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WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA,

THE NORTH-WEST OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND THE ANTILLES,

IN THE YEARS 1812, 1816, 1820, & 1824.

With Original Instructions for the perfect preservation of Birds, Etc.
for Cabinets of Natural History.

BY

CHARLES WATERTON, Esq.

NEW EDITION.

Cbittb, to it!) J3iograpl)kal $nfrobuttion an b ftplanatorp §nbec,

BY THE

KEY. J. G. WOOD.

WITH ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.

ITonbon :

MACMILLAN AND CO.
1879.

The liiyht of Translation is Reserved.

LONDON

. CLAV, SONS, AND TAYLOR
BREAD STREET HILL, E.C.

P R E F A C E.

Many years ago, while barely in my “ teens/’ I had the
good fortune to fall in with Waterton’s Wanderings, then
newly placed in the school library. The book fascinated
me. Week after week I took it out of the library, and
really think that I could have repeated it verbatim from
beginning to end. It was a glimpse into an unknown
world, where I longed to follow the Wanderer, little
thinking that I should ever have the privilege of visiting
him in his wonderful Yorkshire home. I looked upon
Waterton much as the pagans of old regarded their
demi-gods, and not even Sinbad the Sailor was so in¬
teresting a personage to me as Waterton the Wanderer.

But there was one drawback to the full enjoyment
and comprehension of the book. It mentioned all kinds
of animals, birds, and trees, and I did not know what
they were, nor was there any one who could tell me. I
did not know what a Salempenta was, except that it

VI

PREFACE.

was good to eat. It might be a monkey, a tish, or a
fruit. Neither could I identify the Couanacouchi,
Labarri. Camoudi, Duraquara, Houtou, or Karabimiti,
except that the three first were snakes and the three last
were birds.

It was certainly pleasant to learn that the traveller
in Guiana would be awakened by the crowing of the
Hannaquoi, but there was no one who could tell me
what kind of a bird the Hannaquoi might be. Then,
as to trees, I did not know the Siloabali, or the Wallaba,
or even the Purple-heart, nor how the last mentioned
tree could be made into a Woodskin. I wanted a guide
to the Wanderings , and such a guide I have attempted
to supply in the “Explanatory Index.” I believe that
there is not a single living creature or tree mentioned
by Water ton concerning which more or less information
cannot be found in this Index.

The Wanderings I have left untouched as Waterton
wrote them, not adding or altering or cancelling a
syllable. They constitute, so to speak, the central
brilliant of a ring, round which are arranged jewels
of inferior value, so as to set off the beauty of the
principal gem.

The plan of arrangement is as follows : First comes
a short biography of Waterton as the Wanderer, and
then a memoir of Waterton at home. Next come the
Wanderings , exactly as he wrote them. Then there is
an Explanatory Index, and lastly a few remarks on the

PREFACE.

Vll

system of Taxidermy which lie created, and in which
he gave me personal instruction.

I have much pleasure in recording my obligations to
Edmund Waterton, Esq., who kindly permitted access
to the old family records, which he is now arranging
for publication. Also to Dr. V. L. Sclater, Secretary of
the Zoological Society, for the assistance which he
rendered in identifying several of the birds ; and to
J. Britten, Esq., of the British Museum, for the great
pains which he took in ascertaining the names of some
of the Guianan trees, without which names the work
would have been imperfect.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

I offer this hook of Wanderings with a hesitating
hand. It has little merit, and must make its way through
the world as well as it can. It will receive many a jostle
as it goes along, and perhaps is destined to add one more
to the number of slain, in the field of modern criticism.
But if it fall, it may still, in death, he useful to me ; for,
should some accidental rover take it up, and, in turning
over its pages, imbibe the idea of going out to explore
Guiana, in order to give the world an enlarged descrip¬
tion of that noble country, I shall say, “ fortem ad fortia
misi,” and demand the armour ; that is, I shall lay claim
to a certain portion of the honours he will receive, upon
the plea, that I was the first mover of his discoveries ;
for, as Ulysses sent Achilles to Troy, so I sent him to
Guiana. I intended to have written much more at
length ; hut days, and months, and years, have passed
away, and nothing has been done. Thinking it very
probable that I shall never have patience enough to sit
down and write a full account of all I saw and examined

X

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

in those remote wilds, I give up the intention of doing
so, and send forth this account of my Wanderings , just
as it was written at the time.

If critics are displeased with it in its present form, 1
beg to observe, that it is not totally devoid of interest,
and that it contains something useful. Several of the
unfortunate gentlemen who went out to explore the
Congo, were thankful for the instructions they found in
it; and Sir Joseph Banks, on sending back the journal,
said in his letter, “ I return your journal, with abundant
thanks for the very instructive lesson you have favoured
us with this morning, which far excelled, in real utility,
everything I have hitherto seen.” And in another letter
he says, “ I hear with particular pleasure your intention
of resuming your interesting travels, to which natural
history has already been so much indebted.” And again,
“ I am sorry you did not deposit some part* of your last
harvest of birds in the British Museum, that your name
might become familiar to naturalists, and your unrivalled
skill in preserving birds be made known to the public.”
And again, “ You certainly have talents to set forth a
book, which will improve and extend materially the
bounds of natural science.”

Sir Joseph never read the third adventure. Whilst
I was engaged in it, death robbed England of one of her
most valuable subjects, and deprived the Eoyal Society
of its brightest ornament.

C O NTEN T S.

BIOGRAPHY.

CHATTER I.

PAGE

Autobiography of Waterton — Descent from Sir Thomas More — Twenty -
seventh Lord of Walton, and sixteenth in descent from John
Waterton— Religious faith of the family — Persecutions of Roman
Catholics and confiscation of the estates — Double taxes and fines —

Birth and early life — Escapades at Tudhoe — The cow and the wash¬
ing-tub — Removal to Stonyhurst — Birds’-nesting, a chase and a pig-
stye — Good advice from one of the fathers — Parting with Stonyhurst
— First voyage to Cadiz — The apes at Gibraltar — Habits of the
animals — Stay in Malaga — Acquirement of Spanish — Projected
visit to Malta — Advent of the plague — Seized with the disease and
recovery — Closing of the ports — A hazardous and carefully-planned
escape — Preparations on board ship — The opportunity seized —
Escape successful — Death of an uncle — Discovery of an old friend
— Failing health — Voyage to Demerara — Death of his father and
succession to the family estates . . . . . . . 1 14

CHAPTER II.

J ourney to Orinoco with despatches — Adventure with a venomous snake
— An involuntary bath — A huge Cayman — The Labarri snake —
Dinner party in Angostura — A too liberal table — The Governor’s
uniform — Dining in shirt-sleeves — A more sensible uniform — Publi¬
cation of the Wanderings — Reception by the critics — Sydney
Smith — Swainson’s criticism upon the cayman — Truth in the garb
of fiction — Waterton’s style of writing — Quotations — His favourite
authors — Sense of humour — How he answered the critics— Charge
of eccentricity — How he was eccentric — Travels on the continent —
Shipwreck — Gallant conduct of Prince Canino — Lost by gold — Fall
into Dover harbour and narrow escape — The lancet and calomel —
Judgment of the vampire— A bad wound — Bare feet and bad pave¬
ment — Mode of cure — Accidents at home — Gunshot wound — Severe
fall and dangerous injuries— Crowther the bone-setter— A painful
operation — Ultimate recovery — A characteristic warning . . 15 34

Xll

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

PAGE

Magnificence and money — Waterton’s mode of life and personal ex¬
penses — Sleeping on planks — His visits to the chapel —The “ morning
gun” — The razor and the lancet — Reduction of the family estates —

His work at Walton Hall — Natural advantages of the place— The
wall and its cost — Bargees and their grins — Instinct of the herons —
Herons and fish-ponds— Drainage of the ponds — The moat extended
into a lake — Old Gateway and Ivy-Tower — Siege by Oliver Crom¬
well — Tradition of a musket-hall — Drawbridge and gateway in the
olden times — Tradition of a canon-ball — Both ball and canon dis¬
covered — Sunken plate and weapons — Echo at Walton Hall — West
view of lake — How to strengthen a bank — Pike-catching — Cats and
pike — Spot where Waterton fell . 35—48

CHAPTER IV.

Love of trees — Preservation of damaged trees — How trees perish —
Wind and rain — Self -restorative powers of the bark — Hidden foes
— The fungus and its work — Use of the woodpecker and titmouse —

How to utilize tree-stumps — The cole titmouse — Owl-house and
seat — Dry-rot — When to paint timber — Oaken gates of the old
tower — Command over trees — How to make the holly grow quickly
— The holly as a hedge-tree — Pheasant fortresses — Artificial
pheasants — The poachers outwitted — Waterton’s power of tree
climbing — An aerial study — Ascending and descending trees —
Church and State trees — The yew — A protection against cold winds
— Yew hedge at back of gateway— The Starling Tower — Familiarity
of the birds — The Picnic or Grotto — Waterton’s hospitality — “ The
Squire ” — A decayed mill and abandoned stone — The stone lifted
off the ground by a hazel nut ....... 49 — 71

CHAPTER Y.

The Squire’s “ dodges” — The “cat-holes” — The dove-cot — Pigeon-shoot¬
ing matches and mode of supplying the birds — Waterton’s pigeon-
house, external and internal — Pigeon-stealers baffled — Arrangement
of pigeon-holes— Ladders not needed — How to feed pigeons econo¬
mically — Rats and mice in the garden — The poison-bowl and its
safety — Sunken mousetrap — Gates and chains — The carriage-pond
— Waterton’s antipathy to scientific nomenclature — Advantage of
such nomenclature as an assistant to science — Popular and local
names — Colonists and their nomenclature — Zoology gone mad —
Complimentary nomenclature — The fatal accident in the park —
Waterton’s last moments and death— The last voyage and funeral
— Epitaph written by himself — The new cross, and place of burial, 72—86,

CONTENTS.

x 1 11

FIRST JOURNEY.

CHAPTEE I.

PAGE

Object of the Wanderings — Demerara E. — Saba — Toucan — Forest Trees
- — Parasites — Bush-rope — Eed monkey — Wild animals — Sloths—

Y enomous snakes — Lizards — Bell-bird — Houtou — Insects — Dog
poisoned with Wourali — Falls — Essequibo E. — Rapid decay — Falls
of the Essequibo — Macoushia — A white recluse — The Watermamma
—A savage financier — The Jabiru — Ants’ nests — Fort St. Joachim
— Lake Parima .......... 87 — 125

CHAPTEE II.

The Macoushi Indians- — Poison vendors — apparent failure of poison — -
Collecting materials for wourali-poison — Preparing the poison —
Superstitions — The blow-pipe gun — The Ourah — The Samourah —
Silk-grass — Acuero fruit — Coucourite palm — Wild cotton— Arrows
— Quivers — Jaw of Pirai — Packing the arrows — Cotton basket — -
Gun sight made of Acouri teeth — Poisoned fowl — Suspending the
guns — The bow — Ingenious arrows — Small quivers — A wild hog shot
- — Utilization of indigenous products . ..... 126—139

CHAPTEE III.

Operation of the Wourali— Its effects on the Ai, or Three-toed Sloth-
Death resembling sleep — A poisoned Ox — Poison proportionate to
size of animal— Alleged antidotes — An Indian killed by his own
arrow— Ligatures and the knife— Descent of the Essequibo— Skill
of the boatman — The Buccaneers — Tertian ague— Experiments with
W ourali — Value of a ligature — Artificial respiration — Long life and
quiet death of Wourali— When good King Arthur ruled this land—
Eeturn of health ......... 140 _ 147

Remarks . 148—153

SECOND JOURNEY.

CHAPTER I.

From Liverpool to Pernambuco — Stormy petrels — Tropical zoology—
Flying-fish — Bonito, Albicore, and “ Dolphin ” — Frigate bird —
Arrival at Pernambuco— The expelled Jesuit — Pombal, the Captain-
General— Southey’s history of Brazil — Botanical garden— Sang redo
Buey — Rattlesnake — Narrow escape— Rainy — Sail for Cayenne —
Shark-catching .......... 154 — 168

XIV

CONTENTS.

CHArTER II.

PAGE

Arrival at Cayenne — Flamingos — Curlews, &c. — Vegetable productions
of Cayenne — La Gabrielle — Cock of the Rock — Grand Gobe-mouche
— Surinam — The Coryntin — New Amsterdam — Stabroek, now George
Town— Produce of Demerara — Slavery — A traveller’s necessaries—
"Walking barefoot — The best costume — Humming-birds — Cotinga —
Campanero, or Bell-bird — Toucans, or Toucanets — Beak of the
Toucan — Evanescence of the colours— The only mode of preserving
them ............ 169 — 184

CHAPTER III.

The Houtou — Curious habit of trimming the tail and feathers — its
habits — The Guianan Jay — The Boclora — Slight attachment of the
feathers — The Cuia — Rice-birds — Cassiques, their habit of mockery
— Pendulous nests — Gregarious nesting of different species — "Wood¬
peckers of America and England — Kingfishers — Jacamars and their
fly-catching habits— Troupiales and their songs — Tangaras — Mani¬
kins — Tiger-birds — Yawaraciri — Ant Thrushes — Parrot of the Sun
— Aras, or Macaws — Bitterns — Egret, Herons, etc. — Goatsuckers —
"Whip-poor-Will — Superstitions — Tinamous— Powis and Maroudi —
Horned Screamer — Trumpeter — King V ulture — Anhinga — Dangers
of travel — Quartan ague ........ 185—207

THIRD JOURNEY.

CHAPTER 1.

From the Clyde to Demerara — Yellow fever- — A deserted Plantation —
Black John — Medicines for tropical climates — Bats — The lancet —
Severe accident and recovery — A primitive spear — History of the
Sloth — An inhabitant of the trees — Structure of the limbs — A domes¬
ticated Sloth — A life of suspense — Structure of the hair— Mark on
the back — Capture of a Sloth —Release and escape — Ants— Ant-
bears — The great Ant-bear — Its powers of defence — Attitude when
standing — How it catches its prey — Glutinous saliva — The Vampire
and its habits — Bleeding gratis — Cousliie Ants — Armadillo and its
habits — Tortoise — Eggs of Tortoise and Turtle .... 208 — 231

CONTENTS.

xv

CHAPTER II.

PAGE

-The Vanilla — Meaning of the word — Small Cayman — Daddy Quashi —
Wasps — Venomous reptiles and wild beasts — Poison of the Labarri
snake — Experiment with a Labarri — The Bete-rouge — The Chegoe
— Its nest — Ticks, and how to get rid of them — The five tribes —

Their habitations and mode of life — Piwarri — The Pee-ay-man — A
nation without a history — Runaway negroes — Mr. Edmonstone and
his services— Wounded warriors — Valour rewarded — Education —
Character of the native — Skill in hunting — A bead almanac — The
sun as a compass — Thinness of population . .... 232— 247

CHAPTER III.

Discovery of a large Coulacanara snake — A Bush-master — Stag swal¬
lowed by a Boa — Negroes and the snake— Arrangements for the
attack — The snake struck — Carrying off the enemy — A snake in a
bag — An unquiet night — Dissection of the snake — Daddy Quaslii
and his dread of snakes — Capture of a Coidacanara — Vultures and
their food — Habits of Vultures — The Aura vulture — Black vultures
— Severe blisters — An inquisitive Jaguar — Fish shooting — Goat¬
suckers and Campanero ......... 248 — 262

CHAPTER IV.

Fishing for a Cayman- — A shark-hook useless — Sting-rays — Turtle and
Guana nests — Numbers of eggs — Another failure — Meeting a Jaguar
—Guard against fever — More failures — A native hook and way of
baiting — The Cayman’s dinner-bell — Caught at last — How to secure
the reptile — Mounting a Cayman — An improvised bridle— Skin and
teeth of the Cayman — Embarkment for England — Collision with
the Custom House . ....... 263 -284

FOURTH JOURNEY.

CHAPTER I.

Three years in England — Sail for New York — Nomenclature — Altera¬
tion of scenery — A sprained ankle — Magnificent cure — Feats of
climbing — .Quebec — Irish emigrants - — Ticonderoga — Saratoga —
Philadelphia — White-headed Eagle — Form and Fashion— Climate
— Forebodings of the civil war— Sail for Antigua . . . 285 — 309

XVI

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Arrival at Antigua — Dominica — Frogs and Humming-birds — Martinico
— Diamond rock — Barbadoes — Quashi and Venus — The Alien Bill —

Sail for Demerara — More about the Sloth — Scarlet Grosbeak —
Crab-eating Owl — Sun-heron — Feet of the Tinamou — Vampires
again — The Karabimiti Humming-bird — The Monkey tribe — The
Bed Howler — Roast monkey — The Nondescript — Altered physi¬
ognomy — Gold and silver mines — Changes of Government — Politics
— India-rubber — An ingenious deception ..... 310 — 334

ON PRESERVING BIRDS FOR CABINETS OF NATURAL

HISTORY.

Faults in bird-stuffing — Tools required — Knowledge of anatomy- -
Attitudes of birds — Flow of the plumage— How to skin a bird —
Inserting cotton — Killing wounded birds — Stuffing a hawk — The
first incision — The skin to be pushed, not pulled — Arrangement of
wings — Modelling the body — Spreading the tail — Constant attention
required— Strength and elasticity — Value of corrosive sublimate—
Experience and patience ........ 335 — 350

EXPLANATORY INDEX . 351—494

TAXIDERMY

495—510

INDEX

. Sll—SiO

BIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER I.

Autobiography of Waterton. — Descent from Sir Thomas More. — Twenty-
seventh Lord of Walton, and sixteenth in descent from John Waterton.
— Religious faith of the family. — Persecutions, of Roman Catholics and
confiscation of the estates. — Double taxes and tines. — Birth and early
life. — Escapades atTudhoe. — The cow and the washing-tub. — Removal
to Stony hurst. — Birds’ -nesting, a chase and a pigstye. — Good advice
from one of the fathers. — Parting with Stonyhurst.— First voyage to
Cadiz. — The apes at Gibraltar. — Habits of the animals. — Stay in
Malaga. — Acquirement of Spanish. — Projected visit to Malta. — Advent
of the plague. — Seized with the disease and recovery. — Closing of the
ports. — A hazardous and carefully-planned escape. — Preparations on
board ship. — The opportunity seized. — Escape successful. — Death of
an uncle. — Discovery of an old friend. — Failing health. — Voyage to
Demerara. — Death of his father and succession to the family estates.

In the introductory prefaces to Watertons Wanderings,
the author has afforded hut little account of himself, but
in the volumes of his Essays , and some of Ids Letters,
he has fortunately given a sufficiency of information to
furnish a tolerably unbroken biography from his birth to
his death. His was a very long life, and as he considered
that life as a sacred trust, he never wasted an hour of it.

Waterton was the representative of one of the most
ancient English families, and was justly proud of his

p

Autobio

graphy.

2

BIOGRAPHY.

Sir T. descent from Sir Thomas More. A clock which had be-
Morr, longed to that great ancestor is still in existence, and
occupied a place of honour on the upper landing of the
central staircase of Walton Hall. It is but a little
clock, and has only a single hand, but it keeps time as
well as ever, and the sound of its bell is so clear, that it
can be heard at a considerable distance from the house,
lie mentions in his own quaint way, that if his ancestors
had been as careful of their family records as Arabs are
of the pedigrees of their horses, he might have been able
to trace his descent up to Adam and Eve.

The following account of the Waterton family is taken
from the Illustrated London News of June 17, 1865, and
has been revised by a member of the house.

Pedigree. “ The good and amiable old Lord of Walton, Charles
Waterton, better known for miles around his ancestral
domain as “ the squire/’ was the representative of one
of our most ancient untitled aristocratic families, and, what
is more deserving of record in these days, in the male
line.

“ His ancestor, Reiner, the son of Norman of Normandy,
who became Lord of Waterton in 1159, was of Saxon
origin. The Watertons of Waterton became extinct in
the male line in the fifteenth century, when their vast
possessions passed away, through Cecilia, wife of Lord
Welles and heiress of her brother, Sir Robert Waterton,
to her four daughters and co-lieiresses, who married,
respectively, Robert, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Sir
Thomas Dymoke, Thomas Laurence, Esq., and Sir
Thomas Delaware.

“ Sir John Waterton was high sheriff' of Lincoln in 1101,
and master of the horse to Henry Y. at Agincourt. Sir
Lady of Robert, his brother, whose wife was a lady of the garter,
,hp. Garter. wag g0vernor 0f Pontefract Castle while Richard If. was

BIOGRAPHY

3

confined there : he had been master of the horse to Henry
IY. Sir Hugh, another brother, held high offices of state.

Charles Waterton, in whom the representation of his
ancient house was vested, was descended from Richard,
second son of William Waterton, Lord of Waterton, who
died in 1255. In 1435 John Waterton married the
heiress of Sir William Ashenhull, and became Lord of
Walton and Cawthorne, jure uxor is.

“ Walton formed part of the Honour of Pontefract, of Pontefract.
which Ashenhold, a Saxon thane, was the Lord, and which
was held by his son Ailric, in the reign of S. Edward
the Confessor. At the Conquest it was given by William
the Norman to one of his followers, Ilbert de Lacy, who
granted it back again to Ailric, father of Suein. Adam,
the son of Suein, Lord of Brierley, Cawthorne, and Walton,
was the founder of the priory of Monk Bretton, and left
two daughters and co-heiresses, Amabil and Matilda. The
former' had Walton and Cawthorne, and became the wife of
William de Nevile. They had one daughter and heiress,
who married Thomas, the son of Philip de Burgh. Walton
and Cawthorne remained in the possession of the De
Burghs for seven generations, and then passed with the
co-lieiress of Sir John de Burgh to Sir William Ashenhull,
whose heiress conveyed it to John Waterton in 1435.

“Thus Mr. Waterton was twenty-seventh Lord of
Walton, and sixteenth from John Waterton, who acquired
that lordship. There was a grant of free warren at Walton
in the reign of Edward I., and a license to crenellate in
1333. Without reference to the numerous distinguished
alliances of his ancestors, it may be interesting to state
that Mr. Waterton, through distinct sources, traced his
descent several times over from S. Matilda, Queen of Distin-
Germany ; S. Margaret of Scotland, S. Humbert of Savoy, poshed

. ° . . ancestors.

S. Louis of France, S. Ferdinand of Castile, and Wladimir

b 2

4

BIOGRAPHY.

Reforma¬

tion.

Coercive

Acts.

the Great, called S. Wladimir of Russia, and Anne, called
S. Anne of Russia. Through his grandmother he was
ninth in descent from Sir Thomas More.”

The Watertons fared but badly in the stormy times of
the Reformation, and, preferring conscience to property,
they retained their ancient faith, but lost heavily in this
world’s goods. The many coercive acts against the Roman
Catholics naturally had their effect, not only on those
who actually lived in the time of the Reformation, but
upon their successors. A Roman Catholic could not sit in
parliament, he could not hold a commission in the army,
he could not be a justice of the peace, he had to pay
double land-tax, aud to think himself fortunate if he had
any land left on which taxes could be demanded. He was
not allowed to keep a horse worth more than five pounds,
and, more irritating than all, he had either to attend the
parish church or to pay twenty pounds for every month of
absence. In fact, a Roman Catholic was looked upon and
treated as a wholly inferior being, and held much the same
relative position to his persecutors as Jews held towards
the Normans and Saxons in the times of the Crusades.

Within the memory of many now living, the worst of
the oppressive acts have been repealed, and Roman Catholics
are now as free to follow their own form of worship as
before the days of Henry VIII. They have seats in
parliament and on the bench, they hold commissions both
in the army and navy, and all the petty but galling inter¬
ferences with the details of their private life have been
abolished.

Still, Waterton was, during some of his best years, a
personal sufferer from these acts, and they rankled too
deeply in his mind to be forgotten. Hence, the repeated
and mostly irrelevant allusions in his writings to Martin
Luther, Henry VIII., Queen Bess, Archbishop Cranmer,

BIOGRAPHY.

5

Oliver Cromwell, Charles Stuart, “ Dutch William ” (mostly
associated with the “ Hanoverian ” rat and the national
debt), and other personages celebrated in history.

Deeply as he felt the indignities to which he and his
family and co-religionists had been subjected, and fre¬
quently as he referred to them, both in writing and con¬
versation, he never used a worse weapon than irony, and
even that was tempered by an underlying current of
humour. He had felt the wounds, but he could jest at
the scars.

On principle he refused to qualify as Deputy-Lieu¬
tenant and magistrate, because he had been debarred from
doing so previously to the Emancipation Act. His son,
however, serves both offices.

Born in 1782, he spent his childish years in the old
mansion and grounds of the family, and at a very early age
displayed those powers of observation, love of nature and
enterprise, which enabled him to earn a place among the
first order of practical naturalists both at home and abroad.

At ten years of age he was placed under the Rev. A.
Strong’s care, in a school just founded at Tudlioe, a village
near Durham. From Waterton’s reminiscences, his in¬
structor seems to have inclined to the severe order of dis¬
cipline, and to have been rather liberal of the birch, of
which instrument Waterton had his full share. His
account of storming the larder for the support of hungry
inmates ; of the anxious glances which he cast in the
morning to judge by the master’s wig of the state of his
temper ; and of being captured in the very act of getting
through a barred window, is exceedingly humorous.

He also relates two anecdotes, both telling against him¬
self, and both prospective, as it were, of the celebrated
fact of riding on the back of a cayman and of his ship-

Religious

scruples.

Birth.

Tudhoe.

Two

disasters ,

6

BIOGRAPHY.

The cow
and the
pond.

Ushaw

College.

Stony -
h urst.

Out oj
bounds.

wreck. He was “dared” by liis comrades to get on the
back of a cow, which he did, but less fortunate than in
his cayman adventure, was ignominiously thrown over
her horns. He also took it into his head to get into a
washing-tub, and take a cruise in the horse-pond ; but lost
his balance at the sudden- appearance of the master, and
was overturned into the muddy water.

The whole of the account of his Tudhoe school ex¬
periences is given in a collected volume of his Essays and
Letters (F. Warne & Co.), edited by Mr. N. Moore, who
had the sad privilege of being with him when he met with
his fatal accident, and by his sofa when he died, about
thirty-eight hours afterwards.

Tudhoe then being only a preliminary school, though it
has since developed into Ushaw College, Waterton was re¬
moved at fourteen years of age to Stonyliurst, where he
was one of the first pupils. This establishment, then a
comparatively small one, was conducted by the English
Jesuits who had been driven from their home at Liege.
Of them Waterton always spoke with reverence and
affection, and his life at Stonyliurst was a singularly
happy one.

At first, his ingrained propensity for enterprise led him
into trouble, and one adventure is too good not to be
narrated in his own words. His account of it is another
example of the way in which he enjoyed telling an
anecdote against himself.

“ At Stonyliurst there are boundaries marked out to the
students, which they are not allowed to pass ; and there
are prefects always pacing to and fro within the lines to
prevent any unlucky boy from straying on the other side
of them.

“ Notwithstanding the vigilance of the lynx-eyed guar-
dianfe, I would now and then manage to escape, and would

BIOGRAPHY.

7

bolt into a very extensive labyrinth of yew and holly
trees close at hand. It was the chosen place for animated
nature. Birds, in particular, used to frequent the spacious
enclosure, both to obtain food and enjoy security. Many
a time have I hunted the foumart and the squirrel. I
once took a cut through it to a neighbouring wood,
where I knew of a carrion-crow’s nest. The prefect missed Discovery
me; and judging that I had gone into the labyrinth, he and chase<
gave chase without loss of time. After eluding him in
cover for nearly half an hour, being hard pressed, I took
away down a hedgerow.

“Here (as I learned afterwards) he got a distant sight
of me ; but it was not sufficiently distinct for him to know
to a certainty that I was the fugitive. I luckily succeeded
in reaching he outbuildings which abutted on the college,
and lay at a considerable distance from the place where
I had first started. I had just time to enter the postern
gate of a pigsty, when, most opportunely, I found old Joe
Bowren, the brewer, bringing straw into the sty. He was Refuge in
more attached to me than to any other boy, for I had aPuJstlJ-
known him when I was at school in the North, and had
made him a present of a very fine terrier.

“‘I’ve just saved myself, Joe,’ said I; 'cover me up
with litter/

“He had hardly complied with my request, when in
bounced the prefect by the same gate through which I had
entered.

“ ‘ Have you seen Charles Waterton ? 5 said he, quite out
of breath.

“ My trusty guardian answered, in a tone of voice
which would have deceived anybody, ‘ Sir, I have .not
spoken a word to Charles Waterton these three days, to
the best of my knowledge.

“ Upon this, the prefect, having lost all scent of me,

8

BIOGRAPHY.

Escape.

Insight

into

character.

gave up the pursuit, and went his way. When he had
disappeared, I stole out of cover, as strongly perfumed as
was old Falstaff when they had turned him out of the
buck basket.

“ Once I had gone into the labyrinth to look into a
magpie’s nest, which was in a high hollow tree; and
hearing the sound of voices near, I managed to get a
resting-place in the tree just over the nest, and there I
squatted, waiting the event. Immediately the President,
two other Jesuits, and the present Mr. Salvin of Croxdale
Hall, passed close under the tree without perceiving me.

“ The good fathers were aware of my predominant pro¬
pensity. Though it was innocent in itself, nevertheless it
was productive of harm in its consequences, by causing
me to break the college rules, and thus to give a bad
example to the community at large. Wherefore, with a
magnanimity, and excellent exercise of judgment, which
are only the province of those who have acquired a con¬
summate knowledge of human nature, and who know how
to turn to advantage the extraordinary dispositions of those
intrusted to their care, they sagaciously managed matters
in such a way as to enable me to ride my hobby to a
certain extent, and still, at the same time, to prevent me
from giving a bad example.

“ As the establishment was very large, and as it con¬
tained an abundance of prey, the Hanoverian rat, which
fattens so well on English food, and which always con¬
trives to thrust its nose into every man’s house when there
is anything to be got, swarmed throughout the vast extent
of this antiquated mansion. The ability which I showed
in curtailing the career of this voracious intruder did not
fail to bring me into considerable notice. The cook, the
baker, the gardener, and my friend old Bo wren, could all
bear testimony to my progress in this line. By a mutual

BIOGRAPHY.

0

understanding I was made rat-catcher to the establishment,
and also fox-taker, foumart-killer, and crossbow-charger at
the time when the young rooks were fledged. Moreover,

I fulfilled the duties of organ-blower and football-maker
with entire satisfaction to the public.

“ I was now at the height of my ambition. I followed
up my calling with great success. The vermin disap- Com .

peared by the dozen; the books were moderately well P10mts,‘
thumbed ; and, according to my notion of things, all went
on perfectly right.”

One of those wise teachers did him an inestimable ser¬
vice. He called the lad into his room, told him that his
roving disposition would carry him into distant countries,
and asked him to promise that from that time he would not
touch either wine or spirits. Waterton gave the promise,
and kept it to the hour of his death, more than sixty years
afterwards. Once, when returning from one of his foreign
expeditions, he took a glass of beer at dinner, but, finding
the taste, from long disuse, unpleasantly bitter, he put
down the glass and never touched beer again.

At the age of eighteen he left Stonyhurst with much Departure

f'fOTtl

regret, and after a year spent at Walton Hall amid the stony -
pleasures of the field, he started on the first of his jour- hurst.
neys abroad. It was during the Peace of Amiens, and
Spain was chosen as the country which he should visit.

After staying a short time at Cadiz, he sailed for Malaga,
and had the good fortune to visit Gibraltar just in time
to see the celebrated apes.

Gibraltar was the last place in Europe where apes lived
wild. How they got there no one knows, but Waterton
suggests in one of his Essays that they belonged originally
to Africa.

“ Let us imagine that, in times long gone by, the pre¬
sent Hock of Gibraltar was united to the corresponding

10

BIOGRAPHY.

Apes of mountain called Ape’s Hill, on the coast of Barbary ; and
Gibraltar, that, by some tremendous convulsion of nature, a channel
had been made between them, and had thus allowed the
' vast Atlantic Ocean to mix its waves with those of
the Mediterranean Sea.

“ If apes had been on Gibraltar when the sudden shock
occurred, these unlucky mimickers of man would have
seen their late intercourse with Africa quite at an end. A
rolling ocean, deep and dangerous, would have convinced
them that there would never again be a highway overland
from Europe into Africa at the Straits of Gibraltar.

“Now as long as trees were allowed to grow on the
Bock of Gibraltar, these prisoner-apes would have been
pretty well off. But, in the lapse of time and change of
circumstances, forced by ‘ necessity’s supreme command,’ for
want of trees, they would be obliged to take to the ground
on all-fours, and to adopt a very different kind of life
from that which they had hitherto pursued.”

The animal here mentioned is the Barbary Ape, or
Magot, a species of Macacque. At Gibraltar it feeds
largely on the scorpions that have their habitations under
the loose stones. I do not think that Waterton’s sugges¬
tion as to its altered habits is carried out by facts, for the
magot is quite as much at home among rocks or among
trees, as are the great baboons of Southern Africa. I
The Magot. havfe seen a number of magots in a large cage, or
rather, apartment, in the open air. They were supplied
with rock-work and trees, and of the twTo seemed to
prefer the former. Their colours harmonised so completely
with that of the rough stones on which they sat, that
many persons passed the cage, thinking it to be untenanted,
while five or six magots were seated among the rocks, and
almost as motionless as the stones themselves.

Generally, the Gibraltar magots keep themselves so

BIOGRAPHY.

11

mucli aloof, that they cannot be seen without the aid of a
telescope, hut Waterton was fortunate enough to see the
whole colony on the move, they being forced to leave their
quarters by a change of wind. He counted between fifty
and sixty of them, some having young on their backs.

After staying for more than a year in Malaga, and
having apparently in the meantime acquired the Spanish
language, of which he was totally ignorant when he en¬
tered Cadiz, but in which he was afterwards a proficient, Plague at-
he projected a visit to Malta, but was checked by a ter- MalaiJa-
rible obstacle. This was the “ black-vomit,” which broke
out with irresistible force, accompanied with cholera and
yellow fever.

The population died by thousands, and so many were
the victims of these diseases that graves could not be dug
fast enough to keep pace with the mortality. Large pits
were dug — much like our plague-pits — and as they could
not accommodate the coffins, the bodies of the dead were
flung promiscuously into the pits. An uncle of Waterton
died of the disease, his body was taken out of its coffin
and thrown into the pit, and just beneath him lay the
body of a Spanish marquis. No less than fourteen thou¬
sand people died in Malaga, notwithstanding that fifty
thousand persons had fled from the city.

Waterton did not escape scatheless. He was seized
with the black-vomit, but, although it was thought that Seized with
he could not live until the following day, his great strength slcfcncss-
of constitution, aided by his simple mode of life, enabled
him to conquer in the struggle. As if to add to the terrors
of the time, earthquakes followed the plague, and every one
who possessed another home was anxious to leave a spot
which had been stricken with such plagues, and among
them was Waterton. But the authorities had mean¬
while laid an embargo on the shipping, and it was next to

12

BIOGRAPHY.

impossible to get away. At last, at the risk of imprison-
An escape ment for life, lie escaped by the daring and forethought

planned.

ot a Swedish captain.

He took on board Waterton and his younger brother,
the former being entered on the ship’s books as a Swedish
carpenter, and the latter as a passenger. How carefully
the escape was planned, and how skilfully it was executed,
must be told in Water ton’s own words : —

“ We slept on board for many successive nights, in hopes
of a fair wind to carry us through the Straits. At last, a
real east wind did come, and it blew wTith great violence.
The captain, whose foresight and precautions were truly
admirable, had given the strictest orders to the crew that
not a word should be spoken whilst we were preparing to
escape. We lay in close tier amongst forty sail of mer¬
chantmen. The harbour-master having come his usual
rounds and found all right, passed on without making any
observations.

“ At one o’clock, P.M., just as the governor had gone to
the eastward to take an airing in his carriage, as was his
custom every day, and the boats of two Spanish brigs-of-
war at anchor in the harbour had landed their officers for
the afternoon’s amusements, our vessel worked out clear
of the rest, and instantly became a cloud of canvas. The
captain’s countenance, which was very manly, exhibited a
portrait of cool intrepidity rarely seen : had I possessed
the powrer, I wTould have made him an admiral on the spot.

“ The vessel drove through the surf with such a press of
sail that I expected every moment to see her topmasts
carried away. Long before the brigs- of- war had got their
officers on board, and had weighed in chase of us, we were
Success. far at sea 5 and when night had set in we lost sight of them
for ever, our vessel passing Gibraltar at the rate of nearly
eleven knots an hour.”

BIOGRAPHY.

13

It was indeed fortunate for Waterton that he succeeded
in making his escape, for in the following spring the plague
returned with increased violence, and no less than thirty-
six thousand more victims perished. Waterton never
dwells on the hardships and sufferings which he under¬
went in his travels, hut he remarks that his constitution
was much shaken by the Malaga illness, and that in all
probability he would not have survived a second attack.
He had tried to persuade another uncle to take part in the
escape, but he declined, and was carried off by the second
outbreak of the pestilence.

So ended Waterton ’s first experience of foreign travel.
It was not by any means an encouraging tour, for he had
lost relatives, friends, and health, while he had gained
little except a knowledge of travel, and the sight of
flamingos, vultures, and apes at liberty.

It was characteristic of Waterton that when he found
himself at Hull, forty-four years after he started on his
travels, he made inquiries about the captain of the ship in
which he took his first voyage, discovered that he was
alive, sought him out, and renewed the acquaintance
begun so many years before.

His weakened state caused him to take cold as he was
sailing up the Channel ; the cold settled on the lungs, and
lie was scarcely in less danger in England than he had
been in Malaga. However, he again rallied, and was able
once more to join the hunting-field. Still, the shock to
the system had been very great, and to the end of his
life, though he could endure almost any amount of heat,
he was painfully sensitive to cold, and especially to cold
winds. The chilly climate of England did not agree
with his health, and he found himself again obliged
to go abroad. He longed, he said, “ to bask in a warmer
sun.”

Shaken by
illness.

Climate of
England.

14

BIOGRAPHY.

Voyage, to
Derncrara.

Some estates in Demerara being in possession of the
family, Waterton went to superintend them, and in the
interval before starting, made the personal acquaintance
of Sir Joseph Banks, who at once appreciated the powers
which the young traveller was afterwards to develop.
He gave Waterton a piece of most excellent advice,
namely, to come home for a time at least once in three
years.

He continued to administer the estates for eight years,
when, as both his father and uncle, the proprietors of the
estates, were dead, he handed over the property to those
who had a right to it, and thence began his world-famed
Wanderings , the account of which will be given exactly
as he wrote it; without the change or omission of a
syllable, or the addition of a note.

CHAPTEE II.

Journey to Orinoco with despatches. — Adventure with a venomous snake.

—An involuntary hath. — A huge cayman. — The Labarri snake. —

Dinner party in Angostura. — A too liberal table. — The Governor’s
uniform. — Dining in shirt-sleeves. — A more sensible uniform. — Pub¬
lication of the Wanderings. — Reception by the critics. — Sydney Smith.

— Swainson’s criticism upon the cayman — Truth in the garb of fiction.

— Waterton’s style of writing. — Quotations. — His favourite authors. —

Sense of humour. — How he answered the critics. — Charge of eccen¬
tricity. — How he was eccentric. — Travels on the Continent. — Ship¬
wreck. — Gallant conduct of Prince Canino. — Lost by gold. — Fall into
Dover harbour and narrow escape. — The lancet and calomel. — Judge¬
ment of the vampire.— A bad wound.— Bare feet and bad pavement. —

Mode of cure. — Accidents at home. — Gunshot wound. — Severe fall and
dangerous injuries. — Crowther the bone-setter. — A painful operation. —

Ultimate recovery. — A characteristic warning.

Dupjng his stay in Demerara, lie was selected as the Despatches
bearer of despatches to the Spanish Government in to (hin0('"-
Orinoco, and received the first commission which had
been held by any one bearing the name of Waterton
since the days of Queen Mary ; the commission being
dated August 2, 1808.

While passing up the Orinoco river in the fulfilment
of this mission, an adventure occurred which had well-
nigh deprived the world of the Wanderings.

“ During the whole of the passage up the river, there was
a grand feast for the eyes and ears of an ornithologist. In
the swampy parts of the wooded islands, which abound in
this mighty river, we saw waterfowl innumerable ; and

16

BIOGRAPHY

Tropical

birds.

Wounded

Labarri.

when we had reached the higher grounds it was quite
charming to observe the immense quantities of parrots and
scarlet aras which passed over our heads. The loud harsh
screams of the bird called the horned screamer were heard
far and near ; and I could frequently get a sight of this
extraordinary bird as we passed along ; but I never
managed to bring one down with the gun, on account of
the difficulty of approaching it.

“ While we were wending our way up the river, an
accident happened of a somewhat singular nature. There
was a large labarri snake coiled up in a bush, which was
close to us. I fired at it, and wounded it so severely that
it could not escape. Being wishful to dissect it, I reached
over into the bush, with the intention to seize it by the
throat, and convey it aboard. The Spaniard at the tiller,
on seeing this, took the alarm, and immediately put his
helm aport. This forced the vessel’s head to the stream,
and I was left hanging to the bush with the snake close to
me, not having been able to recover my balance as the vessel
veered from the land. I kept firm hold of the branch to
which I was clinging, and was three times overhead in
the water below, presenting an easy prey to any alligator
that might have been on the look-out for a meal.

“ Luckily a man who was standing near the pilot, on
seeing what had happened, rushed to the helm, seized hold
of it, and put it hard a-starboard, in time to bring the
head of the vessel back again. As they were pulling
me up, I saw that the snake was evidently too far gone
to do mischief ; and so I laid hold of it and brought
it aboard with me, to the horror and surprise of the crew.
It measured eight feet in length. As soon as I had
got a change of clothes, I killed it, and made a dissection
of the head.

“ I would sometimes go ashore in the swamps to shoot

BIOGRAPHY.

17

maroudies, which are somewhat related to the pheasant ;
hut they were very shy, and it required considerable
address to get within shot of them. In these little
excursions I now and then smarted for my pains. More
than once I got among some hungry leeches, which made
pretty free with my legs. The morning after I had had
the adventure w7ith the Labarri snake, a cayman slowly Cayman.
passed our vessel. All on hoard agreed that this tyrant
of the fresh waters could not be less than thirty feet
long.”

I ought to state that the Labarri snake here mentioned
is one of the most venomous serpents of Guiana, hut
as it will be fully described in a subsequent page, I
shall say no more about it at present. Waterton never
feared snakes, even though knowing that their bite is
certain death, but the coxswain of the boat, not having
such nerve, might well be excused for taking alarm.

A rather amusing incident took place when he had
reached his destination.

“ On arriving at Angostura, the capital of the Orinoco, Angostura.
wTe were received with great politeness by the Governor.

Nothing could surpass the hospitality of the principal
inhabitants. They never seemed satisfied unless we were
partaking of the dainties which their houses afforded.

Indeed, wre had feasting, dancing, and music in super¬
abundance.

“ The Governor, Don Felipe de Ynciarte, was tall and The
corpulent. On our first introduction, he told me that he Governor-
expected the pleasure of our company to dinner every
day during our stay in Angostura. We had certainly
every reason to entertain very high notions of the
plentiful supply of good things which Orinoco afforded ;
lor, at the first day’s dinner, I counted more than forty
dishes of fish and flesh. The governor was superbly

c

18

BIOGRAPHY.

Heavy

uniform.

Heat and
Etiquette.

End of
JV ander-
ings .

attired in a full uniform of gold and blue, the weight
of which alone, in that hot climate, and at such a
repast, was enough to have melted him down. He had •
not half got through his soup before be began visibly
to liquefy. I looked at him, and bethought me of the
old saying, ‘ How I sweat ! said the mutton-chop to the
gridiron.’

“ He now became exceedingly uneasy ; and I myself
had cause for alarm ; but our sensations arose from very
different causes. He, no doubt, already felt that the
tightness of his uniform, and the weight of the orna¬
ments upon it, would never allow him to get through
that day’s dinner with any degree of comfort to him¬
self ; I, on the other hand (who would have been amply
satisfied with one dish well done) was horrified at the
appalling sight of so many meats before me. Good¬
breeding whispered to me, and said ; ‘ Try a little of
most of them.’ Temperance replied, ‘Do so at your
peril ; and for your over- strained courtesy, you shall
have yellow- fever before midnight.’

“At last the Governor said to me, in Spanish, ‘Don
Carlos, this is more than man can bear. JSTo fniedo sufrir
tanto. Pray pull off your coat, and tell your companions to
do the same ; and I’ll show them the example.’ On saying
this, he stripped to the waistcoat ; and I and my friends
and every officer at table did the same. The next day,
at dinner-time, we found his Excellency clad in a uniform
of blue Salempore, slightly edged with gold lace.”

His tropical Wanderings came to an end in 1825, in
which year lie published the now famous volume. At
first, he received from the critics much the same treat¬
ment as did Bruce and Le Vaillant. Critics would not
believe that Bruce ever saw a living ox cut up for food, or

BIOGRAPHY.

19

that the Abyssinians ate beef raw in preference to cooked. The
Neither would they believe that Le Vaillant ever chased Critlcs-
a giraffe, because, as they said, there was no such animal,
and that therefore, Le Vaillant could not have seen it.

Similarly, some of Waterton’s statements were received
with a storm of derision, more especially his account of
the sloth and its strange way of living ; of the mode of
handling deadly serpents, and above all, his ride on the
back of a cayman. There is however one honourable
exception in the person of Sydney Smith, who devoted
one of his wittiest and happiest essays to a review of
the Wanderings and fully recognized the extraordinary
powers of Waterton.

According to Sydney Smith, "Waterton “ appears in early Sydney
life to have been seized with an unconquerable aversion to s‘ mU]i '
Piccadilly, and to that train of meteorological questions
and answers which forms the great staple of polite con¬
versation. . .

“ The sun exhausted him 'by day, the mosquitos bit

him by night, but on went Mr. Charles Waterton .

happy that he had left his species far away, and is at last
in the midst of his blessed baboons.”

Nothing can be better than Sydney Smith’s summary of
the life of a sloth, who “ moves suspended, rests suspended, Suspense.
sleeps suspended, and passes his whole life in suspense,
like a young clergyman distantly related to a bishop.”

Or, than his simile of the box-tortoise and the boa,
who “ swallows him shell and all, and consumes him
slowly in the interior, as the Court of Chancery does a Chancery.
large estate.”

Or, what can be happier than the turn he gives to
Waterton’s account of the toucan ?

“ How astonishing are the freaks and fancies of nature !

To what purpose, we say, is a bird placed in the forests of

20

BIOGRAPHY.

Toucan.

Truth in
garb of
fiction.

Cayenne, with a bill a yard long, making a noise like a
puppy clog, and laying eggs in hollow trees ? The Toucans,
to be sure, might retort — to what purpose were gentle¬
men in Bond Street created ? To what purpose were
certain foolish, prating members of Parliament created?
pestering the House of Commons with their ignorance and
folly, and impeding the business of the country. There
is no end of such questions. So we will not enter into the
metaphysics of the toucan”

Perhaps the oddest thing to be found in criticism is
that which is given in Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopedia.
Waterton’s statements having been proved to be true,
the writer now turns round, and tries to show that after
all there was nothing very wonderful in the achieve¬
ment.

“ The crocodile in fact, is only dangerous when in the
water. Upon land it is a slow-paced and even timid
animal, so that an active boy armed with a small hatchet
might easily despatch one. There is no great prowess
therefore required to ride on the back of a poor cayman
after it has been secured, or perhaps wounded ; and a
modern writer might well have spared the recital of his
feats in this way upon the cayman of Guiana, had he not
been influenced in this and numberless other instances by
the greatest possible love of the marvellous, and a constant
propensity to dress truth in the garb of fiction.”

Putting aside the fact that the writer received some of
his earliest instructions from Waterton, who was always
ready to impart his knowledge to those who seemed likely
to make a good use of it, the assertion is absolutely
unaccountable. No man was less influenced by a love of
the marvellous, and none less likely to “ dress truth in the
garb of fiction.”

His knowledge of Nature was almost wholly obtained

BIOGRAPHY.

21

from personal observation, and not one single statement of
his lias ever been proved to be exaggerated, much less
shown to be false. He might sometimes discredit the
statements of others. Tor example, he never could
believe that any races of men could be cannibals from
choice, and not from necessity or superstition. But,
whether at home or abroad, his investigations were so
close and patient, and his conclusions so just, that he is
now acknowledged to be a guide absolutely safe in any
department of Natural History which came within his
scope. No one now would think of disputing Water ton’s
word. If he denied or even doubted the statements of
others, his doubts would have great weight, and could
lead to a closer investigation of the subject. But, if he
asserted anything to be a fact, his assertion would be
accepted without scruple.

As to the meaning of the sentence about truth and
fiction, I fail to understand it, except as a poetical way of
rounding a paragraph. In the first place, if truth be truth,
it is essentially opposed to fiction, and cannot borrow her
garb. In the next place, the writer gives no instance of
this remarkable performance, except a reference to the
capture of the cayman. Now, nothing can be simpler or
more straightforward than Waterton’s account of the whole
transaction. He does not glorify himself, nor boast of his
courage. He leaped astride the animal, being sure, from a
knowledge of its structure, that he could not be reached
by the cayman’s only weapons, namely, its teeth and its
tail, and he never repeated the feat.

Even the peculiar style in which Waterton wrote, could
not justify such a charge as was made by Swainson.

It was, perhaps unconsciously, formed on that of Sterne,
many of whose phrases are employed almost verbatim.
Then, his mind was saturated with Horace, Virgil, Ovid,

Personal

observa¬

tion.

Style of
writing.

22

BIOGRAPHY.

Quotation. Cervantes, Washington Irving (himself a disciple of
Sterne), Chevy Chase, and literature of a similar character.
In the days when he first took up the pen, it was the
rather pedantic custom to introduce frequent quotations
from the classics into writings, speeches, and sermons,
and Waterton followed the custom of the day. Moreover,
it is an old Stony hurst custom to employ such quotations
both in conversation and writing, and Waterton could
never shake it off. Hut, when he came to descriptions of
scenes in which he had taken part, nothing could be more
simple, terse, and graphic, than his style, especially when his
sense of humour was aroused. Take for example the very
scene which Swainson assailed. There is no fine language
in it. There are a few of the inevitable quotations, which
might be omitted with advantage, but all the descrip¬
tion is couched in the simplest and most forcible
English, without a redundant word. A better word-
picture does not exist in our language. We see before
us the captured cayman struggling in the water, the
mixed assembly of South American savages, African
negroes, a Creole, and an Englishman, all puzzled to know
how to get the beast ashore without damaging it, or being
wounded themselves.

Daddy Then, there is the amusing cowardice of “ Daddy Quashi,”
Quashi. j.jie negro^ wp0 ran away when suspecting danger, hung in
the rear when forced to confront it, and, when it was over,
“ played a good finger and thumb at breakfast.” Water-
ton’s strong sense of humour prevails throughout the story,
but there is not a tinge of vanity. He explains his firm
seat on the furious animal’s back by mentioning that he
The hunt - had hunted for several years with Lord Darlington’s fox-
mg field. pounqSj Rut Re Roes not tell the reader that in that cele¬
brated hunt he was considered, next to Lord Darlington, as
the best horseman in the field.

BIOGRAPHY.

23

It is illustrative of Waterton’s character that when the
reviewers impugned his veracity, he troubled himself very
little about them, saying that the creatures which he had
described would one day find their way to the Zoological
Gardens, and then that everybody would see that he had
but spoken the truth. So, when the first sloth arrived,
Waterton had quite a little triumph over his detractors,
Indeed, the probability was, that, after reading one of
these reviews, he would invite the assailant to Walton
Hall, offer him the good old English hospitality of that
place, and settle the point of dispute in friendly controversy.

But, little as he cared for such attacks, he was deeply
stung by the epithet ‘eccentric’ which one writer applied
to him, and never could forget it.

Yet, had he not been eccentric, he could not have been
the Charles Waterton so long known and loved. It was
perhaps eccentric to have a strong religious faith, and act
up to it. It was eccentric, as Thackeray said, to “ dine
on a crust, live as chastely as a hermit, and give his all to
the poor.” It was eccentric to come into a large estate as
a young man and to have lived to extreme old age with¬
out having wasted an hour or a shilling. It was eccentric
to give bountifully and never allow his name to appear in
a subscription-list. It was eccentric to be saturated with
the love of nature. It might be eccentric never to give
dinner-parties, preferring to keep an always open house
for his friends ; but it was a very agreeable kind of ec¬
centricity. It was eccentric to be ever childlike, but never
childish. We might multiply instances of his eccentricity
to any extent, and may safely say that the world would be
much better than it is if such eccentricity were more
common.

It formed one of the peculiar charms of his society, and
he was utterly unconscious of it. He thought himself the

Eccentri¬

city.

•24

BIOGRAPHY.

most common-place of human beings, and yet no one could

be in his company for hve minutes without feeling himself

in the presence of no ordinary man. He had no idea that

he was doing anything out of the general course of things

if lie asked a visitor to accompany him to the top of a

lofty tree to look at a hawk’s nest ; or if he built his

Thought - stables so that the horses might converse with each other
Julness.

after their work was over, or his kennel so that his
hounds should be able to see everything that was going on.

Even the pigs came in for their share of his kindly
thoughtfulness. He used to say that in a wild state,
swine were not dirty beasts, but that when they are penned
into small sties, as is usually the case, they have no op¬
portunity of being clean. So he had his sties built of
stone, with a stone platform in front, sloping and chan¬
nelled so as to be easily and thoroughly cleansed, and
having a southern aspect so that the pigs might enjoy
the beams of that sun which their master loved so much
himself.

On these warm *stone slabs they used to lie in a lialf-
clozing state, and VVaterton often used to point out the
multitudinous wasps that came flying into the sties and
picked off the flies from the bodies of the drowsy pigs.
If the sties at Tudhoe had been like those at Walton Hall

y

lie would not have issued from them in the highly per¬
fumed state which he so amusingly describes. See p. 6.

Some persons thought that his rooted abhorrence of
Mourning, mourning was eccentric. If so, the eccentricity is now
shared by many, including myself, who have abandoned
on principle the black crape, gloves, liat-bands, mutes,
black feathers, black- edged writing paper, and other
conventional signs of grief.

Waterton however carried the principle still further, and
could never be induced to wear even a black coat of any

BIOGRAPHY.

25

kind on any occasion. He usually wore a blue body-coat Dress.
with gold — not gilt buttons, but at the urgent request of
the police, who told him that his costly buttons were a
perpetual anxiety to them whenever he went to Wakefield,
he at last consented to lay them aside, except at home,
and have his buttons covered with blue cloth.

This peculiarity once caused him to lose the privilege of
an introduction to the Pope (Gregory XVI.). Etiquette
demanded that if uniform could not be worn, the presentee
must appear in ordinary evening dress. Now, had Water-
ton qualified as Deputy-Lieutenant, he could have followed
the usual custom and worn that uniform, but as he had
refused to do so, evening-dress was the only alternative.

But he would not wear ‘ frac-nero,’ and so lost the
presentation.

On another occasion however, the difficulty was evaded
in a very characteristic manner. He bethought himself of
his commission in the Demerara militia ; but he had no
uniform, and there was no time to make one. Some naval Uniform.
friends were with him, Captain Marryatt being, I believe,
one of them, and with Waterton’s blue coat and gold buttons,
surmounted with a pair of naval epaulettes, and with
the addition of a naval captain’s cocked hat and sword,
they composed an amusingly miscellaneous uniform. One
friend wickedly suggested that spurs would have an impos¬
ing effect in connection with the naval hat and epaulettes,
but he was not to be caught in so palpable a snare.

Of his travels on the Continent, there is but little to say
as they are related at some length in the three volumes of
Essays. It is remarkable, by the way, that on the Conti- Essays.
nent, as well as in England, he met with injuries far more
severe than any which he received in Guiana.

Twice he was nearly drowned.

26

BIOGRAPHY.

Shipwreck. On one occasion lie was on board a vessel named the
Pollux , and bound from Civita Veccbia to Leghorn. In
the night of the same day, an accident befell the Pollux ,
almost exactly resembling that in which the ill-fated
Princess Alice was destroyed. The night was peculiarly
calm, the stars were shining brightly, and everything ap¬
peared to be in security, when all on board were startled
from their sleep by a violent shock. A steamer, named
the Mongibello, from Leghorn to Civita Vecchia, had run
into the Pollux, and cut her nearly in two, the cutwater of
the Mongibello having actually forced its way into Water-
ton’s cabin.

Fortunately for the passengers, most of them, including
Waterton and his family, were sleeping on deck. As is
too often the case under similar circumstances, the officials
on board the offending vessel lost their presence of mind,
and were actually sheering off from the wreck. Had it
not been for the courage and skill of Prince Canino (Charles
Bonaparte) the loss of life must have been very great.

He was a passenger on board the Mongibello , knocked
the steersman off the wheel, took the helm himself, and
laid the vessel alongside the sinking Pollux. Only one
life was lost, that of a man who had a large sum of gold
sewed in a belt round his waist, and was drawn under
water by the weight.

In this shipwreck, although Waterton’s life was saved,
he and his party lost their wardrobes, money in cash, and
letters of credit, books, writings, passports, and works of
art ; the last mentioned loss being irreparable. Fever and
dysentery were the results of the shipwreck, and did not
loosen their hold until long afterwards.

Feill mto Another time, he fell into Dover harbour while about to

the

harbour, embark on board the steamer. Any one who has walked on
cliffs on a dark night is aware of the difficulty of distinguish-

BIOGRAPHY.

27

ing land from water. At Margate I was once witliin a single
step of falling over the cliff, whose edges corresponded so
exactly in colour with the sea and rocks below, that, had
it not been for the information conveyed by a stick, I
must have been instantly killed. Several persons, indeed,
have lately been killed at the same spot.

Thinking that he was at the gangway, he stepped over
the edge of the quay, and fell fifteen feet into the water
sinking under the paddle-box, and only finding support
by catching at the wheel itself. Thence he was rescued ;
but the cold winds blowing on him as he stood wet and
dripping on the deck of the steamer, brought on a violent
attack of fever. He had recourse to his usual double
remedy, the lancet and calomel, and recovered sufficiently
to attend the great religious festival at Bruges, for the sake
of which he had left England.

His reliance on the lancet and calomel was almost in¬
credible. In these times the former is hardly ever used,
and the latter has been abandoned by a great number of
medical men. But in Waterton’s early days these were
the principal remedies, and he never lost faith in them.
When I last saw him in 1863, he told me that he had
been bled one hundred and sixty times, mostly by his own
hand.

The amount of blood which he would take at a time
from his spare and almost emaciated frame was positively
horrifying. On this occasion he lost twenty- five ounces
of blood, and next morning took twenty grains of jalap,
mixed with ten grains of calomel. It was no wonder that
the vampire bat of Guiana would never bite him, though
he left his foot invitingly out of the hammock in order to
attract it. He used to complain that the bat never could
be induced to bleed him, though it would attack a man
lying in the next hammock ; but he might have antici-

Danqers
of cliffs.

Lancet and
Calomel.

Vampire.

28

BIOGRAPHY.

Broken
, glass.

Barefoot
walk to
Borne.

pated that the vampire would know Better than to try to
suck Blood from a man who was constantly bleeding
himself.

Besides these accidents By water, he twice suffered
severe injuries when travelling By land.

In 1818, while returning over Mount Cenis, he fancied
that the Baggage on the top of the carriage was loose, and
mounted on the wheel to examine it. Unfortunately his left
knee Broke the window, and two large pieces of glass ran
into it just above the knee-joint. In spite of the darkness,
he contrived to get out the two pieces of glass, bound up
the wound with his cravat, cut off his coat pocket, and had
it filled with poultice at the nearest house, and, although
repeatedly attacked with fever, he reached Paris and there
gained strength to return to England. The knee remained
stiff for two years, But By continual exercise without the
aid of a walking-stick, the limb recovered its normal flexi¬
bility.

The next accident might have Been nearly as serious,
and is here given in his own words : —

“ I had a little adventure on the road from Baccano to
Pome not worth relating, But which I deem necessary to
Be introduced here in order that some of my friends in
the latter city, and others in England, may not give me
credit for an affair which deserves no credit at all. These
good friends had got it into their heads that I had reached
Pome after walking Barefoot for nearly twenty miles, in
order to show my respect and reverence for the sacred
capital of the Christian world. Would that my motive
had Been as pure as represented. The sanctity of the
churches, the remains of holy martyrs which enrich them,
the relics of canonised saints placed in such profusion
throughout them, might well induce a Catholic traveller
to adopt this easy and simple mode of showing his religious

BIOGRAPHY.

29

feeling. But, unfortunatelp, the idea never entered my
mind at the time. I had no other motives than those of
easy walking and self-enjoyment. The affair which caused
the talk took place as follows : —

“ We had arrived at Baccano in the evening, and whilst Baccano.
we were at tea, I proposed to our excellent friend Mr.
Fletcher, who had joined us at Cologne, that we should
leave the inn at four the next morning on foot to Borne,
and secure lodgings for the ladies, who would follow us
in the carriage after a nine-o’clock breakfast. Having-
been accustomed to go without shoes month after month
in the rugged forests of Guiana, I took it for granted that
I could do the same on the pavement of his Holiness Pope
Gregory the Sixteenth, never once reflecting that some
fifteen years had elapsed from the time that I could go
barefooted with comfort and impunity ; during the interval,
however, the sequel will show that the soles of my feet had
undergone a considerable alteration.

“We rose at three the morning after, and having put a
shoe and a sock or half-stocking into each pocket of my
coat, we left the inn at Baccano for Borne just as the hands
of our watches pointed to the hour of four. Mr. Fletcher,
having been born in North Britain, ran no risk of injuring
his feet by an act of imprudence. The sky was cloudless
and the morning frosty, and the planet Venus shone upon
us as though she had been a little moon.

“ Whether the severity of the frost, which was more than
commonly keen, or the hardness of the pavement, or perhaps
both conjoined, had deprived my feet of sensibility, I had
no means of ascertaining ; but this is certain, I went on Wounded
merrily for several miles without a suspicion of anything f°°tm
being wrong, until we halted to admire more particularly
the transcendent splendour of the morning planet, and then
I saw blood on the pavement ; my right foot was bleeding

30

BIOGRAPHY.

Repairing

damages.

Accident

while

shooting.

apace, and, on turning the sole uppermost, I perceived a
piece of jagged flesh hanging by a string. Seeing that
there would be no chance of replacing the damaged part
with success, I twisted it off, and then took a survey of
the foot by the light which the stars afforded.

“Mr. Fletcher, horror-struck at what he saw, proposed
immediately that I should sit down by the side of the road,
and there wait for the carriage, or take advantage of any
vehicle which might come up. Aware that the pain would
be excessive so soon as the lacerated parts would become
stiff by inaction, I resolved at once to push on to Rome,
wherefore, putting one shoe on the sound foot, which, by
the way, had two unbroken blisters on it, I forced the
wounded one into the other, and off we started for Rome,
which we reached after a very uncomfortable walk. The
injured foot had two months’ confinement to the sofa before
the damage was repaired.

“It was this unfortunate adventure which gave rise to
the story of my walking barefooted into Rome, and which
gained me a reputation by no means merited on my part.”

Two more serious accidents occurred within his own
domains.

lie was out shooting in 1824, when the gun exploded
just as he was ramming the wad on the powder. For¬
tunately the charge of shot had not been put into the gun.
As it was, the ramrod was driven completely through the
forefinger of the right hand, between the knuckle and first
joint, severing the tendons, but not breaking the bone,
though the ignited wadding and powder followed the
ramrod through the wound. He procured some warm water
at a neighbouring house, washed the wound quite clean,
replaced the tendons in their proper positions, and bound
up the finger, taking care to give it its proper form.

Of course the lancet was used freely, and by dint of

BIOGRAPHY.

31

poulticing and constant care, tlie full use of the huger was
restored.

The other accident might have caused his death on the
spot, and was a far more severe one than that by which he
afterwards lost his life.

In 1850, he being then in his sixty-ninth year, he was
mounted on a ladder for the purpose of pruning the branches
of a pear-tree. The ladder, which was merely propped
against a machine of his own invention, slipped sideways,
and came to the ground, Waterton having fallen nearly
twenty feet.

He had been repeatedly warned that the machine, not
having side stays, must fall if the weight were thrown on
one side. But he still persisted in using it, although,
shortly before the accident, his son had left the spot,
saying that he could not be responsible for an accident
which he foresaw but could not prevent. He was partially
stunned, and his arm greatly injured, the heavy ladder and
machine having fallen into the hollow and smashed the
elbow-joint.

His first act on recovering himself was to use his lancet
and take away thirty ounces of blood. Unfortunately a
second accident happened almost immediately after the
first, a servant having thoughtlessly withdrawn a chair
just as he was seating himself, and so causing a second
shock, and the loss of thirty ounces more blood.

For some time, he lay insensible and was apparently
dying fast, but his iron constitution at length prevailed,
and he was restored to life, though not to health. The
injured arm was gradually dwindling in size, and gave
continual pain, causing loss of sleep and appetite. He
had at last resolved on having the arm amputated, when
his gamekeeper advised him to try a certain bone-setter
living at Wakefield, who was celebrated for his cures.

Fall while
pruning.

A second
fall.

32

BIOGRAPHY.

The Bone
setter.

Painful

operation.

Marriage.

Princess

Minda.

Waterton took his advice and sent for the practitioner,
Mr. J. Crowtlier, who decided that he could cure the in¬
jured limb, but at the expense of great pain. The wrist
was much injured, a callus had formed in the elbow-joint,
and the shoulder was partially dislocated. After a time
spent in rubbing, pulling, and twisting, he got the shoulder
and wrist into their places, and then, grasping the arm
“just above the elbow with one hand, and below it with
the other, he smashed to atoms, by main force, the callus
which had formed in the dislocated joint, the elbow itself
cracking as though the interior parts of it had consisted of
tobacco-pipe shanks.”

The process w7as rough, and gave inexpressible pain, but
it was effectual, sleep and appetite returned, and health was
soon restored.

From this accident Waterton drew a characteristic warn¬
ing, namely, never to use ladders when climbing trees.

One, if not the principal reason of his cessation from
tropical explorations, was his marriage. In 1829, he
married Anne, a daughter of the Charles Edmonstone
of Demerara, who is often mentioned in the Wanderings
as a kind and true friend.

His marriage has a curiously romantic history.

Mr. Charles Edmonstone, one of the Edinonstones of
Broich in Scotland, had previously gone to Demerara,
where he met a fellow-countryman, William Beid of
Banffshire, who had settled there, and had married Minda
(generally called Princess Minda), daughter of an Arowak
chief. Charles Edmonstone married Helen, daughter of
William Beid and Minda, and they had several children,
one of whom, Anne Mary, became the wife of Waterton.
He met her in Demerara, while she was yet a child, and
made up his mind that she should be his wife.

Mr. Edmonstone afterwards returned w7ith his familv to

«/

BIOGRAPHY.

Scotland, and purchased Cardross Park, an old family
estate that had formed a. portion of the dower of one of
his royal ancestors ; Sir John Edmonstone, who married
the Princess Isabel, daughter of Robert II. of Scotland ;
and Sir William Edmonstone his son, who married his
cousin, the Princess Mary, daughter of Robert III.

Through this branch, Edmund Waterton, the present head
of the family, is descended lineally from Leofric and Godiva,
whose romantic legend is, I regret to say, wholly a myth.
It was impossible that she could have ridden through
Coventry, for the same reason that, according to the old
song, prevented Guy Faux from crossing Yauxhall Bridge
on his way “ to perpetrate his guilt.” Coventry was not
in existence at the time.

There is, however, some foundation for the legend.
Godiva was a lady possessing vast wealth, with which
she determined to found and endow an abbey. This she
did, “ stripping herself of all that she had,” and thence
the legend. Coventry gradually arose round the abbey,
and had no streets, and consequently no tolls, until Godiva
had been dead at least a century.

On the death of Charles Edmonstone and his wife, their
three daughters, Eliza, Anne Mary, and Helen, were sent
to the well-known convent of Bruges, for the purpose of
completing their education, and, in the Convent Church,
Waterton was married to Anne, on May 11, 1829, she
being then only seventeen, and he forty-eight. There is
an old Scotch proverb to the effect that a bride of one
May will never see a second. It was but too true in this
case, for Anne Mary Waterton died on April 27, 1880,
twenty-one days after giving birth to a son.

Through him it is to be hoped that a line so interwoven
with ancient history, and so prominent in modern times,
will not be broken, lie married Josephine, second daughter

D

Cardross

Park.

Godiva.

The con¬
vert, of
Bri/r/rs.

Death of
Avne
Waterton.

BIOGRAPHY.

O 4

O 1

Edmund

Waterton.

of Sir John Ennis, Bart., of Ballinaliown Court, Co. West¬
meath, Ireland. He has issue, — Two sons, Charles Edmund,
now a student at Stonyhurst, and Thomas More. Eour
daughters, Mary, Agnes, Amabil (who died a few months
after her birth), and Josephine.

Waterton could never bear to speak of his wife, but he
needed help in the care of his infant son. For this purpose,
he asked her two sisters, the Misses Eliza and Helen Ed-
inonstone to take up their abode with him. This they did
to the hour of his death, and he often wrote with affec¬
tionate gratitude of their devotion to him.

He yearned to go back again to the wilds of Guiana, but
considered that his child had prior claims upon him, and
so, according to his invariable custom, he sacrificed in¬
clination to duty.

CHAPTER III.

Magnificence and money. — Water ton’s mode of life and personal expenses.
— Sleeping on planks. — His visits to the chapel. — The “ morning gun. ”
— The razor and the lancet — Reduction pf the family estates. — His
work at AValton Hall. — Hatm-al advantages of the place. — The wall
and its cost. — Bargees and their guns. — Instinct of the herons. — Herons
and fish-ponds. — Drainage of the ponds. — The moat extended into a
lake. — Old Gateway and Ivy-Tower. — Siege by Oliver Cromwell. —
Tradition of a musket-ball.— Draw-bridge and gateway in the olden
times. — Tradition of a cannon-ball. — Both ball and cannon discovered.
— Sunken plate and weapons. — Echo at Walton Hall. — West view of
lake. — How to strengthen a bank. — Pike-catching. — Cats and pike. —
Spot where Waterton fell.

Waterton at home, and, what a home !

It was not magnificent in the ordinary sense of the word.
Such magnificence may be the result of mere wealth, with¬
out either taste, imagination, or appreciation. The veriest
boor in existence, who happens by some turn of fortune to
be put in possession of enormous wealth, need only give
the word, and he may revel in more than royal
magnificence.

As for the house itself, no expenditure could give it the
least pretence to beauty or stateliness. It is one of the
worst specimens of the worst era of architecture, and is
nothing but a stone box perforated with rows of oblong
holes by way of windows.

I tried on all sides to obtain a view of it which would
soften down its ugliness, but could not succeed, The

d 2

At home.

Walton

Hall.

BIOGRAPHY.

The old
house.

front of the house is, strange to say, the worst part of it,
being a flat, smooth, stone wall, with three rows of oblong
windows, eight in a row. The only specimen of architec¬
ture which could approach it in this respect is a work-
house of the same date, those of modern times being
infinitely superior in architectural effect.

Why the grand old house should have been pulled down
to make way for such an edifice is quite inexplicable.

WAI.ION HALI., FKOM THE LAKE.

Very few houses will be found with an oak-panelled hall
ninety feet in length. Yet all this was destroyed ; part of
the oak-panelling was used in building a pigeon-house, and
the rest was burned. Such was the state of architecture
in the days “ when George the Third was king.”

Unfortunately, no paintings or engravings of this most
memorable house are in existence, though there are in¬
numerable plates of the “ Seats of the Nobility and

BIOGRAPHY.

.37

Gentry/’ most of them in the style satirized by Hogarth
in his “ Marriage a la Mode.”

In fact, the architecture of that era is on a par with the
classical costumes of the stage. I have possessed for
many years a volume of Shakspeare in which there is a
portrait of an actor in the part of Troilus. He is
classically costumed as a Trojan in a tight scale cuirass,
a short cloak, knee breeches and silk stockings, Roman
buskins, a tie wig, a helmet witli a vast plume of ostrich
feathers, and he is bidding defiance to Diomedes with a
toy Moorish sword which would hardly cut off the head
of a wax doll.

So if Waterton had desired architectural magnificence,
he could not have obtained it, except by pulling the
house down, and building another. But, he had no taste
for such magnificence, his life being one of rigid, not to say
severe, simplicity.

His personal expenses were such as could have been
covered by the wages of one of the labourers on his own
estate. His single room had neither bed nor carpet. He
always lay on the bare boards with a blanket wrapped
round him, and with an oaken block by way of a pillow.
As has been mentioned, he never touched fermented liquids
of any kind, and he took but very little meat.

When I knew him, he always retired to his room
at 8 p.m. Few men of his age would have chosen a
room at the very top of a large house ; but stairs wmre
nothing to Waterton, whose limbs were strengthened by
perpetual tree climbing. Punctually at three a.m., being
roused by the crowing of a huge Cochin China cock, which
he called his * morning gun,’ he rose from his plank couch,
lighted his fire, lay down for half an hour, and was always
dressed and closely, or as he called it, ‘ clean ’ shaven, by
four, when he vrent into the private chapel which was

Architec¬
ture and
the stage.

Simplicity
of life.

The

morning

gun.'

38

BIOGRAPHY.

next door to liis room, and where he usually spent an hour
in prayer.

Razor and 1 had several friendly altercations with him upon shav-
k ing, but he would as soon give up the lancet as the razor.
He would not even wear a particle of whisker, and kept
his thick, snowy hair within half an inch of length. He
had not lost a hair, in spite of his advanced age, and I have
often thought that if he had allowed his hair and beard to
grow to their full luxuriance, a nobler figure could not have
visited an artist’s dreams.

Then came reading Latin and Spanish books (Don
Quixote being always one), and then writing, receiving
bailiff’s report, &c., until eight, when, at the stroke of Sir
Thomas More’s clock, breakfast was served. So, he had
done a fair day’s work and finished breakfast at the time
when most persons of his position in life had scarcely awoke.

In the next place, he was not a rich man.

Diminu- As a rule, the old Yorkshire families are wealthy, and

U07est°ate! 16 the Watertons would have been among the wealthiest of
them, but for the shameful oppressions to which they were
subjected. That most accomplished robber, Henry YI II.,
had confiscated the greater part of the estates, and what
with direct robberies, double taxation, fines, and so forth,
the estates wrere terribly reduced when he came into pos¬
session of them. Even if he had wished it, magnificence
would not have been attainable, but he achieved more
than magnificence, and with the restricted means at his
command, converted a Yorkshire valley into a veritable
wonder-land.

In this congenial task he was favoured by circumstances
which are not likely to occur again. He possessed the
requisite knowledge, a constitution of iron, and a frame of
astonishing endurance and activity. He came into pos¬
session of the estate as a very young man, only twenty-

BIOGRAPHY.

30

four years of age, and remained absolute master for nearly
sixty years.

It was a pity that be did not bestow as much pains on
his estate as on his birds. But lie was no practical
agriculturist as his father had been. He could not do
anything which looked like oppressing his tenants, and
the consequence was, that they were habitually in heavy
arrears, and often threw up their farms without paying
rent, having impoverished the land and enriched them¬
selves.

He loved natural history in all its forms, but his chief
pursuit was the study of bird-life, and he modified the
grounds to the use of the birds, caring much more for their
comfort than his own. For this purpose the grounds were
admirably adapted by Nature, and he aided her by art.
There were a large moat and a succession of ponds for the
accommodation ‘of aquatic birds. There were swampy
places where the birds could feed. There were ruined edifices
for such birds as chose them for a residence, and the whole
of the park was covered with stately trees. Moreover, the
house stood on a stone island in the moat, and, as may be
seen from the illustration on page 36, permitted the habits
of the water-birds to be closely watched.

The first need was obviously to allow the birds to be un¬
disturbed by boys and other intruders, and to prohibit the
firing of guns — the only sound which birds seem instinc¬
tively to dread. But, as there was a public pathway run¬
ning in front of the house, he had great difficulty in
obtaining permission to close it. This object, however,
was at last attained, and he then began his wall. It is of
a roughly circular form, the house being near the centre.
Nowhere is it less than eight feet high, and where it runs
along the canal, it is more than double that height, in order
to protect the birds from the guns of bargees.

Birds

versus

rental.

The Park
wall.

40

BIOGRAPHY.

Barges. These men, by the way, used to be most determined
poachers, and, on account of their mode of life, even if
detected and chased, they could escape by means of their
barges. They were chary, however, of venturing inside a
sixteen feet wall, and after a while ceased from troubling.
Such a work was necessarily very expensive, costing at
least ten thousand pounds. It was too large a sum to be
paid at once, and AVaterton would not run in debt. So,
every year, he put aside as much money as could be spared
for the wall, went on building until the money was ex¬
pended, and then stopped the work, and waited until the
following year to continue ik The wall was three miles in
total length, and inclosed an area of two hundred and
fifty-nine acres.

The value of this wall was shown by the fact that the
Heronry, very year after it was finished the herons came and estab¬
lished themselves within it. At my last visit in 1863,
there were nearly forty nests.

Ilow should they know that a wall could protect them
against man ? It was no obstacle to them, and how they
could have known, as they evidently did, that it was an
obstacle to mankind is one of the yet unsolved problems
which puzzle students of zoology. Moreover, they knew
that those few specimens of humanity who came within
the wall would do them no harm. I have often been in
the heronry, with the blue fragments of broken eggs lying
on the ground, and seen the herons going to and from their
home with perfect unconcern. Even on the ground, the
herons had no fear of man. Provided that a man ap¬
proached them slowly and quietly, he could come close
enough to see their eyes, and even to notice the reflection
of the rippling water upon their grey plumage.

Hot only in the heronry, but in other parts of the park
near the water, the birds would allow themselves to be

BIOGRAPHY

41

approached quite closely, so that their peculiar habits Tameness
could j he watched. I was able to secure slight sketches Ucrons-
of the characteristic, and almost grotesque attitudes as¬
sumed by the heron, and have selected three as examples.

Fig. 1 shows the bird in a position which, in common
with the flamingo, stork, and other long-legged wading
birds, it is fond of assuming. It doubles its legs under
the body, thrusts the feet forward, sinks its head upon its
shoulders, so as to conceal the long neck, and remains
so motionless and so unlike a heron that it might easily
be passed without notice.

Fig. 2 shows the heron standing on one leg at rest. By
moving cautiously round the bird, I succeeded in getting a
back view, so as to show the perfect balance of the body
on the single leg (Fig. 3).

Waterton had a special love for the heron, and frequently
alludes to the services which it renders to the owners of
fish-ponds.

‘‘Formerly we had a range of fish-ponds here, one Old fish-
above the other, covering a space of about three acres of ^ond‘>'
ground. Close by them ran a brook, from which the water-
rats made regular passages through the intervening bank
into the ponds. These vermin were engaged in never-
ceasing mischief. No sooner was one hole repaired than Water-
another was made ; so that we had the mortification to see rafs ■

42

BIOGRAPHY.

Value of
heron .

the ponds generally eight or ten inches below water-mark.
This encouraged the growth of weeds to a most incommo-
dious extent, which at last put an end to all pleasure in
fishing. Finding that the f green mantle from the standing
pool ’ was neither useful nor pleasant, 1 ordered the ponds
to be drained, and a plantation to be made in the space of
ground which they had occupied.

