CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
NAMING OUR VESSEL--SAMBO'S SUGAR MANUFACTORY--THE WONDERFUL COW-TREE--TIM'S "BEAUTIFUL PIG?"--TREED BY PECCARIES--A JAGUAR RENDERS US AVALUABLE SERVICE--PEACH-PALMS--KALLOLO CAPTURES THE CURIOUS JACANA--ALUCKY FIND--IN SEARCH OF TURTLES--GOOD LUCK--LAUNCH OF THE "GOODHOPE"--"FLY! FLY! THE SAVAGES ARE COMING!"--A NARROW ESCAPE--OURVILLAGE SET ON FIRE.
We had a grand discussion one evening as to the name to be bestowed onour new vessel. Various appellations were suggested. Arthur proposedthat she should be called the "Marian;" Tim, who had a voice in thematter, suggested the "Erin."
"The `Fair Maiden' would be a fitting name," said the mate Peter, bowingwith the gallantry of a sailor to my young sister.
"Oh no! pray don't name the vessel after me," exclaimed Marian; "forthough I am obliged to Mr Peter, yet I am sure I am no longer a `fairmaiden.'"
It had never occurred to me to think about the matter; but now, as Ilooked at her sweet countenance, I saw that it was tanned almost to anut-brown hue, and covered over with still darker freckles--the resultof constant exposure to the air and hot sun.
"Now, with all due respect for Miss Marian, I consider that we may finda better name than any hitherto suggested," observed the skipper. "Ipropose that our vessel be called the _Good Hope_. Although not yetfinished, we have `good hope' that she will be; and we have also `goodhope' that, escaping the Spanish cruisers, and storms and rocks andshoals, she will carry us safely to Stabroek. What say you, Mr Paul?"
"The _Good Hope_--the _Good Hope_," said Uncle Paul, repeating the nameseveral times. "I like it. Yes, yes; it is a fitting name--a goodname. Our craft has been the result of faith in One who watches overus--of skill and energy and perseverance; and such must always afford`good hope' of success. What do you say, brother Dennis?"
"I have felt too often that I have bidden farewell to `hope' in any formto venture on selecting such a name; and yet, if you are pleased so tocall our craft, I should be content to embark on board the _Good Hope_;and should she carry us to civilised lands in safety, I might believeonce more that there is hope for me, even in this world," answered myfather.
I had been inclined to agree with Arthur; but as the elders of the partyseemed to consider that the name of _Good Hope_ was the proper one, Ivoted for it, and Marian did likewise. Thus it was settled that ourvessel was to be called the _Good Hope_; and so we ever afterwardsdesignated her.
As she approached completion, the hunters were urged to be diligent inendeavouring to procure the means of provisioning her for the voyage.We at once built two kilns for drying fish and flesh, to assist thepreserving powers of the hot sun. Several large periecus were caught,cut up, and dried in the sun, and then smoked; but though wholesome andnutritious, they were not considered very palatable. As fruits and nutsbecame ripe they were gathered in large quantities, and Marian exertedher skill in drying the former.
"If I had some sugar, I would make a supply of preserves," she observed,as she examined a basket of palm-fruit, and several varieties of plums,which we had brought in. "I often assisted at home, and know perfectlywell how to manage."
I remembered one day having seen some long canes, which I took forordinary reeds, growing among the abundant vegetation. I now tried torecollect whereabouts they were.
"I know," exclaimed Sambo. "They be wild sugar-cane."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Because I suck 'em, and dey berry sweet," he answered, grinning as onlya well-satisfied negro can grin, having, of all the human race, a mouthspecially adapted for the purpose.
"Then do you think you could find them again, Sambo?" I asked.
"Oh yes, massa! I will bring home enough to make sugar for all thepreserves Miss Marian can make."
"But when we have cut the canes, how is the sugar to be manufactured?"I inquired.
"I do dat," he answered. "I 'long on sugar plantation in Jamaica, andknow how to make sugar as well as any nigger slave."
Sambo at once set out, and soon brought back a load of sugar-canes--aconvincing proof that they grew in the neighbourhood. We all triedthem; and for several days each member of our community was to be seenwalking about with a piece of sugar-cane in his mouth. Sambo was aningenious mechanic, and forthwith set to work to construct a sugarmanufactory. It was very simple, consisting of a number of our largestclay pots for boiling the juice, and a long trough with sides, and aboard at each end, slightly inclining towards the pans. Into the troughfitted a huge stone,--a large round boulder, to which ropes wereattached, for hauling it backwards and forwards. The canes being placedin the trough, the heavy weight passing over them pressed out the juice,which ran through holes in the lower end into the bowls. The fuel whichhad previously been placed under the bowls was then lighted. As soon asthe juice became hot, the impure portions rose in the form of scum,which was skimmed off. Sambo had found some lime, with which he formedlime-water to temper the liquor. The boiling process over, the fireswere allowed to go out, and the liquor was then poured out into freshpans, in which it was again gently boiled. It was afterwardstransferred to a number of open wooden boxes, where it was allowed tocool, while the molasses ran off into pans placed beneath them, the partremaining in the boxes being in the form of crystals. Another drainingprocess was then gone through, when really very respectable-lookingsugar was produced.
"It would not fetch anything of a price in the market," observed myfather; "but I have no doubt that Marian will find it good enough topreserve her fruit."
Marian was delighted, and assured Sambo that his sugar would answer verywell indeed. "If we could find some tea-plants, we might have apleasanter beverage for breakfast than either cold water or palm-wine,"observed Marian; "though, to be sure, we should have no milk to mix withit."
"I don't despair of finding that," said Uncle Paul; "indeed, I canpromise to bring you some fresh milk directly you can produce the tea.I only yesterday caught sight of the massaranduba, or cow-tree; and asit is not far off, I will this evening bring you a bowlful of the juice,which, when fresh, you will be unable to distinguish from the finestmilk."
Marian was of course very eager to see this wonderful vegetable milk;and in the evening Uncle Paul set out with a large bowl. Sambo and Iaccompanied him, Sambo carrying an axe. On going some distance throughthe forest, we saw a tree with deeply-scored reddish and rugged bark.
"Surely nothing like white juice can come out of so rough a skin," Iobserved to Uncle Paul.
