(6^ THE TEOPICAL WOELD. LONDON iMllNTED BY S PO TTI S WO O DE AND CO NEW-STREET SQUARE THE TROPICAL WOELD: A POPULAR SCIENTIFIC ACCOUNT OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS IN THE EQUATORIAL REGIONS. By DE. G. HAETWIG, AUTHOR OF "THE SKA AND ITS LIVING WONDEB8." WITH EIGHT CHROMOXYLOGRAPHIC PLATES AND NUMEROUS WOODCUTS. LONDON: LONGMAN, GEEEN, LONGMAN, EOBEETS, & GEEEN. 1863. 0H fX4-fl <'.c BR fTY or r ■■ ) PREFACE. T7NC0UEAGED by the success of " The Sea and its 1-*"^ Living Wonders," I now venture to appear before the pubhc with a general survey of animal and vegetable life in the Tropical regions. L A glance over the Contents will satisfy the reader that have condensed a great mass of information within a arrow compass ; and as I have constantly endeavoured to combine the useful and the agreeable, I hope that this treatise may both please the general reader and stand the test of a severer criticism. a. HARTWia. Heidelbekg, Nov. 8, 1862. CONTENTS. PAET I. ASPECTS OF TROriCAL NATURE. CHAPTER I. THE DIVERSITY OF CLIMATES WITHIN THE TKOriCS. Causes by which it is produced — Abundance and Distribution of Kain within the Tropics — The Trade Winds— The Belt of Cahns — Tropical Rains — The Monsoons — Tornados — Cyclones — Typhoons — Storms in the Pacific — Devastations caused by Hurricanes on Pitcairn Island and Rarotonga Page 3 . ^ CHAPTER II. THE LLANOS. Their Aspect in the Dry Season — Vegetable Sources — Land Spouts — Effects of the Mirage — A Savannah on Fire — Opening of the Rainy Season — Miraciilous Changes — Exuberance of Animal and Vegetable Life — Conflict between Horses and Electrical Eels — Beauty of the Llanos at the Termination of the Rainy Season — The Mauritia Palm . , . ,14 CHAPTER III. THE PUNA, OR THE HIGH TABLE-LANDS OF PERtT AND BOLIVIA. Striking Contrast with the Llanos — Northern Character of their Climate — The Chuiiu — The Surumpe — The Veta: its Influence upon Man, Horses^ Mules, ajid Cats — The Vegetation of the Puna — The Maca — The Llama : its invaluable Services — The Huanacu — The Alpaca — The Vicunas : Mode of Hunting Them — The Chacu — The Bolas — The Chinchilla — The Condor —Wild Bulls and Wild Dogs — Lovely Mountain Valleys . . 23 Viii CONTENTS CHAPTER IV. THE PERUVIAN SAND-COAST. Its desolate Character — The Mule is here the "Ship of the Desert"— A Ship- wreck and its Consequpnces — Sand-Spouts — Medanos — Summer and Winter —The Garuas — The Lomas — Change produced in their Appearance during the Season of Mists — Azara's Fox — "Wild Animals — Birds — Keptiles — The Chincha or Guano Islands ..... Page 36 CHAPTER V. THE AMAZONS, THE GIANT RIVER OF THE TORRID ZONE. The Course of the Amazons and its Trihutaries — The HuaUaga — The Ucayale — The I^a — The Yapura, Jutay, Jurua, Teffe, Coary, and Purus — The Rio Negro — The Madeira — The Strait of Obydos — Tide Waves on the Amazon — The Tapajos — The Xingu — The Bay of the Thousand Islands — The Poro- rocca — Rise of the River — Inundated Forests — Lagunes — Magnificent Scenery — Fishing Scene — Different Character of the Forests beyond and within the verge of Inundation — General Character of the Banks — A Sail on the Amazons — A Night's Encampment — The " Mother of the Waters " — The Piranga — Dangers of Navigating on the Amazons — Terrific Storms — Rapids and Whirlpools — The Stream of the Future — Travels of Orellana — Madame Godin ......... 44 CHAPTER VI. THE KALAHARI. Reasons why Droughts are prevalent in South Africa — Vegetation admirably suited to the Character of the Country — Number of Tuberous Roots The Caffre Water-Melon -— The Naras — The Mesembryanthemums The Animal Life of tlie Kalahari — The Bushmen, a Nomadic Race of Hunters The Bakalahari — Their Love for Agriculture — Their Ingenuity in procuring Water — Trade in Skins . . . . . , .61 CHAPTER VII. THE SAHARA. ItH uncertain Limits — Caravan Routes — Ephemeral Streams — Oases — Inunda tions— Luxuriant Vegetation of the Oases contrasted with the surrounding Desert — TliP Sc'df-ntary and Vagrant Tribes —Harsh contrasts of Light and Shade — ity of th.. Desert — The Khamsin — The Dying Slave — Sand-Spouts — y -us Snakes - Porcupine-catching — Cliase of the Gazelle — Fluctuation of Aaimal Life according to the Seasons gg CONTENTS IX CHAPTER VIII. THE PRIMITIVE F0BE8T. Its peculiar Charms and Terrors— Disappointments and Diificultieg of the Botanist — Variety of Trees and Plants — Character of the Primitive Forest according to its Site — Its Aspect during the Eainy Season — A Hurricane in the Forest — Beauty of the Forest after the Kainy Season — Bird Life on the rivers of Guiana — Morning Concert — Repose of Nature at Noon — Nocturnal Voices of the Forest ....... Page 78 CHAPTER IX. THE MEXICAN" PLATEAUS, AND THE SL0PE8 OP 8IKKIM. Grcological Formation of Mexico — The Tierra Calicnte — The Tierra Templada — The Tierra Fria. The Sylvan" Wonders of Sikkim — Changes of the Forest on ascending — The Torrid Zone of Vegetation — The Temperate Zone — The Coniferoxis Belt — Limits of Arboreal Vegetation — Animal Life . . . .86 CHAPTER X. MANGROYE VEGETATION. Its Peculiarities of Growth and beautiful Adaptation to its Site — Its Importance in furtliering the Growth of Land — Animal Life among the Mangroves — " Jumping Johnny " — Victimised by a Grapsus — Insalubrity of the Mangrove Swamps — Uses of the Mangrove Trees — Avicennias and Sonneratias . 94 PAET II. TROPICAL PLANTS. CHAPTER XI. GIANT TREES ANB CHARACTERISTIC FORMS OP TROPICAL VEGETATION-. General Remarks — The Baobab — Used as a Vegetable Cistern — Arborescent Euphorbias — - The Dracsena of Orotava — The Sycamore — The Banyan — The sacred Bo-Tree of Anarajapoora — The Teak Tree — The Saul — The Sandal Tree — The Satinwood Tree — The Ceiba— The Mahogany Tree —The Mora— Bamboos — The Guadua — Beauty and multifarious Uses of these colossal CONTENTS ,;i.;^..,,._l.'irin- thv Jungle — The Aloes-The Agave amerieana — The r.n.m.lias — Tho Cactuses — The Mimosas — Bushropes — Climbing Trees — l-.rnl.l.ius of Ingratitude— Marriage of the Fig Tree and the Pahn— Epiphytes— Water-Plants — Singularly-shaped Trees- The Barrigudo— The Bottle Tree — Trees with Buttresses, fantastical Koots, and formidable Spines • . Page 101 CHAPTER Xn. PALMS. The Cocoa-nut Tree — Its hundred Uses — Cocoa-nut Oil — Coir — Porcupine Wood — Enemies of the Cocoa Palm — The Sago Palm — The Saguer — The Guraatty — The Areca Palm — The Palmyra Palm — The Talipot — The Cocoa de Mer — Katans — A Katan Bridge in Ceylon — The Date Tree — The Oil Palms of Africa — The Oil Trade at Bonny — Its vast and growing Im- portance-American Pahns — The Camauba — The Ceroxylon andicola— The Cabbage Palm — The Gulielma speciosa — The Pia9ava — Difficulties of the Botanist in ascertaining the various Species of Palms — Their wide Geo- graphical Range — Different Physiognomy of the Palms according to their height — The Position and Form of their Fronds — Their Fruits — Their Trunk — The Yriartea Ventricosa . . . . .128 CHAPTER XIII. THE CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZON^E. ^ce — Various Aspect of the Rice-fields at diiFerent Seasons — Ladang and Sawa Rice — The Cultivation of Rice in South Carolina of modern Date — The Rice- bird — Great Mortality among the Negroes — Arracan and Pegu — Growing Importance of the Port of Akyab — Maize — First imported from America by Columbus — Its enormous Productiveness — Its Cultivation in the United States — Its wide zone of Cultivation — Maize-beer, or Chicha — Millet, Dhourra — The Bread Fruit — Its Importance in the South Sea Islands — History of its Transplantation to the West Indies — Adventures of Bligh and Christian — Pitcaim Island — Bananas — Their ancient Cultivation — Avaca or Manilla Hemp — Humboldt's Remarks on the Banana — The Traveller's Tree of Mada- gascar — The Cassava Root — Tapioca — Yams — Batatas — Quinoa — Arrow- root—Taro— Tropical Fruit Trees — The Chirimoya — The Litchi — The Mangosteen — The Mango ...... 154 CHAPTER XIV. SUGAR. Its omm«rciul importaiii; i:., original home — The progress of its cultivation throughout tlio Tropical 7x)no — The Tahitian Sugar-cane — Description of the Plant — Mode of rxtntcf ing the Sugar — The enemies of the Sugar-cane — The Kagar Har^'ett 182 CONTENTS XI CHAPTER XV. COFFEE. Enarca and Kaffa — Gemaledie introduces its use into Arabia — Fanaticism endeavours to forbid it — The first Coflfee-Houses in London and Marseilles — CofFee-production in Brazil — Java — Ceylon — Rapid extension of its culture in Ceylon since 1825 — The Coffee-Plant — The best situations for its growth — Its cultivation in Java described — The Musang — Expertness of the Ceylon Wood- men in preparing the Coflfee Ground — Enemies of the Coffee-Plant — The Golunda Rat — The Lecanium Coffeae .... Page 189 CIL\PTER XVI. CACAO AlfD VANILLA. The Cacao Tree — Mode of preparing the Beans for the Market — Chocolate — The Vanilla Plant . . . . .199 CHAPTER XVH. COCA. Its immense Consumption in Peru and Bolivia — Mode of chewing the leaves — Its wonderfully strengthening effects — Fatal consequences of its abuse — Reasons which prompted the Spaniards to interdict its use, and finally to allow and encourage it — Its chemical analysis by Professor Wohler of Gottingen ......... 202 CHAPTER XVIII, COTTON. Amazing rise of the Cotton Manufactory, unparalleled in the Annals of Commerce — The Cotton Plants — Their culture in the Confederate States and in India — Prospects of Cotton cultivation in India — Brazilian and Egyptian Cotton — Prospects held forth by Africa — Cotton-seed Oil . . . . 207 CHAPTER XIX. CAOtTTCHOFC AND GTJTTA PERCIlA. The Caoutchouc-Tree — Siphonia Elastica — Manner in which the Resin is collected — Urceola Elastica — Ficus Elastica — Has but recently become im- portant — Mackintosh — Vulcanised Caoutchouc — Multiplicity of iises to which Caoutchouc may be applied — Marine Glue — The Gutta Percha Tree — Pro- perties of the Resin — Its importance for Marine Telegraphy — Will the Tropical Zone be able to satisfy the growing demand ? . . . .216 v^U CONTENTS CHAPTER XX. TROPICAL SPICES. The Cinnamon Gardens of Ceylon - Immense profits of the Dutch — Decline of the Trade — Neglected state of the Gardens — Mode of preparing the Rind — Nutmegs and Cloves — Cruel monopoly of the Dutch —A Spice Fire in Amster- dam—The aove Tree — Beauty of an Avenue of Clove Trees — The Nutmeg Tree — Mace — The Pepper Vine - The Pimento Tree . . Tage 222 CHAPTER XXI. TROPICAL VEGETABLE DYES. Indigo — Indigofera tinctoria— Mode of its Cultivation, and preparation of the Dye for the Market — Indigo Factories in Bengal. Logwood — The British Logwood Cutters in Honduras — Their mode of living and disputes with the Spaniards — Brazil Wood — Red Saunders — Arnatto — Fustic — Turmeric .....••• 234 PAET III. TROPICAL AMMALS. CHAPTER XXII. THE INSECT PLAGUES OP THE TROPICAL WORLD. The Universal Dominion of Insects — Mosquitoes — Stinging Flies — (Estnis Jlominis — The Chegoe or Jigger — The Filaria Medinensis — The Bete-Rouge — Blood-sucking Ticks — Garapatas — The Land-leeches in Ceylon — The Tsetse Fly — The Tsalt-Salya — The Locust — Its dreadful Devastations — Cock- roaches— The Drummor — Tlic Cucarachas and Chilicabras . . 245 CHAPTER XXIII. TROPICAL INSECTS DIRECTLY USEFITL TO MAN. The Silk-worm — The Tusseh and Arandi — The Cochineal Insect — The Gum- lack Insect — The Locust used as Fo") - Otiwr o.l'i !.■ Insects — Insects used •a OrnamcQtfl — The Diamond-beetle 259 CONTENTS Xm CHAPTER XXIV. THE ENTOMOLOGICAL WONDERS OF THE TROPICS. ( J radual Decrease of Insect-life on advancing towards the poles — Vast number of Beetles in Brazil — The Hercules Beetle — The Goliath — The Inca Beetle — Other colossal Insects — The Walking-leaf and Walking-stick Insects — The Soothsayer — Luminous Beetles — The Cocujas . . . Page 265 CHAPTER XXV. ANTS AND TERMITES. Vast numbers of Ants in the Tropical Zone — Excruciating pain caused by the Sting of the Ponera Clavata — The Black Fire-Ant of Guiana — The Dimiya of Ceylon — The Kaddiya — The Red Ant of Angola — Deva8trpent swaUowed by another— The I-ocomotion of Serpents— Anatomy of their Jaws— A Python-Meal— Serpents feeding in the Zoological Gardens— Domesti- cation of the Rat-Snake— Water-Snakes .... Page 310 CHAPTER XXIX. LIZABDS, FKOGS AND TOADS. Their Multitude within the Tropics — The Geckoes — Anatomy of their Feet — The Anolis — Their Lore of Fight — The Chameleon — Its wonderful Changes of Colour — Its Habits — Peculiarities of its Organisation — The Iguana — The Ttyu — The Water-Lizards — Lizard Worship on the Coast of Africa — The Flying Dragon — The Basilisk — Frogs and Toads — The Pipa— The Bahia Toad — The Giant Toad — The Musical Toad — Brazilian and Surinam Tree- Frogs .....--.- 328 CHAPTER XXX, TORTOISES AND TUETLES. The Galapagos — The Elephantine Tortoise — The Marsh-Tortoises — Mantega — River-Tortoises — Marine Turtles — On the Brazilian Coast — Their numerous Enemies — The Island of Ascension — Turtle-Catching at the Bahama and Keeling Islands — Turtle caught by means of the Sucking-Fish — The Green Turtle— The Hawksbill Turtle — Turtle-Scaling in the Feejee Islands — Barbarous mode of selling Turtle-Flesh in Ceylon — The Coriaceous Turtle — Its awful ^^lln^lc^ ........ 339 CHAPTER XXXI. CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS. Their HabitH— The Ga vial and the Tiger— Mode of Seizing their Prey — Their Voice — Their Preference of Human Flesh— Alligator against Alligator— Won- derftil Tenacity of Life — Tenderness of the Female Cayman for her Young— Enemies of the Crocodile — Torpidity of Crocodiles diu'ing the Dry Season — Thi-ir Awakening from their Lethargy with the First Rains — " Tickling a Cro- "' " ...... 350 CONTENTS XV CHAPTER XXXII. TROPICAL BIED LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES. 'Pile Toucan — Its Quarrelsome Character — The Humming-birds — Their wide Kauge over the Now World — Their Habits — Their Enemies — Their Courage — The Cotingas — The Campanero — The Tangaras — The Manakins — The Cock of the Kock— The Troupials — The Baltimore— The Pendulous Nests of the Cassiques — The Mocking-bird — Strange Voices of Tropical Bu'ds — The Goat-sucker's "Wail — The Organista — The Cilgero — The Flamingos — The .Scarlet Ibis — The Jabiru — The Roseate Spoon-bill — The Jacana — The Calao — The Sun-birds — The Melithreptes — The Argus — The Peacock — The Lyre Bird — The Birds of Paradise — The Australian Bower-bird — The Talegalla — The Devil-bird — The Baya^-The Tailor-bird — The Republican Gros-beak — The Korwe ........ Page 358 CHAPTER XXXIII. TEOPICAL BLRDS OF PREY. Tlie Condor — His Marvellous Flight — His Cowardice — Various Modes of Cap- turing Con lors — Ancient Fables circulated about thom — Comparison of the Condor with the Albatross — The Carrion Vultures — The King of the Vultures — Domestication of the Urubu — Its Extraordinary Memory — The Harpy Eagle — Examples of his Ferocity — Tlio Oricou — The Bacha — His Cruelty to the Klipdachs — The Fisliing Eagle of Africa — The Musical Sparrow-hawk — The Secretary Eagle . . . . . . .387 CHAPTER XXXIV. THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY. Size of the Ostrich — His astonishing Swiftness — Ostrich Hunting — Stratagem of the Ostrich for protecting its Young — The poisoned Arrow of the Bushmen — Enemies of the Ostrich — The White Vulture — Points of Resemblance with the Camel — Voice of the Ostrich said to resemble that of the Lion — Its Vora- city — Ostrich Feathers — Bechuana Parasols — Domestication of the Ostrich in Algeria — The American Rheas — The Cassowary — The Australian Emu 397 CHAPTER XXXV. PARROTS. Their Peculiar Manner of Climbing — Points of Resemblance with Monkeys — Their Social Habits — Their Connubial Felicity — Inseparables — Talent for Mimicry — Wonderful Powers of Speech and Memory — Their Wide Range within the Temperate Zones — Coloiu' of Parrots Artificially Changed by the South American Indians — The Cockatoos — Cockatoo killingin Australia — The Macaw — The Parrakoots ...... 408 Xvi CONTENTS CHAPTER XXXVI. THE CAMEL. The Ship of the Desert — Paramount Importance of the Camel on the Great Tropical Sand-wastes — His Organisation admirably adapted to his Mode of Life — Horrors and Beauties of the Desert — The Camel an Instrument of Freedom The Robber Bedouin — Immemorial Thraldom of the Camel — His Unamiable Character — Excuses that may be urged in his behalf . Page 41 7 CHAPTER XXXVII. THE GIEAPrE AND THE ZEBRA. Beauty of the Giraffe— Its Wide Range of Vision — Use of its Horns— Giraffe Hunt- ing—The Giraffes of the Zoological Gardens— The Quagga —The Douw — The Zebra — Its Lamentable Wailings — Its Inaecessible Retreats . ,423 CHAPTER XXXVni. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. Behemoth — Its Diminishing Numbers and Contracting Empire — Its Ugliness — A Rogue Hippopotamus or Solitaire — Dangerous Meeting — Intelligence and Memory of the Hippopotamus — Methods employed for killing the Hippopota- mus— Hippopotamus Hunting on the Teoge — The Hippopotamus in Regent's Park — A Young Hippo born in Paris ..... 432 CHAPTER XXXIX, THE RHIKOCEROS. Brutality of the Rhinoceros — The Borelo — The Keitloa — The Monoho — The Kobaaba — Difference of Food and Disposition between the Black and the Wliitc Rhinoceros — Incarnation of Ugliness — Acute Smell and Hearing — Defective Vision — The Buphaga Africana — Paroxysms of Rage — Parental Affection — Nocturnal Habits — Rhinoceros-hunting — Adventures of the Chase — Narrow Escapes of Messrs. Oswell and Andersson — The Indian Rhinoceros— The Sumatran Rhinoceros — The Javanese Rhinoceros — Its involuntary Suicide . 440 CILAPTER XL. THE ELEPHANT. Lore of Solitude and Pusillanimity — Miraculous Escape of an English Officer — Sagacity of the Elephant in ascending Hills — Organisation of the Stomach — The Elephant's Trunk— Uso of its Tusks stUl Problematical — The Rogue- Elephant — Sagacity of the Elephant — The African Elephant — Tamed in A. .„;,.,» t;, ..,.., c,„.,», Af,.,-,,.,,T Klophant-hunting — Hair-breadth Escapes — CONTENTS XVll Abyssinian Elophant-hunters — Importance of the Ivory Trade — The Asiatic Elephant — Vast Numbers destroyed in Ceylon — Major Rogers — Elephant Catchers — Their amazing Dexterity — The Corral — Decoy Elephants — Their astonishing Sagacity — Great Mortality among the captured Elephants — Their Services ........ Page 449 CHAPTER XLI. THE FELIDiE OF THE OLD WOKLD. The Lion — Conflicts with Travellers on Mount Atlas — The Lion and the Hotten- tot — A Lion taken in — Narrow Escapes of Andersson and Dr. Livingstone — Lion-hunting by the Arabs of the Atlas — By the Bushmen — The Asiatic Lion — The Lion and the Dog — The Tiger — The Javanese Jungle — The Peacock — Wide Northern Range of the Tiger — Tiger-hunting in India — Miraculous Escape of an English Sportsman — Animals announcing the Tiger's Presence — Turtle-Hunting of the Tiger on the Coasts of Java — The Panther and the Leo- pard — The Leopard attracted by the Smell of Small-Pox — The Cheetah — The Hyaena — Fables told of these abject Animals — The Striped Hyaena — The Spotted Hysena — The Brown Hyaena . . . .466 CHAPTER XLII. THE FELID^ OF THE NEW WOBLD. 'IMie Jaguar — Its Boldness — Jaguar Hunting — Heroic Conflict of Three Brazilian Herdsmen with a Jaguar — The Couguar, or the Puma — His Cowardice — The Ocelot ......... 486 CHAPTER XLIH. THE SLOTH. Miserable Aspect of the Sloth — His Beautiful Organisation for his Peculiar Mode of Life — His Rapid Movements in the Trees — His Means of Defence — His Tenacity of Life — Fable about the Sloth refuted — The Ai — TheUnau — The Mylodon Robustus ........ 492 CHAPTER XLIV. THE ANT-EATEES OF THE NEW AND THE OLD WORLD. The Great Ant-Bear — Its Way of Licking up Termites — Its Formidable Weapons — A Perfect Forest- Vagabond — Its Peculiar Manner of Walking — The Smaller Ant-Eaters — The Manides — The African Orycteropi — The Porcupine Ant- Eater of Australia — The Myrmecobius Fasciatns — The Armadillo — The Glyptodon ........ 497 a Xviii CONTENTS CHAPTER XLV. TROPICAL BATS. Wondprfol Organisation of the Bats — The Fox-Bat — The Vampire — Its Blood- gucking Propensities — The Vampire and the Scotchman — The Horse-Shoe Bats — The Nycteribia ~ The Flying Squirrel — The Galeopithecus — The Anomalurus Page 605 CHAPTER XLVI. THE SIMI-a: OF THE OLD WORLD. Forest-Life — Excellent Climbers — Bad Pedestrians — Imperfectly known to the Ancients — Similitude and Diiference between the Human Eace and the Apes — The Chimpanzee— Chim in Paris — The Gorilla — The Uran — The Gibbons — A Siamang on Board — The Proboscis Monkey — The Huniman — The Wanderoo — The Cercopitheci — The Maimon — " Happy Jerry " — The Pig-Faced Baboon — The Derryas — The Loris and Makis . . . . .514 CHAPTER XLVII. THE SIMI^ OF THE NEW WORLD. Widu Difference between the Monkeys of both Hemispheres — The Prehensile Tail — The Wourali Poison — Mildness of the American Monkeys — The Stentor Monkey — The Spider Monkeys— The Sajous — The Fox-tailed Monkeys — The Saimiris — Friendships between various kinds of Monkeys — Nocturnal Monkeys — Squirrel Monkeys — Their Lively Intelligence . . . .531 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, CHKOMOXYLOGRAPHS. Condor Catching . Frontispiece Cotton Field . . To face fage liYl Savannah on Fire . To face page 14 Termite Hills 281 Primitive Forest . ,, 78 Flamingoes . „ „ 358 Cercvis Giganteus . ,. 118 Tiger ... „ „ 466 WOODCUTS. HAOH PAGR African Bushmen . 61. Caravan .... 417 Birds : — *Ceylone8e Cocoa-nut Oil-mill 128 Adjutant . 322 *Coffee Estate, General I<>iis.r s. a Argus Pheasant . . 37G Rangbodde, Ceylon . 198 Baltimore Bird . . 367 Coral Island 302 Bird of Paradise . . 378 Fishes : — Campanero . . 365 Coryphseua . 306 Cassowary . . 407 Electrical Eel (Gymnotus Cardinal 87 electricus) 20 Condor . 387 Limulus 307 Emu . . 407 Sucking Fish 347 Frigate Bird . 304 Sun Fish . . 307 Harpy Eagle . 393 Guano Island . 36 Hornbill, Rhinoceros . 374 High Table Lands of Peru . 23 Humming Bird . . 362 Insects: — Ibis, Egyptian . 372 Ants and Termites 272 Java Sparrow . loo Beetle, Goliath . 263 Lory . . 413 Diamond 264 Lyre Bird . . 377 Hercules 266 Macaw . 415 Inca 267 Blue • . 49 Buprestis gigas . 264 Moeking-Bird . 88 Centipede . 301 Ostrich . 398 Cicada 263 -catching . . 397 Cochineal . 260 Parakeet, green . . 416 Cocujas 270 Parrots . 408 Lantern Fly 271 Peacock, Javanese . 376 Locust 254 Kice Bunting . 158 Mantis 269 Secretary Bird . 321 Membracidse 280 TalegaUa . . 380 Mosquito . . . . 246 Toucan . 360 Mormolyce, Javanese . 270 Turkey Buzzard . . 390 Phyllium . . . . 268 Vulture, King . 390 Scorpion . . . . 300 Vulture, Sociable . 394 Spider, Diadem . 299 Woodpecker, ivory-bilk 'd . 83 Termite 285 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS I u sects — cow tin iitd : Termitt', Soldier . Tsotse . 5Iammaliu : — ^Vguti Al|)acji Ant-bfur Armudiilo, Poyou Giaat . Axis Camel, Bactrian . Capybara Cheetah Chimpanzee Chinchilla . Coatimondi, Rufous »CoffeeRat . Diana Monkey Dromedary . Echidna, Porcupine Elephants . Indian . •Flying Foxes * at rest . Galeopithecus volans Gibbon, or long-armed Ape Giraffe, Skull of, . Giraffes and Zebras Gnu . Hippo|K)tamus , . 432, Howling Monkey Ichneumon Jackal . Jaguar Koodoo Lemur, slow-paced handed •Leopard and Cheetah Lion . Llama . Malay Bear . Mandrill •Mongoos •Monkeys of the Old World . Musk Deer . Nylghau Ocelot . Opossum Orvct^'ropus Capensis Palm Squirrt'l •Pangolin, the Indian Peccary Pig-faced Baboon Porcupine Puma . Quagga Khinoc(>ro8 . Indian . •RhiuolophuH Sloth . • Tlic ilUuitratioilii luarktMl with ad Bllll'nWill li'liliiiit s lu,, vv..f)-; 440, 286 258 17 28 497 501 503 475 420 351 483 517 33 518 189 526 421 503 449 454 505 513 512 522 424 423 430 433 535 355 480 486 65 529 530 466 467 26 134 528 323 514 92 476 491 40 500 134 504 17 528 75 490 428 441 447 510 492 Maiuinalia — continued : Spider Monkey, Black * Striped Hyaena . Tarsius Bancanus Tiger . Uran . Whale, Sperm Zebra . Plants : — •Areca Palm . Banana and the Plantain Banyan *Baobab Trees at Manaar *Bo-tree, the Sacred Bottle-tree . Caoutchouc Trees — Indians incising them Cocoa-nut tree Coffee . Cinnamon . Clove . Date-tree Dragon-tree * Fig-tree Indigo Plant Mangosteen . Mangrove-tree Mimosa Nepenthes . Nutmeg Oil Pahn . Pepper Plant *Snake-tree . Sugar Cane . Sycamore Yriartea veutricosa Reptiles : — Alligator Amblyrhyne Anolis , J3asilisk Boa . Chameleon . Crocodile Flying Dragon Gecko . Iguana Monitor Rattlesnake . Toad, Bahia Surinam Toad and Anolis Tortoise, Marsh Tui'tle, Green Loggerhead •Ui'opeltis Philippinus Water Snake Tower in Agades Tropical Tornado Tuarvk Chieftain asterisk ai*e taken, by permission, from Sir James PART I. ASPECTS OF TROnCAL NATURE Tropical Tornado. CHAPTER I. THE DIVERSITY OF CLIMATE8 WITHIN THE TROPICS. Causes by which it is produced — Abundance and Distribution of Rain within the Tropics — The Trade Winds — The Belt of Calms — Tropical Rains — The Monsoons — Tornados — Cyclones — Typhoons — Storms in the Pacific — Devastations caused by Hurricanes on Pitcairn Island and Rarotonga. ON surveying the various regions of the torrid zone, we find that Nature has made many wonderful provisions to miti- gate the heat of the vertical sun, to endow the equatorial lands with an amazing variety of ch'mate, and to extend the benefit of the warmth generated within the tropics to countries situated far beyond their bounds. Thus, while the greater part of the northern temperate zone is occupied by land, the floods of ocean roll over by far the greater portion of the equatorial regions, — for both torrid America and Africa appear as mere islands in a vast expanse of sea. The conversion of water, by evaporation, into a gaseous form is accompanied by the abstraction of heat from surrounding bodies, or, in popular language, by the production of cold ; and thus over the surface of the ocean the rays of the sun have a tendency to check their own warming influence, and to impart B 2 4 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE a coolness to the atmosphere, the refreshing effects of which are felt wherever the sea breeze blows. There can, therefore, be no doubt that, if the greater part of the tropical ocean were converted into land, the heat of the torrid zone would be far more intolerable than it is. The restless winds and currents, the perpetual migrations of the air and waters, perform a no less important part in cooling the equatorial and warming the temperate regions of the globe. Rarefied by the intense heat of a vertical sun, the equatorial air-stream ascends in perpendicular columns high above the surface of the earth, and thence flows off towards the poles ; while, to fill up the void, cold air-currents come rushing from the arctic and antarctic regions. If caloric were the sole agent on which the direction of these antagonistic air-currents depended, they would naturally flow to the north and south ; but the rotation of the earth gradually diverts them to the east and west, and thus the cold air- currents, or polar streams, ultimately change into the trade winds which regularly blow over the greater part of the tropical ocean from east to west, and materially contribute, by their refreshing coolness, to the health and comfort of the navigator whom they waft over the equatorial seas. WTiile the polar air-currents, though gradually warming as they advance, thus mitigate the heat of the torrid zone, the opposite equatorial breezes, which reach our coasts as moist south-westerly or westerly winds, soften the cold of our winters, and clothe our fields with a lively verdure during the greater part of the year. How truly magnificent is this grand system of the winds, which, by the constant interchange of heat and cold which it produces, thus imparts to one zone the beneficial influence of another, and renders both far more fit to be in- habited by civilized man. The Greek navigators rendered homage to ^Eolus, but they were far from having any idea of the admirable laws which govern the unstable, ever-fluctuating domains of the " God of the Winds." The same unequal influence of solar warmth under the line and at the poles, which sets the air in constant motion, also com- pels the waters of the ocean to perpetual migrations, and pro- duces those wonderful marine currents which, like the analogous atmoHpheric streams, furrow in opposite directions the bosom of VARIETIES OF TROPICAL CLIMATE 5 the sea. Thanks to this salutary interchange, the Gulf Stream, issuing from the Mexican Sea, and thence flowing to the north and east, conveys a portion of its original warmth as far as the west coast of Spitzbergen and Nowaja Semlja; while in the southern hemisphere we see the Peruvian stream impart the refrigerating influence of the antarctic waters to the eastern coast of South America. The geographical distribution of the land within the tropics likewise tends to counterbalance or to mitigate the excessive heat of a vertical sun ; for a glance over the map shows us at once that it is mostly either insular or extending its narrow length between two oceans, thus multiplying the surface over which the sea is able to exert its influence. Thus the Indian Archipelago, the peninsula of Malacca, the Antilles, and Central America, are all undoubtedly indebted to the waters which bathe their coasts for a more temperate climate than that which they would have had if grouped together in one vast continent. The temperature of a country proportionally decreases with its elevation ; and thus the high situation of many tropical lands moderates the effects of equatorial heat, and endows them with a climate similar to that of the temperate, or even of the cold regions of the globe. The Andes and the Himalaya, the most stupendous mountain-chains of the world, raise their snow- clad summits either within the tropics or immediately beyond their verge, and must be considered as colossal refrigerators, ordained by Providence to counteract the effects of the vertical sunbeams over a vast extent of land. In Western Tropical America, in Asia, and in Africa, we find immense countries risinPT like terraces thousands of feet above the level of the ocean, and reminding the European traveller of his distant northern home by their productions and their cooler tempera- ture. Thus, by means of a few simple physical and geological causes acting and reacting upon each other on a magnificent scale. Nature has bestowed a wonderful variety of climate upon the tropical regions, producing a no less wonderful diversity of plants and animals. But warmth alone is not sufficient to call forth a luxuriant vegetation : it can only exert its powers when combined with a sufficient degree of moisture; and it chiefly depends upon the presence or absence of water whether a tropical country B 3 6 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE appears i\8 a naked waste or decked with the most gorgeous vegetation. As the evaporation of the tropical ocean is far more con- siderable than that of the northern sea, the atmospherical pre- cipitations (dew, rain) caused by the cooling of the air are far more abundant in the torrid zone than in the temperate lati- tudes. While the annual fall of rain within the tropics amounts, on an average, to about eight feet, it attains in Europe a height of only thirty inches ; and under the clear equatorial sky the dew is often so abundant as to equal in its effects a moderate shower of rain. But this enormous mass of moisture is most unequally dis- tributed; for while the greater part of the Sahara and the Peruvian sand-coast are constantly arid, and South Africa and North Australia suffer from long-continued droughts, we find other tropical countries refreshed by almost daily showers, and the annual fall of rain in the West Indies and on the coast of Malabar rises to the enormous height of 274 and 283 inches. The direction of the prevailing winds, the condensing powers of high mountains and of forests, the relative position of a country, the nature of its soil, are the chief causes which produce an abundance or want of rain, and consequently determine the fertiUty or barrenness of the land. Of these causes, the first- mentioned is by far the most general in its effects, — so that a knowledge of the tropical winds is above all things necessary to give us an insight into the distribution of moisture over the equatorial world. I have already mentioned the trade winds, or cool reactionary currents called forth by the ascending equatorial air-stream ; but it will now be necessary to submit them to a closer examination, and follow them in their circular course throughout the tropical regions. In the Northern Atlantic, their influence, varying with the season, extends to 22° N. lat. in winter, and 39° N. lat. in summer ; while in the southern hemisphere they reach no farther than 18° S. lat. in winter, and 28° or 30° S. lat. in summer. In the Pacific, their limits vary between 21° and 31° N. lat., and between 23° and 33° S. lat. ; so that, on the whole, they have here a more southern position, owing, no doubt, to the vast extent of open sea; while in the Atlantic the influence of the THE TKADE WINDS 7 neighbouring continents lorces them to the north, and even causes the trade winds of the southern hemisphere to ascend beyond the equatorial line. Their character is that of a con- tinual soft breeze— strongest in the morning, remitting at noon, and again increasing in the evening. In the neighbourhood of the coasts, except over very small islands, they become weaker, and generally cease to be felt at a distance of about fifteen or twenty miles from the sea, though, of course, at greater heights they continue their course uninterruptedly over the land. For obvious reasons the trade winds have been much more accurately investigated upon the ocean than on land, particularly in the Northern Atlantic, which is better known in its physical features than any other sea, as being a highway for numberless vessels to which the study of the winds is a matter of the greatest importance ; yet, in spite of so many disturbing influences, their course, even over the continents, has been ascertained by tra- vellers. North-easterly winds almost constantly sweep over the Sahara ; and in South Africa, Dr. Livingstone informs us that north-easterly and south-easterly winds blow over the whole continent between 12° and 6° S. lat., even as far as Angola, where they unite with the sea winds. In Brazil, the presence of the trade winds has been determined with still greater accuracy. Thus easterly breezes almost per- petually sweep over the boundless plains up to the slopes of the Andes, and even in Paraguay (25° S. lat.) a mild east wind constantly arises in summer after the setting of the sun. As the trade winds originate in the coldest, and thence pass onwards to the warmer regions, they are, of course, constantly absorbing moisture as they advance over the seas. Saturated with vapours, they reach the islands and continents, where, meeting with various refrigerating influences (mountain-chains, forests, terrestrial radiation), their condensing vapours give rise to an abundance both of rain and dew. It is owing to their influence that in general, within the tropics, the eastern coasts, or the eastern slopes of the mountains, are better watered than the interior of the continents or lands with a western exposure. An example on the grandest scale is afforded to us by South America, where the Andes of Peru and Bolivia so effectually drain the prevailing east winds of their moisture, that while numberless rivulets, the feeders of the gigantic Maraiion, clothe B 4 g ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE their eastern gorges with a perpetual verdure, their western slopes are almost constantly arid. Such is the influence of this colossal barrier in interrupting the course of the air-current, that the trade wind only begins to be felt again on the Pacific at a dis- tance of one hundred or even one hundred and fifty miles from the shore. In South Africa, also, we find the eastern mountainous coast- lands covered with giant timber — in striking contrast with the parched savannas or dreary wastes of the interior ; and in the South Sea the difference of verdure between the east and west coasts of the Galapagos, the Sandwich Islands, the P'eejees, and many other groups, never fails to arrest the attention of the mariner. The trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres do not, however, blow in one continuous stream over the whole breadth of the tropical ocean, but are separated from each other by a zone or belt of calms, occasioned by their mutually paralys- ing each other's influence on meeting from the north and the south-east, and by the attraction of the sun, which, when in the zenith, changes the easterly air-currents into an ascending stream. From this dependence on the position of the sun, it may easily be inferred that the zone of calms fluctuates, like the trade winds themselves, to the north or south, according to the seasons ; and that it is far from invariably occupying the same degrees of latitude, or the same width, at all times of the year. In the Atlantic, from the causes previously mentioned, it constantly remains to the north of the line, where its breadth averages five or six degrees ; in the Pacific it more generally extends, during the antarctic summer, on both sides of the equator. Besides the intensity of its heat, the zone of calms is charac- terised by heavy showers, which regularly fall in the afternoon, and are caused by the cooling of the saturated air-columns in the higher regions of the air. Daily, towards noon, dense clouds form in the sky, and dissolve in torrents of rain under fearful electrical explosions, now sooner, now later, of shorter or longer continuance, with increasing or abating violence, as the sun is more or less in his zenith. Towards evening the vapours disperse, and the sun sets in a clear, unclouded horizon. Thus towns or countries situated THE RAINY SEASONS 9 within the cahus, such as Para, Quito, Bogota, Guayaquil, the Kingsmill Islands, may be said to have a perennial rainy season, as showers fall at every season of the year. To the north and south of the belt of calms, we find in both hemi- spheres a broad zone, characterised by two distinct rainy sea- sons, separated by two equally distinct periods of dry weather. The rainy seasons take place while the sun is crossing the zenith, and more or less paralysing the power of the trade winds. Cayenne, Honduras, Jamaica, Pernambuco, Bahia, afford us examples of these well-defined alternations. In Jamaica, for/ instance (18° N. lat.), the first rainy season begins in April, the\ second in October ; the first dry season in June, and the second J in December. Towards the verge of the tropics follow the zones which are characterised by a single rainy season, but of a longer con- tinuance, generally lasting six months, throughout the summer, or from one equinoctium to another. In these parts, the rainy season is also tjie warmest period of the year, since here the different height of the sun in winter and summer is already so considerable, that at the time of culmination the clouds and rain are not able to reduce the temperature below that of the clear and dry winter months ; while in the zones which are situated nearer to the equator, the rainy season, in spite of the sun's culmination, is always the coolest. To sum up the foregoing remarks in a few words : the two rainy seasons, which characterise the middle zone between each tropic and the line, have a tendency to pass into one annual rainy season on advancing towards the tropics, and to merge into a permanent rainy season on approaching the equator. As the sun goes to the north or south, he opens the sluices of heaven, and closes them as he passes to another hemisphere. Such may be said to be the normal state which would everywhere obtain within the equatorial regions if one un- bounded ocean covered their surface, and none of the disturb- ing influences previously mentioned interfered ; but as we find the trade winds so frequently deflected from their course, we must also naturally expect the general or theoretical order of the dry and rainy seasons to be liable to great modifications. Thus, in the Indian Ocean and in the Chinese Sea, terrestrial mfluences prevail during the summer which completely divert 10 ASPECTS OF TROriCAL NATURE the trade wind, there called the North-east Monsoon, from its regular path. From the wide lands of south-eastern Asia, glowing, during the summer months, with a torrid heat, the rarefied air, as it rises into the higher regions, completely over- powers the usual course of the trade wind, and changes it into the south-western monsoon, which blows from May to Sep- tember. Hence, during the summer months, the saturated sea wind, striking against the western ghauts, brings rain to the coast of Malabar, while the opposite coast of Coromandel remains dry ; but the inverse takes place when, from the sun's declining to the south, the north-east trade wind resumes its sway. Similar deflections from the ordinary course of the trade winds occur also on the coast of Guinea (5° N. lat.), in the Meiican Gulf, and in that part of the Pacific which borders on Central America, through the influence of the heated plains of Africa, Utah, Texas, and New Mexico, and have a similar in- fluence on the distribution of moisture. Thus the sea monsoon, which prevails during the summer months on the coast of northern Guinea, carries a rainy season over the land as far as the eighteenth or nineteenth degree of northern latitude, and fertilises a vast extent of country which, from its position on the western side of an immense continent, would otherwise have been as naked and barren as the Sahara. As the tropical rains, though generally confined only to part of the year, and then only to a few hours of the day, fall in so much greater abundance than under our constantly drooping skies,' it may naturally be supposed that the single showers must be proportionally violent. Descending in streams so close and so dense that the level ground, unable to absorb it suffi- ciently fast, is covered with a sheet of water, the rain rushes down the hill-sides in a volume that wears channels in the sur- face. For hours together the noise of the torrent, as it beats upon the trees and bursts upon the roofs, occasions an uproar that drowns the ordinary voice and renders sleep impossible. In Bombay nearly nine inches of rain have been known to fall in one day, and twelve inches in Calcutta, or nearly half the mean annual quantity of rain on the east coast of England. During one single storm which Castelnau witnessed at Pebiis, oil the Amazon, there fell not less than thirty inches of rain — V10LE^TE OF TROPICAL STORMS 11 nearly as much as the annual supply of our west coast. The hollow trunk of an enormous tree in an exposed situation gave the French traveller the means of accurate measurement. As in the equatorial regions the atmospherical precipitations are far more considerable than in the temperate zones, so also their storms rage with a violence unknown in our climes. In the Indian and Chinese Seas these convulsions of nature gene- rally take place at the change of the monsoons ; in the West Indies, at the beginning and at the end of the rainy seasons. Tlie tornado which devastated the Island of Guadeloupe on the 2.3 th July, 1846, blew down buildings constructed of solid stone, and tore the guns of a battery from their carriages ; another, which raged some years back in the Mauritius, demolished a church and drove thirty-two vessels on the strand. On the Beagle's arrival in Port Louis, after her long and arduous surveying voyage, a fleet of crippled vessels, the victims of a recent hurricane, might have been seen making their way into the harbour — some dismasted, others kept afloat with dif- ficulty, firing guns of distress or giving other signs of their helpless condition. "On the now tranquil surface of the harbour lay a group of shattered vessels, presenting the appearance of floating wrecks. In almost all, the bulwarks, boats, and every- thing on deck, had been swept away; some, that were towed ill, had lost all their masts; others, more or less of their spars ; one had her poop and all its cabins swept away; many had four or five feet of water in the hold, and the clank of the pumps was still kept up by the weary crew." * Such are the terrible effects of the tornados and cyclones of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans ; but the storms of the mis- called Pacific are no less furious and destructive. A hurricane, which on the 15th of April, 1845, burst over Pitcairn Island, washed all the fertile mould from the rocks, and, uprooting 300 cocoa-nut trees, cast them into the sea. Every fishing-boat on the island was destroyed, and thousands of fruit-bearing bananas were swept away. Four months of famine followed upon this terrific storm, to which the pious islanders meekly submitted as to the will of God. The celebrated missionary, John Williams f, describes a * Captain Stokes's " Discoveries in Australia." + "Narrative of Missionary Enterprise in the South Sea Islands," p. 390. 12 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE similar catastrophe which befell the beautiful island of Karotonga on the 23rd of December, 1831. The chapels, school-houses, mission-houses, and nearly all the dwellings of the natives, no less than a thousand in number, were levelled to the ground. Every particle of food on the island was destroyed. Of the thousands of banana or plantain trees which had covered and adorned the land, scarcely one was left standing, either on the plains, in the valleys, or upon the mountains. Stately trees, that had withstood the storms of ages, were laid prostrate on the ground, and thrown upon each other in the wildest con- fusion ; while even of those that were still standing, many were left without a branch, and all perfectly leafless. So great and so general was the destruction, that no spot escaped ; for the gale, veering gradually round the island, did most effectually its devastating work. Though the tropical storms are thus frequently a scourge, they are often productive of no less signal benefits. Many a murderous epidemic has suddenly ceased after one of these natural convulsions, and myriads of insects, the destroyers of the planter's hopes, are swept away by the fierce tornado. Be- sides, if the equatorial hurricanes are far more furious than our storms, a more luxurious vegetation effaces their vestiges in a shorter time. Thus Nature teaches us that a preponderance of good is frequently concealed behind the paroxysms of her appa- rently unbridled rage. From these general outlines of the physical geography of the tropical world, I shall, in the next following chapters, proceed to a more detailed description of several equatorial lands dis- tinguished by the extremes of moisture or aridity, of warmth or cold, according to their position and elevation above the level of the sea. These " Aspects of Tropical Nature," if I thus may venture to call them, will serve to show the wonderful variety of climate wliicli the causes above-mentioned engender under the same low latitudes, and their influence upon the development of animjil arid vegetable life. TliuH, while the Sahara, the KalahaH, and the Peruvian earuL-coast afford striking examples of barrenness ensuing from GRADATIONS OF TROPICAL CLIMATE 13 the want of moisture, the vast region traversed by the mighty Ainazon with its thousand tributary streams, and the gorgeous vegetation of the primitive forest, exhibit no less striking pictures of the fertility which abundant rain, together with lieat, produces in the equatorial lands. The slopes of SikJcim and the terraced plateaus of Mexico will show us a gradual change of vegetation as we advance from the sea-borde to the higher mountainous regions, — the frigid, the temperate, and the torrid zones being, as it were, superposed one above the other; and while in the Puna, or liigli table-lands of Peru and Bolivia, we find the rigours of the north transported under the line, the influence of the alter- iiMting dry and rainy seasons appears on a magnificent scale in the vast Llanos of Venezuela and Guiana, to which I shall now introduce the reader. ]4 CHAPTER II. THP] LLANOS. Their Aspect in the Dry Season — Vegetable Sources — Land Spouts — Effects of the Mirage— A Savannah on Fire — Opening of the Rainy Season — Miraculous Changes — Exuberance of Animal and Vegetable Life — Conflict be- tween Horses and Electrical Eels — Beauty of the Llanos at the Termination of the Rainy Season — The Mauritia Palm. IN South America, the features of Nature are traced on a gigantic scale. Mountains, forests, rivers, plains, there appear in far more colossal dimensions than in our part of the world. Many a branch of the Maranon surpasses the Danube in size. In the boundless primitive forests of Gruiana more than one Grreat Britain could find room. The Alps would seem but of moderate elevation if placed aside of the towering Andes ; and the plains of Northern Grermany and Holland are utterly insignificant when compared with the Llanos of Venezuela and New Grenada, which, stretching from the coast-chain of Ca- raccas to the forests of Guiana, and from the snow-crowned mountains of Merida to the Delta of the Orinoco, cover a surface of more than 250,000 square miles. Nothing can be more remarkable than the contrast which these immeasurable plains present at various seasons of the year — now parched by a long-continued drought, and now covered with the most luxuriant vegetation. When, day after day, the sun, rising and setting in a cloudless sky, pours his vertical rays upon the thirsty Llanos, the calcined grass-plains present the monotonous aspect of an interminable waste. Like the ocean, their limits melt in the hazy distance with those of the horizon ; but here the resemblance ceases, for no refreshing breeze wafts coolness over the desert, and comforts the drooping spiritA of the wanderer. SAVANNAH ON FIRE I Til LLANOS IX THE DRY SEASON In the wintry solitudes of Siberia the skin of the reindeer affords protection to man against the extreme cold ; but in these sultry plains there is no refuge from the burning sun above and the heat reflected from the glowing soil, save where, at vast intervals, small clumps of the Mauritia palm afford a scanty shade. The water-pools which nourished this beneficent tree have long since disappeared ; and the marks of the previous rainy season, still visible on the tall reeds that spring from the marshy ground, serve only to mock the thirst of the exhausted traveller. The long-legged jabiru and the scarlet ibis have forsaken the dried-up swamp which no longer affords them any subsistence, and only here and • there a solitary Caracara falcon lingers on the spot, as if meditating on the vicissitudes of the season. Yet even now the parched savannah has some refreshment to bestow, as Nature — which in the East Indian forests fills the pitchers of the Nepenthes with a grateful li(juid, and in the waterless Kalahari causes many juicy roots to thrive under the surface of the desert — here also displays her bounty; for the globular melon-cactus, which flourishes on the driest soil, and not seldom measures a foot in diameter, conceals a juicy pulp under its tough and prickly skin. Guided by an admirable instinct, the wary mule strikes off with his fore-feet the long, sharp thorns of this remarkable plant, the emblem of good-nature under a rough exterior, and then cautiously approaches his lips to sip the refreshing juice. Yet, drinking from these living sources is not unattended with danger, and mules are often met with that have been lamed by the formidable prickles of the cactus. The wild horse and ox of the savannah, not gifted with the same sagacity, roam about a prey to hunger and burning- thirst — the latter hoarsely bellowing, the former snuffing up the air with outstretched neck to discover by its moisture the neighbourhood of some pool that may have resisted the general drought. Nepenthes. 1,; ASPFX'TS OF TROPICAL NATURE Besides their interminable extent, the Llanos have several other points of resemblance to the sea. As here the waterspout, raised by contending air-currents, rises to the clouds and sweeps over the floods, thus also the dust of the savannah, set in motion by conflicting winds, ascends in mighty columns and glides over the desert plain. The glowing sand suspended in the air increases the sultriness of the atmosphere, and may even become dangerous to the traveller who cannot escape by a timely flight; for, seizing him with irresistible violence, it carries him along in its embrace, and then hurls him senseless to the ground. As if " on a painted ocean," the becalmed ship lies motionless on the glassy sea. No breath of air ruffles the surface of the waters. The pennant hangs lazily from the mast ; the water- casks are empty; the torments of thirst, aggravated by the heat of a vertical sun, become intolerable. But, suddenly, as if by magic, a beautiful island rises from the floods ; waving palm- trees seem to welcome the mariner : he fancies he hears the purling of the brook and the splashing of the waterfall. Yet still the vessel remains immovable like a rock, and soon the fading phantom that mocked his misery leaves him the victim of increased despair. Similar delusions of the mirage, produced by the refraction of the light as it passes through atmospherical strata of unequal warmth, and consequently of unequal density, likewise take place over the surface of the Llanos, which then assume the semblance of a large sea, heaving and rocking in wave-like motion. In the Lybian desert, in the dread solitudes of the polar ocean, in every zone, we meet with the same phenomenon, produced by the same cause. As in the arctic regions the intense cold during winter re- , tards the pulsations, or even suspends the operations of life, so in the Llanos the long continuance of drought causes a similar stagnation in animated nature. The thinly-scattered trees and shrubs do not indeed cast their foliage, but the greyish-yellow of their leaves announces that vegetation is suspended. Buried in the clay of the dried-up pools, the alligator and the water- boa lie plunged in a deep summer-sleep, like the bear of the north in his long winter slumber ; and many animals which, at other times, are found roaming over the Llanos, — such as TORPOR OF ANIMAL LIFE 17 the graceful aguti, the hoggish peccary, and the timid deer of the savannah, — have left the parched plains and migrated to the forest or the river. The large mane- less puma and the spotted jaguar, fol- lowing their prey to less arid regions, are now no longer seen in their former hunting-grounds, and the Indian has also disappeared with the stag whom he pursued with his poisoned arrows. In the Siberian Tundras the reindeer and the migratory birds are scared away by winter ; here life is banished or sua- Aguu. pended by an intolerable heat. Sometimes the ravages of fire are added to complete the image of death on the parched savannah. " We had not yet penetrated far into the plain," says Schomburgk, "when we saw to the south-east high columns of smoke ascending to the skies, the sure signs of a savannah fire, and at the same time the Indians anxiously pressed us to speed on, as the burning torrent Peccary. would most likely roll in our direction. Although at first we were inclined to consider their fears as exaggerated, yet the next half-hour served to convince us of the extreme peril of our situation. In whatever direction we gazed, we nowhere saw a darker patch in the grass-plain announcing the refuge of a water-pool ; we could already distinguish the flames of the advancing column, already hear the bursting and crackling of the reeds, when fortimately the sharp eye of the Indians discovered some small eminences before us, only sparingly covered with a low vegetation, and to these we now careered as if Death himself were behind us. Half a minute later, and I should never have lived to relate our adventures. With beating hearts we saw the sea of fire rolling its devouring billows towards us ; the suffocating smoke, striking in our faces, forced us to turn our back upon the advancing conflagration, and to await the dreadful decision with the resignation of help- less despair. " And now we were in the midst of the blaze. Two arms of c 18 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE fire encircled the base of the little hillock on which we stood, and united before us in a waving mass, which, rolling onwards, receded farther and farther from our gaze. The flames had devoured the short grass of the hillock, but had not found suf- ficient nourishment for our destruction. Whole swarms of voracious vultures followed in circling flight the fiery column, like so many hungry jackals, and pounced upon the snakes and lizards which the blaze had stifled and half-calcined in its mur- derous embrace. When, with the rapidity of lightning, they darted upon their prey and disappeared in the clouds of smoke, it almost seemed as if they were voluntarily devoting them- selves to a fiery death. Soon the deafening noise of the con- flagration ceased, and the dense black clouds in the distance were the only signs that the fire was still proceeding on its devastating path over the wide wastes of the savannah." At length, after a long drought, when all Nature seems about to expire under the want of moisture, various signs announce the approach of the rainy season. The sky, instead of its bril- liant blue, assumes a leaden tint, from the vapours which are beginning to condense. The black spot of the " Southern Cross," that most beautiful of constellations, in which, a& the Indians poetically fancy, the Spirit of the savannah resides, becomes more indistinct as the transparency of the atmosphere diminishes. The mild phosphoric gleam of the Magellanic clouds expires. The fixed stars, which shone with a quiet planetary light, now twinkle even in the zenith. Like distant mountain-chains, banks of clouds begin to rise over the horizon, and, forming in masses of increasing density, to ascend higher and higher, until at length the sudden lightnings flash from their dark bosom, and, with the loud crash of thunder, the first rains burst in torrents over the thirsty land. Scarcely have the showers had time to moisten the earth, when the dormant powers of vegetation begin to awaken with an almost miraculous rapidity. The dull, tawny surface of the parched savannah changes as if by magic into a carpet of the most lively green, enamelled with thousands of flowers of every colour. Stimulated ])y the light of early day, the mimosas expand their delicate fi)liage, and the fronds of the beautiful mauritias sprout forth with all the luxuriance of youthful energy. Au'i now, also, the animal life of the savannah awakens to THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE RAINY SEASON 19 the full enjoyment of existence. The horse and the ox rejoice in the grasses, under whose covert the jaguar frequently lurks, to pounce upon them with his fatal spring. On the border of the swamps, the moist clay, slowly heaving, bursts asunder, and from the tomb in which he lay embedded rises a gigantic water-snake or a huge crocodile. The new-formed pools and lakes swarm with life, and a host of water- fowl — ibises, cranes, flamingos, mycterias — make their appearance, to regale on the prodigal banquet. A new creation of insects and other un- bidden guests now seek the wretched hovels of the Indians, which are sparingly scattered over the higher parts of the savannah. Countless multitudes of ants, sandflies, and mos- quitos ; rattlesnakes, expelled by the cold and moisture from the lower grounds ; repulsive geckos, which with incredible rapidity run along the overhanging rafters; nauseous toads, which, concealing themselves by day in the dark corners of the huts, crawl forth in the evening in quest of prey ; lizards, scorpions, centipedes; in a word, worms and vermin of all names and forms, — emerge from the inundated plains, for the tropical rains have gradually converted the savannah, which erewhile exhibited a waste as dreary as that of the Sahara, into a boundless lake. The swollen rivers of the steppe — the Apure, the Arachuna, the Pajara, the Arauca — pour in mighty streams over the plains, and boats are now able to sail for miles across the land from one river-bed into another. On the same spot where, but a short time ago, the thirsty horse anxiously snuffed the air to discover by its moisture the presence of some pool, the animal is now obliged to lead an amphibious life. The mares retreat with their foals to the higher banks, which rise like islands above the waters, and as from day to day the land contracts within narrower limits, the want of forage obliges them to swim about in quest of the gi*asses that raise their heads above the fermenting waters. Many foals are drowned ; many are surprised by the crocodiles, that strike them down with their jagged tails, and then crush them between their jaws. Horses and oxen are not seldom met with, which, having fortunately escaped these huge saurians, bear on their limbs the marks of their sharp teeth. " This sight," says Humboldt, " involuntarily reminds the reflecting observer of the great pliability with which nature has c 2 20 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE emluwed several plants and animals. Along with the fruits of Ceres, the horse and the ox have followed man over the whole earth, from the Granges to the La Plata, and from the coast of Africa to the mountain-plain of Antisana, which is more elevated than the lofty peak of Teneriffe. Here the northern birch- tree, there the date-palm, protects the tired ox from the heat of the mid-day sun. The same species of animal which con- tends in eastern Europe with bears and wolves, is attacked in another zone by the tiger and the crocodile." But it is not the jaguar and the alligator alone which lie in wait for the South American horse, for even among the fishes he has a dangerous enemy. The rivers and marshes of the Llanos are often filled with electrical eels, whose Eiectncal Eel. (Gymnotus ^limy, ycUoW-pUUCtured body Seuds eiectncus.) forth at will from the under part of the tail a stunning shock. These eels are from five to six feet long. They are able, when in full vigour, to kill the largest animals when they suddenly unload their electrical organs in a favourable direction. All other fishes, aware of their power, fly at the sight of the formidable gymnotes. They stun even the angler on the high river-bank, the moist line serving as a conductor for the electric fluid. The capture of these eels affords a highly entertaining and animated scene. Mules and horses are driven into the pond, which the Indians surround, until the unwonted noise and splashing of the waters rouse the fishes to an attack. Gliding along, they creep under the belly of the horses, many of whom die from the shock of their strokes; while others, with mane erect, and dilated nostrils, endeavour to flee from the electric storm which they have roused. But the Indians, armed with long poles, drive them back again into the pool. Gradually the unequal contest subsides. Like spent thunder- clouds, the exhausted fishes disperse, for they require a long rest and plentiful food to repair the loss of their galvanic powers. Their shocks grow weaker and weaker. Terrified by the noise of the horses, they timidly approach the banks, when, wounded with harpoons, they are dragged on shore with dry and non- conducting pieces of wood ; and thus the strange combat ends. The Llanos are never more beautiful than at the end of the TllK LLANOS AT THE END OF THE RAINS 21 rainy season, before the sun has absorbed the moisture of the soil. Then every plant is robed "vyith the freshest green ; an agreeable breeze, cooled by the evaporating waters, undulates over the sea of grasses, and at night a host of stars shines mildly upon the fragrant savannah, or the silvery moonbeam trembles on its surface. Where on the margin of the primitive forest, girt with colossal cactuses and agaves, groups of the mauritia rise majestically over the plain, the stateliest park ever planted by man must yield in beauty to the charming picture of these natural gardens, bordered here by impenetrable thickets, and there by the blue mountain-chain, behind which the fancy paints scenes of still more enchanting loveliness. The mauritia, the chief ornament of the park-like savannah, and no less useful than the date-tree of the African oasis, pro- vides the Indian with almost every necessary, and fully deserves the name of " tree of life" — arhol de la vida — bestowed upon it by the poetical fancy of the Jesuit Gumilla. Rising to the height of a hundred feet, its slender trunk is surmounted by a magnificent tuft of large, fan-shaped fronds, of a brilliant green, under whose canopy the scaly fruits, resembling pine-cones, hang in large clusters. Like the banana, they afford a food differing in taste according to the stages of ripeness in which they are plucked ; and before the blossoms of the male palm have expanded, its trunk contains a nutritious pith like sago, which, dried in thin slices, forms one of the chief articles of the Indian's bill of fare. Like his brethren of the Eastern world, he also knows how to prepare an intoxicating " toddy " from the juice of the flower-spathes ; the leaves serve to cover his hut ; out of the fibres of their petioles he manufactures twine and cordage ; and the sheaths at their base afford him material for his sandals. At the mouth of the Orinoco the very existence of the yet unsubdued Gruaranas depends on the mauritia, which gives them both food and liberty. Formerly, when this tribe was more numerous than at the present day, they raised their huts on floorings stretching from trunk to trunk, and formed of the leaf-stalks of their tutelary palm. Thus, like the monkeys and parrots of their native wilds, they lived in the trees during the inundations of the Delta in the rainy season. These platforms were partly covered with moist clay, on which fire was made c 3 •J2 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE lor liousehold purposes ; and the flames afforded a strange sight to travellers sailing on the river at night. Even now the light-footed Guaranas owe their independence to the half- liquid soil of their territory, and to their tree life. The fruits of the mauritia, besides affording food to the Indian, are eagerly devoured by monkeys and parrots. On approaching a group of palms at the time when the fruits are ripening, thp profound silence which within the tropics chiefly characterises the noon, is interrupted by a scream of warning, and soon after a numerous troop of birds wheels screeching about the grove. The green colour of their plumage seldom betrays the parrots to the eye among the equally green fronds of the palms. When the Spaniards first settled in the beautiful mountain valleys of Caraccas and on the Orinoco, they found the Llanos, in spite of their abundant verdure, almost entirely uninhabited by man, for the Indians were unacquainted with pastoral life ; and if the mauritia had not here and there tempted a few savages to settle on the open savannahs, they would have been left entirely to the animal life which from time immemorial had thriven on their herbage. But the Spaniards introduced new quadrupeds into the new world, — the ox, the horse, the ass, our faithful companions over the whole surface of the globe, — and the progeny of these domestic animals, returning to their wild state, has multiplied amazingly in the vast pastures of the Llanos. Man has followed them into their new domain ; and small hamlets, often situated whole days' journeys one from another, and consisting only of a few wretched huts, though generally dignified with the name of towns, proclaim that he has at least made a beginning to establish his empire over these boundless plains. > ri High Table- Lands of Peru. CHAPTER III. THE PUNA, OR THE HIGH TABLE-LANDS OF PERU AND BOLIVIA. Striking Contrast with the Llanos — Northern Character of their Climate — The Chuiiu — The Siirumpe — The Veta: its Influence upon Man, Horses, Mules, and Cats — The Vegetation of the Puna — The Maca — The Llama : its invaluable Services — The Huanacu — The Alpaca — The Vicuiias : Mode of Hunting Them — The Cliacu — The Bolas — The Chinchilla — The Condor — Wild Bulls and Wild Dogs — Lovely Mountain Valleys. BETWEEN the two mighty parallel mountain-chains of the Cordillera and the Andes*, the giant bulwarks of Western South America, we find, extending throughout the whole length of Peru and Bolivia, at a height of from ten to fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, vast plateaus, or table-lands, which are named, in the language of the country, the Puna, or " the Uninhabited." They present a striking contrast to the Llanos of Venezuela ; for though situated, like these sultry plains, within the torrid zone, their great elevation paralyses the effects of a vertical sun, and transfers the rigours of the north to the very centre of the tropical world. Their climate is hardly less bleak, unfriendly, and winterly than that of the high snow-ridges which bound them on either * Though frequently confounded, even by the Peruvian Creoles, the western cliain, running parallel with the coast of the Pacific, is properly the Cordillera ; wliile the eastern chain, which generally runs in the same direction as the former, has always been named the Andes by the Indian natives. C 4 24 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE side. Cold winds from the icy Cordillera sweep almost con- stantly over their surface, and during four months of the year they are daily visited by fearful storms. The suddenly dark- ened sky discharges, under terrific thunder and lightning, enormous masses of snow, until the sun breaks forth again. But soon the clouds obsciure its brilliancy ; and thus cold and warmth, winter and summer, here reign alternately, — not, as in our temperate climes, during several months, but within the short space of a single day. In a few hours the change of temperature often amounts to forty or forty-five degrees, and the sudden fall of the ther- mometer is rendered still more disagreeable to the traveller by biting winds, which so violently irritate the skin of the hands and face, that it springs open and bleeds from every fissure. An intolerable burning and swelling accompany these wounds, so as to prevent the use of the hands for several days. On the lips it is also very disagreeable, as the pain increases by eating and speaking; and an incautious laugh produces deep rents, which bleed for a long time and heal with difficulty. This evil, which is called Chunu by the Peruvian Indians, is also very painful on the eyelids ; but it becomes absolutely in- supportable by the addition of the Sururtipef a very acute and violent inflammation of the eyes, caused by the sun's reflection from the snow. In consequence of the rarefied air and the biting winds, the visual organs are constantly in a state of irrita- tion, which renders them far more sensitive to any strong light than would be the case in a more congenial atmosphere. The rapid change from a clouded sky to the' brilliancy of a ^i^ny snow-field, causes a painful stinging and burning, which^n- creases from minute to minute to such a degree, that even the stoical Indian, when afflicted with this evil, will sit down on the road-side and utter cries of anguish and despair. Chronical ophthalmia, suppuration of the eyelids, and total blindness, are the frequent consequences of an intense Surumpe, against which the traveller over the high lands carefully guards himself by green spectacles or a dark veil. A third plague of the wanderer in the Puna is the Veta, which is occasioned by the great rarefaction of the air. Its first symptoms, which generally appear at an elevation of 12,000 feet, consist in giddiness, buzzing in the ear, headache, THE VEGETATION OF THE PUNA 25 and nausea. They frequently show themselves even in those who ride, but in a much greater degree when the traveller ascends the mountains on foot. Their intensity increases with the elevation, and is aggravated by a lassitude, which augments to such a degree as to render walking impossible, by a great difficulty of respiration, and violent palpitation of the heart. Absolute rest mitigates the symptoms ; but on continuing the journey they reappear with increased violence, and are then frequently accompanied by fainting and vomiting. • The capil- lary vessels of the eye, nose, and lips burst, and emit drops of blood. The same phenomenon appears also in the mucous membrane of the respiratory and digestive organs ; so that blood-spitting and bloody diarrhoea frequently accompany the Veta, and are sometimes so violent as to cause death. The influence of diminished atmospheric pressure shows itself also in the horses that are unaccustomed to mountain travelling. They begin to pace more slowly, frequently stand still, tremble all over, and fall upon the ground. If not allowed to rest, they invariably die. By way of a restorative their nos- trils are slit open, which seems to be of use by allowing a greater influx of air. Mules and asses are less subject to the Veta than horses, but cats are affected by it in the highest degree. These animals are unable to live at a height of 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, and die in the most violent convulsions. Another consequence of the diminished pressure of the air in the Puna is, that water begins to boil at so low a tem- perature that neither eggs, potatoes, nor meat can be suffi- ciently boiled ; and that whoever wishes to eat a warm dinner in the Puna is obliged to have it baked or roasted. As the dry sand of the rainless coast prevents the putrefaction of animal substances which are buried in it, the power of the dry Puna-winds in a like manner arrests the progress of decom- position. Under their influence, a dead mule changes in a few days into a mummy, so that even the entrails do not exhibit the least sign of putrefaction. It may easily be imagined that, under these peculiar atmo- spheric influences, vegetation can only appear in stunted pro- portions, and indeed the Puna presents the monotonous aspect of a northern steppe, its whole surface being covered with dun and meagre herbage, which at all times gives it an autumnal ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE or even wintry aspect. A few arid compositse and yellow echinocacti are quite unable to relieve the dreary landscape ; and even the large-flowered calceolarias, the blue gentians, the sweet-smelling verbenas, the dwarfish cruciferse, and many other Alpine plants, the usual ornaments of the higher moun- tain regions, are here almost suffocated by the dense grasses. But rarely the eye meets with a solitary quenua tree {Polylepis raceniosa) of crippled growth, or with large spaces covered with red-b^own ratania shrubs, which are carefully collected for fuel, or for roofing the wretched huts of the scanty population of these desolate highlands. The cold climate of the Puna naturally confines agriculture to very narrow limits. The only cultivated plant which grows to maturity is the maca fa species of tropseolum), the tuberous roots of which are used like the potato, and form in many parts the chief food of the inhabitants. This plant grows best at an elevation of twelve or thirteen thousand feet, and is not planted in the lower regions, where its roots are said to be completely unpalatable. Barley is also cultivated in the Puna, but never ripens, and is cut green for forage. The animal kingdom is more amply represented in this bleak table-land ; for there is no want of food on the grass-covered plains, and wherever this exists, there is room for the develop- ment of animals appropriate to the climate. Thus the Llama and its near relations, the Alpaca,the Hua- nacii, and the Vicuna, the largest four-footed animals which Peru possessed before the Spaniards in- troduced the horse and the ox, are all natives of the Puna. Long before the invasion of Pizarro, the llama was used by the ancient Peruvians as a beast of burthen, and was not less serviceable to them than the camel to the Arabs of the desert. The wool served for the fa- brication of a coarse cloth ; the milk and flesh, as food; the skin, as a warm covering or mantle; and without the assistance of the llama, it would have been impossible for the Indians to transport goods or provisions over the high table- lands of the Andes, or for the Incas to have founded and main- taineii their vast empire. The llama is also historically remark- i THE LLAMA 27 able as being the only animal domesticated by the aboriginal Americans. The reindeer of the north* and the bison of the prairies enjoyed then, as they do now, their savage indepen- dence : the llama alone was obliged to submit to the yoke of man. But the llama reminds us of the dromedary not only by a similar destiny and similar services, but also by a strong resem- blance in form and structure, so as to be classed by naturalists in the same family. The unsightly hump is wanting, but the llama possesses the same callosities on the breast and on the knees, the same divided hoof, the same formation of the toes and stomach ; and the microscope teaches us that the resem- blance extends even to the globules of the blood, which are elliptical only in the camelides and some species of deer, but cir- cular in all other quadrupeds. Thus Nature has formed in the llama a species of mountain camel, admirably adapted to the exigencies of a totally different soil and climate ; and surely it is not one of the least wonders of creation to see animals so similar in many respecta emerge, without any connecting links, at the opposite extremities of the globe. The size of the llama is about that of the stag ; the neck is very long and habitually upright, the eyes large and brilliant, the lips thick, the ears long and movable. Its general colour is a light brown, the under parts being whitish, but it is also fre- quently dappled — seldom quite white or black. The ordinary load of the llama is about one hundred pounds, and its rate of travelling with this burthen over rugged moun- tain passes is from twelve to fifteen miles a-day. WTien over- loaded it lies down, and will not rise until relieved of part of its burthen. In spite of their weakness, the llamas are invalu- able in the silver mines ; for they are often obliged to transport the ore along precipices so abrupt, that even the hoof of the mule would find no support. Yet their price does not exceed three or four dollars, as the introduction of the stronger soli- pedes, the horse, and the mule, have very generally superseded them as beasts of burthen. " The Indians," says Tschudi, " often travel with large herds of llamas to the coast to fetch salt. Their journeys are very small, rarely more than three or four leagues ; for the llamas never feed after sunset, and are thus obliged to graze while * It is only in the Old World that the reindeer has ever been domesticated. 28 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE journeying, or to rest for several hours. While reposing, they utter a peculiar low tone, which at a distance, and when the herd is large, resembles the sound of several ^olian harps. A loaded herd of llamas traversing the high table-lands affords an interesting spectacle. Slowly and stately they proceed, casting inquisitive glances on every side. On seeing any strange object which excites their fears, they immediately scatter in every direction, and their poor drivers have great difficulty to re- unite the herd." The Indians, who are very fond of these animals, decorate their ears with ribbons, hang little bells about their necks, and always caress them before placing the burthen on their back. When one of them drops from fatigue, they kneel at its side and strive to encourage it for further exertion by a profusion of flattering epithets and gentle warnings. Yet, in spite of good treatment, a number of llamas perish on the way to the coast or to the forests, as they cannot stand the hot climate. The Huanacu is of a greater size than the llama, and resem- bles it so much that it was supposed to be the wild variety until Tschudi, in his "Fauna Peruana," pointed out the specific differ- ences between both. The huanacu is of a larger size ; its fleece is shorter and less fine ; its colour is brown, the under parts being whitish — but varieties of colour are never observed, as in the llama ; the face is blackish grey, lighter and almost white about the lips. The huanacus generally live in small troops of from five to seven. They are very shy, but when caught young are easily tamed, though they always remain spiteful, and can hardly ever be trained to carry burthens. They are frequently met with in the European menageries, where they pass under the name of llamas. The Alpaca is smaller than the llama, and resembles the sheep ; but its neck is longer, and it has a more elegantly formed head. The wool is very long, soft, fine, and of a silky lustre — sometimes quite white or black, but often also variegated. On account of its admirable qualities it fetches a high price, and is extensively used in The Alpaca. England; so that from 1835 to 1839, 98,808 bales, weighing near 7,000,000 lbs., were imported THE ALPACA AND VICUNA 29 into Liverpool alone. It is particularly valuable from its being able to be woven with common wool, silk, or cotton, into a variety of equally beautiful and durable fabrics ; so that, in spite of a continual increase of the importation, its price has trebled since 1840. It is not wonderful that frequent attempts have been made to acclimatise the alpaca in other countries, though unfor- tunately they have almost always failed, from want of know- ledge or care. That the alpaca might be successfully trans- planted to other parts of the world, is sufficiently proved by its thriving condition in the Zoological Gardens of Antwerp ; so that there can be no doubt that, with proper attention, it would come on as well, or even better, in the mountainous regions of central Europe. A herd of alpacas is said to have been in- troduced into Australia in 1859. Should this attempt succeed, it would be of great importance to the English manufacturers, as the eternal civil wars of Peru and Bolivia prevent all pastoral or agricultural progress in those unhappy countries. The alpacas are kept in large herds, and graze all the year round on the high table-lands. They are only driven to the huts to be shorn, and are therefore extremely shy. There is, perhaps, no more obstinate animal in existence. When one of them is separated from the herd, it throws itself upon the ground, and neither good words nor blows, nor even the greatest tortures, are able to force it from the spot. Shy, like the chamois or the steinbock, the Vicuna inhabits the most solitary mountain-valleys of the Andes. It is of a more elegant shape than the alpaca, with a longer and more graceful neck, and a much shorter and more curly wool, of such extreme fineness as to be worth about twenty-seven shillings the pound. The upper parts of the body are of a peculiar reddish-yellow colour {color de vicuna), the under side of the neck and the limbs light ochre, the long wool of the breast and the abdomen white. During the rainy season, the vicuiias re- tire to the crests of the Cordillera, where vegetation is reduced to the scantiest limits; but they never venture on the bare summits, as their hoof, accustomed to tread only on the turf, is very tender and sensitive. When pursued, they never fly to the ice-fields, but only along the grass-grown slopes. In the dry season, when vegetation withers on the heights, they de- 30 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE scend to seek their food along the sources and swampy grounds. From six to fifteen she-vicunas live under the protection and guidance of a single male, who always remains a few paces apart from his harem, and keeps watch with the most attentive care. At the least approach of danger he immediately gives the alarm by a shrill cry, and rapidly steps forward. The herd, immediately assembling, turns inquisitively towards the side whence danger is apprehended, advances a few paces, and then, suddenly wheeling, flies, at first slowly, and constantly looking back, but soon with unrivalled swiftuess. The male covers the retreat, frequently standing still and watching the enemy. The females reward this faithful care of their leader with an equally rare attachment ; for when he is wounded or killed, they will keep running round him with shrill notes of sorrow, and rather be shot than flee. But when a bullet strikes a female, the whole troop continues its flight with increased velocity. The cry of the vicuna is a peculiar sharp piping or whistling, which, though greatly resembling the shrill neighing of the llama and the other American camelides, may easily be dis- tinguished by a practised ear, when it suddenly pierces the thin air of the Puna, even from a distance where the sharpest eye is no longer able to distinguish the form of the animal. Like their native congeners and the camels of the old world, the vicunas have the habit of ejecting a quantity of saliva and half- digested food upon those that come within their reach. The llamas and huanacus, however, only do so when angry or at- tacked ; while the alpacas and vicunas spitefully bespatter the harmless passer-by, and generally aim at the face, which they seldom miss. The ejected mass, which has a disgusting sriiell, imparts a deep green colour to the skin, which can only be cleaned with difficulty. The hunting of the vicuiias, which is very singular and interesting, takes place in April or May. Each family in the Puna villages is obliged to furnish the contingent of one of its members at least ; and the widows accompany the hunters, to serve as cooks. The whole troop, frequently consisting of seventy or eighty persons, and carrying bundles of poles and large quantities of cordage, sets out for the more elevated plateaus of the Puna, where the vicuiias are grazing. In an THE VICUNA 31 appropriate plain the poles are fixed into the earth, at intervals of twelve or fifteen paces, and united by the cordage, about two feet from the ground. In this manner a circular space, called Chacu, of about half a league in circumference, is enclosed, leaving on one side an entrance several hundred paces wide. The women attach to the cordage coloured rags, which are moved to and fro by the wind. As soon as the Chacu is ready, the men, who are partly mounted, disperse, and, forming a ring many miles in circumference, drive all the intervening vicuna herds through the entrance into the circle, which is closed as soon as a sufficient number has been collected. The shy animals do not venture to spring over the cord and its fluttering rags, and are thus easily killed by the bolas of the Indians. These bolas consist of three balls of lead or stone, two of which are heavy, and one lighter, each ball being attached to a long leather thong. The thongs are knotted together at their free extremity. When used, the lighter ball is taken in the hand, and the two others swung in a wide circle over the head. At a certain distance from the mark, about fifteen or twenty paces, the hand-ball is let loose, and then all three fly in hissing circles towards the object which they are intended to strike, and encompass it in their formidable embrace. The Esquimaux use a similar device for catching the birds of pas- sage which a short summer attracts to their inhospitable shores. The hind-legs of the vicunas are generally aimed at. It is no easy matter to throw the bolas adroitly, particularly when on horseback ; for the novice often wounds either himself or his horse mortally, by not giving the balls the proper swing, or letting them escape too soon from his hand. The flesh of the vicuiias is divided in equal portions among the hunters. When dried in the air, and then pounded and mixed with Spanish pepper, its taste is not unpleasing. The Church, however, manages to get the best part of the animal, for the priest generally appropriates the skin. In 1827 Bolivar issued a decree, ordering the vicunas, when caught, to be merely shorn and then let loose again ; but their uncommon wildness rendered the execution of this well-meant law impossible. If a huanacu comes into the chacu, it bounds at one leap over the cord, or breaks through it, and is then followed by all the vicunas, so 32 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE that great care is taken not to chase any of these animals into the circle. As soon as all the entrapped vicunas are killed, the chacu is taken to pieces, and put up again ten or twelve miles further off. The whole chase lasts a week, and the number of the animals slaughtered frequently amounts to several hundreds. During a chacu-chase in the Altos of Huayhuay, at which Tschudi assisted, 122 vicunas were caught, and the produce of their skins served for the building of a new altar in the village church. In the times of the Incas, the Puna chases were conducted on a much grander scale. Annually from 25,000 to 30,000 Indians assembled, who were obliged to drive all the wild animals from a circuit of more than a hundred miles into an enormous chacu. As the circle narrowed, the ranks of the Indians were doubled and trebled, so that no animal could escape. The pernicious quadrupeds, such as bears, cuguars, and foxes, were all killed, but only a limited number of stags, deer, vicuiias, and huanacus : for the provident Incas did not lose sight of the wants of futurity, and were more economical of the lives of animals than their brutal successors, the christian Spaniards, were of the lives of men. * In spite of the persecutions to which they are subject, not only from hunters but from the ravenous condor, who frequently robs them of their young, the vicuiias do not seem to diminish, and, particularly in the more remote Puna regions, they are often seen roaming about in large numbers, — the inaccessible wilds to which they are able to retreat amply securing them against extermination. Besides these four remarkable Camelides, we find among the animals peculiar to the Puna the stag-like Tarush {Gervus antisiensis), whose horns consist but of two branches ; the timid deer, who also descends . from the high mountain-plains into the coast-valleys and the forest region ; the Viscachas and the Chinchillas. The Peruvian Viscachas {Lagidiunfi peruanum and pallipes), which must not be confounded with the Viscachas of the Pampas (Lagostomus viscacha), live at an elevation of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet, between 33° and 18° S. lat., and resemble the rabbit in form and colour, but have shorter ears and a lonsf THE CHINCHILLA 33 rouo-h tail. Their fur is soft, but not nearly so fine as that of the near-related Chinchilla {Chinchilla lanigera). This little crea- ture, which is somewhat larger than our squirrel, has large and brilliant eyes, an erect tail, strong bristles on the upper lip, and almost naked, rounded ears. It lives in burrows, feeding chiefly upon roots, and is found in such numbers in the Chilian Andes chinchilla that its holes considerably increase the diffi- culty of travelling. The fur, which is of a remarkably close texture, is too well known to require any further description. Where ruminants and rodents abound it may easily be ima- gined that beasts of prey will not be wanting. The cunning fox {Canis Azarce) waylays both the chinchillas and the water- birds; and, impelled by hunger, the Puma, or American lion, ascends even to the borders of eternal snow in quest of the vicuna and the deer. The veta, therefore, which is so de- structive to the domestic cat, seems to have no influence upon him. But the monarch of the Puna is, unquestionably, the mighty condor, who, soaring over the highest peaks of the Andes, sees on one side the Pacific rolling its heavy breakers against the coast, and on the other the Maranon, or Maragnon, disappearing in the hazy distance of the primitive forest. No created being embraces with one glance so vast an horizon, — a scenery of such unparalleled grandeur ; but, indiff'erent to the beauties of Nature, the piercing eye of the lordly vulture sweeps over the Puna, only to espy the mule that has sunk under its load, or the llama or sheep on the point of giving birth to its young ; then, descending mth the rapidity of an arrow, he tears the entrails of the new-born creature, indifferent to the cries of the defenceless mother. The frequent showers and snow-falls of the Puna naturally give rise to numerous swamps and lagunes, which afford nourish- ment to an abundance of birds, — such as the beautiful snow- white Huachua goose (Chloejphaga melanoptera), with dark- green wings of a metallic lustre ; the licli, a species of plover ; the ibis ; the long-legged flamingo ; the Quiullagull (Larus ser- ranus) ; and the gigantic coot {Fulica gigantea), which, unable to fly, dives in the cold waters, and builds its nest on the solitary stones which rise above the surface. 34 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE To the aboriginal animals of the Puna man has added the horse, the ox, the dog, and the sheep. In the more shel- tered Puna valleys there are estates or haciendas possessing from 60,000 to 80,000 sheep, and from 400 to 500 cows. During the wet season these flocks are driven into the Altos or highest regions, often to a height of 15,000 feet; but when the cold, frosty nights of the dry period of the year parch the grass, they are obliged to descend to the swampy valleys, where they have much to suffer from hunger. The wool serves mostly for home consumption, and is partly exported to Europe, where, however, it fetches a much lower price than the produce of the South African or Australian flocks, which most likely would not be the case if the high mountain-plains of the Andes were in the possession of Grermans or Anglo- Saxons. The herds of oxen generally graze in the most distant Altos. As they seldom see man, they are so savage that sometimes even the shepherds do not venture to catch them. These wild bulls render travelling in many parts of the Puna very dangerous, as they will sometimes rush upon man without any provocation or previous notice, though they generally announce their ap- proach by a hoarse bellowing. But even then it is almost im- possible to escape them in the open plain, and more than once Tschudi was only able, by a well -aimed shot, to save himself from the attack of one of these formidable animals. Though not so dangerous, the half-wild Puna Dogs (Ganis IngcB, Tschudi) are extremely troublesome to the traveller, — false, spiteful animals, which ferociously attack enemies far stronger than themselves; and, like the bull-dog, will rather suffer themselves to be cut to pieces than retreat. They have a particular antipathy to the white race, and it is rather a bold undertaking for the European traveller to approach the hut of an Indian that is guarded by these animals. |; The frosts of winter and an eternal spring are nowhere found in closer proximity than in the Peruvian highlands, for deep valleys cleave or furrow the windy Puna ; and when the tra- veller, benumbed by the cold blasts of the mountain- plains, descends into these sheltered gorges, he almost suddenly finds himself transported from a northern climate to a terrestrial paradise. THE ALTOS OF THE PUNA 35 Situated at a height where the enervating power of the tro- pical sun is not felt, and where at the same time the air is not too rarefied, these pleasant mountain vales, protected by their rocky walls against the gusts of the Puna, enjoy all the ad- vantages of a mild and genial sky. Here the astonished Eu- ropean sees himself surrounded by the rich corn-fields, the green lucerne meadows, and the well-known fruit trees of his distant home, so that he might almost fancy that some friendly enchanter had transported him to his native country, if the cactuses and the agaves on the mountain-slopes by day, and the constellations of another hemisphere by night, did not remind him of the vast distance which separates him from the land of his birth. There are* regions in this remarkable country where the traveller may in the morning leave the snow-decked Puna hut, and before sunset pluck pine-apples and bananas on the cul- tivated margin of the primeval forest ; where in the morning the stunted grasses and arid lichens of the naked plain remind him of the arctic regions, and where he may repose at night under the fronds of gigantic palms. D 2 Gaano Island. CHAPTEE IV. THE PERUVIAN SAND-COAST. _.jM Its desolate Character — The Mule is here the "Ship of the Desert" — A Ship- wreck and its Consequences — Sand-Spouts — Medanos — Summer and Winter The Garuas — The Lomas — Change produced in their Appearance during the Season of Mists — Azara's Fox — Wild Animals — Birds — Eeptiles — The Chincha or Gruano Islands. BETWEEN tho Cordilleras to the east and the Pacific to the west extends, from 3° to 21° S. lat., 540 leagues long and from 3 to 20 leagues broad, a desert coast, the picture of death and desolation. Traversed by spurs of the mighty mountain- chain, which either gradually sink into the plain, or form steep ; promontories washed by the ocean, it rises and falls in alternate heights and valleys, where the eye seldom sees anything but fine drift-sand or sterile heaps of stone. Only where, at considerable intervals, some rivulet, fed by the melting glaciers or by the small mountain lakes, issues from the ravines of the Andes to lose itself after a short course in the Pacific, green belts, like the oases of the African desert, break the general monotony, and appear more charming from the contrast with the nakedness of the surrounding waste. The planter carefully husbands the last drop of water from those scanty streams to moisten his stony fields ; for, as the tribes of the Sahara can only, by dint of constant industry, preserve THE PERUVIAN SAXD-COAST 37 their date-palm islands against the waves of the surrounding sand-sea, thus also the inhabitant of the Peruvian coast can only by perpetual irrigation protect his plantations and gardens from the encroachments of the neighbouring desert ! But the fruits which he reaps and garners are very different from those which are produced by the African oasis ; for, while none of the plants of the Peruvian sand-coast has ever found its way to the Sahara, the sycamores and tamarinds of the latter are equally unknown on the eastern shores of the Pacific. Cotton and sugar, maize and batatas, manioc and bananas, here take the place of the date-palm of the Arab, and thrive only so far as the limits of irrigation extend. In the surrounding wastes, where for miles and miles the traveller meets no traces of vegetation, and finds not one drop of water, the mule performs the part of the African camel ; for, satisfied with a scantier food than the horse, it more easily supports the fatigues of a prolonged journey through the sand, and in Peru is fully entitled to be called the ship of the desert. The horse cannot support hunger and thirst longer than forty-eight hours without becoming so weak as hardly to be able to carry its rider ; and if the latter is imprudent enough to urge it on to a more rapid pace, it falls a victim to his ob- stinacy, as it will obey the spur until it sinks never to rise again. Not so the mule, which, on feeling itself unable to advance, stands still, and will not move an inch until it has rested for a time ; after which it willingly continues its journey. Yet, in spite of these excellent qualities, many mules succumb to the fatigues and privations of the desert ; and as in the Sahara the caravan-routes are marked by camel-skeletons, so here long rows of mule-skulls and bones point out the road along the Peruvian sand-coast. Woe to him whom a shipwreck casts on these shores ; for he is almost inevitably doomed to destruction ! In the year 1823 a transport, with 320 dragoons on board, under the command of Colonel Lavalle, was stranded in the neighbourhood of Pisco. The soldiers saved themselves on the land. They had only been thirty-six hours in the desert, when they were found by a regiment of cavalry which had been sent to their assistance from Pisco with provisions and water, yet in this short space of time 11 6 of the poor wretches had expired of fatigue and thirst, and above fifty more died on the following D 3 38 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE day from their previous exhaustion. In general, a healthy man can withstand hunger and thirst during four or five days, but only in a temperate climate and when the body is at rest ; while in the burning deserts of Peru, the want of water during forty-eight hours, combined with the fatigue of wading through the deep sands, can only end in death. Thirst can, undoubtedly, be supported ten times longer in the moist sea-air than in the thoroughly desiccated atmosphere of a tropical waste. The dangers of these solitudes are increased by the great mobility of the soil. When a strong wind blows, huge sand-columns, rising like water-spouts to a height of eighty or a hundred feet, advance whirling through the desert, and suddenly encompass the traveller, who can only save himself by a rapid flight. Such is the instability of the soil, that in a few hours a plain will be covered with hillocks or Medanos, and recover after a few days its former level. The most experienced muleteers are thus con- stantly deceived in their knowledge of the road, and are the first to give way to despair, while seeking to extricate themselves from a labyrinth of newly-formed medanos. These constant transfor- mations and shiftings in the desert, which Tschudi graphically calls " a life in death," take place more particularly in the hot season, when the least pressure of the atmosphere suffices to disturb the dried-up sands, whose weight increases during the winter by the absorption of moisture. The single grains then unite to larger masses, and more easily withstand the pressure of the wind. The summer, or dry season, begins in November. The rays of the vertical sun strike upon the light-coloured sands, and are reflected with suffocating power. No plant, except the cactuses and tillandsias, which manage to thrive where nothing else exists, takes root in the glowing soil : no animal finds food on the lifeless plain ; no bird, no insect, hovers or buzzes in the stifling atmosphere. Only in the highest regions the condor, the monarch of the air, is seen sailing along in lonely majesty. In May, which in these southern latitudes corresponds to our October, the scene changes. A thin, misty veil extends over the sea and the coast, and, increasing in density during the following months, only begins to diminish in October. At the beginning and the end of this damp season the mist generally ascends between nine and ten in the morning, and falls again THE PERUVIAN SAND-COAST 39 at about three in the afternoon ; but in August and September, when it is most dense, it rests for weeks immovably over the earth, never dissolving in rain, but merely descending in a fine, penetrating drizzle, which is called "garua" by the inhabitants. In many parts of the Peruvian coast rain has not been known to fall for centuries, except only after very severe earthquakes, and even then the phenomenon is not of constant occurrence. The mist seldom ascends to a vertical height of more than 1200 feet, when it is replaced by violent showers of rain; and, remarkably enough, the limits between both can be determined with almost mathematical precision, as there are plantations, one half of whose surface is invariably moistened by garuas and the other by rain. When the mists appear, the Lomas, or chains of hills which bound the sand-coast towards the east, begin to assume a new character ; and, as if by magic, a garden is seen where but a few days before a desert extended its dreary nakedness. Soon also, animal life begins to animate the scene, as the Lomeros drive their cattle and horses to these newly-formed pasture- grounds, where for several months they find an abundance of juicy food, but no water. This, however, they do not require, as they always leave the Lomas in the best condition. In some of the northern coast-districts, situated near the equa- torial line, where the garuas seldom appear, the fertility of the land depends wholly upon the streams which issue from the mountains. The dew, which along the coasts of central and south Peru hardly moistens the soil to the depth of half an inch, is there so completely wanting, that a piece of paper exposed to the air durins: the niofht shows no siorn of moisture in the morn- ing; and so thoroughly does the dryness of the soil prevent putrefaction, that after 300 years the mummified corpses are still found unaltered, which the ancient Peruvians buried in a sitting posture. Thus the aridity of a great part of the Sahara repeats itself in these American deserts, and is in some measure owing to the same cause, though their geographical position to the west of the Andes, whose eastern slopes absorb all the moisture of the prevailing trade-winds, chiefly accounts for their nakedness. Rain is wanting, as there is no vegetation of any great extent to condense the passing vapours ; and, on the other hand, the D 4 40 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE want of moisture prevents plants from rooting on the unstable soil. A glance at the animal world of the Peruvian coast shows us the same poverty of species as in the great African desert. A fox (Cania Azarce) seems here to play the part of the hyaena and the jackall ; and is found as well in the cotton-plantations along the streams, as in the Lomas, where he is destructive to the young lambs. The large American felidse, the puma, and the jaguar, seldom appear on the coast, where they attain a more considerable size than in the mountains. The cowardly puma is afraid of man; while the bloodthirsty jaguar penetrates into the plan- tations, where he lies in wait for the oxen and horses, and avoids, with remarkable sagacity, the manifold traps and pit- falls that are laid for him by the slaves of the hacienderos. It is almost superfluous to remark that these beasts of prey do not stray about in the sand-deserts ; but, descending from the mountains, and following the course of the rivers, disturb the inhabitants of the oases, or prey upon the herds on the Lomas in the moist season. In the cultivated districts some species of Opossums are like- wise found among the low bushes, in deserted dwellings, or in the store- rooms of the plantations ; and arma- dillos {Dasypus tatuay) are some- times shot in the fields. There are several species of in- digenous Rodents ; but the cosmo- polite rat, which seems to have been but recently imported, is as yet not very common. Wild hogs of an enormous size are sometimes met wdth in the thickets near some of the plantations in the valley of Lima. Instead of the antelope and the gazelle of the African deserts, the Venado, a species of deer, makes its appearance on the Peruvian coast. It chiefly lives in the low thickets, which are scattered here and there, and after sunset visits the plantations, where it causes considerable damage. Besides the numerous sea- and strandbirds, the carrion vul- tures and the condor, often found in large numbers feasting upon the marine animals that have been cast ashore, are the AXIMALS OF THE SAND-COAST 41 most conspicuous among the feathered tribes of the coast. A small falcon {Falco sparverius) is likewise often seen, and a small burrowing owl {Athene cunicularia) haunts almost every ruin on the coast. The pearl-owl, performing the useful services of our own barn-owl {Strix perlatd), is protected and encouraged in many plantations, as it thins the ranks of the mice. Swallows are scarce ; nor do they build their nests on the houses, but on solitary walls, far from the habitations of man. Among the singing birds, the beautiful crowned fly-catcher {Myoarchus coronatus) is one of the most remarkable. Its head, breast, and belly are of a burning red; its wings and back blackish brown. It always sits upon the highest top of the bushes, flies vertically upwards, whirls about a short time singing in the air, and then again descends in a straight line upon its former resting-place. Some tanagras and parrots, and two starling-like birds, the red-breasted picho and the lustrous black chivillo, that are frequently kept in cages on account of their agreeable song, are found in the coast-valleys ; and various pigeons, among others the neat little turtuli and the more stately cuculi, frequent the neighbourhood of the plantations. The latter has a monotonous but very melodious song, which lasts from early morning to the forenoon, and is again re- sumed towards sunset. It consists in repeating three times the word " cuculi," and resuming the same notes after a shorter or longer pause. Some of the birds repeat more frequently their cuculi, and their value increases in the same proportion. In Cocachacra Tschudi saw a bird that reiterated its note fourteen times consecutively, and was so highly prized by its possessor that he would not sell it for less than two ounces of gold, or thirty-four dollars. Among the lizard tribes large and brilliantly green iguanas are found on the southern coast ; but much more frequently dull and sombre agamas lurk among the rocks and stones. Some geckos creep about the houses and walls in the inhabited val- leys ; but it would be vain to seek in the Peruvian oasis for the chameleon, which frequents every desert island of the Sahara. Snakes, both venomous and harmless, are in general tolerably rare, and occur both in the fruitful lands and the sand- plains. The animated sea-shore forms a striking contrast to the death-like solitude of the interior. Troops of carrion vultures 42 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE gather about the large marine animals cast ashore by the surf; numerous strand-birds are greedily on the look-out for the shell-fish left by the retreating tide, or for the crabs and sea-spiders that everywhere draw their furrows about the beach; and sea-otters and seals sun themselves on the cliffs along the whole coast, except in the neighbourhood of the seaports, where they have been extirpated, or driven away by incessant persecutions. Several promontories and islands (Punta de Lobos, Isla de Lobos) owe their names to the numbers of Phocae which frequent their shores. To the north of Chancay, steep sand-hills rise to the height of 300 or 400 feet, abruptly verging to the sea. The way, leading along the side of these hills, would be extremely dangerous but for the unstable nature of the soil. For though at each false step the mule slides with his rider towards the sea, it is very easy for him to regain his footing on the yielding sand. A large stone on one of these hills bears a striking resem- blance to a sleeping sea-lion, and almost perpendicularly beneath , it lies a little cove, inhabited by a number of seals. At night the bark of these animals, mixing with the hollow roar of the breakers, fills the traveller with a kind of involuntary terror. Myriads of sea-birds breed on the small islands along the coast or swarm about the bays, where the fish supply them with abundant food. The number of these birds, a matter formerly of only local interest, is now a subject of general importance, as to them are owing the deep Guano beds which, richer and more useful than the silver mines of Peru, increase the harvests of the English husbandman. These beds have now been worked for many years with a constantly increasing energy, so that the actual annual exportation of the Chincha Islands* amounts to no less than half a million of tons ; yet so enormous are the deposits, that, according to Castelnau, the excavations hitherto made in the mass appear but as small quarries on the slopes of a chain of hills. How many centuries — what numbers of birds — how many legions of fishes must have been required for the accumulation of these huge mounds ! * For a more detailed account of the Peruvian Guano Islands, see " The Sea and ita Living Wonders." Second Edition, pp. 144, 147. GUANO BEDS 43 The want of rain, which renders the greatest part of the Peruvian coast so utterly barren, is of the utmost advantage for the production of the guano ; for if the Chincha Islands, like the Orkneys or the Hebrides, had been exposed to frequent storms, or washed by unceasing showers, they would have been mere naked rocks, instead of affording the richest deposits of manure which the world can boast of. 44 CHAPTER V. THE AMAZONS, THE GIANT RIVER OF THE TORRID ZONE. The Course of the Amazons and its Tributaries — The Huallaga — The Ucayale — The lea — The Yapura, Jutay, Jurua, Teffe, Coary, and Purus — The Kio Negro — The Madeira — The Strait of Obydos— Tide Waves on the Amazon — The Tapajos — The Xingu — The Bay of the Thousand Islands — The Poro- rocca — Eise of the Kiver — Inundated Forests — Lagunes — Magnificent Scenery — Fishing Scene — Different Character of the Forests beyond and within the verge of Inundation — General Character of the Banks — A Sail on the Amazons — A Night's Encampment — The " Mother of the Waters " — The Piranga — Dangers of Navigating on the Amazons — Terrific Storms — Kapids and Whirlpools — The Stream of the Future — Travels of OreUana — Madame Godin. THE Amazons, the giant stream of the tropical world, is of no less magnificent proportions than the Andes, where it takes its source. From the small Peruvian mountain-lake of Lauri- cocha, 12,500 feet above the sea, the Timguragua, which is gene- rally considered as the chief branch, rushes down the valley^. At Tomependa, in the province of Juan de Bracamoros, rafts first begin to burden its free waters ; but, as if impatient of the yoke, it still throws many an obstacle in the navigator's way; for twenty-seven rapids and cataracts follow each other as far as the Pongo de Manseriche, where, at the height of 1164 feet above the level of the sea, it for ever bids adieu to the romance of mountain scenery. Its width, which at Tomependa exceeds that of the Thames at Westminster bridge, narrows to 150 feet in the defile of the Pongo, which in some places is obscured by overhanging rocks and trees, and where huge masses of drift-wood, torn from the slopes by the mountain torrents, are crushed and disappear in the vortex. From the Pongo to the ocean, a distance of more than 2000 miles, no rocky barrier impedes the further course of the TRIBUTARIES OF THE AMAZONS 45 monarch of streams; and according to Herndon (Exploration of the Valley of the Amazons, 1851-1853), its depth constantly remains above eighteen feet, so that it is navigable for large ships all the way from Para to the foot of the Andes! No other river runs in so deep a channel at so great a distance from its mouth, and the tropical rains, spreading over a terri- tory nearly equal in extent to one-half of Europe, are alone able to feed a stream of such colossal dimensions I The first considerable tributary of the Amazons is the Hual- lasfa, which rises near the famous silver-mines of Cerro de Pasco, 8600 feet above the level of the sea, and is 2500 paces broad at the point where the rivers meet. Lower down at Nauta, the Ucayale, descending from the distant mountains of Cuzco, adds his waters to the growing stream, after a course ii(>arly 400 miles longer than that of the Tunguragua itself. W here these mighty rivers meet. Lieutenant Lister Maw found a depth of thirty-five fathoms. From the Brazilian frontier, where it still flows at an eleva- tion of 630 feet above the sea, to the influx of the Rio Negro, the Amazons is called the Solimoens, as if one name were not sufficient for its grandeur. During its progress between these t\\ 0 points it receives on the left, or from the north, the Ifa and the Yapura, on the right, or from the south, the Xavari, the Jutay, the Jurua, tlie Teffe, the Coary, and the Purus, streams which in Europe would only be surpassed by the Danube, but are here merely the obscure branches of a giant trunk. No traveller has ever yet visited the banks of the I^a. The many-armed Yapura, which during the rainy season inundates the left bank of the chief stream, has been navigated by Von Martins, the distinguished naturalist, to whom botany owes the best monograph on palms, but science knows next to nothing of the banks of the Jutay, the Jurua, the Teffe, and the Purus. At the conflux of the Yapura, Herndon estimates the breadth of the Solimoens at four or five English miles, and yet it still rolls its waters deep in the heart of a vast continent, and has not yet been joined by its chief tributaries. ^^^^ Of these the gigantic Rio Negro is its mc^^MKiderable | northern vassal. This stream, which owes its name to the black colour of its waters, rises in the Sierra Tunuhy, an isolated 46 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE mountain-group in the Llanos, and conveys part of the waters of the Orinoco to the Amazons, as if the latter were not already sufficiently 'great. After a course of 1500 miles it throws itself into the vast stream, 3600 paces broad and 19 fathoms deep. Brigs of war have already ascended the Amazons as far as the Rio Negro, and frigates would find no obstacle in their way. The Madeira, the next great tributary of the regal stream, has thus been named from the vast quantities of drift-wood floating on its waters. Three considerable rivers (two of which, the Mamore and the Beni, issue from the Andes, while the third, the Gruapore, arises in the Campos de Parecis, but fifteen miles from the sources of the Paraguay), form the enormous Madeira, which rolls its waters slowly through the plains, as if, conscious of being among the largest of rivers, it unwillingly stooped to minister to the greatness of a still mightier stream. After the influx of the Madeira, the Amazons frequently swells to a breadth of seven miles, and hollows its bed to an average depth of twenty-four fathoms. Farther on, after having with a side-arm embraced the island of Tupinambaranas, which almost equals Yorkshire in extent, the Amazons now reaches the famous strait of Obydos, where it narrows to 2126 paces, and rolls along between low banks in a bed whose depth as yet no plummet hath sounded. The mass of waters which, during the rainy season, rushes in one second through the strait, is estimated by Von Martins at 500,000 cubic feet, — enough to fill all the streams of Europe with an exuberant current. The tides extend as far as Obydos, though still 400 miles from the sea ; and, according to La Condamine, they are even perceptible as far as the confluence of the Madeira. But so slow is their progress upwards, that seven floods, with their intervening ebbs, roll simultaneously along upon the giant stream ; and thus, four days after the tide-wave was first raised in the wide deserts of the South Sea, its last undulations expire in the solitudes of Brazil.* The next considerable vassal of the Amazons is the shallow Tapajo^l^Hjkh, however, is preferred to the Madeira for water- commuiM^^ between the provinces of Matto-Grosso and * "The Sea and its Living "Wonders." Second Edition, p. 41. TRIBUTARIES OF THE AMAZONS 47 Para, on account of the frequent rapids and cataracts which interrupt the navigation of that wood-drifting river. P^ancy six streams, like the Thames, strung successively together, and you have the length of the Tapajos; take the Khine twice from its source in the glacier of Mount Adula to the sands of Katwyck, and you have the measure of the Xingn. Before the confluence of this last of its great tributa- ries, — for the Tocan tines, though considered by some geo- graphers as a vassal, is in reality an independent stream, — the breadth of the Amazons appeared to Von Martins equal to that of the Lake of Constance ; but soon even this enormous bed becomes too narrow for the vast volume of its waters, for below Gurupa it widens to an enormous gulf, which might justly be called the "Bay of the Thousand Isles." Nobody has ever counted their numbers; no map gives us an idea of this labyrinth : as the Brazilian government, in its wretched jealousy and ignorance, scorns to lay out any money on hydro- graphy, and will not allow any other power to undertake the task. If we reckon the island of Marajo, which equals Sicily in size, to the delta of the Amazons, its extreme width on reaching the ocean is not inferior to that of the Baltic in its greatest breadth. Dangerous sand-banks guard the giant's threshold ; and no less perilous to the navigator is the famous Pororocea, or the rapid rising of the spring-tide at the shallow mouths of the chief stream and of some of its embranchments, — a phenomenon which, though taking place at the mouth of many other rivers, such as the Hooghly, the Indus, the Dordogne, and the Seine*, nowhere assumes such dimensions as here, where the colossal wave frequently rises suddenly along the whole width of the stream to a height of twelve or fifteen feet, and then collapses with a roar so dreadful that it is heard at the distance of more than six miles. Then the advancing flood-wave glides almost imperceptibly over the deeper parts of the river-bed, but again rises angrily as soon as a more shallow bottom arrests its triumphant career. The territory drained by the Amazons is so vast that, at the sources of its northern and southern tributaries, the rainy season * " The Sea and its Living Wonders." Second Edition, p. 40. 48 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE takes place at opposite times of the year. So wonderful is the length of the stream that, while at the foot of the Andes it begins to rise early in January, the Solimoens swells only in February; and below the Kio Negro the Amazons does not attain its full height before the end of March. The swelling of the river is colossal as itself. In the So- limoens and farther westwards the water rises above forty feet ; and Von Martins even saw trees whose trunks bore marks of the previous inundation fifty feet above the height of the stream during the dry season. Then for miles and miles the swelling giant inundates his low banks, and, majestic at all times, becomes terrible in hia grandeur when rolling his angry torrents through the wilder- ness. The largest forest-trees tremble under the pressure of the waters, and trunks, uprooted and carried away by the stream, bear witness to its power. Fishes and alligators now swim where a short while ago the jaguar lay in wait for the tapir, and only a few birds, perching on the highest tree-tops, remain to witness the tumult which disturbs the silence of the woods. Meanwhile the waters stimulate vegetation ; numberless blossoms break forth from the luxuriant foliage ; and while the turbid waters still play round the trunks of the submerged trees, the gayest flowers enamel their green crowns, and convert the inundated forest into an enchanted garden. When at length the river retires within its usual limits, new islands have been formed in its bed, while others have been swept away ; and in many places the banks, undermined by the floods, threaten to crush the passing boat by their fall, — a misfortune which not seldom happens, particularly when high trees come falling head- long down with the banks into the river. The periodical overflowing of rivers so broad as the Amazons and its chief tributaries, and the astonishing rapidity with which their waters rise above their usual bounds, implies a quantity of rain superior to all European ideas. If, in general, the atmospherical precipitations of the tropical zone are much greater than those of the temperate latitudes, Brazil again sm- passes in this respect most other equatorial lands. I have already mentioned in the first chapter that, during a single' thunderstorm witnessed by Castelnau at Pebas, no less than SCENERY OF THE LAGUNES 49 thirty inches of rain fell ; and when we consider that the average fall in the equatorial plains of the new world is estimated at nine feet, we must cease to wonder at their rivers exhibiting a rapid rise on a scale unknown to our smaller and less prodigally nourished streams. Countless lagunes stretch along the course of the Maraiion and his tributaries. Possibly they may owe their existence to the waters remaining after the inundations have subsided ; perhaps also, as Von Martins believes, to the numberless streams which, gushing out of the earth, more or less distant from the rivers, either extend as standing waters, or flow as brooks into the larger rivers. Most of these lagimes commu- nicate with the larger currents by channels, which, however, are generally dried up before the next rainy season sets in. The magical beauty of tropical vegetation reveals itself in al its glory to the traveller who steers his boat through th solitudes of these aquatic mazes. Here the forest forms canopy over his head ; there it opens, allowing the sunshine toj disclose the secrets of the wilderness ; while on either side thei eye penetrates through beautiful vistas into the depths of the woods. Sometimes, on a higher spot of ground, a clump or trees forms an island worthy of Eden. A chaos of bushropes and creepers flings its garlands of gay flowers over the forest, and fills the air with the sweetest odour. Numerous birds, partly rivalling in beauty of colour the passi- floras and bignonias of these hanging gardens, animate the banks of the lagune, while gaudy macaws perch on the loftiest trees ; and, as if to remind one that death is not banished from this scene of paradise, a dark-robed vulture screeches through the woods, or an alligator rests, like a black log of wood or a sombre rock, on the tranquil waters. Well he knows that food will not be wanting; for river tor- toises and large fish are fond of retiring to - , Blue Macaw. these lagunes. In one of these shallow lakes Castelnau witnessed fish-catching on a grand scale. On the previous evening a quantity of branches of the Barbasco {Jacquinia armillaris), after having been beaten with clubs and divided among the canoes that were E 50 ASPECTS OP TROPICAL NATURE to take part in the sport, had been steeped in water, and then flung along with the infusion into the lagune. At least five hundred Indians stood on the banks among the high rushes, or on the trunks of trees, armed with arrows, harpoons, and clubs. At first only small fishes appeared upon the surface, and, as if stunned and then suddenly awakening, sought to leap upon the bank. Then the larger species were seen to float on the waters, or to make similar efforts to escape from the poisoned element. The whole day long the canoes of the Indians were passing on the lagune, and the same bustle reigned along the banks. The whistling of the arrows was incessantly heard, along with the beating of the clubs upon the water, while on land no less activity was displayed in cutting up, smoking, and salting the fish. Castelnau counted thirty-five difi"erent species, — among others the famous electrical eel, — and estimated the number caught at 50,000 or 60,000, many of whom measured a foot or more in length. Although the lagune was thus poisoned, the Indians drank the water with impunity, and the river tor- toises and alligators seemed to be equally untouched by the Barbasco juice, which proved so fatal to the fishes. The inundations of the Amazon, which often extend many miles inland, essentially modify the character of the bordering forest ; for it is only beyond their verge that the enormous fig and laurel trees, the Lecythas and the Bertholletias, appear in all their grandeur. As here the underwood is less dense and more dwarfish, it is easy to measure the colossal trunks, and to admire their proportions, often towering to a height of 120 feet, and measuring fifteen feet in diameter above the pro- jecting roots. Enormous mushrooms spring from the decayed ; leaves, and numberless parasites rest upon the trunks and branches. The littoral forest, on the contrary, is of more i humble growth. The trunks, branchless in their lower part, I clothed with a thinner and a smoother bark, and covered with \ a coat of mud according to the height of the previous inunda- ) tion, stand close together, and form above a mass of interlacing r branches. These are the sites of the cacao-tree and of the ; prickly sarsaparilla, which is here gathered in large quantities for the druggists of Europe. Leafless bushropes ^vind in gro- tescjue festoons among the trees, between whose trunks a dense underwood shoots up, to perish by the next overflowing of the I CHARACTER OF THE BANKS 51 stream. Instead of the larger parasites, mosses and junger- mannias weave their carpets over the drooping branches. But few animals besides the numerous water-birds inhabit this damp forest zone, in which, as it is almost superfluous to add, no plantation has been formed by man. The many windings of the water channels which traverse the littoral woods are so overgrown with bushes, that the boat can only with difficulty be pushed onwards through these re- treats, whose silence is only broken by the splashing of a fish or the snorting of a crocodile. The many islands of the delta of the Amazon are everywhere encircled by mangToves ; but sailing stream upwards, the mono- tonous green of these monarchs of the shore is gradually re- placed by flowers and foliage, which, in every variety of form and colour, for hundreds and hundreds of miles characterise the banks of the river. During the dry season prickly astricarias, large musaceae, enormous bamboo-like grasses, white plumed ingas, and scarlet poivreas, are most frequently seen among the numberless plants growing along the bank of the stream, or projecting over its margin ; while above the shrubbery of the littoral forest num- berless palms tower, like stately columns, to the height of a hundred feet ; others of a lower stature are remarkable for the size of their trunks, on which the foot-stalks of the fellen leaves serve as supports for ferns and other parasites. On the trees which often lie floating on the river, though still attached by their roots to the bank on which they had flourished, petrels or scarlet ibises frequently perch ; and as a boat approaches, hideous bats, disturbed in their holes, fly out of the mouldering trunks. It stands to reason that in a length of more than 3000 miles I the species of plants must frequently change ; yet the low/ banks of the Amazon, and of its vassals, as soon as they have/ emerged from the mountains where they rise, have everywhere a similar character. On sailing down the river for hundreds of miles, the eye may at length grow weary of the uniformity of a landscape, which remains constantly the same ; but the interest increases as the mind becomes more and more impressed by the grandeur of its dimensions. A broad stream, now dividing into numerous 52 ASPECTS OP TROPICAL NATURE arms, and now looking like a lake ; a dark forest-border, which on so flat a ground seems at a distance like an artificial but colossal hedge : these are the only elements of which the land- scape is composed. No busy towns rise upon the banks, and it is only at vast intervals that one finds a few wretched huts, jwhich are soon again lost in the forest ; but a sky so brilliant •spreads over the whole scene, and the rays of the sun beam i upon a nature of such luxuriance, that the traveller, far from ' feeling the voyage monotonous, proceeds on his journey with increasing interest, and every morn salutes with new joy the wilderness, reposing in the stillness of its early grandeur. The boat floats along, borne by the current of the river, which, in the dry season, generally flows at the rate of four English miles in an hour. Even during the night the journey is usually continued, when no special danger claims a greater caution, and a landing only takes place when the desire becomes general to enjoy a perfectly quiet night's rest, or when a broad sandy bank happens to be invitingly near: the raft is then attached to the bank, and preparations are made for camping in the wilderness. Grenerally an island is selected, as affording both greater security from beasts of prey and a clearer ground; The Indians are not obliged to fetch fire-wood from a distance, for trees, drifted by the floods, are constantly found at the upper end of the river-islands, where they remain until the next in- undation once more raises them ; and thus many of them, though born at the foot of the Andes, ultimately find their way to the ocean, and by means of the Equatorial and Grulf Streams,* perhaps even to the desert shores of Lapland, Spitz- bergen, and Nowaya Semlya, The Indians, who are as fond of sights as mogt other people, sometimes set fire to the whole pile, and then the fire, taking an unexpected direction, may force the company to flee as fast as possible to the raft, and to settle in a safer place, while the flames continue to blaze over the forest, or to cast a lurid light over the waters. Fires are frequently lighted for a more useful purpose on the banks of the stream, as they never fail to attract a number of large fishes, which the dexterous Indians know how to strike with their harpoons. While some are thus engaged, others are * " The Sea and its Living Wonders/' p. 46. J" INDIAN SUPEESTITION 53 lurking for the tortoises that pay their nightly visits to the bank, anxious to bury their numerous eggs in the sand. But the jaguar prowls about, intent upon the same prey, and on tliis account the Indians never go to any distance from the watch-fires, either alone or unarmed. Thus almost every landing on one of these river-islands furnishes fresh provisions for the continuance of the journey; for the captured tortoises are boimd to the raft, where, in the enjoyment of water and shade, they continue to live for a long- time. As soon as the supper is finished, the Indians invariably splash about in the water ; and having thrown an additional log upon the watch-fire, they all stretch themselves on the ground, under their dark-coloured toldos, or mosquito covers, which on the white sand have the appearance of as many coffins. Their tran- quil breathing soon tells that they are enjoying the deep repose peculiar to their race ; but sleep forsakes the European amid scenes so novel and so grand. The soul is struck with im- pressions which compel it to reflection. The ripple breaks lightly on the bank ; no noise, save the crackling of the fire, breaks the stillness of the night. Only from time to time the splashing of a fish is heard in the distant centre of the stream. The same stillness reigns in the skies; for not the slightest cloud dims the brightness of the stars. But suddenly the waters begin to rustle at a distance, as if wave were rolling after wave ; and as the strange sound draws nigh, an unusual agitation be- comes apparent in the water. The awakening Indians whisper anxiously, for they imagine an enormous reptile to be the cause of the phenomenon. They also believe the lagunes of the great stream to be the seat of a prodigious serpent, equal in size and power to the fabulous sea-snake; for the yacu-mama, or "mother of the waters," as this imaginary monster is called, attracts by a single inspiration every living creature — man, quadruped, or bird — that passes within a hundred feet of its jaws. As the maelstrom sucks down the helpless boat that comes within its vortex, thus the mighty air-current forces its prey into the wide mouth of the monster lurking in the thicket. For this reason an Indian will never venture to enter an unknown lagune without blowing his horn, as the yacu-mama is said to answer, and thus to give him time for a speedy flight. The E 3 54 ASPECTS OP TROPICAL NATURE " mother of the waters " is said to be at least fifty paces long, and to measure ten or twelve yards in circumference. Thus fancy is as busy in creating imaginary terrors in the lagunes of the Maranon as on the rocky shores of Scandinavia. Infinitely more dangerous than this fabulous serpent, more dreadful even than the cayman or the anaconda, are the pirangas, a small species of salmon, which in many places attack the unfortunate swimmer with their sharp teeth, and taint the waters with his blood. Castelnau saw how a stag, which threw itself into the river to avoid the hunters' pursuit, was soon killed by the pirangas. The Eoman knight that cast his slaves to the mursenas,* would, no doubt, have been rejoiced to people his ponds with fish like these; and how delighted Tiberius would have been to have possessed them at Caprsea ! The pirangas frequently lacerate the tails of the alligators, but no animal in the world is without its enemies, and the pirangas in their turn suffer much from large crustaceous parasites. The flesh of the pirangas is delicate, and their voracity facilitates their capture A night encampment in the Amazon is, however, not always so pleasant as the foregoing description might lead one to suppose ; for many islands are so infested with mosquitos that they are quite intolerable, and the growl of a jaguar or the sight of a crocodile (for this animal is by no means afraid of fire) not unfrequently disturbs the company. Complete security from these persecutions and visits is only to be found in the centre of the stream ; for here . a cayman is seldom seen, and the wings of the insects are too weak to carry them to such a distance from the shore. In more than one respect the Amazon reminds one of the ocean, from whose bosom its waters originally arose. Like the sea, it forms a barrier between various species of animals ; for the monkeys on its northern bank are difi'erent from those of the forests on its southern side, and many an insect — nay, even many a bird, — finds an impassable barrier in the enormous width of the river. Like the sea, it has a peculiar species of dolpliin, and hundreds of miles up the stream, sea-mews and petrels, deceived by its grandeur, screech or shoot in arrowy ♦ " The Sea and its Living Wonders," p. 195. STORMS ON THE AMAZON 55 flight over its fish-teeming waters. As over the ocean, or in the desert, the illusions of the mirage are also produced over the surface of the Maranon. The distant banks, not always clearly defined even in the morning, disappear wholly at noon, and the rays of the sun are then so refracted that the long rows of palms appear in an inverted position. The dreadful storms which burst suddenly over the Amazon, likewise recal to memory the tornados of the ocean. The bowlings of the monkeys, the shrill tones of the mews, and the \isible terror of all animals, first announce the approaching cuiiflict of the elements. The crowns of the palms rustle and beM, while as yet no breeze is perceptible on the surface of the stream ; but, like a warning voice, a hollow murmur in the air precedes the black clouds ascending from the horizon, like grim warriors ready for battle. And now the old forest groans under the shock of the hurricane ; a night-like darkness veils the face of nature ; and, while torrents of rain descend ;!inid uninterrupted sheets of lightning and terrific peals of thunder, the river rises and falls in waves of a dangerous licight. Then it requires a skilful hand to preserve the boat from sinking ; but the Indian pilots steer with so masterly a liand, and understand so well the first symptoms of the storm, tliat it seldom takes them by surprise, or renders them victims of its fury. Among the dangers of the Amazon, the rapids must not be forgotten that frequently arise where large tracts of the bank, undermined by the floods, have been cast into the river. The boat is almost unavoidably lost when carried by the current among the branches of the trees, which, though submerged, still remain attached to the ground, and sweep furiously through the eddy, overturning or smashing all that comes within their reach. If the Nile — so remarkable for its historical recollections, which carry us far back into the by-gone ages — and the Thames, unparalleled by the greatness of a commerce which far eclipses that of ancient Carthage or Tyre — may justly be called the rivers of the 'past and the 'present, the Amazon has equal claims to be called the stream of the future; for a more splendid field nowhere lies open to the enterprise of man. All the gifts of Nature are scattered in profusion over the E 4 56 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE vast territory drained by the river. The mountains, where it rises, teem with mineral treasures, and the very ideal of fer- tility is realised in those well-watered plains, where the equa- torial sun developes life in boundless luxuriance. The most useful and costly productions of the tropical world, — sugar, cotton, coffee, indigo, tobacco, maize, rice; quinquina in the higher regions of the Maranon, where wheat and the vine find a congenial climate ; cacao and vanille, sarsaparilla and caout- chouc, various palms of the most manifold uses ; trees and shrubs, some rivalling our oaks in the solidity of their timber, others fit by the beauty of their grain to adorn palaces ; dyes, resins, gums, spices, drugs, — all, in one word, that is capable of satisfying the wants of the frugal or the fancies of the rich, might there be raised in profusion over a space surpassing England at least forty times in extent. The whole actual population of the globe could easily live in content and plenty in the almost uninhabited valleys of the Maranon and its tributary streams. And where has Nature better provided for the facility of communications so necessary for unsealing and multiplying the resources of a country? For the Amazon and its great tributaries are not only all of them navigable for hundreds of miles by larger vessels to the very foot of the mountains, where they rise, but to the north we find the Eio Negro com- municating, through the Cassiquiare, with the Orinoco, and through the Eio Branco and the Parima with the Essequibo ; while to the south it would but require an insignificant canal to unite the Guapore and the Paraguay, both navigable for ; smaller ships nearly up to their sources, which are only fifteen i miles distant from each other. What a magnificent prospect ; for future steam-boat intercourse ! where, without unloading, ■ the same ship will be able to traverse the Eio Negro, the Ma- ranon, and, far to the south, the La Plata. , With these splendid prospects the present forms a melan- ' choly contrast. Here and there some small town or wretched i village rises on the banks of the mighty stream; and a few ' Indians roam over the forests, through which it rolls along, or i enjoy the produce of its prolific waters. The vast province of ! Para, the garden of Brazil, the paradise of unborn millions, has ' scarcely fuur inhabitants on a geographical square mile ; while ' SPANISH CONQUEST 57 even the northern province of Archangel, the land of the stunted fir and the mossy tundra, has a population four times as large. Weak governments, fearful of foreign intrusion, — which woidd alone be able to carry the living spirit of progress into the wilderness, — have hitherto, with all the power of inert- ness, weighed upon the valley of the Amazon ; but in a century, when the most exclusive nations of Asia have been made to open their harbours to commerce, and when even Central Africa rushes into the current of trade, jealous imbecility can hardly close much longer a territory of such importance and promise to the growing spirit of enterprise. Eight years after Columbus had revealed the existence of a new world, Vincent Yafiez Pinson, the companion of his first voyage, sailed with four ships from the port of Palos (13th January, 1500), steered boldly towards the south, crossed the line, and discovered the mouth of the Amazon. Forty years later Gon- zalo Pizarro, governor of Quito, left his capital with 340 Spaniards and 4000 Indian carriers to conquer the unknown countries to the east of the Andes. The march over the Puna and the high mountain ridges proved fatal to the greater part of their wretched attendants; and even the Spaniards — ac- customed to brave every climate and hardship wherever gold held forth its glittering promise — had much to suffer from the excess of cold and fatigue. But when they descended into the low country their distress increased. During two months it rained incessantly, without any interval of fair weather long enough to enable them to dry their clothes. They could not advance a step, unless they cut a road through woods, or made it through marshes. The land, either altogether without in- habitants, or occupied by the rudest and least industrious tribes in the New World, yielded little food. Such incessant toil and continual scarcity were enough to shake the most stedfast hearts ; but the heroism and perseverance of the Spaniards of the sixteenth century surmounted obstacles which to all others would have seemed insuperable. Allured by false accounts of rich countries before them, they struggled on, until they reached the banks of the Napo, one of the rivers whose waters add to the greatness of the Maranon. There, with infinite labour, they built a bark, which they expected would prove of great use in conveying them over rivers, in procuring provisions, and in 5S ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE . exploring the country. This was manned with fifty soldiers, under the command of Francis Orellana, the officer next in rank to Pizarro. The stream carried them down so quickly that they were soon far ahead of their countrymen, who followed slowly and with difficulty by land. At first Orellana may have had no in- tention to betray the trust bestowed upon him by his com- mander; but on reaching the Maranon, the aspect of the stream rolling majestically to the east proved a temptation too strong for his ambition ; and, forgetting his duty to his fellow soldiers, he resolved to follow the course of the river, which seemed to beckon him onwards to riches and renown. But one among his followers, Sanchez de Vargas, whose name well deserves a record, had the courage to remonstrate against this breach of faith, for which he was landed as a criminal, without food or help of any kind. After a dangerous and romantic navigation of seven months, whose real adventures he after- wards embellished with fabulous tales of El Dorados and war- like Amazons, Orellana at length reached the mouth of the stream. Drifted by the current, he thence safely steered for the Spanish settlement in the island of Cubagua, and soon after embarked for Spain. The magnificence of his discovery threw a veil over his guilt ; and, having been appointed governor of the territory whose grandeur he had been the first to reveal, he once more crossed the ocean. But he was not destined to reach the scene where his ambition dreamt of exploits worthy to eclipse the fame of Cortez or Pizarro ; a mortal disease befel him on the passage, and in the sea he found a nameless grave. But what had meanwhile become of the leader whom he had so basely abandoned in the wilderness ? The consternation of Pizarro on not finding the bark at the confluence of the Napo and the Maranon, where he had ordered Orellana to wait for him, may well be imagined. But, imputing his absence to some unknown accident, he advanced above fifty leagues along the banks of the river, expecting every moment to see the bark appear with abundant provisions and joyful tidings. At length he met with the faithful Vargas, and now no doubt remained about the treachery of his lieutenant and his own desperate I THE EXPEDITION" OF PIZARRO 59 situation. The spirit of the stoutest-hearted veteran sank within him ; all demanded to be led back instantly, and Pizarro, though he assumed an appearance of tranquillity, did not oppose their inclination. But they were now 1200 miles from Quito, and a march of many months had to be made without the hopes which had soothed their previous sufferings. Hunger compelled them to sacrifice all their dogs and horses, to devour the most loathsome reptiles, to gnaw the leather of their saddles and sword-belts. All the Indians and 210 Spaniards perished in this wild expedition, which lasted nearly two years. When at length the survivors arrived at Quito, they were naked like savages, and so worn out with famine and fatigue, that they looked more like spectres than men. Two hundred years after the adventures of Pizarro and Orellana, the French naturalist. La Condamine, performed his celebrated voyage from Bracamoros to Para. He was accompanied by the learned M. Grodin des Odonnais, who, leaving his wife on the eastern slope of the Andes, returned alone to Europe in the year 1749. After a separation of twenty years, Madame Godin undertook to descend the Amazons to Para, where her husband was waiting for her. She em- barked with her two brothers, a doctor, three female servants, and some Indians, in a large open boat. At the very first opportunity the doctor abandoned the party, and was soon followed by the Indians, who had been paid beforehand. The unskilled travellers vainly attempted to steer their boat; it foundered on the bank, and Madame Godin with difficulty saved her life. They then made a raft, which met with the same misfortune. Undaunted by these repeated disasters, but completely inexperienced, they now resolved to proceed on foot through the forest ; but hunger and fatigue soon drove them to despair, and they all perished, except Madame Godin, who, though physically the w^eakest, was morally the strongest of the party. Who could describe her sufferings after the last of her companions died! Tattered, emaciated, exhausted, she at length met some Indians who treated her with the greatest kindness. The long struggle for her life, amid dangers and hardships without number, had bleached her hair, and stamped her with the marks of extreme old age. The good-natured CO ASPECTS or TROPICAL NATURE Indians guided her to the next European settlement, whence she continued her journey to Para without any further adven- tures. But the dreadful scenes she had witnessed, and the loss of the dear relations and faithful companions, who one after the other had dropped from her side, had too severely shocked her nerves ; and, though she escaped death in the wilderness, it was only to fall a prey to hopeless insanity. - -T' African Bushmen, CHAPTER VI. THE KALAHARI. Reasons why Droughts are prevalent in South Africa — Vegetation admirably i suited to the Character of the Country — Number of Tuberous Roots — The CafFre Water-Melon — The Naras — Tho Mesembryanthemums — The Animal Life of the Kalahari — The Bushmen, a Nomadic Race of Hunters — The Bakalahari — Their Love for Agriculture — Their Ingenuity in procuring Water — Trade in Skins. AGEOGrEAPHICAL position, not unlike that which con- demns the plains along the western foot of the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes to perpetual aridity, renders also the oreater part of tropical and sub-tropical Southern Africa sub- ject to severe droughts, and in general to great scarcity of rain. For the emanations of the Indian Ocean, which the sasterly winds carry towards that continent, and which, if squally distributed over the whole surface, would render it 3apable of bearing the richest productions of the torrid zone, ire mostly deposited on the eastern slopes of the mountain- 2hains, which, under various denominations, traverse eastern South Africa from north to south ; and when the moving mass 3f air, having crossed their highest elevations, reaches the great heated inland plains, the ascending warmth of that hot dry surface gives it greater power of retaining its remaining moisture, and few showers can be given to the central and \vestern lands. Thus, while the sea-borde gorges of the eastern zone are clad with gigantic forests, and an annual supply of G2 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE rain there keeps a large number of streams perpetually flowiDg, Damara Land, the Namaqua country, and the Kalahari, are almost constantly deprived of moving water. From these general remarks it might be imagined that regions so scantily supplied with one of the prime necessaries of life could be nothing but a dead and naked waste ; yet, strange to say, even the great Kalahari, extending from the Orange river in the south, lat 29°, to Lake Ngami in the north, lat. 21°, and from about 24° E. long, to near the west coast, has been called a desert, simply because it contains no flowing streams and very little water in wells ; as, far from being destitute of vegetable or animal life, it is covered with grass and a great variety of creeping plants, interspersed with large patches of bushes and even trees. In general, the soil is a light-coloured, soft sand ; but the beds of the ancient rivers contain much alluvial soil, and, as that is baked hard by the burning sun, rain-water stands in pools in some of them for several months in the year. The abundance of vegetation on so unpromising a soil may partly be explained by the geological formation of the country ; for as the basin-shape prevails over large tracts, and as the strata on the slopes where most of the rain falls dip in towards the centre, they probably guide water beneath the plains, which are but ill-supplied with moisture from the clouds. Another cause, which serves to counteract the want or scarcity of rain, is the admirable foresight of Nature in providing these arid lands with plants suited to their peculiar climate. Thus creepers abound which, having their roots buried far beneath the soil, feel but little the effects of the scorching sun. The number of these which have tuberous roots is very great, — a structure evidently intended to supply nutriment and moisture when, during the long droughts, they can be obtained nowhere else. One of these blessings to the inhabitants of the desert is a small. plant named Leroshua, with linear leaves, and a stalk not thicker than a crow's quill; but on digging down a foot or eighteen inches beneath, the root enlarges to a tuber, often as big as the head of a young child, which, on the rind being removed, is found to be a mass of cellular tissue, filUMi with fluid much like that in a young turnip. Owing to THE PLANTS OF THE KALAHARI 63 the depth beneath the surface at which it is found, it is ge- nerally deliciously cool and refreshing. Another kind, named kuri, is seen in other parts of the country, where long-con- liiiued heat parches the soil. This plant is an herbaceous creeper, and deposits under ground a number of tubers, some as large as a man's head, often in a circle, a yard or more horizontally from the stem. The natives strike the ground on the circumference of the circle with stones, till, by hearing a difference of sound, they know the water-bearing tuber to be beneath. They then dig down a foot or so and find it. But the most wonderful plant of the desert is the Kengwe, or KTme (Gucumis Caffer), the water-melon of the Caffres. In years when more than the usual quantity of rain falls, vast bracts of the country are literally covered with these juicy gourds, and then animals of every sort and name, including man, rejoice in the rich supply. Crossing the desert from Kolobeng to Lake Ngami, Mr. J. Macabe found them in such • rofusion that his cattle lived on the fluid contained in them •r not less than twenty-one days; and when at last they cached a supply of water, they did not seem to care much ibout it. On the west coast, along the banks of the Kiusep, — a river vliich, luhen it has ivater, flows into Walfish Bay, — Anderson )und almost every little sand-hillock covered with a creeper, vhich produced a kind of prickly gourd of the most delicious (lavour. The naras, as it is called by the natives, is about (he size of an ordinary turnip, and when ripe has a greenish exterior, with a tinge of lemon ; while the interior, which is of I deep orange colour, presents a most cooling and inviting ippearance, and for three or four months in the year con- litutes the chief food both of man and beast. The naras contains a great number of seeds, not unlike a )eeled almond in appearance and taste, which, being easily eparated from the fleshy parts, are carefully collected, dried n the sun, and then stored away in little skin bags. When lie fruit fails the natives have recourse to these seeds, which .re equally nutritious, and perhaps even more wholesome. Thus even in the desert the bounty of the Almighty raises iistenance for man and all His creatures; for, in this barren ind poverty-stricken country, food is so scarce, that without 64 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATUKE the naras the land would be all but uninhabitable. The creep- ing plants of the desert serve, moreover, a double purpose ; for, besides their use as food, they fix, by means of their extensive ramifications, the constantly shifting sands, — thus rendering similar services to those of the sand-reed {Ammophila arun- dinacea) on the dunes along the sandy coasts of the North Sea. The Mesembryanthemums are another family of plants ad- mirably adapted to the desert, as their seed-vessels remain firmly shut while the soil is hot and dry, and thus preserve the vegetative power intact during the highest heat of the torrid sun ; but when rain falls the seed-vessel opens and sheds its contents, just when there is the greatest likelihood of their vegetating. This is the more wonderful, as in other plants heat and drought cause the seed-vessels to burst and shed their charge. One of this family is edible (if. edule) ; another possesses a tuberous root, which may be eaten raw ; and all are furnished with thick, fleshy leaves, with pores capable of imbibing and retaining moisture from a very dry atmosphere and soil ; so that if a leaf is broken during the greatest drought it shows abundant circulating sap. The oblong tubers, with which some of the mesembryanthemums are furnished, serve them as an additional means for withstanding the want of rain ; for, being buried deep enough beneath the soil for complete protection! from the sun, they serve as reservoirs of sap during those rain- j less periods which recur very frequently in even the most! favoured spots of these parts of Africa. Many useful plants have been conveyed from one country toj another ; but I doubt whether any attempts have as yet been! made to acclimatise the tuberous cucurbitacese and the mesem-j bryanthemums of Southern Africa in the northern deserts of! that continent, or on the arid coast of Peru, where perhaps! some of them might thrive and prove of great use. Thei propagation of all that is beautiful or useful in nature to every! other part of the world adapted to its growth, will be a workj for future generations. i The peculiar and comparatively abundant vegetation of thej arid plains of South Africa explains how these wastes are peopled by herds of herbivorous animals, which in their turn are preyed^ upon by the lion, the panther, or the python. Hundreds oil THE TRIBES OF THE KALAHARI 65 elands (Boselaphus oreas), gemsbucks, koodoos (Strepsiceros capensis\ or duikers {Cephalopws mergens), may often be seen thirty or forty miles from the nearest water. These, having sharp-pointed hoofs well adapted for digging, are nble to subsist without water for many months at a time, by living on moist bulbs and tubers; while the presence of the rhinoceros, of the buffalo and gnu (Catohlepas Gnu), of the giraffe, the zebra, and pal- lah {Antilope 7)ielam,pus\ is always a certain indication of water being within a distance of seven or eight Koodoo. miles. The tribes of the Kalahari consist of bushmen, probably the aborigines of the southern part of the continent, and of Bakala- hari, the remnants of an ancient Bechuana emigration. The nomadic bushmen are a nation of hunters, and so thoroughly acquainted with the habits of the game, that they follow them in their migrations, and prey upon them from place to place ; thus proving as complete a check upon their inordinate increase as the other carnivora. Supplying by cunning or invention their lack of strength, like the Indian tribes of Gruiana, they make use of poisoned arrows, fatal even to the lion ; but though their chief food is the flesh of animals, they eke it out by what the women collect of roots and beans and fruits of the desert. Their thin wiry forms are capable of great exertion, and well able to bear the severe privations to which the inhabitants of such a country must submit. The Bakalahari are traditionally reported to be the oldest of the Bechuana tribes driven into the desert by a fresh migration of their own nation. Though living ever since on the same plains with the bushmen, under the same influences of climate, enduring the same thirst, and living on the same food for cen- turies, they still retain in undying vigour the Bechuana love for agriculture and domestic animals, hoeing their gardens annually, though often all that they can hope for is a supply of melons and pumpkins, and carefully rearing small herds of goats, although to provide them with water is a task of no F 66 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE small difficulty, since the dread of hostile visits from the adjacent Bechuana tribes makes them choose their abode far from the nearest spring or pool, and leads them not unfre- quently to hide their supplies by filling the pits with sand and making a fire over the spot. When they wish to draw water for use, the women come with twenty or thirty of their water vessels in a bag or net on their backs. These water vessels consist of ostrich egg shells, with a hole in the end of each, such as would admit one's finger. The women tie a bunch of grass to one end of a reed about two feet long, which they insert in a hole dug as deep as the arm will reach, and then ram down the wet sand firmly round it. Applying the mouth to the free end of the reed, they form a vacuum in the grass beneath, in which the water collects, and in a short time rises into the mouth. An egg-shell is placed on the gi'ound along- side the reed, some inches below the mouth of the sucker. A straw guides the water into the hole of the vessel as she draws mouthful after mouthful from below ; and thus the whole stock of water passes through her mouth as a pump, and when taken home is carefully buried to prevent its loss by evaporation. A short stay among the thirsty Bakalaharis might teach us better to appreciate the blessings of an abundant supply of water. These poor people generally attach themselves to influential men in the different Bechuana tribes near to their desert home, in order to obtain supplies of spears, knives, tobacco, and dogs, in exchange for the skins of animals which they kill. These are small carnivora of the feline race, including two species of jackal, the dark and the golden, the former of which has the warmest fur the country yields, while the latter is very hand- some when made into the skin-mantle called kavoss. Next in value follow the small ocelot, the lynx, the wild and the spotted cat. Great numbers of duiker and steinbuck skins are also- obtained, besides those of lions, leopards, panthers, and hyaenas* During Dr. Livingstone's stay in the Bechuana country, between twenty and thirty thousand skins were made up into harosses ; part of them were worn by the inhabitants, and part sold to traders, many ultimately finding their way to China. The Bechuanas buy tobacco from the eastern tribes, then, pur- chasing skins with it from the Bakalahari, tan and sew them into karosses ; and these go south to purchase heifer-calves, — TRADE IN THE KALAHARI 67 COWS being the highest form of riches known, — so that the missionary was frequently asked by the natives, " if Queen Victoria had many cows." Thus the Kalahari desert, besides supporting multitudes of animals, both small and large, adds its mite to the market of the .world, and has afforded a refuge to many a fugitive tribe, which, though contending with many privations in its new abodes, found there at least the blessing of freedom from an alien yoke. F 2 Tower in Agades. CHAPTER VII. THE SAHARA. Its uncertain Limits — Caravan Koutes — Ephemeral Streams — Oases — Inunda- tions— Luxuriant Vegetation of the Oases contrasted with the surrounding Desert — The Sedentary and Vagrant Tribes — Harsh contrasts of Light and Shade — Sublimity of the Desert — The Khamsin — The Dying Slave — Sand-Spouts — Venomous Snakes — Porcupine-catching — Chase of the Gazelle — Fluctuation of Animal Life according to the Seasons. FROM the Nile to the Senegal, and from the vicinity of Agades or of Timbuctoo to the southern slopes of the Atlas, extends the desert, which above all others has been named the Great. Surpassing the neighbouring Mediterranean at least three times in extent, and partly situated within the tropical zone, partly bordering on its confines, its limits are in many places as undetermined as the depths of its hidden solitudes. For from the mountain chains which separate it in the north from LIMITS OF THE SAHARA 69 the fertile coast-lands of Barbary and intercept the winter rains, the steppes covered with sedgy pale green Alfa-grass, and dotted here and there with grey wormwood and rosemary shrubs or dark-leaved pistacias, only gradually merge into the naked wilderness; and in the south no geographer is able as yet to draw the line between the rainless Sahara and the well-watered 1 lands of Nigritia, No European traveller has ever followed the ' southern limits of the desert from east to west, nor is its interior « known except only along a few roads, traced for many a cen- [ tury by the wandering caravans. From Tafilet to Timbuctoo, ', or from Murzuk to Bornu, the long train traverses the desert to exchange cotton-goods, silk, iron, glass, pearls, and other 1 articles of northern industry, for the ivory, gold-dust, camels, slaves, ostrich-feathers, and tanned hides of the wealthy Soudan; t and annually from the oases of the Touat, situated to the south : of Algeria, a stream of pilgrims flows to the east, and growing as it advances through the Fezzan, Augila, and Siwah, at length [ reaches Kosseir on the Red Sea, where it finds vessels waiting to transport it to Djedda, situated on the opposite shore, in the ). vicinity of Mecca the Holy. ; In general the desert may be said to extend in breadth from I the thirty-ninth to the seventieth degree of northern latitude; but while in many parts it passes these bounds, in others fruit- ful districts penetrate far into its bosom, like large peninsulas or promontories jutting into the sea. Until within the last years, it was supposed to be a low plain, [jartly situated even below the level of the ocean ; but the journeys of Earth, Overweg, and Vogel have proved it, on the contrary, to be a high table-land, rising 1 000 or ?000 feet above the sea. Nor is it the uniform sand- plain which former de- scriptions led one to imagine ; for it is frequently traversed by chains of hills, as desolate and wild as the expanse from which they emerge. But the plains also have a different character in various parts : sometimes over a vast extent of country the ground is strewed with blocks of stone or small boulders, no less fatiguing to the traveller than the loose drift sand, which, particularly in its western part (most likely in consequence of ''\[ the prevailing east winds), covers the dreary waste of the >^ahara. Often also the plain is rent by deep chasms, or hol- F 3 70 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE lowed into vast basins. In the former, particularly on the northern limits of the desert, the rain descending from the gulleys of the Atlas, sometimes forms streams, which are sooa swallowed up by the thirsty sands, or dried by the burning sun- beams. In spite of this short duration, the sudden appearance of these streams is not unfrequently the cause of serious distress to the oases which border the northern limits of the desert. For this reason, as soon as the Atlas veils itself with clouds, horsemen from the oases of the Beni Mzab are sent at full speed into the mountains. They form a chain as they proceed, and announce by the firing of their rifles, the approach of the waters. The inhabitants of the oases instantly hurry to their gardens to convey their agricultural implements to a place of safety. A rushing sound is heard ; in a short time the ground is inundated ; and the little village seems suddenly as if by magic transported to the banks of a lake, from which the green tufts of the palm-trees emerge like islands. But this singular spectacle soon passes away like the fantastic visions of the mirage. The deeper basins of the Sahara are frequently of great ex- tent, and sometimes contain valuable deposits of salt. Wherever perennial springs rise from the earth, or wherever it has been possible to collect water in artificial wells, green oases, often many a day's journey apart from each other, break the monotony of the desert. They might be compared with the charming islands that stud the vast solitudes of the South Sea ; but they do not appear, like them, as elevations over surrounding plains of sea, but as depressions, where animals and plants find a sufficient supply of water, and a protection, not less necessary, against the terrific blasts of the desert. A wonderful luxuriance of vegetation characterises these oases of the wilderness. Under and between the date-palms, that are planted about six paces apart, grow apricot and peach trees, pomegranates and oranges, the henneh, so indispensable to oriental beauty ; and even the apple-tree, the pride of European orchards. The vine twines from one date-palm to another, and every spot susceptible of culture bears corn, par- ticularly dourrah or barley, and also clover and tobacco. With THE TRIBES OF THE SAHARA 71 prudent economy the villages are built on the borders of the oases on the unfruitful soil, so that not a foot of ground sus- ceptible of culture may be lost. Sedentary Berber tribes inhabit the oases, and chiefly live upon the fruits of their date-trees ; while the nomadic Tuaryks and Tibbos wander, with thei^ camels and sheep, over the desert in quest of scanty forage and thorny shrubbery. In spite of their mutual hatred, the bonds of a common interest connect the vagrant and the agricultural tribes. Condemned to per- petual migrations, the nomade is forced to confide all the property which he is unable to carry about with him to the inhabitant of the oasis ; he may even possess a small piece of land, the cultivation or care of which he intrusts to the latter, who, on his part, as soon as he has saved something, buys a sheep or a goat, which he gives in charge to the nomade. An unmitigated hatred, on the contrary, exists between the various erratic tribes, as here no mediating self-interest softens the antipathies which are almost universally found to exist between neighbouring barbarians ; and their robber-expeditions not merely attack the richly laden caravan, but also the oasis which may be connected by the bonds of intercourse with their hereditary enemies. The vast tracts of sterile sand, where not even the smallest plant takes root, and which might be called the " desert of the desert," present the greatest conceivable contrast to its green oases. With the vegetable world the animal kingdom likewise disappears, and for days the traveller pursues his journey with- out meeting with a single quadruped, bird, or insect. Nowhere are the transitions of light and shade more abrupt than in the desert, for nowhere is the atmosphere more thoroughly free of all vapours. The sun pours a dazzling light on the ground, so that every object stands forth with wonderful clearness, while all that remains in the shade is sharply defined, and appears like a dark spot in the surrounding glare. These harsh contrasts between light and shade deprive the landscape of all grace and harmony ; but this want is amply compensated by its singular grandeur. The boundless horizon and the silence which reigns over the whole scene, have a powerful effect upon every one who for the first time enters F 4 72 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE upon so strange a world. The ocean and the ice-fields of the polar regions make a similar impression. Thus, in spite of all he may have endured, the traveller that has once crossed the desert will ever after remember it with pleasure, and long for the renewal of its deep emotions. For the life of the Sahara resembles that of the ocean. During a continuance of bad weather or a calm, the mariner may vow to forsake the sea for ever ; but he has scarcely landed when his affection revives, and he longs for the sea again. We may grow fatigued with the life of the town, but we cannot tire of the majestic uniformity of the ocean or of the awful sublimity of the desert. The stillness of these wastes is sometimes awfully interrupted by the loud voice of the khamsin or simoom. The crystal transparency of the sky is veiled with a hazy dimness. The wind rises and blows in intermittent gusts, like the laborious breathing of a feverish patient. Grradually the convulsions of the storm grow more violent and frequent ; and although the sun is unable to pierce the thick dust-clouds, and the shadow of the traveller is scarcely visible on the ground, yet so suffocating is the heat, that it seems to him as if the fiercest rays of the sun were scorching his brain. The dun atmosphere gradually changes to a leaden blackness; the wind becomes constant; and even the camels stretch themselves upon the ground and turn their backs to the whirling sand-storm. At night the darkness is complete : no light or fire burns in the tents, which are hardly able to resist the gusts of the simoom. Silence reigns throughout the whole caravan, yet no one sleeps ; the bark of the jackal or the howl of the hysena alone sounds dismally from time to time through the loud roaring of the storm. Modern travellers (Russegger, D'Escayrac de Lauture) assure us that the often repeated tale of whole caravans having been buried in the sand by one of these tornados is very much ex- aggerated ; but there can be no doubt that the simoom causes the death of many a poor slave. Walking at the side of the camels, beaten, miserably fed, and but niggardly supplied with brackisli water, without hope — the last support of the wretched — he sinks under an apoplectic stroke ; or else, worn out by THE KHAMSIN OR SIMOOM OF THE SAHARA 73 fatigue and want, is unable any longer to move his paralysed limbs. The caravan abandons him to his fate ; for every one thinks but of himself; and who, but his owner, cares about a slave ? In a short time the dry atmosphere changes the corpse into a natural mummy, which, " grinning horribly a ghastly smile," seems to defy the desert. But often the crows, wheeling with dismal cries over the dying wretch, hack out his eyes before death relieves him of all pain. These corsairs of the air accompany the caravan, as sharks accompany a vessel, reckon- ing, like the tyrants of the seas, upon the tribute of the journey. The sultry breath of the desert is felt far beyond its bounds ; for the Sahara is great, and all greatness has a wide extended influence. It blows over Italy, where it is known as the sirocco, and crosses even the Alps, where, under the name of the Fonwind, it rapidly melts the snow of the higher valleys, and causes dangerous inundations. The dust of the desert, whirled high into the air, frequently falls upon the decks of vessels crossing the Atlantic, far from the coast of Africa, and flies in clouds over the Ked Sea — a greeting from Nubia to Arabia. Eussegger gives us a graphic account of a khamsin storm which he witnessed at Scheibun, on the Nile (11° 13' N. lat.): " At three in the afternoon storm-clouds arose, that rapidly approached with an increasing intensity of colour : a dark, and yet burningly vivid, brown-red passing into deep black and grey. A thundering roar was heard : it seemed as if a vast city like London was in flames, and as if peals of heavy artillery were continually booming out of the fiery mass. Menscherah, with its palms and mimosas, and the broad river in the fore- ground, had an indescribably magnificent effect ; for never did a more vivid green stand forth from a more dark and lurid background. But suddenly the whole prospect was veiled, and a strange and ghastly twilight cast its funereal glare over the scene. Sheets of lightning, instantly followed by terrific claps of thunder, flamed uninterruptedly across the sky ; the groaning trees crashed and fell ; and the river rose in large waves, as if it had been a wide lake agitated by a storm." The air, filled with dust and sand to suffocation, had a tem- 74 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE perature of 102°. When the khamsin was most violent, Eus- segger was obliged to sit down and bury his face in his mantle, his breast heaving with oppression, his brain reeling as if he were intoxicated. The indescribably grand phenomenon ter- minated with floods of rain, which at first literally showered down torrents of liquid mud. As the conflicting air-currents of the ocean occasion water- spouts, the terror of the mariner, who sees them approach in rapid whirls ; so also sand-spouts, or trombs, arise in rotatory eddies from the midst of the desert, menacing with instant destruction all living things that come in their way. "At eleven o'clock," says Mr. Bruce, " while we contemplated with great pleasure the rugged top of Chig^re, to which we were fast approaching, and where we were to solace ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris our guide cried out with a loud voice, ' Fall upon your faces, for here is the simoom ! ' I saw from the south-east a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not so compressed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it moved very rapidly ; for I scarce could turn to fall upon the ground with my head to the northward, when I felt the heat of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat on the ground, as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor, or purple haze, which I saw was indeed past, but the light air which still blew was of heat to threaten suffocation. For my part, I found distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a part of it ; nor was I free of an asthmatic sensation till I had been some months in Italy at the baths of Poretta, near two years afterwards." In this case the severity of the blast seems to have past almost instantaneously; yet the hot wind continued to blow about six hours longer with gradually decreasing violence, so as to leave the traveller in a state of depression such jxs is occasioned, though in a far less degree, by the blowing of the sirocco. When we consider the scanty vegetation of the Sahara, we cannot wonder that animal life is but sparingly scattered over it. The lion, whom our poets so frequently name the " kini^- ANIMAL LIFE IN THE SAHARA 75 of the desert," only shows himself on its borders; and on asking the nomades of the interior whether it is ever seen in their parts, they gravely answer that in Europe lions may perhaps feed on shrubs or drink the air, but that in Africa they cannot exist without flesh and water, and therefore avoid the sandy desert. In fact, they never leave the wooded mountains of the Atlas, or the fruitful plains of the Soudan, to wander far away into the Sahara, where snakes and scorpions are the only dangerous animals to be met with. The snakes, which belong to the genus Cerastes, which ' is distinguished by two small horns upon the head, have a deadly bite, and are remarkable for their almost total abstinence from water. AMien a caravan, on first entering the desert, meets with one of these venomous reptiles, it is not killed, " for it is of good omen to leave evil behind ; " but farther on the snakes are mercilessly destroyed wherever they are seen. Among the animals which inhabit those parts of the desert, which are covered with prickly shrubs, we find hares and rabbits, hyaenas and jackals, the hedgehog and the porcupine. Well-beaten paths, and here and there a scattered quill, lead to the hole which this proverbially fretful animal burrows in the sand. The hunters widen the entrance with their poniards or swords, until a hoarse, prolonged growl, and the Porcupine. peculiar noise which the enraged porcupine makes on raising his quills, warn them to be on their guard. Suddenly the creature rushes from its burrow to cast itself into the thicket ; but the well-aimed blow of a poniard stretches it upon the sand. A fire is then kindled, and the animal buried under the embers ; the quills then easily separate from the roasted and excellently-flavoured meat. The ostrich, which is proverbially said to drink only every five days when there is water, and to be able to endure thirst for a much longer period when there is none, and the gazelle, which even the greyhound finds it difficult to catch, venture deeper into the desert. The chase of the gazelle is a favourite amusement of the Saharians. On seeing a herd at a 76 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE distance they approach as cautiously as possible ; and when about a mile distant, they unleash their greyhounds, who dart off with the rapidity of arrows, and are excited, by loud cries, to their utmost speed. Yet they only reach the flying herd after a long chase ; and now the scene acquires the interest of a drama. The best greyhound selects the finest gazelle for his prey, which uses all its cunning to avoid its pursuer, springing to the right, to the left, now forwards, then backwards, some - times even right over the greyhound's head ; but all these zig- zag evolutions fail to save it from its indefatigable enemy. When seized it utters a piteous scream, the signal of the grey- hound's triumph, who kills it with one bite in the neck. Several lizards inhabit the desert; among others, a large grey monitor, and a small white skink, with very short legs, called Zelgague by the Arabs. Its movements are so rapid that it seems to swim on the sand like a fish in the water,. and when one fancies one has caught it, it suddenly dives under the surface. Its traces, however, betray its retreat, and it is easily extracted from its hole, — a trouble which, in spite of the meagre booty, is not considered too great when provisions are scarce. According to the seasons animal life fluctuates in the Sahara from north to south. In winter and spring, when heavy rains, falling on its northern borders, provide wide districts, tho- roughly parched by the summer heat, with the water and pasturage needed for the herds, the nomadic tribes wander farther into the desert with their camels, horses, sheep, and goats, and retreat again to the coast-lands as the sun gains power. At this time of the year the wild animals — the lion, the gazelle, and the antelope — also wander farther to the south, which at that time provides them, each according to its taste, with the nourishment which the dry summer is unable to be- stow ; while the ostrich, who during the summer ranged farther to the north, then retreats to the south ; for hot and sandy plains are the paradise in which this singular bird delights to roam. In the southern part of the Sahara the tropical rains, whose limits extend to 19° N. lat., and in some parts still farther tq thp north, produce similar periodical changes in the cliaracter THE RAINS OF TIIK SAHARA 77 of the desert. Under their influence the sandy plains are soon covered with grasses and shrubs. In the dry season, on the contrary, the green carpet disappears, and the country then changes into a dry waste, covered with stubbles and tufts of mimosas. This beneficial change, however, does not take place every year ; for the tropical rains frequently fail to appear on their northern boundaries, and thus disappoint the hopes of the thirsty desert. Tuaryk Chieflain. 78 CHAPTEK VIII. THE PRIMITIVE FOREST. Its peculiar Charms and Terrors — Disappointments and Difficulties of the Botanist Variety of Trees and Plants — Chara'cter of the Primitive Forest according to its Site — Its Aspect during the Eainy Season — A Hurricane in the Forest Beauty of the Forest after the Eainy Season — Bird Life on the rivers of Guiana — Morning Concert — Kepose of Nature at Noon — Nocturnal Voices of the Forest. THE peculiar charms of the tropical primitive forest are enhanced by the mystery of its impenetrable thickets ; for however lovely its lofty vaults and ever-changing forms of leaf or blossom may be, fancy paints scenes still more beautiful beyond, where the eye cannot penetrate, and where, as yet, no wanderer has ever strayed. But imagination also peoples the forest with peculiar terrors ; for man feels himself here sur- rounded by an alien, or even hostile, nature : the solitude and silence of the woods weigh heavily on his mind; in every rustling of the fallen leaves a venomous snake seems ready to dart forth ; and who knows what ravenous beast may not be lurking in the dense underwood that skirts the tangled path. In Europe there is no room for such feelings ; for in our part of the world there are no woods that may not be visited, even in their deepest recesses : no thorny bushropes stretch their intri- cate cordage before the wanderer; no masses of matted shrubbery block up his way. But it is very different in the boundless forests of tropical America, through which roll the Orinoco or the Amazon, with tlieir numberless tributaries. Here the jaguar sometimes loses himself in such impenetrable thickets that, unable to hunt upon the ground, he lives for a long time on the trees, a terror to the PRIMITIVE FOREST. THE FORESTS OF TEOFICAL AMERICA 79 monkeys; here the padres of the mission-stations, which are not many miles apart in a direct line, often require more than a day's navigation to visit each other, following the windings of small rivulets in their courses, as the forest renders com- munication by land impossible. Even the more open parts of the forest are full of mysteries. In our woods the summits of the highest trees are accessible ; there is no blossom that we are not able to pluck, — no plant that we are not able to examine, from its root to its topmost branches; but in the Brazilian forest, where the matted bush- ropes, climbing along the trunks and branches, extend like the rigging of a ship from one tree to another, and blossom at a giddy height, it is frequently as impossible to reach these flowers, as it is to distinguish to which of the many interlacing stems they may belong. If any one should be inclined to tax this description with exaggeration, let him try to pluck the flowers of the lianas, or to ascend by climbing their flexible cordage. The tiger-cat and the monkey, perhaps also the agile Indian, may be able to accomplish the feat ; but it would be utterly hopeless for the European to undertake it. Nor is it possible to drag down one of these inaccessible creepers ; for, owing to their strength and toughness, it would be easier to pull down the tree to which it attaches itself than to force the liana from its hold. No botanist ever entered a primitive forest without envying the bird to whom no blossom is inaccessible, who, high above the loftiest trees, looks down upon the sea of verdure, and enjoys prospects whose beauty can hardly be imagined by man. A majestic uniformity is the character of our woods, which often consist but of one species of tree, while in the tropical forests an immense variety of families strive for existence, and even in a small space one neighbour scarcely ever resembles the other. Even at a distance this difference becomes ap- parent in the irregular outlines of the forest, as here an airy dt)me-shaped crown, there a pointed pyramid, rises above the broad flat masses of green, in ever-varying succession. On ap- proaching, the differences of colour are added to the irregu- larities of form ; for while our forests are deprived of the ornament of flowers, many tropical trees have large blossoms, mixing in thick bunches with the leaves, and often entirely go ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE overpowering the verdure of the foliage by their gaudy tints. Thus splendid white, yellow, or red coloured crowns are min- gled with those of darker or more humble hue. At lengtli when, on entering the forest, the single leaves become distin- guishable, even the last traces of harmony disappear. Hen they are delicately feathered, there lobed, — here narrow, there broad, — here pointed, there obtuse, — here lustrous and fleshy. as if in the full luxuriance of youth, there dark and arid, as iJ decayed with age. In many the inferior surface is covered with hair ; and as the mnd plays with the foliage, it appears now silvery, now dark green, — now of a lively, now of a melan- choly, hue. Thus the foliage exhibits an endless variety ol form and colour; and where plants of the same species unite ir a small group, they are mostly shoots from the roots of an olc stem. This is chiefly the case with the palms ; but the specia of the larger trees are generally so isolated in the wood, thai one rarely sees two alike from the same spot. Each is sur- rounded by strangers that begrudge it the necessary space anc air ; and where so many thousand forms of equal pretensions vi( for the possession of the soil, none is able to expand its crowi or extend its branches at full liberty. Hence there is a uni versal tendency upwards; for it is only by overtopping it neighbours that each tree can hope to attain the region o freedom and of light ; and hence also the crowns borne aloft oi those high columnar trunks are comparatively small. As the tropical primitive forest occupies sites of a very dif- ferent character, — here extending along the Ioav banks of rivers there climbing the slopes of gigantic mountains, — here unde the equator, there on the verge of the tropics, where many o the trees, annually casting their foliage, remind one of the winte of the temperate zone, — it is of course quite impossible b embrace all these varieties of form and aspect in one genera description. On descending from the heights of the Andes to the plains o tlie Marafion, the eye is attracted, in the more elevated forest;; (the region of the Quinquina trees), by a variety of fantastically^! flowering orchids, — and of arborescent ferns, with their lace like giant leaves, — by large dendritic urticeas, — by wonderfu bignonias, banisteriaa, passifloras, and many other inextricably tangled bushropes and creepers. Farther downwards, thougl VAUIKD CHARACTER OF TROPICAL FORESTS 81 the lianas still appear in large numbers, the eye delights in palms of every variety of form, in terebinthinaceas, in legumi- ;nosas, whose sap is rich with many a costly balsam; in laurels, bearing an abundance of aromatic fruit ; or it admires the broad-leaved heliconias, the large blossoms of the solaneas, and thousands of other flowers, remarkable for the beauty of their colour, the strangeness of their form, or their exquisite I aroma. i| In the deep lowlands the forest assumes a severe and gloomy character: dense crowns ef foliage form lofty vaults almost impenetrable to the light of day ; no underwood thrives on the swampy ground; no parasite puts forth its delicate blossoms where the mighty trees stand in interminable confusion ; and •only mushrooms sprout abundantly from the humid soil. 'i\ Nothing can equal the gloom of these forests during tbe rainy * season. Thick fogs obscure the damp and sultry air, and clouds of mosquitos whirl about in the mist. The trees are dripping •with moisture ; the flowers expand their petals only during the few dry hours of the day, and every animal seeks shelter in the thicket. No bird, no butterfly comes forth ; the snorting of the capybaras, and the monotonous croaking of frogs and toads, tare the only sounds that break the dull silence. Night darkens with increasing sadness over these dismal solitudes ; no star is visible ; the moon disappears behind thick clouds ; and the roar of the jaguar, or the bowlings of the stentor-monkey, issue like .notes of distress from the depth of the melancholy woods. A hurricane bursting over the primitive forest is one of the most terrific scenes of nature. A hollow uproar in the higher regions of the air, as if the wild huntsman of the German legends were sweeping along with his whole pack of phantom hounds, precedes the explosion of the storm, while the lower atmosphere still lies in deep repose. The roaring and rushing descends lower and lower ; the higher branches of the trees strike i wildly against each other ; the forked lightning flashes through the night-like darkness; the thunder, repeated by a hundred echoes, rolls through the trembling thicket ; and trees, uprooted by the fury of the storm, fall with a loud crash, crushing every stem of minor growth in their sweeping ruin. The bowlings 'and wailings of terrified animals accompany the wild sounds of ! 'the tempest. 82 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE After the wet season the woods appear in their full beauty. Before the first showers, the long-continued drought had wi- thered their leaves, and dried up many of the more tender parasites; during its continuance the torrents of rain despoiled them of all ornament; but when the clouds disperse and the animals come forth from their retreats to stretch their stiffened limbs in the warm sunshine, then also the vegetable world awakens to new life ; and where, a few days before, the eye met only with green in every variety of shade, it now revels in the luxuriance of beautiful flowers, which embalm the air with exquisite fragrance. At this time of the year the banks of the rivers of Gruiana winding through the primitive woods are of magical beauty, and sailing on their placid waters one might fancy oneself gliding along on the fairy streams of the lost gardens of Eden. Through the underwood, which often overhangs wide spaces of the stream, the large white blossoms of the inga shine forth, along with the scarlet brushes of the magnificent combretias. Elegant palms, armed with a panoply of thorns, and bearing a profusion of red fruit, rise above this lovely foreground ; and farther on, noble forest trees are seen festooned with creepers and parasites, which are covered with flowers. With every stroke of the oar new scenes reveal themselves ; so that in the variety of forms it is impossible to determine which plant or flower, most deserves the prize of beauty. These fairy bowers are enlivened by birds of splendid plumage, particularly in the early morning, when the luscious green of the high palm-fronds or the burning yellow of the lofty leopol- dinias, touched by the first rays of the sun, suddenly shines forth. Then hundreds of gaudy parrots fly across the river; numberless colibris dart like winged gems through the air: whole herds of cotingas flutter among the blossoms ; ducks of brilliant plumage cackle on the branches of submerged trees ; on the highest tree-tops the toucan yelps his loud pia-po-ko ! while, peeping from his nest, the oriole endeavours to imitate the sound ; and the scarlet ibis flies in troops to the coast, while tlie white egrette flutters along before the boat, rests, and then again rises for a new career. In general the morning hours are the loudest in the primitive forest ; for the animals that delight in daylight, though not BIRDS OF THE TROPICAL FORESTS 83 more numerous than the nocturnal species, have generally a louder voice. Their full concert, however, does not begin im- mediately after sunrise ; for they are mostly so chilled by the colder night, that they need to be warmed for some time before awakening to the complete use of their faculties. First, single tones ring from the high tree-crown, and gradually thousands of voices join in various modulation, — now approaching, now melting into distance. Pre-eminent in loudness is the roar of the howling monkeys, though without being able fully to stifle the discordant cries and chattering of the noisy parrots. But the sun rapidly ascends towards the zenith, and one musician after the other grows mute and seeks the cool forest shade, until finally the whole morning concert ceases to be heard. Where the rays of light break through the foliage and play upon the underwood, or on the damp ground, gaudy butterflies flutter about, beetles of metallic brilliancy warm themselves, and richly robed or dark-vested snakes creep forth; for these indolent creatures are also fond of basking in the sun. As the heat grows more intense, the stillness of the forest is only interrupted at intervals by single animal voices. Sometimes it is the note of the ivory-billed woodpecker, re- sounding like the distant axe of the forester, or the wail of the sloth breaking forth from the dense thicket. Sometimes human voices seem to issue from the depth of the forest, and the astonished huntsman fancies himself close to his comrades of the chase, or in the more dangerous neighbourhood of a wild tribe of Indians. With deep ivory-biiied woodpecker attention he listens to the sounds, until he discovers them to be the melancholy cries of the wood- pigeon. The deepest silence reigns at noon, when the sun becomes too powerful even for the children of the torrid zone ; and many creatures, particularly the birds, sink into a profound sleep. Then all the warm-blooded animals seek the shade, and only the cold reptiles, — alligators, lizards, salamanders, — stretch themselves upon the glowing rocks in the bed of G 2 84 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE the forest-streams, or on sunny slopes, and, with raised head and distended jaws, seem to inhale with delight the sultry air. As evening approaches, the noise of the morning begins to re -awaken. With loud cries the parrots return from their distant feeding-grounds to the trees on which they are ac- customed to rest at night ; and, as the monkeys saluted the rising sun, so chattering or howling, they watch him sinking in the west. With twilight a new world of animals, — which, as long as the day lasted, remained concealed in the recesses of the forest, — awakens from its mid-day torpor, and prepares to enjoy its nightly revels. Then bats of hideous size wing their noiseless flight through the wood, chasing the giant hawk-moths and beetles, which have also waited for the evening hour, while the felida3 quit their lairs, ready to spring on the red stag near some solitary pool, or on the unwieldy tapir, who, having slept during the heat of the day, seeks, as soon as evening approaches, the low-banked river, where he loves to wallow in the mud. Then also the shy opossum quits his nest in hollow trees, or under some arch-like vaulted root, to search for insects or fruits, and the cautious agouti sallies from the bush. In our forests scarcely a single tone is heard after sunset ; but in the tropical zone many loud voices celebrate the night, where, for hours after the sun has disappeared, the cicadas, toads, frogs, owls, and goatsuckers chirrup, cry, croak, howl, and wail. The quietest hours are from midnight until about three in the morn- ing. Complete silence, however, occurs only during very short intervals ; for there is always some cause or other that prompts some animal to break the stillness. Sometimes the din grows so loud, that one might fancy a legion of evil spirits were celebrating their orgies in the darkness of the forest. The howling of the aluates, the whine of the little sapajous, the snarl of the duruculi, the roaring of the jaguar, the grunt of the pecari, the cry of the sloth, and the shrill voices of birds, join in dreadful discord. Humboldt supposes the first cause of these tumults to be a conflict among animals, which, arising by chance, gradually swells to larger dimensions. The jaguai* pursues a herd of pecaris or tapirs which break wildly through the bushes. NIGHT IN THE TROPICAL FORESTS 85 Terrified by the noise, the monkeys howl, awakening parrots and toucans from their slumber ; and thus the din spreads through the wood. A long time passes before the forest returns to its stillness. Towards the approach of day the owls, the goatsuckers, the toads, the frogs, howl, groan, and croak for the last time ; and as soon as the first beams of morning purple the sky, the shrill notes of the cicadas mix with their expiring cries. G 3 86 CHAPTEE IX. THE MEXICAN PLATEAUS, AND THE SLOPES OF SIKKIM. Geological Formation of Mexico — The Tierra Caliente— The Ticrra Tempi ada The Ticrra Fria. The Sylvan Wonders of Sikkim — Changes of the Forest on ascending — The Torrid Zone of Vegetation — The Temperate Zone — The Coniferous Belt — Limits of Arboreal Vegetation — Animal Life. THE prodigious height attained in the torrid zone, not only by single mountains, but by vast tracts of land, and the diminution of temperature, which is the necessary consequence of their elevation above the level of the sea, enable the in- habitants of many tropical countries, without leaving their native land, to view the vegetable forms of every zone, and to pluck nearly every fruit that is found between the equator and the arctic circle. In Asia, Africa, and America, in the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and in the Hawaian group, where the Mauna Loa towers to the height of Mont Blanc, and girdles his foot with palms, while snow rests for a great part of the year upon his summit, we find numerous examples of a rapid transi- tion from the torrid to the temperate or frigid zone, often mthin the range of a single day's journey. It would far exceed the limits of a popular work were I to attempt to follow all these gradations of climate throughout the wide extent of the tropics ; but a short description of the Mexican plateaus, and of the slopes of Sikkim, which I have selected as remarkable instances of the wonderful change of vegetation resulting from the progressive elevation of the land, will, I hope, prove not uninteresting to the reader. After traversing South America and the Isthmus of Darien, \ THE TIERRA CALIENTE 87 the giant chain of the Andes spreads out, as it enters Mexico, into a vast sheet of table-land, which maintains an elevation of from 6000 to 9000 feet for the distance of 200 leagues, until it gradually declines in the higher latitudes of the north, or de- scends in successive stages to the sea-borde of the Atlantic. To this remarkable geological formation the land, though warmed during part of the year by the rays of a vertical sun, owes that astonishing variety of climate and productions which would make it the envy of the earth, if its wretched inhabitants, the victims of ignorance, superstition, and anarchy, did not brutally trample on the gifts of Nature, and render Mexico the scoff and by-word of the civilised world. All along the Mexican gulf stretches a broad zone of lowlands, called the iierra calieute, or hot region, which has the usual high temperature of the tropics. Parched and sandy plains, dotted with mimosas and prickly opuntias, are intermingled with savannahs, overshadowed by groves of palms and woodlands of exuberant fertility, and glowing with all the splendour of equinoctial vege- tation. The branches of the stately forest trees are festooned with clustering vines of the dark purple grape, convolvuli, and other flowering parasites of the most brilliant dyes. The under- growth of prickly aloe, matted with wild rose and honeysuckle, makes in many places an almost impervious thicket. In this wilderness of sweet-smelling buds and blossoms flutter birds of the parrot tribe, and clouds of butterflies, whose colours, nowhere so gorgeous as here, rival those of the vegetable world ; while birds of exquisite sofig, — the scarlet cardinal, and the mocking-bird that comprehends in his own notes the whole music of a forest, — fill the air with melody. But, like the genius of evil, the malaria en- gendered by the decomposition of rank vegetable substances in the hot and humid soil, poisons these enchanting retreats, and from the spring to the autumnal equinox renders them dan- gerous or fatal to man. Hastening to escape from its influence, the traveller, after passing some twenty leagues across the dreaded region of the yellow-fever, finds himself rising into a piu'er atmosphere. His limbs recover their elasticity. He breathes more freely, for his G 4 88 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE senses are not now oppressed by the sultry heats and intoxicat- ing perfume of the lowlands. The aspect of Nature, too, has changed, and his eye no longer rests on the gay variety of colours with which the land- scape was painted there. The vanilla, the indigo, the chocolate-tree, disappear as he advances, but the sugar-cane and the glossy- leaved banana still remain ; and when he has ascended about four thousand feet, he sees, in the unchanging green and the rich foliage Mockin^-Bird. of the liquidam bar-tree, that he has reached the height where clouds and mists settle in their passage from the Mexican gulf, and keep up a perpetual moisture. He is now beyond the influence of the deadly vomito on the confines of the tlevra teniplada, or temperate region, where evergreen oaks begin to remind him of the forests of central Europe. The features of the scenery become grand, and even terrible. His road sweeps along the base of mighty mountains, once gleaming with volcanic fires, and still glistening in their mantles of snow, which serve as beacons to the mariner for many a league at sea. All along he beholds traces of their ancient combustion as his road passes over vast tracts of lava, bristling in the fantastic forms into which the fiery torrent has been thrown by obstacles in its career. Perhaps at the same moment, as he casts his eyes down one of those unfathomable ravines or barrancas, which often, to a depth of more than 1200 feet, rend £he mountain-side, he sees its sheltered and sultry recesses glowing with the rich vegetation of the tropics : as if these wonderful regions were anxious to exhibit, at one glance, the boundless variety of their flora. Cactuses, euphor- bias, and dracsenae, with a multitude of minor plants, cling to the rocky walls ; while in the depth of the gorge stand huge laurels, fig-trees, and bombacese, whose blossoms exhale almost overpowering odours, and whose trunks are covered with mag- nificent creepers, expanding their gay petals in the torpid air. Still pressing upwards, he mounts into regions favourable to other kinds of cultivation. He has traced the yellow maize growing from the lowest level ; but he now first sees fields of wheat and the other European cereals, brought into the country by the THE SYLVAN WONDERS OF SIKKIM 89 Spanish conquerors, and with these, plantations of the American ;iL,^ave, whicli, among other uses, provides the Mexican with his favourite beverage. The oaks acquire a sturdier growth ; and at an elevation of about eight thousand feet, the dark forests of pine announce that he has entered the tierra fHa, or cold region, — the third and last of the great natural terraces into which the country is divided. Loaded with vapours, the prevailing southerly sea-winds, after crossing the dead level occupied by the delta of the Granges and Burrampooter, strike against the mountain-spurs of Sikkim, the dampest region of that stupendous chain, i and, expending their moisture on their flanks, clothe them : with a thick mantle of verdure to an enormous height. ; The giant peaks of Donkiah, Kinchinghow, and Kinchinginga, the third great mountain of the world (28,178 feet), equalling i in height more than two Mont Blancs piled one above the other, and as far as we know, only surpassed in altitude by the Korakorum (28,278 feet) and Mount Everest (29,002 feet), form the culminating points of this magnificently wooded re- gion, and look down upon the dense forests which, varying as they rise, extend between the plains of Bengal and their own perpetual snows. The railway from Calcutta to Kadjmahal on the Ganges * has placed the wonders of Sikkim within easy range of the ; traveller ; for as the foot of the Himalaya is not much more ! than a hundred miles from the capital of our Indian empire, a few days' travelling suffices to reach the Sanatorium of Dor- ' jiling, which, at an elevation of 7000 feet in the Sikkim moun- tains, greets the European with the bracing coolness of his native land. The distance from the Bengal plain to Dorjiling is hardly more than eighty miles, and about as much from Dorjiling to the regions of perpetual snow ; so that in a very short time the botanist is here able to wander through every zone of vege- tation, and through every variety of climate, from the heat of the tropical plain to the confines of perpetual winter. Dark green forests, of an exclusively tropical character, cover lie valleys and declivities to a height of from 4000 to 5000 90 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE feet. They cliiefly consist of duabanga, terminalis, cedrela, and Gordonia Wallichii, the commonest tree in Sikkim, and much prized for ploughshares and other purposes requiring a hard wood. Mighty palms rise above the mass of the forest, while innumerable shrubs cover the ground. The preva- lent timber is gigantic, and scaled by climbing leguminosas, bauhinias, and robinias, which sometimes sheath the trunks, or span the forest with huge cables, joining tree to tree. Large bamboos rather crest the hills than court the deeper shade, of which there is abundance, for the torrents cut a straight and steep course down the hill-flanks. The gulleys which they traverse are choked by vegetation, and bridged by fallen trees, whose trunks are clothed with epiphytical orchids, pendulous lycopodia, ferns, pothos, peppers, vines, bignonias, and similar types of the hottest and dampest climates. The beauty of the drapery of the pothos leaves is pre-eminent, whether for the graceful folds of the foliage or for the liveli- ness of its colour. Of the more conspicuous smaller trees the wild banana is the most abundant, its crown of very beau- tiful foliage contrasting with the smaller-leaved plants amongst which it nestles ; next comes a screw pine, with a straight stem and a tuft of leaves, each eight or ten feet long, waving on all sides. At an elevation of about four thousand feet many plants of the temperate zone, increasing in numbers as the traveller ascends, begin to mingle with the tropical vegetation, and to impart new charms to the forest ; oaks and walnuts are here seen thriving near palms and arborescent ferns ; mighty rhododendrons expand over thickets of tropical herbage; parasitical orchids adorn the trunks of the oaks, while thalictrons and geraniums blossom underneath. At a height of about seven thousand feet the forest assuming a decidedly temperate physiognomy, is chiefly composed of oaks, magnolias, chestnuts, laurels, and walnuts. In many parts ar- borescent rhododendrons prevail, and ferns are generally very abundant. About ten thousand feet above the level of the sea begins a zone or belt of conifera3, chiefly characterised by the silver fir (Abies Webb i ana) and the Abies Brunoyikma, a beautiful species. UPPER ZONKS OF VEGETABLE LIFE 91 which forms a stately blunt pyramid, with branches spreading like the cedar, but not so stiff, and drooping gracefully on all sides. Only at intervals other trees, such as willows, magnolias, ashes, birches, poplars, apple and cherry trees, appear among the thick pine-woods. The shrubbery and herbaceous plants of this zone are representatives of the whole temperate flora of Europe and America, intermixed with many Chinese, Japa- nese, and Malayan plants in the richest variety. Several epi- phjrtic orchids grow to an elevation of 10,000 feet, and large spaces are frequently occupied by rhododendrons, which either ascend from the temperate zone into the coniferous belt, or first appear in the latter. But very few trees such as the willows, birches, maples, and ashes, rise above the coniferous forest, which reaches an upper limit of about thirteen thousand feet. Most arboreal plants now appear only in a dwarfed condition ; but the willows still rise in powerful growth over the many Alpine shrubs, — juniperus, rosa, lonicera, potentilla, rhododendron, — which cover the ground; and single specimens, though low and stunted, are even found at a height of 16,000 feet. The whole zone between the extreme limits of arboreal vege- tatio'n and the upper boundary of shrubs, generally occupies an elevation of from 13,500 to 16,000 feet, and may justly be called the region of the Alpine rhododendrons : these plants are here by far the most numerous, and frequently belt the moun- tains with a girdle of richly coloured blossoms, even to the verge of the perennial snows. A large number of herbs, cruciferge, compositae, ranuncu- laceae, grasses, sedges, green and bloom beyond the limits of the shrubs, frequently forming luxuriant pastures, on which numerous herds of yacks, or gruiitiiig-oxen, graze during the summer. Many plants are even exclusively confined to these enormous heights ; such as the Ehododendron nivale, the most Alpine of woody plants, which Dr. Hooker found at 17,000 feet elevation. Delphinium glaciale, and Arenaria rupifraga, a curious species, forming great hemispherical balls, and alto- gether resembling in habit the curious balsam-bog of the Falkland Islands, which thrives in similar scenes. While on the summits of the Swiss Alps, lichens but sparely cover the 92 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE rocks, wherever they are denuded of snow, the wanderer in Sikkim enjoys the sight of many a gay-coloured flower in regions 3000 or 4000 feet higher than the summit of Mont Blanc. A zone of mosses and lichens does not exist on the Sikkim Himalaya, for they nowhere occur in large quantities, and scarcely ascend beyond the average limits of the Phanerogamous plants. It is only in very favourable stations that they con- siderably transgress these bounds; but this is just as often the case with some of the latter. If, for instance, the Tripe de roche (Gyrophora) of the arctic voyagers, and Lichen geogra- phicus, which under 52° N. lat. and 50° S. lat. grows at the level of the sea, are found in the Himalaya at an elevation of 18,000 feet, — if Dr. Hooker was surprised, and no doubt delighted, when, at the Donkiah pass, at a height of 18,460 feet, he dis- covered Lecanora miniata, an old acquaintance of Cockburn Island, in the Antarctic Ocean, — the Delphinium glaciale and other flowering plants attain a similar altitude. While thus in Sikkim a wonderful variety of vegetation rises in successive zones from the foot of the mountains to heights unparalleled in any other part of the world, animal life abounds only in its lowest classes ; for the higher orders appear only in few species, and in very scanty numbers. On ascending from the foot of the Himalaya, one is astonished at the silence of the woods, broken at inter- vals only by the voice of a bird, or the chirping of a cicada. The solitude increases on penetrating into the in- terior of Sikkim, and is but rarely Musk -Deer. enlivened by a few monkeys in the valleys, some musk-deer on the spare grass of the mountains, in heights of from 8000 to ] 3,000 feet, or a few larks, sparrows, finches, pigeons, swallows, falcons, and other birds, some of which ascend to a surprising height. Thus Dr. Hooker found the Himalaya partridge 16,080 feet above the sea, and crows and ravens at 16,500. The Khaidge pheasants never descend below 12,000 feet, and high over the Kintschinghow (22,756) flocks of wild-geese are seen to wing their flight to unknown regions. ' INSECT PLAGUES OP THE SIKKIM 93 The insects, however, and other invertebrata, make up by ' their numbers for the absence of warm-blooded animals, and are often insupportable plagues to the wanderer. Beautiful , tropical butterflies sometimes ascend to heights of 10,000 feet, i along with the less agreeable mosquitos and ticks ; and in all the streams, up to an elevation of 7000 feet, hill-leeches occur in such multitudes that bathing is almost impossible. Mangrove. CHAPTEK X. MANGROVE VEGETATION. Its Peculiarities of Growth and beautiful Adaptation to its Site — Its Importance in furthering the Growth of Land — Animal Life among the Mangroves — " Jumping Johnny " — Victimised by a Grapsus — Insalubrity of the Man- grove Swamps — Uses of the Mangrove Trees — Avicennias and Sonncratias. IN the tropical zone, wherever the reflux of the tide exposes a broad belt of alluvial soil, the shores of the sea, parti- cularly along the estuaries of rivers or in the shallow lagoons, are generally found fringed with a dense vegetation of man- groves. For no plants are more admirably adapted for securing a footing on the unstable brink of the ocean, — none are better formed to lead an amphibious life. The growth of these salt-water loving trees {Ehizophora gyrmwrrhiza, M, Mangle) is equally peculiar and picturesque. The seeds germinate on the branches, and, increasing to a con- ANIMAL LIFE IN THE MANGROVE FORESTS 95 sidembk? length, finally full down into the mud, where they stick, with their sharp point buried, and soon take root. The fruits of many plants are furnished with wings, that the winds may carry them far away and propagate them from land to land ; others, enveloped in hard, waterproof shells, float on the surface of the sea, and are wafted by the currents to distant coasts ; but here we have a plant, the seeds of which were destined to remain fixed on an uncertain soil, close to the parent-plant, and surely this end could not have been attained in a more beautiful manner ! As the young mangrove grows upwards, pendulous roots issue from the trunk and low branches, and ultimately strike into the muddy ground, where they increase to the thickness of a man's leg ; so that the whole has the appearance of a complicated series of loops and arches, from five to ten feet high, supporting the body of the tree like so many artificial stakes. It may easily be imagined what dense and inextricable thickets, what incomparable breakwaters, plants like these — through whose mazes even the light-footed Indian can only pene- trate by stepping from root to root — are capable of forming. Their influence in promoting the growth of land is very great, and in course of time they advance over the shallow borders of the ocean. Their matted roots stem the flow of the waters, and, retaining the earthy particles that sink to the bottom between them, gradually raise the level of the soil. As the new formation progresses, thousands of seeds begin to germinate upon its muddy foundation, thousands of cables descend, still farther to consolidate it ; and thus foot by foot, year after year, the man- groves extend their empire and encroach upon the maritime domains. The enormous deltas of many tropical rivers partly owe their immense development to the unceasing expansion of these littoral woods ; and their influence should by no means be over- looked by the geologist when describing the ancient and eternal strife between the ocean and the land. When the waters retire from under the tangled arcades of the mangroves, the black mud, which forms the congenial soil of these plants, appears teeming with a boundless variety of life. It absolutely swarms with the lower marine animals, with myriads of holothurias, annelides, sea-urchins, entomostraca. 96 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE paguri, and crabs, whose often brilliantly coloured carapaces form a strong contrast to the black ooze in which they are seen to crawl about. Life clings even to the roots and branches bathed by the rising floods ; for they are found covered with muscles, barnacles, and oysters, which thus have the appearance of growing upon trees, and pass one half of their existence under water, the other in the sultry atmosphere of a tropical shore. The close-eyed Grudgeon (Periophthalmus), or "Jumping Johnny," as he is more familiarly named by the sailors, plays a conspicuous part in the animal world of the mangrove swamps, where the uncouth form of this strange amphibious fish may be seen jumping about in the mud like a frog, or sliding awkwardly along on its belly with a gliding motion. By means of its pectoral fins,, it is even enabled to climb with great facility among the roots of the mangroves, where it finds a goodly harvest of minute crustaceas. It must, how- ever, not be supposed that " Johnny " has all the swamp to himself; for though he manages to swallow many a victim, he is not seldom doomed to become the prey of creatures more wily or stronger than himself. A large and powerful crab of the Grrapsus family may often be observed stealing, with an almost imperceptible motion, and in a cautious, sidelong manner, towards a Periophthalmus basking on the shore, and, before the fish has time to plunge into the sea, the pincer of the crab secures it in a vice-like gripe, from which it is per- fectly hopeless to escape. While watching the evolutions of this lively and sagacious crustacean, one cannot help comparing it to an enormous jumping spider, which in a somewhat similar manner creeps towards the flies on which it preys, and suddenly surprises them by leaping on their backs, and then feasting on their blood. This vast multitude of marine animals naturally attracts a great number of strand, lacustrine, and sea birds ; for it would be strange, indeed, if guests were wanting where the table is so prodigally supplied. The red ibis, the snow-white egrette, the rosy spoonbill, the tall flamingo, and an abundance of herons and other water-fowl, love to frequent the mangrove thickets, enhancing by their magnificent plumage the beauty of the scene. For, howevt^r repulsive may be the swampy ground on which MANGROVES A NATURAL BULWARK 97 these strange trees delight, yet their bright green foliage, growing in radiated tufts at the ends of the branches, and fre- ' quently bespangled with large gaily-coloured flowers, affords a most pleasing spectacle. A whole world of interesting dis- coveries would here, no doubt, reward the naturalist's attention ; but the mangroves know well how to guard their secrets, and to repel the curiosity of man. Should he attempt to invade their domains, clouds of bloodthirsty insects would instantly make him repent of his temerity; for the plague of the mos- quitos is nowhere more dreadful than in the thickets of the semi-aquatic Rhizophorae. And supposing his scientific zeal intense enough to bid defiance to the torture of their stings, and j' to scorn the attacks of every other visible foe — insect or serpent, crocodile or beast of prey — that may be lurking among the mangroves, yet the reflection may well bid him pause, that poisonous vapours, pregnant with cholera or yellow fever, are constantly rising from that muddy soil. Even in the ' temperate regions of Europe the emanations from marshy grounds are pregnant with disease, but the malaria ascending from the sultry morasses of the torrid zone is absolutely deadly. Thus there cannot possibly be a better natural bulwark for a laud than to be belted with mangroves ; and if Borneo, Mada- gascar, Celebes, and many other tropical islands and coasts, have to the present day remained free from the European yoke, they are principally indebted for their independence to the miasms , and tangles of a Rhizophora girdle, bidding defiance alike to the sharp edge of the axe or the destructive agency of fire. As the mangroves are found in places suited to their growth throughout the whole torrid zone, it is not surprising that there are many species, some rising to the height of stately trees, while others are content with a shrub-like growth. Some are peculiar to America, others to the Old World ; some grow near the sea, others prefer a brackish water and the low swampy ' banks of rivers. Their uses are various ; the bark and roots of the R. Mangle and gymnorrhiza serve for tanning leather, and as a black dye; and the crooked branches of the Mangium celsmn, which seems } to be the loftiest of the family, are employed by the Chinese ^* as anchors and rudders for their clumsy junks ; while tribes of ■ \ the eastern Archipelago, in those parts which produce neither 98 ASPECTS OF TROPICAL NATURE sago nor rice, are fain to live upon the pith of the seeds of this tree, which they boil with fish, or the milk of the cocoa-nut. The leaves are also eaten as a vegetable, and the wood forms excellent palisades, particularly on a swampy soil, as the worm soon fastens upon it when out of the water. Next to the mangroves, the bruguieras, the avicennias, the gonneratias, and various species of palms, such as the Nipa fru- ticans and the Phoenix paludosa, a dwarf date-tree, which lite- rally covers the islands of the Sunderbunds, at the delta of the Ganges, form conspicuous features in the marsh-forests of the torrid zone. The magnificent Avicennia tomentosa, which, with a more majestic growth than the rhizophora raises its crown to the height of seventy feet, and is said to flourish throughout the whole range of the tropics as far as the flood extends, mixes with the mangroves, standing like them on overarching roots. The sonneratias (acida, alba) grows along the marshy banks of the large rivers of India, the Moluccas, and New Gruinea ; their roots spread far and wide through the soft mud, and at various distances send up, like the avicennias, extraordinarily long spindle-shaped excrescences four or five feet above the surface. These curious formations spring very narrow from the root, expand as they rise, and then become gradually attenu- ated, occasionally forking, but never throwing out shoots or leaves, or in any way resembling the parent root. For lining insect-boxes and making setting-boards they are unequalled, as the finest pin passes in easily and smoothly, and is held so firmly and tightly, that there is no risk of the insects becoming disengaged. In fact Nature, while forming them, seems to have had the entomologist in view, and to have studied how to gratify his wishes. PART II. TROPICAL PLANTS H 2 k- Baobab Trees at Manaar. CHAPTER XL GIANT TREES AND CHARACTERISTIC FORMS OF TROPICAL VEGETATION. General I'oinarks — The Baobab — Used as a Vegetable Cistern — Arborescent Euphorbias — The Dracaena of Orotava — The Sycamore — The Banyan — The sacred Bo-Tree of Anarajapoora — The Teak Tree — The Saul — The Sandal Tree— The Satmwood Tree— The Ceiba — The Mahogany Tree— The Mora- Bamboos — The Guadua — Beauty and multifarious Uses of these colossal Grasses — Firing the Jungle — The Aloes — The Agave americana — The Bromelias — The Cactuses — The Mimosas — Bushropes — Climbing Trees — Emblems of Ingratitude — Marriage of the Fig Tree and the Palm — Epiphytes — Water-Plants — Singularly-shaped Trees — The Barrigudo — The Bottle Tree — Trees with Buttresses, fantastical Boots, and formidable Spines. WHEREVER in the tropical regions periodical rains sa- turate the earth, vegetable life expands in a wonderful variety of forms. In the higher latitudes of the frozen north, a rapidly evanescent summer produces but few and rare flowers in sheltered situations, soon again to disappear under the winter's snow; in the temperate zones, the number, beauty, and variety of plants increase with the warmth of a genial sky ; but it is only where the vertical rays of an equa- torial sun awaken and foster life on humid grounds that ever- youthful Flora appears in the full exuberance of her creative power. It is only there we find the majestic palms, the elegant H 3 102 TROPICAL PLANTS mimosas, the large-leafed bananas, and so many other beautiful forms of vegetation alien to our cold and variable clime. While our trees are but sparingly clad with scanty lichens and mosses, they are there covered with stately bromelias and wondrous orchids. Sweet-smelling vanillas and passifloras wind round the giants of the forest, and large flowers break forth from their rough bark, or even from their very roots. "The tropical trees," says Humboldt, "are endowed with richer juices, ornamented with a fresher green, and decked with larger and more lustrous leaves than those of the more northerly regions. Social plants, which render European vegetation so monotonous, are but rarely found within the tropics. Trees, nearly twice as high as our oaks, there glow with blossoms large and magnificent as those of our lilies. On the shady banks of the Magdalena river, in South America, grows a climbing Aristolochia, whose flower, of a circumference of four feet, the children, while playing, sometimes wear as a helmet ; and in the Indian Archipelago the blossom of the Kafflesia measures three feet in diameter, and weighs more than fourteen pounds. The number of known plants is estimated at about 200,000, and the greater part of this vast multitude of species belongs to the torrid zone. But if we consider how very imperfectly these sunny regions have as yet been explored, — that in South America enormous forest lands and river basins have never yet been visited by a naturalist, — that the vegetation of the greater part of Central Africa is still completely hidden in mystery, — that no botanist has ever yet penetrated into the interior of Madagascar, Borneo, New Gruinea, South-Western China, and Ultra-Gran- getic India, — and that, moreover, many of the countries visited by travellers have been but very superficially and hastily ex- amined,— we may well doubt whether even one fourth part of the tropical plants is actually known to science. What a vast field for future naturalists! What prospects for the trade and in- dustry of future generations ! After these general remarks on the variety and exuberance of tropical vegetation, I shall now briefly review those plants which, by their enormous size, their singularity of form, or their frequency in the landscape, chiefly characterise the various regions of the torrid zone in different parts of the globe. The African Baobab, or monkey-bread tree (Adansonm THE BAOBAB TREE 103 (lir/itata), may justly be called the elephant of the vegetable world. Near the village Grumer, in Fassokl, Eussegger saw a baobab thirty feet in diameter and ninety-five in circumference ; the horizontally outstretched branches were so large that the negroes could comfortably sleep upon them. The Venetian traveller Cadamosto (1454) found, near the mouths of the Senegal, baobabs measuring more than a hundred feet in cir- cumference. As these vegetable giants are generally hollow, like our ancient willows, they are frequently made use of as dwellings or stables ; and Dr. Livingstone mentions one in which twenty or thirty men could lie down and sleep, as in a hut. In the village of Grand Gralarques, in Senegambia, the negroes have decorated the entrance into the cavity of a monstrous baobab with rude sculptures cut into the living wood, and make use of the interior as a kind of assembly room, where they meet to deliberate on the interests of their small community, " reminding one," says Humboldt, " of the cele- brated plantain in Lycia, in whose hollow trunk the Roman consul, Lucinius Mutianus, once dined with a party of twenty- one." As the baobab begins to decay in the part where the trunk divides into the larger branches, and the process of de- struction thence continues downwards, the hollow space fills, during the rainy season, with water, which keeps a long time, from its being protected against the rays of the sun. The baobab thus forms a vegetable cisteim, whose water the neigh- bouring villagers sell to travellers. In Kordofan the Arabs climb upon the tree, fill the water in leathern backets, and let it down from above ; but the people in Congo more ingeniously bore a hole in the trunk, which they stop, after having tapped as much as they require. * The height of the baobab does not correspond to its amazing bulk, as it seldom exceeds sixty feet. As it is of very rapid growth, it acquires a diameter of three or four feet and its full altitude in about thirty years, and then continues to grow in circumference. The larger beam-like branches, almost as thick at their extremity as at their origin, are abruptly rounded, and then send forth smaller branches, with large, light green, palmated leaves. The bark is smooth and greyish. The oval fruits, * D'Escayrac, " Le Desert et le Soudan." H 4 104 TROPICAL PLANTS which are of the size of large cucumbers, and brownish yellow when ripe, hang from long twisted spongy stalks, and contain a white farinaceous substance, of an agreeable acidulated taste, enveloping the dark brown seeds. They are a favourite food of the monkeys, whence the tree has derived one of its names. From the depth of the incrustations formed on the marks which the Portuguese navigators of the fifteenth century used to cut in the large baobabs which they found growing on the African coast, and by comparing the relative dimen- sions of several trunks of a known age, Adanson concluded that a baobab of thirty feet in diameter must have lived at least 5000 years ; but a more careful investigation of the ra- pid growth of the spongy wood has reduced the age of the giant tree to more moderate limits, and proved that, even in comparative youth, it attains the hoary aspect of extreme senility. The baobab belongs to the same family as the mallow or the hollyhock, and is, like them, emollient and mucilaginous in all its parts. The dried and powdered leaves constitute the lalo, which the Africans mix daily with their food for diminish- ing excessive perspiration. The natives, likewise, make a strong cord from the fibres contained in the pounded bark. The whole of the trunk, as high as they can reach, is consequently often quite denuded of its covering, which in the case of almost any other tree would cause its death ; but this has no effect on the baobab, except to make it throw out a new bark, and, as the stripping is repeated frequently, it is common to see the lower five or six feet an inch or two less in diameter than the parts above. This monstrous tree ranges over a wide extent of Africa, particularly in parts where the summer rains fall in abundance, as in Senegambia, in Soudan, and in Nubia. Dr. Livingstone admired its colossal proportions on the banks of the Zouga and the Zambesi ; and William Peters found it on the eastern coast, near 26° S. lat. It forms a conspicuous feature in the landscape at Manaar in Ceylon, where it has most likely been introduced by early mariners, perhaps even by the Phoenicians, as the pro- digious dimensions of the trees are altogether inconsistent with the popular conjecture of a Portuguese origin. Sir Emerson Tennent found one of the largest, measuring upwards of thirty feet in circumference ; and another at Putten, since destroyed THE DRAGON THEE 105 by the digging of a well under part of its roots, which, though but seventy feet high, was forty-six feet in girth. Another tree very characteristic of Africa, and frequently seen along with the baobab, is the large arborescent Euphorbia (^E. arhorescens), surmounted at the top with stiff leaves, branching out like the arms of a huge candelabra. It adds greatly to the strange wildness of the landscape, and seems quite in character with the aspect of the unwieldy rhinoceros and the long-necked giraffe. Dracaenas, or dragon-trees, are found growing on the west coast of Africa and in the Cape Colony, in Bourbon and in China; but it is only in the Canary Islands, in Madeira, and Porto Santo, that they at- tain such gigantic dimensions as to entitle them to rank among the vegetable wondeis of the world. Near Orotava, in Teneriffe, still flourishes the venerable dragon-tree, which was already reverenced for its age by the extirpated nation of the Guan- ches, the aboriginal inhabitants of the island, and which the , adventurous Bethencourts, the conquerors of the Canaries, found hardly less colossal and cavernous in 1402 than Hum- boldt, who visited it in 1799. Above the roots, the illustrious traveller measured a circumference of forty-five feet ; and accord- ing to Sir George Staunton, the trunk has still a diameter of four yards, at an elevation of ten feet above the ground. The whole height of the tree is not much above sixty-five feet. The trunk divides in numerous upright branches, terminating in tufts of evergreen leaves, resembling those of the pine-apple. Next to the baobab and the di'acsena, the Sycamore {Ficus Sycomiorus) holds a conspicuous rank among the giant trees of Africa. It attains a height of only forty or fifty feet, but in the course of many centuries its trunk swells to a colossal size, and its vast crown covers a large space of ground with an Dragou Tree. 106 TROPICAL PLANTS impenetrable shade. Its leaves are about four inches long and as many broad, and its figs have an excellent flavour. In Egypt it is almost the only grove-forming tree ; and most of the mummy coffins are made of its incorruptible wood. Sycamore. No baobab rears its monstrous trunk on the banks of the Ganges; no dragon-tree of patriarchal age here reminds the wanderer of centuries long past ; but the beautiful and stately s.^^ lyan. Banyan (Ficus indica) gives him but little reason to their absence. Each tree is in itself a grove, and some of them regret HISTORIC CELEBRITY OF THE BANYAN 107 are of an astonishing size, as they are continually increasing, and, contrary to most other animal and vegetable productions, seem to be exempted from decay ; for every branch from the main body throws out its own roots, at first in small tender fibres, several yards from the ground, which continually grow thicker, until, by a gradual descent, they reach its surface, where, strik- ing in, they increase to a large trunk and become a parent-tree, throwing out new branches from the top. These in time sus- pend their roots, and, receiving nourishment from the earth, swell into trunks and send forth other branches, thus con- tinuing in a state of progression so long as the first parent of them all supplies her sustenance. " The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow About the mother-tree ; a pillar'd shade High overarch' d, and echoing walks between. There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds At loopholes cut through thickest shade." These beautiful lines of Milton's are by no means overdrawn ; as a banyan tree, with many trunks, forms the most beautiful walks and cool recesses that can be imagined. The leaves are large, soft, and of a lively green ; the fruit is a small fig (when ripe of a bright scarlet), affording sustenance to mon- keys, squirrels, peacocks, and birds of various kinds, which dwell among the branches. The Hindoos are peculiarly fond of this tree ; they consider its long duration, its outstretching arms and overshadowing beneficence, as emblems of the Deity ; they plant it near their dewals or temples ; and in those villages where there is no struc- ture for public worship they place an image under a banyan, and there perform a morning and evening sacrifice. Many of these beautiful trees have acquired an historic cele- brity ; and the famous Cubbeer-burr, on the banks of the Ner- buddah, thus called by the Hindoos in memory of a favourite saint, is supposed to be the same as that described by Nearchus, the admiral of Alexander the Great, as being able to shelter an army under its far-spreading shade. " High floods have at various times swept away a considerable part of this extraor- dinary tree, but what still remains is near 2000 feet in circum- ference, measured round the principal stems ; the overhanging 108 TROPICAL PLANTS branches not yet struck down cover a much larger space ; and under it grow a number of custard-apple and other fruit trees. The large trunks of this single colossus amount to a greater number than the days of the year, and the smaller ones exceed 3000, each constantly sending forth branches and hanging roots, to form other trunks and become the parents of a future pro- geny. " About a century ago a neighbouring rajah, who was ex- tremely fond of field diversions, used to encamp under it in a magnificent style, having a saloon, drawingroom, dining room, bedchamber, bath, kitchen, and every other accommodation, all in separate tents ; yet the noble tree not only covered the whole, together with his carriages, horses, camels, guards, and attendants, but also afforded with its spreading branches shady spots for the tents of his friends, with their servants and cattle. And in the march of an army it has been known to shelter 7000 men." * Such is the banyan — more wonderful, and infinitely more beautiful and majestic, than all the temples and palaces which the pride of the Moguls has ever reared I The nearly related Pippul of India, or Bo-tree {Ficus re- ligiosa), which differs from the banyan (F, indica) by send- ing down no roots from its branches, is reverenced by the Buddhists as the sacred plant, under whose shade Grotama, the founder of their religion, reclined when he underwent his divine transfiguration. Its heart-shaped leaves, which, like those of the aspen, appear in the profoundest calm to be ever in motion, are supposed to tremble in recollection of the mysterious scene of which they were the witnesses. The sacred Pippul at Anarajapoora, the fallen capital of the ancient kings of Ceylon, is probably the oldest historical tree in the world; as it was planted 288 years before Christ, and hence is now 2150 years old. The enormous age of the baobabs of Sene- gal, and of the wondrous wellingtonias of California, can only be conjectured; but the antiquity of the Bo-tree is matter of record, as its preservation has been an object of solicitude to successive dynasties ; and the story of its fortunes has been preserved in a series of continuous chronicles amongst the most authentic that have been handed down by mankind. * Forbes's " Oriental Memoirs." ANTIQUITY OP TREES 109 " Compared with it, the Oak of Ellerslie is but a sapling, and the Conqueror's Oak in Windsor Forest barely numbers half its years. The yew trees of Fountains Abbey ai-e believed to have flourished tliere 1200 years ago; the olives in the garden of Gethsemane were full-grown when the Saracens were expelled The Sacred Bo-Tree. from Jerusalem, and the cypress of Somma in Lombardy is said to have been a tree in the time of Julius Caesar. Yet the Bo- tree is older than the oldest of these by a century, and would almost seem to verify the prophecy pronounced when it was planted, that it would ' flourish and be green for ever.' no TROnCAL PLANTS " The degree of sanctity with which this extraordinary tree has been invested in the imagination of the Buddhists, may be compared to the feeling of veneration with which Christians would regard the attested wood of the cross. To it kings have even dedicated their dominions, in testimony of their belief that it is a branch of the identical fig-tree under which Gotama Buddha reclined at Uruwelaya when he underwent his apo- theosis. " When the king of Magadha, in compliance with the request of the sovereign of Ceylon, was willing to send him a portion of I that sanctified tree to be planted at Anarajapoora, he was de- terred by the reflection that it * cannot be meet to lop it with any weapon;' but under the instruction of the high priest, using vermilion in a golden pencil he made a streak on the branch, which, * severing itself, hovered over the mouth of a vase filled with scented soil,' into which it struck its roots and descended. Taking the legend as a sacred law, the Buddhist priests to the present day object religiously to * lop it with any weapon,' and are contented to collect any leaves, which, 'severing themselves,' may chance to fall to the ground. These are re- garded as treasures by the pilgrims, who carry them away toj the remotest parts of the island " At the present day the aspect of the tree suggests the idea of extreme antiquity : the branches which have rambled at theiri will far beyond the outline of its inclosure, the rud^e pillars of masonry that have been carried out to support them, the re- taining walls which shore up the parent-stem, the time-worn steps by which the place is approached, and the grotesque carvings that decorate the stone-work and friezes, all impart th( conviction that the tree which they encompass has been watched over with abiding solicitude, and regarded with an excess of veneration that could never attach to an object of dubiouia authenticity." * Although far inferior to these wonders of the vegetable worh in amplitude of growth, yet the Teak tree, or Indian oak (Tec- tona granclis)^ far surpasses them in value, as the ship-worm ii the water, and the termite on land, equally refrain from attack- ing its close-grained strongly scented wood ; and no timbei equals it for ship-building purposes. * Tonnont's "Ceylon," vol. ii. pp. 614, 618. THE TEAK TREE 111 It grows wild over a great part of British India; in the mountainous districts along the Malabar coast, in Guzerat, the valley of the Nerbuddah, in Tenasserim and Pegu ; which, for this reason alone, was well worth being wrenched from his gold- footed majesty of Birmah and annexed to our Indian empire. I nlike the oak and fir forests of Europe, where large spaces of <;r()und are covered by a single species, the teak forests of India are composed of a great variety of trees, among which the ti ak itself does not even predominate. After a long neglect, wliich, in some parts, had almost caused its total extirpation, rjovernment has at length taken steps for its more effectual pro- Icction, and appointed experienced foresters to watch over this invaluable tree. Since 1843, hundreds of thousands of young plants have been raised from seeds ; and in 1848, above 500,000 had been already set in the teak districts on the Malabar coast. I iifortunately the teak is of as slow a growth as our oak, and many years will still be necessary to repair the ruinous impro- vidence of the past. In Java also the teak forests, both those of natural growth and those that have been planted by the Dutch, are carefully administered. This tree, which requires a century to attain its I full diameter of four feet, loses its leaves in the dry season, when the grass and undergrowth of shrubbery is burnt, as the heat which is developed does the trees no injury. The ashes afford an excellent manure, and the fire makes crevices and . rents in the soil, through which the fertilising rain can after- wards more easily penetrate to the roots. In Java the teak tree attains only a height of eighty feet, inferior to its loftier Hin- dostanic stature. Next to the teak tree, the Saul (^Shorea robusta) is renowned in India for its excellent timber. It grows in the forests at the foot of the Himalayan chain, on the dry grounds imme- diately rising above the swampy Terai, and ranges over an enormous though narrow belt from Kumaon to Assam. Among the numerous timber-trees of Ceylon, the Satinwood {Chloroxylon Swieteiiia) is by far the first, in point of size and durability. All the forests around Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and as far north as Jaffna, are thickly set with this valuable tree, : under whose ample shade the traveller rides for days together. ' It grows to the heiglit of a hundred feet, with a rugged grey f I 112 TROPICAL PLANTS bark, small white flowers, and polished leaves, with a somewhat unpleasant odour. Owing to the difficulty of carr3ring its heavy beams, the natives cut it only near the banks of the rivers, down which it is floated to the coast, whence large quantities are exported to every part of the colony. The richly coloured and feathery pieces are used for cabinet-work, and the more ordinary logs for building purposes, every house in the eastern province beinir floored and timbered with satinwood. The Sandal tree, which furnishes the sweet-scented, fine- grained wood, so highly prized by the Chinese, and so much used in small cabinets, escritoires, and similar articles, because no insect can exist within its influence, also deserves to be noticed as one of the most valuable productions of the Malabar coast. It chiefly grows on rocky hills, and, if permitted, would attain a tolerable size, but, from its great value, is generally cut down at an early stage. On low land and a richer soil it degenerates, and is in all respects less esteemed. A variety of the same tree, but furnishing a wood of inferior quality, grows on many of the South Sea islands, — Hawaii, Feejee, the New Hebrides but in many parts the excessive avidity of the traders has almost caused its total extirpation. The sandal is a beautiful tree ; the branches regular and tapering ; the leaf like that of the willow, but shorter and delicately soft. The blossoms hang in bunches of small flowers, either red or white, according to the colour of the wood. On turning our attention to America we find that Nature, delighting in infinite varieties of developement, and disdaining servile copy of what she had elsewhere formed, covers the earth < with new and no less remarkable forms of vegetation. Thus,, while in Africa the baobab attracts the traveller's attention by its colossal size and peculiarity of growth, the gigantic Ceiba (Bomhax Ceiba), belonging to the same family of plants, raises his astonishment in the forests of Yucatan. Like the baobab, this noble tree rises only to a moderate height of sixty feet, but its trunk swells to such dimensions that fifteen men are hardly able to span it, while a thousand may easily screen themselv( under its canopy from the scorching sun. The leaves fall off January ; and then at the end of every branch bunches of large^ glossy, purple-red flowers make their appearance, affording, one may well imagine, a magnificent sight. In Guiana t^| THE FORESTS OF GUIANA . 113 savages take refuge upon the ceiba trees during the inundations. The seeds have an agreeable taste, and are frequently eaten, as well as the young and mucilaginous leaves. In British Honduras, in the neighbourhood of Balize, and along the Motagua river, the Mahogany tree {Swietenia Ma- hagoni) is found scattered in the forests, attracting the wood- man's attention from a distance by its light-coloured foliage. Such are its dimensions, and such is the value of peculiarly fine specimens, that in October 1823 a tree was felled which weighed more than seven tons, and cost, when landed at Liverpool, above 375^. ; here it was sold for 525^., and the expense of sawing amounted to 750^. more : so that the wood of this single tree, before passing into the hands of the cabinet- maker, was worth as much as a moderately sized farm. The African mahogany wood is furnished by the near-related Khaya senegalensls, which likewise towers to the height of a hundred feet, and has been transplanted to the Antilles. " Heedless and bankrupt in all curiosity must ne be," says Waterton*, "who can journey through tlie forests of Guiana without stopping to take a view of the towering Mora {Mora excelsa). Its topmost branch, when naked with age, or dried by accident, is the favourite resort of the toucan. Many a time has this singular bird felt the shot faintly strike him from the gun of the fowler beneath, and owed his life to the distance betwixt them. The wild fig tree, as large as a common English apple tree, often rears itself from one of the thick branches at the top of the mora ; and when its fruit is ripe, to it the birds resort for nourishment. It was to an indigested seed passing through the body of this bird, which had perched on the mora, that the fig tree first owed its elevated station there. The sap of the mora raised it into full bearing ; but now, in its turn, it is doomed to contribute a portion of its own sap and juices towards the growth of different species of vines, the seeds of which also the birds deposited on its branches. These soon vegetate and bear fruit in great quantities ; so what mth their usurpation of the resources of the fig tree, and the fig tree of the mora, the mora, unable to support a charge which Nature never intended it should, languishes and dies under its burden ; * "Wanderings," p. 5. I 114 TROPICAL PLANTS and then the fig tree and its usurping progeny of vines, re- ceiving no more succour from their late foster-parent, dro(»i) and perish in their turn." Our stateliest oaks would look like p3^gmies near this " chief- tain of the forests," who raises his dark green cupola over all the neighbouring trees, and deceives the traveller, who fancies that a verdant hill is rising before him. Its wood is much firmer than that of the fir, and is, or will be, of great im- portance to the British navy. On the Upper Barima alone, a river of Guiana hardly even known by name in Europe, Schom- burgk found the giant tree growing in such profusion that it could easily afford sufficient timber for the proudest fleet that ever rode the ocean. The graceful tapering form of the Grraminece, or grasses, belongs to every zone ; but it is only in the warmer regions of the globe that we find the colossal Bambusacece, rivalling in grandeur the loftiest trees of the primeval forest. Such is the rapidity of their growth, that in the Eoyal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh, a bamboo was observed to increase six inches a day in a temperature of from 65° to 70°. The Baonbusa gi- gantea of Burmah has been known to grow eighteen inches in twenty-four hours ; and as the Bambusa Tulda in Bengal attains its full height of seventy feet in a single month, its average increase cannot be less than an inch per hour ! In New Grenada and Quito the Guadua, one of these giant grasses, ranks next to the sugar-cane and maize as the plant most indispensable to man. It forms dense jungles, not only in the lower regions of the country, but in the valleys of the Andes, 5000 feet above the level of the sea. The culms attain a thickness of six inches, the single joints are twenty inches long, and the leaves are of indescribable beauty. A whole hut can be built and thatched with the guadua, while the single joints are extensively used as water-vessels and drinking- cups. India, South China, and the Eastern Archipelago are the seats of the real bamboos, which grow in a variety of genera and species, as well on the banks of lakes and rivers in low marshy grounds, as in the more elevated mountainous regions. Thoy chiefly form the impenetrable jungles, the seat of the tiger and the python. Sometimes a hundred culms spring from THE BAMBOO 115 a single root, not seldom as thick as a man, and towering to a height of eighty or a hundred feet. Fancy the grace of our meadow grasses, united with the lordly growth of the Italian poplar, and you will have a faint idea of the beauty of a clump of bamboos. The variety of purposes to which these colossal reeds can be applied almost rivals the multifarious uses of the cocoa-nut palm itself. Splitting the culm in its whole length into very thin pieces, the industrious Chinese then twist them together into strong ropes, for tracking their vessels on their numerous rivers and canals. The sails of their junks, as well as their cables and rigging, are made of bamboo ; and in the southern province of Sechuen, not only nearly every house is built solely of this strong cane, but almost every article of furniture which it contains — mats, screens, chairs, tables, bedsteads, bedding — is of the same material. From the young shoots they also fabricate their fine writing-paper, which is so superior to the produce of our own manufactories. Although the bamboo grows spontaneously and most profusely in nearly all the southern portion of their vast empire, they do not entirely rely on the beneficence of Nature, but cultivate it with the greatest , care. They have treatises and whole volumes devoted solely to ' this subject, laying down rules derived from experience, and showing the proper soils, the best kinds of water, and the seasons for planting and transplanting the bamboos, whose use is scarce less extensive throughout the whole East Indian world. In Mysore and Orizza the seeds of several species are eaten with honey ; and in Sikkim the grain of the Praong, a small bamboo, is boiled, or made into cakes, or into beer. In Java, the prickly bamboo, whose wood is of such flinty hard- ness that sparks are emitted on its being struck with an axe, and whose formidable thorns project from every node, is used to form impenetrable hedges. At one season of the year the bamboos are easily destroyed by fire ; and as the great stem-joints burst from the expansion of the air confined within, the report almost rivals the roar of cannon. In Sikkim firing the jungle is a frequent practice, and Dr. Hooker, who often witnessed the spectacle, describes the : ' effect by night as exceedingly grand. " Heavy clouds canopy i< the mountains above, and, stretching across the valleys, shut I 2 116 TROPICAL PLANTS out the sky; the air is a dead calm, as usual in the deep gorges, and the fires, invisible by day, are seen raging all around, appearing to an inexperienced eye in all but dangerous proximity. The voices of birds and insects being hushed, no- thing is audible but the harsh roar of the rivers, and occa- sionally rising far above it, that of the forest fires. At night we were literally surrounded by them ; some smouldering like the shale-heaps at a colliery, others fitfully bursting forth, whilst others again stalked along with a stfeadily increasing and enlarging flame, shooting out great tongues of fire, which spared nothing as they advanced with irresistible might. At Dorjiling the blaze is visible, and the deadened reports of the bamboos bursting is heard throughout the night; but in the valley, and within a mile of the scene of destruction, the effect is the most grand, being heightened by the glare reflected from the masses of mist which hover above." * The aloes form the strongest contrast to the airy lightness of the grasses, by the stately repose and strength of their thick, fleshy, and inflexible leaves. They generally stand solitary in the parched plains, and impart a peculiarly austere or melan- choly character to the landscape. The real aloes are chiefly African, but the American yuccas and agaves have a similar physiognomical character. The Agave mnericana, the usual ornament of our hot-houses, bears on a short and massive stem a tuft of fleshy leaves, sometimes no less than ten feet long, fifteen inches wide, and eight inches thick ! After many years a flower-stalk twenty feet high shoots forth in a few weeks from the heart of the plant, expanding like a rich can-| delabrum, and clustered with several thousands of greenish | yellow aromatic flowers. But a rapid decline succeeds thisj brilliant efflorescence, for it is soon followed by the death ol the exhausted plant. In Mexico, where the agave is indigenous, and whence it has found its way to Spain and Italy, it is reckoned one of th( most valuable productions of Nature. At the time when tlu flower-stalk is beginning to sprout, the heart of the plant i^ cut out, and the juice, which otherwise would have nourislun the blossom, collects in the hollow. About three pounds exud * "Ilimalnyan JoimiaLs," vol. i. p. 146. 1 THE AGAVE AND PINE-APPLE 117 daily, during a period of two or three months. Thus a single aL,^ave, or maguey, gives about a hundred and fifty bottles ; and though the plant perishes in consequence, and produces but once after ten or fifteen years, its culture must be profitable, as extensive fields of it cover the Mexican plains at an elevation of 7000 feet above the sea. After standing for a short time, tlie sweet juice undergoes a vinous fermentation, and the stranger, when once accustomed to its disagreeable odour, piefers the pulqiie to all other wines, and joins in the enthu- siastic praises of the Mexican. The consumption is enormous ; and before the revolution, which severed the country from the ynke of Spain, the revenue derived from a very small municipal duty exacted on the pulque at the gates of Mexico and La Puebla averaged 600,000 dollars.* But the use of the agave is not confined to the production of a vinous liquor, as the tough fibres of its leaves furnish an excellent material for the strongest ropes, or the formation of coarse cloth. Long before the conquest of the country by Cortez, the aborigines applied the agave to a great variety of purposes. P>om it they made their paper (pieces of which of various thickness are still found covered with curious hiero- glyphic writing), their threads, their needles (from its sharp points), and many articles of clothing and cordage. The American bromelias likewise resemble the aloes of torrid Africa by the form and arrangement of their leaves. To this useful family belongs the pine-apple {Bromelia Ananas\ which grows best and largest in Brazil, where it is so common that the pigs fatten on the fruit. Formerly confined in our country to the tables of the wealthier classes as long as it was only supplied by our hot-houses, it can now be enjoyed at a very moderate expense, since thousands are imported by every West Indian steamer. The leaves of several species of bromelia furnish excellent twine for ropes. The inhabitants of the banks of the river San Francisco, in Brazil, weave their fishing-nets with the fibres of the Caroa {B, variegata\ and the filaments of the Crauata de rede {B. sagenamd) furnish a cordage of amazing strength and durability. Koster mentions in his " Travels in Brazil " (1816), ^ Ward's "Mexico," 1827. I 3 118 TROPICAL PLANTS that a rope thus composed had been in constant use during many years upon the wharf of the city of Paraiba, where it 3 was employed for embarking merchandise, and it retained its strength unimpaired. On one occasion the heavy anchors be- longing to a line-of- battle ship were hoisted on board a vessel with this same old rope, after hempen cables of a larger dia- meter had been found inefficient for the purpose. A plant like o this, though hitherto neglected by the routine of commerce, seems destined to a great future importance in the markets of D; the world. • The foliage of the screw pines, so widely extended over the East Indian and South Sea Isles, where they form a prominent | feature in the landscape, closely resembles that of the bromelias, while the stem (round which the serrated leaves ascend in spiral convolutions, till they terminate in a pendulous crown), the aerial roots, and the fruit of the strong plants, remind one of the palms, the mangroves, and the coniferae. The Pandanus odoratissimus, or sweet-smelling screw pine, whose fruits, when perfectly mature, resemble large rich-coloured pine-apples, plays an important part in the household economy of the coral-islanders of the South Sea. The inhabitants of the Mulgrave Archipelago, where the cocoa-nut is rare, live almost exclusively on the juicy pulp, and the pleasant kernels of the fruit. The dried leaves serve to thatch their cottages, or are made use of as a material for mats and raiment. The wood is hard and durable. They string together the beautiful red and yellow coloured nuts for ornaments, and wear the flowers as garlands. When the tree is in full blossom, the air around is impregnated with delicious aromas. The grotesque forms of the Cactuses possess the stiff rigidity of the aloes. Their fleshy stems, covered with a gray green coriaceous rind, generally exhibit bunches of hair and thorns instead of leaves. The angular columns of the Cerei, or torch - cactuses, rise to the height of sixty feet, — generally branchless, sometimes strangely ramified, as candelabras, while others creep like ropes upon the ground, or hang, snake-like, from the trees, on which they are parasitically rooted. The opuntias are unsymmetrically constructed of thick flat joints springing one from the other, while the melon-shaped Echinocacti and Mam- millarise, longitudinally ribbed or covered with warts, remain THE CACTUS 119 attacbed to the soil. The dimensions of these monstrous [)lants are exceedingly variable. One of the Mexican echino- cacti {E. Visnaga) measures four feet in height, three in dia- meter, and weighs about two hundred pounds; while the dwarf-cactus {E. nana) is so small that, loosely rooted in the sand, it frequently remains sticking between the toes of the dogs that pass over it. The splendid purple flowers of the cactuses form a strange contrast to the deformity of their stems, aiid the spectator stands astonished at the glowing life that springs forth from so unpromising a stock. These strange compounds of ugliness and beauty are in many respects useful to man. The pulp of the melocacti, which remains juicy during the driest season of the year, is one of the vegetable sources of the wilderness, and refreshes the traveller after he has carefully removed the thorns. Almost all of them bear an agreeable acid fruit, which, under the name of the Indian fig, is consumed in large quantities in the West Indies and Mexico. The light and incorruptible wood is admirably adapted for the con- struction of oars and many other implements. The farmer fences his garden with the prickly opuntias ; but the services which they render, as the plants on which the valuable cocheniJle insect feeds and multiplies, are far more important. The cactuses prefer the most arid situation, naked plains, or slopes, where they are fully exposed to the burning rays of the sun, and impart a peculiar physiognomy to a great part of tropical America. None of the plants belonging to this family existed in the Old World previously to the discovery of America ; but some species have since then rapidly spread over the warmer regions of our hemisphere. The Nopal {Cactus Opuntia) skirts the Mediterranean along with the American agave, and from the coasts has even penetrated far into the interior of Africa, every- where maintaining its ground, and conspicuously figuring among the primitive vegetation of the land. Although chiefly tropical, the cactuses have a perpendicular range, which but few other families enjoy. From the low sand- coasts of Peru and Bolivia they ascend through vales and ravines to the highest ridges of the Andes. Magnificent dark-brown Peireskias (the only cactus genus bearing leaves instead of prickles) bloom on the banks of the I 4 120 TROPICAL PLANTS Lake of Titicaca, 12,700 feet above the level of the sea; and in the bleak Puna*, even at the very limits of vegetation, the traveller is astonished at meeting with low bushes of cactuses thickly beset with yellow prickles. What a contrast between these deformities and the deli- cately feathered mimosas, unrivalled among the loveliest children of flora in the matchless elegance of their foliage ! Our acacias give but a faint idea of the beauty which these plants attain under the fostering rays of a tro- pical sun. In most species the branches extend horizontally, or umbrella-shaped, somewhat like those of the Italian pine, and the deep-blue sky shining through the light green foliage, whose delicacy rivals the finest embroidery, has an extremely picturesque effect. Endowed with a wonderful sensibility, many of the mimosas seem, as it were, to have outstepped the bounds of vegetable life, and to rival in acuteness of feeling the coral polyps and the sea- anemones of the submarine gardens. The Porliera hygrometrica foretells serene or rainy weather by the opening or closing of its leaves. Large tracts of country in Brazil are almost entirely covered with sensitive plants. The tramp of a horse sets the nearest ones in motion, and, as if by magic, the contraction of the small grey green leaflets spreads in quivering circles over the field, making one almost believe, with Darwin and Dutrochet, that plants have feeling, or tempting one to exclaim with Wordsworth — Mimos "It is my faith, that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes." Among the most remarkable forms of tropical vegetation, the creeping plants, bushropes, or lianas (cissus, bauhinia, bignonia, banisteria, passiflora), that contribute so largely to the impene- trability of the forests, hold a conspicuous rank. Often three or four bushropes, like strands in a cable, join tree to tree, and Sec Chapter III. THE BUSHROPE 121 branch to branch ; others, descending from on high, take root as soon as their extremity touches the ground, and appear like shrouds and stays supporting the mainmast of a line-of-battle ship ; while others send out parallel, oblique, horizontal, and perpendicular shoots in all directions. Frequently trees above a hundred feet high, uprooted by the storm, are stopped in their fall by these amazing cables of Nature, and are thus enabled to send forth vigorous shooj:s, though far from their perpendicular, with their trunks inclined to every degi'ee from the meridian to the horizon. Their heads remain firmly supported by the bushropes; many of their roots soon refix themselves in the earth, and fre- quently a strong shoot will sprout out perpendicularly from near the root of the reclined trunk, and in time become a stately tree. No European is able to penetrate the intricate network of a forest thus matted together: astonished and despairing he stands before the dense cordage that impedes his path, and, should he attempt to force his way through the maze, the strong thorns and hooks with which the tropical creepers are generally armed would soon make him repent of his bold- ness. Even the Brazilian planter never thinks of entering the forest without a large knife, or without being accompanied by slaves, who, with heavy scythe-like axes attached to long poles, clear the way by severing the otherwise impenetrable cordage. But if the naturalist vents dire imprecations on the creepers, which render forest exploration so difficult, they are the delight of the monkeys and tiger-cats that climb them with astonishing celerity. The rapid ascension of the highest trees, or even the passage over streams, is rendered easy by their means to whole herds. No less pliable than tough, the lianas of the western hemisphere are used by the Brazilians as cordage to fasten the rafters of their houses, in the same manner as the equally flexible ratans are employed throughout the East Indian world. The enormous climbing trees, that stifle the life of the mighti- est giants of the forest, offer a still more wonderful spectacle. At first, these emblems of ingratitude grow straight upwards like any feeble shrub, but as soon as they have found a support in 22 TROPICAL PLANTS other trees, they begin to extend over their surface ; for, while the stems of other plants generally assume a cylindrical form, these climbers have the peculiarity of divesting themselves of their rind when brought into contact with an extraneous body, and of spreading over it, until they at length enclose it in a tubular mass. When, during this process, the powers of the original root are weakened, the trunk sends forth new props to restore the equilibrium; and thus this tough and hardy race continually acquires fresh strength for the ruin of its neigh- bours. Several species of the fig trees are peculiarly remarkable for this distinctive property, and from the facility with which their '^^t^/;^ Fi^ Tree. seeds take root where there is a sufficiency of moisture to per- mit of germination, are formidable assailants of ancient monu- ments. Sir Emerson Tennent mentions one which had fixed itself on the walls of a ruined edifice at Polanarrua, and formed one of the most remarkable objects of the place, its roots streamf ing downwards over the walls as if their wood had once bee4 PARASITIC FIG TREES 123 fluid, and following every sinuosity of the building and terraces till they reached the earth. On the borders of the Rio Gruama, the celebrated botanist, Von Martius, saw whole groups of Macauba palms encased by fig trees that formed thick tubes round the shafts of the palms, whose noble crowns rose high above them ; and a simi- lar spectacle occurs in India and Ceylon, when the Tamils look with increased veneration on their sacred pippul thus united in marriage with the palmyra. After the incarcerated trunk has been stifled and destroyed, the grotesque form of the parasite, tubular, cork-screw like, or otherwise fantastically con- torted, and frequently admitting the light through interstices like loopholes in a turret, continues to maintain an independent existence among the straight-stemmed trees of the forest, — the image of an eccentric genius in the midst of a group of steady citizens. Like the mosses and lichens of our woods, epiphytes of endless variety and almost inconceivable size and luxuriance (ferns, bromelias, tillahdsias, orchids, and pothos) cover in the tropical zone the trunks and branches of the forest trees, form- ing hanging gardens, far more splendid than those of ancient Babylon. While the orchids are distinguished by the eccentric forms and splendid colouring of their flowers, sometimes resem- bling winged insects or birds, the pothos family (caladium, calla, arum, dracontium, pothos) attracts attention by the beauty of their large, thick-veined, generally arrow-shaped, digitated, or elongated leaves, and form a beautiful contrast to the stiff bro- melias or the hairy tillandsias that conjointly adorn the knotty stems and branches of the ancient trees. In size of leaf, the Pothos family is surpassed by the large tropical water-plants, the Nymphoeas and Nelumbias, among which the Victoria regia, discovered in 1837 by Robert Schom- burgk in the river Berbice, enjoys the greatest celebrity. The round light-green leaves of this queen of water-plants measure no less than six feet in diameter, and are surrounded by an elevated rim several inches high, and exhibiting the pale^ car- mine red of the under surface. The odorous white blossoms, deepening into roseate hues, are composed of several hundred petals ; and, measuring no less than fourteen inches in diameter, rival the colossal proportions of the leaves. 124 TROPICAL PLANTS The trunk of several tropical trees offers the remarkable peculiarity of bulging out in the middle like a barrel. In the Brazilian forests, the Pao Barrigudo {Chorisia ventricosa) arrests the attention of every traveller by its odd ventricose shape, nearly half as broad in the centre as long, and gradually tapering towards the bottom and the top, whence spring a few thin and scanty branches. xmM^k^^^^m^ Bottle-Tree. The Delabechea, or bottle-tree, discovered by Mr. Mitchell in tropical Australia, has the same lumpish mode of growth. Its wood is of so loose a texture, that when boiling water is poured over its shavings a clear jelly is formed and becomes a thick viscid mass. In other trees which, struggling upwards to air and light, attain a prodigious altitude, or from their enormous girth and the colossal expansion of their branches require steadying from beneath, we find buttresses projecting like rays from all sides of the trunk. They are frequently from six to twelve inches thick, SINGULAR FORMATION OF ROOTS 125 and project from five to fifteen feet, and, as they ascend, gradu- ally sink into the bole and disappear at the height of from ten to twt^nty feet from the ground. By the firm resistance which they offer below, the trees are effectually protected from the leverage of the crown, by which they would otherwise be up- rooted. Some of these buttresses are so smooth and flat as almost to resemble sawn planks ; as, for instance, in the Bombax Ceiba, one of the most remarkable examples of this wonderful device of -Nature. In other cases we find the roots fantastically spreading and revelling in a variety of grotesque shapes, such as w^e nowhere find in the less exuberant vegetation of Europe. Thus, in the india rubber tree {Flcus elastica), masses of the roots appear above ground, extending on all sides from the base, and writh- ing over the surface in serpentine undulations, so that the Indian villagers give it the name of the snake-tree. Sir Emerson Tennent mentions an avenue of these trees - ^-r'--??..-- 'V ..^v^ ? leading to the bo- tanical garden of Pe- radenia, in Ceylon, the roots of which meet from either side of the road, and have so covered the sur- face, as to form a wooden framework, the interstices of which retain the ma- terials that form the roadway. These tangled roots some- times trail to such an extent, that they have been found upwards of 140 feet in length, whilst the tree itself was not thirty feet high. The mangroves, the iriart^as, the screw-pines, are equally singular in the formation of their roots ; but those of the lum, a large tree which Kittlitz found growing on the island of Ualan, are perhaps without a parallel in the vegetable world. Each of the roots, running above ground for a considerable distance, is surmounted by a perfectly vertical crest, gradually diminishing in size as the root recedes from the trunt, but often Snake Tree. 126 TROPICAL PLANTS three, or even four, feet high near its base. These crests, which are very thin but perfectly smooth, regularly follow all the sinuosities of the root, and thus form, to a considerable dis- tance round the tree, a labyrinth of the strangest appearance. Large spaces of swampy ground are often covered with their windings, and it is no easy matter to walk on the sharp edges of these vertical bands, whose interstices are generally filled with deep mud. On being struck, the larger crests emit a deep sonorous sound, like that of a kettledrum. The thorns and spines with which many European plants are armed, give but a faint idea of the size which these de- fensive weapons attain in the tropical zone. The cactuses, the acacias, and many of the palm trees, bristle with sharp-pointed shafts, affording ample protection against the attacks of hungry animals, and might appropriately be called vegetable hedge-hogs, or porcupines. The Toddalia aculeata, a climbing plant, very common in the hill-jungles of Ceylon, is thickly studded with knobs, about half an inch high, and from the extremity of each a thorn protrudes, as large and sharp as the bill of a sparrow-hawk. The black twigs of the buffalo-thorn {Acacia latronum) a low shrub, abounding in northern Ceylon, are beset at every joint by a pair of thorns set opposite each other, like the horns of an ox, as sharp as a needle, from two to three inches in length, and thicker at the base than the stem they grow on; and the Acacia tomentosa, another member of the same numerous genus, has thorns so large as to be called the jungle-nail by Europeans, and the elephant-thorn by the natives. In some of these thorny plants, the spines grow, not singly, but in branching clusters, each point presenting a spike as sharp as a lancet; and where these shrubs abound, they render the forest absolutely impassable, even to animals of the greatest size and strength. The formidable thorny plants of the torrid zone, which are often made use of by man to protect his fields and plantations against wild beasts and robbers, have sometimes . even been made to serve as a bulwark against hostile invasions. Thus Sir Emerson Tennent informs us, that during the existence of the Kandyan kingdom, before its conquest by the British^ the frontier' forests were so thickened and defended by dense THORNY PLANTS NATURAL FORTIFICATIONS 127 plantations of thorny plants, as to form a natural fortification impregnable to the feeble tribes on the other side ; and at each pass which led to the level country, movable gates, formed of the same thorny beams, were suspended as an aiirple security against the incursions of the naked and timid lowlanders. A Ceylonese Cocoa-nut Oil-Mill. CHAPTER XII. PALMS. The Cocoa-nut Tree — Its hundred Uses — Cocoa-nut Oil — Coir — Porcupine W'ood — Enemies of the Cocoa Palm — The Sago Palm — The Saguer — • The Gumatty— The Areca Palm — The Palmyra Palm— The Talipot— The Cocoa de Mer — Eatans — A Ratan Bridge in Ceylon — The Date Tree — The Oil Palms of Africa — The Oil Trade at Bonny — Its vast and growing Im- portance — American Palms — The Carnauba — The Ceroxylon andicola — The Cabbage Palm — The Gulielma speciosa — The Piacava — Difficulties of the Botanist in ascertaining the various Species of Palms — Their wide Geo- graphical Range — Different Physiognomy of the Palms according to their height — The Position and Form of their Fronds — Their Fruits — Their Trunk — The Yriartea ventricosa. THE graceful acanthus gave the imaginative Greeks the first idea of the Corinthian capital; but the shady canopy of the cocoa-nut tree would no doubt form a still more beautiful orna- ment of architecture, were it possible for art to imitate its feathery fronds and carve their delicate tracery in stone. Essentially littoral, this noble palm requires an atmosphere damp with the spray and moisture of the sea to acquire its full stateliness of growth, and while along the bleak shores of the Northern Ocean the trees are generally bent landward by the rough sea breeze, and send forth no branches to face its violence, the cocoa, on the contrary, loves to bend over the rolling surf, and THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 129 to drop its fruits into the tidal wave. Wafted by the winds and currents over the sea, the nuts float along without losing their germinating power, like other seeds which migrate through the air; and thus, during the lapse of centuries, the cocoa-palm ]ia.s spread its wide domain from coast to coast throughout tlie whole extent of the tropical zone. It waves its graceful fronds over the emerald islands of the Pacific, fringes the West Indian shores, and from tlie Philippines to Madagascar crowns the atolls, or girds tlie sea-borde of the Indian ( )cean. But nowhere is it met with ill such abundance as on the coasts of Ceylon, where for miles and miles one continuous fi^rove of palms, preeminent for ] )eauty, encircles the " Eden of the eastern wave." Multiplied l)y plantations and fostered with assiduous care, the total number in the island cannot be less than twenty millions of full-grown trees; and such is its luxuriance in those favoured districts, wliere it meets with a rare combination of every advantage ' ssential to its growth, a sandy and pervious soil, a free and genial air, unobstructed solar heat, and abundance of water, that, when in full bearing, it will annually yield as much as a ton's weight of nuts — an example of fruitful ness almost un- rivalled even in the torrid zone. No other tree in the world, no other plant cultivated by man, contributes in so many ways to his wants and comforts as this inestimable palm ; and it is a curious illustration of its innumerable uses, that some years ago a ship from the Maldive Islands touched at Gralle, which was entirely built, rigged, pro- visioned, and laden with the produce of the cocoa-tree. Be- sides furnishing their chief food to many tribes on the coast within the torrid zone, the nut contains a valuable oil, which l)urns without smoke or smell, and serves, when fresh, for culinary K Cocoa-nut Tree. 130 PALMS. purposes. Consisting of a mixture of solid (stearine) and fluid {elain) fat, it congeals at a temperature of 72°; but both its component substances acquire additional value after having been separated by means of the hydraulic press ; for while the liquid part furnishes an excellent lamp-oil, the solid fat is manufactured into candles rivalling wax, and at the same time not much dearer than tallow. This important product first became known in the European markets at the beginning of the present century, and is now a considerable article of commerce, which has drawn the attention of speculators even to the remotest islands of the tropical ocean. Thus Mr, Darwin mentions an Englishman of the name of Hare, who, with a number of Malays, had settled on the un- inhabited Keeling Islands for the purpose of collecting the produce of their cocoa-nut groves; and Skogman (Circum- navigation of the Swedish frigate *' Eugenie ") tells us of a steam oil-mill, erected by a Mr. Brodin on Foa, one of the Tonga Islands. The Kingsmill group, Puynipet, the loftiest and most beauti- ful of the Carolinas, and many other Polynesian atolls, have, in a similar manner, been drawn within the vortex of commerce ; and in 1835 the Society Islands furnished 170 tons of cocoa-nut oil, worth about 1 3,000 dollars. But the whole produce of the Pacific is utterly insignificant when compared to the vast export of Ceylon, which in 1857 amounted to no less than 1,767,413 gallons, valued at 212,184^. Beckoning forty nuts to a gallon, and taking into account that at least as much oil is consumed in the island as is sent out of it, no less than 140 millions of nuts were necessary for pro- ducing this enormous supply.* It may easily be imagined that the crushing of the fruit for the expression of the oil gives employment to a great number of people, and constitutes a flourishing branch of trade. For this purpose the natives generally erect their creaking mills under the shade of the palm groves near their houses. These primitive engines consist of the trunk of a tree hollowed • I find stated in the ''Economist" that during the first eight months of 1861 188,053 cwts. of cocoa-nut oil were imported into Great Britain, worth 50/. per ton ; so that the annual importation probably amounts to no less than 600,000/. During the same period the importations of African palm-oil amounted to 347,486 cwts. I CqiR-ROPES. 131 into a mortar, in which a heavy upright pestle is worked round by a bullock yoked to a transverse beam. No wonder that, to meet the constantly increasing demand, new plantations are continually forming on the coast, wherever the Cocos iiucifera can be advantageously cultivated ; and that the Dutch, ever anxious to add new sources of wealth to the produce of Java, have within the last twenty years planted more than twenty millions of cocoa-nut trees along the shores of their splendid colony — the gem and envy of the Indian world. The fibrous rind or husk of the nut furnishes the coir of commerce, a scarce less important article of trade than the oil itself. It is prepared by being soaked for some months in water, for the purpose of decomposing the interstitial pith, after which it is beaten to pieces until the fibres have completely separated, and ultimately dried in the sun. Ropes made of coir, though not so neat in appearance as hempen cords, are superior in lightness, and exceed them in durability, particularly if wetted frequently by salt water. From their elasticity and strength they are exceedingly valuable for cables. Thus Mr. Bennett (" Whaling Voyage round the Globe ") mentions having once been on board a ship during a severe gale, when hemp and chain gave way, and the vessel at last most unexpectedly rode out the gale with a coir-rope. In the year 1854, 43,957 cwt. of this valuable fibre were exported from Ceylon to England, and its consumption increases rapidly. Besides cordage of every calibre, beds, cushions, carpets, brushes, and nets are manufactured from the filaments of the cocoa-nut husk, while the hard shell is fashioned into drinking-cups, spoons, beads, bottles, and knife-handles. From the spathes of the un- opened flowers a delicious *' toddy " is drawn, which, drunk at sunrise before fermentation has taken place, acts as a cooling gentle aperient, but in a few hours changes into an intoxicating wine, and may either be distilled into arrack — the only per- nicious purpose to which the gifts of the bounteous tree are perverted — or soured into vinegar, or inspissated by boiling into sugar. So vast is the consumption of " toddy " in Ceylon for these various purposes, that while it has been computed that only 3,500,000 of cocoa-nut trees are destined for the production of oil, and 11,500,000 for the food of the islanders, no less than 5,000,000 are said to be devoted to the drawing of toddy. K 2 132 PALMS. The strong tough foot-stalks of the fronds, which attain a length of from eighteen to twenty feet, are used for fences, for yokes, for carrying burthens on the shoulders, for fishing- rods; the leaflets serve for roofing, for mats, for baskets, for cattle-fodder ; and their midribs form good brooms for the decks of ships. Cooked or stewed, the cabbage or cluster of un ex- panded leaves is an excellent vegetable, though rarely used, as it necessarily involves the destruction of the tree ; and even the tough web or network, which sustains the foot-stalks of the leaves, may be stripped off in large pieces and used for straining. After the cocoa-nut tree has ceased to bear, its wood serves for many valuable purposes — for the building of ships, bungalows, and huts, for furniture and farming implements of every descrip- tion ; and, as it admits of a fine polish, and its reddish ground colour is beautifully veined with dark lines, it is frequently I imported into England under the name of porcupine-wood. When we consider the many benefits conferred upon man- kind by this inestimable tree, we cannot wonder at the ani- mation with which the islander of the Indian Ocean recounts its "hundred uses," or at the superstition which makes him believe that by some mysterious sympathy it pines when beyond the reach of the human voice. Yet, strange to say, as Sir Emerson Tennent informs us, one preeminent use of the cocoa-nut tree is omitted in all the popular enumerations of its virtues: it acts as a conductor in protecting the houses from lightning ; thus shielding the life and property of those whom it nourishes with its fruit and enriches with its manifold productions. As experience has shown that the cocoa-nut palm requires both sea-air and plentiful irrigation for its vigorous growth, those portions of the Ceylon coast are selected for new planta-» tions which are flanked by estuaries and intersected by inland lakes, where wells can be sunk at a small expense and water can be most conveniently carried. The ripe nuts are first planted in a nursery, where they are covered an inch deep with sand and sea-weed, or soft mud from the beach, and watered daily till they germinate. After two or three months, a white shoot, in which the foliaceous rudiment^ are distinctly to be perceived, rises from one of the three hole^ of the nut, while the radicles emerge from the other twq CULTIVATION OF THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 133 orifices in a direction opposite to the shoot, and penetrate the ground. The nuts put down in April are sufficiently grown to be planted out before the rains of September, when they are set out in holes, three feet deep, and twenty to thirty feet apart. During the first years of their growth the young plants require incessant care. They must be assiduously watered, and protected from the glare of the sun under shades made of the plaited fronds of the cocoa-nut palm, or the fan-like leaves of the palmyra; and as their tender shoots are especial favourites with wild hogs, rats, elephants, and porcupines, constant attention is required to ward off the attacks of these animals. As the stem ascends it has to encounter the most formidable enemy of all — the Cooroominya beetle (Batocera Tubus), which penetrates the trunk near the ground, and de- posits its eggs in the cavity, the grubs when hatched eating their way upwards through the centre of the tree to the top, where they pierce the young leaf- buds, and do such damage, as frequently to leave not a single young tree untouched in large plantations. Notwithstanding the repulsive aspect of the large pulpy grubs of these pernicious insects, they are esteemed as great a delicacy by the natives as the termites, which often prove equally de- structive. All the injuries from these united causes involve the loss of about one-fourth of the plants put do^^n, and constant renewal is required in order to replace those which have been destroyed. After the second year irrigation becomes unnecessary, and all that is then required is to keep the ground clean, and in each alternate year to dress the young palms with sea-weed and salt manure. In six or seven years the trees usually commence to bear fruit, and yield an abun- dance for sixty years, when the influence of age begins to show itself in decreasing production. The cultivation of the cocoa-palm, which was formerly confined to the native Singa- lese, has latterly been undertaken with growing spirit by European planters, who in the year 1853 had already covered 21,412 acres with this valuable tree; and, as Professor Schmarda (" Voyage round the World ") informs us that there is yet room in Ceylon for a tenfold increase of its palm-groves, a vast field still lies open here to British capital and enterprise. Wherever the cocoa grows, its sweet and nutritious nuts are 134 PALMS. eagerly sought for by many animals. The small, black, long- clawed cocoa-nut bear {Ursus malayanus), which inhabits Sumatra and Borneo, and surpasses all other members of the Ursine family by its surprising agility in climbing, though far from despising other fruit, yet shows by its name to which side "^^^^^ its inclinations chiefly lean. The Malay Bear. East Indian Palm-martin (Para- doxui'us typus or Pougouni) and the sprightly Palm-squirrel {Sciurus jpalmaTumi) likewise climb the cocoa-palms, and, per- forating the soft and unripe nuts, eagerly sip their juice. The ubiquitous Eat, the most disgusting of the whole mammalian race, bites holes into the cocoa-nuts close to their stalk, taking good care not to gnaw the shelly where Palm sqxoirrei. the juicc would ruu out and defraud it of its meal. Its devastations in the island of Mauritius, where cocoa- planting is likewise conducted on a great scale, are so great, that a price is set upon its head, and the negro who succeeds in bringing the planter a dozen rat-tails is rewarded with a glass of rum ! Even the birds diminish the produce of the cocoa-nut grove. • The Noddy (^Sterna stolida) builds his nest between the foot-stalks, and picks so busily at the blossom, when stormy weather prevents him making any long excursions, that on many islands he is considered as a chief cause of the sterility of numerous palms. But of all the animals that infest the cocoa-nut tree, and live upon its fruits, there is none more remarkable than the famous East Indian cocoa-nut crab (Birgus latro), a kind of interme- diate link between the short and long-tailed crabs. *' It is said to climb the palm trees for the sake of detaching the heavy nuts; })ut Mr. Darwin, who attentively observed the animal on the Keeling Islands, tells us that it merely lives upon those that spontaneously fall from the tree. To extract its nourishment from the hard case, it shows an ingenuity which is one of the most wonderful instances of animal instinct. It must first of all be remarked that its front pair of logs are terminated by very strong and heavy pincers, the last pair by others no,rro\v THE SAGO PALM. 135 and weak. After having selected a nut fit for its dinner, the crab begins its operations by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, from that end under which the three eye-holes are situated ; it then hammers upon one of them with its heavy claws, until an opening is made; hereupon it turns round, and, by the aid of its posterior pincers, extracts the whole albuminous substance. It inhabits deep burrows, where it accumulates surprising quantities of picked fibres of cocoa-nut husks, on which it rests as on a bed. Its habits are diurnal, but every night it is said to pay a visit to the sea, no doubt for the piu'pose of moistening its branchiae. It is very good to eat, living, as it does, on choice vegetable substances, and the great mass of fat accumulated under the tail of the larger ones sometimes yields, when melted, as much as a quart of limpid oil. Thus, our taking possession of the Keeling Islands, as a coaling station for the steamers from Australia to Ceylon, bodes no good to the Birgus." * In every zone we find nations in a low degree of civilisation living almost exclusively upon a single animal or plant. The Laplander has his reindeer, the Eskimo his seal, the Sandwich Islander his taro-root; and thus also we find the natives of a great part of the Indian Archipelago living almost exclusively upon the pith of the sago palm (Sagus fariniferus). This tree, which is of such great importance to the indolent Malay, as it almost entirely relieves him of the necessity of labour, grows at first very slowly, and is covered with thorns. As soon, how- ever, as the stem is once formed, it shoots upwards with such rapidity, that it speedily attains its full height of ten yards, with a girth of five or six feet, losing in this stage its thorny accompaniments. The crown is larger and thicker than that of the cocoa-nut tree; the efflorescence colossal, forming an immense bunch, the branches of which spread out like the arms of a gigantic candelabrum. The tree must, however, be felled before the fruit begins to form, as otherwise the farina would be exhausted, which man destines for his food. WTien the trunk has been cut and split into convenient pieces, the pith is scooped out, kneaded with water, and strained, to separate the meal from the fibres. One tree will produce from * " The Sea and its Living Wonders," second edition, p. 211. 136 PALMS. two to four hundredweight of flour, which is mostly consumed on the spot, and serves to feed several millions of men ; but a great quantity is also exported to Europe. Thus, in Singapore, there are upwards of thirty refineries, which convert the sago imported in an impure state from Borneo into a beautiful white flour, which is extensively used by English manufacturers for stiff*ening calicoes. The sago palm forms large forests, particularly on swampy ground in Borneo and Sumatra, in the Moluccas and New Guinea. Mushrooms of an excellent flavour frequently cover the mouldering trunks, and in the pith, the fat and whitish grubs of the Cossus saguarius, a large lamellicorn beetle, are found, which the natives consider a great delicacy when roasted. The Saguer or Gromuti {Gomutus vulgaris), the ugliest of palms, but almost rivalling the cocoa-nut tree by the multipli- city of its uses, is likewise a native of the Indian Archipelago. On seeing its rough and swarthy rind, and the dull dark- green colour of its fronds, the stranger wonders how it is allowed to stand, but when he has tasted its delicious wine he is astonished not to see it cultivated in greater numbers. Although the outer covering of the fruits has venomous qualities, and is used by the Malays to poison springs, the nuts have a delicate flavour, and the wounded spathe yields an excellent toddy, which, like that of the cocoa-nut and the palmyra palm, changes by fermentation into an intoxicating wine, and on being thickened by boiling furnishes a kind of black sugar, much used by the natives of Java and the adjacent isles. The reticulum or fibrous net at the base of the petioles of the leaves constitutes the gumatty, a substance admirably adapted to the manufacture of cables, and exten- sively used for cordage of every description. The gumatty is black as jet, the hairs extremely strong, and resembling coir, except that they are longer and finer. The small hard twigs found mixed up with this material are employed as pens, besides forming the shafts of the sumpits, or little poisoned arrows of the Malays, and underneath the reti- culum is a soft silky material, used as tinder by the Chinese, and applied as oakum in caulking the seams of ships, while from the interior of the trunk a kind of sago is prepared. Throughout the whole of the Indian Archipelago, and THE ARECA PALM. 137 extending over part of Polynesia and Australia, we find a custom almost as filthy as tobacco-smoking, and causing an almost equal waste of time and money. As many a country- man of ours is hardly ever seen without a cigar in his mouth, thus you will rarely meet with a Malay — man or woman, old or young— that does not indulge from morning till night in the luxury of chewing the astringent nut of the areca palm, mixed with lime and the leaf of the betel-pepper. This com- bination has the disgusting property of colouring the saliva of so deep a red, that the lips and teeth appear as if covered ■with blood ; it spoils the teeth, and sometimes even produces a peculiar kind of cancer in the cheek ; but, as excuses are never wanting to justify bad habits, it is said to have tonic effects and to promote digestion. The Areca palm (Ai^eca Catechu) bears a great resem- blance to the cocoa-nut tree, but is of a still more graceful form, rising to the height of forty or fifty feet, without any inequality on its thin polished stem, which is dark-green towards the top, and sustains a crown of feathery foliage, in the midst of which are clustered the astringent nuts, for whose sake it is carefully tended. In the gardens of Ceylon the areca palm is invariably planted near the wells and water- courses, and the betel plant, which immemorial custom has associated to its use, is frequently seen twining round its trunk. The Palmyra palm {Bo7'assus fiabellifo'iinis), the sacred Tal- gaha of the Brahminical Tamils of Ceylon, extends from the confines of Arabia to the Moluccas, and is found in every region of Hindostan from the Indus to Siam, the cocoa and the date tree being probably the only palms that enjoy a still wider geographical range. In northern Ceylon, and particularly in the peninsula of Jaffna, it forms extensive forests ; and such is its importance in the Southern Dekkan and along the Coromandel coast, that its fruits afford a compensating resource to seven millions of Hindoos on every occasion of famine or failure of the rice crop. Unlike the cocoa-nut palm, which gracefully bends under its ponderous crown, the palmyra rises vertically to its full height of seventy or eighty feet, and presents a truly majestic sight when laden with its huge clusters of fruits, each the size of an ostrich's egg, and of a rich 138 PALMS. brown tint, fading into bright golden at its base. It is not till the tree has attained a mature age that its broad fan -like leaves begin to detach themselves from the stem ; they climb from the ground to its summit in spiral convolutions, forming a dense cover for many animals — ichneumons, squirrels, and monkeys, that resort to it for concealment. In these hiding- places the latter might easily defy the sportsman ; but they frequently fall victims to a silly curiosity, for when he is ac- companied by his dog, they cannot resist the temptation of watching the animal's movements, and, coming forth to peep, expose themselves to a fatal shot. The stalks of the decayed leaves remain partly attached to the trunk, affording supports to a profusion of climbing and epiphytic plants, which hide the stem under a brilliant tapestry of flower and verdure. The palmyra rivals the cocoa-nut and the gomuti by its many uses, and Hindoo poets celebrate the numerous blessings it confers upon mankind. When the spathes of the fruit-bearing trees exhibit them- selves, the toddy-drawer forthwith commences his operations, climbing by the assistance of a loop of flexible jungle-vine, sufficiently wide to admit both his ancles and leave a space between them, thus enabling him to grasp the trunk of the tree with his feet and support himself as he ascends. Having pruned off the stalks of fallen leaves, and cleansed the crown from old fruit-stalks and other superfluous matter, he binds the spathes tightly with thongs to prevent them from farther expansion, and descends, after having thoroughly bruised the embryo flowers within to facilitate the exit of the juice. For several succeeding mornings the operation of crushing is repeated, and each day a thin slice is taken off the end of the racemes, to facilitate the exit of the sap and prevent its bursting the spathe. About the eighth morning the sap begins to exude, an event which is notified by the immediate appear^ ance of birds, especially of the " toddy bird," a species of shrike, (AiHamus fuscus), attracted by the flies and other insects which come to feed on the luscious juice of the palm. The crows, ever on the alert when any unusual movement is in pro- gress, keep up a constant chattering and wrangling ; and about this time the palmyra becomes the resort of the palm- THE PALMYRA. I39 martin and the graceful genet, which frequent the trees, and especially the crown of the cocoa-nuts, in quest of birds. On ascertaining that the first flow of the sap has taken place, the toddy-drawer again trims the wounded spathe, and inserts its extremity in an earthen chatty to collect the juice. Morning [uid evening these vessels are emptied, and for four or five months the palmyra will continue to pour forth its sap at the rate of three quarts a day. But once in every three years the operation is omitted, and the fruit is allowed to form, without wliich the natives assert that the tree would pine and die.* Most of the " palmyra toddy " drawn in Ceylon is made into sugar or jaggery, which sells in the bazaars for about three farthings a pound. Of the produce of Jaffna alone about 500 tons are annually exported to the opposite coast. of India, where it undergoes the process of refining. The granulation is said to surpass that of the sugar-cane, and large quantities of palmyra sugar are even sent to Europe from Cuddalore and iNIadras. The produce of jaggery might be greatly increased, but, by a strange anomaly in these free-trade times, a high duty is levied on its export by the Colonial Government.f The hard and durable wood of the palmyra, which, consisting like the other palms of straight horny fibres, can easily be split into lengths, is said to resist the attacks of the termites, and is used universally in Ceylon and India for roofing and similar purposes. The exports of Jaffna alone consume annually between 7,000 and 8,000 palms, each worth from three to six shillings. The tough and polished ahell of the fruit contains three intensely hard seeds imbedded in a farina- ceous orange pulp, which has a sweet and oily taste, and is eaten in various ways. The leaves, finally, are employed for roofs, fences, mats, baskets, fans, and paper. According to a common fallacy, " the two nuts of India, the cocoa-nut and the palmyra, cherish such secret envy and hatred towards each other, that they will not grow in the same field, nor in one and the same region; which, however, must be attributed to the great wisdom of the Creator, who is unwilling that these trees, so productive and so * Tennent's " Ceylon," vol. ii. p. 523. t Sclimarda, "Eeise urn die Erde, vou 1853 bis 1857," vol, i. p. 283. 140 PALMS, necessary to the human race, should grow in the same locality;" * but, unfortunately for the palmyra, the erroneousness of this belief has of late years been conclusively demonstrated, as, even in its ancient head-quarters at Jaffna, it is now almost outnumbered by the recent plantations of cocoa-nuts, and has in many instances been felled to make room for its more for- tunate and still more valuable rival. The Talpot or Talipot of the Singalese (Gorypha urn- hra(yidifera) rises to the height of one hundred feet, and expands into a crown of enormous fan-like leaves, each of which when laid upon the ground will form a semicircle of sixteen feet in diameter, and cover an area of nearly two hundred superficial feet. These gigantic foliaceous expansions are employed by the Singalese for many purposes. They form excellent fans, umbrellas, or portable tents, one leaf being sufficient to shelter seven or eight persons ; but their most in- teresting use is for the manufacture of a kind of paper, so dur- able as to resist for many ages the ravages of time. The leaves are taken whilst still tender, cut into strips, boiled in spring water, dried, and finally smoothed and polished, so as to enable them to be written on with a style, the furrow made by the pressure of the sharp point being rendered visible by the appli- cation of charcoal ground with a fragrant oil. The leaves of the palmyra similarly prepared are used for ordinary purposes ; but the most valuable books and documents are written to-day, as they have been for ages past, on olas or strips of the talipot. The currents of the sea sometimes drift to the shores of the Maldives, and even to the south and west coasts of Java and Sumatra, a nut, exceeding the ordinary cocoa many times in size, with the additional peculiarity of presenting a double, or sometimes even a triple form, as if two separate fruits had grown together. These mysterious nuts were formerly believed to be of submarine origin, whence they derived their name of coco de mer, and to have the wonderful power of neutralising poisons. On the Maldive Islands these wonderful drift-nuts were the exclusive property of the king, who either sold them at ant exorbitant price, or made presents of them to other potentates* At length, about a hundred years ago, the French travelled * Rumphius, *' Herbarium Amboiiiense." THE RATANS. 