Chapter 20. Spaniards Pursue Us...

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_ 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."

Our own Indians were evidently very much afraid of these Cashibos, and kept a much more watchful guard than heretofore, both as we rode along and after we encamped for the night. Several days after this we were approaching that part of the Ucayali, where we proposed to embark. I longed to reach it almost as much as did Ned. "Ah, mate," he exclaimed, when I told him that we had little more than one day's journey more on horseback to perform; "let us once get our craft built and afloat, and we may snap our fingers at the Cashibos, and any other enemies to boot."

It was necessary, before embarking, to lay in a supply of provision, that we might not be impeded in our passage down the river; and as our Indians observed signs of an abundance of game, we halted much earlier than usual to hunt. Ned remained with Pedro and Nita to build the huts and look after the horses; while Manco and I, with our three Indians, set out for the chase. At some distance off, between us and the river, was a lofty, rocky hill, which served as our land-mark; and by taking the bearings of it with two other heights still farther off, I hoped to be able easily to find my way back to the camp. Manco and I had the rifles, the Indians their bows and arrows. While wandering among the trees, which were here more than usually interspersed with shrubs and creepers, I very soon got separated from my companions. This did not alarm me, as I was certain that I could without difficulty find my way back to the encampment. I soon fell in with a pathway, which I recognised as one formed by the peccary or wild hog, which traverses the forests in droves consisting of two or three hundred. I stopped and listened, for I thought I heard a grunting sound, which showed that some were not far off. I was not mistaken, for the noise increased in loudness, and I satisfied myself of the direction from which it was coming. Hiding behind a tree, I stood ready to fire, in the hopes of killing one of the leaders, and having time to load and take a second shot before the herd passed by. As soon as they appeared along the path, I singled out one and let fly; but my aim was not steady, and I only wounded the beast. At the same time I had, I suppose, exposed myself to view; for the whole herd, led by their wounded companion, came rushing towards me with furious grunts of rage, evidently with the intention of destroying me. To hope to escape by flight was out of the question, for they would soon have overtaken me. Fortunately I had observed a tree, with branches which I could reach; and retreating to it, I had climbed up a few feet from the ground before the furious herd reached me. When they found themselves disappointed of their prey, they dashed their snouts into the ground round the tree as if they would tear it up by the roots, and thus get at me. They worked so perseveringly, that at first I had some little apprehension that they would succeed, and I began to consider how, if the tree fell, I should manage to escape my assailants. On climbing higher, I saw that the boughs of the tree I was on interlaced with another, and that I might, by catching hold of the latter, save myself, should the peccaries succeed in their attempts. The peccaries grunted and dug away below, and I climbed up higher and higher. At last I reached a branch on which I could conveniently sit and load my gun. "Stop," I thought to myself; "before I take more trouble, I may as well shoot some of these gentlemen. They cannot carry off their dead, and when they go away, as I suppose they will do some time or other, they will leave them behind for me."

The execution followed the thought. I tumbled one of my enemies over, and his companions finding that he was dead, set off to escape from a similar fate. I had, however, time to load and fire again, and killed another hog. As the one I had at the first wounded was by this time dead, to my great satisfaction, the herd scampered off, leaving three of their number behind. I fired a fourth time, but missed, and then descended from the tree. How to get the peccaries to the camp was now my puzzle, for one of them was rather too heavy a load for me to carry, and I had no knife with me to cut them up. If I left them where they were, in all probability they would be eaten up by some beasts or birds of prey before I could return to them. To save them from the former, it occurred to me that I might hang them up on the branches of the tree which had enabled me to escape from becoming their food, instead of their becoming mine.

