Part 29

Entering the forest, the first thing that attracted our notice was a cluster of wild pines, growing ten or twelve feet high. Our path was good. Although pleasantly shaded at each side, it was not so narrow as to confine us to the usual Indian file. It more resembled the open ridings which embellish the woods of England. The scene was new; and every object created a lively interest. Expectation was ardent, and on the point of being gratified. It was a walk of nearly a mile to the Indian town. Feeling anxious to avoid every possible cause of offence, we begged of Vandyke to instruct us in such rules of conduct, as it might be proper to maintain towards the naked tribe; but he did not consider any precautions necessary: being himself familiar with these natives of the woods, he left us to our own discretion, and assured us a civil, if not a polite reception. On our arrival he led us directly into the simple buildings which are used for houses. No ceremony was observed: neither rapping at the door, nor ringing at the bell was required. “Parlez au Suisse” offered no impediment, nor delay. Vandyke advanced, and the party was at once amidst the family. You will believe that our attention was active. Not a house, a hut, or a hammock escaped us. Not an article of furniture, not an implement, or utensil; not a step of ground; not a movement, or a look of any inhabitant was disregarded. We hunted through every corner and place, taking up some things in our hands, inspecting others, and assailing Vandyke with questions concerning all. The _Bucks_ were gone into the forest to cut wood, the _Buckeen_ and their children being left at home. Most of the women were engaged in one part or other of the process of preparing the poisonous cassada into food. Wishing to see them in their different employments, we hastened from hut to hut in the idea of coming upon them, before their occupations were interrupted by the surprise which we thought it probable might be excited, from the unexpected arrival of a party of clothed strangers, among them. But on this head we need have had no anxiety. Not an individual suffered any interruption from our presence. The curiosity, by which we were actuated, was in no degree reciprocal; for scarcely did any one take the trouble even to look towards us! We passed through their huts, and around their persons, in a manner unnoticed; and they continued at work, or unemployed, precisely as we found them! Whether on their legs, whether seated, or lying in their hammocks, so they remained; no observable change being induced by our visit.

Added to other gratifications it was in part our object to collect specimens of natural production, or of Indian workmanship. In our varied assemblage, was a small and beautiful little animal, called the lion-monkey; also a Laba, which in appearance somewhat resembles the hare. Its flesh is esteemed the most delicious food of the country; the taste of it approaches to a mixed flavour of the hare, and very delicate pork. It is dressed without casing; the skin being considered the favorite part. This is very thick, and in cooking becomes gelatinous, like the calves head, or turtle. The Indians scald off the hair or fur, then cut the body in pieces, and stew it in cassada juice, seasoning it very highly with capsicum. Thus prepared, it is extremely good, and if it could be had in London, might form a dish not unworthy the notice of a mansion-house purveyor.

Many fine bows and arrows were among the collection which we procured at this forest village. In one of the huts I fixed my eye upon a small pair which appeared to be extremely delicate, of exquisite workmanship, and by far the finest specimen of the kind we had met with. I wished to show them to my friends in England; and, taking them into my hand, resolved to purchase them if possible. But I was disappointed, by an unexpected circumstance, which very much interested me, and which I shall ever remember with pleasure. Holding the bow and arrow to the naked woman of the house, I was about to offer money, my pocket-handkerchief, or my neck-cloth in exchange for them; when a little copper-skinned urchin, almost covered with long black hair, broke out in such piteous bewailings, that (although to have had them I would have given almost any article of my apparel) I was, at once, diverted from every thought of possessing them. I felt that no terms could induce me to take them, if at the expense of the tears, and broken-hearted lamentations of the young archer to whom they belonged. Still I own that I was cruel enough to prolong the little rogue’s cries and fears, by an experiment upon the mother. I wished to ascertain the sentiments of an inhabitant of the rude forest upon such an occasion; and to observe what would be the conduct exhibited under the circumstances of a son’s distress; I persevered, therefore, in my seeming attempts to prevail on the woman to let me have the bow and arrow: but she was true to nature; and her child’s happiness was the first object of her parent-breast! No offer—no inducement could tempt her to barter her son’s peace. If her dear infant’s peace was to be the price, nothing was adequate—nothing could compensate! The little distressed boy hung about my knees—ran to his mother—held up an imploring hand—and uttered sad cries of affliction. I resisted, for a time, the impulse of my feelings—displayed to the woman my handkerchief, and my pocket-book—offered her money—tried to sooth her son, and feigned every means of persuasion: but all in vain! She remained inflexible! Her child was unhappy, and with his comfort there could be no compromise. It was enough! The experiment was made; and I was delighted to find that in the wild woods the sacred laws of nature were not subordinate to all-subduing interest.

