The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon
Page 45
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE.
A PAIR OF VALIANT VULTURES.
They had got into a part of the river that seemed to be a favouriteresort with turtles and crocodiles, and creatures of that description.At different times they saw turtles of different kinds; among others,the "painted turtle," a beautiful species that derives its names fromthe fine colouring of its shell, which appears as if it had been paintedin enamel. Of crocodiles, too, they saw three or four distinct species,and not unfrequently, the largest of all, the great black crocodile(_Jacare nigra_). This was sometimes seen of the enormous length ofover twenty feet! Terrible-looking as these crocodiles are, they arenot masters of every creature upon the river. There are even birds thatcan sorely vex them, and compel them to take to the water to savethemselves from a fearful calamity--blindness.
One day, while descending the river, our travellers were witness to anillustration of this.
They were passing a wide sand-bank that shelved back from the river,with a scarcely perceptible slope, when they saw, at a distance of abouttwo hundred yards from the water's edge, a crocodile making for theriver. He looked as though he had just awoke from his torpid sleep, forhis body was caked all over with dry mud, and he seemed both hungry andthirsty. It was like enough he was coming from some inland pond, wherethe water had dried up, and he was now on his way to the river.
All at once two dark shadows were seen passing over the white surface ofthe sand-bank. In the heaven two large birds were wheeling about,crossing each other in their courses, and holding their long necksdownwards, as if the crocodile was the object of their regard.
The latter, on seeing them, paused; and lowered his body into a squattedor crouching attitude, as if in the birds he recognised an enemy. Andyet what could such a large creature fear from a pair of "kingvultures?" for king vultures they were, as was easily seen by theirred-orange heads and cream-coloured plumage. What could a crocodile,full ten feet long, fear from these, even had they been eagles, or thegreat condor himself? No matter; he was evidently frightened at them;and each time that they drew near in their flight, he stopped andflattened his body against the sand, as if that might conceal him. Assoon as they flew off again to a more distant point of their aerialcircle, he would once more elevate himself on his arms, and make allhaste toward the water.
He had got within about an hundred yards of the river, when the birdsmade a sudden turn in the sky, and swooping down, alighted upon the sanddirectly before the snout of the crocodile. The latter stopped again,and kept his eyes fixed upon them. They did not leave him long to rest;for one of them, making a few hops towards him, came so close, that itmight have been supposed the crocodile could have seized it in his jaws.This, in fact, he attempted to do; but the wary bird threw up its broadwings, and flapped to one side out of his reach. Meanwhile, the otherhad hopped close up to his opposite shoulder; and while the crocodilewas engaged with the first one, this made a dash forward, aiming itsgreat open beak at the eye of the reptile. The crocodile parried thethrust by a sudden turn of his head; but he had scarcely got round, whenthe second vulture, watching its opportunity, rushed forward at theother eye. It must have succeeded in pecking it, for the great lizardroared out with the pain; and rushing forward a bit, writhed and lashedthe sand with his tail.
The vultures paid no attention to these demonstrations, but only keptout of the way of the teeth and claws of their antagonist; and then,when he became still again, both returned to the attack as before. Oneafter the other was seen dashing repeatedly forward--using both legs andwings to effect their object, and each time darting out their greatbeaks towards the eyes of the reptile. The head of the latter keptcontinuously moving from side to side; but move where it would, thebeaks of the vultures were ready to meet it, and to pierce into thesockets of those deep lurid eyes.
This terrible contest lasted all the time the balza was floating by. Itwas a slow current at this place, and our travellers were a long time inpassing, so that they had a good opportunity of witnessing the strangespectacle. Long after they had glided past, they saw that the conflictcontinued. They could still perceive the black body of the reptile uponthe white sandbank, writhing and struggling, while the flapping wings ofthe vultures showed that they still kept up their terrible attack. Butthe head of the crocodile was no longer directed towards the water. Atthe first onset the reptile had used every effort to retreat in thatdirection. He knew that his only safety lay in getting into the river,and sinking beyond the reach of his adversaries. At every intervalbetween their assaults, he had been seen to crawl forward, stopping onlywhen compelled to defend himself. Now, however, his head was seenturned from the water; sometimes he lay parallel with the stream; andsometimes he appeared to be heading back for the woods, while hisstruggles and contortions betrayed the agony he was undergoing. But histurning in this way was easily accounted for. He knew not in whatdirection lay the river. He could no longer see. His eyes weremutilated by the beaks of the birds. _He was blind_!
Guapo said the vultures would not leave him until they had made a mealof his eyes, and that was all they wanted. He would then remain onshore, perhaps without finding his way back to the water, and mostlikely be attacked by jaguars, or other preying creatures, who couldconquer him the easier now that he was deprived of his sight!
As the balza glided on, Guapo told our travellers many strange storiesof crocodiles. He stated, what is well known to be true, that in therivers of South America many people are every year killed by theseravenous creatures; in fact, far more than have ever fallen victims tothe salt-sea sharks. In some places they are much fiercer than inothers; but this may arise from different species being the inhabitantsof these different places. There is the true crocodile, with long sharpsnout, and large external tusks; and the caiman, with a snout broaderand more pike-shaped; and the former is a much more courageous andman-eating creature. Both are often found in the same river; but theydo not associate together, but keep in distinct bands or societies; andthey are often mistaken for each other. This may account for thedifference of opinion that exists in regard to the fierceness of thesereptiles--many asserting that they are utterly harmless, and will notattack man under any circumstances; while others, who have witnessedtheir attacks, of course bearing testimony to the contrary. There aremany places in South America, where the natives will fearlessly enter alake or river known to be full of crocodiles, and drive these creaturesaside with a piece of a stick; but there are other districts wherenothing will tempt an Indian to swim across a river infested with thesereptiles. In the Amazon districts, in every Indian village, severalpeople may be seen who have been maimed by crocodiles. No wonder thatamong author-travellers there should be such a difference of opinion.
Guapo stated, that when an Indian has been seized by a crocodile in itsgreat jaws, he has only one chance of escape, and that is, by thrustinghis fingers into the eyes of the reptile. This will invariably cause itto let go its hold, and generally frighten it, so as to enable theperson to escape. It, of course, requires great presence of mind toeffect this, as the person who has been seized will himself be in greatpain from the tearing teeth of the monster, and, perhaps, will have beendrawn under the water, before he can gather his senses. But it hasoften occurred that Indians, and even women, have escaped in this way.
The eyes of the crocodile are its most tender parts,--in fact, the onlyparts that can be made to feel pain. A crocodile may be disabled bycutting at the root of its tail, but it can only be frightened by anattack upon the eyes; and this appears to be a well-known fact, not onlyto the Indians, but to all its other enemies among the birds andquadrupeds.
The young crocodiles are often attacked, and have their eyes pecked out,by the small gallinazo or "zamuro" vultures (_aura_ and _cathartes_),just in the same way that we have seen one of a larger size become thevictim of the more powerful king vultures (_Sarcoramphus papa_).