Part 25 (1/2)
Manco stopped in the centre of the chief hall, and said, stamping his foot, ”Dig there.” Lighting our torches, we stuck them in the ground, and set to work. After digging about two feet, we came to a ma.s.s which proved to be the body of a human being, swaddled up in bandages of cloth, and in good preservation. It was in a sitting posture, with the knees drawn up to the chin. Placing it on one side, we dug on.
Clearing away another stratum of earth, we reached a collection of household utensils, which at first I thought were of copper and clay; but as Ned was examining them, he exclaimed--
”They are gold, every one of them!”
”Dig, dig,” said Manco; ”you have more to find.” A third layer of earth was now removed, and we came upon a number of idols, all of gold or silver, and surrounding them a quant.i.ty of bars of pure gold. None of us had ever seen so much wealth in one ma.s.s. ”There, take what you can carry, and cover up the rest,” exclaimed Manco. ”You call that wealth,”
he continued, as if divining our thoughts; ”yet of what use is it to mankind thus locked up from sight? Now hasten, or daylight will surprise us before we can reach the cave.”
Following his direction, we loaded ourselves with as much of the pure gold as we could carry; and then replacing the body as we found it, we again covered up the grave. Then extinguis.h.i.+ng our torches, we set out to return to our cavern, which we reached in safety. It was with very great satisfaction that I bade adieu to the cavern which had for so long a time been our home. We had three horses, on one of which Nita was mounted, and the other two were loaded with a supply of provisions; each of the Indians, besides, carrying enough for his own wants, till a part of the country should be reached where more could be procured. Manco took every precaution for our safety which prudence could suggest. He sent the Indians on ahead as scouts to inspect the country before we advanced, and to bring us timely notice of the approach of an enemy. At that time it was difficult to know who were friends and who were not, for many of the Indians had gone over to the Spaniards, in the hopes of saving their lives and property; and others, still worse, we had too good reason to know, were ready to act the part of traitors, and to deliver up their countrymen for the sake of the reward they expected to receive.
We proceeded for some way along a series of wooded ridges, called by the Spaniards _Ceja de la Montana_ (the Mists of the Mountains), on account of the thick mists which, rising from the rivers in the valleys below, are attracted by the trees, and hang over them in dense clouds. In summer these mists are absorbed by the sun's rays; but in winter they discharge themselves in endless torrents of rain. At night we took up our abode in some deserted hut; but never, if we could avoid it, did we rest in the abode of man, and whenever we did, Manco kept three or four of our allies watching at a distance outside; and we always again started at early dawn. As we reached the extreme eastern edge of the _Ceja_, we looked down on an interminable extent of forest, composed of trees of a height with which few in other parts of the world can vie.
These wooded plains are called Montanas, which is the name given to the whole of the country eastward of the Andes.
As we advanced, our ears were saluted by the cries of numerous birds and animals. Sometimes I thought I heard the roaring of a bull at a distance, when I found it to proceed from the black ox-bird; and at others the grunting of a hog sounded close to us; and a beautiful bird called the _Tunqui_, like a c.o.c.k with a tuft of red feathers, and an orange bill, started up and astonished us with the contrast between his gruff note and gay plumage. In the evenings, groups of the pheasant-like _Hachahuallpa_ summoned their distant companions with the cry of _Ven aca, ven aca_--Come here, come here; and owls and bats flew out with noiseless wings to pounce on their unwary prey. Bears and ounces, pumas and tiger-cats crossed our path; and stags started from their thickets, where they had sought shelter from some of those above-named enemies. Monkeys chattered at us, and squirrels leaped among the trees; rats and mice were found in the huts, and _argutis_ in the maize-fields; snakes crawled along the ground, and birds of prey circled high above our heads. But in truth it would be impossible to describe one-tenth of the beasts, the birds, and reptiles we encountered in our journey; though I shall mention those I had opportunities of examining.
We approached one evening the farm of a cacique, who, with most of the men of his village, had marched to join the army of Tupac Amaru. The women only, and some of the old men and children, remained. It was on the extreme borders of the country inhabited by Christian Indians.
Beyond all was totally unknown to the white men, and but seldom visited by the civilised natives.
Manco sent on a messenger to give notice of our approach, and to crave the hospitality of the cacique and his family. He returned shortly, saying that the females only were at home, and that as yet they had received no account of the result of the expedition; but that they bade the strangers welcome.
”Alas!” said Manco, ”we are, I fear, the bearers of evil tidings. Had the cacique escaped, he would have returned ere this.”
We proceeded on, and in a s.p.a.ce cleared of trees, we found a collection of low buildings. The walls were constructed of reeds, the interstices being filled up with loam; and the roofs were covered with palm leaves.
On one side of the house was a coffee plantation, and on the other some fields of maize, with fruit-trees growing round them. At a little distance, on some marshy ground, was a field of sugar-canes; and by the side of a brook a row of the useful banana. The poor woman came out to receive us as we approached. Her first inquiries were for her husband.
Manco had seen him and all his people cut to pieces. She did not faint or shriek out, but retired into an inner room, sat herself down on the ground, surrounded by her women, and groaned bitterly all the night long. We did not see her again; but after a time one of her females came out and set food before us. Our Indian companions found shelter in some of the huts of the village; and one belonging to the farm was given up to Ned, Pedro, and me. We had Indian corn bread, and cakes made of the juice of the sugar-cane, called _chancacas_; potatoes, bananas, oranges, and pine-apples, and several varieties of dried meat; with a liquor also made from the sugar-cane, called _guarapo_: indeed we had no cause to complain of any want of provisions. As we were safe here from all risk of pursuit, Manco proposed to remain for some days, that we might recruit our strength before prosecuting our journey.
