The dexterity with which the sorbetana is used is very great; but the men are trained to it from their earliest infancy. Boys of three or four years old have their tubes of a proportionate size, and use the puas without poison, with which they shoot small birds: they also frequently entertain themselves in the evening with shooting the wasps, which build their nests under the eaves or floors of the houses. I have often been astonished at the extraordinary precision with which the little naked rogues direct the pua.
Although the natives are such expert marksmen, either with their almost unerring throw of the lance, or aim with the sorbetana, they are passionately fond of fire-arms, and will give almost the whole of what they possess for a fowling-piece or musket, and this notwithstanding their want of skill in its use.
CHAPTER XIII.
Continuation of Esmeraldas, Fish caught in the River....Chautisa, method of taking....Preserving of....Method of catching Fish in the River....Of Cooking it....Yucas, Camotes, Yams....Palmettos....Tobacco....Cocoa....New variety of....Occupation of the Esmeraldeños....Origin of....Language....Dress....Manners and Character of....Religion....Re-ascend the Esmeraldas River, to the Embarcadero de Maldonado....Mouth of the River....City of Esmeraldas....Road to Atacames....Port of....Town of....Manzanillo....Rio Verdo....La Tola....Country Produce, Timber, and Wood....Coutchouc....Fruit....Palms....Animals....Mines....Conclusion.
In the Esmeraldas river and in many of the tributary streams there is a variety of delicate fish, as well as in the sea on the neighbouring coast. The most delicate in the rivers are the lisa, dama, sabalo, and sabalete; in the sea the lisa, corbina, chita, mero, and tollo; besides these there is a small fish resembling a shrimp, not half an inch long, which makes its annual appearance in February, or in the beginning of March; it is called chautisa, and is really a great delicacy when prepared by the natives. The numbers which ascend the rivers are so great, that on each side they appear to form a white path in the water, about two feet broad, and several miles in length. The women employ themselves in taking them, for which purpose they have a canoe; two of them hold a piece of flannel three yards long by the corners, and place it under the surface of the water, one end being a little elevated to prevent the chautisa from passing, and when a considerable quantity are collected the flannel is taken up and emptied into the canoe, after which the operation is repeated. In the course of two hours I have frequently seen from six to eight bushels taken in this manner by three women. They are preserved by using as much salt as is necessary to season them; they are then put into baskets lined with leaves, and a large stone is placed on the top to press them into a solid mass, like a cheese. After standing a day or two, the baskets are placed on a frame made of canes, which is elevated about a yard from the ground; they are then covered with plantain leaves, and a small fire of green cedar, sandal, or other aromatic wood is kindled underneath, for the purpose of smoking them. After remaining ten or twelve hours, the cakes are taken out of the baskets, and again exposed to the smoke till it has penetrated through them, when they are laid up for use. A small portion of the smoked chautisa is generally added to fish while cooking, to which it communicates a very delicate flavour: several dishes are also prepared with the chautisa mixed with yucas, yams, and other esculents.
For fishing at sea the natives generally use hooks, but they have both drag and cast nets made of pita, which are always dyed with annotta, achiote. In the rivers they use the common means practised for taking fish, besides which they sometimes make an enclosure of canes on the side of the river, having a trap door so suspended that it can be loosened by a person who hides himself at a short distance from the trap. The decoy consists of a bunch of ripe plantains, suspended so as just to catch the surface of the water: the fish, particularly the two most delicate kinds, the sabalo and sabalete, enter to eat the plantains, and when the watchman observes, either by the motion of the rope to which the fruit is fastened, or from the splashing heard in the water, that a quantity have entered the corral, he lets the trap door fall, and takes the fish with a small net. I have been present when two hundred fine fish have been caught in this way at one time.
The most curious method used for catching fish is that which is practised after night fall: a man takes his small canoe and places in the bow of it a large piece of lighted coutchouc, in order to attract the fish; he then places himself behind the light and strikes them with a small harpoon; and he is so very dexterous that he very rarely errs. The sight of two or three canoes on the water at night, having their large lights burning, and now and then reflected on the fisherman, or silvering the rippled stream, is very pleasing. Many times have I wandered along the margins of the river at Esmeraldas to witness this scene, when the silence of the night was uninterrupted, except by the lave of the waters gently splashing on the sandy shore.