141 Sonnerat discovered in the Seychelles the home of the Lodoicea Sechellai^m, which, like the cocoa, grows on the strand of that small and secluded group, and drops its large nuts into the sea, which then carries them along to the east. The trunk of the lodoicea rises to the height of forty or fifty feet, and bears a crown of immense fan-like leaves, upwards of twenty feet long and fifteen broad, with foot-stalks seven feet long. As soon as the origin of the nuts became known, they of course immediately fell in price, so that a coco de mer which could formerly not have been had for 400 rupees is now hardly worth so much as ten. The lodoicea has been introduced into Ceylon, ])ut Sir E. Tennent is not aware that it has yet fruited there. The Eatans, a most singular genus of creeping palms, luxuriate in the forests of tropical Asia. Sometimes their slender stems, armed with dreadful spines at every joint, climb to the summit of the highest tree ; sometimes they run along the ground ; and while it is impossible to find out their roots among the intricate tangles of the matted underwood, their palm-like topes ex- pand in the sunshine, the emblems of successful parasitism. They frequently render the forest so impervious, that the distinguished naturalist Junghuhn, while exploring the woods of Java, was obliged to be accompanied by a vanguard of eight men, one half of whom were busy cutting the ratans with their hatchets, while the others removed the stems. These rope-like plants frequently grow to the incredible length of four or even six hundred feet, often consisting of a couple of hundred joints two or three feet long, and bearing at every knot a feathery leaf, armed with thorns on its lower surface. Sir. E. Tennent mentions having seen a specimen two hundred and fifty feet long and an inch in diameter, without a single irregularity, and no appearance of foliage other than the bunch of feathery leaves at the extremity. Though often extremely disagreeable to the traveller, yet the ratans are far from being useless. The natives of Java and the other islands of the Eastern Archipelago cut the cane into fine slips, which they plait into beautiful mats, manufacture into strong and neat baskets, or twist into cordage ; and they are also extensively exported to Europe, where they are chiefly employed for the making of chair bottoms. So great is the strength of these slender and seemingly u^ PALMS. fragile plants, that they are frequently used with success in the formation of bridges across the watercourses and ravines. Sir E. Tennent mentions one which crossed the Falls of the Mahawelli Granga, in Ceylon, and was constructed with all the precision of scientific engineering. It was entirely composed of a species of ratan, "the extremities of which were fastened to living trees on the opposite sides of the ravine, through which a furious and otherwise impassable mountain torrent thundered and fell from rock to rock, with a descent of nearly a hundred feet. The flooring of this aerial bridge consisted of short splints of wood laid transversely, and bound in their place, by thin strips of the ratan itself. The whole structure vibrated and swayed with fearful ease, but the coolies traversed it, though heavily laden, and the Eu- ropean, between whose estate and the high road it lay, rode over it daily without dis- mounting." On turning from Asia to the adjoining continent of Africa, we find a new world of palms, several of which are no less valuable than the cocoa-nut or the palmyra, either as affording food, or enriching by their pro- duce the commerce of the world. The date-tree, sung from time immemorial by the poets of the East, is as indispens- able as the camel to the inhabitants of the wastes of North Africa and Arabia, and, next to the " ship of the desert," the devout Mussulman esteems it the chief gift of Allah. Few palms have a wider range, for it extends from the Persian Gulf to the borders of the Atlantic, and flourishes from the twelfth to the thirty-seventh degree of northern latitude. Date Tree, THE DA^E-PALM. 143 (x roves of dates adorn the coasts of Valencia in Spain; near (jenoa its plantations afford leaves for the celebration of Palm Sunday; and in the gardens of southern France a date tree s(jmetimes mixes among the oranges and olives. But it never l)ears fruit on these northern limits of its empire, and thrives best in the oases on the borders of the sandy desert. Here it is cultivated with the greatest care, and irrigated every morning ; for though it will grow on an arid soil, it absolutely requires water to be fruitful. The date-palm is propagated by shoots, and the female tree 1 )ears its first fruits after four or five years. It is said to attain to an age of two centuries, but is rarely left standing longer tlian eighty years, when the trunk is tapped in spring, producing a kind of toddy, which is consumed in great quantities in " Bile- didgerid," or the long line of oases to the south of the Atlas, wljich has been preeminently called the " land of dj^tes." Like tlie cocoa-nut tree, the Phoenix dactylifera bears a crown of feathery fronds, though without equalling the " littoral palm" in beauty. It blooms in March or April, and its fecundity is such that it annually bears as much as two hundredweight of dates, which are plucked in October or November. The fresh fruits {Tcmir) are the best, but they are mostly dried in the sun (Bela\ and either eaten without any other preparation, or mixed with flour and baked into a kind of bread, which is very nutritious and of an agreeable taste. D'Escayrac de Lauture tells us that a fresh date, the kernel of which has been ex- tracted and replaced by an almond or a piece of butter, is delicious. There are at least sixty varieties of dates, and in the oases of Tozer and Nefta the chieftains told D'Escayrac the names of thirty-five different kinds all cultivated there. The most esteemed varieties are the Monahhir, which is very rare, and exclusively reserved for the table of the Bey of Tunis, and the Degleh, which grows to the height of eighty feet and produces from eight to ten clusters or large bunches of fruit, weighing each from twelve to twenty pounds. The common people hardly ever taste this date, which is either exported, or consumed only by the wealthier classes, and must content themselves with the common Halig, which grows in abundance wherever the Phoenix can flourish. It is not to be wondered at that the tribes of the 144 PALMS. desert so highly value a tree which, by enabling a family to live on the produce of a small spot of ground, extends as it were the bounds of the green islands of the desert, and rarely disappoints the industry that has been bestowed on its culture. It is con- sidered criminal to fell it while still in its vigour, and both the Bible and the Koran forbid the warriors of the true God to apply the axe to the date trees of an enemy. In Nubia, between Wadi Haifa and Khartum, there are at least a million of date-palms, which yield the extortionary government of the Pasha of Egypt an annual revenue of as many piastres. The date trees of Egypt and Nubia not only amply provide for home consumption, but furnish above 60,000 hundredweight for exportation to Syria and Turkey, besides a large quantity which the Nubian merchants sell in Sennaar, Kordofan, and Darfur. Here the Phoenix disappears, while the- Doum (Hyphcene thebaica), distinguished from most other palms by its branching trunk, each branch being surmounted by a tuft of large stiff flabelliform leaves, assumes a conspicuous place in the landscape. Its fruits, which are of the size of a small apple and covered with a tough yellow lustrous rind, have a sugary taste, and serve for the preparation of sherbet. The old leaf-stalks with their thorns and sheathes remain attached to the trunk, increase its dimensions in an extraordinary degree, and render the task of climbing it next to impossible. The chief seat of this beautiful palm are the banks of the Nile, in the region of the cataracts. In Kordofan the Delebl palms form large clumps, with tamarinds, cassias, adansonias, and various mimosas. Straight as an arrow and perfectly smooth- rinded, this magnificent tree rises to the height of a hundred feet, bearing large fan-like leaves, attached to foot-stalks ten feet long, and armed with mighty thorns. From ten to twenty large bunches of nuts, as big as a man's head, hang beneath the fronds, but unfortunately these fine-looking fruits disap-» point the taste. Thus various forms of palms flourish along the banks of the Nile, but in general Africa has a less number of these trees to boast of than either Asia or America. On the other hand neither India nor Brazil have palms of such vast com- mercial importance as the Cocos butyracea, and the Elaeis guineensis, the oil-teeming fruit trees of tropical West Africa. THE OIL PALM 145 i The productiveness of the Elseis may be inferred from its ij bearing clusters of from 600 to 800 nuts, larger than a pigeon's ;i eggf and so full of oil that it may be pressed out with the fingers. As long as the slave trade reigned along the coast of Guinea, these vegetable treasures remained unnoticed ; but since Eng- land began to raise her voice against this infamous traffic, they i have become the object of a great and constantly increasing ii commerce. Liverpool, which was principally indebted to the slave trade for its rapid increase during the last century, now almost mo- Oil Palm. nopolises the palm-oil market ; as, with the exception of a few vessels from Bristol, and now and then a solitary sail from liondon, almost every ship under the British flag that makes its L 14G PALMS appearance at Bonny, Benin, or Old and New Calabar, belongs to that great port. Several Liverpool houses have eight or ten ships regularly- trading with Bonny, and, by this constant intercourse, are able to provide such of their vessels as are busy loading with fresh provisions or fresh hands, to replace the losses caused by the destructive climate — an advantage which, of course, does not belong to those firms which carry on the trade on a less exten- sive scale. The stay of a ship at Bonny depends in a great measure on the activity of the captain, the assortment of goods, the number of vessels that may be in port at the same time, the size of the ship, and the arrival of supplies from the interior ; on an average, however, a vessel of 400 tons requires about four months for the completion of its cargo of 800 or 850 puncheons. On account of the murderous insalubrity of the climate, the crews are more numerous than is ordinarily the case in trading vessels; the pay is also considerably higher, as of course no sailor would think of confronting the Bight of Benin without an adequate reward. For the same reason each larger ship is provided with a surgeon, whose salary is increased at each repetition of the voyage. On their first trip, these disciples of the healing art confine themselves to their medical duties ; on the second, as they are now supposed to be acquainted with the manner in which the trade is carried on, they act as supercargoes ; on the third, they command the vessel, and receive their percentage of the profits, while a sailing master, or an upper steersman, placed under their orders, conducts the manoeuvres of the ship. Thus, on the coast of Guinea, many captains are found that were originally the votaries of Esculapius, but now render a more profitable homage to Mercury. With the exception of glass beads from Grermany, and corals from France, all the other articles in request at Bonny are the produce of English manufactories. As soon as a ship has anchored, it is immediately visited by a number of canoes, but trading is not allowed to begin before certain duties have been paid to the king. The first care is to purchase mats for roofing the deck against the sun and the tropical showers ; and, this having been accomplished, not only the negro traders, but also their chief attendants, are presented TKADE IN PALM-OIL 147 ^\ith muskets, rum, powder, tobacco, strings of beads, calicoes, ;iiid cotton or woollen caps. Every black begs for "dash," so that there is no escaping their importunity, and though they return the gift with a " dash " of their own, yet they take good care not to lose by the exchange. The cabin and the deck now swarm with negroes from early morning till noon. The dealers breakfast with the captain, in tlie chief cabin, and, when they come too late, ask for refreshments without ceremony, frequently raising their pretensions to cham- pagne, though ultimately satisfied with a bottle of brown stout. ( Jonerally these black gentry bring one of their little boys or slaves with them, leaving him on board to learn English. All preliminaries having been adjusted, the trade begins by making advances to the dealers, who go into the interior, to purchase tlie oil with the goods they have obtained on credit. A cask-house is erected on shore to put together the pun- cheons, the staves of which, along with the iron hoops, are brought ready-made from England. The palm-oil, or pulla, is of a rich orange colour, and of the consistence of honey, at the ordinary temperature of the air. When eaten fresh, it is a delicate and wholesome article of diet, differing as much from the palm-oil imported into England as fresh from rancid butter. Bonny itself produces no oil ; most of it comes from New Calabar, Ibo, and the Brass country, and, owing to the dif- ference of preparation, is of different quality, according to the place of its origin. The trade is constantly on the increase, and cannot fail to introduce some civilisation among the barbarians of the coast ; though, to judge by their present state, it needs must be a work of time. In the year 1830, only 800 tons of palm-oil were imported into England; while, in 1854, Bonny alone exported 15,124 tons. The exportation from the Brass Eiver amounted in 1856 to 3,280 tons ; from Old Calabar, to 4,090 ; and from Camaroons, to 2,110. The various ports in the Bight of Benin (Benin, Lagos, Talma, Badagry, Porto Novo, Ahguay) exported in the same year 17,480 tons, so that the whole coast of Guinea probably L 2 148 PALMS furnislies no less than fifty thousand tons of oil, worth at least 2,000,000/. The American palms are pre-eminent in beauty, and many of them bid fair to rank highly in the future commerce of the world. The leaves of the Carnauba (Corypha cerifera) furnish £tn abundance of wax. The lowlands of Gruiana, between 3° and 7° N. lat., are frequently covered with this social fan-palm, whose full-grown fronds, when cut and dried in the shade, cover them- ■ selves with light-coloured scales. These melt in a warmth of i 206° F., and then form a straw-coloured liquid, which again concretes on cooling. It burns with as clear and bright a flame as the best bees'-wax, and will no doubt become a considerable article of trade, when once the spirit of industry awakens in those rich but thinly-populated regions. Like many other palms, the Carnauba does not confine her gifts to one single product. The boiled fruit is edible, and the pith of the young stems afifords a nutritious fecula. Eoofs thatched with its leaves resist for many years the effects of the weather, and its wood may be used for a variety of purposes. A kind of wax, exuding from the rings of its trunk, is also produced by the beautiful Ceroxylon oMdicola, which grows on the slopes of the Andes, up to an elevation of eight thousand feet. Even the lofty vault of the Crystal Palace would be unable to span this majestic palm, which, according to Humboldt's accurate measurement, towers one hundred and eighty feet above the ground, and bears a tuft of fronds each twenty-four feet long. The cabbage-palm of the Antilles {Oreodoxa oleracea) almost rivals the mountain Ceroxylon in magnificence of growth, as its stem, which near to its base is about seven feet in circum- ference, ascends straight and tapering to the height of 130 feet. Its lofty fronds, moved by the gentlest breeze, are an object of beauty which can hardly be conceived by those who are unused to the magnificent vegetation of a tropical sun. Within the leaves which surround the top of the trunk, the cabbage, composed of longitudinal flakes, like ribands, but so compact as to form a crisp and solid body, lies concealed. It is white, about two or three feet long, as thick as a man's arm, and per- fectly cylindrical. When eaten raw, it resembles the almond in THE OREODOXA 149 flavour, l)ut is more tender and delicious. It is usually cut into pieces, boiled, and served as an auxiliary vegetable with meat. To obtain this small portion, borne on the pinnacle of the tree, and hidden from the eye of man, the axe is applied to the stately trunk, and its towering pride laid low. Besides its cabbage, the Oreodoxa furnishes another great delicacy to the table. After the removal of the heart, a kind of black beetle deposits its eggs in the cavity, from which fat grubs are developed, growing to the size and thickness of a man's thumb. These, though disgusting in appearance, when , fried in a pan, with a very little butter and salt, have a taste which savours of all the spices of India. Both the Oreodoxa and the Ceroxylon are far surpassed in height by the Californian firs and the Eucalypti of Australia, but no other trees rise so proudly in the air on shafts com- paratively so slender. While the enormous trunks of the Sequoias and Wellingtonias remind one of the massy pillars of our old gothic churches, or of the ruins of Thebes, the grace- ful palms recall to our memory the slender Ionic or Corinthian columns which adorn the masterpieces of Grecian architecture. The oil of the Corozo {Elceis oleifera) is usually burnt in the houses and churches of Carthagena and New Granada ; and the Oenocarpus disticha is cultivated in Brazil, as it furnishes an excellent oil for culinary purposes. The Pirijao {Gulielma speciosa) is planted round the huts of ' the Indians, and replaces in some districts the Mauritia,* as the tree of life. The Piapava (Attalia fufnifera), whose stone-hard dark- brown nuts are manufactured into rosaries by the inhabitants of Villa Nova de Olivenza, is far more important, on account of its fibres, which, unknown a few years ago, are now im- ported into England in large quantities, where they serve for making brooms ; and the amazingly hard nuts of the Cabeza di Negro {Phyteleplias), rivalling ivory in whiteness, solidity, and beauty, are extensively used by our turners for similar purposes. To these the names of many other useful palms might be added, for there is scarce a member of this widely-extended family which has not some valuable quality ; but not to fatigue * See Chapter II. 150 PALMS the reader's patience, I will now conclude the chapter with a few general remarks. Until Linnaeus's death, but fifteen species of palms were known ; while at present more than 440 have been methodically described, and every new voyage of discovery in the tropical zone reveals new forms to the botanist. The difficulty of collecting palm-blossoms for the purpose of ascertaining the species is far greater than any one, judging merely from the vegetation of Europe, would imagine. Most palms bloom but once a year — in January and February — in the central equatorial regions. Many remain in flower only a few days, and frequently over spaces of many thousand square miles there are but three or four species, so that the botanist would have to be ubiquitous in order to become acquainted with the palms of a continent. Add to this the difficulty of gathering blossoms growing in dense forests or on swampy banks, and often hanging from the top of shafts sixty feet high, and armed with formidable thorns ! In the missions of Gruiana, the Indians are so barbarous, so stoically indifferent, and their wants so few, that no inducement can tempt them to move a foot from their path, to the great vexation of the naturalist, who sees these same people climb the bush-ropes, and ascend the highest trees, with cat-like agility, whenever the caprice ( )f the moment prompts them to do so. During Humboldt's stay in the Havana, the Palma Eeal (Oreodoxa regia)wsis in full bloom about the town, and, though the great naturalist offered two dollars for a single bunch of tlie snow-white flowers, he was for several days unable to obtain a single specimen; for in a tropical country man never works, unless compelled by absolute necessity. A knowledge of these difficulties serves to show in a bright' r light the indefatigable perseverance of the naturalists who ha ^ * carried the torch of science into the dark shades of the prime\ a] forest. Though no trees are more characteristic of the tropics thai the palms, yet specimens are found far within the temperate regions. Along with the date-tree the Chamcerops humilis graces th( environs of Nizza, while in America the Chamcerops palmetU reaches 34° N. lat. In Australia, the Coi^pha australis grow: ( PALMS IN TEMPERATE REGIONS 151 under 34° S. lat. and, thanks to its mild insular climate, New Zealand boasts of the Areca sapida in the still higher latitude of 38°. In Africa, the Hyphcene coriacea penetrates to the south as far as Port Natal (30° S. lat.), while in America the palms extend to 35° S. lat., both in the Pampas of Buenos Ayres, and westward of the colossal barrier of the Andes, where the Choco, the only Chilian palm, indicates the extreme limits of the family. As these palms of the temperate regions are able to exist imder a mean annual temperature of 58°, they might possibly be made to adorn the gardens of Penzance. Most palms, however, require a mean temperature of from 70° to 72°, and on advancing towards the Equator they are found to increase in beauty, state- lioess of growth, and variety of form. Their chief seats are the lower regions of the torrid zone ; but as some species range far to the North or South, thus others ascend the mountain-slopes, almost to the limits of perpetual snow. In South America, the Ceroxylon andicola, the palmetto of Azufral, and the Kitnthia montana are found growing on heights of 6,000 and 9,000 feet, where the thermometer often falls during the night to 43° and 47° ; and in the Paramo de Gruanacos, Hum- boldt even saw palms growing at an elevation of 13,000 feet above the level of the sea. Besides the height of the shaft, the position of the leaves serves chiefly to impart a more or less majestic character to the palms : those with drooping leaves being far less stately than those whose fronds shoot more or less upwards to the skies. Nothing can exceed the elegance of the Jagua palm, which along with the splendid Cucurito adorns the granite-rocks in the cataracts of the Orinoco at Atures and Maypures. The fronds, which are but few in number, rise almost perpendicularly sixteen feet high, from the top of the lofty columnar shaft, and their feathery leaflets of a thin and grass-like texture play lightly round the tall leaf-stalks, slowly bending in the breeze. The physiognomy of the palms depends also upon the various character of their efflor- escence. The spathe is seldom vertical, with erect fruits ; gene- rally it hangs downwards, sometimes smooth, frequently armed with large thorns. In the palms with a feathery foliage, the leaf-stalks rise either immediately from the brown rugged ligneous trunk (cocoa-nut, 152 PALMS date), or, as in the beautiful Palma Eeal of the Havana, from a smooth, slender, and grass-green shaft, placed like an additional column upon the dark-coloured trunk. In the fan-palms, the crown frequently rests upon a layer of dried leaves, which impart a severe character to the tree. The form of the trunk also varies greatly, sometimes almost entirely disappearing, as in Chamcerops humilis; sometimes, as in the Calami, assuming a bush-rope appearance, smooth or rugged, unarmed or bristling with spines. In the American Yriarteas, the trunk, as in the mangroves, and many of the screw-pines, rests upon a number of roots rising above the ground. Thus the Y. exorrhiza, which grows on the banks of the Amazon to the height of a hundred feet, frequently stands upon a dozen or more supports, embracing a circumference of twenty feet, and the trunk begins only six or eight feet from the ground. The Yriartea ventricosa is still more curious, as the spindle-shaped trunk, which at the top and at the bottom is scarce a foot thick, swells in the middle to a threefold dia- meter, and, from its convenient form, is frequently used by the Indians for the construction of their canoes. The form and colour of the fruits is also extremely various. What a difference between the large coco de mer and the date — between the egg-shaped fruits of the Mauritia, whose scaly dark rind gives them the appearance of fir-cones, and the gold and purple peaches of the Pirijao, hanging in colossal clusters of sixty or eighty from the summit of the majestic trunk. Notwithstanding the fecundity of the palms, generally but few individuals of each species are found growing wild, partly in consequence of the frequent abortive developement of the fruits,; but chiefly on account of the large number of animals — from the grub to the monkey — that are constantly feeding upon them. When we consider the enormous range of territory over which the palm-trees extend, and how very few of their many hundred species have hitherto been multiplied and improved by cul- YiiarLea ventricosa. VIRTUES OF THE PALM 153 tivation, we cannot doubt that many benefits are yet to be expected from this noble family of plants. Many a palm possesses virtues hitherto unknown to man, and, though now neglected, is destined to hold an important rank in the future commercial annals of the world. Areca Palm. I The Banana and the Plantain. I CHAPTER XIII. THE CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TOERID ZONE. Rice — Various Aspect of the Rice-fields at diiFerent Seasons — Ladang and Sawa Rice — The Cultivation of Rice in South Carolina of modern Date. — The Rice- bird — Great Mortality among the Negroes — Arracan and Pegu — Growing Importance of the Port of Akyab — Maize — First imported from America by Columbus — Its enormous Productiyeness — Its Cultivation in the United States — Its wide zone of Cultivation — Maize-beer, or Chicha — Millet, Dhoiirra — The Bread Fruit — Its Importance in the South Sea Islands — History of its Transplantation to the West Indies — Adventurels' of Bligh and Christian — Pitcairn Island — Bananas — Their ancient Cultivation — Avaca or Manilla Hemp — Humboldt's Remarks on the Banana — The Traveller's Tree of Mada- gascar — The Cassava Root — Tapioca — Yams — Batatas — Quinoa — Arrow- root — Taro — Tropical Fruit Trees — The Chirimoya — The Litchi — The Mangosteen — The Mango. OF all the cereals there is none that affords food to so vast a multitude as the rice-plant (Oryza sativa), on whose grains from time immemorial the countless millions of south-eastern Asia chiefly subsist. From its primitive seat, on the Ganges or the Sikiang, its cultivation has gradually spread not only over the whole tropical zone, but even far beyond its bounds, as it thrives both in the THE RICE-FIELDS OF INDIA 155 swamps of South Carolina and in the rich alluvial plains of the Danube and the Po, Along the low river banks, in the delta-lands which the rains of the tropics annually change into a boundless lake, or where, by artificial embankments, the waters of the mountain streams have been collected into tanks for irrigation, the rice-plant attains its utmost luxuriance of growth, and but rarely de- ceives the hopes of the husbandman. The aspect of the lowland rice-fields of India and its isles is very different at various seasons of the year. Where, in Java, for instance, you see to-day long-legged herons gravely stalking over the inundated plain partitioned by small dykes, or a yoke of indolent buffaloes slowly wading through the mud, you will three or four months later be charmed by the view of a gracefully undulating corn-field, bearing a great resemblance to our indigenous barley. Cords, to which scare-crows are at- tached, traverse the field in every direction, and converge to a small watch-house, erected on high poles. Here the attentive villager sits, like a spider in the centre of its web, and by pulling the cords, puts them from time to time into motion, whenever the wind is unwilling to undertake the office. Then the grotesque and noisy figures begin to rustle and to caper, and whole flocks of the neat little rice-bird or Java sparrow {Loxia oryzivora\ rise on the wing, and hurry off with all the haste of guilty fright. After another j,^a sparmw. month has elapsed, and the waters have long since evaporated or been withdrawn, the harvest takes place, and the rice-fields are enlivened by a motley crowd, for all the villagers, old and young, ai-e busy reaping the golden ears. The rice-fields offer a peculiarly charming picture when, as in the mountain valleys of Ceylon, they rise in terraces along the slopes. " Selecting an angular recess where two hills converge, the Kandyans construct a series of terraces, raised stage above stage, and retiring as they ascend along the slope of the accli- vity, up which they are carried as high as the soil extends. Each terrace is furnished with a low ledge in front, behind which the requisite depth of water is retained during the 156 THE CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE germination of the seed, and what is superfluous is permitted to trickle down to the one below it. In order to carry on this peculiar cultivation the streams are led along the level of the hills, often from a distance of many miles, with a skill and per- severance for which the natives of these mountains have attained a great renown." The prodigious embankments constructed in ancient- times for the purposes of irrigation may be reckoned among the wonders of the island. " Many of the tanks, though partially in ruins, cover an area from ten to fifteen miles in circumference. They are now generally broken and decayed, the waters which would fertilise a province are allowed to waste themselves in the sands, and hundreds of square miles, capable of furnishing food for all the inhabitants of Ceylon, are abandoned to solitude and malaria, whilst rice for the support of the non-agricultural population is annually imported from the opposite coast of India." * It will be the duty and glory of England to restore these monuments of ancient greatness, and by raising one of her fairest colonies to her former affluence, contribute at the same time to her own wealth. Eice does not invariably require the marsh or the irrigated terrace for its growth, as there is a variety which thrives on the slopes of hills, where it is not continuously watered. In the mountain regions of Sumatra, rains fall at almost every season of the year, though dry weather is more frequent from April to July. In August, the rainy days are as three to one, and this is the time generally chosen for the sowing of the Ladang^ or mountain rice. After the harvest, the field is sown a second time with maize ; it then lies fallow for a few years, and is soon covered with a thick vegetation of wild shrubbery, generally with glagah, a species of grass which attains a height of twelve feet. When the field is again to be cultivated, fire is resorted to to destroy the dense jungle, in which the tiger has made his lair, or where the rhinoceros grazes. At night, these fires, ascending the slopes of the mountains, present a fine sight; * 8ir Emerson Tennent's Ceylon, vol. i. p. 26-27. THE CULTIVATION OF RICE 157 during the day time, they cover the land with a dun mist, and \ oil the prospect, like the Hohrauch, which (caused by the firing of the heaths of Oldenburg and Hanover) so often spoils the beauty of the spring and early summer in northern Grermany. The rapidity with which the dry culms of the glagah take fire is not seldom dangerous to the traveller when his path leads him across the slope of a hill at whose foot the grass-field begins to burn, for the rustling fire-columns ascend with the swiftness of the wind, and soon wrap the side of the mountain in a sheet of flame. The ashes of the glagah afford the richest manure, so that these fields are only surpassed in fertility by the virgin soil of the cleared forest, a laborious work, which is seldom undertaken in this thinly-populated country. Sawa is the general Malay name for artificially-irrigated rice- fields. In the Indian Archipelago, the Sawa, or marsh-rice, is at first thickly sown in small beds, and transplanted after a fortnight into the fields, the soil of which has been softened by water. As the plant grows, copious irrigations supply it with the necessary moisture, but as maturity approaches the field is laid dry, and about two months later the ears assume the rich golden colour so pleasing to the husbandman. Each field could easily be made to produce two annual harvests, but when not compelled to labour, the tropical peasant never thinks of taxing his industry beyond the supply of his im- mediate wants. The swamps of South Carolina, both those which are occa- sioned by the periodical visits of the tides, and those which are caused by the overflowing of the rivers, are admirably adapted to the production of rice, yet the culture of the valuable cereal on this congenial soil is of comparatively modern date. About the beginning of the last century, a brigan- tine from the island of Madagascar happened to put in at Carolina, having a little seed-rice left, which the captain gave to a gentleman of the name of Woodward. From part of this, the latter had a very good crop, but was ignorant for some years how to clean it. It was soon dispersed over the province, and, by frequent experiments and observations, the planters ultimately raised the culture to its present perfection. By the introduction of this water-loving cereal, various swamps which 158 THE CHIEF ISTJTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZOXE previously had only afforded food to frogs and water-birds, have been changed into the most fruitful fields, so that South Caro- lina, before her ports were blockaded, not merely supplied the whole of the United States with all the rice they require, but also annually exported more than a hundred thousand large casks to the various markets of Europe. Unfortunately, the cultivation of the rice-plant is very unhealthy, and the swamp -fevers, engendered by the alter- nate flooding and drying of the land, annually carry away so many of the slaves engaged in the labour, that the natural increase of the population does not suffice to cover the loss, which can only be repaired by continually importing fresh negroes from the more northern slave -states — a scandalous traffic, the disgrace and shame of what was once the Union. Besides the devastations which the atmosphere of the rice- fields causes among his labourers, the planter frequently suffers heavy losses in consequence of the depre- dations of the rice-bunting {Dolichonyx oryzi- varus), a species of ortolan, known familiarly in the country by the name of Bob Lincoln. This bird is about six or seven inches long ; its head and the under part of its body are black, the upper part is a mixture of black, white, and yellow, and the legs are red. It migrates over the continent of America from Labrador to Mexico, and over the Great Antilles, Rice -bunting, appearing in the southern extremity of the States about the end of March. During the three weeks to which its unwelcome visit to the rice-fields is usually limited, it grows so fat upon the milky grains of its favourite cereal, that its flesh becomes little inferior in flavour to that of the European ortolan. As long as the female is sitting, the song of the male continues with little interruption : it is sin- gular and pleasant, consisting of a jingling medley of short, variable notes, confused, rapid, and continuous. Besides Carolina — Brazil, Java, Bengal, and, more recently, Arracan and Pegu, chiefly supply the European market with rice. As long as the two last-named provinces groaned under the yoke of his gold-footed majesty of Birmah, they were totally unknown to the commerce of the world ; but scarce THE RICE TRADE 159 liid they been annexed to the British empire, and security of !iie and property restored to their inhabitants, when they licgan to flourish with a rapidity like that of their own luxu- riant vegetation. Who ever heard, a quarter of a century ago, of the magnificent |)(>rt of Akyab, which now harbours whole fleets as they arrive fiom all parts of the world — from the east and from the west, from China and Europe — to gather the inexhaustible supplies of the Arracan rice-fields, and convey them to their distant lioines? The exportation of Akyab rice amounted in 1847 to 70,537 tons 1853 „ 99,487 „ 1854 „ 103,120 ,. 1855 „ 165,047 „ and is still continually increasing. More than half of this enormous mass finds its way to Eng- land, while the rest is divided, in a diminishing ratio, between Holland, Bremen, Hamburg, Sweden and Norway, America, and Belgium, which imports directly only about 4,000 tons, but receives indirectly a much larger quantity from London. ^Fost of the Arracan rice is exported in the unshelled state, or a- paddy f and cleaned in Europe, where the operation can be more effectually and cheaply performed than in the country of production. The loss by waste is also found to be less on the transport of paddy than of shelled rice. Thus, new branches of industry are constantly shooting forth, through the growing intercourse of nations ; and every new vic- tory of civilisation over barbarism, even at the very extremity of the globe, reacts beneficially upon the trading interests of Europe. Maize is no less important to the rapidly-growing nations of America than the rice-plant to the followers of Buddh or of Brama; and when hereafter the banks of the Mississippi, of the Amazon, and of the Orinoco, shall be covered by as dense a population as the plains of Bengal, the number of maize-eaters will probably })e greater than that of the consumers of any other species of grain. The time when the cereals of the old world — wheat, rye, l)arley — were first transplanted from their unknown Asiatic 160 THE CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE homes to our part of the world is, and ever will be, hidden in legendary obscurity ; but the epoch when maize was for the first time seen and tasted by Europeans lies before us in the broad daylight of authentic history. For, when Columbus discovered Cuba, in the year 1492, he found maize cultivated by the Indians, and was equally pleased with the taste of the roasted grains and astonished at their size. In the follow- ing year, when he made his triumphant entry into Barcelona, and presented his royal patrons — Ferdinand and Isabella — with specimens of the various productions of the New World, the maize-spikes he laid down before their throne, though but little noticed, were in reality of far greater importance than the heaps of gold which were so falsely deemed to be the richest prizes of his grand discovery. In this manner maize, which is found growing wild from the Eocky Mountains to Paraguay, and had been cultivated from time immemorial, as well in the Antilles as in the dominions of the Mexican Aztecs and of the Peruvian Incas, was first con- veyed from the New World to Spain, whence its cultivation gradually extended over the tropical and temperate zone of the eastern hemisphere. Eound the whole basin of the Mediterranean, maize has found a new home, and its grain now nourishes the Lombard and the Hungarian, as it does the Egyptian fellah or the Syrian peasant. While our northern cereals only produce a pleasing effect when covering extensive fields, but are individually too in- significant to claim attention, the maize-plant almost reminds the spectator of the lofty Bambusacese of the tropical world. Even in our gardens it rises above man's height, and in warmer countries not seldom attains the gigantic stature of fourteen feet. Ensiform, dark green, lustrous leaves, somewhat resembling those of the large Oarweeds, or Laminarise, of the northern seas, spring alternately from every joint of this cereal, streaming like pennants in the wind. The top produces a bunch of male flowers of various colours, which is called the tassel. Each plant likewise bears one or more spikes or ears, the usual number being three, though as many as seven have been seen occasionally on one stalk. These ears proceed from the stem, at various distances from the ground, and are closely enveloped by several thin leaves, forming a sheath, or husk They consist of THE mODUCTIVENESS OF MAIZE 161 a cylindrical substance of the nature of pith, which is called the cobb, and over the entire surface of which the seeds are ranged and fixed, in eight or more straight rows. Each of these has generally as many as thirty or more seeds, and each seed weighs at least as much as five or six gi'ains of wheat or barley. Surely a cereal like this deserves beyond all others to symbolise abun- dance, and, had it been known to the Grreeks, it would beyond all doubt have figured conspicuously in the teeming horn of Amalthea. While the British farmer is satisfied with an increase of twenty for one, the productiveness of maize, under the circum- stances most favourable to its growth, is such as almost to surpass belief. In the low and sultry districts of Mexico, it is quite a common thing, in situations where artificial irrigation is practised, to gather from 350 to 400 measures of grain for every one measure that has been sown ; and some particularly favoured spots have even been known to yield the incredible in- crease of 800. In other situations, where reliance is placed only on the natural supply of moisture to the soil from the periodical rains, such an abundant supply is not expected ; but even then, and in the least fertile spots, it is rare for the cultivator to realise less than from forty to sixty bushels for each one sown. Wlien I add that in some of the warm and humid regions of Mexico three such harvests might annually be raised, though it is not usual to take more than one, an idea may be formed of the amazing capabilities and of the wide prospects of a land which now lies prostrate under the triple scourge of anarchy, ignor- ance, and fanaticism. The productiveness of maize diminishes in the more temperate climate of the now no longer United States ; but even in Pennsyl- vania, almost on the northern limits of its zone, it still yields double the increase of wheat ; and such is the quantity annually i grown in the once great republic, that, in spite of its low price, the value of the maize-harvest more than twice surpasses that of all the other cereals.* * In the year 1853 the United States produced — 6,500,000 bushels of barley, valued at 4,815,000 dollars 14,000,000 „ rye „ 12,600,000 „ 110,000,000 „ wheat „ 100,000,000 „ 600,000,000 „ maize „ 240,000,000 „ M 162 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE Another great advantage attending tlie cultivation of maize is, that of all the cereals it is the least subject to disease. Blight, mildew, or rust are unknown to it. . It is never liable to be beaten down by rain, or by the most violent storms of wind, and in climates and seasons which are favourable to its gi'owth, the only enemies which the maize-farmer has to dread are insects in the early stages, and birds in the later periods, of its cultivation. In mountainous countries, and the farther it advances beyond the tropics, maize — a child of the sun — naturally suffers from the ungenial influence of a cold and wet summer, which not only prevents the ripening of the grain, but also developes a poisonous ergot in its ears, similar to that which an inclement sky is apt to engender in our rye. Through the length and breadth of the field which he destines for the raising of a maize-crop, the American farmer draws his furrows three or four feet apart, and thus divides it in small regular squares. At every period of intersection, he sows three or four grains and covers them about three inches deep with earth. A few wrecks after the tender light-green shoots have sprouted forth, and once more at a later period, he drives a small plough between their rows, for the purpose of loosening the soil around the roots and of cutting up the weeds. At the same time he takes care to remove the suckers that spring from the bottom of the plant, not only as they draw away part of the nourishment which should go to support the main stalk, but' because the ears, which the suckers bear, ripen at later periods ■ than the others, and the harvest could not all be simultaneously H secured in the fittest state of maturity. In order to admit the i sun as much as possible to the plant, and to afford more nutriment to the grain, he also usually removes the blades, together with | the top and tassel, as soon as its office of dropping its fecundating \ farina upon the ears has been fully accomplished, which is known by its putting on a withered appearance. In the northern i states maize is not sown before May, to prevent the blighting! influence of the night-frosts, and the harvest takes place inj October, a few weeks later than that of wheat — a great advantage . to the farmer, who, in a country where wages are so high, would i otherwise find it difficult and costly to garner the abundance of his fields. The stripped stalks are allowed to stand some time longer, after which they are cut off close to the ground, and! THE MAIZE HARVEST 163 carefully piled up under a shed, as, from their saccharine quality, they are an excellent food for horned cattle. Thus the field, which in summer emulated the luxuriance of tropical vegeta- tion, now lies shorn of all its beauty, the northern blasts soon begin to howl over the naked waste, and a thick cover of snow bears testimony to the advance of winter. In the southern states the periods of sowing and harvesting are naturally earlier, on advancing farther to the tropic, the former taking place in Texas in February, the latter in June. The ears are preserved in bins or cribs, either with or without the husk, and it is not considered good farming to shell the corn before it is required to be sent to market. This operation is very easily performed. The only implement required for the purpose is a blunt piece of iron, like a sword-blade ; when this has been fixed across the top of a tub, the ear is taken in both hands and scraped lengthwise across its edge until all the ^ains are removed. In this manner an industrious man will shell from twenty to twenty-five bushels of corn in the course of the day. The cobb which remains makes a very tolerable quick- burning fuel, and thus no part of the plant proves altogether without use. The grain forms one-half the measure of the ear ; and so correct is this estimate found to be, that in the markets of the United States, where Indian corn is sold both shelled and with the cobb, two bushels of the latter are taken without question by the purchasers as being equal to one bushel of shelled grain. When we consider that the zone of cultivation of the maize- plant extends from 49° N. lat. to 40 S. lat., and that it grows as well in the low countries of the equatorial regions as on the islands of Lake Titicaca, 12,000 feet above the level of the sea, it is not to be wondered at that there are numerous varieties, from the gigantic tlaouili of the Mexicans, which absolutely requires a hot sun, and bears ears ten inches in length and five or six inches in circumference, and the small variety with both yellow and white seeds, and ears four or five inches long, which in ordinary seasons will ripen its grain, even under the variable and weeping sky of England ! The various uses to which the maize -plant and grain may be applied cannot be better enumerated than in the words of the celebrated Dr. Franklin. M 2 164 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE " It is remarked in North America that the English farmers, when they first arrived there, finding a soil and climate proper for the husbandry they have been accustomed to, and particularly suitable for raising wheat, they despise and neglect the cultur. of maize or Indian corn ; but, observing the advantage it afi'ords their neighbours, the older inhabitants, they by degrees get more and more into the practice of raising it, and the face of the country shows from time to time that the culture of that grain goes on visibly augmenting. " The inducements are the many different ways in which it may be prepared so as to afford a wholesome and pleasing- nourishment to men and other animals. First, the family can begin to make use of it before the time of full harvest : for the tender green ears, stripped of their leaves and roasted by a quick fire till the grain is brown, and eaten with a little salt or butter, are a delicacy. Secondly, when the grain is riper and harder, the ears boiled in their leaves and eaten with butter are also good and agreeable food. The tender green grain dried may be kept all the year, and, mixed with green kidney beans, also dried, make at any time a pleasing dish, being first soaked some hours in water and then boiled. When the grain is ripe and hard there are also several ways of using it. One is to soak it all night in a lessive or lye, and then pound it in a large wooden mortar with a wooden pestle ; the skin of each grain is by that means skinned oflf, and the farinaceous part left whole, which, being boiled, swells into a white soft pulp, and, eaten with millc or with butter and sugar, is delicious. The dry grain is als<^ sometimes ground loosely so as to be broken into pieces of the size of rice, and, being winnowed to separate the bran, it is then boiled and eaten with turkies or other fowls as rice. Grround into a finer meal, they make of it by boiling a hasty-pudding or bouilli, to be eaten with milk or with butter and sugar, that resembles what the Italians call polenta. They make of the same meal with water and salt a hasty-cake, which, being stuck against a hoe or other flat-iron, is placed erect before the fire, and so baked, to be used as bread. They also parch it in this manner. An iron pot is filled with sand, and set on the fire till the sand is very hot. Two or three pounds of the grain are then thrown in, and well mixed with the sand by stirring. Each grain bursts and throws out a white substance of twice its USES OF THE MAIZE PLANT 165 bigness. The sand is separated by a wire sieve, and returned into the pot to be again heated, and repeat the operation with fresh grain. That which is parched is pounded to a powder in a mortar. This being sifted will keep long for use. An Indian will travel far and subsist long on a small bag of it, taking only six or eight ounces of it per day mixed with water. The flour of maize mixed with that of wheat makes excellent bread, sweeter and more agreeable than that of wheat alone. To feed horses it is good to soak the grain twelve hours : they mash it easier with their teeth, and it yields them more nourishment. The leaves stripped off the stalks after the grain is ripe, tied up in bundles when dry, are excellent forage for horses, cows, &c. The stalks, pressed like sugar-cane, yield a sweet juice, which, being fermented and distilled, yields an excellent spirit ; boiled without fermentation it affords an excellent syrup. In Mexico fields are sown with it thick that multitudes of small stalks may arise, which, being cut from time to time, like asparagus, are served in desserts, their thin sweet juice being extracted in the mouth by chewing them. The meal wetted is excellent food for young chickens and the old grain for grown fowls." In addition to the many uses enumerated by Franklin, the Indians in Peru and Mexico prepare a kind of beer, by first moistening the grains of maize to promote germination, then drying them in the oven, pounding them, and finally boiling them in water and causing the decoction to ferment. The some- what sharp and bitter taste of the chicha or maize-beer is generally displeasing to strangers, but the Peruvians are all of them determined chicheros, and assemble every evening in their filthy taverns for the enjoyment of this detestable beverage. On dirty plates, that generally remain unwashed from the time they first were used, their favourite 'picantes or stews, well seasoned with Cayenne, are served to these unsophisticated guests. Instead of bread, a portion of roasted maize is either set before them in small pumpkin-bowls, or cast without ceremony upon the greasy table. The chicha itself is presented in large glasses, on whose unclean rim each consumer is able to see the marks of his predecessor's lips. As maize contains but very little gluten,- some theorists have been inclined to set but a small value on its nutritive power, but this is an error which is sufficiently refuted by facts. Domestic 166 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE animals which are fed with maize very speedily fatten, their flesh being at the same time remarkably firm, and horses which consume this corn are enabled to perform their full portion of labour. The Indian miners are perhaps the most hard-working people in existence, carrying large weights of ore on steep ladders several hundred feet high, and yet they hardly taste anything else but maize. Chemistry, moreover, teaches us that this species of grain contains nearly as much albumen as the best wheat, and is consequently by no means deficient in nourishing azote. Dr. Moritz Wagner* is inclined to ascribe the gi'eat mortality among the children in Costa-Eica, and the frequent dyspeptic complaints, as well as the moral apathy of the adult population, to their almost exclusively living on maize ; but these evils may far more justly be ascribed to the indolence of that wretched people, who could so easily raise cattle wath their abundance of maize, and thus procure the variety of food which, as experience teaches, is most conducive to the health and vigour of man. In light sandy soils, under the scorching rays of the sun, and in situations where sufficient moisture cannot be obtained for the production of rice, numerous varieties of millet {S(yi'ghtir)i vulgare) are successfully cultivated in many tropical countries — in India, Arabia, the West Indies, in Central Africa, and in Nubia, where it is grown almost to the exclusion of every other esculent plant. Though the seeds are by much the- smallest of any of the cereal plants, the number borne upon each stalk is so great as to counterbalance this disadvantage, and to render the culti- vation of millet as productive as that of any other grain. As the Peruvians make a kind of beer from maize, thus the Nubians prepare a fermented liquor from millet or dhounxi, which they consider very wholesome and nutritious, though in- temperance will render it as hurtful as any other intoxicating drink. The bread-fruit tree is the great gift of Providence to the fairest isles of Polynesia. No fruit or forest tree in the north of Europe, with the exception of the oak or linden, is its equal * Travels in Central America. II THE BREAD-FKUIT TEEE ' 167 in regularity of growth and comeliness of shape : it far surpasses the wild chestnut, which somewhat resembles it in appearance. Its large oblong leaves, frequently a foot and a half long, are •deeply lobed like those of the fig tree, which they resemble not only in colour and consistence, but also in exuding a milky juice when broken. About the time when the sun, advancing towards the Tropic of Capricorn, announces to the Tahitians that summer is approaching, it begins to produce new leaves and young fruits, which commence ripening in October, and may be plucked about eight months long in luxuriant succession. The fruit is about the size and shape of a new-born infant's head ; and the surface is reticulated, not much unlike a truffle ; it is covered with a thin skin, and has a core about as big as the handle of a small Icnife. The eatable part lies between the skin and the core ; it is as white as snow, and somewhat of the consistence of new bread ; it must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into three or four parts ; its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheaten bread mixed with boiled and mealy potatoes. When the season draws to an end, the last fruits are gathered just before they are perfectly ripe, and, being laid in heaps, are closely covered with leaves. In this state they undergo a fer- mentation and become disagreeably sweet; the core is then taken out entire, which is done by gently pulling out the stalk, and the rest of the fruit is thrown into a hole, which is dug for that purpose, generally in the house, and neatly lined in the bottom and sides with grass ; the whole is then covered with leaves, and heavy stones laid upon them ; in this state it under- goes a second fermentation, and becomes sour, after which it will suffer no change for many months. It is taken out of the hole as it is wanted for use, and, being made into balls, it is wrapped up in leaves and baked : after it is dressed it will keep five or six weeks. It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives seldom make a meal without it, though to Europeans the taste is as disagreeable as that of a pickled olive generally is the first time it is eaten. The fruit itself is in season eight months in the year, and the mahei or sour paste formed in the manner above described fills up the remaining cycle of the year. To procure this principal article of their food costs the fortunate 168 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE South Sea Islanders no more trouble than plucking and pre- paring it in the manner above described ; for, though the tree which produces it does not grow spontaneously, yet, if a man plants but ten of them in his lifetime, which he may do in about an hour, he will, as Cook remarks, " as completely fulfil }iia duty to his own and future generations, as the native of our less' genial climate by ploughing in the cold of winter and reap- injr in the summer's heat as often as the seasons return." The bread-fruit tree {Artocar'pus incisa) is useful to the South Sea Islanders in several other respects, as they make a kind of cloth of its bark or inner rind, and its soft light wood is particularly serviceable for the building of their canoes. Though it has a far extended range over the islands and coasts of the Indian and Pacific Ocean, yet its importance as an article of food is chiefly confined to the Tahitian, Friendly, Samoan, Fiji, and Marquesan groups, while in the Indian Archipelago it is either neglected or only used for fuel. The celebrated navigator Dampier (1688) is the first English writer that mentions the bread-fruit tree, which he found growing in the Ladrones, and a few years later Lord Anson enjoyed its fruits at Tinian, where they contributed to save the lives of his emaciated and scurvy-stricken followers. It con- tinued, however, to remain unnoticed in Europe, until the voyages of Wallis and Cook attracted the attention of the whole civilised world to the fortunate islands, whose inhabitants, instead of gaining their bread by the sweat of their brow, plucked it ready formed from the teeming branches of their groves. What could be more natural than the desire of an enlightened government to transfer a similar boon to the tropical countries subject to its rule ; and thus Lieutenant Bligh, who had accom- panied Cook in his last voyage, was sent in the " Bounty " — an excellent name for a vessel destined for such a mission — to transport a number of young bread-fruit trees from Tahiti to the West Indies. On October 26, 1788, Bligh landed at Tahiti, and was cor- dially welcomed by the inhabitants, to whom he brought the citron and the orange as a return for their valuable artocarpus. Between the roomy decks, where the open port-holes admitted a constant current of fresh air, more than 1000 bread-tree sap- THE MUTINY OF THE BOUNTr 169 lings were carefully planted in tubs, and in the following April Hligh left the island with his floating garden, perhaps the most remarkable which the world had ever seen. Impelled by the mild trade-wind, the "Bounty" sped her way through the tropical ocean, but the peace which reigned over the face of nature dwelt not in the hearts of her ill-fated crew. On April 18 a mutinous band, headed by Christian, one of the mates, burst into the captain's cabin, seized him, bound ]iis hands with a cord behind his back, and forced him, along with eighteen faithful adherents, into a boat prepared for their reception. Thirty-two pounds of bacon, 150 pounds of bread, ;in eight and twenty gallon cask of water, four cutlasses, a small (|uantity of rum and wine, a quadrant, a compass, and some canvas and cordage, were handed down to them, and thus they w ere cast adrift, exposed without a cover to the scorching rays ( "f the sun and all the changes of a stormy ocean. This strange scene took place about thirty miles from Tofoa, one of the islands which Cook had named the *' Friendly," but which now did but little honour to their name ; for on Bligh's attempting to land for the purpose of obtaining a supply of hread-fruit and water, one of his men was killed by the treacherous savages, and the rest, having no firearms for their defence, with difficulty escaped. The last hope of the unfortunate outcasts now consisted in leaching the Dutch colony of Timor, which, although at a distance of 3600 miles, was still the nearest European settlement — a terrible journey in a small heavily-laden boat, whose gun- wale rose scarcely six inches above the" surface of the sea. Fortunately obedience and discipline reigned in that little crew, and after each man had solemnly promised the captain to be satisfied with an ounce of bread and a quarter of a pint of water daily — for their scanty provisions were to last them at least six weeks — they began to steer towards the west. The boat was so crowded, that while one half of the crew was sitting and performing its duty, the other half was obliged to lie down on the bottom, where, unable to stretch their limbs, now scorched by the sun, and now exposed in wet clothes to the cold night wind, they were soon tormented with pinching cramps and rheumatic pains. On the fifth day of their journey they saw two large canoes 170 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE of Fiji Islanders paddling in ■ all haste towards them. With- out arms for their defence, they must have fallen into the hands of these merciless cannibals, who had already approached within two miles, when suddenly from some inexplicable caprice the savages abandoned the pursuit, and were soon lost in the distance. After May 10 the weather became stormy, so that every moment the waves struck into the boat and forced the exhausted crew continually to bale out the water. To increase their dis- tress, the brine spoiled their small supply of bread, so that the rations had to be reduced to one twenty-fifth part of a pound, morning and noon. On May 25 a couple of sea-birds of the size of pigeons approached so near that they were caught with the hand. Each bird was divided into eighteen parts, and eaten raw with all the keen relish of voracious hunger. On the morning of May 29 they found themselves close to a coral-bank, against which the breakers were striking with furious uproar ; but fortunately they discovered a passage in the reef, through which they safely reached the quiet waters of a lagune. They landed on a small island, and we can easily imagine the delight with which, after more than five weeks of cramped confinement, they once more stretched out their stiffened limbs on the earth. No fruit trees graced the island, but they found sweet water and oysters, more delicious than they had ever tasted. Fortunately, also, they had a copper kettle on board ; a fire was lighted, and a warm soup made of bread, oysters, and bacon, revived their exhausted bodies. They would willingly have remained some time longer ; but, seeing at a distance a troop of savages approaching with loud cries, and not relying much on their hospitality, they immedi- ately embarked without putting their intentions to the test. They were now between the east coast of New Holland and the large barrier-reef, and, steering through the broad channel towards the north, they passed one small island after another. Wherever they saw groups of savages watching on the strand they sailed on as fast as they could, but where the screw-pine or the cocoa-nut raised its green canopy over a desert shore, they frequently landed and gathered oysters, or a small bean which Nelson, the botanist of the expedition, recommended as nutri- tious and healthy. The man of science had often been derided ESCAPE OF BLIGII AND IIIS COMPANIONS 171 by his seafaring companions, but they now found that the knowledge of plants was not so useless as they had imagined. On the evening of June 3 the small boat passed Endeavour Straits and once more entered the open sea, which greeted it with high winds and pelting showers. On the morning of the 10th, after a sleepless night, the health of the crew exhibited alarming symptoms of exhaustion. An almost total prostration of strength, swollen legs, hollow and spectral features, a great inclination to sleep, and mental^ apathy, proclaimed that the vital powers were ready to sink under so many hardships and privations. A few teaspoonfuls of wine, icserved for the hour of utmost need, and still more the spiritual cordial of hope — for they knew that they were now not far distant from the goal — served to reanimate their energies, and on the morning of June 12, Timor, the longed-for island, lay before them. What words could express their delight, their intense gratitude to Providence, which had safely guided them through such un- numbered perils, and so mercifully protected them that, with tlie single exception of the sailor killed by the Friendly Islanders, not one of them had hitherto succumbed to the hardships of that unparalleled voyage ! The way-worn mariners were most hospitably received by the Dutch, and Bligh returned safely to England by way of Batavia, carrying along with him the boat endeared to him by the re- membrance of the most trying passage of his life. As captain of the " Providence " he was once more sent out to realise the benevolent plan which Christian's mutiny had frus- trated, reached Tahiti on April 9, 1792, took 1281 young bread-fruit trees on board, and in January 1793 safely arrived at St. Vincent, where he landed 333 trees, and thence sailed with the remainder to Jamaica. In this manner, after having given rise to so many romantic adventures, the bread-fruit tree found its way from the distant islands of the South Sea to the tropical lands of the Atlantic, but without fulfilling the sanguine expectations that had been raised upon it ; for it rapidly degenerated in its new home, and the negro spurns the fruit which in Tonga and Tahiti forms the chief sustenance of life. But what had meanwhile been the lot of the mutineers? 172 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE how bad they fared on the distant ocean, the scene of their crimes? It may easily be imagined that government could not allow so gross an outrage to discipline and law to remain unpunished, and thus the " Pandora " was immediately sent out to the South Sea in quest of Christian and his comrades. Fourteen of the rebel band were found in Tahiti, and brought in chains to England, where some of them were reprieved and some hung : others had already died of illness or a violent death; but of Christian, the leader of the mutiny, who, with eight of his fol- lowers and a number of male and female natives, had long since sailed away in the " Bounty," no trace was to be discovered, and many a year had still to pass before the secret of his fate was revealed. In lonely majesty Pitcairn Island rises 1046 feet above the unfathomable depths of the South Sea. A furious surf encircles it with a girdle of white foam, which forms a beautiful contrast to the surrounding deep blue waters. There is but one single landing-place, and even this is only practicable in the calmest weather. The northern side of the island is extremely pic- turesque, rising from the sea as a steep amphitheatre, wooded to the very summit with palms, plantains, bread-fruit trees, and majestic banians, and bounded on either side by precipitous cliffs and naked rocks. This was the place, still uninhabited by man, which Christian and his comrades chose for their abode : it was here they hoped to realise the dreams which had prompted them to crime. But in their own bosoms they carried along with them the fiend who made a hell out of this paradise. At first Christian succeeded in maintaining some authority over his associates ; but, tormented by the constant fear of detection, he spent many a lonely hour on the summit of a cliff, casting anxious glances over the sea, above whose horizon the pennant of England could at any time arise for his destruction ! Soon after the arrival of the mutineers at Pitcairn the '* Bounty " was committed to the flames, lest she should betray their residence ; and thus they condemned themselves to a last- ing exile on a lonely rock, 10,000 miles from their home, their families, or their friends. Soon a bloody feud arose between the mutineers and the Tahitians, who had embarked to share their fortunes, and before a year had passed Christian and four of his THE MUTINEERS AT riTCAIRN 173 comrades were murdered by the latter, who in their turn were killed by the remaining four Europeans. One of these men discovered the art of distilling an intoxicating liquor from a root, and thus introduced a new element of discord among the romnants of the unhappy band. He died the victim of his own invention, by precipitating himself in a fit of delirium tremens into the sea; another of the four was shot in self-defence by ^'oung and Adams, the only two that were destined to die of a natural death ; and thus in this case also we see the ancient truth confirmed, that none but bitter fruits proceed from crime. The wonderful luxuriance of tropical vegetation is perhaps nowhere more conspicuous and surprising than in the magnificent ]\lusaceae, the banana (Musa sapientuni), and the plantain (\fusa paradisiaca), whose fruits most probably nourished mankind long before the gifts of Ceres became known. A succulent shaft or stem, rising to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and frequently two feet in diameter, is formed of the sheath-like leaf-stalks rolled one over the other, and ter- minating in enormous light-green and glossy blades, ten feet long and two feet broad, of so delicate a tissue that the slightest wind suffices to tear them transversely as far as the middle rib. A stout foot-stalk, arising from the centre of the leaves, and reclining over one side of the trunk, supports numerous i clusters of flowers, and subsequently a great weight of several hundred fruits about the size and shape of full-grown cucumbers. On seeing the stately plant, one might suppose that many years had been required for its growth; and yet only eight or ten months were necessary for its full developement. Each shaft produces its fruit but once, when it withers and dies ; but new shoots spring forth from the root, and before the year has elapsed unfold themselves with the same luxuriance. Thus, without any other labour than now and then weeding the field, fruit follows upon fruit and harvest upon harvest. A single bunch of bananas often weighs from sixty to seventy pounds, and Humboldt has calculated that thirty-three pounds of wheat and ninety-nine pounds of potatoes require the same ^ space of ground to grow upon as will produce 4000 pounds of bananas. 174 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE This prodigality of nature, seemingly so favourable to the human race, is however attended with great disadvantages ; for where the life of man is rendered too easy, his best powers remain dormant, and he almost sinks to the level of the plant which affords him subsistence without labour. Exertion awakens our faculties as it increases our enjoyments, and well may we rejoice that wheat and not the banana ripens in our fields. The esculent musacese are cultivated throughout the whole tropical zone in many varieties. The Hindoo and the Malay, the Negro and the South Sea Islander, enjoy their fruits, and the cool shade of their colossal leaves. In the Society Islands, the Marquesas, and the Sandwich group, a species of pisang, with upright fruit-stalks, grows wild in the mountains. In the deep ravines, protected from the wind, it forms thick groves, whose succulent foliage forms a picturesque contrast to the wild character of the surrounding highland vegetation. As the seeds of the cultivated plantain and banana never or very rarely ripen, they can only be propagated by suckers. " In both hemispheres," says Humboldt, " as far as tradition or history reaches, we find plantains cultivated in the tropical zone. It is as certain that African slaves have introduced, in the course of centmries, varieties of the banana into America, as that before the discovery of Columbus the pisang was cultivated by the aboriginal Indians. " These plants are the ornaments of humid, countries. Like the farinaceous cereals of the north, they accompany man from the first infancy of his civilisation. Semitical traditions place their original home on the banks of the Euphrates ; others, with greater probability, at the foot of the Himalaya. According to the Grreek mythology, the plains of Enna were the fortunate birthplace of the cereals ; but while the monotonous fields of the latter add but little to the beauty of the northern regions, the tropical husbandman multiplies by his pisang plantations one of the most magnificent forms of vegetable life." The fruits of the musacese are used in various ways — boiled, roasted, raw, dried and converted into meal — so that the mul- tiplicity of their preparations vies with that of rice or maize. These beneficial plants are not only useful to man by their mealy, wholesome, and agreeable fruits, but also by the fibres of their long leaf-stalks. Some species furnish filaments for the I THE TRAVELLER-TREE OF MADAGASCAR 175 lest musselin, and the coarse fibres of the Musa textilis, which e known in trade under the name of Avaca or Manilla hemp, rve for the preparation of very durable cordage. To the same family belongs also the traveller-tree of Mada- gascar {Ravenala speciosa), one of those wonderful sources of refreshment which nature has provided for the thirsty wanderer in the wilderness. The foot-stalks of the elliptical^ alternate leaves embrace the trunk with broad sheathes, in which the dew trickling from their surface is collected. The hollow baobab, the pitcher-plant, the juicy cactuses, the nara, all answer a similar purpose, and it is impossible to say which of them is most to be admired, or which most evinces the goodness and wisdom of the Creator. Life and death are strangely blended in the Cassava or Man- dioca root {Jatropha Maiiihot) ; the juice a rapidly destructive poison, the meal a nutritious and agreeable food, which, in tro- pical America, and chiefly in Brazil, forms a great part of the people's sustenance. The height to which the cassava attains varies from four to six feet : it rises by a slender, woody, knotted stalk, furnished with alternate palmated leaves, and springs from a tough branched woody root, the slender collateral fibres of which swell into those farinaceous parsnip-like masses, for which alone the plant is cultivated. It requires a dry soil, and is not found at a greater elevation than 2000 feet above the level of the sea. It is propagated by cuttings, which very quickly take root, and in about eight months from the time of their being planted, the tubers will generally be in a fit state to be collected ; they may, however, be left in the ground for many months without sustaining any injury. The usual mode of preparing the cassava is to grind the roots after pealing off the dark-coloured rind, to draw out the poisonous juice, and finally to bake the meal into thin cakes on a hot iron hearth. Fortu- nately the deleterious principle is so volatile as to be entirely dissipated by exposure to heat ; for when the root has been cut into small jDieces, and exposed during some hours to the direct rays of the sun, cattle may be fed on it with perfect safety. If the recently extracted juice be drunk by cattle or poultry, the animals soon die in convulsions, but if this same liquid is boiled with meat and seasoned, it forms a wholesome and 176 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE nutritions soup. The Jatropha Janipha, or Sweet Cassava, though very similar to the Manihot or bitter variety, and wholly innocuous, is far less extensively cultivated. A palatable and wholesome bread is made of both kinds ; and although its taste may be thought somewhat harsh by persons accustomed to soft fermented bread made from wh eaten flour, yet those who have been accustomed to its use are so fond of it, that Creole families who have gone to live in Europe frequently have it sent to them from the West Indies. The kind of starch so well known under the name of tapioca is prepared from the farina of cassava roots. A large quantity is exported from Brazil to Europe, and may well be considered as a more useful production than all the diamonds of Minas Geraes. The yam-roots, which are so frequently mentioned in narra- tives of travel through the tropical regions, are the produce of two climbing plants — the dioscorea sativa and alata — with tender stems of from eighteen to twenty feet in length, and smooth sharp-pointed leaves on long foot-stalks, from the base of which arise spikes of small flowers. The roots of the dioscorea sativa are flat and palmated, about a foot in breadth, white within and externally of a dark brown colour, almost approach- ing to black, those of the D. alata, are still larger, being frequently about three feet long, and weighing about thirty pounds. Both kinds are cultivated like the common potato, which they resemble in taste, though of a closer texture. When dug out of the earth, the roots are placed in the sun to dry, and are then put into sand or casks, where, if guarded from moisture they may be preserved for a long time without being in any way injured in their quality. The Dioscorese are natives of South Asia, and are supposed to have been thence transplanted to the West Indies, as they have never been found growing wild in any part of America, while in the island of Ceylon, and on the coast of Malabar, they flour- ish in the woods with spontaneous and luxuriant growth. They are now very extensively cultivated in Africa, Asia, and America, as their large and nutritious roots amply reward the labour oJ the husbandman. The Spanish or Sweet Potato — Convolvulus Batatas, commonlj THE SWEET POTATO 177 cultivated in the tropical climates both of the eastern and the western hemispheres, is an herbaceous perennial, which sends out many trailing stalks, extending six or eight feet every way, and putting forth at each joint roots which in a genial climate grow to be very large tubers, so that from a single plant forty or fifty large roots are produced. The leaves are angular and stand on long petioles, the flowers are purple. The batata is propaga- ted by laying down the young shoots in the spring ; indeed in its native climate it multiplies almost spontaneously, for if the branches of roots that have been pulled up are suffered to remain on the ground, and a shower of rain falls soon after, their vegetation will recommence. From its abundant growi:h, it is surprising that in Brazil the mandioc should be cultivated in preference as food for the negro, the batata being raised more as a luxury for the planter's table. The batata was introduced into England by Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins in the middle of the sixteenth century, and known long before the common potato, which, as recently as the beginning of last century, was of less note than the horseradish. At first, attempts were made to naturalise the batata, but it was 'found too tender to thrive in the open air through an English winter. The roots were formerly imported in conside- rable quantities from Spain and the Canaries, and used as a con- fection, but a more abundant supply of indigenous fruit has caused the sweet potato gradually to decline in favour, and for many years it has altogether ceased to be an article of con- sumption. The Quinoa {Chenopodimn Quinoa), a species of goose-foot, has been cultivated from time immemorial in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, and is said to be both nutritious and agreeable. The leaves, before the plant has attained its full maturity, are eaten as spinage, but much more rarely than the seeds, which are used in various ways, either boiled with milk or prepared with cheese and Spanish pepper. Arrowroot is chiefly obtained from two different plants — the Marantha arundinacea and the Tacca pinnatifida. The former, N 178 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE a native of South America, is an herbaceous perennial and is pro- pagated by parting the roots. It rises to the height of two or three feet, has broad pointed leaves, and is crowned by a spike of small white flowers. It is much cultivated, both for domestic use and for exportation in the West Indies, and in some parts of Hindostan. The arrowroot is obtained by first pounding the long stalky roots in a large wooden mortar, and pouring a quantity of water over them. After the whole has been agitated for some time, the starch, separated from the fibres, collects at the bottom of the vessel, and having been cleansed by repeated washings is dried in the sun. The Tacca pinnatifida, likewise an herbaceous plant with pin- nated leaves, an umbelliform blossom, and large potato-like roots, is scattered over most of the South Sea Islands. It is not culti- vated in the Hawaiian group, but found growing wild in abun- dance in the more elevated districts, where it is satisfied with the most meagre soil, and sprouts forth among the lava blocks of those volcanic islands. Arrowroot is prepared from it in the same manner as from the West Indian Marantha, but, as the improvident Polynesians only think of digging it out of the earth, and never give themselves the trouble of replanting the small and useless tubers, its quantity has very much diminished The Caladium esculentum, an aquatic plant, furnishes the large Taro roots which form the chief food of the Sandwich Islanders, and are extensively cultivated iji many other groups of the South Seas. It grows like rice on a marshy ground, the large sagittated leaves rise on high foot-stalks, immediately springing from the root, and are likewise very agreeable to the taste, but are more seldom eaten, as they are used for propaga- tion. Severed from the root, they merely require to be planted in the mud to produce after six months a new harvest of roots. The growth is so abundant that 1,500 persons can live upon the produce of a single square mile, so that supposing the United Kingdom to be one vast taro-field, its surface would be able to nourish about two thousand millions of souls I The Sandwich Islanders boil the root to a thick paste (poe), which they eat with their hands, for spoons, knives, and forks are as yet but rare articles among the subjects of His Majestj Knmoham^ha tlie fourth. THE CHIRIMOYER 179 As there is a mountain-rice which thrives without artificial irrigation, there is also a mountain -tar o {Galadiuin cristatum), which resembles the former in general appearance, but prefers ;i more dry and elevated soil. Although the plant grows wild l)oth in the Society and Marquesas Islands, yet Pitcairn was the only spot where Mr. Bennett saw it cultivated. The possession of the esculent Caladium, which furnishes so much food with so little labour, can hardly be considered as a l)enefit for the Sandwich Islanders, whose natural indolence is too much encouraged by the abundance it creates. The Hawaiian constantly sees before his eyes the coffee-groves and sugar-plantations, the cotton and indigo fields, which, cultivated by Chinese coolies, amply reward the enterprise of tlie European and American settlers in his native land, and yet he saunters by, too indolent even to stretch out his hand and gather the berries from the trees. It may easily be imagined that the tropical sun, which distils so many costly juices and fiery spices in indescribable multi- plicity and abundance, must also produce a variety of fruits. 15ut man has as yet done but little to improve by care and art these gifts of Nature, and, with rare exceptions, the de- licious fiavom* for which our native fruits are indebted to centuries of cultivation, is found wanting in those of the torrid zone. Even the pine-apple acquires in our hot-houses a size and perfection which it does not attain in its original liome, and shows us how much it might be improved in its native seats, if cultivated with the same industry and know- ledge. In our gardens Pomona appears in the refined garb of civilisation, while in the tropics she still shows herself as a savage beauty, requiring the aid of culture for the full develope- ment of her attractions. Yet there are exceptions to the rule, and among others the Peruvian Chirimoya {Aiiona tripetala) is vaunted by travellers in such terms of admiration that it can hardly be inferior to, and probably surpasses, the most exquisite fruits of European growth. Hanke calls it in one of his letters a masterpiece of nature, and Tschudi says that its taste is quite incomparable. It grows to perfection at Huanuco, where it attains a weight of N 2 80 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE from fourteea to sixteen pounds. The fruit is generally heart- shaped, with the broad base attached to the branch. The rind is green, covered with small tubercles and scales, and encloses a snow-white, juicy pulp, with many black kernels. Both the fruit and the blossoms exhale a delightful odour. The tree is about twenty feet high, and has a broad dull green crown. In the eastern hemisphere, the litchi, the mangosteen, and the mango enjoy the highest reputation. The Litchi (Nephelium Litchi), a small insignificant tree, with lanceolate leaves, and small greenish-white flowers, is a native of China and Cochin-China, but its cultivation has spread over the East and the West Indies. The plum-like scarlet fruit is gene- rally eaten by the Chinese to their tea, but it is also dried in ovens and exported. In order to obtain the fruit in perfection, for the use of the Imperial Court, the trees, as soon as they blossom, afe conveyed from Canton to Pekin on rafts, at a very great trouble and expense, so that the plum may just be ripe on their arrival in the northern capital. It is, however, to be feared that the rebels have within the last few years deprived the Emperor of his accustomed delicacy, unless the Kings of Nankin are urbane enough to allows the Litchi-rafts to pass — a piece of politeness which, from all we hear of them, is hardly to be expected. The beautiful Mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana), a native of the Moluccas, and thence transplanted to Java, Siam, the Philippines, and Ceylon, resembles at a distance the citron-tree, and bears large flowers like roses. The dark brown capsular fruit, about the size of a small apple, is described as of un- equalled flavour — juicy and aromatic, like a mixture of strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and oranges. It is said that the patient who has lost an appetite for everything else still relishes the mangosteen, and that the case is perfectly hope- less when he refuses even this. The stately Mango {Mangifera indica) is frequently repre- sented on the silk tissues of the Hindoos, who venerate, under .the ugly form of the ape Huniman (Semnopithecus Entellus), the transformed hero who first robbed the gardens of a Ceylonese giant of its sweet fruit, and presented their forefathers with this inestimable gift. The mango bears beautiful girandoles of flowers, followed by large plum-like fruits, of which, how THE MANGO 181 ever, but four or five ripen on each branch. More than forty \ arieties are grown at Kew, the finest sorts of which are reserved ibr the Queen's table. From Ceylon and the East Indies, the mango has not only been transplanted to Persia, the Moluccas, and Mauritius, but even to the Antilles and South America. Ib^angostcen. The Sugar Cane. CHAPTEE XIV. SUGAR. Its commercial importance — Its original home — The progress of its cultivatioi throughout the Tropical Zone — The Tahitian Sugar-cane — Description of tlu Plant — Mode of extracting the Sugar — The enemies of the Sugar-cane — Tlu Sugar Harvest. SUGAR is undoubtedly one of the most valuable products of the vegetable world, and may be said with truth to be only surpassed in importance by the nourishing meal of the cereals, or the textile fibres of the cotton-plant. Our garden fruit owes its agreeable taste to the sugar which the ripening sun developes in its juices. The sap of many a I THE SUGAR CANE 183 plant — the palm, the birch, the maple, the American agave — is rendered useful to man by the sugar it contains. It is this substance which imparts sweetness to the honey gathered by ])ees from flowers, and, after undergoing fermentation, changes the juice of the grape into delicious wine. But although sugar is of almost universal occurrence through- out the vegetable world, yet few plants contain it in such abundance as to render its extraction profitable; and even the beet-root requires high protective duties to be able to compete with the tropical sugar-cane, a member of the extensive family of the grasses, or the Gramineae, which probably spreads more than twenty thousand species over the surface of the globe. The original home of this plant — for which, doubtless, the lively fancy of the ancient Greeks, had they been better ac- quainted with it, would have invented a peculiar god, as for the vine or the cereals — is most likely to be sought for in South-Eastern Asia, where the Chinese seem to have been the first people that learnt the art to multiply it by culture, and to extract the sugar from its juice. From China its cultivation spread westwards to India and Arabia, at a time unknown to history, and the conquests of Alexander the Great first made Europe acquainted with the sweet-juiced cane, while sugar itself had long before been imported by the Phoenicians as a rare production of the Eastern world. At a later period, both the plant and its produce are men- tioned by several classical authors. Pliny speaks of the Arabian and Indian sacchaimm, which then was only used as a medicine ; and a passage in Lucan's " Pharsalia " — " Quique bibunt tener4 dulces ab arundine succos " — evidently alludes to the sweet juice of the sugar-cane. During the dark ages which followed the fall of the Roman Empire, all previous knowledge of the Oriental sugar-plant became lost, until the Crusades, and, still more, the revival of commerce in Venice and Genoa reopened the ancient inter- course between the Eastern and the Western world. From Egypt, where the cultivation of the sugar-cane had mean- while been introduced, it now extended to the Morea, to Rhodes, and Malta; and at the beginning of the twelfth 184 SUGAR century we find it growing in Italy, on the sultry plains at the foot of Mount Etna. After the discovery of Madeira by the Portuguese, in the year 1419, the first colonists added the vine of Cyprus and the Sicilian sugar-cane to the indigenous productions of that lovely island ; and both succeeded so well, as to become after a few years the objects of a lively trade with the mother country. Yet, in spite of this extension of its culture, the importance of susrar as an article of international trade continued to be very limited, until the discovery of tropical America* by Columbus opened a new world to commerce. As early as the year 1506 the sugar-cane was transplanted from the Canary Islands to Hispaniola, where its culture,, favoured by the fertility of a virgin soil and the heat of a tropical sun, was soon found to be so profitable, that it became the chief occu- pation of the European settlers, and the principal source of their wealth. The Portuguese, in their turn, conveyed the cane to Brazil ; from Hispaniola it spread over the other West Indian Islands ; thence wandered to the Spanish main, and followed Pedrarias and Pizarro to the shores of the Pacific. Unfortunately, a dark shade obscures its triumphal march, as its cultivation was the chief cause which entailed the curse of negro slavery on some of the fairest regions of the globe. Towards the middle of the last century, the Chinese or Oriental sugar-cane had thus multiplied to an amazing extent over both hemispheres, when the introduction of the Tahitian variety, which was found to attain a statelier growth, to contain more sugar, and to ripen in a shorter time, began to dispossess it of its old domains. This new and superior plant is now uni- versally cultivated in all the sugar-growing European colonies ; and if Cook's voyages had produced no other benefit than making the world acquainted with the Tahitian sugar-cane, they would for this alone deserve to be reckoned by the political economist among the most successful and important ever per- formed by man. The sugar-cane bears a great resemblance to the common • The northern part of the New Continent had been visited and colonized cen- turies before by the mariners of Iceland. For an account of this discovery, see "The Sea and its Living Wonders," second edition, p. 362. MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR 185 reed, but the blossom is different. It has a knotty stalk, like most grasses, frequently rising to the height of fourteen feet, and produces at each joint a long, pointed, and sharply serrated leaf or blade. The joints in one stalk are from forty to sixty in number, and the stalks rising from one root are sometimes very numerous. As the plant grows up, the lower leaves fall off. A field of canes, when agitated by a light breeze, affords one of the most pleasing sights, particularly when, towards tlie period of their maturity, the golden plants appear crowned with plumes of silvery feathers, delicately fringed with a lilac dye. As the cane is a rank succulent plant, it requires a strong- deep soil to bring it to perfection, and generally grows best in a low moist situation. On the eastern well- watered slopes of the Andes, however, it still thrives at a height of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. In preparing a field for planting with the cuttings of cane — for the cultivator nowhere resorts to the sowing of seed, which in America, at least, has never been known to vegetate — the ground is marked out in rows, three or four feet apart, and in these lines holes are dug, from eight to twelve inches deep, and with an interval of two feet between the holes. In these the cuttings are inserted, which invariably consist of the top joints of the plant, because they are less rich in saccharine juice than the lower parts of the cane, while their power of vegetation is equally strong. While the shoots are growing and progressing to ripeness, great care must be taken to irrigate and weed the field. The canes annually yield fresh shoots, or rattoons, but as they have a tendency to deteriorate — at least in size — it is customary in all well-managed estates to renew every year one sixth part of the plantation. The manufacture of sugar, as far as it is conducted in the colonies (its refining being an object of European industry) has been greatly improved by the introduction of steam-power, which thoroughly presses out all the juice of the canes on their being passed but once between the three iron rollers which the crushing-machine sets in motion. The sap is collected in a cistern, and must be immediately heated, to prevent its becom- ing acid — an effect which frequently commences in less than an hour from the time of its being expressed. A certain quantity 18G SUGAR of lime is added to promote the separation of the feculent mat- ters contained in the juice, and these being removed, the cane liquor is then subjected to a very rapid boiling, to evaporate the watery particles and bring the syrup to such a consistency that it will granulate on cooling. In order to separate the granulated or crystallised sugar from the molasses, which are incapable of crystallisation and even attract the moisture of the air, it is placed in a large square iron and air-tight case, divided into two compartments by a sieve-like bottom of wire with narrow meshes. The sugar is placed in the upper compartment, and the lower one communi- cates with two air-pumps, which are set in motion by the same engine which crushes the canes. On the air being exhausted in this lower compartment, the liquid molasses come pouring in to fill up the void, while the crystallised mass remains almost thoroughly purified at the top. This used formerly to be a very tedious operation : the sugar was placed in large casks whose bottoms were pierced with holes, and though left to drain for at least eight days, it still retained a quantity of molasses, while by the new process the cleansing is most effectually per- formed in a couple of hours, and the sugar, which has of course a much better appearance, can immediately be packed in hogsheads and cases ready for shipment. Though the steam-engine has been generally introduced in the large sugar-plantations in the West Indies, Brazil, and Mauritius, it has not yet penetrated into all sugar-growing countries. In 1842, Tschudi found in Peru the art of cane- crushing and sugar-cleaning still in its infancy, oxen or horses imperfectly performing the part of steam, and in India both poverty and prejudice combine to prevent the injot from adopting any improved method of manufacture. The sugar-cane is liable to be destroyed by many enemies. Sometimes herds of monkeys come down from the mountains by night, and having posted sentinels to give the alarm if anything approaches, destroy incredible quantities of the cane by their gambols as well as their greediness. It is in vain to set traps for these creatures, however baited ; and the only way to protect a plantation and destroy them, is to set a numerous watch, well armed with fowling-pieces, and furnished with dogs. Fortunately the negroes perform this service cheer- ENEMIES OF THE SUGAR-CANE 187 fully, for they consider a roasted monkey as a great delicacy, 'i'he ubiquitous rat, which the extension of commerce has gra- dually spread over the world, is still more destructive to the sugar-cane, and great pains are taken to keep it in check by poison, or by its arch-enemy the cat. The sugar-cane is also subject to the blast — a disease which no foresight can obviate, and for which human wisdom has hitherto in vain attempted to find a remedy. When this happens, the fine broad green blades become sickly, dry, and withered ; soon after they appear stained in spots, and if these are carefully examined, they will be found to contain countless eggs of an insect like a bug, which are soon quickened, and cover the plants with the vermin ; the juice of the canes thus affected becomes sour, and no future shoot issues from the joints. The ravages of the ants, which I shall have occasion to mention more amply in another chapter, concur with those of the bugs in ruining the prospects of many a sugar-field, and often a long continued drought or the fury of the tornado will destroy the hopes of the planter. The land crabs are frequently very injurious to the sugar-fields, some of the species being particularly fond of the cane, the juice of which they suck and chiefly subsist on. They are of course narrowly watched, and no opportunity of catching them is lost sight of; but such is their activity in running, or rather dart- ing in any direction, or with any part of their bodies foremost, that they are almost always enabled to escape. It is seldom, however, that they go far from their burrows in day-time ; and their watchfulness is such that they regain them in a moment, and disappear as soon as a man or dog comes near enough to be seen. The labour in the hot sugar-fields is most irksome, and it may well be imagined that it is no trifling exertion to hoe the hard ground under the rays of a tropical sun, or to cut the thick canes and transport them to the mill. Yet this hard work is not without its pleasures, and harvest-time in the sugar-plantation is no less a season of gladness than in the corn-fields of England or the vineyards of France. So palatable, wholesome, and nourishing is the juice of the cane, that every animal drinking freely of it, derives health and vigour from its use. The meagre and sickly among the 188 SUGAR negroes exhibit a surprising alteration in a few weeks after the mill is set in action. The labouring oxen, horses, and mules, though almost constantly at work during this season, yet being indulged with plenty of the green tops and some of the scummings from the boiling-house, improve more than at any other period of the year. Even the pigs and poultry fatten on the refuse, and enjoy their share of the banquet. The wholesome effects of the juice of the sugar-cane has not escaped the attention of English physicians, and many a weak- breasted patient, instead of coughing and freezing at home over what is ironically termed a comfortable fireside, now spends his winter in the West Indian Islands, chewing the sweet cane and enjoying in January a genial warmth of seventy-two degrees in the shade. Cottee Rat. CHAPTER XV. COFFEE. Enarea and KafFa — Gemaledie introduces its use into Arabia — Fanaticism endeavours to forbid it — The first Coflfee-Houses in London and Marseilles — Coffee-production in Brazil — Java — Ceylon — Rapid extension of its culture in Ceylon since 1825 — The CofFee-Plant — The best situations for its growth — Its cultivation in Java described — The Musang — Expertness of the Ceylon "Wood- men in preparing the Coffee Ground — Enemies of the Coffee-Plant — Tlie Golunda Eat — The Lecanium Coffete. THE mountain regions of Enarea and Caffa, which the reader, on consulting a map of Africa, will find situated to the south of Abyssinia (and not Arabia-Felix as Linnaeus erroneously sup- posed), are most probably the countries where the cofifee-tree was first planted by nature, as it has here not only been cultivated from time immemorial, but is everywhere found growing wild in the forests. Here also the art of preparing a beverage from its berries seems to have been first discovered. Arabic authors inform us that about four hundred years ago Gemaledie, a learned 190 COFFEE mufti of Aden, having become acquainted with its virtues on a journey to the opposite shore of Africa, recommended it on his return to the dervises of his convent as an excellent means for keeping awake during their devotional exercises. The example of these holy men brought coffee into vogue, and its use spreading from tribe to tribe, and from town to town, finally reached Mecca about the end of the fifteenth century. There fanaticism endeavoured to oppose its progress, and in 1511 a council of theologians condemned it as being contrary to the law of Mahomet, on account of its intoxicating like wine, and sentenced the culprit who should be found indulging in his cup of coffee to be led about the town on the back of an ass. The sultan of Egypt, however, who happened to be a great coffee-drinker himself, convoked a new assembly of the learned, who declared its use to be not only innocent, but healthy ; and thus coffee advanced rapidly from the Eed Sea and the Nile to Syria, and from Asia Minor to Constan- tinople, where the first coffee-house was opened in 1554, and soon called forth a number of rival establishments. But here also the zealots began to murmur at the mosques being neglected for the attractions of the ungodly coffee divans, and declaimed against it from the Koran, which positively says that coal is not of the number of things created by Grod for good. Accordingly the mufti ordered the coffee-houses to be closed ; but his successor declaring coffee not to be coal, unless when over-roasted, they were allowed to reopen, and ever since the most pious mussulman drinks his coffee without any scruples of conscience. The commercial intercourse with the Levant could not fail to make Europe acquainted with this new source of enjoyment. In 1652, Pasqua, a Grreek, opened the first coffee- house in London, and twenty years later the first French cafes were established in Paris and Marseilles. As the demand for coffee continually increased, the small province of Yemen, the only country which at that time supplied the market, could no longer produce a sufficient quantity, and the high price of the article naturally prompted the European governments to introduce the cultivation of so valuable a plant into their colonies. The islands of Mauritius and Bourbon took the lead in 1718, and Batavia followed in 1723. Some years before, a few plants had been sent to Amsterdam, one of which EXTENSION OF COFFEE CULTURE 191 found its way to Marly, where it was multiplied by seeds. ( 'iptain Descleux, a French naval officer, took some of these young coffee-plants with him to Martinique, desirous of adding ;i new source of wealth to the resources of the colony. The I iissage was very tedious and stormy ; water began to fail, and all the gods seemed to conspire against the introduction of the coffee-tree into the new world. But Descleux patiently endured tlie extremity of thirst that his tender shoots might not droop for want of water, and succeeded in safely bringing over one single plant, the parent stock whence all the vast coffee-plantations of i\\v West Indies and Brazil are said to have derived their origin. The names of such men should not be forgotten, and deserve, in my opinion, to be recorded before those of the many worthless monarchs which uselessly fill the pages of history. On examining the present state of cofFee-production through- out the world, we find that it has undergone great revolutions within the last twenty years, as some of the countries that were formerly prominent in this respect now occupy but an inferior rnuk, while in others the cultivation of coffee has rapidly attained gigantic proportions. Thus Brazil, which at the beginning of the century was hardly known in the coffee market, now furnislias nearly as much as all the rest of the world besides. Its exportation, which in 1N20 amounted to 97,500 sacks, rose to a million in 1840 and attained in 1855 the enormous quantity of 2,392,100 sacks, or more than 350 millions of pounds ! Java ranks next to Brazil among the coffee-producing coun- tries, for though slavery does not exist in this splendid colony, yet the Dutch have introduced a system which answers the pur- pose fully as well. Every Javanese peasant is obliged to work sixty-six days out of the year for government ; and the residents or administrators of the various districts distribute this com- pulsory labour among the several plantations, which are all in the hands of private individuals. Thus the latter are provided with the necessary hands at a very cheap rate ; but on the other hand, they are compelled to sell their whole produce to the Handels Maatschappy, or Dutch East India Company, at a price fixed by the government, which of course takes care to secure the lion's share of the profit. When we consider that Java has more than nine millions of 1{>2 COFFEE inhabitants, and possesses a soil of inexhaustible fertility, the masses of colonial produce which it pours upon the market of the world, cease to be matter of surprise ; nor can we wonder at its yielding the Dutch treasury an annual surplus of more than ten millions of florins, after all local expenses have been paid. The annual production of coffee alone amounts to at least 150,000,000 pounds, which are almost exclusively exported to Holland, and chiefly serve for the consumption of Grermany. Within the last forty years the progress of coffee cultivation in Ceylon has been no less remarkable than its rapid extension in Java or Brazil. Though the plant was found growing in thJ island by the Portuguese, and is even supposed by some to indigenous, yet it was only after the subjugation of the ancient? kingdom of Kandy by the English in 1815, and the opening of roads in the hill country, that it began to be cultivated on a more extensive scale. The first upland plantation was formed about 1825 by Sir Edward Barnes, the energetic governor to whom the colony is indebted for so many works of public utility ; and as a concurrence of favourable circumstances — among others the decline of production in the West Indies, and the increasing consumption in England, in consequence of remissions of duty, — rendered the moment propitious, his example was speedily followed by a host of speculators, so that in an incredibly short time the mountain-ranges in the centre of the island became covered with plantations, and rows of coffee-trees began to bloom upon the solitary hills around the very base of Adam's Peak. Thus coffee, formerly so unimportant, is now the chief produc- tion of Ceylon ; its exportation having risen from 1,792,44? pounds in 1827, to 67,453,680 pounds in 1857; and shoulc prices in Europe continue remunerative, there is every reason tc believe that in less than fifty years the produce will be trebled., equalling or even surpassing that of Java. While the production of coffee has thus enormously increasec in the above-mentioned countries, it has on the other banc greatly declined in the West Indies. Thus Hayti, which pre- vious to the negro rebellion in 1791 exported seventy-six mil lions of pounds to France, at a time when coffee was mucl dearer than at present, now produces less than one half tha quantity, and is even distanced by Venezuela, which in 185,' exported thirty-eight millions of pounds. GROWTH OF THE COFFEE PLANT 193 Since the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies, tlic export of coffee, which in 1827 amounted to 29,419,598 ixiimds, dwindled to 4,054,028 in 1857, for such is the indolence of the emancipated negro, or so few his wants, that even the highest wages are insufficient to rouse him to exertion. In Cuba, finally, which exported more than 40,000,000 of pounds in 1833, the produce has now fallen to one half, though from a different cause, as it has been found that slave- labour can be more advantageously employed in the cultivation of sugar. With regard to quality, Mocha coffee, though compara- tively insignificant in point of quantity, is still prominent in flavour and aroma ; the finer sorts of Ceylon and Bourbon rank next, while the cheapest and commonest is the ordinary Brazil. The general production of coffee throughout the world amounts probably to more than 730,000,000 of pounds, and is constantly increasing as civilisation with its growing wants and luxuries spreads over the face of the globe. When left to the free growth of nature, the coffee-tree attains a height of from fifteen to twenty feet ; in the plantations, ' however, the tops are generally cut off in ' order to promote the growth of the lower [ branches, and to facilitate the gathering : of the crop. Its leaves are opposite, • evergreen, and not unlike those of the ; bay-tree ; its blossoms are white, sitting on short footstalks, and resembling the flower of the jasmine. The fruit winch succeeds is a green berry, ripening into red, of the size and form of a large cherry, and having a pale, insipid, and Coffee. somewhat glutinous pulp, enclosing two hard and oval seeds or beans, which are too well known to require any further description. The tree is in full bearing from its fourth or fifth year, and continues during a long series of seasons to furnish an annual produce of about a pound and a half of beans. The seeds are known to be ripe when the berries assume a dark red colour, and if not then gathered, will drop from the o 194 COFFEE trees. The planters in Arabia do not pluck the fruit, but place cloths for its reception beneath the trees, which they shake, and the ripened berries drop readily. These are afterwards spread upon mats, and exposed to the sun until perfectly dry, when the husk is broken with large heavy rollers made either of wood or of stone. The coffee, thus cleared of its husk, is again dried thoroughly in the sun, that it may not be liable to heat when packed for shipment. This method may, in some measure, account for the superior quality of the Arabian coffee, but in the large plantations of Brazil, Java, Ceylon, and other European colonies, it is necessary to follow a more expeditious plan, to pluck the berries from the trees as soon as they ripen, and immediately to pass them through a pulping mill, consisting of a horizontal fluted roller turned by a crank, and acting against a movable breast-board, so placed as to prevent the passage of whole berries between itself and the roller. The pulp is then separated from the seeds by washing them, and the latter are spread out in the sun to dry ; after which the membranous skin or parchment which immediately covers the beans, is removed by means of heavy rollers or stamping. To be cultivated to advantage, the coffee-tree requires a climate where the mean temperature of the year amounts to at least 68°, and where the thermometer never falls below 65!^ It is by nature a forest tree requiring shade and moisture, and thus it is necessary to screen it from the scorching rays of the sun by planting rows of umbrageous trees at certain intervals throughout the field. These also serve to protect it from the sharp winds which would injure the blossoms. It cannot bear either excessive heat or a long-continued drought, and where rain does not fall in sufficient quantity, artificial irrigation musi supply it with the necessary moisture. From all these circum- stances it is evident that the best situations for the growth o: coffee are not the sultry alluvial plains of the tropical and sub- tropical lands, but the mountain-slopes to an elevation 4,500 feet. In Java the zone of the coffee-plantations extends betweei 3,000 and 4,000 feet above the level of the sea ; and the primi tive forest is. constantly receding before them. Frequently, o: felling the woods, a part of the original trees is left standing t MANAGEMENT OF COFFEE PLANTATIONS 195 shade the tender coffee plants; but oftener the rows are made 1 ( ) alternate with those of the sheltering dadab. Thus a new and luxuriant grove, animated by insects, birds, and a number of ,sMiall four-footed animals, replaces the old thicket of nature's planting. Straight paths, kept carefully clean, lead through the dense dark-green shrubbery, under whose thick cover the wild t'ock hastily retreats when surprised by the wanderer. When the trees are in flower, the branches seem to bend under a ^\ eight of snow, from the number of dazzling white blossoms, A\ hich form a most pleasing contrast to the dark lustrous foliage, wliile high above the dadabs extend their airy crowns, whose lio-ht green leaves are agreeably interspersed with flowers of a Itrilliant red. A few months later, when the frviits are ripening into carmine, a scene of the most bustling animation ensues, for old and young are busily employed in plucking the swelling 1)erries, and hurrying with filled baskets to the nearest pulping luill. At this time, the whitish excrements of the musang, a small gray long-tailed marten-like rodent, are frequently found upon the ground, consisting wholly of agglutinated, but other- wise undamaged coffee-beans. The musang is extremely fond of the ripe berries, whose pulp dissolves in its stomach, while tlie undigested beans furnish the best coffee, as the fastidious animal selects none but the choicest fruit. For this reason the musang coffee is carefully collected, and sold at a higher price to wealthy Dutch residents. In Ceylon the native woodmen are singularly expert in felling forest trees preparatory to the cultivation of coffee. Turning to advantage the luxuriance of tropical vegetation, which lashes together whole forests by a maze of interlacing climbers as firm and massy as the cables of a line-of-battle ship, their practice in steep and mountainous places is to cut half-way through each stem in succession, till an area of some acres in extent is pre- pared for the final overthrow. They then sever some tall group on the eminence, and allow it in its descent to precipitate itself on those below, when the whole expanse is in one moment brought headlong to the ground, the falling timber forcing down those beneath it by its weight, and dragging those behind to which it is harnessed. The crash occasioned by this startling operation is so loud, that it is audible for two or three miles in tlie clear and still atmosphere of the hills. 196 COFFEE Every subsequent operation must be carried on by coolies from Malabar and the Coromandel coast, as no temptation of wages and no prospect of advantage has hitherto availed to overcome the repugnance of the native Singhalese and Kandyans to engage on any work on estates except the first process of felling the forests. The fallen wood having been burnt or removed, and the ground dug up, the young coffee-trees are transplanted from the nurseries when about eight inches high, and set at intervals of four or six feet. April and October are the best time for this operation, on account of the heavy rains. At least once a month the plantation must be carefully weeded, and the pruning of the young tree takes place at the end of the first year. The chief harvest is in December and January, but many plants bloom the whole year round. The produce of the plantations in lower situations is more abundant, but the quality improves and the beans become longer as the vertical elevation increases. The best coffee grows at the height of four thousand feet. The coffee-plant very soon exhausts the alkaline substances of the soil, and as the depth of vegetable mould is not considerable, and liable to be constantly impoverished by transfiltration or draining on the sloping hill-sides, good crops can only be obtained by plentiful manuring. The best soil for coffee is chalk, or a loose decomposed gneiss ; clay is not so favourable, as it prevents the roots from penetrating to a sufficient depth. The plantations generally yield a profit of from 20 to 30 per cent., but as capital in Ceylon is not to be obtained under 1 5 or 20, the large produce of many estates is merely imaginary.* Though the free labour of the coolies does not require the large sum which the Brazilian planter is obliged to invest in the purchase of his slaves, yet the emigrant to Ceylon who intends to devote himself to the cultivation of coffee must not come empty handed or seek to begin his operations on credit alone. It is a perfect illusion, fostered by badly informed travellers or interested agents, that colonial produce can be raised to any advantage with small means ; and as experience is necessary, Professor Schmarda f advises the future planter, • Tennent's Ceylon, vol. ii. p. 202. t Reise um die Erde in den Jahren 1853—1857, vol. i. p. 387. PROFITS OF COFFEE PLANTATIONS 197 who should be possessed of at least 3,000^, first to become acquainted with the country, and practically to study the cultiva- tion of coffee before settling. The nature of the soil, the vicinity of a road or of an inhabited place for the facility of obtaining manure, are important considerations. It is not advisable to purchase more than five or six hundred acres, nor to cultivate in the first year more than 100 or 150 acres, begin- ning with the lower part of the estate and then ascending the slopes, so as to profit as long as possible by the drainage of the higher grounds. Large plantations of several thousand acres are attended with the serious disadvantage that, as they are too ex- tensive to be overlooked in detail, the owner is obliged to trust a great part of the management to strangers, who of course make him jpay well for their trouble. Thus coffee-planting, though it may insure a competence to the prudent cultivator, by no means opens a rapid road to wealth, as most of the specu- lators vainly imagined who, previous to 1845, embarked their fortunes in the enterprise, and whose visions of opulence ended in the disaster and ruin which are the necessary consequences of extravagance and folly. Like every other plant cultivated by man, the coffee-tree is exposed to the ravages of many enemies. Wild cats, monkeys, and squirrels prey upon the ripening berries, and hosts of cater- pillars feed upon the leaves. Since 1847 the Ceylon plantations have been several times invaded by swarms of the Grolunda, a species of rat which inhabits the forests, making its nest among the roots of the trees, and, like the lemmings of Norway and Lapland, migrating in vast numbers when the seeds of the nilloo-shrub (Strobilanthes), its ordinary food, are exhausted. "In order to reach the buds and blossoms of the coffee, the Golunda eats such slender branches as would not sustain, its weight, and feeds as they fall to the ground ; and so delicate and sharp are its incisors, that the twigs thus destroyed are detached by as clean a cut as if severed with a knife. The Malabar coolies are so fond of its flesh that they evince a preference for those districts in which the coffee-plantati«is are subject to its incursions, frying the rats in oil or converting them into curry. "* Another great plague is the Lecanium Coffece, known to * Tennent's Ceylon, vol. ii. p. 234. 198 COFFEE planters as the coffee bug, but in reality a species of coccus, which establishes itself on young shoots and buds, covering them with a noisome incrustation of scales, from the influence of which the fruit shrivels and drops off. A great part of the crop is sometimes lost, and on many trees not a single berry forms from the invasion of this pest, which was first observed in 1843 on an estate at Lapalla Galla, and thence spreading eastward through other plantations, finally reached all the other estates in the island. No cheap and effectual remedy has as yet been found to stay its ravages, and the only hope is, that as other blights have been known to do, it may wear itself out, and vanish as mysteriously as it came. General Fraser's Coffee-estate at Rangbodde, Ceylon. 199 CHAPTER XVI. CACAO AND VANILLA. Tlio Cacao Tree — Mode of preparing the Beans for the Market — Chocolate — The Vanilla Plant. THEOBROMA, — food for gods, — the Greek name given by Linnaeus to the cacao or chocolate tree, sufficiently proves liow highly he valued the flavour of its seeds. Indigenous in Mexico, it had long been in extensive cultiva- tion before the arrival of the Spaniards, who found the beverage which the Indians prepared from its beans so agreeable, that they reckoned it among the most pleasing fruits of their con- ([uest, and lost no time in making their European friends ac- quainted with its use. From Mexico they transplanted it into their other dependencies, so that in America its present range of cultivation extends from 20° N. lat. to Guayaquil and Bahia. It has even been introduced into Africa and Asia, in return for the many useful trees that have been imported from the old into the new world. The cacao-tree seldom rises above the height of twenty feet, its leaves are large, oblong, and pointed. The flowers, which are of a pale red colour, spring from the large branches, and even from the trunk and roots. " Never," says the illustrious Humboldt, " shall I forget the deep impres- sion made upon me by the luxuriance of tropical vegetation on first seeing a cacao plantation. After a damp night, large blossoms of the theobroma issue from the root at a considerable distance from the trunk, emerging from the deep black mould. A more striking example of the expansive powers of life could hardly be met with in organic nature." The fruits are large, oval, pointed pods, about five or six inches long, and containing in five compartments from twenty to forty seeds — the well- 200 CACAO AND VANILLA known cacao of commerce — enveloped in a white pithy substance. The trees are raised from seed, generally in places screened from the wind. As they are incapable of bearing the scorching rays of the sun, particularly when young, bananas, maize, manioc, and other broad-leaved plants are sown between their rows, under whose shade they enjoy the damp and sultry heat which is indispensable to their growth, for the Theobroma Cacao is essentially tropical, and requires a warmer climate than the coffee-tree or the sugar-cane. Two years after having been sown, the plant attains a height of three feet, and sends forth many branches, of which, how- ever, but four or five are allowed to remain. The first fruits appear in the third year, but the tree does not come into full bearing before it is six or seven years old, and from that time forward it continues to yield abundant crops of beans during more than twenty years. At first the tender plants must be carefully protected from weeds and insects, but in after years they demand but little attention and labour, so that one negro sufiices for keeping a thousand trees in order and collecting their produce. According to Herndon (" Valley of the Amazons "), the annual produce of a thousand full-grown trees, in the plantations along the lower banks of the monarch of streams, amounts to fifty arrobes, that sell in Peru from two and a half to three milrees the arrobe ; and Wagner informs us that in Costa Rica a thousand trees yield about 1,250 pounds, worth twenty dollars the hundredweight. The beans when first collected from the tree are possessed of an acrimony, which requires a slight fermentation to change into the aromatic principle, to which they are indebted for their agreeable flavour. For this purpose they are thrown into pits, where they remain three or four days covered with a light layer of sand, care being taken to stir them from time to time. They are then taken out, cleaned, and laid out upon mats to dry in the sun. The management of the beans requires some caution, for if the fermentation is allowed to continue too long, they acquire a mouldy taste and smell, which they only lose on being roasted. When thoroughly dried (which is known by their hollow sound when shaken, and by the husk easily separat- HABIT AND CULTIVATION OF VANILLA 201 ing from the seed when pressed), they are packed in sacks or ( ases, and sent as soon as possible to the market, a rapid sale being extremely desirable, as it is verj^ difficult to preserve them from insects, more particularly from the cockroaches. Cacao is chiefly used under the form of chocolate. The beans are roasted, finely ground, so as to convert them into a ])erfectly smooth paste, and improved in flavour by the addition of spices, such as the sweet-scented vanilla, a short notice of which will not be out of place. Like our parasitical ivy, the Vanilla aromatica, a native of torrid America, climbs the summits of the highest forest-trees, or creeps along the moist rock crevices on the banks of rivulets. The stalk, which is .about as thick as a finger, bears at each joint a lanceolate and ribbed leaf, twelve inches long and three inches broad. The large flowers, which fill the forest with their delicious odours, are white intermixed with stripes of red and yellow, and are succeeded by long and slender pods con- taining many seeds imbedded in a thick oily and balsamic pulp. These pods seldom ripen in the wild state, for the dainty monkey knows no greater delicacy, and his agility in climbing almost always enables him to anticipate man. At present the vanilla is cultivated not only in Mexico, where the villages Papantla and Misantla annually produce about 19,000 pounds or two millions of pods (worth at Vera Cruz a shilling the pod), but in Java, where the industrious Dutch have acclimatised it since 1819. It is planted under shady trees on a damp ground, and grows luxuriantly ; but as a thousand blossoms on an average produce but one pod, it must always remain a rare and costly spice. Had the ancients known vanilla they would, no doubt, have deemed it more worthy to be the food of the Olympic gods than their fabled ambrosia. 202 CHAPTEE XVII. COCA. Its immense Consumption in Peru and Bolivia — Mode of chewing the leaves - Its wonderfully strengthening eflfects — Fatal consequences of its abuse - Reasons which prompted the Spaniards to interdict its use, and finally to allow and encourage it — Its chemical analysis by Professor Wohler of Gottingen. ALTHOUGrH but little known beyond the confines of its native country, Coca is beyond all doubt one of the most remarkable productions of the tropical zone, and deserves the more to be noticed as the time is, perhaps, not far distant, when it will assume a conspicuous rank in the markets of the world. The sultry valleys on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes are the seat of the Erythroxylon Coca, which like the coffee-tree bears a lustrous green foliage, and white blossoms ripening into small scarlet berries. These, however, are not used, but the leaves, which when brittle enough to break on being bent, are stripped from the plant, dried in the sun, and closely packed in sacks. The naked shrub soon gets covered with new foliage, and after three or four months its leaves are ready for a second plucking, though in some of the higher mountain-valleys it can only be stripped once a year. Every eight or ten years the plantations require to be renewed, as the leaves of the old shrubs are less juicy, and consequently of inferior quality. Like the coffee-tree, the coca-shrub thrives only in a damp situation, under shelter from the sun ; and for this reason maize, which rapidly shoots up, is generally sown between the rows of the young plants. At a later period, when they no longer need this protection, care must be taken to weed the plantation, and to loosen the soil every two or three months. Tlie local consumption of coca is immense, as the Peruvian COCA-CHEWING 203 Indian reckons its habitual use among the prime necessaries of life, and is never seen without his leathern pouch or chuspa, filled with a provision of the leaves, and containing besides a Bmall box of powdered unslaked lime. At least three times a day he rests from his work to chew his indispensable coca. Carefully taking a few leaves out of the bag, and removing their midribs, he first masticates them into the shape of a small ball, which is called an acullico ; then repeatedly insert- ing a thin piece of moistened wood like a toothpick into the box of unslaked lime, he introduces the powder which remains attached to it into the acullico until the latter has acquired the requisite flavour. The saliva, which is abundantly secreted while chewing the pungent mixture, is mostly swal- lowed along with the green juice of the plant. When the acullico is exhausted, another is immediately prepared, for one seldom suffices. The corrosive sharpness of the unslaked lime requires some caution, and an unskilled coca-chewer runs the risk of burning his lips, as, for instance, the celebrated traveller Tschudi, who, by the advice of his muleteer, while crossing the high mountain-passes of the Andes, attempted to make an acullico, and instead of strength- ening himself as he expected, merely added excruciating pain to the fatigues of the journey. The taste of coca is slightly bitter and aromatic, like that of bad green tea, but the addition of lime or of the sharp ashes of the quinoa, renders it less disagreeable to the European palate. It is a remarkable fact that the Indians who regularly use coca require but little food, and when the dose is augmented are able to undergo the greatest fatigues, without tasting almost anything else. Professor Poppig ascribes this astonish- ing increase of endurance to a momentary excitement, which must necessarily be succeeded by a corresponding collapse, and therefore considers the use of coca absolutely hurtful. Tschudi, however, is of opinion that its moderate consumption far from being injurious, is, on the contrary, extremely whole- some, and cites the examples of several Indians who, never allowing a day to pass without chewing their coca, attained the truly patriarchal age of one hundred and thirty years. The or- dinary food of these people consists almost exclusively of roasted maize or barley, which is eaten dry without any other addition : 204 COCA and the obstinate obstructions caused by these mealy aliments are ^ obviated by the tonic effects of the coca, which thus removes the 1 cause of many maladies. It may be remarked, that a similar reason is assigned for the custom of areka and betel chewing in Southern Asia. As an instance of the wonderful strengthening properties of the coca, Tschudi mentions the case of an Indian called Hatun Huamang or the " Grreat Vulture," whom he em- ployed during five consecutive days and nights in making the most laborious excavations, and who never ate anything all the time, or slept more than two hours a night. But every three hours he chewed about half an ounce of the leaves, and con- stantly kept his acuUico in his mouth. When the work was finished, this Indian accompanied Tschudi during a ride of twenty-three leagues, over the high mountain-plains, constantly running alongside of the nimbly-pacing mule, and never resting but for the purpose of preparing an acullico. When they sepa- rated, the " Grreat Vulture " told Tschudi that he would wil- lingly do the same work over again, provided only he had a plentiful allowance of coca. He was sixty-two years old, accord- ing to the testimony of the village priest, and had never been ill all his life. Tschudi often found that coca is the best preservative against the asthmatic symptoms which are produced by the rapid ascen- sion of high mountains. While hunting in the Puna, at an eleva- tion of 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, he always drank a strong infusion of coca before starting, and wels then able to climb among the rocks, and to pursue his game, without any greater difficulty in breathing than would have been the case upon the coast. Even after drinking a very strong infusion, he never experienced any symptoms of cerebral excitement, but a feeling of satiety, and though he took nothing else at the time, his appetite returned only after a longer interval than usual. If the moderate use of coca is thus beneficial in many respects, its abuse is attended with the same deplorable conse- quences as those which are observed in the oriental opium-eaters and smokers, or in our own incorrigible drunkards. The confirmed coca-chewer, or coquero,is known at once by his uncertain step, his sallow complexion, his hollow, lack-lustre black- rimmed eyes, deeply sunk in the head, his trembling lips, his inco- herent speech, and his stolid apathy. His character is irresolute. THE COCA-CHEWER 205 suspicious, and false; in the prime of life, he has all the ap- |)(\arances of senility, and in later years sinks into complete idiocy. Avoiding the society of man, he seeks the dark forest, or some solitary ruin, and there, for days together, indulges in his pernicious habit. While under the influence of coca, J lis excited fancy riots in the strangest visions, now revelling in j)ictures of ideal beauty, and then haunted by dreadful appari- tions. Secure from intrusion, he crouches in an obscure corner. Ills eyes ■ immovably fixed upon one spot; and the almost automatic motion of the hand raising the coca to the mouth, and its mechanical chewing, are the only signs of consciousness which he exhibits. Sometimes a deep groan escapes from his ])reast, most likely when the dismal solitude around him inspires his imagination with some terrific vision, which he is as little able to banish as voluntarily to dismiss his dreams of ideal felicity. How the coquero finally awakens from his trance, Tschudi was never able to ascertain, though most likely the complete exhaustion of his supply at length forces him to return to his miserable hut. Sometimes even Europeans give way to this vice; and Tschudi, during his sojourn in Peru, was acquainted with a Biscayan and an Italian who were both of them incorrigible coqueros. No historical record informs us when the use of the coca was introduced, or who first discovered the hidden virtues of its I leaves. When Pizarro destroyed the empire of Atahualpa he I found that it played an important part in the religious rites of the Incas, and that it was used in all public ceremonies, either for fumigation or as an offering to the gods. The priests chewed coca while performing their rites, and the favour of the invisible powers was only to be obtained by a present of these highly valued leaves. No work begun without coca could come to a happy termination, and divine honours were paid to the shrub itself. After a period of more than three centuries, Christianity has not yet been able to eradicate these deeply-rooted superstitious feelings, and everywhere the traveller still meets with traces of the ancient belief in its mysterious powers. To the present day, the miners of Cerro de Pasco throw chewed coca against the hard veins of the ore, and affirm that they can then be more easily worked, — a custom transmitted to them from their fore- 206 COCA fathers, who were fully persuaded that the Coyas or subterranean divinities rendered the mountains impenetrable unless previously propitiated by an offering of coca. Even now the Indians put coca into the mouths of their dead, to insure them a welcome on their passage to another world ; and whenever they find one of their ancestral mummies, they never fail to offer it some of the leaves. During the first period after the conquest of Peru, the Spaniards endeavoured to extirpate by all possible means the use of coca, from its being so closely interwoven with the Indian superstitions ; but the proprietors of the mines soon became aware how necessary it was for the successful prosecution of their undertakings ; the planters also found after a time that the Indians would not work without it: private interest pre- vailed, as it always does in the long run, over religious zeal and despotic interdictions, and in the last century we even find a Jesuit, Don Antonio Julian, regretting that the use of coca had not been introduced into Europe instead of tea or coffee. When we consider its remarkable properties, it is indeed astonishing that it has so long remained unnoticed. Were it concealed in the interior of Africa, or extremely difficult to procure, this neglect could be more easily accounted for; but hundreds of our vessels annually frequent the harbours of Peru and Bolivia, where it may be obtained in large quantities, and yet, as far as I know, the first hale ever imported into Europe has but just arrived in Hamburg. For many years Coffein, Thein, Theobromin — the vegetable alkaloids to which coffee, tea, and cacao are indebted for their stimulating properties — have been known to chemists, while the analysis of coca, which might naturally be expected to contain a no less remarkable substance, has only within the last year been attempted by Professor Wohler, the distinguished chemist of Gottingen, to whom we are at length indebted for the dis- covery of Cocain. TTON FIE 207 CHAPTER XVIII. COTTON. \ in a zing rise of the Cotton Manufactory, unparalleled in the Annals of Commerce— Tlie Cotton Plants — Their culture in the Confederate States and in India — Prospects of Cotton cultivation in India — Brazilian and Egyptian Cotton — Prospects held forth by Africa — Cotton-seed Oil. FTNDER the Plantagenets and the Tudors, wool formed the U chief export of England. The pastoral races that in- habited the British Isles, unskilled in weaving, suffered the nore industrious Flemings to convert their fleeces into tissues ; Buid the dominions of the Duke of Burgundy, enriched by manu- factures and by the stimulus they gave to agriculture, became the most prosperous part of Europe. At length the islanders began to discover the sources of the wealth which rendered Grhent and Bruges, Ypres and Louvain, the marvel and envy of the mediaeval world ; and gradually learning to keep their wool at home, invited the Flemings to the shores of England. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote three centuries ago that the greatest question of the hour was, " Shall we export our great staple to enrich Flanders, or weave it at home ? " The bigoted oppression of Spain came in aid to the more enlightened policy of England : wool ceased to be the chief of our exports, and English cloth was now sent abroad in place of the unwrought material. Since this beneficial change, although the devotion of land to pasturage, increased capital, and the cultivation of green crops, have greatly multiplied English flocks and fleeces, the domestic supply has proved insufficient. Drafts have been made on Spain, Saxony, and the Levant ; the merino sheep has been naturalised in Australia and at the Cape ; and England, in addition to her own vast produce, now annually imports at least 150,000,000 pounds of wool. But in spite of this wonderful growth, the wool-manufactory j 208 COTTON has almost within the memory of living man ceased to be the great staple of our industry ; and vegetable wool, furnished by a plant totally unknown to our forefathers, now ranks as the firsi of all the world-wide importations of England. The rapid growth of the cotton trade to its present gigantic importance is indeed unparalleled in the whole history of com- merce. We read, it is true, in Herodotus, of the wool-bearing plant of the Indians, and Pliny tells us of the white robes of the Egyptian priests, for which they were indebted not to the fine- haired fleeces of their flocks, but to a shrub. We know that many centuries have passed since the cultivation of the cotton- plant was introduced into Asia Minor and the Grecian Isles, and that the manufacture of the muslins of Hindostan is of the remotest antiquity ; but not quite a century ago the spinning and weaving of cotton was still so limited in our isle as hardly to be noticed in comparison with the national importance of the wool-manufactory. The spinning-jenny, invented about the year 1767 by Har- graves, a carpenter of Blackburn, and which gradually was so far improved that by its help a little girl could set 120 spindles into motion, gave the first impulse to the rise of the cotton industry, which soon assumed still larger proportions through Arkwright's spinning frame, Crompton's mule-jenny (1779) and Cartwright's power-loom, and made gigantic strides particularly since 1820, when the power of steam was first more generally called in aid, to establish those wonderful machines in every fit locality independently of the moving power of water. Thus a few men of genius, most of them belonging to the humbler ranks of life, have contributed perhaps more than any of their contemporaries to the power and greatness of their country, by enriching it with an industry which, in all its branches, directly and indirectly gives occcupation to four or five millions of our population, which furnishes no less than a third of our colossal exportation, and by providing almost every nation of the globe with cheap and durable clothing contributes essentially to the comfort and the progress of the human race. A few figures will tend to show the enormous rise and value of the cotton trade. In the year 1781 England imported 28,882 bales of cotton; in 1820, 571,731; in 1840, 1,600,370; in 1856, 2,468,000; THE COTTON MANUFACTURE 209 and in ISOO at least 3,000,000; a truly prodigious ratio of increase, which is, however, very far from having reached its zenith, and >vill keep on rising and rising as long as Britain remains the great emporium of the growing commerce of the world.* In the year 1777 our cotton manufactories occupied no more than 7,900 workmen ; in 1839 the number of artisans employed in the mills had increased to 259,385 ; and in 1856 it amounted to 379,213, in spite of the constant improvement of machinery, another proof, if such were needed, that every progress of me- clianical art, by rendering production cheaper and consequently increasing the demand, enlarges instead of restricting the field for manual labour. In 1857 twenty-eight millions of spindles were set in motion by the 2,210 cotton-mills at that time existing in Great Britain, nearly one for every inhabitant of the realm. The total value of the production of 1856 was estimated at 64,484,000/., and after deducting the value of the raw material, 37,526,000/. remained for expenses, wages, interest of capital and profits. Never since the world stands has one single branch of trade poured forth such streams of gold over a land. After Great Britain, the cotton industry of France ranks next in importance, requiring about 400,000 bales, and occupying about five millions of spindles ; but latterly the German States have made considerable progress, and bid fair soon to overtake their Gallic neighbours, as, in the year 1859, the Zollverein consumed 236,000 bales, and Austria above 200,000. By reason of prohibitions or high protective duties, every country in Europe has endeavoured to naturalise the manufactory of cotton, but while most of them but partially cover their own wants, England's produce inundates the markets of the world. Liverpool, with a trade eclipsing that of London itself, and Manchester with her train of minor stars, undoubtedly the scene of the most gigantic industry known in the history of man, are chiefly indebted to the cotton-plant for their colossal rise ; and on turning our eyes to America, which in the year 1793 gr^w but a few tons of upland cotton, and in 1859 produced a total of four and three quarters millions of bales, we find a scarcely less remark- able developement of flourishing cities, so that Arkwright and his * The present American crisis can, of course, produce but a temporary depression. P 210 COTTON brother inventors may truly be said to have called forth a new- world on both sides of the Atlantic, and to have founded towns whose wealth and activity far eclipse the commerce of Carthage or of Tyre. There are many different species of the cotton-plant, herba- ceous, shrubby, and arboreal. Their original birthplace is the tropical zone, where they are found growing wild in all parts of the world ; but the herbaceous species still thrive under a mean temperature of from 60° to 64° F., and are capable of being cultivated with advantage as far as the 40° or even 46° N. lat. The five-lobed leaves have a dark green colour, the flowers are yellow with a purple centre, and produce a pod about the size of a walnut, w^hich, when ripe, bursts and exhibits to view the fleecy cotton in which the seeds are securely em- bedded. It is almost superfluous to mention that the United States are the first cotton-producing country in the world. The area suit- able for cotton south of the 36° of latitude, comprises more than thirty-nine million acres, of which less than one-sixth part is now devoted to the plant. The yield depends in part upon the length of the season. Seven months are required for an average crop, and the average periods in which the last killing frost of spring and the first killing frost of autumn occur are March 23, and October 26. Cotton is cultivated in larg-e fields, and when the soil is superior, the plant rises to a height of six or eight feet, although in the richest cane-brake soil, exhausted by suc- cessive crops, it dwindles down to a height of three or four feet only. The aspect of a cotton field is most pleasing in the au- tumn, when the dark-coloured foliage and bright yellow flowers, intermingling with the snow-white down of the pods when burst, produce a charming contrast. Unfortunately the poor slaves have but little time to enjoy the scene. They are then over- loaded with work, for it is important to pluck as much as possible during the first hours of morning, since the heat of the sun injures the colour of the cotton, and the overripe cap- sules shed their contents upon the ground, or allow the wind to carry them away. We can easily imagine, even if we had not | been taught by " Uncle Tom," how actively the driver plies his j whip at harvest time. The collected produce is immediately carried to the steam- 1 THE COTTON HARVEST 211 mill to be cleansed of the seeds, and then closely packed in bales weighing on an average 443 lbs., which in the seaports are further reduced by hydraulic presses to half of their previous volume, thus causing a great saving in the freight. Large clippers frequently carry eight or ten thousand of these bales to Liverpool, whence, perhaps, on the day of their arrival they are conveyed by rail to the next manufacturing town, and return in a few days to the port, ready to clothe the Australian gold- digger or the labourer on the banks of the Ganges. India, which still in the last century provided Europe with the finest cambrics and muslins, now yearly receives from England cotton goods to a large amount. Thus the stream of trade may be said to have rolled backwards to its source, for though the wants of the Hindoo are easily satisfied, and cotton grows at his very door, yet his hand-loom is unable to compete with the machinery and the capital of England. Even in the exportation of the raw material he labours under great disadvantage, when compared with the rival American. Instead of steam-mills for the cleansing of his cotton, he makes use of his hands, which scarcely enable him to pick a pound a day. Wretched beasts of burden then carry it on wretched roads, and often over high mountain-passes, to the coast, where it arrives, sometimes only after fifty or sixty days, in a soiled and deteriorated condition. What a contrast with the States, where the cotton is so much better cleansed at a far inferior cost, where it finds its way so easily to the nearest river, and is then so rapidly conveyed by steam to Savannah, Mobile, or New Orleans ! If to all these disadvantages we add the poor quality, short staple, and consequent low price of the cotton, the tenure of the soil under which half or two-thirds of the crop is required for rent or taxes, the frequent want of irrigation, and the imperfect state of cultivation in general, it is less to be wondered at that the exportation of India amounts only to five or six hundred thousand bales a year, than that the country is able to export it at all. Much, however, has lately been done, both by government and private exertions, to remedy these defects, and it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when India, the parent land of cotton industry, will take at least the lead in the P 2 212' COTTON export of the raw material, and supplant, by the produce of her free labour, the slave-grown vegetable wool of the Western world. A vast railway system, extending over more than 2,000 miles, is actively progressing. A central line from Calcutta to Delhi, of 1,100 miles, leads from the great sea-port to the -ancient capital of the Moguls. Another of 600 miles from Madras to Belary is soon to be opened. A third railroad of 200 miles, from Bombay into the interior, is in progress ; and a fourth of still greater length than the last, through Scinde and the Punjaub, is also commenced. Our fancy delights to dwell on the tide of prosperity'' ready to flow along these lines of rapid communica- tion, over the plains of India ; of the vast improvements in every respect which they are destined to call forth, and of their favourable reaction on our own country, for every progress of the Indian labourer is a boon to the hardworking artisan of England. In the climate of India, where copious rains are succeeded by long intervals of drought, an artificial supply of water is required for the successful cultivation of the land, and to quote the lan- guage of Colonel Grrant, a most competent judge, "Nothing appears more susceptible of improvement from culture and a regular supply of water than cotton." In fact the cotton of the common field and that of the irrigated bed cannot be recognised as the same plant ; not only do the shrubs attain to a greater size, and bear many more pods, but each pod is much larger and contains a much greater quantity of fibre. In ancient times large sums were applied by the enlightened sovereigns of India to irrigation, but in the earlier days of British rule, many of their works were suffered to decay. More recently some of their structures have been repaired, and several new canals have been opened, which have not only changed the aspect of the country, but have yielded a direct return of from ten to twenty per cent. Down to 1848 the average annual outlay on public works in India did not exceed 100,000^., but in 1857 it had risen to 2,220,000^. In Madras alone, ten works of irrigation were begun in 1853 which will irrigate and enrich 450,000 acres of land. In 1857 a joint- stock company was formed in London to construct a canal for irrigation and navigation through Madras, Berar, and Mysore, and another from the Malabar to the Coromandel coast, which will INDIAN COTTON TRADE 213 (^1)011 400,000 square miles of cotton-growing land — a much larger area than is now devoted to cotton in the United States. The aggregate expenditure of Great Britain on railways, canals, and other works of irrigation in India now exceeds 5,000,000^. annually ; and we may safely predict, that when all these great and beneficial undertakings shall have been accomplished, the produce of India will astonish the world. Even as it is, the quantity of cotton grown in that country for home consumption is enormous. Competent judges* inform us that each individual requires on an average twenty pounds a year, and this will not seem too much when we reflect that almost all the inhabitants of India exclusively dress in cotton. This gives us an annual internal consumption of about 3,000,000,000 lbs., or a five times larger quantity than that which is spun and woven by all the looms and jennies of Great Britain. Thus India needs only to increase her production by one-fifiU to supply us with all the cotton we actually want. The civil war in the United States, with all its gloomy pro- spects of servile insurrection and agricultural ruin, cannot fail to hasten the work of progress so happily begun on the banks of the Ganges and Nerbuddah, for however it may end, it will have shown the folly and the danger of depending upon one coimtry alone for the supply of an article almost as essential to Great Britain as corn itaelf. But India is not the only country which bids fair to destroy the monopoly of the United States, and we may fairly hope that Africa will also ere long weigh more heavily in the balance. In 1857 a Cotton Supply Association was formed in Liverpool for the purpose of stimulating African production. Mr. J. Clegg of Manchester, who acts in concert with this society, reported under date of March 18, 1858, that 407 cotton-gins had been sent out by himself and others to the western coast of Africa, destined principally for the interior, and that he had corresponded with 76 native traders, including 22 chiefs, who were embarking in the culture of cotton. In the Yarriba country between the Niger and the sea. Dr. Barkie found large plantations of cotton. He saw from 1,000 to 2,000 bags of 80 pounds each exposed together in the markets, and realising large profits at a very low * Capper : History of British India. 