I had no desire further to tantalize the little weeping fellow, or his affectionate mother, therefore gave him the bow and arrow, and made him happy—compensating the affliction I had caused him, by the pocket-handkerchief which I had offered as the purchase of his arms. His grief instantly vanished; but he flew to his mother, and, clinging to her, did not again venture from her side, whilst we remained in the hut.

Further examples occurred to us evincing the powerful operation of the affections among these uncivilized people. One of the women pointed out to our observation the grave of her son; a youth who had destroyed himself because the mother of a young _buckeen_, of whom he was enamoured, could not be prevailed upon to let him take her daughter for his wife. Thus the wily Cupid would seem to wield his bow with equal prowess amidst the simple beings of the forest, as among the more pampered swains of crowded society. The son of our afflicted buckeen was young, and his attachment as pure as it was ardent and disinterested. Without the adored object of his affections life was insupportable, and he resolved not to survive the disappointment: deprived of his heart’s choice, existence lost all its charms, and he yielded himself a victim to despair! These rude people honored the sentiment. In sad grief his parents deplored their loss, and the inhabitants of every hut lamented the fate of the youthful lover. An additional instance of natural affection and attachment occurred in the solemn observance paid to his remains, which as an ever-dear and sacred deposit, were entombed within the chamber where his afflicted parents dwelt!

Like all other tribes, who are ignorant of the comforts and conveniences of civilization, the Indians of Guiana procure their food from the rivers, the sea, and the forests. They have no animals domesticated, nor any grain or roots, except the cassada, brought into cultivation; and hence they depend very much upon the fortune of the chase for subsistence. A small species of deer, called _wirrebocerra_, the laba, and the armadillo are among the animals they most esteem. Crabs and various kinds of fish are also much used, particularly the former, which they find in great abundance in the muddy margins of the rivers; especially at the parts where they open into the sea. When fortunate in the chase, they indulge their natural indolence by lying in their hammocks, most of the time, until their provisions are expended: and when the supply obtained by the bow and arrow is less plentiful, or when their hunt in the woods happens to prove unsuccessful, they find a resource in crabs and cassada, which may be considered their staple articles of consumption. Indeed the latter may be called their _staff of life_, for it offers a resource when they fail in the chase, and becomes to them what plantains are to the negroes of these colonies, or potatoes to Irish peasants. Being the only vegetable they cultivate, it is usually planted, in a rough and irregular manner, near to their huts. Very commonly they prepare their food in the form of pepper-pot; their favorite dishes being crabs, or laba, stewed with cassada juice, and seasoned extremely hot with red pepper.

I can give testimony to both of these being very rich and good; perhaps in point of flavour the pepper-pot of crabs claims the preference; but either might be a feast for an epicure. In one of the huts we saw part of an armadillo, which had been broiled or roasted in its shell. In appearance and taste it was not very unlike young pig. Water is their common drink, but they sometimes use a fermented liquor called _piworree_, which they make from cassada. This is intoxicating, and has some resemblance to beer.

The huts are usually constructed like that which we saw near the landing-place at Savonette. I hope to show you a model of them on my return, having the promise of one, made by the _Bucks_, with furniture complete. At the village some of the huts were closed in at the ends; others were left entirely open. The roofs were neatly thatched with the leaf of the coco-nut or the mountain-cabbage. Near to the cabins that were inhabited, we observed a detached building enclosed on all sides, forming a single room, into which light and air were only admitted at the door-way. Upon inquiry we learned that this was devoted to the use of the sick—not as an hospital, but as a temple of incantation, for the purpose of expelling disease. Their superstition leads them to attribute sickness to witchcraft, or the visitation of some evil spirit like the Obeah of the Africans; and having faith in spells, they make little decorated instruments, of tender rushes about a foot long, which the physicians, or priests called _Pyeis_, employ, together with other magical implements, as wands to drive out these demons of ill, which they term _Yowahoos_. The Pyei is thought to possess a peculiar influence over the Yowahoo; and by means of dissimulation, and superstitious forms, the sick and his friends are made to believe that he holds an intercourse with him, previous to removing the effect of his malign visitation from his patients. The building seems better calculated for their more natural remedy, the hot or vapour bath, which they contrive by throwing water upon a large heated stone, and enveloping the sick person in the steam.

