CHAPTER XVI.

DOWN THE BENI.--PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.--PLANS FOR DEVELOPING COMMERCE.--OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION.--VOYAGE ON THE MAMORE.

Negotiations for descending the river could not proceed with rapidity, as the Indians were in no hurry to get away after their return from the turtle-hunt. Everything among these people is connected in one way or another with a festival, and it was necessary to celebrate the success of the expedition with a period of rejoicing. The alcalde did his best, but though he possesses great power, an alcalde is not absolute in his authority at all times; it was finally arranged that the festivity would continue two days, and on the morning of the third our friends could hope to depart.

The morning came, but there were still many things to be done, and it was fully noon before the boats were ready. As there were no rapids to pass, it was decided to lash two boats together side by side and connect them with a platform. The tent could be spread on this platform, in addition to an awning of palm-leaves, to shelter the travellers from the heat of the sun and the not infrequent rains. Two of the largest attainable boats were taken and connected in this way. It proved an excellent arrangement, and the party was unanimous in recommending it to all future travellers descending the tributaries of the Amazon where they are not navigated by steamboats.

The rowers and pilots had little to do beyond keeping the raft (as we will call the combination of boats and platform just described) in the middle of the stream, where the current was strongest. There was a good deal of drift-wood in the river, but it was far less troublesome than if their course had been up the stream. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths that Madeira means "wood," and the Madeira River, into which the Beni flows, was so named by the Portuguese in consequence of the great number of floating trees that were met by the early explorers. The Beni contributes more than its share of this floating material, as the forests extend far along its banks, which are constantly crumbling away through the action of the current. In many places the Beni resembles the Missouri, and seems to be subject to the same forces of nature.

Forests and pampas, pampas and forests, succeeded each other as the raft followed the course of this affluent of the mighty Amazon. Parrots and toucans and other birds flew among the trees, monkeys stared in astonishment, jumped from limb to limb, swung by feet and tail, and kept up a continual chattering as the raft floated by their haunts. Frank made note of the difference between the South American monkey and his Asiatic brother; he had never seen the latter using his tail for anything but ornamental purposes, while with the South American monkey it gave the advantage of an extra hand or foot.

"The Asiatic monkey's tail is not prehensile," said the Doctor, "and all monkeys of South America have not this advantage. In the words of a famous naturalist," he continued, "all monkeys with prehensile tails are American, but all American monkeys do not have prehensile tails. The Asiatic monkey does not seem to have heard of such a thing, though some of the varieties of monkey in the far East occasionally use the tail in a bungling sort of way. Professor Wallace lived four years in South America, and in that time he saw twenty-one species of monkey, seven with prehensile and fourteen with non-prehensile tails. All the American monkeys are climbers, and live in the trees, while such is not the case in the old world."

While they were talking on the subject of monkeys a most unearthly yell was heard in the forest to the right of the raft. Both the boys turned in amazement to Manuel, and asked what it was.

"It's a guariba," said Manuel, "as the natives call it."

"And what is a guariba?" Fred inquired.

"A guariba is a howling monkey," the guide answered, "and that is the noise he makes. You can hear him a long distance, and he howls night and day without seeming to get tired of the amusement."

"There are three kinds of howling monkeys in South America," said the Doctor, "but the difference is more observable in their appearance than in their voices. The braying of a mule is like the note of a violin, compared to the noise of a howling monkey in good health and condition, accompanied by his friends. The howlers, like most others of the Simian family, are gregarious, and if we happen to have our camp near a village of them we shall not sleep much."

Frank thought he would buy one of these brutes and take him home, but Manuel said the howlers could not be tamed.

"A wise provision of nature," remarked Fred. "Imagine your neighbor having a pet howler; it would be worse than all the cats in a dozen blocks of New York city."

Frank agreed with him, and changed his views on the subject of domesticating one of these curiosities. Manuel said further that the natives had repeatedly tried to tame the howlers, but could not; they were the only members of the monkey family in South America that utterly refused to be converted into pets.

They fell into the monkey-market sooner than they had expected. While passing an island, an hour or two before sunset, they saw two or three canoes drawn up on the shore, and at the Doctor's suggestion Manuel told the pilot to run in and see who and what the owners were. They proved to be a hunting-party of Indians from the other side of the river; they had been successful in killing several monkeys, and offered some of the meat for sale.

