On the banks of the Amazon

Preface

At,

'ANY of my young friends probably have read the account which tells how, in 1540. Gonzalo Pizarro, with his three hundred and fifty Spaniards and four thousand Indians set out from Quito for the land of cinnamon. They carried with them a large stock of provisions, and a herd of five thousand swine followed in the rear. Crossing the mountain ranges, numbers of the unfortunate natives sank beneath the icy winds which swept across them. A terrible earthquake occurring, tried their courage ; when a village with five hundred houses was swallowed up in a frightful abyss formed by the opening of the earth. Descending into a lower level, they were oppressed with suffocating heat. Then deluges of rain came down, amid which, for six whole weeks, they forced their way to the land of cinnamon, where they saw trees bearing the precious bark spread out in broad forests ; but to them it was worthless. Yet on they went, lured by the reports of a fruitful land, abounding in gold. And now they entered the region of forests, thickly matted with creepers and parasitical vines, which hung in festoons from tree to tree, clothing them in a drapery beautiful to the eye, but forming an impenetrable network. At every step they were compelled to hew a passage with their axes ; while their garments, rotting through

VI PREFACE.

the effects of the drenching rains, caught in every bush, and hung about them in shreds. Their provisions had been spoiled, their live stock was consumed or had escaped into the woods. Still, urged on by the hope of reaching a land of gold, they travelled along the banks of the Napo, where no living thing was to be seen but the wild tenants of the wilderness — the vast boa, and the loathsome alligator basking on the borders of the stream ; the silence broken alone by the hoarse fall of waters, or the strange cries from the woods. Then came a terrific sound like subterranean thunder, and they arrived at the brink of a magnificent cataract, rushing down, in one vast volume of foam, to the depth of 1200 feet. After proceeding some distance further, the river appearing navigable, Glonzalo resolved to construct a vessel to transport the weaker part of his company and baggage. The forests furnished timber, the shoes of the horses which had died or been slaughtered for food were converted into nails. Glum, exuding from the trees, served as pitch ; and the tattered garments of the party supplied a substitute for oakum. In two months a brigantine was completed, sufficient to carry half the company. While one half went on board under the command of Orellana, the other continued along the banks of the river. They were now fain to eat the leather of their saddles and belts, or the toads, serpents, and such other reptiles as could be found. Hearing, from the natives, of a rich district, where the Napo emptied itself into a still greater river flowing towards the east, Pizarro resolved to halt where he was, and send Orellana down in the brigantine to secure a stock of provisions. Week after week passed by, and she did not reappear. Unable longer to endure their suspense, Gonzalo and his followers set forth towards the junction of the rivers. Two months were occupied in accomplishing this terrible journey. The shores of the mighty Amazon were reached, but no news could be obtained

PREFACE. Vll

of their comrades. At length a white man was seen wandering half naked in the woods. He proved to be the cavalier Sanchez de Vargas, who told them that Orellana had continued down the river, and all hopes of his return were abandoned. They were four hundred leagues from Quito, yet Glonzalo, with invincible bravery, resolved to return by the way he had come. Many of his companions, unable to proceed, were abandoned to their fate ; but he and the remainder fought their onward' way, supported by such scanty fare as they could pick up in the forest. Having consumed more than a year in their homeward march, the survivors reached Quito. Half the Indians had perished ; and of the Spaniards only eighty — many of them irretrievably broken in constitution — arrived. Orellana, meantime, escaping the perils of the unknown navigation of the mighty river, succeeded in reaching the Atlantic. Often, however, he was nearly dashed to pieces on the rocks, while the warlike tribes on its borders fell on his band whenever they attempted to land, and followed for miles in his wake in their canoes. His voyage across the Atlantic to Spain in so frail a bark is still more remarkable. Again he set sail for the west, with a commission to conquer and colonize the realms he had discovered. He, however, died on his outward passage ; and the territory through which the Amazon flows became the property of Portugal.

