On the Banks of the Amazon

by William Henry Giles Kingston

Salt it undoubtedly was; and we now first learned that salt is an antidote to the wourali poison. People, indeed, who eat salt with their food are but little affected by it; while it quickly kills savages and animals who do not eat salt.

We had seen as yet no signs of habitations, when Duppo stopped and pointed through an opening in the trees. We saw, in the shade of the wide-spreading boughs, a woman kneeling before a bath, in which a little child was seated, splashing the water about with evident delight. The woman was almost as primitive a costume as the warriors we had seen. Her only ornament was a necklace, and her sole clothing consisted of a somewhat scanty petticoat. She, however, seemed in no way abashed at our presence. Duppo ran forward and said a few words to her, when, rising from her knees, and lifting up her dripping child in her arms, she advanced a few paces towards us. She seemed to be listening with great interest to what Duppo was saying, and she then signed to us to follow her. We did so, and soon came in sight of several bamboo huts. The walls, as also the roofs, were covered with a thatch of palm-leaves. On examining the thatch, I saw that it consisted of a number of leaves plaited together, and secured in a row to a long lath of bamboo. One of these laths, with a row of thatch attached to it, was hung up on pegs to the lowest part of the wall intended to be covered; another was fastened over it, the thatch covering the first lath; and so on, row after row, till the upper part was reached. The roof was formed in the same manner, secured by rope formed of aloe fibres or some similar material. Round the village were numerous fruit-trees. The most conspicuous were bananas, with their long, broad, soft, green leaf-blades; and several pupunhas, or peach-palms, with their delicious fruit, hanging down in enormous bunches from their lofty crowns, each a load for a strong man. The fruit gains its name from its colour. It is dry and mealy, of the taste of chestnuts and cheese. There were also a number of cotton and coffee trees on one side, extending down to the water, which showed that our friends were not ignorant of agriculture. We also saw melons growing in abundance, as well as mandioca and Indian corn.

The lady conducted us into her house with as much dignity as a duchess would have done into her palace. The interior of the building, however, had no great pretensions to architectural grandeur. The roof was supported by strong upright posts between which hammocks were slung, leaving space for a passage from one end to the other, as also for fires in the centre. At the further end was an elevated stage, which might be looked upon as a first floor, formed of split palm-stems. Along the walls were arranged clay jars of various sizes, very neatly made. Some, indeed, were large enough to hold twenty or more gallons; others were much smaller; and some were evidently used as cooking-pots. They were ornamented on the outside with crossed diagonal lines of various colours. There were also blow-pipes hung up, and quivers and bags made of the bromelia, very elaborately worked. In addition, there were baskets formed of the same material of a coarser description, and dressed skins of animals, with mats, and spare hammocks.

Our hostess, whom we discovered to be Duppo’s mother, invited us to sit down on some mats which she spread in a clear space on the floor, a little removed from the fire. Duppo went out, and in a short time returned with a young girl, who looked timidly into the opening, and then ran off. He scampered after her, and brought her back; but it required some persuasion to induce her to enter the hut. We rose as she did so, struck by her interesting countenance and elegant form; for, although her garments were almost as scanty as those of the older woman, our impulse was to treat her with the respect we should have paid to one of her more civilised sisters. Having got over her timidity, she set to work to assist her mother in cooking some food. We asked Duppo his sister’s name. He gave us to understand that it was Oria—at least, it sounded like it; and, at all events, that was the name by which we always called her. It was a pretty name, and well suited to such an interesting young creature.

Several parrots of gorgeous plumage, which had been sitting on the rafters, clambered down inquisitively to look at us; while two monkeys—tame little things—ran in and out of the hut. The most interesting creature we saw was a charming little water-fowl—a species of grebe. It seemed to be a great pet of the young girl. It was swimming about in a tub full of water, similar to the one in which we had seen our hostess bathing her baby. The girl took it out to show it to us, and it lay perfectly happy and contented in her hands. It was rather smaller than a pigeon, and had a pointed beak. The feet, unlike those of water-fowls, were furnished with several folds of skin in lieu of webs, and resembled much the feet of the gecko lizards. After exhibiting it to us, she put it back again into its tub, and it went swimming round and round, very much like those magnetic ducks which are sold in toyshops. On examining the tub I have spoken of, we found that it was formed from the spathe of the palm.

In a short time a repast was placed before us in several bowls. In one was fish, in another was a stew of meat. Arthur, without ceremony, ate some of the latter, when he came to a bone which I saw him examining curiously.

“Why, I do believe,” he said, in a low voice, “it is a bit of monkey!”

“I have very little doubt about it,” I answered; for I had discovered this some time before. “Try this other dish; it seems very nice.”

Having eaten some of it, we bethought ourselves of inquiring of Duppo what it was; and he gave us to understand that it was a piece of snake or lizard, for we could not exactly make out which.

“I think I would rather keep to the fish,” said Arthur, in a subdued voice. Indeed, with the fish and some mandioca porridge alone, we could have managed to make a very ample meal.