The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon
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CHAPTER FORTY SIX.
THE "GAPO."
After many days of rafting our travellers arrived in a most singularcountry. They were now approaching the mighty Amazon, and the riverupon which they had hitherto been travelling appeared to divide intomany branches, where it formed _deltas_ with the Amazon. Every day, andsometimes two or three times in the day, they passed places where theriver forked, as though each branch passed round an island, but ourtravellers perceived that these branches did not meet again; and theyconjectured that they all fell into the Amazon by separate embouchures.They were often puzzled to know which one to take, as the main river wasnot always broadest, and they might get into one that was not navigablebelow. A curious region it was through which they passed; for, in fact,they were now travelling in the country of the "Gapo."
What is the "Gapo?" you will ask. The "Gapo," then, is the name givento vast tracts of country upon the Amazon and some of its tributarystreams, that are annually inundated, and remain under water for severalmonths in the year. It extends for hundreds of miles along the Amazonitself, and up many of the rivers, its tributaries also, for hundreds ofmiles.
But the whole country does not become one clear sheet of water, as isthe case with floods in other parts of the world. On the contrary, highas is the flood, the tree-tops and their branches rise still higher, andwe have in the "Gapo" the extraordinary spectacle of a flooded forest,thousands of square miles in extent!
In this forest the trees do not perish, but retain life and verdure. Infact, the trees of this part are peculiar, most of them differing inkind from the trees of any other region. There are species of palmsgrowing in the "Gapo" that are found nowhere else; and there are animalsand birds, too, that remain in this region during the whole season offlood. It has been further asserted that there are tribes of "Gapo"Indians, who live in the middle of the inundation, making theirdwellings upon the trees, and who can pass from branch to branch andtree to tree almost as nimbly as monkeys. This may or may not be true.It would not be a new thing, if true, for it is well known that theGuarano Indians, at the mouth of the Orinoco, dwell among the tops ofthe murichi palms (_Mauritia flexuosa_) during many months of the seasonof flood. These people build platforms on the palms, and upon theseerect roofs, and sling their hammocks, and, with little fireplaces ofmud, are enabled to cook their provisions upon them. But they havecanoes, in which they are able to go from place to place, and capturefish, upon which they principally subsist. The murichi palm furnishesthem with all the other necessaries of life.
This singular tree is one of the noblest of the palms. It rises to aheight of more than one hundred feet, and grows in immense _palmares_,or palm-woods, often covering the bank of the river for miles. It isone of those called "fan-palms,"--that is, the leaves, instead of beingpinnate or feathery, have long naked stalks, at the end of which theleaflets spread out circularly, forming a shape like a fan. One of themurichi leaves is a grand sight. The leaf-stalk, or petiole, is a footthick where it sprouts from the trunk; and before it reaches theleaflets it is a solid beam of ten or twelve feet long, while thecircular fan or leaf itself is nine or ten in diameter! A single leafof the murichi palm is a full load for a man.
With a score of such leaves,--shining and ever verdant as they are,--atthe top of its column-like trunk, what a majestic tree is the murichipalm!
But it is not more beautiful than useful. Its leaves, fruit, and stem,are all put to some use in the domestic economy of the Indians. Theleaf-stalk, when dried, is light and elastic, like the quill of a bird--owing to the thin, hard, outer covering and soft internal pith. Out ofthe outer rind, when split off, the Indian makes baskets andwindow-blinds. The pithy part is separated into laths, about half aninch thick, with which window-shutters, boxes, bird-cages, partitions,and even entire walls, are constructed. The epidermis of the leavesfurnishes the strings for hammocks and all kinds of cordage. From thefruits a favourite beverage is produced, and these fruits are alsopleasant eating, somewhat resembling apples. They are in appearancelike pine-cones, of a red colour outside and yellow pulp. The trunkitself furnishes a pith or marrow that can be used as sago; and out ofthe wood the Indian cuts his buoyant canoe! In short, there are tribesof Indians that not only live, in a literal sense, on the murichi palms,but that almost subsist on them.
Although the flood had, to a considerable extent, subsided, the river inmost places was still beyond its banks; and this made it difficult forour travellers to find a place for their night-camps. Several nightsthey were obliged to sleep, as they best could, on the balza,--thelatter being secured to a tree. Sometimes, by pushing some distance upthe mouth of an "igaripe," or creek, they were able to find dry ground,on which to encamp. During their passage through this labyrinth ofrivers, they travelled but very slowly, and their provisions were fastrunning out. There was no chance for increasing their stock, as theycould not find either wild-hogs (peccaries) or capivaras. Thesecreatures, although they can swim well enough, would only be found uponthe banks of the river, when it returned within its proper channel.
Now and then Guapo brought down a parrot, a macaw, or an aracari, withhis blow-gun; but these were only temporary supplies. They had oftenheard howling monkeys in the trees, but had not been able to see them;and none of the party would have refused to eat roast-monkey now, asthey had all tried it and found it quite palatable. Guapo, blow-gun inhand, was continually peering up among the tree-tops in search ofmonkeys or other game. He was, at length, rewarded for his vigilance.
One night they had pushed the balza up an "igaripe" for a hundred yardsor so, where a dry bank gave them an opportunity of landing. The creekitself was not much wider than the balza, and tall trees stood upon bothbanks. In one or two places the thorny "jacitara" palm--which is a sortof climbing plant, often hanging over the branches of other trees--nearly reached across the stream. These curious palms had even to becautiously pushed to one side as the balza passed,--for the arrowy clawsupon them, if once hooked into the clothes of the passengers, wouldeither have dragged the latter from off the raft, or have torn out thepiece of cloth.