The coutchouc, jebe, as it is called by the natives, is procured from the tree by making incisions in the bark; the substance which exudes is at first perfectly white and of the consistency of cream; it is received in large calabashes, and allowed to remain a day,or two, in which time it becomes thicker; it is then poured on the leaves of the plantain or vijao, and again allowed to remain a day or two; it is afterwards made up into rolls about a yard long and three inches in diameter. These rolls constitute a considerable branch of commerce, and generally sell at Esmeraldas for two dollars the dozen; but in the mines on the coast of Chocó they sell for three times that sum. The coutchouc is used as a substitute for candles: a roll of it is generally cut length-ways into four parts, but before it is lighted the piece is rolled up in a green vijao leaf, to prevent it from melting or taking fire down the sides.
Oranges, limes, lemons, pine-apples, mameis, sapotes, nisperos, with all the fruits mentioned at Guayaquil grow here in abundance, and some of them to a state of great perfection. The madroño is a fruit peculiar to this country; it is similar in shape and colour to a small lemon; the pulp is white and of an agreeable sub-acid taste, enveloping three large seeds.
Many varieties of palms grow in the woods; the coco palm, the palmito or cabbage palm, the coroso palm, which grows to the height of eighteen or twenty feet. This tree has a trunk about three feet in circumference, and is covered with an immense number of long slender prickles: the stem to which the leaves are attached and the nuts are covered in the same manner. An agreeable beverage is made from this palm, by boiling the leaves and the stem to which the bunch of nuts is attached; it is at first sweet, but by fermentation it acquires a vinous taste. The nuts are eaten while green and tender, and have a taste resembling that of the green French olives; when ripe they have the appearance of ivory, and are used at Quito by the sculptors for small busts, statues, or images. The chonta palm is remarkably useful, the wood is extremely hard and elastic, and of it the natives make bows, sorvetanas, puas, and lances.
The animals which are found in the woods are the jaguar, three varieties of the cavia, four of monkeys, like those at Guayaquil, deer, tortoises, iguanas, snakes as at Guayaquil, with the addition of the dormilona, for whose bite the natives possess no antidote. Here is also the boa constrictor, called by the natives sobre cama; however this tribe is not numerous, and accidents seldom occur; the inhabitants generally take care to have poultry and hogs about their houses, because these animals are great enemies to the snakes. There are several varieties of ants and bees; of the latter are two, one called the moquingana, which form their nests by attaching them to the branches of the large trees; the honey is very palatable, and the natives employ themselves in purifying the wax, for which they find a good market at Quito; the other is the amonanas, which make their nests under ground. To find these nests, the natives, whenever they observe a number of the bees, besprinkle some of the plants with molasses, and follow them when laden with it on their return home; this generally leads to a discovery. Great quantities of wax are procured from the nests; it is of a deep orange colour, but with a little labour it is rendered very white.
The province of Esmeraldas derives its name from a mine of emeralds which is found at no great distance from the town; it may be approached by ascending the river Bichile, which enters the Esmeraldas river on the south side. I never visited it, owing to the superstitious dread of the natives, who assured me, that it was enchanted and guarded by an enormous dragon, which poured forth thunder and lightning on those who dared to ascend the river. The existence of an emerald mine was proved to me by the alcalde, who gave me three raw emeralds, which had been found by his sons on the sand at the mouth of the river Bichile. Gold mines exist in this province, there being scarcely a river in which gold is not found among the sand on its shores: however none of them are worked at present (1809).
The importance of this part of South America has induced me to be more particular in its description than might appear necessary for a tract of country almost uninhabited. Its capability of becoming of extensive utility to the mercantile world, of forming the principal entrance to the kingdom of Quito, and of vieing ere long with Guayaquil; its soil and climate; the ease with which indians, from the well populated provinces of Quito, might be procured for the formation of colonies; the extensive markets both along the coast and in the interior for its various productions, besides many branches well calculated for exportation, must forcibly attract the attention of all those who are inclined to speculate on the rising interests of the western parts of the new world.
CHAPTER XIV.
Visit to Cayapas....Village....Inhabitants....Houses and Furniture....Visit to the Malabas, Wild Indians....Arrival at the Vijia....Interview with the Cacique, Family of....Tribe of the Malabas....Tradition of the Origin of....Dress of....Manners....Laws....Return to Cayapas....Visit Tumaco....Description of....Barbacoas....Description of....Gold Mines....Manner of Working them....Leave the Coast, Malbucho Road....River Mira....Puentes de Maroma, and Taravitas....Piquigua....Arrive at Ibarra, and Return to Rio Verde and Esmeraldas....Ascend the River Quinindi....Boa Constrictors....Santo Domingo de los Colorados....Indians....Dress....Houses....Food....Cocaniguas....Quito.