"Wait till Sambo has put his axe through it.--Cut hereabouts, Sambo," hesaid, pointing to a part of the trunk under which he could hold thebowl.
The black did as directed, and made a deep incision, following it up byother cuts.
"That's enough," exclaimed Uncle Paul; and having, as he spoke, placedthe bowl beneath the cut, there literally gushed forth a stream of thepurest white milk, so rapidly that the bowl was quickly filled. I smeltit and tasted it; and though it might have been said to be a littlecoarse, I certainly should have supposed it to be pure milk. Uncle Paulcautioned us not to drink much, as, swallowed in any considerablequantity, it is looked upon as unwholesome.
We returned with the bowl full, Sambo having carried it on his head.Marian was of course delighted with it, though she could not give ustea. Kallolo had brought her a berry, however, which he assured her wasperfectly wholesome, and which, when pounded and boiled, afforded a fairsubstitute for coffee. I suspect, indeed, that it was wild coffee, andthat the original seed had been brought to the spot by some bird.
We had thus secured a very palatable beverage, and had obtained milk andsugar to mix with it; but my father still had a fancy for procuring tea,or at all events a substitute for it.
"If we find any, it will be a satisfaction when we drink it to rememberthat it is not taxed," he observed, "and that the revenue derived fromit will not be spent in a way over which we have no control."
My poor father was alluding at the time to one of the grievances whichthe American col
onies had already begun to feel very severely. Wehunted in vain, however, for any shrub whose leaves were at all to becompared with those of the tea-tree of China, though we made severaldecoctions which afforded us refreshing beverages.
On the borders of the small lake Kallolo had discovered a large quantityof wild rice, on which numberless waterfowl fed. We collected an amplesupply of the seed, and found it very useful in lieu of otherfarinaceous food. After it had been well stewed, it assisted tofricassee macaws, parrots, and monkeys, which formed our staple diet.We had long got over anything like squeamishness as to what we ate; andit was evident that our food agreed with us, for we were all as fat andstrong as we could desire--indeed, accustomed as we had become to thelife we were leading, no one complained of hardships or scanty fare. Wecertainly had to work for our subsistence, and the food did not exactlydrop into our mouths; but we were sure to get it by exerting ourselves.
We caught two more tapirs in our pitfall; but being older than thefirst, they showed no inclination to become domesticated, so we werecompelled to kill them, and to cut up and dry their flesh--which, thoughrather tough, was not otherwise unpalatable. Notwithstanding thequantity around him, Tim often sighed for a good fat pig.
"Sure, there's nothing like pork after all; and I wish we could have twoor three fat grunters to keep happy and contented in the corner of ourhut, just as they may be seen in many cabins in the `ould country,'" heexclaimed one day. "They would remind us of home more than anythingelse."
I recollected Tim's remark when, shortly afterwards, he came rushingin from the direction of our pitfall, exclaiming as heapproached,--"Hurrah! hurrah!--a real `beautiful pig' has been caught;but the baste looked as if his mind was so ill at ease, that I thoughtit prudent not to slip down and help him out; so, if anyone will comeand assist me, sure we'll soon make the beginning of a piggery."
Uncle Paul, Sambo, and I, carrying some rope between us, hastened off toget out the pig. On reaching the pitfall, Uncle Paul, looking down,exclaimed,--"It was well, Tim, that you did not jump in to help out yourfriend. Just see his mouth!" And poking the end of his stick in frontof the creature's nose, it exhibited a pair of tusks sharp as lancets."It is a pig, certainly, but very unlike the pig of northern lands," heobserved. "This creature is a peccary; and though it is of no greatsize, it is one of the most savage little animals in existence. A herdof them will run down a jaguar; and though he may slay a few with hispaws, they will soon worry him to death with their sharp tusks, havingnothing like fear in their composition. We will take the precaution ofsecuring it before we haul it out, or it will be sure to do some of usan injury."
A noose having been formed, it was slipped over the peccary's head, andthe animal was hauled-out and quickly despatched. Uncle Paul thenshowed us a gland on the hinder part of the back, which he carefully cutout, remarking that unless this was done it would impart a disagreeableflavour to the rest of the meat. Tim and Sambo, after having secured itto the end of a long stick, carried it in triumph to the settlement. Wefound the meat excellent; and what we could not eat was smoked and laidby for the voyage.
Tim was still dissatisfied at not being able to tame a few peccaries tokeep in his hut. He had sallied forth at daybreak one morning, bow inhand, in search of game, promising to be back at breakfast. Whenbreakfast-time came, however, Tim did not appear. Arthur and I waitedfor an hour or more, till we became somewhat anxious about our faithfulfollower, and at last determined to go in search of him. We had notedthe direction he had taken, and hoped, therefore, to get upon his track.We first visited the pitfall. It was empty; but we caught sight ofsome recently broken twigs some way beyond, which showed that he hadgone further. On we went, therefore, shooting several birds which camein our way.
We were pushing on, when we heard a voice which we knew to be Tim'sshouting out, "Up a tree! up a tree, gentlemen--for your lives!" Welooked round. Fortunately one was near, the branches of which enabledus, without difficulty, to climb up it. At that instant we caught sightof several dozen black-skinned creatures rushing towards us. Up thetree we sprang; and scarcely had we got a few feet from the ground whena whole herd of peccaries came rushing towards us, ploughing up theground with their tusks, and exhibiting other signs of rage.
No sooner had we seated ourselves on a bough than we made out Tim alittle way off, perched in the same manner upon another tree. It waspretty clear that he had been besieged by the herd, as we now were.
We shouted to him, inquiring how long he had been there.
"For the last two hours or more," was his answer. "I was just walkingthrough the forest on my way home when these terrible little bastescaught sight of me; and if I had not sprung up this tree like lightning,they would have dug their sharp tusks into my legs. Though I have shotevery arrow I had at my back, and have killed half a score of them,nothing I could do would make them go away; and by my faith, too, thebrutes seem determined to starve us out."
This was not pleasant, as we might expect to be treed in the samemanner. We determined, however, to do what we could to put thepeccaries to flight, and began shooting away; taking good aim, that wemight not uselessly expend our arrows. The little brutes kept rushingabout below us, now and then charging against the trunk of the tree, andthen looking up at us with their wicked eyes, evidently wishing that wemight slip and tumble down among them.
"A pretty condition we should be in if we did so," I remarked to Arthur.