There were a variety of creepers, out of which I could form ropes; and selecting some of the toughest and most pliant, I secured them to the peccaries, which I dragged under the tree. Having, with no little satisfaction, hoisted up my spoils, I set out to return to the camp. On my way I stopped to look at a tree which seemed to bear a great variety of leaves. On examination, I discovered it to be a _mora_, round the stem of which climbed a number of creepers. On the summit grew a fig-tree, fully as large as a common English apple-tree; and from its branches again hung pendant a number of vines, both fig-tree and vines bearing a quantity of fruit; but the parent _mora_, from the undue exhaustion of its sap, was already giving signs of decay, and in a short time both fig-tree and vine, I saw, would inevitably follow its fate. A little farther on, a couple of sloths were making their progress through the woods. I watched them passing from one tree to the other, as the branches met, stirred by the breeze; and having hitherto seen them hanging lazily by their claws to boughs, I was surprised at the rapidity of their movements. I have often heard people assert that the sloth spends his torpid existence in a perpetual state of pain, from the peculiar sighing noise he makes, and the slowness of his movements when placed on the ground. In the first place, I cannot believe that God has created any animal to pass an existence of pain. The fact is, that the sloth is formed to live in trees, to climb, and to feed on leaves, and not to walk on the ground. Though he cannot be called a frisky animal, he certainly does not deserve the name given to him, as, when he chooses, he can move, as I now had proof, at a great rate. Dogs bark, donkeys bray, and cocks crow, and the sloth sighs, when he wishes to speak; while, from his long arms and short legs, with his sharp claws, he by nature is intended either to be climbing, or, if asleep, hanging, with his back perpendicular to the ground. I shot one of my friends, and hanging him over my shoulder, carried him towards the camp. Scarcely had I resumed my walk, when I saw a large grasshopper, as I thought, playing about a bush, and on the point of settling. As I was passing near it, I was about to put out my hand to catch it, to examine it more minutely, when, just in time, I sprang back; for there I beheld, to my horror, the head and crest of an enormous rattlesnake. In another instant I should have been his victim. I did not stop to see what way he went, but hurried on as fast as my legs would carry me. I listened, as I advanced, to the notes of the various birds which filled the forest, and sometimes to the cries of beasts; and I fancied that I heard others answering them from a distance.

By some means or other I missed the path I intended to follow, and found myself in a thick mass of trees. In trying to get out of it, I entirely lost the line I was pursuing; and at length finding a tree I could climb, I mounted to the top of it, to look out for my land-mark. While I sat on a bough, concealed by the thick foliage, I found that I had a view of an open space at some little distance off, a mass of low trees only intervening. I was about to descend, when my eye caught sight of a figure moving through the glade. Presently another, and then another, followed. The stopped and listened attentively, as if they had heard something to interest them. They were tall men, dressed in long tunics, and had beards and lank black hair. Each man carried a club by his side, and a long spear in one hand, and a bow, with an arrow ready for use, in the other. As one of them turned his face, I saw that he was a Red Indian; and by the peculiar expression of his countenance, I felt certain that they must belong to the dreaded _Cashibos_. I trembled for the safety of Nita and my two friends, for I could not doubt that many others were in the neighbourhood; and I could scarcely dare to hope that they could fail to discover our camp, or to fall in with Manco and the Indians.

They were evidently intent on taking game, for they sounded the notes of several birds in succession, to try if any were in the neighbourhood. Two or three answered, and shortly making their appearance, fell, pierced by the Indians' unerring arrows. Again they sounded their notes, which were answered from a distance, but no game appeared.

I must own that I was far from comfortable all the time, and afraid to move or almost to breathe. Every moment I expected to see them turn their heads, and to be discovered by their sharp eyes; and from the account I had heard of them, I could hope for nothing better than to be shot, and cooked forthwith for their suppers. After waiting, however, a short time, I saw them dart among the trees, and, to my great relief, in an opposite direction to the camp. Instantly I hurried down from my lofty perch, and made the best of my way towards the camp, keeping a bright look-out, lest any of their friends should catch me unawares.