My hero and his companions, after encountering various dangers in their journey over the Cordilleras, followed almost the same track as did the gallant Gronzalo Pizarro to the banks of the Napo ; and thence descended the mighty Amazon to the Atlantic.

In the course of the narrative some of the numberless animals which live on its banks, or are found in its waters, are described, as well as a few of the most interesting of the curious and valuable vegetable productions of the Amazonian Valley ;

Vlll PREFACE.

while a slight sketch is given of the manners and customs of its still barbarous human inhabitants.

The period chosen for the story is soon after the Spanish and Portuguese provinces of South America threw off the yoke of the parent states. The former were long in a disturbed condition, while the Brazils have, with the exception of an outbreak of the natives, described in the following pages, remained tranquil, making steady if but slow advances in the development of the vast internal resources of the country.

Of late, however, a great change has taken place. The navigation of the Amazon, under the liberal policy adopted by the government of the enlightened Emperor of Brazil, has been thrown open to all nations, and a hundred steamers run up the main stream and the numerous large rivers which flow into it, exchanging the manufactures of Europe for the valuable natural productions of the fertile regions they water. The scenes, therefore, among which my hero met with his adventures may now be viewed with perfect ease. Should any of the readers of his journal visit them, they will, I trust, find his descriptions in all respects correct.

The tale is of the same character as its predecessors, " In the Eastern Seas," and " In the Wilds of Africa," and will, I hope, be found not less acceptable by those for whose amusement and instruction it has been written.

Brentwood, 1871.

Chapter I. My School-boy Days And Friends

My birth-place — Burning mountains — The Cordilleras — My family — Childhood'! days — An earthquake — Travels commenced — Embark — Voyage to England — Life on board ship — Rounding Cape Horn— Go on board the Inca — Reach England — "We arrive in London — Go to school — My first school friend — I win a race — Adventures planned — Tony proposes starting forthwith — First studies in Natural History — Arthur Mallet — A bully — The way we treated him — The bully tamed — A lesson learned — How to meet a difficulty — Our menagerie — Good advice — Leaving school— Letter from Tony — Realization of old plans — My dog True — Our friends sail 17

Chapter II. Outward Bound

Ellen, John, Arthur, and I, with Maria, sail in the Inca — Sam, the black cook — Truth revealed to the simple — A heavy gale — A sinking ship — People saved— Old friends — Gale abates — "We steer for Rio — Harbour of Rio de Janeiro — Trip up the country — Beautiful scenery — The Organ Mountains — Sporting excursion — The tapir described — The coast of Patagonia — "We visit the natives — Patagonian habitations — The American ostrich — Return on board — Land on Terra del Fuego — Unattractive natives — Enter the Pacific 53

Chapter III. A Journey Across The Cordilleras

Reach Guayaquil — Disturbed state of the country — Panama hats — Our Indian friend Don Jose — Voyage up the Guayas — Cacao or theobroma, "food for gods" — Mode of manufacturing cocoa, — Beautiful birds on river — Reach Bodegas — Journey across the Andes begun — A tambo, or mountain inn — A mountain path — Black vulture — King vulture — Terrific precipices — Meet our old servant Domingos — "Warned of danger — Escape down the mountain — Take refuge in a forest — A bark-collector's hut — Chinchona or quinquina, — Peruvian bark described — Life of bark-collectors — Scene in the forest — Anxiety about Domingos — Through the forest — Domingos returns — Tells us about Don Jose — Appearance of chinchona trees— Coca chewing — The coca plant — A suspension bridge — A condor seen — Mountain scenery — Chimborazian hill-star humming-bird — Protected by Quichuas — Llamas and alpacas, huanacus and vicunas — Characteristics of llama 77

CONTENTS.