Around the village the wood had been partially cleared away, and the scenery of this interesting spot was much improved by several cows coming out of the thick part of the forest to browse about the open space. They were the produce of a herd originally brought by M. Heynemann to Savonette.

After having gratified our curiosity by a long visit, and a minute inspection of every thing worthy of notice at the Indian town, we were led, through a close and narrow path, devoid of any turning, either to the right hand or the left, into the profoundest shades of the forest. The way was difficult, and we were compelled to follow each other in single file, throughout the whole length of our walk; which, from the closeness of the wood, the narrowness of the path, and the consequent defection of the breeze, was distressingly hot and oppressive. The object from which we were to expect compensation was ... _a tree_! We had strong apprehensions that the sight of it might not be an adequate reward for so fatiguing a walk, but we had thrown ourselves upon the judgment of Vandyke, desiring him to conduct us to all that might be gratifying to strangers; we therefore marched on, in tacit obedience, relying upon his guidance; and our perseverance was amply recompensed by viewing the great chief of the forest—an enormous tree of the Tonquin-bean, which appears in lofty and majestic trunk, extending its high-exalted foliage above the hosts of aspiring rivals that surround it. The body forms an immense perpendicular pillar rising to the height of 70 or 80 feet before it throws out a shoot or a bud, then spreading its wide-expanded branches in proud canopy, so elevated as to protect from the reach, and even to conceal from the eye, the nuts which contain its sweet-scented beans. Viewing this huge tree with regard to its straight and perpendicular trunk, its immense bulk, and, above all, its prodigious height, it may be considered as one of the finest specimens of vegetable production growing on the face of the globe. In beauty and grandeur it is equalled only by the stately mountain-cabbage, whose noble trunk, and fine palmated foliage, stand unrivalled in the vegetable world.

The trees grow to a size, in these forests, not easily to be imagined by persons who have seen only those of the more temperate climate of Europe. They are tall and stately, and contain a great proportion of timber, in consequence of running up to an immense height before they throw off their branches. It is often difficult, and not unfrequently impossible to reach their fruit, or foliage. The Tonquin-bean tree, when growing out of the forest, seldom attains to this grandeur of form: it branches off at a shorter distance from the ground, and in its growth more resembles the English ash; the bark is somewhat like the poplar, and the leaves resemble those of the pear. The one we saw had been drawn up to an unusual height, by growing in a crowd, and was indebted to health and years for its extraordinary bulk. The nuts containing the fragrant beans are abundantly plentiful in the forest, and may be picked up in bushels under the trees, at a certain season of the year. While we were gazing at this vegetable giant, Vandyke cut on its bark the initials of our names, and the date of our visit: this necessary ceremony being duly performed, we trod our way back, by the narrow path, to the residence of our friendly guide, and there, most gladly, made a resting-place. But Vandyke was allowed no respite, for we still beset him with hosts of questions. When he had satisfied our inquiries, and we learned that Savonette offered no further novelty, we resumed our seats in the boat, and returned to the abode of the hospitable Heynemann. Vandyke presented us with a young Kiwihi, an animal which bears some resemblance to a pig, and is about the size of a large cat, having a very long tail, marked with alternate rings of black and white hair. He also gave us several specimens of Indian implements, most of which I hope to bring to England. Some of the Indians followed us to the water-side, and put into our boat large baskets filled with fine water-lemons, which they had gathered from the woods.

On our quitting the shore Vandyke honored our departure with the firing of cannon. He was a soldier, and in addition to other civilities, felt a pride in showing to officers, who visited him, every mark of military respect. We were the more pleased with the compliment, as it afforded us an unexpected opportunity of hearing the enchanting echo from the forest.

We were in time to take a late dinner with Mynheer Heynemann, and in the evening, according to the plan laid down for us, we proceeded to Arends. M. Paùels was from home, but we found the best arrangements of the family ordered for our accommodation. We were sumptuously entertained by a young gentleman, the friend of M. Paùels; and at night were conducted to very excellent bed-chambers, fitted up more in the style of European accommodation than any we had seen in the colony.

LETTER LVI.

Berbische.

