The wild Forest Tribes—Their Physical Conformation and Moral Characteristics—Their Powers of Endurance not inferior to those of other Races—Their stoical indifference2—Their Means of Subsistence—Fishing—Hunting—The Wourali Poison—Ornaments5—Painting—Tattooing6—Religion—The Moon, a Land of Abundance—The Botuto—The Piaches—The Savage7 Hordes8 of Brazil and Guiana—The Ottomacas—Dirt-eaters—Their Vindictive10 Ferocity and War Stratagems—The extinct Tribe of the Atures—A Parrot the last Speaker of their Language—Their Burial-cavern12—The Uaupes Indians—Their large Huts—Horrid13 Custom of Disinterment—The Macus—The Purupurus—The ‘Palheta’—The Mandrucus—Singular resemblance of some of the Customs of the American Indians to those of Remote Nations—The Caribs—The Botocudos—Monstrous distension14 of the Ears and Under-lip—Their Bow and Arrow—Their Migrations—Bush-rope Bridge—Botocudo Funeral—‘Tanchon,’ the Evil Spirit.
Though nominally15 under the dominion16 of the European race, yet a considerable part of tropical America still remains17 in the undisturbed possession of its native tribes. While the stranger has established his chief settlements along the coast or in those parts of the interior which before his arrival were already the seats of a certain degree of culture, where before him the Incas had founded cities and a large63 agricultural population occupied the fertile table-lands of Anahuac, the wild hunter, unsubjected to the rules and trammels of civilised life, still roams over the boundless18 woods or interminable savannahs through which the Amazons, the Orinoco, and a hundred other great streams wend their way from the Andes to the Ocean. Here the primitive19 American can still be studied; here he exhibits the same traits of character and follows the same mode of life as his fathers before him, in the times of Cortez or Pizarro.
Many of the forest tribes, indeed, have been converted to Christianity, and live in missions or small settlements situated21 far apart on the banks of the great rivers; others are willing to barter22 the drugs, india-rubber, or rare birds and insects, they gather in the woods for articles of European manufacture; but many desiring no more than what their native wilds supply, never or but seldom cross the path of civilised man.
Though divided into a large number of hostile tribes, and scattered23 over an immense extent of country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and far beyond the bounds which separate one tropic from the other, yet the American Indians so nearly resemble each other, both in their features and the qualities of their minds, as evidently to be descended24 from one source. Their complexion25 is of a reddish-brown, more or less resembling the colour of copper26. There is, however, a great diversity of shade among the several tribes, which appears to be less dependent on the influence of climate than on an original disposition27, varying in the different branches of the American race. The elevation28 above the sea, or the vicinity of the equator, seems to have no great influence, for both Ulloa and Humboldt were astonished to find the Indians as bronze-coloured or as brown in the cold regions of the Cordilleras as in the hot plains of Venezuela. On the sultry banks of the Orinoco there are even tribes characterised by a remarkable29 fairness of complexion, living in the vicinity of others more than commonly brown. D’Orbigny makes this lightness of colour coincide with the woody and shady character of the quarters inhabited; the Maripas, for instance, who inhabit the most exposed countries, being also the darkest in hue31.
The hair of the American Indians is always black, long, coarse,64 and uncurled. With rare exceptions they carefully eradicate32 their scanty33 beard. Their forehead is generally low, their black and deep-seated eyes have their upper angles turned upwards34, and their cheek-bones are broad and high. While they thus in some of their features resemble the Mongol type, they widely differ from it by the form of their nose, which is as prominent as in the Caucasian race. The mouth is large, the lips broad, but not thick as those of the Negro; the chin short and round, the jaws35 remarkably36 strong and broad. The expression of the eye is in some tribes mild and serene37, in others it shows a forbidding mixture of melancholy38 and ferocity. There is generally a remarkable rigidity39 in the features of the American, very different from that lively play in a European countenance40, which often reflects as a mirror every emotion of the mind. Some tribes are of small stature41, others athletic42; the limbs are generally well-turned; the feet small; the body of just proportions.
The beardless countenance and smooth skin seem to indicate a defect of vigour43 which does not exist in reality. In those parts of the continent where hardly any labour is requisite44 to procure45 subsistence, and the powers of the body and mind are not called forth46, indolence indeed produces its usual effects, weakness and languor47; but wherever the aboriginal48 American is accustomed to toil49, he is found capable of performing such tasks as equal any effort of the natives either of Africa or of Europe. In many of the silver mines of Mexico, where the ore is conveyed to the surface by human labour, the native Indians will climb steep ladders with 240 to 380 pounds, and perform this hard work for six hours consecutively50. Their muscular strength seemed truly astonishing to Humboldt, who, though having no weight but his own to carry, felt himself utterly51 exhausted52 after ascending53 from a deep mine.9 In propelling a boat against a rapid stream, or in supporting the fatigues54 of a long march, the Indian evinces similar powers of endurance and exertion55, which prove him to be not inferior in this respect to the other races of man.