"Take care what you are about, then," he answered. "Keep your feetfirmly fixed on the branch below you before you shoot."
We were standing up on one branch, leaning against another some wayabove it,--a good situation for our purpose. We had killed nearly adozen peccaries; still the animals seemed totally to disregard thefalling of their companions, and rushed about as fiercely as at first.We at length began to fear that they would remain till we were starved,for we had already expended the greater number of our arrows. Arthur atlast advised that we should stop shooting, in the hope that, from somecause or other, the peccaries would raise the siege and take theirdeparture. "Even could we cut up the slaughtered animals, we could notcarry home a quarter of them, and it is evidently useless to shoot moreof them," he observed.
Arthur had turned round to speak to Tim, when I heard him whisper, "See,see! look at that creature!" Casting my eyes in the direction in whichhe pointed, I beheld a large jaguar stealing cautiously along towardsone of the peccaries which lay wounded on the ground. We kept perfectlysilent, as we hoped the jaguar would not only carry off the dyingpeccary, but a few of its living companions. The loud squeaks which thepoor wounded peccary set up on finding itself in the claws of the savagejaguar, attracted the attention of the whole herd; but instead ofrunning away, they rushed simultaneously towards him. He saw themcoming, and lifting his victim in his jaws, he bounded off. They werenot, however, to be disappointed of their revenge, and away they allstarted in chase. We watched them with no small interest, expecting,however, that when they found they could not overtake the jaguar theywould quickly return and again lay siege to us. Greatly to oursatisfaction, however, on they went.
"Now is our time; let us run for it!" exclaimed Arthur, shouting to Tim,who speedily descended from the tree.
"Sure, you would not be after leaving such a fine supply of good pork,"said Tim, drawing his knife. "If the peccaries come back, we must justslip up our trees again; and as for the jaguar, there's little chance ofhis showing his nose here, for the brutes will soon kill him, if he hasnot got a fast pair of heels of his own."
As there appeared little probability of the peccaries returning, wefollowed Tim's advice, and began cutting up the animals, so as to securethe best joints from each. We soon had three as heavy loads of meat aswe could carry; and placing them on our shoulders, we set off towardsthe settlement looking back, every now and then to ascertain if we werefollowed.
We hastened along as fast as we could, as we wished not only to escapefrom the living peccaries, but to bring
our friends to carry off afurther supply of the slaughtered meat. From some cause or other wewere not pursued, and arrived safely at the settlement. Our friendsimmediately armed themselves with bows and arrows and spears, and gotready to return with us. Kallolo merely took his blowpipe; and giving apeculiar smile, he observed,--"If the creatures will kindly come nearme, I will take good care that not one of them gets away." However, onreaching the spot where we had left the slaughtered peccaries no livingones were to be seen, nor did it appear that the jaguar had come backfor any of them; so we concluded that he had either been killed, thatthe savage little brutes had driven him to a distance, or that he hadcrossed a piece of water, into which they themselves will neverwillingly enter. Several vultures and eagles had, however, collected toenjoy the feast we had prepared for them, while two armadillos andnumerous insects had already attacked the carcasses. We found thatseveral of those we had last killed were untouched, and each of us wasable to carry back a heavy load of joints, to turn into hams and baconin our smoking-house.
We had now, we found after taking stock of our provisions, a supplysufficient to last for our voyage to Stabroek, even though it mightprove longer than we calculated on. We had jars of clay and cuja-nutsto carry our stock of water, of which we did not require much, as weshould not be compelled to use it till we got out of the river. As theearthen jars, however, were liable to be broken, Uncle Paul determinedto manufacture a number of indiarubber bottles. They might possiblyimpart an unpleasant odour to the water, but would not render itunwholesome; and this supply would serve in case the rest should beexhausted. For this purpose he made a number of clay moulds, with roundsticks for the mouths, and baked them slightly. He then covered themoulds to a sufficient thickness with the seringa juice, and dried themin the smoke as our shoes had been. The moulds were easily broken; andthe pieces being taken out, the indiarubber bottles were completed, onlyrequiring corks and pieces of string to make them suitable for ourobject. We were thus supplied with the chief means of supportingexistence during our voyage. We had dried fish and flesh, nuts andpreserved fruit, rice and the farinaceous produce of the palm-tree. Wewere more indebted to various species of palm than to any other tree,both for fruit, and flour to supply the place of wheat.
In a spot once apparently inhabited by Indians, but long sinceabandoned, were several peach-palms,--tall and elegant trees, which roseto the height of sixty feet, and were perfectly straight. Each treebore several bunches of fruit, a single bunch being as much as thestrongest of our party could carry. The fruit takes its name from thecolour of the peach, not from its flavour or nature, for it is dry andmealy, and we agreed, when tasting it, that it was like a mixture ofchestnuts and cheese. On boiling the fruit it became nearly as mealy asa potato. Each fruit was about the size of a large peach. We found itvery nutritious; and eight or ten were as much as one of us could eat ata meal. The appearance of the tree is very beautiful, owing to the richcolour of the foliage. The leaves are green, evenly arched over andforming a deep green vault, with the heavy clusters of ripe red fruithanging beneath it. We were attracted to the spot by seeing numerousvultures hovering over it; and on reaching the tree we found that theyhad come not to devour a carcass beneath, as we had supposed, but tofeed on the fruit.
Another palm, the assai, afforded us an abundance of berries, about thesize of a cranberry, and of a dark brown colour. From it wemanufactured a refreshing beverage. The trunk is perfectly smooth, andthe fruit grows in heavy clusters just below the long leaves which crownits summit. At first we thought it would be impossible to reach them,but Maco showed us how they were to be obtained. Binding his feettogether by a strip of palm-leaves above his instep, he pressed hisknees against the trunk, and quickly ascended the polished stem, till hereached the fruit at the summit.
Although we could generally obtain as much game as we required in theimmediate neighbourhood of the settlement, we occasionally made longexcursions, for the purpose of seeking for a variety. I had one dayaccompanied Kallolo further to the north, along the shore of the lake,than we had hitherto gone. As we were pushing our way through theforest, we unexpectedly came upon the shores of a small lake, united, aswe afterwards discovered, with several other lakes of a similar size andappearance. As we stood there, concealed by the trees which thicklycovered its banks, Kallolo whispered to me, "Don't move or make theslightest sound, and we will quickly capture a bird which will be highlyprized by our friends." He pointed, as he spoke, to the water, on whichI observed a number of enormous circular leaves floating, like vastdishes, their edges turned up all round, and with beautiful flowersrising amidst them. But what was more surprising than the leaves, wasto see a large bird with long legs calmly walking over them, and, as faras I could judge, scarcely making them sink in the slightest degree inthe water.
