Part 4 - Chapter 2. Guiana

________________________________________________
_ PART FOUR
CHAPTER TWO. GUIANA

A wide belt of low land borders the ocean side of Guiana on the north-east of the continent, where white men dwell, in houses elevated on piles of timber, among sugar-estates and cotton-plantations, tall windmills, and numerous canals crowded with shipping, which would present a thoroughly Dutch scene were it not for the stately cocoa-nut and cabbage-palms rising amid them, the dark-skinned labourers, the blue sky, and burning heat. The province is, however, for the most part a region of rugged mountains, dense forests, open savannahs, broad streams, cataracts, waterfalls, and rapids; where the yet untamed savage, making war on his neighbours, and sunk in the grossest barbarism, lives as his predecessors have done for centuries past.

Through the centre of the territory flows the Essequibo, the largest river between the Amazon and the Orinoco. Its source is among the same mountains which give birth to some of the tributaries of those mighty rivers, the one running to the north, the other to the south; thus adding to the wonderful network which unites the waters of South America.

It was through this region that the gallant Raleigh, and many bands of Spanish adventurers in succession, in spite of the most terrific dangers and difficulties, fought their way amid hostile natives in search of the far-famed El Dorado. Among the first bands was that led by the celebrated Philip Von Huten. They had heard that in the interior of the country there existed a golden region, surpassing even the wildest descriptions of that of Peru. It was said that some of the royal race of the Incas, escaping from their Spanish invaders, had established a new dynasty amid the mountains, on the shores of a beautiful lake, the sands of which contained gold in prodigious quantities. The houses of his capital were covered with plates of gold. The vessels of the royal palace were of the same metal; and so abundant was it, that the natives, anointing their bodies with a glutinous substance, sprinkled them over with the dust. The person of the sovereign was especially thus adorned by his attendants. Oviedo remarks--"As this kind of garment would be uneasy whilst sleeping, the prince washes himself every evening, and is gilded afresh in the morning;" thus proving that the empire of El Dorado is infinitely rich in mines.

Von Huten and his band, after desperate fighting, were compelled to retire, just as they believed they had seen in the far-off distance the shining roofs of the splendid city. Their leader was preparing another expedition when he fell by the hand of an assassin.

Notwithstanding the dangers to be encountered from the fierce Caribs-- who, sheltered by trees and rocks everywhere, attacked their foes with poisoned arrows--and the numerous disappointments which occurred, fresh bands of adventurers, age after age, still believing in the fabled wealth which was to be their prize should they succeed, set forth, in hope of reaching the wonderful city. Some of Sir Walter Raleigh's followers declared, indeed, that they saw rocks shining brightly with gold, and a mountain containing diamonds and other valuable stones, the lustre of which blazed forth to a considerable distance.

Every marvellous fable found belief. The crew of an English ship, about that time exploring the Marowyne, stated that they had seen on its banks a gigantic race of men, who carried in their hands bows made of gold. Wherever mica was seen glittering on the side of a mountain, it was supposed to be the same precious metal. Sir Walter Raleigh sent his faithful lieutenant, Captain Keymis, to carry on the expedition he was himself unable to undertake. His chief object, and that of his successors, was to discover the site of the golden city. Keymis, while sailing up the Essequibo, heard that by ascending one of its tributaries--the Rupunoony--he would certainly reach it.

Numerous other expeditions were organised by Spaniards and Portuguese. Many of the unfortunate adventurers fell by the hands of the natives, others by famine and fatigue; and as late as the year 1776 a large band set forth, when many hundreds perished, one man only returning to tell the sad fate of his companions.

At length, in the quarter to which Captain Keymis had been directed, the small lake of Amucu was discovered, to which a river called the Parinia is connected; and from the geological structure of the surrounding country, is supposed to have been formerly much larger than at present. Within and around it are islands and, rocks of mica, slate, and talc; "the materials," observes Humboldt, "out of which has been formed that gorgeous capital, whose temples and houses were overlaid with beaten plates of gold." Schombergh, who visited the lake, agrees with the German philosopher. Another traveller, Hillhouse, in 1830 ascended the Masaruni, which flows from the northern side of the mountains of Roraima, among which the lake is situated; and believes that its romantic valley was once the bed of a large lake twelve miles in width, and upwards of one hundred miles in length,--which long ago burst its barriers and gave rise to the fable still preserved among the Indians, and, till within almost the present century, believed in by the colonists themselves.

 

RIVERS:--THE ESSEQUIBO.

Let us take a glance over some of the rivers of the land.