The uniformity which prevails in the features of the American aboriginals56, exists also in the qualities of their minds, which generally exhibit an apparent indifference to pain or pleasure65 that would have done honour to a Stoic1. Insensible to the charms of beauty and the power of love, they treat their women with coldness and indifference, being at no pains to win their favour by the assiduity of courtship, and still less solicitous57 to preserve it by indulgence and gentleness. Grave, even unto sadness, they have nothing of that giddy vivacity58 peculiar59 to many Europeans. Frequently placed in situations of danger and distress60, depending on themselves alone, and wrapped up in their own thoughts and schemes, their minds are tinted61 with an habitual62 melancholy. Their attention to others is small, the range of their own ideas narrow. Hence that taciturnity which is so disgusting to men accustomed to exchange their thoughts in social conversation. When not engaged in some active pursuit, the wild Americans often sit whole days in one posture63 without opening their lips.
When they go forth to war or to the chase, they usually march in a line at some distance from one another, and without exchanging a word. The same profound silence is observed when they row together in a canoe. It is only when they are animated64 by intoxicating65 liquors, or roused by the excitement of the dance, that they relax from their usual insensibility and give some signs of sympathy with their kind.
All their thoughts intent upon self-preservation, they live only in the present, and seem alike indifferent to the past and the future. Gratitude66, friendship, ambition, are sentiments of which they have no idea; and war or the pursuit of wild animals the only occupations which are able to rouse them from their stolid67 apathy68.
Many tribes depend entirely69 upon fishing or the chase for their subsistence; others rear a few plants, which in a rich soil and a warm climate are soon trained to maturity70. With a moderate exertion of industry and foresight71 the maize72, the manioc, and the plantain would enable them to live in abundance, but such is their improvident73 laziness that the provisions they obtain by cultivating the ground are but limited and scanty, and thus when the woods and rivers withhold74 their usual gifts, they are often reduced to extreme distress.
The streams and lagunes of South America abound75 with an infinite variety of the most delicate fish, and Nature seems to have indulged the indolence of the Indian by the liberality66 with which she ministers in this way to his wants. They swarm76 in such shoals that in some places they are caught without art or industry. In others the natives have discovered a method of infecting the water with the juice of certain plants, by which the fish are so intoxicated77 that they float on the surface, and are taken with the hand.
In one of the shallow lagunes of the Amazons, the French traveller Castelnau witnessed fish-catching by this means on a grand scale. On the previous evening a quantity of branches of the Barbasco (Jacquinia armillaris), after having been beaten with clubs, and divided among the canoes that were to take part in the sport, had been steeped in water, and then flung with the infusion78 into the lagune. At least five hundred Indians stood on the banks among the high rushes or on the trunks of trees, armed with arrows, harpoons79, and clubs. At first only small fishes appeared upon the surface, and as if stunned80, and then, suddenly awakening81, sought to leap upon the bank. Then the larger species were seen to float on the water, or to make similar efforts to escape from the poisoned element. During the whole day the canoes of the Indians were passing on the lagune, and the same bustle82 reigned83 along the banks. The whistling of the arrows was incessantly84 heard, together with the beating of the clubs upon the water, while on land no less activity was displayed in cutting up, smoking, and salting the fish. Castelnau counted thirty-five different species, and estimated the number caught at 50,000 or 60,000, many measuring a foot or more in length. Although the lagune was thus poisoned, the Indians drank the water with impunity85, and the river tortoises and alligators86 seemed to be equally untouched by the Barbasco juice which proved so fatal to the fishes.
The prolific87 quality of the rivers in South America induces many of the natives to resort to their banks, and to depend almost entirely for nourishment88 on what their waters so abundantly supply. But this mode of life requires so little enterprise or ingenuity89 that the petty nations adjacent to the Marañon and Orinoco are far inferior, in point of activity, intelligence, and courage, to the tribes which principally depend upon hunting for their subsistence. To form a just estimate of the intellectual capacities of the American, he must be seen when following the exciting pursuits of the chase.67 While engaged in this favourite exercise, he shakes off his habitual indolence, the latent powers and vigour of his mind are roused, and he becomes active, persevering90, and indefatigable91. His sagacity in finding his prey92 is only equalled by his address in killing93 it. His reason and his senses being constantly directed to this one object, the former displays such fertility of invention and the latter acquire such a degree of acuteness, as appear almost incredible. He discerns the footsteps of a wild beast, or detects it among the dark foliage94, where its vestiges95 or presence would escape every other eye; he follows it with certainty through the pathless forest, and is able to subsist3 where the best European hunter would perish from want. If he attacks his game openly, his fatal arrow seldom errs96 from the mark; if he endeavours to circumvent97 it by art, it is almost impossible to avoid his toils98.
