E. G. Squier

“ It was impossible to light a fire, and so we drew up the canoe on the beach, and, piling our traps in the centre, I perched myself on the top, where, with the sail thrown over my head, I enacted the part of a tent-pole for the live-long night! My Indian companions stripped themselves naked, rubbed their bodies with palm oil, and took the pelting with all the nonchalance of ducks. For want of any thing better to do, I ate plantains and dried fish, and, after the rain subsided, watched the brilliant fire-flies, of which hundreds moved about lazily under the lee of the bushes. ”

“ At the distance of three miles, the river banks grew higher, although densely covered with wild plants and vines, which seemed to have subdued the forest. The few trees that were left were clustered all over with twining rope-plants, or lianes, sometimes hanging down and swinging in mid-air, and again stretched to the ground, like the cordage of a ship, supporting in turn, hundreds of creepers, with leaves of translucent green, and loaded with clusters of bright flowers. An occasional fan-palm thrust itself above the tangled verdure, as if struggling for light and air ”

“ Every successful throw was hailed with vehement shouts, heightened by loud blows made by striking the flat of the paddle on the surface of the water. All along the shore, the women had lighted fires whereat to dry the fish, which, in this climate, can not be kept long without spoiling. The light from these fires caught on the heavy foliage of the shore, and revealing the groups of half-naked women and children, helped to make up a scene which it is difficult to paint in words, but which can never be forgotten by one who has witnessed it. ”

“ Night, under the tropics, falls like a curtain. The sun goes down with a glow, intense, but brief. There are no soft and lingering twilight adieus, and stars lighting up one by one. They come, a laughing group, trooping over the skies, like bright-eyed children relieved from school. Reflected in the lagoon, they seemed to chase each other in amorous play, printing sparkling kisses on each other’s luminous lips. ”

“ A sudden plunge of the alligator from the banks, will startle the wild birds on the overhanging trees, and in an instant the forest resounds to the wild cries of the tiger, the plaints of the frightened monkeys, and the shrieks and croaks of the numerous water-fowl; while the wakeful traveler starts up and hastily grasps his faithful gun, surprised to find the wilderness, which was so still and slumberous under the noonday heats, now terrible with savage and warring life. ”

“ So completely did my soul go out, and melt, and harmonize itself with the scene, that I began to comprehend the Oriental doctrine of emanations and absorptions, which teaches that, as the body of man springs from the earth, and after a brief space, mingles again with it; so his soul, part of the Great Spirit of the Universe, flutters away like a dove from its nest, only to return, after a weary flight, to fold its wings and once more melt away in Nature’s immortal heart, an uncreated and eternal essence. ”

“ As we approached the bank, in front of the huts, I observed that all the inhabitants were pure Indians, whom my Poyer boy hailed in his own tongue. I afterward found out that they were Woolwas, and spoke a dialect of the same language with the Poyers, and Cookras, to the northward. As at Wasswatla, nearly all the inhabitants crowded down to the shore to meet me, affording, with their slight and symmetrical bodies, and long, well-ordered, glossy black hair, a striking contrast to the large-bellied, and spotted mongrels on the Wawashaan. ”

“ The trunk is generally tall and straight, the branches numerous, but not long, and the leaves large and thick; on the upper surface of a dark, glistening, unfading green, while below, of the downy, whitish tint of the poplar-leaf. Lining the shore in dense masses, the play of light on the leaves, as they are turned upward by the wind, has the glad, billowy effect of a field of waving grain. The timber of the mangrove is sodden and heavy, and of no great utility; but its bark is astringent, and excellent for tanning. ”

“ However, I was not destined to pine away my days in devising plans to obtain an introduction to his Mosquito Majesty. For, rising early on the morning subsequent to my arrival, I started out to see the sights of Bluefields. Following a broad path, leading to a grove of cocoa-nut trees, which shadowed over the river, tall and trim, I met a white man, of thin and serious visage, who eyed me curiously for a moment, bowed slightly, and passed on in silence. The distant air of an Englishman, on meeting an American, is generally reciprocated by equally frigid formality. ”

“ Among the huts were many palm and plantain trees, with detached stalks of the papaya, laden with its large golden fruit. The shore was lined with canoes, pitpans and dories, hollowed from the trunks of trees, all sharp, trim, and graceful in shape. The natives propel them, with great rapidity, by single broad-bladed paddles, struck vertically in the water, first on one side, and then on the other. ”

“ It seemed as if Nature held high holiday among these primeval solitudes, and arrayed herself only to wanton in the sense of her own beauty. But while vegetation was thus lavishly luxuriant in the valley, behind us the mountains rose, stern, steep, and bare. Vainly the dark pines, clinging to their sides, sought to vail their flinty frown. Wherever a little shelf of the rocks supported a scanty bed of soil, there the mountain grasses, and the sensitive-plant with its amaranthine flower, took root, like kindly thoughts in the heart of the hard and worldly man. ”

“ I was weary of dodging the Sambos, and determined, as the wind was blowing fresh, to put up our sail, and standing boldly through the lagoon, take the risk of recognition and pursuit. There never was a brighter day on earth, and our little boat seemed emulous to outstrip the wind. Gathering confidence from our speed, I got out my fishing line, and, attaching a bit of cotton cloth to the hook, trailed it after the boat. It had hardly touched the water before it was caught by a kind of rock-fish, called snapper by the English residents, and cowatucker by the Mosquitos. ”

