by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER FORTY THREE.
ACRES OF EGGS.
The next evening our travellers encamped on a sand-bar, or rather agreat bank of sand, that ran for miles along one side of the river. Ofcourse they had nothing to hang their hammocks to, but that was a matterof no importance, for the sand was dry and soft, and of itself wouldmake a comfortable bed, as pleasant to sleep on as a hair-mattress.They only wanted wood enough to cook with, and to keep up their fireduring the night--so as to frighten off the wild beasts.
This night they kept watch as usual, Leon taking the first turn. Infact, they found that they must do so every night--as in each of thecamps where they had slept some danger had threatened; and they thoughtit would be imprudent for all to go to sleep at the same time. Theheaviest part of the sentinel's duty fell to Guapo's share; but Guapohad long accustomed himself to go without sleep, and did not mind it;moreover Don Pablo took longer spells at the stern-oar during the day,and allowed Guapo many a "cat-nap."
Leon seated himself upon a pile of sand that he had gathered up, and didhis best to keep awake, but in about an hour after the rest were asleephe felt very drowsy--in fact, quite as much so as on the night of theadventure with the vampire. He used pretty much the same means to keephimself awake, but not with so good success, for on this occasion hefell into a nap that lasted nearly half-an-hour, and might havecontinued still longer, had he not slid down the sand-hill and tumbledover on his side. This awoke him; and feeling vexed with himself, herubbed his eyes as if he was going to push them deeper into theirsockets.
When this operation was finished, he looked about to see if any creaturehad ventured near. He first looked towards the woods--for of coursethat was the direction from which the tigers would come, and these werethe only creatures he feared; but he had scarcely turned himself when heperceived a pair of eyes glancing at him from the other side of thefire. Close to them another pair, then another and another, untilhaving looked on every side, he saw himself surrounded by a completecircle of glancing eyes! It is true they were small ones, and some ofthe heads which he could see by the blaze, were small--they were notjaguars, but they had an ugly look--they looked like the heads ofserpents! Was it possible that an hundred serpents could havesurrounded the camp? Brought suddenly to his feet, Leon stood for somemoments uncertain how to act. He fully believed they were snakes--anacondas, or water-snakes no doubt--that had just crept out of theriver; and he felt that a movement on his part would bring on theirunited and simultaneous attack upon the sleeping party. Partlyinfluenced by this fear, and again exhibiting that coolness and prudencewhich we have already noticed as a trait of his character, he remainedfor some moments silent and motionless. Having already risen to hisfeet, his eyes were now above the level of the blaze, and, as they gotthe sleep well scared out of them, he could see things more distinctly.He now saw that the snake-like heads were attached to large oval-shapedbodies, and that, besides the half hundred or so that had gatheredaround the fires, there were whole droves of the same upon the sandybeach beyond. The white surface was literally covered as far as hecould see on all sides of him with black moving masses; and where therays of the moon fell upon the beach, there was a broad belt thatglistened and sparkled as though she shone upon pieces of glass keptconstantly in motion!
A singular sight it was; and to Leon, who had never heard of suchbefore, a most fearful one. For the life of him he could not make outwhat it all meant, or by what sort of odd creatures they weresurrounded. He had but an indistinct view of them, but he could seethat their bodies were not larger than those of a small sheep, and fromthe way in which they glistened under the moon he was sure they werewater-animals, and had come out of the river!
He did not stay to speculate any longer upon them. He resolved to wakeGuapo; but in doing so the whole party were aroused, and started totheir feet in some alarm and confusion. The noise and movement had itseffect on the nocturnal visitors; for before Leon could explain himself,those immediately around the fires and for some distance beyond rushedto the edge, and were heard plunging by hundreds into the water.
Guapo's ear caught the sounds, and his eye now ranging along the sandyshore, took in at a glance the whole thing.
"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 greathatching-places. They are going to lay their eggs somewhere in the sandabove. They do so every year."
There was no danger from the turtles, as Guapo assured everybody, butthe fright had chased away sleep, and they all lay awake for some timelistening to Guapo's account of these singular creatures, which we shalltranslate into our own phraseology.
