The Forest Exiles: The Perils of a Peruvian Family in the Wilds of the Amazon
Page 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
A HOUSE OF PALMS.
The first species of palms that attracted the observation of Don Pabloand his party, was that known as the "patawa" palm. It belongs to thegenus _Cenocarpus_. There are several species of this genus in SouthAmerica, but none more beautiful than the "patawa." It is a palm with astraight smooth stem, and pinnate leaves--the stem being sixty feet inheight, and about a foot in diameter. The stem becomes smooth only inold trees. In the young ones, and even in those that stand in a thickshady forest, it presents a very shaggy appearance, and is completelyhidden by the bases of the old leaves that have decayed and fallen off.From the margins of these bases grow spinous processes of nearly threefeet in length, which point upward. These are used by the Indians tomake the arrows of their "blow-guns," of which more hereafter. From thefruits of this palm a most delicious drink is manufactured with verylittle trouble. The fruit itself is about the size of a plum, but of anoval shape and deep violet colour. It grows in large clusters justunder the leaves. To make the drink, the fruits are thrown into avessel of hot water, where they remain for a few minutes until the pulpbecomes soft. The hot water is next poured off, and cold water issubstituted. In this the fruits are crushed and rubbed with the handsuntil all the pulp is washed from the stones. The liquid is thenstrained so as to separate the stones and other substances, when it isready for use, and a most luxurious beverage it is,--in its tastebearing some resemblance to filberts and cream.
A palm called the "assai" has a small sloe-like fruit which produces asimilar beverage--thick and creamy, and of a fine plum colour. In allthe Portuguese settlements the "assai" is a favourite drink, and istaken along with cassava bread, as we use milk or coffee.
It was not on account of its fruit, however, that Don Pablo rejoiced atbeholding the "patawa" palms. Perhaps Leon thought more about the richclusters of oval plums, but his father looked only to the straightsmooth stems which were designed for corner-posts, beams, and theheavier woodwork of the house.
In a few minutes Guapo was busy with his axe, and one after another fellthe princely trunks of the "patawa" until enough were cut down for theirpurpose.
Don Pablo next looked out for some palm of a more slender trunk for therafters and joists.
This was soon found in the "catinga," which is a species of the "assai"palm (_Euterpe_), the one of which we have just spoken as producing the"assai wine." The catinga was the very thing for the rafters. It istall, nearly forty feet high, but quite slender. It is one of thesmooth palms, with pinnate leaves, not unlike those of the "patawa."There is a peculiarity about its top,--that is, there is a column orsheath of several feet in length, out of which the leaves spring, and,at the lower end of this column, and not immediately at the root of theleaves, the fruit clusters grow. This sheathing column is of a redcolour, which gives the tree a strange look. Another peculiarity of thecatinga is that its roots grow out of the ground, and from a little conefrom the top of which rises the stem. The fruits of this sort aresmaller than the true assai, but a drink is also made from them whichsome people consider more delicious than that either of the assai orpatawa. The rafters then were got from the catinga.
Now for the thatch, that was the next consideration.
"Master!" cried Guapo, pointing off into the woods. "Yonder's`bussu,'--very thing for thatch!"
Guapo indicated a very singular-looking tree, with a thick, clumsy,crooked, and deeply ringed stem. It was not a bit like either of thepalm-trees they had already cut down. Its trunk was not over ten or adozen feet high, but then, such leaves! They were not pinnated likethose already described, but what is termed "entire," that is, all inone piece, and thirty feet in length by full five in width! Fancy twoor three dozen of these gigantic leaves standing up almost erect fromthe top of the thick trunk, and you may form some idea of the "bussu"palm. There are many palm-trees whose leaves are used for thatchinghouses, but of all others for that purpose the bussu is the best. Thesegreat fronds have a mid-rib, and from this, on both sides, run veins ina diagonal direction to the edge. When they are used for thatch theleaf is split up the mid-rib, and then each half is laid upon therafters, not straight, but in such a way that the veins of the leaf willlie in a vertical direction, and thus serve as gutters to guide therain-water down the roof. A very few leaves will thatch a house, and acovering of this kind, when properly laid on, will last for ten ortwelve years. So much are the bussu-leaves prized for thatch, that theIndians, in parts where this palm does not grow, often make a canoevoyage of a week to procure them!
The spathe which contains the flowers is also put to many uses. It isof a long spindle shape, of fibrous, cloth-like texture, and browncolour. The Indians use it as cloth. It makes an excellent bag, inwhich the native carries his paints or other articles; and a large one,stretched out, makes a very comfortable cap. Indeed, Guapo used thefirst spathe he laid his hands upon for this very purpose.
There remained now to be found some palm-tree that would split easily,and make laths for the roof, as well as planks for the door, shelves,and benches. They soon discovered the very palm for these purposes. Itwas one of the genus _Iriartea_, and known as the "pashiuba" palm. Itwas a tree that differed from all the others in its aspect. It was anoble-looking tree, rising with a smooth stem, to the height of seventyfeet. At its top, there was a sheathing column swollen larger than thestem, and not unlike the sheathing column of the catinga alreadymentioned, except that that of the pashiuba was of a deep green colour.Its leaves, however, differed materially from those of the catinga. Itis true, that, like them, they were pinnate, but the leaflets, insteadof being slender and tapering, were of a triangular shape, notched alongthe edges, and not growing very regularly out from the mid-rib. Theirgeneral arrangement, as well as the form, therefore, gave the tree adifferent, and, perhaps, more beautiful aspect. But the most singularcharacteristic of the pashiuba was its roots. I have said that theroots of the catinga rose above the surface of the soil. So did they,but only to a limited height, forming a little cone. Now the roots ofthe pashiuba stood up to the height of ten or a dozen feet! Each rootwas nearly straight in itself, but there were a number of them, and theysloped upwards so as to make a sort of pyramid, out of the apex of whichgrew the stem. There were wide spaces between the roots--so wide thatyou could easily pass through, and a full-grown man might stand uprightwith his head under the very base of the stem. Fancy a man standingunder the trunk of a tree that rose seventy feet above his head!
There were young trees of the same species growing around, and thesewere miniature models of the older ones. Sometimes these lesser onesare supported on three roots, like the tripod of a surveyor's compass,and this gives them a somewhat ludicrous appearance. There are manyspecies of this sort of palms, which are classed under the genus_Iriartea_. In most of them the fruit, which is small oval and red oryellow, is bitter and uneatable; but their wood is prized for manypurposes. The wood of the species which Don Pablo had found is hard onthe outside, but soft within, and splits readier into laths and planksthan any other kind of palm.
Guapo attacked the roots with his axe, and enough trunks were soonfelled to make laths, doors, and all sorts of benches.
The different kinds were now collected on the edge of the stream, andwere tied together by a rope-like, creeping plant, called a "Sipo," sothat they formed a rude raft. The leaves of the "bussu," with greatclusters of the fruits of the catinga and patawa, were laid upon theraft; and then, Guapo, mounting himself on top of all, pushed out withhis long pole, and ferried the whole across. The others walked round bythe bridge, and were just in time to assist Guapo in mooring hissomewhat unwieldy craft.
Next day the framework of the house was put up, and on the day after thewalls. These were made of bamboo-canes (_Bambusa guadua_), plenty ofwhich grew near the bottom of the valley. They grew wild, for theslopes of the Andes are the favourite soil of these gigantic grasses.They were set on end, side by side, and then tied
to each other and tothe beams of palm-trees. On the third day the "bussu" leaves were laidon, and the house was finished.