Kallolo, telling me to remain quiet, threw off his clothes, and havingcovered his head with a bunch of grass which he hastily plucked from thebank, he made his way amid the water towards the bird; which, standingon a leaf, was engaged in picking up aquatic insects floating by, anduttering a low-sounding "cluck, cluck" at short intervals. When thebird turned towards Kallolo, he immediately stopped; then on he wentagain, till he got close behind it, when, suddenly darting out his hand,he seized it by its long legs and drew it quickly under water.
The bird struggled in vain to free itself, and Kallolo brought it to mein triumph. It was, he told me, called the oven-bird, because it walksover those enormous leaves shaped like the pans used for baking themandioca. I at once recognised it as the jacana. It had black plumage,with a greenish gloss; its legs were very long and slight, as were itstoes and claws, especially the hind toe. The body, though it appearedlarge, was of a singularly light construction, so that it weighs butlittle when pressing on the floating leaves. Indeed, on measuring it wefound that it was about ten inches long; the beak, of an orange colour,being upwards of an inch in length. We carried home our captive; butthough we were anxious to keep it and tame it, it died in a few days,probably from being unable to obtain the food to which it wasaccustomed.
The day after this adventure I was in the woods, when I saw the grassclose to me move; I started back, supposing that a serpent was crossingmy path, and might spring on me. I stood prepared with my stick tostrike it without any sensation of fear; indeed, no snakes need bedreaded by persons of good nerve and correct eye, if seen in time. Iwatched the spot, when, instead of a snake, a land-tortoise camecreeping along. I immediately pounced upon it, and carried it off. Itweighed, I judged, about twenty pounds.
Sambo was well-pleased at seeing it. "This is better food than any wehave yet found!" he exclaimed. "If we can catch a few more, we shallhave enough fresh provisions during the voyage, for they will live along time without eating."
As it was possible that more might be found in the same spot, Sambo andMaco set off with me to hunt for them. We were more successful than weexpected, for we had fallen, it appeared, on a colony of the creatures;and in a short time we captured six, of about the same size as thefirst. Maco said that, as they seldom move far from home, we shouldprobably catch many more.
We returned home with a tortoise under each arm; and we had now toconsider how they were to be kept. They would not remain quietly ontheir backs, as turtle are wont to do; for immediately they were put inthat position they managed to turn over, and began to crawl away. Itwas therefore settled that we should build a pen in which to confinethem till we were ready to sail.
We set to work at once, having in the meantime secured ropes round theirbodies, and tethered them to sticks; and before night we had put up apen of sufficient size to contain as many as we were likely to catch.As they cannot climb, the palings were of no great height; while, as thecreatures require a good-sized hole to get through, we were able to putthe stakes some distance apart. We at once turned in our tortoises, andgave them various fruits, all of which they ate willingly.
The tortoises made us think of turtle. Though turtle
flesh is notconsidered by many people to equal that of the tortoise, it was verydesirable that we should obtain some, as they also can be preserved along time on board ship.
It was now about the time when they come on shore to lay their eggs, sowe agreed to make an excursion along the borders of the lake, in thehope of finding some sandy beach which they might have chosen for thatobject. As it was a matter of importance, Uncle Paul determined to gohimself on the smaller raft, taking Sambo, Kallolo, and me with him. Westarted at daybreak, provisioned for three days; but as Kallolo carriedhis blowpipe, and we our bows and arrows, with our long pointed sticksfor spears, and some fishing-lines, we could obtain more food should werequire it.
We kept along the western shore of the lake towards the north, passingon our way several inlets, which led, we had no doubt, to other lakes inthe interior, similar to the one in which we had caught the jacana.After we had gone some distance, no sandy beach appearing in whichturtle were likely to lay their eggs, we began to despair of obtainingour object. Still Uncle Paul determined to go further. He expressedhis regret that we had not built a canoe in the first instance. Wemight then have navigated the shores of the lake to a considerabledistance; and it would also have served us far better than the raft forfishing. However, as it would have occupied not only our time, butengaged the tools which were required for building the vessel, it hadnot been considered advisable to attempt the construction of one.
The wind being from the south, we glided calmly on before it.Sometimes, when the wind was fresh, we made good way; at others, when itfell, we had again to take to our paddles.
We were thus moving forward, when Kallolo espied an object floating onthe surface of the water. "Paddle slowly!" he said; "and make as littlenoise as possible. There is a sleeping turtle; and though we cannotcatch it alive, we will have it notwithstanding." Saying this, he gothis bow ready, with one of several large arrows which he had formedfixed in it. We had cautiously approached; when, standing up, he shothis arrow into the air, which formed a curve and came downperpendicularly on the shell of the turtle.
"Paddle up rapidly!" he exclaimed. We did as he directed, but just aswe got near it the turtle disappeared beneath the surface. The shaft ofthe arrow, however, remaining above it, Kallolo sprang into the waterand caught it just as it was sinking, and towed it alongside. Passing arope round the body of the turtle, we next hauled it on board, whenKallolo, breaking off the shaft, turned the animal on its back. It wasalive, but from the weak way in which it moved its legs it was evidentthat life was ebbing fast. We should, at all events, not returnempty-handed.
We were at last thinking of putting about, when Uncle Paul, who wastaking another look along the shore, announced that he saw just such abeach as we were in search of. We at once with renewed vigour paddledtowards it, and as we drew nearer he declared his belief that we shouldfind it frequented by turtle. Instead of landing on the beach, however,we paddled in on one side, and there saw an open space which wouldafford us camping-ground. As turtles are timid creatures, and will notlay their eggs on ground disturbed by the footsteps of their human orother foes, it was important not to walk over the ground until they hadcome on shore. This they do during the night, though they do not returnto the water till after sunrise.
We built a hut of boughs, and lighting a fire, cooked our provisions;then, having eaten our supper, we lay down to rest, one of us keepingwatch while the rest slept.