Chapter IV. Adventures Among The Mountains

Wild mountains — Encamped on side of mountain — Send back the mules — Buildhuts — Sindicaspi, or "wood that burns "—Humming-birds — A condor taking flight — The Sappho comet — The captive set free— A night alarm — Pumas attacked — The puma described — An expedition proposed — I accompany Don Jose — Quichua Indians described — Guayusa tea — Our flight from foes — Crossing a rope bridge — Pursued by blood-hounds — Enemies seen — Take refuge in a cave — Return to the camp — Native carriers — A falling tree 121

Chapter V. The River Reached At Last

Crossing a torrent — Isoro carried off by the torrent — John and I save him — Encamped near the torrent — Forest scenery — Vanilla— Occupation of natives — Vanilla gathering — The Napo reached — Don Jose summoned — News from our father — Visit from an alligator — Don Jose leaves us — Kill a toucan — Shooting in the forest — Spider monkeys — We watch their gambols — Chase a snake — A parrot caught — Indian boat-builders — The blow-pipe — We begin the canoe — Shooting monkeys — A monkey caught — Nimble — Macaco Barrigudo — A monkey for dinner — Vampire bats — Nimble makes himself at home — Our canoes built 145

Chapter VI. Voyage On The River Commenced

Embark — Shooting terrific rapids — The rapids passed — Night encampment — Encounter a wonderful monster — A matamata — A jaguar watching for prey — A jaguar catching a manatee — The manatee harpooned — The manatee described — The jaguar killed — Find turtles' eggs — Turtle catching — The Indians leave us 178

CHAPTER VII. OUR DISAPPOINTMENT, DANGER, AND ANXipTY

We reach the appointed meeting-place — The burnt hut — The place deserted — Anxious surmises — Savages appear on the bank — A night voyage — We enter the Amazon — I shoot a capybara — Kill a paca and agputi — John bit by a snake — Antidotes recommended by Domingos — Voyage down the Amazon — A hurricane comes on — We drive before the storm — Narrowly escape being wrecked — Enter an igarape— Land — Build huts and encamp for the night . . 194

Chapter VIII. Adventures In The Forest — We Meet With Natives

The canoe gone — Search for it— A troop of spider monkeys crossing the igarape — They take to flight on seeing us — We meet two Indian chiefs — They receive us as friends — Invite us to join them in an expedition against the Majeronas — An Indian army — They march away — We proceed to the village with Duppo, the chief's son — He shoots an umbrella-bird — It recovers — Introduced to Duppo's mother — A native hut — An Indian maiden — A kind reception — A repast set before us — Refreshing fruits — We construct a raft — Voyage down tho igarape — Hear a bell-bird — Duppo shoots it — Reach the camp 215

CONTENTS. XI

Chapter IX. Lost In The Forest

John has gone to meet us, and has not returned — An anxious night — Expedition in search of John — Catch a scarlet-faced monkey — Call it Toby — Suspended cocoons — Escape from peccaries — We discover John up a tree besieged by peccaries — Ferocity of peccaries — Peccaries described — Return towards the camp — John narrates his adventures — Plans for the future discussed — Agree to search for the canoe 238

Chapter X. An Encounter With Savages

Find chegoes in our feet — Maria extracts them — Set off to revisit the native village — Hear an organ-bird — Reach the village — Search for the canoe — See a jaguar — Find a canoe — Majeronas appear — We paddle off — Build a fort — The enemy approach — The Majeronas attack us — The foe driven back — The village set on fire — Maono and his followers return — Put the enemy to flight — Results of the war — We remain at Maono's village , 252

Chapter XI. Dangers By Land And Water — A New Friend Found

The natives move house — Oria accompanies us — Voyage on the igarape — Our camp deserted — Search for Ellen — We follow the raft — Land Arthur and the Indians — The raft seen — Take the raft in tow — A storm rises — In great danger — A light on shore — The shore reached — A new friend — The hut of the recluse — Shelter offered us — Ellen's narrative — Imaginary danger — The recluse praises Ellen — Our evening prayer — A night in the hut — We go to meet Arthur — Ellen's anxiety — Our noisy neighbours — Mycttes, or howling monkeys, described — See two sloths in a tree — Description of the sloth — Forest scenery — Climbing plants — Discover Arthur's hut — A cry alarms us — Arthur seized by an anaconda — The recluse saves him — We form a litter, and John and I carry Arthur — A terrific struggle between a tapir and a jaguar — The jaguar killed — Evening in the forest — We reach the hut of the recluse 272