214 COTTON price. In the great district of the Soudan, which extends from the valley of the Niger to the sources of the Nile, and comprises at least sixteen degrees of latitude, cotton grows spontaneously, and is spun and woven by the native females. England is using every effort to divert the chiefs of this region from the slave- trade to the culture of cotton. With oue hand she invites them to produce and sell the raw material, and with the other to receive the fabrics of her varied manufactures. Even now Dr. Livingstone, in his steam-launch, well supplied with cotton seed, is probably ascending the Zambesi towards the equator ; a little to the north Messrs. Burton and Speke, with like objects in view, have pene- trated into the interior of Ethiopia from the coast of Zanzibar ; while the enterprising Grerman, Br. Barkie, has ascended the Niger, and doubtless distributed cotton-seed and cotton-gins as he advanced. Every friend of humanity will sincerely approve these laudable efforts, as their result must be to strike slavery at the root, and to abolish the most disgraceful trade that ever sullied the annals of our race. At the present day, Brazil and Egypt rank immediately after the United States and India in the supply of the cotton market. The former exported in the year 1858, 29,341 bales to England, and the latter 94,650. The finest Brazilian and Egyptian qualities are nearly equal to the best Sea-island, which, as we all know, grows on the main coast, and also in the swampy regions bordering on most of the great rivers of the American cotton- producing states, while that which grows further from the sea, and at a higher level, has acquired the name of upland, which, though of inferior quality, is far more important from its vastly greater quantity. In China, cotton is extensively grown for home consumption, but the exportation of the raw material is very trifling. The yellow colour of nankeen is not an artificial dye, but the intrinsic colour of the cotton of which it is fabricated. Since the last twenty-five years cotton seeds are used for the production of a good lamp-oil. Formerly, the fibres that re- mained attached to the seeds after cleansing used to imbibe so much oil as notably to diminish the produce; but a machine invented in America, which strips off the husk from the kernels before submitting them to pressure, has entirely removed this EXTENT OF COTTON TRADE 215 difficulty, and imparted a considerable value to what was nearly a wortliless article. Ev£n the solid residue is of use, as a nutritious cattle food. Thus an enterprising people know how to turn the gifts of nature to account, and to rise in prosperity and riches, while so many other nations, though possessing the fairest regions of the globe, remain sunk in poverty and sloth, the victims of want in the midst of abundance. Caoutchovic Trees — (Indians incising them). CHAPTER XIX. CAOUTCHOUC AND GUTTA PERCHA. The Caoutchouc-Tree — Siphonia Elastica — Manner in which the Resin is collected — Urceola Elastica — Ficus Elastica — Has but recently become im- portant — Mackintosh — ^Vulcanised Caoutchouc — Multiplicity of uses to which Caoutchouc may be applied — Marine Glue — The Gutta Percha Tree — Pro- perties of the Resin — Its importance for Marine Telegraphy — Will the Tropical Zone be able to satisfy the growing demand ? WHEN we consider the luxuriance of vegetation in the tropical zone, it is not to be wondered at that so many plants of those climes abound with juices of a variety and richness unknown to those of the temperate latitudes. The resins and gums which our indigenous trees produce, either in smaller quantities or fit only for common uses, are there endowed with higher virtues, and ennobled, as it were, by the rays of a more powerful sun. Sometimes they exude spontaneously through the rind and harden in the atmosphere ; more frequently a slight incision is required to make the sap gush forth in wliich tbey are dissolved, but in every case they require but trifling labour for their collection. Many of them have medicinal qualities, others are esteemed for their aromatic odour, but none ranks higher in a commercial and technical point of view than caoutchouc or India rubber, which was first brought from South America to Europe as a great curiosity at INDIAN MODE OF COLLECTING THE RESIN 217 the beginning of the last century, and is now absolutely indis- pensable for a thousand different uses. Nothing was known even of its origin until the year 1736, when the French naturalist La Condamine, while exploring the banks of the Amazon, dis- covered that it was produced by a tree which the Indians called Neve, and which the learned have since introduced into the family of the Euphorbias under the name of Siphonia elastica. It grows to the height of about sixty feet, acquires a diameter of about twenty-four inches, and is found everywhere scattered through the primitive forests along the borders of the rivers in Guiana and North Brazil. The resin is collected by the Indians in the following simple manner. With a small hatchet they make deep and long incisions in the rind, from whichamilky sap abundantly exudes. A small wooden peg is then fixed into each aperture to prevent its closing, and a cup of moist clay fastened underneath, which in about four or five hours is filled with as many table-spoonfuls of the juice. The produce of a number of incisions having been gathered in a large earthen vessel, is then carried to the hut, where it is spread in thin coatings upon moulds made of clay, and dried, layer after layer, over a fire, until the whole has acquired a certain thickness. When perfectly dry, the clay form within is broken into small fragments, and the pieces are extracted through an aperture, which is always left for the purpose. In the caoutchouc the original pure white colour of the resin naturally changes into bJack, from the smoke to which it is exposed while drying. It is generally imported in the form of bottles, or in large flat pieces ; frequently also in a liquid state, in hermetically closed vessels. The Indian caoutchouc-gatherers or seringueros could easily collect sixteen pounds daily, but as they are extremely indolent, the average produce hardly amounts to one-fourth of that quantity. Besides the Siphonia elastica, many other American trees, chiefly belonging to the families of the Euphorbiacese and Urticese, afford excellent kinds of caoutchouc; and since it is become so valuable an article of commerce, the East Indies, and Java likewise, yield considerable quantities, chiefly from the Urceola elastica and the Ficus elastica. In spite of its many valuable properties, particularly its 218 CAOUTCHOUC AND GUTTA PEKCHA I wonderful elasticity and utter impermeability by water, it w only within the last forty years that caoutchouc has risen into importance, as before that time no cheap solvent had been found out which, on evaporating, would allow it to assume a variety of useful forms, with the retention of all its useful qualities. In the year 1820, a Mr. Nadler discovered the art of cutting it into thin threads that could be woven with wool, silk, or cotton, into elastic tissues, but this invention was soon eclipsed by that of Mr. Mackintosh, who, by dissolving caoutchouc inJ petroleum and spreading it between two pieces of wool or* cotton-stuff, united them by pressure into a water-tight cloth which, though heavy, expensive, and of a disagreeable smell was justly considered as a most useful fabric for a rainy climate Since that time the manufacture of caoutchouc tissues has made rapid strides to perfection, particularly since the volatile oil which is produced by the dry distillation of the resin itself, was found to be its best solvent. About twenty years ago, overshoes or galoshes of India rubber first began to be manufactured, but as they had the great fault of becoming soft and adhesive when exposed to warmth and of hardening and contracting in cold weather, this branch of industry would never have acquired a great extension, if, about the year 1845, Messrs. Hancock and Eroding had not found out that, by the addition of a small quantity of sulphur to caoutchouc, the latter, without losing any of its elastic qualities,, acquires the property of retaining the same consistency through every change of atmospherical temperature. By this discovery, to which the strange name of vulcanisation has been given, new field was opened for the use of caoutchouc ; but the march of progress did not stop here, for a few years since, in America, Mr. Groodyear, by adding about twenty per cent, of sulphur to caoutchouc, converted it into a hard substance, capable of being used, in many instances, instead of wood, horn, or tortoise shell If fifty years ago one might ask what caoutchouc was good fo: besides effacing pencil-marks, its uses are now so manifold thi it would almost take a volume to describe them. A small quantity of it dissolved in rape seed oil makes an excellent mix- ture for greasing machinery, as it remains fluid at every tempi rature. Melted and mixed with finely powdered slaked lim- USES OF INDIA-RUBBER 219 it forms an excellent cement or putty, which will keep vessels air-tight for years. The famous marine glue, which is at present of such extensive use in ship-building, from its wonderful powers of soldering blocks of wood together, is merely a mixture of gumlac and India-rubber. In one word, chemistry may point to the various transformations and uses of caoutchouc as to some of its proudest technical triumphs. The Icosandra Gutta, which furnishes the gutta percha, or gutta tuban, is a native of the Eastern Archipelago and the adjacent lands. A few years since this substance, now so cele- brated and of such wide extended use, was totally unknown in Europe, for though from time immemorial the Malays employed it for making the handles of their hatchets and creeses, it was only in the year 1843 that Mr. Montgomery, an English surgeon, having casually become acquainted with its valuable properties, sent an account of it, with samples, to the Koyal Society, for which he was most justly rewarded with its gold medal. The fame of the new article spread rapidly throughout the world ; science and speculation seized upon it with equal eagerness ; a thousand newspapers promulgated its praise ; it was immediately analysed, studied, and tried in every possible way, so that it is now as well known and as extensively used as if it had been in our possession for centuries. The Icosandra Gutta is a large high tree, with a dense crown of rather small dark green leaves, and a round smooth trunk. The white blossoms change into a sweet fruit, containing an oily substance fit for culinary use. The wood is soft, spongy, and contains longitudinal cavities filled with brown stripes of gutta percha. The original method of the Malays for collecting the resin consisted in felling the tree, which was then placed in a slanting position, so as to enable the exuding fluid to be col- lected in banana leaves. This barbarous proceeding, which from the enormous demand which suddenly arose for the gutta would soon have brought the rapidly rising trade to a suicidal end, fortunately became known before it was too late, and the resin is now gathered in the same manner as caoutchouc, by making incisions in the bark with a chopping knife, collecting the thin, white milky fluid which exudes in large vessels, and allowing it to evaporate in the sun, or over a fire. The solid residuum, which is the gutta percha of commerce, is finally softened in hot 220 CAOUTCHOUC AND GUTTA PEECHA water, and pressed into the form of slabs or flat pieces, generally a foot broad, a foot and a half long, and three inches thick. Gutta percha has many properties in common with caout- chouc, being completely insoluble in water, tenacious, but not elastic, and an extremely bad conductor of caloric and electricity. The name of vegetable leather which has been applied to it, gives a good idea both of its appearance and tenacity. The uses of gutta percha are manifold. It serves for water- pipes, for vessels fit for the reception of alkaline or acid liquids which would corrode metal or wood, for surgical implements, for boxes, baskets, combs, and a variety of other articles. The wonder of the age, submarine telegraphy, could hardly have been realised without it, as it is only by being cased in so isolating a substance, and one so impermeable by water, that the metallic wire is able to transmit the galvanic stream through the depths of ocean from land to land. Few articles have risen so rapidly to a great commercial importance as caoutchouc and gutta percha. The importation, which in 1830 amounted to no more than 52,000 pounds, rose in 1860 to no less than 43,039 hundredweight ; and the consump- tion in France has advanced with no less giant strides, as above two millions of pounds were imported in the year 1855. At the present prices the value of the caoutchouc and gutta percha an- nually consumed in Europe is certainly not far short of a million of pounds sterling, and the quantity made use of in the now Disunited States of America is scarcely less enormous. If to the value of the raw article we add that which is imparted to it by the manufacturer's skill, we can form some idea of the vast im- portance of these gifts of the tropical zone, and of the extent to which they are made to contribute to the comforts of mankind. But will the supply be able to meet the constantly' growing demand, or must the exhausted woods and plantations soon cease to provide the market at a moderate price ? Fortunately, of this there is no fear, as the colossal Ficus elastica, which furnishes an abundance of caoutchouc, and is widely diffused over the East Indies, enjoys in Assam alone an area of more than 1,000 square miles. The Urceola elastica, which produces the best quality of the elastic resin, is no less frequent in the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and its growth is moreover so rapid, that in the space of five years the trunk acquires a thickness of from SUPPLY OF CAOUTCHOUC AND GUTTA PERCIIA 221 twenty to thirty inches. Without injury to the tree, from fifty to sixty pounds of caoutchouc may be tapped from it annually, so that, even setting aside America, where the area of the Siphonia elastica is still greater, the East alone would be able to meet any demand. With regard to gutta percha, we may safely reckon upon the same inexhaustible abundance, as the rjipidly growing Icosandra has a very wide range, and planta- tions of it, which might be multiplied to any extent all over the Eastern Islands, have already been formed at Singapore. 222 CHAPTEE XX. TROPICAL SPICES. The Cinnamon Gardens of Ceylon — Immense profits of the Dutch — Decline of the Trade — Neglected state of the Gardens — Mode of preparing the Rind — Nutmegs and Cloves — Cruel monopoly of the Dutch — A Spice Fire in Amster- dam— The Clove Tree — Beauty of an Avenue of Clove Trees — The Nutmeg Tree — Mace — The Pepper Vine — The Pimento Tree. ALTHOUGH the beautiful laurel, whose bark furnishes the most exquisite of all the spices of the East, is indi- genous in the forests of Ceylon, yet as no author previous to the fourteenth century mentions its aromatic rind among the productions of the island, there is every reason to believe that the cinnamon, which in the earlier ages was im- ported into Europe through Arabia, was obtained first from Africa, and after- wards from India. That the Portuguese, who had been mainly attracted to the East by the fame of its spices, were nearly twenty years in India be- fore they took steps to obtain a footing at Colombo, proves that there can have been nothing very remarkable in the quality of the spice at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and that the high reputation of the Ceylon cinnamon is comparatively modern, and attributable to the attention bestowed upon its preparation for market by the Portuguese, and afterwards on its cultivation by the Dutch. Cinnaruon. CINNAMON 223 Long after the appearance of Europeans in Ceylon, cinnamon was only found in the forests of the interior, where it was (lit and brought away by the Chalias, an emigrant tribe which, in consideration of its location in villages, was bound to go into the woods to cut and deliver, at certain prices, a <;iven quantity of cinnamon properly peeled and ready f^r exportation. This system remained unchanged so long as Portugal was master of the country, but the forests in which the spice was found being exposed to constant incursions from the Kandyans, who sought every opportunity to obstruct and harass the Chalias and peelers, the Dutch were compelled to form enclosed planta- tions of their own within range of their fortresses. The native chieftains, fearful of losing the profits derived from the labour of the Chalias, who were attached as serfs to their domains, and whose work they let out to the Dutch, were at first extremely opposed to this innovation, and endeavoured to persuade the Hollanders that the cinnamon would degenerate as soon as it was artificially planted. The withering of many of the young trees seemed to justify the assertion, but on a closer examination it was found that boiling water had been poured upon the roots. A law was now passed declaring the wilful injury of a cinnamon plant a crime punishable with death, and by this severity the project was saved. The extent of the trade during the time of the Dutch may be inferred from the fact, that the five principal cinnamon- gardens around Nejombo, Colombo, Barberyn, Galle, and Maduro were each from fifteen to twenty miles in circumference. Although they were only first planted in the year 1770, yet before 1796, when Colombo was taken by the English, their annual produce amounted to more than 400,000 lbs. of cinna- mon, as much as the demands of the market required. The profits must have been enormous, for cinnamon was then at least ten times dearer than at present, the trade being ex- clusively in the hands of the Dutch East Indian Company, which, in order to keep up the price, restricted the production to a certain quantity, and watched over its monopoly with the most jealous tyranny. No one was allowed to plant cinnamon or to peel it, and the selling or importing of a single stick was pimished as a capital offence. 224 TROPICAL SPICES WTien the English took possession of the island, the monopoly )| was ceded to the East India Company for an annual sum of i;: 60,000^. until 1823, when the colonial government undertook' the administration of the cinnamon- gardens for its own account. In 1831 the produce sank to 16,000?. sterling, and in the following year the ancient monopoly was abandoned ; the govern- ment ceased to be the sole exporters of cinnamon, and thencefor- ward the merchants of Colombo and Gralle were permitted to take a share in the trade, on paying to the crown an export duty of three shillings a pound. This was afterwards reduced to one shilling, and ultimately totally abolished ; as not alone India and Java, but also Martinique, Gruiana, and Mauritius, where the cinnamon tree had been introduced, were found capable of producing the spice ; and the cheap substitute of Cassia, a still more formidable competitor, was arriving in Europe in large quantities from South China and the Trans-Grangetic peninsula. In Java alone the export of cinnamon, which in the year 1835 amounted only to 2,200 lbs., increased so rapidly that in 1845 it had already risen to 134,000 lbs., and as it can there be more cheaply produced, and the Dutch government was wise enough to limit the export duty to one halfpenny a pound, an unrestricted free trade was evidently the only means for preventing Ceylon from being entirely supplanted in the markets of the world. Under these circumstances, the Singhalese cinnamon has lost its ancient excellence, less care has been given of late 3^ears to the produc- tion of the finest qualities for the European market, and the coarser and less valuable shoots have been cut and peeled in larger proportions than formerly. Hence the gross quantity exported from Ceylon in 1857 (887,959 lbs.) was nearly double that of 1841 (452,039 lbs.) ; but from the joint effects of compe- tition and the deterioration of quality, the prices have propor- tionally declined, and the total value of the export now hardly amounts to 50,000L The cinnamon-gardens, whose beauty and luxuriance has been so often vaunted by travellers, have partly been sold, partly leased to private individuals, and though less than a century has elapsed since they were formed by the Dutch, they are already becoming a wilderness. Those which surround Colombo on the land side exhibit the cmNAMON GARDENS 225 effects of a quarter of a century of neglect, and produce a feel- ijihytes, conceals them under heaps of verdure and blossom. ( )ne most interesting creeper which encumbers the cinnamon tree is the night-blowing Alango, the moon flower of the iMiropeans, which never opens its petals until darkness comes on, and attracts the eye through the gloom by its pure and snowy whiteness. It would, however, be erroneous to suppose that the cinnamon LC.'irdens have been universally doomed to the same neglect, lluis Professor Schmarda, who visited Mr. Stewart's plantation two miles to the south of Colombo, admired the beautiful order in which it was kept. A reddish sandy clay and fine white quarz s;md form the soil of the plantation. White sand is considered as tlie best ground for the cinnamon tree to grow on, but it requires an abundance of rain, which is never wanting in the south-western ])art of the island ; much sand, much water, much sun, and many termites, are, according to the Singhalese, the chief require- ments of the plant. For as these otherwise so destructive creatures do not injure the cinnamon trees, but rather render themselves useful by destroying many other insects, they remain unmolested, and everywhere raise their high conical mounds or nests in the midst of the plantation. The aspect of a well- conditioned cinnamon-garden is rather monotonous, for though the trees when left to their full growth attain a height of forty ' >v fifty feet, and a thickness of from eighteen to twenty inches, yet, as the best spice is furnished by the shoots that spring from the roots after the chief stem has been removed, they are kept as a kind of coppice, and not allowed to rise higher than ten feet. The shrubs planted in regular rows, four or five feet apart, consist of four or five shoots whose slender stems, very much resembling those of the hazel tree, are leafed from top to bottom. Q •226 TROPICAL SPICES 1 The leaf when first developed is partly of a bright red, and partly of a pale yellow ; it soon, however, assumes a green hue, and when at its full growth is on the upper surface of a dark olive- colour, and on the under side of a lighter green ; it somewhat resembles that of the bay, but is longer and narrower. Both sides are frequently deformed by galls produced by the puncture of a small Cynips. The flowers bloom in January, and grow on foot-stalks rising from the axillae of the leaves and the extremi- ties of the branches, clustering in bunches, which resemble in size and shape those of the lilac, but they are white with a brownish tinge in the centre. Though their smell has been frequently extolled as very fragrant, yet, according to Pro- fessor Schmarda, it is weak, and by no means agreeable, resem- bling that of animal albuminous liquids. The flowers are followed by one-seeded berries, of the shape of an acorn, but not so large as a common pea. The plants are propagated by seeds or saplings. In two years the shoots are fit for cutting, being then about half an inch thick. Many of the shrubs in Mr. Stewart\s plantations were already fifteen years old, but as the shoots are continually cut as soon as they have obtained the proper size, a full-grown trunk never forms, so that the more or less voluminous root- stalk is the only criterion of age. The peeling of the rind takes place twice a year, from May to June, and in November, as at that time, in consequence of the heavier rains, and the increase of sap, it can be more easily detached from the wood. The epidermis having been scraped off, the bark is placed on mats to dry in the sun, when it curls up, and acquires a darker tint. The smaller pieces are then put inside the larger, and the whole closes together into the tubular form, in which it is sold in the shops. The finer sort is as thin as parchment, light brown, and extremely aromatic. The Chalias, who are still the only natives employed, and have, from long hereditary practice, acquired a wonderful dexterity, are paid by the weight, receiving fourpence halfpenny per pound of the first quality and thus downwards, the average being about threepence three farthings. Their pay and treatment is good, and nothing is omitted to attach them to the gardens and to prevent them peeling the wild cinnamon trees, which would spoil the market. During the four months of the two harvests, CINNAMON OILS* 227 they earn enough to maintain themselves for the whole year. They and their overseers have a great practice in distinguishing the different sorts of cinnamon by the taste ; and during the old flourishing times of the monopoly, there were special cinnamon- tasters, who were able to distinguish eight different qualities, and who, during their functions, were obliged to live on rice, bread, or fruit, so as not to irritate their palate, and spoil its sense of discrimination. The coarser rinds, the offals and fragments broken off in packing, are used for the distillation of cinnamon oil. Thirteen pounds of bark produce an ounce, worth about two shillings. Another kind of cinnamon oil is distilled from the' leaves, and is very different from that which is furnished by the rind. It is dark brown, and resembles in smell the essential oil of cloves, for which it is frequently sold in Europe, as its cost of production is much cheaper. Nutmegs and cloves, the costly productions of the remotest isles of the Indian Ocean, were known in Europe for centuries before the countries where they grow had ever been heard of. Arabian navigators brought them to Egypt, where they were pur- chased by the Venetians and sold at an enormous profit to the nations of the west. But, as is well known, the commercial grandeur of the city of the Lagunes was suddenly eclipsed after Vasco de Grama discovered the new maritime road to the East Indies, round the Cape of Grood Hope (1498); and when a few years later the countrymen of the great navigator conquered the Moluccas (1511), they for a short time monopolised the whole spice trade much more than their predecessors had ever done before. But here also as in Ceylon the Portuguese were soon obliged to yield to a stronger rival ; for the Dutch now appeared upon the scene, and by dint of enterprise and courage soon made themselves masters of the Indian Ocean. In 1605 they drove the Portuguese from Amboina, and before 1621 had elapsed, the whole of the Moluccas were in their possession. Five-and-twenty years later, Ceylon also fell into their hands, and thus they became the sole purveyors of Europe, with cinna- mon, cloves, and nutmegs. Unfortunately, the scandalous manner in which they misused their power throws a dark shade over their exploits. For the better to secure the monopoly of the Q 2 •228 fEOPICAL SPICES spice trade, they declared war against nature itself, allowed the trees to grow only in particular places, and extirpated them everywhere else. Thus the planting of the nutmeg tree was confined to the small islands of Banda, Lonthoir, and Pulo Aij, and that of the clove to Amboina. Wherever the trees were seen to grow in a wild state, they were unsparingly rooted out, and the remainder of the Moluccas were occupied and sub- jugated for no other reason. The natives were treated with unmerciful cruelty, and blood flowed in torrents to keep up the prices of cloves and nutmegs at an usurious height. When these spices accumulated in too large a quantity 'for the market, they were thrown into the sea or destroyed by fire. Thus M. Beaumare, a French traveller, relates that on June 10, 1760, he beheld near the Admiralty at Amsterdam a blazing- pile of these aromatics, valued at four millions of florins, and an equal quantity was to be burnt the next day. The air was per- fumed with their delicious fragance, the essential oils freed from their confinement distilled over, mixing in one spicy stream, which flowed at the feet of the spectators ; but no one was sufl'ered to collect any of this, or, on pain of heavy punish- ment, to rescue the smallest quantity of the spice from the flames. Fortunately these distressing scenes — for it is painful to see man, under the impulse of an insatiable greed, thus wilfully destroying the gifts of nature — belong to the history of the past. The reign of monopoly has ceased even in the remote Moluccas, and their ports are now, at length, thrown open to tlie -commerce of all nations ; for the spice trees having been transplanted into countries beyond the control of the Dutch, the ancient system could not possibly be maintained any longer. The clove tree belongs to the far-spread family of the myrtles ; the small lanceolate evergreen leaves resemble those of the laurel, the flowers growing in bunches at the extremity of the branches. When they first appear, which is at the beginning of the rainy season, they are in the form of elongated greenish buds, from the extremity of which the corolla is expanded, which is of a delicate peach-blossom colour. Wlien the corolla begins to fade, the calyx turns yellow, and THE CLOVE AND NUTMEG 229 then red ; the calyces with their embryo-seed are in this stage of their growth beaten from the tree, and, after being dried in the sun, are known as the cloves of commerce. If the fruit be al- lowed to remain on the tree after arriving at this period, the calyx gradually swells, the seed en- larges, and the pungent properties of the clove are in great part dissipated. The whole tree is highly aromatic, and the foot-stalks of the leaves have nearly the same pungent quality as the calyx of the flowers. " Clove trees,- ' says Sir Stamford Eaffles, " as an avenue to a residence, are perhaps unrivalled — their noble height, the ciove. beauty of their form, the luxuriance of their foliage, and, above all, the spicy fragrance with which they perfume the air, produce, on driving through a long line of them, a degree of exquisite pleasure only to be enjoyed in the clear light atmosphere of these latitudes." Cloves contain a very large proportion of essential oil, which combined with a peculiar resin gives them their pungent aroma. It seems, however, to require a combination of favourable cir- cumstances of climate and soil for the full developement of their virtues, for, though the tree is found in the larger islands of Eastern Asia, and in Cochin China, it has there little or no fla- vour, and the Moluccas seem to be the only place where the clove comes to perfection without being cultivated. Though it is at present planted in Zanzibar, Cayenne, Bourbon, Trinidad, and other places, yet Amboina still furnishes the best quality and the largest quantity, exporting annually about a million of pounds. In spite of the endeavours of the Dutch to confine the nut- meg-tree to the narrow precincts of Banda, it has likewise extended its range not only over Sumatra, Mauritius, Bourbon, and Ceylon, but even over the western hemisphere. It is of a more majestic growth than the clove, as it attains a height of fifty feet, and the leaves, of a fine green on the upper surface, and grey beneath, are more handsome in the outline, and broader in proportion to the length. When the trees 230 TROPICAL SPICES are about nine years old, they begin to bear. They are dioecious, having male or barren flowers upon one tree, and female or fertile upon another. The flowers of both are small, white, bell-shaped, without any calyx ; the embryo-fruit appear- ing at the bottom of the female flowers in the form of a little reddish knob. When ripe, it resembles in appearance and size a small peach, and then the outer rind, which is about half an inch thick, bursts at the side, and discloses a shining black nut, which seems the darker from the contrast ofthe leafy network of a fine red colour with which it is enve- loped. The latter forms the Mace of com- merce, and having been laid to dry in the shade for a short time, is packed in bags and pressed together very tightly. The shell of the nut is larger and harder than that of the filbert, and could not, in the state in which it is gathered, be broken without injuring the nut. On that account the nuts are successively dried in the sun and then by fire-heat, Nutmeg. till the kernel shrinks so much as to rattle in the shell, which is then easily broken. After this the nuts are three times soaked in sea-water and lime ; they are then laid in a heap, where they heat and get rid of their superfluous moisture by evaporation. This process is pursued to preserve the substance and flavour of the nut, as well as to destroy its vegetative power. The kernel contains both a fixed oil, which is obtained by pressure, a pound generally yielding three ounces, and a trans- parent volatile oil, which may be obtained by distillation in the proportion of one thirty-second part of the weight of nutmeg used. Banda still furnishes the most and the best nutmegs, though the tree is now cultivated in many other tropical countries. The yearly produce is estimated at about 500,000 pounds of nutmegs and 150,000 pounds of mace. The outer, rinds are likewise not without use to the natives. They are laid in large heaps, and allowed to putrefy, when they get covered with a blackish mushroom, which is esteemed as a great delicacy. PEPPER 231 Although not so costly as cloves or cinnamon, pepper is of a iiiiicli greater commercial value, as its consumption is at least a hundred times greater. It grows on a beautiful vine, which, incapable of supporting itself, twines round poles prepared for it ; or, as is more common in the Travancore plantations, the I topper vines are planted near mango and other trees of straight liigh stems. As these are stripped of the lower branches, the Aine embraces the trunk, covering it with elegant festoons and rich 1)unches of fruit in the style of the Italian vineyards. The leaf of the pepper plant is i ii-ge, resembling that of the ivy, and n 1" a bright green ; the blossoms ap- ])ear in June, soon after the com- mencement of the rains; they are *" Pepper Plant. suiall, of a greenish white, and are fol- lowed by the pungent berries, which hang in large bunches, ] c'sembling in shape those of grapes, but the fruit grows distinct on little stalks like currants. In Malabar, pepper is gathered in February, and has the same jippearance as in Europe. Although the vine begins to bear in the fourth or sixth year, it is not in perfection before the ninth or tenth, and continues bearing as many years longer, if in a congenial soil. Assiduity and cleanliness are essentially necessary in a pepper garden ; not a weed is permitted to grow .••the produce, however, amply compensates this trouble, as a plant in full growth is able to furnish six or seven pounds of berries. This valuable spice grows chiefly on the Malabar coast, in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Singapore ; its cultivation has also been introduced in Cayenne and the West Indies. The black and white sorts of pepper are both the produce of the same plant. The best white peppers are supposed to be the finest berries which drop from the tree, and, lying under it, become somewhat bleached by exposure to weather ; the greater part of the white pepper used as a condiment is, however, the black merely steeped ill water, and decorticated, by which means the pungency and real value of the spice are diminished ; but having a fairer and 232 TROPICAL SPICES more uniform appearance when thus prepared, it fetches a higher price.* ^ Jamaica is the chief seat of the Hiagnificent myrtle (Myrtus pimenta), which furnishes the pimento of commerce. This beautiful tree grows to the height of about thirty feet, with a smooth, brown trunk, and shining green leaves resembling those of the bay. In July and August a profusion of white flower-, filling the air with their delicious odours, forms a very pleasing contrast to the dark foliage of its wide-spreading branches. It grows spontaneously in many parts of the island, particularly on the northern side, in high spots near the coast. When a new plantation is to be formed, no regular planting or sowing takes place, for, as Edwards (" History of Jamaica ") observes, " the pimento tree is purely a child of nature, and seems to mock all the labours of man in his endeavours to extend or improve its growth ; not one attempt in fifty to propagate the young plants, or to raise them from the seeds in parts of the country where it is not found growing spontaneously, having succeeded. For this reason, a piece of land is chosen, either in the neighbourhood of a plantation already formed, or in a part of the woodland where the pimento-myrtles are scattered in a native state. The land is then cleared of all wood but these trees, which are left standing, and the felled timber is allowed to remain, where it falls to decay, and perishes. In the course of a year, young pimento plants are found springing up on all parts of the land, produced, it is supposed, in consequence of Importations of Spices in Great Britain during the first eight months of the year 1861 : — Cinnamon Nutmegs . Cloves . Pepper . . 540,203lbs. . 301,215 „ 41,780 „ . 5,742,627 „ Pimento . Ginger . Cassia Lignea . 2,016,300lbs. . 778,000 „ . 192,087 „ Prices of the best qualities — s. d. .9. d. Cinnamon . Cloves (Amboina) Nutmegs Mace . Cassia Lign«>a 2 5 per lb. 1 4 „ 3 6 „ 1 9 M 92 0 por owt. Ginger Pepper White Pepper Pimento . .114 0 per cwt . 0 5^ per lb. . 1 2 Economist, October ALLSPICE AND GINGER 233 the ripe berries having been scattered there by the birds, while the prostrate trees protect and shade the tender seedlings. At the end of two years the land is thoroughly cleared, and none but the most vigorous plants, which come to maturity in about seven years, are left standing." The berries are carefully picked while yet green, since, when suffered to ripen, they lose their pungency. One person on the tree gathers the small branches, and three others, usually women and children, find full employment in picking the berries from them. The produce is then exposed to the sun for about a week, when the berries lose their green hue and become of a reddish brown. When perfectly dry, they are in a fit state for exporta- tion. In favourable seasons, which, however, seldom occur above once in five years, the pimento crop is enormous, a single tree having been known to yield one hundredweight of the dried spice. From its combining the flavour and properties of many of the oriental aromatics, pimento has derived its popular name of allspice, and, from its being cheaper than black pepper, its consumption is very great. Though but a lowly root, ginger almost vies in commercial importance with the aromatic rind of the cinnamon-laurel, or the pungent fruit of the nutmeg-myrtle. The plant which produces this valuable condiment belongs to the tropical family of the Scitamineae, or spice lilies, which also reckons among its members the Cardomum and the Curcuma. Its jointed tubers creep and increase under ground, and from each of them springs up an annual stem about two feet and a half high, with narrow and lanceolate leaves. The flowering stalk rises directly from the root, ending in an oblong, scaly spike ; from each of these scales a single white and blue flower is produced. Gringer is imported into this country, under the form of dried roots and as a preserve. We receive it both from the East and West Indies, but that from the latter is much superior in quality to the former. Cutting the Indigo Plant (from " Rural Life in Bengal "j. CHAPTER XXL TROPICAL VEGETABLE DYES. Indigo — Indigofera tinctoria — Mode of its Cultivation, and preparation of the Dye for the Market — Indigo Factories in Bengal. Logwood — The British Logwood Cutters in Honduras — Their mode of living and disputes with the Spaniards — Brazil Wood — Eed Saunders — Arnatto — Fustic — Turmeric. OF all the dyeing substances which the tropical zone produces in such endless variety, none is more important in a com- mercial point of view than indigo. Cultivated from time immemorial in India, and employed by the Mexicans to give a beautiful hue to their cotton fabrics, long before Cortez with his band of adventurers destroyed the empire of Montezuma, it was- first imported into Europe by the Dutch, about the year 1631. For a long time its use met with great opposition both in Germany and France, and it was classed among the pernicious substances that were strictly prohibited as deviVs dyes, the name of his Satanic majesty being here, as in so many cases, called in to aid the cause of prejudice and ignorance. Finally, however, its intrinsic merits triumphed over every obstacle, and it has now almost INDIGO 235 . ,iiirely superseded the use of woad, which for many centuries liad served to dye the blue broad cloths and linens of the iMiropean weavers. \^arious species of indigo plants or indigoferas. are found flowing spontaneously in the warmer countries of both hemis- ])licres, but the indigofera tinctorla is most generally cultivated, from its yielding a greater quantity of pulp. The knotty shrubby plant rises about two feet from the ground ; the leaves aro winged like those of the acacia, smooth and soft to the touch, furrowed above, and of a darker colour on the upper than til (3 under side. The small reddish flowers which grow in ears from the axillae of the leaves have no smell, and are succeeded ])\ long crooked brown pods, which contain small yellow seeds. T1k3 plant requires a smooth rich soil, well tilled, and neither too dry nor too moist. A child of the sun, it cannot be advantageously cultivated anywhere except within the tropics, a higher mean temperature than 60° being absolutely necessary for its vegetation. The seed is sown in little furrows about the breadth of the hoe, and two or three inches in depth. These furrows are made a foot apart from each other, and in as straight a line as possible. Soon after sowing, continual attention is , required to pluck the weeds, which would quickly choke up the ' plant and impede its growth. Sufficient moisture causes it to slioot above the surface in three or four days, and it is usually fit for gathering at the end of two months. WTien it begins to flower it is cut with a sickle a few inches above the roots, and furnishes, after six or eight weeks, a second crop. In the countries most favourable to its growth the planter is even able to cut it four times in one year; but as the produce 1 diminishes fast after the second cutting, the seeds must annually I be sown afresh. j The cultivation of indigo would thus seem to be extremely I profitable, but the sun, which so rapidly improves and invigo- rates the plant, calls forth at the same time a multitude of insects and caterpillars, that prey upon the valuable leaves, and ■ frequently disappoint the planter's expectations. The colouring matter of indigo is not ready-formed in the plant, but requires fermentation and contact with the oxygen of > the air to attain the deep cerulean tint which renders it so I valuable. The herb is first put into a vat or cistern called the 236 TROPICAL VEGETABLE DYES steeping-trough, and there covered with water. The matter begins to ferment, sooner or later, according to the warmth of the weather, and the maturity of the plant ; sometimes in six or eight hours, and sometimes in not less than twenty. The liquor grows hot and throws up a plentiful copper-coloured froth which passes into violet towards the end, but the pulp and liquor remain green. At this time, without touching the herb, the liquor impregnated with its tincture is let out by cocks in the bottom into another vat, placed for that purpose so as to be commanded by the first. The process must be conducted with great caution and technical ability, for if the fermenting liquor is abstracted too soon, part of the colouring matter remains in the plant, while by a longer delay one runs the risk of partly losing it through putrefaction. In the second vat, called the beating vat, the liquor is strongly and incessantly beaten with a kind of buckets fastened to poles, till the colouring matter, which during this process changes from green to deep blue, is united into a body, and acquires a tendency to precipitate. This operation, which generally lasts a couple of hours, must also be conducted with great caution, for by ceasing it too soon, colouring particles not sufficiently saturated with oxygen remain in the liquid, while by continuing it for too long a time, a new fermentation is brought on, which changes and destroys the pigment. As soon as it is judged that the beating is sufficient, the mass is left at rest for two hours, after which the clear liquor is drawn off by cocks in the side of the vat, and the blue part is discharged by another cock into a boiler, where, having been brought to that degree of consistence, which is safely practicable, it is conveyed into bags of cloth to strain off the remaining moisture, and lastly exposed to the air in the shade, in shallow wooden boxes, till it is thoroughly dry. Since the last forty years, great changes have taken place in the indigo trade. Formerly that from Guatemala was consi- dered the best, and very little was imported from the East Indies, while now Bengal not only produces the finest indigo, but also brings by far the largest quantity to the market. This change is entirely owing to a few energetic and enlightened men, who, by introducing improvements in the cultivation and manufacture of indigo, have raised it to be the chief export INDIGO TRADE OF THE EAST INDIES 237 article of the East Indies; and, if we may judge from this ex- ample, there is every reason to hope that a similar degree of attention will have the same effect on the growth of East Indian ( otton, and soon render us entirely independent of Georgia and < arolina, whether these states escape the dangers of a social revolution, or be engulphed in the ruin provoked by their own folly. The indigo factories in the East Indies are conducted \('ry differently from those in America, on account of the dissimilar circumstances of the population of the two countries. Ill America the indigo plantations, and the works connected with its preparation, are all the same property, and under the same superintendence, while in Bengal the cultivation is exclusively left to the native farmers, who are provided with seed by the factor, and bound to deliver, at a certain rate of prices, the whole of the plants produced from these seeds. The cultivators, in consequence of failures in crops or other accidents, too frequently require advances fi'om their employer; and thus, though nominally free, they are in reality subjected to him, and compelled to raise the indigo exclusively for the supply of his factory. These establishments are generally on a very large scale, and nearly always remote from the seat of the English presidencies. The superintendence is seldom intrusted to any but one of the proprietors, who, entirely excluded from the society of his countrymen, consents to many privations, with the hope that in a few years he may reap sufficient wealth to enable him to spend the remainder of his life in comfort, and having accom- plished this end, usually resigns his situation to a junior partner, who pursues the same course. But though "man proposes, God disposes," and thus these brilliant expectations are far from being invariably realised ; for though in good years the profits of an indigo property are immense, yet these periods of prosperity are frequently followed by such disastrous casualties, that in the West Indies the cultivation of indigo had been almost entirely given up, even before the negro emancipation, — many planters, who had hoped to open a gold mine in its pursuit, having been utterly ruined by the devastations of insects, the great mortality among their slaves, in consequence of the noxious exhalations of the fermentation, and the spoiling of the colouring matter by a faulty method of preparation. 238 TROPICAL VEGETABLE DYES All the intermediate shades of violet and purple may be obtained from the mixture of red and blue, varying according to the different proportions wherein these colours are applied. There are, however, some few vegetable substances which yield a violet or purple dye, without being combined with another colour, and of these logwood is the most important. The stately tree which furnishes this valuable article of commerce is a native of the western world, having been first discovered in the swampy forests of Yucatan, and in the low alluvial grounds that girdle the Bays of Campeachy and Honduras. Logwood was known as early as the reign of Elizabeth, but its use was forbidden by act of parliament, in consequence of a similar prejudice to that which prevailed against indigo, and the prohibition was rigorously enforced until the year 1661. Logwood now became in gTeat request ; and as the indolent Spaniards failed to supply the market, several English adven- turers, without first asking permission, settled or squatted on the uninhabited coast of Yucatan, and made the woods near Laguna de Terminos ring with the sound of their industrious axe. Many years passed without the Spaniards taking any notice of the intruders ; but as these, growing bolder by sufferance, began to penetrate farther into the country, to build houses and form plantations, as if they had been masters of the soil, their jealousy was at length aroused, and in 1680 the English settlers, after suffering much annoyance, were forcibly ejected. This triumph on the part of their adversaries was, however, but transitory ; and a few months after our sturdy countrymen were again cutting their logwood as busily as ever, in spite of the enmity of man and the innumerable hardships of their laborious occupation. Their mode of life is thus quaintly described by the famous Dampier in his Voyage to the Bay of Campeachy : — " The log- wood-cutters inhabit the creeks of the lagunes in small com- panies, building their huts by the creeks' sides for the benefit of the sea-breeze, as near the logwood groves as they can, and often removing to be near their business. Though they build their huts but slightly, yet they take care to thatch them very well with palmetto leaves, to prevent the rains, which are there very violent, from soaking in. LIFE OP THE LOGWOOD-CUTTERS 239 " For their bedding, they raise a wooden frame, three feet and ;i licilf above ground on one side of the house, and stick up four stakes at each corner, one to fasten their curtains, out of Avhich there is no sleeping for mosquitoes. Another frame tliey raise, covered with earth, for a hearth, to dress their victuals ; and a third to sit at, when they eat it. During the wet season, the land where the logwood grows is so overflowed tliat they step from their beds into the water, perhaps two feet deep, and continue standing in the wet all day till they go to hed again ; but, nevertheless, account it the best season for doing a good day's labour in. " Some fell the trees, others saw and cut them into convenient logs, and one chips off the bark, and he is commonly the principal man ; and when a tree is so thick that after it is logged it re- mains still too great a burden for one man, it is blown up with gunpowder. The logwood-cutters are generally sturdy strong fellows, and will carry burthens of three or four hundred- weight. " In some places they go a-hunting wild cattle every Saturday to provide themselves with beef for the week following. WTien they have killed a beef they cut it into quarters, and taking out the bones, each man makes a hole in the middle of his quarter, just big enough for his head to go through, then puts it on like a frock and trudgeth home ; and, if he chanceth to tire, he cuts off some of it and throws it away." The entire freedom from all restraint which accompanied this wild and adventurous life had such charms for a bold and roving spirit, that Dampier himself sojourned for about a year among the rude wood-cutters of Campeachy, and left them with the intention of again returning for a longer stay. The intrusion of the British continued to give rise to per- petual disputes and hostilities, until at length, by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the privilege of cutting logwood was confirmed to the English, in plain and express terms, so that it was sup- posed the question was now set at rest for ever. Yet it still continued to be a subject of constant dispute between the parties ; and in 1717 the Spanish ambassador delivered a memorial to the British government against the English settlements at Laguna de Terminos, declaring that if, in the space of eight months, they were not abandoned, the inhabitants should be 240 TROPICAL VEGETABLE DYES considered and treated as pirates. The British government, however, returned a short and positive answer, that its subjects were fully entitled to remain where they were, and to cut as much logwood as they pleased; and Spain, which seemed to have forgotten that weakness should avoid to raise pretensions 1 which it is unable to enforce, was obliged to abide by this de- '1 cision, and the settlement continued without being matter of ' further dispute or treaty for more than forty years. During this long period the British settlers had not been idle. As they for- tified themselves against the assaults of the Spanish Americans, their colony assumed a more important and imposing aspect ; and though by the treaty of 1763 the two countries came to a com- promise on the subject (the English government consenting that the fortifications should be demolished, while the Spanish government engaged that the subjects of Great Britain should not be molested in cutting or shipping logwood, the sovereignty of the country remaining with Spain), yet they had become so used to consider themselves as the rightful owners of the land, that on the French attempting to share their privilege, they drove them away with all the irascibility of offended proprietors. Most of the red dye-woods of commerce are furnished by the Csesalpinias, a genus of plants belonging to the widespread family of the Leguminosse, and indigenous in both hemispheres. The Ccesalpinia crista, which furnishes the best quality, com- monly known under the name of Brazil wood, grows profusely in the forests of that vast empire, preferring dry places and a rocky ground. Its trunk is large, crooked, and full of knots ; at a short distance from the ground innumerable branches spring forth and extend in every direction in a straggling, irregular, and unpl easing manner. Trees of the largest growth attain to thirty or forty feet high, but they are rarely met with of so great dimensions. The branches are armed with short strong upright thorns, the leaves are small, and never appear in luxuriant foliage. The flowers are of a beautiful red colour, and emit a fragrant smell. Both the thick bark and the white pithy part of the trunk are useless, the hard close- grained heart being the only portion impregnated with colour- ing matter. The wood is sometimes used in turning, and is susceptible of a good polish, but its chief use is as a red dye. By 1 RED-DYE WOODS 241 the addition of acids it produces a permanent orange or yellow colour, while the crimson tints which it imparts are very fleeting. The red-dye woods known in commerce under the names of Saint Martha, Nicaragua, and Lima, proceed from different varieties of the Ccvsalpinki ecltinata and brasilieiisis. Saint Martha wood is chiefly exported from Rio Hacha, a port of the republicrof New Grenada on the Caribbean Sea, being the ex- clusive product of that country; Lima wood grows along the coast of the Pacific from Panama to Chili, and is exported to Europe from the ports of Mazatlan, Arica, Iquique, and Val- paraiso. The eastern hemisphere also furnishes several red-dye woods to commerce. Ccesalpinia Sappan and bimas grow in the eastern archipelago, and are frequently mixed with the more valuable Brazil wood. Red Saunders, a solid compact wood, is furnished by the Pterocarpua santalinua, a large tree growing chiefly on the coast of Coromandel ; and a variety of the same plant produces the Caliatour wood, which is not only used for dyeing, but is highly prized by cabinet makers for its hardness, fine polish, and variously-striped beautiful red colour. The first Europeans that settled on the banks of the Amazon found that several of the Indian tribes that roamed about in their vicinity painted their bodies with a showy orange-red colour. Their attention was by this means attracted to the Arnatto (Bixa orellana), which attains about the size of our hazel tree. The heart-shaped leaves are about four inches long, of a lighter green on the upper surface, and divided by fibres of a reddish-brown colour ; the rosy flowers are succeeded by bristled pods somewhat resembling those of a chesnut, which, bursting open when ripe, display a splendid crimson farina or pulp, in which are contained thirty or forty seeds, in shape similar to raisin stones. As soon tts they have arrived at maturity the pods are gathered, divested of their husks, bruised, immersed in water, and after a few weeks beaten with wooden paddles to promote the separation of the pulp from the seeds. The turbid liquor is then strained, boiled to a consistent paste, and finally formed into cakes, which are left to dry in the sun. In England arnatto is generally used by the dyer to give a 242 YELLOW-DYE WOODS. deeper shade to the simple yellow. Being perfectly soluble in spirits of wine, it is much used in this state for lacquering and for giving an orange tint to the yellow varnishes. It is like- wise employed in large quantities as a colouring ingredient for cheese, to which it gives the required tinge without imparting any unpleasant flavour or unwholesome quality. The Yagua Indians prepare arnatto in a peculiar manner, producing the finest scarlet dye, which, according to Castelnau, is not inferior to cochenille itself. A species of mulberry {Morns tinctoria), spontaneously grow- ing in Brazil and in many of the West India islands, where it attains to a considerable size, provides our dyers with fustic. This wood, which is of a sulphur colour, with orange veins, is imported in large blocks chiefly from Cuba and Jamaica, the former being very superior in quality. It is much employed in combination with indigo to dye what is called Saxon green. Other yellow dye-woods, but inferior to fustic, are imported from Tampico, Tuspan, Zapote, Carthagena, Maracaibo, San Domingo, and the East Indies. Turmeric or Indian saffron is a yellow dye, obtained from the roots of Curcuma longa, a plant belonging to the family of the Scitaminece, or spice lilies. It is indigenous in South Asia, Madagascar, and many of the South Sea islands, and is now also cultivated in the West Indies. The roots spread far under the surface of the ground; they are long and succulent, and about half an inch in thickness, having many circular knots, from which arise four or five spear-shaped leaves standing upon long foot-stalks. The yellowish red flowers grow in loose scaly spikes, surmounting the foot-stalks which spring from the larger knots of the roots, and attain to about a foot in height. The roots, which are very hard, externally grey but internally of a deep lively yellow, and not unlike either in figure or size to ginger, must be reduced to powder previously to being employed as a dye. Though turmeric possesses no durability, it is used in considerable quantities for the dyeing of woollen and silk stuffs. With indigo it produces a beautiful green colour, which is frequently employed by confectioners, and it is said that the wily Chinese not seldom make use of this mixture to change their black tea into green. / PART III. TEOPICAL ANIMALS 245 CHAPTER XXII. THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD. The Universal Dominion of Insects — Mosquitoes — Stinging Flies — (Estrus Hominis — The Chegoe or Jigger — The Filaria Medinensis — The Bete-Rouge — Blood-sucking Ticks — Garapatas — The Land-leeches in Ceylon — The Tsets6 Fly — The Tsalt-Salya — The Locust — Its dreadful Devastations — Cock- roaches — The Drummer — The Cucarachas and Chilicabras. THE insect tribes may, without exaggeration, be affirmed to hold a kind of universal empire over the earth and its inhabitants, for nothing that possesses, or has possessed, life is secure from their attacks. They vanquish the cunning of the fox, the bulk of the elephant, the strength of the lion ; they plague the reindeer of the northern tundras, and the antelope of the African wilds ; and all the weapons with which nature has furnished the higher orders of animals against their mightier foes prove ineffectual against these puny persecutors, whose very smallness serves to render them invulnerable. How nume- rous are the sufferings they entail on man ! how manifold the injuries they inflict on his person or his property I To secure himself from their attacks, a perpetual warfare, an ever-wakeful vigilance, is necessary ; for, though destroyed by thousands, new legions ever make their appearance, and to repose after a victory is equivalent to a defeat. In our temperate zone, where a higher cultivation of the ground tends to keep down the number of the lower animals, their persecutions, though frequently annoying, may still be borne with patience ; but in the tropical regions, where man is generally either too indolent or not sufficiently numerous to set bounds to their increase, the insects constitute one of the great plagues of life. 246 THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD Along the low river-banks, and everywhere on hot and swampy grounds, the blood-thirsty Mosquitoes appear periodi- cally in countless multitudes, the dread of all who live in warm climates. Scarcely has the sun descended below the horizon, when these insects arise from the morass to disturb the rest of man and to reader existence a torment. Not satisfied with piercing the flesh with their sharp proboscis, which at the same time Mos uito forms a kind of syphon through which the blood flows, these malignant gnats, of which there are many species, inject a poison into the wound, which causes inflammation, and prolongs the pain. In Angola, Dr. Livingstone found the banks of the river Seuza infested by legions of the most ferocious mosquitoes he ever met with during the course of his long travels. " Not one of our party could get a snatch of sleep. I was taken into the house of a Portuguese, but was soon glad to make my escape, and lie across the path on the lee-side of the fire, where the smoke blew over my body. My host wondered at my want of taste, and I at his want of feeling ; for, to our astonishment, he and the other inhabitants had actually become used to what was at least equal to a nail through the heel of one's boot, or the tooth-ache." Mr. Edwards, on his voyage up the Amazon, was no less tor- mented by these troublesome pests. "Soon after dark, we crossed the mouth of the Zingu, much to the displeasure of the Indians, who wished to stop upon the lower side ; and they were very right, for scarcely had we crossed when we were beset by such swarms of mosquitoes as put all sleep at defiance. Nets were of no avail, even if the oppressive heat would have allowed them ; for those which could not creep through the meshes would in some other way find entrance, in spite of every precaution. Thick breeches they laughed at, and the interior of the cabin seemed a bee-hive. This would not do, so we tried the deck, but fresh swarms continually poured over us, and all night long we were foaming with vexation and rage." On the eastern slopes of the Andes, the mosquitoes or STINGING-FLIES 247 Sancudos are so frequent that even the Indians consider many districts on the Maranon and Hualiaga as absolutely uninhabitable. During his first sojourn in the Peruvian forests, Tschudi lay for several days almost motionless, with a swollen head and limbs, in consequence of the bite of these intolerable flies ; and although by degrees the skin became more accustomed to the nuisance, and swelling no longer followed, yet their sting never failed to cause great |)ain. During three months of the year they infest the I)rovince of Maynas to such a degree, that even the stoical I ndians utter loud complaints, and the dogs endeavour to escape them by burying themselves in the sand. Breeding cattle in these parts is impossible, for the sancudos would be the in- evitable death of the calves. In no season of the year, at no hour of the day or night, do tliey desist from their attacks ; but they are more peculiarly abundant in the second half of the rainy season. One of the most remarkable circumstances of their history is that they not only totally avoid certain limited districts, but even small places in the middle of a village. It is a fact, well known to every traveller on the Maraiion, that certain sand islands or tracts along the banks are deserted by the sancudos, while others, to all appearances quite similar, are infested by them. The so-called hldck water (a still unexplained natural wonder), which resembles a polished surface of black marble, and sometimes even marks the entire course of considerable rivers — as, for instance, the Eio Negro — seem to be par- ticularly unfavourable to them, so that many places in Solimoes are thus converted into a painless paradise. Most of the independent tribes of Maynas protect them- selves against the stings of the sancudos by a kind of tent, made of the leaves of the Mauritia palm, and even the poorest Indians of the missions possess cotton toldos, which have an opening only on the ground, and, though insup- portably hot, yet keep off the still greater plague of these tormentors. Not content with a passing attack, a South American gad- fly {(Estinis hominis) deposits its eggs under the human skin, where the larvae continue for six months. If disturbed, they penetrate deeper, and produce troublesome ulcers, which some- 248 THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD times even prove fatal. Thus, in tropical America, we find the same insect tribe which plagues our oxen and horses, and reduces the northern reindeer to desperation, settle on man himself, and render even the- lord of the creation subject to its power. The Chegoe, Pique, or Jigger of the West Indies {Pulex pene- trans)^ is another great torment of the hot countries of America. It looks exactly like a small flea, and a stranger would take it for one. However, in about four and twenty hours he would have several broad hints that he had made a mistake in his ideas of the animal. Without any respect for colour, it attacks different parts of the body, but chiefly the feet, betwixt the toe-nails and the flesh. There it buries itself and causes an itching, which at first is not unpleasant, but after a few days gradually in- creases to a violent pain. At the same time a small white tumour, about the size of a pea, and with a dark spot in the centre, rises under the skin. The tumour is the rapidly growing nest of the chegoe, the spot the little plague itself. And now it is high time to think of its extirpation, an operation in which the negro women are very expert. Gently removing with a pin the skin from the little round white ball or nest, precisely as we should peel an orange, and pressing the flesh all round, they generally succeed in squeezing it out without breaking, and then fill the cavity with snuff or tobacco, to guard against the possibility of a fresh colony being formed by some of the eggs remaining in the wound. New comers are particularly subject to these creatures. Mr. Waterton, who by practise appears to have become very expert in eradicating chegoes' nests, once took four out of his feet in the course of the day, and a negress extracted no less than eighty-three out of Richard Schomburgk's toes in one sitting. " Every evening," says the venerable natu- ralist of Walton Hall, "before suodown, it was part of my toilet to examine my feet and see that they were clear of chegoes. Now and then a nest would escape the scrutiny, and then I had to smart for it a day or two after. A chegoe once bit upon the back of my hand : wishful to see how he worked, I allowed him to take possession. He immediately set to work head foremost, and in about half an hour he had completely buried himself in the skin. I then let him feel the point of my knife, and ex- terminated him." THE CIIEGOE 249 "In the plantations of Guiane there is generally an old lu'gress known by the name of Granny, who loiters about the negro yard, and is supposed to take charge of the little negroes who are too young to work. Towards the close of day you will sometimes hear the most dismal cries of woe coming from that ([uarter. Old Granny is then at work grubbing the chegoe nests out of the feet of the sable urchins, and filling the holes with lime-juice and Cayenne pepper. This scorching compound lias two duties to perform : first, it causes death to any remaining chegoe in the hole, and secondly, it acts as a kind of birch-rod to the unruly brats, by which they are warned to their cost not io conceal their chegoes in future ; for, afraid of encountering old (rranny's tomahawk, many of them prefer to let the chegoes riot in their flesh rather than come under her dissecting hand." [f the prompt extraction of the chegoe's nests is neglected, the worm-like larvae creep out, continue the mining operations of their parent, and produce a violent inflammation, which may end in the mortification of a limb. It not unfrequently happens that negroes from sheer idleness or negligence in the first instance liave been lamed for life and become loathsome to the sight. In such a state, these miserable objects are incurable, and death only puts an end to their sufferings. Fortunately, the chegoe is incapable of jumping like the common flea, or else it would have rendered tropical America uninhabitable. It generally frequents sandy places, and at- taches itself also to pigs and dogs. ^ A still more dangerous plague, peculiar to the coast of Guinea and the interior of tropical Africa, to Arabia, and the adjacent countries, is the Filarkc medinensis of Lin- nseus. This dreadful worm comes to the herbage in the morning dew, from whence it pierces the skin, and enters the feet of such as walk without shoes, causing the most painful irritations, succeeded by violent inflammation and fever. The natives extract it with the greatest caution by twisting a piece of silk round one extremity of the body and withdrawing it very gently. WTien we consider that this insi- dious worm is frequently twelve feet long, although not thicker than a horse-hair, w^e can readily imagine the difficulty of the operation. If unfortunately the animal should break, the part 250 THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD remaining under the skin grows with redoubled vigour, and fre- quently occasions a fatal inflammation. One of these most unwelcome intruders once entered the ankle of the celebrated navigator Dampier. " I was in great torment," says this entertaining traveller, "before it came out. My leg and ankle swelled, and looked very angry, and I kept on a plaster to bring it to head. At last, drawing off my plaster, out came three inches of the worm, and my pain abated. Till that time I was ignorant of my malady, and a gentleman at whose house I was took it for a nerve ; but I knew well what it was, and presently rolled it up on a small stick. After this I opened the place every morning and evening, and strained the worm out gently, about two inches at a time — not without some pain — till I had at length got out about two feet." He afterwards had it entirely discharged by one of the negroes, who applied to it a rough powder, not unlike tobacco leaves, dried and crumbled very small. Among the plagues of Gruiana and the West Indies we must not forget a little insect in the grass and on the shrubs, which the French call Bete-rouge. It is of a beautiful scarlet colour, and so minute that you must bring your eye close to it before you can perceive it. It abounds most in the rainy season. Its bite causes an intolerable itching, which, according to Richard Schomburgk, who writes from personal experience, drives by day the perspiration of anguish from every pore, and at night makes one's hammock resemble the gridiron on which Saint Lawrence was roasted. The best way to get rid of the plague is to rub the part affected with lemon-juice or rum. " You must be careful not to scratch it," says Waterton. "If you do so and break the skin, you expose yourself to a sore. The first year I was in Gruiana the bete-rouge and my own want of knowledge, and, I may add, the little attention. I paid to it, created an ulcer above the ankle which annoyed me for six months, and if I hobbled out into the grass, a number of bete-rouges would settle on the edges of the sore and increase the inflammation." The blood-sucking Ticks are also to be classed among the in- tolerable nuisances of many tropical regions. A large American Hpecies called Garapata {Ixodes sanguisuga) fixes on the legs of TUE TICKS 251 t lavellers, and gradually buries its whole head in the skin, which tlie body, disgustingly distended w^th blood, is unable to follow. ( )n being violently removed, the former remains in the wound, and often produces painful sores. The Indians returning in the evening from the forest or from their field labour generally ])ring some of these creatures along with them, swollen to the size of hazel-nuts. These ticks seem to have no predilection for any particular animal, but indiscriminately fasten on all, not even sparing the toad or the lizard. Though countless hosts of ticks infest the Ceylonese jungle, though mosquitoes without number swarm over the lower country, yet the land-leeches which beset the traveller in the rising grounds are a still more detested plague. " They are not frequent in the ])lains," says Sir E. Tennent, "which are too hot and dry for 1 liem ; but amongst the rank vegetation in the lower ranges of tlie hill-country, which is kept damp by frequent showers, they are found in tormenting profusion. They are terrestrial, never visiting ponds or streams. In size they are about an inch in length, and as fine as a common knitting needle, but capable of distention till they equal a quill in thickness and attain a length of nearly two inches. Their structure is so flexible that they can insinuate themselves through the meshes of the finest stocking, not only seizing on the feet and ankles, but ascending to the back and throat, and fastening on the tenderest parts of the body. The coffee planters who live amongst these pests are obliged, in order to exclude them, to envelope their legs in * leech gaiters,' made of closely woven cloth. " In moving, the land-leeches have the power of planting one extremity on the earth and raising the other perpendicularly to watch for their victim. Such is their vigilance and instinct that, on the approach of a passer-by to a spot which they infest, they may be seen amongst the grass and fallen leaves, on the edge of a native path, poised erect, and preparing for their attack on man and horse. On descrying their prey they advance rapidly by semicircular strides, fixing one end firmly and arching the other forwards, till by successive advances they can lay hold of the traveller's foot, when they disengage themselves from the ground and ascend his dress in search of an aperture to enter. In these encounters the individuals in the rear of a party of travellers in the jungle invariably fare worst, as the leeches 252 THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD once warned of their approach congregate with singular celerity. Their size is so insignificant, and the wound they make so skil- fully punctured, that both are certainly imperceptible, and the first intimation of their onslaught is the trickling of the blood, or a chill feeling of the leech when it begins to hang heavily on the skin from being distended by its repast. Horses are driven wild by them, and stamp the ground in fury to shake them from their fetlocks, to which they hang in bloody tassels. The bare legs of the palankin-bearers and coolies are a favourite resort, and their hands being too much engaged to be spared to pull them off, the leeches hang like bunches of grapes round their ankles; and I have seen the blood literally flowing over the edge of a European's shoe from their innumerable bites. In healthy constitutions the wounds, if not irritated, generally heal, occasioning no other inconvenience than a slight inflammation and itching ; but in those with a bad state of body, the punc- tures, if rubbed, are liable to degenerate into ulcers, which may lead to the loss of limb or of life. Both Marshall and Davy mention that, during the march of the troops in the mountains, when the Kandyans were in rebellion, in 1818, the soldiers, and especially the Madras Sepoys, with the pioneers and coolies, suffered so severely from this cause that numbers of them perished." Dr. Hooker also mentions the land-leech as infesting the southern slopes of the Himalaya, so that it ranges over a vast extent of territory. Among the many noxious insects destructive to the property of man, there is, perhaps, none more remarkable than the South African Tsetse-fly {Glosslna morsitans), whose peculiar buzz when once heard can never be forgotten by the traveller whose means of locomotion are domestic animals ; for it is w^ell known that the bite of this poisonous insect is certain death to the ox, horse, and dog. Fortunately it is limited to particular districts, frequently infesting one bank of a river while the other contains not a single specimen, or else travelling in South Africa would be utterly impossible, and we should now know no more of Lake Ngami or the Zambesi than we did thirty years since. In one journey Dr. Livingstone lost no less than forty-three fine oxen by the bite of the tsetse. A party of Englishmen once attempted to reach Libebe, but they had only proceeded seven or eight THE TSETSfi-FLY 253 (lays' journey to the north of the Ngami, when both horses and cattle were bitten by the fly, and the party were in consequence compelled to make a hasty retreat. One of the number was thus deprived of as many as thirty-six horses, excellent hunters, and all sustained heavy losses in cattle. A most remarkable featm-e in the bite of the tsetse is its perfect harmlessness in man and wild animals, and even calves, so long as they continue to suck the cow. The mule, ass, and goat enjoy likewise the same immunity, and many large tribes on the Zambesi can keep no domestic animals except the latter, in consequence of the scourge existing in their country. Dr. Livingstone's children were frequently bitten, yet suffered no liarm, and he saw around him numbers of zebras, buffaloes, ])igs, pallahs and other antelopes, feeding quietly in the very liabitat of the tsetse, yet as undisturbed by its bite as oxen are when they first receive the fatal poison, which acts in the fol- lowing manner. After a few days the eyes and nose begin to rim, the coat stares as if the animal were cold, a swelling appears under the jaw, and, though the animal continues to graze, emaci- ation commences, accompanied with a peculiar flaccidity of the muscles; and this proceeds unchecked until, perhaps months afterwards, purging comes on, and the animal, no longer able to graze, perishes in a state of extreme exhaustion. Those which are in good condition often perish, soon after the wound is inflicted, with staggering and blindness, as if the brain were affected by it. Sudden changes of temperature, produced by falls of rain, seem to hasten the progress of the complaint, but in general the emaciation goes on uninterruptedly for months; and do what one may, the poor animals perish miserably, as there is no cure yet known for the disease. Had any one of our indigenous flies similar poisonous qualities we should never have been able to escape from barbarism ; if, by any fatal chance, the tsetse were to settle among us, our prosperity would soon be at an end, and our civilisation imperilled ! Re- flections such as these are well calculated to humble our pride and check our presumption ! The Abyssinian Tsalt-salya or Zimb, described by Bruce, seems identical with the tsetse, or produces at least similar symptoms. At the season when this plague makes its appear- ance, all the inhabitants along the sea-coast, from Melinde to 254 THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD Cape Grardafui, and to the south of the Eed Sea, are obliged to retire with their cattle to the sandy plains to preserve them from destruction. The French traveller, D'Escayrac, tells us of a fly in Soudan which leaves the ox uninjured, but destroys the dromedary. On account of this plague the camel is confined to the northern boundary of the Soudan, while the oxen graze in safety throughout the whole country. This fly has caused more migrations among the Arabs of the Soudan than all their wars ; and in the dry season it even drives the elephant from Lake Tsad by flying into its ears. Though the locusts not seldom extend their ravages to the steppes of southern Russia, though they have been known to burst like a cloud of desolation over Transylvania and Hun- gary, and stray stragglers now and then even find their way to England, yet their chief habitat and birthplace is the torrid zone. They wander forth in count- less multitudes, and at very irregular periods ; but how it comes that they are multiplied to such an excess in particular years and not in others, has never yet been ascertained, and perhaps never will be. They are armed with two pairs of strong mandibles ; their stomach is of extraordinary capacity and power ; they make prodigious leaps by means of their muscular and long hind legs; and their wings even carry them far across the sea. On viewing a single locust, one can hardly conceive how they can cause such devastations, but we cease to wonder on hearing of their numbers. Mahomet — so say his followers — once read upon the wing of a locust : " We are the army of Grod ; we lay ninety-nine eggs ; and if we laid a hundred, we should devour the whole earth and all that grows upon its surface." " 0, Allah ! " exclaimed the terrified prophet, " Thou who listenest patiently to the prayers of Thy servant, destroy their young, kill their chieftains, and stop their mouths, to save the Moslems' food from their teeth ! " Scarce had he spoken when the angel Gabriel appeared, LOCUSTS 255 saying, " God grants thee a part of thy wishes." And, indeed, as all true believers know, this prayer of their prophet, written on a piece of paper, and enclosed in a reed which is stuck in the ground, is sure to preserve a field or an orchard from locust- devastation. From 1778 to 1780 the whole empire of Morocco was so laid waste by swarms of these insects, that a dreadful famine ensued. Mr. Barrow, in his travels, states that in the southern parts of Africa the. whole surface of the ground might literally be said to be covered with them for an area of nearly 2,000 square miles. When driven into the sea by a north-west wind, they formed upon the shore, for fifty miles, a bank three or four feet high ; and when the wind was south-east, the stench was such as to be smelt at the distance of 150 miles. Major Moore observed at Poonah an army of locusts, which devastated the whole country of the Mahrattas, and most likely came from Arabia. Their columns extended in a width of 500 miies, and were so dense as to darken the light of the sun. It was a red species (not the common G^^l- lu8 migratorius), whose bloody colour added to the terror of their appearance. On his way to Kehoboth, a German missionary station in Central Africa, near the tropic of Capricorn, Anderson met with vast numbers of the larvse of the locust, commonly called by the Boers " Voet-gangers," or pedestrians. In some places they might be seen packed in layers several inches in thickness, and myriads were crushed and maimed by the waggon and cattle. Towards nightfall they crawled on the bushes and shrubs, many of which, owing to their weight and numbers, were either bowed down or broken short off. They were of a reddish colour, with dark markings ; and as they hung thus sus- pended, they looked like clusters of rich fruit. These larvse are justly dreaded by the colonists, as nothing seems capable of staying their progress. Even rivers form no barrier to their march, as the drowning multitudes afford the survivors a temporary bridge ; endeavours to diminish their numbers would appear like attempting to drain the ocean by a pump. On travelling on, next morning, the locust itself was en- countered, and in such masses as literally to darken the air. 2/56 THE INSECT TLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD and fully to justify Southey's description in the epic of Thalaba : — " Onward they came — a dark continuous cloud Of congregated myriads, numberless ; The rushing of whose wings was as the sound Of a broad river headlong in its course, Plunged from a mountain summit ; or the roar Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm, Shattering its billows on a shore of rocks ! " The waggon, or any other equally conspicuous object, could not be distinguished at the distance of one hundred paces. In a particular spot within the circumference of a mile they had not left a particle of any green thing. The noise of their wings was very great — not unlike that caused by a gale of wind whistling through the shrouds of a ship at anchor. It was interesting to witness at a distance the various shapes and forms that these columns assumed, more especially when cross- ing mountain-ranges. At one time they would rise abruptly in a compact body, as if propelled by a strong gust of wind ; then, suddenly sinking, they would disperse into smaller battalions, not unlike vapours floating about a hill-side at early morn, and when slightly agitated by a breeze; or they would resemble huge columns of sand or smoke, changing their shape every minute. During their flight numbers were constantly alight- ing— an action which has not inaptly been compared to the falling of large snow-flakes. It is, however, not until the ap- proach of night that the locusts encamp. Woe to the spot they select as a resting-place ! The sun sets on a landscape green with all the luxuriance of tropical vegetation ; it rises in the morning over a region naked as the v/aste of the Sahara ! The tropical plague of the cockroaches has been introduced into England; but, fortunately, the giant of the family, the Blatta gigantea, a native of many of the warmer parts of Asia, Africa, and South America, is a stranger to our land : and the following truthful description of this disgusting insect gives us every reason to be thankful for its absence: — "They plunder and erode all kinds of victuals, dressed and undressed, and damage all sorts of clothes, especially such as are touched with powder, pomatum, and similar substances ; everything made of leather ; books, paper, and various other articles, which if they COCKROACHES 257 do not destroy, at least they soil, as they frequently deposit a drop of their excrement where they settle, and, some way or other, by that means damage what they cannot devour. They fly into the flame of candles, and sometimes into the dishes ; are very fond of ink and of oil, into which they are apt to fall and perish, in which case they soon turn most offensively putrid — so that a man might as well sit over the cadaverous body of a large animal as write with the ink in which they have died. They often fly into persons' faces or bosoms, and their legs being armed with sharp spines, the pricking excites a sudden horror not easily described. In old houses they swarm by myriads, making every part filthy beyond description wherever they harbour, which in the daytime is in dark corners, behind clothes — in trunks, boxes, and, in short, every place where they can lie concealed. In old timber and deal houses, when the family is retired at night to sleep, this insect, among other dis- agreeable properties, has the power of making a noise which very much resembles a pretty smart knocking with the knuckle upon the wainscoting. The Blatta gigantea in the West Indies is therefore frequently known by the name of the drummer. Three or four of these noisy creatures will sometimes be impelled to answer one another, and cause such a drumming noise that none but those who are very good sleepers can rest for them. What is most disagreeable, those who have not gauze curtains are sometimes attacked by them in their sleep ; the sick and dying have their extremities attacked ; and the ends of the toes and fingers of the dead are frequently stripped both of the skin .and flesh." According to Tschudi, the cucaracha and chilicabra — two large species of the cockroach — infest Peru in such num- bers, as almost to reduce the inhabitants to despair. Grreedy, bold, cunning, they force their way into every hut, devour the stores, destroy the clothes, intrude into the beds and dishes, and defy every means that is resorted to for their destruction. Fortunately, they are held in check by many formidable enemies, particularly by a small ant, and a pretty little bird {Troglodytes audax) belonging to the wagtail family, which has some difficulty in mastering the larger cockroaches. It first of all bites off their head, and then devours their body, with the exception of their membranaceous 258 THE INSECT PLAGUES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD wings. After having finished his repast, the bird hops upon the nearest bush, and there begins his song of triumph. Many other insect plagues might be added to the list, but those I have already enumerated suffice to reconcile us to our misty climate, and to diminish our longing for the palm groves of the torrid zone. The Tsetse. 259 CHAPTER XXIII. TROnCAL INSECTS DIRECTLY USEFUL TO MAN. The Silk- worm — The Tusseh and Arandi — The Cochineal Insect — The Gum- lack Insect — The Locust used as Food — Other edible Insects — Insects used as Ornaments — The Diamond Beetle. AFTER having described the miseries which the tropical insects inflict upon man — how they suck his blood, destroy his rest, exterminate his cattle, devour the fruits of his fields and orchards, ransack his chests and wardrobes, feast on his provisions, and plague and worry him wherever they can — I now proceed to the more agreeable task of recounting their services, and relating the benefits for which he is indebted to them. Among the insects which are of direct use to us, the silk-worm {Bomhyx tnori) is by far the most important. Originally a native of tropical or sub-tropical China, where the art of making use of its filaments seems to have been discovered at a very early period, it is now reared in countless numbers far and wide over the western world, so as to form a most important feature in the industrial resources of Europe. Thousands of skilful workmen are employed in spinning and weaving its lustrous threads, and thousands upon thousands, enjoying the fruits of their labours, now clothe themselves, at a moderate price, in silken tissues which but a few centuries back were the exclusive luxury of the richest and noblest of the land. Besides the silk-worm, we find many other moths in the tro- pical zone whose cocoons might advantageously be spun, and only require to be better known to become considerable articles of commerce. The tusseh-worm {Bomhyx mylitta) of Hin- dostan, which lives upon the leaves of the Rhamnus jujuba, furnishes a dark-coloured, coarse, but durable silk; while the Arandi {B. cynthia), which feeds upon the foliage of the s 2 2G0 TROPICAL INSECTS DIRECTLY USEFUL TO MAN castor-oil plant {Ricinus communis), spins remarkably soft threads, which serve the Hindoos to weave tissues of uncom- mon strength. In America there are also many indigenous moths whose filaments might be rendered serviceable to man, and which seem destined to great future importance, when trade, quitting her usual routine, shall have learnt to pry more closely into the resources of Nature. While the Cocci, or plant bugs, are in our country deservedly detested as a nuisance, destroying the beauty of many of our garden plants by their blighting presence ; while, in 1843, the Coccus of the orange trees proved so destructive in the Azores that the island of Fayal, which annually exported 12,000 chests of fruit, lost its entire produce from this cause alone, two tro- pical members of the family, as if to make up for the misdeeds of their relations, furnish us — the one with the most splendid of all scarlet dyes, and the other with gum-lack, a substance of hardly inferior value. _ The English gardener spares no trouble to protect his hot and greenhouse plants from the invasion of the Coccus hesperidum ; but the Mexican haciendero purposely lays out his Nopal plan- tations that they may be preyed upon by the Coccus cacti, and rejoices when he sees the leaves of his opuntias thickly strewn with this valuable parasite. The female, who from her form and habits might not unaptly be called the tortoise of the insect world, is much larger than the winged male, and of a dark-brown colour, with two light spots on the back, covered with a white powder. She uses her little legs fn' only during her first youth, but soon she / \ sucks herself fast, and henceforward re- ' * mains immovably attached to the spot she has chosen, while her mate con- tinues tq lead a wandering life. While thus fixed like an oyster, she swells or Cochineal. grows to such a sizc that she looks more like a seed or berry than an insect ; and her legs, antennae, and proboscis, concealed by the expanding body, can hardly be distinguished by the naked eye. Great care is taken to kill the insects before the young escape from the COCHINEAL 2GI eggs, as they have then the greatest weight, and are most im- pregnated with colouring matter. They are detached by a blunt knife dipped in boiling water to kill them, and then dried in the sun, when they have the appearance of small, dry, shri- velled berries, of a deep-brown purple or mulberry colour, with a white matter between the wrinkles. The collecting takes place three times a year in the plantations, where the insect, improved by human care, is nearly twice as large as the wild coccus, which in Mexico is gathered six times in the same period. Although the collecting of the cochineal is exceed- ingly tedious — about 70,000 insects going to a single pound " — yet, considering the high price of the article, its rearing would be very lucrative, if both the insect and the plant it feeds upon were not liable to the ravages of many diseases, and the attacks of numerous enemies. The conquest of Mexico by Cortez first made the Spaniards acquainted with cochineal. They soon learnt to value it as one of the most important products of their new empire ; and in order to secure its monopoly, prohibited, under pain of death, the exportation of the insect, and of the equally indigenous Nopal, or Cactus cochinellifer. In the year 1677, however, Thierry de Meronville, a Frenchman, made an eflfort to deprive them of the exclusive possession of the treasure they guarded with such jealous care. Under a thousand dangers, and by means of lavish bribery, he succeeded in transporting some of tlie plants, along with their costly parasite, to the French colony of San Domingo ; but, unfortunately^ his perseverance did not lead to any favourable results, and more than a century elapsed after this first ineffectual attempt before the rearing of cochineal extended beyond its original limits. In the year 1827, M. Berthelot, director of the botanical garden at Orotava, introduced it into the Canary Islands, where it thrives admirably upon the Opuntia ficus indica ; so that in 1838 the exportation amounted to 18,000 lbs., and has since then been continually increasing. Cochineal is now reared near Valencia, Cadiz, and Malaga; in various parts of the West Indies and the United States; in Brazil, East Indies, and Java; and though Mexico still continues to furnish it in the greatest abundance, yet in point of quality it is distanced by its youthful rival, Teneriffe. 2G2 TROPICAL INSECTS DIEECTLY USEFUL TO MAN In the year 1856 more than 800,000 lbs. of cochineal were imported into France, of which the Canary Islands alone furnished near one-half — a proof, among others, how much the wealth of a country may be increased by the introduction of a new article of commerce. The Coccus which produces lac, or gum-lac, is a native of India, and thrives and multiplies best on several species of the fig-tree. A cheap method having been discovered within the last years of separating the colouring matter which it contains from the resinous part, it has greatly increased in commercial importance.* In the tropical zone we find that not only many birds and several four-footed animals live chiefly, or even exclusively, on insects, but that they are even consumed in large quantities, or eaten as delicacies, by man himself. The locust-swarms are welcomed with delight by the Arab of the Sahara and the South African bushman. After being partially roasted, they are either eaten fresh, or dried in hot ashes and stored away. The natives reduce them also to powder or meal, which, eaten with a little salt, is palatable even to Europeans ; so that Dr. Livingstone, who, during his residence among the Bak- wains, was often obliged to put up with a dish of locusts, says he should much prefer them to shrimps, though he would avoid both if possible. They evidently contain a great deal of nourishment, as the bushmen thrive wonderfully on them, and hail their appearance as a season of plenty and good living. Several of the large African caterpillars are edible, and con- sidered as a great delicacy by the natives. On the leaves of the Mopane tree, in the Bushman country, the small larvae of a winged insect, a species of Psylla, appear covered over with a sweet gummy substance, which is collected by the people in great quantities, and used as food. Another species in New Holland, found on the leaves of the Eucalyptus, emits a similar secretion, which, along with its insect originator, is * During the first eight months of the year 1861, 16,204 cwts. of cochineal and 4,606 cwts. of lac dye were imported into Great Britain. The best quality of Teneriife cochineal is quoted at Ss. Sd, per lb., while the best Mexican is only 2s. lOd. Lac dye varies in price from Is. Sd. to 2^. 7d. — The Economist. FROG-HOPPERS AND BEETLES 26S Cicada. scraped off the leaves and eaten by the aborigines as a saccharine dainty. The chiTpingCicadce, or frog-hoppers, which Aristotle mentions as delicious food, though maccaroni has long supplanted them in the estimation both of the modern Greeks and of the Italians, are still in high repute among the American Indians. With the excep- tion of one species {Cicada Anglica), these insects, equally remarkable for the rapidity of their flight and their faculty of emitting a loud noise, are unknown in our misty islands. Several of the exotic species, when their wings are expanded, measure six inches in extreme length — a size, superior to that of many of the humming-birds. The Chinese, who allow nothing edible to go to waste, after unravelling the cocoon of the silk-worm, make a dish of the pupae, which the Europeans reject with vscorn. In the chapter on Palms, I have already, mentioned that the grubs of several insects which thrive and increase in the Sago-tree, the Areca, and the Cocoa, are considered as great delicacies; and many similar examples might be cited. The Groliath beetles of the coast of Gruinea are roasted and eaten by the natives, who doubtless, like many other savages, not knowing the value of that which they are eating, often make a bonne houche of what an entomologist would most eagerly de- sire to preserve. Several of the more brilliant tropical beetles are made use of as ornaments, not only by the savage tribes, but among nations which are able to command the costliest gems of the East. The golden elytra of the Sternocera chrysis and Sternocera sterni- cornis serve to enrich the embroidery of the Indian zenana, while the joints of the legs are strung on silken threads, and form bracelets of singular brilliancy. The, ladies in Brazil wear necklaces composed of the azure i \ Goiiath Beetle. 264 TROriCAL INSECTS DIRECTLY USEFUL TO MAN greeu and golden wings of lustrous Chrysomelidae and Curcu- lionidse, particularly of the Diamond beetle (Entimus nobilis) ; and in Jamaica, the elytra of the Buprestis gigas are set in ear- rings, whose gold-green brilliancy rivals the rare and costly Chrysopras in beauty. Diamond Beetle. Baprestis gigas. I 265 CHAPTER XXIV. THE ENTOMOLOaiCAL WONDERS OF THE TROPICS. Gradual Decrease of Insect-life on advancing towards the poles — Vast number of Beetles in Brazil — The Hercules Beetle —The Goliath — The Inca Beetle- Other colossal Insects — The Walking-leaf and Walking-stick Insects — The Soothsayer — Luminous Beetles — The Cocujas. ON advancing from the temperate regions to the pole, we find that insect-life gradually diminishes in the same ratio as vegetable life declines. Thus, on Melville Island (75° N. lat), where the flora of the ice-bound soil is reduced to the scantiest proportions, but six insects were found during the whole eleven months of Parry's sojourn in the solitude of Winter Harbour; and so great is their scarcity in Nowaja Semlja^ that the Kussian academician. Von Baer, could not discover a single grub or worm in the carcase of a walrus, which had evidently been lying a long time upon the beach. The inverse takes place on advancing towards the equator; for as the sun rises more and more to the zenith, we find the insects gradually increasing with the multiplicity of plants, and at length attaining the greatest variety of form, and the highest developement of number, in those tropical lands where moisture combines with heat in covering the ground with a dense and everlasting vegetation. Thus, while not a single species of beetle is found on Melville Island, G-reenland (60°-70° N. lat.) boasts of 11 ; Lapland (64°-?!° N. lat.) of 813 ; and Sweden (56°-60°) of 2,083 Coleoptera. In the milder climate of England (50°-60°) their number increases to 2,263; iu sunnier France (4r-51°) it rises to 4,200; and the hothouse temperature of Brazil, from Eio Janeiro to Bahia, fosters no less than 7,500 specific forms of beetle-life. Thus, 266 THE ENTOMOLOGICAL WONDERS OP THE TKOPICS also, while the whole of Europe and Siberia hardly possess more than 250 diurnal Lepidoptera, or butterflies, the explored parts of Brazil, which are very inferior in extent, have already fur- nished the naturalist with no less than 600 species, and no doubt contain many more. The carrion-feeding beetles, however, form a remarkable exception to this general rule, as they are most numerous, both absolutely and relatively, in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere — most likely from the extreme rapidity of decomposition in the torrid zone not allowing the developement of their larvae to keep pace with the progress of putrefaction. Thus the families of the Carabi and Hydrocanthari have only 591 and 65 species in South America and Mexico, while they respectively number 1,090 and 156 in Europe and Southern Russia. Another peculiarity of beetle-life in the equatorial zone is^ that in tropical America most Carabi live on the trees, while in our country they all, with rare exceptions, dwell upon the ground — a circumstance probably due to the legions of ants which there take possession of the soil, and so effectually perform the duties of scavengers as to leave but little for others. In the countries which, from the never-failing abundance^ of food, and constant warmth, are most favourable to the multiplica- tion of insects, these creatures may naturally be expected to attain the greatest size. Thus the European rhinoceros beetle {Oryctes nasicornis), though an inch and a quarter long, is far surpassed by the Megasominac of torrid America. The colossal Hercules beetle {M, hercules), which is sometimes seen in great numbers on the Mammee tree (Mammcea Americana), attains Hercules Beetle. ■, ■, n r* • • i a length of five or even six inches, and is distinguished, like the other species of the genus, by the singular horn-shaped processes rising from the head and tliornx, which give it a very grotesque and even formidable I THE GOLIATH BEETLES 267 ;i|)pearance. Though but little is yet known of its economy, it most likely subsists upon putrescent wood, and evidently leads a tree life, like the other members of the family — the Elephaiit, the Neptune, the Typhon, the Hector, the Mars — whose Very names indicate that they are *' first-rate liners " in the insect world. These beetles excavate burrows in the earth, where they \ ' conceal themselves during the day, or live in the decomposed trunks of trees, and are generally of a dark rich brown or chestnut colour. On the approach of night they run about ? the footpaths in woods, or fly around the trees to a great ' height with a loud humming noise. Resembling the large herbivorous quadrupeds by their comparative size and horn- like processes, they are still further like them in their harm- less nature, and thus deserve in more than one respect to be called the elephants among the insect tribes. The Groliaths of the coast of Guinea are nearly as large ns the American Megasominac, and surpass them in brilliancy of colouring. Some years ago these huge beetles, which live exclusively on the juice of trees, were very rare, and fetched extravagant prices. Thus Mr. Swainson mentions £30 having been offered and . refused for a single speci- I men, the proprietor demanding £50. It was, however, sub- sequently sold for £10; and the market having latterly been better supplied with Groliaths, a further reduction has taken place, though some of the species are still worth £5 or £6. The South American Inca beetles greatly resemble the African Groliaths, equalling them in size and beauty. Many of the tropical dragon-flies, grasshoppers, butterflies, and moths, are of no less colossal dimensions in their several orders than the giants among ^^^^ the beetles. The Libellula lucretia, a South American dragon- fly, measures five inches and a half in length; the giant Phasma is a span long ; and the cinnamon-eating Atlas-moth , of Ceylon often reaches the dimensions of nearly a foot in , the stretch of its superior wings. The names of many other species conspicuous by their size might be added; but these 268 THE ENTOMOLOGICAL WONDEKS OF THE TROPICS examples suffice to show the enormous proportions attained by insects in the warmer regions of the globe. In the tropical zone, where the prodigality of life multiplies the ■ enemies which every creature has to encounter, we may naturally expect to find the insects extremely well provided with both passive and active means of defence. Many so closely resemble in colour the soil or object on which they are generally found, as to escape even the eye of a hungry enemy. The wings of several Brazilian moths ap- pear like withered leaves that have been gnawed round their margins by insects; and when these moths are disturbed, instead of flying away, they fall upon the ground like the leaf which they resemble, so that it is difficult, if not impossible, on such occasions to know what they really are. The illusion is still more complete when the likeness of form is joined to that of colour, as in the walking-leaf and walking-stick insects. Some, of an enormous length, look so exactly like slender dead twigs covered with bark, that their insect nature can only be discovered by mere accident — upon being handled they feign death, and their legs are often knobbed, like the withered buds of trees ; some resemble Phyiiium living twigs, and are green ; others such as are decayed, and are therefore coloured brown ; the wings of many put on the resemblance of dry and crumpled leaves, while those of others are vivid green — in exact accordance with the plants they respectively inhabit. This highly remarkable family consists of the herbivorous Phasmas and Phylliums — the former of which have a thin twig-like shape, while the latter have an enlarged body — and of the car- niverous Mantes, or soothsayers. As the Mantis is slow and without much muscular energy, and its organisation requires a large supply of food. Nature has disguised it under the form of a plant, the better to deceive its victims. Like a cat ap- proaching a mouse, it moves almost imperceptibly along, and steals towards its prey, fearful of putting it to flight. When sufficiently near, the fore legs are suddenly darted out to their full length, and seize the doomed insect, which vainly en- THE MANTIS 269 (havours to extricate itself; the formation of the fore leg t iial)ling the tibia to be so closed on the sharp edge of the '1 V'^li as to amputate any slender substance brought within its sp, and to make even an entomologist repent a too hasty St i /lire of his prize. The Mantis, by the attitude it assumes when lurking for its prey or advancing upon it — which is done by the support of the r 111- posterior legs only, whilst the Ik ul and prothorax are raised per- |)( iidicularly from the body, and the ( xtcrior legs are folded in front — greatly resembles a person praying. 1 1 •lice, in France it is called Le Mantis pK'cheur, or Le Prie Dieu ; the Tink says it points to Mecca; and several African tribes l>iy it religious observances. In reality, however, its ferocity is ureat, and the stronger preying on the weaker of their own sfM'cies, unmercifully cut them to pieces. Thus, two Mantes which Sir E. Tennent enclosed in a box were both found dead a few hours after, severed limb from limb in their deadly fight. Within the space of a week. Professor Burmeister saw a Mantis devour daily some dozens of flies, and occasionally large grasshoppers and young frogs, consuming, now and then, lizards three times its own length, as well as many large fat caterpillars. Hence it maybe judged what ravages these strange-formed crea- tures must cause among all weaker beings which incautiously approach them, and that, far from being the saints, they are, in reality, the tigers of the insect world. Among the organic marvels of the innocent herbivorous Phylliums, their seed-like eggs must be mentioned ; for the wonderful provision of Nature in giving the parents a plant-like form extends even to their progeny, in order to secure them from similar dangers. Though generally tropical, yet Van Diemen's Land possesses a gigantic walking-stick, or Phasma, the body of which is eight inches long ; and the Mantis religiosa is found all over Southern Europe. The leaf-like form which renders the Phylliums one of the wonders of entomology, appears likewise in other insects. Thus, in the Diactor hilineatus, a native of Brazil, the hind legs have singular leaf-like appendages to their tibial 270 THE ENTOMOLOGICAL WONDEES OF THE TROPICS joints; and in the Javanese Mormolyce,3i carabidous insect remarkable for its extreme flatness and the elongation of its head, we find the elytra spreading out in the form of broad leaves. The long hairs, stiff bristles, sharp spines, and hard tubercular prominences with which many caterpillars are bristled, and studded, are a most effectual means of defence, and often prove a grievous Javanese Mormoiyce. ^nnoyance to the eutomologist, from their poisonous or stinging properties. Mr. Swainson once finding in Brazil a caterpillar of a beautiful black colour, with yellow radiated spines, and being anxious to secure the prize, incautiously took hold of it with the naked hand ; but so instan- taneous and so violent was the pain which followed, that he was obliged to return home. Warm fomentations — placing the hand in tepid water — every device that could be thought of to allay the itching produced by the venomous hairs of this creature were in turn resorted to, with little or no effect, for several hours, nor had it entirely ceased on the following morning. Though the great majority of luminous animals are marine, frequently lighting up the breaking wave with millions of moving atoms, or spreading over the beach like a sheet of fire,* yet several insects are also endowed with the same wonderful property. The European glow-worms and fire-flies, sparkling on the hedge-rows, or flying in the summer air, afford a charming spectacle. But this brilliancy is far surpassed by that of the phosphorescent beetles of the torrid zone. Thus the Cocujas of South America, which emits its light from two little trans- parent tubercles on the sides of the thorax, while our Lampyrides shine from the hinder part of the abdo- men, is said to glow with such intensity that a person may with great ease read the smallest print by the phosphorescence of one of these insects, if held be- tween the fingers and gradually moved along the lines with the luminous spots above the letters ; but cocujas. if eight or ten of them are put into a phial the light will be sufficiently good to admit of writing by it. * " The Sea and its Living Wonders," cli. xx. LANTERN FLY 271 In the woods of Sarawak Mr. Adams observed a splendid L^low-worm (Lampyris), each segment of the body illuminated w ith three lines of tiny lamps, the luminous spots on the back Ix'iiig situated at the posterior part of the segmentary rings on t lie median line, while those along the sides of the animal were placed immediately below the stomates or spiracula, each spira- (• Ilium having one bright spot. This very beautiful insect was found shining as the darkness was coming on, crawling on the narrow pathway, and glowing among the dead damp wood and K.tten leaves. When placed around the finger, it resembled in beauty and brilliancy a superb diamond ring. The sparkling effulgence of the tropical Elaters is frequently made use of by the fair sex, as an equally singular and striking ornament. The ladies of the Havana attach them to their clothes on occasions of festivity, and the Indian Bayaderes often wear them in their hair. In Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," we are told that in 1520, when the Spaniards visited that country, the wandering sparks of the Elater, " seen in the darkness of the night, were converted by the excited imaginations of the besieged into an army with matchlocks ; " and on another occasion their phosphorescence caused British troops to retreat : for when Sir John Cavendish and Sir Robert Dudley first landed in the West Indies, and saw at night an innumerable quantity of lights moving about, they fancied that the Spaniards were approaching with an overwhelm- ing force, and hastily re-embarked before their imaginary foe. Above two hundred species of tropical insects are known to possess the luminous property in a greater or smaller degree; but the phosphorescence of the famous Lantern Fly {Fulgora laternaria), as described by Madam Merian, in her " Insects of Surinam," and repeated upon her authority in liumerous works on natural history, ?eems to be en- tirely fabulous, no modern traveller having ever seen it emit the least Lantern FJy. light. The enormous transparent prolongation of the forehead with which this beautiful and large insect is endowed, may, from its fanciful resemblance to a lantern, have given rise to the lable. Ants and Termites. CHAPTEE XXV. ANTS AND TERMITES. Vast numbers of Ants in the Tropical Zone — Excruciating pain caused by the Sting of the Ponera Clavata — The Black Fire-Ant of Guiana. — The Dimiya of Ceylon — The Kaddiya — The Eed Ant of Angola — Devastations of the Viviagua in the West Indian Coffee Plantations — The Atta Cephalotes, or the Umbrella Ant — Household Plagues — Difficulty of preserving Sugar from their attacks — The Ranger Ants — Wonderful construction of Tropical Ants — Slave- making Ants — Cow-keeping Ants — The Mexican Honey Ant — Devastation of the Termites — Their Services and Uses — Their marvellous Buildings — Formation of a Termite Colony — Amazing Fecundity of the Termite Queen — Consequence of an Attack upon a Termite HiU — Wars between Termites and Black Ants — American Termites — Termites esteemed as a Delicacy — March- ing White Ants — Mysteries of Termite Life. rPHE family of Ants is undoubtedly the most numerous X. of any in the whole circle of winged insects, as its colonies are not confined to one particular region, but are thickly planted over the greatest part of the habitable world. There is scarcely a field in Britain that does not contain millions ; we cannot rest upon a bank without reclining upon the walls of their cities; their chief quarters, however, are established in the torrid zone, where they may truly be said to hold a despotic sway over the forest and the savanna, over the thicket and the field. It is hardly possible to penetrate into a tropical wood THE ENTOMOLOGICAL WONDERS OF THE TROPICS 273 without being reminded, by their stings and bites, that they consider the visit as an intrusion, while they themselves un- ceremoniously invade the dwellings of man, and lay ruinous con- tributions on his stores. The inconceivable number of their species defies the memory of the naturalist, to whom many are even still entirely unknown. From almost microscopical size to an inch in length, of all colours and shades between yellow, red, brown, and black, of the most various habits and stations, the ants of a single tropical land would furnish study for years to a zealous entomologist. Every family of plants has its peculiar species, and many trees are even the exclusive dwelling-place of some ant nowhere else to be found. In the scathes of leaves, in the corollas of flowers, in buds and blossoms, over and under the earth, in and out of doors, one meets these ubiquitous little creatures, which are undoubtedly one of the great plagues of the torrid zone. WTiile our indigenous ants cause a disagreeable burning on the skin, by the secretion of a corrosive acid peculiar to the race, the sting or bite of many tropical species causes the most excruciating tortures. " I have no words," says Schomburgk, "to describe the pain inflicted upon me by the mandibles of the Ponera clavata, a large, and, fortunately, not very common ant, whose long black body is beset with single hairs. Like an electric shock the pain instantly shot through my whole body, and soon after acquired the greatest intensity in the breast, and over and under the armpits. After a few minutes I felt almost completely paralysed, so that I could only with the greatest difficidty, and under the most excruciating tortures, totter towards the plantation, which, however, it was impossible for me to reach. I was found senseless on the ground, and the following day a violent wound fever ensued." The Triplaris Americana, a South American tree, about sixty or eighty feet high, the branches of which are completely hollow and transversely partitioned at regular intervals, like the stems of the bamboo, is the retreat of one of the most ferocious ants. Woe to the naturalist who, ignorant of the fact, endea- vours to break off a shoot of the Triplaris, or only knocks against the tree, for thousands will instantly issue from small round lateral openings in the plant, and fall upon him with incon- ceivable fury. The touch of a hot iron is not more painful T 274 ANTS AND TERMITES than their bite, and the inflammation and pain last for several days after. The black fire-ant of Gruiana, though very small, is capable of inflicting excessive pain. " These insects," says Stedman, " live in such amazing multitudes together, that their hillocks have sometimes obstructed our passage by their size, over which, if one chances to pass, the feet and legs are instantly covered with innumerable hosts of these creatures, which seize the skin with such violence in their pincers, that they will sooner suffer the head to be parted from the body than let go their hold. The burning pain which they occasion cannot, in my opinion, proceed from the sharpness of the pincers only, but must be owing to some venomous fluid, which they infuse, or which the wound imbibes from them. I can aver that I have seen them make a whole company hop about as if they had been scalded with boiling water." Of the more than seventy species of ants which occur in Ceylon alone. Sir E. Tennent describes the Dimiya, or great red ant, as the most formidable. " Like all their race, these ants are in perpetual motion, forming lines on the ground, along which they pass in continual procession to and from the trees on which they reside. They are the most irritable of the whole order in Ceylon, biting with such intense ferocity as to render it difficult for the unclad native to collect the fruit from the mango-trees, which the red ants especially frequent. They • drop from the branches upon travellers in the jungle, attacking them with venom and fury, and inflicting intolerable pain both upon animals and man. On examining the structure of head through a microscope, I found that the mandibles, instead of meet- ing in contact, are so hooked as to cross each other at the points, whilst the inner line is sharply serrated throughout its entire length, thus occasioning the intense pain of their bite, as com- pared with that of the ordinary ant." Another species, called the Kaddiya, is so much dreaded by the Singhalese, that, according to one of their legends, the Cobra invested it with her own venom in admiration of its singular courage. " Having, while in Angola, accidentally stepped upon a nest of red ants," says Livingstone, "not an instant seemed to elapse before a simultaneous attack was made on various unprotected THE VIVIAGUA 275 parts, up the trousers from below, and on my neck and breast above. The bites of these furies were like sparks of fire, and there was no retreat. ' I jumped about for a second or two, then in desperation tore ofif all my clothing, and rubbed and picked them off seriatim as quickly as possible. Ugh! they would make the most lethargic mortal look alive ! Fortunately, no one observed this rencontre, or word might have been taken back to the village that I had become mad. It is really astonishing how such small bodies can contain so large an amount of ill nature. They not only bite, but twist themselves round after the mandibles are inserted, to produce laceration and pain more than would be effected by the single wound. Frequently, while sitting on the ox, as he happened to tread near a band, they would rush up his legs to the rider, and soon let him know that he had disturbed their march. They possess no fear, attacking with equal ferocity the largest as well as the smallest animals. When any person has leaped over the band, numbers of them leave the ranks and rush along the path, seemingly anxious for a fight." But however formidable the weapons of the ants may be, yet the injuries they inflict upon the property of man, pouring over his plantations like a flood, and sweeping away the fruits of his labours, are of a much more lasting and serious nature than their painful bite or venomous sting. In the West Indies, the brown-black Viviagna, about one-third of an inch long, and with a prickly thorax, is the greatest enemy of the coffee plantations. In one day it will rob a full-grown tree of all its leaves. It digs deep subterranean passages of considerable dimensions and irregular forms, with a great number of hand-high galleries branching out from the sides, and does even more harm to the coffee-plants by its mining operations, than by robbing them of their foliage. Attacked in their roots, they fall into what may be called a consumptive state, bear no fruit, and die after a few months' lingering. The complete extirpation of the nest, and keeping up for some time a strong fire in the excavation, is the only means to subdue the evil, which leads to incalculable losses, when, through negligence, the Viviagua has once been allowed to multiply its numbers. Other species are no less destructive to the sugar plantations, 276 ANTS AND TERMITES either by settling in the interior of the stalks (like the Formica analis)f or by undermining the roots (like the Formica saccha- rivora), so that the plant becomes sickly and dies. About eighty years ago the island of Grrenada was overrun by hosts of these devastating insects. Many household animals died from their attacks, and they effectually cleared the land of rats, mice, and reptiles. Streams of running water failed to interrupt their progress, and fire was vainly used to stop them, for millions rushed into the flames, and served as a bridge for the myriads that followed. All the means employed to save the sugar plan- tations from their fury proved ineffectual, until in the year 1780 the plague was swept away at once by a dreadful tornado, accompanied by a deluge of rain. The Atta cephalotes, a species of ant distinguished by its large head, is the most formidable enemy of the banana and cassava fields. It lies in the ground and mrultiplies amazingly ; in a very short time it will strip off the leaves of an entire field, and carry them to its subterranean abodes. Even where their nest is a mile distant from a plantation, these arch depredators know how to find it, and soon form a highway, about half a foot broad, on which they keep up the most active communications with the object of their attack. In masterly order, side by side, one army is seen to move onwards towards the field, while another is returning to the nest. In the last column each individual carries a round piece of leaf, about the size of a sixpence, horizontally over its head — a circumstance from which the insect has also been named the Umbrella ant. If the distance is too great, a party meets the weary carriers half way, and relieves them of their load. Although innumerable ants may thus be moving along, yet none of them will ever be seen to be in the other's way ; and all goes on with the regularity of clock-work. A third party is no less actively employed on the scene of destruction, cutting out circular pieces of the leaves, which, as soon as they drop upon the ground, are immediately seized by the attentive and indefatigable carriers. Neither fire nor water can prevent them from proceeding with their work. Though thou- sands may be killed, yet in less than an hour all the bodies will have been removed. Should the highway be closed by an insur- mountable obstacle, another is soon laid out, and after a few liours the operations, momentarily disturbed, resume their former HOUSE ANTS 277 activity. The ants themselves, particularly the winged females, are considered a great delicacy by the Indians, who eat the abdomen, either raw or roasted. The taste is said to be agree- ably saccharine. Not satisfied with devouring his harvests, the tropical ants, as I have already mentioned, leave man no rest even within doors, and trespass upon his household comforts in a thousand various \vays. In Mainas, a province on the Upper Amazon, Professor Poppig counted no less than seven different species of ants among the t ormenting inmates of his hut. The diminutive red Amache wa^ ])articularly fond of sweets. Favoured by its smallness,it pene- tiates through the imperceptible openings of a cork, and the traveller was often obliged to throw away the syrup which in Ihat humid and sultry country replaces the use of crystallised sugar, from its having been changed into an ant-comfit. This i loublesome lover of sweets lives under the corner-posts of the lnit, so that it is quite impossible to dislodge him. The number I )f the Puca ticse, a red ant, of the ordinary size, was still greater ; tlie trunks and papers were swarming with it, in spite of every precaution, so that it was quite incomprehensible how it found means to overcome all the obstacles that had been devised a<,^ainst it. " The only possible way," says Stedman, " of keeping the ants iVom the refined sugar is by hanging the loaf to the ceiling by a nail, and making a ring of dry chalk around it, very thick, wliich crumbles down the moment the ants attempt to pass it. I imagined that placing my sugar-boxes in the middle of a tub, and on stone surrounded by deep water, would have kept back tliis formidable enemy; but to no purpose: whole armies of the lighter sort, to my astonishment, marched over the surface, and but very few of them were drowned. The main body constantly scaled the rock, and, in spite of all my efforts, made their entry tlirough the keyholes, after which, the only way to clear the i^arrison is, to expose it to a hot sun, which the invaders cannot bear, and all march off in a few minutes." The devastations of the house-ants are peculiarly hateful to tlie naturalist, whose collections, often gathered with so much danger and trouble, they pitilessly destroy. Eichard Schomburgk suspended boxes with insects from the ceiling by threads strongly 278 ANTS AND TERMITES rubbed over with arsenic soap; but when, on the following morning, he wished to examine his treasures, instead of his rare and beautiful specimens he found nothing but a set of infamous red ants, who, crawling down the threads, had found means to invade the boxes and utterly to destroy their valuable contents. In countless multitudes the Eanger ants break forth from the primeval forest, marching through the country in com- pact order, like a well-drilled army. Every creature they meet in their way falls a victim to their dreadful onslaught — 'rats, mice, lizards, and even the huge python, when in a state of surfeit from recent feeding. If a house obstructs their route, they do not turn out of the way, but go quite through it. Though they sting cruelly when molested, the West Indian planter is not sorry to see them in his house, for it is but a passing visit, and their appearance is the death-warrant for every spider, scorpion, cockroach, or reptile that pollutes his dwelling. Unfortunately, this thorough cleansing is but of short duration, as in less than a week tropical life calls forth a new generation of vermin. A very formidable species of Ranger ant is found on the West Coast of Africa, attacking any animal whatever that impedes its progress, so that there is no escape but by immediate flight, or instant retreat to the water. The inhabitants of the negro villages are frequently obliged to abandon their dwellings, taking with them their children, and to wait till the scourge has passed. The wonderful societies of the a,nts, their strength and perse-| verance, their unwearied industry, their astonishing intelligence, are so well known, and have been so often and so admirably described,* that it would be trespassing on the patience of my readers were I to enter into any lengthened details on the subject. And yet, the observations of naturalists have chiefly been confined to the European species, while the economy of the infinitely more numerous tropical ants, confined to countries or places hardly ever visited, or even unknown to civilised man, remains an inexhaustible field for future inquiry. * Kirby and Sponce's '* Introduction to Entomology; " Swainson's "Habits and Instincts of Animals." ANT HILLS 279 The study of their various buildings alone, from the little we know of them, would occupy a zealous entomologist for years. Here we have an American species that forms its globular nest of the size of a large Dutch cheese, of small twigs artistically interlaced ; here another, which constructs its dwelling of dried excrements, attaching it to a thick branch ; while a third {Foi^mica bispinosa) uses the cotton of the Bombaceae for its building material, and through the chemical agency of its pungent secretion converts it into a spongy substance. On the west coast of Borneo, Mr. Adams noticed two kinds of ants' nests — one species of the size of a man's hand, adhering to the trunk of trees, resembling, when cut through, a section of the lungs ; the other was composed of small withered bits of sticks and leaves, heaped up in the axils of branches, somewhat in the form of flattened cylinders and compressed cones. A third species, still more ingenious, constructs its domicile out of a large leaf, bending the two halves by the weight of united millions till the opposite margins n»eet at the under surface of the mid-rib, where they are secured by a gummy matter. The stores and larvae are conveyed into the nest so made by regular beaten tracks along the trunk and branches of the tree. On the large plains near Lake Dilolo, where wat^ stands so long annually as to allow the lotus and other aqueous plants to come to maturity, Dr. Livingstone had occasion to admire the wonderful sagacity of the ants, whom he declares to be wiser than some men, as they learn by experience. When all the ant horizon is submerged a foot deep, they manage to exist by ascending to little houses, built of black tenacious loam, on stalks of grass, and placed higher than the line of inundation. This must have been the result of experience, for if they had waited till the water actually invaded their habitations on the ground, they would not have been able to procure materials for their higher quarters, unless they dived down to the bottom for every mouthful of clay. Some of these upper chambers are about the size of a bean, and others as large as a man's thumb. They must have been built in anticipation, " and if so," says the cele- brated traveller, " let us humbly hope that the sufferers by the late inundations in France maybe possessed of as much common sense as the little black ants of the Dilolo plains." Two species of continental Europe, the Formica rubesceTis and 280 ANTS AND TERMITES sanguinea, are remarkable or infamous for their slave-making expeditions. Unable or unwilling to work themselves, they make war upon others for the sole purpose of procuring bondsmen, who literally and truly labour for them, and perform all the daily domestic duties of the community. Mr. Lund (" Annales des Sciences Naturelles," tome xxiii. p. 113) has found among the Brazilian ants similar mixed societies, and mentions the Myrmica paleata as a species whose nest contains labourers of the nearly related Myimica erythrothorax. These are evidently workers by compulsion, though it must be confessed that they are far better treated than most " niggers " by the model republicans of Carolina or Louisiana. The Aphides, or plant lice, eject a sweet, honey-like fluid, which may be correctly termed their milk, and which is so grateful to the ants, that they attend on the honey-flies for the sole purpose of gathering it, and literally milk them as we do our cows, forcing them to yield the fluid, by alternately patting them with their antennae. But the most extraordinary part of these proceedings is, that the ants not only consider the Aphides as their property, but actually appropriate to themselves a certain number, which they enclose in a tube of earth or other materials near their nest, so that they may be always at hand to supply the nourishment which they may desire. The yellow ant, the most remarkable '^cow- keeper" among our indigenous species, pays great attention to its herds, plentifully supplying them with proper food, and tending their young with the same tender- ness which it exhibits towards its own. With the same provident care a large black ant of India constructs its nest at the root of the plant upon which its favourite species of aphis resides. The ants of tropical America, where no Aphides are found, derive their honey from another family of insects, the numerous and grotesquely-formed Membracidse, which are most abundant in the re^fions of Brazil. Membracidae. ° According to Mr. Swainson, who first stated the fact, many of these little Membracidse live in families of twenty or thirty, all clustered together on the panicles of grasses. ■^v*rk. TERMITE HILLS MEXICAN HONEY ANT 281 .ind on the tops of other plants, like the European plant-lice. These are regularly visited by parties of a little black ant, which may be seen going and coming to their heads, and attending them with the same care which the European ants bestow on (lie Aphides. To render the similarity with cattle still more omplete, the Membracida? possess horns growing out of their heads, or are otherwise armed, while their large abrupt heads remind the entomologist of the bull or cow. Mr. Swainson's icmarks did not extend to the particular mode by which these insects eject their secretion; but the surrounding leaves of the stalk which they inhabit are very- clammy, like those of I lie plants infested with the Aphides of Em-ope, and the circum- stance of their always being attended by ants places the fact beyond all doubt. The Mexican honey ants {Myi^mecocystua Mexicanus) are, if possible, still more remarkable, for here we see an animal rearing < >thers of the same species for the purpose of food. Some of these ants namely are distinguished by an enormous swelling of the abdomen, which is converted into a mass like honey, and being unable, in their unwieldy condition, to seek food themselves, are fed by the labourers, until they are doomed to die for the be- nefit of the community. Whether this vast distension is the result of an intestinal rupture, caused by an excessive indulgence of the appetite, or whether they are purposely selected, con- fined, and over-fed, or wounded for the purpose, has not yet been ascertained. These honey ants are brought to the Mexican markets, and considered a great delicacy. The termites, or white ants, as they are commonly called, tliough they in reality belong to a totally different order of insects, are spread in countless numbers over all the warmer legions of the earth, emulating on the dry land the bore-worm iu the sea ; for when they have once penetrated into a building, no timber except ebony and iron-wood, which are too hard, or such as is strongly impregnated with camphor and aromatic oils, which they dislike, is capable of resisting their attacks. Their I favourite food is wood, and so great are their multitudes, so j admirable their tools, that in a few days they devour the timber 282 ANTS AND TERMITES wQrk of a spacious apartment. Outwardly, the beams and rafters may seem untouched, while their core is completely consumed, for these destructive miners work in the dark, and seldom attack the outside until they have previously con- cealed themselves and their operations by a coat of clay. Scarcely any organic substance remains free from their attacks ; and forcing their resistless way into trunks, chests, and wardrobes, they will often devour in one night all the shoes, boots, clothes, and papers they may contain. It is principally owing to their destructions, says Humboldt, that it is so rare to find papers in tropical America of an older date than fifty or sixty years. Smeathman relates, that a party of them once took a fancy to a pipe of fine old Madeira, not for the sake of the wine, almost the whole of which they let out, but of the staves, which, however, may not have proved less tasteful from having imbibed some of the costly liquor. On surveying a room which had been locked up during an absence of a few weeks, Forbes, the author of the " Oriental Memoirs," observed a number of advanced works in various directions towards some prints and drawings in English frames ; the glasses appeared to be uncommonly dull, and the frames covered with dust. On attempting to wipe it off, he was astonished to find the glasses fixed to the wall, not suspended in frames as he left them, but completely surrounded by an incrustation cemented by the white ants, who had actually eaten up the deal frames and backboards and the greater part of the paper, and left the glasses upheld by the incrustation or covered way which they had formed during their depredations. On the small island of Groree, near Cape Verde, the famous naturalist, Adanson, lived in a straw hut, which, though quite new at the time he took up his residence in it, became transparent in many places before the month was out. This might have been en- dured, but the villainous termites ravaged his trunk, destroyed his books, penetrated into his bed, and at last attacked the naturalist himself. Neither sweet nor salt water, neither vinegar nor cor- rosive liquids, were able to drive them away, and so Adanson thought it best to abandon the premises, and to look out for another lodging. One night. Professor von Martins (" Travels in Brazil") was awakened by a disagreeable feeling of cold across his body. Groping in the dark, he found a cool greasy mass crawling right IxYTRODUCTION OF TERMITES INTO EUROPE 283 -overthe bed, and on a light being brought, saw to his astonishment that his rest had been disturbed by an innumerable host of white ants. The room having been uninhabited for some time, they had formed a clay nest in one of the corners, communi- cating with similar constructions under the roof, and the whole colony was now busy migrating. They formed a column about a foot and a half broad, and their multitudes poured along in one continuous stream, regardless of the fate of thou- sands of their companions, whom the naturalist scalded to death with boiling water. Their march ceased only with the dawn of day, and several baskets were filled with the bodies of the slain. Even Europe is not free from the devastations of the white ants. Thus Termes flavicollis has been introduced from Northern Africa into the neighbourhood of Marseilles ; the North American Termes fiavipes has found its way to Portugal, and even o the imperial gardens of Schonbrunn, near Vienna ; and in western France, particularly in the Departement de la Cha- rente Inferieure, we find a small but extremely voracious species (Teiines lucifucja), which destroys houses to their very founda- tions, and once even devoured part of the archives in the Prefect's palace. But if the greedy termite destroys like the bore-worm many a useful work of man, its ravages are perhaps more than com- pensated by its services in removing decayed vegetable substances from the face of the earth, and thus contributing to the purity of the air and the beauty of the landscape. If the forests of the tropical world, where thousands of gigantic trees succumb to the slow ravages of time, or are suddenly prostrated by light- ning or the hurricane, still appear in all the verdure of perpetual youth, it is chiefly to the imremitting labours of the Termites that they are indebted for their freshness. Though belonging to a different order of the insect world, the economy of the termites is very similar to that of the real ants. They also form communities, divided into distinct orders : labourers (larvae), soldiers (neuters), perfect insects — and they also erect buildings, but of a far more astonishing structure. Several of their species (T. atrox, bellicosus, Smeathman) erect high dome-like edifices, rising from the plain, so that at first sight they might be mistaken for the hamlets of the negroes ; 284 ANTS AND TERMITES others (T, destructor arborum) build on trees, often at a consider- able height above the ground. These sylvan abodes are fre- quently the size of a hogshead, and are more generally found in the new world. The clay-built citadels or domes of the Termes bellicosus, a common species on the West Coast of Africa, attain a height of twelve feet, and are constructed with such strength that the traveller often ascends them to have an uninterrupted view of the grassy plain around. Only the under part of the mound is in- habited by the white ants, the upper portion serving principally as a defence from the weather, and to keep up in the lower part the warmth and moisture necessary to the hatching of the eggs and cherishing of the young ones. In the centre, and almost on a level with the ground, is placed the sanctuary of the whole community — the large cell, where the queen resides with her consort, and which she is doomed never to quit again, after having been once enclosed in it, since the portals soon prove too narrow for her rapidly-increasing bulk. Encircling the regal apartment, extends a labyrinth of countless chambers, in which a numerous army of attendants and soldiers is constantly in waiting. The space between these chambers and the external wall of the citadel is filled with other cells, partly destined for the eggs and young larvae, partly for store-rooms. The sub- terranean passages which lead from the mound are hardly less remarkable than the building itself. Perfectly cylindrical, and lined with a cement of clay, similar to that of which the hill is formed, they sometimes measure a foot in diameter. They run in a sloping direction, under the bottom of the hill, to a depth of three or four feet, and then ramifying horizontally into numerous branches, ultimately rise near to the surface at a considerable distance. At their entrance into the interior of the hill, they are connected with a great number of smaller galleries, which ascend the inside of the outer shell in a spiral manner, and winding round the whole building to the top, intersect each other at different heights, opening either im- mediately into the dome in various places, and into the lower half of the building, or communicating with every part of it by other smaller circular passages. The necessity for the vast size of the main galleries underground, evidently arises from the circumstance of their being the great thoroughfare for the in- TERMITE QUEEN 285 habitants, by which they fetch their clay, wood, water, or provi- sions, and their gradual ascent is requisite, as the Termites can only with great difficulty climb perpendicularly. It may be imagined that such works require an enormous population for their construction; and, indeed, the manner in which an infant colony of termites is formed and grows, until becoming, in its turn, the parent of new migrations, is not the least wonderful part of this wonderful insect's history. At the end of the diy season, as soon as the first rains have fallen, the male and female perfect termites, each about the size of two soldiers, or thirty labourers, and furnished with four long narrow wings folded on each other, emerge from their retreats in myriads. After a few hours their fragile wings fall off, and on the following morning they are discovered covering the surface of the earth and waters, where their enemies — birds, reptiles, ants — cause so sweeping a havoc that scarce one pair out of many thousands escapes destruction. If by chance the labourers, who are always busy prolonging their galleries, Termite happen to meet with one of thase fortunate couples, they immediately, impelled by their instinct, elect them sove- reigns of a new community, and, conveying them to a place of safety, begin to build them a small chamber of clay, their palace and their prison — for beyond its walls they never again emerge. Soon after the male dies, but, far from pining and wasting over the loss of her consort, the female increases so wonderfully in bulk that she ultimately weighs as much as 30,000 labourers, and attains a length of three inches, with a proportional width. This increase of size naturally requires a corresponding enlarge- ment of the cell, which is constantly widened by the indefatigable workers. Having reached her full size, the queen now begins to lay her eggs, and as their extrusion goes on uninterruptedly, night and day, at the rate of fifty or sixty in a minute, for about two years, their total number may probably amount to more than fifty millions ! A wonderful fecundity, which explains how a termite colony, originally few in number, increases in a few years to a population equalling or surpassing that of the British empire. 286 ANTS AND TERMITES This incessant extrusion of eggs necessarily calls for the at- tention of a large number of the workers in the royal chamber, to take them as they come forth, and carry them to the nurse- ries, in which, when hatched, they are provided with food, and carefully attended till they are able to shift for themselves, and become in their turn useful to the community. In widening their buildings according to the necessities of their growing population, from the size of small sugar-loaves to that of domes which might be mistaken for the hovels of Indians or negroes, as well as in repairing their damages, the termite workers display an unceasing and wonderful activity ; while the soldiers, or neuters, which are in the proportion of about one to every hundred labourers, and are at once distin- guished by the enormous size of their heads, armed with long and sharp jaws, are no less remarkable for their courage and energy. When any one is bold enough to attack their Soldier ^^^^ ^^^ make a breach in its walls, the labourers, who are incapable of fighting, immediately retire, upon which a soldier makes his appearance, obviously for the purpose of reconnoitring, and then also withdraws to give the alarm. Two or three others next appear, scrambling as fast as they can one after the other ; to these succeed a large body, who rush forth with as much speed as the breach will permit, their numbers continually increasing during the attack. These little heroes present an astonishing, and at the same time a most amusing spectacle. In their haste they frequently miss their hold, and tumble down the sides of their hill ; they soon, however, recover themselves, and being blind, bite everything they run against. If the attack proceeds, the bustle increases to a tenfold degree, and their fury is raised to its highest pitch. Woe to him whose hands or legs come within their reach, for they will make their fanged jaws meet at the very first stroke, drawing their own weight in blood, and never quitting their hold, even though they are pulled limb from limb. The courage of the bulldog is as nothing com- pared to the fierce obstinacy of the termite-soldier. So soon as the injury has ceased, and no further interruption is given, the soldiers retire, and then you will see the labourers hastening in various directions towards the breach, each carrying FOES OF THE TERMITES 287 in his mouth a load of tempered mortar half as big as himself, which he lays on the edge of the orifice, and immediately hastens back for more. Not the space of the tenth part of an inch is left without labourers working upon it at the same moment ; crowds are constantly hurrying to and fro ; yet, amid all this activity, the greatest order reigns — no one impedes the other, but each seems to thread the mazes of the multitude without trouble or inconvenience. By the united labours of such an infinite host the ruined wall soon rises again; and Mr. Smeathman has ascertained that in a single night they will restore a gallery of three or four yards in length. In numbers and architectural industry the American Termites are not inferior to those of the old world. In the savannas of Guiana their sugar-loaf or mushroom-shaped, pyramidal or columnar hills are everywhere to be seen, impenetrable to the rain, and strong enough to resist even a tropical tornado. On the summits of these artificial mounds a neat little falcon {Falco spai'verias) often takes his station, darting down, from time to time, like lightning upon some unfortunate lizard, and then again speedily returning to his look-out. The large caracara eagle (Polyborus caracara) likewise chooses these eminences as an observatory from whence he rushes robber-like on his prey ; there also an ugly black lizard {Ecchymiotes torquatus) loves to sun itself, but disappears immediately in the grass as soon as a traveller approaches. In many parts of the Brazilian campos or savannas the termite-hills, which are there generally of a more flattened form, are so numerous that one is almost sure to meet with one of them at the distance of every ten or twenty paces. The great ant-bear digs deep holes into their sides, where after- wards small owls build their nests. Similar termite structures, of a dark-brown colour, and a round form, are attached to the thick branches of the trees, and you will scarcely meet with a single specimen of the tall candelabra-formed cactuses {Cerei), so common on those high grass-plains, that is not loaded with their w^eight. • In spite of their working in the dark, in spite of their sub- terranean tunnels, their strongholds, and the fecundity of their queens, the termites, even when their swarms do not expose themselves to the dangers already mentioned, are subject to 28» ANTS AND TERMITES the attacks of innumerable foes — myrmecophagi, orycteropi, birds, and a whole host of insects — that do man no little service by keeping them within bounds. One of their most ferocious enemies is a species of black ant, which, on the principle of setting one thief to catch another, is used by the negroes of Mauritius for their destruction. When they perceive that the covered ways of the termites are ap- proaching a building, they drop a train of syrup as far as the nearest encampment of the hostile army. Some of the black ants, attracted by the smell and taste of their favourite food, follow its traces and soon find out the termite habitations. Im- mediately part of them return to announce the welcome intelli- gence, and after a few hours a black army, in endless columns, is seen to advance against the white-ant stronghold. With irre- sistible fury (for the poor termites are no match for their poisonous sting and mighty mandibles), they rush into the galleries, and only retreat after the extirpation of the colony. Mr. Baxter (" Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon ") once saw an army of black ants returning from one of these expeditions. Each little warrior bore a slaughtered termite in his mandibles, rejoicing no doubt in the prospect of a comfortable meal, or a quiet dinner-party at home. Even man is a great consumer of termites, and they are esteemed a delicacy by negroes and Indians, both in the old and in the new world. " The Bayeiye chief Palani, visiting us while eating," says Dr. Livingstone, " I gave him a piece of bread and preserved apricots, and as he seemed to relish it much, I asked him if he had any food equal to that in his country. * Ah I ' said he, ' did you ever taste white ants V As I never had, he replied : ' Well, if you had, you never could have desired to eat anything better.' " In some parts of the East Indies the natives have an ingenioui way of emptying a termite-hill, by making two holes in it, one to the windward and the other to the leeward, placing at the^ latter opening a pot rubbed with an aromatic herb to receiv^ the insects, when driven out of their nest by a fire of stinking) materials made at the former breach. Thus they catch great quantities, of wliich they make, with flour, a variety of pastry. In South Africa the general way of catching them is to dig into the ant-hill, and when the builders come forth to repair the MAKCHING TERMITES 289 damage, to brush them off quickly into the vessel, as the ant- eater does into his mouth. They are then parched in iron pots over a gentle fire, stirring them about as is done in roasting i coffee, and eaten by handfuls, without sauce or any other addi- 1 tion, as we do comfits. According to Smeathman, they resemble I in taste sugared cream, or sweet almond paste, and are, at the I same time, so nutritious, that the Hindoos use them as a I restorative for debilitated patients. I While most termites live and work entirely under covered galleries, the marching white ant {T. viarum) exposes itself to [ the day. Mr. Smeathman on one occasion, while passing through a dense forest, suddenly heard a loijd hiss like that of a serpent ; another followed, and struck him with alarm ; but a moment's reflection led him to conclude that these sounds pro- ceeded from white ants, although he could not see any of their huts around. On following this noise, however, he was struck with surprise and pleasure at perceiving an army of these creatures emerging from a hole in the ground, and marching with the utmost swiftness. Having proceeded about a yard, this immense host divided into two columns, chiefly com- posed of labourers, about fifteen abreast, following each other in close order, and going straight forward. Here and there was seen a soldier, carrying his vast head with apparent difficulty, at a distance of a foot or two from the columns ; many other soldiers were to be seen, standing still or passing about, as if upon the look-out lest some enemy should suddenly sur- prise their unwarlike comrades. But the most extraordinary and amusing part of the scene was exhibited by some other soldiers, who having mounted some plants, ten or fifteen inches from the ground, hung over the army marching below, and by striking their jaws upon the leaves at certain in- tervals, produced the noise above mentioned ; to this signal the whole army immediately returned a hiss, and increased their pace. The soldiers at these signal-stations sat quite still during these intervals of silence, except now and then making a slight turn of the head, and seemed as solicitous to keep their posts as regular sentinels. After marching sepa- rately for twelve or fifteen paces, the two columns of this army again united, and then descended into the earth by two or three holes. Mr. Smeathman watched them for more than an hour, u 290 ANTS AND TEKMITES without perceiving their numbers to increase or diminish. Both the labourers and soldiers of this species are furnished with eyes. One of the many unsolved mysteries of termite life is whence they derive the large supplies of moisture with which they not only temper the clay for the construction of their long covered ways above ground, but for keeping their passages uniformly damp and cool below the surface. Yet their habits in this particular are unvarying, in the seasons of drought as well as after rain ; in the most arid positions ; in situations inaccessible to drainage from above, and cut off by rocks and impervious strata from springs from below. Struck with this wonderful phenomenon, Dr. Livingstone raises the question whether the termites may not possess the power of combining the oxygen or hydrogen of their vegetable food by vital force, so as to form water ; and indeed it is highly probable that they are endowed with some such faculty, which, however wonderful, would still be far less astonishing than the miracles of their architec- tural instinct. 