"Carapas," he said laconically.
"Carapas?" inquired Leon.
"Oh!" said Don Pablo, who understood him. "Turtles is it?"
"Yes, master," replied Guapo. "This is, I suppose, one of their great hatching-places. They are going to lay their eggs somewhere in the sand above. They do so every year."
There was no danger from the turtles, as Guapo a.s.sured everybody, but the fright had chased away sleep, and they all lay awake for some time listening to Guapo"s account of these singular creatures, which we shall translate into our own phraseology.
These large turtles, which in other parts of South America are called "arraus," or simply "tortugas," a.s.semble every year in large armies, from all parts of the river. Each one of these armies chooses for itself a place to breed--some sandy island, or great sand-bank. This they approach very cautiously--lying near it for some days, and reconnoitring it with only their heads above the water. They then crawl ash.o.r.e at night in vast mult.i.tudes--just as the party saw them--and each turtle, with the strong crooked claws of her hind feet, digs a hole for herself in the sand. These holes are three feet in diameter and two deep. In this she deposits her eggs--from seventy to one hundred and twenty of them--each egg being white, hard-sh.e.l.led, and between the size of a pigeon"s and pullet"s. She then covers the whole with sand, levelling it over the top so that it may look like the rest of the surface, and so that the precious treasure may not be found by vultures, jaguars, and other predatory creatures. When this is done the labour of the turtle is at an end.
The great army again betakes itself to the water, and scatters in every direction. The sun acting upon the hot sand does the rest; and in less than six weeks the young turtles, about an inch in diameter, crawl out of the sand, and at once make for the water. They are afterwards seen in pools and lakes, where the water is shallow, far from the place where they have been hatched; and it is well known that the first years of their life are not spent in the bed of the great river. How they find these pools, or whether the mothers distinguish their own young and conduct them thither, as the crocodiles and alligators do, is a mystery.
With these last the thing is more easy, as the crocodile mothers deposit their eggs in separate places, and each returns for her young when they are hatched, calls them by her voice, and guides them to the pool where they are to remain until partly grown.
But among the thousands of little turtles hatched at one place and time, and that seek the water altogether, how would it be possible for the turtle mother to distinguish her own young? Yet an old female turtle is frequently seen swimming about with as many as a hundred little ones after her! Now are these her own, or are they a collection picked up out of the general progeny? That is an undetermined question. It would seem impossible that each turtle mother should know her own young, yet amidst this apparent confusion there may be some maternal instinct that guides her to distinguish her own offspring from all the rest. Who can say?
It is not often, however, that the turtle is permitted to have offspring at all. These creatures are annually robbed of their eggs in millions.
They have many enemies, but man is the chief. When a turtle hatching place is discovered, the Indians a.s.semble, and as soon as all the eggs have been deposited, they uncover and collect them. They eat them--but that is not the princ.i.p.al use to which they are put. It is for the making of oil, or "tortoise-b.u.t.ter," they are collected.
The eggs are thrown into a large trough or canoe, where they are broken up with a wooden spade and stirred about for awhile. They then remain exposed to the sun, until the oily part collects on the surface, which is then skimmed off and well boiled. The "tortoise-b.u.t.ter" is now made, and after being poured into earthen jars or bottles, it is ready for market. The oil is clear, of a pale yellow colour, and some regard it as equal to the best olive oil, both for lamps and for cooking. Sometimes, however, it has a putrid smell, because many of the eggs are already half hatched before the gathering takes place.
What would be the result were these eggs not gathered by the Indians?
Perhaps in the different rivers of South America more than an hundred millions of them are deposited every year! In the Orinoco alone, in three princ.i.p.al hatching places, it has been calculated that at least thirty three millions are annually destroyed for the making of tortoise-b.u.t.ter! Fancy, then, one hundred millions of animals, each of which grows to the weight of fifty or sixty pounds, being produced every year, and then the increase in production which these would make if left to themselves! Why the rivers would be crowded; and it would be true what old Father Gumilla once a.s.serted, that "It would be as difficult to count the grains of sand on the sh.o.r.es of the Orinoco, as to count the immense number of tortoises that inhabit its margins and waters. Were it not for the vast consumption of tortoises and their eggs, the river, despite its great magnitude, would be unnavigable, for vessels would be impeded by the enormous mult.i.tude of the tortoises."