Among several tribes the young men are not permitted to marry until they have given such proofs of their skill in hunting as put it beyond doubt that they are capable of providing for a family. Their ingenuity, always on the stretch and sharpened by emulation99, as well as necessity, has struck out many inventions which greatly facilitate success in the chase.
Slow, and with noiseless step, so as scarcely to disturb the fallen leaves beneath his feet, the wily Macusi Indian approaches. His weapons are strong, and peculiar, and of so slight an appearance as to form a strange contrast to their terrific power. A colossal100 species of Bamboo (Arundinacea Schomburgkii), whose perfectly101 cylindrical102 culm often rises to the height of fifteen feet from the root before it forms its first knot, furnishes him with his blow-pipe; and the slender arrows which he sends forth with unerring certainty of aim, are made of the leaf-stalks of a species of palm tree (Maximiliana regia), hard and brittle103, and sharp-pointed as a needle. You would hardly suppose these fragile missiles capable of inflicting105 the slightest wound at any distance, and yet they strike more surely and effectively than the rifleman’s bullet, for their point is dipped in the deadly juice of the Strychnos Urari, whose venomous powers are not inferior to those of the bush-master’s fang106.
In vain, suspended by his prehensile107 tail, the Miriki, the largest of the Brazilian monkeys, retires to the highest68 forest trees; in vain the sloth108 clings like a heap of moss109 to the bough110; touched by the fatal poison they both let go their aërial hold, and their lifeless bodies, whizzing through the air as they drop down, fall with a loud crash to the ground.
In a diluted111 form the wourali poison merely benumbs or stuns113 the faculties114 without killing, and is thus made use of by the Indians when they wish to catch an old monkey alive, and tame him for sale. On his falling down senseless, they immediately suck the wound, and wrapping him up in a strait jacket of palm leaves, dose him for a few days with sugar-cane juice or a strong solution of saltpetre. This method generally answers the purpose, but should his stubborn temper not yet be subdued115, they hang him up in smoke. Then, after a short time, his useless rage gives way, and his wild eye, assuming a plaintive116 expression, humbly117 sues for deliverance. His bonds are now loosened, and even the most unmanageable monkey seems to forget that he ever roamed at liberty in the boundless woods.
It is chiefly on the Camuku mountains in Guiana that the formidable Urari plant is found, whose sombre-coloured, brown-haired leaves and rind seem by their sinister118 appearance to betray its deadly qualities.
The savage tribes of the South American woods know how to poison their arrows with the juices of various other plants, but none equals this in virulence119 and certainty of execution, and yearly the Indians of the Orinoco, the Rio Negro, and even of the Amazons, wander to the Camuku mountains to purchase by barter the renowned120 Urari or Wourali poison of the Macusis. Nature has vouchsafed121 to these sons of the wilderness122 an inestimable gift in these venomous juices, which she has instilled123 in various plants of the forest, for by no other means would they be able to kill the birds and monkeys on whose flesh they chiefly subsist. How, or at what time, they made the discovery of their powers is unknown; at all events the combination of so many means for the attainment124 of the end in view—the preparation of the poison, the blow-pipe, and the arrows—denotes a high degree of ingenuity.
The tropical Indians are generally as free from the incumbrance of dress as it is possible to conceive, paint seeming to be looked upon as a sufficient clothing. Red, furnished by the69 pulp126 of the fruits of the Arnatto, or by the leaves of the Bignonia Chica, is the favourite colour, with which some tribes only besmear their faces, while others, who command a greater abundance of the material, not only paint their whole bodies, but even their canoes, their stools, and other articles of furniture. Red, yellow, and black are sometimes disposed in stripes, or in regular patterns, which it requires much time and patience to draw. The labour bestowed127 upon these paintings is the more to be wondered at, as a strong rain suffices to efface128 them. Some nations only paint when they are about to celebrate a festival, others are thus decorated the whole year round, and would be as ashamed to be seen unpainted as a European to appear unclothed.
The use of ornaments and trinkets of various kinds is almost confined to the men. A circlet of parrot and other gaudily-coloured feathers is worn round the head, but generally only on festive129 occasions. Tattooing is not so general or so elaborate as among the nations of the Malayan race, or the wild aboriginals of Australia.