The Essequibo, called by the Indians the "younger brother of the Orinoco," first claims attention. The mouth has rather the appearance of a vast lake than a river, its shores bordered by thick groves of that tree of curious structure, the mangrove, whose roots or seeds, borne on the ocean wave, strike wherever they can find a muddy soil, throughout every part of the tropics. Rising upwards on the roots, which it shoots downwards as it grows, the base of its stem is often six or eight feet from the ground--the stem itself seldom more than a foot in diameter, and from fifteen to twenty feet in height. Its thick stiff ribs, about eight inches long and nine inches wide, are of a dark sombre hue. This broad estuary, extending inland for thirty miles or more, with numerous picturesque islands covered by tropical vegetation rising out of it, is joined by the united streams of the Masaruni and Cuyuni, its own and their romantic waterfalls making a continuous navigation up them impossible. Yet, notwithstanding its impediments, these rivers afford the only means of communication, except along the foot-tracks of the Indians, through the dense forests, into the far-off interior. These forests commence in many parts close to the ocean, spreading often for thousands of square miles, broken sometimes by swamps, and at others by wide savannahs, open spaces covered with grasses, and here and there clumps of trees. Even the sand-hills of moderate height bordering the Atlantic are clothed by the superb vegetation of the tropics,--the forest extending to, and even climbing up the sides of the Rocky Mountains. Vast timber trees, the purple and green heart, the stately mora, the locust-tree, raise their heads above their smaller brethren, conquering in the struggle for room to allow their foliage to expand; while below, the moist carpet of fallen leaves, fungi, and moss, increases the richness of the vegetation. Here also are numerous graceful palms,--the cocorite, from which the Indians form their poisoned arrows; the troali, with broad and long leaves, used for thatching their huts. The graceful manicol, rising to a great height, bends, like the weeping willow, its slender stem over the stream; and, with several other species of palm, it affords the succulent cabbage. Beautiful parasites hang in every direction from the trunks and boughs-- sipos ascending and clinging in intricate network, interlacing the trunks and branches, and often supporting the remnants of the trees they themselves by their fatal embrace have destroyed; indeed, the same style of forest here exists as throughout the Valley of the Amazon.

As the flora is much the same on a similar altitude, so there is little difference in the fauna, although some species are found in Guiana which are unknown in the latter region. The native tribes, however--the red men of the wilds--differ considerably. Near the supposed site of the famed El Dorado at Pirara, situated on the borders of Brazil, some thirty years ago, an attempt was made to carry, not the gold that perishes, but the joyful news of salvation, to the long-benighted Indians in that region. It was blessed, and was prospering greatly, and gave promise of the speedy conversion of the Macusi tribe and others, when some Brazilian Roman Catholic priests, hearing of it, determined on its destruction, and induced their government to claim the region as Brazilian territory. A detachment of militia was despatched, and took possession of the village. The Indians, fearing lest the Brazilians might conduct them into slavery, dispersed into the forests and mountains, while the missionary with difficulty escaped with his life.

The distance to be traversed from the British capital of George Town to Pirara is about three hundred miles; and though the scenery is of that enchanting character which, as the enthusiastic Waterton describes it, made his soul overflow with joy, and roam in fancy through fairyland, yet, as it is through an almost uninhabited country, with numerous rapids and torrents, woods to be traversed, and mountains to be climbed, the difficulties are not contemptible.

"To surmount these obstacles to navigation," say Mr Brett, "it is necessary in some places to carry or haul the canoe overland at the sides of the fall. At others, advantage is taken of the eddies which are found at the base, and huge rocks that intercept the stream. The Indians pass from rock to rock by leaping, wading, or swimming, and, by means of a hawser, haul the boat through the rushing water from one resting-point to another, the steersman keeping his seat, and--sometimes lashed to it--striving with his large paddle to guide in some degree her course. The roar of the water dashing and foaming against the surrounding rocks renders this operation as exciting as it is difficult. Still more exciting and difficult is the task of descending these rapids. The safety of all then depends on their perfect steadiness, and on the bowman and steersman acting in concert, and with instant decision. The canoe is kept in the very centre of the current, one of her best hands kneeling with quick eye and ready paddles in the bow, and the rest of the crew exerting their strength to give her headway. Darting swiftly along, she arrives at the head of the fall, and bounding downward, shoots into the surf below it, dashing it up on either side, and leaving her crew alone visible. If all be well, rising above the foam, she obeys the guiding paddles in stem and stern, and dances over the tumbling waves, while her excited crew exult at their success. Whole families, however, even of Indians, are sometimes drowned; and in 1805 Captain Beresford, son-in-law of the governor, and four other gentlemen, with two of their crew, lost their lives in shooting the lower falls of the Masaruni."

 

THE BERBICE RIVER.

On the Berbice, which falls into the Atlantic about sixty miles eastward of George Town, the falls and rapids--which do not, however, reach to within one hundred and sixty miles of its mouth--are very numerous. While the scenery round them is highly picturesque, they are extremely dangerous. Here is found the cascade of Idurewadde; and higher up, the cataract of Itabru. Above these again are more than forty falls and rapids, called by Schombergh the Christmas Cataracts, and which cost him and his companions immense labour to surmount. On their return, one of the party, rashly standing on the thwarts of the canoe while shooting the falls, upset it and was drowned.

Huge caymans abound in the river, and lie like logs of wood at the foot of the cataracts or rapids, watching stealthily to catch and swallow whatever the fierce current may bring down to them.

