and I could get a glimpse +of the dark, doubly-mysterious forests on either hand; and now and +then a huge tree-trunk would slip swiftly and silently past us. + +The only interruption of the perfect quiet that prevailed was the +occasional outburst of roars from the throat of the howling monkey, +which I had come to know as making the night hideous in Remate de +Males. But the present environment added just the proper atmosphere +to make one think for a second that he was participating in some +phantasm of Dante's. + +There was no particular incident to record on the trip, till June +the 16th, in the night-time, when we arrived at Porto Alegre, the +glad harbour, which consisted of one hut. This hut belonged to the +proprietor of a _seringale_. I followed the captain and the clerk +ashore and, with them, was warmly received by the owner, when we had +clambered up the ladder in front of the hut. He had not heard from +civilisation for seven months, and was very glad to see people from +the outside world, especially as they were bringing a consignment of +merchandise that would enable him to commence the annual tapping of +the rubber trees. + +About a dozen _seringueiros_ and their families disembarked here and +went without ceremony to their quarters, where they had a fire going +in less than no time. + +It is the custom in this section of Brazil to make visitors welcome +in a rather complicated manner. You first place your arm around the +other man's waist, resting the palm of your hand on his back. Then +with the other hand you pat him on the shoulder, or as near that +point as you can reach. Whether it recalled my wrestling practice or +not, I do not know, but the first time I ever tried this, I nearly +succeeded in throwing down the man I was seeking to honour. + +After the proprietor had greeted each of us in this cordial way, we sat +down. A large negress made her appearance, smoking a pipe and carrying +a tray full of tiny cups, filled with the usual unsweetened jet-black +coffee. After a brief stay, during which business was discussed and +an account given of the manner of death of all the friends who had +departed this life during the season in Remate de Males, we took our +leave and were off again, in the middle of the night, amid a general +discharging of rifles and much blowing of the steam-whistle. + +The night was intensely dark, what moon there was being hidden behind +clouds most of the time, and an occasional flash of lightning would +show us that we were running very close to the shores. I decided +to go on the roof of the right-hand lighter, where I thought I +would get better air and feel more comfortable than in the close +quarters below. On the roof I found some old rags and a rubber coated +knapsack. Taking these to the stern, I lay down upon them and went +to sleep. I imagine that I must have been asleep about two hours, +when I was aroused by a crashing sound that came from the forepart +of the boat. Luckily, I had fallen asleep with my eyeglasses on, +otherwise, as I am near-sighted, I should not have been able to grasp +the situation as quickly as proved necessary. + +We were so close to the shore that the branches of a low-hanging tree +swept across the top of the lighter, and it was this branch that caused +the turmoil as the craft passed through it, causing everything to be +torn from the roof; trunks, bags, and chicken-coops, in a disordered +mass. I had received no warning and hardly had collected my senses +before this avalanche was upon me. Seizing the branches as they came, I +held on for dear life. I tried to scramble over them to the other part +of the roof, but having fallen asleep on the stern there was no chance. + +I felt myself being lifted off the boat, and as I blindly held on I +had time to wonder whether the tree would keep me out of the water, +or lower me into the waiting jaws of some late alligator. But it did +better than that for me. The branches sagged under my weight, and I +soon saw that they were going to lower me upon the trailing canoes. I +did not wait to choose any particular canoe, but, as the first one +came beneath me, I dropped off, landing directly on top of a sleeping +rubber-worker and giving him probably as bad a scare as I had had. For +the remainder of the night I considered the case of cognac, previously +referred to, a marvellously comfortable and safe place to stay. + +During the next day we made two stops, and at the second took on board +eighteen more passengers. It seemed to me that they would have to sleep +in a vertical position, since, as far as I could discover, the places +where it could be done horizontally were all occupied. At five in the +afternoon of this day, we arrived at a small rubber estate called Boa +Vista, where the owner kept cut palm-wood to be used for the launch, +besides bananas, pineapples and a small patch of cocoa-plants. The +firemen of our launch were busily engaged in carrying the wood, +when one of them suddenly threw off his load and came running down +the bank. The others scattered like frightened sheep, and only with +difficulty could be brought to explain that they had seen a snake +of a poisonous variety. We crept slowly up to the place under the +wood-pile which they had pointed out, and there about a foot of the +tail of a beautifully decorated snake was projecting. I jammed my +twenty-four-inch machete through it longitudinally, at the same time +jumping back, since it was impossible to judge accurately where the +head might come from. It emerged suddenly about where we expected, the +thin tongue working in and out with lightning speed and the reptile +evidently in a state of great rage, for which I could hardly blame +it, as its tail was pinned down and perforated with a machete. We +dispatched it with a blow on the head and on measuring it found +the length to be nearly nine feet. The interrupted loading of wood +continued without much additional excitement and we were soon on our +way again. + +That night I passed very badly. My female neighbour insisted on +using the edge of my hammock for a foot-rest, and, to add to my +general discomfort, my hammock persisted in assuming a convex shape +rather than a more conventional and convenient concave, which put me +in constant danger of being thrown headlong into the river, only a +few inches away. Finally, I took my hammock down from its fastenings +and went aft where I found a vacant canoe among those still trailing +behind. I threw my hammock in the bottom and with this for a bed +managed to fall asleep, now and then receiving a blow from some +unusually low branch which threatened to upset my floating couch. + +The next morning it was found that we had lost two canoes, +evidently torn loose during the night without anybody noticing the +accident. Luckily, I had not chosen either of these to sleep in, +nor had anyone else. I cannot help thinking what my feelings would +have been if I had found myself adrift far behind the launch. + +For several days more we continued going up the seemingly endless +river. Human habitations were far apart, the last ones we had seen +as much as eighty-five miles below. We expected soon to be in the +territory owned by Coronel da Silva, the richest rubber proprietor in +the Javary region. I found the level of this land we were passing +through to be slightly higher than any I had traversed as yet, +although even here we were passing through an entirely submerged +stretch of forest. There were high inland spaces that had already +begun to dry up, as we could see, and this was the main indication +of higher altitude than had been found lower down the river. Another +indication was that big game was more in evidence. The animals find +here a good feeding place without the necessity of migrating to +distant locations when the water begins to come through the forest. + +At a place, with the name of Nova Aurora, again consisting of one hut, +we found a quantity of skins stretched in the sunlight to dry. They +were mostly the hides of yellow jaguars, or pumas, as we call them +in the United States, and seven feet from the nose to the end of the +tail was not an unusual length. Although, as we learned, they had been +taken from the animals only a few weeks previously, they had already +been partly destroyed by the gnawing of rats. A tapir, weighing nearly +seven hundred and fifty pounds, had been shot the day before and was +being cut up for food when we arrived. We were invited to stay and +take dinner here, and I had my first opportunity of tasting roast +tapir. I found that it resembled roast beef very much, only sweeter, +and the enjoyment of this food belongs among the very few pleasant +memories I preserve of this trip. + +While they were getting dinner ready, I noticed what I took to be a +stuffed parrot on a beam in the kitchen. But when I touched its tail +I found that it was enough alive to come near snapping my finger +off. It was a very large arara parrot with two tail feathers, each +about thirty-six inches long, a magnificent specimen worthy of a place +in a museum. Parrots of this particular species are very difficult +to handle, being as stupid and malicious as they are beautiful. They +often made me think of dandies who go resplendent in fine clothes +but are less conspicuous for mental excellences. + +After having indulged in black coffee, we were invited to give the +house and the surroundings a general inspection. Directly behind the +structure was the smoking hut, or _defumador_, as it is called. Inside +this are a number of sticks inclined in pyramid form and covered with +palm-leaves. In the floor a hole was dug for the fire that serves for +coagulating the rubber-milk. Over this pit is hung a sort of frame for +guiding the heavy stick employed in the smoking of the rubber. At this +time the process had not become for me the familiar story that it was +destined to be. Beneath the hut were several unfinished paddles and a +canoe under construction. The latter are invariably of the "dugout" +type. A shape is roughly cut from a tree-trunk and then a fire is +built in the centre and kept burning in the selected places until the +trunk is well hollowed out. It is then finished off by hand. Paddles +are formed from the buttresses which radiate from the base of the +matamatá tree, forming thin but very strong spurs. They are easily +cut into the desired shape by the men and receive decorations from +the hands of the women who often produce striking colour effects. A +beautiful scarlet tint is obtained from the fruit of the urueu plant, +and the genipapa produces a deep rich-black colour. These dyes are +remarkably glossy, and they are waterproof and very stable. + +After sunset the launch was off again. Everything went quietly until +midnight, when we were awakened with great suddenness. The launch +had collided with a huge log that came floating down the stream. It +wedged itself between the side of the boat and the lighter and it +required much labour to get ourselves loose from it. After we got +free, the log tore two of the canoes from their fastenings and they +drifted off; but the loss was not discovered until the next morning, +when we were about thirty-five miles from the scene of the accident. + +Two more days passed without any incident of a more interesting +nature than was afforded by occasional stops at lonely _barracãos_ +where merchandise was unloaded and fuel for the engine taken in. We +were always most cordially received by the people and invited to take +coffee, while murmurs of "_Esta casa e a suas ordenes_"--This house +is at your disposal--followed our departure. Unlike many conventional +phrases of politeness, I do not know that the sentiment was entirely +exaggerated, It is typical of the Brazilian and is to be reckoned +with his other good qualities. They always combine a respect for +those things that are foreign, with their decided patriotism. The +hospitality the stranger receives at their hands is nothing short of +marvellous, and no greater insult can be inflicted than to offer to +pay for accommodations. I find any retrospective glance over the days +I spent among these people coloured with much pleasure when I review +incidents connected with my contact with them. There is a word in the +Portuguese language which holds a world of meaning for anyone who has +been in that land so richly bestowed with the blessings of Nature, +Brazil. It is _saudades_, a word that arouses only the sweetest and +tenderest of memories. + +There were seven more days of travel before we reached the headquarters +of Floresta, the largest rubber-estate in the Javary region. It covers +an area somewhat larger than Long Island. Coronel da Silva, the owner, +lives in what would be called an unpretentious house in any other +place but the Amazon. Here it represents the highest achievement of +architecture and modern comfort. It is built on sixteen-foot poles and +stands on the outskirts of a half-cleared space which contains also six +smaller buildings scattered around. The house had seven medium-sized +rooms, equipped with modern furniture of an inexpensive grade. There +was also an office which, considering that it was located about +2900 miles from civilisation, could be almost called up-to-date. I +remember, for instance, that a clock from New Haven had found its +way here. In charge of the office was a secretary, a Mr. da Marinha, +who was a man of considerable education and who had graduated in +the Federal capital. Several years of health-racking existence in +the swamps had made him a nervous and indolent man, upon whose face +a smile was never seen. The launch stopped here twenty-four hours, +unloading several tons of merchandise, to replenish the store-house +close to the river front. I took advantage of the wait to converse +with Coronel da Silva. He invited me cordially to stop at his house +and spend the summer watching the rubber-work and hunting the game +that these forests contained. It was finally proposed that I go with +the launch up to the Branco River, only two days' journey distant, and +that on its return I should disembark and stay as long as I wished. To +this I gladly assented. We departed in the evening bound for the Branco +River. On this trip I had my first attack of fever. I had no warning +of the approaching danger until a chill suddenly came over me on the +first day out from Floresta. I had felt a peculiar drowsiness for +several days, but had paid little attention to it as one generally +feels drowsy and tired in the oppressive heat and humidity. When to +this was added a second chill that shook me from head to foot with such +violence that I thought my last hour had come, I knew I was in for my +first experience of the dreaded Javary fever. There was nothing to do +but to take copious doses of quinine and keep still in my hammock close +to the rail of the boat. The fever soon got strong hold of me and I +alternated between shivering with cold and burning with a temperature +that reached 104 and 105 degrees. Towards midnight it abated somewhat, +but left me so nearly exhausted that I was hardly able to raise my +head to see where we were going. Our boat kept close to the bank so +as to get all possible advantage of the eddying currents. + +I was at length aroused from a feverish slumber by being flung suddenly +to the deck of the launch with a violent shock, while men and women +shouted in excitement that the craft would surely turn over. We +were careened at a dangerous angle when I awoke and in my reduced +condition it was not difficult to imagine that a capsize was to be the +result. But with a ripping, rending sound the launch suddenly righted +itself. It developed that we had had a more serious encounter with +a protruding branch than in any of the previous collisions. This one +had caught on the very upright to which my hammock was secured. The +stanchion in this case was iron and its failure to give way had caused +the boat to tilt. Finally the iron bent to an S shape and the branch +slipped off after tearing the post from its upper fastenings. It +was a narrow escape from a calamity, but the additional excitement +aggravated my fever and I went from bad to worse. Therefore it was +found advisable, when we arrived, late the next day, at the mouth of +the Branco, to put me ashore to stay in the hut of the manager of the +rubber estate, so that I might not cause the crew and the passengers +of the launch inconvenience through my sickness and perhaps ultimate +death. I was carried up to the hut and placed in a hammock where +I was given a heavy dose of quinine. I dimly remember hearing the +farewell-toot of the launch as she left for the down-river trip, and +there I was alone in a strange place among people of whose language +I understood very little. In the afternoon a young boy was placed in +a hammock next to mine, and soon after they brought in a big, heavy +Brazilian negro, whom they put on the other side. Like me they were +suffering from Javary fever and kept moaning all through the afternoon +in their pain, but all three of us were too sick to pay any attention +to each other. That night my fever abated a trifle and I could hear +the big fellow raving in delirium about snakes and lizards, which +he imagined he saw. When the sun rose at six the next morning he was +dead. The boy expired during the afternoon. + +It was torture to lie under the mosquito-net with the fever pulsing +through my veins and keeping my blood at a high temperature, but I +dared not venture out, even if I had possessed the strength to do so, +for fear of the mosquitoes and the sand-flies which buzzed outside in +legions. For several days I remained thus and then began to mend a +little. Whether it was because of the greater vitality of the white +race or because I had not absorbed a fatal dose, I do not know, +but I improved. When I felt well enough, I got up and arranged with +the rubber-estate manager to give me two Indians to paddle me and my +baggage down to Floresta. I wanted to get down there where I could +have better accommodations before I should become sick again. + + + +CHAPTER V + +FLORESTA: LIFE AMONG THE RUBBER-WORKERS + + +It was half past five in the morning when we arrived at the landing +of the Floresta estate. Since it was too early to go up to the +house I placed my trunk on the bank and sat admiring the surrounding +landscape, partly enveloped in the mist that always hangs over these +damp forests until sunrise. The sun was just beginning to colour the +eastern sky with faint warm tints. Before me was the placid surface of +the Itecoahy, which seemed as though nothing but my Indian's paddles +had disturbed it for a century. Just here the river made a wide turn +and on the sand-bar that was formed a few large freshwater turtles +could be seen moving slowly around. The banks were high and steep, +and it appeared incredible that the flood could rise so high that +it would inundate the surrounding country and stand ten or twelve +feet above the roots of the trees--a rise that represented about +sixty-seven feet in all. + +When I turned around I saw the half-cleared space in front of me +stretching over a square mile of ground. To the right was Coronel +da Silva's house, already described, and all about, the humbler +_barracãos_ or huts of the rubber-workers. In the clearing, palm-trees +and guava brush formed a fairly thick covering for the ground, but +compared with the surrounding impenetrable jungle the little open space +deserved its title of "clearing." A few cows formed a rare sight as +they wandered around nibbling at the sparse and sickly growth of grass. + +By-and-bye the sun was fully up; but even then it could not fully +disperse the mists that hung over the landscape. The birds were waking +and their calls filled the air. The amorous notes of the inamboo were +repeated and answered from far off by its mate, and the melancholy +song of the wacurão piped musically out from the vastness of the +forest. Small green paroquets flew about and filled the air with +their not altogether pleasant voices. These are the same birds that +are well-known to the residents of New York and other large cities, +where a dozen of them can often be seen in charge of an intrepid +Italian, who has them trained to pick cards out of a box for anyone +desiring his fortune told for the sum of five cents. Here they must +provide by their own efforts for their own futures, however. Even at +this hour the howling monkey had not left off disturbing the peace +with its hideous din. + +Gradually the camp woke up to the day's work. A tall pajama-clad man +spied me and was the first to come over. He was a very serious-looking +gentleman and with his full-bearded face looked not unlike the artist's +conception of the Saviour. He bade me welcome in the usual generous +terms of the Brazilians and invited me into the house, where I again +met Coronel da Silva. This first-mentioned grave-looking man was Mr. da +Marinha. The kindness with which he welcomed me was most grateful; +especially so in my present physical condition. I noticed what had +not been so apparent on my first meeting with him, that recent and +continuous ravages of fevers and spleen troubles had reduced him, +though a fairly young man, to the usual nerve-worn type that the +white man seems bound to become after any long stay in the upper +Amazon region. + +Not knowing where I might stop when I left Remate de Males, I had +brought with me a case of canned goods. I only succeeded in insulting +the Coronel when I mentioned this. He gave me his best room and +sent for a new hammock for me. Such attentions to a stranger, who +came without even a letter of introduction, are typical of Brazilian +hospitality. + +After a plentiful meal, consisting of fried fish and roast +loin of tapir, which tasted very good, we drank black coffee and +conversed as well as my limited knowledge of the Portuguese language +permitted. After this, naturally, feeling very tired from my travels +and the heat of the day, I arranged my future room, strung my hammock, +and slept until a servant announced that supper was served. This meal +consisted of jerked beef, farinha, rice, black beans, turtle soup, +and the national Goiabada marmalade. The cook, who was nothing but +a sick rubber-worker, had spoiled the principal part of the meal by +disregarding the juices of the meat, and cooking it without salt, +besides mixing the inevitable farinha with everything. But it was +a part of the custom of the country and could not be helped. _De +gustibus non est disputandum._ + +When this meal was over, I was invited to go with the secretary, +Mr. da Marinha, the man who had first greeted me in the morning, +to see a sick person. At some distance from the house was a small +barracão, where we were received by a _seringueiro_ named Marques. This +remarkable man was destined to figure prominently in experiences that +I had to undergo later. He pulled aside a large mosquito-net which +guarded the entrance of the inner room of this hut. In the hammock +we found a middle-aged woman; a native of Cearã. Her face was not +unattractive but terribly emaciated, and she was evidently very +sick. She showed us an arm bound up in rags, and the part exposed +was wasted and dark red. It was explained that three weeks before, +an accident had forced a wooden splinter into her thumb and she had +neglected the inflammation that followed. I asked her to undo the +wrappings, a thing which I should never have done, and the sight +we saw was most discouraging. The hand was swollen until it would +not have been recognised as a hand, and there was an immense lesion +extending from the palm to the middle of the forearm. The latter was in +a terrible condition, the flesh having been eaten away to the bone. It +was plainly a case of gangrene of a particularly vicious character. + +Suddenly it dawned upon me that they all took me for a doctor; and the +questions they asked as to what should be done, plainly indicated that +they looked to me for assistance. I explained that I had no knowledge +of surgery, but that in spite of this I was sure that if something +were not done immediately the woman would have little time to live. + +I asked if there was not a doctor that could be reached within a few +days' journey. We discussed sending the woman to Remate de Males by +canoe, but this idea was abandoned, for the journey even undertaken by +the most skilful paddlers could not be made in less than eighteen days, +and by that time the gangrene would surely have killed the patient. + +Coronel da Silva was called in. He said that the woman was the wife +of the chief of the _caucheros_ and that her life must be saved if +possible. I explained my own incapacity in this field once more, but +insisted that we would be justified in undertaking an amputation as +the only chance of preventing her death. + +I now found myself in a terrible position. The operation is a very +difficult one even in the hands of a skilful surgeon, and here I was +called to perform it with hardly an elementary knowledge of the science +and not even adequate instruments. At the same time, it seemed moral +cowardice to avoid it, since evidently I was the one best qualified, +and the woman would die in agony if not soon relieved. I trembled all +over when I concluded that there was no escape. We went to the room +and got the bistoury and the forceps given me by a medical friend +before I left home. Besides these, I took some corrosive sublimate, +intended for the preparation of animal skins, and some photographic +clips. The secretary, after a search produced an old and rusty hacksaw +as the only instrument the estate could furnish. This we cleaned as +carefully as possible with cloths and then immersed it in a solution +of sublimate. Before going to the patient's hut I asked the owner and +the woman's husband if they were reconciled to my attempt and would +not hold me responsible in case of her death. They answered that, +as the woman was otherwise going to die, we were entirely right +in doing whatever we could. I found the patient placidly smoking +a pipe, her injured arm over the edge of the hammock. By this time +she understood that she was to have her arm amputated by a surgical +novice. She seemed not to be greatly concerned over the matter, and +went on smoking her pipe while we made the arrangements. We placed her +on the floor and told her to lie still. We adjusted some rubber cloth +under the dead arm. Her husband and three children stood watching with +expressionless faces. Two monkeys, tied to a board in a corner were +playing and fighting together. A large parrot was making discursive +comment on the whole affair, while a little lame dog seemed to be the +most interested spectator. The secretary took the bistoury from the +bowl containing the sublimate and handed it to me with a bow. With +a piece of cotton I washed the intended spot of operation and traced +a line with a pencil on the arm. + +Imagine with what emotions I worked! After we had once started, +however, we forgot everything except the success of our operation. I +omit a description of the details, as they might prove too +gruesome. The woman fainted from shock just before we touched the +bone,--Nature thus supplying an effective, if rude, anæsthetic. We +had forgotten about sewing together the flesh, and when we came +to this a boy was dispatched to the owner's house for a package of +stout needles. These were held in the fire for a few seconds, and +then immersed when cold in the sublimate before they were used to +join the flesh. By the time it was done, I was, myself, feeling very +sick. Finally I could stand the little room of torture no longer, +and left the secretary dressing the wound. Would she recover from +the barbaric operation? This question kept coursing through my head +as I vainly tried for a long time to go to sleep. + +The next day, after an early observation of my patient, who seemed +to have recovered from the shock and thus gave at least this hope +of success, I spent my time going around to visit the homes of the +_seringueiros_. They were all as polite as their chief, and after +exchanging the salute of "Boa dia," they would invite me to climb +up the ladder and enter the hut. Here they would invariably offer +me a cup of strong coffee. There were always two or three hammocks, +of which I was given the one I liked best. The huts generally consist +of two rooms with a few biscuit-boxes as chairs, and Winchester rifles +and some fancy-painted paddles to complete the furniture. + +The following day I arose with the sun and, after some coffee, asked +a huge small-pox-scarred fellow to accompany me on my first excursion +into the real jungle. Up to this time I had only seen it from my back +porch in Remate de Males and from the deck of the launch _Carolina_, +but now I was in the heart of the forest and would indulge in jungle +trips to my heart's content. We entered through a narrow pathway called +an _estrada_, whose gateway was guarded by a splendid palm-tree, +like a Cerberus at the gates of dark Hades. The _estrada_ led us +past one hundred to one hundred and fifty rubber trees, as it wound +its way over brooks and fallen trees. Each of the producing trees +had its rough bark gashed with cuts to a height of ten to twelve +feet all around its circumference. These marks were about an inch +and a half in length. Alongside of the tree was always to be found +a stick, on the end of which were a dozen or so of small tin-cups +used in collecting the rubber-milk. Every worker has two _estradas_ +to manage, and by tapping along each one alternately he obtains the +maximum of the product. This particular _estrada_ was now deserted +as the _seringueiro_ happened to be at work on the other one under +his jurisdiction. + +It was in a sense agreeable to work there as the sun could not +penetrate the dense foliage and the air was therefore cool. After we +had walked for about an hour, my big guide complained of being tired +and of feeling unwell. I told him he could go back to the camp and +leave me to find my way alone. Accordingly he left me and I now had +the task of carrying without assistance my large 8 x 10 view-camera, +a shotgun, a revolver, and a machete. + +Gradually my ear caught a terrible sound which to the uninitiated +would have seemed like the roaring of a dozen lions in combat, but +the dreadful notes that vibrated through the forest were only those +of the howling monkey. I always had a great desire to see one of this +species in the act of performing this uncanny forest-concert, therefore +I left the rubber pathway after placing my camera on the ground, up +against a rubber tree, and commenced following the noise, cutting my +way through the underbrush. I walked and walked, but the sound seemed +to remain the same distance away, and I stopped to reconnoitre. + +I hesitated whether to proceed or not, fearing I might lose the way +and not be able to find my camera again. The monkey was not visible +at all; it fact, it was not possible to see anything, unless it was +very close by, so dense was the foliage. I laid my automatic pistol +on a fallen tree-trunk, and was trying to figure out the chances of +getting a look at my simian friend and at the same time not losing my +valuable property on the pathway, when I heard another startling sound, +this time near-by. I prepared myself for whatever species of animal was +due, and could feel the excitement a hunter knows when he thinks he is +about to get a sight of big game. Suddenly the undergrowth parted in +front of me and a herd of wild boars came trotting out. I drew a bead +on the biggest of the lot and fired, letting five soft-nose bullets go +through his head to make sure; the others fled, and I hastened to the +spot to examine my prize more closely. It was a boar of medium size, +weighing in the neighbourhood of one hundred and twenty-five pounds, +and he had a fine set of tusks. He was rather vicious-looking and +was doing considerable kicking before he gave up the ghost. It was +impossible for me to carry him through the bush owing to the fact that +I had the valuable camera and apparatus to take care of, so I made +a mental note of the spot, and cut his ears off. It took four hours' +search to find the camera, in spite of my belief that I had not gone +far, and it was late in the afternoon when I arrived at headquarters. + +The very next morning there was a good opportunity to see the smoking +of rubber-milk. A _seringueiro_ had collected his product and when +I went to the smoking-hut I found him busy turning over and over a +big stick, resting on two horizontal guides, built on both sides of +a funnel from which a dense smoke was issuing. On the middle of the +stick was a huge ball of rubber. Over this he kept pouring the milk +from a tin-basin. Gradually the substance lost its liquidity and +coagulated into a beautiful yellow-brown mass which was rubber in +its first crude shipping state. + +The funnel from which the smoke issued was about three feet high and of +a conical shape. At its base was a fire of small wooden chips, which +when burning gave forth an acrid smoke containing a large percentage +of creosote. It is this latter substance which has the coagulating +effect upon the rubber-milk. When the supply of milk was exhausted, +he lifted the ball and stick off the guides and rolled it on a smooth +plank to drive the moisture out of the newly-smoked rubber. Then he +was through for the day. He placed the stick on two forked branches +and put some green leaves over the funnel to smother the fire. On top +of the leaves he put a tin-can and a chunk of clay, then filled the +hole in the ground with ashes. Under this arrangement the fire would +keep smouldering for twenty-four hours, to be used anew for the next +repetition of the smoking process. + +In the afternoon we again went out to hunt. This time I took only a +12-gauge shotgun. As we travelled through the forest I was impressed +once more by the fascination of the grandly extravagant vegetation. + +But there is little charm about it, nothing of the tranquillity our +idyllic Catskills or even the sterner Adirondacks, create. There is no +invitation to repose, no stimulus to quiet enjoyment, for the myriad +life of the Amazon's jungle forest never rests. There is always some +sound or some movement which is bound to stir in one the instinct +of self-preservation. You have to be constantly alive to the danger +of disagreeable annoyance from the pests that abound, or of actual +bodily harm from animals of the reptilian order. + +Were I in possession of adequate descriptive power I could picture +the impression that this jungle creates upon the mind of one from the +North, but now, as I once more sit in a large city with sky-scrapers +towering about me, and hear the rattling noise of the elevated railway +train as it rushes past, my pen fails me and I have to remove myself on +the wings of thought to those remote forests, fully realising, "_Beatus +ille, qui procul negotiis, ut_" etc., etc. Then I can feel again +the silence and the gloom that pervade those immense and wonderful +woods. The few sounds of birds and animals are, generally, of a pensive +and mysterious character, and they intensify the feeling of solitude +rather than impart to it a sense of life and cheerfulness. Sometimes +in the midst of the noon-day stillness, a sudden yell or scream will +startle one, coming from some minor fruit-eating animal, set upon by a +carnivorous beast or serpent. Morning and evening, the forest resounds +with the fearful roar of the howling monkeys, and it is hard, even +for the stoutest heart, to maintain its buoyancy of spirit. The sense +of inhospitable wilderness, which the jungle inspires, is increased +tenfold by this monstrous uproar. Often in the still hours of night, +a sudden crash will be heard, as some great branch or a dead tree falls +to the ground. There are, besides, many sounds which are impossible +to account for and which the natives are as much at a loss to explain +as myself. Sometimes a strange sound is heard, like the clang of an +iron bar against a hard, hollow tree; or a piercing cry rends the +air. These are not repeated, and the succeeding stillness only tends +to heighten the unpleasant impression which they produce on the mind. + +The first thing that claimed our attention, shortly after we started, +was a sound of breaking branches and falling leaves, somewhere in +the distance. Through the trees I could perceive that it was a big +dark-grey monkey, which we had alarmed. He was scrambling up a tall +tree when I fired at him. I evidently missed, for I could see him +prepare for a mighty jump to a lower tree where he would be out of +sight. But in the jump he got another load of pellets, which struck +him in the back. His leap fell short of the mark and he landed headlong +among some bushes, kicking violently as I came up to him. As he seemed +strongly built and had a rather savage expression, it did not seem +wise to tackle him with bare hands, therefore, as I desired to get him +alive, I ran back and procured my focussing cloth, which I tied around +his head. Thus I got him safely back to the camp, where he was tied +to a board and the bullets extracted from his flesh. Then his wounds, +which were not serious, were bound up and he was put into a cage with +a bunch of bananas and a saucer of goat's milk to cheer him up a bit. + +The suddenness with which these monkey delicacies disappeared, +convinced me that his complete recovery was a matter of only a short +time, unless perchance some hungry rubber-worker, surreptitiously, +had removed these viands while nobody was looking, for bananas and +milk are things which will tempt any Amazonian from the narrow path +of rectitude; but it was not so in this case. The conviction as to +recovery proved right, and with the improvement of his health he +displayed a cheerful and fond disposition that decided me to take +him back with me to New York when I should go. I have since been +informed that he belonged to the Humboldt Sika species. I watched him +for several months and came to like him for the innocent tricks he +never tired of playing. One night he managed to liberate himself from +the tree near the hut where he was tied. He disappeared for two days, +but on the third he returned, chains and all. He had doubtless found +life in the jungle trees not altogether cheerful with a heavy chain +secured to his waist, and he had returned reconciled to captivity +and regular meals. There is at present one specimen of this kind of +monkey at the Bronx Zoölogical Gardens in charge of the head keeper. + +At the time of low water, the so-called _prayas_ appear at the bends +of the river; they grow with the accumulation of sand and mud. They are +wide and often of a considerable area, and on them the alligators like +to bask in the sunshine of early morning and late afternoon, and the +_tartarugas_, or fresh-water turtles, lay their eggs. These eggs are +laid in the months of September and October on moon-lit nights and +are somewhat smaller than the ordinary hen's egg, the yolk tasting +very much the same, but they are covered with a tough parchment-like +shell. Here on the upper Amazon the people prepare a favourite meal +by collecting these eggs and storing them for two or three weeks, +when they tear open the shell and squeeze out the yolks, mixing them +all up into a mush with the inevitable farinha. Few people, except +native Brazilians, ever acquire a relish for this remarkable dish. + +I spent a whole day waiting for the elusive alligators on one of +these sand-bars, but evidently they were too wise, for they never came +within camera-range. I did, however, see some tapir-tracks, leading +down to the water's edge. After the long wait I grew discouraged, +and chose a camping place farther up the river, where I prepared +a meal consisting of turtle eggs and river water. The meal was not +absolutely undisturbed, as the air was full of a species of fly that +derives its principal sustenance from the bodies of various dead +animals always to be found through the jungle, whose teeming life +crowds out all but those fittest to survive. + +I had begun my vigil before sunrise, when there are two or three hours +very cool and humid. In the dry season the dew which collects is of +the greatest importance to animal and plant life. For the tired and +thirsty wanderer, the calyx of the beautiful scarlet orchid, which +grows abundantly in this region, contains the refreshment of two or +three ounces of clear, cool water. But you must look carefully into +this cup of nature to see that no insects lurk in its depths to spoil +the draught. + +I have previously described the breakfast table of the millionaire +Coronel R. da Silva, with its black beans, the dreadful farinha, the +black coffee, and the handful of mutilated _bolachas_ or biscuits. The +only variable factor was the meat, sometimes wild hog, occasionally +tapir, and very often the common green parrot or the howling monkey. At +most meals the _pirarucu_ fish appears, especially on Mondays when +the rubber-workers have had the whole of Sunday in which to indulge +in the sport of shooting this gamy two-hundred-pound fish. They carry +their _pirarucu_ to headquarters and courteously offer the best cuts +to the Coronel, afterwards cutting the rest into long strips and +leaving them to dry in the sun. Jerked beef was always to be relied +upon when other supplies ran low. + +There must have been some terrible mystery connected with the +milk. There were twenty-one cows on the place, but never a drop of +milk from them was to be had. I was always afraid to ask any questions +about this deficiency for fear I might be treading on dangerous ground, +but with the lack of any other explanation I ascribe it to continual +sickness from which the cattle must probably suffer, in common with +every other living thing here. + +During the month of September, the number of patients from fever, +pleurisy, and accidents, at Floresta headquarters, amounted to 82% of +the population. A fever resembling typhoid resulted in several cases +from drinking the river-water. The Coronel claimed that Mangeroma +Indians living in the interior about 150 miles from Floresta had +poisoned the creeks and affluents of the Itecoahy to take revenge upon +the traders who brought the much dreaded Peruvian rubber-workers up +to the Itecoahy River estates. These Peruvians are hated because they +abduct the women of the indigenous tribes, when on their expeditions +far into the forests where these tribes live, and consequently they +are hunted down and their entrance to the region as far as possible +prevented. + +At this morning hour in New York (Floresta is on the same meridian +as New York), thousands of toilers are entering the hot subways and +legions of workers are filing into their offices and stuffy shops +to take their places at the huge machinery which keeps the world +in motion. At the very same hour a handful of rubber-workers are +passing my house, returning from their first trip in the _estradas_, +where they have been tapping the trees, and on their way to the huts +and a frugal breakfast. Here in the wilds of Brazil there are no +subways, no worry about the "market," nor indeed any thought for the +morrow. Nature supplies the rubber trees, and the "boss" the tools to +work them with; the philosophy of the rubber-worker goes no farther. A +shirt, trousers, and a hat are all the dress that fashion requires, +and often the worker even finds the shirt superfluous. He wears a +pair of overalls, and carries slung over his shoulder his rifle and +the little hatchet for tapping the trees, besides a small rubber bag +in which he keeps a supply of farinha and jerked beef, should he be +prevented from reaching his hut in regulation time. + +The _seringueiro_ is free in his movements and in his mind, he is a +quick and keen observer of nature, and an expert in knowledge of the +cries and calls of the animals of the forest. He knows their habits +and hiding-places to perfection, and he could probably astonish the +naturalist by informing him of many things he has observed that his +brother scientist never has heard of. He knows the names of the trees +and plants in the forest and what they can be used for, though his +knowledge of them is often supplemented by superstitious imaginings. He +knows the multitudinous fish of the Amazon, whether they are to be +caught with a net, speared, or shot with bow and arrows, or, if the +hunter is of a progressive disposition, shot with rifle ball. There are +varieties that have, as yet, not been seen, classified, or identified +by the scientist of to-day--I am positive of having seen several such. + +The inhabitant of this region is clean in his habits and in his mind as +soon as he gets away from the evil influence of civilisation--which for +him is the town of Remate de Males or "Culmination of Evils." He takes +a bath at least twice a day, and attends closely to the cleanliness of +his wardrobe, which for that matter does not absorb any considerable +amount of time. As a rule, he is industrious, but frequent attacks of +fever, dysentery, liver and spleen complaints, or pneumonia make him +in the end, like all living things here not native to the forests, +sluggish in general, and irritable on occasion. + +A little distance from the headquarters lies a beautiful lake. It is +not wider than the Itecoahy itself, four hundred feet on an average, +and is about five miles long. It runs parallel with the river, and has +only one outlet. In the dry season this amounts to nothing more than a +little rivulet across which a large fallen tree has formed a natural +bridge, but in January, when the waters rise, the creek is so full +that the servants of Coronel da Silva can wash the linen there. After +some weeks of sojourn at Floresta, I found my way to this lake, and it +was here that I was able to observe some of the largest specimens of +Amazonian reptiles in their haunts, where the equatorial sun had full +opportunity to develop an amazing growth of faunal and floral life. + +It was a most enchanting stretch of water. I had heard of the dangers +lurking beneath its surface long before I saw it, so when I arrived +there one morning I was surprised to find a placid lake, set in +picturesque and romantic surroundings. My first impulse was to exclaim, +partly to myself, and partly to the Indian João who accompanied me, +"Why, this is Lake Innocence," so peaceful did it appear. In fact, +so much did it charm me that during the remainder of my stay at +Floresta there was hardly a day some part of which I did not spend +in the immediate vicinity of this lake. But it was treacherous. It +was the home of six or seven old alligators and of young ones--too +numerous to count; the oldest reaching a length of about seventeen +feet. They would lie perfectly still under the banks, among the dead +branches and snags, which made the shores generally inaccessible to +boat or canoe, but when a person approached they would make their +presence known by violent splashing in the water and repeated loud +grunts, very much resembling those of a walrus. Then they would burrow +under the soft mud and remain quiet for an hour or two. In the early +forenoon, before the sun became too hot, they would sun themselves, +but in the sweltering mid-day hours they remained buried in the mud, +and were then very hard to rouse. + +I found, on the shores of the lake, two alligator nests, formed of many +twigs and branches stuck together, half in the water and half in the +soft slimy mud. There they deposited their eggs, oblong tough ones; +and one could always count on finding the female in the neighbourhood, +should one desire to visit her. I came near stepping on one of these +female alligators during a morning hunt with my camera. I was intently +examining a group of eggs I found under a cluster of branches, when +I was startled by a splash in the water and a loud grunt. As fast +as the muddy ground would let me, I scrambled up the bank, and when +I reached the top I saw the alligator swimming away from the very +spot where I had been standing, its small close-set eyes fastened on +me. Then it disappeared in the mud. + +My next encounter occurred one forenoon, when I was sitting close +to the dried-up canal which formed the outlet of the lake. It was +almost mid-day. I was sitting in the shade, safe from the blazing sun, +enjoying a peaceful smoke. The air was fairly vibrating with heat, +causing the blood to surge through my veins. Not a sound was heard +except the irritating buzz of the ever-present mosquitoes. For some +time I had been aware of the slow, stealthy movement of a large body +near-by, though only half consciously. The heat made me sluggish +and sleepy, but suddenly I awoke to the fact that the moving thing, +whatever it might be, was near me. Mechanically, I released the +"safety" of my automatic pistol, and then realised that out of the +reeds near me was creeping a medium-sized alligator. He was making +straight for the water, and I do not know whether he was cognisant of +my presence or not. He was moving steadily, advancing a few inches, +stopping for a minute, then resuming the journey. I believe I was +not more than five feet from the head as it emerged from the fringe +of reeds. I raised my camera, secured a focus, and snapped the +shutter. The click of the apparatus and perhaps my movement drew +his attention. He stopped abruptly. The long jaws opened toward +me, displaying an enormous expanse of pink flesh and two rows of +shining teeth. I lost not a second in throwing aside the camera and +jumping back to a position of relative safety, whence I fired into +the open mouth of the beast. I killed him. On examining the carcass, +I noticed that he had unusually large eyes, indicating that he was +a young specimen. + +A few days later I again went to this lake--which, from my remarks, had +now come to be generally called "Lago Innocencia"--to catch fish with +my Indian friend João. He carried a bow, four arrows with detachable +heads, and a harpoon six feet long. The little boat which we found +close to the outlet of the lake was pushed away from the shore, we +each seized one of the peculiarly decorated paddles, and were off, +looking for finny game. We paddled quietly along near the shore, +now and then receiving a bump from some concealed snag which nearly +upset us. It requires considerable skill to navigate one of these +poorly-made dugouts, the slightest move causing a disproportionate +amount of disturbance of equilibrium. + +Suddenly João jumped up, his black eyes glowing with excitement. He +motioned me to keep quiet, but it was quiet superfluous for him to +do this, as I was unable to talk, or even look around, for fear the +canoe might upset. He seized the harpoon, and with a powerful swing +sent it into the water ahead of us, at the same time grasping the line +which was attached to the end. The spear sank deep into the water, +and then by the vivacity with which it danced around I could tell +there was something on the end of it. As he began to pull in the line, +the struggle became so violent that I crept forward on my knees in +the bottom of the canoe and helped him recover the spear. Only after +some strenuous balancing feats and a stiff fight by both of us, did +we land our game. It was a large flat fish at least four feet square, +with a long whip-shaped tail, at the base of which were two barbed +bones each about three and a half inches in length. Our first act was +to sever this tail with a hatchet, as it was far too active to make +the fish a pleasant neighbour in close quarters. When the sting-ray, +or, as the Brazilians call it, the _araya_, was dead, I cut out the +two barbed bones and no longer wondered why these fish are so dreaded +by those who know them. João told me that they attack anyone who +ventures into the water, and with their sharp, barbed bones inflict +a wound that in most cases proves fatal, for the bones are brittle +and break off in the flesh. Superstition and carelessness are the +main factors that make the wound dangerous; the people believe too +much in an ever-present evil spirit which abides in all the vicious +and fiendish animals of the forest and swamp. Once wounded by any of +these malignant creatures, they believe there is no hope of recovery +and they hardly try to survive. Besides, lack of proper care and +treatment of a wound generally results in its terminating in a case +of septicaemia and ultimately gangrene. + +I have mentioned the _pirarucu_ several times as being the largest +edible fish of the Amazon. When full grown, it attains a weight of two +hundred and fifty pounds. In Lake Innocence we saw this remarkable +fish feeding close to the shore in shallow water, surrounded by a +school of young ones. The old one was about seven feet in length +and the others but recently hatched, from nine to ten inches. The +Indian who pointed them out to me stood up in the bow of the canoe +and, fitting one of his five-foot arrows to the bow-string, sent it +through the air and into the head of the big fellow. + +The bow which he used was of his own manufacture. It was about seven +and a half feet long, very tough and straight, and made of Caripari +wood. The shafts of the arrows were made of long straight reeds, the +stalks of a certain species of wild cane. The detachable part of the +arrow is a short but extremely hard piece of wood upon which is fitted +an iron head with two barbs. When the point pierces the flesh this hard +piece comes off, but remains attached to the shaft by a short stout +cord. This allows the shaft free play so that it will not break during +the struggles of the victim. Then there is a line attached to the head +itself so that the hunter can handle the struggling animal or fish by +means of it and of the shaft of the arrow. The whole contrivance is +a marvel of ingenuity in meeting the conditions the Amazon hunter is +called on to face. When the arrow struck this particular _pirarucu_, +at close range, he made straight for the shore, hauling the canoe +and its contents after him at considerable speed. We got tangled +among the low branches and fought the fish in considerable danger +of being overturned--and I should not at all care to be capsized on +Lake Innocence. + +Finally, we got our prize ashore. I sent the Indian to headquarters, +telling him to go, as fast as he could and bring assistance so that +we could get the fish home. I myself mounted guard over the carcass +to see that neither the turkey buzzards nor the carnivorous mammals +should destroy it. If we had left it alone for even a short time, +we would have found, on our return, little to remind us of its +existence. The Indian returned shortly with two men. They stuck a +pole through the great gills of the _pirarucu_ and in this fashion +carried it to the settlement. + +These waters contain great quantities of another and smaller fish known +as the _piranha_, scientifically termed _Serraselmus piraya_. This +is quite as much dreaded by the natives as the alligator, or even as +the shark along the coast. Its ferocity seems to know no bounds. It +will attack other fish and bite large pieces out of their fins and +tails. Although it is not much larger than the herring it can make +fatal attacks on man when in large numbers. + +Mr. C.B. Brown in his work on Guiana gives the following account of +this fish: + +The _piranhas_ in the Corentins were so abundant and were so ferocious +that at times it was dangerous to go into the water to a greater depth +than the knees. Even then small bodies of these hungry creatures would +swim in and make a dash close to our legs, and then retreat to a short +distance. They actually bit the steering paddles as they were drawn +through the water astern of the boat. A tapir which I shot as it swam +across the water had his nose bitten off by them whilst we were towing +it to the shore. The men used to catch some of them for the sport +of it, and in taking the hook from the mouth produced a wound from +which the blood ran freely. On throwing them back into the water in +this injured condition, they were immediately