The religion of the American Indians, if such it may be called, is of the lowest description. Some tribes, indeed, acknowledge a good principle, called Cachimana, who rules the seasons and causes the fruits of the earth to ripen130; but, thankless for the benefits they enjoy, they pay far greater reverence131 to the evil principle, Tolokiamo, who, though not so powerful, is more cunning and active. The forest-Indians can hardly understand church and image worship. ‘Your God,’ they say to the Catholic missionaries132, ‘shuts himself up in a house as if he were old and infirm; ours is in the forest, in the fields, in the mountains whence comes the rain.’
The moon is universally considered as the abode133 of the blessed, as the land of abundance. The Esquimo, for whom a plank134 thrown by the current on his treeless shore is a treasure, sees in the moon extensive plains covered with forests, while the Indian of the Orinoco perceives in its shining orb30 grassy135 savannahs, exempt136 from all insect plagues. ‘How pleasant it must be to live in the moon,’ said a Salina-Indian to Father Gumilla; ‘she is so beautiful and bright that surely no mosquitos can be there.’ Thus man is always disposed to transfer70 to some distant spot the seat of a felicity denied to him on earth.
On the banks of the Orinoco and the Amazons no idols137 are worshipped, but the Botuto, the holy trumpet138, is the great object of veneration139. The Piaches, priests or medicine-men who have taken it under their care, and who, to be initiated140 in its mysteries are obliged to submit to fasts, scourging141, and other painful or self-denying religious practices, carry it under the palm trees where, as they pretend, its sound ensures a rich harvest for the following year. Sometimes the great spirit Cachimana blows the trumpet himself, at others he makes known his will through the guardians142 of the sacred instrument. No woman is allowed to see it on pain of death, but hurries away when the sound of it is heard approaching through the woods, and remains invisible till after the ceremony is over, when the instrument is taken away to its hiding-place, and the women come out of their concealment143. Some of these Botutos are particularly renowned and venerated144 by more than one tribe. Sometimes offerings of fruits and palm-wine are deposited near them, and prove, no doubt, very acceptable to the Piaches.
The wild Indians who people the vast forests and llanos of Brazil and Guaiana generally live in small hordes, separated from each other by mutual145 distrust, and often by open war. Their enmity is aggravated146 by the circumstance that even the neighbouring tribes speak totally different languages. Though when they first settled along the river-banks of tropical America they probably spoke147 one tongue; yet, lost in interminable woods, where sometimes a single mountain or a few miles of forest are an almost impervious148 barrier between hordes which, to communicate with each other, would require a few days’ navigation through a labyrinth149 of streams, mere112 dialects in process of time became separate languages, which from their dissimilarity perpetuate150 discord151 and hatred152. The Indians avoid each other because they do not understand each other, and a mutual distrust and fear is the cause of their mutual animosity. Some of the Orinoco tribes, as for instance the Ottomacas and the Yaruras, are nomadic153 savages154, the outcasts of humanity; others, like the Maquiritani and the Macos, are of milder manners, and live in fixed155 settlements, on the products of the soil.
71 The Ottomacas, of whom it is said by other Indians, ‘that there is nothing so disgusting that they will not eat,’ live the greater part of the year on fishes and turtles; but when the Orinoco and its tributaries156 swell157 during the periodical rains and render fishing next to impossible, they become ‘dirt-eaters’ and assuage158 their hunger with an unctuous159 clay. Such is their predilection160 for this strange aliment, in which chemistry detects no trace of organic matter, that even in times of abundance they mix some of it with their more nutritious161 food. The most remarkable fact is that during the two months of the year when they daily devour162 about three-quarters of a pound of clay, and are restricted to a meagre supply of vegetable or animal provisions, such as lizards163, ants, and gum, the Ottomacas still remain healthy and strong, and never complain of indigestion. These barbarians164 are ugly, wild, vindictive; and besides being passionately165 fond of palm-wine and maize-spirit, use the powdered pods of a leguminous plant, the Acacia Niopo, as a means of intoxication166. The hollow bone of a bird serves as a kind of pipe, through which they sniff167 up the powder, which is so irritating that a small quantity produces a strong fit of sneezing in those who are not accustomed to it. The effect of the Niopo is to deprive them for a couple of hours of their senses, and to render them furious in battle. Such is their malignant168 ingenuity that they poison their sharpened thumb-nails with the Wourali, so as to be able to inflict104 a death-wound with the slightest scratch, and such their tiger-like ferocity that they suck with fiendish delight the blood of their slain169 enemies. The country these wretches170 inhabit is described as romantically beautiful, a mournful contrast to a state of society where man is eternally armed against man. Such is the miserable171 state of insecurity of the weaker tribes that, when they approach a river’s bank, they carefully destroy with their hands the vestiges of their timid footsteps.
