: ! 
 
 m 
 
 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 

 GIGANTIC RUINS AT TITICACA. 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA; 
 
 OR, 
 
 Cljr Hanti of tUr pampas;. 
 
 MAE.Y HIELD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF “LIVING PAGES FROM MANY AGES,” ETC. 
 
 Cassell, Fetter, Galpin & Co, 
 
 LONDON ; PARIS $• NEW YORK. 
 
 [all RIGHTS RESERVED.] 
 
 1882. 
 
THE WORLD IN PICTURES. 
 
 A Series of Volumes Uniform with this l Vorh, 
 Price 2 s . 6 d . each . 
 
 The Eastern Wonderland (Japan). 
 Peeps into China. 
 
 Glimpses of South America. 
 
 Round Africa. 
 
 The Land of Temples (India). 
 
 The Isles of the Pacific. 
 
 ALL ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT. 
 
 Cassell , Pcttcr , Galpin & Co ., Ludgate Hill , Loudon 
 
CHAP. 
 
 I. Discovery of America . * 
 
 II. Peru .... 
 
 III. More about Peru 
 
 IV. The Capital of Peru 
 
 V. Chili and the Silver Mines . 
 YI. Bolivia and the Slave Traee 
 VII. Bolivia ( continued ) 
 
 VIII. Brazil and its Forests 
 
 IX. More about Brazil 
 
 X. South American Indians . 
 
 XI. Wild Animals in Brazil 
 XII. Guiana 
 
 XIII. Venezuela 
 
 XIV. From Colombia to Uruguay 
 XV. La Plata and Patagonia 
 
 XVI. Conclusion . 
 
 PACE 
 
 . 9 
 
 20 
 . 34 
 42 
 . 50 
 61 
 . 74 
 89 
 . 107 
 120 
 . 128 
 . 140 
 
 . 165 
 175 
 . 194 
 . 219 
 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 — ♦ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 
 
 
 _ OST o^irls and bo vs have heard of 
 Christopher Columbus, the great 
 navigator, who in the year 1492 
 set sail with three small vessels, 
 and not more than 120 men, on 
 his great voyage of discovery. 
 
 We know very little indeed 
 about his early life. His father, it appears, 
 was a wool-comber, who lived at Genoa, in 
 Italy; so that of this much we are sure, 
 Christopher was not the son of a rich man, 
 
 but lived in a humble home with his father 
 and mother, and perhaps many times had to sit down, 
 with his brothers and sisters, to a barely furnished 
 dinner-table. 
 
10 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Still, in spite of their poverty, the good people con- 
 trived to send their son to a school, where the little 
 fellow made the best use of his time, and the lessons he 
 enjoyed more than any others were those in astronomy 
 and geography. Under blue Italian skies, among lovely 
 scented flowers, some boys might have wished for nothing 
 better than to linger on there all their lives. 
 
 Not so with our hero. The little knowledge he 
 had gained made him thirst for more. He studied his 
 maps, and thought how much he should like to see for 
 himself some of the different countries traced on them, 
 and before very long he had persuaded his father to let 
 him go to sea. 
 
 After one of his voyages down the Mediterranean, 
 when his boyhood had passed, he settled for a short 
 time at Lisbon, and there married an Italian girl, 
 who, like himself, for some reason or other had left her 
 native land. After this, by way of earning money, 
 Columbus spent his time in making maps and charts, 
 and while thus occupied the longing he had always had 
 to visit unknown lands became stronger than ever. 
 
 Mustering up all his courage, he went to the King of 
 Portugal and asked for his help in the shape of money and 
 ships to go out on a voyage of discovery ; but instead of 
 the king helping him, as he might well have done, he 
 not only refused to do so, but also privately sent out a 
 vessel to examine the route that Columbus had said Re 
 meant to take. 
 
 In a very short time this same vessel returned, the 
 sailors declaring they were only too thankful to be at 
 home again after being exposed to so much danger, and 
 that the Italian stranger was mad to imagine that he 
 could go further than other ships had gone before. 
 
fHE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. H 
 
 Disappointed and grieved, poor Columbus turned his 
 steps to his native land, taking with him his little son 
 
 Diego, whose mother had died. But even there he met 
 with no encouragement ; his friends were all busy with 
 
12 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 their own affairs. It seemed as if they listened with 
 only one ear to what Columbus had to say about his 
 search for unknown regions, and much less were they 
 inclined to give him any of their money to help him in 
 his wild scheme. 
 
 Still keeping a brave heart — for Columbus was not 
 going to be turned from his purpose just because he 
 could not get what he wanted all at once — he left Italy, 
 and found his way to Spain. 
 
 One day, while wandering about there with his 
 motherless boy, 'both of them weary and hungry, he 
 stopped at a convent to beg a mouthful of bread. A 
 kind-hearted priest happening to pass at the time, looked 
 at the thin white face of the hungry boy, and then at 
 the intelligent but sad face of the father. Kindly the 
 good man fed the wanderers, and as they ate the food 
 he gave them, Columbus told him what he wished to do. 
 
 “ This is a clever man,” thought the priest, “ and I 
 will do all I can to help him; ” and so he did, for he went 
 straight to the king and queen, and told them what he 
 himself had heard, and asked them to help the foreign 
 sailor. The king promised to do so ; but for all that, 
 Columbus had to wait seven more years before he really 
 set out. It was on the 3rd of August, 1492, that he 
 started from the South of Spain, and there on the wide 
 ocean the brave man forgot all the troubles he had gone 
 through in his delight at having at last gained the 
 object of his desire. What difficulties he had to contend 
 with, however, we shall never know. For one thing, his 
 men grumbled and found fault with him for exposing 
 them to so much danger; indeed, if he had listened to 
 their entreaties, he would never have reached America, 
 but would have turned back about midway. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 
 
 13 
 
 Instead of that, Columbus went on as steadily as he 
 could, considering* he had to contend with the trade- 
 winds — which, as sailors now know well, are sometimes 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 
 
 so unmerciful to vessels in the broad Atlantic — until at 
 last he sighted land. 
 
 The piece of land he saw was one of those islands 
 lying* between North and South America, one of* the 
 Bahama islands; and as soon as he stepped on the 
 shore he called the island San Salvador. It was 
 not long* before he discovered Cuba and Hayti, and 
 others of the West Indies, and then he embarked 
 again for Spain, to convey the joyful tidings to the 
 
C0LUAIBU3 RECEIVED BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 
 
 15 
 
 king*. On arriving, he was received with every mark 
 of respect by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and 
 treated like a hero ; besides which, after six months, he 
 was sent out again with seventeen ships instead of only 
 three, and with 1,500 men, this time discovering more 
 of the islands. 
 
 Columbus made four voyages in all. It was during 
 the third of these that he landed on the shore of South 
 America at a place called Paria. 
 
 By some means or other after this third voyage evil 
 reports had' reached the ears of the king, who gave 
 orders that the brave sailor should be brought home in 
 chains. 
 
 Cruel as it appears to us now, that such an indignity 
 should be shown to so brave and true a man as Colum- 
 bus, we should be still more sorry if he had deserved 
 the treatment ; but fortunately he was innocent, for his 
 brave heroic spirit helped him not only to face the winds 
 and storms of the ocean, but also to resist evil. 
 
 He tried in vain to convince Ferdinand of his in- 
 nocence, but being unable to do so, he comforted himself 
 by thinking that after all some of his friends still clung 
 to him; and, instead of giving way to despair, he set out 
 with a clear conscience on a fourth expedition. This time 
 he meant to find what he felt sure existed, namely, a 
 passage connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, 
 but as we all know there is no such passage, it is not 
 very astonishing that he did not succeed in discover- 
 ing it. 
 
 By this time he was getting old, and instead of the 
 sailors who went with him doing all they could to help 
 him, they spent their time in searching for gold to 
 enrich themselves; so poor Columbus turned his face 
 
10 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 back again. When he reached Spain, Queen Isabella 
 was dead, and King Ferdinand, who ought to have 
 paid great honour to the old navigator, treated him very 
 coldly; indeed, he took so little notice of him, that at 
 last the brave man, who had spent most of his life in 
 facing the many hardships of a sailor for the benefit 
 of future generations, was left to die in poverty. 
 
 Columbus might, if he had wished to do so, have 
 gathered together for himself gold and riches, but he did 
 not care for a life of ease. Fine clothes, fine houses, 
 luxury and idleness, had no attraction for him. He had 
 resolved to discover this new far-off land, which was so 
 much talked about just at that time, and he could not 
 rest until he had done so. 
 
 Like Moses of old, he had little more than a peep 
 into the land of promise, for he only went as far as the 
 borders of the mighty continent; other people who lived 
 after him have availed themselves of its wealth and 
 have admired its beauty, and even the name by which it 
 is known was given to it in honour of one who made its 
 acquaintance later than Columbus. It seems that when 
 people on all sides were talking about Columbus and his 
 wonderful travels, many young men and boys felt their 
 blood tingle with a longing to set out on a similar 
 errand, and among the rest was a young Italian called 
 Amerigo Vespucci. 
 
 He therefore set off too, and as he was very clever 
 and brave, he also discovered many places that before 
 had been unknown, and somehow or other the new 
 world was named after him. Considering that Colum- 
 bus was first in the field, it seems rather hard that a 
 later discoverer's name should be immortalised, and that 
 the name of the real discoverer should be completely 
 
TIIE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 
 
 17 
 
 ignored. Still, as with all of us living now the name 
 of Christopher Columbus will always be linked in our 
 memory with the discovery of America, it is not very 
 
 COLUMBUS PLACED UNDER ARREST. 
 
 likely that, as the years pass on (even when America is 
 no longer regarded as'a new world), he will evei be foi- 
 gotten . 
 
 B 
 
IS 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 In the city of Lima, which is the capital of Peru, a 
 beautiful monument of Columbus now stands. It is a 
 marble group, in which America is represented as a 
 crouching Indian girl, receiving a cross, the type of 
 Christianity, from the great discoverer, who is dressed 
 in a loose robe. While with one hand she takes the 
 cross, with the other she drops an arrow, the symbol of 
 savage life, at her feet. 
 
 There is no doubt that other Europeans had visited 
 America even before the time of Columbus, but its 
 history — as far as our connection with it is concerned — 
 may safely date from the day that he set foot in the 
 land. 
 
 After his death, adventurers from all parts, hearing 
 of the wealth that lay waiting only to be picked up in 
 this new country, sailed away with the idea of securing 
 as large a share of it as possible before it was too late. 
 
 Some of these wanderers were very successful, and 
 went home again laden with gold, the sight of which 
 filled many a heart with envy. Others settled down 
 and made homes for themselves in the strange land, 
 among the red men, who were the real inhabitants, 
 and thus a great change has come over America within 
 the last two or three hundred years. 
 
 It is not now the abode of red men only, but of 
 people from all parts of the earth, and therefore it is 
 that we have gained a great deal of information respect- 
 ing it. 
 
 What we now propose to do is to take a peep, or 
 rather as <rood a look as we can, at the south of the 
 country to which Columbus introduced us more than 
 three hundred years ago. The whole of the continent 
 of America is so large that on the map our British 
 
TIIE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 
 
 19 
 
 islands looks quite small and unimportant. If, there- 
 fore, we succeed in gaining a little information about 
 the southern half of this huge continent, we need not 
 altogether be dissatisfied. We shall no doubt be anxious 
 then to learn something about the northern portion. 
 
 Even the children living now know more about it 
 than Columbus did, because so many people have, since 
 his time, been to see it ; and although it has not proved to 
 be a perfect paradise, as some people fancied it would, 
 it is very full of interest. 
 
 TIIE THREE SHIPS OF COLUMBUS. 
 
America should 
 \AV" have been called 
 the New World is 
 rather strange, because the 
 travellers who have visited 
 it tell us that it must be 
 really a very old world ; for 
 this reason, that a great 
 many old temples and fig- 
 ures, and buildings of all 
 kinds, have been dug up 
 from beneath the earth's 
 surface. 
 
 As it is utterly impossible that such things should 
 have come there by chance, they prove to us that people 
 must have existed hundreds — and perhaps thousands — 
 of years ago, who were clever enough to make 
 them. It is not likely we shall ever know who these 
 people were, for they have left no written record of 
 themselves, excepting the characters or hieroglyphics, 
 as they are called, which are cut out on some of the 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PERU. 
 
PERU. 
 
 ‘21 
 
 huge stone blocks that have been dug up ; and these 
 characters, which no doubt mean a very great deal, are 
 not intelligible to us. 
 
 All that we can do, therefore, is to look at the 
 country as it is now, and to trace its history in the past 
 as far back as ever we can. Perhaps the most simple 
 way of doing this will be to examine its different 
 divisions or countries one after another. There will, no 
 doubt, be a little that is interesting to remember about 
 each one — what the inhabitants are like, what are 
 their occupations, how they are governed, what trees 
 and flowers grow, what animals roam about, and many 
 other things. 
 
 On looking at our map we find that South America 
 is almost a triangle, and that it is divided into the fol- 
 lowing states. First of all there is the empire of Brazil, 
 which constitutes nearly half the continent, then there 
 are the republics of Colombia (or New Granada), Vene- 
 zuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chili, the Argentine 
 Republic, Paraguay and Uruguay; besides which is the 
 province of Guyana, belonging to England, Holland, 
 and France, and in addition still is Patagonia, a country 
 that is so thoroughly an independent Indian territory 
 that it is not usually included among the other states. 
 
 Of all the divisions we have mentioned, there is 
 perhaps not one more interesting than Peru; so, al- 
 though it is not nearly equal in size to Brazil, we will 
 do it the honour of paying to it the first of our 
 imaginary visits. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, the more we learn about it 
 the more we are convinced that a great deal of its 
 history we can never know, because the first inhabitants 
 have been dead for many ages, and as we said before, 
 
A STORM IN THE ANDES. 
 
PERU. 
 
 23 
 
 have not written any books or left any definite record to 
 tell us who they were, where they came from, and many 
 other particulars, respecting* which we should like to be 
 enlightened. 
 
 Down the w ? est coast of it are the lofty Andes, which 
 arc capped with snow at the summit; while below in 
 some parts are lovely shrubs and flowers, and birds 
 warbling their sweet notes among the thick waving 
 branches. 
 
 Grand as these mountains are, travellers who venture 
 to ascend their steep and rocky sides run great risk of 
 being thrown down a deep precipice, or dashed into some 
 deep dark chasm. 
 
 The Indian natives get accustomed to the narrow 
 winding zigzag paths, and are almost as surefooted as 
 the mules under their charge ; but to every one else the 
 task is much more difficult, especially if, in the midst of 
 the ascent, a hailstorm should overtake the traveller. 
 We who have never crossed the Andes, can form no idea 
 of the violence of one of these storms. 
 
 The hailstones are something tremendous, coming 
 down with such force as to stun not only the riders but 
 also the patient mules; all that the poor traveller can do 
 is to turn his back to the wind, and shield himself from 
 danger by hiding his neck and ears in the folds of his 
 cloak. 
 
 The Cordilleras are the high mountains that divide 
 Peru and Chili from the rest of South America, and very 
 dangerous it is for travellers to attempt to cross them, 
 on account of the tremendous snowstorms, which come 
 on quite suddenly. 
 
 On account of these snowstorms, houses of refuge are 
 built among the mountains, with thick brick walls, and 
 
 O J 
 
A TRAVELLER'S SHELTER IN TIIE ANDES. 
 
PERU. 
 
 25 
 
 with nothing* but loopholes for the windows ; and even 
 then, within these snug houses, travellers have frequently 
 been frozen to death. 
 
 Once ten poor travellers were overtaken in one of 
 these dreadful storms, ahd finding it useless to attempt 
 proceeding further on their journey, they managed to 
 squeeze themselves into one of the houses of refuge, 
 which they saw standing empty. 
 
 How long they had been obliged to remain there no 
 one ever knew, for when they were found, six of them 
 were quite dead, and the other four were nearly so ; 
 they could not speak. Having no food, they had killed 
 their mules and eaten them, and also their one faithful 
 dog; the door they had pulled from its hinges, and 
 broken into pieces to burn for firewood. All this told 
 a sad silent tale of what the poor creatures had had 
 to endure. 
 
 In the minds of most of us, the names of Peru and 
 Pizarro are linked together, because it was a young 
 Spaniard of the name of Pizarro who, soon after the 
 death of Columbus, conquered the country and took 
 possession of it. 
 
 Different adventurers kept returning from the newly 
 discovered world, with wonderful tales of the quantities 
 of gold and silver that were to be found. So Pizarro, 
 who, as a little boy, had spent a great deal of his time 
 doing nothing better than minding pigs, determined to 
 change his occupation, and see for himself this fairy 
 land, which was being so much talked about. On 
 landing on the foreign shore, he managed to gain favour 
 with the natives, who gave him presents of gold and silver 
 ornaments, and silk and woollen cloths of their own 
 manufacture, and some animals called alpacas. 
 
• 2(5 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 These he took back to the Spanish king, as proof of 
 what he had seen ; and as a reward, the king made him 
 governor of Peru, and secured to him the right of the 
 discovery of the place. 
 
 Pizarro joyfully returned to the land of gold. The 
 people he found living there were called Incas, who were 
 very clever, and, as Pizarro soon found out, were much 
 wiser in many ways than he was himself ; but how long 
 they had been there, they could not tell him. This much 
 he ascertained, however — that they were by no means 
 the first inhabitants of the place ; long before their time, 
 a race of people had dwelt on the ground where they 
 then stood, who must have been quite as advanced in 
 civilisation, or even more so, than they were themselves. 
 This fact has been confirmed in later years by other 
 visitors to Peru, w r ho have dug out ruins of buildings 
 and idols, that had no doubt been swallowed up at some 
 time by earthquakes. 
 
 Not very long ago, a number of idols were dug up, 
 some of which were thirty feet long. What they 
 proved, of course as they were taken out of the darkness, 
 was, that at some period in that region, idolatry had 
 prevailed. Besides which, they are specimens of what 
 the people could do in the way of architecture. Indeed, all 
 the old remains that were found told some tale or other. 
 Buried prisons, for instance, told us that crimes had been 
 punished by confinement, and cooking utensils explained 
 to us how the food of the people used to be prepared. 
 
 According to tradition, we are told that Manco, the 
 first Inca, and his wife Mama Oello, first made their 
 appearance on the borders of the lake Titicaca. They 
 said the sun was their father, and that he had sent them 
 down to their fellow creatures to be their teachers. 
 
PEfttJ. 
 
 27 
 
 Manco bad in his hand a golden wand, which he said 
 would at some particular spot disappear, when he struck 
 the ground with it. 
 
 One day, as he and his wife were travelling, they 
 came to the plain of Cuzco, when all at once Manco 
 struck his golden wand. It immediately disappeared, 
 so at Cuzco he built his capital, and afterwards was built 
 
 SCENE IN A PERUVIAN FOREST. 
 
 there the magnificent Temple of the Sun, called Cori- 
 cancha, or Place of Gold. 
 
 From all we have heard, this temple must have been 
 most gorgeous ; almost as splendid as the sun himself, 
 of which it was the representation. 
 
 On the western wall was fixed an immense human 
 face, made of gold, from which golden rays darted in 
 
GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 28 
 
 every direction. In other parts of the building were 
 golden images, plates, and figures of all descriptions. 
 So that when the real sun himself shed his glorious 
 beams into the edifice, the place was one mass of light 
 and splendour. 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN. 
 
 Underneath the great face of gold were a number of 
 golden chairs in which were seated the embalmed bodies 
 of the old Inca rulers. 
 
 In the court outside, smaller temples were built, one 
 to the Moon, one to Venus, one to the Pleiades, one to 
 
ERU 
 
 29 
 
 the Thunder and Lightning, and one to the Rainbow, 
 all of which were richly decorated with gold and silver. 
 At the present time a church and a convent stand on the 
 place once occupied by the Temple of the Sun. 
 
 According to the legend, Maneo, after losing his 
 
 ENTRANCE TO PIZARRO’S HOUSE AT CUZCO. 
 
 golden wand, became ruler and priest in the land * he 
 made laws, taught the men how to dig, sow, and build, 
 while at the same time Mama his wife taught the 
 women to weave and spin. After thus spending their 
 lives for forty years, they returned to the Sun their 
 father, and were seen no more. 
 
30 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 A great many Incas ruled after Manco, and very 
 good industrious lives the people seem to have led. At 
 that time Cuzco was their chief city. From it roads led 
 to all other parts of the kingdom, and as there were no 
 
 INDIAN OF CUZCO. 
 
 steam engines then, or telegraph wires, or telephones, as 
 there are in our days, these clever people had to invent 
 other means of carrying on communication with each 
 other. 
 
INDIANS OF CUZCO. 
 
32 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Why the Spaniards should wish to go and disturb a 
 set of people who knew so well how to manage their own 
 affairs is certainly a matter of surprise. 
 
 Along all the most important roads, especially that 
 
 AN INCA EMPEROR. 
 
 leading from Cuzco, small buildings were erected about 
 five miles apart from each other. Their use may be thus 
 explained : — When the government officers had messages 
 to send to different towns, runners were employed for the 
 purpose. The first runner would scamper off for five miles 
 with the message to the first station, where he delivered it 
 up to a second runner, who carried it to the next station, 
 and so on until the whole distance was accomplished ; and 
 even though the course was often hilly and rugged, it was 
 astonishing how swiftly these men covered the ground. 
 
PERU. 
 
 33 
 
 As a proof of this it is said that fresh fish that had 
 been caught one day on the coast used to be eaten the 
 next day three hundred miles away, and that it was 
 conveyed all this distance by the runners. 
 
 The Inca, who was both king and priest in one, was 
 held in great reverence by his subjects, and no wonder, 
 when both he and they quite believed that, like Manco 
 of old, lie had originally proceeded from their god the 
 Sun. Even his most familiar courtiers were only al- 
 lowed to enter his presence barefoot, and even then they 
 always carried with them some burden as a token of the 
 homage they wished to offer to their ruler. 
 
 The share of land owned by the Inca was carefully 
 cultivated by his people. They would as soon have 
 thought of neglecting to- till their own laud as of leaving 
 his portion uncared for. Just the same it was with their 
 manufactures. They first made articles for themselves, 
 then they worked for the Inca; in fact, they seem to 
 have been just like one great family. Instead of each 
 person striving to make only himself rich and happy 
 and comfortable, the aim of every individual was to 
 work for the benefit of others. 
 
 Some great man has said that the difference that 
 exists between “ seeing that no one cheats you,” “ and 
 seeing that you cheat no one,” is as great as the differ- 
 ence between riding in a market cart and riding in a 
 chariot. If so, these old Incas"were as happy as if they 
 rode in chariots all day long, for they were all busy in 
 looking after and helping each other; and somehow, while 
 doing this, their own affairs never suffered from neglect. 
 
 
 C 
 
 ) 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MORE ABOUT PERU. 
 
 J&TK E N Pizarro 
 ' D landed at Peru 
 with his few 
 followers, this happy state 
 of things had been going 
 on for 
 
 many years, 
 
 al- 
 
 though just at that very 
 time a quarrel had arisen 
 between two brothers as 
 to which of them had the 
 greatest claim to succeed 
 to the throne in the place 
 
 of the late Inca their father. 
 
 Pizarro, who was a daring bold man, killed Atahu- 
 alpa, one of the brothers, who was just about to lay claim 
 to the throne after having subdued his rival brother, 
 and then marched with his men into Cuzco, at that time 
 the capital of Peru. 
 
 What had first induced Pizarro to cross the seas at 
 all was the prospect of the vast wealth he expected to 
 secure for himself, so as soon as he found he was master 
 
 
MORE ABOUT PERU. 
 
 o.j 
 
 of Cuzco, be looked about for wlmt lie could pick up in 
 the way of gold aud silver. 
 
 It is said that one soldier alone took for his share 
 the golden image of the Sun from the temple, and all 
 
 PIZARRO. 
 
 the others took as much as they could carry. Pizarro, 
 at last satisfied with his treasures, marched west to the 
 banks of the River Rimac, and there built for him- 
 self what he called “ The City of the Kings. ” The 
 
 C 2 
 
CROSSING A BltlDGE IN TEETJ. 
 
MORE ABOUT PERU. 
 
 87 
 
 name was soon afterwards changed to Lima, and it is 
 now the capital of Peru. 
 
 Among the soldiers who assisted Pizarro in his con- 
 quest of this province was one called Almagro, who was 
 as eager for wealth as Pizarro himself, and who certainly 
 succeeded in gaining a considerable amount of treasure. 
 
 Once, when Pizarro had gone to Spain to take a quan- 
 tity of valuable presents to his friends, Almagro attempted 
 to make himself master of Lima. 
 
 Pizarro was so enraged that, on his return he ordered 
 him to be put to death, but in revenge the son of 
 Almagro assassinated Pizarro, and thus ended the life 
 of the conqueror of Peru. 
 
 From this period the old Incas began to sink into 
 obscurity, Peru gradually became the property of their 
 conquerors the Spaniards, and for many years the country 
 was the scene of war and bloodshed. 
 
 The original natives rebelled against these Spanish 
 invaders, as well they might ; but they resisted in vain, 
 for the Spaniards were not only skilful -warriors but 
 were well supplied with powerful weapons, so that in 
 course of time the whole of Peru belonged to Spain. 
 
 Cruel hard masters these Spaniards proved themselves 
 to be, until at last, at a great battle that was fought 
 in 1824, at Ayacucho, the Peruvians conquered their 
 enemies, and now they are free from the Spanish yoke. 
 
 How famous Peru has always been for her gold and 
 silver mines, even children have long known, who in one 
 of their hymns have sung : — 
 
 “ I would not change my native land 
 For rich Peru, with all her gold; 
 
 A nobler prize lies in my hand 
 
 Than East or Western Indies hold.” 
 
38 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 That she should become less rich in gold and silver 
 we none of us desire, but that all who dwell on her soil 
 should not prefer wealth that can be handled and spent 
 to higher and more enduring treasures, is the earnest 
 wish of every one of us. 
 
 One town in Peru, called Pachacamac, was in ancient 
 times a sacred city : a beautiful temple stood there, which 
 pilgrims from distant parts used to visit, and in doing so 
 
 ANCIENT PERUVIAN IDOLS. 
 
 were allowed to pass unmolested by the different tribes 
 on the way. 
 
 The place was a very busy scene in those days; there 
 were a great many inhabitants ; and a number of little 
 inns, called tambos, were erected for the accommodation 
 of the pilgrims. 
 
 Pachacamac,one modern traveller tells us, is a wonder- 
 ful place. By the side of the temple, and situated on a 
 hill, is a well built house, with fine enclosures or walls, 
 which the Indians say is the house of the Sun. There 
 
MORE ABOUT PERU. 
 
 39 
 
 are also in the town many other large houses, with ter- 
 races like those in Spain. 
 
 It must he a very old place, for there are numerous 
 fallen edifices. It has been surrounded by a wall, 
 although now most of it has fallen. It has large gates 
 for entering, and also streets. Its principal chief is 
 called Taurichumbi, and there are many other chiefs, 
 though instead of being now the grand city it was 
 formerly, it is, we are told, one mass of ruins, for it 
 was one of the places taken and destroyed by the 
 Spaniards at the time of their invasion. 
 
 It is, indeed, little more than a village, the houses 
 of which are built of canes and rushes, and the most 
 important object to be seen among the ruins is a large 
 cemetery containing numberless graves, resting places, 
 no doubt, of hundreds of the old Incas. 
 
 We can imagine how much wealth those old Indians 
 gave to their temple when we are told that when it was 
 being destroyed one of Pizarro's pilots asked if for his 
 share of the prize he might have the nails and tacks 
 which bore the sacred name on the walls of the temple, 
 and on the request being granted to him he gathered 
 together and took away thirty- two thousand ounces of 
 treasure. 
 
 It is very little we should know about this strange 
 place that is now in ruins, if it were not for all the 
 graves it contains ; and though dead men cannot speak, 
 these graves tell us in silent language a great deal about 
 the past. 
 
 The old inhabitants, it seems, never attained to a 
 written lauguage, but fortunately they were accustomed 
 to bury with their dead the things they most cared for 
 when living, and from these we find out some of their 
 
40 
 
 GLIMPSES OE SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 habits, and what their religious notions and beliefs 
 were. 
 
 One grave, for instance, was found of a man, his wife, 
 and three children. 
 
 The man had evidently been a fisherman, for round 
 his neck was hung a net made of the twisted fibre of a 
 plant, and wrapped in a cloth between his feet were some 
 fishing lines of different sizes, and some copper hooks. 
 Under each arm was a roll of white alpaca wool, and in 
 his mouth a small thin copper coin, meant, very likely, 
 to pay his way across the river of death. It was the 
 custom of the ancient Greeks to adopt the same plan of 
 putting a coin into the mouths of their dead friends. 
 