“ Had I known as much then as I know now of the
valuable services of the heron, and had there been a good
heronry near the place, I should not have made the change.
The draining of the ponds did not seem to lessen the
number of rats in the brook ; but soon after the herons
had settled here to breed, the rats became extremely
scarce ; and now I rarely see one in the place, where
formerly I could observe numbers sitting on the stones at
the mouth of their holes, as soon as the sun had gone
down below the horizon. I often watch the herons on the
banks of some other store-ponds with feelings of delight;
and nothing would grieve me more than to see the lives of
these valuable and ornamental birds sacrificed to the whims
and caprices of man.”

A portion of one of these now dry fish-ponds may be
seen in the illustration of the “ Grotto,” on page 68. On
such a rich soil as that afforded by the bed of an old fish¬
pond, the trees grew with great rapidity, and the spot is
now a singularly picturesque one, with bold effects of
light and shade, and shelter from the wind and sun.

The next important work was the extension of the moat,
a long and costly operation.

The present house is comparatively modern, standing well
clear of the water. But, the original house extended to
the water on the south side, and was a fortified building of
sufficient strength to justify a siege under Cromwell’s
personal direction.

BIOGRAPHY.

43

Unfortunately, Waterton’s father destroyed this historical
building to make room for the present house, and almost
the only relic of this fortification is the old gateway, with
its central towrer and flanking turrets, and said to he more
than a thousand years of age.

The gate itself is of very thick oak planking, pierced
with loopholes for musketry, and bearing tangible evidences

GATEWAY AND IVY TOWER.

of the siege in the shape of many bullet marks. In the left
portion of the gate there is a ball still remaining, which is
distinguished by an iron ring round it bearing an inscription
to the effect that it wras fired by Oliver Cromwell himself.
That he took an active part in the siege is v7ell known, but
it is difficult to identify anv individual bullet which he

The gate¬
way.

Oliver

Cromwell.

44

BIOGRAPHY.

Raising fired. The tradition further states that the shot was aimed
thc at the lady of the house, who gallantly conducted the
defence herself. The reader may be interested to hear
that her defence was successful.

The sketch, representing the Gateway in its present con¬
dition, was taken on the opposite side of the wrater, from a
spot close to the tall and lightning-shattered poplar-tree,
shown on the right hand of the illustration on p. 36.
The chief interest of this view lies in the gateway itself.
Just behind it is an odd-looking tow’er, which was built by
Waterton for the use of starlings, and the place is enclosed
on the north by a thick and closely-clipped hedge of yew.
The heavy masses of ivy which fall in thick clusters from
the turrets and which serve as a refuge for many birds,
have given to the structure the name of Ivy Tower, by
which it is often mentioned in the Essays.

While still very young, I was familiar with the Ivy
Tower from Waterton’s Essays. They mostly appeared in
Loudon’s Magazine of Natural History, and as that valu¬
able publication was taken in at the Ashmolean Society
of Oxford, where I lived, I used to watch impatiently for
each successive number, in the hope that it might contain
an article from Waterton’s pen. Thus, the gateway, the
lake, the heronry, the starling towers, the fallen millstone,
the shattered poplar, the holly hedges and the wooden
pheasants, were all known to me, and when at last I had
the privilege of visiting Walton Hall, there was not one of
those spots that I did not joyfully recognize.

Draw- In the old times, the only approach to the mainland was

bridge. . . .. ...

by a drawbridge, opening on to the gateway, which was
then three stories high. This has long been destroyed,
and at present the approach is made by a light iron bridge,
rather to the right of the gateway. This bridge is not
shown in the sketch.

BIOGRAPHY.

45

As to the siege, there are other reminiscences beside the
gateway itself.

While the soldiers of Cromwell were occupying the hill
nearly opposite the gateway, one of the soldiers started off
with a keg on his shoulder to fetch beer from the village.
Thinking that he would return by the same route, one of
the garrison aimed a little gun which was mounted on the
topmost story, so as to command the path. The soldier
did return by the same way, and was struck down by the
ball, which passed through his thigh.

The tradition of this lucky shot was handed down from
father to son, until it reached Waterton’s father. He had
the curiosity to dig at the spot where the man was said to
have fallen, and there he found the ball, a little iron one.
This he gave to his son, with a request that it should
always remain in the family.

In 1857, while dredging away the drift mud which had
accumulated round the gateway, a small iron cannon was
discovered. As the ball fitted it, and it was found exactly
below the turret from which the fatal shot had been fired,
there could be no doubt that it was the identical gun

O

CULYR1UN.

mentioned in the tradition ; so Waterton had the pleasure
of placing the cannon and the ball together in his house,
where every visitor could see them.

Beside the gun, there were found a sword-blade, a spear,
daggers, axe, many coins, keys, and some silver plate.
Bor their presence in the mud Waterton accounts by

A good
shot.

The hall.

The

cannon.

Sunken
•weapons
and plate.

46

BIOGRAPHY.

E^ho

Stone.

The

willow*.

suggesting that they were tiling into the moat, when the
house was ransacked for arms after the battle of Culloden.
He told me that he believed that if the lake were completely
drained, many more such articles would be recovered.

The view on page 3G is taken from a spot on the northern
bank. At some hundreds of yards distance from the house
there are a couple of splendid sycamores, and close to them
is a large block of ironstone, called the Echo Stone. Any
one standing by it, and speaking towards the house, will
hear every syllable returned with wonderful clearness.
Sitting on this stone, I made the sketch from which this
illustration is taken. On it is engraved the word echo.

On the western side of the gateway there had been a
curious old chapel formerly attached, to the mansion
Waterton, however, disliked it and took it down, against the
remonstrances of the then Duke of Norfolk, his godfather.

The lake is widest near the house, and then proceeds
almost due west, narrowing as it goes, and taking a turn
northwards towards the end, where it passes round a hill,
and becomes shallower, allowing the sedges and reeds to
appear, and so affording shelter for the aquatic birds.

Another view of the lake is now given, looking west¬
ward, and taken from the right-hand first floor window of
the house as seen on page 36.

On the ground-floor may be seen a large window, flanked
by a smaller one on either side. These are the west
windows of the drawing-room. The central window is a
large sheet of plate glass, and behind it is mounted a large
telescope, commanding nearly the whole of the lake.

On the left, before coming to the wood, are a few
willows, and between them and the wood is a favourite
resort of the herons. The low bank looks as if it would
be endangered by the water, but it is perfectly firm, even
to the very edge. It is made of large stones, not squared.

BIOGRAPHY.

47

but heaped loosely together. Seeds of various trees, espe¬
cially those of the sycamore, fell into the water, floated on
its surface, and were arrested by the bank, where they
took root. They were never allowed to grow into trees,
and were constantly cut down. But their roots twined
themselves among the stones, and bound them together
so firmlv, that a stronger wall could not be desired.

LA K E , LOO K J NO W EST W A HD.

The holes under these stones are favourite resorts of
pike, with which the lake abounds.

I am no angler, but I have caught many pike near the
willows by trolling, using nothing but a willow stick by
way of rod, a hank of whipcord for a line, a gorge hook,
and a minnow for bait. The largest that 1 ever took there
weighed rather over ten pounds, and very proud I was of
the fish, though it was a heavy and inconvenient article to
carry to the house.

Some of the pike, including the ten -pounder, were for

Water-

wall.

Pike.

48

BIOGRAPHY.

Cat

feeding.

The fatal
spot.

the table, but the fish were generally used for the purpose
of feeding the cats, of which there were many about the
stables and cattle-yards, for the purpose of keeping down
the rats. It is now well known that a well-fed cat is the
best mouser, seldom eating its prey, but killing it for the
mere sport.

When the cats were fed, the fish were chopped up on a
wooden block near the stables. It was very amusing to
watch the operation. Although at first not a cat might be
visible, half a dozen blows had not been struck with the
chopper before impatient cries were heard, and cats came
swarming round the block, just as they do round a cat’s-
meat man’s barrow in London.

On the right, just above the tall tree near the edge of
the lake, a heron is seen flying in the distance. It was
near the bank at the further end of the lake that Waterton
met with his fatal accident at a spot nearly below the
flying heron.

CHAPTER IV.

Love of trees. — Preservation of damaged trees. — How trees perish. — Wind
and rain. — Self-restorative powers of the bark. — Hidden foes. — The
fungus and its work. — Use of the woodpecker and titmouse. — How to
utilize tree-stumps. — The Cole Titmouse. — Owl-house and seat.— Dry-
rot. — When to paint timber. — Oaken gates of the old tower. — Com¬
mand over trees. — How to make the holly grow quickly— The holly as
a hedge-tree— Pheasant fortresses. — Artificial pheasants. —The poachers
outwitted. — Waterton’s power of tree-climbing. — An aerial study. —
Ascending and descending trees. — Church and State trees. — The yew.
— A protection against cold winds. — Yew hedge at back of gateway. —
The Starling Tower. — Familiarity of the birds. — The Picnic or Grotto.
— Waterton’s hospitality. — “The Squire” — A decayed mill and aban¬
doned stone. — The stone lifted oil the ground by a hazel nut.

Waterton’s love of trees almost amounted to veneration.
He studied their ways as minutely and as accurately as lie
did those of the animal world, and in consequence he could
do more with trees than any one else. By patient observa¬
tion of their modes of growth, he knew how to plant them
in the locality best suited for themselves, how to encourage
them, and, if they were injured, to reduce their damage to
a minimum.

Many a fine tree has he shown me which would have
been long ago condemned by ignorant men, but which was
then flourishing in full growth, and in such renewed health
that scarcely a scar was left in the bark to show the spot
on which the injury had occurred.

One of his triumphs in this art was to be seen by a
splendid poplar situated nearly opposite the picturesque

E

Lore of
trees.

50

BIOGRAPHY

Healing
a poplar.

Tree

climbing.

gateway, and especially favoured by Waterton as having
been planted by liis father. It was twice struck by light¬
ning, and the trunk split open for many feet.

However, Waterton filled up the breaches, and in course
of time the tree recovered itself (see p. 36). It was in
full growth during my last visit, but it was blown down
by a severe gale in 1869, having succumbed, not to the
lightning, but to age. To heal a tree by filling it with bricks
and mortar may appear to be rather a singular method, but
it is a very effectual one ; the chief object being to keep
rain out of the tree, and so to guard it against rotting.

How thoroughly Waterton had studied the ways of trees
may be seen from the following extract from his essay on
the Titmouse and the Woodpecker, in which he combated
the popular opinion that these birds were injurious to
trees

“ Would you inspect the nest of a carrion crow ? Brittle
are the living branches of the ash and sycamore; while,
on the contrary, those which are dead on the Scotch pine
are tough, and will support your weight. The arms of the
oak may safely be relied on ; but, I pray you, trust with
extreme caution those of the quick-growing alder. Neither
press heavily on the linden tree ; though you may ascend
the beech and the elm without any fear of danger. But
let us stop here for the present. On some future day,
should I be in a right frame for it, I may pen down a few
remarks, which will possibly be useful to the naturalist
when roving in quest of ornithological knowledge. I will
now confine myself to the misfortunes and diseases of
trees ; and I will show that neither the titmouse nor the
woodpecker ever bore into the hard and live wood.

“Trees, in general, are exposed to decay by two different
processes, independent of old age. The first is that of a broken
branch, which, when neglected, or not cut off close to the

BIOGRAPHY.

51

parent stem, will, in the course of time, bring utter ruin Decay of
on the tree. The new wood, which is annually formed, trccs'
cannot grow over the jutting and fractured part, into which
the rain enters, and gradually eats deeper and deeper, till
at last it reaches the trunk itself. There it makes sad
havoc ; and the tree, no longer able to resist the fury of
the tempest, is split asunder, and falls in ponderous ruins.

But ere it comes to this, the titmouse will enter the cavity
in a dry spring, and rear its young ones here. Now, if
the diseased or fractured branches were carefullv cut off
close to the bole, you would see the new accession of wood
gradually rolling over the flat surface, which, in time, would
be entirely covered by it ; and then the tree would be
freed for ever from all danger in that quarter. The second
process towards decay is exceedingly curious, and cannot
well be accounted for. If it takes place to a serious ex¬
tent, no art of man can possibly save the tree ; and sooner
or later, according to the magnitude of the disease with
which it has been tainted, it will fall before the force of
the raging winds. Should this disease be slight, the timely
prevention of rain from penetrating the injured part will
secure the tree from further mischief.

“ I must here observe that, in animated nature, the vital
functions are internal ; so that, if the part within be
mortally wounded, death is the inevitable consequence.

With most trees, and with all those of Britain, it is other¬
wise. Their vitality is at the periphery, connected with vitality of
the bark, under which an annual increase of wood takes thi lj(llL'
place, so long as the tree is alive. Should, however, the
bark be cut away, the tree will die upwards from the place
where all the bark has been destroyed. Not so with its
internal parts. lTou may entirely excavate the interior of
a tree ; and provided you leave a su fficient strength of wood
by way of wall, in order that it may be able to resist the

e 2

52

BIOGRAPHY.

fury of the tempest without, taking care at the same time
to exclude the rain, your tree will remain in vigour from
generation to generation.

“ The internal texture of a tree will perish without any
notice by which we may be forewarned of the coming ruin.
The disease which causes the destruction takes place in
the oak ; but more frequently in the sycamore, and most
commonly of all in the ash. AYe will select this last tree
by way of elucidation.

“ Often, when arrayed in all the bloom of vegetable
beauty, the ash-tree is seen to send forth from its bole, or
l\aal from some principal branch, a small fungus, which, during
fungus. pqe summer, increases to a considerable size. It ripens in
the autumn, and falls to the ground when winter’s rain
sets in. The bark through which this fungus sprouted is
now completely dead, though it still retains its colour; and
that part of the wood from which it proceeded is entirely
changed in its nature, the whole of its vitiated juices
having been expended in forming and nourishing the
fungus. Nothing remains of its once firm and vigorous
texture. It is become what is commonly called toucli-
wood, as soft and frangible as a piece of cork, which, when
set on fire, will burn like tinder. In the meantime, the
tree shows no sign of sickness, and its annual increase
goes on as usual, till at last the new swelling wood closes
over the part from which the fungus had grown, and all
appears to go on right again. But ere the slow process
arrives at this state the titmouse or the woodpecker will
have found an entrance and a place of safety for their in¬
cubation. They quickly perforate the distempered bark,
and then the tainted wood beneath it vields to their

1/

pointed bills, with which they soon effect a spacious
cavity.

“ Here, then, we have the whole mystery unfolded. These

BIOGRAPHY.

53

birds, which never perforate the live wood, find in this diseased
part of the tree, or of the branch, a place suitable to their
wants. They make a circular hole large enough to admit
their bodies, and then they form a cavity within sufficiently
spacious to contain their young. Thus does nature kindly
smooth the way in order that all her creatures may prosper
and be happy. Whenever I see these sylvan carpenters
thus employed I say to them, * Work on, ye pretty birds ;
you do no harm in excavating there. I am your friend,
and I will tell the owner of the tree that you are not to
blame. But his woodman deserves a severe reprimand.
He ought to have cut down the tree in the autumn, after
the appearance of the fungus.’ ”

Even when the tree was hopelessly destroyed by the
fungus, Waterton would still find uses for the stump. He
would clothe it with ivy so as to render it picturesque,
and he would manipulate it so that it should be a home
for birds.

Many of these stumps are in the grounds, and of them
I have selected one or two as examples.

The first shows the “brick and mortar ” system which
has already been mentioned. Several habitations for birds
are constructed in it, and the stone in front is intended to
aid the observer in looking into the nests. I tried to
sketch this stump so as not to make it look like a
grotesque human face. But exactness was the first con¬
sideration, and it is represented precisely as it was in 1863.

The second sketch was chosen because it represents one
of the fungus-visited ash-trees described by Waterton.

Tire tree has been broken off some ten feet from the
ground, at a spot weakened by a fungus. Of the tree itself
little remains except the broken stump and a few small
branches which still retain their leaves. Ivy has ascended

JFood-

peckers.

Tree

stumps.

Brick and
mortar.

Old ash.

54

BIOGRAPHY.

The Cole-
titmouse.

it, and is hanging in heavy clusters, so as to give the
fast-dying tree a verdure not its own. And, as the reader
may observe, two more masses of fungus are projecting
from the tree and extracting the life from its fibres.

decayed ash and brick.

Just above the upper fungus and on its right is a small
door, with a hole near the top, and this little door has
rather a curious history.

In the spot where the door is shown there is a fungus,
proving that the wood from which it has sprung was
decayed. Now, Waterton had for some time wanted the
Cole-titmouse to breed in his park, and, in accordance with
this notion, provided it with a home. First, he separated an
oblong piece of wood about an inch in thickness so as to
form a door. Next, he cut away the soft decayed wood
until he had formed a considerable cavity. He then

BIOGRAPHY.

T £
00

replaced the door, fastening it with two little hinges and
a hasp, and bored a hole in it about an inch in diameter.

In fulfilment of his expectations, the very bird which
he wanted soon discovered the locality, examined it care¬
fully, and then built in the chamber so thoughtfully provided

DECAYED ASH AND FUNGUS.

A

feathered

lodger.

for it. I was never at Walton Hall while the bird was
sitting, but have often seen the nest.

The last of these sketches represents a singularly in¬
genious combination of accommodation for man and bird
The trunk of an old oak-tree has been hollowed out, and
the interior is divided into two stories.

In the upper there are nesting-places for birds, especially
for owls, and in the lower there is a seat where the occu¬
pant can remain unseen. It is placed on the brow of the
hill which borders the lake, and is so arranged that not

BIOGRAPHY.

only can the observer watch from its shelter the habits of
Owl-house, the various aquatic beings which frequent the lake, but
can actually look into the nests built on the tops of lofty

OWL -HOUSE A STD SEAT.

trees without the birds suspecting that their movements
could be seen.

With regard to the decay of wood after it had been
felled, Waterton was not long in coming to the conclusion
that the dry-rot,” as it is oddly named, was caused not
so much by external moisture as by the natural sap of the
tree which had not been thoroughly expelled. When its
Dry-rot. juices have been completely dried and it is thoroughly
“ seasoned,” wood is as lasting as stone. We have in the
British Museum specimens of woodwork which, although
more than three thousand years have elapsed since the
trees were felled, are as sound as when they were first
carved. Waterton used to say that paint was the chief
cause of dry rot, especially when it was used to cover the
deficiencies of ill-seasoned wood, because it closed the
pores and did not allow the sap to escape. As a proof

BIOGRAPHY.

t-liat weather does not injure well-seasoned wood, he was
wont to point to certain posts, gates, and other articles
made of oak, which had never been painted, and which
had been in the open air for some seven hundred years,
and were perfectly sound. The oak doors of the gateway
are fully seven hundred years old. They are pierced and
torn with musket-balls, but are still free from decay.

When he had new doors made which would be exposed
to the weather he used every precaution to keep the wet
from lodging in them. No panels were seen on the outer
side, which was as smooth as it could be made. The
corners were bound with strong iron, painted before it was
put on.

No matter how well-seasoned the wood might be, if the
doors were made of deal, three years were allowed to
elapse before painting, while, if of oak, it was never
painted until six years had passed, and very often was not
painted at all. It is also found that if holes were bored
transversely into posts, so as to allow free entrance of air,
the dry-rot scarcely ever made its appearance. If modern
builders would act upon a knowledge of this fact they
would render our houses, roofs of buildings, &c., far more
enduring than they are at present.

Did we wish to show the wonderful command which
Waterton had over trees, we need only point to the holly-
trees in his park. The holly was a great favourite of his,
as it is very hardy when properly planted, possesses a
remarkable beauty of its own, affords shelter for birds in
winter as well as summer, and can be formed into a hedge
impenetrable to man and beast.

As to laurel hedges, Waterton never would plant them,
and he had found by experience that in ordinary hawthorn
hedges a bush would often die without any apparent

Paint.

Seasoned

wood.

The Holly.

Laurels.

58

BIOGRAPHY.

Forcing

holly.

Roots ancl
branches.

reason, leaving an unsightly gap which could not he filled
up. In most hands the holly is a slow-growing tree, but
Waterton made it grow with astonishing rapidity.

How he managed to “force ” the holly may be seen from
his own words.

“ People generally imagine that the holly is of tardy
growth. It may be so in ordinary cases, but means may
be adopted to make this plant increase with such effect as
to repay us amply for all our labour and expense.

“ Thus, let us dig the ground to a full yard in depth,
and plant the hollies during the last week of May, taking
care to puddle their roots well into the pulverized soil.
We shall find by the end of September that many of
the plants will have shot nearly a foot in length, and that
not one of them has failed, let the summer have been
never so dry.

“ Small plants, bought in a nursery, and placed in your
own garden for a couple of years, will be admirably
adapted for the purpose of transplanting. Had I been
aware in early life of this increasing growth of the holly,
it should have formed all my fences in lieu of haw-
thorn.”

I tried this plan with perfect success upon a stony and
ungrateful soil. The rationale of the process is, that
the young rootlets, which ought to be carefully spread by
the fingers, are able to draw nourishment rapidly from the
earth, and in consequence throw up branches in proportion.
Waterton advised me to cut down the young hollies at
first, and his advice was most valuable, although it cost
some pangs when followed.

I mentioned just now that a good holly hedge is imper¬
vious to man and beast. So it is ; and not even the rat,
stoat, weasel, or even that worst of poachers, the cat, can
get through it. True, they might push their way between

BIOGRAPHY.

59

the stems, but there is one obstacle which prevents them,
namely, that they cannot put their feet to the ground.

The holly is perpetually shedding its leaves, especially Prickly
in summer-time, in order to make way for the new leafage. Ican s-
The old leaves fall, become dry, and curl up, with their
sharp spikes projecting in all directions. These points,
sharp as needles, prick the feet of the prowling animals,
and so prevent them from passing.

Of this property Waterton took advantage. Like many
landed gentlemen he had a preserve of pheasants, and was Poachers.
consequently harassed by poachers. Xow he hated prosecu¬
tion, and always evaded it if possible. On one occasion,
for example, when eight men and a boy were captured on
Sunday morning, while trespassing in his rookery, he
released them on finding that they were tailors, saying that Ninth part
he could not think of prosecuting eight-ninths and a half ^ a mtm'
of a man.

So with the poachers in his preserves. He would not
expose them to be shot by keepers, nor would he pro¬
secute them if he could help himself, but he could circum¬
vent them, and did so effectually by means of the holly.

The preserves were situated at some distance from the
house, so that the poachers could make a rapid inroad and
carry off their booty before they could be seized. So
Waterton laid a deep scheme. First he planted near the
house, and just opposite his window, a clump of yews, on
which trees pheasants are fond of perching. Hext he sur¬
rounded them with a thick holly hedge, leaving only one Holly
little gap, which could be closed by a strong padlocked fortress-
gate. Then, leaving the trees to grow, he set about the
other preparations.

He made a number of wooden pheasants, and did it in
the simplest manner imaginable. He got some small
scaffolding poles and cut them diagonally into pieces about

60

BIOGRAPHY

Wooden as long as a pheasant’s body. A lath fastened to one end
pheasants. mac[e a capital tail, and all that was needed was to trim
the shoulder to the neck, and put a head on the other end,
a nail doing duty for a beak.

STRUCTURE OF WOODEN PHEASANT.

By the time that the trees had grown sufficiently for his
purpose he had made about a couple of hundred of dummy
pheasants. He then threw a few sacks full of beans
inside the holly hedge, and laid a train of beans into the
preserve. The birds, finding the beans on the ground,
naturally followed the trail, and reaching so abundant a
supply of food as they saw inside the hedge, llew over it
and feasted to their heart’s content. Then, not caring to
fly, after having gorged themselves, they settled for the
night in the yews.

Meanwhile the wooden pheasants were nailed on the
trees in the preserve, and so exactly did they resemble the
actual birds that in the dark no one could detect the
imposition. Even in daylight the dummy so closely re¬
presents the bird that a second glance is necessary in
order to make sure that it is only an imitation. The ac¬
companying sketch represents one of these dummies on
the outskirts of the preserve.

BIOGBAPHY.

61

The poachers were completely deceived, and Waterton Poachers
used to enjoy the reports of their guns, knowing that they outwitted-
were only wasting their shot upon the wooden images,

WOODEN PHEASANT IN TREE.

while the real birds were comfortably asleep under
his eye.

If the reader will refer to the illustration on page 36,
he will see that on the right hand, and near the poplar, is
a rather curious circular object. This represents the
pheasant fortress in question, and, although the small size
prohibits any detail, the general shape and appearance are
sufficiently shown. It will also be seen how close to the
house is the fortress, so as to be under the master’s e}’e.

lie made several more of these ingenious refuges, of
which other birds besides the pheasants took full ad¬
vantage.

There was not a tree in the park that Waterton did not Knowledge
know, and, if the smallest damage were done, he would °d trc6i!‘
be sure to find it out. One day I found the keeper much
disturbed, having discovered some shot in a tree trunk,
and being quite sure that he would lie called to account

G2

BIOGRAPHY.

Aerial

study.

Feats of
climbing.

for it. The man was right enough, for Waterton found the
shot, before many hours had passed, and the keeper had
to undergo a severe cross-examination.

O

blot only did he know the trees individually, and had
distinctive names for them, but there was scarcely one
which he had not climbed, and in the topmost branches
of which he had not sat, pursuing his favourite amuse-
ments of watching birds, and reading Horace or Virgil.
There are not many men who at the age of sixty would
have either the power or nerve to climb a tall tree, but
Waterton retained his powers of tree- climbing until his
death, and very shortly before his fatal accident had
ascended one of the largest trees in the park, he being
then in his eighty-third year.

Such a spot for study may seem a remarkable one, but
Waterton was never affected by heights, and the man
who had scrambled up the cross of St. Peter’s at Pome,
climbed the lightning conductor, and stood with one foot
on the head of the colossal angel of St. Angelo, was not
likely to be made giddy by the view from the top of an
oak-tree.

In part of his autobiography, Waterton mentions that
he climbed to the top of the conductor, and left his glove
on it, but he does not tell the sequel of the story.

All Rome rang with the exploit, which reached the ears
of the Pope, Pius ATII. Knowing that the glove would
spoil the conductor, he ordered it to be removed at once.
Not a man could be found in Rome whose nerves were
equal to such a task, and so Waterton had to repeat the
ascent and fetqli his glove down again, to the amusement
of his friends, and the delight of the populace.

No one could have given the advice in tree-climb iim
which is quoted on page 50, without having experienced
the comparative strength of the different trees. Perhaps

BIOGRAPHY.

the reader may not know that coming down a tree is a far
more difficult task than ascending it. In the latter case,
the climber can see his course, and note beforehand where
he shall place his hands and feet, while in descending he
has to trust partly to memory, and partly to touch.

It is easy enough, for example, to spring for a few inches
from a lower to a higher branch, but to drop those few
inches is a very nervous business. I have more than once
seen a climber ascend a tree very boldly, and then be so
frightened that he could not be induced to come down
without some one to guide his feet. The same rule holds
good with precipices, where a man can always ascend
where he has descended without jumping, but not vice
versa.

Even with trees, Waterton must needs have his joke.
All the important trees in the park had their names.
There were, for example, the Twelve Apostles standing in
a group, all starting from one root, the Eight Beatitudes,
the Seven Deadly Sins, &c. Then there were an oak and
a Scotch fir twined together, and going by the name of
Church and State (see p. G4).

Yew was one of Waterton’ s favourite trees, and he was
accustomed to say that it would be perfect if its leaves
were only furnished with spikes sharp enough to keep out
the cats, stoats, weasels, and his pet abhorrence, the brown
rat, which he always called the Hanoverian rat, and
stoutly believed was imported into England by the same
ship that brought William of Orange to our shores. 1
rather fancy that the Hanoverian origin of the brown rat
must have been one of Waterton’s early jokes, and that he
gradually came to consider it as a fact. The yew fur¬
nishes harborage for many birds, which after all do
not seem to suffer much from four-footed enemies. The

63

Climbing
and de¬
scending.

Names of
trees.

The Yew.

64

BIOGRAPHY.

Uses of the
yew.

well-known yew-hedge in the garden of Merton College,
Oxford, is full of little birds, though their domiciles are
not easily seen through the dense foliage.

Waterton made great use of this valuable tree, and
formed with it evergreen walls, impermeable to the north
wind, the one foe which he dreaded, and which seemed
quite to benumb him. I have seen him with his lips so

paralysed by the north wind that he could scarcely frame
a word. He spent most of his waking time out of doors,
and his yew hedges were a great advantage to him in
sheltering him from the north wind, and forming

O 7 O

pleasant nooks which received the cheering rays of the
southern sun.

He wrote as follows in his Essay on the Yew-tree : “ It

BIOGRAPHY.

65

lias already repaid me for the pains which I have taken in its
cultivation ; and when I resort to my usual evening stand, in
order to watch the flocks of sparrows, finches, and starlings,
whilst they are dropping in upon the neighbouring hollies,
I feel not the wintry blast, as the yew-trees, which are
close at hand, are to me a shield against its fury ; and in
fact, they offer me a protection little inferior to that of
the house itself.”

There is a magnificent crescent-shaped yew-hedge, which
partly surrounds the stables, and shuts them out from
sight so effectually, that no one could suspect their pre¬
sence unless informed of it. Another yew-liedge forms a
sort of wall behind the Ivy Tower, and aids in keeping it
quiet for the many birds which breed in it.

I have given the land view of the gateway (sometimes
called the “ Ivy Tower ” in the Essays) because it shows how
admirably Waterton adapted existing objects to his chief
pursuit at Walton Hall, namely, the cherishing of birds
and study of their habits.

The view is taken from the southern window of the guest-
chamber, and is one of the first objects that meets the
visitor’s eyes on rising in the morning.

One portion of this illustration requires notice. Just
above the yew-hedge may be seen a curious - looking
circular tower ; with a conical roof. This was built ex¬
pressly for the use of starlings, and is appropriately named
the Starling Tower. Many starlings found a home in the
Ivy Tower, but wishing to accommodate these birds still
further, Waterton built this tower for them, and a very
interesting structure it is, uniting several advantages.

In the first place, it is raised upon a smooth stone
pillar, on which rests a large circular, flattened stone,
considerably larger than the pillar. The object of this
arrangement is to keep out rats, the worst foes of the

Yew -

hedges.

Starling

Tower.

6G

BIOGRAPHY.

Cats and
Hats.

starling. Even the most active and sliarpest-clawed rat
could hardly climb up the pillar, and if it did, would
he stopped by the flat stone. In fact, this pillar and
stone are similar in design to the “staddles” on which
wheat-stacks ought to be built, if farmers wish to preserve
their grain. Cats are also foes to the starling, but the flat
stone is too high for most cats to reach by jumping, and if

GATEWAY — BACK VIEW.

they tried to do so, the upper surface of the stone is
made with a slope, and is so smooth, that the claws could
not retain their hold.

The tower is circular, and is built in regular layers of
stones. Each alternate stone is loose, and when pulled
out, discloses a chamber behind, to which the bird obtains
access by means of a channel cut in the corner of the
stone. The birds took possession of the tower at once,

BIOGRAPHY.

as well they might, and it is very interesting to remove Tameness
the stones and see the birds sitting on their eggs without 1!rrnUS
being in the least alarmed at the intrusion. In con-
sequence of the protection which they enjoy, the starlings
are to be found in great numbers around the house, and
will assemble on the lawn in front of the sitting-room
windows, where they feed without fear, notwithstanding

starling tower.

that they may be within a few yards of the window from
which they are being watched. A second tower was after¬
wards built and placed in another portion of the grounds.

The reader may remember that Waterton drained some
fish-ponds and planted them with trees, which grew with
great rapidity. By means of the ever-useful yew, various
sheltering-places were made in it, and there was a little
single-roomed cottage where Waterton could sit by a fire

88

BIOGRAPHY.

The in cold weather, and yet he able to watch the birds, for

Weasel's w]10Se benefit the door was always left open. This cottage
home. *

is not shown in the illustration, but on the right hand

is seen a heap of rough stones. These were piled up for

the benefit of the weasel, which loves such localities, and

is tolerably sure to take possession of them.

THE GROTTO.

The whole of this corner of the park goes by the general
The, Grotto, name of the “ Grotto,” on account of a cave which forms
part of it. In this beautiful place Waterton used to allow
parties to congregate, on the understanding that they
would do no injury, and, for their benefit, he had erected
swings, &c., among the trees. For this reason, the place
was often called the “ Ficnic,” and this name was used
indifferently with that of Grotto.

BIOGRAPHY.

69

“The Squire,” as he was invariably called, was, after his
usual fashion, too trustful when he thought that he was
doing a kindness to others. During his later years, the
privilege became shamefully abused, and when, after his
death, a party of picnic-makers set fire to the magnificent
yew hedge enclosing the stables, and destroyed a consider¬
able portion of it, his son took the opportunity of pro¬
hibiting picnics for the future.

By the way, Waterton was scarcely ever mentioned by
name, and just as the Duke of Wellington was known as
“the Duke,” so wras Waterton known far and wide as “ the
Squire.” Even his nearest relatives invariably addressed
him as " Squire,” and it would be perfectly possible for a
visitor to be at Walton Hall for a week and never hear the
name of Waterton.

To exhaust all the objects of interest within the park
wall would require a large volume, and space is valuable.
There are one or two, however, which ought not to be
passed over without notice, and one of them is figured in
the illustration on page 70.

In former days there had been a water-mill, but time,
which, as Waterton quaintly says, is “the great annihilator
of all human inventions saving taxation and the national
debt,” destroyed the mill, and nothing of it is left except
a single millstone, measuring between five and six feet in
diameter. “ The ground where the mill stood having been
converted into meadow, this stone lay there unnoticed and
unknown (save by the passing haymaker), from the period
of the mill’s dissolution to the autumn of the year 1813,
when one of our nut-eating wild animals, probably by
way of winter store, deposited a few nuts under its
protecting cover.

“ In the course of the following summer, a single nut,

Picnics.

“ The
Squire

Millstone.

70

BIOGRAPHY.

A young
nut 'plant.

Raising

millstone.

having escaped the teeth of the destroyer, sent up its
verdant shoot through the hole in the centre of the
procumbent millstone.

“ One day I pointed out this rising tree to a gentleman
who was standing by, and I said ( If this young plant
escape destruction, some time or other it will support the
millstone, and raise it from the ground. He seemed to
doubt this. In order, however, that the plant might have

nut-tkee and mill-stone.

a fair chance of success, I directed that it should be
defended from accident and harm by means of a wooden
paling.

“Year after year it increased in size and beauty, and
when its expansion had entirely filled up the hole in the
centre of the millstone, it gradually began to raise up the
millstone itself from the seat of its long repose. This

BIOGRAPHY.

71

huge mass of stone is now eight inches above the ground
and is entirely supported by the stem of the nut-tree,
which has risen to the height of twenty-live feet, and
bears excellent fruit.”

When I saw it in 1862, however, the tree had been dead
for some time, the millstone having evidently killed it, not
by its weight, but by preventing the flow of sap through
the bark. It would, of course, have been more picturesque
to have drawn the tree in a living state and of its full
height, but I thought it better to give it exactly as I
saw it. Mr. Edmund Waterton once told me that when
a boy he often climbed the tree in search of nuts, which
it then bore plentifully.

It is a most valuable object, inasmuch as it shows in a
striking manner-the tremendous powers of Nature, which are
continually being exerted, and which we, as a rule, do not
even suspect. The late Charles Kingsley mentions that he
has seen a large flat stone raised off the ground in a single 1
night by a crop of tiny mushrooms, and I quite lately saw
some weighty kerbstones in a crowded London thoroughfare,
which had been forced completely out of their places by
grass-blades which had grown between their junctions.

Death of
the tree.

Mush-
vonis and
grass.

CHAPTER V.

Dodges.

The Squire’s “dodges.” — The “cat-holes.” — The dove-cote. — Pigeon¬
shooting matches and mode of supplying the birds. — Waterton’s
pigeon-house, external and internal. — Pigeon-stealers baffled. — Ar¬
rangement of pigeon-holes. — Ladders not needed. — How to feed
pigeons economically. — Rats and mice in the garden. — The poison-
bowl and its safety. — Sunken mousetrap. — Gates and chains. — The
carriage-pond. — Waterton’s antipathy to scientific nomenclature. —
Advantage of such nomenclature as an assistant to science. — Popular
and local names — Colonists and their nomenclature. — Zoology gone
mad. — Complimentary nomenclature. — The fatal accident in the park.
— Waterton’s last moments and death. — The last voyage and funeral.
— Epitaph written by himself. — The new cross, and place of burial.

Now we must cast a glance at some of those ingenious
arrangements which I called “the Squire’s dodges” on first
seeing them.

There never was a place so full of ‘ dodges ’ as Walton
Hall. The Starling Tower, described on page 67, was one
of them, being so arranged as to keep out rats and cats.
Now, Waterton wished to make a place which cats could
enter, but would keep out rats, and he achieved his object
by remembering that cats and rats could both climb, but
that rats were no great jumpers.

As may be remembered, the flat stone of the starling
tower was just out of reach of a cat’s jump, which Water-
ton calculated at five feet for an ordinarily active cat. So
he had a large, smooth, flat stone let into the wall, and an
aperture made in it, which he called the “ cat’s hole.” It

BIOGRAPHY.

73

was just five feet from the ground, so that pussy could
jump into it, while the stone wTas made so smooth that no
rat could climb it.

Having securely protected the starlings by their towers,
and the pheasants by the holly fortress and wooden dum¬
mies — another dodge — he had to protect his pigeons.

He found that pigeons were stolen in great numbers,
and almost invariably for one purpose, namely, to supply
birds for pigeon-shooting matches, many of which took
place thirty or forty miles from the spot whence the birds
were stolen. Now, Waterton had a righteous indignation
against pigeon-shooting, and had an ingenious mode of
thwarting the thieves.

Their plan was to come at night, when the pigeons were
all at home, and throw a net over the ‘glover,’ i.e. the
opening at the top, through which the pigeons enter and
leave the cote. Then if they can force an entrance into
the cote they do so, but even if not, they frighten the birds
by knocking at the walls, and so drive them into the net.

Pigeon-houses, however, constructed like those at Walton
Hall, can set those nocturnal robbers at defiance. In the
first place, the house is so high that thieves could scarcely
find a ladder long enough to reach the roof, and then they
would need a second ladder to lay on the roof before they
could get at the glover. As to gaining admission by the
door, it is a] most impossible.

The building is in two storeys, the lower being for the
reception of tools, chains, and the other multifarious re¬
quirements of a farm. The rest of the building is intended
for the pigeons, and can only be approached by a door
some twenty feet from the ground. The door, which is
very strong, and bound with iron, fits flush into the wall,
so that there is no hold for a tool, and moreover, only one
man could work at a time, lie having nothing but a ladder

Cat's

Hole.

Pigeon-

house.

The Boor ,

I

74

BIOGRAPHY.

as a foothold. So much for the outside of the pigeon-
house.

Interior. If we wish to enter the building we must ascend to the
door by a ladder and unlock it. We then find ourselves
within a large and lofty chamber, well lighted and venti-

PIGEON-HOUSE.

lated, white-washed, and perfectly clean and neat. The
whole place is scraped and white- washed at least twice in
each year, November and February being recommended
for these operations.

The interior walls are most curiously constructed. Parallel
rows of pigeon-holes occupy each wall, aM beneath each
Hows of row is a ledge of brick. There are three rows of bricks
between the ledges, which are each one brick in width.
Twenty rows of nests occupy each wall. It is easy, there¬
fore, for a man, without the aid of a ladder, to traverse the
whole of the building, and to examine every nest as he
goes along the ledges. On an average, to search three rows
of holes occupies an hour. Waterton mentions in his Essay
on the Dovecot Pigeon that this single cote furnished in

BIOGRAPHY.

75

one season seventy-tliree dozens of young pigeons. There
is a stove, with flues in the building, but since it caught
fire by over-heating, and endangered the whole structure,
it has not been lighted.

There is another ‘ dodge ’ in feeding the pigeons. It
was found that when their food was thrown down in the
yard, the poultry, being stronger than the pigeons, drove
them away, and ate the food themselves. So Waterton
had a floor of close wattle-work laid under the roof of a
shed at some height from the ground. The food for the
pigeons was always thrown upon this floor, where the
pigeons could easily reach it, while it was too high for the
poultry.

Here are two more * dodges ’ intended for the preserva¬
tion of young peas, beans, &c., from the all-present rats
and mice.

Poisoned food is one effectual plan, but it must be so
laid that neither poultry nor game can get at it. This
object was attained by means of a poison-bowl, i.e. a
rounded bowl of earthenware, or even stone, through the
centre of which is a hole just large enough to admit a rat.

POISON-BOWL AND SECTION.

The use of the poison-bowl was simple enough. A spoon¬
ful of poisoned meal was laid on the ground, and the bowl
inverted over it. Eats could reach the meal by the hole,
and did so, but neither pheasants nor poultry could so
much as touch it with the tips of their beaks.

A section of the poison-bowl is given in the illustration
together with a view' of its upper surface.

Feeding

Pigeons.

Poison-

bowl.

76

BIOGRAPHY.

Mouse - Next comes a trap of great efficacy, but which answers

t,ap' better for mice than rats. It is simply an earthen or glass
jar, having its neck narrower than its shoulder, and buried
until its mouth is exactly level with the ground. The in¬
side of the shoulder is then rubbed with bacon fat — the
ranker the better — and the trap is set, with scarcely any
expenditure of bait.

The mice, prowling about in search of food, soon dis¬
cover the jar, being attracted by the smell of the bacon.

SUNKKN JAR.

They crane over the mouth, try to reach the savoury food,
and slip into the jar, from which there is no possibility of
escape.

Yet two more ‘ dodges,’ and we must leave the wonders
of Walton Hall.

Waterton found that when cattle were placed in con¬
tiguous fields connected by a gate, nothing could keep them
Cattle and away from that gate. They came and leant against it on
Gates, both sides, while they indulged in conversation after their
own manner, very much as their masters and mistresses
might do.

Now, the cattle which were in the field towards which
the gate opened did no harm to it, because as they leant
against it they only pressed against the posts. But the
weight of those on the opposite side came heavily upon
the catch and hinges, and sometimes even broke them
down.

BIOGRAPHY.

77

Waterton was much too kind-hearted to convert the Gate and
open gates into doors, and so to shut out the cattle from chcan'
social intercourse. So he suspended a stout chain on the
weak side, so that the cattle might lean against it and rest
upon the gate. As the chain was fastened by a staple at

GATK AND CilAIN.

one end, and hitched over a strong hook at the other, it
could easily be dropped when the gate had to be opened
for traffic, and replaced after it was shut.

The last ‘ dodge ’ which we can mention is that of the
carriage-pond. It was about four feet wider than an ordi¬
nary carriage, and edged with broad, flat stones. At each
end it sloped gradually downwards until in the centre it was
just deep enough to allow the water to reach rather above
the axletrees. When a carriage or a cart had to be Carriage
washed after being used it was gently wheeled into the Pond-
pond at one end, while men with brooms washed the
wheels as they turned. In the centre of the pond the
men had command over every part of the carriage, which
was then drawn gently out, the mops and brooms being
at work until it came upon level ground.

Horses could thus be washed as well as carts and car¬
riages, and very much they seemed to enjoy their bath.

It is impossible to conclude the memoir of this accom¬
plished naturalist without allusion to his rooted abhorrence
of scientific names. 1 do not think that this antipathy

78

BIOGRAPHY.

Scientific was justified. He was perfectly right in entering his
names • protest against the cumbrous pedantry which hade fair
to make science a mere question of memory for names,
and the language which he uses is not in the least too

o o

strong.

Perhaps I may be pardoned for inserting a passage from
one of my own works, written twenty years ago, and long
before I knew Waterton, so that the reader may see how
completely I sympathise with him.

“ Owing to the inordinate use of pseudo-classical phraseo¬
logy, the fascinating study of animal life has been too long
considered as a profession or a science restricted to a
favoured few, and interdicted to the many until they have
undergone a long apprenticeship to its preliminary formulae.
So deeply rooted is this idea, that the popular notion of a
scientific man is of one who possesses a fund of words,
and not of one who has gathered a mass of ideas. There
is really not the least reason why any one of ordinary
capabilities and moderate memory should not be acquainted
with the general outlines of Zoology, and possess some
knowledge of the representative animals, which serve as
types of each group, tribe, or family ; for when relieved
of the cumbersome diction with which it is embarrassed,
the study of animal life can be brought within the com¬
prehension of all who care to examine the myriad varieties
of form and colour with which the Almighty clothes His
living poems.

“ The true object of Zoology is not, as some appear to
fancy, to arrange, to number, and to ticket animals in a
formal inventory, but to make the study an inqhiry into
the life-nature, and not only an investigation of the lifeless
organism. I must not, however, be understood to disparage
the outward form, thing of clay though it be. For what
wondrous clay it is, and how marvellous the continuous

BIOGRAPHY.

miracle by which the dust of earth is transmuted into the
glowing colours and graceful forms which we most im¬
perfectly endeavour to preserve after the soul has separated
from them.”

But Waterton certainly erred in his persistent rejection
of scientific names, which form an universal language, and
are needed for the purpose of identifying the creatures whose
habits are being described. Even in England, there are
thousands of animals which have no popular names, nor are
likely to have them, and we are therefore driven to use the
names by which they are known to science all over the
world.

It is true that such names are often unintelligible,
especially to those who do not know Greek as well as
Latin, and the words Lopliophorus, Tachipetes, Pachy-
cephala, Ptilonorhynchus, Palaeornis, Meliphagidae, &c.,
which are selected by "Waterton as ‘ shocking examples,
certainly cannot be understood by persons who know
nothing of Greek or ornithology.

But the local words which he himself employs are far
less intelligible than the scientific terms. If a very
moderate Greek scholar were asked the meaning of these
words, he could at all events tell the inquirer that one
word referred to swiftness, another to the crest of the bird,
another to the size of its head, another to its fruit-eating
habits, and so forth, even though he should know nothing
of the birds themselves. But suppose the same inquirer to
have read the Wanderings, and to have asked the meaning
of Hannaquoi, Camoudi, Salempenta, Maroudi, Coulacanara,
Sakawinki, Wallababa, Houtou, Karabimiti, Sawari, &c., I
very much doubt whether one scholar in a thousand could
have given an answer. Consequently, the otherwise delight¬
ful Wanderings has been in many points a sealed book.

Sometimes the acceptance of local names is misleading

Popular

names.

Local

names.

80

BIOGRAPHY.

Misused

names.

Compli¬

mentary

nomencla¬

ture.

Last scenes.

as for example, when the jaguar is called ‘tiger’ (which
Waterton explains, using either term indifferently), or
when he applies the familiar name of chameleon to one of
the Anolis lizards, the chameleons being exclusively inha¬
bitants of the Old World. Similarly, in North America the
bison is called the buffalo, and the puma is termed the lion.
In Australia the nomenclature of the colonists looks like
Zoology gone mad. In that country, the mammalia are,
with one doubtful example, marsupials. Yet, we read of
the monkey, the bear, the wolf, the tiger, the cat, the rat,
the mouse, the badger, the jerboa, the hare, the sloth, the
mole, and the hedgehog, not one of these animals really
belonging to Australia. So, in these cases, unless we have
the scientific as well as the local names, whether native or
imported, we shall hud ourselves entirely bewildered.

With Waterton’s views concerning what he happily terms
‘ complimentary nomenclature,’ I unreservedly agree, and
have often written strongly on the subject. Waterton,
after noticing that in a single volume on birds, no less
than thirteen species have the names of men, makes the
following witty remarks.

“ In the plates to the first volume of his work, I find
that a hawk is called the ‘ Black Warrior,’ and that the
Latin name which he has given it is ‘ Falco Harlani.’
Pray, who or what is ‘ Harlani ’ ? A man, a mountain,
or a mud-flat? Is ‘Black Warrior’ a Negro of pug¬
nacious propensities ? ”

Now we come to the last scenes of Waterton’s life, for
which we are indebted to his friend Mr. N. Moore, who
was staying with him at the time. The full account may be
seen in the volume of Essays to which reference has been
made, and is well worth reading. Briefly, it is as follows.

He had gone, accompanied by Mr. Moore, to the further

BIOGRAPHY.

81

end of the park for the purpose of directing some carpen¬
ters, when he caught his foot in an overhanging bramble,
and fell, with his side upon a log. He knew at once the
extent of the injury, but contrived to reach the boat. On
arriving at the island, he walked to the house, changed his
clothes as usual, and, in spite of terrible pain, walked up
stairs without help. He would have gone on to his own
room at the top of the house, but consented to stop half
way, and lie on the sofa of Miss Edmonstone’s (his sister-
in-law’s) sitting room, for the sake of saving trouble to
others.

Here he died, and I must borrow Mr. Moore’s own
words.

“ The end was now at hand, and he died at twenty-
seven minutes past two in the morning of May 27, 1865.
The window was open. The sky was beginning to grow
grey, a few rooks had cawed, the swallows were twittering,
the landrail was craking from the Ox-close, and a favourite
cock, which he used to call his morning-gun, leaped out
from some hollies, and gave his accustomed crow. The
ear of his master was deaf to the call. He had obeyed a
sublimer summons, and had woke up to the glories of the
eternal world.”

So passed away Charles Waterton, a man who was,
perhaps, more thoroughly missed and more widely mourned
than any other of his time.

It is much to be regretted that he would never sit for
his portrait. As far as the head without the dress goes,
Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins’s bust gives a good idea of “ The
Squire,” but marble could not give his sweet, kindly smile,
or the animated expressions which flitted over his face as
he recurred to his former travels, or pointed out the many
wonders of the park and lake. A good painter might have
succeeded, provided that he knew Waterton thoroughly,

G

The fatal
fall.

Death.

Bust of
Waterton.

82

BIOGRAPHY.

and, for such a memorial, thousands who never saw him
would have been grateful.

The following- account of the funeral is taken from the
Illustrated London News of June 17, 1865.

Funeral. “ On the 3rd inst. (the anniversary of Mr. Waterton’s
birth) his remains were laid amidst the scenes he loved so
well. He had selected the spot, and left minute instruc¬
tions for the funeral ceremony, which commenced at nine
o’clock in the morning.

“The entrance-liall had been converted into a temporary
chapel, which was draped with black. Before the door, on
a catafalque, rested the coffin, of polished oak, with brass
inscription plates. Mr. Waterton was an eminent member
of the Boman Catholic Church, and fourteen priests took
part at his burial. First, ‘ the Office for the Dead ’ was
said, and then requiem high mass, the Bishop of Beverley
singing, Canon Walker assisting as Deacon, and the Bev.
Gf. Waterton as Sub-Deacon.

“ The invited guests having arrived soon after ten o’clock,
the coffin was borne in procession through the ancient
portcullis gate, accompanied by mourners and priests,
bearing tapers, and followed by Edmund Waterton, Esq.,
son of the deceased, and chief mourner. At the landing-
stairs the body was placed on a floating bier. Thence,
preceded by a barge, containing the Bishop and officiating
priests, chanting the office, and followed by mourners and
friends in attendant boats — Mr. Waterton’s own boat, un¬
occupied, bringing up the rear, — the author of the Wan¬
derings made his last voyage. The boats were all draped
with black, and boats containing the friends of the family
flanked the three central ones : the tenantry went by land.

“ At the head of the lake, beneath the shade of two
noble oaks, is the vault, into which the coffin having been
lowered, the mourners and others took their place, the

BIOGRAPHY.

83

Bisliop of Beverley at the head, the blessing of the grave
took place, and the ceremony terminated with the canticle
* Benedictus during which a linnet in one of the oaks
overhead joined its song to the chanting of the clergy.

And here, ‘ buried in silence, broken only by the cry of
the heron, and in a solitude almost as deep as that in
which he had lived so long in the swamps of the Orinoco
and the forests of the Amazon/ rest the remains of Charles
Waterton.

“ Eighty- three being his age, that number of aged
persons had been invited to attend at the funeral, and had
a dole, each a loaf of bread and sixpence, distributed to
them at the park gate.”

The very appropriate spot which received his remains
had been long fixed upon by him, but it was not until a
year before his death that he caused to be erected the
plain stone cross, the base of which bears the inscription
written by himself.

ORATE PRO ANIMA

CAEOLI WATERTON. Epitaph.

CUJUS FESSA
JUXTA HANC CRUCEM
SEPELIUNTUR OSSA.

Natus 1782. Ob'iit 1865.

The actual day of his birth was not known until June Birthday.
3, 1864, when lie asked the Misses Edmonstone to come
and see a new cross which he had put up between two
magnificent oaks near the head of the lake. There are
many crosses in different parts of the park. The most con¬
spicuous one is on the top of the Ivy Tower, and another
is on the wall of the Grotto, both of which are shown in
illustrations on pages 43, 66, 68. Another is upon a

G 2

BIOGRAPHY.

favourite resting-place nearly opposite the Gateway, but
there was a peculiar significance about this last cross.

“ He rowed his sisters-in-law,” writes Mr. Moore, “ in
his boat to the far end of the lake which surrounds AValton

The New Hall, and when they arrived at the spot, he told them he

Gross

intended to be buried there, and put his arms round the
cross. ‘ Squire,’ said Miss Edmonstone in Italian,, for
there was a man at work within hearing, ‘it is your birth¬
day.’ He smiled and bowed assent.” And on the 3rd of
June in the following year he was laid in the spot which
he had indicated.

The remains of his grandfather lie beneath an elm-tree
in another part of the park.

It is noteworthy that the spot where he fell is only a
The fatal stone’s-throw from the cross, and just half-way between it
sput" and the group of trees called the “ Twelve Apostles.” It
is now marked with a cross.

Originally, his son intended to build a memorial chapel
over the grave, but he afterwards, and rightly, relin¬
quished the intention, thinking that the plain stone cross
erected by Waterton himself, engraved with his own
simple inscription, was a more fitting memorial than any
chapel, however beautiful it might be.

[Note. — The Bust of Waterton has now been reproduced
with the dress according to his invariable costume. Copies
and Photographs may be procured from E. W. Wilson
Westgate House, Kirk-Dale, Sydenham.]

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA,

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST JOURNEY.

CHAPTER I.

- “ nec herba, nec latcns in asperis

Radix fefellit me locis.’’

Object of the Wanderings. — Demerara R. — Saba. — Toucan — Forest
trees. — Parasites. — Bush -rope. — Red monkey. — Wild animals. — Sloths
— Venomous snakes. — Lizards. — Bell -bird. — Houtou. — Insects. — Dog
poisoned with Wourali. — Falls. — Essequibo R. — Rapid decay. — Falls
of the Essequibo. — Macousliia. — A white recluse. — The Watermamma.
— A savage financier. — The Jabiru. — Ants' nests, — Fort St. Joachim.
— Lake Parima.

In the month of April, 1812, I left the town of Stabroek, first
to travel through the wilds of Demerara and Essequibo, a J0URNLY-
part of ci-devant Dutch Guiana, in South America.

The chief objects in view were to collect a quantity of Its object.
the strongest Wourali poison; and to reach the inland
frontier fort of Portuguese Guiana.

It would be a tedious journey for him who wishes to
travel through these wilds, to set out from Stabroek on
foot. The sun would exhaust him in his attempts to
wade through the swamps, and the Mosquitos at night
would deprive him of every hour of sleep.

88

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

.JOURNEY.

Face of the
country .

The road for horses runs parallel to the river, hut it
extends a very little way, and even ends before the
cultivation of the plantation ceases.

The only mode then that remains is to proceed by
water ; and when you come to the high lands, you may
make your way through the forest on foot, or continue
your route on the river.

After passing the third island in the river Demerara
there are few plantations to be seen, and those not joining
on to one another, but separated by large tracts of wood.

The Loo is the last where the Sugar-cane is growing.
The greater part of its negroes have just been ordered to
another estate ; and ere a few months shall have elapsed
all signs of cultivation will be lost in underwood.

Higher up stand the sugar-works of Amelia’s Waard,
solitary and abandoned ! and after passing these there is
not a ruin to inform the traveller that either coffee or
sugar have ever been cultivated.

From Amelia’s Waard an unbroken range of forest
covers each bank of the river, saving here and there
where a hut discovers itself, inhabited by free people of
colour, with a rood or two of barren ground about it ; or
wdiere the wood-cutter has erected himself a dwelling;, and
cleared a few acres for pasturage. Sometimes you see
level ground on each side of you for two or three hours
at a stretch ; at other times a gently sloping hill presents
itself; and often, on turning a point, the eye is pleased
with the contrast of an almost perpendicular height jutting
into the water. The trees put you in mind of an eternal
spring, with summer and autumn kindly blended into it.

Here you may see a sloping extent of noble trees, whose
foliage displays a charming variety of every shade, from
the lightest to the darkest green and purple. The tops of
some are crowned with bloom of the loveliest hue; while

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

80

the houghs of others bend with a profusion of seeds and
fruits.

Those whose heads have been bared by time, or blasted
by the thunder-storm, strike the eye, as a mournful sound
does the ear in music ; and seem to beckon to the senti¬
mental traveller to stop a moment or two, and see that the
forests which surround him, like men and kingdoms, have
their periods of misfortune and decay.

The first rocks of any considerable size that are ob¬
served on the side of the river are at a place called Saba,
from the Indian word, which means a stone. They appear
sloping down to the water’s edge, not shelvy, but smooth,
and their exuberances rounded off, and, in some places,
deeply furrowed, as though they had been worn with
continual floods of water.

There are patches of soil up and down, and the huge
stones amongst them produce a pleasing and novel effect.
You see a few Coffee-trees of a fine luxuriant growth; and
nearly on the top of Saba stands the house of the post¬
holder.

He is appointed by government to give in his report to
the protector of the Indians of what is going on amongst
them, and to prevent suspicious people from passing up
the river.

When the Indians assemble here the stranger may have
an opportunity of seeing the Aborigines dancing to the
sound of their country music, and painted in their native
style. They will shoot their arrows for him with an un¬
erring aim, and send the poisoned dart from the blow-pipe
true to its destination ; and here he may often view all
the different shades, from the red savage to the white man,
and from the white man to the sootiest son of Africa.

Beyond this post there are no more habitations of white
men, or free people of colour.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Rocks.

Residence
of the posfr
holder.

90

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Trees .

The Wild
Fig-tree.

Iii a country so extensively covered with wood as this
is, having exery advantage that a tropical sun and the
richest mould, in many places, can give to vegetation, it
is natural to look for trees of very large dimensions ; hut
it is rare to meet with them above six yards in circum¬
ference. If larger have ever existed, they have fallen a
sacrifice either to the axe or to fire.

If, however, they disappoint you in size, they make
ample amends in height. Heedless and bankrupt in all
curiosity must he be who can journey on without stopping
to take a view of the towering Mora. Its topmost branch,
when naked with age or dried by accident, is the favourite
resort of the Toucan. Many a time has this singular bird
felt the shot faintly strike him from the gun of the fowder
beneath, and owed his life to the distance betwixt them.

The trees which form these far-extending wilds are as
useful as they are ornamental. It would take a volume
of itself to describe them.

The Green-heart, famous for its hardness and durability;
the Hackea, for its toughness ; the Ducalabali, surpassing
mahogany ; the Ebony and Letter- wood, vying with the
choicest woods of the old world ; the Locust-tree, yielding
copal ; and the Hayawa and Olou-trees, furnishing a sweet¬
smelling resin, are all to be met with in the forest, betwixt
the plantations and the rock Saba.

Beyond this rock the country has been little explored ;
but it is very probable that these, and a vast collection of
other kinds, and possibly many new species, are scattered
up and down, in all directions, through the swamps and
hills, and savannas of ci-devant Dutch Guiana.

On viewing the stately trees around him the naturalist
will observe many of them bearing leaves, and blossoms,
and fruit, not their own.

The Wild Eig-tree, as large as a common English apple-

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

01

tree, often rears itself from one of the thick brandies at first
the top of the mora ; and when its fruit is ripe, to it the J0UllNEV-
birds resort for nourishment. It was to an undigested
seed, passing through the body of the bird which had
perched on the mora, that the fig-tree first owed its ele¬
vated station there. The sap of the mora raised it into full
bearing ; but now, in its turn, it is doomed to contribute a
portion of its own sap and juices towards the growth of
different species of vines, the seeds of which, also, the
birds deposited on its branches. These soon vegetate, and
bear fruit in great quantities ; so what with their usurpa¬
tion of the resources of the fig-tree, and the fig-tree of the
mora, the mora, unable to support a charge which nature
never intended it should, languishes and dies under its
burden ; and then the fig-tree, and its usurping progeny
of vines, receiving no more succour from their late foster¬
parent, droop and perish in their turn.

A vine, called the Bush-rope by the wood-cutters, on The Bush-
account of its use in hauling out the heaviest timber, has ropc'
a singular appearance in the forests of Demerara. Some¬
times you see it nearly as thick as a man’s body, twisted
like a corkscrew round the tallest trees, and rearing its
head high above their tops. At other times three or four
of them, like strands in a cable, join tree and tree and
branch and branch together. Others, descending from on
high, take root as soon as their extremity touches the
ground, and appear like shrouds and stays supporting
the mainmast of a line-of-battle ship ; while others,
sending out parallel, oblique, horizontal, and perpendi¬
cular shoots in all directions, put you in mind of what
travellers call a matted forest. Oftentimes a tree, above a
hundred feet high, uprooted by the whirlwind, is stopped
in its fall by these amazing cables of nature ; and hence
it is that you account for the phenomenon of seeing trees

92

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST
JOURNEY.

Soils.

Four-

footed

animals.

not only vegetating, but sending forth vigorous shoots,
though far from their perpendicular, and their trunks
inclined to every degree from the meridian to the
horizon.

Their heads remain firmly supported by the bush-rope ;
many of their roots soon refix themselves in the earth, and
frequently a strong shoot will sprout out perpendicularly
from near the root of the reclined trunk, and in time
become a fine tree. No grass grows under the trees; and
few weeds, except in the swamps.

The high grounds are pretty clear of underwood, and
with a cutlass to sever the small bush-ropes, it is not diffi¬
cult walking among the trees.

The soil, chiefly formed by the fallen leaves and decayed
trees, is very rich and fertile in the valleys. On the hills,
it is little better than sand. The rains seem to have car¬
ried away, and swept into the valleys, every particle which
nature intended to have formed a mould.

Four-footed animals are scarce, considering how very
thinly these forests are inhabited by men.

Several species of the animal, commonly called Tiger*
though in reality it approaches nearer to the leopard, are
found here ; and two of their diminutives, named Tiger-cats.
The Tapir, the Labba, and Deer, afford excellent food, and
chiefly frequent the swamps and low ground, near the sides
of the river and creeks.

In stating that four-footed animals are scarce, the Peccari
must be excepted. Three or four hundred of them herd
together, and traverse the wilds in all directions, in quest
of roots and fallen seeds. The Indians mostly shoot them
with poisoned arrows. When wounded, they run about
one hundred and fifty paces ; they then drop, and make
wholesome food.

The Pied Monkey, erroneously called the baboon, is heard

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

oftener than it is seen ; while the common Brown Monkey, FIRST
the Bisa, and Sacawinki, rove from tree to tree, and amuse J0URyEY-
the stranger as he journeys on.

A species of the Polecat, and another of the Pox, are
destructive to the Indian’s poultry; while the Opossum,
the Guana, and Salempenta, afford him a delicious morsel.

The small Ant-bear, and the large one, remarkable for his
long, broad, bushy tail, are sometimes seen on the tops of
the wood-ants’ nests ; the Armaclillas bore in the sand-hills,
like rabbits in a warren ; and the Porcupine is now and
then discovered in the trees over your head.

This, too, is the native country of the Sloth. His looks, The Sloth
his gestures, and his cries, all conspire to entreat you to
take pity on him. These are the only weapons of defence
which nature hath given him. While other animals as¬
semble in herds, or in pairs range through these boundless
wilds, the sloth is solitary, and almost stationary ; he can¬
not escape from you. It is said, his piteous moans make
the tiger relent, and turn out of the way. Do not then
level your gun at him, or pierce him with a poisoned arrow ;

— he has never hurt one living creature. A few leaves,
and those of the commonest and coarsest kind, are all he
asks for his support. On comparing him with other ani¬
mals, you would say that you could perceive deficiency
deformity, and superabundance in his composition, lie
has no cutting teeth, and though four stomachs, he still
wants the long intestines of ruminating animals. He has
only one inferior aperture, as in birds. He has no soles to
his feet, nor has he the power of moving his toes separately.

His hair is flat, and puts you in mind of grass withered by
the wintry blast. His legs are too short ; they appear de¬
formed by the manner in which they are joined to the body ;
and when he is on the ground, they seem as if only calcu¬
lated to be of use in climbing trees. He has forty-six ribs,

94

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Birds.

The

Vulture.

while the elephant has only forty ; and his claws are
disproportionably long. Were you to mark clown, upon a
graduated scale, the different claims to superiority amongst
the four-footed animals, this poor ill-formed creature’s claim
would he the last upon the lowest degree.

Demerara yields to no country in the world in her won¬
derful and beautiful productions of the feathered race.
Here the finest precious stones are far surpassed by the
vivid tints which adorn the birds. The naturalist may
exclaim, that nature has not known where to stop in form¬
ing new species, and painting her requisite shades. Almost
every one of those singular and elegant birds described by
Buffon as belonging to Cayenne, are to be met with in
Demerara; but it is only by an indefatigable naturalist
that they are to be found.

The Scarlet Curlew breeds in innumerable quantities in
the muddy islands on the coasts of Pomauron ; the Egrets
and Crabiers in the same place. They resort to the mud¬
flats at ebbing water, while thousands of Sandpipers and
Plovers, with here and there a Spoonbill and Flamingo, are
seen amongst them. The Pelicans go farther out to sea,
but return at sundown to the Courada-trees. The Humming¬
birds are chiefly to be found near the flowers at which each
of the species of the genus is wont to feed. The pie, the
gallinaceous, the columbine, and passerine tribes, resort to
the fruit-bearing trees.

You never fail to see the common Vulture where there is
carrion. In passing up the river there was an opportunity
of seeing a pair of the King of the Vultures ; they were
sitting on the naked branch of a tree, with about a dozen
of the common ones with them. A Tiger had killed a
Goat the day before ; he had been driven away in the act
of sucking the blood, and not finding it safe or prudent to
return, the goat remained in the same place where he had

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

95

killed it ; it had begun to putrefy, and the vultures had
arrived that morning to claim the savoury morsel.

At the close of day, the Vampires leave the hollow trees,
whither they had fled at the morning’s dawn, and scour
along the river’s banks in quest of prey. On waking
from sleep, the astonished traveller finds his hammock
all stained with blood. It is the vampire that hath
sucked him. Not man alone, but every unprotected
animal, is exposed to his depredations : and so gently does
this nocturnal surgeon draw the blood, that instead of being
roused, the patient is lulled into a still profounder sleep.
There are two species of vampire in Demerara, and both
suck living animals ; one is rather larger than the common
bat ; the other measures above two feet from wing to wing
extended.

Snakes are frequently met with in the woods betwixt the
sea-coast and the rock Saba, chiefly near the creeks and on
the banks of the river. They are large, beautiful, and for¬
midable. The Rattlesnake seems partial to a tract of ground
known by the name of Canal Number-three ; there the
effects of his poison will be long remembered.

The Camoudi snake lias been killed from thirty to forty
feet long ; though not venomous, his size renders him de¬
structive to the passing animals. The Spaniards in the
Oroonoque positively affirm that he grows to the length of
seventy or eighty feet, and that he will destroy the strongest
and largest bull. His name seems to confirm this ; there
he is called “ matatoro,” which literally means “ bull-
killer.” Thus he may be ranked amongst the deadly
snakes ; for it comes nearly to the same thing in the end
whether the victim dies by poison from the fangs, which
corrupts his blood and makes it stink horribly, or whether
his body be crushed to mummy, and swallowed by this
hideous beast.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The

Vampire.

Snakes.

96

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Lizards.

Fish.

Insects.

The Whipsnake, of a beautiful changing green, and the
Coral, with alternate broad transverse bars of black and
red, glide from bush to bush, and may be handled with
safety ; they are harmless little creatures.

The Labarri snake is speckled, of a dirty brown colour,
and can scarcely be distinguished from the ground or stump
on which he is coiled up ; he grows to the length of about
eight feet, and his bite often proves fatal in a few minutes.

Unrivalled in his display of every lovely colour of the
rainbow, and unmatched in the effects of his deadly poison,
the Couanacouchi glides undaunted on, sole monarch of these
forests ; he is commonly known by the name of the bush-
master. Doth man and beast fly before him, and allow
him to pursue an undisputed path. He sometimes grows
to the length of fourteen feet.

A few small Caimen, from two to tw7elve feet long, mav
be observed now and then in passing up and down the
river; they just keep their heads above the water, and a
stranger would not know them from a rotten stump.

Lizards of the finest green, brown, and copper colour,
from two inches to two feet and a half long, are ever and
anon rustling among the fallen leaves, and crossing the
path before you ; whilst the Chameleon is busily employed
in chasing insects round the trunks of the neighbouring
trees.

The fish are of many different sorts, and well-tasted, but
not, generally speaking, very plentiful. It is probable that
their numbers are considerably thinned by the Otters
which are much larger than those of Europe. In going
through the overflowed savannas, which have all a com¬
munication with the river, you may often see a dozen or
two of them sporting amongst the sedges before you.

This warm and humid climate seems particularly adapted
to the producing of insects ; it gives birth to myriads

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

97

beautiful past description in their variety of tints, astonish¬
ing in their form and size, and many of them noxious in
their qualities.

He whose eye can distinguish the various beauties of
uncultivated nature, and whose ear is not shut to the wild
sounds in the woods, will be delighted in passing up the
river Demerara. Every now and then, the Maam or
Tinamou sends forth one long and plaintive whistle from
the depths of the forest, and then stops ; whilst the yelping
of the toucan, and the shrill voice of the bird called Pi-pi-
yo, is heard during the interval. The Campanero never
fails to attract the attention of the passenger : at a distance
of nearly three miles, you may hear this snow-white bird
tolling every four or five minutes, like the distant convent
bell. From six to nine in the morning, the forests resound
with the minuted cries and strains of the feathered race;
after this, they gradually die away. Front eleven to three
all nature is hushed as in a midnight silence, and scarce a
note is heard, saving that of the campanero and the pi-pi-
yo ; it is then that, oppressed by the solar heat, the birds
retire to the thickest shade, and wait for the refreshing cool
of evening.

At sundown the Vampires, Bats, and Goat-suckers dart
from their lonely retreat, and skim along the trees on the
river’s bank. The different kinds of Frogs almost stun the
ear with their coarse and hollow- sounding croaking, while
the Owls and goat-suckers lament and mourn all night
long.

About two hours before daybreak, you will hear the red
monkey moaning as though in deep distress ; the Houtou, a
solitary bird, and only found in the thickest recesses of the
forest, distinctly articulates, “ houtou, houtou,” in a low and
plaintive tone, an hour before sunrise ; the maam whistles
about the same hour ; the Hannaquoi, Pataca, and Maroudi

H

FIRST

JOURNEY.

98

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

announce liis near approach to the eastern horizon, and the
Parrots and Parroquets confirm his arrival there.

The Crickets chirp from sunset to sunrise, and often
during the day, when the weather is cloudy. The Bete-
rouge is exceedingly numerous in these extensive wilds,
and not only man, hut beasts and birds, are tormented by
it. Mosquitos are very rare after you pass the third island
in the Demerara, and Sand-flies but seldom appear.

Courteous reader, here thou hast the outlines of an
amazing landscape given thee ; thou wilt see that the
principal parts of it are but faintly traced, some of them
scarcely visible at all, and that the shades are wholly
wanting. If thy soul partakes of the ardent flame which
the persevering Mungo Park’s did, these outlines will be
enough for thee : they will give thee some idea of what
a noble country this is ; and if thou hast but courage to
set about giving the world a finished picture of it, neither
materials to work on, nor colours to paint it in its true
shades, will be wanting to thee. It may appear a difficult
task at a distance ; but look close at it, and it is nothing
at all ; provided thou hast but a quiet mind, little more is
necessary, and the genius which presides over these wilds
will kindly help thee through the rest. She will allow
thee to slay the fawn, and cut down the Mountain-cabbage
for thy support, and to select from every part of her domain
whatever may be necessary for the work thou art about ;
but having killed a pair of Doves in order to enable thee
to give mankind a true and proper description of them,
thou must not destroy a third through wantonness, or to
show what a good marksman thou art ; that would only
blot the picture thou art finishing, not colour it.

Though retired from the haunts of men, and even with¬
out a friend with thee, thou wouldst not find it solitary.
The crowing of the liannaquoi will sound in thine ears

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

99

like the daybreak town-clock ; and the Wren and the
Thrush will join with thee in thy matin hymn to thy
Creator, to thank Him for thy night’s rest.

At noon thy Genius will lead thee to the Troely, one
leaf of which will defend thee from both sun and rain.
And if, in the cool of the evening, thou hast been tempted
to stray too far from thy place of abode, and art deprived
of light to write down the information thou hast collected,
the Firefly, which thou wilt see in almost every bush
around thee, will be thy candle. Hold it over thy pocket-
book, in any position which thou knowest will not hurt it,
and it will afford thee ample light. And when thou hast
done with it, put it kindly back again on the next branch
to thee. It will want no other reward for its services.

When in thy hammock, should the thought of thy little
crosses and disappointments, in thy ups and downs through
life, break in upon .thee, and throw thee into a pensive
mood, the Owl will bear thee company. She will tell thee
that hard has been her fate too ; and at intervals, “ Whip-
poor- Will,’ * and “ Willy come go,” will take up the tale of
sorrow. Ovid has told thee how the owl once boasted the
human form, and lost it for a very small offence ; and were
the poet alive now, he would inform thee, that “ Whip-
poor- Will,” and “ Willy come go,” are the shades of those
poor African and Indian slaves, who died worn out and
brokenhearted. They wail and cry, “ Whip-poor-Will,”
and “ Willy come go,” all night long; and often, when the
moon shines, you see them sitting on the green turf, near
the houses of those whose ancestors tore them from the
bosom of their helpless families, which all probably per¬
ished through grief and want, after their support was
gone.

About an hour above the rock of Saba, stands the habi¬
tation of an Indian, called Simon, on the top of a hill.

H 2

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The Fire-

fly-

The Owl.

Simon s'j
hut.

100

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The side next the river is almost perpendicular, and you
may easily throw a stone over to the opposite bank. Here
there was an opportunity of seeing man in his rudest
state. The Indians who frequented this habitation, though
living in the midst of woods, bore evident marks of atten-
tion to their persons. Their hair was neatly collected, and
tied up in a knot ; their bodies fancifully painted red, and
the paint was scented with hayawa. This gave them a
gay and animated appearance. Some of them had on
necklaces, composed of the teeth of wild boars slain in
the chase ; many wore rings, and others had an ornament
on the left arm, midway betwixt the shoulder and the
elbow. At the close of day, they regularly bathed in
the river below ; and the next morning seemed busy in
renewing the faded colours of their faces.

One day there came into the hut a form which literally
might be called the wild man of the woods. On entering,

O O'

he laid down a ball of wax, which he had collected in the
forest. His hammock was all ragged and torn ; and his
bow, though of good wood, was without any ornament or
polish ; “ erubuit domino, cultior esse suo.” His face was
meagre, his looks forbidding, and his whole appearance
neglected. His long black hair hung from his head in
matted confusion ; nor had his body, to all appearance,
ever been painted. They gave him some Cassava bread
and boiled fish, which he ate voraciously, and soon after
left the hut. As he went out you could observe no traces
in his countenance or demeanour, which indicated that he
was in the least mindful of having been benefited by the
society he was just leaving.

The Indians said that he had neither wife, nor child,
nor friend. They had often tried to persuade him to come
and live amongst them ; but it was of no avail. He went
roving on, plundering the Wild Bees of their honey, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

101

picking up the fallen nuts and fruits of the forest. When
he fell in with game, he procured fire from two sticks, and
cooked it on the spot. When a hut happened to he in his
way, he stepped in, and asked for something to eat, and
then months elapsed ere they saw him again. They did
not know what had caused him to he thus unsettled ; he
had been so for years ; nor did they believe that even old
age itself would change the habits of this poor, harmless,
solitary wanderer.

From Simon’s, the traveller may reach the large fall,
with ease, in four days.

The first falls that he meets are merely rapids, scarce a
stone appearing above the water in the rainy season ; and
those in the bed of the river, barely high enough to arrest
the water’s course, and by causing a bubbling, show that

thev are there.

%/

With this small change of appearance in the stream,
the stranger observes nothing new till he comes within
eight or ten miles of the great fall. Each side of the
river presents an uninterrupted range of wood, just as
it did below. All the productions found betwixt
the plantations and the rock Saba, are to be met with
here.

From Simon’s to the great fall there are five habitations
of the Indians — two of them close to the river’s side ; the
other three a little way in the forest. These habitations
consist of from four to eight huts, situated on about an
acre of ground which they have cleared from the sur¬
rounding woods. A few Pappaw, Cotton, and mountain
cabbage-trees, are scattered round them.

At one of these habitations a small quantity of the
Wourali poison was procured. It was in a little gourd.
The Indian who had it said that he had killed a’ number
of Wild Hogs with it, and two Tapirs. Appearances seemed

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Indian

habita¬

tions.

Wourali

'poison.

102

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Its

strength.

The great
fall.

to confirm what he said ; for on one side it had been nearly
taken out to the bottom, at different times, which probably
would not have been the case had the first or second trial
failed.

Its strength was proved on a middle-sized dog. Heyvas
wounded in the thigh, in order that there might be no
possibility of touching a vital part. In three or four
minutes lie began to be affected, smelt at every little
thing on the ground around him, and looked wistfully at
the wounded part. Soon after this he staggered, laid him¬
self down, and never rose more. He barked once, though
not as if in pain. His voice was low and weak ; and in
a second attempt it quite failed him. He now put his
head betwixt his fore-legs, and raising it slowly again, he
fell over on his side. His e}7e immediately became fixed,
and though his extremities every now and then shot con¬
vulsively, he never showed the least desire to raise up his
head. His heart fluttered much from the time he lay
down, and at intervals beat very strong ; then stopped for
a moment or two, and then beat again ; and continued
faintly beating several minutes after every other part of
his body seemed dead.

In a quarter of an hour after he had received the poison
he was quite motionless.

A few miles before you reach the great fall, and which,
indeed, is the only one which can be called a fall, large
balls of froth come floating past you. The river appears
beautifully marked with streaks of foam, and on your
nearer approach the stream is whitened all over.

At first, you behold the fall rushing down a bed of
rocks, with a tremendous noise, divided into two foamy
streams, which at their junction again form a small island
covered with wood. Above this island, for a short space
there appears but one stream, all white with froth, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

103

fretting and boiling amongst the huge rocks which obstruct
its course.

Higher up it is seen dividing itself into a short channel
or two, and trees grow on the rocks which caused its sepa¬
ration. The torrent in many places has eaten deep into
the rocks, and split them into large fragments by driving
others against them. The trees on the rocks are in bloom
and vigour, though their roots are half bared, and many of
them bruised and broken by the rushing waters.

This is the general appearance of the fall from the level
of the water below to where the river is smooth and quiet
above. It must be remembered that this is during the
periodical rains. Probably in the dry season it puts on a
very different appearance. There is no perpendicular fall
of water of any consequence throughout it, but the dread¬
ful roaring and rushing of the torrent down a long, rocky,
and moderately sloping channel, has a fine effect ; and the
stranger returns well pleased with what he has seen. No
animal, nor craft of any kind, could stem this downward
flood. In a few moments the first would be killed, the
second dashed in pieces.