set upon and devoured +by their companions. Even as one was being hauled in on the line, +its comrades, seeing that it was in difficulties, attacked it at once. + +I heard about these fiends but had no opportunity to witness their +ferocity until one day, in crossing the river in a dugout, we wounded +a wild hog that had also decided to cross at the same time and at the +same place. The man with the stern paddle seized his machete as he saw +the hog swimming close by the port-side of the canoe and stabbed it in +the shoulder, intending to tow it ashore and have a luxurious dinner of +roast hog. But his dream was never realised, for the _piranhas_ which +had tasted the blood, I suppose, came in large numbers and set upon +the unfortunate hog. In a minute the water seemed to be boiling, so +great was the activity of the little demons as they tore away pieces of +the flesh until it was vanishing by inches. When we reached the other +shore there was not enough left of the hog to furnish a single meal. + +Later I learned that certain Indian tribes leave their dead in the +river for the _piranhas_ to strip the flesh from the bones. It is +then customary to take the remaining skeleton and let it dry in the +sun, after which it is rubbed with the juice of the _urucu_ plant +(the _Bixa orellana_), which produces a bright scarlet colour. Then +it is hung up in the hut and the Indians consider that a token of +great reverence has been thus bestowed on the deceased. + +Before leaving the subject of fish, I will mention another species, +smaller than the _piranha_, yet, although not as ferocious, the +cause of much dread and annoyance to the natives living near the +banks of the rivers. In fact, throughout the Amazon this little +worm-like creature, called the _kandiroo_, is so omnipresent that a +bath-house of a particular construction is necessary. The kandiroo is +usually three to four inches long and one sixteenth in thickness. It +belongs to the lampreys, and its particular group is the Myxinos or +slime-fish. Its body is coated with a peculiar mucus. It is dangerous +to human beings, because when they are taking a bath in the river +it will approach and with a swift powerful movement penetrate one of +the natural openings of the body whence it can be removed only by a +difficult and dangerous operation. + +A small but hard and pointed dorsal fin acts as a barb and prevents +the fish from being drawn back. While I was in Remate de Males the +local doctor was called upon to remove a _kandiroo_ from the urethra +of a man. The man subsequently died from the hemorrhage following +the operation. + +Largely through the danger of the attack from this scourge, though +perhaps not entirely, the natives have adopted the method of bathing +in use. A plunge into the river is unheard of, and bath-houses are +constructed so as to make this unnecessary. A hole about eighteen +inches square is cut in the middle of the floor--built immediately +above the water--through which the bather, provided with a calabash +or gourd of the bread-fruit tree, dips water up and pours it over +himself after he has first examined it carefully. The indigenous +Indians, living in the remote parts of the forest, do not use this +mode of protection, but cover the vulnerable portions of the body +carefully with strips of bark, which render complete immersion +less dangerous. + +During my walks in the forest I often came across snakes of +considerable length, but never found any difficulty in killing them, as +they were sluggish in their movements and seemed to be inoffensive. The +rubber-workers, who had no doubt had many encounters with reptiles, +told me about large _sucurujus_ or boa-constrictors, which had their +homes in the river not many miles from headquarters. They told me +that these snakes were in possession of hypnotic powers, but this, +like many other assertions, should be taken with a large grain of +salt. However, I will relate an incident which occurred while I +lived at Floresta, and in which I have absolute faith, as I had the +opportunity of talking to the persons involved in the affair. + +José Perreira. a rubber-worker, had left headquarters after having +delivered his weekly report on the rubber extracted, and was paddling +his canoe at a good rate down the stream, expecting to reach his +hut before midnight. Arriving at a recess in the banks formed by the +confluence of a small creek called Igarapé do Inferno, or the Creek +of Hell, he thought that he heard the noise of some game, probably a +deer or tapir, drinking, and he silently ran his canoe to the shore, +where he fastened it to a branch, at the same time holding his rifle +in readiness. Finally, as he saw nothing, he returned to the canoe +and continued his way down-stream. + +Hardly more than ten yards from the spot, he stopped again and +listened. He heard only the distant howling of a monkey. This he was +used to on his nightly trips. No! there was something else! He could +not say it was a sound. It was a strange something that called him back +to the bank that he had left but a few minutes before. He fastened +his canoe again to the same branch and crept up to the same place, +feeling very uneasy and uncomfortable, but seeing nothing that could +alarm him--nothing that he could draw the bead of his rifle on. Yet, +something there was! For the second time he left, without being able +to account for the mysterious force that lured him to this gloomy, +moon-lit place on the dark, treacherous bank. In setting out in the +stream again he decided to fight off the uncanny, unexplainable feeling +that had called him back, but scarcely a stone's throw from the bank +he had the same desire to return,--a desire that he had never before +experienced. He went again, and looked, and meditated over the thing +that he did not understand. + +He had not drunk _cachassa_ that day and was consequently quite sober; +he had not had fever for two weeks and was in good health physically as +well as mentally; he had never so much indulged in the dissipations of +civilisation that his nerves had been affected; he had lived all his +life in these surroundings and knew no fear of man or beast. And now, +this splendid type of manhood, free and unbound in his thoughts and +unprejudiced by superstition, broke down completely and hid his face +in his hands, sobbing like a child in a dark room afraid of ghosts. He +had been called to this spot three times without knowing the cause, and +now, the mysterious force attracting him, as a magnet does a piece of +iron, he was unable to move. Helpless as a child he awaited his fate. + +Luckily three workers from headquarters happened to pass on their +way to their homes, which lay not far above the "Creek of Hell," +and when they heard sobbing from the bank they called out. + +The hypnotised _seringueiro_ managed to state that he had three +times been forced, by some strange power, to the spot where he now +was, unable to get away, and that he was deadly frightened. The +rubber-workers, with rifles cocked, approached in their canoe, fully +prepared to meet a jaguar, but when only a few yards from their comrade +they saw directly under the root where the man was sitting the head +of a monstrous boa-constrictor, its eyes fastened on its prey. Though +it was only a few feet from him, he had been unable to see it. + +One of the men took good aim and fired, crushing the head of the snake, +and breaking the spell, but the intended victim was completely played +out and had to lie down in the bottom of the canoe, shivering as if +with ague. + +The others took pains to measure the length of the snake before +leaving. It was 79 palmas or 52 feet 8 inches. In circumference it +measured 11 palmas, corresponding to a diameter of 28 inches. Its +mouth, they said, was two palmas or sixteen inches, but how they mean +this to be understood I do not know. + +This event happened while I was living at headquarters. I had a +long talk with Perreira, but could not shake his statement, nor that +of the three others; nevertheless, I remained a sceptic as to this +alleged charming or mesmeric power of the snakes, at least so far as +man is concerned. + +At that time we were awaiting the arrival of the monthly launch from +the town of Remate de Males, and had spent a day weighing rubber +at the camp of one of the employees, half a day's journey from +headquarters. The rubber-pellets were loaded into our large canoe +to take up to Floresta. We spent the evening drinking black coffee +and eating some large, sweet pineapples, whereafter we all took a +nap lasting until midnight, when we got up to start on our night +trip. It had been considered best to travel at night, when it was +nice and cool with none of the pestering insects to torture us, and +we were soon paddling the heavy canoe at a merry rate, smoking our +pipes and singing in the still, dark night. Soon we rounded a point +where the mighty trees, covered with orchids and other parasitic +plants, sent their branches down to the very water which in its +depths was hiding the dreaded water-snakes. The only sound we heard +was the weird calling of the night-owl, the "Mother of the Moon" +as the Indians call it. Except this and the lapping sound of water, +as we sped along, nothing disturbed the tranquillity of the night. + +I was in the act of lighting another pipe when one of the men +cried out: + +"What's this?" + +We all stopped paddling and stared ahead at a large dark object, +resting on a moon-lit sand-bar not far from us. Then someone said, +"_Sucuruju_." Few people can comprehend the feeling that creeps into +one's heart when this word is pronounced, under such circumstances, +in the far-off forest, in the middle of the night. The word +means boa-constrictor, but it meant a lot more at this moment. An +indescribable feeling of awe seized me. I knew now that I was to face +the awful master of the swamps, the great silent monster of the river, +of which so much had been said, and which so few ever meet in its lair. + +Running the canoe ashore we advanced in single file. I now had a +chance to inspect the object. On a soft, muddy sand-bar, half hidden +by dead branches, I beheld a somewhat cone-shaped mass about seven +feet in height. From the base of this came the neck and head of the +snake, flat on the ground, with beady eyes staring at us as we slowly +advanced and stopped. The snake was coiled, forming an enormous pile +of round, scaly monstrosity, large enough to crush us all to death at +once. We had stopped at a distance of about fifteen feet from him, +and looked at each other. I felt as if I were spellbound, unable to +move a step farther or even to think or act on my own initiative. + +The snake still made no move, but in the clear moonlight I could +see its body expand and contract in breathing; its yellow eyes +seeming to radiate a phosphorescent light. I felt no fear, nor any +inclination to retreat, yet I was now facing a beast that few men +had ever succeeded in seeing. Thus we stood looking at each other, +scarcely moving an eyelid, while the great silent monster looked at +us. I slid my right hand down to the holster of my automatic pistol, +the 9mm. Luger, and slowly removed the safety lock, at the same time +staring into the faces of the men. In this manner I was less under +the spell of the mesmerism of the snake, and could to some extent +think and act. I wheeled around while I still held control of my +faculties, and, perceiving a slight movement of the snake's coils, +I fired point-blank at the head, letting go the entire chamber of +soft-nose bullets. Instantly the other men woke up from their trance +and in their turn fired, emptying their Winchesters into the huge +head, which by this time was raised to a great height above us, +loudly hissing in agony. + +Our wild yelling echoed through the deep forest. The snake uncoiled +itself and writhing with pain made for the water's edge. By this time +we were relieved of the terrible suspense, but we took care to keep +at a respectful distance from the struggling reptile and the powerful +lashing of its tail, which would have killed a man with one blow. + +After half an hour the struggles grew weaker, yet we hesitated to +approach even when it seemed quiet and had its head and a portion +of its body submerged in the water. We decided to stay through the +night and wait here a day, as I was very anxious to skin the snake +and take the trophy home to the States as a souvenir of a night's +adventure in this far-off jungle of the Amazon. We went up in the +bushes and lit a fire, suspended our hammocks to some tree-trunks, +and slept soundly not more than ten yards from the dying leviathan. + +We all got up before sunrise, had our coffee in haste, and ran down to +see the snake. It was dead, its head practically shot to pieces. We +set to work, stretching the huge body out on the sand-bar, and by +eight o'clock we had the entire snake flat on the ground, ready to +measure and skin. + +It was a most astonishing sight, that giant snake lying there full +length, while around it gathered six Amazon Indians and the one +solitary New Yorker, here in the woods about as far from civilisation +as it is possible to get. I proceeded to take measurements and used +the span between my thumb and little finger tips as a unit, knowing +that this was exactly eight inches. + +Beginning at the mouth of the snake, I continued to the end and found +that this unit was contained eighty-four times. Thus 84 times 8 divided +by 12 gives exactly 56 feet as the total length. In circumference, +the unit, the "palma," was contained 8 times and a fraction, around +the thickest part of the body. From this I derived the diameter 2 +feet 1 inch. + +These measurements are the result of very careful work. I went from +the tail to the nose over again so as to eliminate any error, and then +asked the men with me also to take careful measurements in their own +manner, which only confirmed the figures given above. + +Then we proceeded to skin the snake, which was no easy task under the +fierce sun now baking our backs. Great flocks of _urubus_, or vultures, +had smelled the carcass and were circling above our heads waiting +for their share of the spoils. Each man had his section to work on, +using a wooden club and his machete. The snake had been laid on its +belly and it was split open, following the spinal column throughout +its length, the ventral part being far too hard and unyielding. About +two o'clock in the afternoon we had the work finished and the carcass +was thrown into the river, where it was instantly set upon by the +vigilant _piranhas_ and alligators. + +Standing in front of this immense skin I could not withhold my elation. + +"Men," I said, "here am I on this the 29th day of July, 1910, standing +before a snake-skin the size of which is wonderful. When I return to +my people in the United States of America, and tell them that I have +seen and killed a boa-constrictor nearly eighteen metres in length, +they will laugh and call me a man with a bad tongue." + +Whereupon my friend, the chief, rose to his full height and exclaimed +in a grieved tone: "Sir, you say that your people in the north will +not believe that we have snakes like this or even larger. That is +an insult to Brazilians, yet you tell us that in your town Nova York +there are _barracãos_ that have thirty-five or even forty stories on +top of each other! How do you expect us to believe such an improbable +tale as that?" + +I was in a sad plight between two realities of such mighty proportions +that they could be disbelieved in localities far removed from each +other. + +We brought the skin to headquarters, where I prepared it with arsenical +soap and boxed it for later shipment to New York. The skin measured, +when dried, 54 feet 8 inches, with a width of 5 feet 1 inch. + +Kind reader, if you have grown weary of my accounts of the reptilian +life of the Amazon, forgive me, but such an important role does this +life play in the every-day experience of the brave rubber-workers +that the descriptions could not be omitted. A story of life in the +Amazon jungle without them would be a deficient one, indeed. + + +There is a bird in the forests, before referred to, called by the +Indians "_A mae da lua_," or the "Mother of the Moon." It is an owl and +makes its habitation in the large, dead, hollow trees in the depths +of the jungle, far away from the river front, and it will fly out of +its nest only on still, moonlit nights, to pour forth its desolate and +melancholy song. This consists of four notes uttered in a major key, +then a short pause lasting but a few seconds, followed by another +four notes in the corresponding minor key. After a little while the +last two notes in the minor key will be heard and then all is still. + +When the lonely wanderer on the river in a canoe, or sitting in his +hammock, philosophises over the perplexing questions of life, he is +assisted in his dreary analysis by the gloomy and hair-raising cry +of the mother of the moon. When the first four notes strike his ear, +he will listen, thinking that some human being in dire distress is +somewhere out in the swamps, pitifully calling for help, but in so +painful a manner that it seems as if all hope were abandoned. Still +listening, he will hear the four succeeding melancholy notes, +sounding as if the desolate sufferer were giving up the ghost in a +last desperate effort. The final two notes, following after a brief +interval, tell him that he now hears the last despairing sobs of a +condemned soul. So harrowing and depressing is this song that, once +heard, the memory of it alone will cause one's hair to stand on end +and he will be grateful when too far away to hear again this sob of +the forest. + +A surprise was in store for me one day when I visited the domicile of +a rubber-worker living at the extreme end of the estate. I expected to +find a dwelling of the ordinary appearance, raised on poles above the +ground, but instead this hut was built among the branches of a tree +some twenty feet above the level of the earth. I commenced climbing +the rickety ladder leading to the door of the hut. Half-way up a +familiar sound reached my ear. Yes, I had surely heard that sound +before, but far away from this place. When I finally entered the +habitation and had exchanged greetings with the head of the family, +I looked for the source of the sound. Turning round I saw a woman +sitting at a _sewing-machine_, working on a shirt evidently for her +husband. I examined this machine with great curiosity and found it +to be a "New Home" sewing-machine from New York. What journeys and +transfers had not this apparatus undergone before it finally settled +here in a tree-top in this far-off wilderness! + + +One afternoon while sitting in the office at headquarters discussing +Amazonian politics with Coronel da Silva, Francisco, a rubber-worker, +came up and talked for a while with the Coronel, who then turned to me +and said: "Do you want to get the skin of a black jaguar? Francisco +has just killed one on his _estrada_ while collecting rubber-milk; +he will take you down to his _barracão_, and from there he will lead +you to the spot where the jaguar lies, and there you can skin him." + +I thanked Francisco for his information and went for my machete, +having my pistol already in my belt. I joined him at the foot of +the river bank outside the main building, where he was waiting for +me in his canoe, and we paddled down-stream to his hut. On our way +(he lived about two miles below Floresta) he told me that he was +walking at a good rate on the narrow path of the _estrada_ when +he was attracted by a growling and snarling in the thicket. He +stopped and saw a black jaguar grappling with a full-grown buck in +a small opening between the trees. The jaguar had felled the buck +by jumping on its back from the branches of a tree, and, with claws +deeply imbedded in the neck, broke its spine and opened its throat, +when Francisco drew the bead on the head or neck of the jaguar and +fired. The jaguar fell, roaring with pain. Francisco was too much +in a hurry to leave the narrow path of the rubber-workers and go +to the spot where the victim was writhing in its death agonies, +but hastened on for his dinner. Remembering later that the Coronel +had offered an attractive sum of money for any large game they would +bag for my benefit, and having finished his dinner, he paddled up to +headquarters and reminded the Coronel of the promised reward. When +we came to the hut of the rubber-worker a large dog greeted us. This +dog looked like a cross between a great Dane and a Russian greyhound; +it was rather powerfully built, although with a softness of movement +that did not correspond with its great frame. Francisco whistled for +the dog to follow us. He carried his Winchester and a machete, while +I discovered that my pistol had been left unloaded when I hurried +from headquarters, so I was armed with nothing but a machete. After +walking for nearly half an hour, we slowed down a little and Francisco +looked around at the trees and said that he thought we were on the +spot where he had heard the growlings of the jaguar. It was nearing +half-past five and the sun was low so we launched ourselves into the +thicket towards the spot where the jaguar had been killed. + +We advanced rapidly; then slower and slower. The great dog at first had +been very brave, but the closer we came to the spot we were looking +for, the more timid the dog became, until it uttered a fearful yell +of fright, and with its tail between its legs slunk back. There was +nothing to do but to leave the contemptible brute alone with its fear, +so we pushed ahead. Suddenly we came to the place, but there was no +jaguar. There were plenty of evidences of the struggle. The mutilated +body of a beautiful marsh-deer was lying on the moist ground, pieces of +fur and flesh were scattered around, and the blood had even spurted on +the surrounding leaves and branches. Francisco had wounded the jaguar, +no doubt--at least he said so, but plainly he had not killed it nor +disabled it to such extent that it had remained on the spot. + +We commenced searching in the underbrush, for it was evident it could +not be far off. The bloody track could be followed for some distance; +in fact, in one place the thorny roots of the remarkable _pachiuba_ +palm-tree, the roots that the women here use for kitchen graters, +had torn off a bunch of long, beautiful hair from the sides of the +jaguar, which very likely was weak and was dragging itself to some +cluster of trees where it could be safe, or else to find a point of +vantage to fall upon its pursuers. + +We searched for some time. The forest was growing dark, and the many +noises of the night began. First came the yelping of the toucan, which +sounded like the carefree yap-yap of some clumsy little pup. Then +came the chattering of the night monkeys and the croaking of the +thousands of frogs that hide in the swamps. And still no traces of the +jaguar. Again we separated. The dog had run home utterly scared. Now +and then we would whistle so as not to lose track of each other. I +regretted that I had been so careless as to leave my ammunition +at home, as it might happen that the wounded and enraged cat would +spring at us from some dark cluster of branches, and then a machete +would hardly be an adequate weapon. + +We searched for over an hour until it was pitch dark, but, sad to +relate, we never found that jaguar. We went home silently. Francisco +did not secure the reward. + +This incident is of no particular interest as the result of the +excursion was nil and our humour consequently very bad. But it serves +to show how the mind of man will be influenced by local surroundings, +and how it adapts itself to strange customs, and how a novice may be +so greatly enthused that he will, half-armed, enter upon a reckless +hunt for a wounded jaguar. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE FATAL MARCH THROUGH THE FOREST + + +Thus I lived among these kind and hospitable people for five months +until one day my lust for further excitement broke out again, induced +by a seemingly commonplace notice posted outside the door of the +storeroom. It read: "The men--Marques, Freitas, Anisette, Magellaes, +Jerome, and Brabo--are to make themselves ready to hunt caoutchouc +in the eastern virgin forest." Puzzled as to the meaning of this, +I consulted the Chief and was informed that Coronel da Silva was +about to equip and send out a small expedition into the forests, +far beyond the explored territory, to locate new caoutchouc trees, +which were to be cut and the rubber or caoutchouc collected, whereupon +the expedition was to return to headquarters with these samples and a +report on the number of trees observed. This greatly interested me, and +I asked the Chief, Marques, whose wife I had operated upon previously, +if I could accompany him on this trip. He consented unwillingly, saying +that it was very dangerous and that the same number of men that went +out never came back. However, this was too rare a chance to let pass, +and I made my preparations to accompany the expedition on this journey +into regions where even the native _caucheros_ had never before been. + +On a Monday morning we all assembled at the Floresta headquarters, +where Coronel da Silva bade us good-bye, and at the same time once +more warned me against venturing on this trip, but I was determined +and could not be persuaded to give it up. + +The expedition consisted of the six men, above mentioned, all, except +the Chief, Marques, unmarried. After leaving the main building we +went down to the store-room where we chose the necessary articles +of food--enough to last us for three or four weeks. Our staples +were to be dried _pirarucu_, the largest fish of the Amazon, some +dried or "jerked" beef, and a large quantity of the farinha, the +eternal woody and unpalatable meal that figures on every Brazilian's +table. Besides these, we carried sugar, coffee, rice, and several +bottles of "Painkiller" from Fulton Street, N.Y. Hammocks and cooking +utensils completed our outfit. I took with me a large plate camera, +photographic plates and paper, chemicals, scales and weights; also +a magnifying glass, a primitive surgical outfit, and a hypodermic +needle with several dozen prepared "ampules." My men were armed with +the usual .44 Winchesters and some ancient muzzle-loaders, while I +had my 9mm. automatic Luger pistol. When we were fully packed, each +man carried a load weighing eighty-five pounds, strapped by means of +bark strips to the shoulders, with his rifle in his left hand and a +machete to clear the path in his right. + +Thus equipped, we left headquarters, not knowing how or when we +would see it again, while the natives fired a farewell salute, +wishing us God-speed. + +After a few hours by canoe, up the Itecoahy, we left the river and +turned our faces inland. Our way now led through dense forest, but for +four hours we travelled in a region familiar to the rubber-workers, +and we were able to follow pathways used by them in their daily work. + +Let no one think that a jungle trail is broad and easy. As I stumbled +along the tortuous, uneven path, in the sweltering mid-day heat, +pestered by legions of _piums_ or sand-flies and the omnipresent +mosquitoes, climbing, fallen trees that impeded us at every turn, +I thought that I had reached the climax of discomfort. Little could +I know that during the time to come I was to look back upon this day +as one of easy, delightful promenading. + +The four hours' march brought us to an open place, apparently a +clearing, where the _estrada_ suddenly seemed to stop. Exhausted, +I threw myself on the moist ground while the Chief explained our +position. He said that we were now at the end of the cut _estrada_ +and that beyond this we would have no path to follow, though he had +somewhat explored the region farther on the year previous, during a +similar expedition. We found that the undergrowth had been renewed +to such an extent that his old track was indistinguishable, and we +had to hew our every step. When we resumed the march I received a more +thorough understanding of what the word _jungle_ really means. Ahead of +us was one solid and apparently impenetrable wall of vegetation, but +my men attacked it systematically with their heavy machetes. Slowly +we advanced, but I wondered that we made any progress at all. The +skill of these sons of the forest in cutting a pathway with their +long knives became a constant wonder to me. Where an inexperienced +person would have lost himself, looking for a round-about easy course, +these men moved straight ahead, hewing and hacking right and left, +the play of the swift blades seemingly dissolving all obstacles in +their path. Some idea of the density of the growth can be gathered +from the fact that if a man moved off he became instantly invisible +although he might be only a yard or two away. + +Late in the afternoon we reached a small hut or _tambo_ built on +the former trip by the Chief. It was nothing but a roof on poles, +but it was a welcome sight to us as it meant rest and food. We were +tired and hungry and were glad to find a small creek close by where +we could refresh ourselves, taking care to keep out of the reach of +the alligators and water-snakes swimming close to the weeds by the +shore. For our supper we gave the dried _pirarucu_ flesh a boil and +soaked some farinha in water, eating this tasteless repast with as much +gusto as we would if it had been roast beef. Let me here recommend +this diet for any gourmet whose appetite has been impaired, and he +will soon be able to enjoy a stew of shoe-leather. One of the men, a +good-natured athlete, Jerome by name, was sent out after fresh meat, +and brought back a weird little animal resembling a fox (_cuti_). We +decided to test it as a stew, but, lacking salt, we found the dried +_pirarucu_ preferable. + +The excitement of the night was furnished by ants, which had built +a nest in the _tambo_ where we had swung our hammocks. The visitors +swarmed up poles and down ropes and would not be denied entrance. Wads +of cotton smeared with vaseline and bandaged around the fastenings of +the hammock proved no obstacle. It was impossible to sleep; mosquitoes +came to the assistance of the ants and managed to find their way +through the mosquito-net. To complete the general "cheerfulness," +the tree-tops were full of little spider-monkeys whispering mournfully +throughout the dark and showery night. + +The second day's march took us through the region which the Chief +had explored the year before, and we spent the night in another +_tambo_ built on that occasion. Our progress, however, was made with +increasing difficulty, as the land had become more hilly and broken +and the forest, if possible, more dense and wild. We were now at a +considerable distance from the river-front and in a region where the +yearly inundation could never reach. This stage of the journey remains +among the few pleasant memories of that terrible expedition, through +what I may call the gastronomic revel with which it ended. Jerome had +succeeded in bringing down with his muzzle-loader a _mutum_, a bird +which in flavour and appearance reminds one of a turkey, while I was so +lucky as to bag a nice fat deer (marsh-deer). This happened at _tambo_ +No. 2. We called each successive hut by its respective number. Here we +had a great culinary feast, so great that during the following days I +thought of this time with a sad "_ils sont passé, ces jours de fête_." + +Now, guided by the position of the sun, we held a course due west, our +ultimate destination being a far-off region where the Chief expected +to find large areas covered with fine caoutchouc trees. The ground +was hilly and interspersed with deeply cut creeks where we could see +the ugly heads of the _jararaca_ snakes pop up as if they were waiting +for us. There was only one way of crossing these creeks; this was by +felling a young tree across the stream for a bridge. A long slender +stick was then cut and one end placed at the bottom of the creek, when +each man seizing this in his right hand steadied himself over the tree +to the other side of the deep treacherous water. It required steady +nerve to walk this trunk, such as I did not possess, therefore I found +it safer to hang from the levelled bole by my hands and travel across +in that manner. _Tambo_ No. 3 we constructed ourselves, as we did every +other for the rest of the journey. We always selected a site near a +creek that we were following, and cleared away the underbrush so as to +leave an open area of about twenty-five feet square, always allowing +one tree to remain for a corner. A framework of saplings tied together +with strips of _matamata_ bark was raised for a roof, and across this +were laid gigantic leaves of the _murumuru_, twenty-five to thirty +feet long. The hammocks were then strung beneath, and we managed to +keep comparatively sheltered from the nightly rain that always occurs +in these deep forests. After the frugal meal of _pirarucu_ and dried +farinha, or of some game we had picked up during the march, we would +creep into our hammocks and smoke, while the men told hunting stories, +or sang their monotonous, unmelodious tribal songs. + +It must have been about two o'clock in the morning when I was awakened +by a terrific roaring which fairly made the forest tremble. Sitting +up and staring fearfully into the darkness, I heard the crashing +of underbrush and trees close upon us. My first thought was of a +hurricane, but in the confusion of my senses, stunned by the impact +of sound, I had few clear impressions. My companions were calling one +another. The noise grew louder, more terrifying. Suddenly the little +world around me went to smash in one mad upheaval. The roof of the +_tambo_ collapsed and fell upon us. At the same instant I felt some +huge body brush past me, hurling me sprawling to the ground. The noise +was deafening, mingled with the shrieks and excited yellings of my men, +but the object passed swiftly in the direction of the creek. + +Some one now thought of striking a light to discover the extent of +the damage. The _tambo_ was a wreck; the hammocks were one tangled +mass. Jerome, who had jumped from his hammock when he first heard +the noise, followed the "hurricane" to the creek and soon solved +the mystery of the storm that swept our little camp. He told us, +it was a jaguar, which had sprung upon the back of a large tapir +while the animal was feeding in the woods behind our _tambo_. The +tapir started for the creek in the hope of knocking the jaguar off +its back by rushing through the underbrush; not succeeding in this, +its next hope was the water in the creek. It had chosen a straight +course through our _tambo_. + +The next day we were successful in killing two howling monkeys; +these were greeted with loud yells of joy, as we had not been able +to locate any game during the last twenty-four hours' march. This is +easy to understand. We were much absorbed in cutting our way through +the bushes and the game was scared away long before we could sight it. + +After the ninth day of wearisome journeying, the Chief found signs +of numerous caoutchouc trees, indicating a rich district, and it was +accordingly decided that _tambo_ No. 9 should be our last. We were +now fully 150 miles from the Floresta headquarters and some 120 miles +back in the absolutely unknown. That night the temperature went down +to 41° Fahrenheit, a remarkable drop so close to the equator and on +such low ground, but it was undoubtedly due to the fact that the sun +never penetrates the dark foliage of the surrounding dense forests +where the swamps between the hills give off their damp exhalations. + +Up to this point I had not feared the jungle more than I would have +feared any other forest, but soon a dread commenced to take hold +of me, now that I could see how a great danger crept closer and +closer--danger of starvation and sickness. Our supplies were growing +scant when we reached _tambo_ No. 9, and yet we lingered, forgetful +of the precarious position into which we had thrust ourselves, and +the violated wilderness was preparing to take its revenge. + +I suppose our carelessness in remaining was due in part to the +exhausted state to which we had been reduced, and which made us +all rejoice in the comfort of effortless days rather than face new +exertions. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE FATAL "TAMBO NO. 9" + + +We were three weeks at _tambo_ No. 9 before the sharp tooth of +necessity began to rouse us to the precarious situation. Occasionally +a lucky shot would bring down a _mutum_ or a couple of monkeys and, +on one occasion, a female tapir. Thus feasting to repletion, we +failed to notice that the lucky strikes came at longer intervals; +that the animals were deserting our part of the forest. During these +three weeks we were not wholly idle. The Chief had the men out every +day making excursions in the neighbourhood to locate the caoutchouc +trees. As soon as a tree was found, they set to work bleeding the +base of it to let the milky sap ooze out on the ground where it would +collect in a small pool. Then they would fell the tree and cut rings +in the bark at regular intervals so that the milk could flow out. In +a few days when the milk had coagulated, forming large patches of +caoutchouc, they would return for it. The pieces were washed in the +creek and then tied into large bundles ready for transporting. + +In all they located more than 800 caoutchouc trees. At this time too I +made my remarkable discovery of gold deposits in the creek. It seems +to me now like the plot of some old morality play, for while we were +searching eagerly for the thing that we considered the ultimate goal +of human desires--wealth, the final master, Death, was closing his +net upon us day by day. Our food supply was nearly gone. + +While strolling along the shores of the creek in search of game, I +noticed irregular clumps or nodules of clay which had accumulated in +large quantities in the bed of the stream, especially where branches +and logs had caused whirlpools and eddies to form. They had the +appearance of pebbles or stones, and were so heavy in proportion to +their size that my curiosity was aroused, and throwing one of them +on the bank I split it open with my machete. My weakened heart then +commenced to beat violently, for what I saw looked like gold. + +I took the two pieces to my working table near our _tambo_, and +examining the dirty-yellow heart with my magnifying glass, I found the +following: A central mass about one cubic inch in size, containing +a quantity of yellowish grains measuring, say, one thirty-second of +an inch in diameter, slightly adhering to each other, but separating +upon pressure of the finger, and around this a thick layer of hard +clay or mud of somewhat irregular shape. It immediately struck me +that the yellow substance might be gold, though I could not account +for the presence of it in the centre of the clay-balls. + +I carefully scraped the granules out of the clay, and washing them +clean, placed them on a sheet of paper to dry in the sun. By this +time the attention of the other men had been attracted to what I was +doing, and it seemed to amuse the brave fellows immensely to watch +my painstaking efforts with the yellow stuff. I produced some fine +scales I had for weighing chemicals for my photographic work, and +suspended these above a gourd filled with water. Then I went down to +the creek and collected more of the clay-balls and scraped the mud of +one away from the solid centre of what I took to be grains of gold. A +fine thread I next wound around the gold ball and this was tied to +one end of the balance. After an equilibrium had been established, +I found that the weight of the gold was 660 grains. Next I raised +the gourd until the water reached the suspended ball, causing the +opposite pan of the scales to go down. To again establish equilibrium, +I had to add 35 grains. With this figure I divided the actual weight +of the gold, which gave me 18.9, and this I remembered was close to +the specific gravity of pure gold. + +Still a little in doubt, I broke the bulb of one of my clinical +thermometers and, placing the small quantity of mercury thus obtained +in the bottom of a tray, I threw a few of the grains into it, and +found that they immediately united, forming a dirty-grey amalgam. I +was now sure the substance was gold and in less than five hours I +collected enough to fill five photographic 5 × 7 plate-boxes, the +only empty receptacles I could lay my hands on. I could have filled a +barrel, for the creek was thick with the clay-balls as far as I could +see; but I had a continuous fever and this, with the exhaustion from +semi-starvation, caused me to be indifferent to this great wealth. In +fact, I would have gladly given all the gold in the creek for _One_ +square meal. If the difficulties in reaching this infernal region +were not so great, I have no doubt that a few men could soon make +themselves millionaires. + +The deadly fever came among us after a few days. It struck a young +man called Brabo first; the next day I fell sick with another serious +attack of swamp-fever, and we both took to our hammocks. For five +days and nights I was delirious most of the time, listening to the +mysterious noises of the forest and seeing in my dreams visions of +juicy steaks, great loaves of bread, and cups of creamy coffee. In +those five days the only food in the camp was howling monkey, +the jerked beef and the dried farinha having given out much to my +satisfaction, as I became so heartily disgusted with this unpalatable +food that I preferred to starve rather than eat it again. At first I +felt the lack of food keenly, but later the pain of hunger was dulled, +and only a warm, drugged sensation pervaded my system. Starvation +has its small mercies. + +I became almost childishly interested in small things. There was a +peculiar sound that came from the deep forest in the damp nights; +I used to call it the "voice of the forest." To close one's eyes and +listen was almost to imagine oneself near the murmuring crowd of a +large city. It was the song of numerous frogs which inhabited a creek +near our _tambo_. Then I would hear four musical notes uttered in a +major key from the tree-tops close by, soon answered by another four +in a similar pitch, and this musical and cheerful(!) conversation was +continued all night long. The men told me that this was the note of +a species of frog that lived in the trees. + +One day the jungle took the first toll from us. Young Brabo was very +low; I managed to stagger out of my hammock to give him a hypodermic +injection, but he was too far gone for it to do him any good. He +died in the early afternoon. We dug a grave with our machetes right +behind our _tambo_. No stone marks this place; only a small wooden +cross tied together with bark-strips shows where our comrade lies--a +son of the forest whom the forest claimed again. + +The arrival of Death in our camp showed us all how far we were in +the grasp of actual, threatening danger. We stood about the grave in +silence. These men, these Indians of the Amazon, were very human; +somehow, I always considered them equals and not of an inferior +race. We had worked together, eaten and slept and laughed together, +and now together we faced the mystery of Death. The tie between us +became closer; the fraternity of common flesh and blood bound us. + +The next day I arose and was able to walk around, having injected my +left arm with copious doses of quinine and arsenical acid. Borrowing +thus false strength from drugs, I was able, to some extent, to roam +around with my camera and secure photographs that I wanted to take +home with me to the States. + +I had constructed a table of stalks of the _murumuru_ palm-leaves, +and I had made a sun-dial by the aid of a compass and a stick, much to +the delight of the men, who were now able to tell the hour of the day +with precision. The next day I had another attack of fever and bled +my arm freely with the bistoury, relieving myself of about sixteen +ounces of blood. Shortly after nine o'clock in the morning I heard +a shot which I recognised as being that of Jerome's muzzle-loader; +soon afterward he made his appearance with a splendid specimen of a +jet-black jaguar, killed by a shot behind the ear. He skinned it after +first asking me if I wanted to get up and take a photograph of it, +but I was too weak to do it and had to decline. + +The Chief one day brought into camp a fine deer and a _mutum_ bird, +which relieved our hunger for a while. As we were preparing a luxurious +meal, Jerome returned with two red howling monkeys, but we had all +the meat we could take care of, and these monkeys were rejected and +thrown away. + +By this time the Chief informed us that enough caoutchouc trees had +been located to justify our return to the Floresta headquarters +with a satisfactory report--of course, excepting the death of +poor Brabo. Furthermore it was decided that owing to the lack of +provisions we should separate. He directed that the men Freitas, +Magellaes, and Anisette should take a course at a right angle to the +Itecoahy, so as to reach this river in a short time, where they were +to procure a canoe and secure assistance for the rest of us. This, +of course, was a chance, but under the circumstances every step was +a chance. The Chief himself, Jerome, and I would retrace the route +which we had lately travelled and reach Floresta that way. The evening +before our departure I did not think myself strong enough to carry +my load a single step, but the hypodermic needle, with quinine, which +had now become my constant stand-by, lent me an artificial strength, +and when the packing was done the next morning, I stood up with the +rest and strapped the load on my shoulders. + +We parted with the other three men before sunrise, with clasps of the +hand that were never to be repeated, and so turned our faces toward +the outer world. My only hope was to retain sufficient strength in +my emaciated, fever-racked body to drag myself back to Floresta, and +from there, in the course of time, get canoe or launch connection +to the frontier down the river, and then wait for the steamer that +would take me back to "God's Country," where I could eat proper food, +and rest--rest. + +The jungle no longer seemed beautiful or wonderful to me, but +horrible--a place of terror and death. + +In my drug-dazed sleep on that back-track, I started up in my hammock, +bathed in a sweat of fear from a dream; I saw myself and my companions +engulfed in a sea of poisonous green, caught by living creepers +that dragged us down and held us in a deadly octopus embrace. The +forest was something from which I fled; it was hideous, a trap, with +its impenetrable wall of vegetation, its dark shadows, and moist, +treacherous ground. + +I longed for the open; struggled for it, as the swimmer struggles up +for air to escape from the insidious sucking of the undertow. + +Starving, weak from fever, oppressed by the thought of death, but +lashed on by stimulants and the tenacity of life, I headed with my +two comrades out of the world of the unknown, toward the world of +men--to _Life_. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FOREST + + +On the second day of the return trip, we had a remarkable +experience. Probably not more than two hundred yards from the _tambo_ +where we had spent the night, we heard the noise, as we thought, of a +tapir, but nothing could surpass our astonishment when we saw a human +being. Who could it be that dared alone to disturb the solitude of +the virgin forest, and who went along in these dreary woods humming +a melody? + +It was a young Indian who approached us cautiously when Jerome spoke +in a tongue I did not understand, and evidently told him that we were +friends on the way back to our homes by the river. He was an unusually +fine specimen of a savage, well built, beautifully proportioned, and +with a flawless skin like polished bronze. His clothing was limited +to a bark girdle, and a feather head-dress not unlike that worn by +some North American Indians. + +He was armed with bow and arrows and a blow-gun; and he had a small +rubber pouch filled with a brownish substance, the remarkable wourahli +poison. He explained to Jerome that his tribe lived in their _maloca_, +or tribal house, about 24 hours' march from this place, and that he +had been chasing a tapir all day, but had lost its track, and was now +returning to his home. He pointed in a north-western direction with +his blow-gun, signifying thereby the general route he was going to +follow in order to reach his destination. We sat down on the ground +and looked at each other for quite a while, and thus I had my first +chance of studying a blow-gun and the poisoned arrows, outside a +museum, and in a place where it was part of a man's life. At the time +I did not know that I was to have a little later a more thorough +opportunity of examining this weapon. I asked the Indian, Jerome +acting as interpreter, to demonstrate the use of the gun, to which he +consented with a grin. We soon heard the chattering of monkeys in the +tree-tops, and deftly inserting one of the thin poisoned arrows in the +ten-foot tube he pointed the weapon at a swiftly moving body among the +branches, and filling his lungs with air, let go. With a slight noise, +hardly perceptible, the arrow flew out and pierced the left thigh of a +little monkey. Quick as lightning he inserted another arrow and caught +one of the other monkeys as it was taking a tremendous leap through +the air to a lower branch. The arrow struck this one in the shoulder, +but it was a glancing shot and the shaft dropped to the ground. In the +meantime the Indian ran after the first monkey and carried it up to +me. It seemed fast asleep, suffering no agony whatever; and after five +or six minutes its heart ceased beating. The other monkey landed on the +branch it was aiming for in its leap, but after a short while it seemed +uneasy and sniffed at everything. Finally, its hold on the branch +relaxed, it dropped to the ground and was dead in a few minutes. It +was a marvellous thing to behold these animals wounded but slightly, +the last one only scratched, and yet dying after a few minutes as if +they were falling asleep. It was then explained to me that the meat +was still good to eat and that the presence of poison would not affect +the consumer's stomach in the least; in fact, most of the game these +Indians get is procured in this manner. I was lucky enough to secure +a snap-shot of this man in the act of using his blow-gun. It proved +to be the last photograph I took in the Brazilian jungles. Accidents +and sickness subsequently set in, and the fight for life became too +hard and all-absorbing even to think of photographing. He left us +after an hour's conversation, and we resumed our journey homewards. + +We had a slight advantage in retracing our former path. Although the +reedy undergrowth had already choked it, we were travelling over +ground that we knew, and it was also no longer necessary to delay +for the building of _tambos_; we used the old ones again. + +Jerome had complained for some time of a numbness in his fingers +and toes, and also of an increasing weakness of the heart that +made every step a torment. The Chief and I tried our best to cheer +him up, although I felt certain that the brave fellow himself knew +what dreadful disease had laid its spell upon him. However, we kept +on walking without any words that might tend to lower our already +depressed spirits. + +But our march was no longer the animated travel it had been on the +way out; we talked like automatons rather than like human, thinking +beings. Suffering, hunger, and drugs had dulled our senses. Only the +will to escape somehow, the instinct of self-preservation, was fully +awake in us. A sweep of the machete to cut a barrier bushrope or +climber, one foot placed before the other, meant that much nearer to +home and safety. Such was now the simple operation of our stupefied +and tired brains, brains that could not hold one complex thought to +its end; too tired--tired! + +At nightfall we stumbled into our old _tambo_ No. 7. There was no +thought of securing food, no possibility of getting any; we had +been too tired to even attempt to shoot game during the day. The two +monkeys which the Indian had killed with his blow-gun were the only +food we had and these we now broiled over the camp-fire and devoured +fiercely. After this meal, none too good, we slung our hammocks with +difficulty and dropped in. Jerome's numbness increased during the +night. We were up and on the trail again with the dawn. + +In the afternoon we descended a hill to find ourselves confronted by +a swamp of unusual extent. The Chief was in the lead as we crossed the +swamp and we lost him from our sight for a few minutes. While crossing +this wide, slimy-bottomed place, I noticed a peculiar movement in the +water near me, and soon made out the slender bodies of swamp-snakes +as they whipped past among the branches and reeds. These snakes are +called by the Brazilians _jararacas_ and are very poisonous; however, +I had no fear for myself as I wore heavy buffalo-hide boots, but the +men walked barefooted, and were in great danger. I cried out a warning +to Jerome, who took care to thrash about him. We supposed that we had +passed this snake-hole without mishap when we rejoined the Chief on +"terra firma." He was leaning over, as we approached him, and he +turned a face to us that was stricken with fear. He pointed to the +instep of his right foot and there on the skin were two tiny spots, +marked by the fangs of the snake. Without a word we sank to the +ground beside him in despair. The unfortunate man, with dilated eyes +fixed upon the ground, crouched waiting for the coming of the pain +that would indicate that the poison was working its deadly course, +and that the end was near if something was not done immediately. + +Losing no more time, I cried to Jerome to pour out some gunpowder +while I sucked the wound. While doing this I fumbled in the spacious +pockets of my khaki hunting-coat and secured the bistoury with which +I made a deep incision in the flesh over the wound, causing the blood +to flow freely. In the meantime, Jerome had filled a measure with +black powder and this was now emptied into the bleeding wound and a +burning match applied at once. The object of this was to cauterise the +wound, a method that has been used with success in the outskirts of +the world where poisonous reptiles abound and where proper antidotes +cannot be had. + +The Chief stood the ordeal without a murmur, never flinching even at +the explosion of the gunpowder. Jerome and I made him as comfortable +as possible, and sat sadly by his side watching him suffer and die +by inches. + +It is no easy thing to see a man meet death, but under these +circumstances it was particularly distressing. The Chief had been a man +of a strong constitution particularly adapted to the health-racking +work of a rubber-hunter. He it was who with his forest-wisdom had +planned all our moves, and had mapped our course through the blind +forest, where a man could be lost as easily as on the open sea. He had +proved himself a good leader, save for the fatal mistake in delaying +our return, over-anxious as he was to render his employer, Coronel +da Silva, full and faithful service. He was extremely capable, kind, +and human, and a good friend to us all. + +We had looked to him for advice in all our needs. He knew the language +of the wild beasts of the forest, he knew a way out of everything, +and at home he was a most devoted father. Now, this splendid fellow, +the sole reliance, in this vast and intricate maze, of Jerome and +myself, succumbed before our eyes to one of the dangers of the +merciless wilderness. He was beyond all hope. Nothing in our power +could to any extent add to the prolongation of his life which slowly +ebbed away. About four o'clock in the afternoon his respirations grew +difficult, and a few moments later he drew his last painful breath. He +died three hours after being bitten by the _jararaca_. For the second +time during that ill-fated journey I went to work digging a grave +with my machete, Jerome lending me whatever assistance he could in +his enfeebled state. My own condition was such that I had to rest +and recover my breath with every few stabs of the machete. + +We completed that day's journey late in the afternoon, arriving +at _tambo_ No. 6 after taking almost an hour for the last half +mile. Jerome could now scarcely stand without my assistance. There was +no longer any attempt to disguise the nature of his sickness. He had +_beri-beri_, and that meant in our situation not the slightest chance +of recovery. Even with the best of care and nursing his case would +be hopeless, for in these regions the disease is absolutely fatal. + +We built a fire and managed to get our hammocks fastened in some +fashion, but there was not a scrap of food to be had. The heart-leaves +from a young palm were chewed in a mood of hopeless desperation. + +The next morning it was a task of several minutes for me to get out of +the hammock and on my feet. Jerome made several painful efforts and, +finally, solved his problem by dropping to the ground. He could not +rise until I came to his assistance. Then we two tottering wrecks +attempted to carry our heavy loads, but Jerome could not make it; +he cast from him everything he owned, even the smallest personal +belongings so dear to his simple, pure soul. It was heartrending +to see this young man, who in health would have been able to handle +three or four of his own size, now reduced to such a pitiful state. + +And in my own case, the fever which I had fought off by constant use +of the hypodermic needle, now swept over me with renewed violence. The +drug did not have the same effect as when I was new to the ravages +of the fever. + +At this point my recollections became almost inextricably confused. I +know that at times I raved wildly as I staggered on, for occasionally +I came to myself with strange phrases on my lips addressed to no one +in particular. When these lucid moments brought coherent thought, +it was the jungle, the endless, all-embracing, fearful jungle, that +overwhelmed my mind. No shipwrecked mariner driven to madness by long +tossing on a raft at sea ever conceived such hatred and horror of his +surroundings as that which now came upon me for the fresh, perpetual, +monotonous green of the interminable forest. + +About noon the weight on my back became unbearable and I resolved to +sacrifice my precious cargo. I threw away my camera, my unexposed +plates, all utensils, and four of the boxes of gold dust. This +left me with one box of gold, a few boxes of exposed plates (which +I eventually succeeded in carrying all the way back to New York), +and fifty-six bullets, the automatic revolver, and the machete. Last, +but not least, I kept the hypodermic needle and a few more ampules. + +We had walked scarcely a quarter of a mile when Jerome collapsed. The +poor fellow declared that he was beaten; it was no use to fight any +more; he begged me to hurry the inevitable and send a bullet through +his brain. The prospect of another visitation of Death aroused me +from my stupor. I got him to a dry spot and found some dry leaves and +branches with which I started a fire. Jerome was beyond recognising +me. He lay by the fire, drawing long, wheezing breaths, and his face +was horribly distorted, like that of a man in a violent fit. He +babbled incessantly to himself and occasionally stared at me and +broke out into shrill, dreadful laughter, that made my flesh creep. + +All this overwhelmed me and sapped the little energy I had left. I +threw myself on the ground some little distance from the fire, not +caring if I ever rose again. + +How long it was before a penetrating, weird cry aroused me from this +stupor, I do not know, but when I raised my head I saw that the forest +was growing dark and the fire burning low. I saw too that Jerome was +trying to get on his feet, his eyes bulging from their sockets, his +face crimson in colour. He was on one knee, when the thread of life +snapped, and he fell headlong into the fire. I saw this as through +a hazy veil and almost instantly my senses left me again. + +I have no clear knowledge of what happened after this. Throughout the +rest of the night, my madness mercifully left me insensible to the +full appreciation of the situation and my future prospects. It was +night again before I was able to arouse myself from my collapse. The +fire was out, the forest dark and still, except for the weird cry of +the owl, the uncanny "Mother of the Moon." Poor Jerome lay quiet among +the embers. I did not have the courage, even if I had had the strength, +to pull the body away, for there could be nothing left of his face +by now. I looked at him once more, shuddering, and because I could +not walk, I crept on all fours through the brush, without any object +in mind,--just kept moving--just crept on like a sick, worthless dog. + +One definite incident of the night I remember quite distinctly. It +occurred during one of those moments when my senses returned for a +while; when I could realise where I was and how I got there. I was +crawling through the thicket making small, miserable progress, my +insensible face and hands torn and scratched by spines and thorns +which I did not heed, when something bumped against my thigh; I +clutched at it and my hand closed around the butt of my automatic +pistol. The weapon came out of its holster unconsciously, but as I felt +my finger rest in the curve of the trigger, I knew that some numbed +and exhausted corner of my brain had prompted me to do this thing; +indeed, as I weighed the matter with what coolness I could bring to +bear, it did not seem particularly wicked. With the pistol in my hand +and with the safety released, I believed that the rest would have been +easy and even pleasant. What did I have in my favour? What prospect +did I have of escaping the jungle? None whatever--none! + +There was no shadow of hope for me, and I had long ago given up +believing in miracles. For eight days I had scarcely had a mouthful to +eat, excepting the broiled monkey at _tambo_ No. 7, shot by the young +Indian. The fever had me completely in its grasp. I was left alone +more than one hundred miles from human beings in absolute wilderness. I +measured cynically the tenaciousness of life, measured the thread that +yet held me among the number of the living, and I realised now what the +fight between life and death meant to a man brought to bay. I had not +the slightest doubt in my mind that this was the last of me. Surely, +no man could have been brought lower or to greater extremity and live; +no man ever faced a more hopeless proposition. Yet I could or would +not yield, but put the pistol back where it belonged. + +All night long I crawled on and on and ever on, through the underbrush, +with no sense of direction whatever, and still I am sure that I did +not crawl in a circle but that I covered a considerable distance. For +hours I moved along at the absolute mercy of any beast of the forest +that might meet me. + +The damp chill of the approaching morning usual in these regions came +to me with a cooling touch and restored once more to some extent my +sanity. My clothes were almost stripped from my body, and smeared with +mud, my hands and face were torn and my knees were a mass of bruises. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +AMONG THE CANNIBAL MANGEROMAS + + +I have a vague recollection of hearing the barking of dogs, of +changing my crawling direction to head for the sound, and then, +suddenly, seeing in front of me a sight which had the same effect as +a rescuing steamer on the shipwrecked. + +To my confused vision it seemed that I saw many men and women and +children, and a large, round house; I saw parrots fly across the +open space in brilliant, flashing plumage and heard their shrill +screaming. I cried aloud and fell forward when a little curly-haired +dog jumped up and commenced licking my face, and then I knew no more. + +When I came to I was lying in a comfortable hammock in a large, dark +room. I heard the murmur of many voices and presently a man came over +and looked at me. I did not understand where I was, but thought that +I, finally, had gone mad. I fell asleep again. The next time I woke +up I saw an old woman leaning over me and holding in her hand a gourd +containing some chicken-broth which I swallowed slowly, not feeling +the cravings of hunger, in fact not knowing whether I was dead or +alive. The old woman had a peculiar piece of wood through her lip +and looked very unreal to me, and I soon fell asleep again. + +On the fifth day, so I learned later, I began to feel my senses +return, my fever commenced to abate, and I was able to grasp the +fact that I had crawled into the _maloca_, or communal village, +of the Mangeromas. I was as weak as a kitten, and, indeed, it has +been a marvel to me ever since that I succeeded at all in coming +out of the Shadow. The savages, by tender care, with strengthening +drinks prepared in their own primitive method, wrought the miracle, +and returned to life a man who was as near death as any one could be, +and not complete the transition. They fed me at regular intervals, +thus checking my sickness, and when I could make out their meaning, +I understood that I could stay with them as long as I desired. + +Luckily I had kept my spectacles on my nose (they were the kind that +fasten back of the ears) during the previous hardships, and I found +these sticking in their position when I awoke. My khaki coat was on the +ground under my hammock, and the first thing was to ascertain if the +precious contents of its large pockets had been disturbed, but I found +everything safe. The exposed plates were there in their closed boxes, +the gold dust was also there and mocked me with its yellow glare, +and my hypodermic outfit was intact and was used without delay, much +to the astonishment of some of the men, standing around my hammock. + +When my head was clear and strong enough to raise, I turned and began +my first visual exploration of my immediate surroundings. The big room +I found to be a colossal house, forty feet high and one hundred and +fifty feet in diameter, thatched with palm-leaves and with sides formed +of the stems of the _pachiuba_ tree. It was the communal residence of +this entire tribe, consisting, as I learned later, of two hundred and +fifty-eight souls. A single door and a circular opening in the roof +were the only apertures of this enormous structure. The door was very +low, not more than four feet, so that it was necessary to creep on +one's knees to enter the place, and this opening was closed at night, +that is to say, about six o'clock, by a sliding door which fitted so +snugly that I never noticed any mosquitoes or _piums_ in the dark, +cool room. + +The next day I could get out of my hammock, though I could not +stand or walk without the aid of two women, who took me over to a +man I later found to be the chief of the tribe. He was well-fed, +and by his elaborate dress was distinguished from the rest of the +men. He had a very pleasant, good-natured smile, and almost constantly +displayed a row of white, sharp-filed teeth. This smile gave me some +confidence, but I very well knew that I was now living among cannibal +Indians, whose reputation in this part of the Amazon is anything but +flattering. I prepared for the new ordeal without any special fear--my +feelings seemed by this time to have been pretty well exhausted and +any appreciation of actual danger was considerably reduced as a result +of the gamut of the terrors which I had run. + +I addressed the Chief in the Portuguese language, which I had learned +during my stay at Floresta headquarters, and also in Spanish but he +only shook his head; all my efforts were useless. He let me know +in a friendly manner that my hammock was to be my resting-place +and that I would not be molested. His tribe was one that occupied +an almost unknown region and had no connection with white men or +Brazilians or people near the river. I tried in the course of the +mimical conversation to make him understand that, with six companions +from a big Chief's _maloca_ (meaning Coronel da Silva and the Floresta +headquarters), I had penetrated into the woods near this mighty Chief's +_maloca_,--here I pointed at the Chief--that the men had died from +fever and I was left alone and that luckily, I had found my way to +the free men of the forest (here I made a sweeping movement with my +hands). He nodded and the audience was over. I was led back to my +hammock to dream and eat, and dream again. + +Although the Chief and his men presented an appearance wholly unknown +to me, yet it did not seem to distract me at the first glance, but +as my faculties slowly returned to their former activity, I looked +at them and found them very strange figures, indeed. Every man had +two feathers inserted in the cartilage of his nose; at some distance +it appeared as if they wore moustaches. Besides this, the Chief had +a sort of feather-dress reaching half way down to his knees; this +was simply a quantity of _mutum_ feathers tied together as a girdle +by means of plant-fibres. The women wore no clothing whatever, their +only ornamentation being the oval wooden piece in the lower lip and +fancifully arranged designs on face, arms, and body. The colours which +they preferred were scarlet and black, and they procured these dyes +from two plants that grew in the forest near by. They would squeeze +the pulp of the fruits and apply the rich-coloured juice with their +fingers, forming one scarlet ring around each eye, outside of this a +black and larger ring, and, finally, two scarlet bands reaching from +the temples to the chin. + +There were probably sixty-five families in this communal hut, +all having their little households scattered throughout the place +without any separating partitions whatever. The many poles which +supported the roof formed the only way of distinguishing the individual +households. The men strung their hammocks between the poles in such a +way that they formed a triangle, and in the middle of this a fire was +always going. Here the women were doing the cooking of game that the +men brought in at all times of the day. The men slept in the hammocks, +while the women were treated less cavalierly; they slept with their +children on the ground under the hammocks around the little family +triangle. As a rule they had woven mats made of grass-fibre and +coloured with the juices of the _urucu_ plant and the _genipapa_, +but in many instances they had skins of jaguars, and, which was more +frequent, the furs of the three-toed sloths. These were placed around +the family fire, directly under the hammocks occupied by the men. In +these hammocks the men did most of the repair work on their bows and +arrows when necessary, here they fitted the arrow heads to the shafts, +in fact, they spent all their time in them when not actually hunting +in the forests. + +The hospitality of my friends proved unbounded. The Chief appointed +two young girls to care for me, and though they were not startling +from any point of view, especially when remembering their labial +ornaments and their early developed abdominal hypertrophies, they were +as kind as any one could have been, watching me when I tried to walk +and supporting me when I became too weak. There was a certain broth +they prepared, which was delicious, but there were others which were +nauseating and which I had to force myself to eat. I soon learned +that it was impolite to refuse any dish that was put in front of me, +no matter how repugnant. One day the Chief ordered me to come over to +his family triangle and have dinner with him. The meal consisted of +some very tender fried fish which were really delicious; then followed +three broiled parrots with fried bananas which were equally good; +but then came a soup which I could not swallow. The first mouthful +almost choked me,--the meat which was one of the ingredients tasted +and smelled as if it had been kept for weeks, the herbs which were +used were so bitter and gave out such a rank odour that my mouth +puckered and the muscles of my throat refused to swallow. The Chief +looked at me and frowned, and then I remembered the forest from which +I had lately arrived and the starvation and the terrors; I closed my +eyes and swallowed the dish, seeking what mental relief I could find +in the so-called auto-suggestion. + +But I had the greatest respect for the impulsive, unreasoning nature +of these sons of the forest. Easily insulted, they are well-nigh +implacable. This incident shows upon what a slender thread my life +hung. The friends of one moment might become vindictive foes of +the next. + +Besides the head-Chief there were two sub-Chiefs, so that in case of +sickness or death there would be always one regent. They were plainly +distinguished by their dress, which consisted mainly of fancifully +arranged feather belts of _arara_, _mutum_, and trumpeter plumes +covering the shoulders and abdomen. These articles of dress were made +by young women of the tribe: women who wanted to become favourites of +the Chief and sub-Chiefs. They often worked for months on a feather +dress and when finished presented it to the particular Chief whose +favour they desired. + +The Chiefs had several wives, but the tribesmen were never allowed to +take more than one. Whenever a particularly pretty girl desired to +join the household of the Great Chief or of a sub-Chief, she set to +work and for months and months she made necklaces of alligator teeth, +peccary teeth, and finely carved ivory nuts and coloured pieces of +wood. She also would weave some elaborate hammock and fringe this +with the bushy tails of the squirrels and the forest-cats, and when +these articles were done, she would present them to the Chief, who, +in return for these favours, would bestow upon her the great honour +of accepting her as a wife. + +There seemed to be few maladies among these people; in fact, during +the five weeks I spent with them, I never saw a case of fever nor of +anything else. When a person died the body was carried far into the +woods, where a fire was built, and it was cremated. The party would +then leave in a hurry and never return to the same spot; they were +afraid of the Spirit of the Dead. They told me that they could hear +the Spirit far off in the forests at night when the moon was shining. + +The men were good hunters and were experts in the use of bow and arrow +and also the blow-gun, and never failed to bring home a fresh supply +of game for the village. This supply was always divided equally, +so that no one should receive more than he needed for the day. At +first glance the men might appear lazy, but why should they hurry +and worry when they have no landlord, and no grocer's bills to pay; +in fact, the value of money is entirely unknown to them. + +I was allowed to walk around as I pleased, everybody showing me a +kindness for which I shall ever gratefully remember these "savages." I +frequently spent my forenoons on a tree trunk outside the _maloca_ +with the Chief, who took a particular interest in my welfare. We +would sit for hours and talk, he sometimes pointing at an object +and giving its Indian name, which I would repeat until I got the +right pronunciation. Thus, gradually instructed, and by watching +the men and women as they came and went, day after day, I was able +to understand some of their language and learned to answer questions +fairly well. They never laughed at my mistakes, but repeated a word +until I had it right. + +The word of the Chief was law and no one dared appeal from the +decisions of this man. In fact, there would have been nobody to appeal +to, for the natives believed him vested with mysterious power which +made him the ruler of men. I once had occasion to see him use the +power which had been given him. + +I had accompanied two young Indians, one of whom was the man we had +met in the forest on our return trip not far from that fatal _tambo_ +No. 3. His name, at least as it sounded to me, was Reré. They carried +bows and arrows and I my automatic pistol, although I had no great +intention of using it. What little ammunition I had left I desired to +keep for an emergency and, besides, I reasoned that I might, at some +future time, be able to use the power and noise of the weapon to good +advantage if I kept the Indians ignorant of them for the present. + +We had scarcely gone a mile, when we discovered on the opposite +side of a creek, about one hundred and fifty yards away, a wild hog +rooting for food. We were on a slight elevation ourselves and under +cover of the brush, while the hog was exposed to view on the next +knoll. Almost simultaneously my companions fitted arrows to their +bow-strings. Instead of shooting point blank, manipulating the bows +with their hands and arms, they placed their great and second toes +on the cords on the ground, and with their left arms gave the proper +tension and inclination to the bows which were at least eight feet +long. With a whirr the poisoned arrows shot forth and, while the +cords still twanged, sailed gracefully through the air, describing +a hyperbola, fell with a speed that made them almost invisible, and +plunged into the animal on each side of his neck a little back from +the base of the brain. + +The hog dropped in his tracks, and I doubt if he could have lived +even though the arrows had not been poisoned. Tying his feet together +with plant-fibres we slung the body over a heavy pole and carried it +to the _maloca_. All the way the two fellows disputed as to who was +the owner of the hog, and from time to time they put the carcass on +the ground to gesticulate and argue. I thought they would come to +blows. When they appealed to me I declared that the arrows had sped +so rapidly that my eyes could not follow them and therefore could +not tell which arrow had found its mark first. + +A few yards from the house my friends fell to arguing again, and a +crowd collected about them, cheering first the one then the other. My +suggestion that the game be divided was rejected as showing very +poor judgment. Finally, the dispute grew to such proportions that the +Chief sent a messenger to learn the cause of the trouble and report +it to him. + +The emissary retired and the crowd immediately began to disperse and +the combatants quieted. The messenger soon returned saying that the +Great Chief would judge the case and ordered the men to enter the +_maloca_. With some difficulty the hog was dragged through the door +opening and all the inhabitants crawled in after. The Chief was decked +out in a new and splendid feather dress, his face had received a fresh +coat of paint (in fact, the shells of the _urucu_ plant with which he +coloured his face and body scarlet were still lying under his hammock), +and his nose was supplied with a new set of _mutum_ feathers. He was +sitting in his hammock which was made of fine, braided, multi-coloured +grass-fibres and was fringed with numerous squirrel tails. The whole +picture was one which impressed me as being weirdly fantastic and +extremely picturesque, the reddish, flickering light from the fires +adding a mystic colour to the scene. On the opposite side of the fire +from where the Chief was sitting lay the body of the hog, and at each +end of the carcass stood the two hunters, straight as saplings, gazing +stolidly ahead. In a semi-circle, facing the Chief and surrounding the +disputants, was the tribe, squatting on the ground. The Chief motioned +to me to seat myself on the ground alongside of the hammock where he +was sitting. The men told their story, now and then looking to me for +an affirmative nod of the head. After having listened to the argument +of the hunters for a considerable time without uttering a syllable, and +regarding the crowd with a steady, unblinking expression, with a trace +of a satirical smile around the corners of his mouth, which suited him +admirably, the Chief finally spoke. He said, "The hog is mine.--Go!" + +The matter was ended with this wise judgment, and there seemed to be +no disposition to grumble or re-appeal to the great authority. + +My life among the Mangeromas was, for the greater part, free from +adventure, at least as compared with former experiences, and yet I was +more than once within an inch of meeting death. In fact, I think that +I looked more squarely in the eyes of death in that peaceful little +community than ever I did out in the wilds of the jungle or in my most +perilous adventures. The creek that ran near the _maloca_ supplied +the Indians with what water they needed for drinking purposes. Besides +this the creek gave them an abundant supply of fish, a dish that made +its appearance at every meal. Whatever washing was to be done--the +natives took a bath at least twice a day--was done at some distance +down the creek so as not to spoil the water for drinking and culinary +purposes. Whenever I was thirsty I was in the habit of stooping down +at the water's edge to scoop the fluid up in my curved hands. One +morning I had been tramping through the jungle with two companions +who were in search of game, and I was very tired and hot when we +came to a little stream which I took to be the same that ran past the +_maloca_. My friends were at a short distance from me, beating their +way through the underbrush, when I stooped to quench my thirst. The +cool water looked to me like the very Elixir of Life. At that moment, +literally speaking, I was only two inches from death. Hearing a sharp +cry behind me I turned slightly to feel a rough hand upon my shoulders +and found myself flung backwards on the ground. + +"Poison," was the reply to my angry question. Then my friend explained, +and as he talked my knees wobbled and I turned pale. It seems that +the Mangeromas often poison the streams below the drinking places +in order to get rid of their enemies. In the present case there +had been a rumour that a party of Peruvian rubber-workers might be +coming up the creek, and this is always a signal of trouble among +these Indians. Although you cannot induce a Brazilian to go into the +Indian settlements or _malocas_, the Peruvians are more than willing +to go there, because of the chance of abducting girls. To accomplish +this, a few Peruvians sneak close to the _maloca_ at night, force the +door, which is always bolted to keep out the Evil Spirit, but which +without difficulty can be cut open, and fire a volley of shots into +the hut. The Indians sleep with the blow-guns and arrows suspended +from the rafters, and before they can collect their sleepy senses +and procure the weapons the Peruvians, in the general confusion, +have carried off some of the girls. The Mangeromas, therefore, hate +the Peruvians and will go to any extreme to compass their death. The +poisoning of the rivers is effected by the root of a plant that is +found throughout the Amazon valley; the plant belongs to the genus +_Lonchocarpus_ and bears a small cluster of bluish blossoms which +produce a pod about two inches in length. It is only the yellow roots +that are used for poisoning the water. This is done by crushing the +roots and throwing the pulp into the stream, when all animal life +will be killed or driven away. + +It seems strange that during my stay among the Mangeromas, who were +heathens and even cannibals, I saw no signs of idolatry. They believed +implicitly in a good and an evil spirit. The good spirit was too good +to do them any harm and consequently they did not bother with him; +but the evil spirit was more active and could be heard in the dark +nights, howling and wailing far off in the forest as he searched for +lonely wanderers, whom he was said to devour. + +Thinking to amuse some of my friends, I one day kindled a flame by +means of my magnifying glass and a few dry twigs. A group of ten or +twelve Indians had gathered squatting in a circle about me, to see +the wonder that I was to exhibit, but at the sight of smoke followed +by flame they were badly scared and ran for the house, where they +called the Chief. He arrived on the scene with his usual smile. + +He asked me to show him what I had done. I applied the focussed rays +of the sun to some more dry leaves and twigs and, finally, the flames +broke out again. The Chief was delighted and begged me to make him a +present of the magnifier. As I did not dare to refuse, I showed him +how to use it and then presented it with as good grace as I could. + +Some time after this, I learned that two Peruvians had been caught +in a trap set for the purpose. The unfortunate men had spent a whole +night in a pit, nine feet deep, and were discovered the next forenoon +by a party of hunters, who immediately killed them with unpoisoned, +big-game arrows. In contrast to the North-American Indians they never +torture captives, but kill them as quickly as possible. + +I had plenty of opportunity to investigate the different kinds +of traps used by the Mangeromas for catching Peruvian _caboclos_ +or half-breeds. First of all in importance is the pit-trap, into +which the aforesaid men had fallen. It is simple but ingenious in its +arrangement. A hole about nine feet deep and eight feet wide is dug +in the ground at a place where the _caboclos_ are liable to come. A +cover is laid across this and cleverly disguised with dead leaves and +branches so as to exactly resemble the surrounding soil. This cover +is constructed of branches placed parallel, and is slightly smaller +than the diameter of the pit. It is balanced on a stick, tied across +the middle in such a manner that the slightest weight on any part will +cause it to turn over and precipitate the object into the pit whence +egress is impossible. Besides this, the walls of the pit are inclined, +the widest part being at the bottom, and they gradually slope inward +till the level of the ground is reached. When the victim is discovered +he is quickly killed, as in the case noted above. + +The second trap, which I had an opportunity to investigate, is the +so-called _araya_ trap. It is merely a small piece of ground thickly +set with the barbed bones of the sting-ray. These bones are slightly +touched with wourahli poison and, concealed as they are under dead +leaves, they inflict severe wounds on the bare feet of the _caboclos_, +and death follows within a short period. + +The third trap, and the most ingenious of all, is the blow-gun +trap. One day the sub-Chief, a tall, gloomy-looking fellow, took me +to one of these traps and explained everything, till I had obtained +a thorough knowledge of the complicated apparatus. The blow-gun of +these Indians is supplied with a wide mouth-piece and requires but +slight air pressure to shoot the arrow at a considerable speed. In +the trap one is placed horizontally so as to point at a right angle +to the path leading to the _maloca_. At the "breech" of the gun is a +young sapling, severed five feet above the ground. To this is tied a +broad and straight bark-strip which, when the sapling is in its normal +vertical position, completely covers the mouth-piece. The gun was +not loaded on this occasion, as it had been accidentally discharged +the day before. To set the trap, a long, thin, and pliable climber, +which in these forests is so plentiful, is attached to the end of +the severed sapling, when this is bent to its extreme position +and is then led over branches, serving as pulleys, right across +the path and directly in front of the mouth of the blow-gun and +is tied to some small root covered with leaves. When the _caboclo_ +passes along this path at night to raid the Indian _maloca,_ he must +sever this thin bushrope or climber, thereby releasing suddenly the +tension of the sapling. The bark-flap is drawn quickly up against +the mouth-piece with a slap that forces sufficient air into the gun +to eject the arrow. All this takes place in a fraction of a second; +a slight flapping sound is heard and the arrow lodges in the skin of +the unfortunate _caboclo_. He can never walk more than twenty yards, +for the poison rapidly paralyses his limbs. Death follows in less +than ten minutes. + +The bodies of these captured _caboclos_ are soon found by the +"police warriors" of the tribe and carried to the _maloca_. On such +occasions a day of feasting always follows and an obscure religious +rite is performed. + +It is true that the Mangeromas are cannibals, but at the same time +their habits and morals are otherwise remarkably clean. Without their +good care and excellent treatment, I have no doubt I would now be +with my brave companions out in that dark, green jungle. + +But to return to my story of the two Peruvians caught in the pit-trap: +the warriors cut off the hands and feet of both corpses, pulled +the big game arrows out of the bodies, and had an audience with the +Chief. He seemed to be well satisfied, but spoke little, just nodding +his head and smiling. Shortly after the village prepared for a grand +feast. The fires were rebuilt, the pots and jars were cleaned, and a +scene followed which to me was frightful. Had it not happened, I should +always have believed this little world out in the wild forest an ideal, +pure, and morally clean community. But now I could only hasten to my +hammock and simulate sleep, for I well knew, from previous experience, +that otherwise I would have to partake of the meal in preparation: a +horrible meal of human flesh! It was enough for me to see them strip +the flesh from the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet and +fry these delicacies in the lard of tapir I hoped to see no more. + +An awful thought coursed through my brain when I beheld the men bend +eagerly over the pans to see if the meat were done. How long would it +be, I said to myself, before they would forget themselves and place +my own extremities in the same pots and pans. Such a possibility +was not pleasant to contemplate, but as I had found the word of +these Indians to be always good, I believed I was safe. They were +never false and they hated falsehood. True, they were cunning, but +once their friend always their friend, through thick and thin. And +the Chief had promised that I should not be eaten, either fried or +stewed! Therefore I slept in peace. + +I had long desired to see the hunters prepare the mysterious wourahli +poison, which acts so quickly and painlessly, and which allows the +game killed by it to be eaten without interfering with the nutritive +qualities. Only three men in this village understood the proper mixing +of the ingredients, although everybody knew the two plants from which +the poisonous juices were obtained. One of these is a vine that grows +close to the creeks. The stem is about two inches in diameter and +covered with a rough greyish bark. It yields several round fruits, +shaped like an apple, containing seeds imbedded in a very bitter +pulp. The other is also a vine and bears small bluish flowers, but it +is only the roots of this that are used. These are crushed and steeped +in water for several days. The three men in our village who understood +the concoction of this poison collected the plants themselves once +a month. When they returned from their expedition they set to work +at once scraping the first named vine into fine shavings and mixing +these in an earthen jar with the crushed pulp of the roots of the +second plant. The pot is then placed over a fire and kept simmering +for several hours. At this stage the shavings are removed and thrown +away as useless and several large black ants, the _Tucandeiras_, are +added. This is the ant whose bite is not only painful but absolutely +dangerous to man. The concoction is kept boiling slowly until the +next morning, when it has assumed a thick consistency of a brown +colour and very bitter to the taste. The poison is then tried on some +arrows and if it comes up to the standard it is placed in a small +earthen jar which is covered with a piece of animal skin and it is +ready for use. The arrows, which are from ten to twelve inches long, +are made from the stalks of a certain palm-leaf, the Jacy palm. They +are absolutely straight and true; in fact, they resemble very much +a lady's hat-pin. When the gun is to be used, a piece of cotton is +wound around the end of an arrow and the other end or point inserted +first in the barrel, the cotton acting as a piston by means of which +the air forces the shaft through the tube. + +The men always carry a small rubber-pouch containing a few drams of +the poison; the pouch was worn strapped to the waist on the left side, +when on their hunting excursions, and they were extremely careful +in handling it and the arrows. The slightest scratch with the poison +would cause a quick and sure death. + +I was so far recuperated by this time that I thought of returning to +civilisation, and I, accordingly, broached the subject to the Chief, +who answered me very kindly, promising that he would send me by the +next full-moon, with some of the wourahli men, down to the Branco +River, and from there they would guide me within a safe distance of +the rubber-estate, situated at the junction with the Itecoahy. + +One day I was informed that a friendly call on a neighbouring tribe was +being contemplated and that I could accompany the Chief and his men. + +At last the time arrived and the expedition was organised. I was not +absolutely sure how I would be treated by these up-stream Indians, +and I am almost ashamed to confess that, in spite of all the faithful, +unswerving friendship which the Mangeromas had shown me, I had it in +my mind that these other Indians might harm me, so black was the name +that people down at the settlements had given them. + +Until this time, as related above, I had thought best not to exhibit +the character of my automatic pistol, and I had never used it here, +but before I started on this journey I decided to give them an +example of its power, and possibly awe them. Inviting the Chief and +all the tribe to witness my experiment, I explained to them that +this little weapon would make a great noise and bore a hole through +a thick tree. The Chief examined it gingerly after I had locked the +trigger mechanism. He had heard of such arms, he said, but thought +that they were much larger and heavier. This one, he thought, must +be a baby and he was inclined to doubt its power. + +Selecting an "assai" palm of about nine inches diameter, across the +creek, I took steady aim and fired four bullets. Three of the bullets +went through the same hole and the fourth pierced the trunk of the +palm about two inches higher. The Chief and his men hurried across the +creek and examined the holes which caused then to discuss the affair +for more than an hour. The empty shells which had been ejected from the +magazine were picked up by two young girls who fastened them in their +ears with wire-like fibres, whereupon a dozen other women surrounded +me, beseeching me to give them also cartridge-shells. I discharged +more than a dozen bullets, to please these children of the forest, +who were as completely the slaves of fashion as are their sisters of +more civilised lands. + +Early the next morning we started up the river. In one canoe the +Chief and I sat on jaguar skins, while two men paddled. In another +canoe were four men armed with bows and arrows and blow-guns, and a +fifth who acted in the capacity of "Wireless Operator." The system +of signalling which he employed was by far the most ingenious device +I saw while in Brazil, and considering their resources and their low +state of culture the affair was little short of marvellous. + +Before the canoes were launched, a man fastened two upright forked +sticks on each side of one, near the middle. About three and a +half feet astern of these a cross-piece was laid on the bottom of +the craft. To this was attached two shorter forked sticks. Between +each pair of upright forked sticks was placed another cross-piece, +thus forming two horizontal bars, parallel to each other, one only +a few inches from the bottom of the boat and the other about a foot +and a half above the gunwales. Next, four slabs of Caripari wood of +varying thickness, about three feet long and eight inches wide, were +suspended from these horizontal bars, so as to hang length-wise of +the canoe and at an angle of forty-five degrees. Each pair of slabs +was perforated by a longitudinal slit and they were joined firmly at +their extremities by finely carved and richly painted end-pieces. + +The operator strikes the slabs with a wooden mallet or hammer, the +head of which is wrapped with an inch layer of caoutchouc and then +with a cover of thick tapir-skin. Each section of the wooden slabs +gives forth a different note when struck, a penetrating, xylophonic, +tone but devoid of the disagreeably metallic, disharmonic bysounds of +that instrument. The slabs of wood were suspended by means of thin +fibre-cords from the crosspieces, and in this manner all absorption +by the adjacent material was done away with. + +By means of many different combinations of the four notes obtained +which, as far as I could ascertain, were _Do--Re--Mi--Fa_, the +operator was able to send any message to a person who understood +this code. The operator seized one mallet with each hand and gave +the thickest section, the _Do_ slat, a blow, followed by a blow with +the left hand mallet on the _Re_ slat; a blow on the _Mi_ slat and on +the _Fa_ slat followed in quick succession. These four notes, given +rapidly and repeated several times, represented the tuning up of the +"wireless," calculated to catch the attention of the operator at the +_maloca_ up-creek. The sound was very powerful, but rather pleasant, +and made the still forest resound with a musical echo. He repeated this +tuning process several times, but received no answer and we proceeded +for a mile. Then we stopped and signalled again. Very faintly came +a reply from some invisible source. I learned afterwards that at +this time we were at least five miles from the answering station. As +soon as communication was thus established the first message was sent +through the air, and it was a moment of extreme suspense for me when +the powerful notes vibrated through the depth of the forest. I shall +never forget this message, not only because it was ethnographically +interesting, but because so much of my happiness depended upon +a favourable reply. I made the operator repeat it for my benefit +when we later returned to our village, and I learned it by heart by +whistling it. When printed it looks like this: + +After each message the operator explained its meaning. The purport +of this first message was so important to me that I awaited the +translation with much the same feelings that a prisoner listens for +the verdict of the jury when it files back into the court-room. + +Questions and answers now came in rapid succession. "A white man +is coming with us; he seems to have a good heart, and to be of good +character." + +Whereupon the deciding answer was translated: "You are all welcome +provided you place your arms in the bottom of the canoe." + +Next message: "We ask you to place your arms in the _maloca_; we +are friends." + +After the last message we paddled briskly ahead, and at the end of +one hour's work we made a turn of the creek and saw a large open +space where probably five hundred Indians had assembled outside of +two round _malocas_, constructed like ours. How much I now regretted +leaving my precious camera out in the forest, but that was a thing of +the past and the loss could not be repaired. The view that presented +itself to my eyes was a splendid and rare one for a civilised man +to see. The crowd standing on the banks had never seen a white man +before; how would they greet me? + +Little dogs barked, large scarlet _araras_ screamed in the tree-tops, +and the little children hid themselves behind their equally fearful +mothers. The tribal Chief, a big fellow, decorated with squirrel tails +and feathers of the _mutum_ bird around, his waist and with the tail +feathers of the scarlet and blue _arara_-parrot adorning his handsome +head, stood in front with his arms folded. + +We landed and the operator dismantled his musical apparatus and laid +it carefully in the bottom of the canoe. The two Chiefs embraced each +other, at the same time uttering their welcome greeting "_He--He_." I +was greeted in the same cordial manner and we all entered the Chief's +_maloca_ in a long procession. Here in the village of the kindred +tribe we stayed for two days, enjoying unlimited hospitality and +kindness. Most of the time was spent eating, walking around the +_malocas_, looking at dugouts, and at the farinha plants. + +On the third day we went back to our _maloca_ where I prepared for +my return trip to civilisation. It was now the beginning of October. + +I would, finally, have recorded many words of the Mangeroma language +had not my pencil given out after I had been there a month. The +pencil was an "ink-pencil," that is, a pencil with a solid "lead" of +bluish colour, very soft, sometimes called "indelible pencil." This +lead became brittle from the moisture of the air and broke into +fragments so that I could do nothing with it, and my recording was +at an end. Fortunately I had made memoranda covering the life and +customs before this. + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE MANGEROMAS AND THE PERUVIANS + + +I was sitting outside the _maloca_ writing my observations in the +note-book which I always carried in my hunting-coat, when two young +hunters hurried toward the Chief, who was reclining in the shade of +a banana-tree near the other end of the large house. It was early +afternoon, when most of the men of the Mangeromas were off hunting in +the near-by forests, while the women and children attended to various +duties around the village. Probably not more than eight or ten men +remained about the _maloca_. + +I had recovered from my sickness and was not entirely devoid of +a desire for excitement--the best tonic of the explorer. The two +young hunters with bows and arrows halted before the Chief. They +were gesticulating wildly; and although I could not understand what +they were talking about, I judged from the frown of the Chief that +something serious was the matter. + +He arose with unusual agility for a man of his size, and shouted +something toward the opening of the _maloca_, whence the men were +soon seen coming with leaps and bounds. Anticipating trouble, I +also ran over to the Chief, and, in my defective Mangeroma lingo, +inquired the cause of the excitement. He did not answer me, but, +in a greater state of agitation than I had previously observed in +him, he gave orders to his men. He called the "wireless" operator +and commanded him to bring out his precious apparatus. This was soon +fastened to the gunwales of the canoe where I had seen it used before, +on my trip to the neighbouring tribe, and soon the same powerful, +xylophonic sounds vibrated through the forest. It was his intention +to summon the hunters that were still roaming around the vicinity, by +this "C.Q.D." message. The message I could not interpret nor repeat, +although it was not nearly as complex as the one I had learned +before. After a while, the men came streaming into the _maloca_ +from all directions, with anxiety darkening their faces. I had now my +first inkling of what was the cause of the commotion, and it did not +take me long to understand that we were in danger from some Peruvian +_caboclos_. The two young men who had brought the news to the Chief +had spied a detachment of Peruvian half-breeds as they were camping +in our old _tambo_ No. 6, the one we had built on our sixth day out +from Floresta. There were about a score of them, all ugly _caboclos_, +or half-breed _caucheros_, hunting rubber and no doubt out also for +prey in the shape of young Mangeroma girls, as was their custom. The +traps set by the Indians, as described in a previous chapter, would +be of no avail in this case, as the number of Peruvians was greater +than in any previous experience. + +The enemy had been observed more than ten miles off, in an easterly +direction, when our two hunters were on the trail of a large +herd of peccaries, or wild boars, they had sighted in the early +morning. The Peruvians were believed to be heading for the _maloca_ +of the Mangeromas, as there were no other settlements in this region +excepting the up-creek tribe, but this numbered at least five hundred +souls, and would be no easy prey for them. + +I now had a remarkable opportunity to watch the war preparations +of these savage, cannibal people, my friends, the Mangeromas. Their +army consisted of twelve able-bodied men, all fine muscular fellows, +about five feet ten in height, and bearing an array of vicious-looking +weapons such as few white men have seen. First of all were three +club-men, armed with strong, slender clubs, of hard and extremely +tough Caripari wood. The handle, which was very slim, was provided +with a knob at the end to prevent the club from slipping out of the +hand when in action. The heavy end was furnished with six bicuspid +teeth of the black jaguar, embedded in the wood and projecting about +two inches beyond the surface. The club had a total length of five +feet and weighed about eight pounds. The second division of the +wild-looking band consisted of three spear-men, each provided with +the three-pronged spears, a horrible weapon which always proves fatal +in the hands of these savages. It is a long straight shaft of Caripari +wood, about one inch in thickness, divided into three parts at the end, +each division being tipped with a barbed bone of the sting-ray. These +bones, about three and a half inches long, were smeared with wourahli +poison, and thus rendered absolutely fatal even when inflicting only +a superficial wound. Each man carried two of these spears, the points +being protected by grass-sheaths. The third division was composed +of three bow-and-arrow men, the youngest men in the tribe, boys of +sixteen and seventeen. They were armed with bows of great length, +from six to seven feet, and each bore, at his left side, a quiver, +containing a dozen big-game arrows fully five feet long. These arrows, +as far as I could ascertain, were not poisoned, but their shock-giving +and rending powers were extraordinary. The arrow-heads were all made +of the bones of the sting-ray, in themselves formidable weapons, +because of the many jagged barbs that prevent extraction from a wound +except by the use of great force, resulting in ugly laceration. + +The fourth and last division consisted of three blow-gun men, the +most effective and cunning of this deadly and imposing array. As so +much depended upon the success of a first attack on the Peruvians, +who not only outnumbered us, but also were armed with Winchesters, +the blow-guns were in the hands of the older and more experienced +men. All, except the club-men, wore, around the waist, girdles fringed +with _mutum_ plumes, and the captains added, to their uniforms +multi-coloured fringes of squirrel tails. Their faces all had the +usual scarlet and black stripes. The Chief, and his principal aide, or +sub-Chief, had on their gayest feathers, including head ornaments of +_arara_ plumes and egrets. The club-men were naked, except for their +head-gear, which consisted simply of a band of _mutum_ plumes. When +the warriors stood together in their costumes, ready for battle, +they presented an awe-inspiring sight. + +The Chief gave the order for the bow-and-arrow men to start in single +file, the others to follow after, in close succession. The Chief and I +fell in at the rear. In the meantime I had examined my Luger automatic +pistol to make sure of the smooth action of the mechanism, and found +besides that I had in all thirty-seven soft-nose bullets. This was my +only weapon, but previous narrow escapes from death and many close +contacts with danger had hardened me, so I was willing to depend +entirely upon my pistol. The women and children of the _maloca_ stood +around, as we disappeared in the jungle, and, while they showed some +interest in the proceeding, they displayed little or no emotion. A +couple of sweethearts exchanged kisses as composedly as if they had +been bluecoats parting with the ladies of their choice before going +to the annual parade. + +Soon we were in the dark, dense jungle that I was now so well +acquainted with, and, strange to say, the green and tangled mass of +vegetation contained more terrors for me than the bloody combat that +was to follow. + +For an hour we travelled in a straight line, pushing our way as +noiselessly as possible through the thick mass of creepers and +lianas. About three o'clock, one of the scouts sighted the Peruvians, +and our Chief decided that an attack should be made as soon as +possible, before darkness could set in. We stopped and sent out two +bow-and-arrow men to reconnoitre. An anxious half hour passed before +one of them returned with the report that the Peruvians were now +coming towards us and would probably reach our position in a few +minutes. I could almost hear my heart thump; my knees grew weak, +and for a moment I almost wished that I had stayed in the _maloca_. + +The Chief immediately directed certain strategic movements which, +in ingenuity and foresight, would have been worthy of a Napoleon. + +We were between two low hills, covered with the usual dense vegetation, +which made it impossible to see an advancing enemy at a distance of +more than five yards. The three blow-gun men were now ordered to ascend +the hills on each side of the valley and conceal themselves about +half-way up the slopes, and towards the enemy. They were to insert the +poisoned arrows in their guns and draw a bead on the Peruvians as they +came on cutting their way through the underbrush. The bow-and-arrow +men posted themselves farther on about five yards behind the blow-gun +men, with big-game arrows fitted to the bowstrings, ready to shoot +when the first volley of the deadly and silent poisoned arrows had +been fired. Farther back were the spear-men with spears unsheathed, +and finally came the three brave and ferocious club-men. Of these last +warriors, a tall athlete was visibly nervous, not from fear but from +anticipation. The veins of his forehead stood out, pulsating with every +throb of his heart. He clutched the heavy club and continually gritted +his white, sharp-filed teeth in concentrated rage. It was wisely +calculated that the Peruvians would unconsciously wedge themselves +into this trap, and by the time they could realise their danger their +return would be cut off by our bow-and-arrow men in their rear. + +After a pause that seemed an eternity to most of us no doubt, for the +savage heart beats as the white man's in time of danger and action, +we heard the talking and shouting of the enemy as they advanced, +following the natural and easiest route between the hills and cutting +their way through the brush. I stood near the Chief and the young +club-man Arara, who, on account of his bravery and great ability in +handling his club, had been detailed to remain near us. + +Before I could see any of the approaching foe, I heard great shouts +of anger and pain from them. It was easy for me to understand their +cries as they spoke Spanish and their cursings sounded loud through +the forest. + +The blow-gun men, perceiving the Peruvians at the foot of the hill +only some twenty feet away, had prudently waited until at least half a +dozen were visible, before they fired a volley of poisoned arrows. The +three arrows fired in this first volley all hit their mark. Hardly +had they gone forth, when other arrows were dexterously inserted in +the tubes. The work of the blow-gun men was soon restricted to the +picking out of any stray enemy, their long, delicate, and cumbersome +blow-guns preventing them from taking an active part in the mêlée. Now +the conflict was at