I ran in breathless haste, anxious to warn my friends in the camp. Twice, in my hurry, I missed my way, and found myself going in the very direction the Cashibos had taken. At length I saw a column of smoke curling up among the trees. I felt certain that it must proceed from the camp; yet, as I got nearer, a horrid idea seized me, and I fancied that I must be mistaken, and that I might find instead, the cannibals seated round one of their dreadful banquets. Still I went on, advancing as cautiously as I could, and taking care to leave as little trace of my course behind me as possible. After going on in this way for some time, my ear caught the sound of singing; and looking between the bushes, I saw a fire burning with a spit before it, and on the spit there was roasting what I might have mistaken for a small baby, had not my friend Ned been officiating as cook; and I guessed that it was a monkey which had been prying too near the camp, and had been shot either by him or Pedro. The scene I looked on was one of perfect quiet and repose. The three huts were finished; Nita was concluding some arrangements in the interior of hers, and her infant lay in a basket at the entrance. Ned, as I said, was acting as cook, and Pedro was attending to the horses which were picqueted around. I was very unwilling to be the bearer of bad news to my friends; but there was no time to be lost, so I walked in among them.

"Ned," I said, "we must be on our guard, there are Indians in the neighbourhood; they are fellows who would eat us if they could."

"They must catch us first," said Ned coolly. "If they do, they'll find some of us tough morsels, I calculate."

On seeing me, Nita rushed out and inquired for her husband, being alarmed at my having returned alone. I somewhat tranquillised her by explaining that I had been separated from the rest; but still she saw that all was not right. Though I was anxious to bring in the peccaries, Ned agreed with me that it would be imprudent to leave the camp, for we could not escape being discovered before long by the Cashibos. After a time I told Nita quietly that I had seen some strange Indians, and that I thought it wise to be on our guard against them; indeed, as we might possibly find a large party of them, and be obliged to retreat in a hurry, it would be better to pack up and be prepared for a start, as we were not in a spot where we could well defend ourselves if attacked. Nita agreed with me in the wisdom of this proceeding, and accordingly we packed up our goods, and saddled and loaded our horses. I loaded my rifle, and Ned his pistols and musket; and Pedro and Nita got the bows and arrows and spears ready. I expressed a hope that all this preparation would not be required.

"So do I," answered Ned; "but you see, mate, a good seaman always gets his ship snug at night if he thinks a storm is brewing, because he can't see exactly the time when it may come. So I think we are right to get ready, for the savages, who may pay us a visit when we least expect them; and as just now, you see, if the rest don't come back, and we've only got you and I, and the young Don and the woman and the child, who won't be much help, the odds will be rather against us. Looking at these things, I think if we were to build up a bit of a fortification like, it would be some aid to us in case of need."

Ned's advice was too good to be neglected, and accordingly we set to work and cut down some young trees and branches; and taking the huts as a centre, we threw up a sort of breast-work, sufficient to assist in protecting us while we knelt down to fire.

We had by this time become very anxious at the prolonged absence of Manco and the Indians; and I greatly feared that they might have been surprised by the Cashibos, and murdered. The sun was casting the tall shadows of the trees across the forest glades, and still they did not come. At length I determined to mount one of the horses and go in quest of them. Just, however, as I was putting my foot in the stirrup, a shot was heard close to us, and then another, and several arrows came glancing between the trees, but falling short of the camp. Directly afterwards one of our Indians burst through the brushwood, an arrow sticking in his side. With a look of terror, he pointed towards the point from which he had come, uttering the words "Cashibos--Cashibos." Having broken off the head of the arrow, and drawn out the shaft, I told the poor fellow to run into the camp; I sprung on my horse, and dashing forward with my rifle in my hand, I saw Manco and the two other Indians contending with a dozen or more Cashibos. Manco had shot two of them; but the rest, undaunted by the unexpected effect of the new instrument of death he held in his hand, were on the point of rushing in upon him with their clubs. I saw there was not a moment to be lost, and forcing my way through the tangled mass of creepers and shrubs which lay between us, I reined up for an instant, and took a steady aim at the leading savage. He fell to the ground with a yell of rage, and I then, without stopping to load again, dashed on towards the next.