The Indians have a path alongside of it, through the
forest, where prodigious Crab wood-trees grow. Up this
path they drag their canoes, and launch them into the
river above ; and on their return bring them down the
same way.

About two hours below this fall is the habitation of an
Acoway chief called Sinkerman. At night you hear the
roaring of the fall from it. It is pleasantly situated on
the top of a sand-hill. At this place you have the finest
view the river Demerara affords : three tiers of hills rise
in slow gradation, one above the other, before you, and
present a grand and magnificent scene, especially to him
who has been accustomed to a level country.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Habitation
of an Aco¬
way chief.

104

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Here, a little after midnight on the first of May, was
heard a most strange and unaccountable noise ; it seemed
as though several regiments were engaged, and musketry
firing with great rapidity. The Indians, terrified beyond
description, left their hammocks, and crowded all together,
like sheep at the approach of the wolf. There were no
soldiers within three or four hundred miles. Conjecture
was of no avail, and all conversation next morning on the
subject was as useless and unsatisfactory as the dead silence
which succeeded to the noise.

He who wishes to reach the Macoushi country had
better send his canoe over land from Sinkerman’s to the
Essequibo.

There is a pretty good path, and meeting a creek about
three-quarters of the way, it eases the labour, and twelve
Indians will arrive with it in the Essequibo in four days.

The traveller need not attend his canoe ; there is a
shorter and a better way. Half an hour below Sinker-
man’s he finds a little creek on the western bank of the
Demerara. After proceeding about a couple of hundred
yards up it, he leaves it, and pursues a west-north-west
direction by land for the Essequibo. The path is good,
though somewhat rugged with the roots of trees, and here
and there obstructed by fallen ones ; it extends more over
level ground than otherwise. There are a few steep ascents
and descents in it, with a little brook running at the
bottom of them ; but they are easily passed over, and the
fallen trees serve for a bridge.

You may reach the Essequibo with ease in a day and a
half ; and so matted and interwoven are the tops of the
trees above you, that the sun is not felt once all the way,
saving where the space which a newly-fallen tree occupied
lets in his rays upon you. The forest contains an abun¬
dance of Wild Hogs, Labbas, Acouries, Powisses, Maams,

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

105

Maroudis, and Waracabas, for your nourishment, and there first
are plenty of leaves to cover a shed whenever you are J0lJRNEY'
inclined to sleep.

The soil has three-fourths of sand in it, till you come The Esse -
within half an hour’s walk of the Essequibo, where you <iulbo-
find a red gravel and rocks. In this retired and solitary
tract, nature’s garb, to all appearance, has not been injured
by fire, nor her productions broken in upon by the exter¬
minating hand of man.

Here the finest Green-lieart grows, and Wallaba, Purple-
heart, Siloabali, Sawari, Buletre, Tauronira, and Mora, are
met with in vast abundance, far and near, towering up in
majestic grandeur, straight as pillars, sixty or seventy feet
high, without a knot or branch.

Traveller, forget for a little while the idea thou hast of
wandering farther on, and stop and look at this grand
picture of vegetable nature ; it is a reflection of the crowd
thou hast lately been in, and though a silent monitor, it is
not a less eloquent one on that account. See that noble
Purple-heart before thee ! Nature has been kind to it.

Not a hole, not the least oozing from its trunk, to show
that its best days are past. Vigorous in youthful bloom¬
ing beauty, it stands the ornament of these sequestered
wilds, and tacitly rebukes those base ones of thine own
species who have been hardy enough to deny the existence
of Him who ordered it to flourish here.

Behold that one next to it ! — Hark ! how the hammer¬
ings of the Red-headed Woodpecker resound through its
distempered boughs ! See what a quantity of holes he
has made in it, and how its bark is stained with the drops
which trickle down from them. The lightning, too, has
blasted one side of it. Nature looks pale and wan in its
leaves, and her resources are nearly dried up in its ex¬
tremities ; its sap is tainted ; a mortal sickness, slow as

106

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

first

JOURNEY.

a consumption, and as sure in its consequences, has long
since entered its frame, vitiating and destroying the
wholesome juices there.

Step a few paces aside, and cast thine eye on that rem¬
nant of a Mora behind it. Best part of its branches, once
so high and ornamental, now lie on the ground in sad
confusion one upon the other, all shattered and fungus-
grown, and a prey to millions of insects, which are busily
employed in destroying them. One branch of it still looks
healthy! Will it recover? INo, it cannot; nature has
already run her course, and that healtliy-looking branch is
only as a fallacious good symptom in him who is just
about to die of a mortification when he feels no more pain,
and fancies his distemper has left him ; it is as the mo¬
mentary gleam of a wintry sun’s ray close to the western
horizon. — See ! while we are speaking, a gust of wind has
brought the tree to the ground, and made room for its
successor.

Come further on, and examine that apparently luxu¬
riant Tauronira on thy right hand. It boasts a verdure not
its own ; they are false ornaments it Avears ; the Busli-rope
and Bird-vines have clothed it from the root to its topmost
branch. The succession of fruit which it hath borne, like
good cheer in the houses of the great, has invited the birds
to resort to it, and they have disseminated beautiful, though
destructive, plants on its branches, which, like the dis¬
tempers vice brings into the human frame, rob it of all its
health and vigour; they have shortened its days, and
probably in another year they will finally kill it, long
before nature intended that it should die.

Ere thou leavest this interesting scene, look on the
ground around thee, and see wdiat everything here below
must come to.

Behold that newly fallen Wallaba! The whirlwind has

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

107

uprooted it in its prime, and it has brought down to the
ground a dozen small ones in its fall. Its bark has already
begun to drop off! And that heart of Mora close by
it is fast yielding, in spite of its firm, tough texture.

The tree which thou passedst but a little ago, and which
perhaps has lain over yonder brook for years, can now hardly
support itself, and in a few months more it will have fallen
into the water.

Put thy foot on that large trunk thou seest to the left.
It seems entire amid the surrounding fragments. Mere
outward appearance, delusive phantom of what it once
was ! Tread on it, and like the fuss-ball, it will break into
dust.

Sad and silent mementos to the giddy traveller as he
wanders on ! Prostrate remnants of vegetable nature, how
incontestably ye provewhat we must all at last come to,
and how plain your mouldering ruins show that the
firmest texture avails us nought when Heaven wills that
we should cease to be ! —

“ The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,

Yea, all which it inhabit, shall dissolve,

And, like the baseless fabric of a vision,

Leave not a wreck behind.”

Cast thine eye around thee, and see the thousands of
nature’s productions. Take a view of them front the
opening seed on the surface, sending a downward shoot, to
the loftiest and the largest trees, rising up and blooming in
wild luxuriance ; some side by side, others separate ; some
curved and knotty, others straight as lances ; all, in
beautiful gradation, fulfilling the mandates they had
received from Heaven, and though condemned to die,
still never failing to keep up their species till time shall
be no more.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

108

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Reader, canst thou not he induced to dedicate a few
months to the good of the public, and examine with thy
scientific eye the productions which the vast and well-
stored colony of Demerara presents to thee ?

What an immense range of forest is there from the rock
Saba to the great fall ! and what an uninterrupted extent
before thee from it to the banks of the Essequibo ! No
doubt, there is many a balsam and many a medicinal root
yet to be discovered, and many a resin, gum, and oil yet
unnoticed. Thy work would be a pleasing one, and thou
mightest make several useful observations in it.

Would it be thought impertinent in thee to hazard a
conjecture, that with the resources the government of
Demerara has, stones might be conveyed from the rock
Saba to Stabroek, to stem the equinoctial tides, which are
for ever sweeping away the expensive wooden piles round
the mounds of the fort ? Or would the timber-merchant
point at thee in passing by, and call tliee a descendant of
La Mancha’s knight, because thou maintainest that the
stones which form the rapids might be removed with little
expense, and thus open the navigation to the woodcutter
from Stabroek to the great fall ? Or wouldst thou be
deemed enthusiastic or biassed, because thou givest it as
thy opinion that the climate in these high lands is exceed¬
ingly wholesome, and the lands themselves capable of
nourishing and maintaining any number of settlers ? In
thy dissertation on the Indians, thou mightest hint, that
possibly they could be induced to help the new settlers a
little ; and that finding their labours well requited, it
would be the means of their keeping up a constant com¬
munication with us, which probably might be the means
of laying the first stone towards their Christianity. They
are a poor, harmless, inoffensive set of people, and their
wandering and ill-provided way of living seems more to

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

109

ask for pity from us, than to fill our heads with thoughts

that they would he hostile to us.

./

What a noble field, kind reader, for thy experimental
philosophy and speculations, for thy learning, for thy
perseverance, for thy kind-heartedness, for everything that
is -great and good within thee !

The accidental traveller who has journeyed on from
Stabroek to the rock Saba, and from thence to the banks of
the Essequibo, in pursuit of other things, as he told thee at
the beginning, with but an indifferent interpreter to talk to,
no friend to converse with, and totally unfit for that which
he wishes thee to do, can merely mark the outlines of the
path he has trodden, or tell thee the sounds he has heard,
or faintly describe what he has seen in the environs of his
resting-places ; but if this be enough to induce thee to
undertake the journey, and give the world a description of
it, he will be amply satisfied.

It will be two days and a half from the time of entering
the path on tire western bank of the Demerara till all be
ready, and the canoe fairly afloat on the Essecpiibo. The.
new rigging it, and putting every little thing to rights
and in its proper place, cannot well be done in less than
a day.

After being night and day in the forest impervious to the
sun’s and moon’s rays the sudden transition to light has a
fine heart-cheering effect. Welcome as a lost friend, the
solar beam makes the frame rejoice, and with it a thousand
enlivening thoughts rush at once on the soul, and disperse,
as a vapour, every sad and sorrowful idea which the deep
gloom had helped to collect there. In coming out of the
woods, you see the western bank of the Essequibo before
you, low and flat. Here the river is two-thirds as broad as
the Demerara at Stabroek.

To the northward there is a hill higher than any in the

FIRST

JOURNEY.

110

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Islands.

Falls and
rapids.

Demerara ; and in tlie south-south-west quarter a mountain.
It is far away, and appears like a bluish cloud in the
horizon. There is not the least opening on either side.
Hills, valleys, and lowlands, are all linked together by a
chain of forest. Ascend the highest mountain, climb
the loftiest tree, as far as the eye can extend, which¬
ever way it directs itself, all is luxuriant and unbroken
forest.

In about nine or ten hours from this, you get to an
Indian habitation of three huts, on the point of an island.
It is said that a Dutch post once stood here. But there is
not the smallest vestige of it remaining, and, except that
the trees appear younger than those on the other islands^
which shows that the place has been cleared some time
or other, there is no mark left by which you can con¬
jecture that ever this was a post.

The many islands which you meet with in the way,
enliven and change the scene, by the avenues which they
make, which look like the mouths of other rivers, and

break that long-extended sameness which is seen in the

*

Demerara.

Proceeding onwards, you get to the falls and rapids. In
the rainy season they are very tedious to pass, and often
stop your course. In the dry season, by stepping from
rock to rock, the Indians soon manage to get a canoe over
them. But when the river is swollen, as it was in May>
1812, it is then a difficult task, and often a dangerous one
too. At that time many of the islands were overflowed,
the rocks covered, and the lower branches of the trees in
the water. Sometimes the Indians were obliged to take
everything out of the canoe, cut a passage through the
branches, which hung over into the river, and then drag
up the canoe by main force.

At one place, the falls form an oblique line quite across

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

111

the river, impassable to the ascending canoe, and yon are
forced to have it dragged four or five hundred yards by
land.

It will take you five days, from the Indian habitation,
on the point of the island, to where these falls and rapids
terminate.

There are no huts in the way. You must bring your
own cassava-bread along with you, hunt in the forest for
your meat, and make the night’s shelter for yourself.

Here is a noble range of hills, all covered with the finest
trees, rising majestically one above the other, on the
western bank, and presenting as rich a scene as ever the
eye would wish to look on. Nothing in vegetable nature
can be conceived more charming, grand, and luxuriant.

How the heart rejoices in viewing this beautiful land¬
scape ! when the sky is serene, the air cool, and the sun
just sunk behind the mountain’s top.

The Hayawa-tree perfumes the woods around ; pairs of
Scarlet Aras are continually crossing the river. The Maam
sends forth its plaintive note, the Wren chants its evening
song. The Caprimulgus wheels in busy flight around the
canoe, while “ Whip-poor- Will ” sits on the broken stump
near the water’s edge, complaining as the shades of night
set in.

A little before you pass the last of these rapids two
immense rocks appear, nearly on the summit of one of the
many hills which form this far-extending range, where it
begins to fall off gradually to the south.

They look like two ancient stately towers of some
Gothic potentate, rearing their heads above the surround¬
ing trees. What with their situation and their shape
together, they strike the beholder with an idea of anti¬
quated grandeur which he will never forget. He may
travel far and near and see nothing like them. On looking

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Rocks.

112

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

River
Apoura-
pour a.

Macovshi
Indians .

at them through a glass, the summit of the southern one

o o 7

appeared crowned with hushes. The one to the north was
quite hare. The Indians have it from their ancestors
that they are the abode of an evil genius, and they pass in
the river helow with a reverential awe.

In about seven hours from these stupendous sons of the
hill, you leave the Essequibo, and enter the river Apoura-
poura, which falls into it from the south. The Apoura-
poura is nearly one-third the size of the Demerara at
Stabroek. For two days you see nothing but level ground,
richly clothed in timber. You leave the Siparouni to the
right hand, and on the third day come to a little hill. The
Indians have cleared about an acre of ground on it, and
erected a temporary shed. If it be not intended for pro¬
vision-ground alone, perhaps the next white man who
travels through these remote wilds will find an Indian
settlement here.

Two days after leaving this, you get to a rising ground
on the western bank, where stands a single hut ; and about
half a mile in the forest there are a few more ; some of
them square, and some round with spiral roots.

Here the fish called Pacou is very plentiful : it is
perhaps the fattest and most delicious fish in Guiana. It
does not take the hook, but the Indians decoy it to the
surface of the water by means of the seeds of the Crab-
wood-tree, and then shoot it with an arrow.

You are now within the borders of Macoushia, inhabited
by a different tribe of people, called Macoushi Indians ;
uncommonly dexterous in the use of the blow-pipe, and
famous for their skill in preparing the deadly vegetable
poison, commonly called Wourali.

It is from this country that those beautiful parroquets
named Kessi-kessi are procured. Here the crystal moun¬
tains are found ; and here the three different species of the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

113

Ara are seen in great abundance. Here, too, grows the tree first
from which the gum-elastic is got : it is large, and as tall JuLn>MjY‘
as any in the forest. The wood has much the appearance
of sycamore. The gum is contained in the bark : when that
is cut through, it oozes out very freely : it is quite white,
and looks as rich as cream : it hardens almost immediately
as it issues from the tree ; so that it is very easy to collect
a ball, by forming the juice into a globular shape as fast
as it comes out : it becomes nearly black by being exposed
to the air, and is real India-rubber without undergoing
any process.

The elegant crested bird called Cock of the Bock,
admirably described by Button, is a native of the woody
mountains of Macousliia. In the daytime, he retires amongst
the darkest rocks, and only comes out to feed a little
before sunrise, and at sunset : he is of a gloomy disposition,
and, like the houtou, never associates with the other birds
of the forest.

The Indians, in the just-mentioned settlement, seemed
to depend more on the wourali-poison for killing their
game than upon anything else. They had only one gun,
and it appeared rusty and neglected; but their poisoned
weapons were in fine order. Their blow-pipes hung from Indian
the roof of the hut, carefully suspended by a silk-grass ljlowiyivcs-
cord ; and on taking a nearer view of them, no dust
seemed to have collected there, nor had the spider spun
the smallest wTeb on them; which showed that they were
in constant use. The quivers were close by them, with
the jaw-bone of the fish Pirai tied by a string to their
brim, and a small wdcker-basket of wild cotton, which
hung down to the centre ; they were nearly full of poisoned
arrows. It was with difficulty these Indians could be
persuaded to part with any of the wourali-poison, though a
good price was offered for it ; they gave me to understand

I

114

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Lake

Parirna.

that it was powder and shot to them, and very difficult
to he procured.

On the second day after leaving the settlement, in
passing along, the Indians show you a place where once
a white man lived. Ilis retiring so far from those of
his own colour and acquaintance seemed to carry some¬
thing extraordinary along with it, and raised a desire to
know what could have induced him to do so. It seems
he had been unsuccessful, and that his creditors had
treated him with as little mercy as the strong generally
show to the weak. Seeing his endeavours daily frustrated,
and his best intentions of no avail, and fearing that when
they had taken all he had they would probably take his
liberty too, he thought the world would not be hard-
hearted enough to condemn him for retiring from the evils
which pressed so heavily on him, and which he had done
all that an honest man could do to ward off. He left his
creditors to talk of him as they thought fit, and, bidding-
adieu for ever to the place in which he had once seen
better times, he penetrated thus far into those remote
and gloomy wilds, and ended his days here.

According to the new map of South America, Lake
Parirna, or the White Sea, ought to be within three or
four days’ walk from this place. On asking the Indians
whether there w7as such a place or not, and describing that
the water was fresh and good to drink, an old Indian,
who appeared to be about sixty, said that there was such
a place, and that he had been there. This information
would have been satisfactory in some degree, had not
the Indians carried the point a little too far. It is very
large, said another Indian, and ships come to it. Now
these unfortunate ships were the very things which were
not wanted : had he kept them out, it might have done,
but his introducing them was sadly against the lake.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

115

Thus you must either suppose that the old savage and
his companion had a confused idea of the thing, and that
probably the Lake Parima they talked of was the Amazons,
not far from the city of Para, or that it was their intention
to deceive you. You ought to be cautious in giving credit
to their stories, otherwise you will be apt to be led astray.

Many a ridiculous thing concerning the interior of
Guiana has been propagated and received as true, merely
because six or seven Indians, questioned separately, have
agreed in their narrative.

Ask those who live high up in the Demerara, and they
will, every one of them, tell you that there is a nation of
Indians with long tails ; that they are very malicious,
cruel, and ill-natured ; and that the Portuguese have been
obliged to stop them off in a certain river, to prevent their
depredations. They have also dreadful stories concerning
a horrible beast, called the Watermainma, which, when it
happens to take a spite against a canoe, rises out of the
river, and in the most unrelenting manner possible carries
both canoe and Indians down to the bottom with it, and
there destroys them. Ludicrous extravagances ; pleasing to
those fond of the marvellous, and excellent matter for a
distempered brain.

The misinformed and timid court of policy in Demerara
was made the dupe of a savage, who came down the Esse-
quibo, and gave himself out as king of a mighty tribe. This
naked wild man of the woods seemed to hold the said
court in tolerable contempt, and demanded immense
supplies, all which he got ; and moreover, some time after,
an invitation to come down the ensuing year for more,
which he took care not to forget.

This noisy chieftain boasted so much of his dynasty and
domain, that the government was induced to send up an
expedition into his territories to see if he had spoken the

i 2

FIRST

JOURNEY".

Anecdote.

116

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

FIRST

JOURNEY-.

truth, and nothing but the truth. It appeared, however,
that his palace was nothing but a hut, the monarch a needy
savage, the lieir-apparent nothing to inherit but his
father’s club, and bow and arrows, and his officers of state
wild and uncultivated as the forests through which they
strayed.

There was nothing in the hut of this savage, saving the
presents he had received from government, but what was
barely sufficient to support existence ; nothing that indi¬
cated a power to collect a hostile force; nothing that
showed the least progress towards civilization. All was
rude and barbarous in the extreme, expressive of the
utmost poverty and a scanty population.

You may travel six or seven days without seeing a hut,
and when you reach a settlement it seldom contains more
than ten.

The farther you advance into the interior the more you
are convinced that it is thinly inhabited.

The day after passing the place where the white man
lived you see a creek on the left hand, and shortly after
the path to the open country. Here you drag the canoe
up into the forest, and leave it there. Your baggage must
now be carried by the Indians. The creek you passed in
the river intersects the path to the next settlement : a
large Mora has fallen across it, and makes an excellent
bridge. After walking an hour and a half you come to
the edge of the forest, and a savanna unfolds itself to the
view.

The finest park that England boasts falls far short of
this delightful scene. There are about two thousand acres
of grass, with here and there a clump of trees, and a few
bushes and single trees scattered up and down by the hand
of Nature. The ground is neither hilly nor level, but
diversified with moderate rises and falls, so gently running

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

117

into one another that the eye cannot distinguish where
they begin, nor where they end, while the distant black
rocks have the appearance of a herd at rest. Nearly in
the middle there is an eminence, which falls off gradually
on every side ; and on this the Indians have erected their
huts.

To the northward of them the foremost forms a circle,
as though it had been done by art ; to the eastward it
hangs in festoons ; and to the south and west it rushes
in abruptly, disclosing a new scene behind it at every step
as you advance along.

This beautiful park of nature is quite surrounded by
lofty hills, all arrayed in superbest garb of trees ; some in
the form of pyramids, others like sugar-loaves towering
one above the other, some rounded off, and others as
though they had lost their apex. Here two hills rise up
in spiral summits, and the wooded line of communication
betwixt them sinks so gradually that it forms a crescent ;
and there the ridges of others resemble the waves of an
agitated sea. Beyond these appear others, and others past
them ; and others still farther on, till they can scarcely be
distinguished from the clouds.

There are no sand-flies, nor bete-rouge, nor mosquitos,
in this pretty spot. The fire-flies during the night vie in
numbers and brightness with the stars in the firmament
above; the air is pure, and the north-east breeze blows
a refreshing gale throughout the day. Here the White-
crested Maroudi, which is never found in the Demerara,
is pretty plentiful ; and here grows the tree which pro¬
duces the Moran, sometimes called Balsam- capivi.

Your route lies south from this place ; and at the ex¬
tremity of the savanna you enter the forest, and journey
along a winding path at the foot of a hill. There is no
habitation within this day’s walk. The traveller, as usual,

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Route.

118

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The

Jabiru.

must sleep in the forest ; the path is not so good the fol¬
lowing clay. The hills over which it lies are rocky, steep,
and rugged, and the spaces betwixt them swampy, and
mostly knee-deep in water. After eight hours’ walk you
find two or three Indian huts, surrounded by the forest;
and in little more than half an hour from these you come
to ten or twelve others, where you pass the night. They
are prettily situated at the entrance into a savanna. The
eastern and Avestern hills are still covered with wood ; but
on looking to the south-west quarter you perceive it be¬
gins to die away. In these forests you may find plenty
of the trees which yield the sweet-smelling resin called
Acaiari, and which, Avhen pounded and burnt on charcoal,
gives a delightful fragrance.

From hence you proceed, in a south-Avest direction,
through a long swampy savanna. Some of the hills
which border on it have nothing but a thin coarse grass
and huge stones on them ; others quite wooded ; others
with their summits crowned, and their base quite bare ;
and others, again, Avith their summits bare, and their base
in thickest avoocI.

Half of this day’s march is in Avater, nearly up to the
knees. There are four creeks to pass : one of them has a
fallen tree across it. You must make your own bridge
across the other three. Probably, were the truth knowm
these apparently four creeks are only the meanders of one.

The Jabiru, the largest bird in Guiana, feeds in the
marshy savanna through Avhich you have just passed. He
is wary and shy, and Avill not allow you to get within
gun-shot of him.

You sleep this night in the forest, and reach an Indian
settlement about three o’clock the next evening after

o ?

Avalking one-third of the Avay through Avet and miry
ground.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

110

But, bad as the walking is through it, it is easier than FIRST
where you cross over the bare hills, where you have to J0URNEY-
tread on sharp stones, most of them lying edgewise.

The ground gone over these two last days seems con¬
demned to perpetual solitude and silence. There was not
one four-footed animal to be seen, nor even the marks of
one. It would have been as silent as midnight, and all as
still and unmoved as a monument, had not the Jabiru in
the marsh, and a few Vultures soaring over the mountain’s
top, shown that it was not quite deserted by animated na¬
ture. There were no insects, except one kind of fly, about
one-fourth the size of the common house-fly. It bit cruelly,
and was much more tormenting than the mosquito on the
sea-coast.

This seems to be the native country of the Arrowroot. Arrowroot
Wherever you passed through a patcli of wood in a low
situation, there you found it growung luxuriantly.

The Indian place you are now at is not the proper place
to have come to in order to reach the Portuguese frontiers.

You have advanced too much to the westward. But
there wras no alternative. The ground betwixt you and
another small settlement (which was the right place to
have gone to) was overflowed; and thus, instead of pro¬
ceeding southward, you were obliged to wind along the
foot of the western hills, quite out of your way.

But the grand landscape this place affords makes you
ample amends for the time you have spent in reaching it.

It would require great descriptive powers to give a proper
idea of the situation these people have chosen for their
dwelling.

The hill they are on is steep and high, and full of im¬
mense rocks. The huts are not all in one place, but
dispersed wherever they have found a place level enough
for a lodgement. Before you ascend the hill you see at

120

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Imviense

plain.

Creek.

intervals an acre or two of wood, then an open space, with
a few huts on it ; then wood again, and then an open space,
and so on, till the intervening of the western hills, higher
and steeper still, and crowned with trees of the loveliest
shades, closes the enchanting scene.

At the base of this hill stretches an immense plain,
which appears to the eye, on this elevated spot, as level
as a bowling-green. The mountains on the other side are
piled one upon the other in romantic forms, and gradually
retire, till they are undiscernible from the clouds in which
they are involved. To the south-southwvest this far-
extending plain is lost in the horizon. The trees on it,
which look like islands on the ocean, add greatly to the
beauty of the landscape ; while the rivulet’s course is
marked out by the iEta-trees which follow its meanders.

Not being able to pursue the direct course from hence
to the next Indian habitation on account of the floods of
water that fall at this time of the year, you take a circuit
westerly along the mountain’s foot.

At last a large and deep creek stops your progress : it is
wide and rapid, and its banks very steep. There is neither
curial nor canoe, nor purple-heart tree in the neighbour¬
hood to make a Wood-skin to carry you over, so that you
are obliged to swim across ; and by the time you have
formed a kind of raft, composed of boughs of trees and
coarse grass, to ferry over your baggage, the day will be
too far spent to think of proceeding. You must be very
cautious before you venture to swim across this creek, for
the alligators are numerous, and near twenty feet long. On
the present occasion the Indians took uncommon precau¬
tions lest they should be devoured by this cruel and vora¬
cious reptile. They cut long sticks, and examined closely
the side of the creek for half a mile above and below the
place where it was to be crossed ; and as soon as the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

121

boldest had swum over, he did the same on the other side,
and then all followed.

After passing the night on the opposite bank, which is
well wooded, it is a brisk walk of nine hours before you
reach four Indian huts, on a rising ground a few hundred
paces from a little brook, whose banks are covered over
with Coucourite and iEta-trees.

This is the place you ought to have come to two days
ago had the water permitted you. In crossing the plain
at the most advantageous place you are above ankle-deep
in water for three hours ; the remainder of the way is dry,
the ground gently rising. As the lower parts of this
spacious plain put on somewhat the appearance of a lake
during the periodical rains, it is improbable but that this
is the place which hath given rise to the supposed exist¬
ence of the famed Lake Parima, or El Dorado ; but this is
mere conjecture.

A few Deer are feeding on the coarse rough grass of this
far-extending plain ; they keep at a distance from you, and
are continually on the look-out.

The Spur-winged Plover, and a species of the Curlew,
black, with a white bar across the wings, nearly as large
again as the scarlet curlew on the sea-coast, frequently
rise before you. Here, too, the Moscovy Duck is numer¬
ous ; and large flocks of two other kinds wheel round you
as you pass on, but keep out of gun-shot. The milk-white
Egrets and Jabirus are distinguished at a great distance ;
and in the seta and coucourite trees you may observe flocks
of scarlet and blue Aras feeding on the seeds.

It is to these trees that the largest sort of Toucan resorts.
He is remarkable by a large black spot on the point of his
fine yellow bill. He is very scarce in Demerara, and never
seen except near the sea-coast.

The Ants’ Nests have a singular appearance on this plain.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Toucan.

Ants'

nests.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

1 22

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Portuguese
frontiers .

They are in vast abundance on those parts of it free from
water, and are formed of an exceedingly hard yellow clay.
They rise eight or ten feet from the ground, in a spiral
form, impenetrable to the rain, and strong enough to defy
the severest tornado.

The wourali-poison, procured in These last-mentioned
huts, seemed very good, and proved afterwards to be
very strong.

There are now no more Indian settlements betwixt you
and the Portuguese frontiers. If you wish to visit their
fort, it would be advisable to send an Indian with a letter
from hence, and wait his return. On the present occasion
a very fortunate circumstance occurred. The Portuguese
commander had sent some Indians and soldiers to build a
canoe, not far from this settlement ; they had just finished
it, and those who did not stay with it had stopped here on
their return.

The soldier who commanded the rest, said, he durst
not, upon any account, convey a stranger to the fort; but
he added, as there were two canoes, one of them might be
despatched with a letter, and then we could proceed slowly
on in the other.

About three hours from this settlement there is a
river called Pirarara; and here the soldiers had left their
canoes while they were making the new one. From the
Pirarara you get into the river Maori, and then into the
Tacatou ; and just where the Tacatou falls into the Eio
Branco, there stands the Portuguese frontier fort, called
Fort. St. Joachim. From the time of embarking in the
river Pirarara, it takes you four days before you reach this
fort.

There was nothing very remarkable in passing down
these rivers. It is an open country, producing a coarse
grass, and interspersed with clumps of trees. The banks

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

123

have some wood on them, but it appears stinted and
crooked, like that on the bleak hills in England.

The Tapir frequently plunged into the river ; he was by
no means shy, and it was easy to get a shot at him on
land. The Ivessi-kessi paroquets were in great abundance ;
and the fine scarlet Aras innumerable in the coucourite-
trees at a distance from the river’s bank. In the Tacatou
was seen the Troupiale. It was charming to hear
the sweet and plaintive notes of this pretty songster of
the wilds. The Portuguese call it the Nightingale of
Guiana.

Towards the close of the fourth evening, the canoe,
which had been sent on with a letter, met us with the
commander’s answer. During its absence, the nights had
been cold and stormy, the rain had fallen in torrents,
the days cloudy, and there was no sun to dry the wet
hammocks. Exposed thus, day and night, to the chilling
blast and pelting shower, strength of constitution at last
failed, and a severe fever came on. The commander’s
answer was very polite. He remarked, he regretted much
to say, that he had received orders to allow no stranger to
enter the frontier, and this being the case, he hoped I
would not consider him as uncivil : “however,” continued
he, “ I have ordered the soldier to land you at a certain
distance from the fort, where we can consult together.”

We had now arrived at the place, and the canoe which
brought the letter returned to the fort, to tell the com¬
mander I had fallen sick.

The sun had not risen above an hour the morning after
when the Portuguese officer came to the spot where we
had landed the preceding evening. He was tall and
spare, and appeared to be from fifty to fifty-five years old ;
and though thirty years of service under an equatorial sun
had burnt and shrivelled up his face, still there was some-

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Message,
from the
Portuguese
com-
m under .

124

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Fori St.
Joachim.

thing in it so inexpressibly affable and kind, that it set
you immediately at your ease. He came close up to the
hammock, and taking hold of my wrist to feel the pulse,
“ I am sorry, sir,” said he, “ to see that the fever has taken
such hold of you. You shall go directly with me,” con¬
tinued he, “ to the fort ; and though we have no doctor
there, I trust,” added he, “ we shall soon bring you about
again. The orders I have received forbidding the ad¬
mission of strangers were never intended to be put in
force against a sick English gentleman.”

As the canoe was proceeding slowly down the river
towards the fort, the commander asked, with much more
interest than a question in ordinary conversation is asked,
where was I on the night of the first of May ? On telling
him that I was at an Indian settlement a little below the
great fall in the Demerara, and that a strange and sudden
noise had alarmed all the Indians, he said the same
astonishing noise had roused every man in Fort St.
Joachim, and that they remained under arms till morning.
He observed, that he had been quite at a loss to form any
idea what could have caused the noise ; but now learning
that the same noise had been heard at the same time far
away from the Rio Branco, it struck him there must have
been an earthquake somewhere or other.

Good nourishment and rest, and the unwearied attention
and kindness of the Portuguese commander, stopped the
progress of the fever, and enabled me to walk about in six
days.

Fort St. Joachim was built about five and forty years
ago, under the apprehension, it is said, that the Spaniards
were coming from the Rio Negro to settle there. It has
been much neglected ; the floods of water have carried
away the gate, and destroyed the wall on each side of it ;
but the present commander is putting it into thorough

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

125

repair. When finished, it will mount six nine and six
twelve pounders.

In a straight line with the fort, and within a few yards
of the river, stand the commander’s house, the barracks,
the chapel, the father confessor’s house, and two others,
all at little intervals from each other ; and these are the
only buildings at Fort St. Joachim. The neighbouring
extensive plains afford good pasturage for a fine breed of
cattle, and the Portuguese make enough of butter and
cheese for their own consumption.

On asking the old officer if there were such a place as
Lake Parima, or El Dorado, he replied, he looked upon it
as imaginary altogether. “ I have been above foiiw years,”
added he, “ in Portuguese Guiana, but have never yet met
with anybody who has seen the lake.”

So much for Lake Parima, or El Dorado, or the White
Sea. Its existence at best seems doubtful; some affirm
that there is such a place, and others deny it.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

CHAPTER If.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Wourali-

poison.

Its effects.

“ Grammatici certant, et adhuc sub judice lis est.”

The Macouslii Indians — Poison vendors — Apparent failure of poison —
Collecting materials for wourali-poison — Preparing the poison — Super¬
stitions — The blow-pipe gun — The Ourah — The Samourah — Silk-grass
— Acuero fruit — Coucourite palm — Wild Cotton — Arrows — Quivers —
Jaw of Pirai — Packing the arrows — Cotton basket — Gun sight made
of Acouri teeth — Poisoned fowl — Suspending the guns — The bow —
Ingenious arrows — Small quivers — A wild hog shot — Utilization of
indigenous products.

Haying now readied the Portuguese inland frontier, and
collected a sufficient quantity of the wonrali-poison,
nothing remains but to give a brief account of its com¬
position, its effects, its uses, and its supposed antidotes.

It has been already remarked, that in the extensive wilds
of Demerara and Essequibo, far away from any European
settlement, there is a tribe of Indians who are known by
the name of Macouslii.

Though the wourali-poison is used by all the South
American savages betwixt the Amazons and the Oroonoque,
still this tribe makes it stronger than any of the rest.
The Indians in the vicinity of the Rio Negro are aware of
this, and come to the Macouslii country to purchase it.

Much has been said concerning this fatal and extra¬
ordinary poison. Some have affirmed that its effects are
almost instantaneous, provided the minutest particle of

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

127

it mixes with the blood ; and others again have maintained
that it is not strong enough to kill an animal of the
size and strength of a man. The first have erred by
lending a too willing ear to the marvellous, and be¬
lieving assertions without sufficient proof. The follow¬
ing short story points out the necessity of a cautions
examination.

One day, on asking an Indian if he thought the poison
would kill a man, he replied, that they always go to battle
with it ; that he was standing by when an Indian was
shot with a poisoned arrow, and that he expired almost
immediately. Not wishing to dispute this apparently
satisfactory information, the subject was dropped. How¬
ever, about an hour after, having purposely asked him in
what part of the body the said Indian was wounded, he
answered without hesitation, that the arrow entered
betwixt his shoulders, and passed quite through his heart.
Was it the weapon, or the strength of the poison, that
brought on immediate dissolution in this case ? Of course
the weapon.

The second have been misled by disappointment,
caused by neglect in keeping the poisoned arrows, or by
not knowing how to use them, or by trying inferior poison.
If the arrows are not kept dry, the poison loses its
strength ; and in wet or damp weather it turns mouldy,
and becomes quite soft. In shooting an arrow in this
state, upon examining the place where it has entered,
it will be observed that, though the arrow has pene¬
trated deep into the flesh, still by far the greatest part
of the poison has shrunk back, and thus, instead of enter¬
ing with the arrow, it has remained collected at the
mouth of the wound. In this case the arrow might as
well have not been poisoned. Probably, it was to this
that a gentleman, some time ago, owed his disappointment,

FIRST

JOURNEY

i Anecdote

128

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

when lie tried the poison on a horse in the town ol
Stabroek, the capital of Demerara; the horse never be¬
trayed the least symptom of being affected by it.

Wishful to obtain the best information concerning this
poison, and as repeated inquiries, in lieu of dissipating the
surrounding shade, did but tend more and more to darken
the little light that existed, I determined to penetrate
into the country where the poisonous ingredients grow,
where this pernicious composition is prepared, and where
it is constantly used. Success attended the adventure ;
and the information acquired made amends for one hun¬
dred and twenty days passed in the solitudes of Guiana,
and afforded a balm to the wounds and bruises which
every traveller must expect to receive who wanders
through a thorny and obstructed path.

Thou must not, courteous reader, expect a dissertation
on the manner in which the wourali-poison operates on
the system ; a treatise has been already written on the
subject, and after all, there is probably still reason to
doubt. It is supposed to affect the nervous system, and
thus destroy the vital functions ; it is also said to be
perfectly harmless, provided it does not touch the blood.
However, this is certain, when a sufficient quantity of it
enters the blood, death is the inevitable consequence ; but
there is no alteration in the colour of the blood, and both
the blood and flesh may be eaten with safety.

All that thou wilt find here is a concise, unadorned
account of the wourali-poison. It may be of service to
thee some time or other, sliouldst thou ever travel through
the wilds where it is used. Neither attribute to cruelty,
nor to a want of feeling for the sufferings of the inferior
animals, the ensuing experiments The larger animals
were destroyed in order to have proof positive of the
strength of a uoison which hath hitherto been doubted :

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

129

and the smaller ones were killed with the hope of sub¬
stantiating that which has commonly been supposed to be
an antidote.

It makes a pitying heart ache to see a poor creature in
distress and pain ; and too often has the compassionate
traveller occasion to heave a sigh as he journeys on.
However, here, though the kind-hearted will be sorry to
read of an unoffending animal doomed to death, in order
to satisfy a doubt, still it will be a relief to know that the
victim was not tortured. The wourali-poison destroys
life’s action so gently, that the victim appears to be in no
pain whatever; and probably, were the truth known, it
feels none, saving the momentary smart at the time the
arrow enters.

A day or two before the Macoushi Indian prepares his
poison, he goes into the forest in quest of the ingredients.
A vine grows in these wilds, which is called Wourali. It
is from this that the poison takes its name, and it is the
principal ingredient. When he has procured enough of
this, he digs up a root of a very bitter taste, ties them
together, and then looks about for two kinds of bulbous
plants, which contain a green and glutinous juice. He
fills a little quake, which he carries on his back, with the
stalks of these ; and lastly, ranges up and down till lie
finds two species of ants. One of them is very large and
black, and so venomous, that its sting produces a fever ;
it is most commonly to be met with on the ground. The
other is a little red ant, which stings like a nettle, and
generally has its nest under the leaf of a shrub. After
obtaining these, he has no more need to range the forest.

A quantity of the strongest Indian pepper is used ; but
this he has already planted round his hut. The pounded
fangs of the Labarri snake, and those of the Couanacouclii,
are likewise added. These he commonly has in store ; for

K

FIRST

JOURNEY.

130

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FI I? ST
JOURNEY*

Prepara¬
tion of t/ce
II " ourali -
poison .

Vabahou,
or evil
spirit.

when lie kills a snake, he generally extracts the fangs, and
keeps them by him.

Having thus found the necessary ingredients, he scrapes,
the wourali vine and bitter root into thin shavings, and
puts them into a kind of colander made of leaves : this
he holds over an earthen pot, and pours water on the
shavings : the liquor which comes through has the appear¬
ance of coffee. When a sufficient quantity has been
procured, the shavings are thrown aside. He then bruises
the bulbous stalks, and squeezes a proportionate quantity
of their juice through his hands into the pot. Lastly, the
snakes’ fangs, ants, and pepper are bruised, and thrown
into it. It is then placed on a slow fire, and as it boils
more of the juice of the wourali is added, according as it
may be found necessary, and the scum is taken off with a
leaf: it remains on the fire till reduced to a thick syrup of
a deep brown colour. As soon as it has arrived at this
state, a few arrows are poisoned with it, to try its strength.
If it answer the expectations, it is poured out into a
calabash, or little pot of Indian manufacture, which is
carefully covered with a couple of leaves, and over them
a piece of deer’s skin, tied round with a cord. They keep
it in the most dry part of the hut ; and from time to
time suspend it over the fire, to counteract the effects of
dampness.

The act of preparing this poison is not considered as a
common one: the savage may shape his bow, fasten the
barb on the point of his arrow, and make his other imple¬
ments of destruction, either lying in his hammock, or in the
midst of his family; but, if he has to prepare the wourali-
poison, many precautions are supposed to be necessary.

The women and young girls are not allowed to be
present, lest the Yabahou, or evil spirit, should do them
harm. The shed under which it has been boiled is

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

131

pronounced polluted, and abandoned ever after. He who
makes the poison must eat nothing that morning, and
must continue fasting as long as the operation lasts. The
pot in which it is boiled must be a new one, and must
never have held anything before, otherwise the poison
would be deficient in strength : add to this, that the
operator must take particular care not to expose himself
to the vapour which arises from it wdiile on the fire.

Though this and other precautions are taken, such as
frequently washing the face and hands, still the Indians
think that it affects the health ; and the operator either is,
or, what is more probable, supposes himself to be, sick for
some days after.

Thus is appears that the making the wourali-poison is
considered as a gloomy and mysterious operation ; and it
would seem that they imagine it affects others as well as
him who boils it ; for an Indian agreed one evening to
make some for me, but the next morning he declined
having anything, to do with it, alleging that his wife was
with child !

Here it might be asked, are all the ingredients just
mentioned necessary, in order to produce the wourali-
poison ? Though our opinions and conjectures may mili¬
tate against the absolute necessity of some of them, still
it would be hardly fair to pronounce them added by the
hand of superstition, till proof positive can be obtained.

We might argue on the subject, and, by bringing forward
instances of Indian superstition, draw our conclusion by
inference, and still remain in doubt on this head. You
know superstition to be the offspring of ignorance, and of
course that it takes up its abode amongst the rudest tribes
of uncivilized man. It even too often resides with man in
his more enlightened state.

The Augustan age furnishes numerous examples. A

FTI'ST

JOUUNEV.

Indian
super¬
stition .

132

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

bone snatched from the jaws of a fasting bitch, and a
feather from the wing of a night owl, — “ ossa ab ore rapta
jejunae canis, plumamque nocturnae strigis,” — were neces¬
sary for Oanidia’s incantations. And in aftertimes, parson
Evans, the Welshman, was treated most ungenteelly by an
enraged spirit, solely because he had forgotten a fumiga¬
tion in his witch-work.

If, then, enlightened man lets his better sense give way,
and believes, or allows himself to be persuaded, that cer¬
tain substances and actions, in reality of no avail, possess
a virtue which renders them useful in producing the
wished-for effect ; may not the wild, untaught, unen¬
lightened savage of Guiana add an ingredient which, on
account of the harm it does him, he fancies may be useful
to the perfection of his poison, though in fact it be of no
use at all ? If a bone snatched from the jaws of a fasting
bitch be thought necessary in incantation ; or if witchcraft
have recourse to the raiment of the owl, because it resorts
to the tombs and mausoleums of the dead, and wails and
hovers about at the time that the rest of animated nature
sleeps; certainly the savage may imagine that the ants,
whose sting causes a fever, and the teeth of the Labarri
and Couanacouchi snakes, which convey death in a very
short space of time, are essentially necessary in the com¬
position of his poison ; and being once impressed with
this idea, he will add them every time he makes the
poison, and transmit the absolute use of them to his pos¬
terity. The question to be answered seems not to be, if
it is natural for the Indians to mix these ingredients, but,
if they are essential to make the poison.

So much for the preparing of this vegetable essence;
terrible importer of death, into whatever animal it enters.
Let us now see how it is used ; let us examine the weapons
which bear it to its destination, and take a view of the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

133

poor victim, from the time he receives his wound till FmsT
death comes to his relief. journey.

When a native of Macoushia goes in quest of feathered Descrip -
game or other birds, he seldom carries his how and arrows, ^low-pipe
It is the blow-pipe he then uses. This extraordinary tube
of death is, perhaps, one of the greatest natural curiosities
of Guiana. It is not found in the country of the Ma-
coushi. Those Indians tell you that it grows to the south¬
west of them, in the wilds which extend betwixt them
and the Rio Negro. The reed must grow to an amazing
length, as the part the Indians use is from ten to eleven
feet long, and no tapering can be perceived in it, one end
being as thick as the other. It is of a bright yellow
colour, perfectly smooth both inside and out. It grows
hollow ; nor is there the least appearance of a knot or
joint throughout the whole extent. The natives call it
Ourah. This, of itself, is too slender to answer the end
of a blow-pipe ; but there is a species of palma, larger
and stronger, and common in Guiana, and this the Indians
make use of as a case, in which they put the ourah. It is
brown, susceptible of a fine polish, and appears as if it
had joints five or six inches from each other. It is called
Samourah, and the pulp inside is easily extracted, by
steeping it for a few days in water.

Thus the ourah and samourah, one within the other,
form the blow-pipe of Guiana. The end which is applied
to the mouth is tied round with a small silk-grass cord, to
prevent its splitting ; and the other end, which is apt to
strike against the ground, is secured by the seed of the
Acuero fruit, cut horizontally through the middle, with a
hole made in the end, through which is put the extremity
of the blow-pipe. It is fastened on with string on the
outside, and the inside is filled up with wild bees’-wax.

The arrow is from nine to ten inches long. It is made The arrow.

134

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The quiver.

out of the leaf of a species of palm-tree, called Coucourite,
hard and brittle, and pointed as sharp as a needle. About
an inch of the pointed end is poisoned. The other end is
burnt to make it still harder, and wild cotton is put round
it for about an inch and a half. It requires considerable
practice to put on this cotton well. It must just be large
enough to fit the hollow of the tube, and taper off to
nothing downwards. They tie it on with a thread of the
silk-grass, to prevent its slipping off the arrow.

The Indians have shown ingenuity in making a quiver
to hold the arrows. It will contain from five to six hun¬
dred. It is generally from twelve to fourteen inches long,
and in shape resembles a dice-box used at backgammon.
The inside is prettily done in basket-work, with wood not
unlike bamboo, and the outside has a coat of wax. The
cover is all of one piece, formed out of the skin of the
tapir. Hound the centre there is fastened a loop, large
enough to admit the arm and shoulder, from which it
hangs when used. To the rim is tied a little bunch of
silk-grass, and half of the jaw-bone of the fish called
pirai, with which the Indian scrapes the point of his
arrow.

Before he puts the arrows into the quiver, he links
them together by two strings of cotton, one string at each
end, and then folds them round a stick, which is nearly
the length of the quiver. The end of the stick, which is
uppermost, is guarded by two little pieces of wood cross¬
wise, with a hoop round their extremities, which appears
something like a wheel ; and this saves the hand from
being wounded when the quiver is reversed in order to let
the bunch of arrows drop out.

There is also attached to the quiver a little kind of
basket, to hold the wild cotton which is put on the blunt
end of the arrow. With a quiver of poisoned arrows

. WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

slung over liis shoulder, and with his blow-pipe in his
hand, in the same position as a soldier carries his musket,
see the Macoushi Indian advancing towards the forest in
quest of powises, maroudis, waracabas, and other feathered
game.

These generally sit high up in the tall and tufted trees,
but still are not out of the Indian’s reach ; for his blow¬
pipe, at its greatest elevation, will send an arrow three
hundred feet. Silent as midnight he steals under them,
and so cautiously does lie tread the ground, that the fallen
leaves rustle not beneath his feet. His ears are open to
the least sound, while his eye, keen as that of the lynx,
is employed in finding out the game in the thickest shade.
Often he imitates their cry, and decoys them from tree to
tree, till they are within range of his tube. Then taking a
poisoned arrow from his quiver, he puts it in the blow-pipe,
and collects his breath for the fatal puff.

About two feet from the end through which he blows
there are fastened two teeth of the acouri, and these serve
him for a sight. Silent and swift the arrow flies, and
seldom fails to pierce the object at which it is sent. Some¬
times the wounded bird remains in the same tree where it
was shot, and in three minutes falls down at the Indian’s
feet. Should he take wing, his flight is of short duration,
and the Indian, following the direction he has gone, is sure
to find him dead.

It is natural to imagine that, when a slight wound only
is inflicted, the game will make its escape. Far otherwise ;
the wourali-poison almost instantaneously mixes with blood
or water, so that if you wet your finger, and dash it along
the poisoned arrow in the quickest manner possible, you
are sure to carry off some of the poison. Though three
minutes generally elapse before the convulsions come on
in the wounded bird, still a stupor evidently takes place

1 r» k

] do

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The Indian
in pursuit
of his
game.

Effects of
the poison
on the
wounded,
bird.

136

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY,

sooner, and this stupor manifests itself by an apparent un¬
willingness in the bird to move. This was very visible in
a dying fowl.

Having procured a healthy full-grown one, a short piece
of a poisoned blow-pipe arrow was broken off and run up
into its thigh, as near as possible betwixt the skin and the
flesh, in order that it might not be incommoded by the
wound. For the first minute it walked about, but wTalked
very slowly, and did not appear the least agitated. During
the second minute it stood still, and began to peck the
ground ; and ere half another had elapsed, it frequently
opened and shut its mouth. The tail had now dropped,
and the wings almost touched the ground. By the ter¬
mination of the third minute, it had sat down, scarce able
to support its head, which nodded, and then recovered itself,
and then nodded again, lower and lower every time, like
that of a w7eary traveller slumbering in an erect position ;
the eyes alternately open and shut. The fourth minute
brought on convulsions, and life and the fifth terminated
together.

The flesh of the game is not in the least injured by the
poison, nor does it appear to corrupt sooner than that killed
by the gun or knife. The body of this fowl was kept for
sixteen hours, in a climate damp and rainy, and within
seven degrees of the equator; at the end of which time
it had contracted no bad smell whatever, and there were
no symptoms of putrefaction, saving that, just round the
wound, the flesh appeared somewhat discoloured.

The Indian, on his return home, carefully suspends his
blow-pipe from the top of his spiral roof ; seldom placing
it in an oblique position, lest it should receive a cast.

Here let the blow-pipe remain suspended, while you take
a view of the arms which are made to slay the larger
beasts of the forest.

i

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

137

When the Indian intends to chase the peccari, or
surprise the deer, or rouse the tapir from his marshy retreat,
he carries his bow and arrows, which are very different from
the weapons already described.

The bow is generally from six to seven feet long, and
strung with a cord, spun out of the silk-grass. The forests
of Guiana furnish many species of hard wood, tough and
elastic, out of which beautiful and excellent bows are
formed.

The arrows are from four to five feet in length, made of
a yellow reed without a knot or joint. It is found in great
plenty up and down throughout Guiana. A piece of hard
wood, about nine inches long, is inserted into the end of
the reed, and fastened with cotton well waxed. A scpiare
hole, an inch deep, is then made in the end of this piece of
hard wood, done tight round with cotton to keep it from
splitting. Into this square hole is fitted a spike of Cou-
courite wood, poisoned, and which may be kept there, or
taken out at pleasure. A joint of bamboo, about as thick
as your finger, is fitted on over the poisoned spike, to
prevent accidents and defend it from the rain, and is
taken off when the arrow is about to be used. Lastly, two
feathers are fastened on the other end of the reed to steady
it in its flight.

Besides his bow and arrows, the Indian carries a little
box made of bamboo, which holds a dozen or fifteen
poisoned spikes, six inches long. They are poisoned in the
following manner : a small piece of wood is dipped in the
poison, and with this they give the spike a first coat. It
is then exposed to the sun or fire. After it is dry, it
receives another coat, and is then dried again ; after this
a third coat, and sometimes a fourth.

They take great care to put the poison on thicker at the
middle than at the sides, by which means the spike retains

FIRST

JOURNEY.

The bow
used for
the chase.

Spikes.

188

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FTRSF

JOURNEY.

Kill a
wild hog.

the shape of a- two-edged sword. It is rather a tedious
operation to make one of these arrows complete ; and as
the Indian is not famed for industry, except when pressed
by hunger, he has hit upon a plan of preserving his arrows
which deserves notice.

About a quarter of an inch above the part where the
Coucourite spike is fixed into the square hole, he cuts it
half through; and thus, when it has entered the animal,
the weight of the arrow causes it to break off there, by
which means the arrow falls to the ground uninjured ; so
that, should this be the only arrow he happens to have
with him, and should another shot immediately occur,
he has only to take another poisoned spike out of his
little bamboo box, fit it on his arrow, and send it to its
destination.

Thus armed with deadly poison, and hungry as the
hyaena, he ranges through the forest in quest of the wild
beasts’ track. No hound can act a surer part. Without
clothes to fetter him, or shoes to bind his feet, he observes
the footsteps of the game, where an European eye could
not discern the smallest vestige. He pursues it through
all its turns and windings, with astonishing perseverance,
and success generally crowns his efforts. The animal, after
receiving the poisoned arrow, seldom retreats two hundred
paces before it drops.

In passing overland from the Essequibo to the Demerara
we fell in with a herd of wild hogs. Though encumbered
with baggage, and fatigued with a hard day’s walk, an
Indian got his bow ready, and let fly a poisoned arrow at
one of them. It entered the cheek-bone and broke off.
The wild hog was found quite dead about one hundred and
seventy paces from the place where he had been shot. He
afforded us an excellent and wholesome supper.

Thus the savage of Guiana, independent of the common

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

139

weapons of destruction, has it in his power to prepare a
poison, by which he can generally ensure to himself a
supply of animal food ; and the food so destroyed imbibes
no deleterious qualities. Nature has been bountiful to him.
She has not only ordered poisonous herbs and roots to grow
in the unbounded forests through which he strays, but has
also furnished an excellent reed for his arrows, and another,
still more singular, for his blow-pipe ; and planted trees of
an amazing hard, tough, and elastic texture, out of which
he forms his bows. And in order that nothing might be
wanting, she has superadded a tree which yields him
a tine wax, and disseminated up and down, a plant not
unlike that of the pine-apple, which affords him capital
bow-stri ngs.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

CHAPTER III.

Operation of the Wourali. — Its effects on the Ai, or three-toed Sloth. —
Death resembling sleep. — A poisoned Ox. — Poison proportionate to
size of animal. — Alleged antidotes. — An Indian killed by his own
arrow. — Ligatures and the knife. — Descent of the Essequibo. — Skill
of the boatman. — The Buccaneers. — Tertian ague. — Experiments with
Wourali. — Value of a ligature. — Artificial respiration. — Long life and
quiet death of Wouralia. — When good King Arthur ruled this land. —
Return of health.

FIRST

.TOURNEY.

Further
remarks
on the
virulence
of the
poison.

Having now followed the Indian in the chase, and de¬
scribed the poison, let us take a nearer view of its action,
and observe a large animal expiring under the weight of
its baneful virulence.

Many have doubted the strength of the wourali-poison.
Should they ever by chance read what follows, probably
their doubts on that score will be settled for ever.

In the former experiment on the hog, some faint resist¬
ance on the part of nature w~as observed, as if existence
struggled for superiority ; but in the following instance of
the sloth, life sank in death without the least apparent
contention, without a cry, without a struggle, and without
a groan. This was an Ai, or three-toed Sloth. It was in
the possession of a gentleman who was collecting curiosities.
He wished to have it killed, in order to preserve the skin,
and the wourali-poison was resorted to as the easiest
death.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

141

Of all animals, not even the toad and tortoise excepted,
this poor ill-formed creature is the most tenacious of life.
It exists long after it has received wounds which would have
destroyed any other animal ; and it may he said, on seeing
a mortally-wounded sloth, that life disputes with death
every inch of flesh in its body.

The Ai was wounded in the leg, and put down on the
floor, about two feet from the table ; it contrived to
reach the leg of the table and fastened himself on it, as if
wishful to ascend. But this was its last advancing step :
life was ebbing fast, though imperceptibly ; nor could this
singular production of nature, which has been formed of
a texture to resist death in a thousand shapes, make any
stand against the wourali-poison.

First, one fore-leg let go its hold, and dropped down
motionless by its side ; the other gradually did the same.
The fore-legs having now lost their strength, the sloth
slowly doubled its body, and placed its head betwixt its
hind-legs, which still adhered to the table ; but when the
poison had affected these also, it sank to the ground, but
sank so gently, that you could not distinguish the move¬
ment from an ordinary motion ; and had you been ignorant
that it was wounded with a poisoned arrow, you would
never have suspected that it was dying. Its mouth was
shut, nor had anv froth or saliva collected there.

There was no subsultus tendinum, or any visible altera¬
tion in its breathing. During the tenth minute from the
time it was wounded it stirred, and that was all ; and the
minute after, life’s last spark went out. From the time the
poison began to operate, you would have conjectured that
sleep was overpowering it, and you would have exclaimed,
“ Pressitque jacentem, dulcis et alta quies, placidaeque
simillirna morti.”

There are now two positive proofs of the effect of this

FIRST

JOURNEY.

142

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Experi¬
ment upon
an Ox.

fatal poison ; viz. the death of the hog, and that of the sloth.
But still these animals were nothing remarkable for size ;
and the strength of the poison in large animals might
yet be doubted, were it not for what follows.

A large well-fed ox, from nine hundred to a thousand
pounds weight, was tied to a stake by a rope sufficiently
long to allow him to move to and fro. Having no large
Coucourite spikes at hand, it was judged necessary, on
account of his superior size, to put three wild-hog arrows
into him; one was sent into each thigh just above the
hock, in order to avoid wounding a vital part, and the
third was shot traversely into the extremity of the nostril.

The poison seemed to take effect in four minutes. Con¬
scious as though he would fall, the ox set himself firmly
on his legs, and remained quite still in the same place,
till about the fourteenth minute, when he smelled the
ground, and appeared as if inclined to walk. He advanced
a pace or two, staggered, and fell, and remained extended
on his side with his head on the ground. His eye, a few
minutes ago so bright and lively, now became fixed and
dim, and though you put your hand close to it as if to
give him a blow there, he never closed his eyelid.

His legs were convulsed, and his head from time to time
started involuntarily ; but he never showed the least desire
to raise it from the ground ; he breathed hard, and emitted
foam from his mouth. The startings, or subsultus tendi-
nuin, now became gradually weaker and weaker; his
hinder parts were fixed in death ; and in a minute or two
more his head and fore-legs ceased to stir.

Nothin" now remained to show that life was still within

O

him, except that his heart faintly beat and fluttered at
intervals. In five-and-twenty minutes from the time of
his being wounded lie was quite dead. His flesh was very
sweet and savoury at dinner.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

143

On taking a retrospective view of the two different
kinds of poisoned arrows, and the animals destroyed by
them, it would appear that the quantity of poison must
be proportioned to tire animal, and thus those probably
labour under an error who imagine that the smallest
particle of it introduced into the blood has almost instan¬
taneous effects.

Make an estimate of the difference in size betwixt the
fowl and the ox, and then weigh a sufficient quantity of
poison for a blow-pipe arrow with which the fowl was
killed, and weigh also enough poison for three wild-hog
arrows which destroyed the ox, and it will appear that the
fowl received much more poison in proportion than the
ox. Hence the cause why the fowl died in five minutes,
and the ox in five-and-twenty.

Indeed, were it the case that the smallest particle of it
introduced into the blood has almost instantaneous effects,
the Indian would not find it necessary to make the large
arrow ; that of the blow-pipe is much easier made and
requires less poison.

And now for the antidotes, or rather the supposed anti¬
dotes. The Indians tell you, that if the wounded animal
be held for a considerable time up to the mouth in water,
the poison will not prove fatal; also that the juice of the
sugar-cane poured down the throat will counteract the
effects of it. These antidotes were fairly tried upon full-
grown healthy fowls, but they all died, as though no steps
had been taken to preserve their lives. Rum was recom¬
mended and given to another, but with as little success.

It is supposed by some, that wind introduced into the
lungs by means of a small pair of bellows would revive
the poisoned patient, provided the operation be continued
for a sufficient length of time. It may be so ; but this is
a difficult and a tedious mode of cure, and he who is

FIRST

JOURNEY..

General

observa¬

tions.

Antidotes.

144

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

first wounded in the forest far away from his friends, or in
joi.km-.i . £jie ppe savages# stands but a poor chance of being

saved by it.

Had the Indians a sure antidote, it is likely they would
carry it about with them, or resort to it immediately after
being wounded, if at hand ; and their confidence in its
efficacy would greatly diminish the horror they betray
when you point a poisoned arrow at them.

One day, while we were eating a red monkey, erroneously
called the baboon in Demerara, an Arowack Indian told
an affecting story of what happened to a comrade of his.
He was present at his death. As it did not interest this
Indian in any point to tell a falsehood, it is very probable
that his account was a true one. If so, it appears that
there is no certain antidote, or at least an antidote that
could be resorted to in a case of urgent need ; for the Indian
gave up all thoughts of life as soon as he was wounded.
Anecdote. The Arowack Indian said it was but four years ago that
he and his companion were ranging in the forest in quest
of game. His companion took a poisoned arrow, and sent
it at a red monkey in a tree above him. It was nearly a
perpendicular shot. The arrow missed the monkey, and
in the descent, struck him in the arm, a little above the
elbow. He was convinced it was all over with him. “ I
shall never,” said he to his companion in a faltering voice
and looking at his bow as said it, “ I shall never,” said he,
“ bend this bow again.” And having said that, he took
off his little bamboo poison-box, which hung across his
shoulder, and putting it together with his bow and arrows
on the ground, he laid himself down close by them, bid
his companion farewell, and never spoke more.

He who is unfortunate enough to be wounded by a
poisoned arrow from Macoushia had better not depend
upon the common antidotes for a cure. Many who have

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

been in Guiana will recommend immediate immersion in
water, or to take the juice of the sugar-cane, or to fill the
mouth full of salt ; and they recommend these antidotes
because they have got them from the Indians. But were you
to ask them if they ever saw these antidotes used with suc¬
cess, it is ten to one their answer would be in the negative.

Wherefore let him reject these antidotes as unprofitable,
and of no avail. He has got an active and deadly foe
within him, which, like Shakspeare’s fell Sergeant Death,
is strict in his arrest, and will allow him but little time —
very — very little time. In a few minutes he will be
numbered with the dead. Life ought, if possible, to be
preserved, be the expense ever so great. Should the part
affected admit of it, let a ligature be tied tight round the
wound, and have immediate recourse to the knife : — •

“ Continuo, culpam ferro compesce priusquam,

Dira per infaustuni serpant contagia corpus.”

And now, kind reader, it is time to bid thee farewell.
The two ends proposed have been obtained. The Portu¬
guese inland frontier fort has been reached, and the

O

Macoushi wourali-poison acquired. The account of this
excursion through the interior of Guiana has been sub¬
mitted to thy perusal, in order to induce thy abler genius
to undertake a more extensive one. If any difficulties
have arisen, or fevers come on, they have been caused by
the periodical rains, which fall in torrents as the sun
approaches the tropic of Cancer. In dry weather there
would be no difficulties or sickness.

Amongst the many satisfactory conclusions which thou
wouldest be able to draw during the journey, there is one
which, perhaps, would please thee not a little ; and that
is with regard to dogs. Many a time, no doubt, thou hast
heard it hotly disputed, that dogs existed in Guiana

L

143

FIRST

JOUKNUY.

146

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

first previously to the arrival of the Spaniards in those parts.
journey. whatever the Spaniards introduced, and which bore no re¬
semblance to anything the Indians had been accustomed
to see, retains its Spanish name to this day.

Thus the Warow, the Arowack, the Acoway, the Ma-
coushi, and Carib tribes, call a hat, sombrero ; a shirt, or
any kind of cloth, camiso ; a shoe, zapato ; a letter, carta ;
a fowl, gallina ; gunpowder, colvora, (Spanish, polvora ;)
ammunition, bala ; a cow, vaca ; and a dog, perro.

This argues strongly against the existence of dogs in
Guiana before it was discovered by the Spaniards, and
probably may be of use to thee, in thy next canine dispute-
Politics. In a political point of view this country presents a
large field for speculation. A few years ago there was but
little inducement for any Englishman to explore the in¬
terior of these rich and fine colonies, as the British
Government did not consider them worth holding at the
peace of Amiens. Since that period their mother-country
has been blotted out from the list of nations, and America
has unfolded a new sheet of politics. On one side, the
crown of Braganza, attacked by an ambitious chieftain,
has fled from the palace of its ancestors, and now seems
fixed on the banks of the Janeiro. Cayenne has yielded
to its arms. La Plata lias raised the standard of independ¬
ence, and thinks itself sufficiently strong to obtain a
government of its own. On the other side, the Caraccas
are in open revolt, and should Santa Fe join them in good
earnest, they may form a powerful association.

Thus, on each side of the ci-devant Dutch Guiana, most
unexpected and astonishing changes have taken place.
Will they raise or lower it in the scale of estimation at
the Court of St. James’s ? Will they be of benefit to
these grand and extensive colonies ? Colonies enjoying
perpetual summer. Colonies of the richest soil. Colonies

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

147

containing within themselves everything necessary for
their support. Colonies, in fine, so varied in their quality
and situation, as to be capable of bringing to perfection
every tropical production ; and only want the support of
government, and an enlightened governor, to render them
as fine as the finest portions of the equatorial regions.
Kind reader, fare thee well.

LETTER TO THE PORTUGUESE COMMANDER.

Muy Senor,

Como no tengo el honor, de ser conocido de VM. lo pienso mejor,
y mas decoroso, quedarme aqui, hastaque huviere recibido su res-
puesta. Haviendo caminado hasta la chozo, adonde estoi, no
quisiere volverme, antes de haver visto la fortaleza de los Portu-
gueses ; y pido licencia de VM. para que me adelante. Honradissi-
mos son mis motivos, ni tengo proyecto ninguno, o de comercio, o
de la soldadesca, no siendo yo, o comerciante, o oficial. Hidalgo
catolico soy, de hacienda in Ynglatierra, y muchos anos de mi vida
he pasado en caminar. Ultimamente, de Demeraria vengo, la qual
dexe el 5 dia de Abril, para ver este hermoso pais, y coger unas
curiosidades, especialmente, el veneno, que se llama wourali. Las
mas recentes noticias que tenian en Demeraria, antes de mi salida,
eran medias tristes, medias alegres. Tristes digo, viendo que
Valencia ha caido en poder del enemigo comun, y le General Blake,
y sus valientes tropas quedan prisioneros de guerra. Alegres, al
contrario, porque Milord Wellington se ha apoderado de Ciudad
Rodrigo. A pesar de la caida de Valencia, parece claro al mundo,
que las cosas del enemigo, estan andando, de pejor a pejor cada dia.
Nosotros debemos dar gracias al Altissimo, por haver sido servido
dexarnos castigar ultimamente, a los robadores de sus santas Yglesias.
Se vera VM. que yo no escribo Portugues ni aun lo hablo, pero,
haviendo aprendido el Castellano, no nos faltara medio de coinmu-
nicar y tener conversacion. Ruego se escuse esta carta escrita sin
tinta, porque un Indio dexo caer mi tintero y quebrose. Dios le de
a VM. muchos ahos de salud. Entretanto, tengo el honor de ser

Su mas obedeciente servidor,

Carlos Watertox.

l 2

FIRST

JOURNEY.

148

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

REMARKS.

u Incertus, quo fata ferant, ubi sistere detur.’

first Kind and gentle reader, if tlie journey in quest of tlie
jourkei. wouraii_p0ison has engaged thy attention, probably thou
mayest recollect that the traveller -took leave of thee at
Eort St. Joachim, on the Rio Branco. Shouldest thou
wish to know what befell him afterwards, excuse the
following uninteresting narrative.

O O

Illness at Having had a return of fever, and aware that the

Fort St. farther he advanced into these wild and lonely regions,
Joachim. , .

the less would be the chance oi regaining his health; he

jietum to gave UP all idea, of proceeding onwards, and went slowly

Demerara. uacR towards the Demerara, nearly by the same route he

had come.

Falls of the On descending the falls in the Essequibo, which form an

Fssequibo. oblique line quite across the river, it was resolved to push
through them, the downward stream being in the canoe’s
favour. At a little distance from the place, a large tree
had fallen into the river, and in the meantime the canoe
was lashed to one of its branches.

The roaring of the water was dreadful ; it foamed and
dashed over the rocks with a tremendous spray, like
breakers on a lee-sliore, threatening destruction to what¬
ever approached it. You would have thought, by the
confusion it caused in the river, and the whirlpools it
made, that Scylla and Charybdis, and their whole progeny,

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

149

had left the Mediterranean, and come and settled here first
The channel was barely twelve feet wide, and the torrent JQUI!NEY-
in rushing down formed traverse furrows, which showed
how near the rocks were to the surface.

Nothing could surpass the skill of the Indian who
steered the canoe. He looked steadfastly at it, then at
the rocks, then cast an eye on the channel, and then
looked at the canoe again. It was in vain to speak. The
sound was lost in the roar of waters ; but his eye showed
that he had already passed it in imagination. He held up
his paddle in a position, as much as to say, that he wTould
keep exactly amid channel ; and then made a sign to cut
the bush rope that held the canoe to the fallen tree. The
canoe drove down the torrent with inconceivable rapidity.

It did not touch the rocks once all the way. The Indian
proved to a nicety, “ medio tutissimus ibis.”

Shortly after this it rained almost clay and night, the Thunder
lightning flashing incessantly, and the roar of thunder and lvjkt
awful beyond expression.

The fever returned, and pressed so heavy on him, that Fever
to all appearance his last day’s march was over. How- lctu,llcd‘
ever, it abated ; his spirits rallied, and he marched again •
and after delays and inconveniences he reached the house
of his worthy friend, Mr. Edmonstone, in Mibiri Creek, Reaches
which falls into the Demerara. No words of his can do *crcclc
justice to the hospitality of that gentleman, whose re¬
peated encounters with the hostile negroes in the forest
have been publicly rewarded, and will be remembered in
the colony for years to come.

Here he learned that an eruption had taken place in St.

Vincent’s ; and thus the noise heard in the night of the
first of May, which had caused such terror amongst the
Indians, and made the garrison at Fort St. Joachim re¬
main under arms the rest of the night, is accounted for.

150

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Sails for
Granada.

St.

Thomas's

Tower.

Leaves St.
1'homas's
and is
attacked by
a tertain
ague, and
returns to
England.

After experiencing every kindness and attention from
Mr. Edmonstone, lie sailed for Granada, and from thence
to St. Thomas’s, a few days before poor Captain Peake lost
his life on his own quarter-deck, bravely fighting for his
country on the coast of Guiana.

At St. Thomas’s they show you a tower, a little distance
from the town, which they say formerly belonged to a
Bucanier chieftain. Probably the fury of besiegers has
reduced it to its present dismantled state. What still
remains of it bears testimony of its former strength, and
may brave the attack of time for centuries. You cannot
view its ruins without calling to mind the exploits of those
fierce and hardy hunters, long the terror of the western
world. While you admire their undaunted courage, you
lament that it was often stained with cruelty ; while you
extol their scrupulous justice to each other, you will find
a want of it towards the rest of mankind. Often pos¬
sessed of enormous wealth, often in extreme poverty,
often triumphant on the ocean, and often forced to fly to
the forests, their life was an ever-changing scene of ad¬
vance and retreat, of glory and disorder, of luxury and
famine. Spain treated them as outlaws and pirates, while
other European powers publicly disowned them. They, on
the other hand, maintained that justice on the part of
Spain first forced them to take up arms in self-defence ;
and that, whilst they kept inviolable the laws which they
had framed for their own common benefit and protection,
they had a right to consider as foes those who treated
them as outlaws. Under this impression they drew the
sword, and rushed on as though in lawful war, and
divided the spoils of victory in the scale of justice.

After leaving St. Thomas’s a severe tertian ague every
now and then kept putting the traveller in mind that his
shattered frame, “ starting and shivering in the inconstant

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA,

151

blast, meagre and pale — tlie ghost of what it was”- —
wanted repairs. Three years elapsed after arriving in
England before the ague took its final leave of him.

During that time several experiments were made with
the wourali poison. In London an ass was inoculated
with it, and died in twelve minutes. The poison was
inserted into the leg of another, round which a bandage
had been previously tied a little above the place where
the wourali w7as introduced. He walked about as usual,
and ate his food as though all were right. After an hour
had elapsed the bandage was untied, and ten minutes
after death overtook him.

A she-ass received the wourali poison in the shoulder,
and died apparently in ten minutes. An incision was
then made in its windpipe, and through it the lungs were
regularly inflated for two hours with a pair of bellows.
Suspended animation returned. The ass held up her head,
and looked around; but the inflating being discontinued, she
sunk once more in apparent death. The artificial breath¬
ing was immediately recommenced, and continued without
intermission for two hours. This saved the ass from final
dissolution ; she rose up, and walked about ; she seemed
neither in agitation nor in pain. The wound, through
which the poison entered, was healed without difficulty.
Her constitution, however, was so severely affected that
it was long a doubt if ever she would be well again.
She looked lean and sickly for above a year, but began
to mend the spring after, and by Midsummer became fat
and frisky.

The kind-hearted reader will rejoice on learning that
Earl Percy, pitying her misfortunes, sent her down from
London to Walton Hall, near Wakefield. There she goes
by the name of Wouralia. Wouralia shall be sheltered
from the wintry storm ; and when summer comes she

FIRST

JOURNEY.

Experi¬
ments in
London of
the

Wourali-

poison.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

1 1,2

FIRST

JOURNEY.

shall feed in the finest pasture. No burden shall be
placed upon her, and she shall end her days in peace.1

For three revolving autumns the ague-beaten wanderer
never saw, without a sigh, the swallow bend her flight
towards warmer regions. He wished to go too, but could
not ; for sickness had enfeebled him, and prudence pointed
out the folly of roving again too soon across the northern
tropic. To be sure, the continent was now open, and change
of air might prove beneficial ; but there was nothing very
tempting in a trip across the Channel, and as for a tour
through England ! — England has long ceased to be the
land for adventures. Indeed, when good King Arthur re¬
appears to claim his crown he will find things strangely
altered here ; and may we not look for his coming ? for
there is written upon his grave-stone : —

“ Hie jacet Arturus, Rex quondam Rexque futurus,”

“ Here Arthur lies, who formerly
Was king — and king again to be.”

Don Quixote was always of opinion that this famous
king did not die, but that he was changed into a raven by
enchantment, and that the English are momentarily ex¬
pecting his return. Be this as it may, it is certain that
when he reigned here all was harmony and joy. The
browsing herds passed from vale to vale, the swains sang
front the bluebell-teeming groves, and nymphs with eglan¬
tine and roses in their neatly-braided hair went hand in
hand to the flowery mead to weave garlands for their lamb¬
kins. If by chance some rude uncivil fellow dared to
molest them, or attempted to throw thorns in their path,
there was sure to be a knight-errant not far off ready to
rush forward in their defence. But alas ! in these de-

1 Poor Wourali breathed her last on the 15th of February, 1839, having
survived the operation nearly five-and-twenty years.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

153

generate days it is not so. Should a harmless cottage
maid wander out of the highway to pluck a primrose or
two in the neighbouring field the haughty owner sternly
bids her retire ; and if a pitying swain hasten to escort
her back, he is perhaps seized by the gaunt house-dog ere
he reach her.

AEneas’s route on the other side of Styx, could not have
been much worse than this, though, by his account, when
he got back to earth, it appears that he had fallen in with
“ Bellua Lernse, horrendum stridens, flammisque, armata
Chimsera.”

Moreover, he had a sibyl to guide his steps ; and as
such a conductress nowadays could not be got for love
or money, it was judged most prudent to refrain from
sauntering through this land of freedom, and wait with
patience the return of health. At last this long-looked
for, ever welcome stranger came.

FIRST

JOURNEY.

SECOND JOURNEY.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Sails for
Pernam¬
buco.

CHAPTER I.

From Liverpool to Pernambuco. — Stormy petrels. — Tropical zoology.—
Flying-fish. — Bonito, Albicore, and “Dolphin.” — Frigate bird. —
Arrival at Pernambuco. — The expelled Jesuits. — Pombal, the Captain-
General. — Southey’s history of Brazil. — Botanical garden. — Sangredo
Buey. — Rattlesnake. — Narrow escape. — Rainy. — Sail for Cayenne.™
Shark -catching.

In tlie year 1816, two clays before the vernal equinox, 1
sailed from Liverpool for Pernambuco, in the southern
hemisphere, on the coast of Brazil. There is little at this
time of the year in the European part of the Atlantic to
engage the attention of the naturalist. As you go down
the Channel you see a few divers and gannets. The
middle-sized gulls, with a black spot at the end of the
wings, attend you a little way into the Bay of Biscay.
When it blows a hard gale of wind the stormy petrel makes
its appearance. While the sea runs mountains high, and
every w7ave threatens destruction to the labouring vessel
this little harbinger of storms is seen enjoying itself, on
rapid pinion, up and down the roaring billows. When
the storm is over it appears no more. It is known to
every English sailor by the name of Mother Carey’s
Chicken. It must have been hatched in TEolus’s cave,
amongst a clutch of squalls and tempests ; for whenever

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

155

they get out upon the ocean it always contrives to be of
the party.

Though the calms and storms, and adverse winds in
these latitudes are vexatious, still, when you reach the
trade winds you are amply repaid for all disappointments
and inconveniences. The trade winds prevail about thirty
degrees on each side of the equator. This part of the ocean
may be called the Elysian Fields of Neptune’s Empire ; and
the torrid zone, notwithstanding Ovid’s remark, “ non est
habitabilis sestu,” is rendered healthy and pleasant by
these gently-blowing breezes. The ship glides smoothly
on, and you soon find yourself within the northern tropic.
When you are on it, Cancer is just over your head, and be¬
twixt him and Capricorn is the high road of the Zodiac
forty-seven degrees wide, famous for Phaeton’s misadven¬
ture. His father begged and entreated him not to take it
into his head to drive parallel to the five zones, but to
mind and keep on the turnpike which runs obliquely
across the equator. “ There you will distinctly see,” said
he, “ the ruts of my chariot wheels, ‘ manifesto rotse vesti¬
gia cernes.’ “ But,” added he, “even suppose you keep on
it, and avoid the by-roads, nevertheless, my dear boy, be¬
lieve me, you will be most sadly put to your shifts ; * ardua
prima via est,’ the first part of .the road is confoundedly
steep ! ‘ ultima via prona est,’ and after that it is all down
hill. Moreover, f per insidias iter est, formasque ferarum/
the road is full of nooses and bull-dogs, ‘ H^moniosque
arcus,’ and spring guns, ‘ stevaque circuitu, curvantem
bracliia longo, Scorpio,’ and steel traps of uncommon size
and shape.” These were nothing in the eyes of Phaeton ;
go he would, so off he set, full speed, four-in-hand. He
had a tough drive of it ; and after doing a prodigious deal
of mischief, very luckily for the world, he got thrown out
of the box, and tumbled into the river Po.

SECOND

•TOUHNEY,

Trade

winds.

156

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Torrid

Zone.

Flying •
fish.

Some of our modem "bloods have been shallow enough to

O

try to ape this poor empty-headed coachman, on a little
scale, making London their Zodiac. Well for them, if
tradesmen’s bills, and other trivial perplexities, have not
caused them to be thrown into the King’s Bench.