Above these falls is a lagoon, on which he discovered the now far-famed Victoria Regia, before that time unknown to the world. At the head of the Masaruni rises Mount Roraima, 7540 feet in height. It is the principal watershed, from which various streams flow in different directions into the three great rivers--Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo. Hillhouse and Schombergh describe the side of the mountain as composed of cliffs, fifteen hundred feet in height, of compact sandstone, as perpendicular as if erected with the plumb-line, and overhung in part with low shrubs. Though distant, they appear as if in dangerous proximity. Around are detached masses, apparently torn from those gigantic walls of nature; and every moment it seems as if one of them would block up the path, or cut off all retreat. In places the channel of the stream is so narrow that the canoe can hardly pass, in others it widens out into a shallow claret-coloured lake. At length a capacious basin is entered, black as ink, surrounded by a bold and extensive shore as white as chalk. The roar of the water is heard, but no current perceived; though there is a foam-like yeast on the surface, which remains all day without visible alteration. At length, in the distance, a broken white line is seen struggling through a cluster of granite rocks at the base of two quartz cliffs of a mixed character. This is the fall of Macrebah.

 

THE ARECUNA INDIANS.

In those mountain regions dwell the Arecunas, a fine sturdy race--with clear copper-tinted skins--unencumbered by clothing, though wearing feathers and other ornaments; long sticks through the cartilage of their nostrils, and still longer, richly adorned with tufts of black feathers, through their ears. Both sexes are much tattooed; some of the women having dark blue lines across the upper lip, and extending in wavy curves over each cheek, looking like enormous curled moustaches. Others have a broad line round the mouth, which gives it the appearance of being far larger than it is in reality. The men wear the heads of humming-birds and of a bird of a beautiful blue colour in their ears; and round their waist, girdles of monkey's hair.

Schombergh, who visited them, says they made a great feast in his honour, when there was a grand display of gorgeous plumes, and head-dresses,--the whole winged tribe having apparently been put in requisition to furnish forth the most brilliant of their feathers. They had also necklaces of the teeth of monkeys and peccaries, and porcupines' quills; to which were attached long cotton fringes--which hung down their backs, and to which toucan and other skins were suspended securely. Feasting and dancing, kept up by the natives thus dressed, lasted the whole night; and the constantly-repeated burden of their song was--"Roraima of the red rock, wrapped in clouds, the ever-fertile source of streams."

 

THE CORENTYN RIVER.

Eastward of the Berbice, and greatly inferior in size to the Essequibo, is the Corentyn, which has its source near the equator, and forms the boundary of the British colony. A few Indians of various tribes dwell on its banks near the mouth, but above their last settlement desolation reigns supreme.

On the rocks near its banks may be seen a few rude carvings, the handiwork of a race long passed away. Day after day the voyager on its waters passes amid the wildest and most romantic scenery,--amid numerous islands, rocks, and rapids; but no human beings are seen--not a light canoe on its waters, not an habitation on its banks. At length, after a nine days' voyage, enormous rocks appear heaped together, opposing progress; vast chasms yawn beneath his feet when he lands, and at certain places the streams sink into the earth as if by magic, to reappear where least expected. A thundering noise is heard, and a mist hovers in the air, in which thousands of birds disport themselves,-- marking the position of the great cataracts of the Corentyn. The scene, however, is too vast to be beheld in its full grandeur from any single point of view. No waterfall in the territory surpasses them in grandeur.

The fierce Caribs, in the days of their power, inhabited the banks of the river, engaged in carrying into slavery the people of other tribes from far and near; but they, and those they oppressed, have passed away--a few families only of their descendants remaining here and there--the one to boast of the prowess of their ancestors, the other to tell the tale of their woes.

 

THE DEMERARA RIVER.

High up the River Demerara--on which George Town, the capital of the colony, is built--where the river forces its way through the dense forest, is a fall of great picturesque beauty. Here, says Mr Brett, the cataract precipitates itself in one body over the rocky barrier; and huge masses of rock, crowned with stately trees, divide it into channels ere it reaches its lower bed. Of these channels, there are two large ones in the centre, with smaller ones on either side. All are filled with great boulders, over which the dark waters toss and dash until they roll into the wide basin below, covering its surface and margin with masses of yeasty foam. The length of the fall appears to be three or four hundred feet, though the perpendicular difference between the levels of the river above and below is sixty-five feet. Three-fourths of this cataract is hid from view by the luxuriant forest which clothes its sides and covers its islands. The misty spray--rising, when the river is full, from the channels between the tall trees--the rushing noise, and a glimpse of the torrent here and there, show imperfectly its divided course. Could a clear view be obtained of it, it would be found to contain a spectacle full of beauty and interest.

Between that point and the Essequibo, with which the Demerara runs parallel, is a remarkable--almost perpendicular--rock called Maboora, the uppermost of a succession of natural terraces. The ascent to the summit from the forest below occupies some hours. From hence the broad Essequibo can be seen flowing, partly hidden by the range of hills. Its face is broken up by the rains of ages into huge boulders, but the top is level. In its western base is a large cavern, having an inner chamber with a narrow entrance. Here the beautiful cock of the rocks, adorned with golden orange tints and double fan-like crest, makes his abode. The nests of these brilliant birds are at some distance from the sandy floor, and attached to the rocky sides.

 

NATIVE TRIBES.