Frank and Fred thought it would be too much like cannibalism to eat of monkey meat, and the Doctor agreed with them. Manuel said the flesh of the howler was not to be recommended, as it was dry and tough, but there were some varieties on the lower Amazon which were not to be despised. He particularly mentioned the white-whiskered coaita, one of the thumbless "spider-monkeys," which was held in high repute among the natives. Another variety called the maquisapa was said to be good eating, but he could not speak from personal knowledge. Monkey flesh is an important article of food in many parts of the Amazon valley, and there are certain districts where it is the only meat to be had.

But monkey in its live form was not declined, at least in limited quantity. One of the Indians offered a marmoset, a pretty little creature about eight inches long, and with a soft, silky fur covering its skin. It was restless and timid; at first it shrank from the youth, but quickly seemed to understand that it would find him a better master than the Indian. He took it in his hand and gently stroked its back; in a few moments it clung to him, and when the Indian reached for his property the little creature struggled to remain.

Frank's sympathies were awakened by the affection displayed by the marmoset, and a bargain was quickly made. Manuel conducted the negotiation, and the monkey became the property of the youth for an outlay of fifty cents. He paid a high price, as he afterwards ascertained, but at that time he was not familiar with the market quotations for this kind of live-stock.

Marmosets are the smallest members of the monkey family. The name is confined to the American varieties, and is sometimes restricted to the striated monkey of Guiana or Brazil. This last-named monkey has a tail a third longer than the body, the latter rarely exceeding eight or ten inches. Its fur is long and soft, and of a yellowish-gray color; both tail and body are banded with black, and there is a long tuft of white hairs on each side of the head, which is of a deep black or brown.

The new purchase received the name of Gypsy, and soon became a general favorite with the party, though it always recognized Frank as its master. It was a well-behaved pet, and, contrary to Frank's expectation, it never indulged in mischievous tricks. Manuel said the marmosets were rarely destructive, but the same could not be said of the rest of the monkey tribe in South America. The sapajous, he pronounced the worst of the lot; they are distributed through Brazil, and, though affectionate enough as pets, are too mischievous to be kept in a house or camp.

"Three or four years ago," said Manuel, "I was on the Mamore River with an English gentleman who had bought a sapajou while ascending the Amazon. He kept the fellow in a cage for a while, and then allowed him the run of the boat. The first day he was at liberty he threw overboard two of the dinner plates, and was punished by being shut up again.

"When he was free once more, he picked up a book that was lying on the deck, and when discovered he had torn out at least half the leaves, and tossed them into the water. He was again caged, and after a time was let out, but they fastened a chain about him so that he could not run around.

"Under this restraint he behaved very well, and displayed, or pretended to display, a fondness for his owner. The gentleman was one day working at the notes of his journey, and the monkey was chained close to his table, under the awning in the centre of the boat.

"He had a large map on the table, and had been marking his route with red ink along the course of the river. He was called suddenly from the table, leaving the map and the ink-bottle within the monkey's reach.

"As soon as he had gone, the monkey, doubtless in a spirit of imitation, climbed to the table, pulled the map towards him, and with his paw, dipped in the ink, made an imaginary survey of a railway or a steamboat route, at least a thousand miles long, according to the scale of the drawing. Just as he was finishing the performance the master returned, and caught him at it."

"What happened to the monkey?" Fred asked.

"I don't know exactly what became of him," was the reply. "He was given to one of the boatmen, who sold him to an Indian at the next landing. It wasn't safe to mention monkey to that gentleman for the rest of the time he stayed in the country."

Sunset came, and they stopped for the night. The raft was tied up at a small island, where there was little prospect of disturbance by hostile Indians; the tribe occupying this part of the country did not have a bad reputation, and there was no real danger, but the pilot was cautious on general principles. Watch was kept through the night, but nothing happened to disturb the slumber of those whose duties did not require them to be wakeful, if we except the visits of the mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are the pests of the upper part of the entire valley of the Amazon. They are found wherever the rains fall, from the foot of the Andes, eastward, until within a few hundred miles of the Atlantic coast, from which they are kept in great measure, though not entirely, by the force of the trade winds. The middle Amazon swarms with them, and the Maranon, Madeira, and other tributaries are almost uninhabitable at certain seasons of the year, in consequence of these nuisances. They are always on duty, and no manner of objecting to their presence will induce them to leave.

There are several varieties of mosquitoes, some working at night, and others in the daytime; between them they divide the hours, and give their victim no chance for rest. The Indians say they always come in greater swarms than usual when a traveller is approaching, and evidently they can scent blood from afar. Frank said "the mosquitoes fairly danced with joy at the arrival of our party." A mass meeting was called, which was attended by some millions of mosquitoes, "very hungry and very thirsty." This mass meeting was kept up as long as they were in the region of the upper and middle Amazon. After passing Manaos, on their way down the river, there were few mosquitoes, and these few were not as voracious as their more uncivilized brethren.