The productions of the torrid zone are uncommonly
grand. Its plains, its swamps, its savannas, and forests,
abound with the largest serpents and wild beasts ; and its
trees are the habitation of the most beautiful of the
feathered race. While the traveller in the old world is
astonished at the elephant, the tiger, the lion, and rhino¬
ceros, he who wanders through the torrid regions of the
new, is lost in admiration at the cotingas, the toucans, the
humming-birds, and aras.

The ocean, likewise, swarms with curiosities. Probably
the Plying-fisli may be considered as one of the most
singular. This little scaled inhabitant of water and air
seems to have been more favoured than the rest of its
finny brethren. It can rise out of the waves, and on wing
visit the domain of the birds.

After flying two or three hundred yards, the intense heat
of the sun has dried its pellucid wings, and it is obliged to
wet them in order to continue its flight. It just drops into
the ocean for a moment, and then rises again and flies on ;
and then descends to remoisten them, and then up again
into the air ; thus passing its life, sometimes wet, some¬
times dry, sometimes in sunshine, and sometimes in the pale
moon s nightly beam, as pleasure dictates, or as need re^
quires. The additional assistance of wings is not thrown
away upon it. It lias full occupation both for fins and
wings, as its life is in perpetual danger.

The Bonito and Albicore chase it day and night ; but the
Dolphin is its worst and swiftest foe. If it escape into the
air, the dolphin pushes on with proportional velocity

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

157

beneath, and is ready to snap it up the moment it descends
to wet its wings.

You will often see above one hundred of these little
marine aerial fugitives on the wing at once. They appear
' to use every exertion to prolong their flight, but vain are
all their efforts ; for when the last drop of water on their
wings is dried up, their flight is at an end, and they must
drop into the ocean. Some are instantly devoured by their
merciless pursuer, part escape by swimming, and others get
out again as quick as possible, and trust once more to their
wings.

It often happens that this unfortunate little creature
after alternate dips and flights, finding all its exertions of
no avail, at last drops on board the vessel, verifying the old
remark,

“ Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Chary Mini.”

There, stunned by the fall, it beats the deck with its tail
and dies. When eating it, you would take it for a fresh
herring. The largest measure from fourteen to fifteen
inches in length. The dolphin, after pursuing it to
the ship, sometimes forfeits his own life.

In days of yore, the musician used to play in softest,
sweetest strain, and then take an airing amongst the
dolphins; “inter delphinas Arion.” But nowadays, our
tars have quite capsized the custom ; and instead of riding
ashore on the dolphin, they invite the dolphin aboard.
While he is darting and playing around the vessel, a sailor
goes out to the spritsailyard-arm, and with a long staff,
leaded at one end, and armed at the other with five barbed
spikes, he heaves it at him. If successful in his aim, there
is a fresh mess for all hands. The dying dolphin affords a
superb and brilliant sight :

SECOND

JOURNEY.

“ Mille traliit morions, ad verso sole colores.”

158

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEV.

Frigate

Pelicav.

Scenery .

Pernam -
buco.

All the colours of the rainbow pass and repass in rapid
succession over his body, till the dark hand of death closes
the scene.

From the Cape de Yerd islands to the coast of Brazil,
you see several different kinds of gulls, which probably
are bred in the island of St. Paul. Sometimes the large
bird called the Frigate Pelican soars majestically over the
vessel, and the Tropic-Bird comes near enough to let you
have a fair view of the long feathers in his tail. On the
line, when it is calm, Sharks of a tremendous size make
their appearance. They are descried from the ship by
means of the dorsal fin, which is abo\ e the water.

On entering the bay of Pernambuco, the Frigate Pelican
is seen watching the shoals of fish from a prodigious height
It seldom descends without a successful attack on its nume¬
rous prey below.

As you approach the shore, the view is charming. The
hills are clothed with wood, gradually rising towards the
interior, none of them of any considerable height. A
singular reef of rocks runs parallel to the coast, and forms
the harbour of Pernambuco. The vessels are moored be¬
twixt it and the town, safe from every storm. You enter
the harbour through a very narrow passage, close by a fort
built on the reef. The hill of Olinda, studded with houses
and convents, is on your right hand, and an island thickly
planted with cocoa-nut trees, adds considerably to the
scene on your left. There are two strong forts on the
isthmus, betwixt Olinda and Pernambuco, and a pillar
midway to aid the pilot.

Pernambuco probably contains upwards of fifty thou¬
sand souls. It stands on a flat, and is divided into three
parts — a peninsula, an island, and the continent. Though
within a few degrees of the line, its climate is remark¬
ably salubrious, and rendered almost temperate by the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

159

refreshing sea breeze. Had art and judgment contributed second
their portion to its natural advantages, Pernambuco at this J0URNEY»
day, would have been a stately ornament to the coast of
Brazil. On viewing it, it will strike you that every one has
built his house entirely for himself, and deprived public
convenience of the little claim she had a right to put in.

You would wish that this city, so famous for its harbour,
so happy in its climate, and so well situated for commerce,
could have risen under the flag of Dido, in lieu of that of
Braganza.

As you walk down the streets, the appearance of the streets and
houses is not much in their favour. Some of them are Houses-
very high, and some very low ; some newly whitewashed,
and others stained, and mouldy, and neglected, as though
they had no owner.

The balconies, too, are of a dark and gloomy appearance.

They are not, in general, open, as in most tropical cities,
but grated like a farmer’s dairy window, though somewhat
closer.

There is a lameutable want of cleanliness in the streets.

The impurities from the houses, and the accumulation of
litter from the beasts of burden, are unpleasant sights to
the passing stranger. He laments the want of a police as
he goes along ; and when the wind begins to blow, his nose
and eyes are too often exposed to a cloud of very unsavoury
dust.

When you view the port of Pernambuco, full of ships of Port of

Pcvoxctm •

all nations, when you know that the richest commodities of ^UCOt
Europe, Africa, and Asia, are brought to it ; when you see
immense quantities of cotton, dye-wood, and the choicest
fruits pouring into the town, you are apt to wonder at the
little attention these people pay to the common comforts
which one always expects to find in a large and opulent
city. However, if the inhabitants are satisfied, there is

1G0

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Palace, of
the

Captain •
General.

Destruc¬
tion of the
Society of
Jesus.

nothing more to he said. Should they ever be convinced
that inconveniences exist, and that nuisances are too fre¬
quent, the remedy is in their own hands. At present, cer¬
tainly, they seem perfectly regardless of them ; and the Cap¬
tain-General of Pernambuco walks through the streets with
as apparent content and composure as an English statesman
would proceed down Charing- cross. Custom reconciles
everything. In a week or two the stranger himself begins
to feel less the things which annoyed him so much upon
his first arrival, and after a few months’ residence, he thinks
no more about them, while he is partaking of the hospi¬
tality, and enjoying the elegance and splendour within
doors in this great city.

Close by the river- side stands what is called the palace
of the Captain-General of Pernambuco. Its form and ap¬
pearance altogether strike the traveller that it was never
intended for the use it is at present put to.

Pteader, throw a veil over thy recollection for a little
while, and forget the cruel, unjust, and unmerited censures
thou hast heard against an unoffending order. This palace
was once the Jesuits’ college, and originally built by those
charitable fathers. Ask the aged and respectable inhabit¬
ants of Pernambuco, and they will tell thee that the de¬
struction of the Society of Jesus was a terrible disaster
to the public, and its consequences severely felt to the
present day.

When Pombal took the reins of power into his own
hands, virtue and learning beamed bright within the col¬
lege walls. Public catechism to the children, and religious
instruction to all, flowed daily from the mouths of its
venerable priests.

They were loved, revered, and respected throughout the
whole town. The illuminating philosophers of the day had
sworn to exterminate Christian knowledge, and the college

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

of Pernambuco was doomed to founder in the general
storm. To the long-lasting sorrow and disgrace of Por¬
tugal, the philosophers blinded her king and flattered her
prime minister. Pombal was exactly the tool these sappers
of every public and private virtue wanted. He had the
naked sword of power in his own hand, and his heart was as
hard as flint. He struck a mortal blow, and the Society of
Jesus, throughout the Portuguese dominions, was no more.

One morning all the fathers of the college in Pernam-
buco, some of them very old and feeble, were suddenly
ordered into the refectory. They had notice beforehand of
the fatal storm, in pity from the governor, but not one of
them abandoned his charge. They had done their duty,
and had nothing to fear. They bowed with resignation to
the will of Heaven. As soon as they had all reached the
refectory, they were there locked up, and never more did
they see their rooms, their friends, their scholars, or ac¬
quaintance. In the dead of the following night, a strong
guard of soldiers literally drove them through the streets
to the water’s edge. They were then conveyed in boats
aboard a ship, and steered for Bahia. Those who sur¬
vived the barbarous treatment they experienced from
Pombal’s creatures were at last ordered to Lisbon. The
college of Pernambuco was plundered, and some time after
an elephant was kept there.

Thus the arbitrary hand of power, in one night, smote
and swept away the sciences ; to which succeeded the low
vulgar buffoonery of a showman. Virgil and Cicero made
way for a wild beast from Angola ! and now a guard is on
duty at the very gate where, in times long past, the poor
were daily fed ! ! !

Trust not, kind reader, to the envious remarks which
their enemies have scattered far and near ; believe not the
stories of those who have had a hand in the sad tragedy.

M

161

SECOND

JOURNEY.

1G2

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

.SECOND

JOURNEY,

Go to Brazil, and see with tliine own eyes the effect of
Pomhal’s short-sighted policy. There vice reigns trium¬
phant, and learning is at its lowest ebb. Neither is this to
be wondered at. Destroy the compass, and will the vessel
find her far-distant port ? Will the hock keep together,
and escape the wolves, after the shepherds are all slain ?
The Brazilians were told that public education would go
on just as usual. They might have asked government
who so able to instruct our youth as those whose know¬
ledge is proverbial ? who so fit, as those who enjoy our
entire confidence ? who so worthy, as those whose lives are
irreproachable.

They soon found that those who succeeded the fathers
of the Society of Jesus had neither their manners nor their
abilities. They had not made the instruction of youth
their particular study. Moreover, they entered on the
field after a defeat, where the officers had all been slain :
where the plan of the campaign was lost ; where all was
in sorrow and dismay. NT o exertions of theirs could rally
the dispersed, or skill prevent the fatal consequences. At
the present day, the seminary of Olinda, in comparison
with the former Jesuits’ college, is only as the waning
moon’s beam to the sun’s meridian splendour.

When you visit the places where those learned fathers
once flourished, and see with your own eyes the evils their
dissolution has caused ; when you hear the inhabitants
telling you how good, how clever, how charitable they
were ; what will you think of our poet laureate for calling
them, in his “ History of Brazil,” “ Missioners, whose zeal
the most fanatical was directed by the coolest policy ” ?

Was it fanatical to renounce the honours and comforts
of this transitory life, in order to gain eternal glory in the
next, by denying themselves, and taking up the cross ?
Was it fanatical to preach salvation to innumerable wild

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

163

hordes of Americans ? to clothe the naked ? to encourage
the repenting sinner? to aid the dying Christian. The
fathers of the Society of Jesus did all this. And for this
their zeal is pronounced to be the most fanatical, directed
by the coolest policy. It will puzzle many a clear brain to
comprehend how it is possible, in the nature of things,
that zeal the most fanatical should be directed by the
coolest policy. Ah, Mr. Laureate, Mr. Laureate, that
** quidlibet audendi ” of yours, may now and then gild the
poet, at the same time that it makes the historian cut a
sorry figure !

Could Father Nobrega rise from the tomb, he would
thus address you : — ■“ Ungrateful Englishman, you have
drawn a great part of your information from the writings
of the Society of Jesus, and in return you attempt to
stain its character by telling your countrymen that ‘ we
taught the idolatry we believed ! ’ In speaking of me, you
say, it was my happy fortune to be stationed in a country
where none but the good principles of my order v7ere called
into action. LTngenerous laureate, the narrow policy of the
times has kept your countrymen in the dark with regard to
tire true character of the Society of Jesus ; and you draw
the bandage still tighter over their eyes by a malicious in¬
sinuation. I lived, and taught, and died in Brazil, where
you state that none but the good principles of my order
were called into action, and still, in most absolute contra¬
diction to this, you remark we believed the idolatry we
taught in Brazil. Thus we brought none but good prin¬
ciples into action, and still taught idolatry !

“ Again, you state there is no individual to whose talents
Brazil is so greatly and permanently indebted as mine, and
that I must be regarded as the founder of that system so
successfully pursued by the Jesuits in Paraguay ; a system
productive of as much good as is compatible with pious

SECOND

JOUENKY.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

164

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Environs
of Per navi
buco.

fraud. Thus you make me, at one and the same time, a
teacher of none hut good principles, and a teacher of
idolatry, and a believer in idolatry, and still the founder of
a system for which Brazil is greatly and permanently in¬
debted to me, though, by the by, the system was only pro¬
ductive of as much good as is compatible with pious
fraud !

“ What means all this ? After reading such incom¬
parable nonsense, should your countrymen wish to be
properly informed concerning the Society of Jesus, there
are in England documents enough to show that the system
of the Jesuits was a system of Christian charity towards
their fellow-creatures, administered in a manner which
human prudence judged best calculated to ensure success;
and that the idolatry which you uncharitably affirm they
taught, was really and truly the very same faith which the
Catholic Church taught for centuries in England, which she
still teaches to those who wish to hear her, and which she
will continue to teach, pure and unspotted, till time shall
be no more.”

The environs of Pernambuco are very pretty. You see
country houses in all directions, and the appearance of here
and there a sugar plantation enriches the scenery. Palm-
trees, Cocoa-nut-trees, Orange and Lemon groves, and
all the different fruits peculiar to Brazil, are here in the
greatest abundance.

At Olinda there is a national botanical garden; it wants
space, produce, and improvement. The forests, which are
several leagues off*, abound with birds, beasts, insects, and
serpents. Besides a brilliant plumage, many of the birds
have a very fine song. The Troupiale, noted for its rich
colours, sings delightfully in the environs of Pernambuco.
The Iied-headed Finch, larger than the European sparrow,
pours forth a sweet and varied strain, in company with two

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

species of wrens, a little before daylight. There are also
several species of the thrush, which have a song somewhat
different from that of the European thrush ; and two
species of the linnet, whose strain is so soft and sweet that
it dooms them to captivity in the houses. A bird called
here Sangre do Buey, blood of the ox, cannot fail to en¬
gage your attention : he is of the passerine tribe, and very
common about the houses ; the wings and tail are black,
and every other part of the body a llaming red. In Guiana,
there is a species exactly the same as this in shape, note,
and economy, but different in colour, its whole body being
like black velvet ; on its breast a tinge of red appears
through the black. Thus nature has ordered this little
Tangara to put on mourning to the north of the line, and
wear scarlet to the south of it.

Eor three months in the year the environs of Pernam¬
buco are animated beyond description. From November
to March the weather is particularly fine ; then it is that
rich and poor, young and old, foreigners and natives, all
issue from the city to enjoy the country, till Lent ap¬
proaches, when back they hie them. Villages and hamlets,
where nothing before but rags was seen, now shine in all
the elegance of dress ; every house, every room, every shed
become eligible places for those whom nothing but extreme
necessity could have forced to live there a few weeks ago :
some join in the merry dance, others saunter up and down
the orange-groves ; and towards evening the roads become
a moving scene of silk and jewels. The gaming-tables
have constant visitors ; there, thousands are daily and
nightly lost and won ; parties even sit down to try their
luck round the outside of the door as well as in the
room : —

1 Go

SECOND

JOUKNEY.

Seasons.

“ Vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus aulse
Luctus et ultrices, posuere sedilia curse.”

166

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Monteiro.

About six or seven miles from Pernambuco stands a
pretty little village called Monteiro ; the river runs close
by it, and its rural beauties seem to surpass all others in
the neighbourhood ; there the Captain-General of Pernam¬
buco resides during this time of merriment and joy.

The traveller who allots a portion of his time to peep at
his fellow-creatures in their relaxations, and accustoms
himself to read their several little histories in their looks
and gestures as he goes musing on, may have full occupa¬
tion for an hour or two every day at this season amid the
variegated scenes around the pretty village of Monteiro.
In the evening groups sitting at the door, he may some¬
times see with a sigh how wealth and the prince’s favour
cause a booby to pass for a Solon, and be reverenced as
such, while perhaps a poor neglected Camoens stands silent
at a distance, awed by the dazzling glare of wealth and
power. Eetired from the public road he may see poor
Maria sitting under a palm-tree, with her elbow in her lap,
and her head leaning on one side within her hand, weeping
over her forbidden bans. And as he moves on “ with
wandering step and slow,” he may hear a broken-hearted
nymph ask her faithless swain, —

“How could you say my face was fair,

And yet that face forsake ?

How could you win my virgin heart,

Yet leave that heart to break ?”

One afternoon, in an unfrequented part not far from
Monteiro, these adventures were near being brought to a
speedy and a final close : six or seven blackbirds, with a
white spot betwixt the shoulders, were making a noise, and
passing to and fro on the lower branches of a tree in an
abandoned, weed-grown, orange orchard. In the long grass
underneath the tree, apparently a pale green grasshopper

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

was fluttering, as though it had got entangled in it. When
you once fancy that the thing you are looking at is really
what you take it for, the more you look at it the more you
are convinced it is so. In the present case, this was a
grasshopper beyond all doubt, and nothing more remained
to be done but to wait in patience till it had settled, in
order that you might run no risk of breaking its legs in
attempting to lay hold of it while it was fluttering — it still
kept fluttering ; and having quietly approached it, intend¬
ing to make sure of it — behold, the head of a large rattle¬
snake appeared in the grass close by : an instantaneous
spring backwards prevented fatal consequences. What
had been taken for a grasshopper was, in fact, the elevated
rattle of the snake in the act of announcing that he was
quite prepared, though unwilling, to make a sure and
deadly spring. He shortly after passed slowly from under
the orange-tree to the neighbouring wood on the side of a
hill : as he moved over a place bare of grass and weeds, he
appeared to be about eight feet long ; it was he who had
engaged the attention of the birds, and made them heedless
of danger from another quarter: they flew away on his re¬
tiring ; one alone left his little life in the air, destined to
become a specimen, mute and motionless, for the inspection
of the curious in a far distant clime.

It was now the rainy season ; the birds were moulting •
fifty-eight specimens of the handsomest of them in the
neighbourhood of Pernambuco had been collected ; and it
was time to proceed elsewhere. The conveyance to the
interior was by horses ; and this mode, together with the
heavy rains, would expose preserved specimens to almost
certain damage. The journey to Maranham by land would
take at least forty days. The route was not wild enough
to engage the attention of an explorer, or civilized enough
to afford common comforts to a traveller. By sea there

lfi7

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Jlai ny
seasons.

168

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Embarks

fur

Cayenne.

were no opportunities, except slave ships. As the trans¬
porting poor negroes from port to port for sale pays well in
Brazil, the ships’ decks are crowded with them. This
would not do.

Excuse here, benevolent reader, a small tribute of grati¬
tude to an Irish family, whose urbanity and goodness have
long gained it the esteem and respect of all ranks in
Pernambuco. The kindness and attention I received
from Dennis Kearney, Esq., and his amiable lady, will
be remembered with gratitude to my dying day.

After wishing farewell to this hospitable family, I em¬
barked on board a Portuguese brig, with poor accommo¬
dation, for Cayenne in Guiana. The most eligible bed¬
room was the top of a hen-coop on deck. Even here, an
unsavoury little beast, called bug, was neither shy nor
deficient in appetite.

The Portuguese seamen are famed for catching fish. One
evening, under the line, four sharks made their appearance
in the wake of the vessel. The sailors caught them all.

CHAPTER II.

Arrival at Cayenne. — Flamingos. — Curlews, &c. — Vegetable productions
of Cayenne. — La-Gabrielle. — Cock of tbe Eoclc. — Grand Gobe-mouche.
— Surinam. — The Coryntin. — New Amsterdam. — Stabroek, now
George Town. — Produce of Demerara. — Slavery. — A traveller’s neces¬
saries — Walking barefoot. — The best costume. — Humming-birds. —
Cotinga. — Campanero, or Bell-bird. — Toucans, or Toucanets. — Beak
of the Toucan — Evanescence of the colours — The only mode of
preserving them.

On the fourteenth clay after leaving Pernambuco, the
brig cast anchor off the island of Cayenne. The entrance
is beautiful. To windward, not far off, there are two bold
wooded islands, called the Father and Mother ; and near
them are others, their children, smaller, though as beautiful
as their parents. Another is seen a long way to leeward of
the family, and seems as if it had strayed from home, and
cannot find its way back. The French call it “ l’enfant
perdu.” As you pass the islands, the stately hills on the
main, ornamented with ever- verdant foliage, show you that
this is by far the sublimest scenery on the sea-coast, from
the Amazons to the Oroonoque. On casting your eye to¬
wards Dutch Guiana, you will see that the mountains
become unconnected, and few in number, and long before
you reach Surinam the Atlantic wave washes a flat and
muddy shore.

Considerably to windward of Cayenne, and about twelve
leagues from land, stands a stately and towering rock, called

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Constable

Rock.

170

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Colony of
Cayenne.

The Town.

Governor

of

Cayenne.

the Constable. As nothing grows on it to tempt greedy and
aspiring man to claim it as his own, the sea-fowl rest and
raise their offspring there. The bird called the Frigate is
ever soaring round its rugged summit. Hither the Phaeton
bends his rapid flight, and flocks of rosy Flamingos here
defy the fowler’s cunning. All along the coast, opposite
the Constable, and indeed on every uncultivated part of it
to windward and leeward, are seen innumerable quantities
of Snow-white Egrets, Scarlet Curlews, Spoonbills, and
Flamingos.

Cayenne is capable of being a noble and productive
colony. At present it is thought to be the poorest on the
coast of Guiana. Its estates are too much separated one
from the other by immense tracts of forest ; and the revo¬
lutionary war, like a cold eastern wind, has chilled their
zeal and blasted their best expectations.

The Clove-tree, the Cinnamon, Pepper and Nutmeg, and
many other choice spices and fruits of the eastern and
Asiatic regions, produce abundantly in Cayenne.

The town itself is prettily laid out, and was once well
fortified. They tell you it might easily have been defended
against the invading force of the two united nations ; but
Victor Hugues, its governor, ordered the tri-coloured flag to
be struck ; and ever since that day the standard of Braganza
has waved on the ramparts of Cayenne.

He who has received humiliations from the hand of this
haughty, iron-hearted governor, may see him now in Cay¬
enne, stripped of all his revolutionary honours, broken
down and ruined, and under arrest in his own house. He
has four accomplished daughters, respected by the whole
town. Towards the close of day, when the sun’s rays are
no longer oppressive, these much-pitied ladies are seen
walking up and down the balcony with their aged parent,
trying, by their kind and filial attention, to remove the
settled gloom from his too guilty brow.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

171

This was not the time for a traveller to enjoy Cayenne.
The hospitality of the inhabitants was the same as ever,
but they had lost their wonted gaiety in public, and the
stranger might read in their countenances, as the recollec¬
tion of recent humiliations and misfortunes every now and
then kept breaking in upon them, that they were still in
sorrow for their fallen country : the victorious hostile
cannon of Waterloo still sounded in their ears: their
Emperor was a prisoner amongst the hideous rocks of St.
Helena ; and many a Frenchman who had fought and bled
for France was now amongst them, begging for a little
support to prolong a life which would be forfeited on the
parent soil. To add another handful to the cypress and
wormwood already scattered amongst these polite colonists,
they had just received orders from the court of Janeiro to
put on deep mourning for six months, and half-mourning
for as many more, on account of the death of the Queen of
Portugal.

About a day’s journey in the interior is the celebrated
national plantation. This spot w7as judiciously chosen, for
it is out of the reach of enemies’ cruisers. It is called La
Gabrielle. No plantation in the western world can vie
with La Gabrielle. Its spices are of the choicest kind ; its
soil particularly favourable to them ; its arrangements
beautiful ; and its directeur, Monsieur Martin, a botanist
of first-rate abilities. This indefatigable naturalist ranged
through the East, under a royal commission, in quest of
botanical knowledge ; and during his stay in the western
regions has sent over to Europe from twenty to twenty-
five thousand specimens, in botany and zoology. La
Gabrielle is on a far-extending range of woody hills.
Figure to yourself a hill in the shape of a bowl reversed,
with the buildings on the top of it, and you will have an
idea of the appearance of La Gabrielle. You approach the

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The In¬
habitants.

Plantation
of La
Gabrielle.

172

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The Cock
of the Rock.

house through a noble avenue, five hundred toises long, of
the choicest tropical fruit-trees, planted with the greatest
care and judgment ; and should you chance to stray through
it, after sunset, when the clove-trees are in blossom, you
would fancy yourself in the Idalian groves, or near the
banks of the Nile, where they were burning the finest in¬
cense as the Queen of Egypt passed.

On La Gabrielle there are twenty-two thousand clove-
trees in full bearing. They are planted thirty feet asunder-
Their lower branches touch the ground. In general the
trees are topped at five-and-twenty feet high ; though you
will see some here towering up above sixty. The black
pepper, the cinnamon, and nutmeg are also in great abun¬
dance here, and very productive.

While the stranger views the spicy groves of La Gabrielle,
and tastes the most delicious fruits which have been origi-
nally imported hither from all parts of the tropical world,
he will thank the government which has supported, and
admire the talents of the gentleman who has raised to its
present grandeur, this noble collection of useful fruits.
There is a large nursery attached to La Gabrielle, where
plants of all the different species are raised and distri¬
buted gratis to those colonists who wish to cultivate them.

Not far from the banks of the river Oyapoc, to windward
of Cayenne, is a mountain which contains an immense
cavern. Here the Cock of the Lock is plentiful. He is
about the size of a fantail pigeon, his colour a bright
orange, and his wings and tail appear as though fringed ;
his head is ornamented with a superb double-feathery crest,
edged with purple. He passes the day amid gloomy damps
and silence, and onlv issues out for food u short time at
sunrise and sunset. He is of the gallinaceous tribe. The
South- American Spaniards call him “ Gallo del Rio Negro/’
(Cock of the Black River,) and suppose that he is only to

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

173

be met with in the vicinity of that far-inland stream ; but
he is common in the interior of Demerara, amongst the
huge rocks in the forests of Macoushia ; and he has been
shot south of the line, in the captainship of Para.

The bird called by Buffon Grand Gobe-mouche has never
been found in Demerara, although very common in Cayenne.
He is not quite so large as the jackdaw, and is entirely
black, except a large spot under the throat, which is a
glossy purple.

You may easily sail from Cayenne to the river Surinam
in two days. Its capital, Paramaribo, is handsome, rich
and populous : hitherto it has been considered by far the
finest town in Guiana ; but probably the time is not far
off' when the capital of Demerara may claim the prize of
superiority. You may enter a creek above Paramaribo,
and travel through the interior of Surinam, till you come
to the Hicari, which is close to the large river Coryntin.
When you have passed this river, there is a good public
road to Hew Amsterdam, the capital of Berbice.

On viewing Hew Amsterdam, it will immediately strike
you that something or other has intervened to prevent its
arriving at that state of wealth and consequence for which
its original plan shows it was once intended. What has
caused this stop in its progress to the rank of a fine and
populous city remains for those to find out who are inter¬
ested in it; certain it is, that Hew Amsterdam has been
languid for some years, and now the tide of commerce
seems ebbing fast from the shores of Berbice.

Gay and blooming is the sister colony of Demerara.
Perhaps, kind reader, thou hast not forgot that it was from
Stabroek, the capital of Demerara, that the adventurer set
out, some years ago, to reach the Portuguese frontier fort,
and collect the wourali-poison. It was not intended, when
this second sally was planned in England, to have visited

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Parama¬
ribo .

Demerara.

174

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Slctbroclc.

Stabroek again by tlie route liere described. The plan was
to have ascended the Amazons from Para and got into tlie
Pio Negro, and from thence to have returned towards the
source of the Essequibo, in order to examine the crystal
mountains, and look once more for Lake Parima, or the
White Sea ; but on arriving at Cayenne, the current was
running with such amazing rapidity to leeward, that a
Portuguese sloop, which had been beating up towards Para
for four weeks, was then only half way. Finding, therefore,
that a beat to the Amazons would be long, tedious, and
even uncertain, and aware that the season for procuring
birds in fine plumage had already set in, I left Cayenne in
an American ship for Paramaribo, went through the in¬
terior to the Coryntin, stopped a few days in New Amster¬
dam, and proceeded to Demerara. If, gentle reader, thy
patience be not already worn out, and thy eyes half closed
in slumber, by perusing the dull adventures of this second
sally, perhaps thou wilt pardon a line or two on Demerara ;
and then we will retire to its forests, to collect and examine
the economy of its most rare and beautiful birds, and give
the world a new mode of preserving them.

Stabroek, the capital of Demerara, has been rapidly
increasing for some years back ; and if prosperity go hand
in hand with the present enterprising spirit, Stabroek, ere
long, will be of the first colonial consideration. It stands
on the eastern bank at the mouth of the Demerara, and
enjoys all the advantages of the refreshing sea-breeze ; the
streets are spacious, well bricked, and elevated, the trenches
clean, the bridges excellent, and the houses handsome.
Almost every commodity and luxury of London may be
bought in the shops at Stabroek : its market wants better
regulations. The hotels are commodious, clean, and well
attended. Demerara boasts as fine and well-disciplined
militia as any colony in the western world.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA,

175

The court of justice, where, in times of old, the bandage
was easily removed from the eyes of the goddess, and her
scales thrown out of equilibrium, now rises indignity under
the firmness, talents, and urbanity of Mr. President Rough.

The plantations have an appearance of high cultivation •
a tolerable idea may be formed of their value when you
know that last year Demerara numbered seventy-two
thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine slaves. They
made above forty-four million pounds of sugar, near two
million gallons of rum, above eleven million pounds of
coffee, and three million eight hundred and nineteen
thousand five hundred and twelve pounds of cotton ; the
receipt into the public chest was five hundred and fifty-
three thousand nine hundred and fifty- six guilders ; the
public expenditure, four hundred and fifty-one thousand
six hundred and three guilders.

Slavery can never be defended ; he whose heart is not
of iron can never wish to be able to defend it : while he
heaves a sigh for the poor negro in captivity, he wishes
from his soul that the traffic had been stifled in its birth >
but, unfortunately, the governments of Europe nourished
it, and now that they are exerting themselves to do away
the evil, and ensure liberty to the sons of Africa, the situa¬
tion of the plantation slaves is depicted as truly deplorable,
and their condition wretched. It is not so. A Briton’s
heart, proverbially kind and generous, is not changed
by climate, or its streams of compassion dried up by the
scorching heat of a Demerara sun ; he cheers his negroes
in labour, comforts them in sickness, is kind to them in old
age, and never forgets that they are his fellow-creatures.

Instances of cruelty and depravity certainly occur here as
well as all the world over ; but the edicts of the colonial
government are well calculated to prevent them ; and the
British planter, except here and there one, feels for the

SECOND

JOUliNEY.

Court of
Justice.

The 'plan¬
tations.

Slavery.

176

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEF.

wrongs done to a poor ill-treated slave, and shows that his
heart grieves for him by causing immediate redress, and
preventing a repetition.

Long may ye flourish, peaceful and liberal inhabitants of
Demerara ! Your doors are ever open to harbour the har¬
bourless ; your purses never shut to the wants of the
distressed : many a ruined fugitive from the Oroonoque
will bless your kindness to him in the hour of need, when
flying from the woes of civil discord, without food or
raiment, he begged for shelter underneath your roof. The
poor sufferer in Trinidad, who lost his all in the devouring
flames, will remember your charity to his latest moments.
The traveller, as he leaves your port, casts a longing, linger¬
ing look behind ; your attentions, your hospitality, your
pleasantry and mirth, are uppermost in his thoughts :
your prosperity is close to his heart. Let us now, gentle
reader, retire from the busy scenes of man, and journey on
towards the wilds in quest of the feathered tribe.

Leave behind you your high-seasoned dishes, your wines
and your delicacies ; carry nothing but what is necessary
for your own comfort and the object in view, and depend
upon the skill of an Indian, or your own, for fish and game.
A sheet, about twelve feet long, ten wide, painted, and with
loop-holes on each side, will be of great service; in a few
minutes you can suspend it betwixt two trees in the shape
of a roof. Under this, in your hammock, you may defy
the pelting shower, and sleep heedless of the dews of night.
A hat, a shirt, and a light pair of trousers, will be all the
raiment you require. Custom will soon teach yon to tread
lightly and barefoot on the little inequalities of the ground,
and show you how to pass on, unwounded, amid the mantling
briers.

Snakes in these wilds are certainly an annoyance, though
perhaps more in imagination than reality ; for you must

Snakes.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

1 1 1

recollect that the serpent is never the first to offend ; second
his poisonous fang was not given him for conquest : he J0URNEY-
never inflicts a wound with it but to defend existence.

Provided you walk cautiously, and do not absolutely touch
him, you may pass in safety close by him. As he is often
coiled up on the ground, and amongst the branches of the
trees above you, a degree of circumspection is necessary,
lest you unwarily disturb him.

Tigers are too few, and too apt to fly before the noble Tigers.
face of man, to require a moment of your attention.

• The bite of the most noxious of the insects, at the very insects.
worst, only causes a transient fever, with a degree of pain
more or less.

Birds in general, with few exceptions, are not common in Birds.
the very remote parts of the forest. The sides of rivers,
lakes, and creeks, the borders of savannas, the old abandoned
habitations of Indians and woodcutters, seem to be their
favourite haunts.

Though least in size, the glittering mantle of the Humming- Humming
bird entitles it to the first place in the list of the birds of lnul'
the new world. It may truly be called the Bird of Paradise ;
and had it existed in the old world, it would have claimed
the title instead of the bird which has now the honour to
bear it : — see it darting through the air almost as quick as
thought ! — now it is within a yard of your face ! — in an
instant gone ! — now it flutters from flower to flower to sip
the silver dew — it is now a ruby — now a topaz — now an
emerald — now all burnished gold ! It would be arrogant
to pretend to describe this winged gem of nature after
Buffon’s elegant description of it.

Cayenne and Dernerara produce the same humming-birds. Haunts of
Perhaps you would wish to know something of their Humming
haunts. Chiefly in the months of July and August the bird-
tree called Bois Immortel, very common in Dernerara, bears

N

178

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

abundance of red blossom, which stays on the tree some
weeks ; then it is that most of the different species of
humming-birds are very plentiful. The wild red sage is
also their favourite shrub, and they buzz like bees round
the blossom of the wallaba-tree. Indeed, there is scarce a
flower in the interior, or on the sea-coast, but what receives
frequent visits from one or other of the species.

On entering the forests, on the rising land in the interior,
the blue and green, the smallest brown, no bigger than the
humblebee, with two long feathers in the tail, and the little
forked-tail purple-throated humming-birds, glitter before
you in ever-changing attitudes. One species alone never
shows his beauty to the sun ; and were it not for his lovely
shining colours, you might almost be tempted to class him
with the goatsuckers on account of his habits. He is the
largest of all the humming-birds, and is all red and changing
gold green, except the head, which is black. He has two
long feathers in the tail, which cross each other, and these
have gained him the name of Karabimiti, or Ara humming¬
bird, from the Indians. You never find him on the
sea-coast, or where the river is salt, or in the heart of the
forest, unless fresh water be there. He keeps close by the
side of woody fresh-water rivers and dark and lonely
creeks. He leaves his retreat before sunrise to feed on the
insects over the water ; he returns to it as soon as the sun’s
rays cause a glare of light, is sedentary all day long, and
comes out again for a short time after sunset. He builds
his nest on a twig over the water in the unfrequented
creeks ; it looks like tanned cow-leather.

As you advance towards the mountains of JDemerara,
other species of humming-birds present themselves before
you. It seems to be an erroneous opinion that the hum¬
ming-bird lives entirely on honey-dew. Almost every
flower of the tropical climate contains insects of one kind

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

179

The

Cotingas.

or other ; now, the humming-bird is most busy about the second
flowers an hour or two after sunrise and after a shower of J0URNEY-
rain, and it is just at this time that the insects come out to
the edge of the flower in order that the sun’s rays may
dry the nocturnal dew and rain which they have received.

On opening the stomach of the humming-bird, dead insects
are almost always found there.

Next to the jhumming-birds, the Cotingas display the
gayest plumage. They are of the order of Passeres, and
you number five species betwixt the sea-coast and the rock
Saba. Perhaps the Scarlet Cotinga is the richest of the five,
and is one of those birds which are found in the deepest
recesses of the forest. His crown is flaming red ; to this
abruptly succeeds a dark shining brown, reaching half way
down the back : the remainder of the back, the rump, and
tail, the extremity of which is edged with black, are a
lively red ; the belly is a somewhat lighter red ; the breast
reddish black ; the wings brown. He has no song, is soli¬
tary, and utters a monotonous whistle which sounds like
“ quet.” He is fond of the seeds of the hitia-tree, and
those of the siloabali and bastard-siloabali trees, which
ripen in December, and continue on the trees for above two
months. He is found throughout the year in Demerara ;
still nothing is known of his incubation. The Indians all
agree in telling you that they have never seen his nest.

The Purple-breasted Cotinga has the throat and breast of
a deep purple, the wings and tail black, and all the rest of
the body a most lovely shining blue.

The Purple-throated Cotinga has black wings and tail,
and every other part a light and glossy blue, save the
throat, which is purple.

The

Purple-

breasted

Cotinga.

The Pompadour Cotinga is entirely purple, except his The Pom -
wings, which are white, their four first feathers tipped with cotinga.
brown. The great coverts of the wings are stiff, narrow,

180

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The Cam-
pan cro.

and pointed, being shaped quite different from those of any
other bird. When you are betwixt this bird and the sun
in his flight, he appears uncommonly brilliant. He makes
a hoarse noise, which sounds like “ Wallababa.” Hence
his name amongst the Indians.

None of these three cotingashave a song. They feed on
the liitia, siloabali, and bastard-siloabali seeds, the wild
guava, the fig, and other fruit trees of the forest. They
are easily shot in these trees during the months of Decem¬
ber, January, and part of February. The greater part of
them disappear after this, and probably retire far away to
breed. Their nests have never been found in Demerara.

The fifth species is the celebrated Campanero of the
Spaniards, called Dara by the Indians, and Bell-bird by the
English. He is about the size of the jay. His plumage is
white as snow. On his forehead rises a spiral tube nearly
three inches long. It is jet black, dotted all over with
small white feathers. It has a communication with the
palate, and when filled with air, looks like a spire ; when
empty, it becomes pendulous. His note is loud and clear,
like the sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance
of three miles. In the midst of these extensive wilds,
generally on the dried top of an aged mora, almost out
of gun reach, you will see the campanero. No sound or
song from any of the winged inhabitants of the forest, not
even the clearly pronounced “ Whip-poor- Will,” from the
goatsucker, cause such astonishment as the toll of the
campanero.

With many of the feathered race, he pays the common
tribute of a morning and an evening song ; and even when
the meridian sun has shut in silence the mouths of almost
the whole of animated nature, the campanero still cheers
the forest. You hear his toll, and then a pause for a
minute, then another toll, and then a pause again, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

181

then a toll, and again a pause. Then lie is silent for six or
eight minutes, and then another toll, and so on. Acteon
would stop in mid chace, Maria would defer her evening
song, and Orpheus himself would drop his lute to listen to
him, so sweet, so novel, and romantic is the toll of the
pretty snow-white campanero. He is never seen to feed
with the other cotingas, nor is it known in what part of
Guiana he makes his nest.

While the cotingas attract your attention by their
superior plumage, the singular form of the Toucan makes
a lasting impression on your memory. There are three
species of toucans in Demerara, and three diminutives,
which may be called Toucanets. The largest of the first
species frequents the mangrove-trees on the sea-coast. He
is never seen in the interior till you reach Macoushia,
wdiere he is found in the neighbourhood of the river
Tacatou. The other two species are very common. They
feed entirely on the fruits of the forest, and though of the
pie kind, never kill the young of other birds or touch
carrion. The larger is called Bouradi by the Indians,
(which means Hose,) the other, Scirou. They seem partial
to each other’s company, and often resort to the same feed¬
ing tree, and retire together to the same shady noon-day
retreat. They are very noisy in rainy weather at all hours
of the day, and in fair weather, at morn and eve. The
sound which the bouradi makes is like the clear yelping of
a puppy dog, and you fancy he says “ Pia-po-o-co,” and thus
the South American Spaniards call him Piapoco.

All the toucanets feed on the same trees on which the
toucan feeds, and every species of this family of enormous
bill, lays its eggs in the hollow trees. They are social, but
not gregarious. You may sometimes see eight or ten in
company, and from this you would suppose they are gre¬
garious ; but, upon a closer examination, you will find it

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The

Toucan .

182

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

second lias only been a dinner party, wliicli breaks up and dis-
journey. perses towards roosting-time.

You will be at a loss to conjecture for what ends nature
has overloaded the head of this bird with such an enor¬
mous bill. It cannot be for the offensive, as it has no need
to wage war with any of the tribes of animated nature ;
for its food is fruit and seeds, and those are in superabun¬
dance throughout the whole year in the regions where the
toucan is found. It can hardly be for the defensive, as the
toucan is preyed upon by no bird in South America, and
were it obliged to be at war, the texture of the bill is ill
adapted to give or receive blows, as you will see in dissect¬
ing it. It cannot be for any particular protection to the
tongue, as the tongue is a perfect feather.

Its flight. The Right of the toucan is by jerks ; in the action of

flying it seems incommoded by this huge disproportioned
feature, and the head seems as if bowed down to the earth
by it against its will ; if the extraordinary form and size of
the bill expose the toucan to ridicule, its colours make it
Colours of amends. Were a specimen of each species of the toucan
the Ml. presented to you, you would pronounce the bill of the
bouradi the most rich and beautiful ; on the ridge of the
upper mandible a broad stripe of most lovely yellow ex¬
tends from the head to the point ; a stripe of the same
breadth, though somewhat deeper yellow, falls from it at
right angles next the head down to the edge of the man¬
dible ; then follows a black stripe, half as broad, falling at
right angles from the ridge, and running narrower along the
edge to within half an inch of the point. The rest of the
mandible is a deep bright red. The lower mandible has no
yellow: its black and red are distributed in the same
manner as on the upper one, with this difference, that
there is black about an inch from the point. The stripe
corresponding to the deep yellow stripe on the upper

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

183

mandible is sky blue. It is worthy of remark that all second
these brilliant colours of the bill are to be found in the J0UIlNEY-
plumage of the body, and the bare skin round the eye.

All these colours, except the blue, are inherent in the
horn ; that part which appears blue is in reality transpaw
ent white, and receives its colour from a thin piece of blue
skin inside. This superb bill fades in death, and in three
or four days’ time has quite lost its original colours.

Till within these few years, no idea of the true colours
of the bill could be formed from the stuffed toucans brought
to Europe. About eight years ago, while eating a boiled
toucan, the thought struck me that the colours in the bill
of a preserved specimen might be kept as bright as those
in life. A series of experiments proved this beyond a Preserves a
doubt. If you take your penknife and cut away the roof °lT0ucan. ™
of the upper mandible, you will find that the space betwixt
it and the outer shell contains a large collection of veins,
and small osseous fibres running in all directions through
the whole extent of the bill. Clear away all these with
your knife, and you will come to a substance more firm
than skin, but of not so strong a texture as the horn itself ;
cut this away also, and behind it is discovered a thin and
tender membrane ; yellow, where it has touched the yel¬
low part of the horn ; blue, where it has touched the red
part, and black towards the edge and point; when dried,
this thin and tender membrane becomes nearly black ; as
soon as it is cut away, nothing remains but the outer horn,
red and yellow, and now become transparent ; the under
mandible must undergo the same operation. Great care
must be taken, and the knife used very cautiously when
you are cutting through the different parts close to where
the bill joins on to the head ; if you cut away too much,
the bill drops off ; if you press too hard, the knife comes
through the horn ; if you leave too great a portion of the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

membrane, it appears through the horn, and by becoming
black when dried, makes the horn appear black also, and
has a bad effect; judgment, caution, skill, and practice,
will ensure success.

You have now cleared the bill of all those bodies whicli
are the cause of its apparent fading ; for, as has been said
before, these bodies dry in death, and become quite dis¬
coloured, and appear so through the horn ; and reviewing
the bill in this state, you conclude that its former bright
colours are lost.

Something still remains to be done. You have ren-
dered the bill transparent by the operation, and that
transparency must be done away to make it appear per¬
fectly natural. Pound some clean chalk, and give it
enough water till it be of the consistency of tar ; add a
proportion of gum-arabic to make it adhesive ; then take a
camel-hair brush, and give the inside of both mandibles a
coat ; apply a second when the first is dry, then another,
and a fourth to finish all. The gum-arabic will prevent
the chalk from cracking and falling off. If you remember,
there is a little space of transparent white in the lower
mandible, which originally appeared blue, but which be¬
came transparent white as soon as the thin piece of blue
skin was cut away; this must be painted blue inside.
When all this is completed, the bill will please you ; it
will appear in its original colours. Probably your own
abilities will suggest a cleverer mode of operating than
the one here described. A small gouge would assist the
penknife, and render the operation less difficult.

CHAPTER IIP

The Houtou. — Curious hahit of trimming the tail and feathers— its habits.
— The Guianan Jay. — The Boclora. — Slight attachment of the feathers.

• — The Cuia. — Rice-birds. — Cassiques — their habit of mockery. —
Pendulous nests. — Gregarious nesting of different species. — Wood¬
peckers of America and England. — Kingfishers. — Jacamars and their
fly-catcliing habits. — Troupiales and their songs. — Tangaras. — Mani¬
kins. — Tiger-birds. — Yawaraciri. — Ant Thrushes.— Parrot of the Sun.
— Aras, or Macaws. — Bitterns. — Egret, - Herons, etc. — Goatsuckers. —
Whip-poor- Will. — Superstitions. — Tinamous. — Powis and Maroudi. —
Horned Screamer. — Trumpeter. — King Y ulture. — Anhin ga. — Dangers
of travel. — Quartan ague.

The Houtou ranks high, in beauty amongst the birds of
Hemerara — his whole body is green, with a bluish cast in
the wings and tail ; his crown, which he erects at pleasure,
consists of black in the centre, surrounded with lovely blue
of two different shades : he has a triangular black spot,
edged with blue, behind the eye extending to the ear ; and
on his breast a sable tuft, consisting of nine feathers edged
also with blue. This bird seems to suppose that its beauty
can be increased by trimming the tail, which undergoes the
same operation as our hair in a barber’s shop, only with
this difference, that it uses its own beak, which is serrated,
in lieu of a pair of scissors ; as soon as his tail is full
grown, he begins about an inch from the extremity of the
two longest feathers in it, and cuts away the web on both
sides of the shaft, making a gap about an inch long: both

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The

Houtou.

186

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Its

Hamits.

The Jay c
Guiana.

The

Hoclora.

male and female Adonise their tails in this manner, which
gives them a remarkable appearance amongst all other birds.
While we consider the tail of the lioutou blemished and
defective, were he to come amongst ns, he would probably
consider our heads, cropped and bald, in no better light.
He who wishes to observe this handsome bird in his native
haunts, must be in the forest at the morning’s dawn. The
lioutou shuns the society of man : the plantations and
cultivated parts are too much disturbed to engage it to
settle there ; the thick and gloomy forests are the places
preferred by the solitary lioutou. In those far-extending
wilds, about daybreak, you hear him articulate, in a dis¬
tinct and mournful tone, “ Houtou, lioutou.” Move cautious
on to where the sound proceeds from, and you will see him
sitting in the underwood, about a couple of yards from the
ground, his tail moving up and down every time he articu¬
lates “ houtou.” He lives on insects and the berries amongst
the underwood, and very rarely is seen in the lofty trees,
except the bastard- siloabali tree, the fruit of which is grate¬
ful to him. He makes no nest, but rears his young in a
hole in the sand, generally on the side of a hill.

While in quest of the houtou, you will now and then
fall in with the Jay of Guiana, called by the Indians
Ibibirou. Its forehead is black, the rest of the head white ;
the throat and breast like the English magpie : about an
inch of the extremity of the tail is white, the other part of
it, together with the back and wings, a greyish changing
purple ; the belly is white : there are generally six or eight
of them in company ; they are shy and garrulous, and tarry
a very short time in one place ; they are never seen in the
cultivated parts.

Through the whole extent of the forest, chiefly from
sunrise till nine o’clock in the morning, you hear a sound
of “ Wow, wow, wow, wow.” This is the bird called Boclora

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

187

by the Indians. It is smaller than the common pigeon, and second
seems, in some measure, to partake of its nature : its head J0URyEY-
and breast are blue ; the back and rump somewhat resemble
the colour on the peacock’s neck ; its belly is a bright yel¬
low ; the legs are so very short that it always appears as if
sitting on the branch ; it is as ill-adapted for walking as the
swallow ; its neck, for above an inch all round, is quite bare
of feathers, but this deficiency is not seen, for it always sits
with its head drawn in upon its shoulders : it sometimes
feeds with the cotingas on the guava and liitia trees ; but
its chief nutriment seems to be insects, and, like most birds
which follow this prey, its chaps are well armed with
bristles : it is found in Demerara at all times of the year,
and makes a nest resembling that of the stock-dove. This
bird never takes long flights, and when it crosses a river or
creek it goes by long jerks.

The boclora is very unsuspicious, appearing quite heed¬
less of danger : the report of a gun within twenty yards
will not cause it to leave the branch on which it is sitting,
and you may often approach it so near as almost to touch
it with the end of your bow. Perhaps there is no bird
known whose feathers are so slightly fixed to the skin as
those of the boclora. After shooting it, if it touch a branch
in its descent, or if it drop on hard ground, whole heaps of
feathers fall off ; on this account it is extremely hard to
procure a specimen for preservation. As soon as the skin
is dry in the preserved specimen, the feathers become as
'well fixed as those in any other bird.

Another species, larger than the boclora, attracts much The Gaia.
of your notice in these wilds ; it is called Cuia by the
Indians, from the sound of its voice ; its habits are the
same as those of the boclora, but its colours different ; its
head, breast, back, and rump, are a shining, changing green ;
its tail not quite so bright ; a black bar runs across the

18

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The

Puce-bird.

The

Cassique.

tail towards the extremity, and the outside feathers are
partly white, as in the boclora ; its belly is entirely ver¬
milion, a bar of white separating it from the green on the
breast.

There are diminutives of both these birds ; they have
the same habits, with a somewhat different plumage, and
about half the size. Arrayed from head to tail in a robe
of richest sable hue, the bird called Bice-bird loves spots
cultivated by the hand of man. The woodcutter’s house
on the hills in the interior, and tire planter’s habitation on
the sea-coast, equally attract this songless species of the
order of pie, provided the Indian corn be ripe there. He
is nearly of the jackdaw’s size, and makes his nest far
away from the haunts of man ; he may truly be called a
blackbird : independent of his plumage, his beak, inside
and out, his legs, his toes, and claws are jet black.

Mankind, by clearing the ground, and sowing a variety
of seeds, induces many kinds of birds to leave their native
haunts and come and settle near him ; their little depre¬
dations on his seeds and fruits prove that it is the property,
and not the proprietor, which has the attractions.

One bird, however, in Demerara is not actuated by selfish
motives : this is the Cassique ; in size, he is larger than the
starling ; he courts the society of man, but disdains to live
by his labours. When nature calls for support, he repairs
to the neighbouring forest, and there partakes of the store
of fruits and seeds which she lias produced in abundance
for her aerial tribes. When his repast is over, he returns
to man, and pays the little tribute which he owes him for his
protection ; he takes his station on a tree close to his house ;
and there, for hours together, pours forth a succession of
imitative notes. His own song is sweet, but very short.
If a toucan be yelping in the neighbourhood, he drops it,
and imitates him. Then he will amuse his protector with

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

189

the cries of the different species of the woodpecker ; and
when the sheep bleat, he will distinctly answer them.
Then comes his own song again ; and if a puppy-dog, or a
Guinea-fowl interrupt him, he takes them off admirably,
and by his different gestures during the time, you would
conclude that he enjoys the sport.

The cassique is gregarious, and imitates any sound he
hears with such exactness, that he goes by no other name
than that of Mocking-bird amongst the colonists.

At breeding time, a number of these pretty choristers
resort to a tree near the planter’s house, and from its out¬
side branches weave their pendulous nests. So conscious
do they seem that they never give offence, and so little
suspicious are they of receiving any inj ury from man, that
they will choose a tree within forty yards from his house,
and occupy the branches so low down, that he may peep
into the nests. A tree in Waratilla creek affords a proof
of this.

The proportions of the cassique are so fine, that he may
be said to be a model of symmetry in ornithology. On
each wing he has a bright yellow spot, and his rump, belly,
and half the tail, are of the same colour. All the rest of
the body is black. His beak is the colour of sulphur, but
it fades in death, and requires the same operation as the
bill of the toucan to make it keep its colours. Up the
rivers, in the interior, there is another cassique, nearly the
same size, and of the same habits, though not gifted with
its powers of imitation. Except in breeding time you will
see hundreds of them retiring to roost, amongst the moca-
moca-trees and low shrubs on the banks of the Demerara,
after you pass the first island. They are not common on
the sea-coast. The rump of this cassique is a flaming scar¬
let. All the rest of the body is a rich glossy black. His
bill is sulphur colour. You may often see numbers of this

SECOND

JOURNEY.

190

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Another
species of
Cassique.

Wood¬

peckers.

species weaving tlieir pendulous nests on one side of a tree,
while numbers of the other species are busy in forming
theirs on the opposite side of the same tree. Though such
near neighbours, the females are never observed to kick up
a row, or come to blows !

Another species of cassique, as large as a crow, is very
common in the plantations. In the morning, he generally
repairs to a large tree, and there, with his tail spread over
his back, and shaking his lowered wings, he produces notes,
which though they cannot be said to amount to a song, still
have something very sweet and pleasing in them. He
makes his nest in the same form as the other cassiques.
It is above four feet long ; and when you pass under the
tree, which often contains fifty or sixty of them, you can¬
not help stopping to admire them as they wave to and fro,
the sport of every storm and breeze. The rump is chest¬
nut ; ten feathers of the tail are a fine yellow, the remaining
two, which are the middle ones, are black, and an inch
shorter than the others. His bill is sulphur colour ; all
the rest of tire body black, with here and there shades of
brown. He has five or six long narrow black feathers on
the back of his head, which he erects at pleasure.

There is one more species of cassique in Demerara,
which always prefers the forests to the cultivated parts.
His economy is the same as that of the other cassiques.
He is rather smaller than the last described bird. His
body is greenish, and his tail and rump paler than those of
the former. Half of his beak is red.

You would not be long in the forests of Demerara with¬
out noticing the Woodpeckers. You meet with them feed¬
ing at all hours of the day. Well may they do so. Were
they to follow the example of most of the other birds, and
only feed in the morning and evening, they would be often
on short allowance, for they sometimes have to labour

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

191

three or four hours at the tree before they get to their food, second
The souud which the largest kind makes in hammering JQURNEV
against the bark of the tree, is so loud, that you would
never suppose it to proceed from the efforts of a bird. You
would take it to be the woodman, with his axe, trying by a
sturdy blow, often repeated, whether the tree were sound or
not. There are fourteen species here ; the largest the size
of a magpie, the smallest no bigger than the wren. They
are all beautiful ; and the greater part of them have their
heads ornamented with a fine crest, movable at pleasure.

It is said, if you once give a dog a bad name, whether
innocent or guilty, he never loses it. It sticks close to
him wherever he goes. He has many a kick and many
a blow to bear on account of it ; and there is nobody to
stand up for him. The woodpecker is little better off.

The proprietors of woods, in Europe, have long accused
him of injuring their timber, by boring holes in it, and
letting in the water, which soon rots it. The colonists in
America have the same complaint against him. Had he
the power of speech, which Ovid’s birds possessed in days
of yore, he could soon make a defence. “ Mighty lord of
the v7oods,” he would say to man, “ why do you wrongfully
accuse me ? why do you hunt me up and down to death
for an imaginary offence ? I have never spoiled a leaf of
your property, much less your wood. Your merciless shot
strikes me, at the very time I am doing you a service.

But your shortsightedness will not let you see it, or your
pride is above examining closely the actions of so insignifi¬
cant a little bird as I am. If there be that spark of feeling
in your breast which they say man possesses, or ought to
possess, above all other animals, do a poor injured creature
a little kindness, and watch me in your woods only for one
day. I never wound your healthy trees. I should perish
for want in the attempt. The sound bark would easily

192

WANDERING IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The King¬
fisher.

The

Jacamar.

resist the force of my bill : and were I even to pierce
through it, there would be nothing inside that I could
fancy, or my stomach digest. I often visit them, it is
true, but a knock or two convinces me that I must go else¬
where for support ; and were you to listen attentively to
the sound which my bill causes, you would know whether
I am upon a healthy or an unhealthy tree. Wood and
bark are not my food. I live entirely upon the insects
which have already formed a lodgement in the distempered
tree. When the sound informs me that my prey is there,
I labour for hours together till I get at it ; and by consum¬
ing it, for my own support, I prevent its further depreda¬
tions in that part. Thus I discover for you your hidden
and unsuspected foe, which has been devouring your wood
in such secrecy, that you had not the least suspicion it was
there. The hole which I make in order to get at the per¬
nicious vermin will be seen by you as you pass under the
tree. I leave it as a signal to tell you that your tree has
already stood too long. It is past its prime. Millions of
insects, engendered by disease, are preying upon its vitals.
Ere long it will fall a log in useless ruins. Warned by
this loss, cut down the rest in time, and spare, 0 spare the
unoffending woodpecker !”

In the rivers, and different creeks, you number six
species of the Kingfisher. They make their nest in a hole
in the sand on the side of the bank. As there is always
plenty of foliage to protect them from the heat of the sun,
they feed at all hours of the day. Though their plumage
is prettily varied, still it falls far short of the brilliancy dis¬
played by the English kingfisher. This little native of
Britain would outweigh them altogether in the scale of
beauty.

A bird called Jacamar is often taken for a king-fisher,
but it has no relationship to that tribe ; it frequently sits in

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

193

the trees over the water, and as its beak bears some resem¬
blance to that of the kingfisher, this may probably account
for its being taken for one ; it feeds entirely upon insects ;
it sits on a branch in motionless expectation, and as soon
as a fly, butterfly, or moth passes by, it darts at it, and re¬
turns to the branch it had just left. It seems an indolent,
sedentary bird, shunning the society of all others in the
forest. It never visits the plantations, but is found at all
times of the year in the woods. There are four species of
jacamar in Demerara; they are all beautiful; the largest,
rich and superb in the extreme. Its plumage is of so fine
a changing blue and golden green, that it may be ranked
with the choicest of the humming-birds. Nature has de¬
nied it a song, but given a costly garment in lieu of it.
The smallest species of jacamar is very common in the dry
savannas. The second size, all golden green on the back,
must be looked for in the wallaba forest. The third is
found throughout the whole extent of these wilds ; and the
fourth, which is the largest, frequents the interior, where
you begin to perceive stones in the ground.

When you have penetrated far into Macoushia, you hear
the pretty songster called Troupiale pour forth a variety
of sweet and plaintive notes. This is the bird which the
Portuguese call the Nightingale of Guiana ; its predominant
colours are rich orange and shining black, arrayed to great
advantage; his delicate and well- shaped frame seems un¬
able to bear captivity. The Indians sometimes bring down
troupiales to Stabroek, but in a few months they languish
and die in a cage. They soon become very familiar ; and
if you allow them the liberty of the house, they live longer
than in a cage, and appear in better spirits ; but, when
you least expect it, they drop down and die in epilepsy.

Smaller in size, and of colour not so rich and somewhat
differently arranged, another species of troupiale sings

o

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The

Troupiale

Second
species of
Troupiale

194

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Third
species of
Troupiale.

Fourth
species of
Troupiale.

Tangara

species.

Manikin

species.

melodiously in Demerara. The woodcutter is* particularly
favoured by him ; for while the hen is sitting on her nest,
built in the roof of the woodcutter’s house, he sings for
hours together close by : he prefers the forests to the
cultivated parts.

You would not grudge to stop for a few minutes, as you
are walking in the plantations, to observe a third species
of troupiale : his wings, tail, and throat are black, all the
rest of the body is a bright yellow. There is something
very sweet and plaintive in his song, though much shorter
than that of the troupiale in the interior.

A fourth species goes in flocks from place to place in the
cultivated parts at the time the Indian corn is ripe ; he is
all black, except the head and throat, which are yellow ; his
attempt at song is not worth attending to.

AY her ever there is a wild fig-tree ripe, a numerous
species of birds, called Tangara, is sure to be on it. There
are eighteen beautiful species here. Their plumage is
very rich and diversified ; some of them boast six separate
colours ; others have the blue, purple, green, and black so
kindly blended into each other, that it would be impossible
to mark their boundaries ; while others again exhibit them
strong, distinct, and abrupt : many of these tangaras have
a fine song. They seem to partake much of the nature of
our linnets, sparrows, and finches. Some of them are
fond of the plantations ; others are never seen there, pre¬
ferring the wild seeds of the forest to the choicest fruits
planted by the hand of man.

On the same fig-trees to which they repair, and often
accidentally up and down the forest, you fall in with four
species of Manikin. The largest is white and black, with
the feathers on the throat remarkably long : the next in
size is half red and half black : the third, black, with a
white crown : the fourth, black, with a golden crown, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

105

red feathers at the knee. The half red and half black second
species is the scarcest. There is a creek in the Demerara J0UUM:Y-
called Camouni. About ten minutes from the mouth, you
see a common-sized fig-tree on your right hand, as you
ascend, hanging over water ; it bears a very small fig twice
a year. When its fruit is ripe, this manikin is on the tree
from morn till eve.

On all the ripe fig-trees in the forest you see the bird The small
called the small Tiger-bird. Like some of our belles and
dandies, it has a gaudy vest to veil an ill-shaped body : the
throat, and part of the head, are a bright red ; the breast
and belly have black spots on a yellow ground ; the wings
are a dark green, black, and white ; and the rump and
tail black and green. Like the manikin, it has no song •'
it depends solely upon a showy garment for admiration.

Devoid, too, of song, and in a still superber garb, the The Yawa-
Yawaraciri comes to feed on the same tree. It has a bar mcm*
like black velvet from the eyes to the beak ; its legs are
yellow; its throat, wings, and tail black ; all the rest of the
body a charming blue. Chiefly in the dry savannas, and
here and there accidentally in the forest, you see a songless
yawaraciri still lovelier than the last : his crown is whitish
blue, arrayed like a coat of mail : his tail is black, his wings
black and yellow ; legs red ; and the whole body a glossy
blue. Whilst roving through the forest, ever and anon
you see individuals of the wren species, busy amongst the
fallen leaves, or seeking insects at the roots of the trees.

Here, too, you find six or seven species of small birds,
whose backs appear to be overloaded with silky plumage.

One of these, with a chestnut breast, smoke-coloured back,
red tail, white feathers like horns on his head, and white
narrow-pointed feather under the jaw, feeds entirely upon
ants. When a nest of large, light, brown ants emigrates,
one following the other in meandering lines above a mile

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

11)8

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Ants.

Parrots
and , Par ro¬
quets.

The

Jlia-hia.

The Ara.

long, you see this bird watching them,, and every now and
then picking them up. When they disappear he is seen no
more : perhaps this is the only kind of ant he is fond of ;
when these ants are stirring, you are sure to find him near
them. You cannot well mistake the ant after you have
once been in its company, for its sting is very severe, and
you can hardly shoot the bird, and pick it up, without
having five or six upon you.

Parrots and Paroquets are very numerous here, and of
many different kinds. You will know when they are near
you in the forest, not only by the noise they make, but also
by the fruits and seeds which they let fall while they are
feeding.

The Hia-hia Parrot, called in England the Parrot of the
Sun, is very remarkable : he can erect at pleasure a fine
radiated circle of tartan feathers quite round the back of
his head from jaw to jaw. The fore-part of his head is
white ; his back, tail, and wings, green ; and his breast and
belly tartan.

Superior in size and beauty to every parrot of South
America, the Ara will force you to take your eyes from the
rest of animated nature, and gaze at him : his commanding
strength, the flaming scarlet of his body, the lovely variety
of red, yellow, blue, and green in his wings, the extraordinary
length of his scarlet and blue tail, seem all to join and de¬
mand for him the title of “ emperor of all the parrots.” He
is scarce in Demerara till you reach the confines of the
Macoushi country ; there he is in vast abundance ; he
mostly feeds on trees of the palm species. When the cou-
courite-trees have ripe fruit on them, they are covered with
this magnificent parrot : he is not shy or wary ; you may
take your blow-pipe and quiver of poisoned arrows, and kill
more than you are able to carry back to your hut. They
are very vociferous, and, like the common parrots, rise up

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

197

in bodies towards sunset, and fly two and two to their
place of rest. It is a grand sight in ornithology to see
thousands of aras flying over your head, low enough to let
you have a full view of their flaming mantle. The Indians
find their flesh very good, and the feathers serve for
ornaments in their head-dresses. They breed in the holes
of trees, are easily reared and tamed, and learn to speak
pretty distinctly.

Another species frequents the low lands of Demerara.
He is nearly the size of the scarlet ara, but much inferior
in plumage. Blue and yellow are his predominant colours.

Along the creeks and river sides, and in the wet savannas,
six species of the Bittern will engage your attention. They
are all handsome. The smallest not so large as the English
water-hen.

In the savannas, too, you will sometimes surprise the
snow-vdiite Egrette, whose back is adorned with the plumes
from which it takes its name. Here too the spur-winged
Water-hen, the blue and green Water-hen, and twro other
species of ordinary plumage, are found. While in quest
of these, the Blue Heron, the large and small Brown
Heron, the Boat-bill, and Muscovy Duck, now and then
rise up before you.

When the sun has sunk in the western woods, no longer
agitated by the breeze ; when you can only see a straggler
or two of the feathered tribe hastening to join its mate,
already at its roosting-place, then it is that the Goatsucker
comes out of the forest, where it has sat all day long in
slumbering ease, unmindful of the gay and busy scenes
around it. Its eyes are too delicately formed to bear the
light, and thus it is forced to shun the flaming face of day,
and wait in patience till night invites him to partake of the
pleasures her dusky presence brings.

The harmless, unoffending goatsucker, from the time of

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The

Bittern.

The snow-
white
Egrette.

The Goat¬
sucker.

108

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The

■plumage.

Aristotle down to the present day, lias been in disgrace with
man. Father has handed down to son, and author to author
that this nocturnal thief subsists by milking the flocks.
Poor injured little bird of night, how sadly hast thou
suffered, and how foul a stain has inattention to facts put
upon thy character ! Thou hast never robbed man of any
part of his property, nor deprived the kid of a drop of
milk.

When the moon shines bright, you may have a fair
opportunity of examining the goatsucker. You will see it
close by the cows, goats, and sheep, jumping up every now
and then, under their bellies. Approach a little nearer, —
he is not shy, “ he fears no danger, for he knows no sin.”
See how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and
with what dexterity lie springs up and catches them, as fast
as they alight on the belly, legs, and udder of the animals.
Observe how quiet they stand, and how sensible they seem
of his good offices, for they neither strike at him, nor hit
him with their tail, nor tread on him, nor try to drive him
away as an uncivil intruder. Were you to dissect him,
and inspect his stomach, you would And no milk there. It
is lull of the flies which have been annoying the herd.

The prettily mottled plumage of the goatsucker, like that
of the owl, wants the lustre which is observed in the
feathers of the birds of day. This at once marks him as
a lover of the pale moon’s nightly beams. There are nine
species here. The largest appears nearly the size of the
English wood-owl. Its cry is so remarkable, that having
once heard it you will never forget it. When night reigns
over these immeasurable wilds, whilst lying in your ham¬
mock, you will hear this goatsucker lamenting like one in
deep distress. A stranger would never conceive it to be
the cry of a bird. He would say it was the departing
voice of a midnight-murdered victim, or the last wailing of

>

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

100

Niobe for lier poor children, before she was turned into
stone. Suppose yourself in hopeless sorrow, begin with a
high loud note, and pronounce, “ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,”
each note lower and lower, till the last is scarcely heard,
pausing a moment or two betwixt every note, and you will
have some idea of the moaning of the largest goatsucker in
Demerara.

Four other species of the goatsucker articulate some
words so distinctly, that they have received their names
from the sentences they utter, and absolutely bewilder the
stranger on his arrival in these parts. The most common
one sits down close by your door, and flies and alights three
or four yards before you, as you walk along the road, cry¬
ing, “ Wlio-are-you, who-who-who-are-you ? ” Another bids
you, “ Work-away, work-work-work-away.” A third cries,
mournfully, “ Willy-come-go. Willy- Willy-Willy-come
go.” And high up in the country, a fourth tells you to
“ Whip-poor- Will. Whip-whip-whip-poor-Will.”

You will never persuade the negro to destroy these birds
or get the Indian to let fly his arrow at them. They are
birds of omen and reverential dread. Jumbo, the demon
of Africa, has them under his command ; and they equally
obey the Yabaliou, or Demerara Indian devil. They are
the receptacles for departed souls, who come back again to
earth, unable to rest for crimes done in their days of nature ;
or they are expressly sent by Jumbo, or Yabaliou, to haunt
cruel and hard-hearted masters, and retaliate injuries re¬
ceived from them. If the largest goatsucker chance to
cry near the white man’s door, sorrowT and grief will soon
be inside ; and they expect to see the master waste away
with a slow consuming sickness. If it be heard close to
the negro’s or Indian’s hut, from that night misfortune sits
brooding over it ; and they await the event in terrible
suspense.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

200

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

SECOND

JOUPtNEY.

Anecdote.

You will forgive the poor Indian of Guiana for this.
He knows no better ; he has nobody to teach him. Bnt
shame it is, that in our own civilized country, the black cat
and broomstaff should be considered as conductors to and
from the regions of departed spirits.

Many years ago I knew poor harmless Alary ; old age
had marked her strongly, just as he will mark you and me,
should we arrive at her years and carry the weight of grief
which bent her double. The old men of the village said
she had been very pretty in her youth ; and nothing could
be seen more comely than Alary when she danced on the
green. He who had gained her heart, left her for another,
less fair, though richer than Mary. From that time she
became sad and pensive ; the rose left her cheek, and she
was never more seen to dance round the Alay-pole on the
green : her expectations were blighted ; she became quite
indifferent to everything around her, and seemed to think
of nothing but how she could best attend her mother, who
was lame, and not long for this life. Her mother had
begged a black kitten from some boys who were going to
drown it, and in her last illness she told Alary to be kind
to it for her sake.

When age and want had destroyed the symmetry of
Alary’s tine form, the village began to consider her as one
who had dealings with spirits ; her cat confirmed the sus¬
picion. If a cow died, or a villager wasted away with an
unknown complaint, Alary and her cat had it to answer for.
Her broom Sometimes served her for a walking-stick ; and
if ever she supported her tottering frame with it as far as
the Alay-pole, where once, in youthful bloom and beauty,
she had attracted the eyes of all, the boys would surround
her, and make sport of her, while her cat had neither friend
nor safety beyond the cottage wall. Nobody considered it
cruel or uncharitable to torment a witch ; and it is probable.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

201

long before this, that cruelty, old age, and want, have worn
her out, and that both poor Alary and her cat have ceased
to be.

Would you wish to pursue the different species of game,
well stored and boundless is your range in Demerara. Here
no one dogs you, and afterwards clandestinely inquires if
you have a hundred a year in land to entitle you to enjoy
such patrician sport. Here no saucy intruder asks if
you have taken out a licence, by virtue of which you are
allowed to kill the birds which have bred upon your own
property. Here

‘‘You are as free as when God first made man,

Ere the vile laws of servitude began,

And wild in woods the noble savage ran.”

Before the morning’s dawn you hear a noise in the forest,
which sounds like “ duraquaura ” often repeated. This is the
Partridge, a little smaller, and differing somewhat in colour
from the English partridge ; it lives entirely in the forest,
and probably the young brood very soon leave their parents,
as you never flush more than two birds in the same place,
and in general only one.

About the same hour, and sometimes even at midnight,
you hear two species of Maam, or Tinamou, send forth
their long and plaintive whistle from the depth of the
forest. The flesh of both is delicious. The largest is
plumper, and almost equals in size the black cock of
Northumberland. The quail is said to be here, though
rare.

The Ilannaquoi, which some have compared to the
pheasant, though with little reason, is very common.

Here are also two species of the Powise, or Hocco, and
two of the small wild turkeys called Maroudi ; they feed on
the ripe fruits of the forest, and are found in all directions

SECOND

JOURNEY.

The Part¬
ridge.

Two species
of the
Maam, or
Tinamou.

The

Ranna-

quoi.

The

Powise, or
Hocco.

202

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Flocks of
IVaraca-
bas, or
Trum¬
peters.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

in these extensive wilds. Yon will admire the Horned
Screamer as a stately and majestic bird : he is almost the
size of the turkey cock ; on his head is a long slender horn,
and each wing is armed with a strong, sharp, triangular
spur, an inch long.

Sometimes you will fall in with flocks of two or three
hundred Waracabas, or Trumpeters, called so from the
singular noise they produce. Their breast is adorned with
beautiful changing blue and purple feathers ; their head
and neck like velvet ; their wings and back grey, and belly
black. They run with great swiftness, and when domesti¬
cated, attend their master in his walks with as much ap¬
parent affection as his dog. They have no spurs, but still,
such is their high spirit and activity, that they browbeat
every dunghill fowl in the yard, and force the Guinea birds,
dogs, and turkeys to own their superiority.

If, kind and gentle reader, thou sliouldst ever visit these
regions with an intention to examine their productions,
perhaps the few observations contained in these W ander-
ings may be of service to thee ; excuse their brevity :
more could have been written, and each bird more par¬
ticularly described, but it would have been pressing too
hard upon thy time and patience.

Soon after arriving in these parts, thou wilt And that the
species here enumerated are only as a handful from a well-
stored granary. Nothing has been said of the Eagles, the
Falcons, the Hawks, and Shrikes; nothing of the different
species of Vultures, the king of which is very handsome,
and seems to be the only bird which claims regal honours
from a surrounding tribe. It is a fact beyond all dispute,
that when the scent of carrion has drawn together hundreds
of the common vultures, they all retire from the carcass as
soon as the King of the Vultures makes his appearance.
When his majesty has satisfied the cravings of his royal

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

203

stomach with the choicest bits from the most stinking and
corrupted parts, he generally retires to a neighbouring tree,
and then the common vultures return in crowds to gobble
down his leavings. The Indians, as well as the whites,
have observed this ; for when one of them, who has learned
a little English, sees the king, and wishes you to have a
proper notion of the bird, he says, “ There is the governor
of the carrion crows.”

Now, the Indians have never heard of a personage in
Demerara higher than that of governor ; and the colonists,
through a common mistake, call the vultures carrion crows.
Hence the Indian, in order to express the dominion of this
bird over the common vultures, tells you he is governor of
tire carrion crows. The Spaniards have also observed it,
for, through all the Spanish Main, he is called Eey de
Zamuros, King of the Vultures. The many species of Owls,
too, have not been noticed ; and no mention made of the
Columbine tribe. The prodigious variety of Water Fowl
on the sea-shore has been but barely hinted at.

There, and on the borders and surface of the inland
waters, in the marshes and creeks, besides the flamingos,
scarlet curlewTs, and spoonbills, already mentioned, will be
found Greenish-Brown Curlews, Sandpipers, Bails, Coots,
Gulls, Pelicans, Jabirus, Nandapoas, Crabiers, Snipes,
Plovers, Ducks, Geese, Cranes, and Anhingas ; most of
them in vast abundance ; some frequenting only the sea-
coast, others only the interior, according to their different
natures ; all worthy the attention of the naturalist, all
worthy of a place in the cabinet of the curious.

Should thy comprehensive genius not confine itself to
birds alone, grand is the appearance of other objects all
around. Thou art in a land rich in botany and mineralogy,
rich in zoology and entomology. Animation will glow in
thy looks, and exercise will brace thy frame in vigour

SECOND

journey.

204

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

Dangers to
i be. a ppre -
handed, not
real but
imaginary.

The very time of thy absence from the tables of hetero¬
geneous luxury will be profitable to thy stomach, perhaps
already sorely drenched with Londo-Parisian sauces, and a
new stock of health will bring thee an appetite to relish
the wholesome food of the chase ; never-failing sleep will
wait on thee at the time she comes to soothe the rest of
animated nature ; and, ere the sun’s rays appear in the
horizon, thou wilt spring from thy hammock fresh as the
April lark. Ee convinced also, that the dangers and diffi¬
culties which are generally supposed to accompany the
traveller in his journey through distant regions, are not
half so numerous or dreadful as they are commonly
thought to be.

The youth who incautiously reels into the lobby of
Drury -lane, after leaving the table sacred to the god of
wine, is exposed to more certain ruin, sickness, and decay,
than he who wanders a whole year in the wilds of Deme-
rara. But this will never be believed ; because the disasters
arising from dissipation are so common and frequent in
civilized life, that man becomes quite habituated to them ;
and sees daily victims sink into the tomb long before their
time, without ever once taking alarm at the causes which
precipitated them headlong into it.

But the dangers which a traveller exposes himself to in
foreign parts are novel, out of the way things to a man at
home. The remotest apprehension of meeting a tremen¬
dous tiger, of being carried off by a flying dragon, or hav¬
ing his bones picked by a famished cannibal; oh, that
makes him shudder. It sounds in his ears like the burst¬
ing of a bomb-shell. Thank Heaven, he is safe by his own
fire-side !

Prudence and resolution ought to be the traveller’s con¬
stant companions. The first will cause him to avoid a
number of snares which he will find in the path as he

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

205

journeys oil ; and the second will always lend a hand to second
assist him, if he has unavoidably got entangled in them. JOUKNEY
The little distinctions which have been shown him at his
own home ought to be forgotten when he travels o’ver the
world at large ; for strangers know nothing of his former
merits, and it is necessary that they should witness them
before they pay him the tribute which he was wont to re¬
ceive within his own doors. Thus, to be kind and affable
to those we meet, to mix in their amusements, to pay a
compliment or two to their manners and customs, to respect
their elders, to give a little to their distressed and needy,
and to feel, as it were, at home amongst them, is the
sure way to enable you to pass merrily on, and to find
other comforts as sweet and palatable as those which you
were accustomed to partake of amongst your friends and
acquaintance in your own native land.

We will now ascend in fancy on Icarian wing, and
take a view of Guiana in general. See an immense
plain ! betwixt two of the largest rivers in the world,
level as a bowling-green, save at Cayenne, and covered
with trees along the coast quite to the Atlantic wave,
except where the plantations make a little vacancy
amongst the foliage.

Though nearly in the centre of the torrid zone, the sun’s
rays are not so intolerable as might be imagined, on account
of the perpetual verdure and refreshing north-east breeze.

See what numbers of broad and rapid rivers intersect it in
their journey to the ocean, and that not a stone or a pebble
is to be found on their banks, or in any part of the country,
till your eye catches the hills in the interior. How beauti¬
ful and magnificent are the lakes in the heart of the forests,
and how charming the forests themselves, for miles after
miles on each side of the rivers ! How extensive appear
the savannas or natural meadows, teemincr with innumer-

7 O

203

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

SECOND

•JOURNEY.

