f idl SES eeeescpeee! : CORNELL LAB of ORNITHOLOGY. LIBRARY | at Sapsucker Woods | Illustration of Bank Swallow by Louis Agassiz Fuertes ~ cee eo eee a CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY “Hl | l DATE DUE 12/2 [2 cor Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924090271929 BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA.—C. CHUBB. 250 copies of this work have been printed, THE BIRDS or BRITISH GUIANA, BASED ON THE COLLECTION OF FREDERICK VAVASOUR McCONNELL, CAMFIELD PLACE, HATFIELD, HERTS, BY CHARLES CHUBB, F.Z.8., M.B.O.U., ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, BRITISH MUSEUM, VOL. Il. LONDON: BERNARD QUARITCH, 11 GRAFTON STREET, W. 1921. ALERE FLAMMAM, PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, LONDON. INTRODUCTION. Tux Itinerary of the Expedition to Mount Roraima iu 1898, in the present volume, has been written by Mr. J. J. Quelch, who accompanied the late Mr. F. V. McConnell on that occasion. During the progress of this work the following genera, species, and subspecific forms have been described, many of which have been published elsewhere, but all of them have been referred to in the present volume :—Pseudoconophaga, p. 4; Mackenziena, p. 7; Frederickena, p. 8; Sakesphorus, p. 14; Poliolema, p. 35; Dichropogon, p. 66; Stictomyrmornis, p. 70; Dendrocinclopa, p. 119; Microcochlearus, p. 159; Vavasouria, p. 319; Microphila, p. 436 ; Duncanula, p. 440; Cercomacra cinerascens immaculata, p. 45; C. tyrannina saturatior, p. 46; Grallaria regulus roraime, p. 80; Hylopezus macularia maceonelli, p. 84; Grallaricula nana kukenamensis, p. 86; Lochmias nematura castanonota, p. 9; Sclerurus mexicanus macconnelli, p. 92; Synallaxis macconnelli, p- 95; S. albigularis josephine, p.96; Automolus turdinus mac- connelli, p.103; Philydor erythrocercus guianensis, p.107; Dendro- cinelopa longicauda guianensis, p.120; Rhynchocyclus sulphurescens ewaminatus, p. 149; R. poliocephalus inquisitor, p- 150; RB. flavi- ventris gloriosus, p. 151; Microcochlearius josephine, p. 160 ; Perissotriccus ecaudatus miserabilis, p. 161; Atalotriccus griseiceps whitelyanus, p. 162; Colopteryx galeatus macconnelli, p. 163; - Serpophaga helene, p. 169; Pipromorpha oleaginea macconnelli, p- 170; P. oleaginea roraime, p. 172; Llenia flavogaster mac- connelli, p. 186; E. cristata whitelyi, p. 189; Legatus albicollis successor, p. 194; Myiodynastes solitarius duncani, p. 208 ; Empi- donomus varius parvirostris, p. 231; Pachyrhamphus macconnelli, p. 274; Alticora fucata roraime, p. 348; Planesticus fredericki, p- 881; P. fumigatus abariensis, p. 382; P. arthuri, p. 385; a2 iv INTRODUCTION. Vireo roraime, p. 393 3 Pachysylvia thoracicus abariensis, p. 395 ; Notiocorys abariensis, p. 420; Sporophila longipennis, p. 429; S. gutturalis roraime, p. 435; Duncanula duncani, p. 440; Pseudochloris roraime, p.457 ; Piranga saira macconnelli, p. 524 ; Sturnella magna praticola, p. 572; S. magna monticola, p. 573. Mr. H. Grénvold has, as in the previous volume, prepared the original drawing of each of the coloured plates and of the text- figures which have, in the present volume, been reproduced by the Sun Engraving Company. It is much to be regretted that, owing to the War and its after effects, the publication of the présent volume has been so long delayed. I have pleasure in expressing my best thanks to the fol- lowing gentlemen for their assistance during the preparation of this volume :—Lord Rothschild, Mr. Perey R. Lowe of the British Museum (Natural History), and Mr. Tom Iredale. CHARLES CHUBB. London, November 18th, 1921. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Brerpr, Witttam G., Inness Harriey, and Paun G. Howrs.— Tropical Wild Life in British Guiana, vol. i. New York, 1917, pp. xx, 504. ‘VNIVUOU FO LINWAS ‘TL ‘TOA ‘faeaonryy "YNVINE) HSILIYG 3O Saaig ‘VWIVUOU JO LINWOS ‘IT Toa ‘Aavsouryy "'YNVIND HSILiyg JO sagig ~ II. Itinerary, Vol BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. ACAWAIO. Vol. IT Itinerary, BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. ACAWAIO., BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. Itinerary, Vol. II. BiRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. Itinerary, Vol. II Il. BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. Itinerary, Vol. BirRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. Itinerary, Vol. II, ITINERARY. le} Tue second journey to Roraima in August 1898 was specifically undertaken by Mr. McConnell for the biological exploration of the mountain, and more especially of the summit. By the permission of the Directors of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana, I was enabled.to accompany him as his guest. Un- fortunately at the last moment Mr. McConnell found that the time at his disposal for the expedition would be much more limited than he had intended, and we were thus unable to make as detailed researches as had been planned, and as the district, in fact, requires. From the fragmentary collections made by the various naturalists who have visited Mount Roraima, it is quite clear that really remarkable results await the explorers who, with sufficient time and means, can make a fairly exhaustive examination of the Fauna and Flora of the region generally. For a single naturalist such an undertaking would be probably one of years, thus affording him the opportunity of training, as assistants, native boys in the locality, who are very quick to learn. An expedition limited in numbers is a comparatively easy one for experienced travellers, as the difficulties of transportation and food- supplies, on a small scale, can in time be met, though they are always found to be much more serious than anticipated, and often prejudicial to the objects in view. In large expeditions these difliculties become so great that the time is likely to be limited, and the results therefore by no means really representative either of the localities or of the various seasons. In these little known and often trackless parts of the hinterland, the paucity of people is generally so marked, the numbers varying much at different times and even settlements being wholly deserted, that it is unsafe to trust to any great accession of food-supplies. Once it was our experience cn the first journey, after waiting a day for fresh supplies at a small settlement, that the quantity gained was actually much less than had been consumed by our own rather large party while waiting. Nor is the question of carriers more easily dealt with: and as, owing to the physical differences between the high sandstone formation and the alluvial coast-lands, aboriginals of the district rather than the ordinary coast-settlers become practically essential as carriers for the success of these expeditions, it may become of first importance—double journeys with a deficiency of carriers involving a very considerable extra waste of time. Conditions of weather, too, have carefully to be considered in relation to these overland journeys. Through heavy flooding in wet seasons many places may become too dangerous or even quite impossible to t O Vi ITINERARY. cross by ordinary channels—it may be in low-lying valleys or across wide torrential mountain streams, necessitating detours of considerable length from the direct