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diff --git a/35911.txt b/35911.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e103d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/35911.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12688 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Odd People, by Mayne Reid + +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: Odd People + Being a Popular Description of Singular Races of Man + +Author: Mayne Reid + +Release Date: April 19, 2011 [EBook #35911] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ODD PEOPLE *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Odd People +Being a Popular Description of Singular Races of Man +By Captain Mayne Reid +Published by Ticknor and Fields, Boston. +This edition dated 1861. + +Odd People, by Captain Mayne Reid. + +________________________________________________________________________ + +________________________________________________________________________ +ODD PEOPLE, BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +BOSJESMEN, OR BUSHMEN. + +Perhaps no race of people has more piqued the curiosity of the civilised +world than those little yellow savages of South Africa, known as the +_Bushmen_. From the first hour in which European nations became +acquainted with their existence, a keen interest was excited by the +stories told of their peculiar character and habits; and although they +have been visited by many travellers, and many descriptions have been +given of them, it is but truth to say, that the interest in them has not +yet abated, and the Bushmen of Africa are almost as great a curiosity at +this hour as they were when Di Gama first doubled the Cape. Indeed, +there is no reason why this should not be, for the habits and personal +appearance of these savages are just now as they were then, and our +familiarity with them is not much greater. Whatever has been added to +our knowledge of their character, has tended rather to increase than +diminish our curiosity. + +At first the tales related of them were supposed to be filled with +wilful exaggerations, and the early travellers were accused of dealing +too much in the marvellous. This is a very common accusation brought +against the early travellers; and in some instances it is a just one. +But in regard to the accounts given of the Bushmen and their habits +there has been far less exaggeration than might be supposed; and the +more insight we obtain into their peculiar customs and modes of +subsistence, the more do we become satisfied that almost everything +alleged of them is true. In fact, it would be difficult for the most +inventive genius to contrive a fanciful account, that would be much more +curious or interesting than the real and _bona fide_ truth that can be +told about this most peculiar people. + +Where do the Bushmen dwell? what is their country? These are questions +not so easily answered, as in reality they are not supposed to possess +any country at all, any more than the wild animals amidst which they +roam, and upon whom they prey. There is no Bushman's country upon the +map, though several spots in Southern Africa have at times received this +designation. It is not possible, therefore, to delineate the boundaries +of their country, since it has no boundaries, any more than that of the +wandering Gypsies of Europe. + +If the Bushmen, however, have no country in the proper sense of the +word, they have a "range," and one of the most extensive character-- +since it covers the whole southern portion of the African continent, +from the Cape of Good Hope to the twentieth degree of south latitude, +extending east and west from the country of the Cafires to the Atlantic +Ocean. Until lately it was believed that the Bushman-range did not +extend far to the north of the Orange river; but this has proved an +erroneous idea. They have recently "turned up" in the land of the +Dammaras, and also in the great Kalahari desert, hundreds of miles north +from the Orange river and it is not certain that they do not range still +nearer to the equatorial line--though it may be remarked that the +country in that direction does not favour the supposition, not being of +the peculiar nature of a Bushman's country. The Bushman requires a +desert for his dwelling-place. It is an absolute necessity of his +nature, as it is to the ostrich and many species of animals; and north +of the twentieth degree of latitude, South Africa does not appear to be +of this character. The heroic Livingstone has dispelled the +long-cherished illusion of the Geography about the "_Great-sanded +level_" of these interior regions; and, instead, disclosed to the world +a fertile land, well watered, and covered with a profuse and luxuriant +vegetation. In such a land there will be no Bushmen. + +The limits we have allowed them, however, are sufficiently large,-- +fifteen degrees of latitude, and an equally extensive range from east to +west. It must not be supposed, however, that they _populate_ this vast +territory. On the contrary, they are only distributed over it _in +spots_, in little communities, that have no relationship or connection +with one another, but are separated by wide intervals, sometimes of +hundreds of miles in extent. It is only in the desert tracts of South +Africa that the Bushmen exist,--in the karoos, and treeless, waterless +plains--among the barren ridges and rocky defiles--in the ravines formed +by the beds of dried-up rivers--in situations so sterile, so remote, so +wild and inhospitable as to offer a home to no other human being save +the Bushman himself. + +If we state more particularly the localities where the haunts of the +Bushman are to be found, we may specify the barren lands on both sides +of the Orange river,--including most of its headwaters, and down to its +mouth,--and also the Great Kalahari desert. Through all this extensive +region the _kraals_ of the Bushmen may be encountered. At one time they +were common enough within the limits of the Cape colony itself, and some +half-caste remnants still exist in the more remote districts; but the +cruel persecution of the _boers_ has had the effect of extirpating these +unfortunate savages; and, like the elephant, the ostrich, and the eland, +the true wild Bushman is now only to be met with beyond the frontiers of +the colony. + +About the origin of the Bushmen we can offer no opinion. They are +generally considered as a branch of the great Hottentot family; but this +theory is far from being an established fact. When South Africa was +first discovered and colonised, both Hottentots and Bushmen were found +there, differing from each other just as they differ at this day; and +though there are some striking points of resemblance between them, there +are also points of dissimilarity that are equally as striking, if we +regard the two people as one. In personal appearance there is a certain +general likeness: that is, both are woolly-haired, and both have a +Chinese cast of features, especially in the form and expression of the +eye. Their colour too is nearly the same; but, on the other hand, the +Hottentots are larger than the Bushmen. It is not in their persons, +however, that the most essential points of dissimilarity are to be +looked for, but rather in their mental characters; and here we observe +distinctions so marked and antithetical, that it is difficult to +reconcile them with the fact that these two people are of one race. +Whether a different habit of life has produced this distinctive +character, or whether _it_ has influenced the habits of life, are +questions not easily answered. We only know that a strange anomaly +exists--the anomaly of two people being personally alike--that is, +possessing physical characteristics that seem to prove them of the same +race, while intellectually, as we shall presently see, they have scarce +one character in common. The slight resemblance that exists between the +languages of the two is not to be regarded as a proof of their common +origin. It only shows that they have long lived in juxtaposition, or +contiguous to each other; a fact which cannot be denied. + +In giving a more particular description of the Bushman, it will be seen +in what respect he resembles the true Hottentot, and in what he differs +from him, both physically and mentally, and this description may now be +given. + +The Bushman is the smallest man with whom we are acquainted; and if the +terms "dwarf" and "pigmy" may be applied to any race of human beings, +the South-African Bushmen presents the fairest claim to these titles. +He stands only 4 feet 6 inches upon his naked soles--never more than 4 +feet 9, and not unfrequently is he encountered of still less height-- +even so diminutive as 4 feet 2. His wife is of still shorter stature, +and this Lilliputian lady is often the mother of children when the crown +of her head is just 3 feet 9 inches above the soles of her feet. It has +been a very common thing to contradict the assertion that these people +are such pigmies in stature, and even Dr Livingstone has done so in his +late magnificent work. The doctor states, very jocosely, that they are +"not dwarfish--that the specimens brought to Europe have been selected, +like costermongers' dogs, for their extreme ugliness." + +But the doctor forgets that it is but from "the specimens brought to +Europe" that the above standard of the Bushman's height has been +derived, but from the testimony of numerous travellers--many of them as +trustworthy as the doctor himself--from actual measurements made by them +upon the spot. It is hardly to be believed that such men as Sparmann +and Burchell, Barrow and Lichtenstein, Harris, Campbell, Patterson, and +a dozen others that might be mentioned, should all give an erroneous +testimony on this subject. These travellers have differed notoriously +on other points, but in this they all agree, that a Bushman of five feet +in height is a _tall_ man in his tribe. Dr Livingstone speaks of +Bushmen "six feet high," and these are the tribes lately discovered +living so far north as the Lake Nagami. It is doubtful whether these +are Bushmen at all. Indeed, the description given by the doctor, not +only of their height and the colour of their skin, but also some hints +about their intellectual character, would lead to the belief that he has +mistaken some other people for Bushmen. It must be remembered that the +experience of this great traveller has been chiefly among the _Bechuana_ +tribes, and his knowledge of the Bushman proper does not appear to be +either accurate or extensive. No man is expected to know everybody; and +amid the profusion of new facts, which the doctor has so liberally laid +before the world, it would be strange if a few inaccuracies should not +occur. Perhaps we should have more confidence if this was the only one +we are enabled to detect; but the doctor also denies that there is +anything either terrific or majestic in the "roaring of the lion." Thus +speaks he: "The same feeling which has induced the modern painter to +caricature the lion has led the sentimentalist to consider the lion's +roar as the most terrific of all earthly sounds. We hear of the +`majestic roar of the king of beasts.' To talk of the majestic roar of +the lion is mere majestic twaddle." + +The doctor is certainly in error here. Does he suppose that any one is +ignorant of the character of the lion's roar? Does he fancy that no one +has ever heard it but himself? If it be necessary to go to South Africa +to take the true measure of a Bushman, it is not necessary to make that +long journey in order to obtain a correct idea of the compass of the +lion's voice. We can hear it at home in all its modulations; and any +one who has ever visited the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park--nay, +any one who chances to live within half a mile of that magnificent +menagerie--will be very much disposed to doubt the correctness of the +doctor's assertion. If there be a sound upon the earth above all others +"majestic," a noise above all others "terrific," it is certainly the +_roar_ of the lion. Ask Albert Terrace and Saint John's Wood! + +But let us not be too severe upon the doctor. The world is indebted to +him much more than to any other modern traveller, and all great men +indulge occasionally in the luxury of an eccentric opinion. We have +brought the point forward here for a special purpose,--to illustrate a +too much neglected truth. Error is not always on the side of +_exaggeration_; but is sometimes also found in the opposite extreme of a +too-squeamish moderation. We find the learned Professor Lichtenstein +ridiculing poor old Hernandez, the natural historian of Mexico, for +having given a description of certain fabulous animals--_fabulous_, he +terms them, because to him they were odd and unknown. But it turns out +that the old author was right, and the _animals exist_! How many +similar misconceptions might be recorded of the Buffons, and other +closet philosophers--urged, too, with the most bitter zeal! Incredulity +carried too far is but another form of credulity. + +But to return to our proper theme, and complete the portrait of the +Bushman. We have given his height. It is in tolerable proportion to +his other dimensions. When young, he appears stout enough; but this is +only when a mere boy. At the age of sixteen he has reached all the +manhood he is ever destined to attain; and then his flesh disappears; +his body assumes a meagre outline; his arms and limbs grow thin; the +calf disappears from his legs; the plumpness from his cheeks; and +altogether he becomes as wretched-looking an object as it is possible to +conceive in human shape. Older, his skin grows dry, corrugated, and +scaly; his bones protrude; and his knee, elbow, and ankle-joints appear +like horny knobs placed at the ends of what more resemble long straight +sticks than the arms and limbs of a human being. + +The colour of this creature may be designated a yellow-brown, though it +is not easy to determine it to a shade. The Bushman appears darker than +he really is; since his skin serves him for a towel, and every species +of dirt that discommodes his fingers he gets rid of by wiping it off on +his arms, sides, or breast. The result is, that his whole body is +usually coated over with a stratum of grease and filth, which has led to +the belief that he regularly anoints himself--a custom common among many +savage tribes. This, however, the Bushman does not do: the smearing +toilet is merely occasional or accidental, and consists simply in the +fat of whatever flesh he has been eating being transferred from his +fingers to the cuticle of his body. This is never washed off again--for +water never touches the Bushman's hide. Such a use of water is entirely +unknown to him, not even for washing his face. Should he have occasion +to cleanse his hands--which the handling of gum or some like substance +sometimes compels him to do--he performs the operation, not with soap +and water, but with the dry dung of cattle or some wild animal. A +little rubbing of this upon his skin is all the purification the Bushman +believes to be needed. + +Of course, the dirt darkens his complexion; but he has the vanity at +times to brighten it up--not by making it whiter--but rather a +brick-red. A little ochreous earth produces the colour he requires; and +with this he smears his body all over--not excepting even the crown of +his head, and the scant stock of wool that covers it. + +Bushmen have been washed. It requires some scrubbing, and a plentiful +application either of soda or soap, to reach the true skin and bring out +the natural colour; but the experiment has been made, and the result +proves that the Bushman is not so black as, under ordinary +circumstances, he appears. A yellow hue shines through the epidermis, +somewhat like the colour of the Chinese, or a European in the worst +stage of jaundice--the eye only not having that complexion. Indeed, the +features of the Bushman, as well as the Hottentot, bear a strong +similarity to those of the Chinese, and the Bushman's eye is essentially +of the Mongolian type. His hair, however, is entirely of another +character. Instead of being long, straight, and lank, it is short, +crisp, and curly,--in reality, wool. Its scantiness is a +characteristic; and in this respect the Bushman differs from the +woolly-haired tribes both of Africa and Australasia. These generally +have "fleeces" in profusion, whereas both Hottentot and Bushman have not +enough to half cover their scalps; and between the little knot-like +"kinks" there are wide spaces without a single hair upon them. The +Bushman's "wool" is naturally black, but red ochre and the sun soon +convert the colour into a burnt reddish hue. + +The Bushman has no beard or other hairy encumbrances. Were they to +grow, he would root them out as useless inconveniences. He has a +low-bridged nose, with wide flattened nostrils; an eye that appears a +mere slit between the eyelids; a pair of high cheek-bones, and a +receding forehead. His lips are not thick, as in the negro, and he is +furnished with a set of fine white teeth, which, as he grows older, do +not decay, but present the singular phenomenon of being regularly worn +down to the stumps--as occurs to the teeth of sheep and other ruminant +animals. + +Notwithstanding the small stature of the Bushman, his frame is wiry and +capable of great endurance. He is also as agile as an antelope. + +From the description above given, it will be inferred that the Bushman +is no beauty. Neither is the Bushwoman; but, on the contrary, both +having passed the period of youth, become absolutely ugly,--the woman, +if possible, more so than the man. + +And yet, strange to say, many of the Bush-girls, when young, have a cast +of prettiness almost amounting to beauty. It is difficult to tell in +what this beauty consists. Something, perhaps, in the expression of the +oblique almond-shaped eye, and the small well-formed mouth and lips, +with the shining white teeth. Their limbs, too, at this early age, are +often well-rounded; and many of them exhibit forms that might serve as +models for a sculptor. Their feet are especially well-shaped, and, in +point of size, they are by far the smallest in the world. Had the +Chinese ladies been gifted by nature with such little feet, they might +have been spared the torture of compressing them. + +The foot of a Bushwoman rarely measures so much as six inches in length; +and full-grown girls have been seen, whose feet, submitted to the test +of an actual measurement, proved but a very little over four inches! + +Intellectually, the Bushman does not rank so low as is generally +believed. He has a quick, cheerful mind, that appears ever on the +alert,--as may be judged by the constant play of his little piercing +black eye,--and though he does not always display much skill in the +manufacture of his weapons, he can do so if he pleases. Some tribes +construct their bows, arrows, fish-baskets, and other implements and +utensils with admirable ingenuity; but in general the Bushman takes no +pride in fancy weapons. He prefers having them effective, and to this +end he gives proof of his skill in the manufacture of _most deadly +poisons_ with which to anoint his arrows. Furthermore, he is ever +active and ready for action; and in this his mind is in complete +contrast with that of the Hottentot, with whom indolence is a +predominant and well-marked characteristic. The Bushman, on the +contrary, is always on the _qui vive_; always ready to be doing where +there is anything to do; and there is not much opportunity for him to be +idle, as he rarely ever knows where the next meal is to come from. The +ingenuity which he displays in the capture of various kinds of game,-- +far exceeding that of other hunting tribes of Africa,--as also the +cunning exhibited by him while engaged in cattle-stealing and other +plundering forays, prove an intellectual capacity more than proportioned +to his diminutive body; and, in short, in nearly every mental +characteristic does he differ from the supposed cognate race--the +Hottentot. + +It would be hardly just to give the Bushman a character for high +courage; but, on the other hand, it would be as unjust to charge him +with cowardice. Small as he is, he shows plenty of "pluck," and when +brought to bay, his motto is, "No surrender." He will fight to the +death, discharging his poisoned arrows as long as he is able to bend a +bow. Indeed, he has generally been treated to shooting, or clubbing to +death, wherever and whenever caught, and he knows nothing of _quarter_. +Just as a badger he ends his life,--his last struggle being an attempt +to do injury to his assailant. This trait in his character has, no +doubt, been strengthened by the inhuman treatment that, for a century, +he has been receiving from the brutal boers of the colonial frontier. + +The costume of the Bushman is of the most primitive character,-- +differing only from that worn by our first parents, in that the fig-leaf +used by the men is a patch of jackal-skin, and that of the women a sort +of fringe or bunch of leather thongs, suspended around the waist by a +strap, and hanging down to the knees. It is in reality a little apron +of dressed skin; or, to speak more accurately, two of them, one above +the other, both cut into narrow strips or thongs, from below the waist +downward. Other clothing than this they have none, if we except a +little skin _kaross_, or cloak, which is worn over their shoulders;-- +that of the women being provided with a bag or hood at the top, that +answers the naked "piccaninny" for a nest or cradle. Sandals protect +their feet from the sharp stones, and these are of the rudest +description,--merely a piece of the thick hide cut a little longer and +broader than the soles of the feet, and fastened at the toes and round +the ankles by thongs of sinews. An attempt at ornament is displayed in +a leathern skullcap, or more commonly a circlet around the head, upon +which are sewed a number of "cowries," or small shells of the _Cyprea +moneta_. + +It is difficult to say where these shells are procured,--as they are not +the product of the Bushman's country, but are only found on the far +shores of the Indian Ocean. Most probably he obtains them by barter, +and after they have passed through many hands; but they must cost the +Bushman dear, as he sets the highest value upon them. Other ornaments +consist of old brass or copper buttons, attached to the little curls of +his woolly hair; and, among the women, strings of little pieces of +ostrich egg-shells, fashioned to resemble beads; besides a perfect load +of leathern bracelets on the arms, and a like profusion of similar +circlets on the limbs, often reaching from the knee to the ankle-joint. + +Red ochre over the face and hair is the fashionable toilette, and a +perfumery is obtained by rubbing the skin with the powdered leaves of +the "buku" plant, a species of _diosma_. According to a quaint old +writer, this causes them to "stink like a poppy," and would be highly +objectionable, were it not preferable to the odour which they have +without it. + +They do not _tattoo_, nor yet perforate the ears, lips, or nose,-- +practices so common among savage tribes. Some instances of +nose-piercing have been observed, with the usual appendage of a piece of +wood or porcupine's quill inserted in the septum, but this is a custom +rather of the Caffres than Bushmen. Among the latter it is rare. A +grand ornament is obtained by smearing the face and head with a shining +micaceous paste, which is procured from a cave in one particular part of +the Bushman's range; but this, being a "far-fetched" article, is +proportionably scarce and dear. It is only a fine belle who can afford +to give herself a coat of _blink-slip_,--as this sparkling pigment is +called by the colonists. Many of the women, and men as well, carry in +their hands the bushy tail of a jackal. The purpose is to fan off the +flies, and serve also as a "wipe," to disembarrass their bodies of +perspiration when the weather chances to be over hot. + +The domicile of the Bushman next merits description. It is quite as +simple and primitive as his dress, and gives him about equal trouble in +its construction. If a cave or cleft can be found in the rocks, of +sufficient capacity to admit his own body and those of his family--never +a very large one--he builds no house. The cave contents him, be it ever +so tight a squeeze. If there be no cave handy, an overhanging rock will +answer equally as well. He regards not the open sides, nor the +draughts. It is only the rain which he does not relish; and any sort of +a shed, that will shelter him from that, will serve him for a dwelling. +If neither cave, crevice, nor impending cliff can be found in the +neighbourhood, he then resorts to the alternative of housebuilding; and +his style of architecture does not differ greatly from that of the +orang-outang. A bush is chosen that grows near to two or three +others,--the branches of all meeting in a common centre. Of these +branches the builder takes advantage, fastening them together at the +ends, and wattling some into the others. Over this framework a quantity +of grass is scattered in such a fashion as to cast off a good shower of +rain, and then the "carcass" of the building is considered complete. +The inside work remains yet to be done, and that is next set about. A +large roundish or oblong hole is scraped out in the middle of the floor. +It is made wide enough and deep enough to hold the bodies of three or +four Bush-people, though a single large Caffre or Dutchman would +scarcely find room in it. Into this hole is flung a quantity of dry +grass, and arranged so as to present the appearance of a gigantic nest. +This nest, or lair, becomes the bed of the Bushman, his wife, or +wives,--for he frequently keeps two,--and the other members of his +family. Coiled together like monkeys, and covered with their skin +karosses, they all sleep in it,--whether "sweetly" or "soundly," I shall +not take upon me to determine. + +It is supposed to be this fashion of literally "sleeping in the bush," +as also the mode by which he skulks and hides among bushes,--invariably +taking to them when pursued,--that has given origin to the name Bushman, +or _Bosjesman_, as it is in the language of the colonial Dutch. This +derivation is probable enough, and no better has been offered. + +The Bushman sometimes constructs himself a more elaborate dwelling; that +is, some Bushmen;--for it should be remarked that there are a great many +tribes or communities of these people, and they are not all so very low +in the scale of civilisation. None, however, ever arrive at the +building of a house,--not even a hut. A tent is their highest effort in +the building line, and that is of the rudest description, scarce +deserving the name. Its covering is a mat, which they weave out of a +species of rush that grows along some of the desert streams; and in the +fabrication of the covering they display far more ingenuity than in the +planning or construction of the tent itself. The mat, in fact, is +simply laid over two poles, that are bent into the form of an arch, by +having both ends stuck into the ground. A second piece of matting +closes up one end; and the other, left open, serves for the entrance. +As a door is not deemed necessary, no further construction is required, +and the tent is "pitched" complete. It only remains to scoop out the +sand, and make the _nest_ as already described. + +It is said that the Goths drew their ideas of architecture from the +aisles of the oak forest; the Chinese from their Mongolian tents; and +the Egyptians from their caves in the rocks. Beyond a doubt, the +Bushman has borrowed his from the nest of the ostrich! + +It now becomes necessary to inquire how the Bushman spends his time? how +he obtains subsistence? and what is the nature of his food? All these +questions can be answered, though at first it may appear difficult to +answer them. Dwelling, as he always does, in the very heart of the +desert, remote from forests that might furnish him with some sort of +food--trees that might yield fruit,--far away from a fertile soil, with +no knowledge of agriculture, even if it were near,--with no flocks or +herds; neither sheep, cattle, horses, nor swine,--no domestic animals +but his lean, diminutive dogs,--how does this Bushman procure enough to +eat? What are his sources of supply? + +We shall see. Being neither a grazier nor a farmer, he has other means +of subsistence,--though it must be confessed that they are of a +precarious character, and often during his life does the Bushman find +himself on the very threshold of starvation. This, however, results +less from the parsimony of Nature than the Bushman's own improvident +habits,--a trait in his character which is, perhaps, more strongly +developed in him than any other. We shall have occasion to refer to it +presently. + +His first and chief mode of procuring his food is by the chase: for, +although he is surrounded by the sterile wilderness, he is not the only +animated being who has chosen the desert for his home. Several species +of birds--one the largest of all--and quadrupeds, share with the Bushman +the solitude and safety of this desolate region. The rhinoceros can +dwell there; and in numerous streams are found the huge hippopotami; +whilst quaggas, zebras, and several species of antelope frequent the +desert plains as their favourite "stamping" ground. Some of these +animals can live almost without water; but when they do require it, what +to them is a gallop of fifty miles to some well-known "vley" or pool? +It will be seen, therefore, that the desert has its numerous denizens. +All these are objects of the Bushman's pursuit, who follows them with +incessant pertinacity--as if he were a beast of prey, furnished by +Nature with the most carnivorous propensities. + +In the capture of these animals he displays an almost incredible +dexterity and cunning. His mode of approaching the sly ostrich, by +disguising himself in the skin of one of these birds, is so well-known +that I need not describe it here; but the _ruses_ he adopts for +capturing or killing other sorts of game are many of them equally +ingenious. The pit-trap is one of his favourite contrivances; and this, +too, has been often described,--but often very erroneously. The pit is +not a large hollow,--as is usually asserted,--but rather of dimensions +proportioned to the size of the animal that is expected to fall into it. +For game like the rhinoceros or _eland_ antelope, it is dug of six feet +in length and three in width at the top; gradually narrowing to the +bottom, where it ends in a trench of only twelve inches broad. Six or +seven feet is considered deep enough; and the animal, once into it, gets +so wedged at the narrow bottom part as to be unable to make use of its +legs for the purpose of springing out again. Sometimes a sharp stake or +two are used, with the view of _impaling_ the victim; but this plan is +not always adopted. There is not much danger of a quadruped that drops +in ever getting out again, till he is dragged out by the Bushman in the +shape of a carcass. + +The Bushman's ingenuity does not end here. Besides the construction of +the trap, it is necessary the game should be guided into it. Were this +not done, the pit might remain a long time empty, and, as a necessary +consequence, so too might the belly of the Bushman. In the wide plain +few of the gregarious animals have a path which they follow habitually; +only where there is a pool may such beaten trails be found, and of these +the Bushman also avails himself; but they are not enough. Some +artificial means must be used to make the traps pay--for they are not +constructed without much labour and patience. The plan adopted by the +Bushman to accomplish this exhibits some points of originality. He +first chooses a part of the plain which lies between two mountains. No +matter if these be distant from each other: a mile, or even two, will +not deter the Bushman from his design. By the help of his whole tribe-- +men, women, and children--he constructs a fence from one mountain to the +other. The material used is whatever may be most ready to the hand: +stones, sods, brush, or dead timber, if this be convenient. No matter +how rude the fence: it need not either be very high. He leaves several +gaps in it; and the wild animals, however easily they might leap over +such a puny barrier, will, in their ordinary way, prefer to walk +leisurely through the gaps. In each of these, however, there is a +dangerous hole--dangerous from its depth as well as from the cunning way +in which it is concealed from the view--in short, in each gap there is a +_pit-fall_. No one--at least no animal except the elephant--would ever +suspect its presence; the grass seems to grow over it, and the sand lies +unturned, just as elsewhere upon the plain. What quadruped could detect +the cheat? Not any one except the sagacious elephant. The stupid eland +tumbles through; the gemsbok goes under; and the rhinoceros rushes into +it as if destined to destruction. The Bushman sees this from his +elevated perch, glides forward over the ground, and spears the +struggling victim with his _poisoned assagai_. + +Besides the above method of capturing game the Bushman also uses the bow +and arrows. This is a weapon in which he is greatly skilled; and +although both bow and arrows are as tiny as if intended for children's +toys, they are among the deadliest of weapons, their fatal effect lies +not in the _size_ of the wound they are capable of inflicting, but in +the peculiar mode in which the barbs of the arrows are prepared. I need +hardly add that they are dipped in poison;--for who has not heard of the +poisoned arrows of the African Bushmen? + +Both bow and arrows are usually rude enough in their construction, and +would appear but a trumpery affair, were it not for a knowledge of their +effects. The bow is a mere round stick, about three feet long, and +slightly bent by means of its string of twisted sinews. The arrows are +mere reeds, tipped with pieces of bone, with a split ostrich-quill +lapped behind the head, and answering for a barb. This arrow the +Bushman can shoot with tolerable certainty to a distance of a hundred +yards, and he can even project it farther by giving a slight elevation +to his aim. It signifies not whether the force with which it strikes +the object be ever so slight, if it only makes an entrance. Even a +scratch from its point will sometimes prove fatal. + +Of course the danger dwells altogether in the poison. Were it not for +that, the Bushman, from his dwarfish stature and pigmy strength, would +be a harmless creature indeed. + +The poison he well knows how to prepare, and he can make it of the most +"potent spell," when the "materials" are within his reach. For this +purpose he makes use of both vegetable and animal substances, and a +mineral is also employed; but the last is not a poison, and is only used +to give consistency to the liquid, so that it may the better adhere to +the arrow. The vegetable substances are of various kinds. Some are +botanically known: the bulb of _Amaryllis disticha_,--the gum of a +_Euphorbia_,--the sap of a species of sumac (_Rhus_),--and the nuts of a +shrubby plant, by the colonists called _Woolf-gift_ (Wolf-poison). + +The animal substance is the fluid found in the fangs of venomous +serpents, several species of which serve the purpose of the Bushman: as +the little "Horned Snake,"--so called from the scales rising prominently +over its eyes; the "Yellow Snake," or South-African Cobra (_Naga haje_); +the "Puff Adder," and others. From all these he obtains the ingredients +of his deadly ointment, and mixes them, not all together; for he cannot +always procure them all in any one region of the country in which he +dwells. He makes his poison, also, of different degrees of potency, +according to the purpose for which he intends it; whether for hunting or +war. With sixty or seventy little arrows, well imbued with this fatal +mixture, and carefully placed in his quiver of tree bark or skin,--or, +what is not uncommon, stuck like a coronet around his head,--he sallies +forth, ready to deal destruction either to game, animals, or to human +enemies. + +Of these last he has no lack. Every man, not a Bushman, he deems his +enemy; and he has some reason for thinking so. Truly may it be said of +him, as of Ishmael, that his "hand is against every man, and every man's +hand against him;" and such has been his unhappy history for ages. Not +alone have the boers been his pursuers and oppressors, but all others +upon his borders who are strong enough to attack him,--colonists, +Caffres, and Bechuanas, all alike,--not even excepting his supposed +kindred, the Hottentots. Not only does no fellow-feeling exist between +Bushman and Hottentot, but, strange to say, they hate each other with +the most rancorous hatred. The Bushman will plunder a Namaqua +Hottentot, a Griqua, or a Gonaqua,--plunder and murder him with as much +ruthlessness, or even more, than he would the hated Caffre or boer. All +are alike his enemies,--all to be plundered and massacred, whenever met, +and the thing appears possible. + +We are speaking of plunder. This is another source of supply to the +Bushman, though one that is not always to be depended upon. It is his +most dangerous method of obtaining a livelihood, and often costs him his +life. He only resorts to it when all other resources fail him, and food +is no longer to be obtained by the chase. + +He makes an expedition into the settlements,--either of the frontier +boers, Caffres, or Hottentots,--whichever chance to live most convenient +to his haunts. The expedition, of course, is by night, and conducted, +not as an open _foray_, but in secret, and by stealth. The cattle are +_stolen_, not _reeved_, and driven off while the owner and his people +are asleep. + +In the morning, or as soon as the loss is discovered, a pursuit is at +once set on foot. A dozen men, mounted and armed with long muskets +(_roers_), take the _spoor_ of the spoilers, and follow it as fast as +their horses will _carry_ them. A dozen boers, or even half that +number, is considered a match for a whole tribe of Bushmen, in any fight +which may occur in the open plain, as the boers make use of their +long-range guns at such a distance that the Bushmen are shot down +without being able to use their poisoned arrows; and if the thieves have +the fortune to be overtaken before they have got far into the desert, +they stand a good chance of being terribly chastised. + +There is no quarter shown them. Such a thing as mercy is never dreamt +of,--no sparing of lives any more than if they were a pack of hyenas. +The Bushmen may escape to the rocks, such of them as are not hit by the +bullets; and there the boers know it would be idle to follow them. Like +the klipspringer antelope, the little savages can bound from rock to +rock, and cliff to cliff, or hide like partridges among crevices, where +neither man nor horse can pursue them. Even upon the level plain--if it +chance to be stony or intersected with breaks and ravines--a horseman +would endeavour to overtake them in vain, for these yellow imps are as +swift as ostriches. + +When the spoilers scatter thus, the boer may recover his cattle, but in +what condition? That he has surmised already, without going among the +herd. He does not expect to drive home one half of them; perhaps not +one head. On reaching the flock he finds there is not one without a +wound of some kind or other: a gash in the flank, the cut of a knife, +the stab of an assagai, or a poisoned arrow--intended for the boer +himself--sticking between the ribs. This is the sad spectacle that +meets his eyes; but he never reflects that it is the result of his own +cruelty,--he never regards it in the light of retribution. Had he not +first hunted the Bushman to make him a slave, to make bondsmen and +bondsmaids of his sons and daughters, to submit them to the caprice and +tyranny of his great, strapping _frau_, perhaps his cattle would have +been browsing quietly in his fields. The poor Bushman, in attempting to +take them, followed but his instincts of hunger: in yielding them up he +obeyed but the promptings of revenge. + +It is not always that the Bushman is thus overtaken. He frequently +succeeds in carrying the whole herd to his desert fastness; and the +skill which he exhibits in getting them there is perfectly surprising. +The cattle themselves are more afraid of him than of a wild beast, and +run at his approach; but the Bushman, swifter than they, can glide all +around them, and keep them moving at a rapid rate. + +He uses stratagem also to obstruct or baffle the pursuit. The route he +takes is through the driest part of the desert,--if possible, where +water does not exist at all. The cattle suffer from thirst, and bellow +from the pain; but the Bushman cares not for that, so long as he is +himself served. But how is he served? There is no water, and a Bushman +can no more go without drinking than a boer: how then does he provide +for himself on these long expeditions? + +All has been pre-arranged. While off to the settlements, the Bushman's +wife has been busy. The whole _kraal_ of women--young and old--have +made an excursion halfway across the desert, each carrying ostrich +egg-shells, as much as her kaross will hold, each shell full of water. +These have been deposited at intervals along the route in secret spots +known by marks to the Bushmen, and this accomplished the women return +home again. In this way the plunderer obtains his supply of water, and +thus is he enabled to continue his journey over the arid _Karroo_. + +The pursuers become appalled. They are suffering from thirst--their +horses sinking under them. Perhaps they have lost their way? It would +be madness to proceed further. "Let the cattle go this time?" and with +this disheartening reflection they give up the pursuit, turn the heads +of their horses, and ride homeward. + +There is a feast at the Bushman's kraal--and such a feast! not _one_ ox +is slaughtered, but a score of them all at once. They kill them, as if +from very wantonness; and they no longer eat, but raven on the flesh. + +For days the feasting is kept up almost continuously,--even at night +they must wake up to have a midnight meal! and thus runs the tale, till +every ox has been eaten. They have not the slightest idea of a +provision for the future; even the lower animals seem wiser in this +respect. They do not think of keeping a few of the plundered cattle at +pasture to serve them for a subsequent occasion. They give the poor +brutes neither food nor drink; but, having penned them up in some defile +of the rocks, leave them to moan and bellow, to drop down and die. + +On goes the feasting, till all are finished; and even if the flesh has +turned putrid, this forms not the slightest objection: it is eaten all +the same. + +The kraal now exhibits an altered spectacle. The starved, meagre +wretches, who were seen flitting among its tents but a week ago, have +all disappeared. Plump bodies and distended abdomens are the order of +the day; and the profile of the Bushwoman, taken from the neck to the +knees, now exhibits the outline of the letter S. The little imps leap +about, tearing raw flesh,--their yellow cheeks besmeared with blood,-- +and the lean curs seem to have been exchanged for a pack of fat, petted +poodles. + +But this scene must some time come to an end, and at length it does end. +All the flesh is exhausted, and the bones picked clean. A complete +reaction comes over the spirit of the Bushman. He falls into a state of +languor,--the only time when he knows such a feeling,--and he keeps his +kraal, and remains idle for days. Often he sleeps for twenty-four hours +at a time, and wakes only to go to sleep again. He need not rouse +himself with the idea of getting something to eat: there is not a morsel +in the whole kraal, and he knows it. He lies still, therefore,-- +weakened with hunger, and overcome with the drowsiness of a terrible +lassitude. + +Fortunate for him, while in this state, if those bold vultures-- +attracted by the _debris_ of his feast, and now high wheeling in the +air--be not perceived from afar; fortunate if they do not discover the +whereabouts of his kraal to the vengeful pursuer. If they should do so, +he has made his last foray and his last feast. + +When the absolute danger of starvation at length compels our Bushman to +bestir himself, he seems to recover a little of his energy, and once +more takes to hunting, or, if near a stream, endeavours to catch a few +fish. Should both these resources fail, he has another,--without which +he would most certainly starve,--and perhaps this may be considered his +most important source of supply, since it is the most constant, and can +be depended on at nearly all seasons of the year. Weakened with hunger, +then, and scarce equal to any severer labour, he goes _out hunting--this +time insects, not quadrupeds_. With a stout stick inserted into a stone +at one end and pointed at the other, he proceeds to the nests of the +white ants (_termites_), and using the point of the stick,--the stone +serving by its weight to aid the force of the blow,--he breaks open the +hard, gummy clay of which the hillock is formed. Unless the _aard-vark_ +and the _pangolin_--two very different kinds of ant-eaters--have been +there before him, he finds the chambers filled with the eggs of the +ants, the insects themselves, and perhaps large quantities of their +_larvae_. All are equally secured by the Bushman, and either devoured +on the spot, or collected into a skin bag, and carried back to his +kraal. + +He hunts also another species of ants that do not build nests or +"hillocks," but bring forth their young in hollows under the ground. +These make long galleries or covered ways just under the surface, and at +certain periods--which the Bushman knows by unmistakable signs--they +become very active, and traverse these underground galleries in +thousands. If the passages were to be opened above, the ants would soon +make off to their caves, and but a very few could be captured. The +Bushman, knowing this, adopts a stratagem. With the stick already +mentioned he pierces holes of a good depth down; and works the stick +about, until the sides of the holes are smooth and even. These he +intends shall serve him as pitfalls; and they are therefore made in the +covered ways along which the insects are passing. The result is, that +the little creatures, not suspecting the existence of these deep wells, +tumble head foremost into them, and are unable to mount up the steep +smooth sides again, so that in a few minutes the hole will be filled +with ants, which the Bushman scoops out at his leisure. + +Another source of supply which he has, and also a pretty constant one, +consists of various roots of the tuberous kind, but more especially +bulbous roots, which grow in the desert. They are several species of +_Ixias_ and _Mesembryanthemums_,--some of them producing bulbs of a +large size, and deeply buried underground. Half the Bushman's and +Bushwoman's time is occupied in digging for these roots; and the spade +employed is the stone-headed staff already described. + +Ostrich eggs also furnish the Bushman with many a meal; and the huge +shells of these eggs serve him for water-vessels, cups, and dishes. He +is exceedingly expert in tracking up the ostrich, and discovering its +nest. Sometimes he finds a nest in the absence of the birds; and in a +case of this kind he pursues a course of conduct that is _peculiarly +Bushman_. Having removed all the eggs to a distance, and concealed them +under some bush, he returns to the nest and ensconces himself in it. +His diminutive body, when close squatted, cannot be perceived from a +distance, especially when there are a few bushes around the nest, as +there usually are. Thus concealed he awaits the return of the birds, +holding his bow and poisoned arrows ready to salute them as soon as they +come within range. By this _ruse_ he is almost certain of killing +either the cock or hen, and not infrequently both--when they do not +return together. + +Lizards and land-tortoises often furnish the Bushman with a meal; and +the shell of the latter serves him also for a dish; but his period of +greatest plenty is when the locusts _appear_. Then, indeed, the Bushman +is no longer in want of a meal; and while these creatures remain with +him, he knows no hunger. He grows fat in a trice, and his curs keep +pace with him--for they too greedily devour the locusts. Were the +locusts a constant, or even an annual visitor, the Bushman would be a +rich man--at all events his wants would be amply supplied. +Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for everybody else, these +terrible destroyers of vegetation only come now and then--several years +often intervening between their visits. + +The Bushmen have no religion whatever; no form of marriage--any more +than mating together like wild beasts; but they appear to have some +respect for the memory of their dead, since they bury them--usually +erecting a large pile of stones, or "cairn," over the body. + +They are far from being of a melancholy mood. Though crouching in their +dens and caves during the day, in dread of the boers and other enemies, +they come forth at night to chatter and make merry. During fine +moonlights they dance all night, keeping up the _ball_ till morning; and +in their kraals may be seen a circular spot--beaten hard and smooth with +their feet--where these dances are performed. + +They have no form of government--not so much as a head man or chief. +Even the father of the family possesses no authority, except such as +superior strength may give him; and when his sons are grown up and +become as strong as he is, this of course also ceases. + +They have no tribal organisation; the small communities in which they +live being merely so many individuals accidentally brought together, +often quarrelling and separating from one another. These communities +rarely number over a hundred individuals, since, from the nature of +their country, a large number could not find subsistence in any one +place. It follows, therefore, that the Bushman race must ever remain +widely scattered--so long as they pursue their present mode of life--and +no influence has ever been able to win them from it. Missionary efforts +made among them have all proved fruitless. The desert seems to have +been created for them, as they for the desert; and when transferred +elsewhere, to dwell amidst scenes of civilised life, they always yearn +to return to their wilderness home. + +Truly are these pigmy savages an odd people! + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +THE AMAZONIAN INDIANS. + +In glancing at the map of the American continent, we are struck by a +remarkable analogy between the geographical features of its two great +divisions--the North and the South,--an analogy amounting almost to a +symmetrical parallelism. + +Each has its "mighty" mountains--the _Cordilleras of the Andes_ in the +south, and the _Cordilleras of the Sierra Madre_ (Rocky Mountains) in +the north--with all the varieties of volcano and eternal snow. Each has +its secondary chain: in the north, the _Nevadas_ of California and +Oregon; in the south, the _Sierras_ of Caraccas and the group of Guiana; +and, if you wish to render the parallelism complete, descend to a lower +elevation, and set the Alleghanies of the United States against the +mountains of Brazil--both alike detached from all the others. + +In the comparison we have exhausted the mountain chains of both +divisions of the continent. If we proceed further, and carry it into +minute detail, we shall find the same correspondence--ridge for ridge, +chain for chain, peak for peak;--in short, a most singular equilibrium, +as if there had been a design that one half of this great continent +should balance the other! + +From the mountains let us proceed to the rivers, and see how _they_ will +correspond. Here, again, we discover a like parallelism, amounting +almost to a rivalry. Each continent (for it is proper to style them so) +contains the largest river in the world. If we make _length_ the +standard, the north claims precedence for the Mississippi; if _volume of +water_ is to be the criterion, the south is entitled to it upon the +merits of the Amazon. Each, too, has its numerous branches, spreading +into a mighty "tree"; and these, either singly or combined, form a +curious equipoise both in length and magnitude. We have only time to +set list against list, tributaries of the great northern river against +tributaries of its great southern compeer,--the Ohio and Illinois, the +Yellowstone and Platte, the Kansas and Osage, the Arkansas and Red, +against the Madeira and Purus, the Ucayali and Huallaga, the Japura and +Negro, the Xingu and Tapajos. + +Of other river systems, the Saint Lawrence may be placed against the La +Plata, the Oregon against the Orinoco, the Mackenzie against the +Magdalena, and the Rio Bravo del Norte against the Tocantins; while the +two Colorados--the Brazos and Alabama--find their respective rivals in +the Essequibo, the Paranahybo, the Pedro, and the Patagonian Negro; and +the San Francisco of California, flowing over sands of gold, is balanced +by its homonyme of Brazil, that has its origin in the land of diamonds. +To an endless list might the comparison be carried. + +We pass to the plains. _Prairies_ in the north, _llanos_ and _pampas_ +in the south, almost identical in character. _Of the plateaux_ or +tablelands, those of Mexico, La Puebla, Perote, and silver Potosi in the +north; those of Quito, Bogota, Cusco, and gold Potosi in the south; of +the desert plains, Utah and the Llano Estacado against Atacama and the +deserts of Patagonia. Even the Great Salt Lake has its parallel in +Titicaca; while the "Salinas" of New Mexico and the upland prairies, are +represented by similar deposits in the Gran Chaco and the Pampas. + +We arrive finally at the forests. Though unlike in other respects, we +have here also a rivalry in magnitude,--between the vast timbered +expanse stretching from Arkansas to the Atlantic shores, and that which +covers the valley of the Amazon. These _were_ the two greatest forests +on the face of the earth. I say _were_, for one of them no longer +exists; at least, it is no longer a continuous tract, but a collection +of forests, opened by the axe, and intersected by the clearings of the +colonist. The other still stands in all its virgin beauty and primeval +vigour, untouched by the axe, undefiled by fire, its path scarce trodden +by human feet, its silent depths to this hour unexplored. + +It is with this forest and its denizens we have to do. Here then let us +terminate the catalogue of similitudes, and concentrate our attention +upon the particular subject of our sketch. + +The whole _valley_ of the Amazon--in other words, the tract watered by +this great river and its tributaries--may be described as one unbroken +forest. We now know the borders of this forest with considerable +exactness, but to trace them here would require a too lengthened detail. +Suffice it to say, that lengthwise it extends from the mouth of the +Amazon to the foothills of the Peruvian Andes, a distance of 2,500 +miles. In breadth it varies, beginning on the Atlantic coast with a +breadth of 400 miles, which widens towards the central part of the +continent till it attains to 1,500, and again narrowing to about 1,000, +where it touches the eastern slope of the Andes. + +That form of leaf known to botanists as "obovate" will give a good idea +of the figure of the great Amazon forest, supposing the small end or +shank to rest on the Atlantic, and the broad end to extend along the +semicircular concavity of the Andes, from Bolivia on the south to New +Granada on the north. In all this vast expanse of territory there is +scarce an acre of open ground, if we except the water-surface of the +rivers and their bordering "lagoons," which, were they to bear their due +proportions on a map, could scarce be represented by the narrowest +lines, or the most inconspicuous dots. The grass plains which embay the +forest on its southern edge along the banks of some of its Brazilian +tributaries, or those which proceed like spurs from the Llanos of +Venezuela, do not in any place approach the Amazon itself, and there are +many points on the great river which may be taken as centres, and around +which circles may be drawn, having diameters 1,000 miles in length, the +circumferences of which will enclose nothing but timbered land. The +main stream of the Amazon, though it intersects this grand forest, does +not _bisect_ it, speaking with mathematical precision. There is rather +more timbered surface to the southward than that which extends +northward, though the inequality of the two divisions is not great. It +would not be much of an error to say that the Amazon river cuts the +forest in halves. At its mouth, however, this would not apply; since +for the first 300 miles above the embouchure of the river, the country +on the northern side is destitute of timber. This is occasioned by the +projecting spurs of the Guiana mountains, which on that side approach +the Amazon in the shape of naked ridges and grass-covered hills and +plains. + +It is not necessary to say that the great forest of the Amazon is a +tropical one--since the river itself, throughout its whole course, +almost traces the line of the equator. Its vegetation, therefore, is +emphatically of a tropical character; and in this respect it differs +essentially from that of North America, or rather, we should say, of +Canada and the United States. It is necessary to make this limitation, +because the forests of the tropical parts of North America, including +the West-Indian islands, present a great similitude to that of the +Amazon. It is not only in the genera and species of trees that the +_sylva_ of the temperate zone differs from that of the torrid; but there +is a very remarkable difference in the distribution of these genera and +species. In a great forest of the north, it is not uncommon to find a +large tract covered with a single species of trees,--as with pines, +oaks, poplars, or the red cedar (_Juniperus Virginiana_). This +arrangement is rather the rule than the exception; whereas, in the +tropical forest, the rule is reversed, except in the case of two or +three species of palms (_Mauritia_ and _Euterpe_), which sometimes +exclusively cover large tracts of surface. Of other trees, it is rare +to find even a clump or grove standing together--often only two or three +trees, and still more frequently, a single individual is observed, +separated from those of its own kind by hundreds of others, all +differing in order, genus, and species. I note this peculiarity of the +tropic forest, because it exercises, as may easily be imagined, a direct +influence upon the economy of its human occupants--whether these be +savage or civilised. Even the habits of the lower animals--beasts and +birds--are subject to a similar influence. + +It would be out of place here to enumerate the different kinds of trees +that compose this mighty wood,--a bare catalogue of their names would +alone fill many pages,--and it would be safe to say that if the list +were given as now known to botanists, it would comprise scarce half the +species that actually exist in the valley of the Amazon. In real truth, +this vast Garden of God is yet unexplored by man. Its border walks and +edges have alone been examined; and the enthusiastic botanist need not +fear that he is too late in the field. A hundred years will elapse +before this grand _parterre_ can be exhausted. + +At present, a thorough examination of the botany of the Amazon valley +would be difficult, if not altogether impossible, even though conducted +on a grand and expensive scale. There are several reasons for this. +Its woods are in many places absolutely impenetrable--on account either +of the thick tangled undergrowth, or from the damp, spongy nature of the +soil. There are no roads that could be traversed by horse or man; and +the few paths are known only to the wild savage,--not always passable +even by him. Travelling can only be done by water, either upon the +great rivers, or by the narrow creeks (igaripes) or lagoons; and a +journey performed in this fashion must needs be both tedious and +indirect, allowing but a limited opportunity for observation. Horses +can scarce be said to exist in the country, and cattle are equally +rare--a few only are found in one or two of the large Portuguese +settlements on the main river--and the jaguars and blood-sucking bats +offer a direct impediment to their increase. Contrary to the general +belief, the tropical forest is not the home of the larger mammalia: it +is not their proper _habitat_, nor are they found in it. In the Amazon +forest but few species exist, and these not numerous in individuals. +There are no vast herds--as of buffaloes on the prairies of North +America, or of antelopes in Africa. The tapir alone attains to any +considerable size,--exceeding that of the ass,--but its numbers are few. +Three or four species of small deer represent the ruminants, and the +hog of the Amazon is the peccary. Of these there are at least three +species. Where the forest impinges on the mountain regions of Peru, +bears are found of at least two kinds, but not on the lower plains of +the great "Montana,"--for by this general designation is the vast +expanse of the Amazon country known among the Peruvian people. "Montes" +and "montanas," literally signifying "mountains," are not so understood +among Spanish Americans. With them the "montes" and "montanas" are +tracts of forest-covered country, and that of the Amazon valley is the +"Montana" _par excellence_. + +Sloths of several species, and opossums of still greater variety, are +found all over the Montana, but both thinly distributed as regards the +number of individuals. A similar remark applies to the ant-eaters or +"ant-bears," of which there are four kinds,--to the armadillos, the +"agoutis," and the "cavies," one of which last, the _capibara_, is the +largest rodent upon earth. This, with its kindred genus, the "paca," is +not so rare in individual numbers, but, on the contrary, appears in +large herds upon the borders of the rivers and lagoons. A porcupine, +several species of spinous rats, an otter, two or three kinds of +badger-like animals (the _potto_ and _coatis_), a "honey-bear" (_Galera +barbara_), and a fox, or wild dog, are widely distributed throughout the +Montana. + +Everywhere exists the jaguar, both the black and spotted varieties, and +the puma has there his lurking-place. Smaller cats, both spotted and +striped, are numerous in species, and squirrels of several kinds, with +bats, complete the list of the terrestrial mammalia. + +Of all the lower animals, monkeys are the most common, for to them the +Montana is a congenial home. They abound not only in species, but in +the number of individuals, and their ubiquitous presence contributes to +enliven the woods. At least thirty different kinds of them exist in the +Amazon valley, from the "coatas," and other howlers as large as baboons, +to the tiny little "ouistitis" and "saimiris," not bigger than squirrels +or rats. + +While we must admit a paucity in the species of the quadrupeds of the +Amazon, the same remark does not apply to the birds. In the +ornithological department of natural history, a fulness and richness +here exist, perhaps not equalled elsewhere. The most singular and +graceful forms, combined with the most brilliant plumage, are everywhere +presented to the eye, in the parrots and great macaws, the toucans, +trogons, and tanagers, the _shrikes_, humming-birds, and orioles; and +even in the vultures and eagles: for here are found the most beautiful +of predatory birds,--the king vulture and the harpy eagle. Of the +feathered creatures existing in the valleys of the Amazon there are not +less than one thousand different species, of which only one half have +yet been caught or described. + +Reptiles are equally abundant--the serpent family being represented by +numerous species, from the great water boa (_anaconda_), of ten yards in +length, to the tiny and beautiful but venomous _lachesis_, or coral +snake, not thicker than the shank of a tobacco-pipe. The lizards range +through a like gradation, beginning with the huge "jacare," or +crocodile, of several species, and ending with the turquoise-blue +_anolius_, not bigger than a newt. + +The waters too are rich in species of their peculiar inhabitants--of +which the most remarkable and valuable are the _manatees_ (two or three +species), the great and smaller turtles, the porpoises of various kinds, +and an endless catalogue of the finny tribes that frequent the rivers of +the tropics. It is mainly from this source, and not from four-footed +creatures of the forest, that the human denizen of the great Montana +draws his supply of food,--at least that portion of it which may be +termed the "meaty." Were it not for the _manatee_, the great porpoise, +and other large fish, he would often have to "eat his bread dry." + +And now it is _his_ turn to be "talked about." I need not inform you +that the aborigines who inhabit the valley of the Amazon, are all of the +so-called _Indian_ race--though there are so many, distinct tribes of +them that almost every river of any considerable magnitude has a tribe +of its own. In some cases a number of these tribes belong to one +_nationality_; that is, several of them may be found speaking nearly the +same language, though living apart from each other; and of these larger +divisions or nationalities there are several occupying the different +districts of the Montana. The tribes even of the same nationality do +not always present a uniform appearance. There are darker and fairer +tribes; some in which the average standard of height is less than among +Europeans; and others where it equals or exceeds this. There are tribes +again where both men and women are ill-shaped and ill-favoured--though +these are few--and other tribes where both sexes exhibit a considerable +degree of personal beauty. Some tribes are even distinguished for their +good looks, the men presenting models of manly form, while the women are +equally attractive by the regularity of their features, and the graceful +modesty of expression that adorns them. + +A minute detail of the many peculiarities in which the numerous tribes +of the Amazon differ from one another would fill a large volume; and in +a sketch like the present, which is meant to include them all, it would +not be possible to give such a detail. Nor indeed would it serve any +good purpose; for although there are many points of difference between +the different tribes, yet these are generally of slight importance, and +are far more than counterbalanced by the multitude of resemblances. So +numerous are these last, as to create a strong _idiosyncrasy_ in the +tribes of the Amazon, which not only entitles them to be classed +together in an ethnological point of view, but which separates them from +all the other Indians of America. Of course, the non-possession of the +horse--they do not even know the animal--at once broadly distinguishes +them from the Horse Indians, both of the Northern and Southern divisions +of the continent. + +It would be idle here to discuss the question as to whether the +Amazonian Indians have all a common origin. It is evident they have +not. We know that many of them are from Peru and Bogota--runaways from +Spanish oppression. We know that others migrated from the south-- +equally fugitives from the still more brutal and barbarous domination of +the Portuguese. And still others were true aboriginals of the soil, or +if emigrants, when and whence came they? An idle question, never to be +satisfactorily answered. There they now are, and _as they are_ only +shall we here consider them. + +Notwithstanding the different sources whence they sprang, we find them, +as I have already said, stamped with a certain idiosyncrasy, the result, +no doubt, of the like circumstances which surround them. One or two +tribes alone, whose habits are somewhat "odder" than the rest, have been +treated to a separate chapter; but for the others, whatever is said of +one, will, with very slight alteration, stand good for the whole of the +Amazonian tribes. Let it be understood that we are discoursing only of +those known as the "Indios bravos," the fierce, brave, savage, or wild +Indians--as you may choose to translate the phrase,--a phrase used +throughout all Spanish America to distinguish those tribes, or sections +of tribes, who refused obedience to Spanish tyranny, and who preserve to +this hour their native independence and freedom. In contradistinction +to the "Indios bravos" are the "Indios mansos," or "tame Indians," who +submitted tamely both to the cross and sword, and now enjoy a rude +demi-semi-civilisation, under the joint protectorate of priests and +soldiers. Between these two kinds of American aborigines, there is as +much difference as between a lord and his serf--the true savage +representing the former and the demi-semi-civilised savage approximating +more nearly to the latter. The meddling monk has made a complete +failure of it. His ends were purely political, and the result has +proved ruinous to all concerned;--instead of civilising the savage, he +has positively demoralised him. + +It is not of his neophytes, the "Indios mansos," we are now writing, but +of the "infidels," who would not hearken to his voice or listen to his +teachings--those who could never be brought within "sound of the bell." + +Both "kinds" dwell within the valley of the Amazon, but in different +places. The "Indios mansos" may be found along the banks of the main +stream, from its source to its mouth--but more especially on its upper +waters, where it runs through Spanish (Peruvian) territory. There they +dwell in little villages or collections of huts, ruled by the missionary +monk with iron rod, and performing for him all the offices of the menial +slave. Their resources are few, not even equalling those of their wild +but independent brethren; and their customs and religion exhibit a +ludicrous _melange_ of savagery and civilisation. Farther down the +river, the "Indio manso" is a "tapuio," a hireling of the Portuguese, or +to speak more correctly, a _slave_; for the latter treats him as such, +considers him as such, and though there is a law against it, often drags +him from his forest-home and keeps him in life-long bondage. Any human +law would be a dead letter among such white-skins as are to be +encountered upon the banks of the Amazon. Fortunately they are but few; +a town or two on the lower Amazon and Rio Negro,--some wretched villages +between,--scattered _estancias_ along the banks--with here and there a +paltry post of "militarios," dignified by the name of a "fort:" these +alone speak the progress of the Portuguese civilisation throughout a +period of three centuries! + +From all these settlements the wild Indian keeps away. He is never +found near them--he is never seen by travellers, not even by the +settlers. You may descend the mighty Amazon from its source to its +mouth, and not once set your eyes upon the true son of the forest--the +"Indio bravo." Coming in contact only with the neophyte of the Spanish +missionary, and the skulking _tapuio_ of the Portuguese trader, you +might bring away a very erroneous impression of the character of an +Amazonian Indian. + +Where is he to be seen? where dwells he? what like is his home? what +sort of a house does he build? His costume? his arms? his occupation? +his habits? These are the questions you would put. They shall all be +answered, but briefly as possible--since our limited space requires +brevity. + +The wild Indian, then, is not to be found upon the Amazon itself, though +there are long reaches of the river where he is free to roam--hundreds +of miles without either town or _estancia_. He hunts, and occasionally +fishes by the great water, but does not there make his dwelling--though +in days gone by, its shores were his favourite place of residence. +These were before the time when Orellana floated down past the door of +his "malocca"--before that dark hour when the Brazilian slave-hunter +found his way into the waters of the mighty _Solimoes_. This last event +was the cause of his disappearance. It drove him from the shores of his +beloved river-sea; forced him to withdraw his dwelling from observation, +and rebuild it far up, on those tributaries where he might live a more +peaceful life, secure from the trafficker in human flesh. Hence it is +that the home of the Amazonian Indian is now to be sought for--not on +the Amazon itself, but on its tributary streams--on the "canos" and +"igaripes," the canals and lagoons that, with a labyrinthine +ramification, intersect the mighty forest of the Montana. Here dwells +he, and here is he to be seen by any one bold enough to visit him in his +fastness home. + +How is he domiciled? Is there anything peculiar about the style of his +house or his village? + +Eminently peculiar; for in this respect he differs from all the other +savage people of whom we have yet written, or of whom we may have +occasion to write. + +Let us proceed at once to describe his dwelling. It is not a tent, nor +is it a hut, nor a cabin, nor a cottage, nor yet a cave! His dwelling +can hardly be termed a house, nor his village a collection of houses-- +since both house and village are one and the same, and both are so +peculiar, that we have no name for such a structure in civilised lands, +unless we should call it a "barrack." But even this appellation would +give but an erroneous idea of the Amazonian dwelling; and therefore we +shall use that by which it is known in the "Lingoa geral," and call it a +_malocca_. + +By such name is his house (or village rather) known among the _tapuios_ +and traders of the Amazon. Since it is both house and village at the +same time, it must needs be a large structure; and so is it, large +enough to contain the whole tribe--or at least the section of it that +has chosen one particular spot for their residence. It is the property +of the whole community, built by the labour of all, and used as their +common dwelling--though each family has its own section specially set +apart for itself. It will thus be seen that the Amazonian savage is, to +some extent, a disciple of the Socialist school. + +I have not space to enter into a minute account of the architecture of +the _malocca_. Suffice it to say, that it is an immense temple-like +building, raised upon timber uprights, so smooth and straight as to +resemble columns. The beams and rafters are also straight and smooth, +and are held in their places by "sipos" (tough creeping plants), which +are whipped around the joints with a neatness and compactness equal to +that used in the rigging of a ship. The roof is a thatch of +palm-leaves, laid on with great regularity, and brought very low down at +the eaves, so as to give to the whole structure the appearance of a +gigantic beehive. The walls are built of split palms or bamboos, placed +so closely together as to be impervious to either bullet or arrows. + +The plan is a parallelogram, with a semicircle at one end; and the +building is large enough to accommodate the whole community, often +numbering more than a hundred individuals. On grand festive occasions +several neighbouring communities can find room enough in it--even for +dancing--and three or four hundred individuals not unfrequently assemble +under the roof of a single _malocca_. + +Inside the arrangements are curious. There is a wide hall or avenue in +the middle--that extends from end to end throughout the whole length of +the parallelogram--and on both sides of the hall is a row of partitions, +separated from each other by split palms or canes, closely placed. Each +of these sections is the abode of a family, and the place of deposit for +the hammocks, clay pots, calabash-cups, dishes, baskets, weapons, and +ornaments, which are the private property of each. The hall is used for +the larger cooking utensils--such as the great clay ovens and pans for +baking the cassava, and boiling the _caxire_ or _chicha_. This is also +a neutral ground, where the children play, and where the dancing is done +on the occasion of grand "balls" and other ceremonial festivals. + +The common doorway is in the gable end, and is six feet wide by ten in +height. It remains open during the day, but is closed at night by a mat +of palm fibre suspended from the top. There is another and smaller +doorway at the semicircular end; but this is for the private use of the +chief, who appropriates the whole section of the semicircle to himself +and his family. + +Of course the above is only the general outline of a _malocca_. A more +particular description would not answer for that of all the tribes of +the Amazon. Among different communities, and in different parts of the +Montana, the _malocca_ varies in size, shape, and the materials of which +it is built; and there are some tribes who live in separate huts. These +exceptions, however, are few, and as a general thing, that above +described is the style of habitation throughout the whole Montana, from +the confines of Peru to the shores of the Atlantic. North and south we +encounter this singular house-village, from the headwaters of the Rio +Negro to the highlands of Brazil. + +Most of the Amazonian tribes follow agriculture, and understood the art +of tillage before the coming of the Spaniards. They practise it, +however, to a very limited extent. They cultivate a little manioc, and +know how to manufacture it into _farinha_ or _cassava_ bread. They +plant the _musaceae_ and yam, and understand the distillation of various +drinks, both from the plantain and several kinds of palms. They can +make pottery from clay,--shaping it into various forms, neither rude nor +inelegant,--and from the trees and parasitical twiners that surround +their dwellings, they manufacture an endless variety of neat implements +and utensils. + +Their canoes are hollow trunks of trees sufficiently well-shaped, and +admirably adapted to their mode of travelling--which is almost +exclusively by water, by the numerous _canos_ and _igaripes_, which are +the roads and paths of their country--often as narrow and intricate as +paths by land. + +The Indians of the tropic forest dress in the very lightest costume. Of +course each tribe has its own fashion; but a mere belt of cotton cloth, +or the inner bark of a tree, passed round the waist and between the +limbs, is all the covering they care for. It is the _guayuco_. Some +wear a skirt of tree bark, and, on grand occasions, feather tunics are +seen, and also plume head-dresses, made of the brilliant wing and tail +feathers of parrots and macaws. Circlets of these also adorn the arms +and limbs. All the tribes paint, using the _anotto, caruto_, and +several other dyes which they obtain from various kinds of trees, +elsewhere more particularly described. + +There are one or two tribes who _tattoo_ their skins; but this strange +practice is far less common among the American Indians than with the +natives of the Pacific isles. + +In the manufacture of their various household utensils and implements, +as well as their weapons for war and the chase, many tribes of Amazonian +Indians display an ingenuity that would do credit to the most +accomplished artisans. The hammocks made by them have been admired +everywhere; and it is from the valley of the Amazon that most of these +are obtained, so much prized in the cities of Spanish and Portuguese +America. They are the special manufacture of the women, the men only +employing their mechanical skill on their weapons: + +The hammock, "rede," or "maqueira," is manufactured out of strings +obtained from the young leaves of several species of palms. The +_astrocaryum_, or "tucum" palm furnishes this cordage, but a still +better quality is obtained from the "miriti" (_Mauritia flexuosa_). The +unopened leaf, which forms a thick-pointed column growing up out of the +crown of the tree, is cut off at the base, and this being pulled apart, +is shaken dexterously until the tender leaflets fall out. These being +stripped of their outer covering, leave behind a thin tissue of a +pale-yellowish colour, which is the fibre for making the cordage. After +being tied in bundles this fibre is left awhile to dry, and is then +twisted by being rolled between the hand and the hip or thigh. The +women perform this process with great dexterity. Taking two strands of +fibre between the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, they lay them +separated a little along the thigh; a roll downward gives them a twist, +and then being adroitly brought together, a roll upwards completes the +making of the cord. Fifty fathoms in a day is considered a good day's +spinning. The cords are afterwards dyed of various colours, to render +them more ornamental when woven into the maqueira. + +The making of this is a simple process. Two horizontal rods are placed +at about seven feet apart, over which the cord is passed some fifty or +sixty times, thus forming the "woof." The warp is then worked in by +knotting the cross strings at equal distances apart, until there are +enough. Two strong cords are then inserted where the rods pass through, +and these being firmly looped, so as to draw all the parallel strings +together, the rod is pulled out, and the hammock is ready to be used. + +Of course, with very fine "redes," and those intended to be disposed of +to the traders, much pains are taken in the selection of the materials, +the dyeing the cord, and the weaving it into the hammock. Sometimes +very expensive articles are made ornamented with the brilliant feathers +of birds cunningly woven among the meshes and along the borders. + +Besides making the hammock, which is the universal couch of the +Amazonian Indian, the women also manufacture a variety of beautiful +baskets. Many species of palms and _calamus_ supply them with materials +for this purpose, one of the best being the "Iu" palm (_Astrocaryum +acaule_). They also make many implements and utensils, some for +cultivating the plantains, melons, and _manioc root_, and others for +manufacturing the last-named vegetable into their favourite "farinha" +(_cassava_). The Indians understood how to separate the poisonous juice +of this valuable root from its wholesome farina before the arrival of +white men among them; and the process by which they accomplish this +purpose has remained without change up to the present hour, in fact, it +is almost the same as that practised by the Spaniards and Portuguese, +who simply adopted the Indian method. The work is performed by the +women, and thus: the roots are brought home from the manioc "patch" in +baskets, and then washed and peeled. The peeling is usually performed +by the teeth; after that the roots are grated, the grater being a large +wooden slab about three feet long, a foot wide, a little hollowed out, +and the hollow part covered all over with sharp pieces of quartz set in +regular diamond-shaped patterns. Sometime a cheaper grater is obtained +by using the aerial root of the pashiuba palm (_Iriartea exhorhiza_), +which, being thickly covered over with hard spinous protuberances, +serves admirably for the purpose. + +The grated pulp is next placed to dry upon a sieve, made of the rind of +a water-plant, and is afterwards put into a long elastic cylinder-shaped +basket or net, of the bark of the "jacitara" palm (_Desmoncus +macroacanthus_). This is the _tipiti_; and at its lower end there is a +strong loop, through which a stout pole is passed; while the _tipiti_ +itself, when filled with pulp, is hung up to the branch of a tree, or to +a firm peg in the wall. One end of the pole is then rested against some +projecting point, that serves as a fulcrum, while the Indian woman, +having seated herself upon the other end, with her infant in her arms, +or perhaps some work in her hands, acts as the lever power. Her weight +draws the sides of the _tipiti_ together, until it assumes the form of +an inverted cone; and thus the juice is gradually pressed out of the +pulp, and drops into a vessel placed underneath to receive it. The +mother must be careful that the little imp does not escape from under +her eye, and perchance quench its thirst out of the vessel below. If +such an accident were to take place, in a very few minutes she would +have to grieve for a lost child; since the sap of the manioc root, the +variety most cultivated by the Indians, is a deadly poison. This is the +"yucca amarga," or bitter manioc; the "yucca dulce," or sweet kind, +being quite innoxious, even if eaten in its raw state. + +The remainder of the process consists in placing the grated pulp--now +sufficiently dry--on a large pan or oven, and submitting it to the +action of the fire. It is then thought sufficiently good for Indian +use; but much of it is afterwards prepared for commerce, under different +names, and sold as _semonilla_ (erroneously called _semolina_), sago, +and even as arrowroot. + +At the bottom of that, poisonous tub, a sediment has all the while been +forming. That is the _starch_ of the manioc root--the _tapioca_ of +commerce: of course that is not thrown away. + +The men of the tropic forest spend their lives in doing very little. +They are idle and not much disposed to work--only when war or the chase +calls them forth do they throw aside for awhile their indolent habit, +and exhibit a little activity. + +They hunt with the bow and arrow, and fish with a harpoon spear, nets, +and sometimes by poisoning water with the juice of a vine called +barbasco. The "peixe boy," "vaca marina," or "manatee,"--all three +names being synonymes--is one of the chief animals of their pursuit. +All the waters of the Amazon valley abound with manatees, probably of +several species, and these large creatures are captured by the harpoon, +just as seals or walrus are taken. Porpoises also frequent the +South-American rivers; and large fresh-water fish of numerous species. +The game hunted by the Amazonian Indians can scarcely be termed noble. +We have seen that the large _mammalia_ are few, and thinly distributed +in the tropical forest. With the exception of the jaguar and peccary, +the chase is limited to small quadrupeds--as the capibara, the paca, +agouti--to many kinds of monkeys, and an immense variety of birds. The +monkey is the most common game, and is not only eaten by all the +Amazonian Indians, but by most of them considered as the choicest of +food. + +In procuring their game the hunters sometimes use the common bow and +arrow, but most of the tribes are in possession of a weapon which they +prefer to all others for this particular purpose. It is an implement of +death so original in its character and so singular in its construction +as to deserve a special and minute description. + +The weapon I allude to is the "blow-gun," called "pucuna" by the Indians +themselves, "gravitana" by the Spaniards, and "cerbatana" by the +Portuguese of Brazil. + +When the Amazonian Indian wishes to manufacture for himself a _pucuna_ +he goes out into the forest and searches for two tall, straight stems of +the "pashiuba miri" palm (_Iriartea setigera_). These he requires of +such thickness that one can be contained within the other. Having found +what he wants, he cuts both down and carries them home to his molocca. +Neither of them is of such dimensions as to render this either +impossible or difficult. + +He now takes a long slender rod--already prepared for the purpose--and +with this pushes out the pith from both stems, just as boys do when +preparing their pop-guns from the stems of the elder-tree. The rod thus +used is obtained from another species of _Iriartea_ palm, of which the +wood is very hard and tough. A little tuft of fern-root, fixed upon the +end of the rod, is then drawn backward and forward through the tubes, +until both are cleared of any pith which may have adhered to the +interior; and both are polished by this process to the smoothness of +ivory. The palm of smaller diameter, being scraped to a proper size, is +now inserted into the tube of the larger, the object being to correct +any crookedness in either, should there be such; and if this does not +succeed, both are whipped to some straight beam or post, and thus left +till they become straight. One end of the bore, from the nature of the +tree, is always smaller than the other; and to this end is fitted a +mouthpiece of two peccary tusks to concentrate the breath of the hunter +when blowing into the tube. The other end is the muzzle; and near this, +on the top, a sight is placed, usually a tooth of the "paca" or some +other rodent animal. This sight is glued on with a gum which another +tropic tree furnishes. Over the outside, when desirous of giving the +weapon an ornamental finish, the maker winds spirally a shining creeper, +and then the _pucuna_ is ready for action. + +Sometimes only a single shank of palm is used, and instead of the pith +being pushed out, the stem is split into two equal parts throughout its +whole extent. The heart substance being then removed, the two pieces +are brought together, like the two divisions of a cedarwood pencil, and +tightly bound with a sipo. + +The _pucuna_ is usually about an inch and a half in diameter at the +thickest end, and the bore about equal to that of a pistol of ordinary +calibre. In length, however, the weapon varies from eight to twelve +feet. + +This singular instrument is designed, not for propelling a bullet, but +an arrow; but as this arrow differs altogether from the common kind it +also needs to be described. + +The blow-gun arrow is about fifteen or eighteen inches long, and is made +of a piece of split bamboo; but when the "patawa" palm can be found, +this tree furnishes a still better material, in the long spines that +grow out from the sheathing bases of its leaves. These are 18 inches in +length, of a black colour, flattish though perfectly straight. Being +cut to the proper length--which most of them are without cutting--they +are whittled at one end to a sharp point. This point is dipped about +three inches deep in the celebrated "curare" poison; and just where the +poison mark terminates, a notch is made, so that the head will be easily +broken off when the arrow is in the wound. Near the other end a little +soft down of silky cotton (the floss of the _bombax ceiba_) is twisted +around into a smooth mass of the shape of a spinning-top, with its +larger end towards the nearer extremity of the arrow. The cotton is +held in its place by being lightly whipped on by the delicate thread or +fibre of a _bromelia_, and the mass is just big enough to fill the tube +by gently pressing it inward. + +The arrow thus made is inserted, and whenever the game is within reach +the Indian places his mouth to the lower end or mouthpiece, and with a +strong "puff," which practice enables him to give, he sends the little +messenger upon its deadly errand. He can hit with unerring aim at the +distance of forty or fifty paces; but he prefers to shoot in a direction +nearly vertical, as in that way he can take the surest aim. As his +common game--birds and monkeys--are usually perched upon the higher +branches of tall trees, their situation just suits him. Of course it is +not the mere wound of the arrow that kills these creatures, but the +poison, which in two or three minutes after they have been hit, will +bring either bird or monkey to the ground. When the latter is struck he +would be certain to draw out the arrow; but the notch, already +mentioned, provides against this, as the slightest wrench serves to +break off the envenomed head. + +These arrows are dangerous things,--even for the manufacturer of them to +play with: they are therefore carried in a quiver, and with great +care,--the quiver consisting either of a bamboo joint or a neat wicker +case. + +The weapons of war used by the forest tribes are the common bow and +arrows, also tipped with _curare_, and the "macana," or war-club, a +species peculiar to South America, made out of the hard heavy wood of +the _pissaba_ palm. Only one or two tribes use the spear; and both the +"bolas" and lazo are quite unknown, as such weapons would not be +available among the trees of the forest. These are the proper arms of +the Horse Indian, the dweller on the open plains; but without them, for +all war purposes, the forest tribes have weapons enough, and, +unfortunately, make a too frequent use of them. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE WATER-DWELLERS OF MARACAIBO. + +The Andes mountains, rising in the extreme southern point of South +America, not only extend throughout the whole length of that continent, +but continue on through Central America and Mexico, under the name of +"Cordilleras de Sierra Madre;" and still farther north to the shores of +the Arctic Sea, under the very inappropriate appellation of the "Rocky +Mountains." You must not suppose that these stupendous mountains form +one continuous elevation. At many places they furcate into various +branches, throwing off spurs, and sometime parallel "sierras," between +which lie wide "valles," or level plains of great extent. It is upon +these high plateaux--many of them elevated 7,000 feet above the sea-- +that the greater part of the Spanish-American population dwells; and on +them too are found most of the large cities of Spanish South America and +Mexico. + +These parallel chains meet at different points, forming what the +Peruvians term "nodas" (knots); and, after continuing for a distance in +one great cordillera, again bifurcate. One of the most remarkable of +these bifurcations of the Andes occurs about latitude 2 degrees North. +There the gigantic sierra separates into two great branches, forming a +shape like the letter Y, the left limb being that which is usually +regarded as the main continuation of these mountains through the Isthmus +of Panama, while the right forms the eastern boundary of the great +valley of the Magdalena river; and then, trending in an eastwardly +direction along the whole northern coast of South America to the extreme +point of the promontory of Paria. + +Each of these limbs again forks into several branches or spurs,--the +whole system forming a figure that may be said to bear some resemblance +to a genealogical tree containing the pedigree of four or five +generations. + +It is only with one of the bifurcations of the right or eastern sierra +that this sketch has to do. On reaching the latitude of 7 degrees +north, this chain separates itself into two wings, which, after +diverging widely to the east and west, sweep round again towards each +other, as if desirous to be once more united. The western wing advances +boldly to this reunion; but the eastern, after vacillating for a time, +as if uncertain what course to take, turns its back abruptly on its old +comrade, and trends off in a due east direction, till it sinks into +insignificance upon the promontory of Paria. + +The whole mass of the sierra, however, has not been of one mind; for, at +the time of its indecision, a large spur detaches itself from the main +body, and sweeps round, as if to carry out the union with the left wing +advancing from the west. Although they get within sight of each other, +they are not permitted to meet,--both ending abruptly before the circle +is completed, and forming a figure bearing a very exact resemblance to +the shoe of a racehorse. Within this curving boundary is enclosed a +vast valley,--as large as the whole of Ireland,--the central portion of +which, and occupying about one third of its whole extent, is a sheet of +water, known from the days of the discovery of America, as the _Lake of +Maracaibo_. + +It obtained this appellation from the name of an Indian cazique, who was +met upon its shores by the first discoverers; but although this lake was +known to the earliest explorers of the New World,--although it lies +contiguous to many colonial settlements both on the mainland and the +islands of the Caribbean Sea,--the lake itself and the vast territory +that surrounds it, remain almost as unknown and obscure as if they were +situated among the central deserts of Africa. + +And yet the valley of Maracaibo is one of the most interesting portions +of the globe,--interesting not only as a _terra incognita_, but on +account of the diversified nature of its scenery and productions. It +possesses a _fauna_ of a peculiar kind, and its _flora_ is one of the +richest in the world, not surpassed,--perhaps not equalled,--by that of +any other portion of the torrid zone. To give a list of its vegetable +productions would be to enumerate almost every species belonging to +tropical America. Here are found the well-known medicinal plants,--the +sassafras and sarsaparilla, guaiacum, copaiva, cinchona, and cuspa, or +_Cortex Angosturae_; here are the deadly poisons of _barbasco_ and +_mavacure_, and alongside them the remedies of the "palo sano," and +_mikania guaco_. Here likewise grow plants and trees producing those +well-known dyes of commerce, the blue indigo, the red arnotto, the +lake-coloured chica, the brazilletto, and dragon's-blood; and above all, +those woods of red, gold, and ebon tints, so precious in the eyes of the +cabinet and musical-instrument makers of Europe. + +Yet, strange to say, these rich resources lie, like treasures buried in +the bowels of the earth, or gems at the bottom of the sea, still +undeveloped. A few small lumbering establishments near the entrance of +the lake,--here and there a miserable village, supported by a little +coast commerce in dyewoods, or cuttings of ebony,--now and then a hamlet +of fishermen,--a "hato" of goats and sheep; and at wider intervals, a +"ganaderia" of cattle, or a plantation of cocoa-trees (_cocale_), +furnish the only evidence that man has asserted his dominion over this +interesting region. These settlements, however, are sparsely +distributed, and widely distant from one another. Between them stretch +broad savannas and forests,--vast tracts, untitled and even +unexplored,--a very wilderness, but a wilderness rich in natural +resources. + +The Lake of Maracaibo is often, though erroneously, described as an arm +of the sea. This description only applies to the _Gulf of Maracaibo_, +which is in reality a portion of the Caribbean Sea. The lake itself is +altogether different, and is a true fresh-water lake, separated from the +gulf by a narrow neck or strait. Within this strait--called "boca," or +mouth--the salt water does not extend, except during very high tides or +after long-continued _nortes_ (north winds), which have the effect of +driving the sea-water up into the lake, and imparting to some portions +of it a saline or brackish taste. This, however, is only occasional and +of temporary continuance; and the waters of the lake, supplied by a +hundred streams from the horseshoe sierra that surrounds it, soon return +to their normal character of freshness. + +The shape of Lake Maracaibo is worthy of remark. The main body of its +surface is of oval outline,--the longer diameter running north and +south,--but taken in connection with the straits which communicate with +the outer gulf, it assumes a shape somewhat like that of a Jew's-harp, +or rather of a kind of guitar, most in use among Spanish Americans, and +known under the name of "mandolin" (or "bandolon"). To this instrument +do the natives sometimes compare it. + +Another peculiarity of Lake Maracaibo, is the extreme shallowness of the +water along its shores. It is deep enough towards the middle part; but +at many points around the shore, a man may wade for miles into the +water, without getting beyond his depth. This peculiarity arises from +the formation of the valley in which it is situated. Only a few spurs +of the sierras that surround it approach near the edge of the lake. +Generally from the bases of the mountains, the land slopes with a very +gentle declination,--so slight as to have the appearance of a perfectly +horizontal plain,--and this is continued for a great way under the +surface of the water. Strange enough, however, after getting to a +certain distance from the shore, the shoal water ends as abruptly as the +escarpment of a cliff, and a depth almost unfathomable succeeds,--as if +the central part of the lake was a vast subaqueous ravine, bounded on +both sides by precipitous cliffs. Such, in reality, is it believed to +be. + +A singular phenomenon is observed in the Lake Maracaibo, which, since +the days of Columbus, has not only puzzled the Curious, but also the +learned and scientific, who have unsuccessfully attempted to explain it. +This phenomenon consists in the appearance of a remarkable light, which +shows itself in the middle of the night, and at a particular part of the +lake, near its southern extremity. This light bears some resemblance to +the _ignis fatuus_ of our own marshes; and most probably is a +phosphorescence of a similar nature, though on a much grander scale,-- +since it is visible at a vast distance across the open water. As it is +seen universally in the same direction, and appears fixed in one place, +it serves as a beacon for the fishermen and dye-wood traders who +navigate the waters of the lake,--its longitude being precisely that of +the straits leading outward to the gulf. Vessels that have strayed from +their course, often regulate their reckoning by the mysterious "Farol de +Maracaibo" (Lantern of Maracaibo),--for by this name is the natural +beacon known to the mariners of the lake. + +Various explanations have been offered to account for this singular +phenomenon, but none seem to explain it in a satisfactory manner. It +appears to be produced by the exhalations that arise from an extensive +marshy tract lying around the mouth of the river Zulia, and above which +it universally shows itself. The atmosphere in this quarter is usually +hotter than elsewhere, and supposed to be highly charged with +electricity; but whatever may be the chemical process which produces the +illumination, it acts in a perfectly silent manner. No one has ever +observed any explosion to proceed from it, or the slightest sound +connected with its occurrence. + +Of all the ideas suggested by the mention of Lake Maracaibo, perhaps +none are so interesting as those that relate to its native inhabitants, +whose peculiar habits and modes of life not only astonished the early +navigators, but eventually gave its name to the lake itself and to the +extensive province in which it is situated. When the Spanish +discoverers, sailing around the shores of the gulf, arrived near the +entrance of Lake Maracaibo, they saw, to their amazement, not only +single houses, but whole villages, apparently floating upon the water! +On approaching nearer, they perceived that these houses were raised some +feet above the surface, and supported by posts or piles driven into the +mud at the bottom. The idea of Venice--that city built upon the sea, to +which they had been long accustomed--was suggested by these +_superaqueous_ habitations; and the name of _Venezuela_ (Little Venice) +was at once bestowed upon the coast, and afterwards applied to the whole +province now known as the Republic of Venezuela. + +Though the "water villages" then observed have long since disappeared, +many others of a similar kind were afterwards discovered in Lake +Maracaibo itself, some of which are in existence to the present day. +Besides here and there an isolated habitation, situated in some bay or +"laguna," there are four principal villages upon this plan still in +existence, each containing from fifty to a hundred habitations. The +inhabitants of some of these villages have been "Christianised," that +is, have submitted to the teaching of the Spanish missionaries; and one +in particular is distinguished by having its little church--a regular +_water_ church--in the centre, built upon piles, just as the rest of the +houses are, and only differing from the common dwellings in being larger +and of a somewhat more pretentious style. From the belfry of this +curious ecclesiastical edifice a brazen bell may be heard at morn and +eve tolling the "oracion" and "vespers," and declaring over the wide +waters of the lake that the authority of the Spanish monk has replaced +the power of the cazique among the Indians of the Lake Maracaibo. Not +to all sides of the lake, however, has the cross extended its conquest. +Along its western shore roams the fierce unconquered Goajiro, who, a +true warrior, still maintains his independence; and even encroaches upon +the usurped possessions both of monk and "militario." + +The _water-dweller_, however, although of kindred race with the Goajiro, +is very different, both in his disposition and habits of life. He is +altogether a man of peace, and might almost be termed a civilised +being,--that is, he follows a regular industrial calling, by which he +subsists. This is the calling of a fisherman, and in no part of the +world could he follow it with more certainty of success, since the +waters which surround his dwelling literally swarm with fish. + +Lake Maracaibo has been long noted as the resort of numerous and +valuable species of the finny tribe, in the capture of which the Indian +fisherman finds ample occupation. He is betimes a fowler,--as we shall +presently see,--and he also sometimes indulges, though more rarely, in +the chase, finding game in the thick forests or on the green savannas +that surround the lake, or border the banks of the numerous "riachos" +(streams) running into it. On the savanna roams the graceful roebuck +and the "venado," or South-American deer, while along the river banks +stray the capibara and the stout tapir, undisturbed save by their fierce +feline enemies, the puma and spotted jaguar. + +But hunting excursions are not a habit of the water Indian, whose +calling, as already observed, is essentially that of a fisherman and +"fowler," and whose subsistence is mainly derived from two kinds of +_water-dwellers_, like himself--one with fins, living below the surface, +and denominated _fish_; another with wings, usually resting _on_ the +surface, and known as _fowl_. These two creatures, of very different +kinds and of many different species, form the staple and daily food of +the Indian of Maracaibo. + +In an account of his habits we stall begin by giving a description of +the mode in which he constructs his singular dwelling. + +Like other builders he begins by selecting the site. This must be a +place where the water is of no great depth; and the farther from the +shore he can find a shallow spot the better for his purpose, for he has +a good reason for desiring to get to a distance from the shore, as we +shall presently see. Sometimes a sort of subaqueous island, or elevated +sandbank, is found, which gives him the very site he is in search of. +Having pitched upon the spot, his next care is to procure a certain +number of tree-trunks of the proper length and thickness to make +"piles." Not every kind of timber will serve for this purpose, for +there are not many sorts that would long resist decay and the wear and +tear of the water insects, with which the lake abounds. Moreover, the +building of one of these aquatic houses, although it be only a rude hut, +is a work of time and labour, and it is desirable therefore to make it +as permanent as possible. For this reason great care is taken in the +selection of the timber for the "piles." + +But it so chances that the forests around the lake furnish the very +thing itself, in the wood of a tree known to the _Spanish inhabitants_ +as the "vera," of "palo sano," and to the natives as "guaiac." It is +one of the zygophyls of the genus _Guaiacum_, of which there are many +species, called by the names of "iron-wood" or "lignum-vitae;" but the +species in question is the _tree_ lignum-vitae (_Guaiacum arboreum_), +which attains to a height of 100 feet, with a fine umbrella-shaped head, +and bright orange flowers. Its wood is so hard, that it will turn the +edge of an axe, and the natives believe that if it be buried for a +sufficient length of time under the earth it will turn to iron! Though +this belief is not literally true, as regards the _iron_, it is not so +much of an exaggeration as might be supposed. The "palo de fierro," +when buried in the soil of Maracaibo or immersed in the waters of the +lake, in reality does undergo a somewhat similar metamorphose; in other +words, it turns into stone; and the petrified trunks of this wood are +frequently met with along the shores of the lake. What is still more +singular--the piles of the water-houses often become petrified, so that +the dwelling no longer rests upon wooden posts, but upon real columns of +stone! + +Knowing all this by experience, the Indian selects the guaiac for his +uprights, cuts them of the proper length; and then, launching them in +the water, transports them to the site of his dwelling, and fixes them +in their places. + +Upon this a platform is erected, out of split boards of some less +ponderous timber, usually the "ceiba," or "silk-cotton tree" (_Bombax +ceiba_), or the "cedro negro" (_Cedrela odorata_) of the order +_Meliaceae_. Both kinds grow in abundance upon the shores of the +lake,--and the huge trunks of the former are also used by the water +Indian for the constructing of his canoe. + +The platform, or floor, being thus established, about two or three feet +above the surface of the water, it then only remains to erect, the walls +and cover them over with a roof. The former are made of the slightest +materials,--light saplings or bamboo poles,--usually left open at the +interstices. There is no winter or cold weather here,--why should the +walls be thick? There are heavy rains, however, at certain seasons of +the year, and these require to be guarded against; but this is not a +difficult matter, since the broad leaves of the "enea" and "vihai" (a +species of _Heliconia_) serve the purpose of a roof just as well as +tiles, slates, or shingles. Nature in these parts is bountiful, and +provides her human creatures with a spontaneous supply of every want. +Even ropes and cords she furnishes, for binding the beams, joists, and +rafters together, and holding on the thatch against the most furious +assaults of the wind. The numerous species of creeping and twining +plants ("llianas" or "sipos") serve admirably for this purpose. They +are applied in their green state, and when contracted by exsiccation +draw the timbers as closely together as if held by spikes of iron. In +this manner and of such materials does the water Indian build his house. + +Why he inhabits such a singular dwelling is a question that requires to +be answered. With the _terra firma_ close at hand, and equally +convenient for all purposes of his calling, why does he not build his +hut there? So much easier too of access would it be, for he could then +approach it either by land or by water; whereas, in its present +situation, he can neither go away from his house or get back to it +without the aid of his "periagua" (canoe). Moreover, by building on the +beach, or by the edge of the woods, he would spare himself the labour of +transporting those heavy piles and setting them in their places,--a +work, as already stated, of no ordinary magnitude. Is it for personal +security against human enemies,--for this sometimes drives a people to +seek singular situations for their homes? No; the Indian of Maracaibo +has his human foes, like all other people; but it is none of these that +have forced him to adopt this strange custom. Other enemies? wild +beasts? the dreaded jaguar, perhaps? No, nothing of this kind. And yet +it is in reality a living creature that drives him to this resource,-- +that has forced him to flee from the mainland and take to the water for +security against its attack,--a creature of such small dimensions, and +apparently so contemptible in its strength, that you will no doubt smile +at the idea of its putting a strong man to flight,--a little insect +exactly the size of an English gnat, and no bigger, but so formidable by +means of its poisonous bite, and its myriads of numbers, as to render +many parts of the shores of Lake Maracaibo quite uninhabitable. You +guess, no doubt, the insect to which I allude? You cannot fail to +recognise it as the _mosquito_? Just so; it is the mosquito I mean, and +in no part of South America do these insects abound in greater numbers, +and nowhere are they more bloodthirsty than upon the borders of this +great fresh-water sea. Not only one species of mosquito, but all the +varieties known as "jejens," "zancudos," and "tempraneros," here abound +in countless multitudes,--each kind making its appearance at a +particular hour of the day or night,--"mounting guard" (as the +persecuted natives say of them) in turn, and allowing only short +intervals of respite from their bitter attacks. + +Now, it so happens, that although the various kinds of mosquitoes are +peculiarly the productions of a marshy or watery region,--and rarely +found where the soil is high and dry,--yet as rarely do they extend +their excursions to a distance from the land. They delight to dwell +under the shadow of leaves, or near the herbage of grass, plants, or +trees, among which they were hatched. They do not stray far from the +shore, and only when the breeze carries them do they fly out over the +open water. Need I say more? You have now the explanation why the +Indians of Maracaibo build their dwellings upon the water. It is simply +to escape from the "plaga de moscas" (the pest of the flies). + +Like most other Indians of tropical America, and some even of colder +latitudes, those of Maracaibo go naked, wearing only the _guayueo_, or +"waist-belt." Those of them, however, who have submitted to the +authority of the monks, have adopted a somewhat more modest garb,-- +consisting of a small apron of cotton or palm fibre, suspended from the +waist, and reaching down to their knees. + +We have already stated, that the water-dwelling Indian is a fisherman, +and that the waters of the lake supply him with numerous kinds of fish +of excellent quality. An account of these, with the method employed in +capturing them, may not prove uninteresting. + +First, there is the fish known as "liza," a species of skate. It is of +a brilliant silvery hue, with bluish corruscations. It is a small fish, +being only about a foot in length, but is excellent to eat, and when +preserved by drying, forms an article of commerce with the West-Indian +islands. Along the coasts of Cumana and Magarita, there are many people +employed in the _pesca de liza_ (skate-fishery); but although the liza +is in reality a sea fish, it abounds in the fresh waters of Maracaibo, +and is there also an object of industrial pursuit. It is usually +captured by seines, made out of the fibres of the _cocui aloe_ (_agave +cocuiza_), or of cords obtained from the unexpanded leaflets of the +moriche palm (_Mauritia flexuosa_), both of which useful vegetable +products are indigenous to this region. The roe of the liza, when dried +in the sun, is an article in high estimation, and finds its way into the +channels of commerce. + +A still more delicate fish is the "pargo." It is of a white colour +tinged with rose; and of these great numbers are also captured. So, +too, with the "doncella," one of the most beautiful species, as its +pretty name of "doncella" (young maiden) would indicate. These last are +so abundant in some parts of the lake, that one of its bays is +distinguished by the name of _Laguna de Doncella_. + +A large, ugly fish, called the "vagre," with an enormous head and wide +mouth, from each side of which stretches a beard-like appendage, is also +an object of the Indian's pursuit. It is usually struck with a spear, +or killed by arrows, when it shows itself near the surface of the water. +Another monstrous creature, of nearly circular shape, and full three +feet in diameter, is the "carite," which is harpooned in a similar +fashion. + +Besides these there is the "viegita," or "old-woman fish," which itself +feeds upon lesser creatures of the finny tribe, and especially upon the +smaller species of shell-fish. It has obtained its odd appellation from +a singular noise which it gives forth, and which resembles the voice of +an old woman debilitated with extreme age. + +The "dorado," or gilded fish--so called on account of its beautiful +colour--is taken by a hook, with no other bait attached than a piece of +white rag. This, however, must be kept constantly in motion, and the +bait is played by simply paddling the canoe over the surface of the +lake, until the dorado, attracted by the white meteor, follows in its +track, and eventually hooks itself. + +Many other species of fish are taken by the water-Indians, as the +"lebranche" which goes in large "schools," and makes its breeding-place +in the lagunas and up the rivers, and the "guabina," with several kinds +of sardines that find their way into the tin boxes of Europe; for the +Maracaibo fisherman is not contented with an exclusive fish diet. He +likes a little "casava," or maize-bread, along with it; besides, he has +a few other wants to satisfy, and the means he readily obtains in +exchange for the surplus produce of his nets, harpoons, and arrows. + +We have already stated that he is a fowler. At certain seasons of the +year this is essentially his occupation. The fowling season with him is +the period of northern winter, when the migratory aquatic birds come +down from the boreal regions of Prince Rupert's Land to disport their +bodies in the more agreeable waters of Lake Maracaibo. There they +assemble in large flocks, darkening the air with their myriads of +numbers, now fluttering over the lake, or, at other times, seated on its +surface silent and motionless. Notwithstanding their great numbers, +however, they are too shy to be approached near enough for the "carry" +of an Indian arrow, or a gun either; and were it not for a very cunning +stratagem which the Indian has adopted for their capture, they might +return again to their northern haunts without being minus an individual +of their "count." + +But they are not permitted to depart thus unscathed. During their +sojourn within the limits of Lake Maracaibo their legions get +considerably thinned, and thousands of them that settle down upon its +inviting waters are destined never more to take wing. + +To effect their capture, the Indian fowler, as already stated, makes use +of a very ingenious stratagem. Something similar is described as being +practised in other parts of the world; but in no place is it carried to +such perfection as upon the Lake Maracaibo. + +The fowler first provides himself with a number of large gourd-shells of +roundish form, and each of them at least as big as his own skull. These +he can easily obtain, either from the herbaceous squash (_Cucurbita +lagenaris_) or from the calabash tree (_Crescentia cujete_), both of +which grow luxuriantly on the shores of the lake. Filling his periagua +with these, he proceeds out into the open water to a certain distance +from the land, or from his own dwelling. The distance is regulated by +several considerations. He must reach a place which, at all hours of +the day, the ducks and other waterfowl are not afraid to frequent; and, +on the other hand, he must not go beyond such a depth as will bring the +water higher than his own chin when wading through it. This last +consideration is not of so much importance, for the water Indian can +swim almost as well as a duck, and dive like one, if need be; but it is +connected with another matter of greater importance--the convenience of +having the birds as near as possible, to save him a too long and +wearisome "wade." It is necessary to have them so near, that at all +hours they may be under his eye. + +Having found the proper situation, which the vast extent of shoal water +(already mentioned) enables him to do, he proceeds to carry out his +design by dropping a gourd here and another there, until a large space +of surface is covered by these floating shells. Each gourd has a stone +attached to it by means of a string, which, resting upon the bottom, +brings the buoy to an anchor, and prevents it from being drifted into +the deeper water or carried entirely away. + +When his decoys are all placed, the Indian paddles back to his platform +dwelling, and there, with watchful eye, awaits the issue. The birds are +at first shy of these round yellow objects intruded upon their domain; +but, as the hours pass, and they perceive no harm in them, they at +length take courage and venture to approach. Urged by that curiosity +which is instinctive in every creature, they gradually draw nigher and +nigher, until at length they boldly venture into the midst of the odd +objects and examine them minutely. Though puzzled to make out what it +is all meant for, they can perceive no harm in the yellow globe-shaped +things that only bob about, but make no attempt to do them any injury. +Thus satisfied, their curiosity soon wears off, and the birds no longer +regarding the floating shells as objects of suspicion, swim freely about +through their midst, or sit quietly on the water side by side with them. + +But the crisis has now arrived when it is necessary the Indian should +act, and for this he speedily equips himself. He first ties a stout +rope around his waist, to which are attached many short strings or +cords. He then draws over his head a large gourd-shell, which, fitting +pretty tightly, covers his whole skull, reaching down to his neck. This +shell is exactly similar to the others already floating on the water, +with the exception of having three holes on one side of it, two on the +same level with the Indian's eyes, and the third opposite his mouth, +intended to serve him for a breathing-hole. + +He is now ready for work; and, thus oddly accoutred, he slips quietly +down from his platform, and laying himself along the water, swims gently +in the direction of the ducks. + +He swims only where the water is too shallow to prevent him from +crouching below the surface; for were he to stand upright, and wade,-- +even though he were still distant from them,--the shy birds might have +suspicions about his after-approaches. + +When he reaches a point where the lake is sufficiently deep, he gets +upon his feet and wades, still keeping his shoulders below the surface. +He makes his advance very slowly and warily, scarce raising a ripple on +the surface of the placid lake, and the nearer he gets to his intended +victims he proceeds with the greater caution. + +The unsuspecting birds see the destroyer approach without having the +slightest misgiving of danger. They fancy that the new comer is only +another of those inanimate objects by their side--another gourd-shell +drifting out upon the water to join its companions. They have no +suspicion that this wooden counterfeit--like the horse of Troy--is +inhabited by a terrible enemy. + +Poor things! how could they? A stratagem so well contrived would +deceive more rational intellects than theirs; and, in fact, having no +idea of danger, they perhaps do not trouble themselves even to notice +the new arrival. + +Meanwhile the gourd has drifted silently into their midst, and is seen +approaching the odd individuals, first one and afterwards another, as if +it had some special business with each. This business appears to be of +a very mysterious character; and in each case is abruptly brought to a +conclusion, by the duck making a sudden dive under the water,--not head +foremost, according to its usual practice, but in the reverse way, as if +jerked down by the feet, and so rapidly that the creature has not time +to utter a single "quack." + +After quite a number of individuals have disappeared in this mysterious +manner, the others sometimes grow suspicious of the moving calabash, and +either take to wing, or swim off to a less dangerous neighbourhood; but +if the gourd performs its office in a skilful manner, it will be seen +passing several times to and fro between the birds and the water village +before this event takes place. On each return trip, when far from the +flock, and near the habitations, it will be seen to rise high above the +surface of the water. It will then be perceived that it covers the +skull of a copper-coloured savage, around whose hips may be observed a +double tier of dead ducks dangling by their necks from the rope upon his +waist, and forming a sort of plumed skirt, the weight of which almost +drags its wearer back into the water. + +Of course a capture is followed by a feast; and during the fowling +season of the year the Maracaibo Indian enjoys roast-duck at discretion. +He does not trouble his head much about the green peas, nor is he +particular to have his ducks stuffed with sage and onions; but a hot +seasoning of red pepper is one of the indispensible ingredients of the +South-American _cuisine_; and this he usually obtains from a small patch +of capsicum which he cultivates upon the adjacent shore; or, if he be +not possessed of land, he procures it by barter, exchanging his fowls or +fish for that and a little maize or manioc flour, furnished by the +coast-traders. + +The Maracaibo Indian is not a stranger to commerce. He has been +"Christianised,"--to use the phraseology of his priestly proselytiser,-- +and this has introduced him to new wants and necessities. Expenses that +in his former pagan state were entirely unknown to him, have now become +necessary, and a commercial effort is required to meet them. The Church +must have its dues. Such luxuries as being baptised, married, and +buried, are not to be had without expense, and the padre takes good care +that none of these shall be had for nothing. He has taught his +proselyte to believe that unless all these rites have been officially +performed there is pot the slightest chance for him in the next world; +and under the influence of this delusion, the simple savage willingly +yields up his tenth, his fifth, or, perhaps it would be more correct to +say, his all. Between fees of baptism and burial, mulcts for +performance of the marriage rite, contributions towards the shows and +ceremonies of _dias de fiesta_, extravagant prices for blessed beads, +leaden crucifixes, and images of patron saints, the poor Christianised +Indian is compelled to part with nearly the whole of his humble gains; +and the fear of not being able to pay for Christian burial after death, +is often one of the torments of his life. + +To satisfy the numerous demands of the Church, therefore, he is forced +into a little action in the commercial line. With the water-dweller of +Maracaibo, fish forms one of the staples of export trade,--of course in +the preserved state, as he is too distant from any great town or +metropolis to be able to make market of them while fresh. He +understands, however, the mode of curing them,--which he accomplishes by +sun-drying and smoking,--and, thus prepared, they are taken off his +hands by the trader, who carries them all over the West Indies, where, +with boiled rice, they form the staple food of thousands of the +dark-skinned children of Ethiopia. + +The Maracaibo Indian, however, has still another resource, which +occasionally supplies him with an article of commercial export. His +country--that is, the adjacent shores of the lake--produces the finest +_caoutchouc_. There the India-rubber tree, of more than one species, +flourishes in abundance; and the true "seringa," that yields the finest +and most valuable kind of this gummy juice, is nowhere found in greater +perfection than in the forests of Maracaibo. The caoutchouc of commerce +is obtained from many other parts of America, as well as from other +tropical countries; but as many of the bottles and shoes so well-known +in the india-rubber shops, are manufactured by the Indians of Maracaibo, +we may not find a more appropriate place to give an account of this +singular production, and the mode by which it is prepared for the +purposes of commerce and manufacture. + +As already mentioned, many species of trees yield india-rubber, most of +them belonging either to the order of the "Morads," or _Euphorbiaceae_. +Some are species of _ficus_, but both the genera and species are too +numerous to be given here. That which supplies the "bottle +india-rubber" is a euphorbiaceous plant,--the _seringa_ above +mentioned,--whose proper botanical appellation is _Siphonia elastica_. +It is a tall, straight, smooth-barked tree, having a trunk of about a +foot in diameter, though in favourable situations reaching to much +larger dimensions. The process of extracting its sap--out of which the +caoutchouc is manufactured--bears some resemblance to the tapping of +sugar-maples in the forests of the north. + +With his small hatchet, or tomahawk, the Indian cuts a gash in the bark, +and inserts into it a little wedge of wood to keep the sides apart. +Just under the gash, he fixes a small cup-shaped vessel of clay, the +clay being still in a plastic state, so that it may be attached closely +to the bark. Into this vessel the milk-like sap of the _seringa_ soon +commences to run, and keeps on until it has yielded about the fifth of a +pint. This, however, is not the whole yield of a tree, but only of a +single wound; and it is usual to open a great many gashes, or "taps," +upon the same trunk, each being furnished with its own cup or receiver. +In from four to six hours the sap ceases to run. + +The cups are then detached from the tree, and the contents of all, +poured into a large earthen vessel, are carried to the place where the +process of making the caoutchouc is to take place,--usually some dry +open spot in the middle of the forest, where a temporary camp has been +formed for the purpose. + +When the dwelling of the Indian is at a distance from where the +india-rubber tree grows,--as is the case with those of Lake Maracaibo,-- +it will not do to transport the sap thither. There must be no delay +after the cups are filled, and the process of manufacture must proceed +at once, or as soon as the milky juice begins to coagulate,--which it +does almost on the instant. + +Previous to reaching his camp, the "seringero" has provided a large +quantity of palm-nuts, with which he intends to make a fire for smoking +the caoutchouc. These nuts are the fruit of several kinds of palms, but +the best are those afforded by two magnificent species,--the "Inaja" +(_Maximiliana regia_), and the "Urucuri" (_Attalea excelsa_). + +A fire is kindled of these nuts; and an earthen pot, with a hole in the +bottom, is placed mouth downward over the pile. Through the aperture +now rises a strong pungent smoke. + +If it is a shoe that is intended to be made, a clay last is already +prepared, with a stick standing out of the top of it, to serve as a +handle, while the operation is going on. Taking the stick in his hand, +the seringero dips the last lightly into the milk, or with a cup pours +the fluid gently over it, so as to give a regular coating to the whole +surface; and then, holding it over the smoke, he keeps turning it, +jack-fashion, till the fluid has become dry and adhesive. Another dip +is then given, and the smoking done as before; and this goes on, till +forty or fifty different coats have brought the sides and soles of the +shoe to a proper thickness. The soles, requiring greater weight, are, +of course, oftener dipped than the "upper leather." + +The whole process of making the shoe does not occupy half an hour; but +it has afterwards to receive some farther attention in the way of +ornament; the lines and figures are yet to be executed, and this is done +about two days after the smoking process. They are simply traced out +with a piece of smooth wire, or oftener with the spine obtained from +some tree,--as the thorny point of the _bromelia_ leaf. + +In about a week the shoes are ready to be taken from the last; and this +is accomplished at the expense and utter ruin of the latter, which is +broken into fragments, and then cleaned out. Water is used sometimes to +soften the last, and the inner surface of the shoe is washed after the +clay has been taken out. + +Bottles are made precisely in the same manner,--a round ball, or other +shaped mass of clay, serving as the mould for their construction. It +requires a little more trouble to get the mould extracted from the +narrow neck of the bottle. + +It may be remarked that it is not the smoke of the palm-nuts that gives +to the india-rubber its peculiar dark colour; that is the effect of age. +When freshly manufactured, it is still of a whitish or cream colour; +and only attains the dark hue after it has been kept for a considerable +time. + +We might add many other particulars about the mode in which the Indian +of Maracaibo employs his time, but perhaps enough has been said to show +that his existence is altogether an _odd_ one. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE ESQUIMAUX. + +The Esquimaux are emphatically an "odd people," perhaps the oddest upon +the earth. The peculiar character of the regions they inhabit has +naturally initiated them into a system of habits and modes of life +different from those of any other people on the face of the globe; and +from the remoteness and inaccessibility of the countries in which they +dwell, not only have they remained an unmixed people, but scarce any +change has taken place in their customs and manners during the long +period since they were first known to civilised nations. + +The Esquimaux people have been long known and their habits often +described. Our first knowledge of them was obtained from Greenland,-- +for the native inhabitants of Greenland are true Esquimaux,--and +hundreds of years ago accounts of them were given to the world by the +Danish colonists and missionaries--and also by the whalers who visited +the coasts of that inhospitable land. In later times they have been +made familiar to us through the Arctic explorers and whale-fishers, who +have traversed the labyrinth of icy islands that extend northward from +the continent of America. The Esquimaux may boast of possessing the +longest country in the world. In the first place, Greenland is theirs, +and they are found along the western shores of Baffin's Bay. In North +America proper their territory commences at the straits of Belle Isle, +which separate Newfoundland from Labrador, and thence extends all around +the shore of the Arctic Ocean, not only to Behring's Straits, but beyond +these, around the Pacific coast of Russian America, as far south as the +great mountain Saint Elias. Across Behring's Straits they are found +occupying a portion of the Asiatic coast, under the name of Tchutski, +and some of the islands in the northern angle of the Pacific Ocean are +also inhabited by these people, though under a different name. +Furthermore, the numerous ice islands which lie between North America +and the Pole are either inhabited or visited by Esquimaux to the highest +point that discovery has yet reached. + +There can be little doubt that the Laplanders of northern Europe, and +the Samoyedes, and other littoral peoples dwelling along the Siberian +shores, are kindred races of the Esquimaux; and taking this view of the +question, it may be said that the latter possess all the line of coast +of both continents facing northward; in other words, that their country +extends around the globe--though it cannot be said (as is often +boastingly declared of the British empire) that "the sun never sets upon +it;" for, over the "empire" of the Esquimaux, the sun not only sets, but +remains out of sight of it for months at a time. + +It is not usual, however, to class the Laplanders and _Asiatic Arctic_ +people with the Esquimaux. There are some essential points of +difference; and what is here said of the Esquimaux relates only to those +who inhabit the northern coasts and islands of America, and to the +native Greenlanders. + +Notwithstanding the immense extent of territory thus designated, +notwithstanding the sparseness of the Esquimaux population, and the vast +distances by which one little tribe or community is separated from +another, the absolute similarity in their habits, in their physical and +intellectual conformation, and, above all, in their languages, proves +incontestably that they are all originally of one and the same race. + +Whatever, therefore, may be said of a "Schelling," or native +Greenlander, will be equally applicable to an Esquimaux of Labrador, to +an Esquimaux of the Mackenzie River or Behring's Straits, or we might +add, to a Khadiak islander, or a Tuski of the opposite Asiatic coast; +always taking into account such differences of costume, dialect, modes +of life, etc, as may be brought about by the different circumstances in +which they are placed. In all these things, however, they are +wonderfully alike; their dresses, weapons, boats, houses, and house +implements, being almost the same in material and construction from East +Greenland to the Tchutskoi Noss. + +If their country be the longest in the world, it is also the +_narrowest_. Of course, if we take into account the large islands that +thickly stud the Arctic Ocean, it may be deemed broad enough; but I am +speaking rather of the territory which they possess on the continents. +This may be regarded as a mere strip following the outline of the coast, +and never extending beyond the distance of a day's journey inland. +Indeed, they only seek the interior in the few short weeks of summer, +for the purpose of hunting the reindeer, the musk-ox, and other animals; +after each excursion, returning again to the shores of the sea, where +they have their winter-houses and more permanent home. They are, truly +and emphatically, a _littoral_ people, and it is to the sea they look +for their principal means of support. But for this source of supply, +they could not long continue to exist upon land altogether incapable of +supplying the wants even of the most limited population. + +The name _Esquimaux_--or, as it is sometimes written, "Eskimo,"--like +many other national appellations, is of obscure origin. It is supposed +to have been given to them by the Canadian voyageurs in the employ of +the Hudson's Bay Company, and derived from the words _Ceux qui miaux_ +(those who mew), in relation to their screaming like cats. But the +etymology is, to say the least, _suspicious_. They generally call +themselves "Inuit" (pronounced enn-oo-eet), a word which signifies +"men;"--though different tribes of them have distinct tribal +appellations. + +In personal appearance they cannot be regarded as at all prepossessing-- +though some of the younger men and girls, when cleansed of the filth and +grease with which their skin is habitually coated, are far from +ill-looking. Their natural colour is not much darker than that of some +of the southern nations of Europe--the Portuguese, for instance--and the +young girls often have blooming cheeks, and a pleasing expression of +countenance. Their faces are generally of a broad, roundish shape, the +forehead and chin both narrow and receding, and the cheeks very +prominent, though not angular. On the contrary, they are rather fat and +round. This prominence of the cheeks gives to their nose the appearance +of being low and flat; and individuals are often seen with such high +cheeks, that a ruler laid from one to the other would not touch the +bridge of the nose between them! + +As they grow older their complexion becomes darker, perhaps from +exposure to the climate. Very naturally, too, both men and women grow +uglier, but especially the latter, some of whom in old age present such +a hideous aspect, that the early Arctic explorers could not help +characterising them as _witches_. + +The average stature of the Esquimaux is far below that of European +nations, though individuals are sometimes met with nearly six feet in +height. These, however, are rare exceptions; and an Esquimaux of such +proportions would be a giant among his people. The more common height +is from four feet eight inches to five feet eight; and the women are +still shorter, rarely attaining the standard of five feet. The +shortness of both men and women appears to be a deficiency in length of +limb, for their bodies are long enough; but, as the Esquimaux is almost +constantly in his canoe, or "kayak," or upon his dog-sledge, his legs +have but little to do, and are consequently stunted in their +development. + +A similar peculiarity is presented by the Comanche, and other Indians of +the prairies, and also in the Guachos and Patagonian Indians, of the +South-American Pampas, who spend most of their time on the backs of +their horses. + +The Esquimaux have no religion, unless we dignify by that name a belief +in witches, sorcerers, "Shamans," and good or evil spirits, with, some +confused notion of a good and bad place hereafter. Missionary zeal has +been exerted among them almost in vain. They exhibit an apathetic +indifference to the teachings of Christianity. + +Neither have they any political organisation; and in this respect they +differ essentially from most savages known, the lowest of whom have +usually their chiefs and councils of elders. This absence of all +government, however, is no proof of their being lower in the scale of +civilisation than other savages; but, perhaps, rather the contrary, for +the very idea of chiefdom, or government, is a presumption of the +existence of vice among a people, and the necessity of coercion and +repression. To one another these rude people are believed to act in the +most honest manner; and it could be shown that such was likewise their +behaviour towards strangers until they were corrupted by excessive +temptation. All Arctic voyagers record instances of what they term +petty theft, on the part of certain tribes of Esquimaux,--that is, the +pilfering of nails, hatchets, pieces of iron-hoops, etc,--but it might +be worth while reflecting that these articles are, in the eyes of the +Esquimaux, what ingots of gold are are to Europeans, and worth while +inquiring if a few bars of the last-mentioned metal were laid loosely +and carelessly upon the pavements of London, how long they would be in +changing their owners? Theft should be regarded along with the amount +of temptation; and it appears even in these recorded cases that only a +few of the Esquimaux took part in it. I apprehend that something more +than a few Londoners would be found picking up the golden ingots. How +many thieves have we among us, with no greater temptation than a cheap +cotton kerchief?--more than a few, it is to be feared. + +In truth, the Esquimaux are by no means the savages they have been +represented. The only important point in which they at all assimilate +to the purely savage state is in the filthiness of their persons, and +perhaps also in the fact of their eating much of their food (fish and +flesh-meat) in a raw state. For the latter habit, however, they are +partially indebted to the circumstances in which they are placed--fires +or cookery being at times altogether impossible. They are not the only +people who have been forced to eat raw flesh; and Europeans who have +travelled in that inhospitable country soon get used to the practice, at +the same time getting quite cured of their _degout_ for it. + +It is certainly not correct to characterise the Esquimaux as mere +_savages_. On the contrary, they may be regarded as a civilised people, +that is, so far as civilisation is permitted by the rigorous climate in +which they live; and it would be safe to affirm that a colony of the +most polished people in Europe, established as the Esquimaux are, and +left solely to their own resources, would in a single generation exhibit +a civilisation not one degree higher than that now met with among the +Esquimaux. Indeed, the fact is already established: the Danish and +Norwegian colonists of West Greenland, though backed by constant +intercourse with their mother-land, are but little more civilised than +the "Skellings," who are their neighbours. + +In reality, the Esquimaux have made the most of the circumstances in +which they are placed, and continue to do so. Among them _agriculture_ +is impossible, else they would long since have taken to it. So too is +commerce; and as to manufactures, it is doubtful whether Europeans could +excel them under like circumstances. Whatever raw material their +country produces, is by them both strongly and neatly fabricated, as +indicated by the surprising skill with which they make their dresses, +their boats, their implements for hunting and fishing; and in these +accomplishments--the only ones practicable under their hyperborean +heaven--they are perfect adepts. In such arts civilised Europeans are +perfect simpletons to them, and the theories of fireside speculators, so +lately promulgated in our newspapers, that Sir John Franklin and his +crew could not fail to procure a living where the simple Esquimaux were +able to make a home, betrayed only ignorance of the condition of these +people. In truth, white men would starve, where the Esquimaux could +live in luxurious abundance, so far superior to ours is their knowledge +both of fishing and the chase. It is a well-recorded fact, that while +our Arctic voyagers, at their winter stations, provided with good guns, +nets, and every appliance, could but rarely kill a reindeer or capture a +seal, the Esquimaux obtained both in abundance, and apparently without +an effort; and we shall presently note the causes of their superiority +in this respect. + +The very dress of the Esquimaux is a proof of their superiority over +other savages. At no season of the year do they go either naked, or +even "ragged." They have their changes to suit the seasons,--their +summer dress, and one of a warmer kind for winter. Both are made in a +most complicated manner; and the preparation of the material, as well as +the manner by which it is put together, prove the Esquimaux women--for +they are alike the tailors and dressmakers--to be among the best +seamstresses in the world. + +Captain Lyon, one of the most observant of Arctic voyagers, has given a +description of the costume of the Esquimaux of Savage Island, and those +of Repulse Bay, where he wintered, and his account is so graphic and +minute in details, that it would be idle to alter a word of his +language. His description, with slight differences in make and +material, will answer pretty accurately for the costume of the whole +race. + +"The clothes of both sexes are principally composed of fine and +well-prepared reindeer pelts; the skins of bears, seals, wolves, foxes, +and marmottes, are also used. The sealskins are seldom employed for any +part of the dress except boots and shoes, as being more capable of +resisting water, and of far greater durability than other leather. + +"The general winter dress of the men is an ample outer coat of +deer-skin, having no opening in front, and a large hood, which is drawn +over the head at pleasure. This hood is invariably bordered with white +fur from the thighs of the deer, and thus presents a lively contrast to +the dark face which it encircles. The front or belly part of the coat +is cut off square with the upper part of the thighs, but behind it is +formed into a broad skirt, rounded at the lower end, which reaches to +within a few inches of the ground. The lower edges and tails of these +dresses are in some cases bordered with bands of fur of an opposite +colour to the body; and it is a favourite ornament to hang a fringe of +little strips of skin beneath the border. The embellishments give a +very pleasing appearance to the dress. It is customary in blowing +weather to tie a piece of skin or cord tight round the waist of the +coat; but in other cases the dress hangs loose. + +"Within the covering I have just described is another, of precisely the +same form; but though destitute of ornaments of leather, it has +frequently little strings of beads hanging to it from the shoulders or +small of the back. This dress is of thinner skin, and acts as a shirt, +the hairy part being placed near the body: it is the indoors habit. +When walking, the tail is tied up by two strings to the back, so that it +may not incommode the legs. Besides these two coats, they have also a +large cloak, or, in fact, an open deer-skin, with sleeves: this, from +its size, is more frequently used as a blanket; and I but once saw it +worn by a man at the ship, although the women throw it over their +shoulders to shelter themselves and children while sitting on the +sledge. + +"The trowsers, which are tightly tied round the loins, have no +waistbands, but depend entirely by the drawing-string; they are +generally of deer-skin, and ornamented in the same manner as the coats. +One of the most favourite patterns is an arrangement of the skins of +deer's legs, so as to form very pretty stripes. As with the jackets, +there are two pair of these indispensables, reaching no lower than the +knee-cap, which is a cause of great distress in cold weather, as that +part is frequently severely frost-bitten; yet, with all their experience +of this bad contrivance, they will not add an inch to the established +length. + +"The boots reach to the bottom of the breeches, which hang loosely over +them. In these, as in other parts of the dress, are many varieties of +colour, material, and pattern, yet in shape they never vary. The +general winter boots are of deer-skin; one having the hair next the leg, +and the other with the fur outside. A pair of soft slippers of the same +kind are worn between the two pair of boots, and outside of all a strong +sealskin shoe is pulled to the height of the ankle, where it is tightly +secured by a drawing-string. For hunting excursions, or in summer when +the country is thawed, one pair of boots only is worn. They are of +sealskin, and so well sewed and prepared without the hair, that although +completely saturated, they allow no water to pass through them. The +soles are generally of the tough hide of the walrus, or of the large +seal called Oo-ghioo, so that the feet are well protected in walking +over rough ground. Slippers are sometimes worn outside. In both cases +the boots are tightly fastened round the instep with a thong of leather. +The mittens in common use are of deer-skin, with the hair inside; but, +in fact, every kind of skin is used for them. They are extremely +comfortable when dry; but if once wetted and frozen again, in the winter +afford as little protection to the hands as a case of ice would do. In +summer, and in fishing, excellent sealskin mittens are used, and have +the same power of resisting water as the boots of which I have just +spoken. The dresses I have just described are chiefly used in winter. +During the summer it is customary to wear coats, boots, and even +breeches, composed of the prepared skins of ducks, with the feathers +next the body. These are comfortable, light, and easily prepared. The +few ornaments in their possession are worn by the men. These are some +bandeaus which encircle the head, and are composed of various-coloured +leather, plaited in a mosaic pattern, and in some cases having human +hair woven in them, as a contrast to the white skins. From the lower +edge foxes' teeth hang suspended, arranged as a fringe across the +forehead. Some wear a musk-ox tooth, a bit of ivory, or a small piece +of bone. + +"The clothing of the women is of the same materials as that of the men, +but in shape almost every part is different from the male dress. An +inner jacket is worn next the skin, and the fur of the other is outside. +The hind-flap, or tail, is of the same form before described, but there +is also a small flap in front, extending about halfway down the thigh. +The coats have each an immense hood, which, as well as covering the +head, answers the purpose of a child's cradle for two or three years +after the birth of an infant. In order to keep the burden of the child +from drawing the dress tight across the throat, a contrivance, in a +great measure resembling the slings of a soldier's knapsack, is affixed +to the collar or neck part, whence it passes beneath the hood, crosses, +and, being brought under the arms, is secured on each side the breast by +a wooden button. The shoulders of the women's coat have a bag-like +space, for the purpose of facilitating the removal of the child from the +hood round to the breast without taking it out of the jacket. + +"A girdle is sometimes worn round the waist: it answers the double +purposes of comfort and ornament; being composed of what they consider +valuable trinkets, such as foxes' bones (those of the rableeaghioo), or +sometimes of the ears of deer, which hang in pairs to the number of +twenty or thirty, and are trophies of the skill of the hunter, to whom +the wearer is allied. The inexpressibles of the women are in the some +form as those of the men, but they are not ornamented by the same +curious arrangement of colours; the front part is generally of white, +and the back of dark fur. The manner of securing them at the waist is +also the same; but the drawing-strings are of much greater length, being +suffered to hang down by one side, and their ends are frequently +ornamented with some pendent jewel, such as a grinder or two of the +musk-ox, a piece of ivory, a small ball of wood, or a perforated stone. + +"The boots of the fair sex are, without dispute, the most extraordinary +part of their equipment, and are of such an immense size as to resemble +leather sacks, and to give a most deformed, and, at the same time, +ludicrous appearance to the whole figure, the bulky part being at the +knee; the upper end is formed into a pointed flap, which, covering the +front of the thigh, is secured by a button or knot within the waistband +of the breeches. + +"Some of these ample articles of apparel are composed with considerable +taste, of various-coloured skins; they also have them of parchment,-- +seals' leather. Two pairs are worn; and the feet have also a pair of +sealskin slippers, which fit close, and are tightly tied round the +ankle. + +"Children have no kind of clothing, but lie naked in their mothers' +hoods until two or three years of age, when they are stuffed into a +little dress, generally of fawn-skin, which has jacket and breeches in +one, the back part being open; into these they are pushed, when a string +or two closes all up again. A cap forms an indispensable part of the +equipment, and is generally of some fantastical shape; the skin of a +fawn's head is a favourite material in the composition, and is sometimes +seen with the ears perfect; the nose and holes for the eyes lying along +the crown of the wearer's head, which in consequence, looks like that of +an animal." + +The same author also gives a most graphic description of the curious +winter dwellings of the Esquimaux, which on many parts of the coast are +built out of the only materials to be had,--_ice and snow_! Snow for +the walls and ice for the windows! you might fancy the house of the +Esquimaux to be a very cold dwelling; such, however, is by no means its +character. + +"The entrance to the dwellings," says Captain Lyon, "was by a hole, +about a yard in diameter, which led through a low-arched passage of +sufficient breadth for two to pass in a stooping posture, and about +sixteen feet in length; another hole then presented itself, and led +through a similarly-shaped, but shorter passage, having at its +termination a round opening, about two feet across. Up this hole we +crept one step, and found ourselves in a dome about seven feet in +height, and as many in diameter, from whence the three dwelling-places, +with arched roofs, were entered. It must be observed that this is the +description of a large hut, the smaller ones, containing one or two +families, have the domes somewhat differently arranged. + +"Each dwelling might be averaged at fourteen or sixteen feet in diameter +by six or seven in height, but as snow alone was used in their +construction, and was always at hand, it might be supposed that there +was no particular size, that being of course at the option of the +builder. The laying of the arch was performed in such a manner as would +have satisfied the most regular artist, the key-piece on the top, being +a large square slab. The blocks of snow used in the buildings were from +four to six inches in thickness, and about a couple of feet in length, +carefully pared with a large knife. Where two families occupied a dome, +a seat was raised on either side, two feet in height. These raised +places were used as beds, and covered in the first place with whalebone, +sprigs of andromeda, or pieces of sealskin, over these were spread +deer-pelts and deer-skin clothes, which had a very warm appearance. The +pelts were used as blankets, and many of them had ornamental fringes of +leather sewed round their edges. + +"Each dwelling-place was illumined by a broad piece of transparent +fresh-water ice, of about two feet in diameter, which formed part of the +roof, and was placed over the door. These windows gave a most pleasing +light, free from glare, and something like that which is thrown through +ground glass. We soon learned that the building of a house was but the +work of an hour or two, and that a couple of men--one to cut the slabs +and the other to lay them--were labourers sufficient. + +"For the support of the lamps and cooking apparatus, a mound of snow is +erected for each family; and when the master has two wives or a mother, +both have an independent place, one at each end of the bench. + +"I find it impossible to attempt describing everything at a second +visit, and shall therefore only give an account of those articles of +furniture which must be always the same, and with which, in five +minutes, any one might be acquainted. A frame, composed of two or three +broken fishing-spears, supported in the first place a large hoop of wood +or bone, across which an open-meshed, and ill-made net was spread or +worked for the reception of wet or damp clothes, skins, etc, which could +be dried by the heat of the lamp. On this contrivance the master of +each hut placed his gloves on entering, first carefully clearing them of +snow. + +"From the frame above mentioned, one or more coffin-shaped stone pots +were suspended over lamps of the same material, crescent-shaped, and +having a ridge extending along their back; the bowl part was filled with +blubber, and the oil and wicks were ranged close together along the +edge. The wicks were made of moss and trimmed by a piece of asbestos, +stone, or wood; near at hand a large bundle of moss was hanging for a +future supply. The lamps were supported by sticks, bones, or pieces of +horn, at a sufficient height to admit an oval pot of wood or whalebone +beneath, in order to catch any oil that might drop from them. The lamps +varied considerably in size, from two feet to six inches in length, and +the pots were equally irregular, holding from two or three gallons to +half a pint. Although I have mentioned a kind of scaffolding, these +people did not all possess so grand an establishment, many being +contented to suspend their pot to a piece of bone stuck in the wall of +the hut. One young woman was quite a caricature in this way: she was +the inferior wife of a young man, whose senior lady was of a large size, +and had a corresponding lamp, etc, at one corner; while she herself, +being short and fat, had a lamp the size of half a dessert-plate, and a +pot which held a pint only. + +"Almost every family was possessed of a large wooden tray, resembling +those used by butchers in England; its offices, however, as we soon +perceived, were more various, some containing raw flesh of seals and +blubber, and others, skins, which were steeping in urine. A quantity of +variously-sized bowls of whalebone, wood, or skin, completed the list of +vessels, and it was evident that they were made to contain _anything_." + +The Esquimaux use two kinds of boats,--the "oomiak" and "kayak." The +oomiak is merely a large species of punt, used exclusively by the women; +but the kayak is a triumph in the art of naval architecture, and is as +elegant as it is ingenious. It is about twenty-five feet in length, and +less than two in breadth of beam. In shape it has been compared to a +weaver's shuttle, though it tapers much more elegantly than this piece +of machinery. It is decked from stem to stern, excepting a circular +hole very nearly amidships, and this round hatchway is just large enough +to admit the body of an Esquimaux in a sitting posture. Around the rim +of the circle is a little ridge, sometimes higher in front than at the +back, and this ridge is often ornamented with a hoop of ivory. A flat +piece of wood runs along each side of the frame, and is, in fact, the +only piece of any strength in a kayak. Its depth in the centre is four +or five inches, and its thickness about three fourths of an inch; it +tapers to a point at the commencement of the stem and stern projections. +Sixty-four ribs are fastened to this gunwale piece; seven slight rods +run the whole length of the bottom and outside the ribs. The bottom is +rounded, and has no keel; twenty-two little beams or cross-pieces keep +the frame on a stretch above, and one strong batten runs along the +centre, from stem to stern, being, of course, discontinued at the seat +part. The ribs are made of ground willow, also of whalebone, or, if it +can be procured, of good-grained wood. The whole contrivance does not +weigh over fifty or sixty pounds; so that a man easily carries his kayak +on his head, which, by the form of the rim, he can do without the +assistance of his hands. + +An Esquimaux prides himself in the neat appearance of his boat, and has +a warm skin placed in its bottom to sit on. His posture is with the +legs pointed forward, and he cannot change his position without the +assistance of another person; in all cases where a weight is to be +lifted, an alteration of stowage, or any movement to be made, it is +customary for two kayaks to lie together; and the paddle of each being +placed across the other, they form a steady double boat. An inflated +seal's bladder forms, invariably, part of the equipage of a canoe, and +the weapons are confined in their places by small lines of whalebone, +stretched tightly across the upper covering, so as to receive the points +or handles of the spears beneath them. Flesh is frequently stowed +within the stem or stern, as are also birds and eggs; but a seal, +although round, and easily made to roll, is so neatly balanced on the +upper part of the boat as seldom to require a lashing. When Esquimaux +are not paddling, their balance must be nicely preserved, and a +trembling motion is always observable in the boat. The most difficult +position for managing a kayak is when going before the wind, and with a +little swell running. Any inattention would instantly; by exposing the +broadside, overturn this frail vessel. The dexterity with which they +are turned, the velocity of their way, and the extreme elegance of form +of the kayaks, render an Esquimaux of the highest interest when sitting +independently, and urging his course towards his prey. + +"The paddle is double-bladed, nine feet three inches in length, small at +the grasp, and widening to four inches at the blades, which are thin, +and edged with ivory for strength as well as ornament. + +"The next object of importance to the boat is the sledge, which finds +occupation during at least three fourths of the year. A man who +possesses both this and a canoe is considered a person of property. To +give a particular description of the sledge would be impossible, as +there are no two actually alike; and the materials of which they are +composed are as various as their form. The best are made of the +jaw-bones of the whale, sawed to about two inches in thickness, and in +depth from six inches to a foot. These are the runners, and are shod +with a thin plank of the same material; the side-pieces are connected by +means of bones, pieces of wood, or deers' horns, lashed across, with a +few inches space between each, and they yield to any great strain which +the sledge may receive. The general breadth of the upper part of the +sledge is about twenty inches; but the runners lean inwards, and +therefore at bottom it is rather greater. The length of bone sledges is +from four feet to fourteen. Their weight is necessarily great; and one +of moderate size, that is to say, about ten or twelve feet, was found to +be two hundred and seventeen pounds. The skin of the walrus is very +commonly used during the coldest part of the winter, as being +hard-frozen, and resembling an inch board, with ten times the strength, +for runners. Another ingenious contrivance is, by casing moss and earth +in seal's skin, so that by pouring a little water, a round hard bolster +is easily formed. Across all these kinds of runners there is the same +arrangement of bones, sticks, etc, on the upper part; and the surface +which passes over the snow is coated with ice, by mixing snow with fresh +water, which assists greatly in lightening the load for the dogs, as it +slides forwards with ease. Boys frequently amuse themselves by yoking +several dogs to a small piece of seal's skin, and sitting on it, holding +by the traces. Their plan is then to set off at full speed, and he who +bears the greatest number of bumps before he relinquishes his hold is +considered a very fine fellow. + +"The Esquimaux possess various kinds of spears, but their difference is +chiefly in consequence of the substances of which they are composed, and +not in their general form. + +"One called ka-te-teek, is a large and strong-handled spear, with an +ivory point made for despatching any wounded animal in the water. It is +never thrown, but has a place appropriated for it on the kayak. + +"The oonak is a lighter kind than the former; also ivory-headed. It has +a bladder fastened to it, and has a loose head with a line attached; +this being darted into an animal, is instantly liberated from the handle +which gives the impetus. Some few of these weapons are constructed of +the solid ivory of the unicorn's horn, about four feet in length, and +remarkably well-rounded and polished. + +"Ip-poo-too-yoo, is another kind of hand-spear, varying but little from +the one last described. It has, however, no appendages. + +"The Noogh-wit is of two kinds; but both are used for striking birds, +young animals, or fish. The first has a double fork at the extremity, +and there are three other barbed ones at about half its length, +diverging in different directions, so that if the end pair should miss, +some of the centre ones might strike. The second kind has only three +barbed forks at the head. All the points are of ivory, and the natural +curve of the walrus tusk favours and facilitates their construction. + +"Amongst the minor instruments of the ice-hunting are a long bone feeler +for plumbing any cracks through which seals are suspected of breathing, +and also for trying the safety of the road. Another contrivance is +occasionally used with the same effect as the float of a fishing-line. +Its purpose it to warn the hunter, who is watching a seal-hole, when the +animal rises to the surface, so that he may strike without seeing, or +being seen, by his prey. This is a most delicate little rod of bone or +ivory, of about a foot in length, and the thickness of a fine +knitting-needle. At the lower end is a small knob like a pin's head, +and the upper extremity has a fine piece of sinew tied to it, so as to +fasten it loosely to the side of the hole. The animal, on rising, does +not perceive so small an object hanging in the water, and pushes it up +with his nose, when the watchful Esquimaux, observing his little beacon +in motion, strikes down, and secures his prize. + +"Small ivory pegs or pins are used to stop the holes made by the spears +in the animal's body; thus the blood, a great luxury to the natives, is +saved. + +"The same want of wood which renders it necessary to find substitutes in +the construction of spears, also occasions the great variety of bows. +The horn of the musk-ox, thinned horns of deer, or other bony +substances, are as frequently used or met with as wood, in the +manufacture of these weapons, in which elasticity is a secondary +consideration. Three or four pieces of horn or wood are frequently +joined together in one bow,--the strength lying alone in a vast +collection of small plaited sinews; these, to the number of perhaps a +hundred, run down the back of the bow, and being quite tight, and having +the spring of catgut, cause the weapon, when unstrung, to turn the wrong +way; when bent, their united strength and elasticity are amazing. The +bowstring is of fifteen to twenty plaits, each loose from the other, but +twisted round when in use, so that a few additional turns will at any +time alter its length. The general length of the bows is about three +feet and a half. + +"The arrows are short, light, and formed according to no general rule as +to length or thickness. A good one has half the shaft of bone, and a +head of hard slate, or a small piece of iron; others have +sharply-pointed bone heads: none are barbed. Two feathers are used for +the end, and are tied opposite each other, with the flat sides parallel. +A neatly-formed case contains the bow and a few arrows. Sealskin is +preferred for this purpose, as more effectually resisting the wet than +any other. A little bag, which is attached to the side, contains a +stone for sharpening, and some spare arrow-heads carefully wrapped up in +a piece of skin. + +"The bow is held in a horizontal position, and though capable of great +force, is rarely used at a greater distance than from twelve to twenty +yards." + +Their houses, clothing, sledges, boats, utensils, and arms, being now +described, it only remains to be seen in what manner these most singular +people pass their time, how they supply themselves with food, and how +they manage to support life during the long dark winter, and the scarce +less hospitable summer of their rigorous clime. Their occupations from +year to year are carried on with an almost unvarying regularity, though, +like their dresses, they change according to the season. + +Their short summer is chiefly employed in hunting the reindeer, and +other quadrupeds,--for the simple reason that it is at this season that +these appear in greatest numbers among them, migrating northward as the +snow thaws from the valleys and hill-sides. Not but that they also kill +the reindeer in other seasons, for these animals do not all migrate +southward on the approach of winter, a considerable number remaining all +the year upon the shores of the Arctic Sea, as well as the islands to +the north of them. Of course, the Esquimaux kills a reindeer when and +where he can; and it may be here remarked, that in no part of the +American continent has the reindeer been trained or domesticated as +among the Laplanders and the people of Russian Asia. Neither the +Northern Indians (Tinne) nor the Esquimaux have ever reached this degree +in domestic civilisation, and this fact is one of the strongest points +of difference between the American Esquimaux and their kindred races in +the north of Asia. One tribe of true Esquimaux alone hold the reindeer +in subjection, viz the Tuski, already mentioned, on the Asiatic shore; +and it might easily be shown that the practice reached them from the +contiguous countries of northern Asia. The American Esquimaux, like +those of Greenland, possess only the dog as a domesticated animal; and +him they have trained to draw their sledges in a style that exhibits the +highest order of skill, and even elegance. The Esquimaux dog is too +well-known to require particular description. He is often brought to +this country in the return ships of Arctic whalers and voyagers; and his +thick, stout body covered closely with long stiff hair of a whitish or +yellowish colour, his cocked ears and smooth muzzle, and, above all, the +circle-like curling of his bushy tail, will easily be remembered by any +one who has ever seen this valuable animal. + +In summer, then, the Esquimaux desert their winter houses upon the +shore, and taking with them their tents make an excursion into the +interior. They do not go far from the sea--no farther than is necessary +to find the valleys browsed by the reindeer, and the fresh-water lakes, +which, at this season, are frequented by flocks of swans, geese of +various kinds, ducks, and other aquatic birds. Hunting the reindeer +forms their principal occupation at this time; but, of course, "all is +fish that comes into the net" of an Esquimaux; and they also employ +themselves in capturing the wild fowl and the fresh-water fish, in which +these lakes abound. With the wild fowl it is the breeding and moulting +season, and the Esquimaux not only rob them of their eggs, but take +large numbers of the young before they are sufficiently fledged to +enable them to fly, and also the old ones while similarly incapacitated +from their condition of "moult." In their swift kayaks which they have +carried with them on their heads, they can pursue the fluttering flocks +over any part of a lake, and overtake them wherever they may go. This +is a season of great plenty in the larder of the _Inuit_. + +The fresh-water fish are struck with spears out of the kayaks, or, when +there is ice on the water strong enough to bear the weight of a man, the +fish are captured in a different manner. A hole is broken in the ice, +the broken fragments are skimmed off and cast aside, and then the +fisherman lets down a shining bauble--usually the white tooth of some +animal--to act as a bait. This he keeps bobbing about until the fish, +perceiving it afar off through the translucent water, usually approaches +to reconnoitre, partly from curiosity, but more, perhaps, to see if it +be anything to eat. When near enough the Esquimaux adroitly pins the +victim with his fish spear, and lands it upon the ice. This species of +fishing is usually delivered over to the boys--the time of the hunters +being too valuable to be wasted in waiting for the approach of the fish +to the decoy, an event of precarious and uncertain occurrence. + +In capturing the reindeer, the Esquimaux practises no method very +different from that used by "still hunters" in other parts of America. +He has to depend alone upon his bow and arrows, but with these poor +weapons he contrives to make more havoc among a herd of deer than would +a backwoods hunter with his redoubtable rifle. There is no mystery +about his superior management. It consists simply in the exhibition of +the great strategy and patience with which he makes his approaches, +crawling from point to point and using every available cover which the +ground may afford. + +But all this would be of little avail were it not for a _ruse_ which he +puts in practice, and which brings the unsuspecting deer within reach of +his deadly arrows. This consists in a close imitation of the cries of +the animal, so close that the sharp-eared creature itself cannot detect +the counterfeit, but, drawing nearer and nearer to the rock or bush from +which the call appears to proceed, falls a victim to the deception. The +silent arrow makes no audible sound; the herd, if slightly disturbed at +seeing one of their number fall, soon compose themselves, and go on +browsing upon the grass or licking up the lichen. Another is attracted +by the call, and another, who fall in their turn victims either to their +curiosity or the instinct of amorous passions. + +For this species of hunting, the bow far excels any other weapon; even +the rifle is inferior to it. + +Sometimes the Esquimaux take the deer in large numbers, by hunting them +with dogs, driving the herd into some defile or _cul de sac_ among the +rocks, and then killing them at will with their arrows and javelins. +This, however, is an exceptional case, as such natural "pounds" are not +always at hand. The Indians farther south construct artificial +enclosures; but in the Esquimaux country there is neither time nor +material for such elaborate contrivances. + +The Esquimaux who dwell in those parts frequented by the musk-oxen, hunt +these animals very much as they do the reindeer; but killing a musk +bull, or cow either, Is a feat of far grander magnitude, and requires +more address than shooting a tiny deer. + +I have said that the Esquimaux do not, even in these hunting excursions, +stray very far into the interior. There is a good reason for their +keeping close to the seashore. Were they to penetrate far into the land +they would be in danger of meeting with their _bitter_ foemen, the +_Tinne_ Indians, who in this region also hunt reindeer and musk-oxen. +War to the knife is the practice between these two races of people, and +has ever been since the first knowledge of either. They often meet in +conflict upon the rivers inland, and these conflicts are of so cruel and +sanguinary a nature as to imbue each with a wholesome fear of the other. +The Indians, however, dread the Esquimaux more than the latter fear +them; and up to a late period took good care never to approach their +coasts; but the musket and rifle have now got into the hands of some of +the northern tribes, who avail themselves of these superior weapons, not +only to keep the Esquimaux at bay, but also to render them more cautious +about extending their range towards the interior. + +When the dreary winter begins to make its appearance, and the reindeer +grow scarce upon the snow-covered plains, the Esquimaux return to their +winter villages upon the coast. Quadrupeds and birds no longer occupy +their whole attention, for the drift of their thoughts is now turned +towards the inhabitants of the great deep. The seal and the walrus are +henceforth the main objects of pursuit. Perhaps during the summer, when +the water was open, they may have visited the shore for the purpose of +capturing that great giant of the icy seas--a whale. If so, and they +have been successful in only one or two captures, they may look forward +to a winter of plenty--since the flesh of a full-grown whale, or, better +still, a brace of such ample creatures, would be sufficient to feed a +whole tribe for months. + +They have no curing process for this immense carcass; they stand in need +of none. Neither salt nor smoking is required in their climate. Jack +Frost is their provision curer, and performs the task without putting +them either to trouble or expense. It is only necessary for them to +hoist the great flitches upon scaffolds, already erected for the +purpose, so as to keep the meat from the wolves, wolverines, foxes, and +their own half-starved dogs. From their aerial larder they can cut a +piece of blubber whenever they feel hungry, or they have a mind to eat, +and this _mind_ they are in so long as a morsel is left. + +Their mode of capturing a whale is quite different from that practised +by the whale-fishers. When the huge creature is discovered near, the +whole tribe sally forth, and surround it in their kayaks; they then hurl +darts into its body, but instead of these having long lines attached to +them, they are provided with sealskins sewed up air-tight and inflated, +like bladders. When a number of these become attached to the body of +the whale, the animal, powerful though he be, finds great difficulty in +sinking far down, or even progressing rapidly through the water. He +soon rises to the surface, and the sealskin buoys indicate his +whereabouts to the occupants of the kayaks, who in their swift little +crafts, soon dart up to him again, and shoot a fresh volley into his +body. In this way the whale is soon "wearied out," and then falls a +victim to their larger spears, just as in the case where a capture is +made by regular, whalers. + +I need scarcely add that a success of this kind is hailed as a jubilee +of the tribe, since it not only brings a benefit to the whole community, +but is also a piece of fortune of somewhat rare occurrence. + +When no whales have been taken, the long, dark winter may justly be +looked forward to with some solicitude; and it is then that the +Esquimaux requires to put forth all his skill and energies for the +capture of the walrus or the seal--the latter of which may be regarded +as the staff of his life, furnishing him not only with food, but with +light, fuel, and clothing for his body and limbs. + +Of the seals that inhabit the Polar Seas there are several species; but +the common seal (_Calocephalus vitulina_) and the harp-seal +(_Calocephalus Groenlandicus_) are those most numerous, and consequently +the principal object of pursuit. + +The Esquimaux uses various stratagems for taking these creatures, +according to the circumstances in which they may be encountered; and +simpletons as the seals may appear, they are by no means easy of +capture. They are usually very shy and suspicious, even in places where +man has never been seen by them. They have other enemies, especially in +the great polar bear; and the dread of this tyrant of the icy seas keeps +them ever on the alert. Notwithstanding their watchfulness, however, +both the bear and the biped make great havoc among them, and each year +hundreds of thousands of them are destroyed. + +The bear, in capturing seals, exhibits a skill and cunning scarce +excelled by that of the rational being himself. When this great +quadruped perceives a seal basking on the edge of an ice-field, he makes +his approaches, not by rushing directly towards it, which he well knows +would defeat his purpose. If once seen by the seal, the latter has only +to betake himself to the water, where it can soon sink or swim beyond +the reach of the bear. To prevent this, the bear gets well to leeward, +and then diving below the surface, makes his approaches under water, now +and then cautiously raising his head to get the true bearings of his +intended victim. After a number of these subaqueous "reaches," he gets +close in to the edge of the floe in such a position as to cut off the +seal's retreat to the water. A single spring brings him on the ice, and +then, before the poor seal has time to make a brace of flounders, it +finds itself locked in the deadly embrace of the bear. When seals are +thus detected asleep, the Esquimaux approaches them in his kayak, taking +care to paddle cautiously and silently. If he succeed in getting +between them and the open water, he kills them in the ordinary way--by +simply knocking them on the snout with a club, or piercing them with a +spear. Sometimes, however, the seal goes to sleep on the surface of the +open water. Then the approach is made in a similar manner by means of +the kayak, and the animal is struck with a harpoon. But a single blow +does not always kill a seal, especially if it be a large one, and the +blow has been ill-directed. In such cases the animal would undoubtedly +make his escape, and carry the harpoon along with it, which would be a +serious loss to the owner, who does not obtain such weapons without +great difficulty. To prevent this, the Esquimaux uses a contrivance +similar to that employed in the capture of the whale,--that is, he +attaches a float or buoy to his harpoon by means of a cord, and this so +impedes the passage of the seal through the water, that it can neither +dive nor swim to any very great distance. The float is usually a walrus +bladder inflated in the ordinary way, and wherever the seal may go, the +float betrays its track, enabling the Esquimaux to follow it in his +shuttle-shaped kayak, and pierce it again with a surer aim. + +In winter, when the sea is quite covered with ice, you might fancy that +the seal-fishery would be at an end, for the seal is essentially a +marine animal; and although it can exist upon the ice or on dry land, it +could not _subsist_ there. Access to the water it must have, in order +to procure its food, which consists of small fish and molluscs. Of +course, when the ice forms on the surface, the seal is in its true +element--the water underneath--but when this ice becomes, as it often +does, a full yard in thickness, extending over hundreds of miles of the +sea, how then is the seal to be got at? It could not be reached at all; +and at such a season the Esquimaux people would undoubtedly starve, were +it not for a habit peculiar to this animal, which, happily for them, +brings it within their reach. + +Though the seal can live under water like a fish, and probably could +pass a whole winter under the ice without much inconvenience, it likes +now and then to take a little fresh air, and have a quiet nap upon the +upper surface in the open air. With this design it breaks a hole +through the ice, while the latter is yet thin, and this hole it keeps +carefully open during the whole winter, clearing out each new crust as +it forms. No matter to what thickness the ice may attain, this hole +always forms a breathing-place for the seal, and a passage by which he +may reach the upper surface, and indulge himself in--his favourite +siesta in the open air. Knowing this habit, the Esquimaux takes +advantage of it to make the seal his captive. When the animal is +discovered on the ice, the hunter approaches with the greatest stealth +and caution. This is absolutely necessary: for if the enemy is +perceived, or makes the slightest noise, the wary seal flounders rapidly +into his hole, and is lost beyond redemption. If badly frightened, he +will not appear for a long time, denying himself his open air exercise +until the patience of his persecutor is quite worn out, and the coast is +again clear. + +In making his approaches, the hunter uses all his art, not only taking +advantage of every inequality--such as snow-drifts and ice-hillocks--to +conceal himself; but he also practises an ingenious deception by +dressing himself in the skin of a seal of like species, giving his body +the figure of the animal, and counterfeiting its motions, by floundering +clumsily over the ice, and oscillating his head from side to side, just +as seals are seen to do. + +This deception often proves successful, when the hunter under any other +shape would in vain endeavour to get within striking distance of his +prey. When seals are scarce, and the supply greatly needed, the +Esquimaux often lies patiently for hours together on the edge of a +seal-hole waiting for the animal to come up. In order to give it time +to get well out upon the ice, the hunter conceals himself behind a heap +of snow, which he has collected and piled up for the purpose. A +float-stick, ingeniously placed in the water of the breathing-hole, +serves as a signal to tell when the seal is mounting through his +trap-like passage, the motion of the stick betraying its ascent. The +hunter then gets himself into the right attitude to strike, and summons +all his energies for the encounter. + +Even during the long, dark night of winter this mode of capturing the +seal is practised. The hunter, having discovered a breathing-hole-- +which its dark colour enables him to find--proceeds in the following +manner: he scrapes away the snow from around it, and lifting up some +water pours it on the ice, so as to make a circle of a darker hue around +the orifice. He then makes a sort of cake of pure white snow, and with +this covers the hole as with a lid. In the centre of this lid he +punches a small opening with the shaft-end of his spear, and then sits +down and patiently awaits the issue. + +The seal ascends unsuspiciously as before. The dark water, bubbling up +through the small central orifice, betrays its approach, which can be +perceived even in the darkest night. The hunter does not wait for its +climbing out upon the ice. Perhaps if he did so, the suspicious +creature might detect the device, and dive down again. But it is not +allowed time for reflection. Before it can turn its unwieldly body, the +heavy spear of the hunter--struck through the yielding snow--descends +upon its skull, and kills it on the instant. + +The great "walrus" or "morse" (_Trichecus rosmarus_) is another +important product of the Polar Seas, and is hunted by the Esquimaux with +great assiduity. This splendid amphibious animal is taken by +contrivances very similar to those used for the seal; but the capture of +a walrus is an event of importance, second only to the striking of a +whale. Its great carcass not only supplies food to a whole village, but +an oil superior to that of the whale, besides various other useful +articles. Its