Con¬

clusion.

able herds of cattle, where the Portuguese and Spaniards
are settled, but desert as Saara, where the English and
Dutch claim dominion ! How gradually the face of the
country rises ! See the sand-hills all clothed in wood first
emerging from the level, then hills a little higher, rugged
with bold and craggy rocks, pedping out from amongst the
most luxuriant timber. Then come plains, and dells, and
far-extending valleys, arrayed in richest foliage ; and beyond
them, mountains piled on mountains, some bearing pro¬
digious forests, others of bleak and barren aspect. Thus
your eye wanders on, over scenes of varied loveliness and
grandeur, till it rests on the stupendous pinnacles of the
long-continued Cordilleras de los Andes, which rise in
toweling majesty, and command all America.

How fertile must the low-lands be, from the accumula¬
tion of fallen leaves and trees for centuries ! How pro¬
pitious the swamps and slimy beds of the rivers, heated
by a downward sun, to the amazing growth of alligators,
serpents, and innumerable insects ! How inviting the
forests to the feathered tribes, where you see buds, blos¬
soms, green and ripe fruit, full grown and fading leaves, all
on the same tree ! How secure the wild beasts may rove
in endless mazes ! Perhaps those mountains too, which
appear so bleak and naked, as if quite neglected, are, like
Potosi, full of precious metals.

Let us now return the pinions we borrowed from Icarus,
and prepare to bid farewell to the wilds. The time allotted
to these Wanderings is drawing fast to a close. Every day
for the last six months has been employed in paying close
attention to natural history in the forests of Demerara.
Above two hundred specimens of the finest birds have been
collected, and a pretty just knowledge formed of their
haunts and economy. From the time of leaving England,
in March, 1816, to the present day, nothing has intervened

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

207

to arrest a fine flow of health, saving a quartan ague, which
did not tarry, hut fled as suddenly as it appeared.

And now I take leave of thee, kind and gentle reader.
The new mode of preserving birds, heretofore promised
thee, shall not he forgotten. The plan is already formed in
imagination, and can he penned down during the passage
across the Atlantic. If the few remarks in these Wander¬
ings shall have any weight in inciting thee to sally forth
and explore the vast and well-stored regions of Demerara,
I have gained my end. Adieu.

Charles Watekton.

April 6, 1817.

SECOND

JOURNEY.

THIRD

JOURNEY

THIRD JOURNEY.

CHAPTER T.

“ Desertosque videre locos, littusque relictum.”

From the Clyde to Demerara. — Yellow fever. — A deserted Plantation. —
Black John. — Medicines for tropical climates. — Bats. — The Lancet. —
Severe accident and recovery. — A primitive Spear. — History of the
Sloth — an inhabitant of the trees — structure of the limbs. — A
domesticated Sloth — a life of suspense — structure of the hair —
mark on the back. — Capture of a Sloth. — Release and escape. — Ants.
Ant-bears. — The great Ant-bear — its powers of defence — attitude when
standing — how it catches its prey. — Glutinous saliva. — The Yampire
and its habits. — Bleeding gratis. — Coushie Ants. — Armadillo and its
habits. — Tortoise. — Eggs of Tortoise and Turtle.

Gentle reader, after staying a few months in England, I
strayed across the Alps and the Apennines, and returned
home, but could not tarry. Guiana still whispered in my
ear, and seemed to invite me once more to wander through
her distant forests.

Shouldst thou have a leisure hour to read what follows,
I pray thee pardon the frequent use of that unwelcome
monosyllable I. It could not well be avoided, as will be
seen in the sequel. In February, 1820, 1 sailed from the
Clyde, on board the Glenbervic , a fine West-Indiaman.
She was driven to the north-west of Ireland, and had to
contend with a foul and wintry wind for above a fortnight.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

209

At last it changed, and we had a pleasant passage across
the Atlantic.

Sad and mournful was the story we heard on entering
the river Demerara. The yellow fever had swept off
numbers of the old inhabitants, and the mortal remains of
many a new comer were daily passing down the streets, in
slow and mute procession to their last resting-place.

After staying a few days in the town, I went up the
Demerara to the former habitation of my worthy friend,
Mr. Edmonstone, in Mibiri creek.

The house had been abandoned for some years. On
arriving at the hill, the remembrance of scenes long past
and gone naturally broke in upon the mind. All was
changed ; the house was in ruins, and gradually sinking
under the influence of the sun and rain; the roof had
nearly fallen in ; and the room where once governors and
generals had caroused, was now dismantled, and tenanted
by the vampire. You would have said,

“ ’Tis now tlie vampire’s bleak abode,
’Tis now the apartment of tlie toad ;
’Tis here the painful Cliegoe feeds,

'Tis here the dire Labarri breeds,
Conceal’d in ruins, moss, and weeds.”

On the outside of the house, nature had nearly re¬
assumed her ancient right : a few straggling fruit-trees were
still discernible amid the varied hue of the near approach¬
ing forest ; they seemed like strangers lost, and bewildered,
and unpitied, in a foreign land, destined to linger a little
longer, and then sink down for ever.

I hired some negroes from a woodcutter inanother creek
to repair the roof ; and then the house, or at least what
remained of it, became head-quarters for natural history.
The frogs, and here and there a snake, received that

p

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Yellow
fever at
Demerara .

Residence
at Mibiri
creek.

Converted
into the
author s
dwellinj.

210

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

liniment
and diet.

attention which the weak in this world generally experience
from the strong, and which the law commonly denominates
an ejectment. But here, neither the frogs nor serpents
were ill-treated ; they sallied forth, without buffet or rebuke,
to choose their place of residence ; the world was all before
them. The owls went away of their own accord, prefer¬
ring to retire to a hollow tree rather than to associate with
their new landlord. The bats and vampires stayed with
me, and went in and out as usual.

It was upon this hill in former days that I first tried to
teach John, the black slave of my friend Mr. Edmonstone,
the proper way to do birds. But John had poor abilities,
and it required much time and patience to drive anything
into him. Some years after this his master took him to
Scotland, where, becoming free, John left him, and got em¬
ployed in the Glasgow, and then the Edinburgh museum.
Mr. Bobert Edmonstone, nephew to the above gentleman,
had a line mulatto capable of learning anything. He re¬
quested me to teach him the art. I did so. He was docile
and active, and was with me all the time in the forest ; I
left him there to keep up this new art of preserving birds,
and to communicate it to others. Here then I fixed my
head-quarters, in the ruins of this once gay and hospitable
house. Close by, in a little hut, which in times long past
had served for a store to keep provisions in, there lived a
coloured man and his wife, by name Backer. Many a kind
turn they did to me ; and I was more than once of service
to them and their children, by bringing to their relief in
time of sickness what little knowledge I had acquired of
medicine.

I would here, gentle reader, wish to draw thy attention,
for a few minutes, to physic, raiment, and diet. Shouldst
thou ever wander through these remote and dreary wilds,
forget not to carry with thee bark, laudanum, calomel, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

jalap, and the lancet. There are no druggist shops here,
nor sons of Galen to apply to in time of need. I never go
encumbered with many clothes. A thin flannel waistcoat
under a check shirt, a pair of trousers, and a hat, were all
my wardrobe ; shoes and stockings I seldom had on. In
dry weather they would have irritated the feet, and retarded
me in the chase of wild beasts ; and in the rainy season
they would have kept me in a perpetual state of damp and
moisture. I eat moderately, and never drink wine, spirits,
or fermented liquors in any climate. This abstemiousness
has ever proved a faithful friend ; it carried me triumphant
through the epidemia at Malaga, where deatli made such
havoc about the beginning of the present century ; and it
has since befriended me in many a fit of sickness, brought
on by exposure to the 110011-day sun, to the dews of night,
to the pelting shower and unwholesome food.

Perhaps it will be as well, here, to mention a fever which
came 011, and the treatment of it ; it may possibly be of use
to thee, sliouldst thou turn wanderer in the tropics : a word
or two also of a wound I got in the forest, and then we will
say 110 more of the little accidents which sometimes occur,
and attend solely to natural history. We shall have an op¬
portunity of seeing the wild animals in their native haunts^
undisturbed and unbroken in upon by man. We shall
have time and leisure to look more closely at them, and
probably rectify some errors which, for want of proper in¬
formation or a near observance, have crept into their
several histories.

It was in the month of June, when the sun was within
a few davs of Cancer, that I had a severe attack of fever.
There had been a deluge of rain, accompanied with tre¬
mendous thunder and lightning, and very little sun.
Nothing could exceed the dampness of the atmosphere.
Tor two or three days I had been in a kind of twilight

v 2

211

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Severe
attack of
fever.

212

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

-JOURNEY.

state of health, neither ill nor what you may call well ; I
yawned and felt weary without exercise, and my sleep was
merely slumber. This was the time to have taken medi¬
cine ; but I neglected to do so, though I had just been
reading, “ 0 navis referent in mare te novi iluctus, 0 quid
agis? fort-iter occupa portum.” I awoke at midnight; a
cruel headache, thirst, and pain in the small of the back,
informed me what the case was. Had Chiron himself been
present, he could not have told me more distinctly that I
was going to have a tight brush of it, and that I ought to
meet it with becoming fortitude. I dozed, and woke, and
startled, and then dozed again, and suddenly awoke, think¬
ing I was falling down a precipice.

The return of the bats to their diurnal retreat, which was
in the thatch above my hammock, informed me that the
sun was now fast approaching to the eastern horizon. I
arose, in languor and in pain, the pulse at one hundred
and twenty. T took ten grains of calomel and a scruple of
jalap, and drank during the day large draughts of tea, weak
and warm. The physic did its duty ; but there was no re¬
mission of fever or headache, though the pain of the back
was less acute. I was saved the trouble of keeping the
room cool, as the wind beat in at every quarter.

At five in the evening the pulse had risen to one hundred
and thirty, and the headache almost insupportable, especi¬
ally on looking to the right or left. I now opened a vein,
and made a large orifice, to allow the blood to rush out
rapidly; I closed it after losing sixteen ounces. I then
steeped my feet in warm water, and got into the hammock.
After bleeding, the pulse fell to ninety, and the head was
much relieved ; but during the night, which was very rest¬
less, the pulse rose again to one hundred and twenty, and
at times the headache was distressing. I relieved the head¬
ache from time to time by applying cold water to the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

213

temples, and holding a wet handkerchief there. The next third
morning the fever ran very high, and I took live more J0URNEY»
grains of calomel and ten of jalap, determined, whatever
might he the case, this should he the last dose of calomel.

About two o’clock in the afternoon the fever remitted, and
a copious perspiration came on ; there was no more head¬
ache, nor thirst, nor pain in the hack, and the following
night was comparatively a good one. The next morning I
swallowed a large dose of castor-oil : it was genuine, for
Louisa Backer had made it from the seeds of the trees
which grew near the door. I was now entirely free from
all symptoms of fever, or apprehensions of a return ; and
the morning after I began to take bark, and continued it
for a fortnight. This put all to rights.

The story of the wound I got in the forest, and the mode Meets with
of cure, are very short. — I had pursued a red-lieaded wood- 4

pecker for above a mile in the forest, without being able to
get a shot at it. Thinking more of the woodpecker, as I
ran along, than of the way before me, I trod upon a little
hardwood stump, which was just about an inch or so above
the ground ; it entered the hollow part of my foot, making
a deep and lacerated wound there. It had brought me to
the ground, and there I lay till a transitory fit of sickness
went off. I allowed it to bleed freely, and on reaching head¬
quarters, washed it well and probed it, to feel if any foreign
body was left within it. Being satisfied that there was
none, I brought the edges of the wound together, and then
put a piece of lint on it, and over that a very large poultice,
which was changed morning, noon, and night. Luckily,

Backer had a cow or two upon the hill : now as heat and
moisture are the two principal virtues of a poultice, nothing
could produce those two qualities better than fresh cow-
dung boiled : had there been no cows there, I could have
made it with boiled grass and leaves. I now took

214

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Last Con¬
versation
with Sir
Joseph
Banks.

entirely to the hammock, placing the foot higher than the
knee ; this prevented it from throbbing, and was, indeed,
the only position in which I could be at ease. When the
inflammation was completely subdued, I applied a wet
cloth to the wound, and every now and then steeped the
foot in cold water during the day, and at night again ap¬
plied a poultice. The wound was now healing fast, and in
three weeks from the time of the accident, nothing but a
scar remained ; so that I again sallied forth sound and
joyful, and said to myself —

“ I, pedes cjuo te rapiunt et anrse
Dum favet sol, et locus, i secundo
Omine, et oonto latebras, ut olira,

Rutnpe ferarum.”

Now, this contus was a tough light pole, eight feet long, on
the end of which was fixed an old bayonet. I never went
into the canoe without it ; it was of great use in starting
the beasts and snakes out of the hollow trees, and, in case
of need, was an excellent defence.

In 181!), I had the last conversation with Sir Joseph
Banks. I saw with sorrow that death was going to rob us
of him. We talked much of the present mode adopted by
all museums in stuffing quadrupeds, and condemned it as
being very imperfect: still we could not find out a better
way ; and at last concluded, that the lips and nose ought
to be cut off, and replaced with wax ; it being impossible
to make those parts appear like life, as they shrink to
nothing, and render the stuffed specimens in the different
museums horrible to look at. The defects in the legs and
feet would not be quite so glaring, being covered with
hair.

I had paid great attention to this subject for above
fourteen years; still it would not do; however, one night

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

215

while I was lying in the hammock, and harping on the third
string on which hung all my solicitude, I hit upon the 'T0URNEy-
proper mode by inference ; it appeared clear to me that it 1

was the only true way of going to work, and ere I closed quadric -
my eyes in sleep, I was able to prove to myself that there veds'
could not be any other way that would answer. I tried it
the next day, and succeeded according to expectation.

By means of this process, which is very simple, we can
now give every feature back again to the animal’s face,
after it has been skinned ; and when necessary, stamp
grief, or pain, or pleasure, or rage, or mildness upon it.

But more of this hereafter.

Let us now turn our attention to the Sloth, whose native The Sloth .
haunts have hitherto been so little known, and probably
little looked into. Those who have written on this singu¬
lar animal, have remarked that he is in a perpetual state of
pain, that he is proverbially slow in his movements, that he
is a prisoner in space, and that as soon as he has consumed
all the leaves of the tree upon which he had mounted, he
rolls himself up in the form of a ball, and then falls to the
ground. This is not the case.

If the naturalists who have written the history of the
sloth had gone into the wilds, in order to examine his
haunts and economy, they would not have drawn the fore¬
going conclusions ; they would have learned, that though
all other quadrupeds may be described while resting upon
the ground, the sloth is an exception to this rule, and that
his history must be written while he is in the tree.

This singular animal is destined by nature to be pro¬
duced, to live and to die in the trees ; and to do justice to
him, naturalists must examine him in this his upper ele¬
ment. He is a scarce and solitary animal, and being good
food, he is never allowed to escape. He inhabits remote Lql{0e^m]n
and gloomy forests, where snakes take up their abode, and 'forests.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

third where cruelly stinging ants and scorpions, and swamps,
journey. anq innumerable thorny shrubs and bushes, obstruct
the steps of civilised man. Were you to draw your
own conclusions from the descriptions which have been
given of the sloth, you would probably suspect, that no
naturalist has actually gone into the wilds with the fixed
determination to find him out and examine his haunts,
and see whether nature has committed any blunder in the
formation of this extraordinary creature, which appears
to us so forlorn and miserable, so ill put together, and so
totally unfit to enjoy the blessings which have been so
bountifully given to the rest of animated nature ; for, as
it has formerly been remarked, he has no soles to his feet,
and he is evidently ill at ease when he tries to move on
the ground, and it is then that he looks up in your face
with a countenance that says, “ Have pity on me, for I am
in pain and sorrow.”

It mostly happens that Indians and Hegroes are the
people who catch the sloth, and bring it to the white man :
hence it may be conjectured that the erroneous accounts
we have hitherto had of the sloth, have not been penned
down with the slightest intention to mislead the reader,
or give him an exaggerated history, but that these errors
have naturally arisen by examining the sloth in those
places where nature never intended that he should be
exhibited.

However, we are now in his own domain. Man but
little frequents these thick and noble forests, which
extend far and wide on every side of us. This, then,
is the proper place to go in quest of the sloth. We will
first take a near view of him. By obtaining a knowledge
Anatomy of his anatomy, we shall be enabled to account for his
movements hereafter, when we see him in his proper
haunts. His fore-legs, or, more correctly speaking, his

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

217

arms, are apparently much too long, while his hind-legs third
are very short, and look as if they could he bent almost J0PRNEY
to the shape of a corkscrew. Both the fore and hind legs,
by their form, and by the manner in which they are joined
to the body, are quite incapacitated from acting in a
perpendicular direction, or in supporting it on the earth,
as the bodies of other quadrupeds are supported, by their
legs. Hence, when you place him on the floor, his belly
touches the ground. How, granted that he supported
himself on his legs like other animals, nevertheless he
would be in pain, for he has no soles to his feet, and his
claws are very sharp and long, and curved ; so that, were
his body supported by his feet it would be by their
extremities, just as your body would be, were you to throw
yourself on all fours, and try to support it on the ends of
your toes and fingers — a trying position. Were the floor
of glass, or of a polished surface, the sloth would actually
be quite stationary; but as the ground is generally rough,
with little protuberances upon it, such as stones, or roots
of grass, &c., this just suits the sloth, and he moves his
fore-legs in all directions, in order to find something to
lay hold of ; and when he has succeeded, he pulls himself
forward, and is thus enabled to travel onwards, but at the
same time in so tardy and awkward a manner, as to acquire
him the name of Sloth.

Indeed his looks and his gestures evidently betray his
uncomfortable situation ; and as a sigh every now and
then escapes him, we may be entitled to conclude that he
is actually in pain.

Some years ago I kept a sloth in my room for several
months. I often took him out of the house and placed
him upon the ground, in order to have an opportunity of
observing his motions. If the ground were rough, he
would pull himself forwards, by means of Iris fore-legs, at

218

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

a pretty good pace ; and he invariably immediately shaped
his course towards the nearest tree. But if I put him upon
a smooth and well-trodden part of the road, he appeared
to be in trouble and distress : his favourite abode was
the back of a chair : and after getting all his legs in a
line upon the topmost part of it, he would hang there
for hours together, and often with a low and inward
cry, would seem to invite me to take notice of him.

The sloth, in its wild state, spends its whole life in trees,
and never leaves them but through force or by accident.
An all-rulino- Providence has ordered man to tread on the

O

surface of the earth, the eagle to soar in the expanse of
the skies, and the monkey and squirrel to inhabit the
trees : still these may change their relative situations
without feeling much inconvenience : but the sloth is
doomed to spend his whole life in the trees ; and, what is
more extraordinary, not upon the branches, like the squirrel
and the monkey, but under them. He moves suspended
from the branch, he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps
suspended from it. To enable him to do this, he must
have a very different formation from that of any other
known quadruped.

Hence, his seemingly bungled conformation is at once
accounted for ; and in lieu of the sloth leading a painful
life, and entailing a melancholy and miserable existence
on its progeny, it is but fair to surmise that it just enjoys
life as much as any other animal, and that its extra¬
ordinary formation and singular habits are but further
proofs to engage us to admire the wonderful works of
Omnipotence.

It must be observed, that the sloth does not hang head-
downwards like the vampire. When asleep, he supports
himself from a branch parallel to the earth. He first seizes
the branch with one arm, and then with the other; and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

219

after that, brings up both his legs, one by one, to the same
branch ; so that all four are in a line : he seems perfectly at
rest in this position. NTow, had he a tail, he would be at a
loss to know what to do with it in this position : were he to
draw it up within his legs, it would interfere with them ;
and were he to let it hang down, it would become the
sport of the winds. Thus his deficiency of tail is a benefit
to him ; it is merely an apology for a tail, scarcely
exceeding an inch and a half in length.

I observed, when he was climbing, he never used his
arms both together, but first one and then the other, and
so on alternately. There is a singularity in his hair,
different from that of all other animals, and, I believe,
hitherto unnoticed by naturalists; his hair is thick and
coarse at the extremity, and gradually tapers to the root,
where it becomes fine as a spider’s web. His fur has so
much the hue of the moss which grows on the branches
of the trees, that it is verv difficult to make him out when
he is at rest.

The male of the three-toed sloth has a longitudinal bar
of very fine black hair on his back, rather lower than the
shoulder-blades ; on each side of this black bar there is a
space of yellow hair, equally fine ; it lias the appearance
of being pressed into the body, and looks exactly as if it
had been singed. If we examine the anatomy of his fore¬
legs, we shall immediately perceive by their firm and
muscular texture, how very capable they are of supporting
the pendent weight of his body, both in climbing and at
rest ; and, instead of pronouncing them a bungled com¬
position, as a celebrated naturalist has done, we shall
consider them as remarkably well calculated to perform
their extraordinary functions.

As the sloth is an inhabitant of forests within the
tropics, where the trees touch each other in the greatest

THIRD

JOURNEY.

220

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

profusion, there seems to he no reason why he should
confine himself to one tree alone for food, and entirely
strip it of its leaves. During the many years I have
ranged the forests, I have never seen a tree in such a
state of nudity; indeed, I would hazard a conjecture,
that, by the time the animal had finished the last of the
old leaves, there would be a new crop on the part of the
tree he had stripped first, ready for him to begin again, so
quick is the process of vegetation in these countries.

There is a saying amongst the Indians, that when the
wind blows, the sloth begins to travel. In calm weather
he remains tranquil, probably not liking to cling to the
brittle extremity of the branches, lest they should break
with him in passing from one tree to another ; but as soon
as the wind rises, the branches of the neighbouring trees
become interwoven, and then the sloth seizes hold of them,
and pursues his journey in safety. There is seldom an
entire day of calm in these forests. The trade-wind
generally sets in about ten o’clock in the morning, and
thus the sloth may set off after breakfast, and get a con¬
siderable way before dinner. He travels at a good round
pace ; and were you to see him pass from tree to tree, as 1
have done, you would never think of calling him a sloth.

Thus, it would appear that the different histories we
have of this quadruped are erroneous on two accounts :
first, that the writers of them deterred by difficulties and
local annoyances, have not paid sufficient attention to him
in his native haunts ; and secondly, they have described
him in a situation in which he was never intended by
nature to cut a figure ; I mean on the ground. The sloth
is as much at a loss to proceed on his journey upon a
smooth and level floor, as a man would be who had to
walk a mile in stilts upon a line of feather beds.

One day, as we were crossing the Essequibo, I saw a

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

221

large two-toed sloth on the ground upon the hank ; how he
had got there nobody could tell : the Indian said he had
never surprised a sloth in such a situation before : he
would hardly have come there to drink, for both above
and below the place, the branches of the trees touched the
water, and afforded him an easy and safe access to it. Be
this as it may, though the trees were not above twenty
yards from him, he could not make his way through the
sand time enough to escape before we landed. As soon as
we got up to him he threw himself upon his back, and
defended himself in gallant style with his fore-legs.
“ Come, poor fellow,” said I to him, “ if thou hast got into
a hobble to-day, thou shalt not suffer for it: I’ll take no
advantage of thee in misfortune ; the forest is large enough
both for thee and me to rove in : go thy ways up above,
and enjoy thyself in these endless wilds ; it is more than
probable thou wilt never have another interview with
man. So fare thee well.” On saying this, I took a long
stick which was lying there, held it for him to hook on,
and then conveyed him to a high and stately mora. He
ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in about a minute
he was almost at the top of the tree. He now went off in
a side direction, and caught hold of the branch of a neigh¬
bouring tree ; he then proceeded towards the heart of the
forest. I stood looking on, lost in amazement at diis
singular mode of progress. I followed him with my eye
till the intervening branches closed in betwixt us ; and
then I lost sight for ever of the two-toed sloth. I was
going to add, that I never saw a sloth take to his heels in
such earnest ; but the expression will not do, for the sloth
has no heels.

That which naturalists have advanced of his being so
tenacious of life is perfectly true. I saw the heart of one
beat for half an hour after it was taken out of the body.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The two-
tocd Sloth.

222

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Ants.

The wourali-poison seems to be the only thing that will
kill it quickly. On reference to a former part of these
wanderings, it will he seen that a poisoned arrow killed the
sloth in about ten minutes.

So much for this harmless, unoffending animal. He
holds a conspicuous place in the catalogue of the animals
of the new world. Though naturalists have made no
mention of what follows, still it is not less tree on that
account. The sloth is the only quadruped known, which
spends its whole life from the branch of a tree, suspended
by his feet. I have paid uncommon attention to him in
his native haunts. The monkey and squirrel will seize a
branch with their fore-feet, and pull themselves up, and
rest or run upon it ; but the sloth, after seizing it, still
remains suspended, and suspended moves along under the
branch, till he can lay hold of another. Whenever I have
seen him in his native woods, whether at rest, or asleep, or
on his travels, I have always observed that he was suspended
from the branch of a tree. When his form and anatomy
are attentively considered, it will appear evident that the
sloth cannot be at ease in any situation, where his body
is higher, or above his feet. W e will now take our leave
of him.

In the far-extending wilds of Guiana, the traveller will
be astonished at the immense quantity of Ants which he
perceives on the ground and in the trees. They have nests
in the branches, four or five times as large as that of the
rook ; and they have a covered way from them to the ground.
In this covered way thousands are perpetually passing and
repassing ; and if you destroy part of it, they turn to, and
immediately repair it.

Other species of ants again have no covered way ; but
travel, exposed to view, upon the surface of the earth. You
will sometimes see a string of these ants a mile long, each

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

223

carrying in its month to its nest a green leaf, the size of a
sixpence. It is wonderful to observe the order in which
they move, and with what pains and labour they surmount
the obstructions of the path.

The ants have their enemies, as well as the rest of
animated nature. Amongst the foremost of these stand
the three species of Ant-bears. The smallest is not much
larger than a rat ; the next is nearly the size of a fox ; and
the third a stout and powerful animal, measuring about
six feet from the snout to the end of the tail. He is the
most inoffensive of all animals, and never injures the
property of man. He is chiefly found in the inmost
recesses of the forest, and seems partial to the low and
swampy parts near creeks, where the troely-tree grows.
There lie goes up and down in quest of ants, of which
there is never the least scarcity ; so that he soon obtains a
sufficient supply of food, with very little trouble. He
cannot travel fast; man is superior to him in speed.
Without swiftness to enable him to escape from his
enemies, without teeth, the possession of which would
assist him in self-defence, and without the power of
burrowing in the ground, by which he might conceal
himself from his pursuers, he still is capable of ranging
through these wilds in perfect safety ; nor does he fear the
fatal pressure of the serpent’s fold, or the teeth of the
famished jaguar. Nature has formed his fore-legs wonder¬
fully thick, and strong, and muscular, and armed his feet
with three tremendous sharp and crooked claws. Whenever
he seizes an animal with these formidable weapons, he hugs
it close to his body, and keeps it there till it dies through
pressure, or through want of food. Nor does the ant-bear,
in the meantime, suffer much from loss of aliment, as it is
a well-known fact, that he can go longer without food than,
perhaps, any other animal, except the land-tortoise. His

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Three
species of
Ant-bears.

224

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

skin is of a texture that perfectly resists the bite of a dog 5
his hinder parts are protected by thick and shaggy hair,
while his immense tail is large enough to cover his whole
body.

The Indians have a great dread of coming in contact
with the ant-bear; and after disabling him in the chase,
never think of approaching him till he be quite dead. It is
perhaps on account of this caution, that naturalists have
never yet given to the world a true and correct drawing of
this singular animal, or described the peculiar position of
his fore-feet when he walks or stands. If, in taking a
drawing from a dead ant-bear, you judge of the position in
which he stands from that of all other terrestrial animals,
the sloth excepted, you will be in error. Examine only a
figure of this animal, in books of natural history, or inspect
a stuffed specimen in the best museums, and you will see
that the fore-claws are just in the same forward attitude as
those of a dog, or a common bear when he walks or stands.
But this is a distorted and unnatural position ; and in life,
would be a painful and intolerable attitude for the ant-bear.
The length and curve of his claws cannot admit of such a
position. When he walks or stands, his feet have somewhat
the appearance of a club-liand. He goes entirely on the
outer side of his fore-feet, which are quite bent inwards ;
the claws collected into a point, and going under the foot.
In this position he is quite at ease ; while his long claws
are disposed of in a manner to render them harmless to
him, and are prevented from becoming dull and worn, like
those of the dog, which would inevitably be the case, did
their points come in actual contact with the ground ; for
his claws have not that retractile power which is given to
animals of the feline species by which they are enabled to
preserve the sharpness of their claws on the most flinty
path. A slight inspection of the fore-feet of the ant-bear,

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

225

will immediately convince you of the mistake artists and
naturalists have fallen into, by putting his fore-feet in the
same position as those of other quadrupeds ; for you will
perceive that the whole outer side of his foot is not only
deprived of hair, hut is hard and callous ; proof positive
of its being in perpetual contact with the ground. Now, on
the contrary, the inner side of the bottom of his foot is
soft and rather hairy.

There is another singularity in the anatomy of the ant-
bear, I believe, as yet unnoticed in the page of natural
history. He has two very large glands situated below the
root of the tongue. From these is emitted a glutinous
liquid, with which his long tongue is lubricated when he
puts it into the ants’ nests. These glands are of the same
substance as those found in the lower jaw of the wood¬
pecker. The secretion from them, when wet, is very
clammy and adhesive, but on being dried it loses these
qualities, and you can pulverize it betwixt your finger and
thumb ; so that, in dissection, if any of it has got upon the
far of the animal, or the feathers of the bird, allow it to dry
there, and then it may be removed without leaving the least
stain behind.

The ant-bear is a pacific animal. He is never the first
to begin the attack. His motto may be, “Noli me tangere.”
As his habits and his haunts differ materially from those
of every other animal in the forest, their interests never
clash, and thus he might live to a good old age, and die at
last in peace, "were it not that his flesh is good food. On
this account the Indian wages perpetual war against him,
and as he cannot escape by flight, he falls an easy prey to
the poisoned arrow, shot from the Indian’s bow at a distance.
If ever he be closely attacked by dogs, he immediately
throws himself on his back, and if he be fortunate enough
to catch hold of his enemy with his tremendous claws,

Q

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Pecu¬
liarity in
the ana¬
tomy of the
Ant-bear.

22 G

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The

Vampire.

tlie invader is sure to pay for liis rashness with the loss
of life.

We will now take a view of the vampire. As there was
a free entrance and exit to the vampire in the loft where I
slept, I had many a hue opportunity of paying attention to
this nocturnal surgeon. He does not always live on blood.
When the moon shone bright, and the fruit of the banana-
tree was ripe, I could see him approach and eat it. He
would also bring into the loft, from the forest, a green round
fruit, something like the wild guava, and about the size of a
nutmeg. There was something also, in the blossom of the
sawarri nut-tree, which was grateful to him ; for on coming
up Waratilla creek, in a moonlight night, I saw several
vampires fluttering round the top of the sawarri tree, and
every now and then the blossoms, which they had broken
off fell into the water. They certainly did not drop off
naturally, for on examining several of them, they appeared,
cpiite fresh and blooming. So I concluded the vampires
pulled them from the tree, either to get at the incipient
fruit, or to catch the insects which often take up their abode
in flowers.

The vampire, in general, measures about twenty-six inches
from wing to wing, extended, though I once killed one which
measured thirty-two inches. He frequents old abandoned
houses and hollow trees ; and sometimes a cluster of them
may be seen in the forest hanging head downwards, from
the branch of a tree.

Goldsmith seems to have been aware that the vampire
hangs in clusters ; for in the Deserted Village, speaking of
America, he says, —

“And matted woods, where birds forget to sing,

But silent bats in drowsy clusters cling.”

The vampire has a curious membrane, which rises from

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

227

tlie nose, and gives it a very singular appearance. It lias
been remarked before, that there are two species of vampire
in Guiana, a larger and a smaller. The larger sucks men
and other animals ; the smaller seems to confine himself
chiefly to birds. I learnt from a gentleman, high up in the
river Demerara, that he was completely unsuccessful with
his fowls, on account of the small vampire. He showed me
some that had been sucked the night before, and they were
scarcely able to walk.

Some years ago I went to the river Paumaron with a
Scotch gentleman, by name Tarbet. We hung our ham¬
mocks in the thatched loft of a planter’s house. Next
morning I heard this gentleman muttering in his hammock,
and now and then letting fall an imprecation or two, just
about the time he ought to have been saying his morning
prayers. “ What is the matter, Sir,” said I, softly ; “ is
any thing amiss ? ” “ What’s the matter ? ” answered he,

surlily: “why, the vampires have been sucking me to
death.” As soon as there was light enough, I went to his
hammock, and saw it much stained with blood. “ There,”
said he, thrusting his foot out of the hammock, “ see how
these infernal imps have been drawing my life’s blood.”
On examining liis foot, I found the vampire had tapped
his great toe : there was a wound somewhat less than that
made by a leech ; the blood was still oozing from it ; I
conjectured he might have lost from ten to twelve ounces
of blood. AYliilst examining it, I think I put him into a
worse humour by remarking, that an European surgeon
would not have been so generous as to have blooded him
without making a charge. He looked up in my face, but
did not say a word : I saw he was of opinion that I had
better have spared this piece of ill-timed levity.

It was not the last punishment of this good gentleman
in the river Paumaron. The next night he was doomed to

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Anecdote.

Species of
large red
Ant.

228

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

undergo a kind of ordeal unknown in Europe. There 13
a species of large red ant in Guiana, sometimes called
Ranger, sometimes Cousliie. These ants march in millions
through the country, in compact order, like a regiment of
soldiers ; they eat up every insect in their march ; and if
a house obstruct their route, they do not turn out of the
way, but go quite through it. Though they sting cruelly
when molested, the planter is not sorry to see them in his
house ; for it is but a passing visit, and they destroy every
kind of insect vermin that has taken shelter under his roof.

Now, in the British plantations of Guiana, as well as in
Europe, there is always a little temple dedicated to the
goddess Oloacina. Our dinner had chiefly consisted of
crabs, dressed in rich and different ways. Paumaron is
famous for crabs, and strangers who go thither consider
them the greatest luxury. The Scotch gentleman made a
very capital dinner on crabs ; but this change of diet was
productive of unpleasant circumstances : he awoke in the
night in that state in which Virgil describes Crnleno to
have been, viz. “ fsedissima ventris proluvies.” Up he got,
to verify the remark,

“ Serins aut citius, sedem properamus ad unam.”

Now, unluckily for himself, and the nocturnal tranquillity
of the planter’s house, just at that unfortunate hour, the
Cousliie Ants were passing across the seat of Cloacina’s
temple; he had never dreamed of this; and so, turning
his face to the door, he placed himself in the usual situation
which the votaries of the goddess generally take. Had a
lighted match dropped upon a pound of gunpowder, as he
afterwards remarked, it could not have caused a greater
recoil. Up he jumped, and forced his way out, roaring for
help and for a light, for he was worried alive by ten thousand
devils. The fact is, he had sat down upon an intervening

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

229

body of coushie ants. Many of those which escaped being third
crushed to death, turned again, and, in revenge, stung the JQUUNKY-
unintentional intruder most severely. The watchman had
fallen asleep, and it was some time before a light could be
procured, the fire having gone out ; in the mean time, the
poor gentleman was suffering an indescribable martyrdom,
and would have found himself more at home in the Augean
stable than in the planter’s house.

I had often wished to have been once sucked by the
vampire, in order that I might have it in my power to say
it had really happened to me. There can be no pain in the
operation, for the patient is always asleep when the vampire
is sucking him ; and as for the loss of a few ounces of blood,
that wrould be a trifle in the long run. Many a night have
I slept with my foot out of the hammock to tempt this
winged surgeon, expecting that he would be there ; but it
was all in vain ; the vampire never sucked me, and I could
never account for his not doing so, for we were inhabitants
of the same loft for months together.

The armadillo is very common in these forests; he TkeArma-
burrows in the sand-hills like a rabbit. As it often takes
a considerable time to dig him out of his hole, it wrould be
a long and laborious business to attack each hole indis¬
criminately without knowing whether the animal were
there or not. To prevent disappointment, the Indians
carefully examine the mouth of the hole, and put a short
stick down it. Now if, on introducing the stick, a number
of mosquitos come out, the Indians know to a certainty
that the armadillo is in it : wherever there are no mosquitos
in the hole there is no armadillo. The Indian having
satisfied himself that the armadillo is there, by the mos¬
quitos which come out, he immediately cuts a long and
slender stick, and introduces it into the hole : he carefully
observes the line the stick takes, and then sinks a pit in

230

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The Laud
Tortoise.

the sand to catch the end of it : this done, lie puts it
farther into the hole, and digs another pit, and so on, till
at last he comes up with the armadillo, which had been
making itself a passage in the sand till it had exhausted
all its strength through pure exertion. I have been some¬
times three quarters of a day in digging out one armadillo,
and obliged to sink half a dozen pits, seven feet deep,
before I got up to it. The Indians and negroes are very
fond of the flesh, but I considered it strong and rank.

On laying hold of the armadillo you must be cautious
not to come in contact with his feet : they are armed with
sharp claws, and with them he will inflict a severe wound
in self-defence : when not molested, he is very harmless
and innocent ; he would put you in mind of the hare in
Gay’s fables, —

“Whose care was never to offend,

And every creature was her friend.”

The armadillo swims well in time of need, but does not
go into the water by choice. He is very seldom seen
abroad during the day ; and when surprised, he is sure to
be near the mouth of his hole. Every part of the arma¬
dillo is well protected by his shell, except his ears. In
life, this shell is very limber, so that the animal is enabled
to go at full stretch, or roll himself up into a ball, as
occasion may require.

On inspecting the arrangement of the shell, it puts you
very much in mind of a coat of armour ; indeed it is a
natural coat of armour to the armadillo, and being com¬
posed both of scale and bone, it affords ample security, and
has a pleasing effect.

Often, when roving in the wilds, I would fall in with
the Land Tortoise ; he too adds another to the list of un¬
offending animals ; he subsists on the fallen fruits of the
forest. When an enemy approaches he never thinks of

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

231

moving, but quietly draws himself under his shell, and
there awaits his doom in patience : he only seems to have
two enemies who can do him any damage ; one of these is
the Boa Constrictor: this snake swallows the tortoise alive,
shell and all. But a hoa large enough to do this is very
scarce, and thus there is not much to apprehend from that
quarter ; the other enemy is man, who takes up the tor¬
toise, and carries him away. Alan also is scarce in these
never-ending wilds, and the little depredations he may
commit upon the tortoise will he nothing, or a mere trifle.
The tiger’s teeth cannot penetrate its shell, nor can a
stroke of his paws do it any damage. It is of so compact
and strong a nature, that there is a common saying, a
London waggon might roll over it and not break it.

Ere we proceed, let us take a retrospective view of the
five animals just enumerated ; they are all quadrupeds,
and have some very particular mark, or mode of existence,
different from all other animals. The sloth has four feet,
hut never can use them, to support his body on the earth ;
they want soles, which are a marked feature in the feet of
other animals. The ant-bear has not a tooth in his head,
still he roves fearless on, in the same forests with the
Jaguar and hoa constrictor. The vampire does not make
use of his feet to walk, hut to stretch a membrane, which
enables him to go up into an element where no other
quadruped is seen. The armadillo has only here and there
a straggling hair, and has neither fur, nor wool, nor bristles,
hut in lieu of them has received a movable shell, on which
are scales very much like those of fishes. The tortoise is
oviparous, entirely without any appearance of hair, and is
obliged to accommodate itself to a shell which is quite hard
and inflexible, and in no point of view whatever obedient to
the will or pleasure of the bearer. The egg of the tortoise
has a very hard shell, while that of the turtle is quite soft.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The

Vanilla.

CHAPTER IT,

The Vanilla. — Meaning of tlie word. — Small Cayman. — Daddy Quashl. — -
Wasps. — Venomous reptiles and wild, beasts. — Poison of the Labarri
snake. — Experiment with a Labarri. — The Bete-rouge. — The Chegoe.
— Its nest. — Ticks, and how to get rid of them. — The five tribes—
Their habitations and mode of life. — Fiwarri. — The Pee-ay-man. — A
nation without a history. — Runaway negroes. — Mr.' Edmonstone and
his services. — Wounded warriors. — Valour rewarded. — Education.—
Character of the native. — Skill in hunting. — A bead almanac. — The
sun as a compass. — Thinness of population.

In some parts of tliese forests I saw the Vanilla growing
luxuriantly. It creeps up the trees to the height of
thirty or forty feet. I found it difficult to get a ripe pod,
as the monkeys are very fond of it, and generally took
care to get there before me. The pod hangs from the
tree in the shape of a little scabbard. Vayna is the
Spanish for a scabbard, and Vanilla for a little scabbard.
Hence the name.

In Mibiri creek there was a cayman of the small species,
measuring about five feet in length ; I saw it in the same
place for months, but could never get a shot at it ; for the
moment I thought I was sure of it, it dived under the
water before I could pull the trigger. At last I got an
Indian with his bow and arrow ; he stood up in the canoe
with his bow ready bent, and as we drifted past the place,
he sent his arrow into the cayman’s eye, and killed it
dead. The skin of this little species is much harder and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

2.33

stronger than that of the large kind : it is good food, and
tastes like veal.

My friend, Air. Ed monstone, had very kindly let me
have one of his old negroes, and he constantly attended
me ; his name was Daddy Quaslii ; he had a brave stomach
for heterogeneous food ; it could digest, and relish too, cay¬
man, monkies, hawks, and grubs. The Daddy made three
or four meals on this cayman while it was not absolutely
putrid, and salted the rest. I could never get him to face
a snake ; the horror he betrayed on seeing one was beyond
description ; I asked him why he was so terribly alarmed ;
he said it was by seeing so many dogs, from time to time,
killed by them.

Here I had a fine opportunity of examining several
species of the caprimulgus. I am fully persuaded that these
innocent little birds never suck the herds ; for when they
approach them, and jump up at their udders, it is to catch
the flies and insects there. AVhen the moon shone bright,
I would frequently go and stand within three yards of a
cow, and distinctly see the caprimulgus catch the flies on
its udder. On looking for them in the forest, during the
day, I either found them on the ground, or else invariably
sitting longitudinally on the branch of a tree, not crosswise
like all other birds.

The AVasps’ or Maribuntas, are great plagues in these
forests, and require the naturalist to be cautious as he
wanders up and dowm. Some make their nests pendent
from the branches ; others have them fixed to the under¬
side of a leaf. Now in passing on, if you happen to dis¬
turb one of these, they sally forth and punish you severely.
The largest kind is blue ; it brings blood where its sting
enters, and causes pain and inflammation enough to create
a fever. The Indians make a fire under the nest, and
after killing or driving away the old ones, they roast the

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Negro

servant.

Species of
the Capri¬
mulgus.

The Wasp
or Mari¬
buntas.

234

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Snakes and
wild beasts.

Catches a
live Labar-
ri snake.

young grubs in the comb and eat them. I tried them
once by way of dessert after dinner, but my stomach was
offended at their intrusion ; probably it was more the idea
than the taste that caused the stomach to rebel.

Time and experience have convinced me that there is not
much danger in roving amongst snakes and wild beasts,
provided only that you have self-command. You must
never approach them abruptly ; if so, you are sure to pay
for your rashness; because the idea of self-defence is pre¬
dominant in every animal, and thus the snake, to defend
himself from what he considers an attack upon him, makes
the intruder feel the deadly effect of his poisonous fangs.
The jaguar flies at you and knocks you senseless with a
stroke of his paw : whereas, if you had not come upon
him too suddenly, it is ten to one but that he had retired,
in lieu of disputing the path with you. The labarri snake
is very poisonous, and I have often approached within two
yards of him without fear. I took care to move very softly
and gently without moving my arms, and he always al¬
lowed me to have a fine view of him, without showing the
least inclination to make a spring at me. He would appear
to keep his eye fixed on me, as though suspicious, but that
was all. Sometimes I have taken a stick ten feet lomr,
and placed it on the labarri’ s back. He would then glide
away without offering resistance. But when I put the
end of the stick abruptly to his head, he immediately
opened his mouth, flew at it, and bit it.

One day, wishful to see how the poison comes out of
the fangs of the snake, I caught a labarri alive. He was
about eight feet long. I held him by the neck, and my
hand was so near his jaw, that he had not room to move
his head to bite it. This was the only position I could
have held him in with safety and effect. To do so, it only
required a little resolution and coolness. I then took a

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

235

small piece of stick in the other hand, and pressed it third
against the fang, which is invariably in the upper jaw. J0UUKEY-
Towards the point of the fang, there is a little oblong
aperture on the convex side of it. Through this, there is
a communication down the fang to the root, at which lies
a little bag containing the poison. INow, when the point
of the fang is pressed, the root of the fang also presses
against the bag, and sends up a portion of the poison
therein contained. Thus, when I applied a piece of stick
to the point of the fang, there came out of the hole a liquor
thick and yellow, like strong camomile tea. This was the
poison, which is so dreadful in its effects, as to render the
labarri snake one of the most poisonous in the forests of
Guiana. I once caught a fine labarri, and made it bite
itself. I forced the poisonous fang into its belly. In a few
minutes I thought it was going to die, for it appeared dull
and heavy. However, in half an hour’s time, he was as
brisk and vigorous as ever, and in the course of the day
showed no symptoms of being affected. Is then the life
of the snake proof against its own poison ? This subject is
not unworthy of the consideration of the naturalist.

In Guiana there is a little insect in the grass and on the The
shrubs, which the French call Bete-rouge. It is of a beau- Bete'rou^c
tiful scarlet colour, and so minute, that you must bring
your eye close to it before you can perceive it. It is most
numerous in the rainy season. Its bite causes an intoler¬
able itching. The best way to get rid of it, is to rub the
part affected with oil or rum. You must be careful not to
scratch it. If you do so, and break the skin, you expose
yourself to a sore. The first year I was in Guiana, the
bete-rouge, and my own want of knowledge, and, I may
add, the little attention I paid to it, created an ulcer above
the ankle, which annoyed me for six months, and if I
hobbled out into the grass, a number of bete-rouge would

236

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The

Chegoe.

settle on the edges of the sore, and increase the inflamma¬
tion.

Still more inconvenient, painful, and annoying is another
little pest, called the Chegoe. It looks exactly like a very
small flea, and a stranger would take it for one. However,
in about four and twenty hours, he would have several
broad hints that he had made a mistake in his ideas of the
animal. It attacks different parts of the body, but chiefly
the feet, betwixt the toe-nails and the flesh. There it
buries itself, and at first causes an itching not unpleasant.
In a day or so, after examining the part, you perceive a
place about the size of a pea, somewhat discoloured, rather
of a blue appearance. Sometimes it happens that the
itching is so trivial, you are not aware that the miner is at
work. Time, they say, makes great discoveries. The
discoloured part turns out to be the nest of the chegoe
containing hundreds of eggs, which, if allowed to hatch
there, the young ones will soon begin to form other nests,
and in time cause a spreading ulcer. As soon as you
perceive that you have got the chegoe in your flesh, you
must take a needle, or a sharp-pointed knife, and take it
out. If the nest be formed, great care must be taken not
to break it, otherwise some of the eggs remain in the flesh,
and then you will soon be annoyed with more chegoes.
After removing the nest, it is well to drop spirit of tur¬
pentine into the hole ; that will most effectually destroy
any chegoe that may be lurking there. Sometimes I have
taken four nests out of my feet in the course of the day.

Every evening, before sundown, it was part of my
toilette to examine my feet, and see that they were clear
of chegoes. Now and then a nest would escape the
scrutiny, and then I had to smart for it a day or two after.
A chegoe once lit upon the back of my hand ; wishful to
see how he worked, I allowed him to take possession. He

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

237

immediately set to work, head foremost, and in about third
half an hour he had completely buried himself in the skin. J0URNEY-
I then let him feel the point of my knife, and exterminated
him.

More than once, after sitting down upon a rotten stump, Ticks.

I have found myself covered with Ticks. There is a short
and easy way to get quit of these unwelcome adherents.

Make a large fire and stand close to it, and if you he
covered with ticks, they will all fall off.

Let us now forget for a while the quadrupeds, serpents,
and insects, and take a transitory view of the native In¬
dians of these forests.

There are five principal nations or tribes of Indians in Principal
ci-devant Dutch Guiana, commonly known by the name tribes,' of
of Warow, Arowack, Acoway, t'arib, and Macoushi. They Indmns •
live in small hamlets, which consist of a few huts, never
exceeding twelve in number. These huts are always in
the forest, near a river or some creek. They are open on
all sides, (except those of the Macoushi,) and covered with
a species of palm leaf.

Their principal furniture is the hammock. It serves Their

, i ijit* i i hammocks.

them both tor chair ancl bed. it is commonly made oi

*

cotton ; though those of the Warows are formed from the
seta tree. At night they always make a fire close to it.

The heat keeps them warm, and the smoke drives away
the mosquitos and sand-flies. You sometimes find a table
in the hut ; but it was not made by the Indians, but by
some negro, or mulatto carpenter.

They cut down about an acre or two of the trees which
surround the huts, and there plant Pepper, Papaws, Sweet
and Bitter Cassava, Plantains, Sweet Potatoes, Yams,
Pine-Apples, and Silk-Grass. Besides these, they gene¬
rally have a few acres in some fertile part of the forest for
their cassava, which is as bread to them. They make

Occupa¬
tions .

238

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Fermented

liquor.

Their

habits.

earthen pots to boil their provisions in ; and they get from
the white men Rat circular plates of iron, on which they
hake their cassava. They have to grate the cassava
before it is pressed, preparatory to baking ; and those In¬
dians who are too far in the wilds to procure graters from
the white men, make use of a flat piece of wood, studded
with sharp stones. They have no cows, horses, mules,
goats, sheep, or asses. The men hunt and fish, and the
women work in the provision ground, and cook their
victuals.

In each hamlet there is the trunk of a large tree,
hollowed out like a trough. In this, from their cassava,
they make an abominable ill-tasted and sour kind of fer¬
mented liquor, called piwarri. They are very fond of it,
and never fail to get drunk after every brewing. The
frequency of the brewing depends upon the superabundance
of cassava.

Both men and women go without clothes. The men
have a cotton wrapper, and the women a bead-ornamented
square piece of cotton, about the size of your hand, for
the fig-leaf. Those far away in the interior, use the bark
of a tree for this purpose. They are very clean people,
and wash in the river, or creek, at least twice every day.
They paint themselves with the roucou, sweetly perfumed
with liayawa or accaiari. Their hair is black and lank,
and never curled. The women braid it up fancifully,
something in the shape of Diana’s head-dress in ancient
pictures. They have very few diseases. Old age and
pulmonary complaints seem to be the chief agents for
removing them to another world. The pulmonary com¬
plaints are generally brought on by a severe cold, which
they do not know flow to arrest in its progress, by the use
of the lancet, I never saw an idiot amongst them, nor
could I perceive any that were deformed from their birth.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

239

Tlieir women never perish in childbed, owing, no doubt, to
their never wearing stays.

They have no public religious ceremony. They acknow¬
ledge two superior beings, — a good one, and a bad one.
They pray to the latter not to hurt them, and they are of
opinion that the former is too good to do them an injury.
I suspect, if the truth were known, the individuals of the
village never offer up a single prayer or ejaculation. They
have a kind of a priest called a Pee-ay-man, who is an
enchanter. He finds out things lost. He mutters prayers
to the evil spirit over them and their children when they
are sick. If a fever be in the village, the Pee-ay-man
goes about all night long, howling, and making dreadful

O O O' O' o

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Religious

customs

and

ceremonies.

noises, and begs the bad spirit to depart. But he has
very seldom to perform this part of his duty, as fevers
seldom visit the Indian hamlets. However, when a fever
does come, and his incantations are of no avail, which I
imagine is most commonly the case, they abandon the
place for ever, and make a new settlement elsewhere.
They consider the owl and the goatsucker as familiars of
the evil spirit, and never destroy them.

I could find no monuments or marks of antiquity
amongst these Indians ; so that after penetrating to the
Eio Branco, from the shores of the Western Ocean, had
any body questioned me on this subject, I should have
answered, I have seen nothing amongst these Indians
which tells me that they have existed here for a century ;
though, for aught I know to the contrary, they may have
been here before the Bedemption, but their total want of
civilization has assimilated them to the forests in which they
wander. Thus, an aged tree falls and moulders into dust
and you cannot tell what was its appearance, its beauties,
or its diseases amongst the neighbouring trees ; another
has shot up in its place, and after nature has had tier

240

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

course, it will make way for a successor in its turn. So
it is with the Indian of Guiana ; he is now laid low in the
dust; he has left no record behind him, either on parch¬
ment, or on a stone, or in earthenware, to say what lie has
done. Perhaps the place where his buried ruins lie was
unhealthy, and the survivors have left it long ago, and
gone far away into the wilds. All that you can say is,
the trees where I stand appear lower and smaller than the
rest, and from this I conjecture, that some Indians may
have had a settlement here formerly. Were I by chance
to meet the son of the father who moulders here, he could
tell me that his father was famous for slaying tigers and
serpents and caymen, and noted in the chase of the tapir
and wild boar, but that he remembers little or nothing of
his grandfather.

They are very jealous of their liberty, and much at¬
tached to their own mode of living. Though those in the
neighbourhood of the European settlements have constant
communication with the whites, they have no inclination
to become civilized. Some Indians who have accompanied
white men to Europe, on returning to their own land, have
thrown off their clothes, and gone back into the forests.

In George-town, the capital of Demerara, there is a large
shed, open on all sides, built for them by order of govern¬
ment. Hither the Indians come with monkies, parrots,
bows and arrows, and pegalls. They sell these to the
white men for money, and too often purchase rum with it,
to which they are wonderfully addicted.

Government allows them annual presents in order to
have their services, when the colony deems it necessary to
scour the forests in quest of runaway negroes. Formerly
these expeditions were headed by Charles Edmonstone,
Esq., now of Cardross Park, near Dumbarton. This brave
colonist never returned from the woods without being

O

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

241

victorious. Once, in an attack upon the rebel negroes’
camp, lie led the way, and received two balls in his body ;
at the same moment that he was wounded, two of his
Indians fell dead by his side ; he recovered after his life
was despaired of, but the balls could never be extracted.

Since the above appeared in print, I have had the
account of this engagement with the negroes in the forest
from Mr. Edmonstone’s own mouth.

He received four slugs in his body, as will be seen in
the sequel.

The plantations of Demerara and Essequibo are bounded
by an almost interminable extent of forest. Hither the
runaway negroes repair, and form settlements, from
whence they issue to annoy the colonists, as occasion may
offer.

In 1801, the runaway slaves had increased to an alarm¬
ing extent. The Governor gave orders that an expedition
should be immediately organized, and proceed to the
woods, under the command of Charles Edmonstone, Esq.
General Hislop sent him a corporal, a sergeant, and eleven
men, and he was joined by a part of the colonial militia,
and by sixty Indians.

With this force Mr. Edmonstone entered the forest, and
proceeded in a direction towards Mahaica.

He marched for eight days through swamps, and over
places obstructed by fallen trees and the bush-rope ; tor¬
mented by myriads of mosquitos, and ever in fear of
treading on the poisonous snakes, which can scarcely be
distinguished from the fallen leaves.

At last he reached a wooded sand-hill, where the
Maroons had intrenched themselves in great force. Not
expecting to come so soon upon them, Mr. Edmonstone,
His faithful man Coffee, and two Indian chiefs, found
themselves considerably ahead of their own party. As

E

THIRD

JOUT.NEY.

242

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

yet, they were unperceived by the enemy, but, unfortu¬
nately, one of the Indian chiefs fired a random shot at a
distant Maroon. Immediately the whole negro camp
turned out, and formed themselves in a crescent, in front
of Mr. Edmonstone. Their chief was an uncommonly fine
negro, about six feet in height ; and his head-dress was
that of an African warrior, ornamented with a profusion
of small shells. He advanced undauntedly with his gun
in his hand, and, in insulting language, called out to Air.
Edmonstone to come on and fight him.

Mr. Edmonstone approached him slowly, in order to
give his own men time to come up ; but they were yet too
far off for him to profit by this manoeuvre. Coffee, who
carried his master’s gun, now stepped up behind him, and
put the gun into his hand, which Air. Edmonstone received,
without advancing it to his shoulder.

He was now within a few yards of the Afaroon chief,
who seemed to betray some symptoms of uncertainty ; for
instead of firing directly at Air. Edmonstone, he took a step
sideways, and rested his gun against a tree ; no doubt with
the intention of taking a surer aim. Air. Edmonstone, on
perceiving this, immediately cocked his gun, and fired it
off, still holding it in the position in which he had received
it from Coffee.

The wdiole of the contents entered the negro’s body, and
he dropped dead on his face.

The negroes, who had formed in a crescent, now in their
turn fired a volley, which brought Air. Edmonstone and
his two Indian chiefs to the ground. The Alaroons did
not stand to reload, but on Air. Edmonstone’s party
coming up, they fled precipitately into the surrounding
forest.

Four slugs had entered Air. Edmonstone’s body. After
coming to himself, on looking around, he saw one of the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

243

fallen Indian chiefs bleeding by his side. He accosted
him by name, and said he hoped he was not much hurt.
The dying Indian had just strength enough to answer,
“ Oh no,” — and then expired. The other chief was lying
quite dead. He must have received his mortal wound
just as he was in the act of cocking his gun to fire on the
negroes ; for it appeared that the ball which gave him his
death wound, had carried off the first joint of his thumb,
and passed through Ins forehead. By this time his wife,
who had accompanied the expedition, came up. She was
a fine young woman, and had her long black hair fancifully
braided in a knot on the top of her head, fastened with a
silver ornament. She unloosed it, and, falling on her
husband’s body, covered it with her hair, bewailing his
untimely end with the most heartrending cries.

The blood was now running out of Mr. Edmonstone’s
shoes. On being raised up, he ordered his men to pursue the
flying Maroons, requesting at the same time that he might
be left where he had fallen, as he felt that he was mortally
wounded. They gently placed him on the ground, and
after the pursuit of the Maroons had ended, the corporal
and sergeant returned to their commander, and formed
their men. On his asking what this meant, the sergeant
replied, “ I had the General’s orders, on setting out from
town, not to leave you in the forest, happen what might.”
By slow and careful marches, as much as the obstructions
in the woods would admit of, the party reached Plantation
Alliance, on the bank of the Demerara, and from thence it
crossed the river to Plantation Vredestein.

The news of the rencounter had been spread far and
wide by the Indians, and had already reached town.
The General, Captains Macrai and Johnstone, and Doctor
Dunkin, proceeded to Vredestein. On examining Mr.
Edmonstone’s wounds, four slugs were found to have

R 2

THIRD

JOURNEY.

I

244

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

THIRD

JOURNEY.

General

remarks.

entered the body ; one was extracted, the rest remained
there till the year 1824, when another was cut out by a
professional gentleman of Port Glasgow. The other two
still remain in the body ; and it is supposed that either
one or both have touched a nerve, as they cause almost
continual pain. Mr. Edmonstone has commanded fifteen
different expeditions in the forest in quest of the Maroons.
The Colonial Government has requited his services, by
freeing liis property from all taxes, and presenting him a
handsome sword, and a silver urn, bearing the following
inscription :

“Presented to Charles Edmonstone, Esq. by the Governor and
Court of Policy of the Colony of Demerara, as a token of their
esteem, and the deep sense they entertain of the very great activity
and spirit manifested by him on various occasions in his successful
exertions for the internal security of the Colony. — January 1st,
1809.”

I do not believe that there is a single Indian in ci-devant
Dutch Guiana who can read or write, nor am I aware that
any white man has reduced their language to the rules
of grammar; some may have made a short manuscript
vocabulary of the few necessary words, but that is all.
Here and there a white man, and some few people of
colour, talk the language well. The temper of the Indian
of Guiana is mild and gentle, and he is very fond of his
children.

Some ignorant travellers and colonists call these Indians
a lazy race. Man in general will not be active without an
object. Now when the Indian has caught plenty of fish,
and killed game enough to last him for a week, what need
has he to range the forest ? He has no idea of making
pleasure-grounds. Money is of no use to him, for in these
wilds there are no markets for him to frequent, nor mil¬
liners’ shops for his wife and daughters ; he has no taxes to

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

245

pay, no highways to keep up, no poor to maintain, nor
army nor navy to supply ; he lies in his hammock both
night and day (for he has no chair or bed, neither does he
want them), and in it he forms his how, and makes his
arrows, and repairs his fishing tackle. But as soon as he
has consumed his provisions, he then rouses himself, and,
like the lion, scours the forest in quest of food. He
plunges into the river after the deer and tapir, and swims
across it ; passes through swamps and quagmires, and
never fails to obtain a sufficient supply of food. Should
the approach of night stop his career, while he is hunt¬
ing the wild boar, he stops for the night, and continues the
chase the next morning. In my way through the wilds to
the Portuguese frontier, I had a proof of this : we were
eight in number, six Indians, a negro, and myself. About
ten o’clock in the morning, we observed the feet-mark of
the wild boars ; we judged by the freshness of the marks
that they had passed that way early the same morning.
As we were not gifted, like the hound, with scent, and as
we had no dog with us, we followed their track by the eye.
The Indian after game is as sure with his eye as the dog
is with his nose. We followed the herd till three in the
afternoon, then gave up the chase for the present; made
our fires close to a creek where there was plenty of fish,
and then arranged the hammocks. In an hour the Indians
shot more fish with their arrows than we could consume.
The night was beautifully serene and clear, and the moon
shone as bright as day. Next morn we rose at dawn, got
breakfast, packed up, each took his burden, and then we
put ourselves on the track of the wild boars, which we had
been following the day before. We supposed that they,
too, would sleep that night in the forest, as we had done;
and thus the delay on our part would be no disadvantage
to us. This was just the case, for about nine o’clock their

THIRD

JOURNEY.

24(5

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

feet-marks became fresher and fresher : we now doubled
our pace, but did not give mouth like hounds. We pushed
on in silence, and soon came up with them ; there were
above one hundred of them ; we killed six, and the rest
took off in different directions. But to the point.

Amongst us the needy man works from light to dark for
a maintenance. Should this man chance to acquire a
fortune, lie soon changes his habits. No longer under

strong necessity’s supreme command,” he contrives to
get out of bed betwixt nine and ten in the morning. His
servant helps him to dress, he walks on a soft carpet to
his breakfast table, his wife pours out his tea, and his
servant hands him his toast. After breakfast, the doctor
advises a little gentle exercise in the carriage for an hour
or so. At dinner-time he sits down to a table groaning
beneath the weight of heterogeneous luxury: there he
rests upon a chair for three or four hours, eats, drinks, and
talks (often unmeaningly) till tea is announced. He pro¬
ceeds slowly to the drawing-room, and there spends the best
part of his time in sitting, till his wife tempts him with
something warm for supper. After supper, he still remains
on his chair at rest, till he retires to rest for the night.
He mounts leisurely up stairs upon a carpet, and enters
his bed-room : there, one would hope, that at least he
mutters a prayer or two, though perhaps not on bended
knee : he then lets himself drop into a soft and downy
bed, over which has just passed the comely Jenny’s
warming-pan. How, could the Indian in his turn see this,
he would call the white men a lazy, indolent set.

Perhaps then, upon due reflection, you would draw this
conclusion ; that men will always be indolent where there
is no object to rouse them.

As the Indian of Guiana has no idea whatever of com¬
municating his intentions by writing, he has fallen upon

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

247

a plan of communication sure and simple. When two or
three families have determined to come down the river
and pay you a visit, they send an Indian beforehand with
a string of beads. You take one bead off every day ; and
on the day that the string is beadless, they arrive at your
house.

In finding their way through these pathless wilds, the
sun is to them what Ariadne’s clue was to Theseus. When
he is on the meridian, they generally sit down, and rove
onwards again as soon as he has sufficiently declined to
the west ; they require no other compass. When in chase,
they break a twig on the bushes as they pass by every
three or four hundred paces, and this often prevents them
from losing their way on their return.

You will not be long in the forests of Guiana, before
you perceive how very thinly they are inhabited. You
may wander for a week together without seeing a hut.
The wild beasts, snakes, the swamps, the trees, the un¬
curbed luxuriance of everything around you, conspire to
inform you that man has no habitation here — man has
seldom passed this way.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Indian
method of
communi¬
cation.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

-

CHAPTER III.

Discovery of a large Coulacanara snake. — A Bush-master. — Stag swallowed
by a Boa. — Negroes and the snake. — Arrangements for the attack. —
The snake struck. — Carrying off the enemy. — A snake in a bag. — An
unquiet night. — Dissection of the snake. — Daddy Quaslii and his dread
of snakes. — Capture of a Coulacanara. — Vultures and their food. —
Habits of Vultures. — The Aura vulture. — Black vultures. — Severe
blisters. — An inquisitive Jaguar. — Fish shooting. — Goatsuckers and
Campanero.

Let us now return to natural history. There was a
person making shingles, with twenty or thirty negroes,
not far from Mibiri-hill. I had offered a reward to any of
them who would find a good-sized snake in the forest, and
come and let me know where it was. Often had these
negroes looked for a large snake, and as often been dis¬
appointed.

One Sunday morning I met one of them in the forest,
and asked him which way he was going : he said he was
going towards Warratilla creek to hunt an armadillo : and
he had his little dog with him. On coming back, about
noon, the dog began to bark at the root of a large tree,
which had been upset by the whirlwind, and was lying
there in a gradual state of decay. The negro said, he
thought his dog was barking at an acouri, which had pro¬
bably taken refuge under the tree, and he went up with an
intention to kill it : he there saw a snake, and hastened
back to inform me of it.

WANDERINGS IN SOOTH AMERICA.

249

The sun had just passed the meridian in a cloudless sky ; third
there was scarcely a bird to be seen, for the winged inhabit- J0UIlNEY-
ants of the forest, as though overcome by heat, had retired Goef m.

_ ° J f search of a

to the thickest shade : all would have been like midnight snake.

silence, were it not for the shrill voice of the Pi-pi-yo,
every now and then resounding from a distant tree. I was
sitting with a little Horace in mv hand, on what had once
been the steps which formerly led up to the now moulder¬
ing and dismantled building. The negro and his little
dog came down the hill in haste, and I was soon informed
that a snake had been discovered; but it was a young
one, called the Bush-master, a rare and poisonous snake.

I instantly rose up, and laying hold of the eight-foot
lance, which was close by me, “ Well then, Daddy,” said I,

“ we’ll go and have a look at the snake.” I was barefoot,
with an old hat, and check shirt, and trousers on, and a
pair of braces to keep them up. The negro had his cutlass,
and as we ascended the hill, another negro, armed with a
cutlass, joined us, judging, from our pace, that there was
something to do. The little dog came along with us, and
when we had got about half a mile in the forest, the negro
stopped, and pointed to the fallen tree : all was still and
silent : I told the negroes not to stir from the place where
they were, and keep the little dog in, and that I would go
in and reconnoitre.

I advanced up to the place slow and cautious. The Finds and
snake was well concealed, but at last I made him out ; it Enormous
was a Coulacanara, not poisonous, but large enough to have Coulacan-

V . ara snake.

crushed any of us to death. On measuring him afterwards,
lie was something more than fourteen feet long. This
species of snake is very rare, and much thicker, in pro¬
portion to his length, than any other snake in the forest.

A coulacanara of fourteen feet in length is as thick as a
common boa of twenty-four. After skinning this snake I

250

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

could easily get my head into his mouth, as the singular
formation of the jaws admits of wonderful extension.

A Dutch friend of mine, by name Brouwer, killed a Boa,
twenty-two feet long, with a pair of stag’s horns in his
mouth : he had swallowed the stag, but could not get the
horns down : so he had to wait in patience with that un¬
comfortable mouthful till his stomach digested the body,
and then the horns would drop out. In this plight the
Dutchman found him as he was going in his canoe up the
river, and sent a ball through his head.

On ascertaining the size of the serpent which the negro
had just found, I retired slowly the way I came, and
promised four dollars to the negro who had shown it to me,
and one to the other who had joined us. Aware that the
day was on the decline, and that the approach of night
would be detrimental to the dissection, a thought struck
me that I could take him alive. I imagined if I could
strike him with the lance behind the head, and pin him to
the ground, I might succeed in capturing him. When I
told this to the negroes, they begged and entreated me to
let them go for a gun, and bring more force, as they were
sure the snake would kill some of us.

I had been at the siege of Troy for nine years, and it
would not do now to carry back to Greece, “ nil decimo
nisi dedecus anno.” I mean, I had been in search of a
large serpent for years, and now having come up with one,
it did not become me to turn soft. So, taking a cutlass
from one of the negroes, and then ranging both the sable
slaves behind me, I told them to follow me, and that I
would cut them down if they offered to fly. I smiled as I
said this, but they shook their heads in silence, and seemed
to have but a bad heart of it.

When we got up to the place, the serpent had not stirred,
but I could see nothing of his head, and I judged by the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

251

folds of his body that it must be at the farthest side of his third
den. A species of woodbine had formed a complete mantle J0UKXKY«
over the branches of the fallen tree, almost impervious to
the rain, or the rays of the sun. Probably he had resorted
to this sequestered place for a length of time, as it bore
marks of an ancient settlement.

I now took my knife, determining to cut away the wood¬
bine, and break the twigs in the gentlest manner possible,
till I could get a view of his head. One negro stood guard
close behind me with the lance ; and near him the other
with a cutlass. The cutlass which I had taken from the
first negro was on the ground close by me in case of need.

After working in dead silence for a quarter of an hour,
with one knee all the time on the ground, I had cleared
away enough to see his head. It appeared coming out
betwixt the first and second coil of his body, and was flat
on the ground. This was the very position I wished it to
be in.

I rose in silence and retreated very slowly, making a
sign to the negroes to do the same. The dog was sitting at
a distance in mute observance. I could now read in the
face of the negroes, that they considered this a very un¬
pleasant affair ; and they made another attempt to persuade
me to let them go for a gun. I smiled in a good-natured
manner, and made a feint to cut them down with the
weapon I had in my hand. This was all the answer I
made to their request, and they looked very uneasy.

It must be observed, we were now about twenty yards
from the snake’s den. I now ranged the negroes behind
me, and told him who stood next to me to lay hold of the
lance the moment I struck the snake, and that the other
must attend my movements. It now only remained to
take their cutlasses from them, for I was sure, if I did not
disarm them, they would be tempted to strike the snake in

252

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

time of danger, and thus for ever spoil his skin. On tak¬
ing their cutlasses from them, if I might judge from their
physiognomy, they seemed to consider it as a most in¬
tolerable act of tyranny in me. Probably nothing kept
them from bolting, but the consolation that I was to be be¬
twixt them and the snake. Indeed, my own heart, in spite
of all I could do, beat quicker than usual ; and I felt those
sensations which one has on board a merchant-vessel in
war time, when the captain orders all hands on deck to
prepare for action, while a strange vessel is coming down
upon us under suspicious colours.

We went slowly on in silence, without moving our arms
or heads, in order to prevent all alarm as much as possible,
lest the snake should glide off, or attack us in self-defence.
I carried the lance perpendicularly before me, with the
point about a foot from the ground. The snake had not
moved ; and on getting up to him, I struck him with the
lance on the near side, just behind the neck, and pinned
him to the ground. That moment, the negro next to me
seized the lance, and held it firm in its place, while I
dashed head foremost into the den to grapple with the
snake, and to get hold of his tail before he could do any
mischief.

On pinning him to the ground with the lance, he gave a
tremendous loud hiss, and the little dog ran away, howling
as he went. We had a sharp fray in the den, the rotten
sticks flying on all sides, and each party struggling for
superiority. I called out to the second negro to throw
himself upon me, as I found I was not heavy enough. He
did so, and the additional weight was of great service. I
had now got firm hold of his tail ; and after a violent
struggle or two, he gave in, finding himself overpowered.
This was the moment to secure him. So, while the first
negro continued to hold the lance firm to the ground, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

253

the other was helping me, I contrived to unloose my
braces, and with them tied np the snake’s mouth.

The snake now finding himself in an unpleasant situa¬
tion, tried to better himself, and set resolutely to work, but
we overpowered him. We contrived to make him twist
himself round the shaft of the lance, and then prepared to
convey him out of the forest. I stood at his head and
held it firm under my arm, one negro supported the belly,
and the other the tail. In this order we began to move
slowly towards home, and reached it after resting ten times ;
for the snake was too heavy for us to support him without
stopping to recruit our strength. As we proceeded onwards
with him, he fought hard for freedom, but it was all in
vain. The day was now too far spent to think of dissect¬
ing him. Had I killed him, a partial putrefaction would
have taken place before morning. I had brought with me
up into the forest a strong bag, large enough to contain any
animal that I should want to dissect. I considered this
the best mode of keeping live wild animals when I was
pressed for daylight ; for the bag yielding in every direc¬
tion to their efforts, they would have nothing solid or fixed
to work on, and thus would be prevented from making a
hole through it. I say fixed, for after the mouth of the
bag was closed, the bag itself was not fastened or tied to
anything, but moved about wherever the animal inside
caused it to roll. After securing afresh the mouth of the
coulacanara, so that he could not open it, he was forced
into this bag, and left to his fate till morning.

I cannot say he allowed me to have a quiet night. My
hammock was in the loft just above him, and the floor
betwixt us, half gone to decay, so that in parts of it no
boards intervened betwixt his lodging-room and mine. He
was very restless and fretful ; and had Medusa been my
wife, there could not have been more continued and

THIRD

JOURNEY.

254

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

.TOURNEY,

Kills ay id
dissects the
snake.

Attacks

another

snake.

disagreeable hissing in the bedchamber that night. At day¬
break, I sent to borrow ten of the negroes who were cut¬
ting wood at a distance ; I could have done with, half that
number, but judged it most prudent to have a good force,
in case he should try to escape from the house when we
opened the bag. However, nothing serious occurred.

We untied the mouth of the bag, kept him down by
main force, and then I cut his throat. He bled like an ox.
By six o’clock the same evening, he was completely dis¬
sected. On examining his teeth, I observed that they were
all bent like tenter-liooks, pointing down his throat, and
not so large or strong as I expected to have found them ;
but they are exactly suited to what they are intended by
nature to perform. The snake does not masticate his food,
and thus the only service his teeth have to perform is to
seize his prey, and hold it till he swallows it whole.

In general, the skins of snakes are sent to museums
without the head : for when the Indians and Negroes kill
a snake, they seldom fail to cut off the head, and then they
run no risk from its teeth. When the skin is stuffed in
the museum, a wooden head is substituted, armed with
teeth which are large enough to suit a tiger’s jaw; and
this tends to mislead the spectator, and give him erroneous
ideas.

During this fray with the serpent, the old negro, Daddy
Quashi, was in Georgetown procuring provisions, and just
returned in time to help to take the skin off. He had
spent best part of his life in the forest with his old master,
Mr. Edmonstone, and amused me much in recounting their
many adventures amongst the wild beasts. The Daddy
had a particular horror of snakes, and frankly declared he
could never have faced the one in question.

The week following, his courage wras put to the test, and
he made good his words. It was a curious conflict, and

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

took place near the spot where I had captured the large
snake. In the morning I had been following a new species
of paroquet, and the day being rainy, I had taken an um¬
brella to keep the gun dry, and had left it under a tree ;
in the afternoon I took Daddy Quaslii with me to look for
it. Whilst he was searching about, -curiosity took me to¬
wards the place of the late scene of action. There was a
path where timber had formerly been dragged along. Here
I observed a young coulacanara, ten feet long, slowly mov¬
ing onwards ; I saw he was not thick enough to break my
arm in case he got twisted round it. There was not a
moment to be lost. I laid hold of his tail with the left
hand, one knee being on the ground ; with the right I took
my hat, and held it as you would hold a shield for defence.

The snake instantly turned, and came on at me, with his
head about a yard from the ground, as if to ask me, what
business I had to take liberties with his tail. I let him
come, hissing and open-mouthed, within two feet of my
face, and then, with all the force I was master of, I drove
my fist, shielded by my hat, full in his jaws. He was
stunned and confounded by the blow, and ere he could re¬
cover himself, I had seized his throat with both hands, in
such a position that he could not bite me ; I then allowed
him to coil himself round my body, and marched off with
him as my lawful prize. He pressed me hard, but not
alarmingly so.

In the meantime, Daddy Quashi having found the um¬
brella, and having heard the noise which the fray occa¬
sioned, was corning cautiously up. As soon as he saw me,
and in what company I was, he turned about and ran off
home, I after him, and shouting to increase his fear. On
scolding him for his cowardice, the old rogue begged that I
would forgive him, for that the sight of the snake had
positively turned him sick at stomach.

256

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The King
of the
Vulures.

When I had done with the carcass of the large snake, it
was conveyed into the forest, as I expected that it would
attract the king of the vultures, as soon as time should
have rendered it sufficiently savoury. In a few days it
sent forth that odour which a carcass should send forth,
and about twenty of the common vultures came and
perched on the neighbouring trees ; the king of the
vultures came too ; and I observed that none of the
common ones seemed inclined to begin breakfast till his
majesty had finished. When he had consumed as much
snake as nature informed him would do him good, he
retired to the top of a high mora-tree, and then all the
common vultures fell to, and made a hearty meal.

The head and neck of the king of the vultures are hare
of feathers ; hut the beautiful appearance they exhibit
fades in death. The throat and the back of the neck are
of a fine lemon colour; both sides of the neck, from the
ears downwards, of a rich scarlet ; behind the corrugated
part there is a white spot. The crown of the head is
scarlet ; betwixt the lower mandible and the eye, and close
by the ear, there is a part which has a fine silvery blue
appearance ; the corrugated part is of a dirty light brown ;
behind it, and just above the white spot, a portion of the
skin is blue, and the rest scarlet ; the skin which juts out
behind the neck, and appears like an oblong caruncle, is
blue in part, and part orange.

The bill is orange and black, the caruncles on his fore¬
head orange, and the cere orange ; the orbits scarlet, and
the irides white. Below the bare part of the neck there is
a cinereous ruff. The bag of the stomach, which is only
seen when distended with food, is of a most delicate
white, intersected with blue veins, which appear on it just
like the blue veins on the arm of a fair-complexioned
person.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

257

The tail and long wing-featliers are black, the belly
white, and the rest of the body a fine satin colour.

I cannot be persuaded that the vultures ever feed upon
live animals, not even upon lizards, rats, mice, or frogs ; I
have watched them for hours together, but never could see
them touch any living animals, though innumerable lizards,
frogs, and small birds swarmed all around them. I have
killed lizards and frogs, and put them in a proper place for
observation ; as soon as they began to stink, the Aura
vulture invariably came and took them off. I have fre¬
quently observed, that the day after the planter had burnt
the trash in a cane-field, the aura vulture was sure to be
there, feeding on the snakes, lizards, and frogs which had
suffered in the conflagration. I often saw a large bird
(very much like the common gregarious vulture at a dis¬
tance) catch and devour lizards ; after shooting one, it
turned out to be not a vulture, but a hawk, with a tail
squarer and shorter than hawks have in general. The
vultures, like the goatsucker and woodpecker, seem to be
in disgrace with man. They are generally termed a
voracious, stinking, cruel, and ignoble tribe. Under these
impressions, the fowler discharges his gun at them, and
probably thinks he has done well in ridding the earth of
such vermin.

Some governments impose a fine on him who kills a
vulture. This is a salutary law, and it were to be wished
that other governments would follow so good an example.
1 would fain here say a word or two in favour of this
valuable scavenger.

Kind Providence has conferred a blessing on hot
countries in giving them the vulture ; he has ordered it to
consume that which, if left to dissolve in putrefaction,
would infect the air, and produce a pestilence. When full
of food, the vulture certainly appears an indolent bird ; he

s

THIRD

JOURNEY.