its height and it was a most remarkable one, +on account of its swiftness and fierceness. The bow-and-arrow men +charging with their sting-ray arrows poisoned with the wourahli took +the place of the cautiously retreating blow-gun men. At the same +instant the spear-men rushed down, dashing through the underbrush at +the foot of the hill, like breakers on a stormy night. + +The rear-guard of the Peruvians now came into action, having had +a chance to view the situation. Several of them filed to the right +and managed to fire their large-calibre bullets into the backs of +our charging bow-and-arrow men, but, in their turn, they were picked +off by the blow-gun men, who kept firing their poisoned darts from a +safe distance. The fearful yells of our men, mingled with the cursing +of the Peruvians, and the sharp reports of their heavy rifles, so +plainly heard, proved that the centre of battle was not many yards +from the spot where I was standing. + +The club-men now broke into action; they could not be kept back any +longer. The tension had already been too painful for these brave +fellows, and with fierce war-cries of "_Yob--Hee--Hee_" they launched +themselves into the fight, swinging their strong clubs above their +heads and crashing skulls from left to right. By this time the +Peruvians had lost many men, but the slaughter went on. The huge +black clubs of the Mangeromas fell again and again, with sickening +thuds, piercing the heads and brains of the enemy with the pointed +jaguar teeth. + +Suddenly two Peruvians came into view not more than twelve feet from +where the Chief, Arara the big club-man, and I were standing. One of +these was a Spaniard, evidently the captain of this band of marauders +(or, to use their correct name, _caucheros_). His face was of a sickly, +yellowish hue, and a big, black moustache hid the lower part of his +cruel and narrow chin. He took a quick aim as he saw us in his path, +but before he could pull the trigger, Arara, with a mighty side-swing +of his club literally tore the Spaniard's head off. Now, at last, +the bonds of restraint were broken for this handsome devil Arara, and +yelling himself hoarse, and with his strong but cruel face contracted +to a fiendish grin, he charged the enemy; I saw him crush the life +out of three. + +The Chief took no active part in the fight whatever, but added +to the excitement by bellowing with all his might an encouraging +"_Aa--Oo--Ah_." No doubt, this had a highly beneficial effect upon the +tribesmen, for they never for an instant ceased their furious fighting +until the last Peruvian was killed. During the final moments of the +battle, several bullets whirred by me at close range, but during the +whole affair I had had neither opportunity nor necessity for using +my pistol. Now, however, a _caboclo_, with a large, bloody machete +in his hand, sprang from behind a tree and made straight for me. I +dodged behind another tree and saw how the branches were swept aside +as he rushed towards me. + +Then I fired point-blank, sending three bullets into his head. He +fell on his face at my feet. As I bent over him, I saw that he had +a blow-gun arrow in his left thigh; he was therefore a doomed man +before he attacked me. This was my first and only victim, during this +brief but horrible slaughter. As I was already thoroughly sick from +the noise of cracking rifles and the thumping of clubs smashing their +way into the brains of the Peruvians, I rushed toward the centre of +the valley where the first attack on the advance guard of the enemy +had taken place, but even more revolting was the sight that revealed +itself. Here and there bushes were shaking as some _caboclo_ crawled +along on all fours in his death agony. Those who were struck by the +blow-gun arrows seemed simply to fall asleep without much pain or +struggle, but the victims of the club-men and the bow-and-arrow men had +a terrible death. They could not die by the merciful wourahli poison, +like those shot by the blow-gun, but expired from hemorrhages caused +by the injuries of the ruder weapons. One poor fellow was groaning +most pitifully. He had received a well-directed big-game arrow in +the upper part of the abdomen, the arrow having been shot with such +terrible force that about a foot of the shaft projected from the +man's back. The arrow-head had been broken off by striking a vertebra. + +The battle was over. Soon the _urubus_, or vultures, were hanging +over the tree-tops waiting for their share of the spoils. The men +assembled in front of the Chief for roll-call. Four of our men were +killed outright by rifle-bullets, and it was typical of these brave men +that none were killed by machete stabs. The entire marauding expedition +of twenty Peruvians was completely wiped out, not a single one escaping +the deadly aim of the Mangeromas. Thus was avoided the danger of being +attacked in the near future by a greater force of Peruvians, called +to this place from the distant frontier by some returning survivor. + +It is true that the Mangeromas lay in ambush for their enemy +and killed them, for the greater part, with poisoned arrows and +spears, but the odds were against the Indians, not only because the +_caboclos_ were attacking them in larger numbers, but because they +came with modern, repeating fire-arms against the hand weapons of the +Mangeromas. These marauders, too, came with murder and girl-robbery +in their black hearts, while the Mangeromas were defending their homes +and families. But it is true that after the battle, so bravely fought, +the Indians cut off the hands and feet of their enemies, dead or dying, +and carried them home. + +The fight lasted only some twenty minutes, but it was after sunset +when we reached the _maloca_. The women and children received us +with great demonstrations of joy. Soon the pots and pans were boiling +inside the great house. I have previously observed how the Mangeromas +would partake of parts of the human body as a sort of religious rite, +whenever they had been successful with their man-traps; now they +feasted upon the hands and feet of the slain, these parts having been +distributed among the different families. + +I crept into my hammock and lit my pipe, watching the great mass of +naked humanity. All the men had laid aside their feather-dresses and +squirrel tails, and were moving around among the many fires on the +floor of the hut. Some were sitting in groups discussing the battle, +while women bent over the pots to examine the ghastly contents. Here, +a woman was engaged in stripping the flesh from the palm of a hand +and the sole of a foot, which operation finished, she threw both +into a large earthen pot to boil; there, another woman was applying +an herb-poultice to her husband's wounds. + +Over it all hung a thick, odoriferous smoke, gradually finding its +way out through the central opening in the roof. + +This was a feast, indeed, such as few white men, I believe, have +witnessed. + +That night and the next day, and the following four days, great +quantities of _chicha_ were drunk and much meat was consumed to +celebrate the great victory, the greatest in the annals of the +Mangeromas of Rio Branco. + +Earthen vessels and jars were used in the cooking of food. The red clay +(Tabatinga clay) found abundantly in these regions formed a superior +material for these utensils. They were always decorated symbolically +with juices of the scarlet _urucu_ and the black _genipapa_. Even +when not burned into the clay, these were permanent colours. + +Men and women wore their hair long and untrimmed as far as I could +observe. The older and more experienced of the tribesmen would have +quite elaborate head-gear, consisting of a band of _mutum_ plumes, +interspersed with parrot-tail feathers, while the younger hunters wore +nothing but a band of the _mutum_ plumes. The body was uncovered, +save by a narrow strip of bark encircling the waist. A broad piece, +woven of several bark-strips into a sort of mat, protected the lower +anterior part of the abdomen. The women wore no clothing whatever. + +Their colour was remarkably light. Probably nothing can designate this +better than the statement that if a Mangeroma were placed alongside +of an Italian, no difference would be noticeable. Their cheek-bones +were not as high as is usual with tribes found on the Amazon; they +seemed to come from a different race. Their eyes were set straight +without any tendency to the Mongolian slanting that characterises +the Peruvian _caboclos_ and the tribes of the northern affluents. The +women had unusually large feet, while those of the men were small and +well-shaped. The general appearance of a young Mangeroma was that of +a well-proportioned athlete, standing about five feet ten in his bare +feet. No moccasins, nor any other protection for the feet, were worn. + +The supply of wourahli poison had run low and three wourahli men were +to go out in the forest to collect poison plants, a journey which +would require several days to complete. This occasion was set as the +time of my departure. + +It was a rainy morning when I wrapped my few belongings in a leaf, +tied some grass-fibres around them, and inserted them in the large +pocket of my khaki-coat. The box with the gold dust was there, also +the boxes with the exposed photographic plates. Most of the gold had +filtered out of the box, but a neat quantity still remained. One of my +servants--a handsome girl--who, excepting for the labial ornaments, +could have been transformed into an individual of quite a civilised +appearance by opportunity, gave me a beautiful black necklace as +a souvenir. It was composed of several hundred pieces, all carved +out of ebony nuts. It had cost her three weeks of constant work. I +embraced and was embraced by almost everybody in the _maloca_, after +which ceremony we went in procession to the canoe that was to take +me down to the Branco River. The Chief bade me a fond farewell, that +forever shall be implanted in my heart. I had lived here weeks among +these cannibal Indians, had enjoyed their kindness and generosity +without charge; I could give them nothing in return and they asked +nothing. I could have stayed here for the rest of my natural life if I +had so desired, but now I was to say good-bye forever. How wonderful +was this farewell! It was my opportunity for acknowledging that the +savage heart is by no means devoid of the feelings and sentiments +that characterise more elevated, so-called civilised individuals. + +For the last time I heard the little dog bark, the same that had licked +my face when I fainted in front of the _maloca_ upon my first arrival; +and the large _arara_ screamed in the tree-tops as I turned once more +towards the world of the white man. + +The journey was without incident. The wourahli men set me off near the +mouth of the Branco River, at a distance which I covered in less than +five hours by following the banks. I was greeted by Coronel Maya of +the _Compagnie Transatlantique de Caoutchouc_, who sent me by canoe +down the old Itecoahy, until we reached the Floresta headquarters. + +Here I gave Coronel da Silva an account of the death of Chief Marques, +and the brave Jerome, which made a deep impression upon this noble man. + +The three men, Magellaes, Anisette, and Freitas, had returned in +safety after they separated from us. + +I met the wife of Chief Marques. She was the woman whose arm I had +amputated. When I saw her she was carrying, with the arm left to +her, a pail of water from the little creek behind headquarters. She +was a different woman, and I was pleased to know that my desperate +surgical operation had resulted so well. Her cheeks were full and +almost rosy. Her health, I was told, excepting for occasional attacks +of ague, was very good. + +Soon after, the launch arrived from Remate de Males and I put my +baggage on board. The Coronel accompanied me down river for about +forty-eight hours and then, reaching the northern extremity of +his estate, he bade me a fond good-bye with the words: "_Sempre, +illustrissimo Senhor, minha casa e a suas ordenes_," "My house, +most illustrious Sir, is always at your disposal." + +When I arrived at Remate de Males I had another attack of malaria, +which almost severed the slender thread by which my life hung; my +physical resistance was gone. But I managed to develop my plates +before breaking down completely, and after having disposed of my +small quantity of gold dust, for which I realised some three hundred +and forty dollars, I was taken down to the mouth of the Javary River, +where I had landed almost a year previous, now a physical and, I might +almost say, mental wreck. I stayed in the house of Coronel Monteiro, +the frontier official at Esperança, for five long days, fighting with +death, until one afternoon I saw the white hull of the R.M.S. _Napo_ +appear at a bend of the Amazon, only five hundred yards away. + +Closer she came--this rescuing instrument of Providence. She was none +too soon, for I had now reached the last notch of human endurance. She +dropped anchor; a small gasoline launch was lowered into the water; +three white-coated officers stepped into it--they came ashore--they +climbed the stairs. The captain, a stout, kind-looking Englishman, +approached my hammock and found therein a very sick white man. I was +carried aboard and placed in the hands of the ship's physician. At last +those black forests of the Amazon were left behind. After twenty-two +days' sail, Sandy Hook lighthouse loomed on our port side, and soon +after, I could rest--rest, and _live_ again! + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In The Amazon Jungle, by Algot Lange + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE *** + +***** This file should be named 14898-8.txt or 14898-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/8/9/14898/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman & the PG Distributed Proofreaders Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/14898-8.zip b/14898-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..35c0c3b --- /dev/null +++ b/14898-8.zip diff --git a/14898.txt b/14898.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2978f92 --- /dev/null +++ b/14898.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4994 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In The Amazon Jungle, by Algot Lange + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In The Amazon Jungle + Adventures In Remote Parts Of The Upper Amazon River, Including A + Sojourn Among Cannibal Indians + + +Author: Algot Lange + +Release Date: February 4, 2005 [EBook #14898] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman & the PG Distributed Proofreaders Team + + + + + + In the Amazon Jungle + + Adventures in Remote Parts of the + Upper Amazon River, Including a + Sojourn Among Cannibal Indians + + By + + Algot Lange + + Edited in Part by J. Odell Hauser + + With an Introduction by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh + + + + + + + + + To + + The Memory of + + My Father + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +When Mr. Algot Lange told me he was going to the headwaters of the +Amazon, I was particularly interested because once, years ago, I had +turned my own mind in that direction with considerable longing. I knew +he would encounter many set-backs, but I never would have predicted +the adventures he actually passed through alive. + +He started in fine spirits: buoyant, strong, vigorous. When I saw +him again in New York, a year or so later, on his return, he was +an emaciated fever-wreck, placing one foot before the other only +with much exertion and indeed barely able to hold himself erect. A +few weeks in the hospital, followed by a daily diet of quinine, +improved his condition, but after months he had scarcely arrived at +his previous excellent physical state. + +Many explorers have had experiences similar to those related in +this volume, but, at least so far as the fever and the cannibals +are concerned, they have seldom survived to tell of them. Their +interviews with cannibals have been generally too painfully confined +to internal affairs to be available in this world for authorship, +whereas Mr. Lange, happily, avoided not only a calamitous intimacy, +but was even permitted to view the culinary preparations relating to +the absorption of less favoured individuals, and himself could have +joined the feast, had he possessed the stomach for it. + +These good friends of his, the Mangeromas, conserved his life when +they found him almost dying, not, strange as it may appear, for +selfish banqueting purposes, but merely that he might return to his +own people. It seems rather paradoxical that they should have loved +one stranger so well as to spare him with suspicious kindness, and +love others to the extent of making them into table delicacies. The +explanation probably is that these Mangeromas were the reverse of +a certain foreign youth with only a small stock of English, who, on +being offered in New York a fruit he had never seen before, replied, +"Thank you, I eat only my acquaintances"--the Mangeromas eat only +their enemies. + +Mr. Lange's account of his stay with these people, of their weapons, +habits, form of battle, and method of cooking the human captives, +etc., forms one of the specially interesting parts of the book, and +is at the same time a valuable contribution to the ethnology of the +western Amazon (or Maranon) region, where dwell numerous similar tribes +little known to the white man. Particularly notable is his description +of the wonderful wourahli (urari) poison, its extraordinary effect, +and the _modus operandi_ of its making; a poison used extensively +by Amazonian tribes but not made by all. He describes also the +bows and arrows, the war-clubs, and the very scientific weapon, the +blow-gun. He was fortunate in securing a photograph of a Mangeroma in +the act of shooting this gun. Special skill, of course, is necessary +for the effective use of this simple but terrible arm, and, like that +required for the boomerang or lasso, practice begins with childhood. + +The region of Mr. Lange's almost fatal experiences, the region of +the Javary River (the boundary between Brazil and Peru), is one of +the most formidable and least known portions of the South American +continent. It abounds with obstacles to exploration of the most +overwhelming kind. Low, swampy, with a heavy rainfall, it is inundated +annually, like most of the Amazon basin, and at time of high water +the rivers know no limits. Lying, as it does, so near the equator, +the heat is intense and constant, oppressive even to the native. The +forest-growth--and it is forest wherever it is not river--is forced +as in a huge hothouse, and is so dense as to render progress through +it extremely difficult. Not only are there obstructions in the way of +tree trunks, underbrush, and trailing vines and creepers like ropes, +but the footing is nothing more than a mat of interlaced roots. The +forest is also sombre and gloomy. To take a photograph required an +exposure of from three to five minutes. Not a stone, not even a pebble, +is anywhere to be found. + +Disease is rampant, especially on the smaller branches of the +rivers. The incurable _beri-beri_ and a large assortment of fevers +claim first place as death dealers, smiting the traveller with fearful +facility. Next come a myriad of insects and reptiles--alligators, +huge bird-eating spiders, and snakes of many varieties. Snakes, +both the poisonous and non-poisonous kinds, find here conditions +precisely to their liking. The bush-master is met with in the more +open places, and there are many that are venomous, but the most +terrifying, though not a biting reptile is the water-boa, the sucuruju +(_Eunectes murinus_) or anaconda. It lives to a great age and reaches +a size almost beyond belief. Feeding, as generally it does at night, +it escapes common observation, and white men, heretofore, have not +seen the largest specimens reported, though more than thirty feet is +an accepted length, and Bates, the English naturalist, mentions one +he heard of, forty-two feet long. It is not surprising that Mr. Lange +should have met with one in the far wilderness he visited, of even +greater proportions, a hideous monster, ranking in its huge bulk with +the giant beasts of antediluvian times. The sucuruju is said to be +able to swallow whole animals as large as a goat or a donkey, or even +larger, and the naturalist referred to tells of a ten-year-old boy, +son of his neighbour, who, left to mind a canoe while his father went +into the forest, was, in broad day, playing in the shade of the trees, +stealthily enwrapped by one of the monsters. His cries brought his +father to the rescue just in time. + +As the Javary heads near the eastern slopes and spurs of the great +Peruvian Cordillera, where once lived the powerful and wealthy Inca +race with their great stores of pure gold obtained from prolific mines +known to them, it is again not surprising that Mr. Lange should have +stumbled upon a marvellously rich deposit of the precious metal in +a singular form. The geology of the region is unknown and the origin +of the gold Mr. Lange found cannot at present even be surmised. + +Because of the immense value of the rubber product, gold attracts less +attention than it would in some other country. The rubber industry +is extensive and thousands of the wild rubber trees are located and +tapped. The trees usually are found near streams and the search for +them leads the rubber-hunter farther and farther into the unbroken +wilderness. Expeditions from time to time are sent out by rich +owners of rubber "estates" to explore for fresh trees, and after +his sojourn at Remate de Males and Floresta, so full of interest, +Mr. Lange accompanied one of these parties into the unknown, with +the extraordinary results described so simply yet dramatically in +the following pages, which I commend most cordially, both to the +experienced explorer and to the stay-by-the-fire, as an unusual and +exciting story of adventure. + +FREDERICK S. DELLENBAUGH. + +NEW YORK, November 24, 1911. + + + +PREFACE + + +It is difficult, if not impossible, to find a more hospitable and +generous nation than the Brazilian. The recollection of my trip through +the wilds of Amazonas lingers in all its details, and although my +experiences were not always of a pleasant character, yet the good +treatment and warm reception accorded me make me feel the deepest +sense of gratitude to the Brazilians, whose generosity will always +abide in my memory. + +There is in the Brazilian language a word that better than any +other describes the feeling with which one remembers a sojourn +in Brazil. This word, _saudades_, is charged with an abundance of +sentiment, and, though a literal translation of it is difficult to +arrive at, its meaning approaches "sweet memories of bygone days." + +Although a limitation of space forbids my expressing in full my +obligation to all those who treated me kindly, I must not omit to state +my special indebtedness to three persons, without whose invaluable +assistance and co-operation I would not have been able to complete +this book. + +First of all, my thanks are due to the worthy Colonel Rosendo da Silva, +owner of the rubber estate Floresta on the Itecoahy River. Through +his generosity and his interest, I was enabled to study the work and +the life conditions of the rubber workers, the employees on his estate. + +The equally generous but slightly less civilised Benjamin, high +potentate of the tribe of Mangeroma cannibals, is the second to whom I +wish to express my extreme gratitude, although my obligations to him +are of a slightly different character: in the first place, because +he did not order me to be killed and served up, well or medium done, +to suit his fancy (which he had a perfect right to do); and, in the +second place, because he took a great deal of interest in my personal +welfare and bestowed all the strange favours upon me that are recorded +in this book. He opened my eyes to things which, at the time and under +the circumstances, did not impress me much, but which, nevertheless, +convinced me that, even at this late period of the world's history, +our earth has not been reduced to a dead level of drab and commonplace +existence, and that somewhere in the remote parts of the world are +still to be found people who have never seen or heard of white men. + +Last, but not least, I wish to express my deep obligation to my +valued friend, Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, who, through his helpful +suggestions, made prior to my departure, contributed essentially to +the final success of this enterprise, and whose friendly assistance +has been called into requisition and unstintingly given in the course +of the preparation of this volume. + + +A.L. + +NEW YORK, January, 1912. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + Chapter + + I Remate de Males, or "Culmination of Evils" + II The Social and Political Life of Remate de Males + III Other Incidents During My Stay in Remate de Males + IV The Journey up the Itecoahy River + V Floresta: Life Among the Rubber-Workers + VI The Fatal March Through the Forest + VII The Fatal "Tambo No. 9" + VIII What Happened in the Forest + IX Among the Cannibal Mangeromas + X The Fight Between the Mangeromas and the Peruvians + Index + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + A Little Village Built on Poles + The Javary River + The Mouth of the Itecoahy River + Nazareth + Trader's Store + Remate de Males or "Culmination of Evils" + The Street in Remate de Males + General View of Remate de Males + Sunset on the Itecoahy River + An Ant Nest in a Tree + The Launch "Carolina" + The Banks of the Itecoahy + The Mouth of the Ituhy River + The Toucan + The Banks of the Itecoahy River + Clearing the Jungle + Urubus + "Nova Aurora" + "Defumador" or Smoking Hut + Matamata Tree + The Urucu Plant + The Author in the Jungle + The Mouth of the Branco + Branding Rubber on the Sand-Bar + The Landing at Floresta + The Banks at Floresta + A General View of Floresta + Morning + Coronel Rosendo da Silva + Chief Marques + Interior of A Rubber-Worker's Hut + Joao + The Murumuru Palm + A "Seringueiro" Tapping a Rubber Tree + Smoking the Rubber-Milk + Forest Interior + A Fig-Tree Completely Overgrown with Orchids + Chico, The Monkey + Turtle Eggs on the Sand-Bank + The Pirarucu + The Last Resting-Place of the Rubber-Workers + "Seringueiros" + Joao + Floresta Creek + Lake Innocence + Alligator from Lake Innocence + Another Alligator from Lake Innocence + Rubber-Workers' Home near Lake Innocence + Harpooning a Large Sting-Ray + Shooting Fish on Lake Innocence + The Pirarucu + Amazonian Game-Fish + The Track of the Anaconda--The Sucuruju + The Paca + Rubber-Worker Perreira and Wife in their Sunday Clothes + A "New Home" Sewing-Machine in an Indian Hut + The Remarkable Pachiuba Palm-Tree + Kitchen Interior + The Beginning of the Fatal Expedition + A Halt in the Forest + Jungle Scenery + Forest Creek + Top of Hill + Page Marsh-Deer and Mutum-Bird + Jungle Darkness + Creek in the Unknown + Eating our Broiled Monkey at Tambo No. 5 + Hunting + The Fatal Tambo No. 9 + A Photograph of the Author + The Front View of Tambo No. 9 + Caoutchouc Process No. 1 + Caoutchouc Process No. 2 + Caoutchouc Process No. 3 + Creek Near Tambo No. 9 + The Author's Working Table at Tambo No. 9 + Forest Scenery Near Tambo No. 9 + Our Parting Breakfast + Mangeroma Vase 399 + + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +REMATE DE MALES, OR "CULMINATION OF EVILS" + + +My eyes rested long upon the graceful white-painted hull of the +R.M.S. _Manco_ as she disappeared behind a bend of the Amazon River, +more than 2200 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. After 47 days of +continuous travel aboard of her, I was at last standing on the +Brazilian frontier, watching the steamer's plume of smoke still +hanging lazily over the immense, brooding forests. More than a plume +of smoke it was to me then; it was the final link that bound me to +the outside world of civilisation. At last it disappeared. I turned +and waded through the mud up to a small wooden hut built on poles. + +It was the end of January, 1910, that saw me approaching this house, +built on Brazilian terra firma--or rather terra aqua, for water was +inundating the entire land. I had behind me the Amazon itself, and to +the right the Javary River, while the little house that I was heading +for was Esperanca, the official frontier station of Brazil. The +opposite shore was Peru and presented an unbroken range of dense, +swampy forest, grand but desolate to look upon. + +A middle-aged man in uniform came towards me and greeted me cordially, +in fact embraced me, and, ordering a servant to pull my baggage out +of the water, led me up a ladder into the house. I told him that +I intended to go up the Javary River, to a place called Remate de +Males, where I would live with a medical friend of mine, whereupon +he informed me that a launch was due this same night, which would +immediately proceed to my proposed destination. Later in the evening +the launch came and I embarked after being once more embraced by the +courteous Cor. Monteiro, the frontier official. The captain of this +small trading launch was an equally hospitable and courteous man; he +invited me into his cabin and tried to explain that this river, and +the town in particular, where we were going, was a most unhealthy and +forbidding place, especially for a foreigner, but he added cheerfully +that he knew of one white man, an Englishman, who had succeeded in +living for several years on the Javary without being killed by the +fever, but incidentally had drank himself to death. + +The night was very dark and damp, and I did not see much of the passing +scenery; a towering black wall of trees was my total impression +during the journey. However, I managed at length to fall asleep on +some coffee-bags near the engine and did not wake till the launch +was exhausting its steam supply through its whistle. + +My next impression was that of a low river bank fringed with dirty +houses lighted by candles. People were sitting in hammocks smoking +cigarettes, dogs were barking incessantly, and frogs and crickets were +making a deafening noise when I walked up the main and only street +of this little town, which was to be my headquarters for many months +to come. + +After some inquiry, I finally found my friend, Dr. M----, sitting in +a dark, dismal room in the so-called _Hotel Agosto_. With a graceful +motion of his hand he pointed to a chair of ancient structure, +indicating that having now travelled so many thousand miles to reach +this glorious place, I was entitled to sit down and let repose overtake +me. Indeed, I was in Remate de Males. + +Never shall I forget that first night's experience with mosquitoes and +ants. Besides this my debut in a hammock for a bed was a pronounced +failure, until a merciful sleep temporarily took me from the sad +realities. + +Remate de Males lies just where a step farther would plunge one into +an unmapped country. It is a little village built on poles; the last +"blaze" of civilisation on the trail of the upper river. When the +rainy winter season drives out of the forests every living creature +that can not take refuge in the trees, the rubber-workers abandon +the crude stages of the manufacture that they carry on there and +gather in the village to make the best of what life has to offer them +in this region. At such times the population rises to the number of +some 500 souls, for the most part Brazilians and domesticated Indians +or _caboclos_. + +Nothing could better summarise the attractions (!) of the place than +the name which has become fixed upon it. Translated into English this +means "Culmination of Evils," Remate de Males. + +Some thirty years ago, a prospector with his family and servants, +in all about a score, arrived at this spot near the junction of the +Javary and the Itecoahy rivers, close to the equator. They came by +the only possible highway, the river, and decided to settle. Soon the +infinite variety of destroyers of human life that abound on the upper +Amazon began their work on the little household, reducing its number +to four and threatening to wipe it out altogether. But the prospector +stuck to it and eventually succeeded in giving mankind a firm hold +on this wilderness. In memory of what he and succeeding settlers went +through, the village received its cynically descriptive name. + +Remate de Males, separated by weeks and weeks of journey by boat +from the nearest spot of comparative civilisation down the river, +has grown wonderfully since its pioneer days. Dismal as one finds +it to be, if I can give an adequate description in these pages, it +will be pronounced a monument to man's nature-conquering instincts, +and ability. Surely no pioneers ever had a harder battle than these +Brazilians, standing with one foot in "the white man's grave," as the +Javary region is called in South America, while they faced innumerable +dangers. The markets of the world need rubber, and the supplying of +this gives them each year a few months' work in the forests at very +high wages. I always try to remember these facts when I am tempted to +harshly judge Remate de Males according to our standards; moreover, I +can never look upon the place quite as an outsider. I formed pleasant +friendships there and entered into the lives of many of its people, +so I shall always think of it with affection. The village is placed +where the Itecoahy runs at right angles into the Javary, the right-hand +bank of the Itecoahy forming at once its main and its only street. The +houses stand facing this street, all very primitive and all elevated +on palm-trunk poles as far as possible above the usual high-water +mark of the river. Everything, from the little sheet-iron church +to the pig-sty, is built on poles. Indeed, if there is anything in +the theory of evolution, it will not be many generations before the +inhabitants and domestic animals are born equipped with stilts. + +Opposite Remate de Males, across the Itecoahy, is a collection of +some ten huts that form the village of Sao Francisco, while across +the Javary is the somewhat larger village of Nazareth. Like every real +metropolis, you see, Remate de Males has its suburbs. Nazareth is in +Peruvian territory, the Javary forming the boundary between Brazil and +Peru throughout its length of some 700 miles. This same boundary line +is a source of amusing punctiliousness between the officials of each +country. To cross it is an affair requiring the exercise of the limits +of statesmanship. I well remember an incident that occurred during my +stay in the village. A sojourner in our town, an Indian rubber-worker +from the Ituhy River, had murdered a woman by strangling her. He +escaped in a canoe to Nazareth before the Brazilian officials could +capture him, and calmly took refuge on the porch of a house there, +where he sat down in a hammock and commenced to smoke cigarettes, +feeling confident that his pursuers would not invade Peruvian soil. But +local diplomacy was equal to the emergency. Our officials went to the +shore opposite Nazareth, and, hiding behind the trees, endeavoured to +pick off their man with their .44 Winchesters, reasoning that though +their crossing would be an international incident, no one could +object to a bullet's crossing. Their poor aim was the weak spot in +the plan. After a few vain shots had rattled against the sheet-iron +walls of the house where the fugitive was sitting, he got up from among +his friends and lost himself in the jungle, never to be heard of again. + +About sixty-five houses, lining the bank of the Itecoahy River over a +distance of what would be perhaps six blocks in New York City, make up +Remate de Males. They are close together and each has a ladder reaching +from the street to the main and only floor. At the bottom of every +ladder appears a rudimentary pavement, probably five square feet in +area and consisting of fifty or sixty whiskey and gin bottles placed +with their necks downwards. Thus in the rainy season when the water +covers the street to a height of seven feet, the ladders always have +a solid foundation. The floors consist of split palm logs laid with +the round side up. Palm leaves form the roofs, and rusty corrugated +sheet-iron, for the most part, the walls. Each house has a sort of +backyard and kitchen, also on stilts and reached by a bridge. + +Through the roofs and rafters gambol all sorts of wretched +pests. Underneath the houses roam pigs, goats, and other domestic +animals, which sometimes appear in closer proximity than might be +wished, owing to the spaces between the logs of the floor. That is +in the dry season. In the winter, or the wet season, these animals +are moved into the houses with you, and their places underneath are +occupied by river creatures, alligators, water-snakes, and malignant, +repulsive fish, of which persons outside South America know nothing. + +Near the centre of the village is the "sky-scraper," the _Hotel +de Augusto_, which boasts a story and a quarter in height. Farther +along are the _Intendencia_, or Government building, painted blue, +the post-office yellow, the _Recreio Popular_ pink; beyond, the +residence of Mons. Danon, the plutocrat of the village, and farther +"downtown" the church, unpainted. Do not try to picture any of these +places from familiar structures. They are all most unpretentious; +their main point of difference architecturally from the rest of the +village consists in more utterly neglected facades. + +The post-office and the meteorological observatory, in one dilapidated +house, presided over by a single self-important official, deserve +description here. The postmaster himself is a pajama-clad gentleman, +whose appearance is calculated to strike terror to the souls of +humble _seringueiros_, or rubber-workers, who apply for letters +only at long intervals. On each of these occasions I would see this +important gentleman, who had the word _coronel_ prefixed to his name, +Joao Silva de Costa Cabral, throw up his hands, in utter despair at +being disturbed, and slowly proceed to his desk from which he would +produce the letters. With great pride this "Pooh-Bah" had a large sign +painted over the door. The post-office over which he presides is by no +means overworked, as only one steamer arrives every five weeks, or so, +but still he has the appearance of being "driven." But when he fusses +around his "_Observatorio meteorologico_," which consists of a maximum +and minimum thermometer and a pluviometer, in a tightly closed box, +raised above the ground on a tall pole, then indeed, his air would +impress even the most blase town-sport. I was in the village when +this observatory was installed, and after it had been running about +a week, the mighty official called on me and asked me confidentially +if I would not look the observatory over and see if it was all right. + +My examination showed that the thermometers were screwed on tight, +which accounted for the amazingly uniform readings shown on his +chart. The pluviometer was inside the box, and therefore it would have +been difficult to convince scientists that the clouds had not entirely +skipped Remate de Males during the rainy season, unless the postmaster +were to put the whole observatory under water by main force. He also +had a chart showing the distribution of clouds on each day of the +year. I noticed that the letter "N" occupied a suspiciously large +percentage of the space on the chart, and when I asked him for the +meaning of this he said that "N"--which in meteorological abbreviation +means Nimbus--stood for "_None_" (in Portuguese _Nao_). And he thought +that he must be right because it was the rainy season. + +The hotel, in which I passed several months as a guest, until +I finally decided to rent a hut for myself, had points about it +which outdid anything that I have ever seen or heard of in comic +papers about "summer boarding." The most noticeable feature was the +quarter-of-a-story higher than any other house in the village. While +this meant a lead as to quantity I could never see that it represented +anything in actual quality. I would not have ventured up the ladder +which gave access to the extra story without my Winchester in hand, +and during the time I was there I never saw anyone else do so. The +place was nominally a store-house, but having gone undisturbed for +long periods it was an ideal sanctuary for hordes of vermin--and +these the vermin of the Amazon, dangerous, poisonous, not merely the +annoying species we know. Rats were there in abundance, also deadly +scolopendra and centipedes; and large bird-eating spiders were daily +seen promenading up and down the sheet-iron walls. + +On the main floor the building had two large rooms across the centre, +one on the front and one on the rear. At each side were four small +rooms. The large front-room was used as a dining-room and had two +broad tables of planed palm trunks. The side-rooms were bedrooms, +generally speaking, though most of the time I was there some were +used for stabling the pigs and goats, which had to be taken in owing +to the rainy season. + +It is a simple matter to keep a hotel on the upper Amazon. Each room +in the _Hotel de Augusto_ was neatly and chastely furnished with +a pair of iron hooks from which to hang the hammock, an article +one had to provide himself. There was nothing in the room besides +the hooks. No complete privacy was possible because the corrugated +sheet-iron partitions forming the walls did not extend to the roof. The +floors were sections of palm trees, with the flat side down, making +a succession of ridges with open spaces of about an inch between, +through which the ground or the water, according to the season, was +visible. The meals were of the usual monotonous fare typical of the +region. Food is imported at an enormous cost to this remote place, +since there is absolutely no local agriculture. Even sugar and rice, +for instance, which are among the important products of Brazil, +can be had in New York for about one-tenth of what the natives pay +for them in Remate de Males. A can of condensed milk, made to sell +in America for eight or nine cents, brings sixty cents on the upper +Amazon, and preserved butter costs $1.20 a pound. + +The following prices which I have had to pay during the wet season +in this town will, doubtless, be of interest: + + + One box of sardines $ 1.20 + One pound of unrefined sugar .30 + One roll of tobacco (16 pounds) 21.30 + One basket of farinha retails in Para for $4.50 13.30 + One bottle of ginger ale .60 + One pound of potatoes .60 + Calico with stamped pattern, pr. yd. .90 + One Collins machete, N.Y. price, $1.00 12.00 + One pair of men's shoes 11.00 + One bottle of very plain port wine, 22,000 reis or 7.30 + + +Under such circumstances, of course, the food supply is very +poor. Except for a few dried cereals and staples, nothing is used +but canned goods; the instances where small domestic animals are +slaughtered are so few as to be negligible. Furthermore, as a rule, +these very animals are converted into jerked meat to be kept for months +and months. Some fish are taken from the river, but the Amazon fish +are none too palatable generally speaking, with a few exceptions; +besides, the natives are not skilful enough to prepare them to suit +a civilised palate. + +A typical, well provided table on the Amazon would afford dry farinha +in the first place. This is the granulated root of the Macacheira +plant, the _Jatropha manihot_, which to our palates would seem like +desiccated sawdust, although it appears to be a necessity for the +Brazilian. He pours it on his meat, into his soup, and even into his +wine and jams. Next you would have a black bean, which for us lacks +flavour even as much as the farinha. With this there would probably be +rice, and on special occasions jerked beef, a product as tender and +succulent as the sole of a riding boot. Great quantities of coffee +are drunk, made very thick and prepared without milk or sugar. All +these dishes are served at once, so that they promptly get cold and +are even more tasteless before their turn comes to be devoured. + +For five months I experienced this torturing menu at the hotel with +never-ceasing regularity. The only change I ever noticed was on Sundays +or days of feast when beans might occupy the other end of the table. + +But what can the Brazilians do? The cost of living is about ten times +as high as in New York. Agriculture is impossible in the regions +where the land is flooded annually, and the difficulties of shipping +are enormous. When I left the hotel and started housekeeping on my +own account, I found that I could not do a great deal better. By +specialising on one thing at a time I avoided monotony to some +extent, but then it was probably only because I was a "new broom" +at the business. + +As illustrating the community life that we enjoyed at the hotel, +I will relate a happening that I have set down in my notes as +an instance of the great mortality of this region. One afternoon +a woman's three-months-old child was suddenly taken ill. The child +grew worse rapidly and the mother finally decided that it was going +to die. Her husband was up the river on the rubber estates and she +did not want to be left alone. So she came to the hotel with the +child and besought them to let her in. The infant was placed in a +hammock where it lay crying pitifully. At last the wailings of the +poor little creature became less frequent and the child died. + +Before the body was quite cold the mother and the landlady commenced +clearing a table in the dining-room. I looked at this performance +in astonishment because it was now evident that they were going to +prepare a "_lit de parade_" there, close to the tables where our +meals were served. The body was then brought in, dressed in a white +robe adorned with pink, yellow, and sky-blue silk ribbons. Loose +leaves and branches were scattered over the little emaciated body, +care being taken not to conceal any of the fancy silk ribbons. Empty +whiskey and gin bottles were placed around the bier, a candle stuck +in the mouth of each bottle, and then the whole thing was lighted up. + +It was now getting dark fast, and as the doors were wide open, +a great crowd was soon attracted by the brilliant display. All the +"400" of the little rubber town seemed to pour in a steady stream into +the dining-room. It was a new experience, even in this hotel where +I had eaten with water up to my knees, to take a meal with a funeral +going on three feet away. We had to partake of our food with the body +close by and the candle smoke blowing in our faces, adding more local +colour to our jerked beef and beans than was desirable. More and more +people came in to pay their respects to the child that hardly any +one had known while it was alive. Through it all the mother sat on +a trunk in a corner peacefully smoking her pipe, evidently proud of +the celebration that was going on in honour of her deceased offspring. + +The kitchen boy brought in a large tray with cups of steaming coffee; +biscuits also were carried around to the spectators who sat against +the wall on wooden boxes. The women seemed to get the most enjoyment +out of the mourning; drinking black coffee, smoking their pipes, and +paying little attention to the cause of their being there, only too +happy to have an official occasion to show off their finest skirts. The +men had assembled around the other table, which had been cleared in +the meantime, and they soon sent the boy out for whiskey and beer, +passing away the time playing cards. + +I modestly inquired how long this feast was going to last, because +my room adjoined the dining-room and was separated only by a thin +sheet-iron partition open at the top. The landlady, with a happy smile, +informed me that the mourning would continue till the early hours, +when a launch would arrive to transport the deceased and the guests +to the cemetery. This was about four miles down the Javary River and +was a lonely, half-submerged spot. + +There was nothing for me to do but submit and make the best of it. All +night the mourners went on, the women drinking black coffee, while the +men gambled and drank whiskey in great quantities, the empty bottles +being employed immediately as additional candlesticks. Towards morning, +due to their heroic efforts, a multitude of bottles totally obliterated +the "_lit de parade_" from view. I managed to fall asleep completely +exhausted when the guests finally went off at nine o'clock. The +doctor diagnosed the case of the dead child as chronic indigestion, +the result of the mother's feeding a three-months-old infant on jerked +beef and black beans. + +Life in the hotel during the rainy season is variegated. I have spoken +of having eaten a meal with water up to my knees. That happened often +during the weeks when the river was at its highest level. Once when +we were having our noon-day meal during the extreme high-water period +a man came paddling his canoe in at the open door, sailed past us, +splashing a little water on the table as he did so, and navigated +through to the back room where he delivered some supplies. + +During this feat everybody displayed the cheerful and courteous +disposition usual to the Brazilians. At this season you must +wear wading boots to eat a meal or do anything else about the +house. Sleeping is somewhat easier as the hammocks are suspended about +three feet above the level of the water, but an involuntary plunge +is a thing not entirely unknown to an amateur sleeping in a hammock; +I know this from personal experience. + +Every morning the butcher comes to the village between five and +six o'clock and sharpens his knife while he awaits calls for his +ministrations. He is an undersized man with very broad shoulders and +a face remarkable for its cunning, cruel expression. His olive-brown +complexion, slanting eyes, high cheek-bones, and sharp-filed teeth +are all signs of his coming from the great unknown interior. His +business here is to slaughter the cattle of the town. He does this +deftly by thrusting a long-bladed knife into the neck of the animal +at the base of the brain, until it severs the medulla, whereupon +the animal collapses without any visible sign of suffering. It is +then skinned and the intestines thrown into the water where they +are immediately devoured by a small but voracious fish called the +_candiroo-escrivao_. This whole operation is carried on inside the +house, in the back-room, as long as the land is flooded. + +It must be remembered that during the rainy season an area equal in +size to about a third of the United States is entirely submerged. There +is a network of rivers that eventually find their way into the Amazon +and the land between is completely inundated. In all this immense +territory there are only a few spots of sufficient elevation to be +left high and dry. Remate de Males, as I have explained, is at the +junction of the Itecoahy and the Javary rivers, the latter 700 miles +in length, and thirty miles or so below the village the Javary joins +the Amazon proper, or Solimoes as it is called here. Thus we are in +the heart of the submerged region. When I first arrived in February, +1910, I found the river still confined to its channel, with the water +about ten feet below the level of the street. A few weeks later it +was impossible to take a single step on dry land anywhere. + +The water that drives the rubber-workers out of the forests also drives +all animal life to safety. Some of the creatures seek refuge in the +village. I remember that we once had a huge alligator take temporary +lodgings in the backyard of the hotel after he had travelled no one +knows how many miles through the inundated forest. At all hours we +could hear him making excursions under the house to snatch refuse +thrown from the kitchen, but we always knew he would have welcomed +more eagerly a member of the household who might drop his way. + +And now a few words about the people who lived under the conditions +I have described, and who keep up the struggle even though, as they +themselves have put it, "each ton of rubber costs a human life." + +In the first place I must correct any erroneous impression as to +neatness that may have been formed by my remarks about the animals +being kept in the dwellings during the rainy season. The Brazilians +are scrupulous about their personal cleanliness, and in fact, go +through difficulties to secure a bath which might well discourage +more civilised folk. + +No one would dream, for an instant, of immersing himself in the +rivers. In nine cases out of ten it would amount to suicide to do +so, and the natives have bathhouses along the shores; more literally +bathhouses than ours, for their baths are actually taken in them. They +are just as careful about clothing being aired and clean. Indeed, the +main item of the Brazilian woman's housekeeping is the washing. The +cooking is rather happy-go-lucky; and there is no use cleaning and +polishing iron walls; they get rusty anyhow. + +The people are all occupied with the rubber industry and the town +owes its existence to the economic necessity of having here a shipping +and trading point for the product. The rubber is gathered farther up +along the shores of the Javary and the Itecoahy and is transported +by launch and canoe to Remate de Males. Here it is shipped directly +or sold to travelling dealers who send it down to Manaos or Para via +the boat of the Amazon Steam Navigation Co., which comes up during +the rainy season. Thence it goes to the ports of the world. + +The rubber-worker is a well paid labourer even though he belongs to +the unskilled class. The tapping of the rubber trees and the smoking of +the milk pays from eight to ten dollars a day in American gold. This, +to him, of course, is riches and the men labour here in order that they +may go back to their own province as wealthy men. Nothing else will +yield this return; the land is not used for other products. It is hard +to see how agriculture or cattle-raising could be carried on in this +region, and, if they could, they would certainly not return more than +one fourth or one fifth of what the rubber industry does. The owners of +the great rubber estates, or _seringales_, are enormously wealthy men. + +There are fewer women than men in Remate de Males, and none of the +former is beautiful. They are for the most part Indians or Brazilians +from the province of Ceara, with very dark skin, hair, and eyes, and +teeth filed like shark's teeth. They go barefooted, as a rule. Here +you will find all the incongruities typical of a race taking the +first step in civilisation. The women show in their dress how the +well-paid men lavish on them the extravagances that appeal to the +lingering savage left in their simple natures. + +Women, who have spent most of their isolated lives in utterly +uncivilised surroundings, will suddenly be brought into a community +where other women are found, and immediately the instinct of +self-adornment is brought into full play. Each of them falls under +the sway of "Dame Fashion"--for there are the _latest things_, even +on the upper Amazon. Screaming colours are favoured; a red skirt with +green stars was considered at one time the height of fashion, until an +inventive woman discovered that yellow dots could also be worked in. In +addition to these dresses, the women will squander money on elegant +patent-leather French slippers (with which they generally neglect to +wear stockings), and use silk handkerchiefs perfumed with the finest +Parisian eau de Cologne, bought at a cost of from fourteen to fifteen +dollars a bottle. Arrayed in all her glory on some gala occasion, +the whole effect enhanced by the use of a short pipe from which she +blows volumes of smoke, the woman of Remate de Males is a unique sight. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE OF REMATE DE MALES + + +The social life of the town is in about the same stage of development +as it must have been during the Stone Age. When darkness falls over the +village, as it does at six o'clock all the year round, life practically +stops, and a few hours afterwards everyone is in his hammock. + +There is one resort where the town-sports come to spend their +evenings, the so-called _Recreio Popular_. Its principal patrons are +_seringueiros_, or rubber-workers, who have large rolls of money that +they are anxious to spend with the least possible effort, and generally +get their desire over the gaming boards. The place is furnished with +a billiard table and a gramophone with three badly worn records. The +billiard table is in constant use by a certain element up to midnight, +and so are the three eternal records of the gramophone. It will take +me years surrounded by the comforts of civilisation to get those three +frightful tunes out of my head, and I do not see how they could fail +to drive even the hardened _seringueiros_ to an early grave. + +Another resort close by, where the native _cachassa_ is sold, is +patronised principally by negroes and half-breeds. Here they play +the guitar, in combination with a home-made instrument resembling +a mandolin, as accompaniment to a monotonous native song, which +is kept up for hours. With the exception of these two places, the +village does not furnish any life or local colour after nightfall, +the natives spending their time around the mis-treated gramophones, +which are found in almost every hut. + +The men of the village, unlike the women, are not picturesque +in appearance. The officials are well paid, so is everyone else, +yet they never think of spending money to improve the looks of the +village or even their own. Most of them are ragged. A few exhibit an +inadequate elegance, dressed in white suits, derby hats, and very +high collars. But in spite of the seeming poverty, there is not a +_seringueiro_ who could not at a moment's notice produce a handful of +bills that would strike envy to the heart of many prosperous business +men of civilisation. The amount will often run into millions of reis; +a sum that may take away the breath of a stranger who does not know +that one thousand of these Brazilian reis make but thirty cents in +our money. + +The people of the Amazon love to gamble. One night three merchants +and a village official came to the hotel to play cards. They gathered +around the dining-room table at eight o'clock, ordered a case of +Pabst beer, which sells, by the way, at four dollars and sixty cents +a bottle in American gold, and several boxes of our National Biscuit +Company's products, and then began on a game, which resembles our +poker. They played till midnight, when they took a recess of half +an hour, during which large quantities of the warm beer and many +crackers were consumed. Then, properly nourished, they resumed the +game, which lasted until six o'clock the next morning. This was a +fair example of the gambling that went on. + +The stakes were high enough to do honours to the fashionable gamblers +of New York, but there was never the slightest sign of excitement. At +first I used to expect that surely the card table would bring forth all +sorts of flashes of tropic temperament--even a shooting or stabbing +affair. But the composure was always perfect. I have seen a loser +pay, without so much as a regretful remark, the sum of three million +and a half reis, which, though only $1050 in our money, is still a +considerable sum for a labourer to lose. + +Once a month a launch comes down from Iquitos in Peru, about five +days' journey up the Amazon. This launch is sent out by Iquitos +merchants, to supply the wants of settlers of the rubber estates on +the various affluents. It is hard to estimate what suffering would +result if these launches should be prevented from reaching their +destinations, for the people are absolutely dependent upon them, +the region being non-producing, as I have said, and the supplies +very closely calculated. In Remate de Males, the superintendent, or +the mayor of the town, generally owns a few head of cattle brought +by steamer, and when these are consumed no meat can be had in the +region but Swift's canned "Corned Beef." + +Then there are the steamers from the outer world. During the rainy +season, the _Mauretania_ could get up to Remate de Males from +the Atlantic Ocean without difficulty, though there is no heavy +navigation on the upper Javary River. But steamers go up the Amazon +proper several days' journey farther. You can at the present get a +through steamer from Iquitos in Peru down the Amazon to New York. + +These boats occasionally bring immigrants from the eastern portions of +Brazil, where they have heard of the fortunes to be made in working the +rubber, and who have come, just as our prospectors came into the West, +hoping to take gold and their lives back with them. Besides passengers, +these boats carry cattle and merchandise and transport the precious +rubber back to Para and Manaos. They are welcomed enthusiastically. As +soon as they are sighted, every man in town takes his Winchester down +from the wall and runs into the street to empty the magazine as many +times as he feels that he can afford in his exuberance of feeling at +the prospect of getting mail from home and fresh food supplies. + +On some occasions, marked with a red letter on the calendar, canoes +may be seen coming down the Itecoahy River, decorated with leaves +and burning candles galore. They are filled with enthusiasts who are +setting off fireworks and shouting with delight. They are devotees of +some up-river saint, who are taking this conventional way of paying +the headquarters a visit. + +The priest, who occupies himself with saving the hardened souls of +the rubber-workers, is a worthy-looking man, who wears a dark-brown +cassock, confined at the waist with a rope. He is considered the +champion drinker of Remate de Males. The church is one of the neatest +buildings in the town, though this may be because it is so small as +to hold only about twenty-five people. It is devoid of any article +of decoration, but outside is a white-washed wooden cross on whose +foundation candles are burned, when there is illness in some family, +or the local patron saint's influence is sought on such a problem as +getting a job. The religion is, of course, Catholic, but, as in every +case where isolation from the source occurs, the natives have grafted +local influences into their faith, until the result is a Catholicism +different from the one we know. + +The administration of the town is in the hands of the superintendent, +who is a Federal officer not elected by the villagers. His power is +practically absolute as far as this community is concerned. Under +him are a number of Government officials, all of whom are extremely +well paid and whose duty seems to consist in being on hand promptly +when the salaries are paid. + +The chief of police is a man of very prepossessing appearance, but +with a slightly discoloured nose. His appointment reminded me of that +of Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., in _Pinafore_, who was made "ruler of +the Queen's navee" in spite of a very slight acquaintance with things +nautical. Our chief of police had been _chef d' orchestre_ of the +military band of Manaos. They found there that his bibulous habits +were causing his nose to blush more and more, so he was given the +position of Chief of Police of Remate de Males. It must be admitted +that in his new position he has gone on developing the virtue that +secured it for him, so there is no telling how high he may rise. + +The police force consists of one man, and a very versatile one, +as will be seen, for he is also the rank and file of the military +force. I saw this remarkable official only once. At that time he was +in a sad condition from over-indulgence in alcoholic beverages. There +are exact statistics of comparison available for the police and +military forces. The former is just two-thirds of the latter in +number. Expressed in the most easily understood terms, we can put it +that our versatile friend has a chief to command him when a policeman, +and a coronel and lieutenant when he is a soldier. Whether there +is any graft in it or not, I do not know, but money is saved by the +police-military force being one man with interchangeable uniforms, and +the money must go into somebody's pocket. It might be thought that when +the versatile one had to appear in both capacities at once, he might be +at a loss. But not a bit of it. The landing of one of the down-river +steamers offers such an occasion. As soon as the gangplank is out, +the policeman goes aboard with the official papers. He is welcomed, +receives his fee, and disappears. Not two minutes afterwards, the +military force in full uniform is seen to emerge from the same hut +into which the policeman went. He appears on the scene with entire +unconcern, and the rough and ready diplomacy of Remate de Males has +again triumphed. + +One of the reasons for the flattering (!) name of the town, +"Culmination of Evils," is the great mortality of the community, which +it has as a part of the great Javary district. Its inhabitants suffer +from all the functional diseases found in other parts of the world, +and, in addition, maladies which are typical of the region. Among the +most important of these are the paludismus, or malarial swamp-fever, +the yellow-fever, popularly recognised as the black vomit, and last but +not least the beri-beri, the mysterious disease which science does not +yet fully understand. The paludismus is so common that it is looked +upon as an unavoidable incident of the daily life. It is generally +caused by the infectious bite of a mosquito, the _Anopheles_, which +is characterised by its attacking with its body almost perpendicular +to the surface it has selected. It is only the female mosquito +that bites. There are always fever patients on the Amazon, and the +_Anopheles_, stinging indiscriminately, transfers the malarial microbes +from a fever patient to the blood of well persons. The latter are sure +to be laid up within ten days with the _sezoes_, as the fever is called +here, unless a heavy dose of quinine is taken in time to check it. + +The yellow fever mosquito, the _Stygoma faciata_, seems to prefer other +down-river localities, but is frequent enough to cause anxiety. They +call the yellow fever the black vomit, because of this unmistakable +symptom of the disease, which, when once it sets in, always means +a fatal termination. The beri-beri still remains a puzzling malady +from which no recoveries have yet been reported, at least not on the +Amazon. On certain rivers, in the Matto Grosso province of Brazil, +or in Bolivian territory, the beri-beri patients have some chance +of recovery. By immediately leaving the infested district they can +descend the rivers until they reach a more favourable climate near +the sea-coast, or they can go to more elevated regions. But here +on the Amazon, where the only avenue of escape is the river itself, +throughout its length a hot-bed of disease where no change of climate +occurs, the time consumed in reaching the sea-coast is too long. The +cause of this disease, and its cure, are unknown. It manifests itself +through paralysis of the limbs, which begins at the finger-tips and +gradually extends through the system until the heart-muscles become +paralysed and death occurs. + +The only precautionary measures available are doses of quinine and +the use of the mosquito-net, or _mosquitero_. The latter's value as +a preventive is problematical, however, for during each night one +is bound to be bitten frequently, yes, hundreds of times, by the +ever-present insects in spite of all. + +But if we curse the mosquito, what are we to say of certain other +pests that add to the miseries of life in that out-of-the-way corner +of the globe, and are more persistent in their attentions than +even the mosquito? In the first place, there are the ants. They are +everywhere. They build their nests under the houses, in the tables, +and in the cracks of the floors, and lie in ambush waiting the arrival +of a victim, whom they attack from all sides. They fasten themselves +on one and sometimes it takes hours of labour to extract them. Many +are the breakfasts I have delayed on awaking and finding myself to +be the object of their attention. It proved necessary to tie wads +of cotton covered with vaseline to the fastenings of the hammock, +to keep the intruders off. But they even got around this plan. As +soon as the bodies of the first arrivals covered the vaseline, the +rest of the troops marched across them in safety and gained access to +the hammock, causing a quick evacuation on my part. Articles of food +were completely destroyed by these carnivorous creatures, within a +few minutes after I had placed them on the table. + +I present here a list of the various species of ants known to the +natives, together with the peculiarities by which they distinguish +them. I collected the information from Indians on the Seringal +"Floresta" on the Itecoahy River. + + +_Aracara_--the dreaded fire-ant whose sting is felt for hours. + +_Auhiqui_--lives in the houses where it devours everything edible. + +_Chicitaya_--its bite gives a transient fever. + +_Monyuarah_--clears a large space in the forest for its nest. + +_Sauba_--carries a green leaf over its head. + +_Tachee_--a black ant whose bite gives a transient fever. + +_Tanajura_--one inch long and edible when fried in lard. + +_Taxyrana_--enters the houses like the _auhiqui_. + +_Termita_--builds a typical cone-shaped nest in the dry part of +the forests. + +_Tracoa_--its bite gives no fever, but the effect is of long duration. + +_Tucandeira_--black and an inch and a half long, with a bite not only +painful but absolutely dangerous. + +_Tucushee_--gives a transient fever. + +_Uca_--builds large nests in the trees. + + +While convalescing from my first attack of swamp-fever, I had +occasion to study a most remarkable species of spider which was a +fellow lodger in the hut I then occupied. In size, the specimen was +very respectable, being able to cover a circle of nearly six inches +in diameter. This spider subsists on large insects and at times on +the smaller varieties of birds, like finches, etc. Its scientific +name is _Mygale avicularia_. The natives dread it for its poisonous +bite and on account of its great size and hairy body. The first time +I saw the one in my hut was when it was climbing the wall in close +proximity to my hammock. I got up and tried to crush it with my fist, +but the spider made a lightning-quick move and stopped about five or +six inches from where I hit the wall. + +Several times I repeated the attack without success, the spider +always succeeding in moving before it could be touched. Somewhat +out of temper, I procured a hammer of large size and continued +the chase until I was exhausted. When my hand grew steady again, +I took my automatic pistol, used for big game, and, taking a steady +aim on the fat body of the spider, I fired. But with another of the +remarkably quick movements the spider landed the usual safe distance +from destruction. Then I gave it up. For all I know, that animal, I +can scarcely call it an insect after using a big game pistol on it, +is still occupying the hut. About nine months later I was telling +Captain Barnett, of the R.M.S. _Napo_ which picked me up on the Amazon +on my way home, about my ill success in hunting the spider. "Lange," +he asked, "why didn't you try for him with a frying-pan?" + + + +CHAPTER III + +OTHER INCIDENTS DURING MY STAY IN REMATE DE MALES + + +Remate De Males, with Nazareth and Sao Francisco, is set down in the +midst of absolute wilderness. Directly behind the village is the +almost impenetrable maze of tropical jungle. If with the aid of a +machete one gets a minute's walk into it, he cannot find his way out +except by the cackling of the hens around the houses. A dense wall +of vegetation shuts in the settlement on every side. Tall palms stand +above the rest of the trees; lower down is a mass of smaller but more +luxuriant plants, while everywhere is the twining, tangled _lianas_, +making the forest a dark labyrinth of devious ways. Here and there +are patches of tropical blossoms, towering ferns, fungoid growths, or +some rare and beautiful orchid whose parasitical roots have attached +themselves to a tree trunk. And there is always the subdued confusion +that betokens the teeming animal life. + +Looking up the Itecoahy River, one can see nothing but endless forest +and jungle. And the same scene continues for a distance of some eight +or nine hundred miles until reaching the headwaters of the river +somewhere far up in Bolivian territory. No settlements are to be found +up there; a few _seringales_ from seventy-five to a hundred miles +apart constitute the only human habitations in this large area. So +wild and desolate is this river that its length and course are only +vaguely indicated even on the best Brazilian maps. It is popularly +supposed that the Itecoahy takes its actual rise about two weeks' +journey from its nominal head in an absolutely unexplored region. + +I found the life very monotonous in Remate de Males, especially when +the river began to go down. This meant the almost complete ending of +communication with the outer world; news from home reached me seldom +and there was no relief from the isolation. In addition, the various +torments of the region are worse at this season. Sitting beside the +muddy banks of the Itecoahy at sunset, when the vapours arose from the +immense swamps and the sky was coloured in fantastical designs across +the western horizon, was the only relief from the sweltering heat of +the day, for a brief time before the night and its tortures began. Soon +the chorus of a million frogs would start. At first is heard only the +croaking of a few; then gradually more and more add their music until +a loud penetrating throb makes the still, vapour-laden atmosphere +vibrate. The sound reminded me strikingly of that which is heard when +pneumatic hammers are driving home rivets through steel beams. There +were other frogs whose louder and deeper-pitched tones could be +distinguished through the main nocturnal song. These seemed always +to be grumbling something about "_Rubberboots--Rubberboots_." + +By-and-bye one would get used to the sound and it would lose +attention. The water in the river floated slowly on its long journey +towards the ocean, almost 2500 miles away. Large dolphins sometimes +came to the surface, saluting the calm evening with a loud snort, +and disappeared again with a slow, graceful movement. Almost every +evening I could hear issuing from the forest a horrible roar. It came +from the farthest depths and seemed as if it might well represent +the mingled cries of some huge bull and a prowling jaguar that had +attacked him unawares. Yet it all came, I found, from one throat, +that of the howling monkey. He will sit alone for hours in a tree-top +and pour forth these dreadful sounds which are well calculated to +make the lonely wanderer stop and light a camp-fire for protection. + +On the other hand, is heard the noise of the domestic animals of +the village. Cows, calves, goats, and pigs seemed to make a habit of +exercising their vocal organs thoroughly before retiring. Dogs bark +at the moon; cats chase rats through openings of the palm-leaf roofs, +threatening every moment to fall, pursued and pursuers, down upon the +hammocks. Vampires flutter around from room to room, occasionally +resting on the tops of the iron partitions, and when they halt, +continuing to chirp for a while like hoarse sparrows. Occasionally +there will come out of the darkness of the river a disagreeable +sound as if some huge animal were gasping for its last breath before +suffocating in the mud. The sound has its effect, even upon animals, +coming as it does out of the black mysterious night, warning them not +to venture far for fear some uncanny force may drag them to death in +the dismal waters. It is the night call of the alligator. + +The sweet plaintive note of a little partridge, called _inamboo_, +would sometimes tremble through the air and compel me to forget +the spell of unholy sounds arising from the beasts of the jungle and +river. Throughout the evening this amorous bird would call to its mate, +and somewhere there would be an answering call back in the woods. Many +were the nights when, weak with fever, I awoke and listened to their +calling and answering. Yet never did they seem to achieve the bliss +of meeting, for after a brief lull the calling and answering voices +would again take up their pretty song. + +Slowly the days went by and, with their passing, the river fell lower +and lower until the waters receded from the land itself and were +confined once more to their old course in the river-bed. As the ground +began to dry, the time came when the mosquitoes were particularly +vicious. They multiplied by the million. Soon the village was filled +with malaria, and the hypodermic needle was in full activity. + +A crowd of about fifty Indians from the Curuca River had been brought +to Remate de Males by launch. They belonged to the territory owned by +Mons. Danon and slept outside the store-rooms of this plutocrat. Men, +women, and children arranged their quarters in the soft mud until they +could be taken to his rubber estate some hundred miles up the Javary +River. They were still waiting to be equipped with rubber-workers' +outfits when the malaria began its work among them. The poor mistreated +Indians seemed to have been literally saturated with the germs, as +they always slept without any protection whatever; consequently their +systems offered less resistance to the disease than the ordinary +Brazilian's. In four days there were only twelve persons left out +of fifty-two. + +During the last weeks of my stay in Remate de Males, I received an +invitation to take lunch with the local Department Secretary, Professor +Silveiro, an extremely hospitable and well educated Brazilian. The +importance of such an invitation meant for me a radical change in +appearance--an extensive alteration that could not be wrought without +considerable pains. I had to have a five-months' beard shaved off, and +then get into my best New York shirt, not to forget a high collar. I +also considered that the occasion necessitated the impressiveness +of a frock-coat, which I produced at the end of a long search among +my baggage and proceeded to don after extracting a tarantula and +some stray scolopendra from the sleeves and pockets. The sensation of +wearing a stiff collar was novel, and not altogether welcome, since the +temperature was near the 100 deg. mark. The reward for my discomfort came, +however, in the shape of the best meal I ever had in the Amazon region. + +During these dull days I was made happy by finding a copy of Mark +Twain's _A Tramp Abroad_ in a store over in Nazareth on the Peruvian +side of the Javary River. I took it with me to my hammock, hailing +with joy the opportunity of receiving in the wilderness something +that promised a word from "God's Own Country." But before I could +begin the book I had an attack of swamp-fever that laid me up four +days. During one of the intermissions, when I was barely able to move +around, I commenced reading Mark Twain. It did not take more than +two pages of the book to make me forget all about my fever. When I +got to the ninth page, I laughed as I had not laughed for months, and +page 14 made me roar so athletically that I lost my balance and fell +out of my hammock on the floor. I soon recovered and crept back into +the hammock, but out I went when I reached page 16, and repeated the +performance at pages 19, 21, and 24 until the supplementary excitement +became monotonous. Whereupon I procured some rags and excelsior, +made a bed underneath the hammock, and proceeded to enjoy our eminent +humourist's experience in peace. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE JOURNEY UP THE ITECOAHY RIVER + + +With the subsiding of the waters came my long-desired opportunity +to travel the course of the unmapped Itecoahy. In the month of June +a local trader issued a notice that he was to send a launch up the +river for trading purposes and to take the workers who had been +sojourning in Remate de Males back to their places of employment, +to commence the annual extraction of rubber. The launch was scheduled +to sail on a Monday and would ascend the Itecoahy to its headwaters, +or nearly so, thus passing the mouths of the Ituhy, the Branco, +and Las Pedras rivers, affluents of considerable size which are +nevertheless unrecorded on maps. The total length of the Branco River +is over three hundred miles, and it has on its shores several large +and productive _seringales_. + +When on my way up the Amazon to the Brazilian frontier, I had stopped +at Manaos, the capital of the State of Amazonas. There I had occasion +to consult an Englishman about the Javary region. In answer to one of +my inquiries, I received the following letter, which speaks for itself: + +Referring to our conversation of recent date, I should wish once +more to impress upon your mind the perilous nature of your journey, +and I am not basing this information upon hearsay, but upon personal +experience, having traversed the region in question quite recently. + +Owing to certain absolutely untrue articles written by one H----, +claiming to be your countryman, I am convinced that you can not rely +upon the protection of the employees of this company, as having been +so badly libelled by one, they are apt to forget that such articles +were not at your instigation, and as is often the case the innocent +may suffer for the guilty. + +On the other hand, without this protection you will find yourself +absolutely at the mercy of savage and cannibal Indians. + +I have this day spoken to the consul here at Manaos and explained +to him that, although I have no wish to deter you from your voyage, +you must be considered as the only one responsible in any way for +any ill that may befall you. + +Finally, I hope that before disregarding this advice (which I offer +you in a perfectly friendly spirit) you will carefully consider the +consequences which such a voyage might produce, and, frankly speaking, +I consider that your chance of bringing it to a successful termination +is Nil. + +Believe me to be, etc., + +J.A.M. + + +During the time of my journey up the river and of my stay in Remate +de Males, I had seen nothing of the particular dangers mentioned +in this letter. The only Indians I had seen were such as smoked +long black cigars and wore pink or blue pajamas. The letter further +developed an interest, started by the hints of life in the interior, +which had come to me in the civilisation of Remate de Males. I was, +of course, particularly desirous of finding out all I could about the +wild people of the inland regions, since I could not recall that much +had been written about them. + +Henry W. Bates, the famous explorer who ascended the Amazon as far +as Teffe, came within 120 miles of the mouth of the Javary River in +the year 1858, and makes the following statement about the indigenous +tribes of this region: + +The only other tribe of this neighbourhood concerning which I obtained +any information was the Mangeromas, whose territory embraces several +hundred miles of the western banks of the river Javary, an affluent +of the Solimoes, a hundred and twenty miles beyond Sao Paolo da +Olivenca. These are fierce and indomitable and hostile people, like the +Araras of the Madeira River. They are also cannibals. The navigation +of the Javary River is rendered impossible on account of the Mangeromas +lying in wait on its banks to intercept and murder all travellers. + +Now to return to the letter; I thought that perhaps my English friend +had overdrawn things a little in a laudable endeavour to make me more +cautious. In other words, it was for me the old story over again, of +learning at the cost of experience--the story of disregarded advice, +and so I went on in my confidence. + +When the announcement of the launch's sailing came, I went immediately +for an interview with the owner, a Brazilian named Pedro Smith, +whose kindness I shall never forget. He offered me the chance of +making the entire trip on his boat, but would accept no remuneration, +saying that I would find conditions on the little overcrowded vessel +very uncomfortable, and that the trip would not be free from actual +bodily risk. When even he tried to dissuade me, I began to think +more seriously of the Englishman's letter, but I told him that I had +fully made up my mind to penetrate the mystery of those little known +regions. I use the term "little known" in the sense that while they +are well enough known to the handful of Indians and rubber-workers +yet they are "terra incognita" to the outside world. The white man +has not as yet traversed this Itecoahy and its affluents, although +it would be a system of no little importance if located in some other +country--for instance, in the United States. + +My object was to study the rubber-worker at his labour, to find out the +true length of the Itecoahy River, and to photograph everything worth +while. I had with me all the materials and instruments necessary--at +least so I thought. + +The photographic outfit consisted of a Graflex camera with a shutter +of high speed, which would come handy when taking animals in motion, +and a large-view camera with ten dozen photographic plates and a +corresponding amount of prepared paper. In view of the difficulties +of travel, I had decided to develop my plates as I went along and make +prints in the field, rather than run the risk of ruining them by some +unlucky accident. Perhaps at the very end of the trip a quantity +of undeveloped plates might be lost, and such a calamity would +mean the failure of the whole journey in one of its most important +particulars. Such a disastrous result was foreshadowed when a porter, +loaded with my effects, clambering down the sixty-foot incline extreme +low water made at Remate de Males, lost his balance in the last few +feet of the descent and dropped into the water, completely ruining +a whole pack of photographic supplies whose arrival from New York I +had been awaiting for months. Luckily this was at the beginning of +this trip and I could replace them from my general stock. + +A hypodermic outfit, quinine, and a few bistouries completed my +primitive medical department. Later on these proved of the greatest +value. I would never think of omitting such supplies even in a case +where a few pounds of extra weight are not rashly to be considered. It +turned out that in the regions I penetrated, medical assistance was +a thing unheard of within a radius of several hundred miles. + +A Luger automatic pistol of a calibre of nine millimetres, and several +hundred cartridges, were my armament, and for weeks this pistol became +my only means of providing a scant food supply. + +Thus equipped I was on hand early in the morning of the day of +starting, anxious to see what sort of shipmates I was to have. They +proved all to be _seringueiros_, bound for the upper river. Our +craft was a forty-foot launch called the _Carolina_. There was a +large crowd of the passengers assembled when I arrived, and they +kept coming. To my amazement, it developed that one hundred and +twenty souls were expected to find room on board, together with +several tons of merchandise. The mystery of how the load was to be +accommodated was somewhat solved, when I saw them attach a lighter to +each side of the launch, and again, when some of the helpers brought +up a fleet of dugouts which they proceeded to make fast by a stern +hawser. But the mystery was again increased, when I was told that +none of the passengers intended to occupy permanent quarters on the +auxiliary fleet. As I was already taken care of, I resolved that if +the problem was to worry anybody, it would be the _seringueiros_, +though I realised that I would be travelling by "slow steamer" when +the little old-fashioned _Carolina_ should at length begin the task +of fighting the five-mile current with this tagging fleet to challenge +its claim to a twelve-horse-power engine. + +The _seringueiros_ and their families occupied every foot of space +that was not reserved for merchandise. Hammocks were strung over +and under each other in every direction, secured to the posts which +supported the roof. Between them the rubber-coated knapsacks were +suspended. On the roof was an indiscriminate mass of chicken-coops +with feathered occupants; and humanity. + +About midships on each lighter was a store-room, one of which was +occupied by the clerk who accompanied the launch. In this they +generously offered me the opportunity of making my headquarters +during the trip. The room was about six feet by eight and contained +a multitude of luxuries and necessities for the rubber-workers. There +were .44 Winchester rifles in large numbers, the usual, indispensable +Collins machete, and tobacco in six-feet-long, spindle-shaped +rolls. There was also the "***" Hennessy cognac, selling at 40,000 +reis ($14.00 gold) a bottle; and every variety of canned edible from +California pears to Horlick's malted milk, from Armour's corned beef +to Heinz's sweet pickles. + +Every one was anxious to get started; I, who had more to look forward +to than months of monotonous labour in the forests, not the least. At +last the owner of the boat arrived, it being then two o'clock in the +afternoon. He came aboard to shake hands with everyone and after a +long period of talking pulled the cord leading to the steam-whistle, +giving the official signal for departure. It then developed that one +of the firemen was missing. Without him we could not start on our +journey. The whistling was continued for fully forty minutes without +any answer. Finally, the longed-for gentleman was seen emerging +unsteadily from the local gin-shop with no sign of haste. He managed +to crawl on board and we were off, amid much noise and firing of guns. + +After a two-hours' run we stopped at a place consisting of two houses +and a banana patch. Evidently the owner of this property made a +side-business of supplying palm-wood as fuel for the launch. A load +was carried on board and stowed beside the boiler, and we went once +more on our way. I cannot say that the immediate surroundings were +comfortable. There were people everywhere. They were lounging in the +hammocks, or lying on the deck itself; and some were even sprawling +uncomfortably on their trunks or knapsacks. A cat would have had +difficulty in squeezing itself through this compact mass of men, +chattering women, and crying children. But I had no sooner begun to +reflect adversely on the situation, than the old charm of the Amazon +asserted itself again and made me oblivious to anything so trivial +as personal comfort surroundings. I became lost to myself in the +enjoyment of the river. + +That old fig-tree on the bank is worth looking at. The mass of its +branches, once so high-reaching and ornamental, now lie on the ground +in a confused huddle, shattered and covered with parasites and orchids, +while millions of ants are in full activity destroying the last +clusters of foliage. It is only a question of weeks, perhaps days, +before some blast of wind will throw this humbled forest-monarch over +the steep bank of the river. When the water rises again, the trunk +with a few skeleton branches will be carried away with the current +to begin a slow but relentless drift to old Father Amazon. Here and +there will be a little pause, while the river gods decide, and then it +will move on, to be caught somewhere along the course and contribute +to the formation of some new island or complete its last long journey +to the Atlantic Ocean. + +As the launch rounds bend after bend in the river, the same magnificent +forest scenery is repeated over and over again. Sometimes a tall +matamata tree stands in a little accidental clearing, entirely +covered with a luxuriant growth of vegetation. But these are borrowed +plumes. Bushropes, climbers, and vines have clothed it from root +to topmost branch, but they are only examples of the legion of +beautiful parasites that seem to abound in the tropics. They will +sap the vitality of this masterpiece of Nature, until in its turn +it will fall before some stormy night's blow. All along the shore +there is a myriad life among the trees and beautifully coloured birds +flash in and out of the branches. You can hear a nervous chattering +and discern little brown bodies swinging from branch to branch, +or hanging suspended for fractions of a second from the network of +climbers and aerial roots. They are monkeys. They follow the launch +along the trees on the banks for a while and then disappear. + +The sun is glaring down on the little craft and its human freight. The +temperature is 112 degrees (F.) in the shade and the only place for +possible relief is on a box of cognac alongside the commandant's +hammock. He has fastened this directly behind the wheel so that he +can watch the steersman, an Indian with filed teeth and a machete +stuck in his belt. + +Would anyone think that these trees, lining the shore for miles and +miles and looking so beautiful and harmless by day, have a miasmatic +breath or exhalation at night that produces a severe fever in one who +is subjected for any length of time to their influence. It would be +impossible for even the most fantastical scenic artist to exaggerate +the picturesque combinations of colour and form ever changing like +a kaleidoscope to exhibit new delights. A tall and slender palm +can be seen in its simple beauty alongside the white trunk of the +embauba tree, with umbrella-shaped crown, covered and gracefully +draped with vines and hanging plants, whose roots drop down until +they reach the water, or join and twist themselves until they form a +leaf-portiere. And for thousands of square miles this ever changing +display of floral splendour is repeated and repeated. And it would be +a treat for an ornithologist to pass up the river. A hundred times +a day flocks of small paroquets fly screaming over our heads and +settle behind the trees. Large, green, blue, and scarlet parrots, +the araras, fly in pairs, uttering penetrating, harsh cries, and +sometimes an egret with her precious snow-white plumage would keep +just ahead of us with graceful wing-motion, until she chose a spot +to alight among the low bushes close to the water-front. + +The dark blue toucan, with its enormous scarlet and yellow beak, +would suddenly appear and fly up with peculiar jerky swoops, at the +same time uttering its yelping cry. Several times I saw light green +lizards of from three to four feet in length stretched out on branches +of dead trees and staring at us as we passed. + +Night came and drew its sombre curtain over the splendours. I was +now shown a place of unpretentious dimensions where I could suspend +my hammock, but, unluckily, things were so crowded that there was +no room for a mosquito-net around me. Under ordinary circumstances, +neglect of this would have been an inexcusable lack of prudence, +but I lay down trusting that the draft created by the passage of the +boat would keep the insect pests away, as they told me it would. I +found that experience had taught them rightly. + +To the post where I tied the foot-end of my hammock there were fastened +six other hammocks. Consequently seven pairs of feet were bound to +come into pretty close contact with each other. While I was lucky +enough to have the hammock closest to the rail, I was unlucky enough +to have as my next neighbour a woman; she was part Brazilian negro +and part Indian. She had her teeth filed sharp like shark's teeth, +wore brass rings in her ears, large enough to suspend portieres from, +and smoked a pipe continually. I found later that it was a habit to +take the pipe to bed with her, so that she could begin smoking the +first thing in the morning. She used a very expensive Parisian perfume, +whether to mitigate the effects of the pipe or not, I do not know. + +Under the conditions I have described I lay down in my hammock, but +found that sleep was impossible. There was nothing to do but resign +myself to Fate and find amusement, with all the philosophy possible, +by staring at the sky. I counted the stars over and over again and +tried to identify old friends among the constellations. Among them the +Southern Cross was a stranger to me, but the Great Dipper, one end +of which was almost hidden behind the trees, I recognised with all +the freedom of years of acquaintance. My mind went back to the last +time I had seen it; across the house-tops of old Manhattan it was, +and under what widely different conditions! + +At last a merciful Providence closed my eyes and I was soon transported +by the arms of Morpheus to the little lake in Central Park that I had +liked so well. I dreamed of gliding slowly over the waters of that +placid lake, and awoke to find myself being energetically kicked in the +shins by my female neighbour. There was nothing to do but indulge in +a few appropriate thoughts on this community-sleeping-apartment life, +and then I got up to wander forward, as best I could in the dark, +across the sleeping forms and take refuge on top of my case of cognac. + +We seemed to be down in a pool of vast darkness, of whose walls no +one could guess the limits. I listened to the gurgling of water at +the bow and wondered how it was possible for the man at the wheel +to guide our course without colliding with the many tree trunks that +were scattered everywhere about us. The river wound back and forth, +hardly ever running straight for more than half a mile, and the pilot +continually had to steer the boat almost to the opposite bank to keep +the trailing canoes from stranding on the sand-bars at the turns. Now +and then a lightning flash would illuminate the wild banks, proving +that we were not on the bosom of some Cimmerian lake, but following a +continuous stream that stretched far ahead, and I could get a glimpse +of the dark, doubly-mysterious forests on either hand; and now and +then a huge tree-trunk would slip swiftly and silently past us. + +The only interruption of the perfect quiet that prevailed was the +occasional outburst of roars from the throat of the howling monkey, +which I had come to know as making the night hideous in Remate de +Males. But the present environment added just the proper atmosphere +to make one think for a second that he was participating in some +phantasm of Dante's. + +There was no particular incident to record on the trip, till June +the 16th, in the night-time, when we arrived at Porto Alegre, the +glad harbour, which consisted of one hut. This hut belonged to the +proprietor of a _seringale_. I followed the captain and the clerk +ashore and, with them, was warmly received by the owner, when we had +clambered up the ladder in front of the hut. He had not heard from +civilisation for seven months, and was very glad to see people from +the outside world, especially as they were bringing a consignment of +merchandise that would enable him to commence the annual tapping of +the rubber trees. + +About a dozen _seringueiros_ and their families disembarked here and +went without ceremony to their quarters, where they had a fire going +in less than no time. + +It is the custom in this section of Brazil to make visitors welcome +in a rather complicated manner. You first place your arm around the +other man's waist, resting the palm of your hand on his back. Then +with the other hand you pat him on the shoulder, or as near that +point as you can reach. Whether it recalled my wrestling practice or +not, I do not know, but the first time I ever tried this, I nearly +succeeded in throwing down the man I was seeking to honour. + +After the proprietor had greeted each of us in this cordial way, we sat +down. A large negress made her appearance, smoking a pipe and carrying +a tray full of tiny cups, filled with the usual unsweetened jet-black +coffee. After a brief stay, during which business was discussed and +an account given of the manner of death of all the friends who had +departed this life during the season in Remate de Males, we took our +leave and were off again, in the middle of the night, amid a general +discharging of rifles and much blowing of the steam-whistle. + +The night was intensely dark, what moon there was being hidden behind +clouds most of the time, and an occasional flash of lightning would +show us that we were running very close to the shores. I decided +to go on the roof of the right-hand lighter, where I thought I +would get better air and feel more comfortable than in the close +quarters below. On the roof I found some old rags and a rubber coated +knapsack. Taking these to the stern, I lay down upon them and went +to sleep. I imagine that I must have been asleep about two hours, +when I was aroused by a crashing sound that came from the forepart +of the boat. Luckily, I had fallen asleep with my eyeglasses on, +otherwise, as I am near-sighted, I should not have been able to grasp +the situation as quickly as proved necessary. + +We were so close to the shore that the branches of a low-hanging tree +swept across the top of the lighter, and it was this branch that caused +the turmoil as the craft passed through it, causing everything to be +torn from the roof; trunks, bags, and chicken-coops, in a disordered +mass. I had received no warning and hardly had collected my senses +before this avalanche was upon me. Seizing the branches as they came, I +held on for dear life. I tried to scramble over them to the other part +of the roof, but having fallen asleep on the stern there was no chance. + +I felt myself being lifted off the boat, and as I blindly held on I +had time to wonder whether the tree would keep me out of the water, +or lower me into the waiting jaws of some late alligator. But it did +better than that for me. The branches sagged under my weight, and I +soon saw that they were going to lower me upon the trailing canoes. I +did not wait to choose any particular canoe, but, as the first one +came beneath me, I dropped off, landing directly on top of a sleeping +rubber-worker and giving him probably as bad a scare as I had had. For +the remainder of the night I considered the case of cognac, previously +referred to, a marvellously comfortable and safe place to stay. + +During the next day we made two stops, and at the second took on board +eighteen more passengers. It seemed to me that they would have to sleep +in a vertical position, since, as far as I could discover, the places +where it could be done horizontally were all occupied. At five in the +afternoon of this day, we arrived at a small rubber estate called Boa +Vista, where the owner kept cut palm-wood to be used for the launch, +besides bananas, pineapples and a small patch of cocoa-plants. The +firemen of our launch were busily engaged in carrying the wood, +when one of them suddenly threw off his load and came running down +the bank. The others scattered like frightened sheep, and only with +difficulty could be brought to explain that they had seen a snake +of a poisonous variety. We crept slowly up to the place under the +wood-pile which they had pointed out, and there about a foot of the +tail of a beautifully decorated snake was projecting. I jammed my +twenty-four-inch machete through it longitudinally, at the same time +jumping back, since it was impossible to judge accurately where the +head might come from. It emerged suddenly about where we expected, the +thin tongue working in and out with lightning speed and the reptile +evidently in a state of great rage, for which I could hardly blame +it, as its tail was pinned down and perforated with a machete. We +dispatched it with a blow on the head and on measuring it found +the length to be nearly nine feet. The interrupted loading of wood +continued without much additional excitement and we were soon on our +way again. + +That night I passed very badly. My female neighbour insisted on +using the edge of my hammock for a foot-rest, and, to add to my +general discomfort, my hammock persisted in assuming a convex shape +rather than a more conventional and convenient concave, which put me +in constant danger of being thrown headlong into the river, only a +few inches away. Finally, I took my hammock down from its fastenings +and went aft where I found a vacant canoe among those still trailing +behind. I threw my hammock in the bottom and with this for a bed +managed to fall asleep, now and then receiving a blow from some +unusually low branch which threatened to upset my floating couch. + +The next morning it was found that we had lost two canoes, +evidently torn loose during the night without anybody noticing the +accident. Luckily, I had not chosen either of these to sleep in, +nor had anyone else. I cannot help thinking what my feelings would +have been if I had found myself adrift far behind the launch. + +For several days more we continued going up the seemingly endless +river. Human habitations were far apart, the last ones we had seen +as much as eighty-five miles below. We expected soon to be in the +territory owned by Coronel da Silva, the richest rubber proprietor in +the Javary region. I found the level of this land we were passing +through to be slightly higher than any I had traversed as yet, +although even here we were passing through an entirely submerged +stretch of forest. There were high inland spaces that had already +begun to dry up, as we could see, and this was the main indication +of higher altitude than had been found lower down the river. Another +indication was that big game was more in evidence. The animals find +here a good feeding place without the necessity of migrating to +distant locations when the water begins to come through the forest. + +At a place, with the name of Nova Aurora, again consisting of one hut, +we found a quantity of skins stretched in the sunlight to dry. They +were mostly the hides of yellow jaguars, or pumas, as we call them +in the United States, and seven feet from the nose to the end of the +tail was not an unusual length. Although, as we learned, they had been +taken from the animals only a few weeks previously, they had already +been partly destroyed by the gnawing of rats. A tapir, weighing nearly +seven hundred and fifty pounds, had been shot the day before and was +being cut up for food when we arrived. We were invited to stay and +take dinner here, and I had my first opportunity of tasting roast +tapir. I found that it resembled roast beef very much, only sweeter, +and the enjoyment of this food belongs among the very few pleasant +memories I preserve of this trip. + +While they were getting dinner ready, I noticed what I took to be a +stuffed parrot on a beam in the kitchen. But when I touched its tail +I found that it was enough alive to come near snapping my finger +off. It was a very large arara parrot with two tail feathers, each +about thirty-six inches long, a magnificent specimen worthy of a place +in a museum. Parrots of this particular species are very difficult +to handle, being as stupid and malicious as they are beautiful. They +often made me think of dandies who go resplendent in fine clothes +but are less conspicuous for mental excellences. + +After having indulged in black coffee, we were invited to give the +house and the surroundings a general inspection. Directly behind the +structure was the smoking hut, or _defumador_, as it is called. Inside +this are a number of sticks inclined in pyramid form and covered with +palm-leaves. In the floor a hole was dug for the fire that serves for +coagulating the rubber-milk. Over this pit is hung a sort of frame for +guiding the heavy stick employed in the smoking of the rubber. At this +time the process had not become for me the familiar story that it was +destined to be. Beneath the hut were several unfinished paddles and a +canoe under construction. The latter are invariably of the "dugout" +type. A shape is roughly cut from a tree-trunk and then a fire is +built in the centre and kept burning in the selected places until the +trunk is well hollowed out. It is then finished off by hand. Paddles +are formed from the buttresses which radiate from the base of the +matamata tree, forming thin but very strong spurs. They are easily +cut into the desired shape by the men and receive decorations from +the hands of the women who often produce striking colour effects. A +beautiful scarlet tint is obtained from the fruit of the urueu plant, +and the genipapa produces a deep rich-black colour. These dyes are +remarkably glossy, and they are waterproof and very stable. + +After sunset the launch was off again. Everything went quietly until +midnight, when we were awakened with great suddenness. The launch +had collided with a huge log that came floating down the stream. It +wedged itself between the side of the boat and the lighter and it +required much labour to get ourselves loose from it. After we got +free, the log tore two of the canoes from their fastenings and they +drifted off; but the loss was not discovered until the next morning, +when we were about thirty-five miles from the scene of the accident. + +Two more days passed without any incident of a more interesting +nature than was afforded by occasional stops at lonely _barracaos_ +where merchandise was unloaded and fuel for the engine taken in. We +were always most cordially received by the people and invited to take +coffee, while murmurs of "_Esta casa e a suas ordenes_"--This house +is at your disposal--followed our departure. Unlike many conventional +phrases of politeness, I do not know that the sentiment was entirely +exaggerated, It is typical of the Brazilian and is to be reckoned +with his other good qualities. They always combine a respect for +those things that are foreign, with their decided patriotism. The +hospitality the stranger receives at their hands is nothing short of +marvellous, and no greater insult can be inflicted than to offer to +pay for accommodations. I find any retrospective glance over the days +I spent among these people coloured with much pleasure when I review +incidents connected with my contact with them. There is a word in the +Portuguese language which holds a world of meaning for anyone who has +been in that land so richly bestowed with the blessings of Nature, +Brazil. It is _saudades_, a word that arouses only the sweetest and +tenderest of memories. + +There were seven more days of travel before we reached the headquarters +of Floresta, the largest rubber-estate in the Javary region. It covers +an area somewhat larger than Long Island. Coronel da Silva, the owner, +lives in what would be called an unpretentious house in any other +place but the Amazon. Here it represents the highest achievement of +architecture and modern comfort. It is built on sixteen-foot poles and +stands on the outskirts of a half-cleared space which contains also six +smaller buildings scattered around. The house had seven medium-sized +rooms, equipped with modern furniture of an inexpensive grade. There +was also an office which, considering that it was located about +2900 miles from civilisation, could be almost called up-to-date. I +remember, for instance, that a clock from New Haven had found its +way here. In charge of the office was a secretary, a Mr. da Marinha, +who was a man of considerable education and who had graduated in +the Federal capital. Several years of health-racking existence in +the swamps had made him a nervous and indolent man, upon whose face +a smile was never seen. The launch stopped here twenty-four hours, +unloading several tons of merchandise, to replenish the store-house +close to the river front. I took advantage of the wait to converse +with Coronel da Silva. He invited me cordially to stop at his house +and spend the summer watching the rubber-work and hunting the game +that these forests contained. It was finally proposed that I go with +the launch up to the Branco River, only two days' journey