Bruin Part 16

In ascending the Napo, our travellers had an opportunity of visiting some of these old missionary establishments; and observing the odd rigmarole of superst.i.tions there practised under the guise, and in the name of religion--a queer commingling of pagan rites with Christian ceremonies--not unlike those Buddhistic forms from which these same ceremonies have been borrowed.

One advantage our travellers derived from the existence of these stations: they were enabled to obtain from them the provisions required upon their long riverine voyage; and without this a.s.sistance they would have found it much more difficult to accomplish such a journey.

Beyond Archidona the rest of the journey to Quito would have to be performed on horseback, or rather muleback; but they were not going direct to Quito. Between them and the old Peruvian capital lay the eastern Cordillera of the Andes, and it was along its declivities, and in the valleys between its transverse spurs, facing the Montana, they would have to search for the haunts of the bear.

On the Napo itself, still higher up than Archidona--where the stream, fed by the snows of the grand volcano of Cotopaxi, issues from the spurs of the Andes--there were they most likely to accomplish the object of their expedition, and thither determined they to go.

Having procured mules and a guide, they proceeded onward; and after a journey of three days--in which, from the difficulty of the roads, they had travelled less than fifty miles--they found themselves among the foot-hills of the Andes--the giant Cotopaxi with his snowy cone towering stupendous above their heads.

Here they were in the proper range of the bears--a part of the country famous for the great numbers of these animals--and it only remained for them to fix their headquarters in some village, and make arrangements for prosecuting the chase.

The little town of Napo, called after the river, and situated as it is in the midst of a forest wilderness, offered all the advantages they required; and, choosing it as their temporary residence, they were soon engaged in searching for the black bear of the Cordilleras.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

EATING A NEGRO'S HEAD.

According to their usual practice, they had hired one of the native hunters of the district to act as a guide, and a.s.sist them in finding the haunts of Bruin. In Napo they were fortunate in meeting with the very man in the person of a _mestizo_, or half-blood Indian, who followed hunting for his sole calling. He was what is termed a "tigrero," or tiger-hunter--which t.i.tle he derived from the fact that the jaguar was the princ.i.p.al object of his pursuit. Among all Spanish-Americans--Mexicans included--the beautiful spotted jaguar is erroneously termed _tigre_ (tiger), as the puma or couguar is called _leon_ (lion). A hunter of the jaguar is therefore denominated a "tiger-hunter," or _tigrero_.

There are no puma or lion-hunters by profession--as there is nothing about this brute to make it worth while--but hunting the jaguar is, in many parts of Spanish America, a specific calling; and men make their living solely by following this occupation. One inducement is to obtain the skin, which, in common with those of the great spotted cats of the Old World, is an article of commerce, and from its superior beauty commands a good price. But the _tigrero_ could scarce make out to live upon the sale of the skins alone; for although a London furrier will charge from two to three guineas for a jaguar's robe, the poor hunter in his remote wilderness market can obtain little more than a tenth part of this price--notwithstanding that he has to risk his life, before he can strip the fair mantle from the shoulders of its original wearer.

It is evident, therefore, that jaguar-hunting would not pay, if there was only the pelt to depend upon; but the _tigrero_ looks to another source of profit--the _bounty_.

In the hotter regions of Spanish America,--the Brazils as well--there are many settlements to which the jaguar is not only a pest, but a terror. Cattle in hundreds are destroyed by these great predatory animals; even full-grown horses are killed and dragged away by them!

But is this all? Are the people themselves left unmolested? No. On the contrary, great numbers of human beings every year fall victims to the rapacity of the jaguars. Settlements attempted on the edge of the great Montana--in the very country where our young hunters had now arrived--have, after a time, been abandoned from this cause alone. It is a well-known fact, that where a settlement has been formed, the jaguars soon become more plentiful in that neighbourhood: the increased facility of obtaining food--by preying on the cattle of the settlers, or upon the owners themselves--accounting for this augmentation in their numbers. It is precisely the same with the royal tiger of India, as is instanced in the history of the modern settlement of Singapore.