skin, bones, and intestines are employed by the Esquimaux +for many domestic purposes,--and, in addition, there are the huge molar +tusks, that furnish one of the most valuable ivories of commerce, from +which are manufactured those beautiful sets of teeth, of dazzling +whiteness, that, gleaming between vermilion lips, you may often see at a +ball or an evening party! + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +MUNDRUCUS, OR BEHEADERS. + +In our general sketch of the Amazonian Indians it was stated that there +were some few tribes who differed in certain customs from all the rest, +and who might even be regarded as _odd among the odd_. One of these +tribes is the _Mundrucu_, which, from its numbers and warlike strength, +almost deserves to be styled a nation. It is, at all events, a powerful +confederacy, of different tribes, linked together in one common +nationality, and including in their league other Indians which the +Mundrucus themselves first conquered, and afterwards associated with +themselves on terms of equality; in other words, "annexed" them. The +same sort of annexation or alliance is common among the tribes of North +America; as in the case of the powerful Comanche nation, who extend +their protecting alliance over the Wacoes, Washites, and Cayguaas or +Kioways. + +The _Mahue_ is the principal tribe that is patronised in this fashion by +the Mundrucus, and the two together number at least 20,000 souls. + +Before the days of the Portuguese slave-hunting, the Mundrucus occupied +the south bank of the Amazon, from the mouth of the Tapajos to that of +the Madeira. This infamous traffic had the effect of clearing the banks +of the great river of its native inhabitants,--except such of them as +chose to submit to slavery, or become _neophytes_, by adopting the +monkish faith. Neither of these courses appeared pleasing in the eyes +of the Mundrucus, and they adopted the only alternative that was likely +to insure their independence,--by withdrawing from the dangerous +proximity of the sanguinary slave-trade. + +This retreat of the Mundrucus, however, was by no means an ignominious +flight. The withdrawal was voluntary on their part, and not compulsory, +as was the case with weaker tribes. From the earliest times they had +presented a firm front to the Portuguese encroachments, and the latter +were even forced into a sort of nefarious alliance with them. The +leaving the Amazon on the part of the Mundrucus was rather the result of +a negotiation, by which they conceded their territory--between the +mouths of the Tapajos and Madeira--to the Brazilian government; and to +this hour they are not exactly unfriendly to Brazilian _whites_, though +to the mulattoes and negroes, who constitute a large proportion of the +Brazilian population, the Mundrucu knows no other feeling than that of a +deadly hostility. The origin of their hatred of the Brazilian blacks is +to be found in a revolt which occurred in the provinces of the Lower +Amazon (at Para) in 1835. It was a _caste_ revolution against whites, +but more especially against _European_ Portuguese. In this affair the +Mundrucus were employed against the darker-skinned rebels--the +_Gabanos_, as they were called--and did great service in putting down +the rebellion. Hence they retain a lingering spark of friendship for +their _ci-devant_ white allies; or perhaps it would be more correct to +say they do not actually hate them, but carry on a little commerce with +their traders. For all that, they occasionally cut the throats of a few +of the latter,--especially those who do not come to deal directly with +them, but who pass through their country in going from the Amazon to the +diamond mines of Brazil. These last are called _Moncaos_, and their +business is to carry supplies from the towns on the Amazon (Santarem and +Para) to the miners of gold and washers of diamonds in the district of +Matto Grosso, of which Cuiaba is the capital. Their route is by water +and "portage" up the Tapajos river, and through the territory of the +dreaded Mundrucus,--requiring a journey of six months, as perilous and +toilsome as it is tedious. + +The present residence of the Mundrucus is between the Tapajos and +Madeira, as formerly, but far up on both rivers. On the Tapajos, above +what are known as the "Caxoeiras," or Cataracts, their villages are +found. There they dwell, free from all molestation on the part of the +whites; their borders extending widely around them, and limited only by +contact with those of other warlike tribes like themselves, who are +their deadly enemies. Among these last are the _Muras_, who dwell at +the mouths of the Madeira and Rio Negro. + +The Mundrucus build the _malocca_, elsewhere described; only in their +case it is not used as a dwelling, but rather as a grand arsenal, a +council-chamber, a ballroom, and, if need be, a fortress. When fearing +an attack, all sleep in it "under arms." It is a structure of large +size and great strength, usually rendered more unassailable by being +"chinked" and plastered with clay. It is in this building that are +deposited those horrid trophies which have given to the Mundrucus their +terrible title of _decapitadores_, or "beheaders." The title and its +origin shall be presently explained. + +Around the great malocca the huts are placed, forming a village, and in +these the people ordinarily dwell. + +The Mundrucus are not without ample means of subsistence. Like most +other Amazonian tribes, they cultivate a little manioc, plantains, and +even maize; and they know how to prepare the _farinha_ meal, and, +unfortunately, also the detestable _chicha_, the universal beverage of +the South-American aborigines. They have their vessels of calabash-- +both of the vegetable and arborescent kinds--and a full set of +implements and utensils for the field and kitchen. Their war weapons +are those common to other Amazonian tribes, and they sometimes also +carry the spear. They have canoes of hollow trees; and, of course, +fishing and hunting are the employments of the men,--the women, as +almost everywhere else among Indians, doing the drudgery,--the tilling +and reaping, the "hewing of wood and the drawing of water," the making +the household utensils and using them,--all such offices being beneath +the dignity of the "lordly," or rather _lazy_ savage. + +I have said that they carry on a commercial intercourse with the white +traders. It is not of much magnitude, and their exports consist +altogether of the native and spontaneous productions of the soil, +sarsaparilla being one of the chief articles. They gather this (the +women and children do) during six months of the year. The other six +months no industry is followed,--as this period is spent in hostile +excursions against the neighbouring tribes. Their imports consist of +iron tools and pieces for weapons; but they more especially barter the +product of their labour for ornamental gewgaws,--such as savages +universally admire and desire. Their sarsaparilla is good, and much +sought for in the medical market. + +Every one is acquainted with the nature and character of this valuable +medicinal root, the appearance of which must also be known to almost +everybody,--since it is so very common for our druggists to display the +bundles of it in their shop windows. Perhaps every one is not +acquainted with the fact, that the sarsaparilla root is the product of a +great many different species of plants most of them of the genus +_Simlax_, but not a few belonging to plants of other genera, as those of +_Carex_ and _Herreria_ the roots of which are also sold as sarsaparilla. +The species of simlax are widely distributed throughout the whole +torrid zone, in Asia, Africa, and America, and some kinds are found +growing many degrees outside the tropics,--as is the case in Virginia +and the valley of the Mississippi, and also on the other side of the +Pacific on the great continent-island of Australia. + +The best sarsaparilla, however, is that which is produced in tropical +countries, and especially in moist situations, where the atmosphere is +at once hot and humid. It requires these conditions to concentrate the +virtue of its sap, and render it more active. + +It would be idle to give a list of the different species of simlax that +furnish the sarsaparilla root of the pharmacopeia. There is an almost +endless number of them, and they are equally varied in respect to +excellence of quality; some kinds are in reality almost worthless, and +for this reason, in using it as a medicine, great care should be taken +in the selection of the species. Like all other articles, either of +food or medicine, the valuable kinds are the scarcest; the reason in +this case being that the best sarsaparilla is found in situations not +only difficult of access, but where the gathering of its root is +attended with considerable danger, from the unhealthy nature of the +climate and the hostility of the savages in whose territory it grows. +As to the quantity that may be obtained, there is no limit, on the score +of any scarcity of the plant itself, since it is found throughout all +the countries of tropical America plenteously distributed both in +species and individual plants. Such quantities of it grow along the +banks of some South-American rivers, that the Indians have a belief that +those streams known as _black waters_--such as the Rio Negro and +others--derive their peculiar colour from the roots of this plant. +This, however, is an erroneous supposition, as there are many of the +_white-water_ rivers that run through regions abundantly supplied with +the sarsaparilla root. The black water, therefore, must arise from some +other cause, as yet unknown. + +As observed, the sarsaparilla of the Mundrucu country is of the very +best quality. It is the _Simlax papyracea_ of Soiret, and is known in +commerce as the "Lisbon," or "Brazilian." It is a climbing plant, or +under-shrub, the stem of which is flattened and angular, with rows of +prickles standing along the prominent edges. Its leaves are of an oval +acuminated shape, and marked with _longitudinal_ nerves. It shoots +without any support, to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, after which +it embraces the surrounding branches of trees and spreads to a great +distance in every direction. The main root sends out many long +tendrils, all of like thickness, covered with a brownish bark, or +sometimes of a dark-grey colour. These tendrils are fibrous, and about +as thick as a quill. They present a constant tendency to become +crooked, and they are also wrinkled longitudinally, with here and there +some smaller lateral fibres branching off from the sides. + +It is in the bark or epidermis of the rhizomes that the medicinal virtue +lies; but the tendrils--both rhizome and bark--are collected together, +and no attempt is made to separate them, until they have reached their +commercial destination. Indeed, even these are sold together, the mode +of preparing the root being left to the choice of the consumer, or the +apothecary who procures it. + +The Mundrucus collect it during the six months of the rainy season, +partly because during the remaining six they are otherwise employed, and +partly for the reason that, in the time of rain, the roots are more +easily extracted from the damp soil. The process simply consists in +digging them up or dragging them out of the earth--the latter mode +especially where the tendrils lie near the surface, and they will pull +up without breaking. If the main root be not dug out, it will send +forth new tendrils, which in a short time would yield a new crop; but +the improvident savages make no prudential calculations of this kind-- +present convenience forming their sole consideration; and on this +account both the root and plant are generally destroyed by them during +the operation of collecting. + +As already stated, this labour devolves upon the women, who are also +assisted in it by their children. They proceed into the depths of the +forest--where the simlax grows in greatest abundance--and after +collecting as much root as they can carry home with them, they return +with their bundles to the malocca When fresh gathered the sarsaparilla +is heavy enough--partly on account of the sap which it then contains, +and partly from the quantity of the mud or earth that adheres to the +corrugated surface of the roots. + +It is extremely probable that in this fresh state the virtue of the +sarsaparilla, as a blood-purifier, is much greater than after it has +passed through the channels of commerce; and the writer of this sketch +has some reason, derived from personal experience, to believe that such +is the case. Certain it is, that the reputation of this invaluable drug +is far less in countries where the plant does not grow, than in those +where it is common and can be obtained in its fresh state. In all parts +of Spanish America its virtues are unquestioned, and experience has led +to a more extensive use of it there than elsewhere. It is probable, +therefore, that the virtue exists in the juice rather than the cortical +integument of the rhizome; and this of course would be materially +altered and deteriorated, if not altogether destroyed, in the process of +exsiccation, which must necessarily take place in the time required for +transporting it to distant parts of the world. In the European +pharmacopeia it is the epidermis of the root which is supposed to +contain the sanitary principle; and this, which is of a mucilaginous +nature and slightly bitter taste, is employed, both in decoctions and +infusions, as a tonic and alterative. In America, however, it is +generally taken for what is termed _purifying the blood_--for the same +purpose as the rhizomes of the _Lauras sassafras_ and other plants are +used; but the sarsaparilla is generally considered the best, and it +certainly _is_ the best of all known medicines for this purpose. Why it +has fallen in the estimation of the Old World practitioners, or why it +never obtained so great a reputation as it has in America, may arise +from two circumstances. First, that the root offered for sale is +generally the product of the less valuable species; and second, that the +sap, and not the rhizome, may be the part that contains the virtuous +principle. + +When the collected roots have been kept for awhile they become dry and +light, and for the convenience of stowage and carriage--an important +consideration to the trader in his eight-ton _garratea_--it is necessary +to have the roots done up in packages of a uniform length and thickness. +These packages are formed by laying the roots side by side, and +doubling in the ends of the longer ones. A bundle of the proper size +for stowage contains an _arroba_ of twenty-five pounds, though the +weight varies according to the condition of the root. Uniformity in +size is the chief object aimed at, and the bundles are made of a round +or cylindrical shape, about five inches in diameter, and something more +than a yard in length. They are trimmed off small at the ends--so as to +admit of stowage without leaving any empty space between two tiers of +them--and each bundle is tightly corded round from one end to the other +with a "sipo," or creeping plant. + +It has been stated that this "sipo" is a root of the sarsaparilla +itself, with the bark scraped off; and, indeed, its own root would serve +well enough--were it not that putting it to such a use would destroy its +medicinal value, and thus cause a considerable waste of the costly +material. The sarsaparilla is not to be had for nothing even upon the +banks of the Tapajos. A bundle of the best quality does not leave the +hands of the Mundrucu until about four dollars' worth of exchange +commodities have been put into them, which would bring the price of it +to something over sixpence a pound. He is, therefore, a little +particular about wasting a material that has cost him--or rather his +wife and children--so much trouble in collecting. His cordage is +obtained more cheaply, and consists of the long, flexible roots of a +species of _pothos_, which roots--being what are termed _aerial_ and not +buried in the ground--require no labour or digging to get at them. It +is only necessary to stretch up the hand, and pull them down from the +tops of lofty trees, from which they hang like streamers, often to the +length of a hundred feet. These are toughened by the bark being scraped +off; and when that is done they are ready for use, and serve not only to +tie up the bundles of sarsaparilla, but for many other purposes in the +domestic economy of the Mundrucus. + +In addition to the sarsaparilla, the Mundrucu furnishes the trader with +several other items of commercial value--for his climate, although one +of the most unhealthy in all the Amazon region, on account of its great +heat and humidity, is for that very reason one of the most fertile. +Nearly all those tropical vegetable products which are characteristics +of Brazilian export commerce can here be produced of the most luxuriant +kind; but it is only those that grow spontaneously at his very doors +that tempt the Mundrucu to take the trouble of collecting them. + +There is one article however, which he not only takes some trouble to +collect, but also to manufacture into an item of commercial exchange--a +very rare item indeed. This is the _guarana_, which is manufactured +from the fruit of a tree almost peculiar to the Mundrucu territory-- +since nowhere is it found so abundantly as on the Tapajos. It is so +prized in the Brazilian settlements as to command almost its weight in +silver when transported thither. It is the constituent element of a +drink, which has a stimulating effect on the system, somewhat more +powerful than tea or coffee. It will prevent sleep; but its most +valuable property is, that it is a good febrifuge, equal to the best +quinine. _Guarana_ is prepared from the seeds of an inga--one of the +_Mimosacae_. It is a low, wide-spreading tree like most of the mimosa +family. The legumes are gathered, and the seeds roasted in them. The +latter are then taken out, and after being ground to powder, are mixed +with water so as to make a tough paste, which is moulded into little +bricks, and when dried is ready for use. The beverage is then prepared +by scraping a table-spoonful of dust from the brick, and mixing it with +about a pint of water; and the dry paste, keeping for any length of +time, is ready whenever wanted. + +The _guarana_ bush grows elsewhere in the Amazon valley, and on some +headwaters of the Orinoco, where certain tribes also know how to prepare +the drink. But it is sparingly distributed, and is nowhere so common as +on the upper Tapajos hence its high price in the markets of Brazil. The +Mundrucu manufactures it, not only for "home use," but for +"exportation." + +He prepares another singular article of luxury, and this he makes +exclusively for his own use,--not for the gratification of his lips or +palate, but for his nose,--in other words, a snuff. Do not fancy, +however, that it is snuff of the ordinary kind--the pulverised produce +of innocent tobacco. No such thing; but a composition of such a +powerful and stimulating character, that he who inhales it feels as if +struck by an electric shock; his body trembles; his eyes start forward +as if they would forsake their sockets; his limbs fail to support him; +and he drops to the earth like one in a state of intoxication! For a +short time he is literally mad; but the fit is soon over,--lasting +usually only a few minutes,--and then a feeling of renewed strength, +courage, and joyousness succeeds. Such are the consequences of taking +snuff with a Mundrucu. + +And now to describe the nature of the substance which produces these +powerful effects. + +Like the _guarana_ this snuff is a preparation, having for its basis the +seeds of a leguminous tree. This time, however, it is an _acacia_, not +an _inga_. It is the _acacia niopo_; so called because "niopo" is the +name given to the snuff itself by certain tribes (the Ottomacs and +others), who, like the Mundrucus, are snuff-takers. It is also called +_curupa_, and the apparatus for preparing and taking it--for there is an +apparatus of an extensive kind--is termed _parica_, in the general +language (_lingoa geral_) of the Amazonian regions. + +We shall describe the preparation, the apparatus, and the ceremonial. + +The pods of the _Acacia niopo_--a small tree, with very delicate pinnate +leaves--are plucked when ripe. They are then cut into small pieces and +flung into a vessel of water. In this they remain until macerated, and +until the seeds have turned black. These are then picked out, pounded +in a mortar, which is usually the pericarp of the _sapucaia_, or +"monkey-pot" tree (_Lecythys ollaria_). The pounding reduces them to a +paste, which is taken up, clapped between the hands and formed into +little cakes--but not until it has been mixed with some manioc flour, +some lime from a burnt shell (a _helix_), and a little juice from the +fresh leaves of the "abuta"--a menispermous plant of the genus +_Cocculus_. The cakes are then dried or "barbecued" upon a primitive +gridiron--the bars of which are saplings of hard wood--and when +well-hardened the snuff is ready for the "box." In a box it is actually +carried--usually one made out of some rare and beautiful shell. + +The ceremonial of taking the snuff is the most singular part of the +performance. When a Mundrucu feels inclined for a "pinch"--though it is +something more than a _pinch_ that he inhales when he _does_ feel +inclined--he takes the cake out of the box, scrapes off about a spoonful +of it into a shallow, saucer-shaped vessel of the calabash kind, and +then spreads the powder all over the bottom of the vessel in a regular +"stratification." The spreading is not performed by the fingers, but +with a tiny, pencil-like brush made out of the bristles of the great +ant-eater (_Myrmecophaga jubata_). + +He is in no hurry, but takes his time,--for as you may guess from its +effects, the performance is not one so often repeated as that of +ordinary snuff-taking. When the _niopo_ dust is laid to his liking, +another implement is brought into play, the construction of which it is +also necessary to describe. It is a "machine" of six to eight inches in +length, and is made of two quills from the wing of the _gaviao real_, or +"harpy eagle" (_Harpyia destructor_). These quills are placed side by +side for the greater part of their length, forming two parallel tubes, +and they are thus neatly whipped together by a thread. At one end they +are pressed apart so as to diverge to a width corresponding to the +breadth between the Mundrucu's nostrils,--where it is intended they +shall be placed during the ceremony of snuff-taking. + +And thus are they placed,--one end of each quill being slightly intruded +within the line of the septum, while the other end rests upon the snuff, +or wanders over the surface of the saucer, till all the powder placed +there is drawn up and inhaled, producing the convulsive effects already +detailed. + +The shank-bone of a species of bird--thought to be a plover--is +sometimes used instead of the quills. It is hollow, and has a +forking-tube at the end. This kind is not common or easily obtained, +for the niopo-taker who has one, esteems it as the most valuable item of +his apparatus. + +Snuffing the niopo is not exclusively confined to the Mundrucu. We have +seen elsewhere that it is also a habit of the dirt-eating Ottomacs; and +other tribes on the upper Amazon practise it. But the Mahues, already +mentioned as the allies of the Mundrucus, are the most confirmed +snuff-takers of all. + +Another odd custom of the Mundrucus is their habit of "tatooing." I +speak of real tatooing,--that is, marking the skin with dots and lines +that cannot be effaced, in contradistinction to mere _painting_, or +staining, which can easily be washed off. The Mundrucus paint also, +with the _anotto_, _kuitoc_, _caruta_, and other pigments, but in this +they only follow the practice of hundreds of other tribes. The true +_tatoo_ is a far different affair, and scarcely known among the +aborigines of America, though common enough in the islands of the South +Sea. A few other Indian tribes practise it to a limited extent,--as is +elsewhere stated,--but among the Mundrucus it is an "institution;" and +painful though the process be, it has to be endured by every one in the +nation, "every mother's son," and daughter as well, that are cursed with +a Mundrucu for their father. + +It is upon the young people the infliction is performed,--when they are +about eight or ten years of age. + +The _tatoo_ has been so often described, that I should not repeat it +here; but there are a few "points" peculiar to Mundrucu tatooing, and a +few others, not elsewhere understood. + +The performance is usually the work of certain old crones, who, from +long practice, have acquired great skill in the art. + +The chief instrument used is a comb of thorns,--not a single thorn, as +is generally stated,--but a tier or row of them set comb-fashion. These +thorns are the spines of the "murumuru," or "pupunha" palm (_Gullielmia +speciosa_). Humboldt states that this palm is smooth and spineless, but +in this the great, good man was in error. Its trunk is so covered with +thorns or spines, that when the Indians require to climb it--for the +purpose of procuring the valuable fruits, which they eat variously +prepared--they have to erect a staging, or rude sort of ladder, to be +able to get at them. + +The comb, then, is pressed down upon the skin of the "tatooee," till all +the points have penetrated the flesh, and a row of holes is laid open, +from which the blood flows profusely. As soon as this can be wiped off, +ashes of a burnt gum or pitch are rubbed into the wounds, which, when +healed, appear like so many dots of a deep bluish or black colour. In +this way the young Mundrucus, both boys and girls, get those regular +rows of dotted lines, which traverse their forehead and cheeks, their +arms and limbs, breasts, and bodies in such eccentric fashion. It has +often been asked how these lines of dots were carried over the skin in +such straight and symmetrical rows, forming regular parallel lines, or +other geometrical patterns. The "comb" will explain the mystery. + +The tatoo, with a few strings of shell-beads or necklaces, and bracelets +of monkey and jaguar teeth, is all the dress which is permitted to the +Mundrucu belle. In Mundrucu-land it is the reverse of what is practised +among civilised people: the men are the exponents of the fashions, and +keep exclusively to themselves the cosmetics and bijouterie. Not +contented with being tatooed, these also _paint_ their bodies, by way of +"overcoat," and also adorn themselves with the bright feathers of birds. +They wear on their heads the beautiful circlet of macaw-plumes, and on +grand occasions appear in the magnificent "feather dress," so long +celebrated as the peculiar costume of the tropical-forest Indian. These +dresses their women weave and border, at a sacrifice of much tedious +labour. They also ornament their arms and legs with rows of feathers +around them, the tips turned upward and backward. + +The tatooing is confined to the Mundrucus proper,--their allies, the +Mahues not following the practice, but contenting themselves with a +simple "coat" of paint. + +It is difficult to say what motive first inducted human beings into this +singular and barbarous custom. It is easier to tell why it is still +followed, and the "why" is answered by saying that the Mundrucus +"scarify" themselves, because their fathers did so before them. Many a +custom among civilised nations, but little less ridiculous, if we could +only think so, rests upon a similar basis. Perhaps our modern +abominable hat--though it has a different origin--is not less ludicrous +than the tatooed patterns of the savage. Certainly it is quite equal to +it in ugliness, and is likely to rival it in permanence,--to our sorrow +be it said. But even _we_ deal slightly in the tatoo. Our jolly Jack +would be nobody in the forecastle without "Polly," in blue, upon his +weather-beaten breast, and the _foul anchor_ upon his arm. + +But the Mundrucu baptises his unfortunate offspring in a still more +savage fashion. The tattoo may be termed the _baptism in blood_, +performed at the tender age of ten. When the youth--fortunately it does +not extend to the weaker sex--has attained to the age of eighteen, he +has then to undergo the _tocandeira_, which deserves to be called _the +baptism of fire_! + +This too merits description. When the Mundrucu youth would become a +candidate for manhood, a pair of "_gloves_" is prepared for him. These +consist of two pieces of a palm-tree bark, with the pith hollowed out, +but left in at one end. The hollow part is of sufficient diameter to +draw over the hands loosely, and so long as to reach up to mid-arm, +after the fashion of gauntlets. + +The "gloves" being got ready, are nearly filled with ants, not only the +venomous red ants, but all other species, large or small, that can +either bite or sting, of which tropical South America possesses an +endless variety. With this "lining" the "mittens" are ready for use, +and the "novice" is compelled to draw them on. Should he refuse, or +even exhibit a disposition to shrink from the fiery trial, he is a lost +man. From that hour he need never hold up his head, much less offer his +hand and heart, for there is not a maiden in all Mundrucu-land that +would listen to his softest speech. He is forever debarred from the +pleasure of becoming a benedict. Of course he does not refuse, but +plunging his hands into the "mittens," into the very midst of the +crawling host, he sets about the ceremony. + +He must keep on the gloves till he has danced before every door in the +village. He must sing as if from very joy; and there is plenty of music +to accompany him, drums and fifes, and human voices,--for his parents +and relatives are by his side encouraging him with their songs and +gestures. He is in pain,--in positive agony,--for these venomous ants +both sting and bite, and have been busy at both from the very first +moment. Each moment his agony grows more intense, his sufferings more +acute, for the poison is thrilling through his veins,--he turns pale,-- +his eyes become blood-cast,--his breast quivers with emotion and his +limbs tremble beneath him; but despite all this, woe to him if he utter +a cry of weakness! It would brand him with an eternal stigma,--he would +never be suffered to carry the Mundrucu lance to battle,--to poise upon +its point the ghastly trophy of the _Beheaders_. On, on, through the +howling throng, amidst friends and relatives with faces anxious as his +own; on to the sound of the shrill-piping reed and the hoarse booming of +the Indian drum; on till he stands in front of the cabin of the chief! +There again the song is sung, the "jig" is danced, both proudly +prolonged till the strength of the performer becomes completely +exhausted. Then, and not till then, the gloves are thrown aside, and +the wearer falls back, into the arms of his friends, "sufficiently +punished!" + +This is the hour of congratulation. Girls gather round him, and fling +their tatooed arms about his neck. They cluster and cling upon him, +singing his song of triumph; but just at that crisis he is not in the +mood for soft caresses; and, escaping from their blandishments, he makes +a rush towards the river. On reaching its bank he plunges bodily in, +and there remains up to his neck in the water, till the cooling fluid +has to some extent eased his aching arms, and tranquillised the current +of his boiling blood. When he emerges from the water, he is a man, fit +stuff for a Mundrucu warrior, and eligible to the hand of a Mundrucu +maiden. + +It may be remarked that this terrible ordeal of the Mundrucus, though, +perhaps, peculiar among South-American Indians, has its parallel among +certain tribes of the north,--the Mandans and others, as detailed by +Catlin, one of the most acute of ethnological observers. + +The _scalp trophy_, too, of the Northern Indian has its analogy in a +Mundrucu custom--that which distinguishes him most of all, and which has +won for him the terrible title of "Beheader." + +This singular appellation is now to be explained. + +When a Mundrucu has succeeded in killing an enemy, he is not, like his +northern compeer, satisfied with only the skin of the head. _He must +have the whole head_, scalp and skull, bones, brains, and all! And he +takes all, severing the head with his knife by a clean cut across the +small of the neck, and leaving the trunk to the vulture king. With the +ghastly trophy poised upon the point of his lance, he returns triumphant +to the malocca to receive the greetings of his tribe and the praises of +his chief. + +But the warlike exploit requires a memento--some token by which he may +perpetuate its fame. The art of printing does not exist among the +Mundrucus, and there is no friendly pen to record the deed. It has been +done,--behold the evidence! much clearer than often accompanies the +exploits of civilised heroes. There is the evidence of an enemy slain; +there is the grim, gory voucher, palpable both to sight and touch--proof +positive that there is a dead body somewhere. + +Of course, such evidence is sufficient for the present; but how about +the future? As time passes, the feat may be forgotten, as great deeds +are elsewhere. Somebody may even deny it. Some slanderous tongue may +whisper, or insinuate, or openly declare that it was no exploit after +all--that there was no dead man; for the vultures by this time would +have removed the body, and the white ants (_termites_) would have +equally extinguished all traces of the bones. How, then, are the proofs +to be preserved? _By preserving the head_! And this is the very idea +that is in the mind of the Mundrucu warrior. He is resolved not to +permit his exploit to be buried in oblivion by _burying the head_ of his +enemy. That tongue, though mute, will tell the tale to posterity; that +pallid cheek, though, perhaps, it may become a little shrivelled in the +"drying," will still be smooth enough to show that there is no _tatoo_, +and to be identified as the skin of an enemy. Some young Mundrucu, yet +unborn, will read in the countenance of that grinning and gory witness, +the testimony of his father's prowess. The head, therefore, must be +preserved; and it is preserved with as much care as the cherished +portrait of a famous ancestor. The cranial relic is even _embalmed_, as +if out of affection for him to whom it belonged. The brains and +eye-balls are removed, to facilitate the process of desiccation; but +false eyes are inserted, and the tongue, teeth, and ears, scalp, skull, +and hair, are all retained, not only retained, but "titivated" out in +the most approved style of fashion. The long hair is carefully combed +out, parted, and arranged; brilliant feathers of rock-cock and macaw are +planted behind the ears and twisted in the hanging tresses. An +ornamental string passes through the tongue, and by this the trophy is +suspended from the beams of the great malocca. + +It is not permitted to remain there. In some dark niche of this +Golgotha--this Mundruquin Westminster--it might be overlooked and +forgotten. To prevent this it is often brought forth, and receives many +an airing. On all warlike and festive occasions does it appear, poised +upon the point of the warrior's lance; and even in peaceful times it may +be seen--along with hundreds of its like--placed in the circular row +around the manioc clearing, and lending its demure countenance to the +labours of the field. + +It is not a little singular that this custom of embalming the heads of +their enemies is found among the Dyaks of Borneo, and the process in +both places is ludicrously similar. Another rare coincidence occurs +between the Amazonian tribes and the Bornean savages, viz in both being +provided with the blow-gun. The _gravitana_ of the American tribes is +almost identical with the sumpitan of Borneo. It furnishes a further +proof of our theory regarding an original connection between the +American Indians and the savages of the great South Sea. + +The Mundrucu is rarely ill off in the way of food. When he is so, it is +altogether his own fault, and chargeable to his indolent disposition. +The soil of his territory is of the most fertile kind, and produces many +kinds of edible fruits spontaneously, as the nuts of the _pupunha_ palm +and the splendid fruits of the _Bertholetia excelsa_, or juvia-tree, +known in Europe as "Brazil-nuts." Of these then are two kinds, as +mentioned elsewhere, the second being a tree of the genus _Lecythys_,-- +the _Lecythys ollaria_, or "monkey-pot" tree. It obtains this trivial +name from the circumstance, first, of its great pericarp, almost as +large as a child's head, having a movable top or lid, which falls off +when the fruit ripens; and secondly, from the monkeys being often seen +drawing the seeds or nuts out of that part of the shell which remains +attached to the tree, and which, bearing a considerable resemblance to a +pot in its shape, is thus very appropriately designated the pot of the +monkeys. The common Indian name of the monkey-pot tree is _sapucaia_, +and the nuts of this species are so called in commerce, though they are +also termed Brazil-nuts. They are of a more agreeable flavour than the +true Brazil-nuts, and not so easily obtained, as the _Lecythys_ is less +generally distributed over the Amazonian valley. It requires a peculiar +soil, and grows only in those tracts that are subject to the annual +inundations of the rivers. + +The true Brazil-nuts are the "juvia" trees of the Indians; and the +season for collecting them is one of the _harvests_ of the Mundrucu +people. The great pericarps--resembling large cocoa-nuts when stripped +of the fibres--do not open and shed their seeds, as is the case with the +monkey-pot tree. The whole fruit falls at once; and as it is very +heavy, and the branches on which it grows are often nearly a hundred +feet from the ground, it may easily be imagined that it comes down like +a ten-pound shot; in fact, one of them falling upon the head of a +Mundrucu would be very likely to crush his cranium, as a bullet would an +egg-shell; and such accidents not unfrequently occur to persons passing +imprudently under the branches of the Bertholetia when its nuts are +ripe. Sometimes the monkeys, when on the ground looking after those +that have fallen, become victims to the like accident; but these +creatures are cunning reasoners, and being by experience aware of the +danger, will scarce ever go under a juvia-tree, but when passing one +always make a wide circuit around it. The monkeys cannot of themselves +open the great pericarp, as they do that of the "sapucaia," but are +crafty enough to get at the precious contents, notwithstanding. In +doing this they avail themselves of the help of other creatures, that +have also a motive in opening the juvia shells--cavies and other small +rodent animals, whose teeth, formed for this very purpose, enable them +to gnaw a hole in the ligneous pericarps, hard and thick as they are. +Meanwhile the monkeys, squatted around, watch the operation in a +careless, nonchalant sort of way, as if they had no concern whatever in +the result; but as soon as they perceive that an entrance has been +effected, big enough to admit their hand, they rush forward, drive off +the weaker creature, who has been so long and laboriously at work, and +take possession of the prize. + +Neither does the Mundrucu nut-gatherer get possession of the juvia fruit +without a certain degree of danger and toil. He has to climb the +tallest trees, to secure the whole crop at one time; and while engaged +in collecting those upon the ground, he is in danger of a blow from odd +ones that are constantly falling. To secure his skull against +accidents, he wears upon his head a thick wooden cap or helmet,--after +the fashion of the hats worn by our firemen,--and he is always careful +to keep his body in an upright attitude, stooping as seldom as he can +avoid doing so, lest he might get a thump between the shoulders, or upon +the spine of his back, which would be very likely to flatten him out +upon the earth. These Brazil-nuts furnish the Mundrucu with a portion +of his food,--as they also do many other tribes of Amazonian Indians,-- +and they are also an item of Indian commerce, being collected from among +the different tribes by the Portuguese and Spanish traders. + +But the Mundrucu does not depend altogether on the spontaneous +productions of the forest, which at best furnish only a precarious +supply. He does something in the agricultural line,--cultivating a +little manioc root, with, plantains, yams, and other tropical plants +that produce an enormous yield with the very slightest trouble or +attention; and this is exactly what suits him. A few days spent by the +little community in the yam patch--or rather, by the women and children, +for these are the agricultural labourers in Mundrucu-land--is sufficient +to ensure an abundant supply of bread-stuff for the whole year. With +regard to flesh-meat he is not so well off, for the domestic animals, +and oxen more especially, do not thrive in the Amazon country. In +Mundrucu-land, the carnivorous jaguar, aided by flies and vampire bats, +would soon destroy them, even if the Indian had the inclination to raise +them, which he has not. + +Instead of beef, therefore, he contents himself with fish, and +occasionally a steak from the great tapir, or a griskin of _manati_. +Birds, too, furnish him with an occasional meal; but the staple article +of his flesh diet is obtained from the _quadrumana_,--the numerous +species of monkeys with which his forests abound. These he obtains by +shooting them down from the trees with his bow and arrows, and also by +various other hunting devices. + +His mode of cooking them is sufficiently peculiar to be described. A +large log fire is first kindled and permitted to burn until a sufficient +quantity of red cinders are produced. Over these cinders a grating is +erected with green saplings of wood, laid parallel to each other like +the bars of a gridiron, and upon this the "joint" is laid. + +Nothing is done to the monkey before its being placed on the gridiron. +Its skin is not removed, and even the intestines are not always taken +out. The fire will singe off the hair sufficiently to content a +Mundrucu stomach, and the hide is broiled and eaten, with the flesh. It +is thus literally "carne con cuero." + +It may be observed that this forest gridiron, or "barbecue," as it is +properly termed, is not an idea exclusively confined to South America. +It is in use among the Indians of the north, and various uncivilised +tribes in other parts of the world. + +Sometimes the Mundrucu does not take the trouble to construct the +gridiron. When on the march in some warlike expedition that will not +allow time for being particular about the mode of cooking, the joint is +broiled upon a spit over the common fire. The spit is simply a stick, +sharpened at both ends, one of which impales the monkey, and the other +is stuck into the ground. The stick is then set with a lean towards the +fire, so as to bring the carcass over the blaze. While on the spit the +monkey appears in a sitting position, with its head upward, and its long +tail hanging along the sapling,--just as if it were still living, and in +one of its most natural attitudes, clinging to the branch of a tree! +The sight is sufficiently comical; but sometimes a painful spectacle has +been witnessed,--painful to any one but a savage: when the young of the +monkey has been captured along with its dam, and still recognising the +form of its parent,--even when all the hair has been singed off, and the +skin has become calcined by the fire,--is seen rushing forward into the +very flames, and with plaintive cry inviting the maternal embrace! Such +an affecting incident has been often witnessed amid the forests of +Amazopia. + +We conclude our sketch of the Mundrucus, by stating that their form of +government is despotic, though not to an extreme degree. The "tushao," +or chief, has considerable power, though it is not absolute, and does +not extend to the taking of life,--unless the object of displeasure be a +slave, and many of these are held in abject bondage among the Mundrucus. + +The Mundrucu religion resembles that of many other tribes both in North +and South America. It consists in absurd ceremonies, and appeals to the +good and evil spirits of the other world, and is mixed up with a vast +deal of quackery in relation to the ills that afflict the Mundrucu in +this life. In other words, it is a combination of the priest and doctor +united in one, that arch-charlatan known to the North-American Indians +as the "Medicine-man," and among the Mundrucus as the "Puge." + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +THE CENTAURS OF THE "GRAN CHACO." + +I have elsewhere stated that a broad band of independent Indian +territory--that is, territory never really subdued or possessed by the +Spaniards--traverses the interior of South America, extending +longitudinally throughout the whole continent. Beginning at Cape Horn, +it ends in the peninsula of the free _Goajiros_, which projects into the +Caribbean Sea,--in other words, it is nearly 5,000 miles in length. In +breadth it varies much. In Patagonia and a portion of the Pampas +country it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and it is of still +wider extent on the latitude of the Amazon river, where the whole +country, from the Atlantic to the Peruvian Andes,--with the exception of +some thinly-placed Brazilian settlements,--is occupied by tribes of +independent Indians. At either point this territory will appear--upon +maps--to be interrupted by tracts of country possessing civilised +settlements. The names of towns and villages are set as thickly as if +the country were well peopled; and numerous roads are traced, forming a +labyrinthine network upon the paper. A broad belt of this kind extends +from the Lower Parana (La Plate) to the Andes of Chili, constituting the +upper provinces of the "Argentine Confederation;" another apparently +joins the settlements of Bolivia and Brazil; and again in the north, the +provinces of Venezuela appear to be united to those of New Granada. + +All this, however, is more apparent than real. The towns upon the maps +are in general mere _rancherias_, or collections of huts; some of them +are the names of fortified posts, and a large proportion are but +ruins,--the ruins of monkish mission settlements long since gone to +destruction, and with little else than the name on the map to testify +that they ever had an existence. The roads are no roads at all, nothing +more than tracings on the chart showing the general route of travel. + +Even across the Argentine provinces--where this nomenclature appears +thickest upon the map--the horse Indian of the Pampas extends his forays +at will; his "range" meeting, and, in some cases, "dovetailing" into +that of the tribes dwelling upon the northern side of these settlements. +The latter, in their turn, carry their plundering expeditions across to +the Campos Parexis, on the headwaters of the Amazon, whence stretches +the independent territory, far and wide to the Amazon itself; thence to +the Orinoco, and across the _Llanos_ to the shores of the Maracaibo +Gulf--the free range of the independent Goajiros. + +This immense belt of territory, then, is in actual possession of the +aborigines. Although occupied at a few points by the white race,-- +Spanish and Portuguese,--the occupation scarce deserves the name. The +settlements are sparse and rather _retrograde_ than _progressive_. The +Indian ranges through and around them, wherever and whenever his +inclination leads him; and only when some humiliating treaty has secured +him a temporary respite from hostilities does the colonist enjoy +tranquillity. At other times he lives in continual dread, scarce daring +to trust himself beyond the immediate vicinity of his house or village, +both of which he has been under the necessity of fortifying. + +It is true that at one period of South-American history things were not +quite so bad. When the Spanish nation was at the zenith of its power a +different condition existed; but even then, in the territory indicated, +there were large tracts circumstanced just as at the present hour,-- +tracts which the Spaniards, with all their boasted warlike strength, +were unable even to _explore_, much less to subdue. One of these was +that which forms the subject of our sketch, "El Gran Chaco." + +Of all the tracts of wild territory existing in South America, and known +by the different appellations of _Pampas, Paramos, Campos Parexis_, the +_Puna_, the _Pajonal, Llanos_, and _Montanas_, there is none possessed +of a greater interest than that of _El Gran Chaco_,--perhaps not one +that equals it in this respect. It is interesting, not only from having +a peculiar soil, climate, and productions, but quite as much from the +character and history of its inhabitants, both of which present us with +traits and episodes truly romantic. + +The "Gran Chaco" is 200,000 square miles in extent, or twice the size of +the British Isles. Its eastern boundary is well-defined, being the +Paraguay river, and its continuation the Parana, down to the point where +the latter receives one of its great western tributaries, the Salado; +and this last is usually regarded as the southern and western boundary +of the Chaco. Northward its limits are scarcely so definite; though the +highlands of Bolivia and the old missionary province of Chiquitos, +forming the water-shed between the rivers of the La Plata and the +Amazonian basins--may be geographically regarded as the termination of +the Chaco in that direction. North and south it extends through eleven +degrees of latitude; east and west it is of unequal breadth,--sometimes +expanding, sometimes contracting, according to the ability of the white +settlers along it borders to maintain their frontier. On its eastern +side, as already stated, the frontier is definite, and terminates on the +banks of the Paraguay and Parana. East of this line--coinciding almost +with a meridian of longitude--the Indian of the Gran Chaco does not +roam, the well-settled province of Corrientes and the dictatorial +government of Paraguay presenting a firmer front of resistance; but +neither does the colonist of these countries think of crossing to the +western bank of the boundary river to form any establishment there. He +dares not even set his foot upon the territory of the Chaco. For a +thousand miles, up and down, the two races, European and American, hold +the opposite banks of this great stream. They gaze across at each +other: the one from the portico of his well-built mansion, or perhaps +from the street of his town; the other, standing by his humble "toldo," +or mat-covered tent,--more probably, upon the back of his half-wild +horse, reined up for a moment on some projecting promontory that +commands the view of the river. And thus have these two races gazed at +each other for three centuries, with little other intercourse passing +between them than that of a deadly hostility. + +The surface of the Gran Chaco is throughout of a champaign character. +It may be described as a vast plain. It is not, however, a continuation +of the Pampas, since the two are separated by a more broken tract of +country, in which lie the sierras of Cordova and San Luis, with the +Argentine settlements already mentioned. Besides, the two great plains +differ essentially in their character, even to a greater extent than do +the Pampas themselves from the desert steppes of Patagonia. Only a few +of the animal and vegetable productions of the Gran Chaco are identical +with those of the Pampas, and its Indian inhabitants are altogether +unlike the sanguinary savages of the more southern plain. The Chaco, +approaching many degrees nearer to the equator, is more tropical in its +character; in fact, the northern portion of it is truly so, lying as it +does within the torrid zone, and presenting the aspect of a tropical +vegetation. Every inch of the Chaco is within the palm region; but in +its northern half these beautiful trees abound in numberless species, +yet unknown to the botanist, and forming the characteristic features of +the landscape. Some grow in forests of many miles in extent, others +only in "clumps," with open, grass-covered plains between, while still +other species mingle their graceful fronds with the leaves and branches +of dicotyledonous trees, or clasped in the embrace of luxuriant llianas +and parasitical climbers form groves of the most variegated verdure and +fantastic outlines. With such groves the whole surface of the Chaco +country is enamelled; the intervals between being occupied by plains of +rich waving grass, now and then tracts of morass covered with tall and +elegant reeds, a few arid spots bristling with singular forms of +_algarobia_ and _cactus_, and, in some places, isolated rocky mounds, of +dome or conical shape, rising above the general level of the plains, as +if intended to be used as watch-towers for their guardianship and +safety. + +Such are the landscapes which the Grand Chaco presents to the eye--far +different from the bald and uniform monotony exhibited in the aspect of +either Prairie or Pampa; far grander and lovelier than either--in point +of scenic loveliness, perhaps, unequalled on earth. No wonder, then, +that the Indian of South America esteems it as an earthly Elysium; no +wonder that the Spaniard dreams of it as such,--though to the Spanish +priest and the Spanish soldier it has ever proved more of a Purgatory +than a Paradise. Both have entered upon its borders, but neither has +been able to dwell within its domain; and the attempts at its conquest, +by sword and cross, have been alike unsuccessful,--equally and fatally +repulsed, throughout a period of more than three hundred years. At this +hour, as at the time of the Peruvian conquest,--as on the day when the +ships of Mendoza sailed up the waters of the Parana,--the Gran Chaco is +an unconquered country, owned by its aboriginal inhabitants, and by them +alone. It is true that it is _claimed_, both by Spaniard and +Portuguese; and by no less than four separate claimants belonging to +these two nationalities. Brazil and Bolivia, Paraguay and the Argentine +Confederation, all assert their title to a slice of this earthly +paradise; and even quarrel as to how their boundary lines should +intersect it! + +There is something extremely ludicrous in these claims,--since neither +one nor other of the four powers can show the slightest basis for them. +Not one of them can pretend to the claim of conquest; and far less can +they rest their rights upon the basis of occupation or possession. So +far from possessing the land, not one of them dare set foot over its +borders; and they are only too well pleased if its present occupants are +contented to remain within them. The claim, therefore, of both Spaniard +and Portuguese, has no higher title, than that some three hundred and +fifty years ago it was given them by the Pope,--a title not less +ludicrous than their kissing the Pope's toe to obtain it! + +In the midst of these four conflicting claimants, there appears a fifth, +and that is the real owner,--the "red Indian" himself. His claim has +"three points of the law" in his favour,--possession,--and perhaps the +fourth, too,--the power to keep possession. At all events, he has held +it for three hundred years against all odds and all comers; and who +knows that he may not hold it for three hundred years more?--only, it is +to be hoped, for a different use, and under the influence of a more +progressive civilisation. + +The Indian, then, is the undoubted lord of the "Gran Chaco." Let us +drop in upon him, and see what sort of an Indian he is, and how he +manages this majestic domain. + +After having feasted our eyes upon the rich scenery of the land,--upon +the verdant plains, mottled with copses of "quebracho" and clumps of the +_Caranday_ palm,--upon landscapes that resemble the most lordly parks, +we look around for the mansions and the owners. The mansion is not +there, but the owner stands before us. + +We are at once struck by his appearance: his person tall, and straight +as a reed, his frame muscular, his limbs round and well-proportioned, +piercing coal-black eyes, well-formed features, and slightly aquiline +nose,--and perhaps we are a little surprised at the light colour of his +skin. In this we note a decided peculiarity which distinguishes him +from most other tribes of his race. It is not a _red_ Indian we behold, +nor yet a _copper-coloured_ savage; but a man whose complexion is scarce +darker than that of the mulatto, and not at all deeper in hue than many +a Spaniard of Andalusian descent, who boasts possession of the purest +"sangre azul;" not one shade darker than thousands of Portuguese +dwelling upon the other side of the Brazilian frontier. + +And remember, that it is the _true_ skin of the Chaco Indian we have +before our view,--and not a _painted_ one,--for here, almost for the +first time, do we encounter the native complexion of the aboriginal, +undisfigured by those horrid pigments which in these pages have so often +glared before the eyes of our readers. + +Of paint, the Chaco Indian scarce knows the use; or, at all events, +employs it sparingly, and only at intervals, on very particular and +ceremonial occasions. We are spared, therefore, the describing his +_escutcheon_, and a positive relief it is. + +It would be an interesting inquiry to trace out the cause of his thus +abstaining from a custom almost universal among his race. Why does he +abjure the paint? + +Is it because he cannot afford it, or that it is not procurable in his +country? No; neither of these can be offered as a reason. The +"annotto" bush (_Bixa orellana_), and the wild-indigo, abound in his +territory; and he knows how to extract the colours of both,--for his +women do extract them, and use them in dying the yarn of their webs. +Other dyewoods--a multitude of others--he could easily obtain; and even +the cochineal cactus, with its gaudy vermilion parasite, is indigenous +to his land. It cannot be the scarcity of the material that prevents +him from employing it,--what then? + +The cause is unexplained; but may it not be that this romantic savage, +otherwise more highly gifted than the rest of his race, is endowed also +with a truer sense of the beautiful and becoming? _Quien sabe_? + +Let it not be understood, however, that he is altogether free from the +"taint,"--for he _does_ paint sometimes, as already admitted; and it +must be remembered, moreover, that the Chaco Indians are not all of one +tribe, nor of one community. There are many associations of them +scattered over the face of this vast plain, who are not all alike, +either in their habits or customs, but, on the contrary, very unlike; +who are not even at all times friendly with each other, but occupied +with feuds and _vendettas_ of the most deadly description. Some of +these tribes paint most frightfully, while others of them go still +farther, and _scarify_ their faces with the indelible _tattoo_,--a +custom that in America is almost confined to the Indians of the Chaco +and a few tribes on the southern tributaries of the Amazon. Happily +this custom is on the decline: the men practise it no longer; but, by a +singular perversity of taste, it is still universal among the women, and +no Chaco belle would be esteemed beautiful without a cross of +bluish-black dots upon her forehead, a line of like points extending +from the angle of each eye to the ears, with a variety of similar +markings upon her cheeks, arms, and bosom. All this is done with the +point of a thorn,--the spine of a _mimosa_, or of the _caraguatay_ aloe; +and the dark purple colour is obtained by infusing charcoal into the +fresh and bleeding punctures. It is an operation that requires days to +complete, and the pain from it is of the most acute and prolonged +character, enduring until the poisoned wounds become cicatrised. And +yet it is borne without a murmur,--just as people in civilised life bear +the painful application of hair-dyes and tweezers. + +I need not say that the hair of the Chaco Indian does not need to be +dyed,--that is, unless he were to fancy having it of a white, or a red, +or yellow colour,--not an uncommon fancy among savages. + +His taste, however, does not run that way any more than among civilised +dandies, and he is contented with its natural hue, which is that of the +raven's wing. But he is not contented to leave it to its natural +growth. Only a portion of it,--that which covers the upper part of his +head,--is permitted to retain its full length and flowing glories. For +the remainder, he has a peculiar _tonsure_ of his own; and the hair +immediately over the forehead--and sometimes a stripe running all around +above the ears, to the back of the head--is either close shaven with a +sharp shell, or plucked entirely out by a pair of horn tweezers of +native manufacture. Were it not that the long and luxuriant tresses +that still remain,--covering his crown, as with a crest,--the shorn +circle would assimilate him to some orders of friars; but, +notwithstanding the similarity of tonsure, there is not much resemblance +between a Chaco Indian and a brother of the crucifix and cowl. + +This mode of "dressing the hair" is not altogether peculiar to the +Indian of the Gran Chaco. It is also practised by certain prairie +tribes,--the Osage, Pawnee, and two or three others; but all these carry +the "razor" a little higher up, leaving a mere patch, or "scalp-lock," +upon the crown. + +The Chaco tribes are beardless by nature; and if a few hairs chance to +show themselves upon cheek or chin, they are carefully "wed" out. In a +like fashion both men and women serve their eyebrows and lashes,-- +sacrificing these undoubted ornaments, as they say, to a principle of +utility, since they allege that they can _see better without them_! +They laugh at white men, who preserve these appendages, calling them +"ostrich-eyed,"--from a resemblance which they perceive between hairy +brows and the stiff, hair-like feathers that bristle round the eyes of +the rhea, or American ostrich,--a well-known denizen of the Gran Chaco. + +The costume of the Chaco Indian is one of exceeding simplicity; and in +this again we observe a peculiar trait of his mind. Instead of the +tawdry and tinsel ornaments, in which most savages delight to array +themselves, he is contented with a single strip of cloth, folded tightly +around his loins. It is usually either a piece of white cotton, or of +wool woven in a tri-colour of red, white, and blue, and of hues so +brilliant, as to produce altogether a pretty effect. The wear of the +women scarce differs from that of the men, and the covering of both, +scant as it is, is neither inelegant nor immodest. It is well adapted +to their mode of life, and to their climate, which is that of an eternal +spring. When cold winds sweep over their grassy plains, they seek +protection under the folds of a more ample covering, with which they are +provided,--a cloak usually made of the soft fur of the "nutria," or +South-American otter, or a robe of the beautiful spotted skin of the +jaguar. They wear neither head-dress nor _chaussure_,--neither pendants +from the nose, not the hideous lip ornaments seen among other tribes of +South America; but many of them pierce the ears; and more especially the +women, who split the delicate lobes, and insert into them spiral +appendages of rolled palm-leaf, that hang dangling to their very +shoulders. It will be observed, therefore, that among the Chaco tribes +the women disfigure themselves more than the men, and all, no doubt, in +the interest of _fashion_. + +It will be seen that the simple dress we have described leaves the limbs +and most part of the body bare. To the superficial observer it might be +deemed an inelegant costume, and perhaps so it would be among Europeans, +or so-called "whites." The deformed figures of European people-- +deformed by ages of toil and monarchical serfdom--would ill bear +exposure to the light, neither would the tripe-coloured skin, of which +they are so commonly conceited. A very different impression is produced +by the rich brunette hue,--bronze, if you will,--especially when, as in +the case of the Chaco Indian, it covers a body of proper shape, with +arms and limbs in symmetrical proportion. Then, and then only, does +costly clothing appear superfluous, and the eye at once admits that +there is no fashion on earth equal to that of the human form itself. + +Above all does it appear graceful on horseback, and almost universally +in this attitude does the Chaco Indian exhibit it. Scarce ever may we +meet him afoot, but always on the back of his beautiful horse,--the two +together presenting the aspect of the Centaur. And probably in the +resemblance he approaches nearer to the true ideal of the Grecian myth, +than any other horseman in the world; for the Chaco Indians differ not +only from other "horse Indians" in their mode of equitation, but also +from every other equestrian people. The absurd high-peaked saddles of +Tartar and Arab, with their gaudy trappings, are unknown to him,-- +unknown, too, the ridiculous paraphernalia, half-hiding the horse, in +use among Mexicans, South-American Spaniards, and even the Indians of +other tribes,--despised by him the plated bits, the embroidered bridles, +and the tinkling spurs, so tickling to the vanity of other New-World +equestrians. The Chaco horseman needs no such accessories to his +elegance. Saddle he has none, or only the slightest patch of +jaguar-skin,--spurs and stirrups are alike absent. Naked he sits upon +his naked horse, the beautiful curvature of whose form is interrupted by +no extraneous trappings,--even the thong that guides him scarce +observable from its slightness. Who then can deny his resemblance to +the centaur? + +Thus mounted, with no other saddle than that described, no bridle but a +thin strip of raw hide looped around the lower jaw of his horse, he will +gallop wildly over the plain, wheel in graceful curves to avoid the +burrows of the _viscacha_, pass at full speed through the close-standing +and often thorny trunks of the palms, or, if need be, stand erect upon +the withers of his horse, like a "star rider" of the Hippodrome. In +this attitude he looks abroad for his enemies, or the game of which he +may be in search; and, thus elevated above surrounding objects, he +discovers the ostrich far off upon the plain, the large deer (_cervus +campestris_), and the beautiful spotted roebucks that browse in +countless herds upon the grass-covered savannas. + +The dwelling of the Chaco Indian is a tent, not covered with skins, but +usually with mats woven from the epidermis of young leaves of a +palm-tree. It is set up by two long uprights and a ridge-pole, over +which the mat is suspended--very much after the fashion of the _tente +d'abri_ used by Zouave soldiers. His bed is a hammock, swung between +the upright poles, or oftener, between two palm-trees growing near. He +only seeks shelter in his tent when it rains, and he prevents its floor +getting wet by digging a trench around the outside. He cares little for +exposure to the sun; but his wife is more delicate, and usually carries +over her head a large bunch of _rhea_ feathers, _a la parasol_, which +protects her face from the hot scorching beams. + +The tent does not stand long in one situation. Ample as is the supply +which Nature affords in the wilds of the Chaco, it is not all poured out +in any one place. This would be too much convenience, and would result +in an evil consequence. The receiver of such a benefit would soon +become indolent, from the absence of all necessity for exertion; and not +only his health, but his moral nature, would suffer from such abundance. + +Fortunately no such fate is likely to befall the Indian of the Chaco. +The food upon which he subsists is derived from many varied sources, a +few of which only are to be found in any one particular place, and each +only at its own season of the year. For instance, upon the dry plains +he pursues the _rhea_ and _viscacha_, the jaguar, puma, _and +partridges_; in woods and marshy places the different species of wild +hogs (peccaries). On the banks of rivers he encounters the tapir and +capivara, and in their waters, fish, _utrias_, geese, and ducks. In the +denser forest-covered tracts he must look for the various kinds of +monkeys, which also constitute a portion of his food. When he would +gather the legumes, of the _algarobias_--of several species--or collects +the sugary sap of the _caraguatay_, he must visit the tracts where the +_mimosae_ and _bromelias_ alone flourish; and then he employs much of +his time in searching for the nests of wild bees, from the honey of +which and the seeds of the _algarobia_ he distils a pleasant but highly +intoxicating drink. To his credit, however, he uses this but sparingly, +and only upon grand occasions of ceremony; how different from the +bestial chicha-drinking revellers of the Pampas! + +These numerous journeys, and the avocations connecting with them, hinder +the Chaco Indian from falling into habits of idleness, and preserve his +health to a longevity that is remarkable: so much so, that "to live as +long as a Chaco Indian," has become a proverbial expression in the +settlements of South America. + +The old Styrian monk Dobrizhoffer has chronicled the astounding facts, +that among these people a man of eighty is reckoned to be in the prime +of manhood; that a hundred years is accounted a common age; and that +many of them are still hale and hearty at the age of one hundred and +twenty! Allowing for a little exaggeration in the statements of the +monk, it is nevertheless certain that the Indians of the Gran Chaco, +partly owing to their fine climate, and partly to their mode of life and +subsistence, enjoy health and strength to a very old age, and to a +degree unknown in less-favoured regions of the world. Of this there is +ample and trustworthy testimony. + +The food of the Chaco Indian is of a simple character, and he makes no +use either of salt or spices. He is usually the owner of a small herd +of cattle and a few sheep, which he has obtained by plundering the +neighbouring settlements of the Spaniards. It is towards those of the +south and west that he generally directs his hostile forays; for he is +at peace with the riverine provinces,--Brazilian, Paraguayan, and +Correntine. + +In these excursions he travels long distances, crossing many a fordless +stream and river, and taking along with him wife, children, tents, and +utensils, in short, everything which he possesses. He fords the streams +by swimming, using one hand to guide his horse. With this hand he can +also propel himself, while in the other, he carries his long lance, on +the top of which he poises any object he does not wish should be wetted. +A "balza," called "pelota," made of bull's hide, and more like a square +box than a boat, carries over the house utensils and the puppies, of +which there are always a large number. The "precious baby" is also a +passenger by the balza. The _pelota_ is propelled, or rather, pulled +over, by means of a tiller-rope, held in the teeth of a strong swimmer, +or tied to the tail of a horse; and thus the crossing is effected. + +Returning with his plunder--with herds of homed cattle or flocks of +sheep--not unfrequently with human captives, women and children, the +crossing becomes more difficult; but he is certain to effect it without +loss, and almost without danger of being overtaken in the pursuit. + +His freebooting habits should not be censured too gravely. Many +extenuating circumstances must be taken into consideration,--his wrongs +and sanguinary persecutions. It must be remembered that the hostilities +commenced on the opposite side; and with the Indian the habit is not +altogether indigenous, but rather the result of the principle of +retaliation. He is near kindred to the _Incas_,--in fact, some of the +Chaco tribes are remnants of the scattered Peruvian race, and he still +remembers the sanguinary slaughter of his ancestors by the Pizarros and +Almagros. Therefore, using the phraseology of the French tribunals, we +may say there are "extenuating circumstances in his favour." One +circumstance undoubtedly speaks trumpet-tongued for the Chaco Indian; +and that is, he does not _torture_ his captives, even when _white_ men +have fallen into his hands! As to the captive women and children, their +treatment is rather gentle than otherwise; in fact, they are adopted +into the tribe, and share, alike with the rest, the pleasures as well as +the hardships of a savage life. + +When the Chaco Indian possesses horned cattle and sheep, he eats mutton +and beef; but if these are wanting, he must resort to the chase. He +captures deer and ostriches by running them down with his swift steed, +and piercing them with his long spear; and occasionally he uses the +_bolas_. For smaller game he employs the bow and arrow, and fish are +also caught by shooting them with arrows. + +The Chaco Indian is the owner of a breed of dogs, and large packs of +these animals may be seen around his camping-ground, or following the +cavalcade in its removal from place to place. They are small +creatures,--supposed to be derived from a European stock, but they are +wonderfully prolific, the female often bringing forth twelve puppies at +a birth. They burrow in the ground, and subsist on the offal of the +camp. They are used in running down the spotted roebuck, in hunting the +capivara, the great ant-bear, _viscachas_, and other small animals. The +tapir is taken in traps, and also speared, when the opportunity offers. +His flesh is relished by the Chaco Indian, but his hide is of more +consequence, as from it bags, whips, and various other articles can be +manufactured. The peccary of two species (_dicotyles torquatus_ and +_collaris_) is also pursued by the dogs, and speared by the hunter while +pausing to bay the yelping pack; and the great American tiger (jaguar) +is killed in a like manner. The slaying of this fierce and powerful +quadruped is one of the feats of the Chaco hunter, and both its skin and +flesh are articles of eager demand. The latter is particularly sought +for; as by eating the flesh of so strong and courageous a creature the +Indian fancies his own strength and courage will be increased. When a +jaguar is killed, its carcass becomes the common property of all; and +each individual of the tribe must have his slice, or "griskin,"--however +small the piece may be after such multiplied subdivision! For the same +reason, the flesh of the wild boar is relished; also that of the +ant-bear--one of the most courageous of animals,--and of the tapir, on +account of its great strength. + +The bread of the Chaco Indian is derived, as before mentioned, from +several species of mimosae, called indefinitely _algarobias_, and by the +missionary monks known as "Saint John's bread." Palms of various kinds +furnish edible nuts; and there are many trees in the Chaco forests that +produce luscious fruits. With these the Indian varies his diet, and +also with wild honey,--a most important article, for reasons already +assigned. In the Chaco there are stingless bees, of numerous distinct +species,--a proof of the many blossoms which bloom as it were "unseen" +in that flowery Elysium. The honey of these bees--of some of the +species in particular--is known to be of the finest and purest quality. +In the Spanish settlements it commands the highest price, and is very +difficult to be obtained,--for the Chaco Indian is but little given to +commerce, and only occasionally brings it to market. He has but few +wants to satisfy, and cares not for the tinsel of the trader: hence it +is that most of the honey he gathers is reserved for his own use. He +searches for the bees' nest by observing the flight of the insect, as it +passes back and forward over the wild parterre; and his keenness of +sight--far surpassing that of a European--enables him to trace its +movements in the air, and follow it to its hoard. He alleges that he +could not accomplish this so well, were he encumbered with eyebrows and +lashes, and offers this as one of his reasons for extracting these +hirsute appendages. There may be something in what he says,--strange as +it sounds to the ear of one who is _not_ a bee-hunter. He finds the +nest at length,--sometimes in a hollow tree, sometimes upon a branch,-- +the latter kind of nest being a large mass, of a substance like +blotting-paper, and hanging suspended from the twigs. Sometimes he +traces the insect to a subterranean dwelling; but it must be remarked +that all these are different species of bees, that build their nests and +construct the cells of their honeycombs each in its own favourite place, +and according to its own fashion. The bee-hunter cares not how--so long +as he can find the nest; though he would prefer being guided to one +built upon a species of thick octagonal cactus, known as the habitat of +the bee "tosimi." This preference is caused by the simple fact--that of +all the honey in the Chaco, that of the bee "tosimi" is the _sweetest_. + +It is to be regretted that, with his many virtues, and his fine +opportunity of exercising them, the Chaco Indian will not consent to +remain in peace and good-will with all men. It seems a necessity of his +nature to have an occasional shy at some enemy, whether white or of his +own complexion. But, indeed, it would be ridiculous to censure him for +this, since it appears also to be a vice universal among mankind; for +where is the tribe or nation, savage or civilised, who does not practise +it, whenever it feels bold enough or strong enough to do so? The Chaco +Indian is not alone in his disregard of of the sixth commandment,--not +the only being on earth who too frequently goes forth to battle. + +He has two distinct kinds of enemies,--one of European, the other of his +own race,--almost of his own kindred, you would say. But it must be +remembered that there are several distinct tribes dwelling in the Chaco; +who, although presenting a certain similitude, are in many respects +widely dissimilar; and, so far from forming one nation, or living in +harmonious alliance with each other, are more frequently engaged in the +most deadly hostilities. Their wars are all conducted on horseback,-- +all cavalry skirmishes,--the Chaco Indian disdaining to touch the ground +with his foot. Dismounted he would feel himself vanquished,--as much +out of his element as a fish, out of water! + +His war weapons are of a primitive kind; they are the bow and lance, and +a species of club, known in Spanish phraseology as the "macana." This +last weapon is also found in the hands of several of the Amazonian +tribes, though differing slightly in its construction. The "macana" of +the Chaco Indian is a short, stout piece of heavy iron-wood,--usually a +species known as the _quebracha_, or "axe-breaker," which grows +plentifully throughout the Paraguayan countries. Numerous species are +termed "quebracha" in Spanish-American countries, as there are numerous +"iron-woods." That of Paraguay, like most others that have obtained +this name, is a species of ebony-wood, or lignum-vitae,--in short, a +true _guaiacum_. The wood is hard, solid, and heavy almost as metal; +and therefore just the very stuff for a war-club. + +The macana of the Chaco Indian is short,--not much over two feet in +length, and is used both for striking in the hand and throwing to a +distance. It is thicker, and of course heavier, at both extremities; +and the mode of grasping it is round the narrow part in the middle. The +Indian youths, while training for war, practise throwing the macana, as +other people play at skittles or quoits. + +The _lazo_ and _bolas_ are both in the hands of the Chaco tribes, but +these contrivances are used sparingly, and more for hunting than war. +They rarely trouble themselves with them on a real war expedition. + +Their chief weapons against an enemy are their long lances,--for these +are far the most effective arms for a man mounted on horseback. Those +of the Chaco Indian are of enormous length, their shafts being often +fifteen feet from butt to barb. They use them also when mounting on +horseback, in a fashion peculiar to themselves. They mount by the right +side, contrary to our European mode; nor is there the slightest +resemblance in any other respect between the two fashions of getting +into the saddle. With the Chaco Indian there is no putting toes into +stirrups,--no tugging at the poor steed's withers,--no clinging or +climbing into the seat. He places the butt of his lance upon the +ground, grasps it a little above his head with the right hand, and then +raising his lithe body with an elastic spring, he drops like a cat upon +the spine of his well-trained steed. A word,--a touch of his knee, or +other well-understood signal,--and the animal is off like an arrow. + +When the Chaco Indian goes to war against the whites, his arms are those +already described. He is not yet initiated into the use of guns and +gunpowder, though he often experiences their deadly effects. Indeed, +the wonder is that he could have maintained his independence so long, +with such weapons opposed to him. Gunpowder has often given cowards the +victory over brave men; but the Chaco Indian, even without gunpowder, +has managed somehow or other to preserve his freedom. + +When he makes an expedition against the white settlements, he carries no +shield or other defensive armour. He did so at one period of his +history; but experience has taught him that these contrivances are of +little use against leaden bullets; and he has thrown them away, taking +them up again, however, when he goes to war with enemies of his own +kind. + +In attacking a settlement or village of the whites, one of his favourite +strategic plans is to set the houses on fire; and in this he very often +succeeds,--almost certainly when the thatch chances to be dry. His plan +is to project an arrow with a piece of blazing cotton fastened near the +head. For this purpose he uses the strongest kind of bow, and lying +upon his back, bends it with his feet. By this means a much longer +range is obtained, and the aim is of little consequence, so long as the +arrow falls upon the roof a house. + +On going to war with a hostile tribe of his own kind and colour, he +equips himself in a manner altogether different His face is then painted +most frightfully, and in the most hideous designs that his imagination +can suggest, while his body is almost entirely covered by a complete +suit of mail. The thick hide of the tapir furnishes him with the +materials for helmet, cuirass, cuisses, greaves, everything,--and +underneath is a lining of jaguar-skin. Thus accoutred he is in little +danger from the arrows of the enemy, though he is also sadly encumbered +in the management of his horse; and were he upon a plundering expedition +against the whites, such an encumbrance would certainly bring him to +grief. He knows that very well, and therefore he never goes in such +guise upon any foray that is directed towards the settlements. + +The Chaco Indian has now been at peace with his eastern neighbours--both +Spaniards and Portuguese--for a considerable length of time; but he +still keeps up hostility with the settlements on the south,--those of +Cordova and San Luis,--and often returns from these wretched provinces +laden with booty. If he should chance to bring away anything that is of +no use to him, or that may appear superfluous in his savage home,--a +harp or guitar, a piece of costly furniture, or even a handsome horse,-- +he is not required to throw it away: he knows that he can find +purchasers on the other side of the river,--among the Spanish merchants +of Corrientes or Paraguay, who are ready at any time to become the +receivers of the property stolen from their kindred of the south! + +Such queer three-cornered dealings are also carried on in the northern +countries of Spanish America,--in the provinces of Chihuahua, New Leon, +and New Mexico. They are there called "cosas de Mexico." It appears +they are equally "cosas de Paraguay." + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +THE FEEGEES, OR MAN-EATERS. + +Have I a reader who has not heard of the "King of the Cannibal Islands?" +I think I may take it for granted that there is not one in my large +circle of boy-readers who has not heard of that royal anthropophagist, +that "mighty king" who,-- + + "In one hut, + Had fifty wives as black as _sut_, + And fifty of a double smut-- + That King of the Cannibal Islands." + +And yet, strange as it may appear, the old song was no exaggeration-- +neither as regards the number of his wives, nor any other particular +relating to King "Musty-fusty-shang." On the contrary, it presents a +picture of the life and habits of his polygamous majesty that is, alas! +too ludicrously like the truth. + +Though the king of the Cannibal Islands has been long known by +reputation, people never had any very definite idea in what quarter of +the world his majesty's dominions lay. Being, as the name implies, an +island-kingdom, it was to be looked for of course, in some part of the +ocean; and the Pacific Ocean or Great South Sea was generally regarded +as that in which it was situated; but whether it was the Tonga Islands, +or the Marquesas, or the Loo-Choos, or the Soo-loos--or some other +group, that was entitled to the distinction of being the man-eating +community, with the man-eating king at their head--was not very +distinctly ascertained up to a recent period. On this head there is +uncertainty no longer. Though in several groups of South-Sea Islands +the horrible propensity is known to exist, yet the man-eaters, _par +excellence_, the real _bona-fide_ followers of the habit, are the +_Feegees_. Beyond doubt these are the greatest cannibals in all +creation, their islands the true "Cannibal Islands," and their king no +other than "Musty-fusty-shang" himself. + +Alas! the subject is too serious to jest upon, and it is not without +pain that we employ our pen upon it. The truth must needs be told; and +there is no reason why the world should not know how desperately wicked +men may become under the influence of a despotism that leaves the masses +in the power of the irresponsible few, with no law, either moral or +physical, to restrain their unbridled passions. + +You will find the Feegee Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, in the latitude +of 18 degrees south. This parallel passes nearly through the centre of +the group. Their longitude is remarkable: it is the complement of the +meridian of Greenwich--the line 180 degrees. Therefore, when it is noon +in London, it is midnight among the Feegees. Take the intersection of +these two lines, 18 degrees latitude and 180 degrees longitude as a +centre; describe an imaginary circle, with a diameter of 300 miles; its +circumference, with the slight exception of a small outlying group, will +enclose, in a "ring fence," as it were, the whole Feegee archipelago. + +The group numbers, in all, no fewer than 225 islands and islets, of +which between 80 and 90 are at present inhabited--the whole population +being not much under 200,000. The estimates of writers differ widely on +this point; some state 150,000--others, more than double this amount. +There is reason to believe that 150,000 is too low. Say, then, 200,000; +since the old adage: "In medias res," is generally true. + +Only two of the islands are large,--"Viti," and "Vanua." Viti is 90 +miles long, by 50 in breadth, and Vanua 100 by 25. Some are what are +known as "coral islands;" others are "volcanic," presenting all +varieties of mountain aspect, rugged and sublime. A few of the +mountain-peaks attain the elevation of 5,000 feet above sea-level, and +every form is known--table-topped, dome-shaped, needle, and conical. In +fact, no group in the Pacific affords so many varieties of form and +aspect, as are to be observed in the Feegee archipelago. In sailing +through these islands, the most lovely landscapes open out before the +eye, the most picturesque groupings of rocks, ridges, and +mountain-peaks, ravines filled with luxuriant vegetation, valleys +covered with soft verdure, so divinely fair as to appear the abode of +angelic beings. "So beautiful was their aspect," writes one who visited +them, "that I could scarcely bring my mind to the realising sense of the +well-known fact, that they were the abode of a savage, ferocious, and +treacherous race of cannibals." Such, alas! is the fact, well-known, as +the writer observes. + +Perhaps to no part of the world has Nature been more bountiful than to +the Feegee Islands. She has here poured out her favours in very +profusion; and the _cornucopia_ might be regarded as an emblem of the +land. The richest products of a tropic vegetation flourish in an +abundance elsewhere unknown, and the growth of valuable articles of food +is almost spontaneous. Many kinds are really of spontaneous production; +and those under cultivation are almost endless in numbers and variety. +Yams grow to the length of six feet, weighing one hundred pounds each! +and several varieties are cultivated. The sweet potato reaches the +weight of five or six pounds, and the "taro" (_Arum esculentum_) also +produces a root of enormous size, which forms the staple article of the +Feegeean's food. Still another great tuber, weighing twenty or thirty +pounds, and used as a liquorice, is the produce of the "massawe," or +ti-tree (_dracaena terminalis_); and the root of the _piper methisticum_ +often attains the weight of one hundred and forty pounds! This last is +possessed of highly narcotic properties; and is the material universally +used in the distillation, or rather brewing, of the native drink called +"yaqona"--the "kava" of the South-Sea voyagers. Breadfruit grows in +abundance: there being no less than nine varieties of this celebrated +tree upon the different islands of the group, each producing a distinct +kind of fruit; and what is equally remarkable, of the _musaceae_--the +plantain and banana--there are in the Feegee isles thirty different +kinds, either of spontaneous growth, or cultivated! All these are well +distinguished from one another, and bear distinct appellations. Three +kinds of cocoa-palm add to the extraordinary variety of vegetable food, +as well as to the picturesqueness of the scenery; but there is no lack +of lovely forms in the vegetation, where the beautiful ti-tree grows,-- +where the fern and the screw-pines flourish,--where plantains and +bananas unfold their broad bright leaves to the sun; where _arums_ +spread their huge fronds mingling with the thick succulent blades of the +bromelia, and where pawpaws, shaddocks, orange and lime-trees exhibit +every hue of foliage, from deep-green to the most brilliant golden. + +Fruits of a hundred species are grown in the greatest plenty; the orange +and the Papuan apple, the shaddock and lemon; in short, almost every +species of fruit that will flourish in a tropical clime. In addition, +many indigenous and valuable kinds, both of roots and fruits, are +peculiar to the Feegee group, yet unknown and uncultivated in any other +part of the world. Even the very cloth of the country--and a beautiful +fabric it makes--is the product of an indigenous tree, the "malo" or +paper-mulberry (_Brousonetia papyrifera_), the "tapa" of voyagers. Not +only the material for dresses, but the tapestry for the adornment of +their temples, the curtains and hangings of their houses, are all +obtained from this valuable tree. + +We have not space for a more detailed account of the productions of +these isles. It would fill a volume to describe with any degree of +minuteness the various genera and species of its plants alone. Enough +has been said to show how bountiful, or rather how prodigal, nature has +been to the islands of the Feegeean Archipelago. + +Of the animal kingdom there is not much to be said. Of quadrupeds there +is the usual paucity of species that is noticed everywhere throughout +the Polynesian islands. Dogs and pigs are kept; the latter in +considerable numbers, as the flesh forms an important article of food; +but they are not indigenous to the Feegee group, though the period of +their introduction is unknown. Two or three small rodents are the only +quadrupeds yet known to be true natives of the soil. Reptiles are alike +scarce in species,--though the turtle is common upon the coasts, and its +fishery forms the regular occupation of a particular class of the +inhabitants. The species of birds are more numerous, and there are +parrots, peculiar to the islands, of rich and beautiful plumage. + +But we are not allowed to dwell upon these subjects. Interesting as may +be the zoology and botany of the Feegeean Archipelago, both sink into +insignificance when brought into comparison with its ethnology,--the +natural history of its human inhabitants;--a subject of deep, but alas! +of a terribly painful interest. By inquiry into the condition and +character of these people, we shall see how little they have deserved +the favours which nature has so bounteously bestowed upon them. + +In the portrait of the Feegeean you will expect something frightfully +hideous,--knowing, as you already do, that he is an eater of human +flesh,--a man of gigantic stature, swarthy skin, bloodshot eyes, gaunt, +bony jaws, and terrific aspect. You will expect this man to be +described as being naked,--or only with the skin of a wild beast upon +his shoulders,--building no house, manufacturing no household or other +utensils, and armed with a huge knotted club, which he is ever ready to +use:--a man who dwells in a cavern, sleeps indifferently in the open air +or under the shelter of a bush; in short, a true savage. That is the +sort of creature you expect me to describe, and I confess that just such +a physical aspect--just such a condition of personal hideousness--would +be exactly in keeping with the moral deformity of the Feegeean. You +would furthermore expect this savage to be almost devoid of intellectual +power,--altogether wanting in moral sense,--without knowledge of right +and wrong,--without knowledge of any kind,--without ideas. It seems but +natural you should look for such characteristics in a _cannibal_. + +The portrait I am about to paint will disappoint you. I do not regret +it, since it enables me to bring forward another testimony that man in +his original nature is not a being of such desperate wickedness. That +simple and primitive state, which men glibly call _savage_, is _not_ the +condition favourable to cannibalism. I know that it is to such people +that the habit is usually ascribed, but quite erroneously. The Andaman +islander has been blamed with it simply becauses he chances to go naked, +and looks, as he is, hungry and emaciated. The charge is proved false. +The Bushman of South Africa has enjoyed a similar reputation. It also +turns out to be a libel. The Carib long lived under the imputation, +simply because he presented a fierce front to the Spanish tyrant, who +would have enslaved him; and we have heard the same stigma cast upon a +dozen other tribes, the _lowest savages_ being usually selected; in +other words, those whose condition appeared the most wretched. In such +cases the accusation has ever been found, upon investigation, to be +erroneous. + +In the most primitive state in which man appears upon the earth, he is +either without social organisation altogether, or if any do exist, it is +either patriarchal of republican. Neither of these conditions is +favourable to the development of vice,--much less the most horrible of +all vices. + +It will not do to quote the character of the Bushman, or certain other +of the low tribes, to refute this statement. These are not men in their +primitive state ascending upward, but a condition altogether the +reverse. They are the decaying remnants of some corrupt civilisation, +sinking back into the dust out of which they were created. + +No--and I am happy to say it--man, as he originally came from the hands +of the Creator, has no such horrid propensity as cannibalism. In his +primitive state he has never been known to practise it,--except when the +motives have been such as have equally tempted men professing the +highest civilisation,--but this cannot be considered cannibalism. Where +that exists in its true unmitigated form,--and unhappily it does so,-- +the early stages of social organisation must have been passed; the +republican and patriarchal forms must both have given place to the +absolute and monarchical. This condition of things is absolutely +necessary, before man can obtain sufficient power to prey upon his +fellow-man to the extent of eating him. There can be no "cannibal" +without a "king." + +So far from the Feegeean cannibals being _savages_, according to the +ordinary acceptation of the term, they are in reality the very reverse. +If we adhere to the usual meaning of the word civilisation, +understanding by it a people possessing an intelligent knowledge of +arts, living in well-built houses, fabricating fine goods, tilling their +lands in a scientific and successful manner, practising the little +politenesses and accomplishments of social life,--if these be the +_criteria_ of civilisation, then it is no more than the truth to say +that the standard possessed by the Feegee islanders is incomparably +above that of the lower orders of most European nations. + +It is startling to reflect--startling as sad--that a people possessed of +such intellectual power, and who have ever exercised it to a wonderful +extent, in arts, manufactures, and even in the accomplishing of their +own persons, should at the same time exhibit moral traits of such an +opposite character. An atrocious cruelty,--an instinct for oppression, +brutal and ferocious,--a heart pitiless as that of the fiend himself,--a +hand ever ready to strike the murderous blow, even though the victim be +a brother,--lips that lie in every word they speak,--a tongue ever bent +on barbaric boasting,--a bosom that beats only with sentiments of +treachery and abject cowardice,--these are the revolting characteristics +of the Feegeean. Dark as is his skin, his soul is many shades darker. + +It is time, however, to descend to a more particular delineation of this +man-eating monster; and first, we shall give a description of his +personal appearance. + +The Feegeeans are above the average height of Europeans or white men: +men of six feet are common among them, though few reach the height of +six feet six. Corpulent persons are not common, though large and +muscular men abound. Their figure corresponds more nearly to that of +the white man than any other race known. The proportions of their limbs +resemble those of northern Europeans, though some are narrower across +the loins. Their chests are broad and sinewy, and their stout limbs and +short, well-set necks are conspicuous characters. The outline of the +face is a good oval; the mouth large, with white teeth regularly +arranged--ah! those horrid teeth!