Popular Adventure Tales

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER XVII.

  A HOUSE OF PALMS.

  The first species of palms that attracted the observation of Don Pabloand his party, was that known as the "patawa" palm. It belongs to thegenus _Oenocarpus_. There are several species of this genus in SouthAmerica, but none more beautiful than the "patawa." It is a palm with astraight smooth stem, and pinnate leaves--the stem being sixty feet inheight, and about a foot in diameter. The stem becomes smooth only inold trees. In the young ones, and even in those that stand in a thickshady forest, it presents a very shaggy appearance, and is completelyhidden by the bases of the old leaves that have decayed and fallen off.From the margins of these bases grow spinous processes of nearly threefeet in length, which point upward. These are used by the Indians tomake the arrows of their "blow-guns," of which more hereafter.

  From the fruits of this palm a most delicious drink is manufactured withvery little trouble. The fruit itself is about the size of a plum, butof an oval shape and deep violet colour. It grows in large clusters justunder the leaves. To make the drink, the fruits are thrown into a vesselof hot water, where they remain for a few minutes until the pulp becomessoft. The hot water is next poured off, and cold water is substituted.In this the fruits are crushed and rubbed with the hands until all thepulp is washed from the stones. The liquid is then strained so as toseparate the stones and other substances, when it is ready for use, anda most luxurious beverage it is,--in its taste bearing some resemblanceto filberts and cream.

  A palm called the "assai" has a small sloe-like fruit which produces asimilar beverage--thick and creamy, and of a fine plum colour. In allthe Portuguese settlements the "assai" is a favourite drink, and istaken along with cassava bread, as we use milk or coffee.

  It was not on account of its fruit, however, that Don Pablo rejoiced atbeholding the "patawa" palms. Perhaps Leon thought more about the richclusters of oval plums, but his father looked only to the straightsmooth stems which were designed for corner-posts, beams, and theheavier woodwork of the house.

  In a few minutes Guapo was busy with his axe, and one after another fellthe princely trunks of the "patawa" until enough were cut down for theirpurpose.

  Don Pablo next looked out for some palm of a more slender trunk for therafters and joists.

  This was soon found in the "catinga," which is a species of the "assaipalm, the one of which we have just spoken as producing the assai wine."The catinga was the very thing for the rafters. It is tall, nearly fortyfeet high, but quite slender. It is one of the smooth palms, withpinnate leaves, not unlike those of the "patawa." There is a peculiarityabout its top,--that is, there is a column or sheath of several feet inlength, out of which the leaves spring, and, at the lower end of thiscolumn, and not immediately at the root of the leaves, the fruitclusters grow. This sheathing column is of a red colour, which gives thetree a strange look.

  Another peculiarity of the catinga is that its roots grow out of theground, and form a little cone from the top of which rises the stem. Thefruits of this sort are smaller than the true assai, but a drink is alsomade from them which some people consider more delicious than thateither of the assai or patawa. The rafters then were got from thecatinga.

  Now for the thatch, that was the next consideration.

  "Master!" cried Guapo, pointing off into the woods. "Yonder's'bussu,'--very thing for thatch!"

  Guapo indicated a very singular-looking tree, with a thick, clumsy,crooked, and deeply ringed stem. It was not a bit like either of thepalm-trees they had already cut down. Its trunk was not over ten or adozen feet high, but then, such leaves! They were not pinnated likethose already described, but what is termed "entire," that is, all inone piece, and thirty feet in length by full five in width! Fancy two orthree dozen of these gigantic leaves standing up almost erect from thetop of the thick trunk, and you may form some idea of the "bussu" palm.There are many palm-trees whose leaves are used for thatching houses,but of all others for that purpose the bussu is the best.

  These great fronds have a mid-rib, and from this, on both sides, runveins in a diagonal direction to the edge. When they are used for thatchthe leaf is split up the mid-rib, and then each half is laid upon therafters, not straight, but in such a way that the veins of the leaf willlie in a vertical direction, and thus serve as gutters to guide therain-water down the roof. A very few leaves will thatch a house, and acovering of this kind, when properly laid on, will last for ten ortwelve years. So much are the bussu-leaves prized for thatch, that theIndians, in parts where this palm does not grow, often make a canoevoyage of a week to procure them!

  The spathe which contains the flowers is also put to many uses. It is ofa long spindle shape, of fibrous, cloth-like texture, and brown colour.The Indians use it as cloth. It makes an excellent bag, in which thenative carries his paints or other articles; and a large one, stretchedout, makes a very comfortable cap. Indeed, Guapo used the first spathehe laid his hands upon for this very purpose.

  There remained now to be found some palm-tree that would split easily,and make laths for the roof, as well as planks for the door, shelves,and benches. They soon discovered the very palm for these purposes. Itwas one of the genus _Iriartea_, and known as the "pashiuba" palm. Itwas a tree that differed from all the others in its aspect. It was anoble-looking tree, rising, with a smooth stem, to the height of seventyfeet. At its top, there was a sheathing column swollen larger than thestem, and not unlike the sheathing column of the catinga alreadymentioned, except that that of the pashiuba was of a deep green colour.Its leaves, however, differed materially from those of the catinga. Itis true, that, like them, they were pinnate, but the leaflets, insteadof being slender and tapering, were of a triangular shape, notched alongthe edges, and not growing very regularly out from the mid-rib.

  Their general arrangement, as well as the form, therefore, gave the treea different, and, perhaps, more beautiful aspect. But the most singularcharacteristic of the pashiuba was its roots. I have said that the rootsof the catinga rose above the surface of the soil. So did they, but onlyto a limited height, forming a little cone. Now the roots of thepashiuba stood up to the height of ten or a dozen feet! Each root wasnearly straight in itself, but there were a number of them, and theysloped upwards so as to make a sort of pyramid, out of the apex of whichgrew the stem. There were wide spaces between the roots--so wide thatyou could easily pass through, and a full-grown man might stand uprightwith his head under the very base of the stem. Fancy a man standingunder the trunk of a tree that rose seventy feet above his head!

  There were young trees of the same species growing around, and thesewere miniature models of the older ones. Sometimes these lesser ones aresupported on three roots, like the tripod of a surveyor's compass, andthis gives them a somewhat ludicrous appearance. There are many speciesof this sort of palms, which are classed under the genus _Iriartea_. Inmost of them the fruit, which is small oval and red or yellow, is bitterand uneatable; but their wood is prized for many purposes. The wood ofthe species which Don Pablo had found is hard on the outside, but softwithin, and splits readier into laths and planks than any other kind ofpalm.

  Guapo attacked the roots with his axe, and enough trunks were soonfelled to make laths, doors, and all sorts of benches.

  The different kinds were now collected on the edge of the stream, andwere tied together by a rope-like, creeping plant, called a "Sipo," sothat they formed a rude raft. The leaves of the "bussu," with greatclusters of the fruits of the catinga and patawa, were laid upon theraft; and then, Guapo, mounting himself on top of all, pushed out withhis long pole, and ferried the whole across. The others walked round bythe bridge, and were just in time to assist Guapo in mooring hissomewhat unwieldy craft.

  Next day the framework of the house was put up, and on the day after thewalls. These were made of bamboo-canes, plenty of which grew near thebottom of the valley. They grew wild, for the slopes of the Andes arethe favourite soil of these gigantic grasses. They were set on end, sideby side, and then tied to each other an
d to the beams of palm-trees. Onthe third day the "bussu" leaves were laid on, and the house wasfinished.