But nature has provided against this "over-population" of the turtles by giving them a great many enemies. The jaguars, the ocelots, the crocodiles, the cranes, and the vultures, all prey upon them; and, perhaps, if man were to leave them alone, the result would be, not such a great increase in the number of the turtles, but that the creatures who prey upon them would come in for a larger share.
The "carapa," or arrau turtle, is, when full grown, forty or fifty pounds in weight. It is of a dark green colour above and orange beneath, with yellow feet. There are many other species of fresh-water turtles in the rivers of South America, but these breed separately, each female choosing her own place, and making her deposit alone. Indeed, some of the smaller species, as the "terekay," are more esteemed both for their flesh and eggs; but as a large quant.i.ty of these eggs is never found together, they are not collected as an article of trade, but only to be roasted and eaten. The white does not coagulate in roasting or boiling, and only the yolk is eaten, but that is esteemed quite as palatable as the eggs of the common fowl.
The flesh of all kinds is eaten by the Indians, who fry it in pots, and then pour it with its own oil into other vessels and permit it to cool.
When thus prepared, it will keep for a long time, and can be taken out when required for use.
Most of the above particulars were communicated by Guapo; and when he had finished talking, all the others went to sleep, leaving Guapo to his midnight vigil.
CHAPTER XLIV.
A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO VERY SCALY CREATURES.
When they awoke in the morning they found Guapo busy over the fire. He had already been at the turtles" nests, and had collected a large basketful of the eggs, some of which he was cooking for breakfast. In addition to the eggs, moreover, half-a-dozen large turtles lay upon their backs close by. The flesh of these Guapo intended to scoop out and fry down, so as to be carried away as a sort of stock of preserved meat;--and a very excellent idea it was. He had caught them during his watch as they came out of the water.
All the turtles had gone off, although this is not always the case; for frequently numbers that have not finished covering their eggs during the night may be seen hard at work in the morning, and so intent on it, that they do not heed the presence of their worst enemies. These the Indians denominate "mad tortoises."
This morning, however, no "mad tortoises" were to be seen; but when our travellers cast their eyes along the beach they saw quite a number that appeared to be turned upon their backs just like those that Guapo had capsized. They were at some distance from the camp, but curiosity prompted our travellers to walk along the beach and examine them. Sure enough there were nearly a dozen large tortoises regularly laid on their backs, and unable to stir; but, besides these, there were several tortoise-sh.e.l.ls out of which the flesh had been freshly scooped, and these were as neatly cleaned out as if the work had been done by an anatomist. All this would have been a mystery but for the experience of Guapo; but Guapo knew it was the jaguar that had turned the tortoises on their backs, and that had cleaned out and eaten the flesh from the empty sh.e.l.ls!
Now, it is no easy thing for a man, provided with the necessary implements, to separate the flesh of a tortoise from its sh.e.l.l, and yet the jaguar, with his paw, can in a few minutes perform this operation most adroitly, as our travellers had full proof. All that they saw had been done that same night; and it gave them no very pleasant feeling to know that the jaguar had been at work so near them.
This animal, as Guapo said, in attacking the turtles, first turns them over, so as to prevent their escape--for the "carapas" are of those tortoises that once upon their backs on level ground cannot right themselves again. He then proceeds to tear out the flesh, and eats it at his leisure. Oftentimes he capsizes a far greater number than he can eat, and even returns to the spot to have a second meal of them; but frequently the Indians wandering along the river, find the tortoises he has turned over, and of course make an easy capture of them.
Guapo, upon this occasion, took advantage of the jaguar"s skill, and carried to the camp all that the latter had left. It was Guapo"s design to make a large quant.i.ty of "turtle sausage-meat," so that they might have a supply for many days, as by this time even Guapo himself was getting tired of the horse-flesh "charqui."