Parts of Brazil and Bolivia will long remain unsettled, owing to the perpetual annoyance caused by the mosquitoes. Their powers were tested by one traveller, Dr. Spruce, who, in the interest of science, allowed the insects to feed upon him without interruption, and found they took three ounces of blood daily!

Our friends were provided with mosquito nettings, and brought them into use on entering the mosquito-haunted region. At night they surrounded their beds with them, and by day kept their heads enveloped in the small nets made for that purpose; in this way they managed to keep from being devoured bodily, or bled to death, but could not escape the annoyance and constant inconvenience of the presence of the dreaded carapana, as he is called by the Brazilians.

The mosquito is not the only insect pest of the Amazon valley. Professor Orton says the pium, or sand-fly, is almost as bad as the better-known tormentor. He has two triangular, horny lancets, which leave a small circular red spot on the skin. There are several species, all working by day, and relieving the mosquito from sunrise to sunset. Then there is the maruim, which resembles the pium, and inhabits some, but not all, of the valleys; Humboldt estimated that there was a million of them to a cubic foot of air where he was. There is also the mutuca, which resembles a horse-fly; one variety has a lancet half an inch long, and he knows how to use it to advantage.

There is a carapato, or tick, which mounts to the tips of the blades of grass, and attaches himself to any one brushing against them. The carapatas bury themselves so deeply that their heads break off at any attempt to pull them out; their bite is painless, but it often causes sores and ulcers. Happily, their range is less extensive than that of the mosquito, and some parts of the country are wholly free from them.

Frank asked Manuel how the natives, who had no nets, managed to get along in the height of the mosquito season.

"They get along very badly," was the reply. "One plan is to cover their bodies with oil, which the mosquitoes don't like, but it does not drive them away. Smudging or smoking keeps them down, but then it is almost as bad for the people as for the mosquitoes. Sometimes they bury themselves in the sand, leaving only the head exposed; this they cover with a piece of wetted cloth, either wrapped around the head, or supported above it like a miniature tent. Some of the Indians plaster their bodies with mud, laying it on like varnish, and allowing it to dry, but it has to be pretty thick to keep the mosquitoes from penetrating it. Some of the insects will pierce through any ordinary clothing; I have heard of their going through ordinary shoe-leather, but never saw with my own eyes a mosquito that could do it."

Sheltered by their nettings, they passed the night in comparative comfort, and were off early in the morning. In fact, the raft was in motion before the youths had risen; the Indians were so silent in their movements that they did not disturb the slumber of the travellers. Frank made a comparison with the noisy boatmen of the Nile which was very much in favor of the Indians of the Beni.

About seven o'clock they stopped for breakfast and the scene was so picturesque that Frank made a sketch of it.

The spot they chose was under some lofty trees covered with climbing plants, where previous visitors had removed enough of the undergrowth to render the place suitable for a temporary camp. A fire was kindled, and over it they placed a pot for the concoction of a porridge of meat and mandioca flour mingled with water. A hammock was stretched between two of the trees, and a large fish that had been caught early in the morning was hung up by way of ornament.

While the soup was in preparation, one of the men busied himself with pounding a piece of bast, or the inner bark of a tree, with a wooden hammer. Much of the clothing of the Amazonian Indians is made in this way; the material resembles the famous tappa-cloth of the South Sea Islands, and though not very serviceable, it has the merit of great cheapness.

The breakfast, when ready, was distributed by the _capitano_ or first mate, who served each man in turn. It was devoured with a good appetite, and in a little while the crew was ready to resume the journey. The travellers amused themselves by studying the peculiarities of the forest, and took their own breakfast while the boat was floating down the stream.

"If all goes well," said the Doctor, "we shall not be long in reaching the junction with the Madeira, and the falls of that stream."

"Then we have some falls to pass, have we?" Frank asked.

"Yes," replied the Doctor, "and they are a serious hinderance to navigation. In descending we can 'shoot' some of them, though not all; but if we were ascending the river it would be different. The boats must be dragged around the falls, or their cargoes unloaded and transported to other boats beyond the falls.

"The Madeira drains an area of forty thousand square leagues," he continued, "and but for the falls would furnish water communication to the very heart of Bolivia. It is the natural waterway of the country, and its upper affluents traverse the richest agricultural region of South America. They have been partially but not wholly explored, and the actual number of miles open to steamboats is not yet known.