route, and often of considerable difficulty. As a matter of fact, so clearly recognised are the difficulties of such travel in the wet seasons, and so great the drawbacks in the collection and preservation of specimens, that such times are always avoided unless some special object be in view. Even along the great rivers, expeditions in such seasons are by no means advisable, as will have been seen from the experiences of the first in 1894, as narrated by McConnell in Vol. I. Unfortunately, our party proved then to be much too large in every way as compared with the boatmen obtainable, and the boats were thus undermanned; and as the wet season was exceptionally heavy and long-continued, everything was against us. The banks of the rivers were mostly flooded, and the current extremely rapid; and the whole journey was therefore not only one of excessive labour, continual delays, and great inconvenience, but of frequent danger, especially in the rapids and falls, where at times we narrowly escaped catastrophe. And on reaching the great savannahs, we found that, owing to the floods, the special object for which the trip had been organize|—namely, the collection of specimens of the great caiman alligator, and the huge Arapaima fish, and other such characteristic forms—to be quite unattainable at the time. Equally out of question, at that time, were attempts to explore the Kanuku range of the savannah mountains, to procure the practically unknown so-called Warracaba tigers and the materials used by the peaimen (medicine-men) of the Makushi Indian tribe in the preparation of the deadly Urali poison—materials that were wanted for the chemical and physiological determination of the essential constituents, which might be of great use in Medicine. These objects, with others, were accom- plished later; but, in the meantime, the expedition to Roraima, which had previously been but a side issue of the trip, dependent on time and the finding of a sufficient number of carriers, became the most practi- cable feature, though no special preparation had been made for it before starting from the coast. The long dry weather in the latter part of the year affords in every way the best chances of success in the collection and preparation of specimens of all sorts, as well as for convenience of travelling; and the tendency has been therefore general to make such expeditions at this time. This, in the main, is the explanation of the state of things referred to by Mr. Burkhill in his Introduction to the Report on the two Botanical Collections made by us at Roraima (1894, 1898) :— “It is unfortunate that all the plants collected on the upper parts of Roraima have been gathered in the last three months of the year. February brings to Roraima a few bare trees (Appun, ‘Unten den Tropen,’ ii. p. 226); March brings copious Gesnerads into flower, at least at the foot of the mountain (Boddam-Whetham, ‘ Roraima ;’) and April is a month producing more flowers than November (Siedel, fide im Thurn in Trans, Linn. Soc. ser. 2. ii. p. 250); but I am unable to record anything collected above 5,000 feet during these months.” (Trans. Linn. Soc. ser. 2. vi. pt. 1. p. 8. The remark may be allowed here that, as of the four great groups of ITINERARY. vii plants, 50°6, 18°2, 23:8, and 27-3 per cent. respectively of these more or less fragmentary collections proved to be endemic, a rich harvest certainly awaits extended exploration. Of the Fauna but little is known, except of the Birds, and, even of these there is ground for believing, considering the nature of the country, that much yet remains to be discovered, in spite of the fine collections made by Whitely during his long stay at the mountain, when he was able to carry out the only serious work so far attempted in any branch of its Natural History, and with such excellent results. For a satisfactory knowledge of the district, detailed examination is essential; and this from the circumstances of the case requires pro- longed residence, during which careful attention can be given to the selection and preservation of the miscellaneous materia] to be obtained from the different parts of the range and during the different seasons. As will be mentioned later, the facilities to-day for such an undertaking are numerous as compared with but even a few years ago, when short expeditions of three or four months presented very considerable diffi- culties. Hardships of various kinds are necessarily inseparable from all such travel, though a sufficiency of funds may reduce them to a minimum of discomfort. 3 In planning the second journey, we decided to follow the route by the Mazaruni river, rather than by the Potaro, for two main reasons. In the first place, the land journey promised to be decidedly shorter, judging both by the map and the published accounts; and this was of importance in transporting food and baggage and conserving the strength of the men for the stiff Roraima work. A good deal of the higher journey is done by boat on the Upper Mazaruni and its branches to a point not far distant from the mountain, while the land routes generaliy across the plateau are laborious in the extreme. In the second place, McConnell was able to arrange with a friendly gold- miner working in the Upper Mazaruni, not far trom the first stage of the land journey, to get in touch with the Indians of the inner district, who were to put up houses for permanent camps, to provide woodskins on the upper waterway, and to act as carriers and guides. In both respects, we were counting our chickens before they were hatched, and very likely the difficulties on the Potaro route would have been fewer. To-day with the facilities by steamer, rail, and launch, the Potaro is unquestionably the Roraima route—the quickest, safest, and most convenient. ; To make sure of a sufficient number of Indian boatmen, McConnell had made arrangements with Ritchie, a settler in the great savannahs, well known to the people all over the district, to bring down Makushis enough for two large boats, and himself to act as captain of one and to be in general charge of all the arrangements for them. From his familiarity with the people and their language, Ritchie was always of the greatest service, not only on the trip generally and in the bartering and payment for food and labour in the districts passed through, but especially at Roraima, where the Makushis remained contentedly with him among the Arrekunas while we were away on the top. On the former trip, in our absence, they had become so frightened and con- vinced that the Arrekunas were trying to kill them, that they had 52 viii ITINERARY. faced the dreaded summit to tell us they were going away if we did not come down; and as it was quite hopeless to argue with them, nor could we maintain them on the top, we had been obliged to abandon our work. Underlying tribal feeling and prejudice are much stronger than may appear ordinarily; and in reality it was a sign of great consideration and attachment that in their fears, which were quite genuine, they had not gone off without more ado, as would be the usual procedure. Under the circumstances, it was essential to have a boat captain thoroughly familiar with the navigation of the Mazaruni. No suffi- ciently trained Indian was obtainable, but