They were about returning to camp, when their attention was drawn to two dark objects upon the sand-beach a little farther on. These objects were in motion, and at first they believed they were a pair of "mad tortoises" that had not yet returned to the water, although they were close to its edge.
Led on by curiosity our party approached them, and saw that one only was a tortoise, and one of the largest kind, being nearly three feet in diameter. The other animal was a small caman or alligator.
As our travellers drew near they saw that these two creatures were engaged in a fierce and deadly combat. Now, it is a curious fact that the larger alligators and crocodiles are among the most destructive enemies which the turtles have, eating thousands of the latter while they are still tiny little creatures and unable to defend themselves; and, on the other hand, that the turtles prey extensively on the young of both alligators and crocodiles, eating them whenever they can catch them! I say this is a curious fact in natural history, and it seems a sort of retaliatory principle established between these two kinds of reptiles, as if they ate one another"s offspring _en revanche_.
There is no feeling of revenge, however, in the matter. It is merely an instinct of appet.i.te by which both kinds will eat almost any small fry they come across. In fact, the alligators and crocodiles not only eat the young of the turtles, but their own young as well. That is, the _old males_ do; and it has been stated, that the males of some species of tortoises have a similar unnatural appet.i.te.
The turtle of which we are speaking is one of the most carnivorous of the whole race, and one of the fiercest in its nature too; so much so, that it has earned the name of the "fierce tortoise." It will eat fish and small crustacea, and almost any living thing it finds in the water, which is not too large for it. It is extremely expert in catching its prey. It lies concealed at the bottom among the roots of flags and nymphae; and when any small fish chances to pa.s.s it, by means of its long neck darts out its head and seizes upon its unsuspecting victim. Once the bill of the "fierce turtle" has closed upon any object its hold is secure. You may cut its head off, but otherwise it cannot be forced to let go, until it has either captured its prey or taken the piece with it. It will "nip" a stout walking-cane between its mandibles, as if it was no more than a rush.
A very good story is told of a thief and a tortoise. The thief was prowling about the larder of an hotel in search of plunder, when he came upon a large market-basket filled with provisions. He immediately inserted his hand to secure the contents, when he felt himself suddenly seized by the fingers, and bitten so severely, that he was fain to draw back his hand in the most hasty manner possible. But along with the hand he drew out a "snapping" turtle. To get rid of the "ugly customer" was his next care; but, in spite of all his efforts, the turtle held on, determined to have the finger. The scuffle, and the shouts which pain compelled the thief to give utterance to, awoke the landlord and the rest of the household; and before the thief could disengage himself and escape, he was secured and given into custody.
Well, it was just a tortoise of this species, a "snapping turtle," and one of the largest size, that our travellers now saw doing battle with the caman. The caman was not one of large size, else the turtle would have fled from it, not that even the largest camans are feared by the full-grown _carapas_. No; the strong plate-armour of the latter protects them both from the teeth and tail of this antagonist. The jaguar, with his pliable paws and sharp subtle claws, is to them a more dreaded a.s.sailant than the crocodile or caman.
The one in question was some six or seven feet long, and altogether not much heavier than the turtle itself. It was not for the purpose of eating each other they fought. No--their strife was evidently on other grounds. No doubt the caman had been attempting to plunder the new-laid eggs of the tortoise, and the latter had detected him in the act. At all events, the struggle must have been going on for some time, for the sand was torn up, and scored, in many places, by the sharp claws of both.
The battle appeared to be still at its height when our party arrived on the spot. Neither tortoise nor caman paid any attention to their presence, but fought on pertinaciously. The aim of the caman appeared to be to get the head of the tortoise in his mouth; but whenever he attempted this, the latter suddenly drew his head within the sh.e.l.l, and repeatedly disappointed him. The tortoise, on its part, rose at intervals upon its hind-feet, and making a dash forward, would dart forth its long neck, and clutch at the softer parts of its antagonist"s body just under the throat. Several times it had succeeded in this manoeuvre, and each time it had brought the piece with it, so that the caman was already somewhat mangled. Another manoeuvre of the tortoise was to seize the tail of its antagonist. Instinct seemed to teach it that this was a vulnerable part, and for the purpose of reaching the tail, it constantly kept crawling and edging round towards it.