Uncle Paul, who had chosen the morning watch, called us just beforedaylight. We made our way along the shore, cautiously approaching thebeach, on which, to our infinite satisfaction, we saw a number of darkobjects crawling slowly along. We now hurried forward--Uncle Paul andKallolo taking one side, Tim and I the other--and were soon among theturtle, which, with all the strength we could exert, we rapidly turnedover on their backs. On seeing us, the creatures began to crawl awaytowards the water; but we were too quick for many of them, and in ashort time had, between us, turned over twenty.
There they lay, utterly helpless and at our mercy. But what to do withthem, was the first question. We could not carry them all on the raft,and if we left them, they would certainly become the prey of jaguars oralligators, and probably vultures and eagles. Indeed, the poor turtlefinds, from its birth to the day of its death, innumerable enemies readyto prey on it. I, as a joke, recommended harnessing them, and lettingthem tow us; but Sambo observed gravely that, as we could not guidethem, they were very likely to carry us off in exactly the oppositedirection to that we wished to go.
As the raft, we calculated, could only carry six, we at last determinedto build a pen in which to leave them, on their backs, and to cover itover with boughs, so as to protect them from the attacks of any of thefoes I have mentioned. As it was only necessary to cut sticks for thepurpose four or five feet long, we soon had enough prepared, with anumber of the heaviest boughs we could manage to bring to the spot. Wethen dragged our captives to the pen, and covered them up. People ingeneral do not take this precaution, but then they always leave some oneto watch the turned turtles till they can carry them away.
Placing the others on the raft, in high spirits we commenced our returnvoyage. We met with no accident by the way, and, of course, wereheartily welcomed.
While we set off again, the rest of the party commenced building a penon the shore of the lake, by driving in sticks, so as to enclose asemicircular piece of water, in which the turtles might live at theirease. And on this occasion we carried with us a number of baskets, tofill with turtles' eggs.
On reaching the spot where we had left our turtles, we found that ourprecautions had not been in vain. An alligator had apparently poked hisnose against the sticks, but had been unable to uproot them; and one ormore jaguars had certainly visited the spot, but had not succeeded inbreaking through the thick roof. During the previous night more turtlehad, we found, visited the spot, and we very speedily filled our basketswith eggs.
We had also brought with us a large trough and several clay jars. Webroke a considerable number of eggs into the trough, filling it to thebrim. In a short time a rich oil rose to the surface. This we skimmedoff and put into the jars; repeating the process till all our jars werefull. We had thus a good supply of excellent oil, for any purpose forwhich it might be required. Then, somewhat heavily laden, we returnedhomewards.
"Well done, my friends! you have amply provisioned the _Good Hope_; and,please Heaven, we will in a few days get her off the stocks and readyfor rigging!" exclaimed the skipper. "That will not take long; and wemay then, before the rain sets in, bid farewell to this place, which weshall ever remember with affection for the happy home it has afforded usfor so many months."
We were now more busy than ever. The last planks were put on. Ourcraft was completely decked over, and a cabin raised in the afterpartfor Marian and my father. We had manufactured an ample supply ofsailcloth, which, with the addition of the sail saved from the oldcraft, would be sufficient. Cordage and blocks had been made, and themasts and spars were already put up. The fibres of several plantsserved as oakum for caulking the planks; and two or three resinous treesafforded pitch for the seams, as also for paying over the outside. Aswe had no paint, the interior was covered over with a varnish whichquickly became hard.
The day for the launch was at last fixed. We had no gay-coloured flags,but Sambo had preserved a red handkerchief, which was hoisted to thehead of the mainmast, and waved proudly in the breeze. The sky wasbright, the wind light and balmy. The shores were then knocked away;and, with loud cheers, and prayers that the _Good Hope_ might have aprosperous voyage, we saw her glide gently into the waters of the lake,on which she sat, as Peter observed, like a wild duck ready to takewing. We had formed a rough pier with the trunks of two large trees,alongside of which she was hauled, for the greater facility of carryingher rigging and spars aboard. The rafts were drawn up on the other sidefor the same purpose--the last service they were likely to render us.
Though we had an ab
undance of substantial provisions, we required forour daily wants a supply of fruit and vegetables, as also some wildfowland other birds. For the purpose of obtaining them, Kallolo and I setout one morning, each of us carrying a large basket on our back; he withhis blowpipe in his hand, and I with my bow in mine, and our pointedsticks, without which we never went out. We took the way towards thesmall lakes, where we were certain to find birds, and probably a varietyof fruits, as so bountifully is that land supplied by nature, that somefruits are found in perfection all the year round, though we had to gofurther than usual to obtain them.
We reached the lake where Kallolo had caught the jacana; and skirtingits shore, we passed along a narrow causeway which separated it fromanother lake of smaller dimensions. We were still proceeding, whenKallolo stopped me, and pointed to a thin column of smoke which arose atsome distance, apparently from a fire kindled close to the shore.
"There must be natives there," he whispered; "but whether they arelikely to prove friends or foes, I cannot say till I have got a sight ofthem. Stop here while I wade into the lake; I see by the character ofthe water-plants that it is shallow, and by keeping behind the bushes Imay observe them without being seen myself."
He did as he proposed, and, while I remained hidden behind the bushes,made his way, now swimming, now wading, towards the opening where he hadseen the smoke. I watched him anxiously. He stopped, at length,resting his hand on a fallen trunk, and looking out eagerly before him;while I kept an arrow fixed in my bow, ready to shoot should thestrangers discover him. Slowly sinking down, so as the more effectuallyto conceal himself, he made his way towards where I anxiously awaitedhis return. I saw by the caution he used that he was not satisfied.
"We must hurry away from hence," he whispered. "I saw a large number ofpeople; and, from their paint and the weapons they carry, I have nodoubt that they are out on a warlike expedition. They probably are notaware that we are in the neighbourhood, and they may pass by withoutdiscovering us; but if they do so, and find how few we are in number,they may be tempted to attack us, under the belief that we possess sucharticles as they value."
Kallolo said this as we hurried away. We were soon out of sight of thestrangers, but he considered it imprudent to remain in their vicinity;and although we had collected only a portion of the fruit for which wehad come, and killed but a few birds, we hurried back to the village.