 The body of the wife was wrapped in a sheet of fine 
 cotton cloth, on which were woven figures of the sacred 
 monkey. In one hand she held a comb made of fishes' 
 fins stuck into a slip of hard palm-tree wood. In her 
 other hand was part of a fan with a cane handle, and 
 to which were still attached the faded feathers of parrots 
 and humming-birds. Around her neck was a necklace 
 of shells that almost fell to pieces when exposed to the 
 air and light. 
 
 Resting between the body and bent-up knees (for in 
 that position most of the dead people wePe buried) were 
 several domestic articles, among them an ancient spindle 
 for spinning cotton, half covered with spun thread. The 
 Indian women of the present time use the same kind of 
 spindle. By her side was a prettily made bag, of coloured 
 cotton cloth, containing first of all some Lima beans ; a 
 few pods of cotton; some fragments of a silver orna- 
 ment ; two little silver rings that most likely had been 
 coins ; and a number of small valuable beads. 
 
 In the box containing the body of the little girl 
 
MORE ABOUT PERU. 
 
 41 
 
 were some pieces of knitting that the child had done ; 
 in some places the stitches were dropped, just as though 
 the little learner had been taking her first lessons. 
 
 Then there were braids of thread of various thickness, 
 that had evidently been kept to show how the little girl 
 had improved in her weaving and winding as she grew 
 older. There were also skeins of thread, strips of coloured 
 cloth, knitted and woven pouches of all sizes, needles of 
 bone and of bronze, a comb, a bronze knife, and a little 
 fan. In addition to all these things, there was a little 
 piece of polished iron that had no doubt served as a 
 looking-glass, a netting needle of very hard wood, and 
 a crushed gold butterfiy that the little girl had most 
 likely treasured very much. 
 
 On her arm hung a thin silver bracelet, and at hei 
 feet lay the dried body of a parrot, that had once been 
 the child's pet, no doubt. The burial of all these articles 
 with the dead bodies proved that the inhabitants of 
 Pachacamac believed in a future state, and thought that 
 the buried things would be useful to the possessors of 
 them in another world. 
 
 The little boy had a sling tied tightly round his fore- 
 head, and then, what seems still more strange, a quantity 
 of pans and pots were lying in the vault, the people who 
 put them there evidently thinking that even after death 
 their friends would require food. 
 
 If only life would but return to some of these dead 
 people for a time, how much they could tell us that we 
 should like to know; but of course their voices are for 
 ever mute, and no sound will ever again reach their ears. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CAPITAL OF PERU. 
 
 ©>- have just heard, 
 fi/pL the town chosen by 
 the great Spaniard 
 Pizarro to be the capital of 
 his newly-found empire was 
 Lima. The ancient capital 
 was Cuzco ; hut Pizarro, 
 wishing to found quite a 
 new kingdom, to take the 
 place of that of the old 
 Incas, said that Lima, or, 
 as its name signifies, the 
 City of the Kings, should henceforth be the capital 
 of his conquered dominions. 
 
 That he should have fixed upon so unhealthy a 
 spot is to be deplored. It is said that when the last 
 of the Incas heard where Pizarro had decided to found 
 his Spanish city, he was greatly rejoiced, exclaiming 
 that soon very few of the residents would remain 
 alive ; and it is also said that, long before the arrival 
 of the Spaniards, Lima was a spot fixed upon for the 
 banishment of criminals, who, owing to the miserable 
 climate, very soon died. 
 
VIEW OF LIMA, FROM THE RIVER RIMAC. 
 
44 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 During what is called the winter season, the fog 
 and damp are so prevalent that for many days and weeks 
 the sun is invisible, and although it may be true that 
 it “ never rains in Lima/’ the mist is often so dense 
 that travellers need to carry umbrellas to protect them- 
 selves from it. 
 
 Not far from this old city are the ruins of a temple 
 which must have been almost as gorgeous as that at 
 Pachacamac. 
 
 Within it stood an idol, which, so it was said, 
 really spoke ; therefore it was called liimac, a word 
 meaning a a thing that talks,” and it is really from this 
 idol that the city takes its name, the letter R, being 
 changed into L. The priests, of course, knew well 
 enough that the idol did not really speak, although 
 they tried to deceive the people by saying that it did so. 
 The fact was that one of the priests used to conceal 
 himself in the hollow image; consequently it was very 
 easy to deceive the poor people. 
 
 Twelve or fourteen miles from Lima are the remains 
 of another large city called Cajamarquilla, the history 
 of which no one knows, but which consists of groups 
 of buildings with streets passing between them, and 
 where men, and women, and children long ago were 
 as busy carrying on their daily work as any of us now 
 are. The apartments in some of the buildings are con- 
 nected by narrow, dark passages, and there are curiously- 
 shaped holes dug far down in the hard ground, meant 
 possibly to serve as store-rooms for food. 
 
 The place may have been destroyed at some time by 
 an earthquake, for Lima has been called the City of 
 Earthquakes. Five or six times it has been almost de- 
 stroyed by them, and very often, even now, the people. 
 
THE CAPITAL OP PERU. 
 
 45 
 
 as they lie in bed at night, are awakened by a rumbling 
 noise underground, which makes them rather fearful that 
 one of the dreaded visitors is at hand. 
 
 They are so frightened sometimes that even at mid- 
 night the people rush out of their houses calling 
 “ Mercy ! ” and the priests invite them to assemble 
 for prayers, by causing the bells to toll. 
 
 It is not improbable, therefore, that the poor crea- 
 tures who lived in Cajamarcjuilla had to suffer one of 
 these dreadful shocks ; but as they have left no record 
 of themselves in any way, we can only guess what their 
 real fate has been. 
 
 After all the changes it has undergone, Lima still is 
 a rich, gay city, containing within its walls the bones of 
 its great founder Pizarro. As a proof of its wealth, 
 one of its viceroys once rode through the streets, over 
 a pavement of solid ingots of silver, on a horse whose 
 mane was strung with pearls, and whose shoes were 
 of gold — so much do the inhabitants think of wealth 
 and show. Owing to the absence of rain in the region 
 where Lima stands, and to the fact that an earthquake 
 may be expected at any time, most of the houses are 
 built of very light materials, because a strong building 
 of brick or stone would be no protection during an 
 earthquake. 
 
 Many of them are little more than large cages of 
 canes plastered over with mud, and then made to imi- 
 tate stone. The roofs are llat, because the absence of 
 rain renders a sloping roof unnecessary; and even churches 
 and large buildings that look strong and massive have 
 really no foundation stronger than a number of poles 
 and canes tied together. 
 
 Under a brisk shower, such as wc often experience 
 
1G 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 on a summer afternoon, the whole city would melt 
 away, leaving only a mass of broken canes in a great 
 mud puddle. 
 
 Famous as Peru has always been for gold, and 
 silver, and diamonds, it has now another source of wealth 
 of which some of us have not often heard. 
 
 DIGGING THE GUANO. 
 
 This additional wealth is what- is called guano — a 
 kind of manure, made by hundreds and thousands of 
 sea-birds. As we have heard, on the coast of Peru 
 there is scarcely any rain, so that instead of all the 
 matter left by sea-birds being washed away, it remains 
 on the spot where it has been dropped; and there, as 
 
THE CAPITAL OF PERU, 
 
 47 
 
 LOADING THE WAGGON. 
 
 reason it is sought for by farmers and agriculturists in 
 all parts of the world. The old Incas, it seems, knew 
 its value, for the very best guano has long come from 
 the Chincha Islands, about twelve miles from the coast 
 of Peru, and it is said that in olden times the birds of 
 those islands were protected with such care that it was 
 
 it lies year after year, it gets mixed up with eggs of 
 birds, dead birds, pieces of fish, and other things. 
 
 Hundreds of natives are employed collecting this 
 substance, which, when mixed with common soil, helps 
 to make seed grow and plants thrive ; and for this 
 
48 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 not lawful to land on the islands on pain of death, 
 lest the birds should be frightened or driven from the 
 coast; neither was it lawful to kill them at any time, 
 either on the islands or elsewhere, also on pain of 
 death. 
 
 Each island was, by order of the Incas, set apart 
 for a particular province, and the guano was fairly di- 
 vided, each village receiving a due portion. 
 
 At one time, all the guano sent to England was 
 obtained from Peru, but now it is sent to us from other 
 countries. At that time the people who sought for it 
 were convicts, who had been sent out of their own coun- 
 try for having committed some crime. 
 
 The guano, often fifty or sixty feet thick, was 
 shovelled out by these poor creatures, who then lifted if 
 into an immense iron trough. 
 
 This trough was then emptied into a car, which, 
 when full, was drawn along a tramway to the edge of 
 the cliff, and there emptied, ready to be put into some 
 vessel that was loading. 
 
 While the guano is being dug and loaded, a kind of 
 salty dust flies from it, which is so strong that even 
 the powerful negroes are obliged to put iron masks 
 over their black faces, or they would be nearly suffo- 
 cated ; and the overseers, who superintend the work- 
 men, live in houses made of iron. The poor labourers 
 have to be satisfied with their little huts made of cane. 
 
 Strange to say, the guano districts, whence manure 
 is sent to all parts of the world, are so destitute of 
 moisture that scarcely any vegetation will thrive on their 
 soil. 
 
DISCHARGING A GUANO WAGGON. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 CHILI AND THE SILVER MINES. 
 
 II I LI is a long, nar- 
 row province, lying 
 to the south of Peru, 
 bounded on one side by 
 lofty mountains, and on 
 the other by the broad 
 Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Its name, which means 
 snow, is supposed to have been taken from the old 
 Peruvian language ; and certainly, to see some of the 
 lofty summits of the Andes, crowned as they are with 
 snow, the name appears to have been wisely chosen. 
 
 Who the first inhabitants were no one is able to 
 tell us ; like Peru, also, it has at different times been 
 often invaded by Spanish soldiers, and after Pizarro 
 had conquered Peru, his companion, Almagro, travelled 
 southwards, and took possession of Chili. 
 
 The chief town is Santiago, a beautiful city with 
 a broad road running through it from cast to west. 
 
D 2 
 
 VIEW OF SANTIAGO, 
 
52 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 and in which stand many handsome houses and build- 
 ings of all kinds. 
 
 Both in Chili and in Peru the people have many 
 times been visited by earthquakes that have swallowed 
 up a number of them alive, with their houses and cattle, 
 but not very long ago, in the year 1863, a misfortune 
 quite as sad as an earthquake came upon the inhabi- 
 tants of Santiago. A very important festival was 
 being held at the cathedral, which was decorated mag- 
 nificently for the occasion, and was filled with people 
 who had assembled within the walls to worship. By 
 some means or other, part of the gay ornaments took 
 fire, when, at the sight of the flames, the frightened 
 people rushed to the different entrances, crushing and 
 mangling each other by trying to make their exit. 
 The number who perished at the time is said to have 
 been between two and three thousand, chiefly women. 
 The poor creatures were either burnt to death, suffocated 
 by smoke, or killed by the falling stones and rafters. 
 On the spot, in place of the cathedral, now stands a 
 monument in memory of the awful event. 
 
 Before the Spaniards made their appearance at all 
 in the country, the old Incas from Peru had crossed 
 that great desert of Atacama, which, though so rich 
 in silver mines, is a terribly dreary place, and had taken 
 possession of as much territory as they could seize. 
 Owing to the absence of rain, the soil of this desert is so 
 dry and arid that no plants or vegetables will grow in 
 it. Fortunately a railway runs across its dreary waste 
 now ; consequently, travellers who wish to cross it, need 
 not long be exposed to the misery that a long sojourn 
 would necessitate. 
 
 When Almagro arrived in Chili, he found a large 
 
CHILI AND THE SILVER MINES. 
 
 53 
 
 portion of it peopled by a tribe of Indians called 
 Araucanians ; and of all the red men in South 
 America, these Araucanians seem to have been most 
 determined not to let the Spaniards conquer them. 
 They were a wild, warlike people, who loved horse- 
 riding; and very clever riders they all were, both men 
 and women. Their houses were merely wicker-work 
 frames plastered with clay, and although they seemed 
 happy enough — men, women, children, dogs, and horses, 
 all huddled up together at night — Almagro and his 
 friends no doubt thought it a miserable state of things. 
 
 It was lawful amongst them for a mail to have 
 as many wives as he liked, but as the rule also was 
 that every day each wife should give to her husband 
 a dish of food prepared at her own fire, the number of 
 fires in each habitation was not unfrequently considerable. 
 A polite way of asking a man what number of wives he 
 was blessed with was to say, “ How many fires have 
 you ? ” 
 
 For their religious observances they required neither 
 temple nor priest ; all they did by way of worship was 
 to sacrifice some animal under a particular tree in the 
 forest which they considered sacred. 
 
 Like most ignorant people, they were highly super- 
 stitious. They thought, for instance, that when one of 
 their tribe died from any other cause than old age, 
 some evil spirit had been at work; and before par- 
 taking of food they always sprinkle on the ground a 
 small quantity of whatever they had spread before them 
 by way of gaining favour with the evil spirits. 
 
 A few of these bold, wild men are still left in Chili, 
 and may be seen roaming happily about on the banks 
 of rivers or in deserted villages. Their idea of fveedojn 
 
54 - 
 
 glimpses OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 is to bo allowed to wander at will in any direction they 
 like, and they have the notion that people who dwell 
 in walled cities are slaves. 
 
 When they fought with the Spaniards they were 
 sadly puzzled to find out how gunpowder was made, 
 for they saw, of course, how useful it was to their 
 
 RAILWAY ACROSS THE DESERT OF ATACAMA. 
 
 enemies in battle ; but what they actually did to discover 
 the secret you could never imagine. 
 
 They noticed that among the Spaniards were some 
 negro soldiers, whose colour, they thought, resembled 
 gunpowder. Consequently the first negro that was 
 taken prisoner by them they burnt alive, hoping that 
 they would obtain the precious gunpowder from his 
 ashes. 
 
CHILI AND THE SILVER MINES 
 
 55 
 
 The land, like Peru, is rich in minerals, but, strange 
 to say, many of these old Indians preferred for their own 
 use either silver or copper rather than gold. 
 
 The working of these silver mines was terribly hard 
 for the poor Indians a long time ago. A law was 
 
 ARAUCANIAN INDIAN. 
 
 instituted amongst them, called The Mita , by which they 
 were made to extract the precious metal, so that their 
 masters might become' rich, even though many of the 
 poor miners lost their lives while doing so. 
 
 According to this law every Indian, from the age of 
 
56 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 eighteen to fifty, was forced to labour in the mines for 
 the space of six months, when, if still living*, he would 
 then be liberated for a few years. Consequently many 
 a poor Indian has had to leave his family, give up his 
 trade, and go to a mine perhaps hundreds of miles away, 
 because most of the silver mines are found at an 
 immense height up the mountains, very near the limit 
 of perpetual snow. Therefore, in order to explore them, 
 men and provisions have to be brought from a great 
 distance. Those mines which are lower down on a level 
 with towns or villages are, of course, more easily explored. 
 
 The richest silver mine in Peru is at Potosi, but 
 many of the Indians are made to work so hard, digging 
 out these precious metals, that they have no doubt 
 often wished the foreigners had never discovered them. 
 Indeed, some of the American Indians are sly enough to 
 keep the knowledge to themselves as to where certain 
 mines are to be found, so that when they want any for 
 their own use they can go alone secretly and take as 
 much as they want. 
 
 There was once a wicked old monk in Peru who lost 
 a large sum of money at the gaming-table, and so 
 troubled was he in consequence that a great friend of 
 his, an Indian, by way of consoling him, went and 
 obtained for him a bag full of silver. The selfish 
 monk, instead of being satisfied, asked for more, then 
 another bag, and another, and actually at last said he 
 should like to see the mine where all the silver came 
 from. He was so eager in his request that his friend 
 consented to gratify his curiosity; so one night the 
 Indian, with two companions, went to the monk's 
 house. First of all they blindfolded him ; then, instead 
 of letting him walk, they carried him in turns on their 
 
CHILI AND THE SILVER, MINES. 
 
 57 
 
 shoulders — how far the monk did not know — until 
 at last he was put down on the ground and the ban- 
 dage taken from his eyes. To his great delight he 
 then found himself in a real mine, surrounded by large 
 pieces of solid silver, of which he was told he might 
 take as much as he liked. 
 
 The old monk filled his pockets to the utmost, and 
 took in his arms and hands as much as they would 
 hold, hut, to his sorrow, instead of being allowed to 
 walk home alone, he was blindfolded again and carried 
 back as he had been taken ; consequently, he had 
 no idea of the route they had traversed. All at once 
 it occurred to him that he would be as cunning as 
 his friends ; so he secretly unfastened a string of 
 beads (or a rosary, as it is called) which he wore 
 round his neck, and which he used for counting his 
 prayers. These he dropped one by one occasionally, 
 as he was being carried, thinking that when dayl iglit 
 came he could, by means of them, find his way back 
 to the mine. 
 
 Ilow mistaken he was remains to be seen. As he 
 lay in bed, chuckling to himself at the thought of 
 how rich he would very soon be, the Indian knocked 
 at the door. “ I have brought your beads, father,” 
 said he ; “ you dropped them on your way.” 
 
 It is to be hoped the monk felt guilty for being 
 so selfish. 
 
 In connection with Chili there was one man who, 
 among others, did so much for his country that his 
 name ought not to be forgotten. This was an Irish- 
 man called Ambrose Higgins, who was the son of a 
 poor man, and who as a little boy had to carry letters 
 to the post for a grand Irish lady. Fortunately for 
 
CLUMP OP CACTI IN TUB PESEBT OP ATACAMA. 
 
CHILI AND THE SILVER MINES. 
 
 59 
 
 him, lie had an uncle who was a clever priest, and 
 who, after educating his little nephew, sent him oft* 
 to the much-talked-of country that had just been dis- 
 covered, nor caring much, probably, whether the little 
 fellow made his fortune there or was killed by the 
 natives; at any rate it was a dangerous experiment 
 to send a boy out alone into such a wild country. 
 For a little time Ambrose kept a little shop of some 
 kind near the cathedral, in the great city of Lima, 
 but finding that he had very little custom he left Peru 
 and went across to Chili, and there delighted some 
 of the authorities by the skill he displayed as an 
 engineer. He then bravely went among the savage 
 natives. Those whom he could not make his friends he 
 subdued, until the king was so pleased with the brave 
 stranger that he made him a colonel, and gave him the 
 title of Count of Balleuar. 
 
 From that time honours, won by his ability and 
 enterprise, were one after another presented to him until 
 at last, nineteen years after his first appearance in Peru 
 as a poor friendless boy, he was made Captain -General 
 of Chili ; and it is pleasant to relate that he did not 
 forget, in the time of his prosperity, to send home to his 
 poor relations in Ireland a portion of his wealth. 
 
 So well did he occupy his high position, that even 
 now the people of Chili speak of him as one of the best 
 rulers they ever had. 
 
 At length, nine years after, he was made Viceroy 
 of Peru, dying, when quite an old man, after holding 
 the office for four years. 
 
 From all we hear of the good man he is certainly 
 one of those to whom the New World is indebted for 
 much of its present prosperity. 1 1 is son, Bernardo, in 
 
60 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA 
 
 later years imitated the example of his noble father by 
 spending his strength in the service of his country, 
 although, in return for it all, he, like many other good 
 men, was repaid by his countrymen for his unselfishness 
 with ingratitude, and was even permitted to die in 
 exile. 
 
 Before leaving Chili we ought not to forget to 
 mention that the solitary abode of Robinson Crusoe 
 was on Juan Fernandez, an island belonging to Chili. 
 This island was discovered by a Spanish navigator called 
 Juan Fernandez, who gave to the place his own name, 
 and formed an establishment on it. 
 
 In later years a Scotchman, Alexander Selkirk by 
 name, lived on it alone for four years, and his adventures 
 are supposed to have given rise to Daniel De Foe's 
 interesting story of Robinson Crusoe. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BOLIVIA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 II E province 
 ), of Bolivia is 
 so called in 
 honour of a great 
 general called Boli- 
 var, who made the 
 inhabitants free 
 from Spanish ty- 
 ranny. Although a 
 native of America, 
 he was descended 
 from high - horn 
 Spanish parents, and 
 had been educated at Madrid. After travelling in many 
 lands, he chose for his home the land of his birth, where, 
 as he looked around and saw the amount of suffering that 
 was being endured on all sides, he resolved that tne 
 work of his life should be to drive out the tyrants who 
 had taken possession of the land, and make his country- 
 men free. 
 
 There is little doubt about the fact that these 
 Spanish invaders, who, after the death of Columbus, 
 poured into different parts of South America, were 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 GOING ON BOARD SHIP. 
 
 hard task-masters. They looked with envious eyes 
 upon the wealth that lay hidden in the mines of gold 
 and silver, and in order to enrich themselves with it 
 they employed the natives to dig it up for them, 
 making the poor creatures work so hard that their 
 lives were simply miserable. According to the law 
 
 called The Mila , a cer- 
 tain number of Indians 
 were annually chosen by 
 lot for this purpose, and 
 those upon whom the 
 lot fell knew so well 
 what hardships were in 
 store for them that they 
 would quite as willingly 
 have received the sen- 
 tence of death. Well 
 might they dread it so 
 much, for hundreds of 
 those poor miners per- 
 ished. How 
 they must 
 have wished 
 the Spa- 
 11 i a r d s 
 
BOLIVIA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 G3 
 
 Lad never set foot in their land, but left them in peace 
 under the rule of their old Incas. 
 
 So eager were the Spaniards to enrich themselves, 
 that they were not satisfied with having the natives 
 only to work for them ; they sent to Africa, and had 
 a number of negroes packed off in ships like so many 
 cattle, and they were made to work in the mines also. 
 How horrible slavery is we know too well, both from 
 the old Bible history of the 
 Israelites who were in bondage 
 to the cruel king Pharaoh, and 
 from the narratives of the 
 miseries formerly endured by 
 slaves on the cotton planta- 
 tions in the United States. 
 
 Very sad it is to read of 
 the sufferings of these poor 
 slaves. Very often they were 
 beaten unmercifully by their 
 Spanish masters for quite trill- 
 ing offences, and were kept so 
 hard at work in the mines that 
 numbers of them died. 
 
 Not long ago in one part of 
 Africa slaves were the chief 
 articles of commerce, and were 
 taken about chained together 
 in couples, so that they had no 
 chance of running away. In 
 this miserable plight they were 
 driven in large numbers before 
 their masters, who generally 
 were seated on camels, and who 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 64 
 
 were provided with whips to lash the poor creatures if 
 they did not keep up their proper speed. Thus they 
 walked for miles until they arrived at the sea-coast, 
 when they were sold to the highest bidder and shipped 
 
 off to some far-off land, no one 
 caring whether husbands were 
 parted from their wives or 
 children from their parents. 
 
 Very often by the time they 
 reached the coast their legs 
 and feet were swollen with 
 fatigue, while their poor bodies 
 were thin and bony, for very 
 little food was allowed them ; 
 and many of the poor little 
 children were worn to skeletons 
 with the hardships of the 
 journey, and with the heavy 
 burdens they had been made to 
 carry. 
 
 As a proof of the inhu- 
 manity of some of those old 
 slave-drivers, even horses were 
 considered much more valuable 
 than slaves. In the real negro 
 country in Africa ten or fifteen 
 slaves have been given in ex- 
 change for a fine horse, and the 
 traders of slaves used to speak 
 of them as we now hear farmers speak of their cattle. 
 
 Even in the ships, as they crossed the water 
 from their own home, where they had probably 
 been sold in exchange, not for money, but for iron. 
 
BOLIVIA AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 G5 
 
 ^•oys, spirits, or salt, they were huddled together 
 in so little room, and were so miserably fed,, that 
 many of them died there, and had to be thrown 
 overboard. It is almost difficult to say who were most 
 to be pitied, the masters or the slaves. Surely the 
 
 AT WORK ON A PLANTATION. 
 
 nature of those wretched slave-owners must have been 
 miserably hard and coarse, or they would not have been 
 able to treat as they did any of God^s children. Some 
 of them, it seems, quite believed that American Indians 
 and negroes had no souls, and that they did not under - 
 E 
 
66 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 stand wliat love, and joy, and suffering were, but were 
 simply intended to be beasts of burden, like oxen, and 
 dogs, and horses. Therefore they treated them as it is 
 to be hoped any of lis would be ashamed to treat a 
 creature of any kind that God had made. For many 
 years hundreds and thousands of slaves in America were 
 thus made to toil, not in the mines only, but in culti- 
 vating sugar and coffee, or in doing anything else that 
 it pleased the masters to command them to do. By 
 degrees, however, as one sad tale after another reached 
 the ears of good men in our own and in other countries, 
 indignation filled many a heart, and not until a law had 
 been made abolishing slavery were loving, humane men 
 such as Wilberforce and Clarkson satisfied. 
 
 Now in no English colony are slaves to be found, 
 and not very many anywhere else, because in most of the 
 states the negroes have been allowed to purchase their 
 liberty ; consequently, at the present time great numbers 
 of them who act as porters, drivers, and servants of every 
 description, receive wages, and have thus learnt to be 
 honest and industrious. The great day when the slaves 
 were made free, after many long years of patient wait- 
 ing and struggling on the part of all who hated slavery, 
 was the 1st of August, 1838. 
 
 In Jamaica — a West Indian island that belongs to 
 England — the negroes there were so rejoiced at the 
 thought of being free that a great many did not go to 
 bed the night before, but as soon as the sun rose bands 
 of them were to be heard in the villages, calling out, 
 “ W e're free ! we're free ! " Then they flocked to the 
 chapels that had been built by missionaries, and thanked 
 God for putting it into the hearts of civilised Christian 
 men to loose from them their heavy bonds of slavery. 
 
WEST INDIAN N EG DOES GIVING THANES FOR THEIR FREEDOM. 
 
68 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 The white Spanish masters had tried for a long time 
 to persuade the negroes that they were little better than 
 the horses and llamas and mules of which they had the 
 charge ; but when the missionaries went to live amongst 
 them they told them that God loved all His dark- 
 skinned children quite as much as He loved the white 
 ones, and this was very joyful news to them. 
 
 At one time there was actually a law in existence 
 forbidding black people to enter a church or chapel ; 
 and very sad it was, we can imagine, to see stand- 
 ing at the doors a number of the poor creatures 
 who were not allowed to enter the place of worship. 
 We may be quite sure that those who refused them 
 entrance were of the same disposition as the Pharisee 
 who once stood in the Temple at J erusalem, and thanked 
 God that he was not quite so wicked as other men. As 
 you know, a little farther off: stood a poor publican, who 
 was so sorry for his sins that he would not so much as 
 lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, 
 crying, “ God be merciful to me, a sinner.” He, Jesus 
 tells us, was “ justified rather than the other; for every 
 one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that 
 humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Of one thing we 
 may be quite sure : that God would hear the prayers 
 of the negroes outside the church quite as distinctly as 
 any that were offered within. 
 
 Since the missionaries have taken such pains to 
 teach the negroes, they are much happier than they 
 once were, and among the sad tales that have come to 
 us are also amusing ones. 
 
 They are very fond of dressing themselves gaily in 
 bright showy colours, and the lady negroes like very much 
 to be seen in white muslin gowns, with gay ribbons and 
 
BOLIVIA AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 69 
 
 parasols. All the negroes now have comfortable little 
 homes of their own, instead of having to exist in mud 
 huts, as they once did, and wearing nothing but coarse 
 ragged garments. All this is much pleasanter to think 
 of than the cruel days of old. 
 
 The following is one of the songs they used to be 
 sometimes heard singing- : — 
 
 o o 
 
 “ Oh ! poor negro, ho will go, 
 
 Some one day, 
 
 Over the water and the snow, 
 
 Far away ; 
 
 Over the mountain big and high, 
 
 Some one day, 
 
 To that country in the sky, 
 
 Far away. 
 
 “ Jesu Massa, bring me home 
 Some one day ; 
 
 Then I’ll live with the Holy One, 
 
 Far away ; 
 
 Sin no more my heart make sore, 
 
 Some one day ; 
 
 I praise my Jesus evermore, 
 
 Far away.” 
 
 Although not a missionary, Bolivar was a brave 
 unselfish man, and it is to men like him that we are 
 indebted for the world being made better. Well does 
 he deserve to be remembered with love and gratitude by 
 the people who owe their present freedom to him. 
 
 He was a rich man, but instead of settling down, and 
 quietly enjoying his wealth, as he might have done, he 
 spent nearly all his money in the service of his country ; 
 and once, when a million dollars were presented to him 
 as a token of gratitude for what he had done, instead of 
 
70 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 devoting the money to Ills own use, he purchased with it 
 the liberty of a thousand slaves. 
 
 Before lie died, too, he succeeded in making three 
 South American countries, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia 
 free ; and still it is said that he died in exile, and actually 
 in want of the necessaries of life. 
 