"Well done, mate, well done," I heard Ned shouting behind me. "Knock the rascals on the head; that's the way to settle them."

So astonished were the savages with the sudden apparition of me and my horse, that I had struck one fellow to the ground before he had time to defend himself. Ned took aim at a third, and wounded him; but the savages, rendered more furious, still came on with menacing gestures. Manco had during the interval reloaded his rifle, and singling out another savage, brought him to the ground. This made the rest once more halt, and seeing me loading, they were on the point of taking flight, when some loud cries resounded through the woods, and gave them notice of the approach of some more of their companions.

"To the camp, to the camp, my friends!" exclaimed Manco, when he was aware of this; and obeying his order, we all retreated at once towards the huts. The Cashibos had received too strong a taste of our quality to follow at that instant, and allowed us to reach the camp unmolested. We instantly held a council of war, and at first Manco, when he saw the fortification we had thrown up, proposed waiting where we were to receive the attack of our enemies; but he soon agreed with me and Ned, that it would be wiser to escape while we could, on horseback. We could not tell how many Cashibos there might be, and they would probably collect ultimately in such numbers as to overwhelm us, even should we at first succeed in beating them off. Our Indians, I found, were fully expecting to see their companion drop down dead, from the effects of the poison they supposed to have been on the arrow; but either it had not been poisoned at all, or the poison had dried and peeled off, for the man did not seem to suffer more than from an ordinary wound.

The advantage of our having made our preparations for moving beforehand was now apparent, and to it we probably owed our safety; for, without the loss of a moment, as soon as our plan of proceeding was settled, we mounted and rode off at a rapid rate through the woods. The Cashibos caught sight of us, and saluted us with loud shouts and war-whoops, and a flight of arrows came whistling after us; but we were already beyond their reach, and it only made us gallop the faster.

"Sing away, old fellows!" shouted Ned; "though you've lost your supper, we've saved ours," and he held out the monkey at the end of the spit which he had snatched from the fire as we were mounting, and brought along with him.

Fortunately the country before us was tolerably free of trees, and the rock I have mentioned served to guide us; but the sun soon sunk below the horizon, and left as for a time in darkness. The sky was clear, and a bright star soon came out, by which we steered our course towards the river. The chief danger now to be apprehended, was from the fallen trunks of trees, or any soft bogs into which our horses might sink. After a time the moon got up, and showed us more clearly our way. On we pushed, therefore, for though the Indians might not follow us in the dark, we were very certain that they would directly it was day; and our great aim was to get to some rocky spot by the bank of the river, where we might, by having the stream on our side, the more easily defend ourselves. Vampire bats and owls, and other night-birds flew by; and snakes and noxious reptiles crossed our path as we rode on; but nothing stopped us.

We pulled up when we reached the rock which had at first guided our course, and consulted whether we should take up our position there for the night, and prepare to defend it against the savages; but it was finally agreed that we would travel on till we reached the river. The journey would knock up our horses, but as we should have no further need of them, that could not be taken into consideration. Nita bore up very well; indeed she seemed to suffer from fatigue as little us any of us. Sometimes her husband carried her child, and sometimes Ned took charge of it. About midnight a halt was called, on an elevated spot, whence we could command a tolerably clear view on all sides. We required to rest and feed our horses as well as ourselves, though we could not venture to light a fire, which would have betrayed our position to our pursuers. While we rested and ate, we kept a vigilant watch; for though it was not probable that the Indians would have followed close to our heels, it was just possible that they might have done so, as in consequence of the numerous impediments in our way, a quick-footed man might have gone almost as fast as we did.