Chapter XII. The Recluse — More Adventures In The Forest

The recluse leaves us — We receive a strange note from him — The natives appear — We quit the hut — Ellen and Arthur go by water — The rest of us proceed through the forest— Encounter a rattlesnake — Its tail described — John and I lose our way — Encounter a great ant-eater — See a jaguar stealing through the forest — It springs forward — We save the recluse from it — No such thing as chance — Strange appearance of the recluse — True attacks an armadillo — The creature described — The recluse leaves us— We find our companions — New huts built 314

Chapter XIII. Our New Resting-place, And The Adventures Which Befel Us There

A consultation in conclave — John's casting vote — Arthur and I arrange to explore the banks in the small canoe with Duppo — Duppo and Oria arrive — The canoe repaired — Ellen teaches Oria— Nimble and Tobbyin danger — The pumas defeated — Humming-birds — The tufted coquette and spangled coquette — Duppo

Xll CONTENTS.

brings Ellen a humming-bird — Ellen's menagerie — Our Indian friends arrive — Derivation of the river's name — I tell John my fears about the Majeronas — Our farewells — Expedition in search of our parents commenced 334

Chapter XIV. Our Exploring Expedition — Fearful Danger

Revisit the deserted camp — Find a note from Fanny — Pursued by enemies — They shoot at us — Arthur wounded — Our foes overwhelmed by the falling cliff — Our canoe destroyed — Arthur disappears — Voyage on a tree — Floating down the Amazon — An unwelcome companion — Duppo and I kill the boa and cook it — Tale of a snake fight — Floating islands 359

Chapter XV. Voyage Down The Amazon On A Tree

We find some piassaba — Duppo manufactures fishing-lines— Reach a floating island — I shoot a monkey — Rattlesnakes — Drift from the island — Our lines finished — Curious fish caught — Duppo catches a fine fish — See a figure on a floating island — We discover Arthur on it, and reach him at length — I help Arthur down from a tree — Arthur's narrative— A night on the floating island — It is driven on shore — We escape to land, and the island floats away 372

Chapter XVI. Our Return

See a huge spider-crab kill a lizard — Account of the spider-crab — Propose to build a raft — A fearful cry heard — See Illora attacked by a jaguar, and defending her husband — We rescue our friends — Arrive at our camp — Reach the recluse's hut — The recluse appears coming down the igarape — We assist our friend — The recluse doctors Maono — The recluse and Arthur — Duppo and I set off through the forest, leaving Arthur — We kill a deer — Strange sounds heard — Duppo's alarm — A huge toad (Bufa agua) — The Surinam toad — Curious way its young are hatched — A regiment of termites — We meet John — Arrive at our hut — Ellen's menagerie — Introduces her pets to me — The curassow — Marianna and anaca parrots — Humming-bird, and humming-bird moth — Nests of the phaethornis 388

Chapter XVII. Our Voyage Recommenced

Attacked by a boa — It goes off — Boa reappears — Natives come to our help — The boa captured and killed — The Indians' present of vegetables — An invasion of termites — Leaf-carrying termites — Sauba ants described — A snake in an ant-hill — Foraging ants — Fire-ants — Voyage recommenced — Visit to the recluse — He declines accompanying us — Alligator killed by jaguar — Alligator's eggs 417

Chapter XVIII. Joyful News

Intricate navigation — The Victoria Regia lily — Catch an iguana — Fire-flies — Musical wood-cricket — Walk along river's bank — See a canoe approaching — A friend appears — Astonishment of Domingos — News of our parents 434

