The Wanderers Part 18

We at once built two kilns for drying fish and flesh, to a.s.sist the preserving powers of the hot sun. Several large periecus were caught, cut up, and dried in the sun, and then smoked; but though wholesome and nutritious, they were not considered very palatable. As fruits and nuts became ripe they were gathered in large quant.i.ties, and Marian exerted her skill in drying the former.

"If I had some sugar, I would make a supply of preserves," she observed, as she examined a basket of palm-fruit, and several varieties of plums, which we had brought in. "I often a.s.sisted at home, and know perfectly well how to manage."

I remembered one day having seen some long canes, which I took for ordinary reeds, growing among the abundant vegetation. I now tried to recollect whereabouts they were.

"I know," exclaimed Sambo. "They be wild sugar-cane."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Because I suck 'em, and dey berry sweet," he answered, grinning as only a well-satisfied negro can grin, having, of all the human race, a mouth specially adapted for the purpose.

"Then do you think you could find them again, Sambo?" I asked.

"Oh yes, ma.s.sa! I will bring home enough to make sugar for all the preserves Miss Marian can make."

"But when we have cut the canes, how is the sugar to be manufactured?"

I inquired.

"I do dat," he answered. "I 'long on sugar plantation in Jamaica, and know how to make sugar as well as any n.i.g.g.e.r slave."

Sambo at once set out, and soon brought back a load of sugar-canes--a convincing proof that they grew in the neighbourhood. We all tried them; and for several days each member of our community was to be seen walking about with a piece of sugar-cane in his mouth. Sambo was an ingenious mechanic, and forthwith set to work to construct a sugar manufactory. It was very simple, consisting of a number of our largest clay pots for boiling the juice, and a long trough with sides, and a board at each end, slightly inclining towards the pans. Into the trough fitted a huge stone,--a large round boulder, to which ropes were attached, for hauling it backwards and forwards. The canes being placed in the trough, the heavy weight pa.s.sing over them pressed out the juice, which ran through holes in the lower end into the bowls. The fuel which had previously been placed under the bowls was then lighted. As soon as the juice became hot, the impure portions rose in the form of sc.u.m, which was skimmed off. Sambo had found some lime, with which he formed lime-water to temper the liquor. The boiling process over, the fires were allowed to go out, and the liquor was then poured out into fresh pans, in which it was again gently boiled. It was afterwards transferred to a number of open wooden boxes, where it was allowed to cool, while the mola.s.ses ran off into pans placed beneath them, the part remaining in the boxes being in the form of crystals. Another draining process was then gone through, when really very respectable-looking sugar was produced.

"It would not fetch anything of a price in the market," observed my father; "but I have no doubt that Marian will find it good enough to preserve her fruit."

Marian was delighted, and a.s.sured Sambo that his sugar would answer very well indeed. "If we could find some tea-plants, we might have a pleasanter beverage for breakfast than either cold water or palm-wine,"

observed Marian; "though, to be sure, we should have no milk to mix with it."

"I don't despair of finding that," said Uncle Paul; "indeed, I can promise to bring you some fresh milk directly you can produce the tea.

I only yesterday caught sight of the ma.s.saranduba, or cow-tree; and as it is not far off, I will this evening bring you a bowlful of the juice, which, when fresh, you will be unable to distinguish from the finest milk."

Marian was of course very eager to see this wonderful vegetable milk; and in the evening Uncle Paul set out with a large bowl. Sambo and I accompanied him, Sambo carrying an axe. On going some distance through the forest, we saw a tree with deeply-scored reddish and rugged bark.

"Surely nothing like white juice can come out of so rough a skin," I observed to Uncle Paul.

"Wait till Sambo has put his axe through it.--Cut hereabouts, Sambo," he said, pointing to a part of the trunk under which he could hold the bowl.

The black did as directed, and made a deep incision, following it up by other cuts.