While I was gnawing away at the leg of the monkey, and looking out at the same time into the darkness below, I saw something move across an open glade. It came nearer, and stopped at a spot where the moonbeams streamed full upon it, when I saw that it was a large jaguar. He sat upon his hind-legs and looked at us very wistfully, as if he should like to secure one of us for supper. Presently he moved again and came a little nearer, when he sat down to look at us as before. I was going to have a shot at him, but Manco restrained me, observed that it might be heard by the Cashibos, and lead them to us. Still the jaguar crept nearer, and once more stopped to watch us. If he was hungry, we must have been very tempting to him. Our Indians at last thought it was no joke, for in another moment the jaguar might have picked one of us off; so they set up so loud a scream that they made him turn about in a fright, and scamper off into the forest. As this would to a certainty have led the Cashibos to us, if they were in the neighbourhood, we once more mounted and continued our journey. Sometimes I thought I heard the savages behind us; but the sound proved to be the cry of some bird or beast of prey.

No other adventure occurred, and, as day dawned, the calm waters of the river appeared shining brightly through the trees. A little further on rose close to the stream a high rock, the river face of which was almost a perpendicular precipice, while that inland was steep and rugged in the extreme. The top was of sufficient extent, it appeared, to enable us to pitch our huts on it, and to keep our horses there, it necessary. Having surveyed it, we discovered a path by which we could hope to lead up our horses, every other side being too difficult for men, even unencumbered with burdens, to climb up. After some trouble, we reached the top, whence we found a fine view up and down the river, and over a wide extent of forest on either side.

"The sooner we turn this place into a castle, the better for us, mate," observed Ned. "What say you? We must get some trees down first, though."

I told Manco what the sailor said, and he instantly agreeing, we set to work forthwith to cut down all the trees which grew around, and which might serve as a covert to the enemy, and would form palisades for us.

We set to work with a will with hatchets and knives, and in an hour had cut stakes enough to fence in the whole rock. Where the soil was of sufficient depth we drove them into it; and at the other places we piled up stones, which we brought up from the margin of the river. We gave ourselves not a moment's rest; even while we were eating we were sharpening the stakes. Ned set the example, and we all imitated him. In more important points, as a leader. Manco showed himself fit to be a chief; but the British seaman, where manual work was concerned, was his superior. By noon we had a very respectable stockade run up, such as might withstand an attack for a short time from any ordinary enemy not possessed of firearms. All the trees and shrubs on the sides of the rock had been cut away, and stones had been piled up near all the more accessible points, to serve as a rampart, or to be used as weapons of defence.

"Now, mates," exclaimed Ned, after he had walked with an air of satisfaction round our fortifications, "the work is done, so let's pipe to dinner."

To dinner, accordingly, we went; and one of our dishes was the sloth I had shot, and we had some more monkeys, and several birds, which we had brought hung on to our saddles. We were obliged to light a fire, and we did not fear to do so, as we knew that in daylight the Indians would just as easily track us without its guidance as with it. After dinner we began to construct our huts in a more substantial way than usual, as we should be compelled, we knew, to live here some time to build our canoe. Everything depended on the rapidity with which we could work, so as to be in perfect readiness to receive an attack from the cannibals, should they have ventured to follow us. It was night before all our arrangements were concluded; and as during the whole time we had not given ourselves a moment's rest, we were well nigh worn out. It was necessary, however, to keep a watchful guard during the night, for which purpose we divided ourselves into three watches. We slept with our weapons by our sides, ready for instant use. When it came to my turn to watch, I walked round the ramparts to keep myself awake, for I was well aware of the cunning of the Cashibos, and that they always make their attacks at night. As I stopped for a moment, a long, shrill plaintive cry came through the night air, followed by three others of the same length, gradually deepening in tone, and which had a peculiarly melancholy expression. At first I thought the cry must have arisen from some human being in distress. I remarked it to the Indian who was watching with me.

"Ah, that sound comes from a little bird," he answered. "We call it the _alma perdida_. It is bewailing the dead, and good cause has it now to sound its notes--_Aye de me_!"

The night passed on, and though on several occasions I fancied that I could distinguish the forms of the savage Cashibos skulking round us, none appeared, and daylight once more returned. _

Read next: Chapter 21. Conclusion

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