we were able to engage a quiet black captain, licensed for all the rivers, who not only proved an ideal man for his post, but knew all the best camping-grounds in the best fishing and hunting districts, which considerably simplified the work of the men, with whom he became extremely popular—which was unusual among the two races. Two other experienced black men were members of the crew. They were both huntsmen and collectors from the canals district, and had often worked for McConnell on short trips on the coast. A personal servant as cook, anda taxidermist, who was a licensed bird-collector living on the river, completed our party. Both these men were strong and able outside their ordinary duties to take part in the general work of the-trip. They were by no means merely passengers in the boats. Ritchie had brought his Indian wife with him, but we knew she would be later perhaps the best carrier, as women are accustomed from early life to do all this kind of heavy work instead of the men. The expedition which started on August 20th from Bartika, at the junction of the Essequibo and Mazaruni rivers, was thus as carefully planned as McConnell could make it under the circumstances. It was unfortunate that the time at disposal could not allow anything like a commensurate benefit to be reaped from it, rich though its results undoubtedly were. On the first day we passed through the lower settled part of the river, which was the site of the earliest settlements of the colony, and where there are many interesting places to be seen, such as the little island Kyk-over-al or the Look-out, which was the original capital in early Dutch times, and where the remains of an ancient archway and part of the old fort are still to be found. Immediately below, on the left bank, is the opening of the Kuyuni river, one of the main water- ways and gold districts, and the locality where the metal was first obtained in the colony. Soon one enters a series of small rapids or very heavy water, as the case may be, before reaching the first serious obstruction at the Marshall Falls; and for the next fortnight it was a constant struggle with heavy water and a long series of rapids, cataracts, and falls, often in close succession, until a long stretch of smooth water is reached above ‘l'eboco Falls, at the foot of a great bend to the south. Up to this point the general direction is south-westerly, almost directly towards Roraima; but above the narrow U-shaped bend, directly north- wards from Teboco, the course is north-westerly, until the Upper ITINERARY. 1x Mazaruni is reached with the great sweep around the Kurubung and Mérumé Mountains. : Though the long wet season was over, the water was still high and the current swift, but our boats were strongly manned, and we were frequently able to pull up against the rapid water where a weaker crew would have been obliged to haul up with the ropes, which is always a tedious process, causing great delay, especially where the boats have to be lightened of load, as had been the case so frequently on our first journey along the Essequibo. It was during this time that we thoroughly appreciated the value of our captain, Jacob. His experience had been gained mainly on the gold-mining boats to and from the Puruni river, a branch on the left bank some seven days’ journey up, which had been the main mining district in the early days on the Mazaruni fields. His knowledge of the various states of the river and of its channels was complete, and he gauged thoroughly the capacity of the crews, never wearying them out by useless efforts to do an impossible pull against too strong a stream. It was most exciting at times to watch his handling of the boats, taking them from a difficult point across the entire width of a very rapid stream to an.open bend on the other bank where there was an easy channel. From rock to rock or smali island in front, we would advance by a series of short and rapid spurts, to the slack water behind it. Occasionally, where a gap was too wide, we might have to drop back a little to a point behind in order to make the crossing, again to go forward. The operation is one often resorted to on a small scale to breast a strong current, but on a wide stretch requires considerable judgment ; for, if a gap proves too wide or rapid for the span, the boat must drop back, and catastrophe may-wait below in a rocky impassable channel, or at the best considerable distance be lost ere a safe course be reached, with the men literally pumped out and badly flurried. So well did Jacob know the river that he never missed his mark; and it was amusing to see some of the Indians, who could thoroughly appreciate such good work, turn round smiling to Jacob when we were across, shaking their paddles—always eliciting from him the urgent call “Headway!” to keep the boat going. Many of our people were captains and bowmen on the Essequibo and thoroughly understood the tactics. At one of the dangerous cataracts, we came upon a gold-mining boat with time-expired labourers going down. The water looked ugly, and the captain and bowman were examining it as to whether it was safe to run down paddling or to streak down with the ropes, which, though safer, took more time. On Jacob’s word they ran down at once, passing us at a terrific pace and cheering for all they were worth—I suppose at the time and trouble saved, for they are always in such a hurry to get back. We had a long haul up, not far from the’middle channel, and grated on rocks most of the time, being heavily laden— so slight is the difference at times in flood between safety and catastrophe ! The great falls of the Kaburi were the most serious obstacle, as they were tco high to haul the bouts up by ropes; nor were they safe to run coming down, though it has at times been attempted, mostly x ITINERARY. accidentally however, when the boat has got too far down in the great suction towards the drop, and always -with disaster. A boat-load of men had been drowned some little time previously, the returning labourers, too anxious to get down quickly for the holidays, having persuaded the captain to make the attempt and thus avoid the delay of the laborious haul over the portage at the side. The roughly crescent-shaped series of falls across the river, with its numerous tree-clad rocky islands, broken channels, and rushing foaming cataracts, presented a very beautiful and striking picture, as is always the case where the rivers are thus broken up by these great dykes. The full effect can only be got, however, where there is a really high point overlooking the whole basin, which was not the case here, where the scene must be taken in sections. The portage is a rather long and rough path across a rocky island on the right bank, and it took us a long time to empty the boats and haul them over by means of skids to a narrow channel above. However, it gave us the: opportunity of a thorough clean out, the boats always accumulating a surprising collection of leaves, twigs, rotten wood, and earth during such trips, and we were able to spread out on the rocks and dry all the things that had got wet or damp in the falls. As we had a double crew to haul on each boat, it was a fairly simple operation, and we were able to send out a couple of Indian