 At Caraccas and at Lima — two South American 
 towns — are monuments erected to his memory; so that 
 where they stand, at any rate — and it is to he hoped in 
 many other places also — his name will never be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 The history of Bolivia is very much like that of 
 Peru ; indeed, the countries lie so close together that 
 Bolivia was at one time called Upper Peru. The chief 
 town is Lucre, so called after another great general, 
 who, like Bolivar, assisted in making the province free. 
 
 Potosi, another Bolivian town, has long been famous 
 for its great wealth, because it is built at the foot of a 
 high mountain in which are some large silver mines, 
 accidentally discovered by an Indian in 1545. 
 
 It is said that this Indian, called Diego Icualca, was 
 pursuing a vicuna on the mountain. As he w r as running, 
 the path was so steep that he would have fallen if he 
 had not caught hold of a shrub, which he seized and 
 tore from the ground, when, to his astonishment, a 
 quantity of silver was clinging to its roots. He meant 
 to have kept the affair a secret ; but the one person he 
 had taken into his confidence (a slave) betrayed him, 
 consequently the mine very soon became public property, 
 while Diego himself gained little by it. 
 
 Many of the American mines are among the barren 
 heights of the mountains. One method of carrying 
 the metal down the steep paths is to put it on the back 
 
BOLIVIA AND THE SLAVE TRADE 
 
 71 
 
 of an animal called the llama — a pretty creature, a little 
 taller than a sheep, and covered with a short, dark, coarse 
 wool. 
 
 It cannot travel quickly, but is very sure-footed, 
 and although only an animal, is sufficiently sensible not 
 to attempt to carry too great a burden. 
 
 THE LLAMA. 
 
 When it finds the weight on its back greater than 
 it can bear, it lies down, and will not rise until its load 
 has been lightened. So useful are these gentle-evcd 
 animals (for each llama can carry a sack containing a 
 hundred pounds of metal), that it would be difficult to 
 carry on the mining business without them ; and, for- 
 tunately, in Bolivia they are very plentiful. 
 
CROSSING THE TAMP AS. 
 
BOLIVIA AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 73 
 
 Troops of many hundreds of them may he seen in 
 Peru, descending the mountains with their bags of 
 barilla, as the powdered ore is called, each troup led 
 by a horse, with a bell attached to his neck, to warn 
 approaching travellers to stop at places where the road 
 is not wide enough, or to avoid deep precipices. 
 
 In some parts of South America so many droves of 
 mules and llamas cross the pampas, or treeless deserts, 
 with loads of various kinds that the track is covered 
 with bones of animals that have died either of fatigue 
 or of hunger. To one of these places the name of “ The 
 Tombs ” has been given. The care of all these animals 
 provides occupation for very many of the red men in 
 Bolivia. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Bolivia (continued ) . 
 o_» 
 
 t N addition to its mineral 
 wealth, Bolivia is rich in 
 all kinds of plants and 
 vegetables, fruits and herbs. 
 One plant peculiar to that part 
 of the world is called coca 
 or cuca — a word we must not 
 mistake for cocoa, because the 
 Bolivian coca is not at all like 
 the cocoa we drink in England. 
 
 In some places it is called 
 spadie, and grows as high as six 
 or eight feet, and has pretty thin oval leaves, which 
 the Indians chew, on account, it is said, of the sus- 
 taining power contained in them. If we were to 
 meet any of these Indians as we travelled in Bolivia or 
 Peru, we should be sure to find them provided with a 
 little leathern bag, fdled with the dried leaves of the 
 plant. This bag they hang by their side, and as soon as 
 a feeling of hunger or weariness comes on, they take out 
 a few leaves and chew them, and before long the tra- 
 veller feels, quite refreshed. 
 
 An Indian well supplied with these leaves can go on 
 
BOLIVIA. 
 
 75 
 
 working two or three days without food, neither will 
 he feel sleepy; for there is some wonderful virtue in 
 the leaves that 
 banishes sleep as 
 well as hunger. 
 
 Such must be 
 the case, for the 
 arrieros, as the 
 mule leaders are 
 called, always 
 provide them- 
 selves with a good 
 store of coca, 
 when preparing 
 themselves for a 
 journey ; and 
 
 many of them 
 think nothing of 
 following the 
 
 baggage mules 
 for weeks to- 
 gether, day after 
 day, from mom-% 
 ing to night, 
 running often as 
 much as thirty 
 or forty miles in 
 one day. 
 
 There must 
 therefore be some 
 special virtue in the plant, although the flavour of it is 
 so insipid that it has been compared by one traveller to 
 that of well-boiled tea-leaves. 
 
 A BOLIVIAN OF SPANISH DESCENT. 
 
76 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA 
 
 The old Peruvians, it seems, knew of the plant, and 
 prized it, for we find they offered it as a sacrifice to 
 their gods; and even at the present time the silver 
 
 GATHERING C ;CA. 
 
 miners throw sprays of it on the rock where they are 
 working, in the belief that the leaves will soften the metal. 
 
 Of course we know well enough that the pretty 
 delicate leaves have no effect upon the hard metal ; 
 though, at the same time, if the belief that it has such 
 
BOLIVIA. 
 
 77 
 
 power makes the miner’s work easy for him instead of 
 being laborious, the little plant is not altogether useless. 
 
 Partly in Bolivia and partly in Peru is that wonderful 
 lake of Titicaca, which is the largest and most important 
 lake in South America. The principal attraction of it is 
 that on the island of the same name is said to have lived 
 the first Inca, Manco Capae, and his wife Mama Oello, of 
 whom we have already heard. 
 
 There they dwelt before they set out on their errand 
 of love, to instruct their fellow country people; from 
 that time, therefore, the spot had been considered sacred 
 by the Incas. 
 
 They bestowed great labour on the cultivation of its 
 soil ; they built terraces, and beautified it in every way 
 they could imagine. The wheat that was grown in it 
 was distributed among the different temples and convents 
 of the kingdom, so that all might have the advantage of 
 a few of the grains, that were almost as precious as if 
 they had come direct from heaven. 
 
 These grains were carefully sown again, and the pro- 
 duce of them again distributed among the people, while 
 a few ears were scattered among the grain stores, the 
 impression being that they would purify and keep from 
 corruption the food of the inhabitants. 
 
 It was also believed that the possession of a single 
 grain of such precious wheat would ensure to its owner 
 prosperity and plenty. 
 
 No wonder that a temple was built in such a holy 
 place, one dedicated to the sun, something like the 
 gorgeous sun temple that was built at Cuzco ; and as 
 every Peruvian was expected to visit the building at 
 some time or other, and to present a gift, it became laden 
 with treasures. 
 
VIEW ON THE SHORE OF LAKE TITICACA. 
 
BOLIVIA. 
 
 79 
 
 When the country was conquered by the Spaniards, 
 the natives, rather than see the sacred edifice robbed of 
 its wealth, threw it all into the lake, and pulled the 
 temple itself to the ground. 
 
 This island of Titicaca appears to have been regarded 
 much in the same way as Mecca and Medina were by 
 the Mahommedans, and as Jerusalem was by the Jews. 
 Pilgrimages were made to it by the old Incas. 
 
 On the road to the temple were a number of huge 
 rocks, which could be imagined to represent almost any- 
 thing; just in the same way as we can sometimes see 
 warriors and flocks of sheep in the red cinders, as we sit 
 dreamily looking into the fire. 
 
 The Incas said these rocks were men who, as a 
 punishment for not having fasted sufficiently, or made 
 every necessary preparation for the pilgrimage, had been 
 turned into stone, and were doomed therefore to stand 
 in future as warnings for others not to neglect their 
 duty. 
 
 There is another spot in this sacred lake which has 
 been, and perhaps still is, an object of interest as great 
 as any other in South America, and that is the piece 
 of ground where now stand the ruins of Tiahuanueo. 
 Travellers who have visited them tell us that they 
 must have been built long before any other monuments 
 in America — before even the time of the first Incas; and 
 that, although so long ago, the people who erected them 
 must have been very clever and industrious. 
 
 When the Spaniards went sweeping into that part of 
 the country to take possession of it, they gazed in as- 
 tonishment at these marvellous structures, and asked the 
 Indians what they were, and who built them. 
 
 “ They existed/' said the poor red men, “ before 1 he sun 
 
80 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 shone in the heavens, and were raised by giants ; or 
 perhaps ” (they added) “ they are the remains of some 
 wicked people whom an angry god converted into stone 
 for their wickedness.” From what the Indians said it 
 
 KUINS OF TIIE TEMPLE OF THE SHtf. 
 
 was very evident they were as ignorant of the origin of 
 the ruins, near which they had lived all their lives, as 
 were the foreign soldiers. 
 
 With all their skill these old builders, whoever they 
 may have been, did not understand the use of mortar, or 
 
BOLIVIA. 81 
 
 rather they could build so well without it that they did 
 not need to know its use. 
 
 Like Solomon's Temple, the stones were made to fit 
 exactly into each other, and were held in position by 
 round holes drilled into the top and bottom of each stone 
 at corresponding 1 distances, into which were placed pins 
 of bronze. 
 
 The position of these ruins, which evidently formed 
 the temple where these ancient inhabitants used to 
 worship, is not at all unlike the great stones that are to 
 be seen in our own country on Salisbury Plain, and that 
 we know by the name of Stonehenge, though differing 
 from them in being much more accurately cut. 
 
 Then there seems to have been a fortress, and a 
 palace, and a hall of justice; all of which prove that 
 the place was the home of a set of people who were 
 civilised and refined, but who, long before the time of 
 Columbus or any other modern adventurer, had died, 
 and left no sign to tell us truly who they were. For 
 all that, no one can gaze upon these old ruins without 
 being filled with admiration for the unknown architects 
 who passed away so long ago. 
 
 The later inhabitants of Bolivia — those whom the first 
 Spanish invaders found dwelling there — like all the native 
 Indians of both North and South America, appear to 
 have been quite a different race of beings in comparison 
 with those old Incas. 
 
 Their days are spent in hunting for food and in 
 decorating their bodies ; and though some of them are 
 partially civilised, there are still very many who live 
 degraded selfish lives, and whose habits and customs 
 are so unlike our own that we cannot help regarding 
 them with curiosity as well as with pity. 
 
 F 
 
82 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 The principal native tribes in this province of Bolivia 
 are those called the Quiehuas and the Aimaras, all of 
 whom are very fanatical and superstitions. They wear 
 what are called ponchas — loose blanket capes — and are 
 generally to be seen chewing coca leaves while driving 
 their mules, working in the mines, or attending to any 
 other business. 
 
 Among other curious customs of theirs they practice 
 one called the language of knots, which in times past 
 was common among the old Incas in Peru, but which in 
 the present time is almost a thing forgotten. 
 
 When the inhabitants of these regions had no alpha- 
 bet, and consequently had no means of keeping a written 
 record of their doings, they invented what was called the 
 quipu — a twisted woollen cord — and, strange to say, they 
 made this cord answer the purpose of a memorandum 
 book. How they did it we cannot tell, but upon the 
 cord they tied a number of threads of all colours, every 
 thread having some particular meaning ; and though no 
 one understood it but themselves, there was quite a long 
 history of events twined round the pretty-looking cord. 
 
 It was, of course, a very poor substitute for writing ; 
 still it was a little better than having to trust entirely 
 to memory, and in some parts of Bolivia the quipu is still 
 in use. 
 
 These natives of Bolivia (by the natives we mean, 
 not the descendants of Spaniards who at one time con- 
 quered the country, but the real inhabitants of the place), 
 though dark-skinned and half-savage, are in a certain 
 way expert and clever. They are very skilful with the 
 bow and arrow, with which they not only shoot wild 
 animals and birds, but also fish ; and another plan the 
 fishermen adopt is to throw poison into the stream. 
 
BOLIVIA. 
 
 S3 
 
 When the fishes take it they almost immediately die ; 
 then they rise to the surface of the water and are taken out. 
 
 Although the skin of these Indians is so dark that no 
 doubt we should think it would be improved by being 
 made lighter instead of still darker, they seem to have a 
 different opinion. Their cheeks and round their eyes 
 they paint red, and other parts of their body black. From 
 the nose is often suspended a silver coin ; round the neck 
 
 is a string of beads or berries, and if room can be found 
 for the gay feather of a bird, or for the claw of a bird or 
 a wild animal, so much better pleased the red man is. 
 
 As a proof that they are rather proud of their ap- 
 pearance, they carry by their side a bag containing a 
 few articles that they use when adorning themselves — a 
 comb, for instance, made of the thongs of the palm-tree ; 
 a small quantity of a certain kind of juice to paint their 
 cheeks; an apple of a peculiar description, which when 
 F 2 
 
 ANCIENT MONUMENTS. 
 
84 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 rubbed on the skin turns it black. There is also a pair 
 of pincers,, to pull out any hair that dares to make its 
 appearance unnecessarily ; but it will amuse you to hear 
 of what the pincers are made, for they are nothing but 
 two mussel-shells. They carry a snuff-box, too, made of 
 a snail’s shell, and a few other things ; so that if de- 
 tained from home for any length of time, the owner of 
 
 the bag need suffer 
 no inconvenience. 
 
 One tribe, called 
 the Yuracare In- 
 dians, who dwell in 
 this district, though 
 
 BOLIVIAN (SPANISH). 
 
 savage, are 
 teachable 
 
 quite 
 
 and 
 
 famous hunters, so, gipsy-like, 
 things and march on. 
 
 friendly. They make 
 their home in one 
 place among the 
 plains or mountains 
 for two or perhaps 
 three years ; by 
 that time they are 
 tired of the spot, or 
 fancy they will find 
 more game else- 
 where, for they are 
 they pack up their 
 
 One garment worn by them is a shirt made from the 
 bark of a tree, which is cleverly constructed by beating 
 the bark out until sufficiently thin. 
 
 With very bright colours extracted from various 
 dye-yielding trees they then paint on the shirts all 
 
BOLIVIA. 
 
 85 
 
 kinds of designs, some of which are quite clever and 
 pretty. 
 
 The cacique, or chief of the tribe, wears on state 
 occasions a pigtail made of gay feathers from birds, the 
 backs of bright-coloured beetles, and shells of nuts ; be- 
 sides which both he and all the rest of the tribe paint 
 small black stripes and rings on their arms and legs. 
 The Y uracares are very 
 fond of music, too, and 
 comical instruments 
 they use for their per- 
 formances. For in- 
 stance, the bone from 
 a monkey's leg, or 
 that of a stork, being 
 hollow inside, is 
 polished up and made 
 into a flute or whistle ; 
 and though perhaps 
 we might have diffi- 
 culty in discovering 
 either tune or harmony 
 in the sounds produced 
 by these bone instru- 
 ments, the Yuracares 
 evidently wish for 
 nothing: better. How delightful the noise must be we 
 can imagine, when we know that the musicians, seated 
 in a ring, play every one what note he likes, paying no 
 
 BOLIVIAN (SPANISH). 
 
 regard to any one else. 
 
 The Quichuan Indians on feast days dress themselves 
 in tigers' skins, and put macaw feathers among their 
 thick bushy hair, when they are supposed to represent 
 the wild animals of the forest. 
 
8G 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 This custom would lead us to suppose that, like some 
 of the tribes in Hindostan, these South American Indians 
 had once worshipped the tiger. At any rate, among the 
 Yuracares a strange tradition prevails about the tiger. 
 There are two rivers in Bolivia called the Sacta and 
 the Yio, which as they flow meet each other and unite. 
 Just above the spot where they meet are three large 
 stones, placed one above another in the form of a column 
 about thirty yards high, dividing the river into two chan- 
 nels. The old tradition says that a tiger and one of these 
 stones were the parents of the first human being, who 
 was a woman, and whose name was Mamore. 
 
 This Mamore had two sons — one a bad man, who 
 became the father of all wicked Bolivians, the other a 
 good man, the father of good Bolivians like the Yura- 
 cares themselves. The idea had no doubt been 
 suggested to them by the Jesuit missionaries who went 
 once from Spain to instruct the savages living in what 
 they called the New World. 
 
 In many parts of Bolivia, and also in Peru, are to 
 be seen also by travellers some remarkable buildings 
 which are known by the name of chulpas. They vary 
 in height; some are twenty others thirty feet high. 
 Some arc in ruins, some half-finished, and others as 
 perfect as when first built. 
 
 They were most probably erected by the old Incas, 
 or even by a race of people older still, to serve as tombs 
 for dead friends; because in many of them skeletons 
 have been found, as well as gold and silver ornaments, 
 and other things. 
 
 They all differ from each other in some way; no two 
 are alike. The large handsome ones are supposed to have 
 been built for eminent and distinguished persons, the 
 
GIGANTIC FIGUKE AT TITICACA. 
 
88 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 small ones for individuals of less importance; but in one 
 respect they are all alike, and that is that the doors all 
 face the east. The Incas, as we have heard, worshipped 
 the sun, and most likely the doors have been thus placed 
 out of respect to their deity. Although the present 
 inhabitants can give us no certain information respect- 
 ing these chulpas, an Indian guide once declared that 
 according to tradition the builders, whoever they were, 
 at the approach of death, caused themselves to be walled 
 up without food, believing that by so doing a happy life 
 in a future state would be ensured to them. Whether 
 this statement be true or not is uncertain, but that the 
 chulpas are among the most remarkable monuments of 
 America is undeniable. 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS. 
 
 HE large South Ameri 
 can country of Brazil, 
 famous for its ranges 
 of lofty mountains, was dis- 
 covered by Vincent Yanez 
 Pincon, a Spaniard, one of 
 the companions of Columbus. 
 
 Imitating his friend 
 Christopher in his love of 
 novelty and adventure, 
 Pincon sailed along the 
 coast until he reached the 
 mighty river Amazon; there he stopped, and boldly 
 marched into the interior to find out what kind of place 
 it was where he had landed. A number of red men 
 and women, some of whom were shooting at fish, others 
 painting their bodies, and making necklaces for them- 
 selves of fishes* teeth and berries from the trees, stared 
 at the intruder and his friends, and prepared to defend 
 themselves if necessary. 
 
90 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTII AMERICA 
 
 Finding- that the white men were harmless, however, 
 they fortunately did them no harm ; indeed, as Pincon, 
 like most of the American adventurers of that time, 
 w as doubtless provided with presents for any savages he 
 
 VIEW AT THE MOUTH OF THE AMAZON. 
 
 might see, it is not at all unlikely that they helped 
 them to load their ships Avith the monkeys and parrots, 
 and Brazil wood that Pincon collected to take home to 
 the King of Spain. Without stopping to do more than 
 this, Pincon sailed home again, told the king what he 
 
BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS, 
 
 91 
 
 had seen, and, to prove his words, exhibited his pretty 
 parrots and all the other things he had with him. 
 
 Some years afterwards, a Portuguese commander of 
 a vessel, who really was on his way to India, was driven 
 to the same coast where Pincon had landed, and was as 
 
 INDIAN OJ TIIE AMAZON. 
 
 delighted with all he saw as his predecessor appeared to 
 have been, although, instead of remaining in the place, 
 he hurried off to the Indies, whither he had first been 
 bound. 
 
 After that there was a great deal of quarrelling 
 
9*2 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 between Spain and Portugal as to which country had 
 the greater claim to the ownership of the newly dis- 
 covered territory, all disturbances ending at last in 
 Brazil declaring its independence of either kingdom. It 
 will probably always be regarded as very closely con- 
 nected with Portugal, because its emperor is a member 
 of the Portuguese royal family ; still, it is really at the 
 present time an empire in its own right. To say very 
 much about Brazil would be impossible in a few pages, 
 because it is 2,600 miles long, and is therefore larger 
 than any other division of South America. So many 
 wonderful tales have been told of its inhabitants, and of 
 their beautiful home, that all we hear makes us only 
 long to know more. 
 
 Through the north of Brazil flows that immense 
 river the Amazon, which is the largest river in the 
 world, and which is so famed for its beauty. 
 
 Along its banks, stately, graceful trees, such as we in 
 England have never seen, wave their luxuriant branches. 
 Parrots, with lovely crimson and gold feathers, chatter 
 and gleam among them, and monkeys chase each other, 
 and gambol to their hearts* content. 
 
 The voyagers who have sailed down its lovely waters 
 tell us that as they lie in their hammocks, with the line 
 fresh sea-breezes streaming in upon them, they are sur- 
 rounded by some of the most beautiful pictures imagin- 
 able. There are to be seen numbers of little islands 
 covered with palm and other trees. So close to each other 
 some of these islands are, that a child standing on one 
 could easily throw a stone to another. Among them birds 
 with gaudy plumage are fluttering, while below them 
 numbers of flowers are thickly strewing the ground. The 
 scene altogether from the vessel is like one immense 
 
BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS. 
 
 93 
 
 dissolving* view, for the reason that every minute the 
 picture changes. 
 
 Huts belonging to the natives are occasionally to be 
 seen on the water's edge, many of which, to preserve 
 them from being washed away, are well supported with 
 large stones. 
 
 How terrible it must be to be exposed to a storm on 
 this mighty river, we can form some idea from the 
 following story of two men who nearly lost their lives 
 during a tempest on the Amazon. 
 
 They were out on the waves when a frightful storm 
 overtook them ; torrents of rain and hail poured down, 
 filling the boat, and so terrible was the tempest that 
 more than once they gave themselves up as lost. All at 
 once, like some good fairy making its appearance, one of 
 the boatmen spied a water-plant, and knowing, there- 
 fore, that they could not be struggling in very deep 
 water, he seized a very long, thick stick which they had 
 with them and plunged it into the billows. 
 
 Happily the stick rested in the soil beneath, when, 
 pushing it firmly down, the two men laid hold of it, 
 and by this means, as long as the storm lasted, they kept 
 their boat from being either overturned or washed away. 
 
 Tired indeed they must have been, for they passed 
 the whole night clutching the stick ; and how welcome 
 daylight must have been, and the knowledge it 
 brought that the storm had nearly abated, we can well 
 imagine. 
 
 Sometimes during these heavy storms a whole island 
 is washed away in little more than a few minutes. It 
 happened once that some travellers, during a storm on the 
 Amazon, had fortunately taken shelter on an island so 
 full of high spreading palm trees that their branches 
 
THE MAURITIA TAL.M. 
 
BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS. 
 
 95 
 
 formed quite a strong, spacious roof, and served as a 
 protection from the storm. 
 
 Seated in their canoe, and while waiting for the 
 storm to subside, the travellers actually saw this little 
 island of Jahmna, which was three miles in length, 
 entirely disappear. The tremendous waves rushed over 
 it, swamping all the low trees and plants until nothing 
 could be seen of them. Some very old trees that had 
 stood the storms of many years struggled very hard for 
 life. They appeared almost to be saying, “ We and the 
 tempest will try who are to be the conquerors ; ” but 
 after a brave fight their roots were torn up, their grace- 
 ful branches strewed hither and thither, and in a very 
 few more minutes the waters roared over the spot just 
 as if no island had ever stood there. 
 
 Of all South American trees, perhaps the palm-trees 
 are as remarkable as any other in South America, for the 
 Indians make use of them in so many ways that they are 
 evidently regarded as an absolute necessity. They do not 
 grow in every part of the country ; miles of forests may 
 be passed without a single palm being seen, while in 
 other parts they grow in great numbers. 
 
 On river banks especially they abound, bending 
 over the stream and waving tlieir beautiful leaves in the 
 breeze. There are very many different kinds of them; 
 some are only a few feet high, called dwarf trees, while 
 the great mauritia palms of the Amazon are more than 
 100 feet high. One traveller tells us that he measured 
 one that was 19:2 feet high. 
 
 Some are stemless, consisting only of a spreading 
 crown of large leaves, and one palm bears fruit that 
 hangs in such large bunches that it requires more than 
 one strong man to carry a single bunch. 
 
96 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 The leaves of the trees are so large that the natives 
 thatch their huts with them, and the leaf -stalks, often 
 fifteen or twenty feet long, are used as rafters, or, when 
 fastened together with pegs, form doors and shutters. In 
 fact, there is a special kind of tree for almost every want 
 of the red man ; he has one for his bows and arrows, 
 another for his blow-pipe, and one from the leaf of 
 which he makes a cradle for his little black baby, a hat 
 for himself, or even a wrapper. 
 
 At the entrance to the botanical gardens at Rio is 
 to be seen a magnificent avenue of palm-trees, which, 
 in reality, must be very grand ; indeed, from the 
 little illustration before us, we can form a very fair 
 idea of its height and beauty. 
 
 Numberless articles of food also are produced from 
 palms, such as bread, oil, sugar, salt, fruit, and veget- 
 ables. The famous betel nut chewed by the Malays is 
 the fruit of what is called the areca palm ; it is esteemed 
 as highly by them as the coca leaf is by the Bolivians, 
 the opium is by the Chinese, or as tobacco is by Euro- 
 peans. 
 
 The cow-tree also we must not forget to speak 
 about, for it is one of the largest of the forest monarchs, 
 and is peculiar in appearance on account of its red 
 ragged bark. 
 
 The fruit it bears is, we are told, very delicious, 
 and is sold in the streets by the negro market-women, 
 but what is most wonderful is that sweet milk is 
 drawn from the wood, even from dry logs that have 
 been standing for many days in the hot sun, though 
 if left to stand long it becomes very thick, like glue; in 
 fact, it is often used as a cement for mending crockery. 
 
 From another tree called the seringa we obtain that 
 
AVENUE OF PALMS AT RIO. 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA, 
 
 useful substance called india-rubber. The men who are 
 engaged in extracting the liquid earn very good wages 
 for themselves, if they choose to work well and be 
 industrious. They often begin very early in the morning, 
 and the plan they adopt is to cut a hole in one tree after 
 
 another, leaving under each one a jar to catch the milky 
 substance ; so that in a few hours they are able to get 
 quite a large quantity, all of which has to be dried in the 
 sun before it is fit for use. 
 
 Hundreds of poor Indians build their huts close to 
 
BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS. 
 
 99 
 
 the banks of the river under 
 the shade of the high trees, 
 and gain their livelihood by 
 collecting the sap. 
 
 With a sharp knife they 
 split open the bark of the tree, 
 when out flows the milky sub- 
 stance, which, when dried in 
 the sun, makes india-rubber ; 
 the smoke-drying process by 
 which it is hardened accounts 
 for its black appearance as we 
 see it. 
 
 At one time the provinces 
 watered by the Amazon were 
 called the country of the 
 Amazones, though, strange 
 to say, those great brave 
 women called the Amazones 
 who brought up their girls to 
 be warriors, and either killed 
 their boys or sent them away, 
 did not live near this river 
 Amazon, as we might have 
 
 EXTRACTING INDIA- RUBBER. 
 
100 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 supposed, but in the far-off east. Many other lofty 
 trees grace the banks of the Amazon, and not far 
 from the coast are thick plantations of cocao trees, 
 which supply us with the chocolate and cocoa we 
 use. 
 
 Most of these plantations belong to rich Portuguese 
 gentlemen, who have built for themselves handsome 
 
 OVERSEER OF A COFFEE PLANTATION. 
 
 houses along the river's banks, and who lead an easy, 
 idle kind of life. 
 
 They keep plenty of black servants to attend to 
 the plantations, and once a year, when the fruit is 
 gathered, all are hard at work as we are at harvest 
 time. 
 
 After being gathered the fruit has to be cut 
 open, the pips are then taken out, dried in the sun, 
 
BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS. 
 
 101 
 
 packed up, and put into ships that are bound for other 
 lands. 
 
 Coffee, also, is very extensively grown in Brazil. 
 It is said to have been first introduced there about the 
 middle of the eighteenth century, and now in some of 
 the Brazilian provinces immense forests of coffee-trees 
 
 NEGROES GATHERING COFFEE IN BRAZIL. 
 
 flourish, and the owners of them think there is no 
 coffee in the world equal to theirs. 
 
 In order to make a coffee plantation, or a fazenda, as 
 it is called, the owner first of all sows his seeds, and 
 leaves the young plants for a whole year to develop. 
 At the end of that time his servants gather them very 
 
102 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 carefully, and transplant them into another piece of 
 ground, where, after being carefully tended for three 
 years more, they begin to produce berries, bearing more 
 and more every year, and sometimes as many as two 
 crops in one year. 
 
 After doing this for thirty years, both the trees and 
 the soil seem to have exhausted themselves, and new 
 plantations have to be made. 
 
 On being gathered the berries are white, and have to 
 be dried in the hot sun, or baked, before they receive the 
 rich brown colour that is so familiar to us. 
 
 The whole of Brazil, in fact, is famous for the great 
 size and number of its trees, most of which are made 
 useful in some way or other by the natives. 
 
 There is one favourite nut-tree of the Indians that 
 grows to the height of a hundred feet. In summer its 
 branches are covered with rose-coloured leaves and white 
 blossoms, and in autumn nuts as large as a cannon ball 
 are hanging from its branches. 
 