"That's enough," exclaimed Uncle Paul; and having, as he spoke, placed the bowl beneath the cut, there literally gushed forth a stream of the purest white milk, so rapidly that the bowl was quickly filled. I smelt it and tasted it; and though it might have been said to be a little coa.r.s.e, I certainly should have supposed it to be pure milk. Uncle Paul cautioned us not to drink much, as, swallowed in any considerable quant.i.ty, it is looked upon as unwholesome.

We returned with the bowl full, Sambo having carried it on his head.

Marian was of course delighted with it, though she could not give us tea. Kallolo had brought her a berry, however, which he a.s.sured her was perfectly wholesome, and which, when pounded and boiled, afforded a fair subst.i.tute for coffee. I suspect, indeed, that it was wild coffee, and that the original seed had been brought to the spot by some bird.

We had thus secured a very palatable beverage, and had obtained milk and sugar to mix with it; but my father still had a fancy for procuring tea, or at all events a subst.i.tute for it.

"If we find any, it will be a satisfaction when we drink it to remember that it is not taxed," he observed, "and that the revenue derived from it will not be spent in a way over which we have no control."

My poor father was alluding at the time to one of the grievances which the American colonies had already begun to feel very severely. We hunted in vain, however, for any shrub whose leaves were at all to be compared with those of the tea-tree of China, though we made several decoctions which afforded us refres.h.i.+ng beverages.

On the borders of the small lake Kallolo had discovered a large quant.i.ty of wild rice, on which numberless waterfowl fed. We collected an ample supply of the seed, and found it very useful in lieu of other farinaceous food. After it had been well stewed, it a.s.sisted to frica.s.see macaws, parrots, and monkeys, which formed our staple diet.

We had long got over anything like squeamishness as to what we ate; and it was evident that our food agreed with us, for we were all as fat and strong as we could desire--indeed, accustomed as we had become to the life we were leading, no one complained of hards.h.i.+ps or scanty fare. We certainly had to work for our subsistence, and the food did not exactly drop into our mouths; but we were sure to get it by exerting ourselves.

We caught two more tapirs in our pitfall; but being older than the first, they showed no inclination to become domesticated, so we were compelled to kill them, and to cut up and dry their flesh--which, though rather tough, was not otherwise unpalatable. Notwithstanding the quant.i.ty around him, Tim often sighed for a good fat pig.

"Sure, there's nothing like pork after all; and I wish we could have two or three fat grunters to keep happy and contented in the corner of our hut, just as they may be seen in many cabins in the 'ould country,'" he exclaimed one day. "They would remind us of home more than anything else."

I recollected Tim's remark when, shortly afterwards, he came rus.h.i.+ng in from the direction of our pitfall, exclaiming as he approached,--"Hurrah! hurrah!--a real 'beautiful pig' has been caught; but the baste looked as if his mind was so ill at ease, that I thought it prudent not to slip down and help him out; so, if anyone will come and a.s.sist me, sure we'll soon make the beginning of a piggery."

Uncle Paul, Sambo, and I, carrying some rope between us, hastened off to get out the pig. On reaching the pitfall, Uncle Paul, looking down, exclaimed,--"It was well, Tim, that you did not jump in to help out your friend. Just see his mouth!" And poking the end of his stick in front of the creature's nose, it exhibited a pair of tusks sharp as lancets.

"It is a pig, certainly, but very unlike the pig of northern lands," he observed. "This creature is a peccary; and though it is of no great size, it is one of the most savage little animals in existence. A herd of them will run down a jaguar; and though he may slay a few with his paws, they will soon worry him to death with their sharp tusks, having nothing like fear in their composition. We will take the precaution of securing it before we haul it out, or it will be sure to do some of us an injury."

A noose having been formed, it was slipped over the peccary's head, and the animal was hauled-out and quickly despatched. Uncle Paul then showed us a gland on the hinder part of the back, which he carefully cut out, remarking that unless this was done it would impart a disagreeable flavour to the rest of the meat. Tim and Sambo, after having secured it to the end of a long stick, carried it in triumph to the settlement. We found the meat excellent; and what we could not eat was smoked and laid by for the voyage.