huntsmen. There was too much water about, they reported later, and the bag was smll—a powis, maam, and bush-tortoise. The last was almost: invari- ably one of the objects brought in, and they were much appreciated in pepper-pot. On the return journey, with low water, half-a-dozen men brought back a heavy bag of bush-hog, wood-deer, accouri, powis, maam, marudi, and tortoise, the district being a really good one for ame. ‘ We had splendid bathing, diving and swimming in a large pool on this island, into which the water rushed down a narrow channel. When we passed on our return, it was quite a shock to see that the bottom of the pool, which was nearly dried up, was but a mass of sharp pinnacles of rock; and it seemed almost beyond belief that we could have dived head first and played about without injury or even touching one of them. It gave us quite a nasty feeling at the moment, though we realised that it was the height of the water in the first instance that had saved us; still we certainly would not haye dived in so joyously had we had any idea that these sharp pinnacles lay below, hidden by the dark dye-coloured water. A house had been built on the island as a police-station, where gold- miners were searched on returning from the fields in the early days when theft was common. It was now abandoned, and furnished good quarters for the night. Some of the men hung their hammocks beneath, where there was not a high space. but a very heavy draught saturated with moisture from the falls; and one of them—an elderly black man, Pembroke, from the canals—woke in the morning with his face swollen and fearfully contorted, his mouth and nose being twisted almost to his ear on one side. He was a short and very broad built man and rather odd-looking, and this deformity gave him a most peculiar and sinister appearance. The Indians were convulsed with laughter, as ITINERARY. xi they always are over the comic elements in the misfortunes of others, or even over lack of skill or sign of deficiency in any respect. The man was certain that the jumby of one of the men who had been drowned in the falls had done him the injury; and no doubt in his thoughts and fears about the drowned men he may have had some sort of half-dream and waking vision under the discomfort of the drawn swollen face. It was quite impossible to convince him that it was a chill from the sharp cold and saturated draught from the falls, over the one side of the face exposed in the hammock. We dressed the swelling with laudanum and vaseline, put flannel over it and bandaged it for him; but later he appeared with a mass of leaves—which probably were beneficial—over it, and an assortment of wraps that made him a most ludicrous object. He had always called himself McConnell’s “Old warrior”: he certainly now looked it. It was a long time before the face was all right again. As illustrating the danger of running or navigating these larger falls, and the necessity of having captains thoroughly familiar with the river in all stages of high and low water, an incident on the return journey may here be mentioned. It was at the Tupaco Falls, which apparently is the same place where McTurk and Boddam-Whetham met with disaster on their return from Roraima in 1878, their boat being swamped and one man drowned, having gone into a channel in ignorance of the fact that the fall below could not be run at that time safely. In approaching these falls Jacob had waited for the second boat, which always followed us, that he might tell Ritchie, who did not know the river, to keep very close behind so as to follow in exactly the same part of the channel, which was very narrow and dangerous, and to swing his boat round from the main channel, just where the first boat would disappear behind a set of large rocks on the left. The approach was through a long and wide rock-studded piece of water, curving gradually, and passing from mere rapids, through which we glided swiftly, to a strong and rough cataract of very, broken water, along which we raced for a time; and then with a call to the bowman from Jacob, and a heavy turn of the huge paddle, which is always tied with rope to the boat where the captain stands up holding the long handle, we were away from what seemed the main current, sharp round some high rocks on the left, and rushing down a long cataract to the left bank below, where at the time a set of wooden crosses marked the graves of some who had been drowned there. The straight current led, by another turn lower down, to a channel that was safe in very high water, but was dangerous in the dry season; and Jacob said that, if Ritchie had not been warned, so rapid was the pace, the boat might have been dashed on the opposite side in attempting to take the unexpected turn of the first boat. This was evidently the point where McTurk and Boddam-Whetham had come to grief. The mere journey up the rivers does not qualify even a trained captain to run down the falls unless he knows the channels for the seasons, so different may be the state of the water; and frequently the channels taken in going up and down may be even on different sides. A good captain can always judge by looking over a set of falls, and this is often done ordinarily in very dangerous places, even when they are xii ITINERARY. well known; but it takes time. Frequent accidents, often with heavy loss of life, were met with in the falls generally, mostly through in- experience, until legislation provided that both captains and bowmen were to be licensed for the different rivers—and even among these are the venturesome ones who take unnecessary risks, resulting at times in disaster. As it will be unnecessary to give later any description of the return through these falls, I might tell here of an exciting incident which will illustrate another aspect of the dangers in these waters. We were running the Itakki Falls, down a long cataract of very rough and heavy water, curving around from left to right, when the large paddle of the bowman of the second boat caught on a rock below the water ; and from the half-standing stooping posture in which a bowman places himself when running the falls, with his legs braced against the sides, he was pitched up and forward completely out of the boat. By the merest accident, as he fell, he was able to grip the gunwale with both hands by the fingers, but unfortunately in the very dangerous position between the boat and the rocks of the curve along which we were rushing at a tremendous pace. So narrow was the interspace at times from projecting rocks in front, that it seemed impossible that he could escape from being crushed. His grip must have been like that of a vice, for he was constantly splashed and buffeted by the rough water ; and any attempt to haul himself up into the boat must have been disastrous. The man’s life lay, of course, in Ritchie’s steering, and it was splendid. He had constantly, down the long run, to keep the boat sufficiently out from the rocks at the side of the curve and from those projecting into the channel, both for the safety of the man and of the boat itself, both of these operations usually being very largely a part of the bowman’s work by heading off the boat with his long paddle. Ritchie’s success again depended on the pace the paddlers