THE OIL-WELLS OF THE ORINOCO.

I fear that the description of the land of El Dorado has already been extended beyond the limits assigned to that chapter; otherwise we might continue our voyage down the noble river, and visit other points of attraction along its course; such as the falls of the Caroni, three miles above its confluence with the Orinoco. On its margins grows the beautiful Bomplandia trifoliata, which yields the Angostura-bark of the pharmacop?a—next to quinine, the most efficacious antidote against the miasmas of these regions. It also furnishes the principal ingredient in the composition of the fine bitters manufactured there under that name. By descending the river still farther, we might enter any of the thousand channels into which the Orinoco divides itself before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, and there take a look at the curious race of men—the Waraun Indians—living on trees like apes, for want of dry land upon which to stretch their limbs; or in rude huts built on piles driven in the soft mud of the Great Delta. But as the time draws near{431} for our departure from the Llanos, and the rivers commence to overflow the plains, we will reascend the Orinoco and rejoin our friends, who await us impatiently on the banks of the Apure; or else we might find ourselves, like Spira and his companions, cut off from the rest of civilization. We shall also miss the curious harvest—cosecha—of turtles’ eggs, which is gathered about this time upon the sand-islands of the Orinoco, just above the mouth of the Apure. Here the great turtles called arraus by the Indians, and tortugas by the whites, assemble in vast multitudes during the dry season to perfect the incubation of their eggs. This they accomplish by digging pits in the sand with their hind feet, in which they deposit the eggs, covering them afterwards very carefully, and entrusting the rest of the operation to the heat of the sun. The people from far and near this el dorado of eggs and turtles, then hasten to these sand-banks, and provision themselves for “a rainy day” at the expense of the lawful tenants of those islands.

Other travellers having already studied the habits of these amphibia in their native habitat, we may avail ourselves of their experience in forming some idea of their prodigious increase, in spite of their sluggish habits. I may mention, among others, Humboldt and Bates, who have given to the world very graphic accounts of this singular “harvest,” the former on the Orinoco,[60] and the latter on the Amazon river.[61] But{432} the most interesting account within my knowledge is that of Father Gumilla, who, having spent many years among these wilds, is entitled to special attention on the part of the lovers of nature. As his book is very rare and curious nowadays, I will, for the benefit of my readers, give here a translation of the chapter devoted to the subject:

“Of the extraordinary harvest (Cosecha) of turtles gathered by the Indians of the Orinoco; their eggs, and of the peculiar oil obtained from them.”

“So great is the number of turtles in the Orinoco river, that whatever I may say on this subject will fall far short of the actual truth; and I even fear that many, in reading my authentic account of what I myself have repeatedly seen, experienced, and touched with my own hands, will accuse me of exaggeration; but it is a fact that it would be as difficult to count the sands of the extensive banks of the Orinoco, as to compute the immense number of turtles which it harbors on its borders and in the depths of its currents.

“Some idea may be formed of the enormous consumption of these creatures, when we say that all the tribes and people of adjacent countries, and even from those farther off, frequent the Orinoco with their families to secure what I termed the harvest of turtles; for they not only maintain themselves therewith during the months that it lasts, but also carry away a large supply of turtle-meat, dried by fire, and a still greater{433} number of baskets of eggs, dried also by the same means. But what principally attracts the people of these tribes is the oil which they gather from the eggs of said turtles, in large quantities, to anoint themselves throughout the year twice every day, and to sell to the more remote tribes who cannot, or through fear dare not, go down the river Orinoco.

“As soon as the river begins to fall and to display its first sandbanks in the month of February, the turtles commence to show themselves, in order to deposit their eggs in the sand; those which appear first are the small turtles called terecayas, weighing scarce an arroba of twenty-five pounds; these lay twenty-two and sometimes twenty-four eggs, like hen’s eggs, but without the shell, instead of which they are covered by two membranes, one soft and the other thicker. With these terecayas other turtle also appear, who, in the previous year, found no sand in which to deposit their eggs, or were prevented from so doing by the great number assembled there. These large turtles, which, when three years old, weigh two arrobas—as I have proved by the scales—deposit sixty-two, and ordinarily, sixty-four round eggs each, larger than those of the terecayas, with stronger membrane, and with which the Indians play ball on shore, or egg each other in sport. In each nest of eggs there is one larger than the rest, from which the male is hatched; all the others are females. About this time the Indians, of various tribes, commence to arrive from all points of the adjacent countries: some of them build their straw huts; others content themselves by driving poles{434} in the sand, from which to swing their hammocks. A multitude of tigers also appear to turn up the turtles, which they devour in spite of their strong cuirass; a circumstance which by no means adds to the pleasure and satisfaction that the Indians derive from their excursion to the Orinoco, since, in spite of all their care, scarcely a year passes in which the tigers do not devour some of the poor Indians, who have no other mode of keeping them off at night than by fires, which, so long as they burn, keep the beasts at a distance.