258

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

TH TRD
JOURNEY.

will stand for hours together on the branch of a tree, or on
the top of a house, with his wings drooping, and, after rain,
with them spread and elevated to catch the rays of the
sun. It has been remarked by naturalists, that the flight
of this bird is laborious. I have paid attention to the
vulture in Andalusia, and to those in Guiana, Brazil, and
the West Indies, and conclude that they are birds of long,
even, and lofty flight. Indeed, whoever has observed the
aura vulture, will be satisfied that his flight is wonderfully
majestic, and of long continuance.

The bird is above five feet from wing to wing extended.
You will see it soaring aloft in the aerial expanse on
pinions which never flutter, and which at the same time
carry him through the fields of ether with a rapidity ecpial
to that of the golden eagle. In Paramaribo the laws pro¬
tect the vulture, and the Spaniards of Angustura never
think of molesting him. In 1808, I saw the vultures in
that city as tame as domestic fowls ; a person wdio had
never seen a vulture would have taken them for turkeys.
They were very useful to the Spaniards ; and had it not
been for them, the refuse of the slaughter-houses in
Angustura would have caused an intolerable nuisance.

The common black, short, square-tailed vulture, is gre¬
garious ; but the aura vulture is not so ; for, though you
may see fifteen or twenty of them feeding on the dead
vermin in a cane-field, after the trash has been set fire to,
still, if you have paid attention to their arrival, you will
have observed that they came singly and retired singly,
and thus their being all together in the same field was
merely accidental, and caused by each one smelling the
effluvia as he was soaring through the sky to look out
for food. I have watched twenty come into a cane-field ;
they arrived one by one, and from different parts of'
the heavens. Hence we may conclude, that though the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

259

other species of vulture are gregarious, the aura vulture third

iS nOt. JOURNE'

If you dissect a vulture that has just been feeding on
carrion, you must expect that your olfactory nerves will be
somewhat offended with the rank effluvia from his craw ;
just as they would he were you to dissect a citizen after
the Lord Mayor’s dinner. If, on the contrary, the vulture
he empty at the time you commence the operation, there
will he no offensive smell, hut a strong scent of musk.

I had long wished to examine the native haunts of the

Cayman ; hut as the river Demerara did not afford a
specimen of the large kind, I was obliged to go to the
river Essequibo to look for one.

I got the canoe ready, and went down in it to George¬
town ; where, having put in the necessary articles for the
expedition, not forgetting a couple of large shark-hooks,
with chains attached to them, and a coil of strong new
rope, I hoisted a little sail, which I had got made on
purpose, and at six o’clock in the morning shaped our
course for the river Essequibo. I had put a pair of shoes
on to prevent the tar at the bottom of the canoe from
sticking to my feet. The sun was flaming hot, and from
eleven o’clock till two heat perpendicularly upon the top
of my feet, betwixt the shoes and the trousers. Not
feeling it disagreeable, or being in the least aware of
painful consequences, as I had been barefoot for months, I
neglected to put on a pair of short stockings which I had
with me. I did not reflect, that sitting still in one place,
with your feet exposed to the sun, was very different from
being exposed to the sun while in motion.

We went ashore in the Essequibo, about three o’clock in Suffers
the afternoon, to choose a place for the night’s residence, ^^tii^fcet
to collect firewood, and to set the fish-hooks. It was th eRfrom exces-
that I first began to find my legs very painful : they soon

2 GO

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Visited in
the night
by a
Jaguar
Tiger.

Reaches the
falls of the
Essequibo.

became much inflamed and red and blistered ; and it
required considerable caution not to burst the blisters,
otherwise sores would have ensued. I immediately got
into the hammock, and there passed a painful and sleep¬
less night, and for two days after I was disabled from
walking.

About midnight, as I was lying awake, and in great
pain, I heard the Indian say, “ Massa, massa, you no hear
tiger ? ” I listened attentively, and heard the softly sound¬
ing tread of his feet as he approached us. The moon had
gone down ; but every now and then we could get a glance
of him by the light of our fire : he was the jaguar, for I
could see the spots on his body. Had I wished to have
fired at him, I was not able to take a sure aim, for I was in
such pain that I could not turn myself in my hammock.
The Indian would have fired, but I would notallow him to
do so, as I wanted to see a little more of our new visitor ;
for it is not every day or night that the traveller is favoured
with an undisturbed sight of the jaguar in his own forests.

Whenever the fire got low, the jaguar came a little
nearer, and when the Indian renewed it, he retired
abruptly ; sometimes he would come within twenty yards,
and then we had a view of him, sitting on his hind legs
like a dog ; sometimes he moved slowly to and fro, and
at other times we could hear him mend his pace, as if
impatient. At last the Indian, not relishing the idea of
having such company in the neighbourhood, could contain
himself no longer, and set up a most tremendous yell.
The jaguar bounded off like a racehorse, and returned no
more ; it appeared by the print of his feet the next morn¬
ing that he was a full-grown jaguar.

In two days after this we got to the first falls in the Es¬
sequibo. There was a superb barrier of rocks quite across
the river. In the rainy season these rocks are for the most

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

2G1

part under water ; but it being now dry weather, we had a third
fine view of them, while the water from the river above ,TolTRyEV-
them rushed through the different openings in majestic
grandeur. Here, on a little hill, jutting out into the river,
stands the house of Mrs. Peterson, the last house of people
of colour up this river ; I hired a negro from her, and a
coloured man, who pretended that they knew the haunts of
the cayman, and understood everything about taking him.

We were a day in passing these falls and rapids, celebrated
for the Pacou, the richest and most delicious fish in Guiana.

The coloured man was now in his element ; he stood in the
head of the canoe, and with his bow and arrow shot the
pacou as they were swimming in the stream. The arrow
had scarcely left the bow before he had plunged headlong
into the river, and seized the fish as it was struggling with
it. He dived and swam like an otter, and rarely missed the
fish he aimed at.

Did my pen, gentle reader, possess descriptive powers, I
would here give thee an idea of the enchanting scenery of
the Essequibo ; but that not being the case, thou must be
contented with a moderate and well-intended attempt.

Nothing could be more lovely than the appearance of Scenery.
the forest on each side of this noble river. Hills rose on
hills in fine gradation, all covered with trees of gigantic
height and size. Here their leaves were of a lively purple,
and there of the deepest green. Sometimes the Caracara
extended its scarlet blossoms from branch to branch, and
gave the tree the appearance as though it had been hung
with garlands.

This delightful scenery of the Essequibo made the soul
overflow with joy, and caused you to rove in fancy through
fairy-land ; till, on turning an angle of the river, you were
recalled to more sober reflections on seeing the once
grand and towering mora, now dead and ragged in its top-

262

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

.TOURNEY

The Cam -
panero.

most branches, while its aged trunk, undermined by the
rushing torrent, hung as though in sorrow over the river,
which, ere long, would receive it, and sweep it away for ever.

During the day, the trade-wind blew a gentle and re¬
freshing breeze, which died away as the night set in, and
then the river was as smooth as glass.

The moon was within three days of being full, so that
we did not regret the loss of the sun, which set in all its
splendour. Scarce had he sunk behind the western hills,
when the Goatsuckers sent forth their soft and plaintive
cries ; some often repeating, “ Who are you — who, who,
who are you ? ” and others, “ Willy, Willy, Willy come go.”

The Indian and Daddy Quashi often shook their heads at
this, and said they were bringing talk from Yabahou, who
is the evil spirit of the Essequibo. It was delightful to sit
on the branch of a fallen tree, near the water’s edge, and
listen to these harmless birds as they repeated their even¬
ing song ; and watch the owls and vampires as they every
now and then passed up and down the river.

The next day, about noon, as we were proceeding on¬
wards, we heard the Campanero tolling in the depth of the
forest. Though I should not then have stopped to dissect
even a rare bird, having a greater object in view, still I
could not resist the opportunity offered of acquiring the
campanero. The place where he was tolling was low and
swampy, and my legs not having quite recovered from the
effects of the sun, I sent the Indian to shoot the campanero.
He got up to the tree, which he described as very high,
with a naked top, and situated in a swamp. He fired at
the bird, but either missed it, or did not wound it suffi¬
ciently to bring it down. This was the only opportunity I
had of getting a campanero during this expedition. We
had never heard one toll before this morning, and never
heard one after.

CHAPTER IV.

Fishing fora Cayman. — A shark-hook useless. — Sting-rays. — Turtle and
Guana nests. — Numbers of eggs. — Another failure. — Meeting a Jaguar.
— Guard against fever. — More failures. — A native hook and way of
baiting. — The Cayman’s dinner-bell. — Caught at last. — How to secure
the reptile. — Mounting a Cayman. — An improvised bridle. — Skin and
teeth of the Cayman. — Embarkment for England. — Collision with the
Custom House.

About an hour before sunset, we reached the place which
the' two men who had joined us at the falls pointed out
as a proper one to find a Cayman. There was a large
creek close by, and a sand-bank gently sloping to the
water. Just within the forest on this bank, we cleared a
place of brushwood, suspended the hammocks from the
trees, and then picked up enough of decayed wood for
fuel.

The Indian found a large land tortoise, and this, with
plenty of fresh fish which we had in the canoe, afforded a
supper not to be despised.

The tigers had kept up a continued roaring every night
since we had entered the Essequibo. The sound was
awfully fine. Sometimes it was in the immediate neigh¬
bourhood ; at other times it was far off, and echoed
amongst the hills like distant thunder..

It may, perhaps, not be amiss to observe here, that when
the word tiger is used, it does not mean the Bengal tiger.

THIKD

JOUITNEY.

Roaring of
the Tigers,

264

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Noise of
the Cay-
men.

It means the jaguar, whose shin is beautifully spotted, and
not striped like that of the tiger in the East. It is, in fact,
the tiger of the new world, and receiving the name of tiger
from the discoverers of South America, it has kept it ever
since. It is a cruel, strong, and dangerous beast, but not
so courageous as the Bengal tiger.

We now baited a shark-hook with a large fish, and put
it upon a board about a yard long, and one foot broad,
which we had brought on purpose. This board was carried
out in the canoe, about forty yards into the river. By
means of a string, long enough to reach the bottom of the
river, and at the end of which string was fastened a stone,
the board was kept, as it were, at anchor. One end of the
new rope I had bought in town was reeved through the
chain of the shark-hook, and the other end fastened to a
tree on the sand-bank.

It was now an hour after sunset. The sky w7as cloud¬
less, and the moon shone beautifully bright. There Tvas
not a breath of wind in the heavens, and the river seemed
like a large plain of quicksilver. Every now and then a
huge fish would strike and plunge in the water ; then the
owls and goatsuckers would continue their lamentations,
and the sound of these was lost in the prowling tiger’s
growl. Then all was still again, and silent as midnight.

The caymen were now upon the stir, and at intervals
their noise could be distinguished amid that of the jaguar,
the owls, the goatsuckers, and frogs. It was a singular and
awful sound. It was like a suppressed sigh, bursting forth
all of a sudden, and so loud that vou might hear it above
a mile off. First one emitted this horrible noise, and then
another answered him ; and on looking at the countenances
of the people around me, I could plainly see that they
expected to have a cayman that night.

We were at supper, when the Indian, who seemed to

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

265

have had one eye on the turtle-pot and the other on the
bait in the river, said he saw the cayman coming.

Upon looking towards the place, there appeared some¬
thing on the water like a black log of wood. It was so
unlike anything alive, that I doubted if it were a cay¬
man ; but the Indian smiled, and said he was sure it was
one, for he remembered seeing a cayman, some years ago,
when he was in the Essecjuibo.

At last it gradually approached the bait, and the board
began to move. The moon shone so bright that we could
distinctly see him open his huge jaws, and take in the
bait. We pulled the rope. He immediately let drop the
bait ; and then we saw his black head retreating from the
board, to the distance of a few yards, and there it remained
quite motionless.

He did not seem inclined to advance again ; and so we
finished our supper. In about an hour’s time he again
put himself in motion, and took hold of the bait. But,
probably, suspecting that he had to deal with knaves and
cheats, he held it in liis mouth but did not swallow it.
We pulled the rope again, but with no better success than
the first time.

He retreated as usual, and came back again in about an
hour. We paid him every attention till three o’clock in
the morning ; when, worn out with disappointment, we
went to the hammocks, turned in, and fell asleep.

When day broke, we found that he had contrived to get
the bait from the hook, though we had tied it on with string.
We had now no more hopes of taking a cayman till the
return of night. The Indian took off into the woods, and
brought back a noble supply of game. The rest of us
went into the canoe, and proceeded up the river to shoot
fish. We got even more than we could use.

As we approached the shallows, we could see the large

THIRD

JOURNEY.

266

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Birds.

Turtles'

nests.

Sting-rays moving at the bottom. The coloured man
never failed to hit them with his arrow. The weather
was delightful. There was scarcely a cloud to intercept
the sun’s rays.

I saw several scarlet aras, anihingas, and ducks, but
could not get a shot at them. The parrots crossed the
river in innumerable quantities, always flying in pairs.
Here, too, I saw the Sun-bird, called Tirana by the
Spaniards in the Oroonoque, and shot one of them. The
black and white Scarlet-headed Finch was very common
here. I could never see this bird in the Demerara, nor
hear of its being there.

We at last came to a large sand-bank, probably two
miles in circumference. As we approached it we could
see two or three hundred Fresh-water Turtle on the edge
of the bank. Ere we could get near enough to let fly an
arrow at them, they had all sunk into the river and
appeared no more.

We went on the sand-bank to look for their nests, as
this was the breeding season. The coloured man showed
us how to find them. Wherever a portion of the sand
seemed smoother than the rest, there was sure to be a
turtle’s nest. On digging down with our hands, about nine
inches deep, we found from twenty to thirty white eggs ;
in less than an hour we got above two hundred. Those
which had a little black spot or two on the shell we ate
the same day, as it was a sign that they were not fresh,
and of course would not keep : those which had no speck
were put into dry sand, and were good some weeks after.

At midnight, two of our people went to this sand-bank,
while the rest stayed to watch the cayman. The turtle had
advanced on to the sand to lay their eggs, and the men
got betwixt them and the water ; they brought off half a
dozen very fine and well-fed turtle. The egg-shell of the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

267

fresh-water turtle is not hard like that of the land tor¬
toise, but appears like white parchment and gives way to
the pressure of the fingers; but it is very tough, and
does not break. On this sand-bank, close to the forest,
we found several Guana’s nests ; but they had never more
than fourteen eggs a-piece. Thus passed the day in
exercise and knowledge, till the sun’s declining orb
reminded us it was time to return to the place from
■whence we had set out.

The second night’s attempt upon the cayman was a
repetition of the first, quite unsuccessful. We went a
fishing the day after, had excellent sport, and returned to
experience a third night’s disappointment. On the fourth
evening, about four o’clock, we began to erect a stage
amongst the trees, close to the water’s edge. From this
we intended to shoot an arrow into the cayman : at the
end of this arrow was to be attached a string, which would
be tied to the rope, and as soon as the cayman was struck
we were to have the canoe ready and pursue him in the
river.

While we were busy in preparing the stage, a tiger
began to roar. We judged by the sound that he was not
above a quarter of a mile from us, and that he was close
to the side of the river. Unfortunately, the Indian said
it was not a jaguar that was roaring, but a couguar. The
couguar is of a pale, brownish red colour, and not as large
as the jaguar. As there was nothing particular in this
animal, I thought it better to attend to the apparatus for
catching the cayman than to go in quest of the couguar.
The people, however, went in the canoe to the place
where the couguar was roaring. On arriving near the

o o o

spot, they saw it was not a couguar, but an immense
jaguar, standing on the trunk of an aged mora-tree, which
bended over the river ; he growled and showed his teeth

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Couguar.

2G8

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

third as they approached; the coloured man fired at him with
journey. a qap^ ]jUt probably missed him, and the tiger instantly
descended, and took off into the woods. I went to the
place before dark, and we searched the forest for about
half a mile in the direction he had fled, but we could see
no traces of him, or any marks of blood ; so I concluded
that fear had prevented the man from taking steady aim.

We spent best part of the fourth night in trying for the
cayman, but all to no purpose. I was now convinced that
something was materially wrong. We ought to have been
successful, considering our vigilance and attention, and
that we had repeatedly seen the cayman. It was useless
to tarry here any longer ; moreover, the coloured man began
to take airs, and fancied that I could not do without him.
Discharges I never admit of this in any expedition where I am com-
tk ^ colour °'f mander ; and so I convinced the man, to his sorrow, that
I could do without him ; for I paid him what I had agreed
to give him, which amounted to eight dollars, and ordered
him back in his own curial to Mrs. Peterson’s, on the
hill at the first falls. I then asked the negro if there
were any Indian settlements in the neighbourhood ; he
said he knew of one, a day and a half off. We went in
quest of it, and about one o’clock the next day the negro
showed us the creek where it was.

The entrance was so concealed by thick bushes that a
stranger would have passed it without knowing it to be
a creek. In going up it we found it dark, winding, and
intricate beyond any creek that I had ever seen before
When Orpheus came back with his young wife from Styx,
his path must have been similar to this, for Ovid says
it was

. “ Arduus, oldiquus, caligine densus opaca,”

and this creek was exactly so.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

269

When we had got about two-thirds up it, we met the
Indians going a fishing. I saw, by the way their things
were packed in the curial, that they did not intend to
return for some days. However, on telling them what we
wanted, and by promising handsome presents of powder,
shot, and hooks, they dropped their expedition, and invited
us up to the settlement they had just left, and where we
laid in a provision of cassava.

They gave us for dinner boiled ant-bear and red
monkey; two dishes unknown even at Beauvilliers in
Paris, or at a London city feast. The monkey was very
good indeed, but the ant-bear had been kept beyond its
time ; it stunk, as our venison does in England ; and so,
after tasting it, I preferred dining entirely on monkey.
After resting here, we went back to the river. The
Indians, three in number, accompanied us in their own
curial, and, on entering the river, pointed to a place a
little way above, well calculated to harbour a cayman.
The water was deep and still, and flanked by an immense
sand-bank ; there was also a little shallow creek close by.

On this sand-bank, near the forest, the people made a
shelter for the night. My own was already made ; for I
always take with me a painted sheet, about twelve feet
by ten. This, thrown over a pole, supported betwixt two
trees, makes you a capital roof with very little trouble.

We showed one of the Indians the shark-hook. He
shook his head and laughed at it, and said it would not
do. When he was a boy, he had seen his father catch the
caymen, and on the morrow he would make something
that would answer.

In the meantime, we set the shark-hook, but it availed
us nought ; a cayman came and took it, but would not
swallow it.

Seeing it was useless to attend the shark-hook any

THIRD

JOURNKY.

Inclin n
dinner.

270

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

longer, we left it for the night, and returned to our
hammocks.

Ere I fell asleep, a reflection or two broke in upon me.
I considered, that as far as the judgment of civilized man
went, everything had been procured and done to ensure
success. We had hooks, and lines, and baits, and patience ;
we had spent nights in watching, had seen the cayman
come and take the bait, and after our expectations had
been wound up to the highest pitch, all ended in disap¬
pointment. Probably this poor wild man of the woods
would succeed by means of a very simple process ; and
thus prove to his more civilized brother that, notwith¬
standing books and schools, there is a vast deal of know¬
ledge to be picked up at every step, whichever way we
turn ourselves.

In the morning, as usual, we found the bait gone from
the shark-hook. The Indians went into the forest to
hunt, and we took the canoe to shoot fish and get another
supply of turtles’ eggs, which we found in great abundance
on this large sand-bank.

We went to the little shallow creek, and shot some
young caymen, about two feet long. It was astonishing
to see what spite and rage these little things showed when
the arrow struck them ; they turned round and bit it, and
snapped at us when we went into the water to take them
up. Daddy Quashi boiled one of them for his dinner, and
found it very sweet and tender. I do not see why it
should not be as good as frog or veal.

The day was now declining apace, and the Indian had
made his instrument to take the cayman. It was very
simple. There were four pieces of tough hard wood, a foot
long, and about as thick as your little finger, and barbed
at both ends; they were tied round the end of the rope,
in such a manner, that if you conceive the rope to be an

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

271

arrow, these four sticks would form the arrow’s head ; so
that one end of the four united sticks answered to the
point of the arrow-head, while the other ends of the
sticks expanded at equal distances round the rope, thus —

Now it is evident, that if the cayman swallowed this, (the
other end of the rope, which was thirty yards long, being
fastened to a tree,) the more he pulled, the faster the barbs
would stick into his stomach. This wooden hook, if you
may so call it, was well baited with the flesh of the
acouri, and the entrails were twisted round the rope for
about a foot above it.

Nearly a mile from where we had our hammocks, the
sand-bank was steep and abrupt, and the river very still
and deep ; there the Indian pricked a stick into the sand.
It was two feet long, and on its extremity was fixed the
machine ; it hung suspended about a foot from the water,
and the end of the rope was made fast to a stake driven
well into the sand.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

The Indian then took the empty shell of a land tortoise
and gave it some heavy blows with an axe. I asked him

272

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Succeed in
hooking a
Cayman.

why he did that. He said it was to let the cayman hear
that something was going on. In fact the Indian meant
it as the cayman’s dinner-bell.

Having done this, we went back to the hammocks, not
intending to visit it again till morning. During the night,
the jaguars roared and grumbled in the forest, as though
the world was going wrong with them, and at intervals we
could hear the distant cayman. The roaring of the jaguars
was awful ; but it was music to the dismal noise of these
hideous and malicious reptiles.

About half-past five in the morning, the Indian stole off
silently to take a look at the bait. On arriving at the
place he set up a tremendous shout. "We all jumped out
of our hammocks, and ran to him. The Indians got there
before me, for they had no clothes to put on, and I lost
two minutes in looking for my trousers and in slipping
into them.

We found a cayman, ten feet and a half long, fast to
the end of the rope. Nothing now remained to do, but
to get him out of the water without injuring his scales,
“ hoc opus, liic labor.” We mustered strong : there were
three Indians from the creek, there was my own Indian
Yan, Daddy Quaslii, the negro from Mrs. Peterson’s, James,
Mr. E. Edmonstone’s man, whom I was instructing to
preserve birds, and lastly, myself.

1 informed the Indians that it was my intention to draw
him quietly out of the water, and then secure him. They
looked and stared at each other, and said I might do it
myself ; but they would have no hand in it ; the cayman
would worry some of us. On saying this, “ consedere
duces,” they squatted on their hams with the most perfect
indifference.

The Indians of these wilds have never been subject to
the least restraint ; and I knew enough of them to be

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

273

aware, that if I tried to force them against their will, they
would take off, and leave me and my presents unheeded,
and never return.

Daddy Quashi was for applying to our guns, as usual, con¬
sidering them our best and safest friends. I immediately
offered to knock him down for his cowardice, and he
shrunk hack, begging that I would he cautious, and not
get myself worried ; and apologizing for his own want of
resolution. My Indian was now in conversation with the
others, and they asked if I would allow them to shoot a
dozen arrows into him, and thus disable him. This would
have ruined all. I had come above three hundred miles
on purpose to get a cayman uninjured, and not to carry
back a mutilated specimen. I rejected their proposition
with firmness, and darted a disdainful eye upon the
Indians.

Daddy Quashi was again beginning to remonstrate, and
I chased him on the sand-bank for a quarter of a mile.
He told me afterwards, he thought he should have dropped
down dead with fright, for he was firmly persuaded, if I
had caught him, I should have bundled him into the cay¬
man’s jaws. Here then we stood, in silence, like a calm
before a thunder-storm. “ Hoc res summa loco. Scinditur
in contraria vulgus.” They wanted to kill him, and I
wanted to take him alive.

I now walked up and down the sand, revolving a dozen
projects in my head. The canoe was at a considerable
distance, and I ordered the people to bring it round to the
place where we were. The mast was eight feet long, and
not much thicker than my wrist. I took it out of the
canoe, and wrapped the sail round the end of it. How it
appeared clear to me, that if I went down upon one knee,
and held the mast in the same position as the soldier holds
his bayonet when rushing to the charge, I could force it

T

THIRD

JOURNEY.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

274

third down the cayman’s throat, should he come open-mouthed
jom,NE\ . a|. me> 'When this was told to the Indians, they brightened
up, and said they would help me to pull him out of the
river.

Prepare to “Brave squad!” said I to myself, “‘Audax omnia
take the perpeti,’ now that you have got me betwixt yourselves
alive. and danger.” I then mustered all hands for the last

time before the battle. We were, four South American
savages, two negroes from Africa, a creole from Trinidad,
and myself a white man from Yorkshire. In fact, a little
tower of Babel group, in dress, no dress, address, and
language.

O o

Daddy Quasi li hung in the rear; I showed him a large
Spanish knife, which I always carried in the waistband of
my trousers : it spoke volumes to him, and he shrugged
up his shoulders in absolute despair. The sun was just
peeping over the high forests on the eastern hills, as if
coming to look on, and bid us act with becoming fortitude.
I placed all the people at the end of the rope, and ordered
them to pull till the cayman appeared on the surface of
the water ; and then, should he plunge, to slacken the rope
and let him go again into the deep.

I now took the mast of the canoe in my hand (the sail
being tied round the end of the mast) and sunk down upon
one knee, about four yards from the water’s edge, deter¬
mining to thrust it down his throat, in case he gave me
an opportunity. I certainly felt somewhat uncomfortable
in this situation, and I thought of Cerberus on the other
side of the Styx ferry. The people pulled the cayman to
the surface ; he plunged furiously as soon as he arrived in
these upper regions, and immediately went below again
on their slackening the rope. I saw enough not to fall
in love at first sight. I now told them we would run all
risks, and have him on land immediately. They pulled

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

275

again, and out he came, — “ monstrum horrendum, informe.”
This was an interesting moment. I kept my position
firmly, with my eye fixed steadfast on him.

By this time the cayman was within two yards of me.
I saw he was in a state of fear and perturbation ; I in¬
stantly dropped the mast, sprang up, and jumped on his
back, turning half round as I vaulted, so that I gained my
seat with my face in a right position. I immediately
seized his fore legs, and, by main force, twisted them on
his back ; thus they served me for a bridle.

He now seemed to have recovered from his surprise, and
probably fancying himself in hostile company, he began to
plunge furiously, and lashed the sand with his long and
powerful tail. I was out of reach of the strokes of it, by
being near his head. He continued to plunge and strike,
and made my seat very uncomfortable. It must have been
a fine sight for an unoccupied spectator.

The people roared out in triumph, and were so vociferous,
that it was some time before they heard me tell them to
pull me and my beast of burden farther inland. I was
apprehensive the rope might break, and then there would
have been every chance of going down to the regions under
water with the cayman. That would have been more
perilous than Arion’s marine morning ride : —

“ Delpliini insidens vada cserula sulcat Anon.”

The people now dragged us above forty yards on the
sand : it was the first and last time I was ever on a
cayman’s back. Should it be asked, how I managed to
keep my seat, I would answer, — I hunted some years with
Lord Darlington’s fox-hounds.

After repeated attempts to regain his liberty, the cayman
gave in, and became tranquil through exhaustion. I now
managed to tie up his jaws, and firmly secured his fore-

t 2

THIRD

JOURNEY

276

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

third feet in the position I had held them. We had now another
.tourney. severe struggle for superiority, but he was soon overcome
and again remained quiet. While some of the people
were pressing upon his head and shoulders, I threw myself
on his tail, and by keeping it down to the sand, prevented
him from kicking up another dust. He was finally con¬
veyed to the canoe, and then to the place where we had
suspended our hammocks. There I cut his throat ; and,
after breakfast was over, commenced the dissection.

Now that the affray had ceased, Daddy Quaslii played a

crood finder and thumb at breakfast; he said he found

himself much revived, and became very talkative and

useful, as there was no longer any danger. He was a

faithful, honest negro. His master, my worthy friend

Mr. Edmonstone, had been so obliging as to send out

particular orders to the colony, that the Daddy should

attend me all the time I was in the forest. He had lived

iii the wilds of Demerara with Air. Edmonstone for manv

%/

years ; and often amused me with the account of the frays
his master had had in the woods with snakes, wild beasts,
and runaway negroes. Old age was now coming fast upon
him; he had been an able fellow in his younger days, and
a gallant one too, for he had a large scar over his eyebrow,
caused by the stroke of a cutlass, from another negro,
while the Daddy was engaged in an intrigue.

The hack of The back of the cayman may be said to be almost im-
tlie penetrable to a musket-ball, but his sides are not near so

Cayman. , i -ji . n ,

strong, and are easily pierced with an arrow ; indeed, were
they as strong as the back and the belly, there would be
no part of the cayman’s body soft and elastic enough to
admit of expansion after taking in a supply of food.

Its teeth. The cayman has no grinders ; his teeth are entirely made
for snatch and swallow; there are thirty-two in each jaw.
Perhaps no animal in existence bears more decided marks

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

in his countenance of cruelty and malice than the cayman.
He is the scourge and terror of all the large rivers in
South America near the line.

One Sunday evening, some years ago, as I was walking
with Don Felipe de Ynciarte, governor of Angustura, on
the hank of the Oroonoque, “ Stop here a minute or two,
Don Carlos,” said he to me, “ while I recount a sad acci¬
dent. One fine evening last year, as the people of Angus¬
tura were sauntering up and down here, in the Alameda,
I was within twenty yards of this place, when I saw a
large cayman rush out of the river, seize a man, and carry
him down, before anybody had it in his power to assist
him. The screams of the poor fellow were terrible as the
cayman was running off with him. He plunged into the
river with his prey; we instantly lost sight of him, and
never saw or heard him more.”

I was a day and a half in dissecting our cayman, and
then we all got ready to return to Demerara.

It was much more perilous to descend than to ascend
the falls in the Essequibo.

The place we had to pass had proved fatal to four Indians
about a month before. The water foamed, and dashed and
boiled, amongst the steep and craggy rocks, and seemed to
warn us to be careful how wre ventured there.

I was for all hands to get out of the canoe, and then,
after lashing a long rope ahead and astern, we might have
climbed from rock to rock, and tempered her in her passage
down, and our getting out would have lightened her much.
But the negro wdio had joined us at Mrs. Peterson’s said
he was sure it would be safer to stay in the canoe while
she went down the fall. I was loath to give way to him ;
but I did so this time against my better judgment, as he
assured me that he was accustomed to pass and repass
these falls.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Anecdote.

Great
danger in
descending
the falls of
the Esse¬
quibo.

278

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Reaches

George¬

town.

Accordingly we determined to push down : I was at the
helm, the rest at their paddles. But before we got half
way through, the rushing waters deprived the canoe of all
power of steerage, and she became the sport of the torrent ;
in a second she was half full of water, and I cannot com¬
prehend to this day why she did not go down ; luckily the
people exerted themselves to the utmost, — she got headway,
and they pulled through the whirlpool ; I being quite in
the stern of the canoe, part of a wave struck me, and
nearly knocked me overboard.

We now paddled to some rocks at a distance, got out,
unloaded the canoe, and dried the cargo in the sun, which
was very hot and powerful. Had it been the wet season,
almost everything would have been spoiled.

After this, the voyage down the Essequibo was quick
and pleasant till we reached the sea-coast ; there we had
a trying day of it ; the wind was dead against us, and the
sun remarkably hot ; we got twice aground upon a mud-
flat, and were twice obliged to get out, up to the middle
in mud, to shove the canoe through it. Half way betwixt
the Essequibo and Demerara the tide of flood caught us ;
and after the utmost exertions, it was half-past six in the
evening before we got to Georgetown.

We had been out from six in the morning in an open
canoe on the sea-coast, without umbrella or awning, ex¬
posed all day to the fiery rays of a tropical sun. My face
smarted so that I could get no sleep during the night, and
the next morning my lips were all in blisters. The Indian
Yan went down to the Essequibo a copper colour, but the
reflection of the sun from the sea, and from the sand¬
banks in the river, had turned him nearly black. He
laughed at himself, and said that the Indians in the
Demerara would not know him again. I stayed one day
in Georgetown, and then set off the next morning for

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

279

heacl-quarters in Mibiri creek, where I finished the
cayman.

Here the remaining time was spent in collecting birds,
and in paying particular attention to their haunts and
economy. The rainy season having set in, the weather
became bad and stormy ; the lightning and thunder were
incessant : the days cloudy, and the nights cold and misty.
I had now been eleven months in the forests, and collected
some rare insects, two hundred and thirty birds, two land
tortoises, five armadillas, two large serpents, a sloth, an
ant-bear, and a cayman.

I left the wilds and repaired to Georgetown to spend a
few days with Mr. E. Edmonstone previous to embarking
for Europe. I must here return my sincerest thanks to
this worthy gentleman for his many kindnesses to me ;
his friendship was of the utmost service to me, and he
never failed to send me supplies up into the forest by
every opportunity.

I embarked for England, on board the Dee West-India-
man, commanded by Captain Grey.

Sir Joseph Banks had often told me, he hoped that I
would give a lecture in public, on the new mode I had
discovered of preparing specimens in natural history for
museums. I always declined to do so, as I despaired of
ever being able to hit upon a proper method of doing
quadrupeds ; and I was aware that it would have been
an imperfect lecture to treat of birds only. I imparted
what little knowledge I was master of, at Sir Joseph's, to
the unfortunate gentlemen who went to Africa to explore
the Congo ; and that was all that took place in the shape
of a lecture. Now that 1 had hit upon the way of doing
quadrupeds, I drew up a little plan on board the Dee,
which I trusted would have been of service to naturalists ;
and by proving to them the superiority of the new plan,

THIRD

JOURNEY-.

Embarks

for

England .

280

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Arrives at
Liverpool .

they would probably be induced to abandon the old and
common way, which is a disgrace to the present age, and
renders hideous every specimen in every museum that I
have as yet visited. I intended to have given three lec¬
tures ; one on insects and serpents ; one on birds ; and
one on quadrupeds. But, as it will be shortly seen, this
little plan was doomed not to be unfolded to public view.
Illiberality blasted it in the bud.

We had a pleasant passage across the Atlantic, and
arrived in the Mersey in fine trim and good spirits. Great
was the attention I received from the commander of the
Dee . He and his mate, Mr. Spence, took every care of
my collection.

On our landing, the gentlemen of the Liverpool Custom¬
house received me as an old friend and acquaintance, and
obligingly offered their services.

Twice before had I landed in Liverpool, and twice had
I reason to admire their conduct and liberality. They
knew I was incapable of trying to introduce anything
contraband, and they were aware that I never dreamed of
turning to profit the specimens I had procured. They
considered that I had left a comfortable home in quest
of science ; and that I had wandered into far-distant
climes, and gone barefooted, ill-clothed, and ill-fed,
through swamps and woods, to procure specimens, some
of which had never been seen in Europe. They con¬
sidered that it would be difficult to fix a price upon speci¬
mens which had never been bought or sold, and which
never were to be, as they were intended to ornament
my own house. It was hard, they said, to have exposed
myself, for years, to danger, and then be obliged to pay
on returning to my native land. Under these considera¬
tions, they fixed a moderate duty, which satisfied all
parties.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

281

However, this last expedition ended not so. It taught
me how hard it is to learn the grand lesson, “ jequam
memento rebus in arduis servare mentem.”

But my good friends in the Custom-house of Liverpool
were not to blame. On the contrary, they did all in their
power to procure balm for me instead of rue. But it
would not answer.

They appointed a very civil officer to attend me to the
ship. "While we were looking into some of the boxes, to
see that the specimens were properly stowed, previous to
their being conveyed to the king’s depot, another officer
entered the cabin. He was an entire stranger to me, and
seemed wonderfully aware of his own consequence. "With¬
out preface or apology, he thrust his head over my shoulder,
and said, we had no business to have opened a single box
without his permission. I answered, they had been opened
almost every day since they had come on board, and that
I considered there was no harm in doing so.

He then left the cabin, and I said to myself as he went
out, “ I suspect I shall see that man again at Philippi.”
The boxes, ten in number, were conveyed in safety from
the ship to the depot. I then proceeded to the Custom¬
house. The necessary forms w-ere gone through, and
a proportionate duty, according to circumstances, was
paid.

This done, wre returned from the Custom-house to the
depot, accompanied by several gentlemen who wished to
see the collection. They expressed themselves highly
gratified. The boxes were closed, and nothing now re¬
mained but to convey them to the cart, which wras in
attendance at the door of the depot. Just as one of the
inferior officers was carrying a box thither, in stepped the
man whom I suspected I should see again at Philippi.
He abruptly declared himself dissatisfied with the valua-

THIRD

JOURNEY.

282

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

THIRD

JOURNEY.

tion which the gentlemen of the Customs had put upon
the collection, and said he must detain it. I remonstrated,
hut it was all in vain.

After this pitiful stretch of power, and bad compliment
to the other officers of the Customs, who had been satisfied
with the valuation, this man had the folly to take me
aside, and after assuring me that he bad a great regard for
the arts and sciences, he lamented that conscience obliged
him to do what he had done, and he wished he had been
fifty miles from Liverpool at the time that it fell to his
lot to detain the collection. Had he looked in my face as
he said this, he would have seen no marks of credulity
there.

I now returned to the Custom-house, and after ex¬
pressing my opinion of the officer’s conduct at the depot,
I pulled a bunch of keys (which belonged to the detained
boxes) out of my pocket, laid them on the table, took my
leave of the gentlemen present, and soon after set off for
Yorkshire.

I saved nothing from the grasp of the stranger officer
but a pair of live Malay fowls, which a gentleman in
Georgetown had made me a present of. I had collected
in the forest several eggs of curious birds, in hopes of
introducing the breed into England, and had taken great
pains in doing them over with gum-arabic, and in packing
them in charcoal, according to a receipt I had seen in the
gazette, from the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal. But
these were detained in the depot, instead of being placed
under a hen ; which utterly ruined all my hopes of rearing
a new species of birds in England. Titled personages in
London interested themselves in behalf of the collection,
but all in vain. And vain also were the public and
private representations of the first officer of the Liverpool
Custom-house in my favour.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

283

At last there came an order from the Treasury to say,
that any specimens Mr. Waterton intended to present to
public institutions might pass duty free ; but those which
he intended to keep for himself must pay the duty !

A friend now wrote to me from Liverpool, requesting
that I would come over and pay the duty, in order to save
the collection, which had just been detained there six
weeks. 1 did so. On paying an additional duty, (for the
moderate duty first imposed had already been paid,) the
man who had detained the collection delivered it up to
me, assuring me that it had been well taken care of, and
that a fire had been frequently made in the room. It is
but justice to add, that on opening the boxes, there wras
nothing injured.

I could never get a clue to these harsh and unexpected
measures, except that there had been some recent smug¬
gling discovered in Liverpool ; and that the man in question
had been sent down from London to act the part of Argus.
If so, I landed in an evil hour; “ nefasto die;” making
good the Spanish proverb, “ Pagan a las veces, justos por
pecadores ; ” at times the innocent suffer for the guilty.
After all, a little encouragement, in the shape of exemption
from paying the duty on this collection, might have been
expected ; but it turned out otherwise ; and after ex¬
pending large sums in pursuit of natural history, on my
return home I was doomed to pay for my success : —

“ Hie finis, Caroli fatorum, hie exitus ilium,

Sorte tulit ! ”

Thus, my fleece, already ragged and torn with the thorns
and briers, which one must naturally expect to find in
distant and untrodden wilds, was ‘shorn, I may say, on its
return to England.

However, this is nothing new; Sancho Panza must have
heard of similar cases; for he says, “Muchos van por

THIRD

JOURNEY.

Con¬

clusion.

284

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

THIRD

JOURNEY.

lana, y vuelven trasquilados ; ” many go for wool, and
come home shorn. In order to pick np matter for natural
history, I have wandered through the wildest parts of
South America’s equatorial regions. I have attacked and
slain a modern Python, and rode on the hack of a cayman
close to the water’s edge ; a very different situation from
that of a Idyde-park dandy on his Sunday prancer before
the ladies. Alone and barefoot I have pulled poisonous
snakes out of their lurking-places ; climbed up trees to
peep into holes for bats and vampires, and for days together
hastened through sun and rain to the thickest parts of the
forest to procure specimens I had never got before. In
fine, I have pursued the wild beasts over hill and dale,
through swamps and quagmires, now scorched by the
noon-day sun, now drenched by the pelting shower, and
returned to the hammock, to satisfy the cravings of
hunger, often on a poor and scanty supper.

These vicissitudes have turned to chestnut hue a once
English complexion, and changed the colour of my hair,
before father Time had meddled with it. The detention of
the collection after it had fairly passed the Customs, and
the subsequent order from the Treasury that I should pay
duty for the specimens, unless they were presented to
some public institution, have cast a damp upon my energy,
and forced, as it were, the cup of Lethe to my lips, by
drinking which I have forgot my former intention of
giving a lecture in public on preparing specimens to
adorn museums. In fine, it is this ungenerous treatment
that has paralyzed my plans, and caused me to give up
the idea I once had of inserting here the newly-discovered
mode of preparing quadrupeds and serpents ; and without
it, the account of this last expedition to the wilds of
Guiana is nothing but a — fragment.

Farewell, Gentle Header.

FOURTH JOURNEY.

CHAPTER I.

“Nunc line, nunc illuc et utrinque sine ordine curro.”

Three years in England. — Sail for New York. — Nomenclature. — Altera¬
tion of scenery. — A sprained ankle. — Magnificent cure. — Feats of
climbing. — Quebec. — Irish emigrants. — Tieonderago. — Saratoga. —
Philadelphia. — White-headed Eagle. — Form and fashion. — Climate. —
Forebodings of the civil war. — Sail for Antigua.

Courteous reader, when I bade- thee last farewell, I
thought these Wanderings were brought to a final close ;
afterwards I often roved in imagination through distant
countries famous for natural history, but felt no strong
inclination to go thither, as the last adventure had ter¬
minated in such unexpected vexation. The departure of
the Cuckoo and Swallow, and summer birds of passage,
for warmer regions, once so interesting to me, now scarcely
caused me to turn my face to the south ; and I continued
in this cold and dreary climate for three years. During
this period, I seldom or ever mounted my hobby-horse ;
indeed it may be said, with the old song —

“The saddle and bridle were laid on the shelf,”

and only taken down once, on the night that I was
induced to give a lecture in the philosophical hall of

FOURTH

JOURNEY

286

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Sails for
New York.

Leaves
New York
for

Albany .

Leeds. A little after this, Wilson's Ornithology of the
United States fell into my hands.

The desire I had of seeing that country, together with
the animated description which Wilson had given of the
birds, fanned up the almost expiring flame. I forgot the
vexations already alluded to, and set off for New York, in
the beautiful packet John Wells , commanded by Captain
Harris. The passage was long and cold ; but the elegant
accommodations on board, and the polite attention of the
commander, rendered it very agreeable; and I landed, in
health and merriment, in the stately capital of the new
world.

We will soon pen down a few remarks on this magnifi¬
cent city, but not just now. I want to venture into the
north-west country, and get to their great canal, which the
world talks so much about, though I fear it will be hard
work to make one’s way through bugs, bears, brutes, and
buffaloes, which we Europeans imagine are so frequent
and ferocious in these never-ending western wilds.

I left New York on a fine morning in July, without
one letter of introduction, for the city of Albany, some
hundred and eighty miles up the celebrated Hudson. I
seldom care about letters of introduction, for I am one of
those who depend much upon an accidental acquaintance.
Full many a face do I see, as I go wandering up and down
the world, whose mild eye, and sweet and placid features,
seem to beckon to me, and say, as it were, “ Speak but
civilly to me, and I will do what I can for you.” Such a
face as this is worth more than a dozen letters of intro¬
duction ; and such a face, gentle reader, I found on board
the steam-boat from New York to the city of Albany.

There was a great number of well-dressed ladies and
gentlemen in the vessel, all entire strangers to me. I
fancied I could see several whose countenances invited an

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

287

unknown wanderer to come and take a seat beside them ;
but there was one who encouraged me more than the rest.
I saw clearly that he was an American, and I judged, by
his manners and appearance, that he had not spent all his
time upon his native soil. I was right in this conjecture,
for he afterwards told me that he had been in France and
England. I saluted him as one stranger gentleman ought
to salute another when he wants a little information ; and
soon after, I dropped in a word or two by which he might
conjecture that I was a foreigner; but I did not tell him
so ; I wished him to make the discovery himself.

He entered into conversation with the openness and
candour which is so remarkable in the American ; and in
a little time observed that he presumed 1 was from the
old country. I told him that I was, and added, that I was
an entire stranger on board. I saw his eye brighten up at
the prospect he had of doing a fellow-creature a kind turn
or two, and he completely won my regard by an affability
which I shall never forget. This obliging gentleman
pointed out everything that was grand and interesting as
the steam-boat plied her course up the majestic Hudson.
Here the Catskill mountains raised their lofty summit ;
and there the hills came sloping down to the water’s edge.
Here he pointed to an aged and venerable oak, which
having escaped the levelling axe of man, seemed almost
to defy the blasting storm and desolating hand of time ;
and there, he bade me observe an extended tract of wood,
by which I might form an idea how rich and grand the
face of the country had once been. Here it was that, in
the great and momentous struggle, the colonists lost the
day ; and there, they carried all before them : —

“ They closed full fast, on every side
No slackness there was found ;

And many a gallant gentleman
Lay gasping on the ground.”

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

233

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

The great
canal.

Scenery ,

Here, in line, stood a noted regiment; there, moved their
great captain ; here, the fleets fired their broadsides ; and
there, the whole force rushed on to battle : —

“Hie Dolopum manus, hie magnus ten debat Achilles,

Classibus hie locus, hie acies certare solebat.”

At tea-time we took our tea together, and the next
morning this worthy American walked up with me to the
inn in Albany, shook me by the hand, and then went his
way. I bade him farewell, and again farewell, and hoped that
fortune might bring us together again once more. Possibly
she may yet do so ; and should it be in England, I will
take him to my house, as an old friend and acquaintance,
and offer him my choicest cheer.

It is at Albany that the great canal opens into the
Hudson, and joins the waters of this river to those of
Lake Erie. The Hudson, at the city of Albany, is distant
from Lake Erie about three hundred and sixty miles. The
level of the lake is five hundred and sixty-four feet higher
than the Hudson, and there are eighty-one locks on the
canal. It is to the genius and perseverance of De Witt
Clinton that the United States owe the almost incalculable
advantages of this inland navigation. “ Exegit monumen-
tum sere perennius.” You may either go along it all the
way to Buffalo, on Lake Erie, or by the stage ; or some¬
times on one and then in the other, just as you think fit.
Grand, indeed, is the scenery by either route, and capital
the accommodations. Cold and phlegmatic must he be
who is not warmed into admiration by the surrounding
scenery, and charmed with the affability of the travellers he
meets on the way.

This is now the season of roving, and joy and merriment
for the gentry of this happy country. Thousands are on
the move from different parts of the Union for the springs

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

k'89

and lakes, and the falls of Niagara. There is nothing
haughty or forbidding in the Americans ; and wherever
you meet them, they appear to be quite at home. This is
exactly what it ought to be, and very much in favour of
the foreigner who journeys amongst them. The immense
number of highly polished females who go in the stages to
visit the different places of amusement, and see the stupen¬
dous natural curiosities of this extensive country, incon¬
testably proves that safety and convenience are ensured
to them, and that the most distant attempt at rudeness
would, by common consent, be immediately put down.

By the time I had got to Schenectady, I began strongly
to suspect that I had come into the wrong country to look
for bugs, bears, brutes, and buffaloes. It is an enchanting
journey from Albany to Schenectady, and from thence to
Lake Erie. The situation of the city of Utica is particu¬
larly attractive ; the Mohawk running close by it, the
fertile fields and woody mountains, and the falls of Tren¬
ton, forcibly press the stranger to stop a day or two here
before he pi’oceeds onward to the lake.

At some far-distant period, when it will not be possible
to find the place where many of the celebrated cities of the
East once stood, the world will have to thank the United
States of America for bringing their names into the western
regions. It is, indeed, a pretty thought of these people to
give to their rising towns the names of places so famous
and conspicuous in former times.

As I was sitting one evening under an oak, in the high
grounds behind Utica, I could not look down upon the
city without thinking of Cato and his misfortunes. Had
the town been called Crofton, or Warmfield, or Dews¬
bury, there would have been nothing remarkable in
it ; but Utica at once revived the scenes at school long
past and half forgotten, and carried me with full speed

IT

FOURTH

r->URNEV.

290

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Face of tlic
country.

back again to Italy, and from thence to Africa. I crossed
the Rubicon with Coesar ; fought at Pharsalia ; saw poor
Pompey into Larissa, and tried to wrest the fatal sword
from Cato’s hand in Utica. When I perceived he was no
more, I mourned over the noble-minded man who took
that part which he thought would most benefit his coun¬
try. There is something magnificent in the idea of a man
taking by choice the conquered side. The Roman gods
themselves did otherwise.

“ Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni.”

“ In this did Cato with the Gods divide,

They chose the conquering, he the conquer’d side.”

The whole of the country from Utica to Buffalo is
pleasing; and the intervening of the inland lakes, large
and deep and clear, adds considerably to the effect. The
spacious size of the inns, their excellent provisions, and
the attention which the traveller receives in going from
Albany to Buffalo, must at once convince him that this
country is very much visited by strangers ; and he will
draw the conclusion that there must be something in it
uncommonly interesting to cause so many travellers to
pass to and fro.

Nature is losing fast her ancient garb, and putting on a
new” dress in these extensive regions. Most of the stately
timber has been carried away ; thousands of trees are
lying prostrate on the ground ; while meadows, corn-fields,
villages, and pastures are ever and anon bursting upon the
traveller’s view as he journeys on through the remaining
tracts of wood. I wish I could say a word or two for the
fine timber which is yet standing. Spare it, gentle inha¬
bitants, for your country’s sake ; these noble sons of the
forest beautify your landscapes beyond all description ;
when they are gone, a century will not replace their loss

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

201

they cannot, they must not fall ; their vernal bloom, their
summer richness and autumnal tints, please and refresh
the eye of man ; and even when the days of joy and
warmth are fled, the wintry blast soothes the listening ear
with a sublime and pleasing melancholy as it howls through
their naked branches.

“ Around me trees unnumber’d rise,

Beautiful in various dyes :

The gloomy pine, the poplar blue,

The yellow beech, the sable yew ;

The slender hr, that taper grows,

The sturdy oak, with broad-spread boughs.”

A few miles before you reach Buffalo, the road is low
and bad, and in stepping out of the stage I sprained my
foot very severely ; it swelled to a great size, and caused
me many a day of pain and mortification, as will be seen
in the sequel.

Buffalo looks down on Lake Erie, and possesses a fine
and commodious inn. At a little distance is the Black
Bock, and there you pass over to the Canada side. A
stage is in waiting to convey you some sixteen or twenty
miles down to the falls. Long before you reach the spot
you hear the mighty roar of waters, and see the spray of
the far-famed falls of Niagara, rising up like a column to
the heavens, and mingling with the passing clouds.

At this stupendous cascade of nature, the waters of the
lake fall one hundred and seventy-six feet perpendicular.
It has been calculated, I forget by whom, that the quantity
of water discharged down this mighty fall, is six hundred
and seventy thousand two hundred and fifty-five tons per
minute. There are two large inns on the Canada side ;
but, after you have satisfied your curiosity in viewing the
falls, and in seeing the rainbow in the foam far below
where you are standing, do not, I pray you, tarry long at

u 2

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Buffalo.

Falls of
Niagara.

292

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

American

ladies.

either of them. Cross over to the American side, and
there you will find a spacious inn, which has nearly all the
attractions : there you meet with great attention, and
every accommodation.

The day is passed in looking at the falls, and in saun¬
tering up and down the wooded and rocky environs of the
Niagara ; and the evening is often enlivened by the merry
dance.

Words can hardly do justice to the unaffected ease and
elegance of the American ladies who visit the falls of
Niagara. The traveller need not rove in imagination
through Circassia in search of fine forms, or through
England, France, and Spain, to meet with "polished
females. The numbers who are continually arriving here
from all parts of the Union confirm the justness of this
remark.

I was looking one evening at a dance, being unable to
join in it on account of the accident I had received near
Buffalo, when a young American entered the ball-room
with such a becoming air and grace, that it was impossible
not to have been struck with her appearance.

“ Her bloom was like the springing flower
That sips the silver dew,

The rose was bndded in her cheek,

Just opening to the view.”

I could not help feeling a wish to know where she had
“ Into such beauty spread, and blown so fair.”

Upon inquiry, I found that she was from the city of
Albany. The more I looked at the fair Albanese, the
more I was convinced, that in the United States of America
may be found grace and beauty and symmetry equal to
anything in the old world.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

293

I now for good and all (and well I might) gave up the
idea of finding hugs, hears, hrutes, and buffaloes in this
country, and was thoroughly satisfied that I had laboured
under a great mistake in suspecting that I should ever
meet with them.

I wished to join in the dance where the fair Albanese
was “ to brisk notes in cadence beating,” but the state of
my unlucky foot rendered it impossible ; and as I sat with it
reclined upon a sofa, full many a passing gentleman stopped
to inquire the cause of my misfortune, presuming at the
same time that I had got an attack of gout. Now this
surmise of theirs always mortified me ; for I never had a
fit of gout in my life, and moreover, never expect to have
one. ,

In many of the inns in the United States, there is an
album on the table, in which travellers insert their arrival
and departure, and now and then indulge in a little flash
or two of wit.

I thought, under existing circumstances, that there
would be no harm in briefly telling my misadventure ; and
so, taking up the pen, I wrote what follows ; and was never
after asked a single question about the gout.

“ C. Waterton, of Walton-Hall, in the county of York,
England, arrived at the Falls of Niagara in July, 1824,
and begs leave to pen down the following dreadful acci-
- dent : —

“ He sprained his foot, and hurt his toe,

On the rough road near Buffalo.

It quite distresses him to stagger a-
Long the sharp rocks of famed Niagara.

So thus he’s doomed to drink the measure
Of pain, in lieu of that of pleasure.

On Hope’s delusive pinions borne,

He came for wool, and goes back shorn.

N.B. — Here he alludes to nothing but
Th’ adventure of his toe and foot ;

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

294

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Save this, — he sees all that which can
Delight and charm the soul of man,

But feels it not, — because his toe
And foot together ulague him so.”

I remember once to have sprained my ankle very
violently, many years ago, and that the doctor ordered me
to hold it under the pump two or three times a day.
Now, in the United States of America, all is upon a
grand scale, except taxation ; and I am convinced that
the traveller’s ideas become much more enlarged as he
journeys through the country. This being the case, 1 can
easily account for the desire I felt to hold my sprained
foot under the fall of Niagara. I descended the winding
staircase which has been made for the accommodation of
travellers, and then hobbled on to the scene of action.
As I held my leg under the fall, I tried to meditate on the
immense difference there was betwixt a house-pump and
this tremendous cascade of nature, and what effect it
might have upon the sprain ; but the magnitude of the
subject was too overwhelming, and I was obliged to
drop it.

Perhaps, indeed, there wTas an unwarrantable tincture of
vanity in an unknown wanderer wishing to have it in his
power to tell the world, that he had held his sprained foot
under a fall of water which discharges six hundred and
seventy thousand two hundred and fifty-five tons per
minute. A gentle purling stream would have suited
better. Now, it would have become Washington to have
quenched his battle-thirst in the fall of Niagara ; and
there was something royal in the idea of Cleopatra drink¬
ing pearl-vinegar, made from the grandest pearl in Egypt ;
and it became Gains Marius to send word, that he was
sitting upon the ruins of Carthage. Here, we have the
person suited to the thing, and the thing to the person.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

295

If, gentle reader, tliou wouldst allow me to indulge
a little longer in this harmless pen-errantry, I would tell
thee, that I have had my ups and downs in life, as well
as other people ; for I have climbed to the point of the
conductor above the cross on the top of St. Peter’s, in
Pome, and left my glove there. I have stood on one foot,
upon the Guardian Angel’s head, on the castle of St.
Angelo ; and, as I have just told thee, I have been low
down under the fall of Niagara. But this is neither here
nor there : let us proceed to something else.

When the pain of my foot had become less violent, and
the swelling somewhat abated, I could not resist the
inclination I felt to go down Ontario, and so on to
Montreal and Quebec, and take Lakes Champlain and
George in my way back to Albany.

Just as I had made up my mind to it, a family from
the Bowling-green, in New York, who was going the same
route, politely invited me to join their party. Nothing
could be more fortunate. They were highly accomplished.
The young ladies sang delightfully ; and all contributed
their portion, to render the tour pleasant and amusing.

Travellers had already filled the world with descriptions
of the bold and sublime scenery from Lake Erie to
Quebec : —

“ The fountain’s fall, the river’s flow,

The woody valleys, warm and low ;

The windy summit, wild and high,

“ Roughly rushing to the sky.”

xVnd there is scarce one of them who has not described
the achievements of former and latter times, on the
different battle-grounds. Here, great Wolfe expired.
Brave Montcalm was carried, mortally wounded, through
yonder gate. Here fell the gallant Brock; and there
General Sheaffee captured all the invaders. And in yonder

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

298

FOURTH

JOUHNEY.

The Cana -
:'yns.

Fortifica¬
tions at
Que bee.

harbour may be seen the mouldering remnants of British
vessels. Their hour of misfortune has long passed away.
The victors have now no use for them in an inland lake.
Some have already sunk, while others, dismantled and
half-dismasted, are just above the water, waiting, in
shattered state, that destiny which must sooner or later
destroy the fairest works of man.

The excellence and despatch of the steam-boats, together
with the company which the traveller is sure to meet with
at this time of the year, render the trip down to Montreal
and Quebec very agreeable.

The Canadians are a quiet, and apparently a happy
people. They are very courteous and affable to strangers.
On comparing them with the character which a certain
female traveller, a journalist, has thought lit to give them,
the stranger might have great doubts whether or not he
were amongst the Canadians.

Montreal, Quebec, arid the falls of Montmorency, are
well worth going to see. They are making tremendous
fortifications at Quebec. It will be the Gibraltar of the
new world. When one considers its distance from Europe,
and takes a view of its powerful and enterprising neigh¬
bour, Virgil’s remark at once rushes into the mind,

“Sic vos non vobis niditicatis aves,”

I left Montreal with regret. I had the good fortune to
be introduced to the Professors of the College. These
fathers are a very learned and worthy set of gentlemen ;
and on my taking leave of them, I felt a heaviness at
heart, in reflecting that I had not more time to cultivate
their acquaintance.

In all the way from Buffalo to Quebec, I only met with
one bug ; and I cannot even swear that it belonged to the
United States. Tr> o-nA.fr clown the St. Lawrence, in the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

297

steam-boat, I felt something crossing over my neck ; and
on laying hold of it with my linger and thumb, it turned
out to be a little half-grown, ill-conditioned bug. Now,
whether it were going from the American to the Canada
side, or from the Canada to the American, and had taken
the advantage of my shoulders to ferry itself across, I
could not tell. Be this as it may, I thought of my uncle
Toby and the fly ; and so, in lieu of placing it upon the
deck, and then putting my thumb-nail vertically upon it,
I quietly chucked it amongst some baggage that was
close by, and recommended it to get ashore by the first
opportunity.

When we had seen all that was worth seeiug in Quebec
and at the falls of Montmorency, and had been on board
the enormous ship Columbus , we returned for a day or two
to Montreal, and then proceeded to Saratoga by Lakes
Champlain and George.

The steam-boat from Quebec to Montreal had above five
hundred Irish emigrants on board. They were going
“ they hardly knew whither,” far away from dear Ireland.
It made one’s heart ache to see them all huddled together,
without any expectation of ever revisiting their native soil.
We feared that the sorrow of leaving home for ever, the
miserable accommodation on board the ship which had
brought them away, and the tossing of the angry ocean, in
a long and dreary voyage, would have rendered them
callous to good behaviour. But it was quite otherwise.
They conducted themselves with great propriety. Every
American on board seemed to feel for them. And then
“ they were so full of wretchedness. Need and oppression
starved in their eyes. Upon their backs hung ragged
misery. The world was not their friend.” Poor dear Ire¬
land, exclaimed an aged female, as I was talking to her, I
shall never see it any more ! and then her tears began to

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Irish

emigrants.

208

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

fourth flow. Probably the scenery on tlie banks of the St.
journey. Lawrence recalled to her mind the remembrance of spots
once interesting to her :

“ The lovely daughter, — lovelier in her tears,

The fond companion of her father’s years,

Here silent stood, — neglectful of her charms,

And left her lover’s for her father’s arms.

With louder plaints the mother spoke her woes,

And blessed the cot where every pleasure rose ;

And pressed her thoughtless babes with many a tear,

And clasped them close, iu sorrow doubly dear,

While the fond husband strove to lend relief,

In all the silent manliness of grief.”

We went a few miles out of our route to take a look at
the once formidable fortress of Ticonderoga. It lias long
been in ruins, and seems as if it were doomed to moulder
quite away.

“ Ever and anon there falls
Huge heaps of hoary moulder’d walls.

But time has seen, that lifts the low
And level lays the lofty brow,

Has seen this ruin’d pile complete,

Big with the vanity of state ;

But transient is the smile of fate.”

The scenery of Lake George is superb ; tlie inn re¬
markably spacious and well attended; and the conveyance
Saratoga, from thence to Saragota very good. He must be sorely
afflicted with spleen and jaundice, who, on his arrival at
Saratoga, remarks, there is nothing here worth coming to
see. It is a gay and fashionable place ; has four uncom¬
monly fine hotels ; its waters, for medicinal virtues, are
surpassed by none in the known world ; and it is resorted
to, throughout the whole of the summer, by foreigners
and natives of the first consideration. Saratoga pleased
me much; and afforded a fair opportunity of forming a
pretty correct idea of the- gentry of the United States.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

299

There is a pleasing frankness, and ease and becoming fourth
dignity, in the American ladies ; and the good humour, JQURNEY
and absence of all haughtiness and puppyism in the
gentlemen, must, no doubt, impress the traveller with
elevated notions of the company who visit this famous
spa.

During my stay here, all was joy, and affability, and
mirth. In the mornings the ladies played and sang
for us ; and the evenings were generally enlivened with
the merry dance. Here I bade farewell to the charm¬
ing family, in whose company I had passed so many
happy days, and proceeded to Albany.

The stage stopped a little while in the town of Troy. Troy.
The name alone was quite sufficient to recall to the mind
scenes long past and gone. Poor king Priam ! Napoleon’s
sorrows, sad and piercing as they were, did not come
up to those of this ill-fated monarch. The Greeks first
set his town on fire, and then began to bully : —

“Incensa Danai dominantur in urbe.”

One of his sons was slain before his face ; “ ante ora
parentum, concidit.” Another was crushed to mummy
by boa-constrictors; “immensis orbibus angues.” His
city was rased to the ground, “jacet Ilion ingens.” And
Pyrrhus ran him through with his sword, “ capulo tenus
abdidit ensem.” This last may be considered as a for¬
tunate stroke for the poor old king. Had his life been
spared at this juncture he could not have lived long.

He must have died broken-hearted. He would have seen
his son-in-law, once master of a noble stud, now, for want
of a horse, obliged to carry off his father, up hill, on
his own back, “ cessi et sublato, montem genitore petivi.”

He would have heard of his grandson being thrown
neck and heels from a high tower, “ mittitur Astyanax

300

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

illis cle turribus.” He would have been informed of liis
wife tearing out the eyes of king Odrysius with her finger
nails, “ digitos in perfida lumina condit.” Soon after
this, losing all appearance of woman, she became a bitch,

“ Perdidit infelix, lioininis post omnia formam,”

and rent the heavens with her howlings,

Externascpie novo latratu terruit auras.”

Then, becoming distracted with the remembrance of her
misfortunes, “ veterum memor ilia malorum,” she took off
howling into the fields of Thrace, —

“ Turn quoque Sithonios, ululavit moesta per agros.”

Jiino, Jove’s wife and sister, was heard to declare, that
poor Hecuba did not deserve so terrible a fate, —

“Ipsa Jovis conjuxque sororque,

Eventus Hecubam meruisse negaverit illos.”

Had poor Priam escaped from Troy, one thing, and only
one thing, would have given him a small ray of satisfac¬
tion, viz., he would have heard of one of his daughters
nobly preferring to leave this world, rather than live to
become servant-maid to old Grecian ladies : —

“ Non ego Myrmidonum sedes, Dolopumve superbas,

Adspiciam, aut Graiis servitum matribus ibo.”

At some future period, should a foreign armed force, or in¬
testine broils, (all which heaven avert,) raise Troy to the
dignity of a fortified city, Virgil’s prophecy may then be
fulfilled,

“ Atque iterum ad Trojam magnus mittetur Achilles.”

After leaving Troy, I passed through a fine country to
Albany ; and then proceeded by steam down the Hudson
to Hew York.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

301

Travellers hesitate whether to give the preference tc
Philadelphia or to New York. Philadelphia is certainly a
noble city, and its environs beautiful ; but there is a degree
of quiet and sedateness in it, which, though no doubt very
agreeable to the man of calm and domestic habits, is not so
attractive to one of speedy movements. The quantity of
white marble which is used in the buildings, gives to
Philadelphia a gay and lively appearance ; but the same¬
ness of the streets, and their crossing each other at right
angles, are somewhat tiresome. The water-works which
supply the city, are a proud monument of the skill and
enterprise of its inhabitants ; and the market is well worth
the attention of the stranger.

When you go to Philadelphia, be sure not to forget to
visit the Museum. It will afford you a great treat. Some
of Mr. Peale’s family are constantly in it, and are ever
ready to show the curiosities to strangers, and to give them
every necessary information. Mr. Peale has now passed
his eightieth year, and appears to possess the vivacity, and,
I may almost add, the activity of youth.

To the indefatigable exertions of this gentleman is the
western world indebted for the possession of this splepdjd
museum. Mr. Peale is, moreover, an excellent artist.
Look attentively, I pray you, at the portrait he has taken
of himself, by desire of the State of Pennsylvania. On
entering the room he appears in the act of holding up a
curtain, to show you his curiosities. The effect of the
light upon his head is infinitely striking. I have never
seen anything finer in the way of light and shade. The
skeleton of the mammoth is a national treasure. I could
form but a faint idea of it by description, until I had seen
it. It is the most magnificent skeleton in the world. The
city ought never to forget the great expense Mr. Peale was
put to, and the skill and energy he showed, during the

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Philadel¬

phia.

Its

Museum.

302

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

American

literature.

White-

headed

Eagles.

many months he spent in searching the swamps, where
these enormous bones had been concealed from the eyes of
the world for centuries.

The extensive squares of this city are ornamented with
well-grown and luxuriant trees. Its unremitting attention
to literature might cause it to be styled the Athens of the
United States. Here, learning and science have taken up
their abode. The literary and philosophical associations,
the enthusiasm of individuals, the activity of the press,
and the cheapness of the publications, ought to raise the
name of Philadelphia to an elevated situation in the temple
of knowledge.

From the press of this city came Wilson’s famous
“ Ornithology.” By observing the birds in their native
haunts, he has been enabled to purge their history of
numberless absurdities, which inexperienced theorists had
introduced into it. It is a pleasing and a brilliant work.
We have no description of birds in any European publica¬
tion that can come up to this. By perusing Wilson’s
“ Ornithology ” attentively before I left England, I knew
where to look for the birds, and immediately recognised
them in their native land.

Since his time, I fear the White-headed Eagles have
been much thinned. I was perpetually looking out for
them, but saw very few. One or two came now and then,
and soared in lofty flight over the falls of Niagara. The
Americans are proud of this bird in effigy, and their hearts
rejoice when its banner is unfurled. Could they not then
be persuaded to protect the white-headed eagle, and allow
it to glide in safety over its own native forests ? Were I
an American, I should think I had committed a kind of
sacrilege in killing the white-headed eagle. The Ibis was
held sacred by the Egyptians ; the Hollanders protect the
Stork ; the Vulture sits unmolested on the top of the

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

303

houses in the city of Angustura ; and Robin-red-breast, fourth
for his charity, is cherished by the English : — journey

“No burial these pretty babes
Of any man receives,

Till robin-red-breast painfully
Did cover them with leaves.” 1

Poor Wilson was smote hy the hand of death, before he
had finished his work. Prince Charles Buonaparte, nephew
to the late emperor Napoleon, aided by some of the most
scientific gentlemen of Pennsylvania, is continuing this
valuable and interesting publication.

New York, with great propriety, may be called the com- New York.
mercial capital of the new world : —

“ Urbs augusta potens, nulli cessura.”

Ere long, it will be on the coast of North America what
Tyre once was on that of Syria. In her port are the ships
of all nations ; and in her streets is displayed merchandise
from all parts of the known world. And then the approach
to it is so enchanting ! The verdant fields, the woody hills,
the farms, and country houses, form a beautiful landscape
as you sail up to the city of New York.

Broadway is the principal street. It is three miles and The streets,
a half long. I am at a loss to know where to look for a/wm,SC5’ <ic'
street, in any part of the world, which has so many attrac¬
tions as this. There are no steam-engines to annoy you
by filling the atmosphere full of soot and smoke ; the
houses have a stately appearance ; while the eye is relieved
from the perpetual sameness, which is common in most
streets, by lofty and luxuriant trees.

Nothing can surpass the appearance of the American American
ladies, when they take their morning walk, from twelve to ladles-

1 The fault against grammar is lost in the beauty of the idea.

304

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

three, in Broadway. The stranger will at once see that
they have rejected the extravagant superfluities which ap¬
pear in the London and Parisian fashions ; and have only
retained as much of those costumes, as is becoming to the
female form. This, joined to their own just notions of
dress, is what renders the New York ladies so elegant in
their attire. The way they wear the Leghorn hat deserves
a remark or two. With us, the formal hand of the mil¬
liner binds down the brim to one fixed shape, and that
none of the handsomest. The wearer is obliged to turn her
head full ninety degrees before she can see the person who
is standing by her side. But in New York the ladies have
the brim of the hat not fettered with wire, or tape, or
ribbon, but quite free and undulating ; and by applying
the hand to it, they can conceal or expose as much of the
face as circumstances require. This hiding and exposing
of the face, by the bye, is certainly a dangerous movement,
and often fatal to the passing swain. I am convinced in
my own mind, that many a determined and unsuspecting
bachelor, has been shot down by this sudden manoeuvre,
before he was aware that he was within reach of the
battery.

The American ladies seem to have an abhorrence (and a
very just one too) of wearing caps. When one considers
for a moment, that women wear the hair long, which nature
has given them both for an ornament and to keep the head
warm, one is apt to wonder, by what perversion of good
taste they can be induced to enclose it in a cap. A mob
cap, a lace cap, a low cap, a high cap, a flat cap, a cap with
ribbons dangling loose, a cap with ribbons tied under the
chin, a peak cap, an angular cap, a round cap, and a
pyramid cap ! How would Canova’s Venus look in a mob
cap ? If there be any ornament to the head in wearing
a cap, it must surely be a false ornament. The American

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

305

ladies are persuaded that the head can he ornamented
without a cap. A rose-bud or two, a woodbine, or a sprig
of eglantine, look well in the braided hair ; and if there
be raven locks, a lily or a snowdrop may be interwoven
with effect.

Now that the packets are so safe, and make such quick
passages to the United States, it would be as well if some
of our head milliners would go on board of them, in lieu
of getting into the Diligence for Paris. They would bring
back more taste, and less caricature. And if they could
persuade a dozen or two of the farmers’ servant girls to
return with them, we should soon have proof positive,
that as good butter and cheese may be made with the hair
braided up, and a daisy or primrose in it, as butter and
cheese made in a cap of barbarous shape ; washed, perhaps,
in soap-suds last new moon.

New York has very good hotels, and genteel boarding¬
houses. All charges included, you do not pay above two
dollars a day. Little enough, when you consider the
capital accommodations, and the abundance of food.

In this city, as well as in others which I visited, every
body seemed to walk at his ease. I could see no inclina¬
tion for jostling ; no impertinent staring at you ; nor
attempts to create a row in order to pick your pocket. I
would stand for an hour together in Broadway, to observe
the passing multitude. There is certainly a gentleness in
these people, both to be admired and imitated. I could
see very few dogs, still fewer cats, and but a very small
proportion of fat women in the streets of New York. The
climate was the only thing that I had really to find fault
with ; and as the autumn was now approaching, I began to
think of preparing for warmer regions.

Strangers are apt to get violent cold, on account of the
sudden change of the atmosphere. The noon would often

x

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Hotels and
boarding¬
houses.

Climate.

30 G

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Its society.

be as warm as tropical weather, and the close of day cold
and chilly. This must sometimes act with severity upon
the newly-arrived stranger ; and it requires more care and
circumspection than I am master of to guard against it.
I contracted a bad and obstinate cough, which did not
quite leave me till I had got under the regular heat of the
sun, near the equator.

I may be asked, was it all good fellowship and civility
during my stay in the United States? Did no forward
person cause offence ? was there no exhibition of drunken¬
ness, or swearing, or rudeness ; or display of conduct which
disgraces civilized man in other countries ? I answer, very
few indeed : scarce any worth remembering, and none
worth noticing. These are a gentle and a civil people.
Should a traveller, now and then in the long run, witness
a few of the scenes alluded to, he ought not, on his return
home, to adduce a solitary instance or two, as the custom
of the country. In roving through the wilds of Guiana, I
have sometimes seen a tree hollow at heart, shattered and
leafless ; but I did not on that account condemn its
vigorous neighbours, and put down a memorandum that
the woods were bad ; on the contrary, I made allowances :
a thunder-storm, the whirlwind, a blight from heaven
might have robbed it of its bloom, and caused its present
forbidding appearance. And, in leaving the forest, I car¬
ried away the impression, that though some few of the
trees were defective, the rest were an ornament to the
wilds, full of uses and virtues, and capable of benefiting
the world in a superior degree.

A man generally travels into foreign countries for his
own ends ; and I suspect there is scarcely an instance to be
found of a person leaving his own home solely with the
intention of benefiting those amongst whom he is about to
travel. A commercial speculation, curiosity, a wish for

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

307

information, a desire to reap benefit from an acquaintance
with our distant fellow-creatures, are the general induce¬
ments for a man to leave his own fire-side. This ought
never to be forgotten ; and then the traveller will journey
on under the persuasion that it rather becomes him to
court than expect to be courted, as his own interest is the
chief object of his travels. With this in view, he will
always render himself pleasant to the natives ; and they
are sure to repay his little acts of courtesy with ample
interest, and with a fund of information which will be of
great service to him.

While in the United States, I found our western brother
a very pleasant fellow ; but his portrait has been drawn in
such different shades, by different travellers who have been
through his territory, that it requires a personal interview
before a correct idea can be formed of his true colours. He
is very inquisitive ; but it is quite wrong on that account
to tax him with being of an impertinent turn. He merely
interrogates you for information ; and wdien you have
satisfied him on that score, only ask him in your turn for
an account of what is going on in his own country, and he
will tell you everything about it with great good humour,
and in excellent language. He has certainly hit upon the
way (but I could not make out by what means) of speak¬
ing a much purer English language than that which is in
general spoken on the parent soil. This astonished me
much ; but it is really the case. Amongst his many good
qualities, he has one unenviable, and, I may add, a bad
propensity : he is immoderately fond of smoking. He may
say, that he learned it from his nurse, with whom it was
once much in vogue. In Dutch William’s time (he was a
man of bad taste), the English gentleman could not do
without his pipe. During the short space of time that
corporal Trim was at the inn inquiring after poor Lefevre’s

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

308

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

The lavs
and
govern¬
ment.

health, my uncle Toby had knocked the ashes out of three
pipes. “ It was not till my uncle Toby had knocked the
ashes out of his third pipe,” &c. Now these times have
luckily gone by, and the custom of smoking amongst
genteel Englishmen has nearly died away with them ; it is
a foul custom ; it makes a foul mouth, and a foul place
where the smoker stands ; however, every nation has its
whims. John Bull relishes stinking venison ; a French¬
man depopulates whole swamps in quest of frogs ; a
Dutchman’s pipe is never out of his mouth ; a Russian
will eat tallow candles ; and the American indulges in the
cigar. “ De gustibus non est disputandum.”

Our western brother is in possession of a country replete
with everything that can contribute to the happiness and
comfort of mankind. His code of laws, purified by ex¬
perience and common sense, has fully answered the expec¬
tations of the public. By acting up to the true spirit of
this code, he has reaped immense advantages from it. His
advancement, as a nation, has been rapid beyond all calcu¬
lation ; and, young as he is, it may be remarked, without
any impropriety, that he is now actually reading a salutary
lesson to the rest of the civilized world.

It is but some forty years ago, that he had the dispute
with his nurse about a dish of tea. She wanted to force
the boy to drink it according to her own receipt. He said,
he did not like it, and that it absolutely made him ill.
After a good deal of sparring, she took up the birch rod,
and began to whip him with an uncommon degree of
asperity. When the poor lad found that he must either
drink the nauseous dish of tea or be flogged to death, he
turned upon her in self-defence ; showed her to the outside
of the nursery door, and never more allowed her to meddle
with his affairs.

Since the independence, the population has increased

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

309

from three to ten millions. A fine navy has been built ;
and everything attended to that could ensure prosperity
at home, and respect abroad.

The former wilds of North America bear ample testi¬
mony to the achievements of this enterprising people.
Forests have been cleared away, swamps drained, canals
dug, and flourishing settlements established. From the
shores of the Atlantic an immense column of knowledge
has rolled into the interior. The Mississippi, the Ohio,
the Missouri, and their tributary streams, have been
wonderfully benefited by it. It now seems as if it were
advancing towards the stony mountains ; and probably
will not become stationary till it reaches the Pacific
Ocean. This almost immeasurable territory affords a
shelter and a home to mankind in general: Jew or Gentile,
king’s-man or republican, he meets with a friendly recep¬
tion in the United States. His opinions, his persecutions,
his errors, or mistakes, however they may have injured
him in other countries, are dead, and of no avail on his
arrival here. Provided he keeps the peace, he is sure to
be at rest.

Politicians of other countries imagine that intestine
feuds will cause a division in this commonwealth ; at
present there certainly appears to be no reason for such
a conjecture. Heaven forbid that it should happen ! The
world at large would suffer by it. For ages yet to come,
may this great commonwealth continue to be the United
States of North America.

The sun was now within a week or two of passing into
the southern hemisphere, and the mornings and evenings
were too cold to be comfortable. I embarked for the
island of Antigua, with the intention of calling at the
different islands in the Caribbean sea, on my way once
more towards the wilds of Guiana.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Embarks

for

Antigua.

CHAPTER II.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

St. John’s.

Arrival at Antigua. — Dominica. — Frogs and Humming Birds. — Martinico.
— Diamond rock. — Barbadoes. — Quaslii and Venus. — The Alien Bill. —
Sail for Demerara. — More about the Sloth. — Scarlet Grosbeak. —
Crab-eating Owl. — Sun-lieron. — Feet of the Tinamou. — [Vampires
again. — The Karabimiti Humming-bird. — The Monkey tribe. — The
Red Howler. — Roast monkey. — -The Nondescript. — Altered physi¬
ognomy. — Gold and silver mines. — Changes of government. — Politics.
— India-rubber. — An ingenious deception.

We were thirty days in making Antigua, and thanked
Providence for ordering us so long a passage. A tre¬
mendous gale of wind, approaching to a hurricane, had
done much damage in the West Indies. Had our passage
been of ordinary length, we should inevitably have been
caught in the gale.