could give over the rushing water, and this every man in the boat—all Indians— knew, and they struck with every ounce of their strength to give Ritchie the extra headway on the boat that success required. We in the first boat had not seen the accident. Running through the cataracts is always exciting, and this one from its great curve and numerous rocks was dangerous. We were spell-bound by it. Jacob’s attention, even amid the sound of our quick paddles had been caught, however, by the extra heavy and rapid rattle behind. He had glanced round for an instant, and then his sharp and loud call ‘‘ Headway!” rang over the boat in so unusual a tone that we glanced back at him, and then wé saw. It was horribly fascinating! A human life in our charge, so to speak, in great jeopardy: the boat leaping forward at a tremendous pace towards us; and Ritchie, standing to his great paddle, braced like a figure of energy. Our men probably had glanced back too at the call, so unusual in the midst of a cataract, for our paddles rang out even quicker to give extra pace before the oncoming boat, though the captain’s call was as much one to the men behind as to ours. It was like a hard grip off one’s heart when we reached smooth water below and the Indian was drawn into the boat by two of the others, safe. He was quiet and trembling, but he at once turned to get TWINERARY, xii another large paddle such as he had lost, spares being always carried. We all seemed more excited than he by the incident. And then we were all looking at Ritchie and his men, and some of us cheered, for they had not only saved the man, but themselves also, from a terrible death, though we had not at first realised what the full catastrophe might easily have been; and we had been spared witnessing such an event while utterly unable to render any help. I had wondered that no one during the run had gone forward to help the man in; but they knew this would have been suicidal, as, without a bowman in such a dangerous fall, every man’s paddle was required, the only hope for the safety of the boat itself, apart from the man’s life, lying in the extra speed they could give it, and thus enable the captain to hold it on a course as far out as possible from the irregular rocky curve. Luckily there was no sudden turn to take as there was at Tupuco, as then nothing could have saved them without the bowman, who, with his long paddle, would heave the head of the boat round, away from the rocks and the boiling cauldron of waters, as the captain swings round from the stern. The very rapid paddling by the men amid these rushing waters is always a surprise, and seems unnecessary to a novice, but there may be submerged rocks, cross-currents, whirlpools, and sudden turns in the channel, and speed beyond that of the waters is the great security for the steerage; and for this the captain always calls at the head of a fall “ Headway!” or ‘“ Give-way!” while the men pull themselves together for the effort. It may seem tame to write about, it is a very different thing to go through the experience. All along the river in these falls and above, the country is covered with primeval forests, filled with magnificent timber, hard woods, furniture woods, and others, adapted for all sorts of purposes, awaiting their application to general industry when the colony has been developed. Here and there some trees stood out as huge giants, while others were striking with their yellow or red flowers, or their young foliage of shades of the same tints, having from a distance the same floral effect. As our object was Roraima we were not making general collections of either plants or animals, but at one breakfast camp some specimens of Henriquezia Jenmani, then unknown to us, were gathered, after much climbing in surrounding trees to get at the flowers. It was altogether gorgeous amid the general green. Very brilliant, too, were many of the creepers, in great masses occasionally, one especially very much like the golden Allamanda, if not identical; and equally striking were many of the bromeliads and orchids and other small epiphytes. Animal life was very varied. Monkeys and bats were the commonest mammals met with—the former chiefly represented by the red howler (Mycetes), more frequently heard than seen; and now and then a sloth was to be detected hanging among the climbing plants, high up. Blood- sucking bats were-frequent pests—colony-doctors, the men call them. Birds were plentiful; and, indeed, the Mazaruni district is a very fine field for collectors, as shown by the work of Whitely and the brothers Cozier—oneof whom was our taxidermist,—who contributed very largely to the McConnell collection. Macaws and parrots, bill-birds, wood peckers, hawks, kingfishers, hevons, ibises, trogons, jacamars, barbets, swallows, a xiv ITINERARY. tanagers, cotingas, shrikes, tree-creepers, icterids, goatsuckers, hum- ming-birds, etc., could have been obtained very easily. The notes of the bell-birds were frequent, and at times the loud long-drawn “ qua- a-ah” of the calf-bird (G@ymnocephalus) or the “ Ka-ka-kah” of the bultata (Ibycter) came almost as a surprise. Not less striking was the loud “ Ha-ha-ha,” down the octave, of the large goatsucker (yctibius) at night, or the equally vociferous “han-na-qua” of Ortalis in the morning, though to some this cry is more like the inquiry ‘“ What-o- clock,” which would be pertinent. The most common of all, however, was the shrill and piercing “pe-pe-pe-yo” of the greenheart-birds (Lathria), so characteristic of the Guiana forests. Game birds were also numerous, for the huntsmen always brought out some one or other kind, and sometimes several. While camp was being made, and even at break- fast-time, huntsmen were usually sent out to see what could be got. Reptiles were not much in evidence, except the common large green Iguana—the flesh and eggs of which are so greatly prized by many— and some little whip-snakes: but these mostly have to be looked for, as is the case also with the Batrachia, though from their varied cries at night the frogs must be very numerous. The large tree-frog with the loud “ honk-honk” notes, and the paddler frog were the most notice- able, the former being at times quite a nuisance overhead in the camp. So much are the sounds of the paddlers like the stroke and rattle of the paddles on a boat, that it is difficult at times when they are distant not to ascribe them to that cause. The perai (Serrasalmo) and some siluroids were the commonest fishes. Insects were, of course, the most dominant of the Invertebrates, spiders also beiug numerous; and it is noteworthy that the largest specimens of the black scorpion and of Jfygale have been taken in the Upper Mazaruni district. Lime being practically absent from the country, shells are not well represented. A few apple-snails (Ampul- laria), on which some of the hawks and herons so delight to feed, and Melanias especially, are generally to be seen about the rapids on the shallow flats or among the rocks. The large blue morpho butterflies, and swallow-tails and yellow Pierids, of several species, were often to be seen, as well on the river as on the banks, and many of them also in the forests, with numbers of other kinds, of which the Heliconiids and the Satyrids were perhaps