The animal called the Indian rabbit is very numerous, and is a variety of what, in South America, is called the agouti. It is about the size of a rabbit: body plump; snout long, and rather sharp; nose divided at the tip, and upper jaw longer than the lower; hind legs longer than the anterior ones, and furnished with but three toes; tail short, and scarcely visible, while its body is covered with a hard, shining, reddish-brown hair, freckled with dark spots. It lives upon vegetables, holds its food in eating, like a squirrel, and has a vicious propensity for biting and gnawing whatever it comes near. For this reason it is a nuisance in the neighborhood of plantations, and, as it multiplies rapidly, it is about the only animal which is hunted systematically by the Indians. Its flesh is only passable.
The gibeonite (cavia-paca), sometimes called pig-rabbit, closely resembles the guinea-pig, but is something larger. The head is round; the muzzle short and black; the upper jaw longer than the lower; the lip divided, like that of a hare; the nostrils large, and the whiskers long; eyes brown, large, and prominent; ears short and naked; neck thick; body very plump, larger behind than before, and covered with coarse, short hair, of a dusky brown color, deepest on the back; the throat, breast, inside of the limbs, and belly dingy white; and on each side of the body are five rows of dark spots, placed close to each other. The legs are short, the feet have five toes, with strong nails, and the tail is a simple conic projection. Its flesh is peculiarly juicy and rich, and, baked in the ground, the animal makes a dish for an epicure. I believe I did not let a day pass without having a baked gibeonite.
Among the Indians of the village, the eggs and flesh of the river turtle were favorite articles of food; and in constantly using them, I thought they evinced a proper appreciation of what is good. There are two varieties of these turtles, one called bocatoro (Mosquito chouswat), and the other hecatee. The latter is seldom more than eighteen inches long, but its shell is very deep. We cooked them by simply separating the lower shell, taking out the entrails, and stuffing the cavity with cassava, pieces of plantain, manitee fat, and various condiments, then wrapping it in plantain leaves, as I have described, and turning it back down, baking it in the ground. It always required a good bed of coals to cook it properly, but when rightly done, the result was a meal preëminently savory and palatable. The Indian boys brought, literally, bushels of the eggs of these turtles from the bars and sand-spits of the river and lagoon. These are very delicate when entirely fresh.
Chapter XI.
We were not many days in exhausting the resources of the Towkas village, in the way of adventures; and, one sunny afternoon, packed our little boat, and, bidding our entertainers good-by, paddled down the river, on our voyage to Sandy Bay—next to Bluefields, the principal Sambo establishment on the coast. Our course lay, a second time, through Wava Lagoon, which connects, by a narrow and intricate channel or creek, with a larger lagoon to the northward, called Duckwarra. The night was quiet and beautiful—the crescent moon filling the air with a subdued and dreamy light, soothing and slumbrous, and so blending the real with the ideal that I sometimes imagine it might all have been a dream! My companions, if they did not share the influences of the night, at least respected my silence, and we glided on and on, without a sound save the steady dip of the paddles, and the gentle ripple of the water, which closed in mimic whirlpools on our track.
When morning broke, we had already entered Duckwarra Lagoon, the largest we had encountered since leaving Pearl-Cay. It had the same appearance with all the others, and, having nothing to detain us, we steered directly across, only stopping near noon on one of the numerous islets, to cook our breakfast, and escape the midday heats. This islet was, perhaps, two hundred yards across, and elevated in the centre some fifteen or twenty feet above the water. Near the apex were growing a number of ancient palms, and, strolling up to them, I found at their roots a small elevation, or tumulus, perhaps fifteen feet in diameter at the base, and five or six feet high. Its regularity arrested my attention, and led me to believe that it was artificial. I called to Antonio, who at once pronounced it a burying-place of the “Antiguos.” I proposed opening it, but my companions seemed loth to disturb the resting-place of the dead. However, finding that I had commenced the work without them, they joined me, and with our machetes and paddles, we rapidly removed the earth. Near the original surface of the ground, we came to some bones, but they were so much decayed that they crumbled beneath the fingers. Uncovering them further, we found at the head of the skeleton a rude vase, which was got out without much damage. Carefully removing the earth from the interior I found that it contained a number of chalcedonic pebbles, pierced as if for beads, a couple of arrow-heads of similar material, and a small ornament of thin, plate gold, rudely representing a human figure, as shown in the accompanying engraving, which is of the size of the original. At the feet of the skeleton we also discovered another small vase of coarse pottery, which, however, contained no relics. Antonio seemed much interested in the little golden image, but finally, after minute examination, returned it to me, saying, that although his own people in Yucatan often buried beneath tumuli, and had golden idols which they placed with the dead, yet, in workmanship, they were unlike the one we had discovered.
“Ah!” he continued, his eyes lighting with unusual fire, “you should see the works of our ancestors! They were gods, those ancient, holy men! Their temples were built for them by Kabul, the Lord of the Powerful Hand, who set the seal of his bloody palm upon them all! You shall go with me to the sacred lake of the Itzaes, where our people are gathered to receive the directions of the Lord of Teaching, whose name is Votan Balam, who led our fathers thither, and who has promised to rescue them from their afflictions!”