--the nose is well-shaped, with full +nostrils; yet quite distinct, as are the lips also, from the type of the +African negro. Indeed, with the exception of their colour, they bear +very little resemblance to the negro,--that is, the thick-lipped, +flat-nosed negro of our fancy; for there are negro tribes in Africa +whose features are as fine as those of the Feegeeans, or even as our +own. In colour of skin the Feegeean is nearly, if not quite, as dark as +the negro; but it may be remarked that there are different shades, as +there are also among pure Ethiopians. In the Feegee group there are +many men of mulatto colour, but these are not of the original Feegee +stock. They are either a mixed offspring with the Tonga islander, or +pure-bred Tonga islanders themselves who for the past two hundred years +have been insinuating themselves into the social compact of the +Feegeeans. These light-coloured people are mostly found on the eastern +or windward side of the Feegee group,--that is, the side towards Tonga +itself,--and the trade-winds will account for their immigration, which +was at first purely accidental. They at present play a conspicuous part +in the affairs of the Feegeeans, being in favour with the kings and +great chiefs, partly on account of their being better sailors than the +native Feegeeans, and partly on account of other services which these +tyrants require them to perform. In some arts the Tongans are superior +to the Feegeeans, but not in all. In pottery, wood-carving, making of +mats or baskets, and the manufacture of the tapa cloth, the Feegeeans +stand unrivalled over all the Pacific Ocean. + +We need say no more of the Tongans here; they are elsewhere described. +Those dwelling in Feegee are not all fixed there for life. Some are so, +and these are called Tonga-Feegeeans; the others are only visitors, +giving their services temporarily to the Feegeean chiefs, or occupied in +ship-building,--in constructing those great war canoes that have been +the astonishment of South-Sea voyagers, and which Feegee sends forth +from her dockyards in the greatest perfection. These, when finished by +the Tongan strangers, are used to carry them back to their own islands, +that lie about three hundred miles to the windward (southeast). + +But to continue the portrait of the Feegeean. We have touched almost +every part of it except the hair; but this requires a most elaborate +limning, such as the owner himself gives it. In its natural state the +head of the Feegeean is covered by a mass of black hair, long, frizzled, +and bushy, sometimes encroaching on the forehead, and joined by whiskers +to a thick, round, or pointed beard, to which moustaches are often +added. Black is, of course, the natural colour of the hair, but it is +not always worn of this hue. Other colours are thought more becoming; +and the hair, both of the men and women, is dyed in a variety of ways, +lime burning it to a reddish or whitey-brown shade. A turmeric-yellow, +or even a vermilion-red are not uncommon colours; but all these keep +varying, according to the change of fashions at court! + +Commodore Wilkes, who has given a good deal of his time to an +exploration of the Feegee Islands, states that the Feegee hair, in its +natural condition, is straight, and not "frizzled," as described above-- +he says that the frizzling is the work of the barber; but the Commodore +is altogether mistaken in this idea. Thousands of Feegeeans, whose hair +was never touched by a barber, nor dressed even by themselves, exhibit +this peculiarity. We regret to add that this is only one of a thousand +erroneous statements which the Commodore has made during his gigantic +exploration. He may have been excellent at his own speciality of making +soundings and laying down charts; but on all matters pertaining to +natural history or ethnology, the worthy Commodore appears to have been +purblind, and, indeed, his extensive staff of naturalists of every kind +have produced far less than might have been expected from such excellent +opportunities as they enjoyed. The observation of the Commodore will +not stand the test of time, and cannot be depended upon as safe guides, +excepting in those cases where he was an actual eye-witness. About his +truthful intentions there can be no doubt whatever. + +Of one very peculiar performance among the Feegees he appears to have +had actual demonstration, and as he has described this with sufficient +minuteness, we shall copy his account; though, after what we have said, +we should apologise largely for the liberty. The performance referred +to is that of "barberising" a barbarian monarch, and may be taken as a +proof of high civilisation among the Feegees. It will be seen that, +with the exception of the tabooed fingers, there is not much difference +between a barber of Bond Street and an artist of like calling in the +Cannibal Islands. + +"The chiefs in particular," writes Commodore Wilkes, "pay great +attention to the dressing of their heads, and for this purpose all of +them have barbers, whose sole occupation is the care of their masters' +heads. These barbers are called _a-vu-ni-ulu_. They are attached to +the household of the chiefs in numbers of from two to a dozen. The duty +is held to be of so sacred a nature, that their hands are tabooed from +all other employment, and they are not even permitted to feed +themselves. To dress the head of a chief requires several hours. The +hair is made to spread out from the head, on every side, to a distance +that is often eight inches. The beard, which is also carefully nursed, +often reaches the breast, and when a Feegeean has these important parts +of his person well dressed, he exhibits a degree of conceit that is not +a little amusing. + +"In the process of dressing the hair it is well anointed with oil, mixed +with a carbonaceous black, until it is completely saturated. The barber +then takes the hairpin, which is a long and slender rod, made of +tortoise-shell or bone, and proceeds to twitch almost every separate +hair. This causes it to frizzle and stand erect. The bush of hair is +then trimmed smooth by singeing it, until it has the appearance of an +immense wig. When this has been finished, a piece of tapa, so fine as +to resemble tissue-paper, is wound in light folds around it, to protect +the hair from the dew or dust. This covering, which has the look of a +turban, is called _sala_, and none but the chiefs are allowed to wear +it; any attempt to assume this head-dress by a kai-si, or common person, +would be immediately punished with death. The sala, when taken proper +care of, will last three weeks or a month, and the hair is not dressed +except when it is removed; but the high chiefs and dandies seldom allow +a day to pass without changing the sala and having the hair put in +order." + +With this account, we conclude our description of the Feegeean's person. +His costume is of the simplest kind, and easily described. With the +men it is merely a strip of "tapa" or "malo" cloth passed several times +round the waist, and the ends left to hang down in front. The length of +the hanging ends determines the rank of the wearer, and only in the case +of kings or great chiefs are they allowed to touch the ground. A turban +of the finest tapa cloth among the great mop of hair is another badge of +rank, worn only by kings and chiefs; and this head-dress, which adds +greatly to the dignified appearance of the wearer, is not always coiffed +in the same fashion, but each chief adapts it to his own or the +prevailing taste of the court. The dress of the women is a mere +waist-belt, with a fringe from six to ten inches in length. It is worn +longer after they have become wives, sometimes reaching near the knee, +and forming a very picturesque garment. It is called the "liku," and +many of them are manufactured with surprising skill and neatness, the +material being obtained from various climbing plants of the forest. +Under the "liku" the women are tattooed, and there only. Their men, on +the contrary, do not undergo the tattoo; but on grand occasions paint +their faces and bodies in the most fanciful colours and patterns. + +The kings and some chiefs suspend from their necks shell ornaments-- +often as large as a dining-plate--that down upon the breast. Some, +instead of this, wear a necklace of whales' teeth, carved to resemble +claws, and bearing a very close resemblance to the necklaces of the +Prairie Indians, made of the claws of the grizzly bear. Another kind of +necklace--perhaps more appropriate to the Feegee--is a string of human +teeth; and this kind is not unfrequently worn by these ferocious +dandies. + +It must not be supposed that the scantiness of the Feegeean costume +arises from poverty or stinginess on the part of the wearer. Nothing of +the kind. It is simply because such is the fashion of the time. Were +it otherwise, he could easily supply the materials, but he does not wish +it otherwise. His climate is an eternal summer, and he has no need to +encumber his body with extraneous clothing. With the exception of the +turban upon his head, his king is as naked as himself. + +You may suppose that the Feegeeans have but little notions of modesty; +but, strange as it may appear, this is in reality not one of their +failings. They regard the "malo" and "liku" as the most modest of +garments; and a man or woman seen in the streets without these scanty +coverings would be in danger of being clubbed to death! + +It must be acknowledged that they are not _altogether_ depraved--for in +this respect they present the most astounding anomaly. Certain virtues +are ascribed to them, and as I have painted only the dark side of their +character, it is but fair to give the other. Indeed, it is a pleasure +to do this--though there is not enough of the favourable to make any +great alteration in the picture. The whole character is so well +described by one of the most acute observers who has yet visited the +South Seas--the Wesleyan missionary Williams--that we borrow the +description. + +"The aspect of the Feegeean," says Mr Williams, "with reference to his +mental character, so far from supporting the decision which would thrust +him almost out of mankind, presents many points of great interest, +showing that, if an ordinary amount of attention were bestowed on him, +he would take no mean rank in the human family, to which, hitherto, he +has been a disgrace. Dull, barren stupidity forms no part of his +character. His feelings are acute, but not lasting; his emotions easily +roused, but transient; he can love truly, and hate deeply; he can +sympathise with thorough sincerity, and feign with consummate skill; his +fidelity and loyalty are strong and enduring, while his revenge never +dies, but waits to avail itself of circumstances, or of the blackest +treachery, to accomplish its purpose. His senses are keen, and so well +employed, that he often excels the white man in ordinary things. Tact +has been called `ready cash,' and of this the native of Feegee has a +full share, enabling him to surmount at once many difficulties, and +accomplish many tasks, that would have `fixed' an Englishman. Tools, +cord, or packing materials, he finds directly, where the white man would +be at a loss for either; and nature seems to him but a general store for +his use, where the article he wants is always within reach. + +"In social diplomacy the Feegeean is very cautious and clever. That he +ever paid a visit merely _en passant_, is hard to be believed. If no +request leaves his lips, he has brought the desire, and only waits for a +good chance to present it now, or prepare the way for its favourable +reception at some other time. His face and voice are all pleasantness; +and he has the rare skill of finding out just the subject on which you +most like to talk, or sees at once whether you desire silence. Barely +will he fail to read your countenance; and the case must be urgent +indeed which obliges him to ask a favour when he sees a frown. The more +important he feels his business the more earnestly he protests that he +has none at all; and the subject uppermost in his thoughts comes last to +his lips, or is not even named; for he will make a second, or even a +third visit, rather than risk a failure through precipitancy. He seems +to read other men by intuition, especially where selfishness or lust are +prominent traits. If it serves his purpose, he will study difficult and +peculiar characters, reserving the results for future use; if afterwards +he wish to please them, he will know how, and if to annoy them, it will +be done most exactly. + +"His sense of hearing is acute, and by a stroke of his nail he judges +the ripeness of fruits, or soundness of various substances." + +From what source the Feegeean has sprung is purely a matter of +conjecture. He has no history,--not even a tradition of when his +ancestors first peopled the Archipelago in which we now find him. Of +his race we have not a much clearer knowledge. Speculation places him +in the same family as the "Papuan Negro," and he has some points of +resemblance to this race, in the colour and frizzled hair; but there is +as much difference between the wretched native of West Australia and the +finely-developed Feegeean as there is between the stunted Laplander and +the stalwart Norwegian; nor is the coarse rough skin of the true Papuan +to be recognised in the smooth, glossy epidermis of the Feegee Islander. +This, however, may be the result of better living; and certainly among +the mountain-tribes of the Feegees, who lead lives of greater privation +and hardship, the approach to the Papuan appearance is observable. It +is hardly necessary to add that the Feegeean is of a race quite distinct +from that known as the Polynesian or South-Sea Islander. This last is +different not only in form, complexion, and language, but also in many +important mental characteristics. It is to this race the Tongans +belong, and its peculiarities will be sketched in treating of that +people. + +Were we to enter upon a minute description of the manners and customs of +the Feegees,--of their mode of house and canoe building,--of their arts +and manufactures, for they possess both,--of their implements of +agriculture and domestic use,--of their weapons of war,--their +ceremonies of religion and court etiquette,--our task would require more +space than is here allotted to us: it would in fact be as much as to +describe the complete social economy of a civilised nation; and a whole +volume would scarce suffice to contain such a description. In a sketch +like the present, the account of these people requires to be given in +the most condensed and synoptical form, and only those points can be +touched upon that may appear of the greatest interest. + +It must be remembered that the civilisation of the Feegees--of course, I +allude to their proficiency in the industrial arts--is entirely an +indigenous growth. They have borrowed ideas from the Tongans,--as the +Tongans have also from them,--but both are native productions of the +South Sea, and not derived from any of the so-called great _centres_ of +civilisation. Such as have sprung from these sources are of modern +date, and make but a small feature in the panorama of Feegeean life. +The houses they build are substantial, and suitable to their +necessities. We cannot stay to note the architecture minutely. The +private dwellings are usually about twenty-five feet long by fifteen in +breadth, the interior forming one room, but with a sort of elevated +divan at the end, sometimes screened with beautiful "tapa" curtains, and +serving as the dormitory. + +The ground-plan of the house is that of an oblong square,--or, to speak +more properly, a parallelogram. The walls are constructed of timber,-- +being straight posts of cocoa-palm, tree-fern, bamboo, or breadfruit,-- +the spaces between closely warped or otherwise filled in with reeds of +cane or _calamus_. The thatch is of the leaves of the wild or +cultivated sugar-cane,--sometimes of a _pandanus_,--thickly laid on, +especially near the eaves, where it is carefully cropped, exposing an +edge of from one to two feet in thickness. The roof has four faces,-- +that is, it is a "hip roof." It is made with a very steep pitch, and +comes down low, projecting fer over the heads of the upright timbers. +This gives a sort of shaded veranda all around the house, and throws the +rain quite clear of the walls. The ridge-pole is a peculiar feature; it +is fastened to the ridge of the thatch by strong twisted ropes, that +give it an ornamental appearance; and its carved ends project at both +gables, or rather, over the "hip roofs," to the length of a foot, or +more; it is further ornamented by white shells, those of the _cyprea +ovula_ being most used for the purpose. The Feegee house presents +altogether a picturesque and not inelegant appearance. The worst +feature is the low door. There are usually two of them, neither in each +house being over three feet in height. The Feegee assigns no reason why +his door is made so low; but as he is frequently in expectation of a +visitor, with a murderous bludgeon in his grasp, it is possible this may +have something to do with his making the entrance so difficult. + +The houses of the chiefs, and the great council-house, or temple,-- +called the "Bure,"--are built precisely in the same style; only that +both are larger, and the doors, walls, and ridge-poles more elaborately +ornamented. The fashionable style of decoration is a plaiting of +cocoa-fibre, or "sinnet," which is worked and woven around the posts in +regular figures of "relievo." + +The house described is not universal throughout all the group. There +are many "orders" of architecture, and that prevailing in the Windward +Islands is different from the style of the Leeward, and altogether of a +better kind. Different districts have different forms. In one you may +see a village looking like an assemblage of wicker baskets, while in +another you might fancy it a collection of rustic arbours. A third +seems a collection oblong hayricks, with holes in their sides; while, in +a fourth these ricks are conical. + +It will be seen that, with this variety in housebuilding, it would be a +tedious task to illustrate the complete architecture of Feegeeans. Even +Master Kuskin himself would surrender it up in despair. + +Equally tedious would it be to describe the various implements or +utensils which a Feegee house contains. The furniture is simple enough. +There are neither chairs, tables, nor bedsteads. The bed is a +beautiful mat spread on the dais, or divan; and in the houses of the +rich the floors are covered with a similar carpet. These mats are of +the finest texture, far superior to those made elsewhere. The materials +used are the _Hibiscus tiliaceus, Pandanus odoratissimus_, and a species +of rush. They are in great abundance in every house,--even the poorest +person having his mat to sit or lie upon; and it is they that serve for +the broad-spreading sails of the gigantic canoes. In addition to the +mats, plenty of tapa cloth may be seen, and baskets of every shape and +size,--the wicker being obtained from the rattan (_flagellaria_), and +other sources. One piece of furniture deserves especial mention,--this +is the pillow upon which the Feegee lord lays his head when he goes to +sleep. It presents but little claim to the appellation of a _downy_ +pillow; since it is a mere cylinder of hard polished wood, with short +arched pedestals to it, to keep it firmly in its place. Its object is +to keep the great frizzled mop from being tossed or disarranged, during +the hours of repose; and Feegeean vanity enables the owner of the mop to +endure this flinty bolster with the most uncomplaining equanimity. If +he were possessed of the slightest spark of conscience, even this would +be soft, compared with any pillow upon which he might rest his guilty +head. + +In addition to the baskets, other vessels meet the eye. These are of +pottery, as varied in shape and size as they are in kind. There are +pots and pans, bowls, dishes, cups and saucers, jars and bottles,--many +of them of rare and curious designs,--some red, some ornamented with a +glaze obtained from the gum of the _kauri_ pine,--for this tree is also +an indigenous production of the Feegee Islands. Though no potter's +wheel is known to the Feegees, the proportions of their vessels are as +just and true, and their polish as complete, as if Stafford had produced +them. There are cooking-pots to be seen of immense size. These are +jars formed with mouths wide enough to admit the largest joint. I dare +not mention the kind of joint that is frequently cooked in those great +caldrons. Ugh! the horrid pots! + +Their implements are equally varied and numerous,--some for +manufacturing purposes, and others for agriculture. The latter are of +the simplest kind. The Feegee plough is merely a pointed stick inserted +deeply into the ground, and kept moving about till a lump of the soil is +broken upward. This is crushed into mould, first by a light club, and +afterwards pulverised with the fingers. The process is slow, but fast +enough for the Feegeean, whose farm is only a garden. He requires no +plough, neither bullocks nor horses. With taro-roots and sweet potatoes +that weigh ten pounds each, yams and yaqonas over one hundred, and +plantains producing bunches of a hundred and fifty fruits to the single +head, why need he trouble himself by breaking up more surface? His +single acre yields him as much vegetable wealth as fifty would to an +English farmer! + +It is not to be supposed that he has it all to himself; no, nor half of +it either; nor yet the fifth part of it. At least four fifths of his +sweat has to be expended in tax or tithe; and this brings us to the form +of his government. We shall not dwell long upon this subject. Suffice +it to say that the great body of the people are in a condition of abject +serfdom,--worse than slavery itself. They own nothing that they can +call their own,--not their wives,--not their daughters,--not even their +lives! All these may be taken from them at any hour. There is no law +against despoiling them,--no check upon the will and pleasure of their +chiefs or superiors; and, as these constitute a numerous body, the poor +_canaille_ have no end of ruffian despoilers. It is an everyday act for +a chief to rob, or _club to death_, one of the common people! and no +unfrequent occurrence to be himself clubbed to death by his superior, +the king! Of these _kings_ there are eight in Feegee,--not one, as the +old song has it; but the words of the ballad will apply to each of them +with sufficient appropriateness. Any one of them will answer to the +character of "Musty-fusty-shang?" + +These kings have their residences on various islands, and the different +parts of the group are distributed somewhat irregularly under their +rule. Some islands, or parts of islands, are only tributary to them; +others connected by a sort of deferential alliance; and there are +communities quite independent, and living under the arbitrary sway of +their own chieftains. The kings are not all of equal power or +importance; but in this respect there have been many changes, even +during the Feegeean historical period,--which extends back only to the +beginning of the present century. Sometimes one is the most +influential, sometimes another; and in most cases the pre-eminence is +obtained by him who possesses the greatest amount of truculence and +treachery. He who is most successful in murdering his rivals, and +ridding himself of opposition, by the simple application of the club, +usually succeeds in becoming for the time head "king of the Cannibal +Islands." I do not mean that he reigns over the whole Archipelago. No +king has yet succeeded in uniting all the islands under one government. +He only gets so far as to be feared everywhere, and to have tributary +presents, and all manner of debasing compliments offered to him. These +kings have all their courts and court etiquette, just as their "royal +brothers" elsewhere; and the ceremonials observed are quite as +complicated and degrading to the dignity of man. + +The punishment for neglecting their observance is rather more severe in +Feegee than elsewhere. For a decided or wilful non-compliance, the +skull of the delinquent is frequently crushed in by the club of his +majesty himself,--even in presence of a full "drawing-room." Lesser or +accidental mistakes, or even the exhibition of an ungraceful +_gaucherie_, are punished by the loss of a finger: the consequence of +which is, that in Feegee there are many fingers missing! Indeed, a +complete set is rather the exception than the rule. If a king or great +chief should chance to miss his foot and slip down, it is the true _ton_ +for all those who are near or around him to fall likewise,--the crowd +coming down, literally like a "thousand of bricks!" + +I might detail a thousand customs to show how far the dignity of the +human form is debased and disgraced upon Feegee soil; but the subject +could be well illustrated nearer home. Flunkeyism is a fashion +unfortunately not confined to the Feegeean archipelago; and though the +forms in which it exhibits itself there may be different, the sentiment +is still the same. It must ever appear where men are politically +unequal,--wherever there is a class possessed of hereditary privileges. + +I come to the last,--the darkest feature in the Feegeean character,--the +horrid crime and custom of cannibalism. I could paint a picture, and +fill up the details with the testimony of scores of eyewitnesses,--a +picture that would cause your heart to weep. It is too horrid to be +given here. My pen declines the office; and, therefore, I must leave +the painful story untold. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +THE TONGANS, OR FRIENDLY ISLANDERS. + +It is a pleasure to pass out of the company of the ferocious Feegees +into that of another people, which, though near neighbours of the +former, are different from them in almost every respect,--I mean the +Tongans, or Friendly Islanders. This appellation scarce requires to be +explained. Every one knows that it was bestowed upon them by the +celebrated navigator Cook,--who although not the actual discoverer of +the Tonga group, was the first who thoroughly explored these islands, +and gave any reliable account of them to the civilised world. Tasman, +who might be termed the "Dutch Captain Cook," is allowed to be their +discoverer, so long ago as 1643; though there is reason to believe that +some of the Spanish explorers from Peru may have touched at these +islands before his time. Tasman, however, has fixed the record of his +visit, and is therefore entitled to the credit of the discovery,--as he +is also to that of Australia, New Zealand, Van Diemen's Land, and other +now well-known islands of the South-western Pacific. Tasman bestowed +upon three of the Tonga group the names--Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and +Middleburgh; but, fortunately, geographers have acted in this matter +with better taste than is their wont; and Tasman's Dutch national titles +have fallen into disuse,--while the true native names of the islands +have been restored to the map. This is what should be done with other +Pacific islands as well; for it is difficult to conceive anything in +worse taste than such titles as the Caroline and Loyalty Isles, Prince +William's Land, King George's Island, and the ten thousand Albert and +Victoria Lands which the genius of flattery, or rather flunkeyism, has +so liberally distributed over the face of the earth. The title of +Friendly Isles, bestowed by Cook upon the Tonga archipelago, deserves to +live; since it is not only appropriate, but forms the record of a +pleasant fact,--the pacific character of our earliest intercourse with +these interesting people. + +It may be here remarked, that Mr Wylde and other superficial map-makers +have taken a most unwarrantable liberty with this title. Instead of +leaving it as bestowed by the great navigator,--applicable to the Tonga +archipelago alone,--they have _stretched_ it to include that of the +Samoans, and--would it be believed--that of the _Feegees_? It is hardly +necessary to point out the extreme absurdity of such a classification: +since it would be difficult to find two nationalities much more unlike +than those of Tonga and Feegee. That they have many customs in common, +is due (unfortunately for the Tongans) to the intercourse which +proximity has produced; but in an ethnological sense, white is not a +greater contrast to black, nor good to evil, than that which exists +between a Tongan and a Feegeean. Cook never visited the Feegee +archipelago,--he only saw some of these people while at Tongataboo, and +heard of their country as being _a large island_. Had he visited that +island,--or rather that group of over two hundred islands,--it is not at +all likely he would have seen reason to extend to them the title which +the map-makers have thought fit to bestow. Instead of "Friendly +Islands," he might by way of contrast have called them the "Hostile +Isles," or given them that--above all others most appropriate, and which +they truly deserve to bear--that old title celebrated in song! the +"Cannibal Islands." An observer so acute as Cook could scarce have +overlooked the appropriateness of the appellation. + +The situation of the Tonga, or Friendly Isles, is easily registered in +the memory. The parallel of 20 degrees south, and the meridian of 175 +degrees west, very nearly intersect each other in Tofoa, which may be +regarded as the central island of the group. It will thus be seen that +their central point is 5 degrees east and 2 degrees south of the centre +of the Feegeean archipelago, and the nearest islands of the two groups +are about three hundred miles apart. + +It is worthy of observation, however, that the Tonga Isles have the +advantage, as regards the wind. The _trades_ are in their favour; and +from Tonga to Feegee, if we employ a landsman's phraseology, it is "down +hill," while it is all "up hill" in the contrary direction. The +consequence is, that many Tongans are constantly making voyages to the +Feegee group,--a large number of them having settled there (as stated +elsewhere),--while but a limited number of Feegeeans find their way to +the Friendly Islands. There is another reason for this +unequally-balanced migration: and that is, that the Tongans are much +bolder and better sailors than their western neighbours; for although +fer excel any other South-Sea islanders in the art of _building_ their +canoes (or ships as they might reasonably be called), yet they are as +far behind many others in the art of _sailing_ them. + +Their superiority in ship-building may be attributed, partly, to the +excellent materials which these islands abundantly afford; though this +is not the sole cause. However much we may deny to the Feegeeans the +possession of moral qualities, we are at the same time forced to admit +their great intellectual capacity,--as exhibited in the advanced state +of their arts and manufactures. In intellectual capacity, however, the +Friendly Islanders are their equals; and the superiority of the +Feegeeans even in "canoe architecture" is no longer acknowledged. It is +true the Tongans go to the Feegee group for most of their large double +vessels; but that is for the reasons already stated,--the greater +abundance and superior quality of the timber and other materials +produced there. In the Feegee "dockyards," the Tongans build for +themselves; and have even improved upon the borrowed pattern. + +This intercourse,--partaking somewhat of the character of an alliance,-- +although in some respects advantageous to the Friendly Islanders, may be +regarded, upon the whole, as unfortunate for them. If it has improved +their knowledge in arts and manufactures, it has far more than +counterbalanced this advantage by the damage done to their moral +character. It is always much easier to make proselytes to vice than to +virtue,--as is proved in this instance: for his intercourse with the +ferocious Feegee has done much to deteriorate the character of the +Tongan. From that source he has imbibed a fondness for war and other +wicked customs; and, in all probability, had this influence been +permitted to continue uninterrupted for a few years longer, the horrid +habit of cannibalism--though entirely repugnant to the natural +disposition of the Tongans--would have become common among them. +Indeed, there can be little doubt that this would have been the ultimate +consequence of the alliance; for already its precursors--human +sacrifices and the vengeful immolation of enemies--had made their +appearance upon the Friendly Islands. Happily for the Tongan, another +influence--that of the missionaries--came just in time to avert this +dire catastrophe; and, although this missionary interference has not +been the best of its kind, it is still preferable to the paganism which +it has partially succeeded in subduing. + +The Tongan archipelago is much less extensive than that of the +Feegees,--the islands being of a limited number, and only five or six of +them of any considerable size. Tongataboo, the largest, is about ninety +miles in circumference. From the most southern of the group Eoo, to +Yavan at the other extremity, it stretches, northerly or northeasterly, +about two hundred miles, in a nearly direct line. The islands are all, +with one or two exceptions, low-lying, their surface being diversified +by a few hillocks or mounds, of fifty or sixty feet in height, most of +which have the appearance of being artificial. Some of the smaller +islets, as Kao, are mountains of some six hundred feet elevation, rising +directly out of the sea; while Tofoa, near the eastern edge of the +archipelago, presents the appearance of an _elevated_ tableland. The +larger number of them are clothed with a rich tropical vegetation, both +natural and cultivated, and their botany includes most of the species +common to the other islands of the South Sea. We find the cocoa, and +three other species of palm, the pandanus, the breadfruit in varieties, +as also the useful musacaae,--the plantain, and banana. The ti-tree +(_Dracaena terminalis_), the paper-mulberry (_Brousonetia papyrifera_), +the sugar-cane, yams of many kinds, the tree yielding the well-known +_turmeric_, the beautiful _casuarina_, and a hundred other sorts of +plants, shrubs, or trees, valuable for the product of their roots or +fruits, their sap and pith, of their trunks and branches, their leaves +and the fibrous material of their bark. + +As a scenic decoration to the soil, there is no part of the world where +more lovely landscapes are produced by the aid of a luxuriant +vegetation. They are perhaps not equal in picturesque effect to those +of the Feegee group,--where mountains form an adjunct to the scenery,-- +but in point of soft, quiet beauty, the landscapes of the Tonga Islands +are not surpassed by any others in the tropical world; and with the +climate they enjoy--that of an endless summer--they might well answer to +the description of the "abode of the Blessed." And, indeed, when Tasman +first looked upon these islands, they perhaps merited the title more +than any other spot on the habitable globe; for, if any people on this +earth might be esteemed happy and blessed, surely it was the inhabitants +of these fair isles of the far Southern Sea. Tasman even records the +remarkable fact, that he saw no arms among them,--no weapons of war! and +perhaps, at that time, neither the detestable trade nor its implements +were known to them. Alas! in little more than a century afterwards, +this peaceful aspect was no longer presented. When the great English +navigator visited these islands, he found the war-club and spear in the +hands of the people, both of Feegee pattern, and undoubtedly of the same +ill-omened origin. + +The personal appearance of the Friendly Islanders differs not a great +deal from that of the other South-Sea tribes or nations. Of course we +speak only of the true Polynesians of the brown complexion, without +reference to the black-skinned islanders--as the Feegees and others of +the Papuan stock. The two have neither resemblance nor relationship to +one another; and it would not be difficult to show that they are of a +totally distinct origin. As for the blacks, it is not even certain that +they are themselves of one original stock; for the splendidly-developed +cannibal of Feegee presents very few features in common with the +wretched kangaroo-eater of West Australia. Whether the black islanders +(or Melanesians as they have been designated) originally came from one +source, is still a question for ethnologists; but there can be no doubt +as to the direction whence they entered upon the colonisation of the +Pacific. That was certainly upon its western border, beyond which they +have not made much progress: since the Feegeean archipelago is at the +present time their most advanced station to the eastward. The brown or +Polynesian races, on the contrary, began their migrations from the +eastern border of the great ocean--in other words, they came from +America; and the so-called Indians of America are, in my opinion, the +_progenitors_, not the _descendants_, of these people of the Ocean +world. If learned ethnologists will give their attention to this view +of the subject, and disembarrass their minds of that fabulous old fancy, +about an original stock situated somewhere (they know not exactly where) +upon the steppes of Asia, they will perhaps arrive at a more rational +hypothesis about the peopling of the so-called new worlds, both the +American and Oceanic. They will be able to prove--what might be here +done if space would permit--that the Polynesians are emigrants from +tropical America, and that the Sandwich Islanders came originally from +California, and not the Californians from the island homes of Hawaii. + +It is of slight importance here how this question may be viewed. Enough +to know that the natives of the Tonga group bear a strong resemblance to +those of the other Polynesian archipelagos--to the Otaheitans and New +Zealanders, but most of all to the inhabitants of the Samoan or +Navigators' Islands, of whom, indeed, they may be regarded as a branch, +with a separate political and geographical existence. Their language +also confirms the affinity, as it is merely a dialect of the common +tongue spoken by all the Polynesians. + +Whatever difference exists between the Tongans and other Polynesians in +point of personal appearance, is in favour of the former. The men are +generally regarded as the best-looking of all South-Sea Islanders, and +the women among the fairest of their sex. Many of them would be +accounted beautiful in any part of the world; and as a general rule, +they possess personal beauty in a fer higher degree than the +much-talked-of Otaheitans. + +The Tongans are of tall stature--rather above than under that of +European nations. Men of six feet are common enough; though few are +seen of what might be termed gigantic proportions. In fact, the true +medium size is almost universal, and the excess in either direction +forms the exception. The bulk of their bodies is in perfect proportion +to their height. Unlike the black Feegeeans--who are often bony and +gaunt--the Tongans possess well-rounded arms and limbs; and the hands +and feet, especially those of the women, are small and elegantly shaped. + +To give a delineation of their features would be a difficult task--since +these are so varied in different individuals, that it would be almost +impossible to select a good typical face. Indeed the same might be said +of nearly every nation on the face of the earth; and the difficulty will +be understood by your making an attempt to describe some face that will +answer for every set of features in a large town, or even a small +village; or still, with greater limitation, for the different +individuals of a single family. Just such a variety there will be found +among the faces of the Friendly Islanders, as you might note in the +inhabitants of an English town or county; and hence the difficulty of +making a correct likeness. A few characteristic points, however, may be +given, both as to their features and complexion. Their lips are +scarcely ever of a thick or negro form; and although the noses are in +general rounded at the end, this rule is not universal;--many have +genuine Roman noses, and what may be termed a full set of the best +Italian features. There is also less difference between the sexes in +regard to their features than is usually seen elsewhere--those of the +women being only distinguished by their less size. + +The forms of the women constitute a more marked distinction; and among +the beauties of Tonga are many that might be termed models in respect to +shape and proportions. In colour, the Tongans are lighter than most +other South-Sea Islanders. Some of the better classes of women--those +least exposed to the open air--show skins of a light olive tint; and the +children of all are nearly white after birth. They become browner less +from age than exposure to the sun; for, as soon as they are able to be +abroad, they scarce ever afterwards enter under the shadow of a roof, +except during the hours of night. + +The Tongans have good eyes and teeth; but in this respect they are not +superior to many other Oceanic tribes--even the black Feegeeans +possessing both eyes and "ivories" scarce surpassed anywhere. The +Tongans, however, have the advantage of their dusky neighbours in the +matter of hair--their heads being clothed with a luxuriant growth of +true hair. Sometimes it is quite straight, as among the American +Indians, but oftener with a slight wave or undulation, or a curl +approaching, but never quite arriving at the condition of "crisp." + +His hair in its natural colour is jet black; and it is to be regretted +that the Tongans have not the good taste to leave it to its natural hue. +On the contrary, their fashion is to stain it of a reddish-brown, a +purple or an orange. The brown is obtained by the application of burnt +coral, the purple from a vegetable dye applied poultice-fashion to the +hair, and the orange is produced by a copious lathering of common +turmeric,--with which the women also sometimes anoint their bodies, and +those of their children. This fashion of hair-dyeing is also common to +the Feegees, and whether they obtained it from the Tongans, or the +Tongans from them, is an unsettled point. The more probable hypothesis +would be, that among many other ugly customs, it had its origin in +Feegee-land,--where, however, the people assign a reason for practising +it very different from the mere motive of ornament. They allege that it +also serves a useful purpose, in preventing the too great fructification +of a breed of parasitic insects,--that would otherwise find--the immense +mop of the frizzly Feegeean a most convenient dwelling-place, and a +secure asylum from danger. This may have had something to do with the +origin of the custom; but once established for purposes of utility, it +is now confirmed, and kept up by the Tongans as a useless ornament. +Their taste in the colour runs exactly counter to that of European +fashionables. What a pity it is that the two could not make an exchange +of hair! Then both parties, like a pair of advertisements in the +"Times," would exactly _fit_ each other. + +Besides the varied fashion in colours, there is also great variety in +the styles in which the Tongans wear their hair. Some cut it short on +one side of their head, leaving it at full length on the other; some +shave a small patch, or cut off only a single lock; while others--and +these certainly display the best taste--leave it to grow out in all its +full luxuriance. In this, again, we find the European fashion reversed, +for the women are those who wear it shortest. The men, although they +are not without beard, usually crop this appendage very close, or shave +it off altogether,--a piece of shell, or rather a pair of shells, +serving them for a razor. + +The mode is to place the thin edge of one shell underneath the hair,-- +just as a hair-cutter does his comb,--and with the edge of the other +applied above, the hairs are rasped through and divided. There are +regular barbers for this purpose, who by practice have been rendered +exceedingly dexterous in its performance; and the victim of the +operation alleges that there is little or no pain produced,--at all +events, it does not bring the tears to his eyes, as a dull razor often +does with us poor thin-skinned Europeans! + +The dress of the Tongans is very similar to that of the Otaheitans, so +often described and well-known; but we cannot pass it here without +remarking a notable peculiarity on the part of the Polynesian people, as +exhibited in the character of their costume. The native tribes of +almost all other warm climates content themselves with the most scant +covering,--generally with no covering at all, but rarely with anything +that may be termed a skirt. In South America most tribes wear the +"guayuco,"--a mere strip around the loins, and among the Feegees the +"malo" or "masi" of the men, and the scant "liku" of the women are the +only excuse for a modest garment. In Africa we find tribes equally +destitute of clothing, and the same remark will apply to the tropical +countries all around the globe. Here, however, amongst a people +dwelling in the middle of a vast ocean,--isolated from the whole +civilised world, we find a natural instinct of modesty that does credit +to their character, and is even in keeping with that character, as first +observed by voyagers to the South Seas. Whatever acts of indelicacy may +be alleged against the Otaheitans, this has been much exaggerated by +their intercourse with immoral white men; but none of such criminal +conduct can be charged against the natives of the Friendly Isles. On +the contrary, the behaviour of these, both among themselves and in +presence of European visitors, has been ever characterised by a modesty +that would shame either Regent Street or Ratcliffe Highway. + +A description of the national costume of the Tongans, though often +given, is not unworthy of a place here; and we shall give it as briefly +as a proper understanding of it will allow. There is but one "garment" +to be described, and that is the "pareu," which will be better +understood, perhaps, by calling it a "petticoat." The material is +usually of "tapa" cloth,--a fabric of native manufacture, to be +described hereafter,--and the cutting out is one of the simplest of +performances, requiring neither a tailor for the men, nor a dressmaker +for the other sex, for every one can make their own pareu. It needs +only to clip a piece of "tapa" cloth in the form of an "oblong square"-- +an ample one, being about two yards either way. This is wrapped round +the body,--the middle part against the small of the back,--and then both +ends brought round to the front are lapped over each other as far as +they will go, producing, of course, a double fold of the cloth. A +girdle is next tied around the waist,--usually a cord of ornamental +plait; and this divides the piece of tapa into body and skirt. The +latter is of such a length as to stretch below the calf of the leg,-- +sometimes down to the ankle,--and the upper part or body _would_ reach +to the shoulders, if the weather required it, and often does _when the +missionaries require it_. But not at any other time: such an ungraceful +mode of wearing the pareu was never intended by the simple Tongans, who +never dreamt of there being any immodesty in their fashion until told of +it by their puritanical preceptors! + +Tongan-fashion, the pareu is a sort of tunic, and a most graceful +garment to boot; Methodist fashion, it becomes a gown or rather a +sleeveless wrapper that resembles a sack. But if the body part is not +to be used in this way, how, you will ask, is it to be disposed of? Is +it allowed to hang down outside, like the gown of a slattern woman, who +has only half got into it? No such thing. The natural arrangement is +both simple and peculiar; and produces, moreover, a costume that is not +only characteristic but graceful to the eye that once becomes used to +it. The upper half of the tapa cloth is neatly folded or turned, until +it becomes a thick roll; and this roll, brought round the body, just +above the girdle, is secured in that position. The swell thus produced +causes the waist to appear smaller by contrast; and the effect of a +well-formed bust, rising above the roll of tapa cloth, is undoubtedly +striking and elegant. In cold weather, but more especially at night, +the roll is taken out, and the shoulders are then covered; for it is to +be observed that the pareu, worn by day as a dress, is also kept on at +night as a sleeping-gown, more especially by those who possess only a +limited wardrobe. It is not always the cold that requires it to be kept +on at night. It is more used, at this time, as a protection against the +mosquitoes, that abound amidst the luxuriant vegetation of the Tongan +Islands. + +The "pareu" is not always made of the "tapa" cloth. Fine mats, woven +from the fibres of the screw-pine (pandanus), are equally in vogue; and, +upon festive occasions, a full-dress pareu is embellished with red +feather-work, adding greatly to the elegance and picturesqueness of its +appearance. A coarser and scantier pareu is to be seen among the poorer +people, the material of which is a rough tapa, fabricated from the bark +of the breadfruit, and not unfrequently this is only a mere strip +wrapped around the loins; in other words, a "malo," "maro," or "maso,"-- +as it is indifferently written in the varied orthography of the +voyagers. Having described this only and unique garment, we have +finished with the costume of the Tongan Islanders, both men and women,-- +for both wear the pareu alike. The head is almost universally +uncovered; and no head-dress is ever worn unless a cap of feathers by +the great chiefs, and this only upon rare and grand occasions. It is a +sort of chaplet encircling the head, and deeper in front than behind. +Over the forehead the plumes stand up to a height of twelve or fifteen +inches, gradually lowering on each side as the ray extends backward +beyond the ears. The main row is made with the beautiful tail-plumes of +the tropic bird _Phaeton aetherus_, while the front or fillet part of +the cap is ornamented with the scarlet feathers of a species of parrot. + +The head-dress of the women consists simply of fresh flowers: a +profusion of which--among others the beautiful blossoms of the orange-- +is always easily obtained. An ear-pendant is also worn,--a piece of +ivory of about two inches in length, passed through two holes, pierced +in the lobe of the ear for this purpose. The pendant hangs +horizontally, the two holes balancing it, and keeping it in position. A +necklace also of pearl-shells, shaped into beads, is worn. Sometimes a +string of the seeds of the pandanus is added, and an additional ornament +is an armlet of mother-o'-pearl, fashioned into the form of a ring. +Only the men tattoo themselves; and the process is confined to that +portion of the body from the waist to the thighs, which is always +covered with the pareu. The practice of tattooing perhaps first +originated in the desire to equalise age with youth, and to hide an ugly +physiognomy. But the Tongan Islander has no ugliness to conceal, and +both men and women have had the good taste to refrain from disfiguring +the fair features which nature has so bountifully bestowed upon them. +The only marks of tattoo to be seen upon the women are a few fine lines +upon the palms of their hands; nor do they disfigure their fair skins +with the hideous pigments so much in use among other tribes, of what we +are in the habit of terming _savages_. + +They anoint the body with a fine oil procured from the cocoanut, and +which is also perfumed by various kinds of flowers that are allowed to +macerate in the oil; but this toilet is somewhat expensive, and is only +practised by the better classes of the community. All, however, both +rich and poor, are addicted to habits of extreme cleanliness, and +bathing in fresh water is a frequent performance. They object to +bathing in the sea; and when they do so, always finish the bath by +pouring fresh water over their bodies,--a practice which they allege +prevents the skin from becoming rough, which the sea-water would +otherwise make it. + +House architecture in the Tongan Islands is in rather a backward state. +They have produced no Wrens nor Inigo Joneses; but this arises from a +natural cause. They have no need for great architects,--scarce any need +for houses either,--and only the richer Tongans erect any dwelling more +pretentious than a mere shed. A few posts of palm-trunks are set up, +and upon these are placed the cross-beams, rafters, and roof. Pandanus +leaves, or those of the sugar-cane, form the thatch; and the sides are +left open underneath. In the houses of the chiefs and more wealthy +people there are walls of pandanus mats, fastened to the uprights; and +some of these houses are of considerable size and neatly built. The +interiors are kept scrupulously clean,--the floors being covered with +beautiful mats woven in coloured patterns, and presenting all the gay +appearance of costly carpeting. There are neither chairs nor tables. +The men sit tailor-fashion, and the women in a reclining posture, with +both limbs turned a little to one side and backwards. A curious +enclosure or partition is formed by setting a stiff mat, of about two +feet width, upon its edge,--the roll at each end steadying it and +keeping it in an upright position. + +The utensils to be observed are dishes, bowls, and cups,--usually of +calabash or cocoa-shells,--and an endless variety of baskets of the most +ingenious plait and construction. The "stool-pillow" is also used; but +differing from that of the Feegees in the horizontal piece having a +hollow to receive the head. Many kinds of musical instruments may be +seen,--the Pandean pipes, the nose-flute, and various kinds of bamboo +drums, all of which have been minutely described by travellers. I am +sorry to add that war-clubs and spears for a similar purpose are also to +be observed conspicuous among the more useful implements of peace. Bows +and arrows, too, are common; but these are only employed for shooting +birds and small rodents, especially rats, that are very numerous and +destructive to the crops. + +For food, the Tongans have the pig,--the same variety as is so generally +distributed throughout the Oceanic Islands. It is stated that the +Feegeeans obtained this animal from the Friendly Isles; but I am of +opinion that in this case the benefit came the other way, as the _Sus +Papua_ is more likely to have entered the South Sea from its leeward +rather than its windward side. In all likelihood the dog may have been +derived from the eastern edge; but the pigs and poultry would seem to be +of western origin,--western as regards the position of the Pacific. + +The principal food of the Friendly Islanders, however, is of a vegetable +nature, and consists of yams, breadfruit, taro, plantains, sweet +potatoes, and, in fact, most of those roots and fruits common to the +other islands of the Pacific. Fish also forms an important article of +their food. They drink the "kava," or juice of the _Piper +methisticum_--or rather of its roots chewed to a pulp; but they rarely +indulge to that excess observed among the Feegees, and they are not over +fond of the drink, except as a means of producing a species of +intoxication which gives them a momentary pleasure. Many of them, +especially the women, make wry faces while partaking of it; and no +wonder they do, for it is at best a disgusting beverage. + +The time of the Tongan Islanders is passed pleasantly enough, when there +is no wicked war upon hand. The men employ themselves in cultivating +the ground or fishing; and here the woman is no longer the mere slave +and drudge--as almost universally elsewhere among savage or even +semi-civilised nations. This is a great fact, which tells a wondrous +tale--which speaks trumpet-tongued to the credit of the Tongan Islander. +Not only do the men share the labour with their more delicate +companions, but everything else--their food, conversation, and every +enjoyment of life. Both partake alike--eat together, drink together, +and join at once in the festive ceremony. In their grand dances--or +balls as they might more properly be termed--the women play an important +part; and these exhibitions, though in the open air, are got up with an +elegance and eclat that would not disgrace the most fashionable ballroom +in Christendom. Their dances, indeed, are far more graceful than +anything ever seen either at "Almacks" or the "Jardin Mabille." + +The principal employment of the men is in the cultivation of their yam +and plantain grounds, many of which extend to the size of fields, with +fences that would almost appear to have been erected as ornaments. +These are of canes, closely set, raised to the height of six feet--wide +spaces being left between the fences of different owners to serve as +roads for the whole community. In the midst of these fields stand the +sheds, or houses, surrounded by splendid forms of tropic vegetation, and +forming pictures of a softly beautiful character. + +The men also occupy themselves in the construction of their canoes,--to +procure the large ones, making a voyage as already stated, to the Feegee +Islands, and sometimes remaining absent for several years. + +These, however, are usually professional boat-builders, and form but a +very small proportion of the forty thousand people who inhabit the +different islands of the Tongan archipelago. + +The men also occasionally occupy themselves in weaving mats and wicker +baskets, and carving fancy toys out of wood and shells; but the chief +part of the manufacturing business is in the hands of the women--more +especially the making of the tapa cloth, already so often mentioned. An +account of the manufacture may be here introduced, with the proviso, +that it is carried on not only by the women of the Feegee group, but by +those of nearly all the other Polynesian Islands. There are slight +differences in the mode of manufacture, as well as in the quality of the +fabric; but the account here given, both of the making and dyeing, will +answer pretty nearly for all. + +The bark of the malo-tree, or "paper-mulberry," is taken off in strips, +as long as possible, and then steeped in water, to facilitate the +separation of the epidermis, which is effected by a large volute shell. +In this state it is kept for some time, although fit for immediate use. +A log, flattened on the upper side, is so fixed as to spring a little, +and on this the strips of bark--or _masi_, as it is called--are beaten +with an _iki_, or mallet, about two inches square, and grooved +longitudinally on three of its sides. Two lengths of the wet _masi_ are +generally beaten together, in order to secure greater strength--the +gluten which they contain being sufficient to keep their fibres united. +A two-inch strip can thus be beaten out to the width of a foot and a +half; but the length is at the same time reduced. The pieces are neatly +lapped together with the starch of the taro, or arrowroot, boiled whole; +and thus reach a length of many yards. The "widths" are also joined by +the same means laterally, so as to form pieces of fifteen or thirty feet +square; and upon these, the ladies exhaust their ornamenting skill. The +middle of the square is printed with a red-brown, by the following +process:--Upon a convex board, several feet long, are arranged parallel, +at about a finger-width apart, thin straight slips of bamboo, a quarter +of an inch wide. By the side of these, curved pieces, formed of the +midrib of cocoanut leaflets, are arranged. On the board thus prepared +the cloth is laid, and rubbed over with a dye obtained from the _lauci_ +(_Aleurites triloba_). The cloth of course, takes the dye upon those +parts which receive pressure, being supported by the slips beneath; and +thus shows the same pattern in the colour employed. A stronger +preparation of the same dye, laid on with a sort of brush, is used to +divide the square into oblong compartments, with large round or radiated +dots in the centre. The _kesa_, or dye, when good, dries bright. Blank +borders, two or three feet wide, are still left on two sides of the +square; and to elaborate the ornamentation of these, so as to excite +applause, is the pride of every lady. There is now an entire change of +apparatus. The operator works on a plain board; the red dye gives place +to a jet black; the pattern is now formed of a strip of banana-leaf +placed on the upper surface of the cloth. Out of the leaf is cut the +pattern--not more than an inch long--which the lady wishes to print upon +the border, and holds by her first and middle finger, pressing it down +with the thumb. Then taking a soft pad of cloth steeped in the dye, in +her right hand, she rubs it firmly over the stencil, and a sharp figure +is made. The practised fingers of the operator move quickly, but it is, +after all, a tedious process. + +I regret to add, that the men employ themselves in an art of less +utility: the manufacture of war weapons--clubs and spears--which the +people of the different islands, and even those of the same, too often +brandish against one another. This war spirit is entirely owing to +their intercourse with the ferocious Feegees, whose boasting and +ambitious spirit they are too prone to emulate. In fact, their +admiration of the Feegee habits is something surprising; and can only be +accounted for by the fact, that while visiting these savages and +professed warriors, the Tongans have become imbued with a certain fear +of them. They acknowledge the more reckless spirit of their allies, and +are also aware that in intellectual capacity the black men are not +inferior to themselves. They certainly are inferior in courage, as in +every good moral quality; but the Tongans can hardly believe this, since +their cruel and ferocious conduct seems to give colour to the contrary +idea. In fact, it is this that inspires them with a kind of respect, +which has no other foundation than a vague sense of fear. Hence they +endeavour to emulate the actions that produce this fear, and this leads +them to go to war with one another. + +It is to be regretted that the missionaries have supplied them with a +motive. Their late wars are solely due to missionary influence,--for +Methodism upon the Tongan Islands has adopted one of the doctrines of +Mahomet, and believes in the faith being propagated by the sword! A +usurper, who wishes to be king over the whole group, has embraced the +Methodist form of Christianity, and linked himself with its teachers,-- +who offer to aid him with all their influence; and these formerly +peaceful islands now present the painful spectacle of a divided +nationality,--the "Christian party," and the "Devil's party." The +object of conquest on the part of the former is to place the Devil's +party under the absolute sovereignty of a despot, whose laws will be +dictated by his missionary ministers. Of the mildness of these laws we +have already some specimens, which of course extend only to the +"Christianised." One of them, which refers to the mode of wearing the +pareu, has been already hinted at,--and another is a still more off-hand +piece of legislation: being an edict that no one hereafter shall be +permitted to smoke tobacco, under pain of a most severe punishment. + +When it is considered that the Tongan Islander enjoys the "weed" (and +grows it too) more than almost any other smoker in creation, the +severity of the "taboo" may be understood. But it is very certain, if +his Methodist majesty were once firmly seated on his throne, _bluer_ +laws than this would speedily be proclaimed. The American Commodore +Wilkes found things in this warlike attitude when he visited the Tongan +Islands; but perceiving that the right was clearly on the side of the +"Devil's party," declined to interfere; or rather, his interference, +which would have speedily brought peace, was rejected by the Christian +party, instigated by the sanguinary spirit of their "Christian" +teachers. Not so, Captain Croker, of Her Britannic Majesty's service, +who came shortly after. This unreflecting officer--loath to believe +that royalty could be in the wrong--at once took side with the king and +Christians, and dashed headlong into the affair. The melancholy result +is well-known. It ended by Captain Croker leaving his body upon the +field, alongside those of many of his brave tars; and a disgraceful +retreat of the Christian party beyond the reach of their enemies. + +This interference of a British war-vessel in the affairs of the Tongan +Islanders, offers a strong contrast to our conduct when in presence of +the Feegees. There we have the fact recorded of British officers being +eyewitnesses of the most horrid scenes,--wholesale murder and +cannibalism,--with full power to stay the crime and full authority to +punish it,--that authority which would have been freely given them by +the accord and acclamation of the whole civilised world,--and yet they +stood by, in the character of idle spectators, fearful of breaking +through the delicate icy line of _non-intervention_! + +A strange theory it seems, that murder is no longer murder, when the +murderer and his victim chance to be of a different nationality from our +own! It is a distinction too delicate to bear the investigation of the +philosophic mind; and perhaps will yet yield to a truer appreciation of +the principles of justice. There was no such squeamishness displayed +when royalty required support upon the Tongan Islands; nor ever is there +when self-interest demands it otherwise. Mercy and justice may both +fail to disarrange the hypocritical fallacy of non-intervention; but the +principle always breaks down at the call of political convenience. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +THE TURCOMANS. + +Asia has been remarkable, from the earliest times, for having a large +population without any fixed place of residence, but who lead a _nomade_ +or wandering life. It is not the only quarter of the globe where this +kind of people are found: as there are many _nomade_ nations in Africa, +especially in the northern division of it; and if we take the Indian +race into consideration, we find that both the North and South-American +continents have their tribes of wandering people. It is in Asia, +nevertheless, that we find this unsettled mode of life carried out to +its greatest extent,--it is there that we find those great pastoral +tribes,--or "hordes," as they have been termed,--who at different +historical periods have not only increased to the numerical strength of +large nationalities, but have also been powerful enough to overrun +adjacent empires, pushing their conquests even into Europe itself. Such +were the invasions of the Mongols under Zenghis Khan, the Tartars under +Timour, and the Turks, whose degenerate descendants now so feebly hold +the vast territory won by their wandering ancestors. + +The pastoral life, indeed, has its charms, that render it attractive to +the natural disposition of man, and wherever the opportunity offers of +following it, this life will be preferred to any other. It affords to +man an abundant supply of all his most prominent wants, without +requiring from him any very severe exertion, either of mind or body; +and, considering the natural indolence of Asiatic people, it is not to +be wondered at that so many of them betake themselves to this mode of +existence. Their country, moreover, is peculiarly favourable to the +development of a pastoral race. Perhaps not one third of the surface of +the Asiatic continent is adapted to agriculture. At least one half of +it is occupied by treeless, waterless plains, many of which have all the +characters of a desert, where an agricultural people could not exist, or +at all events, where their labour would be rewarded by only the most +scant and precarious returns. + +Even a pastoral people in these regions would find but a sorry +subsistence, were they confined to one spot; for the luxurious herbage +which, for the most part, characterises the great savanna plains of +America, is either altogether wanting upon the _steppes_ of Asia, or at +best very meagre and inconstant. A fixed abode is therefore impossible, +except in the most fertile tracts or _oases_: elsewhere, the nomad life +is a necessity arising from the circumstances of the soil. + +It would be difficult to define exactly the limits of the territory +occupied by the wandering races in Asia; but in a general way it may be +said that the whole central portion of the continent is thus peopled: +indeed, much more than the central portion,--for, if we except the rich +agricultural countries of Hindostan and a small portion of Persia, +Arabia, and Turkey, the whole of Asia is of this character. The +countries known as Balk and Bokara, Yarkand and Khiva, with several +others of equal note, are merely the central points of oases,--large +towns, supported rather by commerce than by the produce of agriculture, +and having nomad tribes dwelling within sight of their walls. Even the +present boundaries of Asiatic Turkey, Arabia and Persia, contain within +them a large proportion of nomadic population; and the same is true of +Eastern Poland and Russia in Europe. A portion of the Affghan and +Belochee country is also inhabited by nomad people. + +These wandering people are of many different types and races of men; but +there is a certain similarity in the habits and customs of all: as might +be expected from the similar circumstances in which they are placed. + +It is always the more sterile steppes that are thus occupied; and this +is easily accounted for: where fertile districts occur the nomad life is +no longer necessary. Even a wandering tribe, entering upon such a +tract, would no longer have a motive for leaving it, and would soon +become attached to the soil,--in other words, would cease to be +wanderers; and whether they turned their attention to the pursuit of +agriculture, or not, they would be certain to give up their tent-life, +and fix themselves in a permanent abode. This has been the history of +many Asiatic tribes; but there are many others, again, who from time +immemorial, have shown a repugnance to the idea of fixing themselves to +the soil. They prefer the free roving life which the desert enables +them to indulge in; and wandering from place to place as the choice of +pasture guides them, occupy themselves entirely in feeding their flocks +and herds,--the sole means of their subsistence. These never have been, +and never could be, induced to reside in towns or villages. + +Nor is it that they have been driven into these desert tracts to seek +shelter from political oppression,--as is the case with some of the +native tribes of Africa and America. On the contrary, these Asiatic +nomads are more often the aggressors than the objects of aggression. It +is rather a matter of choice and propensity with them: as with those +tribes of the Arabian race,--known as "Bedouins." + +The proportion of the Asiatic wandering population to those who dwell in +towns, or fixed habitations, varies according to the nature of the +country. In many extensive tracts, the former greatly exceed the +latter; and the more sterile steppes are almost exclusively occupied by +them. In general, they acknowledge the sovereignty of some of the great +powers,--such as the empires of China, Russia, and Turkey, the kingdom +of Persia, or that of several powerful khans, as those of Khiva and +Bokara; but this sovereignty is, for the most part, little more than +nominal, and their allegiance is readily thrown off, whenever they +desire it. It is rarely so strong, as to enable any of the aforesaid +powers to draw a heavy tribute from them; and some of the more warlike +of the wandering tribes are much courted and caressed,--especially when +their war services are required. In general they claim an hereditary +right to the territories over which they roam, and pay but little heed +to the orders of either king, khan, or emperor. + +As already stated, these wandering people are of different races; in +fact, they are of nearly all the varieties indigenous to the Asiatic +continent; and a whole catalogue of names might be given, of which +Mongols, Tartars, Turcomans, Usbecks, Kirghees, and Calmucks, are +perhaps the most generally known. It has been also stated that in many +points they are alike; but there are also many important particulars in +which they differ,--physical, moral, and intellectual. Some of the +"hordes," or tribes, are purely pastoral in their mode of life, and of +mild and hospital dispositions, exceedingly fond of strangers, and kind +to such as come among them. Others again are averse to all intercourse +with others, than those of their own race and religion, and are shy, if +not inhospitable, when visited by strangers. But there is a class of a +still less creditable character,--a large number of tribes that are not +only inhospitable, and hostile to strangers, but as ferocious and +bloodthirsty as any savages in Africa, America, or the South-Sea +Islands. + +As a fair specimen of this class we select the Turcomans; in fact, they +may be regarded as its _type_; and our description henceforward may be +regarded as applying particularly to these people. + +The country of the Turcomans will be found upon the map without +difficulty; but to define its exact boundary would be an impossibility, +since none such exists. Were you to travel along the whole northern +frontier of Persia, almost from the gates of Teheran to the eastern +frontier of the kingdom,--or even further towards Balk,--you would be +pretty sure of hearing of Turcoman robbers, and in very great danger of +being plundered by them,--which last misfortune would be of less +importance, as it would only be the prelude to your being either +murdered on the spot, or carried off by them into captivity. In making +this journey along the northern frontier of Persia, you would become +acquainted with the whereabouts of the Turcoman hordes; or rather you +would discover that the whole north part of Persia,--a good broad band +of it extending hundreds of miles into its interior,--if not absolutely +in possession of the Turcomans, is overrun and plundered by them at +will. This, however, is not their home,--it is only their +"stamping-ground,"--the home of their victims. Their place of habitual +residence lies further to the north, and is defined with tolerable +accuracy by its having the whole eastern shore of the Caspian Sea for +its western border, while the Amou River (the ancient Oxus) may be +generally regarded as the limit of their range towards the east. Some +tribes go still further east than the Amou; but those more particularly +distinguished for their plundering habits dwell within the limits +described,--north of the Elburz Mountains, and on the great steppe of +Kaurezm, where they are contiguous to the Usbeck community of Khiva. + +The whole of this immense territory, stretching from the eastern shore +of the Caspian to the Amou and Aral Sea, may be characterised as a true +desert. Here and there oases exist, but none of any importance, save +the country of Khiva itself: and even that is but a mere irrigated +strip, lying on both banks of the Oxus. Indeed, it is difficult to +believe that this territory of Khiva, so insignificant in superficial +extent, could have been the seat of a powerful empire, as it once was. + +The desert, then, between the Caspian Sea and the Oxus River may be +regarded as the true land of the Turcomans, and is usually known as +Turcomania. It is to be remembered, however, that there are some +kindred tribes not included within the boundaries of Turcomania--for the +Turkistan of the geographers is a country of much larger extent; +besides, an important division of the Turcoman races are settlers, or +rather wanderers in Armenia. To Turcomania proper, then, and its +inhabitants, we shall confine our remarks. + +We shall not stay to inquire into the origin of the people now called +Turcomans. Were we to speculate upon that point, we should make but +little progress in an account of their habits and mode of living. They +are usually regarded as of Tartar origin, or of Usbeck origin, or of +Mongolian race; and in giving this account of them, I am certain that I +add very little to your knowledge of what they really are. The truth +is, that the words Tartar and Mongol and some half-dozen other titles, +used in relation to the Asiatic races, are without any very definite +signification,--simply because the relative distinctions of the +different nations of that continent are very imperfectly known; and +learned ethnologists are river loath to a confession of limited +knowledge. One of this class, Mr Latham,--who requires only a few +words of their language to decide categorically to what variety of the +human race a people belongs,--has unfortunately added to this confusion +by pronouncing nearly everybody _Mongolian_: placing the proud turbaned +Turk in juxtaposition with the squat and stunted Laplander! Of course +this is only bringing us back to the old idea, that all men are sprung +from a single pair of first parents,--a doctrine, which, though popular, +is difficult to reconcile with the rational knowledge derived from +ethnological investigation. + +It matters little to our present purpose from what original race the +Turcoman has descended: whether he be a true Turk, as some regard him, +or whether he is a descendant of the followers of the Great Khan of the +Tartars. He possesses the Tartar physiognomy to a considerable extent-- +some of the tribes more than others being thus distinguished,--and high +cheek-bones, flat noses, small oblique eyes, and scanty beards, are all +characteristics that are very generally observed. Some of these +peculiarities are more common among the women than the men--many of the +latter being tall, stout, and well-made, while a large number may be +seen who have the regular features of a Persian. Perhaps it would be +safest to consider the present Turcoman tribes as not belonging to a +pure stock, but rather an admixture of several; and their habit of +taking slaves from other nations, which has for a long time existed +among them, would give probability to this idea. At all events, without +some such hypothesis, it is difficult to account for the wonderful +variety, both in feature and form, that is found among them. Their +complexion is swarthy, in some cases almost brown as that of an American +Indian; but constant exposure to the open air, in all sorts of weather, +has much to do in darkening the hue of their skin. The newborn children +are nearly as white as those of the Persians; and their young girls +exhibit a ruddy brunette tint, which some consider even more pleasing +than a perfectly white complexion. + +The costume of the Turcoman, like that of most Oriental nations, is rich +and picturesque. The dress of the men varies according to rank. Some +of the very poorer people wear nothing but a short woollen tonic or +shirt, with a pair of coarse woollen drawers. Others, in place of this +shirt, are clad in a longer garment, a sort of robe or wrapper, like a +gentleman's dressing-gown, made of camel's-hair cloth, or some coarse +brown woollen staff. But the true Turcoman costume, and that worn by +all who can afford it, consists of a garment of mixed silk and cotton,-- +the _baronnee_,--which descends below the knee, and though open in +front, is made to button over the breast quite up to the neck. A gay +sash around the waist adds to the effect; and below the skirt are seen +trowsers of cotton or even silk. Cloth wrappers around the legs serve +in the place of boots or gaiters; and on the feet are worn slippers of +Persian fashion, with socks of soft Koordish leather. + +As the material of which the baronnee is made is of good quality--a +mixture of silk and cotton--and as the fabric is always striped or +checkered in colours of red, blue, purple, and green, the effect +produced is that of a certain picturesqueness. The head-dress adds to +this appearance--being a high fur cap, with truncated top, the fur being +that beautiful kind obtained from the skins of the Astracan lamb, +well-known in commerce. These caps are of different colours, either +black, red, or grey. Another style of head-dress much worn is a +round-topped or helmet-shaped cap, made of quilted cotton-stuff; but +this kind, although in use among the Turcomans, is a more characteristic +costume of their enemies, the "Koords," who wear it universally. + +The "jubba" is a kind of robe generally intended to go over the other +garments, and is usually of woollen or camel's-hair cloth. It is also +made like a dressing-gown, with wide sleeves,--tight, however, around +the wrist. It is of ample dimensions, and one side is lapped over the +other across the front, like a double-breasted coat. The "jubba" is +essentially a national garment. + +The dress of the women is exceedingly picturesque. It is thus minutely +described by a traveller:-- + +"The head-dress of these women is singular enough: most of them wear a +lofty cap, with a broad crown, resembling that of a soldier's cap called +a shako. This is stuck upon the back of the head; and over it is thrown +a silk handkerchief of very brilliant colours, which covers the top, and +falls down on each side like a veil. The front of this is covered with +ornaments of silver and gold, in various shapes; more frequently gold +coins, mohrs, or tomauns, strung in rows, with silver bells or buttons, +and chains depending from them; hearts and other fanciful forms, with +stones set in them. The whole gives rather the idea of gorgeous +trappings for a horse, than ornaments for a female. + +"The frames of these monstrous caps are made of light chips of wood, or +split reeds, covered with cloth; and when they do not wear these, they +wrap a cloth around their heads in the same form; and carelessly throw +another, like a veil over it. The veil or curtain above spoken of +covers the mouth; descending to the breast. Earrings are worn in the +ears; and their long hair is divided, and plaited into four parts, +disposed two on each side; one of which falls down behind the shoulders +and one before, and both are strung with a profusion of gold ornaments, +agates, cornelians, and other stones, according to the means and quality +of the wearer. The rest of their dress consists of a long, loose vest +or shirt, with sleeves, which covers the whole person down to the feet, +and is open at the breast, in front, but buttons or ties close up to the +neck: this is made of silk or cotton-stuff, red, blue, green, striped +red, and yellow, checked, or various-coloured: underneath this, are the +zere-jameh, or drawers, also of silk or cotton; and some wear a short +_peerahn_ or shirt of the same. This, I believe, is all; but in the +cold weather they wear, in addition, jubbas, or coats like those of the +men, of striped stuff made of silk and cotton; on their feet they +generally wear slippers like those of the Persian women." + +The tents, or "portable houses" of the Turcomans--as their movable +dwellings rather deserve to be called--differ from most structures of +the kind in use elsewhere. They are thus described by the same +intelligent traveller:-- + +"The portable wooden houses of the Turcomans have been referred to by +several writers; but I am not aware that any exact description of their +structure has been given. The frame is curiously constructed of light +wood, disposed in laths of about an inch broad by three quarters thick, +crossing one another diagonally, but at right angles, about a foot +asunder, and pinned at each crossing with thongs of raw hide, so as to +be movable; and the whole framework may be closed up or opened in the +manner of those toys for children that represent a company of soldiers, +and close or expand at will, so as to form open or close column. + +"One or more pieces thus constructed being stretched out, surround a +circular space of from fifteen to twenty feet diameter; and form the +skeleton of the walls,--which are made firm by bands of hair or woollen +ropes, hitched round the end of each rod, to secure it in its position. +From the upper ends of these, rods of a similar kind, bent near the wall +end into somewhat less than a right angle, are so disposed that the +longer portions slope to the centre, and being tied with ropes, form the +framework of a roof. Over this is thrown a covering of black _numud_, +leaving in the centre a large hole to give vent to the smoke, and light +to the dwelling. Similar numuds are wrapped round the walls; and +outside of these, to keep all tight, is bound another frame, formed of +split reeds or cane, or of very light and tough wood, tied together with +strong twine, the pieces being perpendicular. This is itself secured by +a strong, broad band of woven hair-stuff, which firmly unites. The +large round opening at top is covered, as occasion requires, by a piece +of numud, which is drawn off or on by a strong cord, like a curtain. If +the wind be powerful, a stick is placed to leeward, which supports the +fabric. + +"In most of these houses they do not keep a carpet or numud constantly +spread; but the better classes use a carpet shaped somewhat in the form +of a horseshoe, having the centre cut out for the fireplace, and the +ends truncated, that those of inferior condition, or who do not choose +to take off their boots, may sit down upon the ground. Upon this carpet +they place one or two other numuds, as may be required, for guests of +distinction. When they have women in the tent, a division of split +reeds is made for their convenience; but the richer people have a +separate tent for their private apartments. + +"The furniture consists of little more than camels and horses; _joals_, +or bags in which their goods are packed, and which are often made of a +very handsome species of worsted velvet carpet, of rich patterns; the +swords, guns, spears, bows and arrows, and other implements of the +family, with odds and ends of every description, may be seen hung on the +ends of the wooden rods, which form very convenient pins for the +purpose. Among some tribes all the domestic utensils are made of +wood,--calleeoons, trays for presenting food, milk-vessels, etc: among +others, all these things are formed of clay or metal. Upon the black +tops of the tents may frequently be seen large white masses of sour +curd, expressed from buttermilk, and set to dry as future store; this, +broken down and mixed with water, forms a very pleasant acidulous drink, +and is used as the basis of that intoxicating beverage called _kimmiz_. +The most common and most refreshing drink which they offer to the weary +and over-heated traveller in the forenoon is buttermilk, or sour curds +and water; and, indeed, a modification of this, with some other simple +sherbets, are the only liquors presented at their meals. + +"Such are the wooden houses of the Turcomans, one of which just makes a +camel's load. There are poorer ones, of a less artificial construction, +the framework of which is formed of reeds. + +"The encampment is generally square, enclosing an open space, or forming +a broad street, the houses being ranged on either side, with their doors +towards each other. At these may always be seen the most picturesque +groups, occupied with their various domestic duties, or smoking their +simple wooden _calleeoons_. The more important encampments are +surrounded by a fence of reeds, which serve to protect the flocks from +petty thefts." + +It is now our place to inquire how the Turcomans occupy their time. We +have already described them as a pastoral and nomadic people; and, under +ordinary circumstances, their employment consists in looking after their +flocks. In a few of the more fertile oases they have habitations, or +rather camps, of a more permanent character, where they cultivate a +little corn or barley, to supply them with the material for bread; but +these settlements, if they deserve the name, are only exceptional; and +are used chiefly as a kind of head-quarters, where the women and +property are kept, while the men themselves are absent on their thieving +expeditions. More generally their herds are kept on the move, and are +driven from place to place at short intervals of a few weeks or even +days. The striking and pitching of their tents gives them employment; +to which is added that of milking the cattle, and making the cheese and +butter. The women, moreover, fill up their idle hours in weaving the +coarse blankets, or "numuds," in plaiting mats, and manufacturing +various articles of dress or household use. The more costly parts of +their costume, however, are not of native manufacture: these are +obtained by trade. The men alone look after the camels and horses, +taking special care of the latter. + +Their flocks present