But we must pass from the scenery of this region of cataracts and forests, to take another glance at the wild tribes who inhabit it. The most numerous and ferocious at one time, by far, were the cannibal Caribs; who for ages had inhabited the country, and were joined by their brethren, driven by the Spaniards from the islands they had long occupied. Whether the whole race had originally come from the north, scattering their bands and taking possession of the islands they passed, seems uncertain.

When Columbus discovered the islands, to which he gave the name of the people, he had full evidence of their courage, ferocity, and cannibal propensities. At the same time, they paid great attention to agriculture, and brought home seeds and plants from the territories they overran. They were in the habit of attacking; other islands and the mainland, and carrying off the women as slaves; making prisoners of the men, to be killed and eaten. Their arms were clubs, and bows and poisoned arrows. Even the women were expert archers, and when their husbands were away remained to defend their homes. The hair of these savages was coarse and long--their eyes, surrounded with paint, giving them a hideous expression; while their limbs were bound with bands of cotton, causing them to swell out into disproportionate size where unconfined. When attacked by the Spaniards, the men refused to be taken alive, and the women defended themselves with the fiercest courage after the death of their husbands.

In the British island of Saint Vincent several bands remained, who devastated the plantations, and committed many atrocities,--especially in the revolutionary war, when they were stirred up by the French. They were removed by the British Government to the island of Ruatan, in the Bay of Honduras, whence they emigrated to the neighbouring coast. Meantime, they were extending their power on the Southern Continent, and became the dominant race on the Orinoco and Essequibo, their excursions reaching even to the provinces watered by the Amazon. Wherever they appeared, the other tribes were driven for refuge to the mountains and forests. They even ventured to attack the white settlers, and endeavoured to drive out the Spaniards from the city of Valencia when first established.

They incessantly attacked the natives on the banks of the Orinoco, sometimes ascending that river in numerous canoes; at other times crossing the highlands, and descending one or other of its tributaries, they would come suddenly on their foes, never failing to exterminate all who were their inferiors in power. They were, however, often fiercely opposed by some other tribes, and vast numbers cut off. During the fearful revolt of the negroes in the Dutch provinces, several tribes of them were engaged by the Dutch Government to assist the whites. Making their way through the forest, and concealing themselves by day, they would sally forth by night and attack the villages of the revolters-- setting fire to their roofs, and slaughtering the inmates, who fled from their burning habitations.

Sir Walter Raleigh describes them as a naked people, but valiant as any under the sky: and thus they remained, still rude and savage, till the common fate of other tribes overtook them. Powerful as they were, these wild hordes could only fight, overrun, oppress, and destroy; and even in their highest prosperity they were incapable of accomplishing any great and useful work. Up to the close of the last century they were the most numerous, as well as the most warlike, of all the tribes.

Though their chiefs were not hereditary, if a son equalled his father in courage and skill, he succeeded to his power. To attain that office, it was necessary for him to be acquainted with every art and stratagem of savage warfare, and to possess more strength and bravery than the rest of his tribe. When a Carib aspired to be the chief, it was customary to expose him to the biting of ants; and if he could bear the torture without flinching, then he was considered fit for the office.

When a band determined on a predatory excursion, they would often, unlike other tribes, attack their enemies in the daytime, paddling their canoes against the current in order that the sound of their paddles should be heard by their enemies, and allow them time to prepare for battle. That they were cannibals, there appears no doubt; at least, they feasted on their enemies taken in battle, whose flesh they tore and devoured with the avidity of wolves. The men were put to death, while the women and children were preserved to be sold into slavery.

Scattered tribes still exist in different parts of the interior. The dress of the women is merely a narrow strip of blue cloth; and their naked bodies are smeared with arnatto, which gives them the appearance of bleeding from every pore. Some dot their bodies and limbs over with blue spots. They wear round the leg, just below the knee, a tight strap of cotton, and another above each ankle. These are bound on when a girl is young, and hinder the growth of the parts by their compression, while the calf, which is unconfined, appears in consequence unnaturally large. Through the lower lip, which they perforate, they wear two or three pins with the points outwards. Should they wish to use one of them, they take it out, and afterwards replace it. The men secure a cloth round the loins, often of sufficient length to form a kind of scarf; and to prevent it trailing on the ground, throw it in a graceful way over the shoulder, so that part of it falls on the bosom, while the end hangs down the back. It is often ornamented with cotton tassels, and is the most decent and serviceable, as well as the most picturesque, covering worn by any of the native tribes. Sometimes a coronal of flowers surrounds the head, which is usually adorned by a large daub of arnatto on the hair above the brow; while the forehead and cheeks are painted in various patterns with the same vermilion colour, which adds extreme ferocity to their appearance. Some of the men also smear their bodies with arnatto, as do the women. They are generally well-proportioned, and more elegant in figure than the other races. The women are noted for weaving excellent and durable hammocks of cotton--a plant which they cultivate for that purpose.

When a chief died, his bones, after burial for some time, were cleansed by the women, and carefully preserved in their houses. Several other tribes follow a similar custom; allowing, however, the bones to be deprived of flesh by the ravenous little caribes. After being carefully dried, and tinged with red, they are placed in baskets and suspended from the roofs of their houses. Among those who have embraced Christianity, these and many other barbarous customs have been abandoned.