The account we gave made everyone more anxious than ever to get thevessel ready for sea without delay, so that, should the natives attackus, we might, as we had no adequate means of defence, hurry on board andpush off into the lake, even though the rigging of the craft was notcomplete. All hands therefore worked away till darkness put an end toour labours. Kallolo and Maco then volunteered to go out as scouts, toascertain if the strangers were approaching, that we might not be takenby surprise.
The night, however, passed away as usual; and next morning, as soon asdaylight returned we were all on foot--the seamen of the party engagedin rigging the vessel, while the rest of us carried provisions on board.Marian took her share in all our labours, as she had done inmanufacturing the sails, the matting for making the baskets, and eventhe ropes, and in preparing the provisions. We were all, indeed, asbusy as ants, going backwards and forwards from the storehouse to thevessel. The last of the provisions carried on board were the turtlesand tortoises. The former were laid on their backs on deck, coveredwith a piece of matting; and the latter were shut up in a box formed forthem in the hold.
Another day came to an end, and the Indians, as before, went out to actthe part of scouts. On their return they brought the intelligence thatthe strangers had kept on the other side of the lake, and would, theysupposed, pass at a distance from the settlement. However, as we couldnot be certain that this would be the case, it was agreed that it wouldbe wise to keep a sharp lookout as long as we remained on shore.
We had now only to bend the sails. All who were required were engagedin the work, while the rest were employed in conveying on board the lastremaining articles. Polo, who, never having been at sea, was the leasthandy on board, had gone a short distance from the huts to shoot someparrots from a flock which frequented the neighbourhood, and which hadalready supplied us with several of their number. They were to becooked, with the flesh of one of the turtles, before we embarked, as ourculinary appliances on board were limited. We had contrived a stovemade of clay, but, as it was of small dimensions, it would only servefor boiling our kettle and preparing small dishes. I was assistingMarian to pack up some food for her favourites, which were standingaround her: the ara parrot perched on her shoulder, the curassow runninground and picking up the grain which I let drop, while Quacko was seatedon the roof of her hut, munching a nut. My father and Arthur wereengaged in some other way; and Tim had just got a load on his shoulders,when, hearing a shout, we looked round and saw Polo running at fullspeed towards us.
"Fly! fly! Hasten, my masters; escape for your lives!" he exclaimed ineager tones. "The enemy have caught sight of me, and are following.There are hundreds of them; and they will destroy us all, if they catchus!"
Though I was at first inclined to believe that there could scarcely beso much cause for Polo's alarm, yet I saw that my father and Arthurconsidered the matter in a serious light.
"Guy, my boy, go at once on board with Marian. Arthur and I willfollow," cried my father.
Captain van Dunk, hearing Polo's shouts, inquired what was the matter.Polo repeated what he had said to us. "We will shove off at once,then," exclaimed the skipper. "If the people approaching provefriendly, we can return and get whatever remains. As prudent people, weshould not longer delay."
I took Marian's hand, and followed by our feathered pets and a couple ofyoung monkeys in addition to Quacko, we hastened along the stage to the_Good Hope_. Having seen her safe on board, I was about to return andassist in bringing the few things which remained, when I caught sight ofa number of dusky forms in the distance, a bristling array of bows andspears being visible above their heads. The captain shouted to myfather and the rest to hasten their steps, while those on board got outsome long poles prepared for impelling the vessel when in shallow water.
The shouts of the savages rang through the forest. It was very evidentthat we had been discovered, and that they intended to attack us. Myfather and Arthur came hurrying to the beach; Maco came next, bearing aload; and Tim, who seemed to consider it a duty to remain till the lastfor the defence of his master, brought up the rear. There was no timeto be lost. The captain and Peter stretched out their hands to helpthem on board; and no sooner had Tim leaped on the deck than the lastwarp was cast off, and the _Good Hope_ began to move into deep water.At that moment our poor tapir, which had been feeding at a safedistance, came trotting down to the beach. He could not under anycircumstances have been taken on board, as from his bulk and weight hewould have been too much in the way; but we were very sorry to leave himbehind, especially when we saw him wading into the lake till his headalone appeared above water.
Our attention, however, was occupied in watching the savages, who now,in overwhelming numbers, came rushing into the midst of our littlevillage. On finding that we had escaped, they hurried down to thebeach, uttering loud shrieks and cries, and ordering us to return; whilesome, drawing their bows, shot their arrows towards us. This, ofcourse, increased our anxiety to escape from them; so the oars were gotout and we pulled lustily away, till a light breeze getting up, wehoisted our sail, and the _Good Hope_ began to glide rapidly across thesmooth waters of the lake.
On looking back we saw the natives shooting their arrows towards us, andfrantically waving their spears; while behind them rose a volume ofsmoke above the bright flames which were consuming our little village.I could not help fearing that they had vented their rage on the poortapir, which could scarcely have had time to regain the shore beforethey reached it. Our huts, too, must have been completely consumed; butas we stood across the lake a point of land shut out for ever our litt
lesettlement from our eyes.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
OUR PETS--THE GALE--THE SKIPPER'S VEXATION--ALARMING INTELLIGENCE--THECHASE--OUR PURSUERS ON SHORE--WE REACH STABROEK--WELCOME INTELLIGENCE--OUR RETURN TO TRINIDAD--MY FATHER'S DEATH--CONCLUSION.
We glided slowly across the lake during the night, and at early dawncame in sight of the entrance of a broad passage, which our good captainbelieved would lead us through a chain of lakes into the river by whichwe had come. The wind favoured us, and either the captain or his matewere continually sounding with long poles, to avoid the risk of runningon any hidden sandbank which might lie in our course.
The appearance of the banks was greatly changed: long grass and shrubsgrew on spots before concealed by water; small islands covered withvegetation were seen where we had supposed no land existed. Navigation,therefore, was extremely difficult, and the greatest caution wasnecessary to escape running on shore. Still, the depth of water wasconsiderable, so that we had no fear of being stopped by impassablesandbanks or shoals. In several places which had before been overspreadby the water we saw native huts, with the inhabitants--who gazed at uswith astonishment as we passed--collected round them. Some followed usin canoes, but ignorant that we were not possessed of firearms, theykept at a distance. Occasionally a few Indians came off to trade,bringing tortoises and fruit; but as we would not allow them on board,they did not discover our defenceless condition; and we took good careto hide our bows and arrows, which would have made them suspect that wehad no firearms.