thé most plentiful and interesting. In fact, all the great groups of insects were well represented; and the fireflies and cicadas came under frequent notice—the latter being very noisy at our camps with their loud screeching whistle, which was also very frequently to be heard during the day. So loud are these notes at times, and so much like a distant railway-whistle, that it seems almost incredible for them to be produced by these comparatively small creatures. Near the head of the falls we had quite a successful hunt—too much s0, as it proved. At one of the breakfast-camps the men saw fresh tracks of a large herd of bush-hog, the kairuni or larger peccary as it turned out, and they came upon them after some time and apparently pursued them for miles as the herd broke up into smaller sets in different directions. It was not till late in the afternoon that the hunters began straggling in with their loads, and to judge from their accounts they ITINERARY. XV must have shot more than fifteen peccaries, some far in, which they could not bring. We did not get them all, though some of the men went back along the tracks. A camp had already been made for the night, and all hands became busy cleaning the meat and preparing it for the “babracot,” which is a framework of green wood with four uprights, on which the meat is partly smoked and roasted, the process being repeated day by day to keep the flesh, until it is thoroughly dried and preserved. The camp was lively that night, and grandly illuminated by the number of fires under the different babracots required for the large quantity of meat; and groups of men squatted round with bits of flesh being roasted on long sticks. : Unfortunately, when an abundance of fresh meat is obtained, it is quite impossible to prevent the Indians over-eating. While a big meal is being cooked, bit after bit of partly roasted flesh is consumed ; and above all is the delight of the later feast on the tit-bits, the liver, kidneys, heart, mesenteries, etc., all cut up and packed into the cleaned maw, which is then roasted on the babracot. It is seldom left, however, to be thoroughly cooked, being largely eaten before morning: and then it is no wonder that diarrhcea is the order of the day, with heavy calls on the Epsom salts and the medicine-box. One rather elderly man, Adam, was so ill that it was weeks before he was quite strong again. Whenever I accosted him, it was his usual lament: “ Ehnehbeh ooré” (I am ill), though at the very first it had been “ Assamanta ooré” (I am going to die). Luckily, Ritchie was able to control tle consumption of the dried meat, which was looked upon as ours, and it lasted a few days. After leaving the Turisi Falls, the surrounding country rises a good deal; and down the long stretch south, to the Teboco Falls, views are had of a lofty mountain, shaped like a sugar-loaf, and a high plateau behind, apparently part of the sandstone range in the neighbourhood of the Upper Kuribrong and Potaro rivers. From the long stretch noxth, after rounding Teboco, as well as along the smooth water above, frequent views are obtained of elevated land, either in front or behind, of. which the most striking are the Sororieng Mountains, or the Swallows’ Nest, on the left bank, far back. The Mérumé Mountains, in which the creek of that name rises, are an extensive series of ranges on the right bank up to the Kurubung Mountains, forming the north- eastern outlier of the great sandstone formation, within the course of the Mazaruni. Across this great range there is a trail from the creek to Roraima, which was travelled by Barrington Brown on his geological survey of the colony, and from his description it must surely be very formidable, some high vertical escarpments having to be tackled by means of bush-repe ladders. We were bound further up the river, where the range was neither so broad nor so lofty; but parts of it proved to be quite formidable enongh. After entering the Kurubung creek, we reached its branch, the Seroun creek, whence the overland journey started, in just under three weeks from Bartika. We had not, of course, been travelling all the time. Especially during the heavy work in the falls, it is necessary to rest the men on Sundays, which is, besides, the recognised day for washing clothes, overhauling the stores, and cleaning out the boats, Xvi ITINERARY. and doing any odd jobs requiring longer time than can be spared on week-days—+uch as making a sort of bread in empty paraftin-tins. Some little time, too, had been spent in hunting. : The Kurubung is a very winding and interesting creek, with many rocks to be seen, and high peaks and mountains of various and peculiar shapes. The course wound about so much that the same mountain would at times be either in front or behind, or on the right or left. Above the Seroun, the course is broken by the series of the Makrebah Falls, where there is a fine extent of white quartz sand, and where also we found a beautiful diminutive new species of Utricularia (U. con- cinna), white with purple points. The surroundings are very beautiful. Birds and butterflies were numerous, and we came upon many sun- bitterns in the short stretches of the windings. These are shy birds, and are quickly disturbed in the open reaches of the, river. Above the landing we found a large and nicely thatched house, which had been put up as McConnell had arranged; but there were no people. No doubt it was quite unreasonable to have expected them to remain here waiting for us; still, somehow, we had hoped to find many in the neighbourhood, because they knew about what time we were coming. It was unfortunate, for instead of taking three days with a large party of extra. carriers, whom we could pay off on the other side of the mountains, the trip across took seven days, with double journeys for the men, over mostly a very bad track, where heavy loads could not be carried: However, there was no help for it, and we began at once to make arrangements for the start. A suitable place was found in the creek for the boats, where they would be sheltered from the sweltering sun, and run no chance of being stranded on the rocks by the falling water in the dry weather. The men were put to getting materials and making the baskets in which loads are carried on the back. This took a day, for the baskets have to be carefully made not to bruise the bare skin, not to project beyond the shoulders at the sides, and while resting on the loins not to project above the head, so that in going through narrow tracks or under branches the man should not be troubled by the basket being caught in any way. Nasty falls are often the result if this happens. The strings by which they are carried, one around the forehead and the other across the chest, have also to be strong and smooth. They are used alternately to relieve the pressure. With the exception of a small part below, such baskets are open at the back to receive the load, which is secured by a string run across from bottom to top, a mat or broad leaves being placed under it if the objects be small. The framework is strong, and has the two corner rods long enough to project below for about three inches, on which the whole may rest when it is let down. The hands are quite free for a gun or cutlass, or for