The object of many of their raids of later years was to obtain captives to sell to the Dutch. When slavery was abolished by the British, this incentive to cruelty no longer existed. The fierce Caribs were, however, very indignant at the new order of things. A Carib chief arriving with a slave, offered him for sale to the English governor. On the refusal of the latter to make the purchase, the savage dashed out the brains of the slave, declaring that for the future his nation would never give quarter--one of many instances of their fearful ferocity. The Carib club is made of the heaviest wood to be found. It is about eighteen inches long, flat, and square at both ends, but heavier at one than the other. It is thinner in the middle, and wound round with cotton thread, with a loop to secure it to the wrist. One blow from this formidable weapon--which is called "patu"--is sufficient to scatter the brains of the person struck. Sometimes a sharp stone is fixed in one end to increase its weight.

 

THE ARAWAKS.

Differing greatly from the Caribs, the Arawaks, who live in the neighbourhood of the British settlements, have ever been noted for their mild and peaceable disposition. But still they have been compelled to fight for their independence, and use bows and arrows and clubs--the latter formidable weapon being similar to that of the Caribs. More family affection than other tribes usually exhibit exists among them. Husbands and wives appear faithful and attached, and live happily together. The boys are early trained to fish and paddle their canoes; while the girls assist their mothers, who generally have to do more work than the men. The power of their chiefs, who were formerly called caciques, has almost entirely ceased; indeed, their ancient manners and customs have been greatly changed by their intercourse with the whites. Those living still further in the country, however, practise many of their barbarous customs.

Mr Brett describes a scene he witnessed on the Lake Wakapoa--a dance given in honour of a deceased female, who had been buried in the house where it took place. A broad plank lay on her grave, and on it were placed two bundles, containing the refuse of the silk-grass, of which whips--employed as will be described--were made. There were also two rudely-carved birds in wood, the other figures intended to represent infants. Two large tubs of paiwari--an intoxicating liquor--had also been prepared.

The young men and boys, fantastically adorned, were arranged in two parallel rows facing each other; each holding in his right hand a whip, called the maquarri, more than three feet long, and capable of giving a severe cut--as their bleeding legs soon amply testified. The dance in which they were engaged takes its name from this whip. They waved them in their hands as they danced, uttering alternate cries, resembling the note of a bird often heard in the forests.

At some little distance from the dancers were couples of men lashing each other on the leg. The man whose turn it was to receive the lash stood firmly on one leg, advancing the other; while his adversary, stooping, took deliberate aim, and, springing from the earth to add vigour to his stroke, gave his opponent a severe cut. The latter gave no other sign that he was hurt than a contemptuous smile, though blood must have been drawn by the lash. After a short dance, his opponent returned the compliment with equal force. Nothing could exceed the good-humour with which these proceedings were carried on. One of the men was scarcely able to walk, after the punishment; but, in general, after a few lashes they drank paiwari, and returned to the main body of dancers, from which fresh couples were continually falling out to test each other's mettle.

At length, on a signal from the master of the house, the dancing ceased, and all the men, arranging themselves in procession, went round the building with slow and measured steps, the plank and the wooden images being carried before them.

After this they arranged themselves near the grave, and one of them chanted something in a low voice, to which the others answered at intervals with four moans by way of chorus. The articles carried in procession were then taken to a hole previously dug in the earth, and buried there. Two or three men appointed for the purpose then drew forth their long knives, and rushing in among the dancers, snatched the whips from them, cut off the lash from each, and buried them with the other articles.

 

THE GUARANIS.

The tribes of the Guaranis, or Waraus, who once inhabited the eastern side of the continent, from the La Plata to the Orinoco, still exist, sunk still lower in barbarism even than formerly. So little do they care for clothing, that even the females wear only a small piece of the bark of a tree, or the net-like covering of the young leaf of the cocoa-nut or cabbage-palm; while their appearance is squalid in the extreme. They still, however, exhibit the characteristics which distinguished them in days of yore,--readiness to yield to circumstances, to labour for wages, and to receive instruction from the white man. Thus they have continued to exist whilst more warlike tribes have been exterminated. They cultivate cassava and other vegetables. From the former they make the intoxicating paiwari--the cause of many savage murders among them. They depend greatly on the pith of the mauritia, or ita, as it serves them for bread; while of other parts of the tree they construct their dwellings.

The younger people possess good features--some of them wearing thin pieces of silver suspended from the cartilage of the nostrils. They are generally short, stoutly built, and capable of great exertion. They are much sought after for labourers. They are also noted for making the best and largest canoes in the country, and with the rudest implements. The Spaniards are said to have employed some of their canoes which could carry one hundred men. Those in use even at the present day are capable of carrying fifty people.

Though scattered throughout the country, the proper territory of their nation is on the low swampy country which borders the banks of the Orinoco; but their lands being completely inundated by the overflowing of the rivers for some months in each year, they construct their dwellings above the water, among the mauritia palms, whose crowns of fan-like leaves wave above their heads and shield them from the rays of the burning sun. Not only does this palm afford them shelter and the materials for constructing their habitations, but it gives them an abundance of food for the support of life. To the upright trunks of the trees, which they use as posts, they fix the lower beams of their habitations, a few feet above the highest level of the water. On this framework they lay the split trunks of smaller palms for flooring. Above it a roof is formed, thatched with the leaves of the same tree,-- from which they also procure their chief means of subsistence. From the upper beams the hammocks are suspended; while on the flooring a hearth of clay is formed, on which fires are lit for cooking their food. Then their canoes, or woibakas, as they are called, enable them to procure food from the water, and give them the means of moving from place to place.