To prevent the increase of the jaguars then, a bounty is offered for their destruction. This bounty is sometimes the gift of the government of the country, and sometimes of the munic.i.p.al authorities of the district. Not unfrequently private individuals, who own large herds of cattle, give a bounty out of their private purses for every jaguar killed within the limits of their estates. Indeed, it is not an uncommon thing for the wealthy proprietor of a cattle-estate (_hacienda de ganados_) to maintain one or more "tigreros" in his service--just as gamekeepers are kept by European grandees--whose sole business consists in hunting and destroying the jaguar. These men are sometimes pure Indians, but, as a general thing, they are of the mixed, or _mestizo_ race. It need hardly be said that they are hunters of the greatest courage. They require to be so: since an encounter with a full-grown jaguar is but little less dangerous than with his striped congener of the Indian jungles. In these conflicts, the tigreros often receive severe wounds from the teeth and claws of their terrible adversary; and, not unfrequently, the hunter himself becomes the victim.

You may wonder that men are found to follow such a perilous calling, and with such slight inducement--for even the bounty is only a trifle of a dollar or two--differing in amount in different districts, and according to the liberality of the bestower. But it is in this matter as with all others of a like kind--where the very danger itself seems to be the lure.

The tigrero usually depends upon fire-arms for destroying his n.o.ble game; but where his shot fails, and it is necessary to come to close quarters, he will even attack the jaguar with his _machete_--a species of half-knife half-sword, to be found in every Spanish-American cottage from California to Chili.

Very often the jaguar is hunted without the gun. The tigrero, in this case, arms himself with a short spear, the shaft of which is made of a strong hard wood, either a _guaiac.u.m_, or a piece of the split trunk of one of the hardwood palms.

The point of this spear is frequently without iron--only sharpened and hardened by being held in the fire--and with this in his left hand, and his short sword in the right, the hunter advances with confidence upon his formidable adversary. This confidence has been fortified by a contrivance which he has had the precaution to adopt--that is, of enveloping his left arm in the ample folds of his blanket--_serape, roana_, or _poncho_, according to the country to which he belongs--and using this as a shield.

The left arm is held well forward, so that the woollen ma.s.s may cover his body against the bound of the animal, and thus is the attack received. The jaguar, like all feline quadrupeds, springs directly forward upon his prey. The tigrero prepared for this, and, with every nerve braced, receives the a.s.sailant upon the point of his short spear.

Should the jaguar strike with its claws it only clutches the woollen cloth; and while tearing at this--which it believes to be the body of its intended victim--the right arm of the hunter is left free, and with the sharp blade of his _machete_ he can either make cut or thrust at his pleasure. It is not always that the tigrero succeeds in destroying his enemy without receiving a scratch or two in return; but a daring hunter makes light of such wounds--for these scars become badges of distinction, and give him _eclat_ among the villages of the Montana.

Just such a man was the guide whom our young hunters had engaged, and who, though a tiger-hunter by profession, was equally expert at the capturing of a bear--when one of these animals chanced to stray down from the higher slopes of the mountains, into the warmer country frequented by the jaguars. It was not always that bears could be found in these lower regions; but there is a particular season of the year when the black bear (_ursus frugilegus_) descends far below his usual range, and even wanders far out into the forests of the Montana.

Of course there must be some inducement for his making this annual migration from his mountain home; for the _ursus frugilegus_, though here dwelling within the tropics, does not affect a tropical climate.

Neither is he a denizen of the very cold plains--the _paramos_--that extend among the summits of eternal snow. A medium temperature is his choice; and this, as we have already stated, he finds among the foot-hills, forming the lower zone of the Eastern Andes. It is there he spends most of his life, and that is his place of birth, and consequently his true home. At a particular season of the year, corresponding to the summer of our own country, he makes a roving expedition to the lower regions; and for what purpose? This was the very question which Alexis put to the tigrero. The answer was as curious as laconic:

"_Comer la cabeza del negro_." (To eat the negro's head!)