distant, and +that on its return I should disembark and stay as long as I wished. To +this I gladly assented. We departed in the evening bound for the Branco +River. On this trip I had my first attack of fever. I had no warning +of the approaching danger until a chill suddenly came over me on the +first day out from Floresta. I had felt a peculiar drowsiness for +several days, but had paid little attention to it as one generally +feels drowsy and tired in the oppressive heat and humidity. When to +this was added a second chill that shook me from head to foot with such +violence that I thought my last hour had come, I knew I was in for my +first experience of the dreaded Javary fever. There was nothing to do +but to take copious doses of quinine and keep still in my hammock close +to the rail of the boat. The fever soon got strong hold of me and I +alternated between shivering with cold and burning with a temperature +that reached 104 and 105 degrees. Towards midnight it abated somewhat, +but left me so nearly exhausted that I was hardly able to raise my +head to see where we were going. Our boat kept close to the bank so +as to get all possible advantage of the eddying currents. + +I was at length aroused from a feverish slumber by being flung suddenly +to the deck of the launch with a violent shock, while men and women +shouted in excitement that the craft would surely turn over. We +were careened at a dangerous angle when I awoke and in my reduced +condition it was not difficult to imagine that a capsize was to be the +result. But with a ripping, rending sound the launch suddenly righted +itself. It developed that we had had a more serious encounter with +a protruding branch than in any of the previous collisions. This one +had caught on the very upright to which my hammock was secured. The +stanchion in this case was iron and its failure to give way had caused +the boat to tilt. Finally the iron bent to an S shape and the branch +slipped off after tearing the post from its upper fastenings. It +was a narrow escape from a calamity, but the additional excitement +aggravated my fever and I went from bad to worse. Therefore it was +found advisable, when we arrived, late the next day, at the mouth of +the Branco, to put me ashore to stay in the hut of the manager of the +rubber estate, so that I might not cause the crew and the passengers +of the launch inconvenience through my sickness and perhaps ultimate +death. I was carried up to the hut and placed in a hammock where +I was given a heavy dose of quinine. I dimly remember hearing the +farewell-toot of the launch as she left for the down-river trip, and +there I was alone in a strange place among people of whose language +I understood very little. In the afternoon a young boy was placed in +a hammock next to mine, and soon after they brought in a big, heavy +Brazilian negro, whom they put on the other side. Like me they were +suffering from Javary fever and kept moaning all through the afternoon +in their pain, but all three of us were too sick to pay any attention +to each other. That night my fever abated a trifle and I could hear +the big fellow raving in delirium about snakes and lizards, which +he imagined he saw. When the sun rose at six the next morning he was +dead. The boy expired during the afternoon. + +It was torture to lie under the mosquito-net with the fever pulsing +through my veins and keeping my blood at a high temperature, but I +dared not venture out, even if I had possessed the strength to do so, +for fear of the mosquitoes and the sand-flies which buzzed outside in +legions. For several days I remained thus and then began to mend a +little. Whether it was because of the greater vitality of the white +race or because I had not absorbed a fatal dose, I do not know, +but I improved. When I felt well enough, I got up and arranged with +the rubber-estate manager to give me two Indians to paddle me and my +baggage down to Floresta. I wanted to get down there where I could +have better accommodations before I should become sick again. + + + +CHAPTER V + +FLORESTA: LIFE AMONG THE RUBBER-WORKERS + + +It was half past five in the morning when we arrived at the landing +of the Floresta estate. Since it was too early to go up to the +house I placed my trunk on the bank and sat admiring the surrounding +landscape, partly enveloped in the mist that always hangs over these +damp forests until sunrise. The sun was just beginning to colour the +eastern sky with faint warm tints. Before me was the placid surface of +the Itecoahy, which seemed as though nothing but my Indian's paddles +had disturbed it for a century. Just here the river made a wide turn +and on the sand-bar that was formed a few large freshwater turtles +could be seen moving slowly around. The banks were high and steep, +and it appeared incredible that the flood could rise so high that +it would inundate the surrounding country and stand ten or twelve +feet above the roots of the trees--a rise that represented about +sixty-seven feet in all. + +When I turned around I saw the half-cleared space in front of me +stretching over a square mile of ground. To the right was Coronel +da Silva's house, already described, and all about, the humbler +_barracaos_ or huts of the rubber-workers. In the clearing, palm-trees +and guava brush formed a fairly thick covering for the ground, but +compared with the surrounding impenetrable jungle the little open space +deserved its title of "clearing." A few cows formed a rare sight as +they wandered around nibbling at the sparse and sickly growth of grass. + +By-and-bye the sun was fully up; but even then it could not fully +disperse the mists that hung over the landscape. The birds were waking +and their calls filled the air. The amorous notes of the inamboo were +repeated and answered from far off by its mate, and the melancholy +song of the wacurao piped musically out from the vastness of the +forest. Small green paroquets flew about and filled the air with +their not altogether pleasant voices. These are the same birds that +are well-known to the residents of New York and other large cities, +where a dozen of them can often be seen in charge of an intrepid +Italian, who has them trained to pick cards out of a box for anyone +desiring his fortune told for the sum of five cents. Here they must +provide by their own efforts for their own futures, however. Even at +this hour the howling monkey had not left off disturbing the peace +with its hideous din. + +Gradually the camp woke up to the day's work. A tall pajama-clad man +spied me and was the first to come over. He was a very serious-looking +gentleman and with his full-bearded face looked not unlike the artist's +conception of the Saviour. He bade me welcome in the usual generous +terms of the Brazilians and invited me into the house, where I again +met Coronel da Silva. This first-mentioned grave-looking man was Mr. da +Marinha. The kindness with which he welcomed me was most grateful; +especially so in my present physical condition. I noticed what had +not been so apparent on my first meeting with him, that recent and +continuous ravages of fevers and spleen troubles had reduced him, +though a fairly young man, to the usual nerve-worn type that the +white man seems bound to become after any long stay in the upper +Amazon region. + +Not knowing where I might stop when I left Remate de Males, I had +brought with me a case of canned goods. I only succeeded in insulting +the Coronel when I mentioned this. He gave me his best room and +sent for a new hammock for me. Such attentions to a stranger, who +came without even a letter of introduction, are typical of Brazilian +hospitality. + +After a plentiful meal, consisting of fried fish and roast +loin of tapir, which tasted very good, we drank black coffee and +conversed as well as my limited knowledge of the Portuguese language +permitted. After this, naturally, feeling very tired from my travels +and the heat of the day, I arranged my future room, strung my hammock, +and slept until a servant announced that supper was served. This meal +consisted of jerked beef, farinha, rice, black beans, turtle soup, +and the national Goiabada marmalade. The cook, who was nothing but +a sick rubber-worker, had spoiled the principal part of the meal by +disregarding the juices of the meat, and cooking it without salt, +besides mixing the inevitable farinha with everything. But it was +a part of the custom of the country and could not be helped. _De +gustibus non est disputandum._ + +When this meal was over, I was invited to go with the secretary, +Mr. da Marinha, the man who had first greeted me in the morning, +to see a sick person. At some distance from the house was a small +barracao, where we were received by a _seringueiro_ named Marques. This +remarkable man was destined to figure prominently in experiences that +I had to undergo later. He pulled aside a large mosquito-net which +guarded the entrance of the inner room of this hut. In the hammock +we found a middle-aged woman; a native of Ceara. Her face was not +unattractive but terribly emaciated, and she was evidently very +sick. She showed us an arm bound up in rags, and the part exposed +was wasted and dark red. It was explained that three weeks before, +an accident had forced a wooden splinter into her thumb and she had +neglected the inflammation that followed. I asked her to undo the +wrappings, a thing which I should never have done, and the sight +we saw was most discouraging. The hand was swollen until it would +not have been recognised as a hand, and there was an immense lesion +extending from the palm to the middle of the forearm. The latter was in +a terrible condition, the flesh having been eaten away to the bone. It +was plainly a case of gangrene of a particularly vicious character. + +Suddenly it dawned upon me that they all took me for a doctor; and the +questions they asked as to what should be done, plainly indicated that +they looked to me for assistance. I explained that I had no knowledge +of surgery, but that in spite of this I was sure that if something +were not done immediately the woman would have little time to live. + +I asked if there was not a doctor that could be reached within a few +days' journey. We discussed sending the woman to Remate de Males by +canoe, but this idea was abandoned, for the journey even undertaken by +the most skilful paddlers could not be made in less than eighteen days, +and by that time the gangrene would surely have killed the patient. + +Coronel da Silva was called in. He said that the woman was the wife +of the chief of the _caucheros_ and that her life must be saved if +possible. I explained my own incapacity in this field once more, but +insisted that we would be justified in undertaking an amputation as +the only chance of preventing her death. + +I now found myself in a terrible position. The operation is a very +difficult one even in the hands of a skilful surgeon, and here I was +called to perform it with hardly an elementary knowledge of the science +and not even adequate instruments. At the same time, it seemed moral +cowardice to avoid it, since evidently I was the one best qualified, +and the woman would die in agony if not soon relieved. I trembled all +over when I concluded that there was no escape. We went to the room +and got the bistoury and the forceps given me by a medical friend +before I left home. Besides these, I took some corrosive sublimate, +intended for the preparation of animal skins, and some photographic +clips. The secretary, after a search produced an old and rusty hacksaw +as the only instrument the estate could furnish. This we cleaned as +carefully as possible with cloths and then immersed it in a solution +of sublimate. Before going to the patient's hut I asked the owner and +the woman's husband if they were reconciled to my attempt and would +not hold me responsible in case of her death. They answered that, +as the woman was otherwise going to die, we were entirely right +in doing whatever we could. I found the patient placidly smoking +a pipe, her injured arm over the edge of the hammock. By this time +she understood that she was to have her arm amputated by a surgical +novice. She seemed not to be greatly concerned over the matter, and +went on smoking her pipe while we made the arrangements. We placed her +on the floor and told her to lie still. We adjusted some rubber cloth +under the dead arm. Her husband and three children stood watching with +expressionless faces. Two monkeys, tied to a board in a corner were +playing and fighting together. A large parrot was making discursive +comment on the whole affair, while a little lame dog seemed to be the +most interested spectator. The secretary took the bistoury from the +bowl containing the sublimate and handed it to me with a bow. With +a piece of cotton I washed the intended spot of operation and traced +a line with a pencil on the arm. + +Imagine with what emotions I worked! After we had once started, +however, we forgot everything except the success of our operation. I +omit a description of the details, as they might prove too +gruesome. The woman fainted from shock just before we touched the +bone,--Nature thus supplying an effective, if rude, anaesthetic. We +had forgotten about sewing together the flesh, and when we came +to this a boy was dispatched to the owner's house for a package of +stout needles. These were held in the fire for a few seconds, and +then immersed when cold in the sublimate before they were used to +join the flesh. By the time it was done, I was, myself, feeling very +sick. Finally I could stand the little room of torture no longer, +and left the secretary dressing the wound. Would she recover from +the barbaric operation? This question kept coursing through my head +as I vainly tried for a long time to go to sleep. + +The next day, after an early observation of my patient, who seemed +to have recovered from the shock and thus gave at least this hope +of success, I spent my time going around to visit the homes of the +_seringueiros_. They were all as polite as their chief, and after +exchanging the salute of "Boa dia," they would invite me to climb +up the ladder and enter the hut. Here they would invariably offer +me a cup of strong coffee. There were always two or three hammocks, +of which I was given the one I liked best. The huts generally consist +of two rooms with a few biscuit-boxes as chairs, and Winchester rifles +and some fancy-painted paddles to complete the furniture. + +The following day I arose with the sun and, after some coffee, asked +a huge small-pox-scarred fellow to accompany me on my first excursion +into the real jungle. Up to this time I had only seen it from my back +porch in Remate de Males and from the deck of the launch _Carolina_, +but now I was in the heart of the forest and would indulge in jungle +trips to my heart's content. We entered through a narrow pathway called +an _estrada_, whose gateway was guarded by a splendid palm-tree, +like a Cerberus at the gates of dark Hades. The _estrada_ led us +past one hundred to one hundred and fifty rubber trees, as it wound +its way over brooks and fallen trees. Each of the producing trees +had its rough bark gashed with cuts to a height of ten to twelve +feet all around its circumference. These marks were about an inch +and a half in length. Alongside of the tree was always to be found +a stick, on the end of which were a dozen or so of small tin-cups +used in collecting the rubber-milk. Every worker has two _estradas_ +to manage, and by tapping along each one alternately he obtains the +maximum of the product. This particular _estrada_ was now deserted +as the _seringueiro_ happened to be at work on the other one under +his jurisdiction. + +It was in a sense agreeable to work there as the sun could not +penetrate the dense foliage and the air was therefore cool. After we +had walked for about an hour, my big guide complained of being tired +and of feeling unwell. I told him he could go back to the camp and +leave me to find my way alone. Accordingly he left me and I now had +the task of carrying without assistance my large 8 x 10 view-camera, +a shotgun, a revolver, and a machete. + +Gradually my ear caught a terrible sound which to the uninitiated +would have seemed like the roaring of a dozen lions in combat, but +the dreadful notes that vibrated through the forest were only those +of the howling monkey. I always had a great desire to see one of this +species in the act of performing this uncanny forest-concert, therefore +I left the rubber pathway after placing my camera on the ground, up +against a rubber tree, and commenced following the noise, cutting my +way through the underbrush. I walked and walked, but the sound seemed +to remain the same distance away, and I stopped to reconnoitre. + +I hesitated whether to proceed or not, fearing I might lose the way +and not be able to find my camera again. The monkey was not visible +at all; it fact, it was not possible to see anything, unless it was +very close by, so dense was the foliage. I laid my automatic pistol +on a fallen tree-trunk, and was trying to figure out the chances of +getting a look at my simian friend and at the same time not losing my +valuable property on the pathway, when I heard another startling sound, +this time near-by. I prepared myself for whatever species of animal was +due, and could feel the excitement a hunter knows when he thinks he is +about to get a sight of big game. Suddenly the undergrowth parted in +front of me and a herd of wild boars came trotting out. I drew a bead +on the biggest of the lot and fired, letting five soft-nose bullets go +through his head to make sure; the others fled, and I hastened to the +spot to examine my prize more closely. It was a boar of medium size, +weighing in the neighbourhood of one hundred and twenty-five pounds, +and he had a fine set of tusks. He was rather vicious-looking and +was doing considerable kicking before he gave up the ghost. It was +impossible for me to carry him through the bush owing to the fact that +I had the valuable camera and apparatus to take care of, so I made +a mental note of the spot, and cut his ears off. It took four hours' +search to find the camera, in spite of my belief that I had not gone +far, and it was late in the afternoon when I arrived at headquarters. + +The very next morning there was a good opportunity to see the smoking +of rubber-milk. A _seringueiro_ had collected his product and when +I went to the smoking-hut I found him busy turning over and over a +big stick, resting on two horizontal guides, built on both sides of +a funnel from which a dense smoke was issuing. On the middle of the +stick was a huge ball of rubber. Over this he kept pouring the milk +from a tin-basin. Gradually the substance lost its liquidity and +coagulated into a beautiful yellow-brown mass which was rubber in +its first crude shipping state. + +The funnel from which the smoke issued was about three feet high and of +a conical shape. At its base was a fire of small wooden chips, which +when burning gave forth an acrid smoke containing a large percentage +of creosote. It is this latter substance which has the coagulating +effect upon the rubber-milk. When the supply of milk was exhausted, +he lifted the ball and stick off the guides and rolled it on a smooth +plank to drive the moisture out of the newly-smoked rubber. Then he +was through for the day. He placed the stick on two forked branches +and put some green leaves over the funnel to smother the fire. On top +of the leaves he put a tin-can and a chunk of clay, then filled the +hole in the ground with ashes. Under this arrangement the fire would +keep smouldering for twenty-four hours, to be used anew for the next +repetition of the smoking process. + +In the afternoon we again went out to hunt. This time I took only a +12-gauge shotgun. As we travelled through the forest I was impressed +once more by the fascination of the grandly extravagant vegetation. + +But there is little charm about it, nothing of the tranquillity our +idyllic Catskills or even the sterner Adirondacks, create. There is no +invitation to repose, no stimulus to quiet enjoyment, for the myriad +life of the Amazon's jungle forest never rests. There is always some +sound or some movement which is bound to stir in one the instinct +of self-preservation. You have to be constantly alive to the danger +of disagreeable annoyance from the pests that abound, or of actual +bodily harm from animals of the reptilian order. + +Were I in possession of adequate descriptive power I could picture +the impression that this jungle creates upon the mind of one from the +North, but now, as I once more sit in a large city with sky-scrapers +towering about me, and hear the rattling noise of the elevated railway +train as it rushes past, my pen fails me and I have to remove myself on +the wings of thought to those remote forests, fully realising, "_Beatus +ille, qui procul negotiis, ut_" etc., etc. Then I can feel again +the silence and the gloom that pervade those immense and wonderful +woods. The few sounds of birds and animals are, generally, of a pensive +and mysterious character, and they intensify the feeling of solitude +rather than impart to it a sense of life and cheerfulness. Sometimes +in the midst of the noon-day stillness, a sudden yell or scream will +startle one, coming from some minor fruit-eating animal, set upon by a +carnivorous beast or serpent. Morning and evening, the forest resounds +with the fearful roar of the howling monkeys, and it is hard, even +for the stoutest heart, to maintain its buoyancy of spirit. The sense +of inhospitable wilderness, which the jungle inspires, is increased +tenfold by this monstrous uproar. Often in the still hours of night, +a sudden crash will be heard, as some great branch or a dead tree falls +to the ground. There are, besides, many sounds which are impossible +to account for and which the natives are as much at a loss to explain +as myself. Sometimes a strange sound is heard, like the clang of an +iron bar against a hard, hollow tree; or a piercing cry rends the +air. These are not repeated, and the succeeding stillness only tends +to heighten the unpleasant impression which they produce on the mind. + +The first thing that claimed our attention, shortly after we started, +was a sound of breaking branches and falling leaves, somewhere in +the distance. Through the trees I could perceive that it was a big +dark-grey monkey, which we had alarmed. He was scrambling up a tall +tree when I fired at him. I evidently missed, for I could see him +prepare for a mighty jump to a lower tree where he would be out of +sight. But in the jump he got another load of pellets, which struck +him in the back. His leap fell short of the mark and he landed headlong +among some bushes, kicking violently as I came up to him. As he seemed +strongly built and had a rather savage expression, it did not seem +wise to tackle him with bare hands, therefore, as I desired to get him +alive, I ran back and procured my focussing cloth, which I tied around +his head. Thus I got him safely back to the camp, where he was tied +to a board and the bullets extracted from his flesh. Then his wounds, +which were not serious, were bound up and he was put into a cage with +a bunch of bananas and a saucer of goat's milk to cheer him up a bit. + +The suddenness with which these monkey delicacies disappeared, +convinced me that his complete recovery was a matter of only a short +time, unless perchance some hungry rubber-worker, surreptitiously, +had removed these viands while nobody was looking, for bananas and +milk are things which will tempt any Amazonian from the narrow path +of rectitude; but it was not so in this case. The conviction as to +recovery proved right, and with the improvement of his health he +displayed a cheerful and fond disposition that decided me to take +him back with me to New York when I should go. I have since been +informed that he belonged to the Humboldt Sika species. I watched him +for several months and came to like him for the innocent tricks he +never tired of playing. One night he managed to liberate himself from +the tree near the hut where he was tied. He disappeared for two days, +but on the third he returned, chains and all. He had doubtless found +life in the jungle trees not altogether cheerful with a heavy chain +secured to his waist, and he had returned reconciled to captivity +and regular meals. There is at present one specimen of this kind of +monkey at the Bronx Zooelogical Gardens in charge of the head keeper. + +At the time of low water, the so-called _prayas_ appear at the bends +of the river; they grow with the accumulation of sand and mud. They are +wide and often of a considerable area, and on them the alligators like +to bask in the sunshine of early morning and late afternoon, and the +_tartarugas_, or fresh-water turtles, lay their eggs. These eggs are +laid in the months of September and October on moon-lit nights and +are somewhat smaller than the ordinary hen's egg, the yolk tasting +very much the same, but they are covered with a tough parchment-like +shell. Here on the upper Amazon the people prepare a favourite meal +by collecting these eggs and storing them for two or three weeks, +when they tear open the shell and squeeze out the yolks, mixing them +all up into a mush with the inevitable farinha. Few people, except +native Brazilians, ever acquire a relish for this remarkable dish. + +I spent a whole day waiting for the elusive alligators on one of +these sand-bars, but evidently they were too wise, for they never came +within camera-range. I did, however, see some tapir-tracks, leading +down to the water's edge. After the long wait I grew discouraged, +and chose a camping place farther up the river, where I prepared +a meal consisting of turtle eggs and river water. The meal was not +absolutely undisturbed, as the air was full of a species of fly that +derives its principal sustenance from the bodies of various dead +animals always to be found through the jungle, whose teeming life +crowds out all but those fittest to survive. + +I had begun my vigil before sunrise, when there are two or three hours +very cool and humid. In the dry season the dew which collects is of +the greatest importance to animal and plant life. For the tired and +thirsty wanderer, the calyx of the beautiful scarlet orchid, which +grows abundantly in this region, contains the refreshment of two or +three ounces of clear, cool water. But you must look carefully into +this cup of nature to see that no insects lurk in its depths to spoil +the draught. + +I have previously described the breakfast table of the millionaire +Coronel R. da Silva, with its black beans, the dreadful farinha, the +black coffee, and the handful of mutilated _bolachas_ or biscuits. The +only variable factor was the meat, sometimes wild hog, occasionally +tapir, and very often the common green parrot or the howling monkey. At +most meals the _pirarucu_ fish appears, especially on Mondays when +the rubber-workers have had the whole of Sunday in which to indulge +in the sport of shooting this gamy two-hundred-pound fish. They carry +their _pirarucu_ to headquarters and courteously offer the best cuts +to the Coronel, afterwards cutting the rest into long strips and +leaving them to dry in the sun. Jerked beef was always to be relied +upon when other supplies ran low. + +There must have been some terrible mystery connected with the +milk. There were twenty-one cows on the place, but never a drop of +milk from them was to be had. I was always afraid to ask any questions +about this deficiency for fear I might be treading on dangerous ground, +but with the lack of any other explanation I ascribe it to continual +sickness from which the cattle must probably suffer, in common with +every other living thing here. + +During the month of September, the number of patients from fever, +pleurisy, and accidents, at Floresta headquarters, amounted to 82% of +the population. A fever resembling typhoid resulted in several cases +from drinking the river-water. The Coronel claimed that Mangeroma +Indians living in the interior about 150 miles from Floresta had +poisoned the creeks and affluents of the Itecoahy to take revenge upon +the traders who brought the much dreaded Peruvian rubber-workers up +to the Itecoahy River estates. These Peruvians are hated because they +abduct the women of the indigenous tribes, when on their expeditions +far into the forests where these tribes live, and consequently they +are hunted down and their entrance to the region as far as possible +prevented. + +At this morning hour in New York (Floresta is on the same meridian +as New York), thousands of toilers are entering the hot subways and +legions of workers are filing into their offices and stuffy shops +to take their places at the huge machinery which keeps the world +in motion. At the very same hour a handful of rubber-workers are +passing my house, returning from their first trip in the _estradas_, +where they have been tapping the trees, and on their way to the huts +and a frugal breakfast. Here in the wilds of Brazil there are no +subways, no worry about the "market," nor indeed any thought for the +morrow. Nature supplies the rubber trees, and the "boss" the tools to +work them with; the philosophy of the rubber-worker goes no farther. A +shirt, trousers, and a hat are all the dress that fashion requires, +and often the worker even finds the shirt superfluous. He wears a +pair of overalls, and carries slung over his shoulder his rifle and +the little hatchet for tapping the trees, besides a small rubber bag +in which he keeps a supply of farinha and jerked beef, should he be +prevented from reaching his hut in regulation time. + +The _seringueiro_ is free in his movements and in his mind, he is a +quick and keen observer of nature, and an expert in knowledge of the +cries and calls of the animals of the forest. He knows their habits +and hiding-places to perfection, and he could probably astonish the +naturalist by informing him of many things he has observed that his +brother scientist never has heard of. He knows the names of the trees +and plants in the forest and what they can be used for, though his +knowledge of them is often supplemented by superstitious imaginings. He +knows the multitudinous fish of the Amazon, whether they are to be +caught with a net, speared, or shot with bow and arrows, or, if the +hunter is of a progressive disposition, shot with rifle ball. There are +varieties that have, as yet, not been seen, classified, or identified +by the scientist of to-day--I am positive of having seen several such. + +The inhabitant of this region is clean in his habits and in his mind as +soon as he gets away from the evil influence of civilisation--which for +him is the town of Remate de Males or "Culmination of Evils." He takes +a bath at least twice a day, and attends closely to the cleanliness of +his wardrobe, which for that matter does not absorb any considerable +amount of time. As a rule, he is industrious, but frequent attacks of +fever, dysentery, liver and spleen complaints, or pneumonia make him +in the end, like all living things here not native to the forests, +sluggish in general, and irritable on occasion. + +A little distance from the headquarters lies a beautiful lake. It is +not wider than the Itecoahy itself, four hundred feet on an average, +and is about five miles long. It runs parallel with the river, and has +only one outlet. In the dry season this amounts to nothing more than a +little rivulet across which a large fallen tree has formed a natural +bridge, but in January, when the waters rise, the creek is so full +that the servants of Coronel da Silva can wash the linen there. After +some weeks of sojourn at Floresta, I found my way to this lake, and it +was here that I was able to observe some of the largest specimens of +Amazonian reptiles in their haunts, where the equatorial sun had full +opportunity to develop an amazing growth of faunal and floral life. + +It was a most enchanting stretch of water. I had heard of the dangers +lurking beneath its surface long before I saw it, so when I arrived +there one morning I was surprised to find a placid lake, set in +picturesque and romantic surroundings. My first impulse was to exclaim, +partly to myself, and partly to the Indian Joao who accompanied me, +"Why, this is Lake Innocence," so peaceful did it appear. In fact, +so much did it charm me that during the remainder of my stay at +Floresta there was hardly a day some part of which I did not spend +in the immediate vicinity of this lake. But it was treacherous. It +was the home of six or seven old alligators and of young ones--too +numerous to count; the oldest reaching a length of about seventeen +feet. They would lie perfectly still under the banks, among the dead +branches and snags, which made the shores generally inaccessible to +boat or canoe, but when a person approached they would make their +presence known by violent splashing in the water and repeated loud +grunts, very much resembling those of a walrus. Then they would burrow +under the soft mud and remain quiet for an hour or two. In the early +forenoon, before the sun became too hot, they would sun themselves, +but in the sweltering mid-day hours they remained buried in the mud, +and were then very hard to rouse. + +I found, on the shores of the lake, two alligator nests, formed of many +twigs and branches stuck together, half in the water and half in the +soft slimy mud. There they deposited their eggs, oblong tough ones; +and one could always count on finding the female in the neighbourhood, +should one desire to visit her. I came near stepping on one of these +female alligators during a morning hunt with my camera. I was intently +examining a group of eggs I found under a cluster of branches, when +I was startled by a splash in the water and a loud grunt. As fast +as the muddy ground would let me, I scrambled up the bank, and when +I reached the top I saw the alligator swimming away from the very +spot where I had been standing, its small close-set eyes fastened on +me. Then it disappeared in the mud. + +My next encounter occurred one forenoon, when I was sitting close +to the dried-up canal which formed the outlet of the lake. It was +almost mid-day. I was sitting in the shade, safe from the blazing sun, +enjoying a peaceful smoke. The air was fairly vibrating with heat, +causing the blood to surge through my veins. Not a sound was heard +except the irritating buzz of the ever-present mosquitoes. For some +time I had been aware of the slow, stealthy movement of a large body +near-by, though only half consciously. The heat made me sluggish +and sleepy, but suddenly I awoke to the fact that the moving thing, +whatever it might be, was near me. Mechanically, I released the +"safety" of my automatic pistol, and then realised that out of the +reeds near me was creeping a medium-sized alligator. He was making +straight for the water, and I do not know whether he was cognisant of +my presence or not. He was moving steadily, advancing a few inches, +stopping for a minute, then resuming the journey. I believe I was +not more than five feet from the head as it emerged from the fringe +of reeds. I raised my camera, secured a focus, and snapped the +shutter. The click of the apparatus and perhaps my movement drew +his attention. He stopped abruptly. The long jaws opened toward +me, displaying an enormous expanse of pink flesh and two rows of +shining teeth. I lost not a second in throwing aside the camera and +jumping back to a position of relative safety, whence I fired into +the open mouth of the beast. I killed him. On examining the carcass, +I noticed that he had unusually large eyes, indicating that he was +a young specimen. + +A few days later I again went to this lake--which, from my remarks, had +now come to be generally called "Lago Innocencia"--to catch fish with +my Indian friend Joao. He carried a bow, four arrows with detachable +heads, and a harpoon six feet long. The little boat which we found +close to the outlet of the lake was pushed away from the shore, we +each seized one of the peculiarly decorated paddles, and were off, +looking for finny game. We paddled quietly along near the shore, +now and then receiving a bump from some concealed snag which nearly +upset us. It requires considerable skill to navigate one of these +poorly-made dugouts, the slightest move causing a disproportionate +amount of disturbance of equilibrium. + +Suddenly Joao jumped up, his black eyes glowing with excitement. He +motioned me to keep quiet, but it was quiet superfluous for him to +do this, as I was unable to talk, or even look around, for fear the +canoe might upset. He seized the harpoon, and with a powerful swing +sent it into the water ahead of us, at the same time grasping the line +which was attached to the end. The spear sank deep into the water, +and then by the vivacity with which it danced around I could tell +there was something on the end of it. As he began to pull in the line, +the struggle became so violent that I crept forward on my knees in +the bottom of the canoe and helped him recover the spear. Only after +some strenuous balancing feats and a stiff fight by both of us, did +we land our game. It was a large flat fish at least four feet square, +with a long whip-shaped tail, at the base of which were two barbed +bones each about three and a half inches in length. Our first act was +to sever this tail with a hatchet, as it was far too active to make +the fish a pleasant neighbour in close quarters. When the sting-ray, +or, as the Brazilians call it, the _araya_, was dead, I cut out the +two barbed bones and no longer wondered why these fish are so dreaded +by those who know them. Joao told me that they attack anyone who +ventures into the water, and with their sharp, barbed bones inflict +a wound that in most cases proves fatal, for the bones are brittle +and break off in the flesh. Superstition and carelessness are the +main factors that make the wound dangerous; the people believe too +much in an ever-present evil spirit which abides in all the vicious +and fiendish animals of the forest and swamp. Once wounded by any of +these malignant creatures, they believe there is no hope of recovery +and they hardly try to survive. Besides, lack of proper care and +treatment of a wound generally results in its terminating in a case +of septicaemia and ultimately gangrene. + +I have mentioned the _pirarucu_ several times as being the largest +edible fish of the Amazon. When full grown, it attains a weight of two +hundred and fifty pounds. In Lake Innocence we saw this remarkable +fish feeding close to the shore in shallow water, surrounded by a +school of young ones. The old one was about seven feet in length +and the others but recently hatched, from nine to ten inches. The +Indian who pointed them out to me stood up in the bow of the canoe +and, fitting one of his five-foot arrows to the bow-string, sent it +through the air and into the head of the big fellow. + +The bow which he used was of his own manufacture. It was about seven +and a half feet long, very tough and straight, and made of Caripari +wood. The shafts of the arrows were made of long straight reeds, the +stalks of a certain species of wild cane. The detachable part of the +arrow is a short but extremely hard piece of wood upon which is fitted +an iron head with two barbs. When the point pierces the flesh this hard +piece comes off, but remains attached to the shaft by a short stout +cord. This allows the shaft free play so that it will not break during +the struggles of the victim. Then there is a line attached to the head +itself so that the hunter can handle the struggling animal or fish by +means of it and of the shaft of the arrow. The whole contrivance is +a marvel of ingenuity in meeting the conditions the Amazon hunter is +called on to face. When the arrow struck this particular _pirarucu_, +at close range, he made straight for the shore, hauling the canoe +and its contents after him at considerable speed. We got tangled +among the low branches and fought the fish in considerable danger +of being overturned--and I should not at all care to be capsized on +Lake Innocence. + +Finally, we got our prize ashore. I sent the Indian to headquarters, +telling him to go, as fast as he could and bring assistance so that +we could get the fish home. I myself mounted guard over the carcass +to see that neither the turkey buzzards nor the carnivorous mammals +should destroy it. If we had left it alone for even a short time, +we would have found, on our return, little to remind us of its +existence. The Indian returned shortly with two men. They stuck a +pole through the great gills of the _pirarucu_ and in this fashion +carried it to the settlement. + +These waters contain great quantities of another and smaller fish known +as the _piranha_, scientifically termed _Serraselmus piraya_. This +is quite as much dreaded by the natives as the alligator, or even as +the shark along the coast. Its ferocity seems to know no bounds. It +will attack other fish and bite large pieces out of their fins and +tails. Although it is not much larger than the herring it can make +fatal attacks on man when in large numbers. + +Mr. C.B. Brown in his work on Guiana gives the following account of +this fish: + +The _piranhas_ in the Corentins were so abundant and were so ferocious +that at times it was dangerous to go into the water to a greater depth +than the knees. Even then small bodies of these hungry creatures would +swim in and make a dash close to our legs, and then retreat to a short +distance. They actually bit the steering paddles as they were drawn +through the water astern of the boat. A tapir which I shot as it swam +across the water had his nose bitten off by them whilst we were towing +it to the shore. The men used to catch some of them for the sport +of it, and in taking the hook from the mouth produced a wound from +which the blood ran freely. On throwing them back into the water in +this injured condition, they were immediately set upon and devoured +by their companions. Even as one was being hauled in on the line, +its comrades, seeing that it was in difficulties, attacked it at once. + +I heard about these fiends but had no opportunity to witness their +ferocity until one day, in crossing the river in a dugout, we wounded +a wild hog that had also decided to cross at the same time and at the +same place. The man with the stern paddle seized his machete as he saw +the hog swimming close by the port-side of the canoe and stabbed it in +the shoulder, intending to tow it ashore and have a luxurious dinner of +roast hog. But his dream was never realised, for the _piranhas_ which +had tasted the blood, I suppose, came in large numbers and set upon +the unfortunate hog. In a minute the water seemed to be boiling, so +great was the activity of the little demons as they tore away pieces of +the flesh until it was vanishing by inches. When we reached the other +shore there was not enough left of the hog to furnish a single meal. + +Later I learned that certain Indian tribes leave their dead in the +river for the _piranhas_ to strip the flesh from the bones. It is +then customary to take the remaining skeleton and let it dry in the +sun, after which it is rubbed with the juice of the _urucu_ plant +(the _Bixa orellana_), which produces a bright scarlet colour. Then +it is hung up in the hut and the Indians consider that a token of +great reverence has been thus bestowed on the deceased. + +Before leaving the subject of fish, I will mention another species, +smaller than the _piranha_, yet, although not as ferocious, the +cause of much dread and annoyance to the natives living near the +banks of the rivers. In fact, throughout the Amazon this little +worm-like creature, called the _kandiroo_, is so omnipresent that a +bath-house of a particular construction is necessary. The kandiroo is +usually three to four inches long and one sixteenth in thickness. It +belongs to the lampreys, and its particular group is the Myxinos or +slime-fish. Its body is coated with a peculiar mucus. It is dangerous +to human beings, because when they are taking a bath in the river +it will approach and with a swift powerful movement penetrate one of +the natural openings of the body whence it can be removed only by a +difficult and dangerous operation. + +A small but hard and pointed dorsal fin acts as a barb and prevents +the fish from being drawn back. While I was in Remate de Males the +local doctor was called upon to remove a _kandiroo_ from the urethra +of a man. The man subsequently died from the hemorrhage following +the operation. + +Largely through the danger of the attack from this scourge, though +perhaps not entirely, the natives have adopted the method of bathing +in use. A plunge into the river is unheard of, and bath-houses are +constructed so as to make this unnecessary. A hole about eighteen +inches square is cut in the middle of the floor--built immediately +above the water--through which the bather, provided with a calabash +or gourd of the bread-fruit tree, dips water up and pours it over +himself after he has first examined it carefully. The indigenous +Indians, living in the remote parts of the forest, do not use this +mode of protection, but cover the vulnerable portions of the body +carefully with strips of bark, which render complete immersion +less dangerous. + +During my walks in the forest I often came across snakes of +considerable length, but never found any difficulty in killing them, as +they were sluggish in their movements and seemed to be inoffensive. The +rubber-workers, who had no doubt had many encounters with reptiles, +told me about large _sucurujus_ or boa-constrictors, which had their +homes in the river not many miles from headquarters. They told me +that these snakes were in possession of hypnotic powers, but this, +like many other assertions, should be taken with a large grain of +salt. However, I will relate an incident which occurred while I +lived at Floresta, and in which I have absolute faith, as I had the +opportunity of talking to the persons involved in the affair. + +Jose Perreira. a rubber-worker, had left headquarters after having +delivered his weekly report on the rubber extracted, and was paddling +his canoe at a good rate down the stream, expecting to reach his +hut before midnight. Arriving at a recess in the banks formed by the +confluence of a small creek called Igarape do Inferno, or the Creek +of Hell, he thought that he heard the noise of some game, probably a +deer or tapir, drinking, and he silently ran his canoe to the shore, +where he fastened it to a branch, at the same time holding his rifle +in readiness. Finally, as he saw nothing, he returned to the canoe +and continued his way down-stream. + +Hardly more than ten yards from the spot, he stopped again and +listened. He heard only the distant howling of a monkey. This he was +used to on his nightly trips. No! there was something else! He could +not say it was a sound. It was a strange something that called him back +to the bank that he had left but a few minutes before. He fastened +his canoe again to the same branch and crept up to the same place, +feeling very uneasy and uncomfortable, but seeing nothing that could +alarm him--nothing that he could draw the bead of his rifle on. Yet, +something there was! For the second time he left, without being able +to account for the mysterious force that lured him to this gloomy, +moon-lit place on the dark, treacherous bank. In setting out in the +stream again he decided to fight off the uncanny, unexplainable feeling +that had called him back, but scarcely a stone's throw from the bank +he had the same desire to return,--a desire that he had never before +experienced. He went again, and looked, and meditated over the thing +that he did not understand. + +He had not drunk _cachassa_ that day and was consequently quite sober; +he had not had fever for two weeks and was in good health physically as +well as mentally; he had never so much indulged in the dissipations of +civilisation that his nerves had been affected; he had lived all his +life in these surroundings and knew no fear of man or beast. And now, +this splendid type of manhood, free and unbound in his thoughts and +unprejudiced by superstition, broke down completely and hid his face +in his hands, sobbing like a child in a dark room afraid of ghosts. He +had been called to this spot three times without knowing the cause, and +now, the mysterious force attracting him, as a magnet does a piece of +iron, he was unable to move. Helpless as a child he awaited his fate. + +Luckily three workers from headquarters happened to pass on their +way to their homes, which lay not far above the "Creek of Hell," +and when they heard sobbing from the bank they called out. + +The hypnotised _seringueiro_ managed to state that he had three +times been forced, by some strange power, to the spot where he now +was, unable to get away, and that he was deadly frightened. The +rubber-workers, with rifles cocked, approached in their canoe, fully +prepared to meet a jaguar, but when only a few yards from their comrade +they saw directly under the root where the man was sitting the head +of a monstrous boa-constrictor, its eyes fastened on its prey. Though +it was only a few feet from him, he had been unable to see it. + +One of the men took good aim and fired, crushing the head of the snake, +and breaking the spell, but the intended victim was completely played +out and had to lie down in the bottom of the canoe, shivering as if +with ague. + +The others took pains to measure the length of the snake before +leaving. It was 79 palmas or 52 feet 8 inches. In circumference it +measured 11 palmas, corresponding to a diameter of 28 inches. Its +mouth, they said, was two palmas or sixteen inches, but how they mean +this to be understood I do not know. + +This event happened while I was living at headquarters. I had a +long talk with Perreira, but could not shake his statement, nor that +of the three others; nevertheless, I remained a sceptic as to this +alleged charming or mesmeric power of the snakes, at least so far as +man is concerned. + +At that time we were awaiting the arrival of the monthly launch from +the town of Remate de Males, and had spent a day weighing rubber +at the camp of one of the employees, half a day's journey from +headquarters. The rubber-pellets were loaded into our large canoe +to take up to Floresta. We spent the evening drinking black coffee +and eating some large, sweet pineapples, whereafter we all took a +nap lasting until midnight, when we got up to start on our night +trip. It had been considered best to travel at night, when it was +nice and cool with none of the pestering insects to torture us, and +we were soon paddling the heavy canoe at a merry rate, smoking our +pipes and singing in the still, dark night. Soon we rounded a point +where the mighty trees, covered with orchids and other parasitic +plants, sent their branches down to the very water which in its +depths was hiding the dreaded water-snakes. The only sound we heard +was the weird calling of the night-owl, the "Mother of the Moon" +as the Indians call it. Except this and the lapping sound of water, +as we sped along, nothing disturbed the tranquillity of the night. + +I was in the act of lighting another pipe when one of the men +cried out: + +"What's this?" + +We all stopped paddling and stared ahead at a large dark object, +resting on a moon-lit sand-bar not far from us. Then someone said, +"_Sucuruju_." Few people can comprehend the feeling that creeps into +one's heart when this word is pronounced, under such circumstances, +in the far-off forest, in the middle of the night. The word +means boa-constrictor, but it meant a lot more at this moment. An +indescribable feeling of awe seized me. I knew now that I was to face +the awful master of the swamps, the great silent monster of the river, +of which so much had been said, and which so few ever meet in its lair. + +Running the canoe ashore we advanced in single file. I now had a +chance to inspect the object. On a soft, muddy sand-bar, half hidden +by dead branches, I beheld a somewhat cone-shaped mass about seven +feet in height. From the base of this came the neck and head of the +snake, flat on the ground, with beady eyes staring at us as we slowly +advanced and stopped. The snake was coiled, forming an enormous pile +of round, scaly monstrosity, large enough to crush us all to death at +once. We had stopped at a distance of about fifteen feet from him, +and looked at each other. I felt as if I were spellbound, unable to +move a step farther or even to think or act on my own initiative. + +The snake still made no move, but in the clear moonlight I could +see its body expand and contract in breathing; its yellow eyes +seeming to radiate a phosphorescent light. I felt no fear, nor any +inclination to retreat, yet I was now facing a beast that few men +had ever succeeded in seeing. Thus we stood looking at each other, +scarcely moving an eyelid, while the great silent monster looked at +us. I slid my right hand down to the holster of my automatic pistol, +the 9mm. Luger, and slowly removed the safety lock, at the same time +staring into the faces of the men. In this manner I was less under +the spell of the mesmerism of the snake, and could to some extent +think and act. I wheeled around while I still held control of my +faculties, and, perceiving a slight movement of the snake's coils, +I fired point-blank at the head, letting go the entire chamber of +soft-nose bullets. Instantly the other men woke up from their trance +and in their turn fired, emptying their Winchesters into the huge +head, which by this time was raised to a great height above us, +loudly hissing in agony. + +Our wild yelling echoed through the deep forest. The snake uncoiled +itself and writhing with pain made for the water's edge. By this time +we were relieved of the terrible suspense, but we took care to keep +at a respectful distance from the struggling reptile and the powerful +lashing of its tail, which would have killed a man with one blow. + +After half an hour the struggles grew weaker, yet we hesitated to +approach even when it seemed quiet and had its head and a portion +of its body submerged in the water. We decided to stay through the +night and wait here a day, as I was very anxious to skin the snake +and take the trophy home to the States as a souvenir of a night's +adventure in this far-off jungle of the Amazon. We went up in the +bushes and lit a fire, suspended our hammocks to some tree-trunks, +and slept soundly not more than ten yards from the dying leviathan. + +We all got up before sunrise, had our coffee in haste, and ran down to +see the snake. It was dead, its head practically shot to pieces. We +set to work, stretching the huge body out on the sand-bar, and by +eight o'clock we had the entire snake flat on the ground, ready to +measure and skin. + +It was a most astonishing sight, that giant snake lying there full +length, while around it gathered six Amazon Indians and the one +solitary New Yorker, here in the woods about as far from civilisation +as it is possible to get. I proceeded to take measurements and used +the span between my thumb and little finger tips as a unit, knowing +that this was exactly eight inches. + +Beginning at the mouth of the snake, I continued to the end and found +that this unit was contained eighty-four times. Thus 84 times 8 divided +by 12 gives exactly 56 feet as the total length. In circumference, +the unit, the "palma," was contained 8 times and a fraction, around +the thickest part of the body. From this I derived the diameter 2 +feet 1 inch. + +These measurements are the result of very careful work. I went from +the tail to the nose over again so as to eliminate any error, and then +asked the men with me also to take careful measurements in their own +manner, which only confirmed the figures given above. + +Then we proceeded to skin the snake, which was no easy task