No tree is more useful to the natives than the mauritia. Before unfolding its leaves its blossoms contain a sago-like meal, which is dried in thin, bread-like slices. The sap is converted into palm-wine. The narrow scaled fruit, which resembles reddish pine-cones, yields different articles of food--according to the period at which it is gathered--whether the saccharine properties are fully matured, or whether it is still in a farinaceous condition.

The Guaranis have of late years come under the influence of Christian Protestant missions.

 

THE MACUSIS.

In the neighbourhood of the Lake Parima, the Macusis, as well as other tribes, have their homes. The former are noted for being the manufacturers of the celebrated wourali poison described by Waterton. Numerous other tribes, or sections of tribes with different names, exist in the far interior,--both westward and to the north and south. Those inhabiting the Lower Amazon possess some degree of civilisation, and are known under the general name of Tapuyos--from a once powerful nation of that name, existing towards the southern part of the Brazilian coast, and driven northward by still fiercer hordes.

Though less cruel, and frequently sparing the lives of their captives, they had the strange custom of eating a portion of their dead relatives, as the last mark of affection. Many of the Brazilian tribes were reclaimed from their more barbarous practices by the Portuguese missionaries, who from their numerous dialects formed the language now generally in use--the Tupi, Guarani, or lingua Geral. The remoter tribes, however, seeing the way the milder races have been oppressed by unscrupulous traders, and hunted down by government officials to be taken as soldiers, resolutely defend their territories from all strangers, and retain the ferocity and cannibalism of their forefathers.

 

THE ACAWOIOS.

It is pleasing to read of a tribe described by McClintock as superior in domestic virtues to most of their countrymen. The Acawoios, or Kaphons, though warlike, differ from other tribes in many points. Polygamy is not permitted before a suitable age. The women are virtuous, and attentive both in sickness and old age. After a birth, the mother is relieved even from the labour of preparing food for her husband, that she may attend to her child. They are cleanly, hospitable, and generous, and passionately fond of their children. They seldom talk above a whisper among themselves, and however intoxicated--which they sometimes become--never quarrel; nay, more, an angry look is never discernible. They use tobacco; not chewing it, however, but simply keeping it between the lips, for the purpose of appeasing hunger and preserving their teeth. They live towards the head-waters of the Essequibo. On the whole, a more orderly and peaceably-disposed people can scarcely be found anywhere.

The customs of the fierce tribes, though differing in some respects, agree in many others. They are in general indolent, and find clothing unnecessary; they have little to provide beyond their daily food, and thus spend much of their time in their hammocks, leaving the women to labour in the plantations and attend to their domestic concerns. They are, perhaps, more apathetic in manner than reality, having great control over their feelings. Like the whole race, their senses are extremely acute, and kept in constant exercise by following game or tracking an enemy through the forest. They are keen observers of natural objects, and have a considerable knowledge of medicinal and poisonous plants, as well as of the habits of the animals, birds, reptiles, and insects which inhabit their country. They observe the virtue of hospitality, and are fond of paying visits to their friends at a distance--expecting to be treated in the same way. Theft is unusual among them; and so great is their love of liberty that they can seldom be induced to follow the customs of civilised life.

Drunkenness drives them often to fearful excesses--most of their quarrels springing from that cause. Their dances, though in a certain degree graceful, consist chiefly in stamping on the ground, balancing on one foot, and staggering in different attitudes as if intoxicated--the music being generally monotonous and dismal. Mr Brett describes a curious trial of strength which the Guaranis exercise at their drinking bouts. Each of the antagonists is furnished with a shield made of strips of the mauritia, cut into equal lengths, and firmly lashed across a frame three or four feet in height, but somewhat less in width, and slightly bending downwards. The front of each shield is painted in various colours with some peculiar device, while fastened to the upper edge are elastic stems adorned with coloured tassels and streamers. Each champion grasps the edges of his shield firmly with both hands, and, after various feints and grimaces to throw his opponent off his guard, a clash is heard as one springs forward and his shield strikes that of his antagonist. The contest is generally one of mere strength, the shield being pushed forward by the whole force of the body and supported by one knee, while the other leg is extended firmly behind. Sometimes one of the players is able to push the other off the ground, or, by a dexterous slip and thrust on the flank, sends him rolling on the sand; but more frequently they remain pressing, panting, and struggling until exhausted, when the contest ceases by mutual consent. It is then a point of etiquette to shake the shields at each other in a jeering manner--with a tremulous motion of their elastic ornaments--and to utter a defiant sound like the whinnying of a young horse. This is generally followed by a hearty, good-natured laugh, in which the bystanders join. Another couple then step forward and engage.