During the rainy season the swollen172 Orinoco, like the Amazons and other great streams, frequently undermines the trees on his banks, and carries them along on his turbid173 waters. These natural floats, covered with a profusion174 of parasites175 and climbing plants, form so many swimming islands, pleasing to the eye, but extremely dangerous to navigation; for woe176 to the pirogue which at night is caught in their intricate network of72 roots and branches! When the Indians wish to surprise a hostile horde9 they bind177 several canoes together and, concealing178 them under a covering of herbs and foliage, thus imitate the natural floats of the Orinoco.
Lurking179, like murderous reptiles180, under a canopy181 of verdure, the current carries them towards the unsuspecting objects of their stratagem11, and they send forth the poisoned dart182 ere the enemy is aware of their approach. How happy might all these nations be if they would but apply to the arts of peace and improvement, the intelligence they waste upon the purposes of war!
Where the hordes are so small and the causes of destruction so great, it cannot be wondered at that whole tribes die away like single families, and come to be numbered among the beings of the past. Thus the Atures, who gave their name to the far-famed cataracts183 of the Upper Orinoco, are now no more, and, strange to say, the last words of their language were heard from the lips not of the last survivor184 of their race, but from those of a parrot. The Atures are also interesting from their careful mode of sepulture, in a burial cavern thus described by Humboldt: ‘The most remote part of the valley is covered by a thick forest. In this shady and solitary185 spot, on the declivity186 of a steep mountain, the cavern of Atariupe opens itself. It is less a cavern than a jutting187 rock in which the waters have scooped188 a vast hollow; when, in the ancient revolutions of our planet, they attained189 that height. We soon reckoned in the tomb of a whole extinct tribe nearly six hundred skeletons, well preserved, and so regularly placed that it would have been difficult to make an error in their number. Every skeleton reposes190 in a sort of basket made of the petioles of the palm tree. These baskets, which the natives call mapurès, have the form of a square bag; their sizes are proportioned to the age of the dead; there are some for infants cut off the moment of their birth: we saw them from ten inches to three feet long, the skeletons in them being bent191 together. The bones, not one of which is wanting, have been prepared in three different manners, either whitened in the air and the sun, or dyed red with arnatto, or, like real mummies, varnished192 with odoriferous resins193, and enveloped194 in leaves of the heliconia or plantain tree. The Indians related to us that the fresh corpse195 is placed in damp73 ground, in order that the flesh remaining on the bone may be scraped off with sharp stones. Several hordes in Guiana still observe this custom. Earthern vases, half-baked, are found near the mapurès or baskets; they appear to contain the bones of the same family. The largest of the vases, or funeral urns196, are three feet high and five feet and a half long. Their colour is greenish-grey, and their oval form is sufficiently197 pleasing to the eye, The handles are made in the shape of crocodiles or serpents; the edge is ornamented198 with meanders199, labyrinths200, and straight lines variously combined.’ When the reverence paid to the dead thus called forth the first germs of art, there surely must have been affectionate feelings of regret and sorrow, which raised the Atures above the level of mere callous201 savages, and add a melancholy interest to their extinction202.
The Indians of the Amazons valley appear to be much superior, both physically203 and intellectually, to those of South Brazil and of most other parts of South America. Their superb figures generally equal the finest statues in beauty of outline; their broad chests exhibit a splendid series of convex undulations without a hollow in any part of it. The sons of a delicious climate, their bodies, invigorated by exercise, and enjoying from infancy204 an unconstrained liberty of action, show the perfection to which the human form may attain125 when circumstances favour its development. Such is the number of their tribes that Mr. Wallace enumerates205 no less than thirty along the bank of the River Uaupes, one of the tributaries of the Rio Negro, having almost all of them some peculiarities206 of language and custom, but all going under the general name of Uaupes, and distinguishing themselves as a body from the inhabitants of other rivers.
All these tribes construct their dwellings207 after one plan, which is peculiar to them. Their houses, formed in the shape of a parallelogram with a semicircle at one end, are the abode of numerous families, sometimes of a whole tribe. The roof is supported on the columnar trunks of palm trees. In the centre a clear opening is left, twenty feet wide, and on the sides are little partitions of palm-leaf thatch208, dividing off rooms for the several families. These houses are built with much labour and skill; the main supports, beams, rafters, and other parts, are straight, well-proportioned to the strength required, and bound together with split creepers, in a manner that a sailor would74 admire. The thatch is of the leaf of some one of the numerous palms so well adapted to the purpose, and is laid on with great compactness and regularity209. The walls, which are very low, are formed also of palm-thatch, but so thick and so well bound together that neither arrow nor bullet will penetrate210 it. At the gable end is a large doorway211, from the top of which hangs a palm mat, supported by a pole during the day, and let down at night. A smaller door at the semicircular end is the private entrance of the chief, to whom this part of the house exclusively belongs. The furniture consists principally of hammocks, made of string twisted from the fibres of the leaves of the Mauritia flexuosa, of pots and cooking utensils212 made of baked clay, and of great quantities of small saucer-shaped baskets.