“Fearing the heat of the sun—which often kills them on the sand-banks—the turtles at first come out only at nightfall to lay their eggs; but, as the season advances, the gathering is so great, that the multitudes already out prevent the passage of still greater numbers, which, with heads above water, are waiting a chance to pass on; and so soon as an opportunity presents itself, they hasten to lay all their eggs at once—the burthen of which they cannot support without great inconvenience,—regardless of the sun and heat, which often costs many of them their lives.

“I have noticed three curious facts with reference to these turtle-nests: the first is, that after opening with the utmost care the holes in which these animals deposit their eggs, they take particular pains to close them again, so as not to leave a trace by which the nest may be found. For this purpose they leave the ground perfectly even with the rest of the sand-bank; and in order that the marks of their feet may not lead to their discovery, they pass over and around the nest several times in succession before they quit the{435} ground. All their precautions are in vain, however, for wherever there are eggs, the sand remains quite loose, and gives way under foot; and by these means the eggs are found in the early part of the season; but later, in the height of the harvest, there is no need of looking for these signs; for, in the same sands in which the first turtles laid, the second, third, and scores of others also lay their eggs in such prodigious quantities, that wherever the Indians may dig, they find them in heaps, the animals themselves scattering them all over the ground while excavating their own nests.

“The second curious fact that I have observed, by driving a pole near to a newly-laid nest, is, that in three days’ time, the incubation of the eggs is not only perfected, but the young turtles have broken through the shell; so great is the power of the sun and the intensity of the heat absorbed by the sand.

“The third point noted by me is, that the young turtles, on coming out of the shell—at which time they are about the size of a half dollar,—do not leave the nest by daylight, nature having taught them that the heat of the sun will kill them, and the birds of prey will devour them. They come forth, therefore, in the silence and cool of the night; and what has most excited my admiration is, that although the hole from which they emerge may be half a mile or more from the river, they never mistake the road, but go in a direct line to the water. This pleased me so much, that I have repeatedly taken the turtles a great distance from the river, carrying them covered, and turning them around over and over again on the ground, in{436} order to make them lose their course; but whenever they found themselves free, they made straight for the water, and I following them, admiring the wonderful goodness of the Creator, who thus endows each of his creatures with powers to find its natural element. What a lesson to us, who, in spite of the hope of eternal reward and the danger of everlasting punishment, scarce succeed in taking the right path for that ultimate goal for which the goodness and mercy of God created us!

“About this time the Indians, both men and women, rise very early, and the former turn over as many turtles as they please, leaving them on their backs in such a way as to render them incapable of resuming their natural position; for although they strive with their paddles to right themselves, their back is so high that they cannot touch the ground in order to obtain a foothold. They are then carried by their captors to the ranches, where they are made fast by leaving them on their backs, as aforesaid. Meanwhile the women and children occupy themselves in filling and carrying baskets of eggs and little turtles to the ranches, making large heaps of the former, and keeping the latter in the baskets to prevent their escape into the river, which they always do whenever they can. The men also dig holes in the sand down to the level of the river, which are quickly filled by the infiltration of the water, and place therein large numbers of baby-turtles, to be eaten as wanted; each of which makes a delicious mouthful, free from bones, the very shells being soft and tasty. The number of{437} delicate young turtles eaten daily by the innumerable families congregated there is incalculable. But the quantity of eggs consumed is even greater, both as food and for the extraction of oil; so great, indeed, that notwithstanding the size of the Orinoco river, it is the opinion of the experts of that country that, were it not for this extraordinary consumption of turtles and their eggs, the increase of these animals in the river would be such as to render it unnavigable; for boats would find it impossible to make way through the immense number of turtles which would appear were all these eggs to be hatched; in which opinion I participate also. In the same way, it is said that on the fishing-banks of Newfoundland, frequented by so many vessels, the shoals of codfish are so immense that the passage of vessels is seriously embarrassed and delayed. It is also asserted that each fisherman can catch as many as four hundred codfish per day.

“Let us now see how the oil is extracted, which, as I have already said, is the chief attraction which brings so many people to the Orinoco. After washing the canoes which have brought them there, they draw them on the beach, and pour several pailsfull of water into them: they then wash the eggs in baskets, until not a grain of sand remains adhering to them, and when perfectly clean, they are emptied into the canoes and trod upon by children in the same way as grapes are mashed in wine-making. Once full, the canoes are left exposed to the sun’s rays, and in due time a fine and limpid liquid rises to the surface, which is the oleaginous portion of the eggs; so abundant is{438} this, that I have been surprised to see a frying-pan placed dry on the fire, and after being heated, well beaten eggs poured therein, which, on touching the hot pan, gave forth sufficient oil to fry the omelet, with a certainty that it never sticks to the pan.

“Whilst the heat of the sun is extracting this fine oil, the Indian women place large pots over the fire, and the men with fine shells, very suitable for the purpose, remove the oil from the surface of the mixture in the canoes, and carry it to the pots, where the heat of the fire boils and purifies it. If, during the operation of transferring the oil any of the beaten eggs are taken along, they remain fixed in the bottom of the pots. The oil, when purified, is put in suitable jars, and is much finer and clearer than that of olives, as I have proven to many Europeans, who could hardly believe it, in the following manner. I filled half a glass with olive-oil; I then poured in a like quantity of oil from the eggs of turtles; when, l............