“ A moment after, they called to me from the shore, “Paddle! paddle!” and, at the same instant, I heard the blows of their machetes ringing on the trunks of the mangroves. I at once comprehended that they were felling trees across the narrow creek, to obstruct the pursuit; and I threw aside the paddle, and took my gun again, determined to protect my devoted friends, at any hazard. I never forgave myself for my momentary but ungenerous distrust!
Our pursuers heard the sound of the blows, and, no doubt comprehending what was going on, raised loud shouts, and redoubled their speed. Kling! kling! ”

“ Mrs. Ponto wept; and as we slowly worked our way outside of Port Royal, I could see her waving her apron, for she was innocent of a more classical signal, in fond adieus. We finally got out from under the lee of the land, and caught in our sails the full trade-wind, blowing steadily in the desired direction. I sat long on deck, watching the receding island sinking slowly in the bright sea, until Captain Ponto signified to me, in the patois of Jamaica, which the deluded people flatter themselves is English, that dinner was ready, and led the way into what he called the cabin. ”

“ We caught the land-breeze as soon as we got from under the lee of the shore, and drove rapidly on our course. Although the sea was comparatively smooth, yet the boats all carried such an amount of sail as to keep me in a state of constant nervousness. One would scarcely believe that the Mosquito men venture out in their pitpans, in the roughest weather with impunity, riding the waves like sea-gulls. If upset, they right their boats in a moment, and with their broad paddle-blades clear them of water in an incredibly short space of time. ”

“ These caricatures on humanity seemed to be more numerous here than further down the coast, and we often saw large troops of them in the overhanging trees, where they gravely contemplated us as we drifted by. Occasionally one, more adventurous than the rest, would slide down a dependent limb or vine, scold at us vehemently for a moment, and then scramble back again hurriedly, as if alarmed at his own audacity. ”

“ Then night and morning the air was filled with deafening parrots, noisy macaws, and quick-darting, chattering paroquets.
I rose early every day, and with my gun in my hand, strayed far over the savannah, inhaling the freshness of the morning air, and shooting such game as looked fat, tender, and otherwise acceptable to my now fastidious appetite. The curassow, (called cossu by the Mosquitos,) is one of the finest birds in the world. It is about the size of the turkey, but has stronger and longer legs. ”

“ I was glad when the unwonted commotion ceased, and the denizens of the forest relapsed again into their chronic serenade.
A large proportion of tropical animals are emphatically “children of the night.” It is at night that the tiger and maneless Mexican lion leave their lairs, and range the dense forests in pursuit of their prey, rousing the peccary and tapir from their haunts, and sending them to seek refuge in the thickets, where crashing of bushes and splashings [142] in hidden pools testify to the blind fear of the pursued, and the fierce instincts of the pursuers. ”

“ We early struck a little stream, which, I observed, we followed constantly. It proved to be the branch of the great river Patuca, upon which the Poyer village is situated, and bore the musical name of Guallambre. At night, when we encamped, the Poyer boy took a calabash, and, motioning to me to follow, led the way down the stream to a little sand-bar. Scooping up some of the sand in his bowl, and then filling it with water, he whirled it rapidly, so that a feathery stream of mingled sand and water flew constantly over its edge. ”

“ Before the dawn of day, the ever-watchful Antonio had prepared the indispensable cup of coffee, which is the tropical specific against the malignant night-damps; and the first rays of the sun shot over the trees only to fall on our sail, bellying with the fresh and invigorating sea-breeze. We laid our course for the mouth of a river called Wawashaan (hwas or wass, in the dialect of the interior, signifying water) , which enters the lagoon, about twenty miles to the northward of the Haulover. Here we were told there was a settlement, which I determined to visit. ”

“ With glad alacrity, my companions and myself set to work to form our encampment, on the clean dry sand. Then came Antonio, laden with the golden clusters of the plantain, while the spear of the Poyer darted down in the clear waters of the pool with unfailing skill. ”

“ It hangs from the upper limbs in thousands, and, when perfect, drops, point downward, erect in the mud, where it speedily takes root, and shoots up to tangle still more the already tangled mangrove-swamp. Myriads of small oysters, called the mangrove-oysters, cling to the roots, among which active little crabs find shelter from the pursuit of their hereditary enemies, the long-legged and sharp-billed cranes, who have a prodigious hankering after tender and infantile shell-fish. ”

“ In my darkest hours, its recollection comes over my soul like a beam of sunlight through the rifts of a clouded sky—“a joy forever.” Blessed memory, which enables us to live over again the delights of the past, and gives an eternal solace to the cheerful mind!
That night I made a formal present of the canoe and its appurtenances to my Poyer boy, and we selected such articles as were indispensable to us, leaving the rest to be sent for by the Indians when we should reach the village. ”

“ The sail was hastily gathered in, and my Indians, seizing their paddles, watched the seventh, or crowning wave, and, by vigorous exertion, cheering each other with shouts, kept the canoe at its crest, and thus we were swept majestically over the bar, into the comparatively quiet water beyond it. Half an hour afterward, the great waves broke on the very spot where we had crossed, in clouds of spray, and with the noise of thunder!
The mouth of Great River is broad, but entirely exposed to the north-east ”