The generous Heynemann appeared much gratified by the satisfaction we expressed ourselves to have experienced in our visit at Savonette, and in our acknowledgments of the civil attentions of his deputy, Vandyke. He was particularly pleased at the interest which he said I seemed to take “respecting every object, and every circumstance in this remote part of the world,” and so devoted himself to the means of indulging me, that I was compelled peremptorily to arrest the liberal hand with which he would have bestowed multiplied marks of his favor—to the injury, and almost the extinction of his own collection. At first I had freely pronounced my admiration of such things as were calculated to call it forth, but I soon discovered, that to admire what I saw was to tax his liberality; for if he only heard me breathe approval, or but perceived, by my eye, that I liked any specimen, it was instantly mine. He gave me samples of various gums, nuts, and woods employed in medicine by the Indians, also crystals, bows and arrows, Indian paddles, musical instruments, instruments of war, implements of household furniture, used by the _Bucks_, and a variety of other curiosities: indeed, if I could have persuaded myself to have taken all that he offered me, I might have fitted up a small museum; but I could not reconcile the idea of trespassing upon such kindness, and therefore positively refused many specimens of which I observed that he had no duplicates, and which I felt it possible he might afterwards lament. He was equally liberal in all his attentions, and seemed desirous to explain to me whatever I wished to ask. You will believe that I had less reserve in my questions, than in the acceptance of his offerings, and that I was happy to call forth the observations and remarks derived from his long and familiar intercourse with the Indians. At his present abode, and at Savonette he had resided, during many years, in the appointment of post-holder, having constant intercourse with the Indians, and forming the connecting link between them and the colonists.

It was the policy of the Dutch government to expend a certain sum annually in the purchase of blue cloth, beads, ribands, hatchets, and other implements, and ornaments to give to the Indians; and it was made the duty of the person placed at the most remote estate of the colony, to associate with them, and to cultivate their friendship, in order to prevent acts of hostility on their part, and to secure to the colonists the peaceable possession of the territory which they had appropriated. Hence, from situation and appointment, as well as from natural disposition, abundant opportunities had offered to M. Heynemann of intermixing freely with the Indians, and observing their most retired, as well as their more exterior habits. Possessed of enterprising talents, and a certain hardihood of mind and frame, together with affable and conciliatory manners, he was peculiarly qualified for the trust which had been so long confided to him. He associated with the _Bucks_, adopted their customs, insinuated himself into their good opinion, and became so entirely one of themselves, that at Savonette they elected him their chief or king; and he could, at any time, assemble them in a body of several hundreds, in military array, and appear as captain at their head.

This was a novelty which he offered to exhibit to us, if we would consent to prolong our visit, or would repeat it, giving him only a few days notice of our coming. I regretted extremely that it could not be in my power to accept either of these proposals. It was a high compliment offered to us, and what I should have particularly enjoyed; but I had only a short time to remain at Berbische, and dared not hope for another long absence.

M. Heynemann is a person of great zeal, activity and exertion. With considerable penetration, he possesses much of perseverance, but, from the want of a liberal education, his observations, though valuable, are loose and undigested—devoid of arrangement and scientific correctness; and evidently not the result of any systematic train of inquiry. Governed by chance, and with no specific object in view, his pursuits and remarks are not so conducted as to promote, essentially, the advancement of natural science; but, a man of high literary acquirements would be less fitted perhaps for the post which M. Heynemann has so long filled with credit to himself, and advantage to the colony. I should have been much gratified to have prolonged our visit, and with regret bade adieu to this generous chief of the naked tribes.

Although, from my short stay among them, you cannot expect an elaborate disquisition upon the subject of the native possessors of these extensive forests, you will demand a passing word on such prominent points, concerning them, as more immediately strike the eye. I may therefore tell you that the Indians who inhabit this part of the South American coast are of four tribes or nations, the Arrouwacs, the Accawaus, the Warrous, and the Charibbees. The Charibbees, or Charibs, as they are more frequently called, are the tallest men, and of the most warlike aspect. Those we have seen of the other tribes are rather short, but in general well formed; although their figure denotes more of substance than of gracefulness. They are of a bright bay colour, their hair jet black, long, and straight. In common they are rather personable, and their features are more indicative of mildness than ferocity; for, although in some of them the lines of the Tartar face may be traced, the character more generally denoted by the countenance is that of gentleness and tranquillity. The eyes are very black, they are small, distant from each other, and deep in the orbits. The cheek-bones stand a little wide, but they are not strongly prominent; the forehead tends to squareness of form, and the eyebrows are heavy. The nose, though not decidedly aquiline, when viewed in profile somewhat approaches that shape; the mouth is of middle size; the lips of moderate thickness; the teeth small, white and regular; the chin round; the angles of the lower jaw somewhat wide: from all which you will perceive that the face is rather broad than round, although the contour approaches more to the circular than the long or oval. We did not observe among them any resemblance of the flat nose, the wide mouth, thick lips, or large teeth of the negroes.