Polygamy exists among most of the tribes, and is the great bane of Indian domestic life. Among the Caribs, especially, the woman is always in bondage to her male relations. To her father, brother, or husband she is a slave, and seldom has any power in the disposal of herself. Among the Macusis, the custom of selling even their near relations prevails. When a man dies, his wife and children are at the disposal of his eldest surviving brother, who may sell or kill them at pleasure.

Among their worst features is their proneness to blood revenge, by which, as among other savages, a succession of retaliatory murders is long kept up. They believe also, when a person dies, that his death is caused by the agency of an evil spirit secured by some enemy; and, having settled who that person is, will follow his steps till they find an opportunity of assassinating him. They are acquainted with several poisonous plants, to which they sometimes resort to destroy those whom they consider their enemies.

Although the savage Indian has some idea of the power of God, which he deduces from the phenomena of nature--such as thunder and lightning--and believes in his goodness in supplying him with cassava and other provisions, yet his whole worship is devoted to propitiate the malignant spirits, to avert evil which might otherwise overtake him; while he has great faith in the power of the native sorcerers, who practise on his credulity. The Guaranis are the most renowned as sorcerers. The huts which are set apart for the performance of their superstitious rites are regarded with great veneration. They believe in various spirits--some of the forests and others of the water--as also in the power of charms and potions; while they have numerous legends by which they account for the creation of the world, the deluge, and many natural objects--some of them apparently derived from the Peruvians and Mexicans, and other more civilised races.

The languages spoken by different tribes are very dissimilar, many common objects being called by names which have no approach to each other in sound. This, however, rather proves the length of time they have existed in the country, their isolation from each other, and the admixture which has from time to time taken place, than that they sprang originally from different stocks. The Guarani appears to be the simplest and most easily acquired of any of the languages, and is still spoken as far south as the La Plata, as well as on the banks of the Orinoco. The Arawak language is remarkable for its softness. The Carib tongue, somewhat more guttural than the former, is spoken in a smart, vivacious manner. "Those who speak it in its purity, regard as corrupt the language of those Caribs who elsewhere have intermarried with other races," observes Mr Brett. It may easily be understood how an unwritten tongue can, in the course of ages, be thus totally changed, so as to bear no resemblance to the original language. Although in some there is a wide distinction, there are others in which all the Indian dialects seem to agree. In their method of numeration, especially, the first four numbers are represented by simple words. Although the Indian children learn to read and write with facility, they acquire with difficulty the simplest rudiments of arithmetic. This arises from their general method of numeration--five is represented by one hand; two hands, ten; then they use the toes, and call twenty by the name of "loko," or man. They then proceed by men or scores. Thus forty-five is laboriously expressed by a word signifying two men and one hand upon it. Some of the Indian words are of great length. Among the Arawaks, such words as _lokoborokwatoasia_ (his thought, or remembrance), _rabuintimen-rutibanano_ (eighteen), are continually used. "Notwithstanding these," says Monsieur du Ponceau, "the Indian languages are rich in words and grammatical forms, and in their complicated construction the greatest order, method, and regularity prevail."

 

MOUNDS FULL OF HUMAN REMAINS.

Undoubted proof has been discovered of the cannibal propensities of some large tribe now passed away, in mounds situated on high ground, and in swamps in the neighbourhood of the coast. On opening one of them-- upwards of 20 feet in height and 130 in diameter at its base--it was found to be composed of shells mixed with a large number of broken bones, apparently the relics of meals. The shells were chiefly periwinkles; there were also mussels, the large claws of crabs, the bones of vertebrate fishes and land animals, as well as some hard slabs of pottery resembling the baking-pans used by the wilder tribes at the present day. Among them, the labourers were startled by coming upon human bones, in irregular positions and at unequal depths, huddled and jumbled together. The skulls, some of which were of great thickness, were in fragments. The long bones had all been cracked open, and contained sand and dust. Each mass appeared to have been deposited, without ceremony, in a common heap. Scarcely any were found in natural juxtaposition. Having dug up the bones of several adults, the labourers came upon the remains of a little child; one side of its head had been beaten in, and other bones broken open. With these human relics several stone axes or tomahawks, most of them broken, were dug up; and a sharp-edged stone, which might have been used as a knife. The Indians engaged in the work were very uneasy at having meddled with the human remains, or, as they said, "troubled the bones of the old time people."

Other mounds of similar appearance were opened, and found filled with similar contents. Though some of the long bones had been broken up, in several instances they had not been severed from each other at the large joints, but merely doubled or twisted one upon the other before they were cast aside.