Tim was still dissatisfied at not being able to tame a few peccaries to keep in his hut. He had sallied forth at daybreak one morning, bow in hand, in search of game, promising to be back at breakfast. When breakfast-time came, however, Tim did not appear. Arthur and I waited for an hour or more, till we became somewhat anxious about our faithful follower, and at last determined to go in search of him. We had noted the direction he had taken, and hoped, therefore, to get upon his track.

We first visited the pitfall. It was empty; but we caught sight of some recently broken twigs some way beyond, which showed that he had gone further. On we went, therefore, shooting several birds which came in our way.

We were pus.h.i.+ng on, when we heard a voice which we knew to be Tim's shouting out, "Up a tree! up a tree, gentlemen--for your lives!" We looked round. Fortunately one was near, the branches of which enabled us, without difficulty, to climb up it. At that instant we caught sight of several dozen black-skinned creatures rus.h.i.+ng towards us. Up the tree we sprang; and scarcely had we got a few feet from the ground when a whole herd of peccaries came rus.h.i.+ng towards us, ploughing up the ground with their tusks, and exhibiting other signs of rage.

No sooner had we seated ourselves on a bough than we made out Tim a little way off, perched in the same manner upon another tree. It was pretty clear that he had been besieged by the herd, as we now were.

We shouted to him, inquiring how long he had been there.

"For the last two hours or more," was his answer. "I was just walking through the forest on my way home when these terrible little bastes caught sight of me; and if I had not sprung up this tree like lightning, they would have dug their sharp tusks into my legs. Though I have shot every arrow I had at my back, and have killed half a score of them, nothing I could do would make them go away; and by my faith, too, the brutes seem determined to starve us out."

This was not pleasant, as we might expect to be treed in the same manner. We determined, however, to do what we could to put the peccaries to flight, and began shooting away; taking good aim, that we might not uselessly expend our arrows. The little brutes kept rus.h.i.+ng about below us, now and then charging against the trunk of the tree, and then looking up at us with their wicked eyes, evidently wis.h.i.+ng that we might slip and tumble down among them.

"A pretty condition we should be in if we did so," I remarked to Arthur.

"Take care what you are about, then," he answered. "Keep your feet firmly fixed on the branch below you before you shoot."

We were standing up on one branch, leaning against another some way above it,--a good situation for our purpose. We had killed nearly a dozen peccaries; still the animals seemed totally to disregard the falling of their companions, and rushed about as fiercely as at first.

We at length began to fear that they would remain till we were starved, for we had already expended the greater number of our arrows. Arthur at last advised that we should stop shooting, in the hope that, from some cause or other, the peccaries would raise the siege and take their departure. "Even could we cut up the slaughtered animals, we could not carry home a quarter of them, and it is evidently useless to shoot more of them," he observed.

Arthur had turned round to speak to Tim, when I heard him whisper, "See, see! look at that creature!" Casting my eyes in the direction in which he pointed, I beheld a large jaguar stealing cautiously along towards one of the peccaries which lay wounded on the ground. We kept perfectly silent, as we hoped the jaguar would not only carry off the dying peccary, but a few of its living companions. The loud squeaks which the poor wounded peccary set up on finding itself in the claws of the savage jaguar, attracted the attention of the whole herd; but instead of running away, they rushed simultaneously towards him. He saw them coming, and lifting his victim in his jaws, he bounded off. They were not, however, to be disappointed of their revenge, and away they all started in chase. We watched them with no small interest, expecting, however, that when they found they could not overtake the jaguar they would quickly return and again lay siege to us. Greatly to our satisfaction, however, on they went.

"Now is our time; let us run for it!" exclaimed Arthur, shouting to Tim, who speedily descended from the tree.

"Sure, you would not be after leaving such a fine supply of good pork,"

said Tim, drawing his knife. "If the peccaries come back, we must just slip up our trees again; and as for the jaguar, there's little chance of his showing his nose here, for the brutes will soon kill him, if he has not got a fast pair of heels of his own."