"Ha, ha! to eat the negro's head!" repeated Ivan, with an incredulous laugh.

"Just so, senorito!" rejoined the man; "that is what brings him down here."

"Why, the voracious brute!" said Ivan; "you don't mean to say that he makes food of the heads of the poor negroes?"

"Oh no!" replied the tigrero, smiling in his turn; "it is not that."

"What then?" impatiently inquired Ivan. "I've heard of negro-head tobacco. He's not a tobacco chewer, is he?"

"_Carrambo_! no, senorito," replied the tiger-hunter, now laughing outright; "that's not the sort of food the fellow is fond of. You'll see it presently. By good luck, it's just in season now--just as the bears fancy it--or else we needn't look to start them here. We should have to go further up the mountains: where they are more difficult both to find and follow. But no doubt we'll soon stir one up, when we get among the _cabezas del negro_. The nuts are just now full of their sweet milky paste, of which the bears are so fond, and about a mile from here there are whole acres of the trees. I warrant we find a bear among them."

Though still puzzled with this half-explanation, our young hunters followed the guide--confident that they would soon come in sight of the "negro's head."

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.

THE TAGUA TREE.

After going about a mile further, as their guide had forewarned them, they came within sight of a level valley, or rather a plain, covered with a singular vegetation. It looked as if it had been a forest of palms--the trunks of which had sunk down into the earth, and left only the heads, with their great radiating fronds above the ground! Some of them stood a foot or two above the surface; but most appeared as if their stems had been completely buried! They were growing all the same, however; and, at the bottom of each great bunch of pinnate leaves, could be seen a number of large, roundish objects--which were evidently the fruits of the plant.

There was no mystery about the stems being buried underground. There were no stems, and never had been any--except those that were seen rising a yard or so above the surface. Neither was there any longer a mystery about the "negro's head;" for the rounded fruit, with its wrinkled coriaceous pericarp--suggesting a resemblance to the little curly knots of wool on the head of an African--was evidently the object to which the tigrero had applied the ambiguous appellation.

What our hunters saw was neither more nor less than a grove of _Tagua_ trees--better known as the "vegetable ivory."

This singular tree was for a long time regarded as a plant of the _Oycas_ family; and by some botanists it has been cla.s.sed among the _Pandanaceae_, or screw-pines. Growing, as its leaves do, almost out of the earth, or with only a short trunk, it bears a very marked resemblance to the cycads; but for all this, it is a true palm. Its not having a tall trunk is no reason why it should not be a palm, since many other species of _palmaceae_ are equally dest.i.tute of a visible stem.

It is now, however, acknowledged by the most expert botanists, that the "Tagua"--or "Cabeza del Negro," as the Peruvians style it--is a palm; and it has been honoured as the representative of a genus (_Phytelephas_), of which there are but two species known--the great fruited and little fruited (_macrocarpa_ and _microcarpa_). Both are natives of the hot valleys of the Andes, and differ very little from each other; but it is the species with the larger fruit that is distinguished by the figurative t.i.tle of "negro's head."

The Peruvian Indians use the pinnate fronds of both species for thatching their huts; but it is the nuts of the larger one that have given its great celebrity to the tree. These are of an oblong triangular shape; and a great number of them are enclosed in the pericarp, already described. When young, they are filled with a watery liquid that has no particular taste; though regarded by the Indians as a most refreshing beverage. A little older, this crystal-like fluid turns of a milky colour and consistence; and still later it becomes a white paste. When fully ripe, it congeals to the whiteness and hardness of ivory itself; and, if kept out of water, is even more beautiful in texture than, the tusks of the elephant. It has been employed by the Indians from time immemorial in the construction of b.u.t.tons, heads for their pipes, and many other purposes. Of late years it has found its way into the hands of civilised artisans; and, since it can be procured at a cheaper rate, and is quite equal to the real ivory for many useful and ornamental articles, it has become an important item of commerce.