We were somewhat closely packed on board the little vessel, what withtwelve human beings, three monkeys, the curassow, the macaw, two parrotsand three parakeets--one with a yellow top-knot, who, from his manners,showed that he considered himself the chief of the party, and deservingof the most attention; then there were ten turtles and a number oftortoises. The turtles, however, were stowed in the hold, and served asballast. Quacko and the parrots afforded us constant amusement. Theformer generally took up his seat on the roof of the cabin, in front ofthe parrots, whose perches were fixed upon it. Arthur, Marian, and Itook infinite pains to improve their manners and teach them all sort oftricks, so that they might be fit, as Marian observed, to appear incivilised society.
Though we had been very happy during our long sojourn in the wilds ofthe Orinoco, the elders of the party especially looked forward withsatisfaction to reaching a place where we could live without fear ofattack from savages, anacondas, or wild beasts, and where we could hearwhat was going on in the world. Marian and I agreed, however, that weshould have been very happy to have remained on at our settlement aslong as our friends liked to stay.
We now and then, I must confess, had some difficulty in keeping our petsin order. They had got on very well on shore, but in the close contactto which they were subjected on board their tempers were somewhat tried,and Uncle Paul suggested that we should take immediate steps for thesetting up of family government. Jack, the macaw, though he had beenplaced on the highest perch as a post of honour, was continuallyclimbing down to quarrel with the parrots, and creating a fearful hubbubwith his hoarse screaming; while the parrots fought desperately overtheir food. One day they and the macaw, while wrangling together, inthe blindness of their anger tumbled overboard; and had not Sambo jumpedinto the water and hauled them out, they would have all three beendrowned, or fallen into the maw of some ravenous alligator. Theparakeets were as quarrelsome as their larger brethren--yellow-topconsidered himself quite as good as a dozen green ones; while they, withtheir loud screeches, created such a disturbance that the skippersometimes threatened to send them on shore, where they might settletheir disputes by themselves. Sometimes the three parakeets would bandtogether, and trotting up and down would insult the parrots. When aflock of their relatives passed over the vessel, the whole featheredcommunity would set up so terrific a scream, that it might have beenheard by every bird within the circuit of a mile. The curassow was thebest behaved of the party. When her meals were over she would sit forhours together at Marian's feet, who was diligently endeavouring torepair some of her worn-out garments, so as to appear respectable on herarrival. Crass made herself very useful, also, in eating up the fliesand other insects which came on board.
At length we reached the main stream of the Orinoco, down which weglided rapidly with the current. We were not, however, destined toperform our voyage without further adventures. The weather, hithertofine, suddenly changed, and a strong wind got up, which blew in ourteeth. It increased to a gale, which sorely tried the little craft, andthreatened to tear our sails into ribbons. Happily a deep bay, or themouth of a river or igarape, appeared on our starboard hand; and runninginto it, we found shelter beneath a lofty bank, where there was deepwater close to the shore. Recollecting our former escape, we could nothelp fearing that, should the wind change, we might meet with a similaraccident. We had, I should have said, an anchor made of very heavy,hard wood, weighted with stones bound on by stout ropes. It was, as maybe supposed, an unwieldy and ugly affair; and, as we could not havecarried another, we had to be very careful not to lose it.
The wind howled and the tall trees waved above our heads, but we laysecure; the only risk being from some giant of the forest, which,uprooted, might come crashing down upon our deck, or from some big limbtorn off. But as there was not much probability of such an occurrence,we remained where we were, hoping that it might not happen. As the galegave no signs of abating, our three Indians swam on shore, Kallolo withhis blowpipe, and the other two with their bows, to kill some game.After safely landing, they were soon lost to sight amid the trees.
The skipper would allow no one else to go. "It will not be wise to beleft shorthanded, in case anything should happen," he observed. "Weknow not what may occur."
As we saw no signs of inhabitants, we did not expect to be visitedeither by friends or foes; still, had the latter appeared, they mighthave been tempted to come on board from seeing but few people on thevessel's deck.
Night came on, and the Indians not having returned, we began at lengthto grow anxious about them. The gale had not abated, and we thoughtthat, knowing we should not move, they had been induced to go furtherthan they had intended. They would not desert us--of that we were verysure; indeed, both Kallolo and Maco had their families residing in theneighbourhood of Stabroek, and were anxious to return to them. Half ofour party kept watch at night, while the rest lay down, ready to startup in a moment.
Towards morning the wind began to decrease, and the skipper did notconceal his vexation at the non-appearance of the Indians. "If the windbecomes fair, we must sail and leave them behind," he exclaimed. "Theyought to have known better than to go so far away."
Uncle Paul, however, tried to excuse them, and expressed his belief thatthey would not intentionally have delayed returning. "The wind has notyet gone down or changed," he said; "and as we cannot possibly sail,Kallolo, who knows this, sees that it is not absolutely necessary toreturn. Let us wait patiently; they will come back before long."
The sun arose; the clouds dispersed, but still the wind blew against us.After an hour or more had passed, however, on looking out we perceivedthat the tree-tops no longer waved; and on glancing across the river wefound that its surface, hitherto broken into foaming waves, had becomeperfectly calm.
"The wind is about to change, and we ought to have been out of thisplace," exclaimed the skipper. "We must get up the anchor and row offinto the channel. The fellows will have a longer swim, that's all."
"You would not desert them, surely," said Uncle Paul.
"Well, I should be sorry to do so. We will wait a bit, and see if theycome. I hope nothing has happened to the poor men," said thekind-hearted skipper, who had never really intended to leave the Indiansbehind, and whose anger had now given way to anxiety on their account.He even proposed sending Sambo on shore to try and discover what hadbecome of them; but Uncle Paul dissuaded him from this, as, had theybeen taken prisoners, or got into any other difficulty, th
e black wouldrun a great risk of sharing their fate. Still we delayed. At last theskipper, with a sigh, exclaimed, "We must get up the anchor, Peter; thepoor fellows would have come back before this if they were coming atall."
Uncle Paul no longer made any objections. We shortened in the cable,but it required all our strength to haul up the ponderous anchor. Wehad managed to lift it out of its oozy bed, when we heard a shout, andlooking up we saw the three natives rushing through the forest. Withoutstopping for a moment they dashed into the water. As they swam off theycalled out to us to heave them ropes. They were quickly alongside; andeven before they had scrambled on board Kallolo cried out, "Get underway! get under way! No time to be lost!"