Tattooing is very little practised by the Uaupes; they all, however, have a row of circular punctures213 along the arm, and one tribe, the Tucanos, are distinguished214 from the rest by three vertical215 blue lines on the chin. They also pierce the lower lip, through which they hang three little threads of white beads216. All the tribes bore their ears, and wear in them little pieces of grass ornamented with feathers. The Cobeus alone expand the hole to so large a size that a bottle cork217 could be inserted. The dead are almost always buried in the houses, but several tribes have the horrid custom of disinterring the corpse about a month after the funeral, and putting it in a great oven over the fire till all the volatile218 parts are driven off with an intolerable stench. The black carbonaceous mass which remains is then pounded into a fine powder and mixed in several large vats219 of caxiri, or maize-beer. This is drunk by the assembled company till all is finished, for they imagine that thus the virtues220 of the deceased will be transmitted to the drinkers.
The belief, which is also common among the Negroes, that death in the prime of life does not proceed from a natural cause, but is owing to the evil practices of some enemy, leads to the same fatal consequences. Some poison given at a festival in a bowl of caxiri is generally used to avenge221 the dead; this is of course again retaliated—on perhaps the wrong party—and thus a long succession of murders may result from what at first was a mere groundless suspicion.
The Macus, one of the lowest and most uncivilised tribes of75 Indians in the Amazons district, lead a vagrant222 life similar to that of the African Bushmen, but with this advantage—that they have greater facility in procuring223 food, and live in a country abounding224 in water. They have no fixed place of abode, but sleep at night on a bundle of palm leaves, or stick up a few leaves to make a shed if it rains, or sometimes with bush-ropes construct a rude hammock, which, however, serves only once. They eat all kinds of birds, and fish, roasted or boiled in palm spathes, and all sorts of wild fruits. They have little or no iron, and use the tusks225 of the wild pig to scrape and form their bows and arrows, which they anoint with poison. As the Bushmen do with their neighbours, they often attack the houses of other Indians, situated in solitary places, and are consequently equally detested226 by the surrounding tribes.
On the banks of the Purus we find the Purupurus, who are almost all afflicted227 with a cutaneous disease, consisting in the body being spotted228 and blotched with white, brown, or nearly black patches of irregular size and shape, and having a very disagreeable appearance. When young their skins are clear, but as they grow up they invariably become more or less spotted. Their houses are of the rudest construction, like those of our gipsies, and so small as to be set up on the sandy beaches and carried away in their canoes whenever they wish to move. These canoes are likewise extremely primitive, having a flat bottom and upright sides—a mere square box, and quite unlike those of all other Indians. But what distinguishes them yet more from their neighbours is that they use neither the blow-pipe nor bow and arrow, but have an instrument called a ‘palheta,’ which is a piece of wood with a projection229 at the end, to secure the base of the arrow, the middle of which is held with the handle of the palheta in the hand, and thus thrown as from a sling230; they have a surprising dexterity231 in the use of this weapon, and with it readily kill game, birds, and fish. They sleep in their houses, on the sandy beaches, making no hammocks nor clothing of any kind; they make no fire in their houses, which are too small, but are kept warm in the night by the number of persons in them. In the wet season, when the banks of the river are all flooded, they construct rafts of trunks of trees bound together with creepers, and on them erect232 their huts, and live there till the waters fall76 again, when they guide their raft to the first sandy beach that appears.
In the country between the Tapajoz and the Madeira, among the labyrinths of lakes and channels of the great island of the Tupinambranos, reside the Mandrucus, the most warlike Indians of the Amazons. These are probably the only perfectly tattooed233 nation in South America. The markings are extended all over the body; they are produced by pricking234 with the spines235 of a palm, and rubbing in the soot236 from burning pitch, to produce an indelible bluish tinge237.
They build their houses with mud walls in regular villages, and, though very agricultural, make war every year with an adjoining tribe, the Parentintins, taking the women and children for slaves, and preserving the dried heads of the men in a large building or barrack, where all the men sleep at night, armed with their bows and arrows ready in case of alarm.
One of the singular facts connected with these Indians of the Amazons valley is the resemblance which exists between some of their customs and those of nations most remote from them.