CONTENTS. X1U

Chapter XIX. A Happy Meeting

The recluse proves to be Arthur's father — Duppo suspects the young ladies of being witches — Excursion through the Gapo — Family of Muras Indians — Palm dwellers— Scene in the Gapo — Turtle catching — Electric eels — Fish stupified by tambo — Curious mode of shooting — India-rubber collectors — Mode of preparing caoutchouc — See Indians preparing wourali poison — Night at an Indian hut 451

Chapter XX. Another Flight

Alarming intelligence — We warn our host — Escape from the farm — The farm on fire — Return for our friends — Night voyage — Reach our proposed place of refuge — Set off in search of our school-fellows — Upward voyage — Arthur seized by a puma — Fearfully injured — Suspicious conduct of our Indian crew — We return down the river — Land for the night — The Indians go off to fish, and desert us — Left alone on an island — Arthur dangerously ill— Our anxiety about him — Houlston and Tony, with Mr. Mallet and Maono and Illora, appear — Houlston's narrative — Arthur improves — We shoot a horned kamichi 472

Conclusion

Return to our family — Our father recognizes Mr. Mallet as an old friend — Expected attack from the rebel Indians — They land on the island — We prepare to receive them — The recluse goes out to meet the Indians — They insist on Senhor Pimento being given up— Our father refuses to do so— Don Jose appears, and persuades them to retire — Our voyage down the Amazon — Its scenery — We reach Para — Termination of our adventures — Conclusion 497

OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY DESCRIBED.

The Tapir (Hippopotamus terrestris) 67

The American Ostrich [Rhea Americdna) 72

Toquilla {Carludovica palmata) — used for making hats 78

Cacao {Theobroma — " Food for gods ") 82

Caurale, or Sun-bird {Scolopax H6lias) 87

The Black Vulture {Cathartes atratus) 90

King of the Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa) 91

Peruvian Bark [Chinchona or Quinquina — " Bark of barks ") 100

Sayal — a palm with enormous leaves 103

The Coca plant — the leaves of which are chewed by the Peruvians 110

The Condor 112

Chimborazian Hill-star Humming-bird 116

Llamas and Alpacas 118

huanacus and vicunas 119

Sindicaspi (the "wood that burns") 123

The Sappho Comet, or Bar-tailed Humming-bird 126

The Puma (Leopardus concolor) 130

Quichua Indians 133

Guayusa Tea 134

Yuca Flour — from a beet-like root 151

Pita — from leaves of the Aloe 151

Vanilla 152

The Toucan 157

Spider Monkeys (the Coaita, or Ateles marginatus) 159

The Blow-pipe, or Sarbucan 166

Macaco Barrigudo 173

Vampire Bats 175

Chelys Matamata 183

The Manatee 189

Turtles, and Turtles' Eggs 191

Capybara '. 201

Agouti 201

Paca 202

Antidotes for a Snake-bite 203

Umbrella or Fife-bird [Cephalopterus ornatus) 226

Pupunha, or Peach-palm 229

Fruits of Assai Palm 232

Bell-bird (Casmarhynchos carunculata) 235

Scarlet-faced Monkey [Brachyums calvus) 242

XVI OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY.