 The Indians take the precaution of keeping away 
 from these nut-trees during a storm ; for if the fruit 
 were to fall on the head of some unfortunate fellow, the 
 result would be anything but agreeable, however thick 
 and woolly his hair might be. 
 
 As a proof of the great size of these Brazilian trees, 
 a traveller once saw a canoe that belonged to a mission- 
 ary, and, although it was made out of a single tree, it 
 measured thirty feet in length and five in breadth ; 
 and from a single trunk of the wild cotton -tree canoes 
 have been built large enough to contain a hundred 
 persons; while the leaf of a certain palm-tree affords a 
 shade to five or six men. 
 
 It seems, however, that the strength of them is not 
 
BRAZIL AND ITS FORESTS 
 
 103 
 
 equal to their size 
 and beauty. Reared 
 in a warm climate, 
 they are like hot- 
 house plants ; and, 
 unlike our English 
 oak, that is so strong 
 and so deeply -rooted 
 that it can stand 
 erect in a furious 
 tempest, these grace- 
 ful foreigntrees,with 
 their roots extending: 
 only a little way 
 below the surface of 
 the earth, are often 
 blown down by a 
 strong breeze; and 
 as they fall they 
 frequently destroy 
 many others with 
 them. 
 
 Round some of 
 the large trees 
 grow parasitical or 
 climbing plants, 
 called 1 i a n e s, 
 the branches of 
 which twine round 
 the trunks of large 
 trees, forming very 
 often perfect gal- 
 leries or canopies of 
 
 LIANES EOUND THE TF.UNK OF A TEEE. 
 
104 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMEHICA. 
 
 flowers; though in some parts these parasitical plants 
 grow so thickly that the forests are rendered impassable 
 by them, and their tendrils so cover the tops of the 
 highest trees that all foliage and flowers but their own 
 are almost entirely hidden. 
 
 These creepers twist round thick trunks of trees, and 
 round slender stems, hanging sometimes in loops from 
 the branches, or perhaps stretching themselves from tree 
 to tree. 
 
 Where their root is, or how they grow, is quite a 
 puzzle. As Tops}r, who had been left to grow up as 
 best she could, clung fondly to the new friends she 
 found, so these wild climbers start up from some 
 unknown corner and cling round the first shrubs or 
 trees that happen to he near, clinging so tightly, toe , 
 that it is difficult to tear them away. 
 
 Some of them are slender and smooth, others are 
 rugged and knotted. Very often a number of them are 
 twined together, so as to form quite a thick cord, and 
 are used by the Indians for cables, to hind the wooden 
 anchors they use. Indeed, they are made to serve 
 almost every purpose for which we should need a rope 
 or chain. The Indians are so well acquainted with 
 these forest ropes that when in want of one they take 
 their choice among them, according to the use for 
 which it is meant to be employed. 
 
 Some of them will bear twisting and tying, some 
 will last longest in salt water, others in fresh water. 
 With one kind the planks of boats, and even of large 
 sailing vessels, are bound, and they are useful in num- 
 berless other ways. 
 
 When the branch of a tree falls, creepers are often 
 left hanging in the air. If so, they blow about wildly 
 
SCENE IN A BRAZILIAN FORES': 
 
106 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 i 
 
 for a little time, then, as if resolving not to despair 
 because one friend has forsaken them, they throw out 
 their tendrils and catch hold of other trees growing 
 beneath them, and round these they are very soon as 
 tightly clasped as they were round their lost friends. 
 
 As if to prove their gratitude for the support given 
 them, they sometimes burst out into lovely blossoms, 
 thus ornamenting with delicate tinted flowers tall, 
 strong, stately trees upon which nothing but leaves are 
 ever seen ; but, strange to say, in the shade of the 
 forest the climbers flower very rarely. 
 
 Hundreds of other trees also are to be found in those 
 grand forests, all of which are made useful in one way 
 or another by the inhabitants ; and not to them only are 
 all these trees useful, for we also, who live so far away, 
 derive untold benefits from the vast wooden treasure- 
 houses of South America. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MORE ABOUT BRAZIL. 
 
 t MONGthe other 
 sources of 
 wealth in Brazil 
 we must not forget 
 to mention the dia- 
 monds, which, since the 
 time of Columbus, have 
 filled many a heart with 
 envy. 
 
 The finding of these 
 precious stones was, of 
 course, no new dis- 
 covery. Solomon's 
 Temple was ornamented with precious stones ; and 
 faithful Job, in one of his parables, says, “ Surely 
 there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where 
 they fine it. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass 
 is molten out of the stone/' 
 
 Those old Israelites, it seems, who lived in the East 
 knew where to dig for hidden treasure just as well as 
 
10S 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 the inhabitants of the New World, who were as eager to 
 enrich themselves with it as if they had been the first 
 miners who had ever taken hammer in hand. 
 
 It happened at that time, as some miners were out 
 
 NATIVE OF BRAZIL. 
 
 one day in search of some of the marvellous riches that 
 they had heard were to be found among the rugged 
 mountains, they spied some bright, clear stones, which 
 looked so pretty that th<y picked them up, and took 
 them to the governor of the town. 
 
MOKE ABOUT BRAZLL. 
 
 109 
 
 lie, it seems, admired them also ; but, little thinking 
 they were what could be exchanged for hundreds or 
 perhaps thousands of pounds, only used them as card 
 counters. 
 
 NATIVE OF BRAZIL. 
 
 The fact was these miners had been searching for 
 gold in what is now known as the diamond district, and 
 the curious bright crystals they had found were pre- 
 cious diamonds. Before long the uncommon pebbles 
 were sent to Lisbon, and from there sent again to 
 
110 
 
 GLTMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Holland, where a learned lapidary pronounced them to 
 be diamonds of great value. 
 
 Year after year the little brilliants had lain in their 
 watery beds unmolested and uncared for. The red men 
 had always been too busy shooting fish, waging war 
 with their enemies, or hunting for wild animals to have 
 time to pick up pebbles. What they wanted was food 
 to satisfy their hunger. As was the case with those 
 poor savages, so it is with us often. We leave what is 
 really true and valuable for others wiser than ourselves 
 to appropriate, while we content ourselves with what is 
 paltry and worthless, just for the sake of satisfying 
 our immediate wants. If any of us wish to have true 
 riches, we must take care not to make the mistake of 
 selling our birthright, as the impulsive Esau did of old. 
 He foolishly consented to take a lower place in life than 
 his younger brother, just for the sake of his dinner one 
 day. Let us all try to keep our vision clear, so that 
 when pearls and diamonds lie at our feet we may not 
 overlook them, and, passing them by, choose only 
 common stones and pebbles. 
 
 Slaves were generally employed to search for Brazilian 
 diamonds ; and even if the poor creatures knew their 
 value it would almost have been as much as their life 
 was worth to sell one. A searcher found guilty of such 
 a crime would most likely either be beaten or thrown 
 into a horrid dungeon. What the slaves did was to vie 
 with each other who could find the largest stone to pre- 
 sent to his master, and if one were fortunate enough to 
 pick up what was called an octavo (a diamond weighing 
 seventeen carats and a half) he had his freedom presented 
 to him, and was carried by a number of slaves to the 
 master, bearing on his head a crown of flowers. 
 
MORE ABOUT BRAZIL. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The places where diamonds are found are in low 
 ground on the banks of rivers, and also in hollows and 
 streams at the very top of some of the highest moun- 
 tains; and each diamond is covered by what is called 
 its cascalho — a kind of thick earthy matter. 
 
 In diamond districts certain kinds of minerals are 
 found also, such as yellow crystal (round pieces of blue 
 quartz), and a fine slaty flinty mineral. When the 
 slaves, therefore, who were seeking for the sparkling 
 treasures came upon such minerals, they knew that 
 diamonds were not far off, and began their work with a 
 good will. 
 
 The plan generally adopted by diamond seekers is 
 first to dig until the stratum is reached called cascalho, 
 which is a gravel composed chiefly of quartz and frag- 
 ments of different rocks of the neighbourhood, mixed 
 with a reddish clay, and near which diamonds are always 
 found. The washers then seat themselves by a pond or 
 a running stream, and each puts a portion of this gravel 
 in a wooden bowl, with which every one is supplied ; 
 then, mixing it with water, he shakes the contents, so 
 that the muddy water escapes and the gravel and sand 
 remain. 
 
 What is left is then passed through a sieve, which 
 separates the larger gravel from the smaller, when the 
 pebbles are picked out, the diamonds selected, and 
 passed over to the rightful owner of them. 
 
 Other precious stones are found in Brazil, and also 
 gold ; though, strange to say, surrounded as the inhabi- 
 tants are by so much wealth, they are actually greatly 
 lacking in a mineral with which we are supplied so 
 plentifully, and that is salt. Perhaps, in order to really 
 understand its full value, we should, like the unfortunate 
 
BAY OF BOTAFOOO, BIO DE JANEIRO. 
 
MORE ABOUT BRAZIL. 
 
 113 
 
 Brazilians, have to be deprived of it for a short time. 
 In their country it is said that an amount of salt suffi- 
 cient to cure an ox would cost three times the price of the 
 animal itself. On one of the Brazilian rivers, called the 
 Xacurutina, is a lake that produces a quantity of salt, and 
 a constant struggle among the Indians is continually 
 being carried on by way of deciding who can get the 
 largest share of it. To make up for this deficiency the 
 Indians extract salt from the ashes of the palm-tree, 
 and when they cannot procure a sufficient quantity of 
 it they season their food with red pepper. 
 
 Bio de Janeiro, the chief town of this large province, 
 is a handsome sea-port, and travellers tell us there are 
 few sights more magnificent than the prospect that lies 
 before them as they approach its harbour. As ships 
 sail into port immense mountain peaks of all shapes 
 and sizes tower in the distance, which not only add to 
 the beauty of the scene, but which serve as guides to 
 navigators as they make preparations for landing. 
 
 Strange names the natives have given to some of 
 these summits. There is the Sugar-loaf, the Topsail, the 
 Hunchback, and the Two Brothers, all which names we 
 should, no doubt, think well chosen if we could see the 
 mountains for ourselves. They are peaks of the great 
 Organ mountains, some of which are seven or eight 
 thousand feet high. 
 
 The city itself is greatly changed since the time of 
 Pincon and Amerigo Vespucci, those companions of 
 Columbus who were among Brazil's earliest visitors; 
 indeed, if they could see it now they would hardly 
 know the place. There are well-built houses, handsome 
 churches, hotels and other buildings, large extensive 
 gardens in which vegetables are grown, and at the Rio 
 H 
 
114 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Botanical Gardens 
 is a splendid avenue 
 of mango-trees, 
 which not only 
 yield very delicious 
 fruit, but which 
 •end forth a fra- 
 grant scent so 
 strong that the air 
 for miles round is 
 diffused with it. 
 
 People with 
 skins of all shades 
 are parading up 
 
 and down the busy 
 streets. W ealthy 
 
 Portuguese gentle- 
 men may be seen 
 driving about in 
 their carriages, 
 driven by black 
 coachmen, who look 
 quite contented as 1 
 they sit perched 
 aloft, dressed in 
 their gay livery. > 
 In addition to the • 
 drivers, three or L- 
 
 NEGROES OF Rip. 
 
MORE ABOUT BRAZIL. 
 
 115 
 
 four negroes are often mounted on mules and riding 
 behind the carriage, just by way of giving an air of 
 importance to the affair. 
 
 To see many of the negroes of Brazil and other parts 
 
 NEGRESSES OF RIO IN THE MARKET. 
 
 of South America, one would hardly believe that they 
 were strangers in a foreign land ; or rather that their 
 fathers and mothers had been dragged like cattle from 
 their home in Africa to work for the white-skinned in- 
 
 h 2 
 
VIEW OF BAHIA. 
 
MORE ABOUT BRAZIL. 
 
 117 
 
 vaders who had taken possession of the newly-discovered 
 country. 
 
 In the busy streets, where buyers and sellers of 
 cotton, coffee, sugar, tobacco, and others articles of com- 
 merce are trading with each other, dozens of negroes 
 pace up and down, carrying great bales and bags of 
 goods, most of them laughing and talking to each other, 
 or singing their negro songs. The streets of this city 
 are so steep that the negroes generally poise their bur- 
 dens cleverly on their heads; then, forming themselves in 
 a line, they set off running, singing as they go, as many 
 other happy people like to do when at work. At one 
 time the noise of these singing negroes was so great that 
 they were ordered to be quiet ; not for long though, the 
 masters found out that their work did not get done as 
 quickly with the quiet negroes as with the noisy ones, 
 so permission was given for the singing to be renewed. 
 
 Many of them have kind masters, who feed them 
 well and who do not overwork them ; therefore the poor 
 creatures are content and happy. 
 
 The Rio market is a famous place, and one that is 
 well deserving of a visit from travellers who wish to 
 gain inf ormation on Brazilian life. Numbers of negroes 
 are to be seen there busily selling their fresh fine fruit ; 
 oranges, vegetables, and flowers they exhibit in abun- 
 dance. 
 
 The women of this negro race, who assemble in 
 great numbers in the market, are many of them quite 
 handsome and graceful women ; and, judging from the 
 proud independent air which the beauties assume, it is 
 evident that they are conscious of their charms. On 
 their heads they wear a high muslin turban, in addition 
 to which a gay-coloured shawl is thrown around their 
 
118 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 shoulders in all kinds of fantastic styles. It is some- 
 times crossed over the breast, sometimes carelessly thrown 
 over one shoulder ; in fact, no white lady could excel 
 these negro market-women in the skill they display in 
 the arrangement of their shawls. 
 
 Another purpose to which these gay shawls are 
 appropriated is for the benefit of the negro babies ; for 
 
 TIIE EMPEROR’S PALACE AT PETROFOLIS. 
 
 the mothers have a plan of twisting them so as to form 
 comfortable little cradles, in which the little creatures 
 rock to and fro as happily as if they were by the fire- 
 side. 
 
 At one time Bahia, or San Salvador, as it is called, 
 was the capital of the empire, and even now it is next in 
 importance to Rio. 
 
MORE ABOUT BRAZIL. 
 
 119 
 
 Situated in the grand Organ mountains is a lovely 
 spot called Petropolis, where the Emperor of Brazil 
 resides in his summer palace, and where many of the 
 wealthy Brazilians resort during the hot season. Paths 
 lined with beautiful palm-trees lead from the town in 
 every direction, while ferns and magnificent flowers, 
 such as we should consider rare, peep up on all sides ; 
 and to see them, as they gracefully bend their delicate 
 leaves and tendrils in the gentle breeze, they look fit 
 ornaments for any emperor's home. 
 
 Indeed, of all spots near Bio de Janeiro, Petropolis 
 is the most lovely, and would serve as well as any for 
 that fair land sought for by the little child who asks— 
 
 ‘‘Is it where the flower of the orange blows, 
 
 And the fire-flies dance through the myrtle boughs ? ” 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 S MONG the mountainous 
 regions and in the forests 
 of South America many 
 tribes of wild Indians are dwell- 
 ing who are still in a state of 
 uncivilisation, and who delight 
 in acts of cruelty. Of these 
 the Boticudos are the most 
 savage, and although many 
 efforts have been made to 
 conquer them, they have 
 never yet been subdued. One 
 favourite custom of theirs is to make themselves still 
 
 uglier than they are naturally, by tearing open their 
 under-lips and ears, and inserting pieces of wood into 
 the rents thus made. 
 
 A very remarkable circumstance to be noticed among 
 most savages is the power they have of enduring pain. 
 We often hear in our own country of good men and 
 women, and even of children too, who are very patient 
 under suffering, because they feel that it has been 
 
 sent to them for some wise purpose ; but that ignorant 
 wild men like these poor Indians, who have no refine- 
 
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 121 
 
 ment, and do not act from high and nohle motives, 
 should impose upon themselves unnecessary suffering 
 seems rather curious. These Brazilian Indians are par- 
 ticularly brave and strong, even while enduring excru- 
 ciating pain. They never seem to lose their courage, and 
 would much sooner rush straight on to their own 
 destruction than turn their back on the enemy. 
 
 If any of us feel tempted to shrink from or to 
 despise these half-wild creatures, let us remember the 
 kind of life they lead. 
 
 Some of their homes are nothing better than 
 miserable huts, where mothers, fathers, sisters, and 
 brothers all huddle together, living much more as do 
 the animals that they feed upon than as human 
 beings, who were made to love each other. From child- 
 hood they grow up with the idea that happiness and 
 greatness consist in the possession of bodily strength. 
 The man who succeeds in killing the greatest number 
 of wild animals, or even the greatest number of his 
 own fellow-creatures, raises himself at once to the rank 
 of hero. They do not understand that the truest 
 bravery consists in resisting evil, because they have no 
 true idea of what evil is, or what goodness is. 
 
 What religion they have teaches them that there are 
 two gods — one a good god, the other a bad god. The 
 good god the Indian thinks helps him in whatever he 
 wishes to do, whether the action be good or bad. Sup- 
 posing he were to succeed in killing his own child, he 
 would say the good god had helped him to do so; 
 instead of that, if he were prevented in an act of cruelty, 
 he would say the bad god had been working against 
 him. Warmth, food, and pleasure are supposed to 
 come from the good god, while cold, pain, failure. 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 m 
 
 hunger, and even death are thought to be sent by the 
 bad god. 
 
 The South American Indians believe that the bad 
 spirit is stronger than the good spirit, so they spend a 
 great deal of time and thought in preventing his doing 
 them any harm. They seem to hold the idea that by 
 some means or other he must be kept in a good temper. 
 
 One precaution 
 against evil, among 
 many other very absurd 
 ones adopted by the 
 Indians, is to be sup- 
 plied with what is 
 called a medicine bag. 
 
 From its name we 
 might be led to imagine 
 that the bag contained 
 physic of some kind, 
 but the word medicine 
 means to the Indian 
 mystery , not physic ; 
 and certainly it is very 
 mysterious that a bag 
 made of the skin of 
 some animal, as these 
 bags always are, should have the power of charming 
 away evil and danger. 
 
 Indian boys, therefore, as soon as they are about 
 fifteen years of age, start out one day in search of some 
 wild animal, which they must kill, and afterwards make 
 their medicine bag of the skin. The size of the bag, 
 perhaps, depends upon what animal happens to be 
 chosen for the purpose; for the bags are of all sizes, 
 
 BOTICUDO INDIAN. 
 
 
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 123 
 
 and the skins of all kinds of animals are used — some- 
 times that of a buffalo, a wolf, or even of a rat. 
 When the bag is once made, the boy is very careful 
 not to lose it; for if he were to be so unfortunate he 
 would have to be prepared for disasters of all kinds, and 
 as to making a new one that would be out of the 
 question. 
 
 Medicine bags are sometimes lost, of course, however 
 careful the owners may be ; but in such cases the un- 
 lucky person, who is not allowed to supply himself with 
 a second new one, tries to steal one from an enemy, and 
 if he should succeed in doing this he is looked upon 
 with greater respect than he was before he lost his own. 
 
 Not only are there medicine bags among these 
 Indians, but there are also what are called medicine 
 men; and the title is one of very great honour, because it 
 is only given to those of their number who prove them- 
 selves to be very wise or powerful. 
 
 It happens sometimes in their country that there is 
 no rain for many da} T s; so after waiting for a long time, 
 until the people begin to fear there will be no harvest, 
 one of them declares that he will make the rain come. 
 
 Accordingly, he goes up a high hill or mountain with 
 a lance in his hand, and there he points to the clouds, 
 pretending to pierce them, shouting to them all the time 
 and entreating the rain to descend. 
 
 If when night comes there should still be no rain, 
 some one else takes his place next day; and thus they go 
 on until the rain descends, when the man whose turn 
 came last in the business gains the title of medicine man, 
 and is greatly honoured by all the rest. 
 
 Tales of this kind make us feel how ignorant the 
 poor savages must be to believe such nonsense : — 
 
124 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 There was a poor Indian who had been accidentally 
 •hot, and as he lay dying his friends sent in haste for 
 
 CIVILISED NATIVE OF BRAZIL. 
 
 the medicine man. On making his appearance he was 
 covered with the skin of a yellow bear, lie had a bear's 
 
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 125 
 
 face stuck over his own, and all kinds of strange things 
 were hanging about him — such as skins of snakes, hoofs 
 
 CIVILISED NATIVE WOMAN OP BRAZIL. 
 
 of deer, birds, bears* claws, animals* tongues, tails, and 
 teeth ; in fact, he looked most frightful. 
 
126 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 In one hand he held a rattle, made of a number of 
 bones strung* together, and which made a great noise as 
 they knocked against each other; in the other hand he 
 waved a spear, and as he approached the spot where 
 the sufferer lay he grunted and growled like a real 
 bear, jumping and frisking about in a very ridiculous 
 manner. 
 
 Then, when he reached the Indian, instead of sooth- 
 ing or trying to cure the poor fellow, all he did was to 
 drag the wounded man about. 
 
 Of course the sick man could not bear such rough 
 treatment, therefore we are not surprised that in a few 
 minutes he was dead ; and though the friends standing 
 round appeared quite satisfied with what had been done, 
 it is difficult to discover any good that had been accom- 
 plished in any way by the wonderful medicine man. 
 More difficult still is it to understand how special wis- 
 dom and power should be imagined to exist in a human 
 being capable of acting so foolishly. 
 
 However, these savage tribes are gradually growing 
 smaller in numbers ; but the few of them that still 
 remain in South America, especially the Boticudos, hate 
 their conquerors, the Portuguese, and watch every oppor- 
 tunity of shooting at them or doing them harm in other 
 ways. Like all selfish, quarrelsome people, they imagine 
 that every man’s hand is against them ; therefore they 
 regard all white men as their enemies. 
 
 Sometimes they hide among the trees, and cleverly 
 send their arrows at any white travellers, or even at 
 negroes; indeed, they hate the African negroes more 
 than the white men, and whenever they can do so they 
 both kill and eat them. 
 
 Many of these Indian tribes live in the treeless 
 
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 127 
 
 regions, of which there are so many both in North and 
 South America, as well as in Europe and Asia. 
 
 Either from fear or dislike of the white men who 
 from time to time have arrived amongst them, most of 
 the Indians have fled to the mountains and plains and 
 forests, so that there, unmolested, they may lead the 
 old life to which they have always been accustomed. 
 
 These treeless regions have different names given to 
 them according to the places where they are found. In 
 Asia they are called steppes, in the north of South 
 America the^ are called llanos, in Brazil campos, in Peru 
 pampas, and in North America prairies; but though 
 named differently, they are very similar in character. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 WILD ANIMALS IN BRAZIL. 
 
 4g*> 
 
 fflfl HERE is scarcely any 
 ^ country in the world 
 where there are so many 
 different kind of animals as in 
 Brazil. 
 
 One of the most remark- 
 able is the lazy sloth. Lazy 
 these creatures are considered, 
 because very often they are 
 found in open daylight fast 
 asleep, hanging* to the boughs of trees ; consequently 
 the name of sloth has been given to them. 
 
 Still, the real truth of the matter is that they can 
 move about quite quickly when so inclined; but, like the 
 owl, they prefer night for their activity rather than 
 daytime. 
 
 They belong to an order known among animals as 
 
WILD ANIMALS IN BRAZIL. 
 
 129 
 
 Edentata, because they have no front teeth; but as 
 they live upon vegetables, they manage to devour all 
 the food they require with their back teeth. 
 
 Then there are the armadillos, which are covered, as 
 many other South American animals are, with a hard 
 bony crust not at all unlike a coat of armour in appear- 
 ance. They eat vegetables and insects. There are 
 several different kinds of armadillos, and nowhere but 
 in South America are they to be found. 
 
 B/elated to the armadillo is the great ant-bear, 
 which does so much mischief among the busy little ants. 
 He is a lazy, unsociable animal, about four feet long, 
 and with a tail longer than his body, and he has not a 
 single tooth in his head ; consequently, although he is so 
 large, he lives upon scarcely anything but ants, for the 
 reason, of course, that they are so easily swallowed. 
 
 Other animals, both harmless and wild, are so nu- 
 merous in Brazil that it would be a difficult matter to 
 even mention them all. 
 
 First of all is the formidable jaguar or South Ameri- 
 can tiger; then there are the tiger-cat, the puma, the 
 red wolf, and the Brazilian fox, or wild dog. 
 
 Savage as the tiger must be, he seldom attacks man 
 unless in self-defence, for the forests in which he prowls 
 are so well supplied with game that he has rarely any 
 occasion to lack food. If, however, the animal has once 
 tasted human blood, he remains ever after a very dan- 
 gerous enemy, because the memory of it is so pleasant 
 to him that he always prefers it to any other. 
 
 The name given by the Indians to this man-eating 
 tiger is cehcido, and brave as travellers and hunters 
 ought to be, the sight of one of these formidable 
 creatures is enough to make the stoutest heart quail. 
 
 I 
 
130 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 A traveller once said that the only time he remembered 
 ever feeling really terrified was on one occasion when he 
 was perched at the top of a large tree, at the foot of 
 which lay a huge tiger with open jaws, ready to devour 
 him the moment he descended. Fortunately the animal 
 grew tired of waiting, so decided to seek a meal else- 
 where, otherwise we should never have heard of either 
 him or the traveller. 
 
 It is said that if a white man 
 
 in 
 
 TIIE GREAT ARMADILLO. 
 
 company with a 
 black man be met 
 by a tiger, for 
 some reason or 
 other unknown to 
 us, the black man 
 will be chosen as 
 the victim in pre- 
 ference to his 
 white companion. 
 
 All kinds of deer 
 also inhabit the 
 campos, together 
 with our friends 
 the armadillos 
 
 and ant-eaters. 
 
 Monkeys are so numerous that the forests often 
 resound with their screeches ; indeed, very many of the 
 monkeys that come to us are brought from South 
 America. It seems that in their own country the 
 comical animals are caught and treasured by the natives 
 as pets, and not only so, but they are regarded as dain- 
 ties for the table, and are often cooked and served for 
 dinner and supper. By a tribe called the Sacandones, 
 the al uates, or great red monkeys, are eaten. On one 
 
2 
 
 FIGHT BETWEEN A JAGUAR AND AN ANT-BEAR. 
 
132 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Some monks who once journeyed as missionaries on 
 the shores of the Orinoco, before lying down to sleep at 
 night used to pray for a quiet night and rest like that 
 enjoyed by other mortals. 
 
 When the Europeans first landed in the place horses 
 were unknown ; now there are so many that they run 
 wild on the plains, and any one who likes may have 
 a horse of his own. It has been said, in fact, that 
 beggars in Brazil go begging on horseback. 
 
 of them being asked by a white man why they did so, he 
 replied, “Our ancestors killed and ate their enemies; 
 but since the Spaniards, who are the strongest, have 
 come, they do not allow us to continue this custom, so 
 we eat these little men of the woods instead, whose 
 flesh is quite as good/' 
 
 Not only, though, do the forests resound with the 
 monkey-calls, but with the cries of all the other animals. 
 About the same hour of the night they all raise their 
 voices together, and fill the forest with a very loud chorus. 
 
 A JAGUAR. 
 
WILD ANIMALS IN BUAZlL. 
 
 133 
 
 Fishermen ride into the 
 water to cast their nets ; 
 bird-catchers are generally 
 seen on horseback, galloping 
 along with a noose at the 
 end of a pole, to throw over 
 the birds; so that if all 
 this be true, horses must 
 be indeed very plentiful. 
 There are also large numbers 
 of oxen and sheep. 
 
 Of course the birds of 
 Brazil, as we well know, are 
 famous for their beauty ; 
 numbers of them, dressed in 
 red, green, and blue feathers, 
 chatter among the branches, 
 just as they did when 
 Pizarro and his friends made 
 their appearance amongst 
 them. 
 
 We all remember the 
 story of our good Saxon 
 
GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 134 
 
 King Edgar of old, who, instead of taking money from 
 the kings of Scotland and Wales, whom he conquered, 
 ordered them to send hunters into the woods to kill the 
 wolves, who did so much mischief in England, so that at 
 
 last all the wolves were 
 destroyed, and the people 
 were able to sleep com- 
 fortably in their beds at 
 night. Well, it happened 
 at one time in Guiana 
 that jaguar’s abounded 
 just in the same way, and 
 consequently one of the 
 governors offered a large 
 sum of money for every 
 jaguar’s head that was 
 brought to him, and thus 
 their number was greatly 
 decreased. 
 
 The pretty toucan, 
 with its red and yellow 
 feathers, and the thousands 
 of humming birds, all liy 
 about joyously among the 
 balmy, luxuriant trees. 
 Then, to add still further 
 to the beauty of the pic- 
 ture, the gayest of but- 
 terflies flutter among the flowers, none prettier than 
 those that have sky-blue wings, glittering like silver. 
 Negroes are sent out with nets, fastened to the end of 
 long poles, to catch these butterflies ; and they are also 
 provided with baskets for the flowers which they gather. 
 