The blow-pipe re-appears in the sumpitan of Borneo; the great houses of the Uaupes closely resemble those of the Dyaks of the same country, while many small baskets and bamboo boxes from Borneo and New Guinea are so similar in their form and construction to those of the Amazons that they would be supposed to belong to adjoining tribes. Then again the Mandrucus, like the Dyaks, take the heads of their enemies, smoke-dry them with equal care, preserving the skin and hair entire, and hang them up around their houses. In Australia the throwing-stick is used, and on a remote branch of the Amazons we see a tribe of Indians differing from all around them in substituting for the bow a weapon only found in such a remote portion of the earth, among a people differing from them in almost every physical character. How can such similarities be accounted for? Do they result from some remote and unknown connection between these nations, or are they mere accidental coincidences produced by the same wants acting238 upon people subject to the same conditions of climate, and in an equally low state of civilisation239?
The Caribs, whom the cruelty of the Spaniards extirpated240 in77 the Lesser241 Antilles, still exist in a variety of tribes from the mouth of the Amazons to Lake Maracaybo. They are distinguished by an almost athletic stature, by a stately demeanour, and an intense national pride, for, remembering the times when they overran a considerable part of South America, they still consider themselves as a superior race. When a Carib enters the hut of another Indian he does not wait till food is offered him, but, looking round with a haughty242 mien243, seizes what pleases him best, as if it were his own by right. Arrogant244 and tyrannical towards strangers, he is equally so towards his wives, and it would be difficult to find a Carib woman who does not show in numerous scars and wounds the marks of her husband’s brutality245.
In point of intelligence, the Caribs are surpassed by no other Indians. They are excellent orators246, and the earnest dignified247 manner in which they deliver their speeches shows them to be capable of a high degree of civilisation.
Among the tribes of Southern Brazil the Botocudos, who inhabit the primeval forests on the banks of the rivers Pardo, Doce, and Belmonte, are the most remarkable. The custom of piercing the ears and underlip for the purpose of inserting some ornament4 is found among many other nations, both of the Old and the New World, but nowhere is it carried to such an excess as among the Botocudos. At an early age pieces of round light wood, first small and gradually larger, are inserted into the apertures248, until at length the ears almost reach down to the shoulders, and the lip, distended249 into a narrow rim20, is made to project to a distance of seven or eight inches. At a later age, when the muscular fibres begin to lose their elasticity250, it hangs down, and as, in consequence of the pressure of the wood, the front teeth soon fall out, it is hardly possible to conceive anything more hideous251 than a face thus artificially deformed252. To add, probably, to their beauty, these savages shave their hair so as to leave but a small crown or tuft on the top of the head. The wourali is not in use among them, but their enormous bows and long sharp arrows render them formidable to their neighbours. A Botocudo, with his sharp eye and muscular arm, accustomed from infancy to the use of these murderous weapons, is indeed a greater object of terror in the gloomy impervious forest than the jaguar253 or the snake. When a horde,78 after having exhausted the neighbourhood of its game, is obliged to migrate to some other quarter, its removal is easily effected. A few dried palm-leaves alone remain to indicate the spot where the savages had fixed their dwellings, and soon even these slight vestiges disappear. In the primitive forest man, indeed, passes away like a shadow,
‘Sicut navis, quasi nubes, velut umbra,’
and leaves no more traces of his existence than the wild animals which he chased.
In these migratory254 journeys the heaviest burdens fall to the share of the women, who, besides a large heap of household articles, tied up in a bag of network, are often still obliged to carry a child on their back. Thus encumbered255, they manage to cross small rivers on bridges of a very primitive construction. A cable made of bush-ropes is loosely suspended over the surface of the stream, and on this they walk, holding themselves by another cable similarly hung at a greater height.
The Botocudos are cannibals, like many other American tribes. After a battle they feast upon the dead bodies of their enemies, but more, it seems, from a spirit of vindictive rage than from a depraved taste for human flesh.
When a Botocudo dies he is quickly buried in or near his hut, and then the place is forsaken256. On the first day the tribe shows its grief by a wild howling, but on the second it pursues its usual occupations. No food, or weapon, or ornament is interred257 with the corpse, but for some time a fire is kindled258 on each side of the grave, to scare away the evil spirit ‘Tanchon,’ who would otherwise rob it of its contents. From fear of this imaginary being the fierce Botocudo, who trembles at nothing that lives, is afraid to sleep alone in the forest, and anxiously seeks before night the society of his comrades.