Suspended Cocoon 243

Peccaries (Dicotyles tajacu) .246

Chegoes 255

Organ-bird (Cyphorhinus cantans) 259

Rattlesnake , .. 322,

The Great Ant-eater (Myrmecophaga jubata) 325

The Armadillo {Dasypus sexcinctus) 331

The Tufted Coquette Humming-bird (Lophornis ornatus) 349

The Spangled Coquette 349

Piassaba Fibre 373

Ocoki Fruit 374

Mamayacu, or Diodon — a round fish 378

Sarapo, or Carapus 378

Surubim Fish 379

Spider-crab {Mygale avicularia) 390

Bufa Agua Toad 409

Surinam Toad (Pipa Americana) 410

Curassow {Crax alector) 414

Marianna and Anaca Parrots 414

Nests of Phaethornis Humming-birds 416

Boa, or Boiguacu , 417

Manioc 422

Cabbage Palm 422

Sauba Ants, or Leaf-carrying Termites 421

Amphisb^en^e Snake 426

Foraging Ants 427

Fire- Ants 428

Alligator's Eggs 433

Victoria Regia Lily 436

The Jacana, or Piosoca 436

The Iguana {Iguana tuberculata) 439

Cow-tree 442

Musical Wood-cricket (Tanana) 445

Inaja Palms 452

Elap Snakes 459

Electric Eels 464

Tambo 465

Caoutchouc, or India-rubber Tree {Siphonia elastica) 468 •

Wourali Poison 470

A.nhima, or Horned Kamichi (Palamedea) 495

ON THE BANKS OF THE AMAZON.

CHAPTER I. MY SCnOOL-BOY DAYS AND FRIENDS

MIGHT find an excuse for being proud, if I were so, -not because my ancestors were of exalted rank or title, or celebrated for noble deeds or unbounded wealth, or, indeed, on account of any ordinary reasons, — but because I was born in one of the highest cities in the world. I saw the light in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, then forming the northern part of the Spanish province of Peru. The first objects I remember beyond the courtyard of our house in which I used to play, with its fountain and flower-bed in the centre, and surrounding arches of sun-burned bricks, were lofty mountains towering up into the sky. From one of them, called Pichincha, which looked quite close through the clear atmosphere of that region, I remember seeing flames of fire and dark masses of smoke, intermingled with dust and ashes, spouting forth. Now and then, when the wind blew from it, thick showers of dust fell down over us, causing great consternation ; for many thought that stones and rocks might follow and overwhelm the city. All day long a lofty column of (ooe) 2

(view OF QUITO.;

smoke rose up towards the sky, and at night a vast mass of fire was seen ascending from the summit ; but no harm was done to the city, so that we could gaze calmly at the spectacle without apprehension. Pichincha is, indeed, only one of several mountains in the neighbourhood from the tops of which bonfires occasionally blaze forth. Further off, but rising still higher, is the glittering cone of Cotopaxi, which, like a tyrant, has made its power felt by the devastation it has often caused in the plains which surround its base ; while near it rise the peaks of Corazon and Ruminagui. Far more dreaded than their fires is the quaking and heaving and tumbling about of the earth, shaking down as it does human habitations and mountain-tops, towers and steeples, and uprooting trees, and opening wide chasms, turning streams from their courses, and overwhelming towns and villages, and destroying in other ways the works of men's hands, and human beings themselves, in its wild commotion.

These burning mountains, in spite of their fire and smoke, appear but insignificant pigmies compared to that mighty mountain which rises in their neighbourhood — the majestic Chimborazo. We could see far off its snow-white dome, free of clouds, towering into the deep blue sky, many thousand feet above the ocean ; while on the other side its brother, Tunguragua, shoots up above the surrounding heights, but, in spite

THE CORDILLERAS.

P^K

CHIMBORAZO.

of its ambitious efforts, has failed to reach the same altitude. I might speak of Antisana, and many other lofty heights with hard names ; but I fancy that a fair idea may be formed of that wonderful region of giant mountains from the description I have already given.

I used often to think that I should like to get to the top of Chimborazo, the way up looked so easy at a distance ; but no one has ever reached its summit, though several valiant philosophers and others have made the attempt.

The mountain range I have described, of which Chimborazo was long considered the highest point, till Aconcagua in Chili was found to be higher, rises from the ocean in the far-off southern end of America, and runs up along its western shore, ever proud and grand, with snow-topped heights rising tens of

MY FAMILY. 23

thousands of feet above the ocean, till it sinks once more towards the northern extremity of the southern half of the continent, running along the Isthmus of Panama, through Mexico at a less elevation, again to rise in the almost unbroken range of the Rocky Mountains, not to sink till it reaches the snow-covered plains of the Arctic region.