 HUMMING- BIRD AND NEST. 
 
WILD ANIMALS IN BRAZIL. 
 
 135 
 
 Ollier families of the insect tribe in South America 
 are quite as well worthy of our notice as the lovely 
 butterflies. The ants, and wasps, and bees may not be 
 as brilliant in colour, but their little bodies are quite as 
 
 HUMMING DIED, 
 
 beautifully made, and very wonderful are their ways. 
 Little as they are, some of them are dreaded by men 
 and animals almost as much as the large fierce forest 
 beasts. 
 
 The ants called the ecitons are certainly not 
 desirable companions for a traveller to meet. On the 
 
1-36 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 banks of the Amazon they are often seen travelling in 
 deuse columns of countless thousands through the path- 
 ways of the forest. There are two kinds of them, which 
 resemble each other so closely that it requires attentive 
 examination to distinguish them, and yet, though 
 moving in the same woods and often crossing each 
 other's tracks, their armies never unite. 
 
 Among both of them there are dwarfs not more than 
 one-fifth of an inch in length, with small heads and 
 jaws, and there are also giants half-an-inch in length, 
 with very large heads and jaws, all belonging to the 
 same brood. 
 
 The first intimation to the Indian that the tiresome 
 little creatures are near him is a twittering and restless 
 movement among some birds called ant- thrushes. If, 
 on hearing this sound, he should attempt to go any 
 further, he it sure to come to grief and find himself 
 suddenly attacked by the minute savage biters. They 
 swarm up his legs, each one driving its pincer-like 
 jaws into his skin, and stinging with all its might. 
 When they have once got hold of the poor fellow the 
 only thing he can do is to pluck the insects off one by 
 one, very likely in doing so pulling them in two, and 
 leaving their heads and jaws sticking in his flesh, unless, 
 of course, he has had at first the good sense to run away 
 from them. 
 
 They are very fond of attacking wasps' nests, which 
 are sometimes built on low shrubs. They succeed in 
 cutting the nest completely to tatters in their search for 
 the newly-hatched little wasps, and in carrying off their 
 treasure it is quite amusing to see how sensibly they 
 divide their loads. The dwarfs take the small pieces and 
 the giants the heavy portions. Still it is not a case of 
 
HANGING WASP’S NEST. 
 
138 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 all work and no play, even with these industrious little 
 insects. They are often to be seen indulging in what 
 appears to be a real fit of idleness. They walk slowly 
 about, gently brushing each other's limbs with their feet ; 
 but what is the most comical sight is to see them clean 
 each other. An ant stretches out first one leg and then 
 another to be brushed and washed by one of its com- 
 panions, who accomplishes the task by passing the leg 
 between its jaws, and then finishing the business by 
 giving the limbs a friendly wipe. 
 
 Perhaps all this amusement, or whatever it may be, is 
 as necessary to the busy little insects as a good game of 
 cricket or blindman's-buff is to the girls and boys we 
 know after a hard day's work at sums and geography, 
 or Greek and Latin. At any rate, after a rest such as 
 this the little creatures are quite ready to bite the next 
 traveller who may happen to come in their way. 
 
 Another insect pest is a little fly, numbers of which 
 follow canoes down the river, looking like so many thin 
 clouds of smoke. They are each supplied with two little 
 horny lancets, which they force into the skin in order 
 to extract the blood ; but there are so many of these 
 tiresome insects in South America that it would be im- 
 possible to name them all. 
 
 In addition to all the other animals it has been 
 found that at one time immense creatures larger 
 than elephants existed in the so-called New World. 
 As a proof of this fact, bones of them have been 
 dug out of the earth or found in caves ; indeed, a 
 skeleton of the Megatherium [a great beast , as its name 
 signifies) is to be seen in the British Museum by any 
 of us who care to pay it a visit. It is impossible to 
 judge of its exact shape from its skeleton only, but it 
 
WILD ANIMALS IN BRAZIL. 
 
 139 
 
 certainly must have been larger than any animal we 
 have living now. Its immense thigh-bone was three 
 times as thick as that of the largest elephant, and its 
 fore-foot was three feet in length. 
 
 Its whole length was eighteen feet ; it had a small 
 head, long neck, very large body, and an enormous 
 tail. In its nature it seems to have resembled the sloth ; 
 its teeth grew in the same manner, and it lived upon 
 vegetarian instead of upon animal food. It moved about, 
 too, very slowly and heavily, although it was so power- 
 ful that it tore down trees as it passed along, or dug 
 them up by their roots. 
 
 Another animal, called the Mylodon, also existed in 
 those ancient forests, smaller than the Megatherium, 
 but very much like it in many respects. The remains, 
 too, of a very large monkey have been found. Indeed, 
 it is very evident that long before the time of the 
 Spaniards, or even of the very oldest Incas, a large 
 portion of the world was inhabited by people and 
 animals of which we shall probably never know any- 
 thing. 
 

 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GUrANA. 
 
 the north of the 
 large province of 
 Brazil lies a small 
 country which, if we be- 
 lieve everything we are 
 told by travellers, is 
 like a swampy forest 
 full of snakes, alligators, and tigers, and where the 
 savages delight in eating ant-paste. 
 
 Other travellers tell us of its beauty; how magnifi- 
 cent are its trees and flowers, and that plants of different 
 kinds grow in such profusion that they spring up not 
 from the ground only, but from rocks, and stones, and 
 from the trunks of trees. It may be that these plants 
 are so anxious to help to adorn the place, or perhaps 
 to know what is going on in the world around, that 
 they take root and start up in strange places, where 
 no one expects to see them, because they can find no 
 room elsewhere. 
 
 Even the water in some places is covered with 
 plants and flowers, so that it has the appearance of a 
 lovely carpet. Indeed, it is no doubt owing to the great 
 
GUIANA. 
 
 141 
 
 moisture of the region that trees and plants grow in 
 such abundance ; for, as we know, it is useless to look 
 for lovely flowers or noble trees in the dry, arid soil 
 of deserts. 
 
 In Guiana are large tracts of land called savannahs, 
 which have become marshy by the overflowing of 
 rivers. 
 
 Once every year, it seems, the rain continues for so 
 long a time that all the rivers overflow, and the shrubs 
 and trees look almost as if they were floating in water. 
 
 As we are told was the case in the old Bible days, 
 when Noah made his wonderful ark, the tops of high 
 trees at such times are converted into places of refuge, 
 and not only men but animals are seen perched aloft 
 among the branches, waiting patiently until the ground 
 is dry again, so that they can wander about happily in 
 search of their prey. 
 
 The native Indians think no more about these inun- 
 dations than we should about a very heavy snow-storm 
 or thunder-storm. They leisurely fix their hammocks 
 on the top branch of some very high tree, and there 
 they sleep as comfortably as we should on the softest of 
 feather-beds. 
 
 No wonder that in times gone by the sight of a 
 spot so lovely made foreign visitors imagine that at 
 last they had found the long-talked-of Land of Gold , or 
 El-dorado , as it was called ; for in addition to the rich 
 foliage and gay flowers, a number of savages were to 
 be seen dressed in what looked very much like real 
 gold. The fact was, the Indians had first covered their 
 bodies with turtle fat, and had then stuck on spangles 
 of mica, which presented a very gay, glittering appear- 
 
 ance. 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
GUIANA. 
 
 1 4*‘3 
 
 It was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth that so 
 many visitors set out in search of the golden country, 
 all anxious to be the first to take the news to their 
 sovereign that the wonderful place had been found. 
 
 Among the rest was the brave and gallant Sir 
 AY alter Kaleigh, who, as we well know, once dis- 
 tinguished himself by throwing off his crimson velvet 
 cloak and spreading it on the muddy pavement for his 
 queen to step upon, rather than that she should soil her 
 dainty shoes. Of course, after that day the queen 
 treated him so graciously that he wanted to do some 
 still nobler deed to prove himself a loyal subject. 
 
 The doing of one kind action generally leads to 
 another ; it is like the first taste of some delicious fruit, 
 which creates a longing for more ; so Sir Walter set out 
 in search of the Golden Land. 
 
 It was all for no use, however ; the Spaniards, who 
 were already on the spot, would not let him land, and 
 he had to return home again no richer than when he 
 started. 
 
 Disappointed, of course, he was, we may be sure ; 
 for it was reported that some descendants of the good 
 Manco, the founder of the Incas, hearing that greater 
 wealth was to be found in Guiana than even in Peru 
 or Mexico, had left their own country and were living 
 near a lake called Parima, where immense quantities of 
 gold were to be found. 
 
 On the banks of this lake it was said that a city 
 stood, the houses of which were covered with plates of 
 gold, and that in the royal palace, not only was every 
 article imaginable made of gold, but that the king 
 and princes had gold-dust sprinkled over their bodies, . 
 so that they were actually clothed in gol 1. 
 
114 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AME11ICA. 
 
 Costly as such a dress might be, it could not have 
 been a very comfortable sleeping* garment ; so the 
 princes used to wash off all the gold every evening, 
 and were supplied with a new suit every morning. 
 This comical tale originated very likely from the oil 
 and mica dresses of which we have heard. 
 
 A SUGAR FACTORY. 
 
 After all this, we don't wonder that Guiana should 
 become a bone of contention among the different visitors 
 who found their way into it. 
 
 After Queen Elizabeth's death, Sir Walter Raleigh 
 was sent out again to Guiana, where, he said, he felt 
 sure here was a very rich gold mine. 
 

 GUIANA. 145 
 
 He sailed out with a number of ships as far as the 
 great river Orinoco, taking with him his eldest son, who 
 was as pleased as his father at the idea of finding wealth 
 for their country. 
 
 The second attempt was, however, little more success- 
 
 A VILLAGE IN FRENCH GUIANA. 
 
 f ul than the first ; all they did was to destroy a Spanish 
 town, and in doing that the boy was killed. 
 
 Poor Raleigh did not live long afterwards. The 
 Spanish Government complained to James about their 
 town being destroyed, and he, by way of avoiding a 
 
116 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 quarrel with Spain, ordered the brave adventurer to be 
 executed. 
 
 After that, some Dutchmen were the first settlers 
 we hear of in Guiana, and for a time they had a very 
 pleasant time on the banks of the river Pomeroon. 
 
 But before long the Spaniards, who evidently had 
 the idea that no nation had so great a right to any 
 part of South America as they had, quarrelled with the 
 Dutchmen, and took their homes from them. 
 
 Then the French tried what they could do to secure 
 both land and riches for themselves, and the English 
 did the same, until at last the whole country was divided 
 into four parts, of which at the present time one belongs 
 to England, one to Holland, one to France, and one to 
 Brazil. 
 
 In British Guiana is the colony of Demerara ; indeed, 
 the whole of British Guiana is sometimes called Deme- 
 rara. 
 
 It is from Demerara that a great deal of the sugar 
 we use is sent, and hundreds of negroes and Indians are 
 employed there working in the large sugar plantations. 
 
 Most of these plantations are situated near the 
 banks of the principal rivers, which, as we hear, at 
 certain times of the year are so swollen with the heavy 
 rains that they overflow ; consequently the negroes 
 build high dams on both sides of the plantations, to 
 protect them from being w r ashed away, because on the 
 other side are the swanky savannahs. 
 
 George Town is the capital of British Guiana, and 
 consists of two or three streets, and not very far away 
 is to be seen what is known as the Kaietur Fall, 
 which is an immense cataract formed by a stream of 
 water falling over a tremendous cliff 822 feet high. 
 
KAIETUR FALLS. 
 
14S 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMEPICA. 
 
 There are many cataracts in different parts of America, 
 but this Kaietur Fall is the highest of those in 
 Guiana. 
 
 As in all South American towns in which settle- 
 ments are made by civilised foreigners, the negroes and 
 dark-coloured natives live in districts of their own, 
 quite distinct from those occupied by the white people. 
 
 NEGRESS OF FRENCH GUIANA (SHOWING THE “MADRAS”). 
 
 When at the very first the English people made 
 their home in Guiana, the negroes took no trouble to 
 adorn themselves with dress of any kind, but would 
 wander about doing their daily work almost naked. 
 
 The masters and mistresses who employed them to 
 do certain kinds of work insisted, therefore, that cloth- 
 ing should be worn by their servants, and in order to 
 reconcile them to the new custom, would frequently 
 
milANA. 
 
 149 
 
 give them old clothes of their own that they had done 
 wearing. 
 
 Very comical it was sometimes to see the black 
 women especially dressed in the garments with which 
 they had been presented. 
 
 The novelty of their appear- 
 ance seemed at first only to 
 amuse them, but by degrees, 
 as the freshness of the affair 
 wore away, they began to 
 show the usual signs of 
 womanly vanity, aud would 
 imitate the manners and 
 appearance of their mis- 
 tresses, imagining, no doubt, 
 that they had succeeded in 
 making themselves quite as 
 attractive as any white lady. 
 
 Not only the women but 
 the black men also looked 
 very ludicrous dressed up in 
 their masters' old clothes. 
 
 The common dress, how- 
 ever, now generally worn by 
 
 NEGRESSES OF DUTCII GUIANA. 
 
150 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 the negresses and mulatto women is such as that in 
 which we now see these dark ladies attired. 
 
 Their dress consists of a piece of stuff or muslin 
 known by the name of gaule, folded gracefully round 
 the body ; and the peculiar head-dress worn by them 
 consists of a handkerchief fastened turban-fashion 
 round the head. 
 
 This Madras, as it is called, is so universally adopted 
 by the natives of Guiana that it may almost be re- 
 garded as a national peculiarity, and yellow is the 
 colour usually chosen for it — the colour of gold or of 
 the sun — while in others are united all the colours of the 
 rainbow, woven into gaudy and elaborate patterns. 
 
 A casual observer might imagine that there was 
 but one method of arranging this gay head-dress, but 
 in reality almost every wearer adopts a different style. 
 The policeman puts on his turban one way, a soldier 
 another, and ladies have so many different methods that 
 it would be a very long time before we could under- 
 stand them all. 
 
 The fact is, indeed, they arrange their Madras to 
 suit the temper they happen to be in at the time. If 
 they are feeling very sad, they give it a certain twist, 
 which means “ I am very miserable ; ” if they are 
 joyous, the handkerchief assumes another shape, which 
 means “ Look how happy I am ; ” if they have been 
 offended, another form is given to it, meant to imply 
 u I am very angry.” So that these head-dresses are 
 really very useful articles of attire, as well as being what 
 their owners consider them, exceedingly ornamental. 
 
 The natives of Guiana, like the rest of the South 
 American Indians, are, although ignorant and savage, 
 in some respects both clever and ingenious; and as to 
 
GUIANA. 
 
 151 
 
 bravery, like most other Indian tribes, they would never 
 think of turning* their back upon an enemy, or of trying 
 to escape pain. 
 
 It once was the custom among one of their tribes, 
 called the Caribs, of whom not very many now remain, 
 that when a captain was chosen, in order to prove his 
 powers of endurance he was for a certain time exposed to 
 a mass of biting insects. 
 
 His suffering in consequence was intense ; but if he 
 bore it bravely, he was chosen as captain, and the rest 
 of his tribe laid at his feet their bows and arrows, to 
 show that they would henceforth obey his com- 
 mands. 
 
 They believe that all created things came from the 
 branch of a silk cotton tree, cut down by the Great 
 Creator, excepting the white men, who sprang from the 
 chips of a tree ; they therefore are of little value. 
 
 They believe also that at one time there was some- 
 where a very large tree on which grew every kind of 
 flower and fruit that has ever been known, and that 
 all the flowers and fruit we have now came originally 
 from that large tree. 
 
 The tree must have been gigantic; for they say that 
 in the middle of it was a large reservoir of water, in 
 which were all the fishes, and that one day a mis- 
 chievous monkey amused himself by letting loose the 
 water, and that consequently the world was flooded. 
 
 The love of finery is as strong in them as it was in 
 their ancestors. Most of the Carib women wear, just 
 above the knee, and above the ankle of each leg, a tight 
 cotton strap painted red. This strap is put on in child- 
 hood, and as the girl grows is only taken off to be 
 replaced by a new one; the result is that their legs 
 
A CARIE INDIAN 
 
GUIANA. 153 
 
 become ugly and unnatural, though the women them- 
 selves are very proud of them. 
 
 Another strange custom of theirs is to make a pin- 
 cushion of their lower lip, by sticking into it two or 
 three pins, which when they want to use, they take out, 
 and then put them back into the same place. At one 
 time, before they could get pins, they used thorns for 
 the purpose instead. 
 
 The cloth worn round the waist by the men is 
 sometimes long enough to be thrown over the shoulder, 
 and made to hang gracefully down the back. In that 
 case it is often ornamented with tassels, the owner at 
 the same time having his body painted gaudily, and 
 wearing on his head a crown of feathers, so that in 
 his own estimation at any rate his appearance is truly 
 magnificent. 
 
 When we hear that these Caribs at one time were 
 cannibals, and used to eat their enemies, we can't feel 
 very sorry that now they have become both less power- 
 ful and less numerous. 
 
 There are to be found on this coast great numbers of 
 turtles, which as an article of food the natives regard as 
 a very great delicacy. A very favourite occupation of 
 theirs is for a number of them to set out with their 
 steel-pointed arrows to the edge of the water, there to 
 lie in wait for turtles. They are so accustomed to the 
 business that, without waiting for the fish to make its 
 appearance, they can tell by the appearance of the water 
 the exact spot where one is quietly paddling along, and 
 often shoot their arrows quite a long way out exactly on 
 the turtle's shell. 
 
 By means of a long piece of twine fastened to the 
 arrow the Indian manages to draw the animal to shore. 
 
154 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA, 
 
 when, if it should not be quite dead, he strikes it with a 
 second arrow. The turtle pools abound sometimes with 
 ugly red leeches, which fasten on the legs of the fisher- 
 men, much to their annoyance. 
 
 SHOOTING TURTLES. 
 
 Better still, however, than the turtles themselves are 
 their eggs; and as each turtle lays about 120 eggs, 
 there are plenty of them to be found, to say nothing 
 about a great many that are not found by the fishermen 
 owing to their being laid in places where they are not 
 looked for. 
 
 The turtles lay their eggs by night, leaving the 
 
GUIANA. 
 
 155 
 
 water in vast crowds when nothing disturbs them, and 
 crawling to a high part of the shore. 
 
 With their broad webbed paws they dig deep holes 
 in the fine sand. One turtle goes first, and after making 
 a pit about three feet deep, lays its eggs and covers them 
 with sand. 
 
 Another then goes, and lays its eggs on the top of 
 those of its companion, a third does the same, and so on, 
 until the pit is full. 
 
 For a Avhole body of turtles to lay their eggs in this 
 way it takes fourteen or fifteen days, and when all have 
 done, the space where they have been at work (called 
 by the Brazilians taboliero ) is distinguishable from the 
 rest of the ground only by the sand having a rather 
 rougher appearance than usual. 
 
 After having laid their eggs they waddle back to the 
 
 MASIIING TURTLE’S EGGS. 
 
156 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 river, looking, when there is a great multitude of them, 
 like a great black cloud moving along the sands ; and 
 down they tumble head first into the water. 
 
 The eggs are especially valuable on account of the 
 oil that is extracted from them, and which is used in 
 different parts of the country for lighting, for frying 
 fish, and other purposes. 
 
 First of all, the eggs, which are quite round, have a 
 leathery shell, and are a little larger than a hen's egg, 
 are thrown into a large tub, or perhaps an empty canoe, 
 and are mashed with wooden prongs. 
 
 Or, instead of that, sometimes naked Indians and 
 children jump into the mass and tread it down, besmear- 
 ing themselves with yolk, and making a scene anything 
 but pleasant. 
 
 The beating process finished, water is poured over 
 the mass, and it is left for a few hours to be heated 
 by the sun, when the oil separates and rises to the 
 surface. 
 
 With long spoons, made by tying large mussel shells 
 to the end of rods, the floating oil is then skimmed off, 
 and purified over the fire in copper kettles, when it is 
 ready for use. 
 
 The Indians say that at one time the waters teemed 
 as thickly with turtles as the air does now with 
 mosquitoes, in that part of the world ; but, owing to so 
 much oil being made from the eggs, and also owing to 
 a great many of the newly hatched young ones being 
 eaten by vultures and alligators, there are not nearly so 
 many left as there used to be. 
 
 The Arawaks are another tribe in Guiana, who seem 
 to be a gentler race altogether than the Caribs, and 
 who still look back with horror to the time when the 
 
GUIANA. 157 
 
 Spaniards landed on their coast, and hunted their fore- 
 fathers through the forests. 
 
 They are very skilful in the use of the bow and 
 arrow, and in order to make their arrows more des- 
 tructive, many Indians adopt the plan of tipping the 
 points with poison. 
 
 They try to make strangers believe that the poison is 
 made from the fangs of venomous snakes, because the 
 effect produced by the poison is very much like a snake 
 bite ; besides which, the Indians are not very scrupulous 
 about speaking the truth. 
 
 The fact is they dip the arrows into a licpiid called 
 wourali, a solution of the bark of a tree, and also beard 
 the points, so that they are sure to adhere to the 
 wounds. To prove how deadly the poison must be, a 
 negro woman whose skin had only been grazed by one 
 of the arrows died almost immediately afterwards, and 
 even her infant too took the poison from her and died. 
 
 For killing small animals, or when the Indians wish 
 to pounce upon their enemies secretly, instead of using 
 the large poisoned arrows they make small arrows, one 
 end of which they tip with poison, and round the other 
 end they wind a tuft of cotton. 
 
 They then make a blow-pipe of a hollow reed, 
 through which the small poisoned arrow is sent with so 
 great a force, and with so direct an aim, that it seldom 
 fails to effect certain death. 
 
 An Indian said once to one of our countrymen, 
 “ The blow-pipe is our gun, and the poisoned arrow is to 
 us powder and shot.” 
 
 Another kind of arrow used by the hunters, instead 
 of being sharply pointed at the end, has a round head 
 about as thick as a chestnut. Those of this description 
 
158 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 are used when parrots, little monkeys, or animals that 
 are wanted to be captured alive, are pursued, because 
 such a weapon merely stuns without killing. 
 
 The Indians have many quarrels among themselves 
 and with the negroes who dwell near them, in addition 
 to all the fighting that has taken place between their 
 conquerors, the Spaniards, and themselves ; so that 
 although some of their weapons are very simple, they 
 have learnt well how to defend themselves. 
 
 Another weapon formerly used by the Arawaks was 
 a formidable-looking affair called a sapakana. It con- 
 sisted of a broad blade of heavy hard wood, thick in 
 the middle but with sharp edges. 
 
 The handle had cotton tied tightly round it, to 
 enable the holder to have a firm grasp of it, and it was 
 also made secure by having a loop of strong cotton 
 fastened to it, which was slipped over the wrist of its 
 owner. 
 
 These sapakanas were sometimes so large that both 
 hands were required to hold them. A blow from one 
 of them, therefore, must have been terrible. They are 
 not often made for use now, but only as objects of 
 curiosity. 
 
 Another Guianian tribe, called the Waraus, or 
 Guaranos, though not perhaps so wild and warlike as the 
 Caribs, are in some respects more savage and uncivilised. 
 They are stout, happy, good-natured creatures, but 
 very dirty and slovenly, and wear scarcely any cloth- 
 ing. 
 
 It is doubtful whether they would do work of any 
 kind if they could possibly help it ; but as they know 
 they would die without food, they catch a great many 
 fish by shooting at them, or sometimes by poisoning the 
 
W i 
 
 SHOOTING 1-TSH. 
 
160 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 water, and upon these they live, in addition to a few 
 vegetables which they cultivate. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, it seems, made friends with a 
 few of the Waraus. He wrote some books of his travels 
 once when he was in prison, and in one of them he 
 mentions the Tivitasas — another name for the Waraus 
 — and calls them a goodly people and very valiant. 
 
 In the dry summer-time they build their houses on 
 the ground, but in winter they mount aloft and make 
 dwellings in the high trees, on account of the heavy 
 rains which they have between May and September. 
 
 Another tribe of Indians build houses in the trees, to 
 avoid, not the water, but the tiresome mosquitoes that 
 infest that part of the country. Whole villages of 
 these houses built in the trees may sometimes be seen. 
 
 In spite of the character they have won for them- 
 selves of being idle, there must be a few workers amongst 
 them to accomplish all the work we hear of their doing. 
 
 There are some very large canoes made by them, 
 called woihakas, which they construct, not only for their 
 own use, but for other tribes, or even for settlers from 
 other countries. 
 
 Some of these canoes will hold fifty persons. They 
 are fifty feet long and six feet broad, and if the makers 
 of them were inclined so to do, they might make quite a 
 little fortune for themselves ; but instead of doing that, 
 the poor creatures, who know no better, very quickly 
 squander all they gain, until hunger reminds them that 
 they must return to their canoe-building. 
 
 Living as they do, it is doubtful whether these poor 
 Waraus could be taught to think and feel differently. 
 Their lives are spent in seeking food to satisfy their hun- 
 ger, and in contriving the rude habitations which they 
 
GUIANA. 
 
 161 
 
 make to shelter their almost naked bodies from the wind 
 and rain. They are surrounded with little that is re- 
 fining- and elevating, excepting of course the broad blue 
 sky, the sun and stars, the mighty sea, and the trees 
 and flowers, all of which are silent teachers to every 
 human being who gazes upon them, if only the eyes of 
 the mind are not blinded, for then, of course, the lessons 
 they teach cannot be read distinctly ; and what we hear 
 of the religion of these poor savages certainly proves to 
 us that they are miserably ignorant, and need all the 
 pity and help that good men can give them. 
 
 For many years English missionaries have laboured 
 in British Guiana, and are still doing all they can to 
 teach the Indians, and also the negroes, who once were 
 slaves there. 
 
 One of these missionaries who went to Guiana built 
 himself a hut on the banks of the river Pomeroon. 
 Following the example of the Indians, he did not make 
 his bed on the ground, but slung a hammock across 
 the ceiling of the hut, to escape being bitten by insects 
 or poisonous snakes ; and there for some time his only 
 companion was a little negro boy, whom he had easily 
 persuaded to live with him, and who helped him to cook 
 and wash. 
 
 Of course he took care to teach the little fellow to 
 read and write, and would gladly have taught the child’s 
 father also ; but it was no easy work the missionaries took 
 upon themselves when they went amongst the natives 
 of the new land of gold and diamonds. 
 
 The missionaries were white men, and so also were 
 the invaders, the Spaniards, consequently all white men 
 alike were hated; indeed they were almost as much in 
 danger of losing their lives among these wild men as if 
 K 
 
162 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 they had ventured into the forests where the jaguars 
 went prowling about. 
 
 One day, as the missionary sat in his hut, he saw a 
 number of Indians paddling their canoes down the river, 
 and he thought if they would only come near his hut he 
 would talk to them ; but although they did not attempt 
 to do him any harm — perhaps because they saw what 
 friends he and the negro boy were — they went as far 
 away from him as they could. 
 
 Another day, however, a dreadful thunder-storm came 
 on, such a thunder-storm as we in England can scarcely 
 imagine, for we never have any so tremendous as they 
 are in South America ; and the missionary invited some 
 Indians who were overtaken in it to take shelter in his 
 hut. 
 
 It might be that they were afraid of the thunder, 
 imagining, as some of them do, that it was the voice 
 of one of their gods expressing his anger towards 
 them. At all events, they accepted the invitation, and 
 while the thunder was rolling and the lightning flashing 
 outside, the missionary took the opportunity of telling 
 them that if they were willing to listen to him he could 
 teach them many things they had never heard before, 
 and which they would be much better and happier for 
 knowing. 
 
 They said they would like to be taught by him, and 
 if their chief gave his permission they would send their 
 children to his school, and they themselves would go to 
 his chapel and hear him preach. 
 
 On hearing this the good missionary said he would 
 pay a visit to the chief ; so he paddled down the river 
 in his canoe to the hut where they said the chief lived, 
 and had a srood lon<? talk with him. 
 

 A VIEW IN FRENCH GUIANA. 
 
164 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Of course the missionaries have to learn the languages 
 of the savages before they are able to talk to them, and 
 so peculiar are some of the dialects that they often find 
 the task no easy one. 
 
 Our Guiana missionary friend, however, pleased the 
 Indian chief so much that he not only gave permission to 
 his followers to attend the chapel that had been built, but 
 he sent his own two sons to attend the school ; and by 
 degrees others followed their example, until the missionary 
 had quite a large congregation of black hearers and a 
 school full of little black pupils. 
 
 Many other brave men have acted just in the same 
 way, and have been rewarded for all their patience and self- 
 denial by seeing hundreds of their dark-skinned fellow 
 creatures abandon their old life of ignorance and selfish- 
 ness, and, instead of it, begin the better life of purity and 
 goodness. 
 