291 CHAPTER XXVI. TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS. Immense Webs of several Tropical Spiders — Their Means of Defence — Beautiful Colouring of the Epeiras — The Trap-door Spider — Wonderful Maternal Instincts of Spiders — Enemies of the Spiders — Their Usefulness — Mortal Combat ■ between a Spider and a Cockroach — Scorpions — Dreadful Effects of the Sting of Tropical Scorpions — A Scorpion Battle — The Galeodes — Combat of a Galeode and a Lizard — Formidable character of the Tropical Centipedes. AN insect, half of whose body is generally fixed to the other by a mere thread, whose soft skin is unable to resist the least pressure, and whose limbs are so loosely attached to the body as to be torn off by the slighest degree of force, would seem utterly incapable of protecting its own life and securing that of its progeny. Such, however, is the physical condition of the spiders, who would long since have been extirpated, if nature had not provided them with the power of secreting two liquids, the one a venom ejected by their mandibles, the other of a glutinous nature, transuded by papillae at the end of their abdomen. These two liquids amply supply the want of all other weapons of attack or defence, and enable them to hold their own against a host of enemies. With the former they instantly paralyse insects much stronger and much more formidable in appearance than themselves ; while with the latter they spin those threads which serve them in so many ways, to weave their wonderful webs, to traverse the air, to mount vertically, to drop uninjured, to construct the hard cocoons intended to protect their eggs against their numberless enemies, or to produce the soft down which is to preserve them from the cold. Preying on other insect tribes, which they attack with the ferocity of the tiger, or await in their snares with the patient u 2 292 TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS artifice of the lynx, the spiders may naturally be expected to be nftost numerous in the torrid zone, where nature has provided them with the greatest abundance of food. There also, where so many beetles, flies, and moths attain a size unknown in temperate re- gions, we find the spiders growing to similar gigantic dimensions, and forming webs proportioned to the bulk of the victims which they are intended to ensnare. In some parts of Makololo, Dr. Livingstone saw great numbers of a large beautiful yellow-spotted spider, the webs of which were about a yard in diameter. The lines on which these webs were spun, extended from one tree to another, and were as thick as coarse thread. The fibres radiated from a central point, where the insect waited for its prey. The webs were placed per- pendicularly, and a common occurrence in walking was to get the face enveloped in them, as a lady is in a veil. By means of their monstrous webs many giant-spiders of the tropical zone are enabled to entangle not only the largest butterflies and moths, but even small birds. Tremeyer tells us that there are spiders in Mexico which extend such strong nets across the pathways, that they strike off the hat of the passer by ; and at Groree and in Senegal several spiders spin threads so ^ strong as to be able to bear a weight of several ounces, and which no doubt would be made use of for twine, if the negroes did not already possess vegetable fibres in abundance fit for the purpose. In the forests of Java, Sir Greorge Staunton saw spider-webs of so strong a texture that it required a sharp knife to cut one's way through them ; and many other similar ex- amples might be mentioned. These large spiders so temptingly suspended in mid-air in the forest glades, seem very much exposed to the attacks of birds, but in many cases it has pleased nature to invest them with large angular spines sticking out of their bodies in every kind of fashion. Some are so protected by these long prickles that their bodies resemble a miniature "chevaux de frise," and could not by any possibility be swallowed by a bird without pro- ducing a very unpleasant sensation in his throat. One very remarkable species {Gasteracantha arcuata, Koch) has two enormous recurved conical spines, proceeding upwards from the posterior part of the body, and several times longer than the entire spider. STRATAGEMS OF SPIDERS 293 Other aranese, to whom these means of defence have been denied, are enabled by their colour to escape the attacks of many enemies, or to deceive the vigilance of many of their victims. Thus, those that spend their lives among the flowers and foliage of the trees are, in general, delicately and beautifully marked with green, orange, black, and j^ellow, while those which fre- quent gloomy places are clothed with a dark-coloured and dingy garb, in accordance with their habits. In the forests about Calderas, in the Philippine Archipelago, Mr. Adams saw handsomely coloured species of theridia crouching among the foliage of the trees: while numbers of the same genus of a black colour were running actively about among the dry dead leaves that strewed the ground, looking, at a little distance, like odd-shaped ants, and no doubt deceiving many an antago- nist by this appearance. One species, which knew it was being watched, placed itself upon a diseased leaf, where it remained quite stationary until after the departure of the naturalist, who, had he not seen the sidelong movement of the cunning little creature in the first instance, would not have been able to dis- tinguish its body from the surface of the leaf. While, in this case, dulness of colour served as a defence, the vividly-coloured spiders that live among the foliage and flowers no doubt attract many flies and insects by reason of their gaudily-tinted bodies. One of the most remarkable instances of the harmony of colour between the aranese and their usual haunts was noticed by Mr. Adams among dense thickets formed by the Abrus pre- catoria, where he found a spider with a black abdomen marked on each side with scarlet, thus resembling the colours of the seeds of the Abrus, so well known to children under the name of ** black-a-moor beauties." An exception to the general rule is, however, found in those very large and powerful species, which, if not rendered some- what conspicuous to the sight of other insects, might do too much damage to the tribes which they keep in check. Most of these, therefore, have the thorax and abdomen margined with a light colour that contrasts strongly with that of their bodies, and, in many cases, gives timely warning of their approach. The European spiders have generally a very repulsive ap- pearance, while many of the tropical species are most splendidly 294 TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS ornamented, or rather illuminated, many of them by the vivid- ness of their colours resembling the gaudy missals painted by monks in the Middle Ages. Thus, among the epeiras of the Philippian Isles, are found white figures on a red ground ; red, yellow, and black, in alternate streaks; orange marbled with brown, light green with white ocelli, yellow with light brown festoons, or ash-coloured and chesnut bodies with crescents, horse- shoes, Chinese characters, and grotesque hieroglyphics of every description. Unfortunately, these colours, lustrous and metallic as the feathers of the humming-bird, are, unlike the bright colours of the beetle, totally dependent on the life of the insect which they beautify, so that it is impossible to preserve them. While most spiders obtain their food either by patiently w^ait- ing in ambush or by catching it with a bound, the enormous mygales, or trap-door spiders, run about with great speed in and out, behind and around every object, searching for what they may devour, and from their size and rapid motions exciting the horror of every stranger. Their body, which sometimes attains a length of three inches, w^hile their legs embrace a circle of half a foot in diameter, is covered all over with brown, reddish brown, or black hair, which gives them a funereal appearance, while their long feelers armed with sharp hooks proclaim at once what formidable antagonists they must be to every insect that comes within their reach. Though some species are found in Southern Europe, in Chili, or at the Cape, yet they are chiefly inhabitants of the torrid zone, both in the old and the new world. Some of them weave cells between the leaves, in the hollows of trees or rocks, while others dig deep tubular holes in the earth, which they cover over with a lid, or rather with a door formed of particles of earth cemented by silken fibres, and closely resembling the surrounding ground. This door or valve is united by a silken hinge to the entrance at its upper side, and is so balanced, that when pushed up, it shuts again by its own weight ; nay, what is still more admirable, on the interior side opposite to the hinge a series of little holes may be perceived, into which the mygale introduces its claws to keep it shut, should any enemy endeavour to open it by force. The interior of the nest, which is sometimes nine inches deep, is lined with a double coat of tapestry, the one nearest the MATERNAL INSTINCTS OP SPIDERS 295 wall, which is of a coarser tissue, being covered with a pure white silken substance like paper. " In the forests of Brazil," says Mr. Swainson, " we once met with a most interesting little spider, which sheltered itself in the same manner. Its case was suspended in the middle of its web. Upon being disturbed, the little creature ran to it with swiftness. No sooner had it gained its retreat than the door closed as if by a spring, and left us in silent admiration — too great to lead us to capture the ingenious little creature for our collection." At Caldera, Mr. Adams observed a dingy little species of ! spider of the genus Clubiona, concealing itself in very snug retreats formed out of a dead leaf, rolled round in the shape of a , cylinder, lined with a soft silken tissue, and closed at one end by i means of a strong woven bolt-door. When hunted, it was amusing to see the frightened little creatures run for protection into their tiny castles, where they would doubtless be safe from \ the attacks of birds, owing to the leaves not being distinguishable from others that strew the ground. All species of spiders are gifted with the same maternal i instinct, and resort to various methods for the purpose of secur- , ing their cocoons. The Theridion, when a seizure of the precious J burden is threatened, tumbles together with it to the ground, I and remains motionless, while the Thorinsa covers it with its t body, and when robbed of it, wanders about disconsolate. In a I forest of the Sooloo Islands, Mr. Adams found the ground lite- rally overrun with a small black agile species of Lycosa, many of which had a white flattened globose cocoon affixed to the ends of their abdomen. It was most amusing to watch the care with which these jealous mothers protected the cradles of their little ones, allowing themselves to fall in to the hands of the enemy rather than be robbed of the silken nests that contained them. If the spiders are at war with all other insects, and con- I tribute to keep them within bounds by the destruction they ' cause among their ranks, they in their turn have to suffer from the attacks of many enemies. Several species of monkeys, squirrels, lizards, tortoises, frogs, and toads catch and devour them wherever they can. In Java and Sumatra, we even I find several birds belonging to the order of sparrows that have been named Arachnotherse, from their living almost exclu- sively on spiders. Armed with a prodigiously long recurved 296 TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS and slender beak, they know how to pursue them and drag them forth from the most obscure recesses. It is amongst the insects themselves, however, that the spiders have to fear their most numerous and formidable enemies. Independently of those which they find in their own class, the centipedes seize them beyond the possibility of escape ; while several species of philanthus, pompilius, and sphex, more savage and poisonous than themselves, will rush upon spiders eight times their size and weight, and benumbing them with a sting, bear them ofi' to their jiests, to serve as food for their larvae. But the insects which in appearance are the tiniest and most delicate, are perhaps those which most cruelly wound the spiders, by attacking them in their eggs, which they watch over with such affection, as to be ever ready for them to make the sacrifice of their own lives. The Pimpla Arachnitor pierces with its invisible gimlet the tender skin of the spider's egg, and, without tearing it, introduces its own eggs into the liquid. The pimpla's egg soon comes to maturity, and the larva devours the substance of that of the spider, from whence a winged insect bursts forth — a phenomenon which made some naturalists, too hasty to judge from appearances, believe that spiders were able to procreate four-winged flies. Notwithstanding the disgust or horror which they generally inspire, the spiders are, with very rare exceptions, by no means injurious to man. However promptly their venom may act upon insects, even that of the largest species of Northern Europe produces, on coming into contact with our skin, no pain or in- flammation equalling in virulence that of the wasp, the bee, the gnat, or other insects of a still smaller size. The giant spiders of a sunnier sky, armed with more formidable weapons, naturally produce a more painful sting ; but even here the effects have been much exaggerated, and the wonderful stories about the Sicilian tarantula's bite, which we read of in Brydone and other authors, are nothing but fables raised upon a very slender foundation of truth. Azara mentions that, several of his negroes having been l)itten by the large Avicular mygale {M, avlcalaria) of South America, a slight ephemeral fever was the only result. In the country of the Makalolo, Dr. Livingstone feeling eomething running across his forehead as he was falling asleep, USES OF SPIDERS 297 put up his hand to wipe it off, and was sharply stung, both on the hand and head ; the pain was very acute. On obtaining a light, he found that it had been inflicted by a light-coloured spider about half an inch in length ; but one of the negroes hav- ing crushed it with his fingers, he had no opportunity of examin- ing whether the pain had been produced by poison from a sting, or from its mandibles. No remedy was applied, and the pain ceased in about two hours. The Bech Lianas believe that there is a small black spider in the country whose bite is fatal, but Dr. Livingstone never met with an instance in which death could be traced to this insect. If thus, among the many species of spiders, hardly a single one may be said to be formidable to man, the indirect services which they render him — by diminishing the number of noxious insects, or keeping in check the legions of gnats which irritate and annoy him by their attacks — are far from inconsiderable. Nor are they entirely without direct use. Several savage nations eat spiders, and the inhabitants of New Caledonia reckon a large species of epeira amongst the choicest delicacies of the land. Even in Europe some people enjoy a spider, and the famous astronomer Lalande was far from being singular in this respect. They are said to taste like filberts, and the proper way to eat them is to take off the legs, and to swallow the abdomen, after having washed and rubbed it with butter. The property of spiders'-webs to stop an haemorrhage or the bleeding of a wound is a well-known fact, and they have also been recommended as an anti-febrifuge. In several countries where the insects cause great ravages, the services of the spiders are duly appreciated. Thus in the West Indies, a large and formidable trap-door spider, which would make a European start back with horror, is looked upon with pleasure by the islanders of the torrid zone, who respect it as a sacred animal, by no means to be disturbed or harmed, as it delivers them from the cockroaches, which otherwise would overrun their dwellings. Those who do not possess these spiders take good care to purchase and transport them into their houses, expecting from them similar services to those we derive from a good domestic cat. I wonder whether it has ever been attempted to acclimatise this spider or any of 298 TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS the larger mygales in London, where they no doubt would be equally useful, and find a superabundance of vermin to feast upon. A trap-door spider bounding on a cockroach, with all the ferocity of a tiger springing on a deer or an antelope, would have all the interest of a bull-fight or a tournament, if the diminutive size of the combatants were swelled to more ample proportions. Mr. E. Layard has described (^^^ Ann. Mag. Nat. H.," May 1853) one of these encounters which he witnessed near a ruined temple in Ceylon. When about a yard apart, each of the enemies discerned the other and stood still, the spider with his legs slightly bent and his body raised, the cockroach confronting him, and directing his antennae with a restless undulation towards his enemy. The spider, by stealthy move- ments, approached to within a few inches, and paused, both par- ties eyeing each other intently ; then suddenly a rush, a scuffle, and both fell to the ground, when the blatta's wings closed ; the spider seized it under the throat with his claws, and when he had dragged it into a corner, the action of his jaws was dis- tinctly audible. Next morning, Mr. Layard found the soft parts of the body had been eaten, nothing but the head, thorax, and elytra remaining. When we consider the large size of many of the tropical spiders, and the strength of their threads, it seems probable that their cocoons might be put to some use. We are told by Azara, in his " Travels to Paraguay," that a spider exists in that country the silk of whose spherical cocoons, measuring an inch in diameter, is spun on account of its permanent orange-colour. The eyes and noses of the women employed in unravelliug the cocoons are said to water considerably, though without their perceiving any pungent smell, or feeling any other inconve- nience. This spider is perhaps the same as that which, according to M. de Bomare, is known in the interior of South America under the name of the silk spider. Its cocoon is of the size of a pigeon's egg, the silk is soft, and can be easily carded. Attempts have also been made in Europe to utilise the threads of the large indigenous spiders. About the beginning of the last century, M. Bon, a Frenchman, who seems to have been the THE SCORPIONS POISON 299 ': first that ever put the idea into practice, collected a sufficient I ! quantity to make some stockings and gloves, which he presented ' to the king, Louis Quatorze, and to the Academy of Sciences in Paris. His discovery caused a sensation at the time, and his dissertation on the subject was translated into all European languages, and at a later period even into the Chinese, by order of the Emperor Kien Long. The celebrated Eeaumur, however, wlio was commissioned by the Academy to report on M. Bon's discovery, pointed out how difficult it would be to put it to any extensive use, as it would require no less than '55,296 of the epeira diadema to produce a single pound of silk ; and how were all these to be provided with flies ! If the extreme fineness of the spider's tl Heads is an obstacle to their being spun and woven, this property, united with their ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^' metallic brilliancy, renders them an excellent material for the coiKstruction of the micrometers used for astronomical purposes: tlic finest silver-thread which it is possible to spin having a dia- meter of -q^ of an inch, while spiders' threads measure onl}^ ToVo or even -qoVo' Troughton, an eminent English instrument ( maker, first thought of substituting them for the silver-threads then in use, and they were found to answer so well that since . that time they have been constantly employed. j The scorpions, which even in Europe are reckoned among the most malignant insects, are truly terrific in the torrid zone, , where they frequently attain a length of six or seven inches. Closely allied to the spiders, their aspect is still more repulsive. Were one of the largest scorpions menacingly to creep up against you, with extended claws and its long articulated sharply-pointed tail projecting over its head, I think, despite the strength of your nerves, you would start back, justly concluding that a creature of such an aspect must necessarily come with the worst intentions. The poison of the scorpion is discharged like that of the snake. Near the tip of the crooked sting namely, which terminates the tail, we find two or three very small foramina, through which, on pressure, the venom of the gland with which they are connected , immediately issues forth. By means of this weapon, even the I small European scorpions are able to kill a dog, while the tropi- cal giants of the race inflict wounds that become fatal to man 300 TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS himself. The sting of several South American scorpions produces fever, numbness of the limbs, tumours on the tongue, weakness of the sight, and other nervous symptoms, lasting twenty-four or forty-eight hours ; but the African scorpions seem to be still more formidable. Mr. Swainson informs us that the only means of saving the lives of our soldiers who were stung by those of Egypt, was the amputation of the wounded limb ; and Professor Ehrenberg, who, while making his researches on the Natural History of the Red Sea, was stung five times by the Androctonus quinque- scorpion. striatus, and funestus, says he can well believe, from the dreadful pains he suffered, that the poison of these scorpions may become fatal to women and children. A servant of Mr. Russegger's ("Travels in Nubia"), while emptying a trunk, was stung in the breast by a large scorpion, which had concealed itself among the linen. For hours the pain was dreadful, shooting from time to time through the whole nervous system, and almost depriving the patient of conscious- ness. A cold perspiration covered his brow, and it was only after the internal and external application of ammonia, one of the chief remedies for sustaining the sinking flame of life, that he at length felt some relief, though he had still to suffer for several days from a strong fever. " The black, or rock scorpion," says Lieutenant Patterson, " is nearly as venomous as any of the serpent tribe. A farmer who resided at a place called the Paarle, near the Cape, was stung by one in the foot, during my stay in the country, and died in a few hours." The scorpions live mostly on the ground, in gloomy recesses, and even in the nooks and corners of dwelling-houses, so that, in countries where they are known to abound, it is necessary to be very cautious in removing stones, pieces of w^ood, &c. Of a ferocious cruel disposition, they are not only the foes of all other animals, but carry on a war of extermination among themselves, and are even said to kill and devour their own progeny, without pity, as soon as they are born ; thus rendering good service to the community at large. Maupertuis once in- closed a hundred scorpions — a select and delightful party — in THE GALEODES 301 a box. Immediately a furious battle ensued — one against all, all against one — and in an hour's time scarcely one of the combatants survived the conflict. The bite of the galeodes — a tropical insect closely related to the scorpion (and resembling it in form), but without a sting — is said to be fatal to man and beast. Captain Hutton, who has 1 described the Galeodes vorax of India,* once threw a lizard, six inches long, before this insect. The galeodes immediately sprang upon the reptile, fastening upon its shoulders ; and .though at first the poor lizard defended itself valiantly, roll- ing about in all directions, and endeavouring to shake off its tormentor, the galeodes held fast, gnawing deeper and deeper until it reached the vitals of its victim, which it finally devoured, leaving nothing but skin and bone behind. A young sparrow confined under a glass bell with a galeodes was also killed ; the insect, however, did not devour the bird, or any part of it, but seemed satisfied with having killed it. The poison of the scorpion is lodged in its tail, but that of the centipede is in its jaws. These are likewise among the pests of tropical climates; for, although several are found in Europe, or even in Britain, yet, from their small size, they are harmless to man. Those of India and South America, on the other hand, are enormous, frequently six or seven inches long, and their sting is no less painful and virulent than that of the dreaded scorpion itself. Several of these creatures are phosphorescent; and the elegant colouring of some of the large tropical species would no doubt be admired if their noxious qualities, their strange form, and their resemblance to caterpillars and worms, did not inspire a disgust which it is difficult to surmount. centipede. * " Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal," No. 45. Coral Island. CHAPTER XXVII. THE TEOPICAL OCEAN. Wanderings of an Iceberg — The Tropical Ocean — The Cachalot — The Frigate Bird — The Tropic Bird— The Esculent Swallow — The Flying-fish — The Bonito — The White Shark — Tropical Fishes — Crustaceans — Land Crabs — MoUusks — Jelly Fish — Coral Islands. DAY after day the glacier of the north protrudes its mass, farther and farther into the sea, until finally, rent by the tides, and with a crash louder than that of the avalanche, the iceberg rolls into the abyss. The frost-bound waters, that have languished so many years in their Grreenland prison, are now drifting to the south, on their way to the tropical ocean ; but the sun must still rise and set for many a day before they bid adieu to the fogs of the north. See there yon dismal ice-blocked shore, with the jagged mountains in the background, their snowy peaks rising high into the sky. Screeching sea-birds — fulmars, gulls, guillemots, auks — mix their hoarse voices with the melancholy tones of the breakers and the winds, and between them all resounds, from time to time, the bellowing of the walrus or the roar of the polar bear. The weak rays of the sun, just dipping over the horizon, have called forth these symptoms of life; but as soon as the TROPICAL SEA-BIRDS 303 great luminary disappears, animal creation becomes mute, and the voices of the air and ocean are again the only sounds which j break the silence of the arctic night. The crystal mass floats along, buried in deep darkness ; but soon a new and wondrous sight is seen, for the flaming swords ! of the northern light flit through the heavens, casting a magic I gleam, here on the desert shore, there on the dark bosom of the sea. Advancing farther and farther to the south, the iceberg loses one after another the witnesses of its first migrations, and wasting more and more, at length entirely merges in the tepid Gulf-stream. The enthralled waters are now all liberated, but many on their western passage are again diverted to the north, and the others reach, only after a long circuit, the mighty equatorial stream, which carries them along, through the torrid ocean, from one hemisphere to the other. The animal life they meet with in these sunny regions is very Sperm Whale. diff'erent from that which witnessed their passage through the higher latitudes. The large whalebone whale, the rorqual and narwhal of the north, have disappeared, but pods of the mighty sperm whale rapidly traverse the equatorial seas. The birds also exhibit new types of being. The royal alba- tross avoids the torrid zone, but the high-soaring frigate-bird hovers over the waters, where it is seen darting upon the flying-fish, and like the skua gull of the north, attacking 304 THE TROPICAL OCEAN the weaker sea-birds in order to make them disgorge their prey. " He is almost always a constant attendant upon our fisher- men," says Dr. Chamberlain,* "when pursuing their vocation on the sand-banks in Kingston Har- bour, or near the Palisados. Over their heads it takes its aerial stand, and watches their motions with a patience and a perseverance the most exemplary. It is upon these occasions that the pelicans, the gulls, and other sea-birds become its associates and companions. These are also found watching with equal eagerness and anxiety the issue of the fishermen's progress, attracted to the spot by the sea of living objects immediately beneath them. And then it is, when these men are making their last haul, and the finny tribes are fluttering and panting for life, that this voracious bird exhibits his fierce propensities. His hungry companions have scarcely secured their prey by the side of the fishermen's canoes, when, with the lightning's dart, they are pounced upon with such violence, that to escape its rapacious assaults they readily, in turn, yield their hard-earned booty to this formidable opponent. The lightness of its trunk, the short torso and vast spread of wing, together with its long slender and forked tail, all conspire to give it a superiority over its tribe, not only in length and rapidity of flight, but also in the power of maintaining itself, on outspread pinions, in the regions of its aerial habitations amidst the clouds; where, at times, so lofty are its soarings, that its figure becomes almost invisible to the spectator in this nether world." The beautiful tropic birds, whose name implies the limit of their abode — for they are seldom seen but a few degrees south or north of either tropic — hover at such .a distance from the nearest land, that it is still an enigma where they pass the night — whether they sleep upon the waters, or whether their extraordinary length of wing bears them to some isolated rock. Nothing can be more graceful than their flight. They glide * " Jamaica Almanac," 1843. TROPICAL SEA-BIRDS 305 along, most frequently without any motion of their outstretched ])inions, but at times this smooth progression is interrupted by sudden jerks. When they see a ship, they never fail to sail round it, and the mariner bound to the equatorial regions, hails them as the harbingers of the tropics. The two long straight narrow feathers of which their tail consists, are employed by the natives of the greater part of the South Sea Islands as ornaments of dress, and serve to distinguish the chieftains from ilie multitude. The esculent swallow {Golocalia esculenta) — whose edible nest, formed by a secretion which hardens in the air, is one of the greatest dainties of the Chinese epicure — may almost be considered as a sea-bird, as it chiefly inhabits marine caves in various islands of the Indian Archipelago, and exclusively seeks its food in the teeming waters. The steep sea-walls along the south coast of Java are clothed to the very brink with luxuriant woods, and screw- pines strike everywhere their roots into their sides or look down from the margin of the rock upon the sea below. The surf of ages has worn deep caves into the chalk cliffs, and here the swallow builds her nest. When the sea is most agitated, whole swarms are seen flying about, and purposely seeking the thickest wave-foam, where no doubt they find their food. From a projecting cape, or looking down upon the play of waters, may be seen the mouth of the cave of Gua Eongkop, sometimes completely hidden under the waves, and then again opening its black recesses, into which the swallows vanish, or from which they dart forth with the rapidity of light- ning. While at some distance from the coast the blue ocean sleeps in peace, it never ceases to fret and foam against the foot of these mural rocks, where the most beautiful rainbows glisten in the rising vapour. Who can explain the instinct which prompts the birds to glue their nests to the high dark vaults of those apparently inaccessible caverns? Did they expect to find them a safe retreat from the persecutions of man? Then surely their I hopes were vain, for where is the refuge to which his greedi- 1 ness cannot find the way ? At the cavern of Gua Gede the j brink of the coast lies eighty feet above the level of the sea at ebb-tide. The wall first bends inwards, and then at a 306 THE TROPICAL OCEAX height of twenty-five feet from the sea throws out a project- ing ledge, which is of great use to the nest-gatherers, serving as 'a support for a rattan ladder let down from the cliff. The roof of the cavern's mouth lies only ten Feet above the sea, which even at ebb-tide completely covers the floor of the cave, while at flood-tide the opening of the vast grotto is entirely closed by every wave that rolls against it. To penetrate into the interior is thus only possible at low water, and during very tranquil weather, and even then it could not be done if the roof were not perforated and jagged in every direction. The boldest and strongest of the nest-gatherers wedges himself firmly in the hollows, or clings to the projecting stones while he fastens rattan ropes to them, which then hang four or five feet from the roof. To the lower end of these ropes long rattan cables are attached, so that the whole forms a kind of suspension bridge, throughout the entire length of the cavern, alternately rising and falling with its inequalities. The cave is 100 feet broad and 150 feet long, as far as its deepest recesses. If we justly admire the intrepidity of the St. Kildans, who, let down by a rope from the high level of their rocky birthplace, remain suspended over a boisterous sea, we needs must also pay a tribute of praise to the boldness of the Javanese nest- gatherers, who, before preparing their ladders for the plucking of the birds' nests, first offer solemn prayers to the goddess of the south coast, and deposit gifts on the tomb where the first discoverer of the caves and their treasures is said to repose. While traversing the tropical ocean, the mariner often sees whole shoals of flying-fishes {Exocoetus volitans, Pterois volitans) dart out of the waters to escape the jaws of the bonito, and the coryphaena. But while avoiding the perils of the deep, new dangers await them in the air, for before ■ they can drop into the sea, the frigate-bird frequently pounces upon them, and draws them, head-foremost, into his maw. Corypiiaena. The bonito and coryphaena in their turn are often transpierced by the lance . of the sword-fish, who, like the saw-snouted pristis, is said to engage even the sperm whale, and to put this huge leviathan to flight. THE FROG-FISH 307 But of all the monsters of the tropical seas, there is none more dreaded by man than the white shark. Woe to the sailor that falls overboard while one of these tyrants of the ocean is prowling about the ship ; but woe also to the shark who, caught by a baited hook, is drawn on board, for a slow and cruel death is sure to be his lot. Mutilated and hacked to pieces, his torments are protracted by his uncommon tenacity of life. Such, besides herds of playful dolphins, are the members of the finny creation most commonly met with on the high seas, but i in general the waters at a greater distance from the land are )* poor in fishes. The tropical fishes chiefly abound near the ^ coasts, in the sheltered lagoons, and in the channels which wind through numberless reefs or islands. As the colibris dart from flower to flower in the Brazilian woods, thus the gorgeous balistinae and glyphodons sport ;il)()ut the submerged coral -gardens, and en- hance the brilliancy of their fairy bowers. While these lustrous fishes, belted with azure, led, and gold, defy the imagination of the ])oet to describe their beauty, others remind one by their deformity of the chimeras engen- dered by the diseased brain of a delirious patient. Here we see the hideous frog-fish creeping along like a toad upon his hand- like fin, there the sun-fish swimming about like a vast head severed from its trunk. Cased like the armadillo in an inflexible coat of mail, into which every movable part can be withdrawn, the trunk-fish derides the attack of many an enemy ; and inflating its spiny body, the diodon, like the hedgehog of the land, bids defiance to his foes. . On examining the crustacean world, we find that it has established its head-quarters in the tropical zone. There a multitude of wondrous types un- known to the colder regions of the globe attract the attention of the naturalist: the transparent phyllosomas, not thicker than the thinnest wafer, and the strange sword-tails, whose body is covered by a double shield, and terminates in a long horny process, used by the X 2 Sun Fish. Limulas. 308 THE TROPICAL OCEAN Malays as a point for their arrows. The crabs and lobsters of the tropical waters are not only more numerous than in our colder seas, but they attain a far greater size than those of the temperate regions of the globe. The decapod crustaceans (cray-fish) which inhabit our rivers and brooks, are long-tailed like the lobster, but in the torrid zone the river species all belong to the order of the short- tailed crabs, the most perfect and highly developed of the class. Some species even entirely forsake the water and spend their days on shore, not only on the beach, but far inland on the hills. When the season for spawning arrives, vast armies of these land-crabs set out from their moun- tainous abodes, marching in a direct line to the sea-shore, for the purpose of depositing their eggs in the sand. On this expedition nothing is allowed to deter them from their course. With unyielding perseverance they surmount every obstacle, whether it be a house, rock, or other body, never thinking of going round, but scaling and passing over it in a straight line. Having reached the limit of their journey, they deposit their eggs in the sand, and recommence their toil- some march towards their upland retreats. They set out after nightfall and steadily advance, until the dawn warns them to seek concealment in the inequalities of the ground or among any kind of rubbish, where they lie, until the stars again invite them to pursue their course. On their seaward journey they are in full vigour and fine condition, and this is the time when they are caught in great numbers for the table, their flesh being held in high estimation ; but on returning from the coast, they are exhausted, poor, and unfit for use. The mollusks are no less profusely scattered over the tropical seas and coasts than the higher organised crustaceans. There we find those mighty cephalopods whose long fleshy processes, as thick as a man's thigh, are able, it is said, to seize the fisherman in his boat and drag him into the sea ; and there is the abode of the tridacna, whose colossal valves, measuring five feet across, attain a weight of five hundred pounds, and serve both as re- ceptacles for holy water in Catholic churches and to collect the rain in the South Sea Islands. The rarest and most beautiful of shells, the royal spondylus, the carinaria vitrea, the scalaria pretiosa, the cypraca aurora, CORAL ISLANDS 309 .iiid a host of volutes, harps, marginelles, cones, &c., of the most . \(iuisite colouring, are all inhabitants of the warmer waters ; ,111(1 the most costly gift of the sea, the oriental pearl, is the produce of a mollusk which is found scattered over many parts oi^ the Indian and Pacific Oceans. I On descending still lower in the scale of marine life, we find I the jelly-fish disporting in the tropical waves in hosts as brilliant as the skies. Some are formed like a mushroom, others assume the shape of a belt or girdle ; others are globular, while some are circular, flat, or bell-shaped ; and others again resemble a bunch of berries. In colour, perhaps the most delicate is the lovely velella, with its pellucid crest, its green transparent body and fringe of purple tentacles ; but it is surpassed in size and gorgeousness by the physalia, or " Portuguese man of war," whose large air-sack, with its splendid vertical comb, shines in every shade of purple and azure. The greatest marvels of the tropical ocean are, however, beyond comparison, the won- drous buildings of the lithophytes, or stone polyps, the reefs and coral islands. Here we see them forming vast barriers which fringe the shores for hundreds and himdreds of miles ; there they rise in circular atolls . over the blue waves, like bridal rings dropped from the heavens upon the surface of the seas. All is wonderful in these amazing constructions — their puny archi- tects, the lagoons they encircle, the power with which they resist the most furious breakers, the little world of plants drifted over the waters, which ultimately covers them with a verdant crown, and invites man to settle on these gardens of the ocean. There the tall cocoa-palm rocks its feathered crest in the beeeze, affording both shade and fruit to the islander, and there the sea-bird finds a resting-place after its wide flight over the deserts of the equatorial sea. The Uropeltis Philippmus. CHAPTER XXVIII. SNAKES. First Impression of a Tropical Porest — Exaggerated Fears — Comparative rareness of Venomous Snakes — Their Habits and External Characters — Anecdote of the Prince of Neu Wied — The Bite of the Trigonocephalus — Antidotes - Fangs of the Venomous Snakes described — The Bush-Master — The Echidna Ocellata — The Rattlesnakes — Extirpated by Hogs — The Cobra de Capello — Indian Snake-Charmers — Maritime Excursions of the Cobra — The Egj^ptian Haje — The Cerastes — Boas and Pythons — The Jiboya — The Anaconda — Enemies of the Serpents — The Secretary — The Adjutant — The Mimgoos — A Serpent swallowed by another — The liocomotion of Serpents — Anatomy of their Jaws — A Python-Meal — Serpents feeding in the Zoological Gardens — Domesti- cation of the Rat-Snake — Water-Snakes. ON penetrating for the first time into a tropical forest, the traveller is moved by many conflicting emotions. This luxuriance of vegetation revelling in ever-changing forms, these giants of the vi^ood clasped by the python-folds of enormous creepers, and bearing whole hosts of parasites on their knottyj arms ; this abundance of blossoms, equally captivating to th eye and delicious to the smell, all unite in raising the so to the fullest enjoyment of the moment ; and yet the heart is, at the same time, chilled with vague fears, that mix like a dis VENOMOUS SXAKES 311 (ordant sound witli the harmonies of this sylvan world. For ill the hollows of the tangled roots and in the dense underwood of the forest a brood of noxious reptiles loves to conceal itself, .111(1 who knows whether a snake, armed with poisonous fangs, may not dart forth from the rustling foliage. Gradually, however, these reflections wear away, and time and experience convince one that the snakes in the tropical woods are hardly more to be feared than in the forests of Germany or France, where also the viper will sometimes inflict a deadly wound. These reptiles are, indeed, far from being of so frequent occurrence as is generally believed ; and on meeting with a snake, there is every probability of its belonging to the liarmless species, which show themselves much more frequently by day, and are by far more numerous. Even in India and Ceylon, where serpents are said to abound, they make their appearance so cautiously that the surprise of long residents is invariably expressed at the rarity with which they are to be seen. Dr. Russell, who particularly studied the serpents of India, found that, out of forty-three species which he himself examined, not more than seven were found to possess poisonous fangs ; and Davy, whose attention was carefully directed to the snakes of Ceylon, came to the conclusion that but four out of the twenty species he could collect, were venomous, and that, of these, only two were capable of inflicting a wound likely to be fatal to man. Sir E. Tennent, who frequently performed journeys of two to five hundred miles through the jungle without seeing a single snake, never heard, during his long residence in Ceylon, of the death of a European which was caused by the bite of one of these reptiles; and in almost every instance accidents to the natives happened at night, when the animal, having been sur- prised or trodden on, had inflicted the wound in self-defence. Thus, to avoid danger, the Singhalese, when obliged to leave their houses in the dark, carry a stick with a loose ring, the noise of which, as they strike it on the ground, is sufiBcient to warn the snakes to leave their path. fe During his five years' travels through the whole breadth of tropical America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, M. de Cas- telnau, although ever on the search, collected no more than ninety-one serpents, of which only twenty-one were poisonous ; 312 SNAKES a proof that they are not more frequently met with in the priaiitive forests of Brazil, than in the jungles of India or Ceylon. The habits of the venomous snakes, and the external characters by which they are distinguished from the harmless species, like- wise tend to diminish the danger to be apprehended from them. Thus, their head is generally flat, broad, lanceolate ; they have an aperture or slit on each cheek, behind the nostrils, and an elongated vertical pupil like many other nocturnal animals. They are also generally slower and more indolent in their motions, and thu^ are more easily avoided. No venomous snake will ever be found on a tree, and on quietly approaching one in the forest or in the savanna, it will most likely creep away without disputing the path, as it is not very anxious uselessly to squander the venom which nature gave it as the only means for procuring itself food. " There is not much danger in roving amongst snakes," says Waterton, who, from spending many a month in tropical wilds, may justly be called an excellent authority, *' provided only that you have self-command. You must never approach them abruptly ; if so, you are sure to pay for your rashness ; because the idea of self-defence is predominant in every animal, and thus the snake, to defend himself from what he considers an attack upon him, makes the intruder feel the deadly effect of his envenomed fangs. The labarri snake is very poisonous, yet I have often approached within two yards of him without fear. I took care to advance very softly and gently, without moving my arms, and he always allowed me to have a fine view of him, without showing the least inclination to make a spring at me. He would appear to keep his eye fixed on me, as though suspicious, but that was all. Sometimes I have taken a stick ten feet long and placed it on the labarri's back; he would then glide away, without offering resistance. However, when I put the end of the stick abruptly to his head, he immediately opened his mouth, flew at it, and bit it." But although acci- dents from venomous snakes are comparatively rare, yet the consequences are dreadful when they do take place, and the sight of a cobra or a trigonocephalus preparing for its fatal spring may well appal the stoutest heart. Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied, having wounded a tapir. FATAL ACCIDENTS 313 was following the traces of his game along with his Indian hunter, when suddenly his companion uttered a loud scream. He had come too near a labarri snake, and the dense thicket prevented his escape. Fortunately the first glance of the distinguished naturalist fell upon the reptile, which with extended jaws and projecting fangs was ready to dart upon the Indian, but at the same moment, struck by a ball from the prince's rifle, lay writhing on the ground. The Indian, though otherwise a strong-nerved man, was so paralysed by fear, that it was some time before he could recover his self- possession — a proof, among others, that it is superfluous to attribute a fascinating power to the venomous snakes, as the effects of terror are quite sufficient to explain why smaller animals, imable to flee the impending danger, become their unresisting victims, and even seem, as it were, wantonly to rush upon destruction. Thus Poppig saw on the banks of the Huallaga an unfortunate frog, which, after being for some time unable to move, at length made a desperate leap towards a large snake that was all the time fixing its eye upon it, and thus paid the confusion of its senses with the loss of its life. A poor Indian girl that accompanied Schomburgk on his travels through the forests of Guiana was less fortunate than the Prince of Neu Wied's companion. She was bitten by a trigonocephalus, and it was dreadful to see how soon the powers of life began to ebb under the fatal effects of the poison. The wound was immediately sucked, and spirits of ammonia, the usual remedy, profusely applied both externally and inwardly, but all in vain. In less than three minutes, a convulsive trembb'ng shook the whole body, the face assumed a cadaverous aspect, dreadful pains raged in the heart, in the back, less in the wound itself; the dissolved blood flowed from the ears and nose, or was spasmodically ejected by the stomach ; the pulse rose to 120-130 in the minute; the paralysis which first be- numbed the bitten foot spread farther and farther, and in less than eight minutes the unfortunate girl was no longer to be recognised. The same day the foot swelled to shapeless dimen- sions, and she lay senseless until, after an agony of sixty-three hours, death relieved her from her sufferings. A great many antidotes have been recommended against serpentine poison, but their very number proves their inef- ft 314 SNAKES ficacy. One of the most famous is the juice of a Peruvian climbing plant, the vejuco de Imaco {Mikania Haaco, Kunth), the remarkable properties of which were first discovered by a negro, who observed that when the huaco, a kind of hawk which chiefly feeds on snakes, has been bitten by one of them, it im- mediately flies to the vejuco and eats some of its leaves. It is a well-known fact that serpentine poison may be swallowed with impunity ; it shows its effects only on mixing directly with the blood. A tight ligature above the wound, along with sucking, burning, or cutting it out, are thus very rational remedies for preventing the rapid propagation of the venom. Suction is, however, not always unattended with danger to the person who undertakes the friendly office. Thus Schom- burgk relates the misfortunes of a poor Indian, whose son had been bitten in the cheek. The father instantly sucked the wound, but a hollow tooth conveyed the poison into his own body. His cheek swelled under excruciating pains, and without being able to save his son, his own health and vigour were for ever lost. For such are the dreadful consequences of this poison, that they incurably trouble the fountains of life. The wound generally breaks open every year, emitting a very offensive odour, and causes dreadful pains at every change of the weather. Although all the venomous snakes produce morbid symptoms nearly similar, yet the strength of the poison varies according to the species of the serpent, and to the circumstances under which it is emitted. It is said to be most virulent during very hot weather, when the moon changes, or when the animal is about to cast its skin. The effects are naturally more powerful and rapid when a larger quantity of poison flows into the wound, and a snake with exhausted supplies from repeated bitings will evidently strike less fatally than another whose glands are inflated with poison after a long repose. Before describing some of the most conspicuous of the venomous serpents, a few words on the simple but admirable mechanism of their delicate but needle-like fangs will not be out of place. Towards the point of the fang, which is invariably situated in the upper jaw, there is a little oblong aperture on the convex side of it, and through this there is a communication down the fang to the root, at which lies a little bag containing the poison. Thus, when the point of the fang is pressed, the THE COUNACUTCHI 315 loot of the fang also presses against the bag and sends up a [>ortion of the poison it contained. The fangs being extremely movable, can be voluntarily depressed or elevated ; and as from t heir brittleness they are very liable to break, nature, to provide for a loss that would be fatal, has added behind each of them smaller or subsidiary fangs ready to take their place in case of accident. Unrivalled in the display of every lovely colour of the rain- 1)0W, and unmatched in the effects of his deadly poison, the bush- master or counacutchi {Lachesis rhombeata) glides on, sole monarch of the forests of Guiana or Brazil, as both man and 1 least fly before him. In size he surpasses most other venomous species, as he sometimes grows to the length of fourteen feet, (ienerally concealed among the fallen leaves of the forest, he lives on small birds, reptiles, and mammalians, whom he is able to pursue with surprising activity. Thus, Schomburgk once saw an opossum rushing through the forest, and closely followed by an enormous bush-master. Frightened to death and utterly exhausted, the panting animal ascended the stump of an old tree, and thence, as if rooted to the spot, looked with staring eyes on its enemy, who, rolled in a spiral coil, from which his head rose higher and higher, slowly and leisurely, as if conscious that his prey could not possibly escape him, prepared for his (l(3adly spring. This time, however, the bush-master was mis- taken, for a shot from Schomburgk's rifle laid him writhing in tlie dust, while the opossum, saved by a miracle, ran ofl" as fast as he could. Fortunately for the planter and negroes, the bush- master is a rare serpent, frequenting only the deepest shades of the thicket, where in the day-time he generally lies coiled upon the ground. Still rarer, though if possible yet more formidable, is a small brown viper {Echidna ocellata), which infests the Peruvian forests. Its bite is said to be able to kill a strong man within two or three minutes. The Indian, when bitten by it, does not even attempt an antidote against the poison, but stoically bids adieu to his comrades, and lays himself down to die. The ill-famed wide-extended race of the rattlesnakes, which ranges from South Brazil to Canada, belongs exclusively to the new world. They prefer the more elevated, dry, and stony regions, where they lie coiled up in the thorny bushes, and only 316 SNAKES attack such animals as come too near their lair. Their bite is said to be able to kill a horse or an ox in ten or twelve minutes ; but, fortunately, they are afraid of man, and will not venture to attack him unless provoked. When roused to anger they are, however, very formidable, as their fangs penetrate through the strongest boot. One of the most remarkable features of their organisation is a kind of rattle terminating the tail, and consisting of a number of pieces inserted into each other, all alike in shape and size, hollow, and of a thin, elastic, brittle substance, like that of which the scales are externally formed. When provoked, the strong and rapid vibratory motions im- parted to the rattle produce a sound which has been compared to that of knife-grind- ing, but is never loud enough to be heard at any distance, and becomes almost inaudible in rainy weather. Naturalists distinguish at least a dozen different species of rattlesnakes, the com- monest of which are the Boaquira ((7ro- talus horridus), which frequents the warmest regions of South America, and the Durissus (C. durissus), which has chosen the United States for its principal home. The chief enemy of this serpent is the hog, whom it dreads so much that on seeing one it immediately loses all its courage, and instantly takes to flight. But the hog, who smells it from afar, draws nearer and nearer, his bristles erected with excitement, seizes it by the neck, and devours it with great complacency, though without touching the head. As the hog is the invariable com- panion of the settler in the backwoods, the rattlesnake every- where disappears before the advance of man, and it is to be hoped that a century or two hence it will be ranked among the extinct animals. The American Indians often regale on the rattlesnake. When they find it asleep, they put a- small forked stick over its neck, which they keep immovably fixed to the ground, giving the snake a piece of leather to bite, and this they pull back several times with great force, until they perceive that the poison-fangs are torn out. They then cut off the head, skin THE COBRA 317 the body, and cook it as we do eels. The flesh is said to be , white and excellent. I None of the American snakes inhabit the old world, but in ;i the East Indies and Ceylon other no less dangerous species [ appear upon the scene, among which the celebrated Cobra di ij Capello is one of the most deadly. A few years since, as many of my readers will remember, a cobra in the Zoological Grardens destroyed its keeper. In a fit of drunkenness, the man, against express orders, took the reptile out of its cage, and placing its head inside his waistcoat, allowed it to glide round his body. When it had emerged from under his clothes on the other side, apparently in good humour, the keeper squeezed its tail, when it struck him between his eyes ; in twenty minutes his con- i sciousness was gone, and in less than three hours he was dead. As long as the cobra is in a quiet mood, its neck is nowhere thicker than its head or other parts ; but as soon as it is excited, it raises vertically the anterior part of its trunk, dilates the hood j on each side of the neck, which is curiously marked in the centre ( in black and white, like a pair of spectacles, and then swells out to double its former proportions, and advances against the aggressor by the undulating motion of the tail. It is not only met with in the cultivated grounds and plantations, but will creep into the houses and insinuate it-self among the furniture. Bishop Heber heard at Patna of a lady who once lay a whole night with a cobra under her pillow. She repeatedly thought during, the night that she felt something move, and in the morning when she snatched her pillow away, she saw the thick black throat, the square head, and the green diamond-like eyes of the reptile advanced within two inches of her neck. Fortu- nately the snake was without malice ; but alas for her if she had during the night pressed him a little too roughly. This is the snake so frequently exhibited by the Indian jugglers, who contrive, by some unknown method to tame them so far as to perform certain movements in cadence, and to dance to the sound of music, with which the cobra seems much delighted, keeping time by a graceful motion of the head, erecting about half its length from the ground, and following the few simple notes of the conjuror's flute with gentle curves like the undulating lines of a swan's neck. It has been natu- rally supposed, before this could be done, that the poisonous 318 SNAKES fangs had been extracted ; but P'orbes, the author of " Oriental Memoirs," had nearly been taught at his cost that this is not always practised. Not doubting but that a cobra, which danced for an hour on the table while he painted it, had been disarmed of its fatal weapons, he frequently handled it to ob- serve the beauty of the spots, and especially the spectacles on the hood. But the next morning his upper servant, who was a zealous Mussulman, came to him in great haste and desired he would instantly retire and praise the Almighty for his good fortune. Not understanding his meaning, Forbes told him that he had already performed his devotions, and had not so many stated prayers as the followers of his prophet. Mahomet then informed him that while purchasing some fruit in the bazaar, he observed the man who had been with him on the preceding evening entertaining the country people with the dancing snakes ; they, according to their usual custom, sat on the ground around him, when, either from the music stopping too suddenly or from some other cause irritating the snake, which he had so often handled, it darted at the throat of a young woman, and inflicted a wound of which she died in about half an hour. Mahomet once more advised him to thank Allah, and recorded his master in his calendar as a lucky man. That the snake-charmers control the cobra not by extracting its fangs, but by courageously availing themselves of its timidity and reluctance to use them, was also proved during Sir E. Tennent's residence in Ceylon by the death of one of these performers, whom his audience had provoked to attempt some unaccustomed familiarity with the cobra ; it bit him on the wrist, and he expired the same evening. There are many varieties and several species of the Cobra di Capello, among \fhich the minelle, though the smallest of all the Indian serpents, is the most dangerous, its bite occasioning a speedy and painful death. Well may it be called " The small, close-lurking minister of fate, "Whose high concocted venom through the veins A rapid lightning darts, arresting sw'ift The vital current." The deserted nests of the termites are the favourite retreat of the sluggish and spiritless cobra, which watches from their THE BOA 319 apertures the toads and lizards on which it preys. On coming upon it, its only impulse is concealment ; and when it is unable to escape, a few blows from a whip are sufficient to deprive it , of life. It is a curious fact that, though not a water-snake, the cobra ! sometimes takes considerable excursions by sea. When the i| Wellington, a Grovernment vessel employed in the inspection of j the Ceylonese pearl-banks, was anchored about a quarter of a : mile from land, a cobra was seen, about an hour before sunset, i swimming vigorously towards the ship. It came within twelve yards, when the sailors assailed it with billets of wood and other missiles, and forced it to return to land. The Egyptian Haje {Naja Haje\ a near relation of the Indian cobra, is most likely the asp of ancient authors, which the celebrated Cleopatra chose as the instrument of her death, to avoid figuring in the triumph of Augustus. Like the cobra, it inflates its neck when in a state of excitement, and as it raises its head on being approached, as if watchful for its safety, it was venerated by the ancient Egyptians as a symbol of divinity, and as the faithful guardian of their fields. Divine honours have, however, much more frequently been paid to the venomous snakes from the terror they inspire, than from far-fetched notions of beneficence. Several Indian tribes in North America adore the rattlesnake ; and in the kingdom of Widah, on the coast of Gruinea, a viper {Vijper idolam) has its temple and ministers, and is no less carefully provided for than if it were an inmate of the Zoological Gardens. The Cerastes, or horned-viper, one of the most deadly serpents of the African deserts, is frequently exhibited by ^--j^^^ Egyptian jugglers, who handle and irritate it with /^^ impunity : they are supposed to render themselves M invulnerable by the chewing of a certain root, but ^^^^^^ most likely, as in the case of the cobra-charmers, j^^^^ their secret consists in their courage and perfect ^^ knowledge of the animal's nature. ^^Jv Although the Boas and Pythons are unprovided ^^ with venomous fangs, yet, from their enormous fT^^ss^^ «ize, they may well be ranked among the deadly ^ snakes; for as Waterton justly remarks, "it comes ^°*- nearly to the same thing in the end whether the victim dies by 320 SNAKES poison from the fangs, which corrupts his blood and makes it j stink horribly, or whether his body be crushed to mummy andi swallowed by a Python." The kingly Jiboya {Boa constrictor) inhabits the dry and sultry localities of the Brazilian forests, where he generally conceals himself in crevices and hollows in parts but little frequented by man, and sometimes attains a length of thirty feet. To catch his prey he ascends the trees, and lurks, hidden in the foliage, for the unfortunate agutis, pacas, and capybaras, whom their unlucky star may lead within his reach. When full-^rown he seizes the passing deer ; but in spite of his large size he is but little feared by the natives, as a single blow of a cudgel suffices to kill him. Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied tells us that the experienced hunter laughs when asked whether the Jiboya attacks and devours man. The Sucuriaba, Anaconda, or Water Boa {Eunectes 7}iUTinus), as it is variously named, attains still larger dimensions than the constrictor, as some are said to have been found of a length of forty feet. It inhabits the large rivers, lakes, and marshy grounds of tropical America, and passes most of its time in the water, now reposing on a sand-bank, with only its head above the surface of the stream, now rapidly swimming like an eel, or abandoning itself to the current of the river. Often, also, it suns itself on the sandy margin of the stream, or patiently awaits its prey, stretched out upon some rock or fallen tree. With sharp eye it observes all that swims in the waters as well as all that flies over them, or all that comes to the banks to quench its thirst ; neither fish nor aquatic bird is secure from the swiftness of its attack, and woe to the capybara that comes within the grasp of its folds. Such is its voracity, that Firmin (" Histoire Naturelle de Surinam ") found in the stomach of an Anaconda a large sloth, an Iguana nearly four feet long, and a tolerably-sized Ant-bear, all three nearly in the same state as when they were swallowed — a proof that their capture had taken place within a short time. As is common Iv the case with reptiles, the water-boa is very tenacious of litr, and though the head may be nearly severed from the trunk, the entrails taken out of the body, and the skin detached, it will still move about for a considerable time. The boas principally inhabit America, although some species ENEMIES OF THE SNAKE 321 are likewise met with in Asia ; but the still more formidable I » ythons are confined to the hot regions of the Old World. They are said to enlace even the tiger or the lion in their fatal embrace, and to judge by their size and strength, this assertion seems by no means improbable. The various serpent tribes are exposed to the attacks of many ( iiemies, who fortunately keep their numbers within salutary bounds, and avenge the death of the countless insects, worms, toads, frogs, and lizards, that fall a prey to their strength or 1 lieir venom. Several species of rapacious and aquatic birds live n|)on snakes, the American ostrich tliins their ranks wherever he can, and the African Secretary is renowned for his prowess in serpentine warfare. " The battle was obstinate," says Le A'aillant, describing one of these con- llicts, "and conducted with equal ad- dress on both sides. The serpent, secretary Bird. feeling the inferiority of his strength, in his attempt to flee, and regain his hole, employed that cunning which is ascribed to him, while the bird, guessing his design, suddenly stopped him, and cut off his retreat by placing herself before him at a single leap. On whatever side the reptile endeavoured to make its escape, his enemy was still found before him. Then, uniting at once bravery and cunning, he erected himself boldly to intimidate the bird, and hissing dreadfully, displayed his menacing throat, inflamed eyes, and a head swelled with rage and venom. Sometimes this threatening appearance produced a momentary suspension of hostilities, but the bird soon re- turned to the charge, and covering her body with one of her wings as a buckler, struck her enemy with the horny pro- tuberances upon the other, which, like little clubs, served the more effectually to knock him down as he raised himself to the blow ; at last he staggered and fell, the conqueror then despatched him, and with one stroke .of her bill laid open his skull." The secretary-eagle has now been successfully acclimatised in the West Indies, where he renders himself useful by the destruction of the venomous snakes with which the plantations^ are infested. 3i?2 SXAKES Grravely, "with measured step and slow," like a Grerman philosopher cogitating over the nature of the absolute, but, as we shall presently see, much more profitably engaged, the adjutant wanders among the reeds on the banks of the muddy Ganges. The aspect of this colossal bird, measuring six feet in height and nearly fifteen from tip to tip of the wings, is far from being comely, as his enormous bill, his naked head and neck, except a few straggling curled hairs, his large craw hanging down the forepart of the Adjutant. j^g^j^ jjj^g ^ pouch, and his long naked legs, are certainly no features of beauty. Suddenly he stops, dips his bill among the aquatic plants, and immediately raises it again triumphantly into the air, for a long snake, despairingly twisting and wriggling, strives vainly to escape from the for- midable pincers which hold it in carcere duro. The bird throws back his head, and the reptile appears notably diminished in size ; a few more gulps, and it has entirely disappeared. And now the sedate bird continues his stately pro- menade with the self-satisfied mien of a merchant who has just made a successful speculation, and is engaged in the agreeable calculation of his gains. But, lo! again the monstrous bill descends, and the same scene is again repeated. The good services of the giant heron in clearing the land of noxious reptiles, and the havoc he is able to make among their ranks, may be judged of by the simple fact, that on opening the body of one of them, a land-tortoise ten inches long and a large black cat were found entire within it, the former in the pouch, as a kind of stock in trade, the latter in the stomach, all ready for immediate consumption. Trusting to his agility and the certainty of his eye, the Indian ichneumon or mongoos attacks without hesitation the most venomous serpents. The cobra, which drives even the leopard to flight, rises before the little creature with swelling hood and fury in its eye ; but swift as thought, the ichneumon, avoiding the death-stroke of the projecting fangs, leaps upon its THEY DEVOUK EACH OTHER 323 hack, and fastening his sharp teeth in the head, soon despatches tlie helpless reptile. Mongoos. The serpents sometimes even feed upon their own brethren. Thus a rat-snake in the Zoological Gardens was once seen to devour a common Coluber Natrix, but not having taken the measure of his victim, he could not dispose of the last four inches of his tail, which stuck out rather jauntily from the side of his mouth, with very much the look of a cigar. After a quarter of an hour the tail began to exhibit a retrograde motion, and the swallowed snake was disgorged, nothing the worse for his living sepulchre with the exception of the wound made by his partner when first he seized him. A python in the same collection, who had lived for years on friendly terms with a brother nearly as large as himself, was found one morning sole tenant of his den. As the cage was secure, the keeper was puzzled to know how the serpent had escaped. At last it was observed that the remaining inmate had swollen remarkably during the night, when the truth came out. It was, however, the last meal of the fratricide, for in some months he died. When we consider that the snakes have neither legs, wings, nor fins, and are indeed deprived of all the usual means of Y 2 324 SXAKES locomotion, the rapidity of their progress is not a little surprising. On examining the anatomical structure of their body, however, it will be remarked that while we have only twelve pair of ribs united in front by the breast-bone and cartilage, the snake has often more than three hundred, unconnected in front, and con- sequently much more free in their motions, a faculty which is still increased by the great mobility of the spondyli of the back- bone. Between the ribs and the broad transverse scales or plates which exist on the belly of all such serpents as move rapidly, we find numerous muscles connecting them one with another, and thus, amply provided with a whole system of strong pulleys and points of attachment, the reptile, bringing up the tail towards the head, by bending the body into one or more curves, and then again resting upon the tail and extending the body, glides swiftly along, not only upon even ground, but even sometimes from branch to branch, as the smallest hold suffices for its stretching out its body at a foot's length into the air, and thus reaching another sallying point for further progress. The anatomy of the serpent's jaws is no less remarkable than the mechanism of its movements. In spite of their proverbial wisdom, snakes would not be able to exist unless they were able to swallow large animal masses at a time. For, however rapid their motions may be, those of their prey are in general still more active, and thus they are obliged to wait in anibush till a fortunate chance provides them with a copious meal. The victim is often much more bulky than the serpent itself, but still, without tearing it to pieces, it is able to engulph it in its swelling maw. For the two halves of its lower jaw do not coalesce like ours into one solid mass, but are merely connected in front by a loose ligament, so that each part can be moved separately. The bones of the upper jaw and palate are also, loosely attached or articulated one with the other, and thus the whole mouth is capable of great distension. By this mechanism, aided by the numerous sharp teeth which are so many little hooks with the point curved backwards, each side of the jaws and mouth being able to act as it were indepen- dently of the other, alternately hooks itself fast to the morsel, or advances to fasten itself farther on in a similar manner, and thus the reptile draws itself over its prey, somewhat in the same way as we draw a stocking over our leg, after having first. METHOD OF ATTACK 325 by breaking the bones, fashioned it into a convenient mass, and rendered its passage more easy by lubricating it with its saliva. Slowly the huge lump disappears behind the jaws, descends lower and lower beneath the scales which seem ready to burst asunder with distension, and then the satisfied monster coils him- self up once more to digest his meal in quiet. The time required for this purpose varies of course according to the size of the morsel ; but often weeks or even months will pass before a boa awakens from the lethargic repose in which — the image of disgusting gluttony — he lies plunged after a superabundant meal. A huge python in the Zoological Grardens fasted the almost incredible time of twenty -two months, having probably prepared himself for his abstinence by a splendid gorge ; and Dumeril mentions a rattlesnake in the Jardin des Plantes. which like- wise took no nourishment during twenty-one months, but then, as if to make up for lost time, swallowed three hares within five days. The reptiles in the Zoological Gardens are offered food once a week, but even then their appetites are frequently not yet awakened, though great care is taken never to spoil their stomachs by excess. This is the time for visiting the Reptile House, which other- wise offers but little amusement, as the great snakes have either retired from public life under their blankets, or lie coiled upon the branches of the trees in their dens. Three o'clock is the feeding-time, and the reptiles which are on the look-out, seem to know full well the errand of the man who enters with the basket, against the side of which they hear the fluttering wings of the feathered victims, and the short stamp of the doomed rabbits. The keeper opens the door at the back of the den of the huge pythons, for these he need not fear, takes off their blanket, and drops a rabbit, who hops from side to side, curious to inspect his new habitation, and probably finding it to his taste, sits on his haunches and leisurely begins to wash his face. Silently the python glides over the stones, uncurling his huge folds, looks for an instant upon his unconscious victim, and the next has seized him with his jaws. His contracting folds are twisted as swiftly as a whiplash round his shrieking prey, and for ten minutes the serpent lies still, maintaining his 326 SHAKES mortal knot until his prey is dead, when, seizing it by the ears, he draws it through his vice-like grip, crushing every bone, and elongating the body preparatory to devouring it. The arrangement for feeding the venomous kinds is, of course, more cautious. The door opens at the top instead of at the side of the dens, and with good reason ; for no sooner does the keeper remove with a crooked iron rod, the blanket from the cobra, than the reptile springs with inflated hood into an S like attitude and darts laterally at his prey, whose sides have scarcely been pierced, when it is seized with tetanic spasms, and lies convulsed in a few seconds. These instantaneous effects, altoost as rapid as those of a mortal shot or of lightning itself, might at first sight seem to warrant the conclusion that the genius of evil had formed the venomous serpents to be his chosen agents of destruction ; but at a nearer view, they afford but another proof of the beneficence of the Creator in providing weak, sober, and by no means cruel creatures with a weapon which makes up to them for the want of speed, and at the same time abridges the torments of their victims. Though generally the objects of abhorrence and fear, yet serpents sometimes render themselves useful or agreeable to man. Thus the rat-snake of Ceylon {Coi^pJiodon Blumen- bachii) in consideration of its services in destroying vermin, is often kept as a household pet, and so domesticated by the natives as to feed at their table. " I once saw an example of this in the house of a native," says Wolf in his " Life and Adventures in Ceylon ; " " It being meal- time, he called his snake, which immediately came forth from the roof under which he and I were sitting. He gave it victuals from his own dish, which the snake took of itself from off a fig leaf that was laid for it, and ate along with its host. When it had eaten its full, he gave it a kiss, and bade it go to its hole." The beautiful coral-snake (Flaps corallinus) is fondled by the Brazilian ladies, but the domestication of the dreaded cobras as protectors in the place of dogs, mentioned by Major Skinner, on undoubtedly good authority,* is still more re- * Sir E. Tennent's Ceylon, yol. i. p. 193. * WATER-SNAKES 327 markable. They glide about the house, going in and out at pleasure, a terror to thieves, but never attempting to harm the inmates. The agility of the Rat-snake in seizing its nimble-footed prey is truly wonderful. One day Sir Emerson Tennent had an opportunity of surprising a coryphodon which had just seized on a rat, and of covering it suddenly with a glass shade, before it had time to swallow its prey. The serpent, which appeared stunned with its own capture, allowed the rat to escape from its jaws, which cowered at one side of the glass in an agony of terror. On removing the shade, the rat, recovering its spirits, instantly bounded towards the nearest fence, but quick as lightning, it was followed by its pursuer, which seized it before it could gain the hedge, through which the snake glided with its victim in its jaws. The Tree-snakes offer many beautiful examples of the adapta- tion of colour to the animal's pursuits, which we have already had occasion to admire in our brief review of the tropical insect world. They are frequently of an agreeable green or bluish hue, so as hardly to be dis- tinguishable from the foliage among which they seek their prey, or where they themselves are liable to be seized upon by their enemies. They are often able vertically to ascend the smoothest trunks and branches, in search of squirrels and lizards, or to rifle the nests of birds. The Water-snakes which infest some parts of watei-snake. the tropical seas, though far from equalling in size the vast proportions of the fabulous sea-serpent, are very formidable from their venomous bite. They have the back part of the body and tail very much compressed and raised vertically, so as to serve them as a paddle with which they rapidly cleave the waters. Toad and Anolis. CHAPTEE XXIX. LIZARDS, FROGS AND TOADS. Their Multitude within the Tropics — The Geckoes — Anatomy of their Feet — The Anolis — Their Love of Fight — The Chameleon — Its wonderful Changes of Colour — Its Habits — Peculiarities of its Organisation — The Iguana — The Teju — The "Water-Lizards — Lizard Worship on the Coast of Africa — The,|j Flying Dragon — The Basilisk — Frogs and Toads — The Pipa — The Bahia^ Toad — The Giant Toad — The Musical Toad — Brazilian and Surinam Tree- Frogs. THE equatorial regions may well be called the head-quarters of the lizard race, as these reptiles nowhere else appear in such a multitude of genera, species, and individuals. The stranger is struck with their numbers as soon as he sets his foot on a tropical shore, for on all sides, on the sands and in the forests, on banks and rocks, on the trees and on the ground, in- numerable varieties of lizards are seen basking, rustling, crawl- ing, climbing, or rapidly darting along. The Geckoes might even claimed to be ranked among the domestic animals, as they take up their abode in the dwellings of man, where they make themselves useful by the destruction of flies, spiders, and other noxious or disagreeable insects, which they almost always swallow entire, their throat being as broad as THE GECKO 329 the opening of their jaws. During the day time they generally re- main concealed in some dark crevice or chink, but towards evening they may be seen running along the steepest walls with marvellous rapidity, in keen pursuit of their prey, frequently stand- ing still, nodding wdth their head, and utter- ing shrill tones, most likely by smacking their tongue against the palate. Their flat- tened flexible body seems to mould itself into the hollows, in which they often remain motionless for hours, and their generally dull colour harmonizes so well with their resting-places, as to render them hardly dis- tinguishable, a circumstance which answers the double purpose of masking their presence from the prey for which they lie in wait, and from the enemies that might be inclined to feast upon them. Among these, some of the smaller birds of prey — hawks and owls — are the most conspicuous, not to mention man, the arch-persecutor of almost every animal large enough to attract his notice. How comes it that these nocturnal lizards, seemingly in de- fiance of the laws of gravitation, are thus able to adhere to ceilings or any other overhanging surfaces? An inspection of the soles of their broad feet will soon solve the enigma, for all their toes are considerably dilated on their margins, and divided beneath into a number of transverse lamellae, parallel to each other, and generally without any longitudinal furrow. From these a fluid exudes which serves to attach the animal to the surface. They are also generally provided with sharp and crooked claws, retractile and movable, like those of a cat, and which render them good service in climbing the trees. In spite of their harmless nature, the Greckoes, their real utility being forgotten over imaginary grievances, nowhere enjoy a good reputation, probably in consequence of their ugliness and the wild expression of their large eyes. They are accused of tainting with a virulent secretion every object they touch, and of provoking an eruption on the skin merely by running over it — a popular prejudice which naturally causes many a poor inoffensive Grecko's death. They abound all over the torrid zone, even in the remote islands of the Pacific, such as 330 LIZARDS, FROGS AND TOADS Otaheite and Vanikoro. Dumeril enumerates fifty-five different species, only two of which are indigenous in Southern Europe, while India monopolises no less than thirteen for her share. Mr. Adams once witnessed in Borneo a desperate struggle between a Grecko and a large Tarantula spider. After a long and doubtful contest, the Grecko proved at length victorious, and succeeded in swallowing the insect, whose enormous legs, protruding from the lizard's mouth, gave the animal the look of some monstrous cuttle-jfish. The graceful Anolis are peculiar to America. By the struc- ture of their feet, provided with long unequal toes, they are re- lated to the Greckoes, but are distin- guished from them by a more slender form of body, by their extremely long thin tail, and a large neck-pouch, which dilates under the influence of excite- ment. These small and nimble creatures, Anolis. "the largest species seldom exceeding eight inches in length, are as touchy as fighting-cocks. On approaching them, they instantly blow up their pouch, open widely their diminutive jaws, and spring upon the aggressor, striving to bite him with their teeth, which, however, are too tiny to do much harm. Among each other they live in a perpetual state of warfare. As soon as one Anolis sees another, he makes a rapid advance, while his adversary awaits him with all the courage of a gallant knight. Before beginning the conflict, they make all sorts of menacing gestures, convulsively nodding their heads, puffing up their pouches, until finally they close in desperate struggle. " The meeting of these champions proud Seems like the bursting thunder-cloud." If they are of equal strength, the battle remains for some time undecided. At length the vanquished Anolis turns and runs away, but he may think himself fortunate if he escapes with the loss of his tail. Many of them are thus deprived of this ornamental appendage, which they voluntarily leave behind to avoid a still greater disaster, and then they become timid, melancholy, and fond of retirement, as if ashamed of being seen, only regaining their spirits when, by a wonderful power of reproduction, the amputated tail has been replaced by another. THE CHAMELEON 331 ' Like many other lizards, the Anolis possesses the faculty of changing colour when under the influence of excitement, but of all animals, whether terrestrial or marine, none is more famous or remarkable in this respect than the Chameleon. It frequently happens that man, not satisfied with the wonders which nature everywhere exposes to his view, adds to their marvels others of his own invention, and thus many a fable has been told about the Chameleon. It has been said, for instance, that it could emulate chameleon. all the colours of the rainbow, but the more accurate observations of Hasselquist and other naturalists have shown that the whole change, which takes place most fre- quently when the Chameleon is exposed to full sunshine or un- der the influence of emotion, consists in its ordinary bluish-ash colour, turning to a green or yellowish hue with irregular spots of a dull red. Like many other reptiles, the Chameleon has the power of inflating its lungs and retaining the air for a long time so as one moment to appear as fat and well-fed as an alderman, and the next as lean and bony as a hungry disciple of the muses. These alternating expansions and collapses seem to have a great influence on the change of colour, which, how- ever, according to Milne Edwards, is principally owing to the skin of the animal consisting of two diff'erently coloured layers, placed one above the other, and changing their relative posi- tions under the influence of excitement. In our cold and northern regions the captive Chameleon cuts but a sorry figure ; but in his own sunny regions, which extends from southern Spain and Sicily to the Cape, and eastwards from Arabia and Hindostan to Australia, it is said to be by no means deficient in beauty, in spite of its strangely- formed carinated head, its enormously projecting eyes, and its granulated skin. Its manner of hunting for the little winged insects, that form its "principal food, is very pecuHar. Although the movements of its head are very limited, on account of the shortness of its neck, this deficiency is amply supplied by the wide range of its vision, each eye being able to move about in all directions independently of the other. Thus while one of them attentively gazes upon the heavens. 332 LIZAEDS, FROGS AND TOADS the other minutely examines the ground, or while one of them rolls in its orbit, the other remains fixed; nay, their mo- bility is so great, that without even moving its stiff head, this wonderful lizard, like Janus, the double-faced god of ancient Kome, can see at the same time all that goes on before and behind it. When an insect comes flying along, the chameleon, perched on a branch, and half concealed between the foliage, follows it in all its movements by means of his power- ful telescopes, until the proper moment for action appears. Then, quick as thought, he darts forth, even to a distance of five or six inches, his long fleshy glutinous tongue, which is moreover furnished with a dilated and somewhat tubular tip, and driving it back with the same lightning-like velocity, engulphs his prey. This independence of the eyes is owing to the imperfect sympathy which subsists between the two lobes of the brain and the two sets of nerves which ramify throughout the opposite sides of its frame. Hence also one side of the body may be asleep while the other is vigilant, one may be green while the other is ash-blue, and it is even said that the Chameleon is utterly unable to swim, because the muscles of both sides are incapable of acting in concert. Destined for an arboreal life, he is provided with organs beautifully adapted for supporting himself on the flexible branches ; for besides the cylindrical tail nearly as long as his body which he coils round the boughs, his five toes are united two and three by a common skin, so as to form, as it were, a pair of pincers or a kind of hand, admirably suited for a hold- fast. Among the I guanas , a huge lizard tribe, characterised by a carinated back and tail, and a large denticulated gular pouch, the common or great American Guana (^Iguana Tuherculata^ deserves par- ticular notice, as its white flesh is considered a great delicacy in Brazil and the West Indies. Notwithstand- inor its large size, for it not seldom Iguana. ° =" ' attains a length of four or five feet, and the formidable appearance of its serrated back, it is in reality by no means of a warlike disposition, and so stupid that, instead of endeavouring to save itself by a timely flight, it THE GUAXA 333 merely stares with its large eyes, and inflates its pouch, while the noose is passing round its neck to drag it forth from its hole. The Bahama islands abound with Gruanas, which form a great part of the subsistence of the inhabitants. They are caught by dogs, trained for the purpose, in the hollow rocks and trees where they nestle, and either carried alive for sale to Carolina, or kept for home consumption. They feed wholly on vegetables and fruit, particularly on a kind of fungus, growing at the roots of trees, and on the fruits of the different kinds of ananas, whence their flesh most likely acquires its delicate flavour. The famous South American monitory lizard or Teju {Tejus ^monitor) is one of the largest and most beautiful of the whole race, as he measures no less than five feet from the snout to the tip of the tail, which is nearly twice as long as the body, while his black colour, variegated with bright yellow bands and spots, produces an agreeable and pleasing effect. The head is small, the snout gradually tapers, the limbs are slender, and the tail, wbich is laterally compressed, gradually decreases towards the extremity. The Teju lives in cavities and hollows, frequently under the roots of trees. When pursued, he runs rapidly straight forward to his burrow, but when his retreat is intercepted, he defends himself valiantly, and proves a by no means contemptible antagonist, as he is able to bite through a thick boot, and a stroke with his strong and muscular tail will completely disable a dog. Schomburgk frequently found the leathery eggs of the Teju in the large deserted nests of the Termites, not only in the forests, but in the plantations. Though the Monitor gene- rally lives on land, he is an excellent swimmer, and catches many a fish in its native element. His chief food, however, consists in various fruits, rats, mice, birds, and he also devours a large number of the eggs and young of the alligator. The attach- ment to man which is universally attributed to him in Brazil, and the warning which, like his relation the Monitor of the Nile, he is said to give to him of the approach of the cayman or the crocodile, by emitting a pecu- Monitor. liar and shrill sound, are idle fables which hardly required the contradiction of Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied, who in all his travels never once heard the Teju's 334 LIZARDS, FROGS AND TOADS monitory cry, although occasions were not wanting when it might have been of service. As this lizard's flesh is nearly equal in flavour to that of the Guana, it is frequently hunted do'v^Ti by dogs, so that its supposed friendliness to man, *' re- quiting good for evil," would be meritorious indeed, and might be held up as a model to all Christians. The large Water-lizards {Hydrosauri) frequent the low river banks or the margins of springs, and although they may be seen basking on rocks or on the dead trunk of some prostrate tree in the heat of the sun, yet they appear more partial to the damp weeds and undergrowth in the neighbour- hood of water. Their gait has somewhat more of the awk- ward later§.l motion of the crocodile, than of the lively action of the smaller saurians. When attacked, they lash violently with ' their tail, swaying it sideways with great force like the cayman. These modern types of the Mososaurus and Iguano- don have a graceful habit of extending the neck, and raising the head to look about them, and as you follow them leisurely over the rocks, or through the jungle, they frequently stop, turn their heads round, and take a deliberate survey of the in- truder. They are by no means vicious, though they bite severely when provoked, acting, however, always on the defen- sive. On examining their stomachs, crabs, locusts, beetles, the remains of jumping fish, the scales of snakes, and bones of frogs and other small animals are discovered. Like that of the Iguanas, their flesh is delicate eating, resembling that of a very young sucking-pig. Mr. Adams gives us an amusing de- scription of his contests with a gigantic Water-lizard {Hydro- saura giganteus) : " Throwing myself on him, I wounded him with a clasp knife in the tail, but he managed to elude my grasp and made for the woods. I succeeded, however, in track- ing his retreating form, on hands and knees, through a low cov- ered labyrinth in the dense undergrowth, until I saw him ex- tended on a log, when, leaving the jungle, I called my servant, a marine, who was shooting specimens for me, and pointing out the couchant animal, desired him to shoot him in the neck, as I did not wish the head to be injured, which he accordingly did. Entering the jungle, I then closed with the wounded saurian, and seizing him by the throat, bore him in triumph to our quarters. Here he soon recovered, and hoping to preserve WATER-LIZARDS 335 him alive to study his habits, I placed him in a Malay wicker hen-coop. As we were sitting, however, at dinner, the black cook, with great alarm depicted in his features, reported that ' Alligator got out his cage ! ' Seizing the carving knife, I rushed down, and was just in time to cut off his retreat into the adjoin- ing swamp. Turning sharply round, he made a snap at my leg, and received in return a ' Kowland for his Oliver ' in the shape of an inch or so of cold steel. After wrestling on the ground, and struggling through the deserted fire of our sable cook, I at length secured the runaway, tied him up to a post, and to prevent further mischief, ended his career by dividing the jugular. The length of this lizard from actual measure- ment was five feet ten inches and a half." These semi-aquatic, dingy-hued saurians are admirably adapted to the hot moist swamps and shallow lagoons that fringe the rivers of the tropical alluvial plains. As we watch their dark forms, plunging and wallowing in the water, or sluggishly moving over the soft and slimy mud, the imagina- tion is carried back to the age of reptiles, when the muddy shores of the primeval ocean swarmed with their uncouth forms. The huge lizard, six or seven feet long, to which divine honours are paid at Bonny on the coast of Guinea, belongs most likely to this amphibious class. Undisturbed, the lazy monsters crawl heavily through the streets, and as they pass, the negroes reverentially make way. A white man is hardly allowed to look at them, and hurried as fast as possible out of their presence. An attempt was once made to kidnap one of these dull lizard- gods for the benefit of a profane museum, but the consequences were such as to prevent a repetition of the offence, for all trade and intercourse with the ships in harbour was immedi- ately stopped, and affairs assumed so hostile an aspect, that the foreigners were but too glad to purchase peace with a considerable sacrifice of money and goods. When one of these lizards crawls into a house, it is considered a great piece of good fortune ; and when it chooses to take a bath, the Bonnians hurry after it in their canoes. After having allowed it to swim a stretch, and to plunge several times, they seize it for fear of danger, and carry it back again to the land, well pleased at once more having the sacred reptile in their safe possession. The* formidable name of Flying Dragons has been given to a !36 LIZAKDS, FROGS AND TOADS genus of small lizards, remarkable for the expansible cutaneous processes with which the sides are furnished, and by whose means they are enabled to spring with more facility from branch to branch, and even to support them- selves for some time in the air, like the bat or flying-squirrel. The tiny painted Dragon of the East, the Flying Lizard of the woods, is fond of clinging with its wings to the smooth trunks of trees, and there remaining immovable, basking in the sun. When disturbed, it leaps and shuffles away in an awkward manner. One Mr. Adams had in his possession, reminded him of a bat when placed on the ground. Sometimes the strange creature would feign death, and remain perfectly motionless, drooping its head, and doubling its limbs, until it fancied the danger over, then cautiously raising its crouching form, it would look stealthily around, and be off in a moment. The dragon consumes flies in a slow and deliberate manner, sw^allowing them gTadually ; its various species belong exclusively to India and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Who has not heard of the fatal glance of the basilisk, which, according to poetical fancy, obliged all other poisonous animals to keep at a respectful distance " from monster more abhorr'd than they ? " The truth is, that the lizards that bear this dreaded name, which has been given them from the fanciful resemblance of their pointed occipital crest to a regal crown, are quite as harmless and in- offensive as the flying dragon. They are chiefly inhabitants of South America, where they generally lead a sylvan life, feeding on insects. Among the lizards of every size, colour, and variety of form with which tlie warmer regions of the globe abound, from the size of a span to tliat of a cubit, dull brown or clothed in a livery of vivid Basilisk. THE BAIIIA TOAD 337 tints, of elegant shape or of frightful ugliness, crested or smooth- , backed, terrestrial or aquatic, many more might be mentioned ; f< but as their way of life is very similar, and their numerous ^ modifications of structure are subjects of interest only to the ; professed naturalist, I may well pass them over in silence, and terminate the chapter with a few words on the toads and frogs of the torrid zone. Of the former there is none more famous than the hideous Pipa Surinamensis, which considerably exceeds in size the common toad, and whose deformity is often aggravated by a phenomenon unex- ampled in the rest of the animal world, namely, the young in various stages of exclusion, proceeding from cells dis- persed over the back of the parent. It was for a long time supposed that the ova of this extraordinary reptile were produced in the dorsal cells without Surmam Toad. having been first excluded in the form of spawn ; but it is now thoroughly ascertained that the female Pipa deposits her eggs or spawn at the brink of some stagnant water, and that the male collects or amasses the heap of ova, and deposits them with great care on the back of the female, where, after impregnation, they are pressed into the cellules, which are at that period open for their reception, and afterwards close over them ; thus retaining them till the period of their second birth, which happens in somewhat less than three months, when they emerge from the back of the parent in their com- plete state. This species inhabits the obscure nooks of houses in Cayenne and Surinam, avoiding the light of day as if con- scious of its unrivalled hideousness. Mr. Darwin thus describes a remarkable species of toad he noticed at Bahia, "Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, I found only one little toad, which was most singular from its colour. If we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink, and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board freshly painted with the brightest ver- milion, so as to colour the sides of its feet and parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be gained. ^ ^ 338 LIZARDS, FROGS AND TOADS If it is an unnamed species, surely it ought to be called dia- holicus, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear of Eve. In- stead of beinor nocturnal in its habits as other toads are, and living in damp and obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat of the day about the dry sand hillocks and arid plains, where not a single drop of water can be found. It must necessarily de- pend on the dew for its moisture, and this probably is absorbed by the skin, for it is known that these reptiles possess great powers of cutaneous absorption. At Maldonado I found one in a situation nearly as dry as at Bahia Blanca, and, thinking to give it a gTeat treat, carried it to a pool of water ; not only was the little animal unable to swim, but I think without help would soon have been drowned." The giant-toad {Bufo gigas, agua), frequents the Brazilian campos in such numbers that in the evening or after a shower of rain, when they come forth from their hiding-places to regale on the damp and murky atmosphere, the earth seems literally to swarm with them. They are double the size of our common toad, and are even said to attain, with their outstretched hind legs, a foot's length, with a proportionate girth. Covered with unsightly warts, and of a dull grey colour, their aspect is re- pulsive, and when excited, they eject a liquid which is very much feared by the natives. Their voice is loud and disagree- able, while Gruinea possesses, in the Breviceps gibhosus, a small toad which is said to sing delightfully, " charming the swamps with its melodious note." A Brazilian tree-frog, (^Hyla crepitans) which adheres to the large leaves, not merely with its widened toes, but with its constantly viscid body, has a voice which sounds like the cracking of a large piece of wood, and generally proceeds from many throats at a time. On wandering through the forests of Brazil. Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied was often surprised by this singular concert issuing from the dark shades of the forest. A Surinam tree-frog (IT^/Zamica^is) has the singiilar property of secreting a luminous slime, so as to look in the dark like a yellowish will-o'-the-wisp. Its voice is most disagreeable, ami is said at times completely to overpower the orchestra of the theatre in Paramaribo, thus emulating the stentorian achieve- ments of the Virginian bull-frog. 339 CHAPTER XXX. TORTOISES AND TURTLES. The Galapagos — The Elephantine Tortoise — The Marsh-Tortoises — Mantega — River-Tortoises — Marine Turtles — On the Brazilian Coast — Their numerous Enemies — The Island of Ascension — Turtle-Catching at the Bahama and Keeling Islands — Turtle caught by means of the Sucking-Fish — The Green Turtle — The Hawksbill Turtle — Turtle-Scaling in the Feejee Islands — Barbarous mode of selling Turtle-Flesh in Ceylon — The Coriaceous Turtle — Its awful Shrieks. IN the South Sea, exposed to the vertical beams of the equa- torial sun, lies a large group of uninhabited islands, on whose sterile shores you would look in vain for the palms, bananas, or bread-fruit trees of more favoured lands, as rain falls only upon the heights, and never descends to call forth plenty on the arid coasts. And yet, this desolate group offers many points of interest to the naturalist, for tlie Galapagos or Tortoise Islands represent, as it were, a little world in themselves, a peculiar creation of animals and plants, reminding us, more strongly than the productions of any other land, of an earlier epoch of planetary life. Here are no less than twenty-six different species of land- birds, which, with one single exception, are found nowhere else. Their plumage is homely, like the flora of their native country ; their tameness so great that they may be killed with a stick. A sea-mew, likewise peculiar to this group, mixes its shriek with the hoarse-resounding surge ; lizards, existing in no other country, swarm about the shore, and Ambiyrhyne. the gigantic land-tortoise {Testudo indica, elephantind), although now spread over many other countries, is supposed by Mr. Darwin to have had its original z 2 340 TORTOISES AND TURTLES seat in the Galapagos, where it was formerly found in such vast numbers as to have given the group its Spanish name. If the seafarer visits these treeless shores, which as yet produce nothing else worth gathering, it is chiefly for the purpose of catching a few of these huge animals, which, in spite of frequent persecutions, still amply reward a short sojourn with a rich supply of fresh meat. Their capture costs nothing but the trouble, for man has not yet drawn the boundary marks of pro- perty over the tenantless land. The elephantine tortoise inhabits as well the low and sterile country, where it feeds on the fleshy leaves of the cactus, as the mountainous regions where the moist trade-wind calls forth a richer vegetation of ferns, grasses, and various trees. On this meagre food, which seems hardly sufficient for a goat, it thrives so well that three men are often scarcely able to lift it, and it not seldom furnishes more than 200 pounds of excellent meat. " The tortoise," says Mr. Darwin, " is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a considerable elevation. The tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long distance. Theii' broad and well-beaten paths radiate off in every direction, from the wells even down to the sea coast, and the Spaniards, by following them up, first discovered the watering places. When I landed at Chatham Island, I could not imagine what animal travelled so methodically along the well-chosen tracks. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these great monsters, one set eagerly travelling onward with outstretched necks, and another set returning after having drank their fill. When the tortoise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, it buries its head in the water above the eyes, and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. The inhabitants* say each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of the water, and then returns to the lower * At the time of Mr. Darwin's visit an attempt, since given up, had been made to colonise the islands, which are once more only tenanted by casual adventiurers, and may well bo called uninhabited. « THE ELEPHANTINE TORTOISE 341 country ; but they differed in their accounts respecting the fre- quency of these visits. The animal probably regulates them according to the nature of the food which it has consumed. It is, however, certain that tortoises can subsist even on those islands where there is no other water than what falls during a few rainy days in the year. I believe it is well ascertained that the bladder of the frog acts as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence — such seems to be the case with the tortoise. For some time after a visit to the springs, the urinary bladder of these animals is distended with fluid, which is said gradually to decrease in volume, and to become less pure. The inhabitants, when walking in the lower districts and overcome with thirst, often take advantage of this circumstance by killing a tortoise, and if the bladder is full, drinking its contents. In one I saw killed, the fluid was quite limpid, and had only a very slightly bitter taste. " The tortoises, when moving towards any definite point, travel by night and day, &,nd arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be expected. The inhabitants, from observations on marked individuals, consider that they can move a distance of about eight miles in two or three days. One large tortoise, ■ which I watched, I found walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is, three hundred and sixty in the hour, or four miles a day, allowing also a little time for it to eat on the road. The flesh of this animal is largely employed, both fresh and salted, and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. " When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated, iind it is said to recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the tortoises, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle (their upper buckler being highly arched, while it is more flattened in the aquatic families, for the better adaptation of their forms to motion in a liquid), for they are often able to regain their upright position." They are said to be completely deaf; so much is certain, that they do not perceive a person even when walking close behind them. Mr. Darwin often amused himself by overtaking the slow and monstrous creatures, who, as soon as he had passed 342 TORTOISES AND TURTLES them, instantly withdrew their head and legs, and fell flat down with a loud hiss and heavy noise as if touched by lightning. He then mounted upon thair back, and on giving them a smart slap or two on the hind part of their carapace, they rose and leisurely proceeded with their learned freight, the author of " Origin of Species " finding it very difficult to maintain his equilibrium on this strange beast of burthen. It is a remarkable fact, that though the land-tortoises are scattered in many places over the warmer regions of the globe, and even extend as far as Patagonia and the south of Europe, yet not a single one has hitherto been found in Australia, where, equally strange to say, no indigenous monkey exists. The marsh tortoises, or Enfiydce^ have their chief seat in tropi- cal America and the Indian Archipelago, where an abundance of swamps, lagoons, lakes, pools, and gently-flowing rivers favours the increase of their numbers. They play an important part in the Marsh Tortoise, J r j (, ^ t t (Emyspicta.) domestic ecouomy of the Indians along the great streams of the New World, the deep rolling Orinoco or the thousand-armed Amazons. During the dry season, all the neighbouring tribes are busy collecting the countless eggs which the cold-blooded creatures confide to the life-awakening powers of the heated sands : partly for their own consumption, and partly for the manufacture of oil. According to Herndon (" Exploration of the Valley of the Amazons, 1850-1853") from five to six thousand jars of man- tega, or tortoise-oil are annually gathered on the banks of the Maranon. Each animal furnishes on an average eighty eggs, and forty tortoises are reckoned for each jar, which contains forty-five pounds, and is worth about six shillings on the spot. The manufacturing process, which is carried on in a most primitive manner, exhales an insupportable stench. The eggs, namely, are thrown into a boat, and trodden to pieces with the feet. The shells having been removed, the rest is left for several days to putrify in the sun. The oil which collects on the surface of the decomposing mass is then skimmed off, and boiled in large kettles. The neighbouring strand swarms with carrion vultures, and the smell of the offal attracts a number of alligators, all hoping to come in for their share of the feast. TORTOISE OIL 343 Similar disgusting scenes occur on the banks of the Orinoco, where annually about 5,000 jars are collected. The number of eggs required for the production of the oil is estimated at about 33,000,000 ; the produce of at least 300,000 of the reptiles. The marsh-tortoises may be said to form the connecting link between the eminently aquatic marine, and river chelonians and the land-tortoises, as the formation of their feet, armed with sharp claws or crooked nails, and furnished with a kind of flexible web, connecting their distinct and movable toes, allows them both to advance much quicker on the dry land than the latter, and to swim rapidly either on the surface or in the depth of the waters. According to the more or less terrestrial habits of the various species, the feet are more or less webbed, for in those that habitually remain on the banks of the lagoons, the connecting membrane is confined to the basis of the toes, while in others, that but rarely come on shore, it sometimes reaches to the extremity of the claws : another beautiful example of the fore- sight of the Almighty in adapting organic structure to the wants of His creatures. The marsh-tortoises, being endowed with more rapid power of locomotion, are not vegetarians like the land-tortoises, but chiefly live on moUusks, fishes, frogs, toads, and annelides. Although the eggs are palatable, the flesh is generally too coarse even for the craving appetite of an Indian. The river-tortoises differ in many respects from the sea-turtles, although formed like them for a purely aquatic life. In both families the extremities are complete fins, serving as oars, but the fore feet of the river-tortoises are not double the length of the hind feet, as we find in the marine chelonians ; and while the latter have a short apoplectic neck, that of the river-tortoise is generally very long and surmounted by a small and narrow head. The river-tortoises are exclusively confined to the warmer countries of the globe, and sometimes weigh as much as seventy pounds. It seems that during the night, and when they fancy themselves secure from danger, they repose upon the small river islands, or on rocks and trunks of trees that have fallen on the banks, or are drifted along by the current, and instantly plunge again into the water at the sight of man or at the least alarming noise. They are extremely voracious, and being very 344 TORTOISES AND TURTLES active swimmers, kill numbers of fish and reptiles. As their own flesh is held in high estimation, they are caught by hand-lines, a living bait being made use of to attract them, as they will not seize a dead or motionless prey. When they wish to seize their food or to defend themselves, they dart forwards their head and long neck with the velocity of lightning, and are said in this manner to surprise and seize even small birds that incautiously fly too near the surface of the water. They bite lustily with their sharp beak, never quitting their hold till they have fairly scooped out the morsel, so that the fishermen stand in great awe of their powerful mandibles, and generally cut off their head as soon as they are caught, rightly judging this to be the most radical means to prevent any further mischief. The turtles, which are likewise inhabitants of the warmer latitudes, though sometimes a strange erratic propensity or mischance will carry them as far from their usual haunts as the North Sea, have, as we all know, a far greater commercial and gastronomic value than all the rest of the tortoise tribes.* During the Brazilian summer (December, January, February), colossal turtles are seen everywhere swimming about along the coast, raising their thick round heads above the water, and waiting for the approach of night to land. The neighbouring Indians are their bitterest enemies, killing them whenever they can. Thus these dreary sand coasts, bounded on one side by the ocean and on the other by gloomy primeval forests, offer on all sides pictures of destruction, for the bones and shells of slaughtered turtles everywhere bestrew the ground. Two parallel grooves indicate the path of the turtle after landing ; they are the marks of the four large and long fin-shaped feet or paddles, and between them may be seen a broad furrow where the heavy body trailed along the ground. On following these traces about thirty or forty yards shore-upwards, the huge animal may be found sitting in a flat excavation formed by its circular movements, and in which one half of its body is im- bedded. It allows itself to be handled on all sides without making the least attempt to move away, being probably taught by instinct how useless all endeavours to escape would be. A * For more ample details on tlio Mm-ino Chelonian.'s, see Chap. IX. of " The S. a and its living Wonders." ! ENEMIES OF THE TURTLE 345 blowing or snorting like that of a goose when any one approaches its nest, at the same time inflating its neck a little, are the sole signs of defence which it exhibits. Having thus prepared a comfortable seat, the turtle begins to dig with her hind feet a cylindrical hole about a foot and a half deep, in which she deposits about a hundred eggs, covered with a leathery, flexible, and whitish skin. This being accomplished, the hole is again loosely filled up with sand, and slowly as she came, the turtle, leaving her eggs to be hatched by the sun, returns to her ac- customed element. Similar scenes take place during the dry season, throughout the whole of the tropical zone, on every sandy, unfrequented coast : for the same instinct which prompts the salmon to swim stream-upwards, the cod to seek elevated submarine banks, or the penguin to leave the high seas and settle for the summer on some dreary rock, attracts also the turtles from distances of fifty or sixty leagues to the shores of desert islands or solitary bays. . The enemies of the marine chelonians are no less numerous than those of the terrestrial or fluviatile species. While the full-grown turtles, as soon as they leave the water, are exposed to the attacks of many ravenous beasts, from the wild dog to the tiger or jaguar, storks, herons, and other strand- or sea-birds devour thousands upon thousands of the young before they reach the ocean, where sharks and other greedy fishes still further thin their ranks, so that but very few escape from the general massacre, and the whole race can only maintain itself by its great fecundity. Of all the foes of the turtle-tribe there is, however, none Inore formidable than man, as even on the most lonely islands the seafarer lies in wait, eager to relieve the monotony of his coarse fare by an abundant supply of their luscious flesh. On the isle of Ascension, the head-quarters of the finest turtle in the world, all the movements of the poor creatures are carefully watched, and when, after having deposited their eggs in the sand, they waddle again towards the sea, their re- treat is often intercepted, for two stout hands running up to the unfortunate turtle after the completion of her task, one seizes a fore-flipper and dexterously shoves it under her belly, to serve as a purchase ; whilst the other, avoiding a stroke which 346 TORTOISES AND TURTLES miglit lame him, cants her over on her back, where she lies help- less. From, fifteen to thirty are thus turned in a night. In the bays, when the surf or heavy rollers prevent the boats being beached to take on board the turtles when caught, they are hauled out to them by ropes. In former times, as long as the island had neither master nor inhabitants, every ship's crew that landed helped itself to as many turtles as it could catch ; but since England has taken possession of the island, turtle-turning has been converted into a Grovernment monopoly, and £2 10s. is the fixed price for each. They are kept in two large enclosures near the sea, which flows in and out, through a breakwater of large stones, A gallows is erected between the two ponds, where the turtles are slaughtered for shipping, by suspending them by the hind- flippers and then cutting their throats. Often above 300 turtles, of 400 lbs. and 500 lbs. each, are lying on the sand or swim- ming about in the ponds — a sight to set an alderman mad with delight. The best v/ay to send home turtles from Ascen- sion is to head them up in a cask, and have the water changed daily by the bunghole and a cock. Though the extremes of heat and cold are equally injurious to them, they should always arrive in England during hot weather. Thus an un- fortunate captain, on one occasion, took from Ascension 200 turtles, and timing his arrival badly, brought only four of them alive to Bristol. The way by which the turtles are most commonly taken at the Bahama Islands is by striking them with a small iron peg of two inches long, put in a socket at the end of a staff of twelve feet long. Two men usually set out for this work in a canoe, one to row and gently steer the boat, while the other stands at the end of it with his weapon. The turtles are sometimes dis- covered by their swimming with their head and back out of the water, but they are more often seen lying at the bottom, a fathom or more deep. If a turtle perceives he is discovered, he starts up to make his escape ; the men in the boat, pursuing him, endeavour to keep sight of him, which they often lose and recover again by the turtle putting his nose out of the water to breathe. On Keeling Island, Mr. Darwin witnessed another highly interesting method of catching tiutle, which he describes in the METHODS OP CATCHING TURTLE 347 vivid manner which has rendered his works so deservedly popular. " I accompanied Captain Fitzroy to an island at the head of the lagoon," says this eminent naturalist ; " the channel was ex- ceedingly intricate, winding through fields of delicately-branched corals. We saw several turtles, and two boats were then employed in catching them. The method is rather curious : the water is so clear and shallow that, although at first a turtle quickly dives out of sight, yet in a canoe, or boat under sail, the pursuers, after no very long chase, come up to it. A man, standing ready in the bows, at this moment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back ; then clinging with both liands by the shell of the neck, he is carried away till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. It was quite an interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and the men dashing into the water trying to seize their prey." On the coast of Mozambique, a large species of Remora, or sucking-fish, is made use of for turtle- catching. A strong cord of palm fibres is attached to the tail of tjiis singular creature, and serves to drag it ^^ ^"^ ^^^^^' out of the water along with its prey, to which it so firmly adheres, by means of the remarkable striated apparatus on its head, that turtles weighing several hundred pounds can in this manner be raised from the bottom. The Green turtle {Chelonia midas), which has been known to attain a length of seven feet, and a weight of 900 lbs., is most prized for its flesh ; but the Hawksbill {Che- lonia imbricata), which hardly reaches one-third of the size, is of far greater commercial value, the plates of its shell being stronger, thicker, and clearer than those of any other species. It is caught all over the tropical seas, but principally near the Moluccas, the West Indian and the -r-, . T T T •• • ■ • 1 • Green Turtle. Feejee Islands, where it is preserved m pens by the chiefs, who have a barbarous way of removing the valuable part of the shell from the living animal. A burning brand is held close to the outer shell, until it curls up and separates a little from that beneath. Into the gap thus formed a small wooden wedge is then inserted, by which the whole is 348 TORTOISES AND TURTLES easily removed from the back. When stripped, the animal is again put into the pen, where it has full time for the growth of a new shell — for though the operation appears to give great pain, it is not fatal. A similar cruel method of removing the tortoise's shell by- heat is resort'ed to in Ceylon ; but the mode in which the flesh of the edible turtle is sold piecemeal, while it is still alive, by the fishermen of that island, is still more repulsive, and a disgrace to the Colonial Grovernment, which allows it to be openly practised. " The creaturesj" says Sir Emerson Tennent, " are to be seen in the market-place undergoing this frightful mutilation, the plas- tron and its integuments having been previously removed, and the animal thrown on its back, so as to display all the motions of the heart, viscera, and lungs. A broad knife, from twelve to eighteen inches in length, is first inserted at the left side, and the women, who are generally the operators, introduce one hand to scoop out the blood, which oozes slowly. The blade is next passed round till the lower shell is detached and placed to one side, and the internal organs exposed in full action. Each customer, as he applies, is served with any part selected, which is cut off as ordered, and sold by weight. Each of the fins is thus successively removed, with portions of the fat and flesh, the turtle showing by its contortions that each act of severance is productive of agony. In this state it lies for hours writhing in the sun, the . heart and head being usually the last pieces selected ; and till the latter is cut ofi", the snapping of the mouth, and the opening and closing of the eyes, show that life is still inherent, even when the shell has been nearly di- vested of its contents." The Coriaceous turtle {Sphargis coriacea), of a more elongated form than the other species, and whose outer covering, marked along its whole length by seven distinct, prominent, and tuber- culated ridges, is not of a horny substance, but resembles strong leather, grows to the greatest size of all the marine chelonians, some having been taken above eight feet in length, and weighing no less than 1,600 lbs., so that even the crocodile can hardly be compared to it in bulk. While the land-tortoises can scarcely be said to have a voices merely hissing or blowing when irritated or seized, the coriaceous turtle, when taken in a net or seriously wounded, utters lou4 FOOD OF THE TURTLE 349 shrieks, or cries, that may be heard at a considerable distance — a power which, in an inferior degree, seems to belong to most of the fluviatile and marine chelonians. The turtles generally live on marine plants, but the Caouana, or Loggerhead (Ckelonia caouana), and the Hawksbill (C. imbricata), feed on crustaceans and cuttle-fish, whicli they can easily crush in their strong, horny beak. The Caouana and the coriaceous turtles are frequently found in the Mediterranean, and on the coasts of South America and Africa. Both are of no commercial importance ; their shell is almost useless, and their flesh, which, like that of the alligator, exhales a strong smell of musk, is extremely coarse and ill- flavoured. Loggerhead. Crocodiles and Alligators. CHAPTER XXXI. CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS. Their Habits — The Gayial and the Tiger — Mode of Seizing their Prey — Their Voice — Their Preference of Human Flesh — Alligator against Alligator — Won- derful Tenacity of Life — Tenderness of the Female Cayman for her Young- Enemies of the Crocodile — Torpidity of Crocodiles during the Dry Season — Their Awakening from their Lethargy with the First Eains — "Tickling a Cro- codile." THERE was a time, long before man appeared upon the scene, when huge crocodiles swarmed in the rivers of England, and, for aught we know, basked on the very spot where now their grim representatives can hardly be said to adorn the grounds of Sydenham Palace. But the day when the ferocious, bone-harnessed Saurians lorded it in the European streams has passed, never to return ; the diminished warmth of what are now the temperate regions of the globe having long since confined them to the large rivers and lagunes of the torrid zone. The scourge and terror of all that lives in the waters which they frequent, they may with full justice be called the very images of depravity, as perhaps wo animals in existence bear in their countenance more decided marks of cruelty and malice. The depressed head, so significant of a low cerebral developement ; the vast maw, garnished witli formidable rows of conical teeth, entirely made for snatch aiul swallow ; the elongated mud-coloured body, with its long lizard- GAVIAL AND TIGER 351 Alligator. like tail, resting on short legs, stamp them with a peculiar frightfulness, and proclaim the baseness of their instincts. The short-snouted, broad-headed Alligators, or Caymen, belong to the New World ; the Gavials, distinguished by their straight, long, and narrow jaw, are exclusively Indian ; while the oblong-headed Crocodiles are not only found in Africa and Asia, but likewise infest the swamps and rivers of America. All these animals, however, though different in form and name, have everywhere similar habits and manners ; so that, in general, what is remarked of the one may be applied to the others. Awkward and slow in their movements on the land, they are very active in the water, darting along with great rapidity by means of their strong muscular tail and their webbed hind feet. They sometimes bask in the sunbeams on the banks of the rivers, but oftener float on the surface, where, concealing their head and feet, they appear like the rough trunk of a tree, both in shape and colour, and thus are enabled the more easily to deceive and catch their prey. In America, many a slow-paced Capybara, coming in the dusk of evening to slake its thirst in the lagune, has been suddenly seized by this insidious * foe ; and the Grangetic Gavial is said to make even the tiger his prey. When the latter quits the thick cover of the jungle to drink at the stream, the Gravial, concealed under water, steals along the bank, and, suddenly emerg- ing, furiously attacks the tiger, who never declines the combat ; and though in the struggle the Gravial frequently loses his eyes and receives dreadful wounds on the head, he at length drags his adversary into the water, and there devours him.* In order to observe the manner in which the Alligator seizes its prey, Kichard Schomburgk frequently tied a bird or some large fish to a piece of wood, and then turned it adrift upon the stream. Scarcely had the Cayman perceived his victim, than * Forbes' " Oriental Memories," vol, i. p. 357. or Water-pig, Cajiybara. 352 CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS he slowly and cautiously approached, without even rippling the surface of the water, and then curving his back, hurled his prey, by a stroke of hi stall, into his wide-extended jaws. On the American streams, the stillness of the night is often interrupted by the clacking of the Cayman's teeth, and the lash- ing of his tail upon the waters. The singular and awful sound of his voice can also readily be distinguished from that of all the other beasts of the wilderness. It is like a suppressed sigh, bursting forth all of a sudden, and so loud as to be heard above a mile off. First, one emits this horrible noise ; then another answers him ; and far and wide the repetition of the sound proclaims that the Caymen are awake. When these hideous creatures have once tasted the flesh of man, they are said, like the cannibals of the Feejee Islands, to prefer it to that of any animal. During Humboldt's stay at Angostura, a monstrous Cayman seized an Indian by the leg while he was busy pushing his boat ashore in a shallow lagune, and immediately dragged him down into the deeper water. The cries of the unfortunate victim soon attracted a large number of spectators, who witnessed; the astonishing courage with which he searched in his pockety for a knife. Not finding the weapon, he then seized the reptile by the head, and pressed his fingers into its eyes — a method which saved Mungo Park's negro from a similar fate. In this case, how^ever, the monster did not let go his hold, but disappearing under the surface with the Indian, came up again with him as soon as he was drowned, and dragged the body to a neigh- bouring island. " One Sunday evening," says Waterton, " some years ago, as I was walking with Don Felipe de Yriarte, Grovernor of Angostura, on the bank of the Orinoco — ' Stop here a minute or two, Don Carlos,' said he to me, 'while I recount a sad accident. One fine evening, last year, as the people of Angostura weref sauntering up and down in the Alameda, I was within twenty yards of this place, when I saw a large Cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry him down, ])efore anybody had it in his power to assist him. The screams of the poor fellow were terrible, as the Cayman was running off with him. He plunged into the river with his prey ; we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw or heard him more. ' " VITALITY OF CROCODILES 353 Humboldt also relates that, during the inundations of the Orinoco, alligators will sometimes make their appearance in the very streets of Angostura, where they have been known to attack and drag away a human prey. Even among each other, these ferocious animals frequently engage in deadly conflict. Thus, Kichard Schomburgk once saw a prodigiously large Cayman seize one of a smaller species [Champsa vallifrons) by the middle of the body, so that the head and tail projected on both sides of its muzzle. Now both of them disappeared under the surface, so that only the agitated waters of the otherwise calm river announced the death-struggle going on beneath ; and then again the monsters reappeared, wildly beating the surface ; so that it was hardly possible to dis- tinguish here a tail, or there a monstrous head, in the seething whirlpool. At length, however, the tumult subsided, and the large Cayman was seen leisurely swimming to a sand-bank, where he immediately began to feed upon his prey. The same traveller relates an interesting example of the Cayman's tenacity of life. One of them having been wounded with a strong harpoon, was dragged upon a sand-bank. Here the rays of the sun seemed to infuse new life into the monster, for, awaking from his death-like torpidity, he suddenly snapped about him with such rage that Schomburgk and his assistants thought it prudent to retreat to a safer distance. Seizing a long and mighty pole, the bravest of the Indians now went towards the Cayman, who awaited the attack with wide-extended jaws, and plunged the stake deep into his maw — a morsel which the brute did not seem to relish. Meanwhile two other Indians approached him from behind, and kept striking him with thick clubs upon the extremity of the tail. At every blow upon this sensitive part, the monster bounded in the air and extended his frightful jaws, which were each time immediately regaled with a fresh thrust of the pole. After a long and furious battle, the Cayman, who measured twelve feet in length, was at last slain. Another remarkable instance of the vitality of the common crocodile is mentioned by Sir E. Tennent. A gentleman at Galle having caught on a baited hook an unusually large one, it was disembowelled by his coolies, the aperture in the stomach being 'left expanded by a stick placed across it. On returning, in the afternoon, with a view to secure the head, they found that the A A 354 CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS creature had crawled for some distance, and made its escape into the water. We all know the intense hatred which sailors bear to the sliark, and with what savage delight they drag one on board, and hack him to pieces with their knives before life is extinct; but the American Indian is a no less inveterate enemy of the Cayman, and, when occasion offers, lets him feel the full extent of his inventive cruelty. Among the Javanese, on the contrary, we find the crocodile considered as a sacred animal, on account of his clearing the rivers and lagunes of putrefying sub- stances ; and the friendship even seems to be reciprocal, as Bennett saw Javanese convicts busy working up to their middle in water, quite near the monsters. Like the sea-turtles, the crocodiles generally deposit their eggs, which are about the size of those of a goose, and covered with a calcareous shell, in holes made in the sand, leaving them to be hatched by the warm rays of the tropical sun. In some parts of America, however, they have been observed to resort to a more ingenious method, denoting a degree of provident instinct whicli could hardly have been expected in a cold-blooded reptile. Raising a small hillock on the banks of the river, and hollowing it out in the middle, they collect a quantity of leaves and other vegetable matters, in which they deposit their eggs. These are covered with the leaves, and are hatched by the heat extricated during their putrefaction, along with that of the atmosphere. Callous to every other generous sentiment, the female Cayman continues for some time after their birth to watch over her young with great care. One day, as Kichard Schomburgk, accompanied by an Indian, was busy fishing on the banks of the Essequibo, he suddenly heard in the water a strange noise, resembling the mewing of young cats. With eager curiosity he climbed along the trunk of a tree overhanging the river, about three feet above the water, and saw beneath him a brood of young alligators, about a foot and a half long. On his seizing and lifting one of them out of the water, the mother, a creature of prodigious size, suddenly emerged with an appalling roar, making desperate efforts to reach her wriggling and screeching offspring, and in- creasing in rage every time Schomburgk tantalised her by hold- ing it out to her. Having been wounded with an arrow, she retired for a few moments, and then again returned with redoubled fury, lashing the waters into foam by the repeated strokes of THE ICHNEUMON 355 her tail. Schomburgk now cautiously retreated, as in case of a fall into the water below, he would have had but little reason to expect a friendly reception, the monster pertinaciously follow- ing him to the bank, but not deeming it advisable to land, as here it seemed to feel its helplessness. The scales of the cap- tured young one were quite soft and pliable, as it was only a few days old, but it already had the peculiar musk-like smell which characterises the full-grown reptile. Like so many other tropical animals, the Cayman awakens to a more active life in the cool of the evening, and loves to bask in the noontide sun on sand- banks and rocks. Sometimes he is found with wide-extended jaws, covered with brilliantly-feathered birds, which are not afraid of resting there — and indeed a strange kind of sympathy, or mutual understanding seems to exist between creatures so dis- similar. On the banks of the Nile, herons are often seen to wait for hours in the neighbourhood of the crocodiles, until they spring into the water and drive the fishes within their reach ; and a small plover is even said to extract annoying insects from the monster's mouth, who graciously requites the office by not devouring its benefactor. The young of the crocodiles have no less numerous enemies than those of the snakes. Many an egg is destroyed in the hot sand by small carnivora, or birds, before it can be hatched ; and as soon as the young creep out of the broken shell, and instinctively move to the waters, the Ichneumon — a kind of weasel, to ' Ichneumon. whom, on this account, the ancient Egyptians paid divine homage — or the long-legged Heron gobble up many of them, so that their span of life is short indeed. In the water they are not only the prey of various sharp-toothed fishes, but even of the males of their own species, while the females do all they can to protect them. Even the full- grown crocodile, in spite of its bony harness, is not exempt from attack. Thus, in the river of Tabasco, a tortoise of the genus Cinyxis, after having been swallowed by the alligator, and, thanks to its shelly case, arriving unharmed in its stomach, is said to have eaten its way out again with its sharp beak,* thus ' putting the monster to a most excruciating death. * Carl Heller's " Travels in Mexico in the Years 1845-1848." A A 2 356 CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS Even man not only kills the hideous reptiles in self-defence, or for the sake of sport, but for the purpose of regaling upon their flesh. In the Siamese markets and bazaars, crocodiles, large and small, may be seen hanging in the butchers' stalls, instead of mutton or lamb ; and Captain Stokes,* who more than once supped off alligators' steaks, informs us that the meat is by no means bad, and has a white appearance like veal. I have already mentioned, in the chapter on the Llanos, that in many tropical countries the aridity of the dry season produces a similar torpidity in reptile life to that which is caused by the cold of winter in the higher latitudes. In Ceylon, when the water- courses begin to fail and the tanks become exhausted, the marsh- crocodiles are sometimes encountered wandering in search of water in the jungle ; but generally, during the extreme drought, they bury themselves in the sand, where they remain in a state of torpor, till released by the recurrence of the rains. Sir Emerson Tennent, whilst riding across the parched bed of a tank, was shown the recess, still bearing the form and impress of the crocodile, out of which the animal had been seen to emerge the day before. A story was also related to him of an officer who, having pitched his tent in a similar position, had been disturbed during the night by feeling a movement of the earth below his bed, from which, on the following day, a crocodile emerged, making its appearance from beneath the matting- Like the rattlesnake, crocodiles seem to possess the power of fascinating their prey, or rather of completely depriving tlieir victims of all presence of mind, by the terror which they inspire. In Sumatra, Marsden once saw a large crocodile in a river, looking up to an overhanging tree, on which a number of small monkeys were sitting. The poor creatures were so beside themselves for fright, that instead of escaping to the land, which they might easily have done, or of quietly remaining where they were, they hurried towards the extremities of the branches, and at length fell into the water, where the dreadful monster was awaiting them. Crocodiles sometimes indulge in strange wanderings. Cha- misso mentions one having been drifted from the Pelew Islands to Eap, one of the Carolines, where it was killed after * " Discoveries in Australia." f' i AMUSING ANECDOTE 357 having devoured a woman ; and about thirty years ago, the inhabitants of one of the Feejee Islands were equally astonished and alarmed at seeing a large crocodile emerge from the lagune, and lazily creep on shore. At first they took it for some marine deity ; but it soon proved that its visit was not of a beneficent nature, as it seized and devoured nine of them at various intervals. After many unavailing attempts to destroy the monster, it was at length caught with a sling passed over the bough of a large tree, the other end of the rope being held at a distance by fourteen men who lay concealed, while one of the party offered himself as a bait to entice the reptile to run into the snare. Captain P^itzroy (" Voyage of the Beagle "), who relates the fact, supposes that the animal must have been drifted by the currents all the way from the East Indies — a voyage which, in fact, is not more surprising than to see a turtle land upon the shores of the North Sea, or a sperm whale flounder about in the Thames. Like many other of the lower animals, the crocodile, when surprised, endeavom-s to save himself by feigning death. Sir Emerson Tennent relates an amusing anecdote of one that was found sleeping several hundred yards from the w^ater. " The terror of the poor wretch was extreme when he awoke and found himself discovered and completely surrounded. He was a hideous creature, upwards of ten feet long and evidently of prodi- gious strength, had he been in a condition to exert it; but con- sternation completely paralysed him. He started to his feet, and turned round in a circle, hissing and clacking his bony jaws, with his ugly green eye intently fixed upon us. On being struck, he lay perfectly quiet and apparently dead. Presently he looked round cunningly, and made a rush towards the water ; but on a second blow he lay again motionless, and feigning death. We tried to rouse him, but without effect ; pulled his tail, slapped his back, struck his hard scales, and teased him in every way, but all in vain : nothing would induce him to move, till, accidentally, my son, a boy of twelve years old, tickled him gently under the arm, and in an instant he drew it close to his side, and turned to avoid a repetition of the experiment. Again he was touched under the other arm, and the same emotion was exhibited, the great monster twisting about like an infant to avoid being tickled." 358 CHAPTER XXXII. TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES. The Toucan — Its Quarrelsome Character — The Humming-birds — Their wide Eange over the New World — Their Habits — Their Enemies — Their Courage — The Cotingas — The Campanero — The Tangaras — The Manakins — The Cock of the Rock — The Troupials — The Baltimore — The Pendulous Nests of the Cassiques — The Mocking-bird — Strange Voices of Tropical Birds — The Goat-sucker's Wail — The Organista — The Cilgero — The Flamingos — The Scarlet Ibis — The Jabiru — The Eoseate Spoon-bill — The Jacana — The Calao — The Sun-birds — The Melithreptes — The Argus — The Peacock — The Lyre Bird — The Birds of Paradise — The Australian Bower-bird — The Talegalla — The Devil-bird — The Baya — The Tailor-bird — The Republican Gros-beak — The Korwe. USEFUL in many respects to man, no class of animals is more interesting or agreeable to him than that of the birds, whether we consider the beauty of their plumage, the grace of their movements, the melody of their voice, or the instinct that regulates their migrations and prompts them to construct their nests ; so that their study forms, without doubt, one of the most attractive departments in the whole range of natural history. But it is at the same time one of the most difficult, parti- cularly in countries where man has not yet mastered the powers of vegetation, where numberless creepers and bush-ropes render the forest impenetrable, and the pathless wilderness obstructs the observer at every step. Thus it is by no means surprising that so many secrets still veil the life of the tropical birds — that comparatively so little is known as yet of their economy and mode of existence. Many families of birds have a wide range over the whole earth : falcons hover over the Siberian fir-woods, as over the forests of the Amazons ; in every zone are found woodpeckers, owls, and long-beaked martin-fishers, while thrushes enliven FLAMINGOES I DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS 359 with their song both the shades of the beech-woods and the twilight of 5, the cocoa-nut groves. In the north and in the south, fly-catchers carry destruction among the numerous insect- tribes ; in every latitude, crows cleanse the fields of vermin ; and swallows, pigeons, ducks, gulls, petrels, divers, and plovers fre- quent the fields and lakes, the banks and shores in all parts of the world. Thus the class of birds shows us a great similarity in the dis- tribution of its various forms all over the earth ; and we find the same resemblance extending also to their mode of life, their manners, and their voice. The woodpeckers make everywhere the forest resound with the same clear note, and the birds of prey possess in every clime the same rough screech so consonant to their habits, while a soft cooing everywhere characterises the pigeon-tribes. But, notwithstanding this general unifor- mity and this wide range of many families of birds, each zone has at the same time its peculiar ornithological features, that blend harmoniously with the surrounding world of plants and animals, and, taking a prominent part in the aspect of nature, at once attract the attention of the stranger. In this respect, as in so many others, the warmer regions of the globe have a great advantage over those of the temperate and glacial zones ; and here, where warmth and moisture call forth an exuberant vegetation, they produce an equal multipli- city of animal forms, among which many birds rival the most gorgeous flowers by the splendour of their plumage. On turning to each continent in particular, we again find each endowed with its peculiar genera of birds, and thus, though tropical America has many of its feathered tribes in common with the torrid zone of the Old World, it enjoys the exclusive possession of the Toucans, Colibris, Crotophagi, Jacamars, Anis, Dendrocolaptes, Manakins, and Tangaras ; while the Calaos, the Souimangas, the Birds of Paradise, and many others, are con- fined to the eastern hemisphere. A complete review of all these various forms of the feathered creation would fill volumes : my narrow limits necessarily confine me to a brief account of those tribes which are either the most remarkable, or the most widely different from the birds which we are accustomed to see in Europe. 