St. John’s is the capital of Antigua. In better times it
may have had its gaieties and amusements. At present, it
appears sad and woe-begone. The houses, which are
chiefly of wood, seem as if they had not had a coat of
paint for many years ; the streets are uneven and ill-
paved ; and as the stranger wanders through them, he
might fancy that they would afford a congenial promenade
to the man who is about to take his last leave of surround¬
ing worldly misery, before he hangs himself. There had
been no rain for some time, so that the parched and barren
pasture near the town might, with great truth, be called

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

311

Kosinante’s own. The mules feeding on them, put you in
mind of Ovid’s description of famine : —

“Dura cutis, per quam spectari viscera possent.”

It is somewhat singular, that there is not a single river or
brook in the whole island of Antigua. In this it differs
from Tartary in the other world ; which, according to old
writers, has five rivers ; viz. Acheron, Phlegethon , Cocytus,
Styx, and Letlie.

In this island I found the Eed Start, described in 'Wilson’s
“ Ornithology of the United States.” I wished to learn
whether any of these birds remain the whole year in
Antigua, and breed there ; or whether they all leave it for
the north when the sun comes out of the southern hemi¬
sphere ; but, upon inquiry, I could get no information
whatever.

After passing a dull week here, I sailed for Guadaloupe,
whose bold and cloud-capped mountains have a grand
appearance as you approach the island. Basseterre, the
capital, is a neat town, with a handsome public walk
in the middle of it, well shaded by a row of fine tamarind
trees on each side. Behind the town, La Souffriere raises
its high romantic summit ; and on a clear day, you may
see the volcanic smoke which issues from it.

Nearly midway, betwixt Guadaloupe and Dominica, you
descry the Saintes. Though high, and bold, and rocky,
they have still a diminutive appearance when compared
with their two gigantic neighbours. You just see Mari-
galante to windward of them, some leagues off, about a
yard high in the horizon.

Dominica is majestic in high and rugged mountains.
As you sail along it, you cannot help admiring its beauti¬
ful coffee plantations, in places so abrupt and steep, that
you would pronounce them almost inaccessible. Itoseau,

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Island of
Guada~
loupe.

Island of
Dominica.

Roscaic.

312

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

the capital, is but a small town, and lias nothing attractive
except the well-known hospitality of the present harbour¬
master, who is particularly attentive to strangers, and
furnishes them with a world of information concerning the
West Indies. Roseau lias seen better days ; and you can
trace good taste and judgment in the way in which the
town has originally been laid out.

Some years ago it was visited by a succession of mis¬
fortunes, which smote it so severely, that it has never
recovered its former appearance. A strong French fleet
bombarded it; while a raging fire destroyed its finest
buildings. Some time after, an overwhelming flood rolled
down the gullies and fissures of the adjacent mountains,
and carried all before it. Men, women, and children,
houses, and property, were all swept away by this mighty
torrent. The terrible scene was said to beggar all descrip¬
tion, and the loss was immense.

Dominica is famous for a large species of Frog, which
the inhabitants keep in readiness to slaughter for the table.
In the woods of this island, the large Rhinoceros Beetle
is very common ; it measures above six inches in length.
In the same woods is found the beautiful Humming-bird,
the breast and throat of which are of a brilliant changing
purple. I have searched for this bird in Brazil, and
through the whole of the wilds from the Rio Branco,
which is a branch of the Amazons, to the river Paumaron,
but never could find it. I was told by a man in the
Egyptian-Hall, in Piccadilly, that this humming-bird is
found in Mexico ; but upon questioning him more about
it, his information seemed to have been acquired by
hearsay; and so I concluded that it does not appear in
Mexico. I suspect that it is never found out of the
Antilles.

After leaving Dominica, you soon reach the grand

Martinico,

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

313

and magnificent island of Martinico. St. Pierre, its
capital, is a fine town, and possesses every comfort.
The inhabitants seem to pay considerable attention to
the cultivation of the tropical fruits. A stream of water
runs down the streets with great rapidity, producing a
pleasing effect as you pass along.

Here I had an opportunity of examining a Cuckoo,
which had just been shot. It was exactly the same as
the Metallic Cuckoo in Wilson’s “ Ornithology.” They
told me it is a migratory bird in Martinico. It probably
repairs to this island after its departure from the United
States.

At a little distance from Martinico, the celebrated
Diamond Rock rises in insulated majesty out of the
sea. It was fortified during the last war with France,
and bravely defended by an English captain.

Iu a few hours from Martinico, you are at St. Lucie,
whose rough and towering mountains fill vou with sub-
lime ideas, as you approach its rocky shore. The town
Castries is quite embayed. It was literally blown to
pieces by the fatal hurricane, in which the unfortunate
governor and his lady lost their lives. Its present for¬
lorn and gloomy appearance, and the grass which is grown
up in the streets, too plainly show that its hour of joy is
passed away ; and that it is in mourning, as it were, with
the rest of the British West Indies.

From St. Lucie, I proceeded to Barbadoes in quest of a
conveyance to the island of Trinidad.

Near Bridgetown, the capital of Barbadoes, I saw the
metallic cuckoo, already alluded to.

Barbadoes is no longer the merry island it was when 1
visited it some years ago : —

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

St. Lucie.

Castries.

Barbadoes.

“ Infelix habitum, tem ports hnjus habet.'

314

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Slavery.

There is an old song, to tlie tune of La Belle Catharine,
which must evidently have been composed in brighter
times : — -

“ Come let us dance and sing,

While Barbadoes bells do ring ;

Quaslii scrapes the fiddle-string,

And Venus plays the lute.”

Quashi’s fiddle was silent ; and mute was the lute of
Venus during my stay in Barbadoes. The difference
betwixt the French and British islands was very striking.
The first appeared happy and content ; the second were
filled with murmurs and complaints. The late proceedings
in England, concerning slavery, and the insurrection in
Demerara, had evidently caused the gloom. The abolition
of slavery is a question full of benevolence and fine
feelings, difficulties and danger : —

“ Tantum ne noceas, duin vis prodesse videto. ”

It requires consummate prudence, and a vast fund of true
information, in order to draw just conclusions on this
important subject. Phaeton, by awkward driving, set the
world on fire : “ Sylvie cum montibus ardent.” Daedalus
gave his son a pair of wings without considering the con¬
sequence ; the boy flew out of all bounds, lost his wings,
and tumbled into the sea : —

“Icarus, Icariis nomina fecit aquis.”

When the old man saw what had happened, he damned his
own handicraft in wing-making ; “ devovitque suas aides.”
Prudence is a cardinal virtue : —

“ Omnia consults mente gerenda tegens.”

Foresight is half the battle. “ Hombre apercebido, medio
combatido,” says Don Quixote, or Sanclio, I do not

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

315

remember which. Had queen Bess weighed well in her own fourth
mind the probable consequences of this lamentable traffic, J0URNEV-
it is likely she would not have been owner of two vessels
in Sir John Hawkins’s squadron, which committed the
first robbery in negro flesh on the coast of Africa. As
philanthropy is the very life and soul of this momentous
question on slavery, which is certainly fraught with great
difficulties and danger, perhaps it would be as well at
present for the nation to turn its thoughts to poor ill-fated
Ireland, where oppression, poverty, and rags make a heart¬
rending appeal to the feelings of the benevolent.

But to proceed. There was another thing which added
to the dulness of Barbadoes, and which seemed to have
considerable effect in keeping away strangers from the
island. The legislature had passed a most extraordinary
bill, by virtue of which every person who arrives at
Barbadoes is obliged to pay two dollars, and two dollars
more on his departure from it. It is called the alien bill ;
and every Barbadian who leaves or returns to the island,
and every Englishman too, pays the tax !

Finding no vessel here for Trinidad, I embarked in Embarks
a schooner for Demerara, landed there after being nearly Demerara.
stranded on a sand-bank, and proceeded without loss of
time to the forests in the interior. It was the dry
season, which renders a residence in the woods very
delightful.

There are three species of Jacamar to be found on the
different sand-hills and dry savannas of Demerara; but
there is another much larger and far more beautiful to be
seen when you arrive in that part of the country where
there are rocks. The jacamar has no affinity to the wood- The

JCLCCLTfMXT

pecker or kingfisher, (notwithstanding what travellers
affirm,) either in its haunts or anatomy. The jacamar
lives entirely on insects, but never goes in search of them.

316

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

The three
toed sloth.

It sits patiently for hours together on the branch of a tree,
and when the incautious insect approaches, it flies at it
with the rapidity of an arrow, seizes it, and generally
returns to eat it on the branch which it had just quitted.
It has not the least attempt at song, is very solitary, and
so tame that you may get within three or four yards of it
before it takes flight. The males of all the different species
which I have examined have white feathers on the throat.
I suspect that all the male jacamars hitherto discovered
have this distinctive mark. I could learn nothing of its
incubation. The Indians informed me that one species of
jacamar lays its eggs in the Wood- Ants’ nests, which are
so frequent in the trees of Guiana, and appear like huge
black balls. I wish there had been proof positive of this ;
but the breeding time was over ; and in the ants’ nests
which I examined, I could find no marks of birds having
ever been in them. Early in January the jacamar is in
line plumage for the cabinet of the naturalist. The largest
species measures ten inches and a half from the point of
the beak to the end of the tail ; its name amongst the
Indians is Una-waya-acloucati, that is, grandfather of the
jacamar. It is certainly a splendid bird ; and in brilliancy
and changeableness of its metallic colours, it yields to
none of the Asiatic and African feathered tribe. The
colours of the female are nearly as bright as those of the
male, but she wants the white feathers on the throat. The
large jacamar is pretty common about two hundred miles
up the river Demerara.

Here I had a fine opportunity once more of examining
the Three-toed Sloth. He was in the house with me for a
day or two. Had I taken a description of him as he lay
sprawling on the floor, I should have misled the world, and
injured natural history. On the ground he appeared really
a bungled composition, and faulty at all points ; awkward-

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

317

ness and misery were depicted on his countenance ; and
when I made him advance he sighed as though in pain.
Perhaps it was, that by seeing him thus out of his element
as it were, that the Count de Buffon, in his history of the
sloth, asks the question — “Why should not some animals
be created for misery, since, in the human species, the
greatest number of individuals are devoted to pain from
the moment of their existence ? ” Were the question put
to me, I would answer, I cannot conceive that any of them
are created for misery. That thousands live in misery
there can be no doubt ; but then, misery has overtaken
them in their path through life, and wherever man has
come up with them, I should suppose they have seldom
escaped from experiencing a certain proportion of misery.

After fully satisfying myself that it only leads the world
into error to describe the sloth while he is on the ground,
or in any place except in a tree, I carried the one I had
in my possession to his native haunts. As soon as he
came in contact with the branch of a tree, all went right
with him. I could see as he climbed up into his own
country, that he was on the right road to happiness ; and
felt persuaded more than ever, that the world has hitherto
erred in its conjectures concerning the sloth, on account
of naturalists, not having given a description of him when
he was in the only position in which he ought to have
been described, namely, clinging to the branch of a tree.

As the appearance of this part of the country bears
great resemblance to Cayenne, and is so near to it, I was
in hopes to have found the Grande Gobe Mouche of Buffon,
and the septicoloured Tangara, both of which were common
in Cayenne ; but after many diligent searches, I did not
succeed ; nor could I learn from the Indians that they had
ever seen those two species of birds in these parts.

Here I procured the Grosbeak with a rich scarlet

FOURTH

JOURNEY

The

Grosbeak.

318

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Procures a
large
species of
Owl.

The

Sun-bird.

The great
Tinamou.

body, and black bead and throat. Button mentions it as
coining from America. I bad been in quest of it for years,
but could never see it, and concluded that it was not to
be found in Demerara. The bird is of a greenish brown
before it acquires its rich plumage.

Amongst the bare roots of the trees, alongside of this
part of the river, a red crab sometimes makes its appear¬
ance, as you are passing up and down. It is preyed upon
by a large species of Owl, which I was fortunate enough
to procure. Its head, back, wings, and tail, are of so dark
a brown as almost to appear black. The breast is of a
somewhat lighter brown. The belly and thighs are of a
dirty yellow white. The feathers round the eyes are of
the same dark brown as the rest of the body; and then
comes a circle of white, which has the appearance of a
large pair of spectacles. I strongly suspect that the dirty
yellow white of the belly and thighs has originally been
pure white ; and that it has come to its present colour by
means of the bird darting down upon its prey in the mud.
But this is mere conjecture.

Here too, close to the river, I frequently saw the bird
called Sun-bird by the English colonists, and Tirana by the
Spaniards in the Oroonoque. It is very elegant ; and in
its outward appearance approaches near to the heron tribe ;
still it does not live upon fish. Elies and insects are its
food ; and it takes them just as a heron takes fish, by
approaching near and then striking with its beak at its
prey so quick, that it has no chance to escape. The
beautiful mixture of grey, yellow, green, black, white, and
chestnut in the plumage of this bird, baffles any attempt
to give a description of the distribution of them which
would be satisfactory to the reader.

There is something remarkable in the great Tinamou,
which I suspect has hitherto escaped notice. It invariably

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

319

roosts in trees ; but the feet are so small in proportion
to the body of this bulky bird, that they can be of no
use to it in grasping the branch ; and, moreover, the hind
toe is so short, that it does not touch the ground when the
bird is walking. The back part of the leg, just below the
knee, is quite flat, and somewhat concave. On it are
strong pointed scales, which are very rough, and catch
your finger as you move it along from the knee to the toe.
Now, by means of these scales, and the particular flatness
of that part of the leg, the bird is enabled to sleep in safety
upon the branch of a tree.

At the close of day, the great tinamou gives a loud,
monotonous, plaintive whistle, and then immediately
springs into the tree. By the light of the full moon, the
vigilant and cautious naturalist may see him sitting in the
position already described.

The small Tinamou has nothing that can be called a
tail. It never lays more than one egg, which is of a
chocolate colour. It makes no nests, but merely scratches
a little hollow in the sand, generally at the foot of a tree.

Here we have an instance of a bird, the size of a partridge,
and of the same tribe, laying only one egg, while the rest
of the family, from the peahen to the quail, are known to
lay a considerable number. The foot of this bird is very
small in proportion, but the back part of the leg bears no
resemblance to that of the larger tinamou ; hence one
might conclude that it sleeps upon the ground.

Independent of the hollow trees, the Vampires have
another hiding-place. They clear out the inside of the
large ants’ nests, and then take possession of the shell.
I had gone about half a day down the river, to a part
of the forest where the wallaba-trees were in great
plenty. The seeds had ripened, and I was in hopes to have
got the large scarlet ara, which feeds on them. But,

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

The small
Tinamou.

320

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

The

1 'anvpire.

WANDERINGS IN'SOUTII AM A.

unfortunately, the time had passed away, and the seeds
had fallen.

While ranging here in the forest, we stopped under an
ants’ nest; and, by the dirt below, conjectured that it
had got new tenants. Thinking it no harm to dislodge
them, “ vi et armis,” an Indian boy ascended the tree ;
but, before he reached the nest, out flew above a dozen
Vampires.

I have formerly remarked, that I wished to have it in
my power to say, that I had been sucked by the vampire.
I gave them many an opportunity, but they always fought
shy ; and though they now sucked a young man of the
Indian breed very severely, as he was sleeping in his
hammock in the shed next to mine, they would have
nothing to do with me. His great toe seemed to have all
the attractions. I examined it minutely as he was bathing
it in the river at daybreak. The midnight surgeon had
made a hole in it, almost of a triangular shape, and the blood
was then running from it apace. His hammock was so
defiled and stained with clotted blood, that he wras obliged
to beg an old. black woman to wash it. As she was taking
it down to the river side, she spread it out before me, and
shook her head. I remarked, that I supposed her own toe
was too old and tough to invite the Vampire-doctor to get
his supper out of it ; and she answered, with a grin, that
doctors generally preferred young people.

Nobody has yet been able to inform me how it is that
the vampire manages to draw such a large quantity of
blood, generally from the toe, and the patient, all the time,
remain in a profound sleep. I have never heard of an
instance of a man waking under the operation. On the
contrary, he continues in a sound sleep, and at the time of
rising, his eyes first inform him that there has been a
thirsty thief on his toe.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA

The teeth of the vampire are very sharp, and not unlike
those of the rat. If it be that he inflicts the wounds
with his teeth, (and he seems to have no other instru¬
ments,) one would suppose that the acuteness of the pain
would cause the person who is sucked, to awake. We
are in darkness in this matter ; and I know of no means
by which one might be enabled to throw light upon it.
It is to be hoped that some future wanderer through the
wilds of Guiana, will be more fortunate than I have been,
and catch this nocturnal depredator in the fact. I have
once before mentioned that I killed a vampire which
measured thirty-two inches from wing to wing extended ;
but others, which I have since examined, have generally
been from twenty to twenty-six inches in dimension.

The large humming-bird, called by the Indians Ivara-
bimiti, invariably builds its nest in the slender branches
of the trees which hang over the rivers and creeks. In
appearance, it is like brown tanned leather, and without a
particle of lining. The rim of the nest is double inwards,
and I always conjectured that it had taken this shape on
account of the body of the bird pressing against it while
she was laying her eggs. But this is quite a wrong
conjecture. Instinct has taught the bird to give it this
shape, in order that the eggs may be prevented from
rolling out.

The trees on the river’s bank are particularly exposed
to violent gusts of wind, and while I have been sitting in
the canoe, and looking on, I have seen the slender branch
of the tree which held the humming-bird’s nest so violently
shaken, that the bottom of the inside of the nest has
appeared, and had there been nothing at the rim to
stop the eggs, they must inevitably have been jerked
into the water. I suspect the humming-bird never lays
more than two eggs. I never found more than two in any

Y

82 1

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Its teeth.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

fourth of tlie many nests which have come in my way. The eggs
journey. were always white, without any spots on them.

Monkeys. Probably travellers have erred in asserting that the
monkeys of South America throw sticks and fruit at their
pursuers. I have had fine opportunities of narrowly
watching the different species of monkeys which are found
in the wilds, betwixt the Amazons and the Oroonoque-
I entirely acquit them of acting on the offensive. When
the monkeys are in the high trees over your head, the
dead brandies will now and then fall down upon you,
having been broken off as the monkeys pass along them ;
but they are never hurled from their hands.

Three Monkeys, commonly so called, both in the old and new

classes of ** ^

Monkeys, continent, may be classed into three grand divisions ;
namely, the ape, which has no tail whatever; the baboon,
which has only a short tail ; and the monkey, which has
a long tail. There are no apes, and no baboons, as yet
discovered in the new world. Its monkeys may be very
well and very briefly ranged under two heads : namely,
those with hairy and bushy tails ; and those whose tails
are bare of hair underneath, about six inches from the
extremity. Those with hairy and bushy tails climb just
like the squirrel, and make no use of the tail to help them
from branch to branch. Those which have the tail bare
underneath towards the end, find it of infinite advantage
to them, in their ascent and descent. They apply it to the
branch of the tree, as though it were a supple finger, and
frequently swing by it from the branch like the pendulum
of a clock. It answers all the purposes of a fifth hand to
the monkey, as naturalists have already observed.

The large The large red monkey of Demerara is not a baboon,
monkey 0/ though it goes by that name, having a long prensile tail.1

1 I believe prensile is a new-coined word. I have seen it, but do not
remember where.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

323

Nothing can sound more dreadful than its nocturnal fourth
bowlings. While lying in your hammock in these gloomy J0TJRNEY<
and immeasurable wilds, you hear him howling at in¬
tervals, from eleven o’clock at night till daybreak. You
would suppose that half the wild beasts of the forest were
collecting for the work of carnage. Now, it is the tremen¬
dous roar of the jaguar, as he springs on his prey : now,
it changes to his terrible and deep-toned growlings,
as he is pressed on all sides by superior force ; and
now, you hear his last dying moan, beneath a mortal
wound.

Some naturalists have supposed that these awful sounds,
which you would fancy are those of enraged and dying
wild beasts, proceed from a number of the red monkeys
howling in concert. One of them alone is capable of
producing all these sounds ; and the anatomists, on an
inspection of his trachea, will be fully satisfied that this
is the case. When you look at him, as he is sitting oil
the branch of a tree, you will see a lump in his throat,
the size of a large hen’s egg. In dark and cloudy
weather, and just before a squall of rain, this monkey will
often howl in the daytime ; and if you advance cautiously,
and get under the high and tufted tree where lie is sitting,
you may have a capital opportunity of witnessing his
wonderful powers of producing these dreadful and dis¬
cordant sounds.

His flesh is good food ; but when skinned, his appear- Fleshofthe
ance is so like that of a young one of our own species, nl0nl' tJ-
that a delicate stomach might possibly revolt at the idea of
putting a knife and fork into it. However, I can affirm,
from experience, that after a long and dreary march
through these remote forests, the flesh of this monkey is
not to be sneezed at, when boiled in Cayenne pepper, or
roasted on a stick over a good fire. A young one tastes

’ y 2

324

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

not unlike a kid, and tlie old ones have somewhat the
flavour of lie-goat.

I mentioned, in a former adventure, that I had hit upon
an entirely new plan of making the skins of quadrupeds
retain their exact form and feature. Intense application
to the subject has since that period enabled me to shorten
the process, and hit the character of an animal to a very
great nicety, even to the preservation of the pouting lip,
dimples, warts, and wrinkles on the face. I got a fine
specimen of the howling monkey ; and took some pains
with it, in order to show the immense difference that
exists betwixt the features of this monkey, and those
of man.

I also procured an animal which lias caused not a little
speculation and astonishment. In my opinion, his thick
coat of hair, and great length of tail, put his species out
of all question ; but then his face and head cause the
inspector to pause for a moment, before he ventures to
pronounce his opinion of the classification. He was a
large animal, and as I was pressed for daylight, and more¬
over, felt no inclination to have the whole weight of his
body upon my back, I contented myself with his head
and shoulders, which I cut off : and have brought them
with me to Europe.1 I have since found, that I acted
quite right in doing so, having had enough to answer for
the head alone, without saying anything of his hands and
feet, and of his tail, which appendage, Lord Karnes asserts,
belongs to us.

The features of this animal are quite of the Grecian
cast ; and he has a placidity of countenance which shows

1 My young friend, Mr. J. H. Foljambe, eldest son of Thomas Foljambe,
Esq. of Wakefield, lias made a drawing of the head and shoulders of this
animal, (see Frontispiece,) and it is certainly a most correct and striking
likeness of the original.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

325

tliat things went well with him when in life. Some fourth
gentlemen of great skill and talent, on inspecting his J0UI!NEY
head, were convinced that the whole series of its features
lias been changed. Others again have hesitated, and
betrayed doubts, not being able to make up their minds,
whether it be possible, that the brute features of the
monkey can be changed into the noble countenance of
man. — “Scinditur vulgus.” One might argue at consider¬
able length on this novel subject; and perhaps, after all,
produce little more than prolix pedantry. “ Vox et
preeterea nihil.”

Let us suppose for an instant, that it is a new species.

Well; “Una golondrina no hace verano ; ” one swallow
does not make summer, as Sancho Panza says. Still, for
all that, it would be well worth while going out to search
for it ; and these times of Pasco-Peruvian enterprise are
favourable to the undertaking. Perhaps, gentle readers,
you would wish me to go in cpiest of another. I would
beg leave respectfully to answer, that the way is dubious,
long, and dreary ; and though, unfortunately, I cannot
allege the excuse of “ me pia conjux detinet,” still I
would fain crave a little repose. I have already been
a long while errant : —

“ Longa milii exilia, et vastum maris neqtior aravi,

Ne mandate milii, nam ego sum defessus agendo.”

Should anybody be induced to go, great and innumerable
are the discoveries yet to be made in those remote wilds ;
and should he succeed in bringing home, even a head alone,
with features as perfect as those of that which I have
brought, far from being envious of him, I should consider
him a modern Alcides, fully entitled to register a thir¬
teenth labour. Now if, on the other hand, we argue, that
this head in question has had all its original features

326

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

destroyed, and a set of new ones given to it, by what
means has this hitherto unheard-of change been effected ?
Nobody in our museums has as yet been able to restore
the natural features to stuffed animals ; and he who has
any doubts of this, let him take a living cat or dog, and
compare them with a stuffed cat or dog in any of the
first-rate museums. A momentary glance of the eye
would soon settle his doubts on this head.

If I have succeeded in effacing the features of a brute,
and putting those of a man in their place, w7e might be
entitled to say, that the sun of Proteus has risen to our
museums : —

“ ITnius Lie faciem, facies transformat in omnes ;

Nunc homo, nunc tigris ; nunc equa, nunc mulier.”

If I have effected this, we can now give to one side of
the skin of a man’s face the appearance of eighty years,
and to the other side that of blooming seventeen. We
could make the forehead and eyes serene in youthful
beauty, and shape the mouth and jaws to the features of
a malicious old ape. Here is a new field opened to the
adventurous and experimental naturalist : I have trodden
it up and down till I am almost weary. To get at it
myself I have groped through an alley, which may be
styled, in the words of Ovid, — •

“ Arduus, ohliquus, caligiue densus opaca.”

I pray thee, gentle reader, let me out a while. Time
passes on apace ; and I want to take thee to have a peep
at the spots where mines are supposed to exist in Guiana.
As the story of this singular head has, probably, not been
made out to thy satisfaction, perhaps, (I may say it nearly
in Corporal Trim’s words,) on some long and dismal winter’s
evening, but not now, I may tell thee more about it;

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

327

together with that of another head, which is equally
striking.

It is commonly reported, and I think there is no reason to
doubt the fact, that when Demerara and Essequibo were
under the Dutch flag, there were mines of gold and silver
opened near to the river Essequibo. The miners were not
successful in their undertaking, and it is generally con¬
jectured that their failure proceeded from inexperience.

How, when you ascend the Essequibo, some hundred
miles above the place where these mines are said to be
found, you get into a high, rocky, and mountainous
country. Here many of the mountains have a very
barren aspect, producing only a few stinted shrubs, and
here and there a tuft of coarse grass. I could not learn
that they have ever been explored, and at this day their
mineralogy is totally unknown to us. The Indians are so
thinly scattered in this part of the country, that there
would be no impropriety in calling it uninhabited : —

“Apparent rari errantes in gurgite vasto.”

It remains to be yet learnt, whether this portion of
Guiana be worth looking after, with respect to its supposed
mines. The mining speculations at present are flowing
down another channel. The rage in England for working
the mines of other states has now risen to such a pitch,
that it would require a considerable degree of caution in
a mere wanderer of the woods, in stepping forward to say
anything that might tend to raise or depress the spirits
of the speculators.

A question or two, however, might be asked. When
the revolted colonies shall have repaired in some measure
the ravages of war, and settled their own political eco¬
nomy upon a firm foundation, will they quietly submit to
see foreigners carrying away those treasures which are

FOURTir

JOURNEY.

328

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

absolutely part ot‘ their own soil, and which necessity
(necessity lias no law) forced them to barter away in their
hour of need? Now, if it should so happen that the
masters of the country begin to repent of their bargain,
and become envious of tire riches which foreigners carry
off, many a teasing law might be made, and many a vexa¬
tious enaction might be put in force, that would, in all
probability, bring the speculators into trouble and
disappointment.

Besides this consideration, there is another circumstance
which ought not to be overlooked. I allude to the change
of masters nearly throughout the whole of America. It
is a curious subject for the European philosopher to
moralize upon, and for the politician to examine. The
more they consider it, the more they will be astonished.
If we may judge by what lias already taken place, we are
entitled to predict, that in a very few years more, no
European banner will be seen to boat in any part of the
new world. Let us take a cursory view of it.

England some years ago possessed a large portion of
the present United States. Erance had Louisiana ; Spain
held the Floridas, Mexico, Darien, Terra Eirma, Buenos
Ayres, Paraguay, Chili, Peru, and California ; and Portugal
ruled the whole of Brazil. All these immense regions are
now independent states. England, to be sure, still has
Canada, Nova Scotia, and a few creeks on the coast of
Labrador ; also a small settlement in Honduras, and the
wilds of Demerara and Essequibo ; and these are all.
France has not a foot of ground except the forests of
Cayenne. Portugal has lost every province ; Spain is
blockaded in nearly her last citadel ; and the Dutch flag
is only seen in Surinam. Nothing more now remains to
Europe of this immense continent, where, but a very few
years ago, she reigned triumphant.

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

329

With regard to the West India Islands, they may be
considered as the mere outposts of this mammoth domain.
St. Domingo has already shaken off her old masters, and
become a star of observation to the rest of the sable
brethren. The anti-slavery associations of England, full
of benevolence and activity, have opened a tremendous
battery upon the last remaining forts, which the lords of
the old continent still hold in the new world ; and, in
all probability, will not cease firing till they shall have
caused the last flag to be struck, of Europe’s late mighty
empire in the Transatlantic regions. It cannot well be
doubted, but that the sable hordes in the West Indies will
like to follow good example, whenever they shall have
it in their power to do so.

Now with St. Domingo as an example before them, how
long will it be before they try to raise themselves into
independent states ? And if they should succeed in
crushing us in these our last remaining tenements, I would
bet ten to one that none of the new governments will put
on mourning for our departure out of the new world. We
must well remember, that our own government was taxed
with injustice and oppression by the United States during
their great struggle ; and the British press for years past
has, and is still teeming with every kind of abuse and
unbecoming satire against Spain and Portugal for their
conduct towards the now revolted colonies.

Erance also comes in for her share of obloquy. NTow?
this being the case, will not America at large wish most
devoutly for the day to come when Europe shall have no
more dominion over her ? Will she not say to us, Our new
forms of government are very different from your old
ones? We will trade with you, but wre shall always be
very suspicious of you as long as you retain possession of
the West Indies, which are, as we may say, close to our

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

330

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Cocks of
the Roclc.

door-steads. You must be very cautious Low you inter¬
fere with our politics ; for, if we find you meddling with
them, and by that means cause us to come to loggerheads,
we shall be obliged to send you back to your own homes,
three or four thousand miles across the Atlantic ; and then,
with that great ditch betwixt us, we may hope we shall be
good friends. He who casts his eye on the East Indies^
will there see quite a different state of things. The con¬
quered districts have merely changed one European master
for another ; and I believe there is no instance of any por¬
tion of the East Indies throwing off the yoke of the Euro¬
peans and establishing a government of their own.

Ye who are versed in politics, and study the rise and
fall of empires, and know what is good for civilized maiq
and what is bad for him, or in other words, what will
make him happy and what will make him miserable — tell
us how comes it that Europe has lost almost her last acre
in the boundless expanse of territory which she so lately
possessed in the west, and still contrives to hold her vast
property in the extensive regions of the east ?

But whither am I going ? I find myself on a new and
dangerous path. Pardon, gentle reader, this sudden devia¬
tion. Methinks I hear thee saying to me, —

“Tramite quo tendis, majoraque viribus audes. ”

I grant that I have erred, but I will do so no more. In
general I avoid politics ; they are too heavy for me, and I
am aware that they have caused the fall of many a strong
and able man; they require the shoulders of Atlas to
support their weight.

When I was in the rocky mountains of Maconshia, in
the month of June, 1812, I saw four young Cocks of the
Rock in an Indian’s hut ; they had been taken out of the
nest that week. They were of a uniform dirty brown

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

331

colour, and by the position of the young feathers upon the fourth
head, you might see that there would be a crest there JQURyEV-
when the bird arrived at maturity. By seeing young ones
in the month of June, I immediately concluded that the old
cock of the rock would be in fine plumage from the end
of November to the beginning of May : and that the
naturalist, who was in quest of specimens for his museum,
ought to arrange his plans in such a manner as to be able
to get into Macoushia during these months. However, I
find now, that no exact period can be fixed; for, in Decem¬
ber, 1824, an Indian, in the river Demerara, gave me a
young cock of the rock not a month old, and it had just
been brought from the Macoushi country. By having a
young specimen at this time of the year, it puts it out of
one’s power to say at what precise time the old birds are in
full plumage. I took it on board a ship with me for
England, but it was so very susceptible of cold that it
shivered and died, three days after we had passed
Antigua.

If ever there should be a great demand for large supplies India-
of gum-elastic, commonly called India-rubber, it may be rub/,cr-
procured in abundance far away in the wilds of Demerara
and Essequibo.

Some years ago, when I was in the Macoushi country, An Indian

• • t7*/bcJc

there was a capital trick played upon me about India-
rubber. It is almost too good to be left out of these Wan¬
derings, and it shows that the wild and uneducated Indian
is not without abilities. Weary and sick, and feeble
through loss of blood, I arrived at some Indian huts,
which were about two hours distant from the place where the
gum-elastic trees grew. After a day and a night’s rest I
went to them, and with my own hands made a fine ball
of pure India-rubber ; it hardened immediately it became
exposed to the air, and its elasticity was almost incredible.

332

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

While procuring it, exposure to the rain, which fell in
torrents, brought on a return of inflammation in the
stomach, and I was obliged to have recourse again to the
lancet, and to use it with an unsparing hand. I wanted
another ball, but was not in a state the next morning to
proceed to the trees. A fine interesting young Indian
observing my eagerness to have it, tendered his services,
and asked me two liandsful of fish-hooks for his trouble.

Off he went, and to my great surprise returned in a
very short time. Bearing in mind the trouble and time
it had cost me to make a ball, I could account for this
Indian’s expedition in no other way except that, being an
inhabitant of the forest, he knew how to go about his
work in a much shorter way than I did. His ball, to be
sure, had very little elasticity in it. I tried it repeatedly,
but it never rebounded a yard high. The young Indian
watched me with great gravity, and when I made him
understand that I expected the ball would dance better,
he called another Indian, who knew a little English, to
assure me that I might be quite easy on that score. The
young rogue, in order to render me a complete dupe,
brought the new moon to his aid. He gave me to under¬
stand that the ball was like the little moon, which he
pointed to, and by the time it grew big and old, the ball
would bounce beautifully. This satisfied me, and I gave
him the fish-hooks, which he received without the least
change of countenance.

I bounced the ball repeatedly for two months after, but
I found that it still remained in its infancy. At last I
suspected that the savage (to use a vulgar phrase) had
come Yorkshire over me ; and so I determined to find out
how he had managed to take me in. I cut the ball in
two, and then saw what a taught trick he had played me.
It seems he had chewed some leaves into a lump, the size

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

333

of a walnut, and then dipped them in the liquid gum-
elastic. It immediately received a coat about as thick as
a sixpence. He then rolled some more leaves round it,
and gave it another coat. He seems to have continued
this process till he made the ball considerably larger than
the one I had procured ; and in order to put his roguery
out of all chance of detection, he made the last and outer
coat thicker than a dollar. This Indian would, no doubt,
have thriven well in some of our great towns.

Finding that the rainy season was coming on, I left the
wilds of Demerara and Essequibo with regret, towards the
close of December, 1821 ; and reached once more the
shores of England, after a long and unpleasant passage.

Ere we part, kind reader, I could wish to draw a little
of thy attention to the instructions which are to be found
at the end of this book. Twenty years have now rolled
away since I first began to examine the specimens of
zoology in our museums. As the system of preparation
is founded in error, nothing but deformity, distortion, and
disproportion, will be the result of the best intentions and
utmost exertions of the workman. Canova’s education,
taste, and genius enabled him to present to the world
statues so correct and beautiful that they are worthy of
universal admiration. Had a common stonecutter tried
his hand upon the block out of which these statues were
sculptured, what a lamentable want of symmetry and
fine countenance there would have been. Now, when we
reflect that the preserved specimens in our museums and
private collections are always done upon a wrong prin¬
ciple, and generally by low and illiterate people, whose
daily bread depends upon the shortness of time in which
they can get through their work, and whose opposition to
the true way of preparing specimens can only be surpassed
by their obstinacy in adhering to the old method; can we

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

Returns
home to
England.

Conclud¬

ing

remarks .

334

WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

FOURTH

JOURNEY.

any longer wonder at their want of success ; or hope to
see a single specimen produced that will be worth looking
at ? With this I conclude, hoping that thou hast received
some information, and occasionally had a smile upon thy
countenance, while perusing these “ Wanderings ; ” and
begging, at the same time, to add that

Well I know tliy penetration
Many a stain and blot will see,

In the languid, long narration,

Of my sylvan errantry.

For the pen too oft was weary
In the wandering writer’s hand,

As he roved through deep and dreary
Forests, in a distant land.

Show thy mercy, gentle reader,

Let him not entreat in vain ;

It will be his strength’s best feeder,
Should he ever go again.

And who knows how soon, complaining
Of a cold and wifeless home,

He may leave it, and again in
Equatorial regions roam ?

C. W

ON PRESERVING BIRDS FOR CABINETS OF
NATURAL HISTORY.

Faults in bird-stuffing. — Tools required. — Knowledge of anatomy. —
Attitudes of birds. — Flow of tlie plumage. — How to skin a bird. —
Inserting cotton. — Killing wounded birds. — Stuffing a hawk. — The
first incision. — The skin to be pushed, not pulled. — Arrangement of
wings. — Modelling tlie body. — Spreading the tail. — Constant attention
required. — Strength and elasticity. — Value of corrosive sublimate.—
Experience and patience.

Were you to pay as much, attention to birds as the sculp- PEESEEV-
tor does to the human frame, you would immediately see, ING BIRDS-
on entering a museum, that the specimens are not well
done.

This remark will not he thought severe when you
reflect that that which once was a bird has probably
been stretched, stuffed, stiffened, and wired by the hand
of a common clown. Consider likewise how the plumage
must have been disordered by too much stretching or
drying, and perhaps sullied, or at least deranged, by the
pressure of a coarse and heavy hand — plumage which, ere
life had fled from within it, was accustomed to be touched
by nothing rougher than the dew of heaven, and the pure
and gentle breath of air.

In dissecting, three things are necessary to ensure Dissecting.
success, viz., a penknife, a hand not coarse or clumsy,
and practice. The first will furnish you with the means;

336

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

Stuffing.

Requisite
to have a
thorough
knowledge
of Ornitho¬
logical
A natomy.

Examine
the eco¬
nomy of
the orders
of birds.

the second will enable you to dissect ; and the third cause
you to dissect well. These may be called the mere
mechanical requisites.

In stuffing, you require cotton, a needle and thread, a
little stick the size of a common knitting-needle, glass
eyes, a solution of corrosive sublimate, and any kind of a
common temporary box to hold the specimen. These also
may go under the same denomination as the former. But
if you wish to excel in the art, if you wish to be in orni¬
thology what Angelo was in sculpture, you must apply to
profound study and your own genius to assist you. And
these may be called the scientific requisites.

You must have a complete knowledge of ornithological
anatomy. You must pay close attention to the form and
attitude of the bird, and know exactly the proportion
each curve, or extension, or contraction, or expansion of
any particular part bears to the rest of the body. In a
word, you must possess Promethean boldness, and bring¬
down fire and animation, as it were, into your preserved
specimen.

Repair to the haunts of birds on plains and mountains,
forests, swamps, and lakes, and give up your time to
examine the economy of the different orders of birds.

Then you will place your eagle in attitude commanding,
the same as Nielson stood in, in the day of battle, on the
Victory's quarter-deck. Your pie will seem crafty, and
just ready to take flight, as though fearful of being sur¬
prised in some mischievous plunder. Your sparrow will
retain its wonted pertness by means of placing his tail a
little elevated, and giving a moderate arch to the neck.
Your vulture will show his sluggish habits by having his
body nearly parallel to the earth, his wings somewhat
drooping, and their extremities under the tail instead of
above it — expressive of ignoble indolence.

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

Your dove will be in artless, fearless innocence, looking
mildly at you, with its neck, not too much stretched, as
if uneasy in its situation, or drawn too close into the
shoulders, like one wishing to avoid a discovery ; but in
moderate, perpendicular length, supporting the head hori¬
zontally, which will set off the breast to the best advan¬
tage. And the breast ought to be conspicuous, and have
this attention paid to it ; for when a young lady is sweet
and gentle in her manners, kind and affable to those around
her ; when her eyes stand in tears of pity for the woes of
others, and she puts a small portion of what Providence
has blessed her with into the hand of imploring poverty and
hunger — then we say she has the breast of a turtle-dove.

You will observe how beautifully the feathers of a bird
are arranged, one falling over the other in nicest order ;
and that, where this charming harmony is interrupted, the
defect, though not noticed by an ordinary spectator, will
appear immediately to the eye of a naturalist. Thus, a
bird not wounded and in perfect feather must be procured
if possible, for the loss of feathers can seldom be made
good ; and where the deficiency is great, all the skill of
the artist will avail him little in his attempt to conceal
the defect, because, in order to hide it, he must contract
the skin, bring down the upper feathers, and shove in the
lower ones, which would throw all the surrounding parts
into contortion.

You will also observe that the whole of the skin does
not produce feathers, and that it is very tender where the
feathers do not grow. The bare parts are admirably
formed for expansion about the throat and stomach, and
they fit into the different cavities of the body at the wings,
shoulders, rump, and thighs with wonderful exactness ; so
that in stuffing the bird, if you make an even rotund
surface of the skin where these cavities existed, in lieu of

337

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

The

feathers.

Z

338

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

General

directions.

reforming them, all symmetry, order, and proportion are
lost for ever.

You must lay it down as an absolute rule that the bird
is to be entirely skinned, otherwise you can never succeed
in forming a true and pleasing specimen.

You will allow this to be just, after reflecting a moment
on the nature of the fleshy parts and tendons, which are
often left in : 1st, they require to be well seasoned with
aromatic spices; 2dly, they must be put into an oven to
dry ; 3dly, the heat of the fire and the natural tendency all
cured flesh has to shrink and become hard renders the
specimen withered, distorted, and too small; 4thly, the
inside then becomes like a ham or any other dried meat.
Ere long the insects claim it as their own ; the feathers
begin to drop off, and you have the hideous spectacle of
death in ragged plumage.

Wire is of no manner of use, but, on the contrary, a
great nuisance; for where it is introduced, a disagreeable
stiffness and derangement of symmetry follow.

The head and neck can be placed in any attitude, the
body supported, the wings closed, extended or elevated, the
tail depressed, raised or expanded, the thighs set horizontal
or oblique, without any aid from wire. Cotton will effect
all this.

A very small proportion of the skull bone, say, from the
forepart of the eyes to the bill, is to be left in; though
even this is not absolutely necessary. Part of the wing-
bones, the jaw-bones, and half of the thigh-bones, remain.
Everything else, flesh, fat, eyes, bones, brains, and tendons,
are all to be taken away.

While dissecting, it will be of use to keep in mind, —
That, in taking off the skin from the body, by means of
your fingers and a little knife, you must try to shove it, in
lieu of pulling it, lest you stretch it.

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

330

That, yon must press as lightly as possible on the bird, preserv-
and every now and then take a view of it, to see that the IN(y_E^IyDS-
feathers, &c., are all right.

That, when you come to the head, you must take care
that the body of the skin rests on your knee ; for if you
allow it to dangle from your hand, its own weight will
stretch it too much.

That, throughout the whole operation, as fast as you
detach the skin from the body, you must put cotton im¬
mediately betwixt the body and it ; and this will effectually
prevent any fat, blood, or moisture from coming in contact
with the plumage. Here it may be observed that, on the
belly you find an inner skin, which keeps the bowels in
their place. By a nice operation with the knife, you can
cut through the outer skin, and leave the inner skin whole.
Attention to this will render your work very clean; so
that, with a little care in other parts, you may skin a bird-
without even soiling vour finger ends.

o 1/ o

As you can seldom get a bird without shooting it, a line
or two on this head will be necessary. If the bird be still
alive, press it hard with your finger and thumb, just behind
the wings, and it will soon expire. Carry it by the legs,
and then, the body being reversed, the blood cannot escape
down the plumage through the shot-holes. As blood will
often have issued out before you have laid hold of the
bird, find out the shot-holes, by dividing the feathers with
your fingers, and blowing on them, and then, with your
penknife, or the leaf of a tree, carefully remove the
clotted blood, and put a little cotton on the hole. If,
after all, the plumage has not escaped the marks of blood ;
or if it has imbibed slime from the ground, wash the
part in water, without soap, and keep gently agitating
the feathers, with your fingers, till they are quite dry.

Were you to wash them, and leave them to dry by

340

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

Act of
skinning
bird.

themselves, they would have a very mean and shrivelled
appearance.

In the act of skinning a bird, you must either have it
upon a table, or upon your knee. Probably, you will
prefer your knee ; because when you cross one knee over
the other, and have the bird upon the uppermost, you can
raise it to your eye, or lower it, at pleasure, by means of
the foot on the ground, and then your knee will always
move in unison with your body, by which much stooping
will be avoided and lassitude prevented.

With these precautionary hints in mind, we will now
proceed to dissect a bird. Suppose we take a hawk. The
little birds will thank us, with a song for his death, for he
has oppressed them sorely; and in size he is just the
thing. His skin is also pretty tough, and the feathers
adhere to it.

We will put close by us a little bottle of the solution of
corrosive sublimate in alcohol ; also a stick like a common
knitting-needle, and a handful or two of cotton. Now fill
the mouth and nostrils of the bird with cotton, and place
it upon your knee on its back, with its head pointing to
your left shoulder. Take hold of the knife with your two
first fingers and thumb, the edge upwards. You must not
keep the point of the knife perpendicular to the body of
the bird ; because, were you to hold it so, you would cut
the inner skin of the belly, and thus let the bowels out.
To avoid this, let your knife be parallel to the body, and
then you will divide the outer skin with great ease.

Begin on the belly below the breast-bone, and cut down
the middle, quite to the vent. This done, put the bird in
any convenient position, and separate the skin from the
body, till you get at the middle joint of the thigh. Cut it
through, and do nothing more there at present, except
introducing cotton all the way on that side, from the vent.

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

341

to the breast-bone. Do exactly the same on the opposite
side.

Now place the bird perpendicular, its breast resting on
your knee, with its back towards you. Separate the skin
from the body on each side at the vent, and never mind at
present the part from the vent to the root of the tail.
Bend the tail gently down to the back, and while your
linger and thumb are keeping down the detached parts of
the skin on each side of the vent, cub quite across, and
deep, till you see the back-bone, near the oil-gland at the
root of the tail. Sever the back-bone at the joint, and
then you have all the root of the tail, together with the
oil-gland, dissected from the body. Apply plenty of
cotton.

After this, seize the end of the back-bone with your
finger and thumb : and now you can hold up the bird
clear of your knee, and turn it round and round, as
occasion requires. While you are holding it thus, contrive,
with the help of your other hand and knife, by cutting and
shoving, to get the skin pushed up till you come to where
the wing joins on to the body.

Forget not to apply cotton; cut this joint through; do
the same at the other wing, add cotton, and gently push
the skin over the head ; cut out the roots of the ears,
which lie very deep in the head, and continue skinning til’
you reach the middle of the eye ; cut the nictitating
membrane quite through, otherwise you would tear the
orbit of the eye ; and after this, nothing difficult intervenes
to prevent your arriving at the root of the bill.

When this is effected, cut away the body, leaving a
little bit of skull, just as much as will reach to the fore¬
part of the eye ; clean well the jaw-bones, fasten a little
cotton at the end of your stick, dip it into the solution,
and touch the skull and corresponding part of the skin, as

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

342

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

you cannot well get to these places afterwards. From the
time of pushing the skin over the head, you are supposed
to have had the bird resting upon your knee ; keep it
there still, and with great caution and tenderness return
the head through the inverted skin, and when you see the
beak appearing, pull it very gently till the head comes out
unruffled and unstained.

You may now take the cotton out of the mouth ; cut
away all the remaining flesh at the palate, and whatever
may have remained at the under jaw.

Here is now before you the skin, without loss of any
feathers, and all the flesh, fat, and uncleaned hones out of
it, except the middle joint of the wings, one hone of the
thighs, and the fleshy root of the tail. The extreme point
of the wing is very small, and has no flesh on it, com¬
paratively speaking, so that it requires no attention, except
touching it with the solution from the outside. Take all
the flesh from the remaining joint of the wing, and tie a
thread about four inches long to the end of it ; touch all
with the solution, and put the wing -hone hack into its
place. In haring this hone you must hy no means pull
the skin ; you would tear it to pieces beyond all doubt, for
the ends of the long feathers are attached to the hone
itself ; you must push off the skin with your tliumh-nail
and forefinger. How skin the thigh quite to the knee ; cut
away all flesh and tendons, and leave the hone : form an
artificial thigh round it with cotton ; apply the solution,
and draw back the skin over the artificial thigh : the same
to the other thigh.

Lastly, proceed to the tail ; take out the inside of the
oil-gland, remove all the remaining flesh from the root,
till you see the ends of the tail-feathers ; give it the solu¬
tion, and replace it. How take out all the cotton which
you have been putting into the body from time to time to

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

313

preserve the feathers from grease and stains. Place the preserv-
bird upon your knee on its back ; tie together the ING Bir,D3,
two threads which you had fastened to the end of the
wing-joints, leaving exactly the same space betwixt them
as your knowledge in anatomy informs you existed there
when the bird was entire ; hold the skin open with your
finger and thumb, and apply the solution to every part of
the inside. Neglect the head and neck at present ; they
are to receive it afterwards.

Pill the body moderately with cotton, lest the feathers
on the belly should be injured whilst you are about the
following operation. You must recollect that half of the
thigh, or in other words, one joint of the thigh-bone, has
been cut away. Now, as this bone never moved perpen¬
dicular to the body, but, on the contrary, in an oblique
direction, of course, as soon as it is cut off, the remaining
part of the thigh and leg, having nothing now to support
them obliquely, must naturally fall to their perpendicular.

Hence the reason why the legs appear considerably too
long. To correct this, take your needle and thread, fasten
the end round the bone inside, and then push the needle
through the skin just opposite to it. Look on the outside,
and after finding the needle amongst the feathers, tack up
the thigh under the wing with several strong stitches.

This will shorten the thigh, and render it quite capable of
supporting the w7eight of the body without the help of
wire. This done, take out every bit of cotton, except the
artificial thighs, and adjust the w7ing-bones (which are con¬
nected by the thread) in the most even manner possible, so
that one joint does not appear to lie lower than the other ;
for unless they are quite equal, the wings themselves will
be unequal when you come to put them in their proper
attitude. Here then rests the shell of the poor hawk,
ready to receive, from your skill and judgment, the size,

344

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

the shape, the features and expression it had, ere death,
and your dissecting hand, brought it to its present still
and formless state. The cold hand of death stamps deep
its mark upon the prostrate victim. When the heart
ceases to heat, and the blood no longer courses through the
veins, the features collapse, and the whole frame seems to
shrink within itself. If then you have formed your idea
of the real appearance of the bird from a dead specimen,
you will be in error. With this in mind, and at the same
time forming* your specimen a trifle larger than life, to
make up for what it will lose in drying, you will reproduce
a bird that will please you.

It is now time to introduce the cotton for an artificial
body, by means of a little stick like a knitting-needle ; and
without any other aid or substance than that of this little
stick and cotton, your own genius must produce those
swellings and cavities, that just proportion, that elegance
and harmony of the whole, so much admired in animated
nature, so little attended to in preserved specimens. After
you have introduced the cotton, sew' up the orifice you
originally made in the belly, beginning at the vent. And
from time to time, till your arrive at the last stitch, keep
adding a little cotton, in order that there may be no defi¬
ciency there. Lastly, dip your stick into the solution, and
put it down the throat three or four times, in order that
every part may receive it.

When the head and neck are filled with cotton quite to
your liking, close the bill as in nature. A little bit of
bees’ wax, at the point of it, will keep the mandibles in
their proper place. A needle must be stuck into the
lower mandible perpendicularly. You will shortly see the
use of it. Bring also the feet together by a pin, and then
run a thread through the knees, by which you may draw
them to each other, as near as you judge proper. Nothing

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

345

now remains to be added but the eyes. With your little
stick make a hollow in the cotton within the orbit, and
introduce the glass eyes through the orbit. Adjust the
orbit to them, as in nature, and that requires no other
fastener.

Your close inspection of the eyes of animals will
already have informed you, that the orbit is capable of
receiving a much larger body than that part of the eye
which appears within it when in life. So that, were you
to proportion your eye to the size the orbit is capable of
receiving, it would be far too large. Inattention to this
has caused the eyes of every specimen, in the best cabi¬
nets of natural history, to be out of all proportion. To
prevent this, contract the orbit, by means of a very small
delicate needle and thread, at that part of it farthest from
the beak. This may be done with such nicety, that the
stitch cannot be observed ; and thus you have the artificial
eye in true proportion.

After this, touch the bill, orbits, feet, and former oil-
gland at the root of the tail, with the solution, and then
you have given to the hawk everything necessary, except
attitude, and a proper degree of elasticity, two qualities
very essential.

Procure any common ordinary box, fill one end of it,
about three-fourths up to the top, with cotton, forming a
sloping plane. Make a moderate hollow in it to receive
the bird. Now take the hawk in your hands, and, after
putting the wings in order, place it in the cotton, with its
legs in a sitting posture. The head will fall down. Never
mind. Get a cork, and run three pins into the end, just
like a three-legged stool. Place it under the bird’s bill,
and run the needle, which you formerly fixed there, into
the head of the cork. This will support the bird’s head
admirably. If you wish to lengthen the neck, raise the

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

346

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

cork, by putting more cotton under it. If the head is to be
brought forward, bring the cork nearer to the end of the
box. If it requires to be set backwards on the shoulders,
move back the cork.

As in drying, the back-part of the neck will shrink more
than the fore-part, and thus throw the beak higher than
you wish it to be, putting you in mind of a stargazing
horse, prevent this fault, by tying a thread to the beak,
and fastening it to the end of the box with a pin or needle.
If you choose to elevate the wings, do so, and support
them with cotton ; and should you wish to have them par¬
ticularly high, apply a little stick under each wing, and
fasten the end of them to the side of the box with a little
bees’ wax.

If you would have the tail expanded, reverse the order
of the feathers, beginning from the two middle ones.
When dry, replace them in their true order, and the tail
will preserve for ever the expansion you have given it. Is
the crest to be erect? move the feathers in a contrary
direction to that in which they lie, for a day or two, and
it will never fall down after.

Place the box anywhere in your room, out of the
influence of the sun, wind, and fire ; for the specimen must
dry very slowly, if you wish to reproduce every feature.
On this account the solution of corrosive sublimate is un¬
commonly serviceable ; for at the same time that it totally
prevents putrefaction, it renders the skin moist and flexible
for many days. While the bird is drying, take it out and
replace it in its position once every day. Then, if you see
that any part begins to shrink into disproportion, you can
easily remedy it.

The small covert feathers of the wings are apt to rise a
little, because the skin will come in contact with the bone
which remains in the wing. Pull gently the part that

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

347

rises, with your finger and thumb, for a day or two. Press preserv-
the feathers down. The skin will adhere no more to the ING BIRD8,
bone, and they will cease to rise.

Every now and then touch and retouch all the different
parts of the features, in order to render them distinct and
visible, correcting at the same time any harshness, or
unnatural risings or sinkings, flatness or rotundity. This
is putting the last finishing hand to it.

In three or four days the feet lose their natural elas¬
ticity, and the knees begin to stiffen. When you observe
this, it is time to give the legs any angle you wish, and
arrange the toes for a standing position, or curve them to
your finger. If you wish to set the bird on a branch, bore
a little hole under each foot, a little way up the leg ; and
having fixed two proportional spikes on the branch, you
can, in a moment, transfer the bird from your finger to it,
and from it to your finger, at pleasure.

When the bird is quite dry, pull the thread out of the
knees, take away the needle, &c., from under the bill, and
all is done. In lieu of being stiff with wires, the cotton
will have given a considerable elasticity to every part of
your bird ; so that, when perching on your finger, if you
press it down with the other hand, it will rise again. You
need not fear that your hawk will alter, or its colours fade.

The alcohol has introduced the sublimate into every part
and pore of the skin, quite to the roots of the feathers
Its use is twofold. 1st. It has totally prevented all ten¬
dency to putrefaction ; and thus a sound skin has attached
itself to the roots of the feathers. You may take hold of
a single one, and from it suspend five times the weight of
the bird. You may jerk it ; it will still adhere to the skin,
and, after repeated trials, often break short. 2dly. As no
part of the skin has escaped receiving particles of sub¬
limate contained in the alcohol, there is not a spot exposed

348

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

preserv- to the depredation of insects, for they will never venture
ing birds. |-0 attack any substance which has received corrosive
sublimate.

You are aware that corrosive sublimate is the most fatal
poison to insects that is known. It is antiputrescent ; so
is alcohol ; and they are both colourless ; of course they
cannot leave a stain behind them. The spirit penetrates
the pores of the skin with wonderful velocity, deposits
invisible particles of the sublimate, and flies off. The sub¬
limate will not injure the skin, and nothing can detach it
from the parts where the alcohol has left it.1

Furs of animals, immersed in this solution, will retain
their pristine brightness and durability in any climate.

Take the finest curled feather from a lady’s head, dip it
in the solution, and shake it gently till it be dry ; you will
find that the spirit will fly off in a few minutes, not a curl
in the feather will be injured, and the sublimate will pre¬
serve it from the depredation of the insect.

Perhaps it may be satisfactory to add here, that, some
years ago, I did a bird upon this plan in Demerara. It
remained there two years. It was then conveyed to
England, where it stayed five months, and returned to
Demerara. After being four years more there, it was
conveyed back again through the West Indies to England,
where it has now been near five years, un faded and
unchanged.

On reflecting that this bird has been twice in the tem¬
perate and torrid zone, and remained some years in the hot
and humid climate of Demerara, only six degrees from the
line, and where almost everything becomes a prey to the

1 All the feathers require to be touched with the solution, in order that
they may be preserved from the depredation of the moth. The surest way
of proceeding is, to immerse the bird in the solution of corrosive sublimate,
and then dry it before you begin to dissect it.

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

349

insect, and that it is still as sound and bright as when it
was first done, it will not be thought extravagant to
surmise that this specimen will retain its pristine form
and colours for years after the hand that stuffed it has
mouldered into dust.

I have shown this art to the naturalists in Brazil,
Cayenne, Demerara, Oroonoque, and Itome, and to the
royal cabinets of Turin and Florence. A severe accident
prevented me from communicating it to the cabinet of
Paris, according to my promise. A word or two more,
and then we will conclude.

A little time and experience will enable you to produce
a finished specimen. “Mox similis volucri, mox vera
volucris.” If your early performance should not corre¬
spond with your expectations, do not let that cast you
down. You cannot become an adept all at once. The
poor hawk itself, which you have just been dissecting,
waited to be fledged before it durst rise on expanded
pinion ; and had parental aid and frequent practice ere it
could soar with safety and ease beyond the sight of man.

Little more remains to be added, except that what has
been penned down with regard to birds may be applied,
in some measure, to serpents, insects, and four-footed
animals.

Should you find these instructions too tedious, let the
wish to give you every information plead in their defence.
They might have been shorter : but Horace says, by
labouring to be brief you become obscure.

If, by their means, you should be enabled to procure
specimens from foreign parts in better preservation than
usual, so that the naturalist may have it in his powrer to
give a more perfect description of them than has hitherto
been the case ; should they cause any unknown species to
be brought into public view, and thus add a little more to

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

350

ON PRESERVING BIRDS.

PRESERV¬
ING BIRDS.

the page of natural history, it will please me much. But
should they, unfortunately, tend to cause a wanton expense
of life ; should they tempt you to shoot the pretty song¬
ster warbling near your door, or destroy the mother, as she
is sitting on the nest to warm her little ones ; or kill the
father, as he is bringing a mouthful of food for their sup¬
port ; — oh, then ! — deep indeed will be the regret that I
ever wrote them.

Adieu,

Charles Waterton.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

EXP LAN ATOPY I NDEX.

A.

Acaiari. — This is the resinous gum of the Hayawa, or
Hiawa; tree, Idea heptaphylla.

It is reddish brown, rather translucent, and brittle. When
placed on the fire, or, even better, laid on a piece of iron
nearly red-hot, it melts and then forms bubbles, which on
breaking throw out puffs of a highly perfumed smoke, very
much resembling that of the purest incense. Mr. Waterton
gave me a large piece of it, and when describing the manners
and customs of Guiana to my guests I have often gratified
them with the fragrant smoke of the Acaiari. The natives
sometimes burn lumps of it as torches.

In his Essays , Waterton frequently gives disconnected
pieces of information which are extremely useful when
employed as additions to the Wanderings. For example,
when treating of the trade winds, he makes the following
remarks on the acaiari gum

“ In Guiana there is a tree called ITayawa ; it produces a
deliciously-smelling resin, fit for incense. When the Indians
stop on the banks of a river for the night, they are much in
the habit of burning this resin for its fine and wholesome
scent. It is found in a hard and lumpy state, all down the
side of the tree from which it has oozed. It is also seen on
the foot of the tree, and incorporated with the sand.

A

354

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

“ When we had taken up our nightly quarters on the bank
of the Essequibo, many a time we perceived this delightful
fragrance of the Hayawa, which came down the bed of the
river to the place where we were, in a direction quite opposite to
the trade wind. My Indians knew by this that other Indians
were encamped for the night on the river side above us.”

In appearance the Acaiari much resembles the kaurie or
cowdie gum of New Zealand, which exudes from a species of
pine, and, like the Acaiari, is often found in large lumps im¬
bedded in the sand. It is imported in great quantities, as an
excellent varnish is made of it.

The Hayawa tree grows plentifully on the Essequibo in
loose sandy soil. The wood is not much used because it
decays on exposure to weather, but, on account of its per¬
fume, it is recommended for naturalist’s boxes and cabinets.
It runs to about fifty feet in height. The gum is sometimes
known as Resin of Konima.

Acouri ( Dasyprocta acouchi). — This is one of the Cavies, of
which there are several species. The teeth, which are used
as sights for the blow-gun, are the two incisors of the lower
jaw. A lump of “ kurumanni ” wax is heated and fixed to
the tube. The teeth are then laid upon it nearly parallel
to each other, with the convex side upwards, and pressed into
the wax. When the weapon is brought to this country, the
wax becomes brittle, and the teeth are apt to be broken off.
In travelling, the only hope of preserving this ingenious back¬
sight, is by wrapping it in a piece of linen, and then covering
it with a thick layer of tow or cotton wool.

The size of the Acouri is about equal to that of a large
rabbit, and its flesh can be eaten, although it is very dry and
has scarcely a particle of fat.

Acuero. — Sometimes called Aquiro (Astrocaryon aculeatum).
A species of palm. The fruit is used in lieu of butter, and
the seeds, which are spherical, very hard, and as black as
ebony, are cut into table-napkin rings, Ac., just like the nut
of the vegetable ivory.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

355

AEta ( Mauritia Jlexuosa). — This is a palm, which, in favour¬
able situations, attains an enormous size, sometimes being
upwards of a hundred feet in height before the branches, or
rather leaves, are reached. As this great palm is widely
spread and is conspicuous, it has received various names.
Waterton calls it AEta, spelt by others Ita or Itah. But
the name by which it is most generally known is Moriche, or
Murichi. Of this splendid palm, Kingsley writes as follows
in At Last : —

“The noble Moriche palm delights in wet, at least in
Trinidad and on the lower Orinoco; but Schomburgk describes
forests of them — if, indeed, it be the same species — as growing
in the mountains of Guiana up to an altitude of four thousand
feet.

“ The soil in which they grow here is half pitch pavement,
half loose brown earth, and over both, shallow pools of water,
wTiich will become much deeper in the wet season ; and all
about float or lie their pretty fruit, the size of an apple, and
scaled like a fir cone. They are last year's, empty and de¬
cayed. The ripe fruit contains first a rich pulpy nut, and at
last a hard cone, something like that of the vegetable ivory
palm ( Phytelephas macrocarpa) which grows in the mainland,
but not here. Delicious they are, and precious to monkeys
and parrots, as wTell as to the Orinoco Indians, among whom
the Jamunacs, according to Humboldt, say, that when a man
and woman survived that great deluge, which the Mexicans
call the age of water, they cast behind them, over their heads,
the fruits of the Moriche palm, as Deucalion and Pyrrha cast
stones, and saw the seeds in them produce men and women,
wTho re-peopled the earth. No wonder, indeed that certain
tribes look on this tree as sacred, or that the missionaries
should have named it the tree of life.”

Humboldt gives the following eloquent account of this
palm in his Personal Narrative : —

“ In the season of inundations these clumps of Mauritia,
■with their leaves in the form of a fan, have the appearance

A A

356

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

of a forest rising from the bosom of the waters. The navi¬
gator in proceeding along the channels of the delta of the
Orinoco at night, sees with surprise the summit of the palm-
trees illumined by large fires. These are the habitations of
the Guaraons (Tivitivas and Waraweties of Raleigh), which
are suspended from the trunks of the trees. These tribes hang
up mats in the air, which they fill with earth, and kindle
on a layer of moist clay the fire necessary for their household
wants. They have owed their liberty and their political in¬
dependence for ages to the quaking and swampy soil, which
they pass over in the time of drought, and on which they
alone know how to walk in security to their solitude in the
delta of the Orinoco, to their abode on the trees, where
religious enthusiasm will probably never lead any American
Stylites.

“ The Mauritia palm-tree, the tree of life of the missionaries,
not only affords the Guaraons a safe dwelling during the
risings of the Orinoco, but its shelly fruit, its farinaceous
pith, its juice, abounding in saccharine matter, and the fibres
of its petioles, furnish them with food, wine, and thread
proper for making cords and weaving hammocks. These
customs of the Indians of the delta of the Orinoco were found
formerly in the Gulf of Darien (Uraba), and in the greater
part of the inundated lands between the Guerapiche and the
mouths of the Amazon. It is curious to observe in the lowest
degree of human civilization the existence of a whole tribe
depending on one single species of palm-tree, similar to those
insects which feed on one and the same flower, or on one and
the same part of a plant.’'

The word Guaraon, here used by Humboldt, is another
rendering of the word Warow, one of the native tribes, a
branch of which chooses this curious life.

Travellers in the country where the Moriche grows, are in
the habit of using sandals made of the basal part of the leaf¬
stalk. They do not last long, and have to be renewed every
third day. But, as the Moriche is always plentiful, and any

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

357

native can make these sandals as well as twist the thongs
from the outer fibres of the same leaf, there is no difficulty
in keeping up the supply.

Ai. — See Sloth, Three-toed.

Albicore ( Thynnus pacificus). — As its scientific name im¬
plies, it is closely related to the celebrated tunny. It is a
voracious fish, and is easily taken by a hook when there is
a smart breeze, and the ship is going swiftly through the
water, but in a calm, the Albicore becomes suspicious, and
will not come near the ship.

Alligator. — See Cayman.

Anhinga (. Plotus anhinga). — This very remarkable bird
belongs to the important group of the Pelicans, and is a
mighty catcher of fish. It pursues its prey in a most singular

ANJHXGA.

fashion. It crawls along some rock or tree-stump, which
overhangs the water, and sits so motionless that it is
scarcely distinguishable. When it sees a fish within reach, it

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

358

drops into the water so silently that the river seems as if it
were made of oil. It is an excellent swimmer, keeping its
body submerged, and writhing its long and pliant neck in so
serpentine a manner that it has often been mistaken for a
water- snake.

In consequence of a habit of darting its long neck and
pointed beak through the foliage among which it is resting,
it has been called the Darter. Sometimes it is known by the
name of Ducklar.

Ant, Black ( Ponera grandis). — It is one of the largest and
most venomous of the Ants, and is here given of its natural
si ze.

The sting of this Ant is not only painful, but absolutely
dangerous. Mr. Brown mentions that one of his men nearly
lost his life from the stings of three of these terrible Ants.

flREAT BLACK ANT (ML'NIRT).

Indeed, so much are they dreaded, that travellers have been
fairly turned out of their houses by the entrance of only a
few Muniris, as they are called.

Ant, Coushie ( (Ecodoma cephalotes). — Coushies are veritable
plagues in tropical America. They make burrows in all
directions, sometimes entering houses and giving no notice of
their presence until their tunnel is broken, in which case, the
inhabitants have to vacate the premises for a time. I knew
of an instance where the Coushies ruined a gold mine for a

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

359

time, breaking into it with a tunnel some eighty yards in
length, and letting in a torrent of water, which broke down
the machinery, and washed away all the supports, so that the
mine had to be dug afresh.

Moreover, the stronghold of the Coushies had to be dis¬
covered and destroyed, a long and costly task, only to be
undertaken by men who make it their special business.

COUSHIE ANT.

When a tunnel has been traced to the nest, a large dome is
built over it, filled with wood and sulphur, and closed except
a few openings for the admission of air.

The wood is then lighted, bellows are inserted into the
holes, and negro slaves work the bellows day and night until
all the fuel is exhausted. Perhaps there may be a dozen
burrows radiating from the nest. These are discovered by
the smoke rising from their entrances, which are stopped up
and marked.

When the fire has ceased, the holes for the bellows are
stopped, and the nest is left for several days, so that not one
Ant is left in it alive. Then the tunnels are laid open from
beginning to end, and filled up with clay rammed into them.
The tropical sun soon bakes the clay as hard as brick, and
not .until then is the locality considered as safe.

Mr. C. B. Brown met with rather a ludicrous incident in
which the Coushies were caught in their own trap : —

“ I had a small tin can, shaped like a sandwich box, with a
layer of cork in the bottom, in which I pinned any curious
insects met with. One night our camp was not far from the

360

E XPL AN ATO RY IN DEX.

large earth -mounds of the Cushi ant ( (Ecodoma cephalotes),
and a hand of these creatures got into the insect case, de¬
posited their loads of earth, and then set to work to destroy
all my small but choice collection in the most heartless
manner. They were unable to carry off the insects, after
cutting them up, owing to the curved shape of the sides of the
box preventing their egress, and were thus neatly trapped.”

This insect is sometimes called by the name of Saiiba.

Ant, Small Red ( Myrmica scevissima). — This is popularly
called the Fire Ant, on account of the sharpness of its sting.
The same traveller, who trapped the cousliies, himself fell a
victim to the Fire Ant

“ At this place I observed a tall, straight sapling, with a
regularly arranged style of branches in one or two sets near
its top. Taking a machete, or cutlass, I gave the tree a blow
with the intention of cutting it down, and was in the act of
raising my hand to deliver another, when I received two or
three sharp stings on the back of the neck, which felt like
sparks of fire, and produced such a demoralizing effect upon
my nerves, that I dropped the cutlass and fled.

11 1 hastily raised my hand to my neck, and seized two or
three long-bodied, amber- coloured Ants, which had been dis¬
lodged from the tree by the jar produced by the blow, and
had fallen upon me. These Ants always inhabit this kind of
tree, living at the base of its leaf-stalks. The pain did not
leave me for over an hour afterwards, and made me feel
exceedingly ruffled and wroth.”

Several travellers have told me that each sting feels like a
red-hot needle thrust into the skin, the only difference being
that the pain of the needle would soon die away, while that
of the sting remains.

There is much more to be said about the Ants of Guiana,
but space is too limited for further description.

Ants’ nests in trees. — These are evidently Termites, so
generally miscalled White Ants. One of their nests is well
described by C. Kingsley : —

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

361

“We passed too, in the path, an object curious enough, if
not beautiful. Up a smooth stem ran a little rib, seemingly
of earth and dead wood, almost straight, and about half an
inch across, leading to a great brown lump among the branches,
as big as a bushel basket. We broke it open, and found it
a covered gallery, swarming with life. Brown, ant-like crea¬
tures, white, maggot like creatures, of several shapes and
sizes, were hurrying up and down, as busy as human beings
in Cheapside. They were Termites, “ white ants of which
of the many species I know not — and the lump above was
their nest. But why they should find it wisest to pack their
nest aloft is as difficult to guess, as to guess why they take
the trouble to build this gallery up to it, instead of walking
up the stem in the open air. It may be that they are afraid
of birds. It may be, too, that they actually dislike the
light. At all events, the majority of them — the workers and
soldiers, I believe, without exception — are blind, and do all
their work by an intensely developed sense of touch, and it
may be of smell and hearing also. Be that as it may, we
should have seen them, had we had time to wait, repair the
breach in the gallery, with as much discipline and division of
labour as average human workmen in a manufactory.”

Ants’ nests on ground. Also Termites.

Ant-Bear, or Great Ant-eater, (Myrmecophaga jubata)-
— Waterton’s statement that it could be a dangerous foe was
long discredited. Now, as Waterton has rescued so many
animals from the evil report that they were dangerous, he
might have been believed when he said that the Ant-bear,
though it never attacks without provocation, is a terrible
antagonist when irritated. As usual, Waterton was right and
the critics wrong. In Brown’s Canoe Life in Guiana there is
a story of a doubly fatal fight between an Ant-bear and a
native, which completely corroborates Waterton’s statement.

“ We had not gone many miles before the guide lost the
path, and we all scattered to look for it. In doing so, I
walked almost on the top of a sleeping Ant-bear, which,

362

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

springing up, sat on its hind legs, and grasped at me with
its huge fore -claws. I sprang quickly to one side, and thus
escaped. Thinking that it was good eating, I shot it, but
the Indians said that it was not wholesome food, although,
from the great interest they took in seeing it killed, I thought
it was. [Waterton says that its flesh is good eating.]

“ These large Ant-eaters are very dangerous customers,
and have been known to kill men. William told me that an

GREAT AXT-BEAR.

Indian, living near Roraima, was hunting in the forest to the
north of that mountain with some others, armed with his long
blow pipe. In returning home, considerably in advance of
the rest of the party, it is supposed that he saw a young
Ant-eater, and, taking it up in his arms, was carrying it
home, when its mother gave chase, overtook, and killed him ;
for, when his companions came up, they found him lying
dead on his face in the embrace of the Ant-bear, one of its
large claws having entered his heart. In the struggle he
had managed to stick his knife behind his back into the
animal, which bled to death, but not before the poor fellow
had succumbed to its terrible hug.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

363

“ It was evident that he had only heard the Ant-eater
coming when it was close upon him, and in turning round
to look, his blow-pipe got caught across the path in front of
him; then, as he turned to run, it formed a bar to his pro-

L1TTLE ANT-BEAR.

gress, and he fell over it as the animal seized him. So firmly
had the animal grappled him, that to separate it from the
corpse the Indians had to cut off its fore-legs.

Ant-Bear (Smaller Cyclothurus didactylus ”)

364

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

This is a very much smaller animal than the Great Ant-
bear, and while the one feeds on insects which it finds in the
ground, so does the other subsist on the ants and termites
which live in trees. Its tail is long and prehensile, and when
dissected its ribs are seen to be so flat, so thin, and so wide
that this part of the skeleton reminds the observer of the
bands of an armadillo. The very characteristic sketch of a
Little Ant-eater in repose was drawn by a lady, and lent to
the late C. Kingsley, from whose delightful At Last it is
taken.

Ant-birds. — These are also called Ant-Tlirushes, and belong
to the genus Pitta. They are all thick-boclied birds, with large
heads, long legs, short tails, and very strong bills, as perhaps
is needful, considering the food on which they almost entirely
subsist. The largest of them is called the Giant Pitta, and
is about equal in size to our English rook. It is a native of
Surinam.

Several species of Ant-Thrush are to be found in India
They find an English representative in the well-known
Dipper of our streams and lakes.

Apron. — This ornament, for it can hardly be called a dress,
is made of various sizes, the average being that of the beautiful
example shown in the illustration, and drawn from a specimen
in my collection. It is eight inches in width, and four in
depth, and the colours are most artistically arranged, so as
to produce definite patterns in blue, yellow, green, carmine
chalk-white, and opaque vermilion. Other specimens are
rather larger, and some are not half the size. According to
Mr. C. B. Brown, the Accoway tribe seem to be the best
Apron makers.

“ I started from the Weynamou landing and walked to the
village, which consisted of four or five palm-thatched houses
with open sides, situated in a clearing, in which dwelt some
Ackawoise Indians.

“I was struck with the manner in which the men of the
place wore their hair, allowing it to grow long and fall far

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

365

below their shoulders, giving them a very feminine appear¬
ance. The head man had his hair bound round at the end
with cord in such a manner that it stuck out at a right angle
behind. The old fellow’s corporation projected in front quite
as far as his pig-tail did behind, and gave him a most ridicu¬
lous appearance. Neither men nor women had eyebrows,
having, according to Indian custom, plucked them out. Their
upper lips and both sides of the mouth were tattooed with
blue curved lines. The dress of the women was exceedingly
simple, consisting only of a small cotton and bead-work
apron, made fast to a cotton cord round the body above the

APRON.

hips. The apron, called a ‘ queyou,’ is manufactured by the
wearer in a most ingenious manner, each bead being slipped
on the cotton thread in its proper place as it is being woven.
The patterns of these dresses are marked out with red, blue,
and white beads, and they generally have an ornamented
border.”

Aras. — These magnificent birds are popularly known as
Macaws. The Blue and Yellow Macaw is scientifically termed
Ara arcirauna , and the Scarlet and Blue Macaw is Ara macao.
Both birds are tamed by the natives, and kept about their
houses, in company with spider monkeys and other pets.
Their long and splendid tail feathers are much used in the

366

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

manufacture of he id dresses, some fine examples of which are
in Waterton’s museum.

Armadillo ( Dasypus sexcinctus). — There are several species
of Armadillo, but this is the one mentioned by Waterton.
The Nine-banded Armadillo is called Cachicame.

Arrows, Bloiv-gun. — These wonderful little Arrows are
about nine or ten inches in length, and not thicker than a
lady’s steel knitting-needle. Indeed, these Arrows (without

the poison) would answer very well for knitting. The leaf-
rib of the coucourite palm is, when dry, very hard and elastic,
although like steel, it combines brittleness with hardness and
elasticity. It is also a heavy wood, for Arrows made of light

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

367

woods never fly true. I have made imitations of these Arrows
in many kinds of wood, and found yew to be the best. The
end which is destined to receive the poison is beautifully
tapered by means of the pirai tooth sharpener, and can, in
consequence of its hardness, be brought to a wonderfully fine
point. Owing to their very small size, a hundred or more can
be carried in the quiver, and they are arranged as shown in
the illustration, taken from my own specimens.

The first illustration represents a few of these Arrows linked
together as described.

I may mention that the strings at the ends of the central
stick are double. The Arrows are laid one by one between the
strings, a single turn being made between each Arrow, and
they are kept in their places by a couple of sliding knots,
which can be moved up and down the strings. The Arrows,
when in their places, bear some resemblance to the peculiar
mats used for cream cheeses, and perhaps a still greater re¬
semblance to the parallel straws once employed by milliners
in the operation of “gauffring” muslin, crape, and other fine
textures.

BLOW-GUN ARROWS ROLLED AND TIED.

It will be seen that the Arrows can be rolled round the
stick and tied together, and if one of the Arrows be wanted, it
can easily be pushed between the spokes of the wheel wfithout
disturbing the roll.

By some tribes, the wheel is not employed, but the stick
projects sufficiently to protect the hand, and is generally
forked at the top.

Now for the Arrow as prepared for the blow-gun. The
wild cotton, to which Waterton alludes, is soft, yellow in

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

308

colour, and fine in fibre, but the fibres are too short to fit it
for manufacture into thread, and for this purpose the native
has recourse to another plant belonging to the genus Gossypium,
or to the silk-grass.

The accompanying illustration shows the Arrow when com¬
plete. In order to make the cotton adhere better to the
Arrow, the latter is slightly rubbed with Kurumanni wax,
and some of the cotton moulded round it in a sort of spindle

BT.OW-GUN ARROW COMPLETE.

shape. It is, in the thickest part, slightly wider than the
tube of the blow-gun, so as to leave no windage when pro¬
pelled by the breath.

One of the chief difficulties in putting in the cotton is to
make it exactly symmetrical, for if one side be in the least
longer than the other, it cannot fly straight. The cotton is
tied on in a sort of chequer patten, with a very fine fibre of
silk grass, and some time is occupied in doing it properly.
But, a native cares nothing about time, especially when a
faulty Arrow may cost him a meal.