But however much the vegetable ivory may be esteemed by the Indians, or by bipeds of any kind, there is one quadruped who thinks quite as much of it as they, and that is the black bear of the Andes (_ursus frugilegus_). It is not, however, when it has reached the condition of ivory that Bruin cares for it. Then the nut would be too hard, even for his powerful jaws to crack. It is when it is in the milky state--or rather after it has become coagulated to a paste--that he relishes it; and with so much avidity does he devour the sweet pulp, that at this season he is easily discovered in the midst of his depredations, and will scarce move away from his meal even upon the appearance of the hunter! While engaged in devouring his favourite negro-head, he appears indifferent to any danger that may threaten him.

Of this our hunters had proof, and very shortly after entering among the tagua trees. As the tigrero had predicted, they soon came upon the "sign" of a bear, and almost in the same instant discovered Bruin himself browsing upon the fruit.

The young hunters, and Pouchskin too, were about getting ready to fire upon him; when, to their surprise, they saw the tigrero, who was mounted on a prancing little horse, spur out in front of them, and gallop towards the bear. They knew that the killing of the animal should have been left to them; but, as they had given their guide no notice of this, they said nothing, but looked on--leaving the tigrero to manage matters after his own way.

It was evident that he intended to attack the bear, and in a peculiar fashion. They knew this by seeing that he carried a coil of raw-hide rope over his arm, on one end of which there was a ring and loop. They knew, moreover, that this was a celebrated weapon of the South Americans--the _lazo_, in short; but never having witnessed an exhibition of its use, they were curious to do so; and this also influenced them to keep their places.

In a few minutes the horseman had galloped within some twenty paces of the bear. The latter took the alarm, and commenced trotting off; but with a sullen reluctance, which showed that he had no great disposition to shun the encounter.

The ground was tolerably clear, the taguas standing far apart, and many of them not rising higher than the bear's back. This gave the spectators an opportunity of witnessing the chase.

It was not a long one. The bear perceiving that the horseman was gaining upon him, turned suddenly in his tracks, and, with an angry growl, rose erect upon his hind legs, and stood facing his pursuer in an att.i.tude of defiance. As the horseman drew near, however, he appeared to become cowed, and once more turning tail, shambled off through the bushes. This time he only ran a few lengths: for the shouts of the hunter provoking him to a fresh fit of fury, caused him to halt again, and raise himself erect as before.

This was just the opportunity of which the hunter was in expectation; and before the bear could lower himself on all-fours--to charge forward upon the horse, the long rope went spinning through the air, and its noose was seen settling over the shoulders of the bear. The huge quadruped, puzzled by this mode of attack, endeavoured to seize hold of the rope; but so thin was the raw-hide thong, that he could not clutch it with his great unwieldy paws; and by his efforts he only drew the noose tighter around his neck.

Meanwhile, the hunter, on projecting the lazo, had wheeled, with the quickness of thought; and, driving his sharp spurs into the ribs of his horse, caused the latter to gallop in the opposite direction. One might have supposed that he had taken fright at the bear, and was endeavouring to get out of the way. Not so. His object was very different. The lazo still formed a link of connection between the hunter and his game.

One end of it was fast to a staple firmly imbedded in the wood of the saddle-tree, while the other, as we have seen, was noosed around the bear. As the horse stretched off, the rope was seen to tighten with a sudden jerk; and Bruin was not only floored from his erect att.i.tude, but plucked clear off his feet, and laid sprawling along the earth. In that position he was not permitted to remain: for the horse continuing his gallop, he was dragged along the ground at the end of the lazo--his huge body now bounding several feet from the earth, and now breaking through the bushes with a crackling, crashing noise, such as he had himself never made in his most impetuous charges.