 Indeed, it is quite true that many of those poor 
 Indians, who as some people have imagined had hearts as 
 black and as hard as their skin, have been made to shed 
 tears of love and sorrow when listening to the story of 
 our blessed Master ; and without framing any excuse 
 for delay (as one of the disciples of Christ did of old), they 
 have joyfully tried to follow in the footsteps of Him who 
 so many years ago gave to the world that loving com- 
 mand, “ Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel 
 to every creature.” 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 VENEZUELA. 
 
 Venezuela, or 
 
 m Little Venice, 
 ^ whicli is situa- 
 ted close to Guiana, is 
 the most northerly of 
 all the South Ameri- 
 can provinces, and was 
 so named, it seems, 
 because some of the 
 earliest visitors who 
 landed on its coast 
 found a number of In- 
 dians living in huts built on poles in the water. 
 
 The sight reminded them of Italian life, so they gave 
 the place the name of Venezuela ; though if they had 
 only waited a little until they had seen more of the place 
 they would have found little resemblance between the 
 two countries. 
 
 About the same time a Spanish adventurer called 
 Cristoval Guerra set out with the object of finding 
 pearls, for he had been told there were so many of them 
 in Venezuela that any one might soon become rich 
 who cared to go in search of them ; but, brave as ho 
 
1G6 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA 
 
 was, he was so much alarmed by the fierce looks and 
 savage ways of the natives that he was quite glad to 
 return home to Spain without his pearls, feeling only 
 too thankful that the black men had not taken his life. 
 
 A VILLAGE BUILT ON PILES. 
 
 In later times, when Bolivar paid a visit to Venezuela, 
 he was crossing one of the savannahs with a companion, 
 when some savage fish, called caribes, jumped into the 
 boat and bit them. 
 
 “ Put back the boat/” cried Bolivar, as he felt the 
 sharp strong teeth of a fish piercing his leg; “even the 
 fish are savage in this country.” 
 
VENEZUELA. 
 
 167 
 
 No doubt, on reaching- home, Cristoval gave a most 
 alarming account of all he had seen, by way of excusing 
 himself for returning empty-handed, but instead of being 
 deterred by his reports, other Spaniards started on the 
 same errand ; for in old times, just as much as now, 
 people were always to be found ready to leave home 
 and friends in search of wealth. 
 
 Numbers of avaricious Spaniards might have been 
 seen from time to time trying to make friends with the 
 natives, who very often had to be coaxed and humoured 
 before they would consent to the strange white men 
 taking up their abode, even for a short time, amongst 
 them. The visitors, who were of course provided with 
 fire-arms and weapons, took care also to be supplied with 
 presents to offer to the natives ; and very comical it must 
 have been sometimes to see them bring out paltry articles 
 such as glass beads and bits of metal, all of which 
 delighted the savages. In exchange for them they gave 
 the Spaniards real pearls, gold, food, and other things 
 that were of much greater value ; but of course the best 
 of the transaction was that a feeling of friendship was 
 created between the givers and the receivers of all the 
 presents. 
 
 If only such a feeling of friendship could have been 
 kept up in succeeding years, we should not have had to 
 listen to the many sad tales we have heard of — war and 
 bloodshed and cruelty — connected not only with Vene- 
 zuela but with many other places in South America. 
 
 Before long the Spaniards arrived in such numbers 
 that they became masters of the place, instead of visitors 
 only, and then, sad to say, they did not use wisely the 
 power of which they found themselves possessed. 
 
 They became tyrannical over the natives, made 
 
168 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 servants of them, and, indeed, treated them with such 
 cruelty that numbers of them died. 
 
 Besides that, the Spaniards quarrelled among them- 
 selves. They all tried to excel each other in their search 
 for wealth, and some of them, believing the tales told 
 them by the natives of a land still further off than any 
 they had then seen, where innumerable riches were to be 
 found, were only incited to still further enterprise, in 
 spite very often of sickness, hunger, and all kinds of 
 misery. 
 
 In fact, Venezuela, like all other places in South 
 America where Spaniards had planted their feet, was a 
 long-continued scene of dispute between the Indians 
 and their invaders ; and though it was not without a 
 struggle the natives gave up their liberty, the Spaniards 
 were the conquerors in the end. 
 
 How brave some of those old Indians were, we can 
 form some idea from the account we have of the conduct 
 of one of their chiefs, called Socoraymo. 
 
 He and three companions were taken prisoners by a 
 Spanish soldier, called Garcia Gonzales, who was so much 
 annoyed at the arrows aimed by the Indians among his 
 men that he threatened his four prisoners with death 
 unless they commanded that the firing should cease. 
 
 True to his kindred, the Indian refused to take the 
 part of the Spaniards whom he hated, and boldly called 
 to his countrymen to continue their shooting, apparently 
 heedless that in doing so he risked his own life. 
 
 Garcia, the Spaniard, could not help admiring the 
 display of so much bravery in an Indian, and if it had 
 been in his power he would have spared his life ; but 
 his soldiers willed it differently, and secretly carried out 
 their captain's threat. 
 

 KIVER SCENE IN VENEZUELA. 
 
170 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA,. 
 
 One traveller, wlio knows perhaps as much of Vene- 
 zuela as any other, tells us that it really contains three 
 great regions. First come the Paramos, or Cold Deserts, 
 where keen winds blow; so bitter are they that whole 
 regiments of soldiers have died of starvation as they 
 marched along. Then there are the mountain districts, 
 among which are rich valleys, where coffee, sugar, cotton, 
 and other things are cultivated; and the last, though 
 most important, division is Guayana, which was one of the 
 places visited by our friend Sir Walter Raleigh when he 
 was, as we have heard, seeking for the city of El-dorado. 
 He said about it, “ The country is so healthfulle, as one 
 hundred persons and more were every day almost melted 
 with heat in rowing and marching, and suddenly wet 
 againe with great showers, and did eate of all sorts of cor- 
 rupt fruits, and made meales of fresh fish without season- 
 ing, of tortugas, of lagartos, and of all sorts good and bad, 
 without either order or messure, and besides lodged in 
 the open ayre every night. Still we lost not any one, nor 
 had one ill-disposed to my knowledge, nor found anie 
 calentura, or either of those pestilent diseases which 
 dwell in all hot regions, and so nere the equinoetiall 
 line.” 
 
 One part of Guayana, called the State of Apure, is 
 inhabited by a race of people called the Llaneros, who are 
 considered the best horsemen in America. One of their 
 countrymen, called Ramon Paez, says of them that, “Cast 
 upon a wild and apparently interminable plain, the 
 domain of savage beasts and poisonous reptiles, their lot 
 is to pass all their life in a perpetual struggle, not only 
 with the primitive possessors of the land, but with the 
 elements themselves — often as fierce as they are grand.” 
 
 These Llaneros need truly to be a strong, hardy set of 
 
VENEZUELA. 
 
 171 
 
 men, for the fact is that in Apure from April to August 
 the rain falls so heavily and so continuously that during 
 most of that time the whole country is little better than 
 one vast lake, and many of the natives and cattle that 
 are not drowned in the waters are destroyed by alligators 
 or by the savage caribe fish that astonished and annoyed 
 Bolivar so much. 
 
 In this part of the world are to be seen some 
 immense water-lilies. So large they are that we could 
 almost imagine they belonged to an ancient family of 
 very large plants that ornamented the world in those 
 ages long ago when the Megatherium and the Mylodon 
 and such like huge creatures lived and stalked about 
 among our forests and by the sides of our rivers. The 
 place where the finest of the lilies grow is on the beauti- 
 ful Lake Muna, the water of which, instead of being pure 
 and clear, as we should think the home of such lovely 
 flowers ought to be, is as black as ink. 
 
 Not very long ago, a gentleman who was travelling in 
 this very region thought he should like to see the flowers 
 for himself, then he would know whether all the reports 
 were true that he had heard about them ; so with two or 
 three black servants as guides, he got into a boat, and off 
 they set in search of them. 
 
 Before they had gone far they were so fearfully teased 
 by thick clouds of mosquitoes that the gentleman felt 
 quite inclined to turn back again, but just as he had 
 decided to do so, one of his servants called out We 
 are here;” and there sure enough a most gorgeous sight 
 presented itself to their gaze. 
 
 The surface of the lake was thick with huge dark- 
 green leaves, each of which had all round its edge a 
 border of a wine-coloured rosy tint. Among these great 
 

 172 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 leaves expanded magnificent flowers, whose petals out- 
 side were milky white, while inside they were rose. 
 
 GIGANTIC WATER LILIES. 
 
 coloured, the very centre of the flower being a rich 
 violet tint. 
 
 
CARRYING THE LILY LEAF. 
 
171 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOLTII AM EltIC A. 
 
 The surface of the lake looked like an immense flowery 
 carpet, upon which were walking hundreds of wading 
 birds, who trotted along perfectly at ease, knowing all of 
 them that the ground beneath them was quite strong 
 enough to bear the weight of their bodies, even though 
 some of them were by no means small specimens of the 
 bird family. 
 
 The next thing: to be done was to gather one of the 
 lilies , so in order to do this the boat was pushed into the 
 huge net-work of leaves and flowers, and there, with the 
 aid of a strong stick, a splendid lily, and also a bud were 
 broken away from the rough, strong, prickly stalk. More 
 difficult still was it to obtain one of the huge leaves, for 
 they were held down by knotty stalks as thick as a ship's 
 cable; but after a good deal of hard work a leaf also was 
 broken off. Its size and shape you see by looking at the 
 engraving. 
 
 Its weight was actually thirteen pounds and a half : 
 the flower weighed three pounds and a half, and the bud 
 weighed two pounds and a quarter. How carefully they 
 are all being carried we can see. A kind of carriage 
 for the leaf was made by fastening together a number 
 of sticks which two black servants carried, the large 
 flower and bud being carried by a third native. 
 
 The Indians of the upper Amazon have given the 
 name of japna to this exquisite flower, because of the 
 resemblance of its leaf to a great iron pan without a 
 handle in which they cook their food. In the Amazon 
 language this pan is called japuna. 
 
 In Brazil there is a certain bird of the name of Uaope, 
 which perches on this lily leaf in search of insects, flies, 
 and dragon-flies for its food; therefore the Indians call 
 their pan and also the leaf of the lily after the bird. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FROM COLOMBIA TO URUGUAY. 
 
 f HE province next to Vene- 
 zuela is that of Colombia, 
 or New Granada as it is also 
 called, and although we know that 
 now it is like other South American 
 countries, a land of beauty, it is 
 almost a marvel that we know 
 anything at all about its past his- 
 tory, for after the settlement of 
 its conquerors, the Spaniards, the 
 native Indians in the place decreased 
 so rapidly that there was scarcely any one left to tell all 
 the old tales and legends of the land. 
 
 To make matters still worse, the monks and priests 
 destroyed many of their temples and images in trying 
 to put down the old religion of the country, and 
 demolished, also, every stone or rock upon which their 
 hieroglyphics were inscribed; so that even the very 
 name of the Chibchas, as one of the chief tribes was 
 called, was nearly forgotten. 
 
176 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 The tale handed down from father to son by these 
 people was that one day, at a time when they were 
 very savage and ignorant, without religion and without 
 laws, an old grey-headed man with a long, white beard, 
 made his appearance among them, and taught them to 
 be industrious, and peaceable, and orderly. He taught 
 them how to spin, and weave, and cultivate the ground, 
 after which he disappeared. 
 
 The places where he had last been seen were then 
 considered sacred by his followers, who tried after he 
 had gone to do all that he had wished, and his memory 
 was cherished by them with love. 
 
 After a good deal of searching among old writings, 
 this little narrative and one or two others were brought 
 to light; among them is an explanation of the beginning 
 of the world. 
 
 At first these Chibchas say darkness reigned over 
 the whole earth, the light was enclosed in a large space, 
 out of which flew at last some enormous birds with 
 fiery beaks. 
 
 One day, when thunder rolled and lightning flashed, 
 a beautiful woman was seen to emerge from this region 
 of light, carrying in her arms a little boy. When the 
 little boy grew to be a man he married the beautiful 
 woman, and after this the earth began to be inhabited 
 by human beings. Then, after some years, the woman 
 and her husband returned to the land of light. 
 
 At Bogota, a town in Colombia, is the wonderful 
 water-fall of Tequendama, which is formed by the leaping 
 of the stream at one bound over a precipice 475 feet in 
 height. It was considered sacred by these old Chib- 
 chas, who offered sacrifices there in memory, they said, 
 of a blow given by the beautiful woman with her wand 
 
L 
 
 FALLS OF TEQUENDAMA. 
 
178 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 offered their sacrifices, and for having returned their 
 thanks. 
 
 The wealthiest of men is poor at heart who can 
 receive with a cold, indifferent spirit the thousand 
 blessings that he needs to supply his daily and hourly 
 wants, just as if they were all his by right, and thanks 
 from him were altogether unnecessary. 
 
 when she opened this breach to save her people from 
 the deluge. The old Greeks, it seems,, in the same way 
 gave thanks every year to Neptune for having opened a 
 passage in one of their rivers between two mountains. 
 
 Although really neither Neptune or the woman had 
 merited the thanks bestowed upon them, the people 
 themselves were both richer and happier for having 
 
 GAME DEALERS OF BOGOTA. 
 
SCENE IN BOGOTA — -STARTING ON A JOURNEY. 
 
180 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 God, the only Giver of all mercies, smiles upon His 
 creatures, and acknowledges their thanks. It may be, 
 too, that thanks tendered in ignorance to some object 
 that He has made instead of to Himself are better than 
 no thanks at all. Far better it is for any of us to mis- 
 take the source of our benefits than to have hearts in- 
 capable of feeling grateful. 
 
 Quito, the capital of Ecuador, the province next to 
 Colombia, is the ancient capital of the Peruvian mon- 
 archy, and is one of the most remarkable cities of the 
 world, on account of its being situated so high above the 
 sea. Its cathedral is an object of great admiration. The 
 whole province of Ecuador, so well known for its ter- 
 rible volcanoes and lofty mountains, is frequently called 
 Quito or Equator, because it is under the equinoctial 
 line. 
 
 The highest of the volcanoes is Cotopaxi, from 
 which at different times there have been eruptions, 
 when the cinders and fragments of rock sent out by it 
 have covered the valleys around to the extent of several 
 leagues. 
 
 In 1758 the flames of the volcano rose 2,700 feet 
 above the edge of the crater, and in 1744 the roaring 
 of the mountain was heard as far as Honda, six hundred 
 miles away. Another time, in 1768, the quantity of 
 cinders sent up from the mouth of the volcano was so 
 great that until mid-day the sky was darkened with 
 them. 
 
 After this, for twenty years it was quiet — just as 
 we should expect an angry man to be silent and ashamed 
 of himself after giving way to a fit of passion ; then 
 it burst out again as furiously as before. The old 
 Mexicans gave the name of Popocatepetl, or “the Hill 
 
FROM COLOMBIA TO URUGUAY. 
 
 181 
 
 that Smokes/’ to a volcano in their country , and looked 
 upon it as a god. They had a mysterious dread of it, 
 
 THE GRAND ALTAR, CATHEDRAL OF QUITO. 
 
 and told the white strangers in whispers that no man 
 could ascend its slopes and still live. 
 
1 82 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 The Spaniards laughed on hearing this, and re- 
 solved to find out what there was to fear. Accord- 
 ingly, ten of them began ascending the steep sides 
 of the mountain, taking with them as many Indians 
 as they could persuade to join them. On they all 
 went happily for some time, until they came to where 
 
 feTEEET SCENE IN QUITO. 
 
 no grass was seen growing, nor any trees, nor any 
 vegetation of any kind, but where strange noises were 
 heard like distant thunder. The Indians then looked 
 alarmed, and set olf back again with all speed, thinking 
 to themselves how foolish the white men were to rush 
 as they were doing into such great danger. Left to 
 themselves, the ten brave Spaniards continued their 
 way, over the black, glazed sand, and through the chill- 
 
FROM COLOMBIA TO URUGUAY. 
 
 183 
 
 ing air, until they reached the region of perpetual snow, 
 and found themselves among glittering, treacherous 
 glaciers and crevasses, and with huge slippery-pathed 
 precipices yawning around — a great change for them, 
 when it had been warm, bright summer not many hours 
 before at the foot of the volcano. 
 
 SOLDIER OF QUITO. WATCHMAN OF QUITO. 
 
 All at once, however, a little higher still, they en- 
 countered such a fierce storm of cinders, and smoke, and 
 sparks that they rushed back again nearly suffocated; 
 and if not laughed at by the Indians, they confirmed 
 them, no doubt, in their belief that the volcano was a 
 mighty god. 
 
184 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Another time the Spaniards were in want of gun- 
 powder, when a party of brave fellows, led by one called 
 Francisco Montano, ascended the same volcano in search 
 of sulphur — an important ingredient in the manufacture 
 of gunpowder. 
 
 When they reached the top of the volcano, flame 
 was actually issuing from the abyss, and, brave as they 
 all were, no one could have wondered if they had dared 
 to venture no farther. Not so, however. Men who, 
 like these Spaniards, go in search of new countries have 
 generally stout hearts ; and though these sulphur-seekers 
 knew that at any moment they might have been suffo- 
 cated by flame or vapour, they persevered in the task 
 they had undertaken. 
 
 In order to obtain the sulphur it was necessary that 
 one of their number should be let down, by means of a 
 basket, into the lurid crater. So lots were drawn, by 
 way of deciding who should be the inmate of the basket, 
 and the lot fell upon the leader, Francisco Montano. 
 
 As he bravely went down, the light shone on his 
 face and steam rose around him ; but without showing 
 any fear (however much or little he may have felt), he 
 hastily stretched out his hands and broke off from the 
 sides of the crater as much of the bright yellow sub- 
 stance as he could take with him, and was then drawn up 
 again. Not once only did he descend, but several times, 
 until he had obtained as much sulphur as he knew would 
 be required. 
 
 After such an act of bravery the Indians must have 
 thought that not only the volcano was a god, but that 
 the brave Spaniard must be god-like also. 
 
 In Ecuador grows extensively the cinchona-tree, which 
 yields the famous Peruvian bark or quinine. It is a very 
 
GATHERING CINCHONA BARK. 
 
186 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 large tree, bearing evergreen leaves, and also a pretty 
 white and rose-coloured flower. 
 
 The bark of the tree has long been used in our coun- 
 try as a medicine, and in order to procure it a number 
 of Indians are employed several months in the year. 
 
 A party of them start out together into the forests 
 where it grows, and first of all build a number of little 
 huts for themselves, which serve not only as sleeping- 
 places, but as drying-sheds for the bark which they cut 
 from the trees. 
 
 The trees are cut close to the ground, and stripped 
 of every particle of bark, which, after being thoroughly 
 dried, is folded first in woollen cloths, and afterwards in 
 hides made from skins of animals j and thus in packages, 
 each of which is called a drum, it is sent away to places 
 where it is wanted. 
 
 Leaving Ecuador, to pay an imaginary visit to the 
 southern province of Paraguay, we find ourselves in a 
 country that in many respects is very similar to the 
 countries of which we have already heard. 
 
 Like them, it has been the scene of much bloodshed. 
 It was discovered by Sebastian Cabot in 1526, and after 
 that was peopled by a number of Spaniards, who fought 
 the Indians, as their countrymen had done elsewhere, 
 and killed them, by way of establishing themselves as 
 the rightful owners of the place. 
 
 For many years misery and cruelty abounded on all 
 sides, because the men who possessed the right to rule, 
 and who ought to have taught the people how to live 
 good, useful lives, were bad, ambitious men, who cared 
 for nothing but amassing wealth for themselves, and 
 establishing their own power. 
 
 It is in this country, lying so far from the sea that 
 
FROM COLOMBIA 10 URUGUAY. 
 
 187 
 
 sea-breezes never reach it, that a kind of holly called the 
 mate-tree grows, and from the leaves of which a liquor 
 is made that is drunk all over the southern part of the 
 continent as a substitute for tea and coffee. 
 
 There are large plantations of it, called yerbales, 
 belonging to rich Spanish and Portuguese settlers, 
 who employ a number of natives called Peons to work 
 for them ; so that for six months in the year these poor 
 fellows find plenty to do in collecting the leaves and 
 twigs of the tree, drying them over a fire, and then 
 beating them into small fragments, after which they 
 pack them in large hide bags ready to be sent away. 
 
 When made, it is taken without milk or sugar, 
 and by wealthy people it is sucked through a silver 
 tube; poor folks have, of course, to content themselves 
 with a tube less costly. 
 
 In its effect upon the system mate is both refresh- 
 ing and nourishing, and may for days be taken as a 
 substitute for food. 
 
 Among the Indian tribes who inhabit Paraguay are 
 the Canguas, or forest people, who live among the thick 
 woods, and who appear to be harmless creatures, living 
 very much to themselves, and subsisting on such animals 
 as they may be able to kill with their bows and arrows. 
 The Guayanas, another tribe, are sometimes sufficiently 
 civilised to work in the yerbales among the other 
 labourers, and are no doubt highly delighted to have 
 a ride occasionally in the train that now runs through 
 the lovely country. 
 
 In these Paraguayan trains two carriages like these 
 shown in the picture are reserved for the poor black 
 folk, and the rows of black legs would be a very laugh- 
 able sight to us, could we see them. 
 
188 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 
 . 
 
 Dressed in nothing but 
 a very clean gown of white 
 cotton, these dark ladies and 
 gentlemen rush to the sta- 
 tion to buy their tickets, 
 sometimes making them- 
 selves rather troublesome to 
 the railway servants, by 
 wanting to be off on their 
 journey before the proper 
 time. 
 
 A gentleman who was 
 once visiting in their country 
 was very much amused one 
 day by one of the railway 
 ollicials placing, close to the 
 gates of the office where the 
 tickets were sold, a number 
 of plastering brushes wet 
 with glue and black pitch, 
 so that any one who at- 
 tempted to climb over the 
 fastened gate could not do so 
 without touching the black, 
 sticky brushes. 
 
 The precaution proved 
 most successful, for the black 
 passengers were exceedingly 
 careful about not soiling 
 their white cotton garments, 
 so they patiently waited out- 
 side the gates until permis- 
 sion was given them to enter. 
 
190 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Other tribes also there are ; among them the Lenguas, 
 who were so named by the white men on account of a 
 peculiar chain ornament worn by the tribe, consisting of 
 a semi-circular piece of wood that was passed through a 
 slit in the lower lip, and that gave it the appearance of 
 a hanging tongue. 
 
 A similar ornament is worn by the Botocudos, 
 another tribe, of which we have heard previously. 
 
 FOURTH CLASS PASSENGERS- -PARLIAMENTARY TRAIN IN PARAGUAY. 
 
 The little province of Uruguay, south of Paraguay, 
 is the smallest of all the independent states in South 
 America; and though, like Paraguay, it could tell many 
 a tale of war and bloodshed, the picture it presents now 
 is by no means so dark as formerly. 
 
 When the Spaniards ruled there the country produced 
 neither wheat, rye, nor barley ; while now corn is raised 
 in such quantities as to keep numbers of steam, wind, 
 and water-mills in constant work. Besides which, 
 tobacco, and the famous yerba-mate, are being grown 
 successfully. 
 
FROM COLOMBIA TO URUGUAY. 191 
 
 Cotton, plantain, the sugar-cane, besides many fruits 
 and herbs, also thrive in this Kttle country. 
 
 There are, perhaps, few sights more beautiful than a 
 sugar plantation about the month of November, when 
 the canes are in full bloom, or in arrow, as they are said 
 to be. 
 
 At that time the canes are sometimes eight feet in 
 height, and as they wave about to and fro they present 
 the appearance of an immense sheet of gold, tinged by 
 the sun's rays with a lovely purple. 
 
 The stem at first is of a dark green colour, which 
 gradually changes to a bright yellow ; then an arrow or 
 silver wand makes its appearance at the end of the cane, 
 and also a number of blue and white flowers, not at all 
 unlike tufts of feathers. It sometimes happens that 
 these beautiful plantations are accidentally set on fire, 
 and then, in the space of a few minutes, the hard work 
 of hundreds of slaves and the hopes of rich men are 
 utterly destroyed. 
 
 As soon as the fire is detected the inhabitants 
 sound what is called the alarm shell, the loud whistle 
 of which is heard from the neighbouring hills, and 
 which acts as a summons to bands of negroes to hasten 
 to the rescue. The anxious planters are generally seen 
 driving about. Indeed, the whole picture must be one 
 that to us, who have never seen it, would be difficult to 
 describe. 
 
 Monte Video, the chief town of Uruguay, and so 
 called from the cerro or mount close by, is one of the 
 healthiest, cleanest, and handsomest cities in South 
 America. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre, 
 and you may gain some idea of its attractiveness from 
 the accompanying view from the sea. The houses look 
 
VIEW OF MONTE VIDEO. 
 
I'ROM COLOMBIA TO URUGUAY. 
 
 193 
 
 very pretty, with the sunlight sparkling upon them ; 
 most of them are of one storey only, and they have 
 flat roofs. 
 
 The language spoken in Monte Video is, of course, 
 Spanish, but there are a number of foreign residents : 
 Italians, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Brazilians, Germans, 
 and Englishmen ; indeed, it is said these number no 
 less than 480 out of every 1,000 of the population. 
 
 M 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 OT far from the yerba- 
 mate country lies 
 
 the land of the 
 
 great prairies of South 
 | America, or the pampas, as 
 they are called. 
 
 This country is the Ar- 
 gentine Republic, or La 
 Plata, and, like Chili and 
 Peru, once belonged to 
 
 Spain, but has since re- 
 
 belled, and is now a republic in its own right. 
 
 The first of modern travellers who found his way 
 to the great river Rio de la Plata was a Spanish 
 mariner of the name of Solis, who died before he had 
 done little more than take a peep into the strange 
 land. The next visitor we hear of is the famous 
 Sebastian Cabot, who was tempted by the sight of 
 the trinkets he saw the Indians wearing to search 
 
SEBASTIAN CABOT. 
 
 boldly sailed with his men up some of the great 
 rivers, hoping at last to be crowned with success 
 such as no one had ever had before, giving the name 
 
 La PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 195 
 
 diligently for the gold districts, which of course he 
 concluded could not be far away. Full of hope, he 
 
196 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 of “ the River of Silver ” (which is the meaning of Ptio 
 de la Plata) to the great river we now know by that 
 name,, and into which so many smaller rivers flow. 
 He was interrupted in his scheme, however, by the 
 sight of a vessel, commanded by another of his country- 
 men, who had left home on the same errand as him- 
 self; so what the two voyagers did, instead of making 
 friends with each other, was to quarrel, because (to 
 tell the truth) they were jealous of each other, and 
 the result of the quarrel was that Don Garcia set off 
 home again, leaving the place free for Sebastian to 
 seek for gold the day through, if he chose to do so. 
 Instead of that, Cabot started home too, suspicious 
 of what Garcia might say to his master, the king, 
 about him ; but before doing so he founded the first 
 European colony on the river Plata. 
 
 After that time other foreigners — Spaniards, Por- 
 tuguese, and English — kept arriving and settling down 
 to live in the place, . until there was quite a large 
 population of mixed people, with no one to govern 
 them. No wonder, therefore, they began to quarrel, 
 not only among themselves, but with other nations. 
 Even the chiefs among them shot each other. 
 
 At last, in 1829, one of these chiefs, called Juan 
 Manuel Rosas, was made governor of the provinces; but 
 instead of his making the country better or happier, he 
 made it very much worse in every way, for he was a 
 wicked, cruel man, and very thankful the inhabitants all 
 were Avlien he was at last defeated in battle and driven 
 away. 
 
 Since then the country, in spite of various insurrec- 
 tions and disputes, has become orderly and happy. 
 
 A considerable portion of La Plata, or the Argentine 
 
VIEW ON THE FAMFAS. 
 
198 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 Republic, consists of large plains called the pampas, 
 which in reality are the prairies of South America ; 
 though sometimes the term is meant to signify any 
 tract of level land, wherever it may happen to be found. 
 These pampas are the homes not only of thousands of 
 animals but also of the Gauchos and the wild Indians, 
 the former of whom are a race of wild Spaniards well 
 known in this district of South America, and who are 
 the peons, or labourers, employed by large owners of 
 horses and cattle. 
 
 Their work is all done on horseback; for there are so 
 many horses in America that they run wild, and are not 
 only used as beasts of burden, but are eaten by the in- 
 habitants. The huts of the Gauchos are made of mud 
 thatched with grass; and very often the cradles of the 
 babies are bullocks' skins swung to the roof. Their work 
 is nearly all performed on horseback, and as they boldly 
 scamper across the pampas, holding in their hands the lasso 
 and bolas (ropes with weights attached to either end), with 
 
LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 199 
 
 which to catch the different animals they pursue, they ap- 
 pear to be thoroughly happy. As soon as one horse is tired 
 they catch another, and tire that out also. Like most 
 ignorant people, however, they are often very idle ; so 
 instead of taking the trouble to cultivate the ground, in 
 
 LASSOING- A WILD HORSE. 
 
 order to be supplied with vegetables for food, they live 
 entirely upon the wild animals they catch. 
 