"That's just what we were about to do," said the skipper; "but why,after keeping us so long, are you in so great a hurry?"
"We could not help the delay; but there's no time to be lost. We willtell you all about it presently. Get under way! get under way!"repeated Kallolo.
As he spoke, he and his companions sprang forward to assist in hoistingup and securing the anchor. The oars were then got out, and thevessel's head was so directed that she might get round the point of landwhich had served to shelter us. The sails were in the meantime loosed,so as to sheet home as soon as they filled. Kallolo and the otherIndians were pulling so lustily at the oars, that they had no time totell us what had happened; but I saw them looking anxiously up theriver.
As we got out into the stream, clear of the long point which hadhitherto concealed the upper part of the river from our view, we saw alarge vessel under all sail standing down towards us. Her appearancewas sufficient to account for their alarm. There could be no doubt thatshe was Spanish, and that, should she overtake us, we should be capturedand carried to their settlement of Angostura; where we should certainlybe thrown into prison, and very probably lose our lives. As might besupposed, we all pulled away with redoubled efforts, till we made thelong oars crack. Fortunately the Spaniard had but little wind, and wewere well able to keep ahead of her; but should a breeze come she wouldprobably get it first, and bring it up with her, and too probablyovertake us.
"Courage, my friends! courage!" exclaimed the brave skipper. "The _GoodHope_ is not captured yet. She will prove no laggard, depend on that,and may have as fast a pair of heels as our enemy."
We turned our eyes anxiously at the vessel astern. It was possible thatthose on board might not suspect who we were, and that she might be onlysailing down the river without the intention of chasing us. Still,should she come up with the _Good Hope_, they would certainly send onboard and discover that we were foreigners, who had, according to theirnotions, no business to be in the Orinoco.
At length we saw a light wind was playing across the stream, and oursails were rigged out. It came right aft. Away we flew, the canvas ofthe Spaniard filling at the same time. On and on we sped, but theSpaniard seemed to move through the water fully as fast. Kallolo nowtold us how, after having had a successful hunt, he and his companionswere returning on the previous evening, expecting to get on board beforenightfall, when they found themselves on the opposite side of the bay.Suddenly a party of white men, whom they took to be hunters, sprang outon them and made them prisoners. The strangers had seen the _GoodHope_, and had managed to draw from them the information that those onboard were English and Dutch. On hearing this, their captors haddespatched two of their party up the river, where a Spanish guardacostalay at anchor. They pretended to be very indifferent as to what hadhappened; and the Spaniards, who in reality belonged to the vessel, werethrown off their guard. During the night Kallolo and his companionsmanaged to make their escape, and finding no canoe in which to cross thebay, had hastened round by the shore to warn us of our danger. It wasnow clear that the Spanish vessel was following us with hostileintentions, and that should she overtake us we might suffer the fate weapprehended.
But "a stern chase is a long chase," and the _Good Hope_ proved herselfa fast little craft. As she drew but a few feet of water, we were ableto keep a straight course, whereas the larger vessel had to deviate fromhers several times; thus by nightfall we had drawn considerably ahead.
On the previous night we had slept but little; this night not one of usclosed our eyes. We could just see the lofty sails of the Spaniardgliding after us like some ferocious giant eager for our destruction.The wind increased, and she was evidently making more rapid way. On andon she came. Presently the loud sound of a piece of ordnance boomedthrough the night air, and the shot splashed into the water close asternof us.
"A miss is as good as a mile," said the skipper, who was at the helm, inhis usual quiet tone. "We will not give in, though a dozen such popgunsas she carries should be fired at us."
Another shot came whistling past our quarter, and dropped alongside; athird came, and that fell astern.
"We passed over some shallow water just now," said Peter, who wassounding with a pole.
"Ah, and the Spaniard too has found out that the water is shallow. See!see! she's on shore!" exclaimed the skipper.
As we looked astern we saw that the vessel chasing us had let all hersails fly. On we glided. She grew fainter and fainter, till we couldbarely distinguish her outline. We all began to breathe more freely.In less than half an hour we could no longer discern her. We stood on,and when the sun rose right ahead no sail was in sight.
The weather continued fine, and in a few days the _Good Hope_ was risingbuoyantly on the ocean wave, her head directed to the southward.
Stabroek was soon reached, and our brave skipper, who was well-knownthere, introduced us to his friends, to whom he recounted ouradventures, and secured us a warm reception.
I must not stop to describe our stay at the capital of the then Dutchcolony of Guiana. My father at length received news from Trinidad whichonce more raised his drooping spirits. An enlightened naval officer,Don Josef Chacon, had been appointed governor. He had expelled thedissolute monks, and abolished the Inquisition; besides granting fertilelands to new colonists, assisting them with cattle and implements ofhusbandry, and providing for the free exercise of mercantile affairs.We might return in safety. We accordingly forthwith embarked on board avessel commanded by our good friend Captain van Dunk, and arrived safelyin the colony. Doctor Antonio had administered my father's affairs withhonesty and wisdom, and at once delivered over his estate to him,refusing to receive more than a very moderate recompense for theservices he had rendered.
Our affairs flourished, but my father never entirely recovered hishealth. In a very few years he died, and was buried by the side of ourpoor mother. Uncle Paul had never lost his affection for our belovedPennsylvania, nor had Arthur or I; so at my father's death we disposedof our property in Trinidad, which realised not only sufficient to payoff all my father's liabilities, but to secure the means for carrying ona mercantile business in our native land.
Years have passed since then. The battle for independence has beenfought and won. Marian long ago became Arthur's bride; and I have awife of my own, who, although she has never stirred out of her nativeland, knows as much about our adventures as we do. Uncle Paul remaineda bachelor to the end of his days, with Sambo as his attendant; andfaithful Tim, who married a fair daughter of Erin from the "ouldcountry," refusing to quit us, still remains in our service; whileCaptain van Dunk, who entered the American navy, after ploughing theseas for many a year has settled down on a farm near us, where heploughs the land with the same energy and perseverance he everexhibited. Of course, as may be supposed, Marian and I often narrate toour children the adventures we met with "in the wilds of Trinidad andthe Orinoco."
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