a considerable variety of species. Besides horses, +cattle, and sheep, they own many camels, and they have no less than +three distinct varieties of this valuable animal in their possession,-- +the dromedary with two humps, and the common camel. The third sort is a +cross breed--or "mule"--between these two. The dromedary is slightly +made, and swifter than either of the others, but it is not so powerful +as either; and being inferior as a beast of burden, is least cared for +by the Turcomans. The one-humped camel is in more general use, and a +good one will carry a load of six or seven hundred pounds with ease. +The mule camel is more powerful than either of its parents, and also +more docile and capable of greater endurance. It grows to a very large +size, but is low in proportion to its bulk, with stout, bony legs, and a +large quantity of coarse, shaggy hair on its haunch, shoulders, neck, +and even on the crown of its head, which gives it a strange, somewhat +fantastic appearance. Its colour varies from light grey to brown, +though it is as often nearly black. This kind of camel will carry a +load of from eight hundred to a thousand pounds. + +The Turcoman sheep are of the large-tailed breed,--their tails often +attaining enormous dimensions. This variety of sheep is a true denizen +of the desert, the fat tail being unquestionably a provision of nature +against seasons of hunger,--just as in the single protuberance, or +"hump," upon the camel. + +The horse of the Turcoman is the animal upon which he sets most value. +The breed possessed by him is celebrated over all Eastern Asia, as that +of the Arab is in the West. They cannot be regarded, however, as +handsome horses, according to the true standard of "horse beauty;" but +the Turcoman cares less for this than for other good qualities. In +point of speed and endurance they are not excelled, if equalled, by the +horses of any other country. + +Their size is that of the common horse, but they are very different in +make. Their bodies are long in proportion to the bulk of carcass; and +they do not appear to possess sufficient compactness of frame. Their +legs are also long, generally falling off in muscular development below +the knee-joint; and they would appear to an English jockey too narrow in +the counter. They have also long necks, with large heavy heads. These +are the points which are generally observed in the Turcoman horses; but +it is to be remarked, that it is only when in an under-condition they +look so ungraceful; and in this condition their owners are accustomed to +keep them, especially when they have any very heavy service to perform. +Feeding produces a better shape, and brings them much nearer to the look +of a well-bred English horse. + +Their powers of endurance are indeed, almost incredible: when trained +for a chappow, or plundering expedition, they will carry their rider and +provisions for seven or eight days together, at the rate of twenty or +even thirty fursungs--that is, from eighty to one hundred miles--a day. +Their mode of training is more like that of our pugilistic and +pedestrian performers, than that adopted for race-horses. When any +expedition of great length, and requiring the exertion of much speed, is +in contemplation, they commence by running their horses every day for +many miles together; they feed them sparingly on barley alone, and pile +numuds upon them at night to sweat them, until every particle of fat has +been removed, and the flesh becomes hard and tendonous. Of this they +judge by the feel of the muscles, particularly on the crest, at the back +of the neck, and on the haunches; and when these are sufficiently firm +and hard, they say in praise of the animal, that "his flesh is marble." +After this sort of training, the horse will proceed with expedition and +perseverance, for almost any length of time, without either falling off +in condition or knocking up, while horses that set out fat seldom +survive. They are taught a quick walk, a light trot, or a sort of +amble, which carries the rider on easily, at the rate of six miles an +hour; but they will also go at a round canter, or gallop, for forty or +fifty miles, without ever drawing bridle or showing the least symptom of +fatigue. Their _yaboos_, or galloways, and large ponies are fully as +remarkable, if not superior, to their horses, in their power of +sustaining fatigue; they are stout, compact, spirited beasts, without +the fine blood of the larger breeds, but more within the reach of the +poorer classes, and consequently used in by far greater numbers than the +superior and more expensive horses. + +"It is a common practice of the Turcomans to teach their horses to fight +with their heels, and thus assist their masters in the time of action. +At the will of their riders they will run at and lay hold with their +teeth of whatever man or animal may be before them. This acquirement is +useful in the day of battle and plunder, for catching prisoners and +stray cattle, but it at the same time renders them vicious and dangerous +to be handled." + +In addition to the flocks and herds, the Turcomans possess a breed of +very large fierce dogs, to assist them in keeping their cattle. These +are also necessary as watch-dogs, to protect the camp from thieves as +well as more dangerous enemies to their peace; and so well-trained are +those faithful creatures, that it would be impossible for either friend +or enemy to approach a Turcoman camp without the inmates being +forewarned in time. Two or three of these dogs may always be seen lying +by the entrance of each tent; and throughout the night several others +keep sentry at the approaches to the camp. + +Other breeds of dogs owned by them are used for hunting,--for these wild +wanderers sometimes devote their hours to the chase. They have two +sorts,--a smooth-skinned dog, half hound half pointer, that hunts +chiefly by the scent; and a greyhound, of great swiftness, with a coat +of long, silky hair, which they make use of in coursing,--hares and +antelopes being their game. + +They have a mode of hunting--also practised by the Persians--which is +peculiar. It should rather be termed hawking than hunting, as a hawk is +employed for the purpose. It is a species of falcon denominated +"goork," and is trained not only to dash at small game, such as +partridges and bustards, but upon antelopes and even the wild ass that +is found in plenty upon the plains of Turcomania. You will wonder how a +bird, not larger than the common falcon, could capture such game as this +but it will appear simple enough when the method has been explained. +The "goork" is trained to fly at the quadruped, and fix its claws in one +particular place,--that is, upon the frontlet, just between the eyes. +When thus attached, the bird, instead of closing its wings and remaining +at rest, keeps them constantly in motion, flapping them over the eyes of +the quadruped. This it does, no doubt, to enable it to retain its +perch; while the unfortunate animal, thus assailed, knows not in what +direction to run, and is soon overtaken by the pursuing sportsmen, and +either speared or shot with the bow and arrow. + +Wild boars are frequently hunted by the Turcomans; and this, like +everything else with these rude centaurs, is performed on horseback. +The bow and arrow is but a poor weapon when employed against the thick, +tough hide of the Hyrcanian boar (for he is literally the Hyrcanian +boar), and of course the matchlock would be equally ineffective. How, +then, does the Turcoman sportsman manage to bag this bristly game? With +all the ease in the world. It costs him only the effort of galloping +his horse close up to the side of the boar after he has been brought to +by the dogs, and then suddenly wheeling the steed. The latter, +well-trained to the task, without further prompting, goes through the +rest of the performance, which consists in administering to the boar +such a slap with his iron-shod heel, as to prostrate the porcine +quadruped, often killing it on the instant! + +Such employments and such diversions occupy only a small portion of the +Turcoman's tune. He follows another calling of a far less creditable +character, which unfortunately he regards as the most honourable +occupation of his life. This is the calling of the robber. His +pastoral pursuits are matters of only secondary consideration. He only +looks to them as a means of supplying his daily wants,--his food and the +more necessary portion of his clothing; but he has other wants that may +be deemed luxuries. He requires to keep up his stock of horses and +camels, and wishes to increase them. He needs costly gear for his +horse, and costly garments for himself--and he is desirous of being +possessed of fine weapons, such as spears, swords, bows, matchlocks, +daggers, and pistols. His most effective weapons are the spear and +sword, and these are the kinds he chiefly uses. + +His spear consists of a steel head with four flutes, and edges very +sharp, fixed upon a slender shaft of from eight to ten feet in length. +In using it he couches it under the left arm, and directs it with the +right hand, either; straightforward, or to the right or left; if to the +right, the butt of the shaft lies across the hinder part of the saddle; +if to the left, the forepart of the spear rests on the horse's neck. +The Turcomans manage their horses with the left hand, but most of these +are so well broken as to obey the movement of the knee, or the impulse +of the body. When close to their object, they frequently grasp the +spear with both hands, to give greater effect to the thrust. The horse, +spurred to the full speed of a charge, in this way, offers an attack no +doubt very formidable in appearance, but perhaps less really dangerous +than the other, in which success depends so greatly on skill and +address. The Turcomans are all sufficiently dexterous with the sword, +which is almost universally formed in the curved Persian fashion, and +very sharp; they also wear a dagger at the waist-belt. Firearms are as +yet little in use among them; they possess a few, taken from the +travellers they have plundered, and procure a few more occasionally from +the Russians by the way of Bokara. Some use bows and arrows, but they +are by no means so dexterous as their ancestors were in the handling of +those weapons. + +Mounted, then, upon his matchless steed, and armed with spear and sword, +the Turcoman goes forth to practise his favourite profession,--that of +plunder. He does not go alone, nor with a small number of his comrades, +either. The number depends altogether on the distance or danger of the +expedition; and where these are considered great, a troop of five +hundred, or even a thousand, usually proceed together upon their errand. + +You will be inquiring to what point they direct themselves,--east, west, +north, or south? That altogether depends upon who may be their enemies +for the time, for along with their desire for booty, there is also mixed +up something like a sentiment of hostility. In this respect, however, +the Turcoman is a true Ishmaelite, and in lack of other victim he will +not hesitate to plunder the people of a kindred race. Indeed, several +of the Turcoman tribes have long been at war with one another; and their +animosity is quite as deadly among themselves as when directed against +strangers to their race. The _butt_, however, of most of the Turcoman +expeditions is the northern part of Persia,--Korassan in particular. It +is into this province that most of their great forays are directed, +either against the peaceful citizens of the Persian towns and villages, +or as often against the merchant caravans that are constantly passing +between Teheran and the cities of the east,--Mushed, Balkh, Bokara, +Herat, and Kelat. I have already stated that these forays are pushed +far into the interior of Persia; and the fact of Persia permitting such +a state of things to continue will perhaps surprise you; but you would +not be surprised were you better acquainted with the condition of that +kingdom. From historic associations, you believe Persia to be a +powerful nation; and so it once was, both powerful and prosperous. That +day is past; and at the present hour, this decaying monarchy is not only +powerless to maintain order within its own borders, but is even +threatened with annihilation from those very nomad races that have so +often given laws to the great empires of Asia. Even at this moment, the +more powerful Tartar Khans turn a longing look towards the tottering +throne of Nadir Shah; and he of Khiva has more than once made a feint at +invasion. But the subject is too extensive to be discussed here. It is +only introduced to explain with what facility a few hundreds of Turcoman +robbers can enter and harass the land. We find a parallel in many other +parts of the world,--old as well as new. In the latter, the northern +provinces of Mexico, and the southern countries of La Plata and +Paraguay, are in just such a condition: the weak, worn-out descendants +of the Spanish conquerors on one side, well representing the remnants of +the race of Nadir Shah; while, on the other, the Turcoman is type enough +of the Red Indian. The comparison, however, is not just to the latter. +He, at least, is possessed of courage and prowess; while the Turcoman, +notwithstanding his propensities for plunder, and the bloodthirsty +ferocity of his character, is as arrant a coward as ever carried lance. +Even the Persian can cope with him, when fairly matched; and the +merchant caravans,--which are usually made up of true Turks, and other +races possessing a little "pluck," are never attacked, unless when +outnumbered in the ratio of three to one. + +For all this, the whole northern portion of the Persian kingdom is left +to the mercy of these desert-robbers. The towns and villages have each +their large fortress, into which the people retire whenever the +plunderers make their appearance, and there dwell till the latter have +ridden away,--driving off their flocks and herds to the desert +fastnesses. Even the poor farmer is obliged to build a fortress in the +middle of his fields, to which he may retire upon the occasion of any +sudden alarm, and his labourers till the ground with their swords by +their sides, and their matchlocks lying near! + +These field fortresses of Korassan are altogether so curious, both as to +construction and purpose, that we cannot pass them without a word of +description. They are usually placed in some conspicuous place, at a +convenient distance from all parts of the cultivated tract. They are +built of mud, and raised to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, of a +circular form,--bearing some resemblance to the well-known round towers +of Ireland. A small aperture is left open at the bottom, through which +those seeking shelter may just squeeze their bodies, and this being +barricaded inside, the defence is complete. From the top--which can be +reached easily on the inside--the farmer and his labourers can use their +matchlocks with effect; but they are never called upon to do so,--as the +cowardly freebooter takes good care to give the mud tower a wide birth. +He has no weapons by which he might assail it; and, moreover, he has no +time for sieges: since an hour's delay might bring him into danger from +the force that is fast approaching. His only thought is to keep on his +course, and sweep off such cattle, or make prisoners of such people as +he may chance to find unwarned and unarmed. Now and then he ventures +upon an attack--where there is much booty to tempt him, and but a weak +force to defend it. His enemies,--the hated "Kuzzilbashes," as he calls +the Persians,--if defeated, have no mercy to expect from him. All who +resist are killed upon the spot, and often torture is the mode of their +death; but if they can be made prisoners, the desert-robber prefers +letting them live, as a captive is to him a more valuable consideration +than the death of an enemy. His prisoner, once secured, knows tolerably +well what is to follow. The first thing the Turcoman does is to bind +the victim's hands securely behind his back; he then puts a long halter +around his neck, attaching the other end of it to the tail of his horse, +and in this fashion the homeward march commences. If the poor +pedestrian does not keep pace with the horse, he knows what he may +expect,--to be dragged at intervals along the ground, and perhaps torn +to pieces upon the rocks. With this horrid fate before his fancy, he +makes efforts almost superhuman to keep pace with the troop of his +inhuman captors: though well aware that they are leading him off into a +hopeless bondage. + +At night, his feet are also tied; and, thrown down upon the earth, he is +covered with a coarse "numud." Do not fancy that this is done to screen +him from the cold: the object is very different indeed. The numud is +placed over him in order that two of his captors may sleep upon its +edges--one on each side of him--thus holding him down, and frustrating +any chance of escape. + +On arriving at the robber-camp, the captive is not kept long in suspense +as to his future fate. His owner--for he is now in reality a slave-- +wants a new word, or a piece of silken cloth, or a camel, or some other +article of luxury. That he can obtain either at Khiva or Bokara, in +exchange for his slave; and therefore the new captive--or captives, as +the chance may be--is marched off to the ready market. This is no +isolated nor rare incident. It is one of everyday occurrence; and it is +a noted fact, that of the three hundred thousand people who constitute +the subjects of the Khivan Khan, nearly one half are Persian slaves +obtained from the robbers of Turcomania! + +The political organisation of the Turcomans is of the patriarchal +character. From necessity they dwell in small communities that are +termed "teers," the literal signification of which is "arrows,"--though +for what reason they are so styled does not appear. Perhaps it is on +account of the rapidity of their movements: for, in hostile excursions, +or moving from place to place, they proceed with a celerity that may be +compared to arrows. + +Over each tribe or teer there is a chief, similar to the "sheik" of the +Arab tribes,--and indeed, many of their customs offer a close analogy to +those of the wandering Bedouins of Arabia and Egypt, and the Kabyles of +Morocco and the Algerine provinces. The circumstances of life--almost +alike to both--could not fail to produce many striking resemblances. + +The Turcoman tribes, as already observed, frequently go to war with each +other, but they oftener unite to rob the common enemy,--the caravan or +the Persian village. In these mere plundering expeditions they go in +such numbers as the case may require; but when called forth to take side +in anything like a national war, they can muster to the strength of many +thousands; and then indeed, they become terrible,--even to the most +potent sovereigns of Central Asia, by whom much diplomacy is employed to +enlist them on one side or the other. It matters little to them what +the cause be,--he who can promise them the largest booty in cattle or +slaves is sure to have the help of their spears and swords. + +The Turcomans are not Pagans,--that is, they are not professedly so,-- +though, for all the regard which they pay to religious observances, they +might as well be termed true Infidels. They profess a religion, +however, and that is Mohametanism in its worst and most bigoted form,-- +the "Sunnite." The Persians, as is well-known, hold the milder Sheean +doctrines; and as the votaries of the two, in most countries where both +are practised, cordially hate each other, so it is between Turcomans and +Persians. The former even scorn the Persian creed, calling its +followers "Infidel" dogs, or _Kuzzilbashes_; and this bigoted rancour +gives them a sort of plausible excuse for the hostile attitude which +they hold towards them. + +Taking them upon the whole, the Turcomans may be looked upon as true +savages,--savages dressed in _silk_ instead of in _skins_. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +THE OTTOMACS, OR DIRT-EATERS. + +On the banks of the Orinoco, a short distance above the point where that +mighty river makes its second great sweep to the eastward, dwells a +remarkable people,--a tribe of savages that, even among savages, are +remarkable for many peculiar and singular customs. These are the +_Ottomacs_. + +They have been long known,--and by the narratives of the early Spanish +missionaries, rendered notorious,--on account of some curious habits; +but although the missionaries have resided among them, and endeavoured +to bring them within "sound of the bell," their efforts have met with a +very partial and temporary success; and at this present hour, the +Ottomacs are as savage in their habits; and as singular in their +customs, as they were in the days of Columbus. + +The Ottomacs are neither a stunted nor yet a weak race of men. Their +bodies are strong, and their arms and limbs stout and muscular; but they +are remarkably ill-featured, with an expression of countenance +habitually stern and vindictive. + +Their costume is easily described, or rather cannot be _described_ at +all, since they have none. Both, sexes go entirely naked,--if we except +a little belt of three or four inches in width, made from cotton or the +bark of trees, and called the _guayuco_, which they wear around the +waist,--but even this is worn from no motives of modesty. + +What they regard in the light of a costume is a coat of paint, and about +this they are as nice and particular as a Parisian dandy. Talk about +"blooming up" a faded _belle_ for the ballroom, or the time spent by an +exquisite in adjusting the tie of his cravat! these are trifles when +compared with the lengthy and elaborate toilette of an Ottomac lady or +gentleman. + +The greater part of a day is often spent by them in a single dressing, +with one or two helpers to assist in the operation; and this is not a +_tattooing_ process, intended to last for a lifetime, but a costume +certain to be disfigured, or entirely washed off, at the first exposure +to a heavy shower of rain. Add to this, that the pigments which are +used for the purpose are by no means easily obtained: the vegetable +substances which furnish them are scarce in the Ottomac country; and it +costs one of these Indians the produce of several days of his labour to +purchase sufficient paint to give his whole skin a single "coat." For +this reason the Ottomac paints his body only on grand occasions,-- +contenting himself at ordinary times with merely staining his face and +hair. + +When an Ottomac wishes to appear in "full dress" he first gives himself +a "priming" of red. This consists of the dye called "annotto," which is +obtained from the fruit pulp of the _Bixa orellana_, and which the +Indians knew how to prepare previous to their intercourse with +Europeans. Over this red ground is then formed a lattice-work of lines +of black, with a dot in the centre of every little square or diamond. +The black dye is the "caruto," also a vegetable pigment, obtained from +the _Genipa Americana_. If the gentleman be rich enough to possess a +little "chica" which is a beautiful lake-coloured red,--also the produce +of a plant,--the _Bignoni, chica_, he will then feel all the ecstatic +delight of a fashionable dandy who possesses a good wardrobe; and, with +half a pound of turtle-oil rubbed into his long black tresses, he will +regard himself as dressed "within an inch of his life." It is not +always, however, that he can afford the _chica_,--for it is one of the +costliest materials of which a South-American savage can manufacture his +suit. + +The Ottomac takes far less trouble in the building of his house. Very +often he builds none; but when he wishes to guard his body from the rays +of the sun, or the periodical rains, he constructs him a slight +edifice--a mere hut--out of saplings or bamboos, with a thatch of +palm-leaves. + +His arms consist of the universal bow and arrows, which he manages with +much dexterity; and he has also a harpoon which he employs in killing +the manatee and the alligator. He has, besides, several other weapons, +to aid him in the chase and fishing,--the latter of which forms his +principal employment as well as his chief source of subsistence. + +The Ottomac belongs to one of those tribes of Indians termed by the +Spanish missionaries _Indios andantes_, that is "wandering," or +"vagabond Indians," who instead of remaining in fixed and permanent +villages, roam about from place to place, as necessity or inclination +dictates. Perhaps this arises from the peculiarity of the country which +they inhabit: for the _Indios andantes_ do not live in the thick +forests, but upon vast treeless savannas, which stretch along the +Orinoco above its great bend. In these tracts the "juvia" trees +(_bertholletia_ and _lecythys_), which produce the delicious +"Brazil-nuts"--and other plants that supply the savage spontaneously +with food, are sparsely found; and as the savannas are annually +inundated for several months, the Ottomac is forced, whether he will or +no, to shift his quarters and try for subsistence elsewhere. When the +inundations have subsided and the waters become settled enough to permit +of fishing, the Ottomac "winter" is over, and he can obtain food in +plenty from the alligators, the manatees, the turtles, the _toninas_ or +dolphins, and other large fish that frequent the great stream upon which +he dwells. Of these the _manatee_ is the most important in the eyes of +the Ottomac--as it is the largest in size, and consequently furnishes +him with the greatest amount of meat. + +This singular semi-cetaceous creature is almost too well-known to +require description. It is found in nearly all the large rivers of +tropical America, where it feeds upon the grass and aquatic plants +growing along their banks. It is known by various names, according to +the place and people. The Spaniards call it _vaca marina_, or +"sea-cow," and the Portuguese _peixe hoi_, or "fish-ox,"--both being +appellations equally inappropriate, and having their origin in a slight +resemblance which there exists between the animal's "countenance" and +that of an ox. + +The _West Indian_ name is the one we though the true orthography is +_manati_, not _manatee_, since the word is of Indian origin. Some +writers deny this, alleging that it is a derivative from the Spanish +word "mano," a hand, signifying, therefore, the fish with hands,--in +allusion to the rudimentary hands which form one of its distinguishing +characteristics. This is the account of the historian Oviedo, but +another Spanish missionary, Father Gili, offers a more correct +explanation of the name,--in fact, he proves, what is neither more nor +less than the simple truth, that "manati" was the name given to this +animal by the natives of Hayti and Cuba,--where a species is also +found,--and the word has no reference whatever to the "hands" of the +creature. The resemblance to the Spanish word which should signify +"handed," is merely an accidental circumstance; and, as the acute +Humboldt very justly remarks, according to the genius of the Spanish +language, the word thus applied would have been written _manudo_, or +_manon_, and not _manati_. + +The Indians have almost as many different names for this creature as +there are rivers in which it is found; but its appellation in the "lingo +ageral" of the great Amazon valley, is "juarua." Among the Ottomacs it +is called the "apoia." It may be safely affirmed that there are several +species of this amphibious animal in the rivers of tropical America; and +possibly no one of them is identical with that of the West Indies. All +have hitherto been regarded as belonging to the same species, and +described under the scientific title of _Manatus Americanus_--a name +given to the American manati, to distinguish it from the "lamantin" of +Africa, and the "dugong" of the East-Indian seas. But the West-Indian +species appears to have certain characteristic differences, which shows +that it is a separate one, or, at all events, a variety. It is of much +larger size than those of the South-American rivers generally are-- +though there also a large variety is found, but much rarer than those +commonly captured by the fishermen. The West-Indian manati has nails +well developed upon the outer edge of its fins, or forearms; while those +on the other kinds are either not seen at all, or only in a very +rudimentary state. That there are different species, may be deduced +from the accounts of the natives, who employ themselves in its capture: +and the observations of such people are usually more trustworthy than +the speculations of learned anatomists. The Amazon fishermen all agree +in the belief that there are three kinds of manati in the Amazon and its +numerous tributaries, that not only differ greatly in size--from seven +to twenty feet long--and in weight, from four hundred to two thousand +pounds,--but also in the colour of their skin, and the shape of their +tails and fins. The species found in the Orinoco, and called "apoia" by +the Ottomacs, is usually about twelve feet in length, and weighs from +five hundred to eight hundred pounds; but now and then a much larger +individual is captured, perhaps owing to greater age, or other +accidental circumstance. Humboldt heard of one that weighed eight +thousand pounds; and the French naturalist D'Orbigny speaks of one +killed in the Bolivian waters of the Amazon that was twenty feet in +length. This size is often attained by the _Manatus Americanus_ of Cuba +and Hayti. + +The manati is shaped somewhat like a large seal, and has certain +resemblances to a fish. Its body is of an oval oblong, with a large, +flat, rounded tail, set horizontally, and which serves as a rudder to +direct its course in the water. Just behind its shoulders appear, +instead of fins, a pair of flippers, which have a certain resemblance to +hands set on to the body without arms. Of these it avails itself, when +creeping out against the bank, and the female also uses them in carrying +her young. The mammae (for it must be remembered that this creature is +a mammiferous animal) are placed just below and behind the flippers. +The muzzle is blunt, with thick lips,--the upper projecting several +inches beyond the lower, and covered with a delicate epidermis: showing +evidently that it avails itself of this prominence--which possesses a +keen sense of touch--just as the elephant of his proboscis. The lips +are covered with bristles, or beard, which impart a kind of human-like +expression to the animal's countenance,--a circumstance more observable +in the "dugongs" of the Oriental waters. "Woman fish," too, these have +been called, and no doubt such creatures, along with the seals and +walruses, have given rise to many a story of sirens and mermaids. The +"cow-face," however, from which the manati obtains its Spanish and +Portuguese epithets, is the most characteristic; and in its food we find +a still greater analogy to the bovine quadruped with which it is brought +in comparison. Beyond this the resemblance ceases. The body is that of +a seal; but instead of being covered with hair, as the cetaceous animal, +the manati has a smooth skin that resembles india-rubber more than +anything else. A few short hairs are set here and there, but they are +scarce observable. The colour of the manati is that of lead, with a few +mottlings of a pinkish-white hue upon the belly; but in this respect +there is no uniformity. Some are seen with the whole under-parts of a +uniform cream colour. + +The lungs of this animal present a peculiarity worthy of being noted. +They are very voluminous,--being sometimes three feet in length, and of +such a porous and elastic nature as to be capable of immense extension. +When blown out, they present the appearance of great swimming bladders; +and it is by means of this capacity for containing air that the manati +is enabled to remain so long under water,--though, like the true +_cetaceae_, it requires to come at intervals to the surface to obtain +breath. + +The flesh of the manati is eaten by all the tribes of Indians who can +procure it,--though by some it is more highly esteemed than by others. +It was once much relished in the colonial settlements of Guiana and the +West Indies, and formed a considerable article of commerce; but in these +quarters manatis have grown scarce,--from the incessant persecution of +the fishermen. The flesh has been deemed unwholesome by some, and apt +to produce fevers; but this is not the general opinion. It has a +greater resemblance to pork than beef,--though it be the flesh of a +cow,--and is very savoury when fresh, though neither is it bad eating +when salted or dried in the sun. In this way it will keep for several +months; and it has always been a stock article with the monks of the +South-American missions,--who, in spite of its mammiferous character, +find it convenient, during the days of Lent, to regard it as a fish! +The skin of the manati is of exceeding thickness,--on the back an inch +and a half at least, though it becomes thinner as it approaches the +under-parts of the body. It is cut into slips which serve various +purposes, as for shields, cordage, and whips. "These whips of manati +leather," Bays Humboldt, "are a cruel instrument of punishment for the +unhappy slaves, and even for the Indians of the missions, though, +according to the laws, the latter ought to be treated as freemen." + +Another valuable commodity obtained from this animal is oil, known in +the missions as manati-butter (_manteca de manati_). This is produced +by the layer of pure fat, of an inch and a half in thickness, which, +lying immediately under the skin, envelops the whole body of the animal. +The oil is used for lamps in the mission churches; but among the +Indians themselves it is also employed in the _cuisine_,--as it has not +that fetid smell peculiar to the oil of whales and salt-water cetaceae. + +The food of the manati is grass exclusively, which it finds on the banks +of the lakes and rivers it frequents. Of this it will eat an enormous +quantity; and its usual time of browsing is at night,--though this habit +may have arisen from its observance of the fact, that night is the +safest time to approach the shore. In those places, where is has been +left undisturbed, it may be often seen browsing by day. + +I have been thus particular in my account of this animal, because it is +more nearly connected with the history of Ottomac habits than perhaps +that of any other tribe of South-American Indians,--the Guamos alone +excepted, who may themselves be regarded as merely a branch of the +Ottomac family. Though, as already remarked, all the tribes who dwell +upon manati rivers pursue this creature and feed upon its flesh, yet in +no other part of South America is this species of fishery so extensively +or so dexterously carried on as among the Ottomacs and Guamos,--the +reason being, that, amidst the great grassy savannas which characterise +the Ottomac country, there are numerous streams and lagoons that are the +favourite haunts of this herbivorous animal. In one river in +particular, so great a number are found that it has been distinguished +by the appellation of the _Rio de Manatis_ (river of manatis). The +manati, when undisturbed, is gregarious in its habits, going in troops +(or "herds," if we preserve the analogy) of greater or less numbers, and +keeping the young "calves" in the centre, which the mothers guard with +the tenderest affection. So attached are the parents to their young, +that if the calf be taken, the mother can be easily approached; and the +devotion is reciprocated on the filial side; since in cases where the +mother has been captured and dragged ashore, the young one has often +been known to follow the lifeless body up to the very bank! + +As the manati plays such an important part in the domestic economy of +the Ottomacs, of course the capturing of this animal is carried on upon +the grandest scale among these people, and, like the "harvest of +turtle-eggs," hereafter to be described, the manati fishery has its +particular _season_. Some writers have erroneously stated this season +as being the period of inundation, and when the water is at its maximum +height. This is quite contrary to the truth; since that period, both on +the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, is just the time when all kinds of +fishing is difficult and precarious. Then is the true winter,--the +"blue months" of the South-American river Indians; and it is then, as +will presently be seen, that the Ottomac comes nearest the point of +starvation,--which he approaches every year of his life. + +There are manati and other kinds of fish taken at all times of the year; +but the true season of the manati-fishing is when the waters of the +great flood have considerably subsided, and are still continuing to +diminish rapidly. When the inundation is at its height, the manati +passes out of the channel current of the great river, and in search of +grass it finds its way into the lakes and surrounding marshes, remaining +there to browse along their banks. When the flood is rapidly passing +away from it, it begins to find itself a "little out of its element," +and just then is the time when it is most easily captured. + +Sometimes the Indians assemble in a body with their canoes, forming a +large fleet; and, proceeding to the best haunts of the "cow-fish," carry +on the fishery in a wholesale manner. The monks of the missions also +head the _tame_ tribes on these expeditions,--as they do when collecting +the eggs of the turtle,--and a regular systematic course is carried on +under the eye of discipline and authority. A camp is formed at some +convenient place on the shore. Scaffolds are erected for sun-drying the +flesh and skins; and vessels and other utensils brought upon the ground +to render the fat into oil. The manatis that have been captured are all +brought in the canoes to this central point, and delivered up to be +"_flensed_," cured, and cooked. There is the usual assemblage of small +traders from Angostura and other ports on the lower Orinoco, who come to +barter their Indian trinkets for the _manteca de manati_ in the same +manner as it will presently be seen they trade for the _manteca de +tortugas_. I need not add that this is a season of joy and festivity, +like the wine-gatherings and harvest-homes of the European peasantry. + +The mode of capturing the manati is very similar to that employed by the +Esquimaux in taking the seal, and which has been elsewhere described. +There is not much danger in the fishery, for no creature could be more +harmless and inoffensive than this. It makes not the slightest attempt +either at defence or retaliation,--though the accident sometimes occurs +of a canoe being swamped or drawn under water,--but this is nothing to +the Ottomac Indian, who is almost as amphibious as the manati itself. + +At the proper hour the fisherman starts off in search of the manati. +His fishing-boat is a canoe hollowed from a single trunk, of that kind +usually styled a "dugout." On perceiving the cow-fish resting upon the +surface of the water, the Ottomac paddles towards it, observing the +greatest caution; for although the organs of sight and hearing in this +animal are, externally, but very little developed, it both hears and +sees well; and the slightest suspicious noise would be a signal for it +to dive under, and of course escape. + +When near enough to insure a good aim, the Ottomac hurls his harpoon +into the animal's body; which, after piercing the thick hide, sticks +fast. To this harpoon a cord is attached, with a float, and the float +remaining above water indicates the direction in which the wounded +animal now endeavours to get off. When it is tired of struggling, the +Indian regains the cord; and taking it in, hand over hand, draws up his +canoe to the side of the fish. If it be still too lively, he repeatedly +strikes it with a spear; but he does not aim to kill it outright until +he has got it "aboard." Once there, he ends the creature's existence by +driving a wooden plug into its nostrils, which in a moment deprives it +of life. + +The Ottomac now prepares himself to transport the carcass to his home; +or, if fishing in company, to the common rendezvous. Perhaps he has +some distance to take it, and against a current; and he finds it +inconvenient to tow such a heavy and cumbrous article. To remedy this +inconvenience, he adopts the expedient already mentioned, of placing the +carcass in his canoe. But how does he get it there? How can a single +Indian of ordinary strength raise a weight of a thousand pounds out of +the water, and lift it over the gunwale of his unsteady craft? It is in +this that he exhibits great cunning and address: for instead of raising +the carcass above the canoe, he sinks the canoe below the carcass, by +first filling the vessel nearly full of water; and then, after he has +got his freight aboard, he bales out the water with his gourd-shell. He +at length succeeds in adjusting his load, and then paddles homeward with +his prize. + +On arriving at his village,--if it be to the village he takes it,--he is +assisted in transporting the load by others of his tribe; but he does +not carry it to his own house,--for the Ottomacs are true socialists, +and the produce both of the chase and the fishery is the common property +of all. The chief of the village, seated in front of his hut, receives +all that is brought home, and distributes it out to the various heads of +families,--giving to each in proportion to the number of mouths that are +to be fed. + +The manati is flayed,--its thick hide, as already observed, serving for +many useful purposes; the strata of fat, or "blubber," which lies +beneath is removed, to be converted into oil; and finally, the flesh, +which is esteemed equal to pork, both in delicacy and flavour, is cut +into thin slices, either to be broiled and eaten at the time, or to be +preserved for a future occasion, not by salt, of which the Ottomac is +entirely ignorant, but by drying in the sun and smoking over a slow +fire. Fish and the flesh of the alligator are similarly "cured;" and +when the process is carefully done, both will keep for months. + +The alligator is captured in various ways: sometimes by a baited hook +with a strong cord attached,--sometimes he is killed by a stab of the +harpoon spear, and not unfrequently is he taken by a noose slipped over +his paw, the Ottomac diving fearlessly under him and adjusting the +snare. + +Some of the Indian tribes will not eat the musky flesh of the alligator; +but the Ottomacs are not thus particular. Indeed, these people refuse +scarce any article of food, however nasty or disagreeable; and it is a +saying among their neighbours--the Indians of other tribes--that +"nothing is too loathsome for the stomach of an Ottomac." + +Perhaps the saying will be considered as perfectly true when we come to +describe a species of food which these people eat, and which, for a long +time, has rendered them famous--or rather infamous--under the +appellation of "dirt-eaters." Of them it may literally be said that +they "eat dirt," for such, in reality, is one of their customs. + +This singular practice is chiefly resorted to during those months in the +year when the rivers swell to their greatest height, and continue full. +At this time all fishing ceases, and the Ottomac finds it difficult to +obtain a sufficiency of food. To make up for the deficiency, he fills +his stomach with a kind of unctuous clay, which he has already stored up +for the emergency, and of which he eats about a pound per diem! It does +not constitute his sole diet, but often for several days together it is +the only food which passes his lips! There is nothing nourishing in +it,--that has been proved by analysis. It merely _fills_ the belly,-- +producing a satiety, or, at least, giving some sort of relief from the +pangs of hunger. Nor has it been observed that the Ottomac grows thin +or unhealthy on this unnatural viand: on the contrary, he is one of the +most robust and healthy of American Indians. + +The earth which the Ottomac eats goes by the name of _poya_. He does +not eat clay of every kind: only a peculiar sort which he finds upon the +banks of streams. It is soft and smooth to the touch, and unctuous, +like putty. In its natural state it is of a yellowish-grey colour; but, +when hardened before the fire, it assumes a tinge of red, owing to the +oxide of iron which is in it. + +It was for a long time believed that the Ottomac mixed this clay with +cassava and turtle-oil, or some other sort of nutritive substance. Even +Father Gumilla--who was credulous enough to believe almost anything-- +could not "swallow" the story of the clay in its natural state, but +believed that it was prepared with some combination of farinha or fat. +This, however, is not the case. It is a pure earth, containing +(according to the analysis of Vauquelin) silex and alumina, with three +or four per cent of lime! + +This clay the Ottomac stores up, forming it into balls of several inches +in diameter; which; being slightly hardened before the fire, he builds +into little pyramids, just as cannon-balls are piled in an arsenal or +fortress. When the Ottomac wishes to eat of the _poya_, he softens one +of the balls by wetting it; and then, scraping off as much as he may +require for his meal, returns the _poya_ to its place on the pyramid. + +The dirt-eating does not entirely end with the falling of the waters. +The practice has begot a craving for it; and the Ottomac is not +contented without a little _poya_, even when more nutritious food may be +obtained in abundance. + +This habit of eating earth is not exclusively Ottomac. Other kindred +tribes indulge in it, though not to so great an extent; and we find the +same unnatural practice among the savages of New Caledonia and the +Indian archipelago. It is also common on the west coast of Africa. +Humboldt believed it to be exclusively a tropical habit. In this the +great philosopher was in error, since it is known to be practised by +some tribes of northern Indians on the frigid banks of the Mackenzie +River. + +When the floods subside, as already stated, the Ottomac lives better. +Then he can obtain both fish and turtles in abundance. The former he +captures, both with hooks and nets, or shoots with his arrows, when they +rise near the surface. + +The turtles of the Ottomac rivers are of two kinds the _arau_ and +_terecay_. The former is the one most sought after, as being by far the +largest. It is nearly a yard across the back, and weighs from fifty to +a hundred pounds. It is a shy creature, and would be difficult to +capture, were it not for a habit it has of raising its head above the +surface of the water, and thus exposing the soft part of its throat to +the Indian's arrow. Even then an arrow might fail to kill it; but the +Ottomac takes care to have the point well coated with _curare_ poison, +which in a few seconds does its work, and secures the death of the +victim. + +The _terecay_ is taken in a different and still more ingenious manner. +This species, floating along the surface, or even when lying still, +presents no mark at which a shaft can be aimed with the slightest chance +of success. The sharpest arrow would glance off its flat shelly back as +from a surface of steel. In order, therefore, to reach the vitals of +his victim, the Indian adopts an expedient, in which he exhibits a +dexterity and skill that are truly remarkable. + +He aims his shaft, not at the turtle, but up into the air, describing by +its course a parabolic curve, and so calculating its velocity and +direction that it will drop perpendicularly, point foremost, upon the +back of the unsuspecting swimmer, and pierce through the shell right +into the vital veins of its body! + +It is rare that an Indian will fail in hitting such a mark; and, both on +the Orinoco and Amazon, thousands of turtles are obtained in this +manner. + +The great season of Ottomac festivity and rejoicing, however, is that of +the _cosecha de tortugas_, or "turtle-crop." As has been already +observed, in relation to the manati fishery, it is to him what the +harvest-home is to the nations of northern Europe, or the wine-gathering +to those of the south; for this is more truly the character of the +_cosecha_. It is then that he is enabled, not only to procure a supply +of turtle-oil with which to lubricate his hair and skin, but he obtains +enough of this delicious grease wherewith to fry his dried slices of +manati and a surplus for sale to the turtle-traders from the Lower +Orinoco. In this petty commerce no coin is required; harpoon spears, +and arrow-heads of iron, rude knives, and hatchets; but, above all, a +few cakes of _annotto_, _chica_, and _caruto_, are bartered in exchange +for the turtle-oil. The thick hide of the manati,--for making +slave-whips,--the spotted skin of the jaguar, and some other pelts which +the chase produces, are also items of his export trade. + +The pigments above mentioned have already been procured by the trader, +as the _export_ articles of commerce of some other tribe. + +The turtle-oil is the product of the eggs of the larger species,--the +_arau_,--known simply by the name _tortuga_, or turtle. The eggs of the +_terecay_ would serve equally as well; but, from a difference in the +habit of this animal, its eggs cannot be obtained in sufficient quantity +for oil-making. There is no such thing as a grand "cosecha," or crop of +them--for the creature is not gregarious, like its congener, but each +female makes her nest apart from the others, in some solitary place, and +there brings forth her young brood. Not but that the nests of the +_terecay_ are also found and despoiled of their eggs,--but this only +occurs at intervals; and as the contents of a single nest would not be +sufficient for a "churning," no "butter" can be made of them. They are, +therefore, gathered to be used only as _eggs_, and not as _butter_. + +The _arau_, on the other hand, although not gregarious under ordinary +circumstances, becomes pre-eminently so during the "laying season." +Then all the turtles in the Orinoco and its tributaries collect into +three or four vast gangs--numbering in all over a million of +individuals--and proceed to certain points of rendezvous which they have +been in the habit of visiting from time immemorial. These common +breeding-places are situated between the cataracts of the river and the +great bend, where it meets the Apure; and are simply broad beaches of +sand, rising with a gentle slope from the edge of the water, and +extending for miles along the bank. There are some small rookeries on +tributary streams, but the three most noted are upon the shores of the +main river, between the points already indicated. That frequented by +the Ottomacs is upon an island, at the mouth of the Uruana River, upon +which these people principally dwell. + +The laying season of the _arau_ turtle varies in the different rivers of +tropical America,--occurring in the Amazon and its tributaries at a +different period from that of the Orinoco. It is regulated by the rise, +or rather the fall of the inundations; and takes place when the waters, +at their lowest stage, have laid bare the low sand-banks upon the +shores. This occurs (in the Orinoco) in March, and early in this month +the great assemblages are complete. For weeks before, the turtles are +seen, in all parts of the river near the intended breeding-places, +swimming about on the surface, or basking along the banks. As the sun +grows stronger, the desire of depositing their eggs increases,--as +though the heat had something to do with their fecundation. For some +time before the final action, the creatures may be seen ranged in a long +line in front of the breeding-place, with their heads and necks held +high above the water; as if contemplating their intended nursery, and +calculating the dangers to which they may be exposed. It is not without +reason that they may dwell upon these. Along the beach stalks the +lordly jaguar, waiting to make a meal of the first that may set his foot +on terra firma, or to fill his stomach with the delicious "new-laid" +eggs. The ugly alligator, too, is equally _friand_ of a gigantic +omelette; and not less so the "garzas" (white cranes), and the "zamuros" +(black vultures), who hover in hundreds in the air. Here and there, +too, may be observed an Indian sentinel, keeping as much as possible out +of sight of the turtles themselves, but endeavouring to drive off all +other enemies whose presence may give them fear. Should a canoe or boat +appear upon the river, it is warned by these sentinels to keep well off +from the phalanx of the turtles,--lest these should be disturbed or +alarmed,--for the Indian well knows that if anything should occur to +produce a panic among the araus, his _cosecha_ would be very much +shortened thereby. + +When at length the turtles have had sun enough to warm them to the work, +they crawl out upon the dry sand-beach, and the laying commences. It is +at night that the operation is carried on: for then their numerous +enemies--especially the vultures--are less active. Each turtle scoops +out a hole, of nearly a yard in diameter and depth; and having therein +deposited from fifty to one hundred eggs, it covers them up with the +sand, smoothing the surface, and treading it firmly down. Sometimes the +individuals are so crowded as to lay in one another's nests, breaking +many of the eggs, and causing an inextricable confusion; while the +creaking noise of their shells rubbing against each other may be heard +afar off, like the rushing of a cataract. Sometimes a number that have +arrived late, or have been slow at their work, continue engaged in it +till after daybreak, and even after the Indians have come upon the +ground--whose presence they no longer regard. Impelled by the instinct +of philo-progenitiveness, these "mad turtles," as the Indians call them, +appear utterly regardless of danger, and make no effort to escape from +it; but are turned over on their backs, or killed upon the spot without +difficulty. + +The beach being now deserted by the turtles, the egg-gatherers proceed +to their work. As there are usually several tribes, who claim a share +in the _cosecha_, the ground is measured out, and partitioned among +them. The regularity with which the nests are placed, and the number of +eggs in each being pretty nearly the same, an average estimate of the +quantity under a given surface is easily made. By means of a pointed +stick thrust into the sand, the outline of the deposit is ascertained-- +usually running along the beach in a strip of about thirty yards in +breadth. + +When the allotments are determined, the work of oil-making begins,--each +tribe working by itself, and upon the social system. The covering of +sand is removed, and the eggs placed in baskets, which are then emptied +into large wooden troughs, as a common receptacle. The canoes, drawn up +on the sand, are frequently made to do duty as troughs. When a +sufficient number of eggs have been thrown in, they are broken and +pounded together, and whipped about, as if intended for a gigantic +omelette. Water is added; and then the mixture is put into large +caldrons, and boiled until the oil comes to the top; after which it is +carefully skimmed off and poured into earthen jars ("botigas,") provided +by the traders. + +It takes about two weeks to complete the operations, during which time +many curious scenes occur. The sand swarms with young turtles about as +big as a dollar, which have been prematurely hatched; and have contrived +to crawl out of the shell. These are chased in all directions, and +captured by the little naked Ottomacs, who devour them "body, bones, and +all," with as much gusto as if they were gooseberries. The cranes and +vultures, and young alligators too, take a part in this by-play--for the +offspring of the poor arau has no end of enemies. + +When the oil is all boiled and bottled, the trader displays his tempting +wares, and makes the best market he can; and the savage returns to his +palm-hut village,--taking with him the articles of exchange and a few +baskets of eggs, which he has reserved for his own eating; and so ends +the _cosecha de tortugas_. + +It is in this season that the Ottomac indulges most in good living, and +eats the smallest quantity of dirt. The waters afford him abundance of +fish and turtle-flesh, beef from the sea-cow, and steaks from the tail +of the alligator. He has his turtle and manati-butter, in which to fry +all these dainties, and also to lubricate his hair and skin. + +He can dress, too, "within an inch of his life," having obtained for his +oil a fresh supply of the precious pigments. He indulges, moreover, in +fits of intoxication, caused by a beverage made from maize or manioc +root; but oftener produced by a species of snuff which he inhales into +his nostrils. This is the _niopo_, manufactured from the leaves of a +_mimosa_, and mixed with a kind of lime, which last is obtained by +burning a shell of the genus _helix_, that is found in the waters of the +Orinoco. The effect of the _niopo_ resembles that produced by chewing +_betel_, tobacco, opium, or the narcotic _coca_ of Peru. When freely +taken, a species of intoxication or rather mania is produced; but this +snuff and its effects are more minutely described elsewhere. It is here +introduced because, in the case of the Ottomac, the drug often produces +most baneful consequences. During the continuance of his intoxication +the Ottomac is quarrelsome and disorderly. He picks a hole in the coat +of his neighbour; but if there chance to be any "old sore" between him +and a rival, the vindictive feeling is sure to exhibit itself on these +occasions; and not unfrequently ends in an encounter, causing the death +of one or both of the combatants. These duels are not fought either +with swords or pistols, knives, clubs, nor any similar weapons. The +destruction of the victim is brought about in a very different manner; +and is the result of a very slight scratch which he has received during +the fight from the _nail_ of his antagonist. That a wound of so +trifling a nature should prove mortal would be something _very_ +mysterious, did we not know that the nail which inflicted that scratch +has been already enfiltrated with _curare_,--one of the deadliest of +vegetable poisons, which the Ottomac understands how to prepare in its +most potent and virulent form. + +Should it ever be your unfortunate fate therefore, to get into a +"scrimmage" with an Ottomac Indian, you must remember to keep clear of +his "claws!" + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +THE COMANCHES, OR PRAIRIE INDIANS. + +Young reader, I need scarce tell you that the noblest of animals--the +horse--is not indigenous to America. You already know that when +Columbus discovered the New World, no animal of the horse kind was found +there; and yet the geologist has proved incontestably that at one time +horses existed in the New World,--at a period too, geologically +speaking, not very remote. The fossilised bones examined by one of the +most accomplished of modern travellers--Dr Darwin--establish this truth +beyond a doubt. + +The horse that at present inhabits America, though not indigenous, has +proved a flourishing exotic. Not only in a domestic state has he +increased in numbers, but he has in many places escaped from the control +of man, and now runs wild upon the great plains both of North and South +America. Although you may find in America almost every "breed" of +horses known in Europe, yet the great majority belong to two very +distinct kinds. The first of these is the large English horse, in his +different varieties, imported by the Anglo-Americans, and existing +almost exclusively in the woodland territory of the United States. The +second kind is the Andalusian-Arab,--the horse of the Spanish +conquerors,--a much smaller breed than the English-Arabian, but quite +equal to him in mettle and beauty of form. It is the Andalusian horse +that is found throughout all Spanish America,--it is he that has +multiplied to such a wonderful extent,--it is he that has "run wild." + +That the horse in his normal state is a dweller upon open plains, is +proved by his habits in America,--for in no part where the forest +predominates is he found wild,--only upon the prairies of the north, and +the llanos and pampas of the south, where a timbered tract forms the +exception. + +He must have found these great steppes congenial to his natural +disposition,--since, only a very short time after the arrival of the +Spaniards in the New World, we find the horse a runaway from +civilisation,--not only existing in a wild state upon the prairies, but +in possession of many of the Indian tribes. + +It would be an interesting inquiry to trace the change of habits which +the possession of the horse must have occasioned among these Arabs of +the Western world. However hostile they may have been to his European +rider, they must have welcomed the horse as a friend. No doubt they +admired the bold, free spirit of the noble animal so analogous to their +own nature. He and they soon became inseparable companions; and have +continued so from that time to the present hour. Certain it is that the +prairie, or "horse Indians" of the present day, are in many respects +essentially different from the staid and stoical sons of the forest so +often depicted in romances; and almost equally certain is it, that the +possession of the horse has contributed much to this dissimilarity. It +could not be otherwise. With the horse new habits were introduced,--new +manners and customs,--new modes of thought and action. Not only the +chase, but war itself, became a changed game,--to be played in an +entirely different manner. + +We shall not go back to inquire what these Indians _were_ when afoot. +It is our purpose only to describe what they _are_ now that they are on +horseback. Literally, may we say _on horseback_; for, unless at this +present writing they are asleep, we may safely take it for granted they +are upon the backs of their horses,--young and old of them, rich and +poor,--for there is none of them so poor as not to be the master of a +"mustang" steed. + +In "Prairie-land" every tribe of Indians is in possession of the horse. +On the north the Crees, Crows, and Blackfeet, the Sioux, Cheyennes, and +Arapahoes; on the plains of the Platte, the Kansas, and Osage, we find +the Pawnees, the Kansas, and Osages,--all horse Indians. West of the +great mountain range, the Apache is mounted: so likewise the Utah, the +Navajo, and the Snake, or Shoshonee,--the latter rather sparingly. +Other tribes, to a greater or less degree, possess this valuable animal; +but the true type of the "horse Indian" is to be found in the Comanche, +the lord of that wide domain that extends from the Arkansas to the Rio +Grande. He it is who gives trouble to the frontier colonists of Texas, +and equally harasses the Spanish settlements of New Mexico; he it is who +carries his forays almost into the heart of New Spain,--even to the +gates of the populous Durango. + +Regarding the Comanche, then, as the type of the horse Indians, we shall +speak more particularly of him. Allowing for some slight difference in +the character of his climate and country, his habits and customs will be +found not very dissimilar to those of the other tribes who make the +prairie their home. + +To say that the Comanche is the finest horseman in the world would be to +state what is not the fact. He is not more excellent in this +accomplishment than his neighbour and bitter foeman, the Pawnee,--no +better than the "vaquero" of California, the "ranchero" of Mexico, the +"llanero" of Venezuela, the "gaucho" of Buenos Ayres, and the horse +Indians of the "Gran Chaco" of Paraguay, of the Pampas, and Patagonia. +He is _equal_, however, to any of these, and that is saying enough,--in +a word, that he takes rank among the finest horsemen in the world. + +The Comanche is on horseback almost from the hour of infancy,-- +transferred, as it were, from his mother's arms to the withers of a +mustang. When able to walk, he is scarce allowed to practise this +natural mode of progression, but performs all his movements on the back +of a horse. A Comanche would no more think of making a journey afoot-- +even if it were only to the distance of a few hundred yards--than he +would of crawling upon his hands and knees. The horse, ready saddled +and bridled, stands ever near,--it differs little whether there is +either saddle or bridle,--and flinging himself on the animal's back, or +his neck, or his croup, or hanging suspended along his side, the Indian +guides him to the destined spot, usually at a rapid gallop. It is of no +consequence to the rider how fast the horse may be going: it will not +hinder him from mounting, or dismounting at will. At any time, by +clutching the mane, he can spring upon the horse's shoulders,--just as +may be often seen in the arena of the circus. + +The horse Indian is a true type of the _nomadic_ races,--a dweller in +tents, which his four-footed associate enables him to transport from +place to place with the utmost facility. Some of the tribes, however, +and even some of the Comanches, have fixed residences, or "villages," +where at a certain season of the year they--or rather their women-- +cultivate the maize, the pumpkin, the melon, the calabash, and a few +other species of plants,--all being vegetable products indigenous to +their country. No doubt, before the arrival of Europeans, this +cultivation was carried on more extensively than at present; but the +possession of the horse has enabled the prairie tribes to dispense with +a calling which they cordially contemn: the calling of the husbandman. + +These misguided savages, one and all, regard agricultural pursuits as +unworthy of men; and wherever necessity compels them to practise them, +the work falls to the lot of the women and slaves,--for be it known that +the Comanche is a slave-owner; and holds in bondage not only Indians of +other tribes, but also a large number of mestizoes and whites of the +Spanish race, captured during many a sanguinary raid into the +settlements of Mexico! It would be easy to show that it is this false +pride of being hunters and warriors, with its associated aversion for an +agricultural life, that has thinned the numbers of the Indian race--far +more than any persecution they have endured at the hands of the white +man. This it is that starves them, that makes unendurable neighbours of +them, and has rendered it necessary in some instances to "civilise them +off the face of the earth." + +But they are not yet all civilised from off the face of the earth; nor +is it their destiny to disappear so readily as short-seeing prophets +have declared. Their idle habits and internecine wars have done much to +thin their numbers,--far more than the white man's hostility,--but +wherever the white man has stepped in and put a stop to their tribal +contentions,--wherever he has succeeded in conquering their aversion to +industrial pursuits,--the Indian is found not only to hold his ground, +but to increase rapidly in numbers. This is the case with many +tribes,--Greeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees,--so that I can promise you, +young reader, that by the time you get to be an old man, there will be +as many Indians in the world as upon that day when Columbus first set +his foot upon "Cat" Island. + +You will be inquiring how the horse could render the prairie Indian more +independent of agriculture? The answer is simple. With this valuable +auxiliary a new mode of subsistence was placed within his reach. An +article of food, which he had hitherto been able to obtain only in a +limited quantity, was now procurable in abundance,--the flesh of the +buffalo. + +The prairies of North America have their own peculiarities. They are +not stocked with large droves of ruminant animals, as the plains of +Southern Africa,--where the simplest savage may easily obtain a dinner +of flesh-meat. A few species of deer, thinly distributed,--all swift, +shy animals,--the prong-horn antelope, still swifter and shyer,--and the +"big-horn," shyest of all,--were the only ruminants of Prairie-land, +with the exception of the great bison, or buffalo, as he is generally +called. But even this last was not so easily captured in those days. +The bison, though not a swift runner, is yet more than a match for the +biped man; and though the Indian might steal upon the great drove, and +succeed in bringing down a few with his arrows, it was not always a sure +game. Moreover, afoot, the hunter could not follow the buffalo in its +grand migrations,--often extending for hundreds of miles across plains, +rivers, and ravines. Once mounted, the circumstances became changed. +The Indian hunter could not only overtake the buffalo, but ride round +him at will, and pursue him, if need be, to the most distant parts of +Prairie-land. The result, therefore, of the introduction of the horse +was a plentiful supply of buffalo-meat, or, when that failed, the flesh +of the horse himself,--upon which two articles of diet the prairie +Indian has almost exclusively subsisted ever since. + +The Comanche has several modes of hunting the buffalo. If alone, and he +wishes to make a grand _coup_, he will leave his horse at a distance,-- +the animal being trained to remain where his master has left him. The +hunter then approaches the herd with great caution, keeping to +leeward,--lest he might be "winded" by the old sentinel bulls who keep +watch. Should there be no cover to shelter the approach of the hunter, +the result would be that the bulls would discover him; and, giving out +their bellow of alarm, cause the others to scamper off. + +To guard against this, the Indian has already prepared himself by +adopting a _ruse_,--which consists in disguising himself in the skin of +a buffalo, horns and all complete, and approaching the herd, as if he +were some stray individual that had been left behind, and was just on +the way to join its fellows. Even the motions of the buffalo, when +browsing, are closely imitated by the red hunter; and, unless the wind +be in favour of his being scented by the bulls, this device will insure +the success of a shot. Sometimes the skin of the large whitish-grey +wolf is used in this masquerade with equal success. This may appear +singular, since the animal itself is one of the deadliest enemies of the +buffalo: a large pack of them hanging on the skirts of every herd, and +patiently waiting for an opportunity to attack it. But as this attack +is only directed against the younger calves,--or some disabled or +decrepit individual who may lag behind,--the strong and healthy ones +have no fear of the wolves, and permit them to squat upon the prairie +within a few feet of where they are browsing! Indeed, they could not +hinder them, even if they wished: as the long-legged wolf in a few +springs can easily get out of the way of the more clumsy ruminant; and, +therefore, does not dread the lowering frontlet of the most shaggy and +ill-tempered bull in the herd. + +Of course the hunter, in the guise of a wolf, obtains the like privilege +of close quarters; and, when he has arrived at the proper distance for +his purpose, he prepares himself for the work of destruction. The bow +is the weapon he uses,--though the rifle is now a common weapon in the +hands of many of the horse Indians. But the bow is preferred for the +species of "still hunting" here described. The first crack of a rifle +would scatter the gang, leaving the hunter perhaps only an empty gun for +his pains; while an arrow at quarters is equally as deadly in its +effect; and, being a _silent_ weapon, no alarm is given to any of the +buffaloes, except that one which has felt the deadly shaft passing +through its vitals. + +Often the animal thus shot--even when the wound is a mortal one--does +not immediately fall; but sinks gradually to the earth, as if lying down +for a rest. Sometimes it gets only to its knees, and dies in this +attitude; at other times it remains a long while upon its legs, +spreading its feet widely apart, as if to prop itself up, and then +rocking from side to side like a ship in a ground-swell, till at last, +weakened by loss of blood, it yields its body to the earth. Sometimes +the struggles of a wounded individual cause the herd to "stampede," and +then the hunter has to content himself with what he may already have +shot; but not unfrequently the unsuspicious gang keeps the ground till +the Indian has emptied his quiver. Nay, longer than that: for it often +occurs that the disguised buffalo or wolf (as the case may be) +approaches the bodies of those that have fallen, recovers some of his +arrows, and uses them a second time with like deadly effect! For this +purpose it is his practice, if the aim and distance favour him, to send +his shaft clear through the body of the bison, in order that the barb +may not hinder it from being extracted on the other side! This feat is +by no means of uncommon occurrence among the buffalo-hunters of the +prairies. + +Of course, a grand wholesale slaughter of the kind just described is not +an everyday matter; and can only be accomplished when the buffaloes are +in a state of comparative rest, or browsing slowly. More generally they +detect the dangerous counterfeit in time to save their skins; or else +keep moving too rapidly for the hunter to follow them on foot. His only +resource, then, is to ride rapidly up on horseback, fire his arrows +without dismounting, or strike the victim with his long lance while +galloping side by side with it. If in this way he can obtain two or +three fat cows, before his horse becomes _blown_, or the herd scatters +beyond his reach, he considers that he has had good success. + +But in this kind of chase the hunter is rarely alone: the whole tribe +takes part in it; and, mounted on their well-trained mustangs, often +pursue the buffalo gangs for, an hour or more, before the latter can get +off and hide themselves in the distance, or behind the swells of the +prairie. The clouds of dust raised in a _melee_ of this kind often +afford the buffalo a chance of escaping,--especially when they are +running _with_ the wind. + +A "buffalo surround" is effected by a large party of hunters riding to a +great distance; deploying themselves into a circle around the herd; and +then galloping inward with loud yells. The buffaloes, thus attacked on +all sides, become frightened and confused, and are easily driven into a +close-packed mass, around the edges of which the mounted hunters wheel +and deliver their arrows, or strike those that try to escape, with their +long spears. Sometimes the infuriated bulls rush upon the horses, and +gore them to death; and the hunters, thus dismounted, often run a narrow +risk of meeting with the same fate,--more than a risk, for not +unfrequently they are killed outright. Often are they obliged to leap +up on the croup of a companion's horse, to get out of the way of danger; +and many instances are recorded where a horseman, by the stumbling of +his horse, has been pitched right into the thick of the herd, and has +made his escape by mounting on the backs of the bulls themselves, and +leaping from one to another until he has reached clear ground again. + +The buffalo is never captured in a "pound," as large mammalia are in +many countries. He is too powerful a creature to be imprisoned by +anything but the strongest stockade fence; and for this the prairie +country does not afford materials. A contrivance, however, of a +somewhat similar character is occasionally resorted to by various tribes +of Indians. When it is known that the buffaloes have become habituated +to range in any part of the country, where the plain is intersected by +deep ravines,--_canons_, or _barrancas_, as they are called,--then a +grand _battue_ is got up by driving the animals pellmell over the +precipitous bluffs, which universally form the sides of these singular +ravines. To guide the herd to the point where it is intended they +should take the fatal leap, a singular contrivance is resorted to. This +consists in placing two rows of objects--which appear to the buffalo to +be human beings--in such a manner that one end of each row abuts upon +the edge of the precipice, not very distant from the other, while the +lines extend far out into the plain, until they have diverged into a +wide and extensive funnel. It is simply the contrivance used for +guiding animals into a pound; but, instead of a pair of close log +fences, the objects forming these rows stand at a considerable distance +apart; and, as already stated, appear to the not very discriminating eye +of the buffalo to be human beings. They are in reality designed to +resemble the human form in a rude fashion; and the material out of which +they are constructed is neither more nor less than the dung of the +buffaloes themselves,--the _bois de vache_, as it is called, by the +Canadian trappers, who often warm their shins, and roast their buffalo +ribs over a fire of this same material. + +The decoy being thus set, the mounted hunters next make a wide sweep +around the prairie,--including in their deployment such gangs of +buffaloes as may be browsing between their line and the mouth of the +funnel. At first the buffaloes are merely guided forward, or driven +slowly and with caution,--as boys in snow-time often drive larks toward +their snares. When the animals, however, have entered between the +converging lines of mock men, a rush, accompanied by hideous yells, is +made upon them from behind: the result of which is, that they are +impelled forward in a headlong course towards the precipice. + +The buffalo is, at best, but a half-blind creature. Through the long, +shaggy locks hanging over his frontlet he sees objects in a dubious +light, or not at all. He depends more on his scent than his sight; but +though he may scent a living enemy, the keenness of his organ does not +warn him of the yawning chasm that opens before him,--not till it is too +late to retire: for although he may perceive the fearful leap before +taking it, and would willingly turn on his track, and refuse it, he +finds it no longer possible to do so. In fact, he is not allowed time +for reflection. The dense crowd presses from behind, and he is left no +choice, except that of springing forward or suffering himself to be +tumbled over upon his head. In either case it is his last leap; and, +frequently, the last of a whole crowd of his companions. + +With such persecutions, I need hardly say that the buffaloes are +becoming scarcer every year; and it is predicted that at no distant +period this really valuable mammal will be altogether extinct. At +present their range is greatly contracted within the wide boundaries +which it formerly occupied. Going west from the Mississippi,--at any +point below the mouth of the Missouri,--you will not meet with buffalo +for the first three hundred miles; and, though the herds formerly ranged +to the south and west of the Rio Grande, the Comanches on the banks of +that river no longer know the buffalo, except by their excursions to the +grand prairie far to the north of their country. The Great Slave Lake +is the northern terminus of the buffalo range; and westward the chain of +the Rocky Mountains; but of late years stray herds have been observed at +some points west of these,--impelled through the passes by the +hunter-pressure of the horse Indians from the eastward. Speculators +have adopted several ingenious and plausible reasons to account for the +diminution of the numbers of the buffalo. There is but one cause worth +assigning,--a very simple one too,--the horse. + +With the disappearance of the buffalo,--or perhaps with the thinning of +their numbers,--the prairie Indians may be induced to throw aside their +roving habits. This would be a happy result both for them and their +neighbours; though it is even doubtful whether it might follow from such +a circumstance. No doubt some change would be effected in their mode of +life; but unfortunately these Bedouins of the Western world can live +upon the horse, even if the buffalo were entirely extirpated. Even as +it is, whole tribes of them subsist almost exclusively upon horse-flesh, +which they esteem and relish more than any other food. But this +resource would, in time, also fail them; for they have not the economy +to raise a sufficient supply for the demand that would occur were the +buffaloes once out of the way: since the _caballadas_ of wild mustangs +are by no means so easy to capture as the "gangs" of unwieldy and +lumbering buffaloes. + +It is to be hoped, however, that before the horse Indians have been put +to this trial, the strong arm of civilisation shall be extended over +them, and, withholding them from those predatory incursions, which they +annually make into the Mexican settlements, will induce them to +_dismount_, and turn peaceably to the tillage of the soil,--now so +successfully practised by numerous tribes of their race, who dwell in +fixed and flourishing homes upon the eastern border of the prairies. + +At this moment, however, the Comanches are in open hostility with the +settlers of the Texan frontier. The _lex talionis_ is in active +operation while we write, and every mail brings the account of some +sanguinary massacre, or some act of terrible retaliation. The deeds of +blood and savage cruelty practised alike by both sides--whites as well +as Indians--have had their parallel, it is true, but they are not the +less revolting to read about. The colonists have suffered much from +these Ishmaelites of the West,--these lordly savages, who regard +industry as a dishonourable calling; and who fancy that their vast +territory should remain an idle hunting-ground, or rather a fortress, to +which they might betake themselves during their intervals of war and +plundering. The colonists have a clear title to the land,--that title +acknowledged by all right-thinking men, who believe the good of the +majority must not be sacrificed to the obstinacy of the individual, or +the minority,--that title which gives the right to remove the dwelling +of the citizen,--his very castle,--rather than that the public way be +impeded. All admit this right; and just such a title has the Texan +colonist to the soil of the Comanche. There may be guilt in the _mode_ +of establishing the claim,--there may have been scenes of cruelty, and +blood unnecessarily spilt,--but it is some consolation to know that +there has occurred nothing yet to parallel in cold-blooded atrocity the +annals of Algiers, or the similar acts committed in Southern Africa. +The crime of _smoke-murder_ is yet peculiar to Pellisier and Potgieter. + +In their present outbreak, the Comanches have exhibited but a poor, +short-sighted policy. They will find they have committed a grand error +in mistaking the courageous colonists of Texas for the weak Mexicans,-- +with whom they have long been at war, and whom they have almost +invariably conquered. The result is easily told: much blood may be shed +on both sides, but it is sure to end as all such contests do; and the +Comanche, like the Caffre, must "go to the wall." Perhaps it is better +that things should be brought to a climax,--it will certainly be better +for the wretched remnant of the Spano-Americans dwelling along the +Comanche frontiers,--a race who for a hundred years have not known +peace. + +As this long-standing hostility with the Mexican nation has been a +predominant feature in the history of the Comanche Indian, it is +necessary to give some account of how it is usually carried on. There +was a time when the Spanish nation entertained the hope of +_Christianising_ these rude savages,--that is, taming and training them +to something of the condition to which they have brought the Aztec +descendants of Montezuma,--a condition scarce differing from slavery +itself. As no gold or silver mines had been discovered in Texas, it was +not their intention to make mine-labourers of them; but rather peons, or +field-labourers, and tenders of cattle,--precisely as they had done, and +were still doing, with the tribes of California. The soldier and the +sword had proved a failure,--as in many other parts of Spanish +America,--in fact, everywhere, except among the degenerated remnants of +monarchical misrule found in Mexico, Bogota, and Peru. In these +countries was encountered the _debris_ of a declining civilisation, and +not, as is generally believed, the children of a progressive +development; and of course they gave way,--as the people of all +corrupted monarchies must in the end. + +It was different with the "Indios bravos," or warrior tribes, still free +and independent,--the so-called _savages_. Against these the soldier +and the sword proved a complete failure; and it therefore became +necessary to use the other kind of conquering power,--the monk and his +cross. Among the Comanches this kind of conquest had attained a certain +amount of success. Mission-houses sprung up through the whole province +of Texas,--the Comanche country,--though the new neophytes were not +altogether Comanches, but rather Indians of other tribes who were less +warlike. Many Comanches, however, became converts; and some of the +"missiones" became establishments on a grand scale,--each having, +according to Spanish missionary-fashion, its "presidio," or garrison of +troops, to keep the new believers within sound of the bell, and to hunt +and bring them back, whenever they endeavoured to escape from that +Christian vassalage for which they had too rashly exchanged their pagan +freedom. + +All went well, so long as Spain was a power upon the earth, and the +Mexican viceroyalty was rich enough to keep the presidios stocked with +troopers. The monks led as jolly a life as their prototypes of "Bolton +Abbey in the olden time." The neophytes were simply their slaves, +receiving, in exchange for the sweat of their brow, baptism, absolution, +little pewter crucifixes, and various like valuable commodities. + +But there came a time when they grew tired of the exchange, and longed +for their old life of roving freedom. Their brethren had obtained the +horse; and this was an additional attraction which a prairie life +presented. They grew tired of the petty tricks of the Christian +superstition,--to their view less rational than their own,--they grew +tired of the toil of constant work, the childlike chastisements +inflicted, and sick of the sound of that ever-clanging clapper,--the +bell. In fine, they made one desperate effort, and freed themselves +forever. + +The grand establishment of San Saba, on the river of the same name, fell +first. The troops were abroad on some convert-hunting expedition. The +Comanches entered the fort,--their tomahawks and war-clubs hidden under +their great robes of buffalo-hide: the attack commenced, and ended only +with the annihilation of the settlement. + +One monk alone escaped the slaughter,--a man renowned for his holy zeal. +He fled towards San Antonio, pursued by a savage band. A large river +coursed across the route it was necessary for him to take; but this did +not intercept him: its waters opened for a moment, till the bottom was +bare from bank to bank. He crossed without wetting his feet. The waves +closed immediately behind him, offering an impassable barrier to his +pursuers, who could only vent their fury in idle curses! But the monk +could curse too. He had, perhaps, taken some lessons at the Vatican; +and, turning round, he anathematised every "mother's son" of the +red-skinned savages. The wholesale excommunication produced a wonderful +effect. Every one of the accursed fell back where he stood, and lay +face upward upon the plain, dead as a post! The monk, after baptising +the river "Brazos de Dios" (arm of God), continued his flight, and +reached San Antonio in safety,--where he duly detailed his miraculous +adventure to the credulous converts of Bejar, and the other missions. + +Such is the supposed origin of the name Brazos de Dios, which the second +river in Texas bears to this day. It is to be remarked, however, that +the river crossed by the monk was the present Colorado, not the Brazos: +for, by a curious error of the colonists, the two rivers have made an +exchange of titles! + +The Comanches--freed from missionary rule, and now equal to their +adversaries by possession of the horse--forthwith commenced their +plundering expeditions; and, with short intervals of truce,--periods _en +paz_,--have continued them to the present hour. All Northern and +Western Texas they soon recovered; but they were not content with +territory: they wanted horses and cattle and chattels, and white wives +and slaves; and it would scarce be credited, were I to state the number +of these they have taken within the last half-century. Nearly every +year they have been in the habit of making an expedition to the Mexican +settlements of the provinces Tamaulipas, New Leon, and Chihuahua,--every +expedition a fresh conquest over their feeble and corrupt adversaries. +On every occasion they have returned with booty, consisting of horses, +cattle, sheep, household utensils, and, sad to relate, human captives. +Women and children only do they bring back,--the men they kill upon +sight. The children may be either male or female,--it matters not +which, as these are to be adopted into their tribe, to become future +warriors; and, strange to relate, many of these, when grown up, not only +refuse to return to the land of their birth, but prove the most bitter +and dangerous foes to the people from whom they have sprung! Even the +girls and women, after a period, become reconciled to their new home, +and no longer desire to leave it. Some, when afterwards discovered and +ransomed by their kindred, have refused to accept the conditions, but +prefer to continue the savage career into which misfortune has +introduced them! Many a heartrending scene has been the consequence of +such apparently unnatural predilections. + +You would wonder why such a state of things has been so long submitted +to by a civilised people; but it is not so much to be wondered at. The +selfishness that springs from constant revolutions has destroyed almost +every sentiment of patriotism in the Mexican national heart; and, +indeed, many of these captives are perhaps not much worse off under the +guardianship of the brave Comanches than they would have been, exposed +to the petty tyranny and robber-rule that has so long existed in Mexico. +Besides, it is doubtful whether the Mexican government, with all her +united strength, could retake them. The Comanche country is as +inaccessible to a regular army as the territory of Timbuctoo; and it +will give even the powerful republic of the north no small trouble to +reduce these red freebooters to subjection. Mexico had quite despaired +of being able to make an effort; and in the last treaty made between her +and the United States, one of the articles was a special agreement on +the part of the latter to restrain the Comanches from future forays into +the Mexican states, and also cause them to deliver up the Mexican +captives then in the hands of the Indians! + +It was computed that their number at the time amounted to four thousand! +It is with regret I have to add, that these unfortunates are still held +in bondage. The great republic, too busy with its own concerns, has not +carried out the stipulations of the treaty; and the present Comanche war +is but the result of this criminal negligence. Had energetic measures +been adopted at the close of the Mexico-American war, the Comanche would +not now be harrying the settlers of Texas. + +To prove the incapacity of the Mexicans to deal with this warlike race, +it only needs to consider the present condition of the northern Mexican +states. One half the territory in that extensive region has returned to +the condition of a desert. The isolated "ranchos" have been long since +abandoned,--the fields are overgrown with weeds,--and the cattle have +run wild or been carried off by the Comanches. Only the stronger +settlements and large fortified haciendas any longer exist; and many of +these, too, have been deserted. Where children once played in the +security of innocence,--where gaily-dressed cavaliers and elegant ladies +amused themselves in the pleasant _dia de campo_, such scenes are no +longer witnessed. The rancho is in ruins,--the door hangs upon its +hinge, broken and battered, or has been torn off to feed the camp-fire +of the savage; the dwelling is empty and silent, except when the howling +wolf or coyote wakes up the echoes of its walls. + +About ten years ago, the proud governor of the state of Chihuahua--one +of the most energetic soldiers of the Mexican republic--had a son taken +captive by the Comanches. Powerful though this man was, he knew it was +idle to appeal to arms; and was only too contented to recover his child +by paying a large ransom! This fact, more than a volume of words, will +illustrate the condition of unhappy Mexico. + +The Comanche leads a gay, merry life,--he is far from being the Indian +of Cooper's description. In scarcely any respect does he resemble the +sombre son of the forest. He is lively, talkative, and ever ready for a +laugh. His butt is the Mexican presidio soldier, whom he holds in too +just contempt. He is rarely without a meal. If the buffalo fails him, +he can draw a steak from his spare horses, of which he possesses a large +herd: besides, there are the wild mustangs, which he can capture on +occasions. He has no work to do except war and hunting: at all other +times he has slaves to wait upon him, and perform the domestic drudgery. +When idle, he sometimes bestows great pains upon his dress,--which is +the usual deer-skin tunic of the prairie Indian, with mocassins and +fringed leggings. Sometimes a head-dress of plumes is worn; sometimes +one of the skin of the buffalo's skull, with the horns left on! The +robe of buffalo pelt hangs from his shoulders, with all the grandeur of +a toga; but when he proceeds on a plundering expedition, all these +fripperies are thrown aside, and his body appears naked from the waist +to the ears. Then only the breech-clout is worn, with leggings and +mocassins on his legs and feet. A coat of scarlet paint takes the place +of the hunting-shirt,--in order to render his presence more terrific in +the eyes of his enemy. It needs not this. Without any disguise, the +sight of him is sufficiently horrifying,--sufficiently suggestive of +"blood and murder." + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +THE PEHUENCHES, OR PAMPAS INDIANS. + +The vast plain known as the "Pampas" is one of the largest tracts of +level country upon the face of the earth. East and west it stretches +from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata to the foothills of the Andes +mountains. It is interrupted on the north by a series of mountains and +hill country, that cross from the Andes to the Paraguay River, forming +the Sierras of Mendoza, San Luis, and Cordova; while its southern +boundary is not so definitely marked, though it may be regarded as +ending at the Rio Negro, where it meets, coming up from the south, the +desert plains of Patagonia. + +Geologically, the Pampas (or plains, as the word signifies, in the +language of the Peruvian Indians) is an alluvial formation,--the bed of +an ancient sea,--upheaved by some unknown cause to its present +elevation, which is not much above the ocean-level. It is not, +therefore, a _plateau_ or "tableland," but a vast natural meadow. The +soil is in general of a red colour, argillaceous in character, and at +all points filled with marine shells and other testimonies that the sea +once rolled over it. It is in the Pampas formation that many of the +fossil monsters have been found,--the gigantic megatherium, the colossal +_mylodon_, and the giant armadillo (_glyptodon_), with many other +creatures, of such dimensions as to make it a subject of speculation how +the earth could have produced food enough for their maintenance. + +In giving to the Pampas the designation of a _vast meadow_, do not +suffer yourself to be misled by this phrase,--which is here and +elsewhere used in rather a loose and indefinite manner. Many large +tracts in the Pampas country would correspond well enough to this +definition,--both as regards their appearance and the character of the +herbage which covers them; but there are other parts which bear not the +slightest resemblance to a meadow. There are vast tracts thickly +covered with tall thistles,--so tall as to reach to the head of a man +mounted on horseback, and so thickly set, that neither man nor horse +could enter them without a path being first cleared for them. + +Other extensive tracts are grown over with tall grass so rank as to +resemble reeds or rushes more than grass; and an equally extensive +surface is timbered with small trees, standing thinly and without +underwood, like the fruit-trees in an orchard. Again, there are wide +morasses and extensive lakes, many of them brackish, and some as salt as +the sea itself. In addition to these, there are "salinas," or plains of +salt,--the produce of salt lakes, whose waters have evaporated, leaving +a stratum of pure salt often over a foot in thickness, and covering +their beds to an extent of many square leagues. There are some parts, +too, where the Pampas country assumes a sterile and stony character,-- +corresponding to that of the great desert of Patagonia. It is not +correct therefore, to regard the Pampas as one unbroken tract of +_meadow_. In one character alone is it uniform in being a country +without mountains,--or any considerable elevations in the way of ridges +or hills,--though a few scattered sierras are found both on its northern +and southern edges. + +The _Thistle Pampas_, as we take the liberty of naming them, constitute +perhaps the most curious section of this great plain; and not the less +so that the "weed" which covers them is supposed not to be an indigenous +production, but to have been carried there by the early colonists. +About this, however, there is a difference of opinion. No matter whence +sprung, the thistles have flourished luxuriantly, and at this day +constitute a marked feature in the scenery of the Pampas. Their +position is upon the eastern edge of the great plain, contiguous to the +banks of the La Plata; but from this river they extend backwards into +the interior, at some points to the distance of nearly two hundred +miles. Over this vast surface they grow so thickly that, as already +mentioned, it is not possible for either man or horse to make way +through them. They can only be traversed by devious paths--already +formed by constant use, and leading through narrow lanes or glades, +where, for some reason, the thistles do not choose to grow. Otherwise +they cannot be entered even by cattle. These will not, unless +compelled, attempt penetrating such an impervious thicket; and if a herd +driven along the paths should chance to be "stampeded" by any object of +terror, and driven to take to the thistles, scarce a head of the whole +flock can ever afterwards be recovered. Even the instincts of the dumb +animals do not enable them to find their way out again; and they usually +perish, either from thirst, or by the claws of the fierce pumas and +jaguars, which alone find themselves at home in the labyrinthine +"_cardonales_." The little _viscacha_ contrives to make its burrow +among them, and must find subsistence by feeding upon their leaves and +seed, since there is no other herbage upon the ground,--the well-armed +thistle usurping the soil, and hindering the growth of any other plants. +It may be proper to remark, however, that there are two kinds of these +plants, both of which cover large tracts of the plain. One is a true +thistle, while the other is a weed of the artichoke family, called by +the Spanish Americans "cardoon." It is a species of _Cardunculus_. The +two do not mingle their stalks, though both form thickets in a similar +manner and often in the same tract of country. The cardoon is not so +tall as the thistle; and, being without spines, its "beds" are more +easily penetrated; though even among these, it would be easy enough to +get entangled and lost. + +It is proper to remark here, that these thistle-thickets do not shut up +the country all the year round. Only for a season,--from the time they +have grown up and "shoot," till their tall ripened stalks wither and +fall back to the earth, where they soon moulder into decay. The plains +are then open and free to all creatures,--man among the rest,--and the +Gaucho, with his herds of horses, horned cattle, and sheep, or the +troops of roving Indians, spread over and take possession of them. + +The young thistles now present the appearance of a vast field of +turnips; and their leaves, still tender, are greedily devoured by both +cattle and sheep. In this condition the Pampas thistles remain during +their short winter; but as spring returns, they once more "bristle" up, +till, growing taller and stouter, they present a _chevaux-de-frise_ that +at length expels all intruders from their domain. + +On the western selvage of this thistle tract lies the grass-covered +section of the Pampas. It is much more extensive than that of the +"cardonales,"--having an average width of three hundred miles, and +running longitudinally throughout the whole northern and southern +extension of the Pampas. Its chief characteristic is a covering of +coarse grass,--which at different seasons of the year is short or tall, +green, brown, or yellowish, according to the different degrees of +ripeness. When dry, it is sometimes fired,--either by design or +accident,--as are also the withered stems of the thistles; and on these +occasions a conflagration occurs, stupendous in its effects,--often +extending over vast tracts, and reducing everything to black ashes. +Nothing can be more melancholy to the eye than the aspect of a burnt +pampa. + +The grass section is succeeded by that of the "openings," or scanty +forests, already mentioned; but the trees in many places are more +closely set; assuming the character of thickets, or "jungles." These +tracts end among the spurs of the Andes,--which, at some points, are +thrown out into the plain, but generally rise up from it abruptly and by +a well-defined border. + +The marshes and bitter lakes above mentioned are the produce of numerous +streams, which have their rise in the Great Cordillera of the Andes, and +run eastward across the Pampas. A few of these, that trend in a +southerly direction, reach the Atlantic by means of the two great +outlets,--the "Colorado" and "Negro." All the others--and "their name +is legion"--empty their waters into the morasses and lakes, or sink into +the soil of the plains, at a greater or less distance from the +Cordillera, according to the body of water they may carry down. +Evaporation keeps up the equilibrium. + +Who are the dwellers upon the Pampas? To whom does this vast +pasture-ground belong? Whose flocks and herds are they that browse upon +it? + +You will be told that the Pampas belong to the republic of Buenos Ayres, +or rather to the "States of the Argentine Confederation,"--that they are +inhabited by a class of citizens called "Gauchos," who are of Spanish +race, and whose sole occupation is that of herdsmen, breeders of cattle +and horses,--men famed for their skill as horsemen, and for their +dexterity in the use of the "lazo" and "bolas,"--two weapons borrowed +from the aboriginal races. + +All this is but partially true. The proprietorship of this great plain +was never actually in the hands of the Buenos-Ayrean government, nor in +those of their predecessors,--the Spaniards. Neither has ever owned +it--either by conquest or otherwise:--no further than by an empty boast +of ownership; for, from the day when they first set foot upon its +borders to the present hour, neither has ever been able to cross it, or +penetrate any great distance into it, without a grand army to back their +progress. But their possession virtually ceased at the termination of +each melancholy excursion; and the land relapsed to its original owners. +With the exception of some scanty strips along its borders, and some +wider ranges, thinly occupied by the half-nomade Gauchos, the Pampas are +in reality an Indian territory, as they have always been; and the claim +of the white man is no more than nominal,--a mere title upon the map. +It is not the only vast expanse of Spanish American soil that _never was +Spanish_. + +The true owners of the Pampas, then, are the red aborigines,--the Pampas +Indians; and to give some account of these is now our purpose. + +Forming so large an extent, it is not likely it should all belong to one +united tribe,--that would at once elevate them into the character of a +nation. But they are not united. On the contrary, they form several +distinct associations, with an endless number of smaller subdivisions or +communities,--just in the same way as it is among their prairie cousin +of the north. They may all, however, be referred to four grand tribal +associations or nationalities,--the _Pehuenches_, _Puelches_, +_Picunches_, and _Ranqueles_. + +Some add the _Puilliches_, who dwell on the southern rim of the Pampas; +but these, although they extend their excursions over a portion of the +great plain, are different from the other Pampas Indians in many +respects,--altogether a braver and better race of men, and partaking +more of the character of the Patagonians,--both in point of _physique_ +and _morale_,--of which tribes, indeed, they are evidently only a +branch. In their dealings with white men, when fairly treated, these +have exhibited the same noble bearing which characterises the true +Patagonian. I shall not, therefore, lower the standard--neither of +their bodies nor their minds--by classing them among "Pampas Indians." + +Of these tribes--one and all of them--we have, unfortunately, a much +less favourable impression; and shall therefore be able to say but +little to their credit. + +The different names are all native. _Puelches_ means the people living +to the east, from "_puel_," east, and _che_, people. The _Picunches_ +derive this appellation, in a similar fashion, from "_picun_," +signifying the north. The _Pehuenches_ are the people of the pine-tree +country, from "_pehuen_," the name for the celebrated "Chili pine" +(_Araucaria_); and the _Ranqueles_ are the men who dwell among the +thistles, from _ranquel_, a thistle. + +These national appellations will give some idea of the locality which +each tribe inhabits. The _Ranqueles_ dwell, not among the thistles,-- +for that would be an unpleasant residence, even to a red-skin; but along +the western border of this tract. To the westward of them, and up into +the clefts of the Cordilleras extends the country of the Pehuenches; and +northward of both lies the land of the Picunches. Their boundary in +that direction _should be_ the frontiers of the _quasi-civilised_ +provinces of San Luis and Cordova, but they are _not_; for the Picunche +can at will extend his plundering forays as far north as he pleases: +even to _dovetailing_ them into the similar excursions of his _Guaycuru_ +kinsmen from the "Gran Chaco" on the north. + +The Puelche territory is on the eastern side of the Pampas, and south +from Buenos Ayres. At one time these people occupied the country to the +banks of the La Plata; and no doubt it was they who first met the +Spaniards in hostile array. Even up to a late period their forays +extended almost to Buenos Ayres itself; but Rosas, tyrant as he may have +been, was nevertheless a true soldier, and in a grand military +expedition against them swept their country, and inflicted such a +terrible chastisement upon both them and the neighbouring tribes, as +they had not suffered since the days of Mendoza. The result has been a +retirement of the Puelche frontier to a much greater distance from +Buenos Ayres; but how long it may continue stationary is a question,--no +longer than some strong arm--such as that of Rosas--is held +threateningly over them. + +It is usual to inquire whence come a people; and the question has been +asked of the Pampas Indians. It is not difficult to answer. They came +from the land of Arauco. Yes, they are the kindred of that famed people +whom the Spaniards could never subdue,--even with all their strength put +forth in the effort. They are near kindred too,--the Pehuenches +especially,--whose country is only separated from that of the +Araucanians by the great Cordillera of Chili; and with whom, as well as +the Spaniards on the Chilian side, they have constant and friendly +intercourse. + +But it must be admitted, that the Araucanians have had far more than +their just meed of praise. The romantic stories, in that endless epic +of the rhymer Ercilla, have crept into history; and the credulous Molina +has endorsed them: so that the true character of the Araucanian Indian +has never been understood. Brave he has shown himself, beyond doubt, in +defending his country against Spanish aggression; but so, too, has the +Carib and Guaraon,--so, too, has the Comanche and Apache, the Yaqui of +Sonora, the savage of the Mosquito shore, the Guaycuru of the Gran +Chaco, and a score of other Indian tribes,--in whose territory the +Spaniard has never dared to fix a settlement. Brave is the Araucanian; +but, beyond this, he has few virtues indeed. He is cruel in the +extreme,--uncivil and selfish,--filthy and indolent,--a polygamist in +the most approved fashion,--a very tyrant over his own,--in short, +taking rank among the beastliest of semi-civilised savages,--for it may +be here observed, that he is not exactly what is termed a _savage_: that +is, he does not go naked, and sleep in the open air. On the contrary, +he clothes himself in stuff of his own weaving,--or rather, that of his +slave-wives,--and lives in a hut which they build for him. He owns +land, too,--beautiful fields,--of which he makes no use: except to +browse a few horses, and sheep, and cattle. For the rest, he is too +indolent to pursue agriculture; and spends most of his time in drinking +_chicha_, or tyrannising over his wives. This is the heroic Araucanian +who inhabits the plains and valleys of Southern Chili. + +Unfortunately, by passing to the other side of the Andes, he has not +improved his manners. The air of the Pampas does not appear to be +conducive to virtue; and upon that side of the mountains it can scarce +be said to exist,--even in the shape of personal courage. The men of +the pines and thistles seem to have lost this quality, while passing +through the snows of the Cordilleras, or left it behind them, as they +have also left the incipient civilisation of their race. On the Pampas +we find them once more in the character of the true savage: living by +the chase or by plunder; and bartering the produce of the latter for the +trappings and trinkets of personal adornment, supplied them by the +unprincipled white trader. Puelches and Picunches, Pehuenches and +Ranqueles, all share this character alike,--all are treacherous, +quarrelsome, and cowardly. + +But we shall now speak more particularly of their customs and modes of +life, and we may take the "pine people" as our text,--since these are +supposed to be most nearly related to the true Araucanians,--and, +indeed, many of their "ways" are exactly the same as those of that +"heroic nation." + +The "people of the pines" are of the ordinary stature of North-American +Indians, or of Europeans; and their natural colour is a dark coppery +hue. But it is not often you can see them in their natural colour: for +the Pampas Indians, like nearly all the aboriginal tribes, are +"painters." They have pigments of black and white, blue, red, and +yellow,--all of which they obtain from different coloured stones, found +in the streams of the Cordilleras. "Yama," they call the black stone; +"colo," the red; "palan," the white; and "codin," the blue; the yellow +they obtain from a sort of argillaceous earth. The stones of each +colour they submit to a rubbing or grinding process, until a quantity of +dust is produced; which, being mixed with suet, constitutes the paint, +ready for being laid on. + +The Pampas Indians do not confine themselves to any particular +"escutcheon." In this respect their fancy is allowed a wide scope, and +their fashions change. A face quite black, or red, is a common +countenance among them; and often may be seen a single band, of about +two inches in width, extending from ear to ear across the eyes and nose. +On war excursions they paint hideous figures: not only on their own +faces and bodies, but on their trappings, and even upon the bodies of +their horses,--aiming to render themselves as appalling as possible in +the sight of their enemies. The same trick is employed by the warriors +of the prairies, as well as in many other parts of the world. Under +ordinary circumstances, the Pampas Indian is not a _naked_ savage. On +the contrary, he is well clad; and, so far from obtaining the material +of his garments from the looms of civilised nations, he weaves it for +himself,--that is, his wives weave it; and in such quantity that he has +not only enough for his own "wear," but more than enough, a surplus for +trade. The cloth is usually a stuff spun and woven from sheep's wool. +It is coarse, but durable; and in the shape of blankets or "ponchos," is +eagerly purchased by the Spanish traders. Silver spurs, long, pointed +knives, lance-heads, and a few other iron commodities, constitute the +articles of exchange, with various ornamental articles, as beads, rings, +bracelets, and large-headed silver bodkins to fasten their cloaks around +the shoulders of his "ladies." Nor is he contented with mere tinsel, as +other savages are,--he can tell the difference between the real metal +and the counterfeit, as well as the most expert assayer; and if he +should fancy to have a pair of silver spurs, not even a Jew peddler +could put off upon him the plated "article." In this respect the +Araucanian Indian has been distinguished, since his earliest intercourse +with Europeans; and his Pampas kindred are equally subtle in their +appreciation. + +The Pampas Indian, when well dressed, has a cloak upon his shoulders of +the thick woollen stuff already described. It is usually woven in +colours; and is not unlike the "poncho" worn by the "gauchos" of Buenos +Ayres, or the "serape" of the Mexicans. Besides the cloak, his dress +consists of a mere skirt,--also of coloured woollen stuff, being an +oblong piece swathed around his loins, and reaching to the knee. A sash +or belt--sometimes elaborately ornamented--binds the cloth around the +waist. Boots of a peculiar construction complete the costume. These +are manufactured in a very simple manner. The fresh skin taken from a +horse's hind leg is drawn on--just as if it were a stocking--until the +heel rests in that part which covered the hock-joint of the original +wearer. The superfluous portion is then trimmed to accommodate itself +as a covering for the foot; and the boot is not only finished, but put +on,--there to remain until it is worn out, and a new one required! If +it should be a little loose at first, that does not matter. The hot +sun, combined with the warmth of the wearer's leg, soon contracts the +hide, and brings it to "fit like a glove." The head is often left +uncovered; but as often a sort of skullcap or helmet of horse-skin is +worn; and not unfrequently a high, conical hat of palm fibre. This last +is not a native production, but an importation of the traders. So also +is a pair of enormous rings of brass, which are worn in the ears; and +are as bulky as a pair of padlocks. In this costume, mounted on +horseback with his long lance in hand, the Pampas Indian would be a +picturesque, object; and really is so, when _clean_; but that is only on +the very rarest occasions,--only when he has donned a new suit. At all +other times, not only his face and the skin of his body, but every rag +upon his back, are covered with grease and filth,--so as to produce an +effect rather "tatterdemalion" than picturesque. + +The "squaw" is costumed somewhat differently. First, she has a long +"robe," which covers her from neck to heels, leaving only her neck and +arms bare. The robe is of red or blue woollen stuff of her own weaving. +This garment is the "quedeto." A belt, embroidered with beads, called +"quepique," holds it around the waist, by means of a large silver +buckle. This belt is an article, of first fashion. Over the shoulders +hangs the "iquilla," which is a square piece of similar stuff,--but +usually of a different dye; and which is fastened in front by a pin with +a large silver head, called the "tupo." The shock of thick, black +hair--after having received the usual anointment of mare's tallow, the +fashionable hair-oil of the Pampas Indians--is kept in its place by a +sort of cap or _coiffure_, like a shallow dish inverted, and bristling +all over with trader's beads. To this a little bell is fastened; or +sometimes a brace of them are worn as earrings. These tinkle so +agreeably in the ears of the wearer, that she can scarce for a moment +hold her head at rest, but keeps rocking it from side to side, as a +Spanish coquette would play with her fan. + +In addition to this varied wardrobe, the Pampas belle carries a large +stock of bijouterie,--such as beads and bangles upon her neck, rings and +circlets upon her arms, ankles, and fingers; and, to set her snaky locks +in order, she separates them by means of a stiff brush, made from the +fibrous roots of a reed. _She_ is _picturesque_ enough, but never +_pretty_. Nature has given the Araucanian woman a plain face; and all +the adornment in the world cannot hide its homeliness. + +The Pehuenche builds no house. He is a true nomade, and dwells in a +tent, though one of the rudest construction. As it differs entirely +from the tent of the prairie Indians, it may be worth while describing +it. + +Its framework is of reeds,--of the same kind as are used for the long +lances so often mentioned; and which resemble _bambusa_ canes. They +grow in plenty throughout the Pampas, especially near the mountains,-- +where they form impenetrable thickets on the borders of the marshy +lakes. Any other flexible poles will serve as well, when the canes are +not "handy." + +The poles being procured, one is first bent into a semicircle, and in +this shape both ends are stuck into the ground, so as to form an arch +about three feet in height. This arch afterwards becomes the doorway or +entrance to the tent. The remaining poles are attached to this first +one at one end, and at right angles; and being carried backward with a +slight bend, their other ends are inserted into the turf. This forms +the skeleton of the tent; and its covering is a horse-skin, or rather a +number of horse-skins stitched together, making a sort of large +tarpaulin. The skins are sewed with the sinews of the horse or ox,-- +which are first chewed by the women, until their fibres become separated +like hemp, and are afterwards spun by them into twine. + +The tent is not tall enough to admit of a man standing erect; and in it +the Pehuenche crouches, whenever it snows, rains, or blows cold. He has +sheep-skins spread to sleep upon, and other skins to serve as +bed-clothes,--all in so filthy a condition, that but for the cold, he +might find it far more comfortable to sleep in the open air. He never +attempts to sweep out this miserable lair; but when the spot becomes +_very_ filthy, he "takes up his sticks" and shifts his penates to a +fresh "location." He is generally, however, too indolent to make a +"remove,"--until the dirt has accumulated so as to "be in the way." + +The Pampas Indian is less of a hunter than most other tribes of savages. +He has less need to be,--at least, in modern days; for he is in +possession of three kinds of valuable domestic animals, upon which he +can subsist without hunting,--horses, horned cattle, and sheep. Of +course, these are of colonial origin. He hunts, nevertheless, for +amusement, and to vary his food. The larger ostrich (_rhea Americana_), +the guanaco, and the great "gama" stag of the Pampas (_cervus +campestris_) are his usual game. These he captures with the _bolas_,-- +which is his chief implement for the chase. In the flesh of the stag he +may find a variety, but not a delicacy. Its venison would scarce tempt +a Lucullian palate,--since even the hungriest Gaucho will not eat it. +It is a large beast, often weighing above three hundred pounds; and +infecting the air with such a rank odour, that dogs decline to follow it +in the chase. This odour is generated in a pair of glands situated near +the eyes; and it has the power of projecting it at will,--just as skunks +and polecats when closely chased by an enemy. If these glands are cut +out immediately after the animal is killed, the flesh tastes well +enough: otherwise it is too rank to be eatable. The Indians cure it of +the "bad smell" by burying it for several days in the ground; which has +the effect of "sweetening" it, while at the same time it makes it more +tender. + +But the Pampas Indian does not rely upon the chase for his subsistence. +He is a small grazier in his way; and is usually accompanied in his +wanderings by a herd of horned cattle and sheep. He has also his stud +of horses; which furnish the staple of his food,--for whenever he +hungers, a horse is "slaughtered." Strictly speaking, it is not a +horse, for it is the mare that is used for this purpose. In no part of +the Pampas region,--not even in the white settlement,--are the mares +used for riding. It would be considered derogatory to the character of +either Gaucho or Indian to mount a mare; and these are kept only for +breeding purposes. Not that the Indian is much of a horse-breeder. He +keeps up his stock in quite another way,--by stealing. The same remark +will apply to the mode by which he recruits his herds of horned cattle, +and his flocks of sheep. The last he values only for their wool; out of +which his garments are woven; and which has replaced the scantier fleece +of the vicuna and guanaco,--the material used by him in days gone by. + +From whom does he steal these valuable animals,--and in such numbers as +almost to subsist upon them? That is a question that can be easily +answered; though it is not exact language to say that he steals them. +Rather say that he _takes_ them, by main force and in open daylight,-- +takes them from the Creole Spaniard,--the Gaucho and _estanciero_. Nay, +he does not content himself always with four-footed plunder; but often +returns from his forays with a crowd of captives,--women and children, +with white skins and ruddy cheeks,--afterwards to be converted into his +drudges and slaves. Not alone to the frontier does he extend these +plundering expeditions; but even into the heart of the Spanish +settlements,--to the estancias of grandees, and the gates of fortified +towns; and, strange as it may read, this condition of things has been in +existence, not for years, but, at intervals, extending over a century! + +But what may read stranger still--and I can vouch for it as true--is, +that _white men_ actually purchase this plunder from him,--not the human +part of it, but the four-footed and the _furniture_,--for this, too, +sometimes forms part of his booty. Yes, the surplus, of which the +Indian can make no use or cares nothing about,--more especially the +large droves of fine horses, taken from the Spaniards of Buenos Ayres,-- +are driven through the passes of the Cordilleras, and sold to the +Spaniards of Chili! the people of one province actually encouraging the +robbery of their kindred race in another! The very same condition of +things exists in North America. The Comanche, steals, or rather takes, +from the white settler of Tamaulipas and New Leon,--the Apache rieves +from the white settler of Chihuahua and Sonora: both sell to the white +settlers, who dwell along the banks of the Rio del Norte! And all these +settlers are of one race,--one country,--one kindred! These things have +hitherto been styled _cosas de Mexico_. Their signification may be +extended to South America: since they are equally _cosas de las Pampas_. + +We are not permitted to doubt the truth of these appalling facts,-- +neither as regards the nefarious traffic, nor the captive women and +children. At this very hour, not less than four thousand individuals of +Spanish-Mexican race are held captives by the prairie tribes; and when +Rosas swept the Pampas, he released fifteen hundred of similar +unfortunates from their worse than Egyptian taskmasters,--the Puelches! + +With such facts as these before our eyes, who can doubt the decline of +the Spanish power? the utter enfeeblement of that once noble race? Who +can contradict the hypothetical prophecy--more than once offered in +these pages--that if the two races be left to themselves, the +aboriginal, before the lapse of a single century, will once more recover +the soil; and his haughty victor be swept from the face of the American +continent? + +Nor need such a change be too keenly regretted. The Spanish occupation +of America has been an utter failure. It has served no high human +purpose, but the contrary. It has only corrupted and encowardiced a +once brave and noble race; and, savage as may be the character of that +which would supplant it, still that savage has within him the elements +of a future civilisation. + +Not so the Spaniard. The fire of his civilisation has blazed up with a +high but fitful gleam. It has passed like the lightning's flash. Its +sparks have fallen and died out,--never to be rekindled again. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +THE YAMPARICOS, OR ROOT-DIGGERS. + +It is now pretty generally known that there are many _deserts_ in North +America,--as wild, waste, and inhospitable as the famed Sahara of +Africa. These deserts occupy a large portion of the central regions of +that great continent--extending, north and south, from Mexico to the +shores of the Arctic Sea; and east and west for several hundred miles, +on each side of the great vertebral chain of the Rocky Mountains. It is +true that in the vast territory thus indicated, the desert is not +continuous; but it is equally true that the fertile stripes or valleys +that intersect it, bear but a very small proportion to the whole +surface. Many tracts are there, of larger area than all the British +Islands, where the desert is scarce varied by an oasis, and where the +very rivers pursue their course amidst rocks and barren sands, without a +blade of vegetation on their banks. Usually, however, a narrow selvage +of green--caused by the growth of cotton woods, willows, and a few +humbler plants--denotes the course of a stream,--a glad sight at all +times to the weary and thirsting traveller. + +These desert wastes are not all alike, but differ much in character. In +one point only do they agree,--they are all _deserts_. Otherwise they +exhibit many varieties,--both of aspect and nature. Some of them are +level plains, with scarce a hill to break the monotony of the view: and +of this character is the greater portion of the desert country extending +eastward from the Rocky Mountains to about 100 degrees of west +longitude. At this point the soil gradually becomes more fertile,-- +assuming the character of timbered tracts, with prairie opening +between,--at length terminating in the vast, unbroken forests of the +Mississippi. + +This eastern desert extends parallel with the Rocky Mountains,-- +throughout nearly the whole of their length,--from the Rio Grande in +Mexico, northward to the Mackenzie River. One tract of it deserves +particular mention. It is that known as the _llano estacado_, or +"staked plain," It lies in North-western Texas, and consists of a barren +plateau, of several thousand square miles in extent, the surface of +which is raised nearly a thousand feet above the level of the +surrounding plains. Geologists have endeavoured to account for this +singular formation, but in vain. The table-like elevation of the Llano +estacado still remains a puzzle. Its name, however, is easier of +explanation. In the days of Spanish supremacy over this part of +Prairie-land, caravans frequently journeyed from Santa Fe in New Mexico, +to San Antonio in Texas. The most direct route between these two +provincial capitals lay across the Llano estacado; but as there were +neither mountains nor other landmarks to guide the traveller, he often +wandered from the right path,--a mistake that frequently ended in the +most terrible suffering from thirst, and very often in the loss of life. +To prevent such catastrophes, stakes were set up at such intervals as +to be seen from one another, like so many "telegraph posts;" and +although these have long since disappeared, the great plain still bears +the name, given to it from this circumstance. + +Besides the contour of surface, there are other respects in which the +desert tracts of North America differ from one another. In their +vegetation--if it deserves the name--they are unlike. Some have no +vegetation whatever; but exhibit a surface of pure sand, or sand and +pebbles; others are covered with a stratum of soda, of snow-white +colour, and still others with a layer of common salt, equally white and +pure. Many of these salt and soda "prairies"--as the trappers term +them--are hundreds of square miles in extent. Again, there are deserts +of scoria, of lava, and pumice-stone,--the "cut-rock prairies" of the +trappers,--a perfect contrast in colour to the above mentioned. All +these are absolutely without vegetation of any sort. + +On some of the wastes--those of southern latitudes,--the cactus appears +of several species, and also the wild agave, or "pita" plant; but these +plants are in reality but emblems of the desert itself. So, also, is +the _yucca_, which thinly stands over many of the great plains, in the +south-western part of the desert region,--its stiff, shaggy foliage in +no way relieving the sterile landscape, but rather rendering its aspect +more horrid and austere. + +Again, there are the deserts known as "chapparals,"--extensive jungles +of brush and low trees, all of a thorny character; among which the +"mezquite" of several species (_mimosas_ and _acacias_), the +"stink-wood" or _creosote plant_ (_kaeberlinia_), the "grease-bush" +(_obione canescens_), several kinds of _prosopis_, and now and then, as +if to gratify the eye of the tired traveller, the tall flowering spike +of the scarlet _fouquiera_. Further to the north--especially throughout +the upper section of the Great Salt Lake territory--are vast tracts, +upon which scarce any vegetation appears, except the _artemisia_ plant, +and other kindred products of a sterile soil. + +Of all the desert tracts upon the North-American continent, perhaps none +possesses greater interest for the student of cosmography than that +known as the "Great Basin." It has been so styled from the fact of its +possessing a hydrographic system of its own,--lakes and rivers that have +no communication with the sea; but whose waters spend themselves within +the limits of the desert itself, and are kept in equilibrium by +evaporation,--as is the case with many water systems of the continents +of the Old World, both in Asia and Africa. + +The largest lake of the "Basin" is the "Great Salt Lake,"--of late so +celebrated in Mormon story: since near its southern shore the chief city +of the "Latter-day Saints" is situated. But there are other large lakes +within the limits of the Great Basin, both fresh and saline,--most of +them entirely unconnected with the Great Salt Lake, and some of them +having a complete system of waters of their own. There are "Utah" and +"Humboldt," "Walker's" and "Pyramid" lakes, with a long list of others, +whose names have been but recently entered upon the map, by the numerous +very intelligent explorers employed by the government of the United +States. + +Large rivers, too, run in all directions through this central desert, +some of them falling into the Great Salt Lake, as the "Bear" river, the +"Weber," the "Utah," from Utah Lake,--upon which the Mormon metropolis +stands,--and which stream has been absurdly baptised by these +free-living fanatics as the "Jordan?" Other rivers are the +"Timpanogos," emptying into Lake Utah; the "Humboldt," that runs to the +lake of that name; the "Carson" river; besides many of lesser note. + +The limits assigned to the Great Basin are tolerably well-defined. Its +western rim is the _Sierra Nevada_, or "snowy range" of California; +while the Rocky and Wahsatch mountains are its boundaries on the east. +Several cross-ranges, and spurs of ranges, separate it from the system +of waters that empty northward into the Columbia River of Oregon; while +upon its southern edge there is a more indefinite "divide" between it +and the great desert region of the western "Colorado." Strictly +speaking, the desert of the Great Basin might be regarded as only a +portion of that vast tract of sterile, and almost treeless soil, which +stretches from the Mexican state of Sonora to the upper waters of +Oregon; but the deserts of the Colorado on the south, and those of the +"forks" of the Columbia on the north, are generally treated as distinct +territories; and the Great Basin, with the limits already assigned, is +suffered to stand by itself. As a separate country, then, we shall here +consider it. + +From its name, you might fancy that the Great Basin was a low-lying +tract of country. This, however, is far from being the case. On the +contrary, nearly all of it is of the nature of an elevated tableland, +even its lakes lying several thousand feet above the level of the sea. +It is only by its "rim," of still more elevated mountain ridges, that it +can lay claim to be considered as a "basin;" but, indeed, the name-- +given by the somewhat speculative explorer, Fremont--is not very +appropriate, since later investigations show that this rim is in many +places neither definite nor regular,--especially on its northern and +southern sides, where the "Great Basin" may be said to be badly cracked, +and even to have some pieces chipped out of its edge. + +Besides the mountain chains that surround it, many others run into and +intersect it in all directions. Some are spurs of the main ranges; +while others form "sierras"--as the Spaniards term them--distinct in +themselves. These sierras are of all shapes and of every altitude,-- +from the low-lying ridge scarce rising above the plain, to peaks and +summits of over ten thousand feet in elevation. Their forms are as +varied as their height. Some are round or dome-shaped; others shoot up +little turrets or "needles;" and still others mount into the sky in +shapeless masses,--as if they had been flung upon the earth, and upon +one another, in some struggle of Titans, who have left them lying in +chaotic confusion. A very singular mountain form is here observed,-- +though it is not peculiar to this region, since it is found elsewhere, +beyond the limits of the Great Basin, and is also common in many parts +of Africa. This is the formation known among the Spaniards as _mesas_, +or "table-mountains," and by this very name it is distinguished among +the colonists of the Cape. + +The _Llano estacado_, already mentioned, is often styled a "mesa," but +its elevation is inconsiderable when compared with the _mesa_ mountains +that occur in the regions west of the great Rocky chain,--both in the +Basin and on the deserts of the Colorado. Many of these are of great +height,--rising several thousand feet above the general level; and, with +their square truncated _table-like_ tops, lend a peculiar character to +the landscape. + +The characteristic vegetation of the Great Basin is very similar to that +of the other central regions of the North-American continent. Only near +the banks of the rivers and some of the fresh-water lakes, is there any +evidence of a fertile soil; and even in these situations the timber is +usually scarce and stunted. Of course, there are tracts that are +exceptional,--oases, as they are geographically styled. Of this +character is the country of the Mormons on the Jordan, their settlements +on the Utah and Bear Rivers, in Tuilla and Ogden valleys, and elsewhere +at more remote points. There are also isolated tracts on the banks of +the smaller streams and the shores of lakes not yet "located" by the +colonist; and only frequented by the original dwellers of the desert, +the red aborigines. In these oases are usually found cottonwood-trees, +of several distinct species,--one or other of which is the +characteristic, vegetation on nearly every stream from the Mississippi +to the mountains of California. + +Willows of many species also appear; and now and then, in stunted forms, +the oak, the elm, maples, and sycamores. But all these last are very +rarely encountered within the limits of the desert region. On the +mountains, and more frequently in the mountain ravines pines of many +species--some of which produce edible cones--grow in such numbers as to +merit the name of forests, of greater or less extent. Among these, or +apart from them, may be distinguished the darker foliage of the cedar +(_Juniperus_) of several varieties, distinct from the _juniperus +virginiana_ of the States. + +The arid plains are generally without the semblance of vegetation. When +any appears upon them, it is of the character of the "chapparal," +already described; its principal growth being "tornilla," or +"screw-wood," and other varieties of _mezquite_; all of them species of +the extensive order of the _leguminosae_, and belonging to the several +genera of _acacias_, _mimosas_, and _robinias_. In many places +_cactacae_ appear of an endless variety of forms; and some,--as the +"pitahaya" (_cereus giganteus_), and the "tree" and "cochineal" cacti +(_opuntias_),--of gigantesque proportions. These, however, are only +developed to their full size in the regions further south,--on the +deserts of the Colorado and Gila,--where also the "tree yuccas" abound, +covering tracts of large extent, and presenting the appearance of +forests of palms. + +Perhaps the most characteristic vegetation of the Great Basin--that is, +if it deserve the name of a vegetation--is the wild sage, or +_artemisia_. With this plant vast plains are covered, as far as the eye +can reach; not presenting a hue of green, as the grass prairies do, but +a uniform aspect of greyish white, as monotonous as if the earth were +without a leaf to cover it. Instead of relieving the eye of the +traveller, the artemisia rather adds to the dreariness of a desert +landscape,--for its presence promises food neither to man nor horse, nor +water for them to drink, but indicates the absence of both. Upon the +hill-sides also is it seen, along the sloping declivities of the +sierras, marbling the dark volcanic rocks with its hoary frondage. + +More than one species of this wild sage occurs throughout the American +desert: there are four or five kinds, differing very considerably from +each other, and known to the trappers by such names as "wormwood," +"grease-bush," "stink-plant," and "rabbit-bush." Some of the species +attain to a considerable height,--their tops often rising above the head +of the traveller on horseback,--while another kind scarce reaches the +knee of the pedestrian. + +In some places the plains are so thickly covered with this vegetation, +that it is difficult for either man or horse to make way through them,-- +the gnarled and crooked branches twisting into each other and forming an +impenetrable wattle. At other places, and especially where the larger +species grow, the plants stand apart like apple-trees in an orchard, and +bear a considerable resemblance to shrubs or small trees. + +Both man and horse refuse the artemisia as food; and so, too, the less +fastidious mule. Even a donkey will not eat it. There are animals, +however,--both birds and beasts, as will be seen hereafter,--that relish +the sage-plant; and not only eat of it, but subsist almost exclusively +on its stalks, leaves, and berries. + +The denizens of the Great Basin desert--I mean its human denizens--are +comprehended in two great families of the aboriginal race,--the _Utahs_ +and _Snakes_, or _Shoshonees_. Of the white inhabitants--the Mormons +and trap-settlers--we have nothing to say here. Nor yet much respecting +the above-mentioned Indians, the Utahs and Snakes. It will be enough +for our purpose to make known that these two tribes are distinct from +each other,--that there are many communities or sub-tribes of both,-- +that each claims ownership of a large tract of the central region, lying +between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada; and that their limits +are not coterminal with those of the Great Basin: since the range of the +Snakes extends into Oregon upon the north, while that of the Utahs runs +down into the valley of the Rio del Norte upon the south. Furthermore, +that both are in possession of the horse,--the Utahs owning large +numbers,--that both are of roving and predatory habits, and quite as +wicked and warlike as the generality of their red brethren. + +They are also as well to do in the world as most Indians; but there are +many degrees in their "civilisation," or rather in the comforts of their +life, depending upon the situation in which they may be placed. When +dwelling upon a good "salmon-stream," or among the rocky mountain +"parks," that abound in game, they manage to pass a portion of the year +in luxuriant abundance. In other places, however, and at other times, +their existence is irksome enough,--often bordering upon actual +starvation. + +It may be further observed, that the Utahs and Snakes usually occupy the +larger and more fertile oases of the desert,--wherever a tract is found +of sufficient size to subsist a community. With this observation I +shall dismiss both these tribes; for it is not of them that our present +sketch is intended to treat. + +This is specially designed for a far _odder_ people than either,--for +the _Yamparicos_, or "Root-diggers;" and having described their country, +I shall now proceed to give some account of themselves. + +It may be necessary here to remark that the name "Diggers," has of late +been very improperly applied,--not only by the settlers of California, +but by some of the exploring officers of the United States government. +Every tribe or community throughout the desert, found existing in a +state of special wretchedness, has been so styled; and a learned +ethnologist (!), writing in the "Examiner," newspaper, gravely explains +the name, by deriving it from the gold-diggers of California! This +"conceit" of the London editor is a palpable absurdity,--since the +Digger Indians were so designated, long before the first gold-digger of +California put spade into its soil. The name is of "trapper" origin; +bestowed upon these people from the observation of one of their most +common practices,--viz, the _digging for roots_, which form an essential +portion of their subsistence. The term "yamparico," is from a Spanish +source, and has a very similar meaning to that of "Root-digger." It is +literally "Yampa-rooter," or "Yampa-root eater," the root of the "yampa" +(_anethum graviolens_) being their favourite food. The true "Diggers" +are not found in California west of the Sierra Nevada; though certain +tribes of ill-used Indians in that quarter are called by the name. The +great deserts extending between the Nevada and the Rocky Mountains are +their locality; and their limits are more or less cotemporaneous with +those of the Shoshonees or Snakes, and the Utahs,--of both of which +tribes they are supposed to be a sort of outcast kindred. This +hypothesis, however, rests only on a slight foundation: that of some +resemblance in habits and language, which are very uncertain _criteria_ +where two people dwell within the same boundaries,--as, for instance, +the whites and blacks in Virginia. In fact, the language of the Diggers +can scarce be called a language at all: being a sort of gibberish like +the growling of a dog, eked out by a copious vocabulary of signs: and +perhaps, here and there, by an odd word from the Shoshonee or Utah,--not +unlikely, introduced by the association of the Diggers with these +last-mentioned tribes. + +In the western and southern division of the Great Basin, the Digger +exists under the name of _Paiute_, or more properly, _Pah-Utah_,-- +so-called from his supposed relationship with the tribe of the Utahs. +In some respects the Pah-Utahs differ from the Shoshokee, or +Snake-Diggers; though in most of their characteristic habits they are +very similar to each other. There might be no anomaly committed by +considering them as one people; for in personal appearance and habits of +life the Pah-Utah, and the "Shoshokee"--this last is the national +appellation of the yampa-eater,--are as like each other as _eggs_. We +shall here speak however, principally of the Shoshokees: leaving it to +be understood, that their neighbours the "Paiutes" will equally answer +the description. + +Although the Shoshokees, as already observed, dwell within the same +limits as their supposed kindred the Shoshonees, they rarely or never +associate with the latter. On the contrary, they keep well out of their +way,--inhabiting only those districts of country where the larger +Shoshonee communities could not dwell. The very smallest oasis, or the +tiniest stream, affords all the fertility that is required for the +support of a Digger family; and rarely are these people found living +more than one, or at most, two or three families together. The very +necessity of their circumstances precludes the possibility of a more +extensive association; for on the deserts where they dwell, neither the +earth nor the air, nor yet the water, affords a sufficient supply of +food to support even the smallest "tribe." Not in tribes, then, but in +single families, or little groups of two or three, do the Digger Indians +dwell,--not in the larger and more fertile valleys, but in those small +and secluded; in the midst of the sage-plains, or more frequently in the +rocky defiles of the mountains that stand thickly over the "Basin." + +The Shoshokee is no _nomade_, but the very reverse. A single and +isolated mountain is often the abode of his group or family; and beyond +this his wanderings extend not. There he is at home, knowing every nook +and rat-hole in his own neighbourhood; but as ignorant of the world +beyond as the "sand-rats" themselves,--whose pursuit occupies the +greater portion of his time. + +In respect to his "settled" mode of life, the _Shoshokee_ offers a +striking contrast to the _Shoshonee_. Many of the latter are Indians of +noble type,--warriors who have tamed the horse, and who extend their +incursions, both hunting and hostile, into the very heart of the Rocky +Mountains,--up their fertile valleys, and across their splendid "parks," +often bringing back with them the scalps of the savage and redoubtable +Blackfeet. + +Far different is the character of the wretched Shoshokee,--the mere +semblance of a human being,--who rarely strays out of the ravine in +which he was brought forth; and who, at sight of a human face--be it of +friend or enemy--flies to his crag or cave like a hunted beast! + +The Pah-Utah Diggers, however, are of a more warlike disposition; or +rather a more wicked and hostile one,--hostile to whites, or even to +such other Indians as may have occasion to travel through the deserts +they inhabit. These people are found scattered throughout the whole +southern and south-western portion of the Great Basin,--and also in the +north-western part of the Colorado desert,--especially about the Sevier +River, and on several of the tributaries of the great Colorado itself of +the west It was through this part of the country that the caravans from +California to New Mexico used to make their annual "trips,"--long before +Alta Calafornia became a possession of the United States,--and the route +by which they travelled is known as the _Spanish trail_. The object of +these caravans was the import of horses, mules, and other animals,--from +the fertile valleys of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, to the +more sterile settlements of New Mexico. Several kinds of goods were +also carried into these interior countries. + +This Spanish trail was far from running in a direct line. The sandy, +waterless plain--known more particularly as the Colorado desert--could +not be crossed with safety, and the caravan-route was forced far to the +north; and entered within the limits of the Great Basin--thus bringing +it through the county inhabited by the Pah-Utah Diggers. The +consequence was, that these savages looked out annually for its arrival; +and, whenever an opportunity offered, stole the animals that accompanied +it, or murdered any of the men who might be found straggling from the +main body. When bent on such purposes, these Diggers for a time threw +aside their solitary habits,--assembling in large bands of several +hundred each, and following the caravan travellers, like wolves upon the +track of a gang of buffaloes. They never made their attacks upon the +main body, or when the white men were in any considerable force. Only +small groups who had lagged behind, or gone too rashly in advance, had +to fear from these merciless marauders,--who never thought of such a +thing as making captives, but murdered indiscriminately all who fell +into their hands. When horses or mules were captured, it was never done +with the intention of keeping them to ride upon. Scarcely ever do the +Pah-Utahs make such a use of the horse. Only for food were these stolen +or plundered from their owners; and when a booty of this kind was +obtained, the animals were driven to some remote defile among the +mountains, and there slaughtered outright. So long as a morsel of horse +or mule flesh remained upon the bones, the Diggers kept up a scene of +feasting and merriment--precisely similar to the _carnivals_ of the +African Bushmen, after a successful foray upon the cattle of the Dutch +settlers near the Cape. Indeed there is such a very striking +resemblance between the Bushmen of Africa and these Digger Indians of +North America; that, were it not for the distinction of race, and some +slight differences in personal appearance, they might pass as one +people. In nearly every habit and custom, the two people resemble each +other; and in many mental characteristics they appear truly identical. + +The Pah-Utah Diggers have not yet laid aside their hostile and predatory +habits. They are at the present hour engaged in plundering forays,-- +acting towards the emigrant trains of Californian adventurers just as +they did towards the Spanish caravans. But they usually meet with a +very different reception from the more daring Saxon travellers, who +constitute the "trains" now crossing their country; and not unfrequently +a terrible punishment is the reward of their audacity. For all that, +many of the emigrants, who have been so imprudent as to travel in small +parties, have suffered at their hands, losing not only their property, +but their lives; since hundreds of the bravest men have fallen by the +arrows of these insignificant savages! Even the exploring parties of +the United States government, accompanied by troops, have been attacked +by them; and more than one officer has fallen a victim to their +Ishmaelitish propensities. + +It is not in open warfare that there is any dread of them. The smallest +party of whites need not fear to encounter a hundred of them at once; +but their attacks are made by stealth, and under cover of the night; +and, as soon as they have succeeded in separating the horses or other +animals from the travellers' camp, they drive them off so adroitly that +pursuit is impossible. Whenever a grand blow has been struck--that is, +a traveller has been murdered--they all disappear as if by magic; and +for several days after not one is to be seen, upon whom revenge might be +taken. The numerous "smokes," rising up out of the rocky defiles of the +mountains, are then the only evidence that human beings are in the +neighbourhood of the travellers' camp. + +The Digger is different from other North-American Indians,--both in +physical organisation and intellectual character. So low is he in the +scale of both, as to dispute with the African Bushman, the Andaman +Islander, and the starving savage of Tierra del Fuego, the claim to that +point in the transition, which is supposed to separate the monkey from +the man. It has been variously awarded by ethnologists, and I as one +have had my doubts, as to which of the three is deserving of the +distinction. Upon mature consideration, however, I have come to the +conclusion that the Digger is entitled to it. + +This miserable creature is of a dark-brown or copper colour,--the hue so +generally known as characteristic of the American aborigines. He stands +about five feet in height,--often under but rarely over this standard,-- +and his body is thin and meagre, resembling that of a frog stretched +upon a fish-hook. The skin that covers it--especially that of an old +Digger--is wrinkled and corrugated like the hide of an Asiatic +rhinoceros,--with a surface as dry as parched buck-skin. His feet, +turned in at the toes,--as with all the aborigines of America,--have +some resemblance to human feet; but in the legs this resemblance ends. +The lower limbs are almost destitute of calves, and the knee-pans are of +immense size,--resembling a pair of pads or callosities, like those upon +goats and antelopes. The face is broad and angular, with high +cheek-bones; the eyes small, black, and sunken, and sparkle in their +hollow sockets, not with true intelligence, but that sort of vivacity +which may often be observed in the lower animals, especially in several +species of monkeys. Throughout the whole physical composition of the +Digger, there is only one thing that appears luxuriant,--and that is his +hair. Like all Indians he is amply endowed in this respect, and long, +black tresses--sometimes embrowned by the sun, and matted together with +mud or other filth--hang over his naked shoulders. Generally he crops +them. + +In the summer months, the Digger's costume is extremely simple,--after +the fashion of that worn by our common parents, Adam and Eve. In +winter, however, the climate of his desert home is rigorous in the +extreme,--the mountains over his head, and the plains under his feet, +being often covered with snow. At this season he requires a garment to +shelter his body from the piercing blast; and this he obtains by +stitching together a few skins of the sage-hare, so as to form a kind of +shirt or body-coat. He is not always rich enough to have even a good +coat of this simple material; and its scanty skirt too often exposes his +wrinkled limbs to the biting frost. + +Between the Digger and his wife, or "squaw," there is not much +difference either in costume or character. The latter may be +distinguished, by being of less stature, rather than by any feminine +graces in her physical or intellectual conformation. She might be +recognised, too, by watching the employment of the family; for it is she +who does nearly all the work, stitches the rabbit-skin shirt, digs the +"yampa" and "kamas" roots, gathers the "mezquite" pods, and gets +together the larder of "prairie crickets." Though lowest of all +American Indians in the scale of civilisation, the Digger resembles them +all in this,--he regards himself as lord and master, and the woman as +his slave. + +As already observed, there is no such thing as a tribe of Diggers,-- +nothing of the nature of a political organisation; and the chief of +their miserable little community--for sometimes there is a head man--is +only he who is most regarded for his strength. Indeed, the nature of +their country would not admit of a large number of them living together. +The little valleys or "oases"--that occur at intervals along the banks +of some lone desert stream,--would not, any one of them, furnish +subsistence to more than a few individuals,--especially to savages +ignorant of agriculture,--that is, not knowing how to _plant_ or _sow_. +The Diggers, however, if they know not how to _sow_, may be said to +understand something about how to _reap_, since _root-digging_ is one of +their most essential employments,--that occupation from which they have +obtained their distinctive appellation, in the language of the trappers. + +Not being agriculturists, you will naturally conclude that they are +either a pastoral people, or else a nation of hunters. But in truth +they are neither one nor the other. They have no domestic animal,--many +of them not even the universal dog; and as to hunting, there is no large +game in their country. The buffalo does not range so far west; and if +he did, it is not likely they could either kill or capture so formidable +a creature; while the prong-horned antelope, which does inhabit their +plains, is altogether too swift a creature, to be taken by any wiles a +Digger might invent. The "big-horn," and the black and white-tailed +species of deer, are also too shy and too fleet for their puny weapons; +and as to the grizzly bear, the very sight of one is enough to give a +Digger Indian the "chills." + +If, then, they do not cultivate the ground, nor rear some kind of +animals, nor yet live by the chase, how do these people manage to obtain +subsistence? The answer to this question appears a dilemma,--since it +has been already stated, that their country produces little else than +the wild and worthless sage plant. + +Were we speaking of an Indian of tropical America, or a native of the +lovely islands of the great South Sea, there would be no difficulty +whatever in accounting for his subsistence,--even though he neither +planted nor sowed, tended cattle, nor yet followed the chase. In these +regions of luxuriant vegetation, nature has been bountiful to her +children; and, it may be almost literally alleged that the loaf of bread +grows spontaneously on the tree. But the very reverse is the case in +the country of the Digger Indian. Even the hand of cultivation could +scarce wring a crop from the sterile soil; and Nature has provided +hardly one article that deserves the name of food. + +Perhaps you may fancy that the Digger is a fisherman; and obtains his +living from the stream, by the side of which he makes his dwelling. Not +even this is permitted to him. It is true that his supposed kindred, +the Shoshonees, occasionally follow the occupation of fishermen upon the +banks of the Great Snake River,--which at certain seasons of the year +swarms with the finest salmon; but the poor Digger has no share in the +finny spoil. The streams, that traverse his desert home, empty their +waters into the briny bosom of the Great Salt Lake,--a true _Dead Sea_, +where neither salmon, nor any other fish could live for an instant. + +How then does the Digger obtain his food? Is he a manufacturer,--and +perforce a merchant,--who exchanges with some other tribe his +manufactured goods for provisions and "raw material?" Nothing of the +sort. Least of all is he a manufacturer. The hare-skin shirt is his +highest effort in the line of textile fabrics; and his poor weak bow, +and flint-tipped arrows, are the only tools he is capable of making. +Sometimes he is even without these weapons; and may be seen with +another,--a long stick, with a hook at one end,--the hook itself being +the stump of a lopped branch, with its natural inclination to that which +forms the stick. The object and purpose of this simple weapon we shall +presently describe. + +The Digger's wife may be seen with a weapon equally simple in its +construction. This is also a stick--but a much shorter one--pointed at +one end, and bearing some resemblance to a gardener's "dibble." +Sometimes it is tipped with horn,--when this can be procured,--but +otherwise the hard point is produced by calcining it in the fire. This +tool is essentially an implement of husbandry,--as will presently +appear. + +Let us now clear up the mystery, and explain how the Digger maintains +himself. There is not much mystery after all. Although, as already +stated, his country produces nothing that could fairly be termed _food_, +yet there are a few articles within his reach upon which a human being +_might_ subsist,--that is, might just keep body and soul together. One +of these articles is the bean, or legume of the "mezquite" tree, of +which there are many kinds throughout the desert region. They are known +to Spanish Americans as _algarobia_ trees; and, in the southern parts of +the desert, grow to a considerable size,--often attaining the dimension +of twenty to twenty-five feet in height. + +They produce a large legume, filled with seeds and a pulp of +sweetish-acid taste,--similar to that of the "honey-locust." These +beans are collected in large quantities, by the squaw of the Digger, +stowed away in grass-woven baskets, or sometimes only in heaps in a +corner of his cave, or hovel, if he chance to have one. If so, it is a +mere wattle of artemisia, thatched and "chinked" with grass. + +The mezquite seeds, then, are the _bread_ of the Digger; but, bad as is +the quality, the supply is often far behind the demands of his hungry +stomach. For vegetables, he has the "yampa" root, an umbelliferous +plant, which grows along the banks of the streams. This, with another +kind, known as "kamas" or "quamash" (_Camassia esculenta_), is a +spontaneous production; and the digging for these roots forms, at a +certain season of the year, the principal occupation of the women. The +"dibble-like" instrument already described is the _root-digger_. The +roots here mentioned, before being eaten, have to undergo a process of +cooking. The yampa is boiled in a very ingenious manner; but this piece +of ingenuity is not native to the Shoshokees, and has been obtained from +their more clever kindred, the Snakes. The pot is a _wooden one_; and +yet they can boil meat in it, or make soup if they wish! Moreover, it +is only a basket, a mere vessel of wicker-work! How, then, can water be +boiled in it? If you had not been already told how it is done, it would +no doubt puzzle you to find out. + +But most likely you have read of a somewhat similar vessel among the +Chippewa Indians,--especially the tribe known as the "Assineboins," or +stone boilers--who cook their fish or flesh in pots made of birch-bark. +The phrase _stone boilers_ will suggest to you how the difficulty is got +over. The birch-bark pot is not set over fire; but stones are heated +and thrown into it,--of course already filled with water. The hot +stones soon cause the water to simmer, and fresh ones are added until it +boils, and the meat is sufficiently cooked. By just such a process the +"Snakes" cook their salmon and deer's flesh,--their wicker pots being +woven of so close a texture that not even water can pass through the +interstices. + +It is not often, however, that, the Digger is rich enough to have one of +these wicker pots,--and when he has, he is often without anything to put +into it. + +The _kamas_ roots are usually baked in a hole dug in the earth, and +heated by stones taken from the fire. It requires nearly two days to +bake them properly; and then, when taken out of the "oven," the mass +bears a strong resemblance to soft glue or size, and has a sweet and +rather agreeable taste,--likened to that of baked pears or quinces. + +I have not yet specified the whole of the Digger's larder. Were he to +depend altogether on the roots and seeds already mentioned, he would +often have to starve,--and in reality he often _does_ starve,--for, even +with the additional supplies which his sterile soil scantily furnishes +him, he is frequently the victim of famine. + +There may be a bad season of the mezquite-crop, and the bears--who are +as cunning "diggers" as he--sometimes destroy his "plantations" of yampa +and kamas. He finds a resource, however, in the prairie cricket, an +insect--or reptile, you may call it--of the _gryllus_ tribe, of a +dark-brown colour, and more like a bug than any other crawler. These, +at certain seasons of the year, make their appearance upon the desert +plains, and in such numbers that the ground appears to be alive with +them. An allied species has of late years become celebrated: on account +of a visit paid by vast numbers of them to the Mormon plantations; +where, as may be remembered, they devastated the crops,--just as the +locusts do in Africa,--causing a very severe season of famine among +these isolated people. It may be remembered also, that flocks of white +birds followed the movements of these American locusts,--preying upon +them, and thinning their multitudinous hosts. + +These birds were of the gull genus (_Larus_), and one of the most +beautiful of the species. They frequent the shores and islands of the +rivers of _Prairie-land_, living chiefly upon such insects as are found +in the neighbourhood of their waters. It was but natural, therefore, +they should follow the locusts, or "grasshoppers," as the Mormons termed +them; but the _pseudo-prophet_ of these deluded people could not suffer +to pass such a fine opportunity of proving his divine inspiration: which +he did by audaciously declaring that the birds were "heaven-born," and +had been sent by the Almighty (in obedience to a prayer from him, the +prophet) to rid the country of the pest of the grasshoppers! + +These prairie crickets are of a dark-brown colour,--not unlike the +_gryllus migratorius_ of Africa, and with very similar habits. When +settled thickly upon the ground, the whole surface assumes a darkish +hue, as if covered with crape; and when they are all in motion,-- +creeping to and fro in search of their food,--a very singular effect is +produced. At this time they do not take to wing; though they attempt to +get out of the way, by making short hops from place to place, and +crawling with great rapidity. Notwithstanding their efforts to escape, +hundreds of them are "squashed" beneath the foot of the pedestrian, or +hoofs of the traveller's horse. + +These crickets, with several bug-like insects of different species, +furnish the Digger with an important article of food. It may appear a +strange provender for a human stomach; but there is nothing unnatural +about it,--any more than about the eating of shrimps or prawns; and it +will be remembered that the Bushmen, and many other tribes of South +Africa eat the _gryllus migratorius_; while, in the northern part of +that same continent, many nations regard them as a proper article of +food. Though some writers have asserted, that it was the legume of the +locust-tree (an acacia) which was eaten by Saint John the Baptist in the +wilderness, it is easily proved that such was not the case. That his +food was the locust (_gryllus migratorius_) and wild honey, is strictly +and literally true; and at the present day, were you to visit the +"wilderness" mentioned by the Apostle, you might see people living upon +"locusts and wild honey," just as they did eighteen hundred years ago. + +The Diggers _cook_ their crickets sometimes by boiling them in the pots +aforementioned, and sometimes by "roasting." They also mix them with +the mezquite seeds and pulp,--the whole forming a kind of plum-pudding, +or "cricket-pasty,"--or, as it is jocosely termed by the trappers, +"cricket-cake." + +Their mode of collecting the grasshoppers is not without some display of +ingenuity. When the insects are in abundance, there is not much +difficulty in obtaining a sufficient supply; but this is not always the +case. Sometimes they appear very sparsely upon the plains; and, being +nimble in their movements, are not easily laid hold of. Only one could +be taken at a time; and, by gleaning in this way, a very limited supply +would be obtained. To remedy this, the Diggers have invented a somewhat +ingenious contrivance for capturing them wholesale,--which is effected +in the following manner:--When the whereabouts of the grasshoppers has +been discovered, a round hole--of three or four feet in diameter, and of +about equal depth--is scooped out in the centre of the plain. It is +shaped somewhat after the fashion of a kiln; and the earth, that has +been taken out, is carried out of the way. + +The Digger community then all turn out--men, women, and children--and +deploy themselves into a wide circle, enclosing as large a tract as +their numbers will permit. Each individual is armed with a stick, with +which he beats the sage-bushes, and makes other violent demonstrations: +the object being to frighten the grasshoppers, and cause them to move +inward towards the pit that has been dug. The insects, thus beset, move +as directed,--gradually approaching the centre,--while the "beaters" +follow in a circle constantly lessening in circumference. After a time +the crickets, before only thinly scattered over the plain,--grow more +crowded as the space becomes contracted; until at length the surface is +covered with a black moving swarm; and the beaters, still pressing upon +them, and driving them onward, force the whole body pellmell over the +edges of the pit. + +Bunches of grass, already provided are now flung over them, and upon +that a few shovelfuls of earth or sand; and then--horrible to relate!--a +large pile of artemisia stalks is heaped upon the top and set on fire! +The result is that, in a few minutes, the poor grasshoppers are smoked +to death, and parched at the same time--so as to be ready for eating, +whenever the _debris_ of the fire has been removed. + +The prairie cricket is not the only article of the _flesh-meat_ kind, +found in the larder of the Digger. Another animal furnishes him with an +occasional meal. This is the "sage-hare," known to hunters as the +"sage-rabbit," but to naturalists as the _lepus artemisia_. It is a +very small animal,--less in size than the common rabbit,--though it is +in reality a true hare. It is of a silvery, or whitish-grey colour-- +which adapts it to the hue of the _artemisia_ bushes on the stalks and +berries of which it feeds. + +It is from the skins of this animal, that the Digger women manufacture +the rabbit-skin shirts, already described. Its flesh would not be very +agreeable to a European palate,--even with the addition of an onion,-- +for it has the sage flavour to such a degree, as to be as bitter as +wormwood itself. An onion with it would not be tasted! But tastes +differ, and by the Digger the flesh of the sage-hare is esteemed one of +the nicest delicacies. He hunts it, therefore, with the greatest +assiduity; and the chase of this insignificant animal is to the Digger, +what the hunt of the stag, the elephant, or the wild boar, is to hunters +of a more pretentious ambition. + +With his bow and arrows he frequently succeeds in killing a single hare; +but this is not always so easy,--since the sage-hare, like all of its +kind, is shy, swift, and cunning. Its colour, closely resembling the +hue of the artemisia foliage, is a considerable protection to it; and it +can hide among these bushes, where they grow thickly--as they generally +do--over the surface of the ground. + +But the Digger is not satisfied with the scanty and uncertain supply, +which his weak bow and arrows would enable him to obtain. As in the +case of the grasshoppers, he has contrived a plan for capturing the +sage-hares by wholesale. + +This he accomplishes by making a "surround," and driving the animals, +not into a _pit_, but into a _pound_. The pound is constructed +something after the same fashion as that used by the Chippewas, and +other northern Indians, for capturing the herds of reindeer; in other +words, it is an enclosure, entered by a narrow mouth--from the _jaws_ of +which mouth, two fences are carried far out into the plain, in a +gradually diverging direction. For the deer and other large animals, +the fences of the pound--as also those of the funnel that conducts to +it, require to be made of strong stakes, stockaded side by side; but +this work, as well as the timber with which to construct it, is far +beyond the reach of the Digger. His enclosure consists of a mere wattle +of artemisia stalks and branches, woven into a row of those already +standing--with here and there a patching of rude nets, made of roots and +grass. The height is not over three feet; and the sage-hare might +easily spring over it; but the stupid creature, when once "in the +pound," never thinks of looking upward; but continues to dash its little +skull against the wattle, until it is either "clubbed" by the Digger, or +impaled upon one of his obsidian arrows. + +Other quadrupeds, constituting a portion of the Digger's food, are +several species of "gophers," or sand-rats, ground-squirrels, and +marmots. In many parts of the Great Basin, the small rodents abound: +dwelling between the crevices of rocks, or honeycombing the dry plains +with their countless burrows. The Digger captures them by various +wiles. One method is by shooting them with blunt arrows; but the more +successful plan is, by setting a trap at the entrance to their earthen +caves. It is the "figure of 4 trap," which the Digger employs for this +purpose, and which he constructs with ingenuity,--placing a great many +around a "warren," and often taking as many as fifty or sixty "rats" in +a single day! + +In weather too cold for the gophers to come out of their caves, the +Digger then "digs" for them: thus further entitling him to his special +appellation. + +That magnificent bird, the "cock of the plains," sometimes furnishes the +Digger with "fowl" for his dinner. This is a bird of the grouse family +(_tetrao urophasianus_), and the largest species that is known,-- +exceeding in size the famed "cock of the woods" of northern Europe. A +full-fledged cock of the plains is as large as an eagle; and, unlike +most of the grouse kind, has a long, narrow body. His plumage is of a +silvery grey colour--produced by a mottle of black and white,--no doubt, +given him by a nature to assimilate him to the hue of the artemisia,-- +amidst which he habitually dwells, and the berries of which furnish him +with most of his food. + +He is remarkable for two large _goitre-like_ swellings on the breast, +covered with a sort of hair instead of feathers; but, though a +fine-looking large bird, and a grouse too, his flesh is bitter and +unpalatable--even more so than that of the sage-hare. For all that, it +is a delicacy to the Digger, and a rare one; for the cock of the plains +is neither plentiful, nor easily captured when seen. + +There are several other small animals--both quadrupeds and birds-- +inhabiting Digger-land, upon which an occasional meal is made. Indeed, +the food of the Digger is sufficiently varied. It is not in the quality +but the quantity he finds most cause of complaint: for with all his +energies he never gets enough. In the summer season, however, he is +less stinted. Then the berries of the buffalo-bush are ripe; and these, +resembling currants, he collects in large quantities,--placing his +rabbit-skin wrapper under the bush, and shaking down the ripe fruit in +showers. A _melange_ of prairie crickets and buffalo-berries is +esteemed by the Digger, as much as would be the best specimen of a +"currant-cake" in any nursery in Christendom! + +The Digger finds a very curious species of edible bug, which builds its +nest on the ledges of the cliffs,--especially those that overhang a +stream. These nests are of a conical or pine-apple shape, and about the +size of this fruit. + +This bug,--not yet classified or described by entomologists,--is of a +dark-brown colour, about the size of the ordinary cockroach; and when +boiled is considered a proper article of food,--not only by the +unfastidious Diggers, but by Indians of a more epicurean _gout_. + +Besides the yampa and kamas, there are several other edible roots found +in the Digger country. Among others may be mentioned a species of +thistle (_circium virginiarum_),--the root of which grows to the size of +an ordinary carrot, and is almost as well flavoured. It requires a +great deal of roasting, or boiling, before it is sufficiently cooked to +be eaten. + +The _kooyah_ is another article of food still more popular among Digger +gourmands. This is the root of the _Valeriana edulis_. It is of a +bright-yellow colour, and grows to a considerable size. It has the +characteristic odour of the well-known plant; but not so strong as in +the prepared substance of _valerian_. The plant itself does not grow in +the arid soil of the desert, but rather in the rich fertile bottoms of +the streams, or along the shores of marshy lakes,--in company with the +kamas and yampa. It is when these roots are in season, that the +Shoshokees most frequent such localities; and, indeed, this same season +is the time when all other articles of Digger food are plenteous +enough,--the summer. The winter months are to him the "tight times." + +In some parts of the desert country, as already observed, grow species +of pines, with edible cones,--or rather edible seeds which the cones +contain. These seeds resemble nuts, and are about the size of the +common filberts. + +More than one species of pine produces this sort of food; but in the +language of the Spanish Californians and New Mexicans, they are all +indifferently termed _pinon_, and the seeds simply _pinones_, or +"pinons." Where these are within the reach of the Digger,--as they are +in some districts,--he is then well provided for; since the pinons, when +roasted, not only form an agreeable and nutritious article of food, but +can be stored up as a winter stock,--that will keep for a considerable +time, without danger of spoiling, or growing too stale. + +Such is the _commissariat_ of the Digger Indian; and, poor in quality +though it be, there are times when he cannot obtain a sufficient supply +of it. At such times he has recourse to food of a still meaner kind,-- +to roots, scarce eatable, and even to the seeds of several species of +grass! Worms, grubs, the _agama comuta_, or "horned-frog of the +prairies," with other species of lizards, become his sole resource; and +in the search and capture of these he occupies himself from morning to +night. + +It is in this employment that he finds use for the long sapling, with +the hooked end upon it,--the hook being used for dragging the lizards +out of clefts in the rocks, within which they have sought shelter. In +the accomplishment of this, the Digger displays an adroitness that +astonishes the traveller: often "jerking" the reptile out of some dark +crevice within which it might be supposed to have found a retreat secure +from all intruders. + +Many other curious habits might be related of this abject and miserable +race of human beings; but perhaps enough has been detailed, to secure +them a place in the list of our "odd people." + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +THE GUARAONS, OR PALM-DWELLERS. + +Young reader, I may take it for granted that you have heard of the great +river Orinoco,--one of the largest rivers not only of South America, but +in the world. By entering at its mouth, and ascending to its source, +you would have to make a journey of about one thousand five hundred +miles; but this journey, so far from being direct, or in a straight +line, would carry you in a kind of spiral curve,--very much like the +figure 6, the apex of the figure representing the mouth of the river. +In other words, the Orinoco, rising in the unexplored mountains of +Spanish Guiana, first runs eastward; and then, having turned gradually +to every point of the compass, resumes its easterly course, continuing +in this direction till it empties its mighty flood into the Atlantic +Ocean. + +Not by one mouth, however. On the contrary, long before the Orinoco +approaches the sea, its channel separates into a great many branches (or +"canos," as they are called in the language of the country), each of +which, slowly meandering in its own course, reaches the coast by a +separate mouth, or "boca." Of these canos there are about fifty, +embracing within their ramifications a "delta" nearly half as large as +England! Though they have all been distinguished by separate names, +only three or four of them are navigable by ships of any considerable +size; and, except to the few pilots whose duty it is to conduct vessels +into that main channel of the river, the whole delta of the Orinoco may +be regarded as a country still unexplored, and almost unknown. Indeed, +the same remark might be made of the whole river, were it not for the +magnificent monument left by the great traveller Von Humboldt,--whose +narrative of the exploration of the Orinoco is, beyond all comparison, +the finest book of travels yet given to the world. To him are we +chiefly indebted for our knowledge of the Orinoco; since the Spanish +nation, who, for more than three centuries, have held undisputed +possession of this mighty stream, have left us scarce a line about it +worth either credit or record. + +It is now more than half a century, since the date of Humboldt's +"Personal Narrative;" and yet, strange to say, during all that period, +scarce an item has been added to our knowledge of the Orinoco, beyond +what this scientific traveller had already told us. Indeed, there is +not much to say: for there has been little change in the river since +then,--either in the aspect of nature, or the condition of man. What +change there has been possesses rather a retrograde, than a progressive +character. Still, now, as then, on the banks of the Orinoco, we behold +a languid commerce,--characteristic of the decaying Spano-American +race,--and the declining efforts of a selfish and bigoted missionary +zeal, whose boasted aim of "christianising and civilising" has ended +only in producing a greater brutalisation. After three centuries of +_paternosters_ and bell-ringing, the red savage of the Orinoco returns +to the worship of his ancestral gods,--or to no worship at all,--and for +this backsliding he can, perhaps, give a sufficient reason. + +Pardon me, young reader, for this digression. It is not my purpose to +discuss the polemical relations of those who inhabit the banks of the +Orinoco; but to give you some account of a very singular people who +dwell near its mouth,--upon the numerous canos, already mentioned as +constituting its delta. These are the "Guaraons,"--a tribe of +Indians,--usually considered as a branch of the Great Carib family, but +forming a community among themselves of seven or eight thousand souls; +and differing so much from most other savages in their habits and mode +of life, as fairly to entitle them to the appellation of an "Odd +People." + +The Orinoco, like many other large rivers, is subject to a periodical +rise and fall; that is, once every year, the river swells to a great +height above its ordinary level. The swelling or "flood" was for a long +time supposed to proceed from the melting of snow upon the Cordilleras +of the Andes,--in which mountains several of the tributaries of the +Orinoco have their rise. This hypothesis, however, has been shown to be +an incorrect one: since the main stream of the Orinoco does not proceed +from the Andes, nor from any other snowcapped mountains; but has its +origin, as already stated, in the _sierras_ of Guiana. The true cause +of its periodical rising, therefore, is the vast amount of rain which +falls within the tropics; and this is itself occasioned by the sun's +course across the torrid zone, which is also the cause of its being +periodical or "annual." So exact is the time at which these rains fall, +and produce the floods of the Orinoco, that the inhabitants of the river +can tell, within a few days, when the rising will commence, and when the +waters will reach their lowest! + +The flood season very nearly corresponds to our own summer,--the rise +commencing in April, and the river being at its maximum height in +August,--while the minimum is again reached in December. The height to +which the Orinoco rises has been variously estimated by travellers: some +alleging it to be nearly one hundred feet; while others estimate it to +be only fifty, or even less! The reason of this discrepancy may be, +that the measurements have been made at different points,--at each of +which, the actual height to which the flood attains, may be greater or +less than at the others. At any one place, however, the rise is the +same--or very nearly so--in successive years. This is proved by +observations made at the town of Angostura,--the lowest Spanish +settlement of any importance upon the Orinoco. There, nearly in front +of the town, a little rocky islet towers up in the middle of the river; +the top of which is just fifty feet above the bed of the stream, when +the volume of water is at its minimum. A solitary tree stands upon the +pinnacle of this rock; and each year, when the water is in full flood, +the tree alone is visible,--the islet being entirely submerged. From +this peculiar circumstance, the little islet has obtained the name of +"Orinocometer," or measurer of the Orinoco. + +The rise here indicated is about fifty feet; but it does not follow from +this, that throughout its whole course the river should annually rise to +so great a height. In reality it does not. + +At Angostura, as the name imports, the river is _narrowed_ to less than +half its usual width,--being there confined between high banks that +impinge upon its channel. Above and below, it widens again; and, no +doubt, in proportion to this widening will the annual rise be greater or +less. In fact, at many places, the width of the stream is no longer +that of its ordinary channel; but, on the contrary, a vast "freshet" or +inundation, covering the country for hundreds of miles,--here flooding +over immense marshes or grassy plains, and hiding them altogether,-- +there flowing among forests of tall trees, the tops of which alone +project above the tumult of waters! These inundations are peculiarly +observable in the _delta_ of the Orinoco,--where every year, in the +months of July and August, the whole surface of the country becomes +changed into a grand fresh-water sea: the tops of the trees alone rising +above the flood, and proclaiming that there is _land_ at the bottom. + +At this season the ordinary channels, or _canos_, would be obliterated; +and navigation through them become difficult or impossible, but for the +tree-tops; which, after the manner of "buoys" and signal-marks, serve to +guide the pilots through the intricate mazes of the "bocas del Orinoco." + +Now it is this annual inundation, and the semi-submergence of these +trees under the flood, that has given origin to the peculiar people of +whom we are about to speak,--the Guaraons; or, perhaps, we should rather +say, from these causes have arisen their strange habits and modes of +life which entitle them to be considered an "odd people." + +During the period of the inundation, if you should sail up the southern +or principal cano of the Orinoco,--known as the "boca de navios," or +"ships' mouth,"--and keep your face to the northward, you would behold +the singular spectacle of a forest growing out of the water! In some +places you would perceive single trees, with the upper portion of their +straight, branchless trunks rising vertically above the surface, and +crowned by about a dozen great fan-shaped leaves, radiating outwards +from their summits. At other places, you would see many crowded +together, their huge fronds meeting, and forming close clumps, or "water +groves," whose deep-green colour contrasts finely as it flings its +reflection on the glistening surface below. + +Were it night,--and your course led you through one of the smaller canos +in the northern part of the delta,--you would behold a spectacle yet +more singular, and more difficult to be explained; a spectacle that +astounded and almost terrified the bold navigators, who first ventured +to explore these intricate coasts.