THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



73* 



about. I was astonished at the skill which 

 the Indians disp'ay in shooting turtles. They 

 did not wait for their coming to the surface 

 to breathe, but watched for the slight move- 

 ments in the water which revealed their 

 presence underneath. These little tracks on 

 the water are called the Siriri ; the instant 

 one was perceived an arrow flew from the 

 bow of the nearest man, and never failed to 

 pierce the shell of the submerged animal. 

 When the turtle was very distant, of course 

 the aim had to be taken at a considerable ele- 

 vation, but the marksmen preferred a lungish 

 range, because the arrow then fell more per- 

 pendicularly on the shell, and entered it more 

 deeply. 



The arrow used in turtle shooting has a 

 strong lancet-shaped steel point, fitted into a 

 peg which enters the tip of the shaft. The 

 peg is secured to the shaft by twine made of 

 the fibres of pineapple leaves, the twine 

 being some thirty or forty yards in length, 

 and neatly wound round the body of the 

 arrow. When the missile enters the shell, 

 the peg drops out, and the pierced animal 

 descends with it toward the bottom, leaving 

 the shaft floating on the surface. This being 

 done, the sportsman paddles in his montaria 

 to the place, and gently draws the animal by 

 the twine, humoring it by giving it the rein 

 when it plunges, until it is brought again near 

 the surface, when he strikes it with a second 

 arrow. With the increased hold given by 

 the two cords he has then no difficulty in 

 landing his game. 



By mid-day the men had shot about a score 

 of nearly full-grown turtles. Cardozo then 

 gave orders to spread the net. The spongy, 

 swampy nature of the banks made it impos* 

 sible to work the net so as to draw the booty 

 ashore ; another method was therefore 

 adopted. The net was taken by two Indians 

 and extended in a curve at one extremity of 

 the oval-shaped pool, holding it when they 

 had done so by the perpendicular rods fixed 

 at each end ; its breadth was about equal to 

 the depth of the water, its shotted side there^ 

 fore rested on the bottom, while the floats 

 buoyed it up on the surface, so that the 

 whole, when the ends were brought together, 

 -would form a complete trap. The rest of 

 the party then spread themselves around the 

 swamp at the opposite end of the pool, and 

 begun to beat, with, stout poles, the thick 

 tufts of Matupa, in order to drive the turtles 

 toward the middle. This was continued for 

 an hour or more, the beaters gradually draw- 

 ing nearer to each other, and driving the 

 hosts of animals before them ; the number 

 of little snouts constantly popping above the 

 surface of the water showing that all was 

 going on well. When they neared the net, 

 i he men moved more quickly, shouting and 

 beating with great vigor. The ends of the net 

 were then seized by several strong hands ami 

 dragged suddt-uly forward, bringing them at 

 the'same time together, so as to inclose all 

 the booty in a circle. Every man now leaptd 

 into tin: inrlnsiire, the boats were brought 

 u 4 i. MI! the turtles easily captured bv.lki' 



hand and tossed into them. I jumped in 

 along with the rest, although I had just be- 

 fore made the discovery that the pool 

 abounded in ugly, red, four- angled leeches, 

 having seen several of these delectable ani- 

 mals, which sometimes fasten on the legs of 

 fishermen, although they did not, on this 

 day, trouble us, working their way through 

 cracks in the bottom of our monlaria. Car- 

 dozo, who remained with the boats, could 

 not turn the animals on their backs fast 

 enough, so that a great many clambered out 

 and got free again. However, three boat- 

 loads, or about eighty, were secured in about 

 twenty minutes. They were then taken 

 ashore, and each one secured by the men 

 tying the legs with thongs of bast. 



When the canoes had been twice filled we 

 desisted, after a very hard day's work. 

 Nearly all the animals were young ones, 

 chiefly, according to the statement of Pedro, 

 from three to ten years of age ; they varied 

 from six to eighteen inches in length, and 

 were very fat. Cardozo and I lived almost 

 exclusively on them for several months after- 

 ward. Roasted in Ihe shell they form a most 

 appetizing dish. These y oung<* turtles never 

 migrate with their elders on the sinking of 

 the waters, but remain in the tepid pools, 

 fattening on fallen fruits, and, according to 

 the natives, on the fine nutritious rnud. We 

 captured a few full-grown mother-turtles, 

 which were known at once by the horny skin 

 of their breast-plates being worn, telling of 

 their having crawled on the sands to lay eggs - 

 the previous year. They had evidently made 

 a mistake in not leaving the pool at the 

 proper time, for they were full of eggs, 

 which, we were told, they would, before the 

 season was over, scatter in despair over the 

 swamp. We also found several male turtles, 

 or Capitaris, as they are called by the na- 

 tives. These are immensely less numerous 

 than the females, and are distinguishable by 

 their much smaller size, more circular shape, 

 and the greater length and thickness of their 

 tails. Their flesh "is considered unwhole- 

 some, especially to sick people having exter- 

 nal signs of inflammation. All diseases in 

 these parts, as well as their remedies, and all 

 articles of food are classed by the inhabit- 

 ants as " hot" and " cold," and the meat of 

 the Capitari is settled by unanimous const nt 

 as belonging to the " hot" list. 



We dined on the banks of the river a little 

 before sunset. The mosquitoes then began 

 t6 be troublesome, and finding it would be 

 impossible to sleep here, we all embarked and 

 crossed the river to a sand-bank, about three 

 miles distant, where we passed the night. 

 Cardozo and I slept in our hammocks slung 

 between upright poles, the rest stretching 

 themselves on the sand round a large fiie. 

 We lay awake conversing until pu&i mid- 

 night. It was a real pleasure to listen to the 

 stories told by one of the older men, they 

 were given with so much spirit. The tales 

 always related to struggles with some intract- 

 able animal jaguar, manatee, or alligator. 

 M'Uiy interjections and expressive g.stuits . 