The cacique had been accustomed to increase his wealth by buying from the wilder tribes the celebrated Peruvian bark. In the month of May, a number of Indians set out together, some of whom, of greatest experience, who are called _cateadores_, or searchers, climb the highest trees to spy out the _manchas_, or spots where the _chinchona_ groups are growing, distinguis.h.i.+ng them merely by a slight difference in the tints from the dark-green of the surrounding foliage. When the _cateador_ has discovered a group, he leads his companions to it with wonderful precision through the almost impenetrable forest; a hut is built, the trees are felled, and incisions are made in the bark, and after a few days, as it dries, it is stripped off and placed in the huts to dry still more. It is then packed in bundles, and sent to market.
A party of Indians came one day to the village, on their way across the Andes, from the more distant forests to the east, laden with balsams and odoriferous gums, which they had collected from a variety of resinous plants. They were ignorant that the war had broken out, and when they heard of it, they were unwilling to venture further, and returned, to their own country. The men who carried the loads had on merely a piece of cloth round the waist; but the women who accompanied them wore a loose tunic without sleeves. Their legs were bare, but painted with the juice of the huito, which made it appear that they had on half-boots.
The object was to protect their legs from the stings of insects. I found that they professed Christianity. They were regular medical pedlars; for they had powders, salves, plasters, seeds, and roots of every description; claws of the tapir, as a remedy against the falling-sickness; and the teeth of poisonous snakes, carefully stuck into rushes, as specifics against head-ache and blindness. Manco had purchased a sufficient number of horses to mount all our party, and to carry such provisions as we required; though, from the abundance of game to be procured in the forests, we had no fear of being in want of fresh meat. Still, however, as there was no notice of the approach of the Spaniards, he thought it better to remain a few clays longer, to recruit our strength, before we recommenced our journey. Three of the Indians only had remained with us, the rest having departed to their homes in the south. Pedro, Ned, and I employed our time in wandering about the neighbouring country, under the guidance of one of the Indians; but we were charged by Manco not to go far from the village.
I can scarcely venture to describe the magnificence of the vegetation of that region. There were numerous ferns and nettles growing in the form of large shrubs; wonderful bignonias and gigantic orchids drawing their nourishment from the air; with every variety of climbing plants, throwing their thousand tendrils round the trees which gave them support. I could not but admire the various forms of the stately palm, the thickly-leaved balsam-yielding leguminosae, the luxuriant laurels, and the solaneae, with their numberless flowers of vast size. Further on, again, on the flat lands towards the east, the mighty trees rise to an immense height from the humid soil, without a flowering plant or shrub below their branches, forming a canopy almost impervious to the light of day.
One day we had gone farther than usual from home, when we reached a narrow lagune, overspread by the boughs of the gigantic trees which grew on either side of it. The air and earth were teeming with animal life.
Birds of beautiful plumage, and every variety of note, were perched on the branches, or flying above our heads; b.u.t.terflies of many hues were flitting about in all directions; and reptiles and insects innumerable were crawling along the ground. More beautiful than all were the humming-birds, which, like flashes of coloured light, appeared and disappeared as they flew by us; and surpa.s.sing his brethren in gorgeousness of hues, was the golden-tailed humming or fly bird, numbers of which haunted every glade we pa.s.sed. From many of the shady branches hung nests built by the pouched starlings, four or five feet long, and swinging to and fro with every breath of wind. Flocks of green parrots were chattering on the higher boughs, and preparing to seek their night--quarters in the higher parts. Our guide called them _jornaleros_ (day-labourers), and told me that the name was given them because, on the return of every day, they come back at the same hour from the mountains, where they sleep, to gather their food in the lower forests.
I had shot several birds, and was aiming at one, when he seized my arm, and implored me not to fire.
”Do you not hear its note, Senor?” he exclaimed. ”If you were to kill that bird, Heaven would afflict you with some dreadful disaster.
Listen: does it not say, _Dios te de_ (May G.o.d give it thee)?”
The bird, as he rested on a branch before me, threw back his head and rocked his body, and certainly uttered a note which might easily be thus translated.
I had got close to the lagune, and was watching a bird which, with fluttering wings, was hovering in the air a short distance from me, when our guide forcibly drew me back, whispering, with a look of terror, ”Did you not see the _Yac.u.maman_? Would you venture within the mighty coils of the Mother of Waters?”
At first I did not know what he could mean, till, creeping back, I saw what I had at first taken for the root of a tree, but which I now perceived to be an enormous serpent. Its body was wound in several huge coils round the stem of a decayed tree, while it bathed its tail in the waters of the lagune. Its head was now thrust forward, as with glittering eyes it watched an opening in the forest. Presently a slight rustling was heard, and a beautiful stag came to quench its thirst after the heat of the day. It came up fearlessly, and dipped its head to drink. Again it lifted it up, and looked around. On a sudden it caught sight of those beautiful eyes. Instantly its limbs began to tremble.
It seemed to have no power to fly, but stood looking with mute wonder at the object which fascinated it. The monster uncoiled itself, and glided from the tree. Still the stag did not attempt to fly, yet in fleetness it could have outstripped the wind. There it stood, a willing victim.
In another moment the serpent had sprung upon it, and encircled it in its monstrous folds. As we could not rescue the stag, and had no wish to interfere with the serpent, we hurried from the spot. We were already later than it was wise to remain from the village, but we could not help stopping to listen to the delicious notes of a cinnamon-brown bird, with head and neck of dark olive, which was perched on a bough overhanging our path. Never from a feathered songster had I heard notes more sweet or harmonious.