Chapter Twenty.
Spaniards pursue us—Attacked by wild Indians.
“Up, up, my friends!” exclaimed Manco, rushing into our hut one morning, just before daybreak. “The Spaniards are traversing the mountains with fire and sword, and we must haste away from this.”
We all instantly sprung to our feet, and without exchanging many words, packed up our goods. By the time we were ready, the horses were caught and saddled, and we were soon mounted and ready to proceed. Our party consisted of Ned, Pedro, and I; Manco, Nita, and their child; and three Indians, of a tribe with whom the latter were going to take up their residence. We had, besides, two other horses laden with clothing and provisions. Bidding adieu to our unhappy hostess and the villagers, our cavalcade was put in motion, and we plunged into the interminable forest. Without the assistance of our Indian guides, we could not possibly have found our way among the gigantic trees which shot up like tall masts from the level soil, often branchless till near the summit, where their boughs intertwined, and formed a canopy which the rays of the sun could scarcely penetrate.
“On, on, my friends!” cried Manco; “the enemy may be on us before we are aware of their approach. They have traitors with them, and will certainly despatch a force to search us out.”
This was sufficient to make us urge our horses to their utmost speed; and all day we rode on, halting only now and then for a very short time, to rest our animals or to take food. At night we encamped in the forest. For our shelter we cut a number of canes which grew near a stream, and with them formed some huts, which we thatched with palm leaves. We had supplied ourselves with grass hammocks and Indian mosquito curtains, and by hanging them up in our huts we obtained very comfortable quarters. We frequently had streams to pass, which feed the great arteries running into the Amazon. They were in most instances too deep to be forded, so we had to wait till we could construct rafts to convey ourselves and our luggage, our horses swimming alongside. We took care to make a great noise to keep the caymans at a distance, lest any of them should think fit to grab at our animals’ legs. We had the satisfaction of feeling sure that, should we be pursued, our enemies would take much longer time to cross than we did. Still, however, we pushed on as fast as the nature of the ground would allow. We were now approaching the river Ucayali, at a spot not far from the banks of which Manco intended to make his abode. He might, of course, have found numberless places among the Andes, where the Spaniards could not have discovered him; but so many of his brother chieftains had already been betrayed by their own countrymen, that he had resolved to remove himself far beyond the reach of treachery, among savages who, if they had not the virtues, were free from the vices of civilisation, and were too independent to be tempted by a bribe to deliver him into the hands of his enemies.
Though in general the country was level, here and there mountains and rocky ledges crossed our path, the far-stretching spurs of the Andes. We found the country very thinly populated, though we occasionally fell in with small parties on their hunting expeditions. The first infidel Indians we met somewhat raised our curiosity. They were short in stature, and had swarthy complexions and long black hair, without any beard on their chins. They wore a long frock without sleeves, and when we first saw them we took them for women. They were armed with bows and arrows. They had never seen any white men before, and were at first very much frightened and inclined to run away; but our Indians, who spoke their language, that of the Panos, assured them that we would not injure them, and they became very communicative. When they heard where we were going, they entreated us not to proceed, assuring us that we should encounter numbers of cannibal Cashibos, who would to a certainty kill and eat us.
“Tell them that we fear not the Cashibos nor any other wild men,” said Manco. “If they molest us, we will treat them as the beasts of the forest, though we would willingly pass them peaceably.”
As we rode along after we had parted from our little friends, I asked Manco who were the dreaded Cashibos; and he told me that they were the most savage and warlike of all the wild tribes in the Pampa del Sacramento, between the rivers Ucayali and Hualtaga. “We must be on our guard against them, for they are equally cunning as fierce, and I truly believe that they really do eat those they can take prisoners.”