360 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES By their enormous bill, which might seem rather adapted to a bird of ostrich-like dimensions than to one not much larger than a crow, the Toucans (^Ramphastidce) are distinguished from all the other feathered races of America. Were it of a strong and solid texture, this huge beak would infallibly weigh them to the ground ; but being of a light and cellular structure, they carry it easily, and leap with such agility from bough to bough, that it does not then appear preposterously large. When flying, it gives them, indeed, a very awkward appear- ance, but the beauty of its colouring soon reconciles the eye to its disproportionate size : for the bright- est red, variegated with black and yellow stripes on the upper mandible, and a stripe of the liveliest sky-blue on the lower, contribute to adorn the bill of the Bouradi, as one of the three Toucan Toucan species of Guiana is called by the Indians. Unfortunately, these brilliant tints fade after death, and it requires all the art of a Waterton to fix and preserve their evanescent hues. The plumage of this strange bird rivals the beak in beauty of colouring, and the feathers are frequently used as ornaments by the Brazilian ladies, as well as by the Indian tribes that roam through the vast forests of South America. The Toucans are generally seen in small flocks or troops, and from this it might be supposed they were gregarious ; " but upon a closer examination," says the author of " Wander- ings in South America," "you will find it has only been a dinner- party which breaks up and disperses towards roosting-time." While thus assembled, discord never ceases to reign, for there is hardly a more quarrelsome and imperious bird than the toucan. Schomburgk relates an anecdote of a tamed Eamphastos who, by dint of arrogance, assisted by his enormous beak, had made himself despot not only over the domestic fowls, but even over the larger four-footed animals of an estate in Guiana. Large and small willingly submitted to him, so that when a dispute arose among the trumpeters and hoccos of the yard, the com- batants all dispersed as soon as he made his appearance, and if by chance he had been overlooked in the heat of the fray, his powerful beak soon reminded them that their lord and master was ])y no means inclined to tolerate disputes among his subjects. HUMMING-BIRDS 361 On bread being thrown among them, none of his two or four- legged subjects would have ventured to seize the smallest morsel before the toucan had liberally helped himself. This domi- neering spirit even went so far that he inhospitably reminded every strange dog that came near the premises, that none durst enter his domains without his permission. There is no knowing to what lengths he might not have carried his despotism, if a powerful mastiff, one day entering the yard and taking several bones without leave, had not put an end to his tyranny. For scarcely had the toucan perceived the intruder, when angrily rushing upon him, he attacked him with his beak. The dog at first only growled, without suffering himself to be disturbed in his meal, but as the bird continued to bite, he finally lost his patience and, snapping at the toucan, wounded him so severely on the head that he soon after expired. A bird with so strange a beak must naturally be expected to feed and drink in a strange manner. When the toucan has seized a morsel, he throws it into the air and lets it fall into his throat ; when drinking, he dips the point of his mandibles into the water, fills them by a powerful inspiration, and then throws back the head by starts. The tongue is also of a very singular form, being narrow and elongated, and laterally barbed like a feather. The toucans are very noisy birds. In rainy weather their clamour is heard at all hours of the day, and in fair weather at morn- ing and evening. The sound which the Bourodi makes is like the clear yelping of a puppy dog, and you fancy he says " pia-po-o-co," and thus the South American Spaniards call him Piapoco. To paint the Humming-bird with colours worthy of its beauty, would be a task as difficult as to fix on canvas the glowing tints of the rainbow, or the glories of the setting sun. Unrivalled in the metallic brilliancy of its plumage, it may truly be called the bird of paradise ; and had it existed in the old world it would no doubt have claimed the title instead of the splendid bird which has now the honour to bear it. See with what lightning speed it darts from flower to flower ; now hovering for an instant before you, as if to give you an opportunity of admiring its surpassing beauty, and now again vanishing with the rapidity of thought. But do not fancy that these winged jewels 362 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES of the air, buzzing like bees round the blossoms less gorgeous than themselves, live entirely on the honey-dew collected within their petals ; for on opening the stomach of the Trochilus dead insects are almost always found there, which its long and slender beak, and cloven extensile tongue, like that of the woodpecker, enable it to catch at the very bottom of the tubular corollas. The torrid zone is the chief seat of the humming-birds, but in summer they wander far beyond its bounds, and follow the sun in his annual declensions to the poles. Thus, in the north, /^ they appear as flying visitors on the JmJI^k^ ^i^ borders of the Canadian lakes, and ^m. ^^SK^ ^^ ^^ southern coast of the peninsula ^ dff'^^^^^^^ ^^ Aljaschka; while in the southern '^- ^irf 1 hemisphere they roam as far as Pata- gonia, and even as Tierra del Fuego ; visiting in the northern hemisphere the confines of the walrus, and reach- H^^^^ZT^^i. i^g i^ t^e south the regions of the penguins and the lion-seal ; advancing towards the higher latitudes with the advance of summer, and again retreating at the approach of autumn. The nest of the humming-bird is as elegant and neat as its tiny constructor, a little capsule formed externally of grey lichens so as to avoid notice, and lined internally with the soft down of the cotton tree. In this fragile cradle, suspended from a branch, or leaf, or even a blade of the straw which covers the hut of the Indian, the female lays two white eggs, the size of peas, which are hatched in about twelve days by the alternate incubation of the male and female, producing young no bigger than a common fly, naked, blind, and so weak, as hardly to be able to raise their little bills for the food provided for them by their parents. Nothing can exceed the tenderness which the male evinces during breeding time for his lovely companion, nor the courage which he displays for her protection. On the approach of an intrusive bird, though ten times bigger than himself, he will not hesitate a moment to attack the disturber of his nest, his bravery adds a tenfold increase to his powers, the rapidity of his move- ments confounds his enemy, and finally drives him to flight. HUMMING-BIRDS 363 Proud of this success, the little champion returns to his partner, and flaps triumphantly his tiny wings. But with all his activity and courage, he is not always able to avert disaster from his nest, for an enormous bush spider, covered all over with black liair (Mygale), too often lurks in the vicinity, watching for the moment when the little birds shall creep out of the shell. With sudden attack it then invades the nest, and sucks their life- blood. Against this enemy neither courage nor despair are of any avail, and if the poor humming-bird endeavours to avenge the slaughter of his young, he only shares their fate. When the dark long-legged monster entwines his brilliant prey, one might almost fancy an angel of light bleeding under the talons of a demon. From the chivalrous character of the humming-birds it is not surprising that the most violent passions agitate their little breasts ; so that in their desperate contests, they will tilt against each other with such fury, as if each meant to transfix his antagonist with his long bill. It may indeed be truly said that these little creatures are sadly prone to quarrel over their cups, not of wine, but nectareous flowers. Frequently four or five of them may be seen engaged in a flying fight when disputing the possession of a blossoming tree in the forests of Brazil, and then they dart so swiftly through the air that the eye can scarcely follow them in their meteorlike evolutions. What a splendid addition, even to the magnificence of a regal drawing-room, the humming-birds would be, if they allowed themselves to be confined in a cage ; but perpetual movement in the air is to them a necessity, and to deprive them of liberty is to rob them of life. All attempts to transport them alive to Europe have hitherto been fruitless. The celebrated ornitho- logist Latham relates that a young man cut off the branch on which a humming-bird was breeding, and took it on board the ship which conveyed him to England. The mother soon grew tame, and took the biscuit and honey, that was offered her ; she also continued to breed during the passage, but died as soon as the young crept out of the shell. These came alive to England, and withstood during two months our uncongenial climate. They grew so tame as to feed from the lips of Lady Howard, to whom they had been presented : a lovely picture worthy of Anacreon Moore, — 364 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES " To whom the Ijre was giren, With all the trophies of triumphant song." As the smallest shot would blow the tiny humming-birds to pieces, and inevitably destroy the beauty of their plumage, they are taken by aspersing them with water from a syphon, or by means of a butterfly net. There are many species of humming-birds, various in size and habits, with straight or curved bills, with a naked or a crested head, with a short or a Jong tail ; some constantly concealing themselves in the solitudes of the forest; while others hover round the habitations of man, and frequently during their disputes pursue each other into the apartments whose windows are left open, taking a turn round the room, as flies do with us, and then suddenly regaining the open air. The Karabamite, the largest of the humming-birds of Guiana, is all red and changing gold green, except the head, which is black. He has two long feathers in the tail which cross each other, and these have gained him the name of Ara humming- bird from the Indians. He alone of all the tribe never shows his beauty to the sun, and were it not for his shining colours one might almost be inclined to class him with the goat- suckers on account of his habits. He keeps close by the side of woody fresh-water rivers, and dark and lonely creeks. He leaves his retreat before sunrise to feed on the insects over the water, but retires to it again as soon as the sun's rays cause a glare of light — is sedentary all day long, and comes out again for a short time after sunset. He builds his nest on a twig over the water in the unfrequented creeks ; it looks like tanned cow-leather, and has no particle of lining. The rim of the nest is doubled inwards, for instinct has taught the bird to give it this shape, in order that the eggs may be prevented from rolling out. The smallest of the humming-birds {Trochilus minimus), golden green, brown and bluish black, weighs but from twenty to forty-five grains, and is surpassed in weight and dimensions by more than one species of bee. Well may we exclaim with Pliny, that Nature is most admirable in her most diminutive works — " Maxima miranda in minimis." THE COTINGAS 365 Next to the humming-birds the Cotingas display the gayest phimage. They are, however, not often seen, for they lead a solitary life in the moist and shadowy forests, where they feed on the various seeds and fruits of the woods. One species is attired in burning scarlet, others in purple and blue, but they are all so splendidly adorned that it would be difficult to say which of them deserved the prize for beauty. Most of the Co- tingas have no song ; the nearly related snow-white Campanero or bell-bird, however, amply makes up for the deficient voice of his cousins, by the singularity and sweetness of his note. He is about the size of a jay. On his forehead rises a singular spiral tube nearly three inches long. It is jet black, dotted all over with small white feathers. It has a communication with the palate, and when filled with air looks like a spire, when empty it becomes pendulous. His note is •^ '' ^ Campanero. loud and clear, like the sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance of three miles. " In the midst of these extensive wilds," says Waterton, "generally on the dried top of an aged mora, almost out of gun reach, you will see the Campanero. No sound or song from any of the winged inhabitants of the forest causes such astonishment as his toll. With many of the feathered race he pays the common tribute of a song to early morn, and even when the meridian sun has shut in silence the mouths of almost the whole of animated nature, the Campanero still cheers the forest; you hear his toll, and then a pause for a minute ; then another toll, and then a pause again, and then a toll and again a pause. Then he is silent for six or eight minutes, and then another toll, and so on. Acteon would stop in mid-chase, Maria would defer her evening song, and Orpheus himself would drop his lute to listen to him, so sweet, so novel and romantic, is the toll of the pretty snow-white Campanero. He is never seen to feed with the other Cotingas, nor is it known in what part of Guiana he makes his nest." The Tangaras resemble our finches, though they are far more splendidly attired. Their plumage is very rich and diversified, some of them boast six separate colours ; others have the blue. 3G5 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES purple, green, and black so finely blended into each other that it would be impossible to mark their boundaries ; while others again exhibit them strong, distinct, and abrupt. The flight of the Tangaras is rapid, their manners lively. They live upon insects, seeds, berries, and many of them have a fine song. Among their numerous species, spread over all the warmer regions of America, the scarlet Piranga is pre-eminent for beauty, and when in the blooming thickets, along the woody river's banks, the meridian sun shows off his plumage in all its splen- dour, the huntsman pauses to admire the magnificent bird, and delays his murderous aim. In the deep forests, which they never quit for the open plains, reside the Manakins {Pipra), pretty little birds, whose largest species scarcely attain the dimensions of the sparrow, while the smallest are hardly equal to the wren. The plumage of the full-grown male is always black, enlivened by brilliant colours, that of the female and of the young birds greenish. Their flight is rapid but short, and they generally roost on the middle branches of the trees. In the morning they unite in little troops, and seek their food, which consists of insects, and small fruit, uttering at the same time their weak but melodious notes. As the day advances they separate and seek the deepest forest- shades, where they live in solitude and silence. The famous orange-coloured Cock of the Rock of Guiana (Rupicola aurantia), which owes its name to its comb-like crest, is nearly related to the manakins. It is a great rarity, even in its own country, and as it dwells in the most secluded forests, is but seldom seen by travellers. Richard Schomburgk relates the following wonderful story of the bird, which, if not proceed- ing from so trustworthy a source, might almost be considered fabulous. " A troop of these beautiful birds was celebrating its dances on the smooth surface of a rock; about a score of them were seated on the branches as spectators, while one of the male birds, with proud self-confidence, and spreading tail and wings, was dancing on the rock. He scratched the ground or leaped vertically into the air, continuing these saltatory move- ments until he was tired, when another male took his place. The females, meanwhile, looked on attentively, and applauded, the performance of the dancers with laudatory cries. As the I THE TROOPIALS 367 feathers are highly prized, the Indians lay in wait with their blow-pipes near the places where the Eupicolas are known to dance. When once the ball has begun, the birds are so absorbed by their amusement, that the hunter has full time to shoot down several of the spectators with his poisoned arrows, before the rest take tlie alarm." On penetrating into the wilds of Guiana, the pretty songsters called Troopials, {Icterus, Xanthornus) pour forth a variety of sweet and plaintive notes. Kesembling the starling by their habits, they unite in troops, and live on insects, berries, and seeds. The variegated Troopial (Oriolus varius) displays a wonder- ful instinct in the construction of his nest, which he generally builds on fruit-trees; but when circumstances force him to select a tree whose branches have far less solidity, as, for instance, the weeping-willow, his instinct almost rises to a higher intelligence. First, he binds together, by means of bits of straw, the small and flexible branches of the Willow, and thus forms a kind of conical basket in which he places his nest, and instead of the usual hemispherical form, he gives it a more elongated shape, and makes it of a looser tissue, so as to render it more elastic and better able to conform to the movements of the branches when agitated by the wind. The neat little black and orange Baltimore {Icterus Baltimore) constructs a still more marvellous nest on the tulip trees, on whose leaves and flowers he seeks the caterpillars and beetles which constitute his principal food. When the time comes for preparing it, the male picks up a filament of the Tillandsia usneoides and attaches it by its two extremities to two neigh- bouring branches. Soon after, the female comes, inspects his work, and places another fibre across that of her com- panion. Thus by their alternate labours a net is formed, which soon assumes the ^ ^™°^*^ ^ shape of a nest, and as it advances towards its completion, the affection of the tender couple seems to increase. The tissue is so loose as to allow the air to pass through its meshes, and as the parents know that the excessive heat of summer 3G8 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES would incommode their young, they suspend their nest so as to catch the cooler breeze of the north-east when breeding in Louisiana ; while in more temperate regions, such as Pennsyl- vania and New York, they always give it a southern exposition, and take care to line it with wool or cotton. Their movements are uncommonly graceful ; their song is sweet ; they migrate in ■tvdnter towards more southerly regions, Mexico or Brazil, and return after the equinox to the United States. The Cassiques, which are nearly related to the troopials or orioli, are no less remarkable for their architectural skill. They suspend their large pendulous nests, which are often above four feet long, at the extremities of branches of palm trees, as far as possible from all enemies that might by climbing reach the brood, often choosing, for still further protection, trees on which the wasps or maribondas have already built their nests, as these are adversaries whose sharp stings no tiger-cat or reptile would desire to face. The nest of the Cassicus cristatus is artificially woven of lichens, bark-fibres and the filaments of the til- landsias, while that of the tupuba [Cassicus ruber), which is always suspended over the water, consists of dry grasses, and has a slanting opening in the side, so that no rain can penetrate it. On passing under a tree, which often contains hundreds of cassique nests, one cannot help stopping to admire them, as they wave to and fro, the sport of every storm and breeze, and yet so well constructed as rarely to be injured by the wind. Often numbers of one species may be seen weaving their nests on one side of a tree, while numbers of another species are busy forming theirs on the opposite side of the same plant, and what is, perhaps, even still more wonderful than their architectural skill, though such near neighbours, the females are never observed to quarrel! The Cassicus persicus, a small black and yellow bird, some- what larger than the starling, has been named the mocking-bird, from his wonderful imitative powers. He courts the society of man, and generally takes his station on a tree close to his house, where for hours together he pours forth a succession of ever- varying notes. If a toucan be yelping in the neighbourhood, he immediately drops his own sweet song, and answers him in equal strain. Then he will amuse his audience with the cries of the different species of the woodpecker, and when the sheep THE GOATSUCKER 369 bleat he will distinctly answer them. Then comes his own song again, and if a puppy dog or a guinea fowl interrupt him, he takes them off admirably, and by his different gestures during the time, you would conclude that he enjoys the sport. Wild and strange are the voices of many of the American forest-birds. In the Peruvian woods the black Toropishu (Ge- phalopterus ornatus) makes the thicket resound with his hoarse cry, resembling the distant lowing of a bull ; and in the same regions the fiery-red and black-winged Tunqui {Hup icola Peru- viana) sends forth a note, which might readily be mistaken for the grunting of a hog, and strangely contrasts with the brilliancy of his plumage. But of all the startling cries that issue from the depths of the forest, none is more remarkable than the Goatsucker's lament- able wail. " Suppose yourself in hopeless sorrow," says Water- ton, " begin with a high, loud note, and pronounce ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ! each note lower and lower till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two between every note, and you will have some idea of the mourning of the largest goatsucker in Demerara. " Four other species of goatsucker articulate some words so distinctly, that they have received their names from the sentences they utter, and absolutely bewilder the stranger on his arrival in these parts. The most common one sits down close by your door, and flies and alights three or four yards before you, as you walk along the road, crying, * Who are you, w^ho-who-who-who are you?' Another bids you, * Work away, work-work- work away.' A third cries mournfully, ' Willy come go, Willy- Willy- Willy come go.' And high up in the country, a fourth tells you to, ' Whip-poor- Will, whip-whip-whip-poor-Will.'" You will never persuade the negro to destroy the birds, or get the Indian to let fly his arrow at them, for they are held to be the receptacles for departed souls, who came back again to earth, unable to rest for crimes done in their days of nature, or expressly sent to haunt cruel and hardhearted masters, and retaliate injuries received from them. If the largest goatsucker chance to cry near the white man's door, sorrow and grief will soon be inside, and they expect to see the master waste away B B 370 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES with a slow consuming sickness. If it be heard close to the negro's or Indian's hut, from that night misfortune sits brooding over it, and they await the event in terrible suspense. During the daytime, the goatsucker, whose eyes, like those of the owl, are too delicately formed to bear the light, retires to the deepest recesses of the forest, but when the sun has sunk behind the western woods, he may, on moonlight nights, be seen silently hovering in the forest glades, or hopping about among the herds. This poor bird has the character of a nocturnal thief, but never has a more unjust accusation been made, as, far from robbing the flocks of their milk, he does all he can to free them from insects. " See how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd," says Waterton, "and with what dexterity he springs up, and catches them, as fast as they alight on the belly, legs, and udder of the animals. Observe how quiet they stand, and how sensible they seem of his good offices, for they neither strike at him, nor hit him with their tail, nor tread on him ; nor try to drive him away as an uncivil intruder. Were you to dissect him, and inspect his stomach, you would find no milk there : it is full of the flies which have been annoying the herd." The large tropical nocturnal butterflies, or moths, form the chief food of the wide-beaked goatsucker, and the number of their wings that may be seen lying about, give proof of the ravages he commits among their ranks. For as the bat with his hooked thumb cuts off" the wings of the moths and cockchafers which he catches on his twilight excur- sions, thus, also, the goatsucker refrains from swallowing these parts, and his hooked and incurvated upper mandible seems purposely intended for clipping them. While the goatsucker makes the forest resound with his funereal tones, other birds of the forest pour forth the sweetest notes. Dressed in a sober cinnamon brown robe, with blackish olive-coloured head and neck, the Organist {Troglodytes leuco- phys) enlivens the solitude of the Peruvian forests. The astonished wanderer stops to listen to the strain, and forgets the impending storm. The Cilgero, a no less delightful songster, frequents the mountain regions of Cuba, and the beauty of his notes may be inferred from the extravagant price of several hundred dollars, which the rich Havanese are ready to pay for a captive bird. THE CILGERO 371 Wagner (" Travels in Costa Rica," 1853, 1854) tells us that our nightingale is far inferior to the Cilgero, who entertains his mate with the softest tones of the harmonica, and in Gruiana the flute-bird {Cyphorinus cantans) delights the ear with his me- lodious song. All these lonely musicians of the grove belong to the extensive finch tribe, and, like their European cousins, appear in a simple unostentatious garb. The same beauty of plumage which characterises so many of the American forest-birds, adorns, likewise, the feathered tribes of the swamp and the morass, of the river and the lake. Nothing can exceed in beauty a troop of deep red Flamingoes (Phoenico- pterus ruber) on the green margin of a stream. Raised on enormous stilts, and with an equally disproportionate length of neck, the flamingoes would be reckoned among the most uncouth birds, if their splendid robe did not entitle them to rank among the most beautiful. They always live in troops, and range themselves, whether fishing or resting, like soldiers, in long lines. One of the number acts as sentinel, and on the approach of danger gives a warning scream, like the sound of a trumpet, when, instantly, the whole troop, expanding their flaming wings, rise loudly clamouring into the air. I These strange-formed birds build in the swamps high conical I ' nests of mud, in the shape of a hillock with a cavity at top, in \ which the female generally lays two white eggs of the size of \. those of a goose, but more elongated. The rude construction is f sufficiently high to admit of her sitting on it conveniently, or ! rather riding, as the legs are placed on each side at full length. \ Their mode of feeding is no less remarkable. Twisting their ' neck in such a manner that the upper part of their bill is applied to the ground, they at the same time disturb the mud with one of their webbed feet, thus raising up from the water insects and spawn, on which they chiefly subsist. The Rose-coloured Flamingo, with red wings and black quills [P. antiquorurii), adorn the creeks and rivers of tropical Africa md Asia, and in warm summers extends his migrations as Par northwards as Strasburg on the Rhine. The sight of a loop of flamingoes approaching on the wing, and describing B B 2 372 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES a great fiery triangle in the air, is singularly majestic. When about to descend, their flight becomes slower, they hover for a moment, then their evolutions trace a conical spire, and, finally alighting, 1 they immediately arrange themselves in long array, place their sentinels, and begin their fishing operations. I The scarlet American Ibis, with black tipped wings, though inferior in size to his celebrated cousin, the sacred bird of the Egyptians, far surpasses him ia beauty. Six feet high, stately as a grenadier Egyptian Ibis. q£ ^jjg guards, the American Jabirii stalks along the banks of the morasses. His plumage is white, but his neck and head are black, like his long legs; his conical, sharp, and powerful black bill, is a little recurved, while that of the stork, to whom he is closely related, is straight. He destroys an incredible number of reptiles and fishes, and, being very sly, is difficult to kill. Two similar species, respectively inhabit Western Africa and Australasia. The roseate American Spoon-bill {Platalea Ajaja) is particUf larly remarkable for his curious large beak, dilating at the top into a broad spoon or spatula, which, though not possessed of great power, renders him excellent service in disturbing the mud and seizing the little reptiles and worms he delights to feed on. The Jacana possesses enormously long and slender toes, armed with equally long spine-like claws. While pacing the ground they seem as inconvenient as the snow shoes of a Laplander, and yet nothing can be more suitable for a bird destined to stalk over the floating leaves of the Nelumbos and Nymphaeas, and to seek for water insects on this unstable foundation. The jacana is found all over tropical America, and is also called the surgeon, from the nail of his hinder toe being sharp and acuated like a lancet. All these strange and wondrous birds, and numberless others, whose mere enumeration would be fatiguing to the reader, justify the ornithological reputation of the woods and swamps ol BRAZILIAN BIRDS DO NOT MIGRATE 373 tropical America. And indeed the feathered races nowhere find a richer field for their developement than here, where the vegetable world revels in luxuriant growth ; and myriads of insects, peopling the forest, the field, and the water, furnish each kind according to its wants with an inexhaustible supply of food. The circumstance that man but thinly inhabits these wilds, is another reason which favours the multiplication of the feathered tribes ; for, in Europe also, birds would no doubt be far more numerous, if the farmer, the sportsman, and so many other enemies were not continually thinning their ranks. To these elements of destruction they are far less exposed in tropical America, and being comparatively but little disturbed, they reign, as it were, over the forest and the open field, over the mountain and the plain, over the river and the lake. It is evident that, in countries where a uniform temperature renders winter and summer almost undistinguishable, the birds are not compelled to wide migrations. Thus, in Brazil, the swallow and the cuckoo are sedentary, the storks never leave the land where they breed, and the singing birds tune their notes the whole year round. The search for food or other local causes alone compel the Brazilian birds to wander from one district to another. Thus the rainy season produces in the vast forests a damp coolness uncongenial to their feathered tenants ; "Who then eagerly seek the open country, where the bananas, oranges, and guavas, laden with ripe fruit, invite them to an abundant banquet. This is the time for the Brazilian settler to seize his rifle, and to shoot without trouble a number of the finest birds : — parrots, toucans, cotingas — that are almost inac- cessible at other seasons. The war he wages with the winged visitors of his plantation and garden, is partly for the sake of their delicate flesh, but chiefly for the protection of his property, *as the parrots are particularly fond of maize, while the cassiques and the toucans have a predilection for guavas and bananas, land the finches for the rice field. At this time also the Indians provide themselves with the beautifully coloured feathers of the iaras, which serve them to plume their arrows, and to decorate their persons, for these birds, otherwise so shy, are then attracted far beyond the skirts of the forest by the favourite fruits of the Sapucaya (Lecythis ollaria) or of the prickly spinea. Thus man knows how to profit by the annual wanderings of 374 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES the birds ; but in this respect the settler of European extraction is far inferior to the wild Indian. Accustomed to rely on him- self alone, the savage trusts to his own unfailing powers, and his hardened constitution, his falcon eye, his sharp ear and swift foot, are sure to provide him with food, where the European would fall a victim to despair. The breeding season of the tropical birds is not restricted to a few months. Many Brazilian birds build their nests almost at all times of the year, but the greater number at the end of the rainy season, in September, October, November, and December, which, in the southern parts of that vast country, are the warmest months of the year, and consequently the most congenial to the young brood. It is a remarkable circumstance that rarely more than two eggs are found in the nests of the forest birds, and even in those of many of the aquatic tribes, and this is the more to be wondered at, when we consider the vast number of enemies which in the equatorial zone menace the existence of the feathered races. But against these dangers we have seen that many of them guard themselves and their young by wonderful nests. Although in the torrid zone we hardly ever meet with single aboriginal species of plant or animal common to both hemispheres, yet the analogy of climate everywhere produces analogous organic forms, and when on surveying the fea- thered tribes of America, we are struck by any bird remarkable for its singularity of shape or mode of life, we may expect to find its representative in Asia, Africa, or Australia. Thus the enormous beak of the toucan Kinnoceroa Hornbiii. jg emulated or surpassod by that of the Indian Calao, or Rhinoceros Hornbill {Buceros rhinoceros), whose twelve-inch long, curved, and sharp-pointed bill is, moreover, surmounted with an immense appendage, in the form of reverted horn, the use of which belongs as yet to the secrets of nature. While the toucans are distinguished by a gaudy THE SUN-BIRDS 375 plumage, the calaos are almost entirely decked with a robe black as that of the raven, and enhancing the beautiful red and orange colours of their colossal beak. Grenerally con- gregating in small troops like the toucans, they inhabit the dense forests, where they chiefly live on fruits, seeds, and insects, which they also swallow whole, throwing them up into the air and catching them as they fall. The clapping together of their mandibles causes a loud and peculiar noise, which towards evening interrupts the silence of the forest. The flight of a bird burdened with such a load must naturally be short : they hop upon their thick clumsy feet, and generally roost upon the highest trees. The brilliant Sun-birds or Suimangas (Cinnyyns), belonging to the order of the Certhias or creepers, are the Colibris of the old world, equally ethereal, gay, and sprightly in their motions, flitting briskly from flower to flower, and assuming a thousand lively and agreeable attitudes. As the sunbeams glitter on their bodies, they sparkle like so many gems. As they hover about the honey-laden blossoms, they vibrate rapidly their tiny pinions, producing in the air a slight whirring sound, but not so loud as the humming noise produced by the wings of the colibris. Thrusting their slender beaks into the deep-cupped flowers, they probe them with their brushlike tongues for insects and nectar. Some are emerald green, some vivid violet, others yellow with a crimson wing, and rivalling the colibris by the metallic lustre of their plumage, they surpass them by their musical powers, for while the latter can only hum, the sun-birds accompany their movements with an agreeable chirp. The nearly-related Melithreptes, or Honey-eaters of the South Sea Islands, distinguished by a very long curved beak, and a tongue split into two slender filaments, furnish the chief orna- ments of the Polynesian kings and chieftains. Thus the famous royal mantle of Tamehameha the Grreat is completely covered with the golden plumage of the Melithreptes pacificus, and as this not very common brown-coloured bird has only three or four yellow feathers in each wing, it may easily be conceived that the most costly brocades of Lyons are far from equalling in value this splendid robe of state, which is no less than ten feet long and seven feet broad. Even the small diadems made of the feathers of this bird, which are worn by the ladies of rank 376 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE I]N" BOTH HEMISPHERES Argus Pheasant. in the Sandwich Islands, are worth several hundred dollars. Idols or mantles of the Polynesians, decorated with the scarlet feathers of the Melithre'ptes vestiarius, are frequently met with in ethnographical museums. While the superb ocellated turkey of Honduras {Meleagris ocellata) displays, with all the pride of a peacock, the eye- like marks of his tail and upper-coverts, the no less beautifully spotted Argus, a bird nearly related to the gold and silver pheasants which have been introduced from China into the European aviaries, conceals his splendour in the dense forests of Java and Sumatra. The wings of this magnificent creature, whose plumage is equally remarkable for variety and elegance, consist of very large feathers, nearly three feet long, the outer webs being adorned with a row of large eyes, arranged parallel to the shaft; the tail is composed of twelve feathers, the two middle ones being about four feet in length, the next scarcely two, and gradually shortening to the outer ones. Its voice is plaintive and not harsh, as in the Indian peacock, which Alexander the Grreat is said to have first introduced into Europe, though its feathers had many centuries before been imported by the Phoenicians. The Peacock is still found wild in many parts of Asia and Africa, but more particu- larly in the fertile plains of India. An- other species, nearly similar in size and proportions, but distinguished by a much longer crest, inhabits the Javanese forests. Though of less dazzling splendour than this peacock's tail, that of the Menura, or Lyre-bird, is unrivalled for its elegance. Fancy two large, broad, black and brown striped feathers, curved in the form of a Grecian Lyre, and between both, other feathers, whose widely- distanced silken barbs envelope and surmount them with a light and airy gauze. No painter could possibly have imagined any- thing to equal this masterpiece of nature, which its shy possessor conceals in the wild bushes of Australia. Javanese Peacock. THE MENUEA 377 " Of all the birds I have ever met with," says Mr. Gould, " the menura is by far the most difficult to procure. While among the brushes, on the coast or on the sides of the mountains in the in- terior, I have been surrounded by those birds pouring forth their loud and liquid calls for days together, without being able to get a sight of them, and it was only by the most determined perseverance and extreme caution that I was enabled to effect the desired object." The lyre-bird is constantly engaged in traversing the brush from mountain-top to the bottom of the gullies, whose steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long legs and powerful muscular thighs. When running quickly through the brush, it carries the tail horizontally, that being the only position in which it could be borne at such times. Besides its loud, full cry, which may be heai'd at a great distance, it has an inward and varied song, the lower notes of which can only be heard when you have stealthily approached to within a few yards of the bird when it is singing. Its habits appear to be solitary, seldom more than a pair being seen together. It constructs a large nest, formed on the outside of sticks and twigs, like that of a magpie, and lined with the inner bark of trees and fibrous roots. In the neighbouring regions of Papua or New Guinea, and the small isles in their immediate vicinity, extending only a few degrees on each side of the Equator, we find the seat of the wondrous Paradiseidae, distinguished in most species by that peculiar union of splendour and elegance which seems to render them more worthy of the gardens of Eden than of a terrestrial home. The great Bird of Paradise (P. apoda) may justly be said to surpass in beauty the whole of the feathered creation. The throat is of the brightest emerald, and the canary-coloured neck blends gradually into the fine chocolate of the other parts of the body. From under the short chestnut-coloured wings project the long delicate and gold-coloured feathers, whose I beautiful and graceful tufts are equally valued by the princes . 378 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES of the East and the ladies of England. The chocolate- coloured tail is short, but two very long shafts of the same hue con- siderably exceed in length even the long, loose plumes of the sides. Unable to fly with the wind, which would destroy their loose plumage, the birds of Paradise take their flight con- stantly against it, being careful not to venture out in hard blowing weather. The Papuas climb, during the night, upon the high forest trees, where they have observed the birds to roost, and patiently await the dawn to catch them Bird of Paradise. . i. i, i. xu •j.'u m nooses, or to shoot them with blunted arrows. The Portuguese first found these birds on the island of Grilolo, and as the Papuas tear off their legs before bringing them to market, it was for a long time supposed that they were destitute of these organs. The most absurd fables were founded on this imaginary deficiency : it was said that they passed their whole life sailing in the air, dew being their only food ; that they never took rest except by suspending themselves from the branches of trees by the shafts of their two elongated tail feathers ; that they never touched the earth till the moment of their death ; and the Malays still believe that they retire for breeding to the groves of Paradise. It is almost superfluous to add that the researches of modern travellers have fully proved the utter fallacy of these ridiculous tales. There are no less than six different genera of Paradise birds, each comprehending several species, and were it possible to penetrate into the forests of New Gruinea, no doubt many mort would be found. The ornithological wonders of Australia are inferior to those of no other part of the world. Can anything, for instance, be more extraordinary than the constructions of the Bower-birds, which are built not for the useful purpose of containing the young, but purely as a playing place or an assembly room ? " The structures of the spotted bower-bird," says Mr. Gould, " are in many instances three feet in length. They are outwardly bidlt of BOWER-BIRDS 379 twigs, and beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disposed that their heads nearly meet ; the decorations are very profuse, and c;onsist of bivalve shells, crania of small mammalia, and other birds. Evident and beautiful indications of design are manifest throughout the whole of the bower and decorations formed by this species, particularly in the manner in which the stones are placed within the bower, apparently to keep the grasses with which it is lined fixed firmly in their places. These stones diverge from the mouth of the run on each side, so as to form a little path, while the immense collection of decorative materials, bones, shells, &c., are placed in a heap before the entrance of the avenue, this arrangement being the same at both ends. I frequently found these St uctures at a considerable distance from the rivers, from the borders of which they alone could have procured the shells and small round pebbly stones; their collection and transportation must, therefore, be a task of great labour and difficulty. As these birds feed almost entirely upon seeds and fruits, the shells and bones cannot have been collected for any other purpose than ornament ; besides, it is only those that have been bleached per- fectly white in the sun, or such as have been roasted by the natives, and by this means whitened, that attract their atten- tion." For what purpose these curious bowers are made is not yet, perhaps, fully understood ; they are certainly not used as a nest, but as a place of resort, where the assembled birds run through and about the bower in a playful manner, and that so frequently that it is seldom entirely deserted. The proceedings of these birds have not been sufficiently watched to render it certain whether the runs are frequented throughout the whole year or not, but it is highly probable that they are merely resorted to as a rendezvous or playing ground at the pairing time, and during the period of incubation. Three satin bower-birds, thus called from their deep shining blue-black plumage, were brought to the Zoological Grardens in 1849. Immediately upon their arriving, they commenced the construction of one of their bowers or " runs," for which purpose they made use of the twigs of an old besom, bending them into a shape like the ribs of a man of war, the top being open and the length varying from six to twelve inches. Against the sides they placed bright feathers, or whatever else containing colour 380 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES they could get hold of. Unfortunately, two of them dying, the surviving male, dispirited and forlorn, neglected his assembly- room, which was now rendered useless. The satin bower-bird, like the magpie, is well known by the natives to be a terrible thief, and they always search his abode for anything they may have lost. The Talegalla or Brush- turkey is no less interesting. In ap- pearance it is very like the common black turkey, but is not quite so large: the extraordinary manner in which its eggs are hatched constitutes its singularity. It col- lects together a great heap of decay- ing vegetables as the place of deposit of its eggs, thus making a hot-bed, arising from the decomposition of Lathami Talegalla. ^^^ collected matter, by the heat of which the young are hatched. This mound varies in quantity from two to four cartloads, and is of a perfectly pyramidical form : it is not, however, the work of a single pair of birds, but is the result of the united labour of many, and the same site appears to be resorted to for several years in succession. " The mode," says Mr. Grould, '' in which the materials com- posing these mounds are accumulated is equally singular, the bird never using its bill, but always grasping a quantity in its foot, throwing it backwards to one common centre, and thus clearing the surface of the ground to a consider- able distance so completely that scarcely a leaf or blade of grass is left." The heap being accumulated and time allowed for a sufficient heat to be engendered, the eggs, each measuring not less than four inches in length — an enormous size, considering the bulk of the bird — are deposited, not side by side, as is ordi- narily the case, but planted at the distance of nine or twelve inches from each other, and buried at nearly an arm's depth perfectly upright, with the large end upwards ; they are covered up as they are laid, and allowed to remain until hatched. After six weeks of burial, the eggs, in succession and without any warning, give up their chicks — not feeble, but full-fledged and strong, so that at night they scrape holes for themselves, and lying down therein are covered over by the old birds and thus remain until The extraordinary strength of the newly-hatched THE ADJUTANT 381 birds is accounted for by the size of the shell, since in so large a space it is reasonable to suppose that the young ones would be much more developed than is usually found in eggs of smaller dimensions. Other Australian birds, such as the Jungle- fowl {Megapodius tumulus), Duperrey's Megapodius (if. Du- perreyii), which inhabits the forests of New Gruinea, and the Leipoas or native pheasants, construct similar mound-like nests. Those of the jungle-fowl, observed at Port Essington, are described as fifteen feet high, and sixty in circumference at the base, and so enveloped in thickly foliaged trees as to preclude the possibility of the sun's rays reaching any part of it. It is not to be wondered at that in the tropical world, where lizards, snakes, and frogs attain such extraordinary dimensions, the cranes or stork tribes, which chiefly live upon these reptiles, should also grow to a more colossal size than their European representatives. Thus, while torrid America boasts of the jabiru, Africa and India possess the still larger Argala, or adjutant, whose feeding exploits and ugliness have already been mentioned in the chapter on Snakes. His beak, measuring sixteen inches in circumference at the base, corresponds with his appetite. He is soon rendered familiar with man, and when fish or other food is thrown to him, he catches it very nimbly and immediately swallows it entire. A young bird of this kind, about five feet in height, was brought up tame and presented to a chief on the coast of Gruinea, where Mr. Smeathman lived. It regularly attended the hall at dinner-time, placing itself behind its master's chair, fre- quently before any of the guests entered. The servants were obliged to watch it carefully, and to defend the provisions by beating it oif with sticks ; still it would frequently snatch off something from the table, and one day purloined a whole boiled fowl, which it swallowed in an instant. It used to fly about the island, and roost very high among the silk-cotton trees ; from this station, at the distance of two or three miles, it could see when the dinner was carried acroes the court, when, darting down, it would arrive early enough to enter with some of those who carried in the dishes. Sometimes it would stand in the room for half an hour after dinner, turning its head ; 382 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES alternately as if taking a deep interest in the conversation. These birds are found in companies, and when seen at a distance near the mouths of rivers advancing towards an observer, it is said that they may be easily mistaken for canoes on the surface of a smooth sea ; and when on the sand-banks, for men and women picking up shell-fish on the beach. The tropical forests of the eastern hemisphere resound with bird-cries no less appalling, wild, or strange than those of the western world. In the close jungle of Ceylon one occasionally hears the call of the Copper-smith {Megalasara Indica), whose din resembles the blows of a smith hammering a cauldron, or the strokes of the great orange-coloured Woodpecker (Bra- chypterus aurantius), as it beats the decaying trees in search of insects ; but of all the yells that fancy can imagine there is none to equal that of the Singhalese Devil-bird, or Grualama. "Its ordinary cry," says Mr. Mitford, "is a magnificent clear shout like that of a human being, and which can be heard at a great distance, and has a fine effect in the silence of the closing night. It has another cry like that of a hen just caught, but the sounds which have earned for it its bad name, and which I have heard but once to perfection, are indescribable ; the most appalling that can be imagined, and scarcely to be heard without shud- dering. I can only compare it to a boy in torture, whose screams are being stopped by being strangled. On hearing this dreadful note the terrified Singhalese hurries from the spot, for should he chance to see the bird of ill omen he knows that his death is nigh. A servant of Mr. Baker's,* who had the mis- fortune of seeing the dreaded gualama, from that moment took no food, and thus fell a victim to his superstitious despair. This horror of the natives explains the circumstance that it is not yet perfectly ascertained whether the devil-bird is an owl {Syrnium) or a night hawk. As if to make amends for this screech, the robin of Neuera- ellia, the long-tailed thrush, the oriole, the dayal-bird, and some others equally charming, make the forests and savannas of the Kandyan country resound with the rich tones of their musical calls. f * Baker's " Eiglit Years' Wanclerings in Ceylon," vol. i. p. 167. THE TAILOR-BIEDS 383 In general the tropical woods and fields are by no means so deficient in agreeable songsters as is commonly imagined ; and while the Americans rejoice in the voices of the Banana Bird {Icterus xanthornus), or of the Tryothorus platens, which is as fond of the company of man as the latter of its lovely note, the African and the Indian listen with delight to the tiny Senegalis and Bengalis, which, like the canary-bird, belong to the exten- sive and sprightly tribe of the finches. The wonderful pendulous nests of the American cassiques are equalled, if not surpassed, by those of the Indian Baya. These l)iids are found in most parts of Hindostan ; in shape they resemble the sparrow, as also in the brown feathers of the back ;ind wings ; the head and breast are of a bright yellow, and in the rays of a tropical sun have a splendid appearance when i]\ ing by thousands in the same grove. They make a chirping noise, but have no song; they associate in large communities, and cover clumps of palmyras, acacias, and date-trees with their nests. These are formed in a very ingenious manner by long grass woven together in the shape of a bottle, and suspended by so slender a thread to the end of a flexible branch that even the squirrel dare not venture his body on so fragile a support, however his mouth may water at the eggs and prey within. These nests contain several apartments, appropriated to different purposes: in one the hen performs the office of incubation ; another, consisting of a little thatched roof and covering a perch without a bottom, is occupied by the male, who cheers the female with his chirping note. The Hindoos are very fond of these birds for their docility and sagacity; when young, they teach them to fetch and carry, and at the time the young women resort to the public fountains their lovers instruct the baya to pluck the tica or golden ornament from the forehead of their favourite and bring it to their master. The Tailor-bird of Hindostan {Sylvia sutoria) is equally curious in the structure of its nest, and far superior in the elegance and variety of its plumage, which in the male glows with the varied tints of the colibri. The little artist first selects a plant with large leaves and then gathers cotton 384 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES from the shrub, spins it to a thread by means of its long bill and slender feet, and then, as with a needle, sows the leaves neatly together to conceal its nest. Who, on witnessing these miracles of instinct, would not exclaim with the poet : " Behold a bird's nest ! Mark it well, within, without ! No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut ; No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert, No glue to join : his little beak was all ! And yet how neatly finish'd ! What nice hand, j With every implement and means of art, Could compass such another ! " On turning to the wilds of Africa the Grros-beak affords us a no less wonderful example of nest-building, for here we find, not one single pair, but hundreds living under the same roof, perfectly resembling that of a thatched house, and with a pro- jecting ridge, so that it is impossible for any reptile to approach the entrances concealed below. " Their industry," says Pater- son, their first discoverer (" Travels in Africa "), " seems almost equal to that of the bee ; throughout the day they appear to be busily employed in carrying a fine species of grass, which is the principal material they employ for the purpose of erecting this extraordinary work, as well as for additions and repairs. Though my short stay in the country was not sufficient to satisfy me, by ocular proof, that they added to their nest as they annually increased in numbers, still from the many trees which I have seen borne down by the weight, and others which I have observed with their boughs completely covered over, it would appear that this really was the case. When the tree which is the support of this aerial city is obliged to give way to the increase of weight, it is obvious they are no longer protected, and are under the neces- sity of rebuilding in other trees. One of these deserted nests I had the curiosity to break down, so as to inform myself of ita internal structure, and I found it equally ingenious with that of the external. There are many entrances, each of which forms a separate street with nests on both sides, at about two inches distant from each other. The grass with which they aret built is called the Boshman's grass, and I believe the seed of it to be their principal food ; though, on examining their nests, I found the wings and legs of different insects. From every ap-< 1 THE GROSBEAK 385 pearance, the nest which I dissected had been inhabited for many years; and some parts of it were much more complete than others. This, therefore, I conceive nearly to amount to a proof that they added to it at different times as they found necessary, from the increase of the family, or rather, I should say, of the nation or community." The tree usually selected for these nests is the kameel-doorn or giraffe-thorn, which derives its name from constituting the chief food of the beautiful cameleopard, and, on account of its size and peculiar growth, having the foliage disposed from the top downwards in umbrella-shaped manner, is a great ornament to the arid wastes of South Africa. The instinct of the birds seems to have pointed out to them that it is peculiarly adapted for the purpose, as its smooth and polished bark effectually secures them from the attacks and in- juries of all the snakes, lizards, and other reptiles which swarm around their habitations, and if they could ascend the stem, would be but too happy to suck the eggs and destroy the young. Captain Harris having lost his way in the desert, and observing large thatched houses resembling haystacks in many of the trees, imagined that they had been erected by the natives, as a defence against the lions, whose recent tracks he distinguished in every direction, and ascended more than one in the hope of at least finding some vessel containing water. Though far less ingenious, yet the nest of the Korwe (Tochus erythrorynchus) is too curious to be passed over in silence. The female having entered her breeding-place, in one of the natural cavities of the mopane tree, a species of bauhinia, the male plasters up the entrance, leaving only a narrow slit by which to feed his mate, and which exactly suits the form of his beak. The female makes a nest of her own feathers, lays her eggs, hatches them, and remains with the young till they axe fully fledged. During all this time, which is stated to be two or three months, the male continues to feed her and the young family. The prisoner generally becomes quite fat, and is esteemed a very dainty morsel by the natives, while the poor slave of a husband gets so lean and weak, that on the sudden lowering of the temperature, which sometimes happens after a fall of rain, he is benumbed, falls down, and dies. The first time Dr. Livingstone saw this bird was at Kolobeng, c c 386 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES where he had gone to the forest for some timber. Standing by a tree, a native looked behind him and exclaimed, " There is the nest of a korwe." Seeing a slit only about half an inch wide and three or four inches long in a slight hollow of the tree, and thinking the word korwe denoted some small animal, he waited with .interest to see what the Bechuana would extract. The latter, breaking the clay which surrounded the slit, put his arm into the hole and brought out a tockus, or red-beaked hornbill, which he killed. The same habit had been previously observed in a species of Buceros, in Java ; and the natives of Ceylon assert that the large Malabar Hornbill {Buceros malabaricus) likewise builds in holes in the trees, where the female successfully guards her treasures from the monkey tribes, her bill filling up nearly the whole entrance. The Conior. CHAPTER XXXIII. TBOPICAL BIRDS OF PllEY. The Condor — His Marvelloxis Flight — His Cowardice — Various Modes of Cap- turing Condors — Ancient Fables circulated about them — Comparison of the Condor with the Albatross — The Carrion Vultures — The King of the Vultures — Domestication of the Urubu — Its Extraordinary Memory — The Harpy Eagle — Examples of his Ferocity — The Oricou — The Bacha — His Cruelty to the Klipdachs — The Fishing Ejigle of Africa — The Musical Sparrow-hawk — The Secretary Eagle. THE flight of the Condor is truly wonderful. From the mountain-plains of the Andes, the royal bird, soaring aloft, appears only like a small black speck on the sky, and a few hours [afterwards he descends to the coast and mixes his loud screech »with the roar of the surf. No living creature rises voluntarily 80 high, none traverses in so short a time all the climates of the globe. He rests at night in the crevices of the rocks, or on some jutting ledge; but as soon as the first rays of the sun light the summits of the mountains, while the darkness of night Jtill rests upon the deeper valleys, he stretches forth his neck, shakes his head as if fully to rouse himself, stoops over the orink of the abyss, and flapping his wings, dives into the aerial bcean. At first his flight is by no means strong, he sinks as if i3orne down by his weight, but soon he ascends, and sweeps c c 2 388 TROPICAL BIRDS OF PREY through the rarefied atmosphere without any perceptible vibra- tory motion of his wings. " Near Lima," says Mr. Darwin, " I watched several condors for nearly half an hour without once taking off my eyes. They moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without once flapping. As they glided close over my head, I intently watched from an oblique position the outlines of the separate and terminal feathers of the wing ; if there had been the least vibratory movement these would have blended together, but they were seen distinct against the blue sky. The head and neck were moved frequently and apparently with force, and it appeared that the extended wings formed the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body, and tail acted. If the bird wished to descend the wings were for a moment collapsed, and then, when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper kite." According to Humboldt and D'Orbigny, the condor is a con- temptible coward, whom the stick of a child is able to put to flight. Far from venturing to attack any full-grown, larger animal- — the lama, the ox, or even man, as former travellers asserted — he feeds, like other vultures, only upon dead carcases, or on new-born lambs and calves, whom he tears from the side of their mothers. He thus does so much damage to the herds, that the shepherds pursue and kill him whenever they can. As even a bullet frequently glances off from his thick feathery coat, the natives never use fire-arms for his destruction, but make use of various traps, of the sling, or of the bolas, which they are able to throw with such marvellous dexterity. In the Peruvian province of Abacay, an Indian provided with cords conceals himself under a fresh cow's skin, to which some pieces of flesh are left attached. The condors soon pounce upon the prey, but while they are feasting, he fastens their legs to the skin. This being accomplished, he suddenly comes forth, and the alarmed birds vainly flap their wings, for other Indians hurry towards them, throw their mantles or their lassos over them, and carry the condors to their village, where they are reserved for the next bull-fight. For a full week before this spectacle is to take place, the bird gets nothing to eat, and is then bound upon the back of a bull THE CONDOR 389 ' which has previously been scarified with lances. The bellowing I of the poor animal, lacerated by the famished vulture, and vainly * endeavouring to cast off its tormentor, amuses what may well be called the " swinish multitude." In the province of Huarochirin there is a large natural funnel-shaped excavation, about sixty feet deep, with a diameter • of about eighty feet at the top. A dead mule is placed on the brink I of the precipice. The tugging of the condors at the dead carcase ; causes it to fall into the hole; they follow it wdth greedy haste, and having gorged themselves with food, are unable again to rise from the narrow bottom of the funnel. Tschudi saw the Indians kill at once, with sticks, twenty-eight of the birds which had been thus entrapped. In a somewhat similar manner condors are caught in Peru, Bolivia, and Chili, as far as their range extends, and are frequently brought to Valparaiso and Callao, where they are sold for a few dollars to the foreign ships, and thence con- veyed to Europe. The condor, though a very large bird, about four feet long, and measuring at least three yards from tip to tip of his ex- tended wings, is far from attaining the dimensions assigned to him by the earlier writers and naturalists, who, emulating Sindbad the Sailor, in his account of the roc, described him as a giant whose bulk darkened the air. Fortunately the works of nature do not require the exaggerations of fiction to be rendered in- teresting, and the marvels of organic nature which scientific in- quiries reveal are far more wonderful than any which romancers may invent. The condor reminds us of the Albatross. As the former sweeps lin majestic circles high above the Andes, the latter soars grace- fully over the ocean, " and without ever touching the water with his wings, rises with the rising billow and falls with the falling wave.'' * If the wonderful power of wing which bears the condor, ften within the space of a few hours, from the sea-shore into the highest regions of the air, and the strength of breast which is able to support such changes of atmospheric pressure, may well raise our wonder, the indomitable pinions of the albatross are no less admirable. Both are unable to take wing from a narrow space, and both finally, so lordly in their movements, * " The Sea and its Living Wonders," p. 139. 390 TROPICAL BIRDS OF PREY feed in the same ignoble manner, the condor pouncing from in- credible distances upon the carcase of the mule or lama, while the albatross gorges upon the fat of the stranded whale. While the condor is considered an enemy to man, the Gralli- nazos, Turkey-buzzards, or common American Carrion Vultures {Vultur aura, V. urubu), are very serviceable to him, by consuming the animal offals which, if left to putrefac- tion, would produce a pestilence. Thus they generally, in tropical America, enjoy the protection of the law, a YM'Mij "IT -41^ \ heavy fine, amounting in some towns ,^r^ ^^SS^'^^fc"' to 300 dollars, being imposed upon "^ "''■ "" the offender who wantonly kills one Tuikey Buzzaid. of thcsc scavcugers. It is Consequently not to be wondered at that, like domestic birds, they congregate in flocks in the streets of Lima, and sleep upon the roofs of the houses. In 1808, Waterton saw the vultures in Angostura as tame as barn-fowls ; a person who had never seen one would have taken them for turkeys. They were very useful to the citizens ; had it not been for them, the refuse of the slaughter-houses would have caused an intolerable nuisance. The Aura is dark-brown black, with a red and naked head and neck, covered with wrinkles and warts ; the Urubu is very similar, only the head and neck are grey-black, but equally wrinkled and ugly. The latter ranges over South America in countless numbers, as D'Orbigny witnessed on a visit to a hacienda on the river Plata, where 12,000 oxen had been killed for salting. During this wholesale massacre, which lasted several months, the bones and entrails were cast along the banks of the stream, where at least 10,000 urubus had congregated to enjoy the banquet. It is a remarkable fact that, though hundreds of gallinazos may be feeding upon a carcase, they immediately retire when the King of the Vultures {Sarcoramphus papa) makes his appearance, who yet is not larger than themselves. Perching on the neighbouring trees, they wait till his majesty King Vulture. THE URUBU 39 [ - a beautiful bird, with head and neck gaudily coloured with scarlet, orange, blue, brown and white — has sufficiently gorged himself, and then pounce down with increased voracity upon their disgusting meal. According to Humboldt, they are intimidated by the greater l)oldness of the sarcoramphus. The true reason of their homage, however, seems to be the fear they entertain for the more powerful beak of the " king," who, from a similar motive, L;ives way to the still mightier condor. Among the sea-birds we find the same phenomenon. On the ice-bound coast of Nowaja Semlja, suffering no other bird in his vicinity, dwells the fierce Burgomaster [Larus glauca). None (»f its class dares dispute the authority of this lordly bird when it descends on its prey, though in the possession of another, it is the general attendant on the whale-fisher, whenever spoils ;ire to be obtained. Then it hovers over the scene of action, and having marked out its morsel, descends upon it and carries it off on the wing.* The Indians of Guiana sometimes amuse themselves with catching one of the urubus by means of a piece of meat attached to a hook, and decking him with a variety of strange leathers, which they atta,ch to him with soft wax. Thus tra- \ c'stied, they turn him out again among his comrades, who, to their great delight, fly in terror from the nondescript; and it is only after wind and weather have stripped him of his finery tJiat the outlaw is once more admitted into urubu-society. WTien full of food this vulture, like the other members of his tribe, certainly appears an indolent bird. He will stand for hours together on a branch of a tree, or on the top of a house, with liis wings drooping, or after rain, spreading them to catch the rays of the sun. But when in quest of prey, he may be seen sojiring aloft on pinions which never flutter, and which at the same time carry him with a rapidity equal to that of the golden eagle. Scarcely has he espied a piece of carrion below, when, folding his broad wings, he descends with such speed as to produce a whistling sound, resembling that of an arrow cleaving the air. The gallinazos when taken young can be so easily tamed * " The Sea and its Living Wonders," 2nd edit. p. 136. 392 TROPICAL BIRDS OF PREY that they will follow the person who feeds them for many miles. D'Orbigny even mentions one of these birds that was so attached to its master that it accompanied him, like a dog, wherever he went. During a serious illness of its patron, the door of the bedroom having been left open, the bird eagerly flew in, and expressed a lively joy at seeing him again. Kelying on their inviolability, the gallinazos, like chartered libertines, are uncommonly bold, and during the distributions of meat to the Indians, which regularly take place every fortnight in the South American Missions, they not seldom come in for their share by dint of impudence. In Concepcion de Mojos, an Indian told M. D'Orbigny, who was present on one of those occasions, that he would soon have the opportunity of seeing a most notorious thief, well known by his lame leg ; and the bird, making his appearance soon after, completely justified his re- putation. The traveller was also informed that this urubu knew perfectly well the days of distribution in the different missions; and eight days later, while witnessing a similar scene at Magdalena, twenty leagues distant, he heard the Indians exclaim, and looking up saw his lame acquaintance of Concepcion hurrying to the spot, with the anxious mien of one that is afraid of missing a meal. The padres in both missions assured him that the vulture never failed to make his appearance at the stated time ; a remarkable instance of memory, or highly developed instinct in a bird. " If you dissect a vulture," says Waterton, " that has just been feeding on carrion, you must expect that your olfactory nerves will be somewhat offended with the rank effluvia from his craw, just as they would be were you to dissect a citizen after the lord-mayor's dinner. If, on the contrary, the vulture be empty at the time you commence the operation, there will benooffeu' sive smell, but a strong scent of musk." The Harpy Eagle (Thrasaetus harpyia) is one of the finest of all the rapacious birds. The enormous developement of his beak and legs, and his consequent strength and power in mastering his prey, correspond with his bold and noble bearing, and the fierce lustre of his eye. His whole aspect is that of formidably organised power, and even the crest adds much to his terrific appearance. " Among many singular birds and curiosities," says Mr^ 1 THE IIxVRPY EAGLE 393 Edwards, in his " Voyage up the Amazon," " that were brought to us, was a young harpy eagle, a most ferocious looking character, with a harpy's crest and a beak and talons in correspondence. He v/as turned loose into the garden, and before long gave us a sample of his powers. With erected crest and flashing eyes, uttering a frightful shriek, he pounced upon a young ibis, and quicker than thought had torn his reeking liver from his body. The whole animal world there was wild with fear." The harpy attains a greater size than ^^^^ ^^^^' the common eagle. He chiefly resides in the damp lowlands of tropical America, where Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied met with him only in the dense forests, perched on the high branches. The monkey, vaulting by means of his tail from tree to tree, mocks the pursuit of the tiger-cat and boa, but woe to him if the harpy spies him out, for, seizing him with lightning-like rapidity, he cleaves his skull with one single stroke of his beak. Fear seems to be totally unknown to this noble bird, and he defends himself to the last moment. D'Orbigny, relates that one day, while descending a Bolivian river in a boat with some Indians, they severely wounded a harpy with their arrows, so that it fell from the branch on which it had been struck. Stepping oTit of the canoe, the savages now rushed to the spot where the bird lay, knocked it on the head, and tearing out the feathers of its wings, brought it for dead to the boat. Yet the harpy awakened from his trance, and furiously attacked his persecutors. Throwing himself upon D'Orbigny he pierced his hand through and through with the only talon that had been left unhurt, while the mangled remains of the other tore his arm, which at the same time he lacerated with his beak. Two men were hardly able to release tlj^e naturalist from the attacks of the ferocious bird. On turning from the New to the Old World, we find other but not less interesting raptorial birds sweep through the higher regions of the air in quest of prey. The gigantic oricou, or Sociable Vulture ( Vultur auricidaris), inhabits the greater part 394 TROPICAL BIRDS OF PREY of Africa, and builds his nest in the fissures of rocks on the peaks of inaccessible mountains. In size he equals the condor, measuring upwards of ten feet across the wings expanded, and his flight is not less bold ; leaving his lofty cavern at dawn, he rises higher and higher, till he is lost to sight; but, though beyond the sphere of human vision, the telescopic eye of the bird is at work. The moment any animal sinks to the earth in death, the unseen vulture detects it. Does the hunter bring down some large quadruped, beyond his powers Q?^^^ *^ remove, and leave it to obtain assist- ^ciabie Vulture, auce ? — ou Ms return, however speedy, he finds it surrounded by a band of vultures, where not one was to be seen a quarter of an hour before. Le Vaillant having once killed three zebras, hastened to his camp, at about a league's distance, to fetch a wagon ; but on returning he found nothing but the bones, at which hundreds of oricous'were busy picking. Another time, having killed a gazelle, he left the carcase on the sand, and retired into the bushes to observe what would" happen. First came crows, who with loud croakings wheeled round the dead animal: then after a few minutes ; kites and buzzards appeared, and finally he saw the oricous descending in spiral lines from an enormous height. They alighted upon the gazelle, and soon hundreds of raptorial birds were assembled. Thus the small robbers had first pointed out the way to those of middle size, who in their turn roused the attention of the bandits of a higher order ; and none of them came too short, for after the powerful oricous had dismembered the carcase, some very good morsels remained for the buzzards, and the bones furnished excellent pickings for the crows. The Eacha {Falco hacha, Daudin) inhabits India and Africa, where he sits for days on the peak of precipitous cliffs, on the look out for rock-rabbits (Hyrax Capensis). These poor animals, who have good reason to be on their guard, venture only with the greatest caution to peep out of their caves and crevices in which they take up their abode, and to which they owe their Dutch name of "klipdachs." Meanwhile the bacha remains: immovable, as if he were part of the rock on which he perches, his head muffled up in his shoulders, but watching with a sharp THE FISHING EAGLE 395 eye every movement of his prey, until, finally, some unfortunate ' klipdachs venturing forth, he darts upon him like a thunder- bolt. If this rapid attack proves unsuccessful, the bacha slinks away, ashamed, like a lion that has missed his spring, and seeks some new observatory, for he is well aware that no rock-rabbit in the neighbourhood will venture to stroll out during the remainder of the day. But if he succeeds in seizing the klipdachs before it has time to leap away, lie carries it to a rocky ledge, and slowly ^ tears it to pieces. The terrible cries of the animal appear to j sound like music in his ears, as if he were not only satisfying i his hunger but rejoicing in the torments of an enemy. This scene of cruelty spreads terror far and wide, and for a long time no klipdachs will be seen where the bacha has held his bloody repast. The Fishing Eagle of Africa {Halicetus vocifer), first noticed by Le Vail Ian t, may be seen hovering about the coasts and river-mouths of that vast continent. He is never found in the interior of the country, as the African streams are but thinly stocked with fish, which form his principal food. " Elastic and buoyant, this agile dweller in the air mounts to soaring heights, scanning with sharp and piercing eye the motions of his prey below. Energetic in his movements, impetuous in his appetites, he pounces with the velocity of a meteor on the object of his wishes, and with a wild and savage joy tears it to pieces. His whole sense of existence is the procuring of food, and for this he is I ever on the alert, ever ready to combat, to ravage, and destroy."* He generally devours his prey on the nearest rock, and loves to ; return to the same spot where the bones of gazelles and lizards ! may be seen lying about, a proof that his appetite is not solely , confined to the finny tribes. When these birds are sitting, they ' call and answer each other with a variously-toned shriek which ! they utter under curious movements of the head and neck. While all other raptorial birds croak or shriek, the musical Sparrow-Hawk of Africa {Melierca musicus, Gray) pours forth his morning and evening notes to entertain his mate while she is performing the business of incubation. Every song lasts a j minute, and then the hunter may approach, but during the f * A. Adams. " Notes of the Natural History of the Islands of the Eastern Archi- I' pelago. Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Sainarang." 39G TROPICAL BIRDS OF PREY pause he is obliged to remain perfectly quiet, as then the bird hears the least noise and immediately flies away. The prowess of the Secretary-eagle (Serpentarius cristatus) attacking the most venomous serpents has already been men- tioned in the chapter on these noxious reptiles. The long legs of this useful bird, which owes its name of secretary to the crest on the back of its head, reminding one of the pen stuck behind the ear, according to the custom of writing-clerks, might give one reason to reckon it, at first sight, among the cranes or storks, but its curved beak and internal organisation prove it to belong to the falcon tribe. Its feet being incapable of grasping, it keeps constantly on the ground in sandy and open places, and runs with such speed as to be able to overtake the most agile reptiles. The destruction it causes in their ranks must be great indeed, for Le Vaillant mentions that having killed one of these birds he found in its crop eleven rather large lizards, three serpents of an arm's length, and eleven small tortoises, besides a number of locusts, beetles, and other insects, swallowed most likely by way of dessert. What enviable powers of digestion ! Ostrich catching. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY. Size of the Ostrich — Its astonishing Swiftness — Ostrich Hunting — Stratagem of the Ostrich for protecting its Young — The poisoned Arrow of the Bushmen — Enemies of the Ostrich — The White Vulture — Points of Eesemblance with the Camel — Voice of the Ostrich said to resemble that of the Lion — Its Vora- city— Ostrich Feathers — Bochuana Parasols — Domestication of the Ostrich in Algeria — The American Kheas — The Cassowary — The Australian Emu. IN the African plains and wildernesses, where the lion seeks his prey, where the pachyderms make the earth tremble under their weighty strides, where the giraffe plucks the high branches of the acacia, and the herds of the antelope bound along : there also dwells the Ostrich, the king of birds, if size alone give right to so proud a title ; for neither the condor nor the albatross can be compared in this respect to the ostrich, who raises his head seven or eight feet above the ground, and attains a weight of from two to three hundred pounds. His I small and weak wings are incapable of carrying him through the air, but their flapping materially assists the action of his legs, and serves to increase his swiftness when, flying over the plain, he "scorns the horse and its rider." His feet appear 398 THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY hardly to touch the ground, and the length between each stride is not unfrequently from twelve to fourteen feet, so that for a time he might even outstrip a locomotive rushing along at full speed. In Senegal, Adanson saw a couple of ostriches so tame thcit two negro boys could sit upon the largest of them. "Scarce had he felt the weight," says the venerabk^ naturalist, "when he began to run witli all his might, and thus they rode upon him several times round the village. I was so much amused with the sight, that I wished to see it repeated ; and in order to ascertain how far the strength of the birds would reach, I ordered two full- grown negroes to mount upon the smallest of them and two others upon the strongest. Ostrich. ^^ gi-g^ ii^Qj YQj^ yQ. a short gallop with very small strides, but after a short time they extended their wings like sails, and scampered away with such an amazing velocity that they scarcely seemed to touch the ground. \\Tio- ever has seen a partridge run knows that no man is able to keep up with him, and were he able to make greater strides his rapidity would undoubtedly be still greater. The ostrich, who runs like a partridge, possesses this advantage, and I am convinced that these two birds would have distanced the best English horses. To be sure they would not have been able to run for so long a time, but in running a race to a moderate distance they would certainly have gained the prize." Not only by his speed is the ostrich able to baffle many an enemy, the strength of his legs also serves him as an excellent means of defence ; and many a panther or wild dog coming "within reach of his foot has had reason to repent of its temerity. But in spite of the rapidity of his flight, during which he frequently flings large stones backwards with his foot, and in spite of his strength, he is frequently obliged to succumb to man, who knows how to hunt him in various ways. Unsuspicious of evil, and enjoying the full liberty of the desert, a troop of ostriches wanders through the plain, the monotony of which is only relieved here and there by a clump of palms, a patch of candelabra shaped tree-euphorbias, or a vast and solitary baobab. Some leisurely feed on the sprouts CHASE OF THE OSTEICII 399 of the acacias, the hard dry leaves of the mimosas, or the prickly Naras whose deep orange-coloured pulp forms one of their favourite repasts ; others agitate their wings and ventilate the delicate plumage, the possession of which is soon to prove so fatal to them. No other bird is seen in their company — for no other bird leads a life like theirs ; but the zebra and the antelope are fond of associating with the ostrich, desirous perhaps of benefiting by the sharpness of his eye, which is capable of discerning danger at the utmost verge of the horizon. But in spite of its vigilance, misfortunes are already gather- ing round the troop, for the Bedouin has spied them out, and encircles them with a ring of his fleetest coursers. In vain the ostrich seeks to escape. One rider drives him along to the next, the circle gradually grows narrower and narrower, and, finally, the exhausted bird sinks upon the ground, and receives the death-blow with stoical resignatiorr. But the exertion of a long protracted chase is not always neces- sary to catch the ostrich, for before the rainy season, when the heat is at its height, he is frequently found upon the sand with outstretched wings and open beak, and allows himself to be caught after a short pursuit by a single horseman, or even by a swift-footed Betchuan. To surprise the cautious seal the northern Eskimo puts on a skin of the animal, and imitating its motions mixes among the unsuspicious herd ; and, in South Africa, we find the Bushman \ resort to a similar stratagem to outwit the ostrich. He forms a kind of saddle-shaped cushion, and covers it over with feathers, i so as to resemble the bird. The head and neck of an ostrich are stuffed, and a small rod introduced. Preparing for the [ chase, he whitens his black legs with any substance he can * procure, places the saddle on his shoidders, takes the bottom part of the neck in his right hand, and his bow and poisoned arrows in his left. Under this mask he mimics the ostrich to perfection, picks away at the verdure, turns his head as if keeping a sharp look out, shakes his feathers, now walks, \ and then trots, till he gets within bow-shot, and when the flock runs, from one receiving an arrow, he runs too. Sometimes, : however, it happens that some wary old bird suspects the cheat, >and endeavours to get near the intruder, who then tries to get 1 out of the way, and to prevent the bird from catching his scent. 400 THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY which would at once break the spell. Should one of the birds happen to get too near in pursuit, he has only to run to windward, or throw off his saddle, to avoid a stroke from a wing which would lay him prostrate. The Bushman frequently has recourse to a much simpler plan. Having discovered the nest of an ostrich, he removes the eggs as the first fruits of conquest, and then, concealing himself in the empty cavity, patiently waits for the return of the bird, which he generally despatches with one of those poisoned arrows which make incredible havoc among the wild herds of the bush or the savannah. According to Dr. Livingstone, the venom most gene- rally employed is the milky juice of the tree euphorbia, which is particularly hurtful to the equine race. When it is mixed with the water of a pond, a whole herd of zebras will fall dead from the effects of the poison before they have moved away two miles ; while on oxen anti men it acts as a drastic purgative only. This substance is used all over the country, though in some places the venom of serpents and a certain bulb, Ama- ryllis toxicaria, are added, in order to increase the virulence. A slender reed only slightly barbed with bone or iron, but im- bued with this poison, is sufficient to destroy the most powerful animal. Thus we find the African savage subdue the beasts of the field by similar means to those which are used by the wild nations on the banks of the Orinoco or the Amazon. The ostrich generally passes for a very stupid animal, yet to protect its young it has recourse to the same stratagems which we admire in the plover, the oyster- catcher,* and several other strand-birds. Thus MM. Andersson and Galton, while traversing a barren plain, once hit upon a male and female ostrich, with a brood of young ones about the size of ordinary barn-door fowls. This was a sight they had long been looking for, having beeij requested by Professor Owen to procure a few craniums of the young ostrich, in order to settle certain anatomical questions; so forthwith dismounting from their oxen, they gave chase, which proved of no ordinary interest. " The moment the parent birds became aware of our intention, they set off at full speed, the female leading the way, the young following in her wake, and the male, though at some little distance, bringing up the rear of the family -party. It was very * " The Sea and its Living Wonders," p. 119. CHASE OF THE OSTRICH 401 touching to observe the anxiety the old birds evinced for the safety of their progeny. Finding that we were quickly gaining upon them, the male at once slackened his pace, and diverged somewhat from his course ; but, seeing that we were not to be diverted from our purpose, he again increased his speed, and with wings drooping, so as almost to touch the ground, he hovered round us, now in wide circles, and then decreasing the circumference till he came almost within pistol-shot, when he jibruptly threw himself on the ground and struggled desperately to regain his legs, as it appeared, like a bird that had been badly w ounded. Having previously fired at him, I really thought he was disabled, and made quickly towards him. But this was only a ruse on his part; for on my nearer approach he slowly lose, and began to run in an opposite direction to that of the female, who by this time was considerably ahead with her charge. After about an hour's severe cha»se, we secured nine of the brood; and though it consisted of about double that number, we found " it necessary to be contented with what we liad baffored."* While breeding, the ostrich likewise resorts to various artifices to remove intruders from its rude nest, which is a mere cavity scooped out a few inches deep in the sand and about a yard in diameter. Thus Professor Thunberg relates that riding past a place where a hen-ostrich sat on her nest, the bird sprang up ;ind pursued him, in order to draw off his attention from her young ones or her eggs. Every time the traveller turned his horse toward her, she retreated ten or twelve paces, but as soon as he rode on, pursued him again. Is it not truly wonderful how parental affection at the approach of danger seems to rouse the intelligence of an animal to higher exertions, and to raise it above its usual sphere ! The instinct of the ostrich in providing food for its young is no less remarkable, for it is now proved that this bird, far from leaving its eggs, like a cold-blooded reptile, to be vivified by the sun, as was formerly supposed, not only hatches them with the greatest care, but even reserves a certain portion of eggs to provide the young with nourishment when they first burst into life : a wonderful provision, when we consider how * An(Jerssoii, Lake Ngajni. D D 402 THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY difficult it would be for the brood to find any other adequate food in its sterile haunts. In Senegal, where the heat is extreme, the ostrich, it is said, sits at night only upon those eggs which are to be rendered fertile, but in extratropical Africa, where the sun has less power, the mother remains constant in her attentions to the eggs both day and night. The number of eggs which the ostrich usually sits upon is ten ; * but the Hottentots, who are very fond of them, upon discovering a nest, seize fitting opportunities to remove one or two at a time ; this induces the bird to deposit more, and in this manner she has been known, like the domestic hen, to lay between forty and fifty in a season. Thus also the Icelanders and other Norsemen force the eider-duck, by repeated plunderings of her nest, to divest herself of all her down ; and when she has no more to spare, the gander willingly deprives himself of part of his snow-white and rose-red garment. But the ostrich has other enemies besides the savage or the hungry traveller to fear for its young brood. Thus the natives about the Orange river assert that, when the birds have left their nest in the middle of the day in search of food, a white vulture may be seen soaring in mid air, with a stone between his talons. Having carefully surveyed the ground beloT^ him, he suddenly lets fall the stone, and then follows it in rapid descent. On running to the spot you will find a nest of pro- bably a score of eggs, some of them broken by the vulture who used this ingenious device for procuring himself a dainty meal. This reminds one of a similar artifice through which the sea-eagle of the north overpowers even the ox ; an artifice which Leopold von Buch * would willingly have doubted, had it not been frequently related to him, too circumstantially and too positively throughout the whole extent of the Norwegian isles* The eagle casts himself into the waves, arises with drooping wings, and rolls himself upon the beach until they are com- pletely covered with sand and gravel. Then he mounts into the air, and soars above his victim. Close above its head he flings sand and pebbles into its eyes, and increases the terror of the brute by repeated strokes with his wings. The be^ wildered ox runs along with mad speed, and at length falls I * Travels in Norway. i TECULIAEITIES OF THE OSTRICH 403 down exhausted or precipitates himself from the cliffs, when the eagle quietly tears him to pieces. Almost as soon as the chicks of the ostrich (which are about the size of pullets) have escaped from the shell, they are able to walk about and to follow the mother, on whom they are dependent for a long time. And here again we find a wonderful provision of nature in providing the young of the ostrich with a colour and a covering admirably suited to the localities they frequent. The colour is a kind of pepper and salt, agreeing well with the sand and gravel of the plains, which they are in the habit of traversing, so that you have the greatest diffi- culty in discerning the chicks even when crouching under your very eyes. The covering is neither down nor feathers, but a kind of prickly stubble, which no doubt is an excellent protection against injury from the gravel and the stunted vegetation amongst which they dwell. The ostrich resembles in many respects the quadrupeds, and particularly the camel, so that it may almost be said to fill up the chasm which separates the mammalia from the birds, and to form a connecting link between them. Both the ostrich and the dromedary have warty excrescences on the breast upon which they lean whilst reposing, an almost similarly formed foot, the same muscular neck ; and when we consider that they both feed upon the most stunted herbage, and are capable of sup- porting thirst for an incredibly long time, being, in fact, both equally well formed for living on the arid plains, it is certainly not to be wondered at that the ancients gave the ostrich a name betokening this similitude {Struthio caraelus), and that the fancy of the Arabs ascribes its original parentage to a bird and to a dromedary. " The usual cry of the ostrich," says Harris, " is a short roar, but when brought to bay it hisses like the gander;" and both Dr. Livingstone and Anderson affirm that its cry so greatly re- sembles that of the lion, as occasionally to deceive even the natives. Our celebrated countryman, who is evidently no friend of the lion, tells us that to talk of his majestic roar is mere twaddle, as the silly ostrich makes a noise as loud. He admits, however, that there is a great difference between the singing noise of a lion when full, and his deep, gruff growl when hungry, and that in general the lion's roar^-seems D D 2 404 THE OSTRICH AXD THE CASSOWARY to come deeper from the chest than that of the ostrich. Has this similitude of voice never been noticed in the Zoological Gardens ? It is difficult to ascertain what the tastes of the ostrich may be while roaming the desert, but when in captivity no other bird or animal shows less nicety in the choice of its food, gob- bling down with avidity stones, pieces of wood and iron, spoons, knives, and other articles of equally light digestion that may be presented to it. Thus it has always been far-famed for the wonderful powers of its stomach, and many amusing anecdotes are told of its voracity. A batch of these birds having once been brought to a small town, for the inspection of the curious, a respectable matron, anxious to obtain a sight of the strange creatures, hastily shut up her house, and, key in hand, hurried to the spot where they were kept. Scarcely had she arrived, when one of them gravely stalked up, as if to thank her for her visit, and suddenly bending its long neck, to her horror, snatched the key out of her hand, and swallowed it in a trice; so that the indignant old lady — thus shut out of her own house — vowed that if all the beasts of Africa were to pass her door, she would not so much as open it to look at them. "Nothing," says Methuen, speaking of a domesticated ostrich, " disturbed its digestion — dyspepsia (happy thing) was undreamt of in its philosophy. One day a Muscovy-duck brought a promising race of ducklings into the world, and with maternal pride conducted them forth into the yard. Up with solemn and measured stride walked the ostrich, and, wearing the most mild and benignant cast of face, swallowed them all, one after the other, like so many oysters, regarding the indignant hissings and bristling plumage of the hapless mother with stoical indif- ference." Baron Aucapitaine, to whom we owe an interesting account of the ostrich, relates that he every evening used to regale a tame ostrich with a newspaper, which the bird completely swallowed, thus literally stuffing itself with all the knowledge of the day. The costly white plumes of the ostrich, which are chiefly obtained from the wings, form a considerable article of commerce, liaving been prized in all ages for the elegance of their long, OSTRICH FEATHERS 405 waving, loose, and flexible barbs. At the Cape the price varies from one or two guineas to twelve for the pound, the latter sum, however, being only paid for very prime feathers. The thinner the quill and the longer and more wavy the plume, the more it is prized. From seventy to ninety feathers go to the pound ; but a single bird seldom furnishes more than a dozen, as many of them are spoilt by trailing or some other accident. The vagrant tribes of the Sahara sell their ostrich plumes to the caravans which annually cross the desert^ and convey them to the ports of the Mediterranean. Here they were purchased as far back as the twelfth or thirteenth century, by the Pisanese or Grenoese merchants, through whose agency they ultimately crossed the Alps to decorate the stately hurggrdfinnen of the Ehine, or the wives of the opulent traders of Augsburg or Nuremberg. At a still more remote period the Phoenicians brought ostrich-feathe^ from Ophir to Tyre, whence they were distributed among the princes of the Eastern world. The Damaras and the Bechuanas manufacture handsome parasols from the black body feathers of the ostrich, which, besides affording protection from the sun's rays, not unfre- quently prove serviceable in the chase, and being stuck into the ground^ at the proper moment, divert the attention of a lion from the object of his vengeance, and thus enable the rest of the party to rush in and despatch him with their assegais. Contrary to our European notions, which assign ornament and a tender care for the complexion more particularly to the fair sex, we here find the men, " whose skin," says Harris, " some- what coarser than the hide of a rhinoceros, might vie in point of colour with a boot," exclusively guard their complexion with these elegant umbrellas. The thick skin of the ostrich, decked with its coat of feathers, is likewise a prized article in African trade, and, according to Baron Aucapitaine, fetches from seventy-five to ninety francs in Tripoli and Tunis. In the Tell, or the cultivated coast districts of Algeria, the ostrich is often domesticated, particularly on account of its eggs, which weigh three pounds, and are equivalent to twenty- four of the common fowl's eggs. It might be supposed that one of these giant eggs would be too much for the most vigorous appetite, yet Anderson saw two natives despatch five of them 406 THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY in the course of an afternoon, besides a copious allowance of flour and fat. According to the taste of this Swedish Nimrod, they afford an excellent repast ; while Dr. Livingstone tells us they have a strong disagreeable flavour, which only the keen appetite of the desert can reconcile one to. " The Hottentots use their trousers to carry home the twenty or twenty-five eggs usually found in a nest ; and it has happened that an English- man, intending to imitate this knowing dodge, comes to the wagons with blistered legs, and, after great toil, finds all the eggs uneatable from having been some time sat upon." Even the egg-shell has its value, and is an excellent vessel for holding liquids of any kind. The Bushmen have hardly any other household utensil. By covering it with a light network it may be carried slung across the saddle. Grrass and wood serve as substitutes for corks. The flesh of the ostrich is decidedly*'coarse, but as there is no accounting for tastes, the Eomans seem to have prized it ; and Firmus, one of their pseudo-emperors, most likely desirous of emulating the gormandising powers of the bird on which he fed, is said to have devoured a whole ostrich at one sitting. Though not possessing the true camel-bird, America has the large Rheas, which from their size and similar habits have been styled the ostriches of the New World, though differing in many essential characters. One species, the Rhea Darwinii, inhabits Patagonia, while the Emu or Nandu {Rhea Americana) is found throughout the whole eastern part of South America, from Buenos Ayres to the Orinoco, wherever open plains, pam- pas, campos, or savannas, invite it to take up its residence. The nandu is not near so tall as the true ostrich, scarcely rising above four feet, and is of a uniform grey colour except on the back, which has a brown tint. The back and rump are furnished with long feathers, but not of the same rich and costly kind as those which adorn the African ostrich. Its feeble wings merely serve to accelerate its flight, serving it as oars or sails, particularly when running with the wind. " It is not easily caught," says the Prince of Neu Wied, " as it not only runs very fast, but in zigzag lines, so that the horse, rendered giddy by so many evolutions, at length drops down with its rider." The Indian Archipelago and New Holland have likewise their peculiar struthionidous birds. THE CASSOWARY AND EMU 407 Cassowary. The galeated Cassowary (Gasuarius galeatus), thus called from its head being surmounted by a kind of horny helmet, is a native of Java and the adjacent isles. The skin of the head and upper part of the neck is naked, of a deep blue and fiery red tint, with pendant caruncles similar to those of the turkey-cock. It is much inferior in size to the ostrich, and its wings are reduced to so rudimentary a state, consisting merely of five long bristles, without any plumes, that they are even unable to assist it in running. All its feathers are of the same kind, being entirely designed for covering, and re- semble at a little distance a coat of coarse or hanging hair. It feeds on fruits, eggs of birds, and tender herbage, and is said to be as voracious as the ostrich. The cassowary is a very swift runner ; striking out alter- nately with one of its robust and powerful legs, it projects its body violently forward with a bound- ing motion far surpassing the speed of the horse. The Australian l^m.\\{promaius Force Hollandim) is allied to the cassowary, though differing in many external characters. Both the helmet, and the long pens or quills observable in the wings of the latter, are here wanting; its neck and legs are longer, its feathers, for the most part grey and brown mixed, are not so filiform, and its beak also is differently shaped. In size it more nearly approaches the ostrich, rising to a height of seven feet, and from its great muscular power is able to run so quickly as to distance the swiftest greyhound. Incessant persecutions have driven it far away from the colonised parts of the country ; but it has still a vast range in the wilds of the interior. It lives on fruits, eggs, and even small animals, which it swallows entire. i-mu. Parrots. CHAPTER XXXV. PARROTS. Their Peculiar Manner of Climbing — Points of Kesemblance with Monkeys — Their Social Habits — Their Connubial Felicity | — Inseparables — Talent for Mimicry — "Wonderful Powers of Speech and Memory — Their "Wide Range within the Temperate Zones — Colour of Parrots Artificially Changed by the South American Indians — The Cockatoos — Cockatoo killing in Australia — The Macaw — The Parakeets. THE parrots have so many points of resemblance with the monkeys in their tastes and habits, that, notwithstanding their different appearance, one might almost be tempted to call them near relations. As the monkey seldom or never sets his foot on even ground, but climbs or springs from branch to branch, thus also the parrot will rarely be seen walking; his flight is rapid, but generally only of short duration, so that evidently neither the HABITS OF THE PARROT 409 ground nor the air were destined for his habitual abode. In climbing, however, he shows an uncommon expertness and agility, unlike that of any other quadruped or bird, as the organ he chiefly uses for the purpose is his beak. He first seizes with his powerful mandibles the branch he intends to ascend, and then raises his body one foot after the other; or, if he happens to have a sweet nut in his bill which he is anxious to preserve, he presses his lower mandible firmly upon the branch, and raises himself by the contraction of the muscles of his neck. On descending, he first bends his head, lays the back of his beak upon the branch, and while the ex- tended neck supports the weight of the body, brings down one foot after the other. While accidentally walking on even ground, he also frequently uses his upper mandible as a kind of crutch, by fixing its point or its back upon the ground ; for the formation of his toes is such, that he can walk but very slowly, and consequently re- quires the aid of that singular support. Thus monkeys and parrots are, in the fullest sense of the word, dendritic animals — the free children of the primitive forest. But if the toes of the parrot are but ill adapted for walking, they render him valuable services, in seizing or grasping his food. They even form a kind of hand, with which, like the monkey, he conveys the morsel to his beak. This easily cracks the hardest nut- shells, after which the broad and fleshy tongue adroitly extracts * the kernel. In his free state the parrot lives only upon nuts and seeds ; when captive, however, he becomes omnivorous, like man his master, eats bread and meat, sugar and pastry, and is very fond of wine, which has a most exhilarating eff'ect on his spirits. Like most monkeys, the parrots are extremely social. At break of day they generally rise in large bands, and with loud screams fly away to seek their breakfast. After having feasted together, they retire to the shady parts of the forest as soon as the heat begins to be oppressive, and a few hours before the setting of the sun, reappear in large troops. "'Every day," says Le Vaillant, "the African damask parrots (Psittaciis infuscatus) fly to the water at the same hour to bathe themselves — in which operation they take great delight : ;ill the flocks of the whole canton assemble towards evening 410 PARROTS with much noise and animation — and this is the signal for their visit to the water, which is often at a great distance, since no other than the purest water will please them. They are then seen huddling or rolling over each other, pell mell, on the banks of the water, frolicking together, dipping their heads and wings into the water in such a manner as to scatter it over all their plumage, and exhibiting a most entertaining spectacle to the observer. This ceremony being over, they revisit the trees on which they previously assembled, where they sit in order to adjust and clean their feathers ; and this being finished, they fly off in pairs, each pair seeking its particular retreat in the wood, where they wait till morning." If the monkeys are distinguished by a strong affection for their young, the parrots may well be cited as models of con- nubial love, for when once a pair has been united, its attach- ment remains unaltered unto death. Far more than the turtle-dove, the little passerine parrot {Psittacus jpasserinus) of Brazil, or the Psittacus 'pullarius, or love-parrot of Guinea, deserved to be celebrated by poets as the emblem of conjugal affection. Never seen but in each other's company, each delights to imitate the actions of the other, feeding, sleeping, bathing together ; and when one dies, the other soon follows its partner. A gentleman who had lost one of a pair of these inseparables, attempted to preserve the other by hanging up a looking-glass in its cage. At first the joy of the poor bird was boundless, as he fancied his mate restored to his caresses; but soon perceiving the deception, he pined away and died. Another point of resemblance between the parrots and monkeys is their talent for mimicry; but while the latter, favoured by the similarity of their organisation to that of man, strive to copy his gestures and actions, the former endeavour to imitate his voice and to repeat his words, an attempt facilitated by the extreme mobility of their tongue and upper mandible, no less than by the peculiar construction of their larynx or windpipe. These imitative instincts appear the more remarkable when we consider that both the monkeys and the parrots have no pursuits that necessarily bring them into closer connection with man. They are comparatively useless to him, live almost con- t. THEIR POWERS OF IMITATION 411 stantly at a distance from his haunts in the depths of the forests, and are so far from seeking his company, that they retreat as fast as they can on seeing him approach. How comes it, then, that they have been gifted with their wonderful ability to imitate his language and his actions, and of what use is it to them or to us ? The talent of speech has not been given to all the parrots alike. The beautiful American aras, for instance, are in this respect remarkably stupid, while the purple lory of the East Indies, and the grey African parrot {Psittacua erithacus), are remarkable for their linguistic attainments. They are often able to retain whole songs and sentences, and to repeat them with astonishing exactness. Thus Le Vaillant mentions a grey parrot he saw at the Cape, who was able to repeat the whole of the Lord's Prayer in Dutch, throwing himself at the same time on his back, and folding the toes of both his feet. In a town of Normandy the wife of a butcher had beaten her little child so unmercifully that it died in consequence of the ill-treatment it had undergone. No enquiry was made on the subject; but a grey parrot that inhabited the opposite house of a shoemaker constantly repeated, " Why do you beat me? why do you beat me?" in so plaintive and imploring a tone, that the passers-by rushed into the shoemaker's shop and loudly exclaimed against his supposed barbarity. To exculpate himself, the poor shoemaker pointed to his parrot, and told the story of the child ; so that after a short time the woman, against whom the indignation of the public was now fully roused, was obliged to leave the town. Willoughby mentions a grey parrot who, on being told to laugh, immediately burst into a loud fit of laughter, and soon after exclaimed, " How impertinent, to order me to laugh ! "' Another parrot that was kept in an earthenware shop never failed, when an article was broken or ill-used, to exclaim, " How clumsy ! " Buflfon mentions a parrot who, having been taught to speak during the passage by an old sailor, had so completely adopted his gruff voice and husky cough, as to be mistaken for the weather-beaten tarpaulin himself. Although the bird was afterwards presented to a young lady, and no more heard the voice of its first instructor, it did not forget his lessons, and nothing could be more ludicrous than to hear it suddenly 412 PARROTS pass from the sweet toDes of its fair mistress to the rougli accents of its first teacher. The grey parrot not only imitates the voice of man, but has also a strong desire to do so, which he manifests by his atten- tion in Hstening, and by the continuous efforts he makes to repeat the phrases he has heard. He seems to impose upon himself a daily task, which even occupies him during sleep, as he speaks in his dreams. His memory is astonishing, so that a cardinal once gave a hundred gold crowns for one of these birds that correctly repeated a long prayer ; and M. de la Borde told BufFon he had seen one that was fully able to perform the duties of a ship's chaplain. All parrots are more or less susceptible of education, and, particularly when caught young, grow very much attached to the master that feeds them. Those that are sent to Europe are generally taken from the nest, and have thus never experienced the sweets of freedom ; but they are also frequently caught full grown. The American Indians know how to strike them with small arrows, whose points are blunted with cotton, so as to stun without killing them ; or else, under the trees on which they perch, they light a fire of strong-smelling weeds, whose vapours cause them to drop to the ground. These captives are frequently extremely stubborn; but blowing the fumes of tobacco into their face until they fall asleep, is an infallible remedy to cure them of their obstinacy, this operation being so little to their taste that it need hardly ever be repeated twice. Parrots are known to attain a very great age. One that was brought to Florence in 1633, and belonged to the Grrand Duchess of Tuscany, died in 1 743, having thus lived more than a century in exile. Although preeminently tropical, like the colibris, several parrots range far within the temperate zone, as they are found in the Southern hemisphere at the Straits of Magellan and on the Macquarie Islands, and in the Northern, in the neighbour- hood of Cairo and in Kentucky, where the Carolina parrot ia often seen in great numbers during the summer. The parrots are subdivided into numerous groups and species, chiefly according to the various forms of their bills and tails. The short-tailed parrots of the Old World mostly display bright I THE COCKATOO 413 or gaudy colours, such as the Lories, which owe their name to the frequency with which they repeat this word, while the American species are generally green. The Indians have, however, found out an ingenious method to adorn or illustrate, as it were, the plumage of the Amazonian parrot {Psit- tacus Amazonicus), which is in great re- quest, from its being easily tamed, and learning to speak with facility. They take a young bird from its nest, pluck the feathers from its back and shoulders, and Lory. then rub the naked parts with the blood of a small species of frog. The feathers which grow again after this operation are no longer green, but yellow, or of a bright red colour. Many birds die in consequence of ])eing plucked, and thus these metamorphosed parrots are extremely rare, notwithstanding the high prices which the ravages obtain for them. Azara, in his work on South America, relates that the Indians of the warm regions of Paraguay Kometimes sell to the Europeans completely yellow parrots with the exception of the few parts that were originally blue and red, and in which that colour is said to be substituted for green l)y means of arnatto. The parrots whose plumage has thus lieen artificially changed are ever after silent, melancholy, and of very weak health. By what chance may the Indians have hit upon this strange industry, worthy of the refined arts of our own dealers in natural curiosities ? The Cockatoos are distinguished from the other parrots by a crest or tuft of elegant feathers on the head, which they can raise and depress at pleasure. They inhabit the East Indies and Australia, and have generally a white or roseate plumage. Their chief resorts are dense and humid forests, and they fre- quently cause great devastations in the rice plantations, often pouncing to the number of six or eight hundred upon a single field, and destroying even more than they devour, as they seem to be possessed of the mania to break and tear everything their beak can lay hold of. They walk less awkwardly than most other parrots. The great white cockatoo {Cacatua Gristata)^ who is able to erect his beautiful yellow crest to the height of five inches. 414 PARROTS as a cock does his comb, is the species most frequently seen in Europe. This bird is half-domesticated in several parts r)f India, as it builds its nest under the roofs of houses, and tliis tameness results from its intelligence, which seems superior to that of other parrots. It listens attentively, but vainly strives to repeat what is said. As Australia, the land of anomalies in natural history, pos- sesses a black swan, it also gives birth to a splendid black cockatoo (Gacatua Banksii), the finest and the rarest of the whole genus. Captain Grrey gives us an animated description of cockatoo- killing in Australia. ^' Perhaps the finest sight that can be seen, in the whole circle of native sports, is the killing cockatoos with the kiley or boomerang. A native perceives a large flight of cockatoos in a forest which encircles a lagoon : the expanse of water affords an open clear space above it, unencumbered with trees, but which raise their gigantic forms all around, more vigorous in their growth from the damp soil in which th( y flourish ; and in their leafy summits sit a boundless number of cockatoos, screaming and flying from tree to tree, as thoy make their arrangements for a night's sound sleep. The native throws aside his cloak, so that he may not even have this slight covering to impede his motions, draws his kiley from his belt, and with a noiseless, elastic step, approaches the lagoon, creeping from tree to tree, from bush to bush, and disturbing the birds as little as possible. Their sentinels, however, take the alarm ; the cockatoos farthest from the water fly to the trees near its edge, and thus they keep concentrating their forces as the native advances ; they are aware that danger is at hand, but are ignorant of its nature. At length the pursuer almost reaches the edge of the water, and the scared cockatoos with wild cries spring into the air ; at the same instant the native raises his right hand high over his shoulder, and bounding forward with his utmost speed for a few paces to give impetus to his blow, the kiley quits his hand as if it would strike the water, but when it has almost touched the unruffled surface of the lake, it spins upwards with inconceivable velocity, and with the strangest contortions. In vain the terrified cockatoos strive to avoid it ; it sweeps wildly and uncertainly through the air (and so eccentric are its motions, that it requires but a slight stretch of THE MACAW 415 the imagination to fancy it endowed with life), and with fell swoops is in rapid pursuit of the devoted birds, some of whom are almost certain to be brought screaming to the earth. But the wily savage has not yet done with them ; he avails himself of the extraordinary attachment which these birds have for one another, and fastening a wounded one to a tree, so that its cries may induce its companions to return, he watches his opportunity, by throwing his kiley or spear, to add another bird or two to the booty he has already obtained." The magnificent Macaws, or Aras, of South America are dis- tinguished by having their cheeks desti- tute of feathers, and their tail feathers long. Their size and splendid plumage render them fit ornaments of princely gardens, but their loud and piercing screams would prove a great annoy- ance to the inmates of humbler dwel- lings. Macaw. " Superior in size and beauty to every parrot of South America," says Waterton, " the ara {Macrocercus Macao) will force you to take your eyes from the rest of animated nature, and gaze at him : his commanding strength ; the flaming scarlet of his body; the lovely variety of red, yellow, blue, and green, in his wings ; the extraordinary length of his scarlet and blue tail, seem all to form and demand for him the title of emperor of all the parrots. He is scarce in Demerara, till you reach the confines of the Macoushi country ; there he is in vast abundance : he mostly feeds on trees of the palm species. When the concourites have ripe fruit on them, they are covered with this magnificent parrot : he is not shy or wary ; you may take your blowpipe and quiver of poisoned arrows, and kill more than you are able to carry back to your hut. They are very vociferous, and, like the common parrots, rise up in bodies towards sunset, and fly two and two to their place of rest. It is a grand sight in ornithology to see thousands of aras flying over your head, low enough to let you have a full view of their flaming mantle. The Indians find their flesh very good, and the feathers serve for ornaments in their head-dresses. They breed in the holes of trees, and are easily reared and tamed." The Paroquets, or Parakeets, are smaller than the common 416 PARROTS parrots, and have longer tails. There are numerous species^ some distinguished by a very long pointed tail, and collar-like mark round the neck, which inhabit the Asiatic continent and islands ; and others, natives of Australia, which are distinguished by their colour being gorgeously variegated and peculiarly mottled on the back, by their tail feathers not being pointed, and by their being furnished with elongated tarsi adapted for running on the ground. To the former belongs the beautiful ring paroquet, which is supposed to have been the first bird of the parrot kind known to the ancient Grreeks, having been brought from the island of Ceylon, after the Indian expeditions of Alexander the Grreat ; to the latter, the elegant green pa- rakeet, which in the hot seasons con- gregates about the pools in almost incredible numbers. Though capable of a rapid and even flight, and fre- quently at great altitudes, it is gene- rally found running over the ground, Green Parakeet. ^j^^j treading its Way among the grasses to feed on the seeds. It can easily be domesticated, and a more elegant or beautiful pet can scarcely be conceived. It is a strange fact that the parrots, that will eat nux vomica without danger, expire in convulsions after having tasted parsley, another proof of the truth of the saying that what is poison for one creature is food for another. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE CAMEL. The Ship of the Desert — Paramount Importance of the Camel in the Great Tropical Sand- wastes — Its Organisation admirably adapted to its Mode of Life — Horrors and Beauties of the Desert — The Camel an Instrument of Freedom — The Kobber Bedouin — Immemorial Thraldom of the Camel — Its Unamiablo Character — Excuses that may be urged in its Behalf. THERE is a sea without water and refreshing breezes, without ebb and flood, without fishes and algae ! And there is a sliip which safely conveys goods and passengers from one shore t(> the other of that sea, a ship without sails or masts, without keel or rudder, without screw or paddle, without cabin or deck I This ship so swift and sure is the Dromedary, and that sea is the desert ; which none but he, or what he carries, can pass. In many respects, the vast sandy deserts of Africa and Asia remind one of the ocean. There is the same boundless horizon, the same unstable surface, now rising, now falling with the play of the winds ; the same majestic monotony, the same optical illusions, for as the thirsty mariner sees phantom palm-groves rise from the ocean, thus also the sand-waste transforms itself, before the panting caravan, into the semblance of a refreshing lake. Here we see islands, verdant oases of the sea — there, oases, green islands of the desert ; here, sand billows — there, water E E 418 THE CAMEL waves, separating widely different worlds of plants and animals ; here, the ship, the camel of the ocean — there, the dromedary, the ship of the desert ! But for this invaluable animal, the desert itself would ever have remained impassable and unknown to man. On it alone depends the existence of the nomadic tribes of the Orient, the whole commercial intercourse of North Africa and South- west Asia, and no wonder that the Bedouin prizes it, along with the fruit-teeming date-palm, as the most precious gift of Allah. Other animals have been formed for the forest, the water, the savannah ; to be the guide, the carrier, the companion, the purvej/or of all man's wants in the desert, is the camel's destiny. Wonderfully has he been shaped for this peculiar life, formed to endure privations and fatigues under which all but he would sink. On examining the camel's foot, it will at once be seen how well it is adapted for walking on a loose soil, as the full length of its two toes is provided with a broad, expanded, and elastic sole. Thus the camel treads securely and lightly over the un- stable sands, while he would either slip or sink on a muddy ground. He can support hunger longer than any other mam- miferous animal, and is satisfied with the meanest food. Frugal, like his lord the wiry Bedouin, the grinding power of his teeth and his cartilaginous palate enable him to derive nutriment from the coarsest shrubs, from thorny mimosas and acacias, or even from the stony date-kernels, which his master throws to him after having eaten the sweet flesh in which they are imbedded. For many days he can subsist without drinking, as the pouch- like cavities of his stomach — a peculiarity which distinguishes him from all other quadrupeds, perhaps, with the sole exception of the elephant — form a natural cistern or reservoir, whose con- tents can be forced upwards by muscular contraction, to meet the exigencies of the journey. It is frequently believed that this liquid remains constantly limpid and palatable, and that in cases of extreme necessity camels are slaughtered to preserve the lives of the thii'sty caravan, but according to Eussegger (Travels in Nubia) these accounts are fabulous, as, particularly after a long abstinence from drinking, the dromedary's supply is nothing but a most nauseous mixture of putrid water and BEAUTIES OF THE DESERT 419 half-digested food, from which even Tantalus would turn away- disgusted. But the " ship of the desert " is not only provided with water for the voyage, but also with liberal stores of ftit, which are chiefly accumulated in the hump ; so that this prominence, which gives it so deformed an appearance, is in reality of the highest utility — for should food be scarce, and this is almost always the case while journeying through the desert, internal absorption makes up in some measure for the deficiency, and enables the famished camel to brave for some time longer the fatigues of the naked waste. Yet all mortal endurance has its limits, and even the camel, though so well provided against hunger and thirst, must frequently succumb to the excess of his privations, and the bleached skeletons of the much-enduring animal strewed along the road mark at once the path of the caravan and the dreadful sufferings of a desert-journey. But even these horrid wastes, where the glowing Khamsin whirls the sands in suffocating eddies, have beauties of their own. Particularly when the full moon shines in the dark blue sky, bespangled with constellations of a brilliancy un- known to the northern firmament, when the mountains throw their dark shades far away over the yellow sands, and the picturesque effect of the scene is enhanced by the aspect of the tents, the watch-fires, and the reposing animals ; then we may well conceive how the wandering Bedouin loves the desert no less than the mariner loves the ocean, or the Swiss peasant his snow-clad mountains, and how it inflames the imagination of the oriental poets to many a song, solacing the tediousness of the encampment, and handed on from one generation to another. To the camel the vagrant Arab owes his immemorial liberty and independence ; when attacked, he places at once the desert between the enemy and himself. Thus he has ever been in- domitable, and when in other parts of the world we find that the fatal possession of an animal — the sable, the sea-otter — has entailed the curse of slavery upon whole nations, the dromedary in Arabia appears as the instrument of lasting freedom. Many a conquering horde has been stopped in its career by the desert, and while the false glory of the scourges of mankind that have so often thrown the East into bondage passed like a E E 2 420 THE CAMEL shadow, one century after another looks down from the heights of Sinai upon the free and unfettered sons of Ismael. But the Arab too often tarnishes his liberty by crime, and degrades the "ship of the desert" to be the accomplice of a robber. The Bedouin anxious to pursue this base profession inures himself, from an early age, to every fatigue, banishes sleep, patiently endures thirst, hunger, and heat ; and in the same manner accustoms his dromedary to every privation. A few days after the animal's birth he folds its legs under its body, forces it to kneel; and loads it with a weight which is gradually increased as it increases in strength. Instead of allowing it to seek its food whenever it pleases, or completely to satisfy its thirst, he accustoms it to perform longer and longer journeys without eating or drinking, trains it to equal the horse in swift- ness, as it surpasses him in strength — and when perfectly assured of its fleetness and endurance, loads it with the neces- sary provisions, rides away upon its back, waylays the traveller, plunders the secluded dwelling, and when pursued and forced to save his booty by a speedy flight, then shows what he and his dromedary can perform. Hurrying on day and night, almost without repose, or eating or drinking, he travels two hundred leagues in a week, and during this whole time his dromedary is allowed but one hour's rest a day, and a handful of meal for food. On this meagre diet the unwearied animal often speeds on seven or eight days without finding any water, and when by chance a pool or a source lies on his way, he smells it at the distance of half a league, his burning thirst imparts new vigour to his speed, and he then drinks at once both for the past and the future, as his journeys often last several weeks, and his privations endure as long as his journeys ! While the Bactrian Camel with a double hump ranges from Turkestan to China, the single- hump camel or dromedary, originally Arabian, has spread in opposite directions towards the East Indies, the Mediterranean, and the Niger, and is used in Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Barbary, as the commonest Bftct nan Camel. bcast of burden. It serves the robber, but it serves also the peaceful merchant, or the i EFFECTS OF LABOUR ON THE CAMEL 421 piloiim, as he wanders to Mecca to perform his* devotions at the prophet's tomb. In long array, winding like a snake, the caravan traverses the desert. Each dromedary is loaded, according to its strength, with from six hundred to a thousand pounds, and knows so well the limits of its endurance, that it suffers no overweight, and will not stir before it be removed. Thus, with slow and Dromedary measured pace, the caravan proceeds at the rate of ten or twelve leagues a day, often requiring many a week before attaining the end of its journey. Wlien we consider the deformity of the camel, we cannot doubt that its nature has suffered considerable changes from the tliraldom and unceasing labours of more than one millenium. Its servitude is of older date, more complete, and more irksome, than that of any other domestic animal — of older date, as it in- habits the countries which history points out to us as the cradle of mankind ; more complete, as all other domestic animals still have their wild types roaming about in unrestrained liberty, while the whole camel race is doomed to slavery; more irk- some, finally, as it is never kept for luxury or state like so many horses, or for the table like the ox, the pig, or the sheep, but is merely used as a beast of transport, which its master does not even give himself the trouble to attach to a cart, but whose body is loaded like a living wagon, and frequently even remains burdened during sleep. Thus, the camel bears all the marks of serfdom. Large naked callosities of horny hardness cover the lower part of the breast and the joints of the legs, and although they are never wanting, yet they themselves give proof that they are not natural, but that they have been produced by an excess of misery and ill- treatment, as they are frequently found filled with a purulent matter. The back of the camel is still more deformed by its single or double hump than its breast or legs by their callosities ; and as the latter are evidently owing to the position in which the hea- vily burthened beast is forced to rest, it may justly be inferred that the hump also, which merely consists of an accumulation of fat, did not belong to the primitive animal, but has been pro- 422 THE CAMEL duced by the pressure of its load. Even its evident use as a store-house for a desert journey may have contributed to its de- velopment, as nature is ever ready to protect its creatures, and to modify their forms according to circumstances ; and thus, what at first was a mere casual occurrence, became at length, through successive generations, the badge and heir-loom of the whole race. Even the stomach may, in the course of many centuries, have gradually provided itself with its water-cistern, since the animal, after a long and tormenting privation, whenever an opportunity of satisfying its thirst occurred, distended the coats of that organ by immoderate draughts, and thus, by degrees, gave rise to its pouch-like cavities. The hardships of long servitude, which have thus gradually deformed the originally, perhaps, not ungraceful camel, have no doubt also soured its temper, and rendered its character as un- amiable as its appearance is repulsive. "It is an abominably ugly necessary animal," says Mr. Eussell, in a letter dated from the camp of Lucknow ; " ungainly, morose, quarrelsome, with tee-totalling propensities ; unaccount- ably capricious in its friendships and enmities ; delighting to produce with its throat, its jaws, its tongue, and its stomach, the most abominable grunts and growls. Stupidly bowing to the yoke, it willingly submits to the most atrocious cruelties, and bites innocent, well-meaning persons, ready to take its part. When its leader tears its nostril, it will do no more than grunt ; but ten against one it will spit at you if you offer it a piece of bread. For days it will march along, its nose close to the tail of the beast that precedes it, without ever making the least at- tempt to break from the chain ; and yet it will snort furiously at the poor European who amicably pats its ragged hide." The camel seems to have been rather harshly dealt with in this description ; at any rate, it may plead for its excuse that it would be too much to expect a mild and amiable temper in a toil-worn slave. Giraffes and Zebras. CHAPTER XXXVII. THE GIRAFFE AND THE ZEBBA. Beauty of the Giraife — Its Wide Range of Vision — Useof its Horns— GiraiFe Hunt- ing—The Giraffes of the Zoological Gardens — The Quagga— The Douw — The Zebra — Its Lamentable Wailings — Its Inaccessible Retreats. WHICH of all four-footed animals raises its head to the most towering height ? Is it the colossal elephant or the "ship of the desert ? " No doubt the former reaches many a lofty branch with its flexible proboscis, and the eye of the long-necked camel sweeps over a vast extent of desert ; but the Griraffe embraces a still wider horizon, and plucks the leaves of the mokaala at a still greater height. A strange and most surprising animal, almost all neck and leg, seventeen feet high against a length of only seven from the breast to the beginning of the tail, its comparatively small and slanting body resting on long stilts, its diminutive head fixed at the summit of a column ; and yet in spite of these apparent disproportions, which seem rather to belonor to the world of chimeras than to the realities of nature, of so elegant and pleasing an appearance, that it 424 THE GIRAFFE AND THE ZEBRA owes its Arabic name, Xirapha, to the graceful ease of its movements. The beauty of the giraffe is enhanced by its magnificently spotted skin, and by its soft and gentle eyes, which eclipse those of the far-famed gazelle of the East, and, by their lateral projec- tion, take in a wider range of the horizon than is subject to the vision of any other quadruped, so as even to be able to an- ticipate a threatened attack in the rear from the stealthy lion or any other foe of the desert. The long black tail, invariably curled above the back, no doubt renders it good service against many a sting- ing insect ; and the straight horns, or rather excrescences of the frontal bone, small as they are, and muffled with skin and hair, are by no means the insignificant weapons they have been supposed to be. " We have seen them wielded by the males against each other with fearful and reck- less force," says Maunder, in his ex- cellent " Dictionary of Animated Nature," " and we know that they are the natural arms of the giraffe most dreaded by the keeper of the present living giraffes in the Zoological Gardens, because they are most commonly and suddenly put in use. The giraffe does not butt by depressing and suddenly elevating the head, like the deer, ox, or sheep, but strikes the .callous obtuse extremity of the horns against the object of his attack with a sidelong sweep of the neck. One blow thus directed at full swing against the head of an unlucky attendant would be fatal. The female once drove her horns in sport through an inch board." The projecting upper lip of the giraffe is remarkably flexible, and its elongated prehensile tail, performing in miniature the part of the elephant's proboscis, is of material assistance in browsing upon the foliage and young shoots of the prickly acacia, which constitute the animal's chief food. The bird on its nest is, no doubt, often surprised by the head of the giraffe suddenly peering into its lofty abode ; but be not afraid, sweet creature — for the soft-eyed intruder, content with vegetable fare, intends no harm to thee or to thy tender brood. CHASE OF THE GIKAPPE 425 With feet terminating in a divided hoof, and a ruminant like our ox, the giraffe has four stomachs, and an enormous intestinal length of 288 feet, a formation which bears testimony to the vast and prolonged powers of digestion necessary to extract nutrition from its hard and meagre diet. Hanging throughout the wide plains of Central Africa, from Cafraria to Nubia, the giraffe, though a gregarious animal, gene- rally roams about only in small herds. It is, indeed, by no means common even at its head-quarters, and Captain Harris, who traversed the desert as far as the Tropic of Capricorn, sel- dom found giraffes without having followed their trail, and never saw more than live-and-thirty in a day. Notwithstanding the rapidity with which the cameleopard strides along, the fore and hind leg on the same side moving together, instead of diagonally as in most other quadrupeds, yet a full gallop quite dissipates its power ; and the hunters, being aware of this, always try to press the giraffes at once to it, knowing that they have but a short space to run before the animals are in their power. In doing this the old sportsmen are careful not to go too close to the giraffe's tail ; for this animal, says Dr. Livingstone, " can swing his hind foot round in a way which would leave little to choose between a kick with it and a clap from the arm of a windmill." The author of the " Wild Sports of Africa," draws a most animated picture of a giraffe hunt, breathing the full life and excitement of the chase, and capable of raising the envy of all his brother Nimrods : — "Many days had now elapsed since we had even seen the cameleopard, and then only in small numbers, and under the most unfavourable circumstances. The blood coursed through my veins like quicksilver, therefore, as on the morning of the 19th, from the back of Breslar, my most trusty steed, with a firm-wooded plain before me, I counted thirty-two of these animals industriousl}^ stretching their peacock-necks to crop the tiny leaves which fluttered above their heads in a mimosa grove that beautified the scenery. They were within a hundred yards of me ; but having previously determined to try the boarding system, I reserved my fire. " Although I had taken the field expressly to look for giraffes, and had put four of the Hottentots on horseback, all excepting 426 THE GIRAFFE AND THE ZEBRA Piet, had as usual slipped off unperceived in pursuit of a troop of koodoos. Our stealthy approach was soon opposed by an ill-tempered rhinoceros, which, with her ugly calf, stood directly in the path, and the twinkling of her bright little eyes, accom- panied by a restless rolling of the body, giving earnest of her intention to charge. I directed Piet to salute her with abroad- side, at the same moment putting spurs to my horse. At the report of the gun, and the sudden clattering of hoofs, away bounded the giraffes in grotesque confusion, clearing the ground by a succession of frog-like hops, and soon leaving me far in the rear. Twice were their towering forms concealed from view by a park of trees, which we entered almost at the same instant, and twice, in emerging from the labyrinth, did I perceive them tilting over an eminence immeasurably in advance. A white turban that I wore round my hunting cap, being dragged off by a projecting bough, was instantly charged by three rhinoceroses, and, looking over my shoulder, I could see them long afterwards, fagging themselves to overtake me. In the course of five minutes the fugitives arrived at a small river, the treacherous sands of which receiving their long legs, their flight was greatly retarded ; and after floundering to the opposite side, and scrambling to the top of the bank, I perceived that their race was run. Patting the steaming neck of my good steed, I urged him again to his utmost, and instantly found myself by the side of the herd. The stately bull being readily distinguishable from the rest by his dark chesnut robe and superior stature, I applied the muzzle of my rifle behind his dappled shoulder with the right hand, and drew both triggers ; but he still continued to shufile along, and being afraid of losing him, should I dismount, among the extensive mimosa groves with which the landscape was now obscured, I sat in my saddle, loading and firing behind the elbow ; and then, placing myself across his path, until the tears trickling from his full brilliant eye, his lofty frame began to totter, and at the seventeenth dischai'ge from the deadly- grooved bore, like a falling minaret bowing his graceful head from the skies, his proud form was prostrate in the dust. Never shall I forget the tingling excitement of that moment. At last, then, the summit of my hunting ambition was actually attained, and the towering giraffe laid low. Tossing my turbanless cap into the air, alone in the wild wood, I hurraed with bursting THE GIRAFFE AT BAY 427 exultation, and, unsaddling my steed, sank exhausted beside the noble prize I had won. " When I leisurely contemplated the massive frame before me, seeming as though it had been cast in a mould of brass, and protected by a hide of an inch and a half in thickness, it was no longer matter of astonishment that a bullet, discharged from a distance of eighty or ninety yards, should have been attended with little effect upon such amazing strength. The spell was now broken, and the secret of cameleopard-hunting discovered. The next day Eichardson and myself killed three ; one, a female, slipping upon muddy ground, and falling with great violence before she had been wounded, a shot in the head despatched her as she lay. From this time we could reckon confidently upon two out of each troop that we were fortunate enough to find, always approaching as near as possible in order to ensure a good start, galloping into the middle of them, boarding the largest, and riding with him until he fell." After man, the giraffe's chief enemy is the lion, who often waits for it in the thick brakes on the margin of the rivers or pools, and darts upon it with a murderous spring while it is slaking its thirst. Andersson once saw five lions, two of whom were in the act of pulling down a splendid giraffe, while the other three were watching close at hand the issue of the deadly strife ; and Captain Harris relates that, while he was encamped on the banks of a small stream, a cameleopard was killed by a lion whilst in the act of drinking, at no great distance from the wagons. It was a noisy affair ; but an inspection of the scene on which it occurred proved that the giant strength of the victim had been paralysed in an instant. Sometimes the giraffe saves itself from the attacks of its arch-enemy by a timely flight ; but when hemmed in, it offers a desperate resistance, and in spite of its naturally gentle and peaceable disposition, gives such desperate kicks with its fore- feet as to keep its antagonist at a respectful distance, and finally to compel him to retreat. The Grreeks and Romans were well acquainted with the giraffe ; and Aristotle, describing it under the name of hippardion, or panther horse, probably knew it better than Buffon, who never saw more of it than a stuffed skin. Pliny relates that Julius fesar (45 B.C.) first exhibited it to the Romans in the amphi- 428 THE GIRAFFE AND THE ZEBRA theatre, and from that time it often played a conspicuous part in the bloody spectacles with which the military despots of the declining empire used to entertain the rabble of Eome. Even during the middle ages giraffes were sometimes seen in Europe. The sultan of Egypt presented the Grerman emperor, Frederick IL, with a cameleopard ; and Lorenzo de Medicis was honoured with a similar gift. But since that time three full centuries elapsed before a single giraffe was ever transported across the Mediterranean ; and when at length the wily old tyrant Mehemet Ali, who knew how to flatter the French while grinding his poor Fellahs, sent one of them to the Jardin des Plantes in 1827, it raised no less a sensation than if it had been the unicorn itself. Thenceforth, the spell being broken, many giraffes have been imported, so that now there is scarcely a zoological garden of any importance in Europe that has not at least one of them to boast of. How well they bear the change of food and climate is sufficiently proved by the pair originally belonging to the collection in Kegent's Park having produced a young family of six, from 1838 to 1853 ; so that it seems quite possible to acclimatise this denizen of African wilds, which thrives as well upon corn, carrots, and hay, as upon the leaves, shoots, and blossoms of the mokaala, his desert food. There are many analogies between the giraffe and the ostrich ; both long- legged, long-necked, fit for cropping the tall mimosas, or scouring rapidly the plain ; both, finally, defending themselves by striking their feet forwards, the one against the jackal or hyaena, the other against the assaults of the formidable lion. As if to make up for the hideous deformity of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, the African wilds exclusively give birth to the beautifully-striped Zebras, the most gorgeously attired members of the equine race. The isabelle-coloured Quagga, irregularly banded and marked with dark brown stripes, which, stronger on the head and neck, gradually be- come fainter, until lost behind the shoulders, has its high crest surmounted by a standing mane, banded alternately brown and white. It used formerly to be found in great numbers within the ^^^"*" limits of the Cape Colony, and still roams in vast herds in the open plains farther to the north. THE ZEBRA 429 Thus, in the desert of the Meritsane, Major Harris, after crossing a park of magnificent camelthorn trees, soon perceived large herds of quaggas and brindled gnus, which continued to join each other, until the whole plain seemed alive. The clatter of their hoofs was perfectly astounding, and could be compared to nothing but to the din of a tremendous charge of cavalry, or the rushing of a mighty tempest. The accumulated numbers could not be estimated at less than 15,000, a great extent of country being actually chequered black and white with their congregated masses. The Douw, or Burchell's Zebra, differs little from the common quagga in point of shape or size ; but while the latter is faintly striped only on the head and neck, the former is adorned over every part of the body with broad black bands, beautifully con- trasting with a pale yellow ground. Major Harris, who had so many op- portunities of seeing this fine species in a state of nature, remarks that — " Beautifully clad by the hand of nature, possessing much of the graceful symmetry of the horse, with great bones and muscular power, united to easy and stylish action, thus combining comeliness of figure with solidity of form, this species, if subjugated and domesticated, would assuredly make the best pony in the world. Although it admits of being tamed to a certain extent with the greatest facility — a half-domesticated specimen, with a jockey on its brindled back, being occasionally exposed in Cape Town for sale — it has hitherto contrived to evade the yoke of servitude. The senses of sight, hearing, and smell, are extremely delicate. The slightest noise or motion, no less than the appearance of. any object that is unfamiliar, at once rivets their gaze, and causes them to stop and listen with the utmost attention ; any taint in the air equally attracting their olfactory organs. " Instinct having taught these beautiful animals that in union consists their strength, they combine in a compact body when menaced by an attack, either from man or beast; and, if overtaken by the foe, they unite for mutual defence, with their heads together in a close circular band, presenting their heels to the enemy, and dealing out kicks in equal force and abundance. Beset on all sides, or partially crippled, they rear on their hinder 430 THE GIRAFFE AND THE ZEBRA legs, fly at their adversary with jaws distended, and use both teeth and heels with the greatest freedom." The Gnu and the common quagga, delighting in the same situation, not unfrequently herd toge- ther; but BurchelFs zebra is seldom seen unaccompanied by troops of the brindled gnu, an animal differing ma- terially from its brother of the same genus, from which, though scarcely less ungainly, it is readily distinguishable at a great distance by its black mane qq^ ° and tail, more elevated withers, and clumsier action. Both the douw and the quagga are more frequently seen in Europe than the real zebra, and might be easily acclimatised, particularly the former, which can bear the cold so well as frequently to be seen lying on the snow in the Jardin des Plantes, exposed to a temperature of three degrees, without the least injury to its health. Whilst the douw and the quagga roam over the plains, the zebra inhabits mountainous regions only. The beauty of its light symmetrical form is enhanced by the narrow black bands with which the whole of the white-coloured body is covered. Buffon and Daubenton wished to see this elegant creature accli- matised in Europe, which would procure us a beast of burden stronger than the ass, and more beautiful in its nakedness than the horse, even when adorned with the richest trappings. A king of Portugal used frequently to drive about with four zebras ; and, about the year 1761, two of these animals that were kept in the park of Versailles had been so far tamed as to allow themselves to be mounted. In spite of the proverbial obstinacy of the zebra, there are thus no insuperable obstacles to its do- mestication, and a course of training, continued through several generations, would most likely subdue its reluctant nature as completely as that of the original wild horse and ass. The zebra is supposed to be the real hippotigris, or tiger -horse of the ancients ; and this is the more probable, as he ranges much far- ther to the north than the quagga or the douw, and approaches the regions of Africa comprised within the Koman empire. Historians inform us that in the year 202 after Christ, Plautius, HABITS OP THE ZEBRA. 431 a governor or prefect of Egypt, sent several centurions to the islands of the Erythra3an sea to fetch horses similar to tigers. The zebra is found in Abyssinia to the present day ; and as all the coasts of the Red Sea were open to the Romans, there was nothing to prevent them from becoming acquainted with the zebra. Travellers through the African wilds have sometimes been startled by piteous wailings, resembling the faint gasps and stifled groanings of a drowning man. On approaching the spot where they supposed some ravenous beast was lacerating an unfortunate native, they were surprised to find a zebra in its last agonies ; and well may the dying moans of the animal be sorrowful, when we consider that even its neighings, when heard from a distance, are of a very melancholy sound. Captain Harris tells us that it seeks the wildest and most sequestered spots, so that it is exceedingly difficult of approach, not only from its watchful habits and very great agility of foot, but also from the inaccessible nature of its abode. The herds graze on the steep hill-side, with a sentinel posted on some adjacent crag, ready to sound the alarm in case of any suspicious approach to their feeding quarters, and no sooner is the alarm given than away they scamper, with pricked ears and whisking their tails aloft, to places where few, if any, would venture to pursue them. Hippopotamus. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. Behemoth — Its Diminishing Numbers and Contracting Empire — Its Ugliness — A Rogue Hippopotamus or Solitaire — Dangerous Meeting — Intelligence and Memory of the Hippopotamus — Methods employed for Killing the Hippopota- mus— Hippopotamus Hunting on the Teoge — The Hippopotamus in Eegent's Park — A Young Hippo born in Paris. " T)EHOLD now Behemoth, which I made with thee : he eateth JL) grass as an ox ; his bones are as strong pieces of brass ; his bones are like bars of iron ; he lieth under the shady trees in the covert of the reed and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow ; the willows of the brook compass him about Behold he drinketh up a river ; he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth." Thus, in the book of Job, we find the Hippopotamus portrayed with few words but incomparable power. How tame after this noble picture must any lengthened description appear ! According to the inspired poet, the hippopotamus seems an- ciently to have inhabited the waters of the Jordan, but now it is nowhere to be found in Asia ; and even in Africa the limits of its domain are perpetually contracting before the persecutions of man. It has entirely disappeared from Egypt and the rivers of the Cape Colony, where Le Vaillant found it in numbers during the last century. In many respects a valuable prize; ROGUE HIPPOPOTAMI, OR SOLITAIRES 433 of easy destruction, in spite, or rather on account of its size, which betrays it to the attacks of its enemies; a dangerous neighbour to plantations, it is condemned to retreat before the waves of advancing civilisation, and would long since have been extirpated in all Africa, if the lakes and rivers of the interior of that vast den of barbarism were as busily ploughed over as ours by boats and ships, or their banks as thickly strewn with towns and villages. For the hippopotamus is not able, like so many other beasts of the wilderness, to hide itself in the gloom of impenetrable forests, or to plunge into the sandy desert, traversed by the Bedouin on his dromedary ; it requires the neighbourhood of the stream, the empire of which it divides with its amphibious neighbour the Hippopotamus. crocodile. Occasionally during the day it is to be seen basking on the shore amid ooze and mud, but throughout the night the unwieldly monster may be heard snorting and blowing during its aquatic gambols ; it then sallies forth from its reed- grown coverts to graze by the light of the moon, never, how- ever, venturing to any distance from the river, the stronghold to which it betakes itself on the smallest alarm. In point of ugliness the hippopotamus, or river-horse, as it has also very inappropriately been named, might compete with the rhinoceros itself. Its shapeless carcase rests upon short and disproportioned legs, and, with its vast belly almost trail- ing upon the groimd, it may not inaptly be likened to an overgrown " prize-pig." Its immensely large head has each jaw armed with two formidable tusks, those in the lower, which are always the largest, attaining at times two feet in length ; and the inside of the mouth is said to resemble a mass of butcher's meat. The eyes, which are placed in prominences like the garret win- dows of a Dutch house, the nostrils, and ears, are all on the same plane, on the upper level of the head, so that the unwieldy monster, when immersed in its favourite element, is able to draw breath, and to use three senses at once for hours together, with- out exposing more than its snout. The hide, which is upwards of an inch and a half in thickness, and of a pinkish brown colour, clouded and freckled with a darker tint, is destitute of F F 434 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS covering, excepting a few scattered hairs on the muzzle, the edges of the ears and tail. Though generally mild and inoffen- sive, it is not to be wondered at that a creature like this, which when full grown attains a length of eleven or twelve feet, and nearly the same colossal girth, affords a truly appalling spectacle when enraged, and that a nervous person may well lose his presence of mind when suddenly brought into contact with the gaping monster. Even Andersson, a man accustomed to all sorts of wild adventure, felt rather discomposed when one night a hippopotamus, without the slightest warning, suddenly protruded its enormous head into his bivouac, so that every man started to his feet with the greatest precipitation, some of the party, in the confusion, rushing into the fire and upsetting the pots containing the evening meal. As among the sperm-whales, sea bears, elephants, and other animals, elderly males are sometimes expelled the herd, and, for want of company, become soured in their temper, and so misanthropic as to attack every boat that comes near them. The herd is never dangerous except when a canoe passes into the midst of it when all are asleep, and some of them may strike it in terror. To avoid this, it is generally recommended to travel by day near the bank, and by night in the middle of the stream. The "solitaires," or "rogue-hippopotami," fre- quent certain localities well known to the inhabitants of the banks, and, like the outcast elephants, are extremely dangerous. Dr. Livingstone, passing a canoe which had been smashed to pieces by a blow from the hind foot of one of them, was in- formed by his men that, in case of a similar assault being made on his boat, the proper way was to dive to the bottom of the river, and hold on there for a few seconds, because the hippo- potamus, after breaking a canoe, always looks for the people on the surface, and if he sees none, soon moves off. He saw some frightful gashes made on the legs of the people who, having had the misfortune to be attacked, were unable to dive. One of these " bachelors " one day actually came out of his lair, and, putting his head down, ran with very considerable speed after the missionary and his party; and another time they were nearly overturned by a hippopota- mus striking the canoe with its forehead. The butt was so violent as to tilt one of the boatmen out into the river, while ITS INTELLIGENCE AND MEMORY 435 the rest sprang to the shore, which was only about ten yards olF ; the beast looking all the time at the canoe, as if to ascertain what mischief it had done. In rivers where it is seldom disturbed, such as the Zambesi, the hippopotamus puts up its head openly to blow, and follows the traveller with an inquisitive glance, as if asking him, like the "moping owl" in the elegy, why he came to molest its "ancient solitary reign?" but in other rivers, such as those of Londa, where it is much in danger of being shot, the hippo- potamus takes good care to conceal its nose among water plants, and to breathe so quietly that one would not dream of its existence in the river, except by footprints on the banks. Notwithstanding its stupid look, its prominent eyes and naked snout giving it more the appearance of a gigantic boiled calf's head than anything else, the huge creature is by no means deficient in intelligence, knows how to avoid pitfalls, and has so good a memory that, when it has once heard a ball whiz about its ears, it never after ceases to be cautious and " wide awake " at the approach of danger. Being vulner- able only behind the ear, however, or in the eye, it requires the perfection of rifle-practice to be hit ; and, when once in the water, is still more difficult to kill, as it dives and swims with all the ease of a walrus or a sea-elephant, its huge body being rendered buoyant by an abundance of fat. Its flesh is said to be delicious, resembling the finest young pork, and is considered as great a delicacy in Africa as a bear's paw or a bison's hump in the prairies of North America. The thick and almost inflexible hide may be dragged from the ribs in strips, like the planks from a ship's side. These serve for the manufacture of a superior description of sjambok, the elastic whip with which the Cape boor governs his team of twelve oxen or more, while proceeding on a journey. In Northern Africa it is used to chavStise refractory dromedaries or servants ; and the ancient Egyptians employed it largely in the manufacture of shields, helmets, and javelins. But the most valuable part of the hippopotamus is its teeth (canine and incisors), which are considered greatly superior to elephant ivory, and when perfect and weighty, will fetch as much as one guinea per pound, being chiefly used for artificial teeth, since it does not readily turn yellow. All these qualities F F 2 436 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS and uses to which the hippopotamus may be applied are naturally as many prices set upon its head ; and the ravages it occasions in the fields are another motive for its destruction. On the White Nile the peasantry burn a number of fires, to keep the huge animal away from their plantations, where every footstep ploughs deep furrows into the marshy ground, to the great injury of the harvest. At the same time, they take care to keep up a prodigious clamour of horns and drums, to scare away the ruinous brute, which, as may well be imagined, is by no means so great a favourite with them as with the visitors of the Zoological Grardens. They have besides another, and, where it takes effect, far more efl&cacious method of freeing themselves from the depredations of this animal. They remark the places it most frequents, and there lay a large quantity of pease. When it comes on shore hungry and voracious, it falls to eating what is nearest, and fills its vast stomach with the pease, which soon occasion an insupportable thirst. The river being close at hand, it immedi- ately drinks whole buckets of water, which, by swelling the pease, cause it to blow up, like an overloaded mortar. The natives on the Teoge, and other rivers that empty themselves into Lake Ngami, kill the hippopotamus with iron harpoons, attached to long lines ending with a float. A huge reed raft, capable of carrying both the hunters and their canoes, with all that is needful for the prosecution of the chase, is pushed from the shore, and afterwards abandoned to the stream, which propels the unwieldy mass gently and noiselessly forward. Long before the hippopotami can be seen, they make known their presence by awful snorts and grants whilst splashing and blowing in the water. On approaching the herd, for the gre- garious animal likes to live in troops of from twenty-five to thirty, the most skilful and intrepid of the hunters stands pre- pared with the harpoons, whilst the rest make ready to launch the canoes should the attack prove successful. The bustle and noise caused by these preparations gradually subside: at length not even a whisper is heard, and in breathless silence the hunters wait for the decisive conflict. The snorting and plunging become every moment more distinct ; a bend in the stream still hides the animals from view ; but now the point is passed, and monstrous figures, that might be mistaken for shapeless cliffs. METHODS OF KILLING THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 437 did not ever and anon one or the other of them plunge and re- appear, are seen dispersed over the troubled waters. On glides the raft, its crew worked up to the highest pitch of excitement, and at length reaches the herd, which, perfectly unconscious of danger, continue to enjoy their sports. Presently one of the animals is in immediate contact with the raft. Now is the critical moment; the foremost harpooner raises himself to his full height to give the greater force to the blow, and the next instant the iron descends with unerring accuracy, and is buried deep in the body of the bellowing hippopotamus. The wounded animal plunges violently and dives to the bottom, but all its efforts to escape are as ineffectual as those of the seal when pierced with the barbed iron of the Grreenlander. As soon as it is struck, one or more of the men launch a canoe from off the raft, and hastening to the shore with the harpoon line, take a round turn with it about a tree, so that the animal may either be brought up at once, or should there be too great a strain on the line, " played," like a trout or salmon by the fisherman. Sometimes both line and buoy are cast into the water, and all the canoes being launched from off the raft, chase is given to the poor brute, who whenever he comes to the surface is saluted with a shower of javelins. A long trail of blood marks his progress, his flight becomes slower and slower, his breathing more oppressive, until at last, his strength ebbing away through fifty wounds, he floats dead on the surface. But as the whale will sometimes turn upon his assailants, so also the hippopotamus not seldom makes a dash at his perse- cutors, and either with his tusks, or with a blow from his head, staves in or capsizes the canoe. Sometimes even, not satisfied with wreaking his vengeance on the craft, he seizes one or other of the crew, and with a single grasp of his jaws, either terribly mutilates the poor wretch or even cuts his body fairly in two. The natives of Southern Africa also resort to the ingenious plan of destroying the hippopotamus by means of a downfall, consisting of a log of wood with stones attached to it to increase its weight, and a harpoon affixed to its lower end. This formid- able weapon depends from the branch of an overhanging tree by means of a line, which is then made to cross horizontally the pathway which the hippopotamus is in the habit of frequenting 438 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS during the night, at a short -distance from the ground. When the animal comes in contact with the line, which is secured on either side of the path by a small peg, it snaps at once, or is disengaged by means of a trigger. The liberated downfall instantly descends with the rapidity of lightning, and the harpoon is driven deep into the back of the monster, who, bellowing with pain, plunges into the river, where he soon after dies in excruciating torments. Since 1850, the visitors to the Zoological Grardens in the Regent's Park have become familiar with the huge form and the curious manners of the hippopotamus, who, ever since the days of ancient Eome, had not been seen in Europe. The infant animal, a present of the Pacha of Egypt, had been torn from its mother's breast, and was fed during the passage with the milk of two cows and three goats, mixed with maize flour to a porridge. But even this copious allowance hardly sufficed to satisfy the hunger of the interesting stranger, who, on arriving, became at once the lion of the gardens, the observed of all observers, and though the novelties of the aquarium now draw better " houses," the hippopotamus is still one of the chief objects of attraction to strangers. His appetite increasing with his years, one hundred pounds weight of provender — hay, corn, carrots, cabbage — now daily goes down his huge throat, and he thrives so well on this abundant fare, that it is very doubtful whether he would have grown equally fat on the banks of his native Nile. Unfortunately, his temper seems to have been soured by captivity, for though so gentle when he made his debut that he could not go to sleep without having his Arab keeper's feet to lay his neck upon, he is now, at times, perfectly furious ; and rush- ing at the massive oaken door of his enclosure, makes the beams shake and quiver as though they were the lathes of an ordinary paling. He has a peculiar dislike to the sight of working men, especially if they are employed in doing any jobs about his apartment. The smith of the establishment happening to be passing one day along the iron gallery which runs on one side of his bath, the animal leapt out of the water at least eight feet high (I wish I had been there to see it), and would speedily have demolished the whole construction, had not the terrified man rapidly bolted out of his sight. M THE IIIPPOTAMUS IN CAPTIVITY 439 It is to be hoped that the young bride who now shares his well-fed captivity may succeed in soothing the spleen of her unruly lord. I know not whether the illustrious strangers have any family to boast of, but the hippopotami of the Jardin des Plantes have added to the list of births, and according to the last accounts, " both mother and child were doing well." Pvl'iinoceros. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE RHINOCEROS. Erutulity of tlie Ehinoceros — The Borelo — The Keitloa— The Monoho— Th<^ Kobaaba — Difference of Food and Disposition between the Black and the Wliite Rhinoceros — Incarnation of Ugliness — Acute Smell and Hearing — Defective Vision — The Bnphaga Africana — Paroxysms of Rage — Parental Affection — Nocturnal Habits — Rhinocei'os-Hunting — Adventures of the Chase — Narrow Escapes of Messrs. Oswell and Andersson — The Indian Rhinoceros — The Su- matran Rhinoceros — The Javanese Rhinoceros — Its involuntary Suicide. THE Ehinoceros has about the same range as the elephant, but is found also in the island of Java, where the latter is un- known. Although not possessed of the ferocity of carnivorous animals, the rhinoceros is completely wild and untamable ; the image of a gigantic hog, without intelligence, feeling or docility ; and if in bodily size and colossal strength it, of all other land animals, most nearly approaches the elephant, it is infinitely his inferior in point of sagacity. The latter, with his beautiful, good-natured, intelligent eye, awakens the sympathy of man ; while the rhinoceros might figure as the very symbol of brutal violence and stupidity. It was formerly supposed that Africa had but one rhinoceros, but the researches of modern travellers have discovered no less THE BLACK AND THE WHITE RHINOCEKOS 441 than four different species, two white and two black, each of them with two horns. The black species are the Eorelo of the Bechuanas, and the Keitloa, which is longer, with a larger neck and almost equal horns. In both species the upper lip projects over the lower, and is capable of being extended like that of the giraffe, thus enabling the animal to pull down the branches on whose foliao-e he intends to feast. Both the Borelo and the Keitloa are extremely ill-natured, and, with the exception of the buffalo, the most dangerous of all the wild animals of South Africa. The white species are the Monoho {R. simus), and the Kobaaba (i?. Osivellis), which is distinguished by one of its horns attaining the prodigious length of four feet. Although the black and white rhinoceros are members of the same family, their mode of living and disposition are totally different. The food of the former consists almost entirely of roots, which they dig up with their larger horn, or of the branches and sprouts of the thorny acacia, while the latter exclusively live on grasses. Perhaps in consequence of their milder and more succulent food, they are of a timid unsuspecting nature, which renders them an easy prey, so that they are fast melting away before the onward march of the European trader ; while the black species, from their greater ferocity and wariness, maintain their place much longer than their more timid rela- tions. The different nature of the black and white rhinoceros shows itself even in their flesh, for while that of the former, living chiefly on arid branches, has a sharp and bitter taste, and but little recommends itself by its meagreness and toughness — the animal, like the generality of ill-natured creatures, being never found with an ounce of fat on its bones— that of the latter is juicy and well-flavoured, a delicacy both for the white man and the negro. The shape of the rhinoceros is unwieldy and massive ; its vast paunch hangs down nearly to the ground ; its short legs are of columnar strength, and have three toes on each foot ; the mis- shapen head has long and erect ears, and ludicrously small eyes ; the skin, which is completely naked, with the exception of some 442 THE RHINOCEROS coarse bristles at the extremity of the tail, and the upper end of the ears, is comparatively smooth in the African species, but extremely rough in the Asiatic, hanging in large folds about the animal like a mantle ; so that, summing up all these characters, the rhinoceros has no reason to complain of injustice, if we style it the very incarnation of ugliness. From the snout to the tip uf the tail, the African rhinoceros attains a length of from 15 to .1 6 feet, a girth of from 10 to 12, a weight of from 4,000 to 5,000 pounds; but in spite of its ponderous and clumsy proportions, it is able to speed like lightning, particularly when pursued. It then seeks the nearest wood, and dashes with all its might through the thicket. The trees that are dead or dry are broken dowii as with a cannon shot, and fall behind it and on its sides in all directions ; others that are more pliable, greener, or full of sap are bent back by its weight and the velocity of its motions, and restore themselves like a green branch to their natural position, after the huge animal has passed. They often sweep the incautious pursuer and his horse from the ground, and dash them in pieces against the surrounding trees. The rhinoceros is endowed with an extraordinary acuteness of smell and hearing ; he listens with attention to the sounds of the desert, and is able to scent from a great distance the approach of man ; but as the range of his small and deep-set eyes is im- peded by his unwieldy horns, he can only see what is immediately before him, so that if one be to leeward of him, it is not difficult to approach within a few paces. The Kobaaba, however, from its horn being projected downwards, so as not to obstruct the line of vision, is able to be much more wary than the other species. To make up for the imperfection of its sight, the rhinoceros is frequently accompanied by a bird (Buphaga africana) which seems to be attached to it like the domestic dog to man, and warns the beast of approaching danger by its cry. It is called " Kala," by the Bechuanas, and when these people address a superior, they call him " my rhinoceros " by way of compliment, as if they were the birds ready to do him service. The African Buffalo possesses a similar guardian in the Textor erythro'i'ynclms. When the beast is quietly feeding, the bird may be seen hopping on the ground, picking up food, or sitting on its back, and ridding it of the insects with which its skin is sometimes infested. The sight of the bird being much KHINOCEROS-HUNTING 443 more acute than that of the buffalo, it is soon alarmed by the approach of any danger, and when it flies up, the buffaloes instantly raise their heads to discover the cause which has led to the sudden flight of their monitor. The Textor sometimes accompanies the wild ox on the wing, at other times it sits upon its withers, as if enjoying the ride. The black rhinoceroses are of a gloomy melancholy temper, and not seldom fall into paroxysms of rage without any evident cause. Seeing the creatures in their wild haunts, cropping the bushes, or quietly moving through the plains, you might take them for the most inoffensive good-natured animals of all Africa, but when roused to passion there is nothing more terrific on earth. All the beasts of the wilderness are afraid of the uncouth Borelo. The lion silently retires from its path, and even the elephant is glad to get out of the way. Yet this brutal and stupidly hoggish animal is distinguished by its parental love, and the tenderness which it bestows on its young is re- turned with equal affection. European hunters have often wit- nessed that when the mother dies, the calf remains two full days near the body. Although not gregarious, and most generally solitary or grazing in pairs, yet frequently as many as a dozen rhinoceroses are seen pasturing and browsing together. As is the case with many other inhabitants of the tropical wilderness, the huge beast awakens to a more active life after sunset. It then hastens to the lake or river to slake its thirst or to wallow in the mud, thus covering its hide with a thick coat of clay, against the attacks of flies ; or to relieve itself from the itching of their stings, it rubs itself against some tree, and testifies its inward satisfaction by a deep-drawn grunt. During the night, it rambles over a great extent of country, but soon after sunrise seeks repose and shelter against the heat under the shade of a mimosa, or the projecting ledge of a rock, where it spends the greater part of the day in sleep, either stretched at full length or in a standing position. Thus seen from a distance, it might easily be mistaken for a huge block of stone. The rhinoceros is hunted in various manners. One of the most approved plans is to stalk the animal, either when feeding or reposing. If the sportsman keep well under the wind, and there be the least cover, he has no difficulty in approaching the 444 THE KHINOCEROS beast within easy range, when, if the ball be well directed, it is killed on the spot. But by far the most convenient way of destroying the animal is to shoot it from a cover or a screen, when it comes to the pool to slake its thirst. Occasionally it is also taken in pitfalls. Contrary to common belief, a leaden ball (though spelter is preferable) will easily find its way through the hide of the African rhinoceros, but it is necessary to Ije within thirty or forty paces of the brute, and desirable to have a double charge of powder. The most deadly part to aim at is just behind the shoulder ; a ball through the centre of the lobes of the lungs is certain to cause almost instantaneous death. A shot in the head never or rarely proves fatal, as the brain, which, in proportion to the bulk of the animal, does not attain the three hundredth part of the size of the human cerebrum, is protected, besides its smallness, by a prodigious case of bone, hide, and horn. However severely wounded the rhinoceros may be, he seldom bleeds externally. This is attributable in part, no doubt, to the great thickness of the hide and its elasticity, which occasions the hole caused by the bullet nearly to close up, as also from the hide not being firmly attached to the body, but constantly moving. If the animal bleed at all, it is from the mouth and nostrils, which is a pretty sure sign that it is mortally hurt, and will soon drop down dead. It is remarkable that the rhinoceros, when hit by a fatal bullet, does not fall upon one side, but generally sinks on its knees, and thus breathes its last. From what has been related of the fury of the rhinoceros, its pursuit must evidently be attended with considerable danger, and thus the annals of the wild sports of Southern Africa are full of hair-breadth escapes from its terrific charge. Once Mr. Oswell, having lodged a ball in the body of a huge white rhinoceros, though not with mortal effect, was surprised to see the beast, instead of seeking safety in flight, as is gene- rally the case with this inoffensive species, suddenly stop short, and having eyed him most curiously for a second or two, walk slowly towards him. Though never dreaming of danger, he in- stinctively turned his horse's head away ; but strange to say, this creature, usually so docile and gentle, now absolutely refused to give him his head. When at last he did so, it was too late, for although the rhinoceros had only been walking, the distance was now so small that contact was unavoidable. In another ADVENTURES OF THE CHASE 445 moment the brute bent low his head, and with a thrust up- wards, struck his horn into the ribs of the horse with such force as to penetrate to the very saddle on the opposite side, where the rider felt its sharp point against his leg. The violence of the blow was so tremendous as to cause the horse to make a complete somersault in the air, coming heavily down on his hack. The rider was, of course, violently precipitated to the ground. While thus prostrated, he actually saw the horn of tlie monster alongside of him; but without attempting to do any further mischief, the brute started off at a canter from tlie scene of action. If the rhinoceros imagined it had come off ;is victor, it was, however, very quickly undeceived ; for Mr. ( )svvell, rushing upon one of his companions, who by this time liad come up, and unceremoniously pulling him off his horse, l(>;ipt into the saddle, and without a hat, and his face streaming with blood, was quickly in pursuit of the beast, which he soon iiad the satisfaction to see stretched lifeless at his feet. This adventure teaches us why the rhinoceros is seldom pursued on horseback, as there is no relying on one's steed, and the brute can also be much more easily approached and killed on foot. Another time, Mr. Oswell was actually gored by a rhinoceros, and tossed in the air. Fortunately he escaped with a wound on tlie thigh, five inches long ; and though it ultimately healed, yet, as may be imagined, it left a deep and indelible scar behind. Mr. Andersson, another well-known African Nimrod, having one day wounded a black rhinoceros, and being in an unfavour- alde situation for renewing his shot with deadly effect, the monster, snorting horribly, erecting its tail, keeping its head close to the ground, and raising clouds of dust by its feet, rushed at him furiously. " I had only just time to level my rifle and fire," says this adventurous traveller, " before it was upon me, and the next instant knocked me to the ground. The shock was so violent as to send my rifle, powder-flask, and ball- pouch spinning ten feet high in the air. On the beast charging me, it crossed my mind that, unless gored at once by its horn, its impetus would be such as to carry it beyond me, and I might thus be afforded a chance of escape, and so, indeed, it happened, for having been tumbled over and trampled on with great \ iolence, the fore-quarter of the enraged brute passed over my ])ody. Struggling for life, I seized my opportunity, and as the 446 THE RHINOCEROS animal was recovering itself for a renewal of the charge, scrambled out from between its hind legs. But the infuriated rhinoceros had not yet done with me, for scarcely had 1 regained my feet, before he struck me down a second time, and with his horn ripped up my right thigh (though not very deeply) from near the knee to the hip : with his fore-feet, moreover, he hit me a terrific blow on the left shoulder, near the back of the neck. My ribs bent under the enormous weight and pressure, and for a moment I must, as I believe, have lost consciousness ; I have at least very indistinct notions of what afterwards took place. All I remember is, that when I raised my head, I heard a furious snorting and plunging amongst the neighbouring bushes. I now arose, though with great difficulty, and made my way in the best manner I was able towards a large tree near at hand for shelter ; but this precaution was needless ; the beast, for the time at least, showed no inclination further to molest me. Either in the melee, or owing to the confusion caused by its wounds, it had lost sight of me, or felt satisfied with the revenge it had taken. Be that as it may, I escaped with life, though sadly wounded and severely bruised, in which disabled state I had great difficulty in getting back to my screen. "During the greater part of the conflict I preserved my presence of mind, but after the danger was over, and when I had leisure to collect my scattered and confused senses, I was seized with a nervous affection, causing a violent trembling. I have since killed many rhinoceroses, as well for sport as footl, but several weeks elapsed before I could again attack these animals with any coolness." The rhinoceros is hunted for its flesh, its hide (which is manu- factured into the best and hardest leather that can be imagined), and its horns, which, being capable of a high polish, fetch at the Cape a higher price than ordinary elephant ivory. It is exten- sively used in the manufacture of sword-handles, drinking-cups, ramrods for rifles, and a variety of other purposes. Amonp: Oriental princes, goblets made of rhinoceros horn are in high esteem, as they are supposed to have the virtue of detecting poison by causing the deadly liquid to ferment till it flows over the rim, or, as some say, to split the cup. The number of rhinoceroses destroyed annually in South Africa is very considerable. Captain Harris, who once saw two THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS 447 and twenty together, shot four of them one after the other to clear his way. Messrs. Oswell and Varden killed in one year no less than eighty-nine, and in one journey, Andersson shot, single- handed, nearly two-thirds of this number. It is thus not to be wondered at that the rhinoceros, which formerly ranged as far as the Cape, is now but seldom found to the south of the t ropic. The progress of African discovery bodes no good to him, or to the hippopotamus. The single-horned Indian rhinoceros was already known to the ancients, and not unfrequently (loomed to bleed in the Koman amphi- theatres. One which was sent to King Emanuel of Portugal in the year 1513, and presented by him to the pope, had the honour to be pictured in a woodcut by no less an artist than Albrecht ^dran Rhmoceros. Diirer himself. Latterly, rhinoceroses have much more fre- (piently been sent to Europe, particularly the Asiatic species, and all the chief zoological gardens possess specimens of the unwieldy creature. In its native haunts, the Indian rhinoceros leads a tranquil indolent life, wallowing on the marshy border of lakes and rivers, and occasionally bathing itself in their waters. Its movements are usually slow, and it carries its head low like the liog, ploughing up the ground with its horn, and making its way by sheer force through the jungle. Though naturally of a quiet and inoffensive disposition, it is very furious and dan- gerous when provoked or attacked, charging with resistless im- petuosity, and trampling down or ripping up with its horn any animal which opposes it. Besides the single-horned species which inhabits the Indian peninsula, Java, and Borneo, Sumatra possesses a rhinoceros with a double horn, which is, however, distinguished from the analogous African species by the large folds of its skin, and its smaller size. It is even asserted that there exists in the same island a hornless species, and another with three horns. There surely can be no better proof of the difficulties which Natural History has to contend with in the wilder regions of the tropical /one, and of the vast field still open to future zoologists, than that, in spite of all investigations and travels, we do not yet even 448 THE RHINOCEROS know with certainty all the species of so large a brute as the rhinoceros. In Java, this huge pachyderm is met with in the jungles of the low country, but its chief haunts are the higher forest-lands, which contain many small lakes and pools, whose banks are covered with high grasses. Here and there, also, the woods are interspersed with dry pasture-grounds, and even in the interior of the forests, numerous species of graminese are found increasing in number as they rise above the level of the sea. In these solitudes, which are seldom visited by man, the rhinoceros finds all that it requires for food and enjoyment. As it is uncom- monly shy, the traveller rarely meets it, but sometimes, while threading his way through the thicket, he may chance to sur- prise wild steers and rhinoceroses grazing on the brink of a pool, or quietly lying in the morass. While the rhinoceros, with his knotty plaited skin, offers a repulsive sight, the black-coated and white-legged Steer, who is nearly equally large, but of much more slender form, is fully entitled to the praise of savage beauty, when, suddenly starting up at sight of the traveller, it rushes loudly snorting into the thicket. The grooved paths of the rhinoceros, deeply worn into the solid rock, and thus affording proof of their immemorial an- tiquity, are found even on the summits of mountains above the level of the sea. They are frequently used for the destruction of the animal, for in the steeper places, where, on climbing up or down, it is obliged to stretch out its body, so that the abdomen nearly reaches the ground, the Javanese fix large sc3i:he-like knives into the rock, which they cover with moss and herbage, thus forcing the poor rhinoceros to commit an involuntary suicide, and teaching him, though too late to profit by his experience, how difficult it is to escape the cunning of man, even on the mountain peak. .h.ciu. CHAPTER XL. THE ELEPHANT. liove of Solitude and Pusillanimity— Miraculous Escape of an English Officer — .'^agaeity of the Elephant in ascending Hills — Organisation of the Stomach — The Elephant's Trunk — Use of its Tusks still Problematical — The Eogue- Elephant — Sagacity of the Elephant — The African Elephant — Tamed in Ancient Times — South African Elephant-Hunting — Hair-breadth Escapes — Abyssinian Elephant-Hunters — Importance of the Ivory Trade — The Asiatic Elephant — Vast Numbers destroyed in Ceylon — Major Rogers — Elephant Catchers — Their amazing Dexterity — The Corral — Decoy Elephants — Their astonishing Sagacity — Great Mortality among the captured Elephants — Their Services. OF a mild and peaceful disposition, the image of strength tempered by good nature, the Elephant loves the shady forest and the secluded lake. Disliking the glare of the midday sun, he spends the day in the thickest woods, devoting the night to excursions and to the luxury of the bath, his great and inno- cent delight. Though the earth trembles under his strides, yet like the whale, he is timid ; but this timidity is accounted for by his small range of vision. Anything unusual strikes him with terror, and the most trivial objects and incidents, from being imperfectly discerned, excite his suspicions. To this peculiarity an English officer, chased and seized by an elephant G G 450 THE ELEPHANT which he had slightly wounded, owed his almost miraculous escape. The animal had already raised its fore-foot to trample him to death, when, its forehead being caught at the instant by the tendrils of a climbing plant which had suspended itself from the branches above, it suddenly turned and fled.* An instinctive consciousness that his superior bulk exposes him to danger from sources that might be harmless in the case of lighter animals, is probably the reason why the elephant displays a remarkable re- luctance to face the slightest artificial obstruction on his passage. Even when enraged by a wound, he will hesitate to charge his assailant across an intervening hedge, suspecting it may conceal a snare or pitfall, but will hurry along it to seek for an opening. Unlike the horse, he never gets accustomed to the report of fire-arms, and thus he never plays an active part in battle, but serves in a campaign only as a common beast of burden, or for the transport of heavy artillery. To make up for his restricted vision, his neck being so formed as to render him incapable of directing the range of his eye much above the level of his head, he is endowed with a re- markable power of smell, and a delicate sense of hearing, which serve to apprise him of the approach of danger. Although, from their huge bulk, the elephants might be sup- posed to prefer a level country, yet, in Asia at least, the regions where they most abound are all hilly and mountainous. In Ceylon, particularly, there is not a range so high as to be in- accessible to them, and so sure-footed are they, that provided there be solidity to sustain their weight, they will climb rocks, and traverse ledges, where even a mule dare not venture. Dr. Hooker admired the judicious winding of the elephant's path in the Himalayas, and Sir J. E. Tennent describes the saga- city which he displays in laying out roads, or descending abrupt banks, as almost incredible. " His first manoeuvre is to kneel down close to the edge of the declivity, placing his chest to the ground, one fore-leg is then cautiously passed a short way down the slope, and if there is no natural protection to afford a firm footing, he speedily forms one by stamping into the soil if moist, or kicking out a footing if dry. This point gained, the other fore-leg is brought down in * Sir James Emerson Tennent : Ceylon, vol. ii. p. 288. Fourth Edition. HIS WONDERFUL TRUNK 451 the same way, and performs the same work, a little in advance of the first, which is thus at liberty to move lower still. Then fii-st one and then the second of the hind-legs is carefully drawn over the side, and the hind-feet in turn occupy the resting- places previously used and left by the fore ones. The course, however, in such precipitous ground is not straight from top to bottom, but slopes along the face of the bank, descending till tlie animal gains the level below. " This an elephant has done at an angle of forty-five degrees, carrying a houdah, its occupant, his attendant, and sporting apparatus, and in much less time than it takes to describe the operation." * The stomach of the elephant, like that of the camel or the llama, is provided with a cavity, serving most probably as a reservoir for water against the emergencies of thirst; but the most remarkable feature in the organisation of the "Leviathan of the land " is his wonderful trunk, which, uniting the flexibility of the serpent with a giant's power, almost rivals the human liand by its manifold uses and exquisite delicacy of touch. " Nearly eight feet in length, and stout in proportion to the massive size of the whole animal, this miracle of nature," as it is well expressed by Mr. Broderip, " at the volition of the elephant will uproot trees or gather grass ; raise a piece of artillery or pick up a comfit ; kill a man or brush off a fly. It conveys the food to the mouth, and pumps up the enormous draughts of Avater, which, by its recurvature, are turned into and driven down the capacious throat, or showered over the body. Its length supplies the place of a long neck, which would have been incompatible with the support of the large head and weighty tusks." A glance at the head of the elephant will show the thickness and strength of the trunk at its insertion ; and the massy arched bones of the face and thick muscular neck are admirably adapted for supporting and working this incomparable instrument, which is at the same time the elephant's most formidable instrument of defence, for, first prostrating any minor assailant by means of his trunk, he then crushes him by the pressure of his enormous weight. ^ The use of the elephant's tusks is less clearly defined, * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, yol. xiii. G G 2 452 THE ELEPHANT Though they are frequently described as warding off the attacks of the tiger and rhinoceros, often securing the victory by one blow, which transfixes the assailant to the earth, it is perfectly obvious, both fi'om their almost vertical position and the diffi- culty of raising the head above the level of the shoulder, that they were never designed for weapons of attack. No doubt they may prove of great assistance in digging up roots, but that they are far from indispensable, is proved by their being but rarely seen in the females, and by their almost constant absence in the Ceylon elephant, where they are generally found reduced to mere stunted processes. The elephants live in herds, usually consisting of from ten to twenty individuals, and each herd is a family, not brought together by accident or attachment, but owning a common line- age and relationship. In the forest several herds will browse in close contiguity, and in their expeditions in search of water they may form a body of possibly one or two hundred, but on the slightest disturbance, each distinct herd hastens to reform within its own particular circle, and to take measures on its own behalf for retreat or defence. Grenerally the most vigorous and courageous of the herd assumes the leadership : his orders are observed with the most implicit obedience, and the devotion and loyalty evinced by his followers are very remarkable. In Ceylon this is more readily seen in the case of a tusker than any other, because in a herd he is generally the object of the keenest pursuit by the hunters. On such occasions the elephants do their utmost to protect him from danger ; when driven to extremity, they place the leader in the centre, and crowd so eagerly in front of him that the sportsmen have to shoot a number which they might otherwise have spared. In one instance, a tusker who was badly wounded by Major Eoger was promptly surrounded by his companions, who supported him between their shoulders, and actually succeeded in covering his retreat to the forest. It is a remarkable fact that among the walruses, the tusked monsters of the Arctic shores, we find similar instances of sagacity and devotion. Thus in the attack on the boats of the Trent by a herd of these animals, so beautifully described by Beechey, " the leader having been mortally wounded, his com- panions, who immediately desisted from the attack, assembled "EOGUE ELEPHANTS 453 round him, and in a moment quitted the boat, swimming away as hard as they could with their unfortunate commander, whom they actually bore up with their tusks, and assiduously preserved from sinking." * When individuals have been expelled from a herd, or by some accident or other have lost their former associates, they are not permitted to attach themselves to any other family, and ever after wander about the woods as outcasts from their kind. Kendered morose and savage from rage and solitude, these rogue elephants become vicious and predatory ; and so sullen is their disposition, that although two may be in the same vicinity, there is no known instance of their associating, or of a rogue being seen in company with another elephant. These savage solitaires not only commit great injuries in the plantations, trampling down the rice-grounds, and tearing up the trees, but even travellers are exposed to the utmost risk from their unprovoked assaults. Sir J. E. Tennent mentions a " rogue," who in 1847 infested for some months the Eangbodde Pass on the great mountain road leading to the sanatarium at Neuera Ellia. He concealed himself by day in the dense forests on either side of the road, making his way during the darkness to the river below. One morning a poor Caffre pioneer proceeding to his labour came suddenly upon him at a turning in the road, when the spleenish savage, resenting the intru- sion, lifted him with his trunk and beat out his brains against the bank. Among other animals that have been driven from the society of their kind, we find a similar ferocity of disposition. The solitary males of the wild buffalo, when expelled from the herd by stronger competitors for female favour, are apt to wreak their vengeance on whatever they meet; the outcast hippopotamus wantonly strikes the passing canoes ; and the rogue sperm whale, without waiting for the attack, rushes furiously against the boats sent out against him, and seems to love fighting for its own sake.f Thus, however soul-improving solitude may prove to the hermit saint, there can be no doubt that it is far from conducing to the amiability of animals ; and judging from these facts, we * The Sea and its Living Wonders Second Edition, Page 108. t Ibid. Page 90. 454 THE ELEPHANT may almost doubt whether the anachorets of the Thebaid, far from improving their morals, did not become rather " roguish '* from their unnatural seclusion. As the elephant surpasses all that breathes on earth in strengt]) and weight, his mental faculties also assign to him one of tlie first places in the animal creation. His docility, his attachment to his master, his ready obedience, are qualities in which he is scarcely inferior to the dog, and it is astonishing how easily he suffers himself to be led by his puny guide. The dog has been the companion of man through an end- less series of generations, a servitude of many centuries has modified his physical and moral type ; but the elephant, whom, in spite of his prodigious powers, we train to an equal obedience, is always originally the free-born son of the forest (for he never propagates in a state of captivity), and is often advanced in years before being obliged to change the independence of the woods for the yoke of thraldom. What services might not be expected from an animal like this, were we able to educate the species as we do the individual ? The elephant inhabits both Asia and Africa, but each of these two parts of the world has its peculiar species. The African elephant is distinguished by the lozenge-shaped prominences of ivory and enamel on the surface of his grinders, which in the Indian elephant are narrow transverse bars of uniform breadth ; his skull has a more rounded form, and is deficient in the double lateral bump con- spicuous in the former ; and he has only '/■^^^ fifty-four vertebrae, while the Indian has Indian Elephant. , r\ -i Sixty-one. On the other hand, he possesses twenty-one ribs, while the latter has only nineteen. His tusks are also much larger, and his body is of much greater bulk, as the female attains the stature of the fidl-grown Indian male. The ear is at least three times the size, being not seldom above four feet long, and broad, so that Dr. Livingstone mentions having seen a negro, who under cover of one of these prodigious flaps effectually screened himself from the rain. All these differences of character appeared so great to M. Cuvier as to induce him to consider the African elephant as a peculiar genus, to whicli he applied the name of Loxodont. CHASE OF THE ELEPHANT 455 Ancient medals representing large-eared elephants drawing cliariots, are conclusive of the fact that the Eomans knew how to catch and tame the African elephant. He was even considered more docile than the Asiatic, and was taught various feats, as ^\'alking on ropes, and dancing. The elephants with which Hannibal crossed the Alps, as well as those which Pyrrhus led into Italy, must undoubtedly have been African. At present he is only killed for his ivory, his hide, his flesh, or from the mere wantonness of destruction. The Cape colonists, to whom his r vices might be of great importance, have never made the 'tempt to tame him, nor has one of this species ever been exhibited in England. The African elephant has a very wide range, from Cafraria to Nubia, and from the Zambesi to Cape Verde, and the impene- trable deserts of the Sahara alone prevent him from wandering to the shores of the Mediterranean. Although in South Africa llie persecutions of the natives and of his still more formidable enemies — the colonists and English huntsmen, have consider- ably thinned his numbers, and driven him farther and farther to the north, yet in the interior of the country he is still met with in prodigious numbers. Dr. Barth frequently saw large herds winding through the open plains, and swimming in majestic lines through the rivers with elevated trunks, or bathing in the sliallow lakes for coolness or protection against insects. Dr. Livingstone gives us many interesting accounts of the different modes of South African elephant-hunting. The Banijai on the south bank of the Zambesi erect stages < )n high trees overhanging the paths by which the elephants come, and then use a large spear with a handle nearly as thick as a man's wrist, and four or five feet long. When the un- fortunate animal comes beneath, they throw the spear, and if it enters between the ribs above, as the blade is at least twenty inches long by two broad, the motion of the handle, as it is aided by knocking against the trees, makes frightful gashes within, and soon causes death. They kill them also by means of a spear inserted in a beam of wood, which being suspended on the branch of a tree by a cord attached to a latch, fastened in the path and intended to be struck by the animal's foot, loads to the fall of the beam, and the spear being poisoned, iiises death in a few hours. 456 THE ELEPHANT The Bushmen select full-moon nights for the chase, on account of the coolness, and choose the moment succeeding a charge when the elephant is out of breath to run in and give him a stab with their long-bladed spears. The huge creature is often bristling with missile weapons like a porcupine, and though singly none of the wounds may be mortal, yet their number overpowers him by loss of blood. On the sloping banks of the Zouga the Bayeiye dig deep pitfalls to entrap the animals as they come to drink, but though these traps are constructed with all the care of savage ingenuity, old elephants have been known to precede the herd and whisk off their coverings all the way down to the water, or, giving proof of a still more astonishing sagacity, to have actually lifted the young out of the pits into which they had incautiously stumbled. A much more formidable enemy of this noble animal than the spears or pitfalls of the African barbarians is the rifle, particu- larly in the hands of a European marksman, for while the Gri- quas, Boers, and Bechuanas generally stand at the distance of a hundred yards or more, and of course spend all the force of their bullets on the air, the English hunters, relying on their steadiness of aim, approach to within thirty yards of the animal, where they are sure not to waste their powder. The consequence is, that when the Grriquas kill one elephant, such marksmen as Messrs. Oswell, Varden, Grordon Gumming, and Andersson, will bring at least twenty to the ground, and this difference is the more remarkable as the natives employ dogs to assist them, while the English trust to themselves alone. It requires no little nerve to brave the charge of the elephant, the scream or trumpeting of the brute, when infuriated, being more like what the shriek of a steam-whistle would be to a man standing on the dangerous part of a railroad, than any other earthly sound; a horse unused to 'it wdll sometimes stand shivering instead of taking his rider out of danger, or fall paralysed by fear, and thus expose him to be trodden into a mummy, or dashing against a tree, crack his skull against a branch. Even the most experienced hunters have many dangers to encounter while facing their gigantic adversary. Thus, on the banks of the Zouga in 1850, Mr. Oswell had one of the most extraordinary escapes from a wounded elephant perhaps ever recorded in the annals of the chase. Pursuing the brute into CHASE OF THE ELEPHANT 457 tlie dense thick thorny bushes met with on the margin of that river, and to which the elephant usually flees for safety, he followed through a narrow pathway by lifting up some of the branches, and forcing his way through the rest ; but when he had JTist got over this difficulty, he saw the elephant, whose tail he had but got glimpses of before, now rushing full speed towards him. There was then no time to lift up branches, so lie tried to force the horse through them. He could not effect a passage, and as there was but an instant between the attempt and failure, the hunter tried to dismount, but in doing this one loot was caught by a branch, and the spur drawn along the animal's flank ; this made him spring away, and throw the rider on the ground with his face to the elephant, which being in full chase, still went on. Mr. Oswell saw the huge fore-foot about to descend on his legs, parted them, and drew in his breath, as if to resist the pressure of the other foot, which he expected would next descend on his body. His relief may be imagined, when he saw the whole length of the under part of the enormous l)rute pass over him, leaving him perfectly unhurt. In Abyssinia the elephant is hunted in an original manner. The men, who make this their chief occupation, dwell constantly ill the woods, and live entirely upon the flesh of the animals they kill. They are exceedingly agile and dexterous, both on horse- back and on foot ; indispensable qualities, partly inherited and partly acquired by constant practice. Completely naked to render their movements more easy, and to prevent their being laid hold of by the trees and bushes ; two of these bold huntsmen get on horseback ; one of them bestrides the l)ack of the steed, a short stick in one hand, the reins in the other, while behind him sits his companion, armed with a sharp broadsword. As soon as they perceive a grazing elephant, they instantly ride up to him, or cross him in all directions if he flies, uttering at the same time a torrent of abuse, for the purpose, as they fancy, of raising his anger. With outstretched trunk the elephant attempts to seize the noisy intruders, and following the perfectly trained horse, which, springing from side to side, leads him along in vain pursuit, neglects flight into the woods, his sole chance of safety, for while his whole attention is fixed on the rapid movements of the horse, the swordsman, who has sprung unperceived from its back, approaches stealthily from behind, and 458 THE ELEPHANT with one stroke of his weapon, severs the tendon just above the heel. The disabled monster falls shrieking to the ground, and incapable of advancing a step, is soon despatched. The whole flesh is then cut off his bones into thongs, and hung like festoons upon the branches of trees till perfectly dry, when it is taken down and laid by for the rainy season. African ivory is a not unimportant article of trade. The annual importation into Grreat Britain alone, for the last few years, has been about 1,000,000 lbs., which, taking the average weight of a tusk at 60 lbs., would require the slaughter of 8,333 male elephants, doomed to destruction in order to provide us with umbrella-stick or knife-handles, card-marks, fancy boxes, or buttons. Above 1 00,000^. worth of Sennaar ivory is annually exported from Alexandria, and Dr. Livingstone informs us that between July 1, 1848 and June 30, 1849, the value of the ivory shipped from St. Paul de Loanda amounted to 48,225^. A considerable quantity likewise finds its way to Europe by Zanzibar, the Cape, and the ports on the coast of Gruinea ; so that the annual produce of Africa probably exceeds 200,000^. As the natives grow more alive to the value of the article, and become better provided with fire-arms, the persecuted giants disappear, and perhaps twenty years hence will become as rare in the countries in which they once abounded, as the sea elephant on Kerguelen's Land. When Lake Ngami was first discovered (August 1, 1849), a trader, accompanying Messrs. Oswell, Murray, and Livingstone, purchased ivory at the rate of ten good large tusks for a mus- ket worth 13s. They were called " bones," and Dr. Livingstone himself saw eight instances in which the tusks had been left to rot, with the remainder of the skeleton, where the elephant fell. The natives never had a chance of a market before, but in less than two years after the discovery, not a man of them could be found who did not fully know the value of ivory, and was of course a more determined elephant-hunter than he had ever been before. The Asiatic elephant inhabits Hindostan, the Chin-Indian peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and Ceylon. In the latter island es- pecially, he was formerly found in incredible numbers, so that thirty years ago, an English sportsman killed no less than 104 elephants in three days. Major Rogers shot upwards of 1,400 ; ELEPHANT CATCHERS OP CEYLON 459 Captain Galloway has the credit of slaying more than half that number ; Major Skinner almost as many, and less persevering aspirants follow at humbler distances. A reward of a few shillings per head offered by the govern- ment for taking elephants was claimed for 3,500 destroyed in part of the northern provinces alone, in less than three years prior to 1848, and between 1851 and 1856 a similar reward was paid for 2,000 in the southern provinces. In consequence of this wholesale slaughter, it cannot be wondered at that the ( 'eylon elephant has entirely disappeared from districts in which jie was formerly numerous, and that the peasantry in some parts of the island have even suspended the ancient practice of ]^eeping watchers and fires by night to drive away the elephants from the growing crops. The opening of roads, and the clearing of the mountain-forests of Kandy for the cultivation of coffee, ]iave forced the animals to retire to the low country, where again they have been followed by large parties of European sportsmen, and the Singhalese themselves being more freely l)iovided with arms than in former times, have assisted in the work of extermination.* The practice in Ceylon is to aim invariably at the head, and, •^xmerally speaking, a single ball planted in the forehead ends Die existence of the noble creatures instantaneously. Thus, wldle Prince Waldemar of Prussia, during his visit to the island, was hunting in the forests in company with Major Ivogers, they were charged by two elephants, the one furiously trumpeting in their rear, while the other pushed its enormous head through the bushes in front. The major, however, soon put an end to their offensive demonstrations, for springing between them, he instantly lodged one bullet behind the ear of the one, and a second in the temple of the other. As if struck by lightning, they sank to the earth with a deep hollow groan, and the remainder of the herd, terrified by their fall, hurried away into the depth of the woods. In India and Ceylon, elephants have been caught and tamed from time immemorial, and w^hen we compare their colossal strength with the physical weakness of man, it surely must be considered a signal triumph of his intelligence and courage, * Tenncnt's Ceylon, vol. ii, p. 273. 460 THE ELEPHANT that he is able to bend such gigantic creatures to his will. Tlie professional elephant- catchers of Ceylon or Panickeas, as they are called, are particularly remarkable for their daring aiul adroitness. Their ability in tracing their huge game, rivalling' that of the American Indian in following the enemy's trail, lias almost the certainty of instinct, and hence their services aie eagerly sought by the European sportsmen who go down into their country in search of game. "So keen is their glance, that almost at the top of their speed, like hounds running breast- high, they will follow the course of an elephant over glades covered with stunted grass, where the eye of a stranger would fail to discover a trace of its passage, and on through forests strewn with dry leaves, where it seems impossible to perceive a footstep. Here they are guided by a bent or broken twig, or by a leaf dropped from the animal's mouth on which they can detect the pressure of a tooth. If at fault, they fetch a circuit like a setter, till lighting on some fresh marks, they go a-head again with renewed vigour. So delicate is the sense of smell in the elephant, and so indispensable is it to go against the wind in approaching him, that the Panickeas on those occasions when the wind is so still that its duration cannot be otherwise dis- cerned, will suspend the film of a gossamer to determine it, and shape their course accordingly. " On overtaking the game, their courage is as conspicuous as their sagacity. If they have confidence in the sportsman for whom they are finding, they will advance to the very heel of the elephant, slap him on the quarter, and then convert his timidity into anger, till he turns upon his tormentor, and exposes his heavy front to receive the bullet which is awaiting him. " So fearless and confident are they, that two men without aid or attendants will boldly attempt to capture the largest-sized elephant. Their only weapon is a flexible rope made of buffalo's hide, with which it is their object to secure one of the hind- legs. This they effect either by following in his footsteps when in motion, or by stealing close up to him when at rest, and, availing themselves of the propensity of the elephant at such moments to swing his feet backwards and forwards, they con- trive to slip a noose over his hind-leg. " At other times, this is achieved by spreading the noose on TAMING OF THE ELEPHANT 461 the ground, partially concealed by roots and leaves, beneath a tree on which one of the party is stationed, whose business it is to lift it suddenly by means of a cord, raising it on the elephant's leg at the moment when his companion has succeeded in pro- voking him to place his foot within the circle, the other end having been previously made fast to the stem of the tree. Should the noosing be effected in open ground, and no tree of sufficient strength at hand round which to wind the rope, one of the Moors, allowing himself to be pursued by the enraged elephant, entices him towards the nearest grove, when his companion, dexterously laying hold of the rope as it trails along the ground, suddenly coils it round a suitable stem, and brings the fugitive to a stand still. On finding himself thus arrested, the natural impulse of the captive is to turn on the man who is engaged in making fast the rope, a movement which it is the duty of his colleague to prevent by running up close to the elephant's head, and provoking him to confront him by irritating gesticulations and incessant shouts of dah! dah! a monosyllable, the sound of which the elephant peculiarly dislikes. Meanwhile the first assailant having secured one noose, comes up from behind with another, with which, amidst the vain rage and struggles of the victim, he entraps a fore-leg, the rope being as before secured to another tree in front, and the whole four feet having been thus entangled, the capture is completed. " A shelter is then run up with branches to protect him from the sun, and the hunters proceed to build a wigwam for themselves in front of their prisoner, kindling their fires for cooking, and making all the necessary arrangements for remaining day and night on the spot, to await the process of subduing and taming \ his rage. " Picketed to the ground like Grulliver by the Lilliputians, the elephant soon ceases to struggle, and what with the exhaustion of ineffectual resistance, the constant annoyance of smoke, and the I liberal supply of food and water with which he is indulged, a few weeks generally suffice to subdue his spirit, when his keepers at length venture to remove him to their own village, or to the seaside for shipment to India. " No part of the hunter's performances exhibits greater skill and audacity than this first forced march of the recently captured eleiDhant. As he is still too morose to submit to be ridden. 462 THE ELEPHANT and it would be equally impossible to lead or to drive him by force, the ingenuity of the captors is displayed in alternately irritating and eluding his attacks, but always so attracting his attention, as to allure him along in the direction in which they want him to go. '' In Ceylon, the principal place for exporting these animals to India is Manaar on the western coast, to which the Arabs from the continent resort, bringing horses to be bartered for elephants. In order to reach the sea, open plains must be traversed, across which it requires the utmost courage, agility, and patience of the Panickeas to coax their reluctant charge. At Manaar the elephants are usually detained till any wound on the leg caused by the rope has been healed, when the shipment is effected in the most primitive manner, it being next to impossible to induce the still untamed creature to walk on board, and no mechanical contrivances being provided to ship him. A dhoney, or native boat, of about forty tons burthen, is brought alongside the quay, and being about three parts filled with the strong-ribbed leaves of the Palmyra palm, it is lashed so that the gunwale may be as nearly as possible on a line with the level of the wharf. The elephant, being placed with his back to the water, is forced by goads to retreat till his hind -legs go over the side of the quay ; but the main contest commences when it is attempted to dis- engage his fore-feet from the shore, and force him to entrust himself on board. "The scene becomes exciting from the screams and trumpetinys of the elephants, the shouts of the Arabs, the calls of the Moors, and the rushing of the crowd. Meanwhile the huge creatine strains every nerve to regain the land; and the day is often consumed before his efforts are overcome, and he finds himself fairly afloat. The same dhonefy will take from four to fi\e elephants, who place themselves athwart it, and exhibit amusiiii;- adroitness in accommodating their own movements to the rolling of the little vessel, and in this way they are ferried across the narrow strait which separates the continent of India from Ceylon." * Unfortunately my limits forbid me entering upon a detailed account of the great elephant hunts of India and Ceylon, where * Tennent's Ceylon, vol. ii. pp. 33G-340. ■ DECOY ELEPHANTS 463 whole herds are driven into an enclosure and entrapped in one vast decoy. This may truly be called the sublime of sport, for nowhere is it conducted on a grander scale, or so replete with thrilling emotions. The keddah or corral, as the enclosure is called, is* constructed in the depth of the forest, several hundred paces long, and half as broad, and of a strength commensurate to the power of the animals it is intended to secure. Slowly and cautiously the doomed herds are driven onwards from a vast circuit by thousands of beaters in narrowing circles to the fatal gate, which is instantly closed behind them, and then the hunters, rushing with wild clamour and blazing torches to the stockade, complete the terror of the bewildered animals. Trumpeting and screaming with rage and fear, they rush roimd the corral at a rapid pace, but all their attempts to force the powerful fence are vain, for wherever they assail the palisade, they are met with glaring flambeaux and bristling spears, and on whichever side they .ipproach, they are repulsed with shouts and discharges of musketry. For upwards of an hour their frantic efforts are con- iinued with unabated energy, till at length, stupified, exhausted, and subdued by apprehension and amazement, they form them- selves into a circle, and stand motionless under the dark shade of the trees in the middle of the corral. To secure the entrapped animals, the assistance of tame elephants or decoys is necessary, who, by occupying their atten- tion and masking the movements of the nooser, give him an opportunity of slipping one by one a rope round their feet until their capture is completed. The quickness of eye displayed by the men in watching the slightest movement of an elephant, and their expertness in flinging the noose over its foot, and attaching it firmly before the animal can tear it off with its trunk, are less admirable than the rare sagacity of the decoys, who display the most perfect conception of the object to be attained, and the means of accom- plishing it. Thus Sir Emerson Tennent saw more than once, during a great elephant hunt which he witnessed in 1847, that when one of the wild elephants was extending his trimk, and would have intercepted the rope about to be placed over his leg, the decoy, by a sudden motion of her own trunk, pushed his aside and prevented him ; and on one occasion, when successive 464 THE ELEPHANT efforts had failed to put the noose over the leg of an elephant who was already secured by one foot, but who wisely put the other to the ground as often as it was attempted to pass the noose under it, he saw the decoy watch her opportunity, and when his foot was again raised, suddenly push in her own leg beneath it, and hold it up till the noose was attached and drawn tight. Apart from the services which from their prodigious strength the tame elephants are alone capable of rendering, in dragging out and securing the captives, it is perfectly obvious that, without their sagacious cooperation, the utmost prowess and dexterity of the hunters would not avail them to enter the enclosure unsupported, or to ensnare and lead out a single captive. It may easily be imagined that the passage from a life of unfettered liberty in the cool and sequestered forest to one of obedience and labour, must necessarily put the health of the captured animals to a severe trial. Many perish in consequence of the fearful wounds on the legs occasioned by their struggling against the ropes, and it has frequently happened that a valuable animal has lain down and died the first time it was tried in harness from what the natives designate a " broken hearV Official records prove that more than half of the elephants em- ployed in the public departments of the Ceylon government die in one year's servitude, and even when fully trained and inured to captivity, the working elephant is always a delicate animal, subject to a great variety of diseases, and consequently often incapacitated from labour. Thus, in spite of his colossal strength, which cannot even be employed to its full extent, as it is difficult to pack him without chafing the skin, and wagons of corresponding dimension to his muscular powers would utterly ruin the best constructed roads, it is very doubtful whether his services are in proportion to his cost, and Sir J. E. Tennent is of opinion that two vigorous dray horses would, at less expense, do more effectual work than any elephant- Most likely from a comparative calculation of this kind, the strength of the elephant- establishments in Ceylon has been gradually diminished of late years, so that the government stud, which formerly consisted of upwards of sixty elephants, is at present reduced to less than one quarter of that number. In no kind of labour does the elephant display a greater THE ELEPHANT AT WORK 465 ingenuity than in dragging and piling felled timber, going on fur hours disposing of log after log, almost without a hint or a direction of his attendant. In this manner two elephants, ( mployed in piling ebony and satin wood in the yards attached to the Commissariat stores at Colombo, were so accustomed to the work that they were enabled to accomplish it with equal ]»ii'cision and with greater rapidity than if it had been done by (lock-labourers. When the pile attained a certain height which haffled their conjoint efforts to raise one of the heavy logs of ('1)()ny to the summit, they had been taught to lean two pieces ai^idnst the heap, up the inclined plane of which they gently rolled the remaining logs, and placed them trimly on the top. Such is the earnestness and perseverance displayed by the saj^^acious creatures while accomplishing their task, that super- \ Ision might almost be thought superfluous, but as soon as the eye of the keeper is withdrawn, their innate love of ease dis- plays itself, and away they stroll lazily to browse, or to enjoy the luxury of fanning themselves and blowing dust over their hacks. H H Leopard and Cheetan. CHAPTER XLI. THE FELID/E OF THE OLD WORLD. The Lion — Conflicts witli Travellers on Mount Atlas — The Lion and the Hotten- tot— A Lion taken in — Narrow Escapes of Anclersson and Dr. Livingstone — Lion-Hunting by the Arabs of the Atlas — By the Bushmen — The Asiatic Lion — The Lion and the Dog — The Tiger — The Javanese Jungle — The Peacock — Wide Northern Eange of the Tiger — ^ Tiger-Hunting in India — Miraculous Escape of an English Sportsman — Animals announcing the Tiger's Presence- Turtle-Huntiiig of the Tiger on the Coasts of Java — The Panther and the Leo- pard— The Leopard attracted by the Smell of Small-Pox — The Clieetah- The Hyaena — Fables told of those abject Animals — The Striped Hyaena- The Spotted Hyaena — Tlie Brown Hyaena. THE majestic form, the noble bearing, the stately stride, the fine proportions, the piercing eye, and the dreadful roar of the Lion, striking terror into the heart of every other animal, all combine to mark him with the stamp of royalty. All nerve, all nmscle, his enormous strength shows itself in the tremendous HABITS OF THE LION 467 bound with which he rushes upon his prey, in the rapid motions of his tail, one stroke of which is able to fell the strongest man to the ground, and in the expressive wrinkling of his ' row. No wonder that, ever inclined to judge from outward appearances, and to attribute to external beauty analogous qualities of mind, man has endowed the lion with a nobility of character which he in reality does not possess. P''or modern travellers, who ^^°^- have had occasion to observe him in his native wilds, far from awarding him the praise of chivalrous generosity and noble daring, rather describe him as a mean-spirited robber, prowling about at night-time in order to surprise a weaker prey. The lion is distinguished from all other members of the feline tribe by the uniform colour of his tawny skin, by the black tuft at the end of his tail, and particularly by the long and sometimes blackish mane, which he is able to bristle when under the influence of passion, and which contributes so much to the beauty of the male, while it is wanting in the lioness, who, as everyone knows, is very inferior in size and comeliness to her stately mate. His chief food consists of the flesh of the larger herbivorous animals, very few of which he is unable to master, and the swift-footed antelope has no greater enemy than he. Concealed in the high rushes on the river's bank, he lies in ambush for the timorous herd, which at night-fall approaches the water to quench its thirst. Slowly and cautiously the children of the waste advance ; they listen with ears erect, they strain their eyes to penetrate the thicket's gloom, but nothing suspicious appears or moves along the bank. Long and deeply they quaff the delicious draught, but suddenly with a giant spring, like lightning bursting from a cloud, the lion bounds upon the un- suspecting revellers, and the leader of the herd lies prostrate at his feet, while his companions fly into the desert. During the daytime the lion seldom attacks man, and some- times even when meeting a traveller he is said to pass him by unnoticed ; but when the shades of evening descend, his mood undergoes a change. After sunset it is dangerous to venture into the woody and wild regions of Mount Atlas, for there the H H 2 468 THE FELIDxE OF THE OLD WOELD lion lies in wait, and there one finds him stretched across the narrow path. It is then that dramatic scenes of absorbing in- terest not unfrequently take place. When, so say the Bedouins, a single man thus meeting with a lion is possessed of an un- daunted heart, he advances towards the monster brandishing his sword or flourishing his rifle high in the air, and, taking good care not to strike or to shoot, contents himself with pouring forth a torrent of abuse: — "Oh, thou mean-spirited thief! thou pitiful waylayer ! thou son of one that never ventured to say no ! think'st thou I fear thee ? Knowest thou whose son I am ? Arise, and let me pass ! " The lion waits till the man ap- proaches quite near to him ; then he retires, but soon stretches himself once more across the path ; and thus by many a repeated trial puts the courage of the wanderer to the test. All the time the movements of the lion are attended with a dreadful noise, he breaks numberless branches with his tail, he roars, he growls ; like the cat with the mouse, he plays with the object of his repeated and singular attacks, keeping him perpetually suspended between hope and fear. If the man engaged in this combat keeps up his courage, — if, as the Arabs express themselves, "he holds fast his soul," then the brute at last quits him and seeks some other prey. But if the lion perceives that he has to do with an opponent whose courage falters, whose voice trembles, who does not venture to utter a menace, then to terrify him still more he redoubles the described manoeuvres. He approaches his victim, pushes him from the path, then leaves him and approaches again, and enjoys the agony of the wretch, until at last he tears him to pieces. The lion is said to have a particular liking for the flesh of the Hottentots, and it is surprising with what obstinacy he will follow one of these unfortunate savages. Thus Mr. Barrow relates the adventure of a Namaqua Hottentot, who, endeavour- ing to drive his master's cattle into a pool of water enclosed between two ridges of rocks, espied a huge lion couching in the midst of the pool. Terrified at the unexpected sight of such a beast, that seemed to have his eyes fixed upon him, he instantly took to his heels. In doing this he had presence of mind enough to run through the herd, concluding that if the lion should pursue he would take up with the first beast that pre- sented itself. In this, however, he was mistaken. The lion THE HOTTENTOT AND THE LION 469 broke through the herd, making directly after the Hottentot, who, on turning round and perceivin'g that the monster had singled him out, breathless and half dead with fear, scrambled up one of the tree-aloes, in the trunk of which a few steps had luckily been cut out to come at some birds' nests that the branches contained. At the same moment the lion made a spring at him, but missing his aim, fell upon the ground. In surly silence he walked round the tree, casting at times a dread- ful look towards the poor Hottentot, who screened himself from his sight behind the branches. Having remained silent and motionless for a length of time, he at length ventured to peep, hoping that the lion had taken his departure, when to his great terror and astonishment, his eyes met those of the animal, which, as the poor fellow afterwards expressed himself, flashed fire at him. In short, the lion laid himself down at the foot of the tree, and did not remove from the place for twenty-four hours. At the end of this time, becoming parched with thirst, he went to a spring at some distance in order to drink. The Hottentot now, with trepidation, ventured to descend, and scampered oif home, which was not more than a mile distant, as fast as his feet could carry him. Another time an elderly Hottentot observed a lion following him at a great distance for two hours together. He thence naturally concluded that the lion only waited the approach of darkness in order to make him his prey ; and in the meantime expected nothing else than to serve for this fierce animal's supper, as he had no other weapon of defence than a staff. But as he was well acquainted with the nature of the lion and the manner of his seizing upon his prey, and at the same time had leisure at intervals to ponder on the ways and means in which it was most probable that his existence would be put an end to, he at length hit upon an expedient for saving his life. For this end, instead of making his way home, he looked out for a kli'p- krans, or a rocky place, level a.t top, and having a perpendicular precipice on one side of it ; and sitting down on the edge of one of these precipices, he found to his great satisfaction that the lion also made a halt, and kept the same distance as before. As soon as it grew dark, the Hottentot sliding a little forwards, let himself down below the upper edge of the precipice upon a pro- jecting part of the rock, where he could barely keep himself from 470 THE FELID^ OF THE OLD WORLD falling. But in order to deceive the lion still more, he set his hat and cloak on the stick-, making with it at the same time a gentle motion just over his head, and a little way from the edge of the mountain. This crafty expedient had the desired effect, for he did not remain long in that situation, before the lion came creeping softly towards him like a cat, and mistaking the skin-cloak for the Hottentot himself, took his leap with such exactness and precision as to fall headlong down the precipice, where he dashed out his brains upon the rock. On account as well of the devastations which he causes among the herds as of the pleasure of the chase, the lion is pursued and killed in North and in South Africa wherever he appears, a state of war which, as may well be supposed, is not without danger for the aggressive party. Thus Andersson, the well-known Swedish Nimrod, once fired upon a black-maned lion, one of the largest he ever encountered in Africa. Eoused to fury by the slight wound he had received, the brute rapidly wheeled, rushed upon him with a dreadful roar, and at the distance of a few paces, couched as if about to spring, having his head imbedded, so to say, between his fore paws. Drawing a large hunting knife, and slipping it over the wrist of his right hand, Andersson dropped on one knee, and thus prepared, awaited the onset of the lion. It was an awful moment of suspense, and his situation was critical in the extreme. Still his presence of mind (a most indispensable quality in a South African hunter) never for a moment forsook him ; indeed, he felt that nothing but the most perfect coolness and absolute self-command would be of any avail. He would now have become the assailant ; but as, owing to the inter- vening bushes and clouds of dust raised by the lion's lashing his tail against the ground, he was unable to see his head, while to aim at any other part would have been madness, he refrained , from firing. Whilst intently watching every motion of the lion, the animal suddenly made a prodigious bound; but whether it was owing to his not perceiving his intended victim, who was partially concealed in the long grass, and instinctively threw his body on one side, or to miscalculating the distance, he went clear over him, and alighted on the ground three or four paces beyond. Quick as thought Andersson now seized his advantage, and wheeling round on his knee, discharged his second barrel ; DR. LIVINGSTONE'S ESCAPE 471 and as the lion's broadside was then towards him, lodged a ball in his shoulder, which it completely smashed. The infuriated animal now made a second and more determined rush ; but owing to his disabled state was happily avoided, though only within a hair's breadth, and giving up the contest, he retreated into a neighbouring wood, where his carcase was found a few days after. Dr. Livingstone once had a still more narrow escape, for he was actually under the paws of a lion, whose fury he had roused by firing two bullets into him. " I was upon a little height ; he caught my shoulder as he sprang, and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier-dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor, similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of drowsiness in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation, but feel not the knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process ; the shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking round at the beast. This peculiar state " (a fine remark) " is probably produced in all animals killed by the carnivora ; and if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of death. Turning round to relieve myself of the weight, as he had one paw on the back of my head, I saw his eyes directed to Mebalwe, who was trying to shoot him at a distance of ten or fifteen yards. His gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels ; the lion immediately left me, and attacking Mebalwe, bit his thigh. Another man attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe. He left Mebalwe and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the bullets he had received took effect and he fell down dead. The whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been his paroxysm of dying rage. A wound from this animal's tooth resembles a gun-shot wound ; it is generally followed by a great deal of sloughing and discharge, and pains are felt in the part periodically ever afterwards. I had on a tartan jacket on the occasion, and I believe that it wiped off" all the virus from the teeth that pierced the flesh, for my two companions in this affray have both suffered from the peculiar pains, while I have escaped with only the inconvenience of a false joint in my limb. 472 THE FELID^ OF THE OLD AYORLD The man whose shoulder was wounded showed me his wound actually burst forth afresh on the same month of the following year. This curious point deserves the attention of inquirers." In the Atlas, the lion is hunted in various ways. When he prowls about the neighbourhood of a Bedouin encampment, his presence is announced by various signs : at night, his dreadful roar resounds ; now an ox, now a foal is missing from the herd ; at length even a member of the tribe disappears. Terror spreads among all the tents, the women tremble for their child- ren, everywhere complaints are heard. The warriors decree the death of the obnoxious neighbour, and congregate on horse and on foot at the appointed hour and place. The thicket in which the lion conceals himself during the daytime has already been discovered, and the troop advances, the horsemen bringing up the rear. About fifty paces from the bush they halt, and draw up in three rows, the second ready to assist the first in case of need, the third an invincible reserve of excellent marks- men. Then commences a strange and animated scene. The first row abusing the lion, and at the same time sending a few balls into his covert to induce him to come out, utters loud ex- clamations of defiance. " Where is he who fancies himself so brave, and ventures not to show himself before men ? Surely it is not the lion, but a cow^ardly thief, a son of Scheitan, on whom may Allah's curse rest ! " At length, the roused lion breaks forth. A momentary silence ensues. The lion roars, rolls flaming eyes, retreats a few paces, stretches himself upon the ground, rises, smashes the branches with his tail. The front row gives fire, the lion springs forward, if untouched, and generally falls under the balls of the second row, which immediately advances towards him. This moment, so critical for the lion whose fury is fully excited, does not end the combat till he is hit in the head or in the heart. Often his hide has been pierced by a dozen balls before the mortal wound is given, so that sometimes in case of a prolonged contest several of the hunters are either killed or wounded. The horsemen remain as passive spectators of the fray so long as the lion keeps upon hilly ground, but when driven into the plain, their part begins, and a new combat of a no less original and dramatic character commences ; as every rider, according to his zeal or courage, spurs his horse upon the monster, fires upon him at a short distance, then rapidly wheels as soon as the shot is made, LION HUNTING 473 and reloads again, to prepare for a new onset. The lion at- tacked on all sides and covered with wounds, fronts everywhere the enemy, springs forward, retreats, returns, and only falls after a glorious resistance, which must necessarily end in his defeat and death, as he is no match for a troop of well-mounted Arabs. After he has spent his power on a few monstrous springs, even an ordinary horse easily overtakes him. One must have been the witness of such a fight, says Dumas, to form an idea of its liveliness. Every rider utters loud imprecations, the white mantles that give so spectral an appearance to their dusky owners, fly in the air like " streamers long and gay," the carbines glisten, the shots resound, the lion roars ; pursuit and flight alternate in rapid succession. Yet in spite of the tumult, accidents are rare, and the horsemen have generally nothing to fear but a fall from their steed, which might bring til em under the claws of their enemy, or, what is oftener the case, the ball of an incautious comrade. The Arabs have noticed that the day after the lion has carried away a piece of cattle, he generally remains in a state of drowsy inactivity, incapable of moving from his lair. When the neighbourhood, which usually resounds with his evening roar, remains quiet, there is every reason to believe that the animal is gorged with his gluttonous repast. Then some huntsman, more courageous than his comrades, follows his trail into the thicket, levels his gun at the lethargic monster, and sends a ball into his head. Sometimes even, a hunter, relying on the deadly certainty of his aim, and desirous of acquiring fame by a display of chivalrous courage, rides forth alone into the thicket, on a moonlight night, challenges the lion with repeated shouts and imprecations, and lays him prostrate before he can make his fatal bound. Dr. Livingstone informs us that the Bushmen likewise avail themselves of the torpidity consequent upon a full meal, to surprise the lion in his slumbers: but their mode of attack is very different from that which I have described as practised by the fiery Arabs of Northern Africa. One discharges a poisoned arrow from the distance of only a few feet, while his companion simultaneously throws his skin-cloak over the beast's head. The sudden surprise makes him lose his presence of mind, and he bounds away in the greatest confusion and terror. The poison 474 THE FELID/E OF THE OLD WORLD which they use is the entrails of a caterpillar named N'gwa, half an inch long. They squeeze out these, and place them all around the bottom of the barb, and allow the poison to dry in the sun. "They are very careful in cleaning their nails after working with it, as a small portion introduced into a scratch acts like morbid matter in dissection wounds. The agony is so great that the person cuts himself, calls for his mother's breast, as if he were returned in idea to his childhood again, or flies from human habitations a raging maniac. The effects on the lion are equally terrible. He is heard moaning in distress, and becomes furious, biting the trees and ground in rage." The Arabs of the Atlas consider it much less dangerous to hunt the lion himself than to rob him of his young. Daily about three or four o'clock in the afternoon, the parent lions roam about, most likely to espy some future prey. They are seen upon a rising ground surveying the encampment, the smoke arising from the tents, the places where the cattle is preserved, and soon after retire with a deep growl. During this absence from their den, the Bedouins cautiously approach to seize the young, taking good care to gag them, as their cries would infallibly attract the parent lion. After a razzia like this, the whole neighbourhood increases its vigilance, as for the next seven or eight days the fury of the lion knows no bounds, and it would then not be well to meet his eye. In ancient times, the lion was an inhabitant of south-eastern Europe. Herodotus relates that troops of lions came do^vn the Macedonian mountains, to seize upon the baggage camels of Xerxes' army, and even under Alexander the Great, the animal, though rare, was not yet completely extirpated. In Asia also, where the lion is at present confined to Mesopo- tamia, the northern coast of the Persian Gulf, and the north- western part of Hindostan, he formerly roamed over far more extensive domains. The Asiatic lion differs from the African, by a more compressed form of body, a shorter mane, which sometimes is almost entirely wanting, and a much larger tuft of hair at the end of the tail. Africa is the chief seat of the lion, the part of the world where he appears to perfection with all tlie attributes of his peculiar strength and beauty. There he is found in the wilds of the Atlas as in the high mountain-lands of Abyssinia, from THE TIGER 475 the Cape to Senegal, and from Mozambique to Congo, and more than one species of the royal animal, not yet accurately distin- guished by the naturalists, roams over this vast expanse. The lion is frequently brought to Europe, and forms one of the chief objects of attraction in zoological gardens. When taken young, he easily accustoms himself to captivity, and even propagates within his prison bounds, but the cubs born in our climate generally die young. He is not difficult to tame, shows himself thankful towards his keepers, and lives with them upon so friendly a footing, that they stroke and play with him. There are many examples of lions having spared the life of dogs that had been thrown into their dens for food, and of the strongest affection having been formed between them. One of these couples existed a few years ago, in the Zoological Gardens at Antwerp, and it was most interesting to see the mighty African throwing himself on his back, and playfully tossing his tiny friend between his enormous paws. The dog — a regular spoilt child — frequently plagued his mighty comrade, though without ever making him impatient or angry. Tager. The lion reigns in Africa, but the Tiger is lord and master of the Indian jungles. A splendid ani- mal — elegantly striped with black on a white and golden ground ; graceful in every movement, but of a most sanguinary and cruel nature. The lengthened body resting on short legs wants the proud bearing of the lion, while the naked head, the wildly rolling eye, the scarlet tongue^ constantly lolling from the jaws, and the whole expression of the tiger's physiognomy indicate an in- satiable thirst of blood, a pitiless fero- city, which he wreaks indiscriminately on every living thing that comes within his grasp. In the bamboo jungle on the banks of pools and rivers, he waits for the approaching herd ; there he seeks his prey, or rather multiplies his murders, for he often leaves the carcase of the axis or the nylghau still writhing in the agony of death to throw himself upon new 476 THE FELID.E OF THE OLD WORLD victims, whose bodies he rends with his claws, and then phmges his head into the gaping wound to absorb with deep and luxu- rious draughts the blood whose fountains he has just laid open. Nothing can be more delightful than the aspect of a Javanese savannah, to which clumps of noble trees, planted by Nature's hand, impart a park-like character ; yet even during the daytime, the traveller rarely ventures to cross these beau- tiful wilds without being accompanied by a numerous retinue. In Italy armed guards are necessary to scare the bandit; here the tiger calls for similar pre- cautions. The horses frequently stand still, trembling all over, when their road leads them along some denser patch of the jungle, rising like an island from the grassy plain, for their acute scent informs them that a tiger lies concealed in the thicket, but a few paces from their path. It is a remarkable fact that the peacock and the tiger are so frequently seen together. The voice of the bird is seldom heard during the daytime, but as soon as the shades of evening begin to veil the landscape, his loud and disagreeable screams awaken the echoes, announcing, as the Javanese say, that the tiger is setting forth on his murderous excursions. Then the traveller carefully bolts the door of his hut, and the solitary Javanese retreats to his palisadoed dwelling, for the tyrant of the wilderness is abroad. At night his dreadful roar is heard, sometimes accompanied by the peacock's discordant voice. Even in the villages, thinly scattered among the grass or aJang-wilds of Java, there is no security against his attacks, in spite of the strong fences with which they are enclosed, and the watch fires carefully kept burning between these and the huts. During Junghuhn's sojourn in Tjurug Negteg (August, 1851) more than one family deplored the loss of a member. The monotonous, dreary neighbourhood and the depressed spirits of the wretched inhabitants, equally persecuted by tigers and poverty, made a melancholy impression on the naturalist, who hastened to leave the gloomy spot. At night when he had been delayed on his journey, he often saw the eyes of the tiger glistening like balls of fire through TIGER HUNTING 477 the darkness. Then the horses trembled and " shook like the aspen leaves in wind," but loud screams constantly repelled the brute, who was perhaps no less afraid of the superiority of man. India, South China, Sumatra, and Java, are the chief seats of the tiger, who is unknown both in Ceylon and Borneo, while to the north he ranges as far as Mandschuria and the Upper Obi, and Jennisei (55° — 56° N. lat.). A species of tiger identical with that of Bengal is common in the neighbourhood of Lake Aral, near Sussac (45° N. lat.), and Tennant mentions that he is found among the snows of Mount Ararat in Armenia. As Hindostan is separated from these northern tiger haunts by the great mountain chains of Kuen-Lun (35° N.), and of Mouztagh (42° N. lat.), each covered with perpetual snows, mere summer excursions are quite out of the question, and it is evident that the animal is able to live in a much more rigorous climate than is commonly imagined. Even in India the tiger is by no means- confined to the sultry jungle, for we learn from Mr. Hodgson's account of the mammalia of Nepaul, that in the Himalaya he is sometimes found at the very edge of perpetual snow. If the French boast of their lion-killer Gerard, England possesses in Colonel Eice a no less bold and dexterous tiger- slayer, who, in the space of five campaigns (1850 — 1854) destroyed no less than sixty-eight of these formidable brutes and wounded a great many more. The gallant sportsman's work * contains, besides an account of his personal adventures, many excellent remarks on the habits of the animal, whom he so often encountered in his native wilds. Tiger-hunting is a chief pleasure of the Indian rajahs and zemindars, who, anxious that their favourite amusement may suffer no diminution, forbid anyone else to chase on their domains, however much their poor vassals may have to suffer in consequence. But the delight they take in tiger-shooting never leads these cautious Nimrods so far as to endanger their precious persons. On some trees of the jungle a scaffolding is prepared, at a ludicrous height for his Highness, who, at the appointed hour makes his appearance with all the pomp of a petty Asiatic despot. The beating now begins, and is executed by a troop of miserable peasants, who most unwillingly submit to this forced and unpaid labour, which is the more dangerous for them as * Tiger Shooting in India. 478 THE FELID^ OF THE OLD WORLD they are dispersed on a long line, instead of forming a troop, the only way to secure them against the attacks of the tiger. Thus they advance with a dreadful noise of drums, horns and pistol-firing, driving the wild beasts of the jungle towards the scaffolding of their lord and master. At first the tigers, startled from their slumbers, retreat before them, but generally on approaching the scaffolding they guess the danger that awaits them and turn with a formidable growl upon the drivers. Sometimes, however, they summon resolution to rush with a few tremendous bounds through the perilous pass, and their flight is but rarely impeded by the ill-aimed shots of the ambuscade. Nevertheless, great compliments are paid to the noble sportsman for his ability and courage, and nobody says a word about the poor low-born wretches, that may have been killed and muti- lated by the infuriated brutes. Our gallant countryman managed his tiger-shooting excur- sions on a very different plan. Provided with excellent double- barrelled rifles, and accompanied by a troop of well-armed, well-paid drivers, and a number of courageous dogs, he boldly entered the jungle to rouse the tiger from his lair. In front of the party generally marched the shikarree or chief driver, who attentively reconnoitring the traces of the animal, pointed out the direction that was to be followed. On his right and left hand walked the English sportsmen, fully prepared for action, and behind them the most trustworthy of their followers, with loaded rifles ready for an exchange with those that had been discharged. Then followed the music, consisting of four or five tambour ins, a great drum, cymbals, horns, a bell, and the re- peated firing of pistols, and convoyed by men armed with swords and long halberds. A few slingsmen made up the rear, who were constantly throwing stones into the jungle over the heads of the foremost of the party, and even more effectually than the noise of the music drove the tiger from his retreat. From time to time one of the men climbed upon the summit of a tree to observe the movements of the grass. The whole troop constantly formed a close body. The tiger in cold blood is never able to attack a company that announces itself in so turbulent a manner. If he ventures it is only with half a heart; he hesitates, stops at a short distance, and gives the hunter time to salute him with a bullet. TIGER HUNTING 479 While strictly following an order of march like the one described, the drivers run little risk, even in the thickest jungle-; but the difficulty is to keep them together, as the least success immediately tempts them to disperse. On one of these hunting expeditions Ensign Elliott, a friend of the Colonel's, had an almost miraculous escape. Accompanied by about forty drivers they had entered a jungle, which did not seem to promise much sport, and had mounted with their rifles upon some small trees to await the issue of the explorations, when suddenly their people roused a beautiful tiger, who ad- vanced slowly towards them. They remained perfectly silent, but one of their followers posted upon another tree, and fearing they might be surprised by the animal, called out to them to be upon their guard. This was enough to make the tiger change his direction, so that they had scarcely time to send a bullet after him. His loud roar announced that he was wounded, but the distance was already too great to admit of his being effectually hit a second time, so that the impatient sportsmen now pursued him with more eagerness than caution. At the head of their troop, they marched through the jungle, follow- ing the bloody trail of the animal, until at length they emerged into an open country, when all further traces were lost. In vain some of their people climbed upon the highest trees, nothing was to be perceived either in the bushes or in the high grass. Meanwhile the Englishmen slowly walked on, about twenty paces in advance, attentively gazing upon the ground, when suddenly with a terrific roar the tiger bounded upon Colonel Eice from a hollow, concealed beneath the herbage. The gallant sportsman had scarcely time to fire both his barrels at the head of the monster, who diverted from the attack by this warm reception, now made an enormous spring at Ensign Elliott before he had time to aim. All this was the work of a moment, for on turning towards the tiger, the Colonel saw* his unfortunate friend prostrate under the paws of the furious brute. Immediately the shikarree with admirable coolness handed him a freshly loaded rifle ; he discharged one of the barrels without effect, but v^^as then obliged to pause, as the tiger had seized his friend by the arm and was dragging him towards the hole from whence he had sprung forth. Thus it was 480 THE FELID.E OF THE OLD WORLD absolutely necessary that the next shot should hit the animal in the brain, as any other wound not immediately fatal would only have increased its fury. Closely following the tiger, and watching all his movements with the most intense attention, the Colonel, after having aimed several times, at length fired and hit the temple of the tiger, who fell over his victim a lifeless corpse. Fortunately, the Ensign was not mortally wounded, the stroke of the tiger's paw, which had been aimed at his head, having been parried by his rifle. The blow, however, had been so furious, as to flatten the trigger, and thus he escaped with a terrible wound in the arm. The tiger is particularly fond of dense willow or bamboo bushes on swampy ground, as he there finds the cool shades he requires for his rest during the heat of the day, after his noctur- nal excursions. It is then very difficult to detect him, but the other inhabitants of the jungle, particularly the peacock and the monkey, betray his presence. The scream of the former is an infallible sign that the tiger is rising from his lair ; and the monkeys, who during the night are so frequently surprised by the panther or the boa, never allow their watchfulness to be at fault during the day. They are never deceived in the animal, which slinks into the thicket. If it is a deer or a wild boar, they re- main perfectly quiet, but if it is a tiger or a panther, they utter a cry, destined to warn their comrades of the approach of danger. When, on examining a jungle, the traveller sees a monkey quietly seated on the branches, he may be perfectly sure that no dangerous animal is lurking in the thicket. During the night the cry of the jackal frequently announces the tiger's pres- ence. When one of these vile animals is no longer able to hunt from age, or when j^ ^^^ he has been expelled from his troop, he is said to become the provider of the tiger, who, after having satiated himself on the spoil, leaves the remains to his famished scout. Though the male-tiger ventures to attack the buffalo, an animal equally distinguished by courage and strength, the female, even when pressed by hunger, refrains from the perilous con- test. A single buff'alo may find it difficult to withstand the THE TIGER 481 sharp claws and furious onset of the formidable brute ; but when he belong.! to a herd, his companions immediately come to his assistance and put the tiger to flight. The Indian herdsmen, riding on a buffalo of their herd, are therefore not in the least afraid of entering the jungles that are infested by tigers. Colonel Eice once saw a troop of buf- faloes, excited by the blood of a tiger he had wounded, throw themselves furiously into the thicket where the beast had sought lefuge, beat about the bushes, and tear up the ground with their horns. Their rage became at length so ungovernable that they ])egan to fight among each other, to the great despair of the herdsmen. The she-buffalo is more timid, and knows not how to defend herself. Thus the tiger loves to steal upon her when alone, springs upon her, knocks her down with a stroke of his fore-paws, tears open her throat, and rejoices in the gushing streams of her blood. As soon as the tiger has strangled his prey, the carrion .vultures come flying in troops from a great distance. The jackals also assemble, and when the satiated monster retires, begin to fight with the vultures for the bloody remains. The birds are soon driven away, but they ultimately enjoy the picking of the bones, on which the jackals, who are not such expert dissectors, have left them many a delicate morsel. The tiger, who on the declivities of the Himalaya tears to pieces the swift footed antelope, lacerates on the desert sand coasts of Java the tardy tortoise, when at nightfall it leaves the sea to lay its eggs in the drift-sand at the foot of the dunes. " Hundreds of tortoise skeletons lie scattered about the strand, many of them five feet long and three feet broad ; some bleached by time, others still fresh and bleeding. High in the air a number of birds of prey wheel about, scared by the traveller's approach. Here is the place where the turtles are attacked by the wild dogs. In packs of from tw^enty to fifty, the growling rabble assails the poor sea animal at every accessible point, gnaws and tugs at the feet and at the head, and succeeds by united efforts in turning the huge creature upon its back. Then the abdominal scales are torn off, and the ravenous dogs hold a bloody meal on the flesh, intestines and eggs of their de- fenceless prey. Sometimes, however, the turtle escapes their rage, I I 482 THE FELID^ OF THE OLD WOKLD and dragging its lacerating tormentors along with it, succeeds in regaining the friendly sea. Nor do the dogs always enj(>y an undisturbed repast, often during the night, the Mord of tljc wilderness,' the royal tiger, bursts out of the forest, pauses for a moment, casts a glance over the strand, approaches slowly, and then with one bound, accompanied by a terrific roar, springs among the dogs, scattering the howling band like chaff before the wind. And now it is the tiger's turn to feast ; but even he, though rarely, is sometimes disturbed by man. Thus on tliis lonely, melancholy coast, wild dogs and tigers wage an unequal war with the inhabitants of the ocean." * After the tiger and the lion, the Panther and the Leopard are the mightiest felidse of the Old World. Although differently spotted, the ocelli or rounded marks on the panther being larger and more distinctly formed, they are probably only varieties of one and the same species, as many intermediate individuals have been observed. Both animals are widely diffused through the tropical regions of the Old World, being natives of Africa, Persia, China, India, and many of the Indian islands; so that they have a much more extensive range than either the tiger or the lion. The manner in which they seize their prey, lurking near the sides of woods, and darting forward with a sudden spring, resembles that of the tiger, and the chase of the panther is said to be more dangerous than that of the lion, as it easily climbs the trees and pursues its enemy upon the branches. According to Sir J. E. Tennent, the panthers or leopards of Ceylon are strongly attracted by the peculiar odour which accompanies small-pox. The reluctance of the natives to ex- pose themselves or their children to vaccination exposes the island to frightful visitations of this disease ; and in the villages in the interior it is usual on such occasions to erect huts in the jungle to serve as temporary hospitals. Towards these the leopards are certain to be allured ; and the medical officers are obliged to resort to increased precautions in consequence. The Cheetah, or hunting leopard (Gueparda juhata, guttata), which inhabits the greater part both of Asia and Africa, exhibits in its form and habits a mixture of the feline and canine tribes. * Tlie Sea and its Living "Womlers, p. 154. THE HY^NA 433 Kesembling the panther by its spotted skin, it is more elevated on its legs and less flattened on the fore part of its head. Its brain is more ample, and its claws touch _^^^ the ground while walking like those of J^^k^^^^^ the dog, which it resembles still further ^mhIRB^ ])y its mild and docile nature. In India Jiiv8H?^j^R^ and Persia, where the Cheetahs are em- '^'^JjLz:' «^J^S... . ]>loyed in the chase, they are carried '"" The ch "t h cliained and hoodwinked to the field in low cars. When the hunters come within view of a herd of antelopes, the Cheetah is liberated, and the game is pointed out to him: he does not, however, immediately dash forward in pursuit, but steals along cautiously till he has nearly approached the herd unseen, when with a few rapid and vigorous bounds, he darts on the timid game and strangles it almost instantane- ously. Should he, however, fail in his first efforts and miss his pre}^, he attempts no pursuit, but returns to the call of his master, evidently disappointed, and generally almost breath- loss. While the sanguinary felidae may justly be called the eagles, the carrion-feeding Hysenas are the vultures, among the four- footed animals. Averse to the light of day, like the owl and the bat, they conceal themselves in dark caverns, ruins, or lairrows, as long as the sun stands above the horizon, but at night-fall they come forth from their gloomy retreats with a lamentable howl or a satanic laugh, to seek their disgusting food on the fields, in churchyards, or on the borders of the sea. From the prodigious strength of their jaws and their teeth, they are not only able to masticate tendons, but to crush car- tilages and bones ; so that carcases almost entirely deprived of flesh still provide them with a plentiful banquet. Though their nocturnal habits and savage aspect have ren- dered them an object of hatred and disgust to man, they seem destined to fill up an important station in the economy of nature, by cleansing the earth of the remains of dead animals, which might otherwise infect the atmosphere with pestilential effluvia. Among other fabulous qualities, a courage has been attri- buted to the hya3na which is completely alien to his base and grovelling nature. Far from venturing to attack the panther, 112 484 THE FELID^ OF THE OLD WORLD or putting even the lion to flight, as Kampfer pretended to have seen, he is in reality a most pusillanimous creature, and cau- tiously avoids a contest with animals much weaker than himself. Although his jaws are strong, he has not the sharp retractile claws of the felidae, nor their formidable spring, his hind legs being comparatively feeble, and thus he can hardly become dangerous to the herds, though Bruce assures us that the hyaenas destroyed many of his mules and asses. In Barbary, the Arabs pursue the hyaenas on horseback, and run them down with their greyhounds, never thinking of wast- ing their powder on so abject a game. They are held in such contempt, that huntsmen will fearlessly penetrate into the caverns where they are known to sojourn, first carefully stopping the opening with their burnus, to keep out the light of day. They then advance towards the snarling brute, address it in menacing language, seize and gag it, without its venturing upon the least resistance, and cudgel the animal out of the den. The rough and ugly hide of the hyaena is but of little value, and in many tents its sight is not even tolerated, as so unworthy a spoil could only bring misfortune to its owner. The intractability of the hyaena is as fabulous as his courage or his cruelty. On the contrary, he is very easily tamed, and may be rendered as docile as the dog himself. The striped hyaena is a native of Asiatic Turkey, Syria, and North Africa, as far as the Senegal, while the spotted hyaena ranges over South Africa, from the Cape to Abyssinia. Both species at- tain the size of the wolf, and have similar habits. As the shark follows the ship, or the crow the caravan, they striped Hyaena ^^^ ^^^^ *^ hovcr about the march of armies, as if taught by instinct that they have to expect the richest feast from the insanity of man. The moonlight falling on the dark cypresses and snow-; white tombs of the Oriental churchyards not seldom shines upon hungry hyaenas, busily employed in tearing the newly- buried corpses from their graves. A remarkable peculiarity of the spotted hyaena is that when he first begins to run he appears lame, so that one might almost THE HYAENA 485 fancy one of his legs was broken ; but after a time this halting disappears, and he proceeds on his course very swiftly. " One night, in Maitsha," says Bruce, " being very intent on observation, I heard something pass behind me towards the bed, but upon looking round could perceive nothing. Having finished what I was then about, I went out of my tent, intending directly to return, which I immediately did, when I perceived large blue eyes glaring at me in the dark. I called upon my servant for a light, and there was a hysena standing nigh the head of the bed, with two or three large bunches of candles in his mouth. To have fired at him, I was in danger of breaking my quadrant or other furniture; and he seemed, by keeping the candles steadily in his mouth, to wish for no other prey at that time. As his mouth was full, and he had no claws to tear with, I was not afraid of him, but with a pike struck him as near the heart as I could judge. It was not till then he showed any sign of fierceness, but upon feeling his wound he let drop the candles and endeavoured to run up the shaft of the spear to arrive at me, so that in self-defence I was obliged to draw a pistol from my girdle and shoot him, and nearly at the same time my servant cleft his skull with a battle-axe." The brown hyaena, which is found in South Africa, from the Cape to Mozambique and Senegambia, and has a more shaggy fur than the preceding species, has very different habits. He is particularly fond of the crustacese which the ebbing flood leaves behind upon the beach, or which the storm casts ashore in great quantities, and exclusively inhabits the coasts, where he is known under the name of the sea-shore wolf. His traces are everywhere to be met with on the strand, and night after night he prowls along the margin of the water, carefully examining the refuse of the retreating ocean. 486 I CHAPTEK XLII. THE FELID^ OF THE NEW WOELD. The Jagxiar — His Boldness — Jaguar Hunting — Heroic Conflict of Three Brazilian Herdsmen with a Jaguar — The Couguar, or the Puma — His Cowardice — The Ocelot. THE same radical differences which draw so wide a line of demarcation between the simise of the Old and the New World are found also to distinguish the feline races of both hemispheres, so that it would be as vain to search in the American forests and savannas for the Numidian lion, or the striped tiger, as on the banks of the Ganges or the Senegal for the tawny puma, or the spotted jaguar. While in the African plains -the swift-footed spring-bok, or the koodoo, unrivalled among the antelopes for his bold and widely-spreading horns, falls under the impetuous bound of the panther — or while the tiger and the buffalo engage in mortal combat in the Indian jungle — the blood-thirsty Jaguar, concealed in the high grass of the American llanos, lies in wait for the wild horse or the passing steer. The arrival of the Spaniards in the New World, so destructive to most of the Indian tribes with whom they Jaguar. Came into contact, was beneficial at least to the large felidae of tropical America, for they first introduced the horse and the ox into the western hemisphere, where these useful animals, finding a new and congenial home in the boundless savannas and pampas, which extend almost uninterruptedly from the Apure to Pata- gonia, have multiplied to an incredible extent. Since then th# jaguar no longer considers the deer of the woods, the graceful agouti, or the; slow capybara as his chief prey, but rejoices ia. THE JAGUAR 487 the blood of the steed or ox, and is much more commonly met with in the herd-teeming savannas than in the comparatively meagre hunting-grounds of the forest. Of all the carnivora of the New World, perhaps with the sole exception of the grisly and the polar bears, the tyrants of the North American solitudes, the jaguar is the most formidable, resembling the panther by his spotted skin, but almost equalling the Bengal tiger in size and power. He roams about at all times of the day, swims over broad rivers, and even in the water proves a most dangerous foe, for when driven to extremities he fre- quently turns against the boat, -and forces his assailants to seek their safety by jumping overboard. Many an Indian, while wandering through thinly populated districts, where swampy thickets alternate with open grass plains, has been torn to pieces by the jaguar, and in many a lonely plantation the inhabitants hardly venture to leave their enclosures after sunset, for fear of his attacks. During Tschudi's sojourn in Northern Peru, a j"aguar penetrated into the hut of an Englishman who had settled in those parts, and dragging a boy of ten years out of his hammock, tore him to pieces and devoured him. Far from being afraid of man, this ferocious animal springs upon him when alone, and when pressed by hunger will even venture during the day time into the mountain villages to seek its prey. The distinguished traveller whom I have just quoted mentions the case of an Indian in the province of Vito, who hearing during the night his only pig most piteously squeaking, rose to see what was the matter, and found that a jaguar had seized it by the head and was about to carry it away. Eager to rescue his property, he sprang forward, and seizing the pig by the hind legs, disputed its possession with the beast of prey, that with eyes gleaming through the darkness, and a ferocious growd, kept tugging at its head. This strange struggle between the undaunted Indian and the jaguar lasted for some time, until the women coming out of the hut with lighted torches put to flight the monster, which slowly retreated into the forest. The same traveller relates that in some parts the jaguars had increased to such a degree, and proved so destructive to the inhabitants, that the latter were obliged to emigrate, and settle in less dangerous districts. Thus, the village of Mayunmarca, near the road from Huanta to Anco, had been long since 488 THE FELID^ OF THE NEW WOELD abandoned, and the neighbourhood was still considered so danger- ous that few Indians ventured to travel through it alone. The chase of these formidable animals requires great caution^ yet keen sportsmen will venture, single-handed, to seek the jaguar in his lair, armed with a blow-pipe and poisoned arrows, or merely with a long and powerful lance. The praise which is due to the bold adventurers for their courage is, however, too often tarnished by their cruelty. Thus, a famous jaguar hunter once showed Poppig a large cavity under the tangled roots of a giant bombax-tree, where he had some time back discovered a female jaguar with, her young. Dexterously rolling down a large stone, he closed the entrance, and then with fiendish delight slowly smoked the animals to death, by applying fire from time to time to their dungeon. Having lost one half of his scalp in a previous conflict with a jaguar, he pleaded his sufferings as an excuse for his barbarity. To attack these creatures with a lance, a sure arm, a cool determined courage, and great bodily strength and dex- terity are required, but even these qualities do not always ensure success if the hunter is unacquainted with the artifices of the animal. The jaguar generally waits for the attack in a sitting posture, turning one side towards the assailant, and, as if unconcerned, moves his long tail to and fro. The hunter, carefully observing the eye of his adversary, repeatedly menaces him with slight thrusts of his lance, which a gentle stroke of the paw playfully wards off; then seizing a favourable moment, he suddenly steps forward and plunges his weapon into his side. If the thrust be well aimed, a second is not necessary, for pressing with his full w^eight on the lance, the huntsman enlarges and deepens the mortal wound. But if the stroke is parried or glances off, the jaguar, roused to fury, bounds on his aggressor, whose only hope now lies in the short knife which he carries in his girdle. All those that have escaped from one of these death-struggles affirm that the breath of the enraged animal is of a suffocating heat, with a smell like that of burning capsicum, and that its pestilential contact produces an inflammation of the throat, which lasts for several days. Those who are less inclined to desperate conflicts destroy the jaguar by poisoned pieces of meat, or else they lay pitfalls for him, when they kill him without running JAGUAR-HUNTING 489 any personal risk. Like the cayman, the jaguar, after having once tasted the flesh of man, is said to prefer it to anything else. During his first solitary journeys through the American wilds, the traveller's sensations, on meeting with the fresh foot- marks of the monster, are like those of Eobinson Crusoe when he discovered the vestiges of the savage on the beach of his lonely island ; but as the animal itself very rarely crosses the wan- derer's path, he at length becomes completely indifferent, and roams about the wilderness as unconcernedly as if no beasts of prey existed under the forest shade, or among the high grasses of the savannah. During his long residence in Yuarmangua Poppig met but one jaguar, who, not deeming it advisable to engage in hostilities, slowly retreated into the woods. In the Brazilian campos great devastations are caused among the herds by the jaguar, who has strength enough to drag an ox to some distance. He frequently kills several bul- locks in one night, and sucks their blood, leaving their flesh for a future repast. When, after having satiated himself, he retires to a neigh})ouring thicket, the vaqueros or herdsmen follow his bloody trail with their hoimds, and as soon as the jaguar sees the pack approach, he seeks to climb the inclined trunk of a tree, and is then shot down from his insecure station. But the chase does not always terminate without accident or loss of life, as very strong jaguars will face the dogs, kill several of them, and frequently carry them away and devour them. While Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied was travelling through the campos, he heard of the heroic conflict of three vaqueros with a monstrous jaguar that had never been known to re- treat. One day, while following their herds through the woods, their dogs discovered the fresh foot-prints of the beast, and following the scent, soon brought it to a stand. Armed merely with their long lance-like varas, the bold men did not long deliberate, but resolutely advanced towards the jaguar, who stood confronting the dogs, and immediately bounding upon his new antagonists, w^ounded them one after the other, though not without receiving repeated thrusts of their lances and knives. The least determined of the three, appalled by his wounds, at first retreated, but seeing the boldest of his companions lying, prostrate under the paws of the monster, his courage revived, 490 THE FELID^E OF THE NEW WORLD and the attack being vigorously renewed, the jaguar was at length killed. The bleeding and exhausted heroes were hardly able to crawl home in the evening. They pointed out the spot where they had fought, and where the jaguar was found swimming in his blood, surrounded by the dogs which he had torn to pieces. There is a black variety of the jaguar, on whose dark skin the ring-formed spots are still visible, and which is said to surpass the common species in size and ferocity. The Couguar, or the Puma, as he is called by the Indians, is far inferior to the jaguar in courage, and consequently far less dangerous to man. On account of his brownish- red colour and great size, being the largest felis of the new world, he has Puma. also been named the American lion, but he has neither the mane nor the noble bearing of the " king of animals." In spite of his strength he is of so cowardly a disposition that he invariably takes to flight at the approach of man, and consequently in- spires no fear on being met with in the wilderness; while even the boldest hunter instinctively starts back, when, winding through the forest, he suddenly sees the sparkling eye of the jaguar intently fixed upon him. The puma has a much wider range than the jaguar, for while the latter reaches in South America only to the forty-fifth degree of latitude, and does not rove northwards beyond Sonora and New Mexico, the former roams from the Straits of Magellan to the Canadian lakes. The jaguar seldom ascends the mountains to a greater height than 3,000 feet, while in the warmer lateral valleys of the Andes the puma frequently lies in ambush for the vicunas at an elevation of 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. He can climb trees with great facility, ascending even vertical trunks, and, like the lynx, will watch the opportunity of springing on such animals as happen to pass beneath. No less cruel than cowardly, he will destroy without necessity forty or fifty sheep when the occasion offers, and content himself with licking the blood of his victims. When caught young, he is easily tamed, and, like the common cat, shows his fondness at being caressed by the same kind of gentle purrings. THE OCELOT 491 Tschudi informs us that the Indians of the northern provinces frequently bring pumas to Lima, to show them for money. They either lead them by a rope, or carry them in a sack upon their back, until the sight-seers have assembled in sufficient number. Besides the puma or the jaguar, tropical America pos- sesses the beautifully variegated Ocelot {Fells pardalis) ; the Oscollo (F, celi- dogaster) ; the spotless, black-grey Ja- guarundi (i^. jaguarundi), which is not much larger than the European wild cat ; the long-tailed, striped, and spotted Margay or Tiger-cat, and several other felidse. All these smaller species hardly ever become dangerous to man, but they cause the death of many an acouchi and cavy ; and, with prodigious leaps, the affrighted monkey flies from their approach into the deepest recesses of the forest. Ocelot. 492 CHAPTER XLIII. THE SLOTH. Miserable Aspect of the Sloth — His Beautiful Organisation for his Peculiar Mode of Life — His Kapid Movements in the Trees — His Means of Defence — His Tenacity of Life — Fable about the Sloth refuted— The Ai— The Unau— The Mylodon Robustus. " rPHE piteous aspect, the sorrowful gestures, the lamentable X cry of the Sloth, all combine to excite commiseration. While other animals assemble in herds, or roam in pairs through the boundless forest, the sloth leads a lonely life in those im- measurable solitudes, where the slowness of his movements exposes him to every attack. Harmless and frugal, like a pious an- / chorite, a few coarse leaves are all he asks for his support. On comparing him with other animals, you would say that his de- formed organisation was a strange mixture The Sloth ^^ deficiency and superabundance. He has no cutting teeth, and though possessed of four stomachs, he still wants the long intestines of ruminating animals. His feet are without soles, nor can he move his toes separately. His hair is coarse and wiry, and its dull colour reminds one of grass withered by the blasts of surly winter. His legs appear deformed by the manner in which they are attached to the body, and his claws seem disproportionably long. Surely a creature so wretched and ill-formed stands last on the list of all the four-footed animals, and may justly accuse Nature of step-motherly neglect ! " When seeing a captured sloth painfully creeping along on even ground, sighing and moaning, and scarcely advancing a few steps after hours of awkward toil, the observer might well be disposed to acquiesce in the foregoing remarks, and to fancy he k THE SLOTH 493 liad discovered a flaw among the general beauty of the Creator's works ; but let him view the animal in the situation for which it was ordained, and he will soon retract his hasty judgment, and discover it to be no less perfect in its kind, and no less admirably fitted for its sphere of existence, than the most highly organised of the mammalian tribes. For the sloth, in his wild state, spends his whole life in the trees, and never once touches the earth but through force or by accident. Like the monkey, he has been formed for an exclu- sively sylvan life, high above the ground, in the green canopy of the woods ; but while the nimble simiaj constantly live upon the branches, the sloth is doomed to spend his whole life under them. He moves, he rests, he sleeps suspended from the boughs of trees, a wonderfully strange way of life, for which no other four-footed animal of the Old or the New World has been destined. And now examine his organisation with reference to this peculiar mode of existence, and all his seeming deficiencies and deformities will appear most admirably adapted to his wants, for these strong, muscular, preposterously long fore-feet, while the hinder extremities are comparatively short and weak, these slender toes armed with enormous claws, are evidently as well suited for clasping the rugged branch as the enormous hind legs of the kangaroo for bounding over the arid plain. Indeed, in every case, we shall find the fundamental type or idea of the four extremities belonging to the vertebrated animals most admira- bly modified according to their wants : here shortened, there prolonged ; here armed with claws, there terminating in a hoof; here coalescing to a tail, there assuming the shape of a fin ; here clothed with feathers to cleave the air, there raised to the per- fection of the human hand, the wonderful instrument of a still more wonderful intelligence ; and who, seeing all this, can pos- sibly believe that the world is ruled by chance, and not by an all-pervading and almighty power. Thus the sloth, so helpless when removed from his native haunts, is far from exhibiting the same torpidity in his move- ments when seen in the place for which Nature fitted him. " One day, as we were crossing the Essequibo," says Mr. Waterton, " I saw a large sloth on the ground upon the bank ; how he had got there nobody could tell ; the Indian said he had never surprised a sloth in such a situation before : he would 494 THE SLOTH hardly have come there to drink, for both above and below the place the branches of the trees touched the water, and afforded him an easy and safe access to it. Be this as it may, though the trees were not above twenty yards from him, he could not make his way through the sand time enough to escape before we landed. As soon as we came up to him, he threw himself upon his back, and defended himself in gallant style with his fore-legs. ' Come, poor fellow ! ' said I to him, * if thou hast got into a hobble to-day, thou shalt not suffer for it ; I '11 take no advantage of thee in misfortune ; the forest is large enough both for thee and me to rove in. Go thy ways up above, and enjoy thyself in these endless wilds ; it is more than probable thou wilt never have another interview with man. So fare thee well.' On saying this I took up a long stick which was lying there, held it for him to hook on, and then conveyed him to a high and stately mora. He ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in about a minute he was almost at the top of the tree. He now went off in a side direction, and caught hold of the branch of a neighbouring tree ; he then proceeded towards the heart of the forest. I stood looking on, lost in amazement at his singular mode of progress. I followed him with my eye till the intervening branches closed in betwixt us, and then lost sight for ever of the sloth. I was going to add that I never saw a sloth take to his heels in such earnest, but the expression will not do, for the sloth has no heels." The Indians, to whom no one will deny the credit of being acute observers of animal life, say that the sloth wanders prin- cipally when the wind blows. In calm weather he remains still, probably not liking to cling to the brittle extremity of the branches, lest they should break under his weight in passing from one tree to another ; but as soon as the breeze rises, the branches of the neighbouring trees become interwoven, and then he seizes hold of them and pursues his journey in safety. There is seldom an entire day of calm in the forests of Guiana. The trade-wind generally sets in about ten o'clock in the morning, and since the sloth, as we have just seen, is able to travel at a good-round pace when he has branches to cling to, there is nothing to prevent him making a considerable way before the sun sinks, and the wind goes down. During night, and while reposing in the day-time, the sloth THE SLOTH 495 constantly remains suspended by his feet, for his anatomy is such that he can feel comfortable in no other position. In this manner he will rest for hours together, expressing his satis- fiction by a kind of purring, and from time to time his dismal voice may be heard resounding through the forest, and awaken- ing at a distance a similar melancholy cry. The colour of the sloth's hair so strongly resembles the hue of the moss which grows on the trees, that the European finds it very difficult to make him out when he is at rest, and even the falcon-eyed Indian, accustomed from his earliest infancy to note the slightest signs of forest life, is hardly able to distinguish him from the branches to which he clings. This no doubt serves him as a -protection against the attacks of many enemies; but, far from being helpless, his powerful claws and the pecu- liarly enduring strength of his long arms, make very efficient weapons of defence against the large tree snakes that may be tempted to make a meal of him. Among other strange stories related of the sloth, it has been asserted that he lives but on the leaves of one particular tree, the cecropia, and that when he has entirely stripped it, and feels the torments of hunger, he drops upon the ground, and then with the greatest difficulty, and many a piteous moan, strives to attain the nearest cecropia that has not yet been plundered of its foliage. It is hardly necessary to point out how very improbable it is that, among the infinite variety of leaves in the primeval forest, the choice of the sloth should thus be limited to one species, and that with his great facility of locomotion in the trees he should unnecessarily subject himself to a painful fall and a most irksome journey. During his extensive wanderings in the forests of Gruiana, Schomburgk never once saw a tree that had been robbed of its verdure, though sometimes ten or twelve sloths might be seen clinging to its branches ; and Waterton even hazards a conjecture that by the time the animal had finished the last of the old leaves, there would be a new crop on the part of the tree he had stripped first, ready for him to begin again, so quick is the pro- cess of vegetation in these damp and sultry wilds. The sloth possesses a remarkable tenacity of life, and with- stands the dreadful effects of the wourali poison of the Macushi Indians longer than any other animal. Schomburgk slightly 496 THE SLOTH scratched a sloth in the upper lip, and rubbed a minimum of the venom in the wound, which did not even emit a drop of blood ; he then carried the animal to a tree, wliich it began to climb, but after having reached a height of about twelve feet, it suddenly stopped, and swinging its head about from side to side, as if uncertain which way to go, tried to continue its ascent, which, however, it was unable to accomplish. First it let go one of its fore-feet, then the other, and remained attached with its hind legs to the tree until, these also losing their power, it fell to the ground, where, without any of the convulsive motions or the oppressive breathing which generally mark the effect of the wourali, it expired in the thirteenth minute after the poison had been administered. The sloths attain a length of about two feet and a half, and form two genera — the Unaus, with two-toed fore-feet and three- toed hinder extremities, and the Ais, with three toes on each foot. The former have forty -eight ribs, the latter only thirty- two. Their way of living is the same, and their range is limited to the forests of Gruiana and the Brazils. They bring forth and suckle their young like ordinary quadrupeds, and the young sloth, from the moment of its birth, adheres to the body of its parent till it acquires sufficient size and strength to shift for itself. Sloth-like animals of colossal dimensions — Megatheriums, Mylodons — extinct long before man appeared upon the scene, inhabited the forests of South America during the tertiary ages of the world. From the dentition of the mylodon, it may be concluded that, like the sloth of the present day, this monstrous animal fed on the leaves or slender terminal twigs of trees, but while the former, from the comparatively light weight of his body, is en- abled to run along the under side of the boughs till he has reached a commodious feeding-place, the elephantine bulk of the mylodon evidently rendered all climbing utterly impossible. First scratching away the soil from the roots of the tree on whose foliage he intended to feast, he next grasped it with his long fore-legs, and rocking it to and fro, to right and left, soon brought it to the ground, for " extraordinary must have been the strength and proportions of that tree," says Professor Owen, " which in such an embrace could long withstand the efforts of its ponderous assailant.'' 497 CHAPTER XLIV. THE ANT-EATEKS OF THE NEW AND THE OLD WORLD. The Groat Ant-Bear — His Way of Licking up Termites — His Formidable Weapons — A Perfect Forest- Vagabond — His Peculiar Manner of Walking — The Smaller Ant-Eaters — The Manides — The African Orycteropi — The Armadillos — The Glyptodon — The Porcupine Ant-Eater of Australia — The Myrmecobius Fas- ciatus. rpHE great Ant-bear is undoubtedly one of the most extraor- JL dinary denizens of the wilds of South America, for that a powerful animal, measuring above six feet from the snout to the end of the tail, should live exclu- sively on ants, seems scarcely less remark- able than that the whale nourishes his enormous body with minute pteropods and medusae. The vast mouth of the leviathan of the seas has been most admirably adapted to his peculiar food, and it was not m vain that Nature gave such colossal dimensions to his head, as it was necessary to find room for a gigantic straining apparatus, in which, on rejecting the engulphed water, thousands upon thou- sands of his tiny prey might remain entangled ; but the ant-bear has been no less wonderfully armed for the capture of the minute animals on which he feeds, and if, on considering the use for which it was ordained, we become reconciled to the seeming disproportion of the whale's jaws, the small and elongated, snout-like head of the ant-bear will also appear less uncouthly formed when we reflect that it is in exact accordance with the wants of the animal. For here no deep cavity was required for the reception of two rows of powerful teeth, as in most other K K ] 498 ANT-EATERS OF THE NEW AND THE OLD WORLD quadrupeds, but a convenient furrow for a long and extensile tongue — the use of which will immediately become apparent on following the animal into the Brazilian campos, where, as we have seen in a former chapter, the wonderful cities of the white ant are dispersed over the plains in such incalculable numbers. Approaching one of these structures, the ant-bear strikes a hole through . its wall of clay, with his powerful crooked claws, and as the ants issue forth by thousands to resent the insult, stretches out his tongue for their reception. Their furious legions, eager for revenge, immediately rush upon it, and, vainly endeavouring to pierce its thick skin with their mandibles, remain sticking in the glutinous liquid with which it is lubricated from two very large glands situated below its root. When sufficiently charged with prey, the ant-bear suddenly withdraws his tongue and swallows all the insects. Without swiftness to enable him to escape from his enemies, for man is superior to him in speed ; without teeth, the posses- sion of which would assist him in self-defence ; without the power of burrowing in the ground, by which he might conceal himself from his pursuers ; without a cave to retire to, the ant-bear still ranges through the wilderness in perfect safety, and fears neither the boa nor the jaguar, for he has full reliance on his powerful fore-legs and their tremendous claws. Richard Schom- burgk had an opportunity of witnessing a young ant-bear make use of these formidable weapons. On the enemy's approach it assumed the defensive, but in such a manner as to make the boldest aggressor pause, for, rest- ing on its left fore-foot, it struck out so desperately with its right paw as would undoubtedly have torn off the flesh of any one that came in contact with its claws. Attacked from behind, it turned round with the rapidity of lightning, and on being assailed from several quarters at once, threw itself on its back, and, desperately fighting with both its fore-legs, uttered at the same time an angry growl of defiance. In fact, the ant-bear is so formidable an opponent that he is said not unfrequently to vanquish even" the jaguar, the lord of the American forests, for the latter is often found swimming in his blood, with ripped-up bowels, a woimd which, of all the beasts of the wilderness, the claws of the ant-bear are alone able to inflict. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANT-BEAR 499 On seizing an animal with these powerful weapons, he hugs it close to his body, and keeps it there till it dies through pressure or hunger. Nor does the ant-bear, in the meantime, suffer much from want of aliment, as it is a well-known fact that he can remain longer without food than perhaps any other quadru- ped, so that there is very little chance indeed of a weaker animal's escaping from his clutches. Peaceable and harmless, the ant-bear when unprovoked never thinks of attacking any other creature ; and as his interests and pursuits do not interfere with those of the more formidable denizens of the wilderness, he would, without doubt, attain a good old age, and be allowed to die in peace, if, unfortunately for him, his delicate flesh did not provoke the attacks of the large carnivora and man. To be sure, the Indian fears his claws, and never ventures to approach the wounded ant-bear until he has breathed his last ; nor can he be hunted with dogs, as his skin is of a texture that perfectly resists a bite, and his hinder parts .are effectually protected by thick and shaggy hair ; yet, armed with the dreadful wourali poison, the Indian knows how to paralyse in a few minutes his muscular powers, and to stretch him dead upon the earth. A perfect forest vagabond, the ant-bear has no den to retire to, nor any fixed abode ; his immense tail is large enough to cover his whole body, and serves him as a tent during the night, or as a waterproof mantle against the rains of the wet season, so that he might boast, like Diogenes, of carrying all he required about him. The peculiar position of his paws, when he walks or stands, is worthy of notice. He goes entirely on the outer side of his fore-feet, which are quite bent inwards, the claws collected into a point and going under the foot. In this position he is quite at ease, while his long claws are disposed of in a manner to render them harmless to him, and are prevented from becoming dull and worn, which would inevitably be the case did their points come in actual contact with the ground, for they have not that retractile power which is given to animals of the feline race, enabling them to preserve the sharpness of their claws on the most flinty path. In consequence of its resting perpetually on the ground, the whole outer side of the foot is 500 ANT-EATERS OF THE NEW AND THE OLD WORLD not only deprived of hair, but hard and callous, while, on the contrary, the inner side of the bottom of the foot is soft and hairy. The intellectual faculties of the ant-bear are said to be very feeble, and in fact a large tongue seems much more necessary to the creature than a large brain. His small cerebral develope- ment is another reason, besides his want of teeth, for the small- ness of his head, as the casket was naturally made to conform to its diminutive contents. Besides the great ant-bear, there are two other species ot American ant-eaters, one nearly the size of a fox, and the smallest not much larger than a rat. Being provided with pre- hensile tails, they are essentially arboreal, while the great ant- bear, incapable of climbing, always remains on the ground, where, thanks to the abundance of his prey, he is always sure of obtaining a sufficient supply of food with very little trouble. The Manides, Pangolins, or scaly Ant-eaters of South Africa and Asia, resemble the myrmecophagi of America in having a very long extensile tongue, furnished with a glutinous mucus for securing their insect food, and in being destitute of teeth, but differ wholly from them in having the body, limbs, and tail covered with a panoply of large imbricated scales, overlapping each other like those of the lizard tribes, and also in being able to roll themselves up when in danger, by which their trenchant scales become erect, and present a formidable defensive armour, so that even the tiger would vainly attempt to overcome the Indian pangolin {Manis pentadactyla). The manides are inoffensive animals, living wholly on ants and termites, and chiefly inhabit the most obscure parts of the forest, burrowing in the ground to a great depth, for which purpose, as also for extracting their food from ant-hills and decaying wood, their feet are armed with powerful claws, which they double up in walking, like the ant-bear of Brazil. Besides several species of manides, Africa possesses a peculiar class of ant-eaters in the Orycteropi, which are found from the Cape to Sene- gambia and Abyssinia, all over the Orycteropus Capcnsis. *= -^ xi. • r J sultry plams where tneir lood abounds. Their legs are short, and provided with claws fit for THE EARTH-HOGS 501 burrowing in the earth, which they can do with great rapidity ; and when once the head and fore-feet have penetrated into the ground, their hold is so tenacious that even the strongest man is incapable of dragging them from their hole. The Orycteropi, or earth-hogs {Aard-varks) as they are called by the boors, from their habit of burrowing and their fancied re- semblance to small short-legged pigs, have an elongated head, though less tapering than that of the American myrmecophagi, and are provided with peculiarly formed teeth, with a flat crown and undivided root, which is pierced with a multitude of little holes, like those of a ratan-cane when cut transversely, while the ant-bears have no teeth at all. Their way of feeding is the same, and to enable them to retain their nimble-footed prey, their tongue is likewise lubricated with a glutinous liquid. Their flesh is considered very wholesome and palatable, and at the Cape they are frequently hunted both by the colonists and the Hottentots. There are several species, all very much re- sembling each other : their stout body measures about five feet from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, the latter being nearly half the length of the body. The American Armadillos have many points in common with the myrmecophagi, manides, and orycteropi. They have neither fore nor canine teeth, but a number of coni- cal grinders, and are distinguished by having the upper part of their bodies defended by a complete suit of armour, divided into joints or bands, folding one ' ''^^ "^-^/jr^^^^ " ''^^ over the other like the parts of a lobster's ^°y°^ Armadillo. tail, so as to accommodate themselves to all the motions of the animal. In life this shell is very limber, so that the armadillo is able to go at full stretch, or to roll himself up into a ball as occasion may require. These animals are very common both in the forests and in the open plains of South America, where they burrow in the sand-holes like rabbits. The armadillo is seldom seen abroad during the day, and when surprised he is sure to be near the mouth of his hole ; but after sunset he sallies forth in search of roots, grain, worms, insects, and other small animals, and when disturbed, coils himself up in his 502 ANT-EATERS OF THE NEW AND THE OLD WORLD invulnerable armour like the hedge-hog, or squats close to the ground, or, if he has time enough, escapes by digging into the earth, a work which he performs with masterly dexterity. " As it often takes a considerable time to dig him out of his hole," says Mr. Waterton, " it would be a long and laborious business to attack each hole indiscriminately, without knowing whether the animal were there or not. To prevent disappointment, the Indians carefully examine the mouth of the hole, and put a short stick down it. Now if, on introducing the stick, a number of mosquitos come out, the Indians know to a certainty that the armadillo is in it; whenever there are no mosquitos in the hole, there is no armadillo. The Indian having satisfied himself that the armadillo is there by the mosquitos which come out, he immediately cuts a long and slender stick, and introduces it into the hole ; he carefully observes the line the stick takes, and then sinks a pit in the sand to catch the end of it ; this done, he puts it further into the hole, and digs another pit, and so on, till at last he comes up with the armadillo, which had been making itself a passage in the sand till it had exhausted all its strength through pure exertion. I have been sometimes three . quarters of a day in digging out one armadillo, and obliged to sink half a dozen pits, seven feet deep, before I got up to it. The Indians and negroes are very fond of the flesh, but I considered it strong and rank. "On laying hold of the armadillo, you must be cautious not to come in contact with his feet ; they are armed with sharp claws, and with them he will inflict a severe wound in self-defence : when not molested, he is very harmless and innocent ; he would put you in mind of the hare in Gray's fable : — ' Whose care was never to offend, And every creature was her friend.' " The family of the armadillos has been subdivided into no less than six genera and fifteen species^ which are chiefly distin- guished from each other by the nimiber of their shelly bands, their teeth, and their toes. They might also be conveniently divided into two tribes, the one with a long and conical tail, the other with a short caudal appendage, formed like a club. They differ greatly in size, for while the giant armadillo (Pri- THE PORCUPINE ANT-EATER 503 odontes gigas) is at least four feet long from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, the Chlamyphoims truncatus, which inhabits the province of Men- doza in the Andes, and is remarkable '^-'^ v\'^'Y^^ for its mole-like propensities, passing ,,^// -^Z^- ^^''^' the greatest part of its life under ground, -fefca^U^ scarcely measures six inches in length. But even the giant armadillo is a pigmy when compared to the extinct • 111 • 1 1.1 ,. « Gi:irib Aimadillo maii-clad animals, which at times of unknown antiquity peopled the plains of South America. Mr. Darwin saw, in the possession of a clergyman near Monte Video, the fragment of a tail of one of these monsters of the past, from which he conjectured that it must have been from six to ten feet long ; and the glyptodon, of which the College of Surgeons possesses an admirable specimen, and which, like the armadillos of the present day, was covered with a tesselated bony armour, was equal in size to the rhinoceros ! How for- midable must have been the enemies which made it necessary for an animal like this to move about with harness on its back ! The curious Echidna, or Porcupine Ant-eater {Echidna hys- trix) of Australia, is a striking instance of those beautiful gradations so fre- quently observed in the animal king- dom, by which creatures of various tribes or p-enera are blended, as it Porcvipine Echidna. were, or linked together, and of the wonderful diversity which Nature has introduced into the forms of creatures destined to a similar mode of life. It has the general appearance and external coating of the porcupine, with the mouth and peculiar generic characters of the ant- eaters. It is about a foot in length, and burrows with wonder- ful facility by means of its short muscular fore-feet and its sharp-pointed claws. When attacked, it rolls itself into a ball like the hedgehog, erecting the short, strong, and very sharp spines with which the upper parts of the body and tail are thickly coated. Australia is likewise the native country of another ant-eating 504 ANT-EATERS OB^ THE NEW AND THE OLD WORLD animal, the marsupial Myrmecobius fasciatus. It is formed like a squirrel, and is of the size of the rat ; its brown red fur, with six or seven light yellow transverse bands over the back, gives it an elegant appearance. It was discovered about thirty years ago in the neighbourhood of Swan River. Iiidiau Pangolin. Flying Foxes. CHAPTER XLV. TROPICAL BATS. Wonderful Orgiuusatlon of the Bats — The Fox-Bat — The Vampire — Its Blood- Sucking Propensities — The Vampire and the Scotchman — The Horse-Shoe Bats — The Nycteribia — The Flying Squirrel — The Galeopithecus — The Ano- malurus. WHEN the sun has disappeared below the horizon, and night falls on the landscape, which a little while ago was bathed in light, then from hollow trees, and creviced rocks, and ruined buildings, a strange and dismal race comes forth. Silently hovering through the glades of the woods, or skim- ming along the surface of the streams, it catches the crepuscular or nocturnal moths, and serves like the swallow by day to check the exuberant multiplication of the insect tribes. But while 506 TROPICAL BATS man loves the swallow, and suffers him to build his nest under the eaves of his dwelling, he abhors the bat, which like an evil spirit avoids the light of day, and seems to feel happy only in darkness. The painter gives to his angels the white pinions of the swan, while his demons are made to bear the black wings of the bat. And yet the bat, in Europe at least, is a most in- offensive creature, which, may well claim the gratitude of the farmer, from the vast number of cockchafers and other noxious insects which it destroys ; while a closer inspection of its wonderful organisation proves it to be far more deserving of admiration than of repugnance. Can anything be better adapted to its wants than the delicate membrane, which, extending over the long slim fingers, can be spread and folded like an umbrella, so as to form a wing when the animal wishes to fly, and to collapse into a small space when it is at rest ? How slight the bones, how light the body, how beautifully formed for flight ! Admire also the tiny unwebbed thumb, which serves the bat to hook itself fast while resting, or to clip off the wings of the flies or moths, which it never devours with the rest of the body. But the exquisite acuteness of the senses of smell, feeling, and hearing in the bat is still more wonderful than its delicate flying apparatus. Naturalists, more curious than humane, have blinded bats, and seen, to their astonishment, that they con- tinued to fly about, as if still possessed of the power of vision. They always knew how to avoid branches suspended in the room in which they were flitting, and even flew betwixt threads hung perpendicularly from the ceiling, though these were so near each other, that they were obliged to contract their wings in order to pass through them. To explain these wonderful phenomena, Spallanzani and other naturalists of the last century believed the bats to be endowed with a sixth sense ; but Carlyle found that, on closing the ears of the blinded creatures, they lose their wonderful power, and hit against the sides of the room, without being at all aware of their situation. How they are able to distinguish night from day, Avhen shut up in a dark box, is a fact still unexplained. As long as the sun stands above the horizon, they will remain perfectly quiet, I' THE KALONG OR FOX-BAT 507 but as soon as twilight begins to darken the earth, a strange piping and chirping and scratching is heard within the lightless dungeon, and scarcely has the lid been raised, when the prisoners rapidly escape. Though temperate Europe possesses many bats, yet they are most numerous and various in the woody regions of the tropical zone, where the vast numbers of the insect tribes and forest fruits afford them a never-failing supply of food. There also they attain a size unknown in our latitudes, so that both from their dimensions and their physiognomy, many of the larger species have obtained the name of flying-dogs or flyino-- foxes. On approaching a Javanese village, you will sometimes see a stately tree, from whose branches hundreds of large black fruits seem to be suspended. A strong smell of ammonia and a piping noise soon, however, convince you of your mistake, and a closer inspection proves them to be a large troop of Kalongs or Fox-bats {Pteropus) attached head downwards to the tree, where they rest or sleep during the day time, and which they generally quit at sunset, though some of them diflfer so much from the usual habits of the family as to fly about in the broad light of day. Many species of pteropi are found all over the torrid zone in the Old World, but they abound particularly in the East Indian archipelago. They belong to the rare quadrupeds indigenous in some of the South Sea Islands, such as Tonga or Samoa, and extend northwards as far as Japan, and southwards to Van Diemen's Land. They occasion incalculable mischief in the plantations, devouring indiscriminately every kind of fruit, from the cocoa-nut or the banana to the matchless mangosteen ; but on the other hand, the gigantic kalong of Java (Pteropus edulis), whose body attains a length of a foot and a half, and whose out- stretched wings measure no less than four feet and a half from tip to tip, is eaten and esteemed as a delicacy by the natives. The same essential differences which we observe between the monkeys of both hemispheres, are also found to exist between the large bats of the Old and the New World. Not a single pteropus is to be found in all America, while the Phyllostomidse, distinguished by the orifices of their nostrils being placed in a 508 TROPICAL BATS kind of membranous scutcheon, surmounted by a leaf-like expansion, like the head of a lance, and supposed to extend in an extraordinary degree the sense of smelling, are exclusivel} confined to the western continent. These phyllostomidse arc remarkable for their blood-sucking propensities, and under tlu3 name of vampires have brought the whole race of the large tropical bats into evil repute. Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied * often saw by moonshine, or in the twilight, the Gruandiru {Phyllostoina hctstatuvi), a bat five inches long, and measuring twenty-three inches with out- stretched wings, hover about his horses and mules while grazing after their day's journey. The animals did not seem incommoded by its presence, but on the following morning, he generally found them covered with blood from the shoulders to the hoofs. The muscular under-lip of the phyllostoma can be completely folded together in the shape of a sucking-tube, which, after the sharp canine teeth have penetrated the skin, continues to pump forth the blood. Even man himself is liable to the attacks of the larger phyllostomidse. " Some years ago," says Mr. Waterton, " I was in Demarara with a Scotch gentleman, by name Tarbet. We hung our hammocks in the thatched loft of a planter's house. Next morning I heard this gentleman muttering in his hammock, and now and then letting fall an imprecation or two, just about the time he ought to have been saying his morning prayers. ' What is the matter, Sir ? ' said I, softly : * is anything amiss ? ' ' What 's the matter ? ' answered he surlily ; ' why, the vampires have been sucking me to death.' As soon as there was light enough, I went to his hammock, and saw it much stained with blood. ' There,' said he, thrusting his foot out of the hammock, ^ see how these infernal imps have been drawing my life's blood.' On examining his foot, I found the vampire had tapped his great toe : there was a wound somewhat less than that made by a leech; the blood was still oozing from it. I conjectured he might have lost from ten to twelve ounces of blood. Whilst examining it, I think I put him into a worse humour by remarking that an European surgeon would not have been * Travels in tlic Brazils. THE PIIYLLOSTOMID^ 509 SO generous as to have blooded him without makino- a charge. He looked up in my face, but did not say a word; I saw he was of opinion that I had better have spared this piece of ill-timed levity." Captain Stedman, while in Surinam, was attacked in a similar way. "On waking about four o'clock one morning in my hammock, I was extremely alarmed at finding myself weltering in congealed blood, yet without feeling any pain whatever. Having started up, I ran for the surgeon, with a firebrand in one hand, and all over besmeared with gore, to which, if added my pale face, short hair, and tattered apparel, he might well ask the question : ' Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, Bring M-ith thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell ? ' The mystery, however, was soon solved, for I then found I had been bitten by the vampire or spectre of Guiana." Other instances of the same kind are mentioned by Tschudi, Schomburgk, Azara (who was phlebotomised no less than four times by the vampire), and other naturalists of equal repute, so that there is no reason to doubt the fact, although Prince Maximilian of Neu Wied was unable to ascertain its truth during the course of his travels. The general food of the phyllostomidae consists, however, in vespertine and nocturnal moths, and Waterton is of opinion that they also partake of vegetable food. As there was a free entrance and exit to the vampire in the loft where he slept at Mibiri Creek in Demerara, he had many a fine opportunity of paying attention to the nocturnal surgeon. When the moon shone bright, and the fruit of the banana tree was ripe, he could see him approach and eat it. He would also bring into the loft from the forest a green round fruit, something like the wild guava, and about the size of a nutmeg. There was something also in the blossom of the Sawarri nut tree which was grateful to him, for on coming up Waratella Creek in a moonlight night, he saw several vampires fluttering round the top of the Sawarri tree, and every now and then the blossoms which they had broken off, fell into the water. They certainly did not drop off 510 TROPICAL BATS naturally, for on examining several of them, they appeared quite fresh and blooming ; and so Waterton concluded the vampires pulled them from the tree, either to get at the young fruit or to catch the insects which often take up their abode in flowers. The Vampire (Phyllostonia spectrum), in general, measures about twenty-six inches from wing to wing extended, so th^^t his dimensions are not equal to those of the oriental kalong. Like the flying foxes, he may sometimes be seen in the forest hanging in clusters, head downwards, from the branch of a tree, a circumstance of which Groldsmith seems to have been aware, for in the "Deserted Village," speaking of America, he says — " And matted woods, where birds forget to sing, But silent bats in drowsy clusters cling." Some of the phyllostomidse have a tongue once as long again as the head, and armed at the extremity with recurved bristles, like that of the wood-pecker, no doubt a very sersaceable instru- ment for extracting insects from the narrow hollows and crevices of trees and rocks. The Ehinolophi or Horse-shoe Bats of the old continent, have also a more or less complicated nasal ap- pendage, or foliaceous membrane at the end of the nose, but differ- ing in its conformation, from that of the phyllo- stomidse. They are in- sectivorous, like most of their order, and none Rhmoiophus. of them seem to in- dulge in the blood- sucking propensities of the large American vampires. They chiefly inhabit the tropical regions of Africa and Asia, and more particularly the Indian archipelago, but the Rldnolophus nnihastatus ranges in Europe as far as England. Numerous genera and species of tropical bats, distinguished I THE FLYING SQUIRREL 511 from each otlier by the formation of their teeth, lips, nostrils, heads, wings, and tails, have already been classified by naturalists, but many, no doubt, still live unknown in their gloomy retreats, for who is able to follow them into the obscure nooks of the forest, or in intricate caverns, and accurately to observe them during their nocturnal rambles? It may give an idea of their vast numbers throughout the torrid zone, when we hear that in Ceylon alone about sixteen species have been identified, and of these two varieties are peculiar to the island. Unlike the sombre bats of the northern climates, the colours of some of them are as brilliant as the plumage of a bird, bright yellow, deep orange, or of a rich ferruginous brown, thus contradicting the general belief which attires nocturnal animals in vestures as dark as their pursuits. The torrid zone, which produces the largest bats, also gives birth to the tiniest representatives of the order, such as the minute Singhalese ya.riety of Scotophilus Cor oviandelicus, which is not much larger than the humble bee, and of a glossy black colour. " It is so familiar and gentle," says Sir J. E. Tennent, *' that it will alight on the cloth during dinner, and manifests so little alarm, that it seldom makes any effort to escape before a wine-glass can be inverted to secure it." The fur of this pretty little creature, like that of many other bats, is frequently found infested with a most singular insect. Unlike most parasites, which are either extremely sluggish in their movements, or even condemned to utter immobility, the velocity of the nycteribia is truly marvellous, and as its joints are so flexible as to yield in every direction, it tumbles through the fur of the bat, rotating like a wheel on the extremities of its spokes, or like the clown, in a pantomime, hurling himself forward on hands and feet alternately. To assist its mountebank move- ments, each foot is armed with two sharp hooks, with elastic pads opposed to them, so that the hair can not only be rapidly seized and firmly clasped, but as quickly disengaged as the creature whirls away in its headlong career. But the strangest peculiarity of the nycteribia is the faculty which it possesses of throwing back or inverting its head so completely, that the underside becoming uppermost, the mouth, the eyes, and the • antennae are completely hid between its shoulders, and then again 512 TROPICAL BATS projecting it forward by a sudden jerk of its long flexible neck. By means of this wonderful organisation, the nimble parasite feels completely at home in the furry coat which has been assigned to it as a pasture ground, and whisks along as easily through the hairy thicket as the monkey through the bush-ropes of the forest. Though incapable of a prolonged flight like the bats, several other tropical quadrupeds have been provided with extensions of the skin, which give them the power of supporting themselves for some time in the air, and of making prodigious leaps. Thus, by means of an expansile furry membrane reaching from the fore-feet to the hind, the Flying Squirrels (Pteromys) bound, or rather swiftly sail, to the distance of twenty fathoms or more, and thus pass from one tree to another, always directing their flight obliquely downwards. They very rarely descend to the ground, and when taken or placed on it, run or spring somewhat awkwardly with their tail elevated, beginning to climb with great activity as soon as they reach a tree. The Graleopitheci are in like manner enabled t^ take long sweeping leaps from tree to tree, by means of an extension of their skin between the anterior and posterior limbs on each side, and between the posterior limbs, including also the tail. These extraordinary animals are natives of the islands of th e Indian archipelago. They inhabit lofty trees in dark woods, to which they cling with all four extremi- ties. During the day time, they sus- pend themselves like bats from the branches, with their heads downwards, but at night they rouse themselves Galeopithecus volans. j i . • t r r :i and make an active search tor food, which consists of fruits, insects, eggs, and birds. They are inoffensive, but on attempting to seize them, they inflict a sharp scratch with their trenchant nails. The Anomaluri of the west coast of Africa, which have only been known to the world since 1842, and possess a most re- markable tail, covered on the lower surface of its base with imbricated horny scales, resemble the galeopitheci by the wing- THE ANOMALURI 513 like expansion of their skin, and no doubt the investigations I of travellers will bring to light other animals endowed with similar parachutes, for when we consider the large number of quadrupeds that have been discovered since the beginning of the century, we have every reason to believe that many still I remain unknown. Plying Foxes at rest. L L Monkeys of the Old World. CHAPTER XLVI. THE SIMI.E OF THE OLD WOELD. Forest-Life — Excellent Climbers — Bad Pedestrians — Imperfectly known to the Ancients — Similitude and Difference between the Human Kace and the Apes — The Chimpanzee — Chim in Paris — The Gorilla — The Uran — The Gibbons — -^ Siamang on Board — The Proboscis Monkey — The Huniman — TheWanderoo — The Cercopitheci — The Maimon — "Happy Jerry" — The Pig-Faced Baboon — TheDerryas — The Loris and Makis. IN the midst of tropical vegetation, the Simise lead a free forest-life, for which they might well be envied. The green canopy of the woods protects them at every season of the year from the burning rays of a vertical sun, flowers of the most delicious fragrance embalm the air they breathe, and an endless supply of fruits and nuts never allows them to know want, for should the stores near at hand be exhausted, an easy migration CLIMBING POWERS OP THE MONKEY 515 to some other district soon restores them to abundance. With an agility far surpassing that with which the sailor ascends the rigging, and climbs even to the giddy top of the highest mast, they leap from bush-rope to bush-rope, and from bough to bough, mocking the tiger-cat and the boa, which are unable to follow them in their rapid evolutions. Formed to live on trees, and not upon the ground, they are as excellent climbers as they are bad pedestrians. Both their fore and hind-feet are shaped as hands, generally with four fingers and a thumb, so that they can seize or grasp a bough with all alike. Buffon erroneously remarks of the chimpanzee, that he always walks erect, even when carrying a weight ; but this ape, as well as the other anthropomorphous simise, proves by the slow- ness and awkwardness of his movements, when by chance he walks upon even ground, that this position is by no means natural to him, or congenial to his organisation. Man alone, of all creatures, possesses an upright walk ; the ape, on the contrary, always stoops, and not to lose his equilibrium when walking, is obliged to place his hands upon the back of his head, or on his loins. Thus, in his native wilds, he rarely has recourse to this inconvenient mode of progression, and when forced by some chance or other to quit the trees, he leans while walking upon the finger-knuckles of his anterior extremities, a position which in fact very much resembles walking on all -fours. It is, indeed, only necessary to compare the long, robust, and muscular arms of the chimpanzee with his weaker and shorter hind-feet, to be at once convinced that he was never intended for walking. But see with what rapidity, with what power and grace, he moves from branch to branch, his hind-legs serving him only as holdfasts, while his chief strength is in his arms. The tree is, without all doubt, for him what the earth is for us, the air for the bird, or the water for the fish. We cannot wonder at the ancients having known but few species of simiae, as these animals chiefly belong to the torrid zone, with which the Grreeks and Eomans were so imperfectly acquainted. It is only since a wide extent of the tropical regions has been opened by trade or conquest to European research, that many of the mysteries of monkey-existence have been brought to light from the darkness of the primeval forest, and 516 THE SIMLE OF THE OLD WORLD particularly within the last twenty years, naturalists and travellers have devoted so much attention to this interesting family, that while in the year 1840 only 128 species were known, their num- bers had increased in 1852 to no less than 210, a stately list, to which, since then, many more have been added, and which even now is far from being closed. The simian of the Old World are all distinguished by the common character of a narrow septum or partition of the nose like that of man, and by the same number of teeth, each jaw being provided with ten grinders, two canine teeth, and four incisors, as in the human race. The large apes, or tailless monkeys, resemble us besides in many other respects, as well in their external appearance as in their anatomical structure ; and form, as it were, the caricature of man, both by their gestures and by glimpses of a higher in- telligence. Creatures so remarkably endowed have naturally at all times attracted a great share of attention, for if even the lowest links in the chain of animated beings lay claim to our interest, how much more must this not be the case with beings whose faculties seem almost to raise them to the rank of our relations. The question how far this similarity extends has naturally given rise to many acute investigations and been differently answered, according as naturalists were more or less inclined to depress man to the level of the ape, or to widen the gulph between them. The former, pointing to the brutality of the lowest savages, would willingly make us believe that we are nothing but an improved edition of the Uran, while the latter complacently cite in favour of their opinion, the incommensurable distance which exists between even the most degraded specimens of humanity and the most perfect quadrumana. Man alone is capable of continually progressive improvement ; in him alone each gene- ration inherits the acquirements of its fathers and transmits the growing treasure to its sons, while the ape, like all other animals, constantly remains at the same point. The lowest savage knows how to make fire ; the ape, though he may have seen the operation performed a thousand times, and have enjoyed the genial warmth of the glowing embers, will never learn the simple art. His hairy skin is a sufficient proof of his low intellect, an infallible sign that as he never would be able to provide himself with an arti- THE CHIMPANZEE 517 ficiiil clothing, Nature was obliged to protect him against the in- clemencies of the cold nights and the pouring rain. As man advances in age, his mind acquires a greater depth and a wider range. In the ape, on the contrary, signs of a livelier intelli- gence are only exhibited during youth, and as the animal waxes in years, its physiognomy acquires a more brutal expression; its forehead recedes, its jaws project, and instead of expanding to a higher perfection, its mental faculties are evidently clouded by a premature decline. Both in Africa and Asia, we find large anthropomorphous apes, but while the chimpanzee and the gorilla exclusively belong to the Afri- can wilds, the uran and the gibbons are confined to the torrid regions of South Asia. The Chimpanzee (Simia troglodytes) attains a height of about five feet, but seems much smaller from his stooping attitude. He inhabits the dense forests on the west coast of Africa, particularly near the river Gaboon, and as his travels are facilitated by his fatherland not being too far distant from Europe, there is hardly a Zoological Grarden of any note that does not exhibit a chimpanzee among its lions. One of the finest specimens ever seen was kept a few years since in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where the mild climate, agreeable diet (he drank his pint of Bordeaux daily), and lively society of the French maintained him in wonderful health and spirits. " The last time I saw him" (May, 1854), says an accomplished naturalist,* "he came out to inhale the morning air in the large circular inclosure in front of the monkey palace, which was built for our poor relations by M. Thiers. Here Chim began his day by a leisurely promenade, casting pleased and thankful glances towards the sun, the beautiful sun of early summer. *' He had three satellites, Coatimondis, either by chance or to amuse him, and while making all manner of eyes at a young lady, who supplied the Singerie with pastry and cakes, one of the coatimondis came up stealthily behind, and dealt him a * Quarterly Eeviow, 1855, p. 22. 518 THE SIMIiE OP THE OLD WORLD small but malicious bite. Chim looked round with astonishment at this audacious outrage on his person, and put his hand hastily upon the wound, but without losing his temper in the least. He walked deliberately to the other side of the circle, and fetched a cane which he had dropped in his prome- nade. He returned with majestic wrath upon his brow, mingled, I thought, with contempt, and taking coati by the tail, commenced punish- ment with his cane, administering such blows as his victim could bear ^•^f^S^^^T^^'^ without permanent injury, and ap- Rufous coatimondi. plied with equal justice on the ribs at either side. When he thought •enough had been done, he disposed of coati, without moving a muscle of his countenance, by a left-handed jerk, which threw the delinquent high in air, head over heels. " He came down a sadder and a better coati, and retired with shame and fear to a distant corner. Having executed this act of justice, Chim betook himself to a tree. A large baboon, who had in the meantime made his appearance in the circle, thought this was a good opportunity of doing a civil thing, and accord- ingly mounted the tree, and sat down smilingly, as baboons smile, upon the next fork. Chim slowly turned his head at this attempt at familiarity, measured the distance, raised his hind foot, and as composedly as he had caned the coati, kicked the big baboon off his perch into the arena below. This abasement seemed to do the baboon good, for he also retired like the coati, and took up his station on the other side. To what perfection of manners and developement of thought the last year and a half may have brought him, I can scarcely guess ; but one day, doubtless, some one will say of him, as an Oriental prince once said to me after looking at the uran ' Peter ' — ^ Does he speak EngUsh yet?'" The body of the chimpanzee is covered with long hair on the head, shoulders, and back, but much thinner on the breast and belly. The arms and legs are not so disproportionate as those of the uran, the fore-fingers not quite touching the knees when the animal stands upright. The upper part of the head is very THE GORILLA 519 flat, with a retiring forehead, and a prominent bony ridge over the eye-brows, the mouth is wide, the ears large, the nose flat, and the face of a blackish-brown colour. From this short notice it will be seen at once that friend Chim has not the least claim to beauty, but yet he is far from equalling the hideous deformity of the Grorilla, whom M. DuChaillu has so prominently introduced to public notice. This savage animal, which is covered with black hair like the chimpanzee, and resembles it in the proportion of its body and limbs, though its form is much more robust, unites a most ferocious and un- daunted temper with an herculean bodily strength, and is said to hold undisputed dominion of the hill-forests in the interior of Lower Gruinea, forcing even the panther to ignominioiis flight. To kill a gorilla is considered by the negroes as a most cou- rageous exploit; and Dr. Savage, an American missionary on the coast of Guinea, who, in a memoir published at Boston in the year 1847, was the first to point out the generic differences be- tween this formidable ape and the chimpanzee, tells us that a slave having shot a male and female gorilla, whose skeletons afterwards came into his possession, was immediately set at liberty and proclaimed the prince of hunters. M. Du Chaillu's description of his first encounter with an adult gorilla, which entirely agrees with the accounts given to Dr. Savage by the natives of the mode of attack of this mon- strous creature, shows that this distinction was by no means un- merited, and that it requires all the coolness and determination of an accomplished sportsman to face an animal of such appalling ferocity and power. " The under-bush swayed rapidly just a-head, and presently before us stood an immense male gorilla. He had gone through the jungle on his all-fours, but when he saw our party he erected himself, and looked us boldly in the face. He stood about a dozen yards from us, and was a sight I think I shall never forget. Nearly six feet high (he proved four inches shorter), with immense body, huge chest, and great muscular arms, with fiercely glaring, large deep-grey eyes, and a hellish expression of face, which seemed to me like some night-mare vision; thus stood before us the king of the African forest. He was not afraid of us. He stood there and beat his breast with his huge fists, till it resounded like an immense bass-drum, which is their 520 THE SIMIiE OF THE OLD WORLD mode of offering defiance, meantime giving vent to roar after roar. The roar of the gorilla is the most singular and awful noise heard in these African woods. It begins with a sharp bark like an angry dog, then glides into a deep bass roll which literally and closely resembles the roll of distant thunder along the sky, for which I have been sometimes tempted to take it when I did not see the animal. So deep is it that it seems to proceed less from the mouth and throat than from the deep chest and vast paunch. His eye began to flash deeper fire as we stood motionless on the defensive, and the crest of short hair which stands on his forehead began to twitch rapidly up and down, while his powerful fangs were shown as he again sent forth a thunderous roar. " And now truly he reminded me of nothing but some hellish dream-creature ; a being of that hideous order, half-man, half- beast, which we find pictured by old artists in some representa- tions of the infernal regions. He advanced a few steps, then stopped to utter that hideous roar again, advanced again, and finally stopped when at a distance of about six yards from us. And here, just as he began another of his roars, beating his breast in rage, we fired and killed him. With a groan which had something terribly human in it, and yet was full of brutishness, he fell forward on his face. The body shook convulsively for a few minutes, the limbs moved about in a struggling way, and then all was quiet — death had done its work, and I had leisure to examine the huge body. It proved to be five feet eight inches high, and the muscular developement of the arms and breast showed what im- mense strength he had possessed." Deep in the swampy forests of Su- matra and Borneo, lives the famous Uran, or " wild man of the woods " as he is called by the Malays. He is less human in his shape than the chimpanzee, as his hind-legs are shorter and his arms so long that they reach to his ankles, but in intelligence he is supposed to be his superior. The jaws are more projecting, and the thick pouting lips add to the brutal expression of his physiognomy. While in a well-proportioned human face the distance from the chin to the nose forms but a third of the total THE UEAN 521 length, it amounts to one half in the uran. Even in his native wilds this ape is rare, and as he is but little able to withstand the change of climate and the fatigues of a long sea-journey, he generally falls a speedy prey to consumption when brought to Europe. But little of the restlessness of the monkey race is to be seen in him. He loves an indolent repose, even while still enjoying his native freedom, and the necessity for procuring food seems alone capable of rousing him from his laziness. When satiated, he immediately resumes his favourite position, sitting for hours together upon a branch, with bent back, with eyes immovably staring upon the ground, and uttering from time to time a melancholy growl. When pursued by the Dayaks or Malays, who highly esteem his flesh, and kill him with poisoned arrows, he conceals himself among the dense foliage of the highest trees, and remains quiet until the danger is past. He is very difficult to catch, as his ear is sharp, and his suspicious temper keeps him perpetually on the alert ; the most stealthy footstep, the least rustling of the leaves, suffices to warn him of his danger, and to make him seek his safety by a speedy retreat. He generally spends the night on the crown of a nibong-palm or of a screw pine ; he often also seeks a refuge against the wind and cold among the orchids and ferns which cover the branches of the giant trees. There he spreads his couch of small twigs and leaves, for he distinguishes himself from all other apes by his not sleeping in a sitting position, but on the back or on one side, and in inclement weather he is even said to cover his body with a layer of foliage. The series of the large anthropomorphous apes closes with the Gibbons. Their arms, which reach to the ankle joints when the animal is standing erect, are longer than those of the uran; their brain, and consequently their intelligence, is less developed; and moreover, like all the following simise of the Old World, they possess callosities on each side of the tail. Their size is inferior to that of the uran, and their body is covered with thicker hair, grey, brown, black, or white — according to the species — but never party-coloured, as is the case with many of the long-tailed monkeys. To the gibbons belong the black Siamang of Sumatra — who, assembled in large troops, hails the first blush of early morn, and bids farewell to the setting sun with dreadful clamours— the 522 THE SIMI^ OF THE OLD WORLD black, white- bearded Lar of Siam and Malacca, and theWou-Wou (Hylohates leuciscus) who, hanging suspended by his long arms, and swinging to and fro in the air, allows one to approach within fifty yards, and then, suddenly dropping upon a lower branch, climbs again leisurely to the top of the tree. He is a quiet, solitary creature of a melancholy peaceful nature, pursu- ing a harmless life, feeding upon fruits in _,, J ^ ^A A^. the vast untrodden recesses of the forest ; Gibbon, or Long- armed Ape, ' and his peculiar noise is in harmony with the sombre stillness of these dim regions, commencing like the gurgling of water when a bottle is being filled, and ending with a long loud wailing cry, which resounds throughout the leafy solitude to a great distance, and is sometimes responded to from the depths of the forest by another note as wild and melancholy. Mr. Gr. Bennett has given a very interesting account of a siamang, that accompanied him on board during his home- ward voyage. "This ape was two feet four inches high, and walked tolerably erect when on a level surface ; his arms either hanging down or uplifted, with hands pendant. He preferred a vegetable diet — plantains, rice — but was so ravenously fond of carrots that he lost all decorum when they appeared at dinner. A piece of carrot would draw him from one end of the table to the other, over which he would walk without disturbing a single article, preserving his balance in an admirable manner although the ship might be strongly rolling and pitching from side to side. He would drink tea, cofi'ee, and chocolate, but neither wine nor spirits. He was particularly fond of sweetmeats, and would not unfrequently enter the cabin in which some Manilla cakes were kept, and endeavour to lift up the cover of the jar. " His attachment to liberty was excessive, and being so docile when free, and so very much irritated at being confined, he was permitted to range about the deck or rigging, which he did with such agility as to excite the astonishment and admiration of the crew. He usually slept on the main-top, coming on deck regularly at daylight. But arriving off the Cape, he expressed an eager desire to pass the night in my cabin, and on re-entering THE SIAMANG 523 the warmer latitudes, would not again return to the main-top. Always desirous of retiring to rest at sunset, he would approach me with a peculiar begging chirping noise, and beg to be put to bed. \\Tien once taken into the arms of a friend, he was as adhesive as Sinbad's old man of the sea, and any attempt to remove him was at once resisted with violent screams. When he came at sunset to be taken into my arms and was refused, he exhibited all the freaks of temper of a spoilt child, lying on deck, rolling about, and dashing everything aside ; but finding his paroxysms of rage unattended to, would mount the rigging, and hanging over that part of the deck on which I was walking, would suddenly drop into my arms. His look was grave, his manner mild, and he evinced a degree of intelligence beyond common instinct. " Once or twice I lectured him on taking away my soap continually from the washing-stand. One morning I was writing, the ape being present in the cabin, when, casting my eyes upon him, I saw the little fellow taking the soap. I watched him without his perceiving me, occasionally giving him a furtive glance. I pretended to write, and seeing me occupied, he took the soap, and moved away with it in his paw. When he had walked half the length of the cabin, I spoke quietly without frightening him, when he instantly walked back and deposited the soap with the evident conscious- ness of having done wrong. I never observed him lap with his tongue when drinking, but when tea or coifee was given him he protruded it to ascertain the temperature, and if too hot, shaking his sapient bead violently, but still undeterred, would wait pa- tiently till it cooled. His mildness of disposition and playfulness of manner rendered him the universal favourite, but he became particularly attached to a little Papuan child (Elau, a native of Erromango), whom he probably considered as having affinity. They might often be seen, the animal with his long arm round her neck, eating biscuit together. He would often roll on the deck with her, as if in a mock combat, but on her attempting to play with him when he had no inclination, he would make a slight impression with his teeth on her arm, just enough for a warning or sharp hint. " There were several small monkeys on board, who repelled the kind approaches of the little man in black by chattering. He 524 THE SIMLE OF THE OLD WORLD was, however, determined to punish them for their impudence ; so the next time they united as before in a body, he watched his opportunity, and seizing a rope, and swinging towards them, caught one of them by the tail, and dragged him up the rigging. If, in the ascent, he required both hands, he would pass the tail into his foot. It was most grotesque to see his perfect gravity of countenance, whilst the poor suffering monkey grinned, chattered, and twisted about, making the most strenuous and fruitless endeavours to escape, during which his countenance, at all times funny, had now terror added to its usual beauty. After having dragged the culprit some distance, the siamang let him go, and had he not seized a rope in falling, he would hardly have escaped a compound fracture. " At dinner his station was on a corner of the table, between the captain and myself. When, from any of his ludicrous actions, we all burst out in loud laughter, he would vent his in- dignation by a barking noise, and by regarding the persons laughing with a most serious look, until they ceased their in- decorous behaviour. '* When we spoke a ship at sea, his curiosity seemed to be much excited, and he would invariably mount the rigging until it was out of sight, wistfully gazing after it. When strangers came on board he approached them with caution. "When the poor animal lay on a bed of sickness from dysentery, produced by cold, as much inquiry was made after his health as if he had been of human form divine, and his death excited great regret. Even when ill, he preferred going on deck in the cold air with persons to whom he was attached, to remaining in the warm cabin with those for whom he had no regard." We shall see in the next chapter tliat the American monkeys are totally different from those of the Old World ; but also in the eastern hemisphere, each part of the world has its peculiar families and genera of simijB. Thus, besides the uran and the gibbon, Asia exclusively possesses the semnopitheci and the macaques, while Africa, besides the chimpanzee and the gorilla, enjoys the undivided honour of giving birth to the families of the cercopitheci, mangabeys, colobi, magots, and baboons. The Semnopitheci are characterised by a short face, rounded ears, a slender body, short thumbs, and a strong muscular tail, terminated by a close tuft of hair, and surpassing in length THE PROBOSCIS MONKEY 525 that of all tlie other quadrumana of the Old World. To this genus belongs the celebrated Proboscis Monkey ( Semnopithecus nasicus) of Borneo, who is distinguished from all other simise ])y the possession of a prominent nasal organ, which lends a liiglily ludicrous expression to the melancholy aspect of his phy- siognomy. " When excited and angry," says Mr. Adams, who liad many opportunities of examining this singular creature in its native woods, "the female resembles some tanned and peevish hag, snarling and shrewish. They progress on all-fours, and sometimes, while on the ground, raise themselves upright and look about them. When they sleep, they squat on their hams, and bow their heads upon the breast. When disturbed, they utter a short impatient cry, between a sneeze and a scream, like that of a spoilt and passionate child ; and in the selection of their food they appear very dainty, frequently destroying a fruit, and hardly tasting it. When they emit their peculiar wheezing or hissing sound, they avert and wrinkle the nose, and open the mouth wide. In the male, the nose is a curved, tubular trunk, large pendulous, and fleshy ; but in the female it is smaller, recurved, and not caruncular." Underthe ugly form of the Huniman (Semnopithecus entellus), the Hindoos venerate the transformed hero who abstracted the sweet fruitof the mango from the garden of a giant in Ceylon, and enriched India with the costly gift. As a punishment for this offence he was condemned to the stake, and ever since his hands and face have remained black. Out of gratitude for his past services, the Hindoos allow him the free use of their gardens, and take great care to protect him from sacrilegious Europeans. While the French naturalist Duvaucel was at Chandernagor, a guard of pious Bramins was busy scaring away the sacred animals with cymbals and drums, lest the stranger, to whom they very justly attributed evil intentions, might be tempted to add their skins to his collection. The semnopitheci are scattered over Asia in so great a multi- plicity of forms, that Ceylon alone possesses four different species, each of which has appropriated to itself a different district of the wooded country, and seldom encroaches on the domain of its neighbours. " When observed in their native wilds," says Sir J. E. Tennent, " a party of twenty or thirty of the Wanderoos of the low country, the species best known in Europe (Presbytes 526 THE SLMl^ OF THE OLD WORLD cephalopterus), is generally busily engaged in the search fur berries and buds. They are seldom to be seen on the ground. and then only when they have descended to recover seeds or fruit that have fallen at the foot of their favourite trees. In their alarm, when disturbed, their leaps are prodigious, but generally speaking their progress is made not so much by leap-r ing as by swinging from branch to branch, using their powerful arms alternately, and when baffled by distance, flinging them- selves obliquely so as to catch the lower bough of an opposite tree; the momentum acquired by their descent being sufficient to cause a rebound, that carries them again upwards till they can grasp a higher branch, and thus continue their headlong flight. In these perilous achievements wonder is excited less by the surpassing agility of these little creatures, frequently encumbered as they are by their young, which cling to them in their career, than by the quickness of their eye and the unerring accuracy with which they seem to calculate almost the angle at which a descent would enable them to cover a given distance, and the recoil to elevate themselves again to a higher altitude." The African Colobi greatly resemble the Asiatic semnopitheci, but differ by the remarkable circumstance of having no thumb on the hands of their anterior extremities. The Cercopitheci likewise possess a large tail, which is, however, not more or less pendulous, as in the semnopitheci, but generally carried erect over the back. They have also a longer face, and their cheeks are furnished with pouches, in which, like the pelican or the hamster, they are capable of stowing part of their food ; an organisation which seems to denote that they are inhabitants of a country where the forests are less extensive. They are not devoid of intelligence, but ex- tremely restless and noisy. Many that were ^^ mild and amiable while young, undergo at a ^''^ later period a complete change of character. The only way, according to M. Isidore Geoffroy, to curb the temper of one of these full-grown monkeys is to extract the sharp and formidable canine teeth, with which it is capable of inflicting Diana Monkey.^ the most daugcrous wouuds. When disarmed, it immediately alters its manners, as it now feels its impotence. Several of the monkeys belonging to this THE BABOON^ 527 group are distinguished by the lively colours of their fur ; that of the Diana Monkey {Cercopithecus diana) among others, which is a native of Congo and Guinea, sells for a considerable price. The tribes of the mangabeys, macaques, magots, and cyno- pitheci form the links between the cercopitheci and the baboons. Their shape is less slender than that of the former, their frontal bone is more developed, particularly above the eye-brows, and their face is lenger. They are all of them provided with cheek- pouches. Several of the macaques have a very short tail, and the magots, or Barbary apes, and the cynopithecus of the Philippine Islands, have none, thus resembling the large anthropomorphous apes, but widely differing from them in other respects. The Magot is the only European species, and seems exclusively confined in our part of the world to the rock of Gribraltar, though some authors affirm that it is found in other parts of Andalusia, and even in the province of Grenada. It would no doubt long since have been extirpated, if the British Govern- ment had not taken it under its especial protection, and imposed the penalty of a heavy fine upon its wanton destruction. The Cynocephali (Baboons and Mandrills) show at once by their Greek name that a dog-like snout gives them a more bestial expression than belongs to the rest of the monkey tribes, and that of all the simise of the Old World they are most widely distant from man. In size they are only sur- passed by the gorilla and the uran, and if in the latter the physiognomy becomes more brutal in its expression with ad- vancing age, this degradation is much greater in the baboons. Their canine teeth in particular acquire a greater sharpness than those of almost every other carnivorous animal, so that these malignant and cruel animals, armed with such powerful weapons, may well be reckoned among the most formidable of the wild beasts of Africa. As if to render them complete pictures of depravity, their manners also are so shamelessly filthy, that the curiosity they excite soon changes into horror and disgust. The short-tailed mandrills inhabit the west coast of Africa. The Maimon is the most remarkable of the whole genus for brilliancy and variety of colour; its furrowed cheeks are magnificently striped with violet, blue, .purple, and scarlet, so as more to resemble an artificial tattooing than a natural 528 THE SIMLE OF THE OLD WORLD Mandrill (Cynocephalus maimon). carnation. As the creature increases in age, the nose also becomes blood-red. On the loins the skin is almost bare, and of a violet-blue colour, gradually altering into a bright blood- red, which is more conspicuous on the hinder parts, where it surrounds the tail, which is generally carried erect. Even among the base mandrills there are some which maintain in confine- ment the milder character of their youth, and on whom education has had such influence as to allow them to be introduced into company without fear of a too flagitious breach of decorum. One of these pattern animals was '' Happy Jerry," long kept in a London menagerie, and who gained such fame by his good manners, as to be honoured by a special invitation to Windsor. Jerry knew how to sit upon a chair, and worthily to fill it, as he was nearly five feet long. He relished his pot of porter, which he used to drink out of a pewter can, and smoked his pipe with all the gravity of a Grerman philo- sopher. But even Jerry was not to be trusted out of the sight of his keepers. The real baboons are distinguished from the mandrills by a long tail, terminated by a tuft of hair. The great baboon of Senegal {Cynocephalus Sphinx) is by no means devoid of intelligence, and learns many tricks when taught from early youth. His temper, however, is brutal and choleric, though less so than that of the Chacma {Cynocephalus porcarius), or pig-faced baboon, which is found in the vicinity of Cape Town, among others on the celebrated Table Mountain. It frequently commits great devastations in the fields. Young chacmas are often kept as domestic animals, performing the offices of a mastiff*, whom they greatly surpass in strength. Thus they immediately announce by their growling the approach of a stranger, and are even employed for a variety of useful purposes which no dog would be able to perform. Here one is trained to blow the bellows of a smith ; there another to guide a team of oxen. When a stream is to be crossed, the chacma immediately jumps upon the back of one of the oxen. Pig -faced Baboon. THE DERRYAS 529 and remains sitting till he has no longer to fear the wet, which he loves as little as the cat. In Abyssinia, Nubia, and South Arabia we find the Derryas ((7. Hamadryas), which enjoyed divine honours among the ancient Egyptians. The general colour of the hair is a mix- ture of light-grey and cinnamon, and in the male that of the head and neck forms a long mane, falling back over the shoulders. The face is extremely long, naked, and of a dirty flesh-colour. This ugly monkey was revered as the symbol of Thoth, the divine father of literature and the judge of man after death. Formerly temples were erected to his honour, and numerous priests ministered to his wants, but now, by a sad change of baboon-fortune, he is shot without ceremony, and his skin pulled over his ears to be stuffed and exhibited in profane museums. In the forests of tropical Africa and Asia we find a remark- able group of animals, which, though quadrumanous like the monkeys, essentially differs from them by possessing long curved claws on the index, or also on the middle finger of the hinder ex- tremities ; by a sharp, projecting muzzle, and by a different den- tition. The Loris, remarkable for the slowness of their gait and their large glaring eyes, are exclusively natives of the East Indies; the Galagos, which unite the organisation of the monkeys with the graceful sprightliness of the squirrels, are solely confined to Africa, where they are chiefly found in the gum -forests of Senegal ; the Tarsii, thus named from their elongated tarsi, giving to their hinder limbs a dispro- portionate length, are restricted to part of the Indian archipelago ; but the large island siow-paced Lemur. of Madagascar, where, strange to say, not a single monkey is found, is the chief seat of the family, being the exclusive dwelling- place of the short-tailed Indri, (whom, from his black thick fur and anthropomorphous shape, one would be inclined to reckon among the gibbons), and of the long-tailed Lemurs or Makis. All these gentle and harmless animals are arboreal in their habits, avoid the glaring light of day under the dense covert of the forest, and awaken to a more active existence as soon M M 530 THE SIMl^ OP THE OLD WORLD Haridei Lemur. as night descends upon the earth. Then the loris, who during the day have sh^pt clinging to a branch, prowl among the forest- boughs in quest of food. Nothing can escape the scru- tiny of their large glaring eyes ; and when they have marked their victim, they cautiously and noiselessly approach till it is within their grasp. The Grala- gos have at night all the activity of birds, hopping from bough to bough on their hind limbs only. They watch the insects flitting among the leaves, listen to the fluttering of the moth as it darts through the air, lie in wait for it, and spring with the rapidity of an arrow, seldom missing their prize, which is caught by the hands. They make nests in the branches of trees, and cover a bed with grass and leaves for their little ones. The tarsii leap about two feet at a spring, and feed chiefly on lizards, holding their prey in their fore-hands, while they rest on their haunches. 531 CHAPTER XLVII. THE .SIMIJ5 OF THE NEW WORLD. Wide Difference between the Monkeys of botli Hemispheres — The Prehensile Tail — The Wourali Poison— Mildness of the American Monkeys— The Stentor Monkey — The Spider Monkeys— The Sajous — The Fox-tailed Monkeys — The Saimiris — Friendships between various kinds of Monkeys — Nocturnal Monkeys — Squirrel Monkeys — Their Lively Intelligence. 11HE monkeys of the New World differ still more widely from - those of the Old than the copper-coloured Indian from the woolly negro. One sees at once on comparing them that whole oceans roll between them, that they have not migrated from one hemisphere to another, but belong to two different phases of creation. While the nasal partition of the Old World simise is narrow as in man, it is broad without exception in all the American monkeys, so that the nostrils are widely separated and open sideways. The dental apparatus is also different, for while the monkeys of our hemisphere have thirty-two teeth, those of the western world generally possess thirty-six. The tailless monkeys or apes, and the short-tailed baboons, with a dog-like projecting snout and formidable fangs, are peculiar to our hemisphere, and it is only here that we find almost voiceless simiiB, while the American quadrumana are all of them tailed, short-snouted, and generally endowed with sten- torian powers. Finally, it would be as useless to look among the western monkeys for cheek-pouches and sessile callosities, as among those of the Old World for prehensile tails. In the boundless forests of tropical South America, the monkeys form by far the greater part of the mammalian in- habitants, for each species, though often confined within nar- row limits, generally consists of a large number of individuals. The various arboreal fruits which the savage population of M M 2 532 THE SIMIiE OF THE NEW WORLD these immeasurable wilds is unable to turn to advantage, fall chiefly to their share ; many of them also live upon insects. They are never seen in the open campos and savannas, as they never touch the ground unless compelled by the greatest necessity. The trees of the forest furnish them with all the food they require in inexhaustible abund- ance ; it is only in the woods that they feel " at home " and secure against the attacks of mightier animals ; why then should they quit them for less congenial haunts ? For their perpetual wanderings from branch to branch, Nature has bountifully en- dowed many of them not only with robust and muscular limbs, and large hands, whose moist palms facilitate the seizure of a bough, but in many cases also with a prehensile tail, which may deservedly be called a fifth hand, and is hardly less wonderful in its structure than the proboscis of the elephant. Covered with short hair, and completely bare underneath towards the end, this admirable organ rolls round the boughs as though it were a supple finger, and is at the same time so muscular, that the monkey frequently swings with it from a branch like the pen- dulum of a clock. Scarce has he grasped a bough with his long arms, when im- mediately coiling his fifth hand round the branch, he springs on to the next, and secure from a fall, hurries so rapidly through the crowns of the highest trees that the sportsman's ball has scarce time to reach him in his flight. When the Miriki {Ateles hypoxanthus), the largest of the Brazilian monkeys, sit- ting or stretched out at full length, suns himself on a high branch, his tail suffices to support him in his aerial resting-place, and even when mortally wounded, he remains a long time suspended by it, until life being quite extinct, his heavy body, whizzing through the air, and breaking many a bough as it descends, falls with a lo\id crash to the ground. The famous wourali poison is alone capable of instantly anni- hilating his muscular powers, and of sparing the wounded animal a long and painful agony. Slow and with noiseless step, so as scarcely to disturb the fallen leaves beneath his feet, the wily Indian approaches. His weapons are strange and peculiar, and of so slight an appearance as to form a wondrous contrast to their terrific power. A colossal species of bamboo (Amuidi- naria SchomhurgJcii), whose perfectly cylindrical culm often rises THE WOURALI POISON 533 to the height of fifteen feet from the root before it forms its first knot, furnishes him with his blow-pipe, and the slender arrows which he sends forth with unerring certainty of aim are made of the leaf-stalks of a species of palm-tree {Maximi- liana regia), hard and brittle, and sharp-pointed as a needle. You would hardly suppose these fragile missiles capable of in- flicting the slightest wound at any distance, and yet they strike more surely and effectually than the rifleman's bullet, for their point is dipped in the deadly juice of the Strychnos Urari, whose venomous powers are not inferior to those of the dreaded bush- master or the fatal cobra. It is chiefly on the Camuku mountains in Guiana that this for- midable creeping-plant is found, whose sombre-coloured, brown- haired leaves and rind seem by their sinister appearance to betray its dreadful qualities. The savage tribes of the South American woods know how to poison their arrows with the juices of various plants, but none equals this in virulence and certainty of execution, and yearly the Indians of the Orinoco, the Eio Negro, and even of the Amazons, wander to the Camuku mountains to purchase by barter the renowned Urari or Wourali poison of the Macusis. Nature has vouchsafed to these sons of the wilderness an inestimable gift in the venomous juice of the strychnos, for by no other means would they be able to kill the birds of the forest and the monkeys on whose flesh they chiefly subsist. How they made the discovery of its powers is unknown ; at all events the combination of so many means for the attain- ment of the end in view — the preparation of the poison, the blow-pipe, the arrows — denotes a high degree of ingenuity, and shows at once the infinite superiority of the savage over the monkey. Fatal to every animal it touches, the wourali poison sometimes proves destructive to the archer, " One day," says Waterton, " while we were eating a red monkey, erroneously called the baboon in Demarara, an Arawack Indian told an affecting story of what happened to a comrade of his. He was present at his death, and as it did not interest this Indian in any point to tell a falsehood, it is very probable that his account was a true one. If so, it appears that there is no certain antidote, or at least no antidote that could be resorted to in a case of urgent need, for the Indian gave up all thoughts of life as soon as he was wounded. The Arawack Indian said it was but four years 534 THE SIMI^ OF THE NEW WORLD ago, that he and his companion were ranging in the forest in quest of game. His companion took a poisoned arrow and sent it at a red monkey in a tree above him. It was nearly a per- pendicular shot. The arrow missed the monkey, and in its descent struck him in the arm, a little below the elbow. He was convinced it was all over with him. *I shall never,' said he to his companion in a faltering voice, and looking at his bow as he said it, ' I shall never,' said he 'bend this bow again.' And having said that, he took off his little bamboo poison-box, which hung across his shoulder, and putting it together with his bow and arrows on the ground, he laid himself down close by them, bid his companion farewell, and never spoke more." In a less concentrated or diluted form the wourali poison merely benumbs or stuns the faculties without killing, and is thus made use of by the Indians when they wish to catch an old monkey alive and tame him for sale. On his falling to the ground they immediately suck the wound, and wrapping him up in a strait-jacket of palm leaves, dose him for a few days with sugar-cane juice, or a strong solution of saltpetre. This method generally answers the purpose, but should his stubborn temper not yet be subdued, they hang him up in smoke. Then after a short time his rage gives way, and his wild eye, assuming a plaintive expression, humbly sues for deliverance. His bonds are now loosened, and even the most unmanageable monkey seems henceforward totally to forget that he ever roamed at liberty in the boundless woods. In general, however, the American simiaB are distinguished by a much milder disposition than those of the eastern hemisphere, and retain at an advanced age the playful manners of their youth. They are commonly more easy to tame, and learn many little tricks which are taught with much greater difficulty to tleir restless Asiatic or African cousins. Their weakness, their short canine teeth, their good temper, render them harmless play-fellows, and thus they are generally preferred in Europe to tlie Old World monkeys, though they are not so lively, and constantly have a more or less dejected mien, as if they still regretted the primitive freedom of the forest. The American monkeys may be conveniently divided into two large groups ; with or without a prehensile tail. To the first great subdivision belong the Howling Monkeys or Aluates THE HOWLING MONKEY 535 {Mycetes), the Spider Monkeys {Ateles), the Sajoiis, and several other intermediate genera. The aluates are chiefly remarkable for their stentorian powers, which no other animal can equal or approach. When the nocturnal howl of the Large Red Aluate {Mycetes UTsinus) bursts forth from the woods, you would suppose that all the beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of carnage. Now it is the tremendous roar of the jaguar as he springs on his prey ; now it changes to his terrible and deep-toned growlings as he is pressed on all sides by superior force ; and now you hear his last dying moan, beneath a mortal wound. Some naturalists have supposed that these awful sounds can only proceed-from a number of the red monkeys ^^^^,^^^ ^^^^^^^^ howling in concert, but one of them alone is equal to the task. In dark and cloudy weather, and just before a squall of rain, the aluate often howls in the day-time ; and on advancing cautiously to the high and tufted tree where he is sitting, one may then have a wonderful opportunity of seeing the large lump in his throat, the sounding-board which gives such volume to his voice, move up and down as he exerts his stentorian luncfs. Poppig compares the howling of the aluate to the noise of ungreased cart wheels, but very much stronger, and affirms that it may be heard at the distance of a league. In spite of his loud harsh voice, this monkey is of a very mild disposition, and easily familiarises himself with man. His flesh is good food, but when skinned, his appearance is so like that of a young one of our own species, that a delicate stomach and lively fancy might possibly revolt at the idea of putting a knife and fork into him. Waterton, however, affirms from experience, that after a long and dreary march through the remote forests of Guiana, his flesh is not to be despised, when boiled in Cayenne pepper, or roasted on a stick over a good fire. A young one tastes not unlike kid, and the old ones have somewhat the flavour of the goat. The howling monkeys are the most robust of the American simiae, and in spite of their long tail have a certain analogy with 536 THE SIMI^ OF THE NEW WORLD the iirans, whom they ma-y be said to represent in the New World. Their shaggy hair is of a brown or blackish colour, and they chiefly subsist on fruits and foliage. Their various species range from Paraguay to Honduras, while the Ateles or Spider Monkeys, thus named from their long slender limbs and sprawling movements, extend over the whole surface of tropical America. The Marimonda {Ateles Belzebub) is even found on the eastern slopes of the Andes at a height of 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, an elevation attained by him alone of all the quadrumanous tribes. Like the African Colobi, the spider monkeys have no thumb on their fore-hands ; their voice is a soft and flute-like whistling, resembling the piping of a bird. It is said that when a mother burthened with her young hesitates to take too wide a leap, paterfamilias seizes the branch she intends to reach, and swings himself to and fro with it, until his companion is able to attain it by a spring. But when a young Black Spider Monkey. ^loukey that is already sufficiently strong, is fearful, the mother, to give him courage, repeats the manoeuvre several times before him. The spider monkeys live in more or less numerous troops, and chiefly subsist on insects, though when near the sea they will also come down upon the beach and feed on mollusks, parti- cularly on oysters, whose shells they are said to crack with a stone. Though the sajous have a prehensile tail, it is not de- nuded on the under surface of its extremity, as in the above- mentioned tribes, and consequently not so delicate an organ of touch. They are lively, active, mild, and intelligent crea- tures. The second group of American monkeys, consisting of those with a non-prehensile tail, comprises the sakis, the saimiris, the ouistitis, &c. The Sakis, or Fox-tailed Monkeys, are distinguished by their bushy tail, which, however, in some species, is very short. They usually live in the outskirts of forests, in small societies of ten or twelve. Upon the slightest provocation, they display a THE SAIMIKIS 537 morose and savage temper, and like the howling-monkeys utter loud cries before sunrise and after sunset. The elegant ease of their movements, their soft fur, the large size of their brilliant eyes, and their little round face, entitle the Saimiris to be called the most graceful of monkeys. Hum- boldt, who frequently observed them in tropical America, tells us that they are extremely affectionate, and that when offended, their eyes immediately swim in tears. On speaking to them for some time, they listen with great attention, and soon lay their tiny hand upon the speaker's mouth, as if to catch the words as they pass through his lips. They recognise the objects represented in an engraving even when not coloured, and en- deavour to seize the pictured fruits or insects. The latter, and particularly spiders, which they catch most dexterously with their lips or hands, seem to be their favourite food. The weak little creatures are very fond of being carried about by larger monkeys, and cling fast to their back. At first the animal to which they thus attach themselves endeavours to get rid of its burden, but finding it impossible, it soon becomes reconciled to its fate, and after a short time an intimate affection arises between them, so that when the saimiri is busy chasing insects, his friend, before leaving the spot, first gives him notice by a gentle cry. A similar dependent and affec- tionate intercourse is not rare among other species of monkeys. " When an Indian," says Poppig, " meets with a large troop of these animals, he takes care not to disturb the small fore- rimners, as he knows full well that the larger ones will soon follow. Thus the Frailecito {Callithrix Sciurus) generally forms the vanguard of the machini; the pinchecito likes to stroll about with the tocon, and the choro is hand and glove with the maquisapa. It need hardly be mentioned that the saimiris are in great request as pet animals, but unfortunately they are very rare. The habits of the Nyctopitheci, or nocturnal monkeys, bear a great resemblance to those of the bats or flying foxes. The shy and quiet, little animals sleep by day concealed in the dense thickets of the forest. Their eye and motions are completely feline. Those which Von Martins observed in his collection, crept by day into a corner of the cage, but after sunset their agility made up for their diurnal torpor. 538 THE SIMLE OF THE NEW WORLD In Guiana, Schomburgk met with the Nyctipithecus trivir- gatus as a domestic animal. " A very neat little monkey, shy of light as the owl or the bat. A small round head, extremely large yellow eyes, shining in the dark stronger than those of the cat, and tiny short ears, give it a peculiarly comical appearance. When disturbed in its diurnal sleep and dragged forth to the light, its helpless movements excite compassion ; it gi'opes about as if blind, and lays hold of the first object that comes within its reach, often pressing its face against it to escape the intole- rable glare. The darkest corner of the hut is its seat of pre- dilection, where it lies during day in a perfect asphyxia, from which it can only be roused by blows. But soon after sun- set it leaves its retreat, and then it is impossible to see a more lively, active, and merry creature. From hammock it springs to hammock, generally licking the faces of the sleepers, and from the floor to the rafters of the roof, overturning all that is not sufficiently fastened to resist its curiosity." Its hair, which is grey on the back and orange-coloured on the belly, is much thicker than that of the other . monkeys, and somewhat woolly, thus being admirably suited to the colder temperature of its nocturnal rambles. It seems to range over a great part of South America, but on account of its retirement during the day is very rarely caught. Its voice is remarkably strong, and according to Humboldt is said to resemble the jaguar's roar, for which reason it is called the Tiger Monkey in the missions along the Orinoco. It lives chiefly on nocturnal insects, thinning their ranks like the bat, but is also said to prey upon small birds like the owl. In the Andes of New Grranada, in the large forests of Quindiu, the N. lemurinus lives at an elevation of from four to five thousand feet above the level of the sea, and makes the woods resound during the night with his clamorous cry of " duruciili." The Ouistitis, or Squirrel Monkeys, are distinguished from all the other American quadrumana by the claws with which all their fingers except the thumbs of their hands are provided, and which render them excellent service in climbing. They have a very soft fur, and are extremely light and graceful in their movements, as well as elegant in their forms. The young are often not bigger than a mouse, and even a fidl -grown ouistiti is hardly larger than a squirrel, whom it resembles both in its THE OUSTITI 539 mode of life, and by its restless activity, as its little head is never quiet. They use their tail, which in many species is hand- somely marked by transverse bars, as a protection against the cold, to which they are acutely sensitive. Their numerous species are dispersed over all the forests of tropical America, where they live as well upon fruits and nuts as upon insects and eggs ; and when they can catch a little bird, they suck its brain with all the satisfaction of an epicure. They are easily tamed, but very suspicious and irritable. The learned French naturalist Audouin made some interesting observations on a pair of tame ouistitis, which prove their intelligence to be far superior to that of the squirrels, to whom they are so often compared. One of them having one day, while regaling on a bunch of grapes, sqiurted some of the juice into its eye, never failed from that time to close its eyes while eating of the fruit. In a draw- ing they recognised not only their own likeness, but that of other animals. Thus the sight of a cat, and what is still more remark- able, that of a wasp, frightened them very much, while at the aspect of any other insect, such as a cricket or a cockchafer, they at once rushed upon the engraving, as if anxious to make a meal of the object that deluded them with the semblance of life. INDEX. AAR 4 ARD-VARKS, 501 11 Abies Brunoniana of the slopes of Sikkim, 90 — Webbiana of the 8loj)es of Sikkim, 90 Abyssinia, the tsalt-salya or zimb of, 253 — mode of hunting the elephant in, 457 Acacia lationum and tomentosa, thorns of the, 126 Acclimatisation of plants, 64 Adams, Mr., his fight with a water-lizard, 334 Adanson, attacked by termites, at Goree, 282 Adansonia digitata, 102 Aden, coffee first introduced into, 190 Adjutant, the, 322, 381 — his destruction of reptiles, 322 iEolus, Greek worship of, 4 Africa, influence of the heated plains of, in deflecting tlie trade-winds, 10 — gigantic trees of, 104, et seq. — the coffee tree first planted by nature in, 189 — cultivation of cotton in, 213 — swarms of locusts in, 255 — ivory of, 458 — Eastern, gigantic forests of, 61 — South, long- continued di-oughts of, 6 — constant winds of, 7 — giant timber of the east coast and arid wastes of the interior, causes of the difference, 8 — reason why droughts are prevalent in, 61 — fruits of the deserts of, 62, 63 Agades, tower in, 66 Agave Americana, 89, 116 — its uses, 117 Agouti, the, 84 Agriculture in the Puna, or high table-lands of Peru, 26 Air-currents, their effects in the equatorial regions, 4 — the trade-winds, 4 — polar and equatorial air-currents, 4 Ais, the, 496 AMA Akyab, quantities of rice exported from, 159 Alango, the night-blowing, or moon-flower, 225 Albatross, the, compared with the condor, 389 Alexander the Great, said to have intro- duced the peacock into Europe, 376 Algeria, domestication of the ostrich in, 405 Alligators, torpor of, during the dry season in the savannahs of South America, 14 — their return to life, 19 — of the lagunes of the Amazons, 49 — their delight in the sunshine, 83 — the Caymen, of the New World, 351 — mode of seizing their prey, 351 — their voice, 352 — their preference for human flesh, 352 — their tenacity of life, 353 — their tenderness for their young, 354 — their friends and enemies, 355 Allspice, 233 Aloes, the, of torrid Africa, 1 16 Alpaca, value of its wool, 28 — question of its acclimatisation in Eu- rope and Australia, 29 — herds of, in the high table-lands of Peru and Bolivia, 29 Alps, origin of the Fon-wind of the, 73 Aluate, or howling monkey, 535 Amache house-ant, 277 Amaryllis toxicaria, 400 Amazons river, 44 its length, width, and course, 44 its tributaries, 45 called the Solimoens from the Bra- zilian frontier to the influx of the Rio Negro, 45 its unfathomable depth at the Strait of Obydos, 46 its tide-waves, 46, 47 — — its width below Gurupa, 47 and when it reaches the ocean, 47 extent of territory drained by the Amazons, 47 '- its colossal rise, 48 542 INDEX AMA APII Amazons river, lagunes of the, and then- beautiful scenery, 49 — -~ fish -catching on a grand scale, 49 different character of the forests bejond and within the verge of the inundation of the river, 50 ^ — a sail on the river, and a night's encampment, 52 — — the voracious pirangas, 54 storms on the river, 55 rapids and whirlpools, 55 the Amazons regarded as the stream of the future, 55 — — discovery of the Amazons by Vincent Yanez Pinson, 57 — — adventures of Tizairo and Madame Godin on the, 57-60 primitive forests of the banks of the Amazons, 78 the mosquito plagues of, 246 manufacture of tortoise-oil on the banks of the, 342 Amblyrhynchus of the Galapagos Islands, 339 Ainboyna,taken from the Portuguese by the Dutch, 227 — clove trade of, 229 America, growth of cotton in, 209, 210 — insect plagues of, 248, 250 — snakes of the United States of, 316 — South, influence of the Peruvian stream on the climate of the, 5 gigantic scale of the mountains, rivers, &c., of, 14 savannahs of, 14 a savannah on fire, 17 cultivation of maize in, 162 primitive forests of, 79 vegetation of, 112 — — effects of the civil war in, on the cotton trade, 213 Ammophila arundinacea of the coasts of the North Sea, 64 Amsterdam, a spice fire in, 229 Anaconda, or water- boa (Eunectes murinus), 320 Andersson, Mr., his adventure with a rhi- noceros, 445 — and with a lion, 470 Andes, the, considered as colossal refrige- rators, 5 — causes of the perpetual verdure of their eastern and aridity of their western slopes, 7 — mosquitoes of the eastern slopes of the, 246 Angola, ferocious mosquitoes of, 246 — the red ant of, 274 Angostura, alligators in the streets of, 353 Animal life in the Llanos in the dry season, 15-17 — — and in the rainy season, 19 Animal life, decomposition arrested by the dry sand of the rainless regions and the winds of the Puna, 25 of the Puna, 26-34 — — of the Peruvian sand-coast, 40 — — of the arid plains of South Africa, 64 of the Sahara, 75 of the Sikkim mountains, 92 of the mangrove forests, 95 insect plagues of the tropics, 245 — — in the tropical ocean, 303 of the Galapagos Islands, 339 tropical birds, 358 Anolis, the, 330 — battles of the, 330 — faculty of changing colour, 331 Anomaluri, the, 512 Anona tripetala, of Peru, 179 Ant-eaters, 497 — the great ant-bear, 497 — his mode of licking up termites, 497 — his characteristics, 498 — the manides, or pangolins, 500 — the orycteropi, 500 — the porcupine ant-eater, 503 — the Myrniecobius fasciatus, 503 Ant-hills, various forms and kinds of, 279 Antilles, climate of the, 5 Antilope melampus, the, always found near water, 65 Ants, their ravages in sugar plantations, 187 — vast numbers of, in the tropical zone, 272 — excruciating pain caused by the bite of the Ponera ciavata, 273 — the ferocious ant of the Triplaris Ame- ricana, 273 — the black fire-ant of Guiana, 274 — the great red ant (Dimiya) of Ceylon, 274 — the red ant of Angola, 274 — the coffee and sugar ants, 275 — the Atta cephalotes, or umbrella ant, 276 — house-ants, 277 — ranger-ants, 278 — "societies of ants, 278 — ant-hills, 279 — sagacity of ants, 279 — slave-muking expeditions of some kinds of ants, 280 — the cow-keeper ants, 280 — food of the ants of tropical America, 280 — the honey-ant of Mexico, 281 — termites, or white ants, 281. See Ter- mites. — wars between black and while ants, 288 Apes, anthropomorplions, compared and con- trasted with man, 516 Aphides *' milked " by ants, 280 INDEX 543 APU Apure river in the rainy se;ison, 19 Arabia, coffee first introduced into, 189 — mode of cultivating coffee in, 194 Arabs, their mode of hunting the lion, 472 Arachnotherre, 295 Arachuna river during the rainy season, 19 Arandi (Bombyx Cynthia), soft threads spun by the, 259 Araneae of the tropics, 291 Aras of America, the, 411, 415 Arauca river in the rainy season, 19 Archipelago, the Eastern, bamboos of, 114 screw pine of the, 118 climate of the, 5 Archipelago, the Mulgrave, importance of the screw-pine to the inhabitants of, 118 Arctic day and night, 302 Areca palm (Areca catechu), the, 137, 153 Malay and Singalese habit of chew- ing the nuts with lime and betel-pepper leaves, 137 Areca sapida of New Zealand, 151 Arenaria rupifraga, great elevation at which it grows, 91 Argala, or adjutant-bird, of Africa and India, 381 Argus pheasant, 376 Aristolochia, gigantic, of South America, 102 Arkwright, his invention of the cotton- spinning frame, 208 Armadillos, the, 501 — on the sand-coast of Peru, 40 — genera of the Armadillos, 502 Arnatto (Bixaorellana), used as a dye, 241 Arracan, rice trade of, 158, 159 Arrowroot, from what obtained, 177 — mode of obtaining it, 1 78 Arrows, poisoned, of the bushmen of South Africa, 400 Artocarpus incisa, or bread-fruit tree. 166 Ascension, turtles of the island of, 345, 346 Asp of ancient authors, 319 Ateles hypoxanthus, 532 the, or spider monkeys, 536 Athene cunicularia of the Peruvian sand- coast, 41 Atlantic, limits of the trade-winds in the Northern, 6, 7 Atlas mountains, ephemeral streams of the, 70 the lions of, 467 — ^. — a lion-hunt in, 472 Atlas-moth, cinnamon-eating, of Ceylon, 276 Atolls, or coral islands, 309 Atta cephalotes, its ravages amongst the banana and cassava fields, 276 Attalia funifera, 149 Aura vulture, 390 Australia, North, long-continued droughts of, 6 — — no monkey or tortoise indigenous in, 342 — birds of, 378 BAY Avaca, or Manilla hemp, 175 Avicennia tomentosa, its magnificence, 98 Axis, the, 475 BABOONS, 527 Baboon, the great, of Senegal, 528 Bacha, the (Falco bacha), 394 Bactrian camel, 420 Bahama Islands, mode of catching turtle on the, 346 — — the guana lizard of the, 333 Bahia, two rainy seasons of, 9 — toad of, 337 Bakalahari, the, of the Kalahari, 65 — their love for agriculture and domestic animals, 65 Balize, mahogany trees of, 113 Balsam-bog of the Falkland Islands, 91 Baltimore bird (Icterus Baltimore), 367 Bamboos, the (Bambusacese), of the tropics. 114 y t , — variety of uses to which they are ap- plied, 115 Bambusaceaj, the, of the tropics, 114 — rapidity of their grovvth, 114 Banana (Musa sapientum), its importance as food, 154, 173 — the wild, of the lower slopes of Sikkim, 90 — ravages of the Atta cephalotes in the banana fields, 276 Banana-bird (Icterus xanthornus), of Ame- rica, 383 Banda, nutmeg trees of, 228, 230 Baiiijai, their mode of hunting the elephant, Banyan tree (Ficus indica), 106 fondness of the Hindoos for it, 107 its historical celebrity, 107 Baobab, ^ African, or monkey-bread tree (Adansonia digitata), 1 02 — — immense specimens of, 103 used as a vegetable cistern, 103 its age, 104 family to which it belongs, 104 Barima river, the Upper, gigantic trees of, 114 Basilisk, the, 336 Batavia, the coffee-tree introduced into, 190 Batocera rubrus, 133 Bats, huge, of tropical forests, 84 — organisation of, 505 — the kalongs, or fox-bats, of Java, 507 — the vampire, 507, 509 — the Rhinolophi, or horse-shoe bats, 510 — the Scotophilus Coromandelicus of Cey- lon, 511 — flying squirrels, 511 — the Galeopitheci, 512 — the Anomaluri, 513 Batticaloa, forests of satinwood at. 111 Baya birds of Hindostan, tlieir nests, 383 544 INDEX Bayeiye, their mode of hunting the elephant, 456 Bear, the cocoa-nut (Ursus malayanus), 134 Bechuana country, alleged poisonous spider of, 297 Bechuanas, their love for agriculture and domestic animals, 65 — their mode of drawing water, 66 — their umbrellas, 405 Beer brewed from maize, 165 — — from millet, 166 Beetles of the tropical forests, 83, 84 — used as food and ornaments, 263 — numbers of, in various countries from the poles to the tropics, 265 — the carrion-feeding beetles of the tem- perate zone, 266 — peculiarity of beetle-life in the torrid zone, 266 — the Hercules beetle (Megasomina Her- cules), 266 — habits of tropical beetles, 267 — the Goliaths of the coast of Guinea, 267 — the South American incas, 267 — luminous beetles, 270 Behemoth of the Bible, 432 Bela dates, 143 Bell-bird, or campanero, 365 Bengal, indigo of, 234, 236 Beni river, a tributary of the Madeira, 46 Benin, palm-oil trade of, 146 Berber tribes of the oases of the Sahara, 71 Berbice river, the Victoria Regia of the, 123 Bgte rouge, the, of Guiana and the West Indies, 250 Betel-pepper leaves chewed, 137 Biledulgerid, or oases south of the Atlas, toddy drunk in, 143 Birds of the Puna, or high table-lands of tropical America, 33 — ^ of the tropical forests, 82 — of the Mexican plateaus, 87 — of the tropical seas, 303 — singular birds of the Galapagos Islands, 339 — their strange voices, 369 — breeding season, 374 — of prey of the tropics, 887-396 Birds'-nests, edible, 305 Blast, a sugar-cane disease, 187 Blatta gigantea, or the drummer, 256 Bligli, Lieutenant, his voyage in the " Bounty," and adventures subsequently, 168 Boa constrictor, 319 his habitat, 320 Boaquira (Crotalus horridus), 316 Bogota, jwrennial rainy seasons of, 9 Bolas, or hand stones of the Indians of Peru, 31 BRE Bolivia, immense consumption of cocoa in, 202 — the Indian's mode of preparing and chewing cocoa in, 203 Bombax ceiba of the forests of Yucatan, 112 Bombyx cynthia, 259 — niori, 259 — mylitta, 259 Bonito, the, 306 Bonny, palm-oil trade of, 146 — divine honours paid to water-lizards at, 335 Boomerang, or kiley, of the Australian savage, 414 Borassus flabelliformis, 137 Borelo rhinoceros, 441 Boselepbus oreas of South Africa, 65 Bo tree, the sacred, of India (Ficus religiosa), 108 antiquity of one at Anarajapoora, in Ceylon. 108 veneration of the Buddhists for it 110 Bottle tree of tropical Australia, 124 •' Bounty," mutiny of the, 1 68 — fate of the mutineers, 1 72 Bouradi, the, of Guiana, 360 Bourbon, nutmeg trade of, 229 Bower-birds of Australia, 378 — their singular nests, 379 Brachypterus aurantius, 382 Branco, Rio, 56 Brass country, palm oil of, 147 Brazil, constant winds of, 7 — weak and jealous government of, 56 — impenetrable forests of, 79 — the Porliera hygrometrica of, 120 — the bushropes or lianas of, 121 — quantity and quality of coffee exported from^ 191, 193 — cotton cultivation of, 214 — immense number of beetles found in, 265 — comparative rareness of venomous snakes in, 312 — the bush-master of, 315 — the giant-toad of, 338 — tree-frog of, 338 — colossal turtles of the coast, 344 — birds of Brazil do not migrate, 373 — jaguars of Brazil, 489 — wood (Cassalpinia crista), description of the tree producing, 240 Brodin, Mr., bis steam cocoa-nut oil mill on Foa Island, 130 Bromelia ananas, 117 — sagenaria, 117 — variegata, 117 Bromelias of tropical forests, 123 Bread-fruit tree ( Artocarpus incisa) of Poly- nesia, 166 the harvest, 167 — the mallei, or sour paste, 167 mCEX 545 BRE Biead-fuiit tree, its uses besides those of food, 1G8 — first ineiitioiied by Dumpier, 168 — history of its transplantation to the West Indies, 168-171 Breviceps gibbosus, of Guinea, 338 Buceros Malabaricus, 386 — rhinoceros, 374 Buddhists, their veneration for the sacred Bo tree at Anarajapoora, 1 10 Butfalo always found near water, 65 — the African, his guardian bird, 442 Buffalo-thorn (Acacia latronum), thorns of the, 126 Buffaloes, ferocity of the male solitaires of the, 453 — attacked by the tiger, 480 Bufo gigas, agua, of the Brazilian campos, 338 Bull-frog of Virginia, 338 Bulls, wild, of the Puna mountain valleys, 34 Buphaga Africana, the, 442 Buprestis gigas, the elytra of the, worn as an ornament, 204 Burgomaster bird (Larus glauca), 391 Burgundy, former woollen cloth trade of, 207 Bushmen, African, 61, 65 — their mode of catching ostriches, 399, 400 — their mode of hunting the elephant, 456 — their mode of hunting the lion, 473 Bush-master snake (Lachesis rlionibeata), 315 Busliropes, or lianas, of tropical vegetation, 120 Butterflies of the Sikkim mountains, 93 pABBAGE-PALM of the Antilles (Oreo- V^ doxa oleracea), its magnificence, 148 — — grub eaten, 149 Cabeza di Negro (Phytelephas), hard white nuts of the, 149 Cacao tree (Cacao theobroma), 199 — — indigenous, in Mexico, 199 — — Humboldt's description of a cacao plantation, 199 — — mode of cultivation, 200 — — management of the beans, 200 Cacatua cristata, 413 — banksii. 414 Cachalot, the, 303 Cactus Opuntia of the shores of the Medi- terranean, 119 Cactus cochinellifer, 261 Cactuses, description of tlie, 118 — their usefulness to man, 119 — did not exist in the Old World previous to the discovery of America, 119 — range of their growth, 119 Caesalpinia crista, 240 — echinata, 241 — brasiliensis, 241 CAS Caesalpinia Sappan, 241 — bimas, 241 CafFa and Enarea, the original home of the coflfee plant, 189 Calabar, New and Old, palm-oil trade of, 146 Caladium esculentum of the Sandwich Islanders, 178 Calami, the, 152 Calao, or rhinoceros horn-bill (Buceros rhinoceros), 374 Caledonia, New, spiders eaten by the natives of, 297 Caliatour wood, 241 Calms, zone of, 8 — intense heat of the, 8 — heavy afternoon rains of the, 8 Camel, its rej^emblance to the ostrich, 403 — the dromedary the ship of the desert, 417 — adaptation of its organisation to its mode of life, 418 — Bedouin mode of training it, 420 — the Bactrian camel, 420 — immemorial slavery of the camel, 421 — its unamiable character, 422 Canicleopard. See Giraffe Camelides of tropical Ameiica, 26-32 Campanero, or bell-bird, 365 Canary Islands, gigantic dragon-trees of the, 105 — — cochineal trade of the, 261 Canis azaras of the liigh table-land of Peru and Bolivia, 33 of the Peruvian sand-coast, 40 — ingaj, of the Puna, 34 Caoutchouc tree (Siphonia elastica), 216 — — description of the tree, 217 introduction of caoutchouc into Eu- rope, 217 — — mode of collecting the resin, 217 — — other trees yielding caoutchouc, 217 various uses of India rubber, 218 — — vulcanisation, 218 — — supply of India rubber, 221 Caouana, or loggerhead turtle, (Chelonia caouana), 349 Capybara, or water-pig, 351 Carabi, comparative numbers of, in the tropi- cal and temperate zones, 266 Cardinal bird of Mexico, 87 Carinaria vitrea, the, 308 Carnauba palm (Corypha cerifera), wax ob- tained from the, 148 — — other uses of the tree, 148 Caroa (Bromelia variegata), fishing-nets made from the fibres of the. 117 Carolina, South, introduction of rice into, 157 Cartwright, his invention of the power-loom, 208 Cassava, or Mandioca, root (Jatropha mani- hot), how prepared as food, 175 — the sweet cassava ( Jatropha janipha), 1 76 — ravages of the Atta cephalotes in the cassava fields, 276 N N 546 INDEX CAS Cassia, 224 Cassicns cristatus^ 368 — uber, 368 — persicus, 368 Cassiques, the, 368 — tlieir pendulous nests, 368 Cassiquiare river, 56 Cassowary, the galeated (Casuarius galea- tus), 407 Caterpillars eaten by man in Africa, 262 Catoblepas gnu, always found near water, 65 Cats unable to live at a great height above the sea, 25 — wild, their ravages in coffee plantations, 197 Cayenne, two rainy seasons of, 9 Cayman. See Alligator Ceiba (Bombax ceiba), the, of the forests of Yucatan, 112 Centipede, its virulent bite, 301 — its phosphorescence, 301 Cephalopoda, gigantic, 308 Cephalopterus ornatus, 369 Cephalopus mergens of South Africa, 65 Cerastes of the Sahara, 75 — or horned viper, of the Egyptian jug- glers, 319 Cercopitheci, their characteristics, 526 Cereals, traditional birthplace of the, 174 Cerei, or torch-cactuses, 118 Cerro de Pasco, silver mines of, 45 Cervus antisiensis, an animal peculiar to the Punas, 32 Ceroxylon andicola, wax obtained from the, 148 — height at which it will grow, 151 Ceylon, timber-trees of. 111 — abundance of the cocoa-nut tree in, 129 — cocoa-nut oil trade of, 130 — palmyra toddy of, 138 — cultivation of rice in, 155 — the ruined tanks of, 1 56 — Singalese mode of clearing the mountain forests, 195 — the coffee cultivation of, 192, 195 — cinnamon gardens of, 222 — taken by the Dutch, 227 — land-leeches of, 252 — immense number of ants in, 274 — the formidable dimiya, or great red ant, 274 — the kaddiya, 274 — snakes of, 317 — comparative rareness of venomous snakes in, 311 — the rat-snake «nd cobra domesticated in, 326 — barbarous mode of selling turtle-flesh in, 348 — birds of, 382 — elephants of, 450, 452, 458, 459 — elephant-catchers of, 460 - — species of bats in, 510 CLI Chacma, or pig-faced baboon (Cynocephalus porcarius), 528 Ciiama;rops humilis, 150, 152 — palmetto, 150 Chameleon, the, 331 — its habitat, 331 — its manner of hunting for its food, 331 — peculiarities of its organisation, 331, 332 Champsa vallifrons, 353 Chancay, sand-hills of, 42 Cheetah, or hunting leopard, 466, 482 Chegoe, Pique, or Jigger, of the West Indies (Pulex penetrans), 248 — its mode of working, 248 — native method of extirpating it, 248 Chelonia imbricata, 347, 349 — midas, 347 — caouana, 349 Chelonians, 339 Chenopodium quinoa, 177 Chicha, or maize beer, 165 Chilicabra cockroach of Peru, 258 Chimpanzee, the (Simla troglodytes), 515, 517 China, bamboo of, 114 care with which it is cultivated, 115 — probably the original home of the sugar- cane, 183 — cotton cultivation of, 214 Chinese allow nothing edible to go to waste, 263 Chinese sea, north-east monsoon of the, 9 violence of the storms of the, 1 1 Chinchilla lanigera, the, of the high table- lands of Pern, 33 its appearance and habits, 33 Chirimoya (Anona tripetala), a Peruvian fruit, 179 Chloephaga melanoptera, the, of the Puna, 33 Chloroxylon Swietenia, forests of, in Ceylon, 111 Chocolate, 201 Chorisia ventricosa of the Brazilian forests, 124 Christian, his mutiny on board the " Bounty," 168 — his abode in Pitcairn Island, 1 72 Chunu, or chaps, caused by the biting winds of the Puna, 24 Cicada Aiiglica, 263 Cicadas, or frog- hoppers, eaten by man, 263 Cilgero bird of Cuba, his song, 370 Cinnamon plant, 222 — gardens of Ceylon, 223 — immense profits of the Dutch, 223 — decline of the trade, 224 — export of, from Java, 224 — mode of cultivating the plant and procuring the rind, 225, 226 — the Ceylon chalias, 226 — oil, 227 Cleopatra, her death, 319 Climates, diversity of, within the tropics, 3 INDEX 547 CLI COR Climates, causes by which this diversity is produced, 3 — climate of tiie Llanos of Venezuela and New Grenada, 14 — of the Puna or liigh table- lands of Peru and Bolivia, 23 — vegetation always suited to the peculiar climate of a country, 62 — variety of tlie climate of Mexico, 87 Climbing trees of the tropics, 121 Cloves, substitute for the essential oil of, 227 — history of the cruel monopoly of the Dutch in, 227 — clove-tree proves, 229 — essential oil, 229 Coary river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 Coatimondi, the, 517, 518 Cobra di Capello, the, 317 — tamed by the Indian jugglers, 317 — its habitat, 318 Coca (Erythroxylon coca), 202 — its immense consumption in Peru and Bolivia, 202 — its wonderfully strengthening effects, 203 — fatal consequences of its abuse, 204 — divine honours paid to the shrub by the Peruvians, 205 — its use interdicted by the Spanish con- querors, but finally allowed and en- couraged, 206 — analysis of, by Professor Wlihler of Gijtiingen, 206 Cocain, Professor Wbhler's discovery of, 206 Cocci of Europe, blights caused by the, 260 — the cochineal coccus of Mexico, 260 Coccus hesperidum of Mexico, 260 — lacca, or lac-insect, 262 Cochineal insect, food of the, 119 — — exportation of, forbidden by the Spaniards in Mexico, 261 introduced into the Canary Islands, Spain, and other places, 261 cultivation of the, 260 history of cochineal, 261 Cock of the rock (Rupicola aurantia), 366 Cockatoo, the, 413 — the great white, 413 — the black, of Australia, 414 ■ — cockatoo killing in Australia, 414 Cockroaches (Blatta;), tropical plague of, introduced into England, 256 — the giant cockroach of the tropics (Blatta gigantea), 256 — encounter between a spider and a cock- roach, 298 Cocoa-nut tree (Cocos nucifera), the, 128 — extent of its domain, 129 — — — its abundance in Ceylon, 129 its many uses to man, 129, 131, 132 cocoa-nut oil and the oil trade, 130 Cocoa-nut tree, toddy made from the, 131 timber of the, 132 cultivation of the, 132 enemies of the, 133 Cocoa de mer (Ladoicea Sechellarum), 140 its former and present value, 141 Cocos nucifera, the, 128. See Cocoa-nut tree — butyracea, or oil palm-tree of West _ Africa, 144 Cocujas beetle of South America, its lu- minous qualities, 270 Coffee, original home of the plant, 189 — the use of, introduced into Arabia, 189 — history of coffee-drinking, 190 — the first coffee-houses in London and Paris, 190 — present state of coffee production throughout the world, 191 — Brazil and Java, 19] — Ceylon, Hayti, and Venezuela, 192 — Mocha coffee, its quality, 193 — mode of cultivation of the coffee-tree, 193 — profits of coffee-plantations, 196, 197 — enemies of the coffee tree, 197 — ravages of the Viviagua ant, 275 Coffee bug (Lecanium coffese), of Ceylon, 197, 198 Coir, or cocoa-nut fibre, uses to which it is applied, 131 Colobi of Africa, 526 Colocalia esculenta, 305 Colombo, cinnamon gardens of, 224 Columbus, Christopher, the first to import maize from America into Europe, 160 Combretias, the, of the banks of the rivers of Guiana, 82 Condamine, M. La, his voyage from Bran- camoros to Para, 59* — introduces caoutchouc into Europe, 217 Condor, the, of the high table-lands of tro- pical America, 33, 387 — his marvellous flight, 387 — his cowardice, 388 — modes of capturing him, 388, 389 — compared with the albatross, 389 Condors of the sand-coast of Peru, 43 Congo, baobab trees of, 103 Coniferse of the slopes of the Sikkim moun- tains, 90 Convolvulus batatas, or sweet potato, 177 Cooroominya beetle (Batocera rubrus), its attacks on the young cocoa-nut tree, 133 eaten by the Singalese, 133 Coot, the gigantic (Fulica gigantea), of tropical America, 33 Coppersmith bird of Ceylon (Megalasara Indica), 382 Coquero, the, or habitual coca chewer, 205 Coral islands, 302 formation of, 309 )Uo NT* i48 TXDRX COR Cornl-snake (Elaps coraliintu), domesticated in Bnizil, 326 Coriaceous turtle (Spliargis coriacca), 348 Corozo palm (KLxmh olcifera), oil of the, 149 Corypha aUHtraiin, 150 Coryphaoria, the, 306 ('oryphodon lihiinenbachii, 326 Cotingaa, the, 365 Cotton, 207 — amazing rise of the cotton manufacture, 208 — known in ancient times, 208 — invention of the spinnin^-jcnny, 208 — and of the Hpinninjij-frame, the mule- jenny, atid the power-loom, 208 — stati«tic» of the cotton trade, 209 — different Bpcci(!8 of the cotton plant, 210 — cultivation of the phiiit, 210 — the cotton harvest, 21 1 — the cotton trade of India, prcaent and proHjjective, 211, et aeq. — cffcctM of the civil war in America on the cotton trade, 213 — cottul)ai;ua, island of, 58 Cubl)eer - burr banyan tree, the famous, 107 (.!ii(haracha cockroach of INtu, 258 DIM Cuculi pigeons of the I'eruvian sand-coast 41 Cucumis cafTtr, 63 Curcuma loiiga, 242 Cyclones, 1 1 Cynocephali, 527 Cynocephalus porcarius, 528 — sphinx, 528 Cypborinus cantans, 371 Cypraca aurora, 308 DAMARA LAND, reason wliy droughts are prevalent in, 62 umbrellaH u.sed in, 405 Dampier, the bread-fruit first mentioned by, 168 — his description of a logwood-cntter, 238 — attacked by n Guinea worm, 250 Darwin, Mr., his account of the giant tor- toise of the Gala(>ai'Ofl Islands, 340 — his ride on a tortoise 342 Dasypus taluay of the sand-coast of Peru, 40 Date-palm (Phoenix dactylifera), 142 — — range of cultivatirju, 142 — — mois«»sf«s to which tho traveller is li»blo in the rmins, or hi^ijh table- laiuls u{ Peru aiul Uolivia. a4 I>\>j::s. half wild (C«nis Ingw), of the Punas, 34 Dv.lphiius 307 I>oi)kiah mountain, 89 Porjiliui;, i>anatarium of, in th« Sikkim numntaiuvH, 89 lX)uin-j»alin (UyphaMie Thehaica), 144 Oouw, or liuivheirs zebra, 4*20 PraewnHS, or dra^on-tiYt»s, 105 — gijrajUie ones of the Canary Islands, Madeira, and Torto Santo, 105 — ct'lebrateil sjieeiniou at Oivtava, in Teuerirte, 105 l>rai:jon-tlies I'f the tivpica, 267 l)|-ai^>ns, tlyinj;, 3;U> l>rai:on-lret>s. Set DraoMnas. Drill, the, 528 Divnuiius Novio Hollandia>, 407 Dromedary. •St'f Camel. Di-onjjhts, ivHson why they are prevalent in South Africa, 61 Drummer coc'kiXMch (Blatta gigantea), 25t>, 257 Du Chaillu, &I., his description of the gorilla, 519 Duiker (Cephalopus mergens), the, of South AfricH, 65 Durissus (t^'otalus durissus), 316 Diiruculi nionkey, the, 538 Dutch, their projjixvss in the Indian Ocean and cruel nionopolies, 227 Dyes, tropical vegetable, 234 ~ iudig^>, 234 — logwiKxl, 238 — Brazil wikhI, 240 — ifvl s.'iuiidej-s WikkI, 241 — arnatto, 241 -— fustic, 242 — turmeric, 242 I^^ACI.K. the harpy, 392 J — his habitat, 393 — tho fishing, of Africa (llaliiutus vocifer), 395 — tho sea, of the north, its method of pro- curing fiKHl, 402 Karlh-hogs of the Capt>, 50 Eastern coasts or eastern slopes bettor watertnl than western, why, 7 Kohidna, the, or piMcupino ant-eater, 503 — ocellata, its fatal bite, 315 Echinwttcti, the, 118 Eohinocactus nana, or dwarf-cactus, 119 — visnaga, its inunense size, 119 Egypt, sycamore gi\)ves of, 105 — cotton cultivation of. 214 Eider-down, motlo of obtaining, 402 Eltois guineensis, or oil-l>ulm trto of West Africa, 144 EWls oleifera, oil of the, 149 Ehuuls (Boi-eJaphus wxas) of South Afirtva, 65 Elaps wrallinus, 386 Electric eel (Gymnotus electricus), 20 Lulian nuKle of capturing them, 20 Elephant-thorn of Ctylon. 126 " Elephant, his love of solitude, 449 — lu's seuvses of sntell and o( hearing, 450 — his motle of ascending and doscendinx abrupt banks, 450 — his stomach. 451 — his trunk, 451 — uses of his tusks, 451 — his discipline, 452 — hts sagacity and devotioa, 452 — rogues, 453 — value of the elephant to man, 454 — 8pei>ies of the, 454 — wide range of the African, 455 — - mode of Imnting hint in vjtrious cour.- tries, 455 — ivory of the African elephant, 458 — the Asiatic, 458 — catchers, of Ceylon, 460 — cwrals, 462 Kllioit, Ensign, his escaj>o fi-om a tigt>r, 479 Emu or nandu (Uhea Americana), ita habitat, 406 — of Australia (Di-omaius Novje llol- landiaO, 407 Kmydie, or nuirsh-tortoii^es, of Anierica and the Indian Aa^hipelago, 342 Emys picta, 342 Enarea and Cutla, the original home of the cotfee plant, 1 89 England, annual iujports of wool inti», 207 — • former wind trade o^", 207 — cotton trade of, 209 — numlwr of beetles found in, 265 Entinms nobili.s, 264 Epeiras, Iwautifnl colouring of tK?, 294 Epiphyti'S of the forests of tlttT t»i>pics, 123 Essequibo river, 56 Evmeotes nmrinus, 320 Eupliorbia arbo»"e.-«cons of Africa, 1 05 — ti"ee, the juice of the, used as a ]H)is»'n in South Africa, 400 Everest, Mount, 89 Eyes, acute inflammation of llu-, in tlio I'nna, 24 — of tho chameleon, 331 FALCO BACHA, 394 Falcon (Kalco sjMirverins) of tho I'eru- vian .sand-coast, 41 Faval, destruction of the orange trees of, 260 Ecalhers of the ostrich, 405 550 INDEX FEE Feejee Islands, barbarous mode of treating turtles in the, 347 visit from a crocodile to the, 357 sandal tree of, 112 Felidae of Peru, 40 — of the tropical forests, 84 — of the Old World, 466 — of the New World, 486 Felis dogaster, 491 — jaguarundi, 491 — pardalis, 491 Ferns, arborescent, of tropical forests, 80, 123 Fie us elastica, singular formation of the roots of the, 125 caoutchouc of the, 217, 220 — • indica, astonishing size of the, 107 — religiosa, of India, 108 — sycomorus, of Africa, 105 Fig, the Indian, the fruit of the melocacti, 119 Fig trees, climbing, of Polanarrua, 122 marriage of the fig tree and palm, 123 Filaria medinensis, or Guinea worm, 249 its mode of working, 249 method of extracting it, 249, 250 Fir, the silver (Abies Webbiana), of the slopes of Sikkim, 90 Fire-ant, the black, of Guiana, 274 Fishes, tropical, 306 Fishing-eagle of Africa (Haliastus vocifer), 395 Flamingo (Phcenicopterus ruber), 371 — its habits, 371 — its nests, 37 1 — the rose-coloured (P. antiquorum), 371 — of the Puna, 33 Flowers of the primitive forest of tropical America, 81 Flute-bird (Cyphorinus cantans), 371 Fly-catcher, crowned (Myoarchus coronatus), of the Peruvian sand-coast, 41 Flying-fishes (Exocoetus volitans, Pterois volitans), 306 Foa, one of the Tonga Islands, steam cocoa- nut oil-mill on, 130 Fon-wind of the Alps," origin of the, 73 Forbes, Mr., his narrow escape from a cobra di capello, 318 Forests inundated by the Amazons river, 48 Forest, primitive tropical, 78 — its peculiar cliarms and terrors, 78 — troubles of the botanist in the, 79 — endless varieties of trees in tropical forests, 79 — and of their sites, 80 — lowland forests during the rainy sea- son, 81 — a hurricane in, 81 — beauty of the forests after the rainy season, 82 GIR Forests, birds of the tropical, 82, 83 — morning, noon, and night, in the forests, 83-85 — the sylvan wonders of Sikkim, 89 Formica analis and saccharivora, ravages of the, in sugar plantations, 276 — rubescens, 279 — sanguinea, 280 Fox (Canis azarae), the, of the high table- lands of Peru and Bolivia, 33 — of the Peruvian sand-coast, 40 Foxes, flying, 505, 507 France, cotton manufacture of, 209 — number of beetles found in, 265 Frigate-bird, 3U3 — — its mode of operation, 304 Frog, the Brazilian and Surinam tree, 338 Frog-fish, the, 307 Frog-hoppers (Cicadas), edible, 263 Fruit trees of the tropics, 1 79 — — the chirimoya of Peru, 179 — — the litchi, 180 the mangosteen, 180 the mango, 181 Fulgora lanteruaria, 271 Fulica gigantea of tropical America, 33 Fustic, from what obtained, 242 n AD-FLY of South America ((Estrus 1 7 hominis), ulcers produced by the, 247 Galapagos, or Tortoise Islands, 339 — singular animal and vegetable life of the, 339 Galagos, the, 530 Galeodes vorax, its fatal bite, 301 Galeopitheci, the, 512 Gallinazos, or turkey-buzzards, 390 Garapata (Ixodes sanguisuga), a kind of tick, 250 Garua, or drizzling mists, of the Peruvian sand-coasts, 39 Gasteracantha arcuata, 292 Gavials of the Ganges, 351 — their attack of the tiger, 351 Gazelle, chase of the^ in the Sahara, 75 Gecko, the, 328 — its usefulness to man, 329 — anatomy of its feet, 3*29 — different species of, 329 Geese, wild, of the heights of the Sikkim mountains, 92 Genialcdie, the mufti of Aden, introduces the use of coffee to the dervises of Aden, 189 Gemsbucks of South Africa, 65 Geography, physical, of the tropics, 3 Germany, cotton manufacture of, 209 Gibbon, the, 521 Gibraltar, monkeys of, 527 Gilolo, island of, birds of paradise of, 378 Ginger, its commercial importance, 233 — its growth and cultivation, 233 Giraffe, or camelopard, its beauty, 423 INDEX 551 GIR HIM Giraffe, its wide range of vision, 424 — use of its horns, 424 — its gregarious habits, 425 — liunting, 425 — his enemies in the forest, 427 — known to the ancients, 427 — his probable acclimatisation, 428 — always found near water, 65 Glagah, or tall grass of the Indian jungle, 156 Glow-worms (Lampyrides) of Europe, 270 — — of Sarawak, 271 — — worn as ornaments, 271 Glue, marine, 219 Gnu (Catoblepas gnu), always found near water, 65 — the, of South Africa, 425, 426 Goatsucker, singular voice of the, 369 — his usefulness, 370 — - his food, 370 Godin des Odonnais, M., accompanies La Condainine on his voyage, 59 Giidin, Madame, her adventures, 59 Goliath beetles of the coast of Guinea, 267 eaten, 263 Golunda coffee-rat, the, 197 Gomuti palm, wine of the, 136 Gomutus vulgaris, 136 Good Hope, Cape of, discovery of the road round the, 227 Goodyear, Mr., his mode of hardening India- rubber, 218 Goose, the white Huachua, of the Puna, 33 Gordonia Wallichii, the, of the Sikkim slopes, 90 Goree, ravages of termites at, 282 — giant spiders of, 292 Gorilla, the, 519 Greenland, number of beetles found in, 265 Green turtle (Chelonia midas), 347 Grenada, New, the Llanos of,- 14 importance of the guadua bamboo of, 114 Grosbeak, the, 384 Gua Gede, cavern of, 305 Gua Rongkop, cave of, and its esculent swallows' nests, 305 Guadeloupe, tornado in, 1 1 Guadua bamboo, its importance In New- Grenada and Quito, 1 14 Guama, Rio, singular vegetation on the banks of the, 123 Guanas of the Bahama Islands, 333 Guandiru (Phyllostoma hastatum), 508 Guano or Chincha Islands, 36, 42, 43 Guapore river, a tributary of the Madeira, 46, 57 Guarana Indians, importance of the Mau- ritia palm to the, 21 their singular habitations, 21 Guatemala, indigo of, 236 Guayaquil, perennial rainy season of, 9 Gueparda jubata, guttata, 482 Guiana, beauty of the vegetation of the banks of the rivers of, after the rainy season, 82 — birds of, 82, 366, 367 — magnificence of the forests of, 113 — insect plagues of, 250 — the black fire-ant of, 274 — the bush-master snake of, 315 — the toucan of, 360 Guinea, deflections from the ordinary course of the trade-winds on the coast of, 10 Guinea worm (Filaria medinensis), 249 Gulf stream, influence of the, on our climate, 5 Gulielma speciosa, its uses to man, 149 Gumatty, or fibres of the saguer palm, 136 Gumer, in Fassokl, immense baobab tree near, 103 Gutta percha, or gutta tuban (Icosandra gutta), its native country, 219 — — its introduction into Europe, 219 Malay mode of collecting the gum, 219 properties of gutta percha, 220 uses of gutta percha, 220 — — supply of gutta percha, 221 Gymnotus electricus, 20 Gyrophora of the Sikkim heights, 92 HAG HA, RIO, red dye-wood from, 241 Haje (Naja Haje), of Egypt, 319 Halioetus vocifer, 395 Halig dates, 1 43 Hancock and Eroding, Messrs., their India- rubber manufactures, 218 Hare, Mr., and the cocoa-nut oil of the Keeling islands, 130 Hares of the Sahara, 75 Haigraves,Mr., his invention of the spinning- jenny, 208 Harpy eagle (Thrasaetes harpya), 392 Hayti, coffee trade of, 1 92 — attempts of M. Thierry de Meronville to introduce the cochineal insect into,261 Hawaii, sandal tree of, 112 Hawk, the sparrow, of Africa (Melierca nmbicus), 395 Hawk-moths, giant, of the tropical forests, 84 Hawksbill turtle (Chelonia imbricata), 347, 349 Hebrides, New, sandal tree of the, 112 Hedgehog of the Sahara, 75 Heliconias of tropical forests, 81 Hemp, Manilla, or avaca, 175 Herbivorous animals of South Africa, 64 Herbs of the upper slopes of the Sikkim mountains, 9 1 Hercules beetle (Megasomina Hercules), 266 Himalaya mountains, 89 '- considered as colossal refrigerators, 5 land-leeches of the southern slopes of the, 252 552 INDEX Hindoos, their fondness for the banyan tree, 107 Hippopotamus, the Behemoth of tlie Book of Job, 432 — its diminishing numbers, 433 — " rogue hippopotami," or " bachelors," 434 — intelligence and memory of the hippo- potamus, 435 — uses of its skin and teeth, 435 — modes of scaring it away from the fields on the White Nile, 436 — methods of killing it, 436 — the specimen in the zoological gardens,438 Hippotigris, the, of the ancients, 430 Hog, the chief enemy of the rattlesnake, 316 Hogs, wild, of Peru, 40 Honduras, two rainy seasons of, 9 — mahogany trees of, 113 — turkey of (Meleagris ocellata), 376 Honey-ants of Mexico (Myrmecocy.stus Mexicanus), their singular habits, 281 Honey-eaters (Melithreptes), 375 Hornbill, red-beaked, 385, 386 — large, of Malabar, 386 — rhinoceros (Buceros rhinoceros), 374 Horses, their amphibious life during the rainy season in the savannahs, 19 — their enemies in all parts of the world, 19, 20 — effects of the rarefaction of the air on horses in the high table-lands of Pern and Bolivia, 24 Hottentots, fondness of the lion for the flesh of, 468 House-ants in the river Amazon, 277 Huallaga river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 Huanacu, the, of Peru, 28 Humboldt, M. von, on tropical vegetation, 1 02 Humming-birds, 361 their wide range over the New World, 3G2 their habits, 362 their courage, 363 their enemies, 363 impossibility of bringing them alive to England, 363 mode of catching them, 364 — — various species, 364 Hunger, how long a man can withstand, 38 Huniman, the (Semnopithecus entellus), 525 Hyaena, the, 483 — hunting, 484 — varieties of the, 484 Hyaenas of the Saiiura, 75 Hydrocanthari, comparative numbers of, in the tropical and temperate zones, 266 Hyla crepitans, 338 — micans, 338 INS Hyphaene coriacea, southern limits of the, 151 Hyphajne Thebaica, or doum palm, 144 IBIS, the, of the Puna, 33 — of America, 372 — of Egypt, 372 Ibo, palm oil of, 147 r9a river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 Icebergs, wanderings of, 302 Ichneumon, or mongoos, his destruction of venomous serpents, 322, 355 Icterus Baltimore, 367 — xanthornus, 383 Iguana tuberculata, 352 Iguanas of the Peruvian sand-coast, 41 Inca beetles of South America, 267 India, teak forests of, 111 — bamboos of, 114 — cultivation of cotton in, present and pro- spective, 211 — hopes from the railways in progress, 212 — irrigation in India in ancient times, 212 — the indigo trade of, 237 — comparative rareness of venomous snakes in, 311 India-rubber tree (Ficus elastica), singular formation of the roots of the, 125. See Caoutchouc tree. Indian Ocean, north-east monsoon of the, 9 violence of the storms of the, 1 1 Indies, West, annual fall of rain in the, 6 insect plagues of, 250 turtles of the, 347 Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria), Bengal- ese cutting the plant, 234 mode of cultivation, 235 and of preparing the colour, 236 — - — the indigo trade of the East Indies , 237 Indri, the, of Madagascar, 529 Inga, the, of the banks of the rivers of Guiana, 82 Insects of the Sikkim mountains, 93 — their aversion for sandal wood, 112 — of the tropical world, 245 - insect plagues, 245 — the universal dominion of, 245 — mosquitoes, 246 — the (Estrus hominis, 247 — the chegoe or jigger, 248 - Filaria medinen.sis, 249 - the bete rouge, 250 — blood-sucking ticks, 250 — land-leeches of Ceylon. 251 — the tsetse-fly, 252, 260 — the Soudan fly, 254 — the locust, 254 — the cucharaciia and chilicabra cock- roaches of Peru, 258 — tropical insects direit'y useful toman,259 — silk-worms, 259 INDEX 553 INS Insects, cochineal, 260 — the gum-lac insect, 262 — eaten by man, 262 — worn as ornaments, 263 — increasing numbers in various countries advancing from the poles to the tropics, 265 — vast numbers of Coleoptera in Brazil, 267 — dragon- flies of the tropics, 267 — similarity of some, to the soil or ob- ject on which they are found : the walking-leaf and walking-stick insects, 268 — luminous, 270 — ants and termites, 272 — spiders and scorpions, 291 Island of Ascension, 345 — Banda, 228 — Ceylon, 282 — Cubagua, 58 — Goree, 282 — Lonshoir, 228 — Madeira, 184 — Melville, 265 — Pitcairn, 172 — Pulo Aij, 228 — Tahiti, 184 Islands : — — Bahamas, 333, 346 — Carolinas, 130 — Coral, 309 — Feejee, 347 — Friendly, 169 — Galapagos or Tortoise, 339 — Keeling, 130. 134 — Kingsmill, 130 — Moluccas, 347 — Sandwich, 1 78, 376 — Society, 130 — South Sea, 375 — Tonga, 130 — Tortoise, or Galagapos, 339 Italy, origin of the sirocco of, 73 Ivory, African, 458 Ixodes sanguisuga, 250 JABIRU of America, 372 Jacana, the, or surgeon-bird, 372 Jackal, the, of the Sahara, 75, 480 Jaffna, forests of Palmyra palms in the peninsula of, 137 Jaggery, or Singalese sugar of the palmyra palm tree, 139 Jagua palm, elegance of the, 151 Jaguar, the, of the sand-coast of Peru, 40, 486 — his habits in the impenetrable forests of South America, 78 — his boldness, 487 — hunting, 488 Jaguarundi (Felis jaguarundi), the, 491 KIN Jamaica, two rainy seasons of, 9 — pimento of, 232 Jatropha manihot, 175 — janipha, 176 Java, teak forests of, 111 — cocoa-nut oil trade of, 131 — ratans of, 141 — sparrow, or rice-bird (Loxia oryzivora), 155 — state of the coffee culture in, 191 — Javanese mode of cultivating coffee, 195 — cultivation of vanilla in, 201 — giant spiders of, 292 — the crocodile considered a sacred animal in, 354 — rhinoceros of, 448 — a Javanese jungle and its terrors, 476 — the kalongs, or fox-bats of, 507 Jelly-fish, 309 Jiboya, or boa constrictor, 319, 320 Jigger of the West Indies (Pulex penetrans), 248 Job, his description of Behemoth, 432 Jungle-fires in Sikkim, 115, 156 Jungle-fowl (Megapodius tumulus), mound- like nest uf the, 381 Jungle-nail of Ceylon, 126 Jutay river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 KADDIYA ANT of Ceylon, 274 Kala bird, the (Buphaga Africana), 442 Kalahari, causes of drought in the, 62 — abundance of vegetation in the, 62 — singular and useful plants of the, 62 — animal life of the, 64 — Bushmen and Bakalahari of the, 65 — skins of animals of the, 66 Kalongs, or fox-bats, of Java, 507 Karabamite, the largest of the humming- birds, 364 Kaross, or skin dress of the deserts of South Africa, 66 Keeling Island, method of catching turtle on, 346 cocoa-nut oil mills of, 130 cocoa-nut crab of, 134 Keitloa rhinoceros, 441 Kengwe, or Kerne, plant (Cucumis CafFer), of the Kalahari, 63 Khaidge pheasants, 92 Khamsin, or sand-storm of the Sahara, 72 Khaya Senegalensis, or mahogany tree of Africa, 113 Kiley, or boomerang, of the Australian savage, . 414 Kinchinghow mountain, 89 Kinchinginga mountain, 89 Kingsmill Islands, perennial rainy season of the, 9 cocoa-nut oil trade of the, 130 554 INDEX KLI LOG Klipdachs, the, 394 Kobaaba rhinoceros (R. Oswellis), 441 Koodoo (Strepsiceros capensis), of South Africa, 65 Korakorum monntain, 89 Kordofan, baobab trees of, 103 — deleb palms of, 144 Korwe (Tockus erythrorynchus), 385 — its singular nest, 385 Kuihip river, vegetation of the banks of the, 63 Kunthia montana, height at which it will grow, 151 LABARRI snake, 312 thePrinceofNeuWiedandone, 313 Lac, or gum-lac, 262 Lac, insect, the (Chermes lacca), 262 Lachesis rhombeata, 315 Ladang, or mountain rice, cultivation of, 156 Lagidium peruanumand pallipes of Peru, 32 Lagostomus viscacha of the Pampas, 32 Lagunes of the Maraiion, 49 — fish catching on a grand scale, 49 Lalo, the, of the Africans, 104 Land, growth of, promoted by mangrove vegetation, 95 Land -crabs, 308 Land-leeches of Ceylon, 251 Lantern-fly (Fulgora lanternaria), its fabled phosphorescence, 271 Lapland, number of beetles found in, 265 Lar, the, of Siam and Malacca, 522 Larus serranus of tropical America, 33 Lathami talegalla, 380 Laurels of tropical forests, 81 Lecanium coffeas, or coffee bug, 197 Lecanora miniata of the heights of the Sik- kim mountains, 92 Leeches of the streams of the Sikkim moun- tains, 93 — of the southern slopes of the Himalaya, 2 52 — land, of Ceylon, the plague of, 251 Leguiiiinosas of tropical forests, 81 Lemur, slow-paced, 529 — handed, 530 Leopard, the, 466 — the, attracted by the smell of the small- pox, 482 — the hunting leopard, or cheetah, 482 Lepidoptera, comparative numbers of, in Siberia and Brazil, 266 Leroshua plant, its value to the inhabitants of the Kalahari, 62 Liana, or bushrope, of the primitive tropical forest, 79, 121 Libellula lucretia dragon-fly, 267 Lichens of the heights of the Sikkim moun- tains, 92 Licli, the, a bird of the Puna, 33 Lima wood, 241 Limulus, the, 307 Lion, similarity of the voice of the ostrich to that of the, 403 — on the borders of the Sahara, 75 — not a noble animal, 467 — his conflicts with travellers on Mount Atlas, 467 — his fondness for the flesh of the Hotten- tot, 468 — hunting, 470 — different species of the, 474 — his affection for the dog, 475 Liquidambar tree of Mexico, 88 Litchi (Nephelium litchi), of China and Cochin China, 180 Lithophytes, or stone polyps, 309 Liverpool, its monopoly of the palm-oil trade, 145 — trade of, 209 Livingstone, Dr., his efforts to promote the cultivation of cotton in Africa, 214 — attacked by red ants, 274 — his adventure with a lion, 471 Lizards of the Peruvian sand-coast, 4 — of the Sahara, 76 — their delight in the sunshine, 83 — their vast numbers in the tropics, 328 — the gecko, 328 — the anolis, 330 — chameleons, 331 — iguanas, 332 — guanas, 333 — monitor-lizard, 333 — water-lizards, 334 — flying-dragons, 335 — the basilisk, 336 — peculiar, of the Galapagos Islands, 339 Llama, its use to the ancient Peruvians, 26 — the only animal domesticated by the aboriginal Americans, 26 — its similarity to the dromedary of the Old World, 27 — its appearance, its ordinary load, and price, 27 -— herds jounieyingdescribed by Tschudi,27 — kindness of the Indians towards them, 28 Llanos, the, of Venezuela and New Grenada, their extent, 14 — their aspect in the dry season, 14 — and in the rainy season, 18 — their appearance at the end of the rainy period, 21 — almost uninhabited when discovered by the Spaniards, 22 Lobsters of the tropical seas, 308 Locust (Gryllus migratorius), description of the, 254 — vast numbers of them, 254 — superstition of the Moslems respecting them, 255 — their devastation of the Empire of Mo- rocco, 255 INDEX 555 LOG MEG Locusts, Mr. Barrow's description of a swarm of, in South Africa, 255 — army of them at Poonah, 255 — larvae of the, or " Voetgangers," 255 — Southey's description of them, 256 — eaten by man in the Sahara and South Africa, 262 Loggerhead turtle, 349 Logwood, 238 — a native of America, 238 • — logwood-cutters, their mode of life, 238, 239 — disputes with the Spaniards, 238, 239 Lomas, or chains of hills, which hound the east of the sand-coast of Peru, 39 — the pasture-grounds of the Lomeros, 39 — heasts of prey in the Lomas, 40 Lonthoir, nutmeg trees of, 228 Loris, the, 529 Lory, the, 413 Loxia oryzivora, 1 55 Lucan, sugar alluded to by, 183 Luminous beetles, 270 Lum tree of Ualan, singular formation of the roots of the, 125 Lyre-bird, 376, 377 MACA, a tuberous root, cultivated by the Lidians in the high table-lauds of Peru and Bolivia, 26 Macaul)a palm trees, encased by parasitic fig trees, 123 Macaw (Macrocercus macao), 415 Mace, 230 Mackintosh, Mr., his India-rubber manu- factures, 218 Macrocercus macao, 415 Madagascar, traveller-tree of (Ravenala spe- ciosa), 175 Madeira river, a tributary of the Amazons, 46 — — its own tributaries, 46 — gigantic dragon trees of, 105 — the sugar-cane introduced into, 184 Magot, the, of the rock of Gibraltar, 527 Mahogany tree (Swietenia mahagoni), of British Honduras and Balize, 113 — of Africa (Khaya Senegalensis), 1 13 Maimon monkey, 527 Mainas, on the Amazons, house-ants in, 277 Maize, cultivation of, 159, 162 — imported from America by Columbus, 160 — its present cultivation in the eastern hemisphere, 160 — its magnificent growth, 160 — its enormous productiveness, 161 — production of, in the United States in 1853, 161, note. Maize, the least subject to disease of all the cereals, 162 — the harvest of, 163 — its wide zone of cultivation, 163 — Dr. Franklin on the various uses of the plant and grain, 164 — beer, or chicha, 165 — nutrition of, 166 Makis, or murel, of Madagascar, 529 Makololo, spotted spider of, 292 — poisonous spider of, 296 Malabar, annual fall of rain on the coast of, 6 Malacca, peninsula of, its climate, 5 Malaria of the Mexican tierra caliente, 87 Mammee tree (Mammsea Americana), 26'i Mammillariae, the, 118 Mamore river, a tributary of the Madeira, 46 Manaar, in Ceylon, baobab trees at, 104 Manakins (Pipra), the, 366 Manciiester, trade of, 209 Mandrill, the, 528 Mango (Mangifera indica), fruit of the, 181 — varieties grown at Kew Gardens, 181 Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), 180 — its delicious fruit, 181 Mangrove tree (Rhizopliora gymnorrhiza, K. Mangle), 94 of the delta of the Amazons, 51 its peculiarities of growth and adap- tation to its site, 94 — — its importance in furthering the growth of land, 95 — — animal life in the mangrove forests, 95 Manilla hemp, or Avaca, 175 Mar. is pentadactyla, 500 Mantis, or soothsayer, its habits, 268, 269 Mantis religiosa, 269 Marajo Island, size of the, 47 Maranon river. See Amazons. Marantha arundinacea, arrowroot made from the, 177, 178 Margay, or tiger-cat, 491 Marimonda, the (Ateles Belzebub), 536 Marine glue, 219 Marsh forests of the torrid zone, 98 Marsh-tortoises of America and the Indian Archipelago, 342 Martha, Saint, red dye wood so called, 241 Mauritia palm, 15, 18, 21, 22 its importance to the South Ame- rican Indian, 21 Mauritius, tornado in, 1 1 — the coffee tree introduced into, 190 Maynas, in Peru, mosquitoes of, 247 Medanos, or sand- hillocks, of the coast of Peru, 38 Megalasara Indica, 382 Megapodius tumulus, 381 — Duperreyii, 381 Megasomina Hercules, 266 INDEX MEL Melierca musicus, 395 Melithreptes, or honey-eater birds of the South Sea Islands, 375 Melocacti, the pulp of the, 119 Melon-cactus of the llanos, the, 15 Melon, water, of the deserts of Africa, 63 Melville Island, scanty insect life on, 265 Membracida3 used as food by ants, 280 Menura, or lyre-bird, 376, 377 Mesembryanthemum, its admirable adap- tation to the deserts of Africa, 64 — various kinds of, 64 Mexico, Gulf of, causes of the distribution of rain in the, 10 — New, influence of the heated plains of, in deflecting the trade-winds, 10 Mexico, geological formation of, 86 — the iierra caliente, or lowlands of, 87 — vegetable and animal life of, 87 — the tierra templada, 88 — the iiei'ra Jria, 89 — the Agave Americana of, 116 — the pulque of, 117 — cultivation of vanilla in, 201 — indigo cultivation in, 234 — giant spiders of, 292 Micrometers, spiders' webs used for, 299 Mikania huaco, an antidote against snake- bites, 314 Millet (Sorghum vulgare), cultivation of, 166 — the, beer, or dhourra, of the Nubians, 166 Mimosas of the tropics, their beauty, 120 — the Porliera hygrometrica, 120 Minelle, a kind of cobra di capello, 318 Mirage in the llanos in the dry season, 1 6 — on the Amazons river, 55 Miriki monkey (Ateles hypoxanthus), 532 Misantla, cultivation of vanilla at, 201 Mists of the Peruvian sand-coast, 39 Mocha, quality of its coffee, 193 Mocking-bird (Cassicus persicus), 87, 88, 368 Mokuri plant, its importance to the in- habitants of the Kalahari, 63 JMolasses, or uncrystallised sugar, 186 Moluccas, the, in the hands of the Dutch, 227 — turtles of the, 347 MoUusks, 308 Monakhir dates, 143 Mongoos, or ichneumon, 322 Monitor-lizard (Tejus monitor), 76, 333 Monkey-bread tree. See Baobab Monkeys of the primitive forests, 83 — of the Sikkim mountains, 92 — their destruction of the sugar-cane, 186 — their fondness for coffee berries, 197 — not indigenous in Australia, 342 — of the Old World, 514 — tlieir climbing powers, 515 — bad pedestrians, 515^ MUS Monkeys, contrasted and compared with man, 516 — the chimpanzee, 517 — the gorilla, 519 — the uran, or wild man of the woods, 520 — gibbons, 521 — tlie semnopitheci, 524 — the proboscis monkey, 525 — the huniman, 525 — the wanderoos of Ceylon, 525 — the colobi and cercopitheci, 526 — the magots of Gibraltar, 527 — the baboon, 527 — the maimon, 527 — the mandrill and drill, 528 — wide difference between the monkeys of the New and Old World, 531 — Indian mode of taming a monkey, 534 — the aluate, or howling monkey, 535 — the spider monkey, 536 — sakis, or fox-tailed monkeys, 536 — the nyctopitheci, or nocturnal, 537 — the duruculi and ouistitis, 538 — its points of resemblance to the parrot, 408 Monoho rhinoceros (R. simus), 441 Monsoon, the north-east, 9 — the south-west, 10 Montgomery, Mr , his introduction of gutta percha into Europe, 219 Moon-flower (Alango), the, 225 Mora excelsa of the forests of Guiana, Water- ton's description of the, 1 1 3 Mormolyce, the Javanese, 270 Morning in the tropical forest, 82 Morocco, Empire of, laid waste by locusts, 255 Morus tinctoria, 242 Mosquitoes, 246 — ferocious, of the river Seuza, 246 — and of tropical America, 246 Mygale avicularia, effects of its bite, 296 Mosses of the Sikkim heights, 92 Moth, Atlas, of Ceylon, 267 '• Mother of the Waters," Indian superstition respecting the, 53 Mountain: Donkiah, 89 — Everest, 89 — Kinchinghow, 89 — Kinchinginga, 89 — Korakorum, 89 Mountains : Andes, 89 — Cordilleras, 89 — Sikkim, 89 Mozambique, mode of catching turtles at, 347 Mule, the " ship of the desert" in Peru, 36 Mule-jenny, Crompton's invention of the, 208 Mulgrave Archipelago, importance of the screw pine of the, 118 Mummy-coffins, wood of which they are made, 106 Musa paradisaica, 173 INDEX 557 MUS Musa sapientam, 173 — textilis, 175 Muslirooms, enormous, 50 Muslin, antiquity of the manufacture of, in Hindostan, 208 Musk-deer on the slopes of the Sikkim moun- tains, 92 Mycetes ursinus, 535 Mygales, or trap-door spiders, 284 Mylodon, the, 496 Myrmecocystus Mexicanus, 281 Myrinecophagi of America, 500 Myrmica erythrothorax, 280 — paleata, 280 Myrtus pimenta, 233 Mzab, tlie Beni, and the inundation from the Atlas, 70 NADLER, Mr., his India-rubber manu- factures, 218 Naja Haje of Egypt, 319 Namaqua country, reason why droughts are prevalent in the, 62 Napo river, 57 Naras, a fruit of the west coast of Africa, G3 Nefta, date-palms of the oasis of, 1 43 Negro, Rio, meaning of its name, 45 a tributary of the Amazons, 46 Negroes, great mortality of, in cultivating rice in South Carolina, 158 Nelumbias of the tropics, 123 Nepenthes, the, of the East Indian forests, 15 Nests of Australian birds, 378-381 — of the Baltimore bird, 367 — of the baya of Hindostan, 383 — of the bower-bird of Australia, 378, 379 — of the cassique, 368 — of the flamingo, 371 — of the grosbeak, 384 — of the humming-birds, 362 — of the korwe, 385 — of the lyre-bird, 377 — of the talegalla, or brush-turkey, 380 — of the variegated troopial, 367 Neu Wied, the Prince of, anecdote of, 313 Nicaragua wood, 241 Night in the tropical forests, 84 Nile, palm trees of the banks of the, 144 Nipa fruticans, 98 Noddy bird (Sterna stolida), its attacks on the cocoa-nut tree, 134 Noon in the tropical forest, 82 Nopal (Cactus opuntia), the, of the shores of the Mediterranean, 119 — (Cactus cochinellifer), 261 Nowaja Semlja warmed by the Gulf Stream, 5 nearly total absence of insect life at, 2G5 GST Nubia, date-palms of, 144 Nutmegs, cultivation of, confined by the Dutch to Banda, Lonthoir, and Pulo Aij, 228 — their present extended range, 229 — description of the tree, 229 — mode of cultivation, 230 — nutmeg oils, 230 Nyctopitheci, or nocturnal monkeys, 537 Nycteribia, the, 511 Nylghau, the, 475, 476 Nymphseas of the tropics, 123 OAK, Indian, or teak tree (Tectona grandis), 110 Oases of the Sahara, character of the, 70 tribes inhabiting the, 71 Ohydos, Strait of, 46 Ocelot (Felis pardalis), the, 491 ffinocarpus disticha, oil of the, 149 (Estrus hominis, 247 Oil made from cotton seed, 214 — cocoa-nut, 130 — essential, of cloves, 229 — palm trees of West Africa, 144 — of cinnamon bark, 227 — of the Corozo palm, 149 — of the (Enocarpus disticha, 149 Olas, or strips of talipot paper of Ceylon, 140 Opossum of the tropical forests, 84 — on the sand-coast of Peru, 40 Opuntias, the, 118 Orange trees in the Azores destroyed by a plant bug, 260 Orchids, flowering, of tropical forests, 80 — of the slopes of Sikkim, 90, 91 — of tropical forests, 123 Orellana, Francis, his voyage on the Amazons, 56 Oreodoxa oleracea, 148 — regia, 150 Organist bird (Troglodytes leucophrys), 370 Oricou, or sociable vulture (Vultur auricu- laris), 393 Orinoco river, 56, 78 manufacture of tortoise-oil on the banks of the, 343 Oriolus varius, 367 Orotava, in Teneriffe, gigantic dragon tree near, 105 Orycteropi, the, 500 Oi-yctes nasicornis, 266 Oryza sativa, 1 52, et seq. Oscollo (Felis dogaster), the, 491 Ostrich, its endurance of thirst, 75 — its favourite haunts, 76 — the American, his attacks on snakes, 321 — swiftness of the ostrich of the Old World, 397 -f 558 INDEX OST Ostrich, mode of hunting it, 399 — its stratagem for protecting its young, 400 — its enemies, 402 — its young, 403 — its resemblance to the camel, 403 — similarity of its voice to that of the lion, 403 — its voracity, 404 — its feathers, 405 — domesticated in Algeria, 405 Oowell, Mr., his adventure with a rhinoceros, 444 his escape from a wounded elephant, 456 Otaheite, geckoes of, 329 Ouistitis, or squirrel monkeys, 538 Owl, burrowing (Athene cunicularia), of the Peruvian sand-coast, 41 — the pearl, of the same region, 41 Oxen, herds of, in the mountain valleys of the Puna, 34 — grunting, or yacks, 91 PACIFIC OCEAN, limits of the trade- winds in the, 6 causes of the distribution of rain on the Pacific off Central America, 10 — — violent tropical storms of, 12 Paddy, or uncleaned rice, 159 Pajara river during the rainy season, 19 Pallah (Antilope melampus), always found near water, 65 Palma real (Oreodoxa regia), the, 150 I'almetto of Azufral, height at which it will grow, 151 Pahn-martin (Paradoxus typus or Pou- gouni), its fondness for cocoa-nuts, 134 Palm oil, 145 vast trade in, 145, et seq. — • — mode of trading in, at Bonny, 146 — — quantity exported from West Africa, 147 Palms of the tropical forest, 81 Palm-squirrel (Sciurus pahriarum), its fond- ness tor cocoa-nuts, 134 Palm trees of the lower slopes of Sikkim, 90 Palm trees, 128 — the cocoa-nut tree, 128 — the sago- palm, 135 — the saguer or gomuti, 136 — the areca palm, 137 — the palmyra palm, 137 — the talpot or talipot palm, 140 — cocoa de mer, 140 — date-palms, 142 — doum-palms, 144 — oil-palms, 145 — the carnuaba, 148 PER Palm trees, the Ceroxylon andicola, 148 — the cabbage-palm, 148 — the corozo, 149 — the pirijao and pia9ava palms, 149 — cabeza di negro, 149 — difficulties in ascertaining the different species of palms, 149 — their wide geographical range, 150 — different physiognomy of palms ac- cording to their heights, 151 — position and form of their fronds, 151 Palmyra palm" (Borassus flabelliformis), extent of its range, 137 — — its uses to man, 137, 138 Pangolin, the Indian (Manis peutadactvla), 600 Panther, the, 481 Pao Barrigudo (Chorisia ventricosa), sin- gular shape of the, 124 Papantla, cultivation of vanilla at, 201 Paper, Chinese, material of which it is made, 115 — made from the talipot tree of Ceylon, 140 Para, perennial rainy season of, 9 — population .of, 56 Paradise, great bird of, 377 Paiadoxus typus or Pougouni, 134 Paraguay, constant east winds of, 7 — river, 56 Parima river, 56 Paroquets, or parakeets, 415 — ring and green, 416 Parrots of the primitive forests, 83, 84 — their peculiar manner of climbing, 408 — their resemblance to monkeys, 408 — their food, 409 — their sociability, 409 — their connubial love, 410 — their powers of mimicry, 410 — American Indian mode of catching them, 412 — various species of them, 412 — the colours of, artificially changed, 413 Parsley, a deadly poison to parrots, 416 Peacock, the, 376 — frequently seen in company with the tiger, 476 Pearls, oriental, 309 Pegu, rice trade of, 158 Peireskia, the leafy cactus, of the Lake of Titicaca, 119 Pepper, 231 — description of the vine, 231 — mode of cultivation, 231 — its habitat, 231 Pernambuco, two rainy seasons of, 9 Peru, constant drought of the sand-coast of, 6 — the Puna, or hisjh table-lands of, 23 — Puna chases in the times of the Incas, 32 — the sand-coiist of, 36 INDEX 559 PER Peru, desolation of, 36, 37 — sand-spouts and sand-hillocks of, 38 — summer season in, 38 — spring and the damp season, 38 — extreme dryness of the soil in the northern coast districts, 39 — animal world of the coast, 40 — the Guano or Chincha Islands, 42 — the chirimoya fruit of, 179 — cockroach pests of, 258 — the small brown viper of, 315 — the condor of, 388 — inunense consumption of coca in, 202 — the Peruvian Indian's mode of chewing and preparing the coca acuUico, 203 — divine honours paid to the shrub in, 205 Peruvian stream, influence of the, on clim- ate, 5 I'liasina dragon-fly, 267 Pl)a.smas, the herbivorous, 268 Plieasants, Khaidge, 92 Phocae of the Peruvian coasts, 42 Phoenix paludosa, on the islands of the Sunderbunds, 98 — dactylifera, or date palm, 142 Phoenicopterus ruber, 371 — antiquornm, 371 Phosphorescence of the centipede, 301 Phylliums, the herbivorous, 268 Phyllosomas, 307 Phyllostomidae, the, 507 Physalia, or " Portuguese man-of-war," 309 Phytelephas (Cabeza di Negro), hard white nuts of the, 149 Pia9ava palm (Attalia funifera), uses of the nuts and fibres of th.e, 149 Pigeons of the Peruvian sand-coast, 41 Pig-faced baboon, 528 Pimento, or allspice (Myrtus pimenta), 232 — cultivation of the plant, 232 Pimpla arachnitor, its mode of proceeding, 296 Pine-apple (Bromelia ananas), its abund- ance in Brazil, 117 Pines, the screw, of the East Indian and South Sea Isles, 118 — their importance to the inhabitants of the Mulgrave Archipelago, 118 Pinson, Vincent Yanez, discovers the Ama- zons river, 57 Pipa Surinamensis, 337 Pippul tree of India. See Bo tree. Pipra, the, 366 Pique, or Jigger, of the West Indies (Pulex penetrans), 248 Piranga, voracity of the, 54 Pirijao palm (Gulielma speciosa), 149 Pisang, the, of the South Sea Islands,- 174 Pitcairn Island, storm and famine in, 1 1 and the mutineers of the " Bounty," 172 pitcher plant, 15 PUN Pizarro, Gonzalo, his expedition from Quito over the Andes, to the Maranon river, 57 Plantain (Musa paradisiaca), its importance as food, 154, 173 Plants, tropical, 101, ei seq. — number of known, in the world, 102 Platalea Ajaja, 372 Pliny, sugar spoken of by, 1 83 Poi^son used by the Bushman of South Africa, 400 Polanarrua, climbing fig trees of, 122 Polyps, stone, or lithophytes, 309 Ponera clavata, excruciating pain caused by the bite of the, 273 Pongo de Manseriche, defile of, 44 Poonah, army of locusts, of a red species, at, 255 Porcupine, the, of the Sahara, 75 — ant-eater, 503 — wood, 132 Porliera hygrometrica, the, of Brazil, 120 Pororocca, or spring-tide wave of the Ama- zons, 47 " Portuguese man-of-war," 309 Potato, the sweet (Convolvulus batatas), 177 — when introduced into Europe, 177 Porto Santo, gigantic dragon trees of, 105 Pothos family of epiphytes of the tropical forests, 123 — beauty of the leases, 90 Power-loom, Cartwright's invention of the, 208 Praong bamboo, of Sikkim, 115 Precheur insect, 269 Presbytes cephalopterus, 525 Prie Dieu, Le, insect, 269 Priodontes gigas, 501 Pristis, saw-snouted, 306 Proboscis monkey, the (Semnopithecus nasi- cus), 525 " Providence," voyage of Lieutenant Bligh in the, 169 Psittacus Amazonicus, 413 — erithacus, 4 1 1 — infuscatus, 409 — passerinus, 410 — pullarius, 410 Pterocarpus santalinus, 241 Pteropi, or fox-bats, 507 • Pucaticse, house-ant, 277 Pulex penetrans of the West Indies, 248 Pulla, or palm oil, 145 Pulo Aij, nutmeg trees of, 228 Pulque, or Mexican agave wine, 117 Puma, or American lion, in the high table- lands of tropical America, 33, 490 — and on the Peruvian sand-coast, 40 Puna, or "Uninhabited" high table-landa of Peru and Bolivia, 23 — their contrast with the Llanos, 23 — violent changes in their temperature, 24 — plagues of the Puna, 24 — vegetable life of the, 25 '5G0 INDEX PUN Puna, animal life, 26 et seq. — chases in the times of tlie Incus, 32 — beasts of prey of the, 33 — birds of the, 33 — flocks and herds of the Puna valleys, 34 — the mountain valleys, 34, 35 — the cacti of the, 120 Purus river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 Puynipet Island, cocoa-nut oil trade of, 130 Pythons, 319 — their mode of attack, 319 — their long fasts, 319 QUAGGA, the, of South Africa, 428 Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), used as food in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, 177 Quinquina trees, region of the, 80 Quito, perennial rainy season of, 9 — the capital of Pizarro's government, 57 — importance of the guadua bamboo of, 114 Quiulla gull (Ljuus serranus), of tropical America, 33 T)ABBITS of the prickly shrubs of the n, Sahara, 75 Pain, abundance and distribution of, within the torrid xone, 6 — causes w^hich produce an abundance or want of, 6 — annual fall of, on the coast of Malabar and in the West Indies, 6 — heavy afternoon showers of the zone of calms, 8 — zone of two distinct rainy seasons, 9 — and of one rainy season, 9 — immense quantity of, in the tropics, 10 — rainy season in the savannahs of South America, 18 — no rain in the northern coast-districts of Peru, 39 — enormous fall of, in the equatorial plains of tlie New World, 49 — reasons why so little rain falls in South Africa, 61 — "showers of liquid mud, 74 — periodical rains of the Sahara, 77 Ranger-ants, 278 — their venomous bite, 278 Rarotonga Island, devastation of, by a tropi- cal storm, 12 liat. its attacks on the cocoa-nut tree, 134 — his destructive ravages in sugar planta- tions, 187 — the Golunda, or coffee rat, 189, 197 Ratans, their immense length, 141 — uses of, 141 Rat-snake of Ceylon (Coryphodon Blumen- bachii), domesticated, 323, 326 — its agility in seizing its prey, 327 RIV Rattlesnakes, 315 — their rattle, 316 — different species, 316 — their chief enemy, 316 — divine honours paid to them, 319 Ravenala speciosa, or traveller-tree of Mada- gascar, 175 Rehoboth, larvae of locusts in myriads at, 255 Reptiles of the Peruvian sand-coast, 41 Rhamphastidae, 360 Rhea Americana, 406 — Darwinii, 406 Rhinoceros, the, always near water, 65 — its brutality and stupidity, 440 — different species of, 440, 441 — food and dispositions of the black and white kinds, 441 — their ugliness, 441 — their size, 442 — their acuteness of smell and hearing, 442 — defective vision, 442 — their friend the Buphaga Africana, 442 — their paroxysms of rage, 4 43 — their parental affection, 443 — their nocturnal habits, 443 — rhinoceros hunting and its perils, 444 — the Indian rhinoceros, 447 — the Sumatran kind, 447 — the Javanese rhinoceros, 448 — mode of killing it, 448 Rhinoceros Oswellis, 441 — simus, 441 Rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis), 266 Rhizophora gymnorrhiza and R. Maiigle, 94 Rhododendron nivale, great elevation at which it grows, 91 Rhododendrons, arborescent, of the slopes ol Sikkim, 90 — region of the Alpine, in the Sikkim mountains, 91 Rice (Oryza sativa), 152 — original seat of its cultivation, 1 54 — various aspects of the rice-fields at different seasons, 1 55 — ladang, or mountain rice, 156 — Malay ''sawah," or artificially irrigated rice-fields, 157 — introduction of rice into South Carolina. 157 — great mortality of the negroes employed in cultivating it, 158 — rice trade of Arracan and Pegu, 158 — paddy, or uncleaned rice, 159 — mountain rice, 179 Rice, Colonel, his tiger-hunts, 477 Rice-bird, or Java sparrow (Loxia uryzi- vora), 155 Rivers of the tropics : — — Amazons, 44 et seq. — Apure, 19 — Arachuna, 19 — Aranca, 19 — Barima, Upper, 114 INDEX 561 RIV IJivers of the tropics, continued: — — Beni, 46 — Berbice, 123 — Bran CO, 56 — Cassiquiare, 56 — Coary, 45 — Guama, 123 — Guapore, 46, 56 — Hacha, 241 — Huallaga, 45 — 19a, 45 — Jurua, 45 — Jutay, 45 — Kuisip, 63 — La Plata, 56 — Madeira, 46 — Mainore, 46 — Maranon, 44, et scq. — Negro, 45, 56, 247 — Orinoco, 56, 78 — Parima, 56 — Pajara, 19 — Paraguay, 56 — Puru.s, 45 — Seuza, 246 — Tapajos, 46 — Teflfee, 45 — Teoge, 436 — Tocantines, 47 — Tunguragua, 44 — Ucayale, 45 — Xanari, 45 — Xingu, 47, 246 — Yapiira, 45 — Zambesi, 435, 455 — Zouga, 436 Rodentia of tlic sand-coast of Peru, 40 Roots of trees, singular formation of the, 125 Ropes made from the bromelias, 117 Rupicola auraiitia, 366 — Peruviana, 369 SAGO -PALM (Sagus fariniferus), the, of the Indian Archipelago, 135 Saguer, or Gomuti palm (Gomutus vulgaris), uses to which it is put, 136 Sahara, the, 6, 7, 68 — constant drought of the, 6 — north-easterly winds of, 7 — its uncertain limits, 68 — caravan routes, 69 — its desolate appearance, 69 — chasms and mountain streams, 70 — deposits of salt, 70 — the oases of the wilderness, 70 — tribes of the Sahara, 71 — contrast between the sterile desert and the oases, 71 — grandeur of the desert scene, 71 — its fascination for the traveller, 72 — the khamsin or simoom, 72 — sand-spouts, 74 SEC animal life of the, 75 Sahara — periodical rains of the, 77 Sai'miris monkey, the, 537 Sakis, or fox-tailed monkeys. 536 Salamanders, their delight in the sunshine, 83 Salt, deposits of, in the basins of the Sahara, 70 Sancudos, or mosquitoes, of tropical America, 247 Sand-coast of Peru, 36 Sandal tree of Ciiina, 112 — smaller variety of Hawaii, Feejee, and the New Hebrides, 1 12 Sand-hills of Chancay, on the Peruvian coast, 42 Sand-reed (Ammophila arundinacea), of the coasts of the North Sea, 64 Sand-spouts in the llanos in the dry sea- son, 16 of the coast of Peru, 38 description of one at Chiggre, 74 Sand-storms of the Sahara, 72 at Schiebun on the Nile, 73 Sandwich Islanders, food of the, 1 78 their indolence, 1 79 Sarcoramphus papa, 390 Sarsaparilla, habitat of the, 50 Satinwood tree (Chloroxylon swietenia), forests of, in Ceylon, 111 Saul tree (Shorea robusta), excellent timber of the. Ill Saunders wood, red (Ptcrocarpus santa- linus), 241 Saurians, 350 Savannahs of South America during the dry season, 14 — a savannah on fire, 1 7 — their aspect during the rainy season, 18 — and at the end of the lainy period, 21 Sawah, or artificially irrigated rice-fields of the Malays, 157 Saw-fishes, 306 Scalaria pretiosa, 308 Sciurus palmarum, 134 Scheidbun on the Nile, sand-storm at, 73 Schomburgk, Robert, his discovery of the Victoria Regia, 123 — bitten by a Ponera clavata, 273 — anecdote of him, 315 Scorpions, immense size of, in the torrid zone, 299 — fatal effects of their bite, 300 — their habitat, 300 — poison lodged in their tails, 301 Scotophilus Coromandelicus, the, 511 Sea-birds, tropical, 303 — on the coast of Peru, 42 Sea-eagle of the north, its devices for pro- curing food, 402 Seals of the Peruvian sand- coast, 42 Sea-otters of the Peruvian coast, 42 Secretary-bird, his destruction of snakes, 321 O 0 562 INDEX SEC Secretary-eagle (Serpentarius cristatus), 396 Semnopitheci, the, 524 Senegal, ostriches of, 398 Seringueros, or caoutchouc-gatherers, 217 Serpentarius cristatus, 396 Serpents. See Snakes Shark, the white, his ferocity, 307 Sheep, flocks of, in the Puna mountain valleys, 34 Shells, rare and beautiful, 308 Sherbet, preparation of, 1 44 Ship of the desert, 417 Shoes made of India-rubber, 218 Shorea robusta of India, 111 Siamang of Sumatra, the, 512-524 Sikkiin mountains, slopes of the, 89 sylvan wonders of the, 89 changes of the forests on ascending, 90 — — the torrid zone of vegetation, 90 the temperate zone, 90 — — the coniferous belt, 90 — — limits of arboreal vegetation, 9 1 animal life, 92 — — the Praong bamboo of, 115 — — firing the jungle in, 115 Silk-worm (Bombyx mori), its importance to man, 259 — antiquity of silk in China, 259 Silk-spiders, 298 Simiffi of the Old World, 514 Simoom, the, of the Sahara, 72 Singalese, their mode of avoiding snake- bites, 311 Singapore, sago trade of, 136 Siphonia elastica, 216 Sirocco, origin of the, of Italy, 73 Skink of the Sahara, 76 Slavery amongst ants, 279 Sloth, the, 83 — his mi^serable appearance, 492 — adaptation of his organisation to his peculiar mode of life, 493 — his means of defence, 495 — his tenacity of life, 496 — genera of the sloth, 496 Small-pox, panthers or leopards attracted by the smell of the, 482 Snake-tree, the, 125 Snakes of the Sahara, 75 *^ of the tropical forests, 83, 310 — comparative rareness of venomous, 311 ■ — habits of venomous, and their ex- ternal charatteristics, 312 — bite of the trigonocephalus, 313 — antidotes, 313 — fangs of venomous serpents, 314 — the enormous bush-master, 315 — the rattlesnake, 316 — the cobra di capello, 317 •— the asp and viper, 319 — boas and jiythons, 319 SPO Snakes, enemies of, 319 — sometimes feed on one another, 323 — their means of locomotion, 323 — anatomy of their jaws, 324 — feeding-time at the Zoological Gardens, 325 — useful to man, 326 — adaptability of their colour to their pursuits, 327 — water, 327 Society Islands, cocoa-nut oil trade of the, 130 Solaneas of tropical forests, 81 Soniieratias, the, of the rivers of India, the Moluccas, and New Guinea, 98 Soudan, cotton of the, 213 — ■ destructive fly of, 254 Southey, Robert, his description of the locust, 256 South Sea Islands, screw pine of the, 118 Sparrow-hawk of Africa (Meliercamusicus), 395 Sparrow, Java, or rice-bird (Loxia oryzivora), 155 Sperm whales, 303 attacked by sword fish, 306 Sphargis coriucea, 348 Spices of the tropics, 222 — cinnamon, 222 — nutmegs and cloves, 227-230 — mace, 230 — pepper, 231 — importations of spices into Great Britain during part of 1861, 232, note — pimento, 232 — ginger, 233 Spiders, tropical, formation of, 291 — spotted spider of Makololo, 292 — giant webs of several tropical species, 292 • — harmony of colour between the Aranoaj and their usual haunts, 293 — beautiful colouring of the epeiras, 294 — the mygales, or trap door, 294 — maternal instincts of, 295 — enemies of, 295 — venom of the, 296 — services rendered by spiders to man, 297 — eaten by several savage nations, 297 — encounter between a spider and a cock- roach, 298 — silk-spiders of America, 298 — threads of this spider used for micro- meters, 299 Spider monkeys, 536 Spines and thorns of tropical plants, 126 Spinning-frame, invention of the, 208 Spinning-jenny, invention of the, 208 Spitzbergen, warmed by the Gulf Stream, 5 Spondylus, the royal, 308 Spoonbill of America (I'hitalca ajaja), 372 INDEX 563 SQU fondness for coffee berries Squirrels, their 197 — flyin.i,', 511 Steer, the bhick-legged and white-coated, 448 Storms, tropical, violence of, 1 1 — tornados and cyclones, 1 1 — on the Amazons river, 55 — in the Sahara, 72 — a hurricane in the primitive forest, 81 Strepsiceros capensis of South Africa, 65 Struthio camelus, 397, et seq. Sucking-fish (Remora), used for turtle- catching, 347 Sucuriaba, or water-boa (Eunectes murinus), 320 Sugar, or jaggery, of the palmyra palm, of Ceylon, 139 — commercial importance of sugar, 182 — original home of the sugar-cane, 183 — progress of its cultivation throughout the tropical zone, 183, 184 — mentioned by several classical authors, 183 — transplanted from the Canary Islands to Hispaniola, 184 — the Chinese species supplanted by the Tahitian kind, 184 — description of the cane, 185 — manufacture of sugar, 185 — molasses, or uncrystallised sugar, 186 — the enemies of the sugar-cane, 186 — nutritive qualities of its juice, 187 Sugar-ants, ravages of the, 275 Sumatra, crocodiles of, 356 — rhinoceros of, 447 Sumpits, Malay, materials used for form- ing the shafts of, 136 Sun, unequal influence of the, on the sea and land, 4, 5 Sun-birds, or suimangas (Cinnyris), 375 Sunderbunds, the Phoenix paludosa of the islands of the, 98 Sun-fi.sh, the, 307 Superstition, an Indian, 53 Surgeon-bird, 372 Surinam toad, 337 — tree-frog, 338 Surumpe, or acute inflammation of the eyes in tlie Puna, 24 Swallow, the esculent (Colocalia esculenta), 305 — mode of getting the nests, 306 Sweden, number of beetles found in, 265 Sword-fishes, 306 Sword-tail fishes, 307 Sycamore tree (Ficus sycomorus), gigantic specimens of the, in Africa, 105 Sylvia sutoria, 383 TACCA PINNATIFIDA, arrowroot made from the, 177, 178 TER sugar-cane of, 184 Tahiti, Tailor-bird of Hindostan (Sylvia sutoria), 383 Talegalla, or brush-tUrkey, 380 Talgaha tree the sacred, of the Brahminical Tamils of Ceylon, 137 Talpot, or talipot tree of Ceylon, uses to which it is applied, 140 Tamehameha, the Great, his royal mantle. 375 Tamr dates, 1 43 'J angaras, the, 365 Tapajos river, a tributary of the Amazons, 46, 47 Tapioca, from what prepared, 176 Tapir, the, of the tropical forests, 84 Tarantula spider of Sicilv, stories of its bite, 296 Taro roots (Caladium esculentum) of the Sandwich Islanders, 178 its abundant growth, 178 mode of cooking it, 178 mountain taro (Caladium cristatum), 179 Tarush, an animal peculiar to the Punas, 32 Teak tree, or Indian oak (Tectona grandis), 110 its excellent timber, 110 Tectona grandis, or Indian oak, 110 Teffe river, a tributary of the Amazons, 4 ' Teju, or monitory lizard (Tejus monitoi^, of South America, 333 Temperature of a country, decrease of, in proportion to its elevation, 5 TeuerifTe, cochineal trade of, 261 Teoge river, hippopotamus hunting on the, 436 Terebinthinaceas of tropical forests, 81 Termites, or white ants, 281 — their devastations, 281 — their introduction into Europe, 283 — their sei-vices and uses, 283 — their communities and astonishing build- ings, 283 — formation of a termite colony, 285 — wonderful fecundity of the queen, 285 — courage and obstinacy of the termite soldier, 286 — foes of the termites, 133, 287 — their wars with the black ants, 288 — termites used as food, 288 — marching termites, 289 — mysteries of termite life, 290 — their deserted nests inhabited by the cobra di capello, 318 Termes bellicosus, their clay-built citadels or domes, 284 — destructor arborum, their dwellings in trees, 283 — flavicoUis introduced from Northern Africa into Marseilles, 283 — flavipes, introduced into Portugal and Vienna, 283 564 INDEX TER Terines Inclfuga of France, 283 — viarum, or marching white ants, 285 Testuiio Iiulica, elephantina, 339 its habitat and habits, 340 Texas, intluence of the heated plains of, in deflecting the trade-winds, 10 — the maize harvest of, 163 Textor erythrorhynchus, 442 'i'heridion, its maternal instincts, 295 Thierry de MeronviUe, his attempts to introduce cochineal into San Domingo, 261 Thirst, how long a man can withstand, 38 Thorinsia, maternal instincts of the, 295 Thorns and spines of tropical plants, 126 Thrasaiitus harpya, 392 Tibbo tribe of tlie Great Sahara, 71 Ticks, the blood-sucking, of the tropical regions, 250 — the garapata (Ixodes sanguisuga), 250 Tierra caliente, the, of Mexico, 87 — templada, 88 — fria, 89 Tiger, the time for his bloodthirsty excur- sions, 476 — his chief seats, 477 — tiger-hunting, 477 — destroyed by the gavial of .the ganges, 351 — his mode of attack, 481 — his destruction of the tortoise, 481 Tiger-cat, or margay, 491 Tillandsias of the tropical forests, 123 Timber, valuable, of the teak or Indian oak, 110 — of the Saul tree (Shorea robusta), 111 — of the satinwood tree of Ceylon, 111 Titicaca, Lake, cacti of the, 120 — maize of the islands of, 163 Tlaouili, a gigantic kind of ]\Iexican maize, 163 Toads of the tropics, 337 — the Pipa Surinamensis, 337 — the Bahia toad, 337 — the giant toad, 338 — the musical toad of Guinea, 338 Tocan tines river, 47 Toddalia aculeata, thorns of the, 126 Toddy- bird of Ceylon (Artamus fuscus), 138 Toddy made from the Mauritia palm, 21 — extracted from the cocoa-nut tree, 131 — and from the palmyra palm, 138 — and from the date-palm, 143 Tufoa, mutiny of the *' Bounty " at the island of, 169 Tornados, 1 1 Tortoi.se-oil, manufacture of, 342 Tortoises of the tropics, 339 — the gigantic land -tortoise, 339 — Mr. Darwin's ride on one, 342 — tortoises not indigenous in Australia, 342 TUR Tortoises, marsh, of America and the Indian Arcliipelago, 342 — river, 343 — attacked by wild dogs and tigers, 481 Toropishu bird (Cephalopterus ornatus), 369 Touat, oases of the, annual pilgrimage from the, 69 Toucans (Ramphastidse), 360 — their quarrelsome habits, 360 Tozer, date-palms of the oasis of, 143 Trade-winds, the, 4, 6 — their limits in the Northern Atlantic, 6 7- and in the Pacific, 6 — moisture carried by them from the coldest to the warmer regions, 7 — deflections from the ordinaiy course of the trade- winds, 10 Trap-door spiders, 294, 297 Traveller- tree of Madagascar (Ravenala speciosa), 175 Tridacna, the colossal, 308 Trigonocephalus, fatal effect of the bite of the, 313 Trincomalee, forests of satinwood at. 111 Tripe de roche of the Sikkim heights, 92 Trochilus minimus, the smallest of the humming-birds, 364 Troglodytes audax of Peru, 258 — leucophrys, 370 Troopials (Icterus, Xanthornus) of Guiana, 367 — the variegated troopial, 367 Troughton, ]\lr., his use of spiders' threads for micrometers, 299 Trunk-fish, the, 307 Tryothorus plateus, 383 Tsalt-salya, or ziinb, of Abyssinia, 253 Tsetse'-fly of South Africa (Glostitaus mosi- tans), 252, 260 — its destruction to cattle and horses, 252, 253 — range of its pestiferous influence, 253 Tuaryk tribe of the Sahara, 71 — chieftain of the, 77 Tunguragua river, 44 Tunqui bird (Rupicola Peruviana), 369 Tunuhy, the Sierra, 45 Tupinambaranas, Island of, 46 Turmeric or Indian saffron, 242 Turkey of Honduras (Meleagris ocellata), 376 — the brush, or talegalla, 380 Turkey-buzzards, 390 Turtles of the tropics, 344 — colossal, of the Brazilian coast, 344 — foes of the turtle tribe, 345 — of the island of Asceubion, 345 — mode of taking them at Ascension, the Bahamas, and at Keeling Island, 346 — and at Mozambique, 347 INDEX 565 TUR WAX Turtles, barbarous treatment of, at Feejee and Ceylon, 347, 348 — food of, 349 Tusseli-worm (Bombyx mylitta), silk fila- ments of the, 259 TjALAN, island of, singular roots of a I tree on the, 125 Ucayale river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 Umbrella ants, 276 Umbrellas of ostrich feathers, 405 Unaus, the, 496 Uran, or wild man of the woods, 520 Urceola elastica, caoutchouc of the, 217, 220 Uropeltis Philippinus, 310 Ursus malayanus, its fondness for cocoa- nuts, 134 Urticeae, dendritic, of tropical forests, 80 Urubu, the, of America, 390 — his habits, 391 I tah, influence of the heated plains of, in deflecting the trade- winds, 10 YAMPIRES, 507, 509 V Vanikoro, geckoes of, 329 Vanilla (Vanilla aromatica^, 201 — cultivation of, in Mexico and Java, 201 Vargas, Sanchez, his fate, 58 Vegetable life in the savannahs of South America in the dry season, 16 in the rainy season, 18 vegetni ion of the Puna or high table- lands of Peru, 25 vegetation of the sand-coast of Peru, 36 of the banks of the Amazons, 50, 56 of the Kalahari, 62 of the oases of the Sahara, 70 of the primitive forests of the tropics, 78 of the Mexican plateaus, 87, 88 of the slopes of the Sikkim moun- tains, 90 of the mangrove forests, 94 giant trees and characteristic forms of tropical vegetation, 101 gigantic vegetation of tropical Ame- rica, 112 singular formation of the trunks and roots of trees, 124, 125 thorns and spines of tropical plants, 126 palms, 128 chief nutritive plants of the torrid zone, 154 — — fruit trees of the tropics, 179 vegetable life ofthe Galapagos Islands, 339 Vejuco de huaco (Mikania Huaco), an anti- dote against snake-bites, 314 Velella, the, 309 Venado, a species of deer, of the sand-coast of Peru, 40 Venezuela, the llanos of, 14 — cultivation of coffee in, 192 Veta, a disease caused by the rarefaction of the air in the high table-lands of Peru and Bolivia, 24 Victoria regia, the, 123 Vicuna, its solitary habits, 29 — value of its wool, 29 — its appearance, 29 — Indian mode of hunting if, 30 — mode of preparing its flesh, 31 — its enemies, 32 Viper, small brown (Echidna ocellata), of Peru, its fatal bite, 315 — the horned (Cerastes) of the Egyptian jugglers, 319 — idolum, divine honours paid to the, 319 Virginia, bull-frog of, 338 Viscachas, the, of Peru, 32 — of the Pampas, 32 Viviagua ant of the West Indies, its ravages in the coffee plantations, 275 " Voet-gangers," or pedestrians, the larva? of locusts so called, 255 Vomito, or malaria, of the tierra caliente of Mexico, 87 Vulcanisation of India-rubber, 218 Vultures, white, their destruction of ostrich eggs, 402 — of the sand-coast of Peru, 40 — of America, 390 — king of the, 390 — of the Old World, 393 WALKING-LEAF insect, 268 Walking-stick insect, 268 of Van Diemen's Land, 269 Wanderoos of Ceylon (Presbytes cephalo- pterus), 525 Water, Bechuana mode of drawing, in the desert, 66 — temperature at which it boils in the Puna, 25 Water-boa (Eunectes murinus), 320 Water-lizards (Hydrosauri), 334 — — Mr. Adams's contest with one, 334 their habitat, 335 worshipped at Bonny, 335 Water-plants of the tropics, 123 Water-snakes, 327 — buried during the dry season, in the savannahs, 16 — their return to life in the rainy season, 19 Wax obtained from the Carnauba palm, 148 — and from the Ceroxylon andicola, 148 566 INDEX WES West Indies, introduction of the coffee-plant into the, 191 — present state of its culture, 192 — Martinique, introduction of the coffee- plant into, 191 Widali, divine lionours paid to the viper in, 319 Winds, the system of, and its importance, 4 — trade-winds, and polar and equatorial air-currents, 4, 6, 10 — effects of the Puna-winds in arresting decomposition, 25 — origin of the sirocco of Italy and Fon-wind of the Alps, 73 Wine of the Agave Americana, 1 1 7 — of the saguer or gomuti palm, 136 Wohler, Professor, of Gottingen, his analysis of coca, 206 Woodpecker, the ivory-billed, 83 — orange-coloured (Brachypterus auran- tius), 382 Wood-pigeon, cries of the, 83 Wool, annual imports of, into England, 207 Woollen cloth, manufacture of, in former times in Flanders and England, 207 Wourali poison, 532 Wou-wou (Hylobates leuciscus), the, 522 ZOU XAVARI river, a tributary of the Ama- zons, 45 Xingu river, a tributary of the Amazons, 47 YACKS, or grunting-oxen, 91 Yams (Dioscorea sativa and alata), 176 Yapura river, a tributary of the Amazons, 45 Yarriba country, cultivation of cotton in the, 213 Yriartea exorrhiza, 152 — ventricosa, 152 Yuccas, the American, 116 ZAMBESI river, hippopotami of the, 435 elephant-hunting on the, 485 Zebra, Burchell's, or douw, 429- — always found near water, 65 — the hippotigris of the ancients, 430 — its piteous wailings, 431 — its inaccessible retreats, 431 Zelgague, the, or skink, of the Sahara, 76 Zimb, or tsalt-salya of Abyssinia, 253 Zouga river, elephant -hunting on the, 456 LONDON PUINTl'.D BY SPOTTISWOOBE AND CO. NBW-STBBKT SQUA.BB A- BINDING SECT. JUN 29 1971 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY QH Hartwig, Georg Ludwig 84 The tropical world • 5 H33 1863 Biological fii Mc