Now, there is no movement so difficult for a reptile of the crocodile kind as to turn its body on dry land. The peculiar formation of the vertebrae, both of its neck and spine, renders this movement difficult; and in "changing front," the reptile is forced to describe a full circle with its unwieldy body--in fact to turn "all of a piece." The tortoise, therefore, had the advantage, and, after several efforts, he at length succeeded in outflanking his antagonist, and getting right round to his rear. He lost no time, but, raising himself to his full height and making a dart forward, seized the tail and held on. He had caught by the very tip, and it was seen that his h.o.r.n.y mandibles had taken a proper hold.
Now commenced a somewhat ludicrous scene. The caman, though but a small one, with the immense muscular power which he possessed in his tail, if not able to detach his antagonist, was able to give him a sound shaking, and the turtle was seen vibrating from side to side, dragged along the sand. He held his broad yellow feet spread out on all sides, so as to preserve his equilibrium, for he well knew that to lose that would be to lose his life. Should he get turned on his back it would be all over with him; but he carefully guarded against such a fatal catastrope. Of course there were intervals when the caman became tired, and remained still for a moment; and at each of these intervals the tortoise renewed his hold, and, in fact, as our party now perceived, was slowly, though surely, _eating the tail_!
When this had continued a short while, the great saurian seemed to despair. The pain, no doubt, caused him to weep "crocodile"s tears,"
though none were seen, but his eyes glared with a lurid light, and he began to look around for some means of escape from his painful position.
His eye fell upon the water. That promised something, although he knew full well the turtle was as much at home there as he. At all events, his situation could not be a worse one, and with this, or some such reflection, he made a "dash" for the water. He was but a few feet from it, but it cost him a good deal of pulling and dragging, and clawing the sand, before he could get into it. In fact, the tortoise knew that its position could not be benefited by the change, and would have preferred fighting it out on dry land, and to do this he set _his_ claws as firmly as possible, and pulled the tail in the opposite direction!
The strength of the caman at length prevailed. He got his body into the water, and, with a few strokes of his webbed feet, jerked the turtle after, and both were now fairly launched. Once in the river, the caman seemed to gain fresh vigour. His tail vibrated violently and rapidly, throwing the tortoise from side to side until the foam floated around them, and then both suddenly sank to the bottom.
Whether they continued "attached," or became "separated" there, or whether the turtle killed the lizard, or the lizard the turtle, or "each did kill the other," no one ever knew, as it is highly probable that no human eye ever saw either of them again.
At all events, no one of _our_ party saw any more of them; and, having watched the surface for some time, they turned in their steps and walked back to the camp.
CHAPTER XLV.
A PAIR OF VALIANT VULTURES.
They had got into a part of the river that seemed to be a favourite resort with turtles and crocodiles, and creatures of that description.
At different times they saw turtles of different kinds; among others, the "painted turtle," a beautiful species that derives its name from the fine colouring of its sh.e.l.l, which appears as if it had been painted in enamel. Of crocodiles, too, they saw three or four distinct species, and not unfrequently, the largest of all, the great black crocodile (_Jacare nigra_). This was sometimes seen of the enormous length of over twenty feet! Terrible-looking as these crocodiles are, they are not masters of every creature upon the river. There are even birds that can sorely vex them, and compel them to take to the water to save themselves from a fearful calamity--blindness.
One day, while descending the river, our travellers were witness to an ill.u.s.tration of this.
They were pa.s.sing a wide sand-bank that shelved back from the river, with a scarcely perceptible slope, when they saw, at a distance of about two hundred yards from the water"s edge, a crocodile making for the river. He looked as though he had just awoke from his torpid sleep, for his body was caked all over with dry mud, and he seemed both hungry and thirsty. It was like enough he was coming from some inland pond, where the water had dried up, and he was now on his way to the river.