But I am becoming too scientific and geographical ; and I must confess that it was not till many years after the time of which I am speaking that I knew anything about the matter. My father, Don Martin Fiel, had been for some years settled in Quito as a merchant. His mother was Spanish, or partly so, born in Peru — I believe that she had some of the blood of the Incas in her veins, a matter of which she was not a little proud, I have been told — but his father was an Englishman, and our proper family name was Faithful. My father, having lived for many years in the Spanish South American provinces, had obtained the rights and privileges of a Spaniard. He had, however, been sent over to England for his education, and was a thorough Englishman at heart. He had made during his younger days several visits to England for mercantile purposes, and during one of them had married my mother. He was, though really a Protestant — I am sorry to have to make the confession — nominally a Roman Catholic; for he, being a Spanish subject, could not otherwise at that time have resided in any part of the territories of Spain and carried on his business with freedom : but I feel now that no person has a right to conceal their true faith, and to pretend to believe what is false, for the sake of any worldly advantage. My mother, however, had stipulated that all her children should be brought up as Protestants. To this he had agreed, though he found when he had sons that he was in consequence subjected to considerable annoyance from the priests, who threatened to denounce him as a heretic. To avoid this, he had to send his

24 childhood's davs.

children to England at an early age for their education ; indeed, had we remained at Quito we could only have obtained a very poor one at any public school or college. It will be understood from what I have said, that though we were really English, and I have always felt like an Englishman, we had both Spanish and native connections, which will account for some of the circumstances which afterwards occurred to us.

My father, though he himself resided at Quito, had also a house of business at Guayaquil, which imported European manufactured goods, and exported in return Peruvian bark and other articles, of which I shall by-and-by have to speak. He was greatly respected by his fellow-citizens, although they might have been somewhat jealous of him for succeeding in his business through his energy and perseverance, while they themselves, sitting idle all the day smoking their cigarettes without attempting to exert their minds, were left behind. My dear mother lived very much alone, for the society of the ladies of Quito, though they are very charming in manner, afforded her but little satisfaction, from their utter want of education.

I remember the joy which the arrival of my eldest sister, Fanny — or Dona Francisca, as the Spaniards called her — who had gone to school in England, and Aunt Martha, who brought her back, caused in the family. I had another sister, Ellen, much younger ; a sweet, dear little girl, of whom I was very fond. She was indeed the pet of the family. My elder brother, John, was at school in England. I remember thinking Aunt Martha, who was my mother's elder sister, very stiff and formal; and I was not at all pleased when she expressed her intention of teaching me and keeping me in order. My mother's health had been delicate, and I had been left very much to the care of old Domingos, a negro servant of my father's, who had been with him since his boyhood, and

AN EARTHQUAKE. 25

with my grandfather before him. He was the butler, or majordomo, the head over all the other servants, and, I believe, deservedly trusted. Among them I remember best little Maria, a young negro slave girl who attended especially on Ellen ; and Antonio, a Gallego from the north of Spain, a worthy, honest fellow, who had been in the family from his boyhood, and was much attached to us all. I soon learned to like Aunt Martha better than I had expected, for though I thought her looks very terrible at first — and she was certainly firm — she was really kind and gentle. Under her instruction I gained the first knowledge of the letters of the alphabet, of which I was before profoundly ignorant. Of course she was very gentle with Ellen, as everybody was, and Fanny seemed to be very fond of her. She was courageous, too, as I before long had evidence. I remember one night being suddenly lifted in her arms, and carried out by her into the patio or courtyard. There was a strange rumbling noise underneath our feet, and I could see the stout walls of our house rocking to and fro ; and yet, though the earth was tumbling about, she did not tremble in the least, but I heard her telling the servants not to shriek out or to pray to the saints, who could not help them, but to put their trust in God, who made the world, and who would save them from danger if it was his good will. It was a very fearful night, however, and though I believe the earthquake did not last long, it tumbled down, during the few minutes of its duration, a number of buildings, and many of the inhabitants were buried beneath the ruins. Our house, however, which was on the outskirts of the city, and had no upper story, although some of the walls were cracked, escaped without further injury ; and before morning we were in our beds again, and I, for my part, was sleeping soundly.