climbing, as was the case in this instance, as it turned out. In the meantime, we sorted out the stores, so as to leave behind enougl! for the return journey to Bartika, and for two men who would be left behind to guard the provisions. and look after the boats. We were bound to leave two, as the situation was quite isolated; and Adam, who was not yet quite strong after his bout of peccary, and another ITINERARY. XVil Indian were told off. They had a gun and fishing tackle to help add to their store. Had an Indian settlement been close by, where we could leave our things in charge of the chief, or had our friendly miner’s camp not been rather far up the Mazaruni, there would have been no difficulty. Of course, the men did not like staying in the place, which to them was surrounded by kenaimas or bad spirits of all sorts ; and, besides, the people up here were Akkawoios, and other tribes are mostly considered “bad people.” At length, however, their fears were calmed—the gun being their main solace, with plenty of powder to scare away kenaimas, and a lamp and plenty of oil and matches, though they would always keep a good fire going at night. The first lot of loads were sent off early next morning under charge of Ritchie, who was to select a camp ab under half-a-day’s distance, sending back a sufficient number of carriers for the remaining loads, while the other men put up a good shelter with the tarpaulins. This was essential, as rain frequently falls in these mountains, even in the height of the dry weather, and in some places it is not an easy matter to get palm leaves for a good roof. We had remained for the second batch of carriers, to make sure that - everything requisite should be sent off, and we had only just left the camp when we came on the “old warrior” leaning on a stick and limping painfully from an apparently badly swollen knee, which was thickly bound up with a mass of leaves and rags and bush-rope. His story was that he had slipped on a difficult part of the rocky track, and had sprained his knee; and, as it was impossible for him to go on, he had taken his time to come back as well as he could. Remembering his face trouble at Kaburi—it was not yet quite all right,—we gave him our sympathy, but it was impossible to do anything then for him, as the medicine-box was above. He assured us that the leaves were the best thing, put on hot, and that there were plenty of ‘very good” leaves about. Ordinarily we would have looked at the injury, but now we were really pressed for time, as the men had gone on, and we were of course anxious to get-over, by good daylight, a trail they had called “very bad.” Besides, one of us had to return to the camp to tell the second Makushi—not Adam—to take Pembroke’s load and come on with us. We couldn’t help wondering how the two men would get on, as neither spoke the other’s language; but there was this advantage, that whether prospectors for gold or Indians passed along the creek or trail, one would be able to speak to them. We found the track indeed a very bad one, rising very steeply in places for some 1500 feet. In parts it was very wet and slippery, over narrow and rough rocky ledges or ridges, winding over, under, or between huge rocks, mostly hidden by masses of broken debris of all sorts, with very insecure foothold, and covered by creepers and other growths, into which one sank occasionally up to the crutch, wondering if one were going through altogether, as there were at times nasty- looking chasms on either side not far away. But perhaps the worst part was over a sort of meshwork of bare and rough tree-roots, often narrow-edged, from which the soil below had been washed away, or they had grown over the broken rocks. It was no wonder Pembroke had come to grief. The only-marvel was how the Indians, with much XVill ITINERARY. heavier loads, had got through so easily, and returned in apparently very good fettle. It was a great relief when we got through this part up on to the slope of the ridge where the trail was still bad over rocks arid tree- roots, but yet not steep. We felt very glad that the earlier part had not come when the light might not be very good; but, as it happened, we soon came upon the camp, which Ritchie had wisely pitched not very far on, considering the nature of the path on the ascent, the double journey for many, and the fact that it was the first day for such loads. It had not rained, but we were wet through with perspiration from the unusual exertion, in which we had at times been creeping or straddling, clinging on, climbing, and hauling ourselves for security. Now we learnt that almost certainly Pembroke was malingering, and that nothing was the matter with his knee, which had been prepared elaborately to deceive us. Though he had-started strongly from the camp in the morning with Gold, his canal companion, he had soon begun to drop behind the Indians, so that the two were by themselves when they reached the really dangerous steep rocky ridges. Here the “old warrior” had stopped and told Gold to go on alone—‘‘me no go bruk me neck pon dem mountain”; and he had waited to come back to camp when we were starting, and there would be the least chance of the knee being examined. It appeared that, on the journey up, he had been thoroughly fed up and frightened by what the others had told him of the nature of the overland parts, and after Kaburi he had constantly asseverated— “Me no go pon dem mountain.” He had been a fine captain in McConnell’s various hunting-trips on the coast, and McConnell had only brought him, with great reluctance and after much begging that he be allowed to come, in spite of all the descriptions given of the kind of climbing, which evidently the man had either not believed or under- stood. He had never seen mountains before—now it was quite anothe thing; and besides he had suffered already, even before he had got to them. It was more than too much! McConnell was somewhat chagrined at the fraud, though he had been somewhat suspicious at the time. He took the philosophic view, however, that doubtless it was the best thing, as probably we might have had to deal with a real and serious accident, if not here perhaps at some even more inconvenient place; and with the consideration that “he laughs longest who laughs last,” he said the man would hardly be proud of himself when he found he did not get even a cent for the trip. As a fact, the lesson was taught for some weeks, but, eventually, after much begging pardon, he was given a few dollars. It was lucky for us the next day that two Indians, of those who had put up the houses, came along the path. They readily turned back to act as guides and carriers. There were no side trails at the first part, but later there were several that branched off to various parts of the upper river, and we should have been quite at a loss to know which was ours, for the main trail is not necessarily either the widest or the straightest, and we did not even know that ours was the main track. Whenever we passed side-tracks afterwards, our guides at once broke off a small leafy branch and placed it across the opening, which was ITINERARY. _ xix a sign to all coming on later—for there are always a good many stragglers, who may be out of sight—that those trails were