"There are nineteen falls and rapids, having a descent of nearly three hundred feet altogether. They are scattered along a distance of two hundred and thirty miles. Above and below there are no impediments to navigation, with a single exception in the shape of a rapid, which may be passed by a steamboat when the river is high.

"The governments of Bolivia and Brazil have endeavored to overcome these falls by building a canal or a railway around them, and spent considerable money in the preliminary work. It was found that a canal would cost a great deal of money, far more than a railway, and so it was decided to build the latter."

"Did they build it?"

"It has not been built as yet," was the reply, "though a portion of the work has been done. A company was formed in England, principally on paper, with important concessions from the governments interested. Engineers were sent out, together with a small force of laborers, but the project came to nothing. Then the enterprise was taken up by some Americans, who sent Colonel George E. Church, of New York, to complete the surveys and supervise the construction of the line. He reported favorably upon the prospects of business for the completed railway, which would be less than two hundred miles long. The line leaves the Madeira just below the first fall, and comes again to the Mamore above the last one. It avoids the windings of the stream, and thus saves a considerable distance.

"Colonel Church sounded the Mamore for six hundred miles above the rapids, and found always a depth of at least fifteen feet, a width of six hundred feet, and an average current of two miles an hour. He visited Santa Cruz, Trinidad, Exaltacion, and some other Bolivian towns and cities, and was everywhere cordially welcomed. I am sorry that our time and facilities will not permit us to repeat his journey, as it is through a region rarely seen by travellers. Colonel Church was preceded by Mr. Keller, a German engineer; and the stories they tell are full of interest.

"They describe Exaltacion as a dull, and, at first glance, a deserted town, standing a mile or more from the river. Many of its buildings are in ruins, and the walls of the houses are without paint or other ornament. The streets are wide, and the plaza is at least three hundred feet square; the church, with an isolated bell-tower, occupies one side of the plaza, while the other three sides are lined with the dwellings of the Indians, rarely more than a single story in height. The church is a large and well-constructed building; it is more than a century old, and has received very few repairs since the day of its completion.

"The Indians living in the towns of Bolivia are nearly all devout Catholics, and have been carefully trained in the observances of the Church. It is said that when the first Jesuit missionary penetrated the Beni districts of Bolivia, from the frontier of the country, that had been partially civilized, he was immediately killed. Another followed soon after, and met the same fate, and then came another.

"The Indians were astonished beyond description, as it appeared to them to be the same man they had twice put to death. He was identical in dress, appearance, and words, and evidently he was immortal. It would do no good to kill him a third time, and they held a consultation, and concluded he was a god. Thus concluding, they worshipped him, listened to his teachings, and adopted his religion, to which they have ever since remained faithful.

"In the church they had an organ which was played during mass by one of the Indians, while another performed on a sort of pan-pipe of enormous proportions. Several tubes were arranged side by side, and fastened together; the largest was about six feet in length, and the opening at its end measured at least four inches. The performer kept his eye on the music before him, and blew into one pipe after another with great facility. The instrument compassed two octaves, and the sound it gave resembled that of a trombone.

"The church contains several relics, among them a piece of the True Cross, which was brought here by the Jesuits nearly two centuries ago. That the people have degenerated somewhat from their old-fashioned honesty is revealed by a little incident of Mr. Keller's visit to the church.

"In the pedestals of two of the columns he saw some enormous nails, and asked their use. It was explained that in the time of the _Padres_ all articles found in the streets were hung on these nails, so that anybody who lost anything would know where to find it. 'But to-day,' said the sacristan, 'these nails rust in their places, for no one thinks of returning what he finds.' Colonel Church thinks Exaltacion must be an exception to the rest of Bolivia, as he found everywhere the most scrupulous honesty on the part of the people among whom he travelled. The Mojos Indians who inhabit the valley of the Mamore are an inoffensive race, and have a high reputation for honesty and integrity.

"Some of them wear a curious ornament, known as the _cherimbita_. It is a little rod with a head, and has a general resemblance to an ordinary screw. It is made of white quartz, or some other hard material, and is worn in the under lip, which is pierced for its admission, just as ladies in America, and other countries, have their ears pierced for the wearing of ornaments.

"The other towns that were visited did not materially differ from the one already described. They had the same kind of population, the same dilapidated churches, and the same devout worshippers who adhered to the religion taught by the Jesuit fathers two hundred years ago. There was said to be a great abundance of silver in all these Bolivian towns, but it is far less than formerly. Everything imported from other parts of the world is enormously dear, while the products of the country are correspondingly cheap. At Exaltacion, English iron was worth four hundred dollars a ton, while gold at ten dollars an ounce was much easier to obtain."