 Some of them are very musical, and are as delighted 
 to sit playing their guitars as their companions are to 
 hurl their lassos. 
 
 They generally wear large soft hats, cloaks called 
 ponchos , which are pieces of woollen stuff covering the 
 
A GAUCI10. 
 
LA PLATA AND PATACxONTA. 
 
 201 
 
 back, chest, and arms, trousers, known by the name of 
 cJiiripa , of a bright showy colour, a leather belt, called 
 tirador , and large boots adorned with silver spurs. 
 
 Bold, wild, cruel men most of them are, and by no 
 means such as any of us would like to meet alone in a 
 thick forest. 
 
 The vast plain of the pampas may be divided into 
 three portions. First, the land of tall thistles, which 
 wither every year, when rich clover springs up in their 
 place. Then the land of long grass ; and this pampas 
 grass is very different from any that we see in England. 
 It consists of coarse tufts of hard, dry grass, which 
 cover the yellow clay like thousands of little islands. 
 In the distance the spaces between these little tufts 
 cannot be seen, so that the pampas look like a great 
 lawn, and in autumn, when the seeds of the grass are 
 .ripe, they look quite white ; so that the large plain is like 
 a great ocean covered with gently rolling silvery waves. 
 Then lastly there is the land of low trees and shrubs. 
 
 Among the animals that frequent the pampas are 
 the viscachas, animals about the size of squirrels, and 
 which are as much dreaded as the prairie dogs are in 
 North America, for the reason that they burrow into the 
 land so much that it is quite dangerous to travel on the 
 plains after dark. Horses, mounted by Guaehos, very 
 frequently stumble in the holes made by them. 
 
 The armadillo, the hare of the pampas (a kind of 
 guinea-pig), the beautiful Argentine skunk, rats, mice, 
 tiger-cats, deer, pole-cats, the ugly river-hog, the puma, 
 the jaguar, and serpents of all kinds in abundance, dwell 
 in these wonderful regions. 
 
 As to birds, too, there are plenty of them, from the 
 tiny humming-bird to the huge ostrich, so many of 
 
202 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 which are to be found in Patagonia. The condor, also, 
 sometimes finds its way to the pampas, though, as a 
 rule, it makes a point of keeping near its much-loved 
 mountains. 
 
 Strange tales have been told about this remarkable 
 bird, all of which are not strictly true. 
 
 Some old travellers once said that his plumage could 
 not be pierced by a musket ball — an absurd idea, founded, 
 no doubt, on the fact that it is generally a very diffi- 
 cult business to kill him, on account of his plumage, 
 especially on his wings, being so strong and thick. 
 
 The natives, therefore, seldom attempt to shoot the 
 condor. They usually catch it by traps or by the 
 lasso, or kill it by stones flung from slings, or with 
 bolas. 
 
 When fully grown it measures between four and 
 five feet, from the point of the beak to the end of the 
 tail, and from the tip of one wing to that of the other 
 it measures twelve to fourteen feet. 
 
 In one province a curious method of capturing the 
 condor alive is practised. 
 
 A fresh cow-hide, with some fragments of flesh 
 adhering to it, is spread out on one of the level heights, 
 and an Indian, provided with ropes, creeps beneath it, 
 whilst some others station themselves in ambush near 
 the spot, ready to assist him. 
 
 Presently a condor, attracted by the smell of the 
 flesh, darts down upon the cow-hide, and then the 
 Indian, who is concealed under it, seizes the bird by the 
 legs, and binds them fast in the skin as in a bag. 
 
 The captured condor flaps its wings, and tries to 
 fly, but is soon secured, and carried in triumph to the 
 nearest village. 
 
LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 203 
 
 Living condors are often sold in the markets of 
 Chili and Peru, where a very fine one may be bought 
 for a dollar and a half, or about six shillings. 
 
 To the astonishment of all the birds and animals, 
 a railway runs across the pampas now. They, no doubt, 
 wonder who the bold flying intruder can be who dares 
 to rush screaming across their domain just when he 
 pleases; forgetting, if they do thus wonder, that they 
 themselves are unlike the very first occupants of their 
 home. 
 
 Ages ago the sea tossed its silvery spray where the 
 pampas now are, and under the surface have been found 
 carcases of great sloths and armadillos, and other 
 skeletons of old animals that have been buried in its 
 soil, which must have fallen into the river as it flowed 
 through the forests. 
 
 Though like their present descendants in form, the 
 creatures were in those days much larger, the most 
 famous of them all, perhaps, being the Megatherium 
 Cuvieri, an immense sloth, from twelve to eighteen 
 feet long, and with bones larger than those of an 
 elephant. 
 
 If trees grew in those days this sloth was so huge 
 that it certainly could not have climbed them, as the 
 present sloths do now, back downward. 
 
 Instead of attempting that performance, it is thought 
 that it used actually to uproot the whole tree, in order 
 to get the foliage that it wanted for food. 
 
 A great many other immense skeletons of animals 
 have been found. So many there are that it is almost 
 impossible to dig deeply in any part of the pampas 
 without finding some such remains. 
 
 The principal town of this republic is Buenos Ayres, 
 
VIEW IN BUENOS AYRES. 
 
LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 205 
 
 which, in 1535, was founded by a wealthy speculator, 
 who, on account of its mild, delightful climate, gave it 
 the name of Santa Maria de Buenos Aires, or “ Saint 
 Mary of the Good Airs.” 
 
 It is a sea-port town, but unfortunately has a 
 sloping shore, so that vessels attempting to land can 
 only do so at high tide ; at low tide they are sent back 
 again. 
 
 IN THE SUBURBS OF MENDOZA. 
 
 Mendoza, another town of great beauty, is built 
 upon some ruins, which were all that were left of a 
 former town after a dreadful earthquake with which it 
 was visited. 
 
 As we have heard. South America has been visited 
 many times by these earthquakes, and that at Mendoza, 
 in 1861, must have been very terrible. 
 
 One Sunday evening in March, during Lent, when 
 
GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 206 
 
 the churches were full of worshippers, a sudden swelling 
 of the river was observed, then the ground shook, a 
 strange rumbling was heard below, and in a few 
 seconds afterwards thousands of poor creatures were 
 buried alive. 
 
 The few people that escaped, scarcely knowing what 
 had happened, ran about amid clouds of dust, mingled 
 with flashes of fire, looking for their homes and their 
 friends ; but they had to look in vain — nothing remained 
 but a mass of rubbish and a number of dead or dying 
 human beings. 
 
 It sometimes happens before the arrival of an earth- 
 quake certain signs are observed as warnings to the 
 inhabitants of what is at hand. Dogs howl, and the 
 other animals appear uneasy, as if they were seeking 
 for some hiding-place from danger. But there were 
 no such warnings at the time of this fearful Mendoza 
 earthquake; within the space of only a few seconds the 
 town was nothing but a mass of ruins. 
 
 A Frenchman who was there at the time tells us 
 that as he was walking through the street he felt him- 
 self all at once lifted into the air, then thrown many 
 feet away, he did not know where. 
 
 The fall made him insensible, but as soon as he 
 recovered consciousness he looked round to see which 
 road he should take to reach his hotel — the only house 
 in the place that he knew, and the kind host of which, 
 also a Frenchman, was his only friend. 
 
 The clouds of dust were so great that he had no 
 idea how to proceed, so he remained where he was all 
 night. 
 
 The next morning, with great difficulty, he retraced 
 his steps to the hotel, but, on reaching it, all that met 
 
1.— ETJIN3 OF CHUECII OF SAN DOMINGO 
 2 — EUE ST NICHOLAS, IN MENDOZA. 
 
208 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 The present town, so elegantly built and so flourish- 
 ing, has little left to remind the stranger of its past 
 calamity. It happened so long ago that with many of 
 its inhabitants it is almost forgotten. 
 
 Like our joys and sorrows, which, as years roll on, 
 become nothing but memories of the past, so this 
 terrible earthquake of twenty years ago is a thing of 
 the past also, taking its place, of course, among the 
 dark spots in the world's history, where it will ever 
 remain a mystery inexplicable, in the same way that 
 sorrow, and pain, and evil of every kind will always be 
 a mystery to us. 
 
 The next country to which, for a short time, we 
 will turn our attention is Patagonia, lying quite to the 
 south of South America. You have, no doubt, heard 
 how tall the inhabitants are who live there, for the 
 Patagonians have long been famous for their great 
 height ; though, at the same time, some travellers tell 
 us that many of our countrymen are quite as tall as 
 these Tehuclche Indians, which is another name for 
 the Patagonians. 
 
 In the year 1520 a great explorer named Magellan 
 landed on the coast of their country, and he was very 
 much amused at the sight of these huge creatures. 
 They were much bigger than the Spaniards he had left 
 behind, and because they wore shoes made of the skin 
 of the animal called guanaco, his men gave them the 
 name of Patagones, which word means large feet. 
 
 They paint their bodies, not only for the sake of 
 making themselves look smart, but with the idea of 
 protecting their skin from the cold, and rain, and sun. 
 Those of them who prefer real clothing, make mantles 
 out of guanaco fur, and boots from either the skin of a 
 
VIEW IN 
 
210 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 horse or that of a puma. These garments are made by 
 the women, who must be very clever workwomen, for the 
 needles they use are nothing but pieces of bone sharp- 
 ened to a point, and the thread is made from the sinews 
 of the guanaco. We all of us, no doubt, should find the 
 cloaks they wear very inconvenient, but the Indians, 
 even on horseback, appear quite comfortable in them. 
 
 Like most savages, both the men and women arc 
 very fond of ornaments, such as large square ear-rings, 
 and necklaces of all descriptions. A comical appearance 
 they present, you may be sure. When seated on their 
 horses they trot off to the hunt with their painted bodies 
 decked out in feathers and jewellery. Their houses, or 
 toldos, as they are called, are simply tents made by 
 planting stakes of wood into the ground, and then 
 covering them with the skins of animals. 
 
 Their favourite objects of pursuit are the ostrich and 
 the guanaco. The ostrich, we well know, is the huge 
 swifLfooted bird who buries his head in the sand when 
 he finds there is no escape for him from the hunters, and 
 is mentioned by one of the oldest poets that ever lived — 
 the long-suffering Job, who speaks of the ostrich leaving 
 her eggs in the earth, and warming them in the dust. 
 
 The charge long made against the ostrich, however, 
 for neglecting its young, is partly explained when we 
 are told that it is only during the day it leaves its eggs, 
 because then the lieat of the sun is sufficient to hatch 
 them. During the night it sits upon them, when the 
 cold would be too great, and, strange to say, it is the 
 male bird that hatches and looks after the young, being, 
 as far as is known, the only male bird that does so. 
 
 During rainy weather this so-called cruel parent will 
 sit for six or seven days without leaving the nest, and 
 
LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 211 
 
 without food. In fine weather he may stray away for 
 an hour or two in the evening, but if, during his 
 absence, one egg should he either missing or broken, he 
 on his return becomes so furious that he will dash the 
 remaining eggs to pieces, and dance round the nest as if 
 mad with anger. 
 
 A plan of catching ostriches, adopted by some of the 
 wild men, is for one of them, having found a nest, to 
 remove all the eggs and seat himself upon it, and there 
 quietly to await the return of the bird. As soon as it 
 makes its appearance, before it has had time to recover 
 its surprise at finding him there instead of its eggs, he 
 shoots it with a poisoned arrow. 
 
 In Africa, when the natives wish to cook an ostrich's 
 egg, they set it upright on a fire, and after making a 
 hole at the top of it, they insert a forked stick, which 
 they stir round and round, until — as they think — the 
 egg is fit for eating. The shell, being, as we know, 
 very thick and strong,, is applied to various uses, but 
 principally as a vessel for water. 
 
 African girls may be seen coming down to the 
 fountains from their dwellings, each carrying on her 
 back a kaross, or net, containing from twelve to fifteen 
 egg-shells, which have been emptied by a small aperture 
 at one end. These they fill with water, and then close 
 the hole tightly with grass. 
 
 The flesh of the ostrich serves excellently for food, and 
 his feathers the Indians sell to people who trade in them. 
 
 The guanacos, which are to be seen in great numbers 
 all over Patagonia, are very quick runners too. The 
 head of this animal is like that of a camel; his body is 
 like a deer's, only it is covered with a yellowish kind of 
 wool, and he neighs like a horse. It is in the skin of 
 
212 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 one of these animals, made into what is called a capa by 
 the Indian women, that the Patagonian ostrich hunters 
 are arrayed, when, mounted on their horses, they fly 
 across the pampas after the swift-footed birds. These 
 capas, made from the skins of the young guanacos, are 
 extremely warm, and serve well to protect the wearers 
 of them from the cold winds that blow over the pampas. 
 
 PATAGONIAN INDIANS. 
 
 The plan adopted for catching these animals is 
 rather curious, and one which makes a fine day's sport 
 or the hunters. Around a large open space of ground 
 number of posts are fixed in the form of a large circle ; 
 a piece of string is then carried from one post to another, 
 
LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 213 
 
 and in the spaces large sheets of paper or linen are hung. 
 When this is done, the real fun begins. The hunters — 
 who may be men, women, or even children — scatter 
 themselves in all directions, and try to chase as many 
 guanacos as possible from the mountains around towards 
 the enclosure which has been made. 
 
 A large opening is of course made where the animals 
 can enter; and the 
 hunters make so 
 much noise, shout- 
 ing, screaming, and 
 thro wing their sticks 
 and weapons about, 
 that the frightened 
 creatures before long 
 are assembled in the 
 enclosure. There 
 the poor things 
 scamper about, and 
 would like to rush 
 out again, because 
 of course they could 
 easily leap the lines 
 of cord, but the fly- 
 ing sheets waving 
 about in the breeze 
 so terrify them that 
 they do not dare to approach them, and thus are very 
 soon put to death by their pursuers. 
 
 Horses abound, too, in the country, and are very 
 useful to the Patagonians in their hunting excursions. 
 
 The weapon chiefly used by these wild hunters is 
 called the bolas, which in their hands answers all the 
 
214 
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 purposes of firearms or bows and arrows. It is made by 
 covering two round stones or pieces of lead with leather, 
 and then joining them together with thongs, which 
 very frequently are the sinews from the legs of the 
 ostrich. The Indians swing the bolas quickly round 
 their heads, and then throw them at the animal they 
 are chasing. 
 
 Nearly always the balls get twisted round whatever 
 part of the body they fall on, so that the animal cannof 
 run, and thus the hunter gains possession of it. 
 
 There is not much to be said about the religion of 
 these people, though it seems that the poor creatures, in 
 spite of their barbarity, have a belief of some kind. 
 
 From time to time Christian missionaries have gone 
 and lived among them, and have tried to civilise them, 
 and teach them in many ways, and no doubt the re- 
 collection of what these good men have said is still in 
 their minds. 
 
 They think that a great good Spirit made all Indians 
 and animals, but that now he takes no notice or care of 
 them ; consequently they care little about him in return. 
 
 Another bad spirit, whose name is Gualichu, is of 
 far more importance in their estimation, because they 
 think that he is continually contriving mischief for 
 them ; so they spare no trouble in trying either to drive 
 him away or to prevent his becoming angry. The 
 medicine-man is one of their number who is supposed to 
 be able to see this evil spirit, and to have influence with 
 him. He has, therefore, plenty to do in the way of 
 magical performances of one kind or another to keep the 
 Gualichu calm and serene. 
 
 One very strange custom among these people is that 
 of gathering together all a dead man's possessions and 
 
LA. PLATA AND PATAGONIA. 
 
 215 
 
 burning them ; consequently there is no such thing in 
 Patagonia as a child inheriting the father’s property, 
 because, however rich a man may be in horses, dogs, 
 bolas, clothes, or anything else, all are gathered together 
 in a heap at his death and burned. 
 
 In our country, when dear friends die and leave us, 
 we have pleasure in thinking about them, and we do all 
 we cani to keep the remembrance of their kind good 
 deeds fresh in our memory. Instead of that the Pata- 
 gonians try to forget their dead friends; and they 
 think that the burning of all this property helps them 
 to do so, because then there is nothing left to remind 
 them of the one that has gone. 
 
 After this performance — which of course appears to us 
 useless and extravagant — the body of the man is wrapped 
 in a coat of mail, if he should have happened to own 
 one, if not, in guanaco skins ; and in the skin with him 
 are placed his hunting and warlike weapons, and also 
 any objects of value that he very much cared for when 
 living ; and these, with the body, are fastened securely 
 upon the dead man^s favourite horse. 
 
 In order to make the procession still more mournful, 
 the poor horse has to endure the pain of having one of 
 its hind legs broken, after which it has to go limping on 
 under its load until it reaches the last resting-place of 
 its master. 
 
 All the women friends of the Indian widow join in the 
 procession, and mingle their shrieks and cries of agony 
 with hers, and the men of the party paint their bodies 
 black. On reaching the grave — which is usually chosen 
 on the summit of a high hill — the body is laid in it, after 
 which the poor lame horse is thrown in also, and very 
 often with it a number of other animals, which will 
 
216 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA 
 
 A rATAGONIAN FUNERAL. — THE ANIMALS TO BE KILLED. 
 
LA PLATA AND PATAGONIA 
 
 217 
 
 man fu- 
 neral. 
 
 At the 
 south of 
 Patagonia 
 is a group of islands lying 
 on the other side of the 
 Straits of Magellan, where 
 the inhabitants are more 
 barbarous than even the 
 Patagonians. When Ma- 
 gellan first saw the spot, a 
 number of fires were burn- 
 
 A PATAGONIAN FUNERAL. 
 THE BODY. 
 
 take her to the house 
 of her parents ; and 
 thus ends a Patago- 
 
218 
 
 GLIMPSES OF. SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 ing in different places, so lie called it the (< Land of 
 Fire.” 
 
 Most likely the fires were lighted for cooking pur- 
 poses, as the Fuegians greatly object to eating raw 
 meat of any kind. 
 
 Unlike the Patagonians, they are short and stunted, 
 and although there is plenty of snow and hail and frost, 
 both the women and men wear scarcely any clothing. 
 They paint their bodies certainly, and deck themselves 
 with finery. One favourite ornament they wear is a 
 necklace made of the teeth of some fish ; but they have 
 become so accustomed to being without clothing that 
 they feel no want of it. Perhaps nowhere were found 
 human beings so closely resembling dumb animals as 
 these Fuegians. 
 
 In late years, however, many of them have been 
 persuaded by missionaries to change their brutal savage 
 mode of life for one of industry and civilisation. 
 It is therefore quite possible that in course of time 
 the rest of them may be induced to do so also ; and 
 perhaps even in the wild region of Tierra del Fuego 
 there may be homes as peaceful and refined as those in 
 happy England. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 ' A 'XD now, after making* 
 this short acquaint- 
 ance with a few of our 
 South American friends, we 
 must for the present say fare- 
 well to them, hoping to meet 
 with them again in the same 
 way on some future occasion. 
 
 If the opportunity were 
 given us of shaking hands 
 with any of them, we should 
 surely, every one, do so as 
 willingly with the black man 
 as with the white one, and not recoil from touching him 
 on account of his dark skin or coarse features. 
 
 The tiger, as we are told, for some unknown reason, 
 prefers the negro's flesh as food to that of the white 
 man. With us, although it is hardly likely that we 
 should ever really prefer a black man to a white one, 
 we know very well that under that dark, swarthy skin 
 of his, beats a heart as tender as our own, and that he 
 is as capable of loving as we are. 
 
220 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 It may be that the wild savage life he has always 
 led has hardened his nature, and made him almost as 
 fit a companion for the animals he hunts as for refined 
 educated human beings ; and as to purity, and gentle- 
 ness, and goodness, with the meaning that is conveyed 
 to our minds by the very sound of the words, he simply 
 knows nothing about them, because no one has ever 
 explained to him their hidden beauty. 
 
 Still, when we bear in mind that, dwellers in what- 
 ever country we may be in — cold, icy regions, or in 
 warm, sunny lands, in the new world or the old, in 
 past ages or at the present time — we are all children 
 of one great family, and that within every one of us 
 is a spark of that Divine nature which we inherit from 
 our heavenly Father, we cannot but hope that some 
 day, however far in the future it may be, there will be 
 no more cruelty and wrong, but that we shall all alike 
 be ruled by love. 
 
 In the endeavour to bring about such a happy con- 
 dition, it is in the power of every one of us to give a 
 helping hand, by beginning from this very hour to 
 crush in ourselves all that is mean, and selfish, and 
 trivial, and to lead pure, generous, noble lives. 
 
 Let us all try to remember how much greater our 
 advantages have been than those of hundreds of our 
 fellow-creatures. By doing so we shall banish from our 
 minds anything like a proud or boastful spirit, and we 
 shall, no doubt, instead feel ashamed that we have made 
 so little use of our advantages. 
 
 After that, let us all try to forget ourselves and 
 even our shortcomings too, and look around to see in 
 which way we can best lessen pain and sorrow, or how 
 we can prevail upon travellers who are running in the 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 221 
 
 broad road that leads to destruction to turn aside into 
 the strait and narrow way that leads to life. 
 
 To find work of this kind we need not look very 
 long, neither is it necessary to travel into foreign lands 
 in search of it. There is plenty of work for us, every 
 one of us, close at our feet; the difficulty will be how 
 to accomplish all we wish. 
 
 One duty among others, that we who stay at home 
 need not neglect, will be to help those who leave their 
 native land and their homes to risk their lives among 
 uncivilised people, such as we have lately been hearing 
 about ; but, of course, in order to do that we need not 
 neglect our own work, and if any of us feel inclined 
 to be discouraged, let us think of the truth conveyed 
 in the following* lines : — 
 
 “ Though we see, on looking round us, 
 
 Man to wickedness is prone, 
 
 Though the snares of vice surround us, 
 
 Virtue’s paths but rarely known, 
 
 Well we know that in our nature 
 Is a spark of life divine ; 
 
 We must free the soul from thraldom, 
 
 If we wish that spark to shine. 
 
 We must all be up and stirring 
 With determination true ; 
 
 Young and old men, rich and poor men 
 All have got their work to do. 
 
 “ Life is but a scene of labour, 
 
 Each one has his task assigned ; 
 
 We must all assist our neighbour, 
 
 When we see him lag behind. 
 
 We must strive by education 
 Man’s condition to improve, 
 
222 
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 And bind men of every station 
 In a bond of mutual love. 
 
 All. must then be up and stirring 
 With determination true ; 
 
 Young men, old men, rich men, poor men, 
 Ye all have your work to do.” 
 
 THE END. 
 
 CASSELL, PETTER, OALPIN & CO., BELLE SAUVACE WORKS, LONDON, E.C. 
 
"Heart Chords” 
 
 A Series of Little Books calculated to Stimulate , Guide , and 
 Strengthen the Christian Life. 
 
 Arrangements have been made with the following Eminent 
 Divines to contribute to the Series : — The Right Rev. Bishop 
 Cotterill, the Very Rev. Dean Montgomery, the Very Rev. 
 Dean Bickersteth, the Very Rev. Dean Edwards, the Very 
 Rev. Dean Boyle, the Rev. Canon Farrar, the Rev. Canon 
 Boyd Carpenter, the Rev. Prof. Blaikie, the Rev. Pre- 
 bendary Chadwick, the Rev. P. B. Power, the Rev. Dr. 
 Matheson, and the Rev. E. E. Jenkins. 
 
 The Volumes are produced in the best style, neatly and 
 appropriately bound in cloth, red edges, and published at 
 
 ONE SHILLING EACH. 
 
 LIST OF VOLUMES. 
 
 MY WORK FOR GOD. 
 
 By the Right Rev. Bishop Cotterill. 
 
 MY OBJECT IN LIFE. 
 
 By the Rev. Canon Farrar, D.D. 
 
 MY BIBLE. 
 
 By the Rev. Canon Boyd Carpenter. 
 
 MY SOUL. 
 
 By the Rev. P. B. Power, M.A. 
 
 MY HEREAFTER. 
 
 By the Very Rev. Dean Bickersteth. 
 {Continued over.) 
 
“ Heart Chords ” ( continued ). 
 
 MY FATHER’S HOUSE. 
 
 By the Very Rev. Dean Edwards. 
 
 MY WALK WITH GOD. 
 
 By the Very Rev. Dean Montgomery. 
 
 MY ASPIRATIONS. 
 
 By the Rev. Geo. Matheson, D.D., of Innellan, and Baird 
 Lecturer. 
 
 MY BODY. 
 
 By the Rev. Prof. W. G. Blaikie, D.D., Prof, in New College, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 MY AIDS TO THE DIVINE LIFE. 
 
 By the Very Rev. Dean Boyle. 
 
 MY EMOTIONAL LIFE. 
 
 By the Rev. Preb. Chadwick, D.D. 
 
 The Series will also contain a Work by the Rev. E. F. Jenkins, 
 M.A., Secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and Ex- 
 President of the Conference. 
 
 Each of the above Volumes will contain about 128 pages, 
 divided into brief chapters, easily read by busy people, suitable 
 for perusal at Morning and Evening Devotion, in the Family 
 Circle, in the School, Bible Class, and on the Sabbath Day. 
 
 It is intended that this Series may minister to all that is 
 true and strong in moral character. 
 
 Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Jin 
 
 ATALOGUE 
 
 of Books 
 
 Suitable for Young People 
 
 And the Little Ones. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited, 
 
 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON. 
 
2 
 
 Selections front Cassell Company's Publications. 
 
 Little Folks . The Magazine for all Girls & Boys. 
 Monthly, 6d. 
 
 “ Every one ought to know by this time that Little Folks is the 
 best magazine for children.” — Graphic. 
 
 “If any father of a family — of ages ranging from eight to fifteen 
 years - knows how to spend sixpence a month in literature to better 
 
 (From Little Folks.) 
 
 purpose than in the purchase of Little Folks, we should be glad if 
 lie would enlighten us.” — Literary World. 
 
 The NEW VOLUME of LITTLE FOLKS contains nearly 500 
 Illustrations, and forms one of the most charming Gift-Books for 
 Children of all ages. Price 3s. 6d. ; or cloth gilt , gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 Cassell <£• Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell *£• Company's Publications. 
 
 o 
 
 A TREASURY FOR THE LITTLE ONES. 
 
 Bo- Peep (Yearly Volume). Illustrated throughout 
 with Original Pictures drawn by Lizzie Lawson, 
 Ernest Griset, E. J. Walker, and other Artists. 
 Elegant Picture Boards, 2s. 6d. ; or cloth, gilt 
 edges, 3s. 6d. Also published Monthly, price ? i 
 
 (From Bo-Peep.) 
 
 %* The beautiful Original Illustrations, the luxurious paper, the bold type, the 
 care given to every detail of production, has placed Bo-Peep at the head of books 
 for the very little ones. Beautiful Illustrations by the first Artists literally load its 
 pages, and the denizens of the nursery are themselves led on to read about them by 
 the clearness of the type and the simplicity of the stories and verses. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
4 Selections jrotn Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Brave Lives and Noble . By C. L. Mateaux. Illus- 
 trated. Crown 4to, gilt edges, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Winstanley’s Lighthouse. 
 
 *** In this volume the popular authoress of “ Home Chat ” and numerous other 
 works which have obtained an immense sale in England and abroad, relates after 
 her own well-known manner the lives of brave and noble men and women who have 
 illuminated the pages of history. The narrative is illustrated throughout with an 
 abundance of bold and striking Illustrations, and makes a handsome Gift Book. 
 
 Living Pages from Many Ages. With upwards of 
 50 full-page Illustrations. Cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
 “ A capital prize .” — Sunday School Chronicle. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
Selections from Cassell <£• Company's Publications. 
 
 5 
 
 Myself Ufld My Fvieflds . By Olive Patch. 
 With numerous Illustrations. Crown 4to, cloth, gilt 
 edges, 5s. 
 
 (From Myself and My Friends .) 
 
 %* This charming Volume for children is uniform with “ A Parcel of 
 Children,” “ Familiar Friends,” and other popular works by the same 
 Authoress. Myself and My Friends gives delightful reading for young people, 
 and is illustrated on nearly every page with beautiful and interesting pictures. 
 
 Cassell & Co?npany, Limited , Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
6 
 
 Selections from Cassell <k Company's Publications . 
 
 Daisy Dimple s Scrap Book. A Book of Picture 
 Stories. Royal 4to, size 12 J in. by 10 in. 192 pages. 
 In handsome Illuminated Wrapper Boards, 5s. ; cloth 
 gilt, gilt edges, 7s. 6d. 
 
 OUT FOR A WALK. AN INTRODUCTION. 
 