barred. It might not be always necessary, but it was always.done to save mischance. The path across to the descent to the river was very irregular: sometimes up or down steep ridges, under high forest or quite low open scrub, over rocky ledges .and broken debris with or without the very tiresome network of bare roots destitute of soil below, and across -ereeks or through swamps linea with a rank growth of plants like marantas, cannas, and wild ginger. . On the return journey through this jungle the roar of the jaguar was often heard, the animals being attracted by the hunting-dogs, which the Indians accompanying us held for security on a leash. Our guides told us that our party was too large to be troubled, but with two or three people dogs were sometimes carried off by prowling jaguars, the animals dashing across the path and seizing the dogs, even when led on the string. At night the dogs were never left on the ground, but put high up on rough wooden stages made for them. If they strayed singly they were done fer, their security in hunting lying in the fact of there being several of them together, and one is always stiuck by the number of them usually found about the settle- ments in « state of semi-starvation, where with fowls and pigs—as on the great savannahs where a few of the latter have been introduced— they will even devour the excrement of the settlement. These large cats seem ‘to have a strong taste for dogs, and they will prowl at night around the large clay-wattled houses on the open savaunahs when dogs are within, even clawing the strongly-posted door, made of hard-wood ; thongh one would think they would choose instead to break through the wattling. It may be that the scent of the dogs is much stronger through the interstices of the door. It is peculiar that while jaguars are thus dangerous to dogs singly or running in single file, three or four experienced dogs hunting together in a group, with loud larking, can always drive them up a tree, if there be one for refuge. This is how a noted jaguar-hunter in Berbice usually secured his object when cattle had been killed or calves carried off from the-farms. It was easy then to shoot the beast up the tree. Where the low open shrubby growths occurred on the rocky parts, Cozier assured us was. just the kind of place where the cock-of-the-rocks would have their dancing-ground, and where their nests would be found. He had often seen them on the Merumé Mountains proper. The vegetation varied much from this shrubby character in places to what may more correctly be described as short stunted trees, with thick stems and open short branches, mostly heavy with small epi- phytes; and there were many of these amid more shrubhy growths. We made search for a short time at a few of these places, both going and coming back, and though we came upon neatly trodden spaces we found no nests. Their season was earlier in the year. In other places where the forest was higher, Cozier and the Indians could quite quickly bring these birds overhead by imitating their sharp cry, “Quank, quank,” when they had heard them in the distance; and the birds XX ITINERARY. would flit about from branch to branch, quite in full view, uttering their cries, evidently unafraid until startled. Two very interesting specimens—one a very large tarantula (Mygale) with a span the size of a soup-plate and the other a very large black scorpion—were obtained accidentally by the men along the trail. In passing under a thick dead branch covered by a mass of epiphytes, one of the men had knocked off quite a Jot of the dead stuff with the top of his load, and the tarantula had jumped off on to the basket. The man behind saw it, and they were able to secure it without damage.. The scorpion was found almost similarly, though it was in the stuff knocked off on to the ground, which perhaps was lucky. These large Mygale are the commonly described bird-eating spiders, and many instances are recorded substantiating this feature of their habits. I have never myself observed any instance of this kind in my travels over the length and breadth of the colony, but it was once my experience along the Upper Korentyn river to have proof of a kind not very-‘unlike. While occupying for a night the old thatched mission- house at Apera, attention had been attracted during dinner by the loud fluttering of some large insect high up under the roof. As bats were numerous in the little-frequented quarters, and the district was noted for the depredations of the blood-suckers, a light was kept burning all night, though it was turned down quite low before we retired to the hammocks for sleep. But a few minutes of semi-darkness had passed, however, before there was a heavy flop on the bark floor; and on turning up the light we found a large Mygale in full possegsion of a very large hawk-moth. The fluttering insect had evidently drawn the attention of the spider in its flights against the thatch, and the dark- “ness had given the opportunity for a successful spring. Though much turned about with a stick the captor stuck to his prey, and they both finished their adventure in a large potassium cyanide killing-bottle. It was a surprise to me to find that the large spider was quite un- damaged by its fall from the height, which must have been some sixteen feet or more from the roof. The seizure of a poised humming- bird, or of some other small species, would be a much less difficult enterprise. A quite surprising haunt for these spiders is the hollow in the central crown of leaves of the pine-apple plants, where they protect themselves by a thick web across the top, which appears also to be a sufficient shelter to throw off the rain. On some of the cultivated aveas on or near the coast, especially where there is little attempt at clean culture, or in partially abandoned lands in the sandhills, a quite astonishing number of these creatures could at times be obtained. Doubtless the very spiny leaves of the plants provide protection against some common enemy, but I was never able to satisfy myself as to its nature, whether mammal or bird, reptile or batrachian, though the peculiarity of the very hairy covering of the diet would suggest one of the latter, which are much hardier feeders, if the term may be allowed. Scorpions and centipedes, though not often seen, are common in the forests, as would soon be evident where heavy rains had flooded the forest-floor, driving the occupants of the rocky shelters, and of the dried leaves and débris, off the ground for refuge up the stems of ITINERARY. XXi the small, often close, undergrowth. During such partial floods an astonishing assemblage of insects and arachnids, the latter especially, may be met with clinging together on the leafy tops of the small stems, all apparently too much occupied in securing their safety in the flood than in troubling themselves about attacking each other or about being attacked. A passage through undergrowth under these conditions, in puris naturalibus, was once a noteworthy experience on a trip between the Upper Demerara and Essequibo rivers, in the neighbourhood of the Great Falls. On a short journey from camp to the Makooroo Mountain, we had stripped in order to cross a temporarily flooded valley, carrying our clothes aloft to keep them as