Mr Brett continues: "It was impossible to explain by any supposition of respectful or decent interment the broken condition of these relics, the violence with which they had been treated, or the apparent contumely with which they had been cast into the common receptacle for refuse matter. The great depth at which many of these remains were found, seemed a convincing proof that they had not been deposited after the completion of the shell heap, but during its accumulation. An old Indian with whom I discussed the matter expressed the opinion of his people very plainly: `That,' said he, `is the way in which the nations who used to eat men always broke open the bones to get out the marrow; so our fathers have told us.'" The Caribs anxiously stated that they knew nothing whatever about the mound, and that their fathers had never lived in its neighbourhood. Two other mounds were afterwards discovered; one 250 feet in length and 90 feet in width, and about the same height as the former, and similarly situated. Among the remains were the bones of a man who must have been of large stature and of immense strength. His skull, which was very thick and hard, was found to have been broken in twenty-seven pieces, which all fitted exactly; but when built up, a hole still remained in the right side near the crown, where it would seem the fatal blow--by a pointed stone tomahawk-- had been given. Some of the mounds appeared to be of later formation, and in them fragments of pottery were found, though in the older ones none were discovered. While searching over these fragments, the first personal ornaments yet found were discovered,--two small plates of silver with holes bored in them, by which they must have been suspended from the ears. One had lost a corner; but they had originally been cut or broken to the same size and form, and were evidently a pair. Between them lay a skull, which had been placed by itself, and was the first found unbroken. The ornaments, from their position, seemed to have been detached from the head when deposited there. A few feet from that relic lay the limbs of a female, of slight and delicate form. They were unbroken, and much slighter than any others found there. Between the plates was the fragment of a piece of cotton cord which had attached one of the plates to the ear.

While everything about the relics from the previous mounds indicated the savage condition of the people who formed them, these little silver trinkets, though rude, proved feelings approaching women in a state of civilisation. They, with the unbroken condition and comparative soundness of the bones found near them, bring us nearer our own times. As the state of the remains differed from those of the others, so probably did the period and circumstances of the poor girl's fate; but there is a mystery about it which cannot now be explained. After the mound had been opened, the Indian congregation, neatly dressed, went in procession, with their pastor and teacher, from the chapel to the mound, and collecting round and over it, the various tribes joined in singing the glorious hymn--

"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Doth his successive journey run!"

while the lamb, the dove, and other Christian emblems on the banners borne by the school children, waved over the yawning cavity which had disclosed such relics of barbarous days, indicated a blessed change in the life of that long neglected race. May it be extended over the whole continent!

 

VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.

The trees and animals of Guiana afford a more satisfactory subject for contemplation than the degraded inhabitants. Among them, sin has not entered. They remain in all their perfection and beauty, as they first appeared fresh from the hands of the Creator. A large number are so similar to those found in the Valley of the Amazon, that they need no separate description. In the upper waters of its streams the magnificent Victoria Regia, so long unknown to the eyes of civilised man, was discovered by Schombergh not forty years ago.

Here, too, grows the spotted coryanthes, of the order of the Orchideae-- Coryanthes maculata--hanging from the branches of trees, and suspending in the air the singular lips of its flowers, like fairy buckets, as if for the use of the birds and insects that inhabit the surrounding foliage. In the whole vegetable kingdom a more singular genus than this does not exist, nor one whose flowers are less like flowers to the eye of the ordinary observer. The sepals are of the most delicate texture. When young they spread evenly round the centre, but after a few hours they collapse and assume the appearance of a bat's wing half closed. The lip is furnished near its base with a yellow cup, over which hang two horns constantly distilling water into it, and in such abundance as to fill it several times. This cup communicates by a narrow channel, formed of the inflated margin of the lip, with the upper end of the latter; and this also has a capacious vessel, very much like an old helmet, into which the liquid that the cup cannot contain runs over.

The cockarito-palm--as it is familiarly called here--grows to the height of fifty feet, and produces the most delicate cabbage of the palm species. It is enclosed in a husk in the very heart of the tree, at its summit. This husk is peeled off in strata until the white cabbage appears in long thin flakes--in taste like the kernel of a nut. The inner part is often used as a salad, while the outer is boiled, and considered superior to the European cabbage. Within such cabbages as are in a state of decay, a maggot is found--the larva of a black beetle (urculio), which, growing to the length of four inches, and as thick as a man's thumb, is called "grogro." This creature, disgusting as it is in appearance, when dressed is considered a great delicacy--partaking of the flavour of all the spices of the East.

A curious shrub--if it can be so called--known as the troolies, consists of large leaves twenty feet long and two broad, of a strong texture, and straight fibres growing from a small fibrous root; the leaves rising from the ends of the eight or ten stems which it puts forth. These leaves are employed chiefly for covering the roofs of buildings.

From the silk-cotton-tree, which grows to the height of one hundred feet, and is twelve or fourteen in diameter, the Indians form their largest canoes. The locust-tree grows to the height of seventy feet, and is often nine feet in diameter. The branches, which only begin to spread in the higher part of the tree, are covered with leaves about three inches in length, and of an oval shape and dark green colour. The blossoms, of the papilionaceous or butterfly form, produce a flat pod, shaped like the husk of a broad bean, about four inches long, and of a dark brown colour. When ripe, each pod contains three beans of the same colour, of a farinaceous consistency, and with a pleasant sweetness.

The silk-grass shrub produces a leaf, the inner substance of which consists of a number of small strong white fibres running longitudinally. These the Indians extract by means of a small loop of cord, through which the leaf is drawn with a jerking motion. They are then ready for drying and twisting into cord. They make bow-strings of great elasticity and strength. _

Read next: Part 4: Chapter 3. Central Brazil

Read previous: Part 4: Chapter 1. Northern Regions Of South America

Table of content of Western World Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North & South America


GO TO TOP OF SCREEN

Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book