 (From Daisy Di tuple's Scrap Book.) 
 
 *« r This large Scrap Book, containing nearly One Thousand entertaining 
 Pictures, will prove a never-failing source of attraction to the little ones. 
 
 The Mother Goose Goslings. By Eleanor W. 
 Talbot. With Coloured Pictures. 4to, 3s. 6d. 
 
 *. v * This is a book of favourite Nursery Rhymes, with Coloured Pictures by an 
 American Artist on every page. These pictures are not only extremely pretty 
 and picturesque, but will be of especial interest as showing the English people 
 the American ideas of “ Art for the Nursery.” 
 
 Cassell <lc Company , Limited, Ludgatc Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell <£• Company's Publications. 7 
 
 The Quiver. Illustrated Magazine for Sunday 
 Reading. Monthly, 6d. 
 
 “A safer and more interesting magazine we do not know than The 
 quiver. — Standard. 
 
 I From 1 he Quiver . ) 
 
 The YEARLY VOLUME of THE QUIVER, 
 price 7s. 6d., contains about 250 Original Stories and 
 Papers and 150 Illustrations, and forms a veritable library 
 in itself. ______ 
 
 Cassell's Family Magazine . Yearly Volume, 9s.; 
 
 Monthly, 7d. 
 
 “Cassell’s Family Magazine has long established its well- 
 deserved reputation as the favourite Magazine.” — Morning Post. 
 
 “Most assuredly the Magazine for the Household .” — Civil Sendee 
 Gazette. 
 
 Cassell tO Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
8 
 
 Selections from Cassell <£• Company's Publications. 
 
 Library for Family Reading. 
 
 All Illustrated and bound in cloth gilt. 3s. 6d. each. 
 
 
 ill 
 
 11 
 
 iii 
 
 i“ 
 
 
 I'll 
 
 n 
 
 IS 
 
 1 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 
 
 m t AsT3Km 
 
 
 (From My Guardian.') 
 
 My Guardian. By Ada Cambridge. 
 With numerous Illustrations by 
 Frank Dicksee, A.R.A. 3s. 6d. 
 School Girls. By the late Annie 
 Carey. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Deepdale Vicarage. 3s. 6d. 
 
 In Duty Bound. 3s 6d. 
 
 The Half Sisters. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Peggy Oglivie's Inheritance. By I. 
 
 Craig-Knox. 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Family Honour. By Mrs. C. L. 
 Balfour, as. 6d. 
 
 Esther West. By Isa Craig-Knox. 
 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 Working to Win. By Maggie Sym- 
 ington. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Three-and-Sixpenny Library. 
 
 Jane Austen and Her Works. By 
 Sarah Tytler. With Steel Por- 
 trait. Cloth gilt, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Mission Life in Greece and Palestine. 
 By Mrs. E. R. Pitman. Illus- 
 trated. Cloth, gilt edges, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Heroines of the Mission Field. By 
 Mrs. E. R. Pitman. Illustrated. 
 Cloth, gilt edges, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Better than Good. A Story for Girls. 
 By Annie E. Ridley. With full- 
 page Illustrations. Cloth, gilt 
 edges, 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Dingy House at Kensington. With 
 Four full-page Illustrations. Crown 
 8vo, cloth, gilt edges, 3s. 6d. 
 
 The above Five Volumes can also be had bound in morocco, cloth sides, full gilt, 
 price 6s. each. 
 
 Cassell <fc Company , Limited, Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell X Company's Publications. 
 
 9 
 
 The Child's Life of Christ. Complete in one 
 handsome volume. Illustrated throughout with 
 Original Illustrations, executed expressly for the work 
 by the first artists. Demy 4to, cloth, gilt edges, 21s. 
 
 An Eastern Caravan. (From The Child’s Life of Christ.) 
 
 UNIFORM WITH THE “ CHILD'S LIFE OF CHRIST." 
 
 The Childs Bible. With 200 Original Illustrations. 
 125th Thousand. Demy 4to, 830 pp. Cloth, gilt 
 edges, f 1 is. Cheap Edition , 7s. 6d. 
 
 Day -Dawn in Dark Places ; or Wanderings 
 
 and Work in Bechwanaland, South Africa. By the 
 Rev. John Mackenzie, Tutor of Mizput Institution, 
 Kuruman. Illustrated throughout. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 *** This is a book of African travel and of African life. It is full of stirring 
 incident and adventure. The Author is often among wild beasts, and always more 
 or less among wild men. The ethnologist, and those who have followed the course 
 of our political relations with South Africa, will find something to interest them in 
 the original information here given concerning the Bushmen and other tribes of the 
 interior. In his account of Mission work, the Author tells of great sufferings 
 heroically endured — of death calmly met. 
 
 Cassell X Company y Limited \ Lud^ate Hilly London , 
 
IO 
 
 Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Leslies Songs for Little Folks. Containing 18 
 Pieces of Children’s Music by Henry Leslie, and a 
 New and Original Drawing by J. E. Millais, R.A., as 
 Frontispiece, together with Six other Illustrations bv 
 the same Artist. Small 4to, cloth, is. 6d. 
 
 (From Leslie's Songs for Little Folks.) 
 
 *»* This is a Cheap Edition in One Volume of the very popular works, “ Little 
 Songs for me to Sing,’’ and “ Leslie’s Songs for Little Folks,” originally published 
 at 5s. and 3s. 6d. each respectively. At the price it is now issued it is calculated t<> 
 find its way into thousands of homes where pretty, simple melodies for children are 
 desired. 
 
 Cassell <0 Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company s Publications. 
 
 I 
 
 A Moonbeam Tangle. Original Fairy Tales. By 
 . Sidney Shadbolt. With numerous Illustrations. 
 Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Elfie under the Sea , and other Stories. By E. L. P. 
 With Full-page Illustrations. Crown 4to, paper boards, 
 price 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Favorite Album of Fun and Fancy, illus- 
 trated. Crown 4to, 3s. 6d. 
 
 (From Little Hinges.) 
 
 Stories of Girlhood; or , the Brook and the River. 
 
 By Sarah Doudney. Cloth, gilt edges, 5 s. 
 
 Truth Will Out. By Jeanie Hering. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Little Hinges. By M. Bon avia Hunt. Illustrated by 
 M. Ellen Edwards. Cloth gilt, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell .£• Company , Limited, Lndgate Hill , London. 
 
12 
 
 Selections from Cassell <£• Company's Publications. 
 
 Cassell’s Half-Crown Story Books. 
 
 By Popular Authors, handsomely illustrated throughout. 
 Cloth, gilt, 2 s. 6d. each. 
 
 P 'en’s P erplexities . By M. B. Hunt. Illustrated. 2 s. 6d. 
 Margarets Enemy . By the Author of “Little 
 
 Hinges.” &c. Illustrated. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 (From Pen's Perplexities .) 
 
 Little Empress Joan . ByM. B. Hunt. Illustrated. 2 s. 6d. 
 Golden Days. ByjEANiE Hering. New Edition. 2 s. 6d. 
 JV otable Shipwrecks. By Uncle Hardy. 2 s. 6d. 
 The Wonders of Common Things. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell ifc Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Co7npany > s Publications. 
 
 13 
 
 Handsome Gift-Books for Little People. 
 
 Old Proverbs with New Pictures . with 64 Fac- 
 
 simile Coloured Plates from Original Designs by Lizzie 
 Lawson. The Text by C. L. Mat^aux. Crown 4to, 6s. 
 
 “My Diary 1 ' With 12 Coloured Plates and 366 small 
 Woodcuts, together with blank spaces for every day in 
 the year. Boards, is.; roan, 2s. 
 
 (From The Old Fairy Tales.) 
 
 Little Folks Picture Album . Containing 168 large 
 Pictures. Cloth, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 Little Folks Picture Gallery. Containing nearly 
 150 Pictures, with Simple Rhymes. Cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
 The Old Fairy Tales. With numerous Original Illus- 
 trations. Boards, is. ; cloth gilt, is. 6d. 
 
 Three Wise Old Couples. A Ludicrous Book of 
 Laughable Rhymes. With 16 Coloured Plates. 5s. 
 
 The “ Little Folks' Album of Music, illustrated. 
 Crown 4to, cloth, gilt edges, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited , Ludgate Hilly London. 
 
14 
 
 Selections from Cassell <b Company 1 s Publications. 
 
 Cassell's Two -Shilling Story Books. All Illus- 
 trated throughout, and containing Stories for Young 
 People. Crown 8vo, handsomely bound in cloth gilt, 
 2 S. each. 
 
 Mr. Burke's Nieces. 
 
 May Cunningham' s Trial. 
 T wo Fourpenny Bits. 
 Through Peril to Fortune. 
 Aunt J 'ah it ha's Waifs. 
 
 In Mischief Again. 
 
 Poor Nelly . 
 
 'Tom Ilcriot. 
 
 Maid Marjory. 
 
 The “ Little Folks ” Sunday 
 Book. 
 
 The Four Cats of the Tippertons. 
 Marion's Two Homes. 
 
 Little Flotsam. 
 
 Madge and Her Friends. 
 
 The Children of the Court. 
 
 Casscl. <!• Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell tfc Company's Publications. 
 
 '5 
 
 Cassell’s Eighteenpenny Story Books. 
 
 All Illustrated, and containing Stories for Young People. 
 ts. 6d. each. 
 
 (From Three Wee Ulster Lasses.} 
 
 Three Wee Ulster Lasses. 
 
 Little Queen Alab. 
 
 Up the Ladder . 
 
 Faith's Father. A Story of 
 Child-Life in London Byways . 
 
 By Land and Sea. 
 
 The Young Berringtons. 
 
 Tom A1 orris's Error ; and Other 
 Stories. 
 
 Worth More than Gold. 
 
 Jeff and Leff. The Story of Two 
 Poor City Arabs. 
 
 Through Flood — Through Fire. 
 The Chip Boy ; and Other Stories. 
 The Girl with the Golden Locks. 
 Roses from Thorns. 
 
 R aggies, Baggies , and the Emperor. 
 Stories of the Olden Times. 
 
 Dick's Hero ; and Other Stories. 
 
 Cassell <£ Company , Limited , Ludgate LLill, London. 
 
i6 
 
 Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Cassell's Shilling Story Books. All Illustrated, 
 and containing Interesting Stories for Young People. 
 Extra fcap. 8vo, cloth gilt, is. each. 
 
 (From Thorns and Tangles.) 
 
 Thorns and Tangles. The Story 
 of Bertie Grafton's Troubles. 
 
 The Cuckoo in the Robin's Nest. 
 Surly Bob. 
 
 The Giant's Cradle. 
 
 Shag and Doll ; and Other 
 
 Stories. 
 
 Aunt Lucia's Locket ; and Other 
 Stories. 
 
 Among the Redskins. 
 
 The Ferryman of Brill. 
 
 Harry Maxxuell ; ana Other 
 Stories. 
 
 The Magic Mirror. 
 
 The Cost of Revenge. 
 
 Clever Frank. 
 
 A Banished Monarch. 
 
 John's Mistake. 
 
 PearVs Fairy Flower . 
 
 The History of Five Little Pit - 
 cliers who had very Large Ears. 
 
 Diamonds in the Sand ; and 
 Other Stories. 
 
 Cassell Company , Limited , Ludgate Hilly London. 
 
Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 17 
 
 Cassell’s Sixpenny Story Books, 
 
 All Illustrated, and containing interesting Stories by well- 
 known writers. Bound in attractive coloured 
 boards, price 6d. each. 
 
 The Elchester College Boys . By Mrs. Henry Wood. 
 And other Stories. 
 
 The Boat Club . By Oliver Optic. And other Stories. 
 
 Helpful Nelly ; and 
 Other Stories. 
 
 (From My First Cruise .) 
 
 The Delft fug. By Silverpen. And other Stories. 
 My First Cruise . By W. H. G. Kingston. 
 Lottie's White Frock ; and other Stories. 
 
 Only Just Once ; and other Stories. 
 
 The Little Peacemaker. By Mary Howitt. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited \ Ludgate Hill , London , 
 
1 8 Selections from Cassell & Company' s Publications. 
 
 Gift Books for Boys. 
 
 Heroes of Britain in Peace and War. Vol. I. 
 Popular Edition, with about 150 Illustrations. Cloth, 5s. 
 
 The Defenders of Rorke’s Drift. (From Heroes of Britain .) 
 
 Modern Explorers . By Thomas Frost. Profusely 
 
 Illustrated. Crown 4to, 176 pages, cloth, gilt edges, 5s. 
 Half-Hours with the Early Explorers. By T. 
 Frost. Illustrated. Fcap. 4to, cloth, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 Cassell <k Company , Limited Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
Selections from Cassell <fc Company's Publications. 
 
 19 
 
 The Boys’ Library. 
 
 Handsomely bound in cloth, gilt edges. 
 
 The Story of Captain Cook. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 At the South Pole. By W. H. G. Kingston. 3s. 6d. 
 
 (From The Three Homes.) 
 
 The Three Homes. By F. T. L. Hope. 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Romance of Trade, illustrated. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Soldier and Patriot. The Story of George Washington. 
 By F. M. Owen. With Map and Illustrations. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Pictures of School Life and Boyhood. Selected 
 from the best Authors by P. Fitzgerald, M.A. 2s. 6d. 
 The Young Man in the Battle of Life. By the 
 Rev. Dr. Landels. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell it Company, Limited , Ludgate Bill, London. 
 
20 
 
 Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Standard Books for Boys. 
 
 Wild Animals and Birds ; their Haunts 
 
 and Habits. By Dr. Andrew Wilson. Illustrated. 
 Demy 4to, cloth, 7s. 6d. 
 
 Wild Adventures in Wild Places . By Dr. Gordon 
 Stables, R.N. Illustrated throughout. Cloth gilt, 5 s. 
 A Cruise in Chinese Waters . By Capt. A. F. 
 
 Lindley. With 50 Engravings. Cloth gilt, 5 s. 
 Decisive Events in History. With 16 full-page Original 
 Illustrations. Fifth Edition. Boards, 3s. 6d. ; cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
 (From Wild Adventures in Wild Places.) 
 
 Cassell s Swiss Family Robinson . Illustrated. 
 
 Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cassells Robinson Crusoe . Illustrated. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 Jungle , Peak , and Plain . By Dr. Gordon Stables, 
 R.N. Illustrated. Cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
 Cassell <0 Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
Selections from Cassell <b Company's Publications. 
 
 21 
 
 Popular Books for Young People, 
 Fully Illustrated. 
 
 Bound in coloured boards, 3s. 6d. each ; or 
 cloth, gilt edges, 5s. each. 
 
 Nearly 200,000 Copies of the following Works have 
 already been sold : — 
 
 Home Chat with our Young Folks. 
 
 By C. L. Mat£aux. 
 
 “Never was instruction more admirably given than in this 
 attractive volume .” — British Quarterly. 
 
 Peeps Abroad for Folks at Home . 
 
 By C. L. Mateaux. 
 
 “ Pleasantly written. Children will read it with interest.” — 
 Guardian. 
 
 Sunday Chats with our Young Folks . 
 
 By C. L. Mateaux. 
 
 “A delightful book either for Sundays or week-days; the 
 illustrations atone would be a treat to children.” — Athenceum. 
 
 Around and About 
 
 By C. L. Mateaux. 
 
 “ The volume is a handsome one, and will be prized by boys 
 and girls alike.” — Standard. 
 
 By Rev. T. 
 
 Old England. 
 
 Stories about Animals. 
 
 Jackson, M.A. 
 
 “ Full of excellent pictures and a vast number of interesting 
 stories, it will be the favourite of the nursery.” — Echo. 
 
 Stories about Birds . By M. and E. 
 
 Kirby. 
 
 “ The stories are well told, and the text is illustrated by a 
 series of excellent engravings.” — Scotsman. 
 
 Paws and Claws. Being True Stories 
 
 of Clever Creatures, Tame and Wild. 
 
 “ Profusely and charmingly illustrated. A delightful gift- 
 book . ” — Morning Post. 
 
 Friends and Forest Foes . 
 
 Extra fcap. 4to, cloth gilt, gilt edges, 5s. 
 
 “ It is a handsome volume as regards both paper and type.” — 
 A thenceum. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited, Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
22 Selections front Cassell <b Company's Publications. 
 
 The World in Pictures. 
 
 The following six volumes are especially suitable for gift-books 
 and Sunday-school prizes, presenting as they do vividly, though 
 incidentally, pictures of Missionary Enterprise throughout the World. 
 They are all brightly written, handsomely illustrated, and elegantly 
 bound in cloth gilt, gilt edges : — 
 
 The Eastern Wonderland. By D. C. Angus. 
 
 Illustrated. Cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6 d. 
 
 Thk Street ck Apothecaries, Canton. 
 
 (From Peeps into China.) 
 
 Peeps into China ; or , The Missionary s 
 Children. By E. C. Phillips. With numerous Illus- 
 trations. 2S. 6d. 
 
 Glimpses of South America. Illustrated. 2s. 6 d. 
 Round Africa. Illustrated. 2s. 6 d. 
 
 The Land of Temples . Illustrated. 2s. 6 d. 
 
 The Isles of the Pacific. Illustrated. 2s. 6 d. 
 
 Cassell Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
23 
 
 Selections from Cassell <b Company's Publications. 
 
 The Library of Wonders. 
 
 A Series of Gift Books for Boys. All Illustrated throughout 
 with striking Engravings. Crown 8vo, cloth, gilt 
 edges, 2 s. 6d. each. 
 
 Wonderful Adventures. A Series of Narratives of 
 Personal Experiences among the Native Tribes of 
 America. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonders of Animal Instinct, with Illustrative 
 Anecdotes. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonderful Balloon Ascents, a History of Balloons 
 and Balloon Voyages. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonderful Escapes. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonders of Bodily Strength and Skill in all 
 
 Ages ana in all Countries. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonders of Water. Revised by R. S. Ball, LL.I). 
 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonders of Acoustics. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Wonders of Architecture. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell <0 ''em finny, Limited , Ludgate Pill , London. 
 
24 
 
 Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications . 
 
 Beautiful Books for Young People. 
 
 The Wonderland of Work . By C. L. MatSaux, 
 Author of “ Home Chat. ,, With numerous Original Illus- 
 trations. Extra crown 4to, cloth gilt, 320 pages, 7s. 6d. 
 
 “ A collection of the curiosities of industry, surpassing in its romance the wonders 
 of fairyland .” — British Quarterly Review . 
 
 (From Tim Trumble's “ Little Mother .”) 
 
 Tim Trumble s “ Little Mother A Story for Young 
 Folks. By C. L. Mat£aux. With 18 Illustrations 
 by Giacomelli. Extra fcap. 4to, cloth, gilt edges, 5 s. 
 
 “The book is a charming one, and the illustrations of birds are as good as any- 
 thing of the kind that we have seen.” — Standard. 
 
 Tiny Houses and their Builders . By the Author 
 of “Poems written for a Child.” Illustrated. Cloth gilt, 5s. 
 
 “ Brimming over with loving observation of the habits and peculiar little ways 
 of these creatures.” — Standard. 
 
 Little Folks History of England. Cheap Edition. 
 Illustrated throughout, is. 6d. 
 
 Cassell & Company, Limited, Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
Selections from Cassell <Ss Company's Publications. 
 
 25 
 
 Books for Little People. 
 
 Cassell's Children s Album . Containing nearly 200 
 Engravings, with Short Stories by Uncle John. Also 
 several Pieces of Music. Cloth, gilt edges, 3 s. 6d. 
 
 “ Exactly meets a want. A capital book .” — A theneeum. 
 
 Cassell's Childrens Sunday Album . with 
 
 upwards of 150 Engravings, with Simple Stories. 3s. 6d. 
 
 (From Cassell’s Children’s Album.) 
 
 The Story of Robin Hood. With Plates printed 
 in Colours. Cloth gilt, 2 s. 6d. 
 
 “ A gay little volume, bright with coloured prints. Guardian. 
 
 Off to Sea. By W. H. G. Kingston. With Illustra- 
 tions printed in Colours. Cloth gilt, 2 s. 6d. 
 
 “ A very capital book for boys .” — -J ohn Bull. 
 
 Books in Words of One Syllable. With Eight 
 Coloured Illustrations in each Volume. Cloth lettered. 
 
 2 s. 6d. each. 
 
 iEsop’s Fables. 
 Sandford and Merton. 
 
 The Pilgrim’s Progress. 
 Reynard the Fox. 
 
 Cassell Company , Limited, Ludyate Hill , London. 
 
The Children of Holy Scripture . By L. Massey. 
 The Boy Joiner and Model Maker . 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Pussy Tip -toes' Family . 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Frisk and His Flock. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Cassell <Ss Company , Limited , Ludgalc Hilly London. 
 
 26 Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications. 
 
 Picture Teaching Books. 
 
 All beautifully illustrated throughout, handsomely 
 bound, 2 s. 6d. each. 
 
 Through Picture- Land. By C. L. Mateaux. 2 s. 6d. 
 Picture Teaching for Young and Old. 2 s. 6d. 
 Picture Natural History. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 Scraps of Knowledge for the Little Ones. 2 s. 6d. 
 Great Lessons from Little Things. 2 s. 6d. 
 
 (From Picture Peaching for Young and O/d.) 
 
Selections from Cassell A Company's Publications. 
 
 2 ‘ 
 
 The Cosy Corner Series. 
 
 Story Books for Children, each containing nearly ioo full 
 page Pictures. Cloth gilt, gilt edges, 2s. each. 
 
 See-Saw Stories. 
 
 Little Chimes for all Times. 
 Bright Sundays. 
 
 Wee Willie Winkie. 
 
 Pet’s Posy of Pictures and 
 Stories. 
 
 Little Talks with Little 
 People. 
 
 Story Flowers for Rainy Hours 
 Dot’s Story Book. 
 
 Bright Rays for Dull Days. [ 
 Chats for Small Chat- 
 terers. 
 
 Pictures for Happy Hours. 
 
 Ups and Downs of a Donkey’s 
 Life. 
 
 (From Pet's Posy of Pictures at id Stories.) 
 
 The Cosy Corner Books form a favourite Series of Pre- 
 sentation Volumes for Young People, the stories being bright and 
 attractive, and the pictures full of life and interest. 
 
 Cassell <!• Company , Limited , Ludgate Hilly London . 
 
28 Selections from Cassell & Company's Publications . 
 
 Cassell’s Children’s Treasuries. 
 
 Illustrated throughout. Cloth, is. each. 
 
 Cock Robin, and other Nursery 
 Rhymes. 
 
 The Queen of Hearts. 
 
 Old Mother Hubbard. 
 
 Simple Rhymes for Happy Times. 
 Tuneful Lays for Merry Days. 
 Cheerful Songs for Young Folks. 
 Pretty Poems for Little People. 
 
 Sunday Readings 
 
 The Children’s Joy. 
 
 Our Picture Book. 
 
 Pretty Pictures and Pleasant 
 Stories. 
 
 Tales for the Little Ones. 
 
 My Sunday Book of Pictures. 
 Sunday Garland of Pictures and 
 Stories. 
 
 for Little Folks. 
 
 The School Band. (From Otir Picture Book.) 
 
 Cassell’s Children’s Treasuries form a beautifully Illustrated 
 Series of Gift-Books for the Young, printed in large type, and written 
 in simple and interesting language. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited , Ludgate Hilly London. 
 
Selections from Cassell <k Company's Publications. 
 
 29 
 
 Recreation for the Children. 
 
 “ Little Folks ” Series, to Teach Young People how to Draw and 
 Paint. Price is. each, or handsomely bound in cloth gilt, 2s. each. 
 
 Forty-fifth Thousand. 
 
 Pictures to Paint . With 
 numerous Original 
 Coloured Plates. With 
 accompanying Outline 
 Engravings. 
 
 Twenty-fifth Thousand. 
 
 The “ Little Folks” 
 Illuminating Book. Con- 
 taining a Series of Texts 
 in Outline, with Coloured 
 Copies for guidance. 
 
 Pictures to Paint and 
 Texts to Illuminate. The 
 two above books handsomely bound in cloth, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 One Hundred and Tenth Thousand. 
 
 The “ Little Folks ” Painting Book. A Series ot 
 Outline Drawings by Kate Greenaway. With amusing 
 Letterpress Descriptive of the Pictures. 
 
 Thirtieth Thousand. 
 
 The “ Little Folks ” 
 
 Nature Pamting Book. 
 
 With numerous Illus- 
 trations of well-known 
 British Flowers, Butter- 
 flies, Birds, and Animals. 
 
 Price is. 
 
 Another “ Little Folks ” Painting Book. With 
 numerous Illustrations. Handsomely bound in cloth 
 gilt, 2S. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited t Ludgate Hill , London . 
 
Selections from Cassell <(• Company's Publications . 
 
 3 ° 
 
 Serial Publications. 
 
 The Magazine of Art. Enlarged. Monthly, is. 
 
 Bible , Cassell' s Illustrated. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Bible Educator , Cassell' s. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Canaries and Cage Birds. Monthly, 6 d. 
 
 Cities of the World. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Cookery , Cassell' s Dictionary of. Monthly, 6 d. 
 
 Cyclopaedia , Cassell' s Concise . Monthly, 6 d. 
 
 Dairy Farming. Monthly, is. 
 
 Dog , The Illustrated Book of the. Monthly, is. 
 
 Dor l Bible. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Dor t Dante , The. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Dor l Gallery , The. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 England , Cassell's History of. Monthly, 7d. an J 8 -|d. 
 
 English Literature , The Library of. Monthly, 6 d 
 
 Ferns , European. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Fisheries of the World. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Franco-German War , Cassell's History of the. 
 Monthly, 7 d. 
 
 Garden Flowers , Familiar. Monthly, 6 d. 
 
 Greater London , Cassell's. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Heroes of Britain in Peace and War. Monthly, 6 d. 
 London , CV# New, Cassell's. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 CasseU <£ Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London . 
 
Selections from Cassell <£-• Company's Publications. 
 
 3 * 
 
 Serial Publications ( continued ). 
 
 Mechanics , Practical Dictionary of. Monthly, yd. 
 
 Music , The History of. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 New Testament Commentary for English Readers. 
 Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Our Homes , and How to Make them Healthy. 
 Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Paxtons Flower Garden. Monthly, is. 
 
 Peoples of the World , The. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Picturesque America. Monthly, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Picturesque Europe. Monthly, is. 
 
 Popular Educator , Cassell's. Monthly, 6d. 
 
 Protestantism , The History of Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Robe ts s Holy Land. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Science for All. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Sea : its Stirring Story of Adventure , Peril , 
 <7/2*/ Heroism , The. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Shakspere , Royal. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 5Y. Paul , The Life and Work of. Monthly, 7d. 
 
 Universal History , Cassell's 1 llustrated. 
 Monthly, 7d. 
 
 J'FzYY Birds , Familiar. Monthly, 6d. 
 
 Wild Flowers , Familiar. Monthly, 6d. 
 
 World of Wonders , The. Monthly, 6d. 
 
 *#* Prospectuses of any of the above sent post free on application. 
 
 Cassell tfc Company, Limited, Ludgate Hill, London. 
 
Cassell & Company’s COMPLETE CATALOGUE 
 contains particulars of Several Hundred Volumes, including Bibles 
 and Religious Works, Illustrated and Fine- Art Volumes, Children’s 
 Books, Dictionaries, Educational Works, History, Natural History, 
 Household and Domestic Treatises, Science, Travels, &c., together 
 with a Synopsis of their numerous Illustrated Serial Publications. 
 
 CLASSIFIED CATALOGUE. 
 
 A CLASSIFIED CATALOGUE of Cassell & Company’s 
 Publications, in which their Works are arranged, according to price, 
 from SIXPENCE to TWENTY-FIVE GUINEAS. This will be 
 most convenient to those who may be selecting Volumes for General 
 Reading, Educational Purposes, or Presentation, as it contains par- 
 ticulars of Several Hundred Books so arranged as to show at a glance 
 to an intending purchaser what he can procure with the money 
 he is prepared to expend. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL CATALOGUE. 
 
 Cassell & Company’s EDUCATIONAL CATALOGUE 
 contains particulars of their Educational Works and Students’ 
 Manuals, including French, German, Latin, History, Grammar, 
 Geography, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Drawing, Euclid, Algebra, 
 Dictionaries, Technical Manuals, &c. 
 
 PRIZE BOOKS CATALOGUE. 
 
 A CATALOGUE OF SELECTED VOLUMES suitable for 
 School Prizes, Rewards and Presentation, School Libraries, &c. 
 
 Cassell Company , Limited , Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE. 
 
 N. B.— CASSELL’S NEW ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE, 
 price 2s. 6d., royal 4to size, contains numerous choice Wood 
 Engravings, selected from Cassell & Company’s Publications, 
 beautifully printed on fine paper. 
 
 Cassell & Company , Limited \ Ludgate Hill , London. 
 
 
3 3125 01499 2669