--You would not only perceive a +forest, growing out of the water; but, high up among the tops of the +trees, you would behold blazing fires,--not the conflagration of the +trees themselves, as if the forest were in flames,--but fires regularly +built, glowing as from so many furnaces, and casting their red glare +upwards upon the broad green leaves, and downwards upon the silvery +surface of the water! + +If you should chance to be near enough to these fires, you would see +cooking utensils suspended over them; human forms, both, of men and +women seated or squatting around them; other human forms, flitting like +shadows among the tops of the trees; and down below, upon the surface of +the water, a fleet of canoes (_periaguas_), fastened with their +mooring-ropes to the trunks. All this would surprise you,--as it did +the early navigators,--and, very naturally, you would inquire what it +could mean. Fires apparently suspended in the air! human beings moving +about among the tops of the trees, talking, laughing, and gesticulating! +in a word, acting just as any other savages would do,--for these human +beings _are_ savages,--amidst the tents of their encampment or the +houses of their village. In reality it is a village upon which you are +gazing,--a village suspended in the air,--a village of the Guaraon +Indians! + +Let us approach nearer; let us steal into this water village--for it +would not be always safe to enter it, except by stealth--and see how its +singular habitations are constructed, as also in what way their +occupants manage to get their living. The village under our observation +is now,--at the period of inundation,--nearly a hundred miles from +shore, or from any dry land: it will be months before the waters can +subside; and, even then, the country around will partake more of the +nature of a quagmire, than of firm soil; impassable to any human +being,--though _not_ to a Guaraon, as we shall presently see. It is +true, the canoes, already mentioned, might enable their owners to reach +the firm shores beyond the delta; and so they do at times; but it would +be a voyage too long and too arduous to be made often,--as for the +supply of food and other daily wants,--and it is not for this purpose +the canoes are kept. No: these Guaraons visit terra firma only at +intervals; and then for purposes of trade with a portion of their own +and other tribes who dwell there; but they permanently reside within the +area of the inundated forests; where they are independent, not only of +foreign aggression, but also for their supply of all the necessaries of +life. In these forests, whether flooded or not, they procure everything +of which they stand in need,--they there find, to use an old-fashioned +phrase, "meat, drink, washing, and lodging." In other words: were the +inundation to continue forever, and were the Guaraons entirely +prohibited from intercourse with the dry land, they could still find +subsistence in this, their home upon the waters. + +Whence comes their subsistence? No doubt you will say that fish is +their food; and drink, of course, they have in abundance; but this would +not be the true explanation. It is true they eat fish, and turtle, and +the flesh of the _manatee_, or "fish-cow,"--since the capturing of these +aquatic creatures is one of the chief occupations of the Guaraons,--but +they are ofttimes entirely without such food; for, it is to be observed, +that, during the period of the inundations fish are not easily caught, +sometimes not at all. At these times the Guaraons would starve--since, +like all other savages, they are improvident--were it not that the +singular region they inhabit supplies them with another article of +food,--one that is inexhaustible. + +What is this food, and from whence derived? It will scarce surprise you +to hear that it is the produce of the trees already mentioned; but +perhaps you _will_ deem it singular when I tell you that the trees of +this great _water-forest_ are all of one kind,--all of the same +species,--so that here we have the remarkable fact of a single species +of vegetable, growing without care or cultivation, and supplying all the +wants of man,--his food, clothing, fuel, utensils, ropes, houses, and +boats,--not even drink excepted, as will presently be seen. + +The name of this wonderful tree? "Ita," the Guaraons call it; though it +is more generally known as "morichi" among the Spanish inhabitants of +the Orinoco; but I shall here give my young reader an account of it, +from which he will learn something more than its name. + +The _ita_ is a true palm-tree, belonging to the genus _mauritia_; and, I +may remark, that notwithstanding the resemblance in sound, the name of +the genus is not derived from the words "morichi," "murichi," or +"muriti," all of which are different Indian appellations of this tree. +_Mauritia_ is simply a Latinised designation borrowed from the name of +Prince Maurice of Nassau, in whose honour the genus was named. The +resemblance, therefore, is merely accidental. I may add, too, that +there are many species of _mauritia_ growing in different parts of +tropical America,--some of them palms of large size, and towering +height, with straight, smooth trunks; while others are only tiny little +trees, scarce taller than a man, and with their trunks thickly covered +with conical protuberances or spines. + +Some of them, moreover, affect a high, dry soil, beyond the reach of +floods; while others do not prosper, except on tracts habitually marshy, +or annually covered with inundations. Of these latter, the _ita_ is +perhaps the most conspicuous; since we have already stated, that for +nearly six months of the year it grows literally out of the water. + +Like all its congeners, the ita is a "fan-palm;" that is, its leaves, +instead of being _pinnately_ divided, as in most species of palms, or +altogether _entire_, as in some few, radiate from the midrib of the +leaf-stalk, into a broad palmated shape, bearing considerable +resemblance to a fan when opened to its full extent. At the tips these +leaflets droop slightly, but at that end where they spring out of the +midrib, they are stiff and rigid. The petiole, or leaf-stalk itself, is +long, straight, and thick; and where it clasps the stem or trunk, is +swollen out to a foot in width, hollowed, or concave on the upper side. +A full-grown leaf, with its petiole, is a wonderful object to look upon. +The stalk is a solid beam full twelve feet in length, and the leaf has +a diameter of nearly as much. Leaf and stalk together make a load, just +as much as one man can carry upon his shoulders! + +Set about a dozen of these enormous leaves on the summit of a tall +cylindrical column of five feet in circumference, and about one hundred +in height,--place them with their stalks clasping or sheathing its +top,--so that the spreading fans will point in every direction outwards, +inclining slightly upwards; do this, and you will have the great +_morichi_ palm. Perhaps, you may see the trunk swollen at its middle or +near the top,--so that its lower part is thinner than above,--but more +often the huge stem is a perfect cylinder. Perhaps you may see several +of the leaves drooping downward, as if threatening to fall from the +tree; you may even see them upon the ground where they have fallen, and +a splendid ruin they appear. You may see again rising upward out of the +very centre of the crown of foliage, a straight, thick-pointed column. +This is the young leaf in process of development,--its tender leaflets +yet unopened, and closely clasped together. But the fervid tropical sun +soon produces expansion; and a new fan takes the place of the one that +has served its time and fallen to the earth,--there to decay, or to be +swept off by the flood of waters. + +Still more may be noticed, while regarding this noble palm. Out of that +part of the trunk,--where it is embraced by the sheathing bases of the +petioles,--at a certain season of the year, a large spathe will be seen +to protrude itself, until it has attained a length of several feet. +This spathe is a bract-like sheath, of an imperfect tubular form. It +bursts open; and then appears the huge spadix of flowers, of a +whitish-green colour, arranged along the flower-stalk in +rows,--_pinnately_. It will be observed, moreover, that these spadices +are different upon different trees; for it must be remembered that the +mauritia palm is _diaecious_,--that is, having the female flowers on one +tree, and the male or staminiferous flowers upon another. After the +former have glowed for a time in the heat of the sun, and received the +fertilising pollen wafted to them by the breeze,--carried by bee or +bird, or transported by some unknown and mysterious agency of nature,-- +the fruits take form and ripen. These, when fully ripe, have attained +to the size of a small apple, and are of a very similar form. They are +covered with small brown, smooth scales,--giving them somewhat the +appearance of fir-cones, except that they are roundish instead of being +cone-shaped. Underneath the scales there is a thinnish layer of pulp, +and then the stone or _nut_. A single spadix will carry carry several +hundreds--thousands, I might say--of these nuts; and the whole bunch is +a load equal to the strength of two ordinary men! + +Such is the ita palm. Now for its uses,--the uses to which it is put by +the Guaraons. + +When the Guaraon wishes to build himself a habitation, he does not begin +by digging a foundation in the earth. In the spongy soil on which he +stands, that would be absurd. At a few inches below the surface he +would reach water; and he might dig to a vast depth without finding firm +ground. But he has no idea of laying a foundation upon the ground, or +of building a house there. He knows that in a few weeks the river will +be rising; and would overtop his roof, however high he might make it. +His foundation, therefore, instead of being laid in the ground, is +placed far above it,--just so far, that when the inundation is at its +height the floor of his dwelling will be a foot or two above it. He +does not take this height from guesswork. That would be a perilous +speculation. He is guided by certain marks upon the trunks of +palm-trees,--notches which he has himself made on the preceding year, or +the natural watermark, which he is able to distinguish by certain +appearances on the trees. This point once determined, he proceeds to +the building of his house. + +A few trunks are selected, cut down, and then split into beams of +sufficient length. Four fine trees, standing in a quadrangle, have +already been selected to form the corner-posts. In each of these, just +above the watermark, is cut a deep notch with a horizontal base to serve +as a rest for the cross-beams that are to form the foundation of the +structure. Into these notches the beams are hoisted,--by means of +ropes,--and there securely tied. To reach the point where the platform +is to be erected--sometimes a very high elevation--ladders are +necessary; and these are of native manufacture,--being simply the trunk +of a palm-tree, with notches cut in it for the toes of the climber. +These afterwards serve as a means of ascending and descending to the +surface of the water, during the period of its rise and fall. The main +timbers having been firmly secured in their places, cross-beams are laid +upon them, the latter being either pieces of the split trunks, or, what +is usually easier to obtain, the petioles of the great leaves,--each of +which, as already stated, forms of itself a large beam, twelve feet in +length and from six to twelves inches in breadth. These are next +secured at both ends by ropes of the palm fibre. + +Next comes a layer of palm-leaves, the strong, tough leaflets serving +admirably as laths to uphold the coating of mud, which is laid thickly +over them. The mud is obtained from below, without difficulty, and in +any quantity required; and when trowelled smooth, and dry,--which it +soon becomes under the hot sun,--constitutes an excellent floor, where a +fire may be kindled without danger of burning either the laths or joists +underneath. + +As yet the Guaraon has completed only the floor of his dwelling, but +that is his principal labour. He cares not for walls,--neither sides +nor gables. There is no cold, frosty weather to chill him in his +tropical home,--no snow to be kept out. The rain alone, usually falling +in a vertical direction, has to be guarded against; and from this he +secures himself by a second platform of lighter materials, covered with +mats, which he has already woven for the purpose, and with +palm-leaflets, so placed as to cast off the heaviest shower. This also +shelters him against the burning sun,--an enemy which he dreads even +more than the rain. + +His house is now finished; and, with the exception of the mud floor, is +all of ita palm,--beams, cross-timbers, laths, ropes, and mats. The +ropes he has obtained by stripping off the epidermis of the full-grown +leaflets, and then twisting it into cordage of any thickness required. +For this purpose it is equal to hemp. The mats he has made from the +same material,--and well does he, or rather his wife--for this is +usually the work of the females--know how to plait and weave them. + +Having completed the building of his aerial dwelling, the Guaraon would +eat. He has fish, which has been caught in the neighbouring cano,-- +perhaps turtle,--perhaps the flesh of the manatee, or the alligator,-- +for his palate is by no means of a delicate fineness, and will not +refuse a steak from the tail of the American crocodile. But when the +flood time is on, fish become scarce, or cannot be had at all,--no more +can turtles, or sea-cows, or alligators. Besides, scarce or plenty, +something else is wanted to vary the diet. Bread is wanted; and for +this the Guaraon has not far to go. The ita again befriends him, for he +finds, upon splitting open its trunk, a large deposit of medullary pith +or fecula; which, when submitted to the process of bruising or grating, +and afterwards stirred in water, forms a sediment at the bottom of the +vessel, a substance not only eatable, but equal in excellence to the +well-known produce of the _sago_ palm. + +This farinaceous pith, formed into cakes and roasted over the fire,--the +fuel being supplied by leaves and leaf-stalks,--constitutes the +_yuruma_,--the daily bread of the Guaraon. + +The yuruma, or rather the sago out of which it is made, is not +obtainable at all times. It is the male palm which produces it; and it +must be extracted just as the tree is about to expand its spadix of +flowers. The same curious fact is observed with regard to the _maguey_, +or great American aloe, which produces the drink called "pulque." To +procure the sap in any considerable quantity, the maguey must be tapped +just on that day when the flower-stalk is about to shoot upward from +among the leaves. + +The Guaraon, having eaten his yuruma, would drink. Does he have +recourse to the water which flows in abundance beneath his dwelling? +No. On ordinary occasions he may quench his thirst in that way; but he +wishes for some beverage more cheering. Again the ita yields it without +stint, and even gives him a choice. He may tap the trunk, and draw +forth the sap; which, after being submitted to a process of +fermentation, becomes a wine,--"murichi wine," a beverage which, if the +Guaraon be so inclined, and drink to excess, will make him "as drunk as +a lord!" + +But he may indulge in a less dangerous, and more delicate drink, also +furnished by his favourite ita. This he obtains by flinging a few of +the nuts into a vessel of water, and leaving them awhile to ferment; +then beating them with a pestle, until the scales and pulp are detached; +and, lastly, passing the water through a sieve of palm fibre. This +done, the drink is ready to be quaffed. For all these purposes tools +and utensils are required, but the ita also furnishes them. The trunk +can be scooped out into dishes; or cut into spoons, ladles, and +trenchers. The flower "spathes" also gives him cups and saucers. Iron +tools, such as hatchets and knives, he has obtained from commerce with +Europeans; but, before their arrival in the New World, the Guaraon had +his hatchet of flint, and his knife-blade of obsidian; and even now, if +necessary, he could manage without metal of any kind. + +The bow and arrows which he uses are obtained from the tough, sinewy +petiole of the leaf; so is the harpoon spear with which he strikes the +great manatee, the porpoise, and the alligator; the canoe, light as +cork, which carries him through the intricate channels of the delta, is +the hollow trunk of a morichi palm. His nets and lines, and the cloth +which he wears around his loins, are all plaited or woven from the young +leaflets before they have expanded into the fan-like leaf. + +Like other beings, the Guaraon must at times sleep. Where does he +stretch his body,--on the floor?--on a mat? No. He has already +provided himself with a more luxurious couch,--the "rede," or hammock, +which he suspends between two trees; and in this he reclines, not only +during the night, but by day, when the sun is too hot to admit of +violent exertion. His wife has woven the hammock most ingeniously. She +has cut off the column of young leaves, that projects above the crown of +the morichi. This she has shaken, until the tender leaflets become +detached from each other and fall apart. Each she now strips of its +outer covering,--a thin, ribbon-like pellicle of a pale-yellow colour,-- +which shrivels up almost like a thread. These she ties into bundles, +leaving them to dry awhile; after which she spins them into strings, or, +if need be, twists them into larger cords. She then places two +horizontal rods or poles about six feet apart, and doubles the string +over them some forty or fifty times. This constitutes the _woof_; and +the _warp_ is obtained by cross strings twisted or tied to each of the +longitudinal ones, at intervals of seven or eight inches. A strong +cord, made from the epidermis of the full-grown leaves, is now passed +through the loop of all the strings, drawn together at both ends, and +the poles are then pulled out. The hammock, being finished and hung up +between two trees, provides the naked Indian with a couch, upon which he +may repose as luxuriantly as a monarch on his bed of down. Thus, then, +does a single tree furnish everything which man, in his primitive +simplicity, may require. No wonder that the enthusiastic missionaries +have given to the morichi palm the designation of "arbol de vida" (tree +of life). + +It may be asked why does the Guaraon live in such a strange fashion,-- +especially when on all sides around him there are vast tracts of _terra +firma_ upon which he might make his dwelling, and where he could, with +far less difficulty, procure all the necessaries, and many of the +luxuries of life? The question is easily answered; and this answer will +be best given by asking others in, return. Why do the Esquimaux and +Laplanders cling to their inhospitable home upon the icy coasts of the +Arctic Sea? Why do tribes of men take to the cold, barren mountains, +and dwell there, within sight of lovely and fertile plains? Why do +others betake themselves to the arid steppes and dreary recesses of the +desert? + +No doubt the Guaraon, by powerful enemies forced from his aboriginal +home upon the firm soil, first sought refuge in the marshy flats where +we now encounter him: there he found security from pursuit and +oppression; there--even at the expense of other luxuries--he was enabled +to enjoy the sweetest of fill,--the luxury of liberty. + +What was only a necessity at first, soon became a habit; and that habit +is now an essential part of his nature. Indeed, it is not so long since +the necessity itself has been removed. + +Even at the present hour, the Guaraon would not be secure, were he to +stray too far from his sheltering marshes,--for, sad though it be to say +so, the poor Indian, when beyond the protection of his tribe, is in many +parts of South America still treated as a slave. In the _delta_ he +feels secure. No slave-hunter,--no enemy can follow him there. Even +the foeman of his own race cannot compete with him in crossing the wide +flats of spongy quagmire,--over which, from long habit, he is enabled to +glide with the lightness and fleetness of a bird. During the season of +overflow, or when the waters have fallen to their lowest, he is equally +secure from aggression or pursuit; and, no doubt, in spite of missionary +zeal,--in spite of the general progress of civilisation,--in this savage +security he will long remain. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +THE LAPLANDERS. + +One of the oldest "odd" people with which we are acquainted are the Laps +or Laplanders. For many centuries the more civilised nations of Europe +have listened to strange accounts, told by travellers of these strange +people; many of these accounts being exaggerated, and others totally +untrue. Some of the old travellers, being misled by the deer-skin +dresses worn by the Laps, believed, or endeavoured to make others +believe, that they were born with hairy skins like wild beasts; and one +traveller represented that they had only a single eye, and that in the +middle of the breast! This very absurd conception about a one-eyed +people gained credit, even so late as the time of Sir Walter Raleigh,-- +with this difference, that the locality of these gentry with the odd +"optic" was South America instead of Northern Europe. + +In the case of the poor Laplander, not the slightest exaggeration is +needed to render him an interesting study, either to the student of +ethnology, or to the merely curious reader. He needs neither the odd +eye nor the hairy pelt. In his personal appearance, dress, dwelling, +mode of occupation, and subsistence, he is so different from almost +every other tribe or nation of people, as to furnish ample matter for a +monograph at once unique and amusing. + +I shall not stay to inquire whence originated this odd specimen of +humanity. Such speculations are more suited to those so-called +_learned_ ethnologists, who, resembling the anatomists in other branches +of natural history, delight to deal in the mere pedantry of science,-- +who, from the mere coincidence of a few words, can prove that two +peoples utterly unlike have sprung from a common source: precisely as +Monsieur Cuvier, by the examination of a single tooth, has proved that a +rabbit was a rhinoceros! + +I shall not, therefore, waste time in this way, in hunting up the origin +of the miserable Laplander; nor does it matter much where he sprang +from. He either came from somewhere else, or was created in Lapland,-- +one of the two; and I defy all the philosophers in creation to say +which: since there is no account extant of when he first arrived in that +cold northern land,--not a word to contradict the idea of his having +been there since the first creation of the human race. We find him +there _now_; and that is all that we have to do with his origin at +present. Were we to speculate, as to what races are kindred to him, and +to which he bears the greatest resemblance, we should say that he was of +either the same or similar origin with the Esquimaux of North America, +the Greenlanders of Greenland, and the Samoeids, Tuski, and other tribes +dwelling along the northern shores of Asia. Among all these nations of +little men, there is a very great similarity, both in personal +appearance and habits of life; but it would not be safe to say that they +all came from one common stock. The resemblances may be the result of a +similarity in the circumstances, by which they are surrounded. As for +language,--so much relied upon by the _scientific_ ethnologist,--there +could scarce be a more unreliable guide. The black negro of Carolina, +the fair blue-eyed Saxon, and the red-skinned, red-polled Hibernian, all +speak one language; the descendants of all three, thousands of years +hence, will speak the same,--perhaps when they are widely scattered +apart,--and the superficial philosopher of those future times will, no +doubt, ascribe to them all one common origin! + +Language, of itself, is no _proof_ of the natural affinities of two +peoples. It is evidence of their once having been in juxtaposition,-- +not much more. Of course when other points correspond, similarity of +speech becomes a valuable corroboration. It is not our purpose, then, +to inquire whence the Laplander came,--only _where_ he is now, and +_what_ he is now. Where is he now? + +If you take your map of Europe, and draw a line from the Gulf of +Kandalax, in the White Sea, to the middle of the Loffoden Isles, on the +Norwegian coast, you will cut off the country which is now properly +called Lapland. The country at present inhabited by the people called +Laplanders, will be found north of this line. It is a boundary more +imaginary than real: for in truth there is no political division known +as Lapland, nor has there been for hundreds of years. It is said there +once was a kingdom of Lapland, and a nation of Laplanders; but there is +no proof that either one or the other ever existed. There was a +peculiar people, whom we now style Laplanders, scattered over the whole +northern part of the Scandinavian peninsula, and wandering as far south +as the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia; but, that this people had ever any +general compact, or union, deserving the name of government or nation, +there is no proof. There is no evidence that they ever enjoyed a higher +degree of civilisation than they do at present; and that is not one iota +higher than exists among the Esquimaux of North America,-- +notwithstanding the advantage which the Laplander has in the +domestication of a ruminating quadruped and a knowledge of the Christian +religion. + +The tract of country which I have above assigned to the modern +Laplander, is to be regarded rather as meaning that portion of Northern +Europe, which can scarcely be said to be in the occupation of any other +people. True Laplanders may be found dwelling, or rather wandering, +much to the south of the line here indicated,--almost to the head of the +Bothnian Gulf,--but in these southern districts, he no longer has the +range clear to himself. The Finn--a creature of a very different kind-- +here meets him; constantly encroaching as a colonist on that territory +which once belonged to the Laplander alone. + +It becomes necessary to say a few words about the names we are using: +since a perfect chaos of confusion has arisen among travellers and +writers, in relation to the nomenclature of these two people,--the Finns +and the Laplanders. + +In the first place, then, there is in reality no such a people as +Laplanders in Northern Europe. The word is a mere geographical +invention, or "synonyme," if you wish. The people to whom we apply the +name, call themselves "Samlash." The Danes and Norwegians term them +"_Finns_;" and the Swedes and Russians style them "_Laps_." The people +whom _we_ know as Finns--and who are not Laplanders in any sense--have +received the appellation of Finns erroneously. These Finns have for a +long period been making progress, as colonists, in the territory once +occupied by the true Finns, or Laplanders; and have nothing in common +with these last people. They are agriculturists, and dwell in fixed +settlements; not pastoral and nomadic, as the Laplanders eminently are. +Besides, there are many other essential points of difference between the +two,--in mind,--in personal appearance, in habits, in almost everything. +I am particular upon this point,--because the wrong application of the +name _Finns_, to this last-mentioned race, has led writers into a world +of error; and descriptions given of them and their habits have been +applied to the people who are the subjects of the present chapter,-- +leading, of course, to the most erroneous conclusions. It would be like +exhibiting the picture of a Caffre as the likeness of a Hottentot or +Bushman! + +The Finns, as geography now designates them,--and which also assigns to +them a country called Finland,--are, therefore, not Finns at all. +Where, they are found in the old Lapland territory as colonists, they +are called _Quans_; and this name is given them alike by Russians, +Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians. + +To return to our Laplanders, who are the true Finns. I have said that +they are called by different names; by the Danes and Norwegians "Finns," +and by the Russians and Swedes simply "Laps." No known meaning is +attached to either name; nor can it be discovered at what period either +came into use. Enough to know that these are the designations by which +they are now known to those four nations who have had chiefly to deal +with them. + +Since these people have received so many appellations,--and especially +one that leads to much confusion,--perhaps it is better, for geography's +sake, to accept the error: to leave the _new_ Finns to their usurped +title, and to give the old Finns that distinctive name by which they are +best known to the world, viz _Laplanders_. So long as it is remembered, +that this is merely a geographical title, no harm can result from +employing it; and should the word _Finns_ occur hereafter, it is to be +considered as meaning not the Finns of Norwegian Finmark, but the Quans +of Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia. + +I have spoken of the country of the Laplanders, as if they _had_ a +country. They have not. There is a territory in which they dwell; but +it is not theirs. Long, long ago the lordship of the soil was taken +from them; and divided between three powerful neighbours. Russia took +her largest slice from the east; Sweden fell in for its southern part; +and Norway claimed that northern and western portion, lying along the +Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. This afterwards became the property of +Denmark: when Norway herself ceased to be independent. + +The country, therefore, which I have defined as Lapland, in modern times +is so styled, merely because it is almost exclusively occupied by these +people: it not being worth the while of their Danish, Swedish, or +Russian masters to colonise it. All three, however, claim their share +of it,--have their regular boundary lines,--and each mulcts the +miserable Laplander of an annual tribute, in the shape of a small +poll-tax. Each, too, has _forced_ his own peculiar views of +Christianity on those within his borders,--the Russian has shaped the +Lap into a Greek Christian; while, under Swedish influence, he is a +disciple of Martin Luther. His faith, however, is not very rational, +one way or the other; and, in out-of-the-way corners of his chaotic +country, he still adheres to some of his old mythic customs of sorcery +and witchcraft: in other words, he is a "pagan." + +Before proceeding to describe the Laplander, either personally or +intellectually, a word about the country in which he dwells. I have +called it a _chaotic_ land. It has been described as a "huge congeries +of frightful rocks and stupendous mountains, with many pleasant valleys, +watered by an infinite number of rivulets, that run into the rivers and +lakes." Some of the lakes are of large extent, containing a countless +number of islands; one alone--the Lake Enaro--having so many, that it +has been said no Laplander has lived long enough to visit each +particular island. There is a great variety in the surface of the land. +In some parts of the country the eye rests only on peaks and ridges of +bleak, barren mountains,--on summits covered with never-melting snow,-- +on bold, rocky cliffs or wooded slopes, where only the firs and birches +can flourish. In other parts there are dusky forests of pines, +intersected here and there by wide morasses or bogs. Elsewhere, are +extensive tracts of treeless champaign, covered with the white +reindeer-lichen, as if they were under a fall of snow! + +During summer there are many green and beautiful spots, where even the +rose sheds its fragrance around, and many berry-bearing bushes blossom +brightly; but the summer is of short duration, and in those parts where +it is most attractive, the pest of gnats, mosquitoes, and gadflies, +renders the country uninhabitable to the Laplander. We shall see +presently, that, in the summer months, he flees from such lowland +scenes, as from a pestilence; and betakes himself and his herd to the +bleak, barren mountains. + +Having given this short sketch of the country inhabited by the +Laplander, we proceed to a description of himself. + +He is short,--not more than five feet five inches, average height,-- +squat and stoutish,--rarely corpulent,--though there is a difference in +all these respects, between those who inhabit different parts of the +country. The Laps of Norwegian Lapland are taller than those in the +Russian and Swedish territory. + +His features are small, his eyes elongated, or slit-like, as among the +Mongolian tribes; his cheek-bones prominent,--his mouth large and wide, +and his chin sharply-pointed. His hair is black, or sometimes brownish; +though among some tribes settled along the coasts light hair is not +uncommon. It is probable that this may have originated in some +admixture of blood with Norwegian, Russian, and other fishermen who +frequent these coasts. + +The Laplander has little or no beard; and in this respect he resembles +the Greenlander and Esquimaux. His body is ill-made, bony and muscular, +and stronger than would be expected from his pigmy stature. He is +active, and capable of enduring extreme fatigue and privation; though it +is a mistake to suppose that he is the agile creature he has been +represented,--this error arising no doubt from the surprising speed with +which habit has enabled him to skate over the frozen snow; and which, to +a person unused to it, would appear to prove an extraordinary degree of +agility. The hands and feet are small,--another point in common with +the Esquimaux. The Laplander's voice is far from being a manly one. On +the contrary, it is of small compass, weak, and of a squeaking tone. +The complexion of the Laplander is generally regarded as _dark_. Its +natural hue is perhaps not much darker than that of the Norwegian. +Certainly not darker than many Portuguese or Spaniards; but, as he is +seen, he appears as swarth as an Indian. This, however, arises from the +long and almost constant exposure to smoke: in the midst of which the +miserable creature spends more than half of his time. + +It may again be observed, that those dwelling on the seashore are of +lighter complexion; but perhaps that is also due to a foreign admixture. + +We have given a picture of the Laplander's person; now a word or two +about his mind. + +Both his intellectual and moral man are peculiar,--even more so than his +physical,--differing essentially from that of all the other +nationalities with which he is brought in contact. He is cold-hearted, +selfish, and morose. To love he is almost a stranger; and when such a +feeling does exist within his bosom, it is rather as a spark than a +passion. His courtship and marriage are pure matters of business,-- +rarely having any other motive than self-interest. One woman will do +for his wife wife as well as another; and better, if she be richer by +half a dozen reindeer! + +Hospitality is a virtue equally unknown to him. He wishes to see no +stranger; and even wonders why a stranger should stray into his wild, +bleak country. He is ever suspicious of the traveller through his land; +unless that traveller chance to come in the guise of a Russian or +Norwegian merchant, to exchange strong brandy for his reindeer-skins, or +the furs of the animals he may have trapped. In his dealings he +exhibits a sufficient degree of cunning,--much more than might be +expected from the low standard of his intellect; and he will take no +paper-money or any kind of "scrip" in exchange. This caution, however, +he has acquired from a terrible experience, which he once had in dealing +with paper-money; and he is determined that the folly shall never again +be repeated. Even in _his_ out-of-the-way corner of the globe, there +was at one time a bank speculation of the "Anglo-Bengalee" character, of +which the poor Lap was made an especial victim. + +He has no courage whatever. He will not resist oppression. The +stranger--Russ or Norwegian--may strike, kick, or cuff him,--he will not +return the blow. Belike he will burst into tears! + +And yet, under some circumstances, he shows a feeling akin to courage. +He is cool in moments of danger from the elements, or when opposed to +fierce animals, as the wolf or the bear. He is also capable of enduring +fatigue to an extreme degree; and it is known historically that he was +once warlike,--at least much more so than at present. _Now_, there is +not a drop of warrior blood in his veins. On the contrary, he is timid +and pacific, and rarely quarrels. He carries constantly upon his person +a long ugly knife, of Norwegian manufacture; but he has never been known +to draw it,--never known to commit murder with it. + +These are certainly virtues; but it is to be feared that with him they +owe their origin to timidity and the dread of consequences. Now and +then he has a quarrel with one of his fellows; but the knife is never +used; and the "punishment" consists in giving and receiving various +kicks, scratches, pullings of the hair and ears: genuine blows, however, +are not attempted, and the long knife never leaves its sheath. + +In the olden time he was a great believer in witches; in fact, noted for +his faith in sorcery. Christianity, such as it is, has done much to +eradicate this belief; but he is still troubled with a host of +superstitions. + +Of filial and parental affection his stock is but scanty. The son +shifts for himself, as soon as he is able to do so; and but little +anxiety is exhibited about him afterwards. The daughter goes to the +highest bidder,--to him who is most liberal in presents of brandy to the +parent. Jealousy is little known. How could it be felt, where there is +no love? + +One of the worst vices of the Laplander is his fondness for drink,-- +amounting almost to a passion. It is one of his costliest, too: since +he often consumes the produce of his industry in its indulgence. His +favourite beverage is strong, bad brandy,--a staple article kept by the +traders, to exchange for the commodities which the country affords. As +these men care little for the result, and have a far greater influence +over the Laplander than either the government officials, or the lazy, +timeserving missionaries, it is not probable that temperance will ever +be introduced among these wretched people. Fortunately, only the coast +Laplanders are at all times subject to this influence. The mountain +people or those who dwell most of their time in the interior, are too +distant from the "tap" to be so grievously affected by it. It is only +on their short annual visits to the merchant stations on the coast, that +they fall extensively into the jaws of this degrading vice. + +The dress of the Laplander is now to be described. + +The men wear on their heads tall caps, of a conical form, usually of a +cloth called _wadmal_, or some species of kersey furnished by the +merchants. This cap has a tassel at top, and around the bottom is +turned up several inches,--where it is strengthened by a band of +reindeer-skin, or the fur of the otter. The coat is a loose garment or +frock: made of the skin of the reindeer, with the hairy side out, and +fastened around the waist with a broad leathern belt. + +In this belt is stuck the pointed knife, and a pouch or two, for pipe, +tobacco, and spoon, are also suspended from it. Breeches of +reindeer-skin--the hide of the young fawns--reach to the ankles; and +buskins, or rather stockings, of the same material cover the feet. +These are gartered over the ends of the breeches, in such a way that no +snow can get in; and since there is neither shirt nor drawers worn, we +have given every article of a Laplander's dress. No. There are the +gloves, or mittens, which must not be forgotten,--as they are one of the +things most essential to his comfort. These are also the universal +deer-hide. + +Simple as is this dress of the Lapland men, it is not more simple than +that of the Lapland women, since both one and the other are exactly +alike. A slight difference is observable in the shape of the bonnet; +but for the rest, the lady wears the deer-skin frock, the breeches, and +boots,--and like her liege lord, she scorns to include linen in her +wardrobe. This plain dress, however, is the everyday _winter_ costume. +The summer one, and especially upon grand occasions, is somewhat +different, and altogether gayer. The shape is much the same; but the +tunic or frock is of cloth, sometimes plain, coarse _wadmal_; but in the +case of the richer proprietors, of fine coloured cloth,--even scarlet +being sometimes worn. No matter what the quality of the cloth, however, +the trimmings are always of rich, bright-coloured stuffs; and consist of +bands or cords around the skirt, sleeves, and collar, elaborately +stitched by the females,--who are in all cases the tailors. The +leathern belt, worn with this dress, is loaded with ornaments,--little +square and triangular plates of brass or white metal, and often of +heavy, solid silver. The belt is an esteemed article,--as much so as +his wampum to a North-American savage,--and it requires a large sum to +tempt a Laplander to part with the precious equipment. A finer cap is +also worn, on these summer and holiday occasions. Not unfrequently, +however, the Laplander--especially the mountain Lap--sticks to his +deer-skin coat, the _paesk_, through all weathers, and throughout all +seasons,--when it is too hot simply taking off the belt, and leaving the +flaps loose and open. In cold weather, and especially when riding in +his sledge, an additional garment is worn. This is a fur "tippet," +which covers his shoulders down to the elbows. It is made from the +shaggy skin of the brown bear,--with the claws left on and hanging down +in front of the breast. + +Before proceeding to describe the mode of life and occupation of the +Laplander, it is necessary to state that all of the people known as +Laplanders, are not occupied alike. On the contrary, they may be +separated into three distinct classes, according to the lives which they +lead; and it is absolutely necessary to make this classification in the +illustration of their habits. They are all alike in race and national +characteristics,--all Laplanders,--and they differ but little in their-- +style of dressing; but, in other respects, what might be said of one +would not be true of the other two. I proceed, therefore, to point out +the distinction. + +The first to be noticed are those we have already mentioned under the +title of "Coast," or "Shore Laplanders." The name will give an idea of +their _habitat_,--as also their mode of life and subsistence. They +dwell along the Norwegian coasts, round to the North Cape, and even +beyond it. They build their _gammes_, or sod-thatched dwellings, in +little villages around the numerous creeks and "fiords" that intersect +this rock-bound shore. + +Their calling is that of fishermen. They subsist almost entirely upon +fish; and live by selling their surplus to the merchants and Russian +traders. They keep a few sheep, sometimes a poor cow, but rarely own +the reindeer. The life they lead is entirely different from that of +their kindred, who dwell habitually in the interior. As it differs +little from that of poor fishermen elsewhere, I shall dismiss the coast +Laplander without another word. + +The second kind of Lap who merits our consideration, is that known as +the "Wood Laplander," or, more commonly, "Wood Lap." He is less known +than either of the two other varieties; but, as already stated, he +differs from them principally on account of his occupation. His home is +to be found upon the extensive plain country of Russian Lapland, and not +near the sea. He is a dweller in the pine and fir-forests; and builds +him a rude hut, very similar to the gamme of the coast Lap; but he is in +possession of some reindeer,--not enough, however, to support him,--and +he ekes out a subsistence by fishing in the rivers and fresh-water lakes +of the interior, by shooting the elk and wild reindeer, and trapping the +fur-bearing animals,--the ermine, the sable, the miniver-squirrel, the +badger, glutton, foxes, and wolves. + +As his calling is chiefly that of a hunter and trapper, and therefore +very similar to like occupations in many other parts of the world, we +need not enter into details of it here. For the present, therefore, we +must _shelve_ the _Wood Lap_ along with his kinsman of the coast. + +This brings us to the third class,--the "Mountain," or, as he is often +called, the "Reindeer Laplander:" since it is the possession of this +animal that chiefly distinguishes him from the other two classes of his +countrymen. + +His mode of life is altogether different from either,--in fact, +resembling theirs in but few particulars. True, he fishes a little, and +occasionally does a bit of amateur hunting; but these are mere adjuncts +or pastimes. His main support is his antlered flock: it would be more +truthful to call it his sole support. By the reindeer lives, by the +reindeer he _moves_, by the reindeer he has his being. + +His life is purely pastoral; he is a nomade,--a wanderer. All the world +knows this; but all the world does not know _why_ he wanders. Writers +have asserted that it was to seek new pasture for his flocks,--the old +ground having been eaten bare. Nothing of the sort. He leaves the +fertile plains, just as the willows are putting forth their succulent +shoots,--just as the rich grass begins to spring fresh and green,--and +betakes himself to the bleak sides of the mountains. That does not look +like seeking for a better pasture. It has nothing to do with it. + +Let us follow him, however, throughout his wanderings,--through the +circuit of a single year,--and, perhaps, we shall find out the motive +that inducts him into the roving habit. + +First, then, to be a "Reindeer Laplander," he must be the owner of one +hundred head of deer; fewer than that will be of no use. If he have +only fifty, he must sell out, and betake himself to some settlement of +Quans or Norwegians,--there to give his service for hire,--or else turn +Coast Laplander and fisherman,--a calling which he despises. This would +be a sinking in the social scale; but, if he has been imprudent or +unfortunate, and his flock has got reduced to fifty head, there is no +help for it. If he have one hundred, however, he may manage with great +economy to rub on; and keep up his character as a _free Reindeer Lap_. +With three hundred he can live comfortably; better with five hundred; +but a thousand would render him affluent. With fifteen hundred he would +be a grandee; and two thousand would give him the rank of a millionaire! +There are very few millionaires in Lapland, and not many grandees. +Proprietors of even a thousand head are scarce; there are more whose +herds number from three hundred to five hundred each. + +And here, I may remark, that there is no government,--no tribal +organisation. The owner of each herd is the head of a family; over them +he is patriarch, but his power extends no further. It is not even great +so far, if there chance to be grown-up unruly sons sharing the common +tent. + +I have used the word tent. That is the Reindeer Laplander's home,-- +winter and summer alike. Notwithstanding the severity of his clime, he +builds no house; and even his tent is of the very rudest kind known +among tenting tribes. It consists of some birch saplings set up in the +snow, bent towards each other, and then covered over with a piece of +coarse cloth,--the _wadmal_. This he prefers to a covering of skins; +and obtains it from the Norwegian or Russ trader in exchange for the +latter. The tent, when standing, is only six feet high, and not much +more in diameter. In this circumscribed space his whole family, wife, +daughters, sons, often a retainer or two, and about a dozen dogs find +shelter from the piercing blast,--seated, or lying beside, or on top of +one another, higgledy-piggledy, any way they can. There is room found +besides for a large iron or brass cooking-pot, some dishes and bowls of +birch, a rude stone furnace, and a fire in the middle of the floor. +Above the fire, a rack forms a shelf for countless tough cheeses, pieces +of reindeers' flesh, bowls of milk, bladders of deer's blood, and a +multiplicity of like objects. + +The spring is just opening; the frost has thawed from the trees,--for +the winter home is in the midst of a forest,--the ground is bare of +snow, and already smiling with a carpet of green, enamelled by many +brilliant flowers. It is time, therefore, for the Reindeer Laplander to +decamp from the spot, and seek some other scene less inviting to the +eye. You will naturally inquire why he does this? and perhaps you will +express some surprise at a man showing so little judgment as to take +leave of the fertile plain,--just now promising to yield him a rich +pasture for his herds,--and transport his whole stock to the cold +declivity of a bleak mountain? Yes, it is natural this should astonish +you,--not, however, when you have heard the explanation. + +Were he to stay in that plain--in that wood where he has wintered--a +month longer, he would run the risk of losing half of his precious herd: +perhaps in one season find himself reduced to the necessity of becoming +a _Coast Lap_. The reason is simple,--the great gadfly (_Aestrus +tarandi_), with numerous other tormentors, are about to spring forth +from the morass; and, as soon as the hot sun has blown them into full +strength and vitality, commence their work of desolation upon the deer. +In a few short days or hours their eggs would be deposited in the +skin,--even in the nostrils of the antlered creature,--there to +germinate and produce disease and death. Indeed, the torment of biting +gnats and other insects would of itself materially injure the health and +condition of the animals; and if not driven to the mountains, they would +"stampede," and go there of their own accord. It becomes a necessity, +then, for the Reindeer Lap to remove his habitation; and, having +gathered a few necessary utensils, and packed them on his stoutest +bucks, he is off to the mountains. + +He does not take the whole of his _penates_ along with him. That would +be difficult, for the snow is now gone, and he cannot use his proper +mode of travelling,--the sledge. This he leaves behind him; as well as +all other implements and articles of household use, which he can do +without in his summer quarters. The cooking-pot, and a few bowls and +dishes, go along with him,--also the tent-cloth, and some skins for +bedding. The smaller articles are deposited in panniers of wicker, +which are slung over the backs of a number of pack-deer; and, if a +balance be required, the infant Lap, in its little boat-like cradle, +forms the adjusting medium. + +The journey is often of immense length. There may be highlands near, +but these are not to the Laplander's liking. Nothing will satisfy him +but the bold mountain range that overlooks the sea, trending along the +whole Norwegian coast: only on the declivities of this, or on one of the +thousand elevated rocky isles that guard this extensive seaboard, does +the Laplander believe that his deer will enjoy proper health. He has a +belief, moreover, that at least once every year, the reindeer should +drink sea-water to keep them in condition. Certain it is, that on +reaching the sea, these animals rush eagerly into the water, and drink +the briny fluid; and yet ever after, during the same season, they refuse +to taste it! It is the general opinion that the solitary draught thus +taken has the effect of destroying such larvae, as may have already +formed in their skins. + +This journey often costs the Laplander great fatigue and trouble. It is +not uncommon for him to go two hundred miles to the Norwegian coast; for +although his habitual home may lie much nearer to the shores of the +Bothnian gulf, it would not serve his purpose to take his flock there. +The forest on that side grows to the water's edge; and the gadfly is as +abundant there, as in the wooded districts of the interior. + +On reaching his destination, the Laplander chooses his grazing-ground, +sometimes on the mountains of the mainland; but he prefers one of the +elevated islets so numerous along the shore. This insures him against +all danger from the flies, and also saves him much trouble in herding +his deer. The islet may be two miles from the main, or any other land. +That does not signify. The reindeer can swim like ducks, and the herd +is soon driven over. The wadmal tent is then pitched; and the work of +the summer begins. This consists in milking, cheese-making, and looking +after the young deer; and a little fishing adds to the keep of the +family: for it is at this time that foreign support is most required. +The season of summer is with the mountain Lap his season of scarcity! +He does not dream of killing his deer at this season,--that would be +sheer waste,--nor does he drink their milk, only in very little +quantity. It goes to the making of cheese, and the owner of the herd +contents himself with the whey. Butter is not made at all by the +Reindeer Lap, though the Quans and Norwegians make some. The Lap would +have no use for it,--since he eats no bread,--and it would not keep so +well, nor yet be so safe an article of merchandise as the cheese. The +latter he regards as his staple article of profit. He sells it to the +coast-merchant: receiving in exchange his favourite dram-stuff, and a +few pieces of coarse cloth, or utensils. The merchant is near at hand: +for just for this very purpose are several small ports and settlements +kept in existence along the otherwise desert shores of Norway. +Deer-skins and dried fish, oils of the seal, furs and pelts of various +kinds, have drawn these little settlements to the coast. Otherwise they +would not be there. + +When the heat of the summer is over, the reindeer Laplander commences +his return to his winter abode,--back to the place whence he came. The +gadflies are now gone, and he can drive his deer back with safety; and +just as he travelled to the coast, he wends his way home again: for it +is to be observed that he regards the winter residence as the real home, +and the summer one only as a place of temporary sojourn. He does not +look upon it, as we at such a season. To him it is no pleasant +excursion: rather is it his period of toil and dearth,--his _tightest_ +time. + +Once home again, he has nothing to do but erect his wadmal tent and look +after his deer,--that now find food upon their favourite lichen. It is +buried inches deep under the snow. They care not for that. They can +soon uncover the pasture with their broad hoofs; and their keen scent +never allows them to scrape up the snow without finding the lichen +underneath. Upon it they thrive, and at this season are in the best +condition for the knife. + +The Laplander now also enjoys life. If rich, he has fresh venison every +day; but even if only moderately well off, he "kills" two or three times +a week. His mode of slaughtering is original. He sticks his long, +knife-blade into the throat of the animal, leaving it there till the +creature is dead! This precaution he takes to prevent waste. Were he +to pull out the blade, the blood would flow and be lost. The knife acts +as a stopper to the wound it has made. The blood is preserved and +carefully put away,--the bladder being used as the vessel to contain it. + +You must not imagine that the Reindeer Lap remains all the winter in one +place; on the contrary, he moves repeatedly, always taking his tent and +tent-utensils along with him. The tent is as easily set up as taken +down. The ground in all sheltered places is, at this season, covered +with snow. It is only necessary to shovel it off, clearing a circular +space about the size of the ground-plan of the tent. The snow, thus +removed, produces a sort of elevated ring or snow-dyke all round the +bare spot; and into this the tent-poles are hammered. They are then +bent inward, tied near the tops, and the _wadmal_ being laid on as +before, the tent is ready for use. + +Fresh branches of evergreen pines, and other trees, are strewed over the +floor; and on top of these are laid the deer-skins that serve for beds, +chairs, tables, and blankets. These, with the iron cooking-pot, a large +iron or brass pail to hold melted snow-water for drinking, and a few +other utensils, are the only furniture of the dwelling. I have already +stated that the fire is built in the centre of the tent,--on some large +stones, forming a rudely-constructed hearth. A hole in the roof is +intended for a chimney; but its draught is so bad, that the tent is +almost always filled with a cloud of bitter smoke,--so thick as to +render objects invisible. In this atmosphere no other European, +excepting a Lap, could possibly exist; and travellers, passing through +the Lapland country, have often preferred braving the cold frost of the +night air, to being half smothered by the smoke; and have consequently +taken shelter under a neighbouring tree. The Laplander himself feels +but little inconvenienced by the very thickest smoke. + +Habit is everything, and to this habit has he been used from his +infancy. His eyes, however, are not so indifferent to the annoyance. +These suffer from it; and the consequence is that the eyes of the +Laplanders are almost universally sore and watery. This is a notable +characteristic of the race. Smoke, however, is not the sole cause of +it. The Esquimaux equally suffer from sore eyes; and these, burning oil +in their houses instead of wood, are seldom troubled with smoke. More +likely it is the snow-glare to which the Laplander, as well as the +Esquimaux, is much exposed, that brings about this copious _watering_ of +the eyes. + +The Laplander cooks the reindeer flesh by boiling. A large piece is put +into the great family pot, and nothing added but a quantity of water. +In this the meat boils and simmers till it is done tender. The oily fat +is then skimmed off, and put into a separate vessel; and the meat is +"dished" in a large tray or bowl of birch-bark. + +A piece is then cut off, for each individual of the family; and handed +around the circle. It is eaten without bread, and even salt is +dispensed with. A dip in the bowl of skim-fat is all the seasoning it +gets; and it is washed down with the "liquor" in which it has been +boiled, and which is nothing but greasy water, without vegetables or any +other "lining." It has the flavour of the fat venison, however; and is +by no means ill-tasted. The _angelica_ flourishes in the country of the +Laplander, and of this vegetable he makes occasional use, not eating the +roots, but the stalks and leaves, usually raw and without any +preparation. Perhaps he is led to use it, by a knowledge of the +antiscorbutic properties of the plant. + +Several species of berry-producing bushes also furnish him with an +occasional meal of fruit. There are wild currants, the cranberry, +whortle, and bilberries. The fruits of these trees do not fall in the +autumn, as with us; but remain all winter upon the branches. Buried +under the snow, they are preserved in perfect condition, until the thaw +of the following spring once more brings them into view. At this time +they are sweet and mellow; and are gathered in large quantities by the +Lap women. Sometimes they are eaten, as they come from the tree; but it +is more usual to make them into a "plum-pudding:" that is, they are +mixed with a kind of curdled milk, and stored away in bladders. When +wanted, a slice is cut from the mass,--including a piece of the bladder, +within which they have now attained to the stiffness and consistence of +a "cream-cheese." + +Another great luxury of the Laplander, is the reindeer's milk frozen +into an "ice." This is easily obtained; and the process consists simply +in filling a birchen bowl with milk, and exposing it to the open air +during frost. It is soon converted into solid ice; and in this +condition will keep perfectly sweet throughout the whole of the winter. +As the reindeer are never milked in the depth of the winter season, the +Laplander takes care, before that period approaches, to lay in a stock +of ice-milk: so that he may have a drink of it at all times, by simply +setting one of his birchen bowls within reach of the fire. He even +makes a merchandise of this article: for the frozen reindeer milk is +highly prized by the foreign merchants; who are ready, at any time, to +exchange for the delicious article a dram of their devilish fire-water. + +It is at this season that the Laplander moves about, both on foot and in +his sledge. He not only travels from place to place, in a circuit of +twenty miles,--round the little solitary church which the Swedish +missionary has built for him,--but he makes an occasional journey to the +distant coast. + +In his sledge, or even afoot, a hundred miles are to him as nothing: for +the frozen snow enables him to perform such a distance in an incredibly +short time. On his "skis," or snow-skates he could do a hundred miles +in a couple of days; even though the paths led him over hills, +mountains, lakes, and rivers. All are now alike,--all concealed under +the common covering of a deep snow. The lakes and rivers are frozen and +bridged for him; and the mountain declivities are rendered smooth and +easily traversed,--either by the sledge or the "skis." With the former +he would think little of a hundred miles in a single day; and if the +occasion were a "killing" one, and relays could be had upon the route, +twice that enormous distance he could easily accomplish. + +The mode of sleigh-travelling by the Reindeer Laplander, as also his +snow-skimming, or skating, have been both often and elaborately +described. I have only space here to present the more salient points of +the picture. + +This sleigh or sledge is termed by him "pulka;" but he has three +varieties of this article,--two for travelling, and the third for +carrying luggage. The two first kinds are nearly alike; and, in fact, +differ only in a little extra "furniture," which one of them has upon +it,--that is, a covering over the top, to keep more comfortable the feet +and legs of the traveller. In other respects it is only the common +pulk, being similar to the latter in shape, size, _atelage_, and +everything. + +To get an idea of the Laplander's sledge, you must fancy a little boat, +about six feet long, and sixteen inches in breadth of beam. This is the +width at the stern, where it is broadest; but from the stern it narrows +all the way forward, until, on reaching the stem, it has tapered almost +to a point. Its sides are exactly like those of a boat; and it rests +upon a "keel" of about four inches breadth, which keel is the one and +only "runner." A strong board boxes up the stern end, in front of which +is the seat; and the board itself serves to support the back of the +rider. His legs and feet are stretched out longitudinally; filling up +the space between the quarter-deck and the "forward" part of the little +craft; and, thus fixed, the Laplander is ready for the road. + +In the best class of "pulk"--that used by the Russ and Swedish traders +and travellers--the forward part is covered with a sort of half-deck of +skins or leather; but the Laplander does not often fancy this. It gives +him too much trouble to get out and in; as he is often compelled to do +to look after his train of deer. His pulk, therefore, is open from stem +to stern; and his deer-skin coverings keep his legs warm enough. + +Only one deer is used; and the mode of harnessing is of primitive +simplicity. A band of skin acts as a collar round the neck of the +animal; and from the lowest point of this a piece falls downwards below +the animal's breast,--striking in on the counter like the pendants of a +martingale. To this piece is attached the trace,--there is but one,-- +which, passing between the forelegs, and afterwards the hind ones, is +looped into an iron ring upon the stem of the sledge. Upon this trace, +which is a strong strap of raw hide or leather, the whole draught-power +is exerted. A broad surcingle--usually of cloth, neatly stitched and +ornamented--passes round the deer's body. Its use is to hold up the +trace underneath the belly, and prevent it from dragging the ground, or +getting among the animal's feet. A similar band of cloth passes round +its neck, giving a fine appearance to the noble creature. A single rein +attached to the left horn, or fixed halter-fashion around the deer's +head, is all that is necessary to guide it along; the movements of this, +aided by the accents of its master's voice, are understood by this +well-trained animal. + +For all that, the deer does not _always_ travel kindly. Frequently he +takes a fit of obstinacy or anger; and will then turn upon his +trainer,--presenting his antlered front in an attitude of attack. On +such occasions the Lap takes shelter behind his "pulk," raising it in +his arms, and holding it as a shield wherewith to defend himself; until +he can pacify, or otherwise subdue, the irritated buck. + +The tumbling of the sledge, and consequent spilling of its load, is a +thing of frequent occurrence, owing to the narrow base upon which the +vehicle is supported; but the Laplander thinks nothing of a trifling +mishap of this nature. In a trice the "snow-boat" is righted, the +voyager in his seat again, and off over the frozen snow with the speed +of lightning. + +The reindeer can travel nearly twenty English miles an hour! This rate +of speed has been proved and tested; and with fresh relays along the +route, over four hundred miles might be made in a day. But the same +thing could be done with horses,--that is, upon a desperate emergency. + +The luggage "pulk" of the Laplander differs only from the other kinds of +sledges in being longer, broader, deeper, and consequently of more +capacity to carry goods. It is used for transporting the skins, and +other merchantable commodities, from the interior to the trading depots +on the coast. + +The _skis_ or snow-skates require very little description. They are on +the same principle as the snow-shoes in use among the North-American +Indians; though from these they differ materially in construction. They +are merely two long pieces of smooth board, a few inches in breadth, and +slightly turned up at the ends. One is full six feet,--the right one; +the left is about twelve inches shorter. Near the middle they are +lashed firmly to the feet by strong pieces of hide; and by means of +these curious appendages, when the snow is crusted over, the Laplander +can skim over its surface with great rapidity. He uses a long pole to +guide and assist him in his movements; and this pole has a piece of +circular board, or a round ball, near its point,--to prevent it from +sinking too deeply in the snow. Going _up hill_ upon the skis is not so +easy,--but the practised skater can ascend even the steep acclivities of +the mountains with less difficulty than might be imagined. This is +accomplished in zigzag lines,--each leading to a higher elevation. Down +hill, the course upon _skis_ is rapid almost as the flight of an arrow; +and, by means of the long pole, rocks, ravines, and precipices, are +shunned with a dexterity that is quite surprising. Altogether a +Laplander, either in his reindeer sledge, or upon his long wooden +"skis," is as interesting a sight as may be seen anywhere. + +After all that has been said, it will appear pretty clearly, that the +Laplander, though dwelling so very near to civilised lands, is still +very far distant from _true civilisation_. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +THE ANDAMANERS, OR MUD-BEDAUBERS. + +On the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal lies a cluster, or archipelago, +of islands known as the "Andamans." They form a long string running +nearly northward and southward; and with the Nicobar group, still +further to the south, they appear like a series of stepping-stones +connecting Cape Negrais, in the Burmese country, with the island of +Sumatra. Independent of the Nicobar Islands, the Andamans themselves +have an extent of several hundred miles in length; while their breadth +is nowhere over about twenty miles. Until of late the greater portion +of the group was supposed to form only one island,--known as the "Great +Andaman;" but, in the year 1792, this was discovered to have a channel +across it that divided it into two distinct parts. + +The discovery of this channel was accidental; and the accident was +attended with melancholy consequences. A vessel from Madras had entered +between the Great Andaman, and the opposite coast of Burmah. This +vessel was laden with provisions, intended for the supply of Port +Cornwallis,--a convict settlement, which the British had formed the +preceding year on the eastern side of the island. The master of the +vessel, not knowing the position of Port Cornwallis, sent a boat to +explore an opening which he saw in the land,--fancying that it might be +the entrance to the harbour. It was not this, however; but the mouth of +the channel above mentioned. The crew of the boat consisted of two +Europeans and six Lascars. It was late in the afternoon when they stood +into the entrance; and, as it soon fell dark upon them, they lost their +way, and found themselves carried along by a rapid current that set +towards the Bay of Bengal. The north-east monsoon was blowing at the +time with great violence; and this, together with the rapid current, +soon carried the boat through the channel; and, in spite of their +efforts, they were driven out into the Indian Ocean, far beyond sight of +land! Here for eighteen days the unfortunate crew were buffeted about; +until they were picked up by a French ship, almost under the equinoctial +line, many hundreds of miles from the channel they had thus +involuntarily discovered! The sad part of the story remains to be told. +When relieved by the French vessel, the two Europeans and three of the +Lascars were still living; the other three Lascars had disappeared. +Shocking to relate, they had been killed and eaten by their companions! + +The convict settlement above mentioned was carried on only for a few +years, and then abandoned,--in consequence of the unhealthiness of the +climate, by which the Sepoy guards of the establishment perished in +great numbers. + +Notwithstanding this, the Andaman Islands present a very attractive +aspect. A ridge of mountains runs nearly throughout their whole extent, +rising in some places to a height of between two and three thousand +feet. These mountains are covered to their tops by dense forests, that +might be called primeval,--since no trace of clearing or cultivation is +to be found on the whole surface of the islands; nor has any ever +existed within the memory of man, excepting that of the convict +settlement referred to. Some of the forest trees are of great size and +height; and numerous species are intermixed. Mangroves line the shores; +and prickly ferns and wild rattans form an impenetrable brake on the +sides of the hills; bamboos are also common, and the "gambier" or +"cutch" tree (_Agathis_), from which is extracted the _Terra Japonica_ +of commerce. There are others that yield dyes, and a curious species of +screw-pine (_pandanus_),--known as the "Nicobar breadfruit." + +Notwithstanding their favourable situation, the zoology of these islands +is extremely limited in species. The only quadrupeds known to exist +upon them are wild hogs, dogs, and rats; and a variety of the monkey +tribe inhabits the forests of the interior. The land-birds are few,-- +consisting of pigeons, doves, small parrots, and the Indian crow; while +hawks are seen occasionally hovering over the trees; and a species of +humming-bird flies about at night, uttering a soft cry that resembles +the cooing of doves. There are owls of several species; and the cliffs +that front the coast are frequented by a singular swallow,--the _hirundo +esculenta_, whose nests are eaten by the wealthy mandarins of China. +Along the shores there are gulls, kingfishers, and other aquatic birds. +A large lizard of the _guana_ species is common, with several others; +and a green snake, of the most venomous description, renders it +dangerous to penetrate the jungle thickets that cover the whole surface +of the country. + +In all these matters there is not much that is remarkable,--if we accept +the extreme paucity of the zoology; and this is really a peculiarity,-- +considering that the Andaman Islands lie within less than eighty leagues +of the Burman territory, a country so rich in mammalia; considering, +too, that they are covered with immense forests, almost impenetrable to +human beings, on account of their thick intertwining of underwood and +parasitical plants,--the very home, one would suppose for wild beasts of +many kinds! And withal we find only three species of quadrupeds, and +these small ones, thinly distributed along the skirts of the forest. In +truth, the Andaman Islands and their _fauna_ have long been a puzzle to +the zoologist. + +But longer still, and to a far greater extent, have their human +inhabitants perplexed the ethnologist; and here we arrive at the true +peculiarity of the Andaman Islands,--that is to say, the _people_ who +inhabit them. With perhaps no exception, these people are the most +truly savage of any on the face of the globe; and this has been their +character from the earliest times: for they have been known to the +ancients as far back as the time of Ptolemy. Ptolemy mentions them +under the title of _anthropophagi_ (man-eaters); and the Arabs of the +ninth century, who navigated the Indian Ocean, have given a similar +account of them. Marco Polo adopts this statement, and what is still +more surprising, one of the most noted ethnologists of our own time--Dr +Latham--has given way to a like credulity, and puts the poor Andamaners +down as "pagan cannibals." It is an error: they are not cannibals in +any sense of the word; and if they have ever eaten human flesh,--of +which there is no proof,--it has been when impelled by famine. Under +like circumstances, some of every nation on earth have done the same,-- +Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, Americans,--of late years frequently,-- +in the mountains of New Mexico and California. + +The charge of cannibalism against these miserable beings rests on no +other foundation than the allegations of Chinese sailors, and the vague +statements of Ptolemy and the Arabs above mentioned. + +The Chinese have occasion now and then to visit the Andaman Islands in +their junks, to collect the edible nests of the swallow (_hirundo +esculenta_),--which birds have extensive breeding-places on the cliffs +that overhang the coast of the Great Andaman. The "trepang," or +sea-slug, is also found in large quantities upon the rocks near the +shore; and this is equally an object of commerce, and esteemed an +article of the greatest luxury, among the mandarins, and other rich +celestials who can afford to indulge in it. + +Now and then, a junk has been wrecked among these rocks; and its +miserable crew have fallen a victim to the hostility of the natives: +just as they might have done on more civilised coasts, where no +cannibalism was ever suspected to exist. Crews of junks have been +totally destroyed,--murdered, if you please,--but it would not be +difficult to show, that this was done more from motives of revenge than +from a mere sanguinary instinct or disposition; but there is no proof +whatever of, even a single case, of true cannibalism. Indeed there are +strong reasons for our disbelief in this horrid custom,--so far as +regards the poor savages of the Andamans. An incident, that seems to +give a flat contradiction to it, occurred during the occupancy of the +island by the East-India Company in the year 1793; and other proofs of +non-cannibalism have been obtained at a still more recent period, to +which we shall presently allude. + +The incident of 1793 was as follows: A party of fishers belonging to the +settlement enticed an Andaman woman to come near, by holding out +presents of food. The woman was made captive by these treacherous men; +who, instead of relieving her hunger, proceeded to behave to her in the +most brutal and unfeeling manner. The cries of the poor creature +brought a numerous troop of her people to the spot; who, rushing out of +the thickets from every side, collected around the fishermen; and, +having attacked them with spears and arrows, succeeded in killing two of +their number. The rest with difficulty escaped to the settlement; and, +having obtained assistance, a large party set out to search for the +bodies of their companions. There was but little expectation that these +would be recovered: as all were under the belief that the savages must +have carried them away for the purpose of making a cannibal feast upon +them. There had been ample time for the removing of them: since the +scene of the struggle was at a considerable distance from the fort. + +The searchers, therefore, were somewhat astonished at finding both +bodies on the spot where they had fallen, and the enemy entirely gone +from the ground! The bodies were disfigured in the most shocking +manner. The flesh was pierced in every part,--by spears, no doubt,--and +the bones had been pounded with heavy stones, until they were mashed +into fragments; but not a bit of flesh was removed, not even an arm or +limb had been severed! + +The other instance to which we have promised to allude occurred at a +much more recent period,--so late, in fact, as the period of the King of +Delhi's imprisonment. It will be fresh in the memory of my readers, +that his Hindoo majesty was carried to the island of Great Andaman, +along with a number of "Sepoy" rebels, who had been taken prisoners +during the late Indian revolt. The convict settlement was restored, +especially for this purpose; and a detachment of "East-India Company's +troops" was sent along with the rebel sepoys to guard them. It was +supposed that the troops would have great difficulty in the performance +of their duty: since the number of their prisoners was larger than could +be fairly looked after; and, it was well-known, that, if a prisoner +could once get clear of the walls of the fort, it would be altogether +idle to pursue him. The chase after a fugitive through the tangled +forests of the Andamans would be emphatically a "wild-goose" chase; and +there would be ten chances to one against his being recaptured. + +Such, in reality, did it appear, for the first week or two, after the +settlement was re-established. Numerous prisoners escaped into the +woods, and as it was deemed idle to follow them, they were given up as +"lost birds." + +In the end, however, it proved that they were not all lost,--though some +of them were. After a week or two had expired, they began to straggle +back to the fort, and voluntarily deliver themselves up to their old +guards,--now one, now another, or two or three at a time,--but all of +them in the most forlorn and deplorable condition. They had enjoyed a +little, liberty on the Andaman isles; but a taste of it had proved +sufficient to satisfy them that captivity in a well-rationed guard-house +was even preferable to freedom with a hungry stomach, added to the risk +which they ran every hour of the day of being impaled upon the spears of +the savages. Many of them actually met with this fate; and others only +escaped half dead from the hostile treatment they had received at the +hands of the islanders. There was no account, however, that any of them +had been _eaten_,--no evidence that their implacable enemies were +cannibals. + +Such are a few arguments that seem to controvert the accusation of +Ptolemy and the two Arab merchants,--in whose travels the statement is +found, and afterwards copied by the famous Marco Polo. Probably the +Arabs obtained their idea from Ptolemy, Marco Polo from the Arabs, and +Dr Latham from Marco Polo. Indeed, it is by no means certain that +Ptolemy meant the Andaman Islands by his _Islae bonae Fortunae_, or +"Good-luck Isles,"--certainly a most inappropriate appellation. He may +have referred to Sumatra and its Battas,--who _are_ cannibals beyond a +doubt. And, after all, what could Ptolemy know about the matter except +from vague report, or, more likely still, more vague _speculation_,--a +process of reasoning practised in Ptolemy's time, just as at the present +day. We are too ready to adopt the errors of the ancient writers,--as +if men were more infallible then than they are now; and, on the other +hand, we are equally prone to incredulity,--often rejecting their +testimony when it would conduct to truth. + +I believe there is no historic testimony--ancient or modern--before us, +to prove that the Andaman islanders are cannibals; and yet, with all the +testimony to the contrary, there is one fact, or rather a hypothesis, +which shall be presently adduced, that would point to the _probability_ +of their being so. + +If they are not cannibals, however, they are not the less unmitigated +_savages_, of the very lowest grade and degree. They are unacquainted +with almost the very humblest arts of social life; and are not even so +far advanced in the scale as to have an organisation. In this respect +they are upon a par with the Bushmen of Africa and the Diggers of North +America: still more do they resemble the wretched starvelings of Tierra +del Fuego. They have no tribal tie; but dwell in scattered groups or +gangs,--just as monkeys or other animals of a gregarious nature. + +In person, the Andaman is one of the very "ugliest" of known savages. +He is of short stature, attaining to the height of only five feet; and +his wife is a head shorter than himself. Both are as black as pitch, +could their natural colour be discovered; but the skin is usually hidden +under a mask of rare material, which we shall presently have occasion to +describe. + +The upper half of the Andamaner's body is strongly and compactly built, +and his arms are muscular enough. It is below, in the limbs, where he +is most lacking in development. His legs are osseous and thin; and, +only when he is in fine condition, is there the slightest swell on them +that would indicate the presence of a calf. His feet are of monstrous +length, and without any symmetry,--the heel projecting far backwards, in +the fashion usually styled "lark-heeled." It is just possible that a +good deal of practice, by running over mud-banks and quicksands in +search of his shell-fish subsistence, may have added to the natural +development of his pedal extremities; for there can be no longer any +doubt, that like effects have been produced by such causes,--effects +that are indeed, after all, more _natural_ than _artificial_. + +The Andamaner exhibits the protuberance of belly noticed among other +savages, who lead a starving life; and his countenance is usually marked +with an expression that betrays a mixture of ferocity and famine. + +It is worthy of remark, however, that though these stunted proportions +are generally observable among the natives of the Andaman Islands, they +do not appear to be universal. It is chiefly on the island of the Great +Andaman that the most wretched of these savages are found. The Little +Andaman seems to produce a better breed: since parties have been met +with on this last-named island, in which many individuals were observed +nearly six feet in height, and stout in proportion. One of these +parties, and the incident of meeting with it, are thus described by an +officer who was present:-- + +"We had not gone far, when, at an angle of the jungle, which covers the +island to within a few yards of the water's edge, we came suddenly upon +a party of the natives, lying upon their bellies behind the bushes, +armed with spears, arrows, and long-bows, which they bent at us in a +threatening manner. Our Lascars, as soon as they saw them, fell back in +great consternation, levelling their muskets and running into the sea +towards the boats. It was with great difficulty we could prevent our +cowardly rascals from firing; the tyndal was the only one who stood by +the chief mate and myself. We advanced within a few paces of the +natives, and made signs of drinking, to intimate the purpose of our +visit. The tyndal salaamed to them, according to the different oriental +modes of salutation,--he spoke to them in Malay, and other languages; +but they returned no answer, and continued in their crouching attitude, +pointing their weapons at us whenever we turned. I held out my +handkerchief but they would not come from behind the bushes to take it. +I placed it upon the ground; and we returned, in order to allow them an +opportunity of picking it up: still they would not move. + +"I counted sixteen strong and able-bodied men opposite to us, many of +them very lusty; and further on, six more. They were very different in +appearance from what the natives of the Great Andaman are represented to +be,--that is, of a puny race. The whole party was completely naked, +with the exception of one,--a stout man nearly six feet in height, who +was standing up along with two or three women in the rear. He wore on +his head a red cloth with white spots. + +"They were the most ferocious and wild-looking beings I ever beheld. +Those parts of their bodies that were not besmeared with mud, were of a +sooty black colour. Their faces seemed to be painted with a red ochre." + +Notwithstanding the difference in stature and other respects,--the +result no doubt of a better condition of existence,--the inhabitants of +both islands, Great and Little Andaman, are the same race of people; and +in the portrait, the faces of both may be considered as one and the +same. This brings us to the strangest fact in the whole history of the +Andaman islander. Instead of a Hindoo face, or a Chinese Mongolian +face, or that of a Malay,--any of which we might reasonably expect to +find in an aboriginal of the Bay of Bengal,--we trace in the Andaman +islander the true physiognomy of a negro. Not only have we the flat +nose and thick lips, but the curly hair, the sooty complexion, and all +the other negro characteristics. And the most ill-favoured variety at +that; for, in addition to the ungraceful features already mentioned, we +find a head large beyond all proportion, and a pair of small, red eyes +deeply sunken in their sockets. Truly the Andaman islander has few +pretensions to being a beauty! + +Wretched, however, as the Andaman islander may appear, and of little +importance as he certainly is in the great social family of the human +race, he is, ethnologically speaking, one of its most interesting +varieties. From the earliest times he has been a subject of +speculation, or rather his presence in that particular part of the world +where he is now found: for, since it is the general belief that he is +entirely isolated from the two acknowledged negro races, and surrounded +by other types of the human family, far different from either, the +wonder is how he came to be there. + +Perhaps no other two thousand people on earth--for that is about the +number of Andaman islanders--have been honoured with a greater amount of +speculation in regard to their origin. Some ethnologists assign to them +an African origin, and account for their presence upon the Andaman +Islands by a singular story: that a Portuguese ship laden with African +slaves, and proceeding to the Indian colonies, was wrecked in the Bay of +Bengal, and, of course, off the coast of the Andamans: that the crew +were murdered by the slaves; who, set free by this circumstance, became +the inhabitants of the island. This story is supported by the argument, +that the hostility which the natives now so notoriously exhibit, had its +origin in a spirit of revenge: that still remembering the cruel +treatment received on the "middle passage" at the hands of their +Portuguese masters, they have resolved never to be enslaved again; but +to retaliate upon the white man, whenever he may fall into their power! + +Certainly the circumstances would seem to give some colour to the tale, +if it had any foundation; but it has none. Were we to credit it, it +would be necessary to throw Ptolemy and the Arab merchants overboard, +and Marco Polo to boot. All these have recorded the existence of the +Andaman islanders, long before ever a Portuguese keel cleft the waters +of the Indian Ocean,--long even before Di Gama doubled the Cape! + +But without either the aid of Ptolemy or the testimony of the Arabian +explorers, it can be established that the Andaman Islands were inhabited +before the era of the Portuguese in India; and by the same race of +savages as now dwell upon them. + +Another theory is that it was an _Arabian_ slave-ship that was wrecked, +and not a Portuguese; and this would place the peopling of the islands +at a much earlier period. There is no positive fact, however, to +support this theory,--which, like the other, rests only on mere +speculation. + +The error of these hypotheses lies in their mistaken _data_; for, +although, we have stated that the Andaman islanders are undoubtedly a +negro race, they are not that negro race to which the speculation +points,--in other words, they are not _African_ negroes. Beyond certain +marked features, as the flat nose and thick lips, they have nothing in +common with these last. Their hair is more of the kind called +"frizzly," than of the "woolly" texture of that of the Ethiopian negro; +and in this respect they assimilate closely to the "Papuan," or New +Guinea "negrillo," which every one knows is a very different being from +the _African_ negro. + +Their moral characteristics--such as there has been an opportunity of +observing among them--are also an additional proof that they are not of +African origin; while these point unmistakably to a kinship with the +other side of the Indian Ocean. Even some of their fashions, as we +shall presently have occasion to notice, have a like tendency to confirm +the belief that the Andaman is a "negrillo," and not a "negro." The +only obstacle to this belief has hitherto been the fact of their +isolated situation: since it is alleged--rather hastily as we shall +see--that the whole of the opposite continent of the Burmese and other +empires, is peopled by races entirely distinct: that none of the +adjacent islands--the Nicobars and Sumatra--have any negro or negrillo +inhabitants: and that the Andamaners are thus cut off, as it were, from +any possible line of migration which they could have followed in +entering the Bay of Bengal. Ethnologists, however, seem to have +overlooked the circumstance that this allegation is not strictly true. +The _Samangs_--a tribe inhabiting the mountainous parts of the Malayan +peninsula--are also a negro or negrillo race; a fact which at once +establishes a link in the chain of a supposed migration from the great +Indian archipelago. + +This lets the Andaman islander into the Great China Sea; or rather, +coming from that sea, it forms the stepping-stone to his present +residence in the Bay of Bengal. Who can say that he was not at one time +the owner of the Malayan peninsula? How can we account for the strange +fact, that figures of Boodh--the Guadma of the Burmese and Siamese--are +often seen in India beyond the Ganges, delineated with the curly hair +and other characteristic features of the negro? + +The theory that the Samang and Andaman islander once ruled the Malay +peninsula; that they themselves came from eastward,--from the great +islands of the Melanesian group, the centre and source of the negrillo +race,--will in some measure account for this singular monumental +testimony. The probability, moreover, is always in favour of a +migration westward within the tropics. Beyond the tropics, the rule is +sometimes reversed. + +A coincidence of personal habit, between the Andaman islander and the +Melanesian, is also observed. The former dyes his head of a brown or +reddish colour,--the very fashion of the Feegee! + +Suppose, then, that the Samang and Andaman islander came down the +trades, at a period too remote for even tradition to deal with it: +suppose they occupied the Malay peninsula, no matter how long; and that +at a much more recent period, they were pushed out of place,--the one +returning to the Andaman Islands, the other to the mountains of the +Quedah: suppose also that the party pushing them off were Malays,--who +had themselves been drifted for hundreds of years down the trades from +the far shores of America (for this is _our_ "speculation"): suppose all +these circumstances to have taken place, and you will be able to account +for two facts that have for a long time puzzled the ethnologist. One is +the presence of negroes on the islands of Andaman,--and the other of +Malays in the south-eastern corner of Asia. We might bring forward many +arguments to uphold the probability of these hypotheses, had we space +and time. Both, however, compel us to return to the more particular +subject of our sketch; and we shall do so after having made a remark, +promised above, and which relates to the _probability_ of the Andaman +islander being a cannibal. This, then, _would lie in the fact of his +being a Papuan negro_. And yet, again, it is only a seeming; for it +might be shown that with the Papuan cannibalism is not a natural +instinct. It is only where he has reached a high degree of +_civilisation_, as in the case of the Feegee islander. Call the latter +a monster if you will; but, as may be learnt from our account of him, he +is anything but a _savage_, in the usual acceptation of the term. In +fact, language has no epithet sufficiently vile to characterise such an +anomalous animal as he. + +I have endeavoured to clear the Andaman islander of the charge of this +guilt; and, since appearances are so much against him, he ought to feel +grateful. It is doubtful whether he would, should this fall into his +hands, and he be able to read it. The portrait of his face without that +stain upon it, he might regard as ugly enough; and that of his habits, +which now follows, is not much more flattering. + +His house is little better than the den of a wild beast; and far +inferior in ingenuity of construction to those which beavers build. A +few poles stuck in the ground are leant towards each other, and tied +together at the top. Over these a wattle of reeds and rattan-leaves +forms the roof; and on the floor a "shake-down" of withered leaves makes +his bed, or, perhaps it should rather be called his "lair." This, it +will be perceived, is just the house built by Diggers, Bushmen, and +Fuegians. There are no culinary utensils,--only a drinking-cup of the +_nautilus_ shell; but implements of war and the chase in plenty: for +such are found even amongst the lowest of savages. They consist of +bows, arrows, and a species of javelin or dart. The bows are very long, +and made of the bamboo cane,--as are also the darts. The arrows are +usually pointed with the tusks of the small wild hogs which inhabit the +islands. These they occasionally capture in the chase, hanging up the +skulls in their huts as trophies and ornaments. With strings of the +hog's teeth also they sometimes ornament their bodies; but they are not +very vain in this respect. Sometimes pieces of iron are found among +them,--nails flattened to form the blades of knives, or to make an edge +for their adzes, the heads of which are of hard wood. These pieces of +iron they have no doubt obtained from wrecked vessels, or in the +occasional intercourse which they have had with the convict +establishment; but there is no regular commerce with them,--in fact, no +commerce whatever,--as even the Malay traders, that go everywhere, do +not visit the Andamaners, from dread of their well-known Ishmaelitish +character. Some of the communities, more forward in civilisation, +possess articles of more ingenious construction,--such as baskets to +hold fruits and shell-fish, well-made bows, and arrows with several +heads, for shooting fish. The only other article they possess of their +own manufacture, is a rude kind of canoe, hollowed out of the trunk of a +tree, by means of fire and their poor adze. A bamboo raft, of still +ruder structure, enables them to cross the narrow bays and creeks by +which their coast is indented. + +Their habitual dwelling-place is upon the shore. They rarely penetrate +the thick forests of the interior, where there is nothing to tempt them: +for the wild hog, to which they sometimes give chase, is found only +along the coasts where the forest is thinner and more straggling, or +among the mangrove-bushes,--on the fruits of which these animals feed. +Strange to say, the forest, though luxuriant in species, affords but few +trees that bear edible fruits. The cocoa-palm--abundant in all other +parts of the East-Indian territories, and even upon the Cocos Islands, +that lie a little north of the Andamans--does not grow upon these +mountain islands. Since the savages know nothing of cultivation, of +course their dependence upon a vegetable diet would be exceedingly +precarious. A few fruits and roots are eaten by them. The pandanus, +above mentioned, bears a fine cone-shaped fruit, often weighing between +thirty and forty pounds; and this, under the name of _mellori_, or +"Nicobar breadfruit," forms part of their food. But it requires a +process of cooking, which, being quite unknown to the Andamaners, must +make it to them a "bitter fruit" even when roasted in the ashes of their +fires, which is their mode of preparing it. They eat also the fruit of +the mangrove, and of some other trees--but these are not obtainable at +all seasons, or in such quantity as to afford them a subsistence. They +depend principally upon fish, which they broil in a primitive manner +over a gridiron of bamboos, sometimes not waiting till they are half +done. They especially subsist upon shell-fish, several kinds abounding +on their coasts, which they obtain among the rocks after the tide has +gone out. To gather these is the work of the women, while the men +employ themselves in fishing or in the chase of the wild hog. The +species of shell-fish most common are the _murex tribulus, trochus +telescopium, cypraea caurica_, and mussels. They are dexterous in +capturing other fish with their darts, which they strike down upon the +finny prey, either from their rafts, or by wading up to their knees in +the water. They also take fish by torchlight,--that is, by kindling dry +grass, the blaze of which attracts certain species into the shallow +water, where the fishers stand in wait for them. + +When the fishery fails them, and the oysters and muscles become scarce, +they are often driven to sad extremities, and will then eat anything +that will sustain life,--lizards, insects, worms,--perhaps even _human +flesh_. They are not unfrequently in such straits; and instances are +recorded, where they have been found lying upon the shore in the last +stages of starvation. + +An instance of this kind is related in connection with the convict +settlement of 1793. A coasting-party one day discovered two Andamaners +lying upon the beach. They were at first believed to be dead, but as it +proved, they were only debilitated from hunger: being then in the very +last stages of famine. They were an old man and a boy; and having been +carried at once to the fort, every means that humanity could suggest was +used to recover them. With the boy this result was accomplished; but +the old man could not be restored: his strength was too far gone; and he +died, shortly after being brought to the settlement. + +Two women or young girls were also found far gone with hunger; so far, +that a piece of fish held out was sufficient to allure them into the +presence of a boat's crew that had landed on the shore. They were taken +on board the ship, and treated with the utmost humanity. In a short +time they got rid of all fears of violence being offered them; but +seemed, at the same time, to be sensible of modesty to a great degree. +They had a small apartment allotted to them; and though they could +hardly have had any real cause for apprehension, yet it was remarked +that the two never went to sleep at the same time: one always kept watch +while the other slept! When time made them more familiar with the good +intentions towards them, they became exceedingly cheerful, chattered +with freedom, and were amused above all things at the sight of their own +persons in a mirror. They allowed clothes to be put on them; but took +them off again, whenever they thought they were not watched, and threw +them away as a useless encumbrance! They were fond of singing; +sometimes in a melancholy recitative, and sometimes in a lively key; and +they often gave exhibitions of dancing around the deck, in the fashion +peculiar to the Andamans. They would not drink either wine or any +spirituous liquor; but were immoderately fond of fish and sugar. They +also ate rice when it was offered to them. They remained, or rather +were retained, several weeks on board the ship; and had become so smooth +and plump, under the liberal diet they indulged in, that they were +scarce recognisable as the half-starved creatures that had been brought +aboard so recently. It was evident, however, that they were not +contented. Liberty, even with starvation allied to it, appeared sweeter +to them than captivity in the midst of luxury and ease. The result +proved that this sentiment was no stranger to them: for one night, when +all but the watchman were asleep, they stole silently through the +captain's cabin, jumped out of the stern windows into the sea, and swam +to an island full half a mile distant from the ship! It was thought +idle to pursue them; but, indeed, there was no intention of doing so. +The object was to retain them by kindness, and try what effect might +thus be produced on their wild companions, when they should return to +them. Strange to say, this mode of dealing with the Andaman islanders +has been made repeatedly, and always with the same fruitless result. +Whatever may have been the original cause that interrupted their +intercourse with the rest of mankind, they seem determined that this +intercourse shall never be renewed. + +When plenty reigns among them, and there has been a good take of fish, +they act like other starved wretches; and yield themselves up to +feasting and gorging, till not a morsel remains. At such times they +give way to excessive mirth,--dancing for hours together, and chattering +all the while like as many apes. + +They are extremely fond of "tripping it on the light fantastic toe;" and +their dance is peculiar. It is carried on by the dancers forming a +ring, and leaping about, each at intervals saluting his own posteriors +with a slap from his foot,--a feat which both the men and women perform +with great dexterity. Not unfrequently this mode of salutation is +passed from one to the other, around the the whole ring,--causing +unbounded merriment among the spectators. + +Their fashion of dress is, perhaps, the most peculiar of all known +costumes. As to clothing, they care nothing about it,--the females only +wearing a sort of narrow fringe around the waist,--not from motives of +modesty, but simply as an ornament; and in this scant garment we have a +resemblance to the _liku_ of the Feegeeans. It can hardly be said, +however, that either men or women go entirely naked; for each morning, +after rising from his couch of leaves, the Andamaner plasters the whole +of his body with a thick coat of mud, which he wears throughout the day. +Wherever this cracks from getting dry by the sun, the place is patched +or mended up with a fresh layer. The black mop upon his head is not +permitted to wear its natural hue; but, as already mentioned, is +coloured by means of a red ochreous earth, which is found in plenty upon +the islands. This reddening of his poll is the only attempt which the +Andamaner makes at personal adornment; for his livery of mud is assumed +for a purpose of utility,--to protect his body from the numerous +mosquitoes, and other biting insects, whose myriads infest the lowland +coast upon which he dwells. + +A startling peculiarity of these islanders is the unmitigated hostility +which they exhibit, and have always exhibited, towards every people with +whom they have, come in contact. It is not the white man alone whom +they hate and harass; but they also murder the Malay, whose skin is +almost as dark as their own. This would seem to contradict the +hypothesis of a tradition of hostility preserved amongst them, and +directed against white men who enslaved their ancestors; but, indeed, +that story has been sufficiently refuted. A far more probable cause of +their universal hatred is, that, at some period of their history, they +have been grossly abused; so much so as to render suspicion and +treachery almost an instinct of their nature. + +In these very characteristic moral features we find another of those +striking analogies that would seem to connect them with the negrillo +races of the Eastern Archipelago; but, whether they are or are not +connected with them, their appearance upon the Andaman is no greater +mystery, than the solitary "fox-wolf" on the Falkland Islands, or the +smallest wingless insect in some lone islet of the Ocean? + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +THE PATAGONIAN GIANTS. + +Who has not heard of the _giants_ of Patagonia? From the days of +Magellan, when they were first seen, many a tale has been told, and many +a speculation indulged in about these colossal men: some representing +them as very Titans, of twelve feet in height, and stout in proportion: +that, when standing a little astride, an ordinary-sized man could pass +between their legs without even stooping his head! So talked the early +navigators of the Great South Sea. + +Since the time when these people were first seen by Europeans, up to the +present hour,--in all, three hundred and thirty years ago,--it is +astonishing how little has been added to our knowledge of them; the more +so, that almost every voyager who has since passed through the Straits +of Magellan, has had some intercourse with them;--the more so, that +Spanish people have had settlements on the confines of their country; +and one--an unsuccessful one, however--in the very heart of it! But +these Spanish settlements have all decayed, or are fast decaying; and +when the Spanish race disappears from America,--which sooner or later it +will most certainly do,--it will leave behind it a greater paucity of +monumental record, than perhaps any civilised nation ever before +transmitted to posterity. + +Little, however, as we have learnt about the customs of the Patagonian +people, we have at least obtained a more definite idea of their height. +_They have been measured_. The twelve-feet giants can no longer be +found; they never existed, except in the fertile imaginations of some of +the old _navigators_,--whose embodied testimony, nevertheless, it is +difficult to disbelieve. Other and more reliable witnesses have done +away with the Titans; but still we are unable to reduce the stature of +the Patagonians to that of ordinary men. If not actual _giants_, they +are, at all events, very tall men,--many of them standing seven feet in +their boots of guanaco-leather, few less than six, and a like few rising +nearly to eight! These measurements are definite and certain; and +although the whole number of the Indians that inhabit the plains of +Patagonia may not reach the above standard there are tribes of smaller +men called by the common name Patagonians,--yet many individuals +certainly exist who come up to it. + +If not positive giants, then, it is safe enough to consider the +Patagonians as among the "tallest" of human beings,--perhaps the very +tallest that exist, or ever existed, upon the face of the earth; and for +this reason, if for no other, they are entitled to be regarded as an +"odd people." But they have other claims to this distinction; for their +habits and customs, although in general corresponding to those of other +tribes of American Indians, present us with many points that are +peculiar. + +It may be remarked that the Patagonian women, although not so tall as +their men, are in the usual proportion observable between the sexes. +Many of them are more corpulent than the men; and if the latter be +called _giants_, the former have every claim to the appellation of +_giantesses_! + +We have observed, elsewhere, the very remarkable difference between the +two territories, lying respectively north and south of the Magellan +Straits,--the Patagonian on the north, and the Fuegian on the south. No +two lands could exhibit a greater contrast than these,--the former with +its dry sterile treeless plains,--the latter almost entirely without +plains; and, excepting a portion of its eastern end, without one level +spot of an acre in breadth; but a grand chaos of humid forest-clad +ravines and snow-covered mountains. Yet these two dissimilar regions +are only separated by a narrow sea-channel,--deep, it is true; but so +narrow, that a cannon-shot may be projected from one shore to the other. +Not less dissimilar are the people who inhabit these opposite shores; +and one might fancy a strange picture of contrast presented in the +Straits of Magellan: on some projecting bluff on the northern shore, a +stalwart Patagonian, eight feet in height, with his ample guanaco skin +floating from his shoulders, and his long spear towering ten feet above +his head;--on the southern promontory, the dwarfed and shrivelled figure +of a Fuegian,--scarce five feet tall,--with tiny bow and arrows in hand, +and shivering under his patch of greasy sealskin!--and yet so near each +other, that the stentorian voice of the giant may thunder in the ears of +the dwarf; while the henlike cackle of the latter may even reach those +of his colossal _vis-a-vis_! + +Notwithstanding this proximity, there is no converse between them; for, +unlike as are their persons, they are not more dissimilar than their +thoughts, habits, and actions. The one is an aquatic animal, the other +essentially terrestrial; and, strange to say, in this peculiarity the +weaker creature has the advantage: since the Fuegian can cross in his +bark canoe to the territory of his gigantic neighbour, while the latter +has no canoe nor water-craft of any kind, and therefore never thinks of +extending his excursions to the "land of fire," excepting at one very +narrow place where he has effected a crossing. In many other respects, +more particularly detailed elsewhere,--in their natural dispositions and +modes of life, these two peoples are equally dissimilar; and although +learned craniologists may prove from their skulls, that both belong to +one division of the human family, this fact proves also that craniology, +like anatomy, is but a blind guide in the illustration of scientific +truth,--whether the subject be the skull of a man or an animal. Despite +all the revelations of craniologic skill, an Indian of Patagonia bears +about the same resemblance to an Indian of Tierra del Fuego, as may be +found between a bull and a bluebottle! + +Before proceeding to describe the modes of life practised by the +Patagonian giants, a word or two about the country they inhabit. + +It may be generally described as occupying the whole southern part of +South America,--from the frontier of the Spanish settlements to the +Straits of Magellan,--and bounded east and west by the two great oceans. +Now, the most southern Spanish (Buenos-Ayrean) settlement is at the +mouth of Rio Negro; therefore, the Rio Negro--which is the largest river +south of the La Plata--may be taken as the northern boundary of +Patagonia. Not that the weak, vitiated Spanish-American extends his +sway from the Atlantic to the Andes: on the contrary, the Indian +aborigines, under one name or another, are masters of the whole +interior,--not only to the north of the Rio Negro, but to the very +shores of the Caribbean Sea! Yes, the broad inland of South America, +from Cape Horn to the sea of the Antilles, is now, as it always has +been, the domain of the Red Indian; who, so far from having ever been +reduced by conquest, has not only resisted the power of the Spanish +sword, and the blandishments of the Spanish cross; but at this hour is +encroaching, with constant and rapid strides, upon the blood-stained +territory wrested from him by that _Christian conquest_! + +And this is the man who is so rapidly to disappear from the face of the +earth! If so, it is not the puny Spaniard who is destined to push him +off. If he is to disappear, it will be at such a time, that no Spaniard +will be living to witness his extermination. + +Let us take Patagonia proper, then, as bordered upon the north by the +Rio Negro, and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In that case +it is a country of eight hundred miles in length, with a breadth of at +least two hundred,--a country larger than either France or Spain. +Patagonia is usually described as a continuation of the great plains, +known as the "Pampas," which extend from the La Plata River to the +eastern slope of the Andes. This idea is altogether erroneous. It is +true that Patagonia is a country of plains,--excepting that portion of +it occupied by the Andes, which is, of course, a mountain tract, much of +it resembling Tierra del Fuego in character more than Patagonia. +Indeed, Patagonia proper can hardly be regarded as including this +mountain strip: since the Patagonian Indians only inhabit the plains +properly so called. These plains differ essentially from those of the +Pampas. The latter are based upon a calcareous formation: and produce a +rank, rich herbage,--here of gigantic thistles and wild artichokes,-- +there of tall grasses; and, still nearer the mountains, they are thinly +covered with copses of low trees. The plains of Patagonia on the other +hand, are of tertiary formation, covered all over with a shingly pebble +of porphyry and basalt, and almost destitute of vegetation. Here and +there are some tufts of scanty grass with a few stunted bushes in the +valleys of the streams, but nothing that can be called a tree. A +surface drear and arid, in places mottled with "salinas" or salt lakes; +with fresh water only found at long intervals, and, when found, of +scanty supply. There are many hilly tracts, but nothing that can be +called mountains,--excepting the snow-covered Cordilleras in the west. +The Patagonian plain is not everywhere of equal elevation: it rises by +steps, as you follow it westward, beginning from the sea-level of the +Atlantic shore; until, having reached the _piedmont_ of the Andes, you +still find yourself on a plain, but one which is elevated three thousand +feet above the point from which you started. At all elevations, +however, it presents the same sterile aspect; and you perceive that +Patagonia is a true desert,--as much so as Atacama, in Peru, the desert +of the Colorado in the north, the "barren grounds" of Hudson's Bay, the +Sahara and Kalahari, Gobi, or the steppe of Kaurezm. To the +South-African deserts it bears a more striking resemblance than to any +of the others,--a resemblance heightened by the presence of that most +remarkable of birds,--the ostrich. Two species stalk over the plains of +Patagonia,--the _struthio rhea_ and _struthio Darwinii_. The former +extends northward over the Pampas, but not southward to the Straits of +Magellan; the latter reaches the Straits, but is never seen upon the +Pampas. The ranges of both meet and overlap near the middle of the +Patagonian plain. + +In addition to the ostrich, there are other large birds that frequent +the steppes of Patagonia. The great condor here crosses the continent, +and appears upon the Atlantic shores. He perches upon the cliffs of the +sea,--as well as those that overhang the inland streams,--and builds his +nest upon the bare rock. Two species of _polyborus_, or +vulture-eagles,--the "carrancha" and "chiniango,"--fly side by side with +the condor; and the black turkey-vultures are also denizens of this +desert land. The red puma, too, has his home here; the fox of Azara; +and several species of hawks and eagles. + +With the exception of the first-mentioned--the ostrich--all these beasts +and birds are predatory creatures; and require flesh for their +subsistence. Where do they get it? Upon what do they all prey? Surely +not upon the ostrich: since this bird is bigger than any of the birds of +prey, and able to defend itself even against the great condor. There +are only one or two other species of birds upon which the eagles might +subsist,--a partridge and two kinds of plover; but the vultures could +not get a living out of partridges and plovers. Small quadrupeds are +alike scarce. There are only two or three species; and very small +creatures they are,--one a sort of mole, "terutero," and several kinds +of mice. The latter are, indeed, numerous enough in some places,-- +swarming over the ground in tracts so sterile, that it is difficult to +understand upon what they subsist. But vultures do not relish food, +which they require to kill for themselves. They are too indolent for +that; and wherever they are found, there must be some source of +supply,--some large quadrupeds to provide them with their favourite +food,--carrion. Otherwise, in this desert land, how should the ravenous +puma maintain himself?--how the vultures and vulture-eagles? and, above +all, upon what does the Patagonian himself subsist,--a man of such great +bulk, as naturally to require more than the ordinary amount of food? +The answer to all these questions, then, is, that a quadruped _does_ +exist in the deserts of Patagonia; which, if it furnish not all these +creatures with their full diet supplies, does a large proportion of it. +This quadruped is the _guanaco_. + +Before proceeding to give an account of the guanaco, let us paint the +portrait of the Patagonian himself. + +As already observed, he is nearly seven feet in height, without any +exaggeration in the way of a hat. He wears none, but suffers his long +black hair to hang loosely over his shoulders, or, more frequently, +gathers it into a knot or club upon the crown of his head. To keep it +from straggling into his eyes, he usually wears a narrow strap of +guanaco skin around his forehead, or a plaited band of the hair of the +same animal; but, although possessing ostrich-feathers at discretion, he +rarely indulges in the fashion of wearing a plume,--he knows he is tall +enough without one. Over his shoulders, and hanging nearly to his +heels, he wears a loose mantle of guanaco skins; which is of sufficient +width to wrap round his body, and meet over his breast,--should he feel +cold enough to require it. But he is not of a chilly nature; and he +often throws this mantle entirely aside to give him the freedom of his +arms; or more generally ties a girdle round it, and leaves the upper +part to fall back from his shoulders, and hang down over the girdle. +This mantle--with the exception of a small pouch-like apron in front--is +the only "garment," the Patagonian wears upon his body; but his lower +limbs have a covering of their own. These are encased in a sort of +boots or mocassins,--but differing from all other boots and mocassins, +in the fact of their being without _soles_! They are made of the same +material as the mantle,--that is, of the skin of the _guanaco_,--but +sometimes also of the skin of a horse's shank,--for the Patagonian, like +the Pampas Indian, is in possession of this valuable animal. + +This soleless boot covers the leg all round from below the knee, passing +over the top of the foot like a gaiter; it extends also around the heel, +and a little under it, but not so far as the instep, thus leaving the +greater part of the sole bare, and the toes peeping out in front! They +are, in reality, nothing more or less than gaiters, but gaiters of +_guanaco skin_, with the hair turned outward, and worn, not over a pair +of boots or shoes, as gaiters usually are, but upon the naked shanks. + +I have been thus particular in my description of the Patagonian +_chaussure_; but you will understand my reasons, when I tell you that, +from this trifling circumstance, not only has a vast territory of +country, but the people who inhabit it, obtained the appellation by +which both have long been known to the civilised world, that is, +_Patagonian_. + +When the sailors who accompanied Magellan first saw these colossal men, +they noticed a peculiar circumstance in relation to their feet. The +flaps, or "uppers," of the gaiters, extending loosely across the tops of +their feet, and exaggerated in breadth by the long hair that fringed out +from their edges, gave to these Indians the appearance of having paws or +"patas;" and the name _patagones_, or "duck-feet," was given them by the +sailors,--ever prone to the bestowal of a ludicrous epithet. This name, +in a slightly altered form, they have borne ever since,--so that +Patagonia means the country of the _duck-footed_ men. + +The gaiters of the Patagonians have their peculiar purpose. They are +not worn merely for the sake of keeping the legs warm, but also as a +protection against the thorny shrubs which in Patagonia, as in all +desert lands, are exceedingly abundant. + +The mantle and mocassins, then, constitute the Patagonian's costume; and +it does not differ so widely from that of his neighbour the Fuegian,-- +the chief points of difference being in the size and material. + +Of course the guanaco skin is much larger than that of the common seal; +and a good Patagonian cloak would furnish "doublets" for a whole tribe +of the diminutive Fuegians. Perhaps his ample garment has something to +do in producing the exaggerated accounts that have been given of the +stature of the Patagonians. Certain it is, that a man thus apparelled, +looks larger than he otherwise would do; and presents altogether a +_more_ imposing appearance. The Caffre, in his civet-cat "kaross," and +the Pawnee Indian, in his robe of shaggy buffalo-hide, loom very large +upon karroo and prairie,--much larger in appearance than they really +are. It is but natural, therefore, to suppose that the Patagonian, +attired in his guanaco mantle, and seen against the sky, standing upon +the summit of a conspicuous cliff, would present a truly gigantic +appearance. + +When first seen in this position he was on foot. It was in the year +1520,--before the Spaniards had set foot upon South-American soil,--and +of course before the horse became naturalised to that continent. In +less than thirty years afterward, he appeared upon these same cliffs +bestriding a steed: for this noble animal had extended his range over +the plains of America,--even at an earlier period than his European +owner. When the Spaniards, in their after-attempts at conquering the +Indians of the Pampas and those of the northern prairies, entered upon +these great plains, they encountered, to their great astonishment, their +red enemies upon horseback, brandishing long lances, and managing fiery +chargers with a skill equal to their own! + +Among the earliest tribes that obtained possession of the horse, were +those of the Pampas: since the first of these animals that ran wild on +the plains of America were those landed in the La Plata expedition of +Mendoza,--whence they became scattered over the adjacent pampas of +Buenos Ayres. + +From the banks of the La Plata, the horse passed rapidly southward to +the Straits of Magellan; and from that hour the Patagonian walked no +more. With the exception of a spur,--usually a sharp stick of wood, +upon his heel,--the only additional article of his "wear," the horse has +made no change in his costume, nor in the fashion of his toilet. He +still paints his face, as Magellan first saw it,--with a white ring +encircling one eye, and a black or red one around the other; with one +half of his body coloured black, and a white sun delineated upon it, +while the other half is white, forming the "ground" for a black moon! +Scarce two individuals, however, wear the same escutcheon; for the +fashion of having eyes, arms, and legs of two different colours--just as +our ancestors used to wear their doublets and hose--is that followed by +the Patagonians. + +Notwithstanding this queer custom,--usually regarded as savage,--it +would be unjust to call the Patagonian a _savage_. If we overlook the +circumstance of his painting himself,--which, after all, is scarce more +absurd than numberless practices of civilised life,--if we excuse him +for too scantily covering the nakedness of his person, and relishing his +food a little "underdone," we find little else, either in his habits or +his moral nature that would entitle him to be termed a savage. On the +contrary, from all the testimony that can be obtained,--in all the +intercourse which white men have had with him,--there is scarce an act +recorded, that would hinder his claim to being considered as civilised +as they. Honourable and amiable, brave and generous, he has ever proved +himself; and never has he exhibited those traits of vindictive ferocity +supposed to be characteristic of the untutored man. He has not even +harboured malice for the wrongs done him by the unprincipled adventurer +Magellan: who, in his treatment of these people, proved himself more of +a savage than they. But the Patagonian restrained his vengeance; and +apparently burying the outrage in oblivion, has ever since that time +treated the white man with a generous and dignified friendship. Those +who have been shipwrecked upon his solitary shores, have had no reason +to complain of the treatment they have received at his hands. He is +neither cannibal, nor yet barbarian,--but in truth a gentleman,--or, if +you prefer it, a _gentleman savage_. + +But how does this gentleman maintain himself? We have already seen that +he is not a fisherman,--for he owns no species of boat; and without that +his chances of capturing fish would be slight and uncertain. We have +stated, moreover, that his country is a sterile desert; and so it is,-- +producing only the scantiest of herbage; neither plant, nor tree, that +would furnish food; and incapable of being cultivated with any success. +But he does not attempt cultivation,--he has no knowledge of it; nor is +it likely he would feel the inclination, even if tempted by the most +fertile soil. Neither is he pastoral in his habits: he has no flocks +nor herds. The horse and dog are his only domestic animals; and these +he requires for other purposes than food. The former enables him to +pass easily over the wide tracts of his sterile land, and both assist +him in the chase,--which is his true and only calling. One of the chief +objects of his pursuit is the ostrich; and he eats the flesh of this +fine desert bird. He eats it, whenever he can procure it; but he could +not live solely upon such food: since he could not obtain it in +sufficient quantity; and were this bird the only means he had for +supplying his larder, he would soon be in danger of starvation. True, +the ostrich lays a great many eggs, and brings forth a large brood of +young; but there are a great many hungry mouths, and a great many large +stomachs among the Patagonian people. The ostrich could never supply +them all; and were it their only resource, the bird would soon disappear +from the plains of Patagonia, and, perhaps, the race of Patagonian +giants along with it. + +Fortunately for the Patagonian, his country furnishes him with another +kind of game, from which he obtains a more sufficient supply; and that +is the guanaco. Behold yonder herd of stately creatures! There are +several hundreds of them in all. Their bodies are covered with long, +woolly hair of a reddish-brown colour. If they had antlers upon their +heads, you might mistake them for stags,--for they are just about the +size of the male of the red deer. But they have no horns; and otherwise +they are unlike these animals,--in their long slender necks, and coat of +woolly hair. They are not deer of any kind,--they are _guanacos_. +These, then, are the herds of the Patagonian Indian; they are the game +he chiefly pursues; and their flesh the food, upon which he is mainly +subsisted. + +I need not here give the natural history of the guanaco. Suffice it to +say that it is one of the four (perhaps five) species of _llamas_ or +"camel-sheep" peculiar to the continent of South America,--the other +three of which are the _vicuna_, the true _llama_, and the _paco_, or +_alpaca_. The llama and alpaca are domesticated; but the vicuna, the +most graceful of all, exists only in a wild state, like the guanaco. +The four kinds inhabit the tablelands of the Andes, from Colombia to +Chili; but the guanaco has extended its range across to the Atlantic +side of the continent: this only in the territory south of the La Plata +River. On the plains of Patagonia it is the characteristic quadruped: +rarely out of sight, and usually seen in herds of twenty or thirty +individuals; but sometimes in large droves, numbering as many as five +hundred. There the puma--after the Indian of course--is its greatest +enemy,--and the _debris_ of _his_ feast constitutes the food of the +vultures and vulture-eagles,--thus accounting for the presence of these +great birds in such a desert land. + +The guanaco is among the shyest of quadrupeds; and its capture would be +difficult to any one unacquainted with its habits. But these betray +them to the skilled Patagonian hunter,--who is well acquainted with +every fact in the natural history of the animal. + +The Patagonian mode of capturing these creatures is not without many +peculiarities in hunting practice. His first care is to find out their +whereabouts: for the haunts which the guanacos most affect are not the +level plains, where they might be seen from afar, but rather those +places where the ground is hilly or rolling. There they are to be met +with, ranged in extended lines along the sides of the hills, with an old +male keeping watch upon the summit of some eminence that overlooks the +flock. Should the sentinel espy any danger, or even suspect it, he +gives the alarm by uttering a shrill, whistling cry, somewhat resembling +a neigh. On hearing this well-known signal, the others at once take to +flight, and gallop straight for the side of some other hill,--where they +all halt in line, and stand waiting to see if they are followed. Very +often the first intimation which the hunter has of their presence, is by +hearing their strange signal of flight,--which may be described as a +sort of triangular cross between squealing, neighing, and whistling. + +Shy as they are, and difficult to be approached, they have the strange +peculiarity of losing all their senses when put into confusion. On +these occasions they behave exactly like a flock of sheep: not knowing +which way to ran; now dashing to one side, then to the other, and often +rushing into the very teeth of that danger from which they are trying to +escape! + +Knowing their stupidity in this respect, the Patagonian hunter acts +accordingly. He does not go out to hunt the guanacos alone, but in +company with others of his tribe, the hunting-party often comprising the +whole tribe. Armed with their "chuzos,"--light cane spears of eighteen +feet in length,--and mounted on their well-trained steeds, they sally +forth from their encampment, and proceed to the favourite +pasturing-ground of the guanacos. Their purpose is, if possible, to +effect the "surround" of a whole herd; and to accomplish this, it is +necessary to proceed with great skill and caution. The animals are +found at length; and, by means of a deployment of dogs and horsemen, are +driven towards some hill which may be convenient to the pasture. The +instinct of the animal guiding it thither, renders this part of the +performance easy enough. On reaching the hill, the guanacos dash +onward, up to its summit; and there, halting in a compact crowd, make +front towards their pursuers. These meanwhile have galloped into a +circle,--surrounding the eminence on all sides; and, advancing upwards +amidst loud yells and the yelping of their dogs, close finally around +the herd, and rush forward to the attack. + +The long chuzos do their work with rapidity; and, in a few minutes, +numbers of the guanacos lie lifeless among the rocks. The dogs, with +some men, form an outer circle of assailants; and should any guanacos +escape through the line of horsemen, they are seized upon by the dogs, +and pinned to the spot,--for it is another sheep-like trait in the +character of this animal, that the moment a dog--even though he be the +merest cur--seizes hold of it, it neither attempts further flight nor +resistance, but remains "pinned" to the spot as if under a paralysis of +terror. They sometimes give battle, however, though never to a dog; and +their mode of assault is by kicking behind them,--not with their hoofs +as horses do, but with the knee-joints, the hind legs being both raised +at once. Among themselves the males fight terrible battles: biting each +other with their teeth, and often inflicting cruel lacerations. + +Strange to say, when the guanacos are found solitary, or only two or +three together, they are far less shy than when assembled in large +herds. At such times, the feeling of curiosity seems stronger than that +of fear within them; and the hunter can easily approach within a dozen +paces of one, by simply cutting a few capers, or holding up something +that may be new to it,--such as a strip of coloured rag, or some showy +article of any kind. It was by such devices that the Patagonian +captured these creatures, before possession of the horse enabled him to +effect their destruction in the more wholesale fashion of the +"surround." + +By tumbling about over the ground, he was enabled to bring the game +within reach,--not of his bow and arrows; nor yet of his long spear,-- +for he did not use it for such a purpose,--and, of course, not of a gun, +for he never had heard of such a weapon. Within reach of what then? Of +a weapon peculiarly his own,--a weapon of singular construction and +deadly effect; which he knew how to employ before ever the white man +came upon his shores, and which the Spaniards who dwell in the Pampas +country have found both pride and profit in adopting. This weapon is +the "bolas." + +It is simple and easily described. Two round stones,--the women make +them round by grinding the one against the other,--two round stones are +covered with a piece of guanaco raw hide, presenting very much the +appearance of cricket-balls, though of unequal size,--one being +considerably smaller than the other. Two thongs are cut; and one end of +each is firmly attached to one of the balls. + +The other ends of the thongs are knotted to each other; and when the +strings are at full stretch, the balls will then be about eight feet +apart,--in other words, each thong should be four feet in length. The +bolas are now made, and ready for use. The chief difficulty in their +manufacture lies in the rounding of the stones; which, as above +observed, is the work of the women; and at least two days are required +to grind a pair of bola-stones to the proper spherical shape. To handle +them requires long practice; and this the Patagonian has had: for, ever +since the young giant was able to stand upon his feet, he has been in +the habit of playing with the bolas. They have been the toy of his +childhood; and to display skill in their management has been the pride +of his boyish days; therefore, on arriving at full maturity, no wonder +he exhibits great dexterity in their use. He can then project them to a +distance of fifty yards,--with such precision as to strike the legs of +either man or quadruped, and with such force, that the thong not only +whips itself around the object struck, but often leaves a deep weal in +the skin and flesh. The mode of throwing them is well-known. The right +hand only is used; and this grasps the thongs at their point of union, +about halfway between the ends. The balls are then whirled in a +circular motion around the head; and, when sufficient centrifugal power +has been obtained, the weapon is launched at the object to be captured. +The aim is a matter of nice calculation,--in which arm, eye, and mind, +all bear a part,--and so true is this aim, in Patagonian practice, that +the hunter seldom fails to bring down or otherwise cripple his game,--be +it ostrich, cavy, or guanaco. + +By these bolas, then, did the Patagonian hunter capture the guanaco and +ostrich in times past; and by the same weapon does he still capture +them: for he can use it even better on horseback than on foot. Either +the bird or the quadruped, within fifty yards, has no chance of escape +from his unerring aim. + +The bolas, in some districts, have been improved upon by the +introduction of a third ball; but this the Patagonian does not consider +an _improvement_. Wooden balls are sometimes employed; and iron ones, +where they can be had,--the last sort can be projected to the greatest +distance. + +The Patagonian takes the young guanacos alive; and brings them up in a +state of domestication. The little creatures may often be observed, +standing outside the tents of a Patagonian encampment,--either tied by a +string, or held in hand by some "infant giant" of the tribe. It is not +solely for the pleasure of making pets of them, that the young guanacos +are thus cherished; nor yet to raise them for food. The object aimed at +has a very different signification. These young guanacos are intended +to be used as _decoys_: for the purpose of attracting their own +relatives,--fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, uncles, and aunts, even +to the most distant thirty-second cousinship,--within reach of the +terrible bolas! + +This is effected by tying the innocent little creature to some bush,-- +behind which the hunter conceals himself,--and then imitating the +mother's call; which the Indian hunter can do with all the skill of a +ventriloquist. The young captive responds with the plaintive cry of +captivity,--the parents are soon attracted to the spot, and fall victims +to their instinct of natural affection. Were it not for this, and +similar stratagems adopted by the Patagonian hunter, he would pursue the +guanaco in vain. Even with the help of his pack of dogs, and mounted +upon the fleet Spanish horse, the guanaco cannot be hunted with success. +Nature, in denying to these animals almost every means of defence, has +also bestowed upon them a gift which enables them to escape from many +kinds of danger. Of mild and inoffensive habits,--defenceless as the +hare,--they are also possessed of a like swiftness. Indeed, there is +perhaps no quadruped--not even the antelope--that can get over the +ground as speedily as the guanaco or its kindred species the vicuna. +Both are swift as the wind; and the eye, following either in its retreat +over the level plain, or up the declivity of a hill, is deluded into the +fancy that it is watching some great bird upon the wing. + +There are certain seasons during which the guanaco is much more +difficult to approach than at other times; but this is true of almost +every species of animal,--whether bird or quadruped. Of course, the +tame season is that of sexual intercourse, when even the wild beasts +become reckless under the influence of passion. At other times the +guanacos are generally very shy; and sometimes extremely so. It is not +uncommon for a herd of them to take the alarm, and scamper off from the +hunter, even before the latter has approached near enough to be himself +within sight of them! They possess great keenness of scent, but it is +the eye which usually proves their friend, warning them of the approach +of an enemy--especially if that enemy be a man upon horseback--before +the latter is aware of their proximity. Often a cloud of dust, rising +afar off over the plain, is the only proof the hunter can obtain, that +there was game within the range of his vision. It is a curious +circumstance connected with hunting on these great plains,--both on the +Pampas and in Patagonia,--that a man on foot can approach much nearer to +any game than if he were mounted upon a horse. This is true not only in +relation to the guanaco and ostrich, but also of the large Pampas deer +(_cervus campestris_); and indeed of almost every animal that inhabits +these regions. The reason is simple enough. All these creatures are +accustomed to seeing their human enemy only on horseback: for "still +hunting," or hunting afoot, is rarely or never practised upon the +plains. Not only that, but a man on foot, would be a rare sight either +to an ostrich or guanaco; and they would scarce recognise him as an +enemy! Curiosity would be their leading sentiment; and, being +influenced by this, the hunter _on foot_ can often approach them without +difficulty. The Patagonian, knowing this peculiarity, not unfrequently +takes advantage of it, to kill or capture both the bird and the +quadruped. + +This sentiment of the brute creation, on the plains of Patagonia, is +directly the reverse of what may be observed in our own fields. The sly +crow shows but little of this shyness, so long as you approach it on a +horse's back; but only attempt to steal up to it on foot,--even with a +thick hawthorn hedge to screen you,--and every fowler knows how wary the +bird can prove itself. Some people pronounce this _instinct_. If so, +instinct and reason must be one and the same thing. + +Besides hunting the guanaco, much of the Patagonian's time is spent in +the chase of the ostrich; and, to circumvent this shy creature, he +adopts various _ruses_. The American ostrich, or more properly _rhea_, +has many habits in common with its African congener. One of these is, +when pursued it runs in a straight track, and, if possible, _against_ +the wind. Aware of this habit, the Patagonians pursue it on +horseback,--taking the precaution to place some of their party in ambush +in the direction which the bird is most likely to run. They then gallop +hastily up to the line of flight, and either intercept the rhea +altogether, or succeed in "hoppling" it with the bolas. The moment +these touch its long legs, both are drawn suddenly together; and the +bird goes down as if shot! + +Drake and other voyagers have recorded the statement that the +Patagonians attract the rhea within reach, by disguising themselves in a +skin of this bird. This is evidently an untruth; and the error, whether +wilful or otherwise, derives its origin from the fact, that a stratagem +of the kind is adopted by the Bushmen of Africa to deceive the ostrich. +But what is practicable and possible between a pigmy Bushman and a +gigantic African ostrich, becomes altogether impracticable and +improbable, when the _dramatis persona_ are a gigantic Patagonian and an +American _rhea_. Moreover, it is also worthy of remark, that the _rhea_ +of the Patagonian plains is not the larger of the two species of +American ostrich, but the smaller one (_rhea Darwinii_), which has been +lately specifically named after the celebrated naturalist. And justly +does Mr Darwin merit the honour: since he was the first to give a +scientific description of the bird. He was not the first, however,--as +he appears himself to believe,--to discover its existence, or to give a +record of it in writing. The old Styrian monk, Dobrizhoffer, two +centuries before Mr Darwin was born, in his "History of the Abipones" +clearly points to the fact that there were two distinct species of the +"avestruz," or South-American ostrich. + +Mr Darwin, however, has confirmed Dobrizhoffer's account; and brought +both birds home with him; and he, who chooses to reflect upon the +subject, will easily perceive how impossible it would be for a +Patagonian to conceal his bulky _corpus_ under the skin of a _rhea +Darwinii, or even_ that of its larger congener, the _rhea Americana_. +The skin of either would be little more than large enough to form a cap +for the _colossus_ of the Patagonian plains. + +In the more fertile parts of Patagonia, the large deer (_cervus +campestris_) is found. These are also hunted by the Patagonian, and +their flesh is esteemed excellent food; not, however, until it has lain +several days buried underground,--for it requires this funereal process, +to rid it of the rank, goat-like smell, so peculiar to the species. The +mode of hunting this deer--at least that most likely to insure success-- +is by stealing forward to it on foot. + +Sometimes a man may approach it, within the distance of a few yards,-- +even when there is no cover to shelter him,--by walking gently up to it. +Of all the other quadrupeds of the Pampas,--and these plains are its +favourite _habitat_,--the _cervus campestris_ most dreads the +horseman:--since its enemy always appears in that guise; and it has +learnt the destructive power of both lazo and bolas, by having witnessed +their effects upon its comrades. The hunter dismounted has no terrors +for it; and if he will only keep lazo and bolas out of sight,--for these +it can distinguish, as our crow does the gun,--he may get near enough to +fling either one or the other with a fatal precision. + +The "agouti" (_cavia Patagonica_) frequently furnishes the Patagonian +with a meal. This species is a true denizen of the desert plains of +Patagonia; and forms one of the characteristic features of their +landscape. I need not describe its generic characters; and specifically +it has been long known as the "Patagonian cavy." Its habits differ very +little from the other South-American animals of this rodent genus,-- +except that, unlike the great capivara, it does not affect to dwell near +the water. It is altogether a denizen of dry plains, in which it +burrows, and upon which it may be seen browsing, or hopping at intervals +from one point to another, like a gigantic rabbit or hare. In fact, the +cavies appear to be the South-American representatives of the hare +family,--taking their place upon all occasions; and, though of many +different species,--according to climate, soil, and other +circumstances,--yet agreeing with the hares in most of their +characteristic habits. So much do some of the species assimilate to +these last, that colonial sportsmen are accustomed to give them the +Old-World appellation of the celebrated swift-footed rodent. The +Patagonian cavies are much larger than English hares,--one of them will +weigh twenty-five pounds,--but, in other respects, there is a great deal +of resemblance. On a fine evening, three or four cavies may be seen +squatted near each other, or hopping about over the plains, one +following the other in a direct line, as if they were all proceeding on +the same errand! Just such a habit is frequently observed among hares +and rabbits in a field of young corn or fallow. + +The Patagonian boys and women often employ themselves in seeking out the +ostriches' nests, and robbing them of their eggs,--which last they find +good eating. In the nests of the smaller species which we have already +stated to be the most common in the Patagonian country,--they are not +rewarded so liberally for their trouble. Only from sixteen to twenty +eggs are hatched by the _rhea Darwinii_ and about twenty-five to thirty +by the _rhea Americana_. It will be seen, that this is far below the +number obtained from the nest of the African ostrich (_struthio +camelus_),--in which as many as sixty or seventy eggs are frequently +found. It would appear, therefore, that the greater the size of the +bird, belonging to this genus the greater the number of its brood. Both +the American rheas follow the peculiar habit of the true ostrich: that +is, several hens deposit their eggs in the same nest; and the male bird +assists in the process of incubation. Indeed, in almost every respect-- +except size and general colour of plumage--the American and African +ostriches resemble each other very closely; and there is no reason in +the world why a pedantic compiler should have bestowed upon them +distinct generic names. Both are true _camel birds_: both alike the +offspring, as they are the ornament, of the desert land. + +Another occupation in which the Patagonian engages--and which sometimes +rewards him with a meal--is the snaring of the Pampas partridge +(_nothuria major_). This is usually the employment of the more youthful +giants; and is performed both on foot and on horseback. A small species +of partridge is taken on foot; but the larger kind can be snared best +from the back of a horse. The mode is not altogether peculiar to +Patagonia: since it is also practised in other parts of America,--both +north and south,--and the bustard is similarly captured upon the +_karoos_ of Africa. During the noon hours of the day, the performance +takes place: that is, when the sun no longer casts a shadow. The +locality of the bird being first ascertained, the fowler approaches it, +as near as it will allow. He then commences riding round, and round, +and round,--being all the while watched by the _foolish_ bird, that, in +constantly turning its head, appears to grow giddy, and loses all dread +of danger. The Indian each moment keeps lessening his circle; or, in +other words, approaches by a spiral line, continually closing upon its +centre. His only weapon is a long light reed,--something like the +common kind of cane fishing-rod, seen in the hands of rustic youth in +our own country. On the end of this reed he has adjusted a stiff snare; +the noose of which is made from the epidermis of an ostrich plume, or a +piece of the split quill; and which, being both stiff and elastic, +serves admirably for the purpose for which it is designed. + +Having at length arrived within a proper distance to reach the beguiled +bird, the boy softly stops his horse, bends gently sidewards, and, +adroitly passing his noose over the neck of the partridge, jerks the +silly creature into the air. In this way an Indian boy will capture a +dozen of these birds in a few hours; and might obtain far more, if the +sun would only stay all day in the zenith. But as the bright orb sinks +westward, the elongated shadow of the horseman passes over the partridge +before the latter is within reach of the snare; and this alarming the +creature, causes it to take flight. + +The Patagonian builds no house; nor does he remain long in one place at +a time. The sterile soil upon which he dwells requires him to lead a +nomade life; passing from place to place in search of game. A tent is +therefore his home; and this is of the simplest kind: the tent-cloth +consisting of a number of guanaco skins stitched together, and the poles +being such as he can obtain from the nearest tract of thicket or +_chapparal_. The poles are set bow-fashion in the ground, and over +these the skin covering is spread,--one of the bent poles being left +uncovered, to serve as a doorway. Most of the Patagonian's time is +occupied in procuring game: which, as we have seen, is his sole +sustenance; and when he has any leisure moments, they are given to the +care of his horse, or to the making or repairing his weapons for the +chase. Above all, the bolas are his especial pride, and ever present +with him. When not in actual use, they are suspended from his girdle, +or tied sash-like around his waist,--the balls dangling down like a pair +of tassels. + +Only during his hours of sleep, is this national weapon ever out of the +hands of the Patagonian giant. Had the wonderful giant of our nurseries +been provided with such a sling, it is probable that little Jack would +have found in him an adversary more difficult to subdue! + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE FUEGIAN DWARFS. + +The great continent of South America, tapering like a tongue to the +southward, ends abruptly on the Straits of Magellan. These straits may +be regarded as a sort of natural canal, connecting the Atlantic with the +Pacific Ocean, winding between high rocky shores, and indented with +numerous bays and inlets. Though the water is of great depth, the +Straits themselves are so narrow that a ship passing through need never +lose sight of land on either side; and in many places a shell, projected +from an ordinary howitzer, would pitch clear across them from shore to +shore! The country extending northward from these straits is, as +already seen, called _Patagonia_; that which lies on their southern side +is the famed "land of fire," _Tierra del Fuego_. + +The canal, or channel, of the Straits of Magellan does not run in a +direct line from the Atlantic to the Pacific. On the contrary, a ship +entering from the former, instead of passing due west, must first run in +a south-west direction,--rather more south than west. This course will +continue, until the ship is about halfway between the two oceans. She +will then head almost at a right angle to her former course; and keep +this direction--which is nearly due north-west--until she emerges into +the Pacific. + +It will thus be seen, that the Straits form an angle near their middle; +and the point of land which projects into the vertex of this angle, and +known to navigators as Cape Forward, is the most southern land of the +American _continent_. Of course this is not meant to apply to the most +southern point of American land,--since Tierra del Fuego must be +considered as part of South America. The far-famed "Cape Horn" is the +part of America nearest to the South Pole; and this is a promontory on +one of the small elevated islands lying off the southern coast of Tierra +del Fuego itself. Tierra del Fuego was for a long time regarded as a +single island; though, even in the voyage of Magellan, several large +inlets, that resembled channels, were observed running into the land; +and it was suspected by that navigator, that these inlets might be +passages leading through to the ocean. Later surveys have proved that +the conjectures of the Spano-Portuguese voyager were well founded; and +it is now known that instead of a single island, the country called +Tierra del Fuego is a congeries of many islands, of different shapes and +sizes,--separated from one another by deep and narrow channels, or arms +of the sea, with an endless ramification of sounds and inlets. In the +western part--and occupying more than three fourths of their whole +territory--these close-lying islands are nothing else than mountains,-- +several of them rising five thousand feet above the level of the water; +and stepping directly down to it, without any foothills intervening! +Some of them have their lower declivities covered with sombre forests; +while, farther up, nothing appears but the bare brown rocks, varied with +blue glaciers, or mottled with masses of snow. The more elevated peaks +are covered with snow that never melts; since their summits rise +considerably above the snow-line of this cold region. + +These mountain islands of Tierra del Fuego continue on to Cape Horn, and +eastward to the Straits of Le Maire, and the bleak islet of Staaten +Land. They may, in fact, be considered as the continuation of the great +chain of the Andes, if we regard the intersecting channels--including +that of Magellan itself--as mere clefts or ravines, the bottoms of +which, lying below the level of the sea, have been filled with +sea-water. Indeed, we may rationally take this view of the case: since +these channels bear a very great resemblance to the stupendous ravines +termed "barrancas" and "quebradas," which intersect the Cordilleras of +the Andes in other parts of South America,--as also in the northern +division of the American continent. + +Regarding the Straits of Magellan, then, and the other channels of +Tierra del Fuego, as great _water-barrancas_, we may consider the Andes +as terminating at Cape Horn itself, or rather at Staaten Land: since +that island is a still more distant extension of this, the longest chain +of mountains on the globe. + +Another point may be here adduced, in proof of the rationality of this +theory. The western, or mountainous part of Tierra del Fuego bears a +strong resemblance to the western section of the continent,--that is, +the part occupied by the Andes. For a considerable distance to the +north of the Magellan Straits, nearly one half of the continental land +is of a mountainous character. It is also indented by numerous sounds +and inlets, resembling those of Tierra del Fuego; while the mountains +that hang over these deep-water ravines are either timbered, or bare of +trees and snow-covered, exhibiting glacier valleys, like those farther +south. The whole physical character is similar; and, what is a still +more singular fact, we find that in the western, or mountainous part of +Patagonia, there are no true Patagonians; but that there, the +water-Indians, or Fuegians, frequent the creeks and inlets. + +Again, upon the east,--or rather north-east of Tierra del Fuego,--that +angular division of it, which lies to the north of the Sebastian channel +presents us with physical features that correspond more nearly with +those of the plains of Patagonia; and upon this part we find tribes of +Indians that beyond doubt are true Patagonians,--and not Fuegians, as +they have been described. This will account for the fact that some +navigators have seen people on the Fuegian side that were large-bodied +men, clothed in guanaco skins, and exhibiting none of those wretched +traits which characterise the Fuegians; while, on the other hand, +miserable, stunted men are known to occupy the mountainous western part +of Patagonia. It amounts to this,--that the Patagonians _have_ crossed +the Straits of Magellan; and it is this people, and not Fuegians, who +are usually seen upon the champaign lands north of the Sebastian +channel. Even the guanaco has crossed at the same place,--for this +quadruped, as well as a species of deer, is found in the eastern +division of Tierra del Fuego. Perhaps it was the camel-sheep--which +appears to be almost a necessity of the Patagonian's existence--that +first induced these water-hating giants to make so extensive a voyage as +that of crossing the Straits at Cape Orange! + +At Cape Orange the channel is so narrow, one might fancy that the +Patagonians, if they possessed one half the pedestrian stretch +attributed to the giants of old, might have stepped from shore to shore +without wetting their great feet! + +Perhaps there are no two people on earth, living so near each other as +the Patagonians and Fuegians, who are more unlike. Except in the colour +of the skin and hair, there is hardly a point of resemblance between +them. The former seems to hate the sea: at all events he never goes out +upon, nor even approaches its shore, except in pursuit of such game as +may wander that way. He neither dwells near, nor does he draw any +portion of his subsistence from the waters of the great deep,--fish +constituting no part of his food. + +All this is directly the reverse with the Fuegian. The beach is the +situation _he_ chooses for his dwelling-place, and the sea or its shore +is his proper element. He is more than half his time, either on it, or +_in_ it,--on it in his canoe, and in it, while wading among the tidal +shoals in search of fish, mussels, and limpets, which constitute very +nearly the whole of his subsistence. + +It is very curious, therefore, while noting the difference between these +two tribes of Indians, to observe how each confines its range to that +part of the Magellanic land that appears best adapted to their own +peculiar habits,--those of the Patagonian being altogether +_terrestrial_, while those of the Fuegian are essentially _aquatic_. + +We have stated elsewhere the limits of the Patagonian territory; and +shown that, ethnologically speaking they do not occupy the whole +northern shore of the Magellan Straits, but only the eastern half of it. +Westward towards the Pacific the aspect of the land, on both sides of +this famous channel, may be regarded as of the same character, though +altogether different from that which is seen at the entrance, or eastern +end. + +West of Cape Negro on one side, and the Sebastian passage on the other, +bleak mountain summits, with narrow wooded valleys intervening, become +the characteristic features. There we behold an incongruous labyrinth +of peaks and ridges, of singular and fantastic forms,--many of them +reaching above the limits of perpetual snow,--which, in this cold +climate descends to the height of four thousand feet. We have seen that +these mountains are separated from each other,--not by plains, nor even +valleys, in the ordinary understanding of the term; but by _ravines_, +the steep sides of which are covered with sombre forests up to a height +of one thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea: at which +point vegetation terminates with a uniformity as exact as that of the +snow-line itself! These forests grow out of a wet, peaty soil,--in many +places impassable on account of its boggy nature; and of this character +is almost the whole surface of the different islands. The trees +composing the forests are few in species,--those of the greatest size +and numbers being the "winter's bark" (_drymys_), of the order +_magnoliacae_, a birch, and, more abundantly, a species of beech-tree, +the _fagus betuloides_. These last-named trees are many of them of +great size; and might almost be called evergreens: since they retain +part of their foliage throughout the whole year; but it would be more +appropriate to style them _ever-yellows_: since at no period do they +exhibit a verdure, anything like the forests of other countries. They +are always clad in the same sombre livery of dull yellow, rendering the +mountain landscape around them, if possible, more dreary and desolate. + +The forests of Tierra del Fuego are essentially worthless forests; their +timber offering but a limited contribution to the necessities of man, +and producing scarce any food for his subsistence. + +Many of the ravines are so deep as to end, as already stated, in +becoming arms or inlets of the sea; while others again are filled up +with stupendous glaciers, that appear like cataracts suddenly arrested +in their fall, by being frozen into solid ice! Most of these inlets are +of great depth,--so deep that the largest ship may plough through them +with safety. They intersect the islands in every direction,--cutting +them up into numerous peninsulas of the most fantastic forms; while some +of the channels are narrow _sounds_, and stretch across the land of +Tierra del Fuego from ocean to ocean. + +The "Land of Fire" is therefore not an island,--as it was long +regarded,--but rather a collection of islands, terminated by precipitous +cliffs that frown within gunshot of each other. Ofttimes vast masses of +rock, or still larger masses of glacier ice, fall from these cliffs into +the profound abysses of the inlets below; the concussion, as they strike +the water, reverberating to the distance of miles; while the water +itself, stirred to its lowest depths, rises in grand surging waves, that +often engulf the canoe of the unwary savage. + +"Tierra del Fuego" is simply the Spanish phrase for "Land of Fire." It +was so called by Magellan on account of the numerous fires seen at night +upon its shores,--while he and his people were passing through the +Straits. These were signal fires, kindled by the natives,--no doubt to +telegraph to one another the arrival of those strange leviathans, the +Spanish ships, then seen by them for the first time. + +The name is inappropriate. A more fit appellation would be the "land of +water;" for, certainly, in no part of the earth is water more abundant: +both rain and snow supplying it almost continually. Water is the very +plague of the island; it lies stagnant or runs everywhere,--forming +swamps, wherever there is a spot of level ground, and rendering even the +declivities of the mountains as spongy as a peat-bog. + +The climate throughout the whole year is excessively cold; for, though +the winter is perhaps not more rigorous than in the same latitude of a +northern land, yet the summer is almost as severe as the winter; and it +would be a misnomer to call it summer at all. Snow falls throughout the +whole year; and even in the midsummer of Tierra del Fuego men have +actually perished from cold, at no great elevation above the level of +the sea! + +Under these circumstances, it would scarce be expected that Tierra del +Fuego should be inhabited,--either by men or animals of any kind; but no +country has yet been reached, too cold for the existence of both. No +part of the earth seems to have been created in vain; and both men and +beasts are found dwelling under the chill skies of Tierra del Fuego. + +The land-animals, as well as the birds, are few in species, as in +numbers. The _guanaco_ is found upon the islands; but whether +indigenous, or carried across from the Patagonian shore, can never be +determined: since it was an inhabitant of the islands long anterior to +the arrival of Magellan. It frequents only the eastern side of the +cluster,--where the ground is firmer, and a few level spots appear that +might be termed plains or meadows. A species of deer inhabits the same +districts; and besides these, there are two kinds of fox-wolves (_canis +Magellanicus_ and _canis Azarae_), three or four kinds of mice, and a +species of bat. + +Of water-mammalia there is a greater abundance: these comprising the +whale, seals, sea-lions, and the sea-otter. + +But few birds have been observed; only the white-tufted flycatcher, a +large black woodpecker with scarlet crest, a creeper, a wren, a thrush, +a starling, hawks, owls, and four or five kinds of finches. + +The water-birds, like the water-mammalia, muster in greater numbers. Of +these there are ducks of various kinds, sea-divers, and penguins, the +albatross, and sheer-water, and, more beautiful than all, the "painted" +or "Magellan goose." + +Reptiles do not exist, and insects are exceedingly rare. A few flies +and butterflies are seen; but the mosquito--the plague of other parts of +South America--does not venture into the cold, humid atmosphere of the +Land of Fire. + +We now arrive at the _human_ inhabitants of this desolate region. + +As might be expected, these exhibit no very high condition of either +physical or mental development, but the contrary. The character of +their civilisation is in complete correspondence with that of their +dreary dwelling-place,--at the very bottom of the scale. Yes, at the +very bottom, according to most ethnologists; even lower down than that +of the Digger Indian, the Andaman islander, the Bushman of Africa, or +the Esquimaux of the Arctic Ocean: in fact, any comparison of a Fuegian +with the last-mentioned would be ridiculous, as regards either their +moral or physical condition. Below the Esquimaux, the Fuegian certainly +is, and by many a long degree. + +In height, the tallest Fuegian stands about five feet,--not in his +boots, for he wears none; but on his naked soles. His wife is just six +inches shorter than himself--a difference which is not a bad proportion +between the sexes, but in other respects they are much alike. Both have +small, misshapen limbs, with large knee-caps, and but little calf; both +have long masses of coarse tangled hair, hanging like bunches of black +snakes over their shoulders; and both are as naked as the hour in which +they were born,--unless we call _that_ a dress,--that bit of stinking +sealskin which is slung at the back, and covers about a fifth part of +the whole body! Hairy side turned inward, it extends only from the nape +of the neck to a few inches below the hollow of the back; and is +fastened in front by means of a thong or skewer passing over the breast. +It is rarely so ample as to admit of being "skewered;" and with this +scanty covering, in rain and snow, frost and blow,--some one of which is +continuously going on,--the shivering wretch is contented. Nay, more; +if there should happen an interval of mild weather, or the wearer be at +work in paddling his canoe, he flings this unique garment aside, as if +its warmth were an incumbrance! When the weather is particularly cold, +he shifts the sealskin to that side of his body which may chance to be +exposed to the blast! + +The Fuegian wears neither hat, nor shirt, waistcoat, nor breeches,--no +shoes, no stockings,--nothing intended for clothing but the bit of +stinking skin. His vanity, however, is exhibited, not in his dress, to +some extent in his adornments. Like all savages and many civilised +people, he _paints_ certain portions of his person; and his "escutcheon" +is peculiar. It would be difficult to detail its complicated labyrinth +of "crossings" and "quarterings." We shall content ourselves by stating +that black lines and blotches upon a white ground constitute its chief +characteristic. Red, too, is sometimes seen, of a dark or "bricky" +colour. The black is simply charcoal; while the white-ground coat is +obtained from a species of infusorial clay, which he finds at the bottom +of the peaty streams, that pour down the ravines of the mountains. As +additional ornaments, he wears strings of fish-teeth, or pieces of bone, +about his wrists and ankles. His wife carries the same upon her neck; +and both, when they can procure it, tie a plain band around the head, of +a reddish-brown colour,--the material of which is the long hair of the +guanaco. The "cloak," already described, is sometimes of sea-otter +instead of sealskin; and on some of the islands, where the deer dwells, +the hide of that animal affords a more ample covering. In most cases, +however, the size of the garment is that of a pocket handkerchief; and +affords about as much protection against the weather as a kerchief +would. + +Though the Fuegian has abundance of hair upon his head, there is none, +or almost none on any part of his body. He is beardless and whiskerless +as an Esquimaux; though his features,--without the adornment of hair,-- +are sufficiently fierce in their expression. + +He not only looks ferocious, but in reality is so,--deformed in mind, as +he is hideous in person. He is not only ungrateful for kindness done, +but unwilling to remember it; and he is cruel and vindictive in the +extreme. Beyond a doubt he is a _cannibal_; not habitually perhaps, but +in times of scarcity and famine,--a true cannibal, for he does not +confine himself to eating his _enemies_, but his _friends_ if need be,-- +and especially the old women of his tribe, who fall the first victims, +in those crises produced by the terrible requirements of an impending +starvation. Unfortunately the fact is too well authenticated to admit +of either doubt or denial; and, even while we write, the account of a +massacre of a ship's crew by these hostile savages is going the rounds +of the press,--that ship, too, a missionary vessel, that had landed on +their shores with the humane object of ameliorating their condition. + +Of course such unnatural food is only partaken of at long and rare +intervals,--by many communities never,--and there is no proof that the +wretched Fuegian has acquired an appetite for it: like the Feegee and +some other savage tribes. It is to be hoped that he indulges in the +horrid habit, only when forced to it by the necessities of extreme +hunger. + +His ordinary subsistence is shell-fish; though he eats also the flesh of +the seal and sea-otter; of birds, especially the penguin and Magellanic +goose, when he can capture them. His stomach will not "turn" at the +blubber of a whale,--when by good chance one of these leviathans gets +stranded on his coast,--even though the great carcass be far gone in the +stages of decomposition! The only vegetable diet in which he indulges +is the berry of a shrub--a species of arbutus--which grows abundantly on +the peaty soil; and a fungus of a very curious kind, that is produced +upon the trunks of the beech-tree. This fungus is of a globular form, +and pale-yellow colour. When young, it is elastic and turgid, with a +smooth surface; but as it matures it becomes shrunken, grows tougher in +its texture, and presents the pitted appearance of a honeycomb. When +fully ripe, the Fuegians collect it in large quantities, eating it +without cooking or other preparation. It is tough between the teeth; +but soon changes into pulp, with a sweetish taste and flavour,--somewhat +resembling that of our common mushroom. + +These two vegetables--a berry and a cryptogamic plant--are almost the +only ones eaten by the natives of Tierra del Fuego. There are others +upon the island that might enable them to eke out their miserable +existence: there are two especially sought after by such Europeans as +visit this dreary land,--the "wild celery" (_opium antarcticum_), and +the "scurvy grass" (_cardamine antiscorbutica_); but for these the +Fuegian cares not. He even knows not their uses. + +In speaking of other "odd people," I have usually described the mode of +building their house; but about the house of the Fuegian I have almost +"no story to tell." It would be idle to call that a house, which far +more resembles the lair of a wild beast; and is, in reality, little +better than the den made by the orang-outang in the forests of Borneo. +Such as it is, however, I shall describe it. + +Having procured a number of long saplings or branches,--not always +straight ones,--the Fuegian sharpens them at one end by means of his +mussel-shell knife; and then sticking the sharpened ends into the ground +in a kind of circle, he brings the tops all together, and ties them in a +bunch,--so as to form a rude hemispherical frame. Upon this he lays +some smaller branches; and over these a few armfuls of long coarse +grass, and the house is "built". One side--that to leeward of the +prevailing wind--is left open, to allow for an entrance and the escape +of smoke. As this opening is usually about an eighth part of the whole +circumference, the house is, in reality, nothing more than a shed or +lair. Its furniture does not contradict the idea; but, on the contrary, +only strengthens the comparison. There is no table, no chair, no +bedstead: a "shake-down" of damp grass answers for all. There are no +implements or utensils,--if we except a rude basket used for holding the +arbutus berries, and a sealskin bag, in which the shell-fish are +collected. A bladder, filled with water, hangs upon some forking stuck +against the side: in the top of this bladder is a hole, from which each +member of the family takes a "suck," when thirst inclines them to drink! + +The "tools" observable are a bow and arrow, the latter headed with +flint; a fish spear with a forked point, made from a bone of the +sea-lion; a short stick,--a woman's implement for knocking the limpets +from the rocks; and some knives, the blades of which are sharpened +shells of the mussel,--a very large species of which is found along the +coast. These knives are simply manufactured. The brittle edge of the +shell--which is five or six inches in length--is first chipped off, and +a new edge formed by grinding the shell upon the rocks. When thus +prepared, it will cut not only the hardest wood, but even the bones of +fish; and serves the Fuegian for all purposes. + +Outside the hut, you may see the canoe,--near at hand too,--for the +shieling of the Fuegian universally stands upon the beach. He never +dwells in the interior of his island; and but rarely roams there,--the +women only making such excursions as are necessary to procure the berry +and the mushroom. The woods have no charms for him, except to afford +him a little fuel; they are difficult to be traversed on account of the +miry soil out of which the trees grow; and, otherwise, there is +absolutely nothing to be found amidst their gloomy depths, that would in +any way contribute to his comfort or sustenance. He is therefore +essentially a dweller on the shore; and even there he is not free to +come and go as he might choose. From the bold character of his coast, +there are here and there long reaches, where the beach cannot be +followed by land,--places where the water's edge can only be reached, +and the shell-fish collected, by means of some sort of navigable craft. +For this purpose the Fuegian requires a canoe; and the necessity of his +life makes him a waterman. His skill, however, both in the construction +of his craft, and the management of it, is of a very inferior order,-- +infinitely inferior to that exhibited either by the Esquimaux or the +Water-Indians of the North. + +His canoe is usually made of the bark of a tree,--the birch already +mentioned. Sometimes it is so rudely shaped, as to be merely a large +piece of bark shelled from a single trunk, closed at each end, and tied +tightly with thong of sealskin. A few cross-sticks prevent the sides +from pressing inward; while as many stays of thong keep them from +"bulging" in the contrary direction. If there are cracks in the bark, +these are caulked with rushes and a species of resin, which the woods +furnish. + +With this rude vessel the Fuegian ventures forth, upon the numerous +straits and inlets that intersect his land; but he rarely trusts himself +to a tempestuous sea. + +If rich or industrious, he sometimes becomes the possessor of a craft +superior to this. It is also a bark canoe, but not made of a single +"flitch." On the contrary, there are many choice pieces used in its +construction: for it is fifteen feet in length and three in width +amidships. Its "build" also is better,--with a high prow and stern, and +cross-pieces regularly set and secured at the ends. The pieces of bark +are united by a stitching of thongs; and the seams carefully caulked so +that no water can enter. In this vessel, the Fuegian may embark with +his whole family,--and his whole furniture to boot,--and voyage to any +part of his coast. And this in reality he does; for the "shanty" above +described, is to him only a temporary home. The necessities of his life +require him to be continually changing it; and a "removal," with the +building of a new domicile, is a circumstance of frequent recurrence. + +Not unfrequently, in removing from one part of the coast to another, he +finds it safer making a land journey, to avoid the dangers of the deep. +In times of high wind, it is necessary for him to adopt this course,-- +else his frail bark might be dashed against the rocks and riven to +pieces. In the land journey he carries the canoe along with him; and in +order to do this with convenience, he has so contrived it, that the +planks composing the little vessel can be taken apart, and put together +again without much difficulty,--the seams only requiring to be freshly +caulked. In the transport across land, each member of the family +carries a part of the canoe: the stronger individuals taking the heavier +pieces,--as the side and bottom planks,--while the ribs and light beams +are borne by the younger and weaker. + +The necessity of removal arises from a very natural cause. A few days +spent at a particular place,--on a creek or bay,--even though the +community be a small one, soon exhausts the chief store of food,--the +mussel-bank upon the beach,--and, of course, another must be sought for. +This may lie at some distance; perhaps can only be reached by a +tedious, and sometimes perilous water-journey; and under these +circumstances the Fuegian deems it less trouble to carry the mountain to +Mahomet, than carry Mahomet so often to the mountain. The transporting +his whole menage, is just as easy as bringing home a load of limpets; +and as to the building of a new house, that is a mere bagatelle, which +takes little labour, and no more time than the erection of a tent. Some +Fuegians actually possess a tent, covered with the skins of animals; but +this a rare and exceptional advantage; and the tent itself of the rudest +kind. The Fuegian has his own mode of procuring fire. He is provided +with a piece of "mundic," or iron pyrites, which he finds high up upon +the sides of his mountains. This struck by a pebble will produce +sparks. These he catches upon a tinder of moss, or the "punk" of a dead +tree, which he knows how to prepare. The tinder once ignited, is placed +within a roundish ball of dry grass; and, this being waved about in +circles, sets the grass in a blaze. It is then only necessary to +communicate the flame to a bundle of sticks; and the work is complete. +The process, though easy enough in a climate where "punk" is plenty, and +dry grass and sticks can be readily procured, is nevertheless difficult +enough in the humid atmosphere of Tierra del Fuego,--where moss is like +a wet sponge, and grass, sticks, and logs, can hardly be found dry +enough to burn. Well knowing this, the Fuegian is habitually careful of +his fire: scarce ever permitting it to go out; and even while travelling +in his canoe, in search of a "new home," side by side with his other +"penates" he carries the fire along with him. + +Notwithstanding the abundance of fuel with which his country provides +him, he seems never to be thoroughly warm. Having no close walls to +surround him, and no clothing to cover his body, he suffers almost +incessantly from cold. Wherever met, he presents himself with a +shivering aspect, like one undergoing a severe fit of the ague! + +The Fuegians live in small communities, which scarce deserve the name of +"tribes," since they have no political leader, nor chief of any +description. The conjuror--and they have him--is the only individual +that differs in any degree from the other members of the community; but +his power is very slight and limited; nor does it extend to the exercise +of any physical force. Religion they have none,--at least, none more +sacred or sanctified than a vague belief in devils and other evil +spirits. + +Although without leaders, they are far from being a peaceful people. +The various communities often quarrel and wage cruel and vindictive war +against one another; and were it not that the boundaries of each +association are well-defined, by deep ravines and inlets of the sea, as +well as by the impassable barriers of snow-covered mountains, these +warlike dwarfs would thin one another's numbers to a far greater extent +than they now do,--perhaps to a mutual extermination. Fortunately the +peculiar nature of their country hinders them from coming very often +within fighting distance. + +Their whole system of life is abject in the extreme. Although provided +with fires, their food is eaten raw; and a fish taken from the water +will be swallowed upon the instant--almost before the life is gone out +of it. Seal and penguin flesh are devoured in the same manner; and the +blubber of the whale is also a raw repast. When one of these is found +dead upon the beach,--for they have neither the skill nor courage to +capture the whale,--the lucky accident brings a season of rejoicing. A +fleet of canoes--if it is to be reached only by water--at once paddle +towards the place; or, if it be an overland journey, the whole +community--man, woman, and child--start forth on foot. In an hour or +two they may be seen returning to their hut village, each with a large +"flitch" of blubber flapping over the shoulders, and the head just +appearing above, through a hole cut in the centre of the piece,--just as +a Mexican ranchero wears his "serape," or a denizen of the Pampas his +woollen "poncho." A feast follows this singular procession. + +Like the Esquimaux of the north, the Fuegian is very skilful in +capturing the seal. His mode of capturing this creature, however, is +very different from that employed by the "sealer" of the Arctic Seas; +and consists simply in stealing as near as possible in his canoe, when +he sees the animal asleep upon the surface, and striking it with a +javelin,--which he throws with an unerring aim. + +We have already observed that the principal subsistence of the Fuegian +is supplied by the sea; and shell-fish forms the most important item of +his food. These are mussels, limpets, oysters, and other kinds of +shell-fish, and so many are annually consumed by a single family, that +an immense heap of the shells may be seen not only in front of every +hut, but all along the coast of the islands, above high-water mark,-- +wherever a tribe has made its temporary sojourn. + +There is a singular fact connected with these conglomerations of shells, +which appears to have escaped the observations of the Magellanic +voyagers. It is not by mere accident they are thus collected in piles. +There is a certain amount of superstition in the matter. The Fuegian +believes that, were the shells scattered negligently about, ill-luck +would follow; and, above all, if the emptied ones were thrown back into +the sea: since this would be a warning of destruction that would +frighten the living bivalves in their "beds," and drive them away from +the coast! Hence it is that the shell-heaps are so carefully kept +together. + +In collecting these shell-fish, the women are the chief labourers. They +do not always gather them from the rocks, after the tide has gone out; +though that is the usual time. But there are some species not found in +shallow water, and therefore only to be obtained by diving to the bottom +after them. Of this kind is a species of _echinus_, or "sea-urchin," of +the shape of an orange, and about twice the bulk of one,--the whole +outside surface being thickly set with spines, or protuberances. These +curious shell-fish are called "sea-eggs" by the sailor navigators; and +constitute an important article of the food of the Fuegian. It is often +necessary to dive for them to a great depth; and this is done by the +Fuegian women, who are as expert in plunging as the pearl-divers of +California or the Indian seas. + +Fish is another article of Fuegian diet; and many kinds are captured +upon their coasts, some of excellent quality. They sometimes obtain the +fish by shooting them with their arrows, or striking them with a dart; +but they have a mode of catching the finny creatures, which is +altogether peculiar: that is to say, _hunting them with dogs_! The +Fuegians possess a breed of small fox-like dogs, mean, wretched-looking +curs, usually on the very verge of starvation,--since their owners take +not the slightest care of them, and hardly ever trouble themselves about +feeding them. Notwithstanding this neglect, the Fuegian dogs are not +without certain good qualities; and become important auxiliaries to the +Fuegian fisherman. They are trained to pursue the fish through the +water, and drive them into a net, or some enclosed creek or inlet, +shallow enough for them to be shot with the arrow. In doing this the +dogs dive to the bottom; and follow the fish to and fro, as if they were +amphibious carnivora, like the seals and otters. For this useful +service the poor brutes receive a very inadequate reward,--getting only +the bones as their portion. They would undoubtedly starve, were it not +that, being left to shift for themselves, they have learnt how to +procure their own food; and understand how to catch a fish now and then +_on their own account_. Their principal food, however, consists in +shell-fish, which they find along the shores, with polypi, and such +other animal substances as the sea leaves uncovered upon the beach after +the tide has retired. A certain kind of sea-weed also furnishes them +with an occasional meal, as it does their masters,--often as hungry and +starving as themselves. + +In his personal habits no human being is more filthy than the Fuegian. +He never uses water for washing purposes; nor cleans the dirt from his +skin in any way. He has no more idea of putting water to such use, than +he has of drowning himself in it; and in respect to cleanliness, he is +not only below most other savages, but below the brutes themselves: +since even these are taught cleanliness by instinct. But no such +instinct exists in the mind of the Fuegian; and he lives in the midst of +filth. The smell of his body can be perceived at a considerable +distance; and Hotspur's fop might have had reasonable grounds of +complaint, had it been a Fuegian who came between the "wind and his +nobility." To use the pithy language of one of the old navigators, "The +Fuegian stinks like a fox." + +Fairly examined, then, in all his bearings,--fairly judged by his habits +and actions,--the Fuegian may claim the credit of being the most +wretched of our race. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Odd People, by Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ODD PEOPLE *** + +***** This file should be named 35911.txt or 35911.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/9/1/35911/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +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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