As there appeared little probability of the peccaries returning, we followed Tim's advice, and began cutting up the animals, so as to secure the best joints from each. We soon had three as heavy loads of meat as we could carry; and placing them on our shoulders, we set off towards the settlement looking back, every now and then to ascertain if we were followed.

We hastened along as fast as we could, as we wished not only to escape from the living peccaries, but to bring our friends to carry off a further supply of the slaughtered meat. From some cause or other we were not pursued, and arrived safely at the settlement. Our friends immediately armed themselves with bows and arrows and spears, and got ready to return with us. Kallolo merely took his blowpipe; and giving a peculiar smile, he observed,--"If the creatures will kindly come near me, I will take good care that not one of them gets away." However, on reaching the spot where we had left the slaughtered peccaries no living ones were to be seen, nor did it appear that the jaguar had come back for any of them; so we concluded that he had either been killed, that the savage little brutes had driven him to a distance, or that he had crossed a piece of water, into which they themselves will never willingly enter. Several vultures and eagles had, however, collected to enjoy the feast we had prepared for them, while two armadillos and numerous insects had already attacked the carca.s.ses. We found that several of those we had last killed were untouched, and each of us was able to carry back a heavy load of joints, to turn into hams and bacon in our smoking-house.

We had now, we found after taking stock of our provisions, a supply sufficient to last for our voyage to Stabroek, even though it might prove longer than we calculated on. We had jars of clay and cuja-nuts to carry our stock of water, of which we did not require much, as we should not be compelled to use it till we got out of the river. As the earthen jars, however, were liable to be broken, Uncle Paul determined to manufacture a number of indiarubber bottles. They might possibly impart an unpleasant odour to the water, but would not render it unwholesome; and this supply would serve in case the rest should be exhausted. For this purpose he made a number of clay moulds, with round sticks for the mouths, and baked them slightly. He then covered the moulds to a sufficient thickness with the seringa juice, and dried them in the smoke as our shoes had been. The moulds were easily broken; and the pieces being taken out, the indiarubber bottles were completed, only requiring corks and pieces of string to make them suitable for our object. We were thus supplied with the chief means of supporting existence during our voyage. We had dried fish and flesh, nuts and preserved fruit, rice and the farinaceous produce of the palm-tree. We were more indebted to various species of palm than to any other tree, both for fruit, and flour to supply the place of wheat.

In a spot once apparently inhabited by Indians, but long since abandoned, were several peach-palms,--tall and elegant trees, which rose to the height of sixty feet, and were perfectly straight. Each tree bore several bunches of fruit, a single bunch being as much as the strongest of our party could carry. The fruit takes its name from the colour of the peach, not from its flavour or nature, for it is dry and mealy, and we agreed, when tasting it, that it was like a mixture of chestnuts and cheese. On boiling the fruit it became nearly as mealy as a potato. Each fruit was about the size of a large peach. We found it very nutritious; and eight or ten were as much as one of us could eat at a meal. The appearance of the tree is very beautiful, owing to the rich colour of the foliage. The leaves are green, evenly arched over and forming a deep green vault, with the heavy cl.u.s.ters of ripe red fruit hanging beneath it. We were attracted to the spot by seeing numerous vultures hovering over it; and on reaching the tree we found that they had come not to devour a carca.s.s beneath, as we had supposed, but to feed on the fruit.

Another palm, the a.s.sai, afforded us an abundance of berries, about the size of a cranberry, and of a dark brown colour. From it we manufactured a refres.h.i.+ng beverage. The trunk is perfectly smooth, and the fruit grows in heavy cl.u.s.ters just below the long leaves which crown its summit. At first we thought it would be impossible to reach them, but Maco showed us how they were to be obtained. Binding his feet together by a strip of palm-leaves above his instep, he pressed his knees against the trunk, and quickly ascended the polished stem, till he reached the fruit at the summit.