These large turtles, which in other parts of South America are called"arraus," or simply "tortugas," assemble every year in large armies,from all parts of the river. Each one of these armies chooses foritself a place to breed--some sandy island, or great sand-bank. Thisthey approach very cautiously--lying near it for some days, andreconnoitring it with only their heads above the water. They then crawlashore at night in vast multitudes--just as the party saw them--and eachturtle, with the strong crooked claws of her hind feet, digs a hole forherself in the sand. These holes are three feet in diameter and twodeep. In this she deposits her eggs--from seventy to one hundred andtwenty of them--each egg being white, hard-shelled, and between the sizeof 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 thesurface, and so that the precious treasure may not be found by vultures,jaguars, and other predatory creatures. When this is done the labour ofthe turtle is at an end. The great army again betakes itself to thewater, and scatters in _every_ direction. The sun acting upon the hotsand does the rest; and in less than six weeks the young turtles, aboutan inch in diameter, crawl out of the sand, and at once make for thewater. They are afterwards seen in pools and lakes, where the water isshallow, far from the place where they have been hatched; and it is wellknown that the first years of their life are not spent in the bed of thegreat river. How they find these pools, or whether the mothersdistinguish their own young and conduct them thither, as the crocodilesand alligators do, is a mystery. With these last the thing is moreeasy, as the crocodile-mothers deposit their eggs in separate places,and each returns for her young when they are hatched, calls them by hervoice, and guides them to the pool where they are to remain until partlygrown. But among the thousands of little turtles hatched at one placeand time, and that seek the water all together, how would it be possiblefor the turtle mother to distinguish her own young? Yet an old femaleturtle is frequently seen swimming about with as many as a hundredlittle ones after her! Now are these her own, or are they a collectionpicked up out of the general progeny? That is an undetermined question.It would seem impossible that each turtle-mother should know her ownyoung, yet amidst this apparent confusion there may be some maternalinstinct that guides her to distinguish her own offspring from all therest. Who can say?
It is not often, however, that the turtle is permitted to have offspringat all. These creatures are annually robbed of their eggs in millions.They have many enemies, but man is the chief. When a turtlehatching-place is discovered, the Indians assemble, and as soon as allthe eggs have been deposited, they uncover and collect them. They eatthem--but that is not the principal use to which they are put. It isfor the making of oil, or "tortoise-butter," they are collected. Theeggs are thrown into a large trough or canoe, where they are broken upwith a wooden spade and stirred about for awhile. They then remainexposed to the sun, until the oily part collects on the surface, whichis then skimmed off and well boiled. The "tortoise-butter" is now made,and after being poured into earthen jars or bottles (_botijas_), it isready for market. The oil is clear, of a pale yellow colour, and someregard it as equal to the best olive oil, both for lamps and forcooking. Sometimes, however, it has a putrid
smell, because many of theeggs 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 hundredmillions of them are deposited every year! In the Orinoco alone, inthree principal hatching-places it has been calculated that at leastthirty-three millions are annually destroyed for the making oftortoise-butter! Fancy, then, one hundred millions of animals, each ofwhich grows to the weight of fifty or sixty pounds, being produced everyyear, and then the increase in production which these would make if leftto themselves! Why the rivers would be crowded; and it would be truewhat old Father Gumilla once asserted, that "It would be as difficult tocount the grains of sand on the shores of the Orinoco, as to count theimmense number of tortoises that inhabit its margins and waters. Wereit not for the vast consumption of tortoises and their eggs, the river,despite its great magnitude, would be unnavigable, for vessels would beimpeded by the enormous multitude of the tortoises."
But nature has provided against this "over-population" of the turtles bygiving them a great many enemies. The jaguars, the ocelots, thecrocodiles, the cranes, and the vultures, all prey upon them; and,perhaps, if man were to leave them alone, the result would be, not sucha great increase in the number of the turtles, but that the creatureswho prey upon them would come in for a larger share.
The "carapa," or arrau turtle, is, when full grown, forty or fiftypounds in weight. It is of a dark green colour above and orangebeneath, with yellow feet. There are many other species of fresh-waterturtles in the rivers of South America, but these breed separately, eachfemale choosing her own place, and making her deposit alone. Indeed,some of the smaller species, as the "terekay," are more esteemed bothfor their flesh and eggs; but as a large quantity of these eggs is neverfound together, they are not collected as an article of trade, but onlyto be roasted and eaten. The white does not coagulate in roasting orboiling, and only the yolk is eaten, but that is esteemed quite aspalatable as the eggs of the common fowl. The flesh of all kinds iseaten by the Indians, who fry it in pots, and then pour it with its ownoil into other vessels and permit it to cool. When thus prepared, itwill 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 hehad finished talking, all the others went to sleep, leaving Guapo to hismidnight vigil.