under the +fierce sun now baking our backs. Great flocks of _urubus_, or vultures, +had smelled the carcass and were circling above our heads waiting +for their share of the spoils. Each man had his section to work on, +using a wooden club and his machete. The snake had been laid on its +belly and it was split open, following the spinal column throughout +its length, the ventral part being far too hard and unyielding. About +two o'clock in the afternoon we had the work finished and the carcass +was thrown into the river, where it was instantly set upon by the +vigilant _piranhas_ and alligators. + +Standing in front of this immense skin I could not withhold my elation. + +"Men," I said, "here am I on this the 29th day of July, 1910, standing +before a snake-skin the size of which is wonderful. When I return to +my people in the United States of America, and tell them that I have +seen and killed a boa-constrictor nearly eighteen metres in length, +they will laugh and call me a man with a bad tongue." + +Whereupon my friend, the chief, rose to his full height and exclaimed +in a grieved tone: "Sir, you say that your people in the north will +not believe that we have snakes like this or even larger. That is +an insult to Brazilians, yet you tell us that in your town Nova York +there are _barracaos_ that have thirty-five or even forty stories on +top of each other! How do you expect us to believe such an improbable +tale as that?" + +I was in a sad plight between two realities of such mighty proportions +that they could be disbelieved in localities far removed from each +other. + +We brought the skin to headquarters, where I prepared it with arsenical +soap and boxed it for later shipment to New York. The skin measured, +when dried, 54 feet 8 inches, with a width of 5 feet 1 inch. + +Kind reader, if you have grown weary of my accounts of the reptilian +life of the Amazon, forgive me, but such an important role does this +life play in the every-day experience of the brave rubber-workers +that the descriptions could not be omitted. A story of life in the +Amazon jungle without them would be a deficient one, indeed. + + +There is a bird in the forests, before referred to, called by the +Indians "_A mae da lua_," or the "Mother of the Moon." It is an owl and +makes its habitation in the large, dead, hollow trees in the depths +of the jungle, far away from the river front, and it will fly out of +its nest only on still, moonlit nights, to pour forth its desolate and +melancholy song. This consists of four notes uttered in a major key, +then a short pause lasting but a few seconds, followed by another +four notes in the corresponding minor key. After a little while the +last two notes in the minor key will be heard and then all is still. + +When the lonely wanderer on the river in a canoe, or sitting in his +hammock, philosophises over the perplexing questions of life, he is +assisted in his dreary analysis by the gloomy and hair-raising cry +of the mother of the moon. When the first four notes strike his ear, +he will listen, thinking that some human being in dire distress is +somewhere out in the swamps, pitifully calling for help, but in so +painful a manner that it seems as if all hope were abandoned. Still +listening, he will hear the four succeeding melancholy notes, +sounding as if the desolate sufferer were giving up the ghost in a +last desperate effort. The final two notes, following after a brief +interval, tell him that he now hears the last despairing sobs of a +condemned soul. So harrowing and depressing is this song that, once +heard, the memory of it alone will cause one's hair to stand on end +and he will be grateful when too far away to hear again this sob of +the forest. + +A surprise was in store for me one day when I visited the domicile of +a rubber-worker living at the extreme end of the estate. I expected to +find a dwelling of the ordinary appearance, raised on poles above the +ground, but instead this hut was built among the branches of a tree +some twenty feet above the level of the earth. I commenced climbing +the rickety ladder leading to the door of the hut. Half-way up a +familiar sound reached my ear. Yes, I had surely heard that sound +before, but far away from this place. When I finally entered the +habitation and had exchanged greetings with the head of the family, +I looked for the source of the sound. Turning round I saw a woman +sitting at a _sewing-machine_, working on a shirt evidently for her +husband. I examined this machine with great curiosity and found it +to be a "New Home" sewing-machine from New York. What journeys and +transfers had not this apparatus undergone before it finally settled +here in a tree-top in this far-off wilderness! + + +One afternoon while sitting in the office at headquarters discussing +Amazonian politics with Coronel da Silva, Francisco, a rubber-worker, +came up and talked for a while with the Coronel, who then turned to me +and said: "Do you want to get the skin of a black jaguar? Francisco +has just killed one on his _estrada_ while collecting rubber-milk; +he will take you down to his _barracao_, and from there he will lead +you to the spot where the jaguar lies, and there you can skin him." + +I thanked Francisco for his information and went for my machete, +having my pistol already in my belt. I joined him at the foot of +the river bank outside the main building, where he was waiting for +me in his canoe, and we paddled down-stream to his hut. On our way +(he lived about two miles below Floresta) he told me that he was +walking at a good rate on the narrow path of the _estrada_ when +he was attracted by a growling and snarling in the thicket. He +stopped and saw a black jaguar grappling with a full-grown buck in +a small opening between the trees. The jaguar had felled the buck +by jumping on its back from the branches of a tree, and, with claws +deeply imbedded in the neck, broke its spine and opened its throat, +when Francisco drew the bead on the head or neck of the jaguar and +fired. The jaguar fell, roaring with pain. Francisco was too much +in a hurry to leave the narrow path of the rubber-workers and go +to the spot where the victim was writhing in its death agonies, +but hastened on for his dinner. Remembering later that the Coronel +had offered an attractive sum of money for any large game they would +bag for my benefit, and having finished his dinner, he paddled up to +headquarters and reminded the Coronel of the promised reward. When +we came to the hut of the rubber-worker a large dog greeted us. This +dog looked like a cross between a great Dane and a Russian greyhound; +it was rather powerfully built, although with a softness of movement +that did not correspond with its great frame. Francisco whistled for +the dog to follow us. He carried his Winchester and a machete, while +I discovered that my pistol had been left unloaded when I hurried +from headquarters, so I was armed with nothing but a machete. After +walking for nearly half an hour, we slowed down a little and Francisco +looked around at the trees and said that he thought we were on the +spot where he had heard the growlings of the jaguar. It was nearing +half-past five and the sun was low so we launched ourselves into the +thicket towards the spot where the jaguar had been killed. + +We advanced rapidly; then slower and slower. The great dog at first had +been very brave, but the closer we came to the spot we were looking +for, the more timid the dog became, until it uttered a fearful yell +of fright, and with its tail between its legs slunk back. There was +nothing to do but to leave the contemptible brute alone with its fear, +so we pushed ahead. Suddenly we came to the place, but there was no +jaguar. There were plenty of evidences of the struggle. The mutilated +body of a beautiful marsh-deer was lying on the moist ground, pieces of +fur and flesh were scattered around, and the blood had even spurted on +the surrounding leaves and branches. Francisco had wounded the jaguar, +no doubt--at least he said so, but plainly he had not killed it nor +disabled it to such extent that it had remained on the spot. + +We commenced searching in the underbrush, for it was evident it could +not be far off. The bloody track could be followed for some distance; +in fact, in one place the thorny roots of the remarkable _pachiuba_ +palm-tree, the roots that the women here use for kitchen graters, +had torn off a bunch of long, beautiful hair from the sides of the +jaguar, which very likely was weak and was dragging itself to some +cluster of trees where it could be safe, or else to find a point of +vantage to fall upon its pursuers. + +We searched for some time. The forest was growing dark, and the many +noises of the night began. First came the yelping of the toucan, which +sounded like the carefree yap-yap of some clumsy little pup. Then +came the chattering of the night monkeys and the croaking of the +thousands of frogs that hide in the swamps. And still no traces of the +jaguar. Again we separated. The dog had run home utterly scared. Now +and then we would whistle so as not to lose track of each other. I +regretted that I had been so careless as to leave my ammunition +at home, as it might happen that the wounded and enraged cat would +spring at us from some dark cluster of branches, and then a machete +would hardly be an adequate weapon. + +We searched for over an hour until it was pitch dark, but, sad to +relate, we never found that jaguar. We went home silently. Francisco +did not secure the reward. + +This incident is of no particular interest as the result of the +excursion was nil and our humour consequently very bad. But it serves +to show how the mind of man will be influenced by local surroundings, +and how it adapts itself to strange customs, and how a novice may be +so greatly enthused that he will, half-armed, enter upon a reckless +hunt for a wounded jaguar. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE FATAL MARCH THROUGH THE FOREST + + +Thus I lived among these kind and hospitable people for five months +until one day my lust for further excitement broke out again, induced +by a seemingly commonplace notice posted outside the door of the +storeroom. It read: "The men--Marques, Freitas, Anisette, Magellaes, +Jerome, and Brabo--are to make themselves ready to hunt caoutchouc +in the eastern virgin forest." Puzzled as to the meaning of this, +I consulted the Chief and was informed that Coronel da Silva was +about to equip and send out a small expedition into the forests, +far beyond the explored territory, to locate new caoutchouc trees, +which were to be cut and the rubber or caoutchouc collected, whereupon +the expedition was to return to headquarters with these samples and a +report on the number of trees observed. This greatly interested me, and +I asked the Chief, Marques, whose wife I had operated upon previously, +if I could accompany him on this trip. He consented unwillingly, saying +that it was very dangerous and that the same number of men that went +out never came back. However, this was too rare a chance to let pass, +and I made my preparations to accompany the expedition on this journey +into regions where even the native _caucheros_ had never before been. + +On a Monday morning we all assembled at the Floresta headquarters, +where Coronel da Silva bade us good-bye, and at the same time once +more warned me against venturing on this trip, but I was determined +and could not be persuaded to give it up. + +The expedition consisted of the six men, above mentioned, all, except +the Chief, Marques, unmarried. After leaving the main building we +went down to the store-room where we chose the necessary articles +of food--enough to last us for three or four weeks. Our staples +were to be dried _pirarucu_, the largest fish of the Amazon, some +dried or "jerked" beef, and a large quantity of the farinha, the +eternal woody and unpalatable meal that figures on every Brazilian's +table. Besides these, we carried sugar, coffee, rice, and several +bottles of "Painkiller" from Fulton Street, N.Y. Hammocks and cooking +utensils completed our outfit. I took with me a large plate camera, +photographic plates and paper, chemicals, scales and weights; also +a magnifying glass, a primitive surgical outfit, and a hypodermic +needle with several dozen prepared "ampules." My men were armed with +the usual .44 Winchesters and some ancient muzzle-loaders, while I +had my 9mm. automatic Luger pistol. When we were fully packed, each +man carried a load weighing eighty-five pounds, strapped by means of +bark strips to the shoulders, with his rifle in his left hand and a +machete to clear the path in his right. + +Thus equipped, we left headquarters, not knowing how or when we +would see it again, while the natives fired a farewell salute, +wishing us God-speed. + +After a few hours by canoe, up the Itecoahy, we left the river and +turned our faces inland. Our way now led through dense forest, but for +four hours we travelled in a region familiar to the rubber-workers, +and we were able to follow pathways used by them in their daily work. + +Let no one think that a jungle trail is broad and easy. As I stumbled +along the tortuous, uneven path, in the sweltering mid-day heat, +pestered by legions of _piums_ or sand-flies and the omnipresent +mosquitoes, climbing, fallen trees that impeded us at every turn, +I thought that I had reached the climax of discomfort. Little could +I know that during the time to come I was to look back upon this day +as one of easy, delightful promenading. + +The four hours' march brought us to an open place, apparently a +clearing, where the _estrada_ suddenly seemed to stop. Exhausted, +I threw myself on the moist ground while the Chief explained our +position. He said that we were now at the end of the cut _estrada_ +and that beyond this we would have no path to follow, though he had +somewhat explored the region farther on the year previous, during a +similar expedition. We found that the undergrowth had been renewed +to such an extent that his old track was indistinguishable, and we +had to hew our every step. When we resumed the march I received a more +thorough understanding of what the word _jungle_ really means. Ahead of +us was one solid and apparently impenetrable wall of vegetation, but +my men attacked it systematically with their heavy machetes. Slowly +we advanced, but I wondered that we made any progress at all. The +skill of these sons of the forest in cutting a pathway with their +long knives became a constant wonder to me. Where an inexperienced +person would have lost himself, looking for a round-about easy course, +these men moved straight ahead, hewing and hacking right and left, +the play of the swift blades seemingly dissolving all obstacles in +their path. Some idea of the density of the growth can be gathered +from the fact that if a man moved off he became instantly invisible +although he might be only a yard or two away. + +Late in the afternoon we reached a small hut or _tambo_ built on +the former trip by the Chief. It was nothing but a roof on poles, +but it was a welcome sight to us as it meant rest and food. We were +tired and hungry and were glad to find a small creek close by where +we could refresh ourselves, taking care to keep out of the reach of +the alligators and water-snakes swimming close to the weeds by the +shore. For our supper we gave the dried _pirarucu_ flesh a boil and +soaked some farinha in water, eating this tasteless repast with as much +gusto as we would if it had been roast beef. Let me here recommend +this diet for any gourmet whose appetite has been impaired, and he +will soon be able to enjoy a stew of shoe-leather. One of the men, a +good-natured athlete, Jerome by name, was sent out after fresh meat, +and brought back a weird little animal resembling a fox (_cuti_). We +decided to test it as a stew, but, lacking salt, we found the dried +_pirarucu_ preferable. + +The excitement of the night was furnished by ants, which had built +a nest in the _tambo_ where we had swung our hammocks. The visitors +swarmed up poles and down ropes and would not be denied entrance. Wads +of cotton smeared with vaseline and bandaged around the fastenings of +the hammock proved no obstacle. It was impossible to sleep; mosquitoes +came to the assistance of the ants and managed to find their way +through the mosquito-net. To complete the general "cheerfulness," +the tree-tops were full of little spider-monkeys whispering mournfully +throughout the dark and showery night. + +The second day's march took us through the region which the Chief +had explored the year before, and we spent the night in another +_tambo_ built on that occasion. Our progress, however, was made with +increasing difficulty, as the land had become more hilly and broken +and the forest, if possible, more dense and wild. We were now at a +considerable distance from the river-front and in a region where the +yearly inundation could never reach. This stage of the journey remains +among the few pleasant memories of that terrible expedition, through +what I may call the gastronomic revel with which it ended. Jerome had +succeeded in bringing down with his muzzle-loader a _mutum_, a bird +which in flavour and appearance reminds one of a turkey, while I was so +lucky as to bag a nice fat deer (marsh-deer). This happened at _tambo_ +No. 2. We called each successive hut by its respective number. Here we +had a great culinary feast, so great that during the following days I +thought of this time with a sad "_ils sont passe, ces jours de fete_." + +Now, guided by the position of the sun, we held a course due west, our +ultimate destination being a far-off region where the Chief expected +to find large areas covered with fine caoutchouc trees. The ground +was hilly and interspersed with deeply cut creeks where we could see +the ugly heads of the _jararaca_ snakes pop up as if they were waiting +for us. There was only one way of crossing these creeks; this was by +felling a young tree across the stream for a bridge. A long slender +stick was then cut and one end placed at the bottom of the creek, when +each man seizing this in his right hand steadied himself over the tree +to the other side of the deep treacherous water. It required steady +nerve to walk this trunk, such as I did not possess, therefore I found +it safer to hang from the levelled bole by my hands and travel across +in that manner. _Tambo_ No. 3 we constructed ourselves, as we did every +other for the rest of the journey. We always selected a site near a +creek that we were following, and cleared away the underbrush so as to +leave an open area of about twenty-five feet square, always allowing +one tree to remain for a corner. A framework of saplings tied together +with strips of _matamata_ bark was raised for a roof, and across this +were laid gigantic leaves of the _murumuru_, twenty-five to thirty +feet long. The hammocks were then strung beneath, and we managed to +keep comparatively sheltered from the nightly rain that always occurs +in these deep forests. After the frugal meal of _pirarucu_ and dried +farinha, or of some game we had picked up during the march, we would +creep into our hammocks and smoke, while the men told hunting stories, +or sang their monotonous, unmelodious tribal songs. + +It must have been about two o'clock in the morning when I was awakened +by a terrific roaring which fairly made the forest tremble. Sitting +up and staring fearfully into the darkness, I heard the crashing +of underbrush and trees close upon us. My first thought was of a +hurricane, but in the confusion of my senses, stunned by the impact +of sound, I had few clear impressions. My companions were calling one +another. The noise grew louder, more terrifying. Suddenly the little +world around me went to smash in one mad upheaval. The roof of the +_tambo_ collapsed and fell upon us. At the same instant I felt some +huge body brush past me, hurling me sprawling to the ground. The noise +was deafening, mingled with the shrieks and excited yellings of my men, +but the object passed swiftly in the direction of the creek. + +Some one now thought of striking a light to discover the extent of +the damage. The _tambo_ was a wreck; the hammocks were one tangled +mass. Jerome, who had jumped from his hammock when he first heard +the noise, followed the "hurricane" to the creek and soon solved +the mystery of the storm that swept our little camp. He told us, +it was a jaguar, which had sprung upon the back of a large tapir +while the animal was feeding in the woods behind our _tambo_. The +tapir started for the creek in the hope of knocking the jaguar off +its back by rushing through the underbrush; not succeeding in this, +its next hope was the water in the creek. It had chosen a straight +course through our _tambo_. + +The next day we were successful in killing two howling monkeys; +these were greeted with loud yells of joy, as we had not been able +to locate any game during the last twenty-four hours' march. This is +easy to understand. We were much absorbed in cutting our way through +the bushes and the game was scared away long before we could sight it. + +After the ninth day of wearisome journeying, the Chief found signs +of numerous caoutchouc trees, indicating a rich district, and it was +accordingly decided that _tambo_ No. 9 should be our last. We were +now fully 150 miles from the Floresta headquarters and some 120 miles +back in the absolutely unknown. That night the temperature went down +to 41 deg. Fahrenheit, a remarkable drop so close to the equator and on +such low ground, but it was undoubtedly due to the fact that the sun +never penetrates the dark foliage of the surrounding dense forests +where the swamps between the hills give off their damp exhalations. + +Up to this point I had not feared the jungle more than I would have +feared any other forest, but soon a dread commenced to take hold +of me, now that I could see how a great danger crept closer and +closer--danger of starvation and sickness. Our supplies were growing +scant when we reached _tambo_ No. 9, and yet we lingered, forgetful +of the precarious position into which we had thrust ourselves, and +the violated wilderness was preparing to take its revenge. + +I suppose our carelessness in remaining was due in part to the +exhausted state to which we had been reduced, and which made us +all rejoice in the comfort of effortless days rather than face new +exertions. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE FATAL "TAMBO NO. 9" + + +We were three weeks at _tambo_ No. 9 before the sharp tooth of +necessity began to rouse us to the precarious situation. Occasionally +a lucky shot would bring down a _mutum_ or a couple of monkeys and, +on one occasion, a female tapir. Thus feasting to repletion, we +failed to notice that the lucky strikes came at longer intervals; +that the animals were deserting our part of the forest. During these +three weeks we were not wholly idle. The Chief had the men out every +day making excursions in the neighbourhood to locate the caoutchouc +trees. As soon as a tree was found, they set to work bleeding the +base of it to let the milky sap ooze out on the ground where it would +collect in a small pool. Then they would fell the tree and cut rings +in the bark at regular intervals so that the milk could flow out. In +a few days when the milk had coagulated, forming large patches of +caoutchouc, they would return for it. The pieces were washed in the +creek and then tied into large bundles ready for transporting. + +In all they located more than 800 caoutchouc trees. At this time too I +made my remarkable discovery of gold deposits in the creek. It seems +to me now like the plot of some old morality play, for while we were +searching eagerly for the thing that we considered the ultimate goal +of human desires--wealth, the final master, Death, was closing his +net upon us day by day. Our food supply was nearly gone. + +While strolling along the shores of the creek in search of game, I +noticed irregular clumps or nodules of clay which had accumulated in +large quantities in the bed of the stream, especially where branches +and logs had caused whirlpools and eddies to form. They had the +appearance of pebbles or stones, and were so heavy in proportion to +their size that my curiosity was aroused, and throwing one of them +on the bank I split it open with my machete. My weakened heart then +commenced to beat violently, for what I saw looked like gold. + +I took the two pieces to my working table near our _tambo_, and +examining the dirty-yellow heart with my magnifying glass, I found the +following: A central mass about one cubic inch in size, containing +a quantity of yellowish grains measuring, say, one thirty-second of +an inch in diameter, slightly adhering to each other, but separating +upon pressure of the finger, and around this a thick layer of hard +clay or mud of somewhat irregular shape. It immediately struck me +that the yellow substance might be gold, though I could not account +for the presence of it in the centre of the clay-balls. + +I carefully scraped the granules out of the clay, and washing them +clean, placed them on a sheet of paper to dry in the sun. By this +time the attention of the other men had been attracted to what I was +doing, and it seemed to amuse the brave fellows immensely to watch +my painstaking efforts with the yellow stuff. I produced some fine +scales I had for weighing chemicals for my photographic work, and +suspended these above a gourd filled with water. Then I went down to +the creek and collected more of the clay-balls and scraped the mud of +one away from the solid centre of what I took to be grains of gold. A +fine thread I next wound around the gold ball and this was tied to +one end of the balance. After an equilibrium had been established, +I found that the weight of the gold was 660 grains. Next I raised +the gourd until the water reached the suspended ball, causing the +opposite pan of the scales to go down. To again establish equilibrium, +I had to add 35 grains. With this figure I divided the actual weight +of the gold, which gave me 18.9, and this I remembered was close to +the specific gravity of pure gold. + +Still a little in doubt, I broke the bulb of one of my clinical +thermometers and, placing the small quantity of mercury thus obtained +in the bottom of a tray, I threw a few of the grains into it, and +found that they immediately united, forming a dirty-grey amalgam. I +was now sure the substance was gold and in less than five hours I +collected enough to fill five photographic 5 x 7 plate-boxes, the +only empty receptacles I could lay my hands on. I could have filled a +barrel, for the creek was thick with the clay-balls as far as I could +see; but I had a continuous fever and this, with the exhaustion from +semi-starvation, caused me to be indifferent to this great wealth. In +fact, I would have gladly given all the gold in the creek for _One_ +square meal. If the difficulties in reaching this infernal region +were not so great, I have no doubt that a few men could soon make +themselves millionaires. + +The deadly fever came among us after a few days. It struck a young +man called Brabo first; the next day I fell sick with another serious +attack of swamp-fever, and we both took to our hammocks. For five +days and nights I was delirious most of the time, listening to the +mysterious noises of the forest and seeing in my dreams visions of +juicy steaks, great loaves of bread, and cups of creamy coffee. In +those five days the only food in the camp was howling monkey, +the jerked beef and the dried farinha having given out much to my +satisfaction, as I became so heartily disgusted with this unpalatable +food that I preferred to starve rather than eat it again. At first I +felt the lack of food keenly, but later the pain of hunger was dulled, +and only a warm, drugged sensation pervaded my system. Starvation +has its small mercies. + +I became almost childishly interested in small things. There was a +peculiar sound that came from the deep forest in the damp nights; +I used to call it the "voice of the forest." To close one's eyes and +listen was almost to imagine oneself near the murmuring crowd of a +large city. It was the song of numerous frogs which inhabited a creek +near our _tambo_. Then I would hear four musical notes uttered in a +major key from the tree-tops close by, soon answered by another four +in a similar pitch, and this musical and cheerful(!) conversation was +continued all night long. The men told me that this was the note of +a species of frog that lived in the trees. + +One day the jungle took the first toll from us. Young Brabo was very +low; I managed to stagger out of my hammock to give him a hypodermic +injection, but he was too far gone for it to do him any good. He +died in the early afternoon. We dug a grave with our machetes right +behind our _tambo_. No stone marks this place; only a small wooden +cross tied together with bark-strips shows where our comrade lies--a +son of the forest whom the forest claimed again. + +The arrival of Death in our camp showed us all how far we were in +the grasp of actual, threatening danger. We stood about the grave in +silence. These men, these Indians of the Amazon, were very human; +somehow, I always considered them equals and not of an inferior +race. We had worked together, eaten and slept and laughed together, +and now together we faced the mystery of Death. The tie between us +became closer; the fraternity of common flesh and blood bound us. + +The next day I arose and was able to walk around, having injected my +left arm with copious doses of quinine and arsenical acid. Borrowing +thus false strength from drugs, I was able, to some extent, to roam +around with my camera and secure photographs that I wanted to take +home with me to the States. + +I had constructed a table of stalks of the _murumuru_ palm-leaves, +and I had made a sun-dial by the aid of a compass and a stick, much to +the delight of the men, who were now able to tell the hour of the day +with precision. The next day I had another attack of fever and bled +my arm freely with the bistoury, relieving myself of about sixteen +ounces of blood. Shortly after nine o'clock in the morning I heard +a shot which I recognised as being that of Jerome's muzzle-loader; +soon afterward he made his appearance with a splendid specimen of a +jet-black jaguar, killed by a shot behind the ear. He skinned it after +first asking me if I wanted to get up and take a photograph of it, +but I was too weak to do it and had to decline. + +The Chief one day brought into camp a fine deer and a _mutum_ bird, +which relieved our hunger for a while. As we were preparing a luxurious +meal, Jerome returned with two red howling monkeys, but we had all +the meat we could take care of, and these monkeys were rejected and +thrown away. + +By this time the Chief informed us that enough caoutchouc trees had +been located to justify our return to the Floresta headquarters +with a satisfactory report--of course, excepting the death of +poor Brabo. Furthermore it was decided that owing to the lack of +provisions we should separate. He directed that the men Freitas, +Magellaes, and Anisette should take a course at a right angle to the +Itecoahy, so as to reach this river in a short time, where they were +to procure a canoe and secure assistance for the rest of us. This, +of course, was a chance, but under the circumstances every step was +a chance. The Chief himself, Jerome, and I would retrace the route +which we had lately travelled and reach Floresta that way. The evening +before our departure I did not think myself strong enough to carry +my load a single step, but the hypodermic needle, with quinine, which +had now become my constant stand-by, lent me an artificial strength, +and when the packing was done the next morning, I stood up with the +rest and strapped the load on my shoulders. + +We parted with the other three men before sunrise, with clasps of the +hand that were never to be repeated, and so turned our faces toward +the outer world. My only hope was to retain sufficient strength in +my emaciated, fever-racked body to drag myself back to Floresta, and +from there, in the course of time, get canoe or launch connection +to the frontier down the river, and then wait for the steamer that +would take me back to "God's Country," where I could eat proper food, +and rest--rest. + +The jungle no longer seemed beautiful or wonderful to me, but +horrible--a place of terror and death. + +In my drug-dazed sleep on that back-track, I started up in my hammock, +bathed in a sweat of fear from a dream; I saw myself and my companions +engulfed in a sea of poisonous green, caught by living creepers +that dragged us down and held us in a deadly octopus embrace. The +forest was something from which I fled; it was hideous, a trap, with +its impenetrable wall of vegetation, its dark shadows, and moist, +treacherous ground. + +I longed for the open; struggled for it, as the swimmer struggles up +for air to escape from the insidious sucking of the undertow. + +Starving, weak from fever, oppressed by the thought of death, but +lashed on by stimulants and the tenacity of life, I headed with my +two comrades out of the world of the unknown, toward the world of +men--to _Life_. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FOREST + + +On the second day of the return trip, we had a remarkable +experience. Probably not more than two hundred yards from the _tambo_ +where we had spent the night, we heard the noise, as we thought, of a +tapir, but nothing could surpass our astonishment when we saw a human +being. Who could it be that dared alone to disturb the solitude of +the virgin forest, and who went along in these dreary woods humming +a melody? + +It was a young Indian who approached us cautiously when Jerome spoke +in a tongue I did not understand, and evidently told him that we were +friends on the way back to our homes by the river. He was an unusually +fine specimen of a savage, well built, beautifully proportioned, and +with a flawless skin like polished bronze. His clothing was limited +to a bark girdle, and a feather head-dress not unlike that worn by +some North American Indians. + +He was armed with bow and arrows and a blow-gun; and he had a small +rubber pouch filled with a brownish substance, the remarkable wourahli +poison. He explained to Jerome that his tribe lived in their _maloca_, +or tribal house, about 24 hours' march from this place, and that he +had been chasing a tapir all day, but had lost its track, and was now +returning to his home. He pointed in a north-western direction with +his blow-gun, signifying thereby the general route he was going to +follow in order to reach his destination. We sat down on the ground +and looked at each other for quite a while, and thus I had my first +chance of studying a blow-gun and the poisoned arrows, outside a +museum, and in a place where it was part of a man's life. At the time +I did not know that I was to have a little later a more thorough +opportunity of examining this weapon. I asked the Indian, Jerome +acting as interpreter, to demonstrate the use of the gun, to which he +consented with a grin. We soon heard the chattering of monkeys in the +tree-tops, and deftly inserting one of the thin poisoned arrows in the +ten-foot tube he pointed the weapon at a swiftly moving body among the +branches, and filling his lungs with air, let go. With a slight noise, +hardly perceptible, the arrow flew out and pierced the left thigh of a +little monkey. Quick as lightning he inserted another arrow and caught +one of the other monkeys as it was taking a tremendous leap through +the air to a lower branch. The arrow struck this one in the shoulder, +but it was a glancing shot and the shaft dropped to the ground. In the +meantime the Indian ran after the first monkey and carried it up to +me. It seemed fast asleep, suffering no agony whatever; and after five +or six minutes its heart ceased beating. The other monkey landed on the +branch it was aiming for in its leap, but after a short while it seemed +uneasy and sniffed at everything. Finally, its hold on the branch +relaxed, it dropped to the ground and was dead in a few minutes. It +was a marvellous thing to behold these animals wounded but slightly, +the last one only scratched, and yet dying after a few minutes as if +they were falling asleep. It was then explained to me that the meat +was still good to eat and that the presence of poison would not affect +the consumer's stomach in the least; in fact, most of the game these +Indians get is procured in this manner. I was lucky enough to secure +a snap-shot of this man in the act of using his blow-gun. It proved +to be the last photograph I took in the Brazilian jungles. Accidents +and sickness subsequently set in, and the fight for life became too +hard and all-absorbing even to think of photographing. He left us +after an hour's conversation, and we resumed our journey homewards. + +We had a slight advantage in retracing our former path. Although the +reedy undergrowth had already choked it, we were travelling over +ground that we knew, and it was also no longer necessary to delay +for the building of _tambos_; we used the old ones again. + +Jerome had complained for some time of a numbness in his fingers +and toes, and also of an increasing weakness of the heart that +made every step a torment. The Chief and I tried our best to cheer +him up, although I felt certain that the brave fellow himself knew +what dreadful disease had laid its spell upon him. However, we kept +on walking without any words that might tend to lower our already +depressed spirits. + +But our march was no longer the animated travel it had been on the +way out; we talked like automatons rather than like human, thinking +beings. Suffering, hunger, and drugs had dulled our senses. Only the +will to escape somehow, the instinct of self-preservation, was fully +awake in us. A sweep of the machete to cut a barrier bushrope or +climber, one foot placed before the other, meant that much nearer to +home and safety. Such was now the simple operation of our stupefied +and tired brains, brains that could not hold one complex thought to +its end; too tired--tired! + +At nightfall we stumbled into our old _tambo_ No. 7. There was no +thought of securing food, no possibility of getting any; we had +been too tired to even attempt to shoot game during the day. The two +monkeys which the Indian had killed with his blow-gun were the only +food we had and these we now broiled over the camp-fire and devoured +fiercely. After this meal, none too good, we slung our hammocks with +difficulty and dropped in. Jerome's numbness increased during the +night. We were up and on the trail again with the dawn. + +In the afternoon we descended a hill to find ourselves confronted by +a swamp of unusual extent. The Chief was in the lead as we crossed the +swamp and we lost him from our sight for a few minutes. While crossing +this wide, slimy-bottomed place, I noticed a peculiar movement in the +water near me, and soon made out the slender bodies of swamp-snakes +as they whipped past among the branches and reeds. These snakes are +called by the Brazilians _jararacas_ and are very poisonous; however, +I had no fear for myself as I wore heavy buffalo-hide boots, but the +men walked barefooted, and were in great danger. I cried out a warning +to Jerome, who took care to thrash about him. We supposed that we had +passed this snake-hole without mishap when we rejoined the Chief on +"terra firma." He was leaning over, as we approached him, and he +turned a face to us that was stricken with fear. He pointed to the +instep of his right foot and there on the skin were two tiny spots, +marked by the fangs of the snake. Without a word we sank to the +ground beside him in despair. The unfortunate man, with dilated eyes +fixed upon the ground, crouched waiting for the coming of the pain +that would indicate that the poison was working its deadly course, +and that the end was near if something was not done immediately. + +Losing no more time, I cried to Jerome to pour out some gunpowder +while I sucked the wound. While doing this I fumbled in the spacious +pockets of my khaki hunting-coat and secured the bistoury with which +I made a deep incision in the flesh over the wound, causing the blood +to flow freely. In the meantime, Jerome had filled a measure with +black powder and this was now emptied into the bleeding wound and a +burning match applied at once. The object of this was to cauterise the +wound, a method that has been used with success in the outskirts of +the world where poisonous reptiles abound and where proper antidotes +cannot be had. + +The Chief stood the ordeal without a murmur, never flinching even at +the explosion of the gunpowder. Jerome and I made him as comfortable +as possible, and sat sadly by his side watching him suffer and die +by inches. + +It is no easy thing to see a man meet death, but under these +circumstances it was particularly distressing. The Chief had been a man +of a strong constitution particularly adapted to the health-racking +work of a rubber-hunter. He it was who with his forest-wisdom had +planned all our moves, and had mapped our course through the blind +forest, where a man could be lost as easily as on the open sea. He had +proved himself a good leader, save for the fatal mistake in delaying +our return, over-anxious as he was to render his employer, Coronel +da Silva, full and faithful service. He was extremely capable, kind, +and human, and a good friend to us all. + +We had looked to him for advice in all our needs. He knew the language +of the wild beasts of the forest, he knew a way out of everything, +and at home he was a most devoted father. Now, this splendid fellow, +the sole reliance, in this vast and intricate maze, of Jerome and +myself, succumbed before our eyes to one of the dangers of the +merciless wilderness. He was beyond all hope. Nothing in our power +could to any extent add to the prolongation of his life which slowly +ebbed away. About four o'clock in the afternoon his respirations grew +difficult, and a few moments later he drew his last painful breath. He +died three hours after being bitten by the _jararaca_. For the second +time during that ill-fated journey I went to work digging a grave +with my machete, Jerome lending me whatever assistance he could in +his enfeebled state. My own condition was such that I had to rest +and recover my breath with every few stabs of the machete. + +We completed that day's journey late in the afternoon, arriving +at _tambo_ No. 6 after taking almost an hour for the last half +mile. Jerome could now scarcely stand without my assistance. There was +no longer any attempt to disguise the nature of his sickness. He had +_beri-beri_, and that meant in our situation not the slightest chance +of recovery. Even with the best of care and nursing his case would +be hopeless, for in these regions the disease is absolutely fatal. + +We built a fire and managed to get our hammocks fastened in some +fashion, but there was not a scrap of food to be had. The heart-leaves +from a young palm were chewed in a mood of hopeless desperation. + +The next morning it was a task of several minutes for me to get out of +the hammock and on my feet. Jerome made several painful efforts and, +finally, solved his problem by dropping to the ground. He could not +rise until I came to his assistance. Then we two tottering wrecks +attempted to carry our heavy loads, but Jerome could not make it; +he cast from him everything he owned, even the smallest personal +belongings so dear to his simple, pure soul. It was heartrending +to see this young man, who in health would have been able to handle +three or four of his own size, now reduced to such a pitiful state. + +And in my own case, the fever which I had fought off by constant use +of the hypodermic needle, now swept over me with renewed violence. The +drug did not have the same effect as when I was new to the ravages +of the fever. + +At this point my recollections became almost inextricably confused. I +know that at times I raved wildly as I staggered on, for occasionally +I came to myself with strange phrases on my lips addressed to no one +in particular. When these lucid moments brought coherent thought, +it was the jungle, the endless, all-embracing, fearful jungle, that +overwhelmed my mind. No shipwrecked mariner driven to madness by long +tossing on a raft at sea ever conceived such hatred and horror of his +surroundings as that which now came upon me for the fresh, perpetual, +monotonous green of the interminable forest. + +About noon the weight on my back became unbearable and I resolved to +sacrifice my precious cargo. I threw away my camera, my unexposed +plates, all utensils, and four of the boxes of gold dust. This +left me with one box of gold, a few boxes of exposed plates (which +I eventually succeeded in carrying all the way back to New York), +and fifty-six bullets, the automatic revolver, and the machete. Last, +but not least, I kept the hypodermic needle and a few more ampules. + +We had walked scarcely a quarter of a mile when Jerome collapsed. The +poor fellow declared that he was beaten; it was no use to fight any +more; he begged me to hurry the inevitable and send a bullet through +his brain. The prospect of another visitation of Death aroused me +from my stupor. I got him to a dry spot and found some dry leaves and +branches with which I started a fire. Jerome was beyond recognising +me. He lay by the fire, drawing long, wheezing breaths, and his face +was horribly distorted, like that of a man in a violent fit. He +babbled incessantly to himself and occasionally stared at me and +broke out into shrill, dreadful laughter, that made my flesh creep. + +All this overwhelmed me and sapped the little energy I had left. I +threw myself on the ground some little distance from the fire, not +caring if I ever rose again. + +How long it was before a penetrating, weird cry aroused me from this +stupor, I do not know, but when I raised my head I saw that the forest +was growing dark and the fire burning low. I saw too that Jerome was +trying to get on his feet, his eyes bulging from their sockets, his +face crimson in colour. He was on one knee, when the thread of life +snapped, and he fell headlong into the fire. I saw this as through +a hazy veil and almost instantly my senses left me again. + +I have no clear knowledge of what happened after this. Throughout the +rest of the night, my madness mercifully left me insensible to the +full appreciation of the situation and my future prospects. It was +night again before I was able to arouse myself from my collapse. The +fire was out, the forest dark and still, except for the weird cry of +the owl, the uncanny "Mother of the Moon." Poor Jerome lay quiet among +the embers. I did not have the courage, even if I had had the strength, +to pull the body away, for there could be nothing left of his face +by now. I looked at him once more, shuddering, and because I could +not walk, I crept on all fours through the brush, without any object +in mind,--just kept moving--just crept on like a sick, worthless dog. + +One definite incident of the night I remember quite distinctly. It +occurred during one of those moments when my senses returned for a +while; when I could realise where I was and how I got there. I was +crawling through the thicket making small, miserable progress, my +insensible face and hands torn and scratched by spines and thorns +which I did not heed, when something bumped against my thigh; I +clutched at it and my hand closed around the butt of my automatic +pistol. The weapon came out of its holster unconsciously, but as I felt +my finger rest in the curve of the trigger, I knew that some numbed +and exhausted corner of my brain had prompted me to do this thing; +indeed, as I weighed the matter with what coolness I could bring to +bear, it did not seem particularly wicked. With the pistol in my hand +and with the safety released, I believed that the rest would have been +easy and even pleasant. What did I have in my favour? What prospect +did I have of escaping the jungle? None whatever--none! + +There was no shadow of hope for me, and I had long ago given up +believing in miracles. For eight days I had scarcely had a mouthful to +eat, excepting the broiled monkey at _tambo_ No. 7, shot by the young +Indian. The fever had me completely in its grasp. I was left alone +more than one hundred miles from human beings in absolute wilderness. I +measured cynically the tenaciousness of life, measured the thread that +yet held me among the number of the living, and I realised now what the +fight between life and death meant to a man brought to bay. I had not +the slightest doubt in my mind that this was the last of me. Surely, +no man could have been brought lower or to greater extremity and live; +no man ever faced a more hopeless proposition. Yet I could or would +not yield, but put the pistol back where it belonged. + +All night long I crawled on and on and ever on, through the underbrush, +with no sense of direction whatever, and still I am sure that I did +not crawl in a circle but that I covered a considerable distance. For +hours I moved along at the absolute mercy of any beast of the forest +that might meet me. + +The damp chill of the approaching morning usual in these regions came +to me with a cooling touch and restored once more to some extent my +sanity. My clothes were almost stripped from my body, and smeared with +mud, my hands and face were torn and my knees were a mass of bruises. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +AMONG THE CANNIBAL MANGEROMAS + + +I have a vague recollection of hearing the barking of dogs, of +changing my crawling direction to head for the sound, and then, +suddenly, seeing in front of me a sight which had the same effect as +a rescuing steamer on the shipwrecked. + +To my confused vision it seemed that I saw many men and women and +children, and a large, round house; I saw parrots fly across the +open space in brilliant, flashing plumage and heard their shrill +screaming. I cried aloud and fell forward when a little curly-haired +dog jumped up and commenced licking my face, and then I knew no more. + +When I came to I was lying in a comfortable hammock in a large, dark +room. I heard the murmur of many voices and presently a man came over +and looked at me. I did not understand where I was, but thought that +I, finally, had gone mad. I fell asleep again. The next time I woke +up I saw an old woman leaning over me and holding in her hand a gourd +containing some chicken-broth which I swallowed slowly, not feeling +the cravings of hunger, in fact not knowing whether I was dead or +alive. The old woman had a peculiar piece of wood through her lip +and looked very unreal to me, and I soon fell asleep again. + +On the fifth day, so I learned later, I began to feel my senses +return, my fever commenced to abate, and I was able to grasp the +fact that I had crawled into the _maloca_, or communal village, +of the Mangeromas. I was as weak as a kitten, and, indeed, it has +been a marvel to me ever since that I succeeded at all in coming +out of the Shadow. The savages, by tender care, with strengthening +drinks prepared in their own primitive method, wrought the miracle, +and returned to life a man who was as near death as any one could be, +and not complete the transition. They fed me at regular intervals, +thus checking my sickness, and when I could make out their meaning, +I understood that I could stay with them as long as I desired. + +Luckily I had kept my spectacles on my nose (they were the kind that +fasten back of the ears) during the previous hardships, and I found +these sticking in their position when I awoke. My khaki coat was on the +ground under my hammock, and the first thing was to ascertain if the +precious contents of its large pockets had been disturbed, but I found +everything safe. The exposed plates were there in their closed boxes, +the gold dust was also there and mocked me with its yellow glare, +and my hypodermic outfit was intact and was used without delay, much +to the astonishment of some of the men, standing around my hammock. + +When my head was clear and strong enough to raise, I turned and began +my first visual exploration of my immediate surroundings. The big room +I found to be a colossal house, forty feet high and one hundred and +fifty feet in diameter, thatched with palm-leaves and with sides formed +of the stems of the _pachiuba_ tree. It was the communal residence of +this entire tribe, consisting, as I learned later, of two hundred and +fifty-eight souls. A single door and a circular opening in the roof +were the only apertures of this enormous structure. The door was very +low, not more than four feet, so that it was necessary to creep on +one's knees to enter the place, and this opening was closed at night, +that is to say, about six o'clock, by a sliding door which fitted so +snugly that I never noticed any mosquitoes or _piums_ in the dark, +cool room. + +The next day I could get out of my hammock, though I could not +stand or walk without the aid of two women, who took me over to a +man I later found to be the chief of the tribe. He was well-fed, +and by his elaborate dress was distinguished from the rest of the +men. He had a very pleasant, good-natured smile, and almost constantly +displayed a row of white, sharp-filed teeth. This smile gave me some +confidence, but I very well knew that I was now living among cannibal +Indians, whose reputation in this part of the Amazon is anything but +flattering. I prepared for the new ordeal without any special fear--my +feelings seemed by this time to have been pretty well exhausted and +any appreciation of actual danger was considerably reduced as a result +of the gamut of the terrors which I had run. + +I addressed the Chief in the Portuguese language, which I had learned +during my stay at Floresta headquarters, and also in Spanish but he +only shook his head; all my efforts were useless. He let me know +in a friendly manner that my hammock was to be my resting-place +and that I would not be molested. His tribe was one that occupied +an almost unknown region and had no connection with white men or +Brazilians or people near the river. I tried in the course of the +mimical conversation to make him understand that, with six companions +from a big Chief's _maloca_ (meaning Coronel da Silva and the Floresta +headquarters), I had penetrated into the woods near this mighty Chief's +_maloca_,--here I pointed at the Chief--that the men had died from +fever and I was left alone and that luckily, I had found my way to +the free men of the forest (here I made a sweeping movement with my +hands). He nodded and the audience was over. I was led back to my +hammock to dream and eat, and dream again. + +Although the Chief and his men presented an appearance wholly unknown +to me, yet it did not seem to distract me at the first glance, but +as my faculties slowly returned to their former activity, I looked +at them and found them very strange figures, indeed. Every man had +two feathers inserted in the cartilage of his nose; at some distance +it appeared as if they wore moustaches. Besides this, the Chief had +a sort of feather-dress reaching half way down to his knees; this +was simply a quantity of _mutum_ feathers tied together as a girdle +by means of plant-fibres. The women wore no clothing whatever, their +only ornamentation being the oval wooden piece in the lower lip and +fancifully arranged designs on face, arms, and body. The colours which +they preferred were scarlet and black, and they procured these dyes +from two plants that grew in the forest near by. They would squeeze +the pulp of the fruits and apply the rich-coloured juice with their +fingers, forming one scarlet ring around each eye, outside of this a +black and larger ring, and, finally, two scarlet bands reaching from +the temples to the chin. + +There were probably sixty-five families in this communal hut, +all having their little households scattered throughout the place +without any separating partitions whatever. The many poles which +supported the roof formed the only way of distinguishing the individual +households. The men strung their hammocks between the poles in such a +way that they formed a triangle, and in the middle of this a fire was +always going. Here the women were doing the cooking of game that the +men brought in at all times of the day. The men slept in the hammocks, +while the women were treated less cavalierly; they slept with their +children on the ground under the hammocks around the little family +triangle. As a rule they had woven mats made of grass-fibre and +coloured with the juices of the _urucu_ plant and the _genipapa_, +but in many instances they had skins of jaguars, and, which was more +frequent, the furs of the three-toed sloths. These were placed around +the family fire, directly under the hammocks occupied by the men. In +these hammocks the men did most of the repair work on their bows and +arrows when necessary, here they fitted the arrow heads to the shafts, +in fact, they spent all their time in them when not actually hunting +in the forests. + +The hospitality of my friends proved unbounded. The Chief appointed +two young girls to care for me, and though they were not startling +from any point of view, especially when remembering their labial +ornaments and their early developed abdominal hypertrophies, they were +as kind as any one could have been, watching me when I tried to walk +and supporting me when I became too weak. There was a certain broth +they prepared, which was delicious, but there were others which were +nauseating and which I had to force myself to eat. I soon learned +that it was impolite to refuse any dish that was put in front of me, +no matter how repugnant. One day the Chief ordered me to come over to +his family triangle and have dinner with him. The meal consisted of +some very tender fried fish which were really delicious; then followed +three broiled parrots with fried bananas which were equally good; +but then came a soup which I could not swallow. The first mouthful +almost choked me,--the meat which was one of the ingredients tasted +and smelled as if it had been kept for weeks, the herbs which were +used were so bitter and gave out such a rank odour that my mouth +puckered and the muscles of my throat refused to swallow. The Chief +looked at me and frowned, and then I remembered the forest from which +I had lately arrived and the starvation and the terrors; I closed my +eyes and swallowed the dish, seeking what mental relief I could find +in the so-called auto-suggestion. + +But I had the greatest respect for the impulsive, unreasoning nature +of these sons of the forest. Easily insulted, they are well-nigh +implacable. This incident shows upon what a slender thread my life +hung. The friends of one moment might become vindictive foes of +the next. + +Besides the head-Chief there were two sub-Chiefs, so that in case of +sickness or death there would be always one regent. They were plainly +distinguished by their dress, which consisted mainly of fancifully +arranged feather belts of _arara_, _mutum_, and trumpeter plumes +covering the shoulders and abdomen. These articles of dress were made +by young women of the tribe: women who wanted to become favourites of +the Chief and sub-Chiefs. They often worked for months on a feather +dress and when finished presented it to the particular Chief whose +favour they desired. + +The Chiefs had several wives, but the tribesmen were never allowed to +take more than one. Whenever a particularly pretty girl desired to +join the household of the Great Chief or of a sub-Chief, she set to +work and for months and months she made necklaces of alligator teeth, +peccary teeth, and finely carved ivory nuts and coloured pieces of +wood. She also would weave some elaborate hammock and fringe this +with the bushy tails of the squirrels and the forest-cats, and when +these articles were done, she would present them to the Chief, who, +in return for these favours, would bestow upon her the great honour +of accepting her as a wife. + +There seemed to be few maladies among these people; in fact, during +the five weeks I spent with them, I never saw a case of fever nor of +anything else. When a person died the body was carried far into the +woods, where a fire was built, and it was cremated. The party would +then leave in a hurry and never return to the same spot; they were +afraid of the Spirit of the Dead. They told me that they could hear +the Spirit far off in the forests at night when the moon was shining. + +The men were good hunters and were experts in the use of bow and arrow +and also the blow-gun, and never failed to bring home a fresh supply +of game for the village. This supply was always divided equally, +so that no one should receive more than he needed for the day. At +first glance the men might appear lazy, but why should they hurry +and worry when they have no landlord, and no grocer's bills to pay; +in fact, the value of money is entirely unknown to them. + +I was allowed to walk around as I pleased, everybody showing me a +kindness for which I shall ever gratefully remember these "savages." I +frequently spent my forenoons on a tree trunk outside the _maloca_ +with the Chief, who took a particular interest in my welfare. We +would sit for hours and talk, he sometimes pointing at an object +and giving its Indian name, which I would repeat until I got the +right pronunciation. Thus, gradually instructed, and by watching +the men and women as they came and went, day after day, I was able +to understand some of their language and learned to answer questions +fairly well. They never laughed at my mistakes, but repeated a word +until I had it right. + +The word of the Chief was law and no one dared appeal from the +decisions of this man. In fact, there would have been nobody to appeal +to, for the natives believed him vested with mysterious power which +made him the ruler of men. I once had occasion to see him use the +power which had been given him. + +I had accompanied two young Indians, one of whom was the man we had +met in the forest on our return trip not far from that fatal _tambo_ +No. 3. His name, at least as it sounded to me, was Rere. They carried +bows and arrows and I my automatic pistol, although I had no great +intention of using it. What little ammunition I had left I desired to +keep for an emergency and, besides, I reasoned that I might, at some +future time, be able to use the power and noise of the weapon to good +advantage if I kept the Indians ignorant of them for the present. + +We had scarcely gone a mile, when we discovered on the opposite +side of a creek, about one hundred and fifty yards away, a wild hog +rooting for food. We were on a slight elevation ourselves and under +cover of the brush, while the hog was exposed to view on the next +knoll. Almost simultaneously my companions fitted arrows to their +bow-strings. Instead of shooting point blank, manipulating the bows +with their hands and arms, they placed their great and second toes +on the cords on the ground, and with their left arms gave the proper +tension and inclination to the bows which were at least eight feet +long. With a whirr the poisoned arrows shot forth and, while the +cords still twanged, sailed gracefully through the air, describing +a hyperbola, fell with a speed that made them almost invisible, and +plunged into the animal on each side of his neck a little back from +the base of the brain. + +The hog dropped in his tracks, and I doubt if he could have lived +even though the arrows had not been poisoned. Tying his feet together +with plant-fibres we slung the body over a heavy pole and carried it +to the _maloca_. All the way the two fellows disputed as to who was +the owner of the hog, and from time to time they put the carcass on +the ground to gesticulate and argue. I thought they would come to +blows. When they appealed to me I declared that the arrows had sped +so rapidly that my eyes could not follow them and therefore could +not tell which arrow had found its mark first. + +A few yards from the house my friends fell to arguing again, and a +crowd collected about them, cheering first the one then the other. My +suggestion that the game be divided was rejected as showing very +poor judgment. Finally, the dispute grew to such proportions that the +Chief sent a messenger to learn the cause of the trouble and report +it to him. + +The emissary retired and the crowd immediately began to disperse and +the combatants quieted. The messenger soon returned saying that the +Great Chief would judge the case and ordered the men to enter the +_maloca_. With some difficulty the hog was dragged through the door +opening and all the inhabitants crawled in after. The Chief was decked +out in a new and splendid feather dress, his face had received a fresh +coat of paint (in fact, the shells of the _urucu_ plant with which he +coloured his face and body scarlet were still lying under his hammock), +and his nose was supplied with a new set of _mutum_ feathers. He was +sitting in his hammock which was made of fine, braided, multi-coloured +grass-fibres and was fringed with numerous squirrel tails. The whole +picture was one which impressed me as being weirdly fantastic and +extremely picturesque, the reddish, flickering light from the fires +adding a mystic colour to the scene. On the opposite side of the fire +from where the Chief was sitting lay the body of the hog, and at each +end of the carcass stood the two hunters, straight as saplings, gazing +stolidly ahead. In a semi-circle, facing the Chief and surrounding the +disputants, was the tribe, squatting on the ground. The Chief motioned +to me to seat myself on the ground alongside of the hammock where he +was sitting. The men told their story, now and then looking to me for +an affirmative nod of the head. After having listened to the argument +of the hunters for a considerable time without uttering a syllable, and +regarding the crowd with a steady, unblinking expression, with a trace +of a satirical smile around the corners of his mouth, which suited him +admirably, the Chief finally spoke. He said, "The hog is mine.--Go!" + +The matter was ended with this wise judgment, and there seemed to be +no disposition to grumble or re-appeal to the great authority. + +My life among the Mangeromas was, for the greater part, free from +adventure, at least as compared with former experiences, and yet I was +more than once within an inch of meeting death. In fact, I think that +I looked more squarely in the eyes of death in that peaceful little +community than ever I did out in the wilds of the jungle or in my most +perilous adventures. The creek that ran near the _maloca_ supplied +the Indians with what water they needed for drinking purposes. Besides +this the creek gave them an abundant supply of fish, a dish that made +its appearance at every meal. Whatever washing was to be done--the +natives took a bath at least twice a day--was done at some distance +down the creek so as not to spoil the water for drinking and culinary +purposes. Whenever I was thirsty I was in the habit of stooping down +at the water's edge to scoop the fluid up in my curved hands. One +morning I had been tramping through the jungle with two companions +who were in search of game, and I was very tired and hot when we +came to a little stream which I took to be the same that ran past the +_maloca_. My friends were at a short distance from me, beating their +way through the underbrush, when I stooped to quench my thirst. The +cool water looked to me like the very Elixir of Life. At that moment, +literally speaking, I was only two inches from death. Hearing a sharp +cry behind me I turned slightly to feel a rough hand upon my shoulders +and found myself flung backwards on the ground. + +"Poison," was the reply to my angry question. Then my friend explained, +and as he talked my knees wobbled and I turned pale. It seems that +the Mangeromas often poison the streams below the drinking places +in order to get rid of their enemies. In the present case there +had been a rumour that a party of Peruvian rubber-workers might be +coming up the creek, and this is always a signal of trouble among +these Indians. Although you cannot induce a Brazilian to go into the +Indian settlements or _malocas_, the Peruvians are more than willing +to go there, because of the chance of abducting girls. To accomplish +this, a few Peruvians sneak close to the _maloca_ at night, force the +door, which is always bolted to keep out the Evil Spirit, but which +without difficulty can be cut open, and fire a volley of shots into +the hut. The Indians sleep with the blow-guns and arrows suspended +from the rafters, and before they can collect their sleepy senses +and procure the weapons the Peruvians, in the general confusion, +have carried off some of the girls. The Mangeromas, therefore, hate +the Peruvians and will go to any extreme to compass their death. The +poisoning of the rivers is effected by the root of a plant that is +found throughout the Amazon valley; the plant belongs to the genus +_Lonchocarpus_ and bears a small cluster of bluish blossoms which +produce a pod about two inches in length. It is only the yellow roots +that are used for poisoning the water. This is done by crushing the +roots and throwing the pulp into the stream, when all animal life +will be killed or driven away. + +It seems strange that during my stay among the Mangeromas, who were +heathens and even cannibals, I saw no signs of idolatry. They believed +implicitly in a good and an evil spirit. The good spirit was too good +to do them any harm and consequently they did not bother with him; +but the evil spirit was more active and could be heard in the dark +nights, howling and wailing far off in the forest as he searched for +lonely wanderers, whom he was said to devour. + +Thinking to amuse some of my friends, I one day kindled a flame by +means of my magnifying glass and a few dry twigs. A group of ten or +twelve Indians had gathered squatting in a circle about me, to see +the wonder that I was to exhibit, but at the sight of smoke followed +by flame they were badly scared and ran for the house, where they +called the Chief. He arrived on the scene with his usual smile. + +He asked me to show him what I had done. I applied the focussed rays +of the sun to some more dry leaves and twigs and, finally, the flames +broke out again. The Chief was delighted and begged me to make him a +present of the magnifier. As I did not dare to refuse, I showed him +how to use it and then presented it with as good grace as I could. + +Some time after this, I learned that two Peruvians had been caught +in a trap set for the purpose. The unfortunate men had spent a whole +night in a pit, nine feet deep, and were discovered the next forenoon +by a party of hunters, who immediately killed them with unpoisoned, +big-game arrows. In contrast to the North-American Indians they never +torture captives, but kill them as quickly as possible. + +I had plenty of opportunity to investigate the different kinds +of traps used by the Mangeromas for catching Peruvian _caboclos_ +or half-breeds. First of all in importance is the pit-trap, into +which the aforesaid men had fallen. It is simple but ingenious in its +arrangement. A hole about nine feet deep and eight feet wide is dug +in the ground at a place where the _caboclos_ are liable to come. A +cover is laid across this and cleverly disguised with dead leaves and +branches so as to exactly resemble the surrounding soil. This cover +is constructed of branches placed parallel, and is slightly smaller +than the diameter of the pit. It is balanced on a stick, tied across +the middle in such a manner that the slightest weight on any part will +cause it to turn over and precipitate the object into the pit whence +egress is impossible. Besides this, the walls of the pit are inclined, +the widest part being at the bottom, and they gradually slope inward +till the level of the ground is reached. When the victim is discovered +he is quickly killed, as in the case noted above. + +The second trap, which I had an opportunity to investigate, is the +so-called _araya_ trap. It is merely a small piece of ground thickly +set with the barbed bones of the sting-ray. These bones are slightly +touched with wourahli poison and, concealed as they are under dead +leaves, they inflict severe wounds on the bare feet of the _caboclos_, +and death follows within a short period. + +The third trap, and the most ingenious of all, is the blow-gun +trap. One day the sub-Chief, a tall, gloomy-looking fellow, took me +to one of these traps and explained everything, till I had obtained +a thorough knowledge of the complicated apparatus. The blow-gun of +these Indians is supplied with a wide mouth-piece and requires but +slight air pressure to shoot the arrow at a considerable speed. In +the trap one is placed horizontally so as to point at a right angle +to the path leading to the _maloca_. At the "breech" of the gun is a +young sapling, severed five feet above the ground. To this is tied a +broad and straight bark-strip which, when the sapling is in its normal +vertical position, completely covers the mouth-piece. The gun was +not loaded on this occasion, as it had been accidentally discharged +the day before. To set the trap, a long, thin, and pliable climber, +which in these forests is so plentiful, is attached to the end of +the severed sapling, when this is bent to its extreme position +and is then led over branches, serving as pulleys, right across +the path and directly in front of the mouth of the blow-gun and +is tied to some small root covered with leaves. When the _caboclo_ +passes along this path at night to raid the Indian _maloca,_ he must +sever this thin bushrope or climber, thereby releasing suddenly the +tension of the sapling. The bark-flap is drawn quickly up against +the mouth-piece with a slap that forces sufficient air into the gun +to eject the arrow. All this takes place in a fraction of a second; +a slight flapping sound is heard and the arrow lodges in the skin of +the unfortunate _caboclo_. He can never walk more than twenty yards, +for the poison rapidly paralyses his limbs. Death follows in less +than ten minutes. + +The bodies of these captured _caboclos_ are soon found by the +"police warriors" of the tribe and carried to the _maloca_. On such +occasions a day of feasting always follows and an obscure religious +rite is performed. + +It is true that the Mangeromas are cannibals, but at the same time +their habits and morals are otherwise remarkably clean. Without their +good care and excellent treatment, I have no doubt I would now be +with my brave companions out in that dark, green jungle. + +But to return to my story of the two Peruvians caught in the pit-trap: +the warriors cut off the hands and feet of both corpses, pulled +the big game arrows out of the bodies, and had an audience with the +Chief. He seemed to be well satisfied, but spoke little, just nodding +his head and smiling. Shortly after the village prepared for a grand +feast. The fires were rebuilt, the pots and jars were cleaned, and a +scene followed which to me was frightful. Had it not happened, I should +always have believed this little world out in the wild forest an ideal, +pure, and morally clean community. But now I could only hasten to my +hammock and simulate sleep, for I well knew, from previous experience, +that otherwise I would have to partake of the meal in preparation: a +horrible meal of human flesh! It was enough for me to see them strip +the flesh from the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet and +fry these delicacies in the lard of tapir I hoped to see no more. + +An awful thought coursed through my brain when I beheld the men bend +eagerly over the pans to see if the meat were done. How long would it +be, I said to myself, before they would forget themselves and place +my own extremities in the same pots and pans. Such a possibility +was not pleasant to contemplate, but as I had found the word of +these Indians to be always good, I believed I was safe. They were +never false and they hated falsehood. True, they were cunning, but +once their friend always their friend, through thick and thin. And +the Chief had promised that I should not be eaten, either fried or +stewed! Therefore I slept in peace. + +I had long desired to see the hunters prepare the mysterious wourahli +poison, which acts so quickly and painlessly, and which allows the +game killed by it to be eaten without interfering with the nutritive +qualities. Only three men in this village understood the proper mixing +of the ingredients, although everybody knew the two plants from which +the poisonous juices were obtained. One of these is a vine that grows +close to the creeks. The stem is about two inches in diameter and +covered with a rough greyish bark. It yields several round fruits, +shaped like an apple, containing seeds imbedded in a very bitter +pulp. The other is also a vine and bears small bluish flowers, but it +is only the roots of this that are used. These are crushed and steeped +in water for several days. The three men in our village who understood +the concoction of this poison collected the plants themselves once +a month. When they returned from their expedition they set to work +at once scraping the first named vine into fine shavings and mixing +these in an earthen jar with the crushed pulp of the roots of the +second plant. The pot is then placed over a fire and kept simmering +for several hours. At this stage the shavings are removed and thrown +away as useless and several large black ants, the _Tucandeiras_, are +added. This is the ant whose bite is not only painful but absolutely +dangerous to man. The concoction is kept boiling slowly until the +next morning, when it has assumed a thick consistency of a brown +colour and very bitter to the taste. The poison is then tried on some +arrows and if it comes up to the standard it is placed in a small +earthen jar which is covered with a piece of animal skin and it is +ready for use. The arrows, which are from ten to twelve inches long, +are made from the stalks of a certain palm-leaf, the Jacy palm. They +are absolutely straight and true; in fact, they resemble very much +a lady's hat-pin. When the gun is to be used, a piece of cotton is +wound around the end of an arrow and the other end or point inserted +first in the barrel, the cotton acting as a piston by means of which +the air forces the shaft through the tube. + +The men always carry a small rubber-pouch containing a few drams of +the poison; the pouch was worn strapped to the waist on the left side, +when on their hunting excursions, and they were extremely careful +in handling it and the arrows. The slightest scratch with the poison +would cause a quick and sure death. + +I was so far recuperated by this time that I thought of returning to +civilisation, and I, accordingly, broached the subject to the Chief, +who answered me very kindly, promising that he would send me by the +next full-moon, with some of the wourahli men, down to the Branco +River, and from there they would guide me within a safe distance of +the rubber-estate, situated at the junction with the Itecoahy. + +One day I was informed that a friendly call on a neighbouring tribe was +being contemplated and that I could accompany the Chief and his men. + +At last the time arrived and the expedition was organised. I was not +absolutely sure how I would be treated by these up-stream Indians, +and I am almost ashamed to confess that, in spite of all the faithful, +unswerving friendship which the Mangeromas had shown me, I had it in +my mind that these other Indians might harm me, so black was the name +that people down at the settlements had given them. + +Until this time, as related above, I had thought best not to exhibit +the character of my automatic pistol, and I had never used it here, +but before I started on this journey I decided to give them an +example of its power, and possibly awe them. Inviting the Chief and +all the tribe to witness my experiment, I explained to them that +this little weapon would make a great noise and bore a hole through +a thick tree. The Chief examined it gingerly after I had locked the +trigger mechanism. He had heard of such arms, he said, but thought +that they were much larger and heavier. This one, he thought, must +be a baby and he was inclined to doubt its power. + +Selecting an "assai" palm of about nine inches diameter, across the +creek, I took steady aim and fired four bullets. Three of the bullets +went through the same hole and the fourth pierced the trunk of the +palm about two inches higher. The Chief and his men hurried across the +creek and examined the holes which caused then to discuss the affair +for more than an hour. The empty shells which had been ejected from the +magazine were picked up by two young girls who fastened them in their +ears with wire-like fibres, whereupon a dozen other women surrounded +me, beseeching me to give them also cartridge-shells. I discharged +more than a dozen bullets, to please these children of the forest, +who were as completely the slaves of fashion as are their sisters of +more civilised lands. + +Early the next morning we started up the river. In one canoe the +Chief and I sat on jaguar skins, while two men paddled. In another +canoe were four men armed with bows and arrows and blow-guns, and a +fifth who acted in the capacity of "Wireless Operator." The system +of signalling which he employed was by far the most ingenious device +I saw while in Brazil, and considering their resources and their low +state of culture the affair was little short of marvellous. + +Before the canoes were launched, a man fastened two upright forked +sticks on each side of one, near the middle. About three and a +half feet astern of these a cross-piece was laid on the bottom of +the craft. To this was attached two shorter forked sticks. Between +each pair of upright forked sticks was placed another cross-piece, +thus forming two horizontal bars, parallel to each other, one only +a few inches from the bottom of the boat and the other about a foot +and a half above the gunwales. Next, four slabs of Caripari wood of +varying thickness, about three feet long and eight inches wide, were +suspended from these horizontal bars, so as to hang length-wise of +the canoe and at an angle of forty-five degrees. Each pair of slabs +was perforated by a longitudinal slit and they were joined firmly at +their extremities by finely carved and richly painted end-pieces. + +The operator strikes the slabs with a wooden mallet or hammer, the +head of which is wrapped with an inch layer of caoutchouc and then +with a cover of thick tapir-skin. Each section of the wooden slabs +gives forth a different note when struck, a penetrating, xylophonic, +tone but devoid of the disagreeably metallic, disharmonic bysounds of +that instrument. The slabs of wood were suspended by means of thin +fibre-cords from the crosspieces, and in this manner all absorption +by the adjacent material was done away with. + +By means of many different combinations of the four notes obtained +which, as far as I could ascertain, were _Do--Re--Mi--Fa_, the +operator was able to send any message to a person who understood +this code. The operator seized one mallet with each hand and gave +the thickest section, the _Do_ slat, a blow, followed by a blow with +the left hand mallet on the _Re_ slat; a blow on the _Mi_ slat and on +the _Fa_ slat followed in quick succession. These four notes, given +rapidly and repeated several times, represented the tuning up of the +"wireless," calculated to catch the attention of the operator at the +_maloca_ up-creek. The sound was very powerful, but rather pleasant, +and made the still forest resound with a musical echo. He repeated this +tuning process several times, but received no answer and we proceeded +for a mile. Then we stopped and signalled again. Very faintly came +a reply from some invisible source. I learned afterwards that at +this time we were at least five miles from the answering station. As +soon as communication was thus established the first message was sent +through the air, and it was a moment of extreme suspense for me when +the powerful notes vibrated through the depth of the forest. I shall +never forget this message, not only because it was ethnographically +interesting, but because so much of my happiness depended upon +a favourable reply. I made the operator repeat it for my benefit +when we later returned to our village, and I learned it by heart by +whistling it. When printed it looks like this: + +After each message the operator explained its meaning. The purport +of this first message was so important to me that I awaited the +translation with much the same feelings that a prisoner listens for +the verdict of the jury when it files back into the court-room. + +Questions and answers now came in rapid succession. "A white man +is coming with us; he seems to have a good heart, and to be of good +character." + +Whereupon the deciding answer was translated: "You are all welcome +provided you place your arms in the bottom of the canoe." + +Next message: "We ask you to place your arms in the _maloca_; we +are friends." + +After the last message we paddled briskly ahead, and at the end of +one hour's work we made a turn of the creek and saw a large open +space where probably five hundred Indians had assembled outside of +two round _malocas_, constructed like ours. How much I now regretted +leaving my precious camera out in the forest, but that was a thing of +the past and the loss could not be repaired. The view that presented +itself to my eyes was a splendid and rare one for a civilised man +to see. The crowd standing on the banks had never seen a white man +before; how would they greet me? + +Little dogs barked, large scarlet _araras_ screamed in the tree-tops, +and the little children hid themselves behind their equally fearful +mothers. The tribal Chief, a big fellow, decorated with squirrel tails +and feathers of the _mutum_ bird around, his waist and with the tail +feathers of the scarlet and blue _arara_-parrot adorning his handsome +head, stood in front with his arms folded. + +We landed and the operator dismantled his musical apparatus and laid +it carefully in the bottom of the canoe. The two Chiefs embraced each +other, at the same time uttering their welcome greeting "_He--He_." I +was greeted in the same cordial manner and we all entered the Chief's +_maloca_ in a long procession. Here in the village of the kindred +tribe we stayed for two days, enjoying unlimited hospitality and +kindness. Most of the time was spent eating, walking around the +_malocas_, looking at dugouts, and at the farinha plants. + +On the third day we went back to our _maloca_ where I prepared for +my return trip to civilisation. It was now the beginning of October. + +I would, finally, have recorded many words of the Mangeroma language +had not my pencil given out after I had been there a month. The +pencil was an "ink-pencil," that is, a pencil with a solid "lead" of +bluish colour, very soft, sometimes called "indelible pencil." This +lead became brittle from the moisture of the air and broke into +fragments so that I could do nothing with it, and my recording was +at an end. Fortunately I had made memoranda covering the life and +customs before this. + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE MANGEROMAS AND THE PERUVIANS + + +I was sitting outside the _maloca_ writing my observations in the +note-book which I always carried in my hunting-coat, when two young +hunters hurried toward the Chief, who was reclining in the shade of +a banana-tree near the other end of the large house. It was early +afternoon, when most of the men of the Mangeromas were off hunting in +the near-by forests, while the women and children attended to various +duties around the village. Probably not more than eight or ten men +remained about the _maloca_. + +I had recovered from my sickness and was not entirely devoid of +a desire for excitement--the best tonic of the explorer. The two +young hunters with bows and arrows halted before the Chief. They +were gesticulating wildly; and although I could not understand what +they were talking about, I judged from the frown of the Chief that +something serious was the matter. + +He arose with unusual agility for a man of his size, and shouted +something toward the opening of the _maloca_, whence the men were +soon seen coming with leaps and bounds. Anticipating trouble, I +also ran over to the Chief, and, in my defective Mangeroma lingo, +inquired the cause of the excitement. He did not answer me, but, +in a greater state of agitation than I had previously observed in +him, he gave orders to his men. He called the "wireless" operator +and commanded him to bring out his precious apparatus. This was soon +fastened to the gunwales of the canoe where I had seen it used before, +on my trip to the neighbouring tribe, and soon the same powerful, +xylophonic sounds vibrated through the forest. It was his intention +to summon the hunters that were still roaming around the vicinity, by +this "C.Q.D." message. The message I could not interpret nor repeat, +although it was not nearly as complex as the one I had learned +before. After a while, the men came streaming into the _maloca_ +from all directions, with anxiety darkening their faces. I had now my +first inkling of what was the cause of the commotion, and it did not +take me long to understand that we were in danger from some Peruvian +_caboclos_. The two young men who had brought the news to the Chief +had spied a detachment of Peruvian half-breeds as they were camping +in our old _tambo_ No. 6, the one we had built on our sixth day out +from Floresta. There were about a score of them, all ugly _caboclos_, +or half-breed _caucheros_, hunting rubber and no doubt out also for +prey in the shape of young Mangeroma girls, as was their custom. The +traps set by the Indians, as described in a previous chapter, would +be of no avail in this case, as the number of Peruvians was greater +than in any previous experience. + +The enemy had been observed more than ten miles off, in an easterly +direction, when our two hunters were on the trail of a large +herd of peccaries, or wild boars, they had sighted in the early +morning. The Peruvians were believed to be heading for the _maloca_ +of the Mangeromas, as there were no other settlements in this region +excepting the up-creek tribe, but this numbered at least five hundred +souls, and would be no easy prey for them. + +I now had a remarkable opportunity to watch the war preparations +of these savage, cannibal people, my friends, the Mangeromas. Their +army consisted of twelve able-bodied men, all fine muscular fellows, +about five feet ten in height, and bearing an array of vicious-looking +weapons such as few white men have seen. First of all were three +club-men, armed with strong, slender clubs, of hard and extremely +tough Caripari wood. The handle, which was very slim, was provided +with a knob at the end to prevent the club from slipping out of the +hand when in action. The heavy end was furnished with six bicuspid +teeth of the black jaguar, embedded in the wood and projecting about +two inches beyond the surface. The club had a total length of five +feet and weighed about eight pounds. The second division of the +wild-looking band consisted of three spear-men, each provided with +the three-pronged spears, a horrible weapon which always proves fatal +in the hands of these savages. It is a long straight shaft of Caripari +wood, about one inch in thickness, divided into three parts at the end, +each division being tipped with a barbed bone of the sting-ray. These +bones, about three and a half inches long, were smeared with wourahli +poison, and thus rendered absolutely fatal even when inflicting only +a superficial wound. Each man carried two of these spears, the points +being protected by grass-sheaths. The third division was composed +of three bow-and-arrow men, the youngest men in the tribe, boys of +sixteen and seventeen. They were armed with bows of great length, +from six to seven feet, and each bore, at his left side, a quiver, +containing a dozen big-game arrows fully five feet long. These arrows, +as far as I could ascertain, were not poisoned, but their shock-giving +and rending powers were extraordinary. The arrow-heads were all made +of the bones of the sting-ray, in themselves formidable weapons, +because of the many jagged barbs that prevent extraction from a wound +except by the use of great force, resulting in ugly laceration. + +The fourth and last division consisted of three blow-gun men, the +most effective and cunning of this deadly and imposing array. As so +much depended upon the success of a first attack on the Peruvians, +who not only outnumbered us, but also were armed with Winchesters, +the blow-guns were in the hands of the older and more experienced +men. All, except the club-men, wore, around the waist, girdles fringed +with _mutum_ plumes, and the captains added, to their uniforms +multi-coloured fringes of squirrel tails. Their faces all had the +usual scarlet and black stripes. The Chief, and his principal aide, or +sub-Chief, had on their gayest feathers, including head ornaments of +_arara_ plumes and egrets. The club-men were naked, except for their +head-gear, which consisted simply of a band of _mutum_ plumes. When +the warriors stood together in their costumes, ready for battle, +they presented an awe-inspiring sight. + +The Chief gave the order for the bow-and-arrow men to start in single +file, the others to follow after, in close succession. The Chief and I +fell in at the rear. In the meantime I had examined my Luger automatic +pistol to make sure of the smooth action of the mechanism, and found +besides that I had in all thirty-seven soft-nose bullets. This was my +only weapon, but previous narrow escapes from death and many close +contacts with danger had hardened me, so I was willing to depend +entirely upon my pistol. The women and children of the _maloca_ stood +around, as we disappeared in the jungle, and, while they showed some +interest in the proceeding, they displayed little or no emotion. A +couple of sweethearts exchanged kisses as composedly as if they had +been bluecoats parting with the ladies of their choice before going +to the annual parade. + +Soon we were in the dark, dense jungle that I was now so well +acquainted with, and, strange to say, the green and tangled mass of +vegetation contained more terrors for me than the bloody combat that +was to follow. + +For an hour we travelled in a straight line, pushing our way as +noiselessly as possible through the thick mass of creepers and +lianas. About three o'clock, one of the scouts sighted the Peruvians, +and our Chief decided that an attack should be made as soon as +possible, before darkness could set in. We stopped and sent out two +bow-and-arrow men to reconnoitre. An anxious half hour passed before +one of them returned with the report that the Peruvians were now +coming towards us and would probably reach our position in a few +minutes. I could almost hear my heart thump; my knees grew weak, +and for a moment I almost wished that I had stayed in the _maloca_. + +The Chief immediately directed certain strategic movements which, +in ingenuity and foresight, would have been worthy of a Napoleon. + +We were between two low hills, covered with the usual dense vegetation, +which made it impossible to see an advancing enemy at a distance of +more than five yards. The three blow-gun men were now ordered to ascend +the hills on each side of the valley and conceal themselves about +half-way up the slopes, and towards the enemy. They were to insert the +poisoned arrows in their guns and draw a bead on the Peruvians as they +came on cutting their way through the underbrush. The bow-and-arrow +men posted themselves farther on about five yards behind the blow-gun +men, with big-game arrows fitted to the bowstrings, ready to shoot +when the first volley of the deadly and silent poisoned arrows had +been fired. Farther back were the spear-men with spears unsheathed, +and finally came the three brave and ferocious club-men. Of these last +warriors, a tall athlete was visibly nervous, not from fear but from +anticipation. The veins of his forehead stood out, pulsating with every +throb of his heart. He clutched the heavy club and continually gritted +his white, sharp-filed teeth in concentrated rage. It was wisely +calculated that the Peruvians would unconsciously wedge themselves +into this trap, and by the time they could realise their danger their +return would be cut off by our bow-and-arrow men in their rear. + +After a pause that seemed an eternity to most of us no doubt, for the +savage heart beats as the white man's in time of danger and action, +we heard the talking and shouting of the enemy as they advanced, +following the natural and easiest route between the hills and cutting +their way through the brush. I stood near the Chief and the young +club-man Arara, who, on account of his bravery and great ability in +handling his club, had been detailed to remain near us. + +Before I could see any of the approaching foe, I heard great shouts +of anger and pain from them. It was easy for me to understand their +cries as they spoke Spanish and their cursings sounded loud through +the forest. + +The blow-gun men, perceiving the Peruvians at the foot of the hill +only some twenty feet away, had prudently waited until at least half a +dozen were visible, before they fired a volley of poisoned arrows. The +three arrows fired in this first volley all hit their mark. Hardly +had they gone forth, when other arrows were dexterously inserted in +the tubes. The work of the blow-gun men was soon restricted to the +picking out of any stray enemy, their long, delicate, and cumbersome +blow-guns preventing them from taking an active part in the melee. Now +the conflict was at its height and it was a most remarkable one, +on account of its swiftness and fierceness. The bow-and-arrow men +charging with their sting-ray arrows poisoned with the wourahli took +the place of the cautiously retreating blow-gun men. At the same +instant the spear-men rushed down, dashing through the underbrush at +the foot of the hill, like breakers on a stormy night. + +The rear-guard of the Peruvians now came into action, having had +a chance to view the situation. Several of them filed to the right +and managed to fire their large-calibre bullets into the backs of +our charging bow-and-arrow men, but, in their turn, they were picked +off by the blow-gun men, who kept firing their poisoned darts from a +safe distance. The fearful yells of our men, mingled with the cursing +of the Peruvians, and the sharp reports of their heavy rifles, so +plainly heard, proved that the centre of battle was not many yards +from the spot where I was standing. + +The club-men now broke into action; they could not be kept back any +longer. The tension had already been too painful for these brave +fellows, and with fierce war-cries of "_Yob--Hee--Hee_" they launched +themselves into the fight, swinging their strong clubs above their +heads and crashing skulls from left to right. By this time the +Peruvians had lost many men, but the slaughter went on. The huge +black clubs of the Mangeromas fell again and again, with sickening +thuds, piercing the heads and brains of the enemy with the pointed +jaguar teeth. + +Suddenly two Peruvians came into view not more than twelve feet from +where the Chief, Arara the big club-man, and I were standing. One of +these was a Spaniard, evidently the captain of this band of marauders +(or, to use their correct name, _caucheros_). His face was of a sickly, +yellowish hue, and a big, black moustache hid the lower part of his +cruel and narrow chin. He took a quick aim as he saw us in his path, +but before he could pull the trigger, Arara, with a mighty side-swing +of his club literally tore the Spaniard's head off. Now, at last, +the bonds of restraint were broken for this handsome devil Arara, and +yelling himself hoarse, and with his strong but cruel face contracted +to a fiendish grin, he charged the enemy; I saw him crush the life +out of three. + +The Chief took no active part in the fight whatever, but added +to the excitement by bellowing with all his might an encouraging +"_Aa--Oo--Ah_." No doubt, this had a highly beneficial effect upon the +tribesmen, for they never for an instant ceased their furious fighting +until the last Peruvian was killed. During the final moments of the +battle, several bullets whirred by me at close range, but during the +whole affair I had had neither opportunity nor necessity for using +my pistol. Now, however, a _caboclo_, with a large, bloody machete +in his hand, sprang from behind a tree and made straight for me. I +dodged behind another tree and saw how the branches were swept aside +as he rushed towards me. + +Then I fired point-blank, sending three bullets into his head. He +fell on his face at my feet. As I bent over him, I saw that he had +a blow-gun arrow in his left thigh; he was therefore a doomed man +before he attacked me. This was my first and only victim, during this +brief but horrible slaughter. As I was already thoroughly sick from +the noise of cracking rifles and the thumping of clubs smashing their +way into the brains of the Peruvians, I rushed toward the centre of +the valley where the first attack on the advance guard of the enemy +had taken place, but even more revolting was the sight that revealed +itself. Here and there bushes were shaking as some _caboclo_ crawled +along on all fours in his death agony. Those who were struck by the +blow-gun arrows seemed simply to fall asleep without much pain or +struggle, but the victims of the club-men and the bow-and-arrow men had +a terrible death. They could not die by the merciful wourahli poison, +like those shot by the blow-gun, but expired from hemorrhages caused +by the injuries of the ruder weapons. One poor fellow was groaning +most pitifully. He had received a well-directed big-game arrow in +the upper part of the abdomen, the arrow having been shot with such +terrible force that about a foot of the shaft projected from the +man's back. The arrow-head had been broken off by striking a vertebra. + +The battle was over. Soon the _urubus_, or vultures, were hanging +over the tree-tops waiting for their share of the spoils. The men +assembled in front of the Chief for roll-call. Four of our men were +killed outright by rifle-bullets, and it was typical of these brave men +that none were killed by machete stabs. The entire marauding expedition +of twenty Peruvians was completely wiped out, not a single one escaping +the deadly aim of the Mangeromas. Thus was avoided the danger of being +attacked in the near future by a greater force of Peruvians, called +to this place from the distant frontier by some returning survivor. + +It is true that the Mangeromas lay in ambush for their enemy +and killed them, for the greater part, with poisoned arrows and +spears, but the odds were against the Indians, not only because the +_caboclos_ were attacking them in larger numbers, but because they +came with modern, repeating fire-arms against the hand weapons of the +Mangeromas. These marauders, too, came with murder and girl-robbery +in their black hearts, while the Mangeromas were defending their homes +and families. But it is true that after the battle, so bravely fought, +the Indians cut off the hands and feet of their enemies, dead or dying, +and carried them home. + +The fight lasted only some twenty minutes, but it was after sunset +when we reached the _maloca_. The women and children received us +with great demonstrations of joy. Soon the pots and pans were boiling +inside the great house. I have previously observed how the Mangeromas +would partake of parts of the human body as a sort of religious rite, +whenever they had been successful with their man-traps; now they +feasted upon the hands and feet of the slain, these parts having been +distributed among the different families. + +I crept into my hammock and lit my pipe, watching the great mass of +naked humanity. All the men had laid aside their feather-dresses and +squirrel tails, and were moving around among the many fires on the +floor of the hut. Some were sitting in groups discussing the battle, +while women bent over the pots to examine the ghastly contents. Here, +a woman was engaged in stripping the flesh from the palm of a hand +and the sole of a foot, which operation finished, she threw both +into a large earthen pot to boil; there, another woman was applying +an herb-poultice to her husband's wounds. + +Over it all hung a thick, odoriferous smoke, gradually finding its +way out through the central opening in the roof. + +This was a feast, indeed, such as few white men, I believe, have +witnessed. + +That night and the next day, and the following four days, great +quantities of _chicha_ were drunk and much meat was consumed to +celebrate the great victory, the greatest in the annals of the +Mangeromas of Rio Branco. + +Earthen vessels and jars were used in the cooking of food. The red clay +(Tabatinga clay) found abundantly in these regions formed a superior +material for these utensils. They were always decorated symbolically +with juices of the scarlet _urucu_ and the black _genipapa_. Even +when not burned into the clay, these were permanent colours. + +Men and women wore their hair long and untrimmed as far as I could +observe. The older and more experienced of the tribesmen would have +quite elaborate head-gear, consisting of a band of _mutum_ plumes, +interspersed with parrot-tail feathers, while the younger hunters wore +nothing but a band of the _mutum_ plumes. The body was uncovered, +save by a narrow strip of bark encircling the waist. A broad piece, +woven of several bark-strips into a sort of mat, protected the lower +anterior part of the abdomen. The women wore no clothing whatever. + +Their colour was remarkably light. Probably nothing can designate this +better than the statement that if a Mangeroma were placed alongside +of an Italian, no difference would be noticeable. Their cheek-bones +were not as high as is usual with tribes found on the Amazon; they +seemed to come from a different race. Their eyes were set straight +without any tendency to the Mongolian slanting that characterises +the Peruvian _caboclos_ and the tribes of the northern affluents. The +women had unusually large feet, while those of the men were small and +well-shaped. The general appearance of a young Mangeroma was that of +a well-proportioned athlete, standing about five feet ten in his bare +feet. No moccasins, nor any other protection for the feet, were worn. + +The supply of wourahli poison had run low and three wourahli men were +to go out in the forest to collect poison plants, a journey which +would require several days to complete. This occasion was set as the +time of my departure. + +It was a rainy morning when I wrapped my few belongings in a leaf, +tied some grass-fibres around them, and inserted them in the large +pocket of my khaki-coat. The box with the gold dust was there, also +the boxes with the exposed photographic plates. Most of the gold had +filtered out of the box, but a neat quantity still remained. One of my +servants--a handsome girl--who, excepting for the labial ornaments, +could have been transformed into an individual of quite a civilised +appearance by opportunity, gave me a beautiful black necklace as +a souvenir. It was composed of several hundred pieces, all carved +out of ebony nuts. It had cost her three weeks of constant work. I +embraced and was embraced by almost everybody in the _maloca_, after +which ceremony we went in procession to the canoe that was to take +me down to the Branco River. The Chief bade me a fond farewell, that +forever shall be implanted in my heart. I had lived here weeks among +these cannibal Indians, had enjoyed their kindness and generosity +without charge; I could give them nothing in return and they asked +nothing. I could have stayed here for the rest of my natural life if I +had so desired, but now I was to say good-bye forever. How wonderful +was this farewell! It was my opportunity for acknowledging that the +savage heart is by no means devoid of the feelings and sentiments +that characterise more elevated, so-called civilised individuals. + +For the last time I heard the little dog bark, the same that had licked +my face when I fainted in front of the _maloca_ upon my first arrival; +and the large _arara_ screamed in the tree-tops as I turned once more +towards the world of the white man. + +The journey was without incident. The wourahli men set me off near the +mouth of the Branco River, at a distance which I covered in less than +five hours by following the banks. I was greeted by Coronel Maya of +the _Compagnie Transatlantique de Caoutchouc_, who sent me by canoe +down the old Itecoahy, until we reached the Floresta headquarters. + +Here I gave Coronel da Silva an account of the death of Chief Marques, +and the brave Jerome, which made a deep impression upon this noble man. + +The three men, Magellaes, Anisette, and Freitas, had returned in +safety after they separated from us. + +I met the wife of Chief Marques. She was the woman whose arm I had +amputated. When I saw her she was carrying, with the arm left to +her, a pail of water from the little creek behind headquarters. She +was a different woman, and I was pleased to know that my desperate +surgical operation had resulted so well. Her cheeks were full and +almost rosy. Her health, I was told, excepting for occasional attacks +of ague, was very good. + +Soon after, the launch arrived from Remate de Males and I put my +baggage on board. The Coronel accompanied me down river for about +forty-eight hours and then, reaching the northern extremity of +his estate, he bade me a fond good-bye with the words: "_Sempre, +illustrissimo Senhor, minha casa e a suas ordenes_," "My house, +most illustrious Sir, is always at your disposal." + +When I arrived at Remate de Males I had another attack of malaria, +which almost severed the slender thread by which my life hung; my +physical resistance was gone. But I managed to develop my plates +before breaking down completely, and after having disposed of my +small quantity of gold dust, for which I realised some three hundred +and forty dollars, I was taken down to the mouth of the Javary River, +where I had landed almost a year previous, now a physical and, I might +almost say, mental wreck. I stayed in the house of Coronel Monteiro, +the frontier official at Esperanca, for five long days, fighting with +death, until one afternoon I saw the white hull of the R.M.S. _Napo_ +appear at a bend of the Amazon, only five hundred yards away. + +Closer she came--this rescuing instrument of Providence. She was none +too soon, for I had now reached the last notch of human endurance. She +dropped anchor; a small gasoline launch was lowered into the water; +three white-coated officers stepped into it--they came ashore--they +climbed the stairs. The captain, a stout, kind-looking Englishman, +approached my hammock and found therein a very sick white man. I was +carried aboard and placed in the hands of the ship's physician. At last +those black forests of the Amazon were left behind. After twenty-two +days' sail, Sandy Hook lighthouse loomed on our port side, and soon +after, I could rest--rest, and _live_ again! + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In The Amazon Jungle, by Algot Lange + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE *** + +***** This file should be named 14898.txt or 14898.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/8/9/14898/ + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman & the PG Distributed Proofreaders Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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