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1
stoic
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| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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subsist
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| vi.生存，存在，供养 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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tattooing
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| n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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distension
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| n.扩张，膨胀(distention) | |
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15
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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18
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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19
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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21
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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26
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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27
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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31
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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32
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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33
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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37
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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38
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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40
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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41
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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42
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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43
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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44
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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45
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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46
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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47
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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48
aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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49
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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50
consecutively
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| adv.连续地 | |
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51
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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52
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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53
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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54
fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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55
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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56
aboriginals
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| （某国的）公民( aboriginal的名词复数 )； 土著人特征； 土生动物（或植物） | |
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57
solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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58
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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59
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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60
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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61
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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62
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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63
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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64
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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65
intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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66
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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67
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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68
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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69
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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70
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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71
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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72
maize
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| n.玉米 | |
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73
improvident
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| adj.不顾将来的，不节俭的，无远见的 | |
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74
withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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75
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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76
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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77
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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78
infusion
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| n.灌输 | |
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79
harpoons
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| n.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 ) | |
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80
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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81
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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82
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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83
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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84
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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85
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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86
alligators
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| n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 ) | |
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87
prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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88
nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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89
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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92
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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93
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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94
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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95
vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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96
errs
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的第三人称单数 ) | |
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circumvent
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| vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜 | |
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toils
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| 网 | |
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emulation
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| n.竞争；仿效 | |
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100
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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101
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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cylindrical
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| adj.圆筒形的 | |
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103
brittle
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| adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的 | |
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inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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fang
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| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
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prehensile
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| adj.（足等）适于抓握的 | |
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sloth
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| n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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diluted
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| 无力的，冲淡的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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113
stuns
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| v.击晕( stun的第三人称单数 )；使大吃一惊；给（某人）以深刻印象；使深深感动 | |
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114
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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115
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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116
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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117
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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119
virulence
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| n.毒力，毒性；病毒性；致病力 | |
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120
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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121
vouchsafed
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺 | |
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122
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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123
instilled
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| v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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125
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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126
pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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127
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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128
efface
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| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
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129
festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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130
ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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131
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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132
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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133
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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134
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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135
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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136
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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137
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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138
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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139
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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140
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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141
scourging
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| 鞭打( scourge的现在分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
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142
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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143
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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144
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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145
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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146
aggravated
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| 使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火 | |
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147
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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148
impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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149
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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150
perpetuate
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| v.使永存，使永记不忘 | |
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151
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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152
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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153
nomadic
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| adj.流浪的；游牧的 | |
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154
savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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155
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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156
tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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157
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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158
assuage
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| v.缓和，减轻，镇定 | |
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159
unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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160
predilection
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| n.偏好 | |
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161
nutritious
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| adj.有营养的，营养价值高的 | |
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162
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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163
lizards
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| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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164
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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165
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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166
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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167
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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168
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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169
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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170
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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171
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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172
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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173
turbid
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| adj.混浊的，泥水的，浓的 | |
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174
profusion
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| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
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175
parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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176
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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177
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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178
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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179
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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180
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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181
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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182
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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183
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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184
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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185
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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186
declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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187
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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188
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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189
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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190
reposes
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
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191
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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192
varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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193
resins
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| n.树脂，松香( resin的名词复数 )；合成树脂v.树脂，松香( resin的第三人称单数 )；合成树脂 | |
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194
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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195
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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196
urns
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| n.壶( urn的名词复数 )；瓮；缸；骨灰瓮 | |
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197
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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198
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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199
meanders
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| 曲径( meander的名词复数 )； 迂回曲折的旅程 | |
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200
labyrinths
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| 迷宫( labyrinth的名词复数 )； （文字，建筑）错综复杂的 | |
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201
callous
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| adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的 | |
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202
extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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203
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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204
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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205
enumerates
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| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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206
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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207
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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208
thatch
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| vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋) | |
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209
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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210
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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211
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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212
utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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213
punctures
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| n.（尖物刺成的）小孔( puncture的名词复数 )；（尤指）轮胎穿孔；（尤指皮肤上被刺破的）扎孔；刺伤v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的第三人称单数 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
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214
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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215
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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216
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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217
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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218
volatile
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| adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质 | |
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219
vats
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| varieties 变化，多样性，种类 | |
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220
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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221
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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222
vagrant
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| n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的 | |
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223
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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224
abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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225
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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226
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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227
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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228
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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229
projection
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| n.发射，计划，突出部分 | |
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230
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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231
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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232
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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233
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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234
pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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235
spines
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| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
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236
soot
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| n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟 | |
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237
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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238
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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239
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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240
extirpated
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| v.消灭，灭绝( extirpate的过去式和过去分词 )；根除 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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244
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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brutality
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| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
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246
orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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247
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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248
apertures
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| n.孔( aperture的名词复数 )；隙缝；（照相机的）光圈；孔径 | |
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249
distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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elasticity
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| n.弹性，伸缩力 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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253
jaguar
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| n.美洲虎 | |
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migratory
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| n.候鸟，迁移 | |
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encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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256
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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257
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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258
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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