He generally prepares about ten or twelve for the blow-
gun, leisurely fitting and tying the cotton while lying in his
hammock. These are kept in the quiver for present use, the
others forming a reserve. Should he miss his aim while shoot¬
ing, he does not search for his Arrow, but takes another.

The force with which these tiny weapons can be projjelled
is really wonderful. They can kill birds on the tops of lofty
trees where they are far beyond the reach of a shot gun. I have
sent them a hundred yards, and have no doubt that a Macoushi
Indian could project them much farther. They are perfectly
noiseless, and next to invisible, so that when one bird is shot,
another on the same tree will not take alarm.

Arrows, Fish. — These are of considerable length, some of

EXP LA N ATO K Y IXD EX.

809

them being six feet long. How they are made and used is
shown by Mr. C. B. Brown in his work on Guiana.

“Our men frequently shot deep-bodied, silvery scaled fish,
called cartabac ( Tetrajonopterus latus), and another somewhat
similar fish called pacu ( Myletes pacu) . The male of the
latter has a large deep body of a dull goldfish colour, while
the female is of a dull bluish brown. Their flesh is firm, and
of a peculiarly pleasant nutty flavour. They have even rows
of teeth shaped like the incisors of mammals. These fish
browse upon the aquatic plants in the swift running wafer,
and are easily shot, when feeding near the surface, by those
skilled in the use of the bow and arrow.

“The bows that our men used for this purpose had been
procured from the Indians of the interior. They were very
long and straight, and made of hard red wood. The shafts

of the Arrows were made of long straight reeds — the flower-
stalks of the wild cane— tightly bound to a short piece of
extremely tough wood inserted at one end, called a ‘ shimara-
sherie ’ or ‘wire-cash.’ The end of the latter fits into an iron
arrow-head, to which it is attached by a piece of cord in such
a way, that wrhen the point pierces the fish the barbed bead
comes off the arrow end, but still remains attached to it by
the cord. This allows the shaft freer play, so that during the
struggles of the fish it is not broken. Sometimes a light
cotton cord of about fifteen feet in length is made fast to the
wire-cash, one end being attached to the left hand of the
fisherman. When the fish is within a short distance of the
man the latter lets fly the Arrow, and aiming a few inches

B B

370

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

below the fish, to allow for refraction, strikes it in the body.
The fish, pierced by the barbed point which remains in it,
being now in direct communication with the man's hand by
means of the cord, is easily landed.”

The illustration of the head of one of these arrows is taken
from a specimen in my collection. The ‘ shimara-sherie ’ is
made of letter- wood, q.v., which is weighty as well as hard, so
that, together with the iron head, the fore part of the arrow
is heavy enough to enable the weapon to penetrate the water.
Sometimes it is used for catching turtle, and then is shot high
into the air so as to fall perpendicularly on the turtle’s back.

Arrow, Hog. — This weapon is quite as large as the fish
arrow which has just been described, and, with the exception
of the head, is made in much the same manner. It is used
for shooting wild hogs, capybara, tapirs, and the larger
monkeys. One of the principal objects in putting the head
loosely into a square, or rather, oblong hole, is, that the shaft
falls to the ground, and can be picked up by the hunter and
used again with a fresh point. Thus, he need not trouble
himself to carry more than a couple of shafts, and, as a
Guianan native never takes any trouble that he can avoid,
this arrangement suits him admirably.

I once happened to say to Waterton that I supposed a
native could easily sit down and make a fresh Arrow, and was

HOG-ARROW.

immediately ‘pulled up’ as having shown ignorance of the
native customs. Tor, as Waterton graphically put it, an
Indian never runs if he can walk, never walks if he can
sit, and never sits if he can lie down. All Arrow making
is done while lying in the hammock.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

371

The illustration represents the head of one of the Arrows
in my collection, one figure showing it as ready to be placed
on the bow, and the other as covered with its bamboo guard.
The native is so cautious about the wourali, that he never
uses any cutting instrument when the poison is uncovered,
lest he might scratch himself, and some of the wourali find its
way into the wound. He never carries the hog-arrow without
its guard, and if an uncovered arrow be pointed at him, he is
as much frightened as we should be if aimed at with a loaded
rifle.

The feathers are generally those of the wild turkey.

Arrow, Rappu or Poison-wood.— I cannot find that this
weapon is anywhere mentioned by Waterton, although he
brought home many specimens, and gave me several of them,
describing their properties, which are very nearly identical
with those of wourali. Mr. C. B. Brown gives an amusing
account of a controversy between three hunters. One named
Parmu was well ahead of the others, shot a wild hog with a
Rappu Arrow, and, knowing that it must fall, went after the
rest of the herd, leaving the poisoned head in the wound.
Presently, another hunter came up, fired at the hcg, and as it
did not run away, thought that he had inflicted a fatal wound.
Hunter number three now came up, and aEo fired with the
same result.

“On the return of the men, this hog was knocked on the
head, the poisoned Arrow pulled out, and the animal brought
to the boat, when Ben claimed it as the result of his prowess.
Griffiths was astounded at this, declaring that he had slain it
himself. When, however, it had been scalded and scraped, it
w'as found that not a single shot had touched it, and the
Arrow head formed its only wound. The subject was a sore
one for both men after their warm discussion, and it vras fre¬
quently brought up by the rest of the party, when the topic
of conversation turned on shooting.”

o

The same traveller thus describes the manufacture of the
Arrow.

b r 2

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

372

“We arrived at a smooth, open river beyond the Rappu
Rapids. The islands in these rapids and a river near by are
so called from the existence of a peculiar species of tall and
graceful bamboo which flourishes there, not being found
further north. Pieces of the stem of this bamboo are dried
and used by the Indians as Arrow heads, which are said to
possess similar properties to the far-famed wourali poison.
They split up the stem, and dry the pieces over a fire, and
then shape them into lance-heads, which they fasten on the
ends of Arrows. Wild animals wounded by these Arrows are
at once completely paralyzed, and in that condition easily
despatched. This bamboo is tall, growing -singly, and not in
clumps, from a mass of matted roots, like the common
bamboo.”

The heads are about six inches in length, and are shaped
like willow leaves.

For the quivers employed for the blow-gun and hog-arrows,
see “Quiver.”

Arrow-reed (Gyncecium saccharinum .)- — It is described on
page 369.

Arrow-root (Maranta arundinaceci.) — This is a sort of
cane, with broad, branching leaves and white flowers.
Several species are cultivated for food.

Awning, Canvas. — Later travellers have proved the value
of Waterton’s experience. Nothing is so certain to bring on
the dreaded fever than the drenching rain which is so common
in Guiana, especially when the rain-storm comes on at night.
As the average temperature at night rarely varies more than
from 73° to 85° Fahr. the traveller can sleep in the open air
without inconvenience, so far as regards heat and cold. Against
rain, however, he must guard, and such a waterproofed canvas
awning as Waterton describes is found to answer that
purpose admirably.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

O^Q
O < « >

B.

Bamboo (Banibusa arundinacea.) — The many uses to which
this gigantic grass is put are too well known to require notice.

Banana [Musa sapientium.) — One of the strangest of plants.
It scarcely ever grows wild, and has been so long propagated
by cuttings that it has lost the power of seeding, except in
the Andaman Islands, where it does produce seeds, some of
which have been sent to England by the late C. Kingsley,
who thus writes of it : —

“ Most beautiful it is. The lush, fat, green stem ; the
crown of huge leaves falling over in curves like those of

BANANA,

human limbs ; and below the whorls of green or golden
fruit, with the purple heart of flowers dangling behind them;
and all so full of life that this splendid object is the product of
a fere months.

374

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

“ L am told that if you cut the stem off at certain seasons,
you may see the young leaf actually move upwards from within,
and grow before your eyes ; and that each stem of plantain
will bear from thirty to sixty pounds of rich food during the
year of its short life.”

Another plantain ( Musa pciradisaica) bears large fruits
which require to be cooked, while the fruit of the banana is
eaten raw.

Bell-bird. — See “ Campanero.”

Bf.te-rouge. — This horrible little pest much resembles our
harvest bug in colour, size and habits. It is a minute species
of tick, belonging to the genus Leptus , and causes tide most
violent irritation when it attacks a human being. As its
principal haunts are in grassy spots, the feet are generally
exposed to its onslaught, but it will make its way between
the collar and neck, or on the wrists, and, being so small,
scarcely larger than the dot of the letter i, it is seldom dis¬
covered until the mischief is done.

Indeed, there seems to be no mode of evading it. Mr. C.
B. Brown mentions that he once thought that he had found a
new species of Maam, both sides of the head being marked
with a scarlet patch. But, on examining the bird closer, he
found that the scarlet patches were nothing but clusters of
the Bete-rouge.

Bis a. Monkey ( Brachyurus satanas.) —

Sometimes this monkey is called the Bearded Saki, or
Cuxio. The male is a much deeper black than the female.
It seems to be more solitary in its habits than the generality
of its tribe, and to live rather in pairs than companies. It
seems fearful of wetting its beard, and, when it drinks, scoops
up the water in the hollow of its hand.

The name is sometimes spelled Beeshu.

Blow-gun. Sometimes called Pucuna. The beautifully
perfect specimen given to me by Waterton is exactly eleven
feet in length, and is yet so light that it is only a little
more than a pound and a half in weight. For the various

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

375

materials from which it is made see “Wourali,” “Ourah,”
“ Samourah,” “ Silk-grass,” “ Acuero,” Ac.

The back-sight is made in a very ingenious manner. See
“ Acouri.”

Slight as is the pucuna it is much stronger than it looks,
and when held to the lips scarcely curves at all. The mode

BISA MONKEY.

of holding it is rather curious, and was taught me by
Waterton.

Artists generally represent it as held to the mouth with
the right hand, and resting upon the left hand, the arm being
stretched to its furthest extent. This is all wrong. When
taking aim the native hunter places his left elbow against
his side, with the palm of the hand turned upwards, just as
if he were handling a violin, and grasps the tube about eight
inches from the end. The right hand is next placed on it,
with the palm downwards, so that when the tube is grasped,
about two inches project from the hands.

It will then be found that merely by bending the body
backwards the tube can be raised or lowered with scarcely

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

37(5

any exertion, the left elbow supporting its weight, and the
muscles of the loins supplying the power. The Macoushies
are very fastidious as to the straightness of
| the pucuna, which they never allow to lean

against a tree, but always suspend by a
loop just below the foresight. When on foot,
they never carry the pucuna horizontally, as
we ‘ trail ’ arms, but hold it perpendicularly,
and keep it as upright as the vegetation will
permit. In fact, the position of the holder is
almost identical with that of a soldier when
‘ ordering arms.’

There is a shorter and much heavier Blow-
gun used by some tribes. It has no ourah,
and is made of a young palm, first split, then
hollowed, then put together and bound spirally
with vegetable fibre.

Boat-Bill. — See “ Crabier.”

Boclora ( Trogon melanopterus ). — This species
of Trogon seems to have a wider range than
the generality of its kind. Mr. C. B. Brown
was fortunate enough to have an opportunity
of watching the bird and her young.

“ Close to my tent at that place there was
the nest of a common dark-coloured trogon,
called Bowclora, which merely consisted of a
hole scooped out of a large, round termite’s
nest, built on the stem of a tree. In it were
two young ones which kept up a most doleful
whistling all day, while the mother sat on a
tree-bough near by, being afraid, from our
near proximity, to approach them.”

From examination of the stomach of the
Boclora, its food seems to be of a rather mixed nature, portions
of fruit and the remains of insects, chiefly the mantis, being
found in it.

BLOW -GUN

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

cy~~ ry

Oi (

Bois Immortelle ( Erythrina umbrosa). — The following de¬
scription of this splendid tree is given by C. Kingsley : —

“ Among the young cacao-trees, at some twenty yards
apart, are the stems of a tree looking much like an ash,
save that it is inclined to throw out broad spurs like a ceiba
(cotton- tree). You look up, and see that they are Bois Im¬
mortelles, fifty or sixty feet high, one blaze of vermilion
against the blue sky.

“Those who have stood under a Lombardy poplar in early
spring, and looked up at its buds and twigs, showing like
pink coral against the blue sky, and have felt the beauty of
the sight, can imagine faintly — but only faintly — the beauty
of this ‘ Madres de Cacao ’ or Cacao-mothers, as they call
them here, because their shade is supposed to shelter the
cacao-trees, while the dew collected by their leaves keeps the
ground below always damp.”

Both scientific names of this gorgeous tree are appropriate.
The first is derived from a Greek word, signifying red, and
the second is Latin and means shady. The magnificent
flowers are greatly frequented by humming birds.

Bonito ( Pelamys sarda). — This well known fish seldom
reaches a yard in length. Its flesh is eaten, but does not
agree with many persons. One of my friends told me that he
once had several attacks of virulent nettlerash, before he found
out that he had been eating Bonito flesh. At the time, I was
suffering from violent rash caused by handling the beautiful
“ canker-worm,” i.e. the caterpillar of the gold-tailed moth,
and on seeing my face and hands, my friend thought that I
had been eating Bonito to find out what it was like, and was
paying the price of curiosity. I never saw the flesh, but
am told by those who have often eaten it, that it is very red
and has much the look of fresh meat. The fish maybe recognised
by the longitudinal brown streaks on the belly.

Bouradi. See “ Toucan.”

Buletre ( Mimusops Batata). — Sometimes called Burueh.
One of the giant-trees of Guiana, with a reddish brown trunk,

378

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

and rising to the height of a hundred and fifty feet. From
its bark, when cut, exudes a milky white sap, which, when
congealed, produces a gum partaking of the properties of
caoutchouc and gutta percha. This gum appears not to
have reached the English market.

Once in every five years it bears an abundant store of ex¬
cellent fruit, much like an English plum, and the tree is so
gigantic that a single trunk will produce a log of a yard
square and a hundred feet in length. The wood is superior
to oak except for shipbuilding, sea- water injuring its other¬
wise incorruptible texture. Like the cotton-tree (q.v.), the
trunk throws out spurs of great size.

The timber merchants call it Bullet, or Bully-tree, and as
the wood is not injured by weather, it is used for house-
frames, posts, and shingles. Another kind of Bullet-wood
is procured from the Sapota Mulleri.

Bushmaster. — See “ Couanacouchi.”

Bush-Rope. — This is a general name applied to a vast
number of climbing plants, which grow in the remarkable
way described by Waterton. They are also known by the
popular name of Liana. Schomburgk gives the following
description of one species of Bush Hope : —

“As we forced our way through the wood, we were greeted,
from time to time, by the finest perfume, which we traced to
a liana, or creeper, and one of the Bush-ropes of the colonists.
Its sweet-smelling plant was Schnella brachystachya, with
white flowers, of which the largest patch was spotted with
pink, growing in voluminous clusters, its stem twisted and
contorted in so remarkable a manner, as well to deserve the
name of Bush- rope.

“ To describe the various ways in which these twists and
contortions take place would be difficult. Sometimes the stem
is as delicate as a ribbon, wffiile at others it presents a bundle
of stems so closely twined together, as to make it no easy
matter to separate them with an axe.”

Some of these Bush-ropes are very pliant, will bear any

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

379

amount of twisting, and are much, used for house building.
They go by the name of Mamouril. Others are so brittle
that they snap if tied in knots or twisted. Stedman compares
the appearance of the tropical forest with its tall tree trunks
and interlacing bush-ropes to that of a fleet at anchor, a
comparison afterwards employed by Waterton.

Cabbage, Mountain ( Oreodoxa oleracea). — One of the most
beautiful of the Palms. The topmost shoot is popularly
called the “ cabbage,” and is a very excellent vegetable for
the table. As the palm dies when the central shoot is de¬
stroyed, the usual plan is to cut it down, knowing that there
are plenty of others ready to take the place of those which
are destroyed.

Kingsley well described his first sight of the Cabbage
Palm : —

“Grey pillars, which seemed taller than the tallest poplars,
smooth and cylindrical as those of a Doric temple, each
carrying a flat head of darkest green, were ranged along
roadsides and round fields, or stood in groups or singly, near
engine works, or towered above rich shrubberies which
shrouded comfortable country houses. It was not easy, as
I have said, to believe that these strange and noble things
were trees ; but such they were. At last we beheld, with
wonder and delight, the pride of the West Indies, the
Cabbage-palm — Palnristes of the French settlers — which
botanists have well named Oreodoxa, the ‘ glory of the
mountain. ’

“We saw them afterwards a hundred times in their own
native forests, and when they rose through tangled masses of
richest vegetation mixed with other and smaller species of
palms, their form, fantastic though it was, harmonized well
with hundreds of forms equally fantastic. But here they
seemed, at first sight, out of place, incongruous, and artificial,
standing amid no kindred forms, and towering over a cultiva¬
tion and civilisation which might have been mistaken, seen
from the sec, for wealthy farms along some English shore.

380

EXPLANATORY IN BEX.

Gladly would we have gone on shore, were it but to have
stood a while under those Palmistes.”

It is the custom that when a spot has been cleared for the
purpose of building a house, a few Cabbage palms are left
standing round it.

Camoudi ( Eunectes marinus). — One of the giants among
snakes, more generally known by the title of Anaconda. It
is sometimes called Huillia. The snake is generally found
near water, and is apt to be dangerous when large. Mr. C. B.
Brown remarks that whenever a Camoudi is killed, two king
vultures, q.v., will come and take possession of it. Waterton
noticed the same fact. When gorged, it is in the habit of
lying coiled up near the water until it has digested its meal.

In this state it is so motionless that it might easily be
mistaken for a log of wood. Indeed, Waterton mentions in
one of his essays, that a negro committed the error of sitting
down on one of these snakes, taking it for a fallen tree, and
was only undeceived by the snake moving away.

Kingsley mentions a case where four young ladies were
bathing in a lagoon, and one was seized by a Camoudi from
behind. Thinking that one of her sisters had caught her
dress in play, she felt no alarm until she saw her three sisters
on the bank, and found that she had been seized by a snake.
The three girls courageously dashed into the water and tried
to drag her away from the snake. Fortunately, the reptile
had only caught her bathing dress, which, being made of thin
cotton, gave way, and she escaped safely to land.

Campanero (. Arapunga alba). — No one has described the
singular cry of this bird as Waterton has done.

It is one of the great tribe of the Chatterers The horn like
projection from the base of its beak has in all probability
much to do with the resonance of the cry. The accompanying
illustrations show the two positions of the ‘horn.’ The head
of the bird gives the horn as it appears while the bird is
tolling its wonderful bell, and the full figure depicts the
flaccid state of the horn while the bird is at rest.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

381

Capivi, or Copaiba Gum.— This important gum is produced
from several species of Cojoaifera ( see “Purple-heart”), and is
obtained by making incisions in the branches.

CAMPANEKO TOLLING.

Caracara. — Evidently a Liantasse, probably belonging to
the genus Schnella.

Cassava ( Jatropha manihot). — This most useful’ plant is
sometimes called Manioc, and is to the Guianan nativos what

CAMPAN ERO SILENT.

Caprimulgus. — The Latin term for Goatsucker. This is
an example of Waterton’s lax nomenclature, the Whip-poor-
Will (q.v.) mentioned in the same sentence being also a
Goatsucker.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

382

II

mm

mm

CASSAVA PRESS.

corn is to us. It is a tall, unbranclied plant, grow¬
ing irregularly and knotted at intervals, and having
leaves with a purple gloss.

The root is the portion that is eaten, and it is
scraped down on a board stuck full of sharp flint or
other stones, and called by the name of Tumarrie.
It then looks just like horseradish as brought to
our tables, but is filled with a poisonous juice. In
order to extract this juice, the scraped cassava is
forced into a long, narrow basket called a matappi,
and made exactly on the principle of the ‘ Siamese-
links ’ which were once popular as toys. The ma¬
terial of which it is made is a species of Calathea.

When the matappi is full, it is scarcely half its
length when empty, but is more than double its
thickness. It is then hung to a branch of a tree or
to a beam of a house, an earthen pot is placed under
it, and a heavy weight is tied to the lower end. The
weight of the stone causes the matappi to increase
in length, but to diminish in thickness, thus exert¬
ing a powerful pressure on the cassava, and squeez¬
ing out the juice, which runs through the interstices,
and so down the matappi into the pot.

The dry Cassava is then removed from the matappi,
rubbed through a basket-work sieve, formed into
fiat circular cakes about two feet in diameter, and a
quarter of an inch in thickness, and baked upon a

flat, heated stone or
plate of iron.

Meanwhile, the poi¬
sonous juice has been
kept out of reach of
children, poultry, &c.,
and, on being boiled,
and flavoured with
the well-known cassa-

CASSAVA BOWL.

red-pepper or capsicum becomes

383

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

reep or pepper-pot of the West Indies. The pot is never
cleaned, so that, as it is very thick, very soft, and very
porous, it absorbs the juices. When Cassava bread is eaten, it
is generally dipped in the cassareep, which often contains
pieces of meat, &c., and which, when the palate has become
accustomed to the inordinate amount of red pepper, is not
only nourishing, but appetizing. A new comer, however, will
run the risk of starving altogether, for the native cook is so
very heavy-handed with her red pepper, that the lips and
tongue of a novice are scorched as if with red-hot iron.

The illustration of the matappi and cassareep pot is taken
from specimens in my collection. A considerable amount of
Cassava is consumed in this country under the names of
tapioca and semolina.

Cassiques. — These birds, of which there are several species,
all belonging to the genus Cassicus, are popularly called
Merles in Jamaica. The word is evidently the same as our
Merle (Lat. Merula ), which distinguishes the common black¬
bird.

According to C. Kingsley, the Merles are “birds the size
of a jackdaw, brown and yellow, and mocking-birds, too, of
no mean ability. The pouches (nests) two feet long and more,
swayed in the breeze, fastened to the end of the boughs with
a few small threads. Each had, about half way down, an
opening into the round sac below, in and out of which the
merles crept and fluttered, talking all the while in twenty
different notes.

“ Most tropic birds hide their nests carefully in the bush :
the merles hang theirs fearlessly in the most exposed situa¬
tions. They find, I presume, that they are protected enough
from monkeys, wild cats, and gato-melaos (a sort of ferret),
by being hung at the extremity of the bough. So thinks
M. Lestaud, the accomplished describer of the birds of
Trinidad.”

Some writers call the Merles by the name of mocking-birds.

Castor-oil (Jxicinus communis ). — Another of the plants

384

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

imported from the Old World. It belongs to the great tribe
of the Enphorbise or Spurges, of which our common milky-
weed is a familiar example.

From its seeds is obtained the Castor-oil of commerce. The
best, called ‘cold-drawn’ oil, is procured by simple pressure.
The plant is sometimes called Palma Christi, because its
leaves look something like widely-spread fingers.

The Romans gave it the name of Ricinus, because the seeds
bear some resemblance in shape to sheep- ticks or ‘ricini.’
They procured it originally from Egypt, where seeds may
still be found in the tombs.

Cayman ( Champsa nigra). — This is the animal which
Waterton so brilliantly captured. There are many of the
crocodiles and alligators in North and South America, and
in habits they seem to be much alike.

All have the peculiar wTay of attacking animals on land by
knocking them into the water with a blow of the tail, and

CAYMAN.

carrying them off before they can recover from the effects of
the blow. Sometimes they have been known to attack canoes
in this manner.

They all possess a most abominable musky smell, “ floating,”
as Mr. C. B. Brown says, “ like a deadly miasma round our
camp, and finding its way even to our palates.” Then, all of
them are in the habit of emitting loud, bellowing noises,
especially at night, so that they make themselves as objection¬
able to the ears as to the nostrils.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

385

The hook which was used by Waterton was engraved in the
original edition of the Wanderings, but I am sure that the

CAYMAN HOOK.

draughtsman who drew it could not have seen it. The instru¬
ment itself is in Waterton’ s museum, and I have here sub¬
stituted my own sketch of it.

The four prongs are not barbed, but are sharply pointed, as
seen in the illustration. They are flattish, and very tough,
as they need be, for they are bitten and cracked all over by
the teeth of the cayman. The prongs are kept in their
diverging position by wooden pegs driven between them, and
the whole instrument is thus made so elastic that it can be
compressed by a strong grasp of the hand, and then springs
back again to its original form. So, when compressed by the
entrails of the acouri, which were wrapped round them, the
instrument would slip easily down the cayman’s throat, and
then expand on being swallowed.

Chameleon. — One of the Anolis Lizards, probably the
Red-throated Anolis (. Anolius bullaris), which are active,
chase flies upon trees, and are changeable in colour when
excited. The true Chameleons exclusively inhabit the Old
World, and are much too sluggish to chase insects. There
are several species of Anolis in Guiana.

Chigoe, sometimes spelled Jigger, or Tsciiiko (. Pulex pene-
trans. )— Tiny as it may be, the little Chigoe is one of the most
detested plagues of the West Indies. To all appearances it
resembles our common domestic flea, but it has fortunately not
yet become acclimatised in any part of Europe. There is

c c

38G

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

scarcely a traveller in the West Indies who writes with the
least patience about this more than troublesome insect. There
is some credit in facing a rattlesnake, killing a jaguar, or in
braving the many dangers of tropical travel, but there is
none in becoming the victim of a flea, though the apparently
insignificant enemy may, unless its attacks be properly re¬
pelled, cause the loss of a limb, or even of life.

In one of his essays Waterton has extended the information
given in his Wanderings.

“ In the plantations of Guiana there is generally an old ne-
gress known by the name of Granny, a kind of Junonis anus,
who loiters about the negro yard, and is supposed to take
charge of the little negroes who are too young to work.
Towards the close of day you will sometimes hear the most
dismal cries of woe coming from that quarter. Old Granny
is then at work grubbing the Chigoe nests out of the feet of
the sable urchins, and filling the holes with lime-juice and
cayenne pepper. This searching compound has two duties to
perform ; firstly, it causes death to any remaining Chigoe in
the hole ; and secondly, it acts as a kind of a birch rod to
the unruly brats, by which they are warned, to their cost,
not to conceal their Chigoes in future ; for, afraid of en¬
countering old Granny’s tomahawk, many of them prefer to
let the Chigoes riot in their flesh, rather than come under
her dissecting hand.

“A knowing eye may always perceive when the feet of ne¬
groes are the abode of the Chigoe. They dare not place their
feet firmly on the ground, on account of the pain which such
a position would give them; but they hobble along with their
toes turned up ; and by this you know that they are not
suffering from tubboes (a remnant of the yaws), but from the
actual depredations of the Chigoes, which have penetrated
under the nails of the toes, and then formed sores, which, if
not attended to, would, ere long, become foul and corroding
ulcers. As I seldom had a shoe or stocking on my foot from
the time that I finally left the sea, coast in 1812, the Chigoe

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

387

was a source of perpetual disquietude to me. I found it
necessary to examine my feet every evening, in order to
counteract the career of this extraordinary insect. Occasion¬
ally, at one overhauling, I have broken up no less than four
of its establishments under the toe-nails.

“ In 1825, a day or two before I left Guiana, wishful to try
how this puny creature and myself would agree during a sea
voyage, I purposely went to a place where it abounded, not
doubting but that some needy individual of its tribe would
attempt to better its condition. Eie long a pleasant and
agreeable kind of itching under the bend of the great toe
informed me that a Chigoe had bored for a settlement. In
three days after we had sailed a change of colour took
place in the skin, just at the spot where the Ch'goe had
entered, appearing somewhat like a blue pea. By the time
we were in the latitude of Antigua my guest had become
insupportable, and I saw there was an immediate necessity
for his discharge. Wherefore, I turned him and his numerous
family adrift, and poured spirits of turpentine into the cavity
which they had occupied, in order to prevent the remotest
chance of a regeneration.

“ The Indian and negro wenches perform the operation of
extracting Chigoes with surprising skill. They take a pin,
and, by a very slow process, they lay the part bare, and con¬
trive to work quite round the bag which contains the Chigoe
and its offspring. As soon as this has been effected, they
turn the bag out, whole and uninjured, by which means none
are left in the hole to form a new colony. For my own part,
I never trouble these gentle operators, although I have looked
on many a time, and admired their exquisite skill, while they
were fingering the toes of my acquaintance.

“ Once, however, I had it not in my power to be my own
surgeon, and on that occasion a faithful old negro performed
the friendly office. I was descending the Demerara, with an
inveterate tertian ague ; and I was so much exhausted by

sitting upright in the canoe that I had no sooner got ashore

o

€ o

388

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

at the Indian hut than I lay down on the ground at full
length. Sickness had pressed so heavily on me that I was
callous to the well-known feeling which the Chigoe causes. I
was quite unconscious that there were nine thriving nests of
Chigoes in my back, until one was accidentally observed by the
old negro ; and this led to the discovery of the rest. I handed
him my penknife, and told him to start the intruders. Sick
as I was, I wished an artist were present at the operation.
The Indian’s hut, with its scanty furniture, and bows and
arrows hanging round ; the deep verdure of the adjoining
forest ; the river flowing rapidly by ; myself wasted to a
shadow ; and the negro grinning with exultation as he showed
me the Chigoes’ nests which he had grubbed out, would have
formed a scene of no ordinary variety.

“ Dogs are often sorely tormented by the Chigoe ; and they
get rid of them by an extremely painful operation. They
gradually gnaw into their own toes, whining piteously as
they do it, until they get at the Chigoe’s nest. Were it not
for this singular mode of freeing themselves from the latent
enemy, dogs would absolutely be cripples in Guiana.”

In Mr. Brown’s Camp and Canoe Life in Guiana there is
an anecdote which well expresses the terrors which this tiny
plague can inspire into Europeans as well as natives.

“ Just then Ben returned from a voyage of discovery along
the path leading away from our camp, with a joyful expres¬
sion of countenance betokening good news. ‘ Why, sir,’ he
said, ‘ there is a good house not far off, and it ain’t got no
one in it.’ I immediately went with him to see it, and, plod¬
ding through mud and water, climbed a slight eminence to a
large open shed, situated in the midst of a clearing. I halted
close to it, and proposed that he should take a look at the
floor for insects. He walked boldly in, hesitated, looked
down at his bare feet, and, exclaiming ‘ Jiggers and dog
fleas full da here ! ’ fled precipitately. I may here mention
that the jigger or Chigoe is a small flea that burrows under
the toe-nails, where it forms an egg-bag almost the size of a

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

389

small pea, which has to be extracted with a needle, an opera¬
tion giving a considerable amount of pain.

“ I remarked to Ben in a casual way, ‘ Surely the natives
have some way of getting rid of these insects % just think
the matter over in your mind, and don’t lose sight of the
fact that it depends upon you whether we sleep in the moist
swamp to-night, or under this good roof.’

“ He proposed two ways of performing the operation, one
was to ‘ bun them,’ as he called it, and the other was to
sweep them out. I seized upon both ideas ; we would burn
them first, and sweep out their roasted carcases afterwards.

“ Fortunately there was a heap of dry palm-leaves in the
house, of which a few bunches were made into brooms, and
the rest scattered over the floor. If any one had been looking
at us from a short distance when performing this operation,
he would have come to the conclusion that we were both de¬
mented, from the way in which we skipped about, darting
out every now and then to brush off our enemies from our
clothes. Then we set fire to the leaves, and had the whole
place covered with flames a foot in height— a grand and satis¬
factory though short-lived flare-up. At this stage of the
proceedings we were reinforced by Pedro and Vincente, who,
on the subsiding of the flames, swept out the residuary mat¬
ter, composed of carcases, ashes, and dust. After the crusade
was over, a few hundreds of the enemy were left, but these we
did not mind.

“It is a curious and sad fact, as I have always found to
my cost, than when Indians leave their houses for a time the
dust on the floors becomes infested with jiggers and fleas. The
former come from the eggs dropped from the jigger egg-bags
in the toes of both Indians and their dogs, and the latter
from eggs dropped by the fleas of the dogs.”

The “ nest ” of the Chigoe is in reality the swollen body of
the female, which contains the eggs, and becomes as large in
proportion to the head, thorax, and limbs, as does that of the
queen termite. In common with most noxious insects, such,

390

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

for example, as the mosquito and the wasp, the females are
the only aggressors. The male mosquito cannot bite, nor the
male wasp sting, nor the male Chigoe form its irritating
nest.

There is now before me one of these female Chigoes, with
the abdomen fully swollen and full of eggs. It was sent to
me by a resident in the West Indies, who was kind enough
to allow it to inhabit his toe until it was sufficiently deve¬
loped, and then removed it and preserved it for me. v tThe
skin of the swollen abdomen is vey tough, so that it can
easily be turned out of the hollow which it has formed.
The size of my specimen is as nearly as possible equal to
that of an ordinary sweet -pea. In some places the Chigoe is
called Cliicorine.

Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum Zeylanicum ). — Only the bark of
the young shoots is used. Ceylon is the chief country of the
cinnamon. It is allied to the common laurel.

Clove. — The cloves of commerce are the unexpanded
flowers of a plant, known scientiflcally as Cctryophyllus
aromaticus. It is one of the myrtle tribe. The name clove
is a corruption of the French name clou, the dried flowers
bearing some resemblance to a nail.

Cocoa-nut Palm ( Cocos nucifera). — Essentially a sea-side
tree, and apparently not a native of the West Indies, but im¬
ported, either by man or by the wind and waves. It grows
freely in India and the South Sea Islands, as well as in the
West Indies, and reaches a height of a hundred feet.

The nut grows in a very curious manner. When it has
fallen, one of the three holes gives way to a shoot, which strikes
out a root, piercing into the ground, while it still retains its
connection by a sort of cord, with the nut from which it draws
Jts nourishment, until it is strong enough to obtain the whole
of its sustenance from the ground. See the fallen nuts in the
foreground of the illustration.

It has a “ cabbage ” like that of the cabbage palm, and is
sometimes cut down for the sake of obtaining this vegetable.

O O

EXPLANATORY INDEX

391

COCOA PALM AND fOCA I

392

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

Toddy is simply the fermented juice of the tree ; coir is made
from the husk, which is also cut up into scrubbing-brushes for
household use; and the “porcupine wood” of the cabinet¬
maker is obtained from' the dense and heavy wood near the
root.

The long groves of Cocoa palms are called cocals, and some¬
times extend for several miles along the shore. The Cocoa
palm should not be confounded with the cacao, of which
chocolate and cocoa are made, and which is a totally different
plant, belonging to the genus Theobroma.

Cock of the Rock (. Rupicola aurantia). — This line bird is
the largest of the Manakins, q.v., and on account of the beauty

COCK OF THE ROCK.

of its plumage is in great request with bird-stuffers. Un¬
fortunately, the brilliant orange of its feathers is very
fugitive, and a stuffed bird is sure to fade unless protected
from the light.

I have before me a specimen of a stuffed Cock of the Rock
which has been exposed to daylight for several years, and the
colour of which has so completely faded, that the bird can

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

393

only be recognized by its shape, the feathers having changed
from brilliant orange to a dull yellowish brown.

The following account of this bird is taken from Mr. C. B.
Brown’s work on Guiana : — ■

u Cochs of the Bock were numerous in the surrounding
thickets, where their sharp disagreeable cry was frequently
heard.

“ They are so restless, jumping and flying from bough to
bough, and tree to tree, that Paulie, who was trying to shoot
them, started five, but only succeeded in obtaining one
specimen. He found a dancing place of these birds in a
thicket, the ground being beaten down quite smooth by their
feet ; and on visiting it early in the morning with Ben, the two
together succeeded in shooting two cocks and a hen bird. They
told me that there were numbers around the dancing place, and
that the two cocks they shot were strutting about with their
feathers distended, showing themselves off before the rest.”

Only the adult males possess the rich orange plumage, the
females and immature males being of a dull yellow-green, and
having but a small crest. The bird, though the largest of the
Manakins, is but a small one, being scarcely equal in size to a
Tumbler pigeon.

Coffee.— It is rather remarkable that the two chief pro¬
ducts of the West Indies, namely Coffee and Sugar, are both
natives of the Old World, and have been acclimatized in the
New.

Coffee, as its name imparts, Coffee, a Arabica , is indigenous to
Northern Africa, and was imported into Europe as a curiosity.
Not much more than a hundred and fifty years ago a single
layer of two slips was taken from Holland to Martinique, and
it throve so wTell that it furnished a supply for the whole
of the West Indies.

There is a romantic story connected with its introduction.
A Frenchman, named Desclieux, had charge of the plant.
On the voyage the vessel fell in with a series of storms, and
all on board were put on short allowance of water. The

394

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

heroic Frenchman divided his share of water with the Coffee-
plant,

“ And Martinico loads her ships
With produce from those dear-saved slips.”

It belongs to the useful group of Cinclionacese. Even the
leaves possess many of the qualities which make the seeds so
useful.

Copal. See “ Locust Tree.”

Coral Snake ( Tortrix Scytale). — In some parts of the
country this snake is made a pet, being twisted round the
neck like a gold and black “ torque.” It is but a small snake,
averaging twenty-six inches in length.

Cotingas. — These all belong to the group of the Ampel-
ime, or Chatterers.

The Pompadour Cotinga (Coting a pompadour a) is a singularly
beautiful bird, its plumage being mostly of the beautiful hue
which is known as pompadour, and which used to be very
fashionable at the beginning of the present century. The
feathers are splashed and streaked with white, and the wings
are tipped with black. In size it rather surpasses our
starling.

The Purple-throated Cotinga is known to science as Cotinga
cayenna. For other remarkable Chatterers see “ Bell-bird ’ ’ and
“Cock of the Rock.”

Cotton. — The cotton which is used for thread and string, is
procured from several species of Gossypium, one of which
produces the cotton so largely used by ourselves. The natives
always have some of these bushes planted near their houses,
and cotton spinning goes on almost as interminably as knitting
or crochet among English ladies.

The mode of spinning is that which is prevalent all over
the world, and even in England has only lately been super¬
seded by machinery. A wooden spindle is passed through a
whorl of a heavy wood, bone, or sometimes stone, and the
fibres attached to t. The spindle is then made to revolve,
thus spinning the fibres into thread. In savage countries, the

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

395

invariable practice is, to roll the thread on the bare thigh,
and sometimes this labour is carried on so unceasingly as to
cause sores.

Spindles such as have been described were found in the
tombs of the Incas, and several of them came into my posses¬
sion, together with pieces of the fabrics made from the
threads spun by them.

The species which is so largely cultivated for commerce is
Gossypium tricuspidatum .

Cottox-Tree, ( Bornbax ceiba). — This magnificent tree, some¬
times called the Silk-Cotton, is among the many wonders of
the West Indies, and is admirably described by C. Kingsley
in his joyous book At Last : —

“ These latter (the Ceibas) are useless as timber ; and their
roots are, of course, hurtful to the sugar-canes. But the negro
is shy of felling the Ceiba. It is a magic tree, haunted by
spirits. There are ‘ too much jumbies in him,’ the negro says ;
and of those who dare to cut him down some one will die, or
come to harm, within the year.

“‘In Jamaica,’ says my friend Mr. Gosse, ‘they believe
that if a person throws a stone at the trunk, he will be visited
with sickness, or other misfortune. When they intend to cut
one down, they first pour rum at the root as a propitiatory
offering.’ The Jamaica negro, however, fells them for canoes,
the wood being soft, and easily hollowed.

“ But here, as in Demerara, the trees are left standing about
in cane-pieces and pastures to decay into awful and fantastic
shapes, with prickly spurs and board- walls of roots, high
enough to make a house among them simply by roofing them
in ; and a flat crown of boughs, some seventy or eighty feet
above the ground, each bough as big as an average English
tree, from which dangles a whole world of lianas, matapolos,
orchids, wild pines with long air-roots or grey beards ; and
last, but not least, that strange and lovely parasite the
lUiipsalis cassytha , which you mistake first for a plume of
green sea-weed, or a tress of mermaid’s hair which has got up

396

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

there by mischance, and then for some delicate kind of pen¬
dent mistletoe ; till you are told, to your astonishment, that it
is an abnormal form of cactus — a family which it resembles,
save in its tiny flowers and fruit, no more than it resembles
the Ceiba-tree on which it grows ; and told, too, that, strangely
enough, it has been discovered in Angola — the only species of
the cactus tribe in the Old World.”

SILK-COTTON-TRKE.

The Cotton-tree was a never-failing wonder to Kingsley,
who again writes of it in the same work : —

“ If you are all safe, your next steps probably, as you
struggle through the bush, between tree-trunks of every
possible size, will bring you face to face with huge upright
walls of seeming boards, whose rounded edges slope upward,
till, as your eye follows them, you find them enter an enormous
stem, perhaps round, like one of the Norman pillars of

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

397

Durham nave, and just as huge ; perhaps fluted, like one of
William of Wykeham’s columns at Winchester.

“ There is the stem, but where is the tree 1 Above the
green cloud. Yrou struggle up to it, between two of the
board walls, but find it not so easy to reach. Between you
and it, are half a dozen tough strings which you had not
noticed at first — the eye cannot focus itself rapidly enough in
the confusion of distances — which have to be cut through ere
you can pass. Some of them are rooted in the ground,
straight and tense ; some of them dangle and wave in the
wind at every height.

“ AYhat are they 1 Air-roots of wild pines {till and s ia) ,
or of matapolos, or of figs, or of seguines ( 'philodendron ,
anthurium , &c.) or of some other parasite? Probably: but
you cannot see. All you can see is, as you put your chin
close against the trunk of the tree and look up, as if you
were looking up against the side of a great ship set on end ;
that some sixty or eighty feet up in the green cloud, arms as
big as English forest trees branch off ; and that out of their
forks a whole green garden of vegetation has tumbled down
twenty or thirty feet, and half climbed up again. You
scramble round the tree to find whence the aerial garden has
sprung : you cannot tell. The tree trunk is smooth and free
from climbers ; and that mass of verdure may belong possibly
to the very cables which you met ascending into the green
cloud twenty or thirty yards back, or to that impenetrable
tangle, a dozen yards on, which has climbed a small tree, and
then a taller one again, and then a taller still, till it has
climbed out of sight, and possibly into the lower branches of
the big tree. And what are their species ? What are their
families ? Who knows ? Not even the most experienced
woodman or botanist can tell you the names of plants of
which he sees only the stems.”

From this tree is procured the Wild Cotton which has
already been mentioned on page 134. I believe that yet no use
has been found for this delicate and short yellow fibre, except

398

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

as stuffing for pillows and couches. The native never troubles
himself to remove the seeds, which are hard, spherical, nearly
black, and about as large as peas.

Couanacouchi ( Lachesis mutus). — Popularly called Bush-
master, a name originally given to it by the Dutch. Some¬
times it is called Curucuru. When living, it is as beautiful
as it is deadly, but the lovely prismatic colours which play
over the body during life are extinguished in death, and not
even Waterton could restore to the skin the beauty of the
living serpent. It is found both in tiees and on the ground.

Coucourite-Palm. — Theie are several species of this palm,
all belonging to the genus Maximiliana. The most beautiful

COUCOURITE.

of them is the species mentioned by Waterton, and appro¬
priately named Maximiliana regia . “ In this plant,” writes

Kingsley, “ the pinme are set on all at the same distance
apart, and all in the same planes in opposite sides of the
stalk, giving to the whole foliage a grand simplicity; and
producing, when the curving leaf-points toss in the breeze,

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

399

that curious appearance which I mentioned in an earlier
chapter, of green glass wheels with rapidly revolving spokes.”

The leaves are sometimes twenty-five feet or more in length,
and their stems are triangular. When dried, they are won¬
derfully light, strong and elastic, and are often cut into lengths
and imported to England as walking-sticks. When young,
the tree has scarcely any stem, the leaves springing almost
directly from the ground. These trees flourish best on sand
or gravel.

Stedman describes the young leaves as diverging from each
other like the flaming fuse of a shell.

Couguar ( Leopardus concolor). — It is sometimes misnamed
the American lion, and sometimes the panther, just as the
jaguar goes by the name of tiger. In some places it is called
the deer- tiger. Mr. C. B. Brown had a curious adventure
with one of these animals : —

“ One morning, whilst returning to camp along the portage
path that we were cutting at Wonobobo falls, I walked faster
than the men, and got some two hundred yards in advance.
As I rose the slope of an uneven piece of ground, I saw a
large puma (. Felis concolor ) advancing along the other side of
the rise towards me, with its nose down on the ground. The
moment I saw it I stopped ; and at the same instant it tossed
up its head and seeing me also came to a stand. With its
body half crouched, its head erect, and its eyes round and
black, from its pupils having expanded in the dusky light, it
looked at once a noble and an appalling sight. I glanced
back along our wide path to see if any of my men were
coming, as at the moment I felt that it was not well to be
alone without some weapon of defence, and I knew that one
of them had a gun ; but nothing could I see. As long as I
did not move the puma remained motionless also, and thus we
stood, some fifteen yards apart, eying one another curiously.
I had heard that the human voice is potent in scaring most
wild beasts, and feeling that the time had arrived to do some¬
thing desperate, I waved my arms in the air and shouted

400

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

loudly. The effect on the tiger was electrical ; it turned
quickly on one side, and in two bounds was lost in the forest.
I waited until my men came up, however, before passing the
place at which it disajypeared, in case it might only be lying
in ambush there ; but we saw nothing more of it.

‘‘When returning down the portage and dragging our boats
over, we saw a jaguar sitting on a log near the same spot,
watching our movements with evident curiosity, and although
the men were singing as they hauled the boats along, it did
not seem to mind the noise. As soon as it saw that it was
observed, it jumped off the log, and with a low growl made
off. From this I infer that the flight of my puma must have
been owing more to the windmill-like motion of my arms than
to my voice.”

Co u l a c an ar a. — Waterton does not give sufficient descrip¬
tion of this snake for identification. It is almost certainly

Boa imperator.

It is characteristic of Waterton that he should have sat
down immediately after his battle with the snake to send an
account of it in Latin hexameters to his old friends at Stony-
hurst. Mr. Edmund Waterton only lately discovered the
document in pencil among his father’s papers.

Courada ( Avicennia nitida). — Sometimes spelled Courida.
The White Mangrove of the Colonists.

The trees grow in profusion on the shore, reaching a height
of fifty or sixty feet, and from their upper branches dangle
innumerable air-roots, which, when they reach the ground,
will strike into it, and become the stems of future trees. The
manatee is fond of browsing on the leaves of the Courada.

Crabwood ( Carapa Guianensis). — The tree is very useful on
account of an oil, called ‘ crab oil,’ which is expressed from its
seeds. It serves various purposes, and gives a good light
when burned in a lamp. The timber of the Crabwood is in
great request for masts and spars.

Cuia. — A species of Trogon, similar in size to the boclora,
but brighter in colours, as mentioned by Waterton.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

401

Crabier. — The Boat bill ( Ccmcroma ccincrojAiciga). — It is a
small heron, having an oddly-shaped beak, much resembling a
boat turned upside down. It frequents the shores, and feeds
chiefly on the smaller Crustacea. Sometimes it is called the
Wallaba Bird.

Cricket. — Waterton uses the colloquial term. The so-called
Crickets are in fact Cicadas, several species of which are
common in the southern parts of Europe. Only one British
species is known, and may be found in the New Forest. In
Guiana, the Cicadas attain a very large size, and their cry has
been compared to the whistle of a railway engine.

Cuckoo, Metallic ( Coccygus Americanus).

Curlew, Scarlet. — Waterton here employs the colloquial
name for the Scarlet Ibis ( Tantalus ruber).

There are several species of Ibis, the most familiar being
the sacred Ibis of Egypt, which figures so largely in the
ancient Egyptian sculptures and paintings. This is but a dull
bird in colour, being only white and black, and with a neck
quite bare of feathers, and looking as if made of a very old
and very crumpled black kid glove.

The Scarlet Ibis, however, is far more beautiful than any of
its congeners, being of a most brilliant scarlet, with a few
patches of jet black.

SCARLET CURLEW.

The accompanying illustration represents one of these biids
at it appeared when sunning itself in the Zoological Gardens.
It bowed its head until the tip of the curved beak nearly

r> n

402

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

touched the ground, half opened its wings, thrust them
forward, and kept up a tremulous movement of the feathers
over the whole body. The bird is mostly found along the
coasts.

Another species, the River Ibis ( Ibis infuscatus ), is found,
as its name imports, on the rivers of Guiana. It is larger
than its scarlet relative, but is not nearly so handsome, being
dull olive-green, with light green legs and beak. It goes by
the popular name of Curi-curi, in consequence of its cry, which
is said to resemble these words.

D.

Deer. — Several species of Deer inhabit Guiana, but that
mentioned by Waterton is probably the Forest Deer (Cervus
humilis). It is a small animal, reddish fawn in colour, spotted
with white on the flanks, and with little straight horns. The
native name is Wiriebiserie.

Diamond Rock. — This is a very singularly-shaped rock,
close to Pointe du Diamante, and having only a narrow
channel between itself and Martinique. The shape is roughly
conical, and is said to resemble the great Pyramids of Egypt,
but to be twice as large as the largest of them.

“ In the end of 1803,” writes the late C. Kingsley, “ Sir
Samuel Hood saw that French ships passing to Fort Royal
harbour in Martinique escaped him by running through the
deep channel between Pointe du Diamante and this same
rock, which rises sheer out of the water GOO feet, and is
about a mile round, and only accessible at a point to the
leeward, and even then only when there is no surf. He who
lands, it is said, has then to creep through crannies and
dangerous steeps, round to the windward side, when the eye is
suddenly relieved by a sloping grove of wild fig-trees, cling¬
ing by innumerable air roots to the cracks of the stone.

“ So Hood, with that inspiration of genius so common then
among sailors, laid his seventy-four, the Centaur, close along-

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

403

side the Diamond ; made a hawser, with a traveller on it, fast
to the ship and to the top of the rock ; and in January, 1804,
got three long 24’ s and two 18’s hauled up far above his mast¬
head by sailors who, as they ‘ hung like clusters/ appealed
‘ like mice hauling a little sausage. Scarcely could we hear
the governor on the top directing them with his trumpet ; the
Centaur lying, close under, like a cocoa nut shell, to which
the hawsers are affixed’ ( Naval Chronicles).

“ In this strange fortress Lieutenant James Wilkie Maurice
(let his name be recollected as one of England’s forgotten
worthies) was established with 120 men and boys, and am¬
munition, provisions, and water for four months ; and the
rock was borne on the books of the Admiralty as his Ma¬
jesty’s ship Diamond Rock, and swept the seas with her guns
till the 1st of June, 1805, when she had to surrender, for
want of powder, to a French squadron of two 74’s, a frigate,
a corvette, a schooner, and eleven gunboats, after killing and
wounding some seventy men on the rock alone, and destroy¬
ing three gunboats, with a loss to herself of two men killed
and one wounded.

“ Remembering which story, who will blame the traveller
if he takes off his hat to his Majesty’s quondam corvette, as
he sees for the first time its pink and yellow sides shining in
the sun above the sparkling seas over which it domineered of
old?”

I may add that the sailors were greatly amused at their
very remarkable sloop, and invariably used nautical terms
when speaking of it, or “ her.” For example, when they had
by extreme ingenuity “ parbuckled ” a couple of guns nearly
to the summit of the rock, they named them the “ topgallant
battery.” Everything went on exactly as on board a man-of-
war. Watches were set and relieved according to naval dis¬
cipline, observations were daily taken, and, except that there
was no man at the wheel, and no sails had to be looked after,
the crew had just the same duties as if the rock had been a
ship afloat.

n n 2

404

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

When at last they did surrender, they were allowed to
leave their “ sloop ” with all the honours of war, and to
row themselves in their own boats to the French ships.

Dolphin. — The creature which AVaterton here describes is
not the true dolphin, which is one of the mammalia, and not a
fish ; but is the Cory phene (Cory phene hippuris), a splendid
fish, which sailors will insist on calling by the name of dolphin.
The weapon which is thrown at, or rather dropped upon the
fish is called by the name of “grains,” and much resembles
Neptune’s trident, except that it has five points instead of
three. The colours of the dying Coryphene are singularly
beautiful ; but it is evident that the thick, tough, blubber-
lined hide of the true dolphin could undergo no change.

Ducalabali. — One of the many useful species of West
Indian Laurus, the value of which is not sufficiently recog¬
nised in this country. The wood is very hard, close grained,
heavy, durable, and deep-red in colour. Only the heart- wood
is used. As it is spotted with blackish-brown, like the
jaguar’s skin, it is often called Tiger-wood. The tree is rare,
and is mostly found near the Essequibo. It grows chiefly in
clay and sandy soils, and reaches about one hundred and
twenty feet in height. The heart-wood, however, is seldom
more than two feet in diameter.

Duraquaura ( Odontophorus Guianiensis). — This bird, like
the English partridge, builds a nest on the ground, but is
a better architect. The nest is made of leaves and twigs,
and is placed under the shelter of a bush. It is roofed, and
has a small entrance in front. The eggs are eight or nine
in number, white in colour, and are about as large as those
of the bantam.

E.

Eagle, White Headed ( Haliaetus leucocephalus.)

Ebony Tree. — There are several trees w7hicli furnish the
well known ebony of commerce, but the best kind is obtained
from the heart- wood of Diospyros ebenum.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

405

Egret.— This beautiful little heron (tirdea egretta ), ia
pure white in colour except the delicate train feathers, which
have a slight creamy tinge. They are long enough to hang
over the tail, which they conceal when the bird is in repose.

EUKKT.

Owing to their beauty, these plumes are in great request for
the ornamentation of head dresses, not only for the natives,
but for ladies in Europe. The natives, who take great pride
in their head-dresses of ceremony, and arrange the feathers
with marvellous taste, make much use of the plumes, which
they mingle with the feathers of macaws and parrots.

The second sketch was taken from a fine specimen in the
possession of J. F. Jackson, Esq., of Bexley. As evening had
come on the bird had retired to a sort of small grotto on the
edge of a pond, and had sunk to sleep, as represented (p. 406).
Owing to the darkness of the evening I had nearly passed the
bird without seeing it, and but for the snowy whiteness of
its plumage, it would have escaped unnoticed.

403

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

In many parts of Guiana the Egret is called by the name of
White Gauldin.

F.

Fig, Wild ( Clusia alba).

Finch, Red-headed (Probably Passerina gularis).

Firefly. — In Tropical America there are so many lumi¬
nous insects which go by the popular name of firefly that
no particular species can be here designated. Most of these,
however, are beetles belonging to the group of elaters. Many
species exist in England, and are well-known as skip-jack
beetles, spring-beetles, or click-beetles, because if laid on their
backs, they spring up in the air with a smart click, and take

EGRET ASLEEr.

their chance of falling on their legs. The terrible wire-worm
is the larva of one of these beetles.

The species which is most common is the Cucujo ( Pyro -
phorus luminosus .) As is the case with our glow-worm, the
light disappears after death, and, indeed, how it is produced
in life is an unsolved mystery. Even the spectroscope yields
no information, giving only a ‘ continuous ’ spectrum, i.e. one
which is not crossed by lines, either dark or luminous.

Still, the light which the insect emits is so powerful that,
as Waterton mentions, it will, if held over a paper at night,

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

407

permit the holder to read or write by its natural lantern. It
is seen at its best when on the wing, as it then discloses four
luminous spots, of which only the upper pair are visible
when the insect is at rest.

The upper pair are oval in shape, and are seen at the base
of the thorax, one on either side, and after death fade into a
brownish yellow. When the beetle expands its wings for
flight, two more spots are seen, which had been concealed by
the wing-cases, so that the appearance of a single Firefly on
the wing is gorgeous in the extreme, and, considering that they
fly in countless thousands, their coruscating lights can be
compared to nothing but starry showers of fireworks. Even
in the warmer countries of Europe the Fireflies are very
beautiful, but they are completely surpassed in splendour by
those of the tropics.

In one of his essays, Waterton mentions an absurd state¬
ment, that there are certain birds which fasten Fireflies on
their nests in order to keep off the bats which might devour
their young. He very curtly disposes of the matter by
saying that bats do not eat young birds, but that they do
eat Fireflies, and would in consequence rather be attracted
than frightened by them.

Flamingo ( Phcenicopterus ruber'). — Waterton devotes part
of one essay to a congenial task, that of demolishing an
error in natural history. This particular error concerns the
nesting of this bird, which is said to raise conical mounds of
mud in order to keep its nest out of the water, to lay its
eggs on the top of the heap, and to sit upon them with its
legs hanging down into the water.

This attitude, as Waterton showed, by reference to his own
herons, is not necessary, the long legs of . the Flamingo and
the heron being as easily bent under the body as those of the
short-legged birds. In consequence of a conversation with
Waterton on the subject, I went to the Zoological Gardens
in order to watch the attitudes of the Flamingo, and was greatly
struck with the lithe activity of the bird. I made a number

408

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

of sketches from them, some of which are here given to the
reader.

Judging from stuffed specimens, the Flamingo seems to be
rather an awkward bird, but in reality, it is peculiarly easy and
graceful in its movements. The long neck can be twined and
turned in all directions, very much like the coils of a serpent,

or the lithe proboscis of the elephant. Some of the curious
attitudes which it assumes are shown in the illustrations.

As may be seen by them, the legs, awkward as they may
seem, are as much under command as the neck, and I have
seen the Flamingo scratch its head with its claws as easily as if
it were a parrot or a canary. Any one who had not studied
the living bird, would have thought that when it required

SLEEPING

preparing for sleep.

repose, it would squat on the ground, so as to rest its stilt like
legs. But, in common with many other birds, it sleeps while

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

409

standing on one leg, which is kept perfectly straight, while
the neck lies in folds upon the shoulder, with the head nestling
among the feathers.

This position of the head during sleep or illness is universal
among birds, and is popularly called “ putting the head under
the wing.” How such a phrase could have been invented or
perpetuated is really wonderful, as any one who has kept
poultry or pet birds of any kind must have noticed that the

head is not hidden under the wing, but rests among the
plumage of the shoulders. So, we must bid farewell to our
pretty nursery rhyme : —

“The north wind doth blow,

And we shall have snow,

And what will poor Robin do then,

Poor thing ?

He will sit in a barn
To keep himself warm,

And hide his head under his wing,

Poor thing ! ”

During life the beak of the Flamingo is pinkish yellow at
the base, becoming black at the tip. After death, however,
although the tip retains its blackness, it loses its polish,
and fades into dingy yellowish brown. Similarly, the legs,
which are red in life, become brown at death, and the only
mode of restoring these colours has been by employing paint,
which has really a ghastly appearance. I have not had the
opportunity of treating the beak of a Flamingo as Waterton
managed to colour the beak of a toucan, but I have little
doubt that the process would be as effectual with one bird as
it has been with the other.

410

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

The feathers are mostly white with a slight pink tinge,
but the wing-feathers are mostly brilliant scarlet, and have
earned for the bird the generic title of Phcenicopterus, i.e.
‘ scarlet-winged. ’

The curving bend, or angle in the beak of the Flamingo, is
given to the bird in order to enable it to feed after its own
peculiar fashion. Like the duck, the Flamingo feeds by
dabbling with its beak in muddy water, and filtering out the
nutritive matter by means of an arrangement which much
resembles a pair of very fine, soft, and flexible combs, fitting

into each other in strainer fashion. The duck, having short
legs, can push its bill into the water without difficulty, but
owing to its very long neck and legs, the Flamingo could not
do so, except for the peculiar curve in its bill, which enables
it to place its head upside down when it feeds, and in this
rather odd position to extract nourishment from the water.

Any one who wishes to see the mechanism by which a
Flamingo separates the nutritive substances from the water,
has only to take the head of a duck and examine the beak
and tongue. In order that the structure should be seen in
perfection, the head ought to be held under water during
examination, the beak widely opened and closed, and the
finger be used as well as the eyes.

The accompanying illustrations are taken from sketches
made at the Zoological Gardens, in order to show the extra¬
ordinary attitudes into which this bird throws itself, and
especially the power of balance on one leg when sleeping, and
the extraordinary contortions into which the bird can twist its
neck while the body is resting on the ground.

Flying-Fish ( Exocoetus volitans).— Waterton, while men¬
tioning the flight of this curious fish, does not touch on the

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

411

disputed point of its capacity to alter its course in the air, or
to extend its flight by flapping its wing like fins. C. Kingsley,
however, believes from personal observations, that it can do
both.

“ The flying-fish now began to be a source of continual
amusement, as they scuttled away from under the bows of
the ship, mistaking her, probably, for some huge devouring
whale. So strange are they when first seen, though long
read of and long looked for, that it is difficult to recollect that
they are actually fish. The first little one was mistaken for
a dragon-fly, the first big one for a grey plover.

“The flight is almost exactly like that of a quail or part¬
ridge-flight, I must say ; for, in spite of all that has been
learnedly written to the contrary, it was too difficult as yet
for the English sportsmen on board to believe that their
motion was not a true flight, aided by the vibration of the
wings, and not a mere impulse given (as in the leap of the
salmon) by a rush under water.

“That they can change their course at will is plain to one
who looks down on them from the lofty deck, and still more
from the paddle box. The length of the flight seems too great
to be attributed to a few strokes of the tail ; while the plain
fact that they renew their flight after touching, and only
touching, the surface, would seem to show that it was not due
only to the original impetus, for that would be retarded,
instead of being quickened, every time they touched. Such
were our first impressions ; and they were confirmed by what
we saw on the voyage home.”

I think that this statement from a good naturalist and
keen sportsman, such as was Kingsley, settles the question of
flight. I doubt, however, whether the fish dip into the sea for
the purpose of wetting their wings, as suggested by Waterton.
Perhaps their flight may be like that of the short-winged
birds, and consist of alternate dippings and risings.

Frigate Bird (Attagen aquila). — This really wonderful
bird seems mostly to be composed of feathers, the body

412

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

being quite small, and the expanded wings measuring about
eight feet from tip to tip. The total length of the bird,
including the long tail, is about three feet. The muscles of
the breast, by which the wings are moved, are themselves
one quarter the weight of the entire body. Thus, like the
albatross, it can pass the greater part of its time on the wing,

FK1GATE BIRD.

not seeming to feel fatigue. As it wheels its flight over ships,
the scarlet throat-pouch is very conspicuous, the light shining
through its skin when expanded.

It is a very voracious bird, and Dr. Bennett remarks that
he has repeatedly seen it sweep upon the top of the mast and
carry away the coloured vane.

Being no diver, and a very poor swimmer, it is apt to
pounce upon gannets and other diving birds, and rob them of
their prey. Should the gannet pluck up sufficient spirit to
resist, the Frigate bird is sure to be worsted. Both birds
necessarily fall into the sea, where the gannet is quite at
home, and escapes by diving, while the Frigate bird is
helplessly flapping about in the water.

The colour of the adult male Frigate bird is black, with a
gloss of green, the female being of much duller black above
without any green gloss, and having the under surface nearly
white, with splashes of reddish brown.

Fox ( Vulpes ccincrivora). — This animal is generally called
Savannah Fox by the colonists, and Mikang by the natives.
It is very swift, and in fair chase can outrun most dogs. It
is very small, grey in colour, and has a large bushy tail.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

413

G

Goatsuckers. — All these birds, of which there are many
in Guiana, belong to the Caprimulgidse, and some, from the
singular cry which they utter, are objects of superstitious
dread, both to natives and negroes. Kingsley gives an
amusing and graphic description of the alarm caused by one of
these birds. After narrating how he tried to sleep, and was
kept awake, first by the romping of his companions, who
broke down a four-post bedstead in their play, and then by the
wind, which blew all the clothes off the bed, he proceeds as
follows : — *

“ Then the dogs exploded outside, probably at some hen¬
roost robbing opossum, and had a chevy through the cocos
till they treed their game, and bayed it to their hearts’ con¬
tent. Then something else exploded — and I do not deny it
set me more aghast than I had been for many a day — ex¬
ploded I say, under the window, with a shriek of hut-tut-tut-
tut, hut-tut, such as I hope never to hear again. After which,
dead silence ; save of the surf to the east and the toads to
the west. I fell asleep, wondering what animal could own so
detestable a voice ; and in half an hour was awoke again by
another explosion ; after which, happily, the thing, I suppose,
went its wicked way, for I heard it no more.

“ I found out the next morning that the obnoxious bird was
not an owl, but a large Goatsucker, a Nycteribius, I believe,
who goes by the name of jumby-bird among the English
negroes ; and no wonder ; for most ghostly and horrible is his
cry. But worse ; he has but one eye, and a glance from that
glaring eye, as from the basilisk of old, is certain death ; and
worse still, he can turn off its light as a policeman does his
lantern, and become instantly invisible ; opinions which, if
verified by experiment, are not always found to be in accord¬
ance with facts. But that is no reason why they should not
be believed.

“ In St. Vincent, for instance, the negroes one evening

414

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

rushed shrieking out of a boiling-house. ‘ Oh ! Massa Robert,
we all killed. Dar one great jumby-bird come in a hole a-top
a roof. Oh ! Massa Robert, you no go in ; you killed, we
killed,’ Ac. Ac. Massa Robert went in, and could see no bird.

‘ Ah ! Massa Robert, him darky him eye, but him see you all
da same. You killed, we killed,’ &c., da capo.

“ Massa Robert was not killed; but lives still to the great
benefit of his fellow-creatures, negroes especially. Neverthe¬
less, the negroes hold to their opinion. He might, could,
would, or should have been killed ; and was not that clear
proof that they were right ?

“ After this, who can deny that the negro is a man and a
brother, possessing the same reasoning faculties, and exercising
them in exactly the same way, as three out of four white
persons % ”

This is evidently the “ largest Goatsucker,” mentioned by
Waterton on page 199.

Greenheart ( Nectandra rodcei) , called by the natives
Bibiri. — Here we have another of the neglected products
of Guiana. Kingsley thus mentions it in his At Last : —

“ The carapo is not the only tree of South America whose
bark may be used as a substitute for quinine. They may
be counted possibly by dozens. A glance at the excellent
enumerations of the uses of vegetable products to be found in
Lindley’s Vegetable Kingdom (a monument of learning),
will show how God provides, and how man neglects and
wastes.

“ As a single instance, the laurels alone are known already
to contain several valuable febrifuges, among which the De-
merara Greenheart, or Bibiri, claims perhaps the highest rank.
‘ Dr. Maclagan has shown,’ says Dr. Lindley, that ‘ sulphate
of Bibiri acts with rapid and complete success in averting
ague.’ This tree spreads from Jamaica to the Spanish Main.
It is plentiful in Trinidad, still more plentiful in Guiana ; yet
all of it that reaches Europe is a little of its hard, beautiful
wood for the use of cabinet-makers ; while in Demerara, I am.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

415

assured by an eye-witness, many tons of the precious Green-
heart bark are thrown away year by year. So goes the
world, and man meanwhile at once boasts of his civilization
and complains of the niggardliness of nature.”

This is just the complaint made by Waterton in more than
one passage of the Wanderings. He had some furniture
at Walton Hall made of the Greenheart, and very excellent
furniture it was, and probably is still.

Greenheart is one of the eight A 1 timbers at Lloyds’. It
is employed for kelsons, planking, and ‘ knees,’ when these are
not made of wrought iron. It is time that legal protection
should be given to this tree, for the timber-merchants and
charcoal-burners have made great havoc with it. There are
three varieties, called respectively, the Yellow, Black, and
Mainop Greenheart. Logs are sometimes seventy feet long
and two feet square.

Every part of the Greenheart is useful, bark, juice, and
timber being equally valuable in the service of man.

Grosbeak, Scarlet ( Cardinalis Virginianus) . — This bird is
called by various names, such as Virginian nightingale, Car¬
dinal bird, &c. In consequence of the beauty of its plumage, it
is often brought to England, where it thrives well, but is apt
to lose its magnificent scarlet plumage, and become whitish-
red. In its native country it builds in some thick evergreen,
and lays five pale grey eggs splashed with greenish brown.

Guana or Iguana ( Iguana tuber culata) . — This is a very odd¬
looking, and not very handsome lizard, which inhabits the
West Indies, and is mostly found on the branches of trees
which overhang the water. It is rather large, an average sized
adult being about four feet long, while some attain a length
of six feet. The body however, is not very large, but the
tail is very long, and can be lashed from side to side so
sharply, that a stroke will cause much pain.

In Mr. Brown’s work on Guiana are some interesting
remarks on this lizard, of which, by the way, there are
several species : —

416

' EXPLANATORY INDEX.

“ We were frequently amused with the manner in which
the Iguanas, alarmed by the noise produced by the boat’s
paddles, threw themselves from the overhanging branches of
trees into the river, many coming down broadside on the
water. Their flesh resembles that of a chicken in flavour and
quality, and is very good when properly cooked.

“They are exceedingly numerous on the river (the Cuyuni),
where they dig long underground chambers in the sandbanks
at the ends of islands, in which they deposit their eggs. Near
the foot of a cataract, where there was a high beach, our men
dug up the sand in order to trace out some of these chambers
for eggs, and succeeded in capturing four Iguanas, which they
dragged out by their tails and then seized by the back of the
neck and secured. They had to be pretty quick, for the
Iguana can turn round suddenly and give a fearful bite. An
Iguana must be drawn from its hole with rapidity, for, if it
has time to think, it lets go its tail at the base, leaving it in
the hands of the would be capturer, and thus escapes.

“One of these reptiles, captured at its burrow, when killed
and cut up for cooking, was found to contain ten eggs of an
ellipsoidal form, shell less, and midway in size between a
pigeon’s and a hen’s egg. These are good eating when boiled
for about five minutes and then allowed to get quite cold.
They then require some manipulation. A hole is made in one
end of the skin, and the albuminous part, which never
coagulates, is squeezed out ; then the skin is stripped off, and
the semi-hardened yelk, of the consistency of butter, is eaten
with salt.

“Our men and the Indians had a most cruel way of pre¬
venting captured Iguanas from escaping, by slitting down the
sides of two fore and two hind toes, on opposite feet, and
passing the toes between the bone and sinew in such a manner
that they could not be disengaged by the struggles of the
poor animal. The manner in which they were slaughtered,
viz., by inserting a hard-pointed stick up one nostril into the
brain, was also a very cruel proceeding.”

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

417

Perhaps this may be a cruel way of killing the Guana, but,
like nearly all reptiles, it is little sensitive to pain, and
wonderfully tenacious of life, and, as it must be destroyed for
food, perhaps the pointed stick is the quickest mode of killing
it. Not that the natives trouble themselves about the in¬
fliction of pain, for, besides the mode of securing the Guana
as above mentioned, they sew its lips together, in order to
prevent it from biting, and keep it without food until they
want it. Here, again, they are not more cruel than our rat¬
catchers, who used to sew together the lips of their ferrets, or
our fishermen, who used to disable their lobsters by “ pegging ”
their claws as soon as caught.

Guava ( Psidium pomiferum). — The tree which bears this
well known fruit, is quite a little one, scarcely larger than a

GUAVA.

privet bush, and the fruit is small, round and green. It can
be eaten without any preparation, but is mostly made into

E E

418

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

jelly. It is remarkable, however, that few tropical fruits,
except the orange, the cocoa-nut, the pine-apple, and the
durian, can be compared with our plums, peaches, straw¬
berries, &c. The durian indeed, which is said by its lovers to
be the king of fruits, requires an education before it can be
appreciated ; but when it is once tasted, the eater feels as if
he can never have enough of it.

There are several species of Guava, among which is the
little, stunted looking Water Guava ( Psidium Jluviatile) . The
most valued of them is the Perfumed Guava ( P . pomiferum),
which grows abundantly on the banks of the Cuyuni river, its
roots insinuating themselves into the cracks among the stones.

At least seven species or varieties are cultivated.

H.

ITackea ( Siderodendron trijJorum). — A tree growing in
sandy soil, and flowering in November. The flowers are
bright yellow, and when the trees are seen against the dark
foliage of the forest, they look like masses of gold. Hence
the name Siderodendron, or Star-tree.

The wood is not used for general purposes, on account of
its extreme hardness, but is exceedingly valuable for cogs,
shafts, Ac. The tree is about sixty feet in height, and the
wood is brown in colour. It squares about fourteen inches.

Hatarrie. — See “Wourali.”

Hammock. — These ingenious contrivances are now so wTell
known in England that little description is needed. Here
they are a luxury, and a very great one ; there, they are an
absolute necessity.

They are sometimes formed of silk-grass fibre, and some¬
times of cotton, the latter being the more pliant, and the
former the more lasting. The best hammocks are not formed
like nets, and knotted, but the strings are intertwined so that
they adapt themselves to every movement of the body. A

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

419

native never goes on a journey without his hammock, which
he rolls into a sort of rope, and passes it over one shoulder
and under the other, just as officers in the army wear their
overcoats on the march.

In such a moist country as Guiana, where to sleep wet
means to ensure a fever, and where a traveller will sometimes
have to walk day after day up to his knees in water, the
hammock is a necessary of life. When a traveller wishes to
rest, he has only to hang his hammock between a couple of
trees, and he can then clamber into it, rub his wet legs dry,
and lie down in comfort and security.

Hammocks are of various sizes, some being very small and
made for children, while others are large enough to hold two
or more people. As a rule, however, each person has a
hammock to himself.

H ANNAQUOI.

IIannaquoi ( Ortalida rnotmot ). — There are several species of
the Motmots, as these birds are called from their note, but
that which is given is probably that to which Waterton refers.

e e 2

420

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

As the bill is large in proportion to the size of the bird, and
deeply notched along the edges, it has been by some persons
thought to belong to the toucan tribe. It is a solitary bird,
and not to be seen except by those who, like Waterton, travel
into the interior of the forests.

Mr. C. B. Brown found a nest of the Hannaquoi situated in
a low tree. It was made of sticks, and contained four
speckled eggs, about equal in size to those of the common fowl.
The plumage of the Hannaquoi is very beautiful, being almost
entirely blue and green glossed with crimson, and there is a
black velvety spot on the breast and head.

The bird is easily tamed, and soon becomes domesticated
with the poultry.

Hayawa Tree. — See “Acaiari.”

Heron, Blue ( Ardea leucogaster.)

- - Brown ( Ardea virescens.) Popularly called the Grey

Gaul din.

Hia-hia. — See “Parrot, Sun.”

Hitia. — As this tree is mentioned in conjunction with the
siboalalis, it is probably an Eperna.

Hocco. — See “Powise.”

Hog Wild. — See “Peccary.”

IIoutou ( Priotelus temnurus). — This beautiful bird is one
of the splendid group of the Trogons, whose plumage literally
blazes with scarlet and green, contrasted with velvet black
and snowy white. This particular species is also called the
Cuba Trogon, and it is easily recognised by means of the
singular shape of the tail-feathers. They have the central
shaft of the feather extending for some little distance beyond
the web, and look exactly as if they had been cut with a pair
of scissors. The name of ‘temnurus,' or ‘ clip-tail,’ is given
to the bird in consequence of this peculiarity.

Waterton says that the IIoutou clips its tail-feathers with
its beak, but he nowhere states that he had ever seen it do
so, and there is little doubt that the feathers owe their curious
formation to nature alone. Mr. Gould says, that the IIoutou

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

421

behaves much like the woodpeckers, running about the trunks
and branches of trees and pecking insects from their hiding-
places under the bark.

HOUTOU.

Howler, Bed ( Mycetes ursinus ). — This fine monkey, of
which so many strange stories are told, is sometimes men¬
tioned under the title of Araguato. It sometimes attains a
total length exceeding six feet, the tail occupying more than
half of that measurement. The following account of the
Eed Howler is taken from Mr. C. B. Brown’s work on
Guiana : —

“At early morning, at dusk, and through the night, at all
our camping places, we were accustomed to hear the Howlers
serenading. To my mind the sounds produced, by these
monkeys more nearly resembled a roar than a howl, and when
sufficiently far off are not unpleasant to the ear. When
heard from a distance of half a mile or so. they seem to begin
with low notes, swelling gradually into louder and longer

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

ones till they merge into a prolonged roar, which dies gradu¬
ally away with a mournful cadence.

“ When not more than one or two hundred yards away,
and consequently plainly heard, they commence with a series
of short howls, which break off into grunts, and, at every
repetition, become longer and longer till their voices have got
fairly in tune, when they give their final roar, which dies as
gradually away. Then, after an instant’s silence, a few deep
grunts are given, as if the remains of the compressed air in
their throat drums were being got rid of. Listening carefully

HOWLEIt.

to the performance, one can detect a voice at a much higher
key than the others, especially in the dying-away portion.
The Indians say this is made by a dwarf monkey of the same
family which accompanies every troop. I was of the opinion
that it was the voice of a female Howler, but the Indians,
who are very careful observers, said it was not. With their
black negro-like faces, and long red beards covering the bony
howling apparatus below their throats, they are curious-
looking creatures.”

Some specimens of the Red Howler which were brought to

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

423

England, exhibited the peculiar structure of the throat most
admirably. When the monkey opens its mouth, the de¬
velopment of the ‘ hyoid ’ bone is easily seen. It forms a
kind of bony drum communicating with the wind-pipe, and
enabling the animal to emit those horrid yells which have
earned for it the popular name of Howler.

The reader is here requested to look at the note upon the
“ Nondescript.”

KARABIMITI.

Humming-bird, Ara, or Karabimiti ( Topaza pella ), some¬
times called the Crimson Topaz. — This is one of two hum¬
ming-birds which are distinguishable by the length of two
tail-feathers, which are supposed to resemble the elongated
tails of the aras or macaws. The other species is the fiery
topaz ( Topaza jpyra ), so called because the general colour of
the bird is flaming scarlet instead of the rich crimson which
distinguishes the Karabimiti.

The food of tho humming-birds was long a matter of

424

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

uncertainty, but has been definitively settled by Waterton
and other practical naturalists who came after him.

“ Neither the monkey nor the humming bird, on account of
the formation of the feet in this, and of the hands in that,
can labour on the ground for their food. Yet, when they are
in the right region to acquire it, there is a visible difference
in their mode of proceeding. Thus, the monkey sits on the
branch, and in that position supplies its wants with what
the tree produces. But the humming-bird must be on the
wing whilst it extracts food from the flowers, and never can
it possibly be seen to take nourishment whilst perching on
a twig.

“ This rule is absolute for the humming-bird.

“ The vault of heaven offers a large supply of food to these
birds. It is interesting to see how they satisfies the call of
hunger, by invading the columns of insects which frequent
the circumambient atmosphere. Darting from the shade with
the rapidity of a meteor, the humming-bird stops short at the
column, and then, apparently motionless, it regales itself, and
then departs as swiftly as it had approached.

“Authors are divided as to the exact kind of food which
humming-birds require. In all the species which I have in¬
spected (and I have inspected not a few) I have found insects,
or fragments of insects, in the oesophagus ; and occasionally,
l>3r applying my tongue to the contents of the stomach, I have
experienced a sweet taste, as though of sugar and water. Still,
were I asked if I considered that the nectar in flowers consti¬
tuted the principal food of humming-birds, I should answer
in the negative. Insects form their principal food. The
robust frames of these birds seem to require something more
solid to support life than the nectareous dew abstracted from
flowers ; and I don’t exactly see, if these birds do principally
exist on this kind of nutriment, how it is that they continue
to keep it pure in their own hot stomachs ; and then, by a
process unknown to us, convey it to the stomachs of their
gaping little ones.”

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

425

Waterton was, as usual, perfectly right in his surmises.
Several experiments have been made since he was in Guiana,
and they have proved the soundness of his reasoning.

Mr. Webber succeeded in taming a ruby-throated hum¬
ming-bird, which would come from any part of the room, and
eagerly drink sugar and water and honey from a china-cup,
perching on the brim, and thrusting its long beak into the
sweet mixture as far as the very base.

The same naturalist afterwards reared a pair of ruby-
throats, which were so completely domesticated that,
although they went away with their comrades at the usual
time of migration, they returned to the house in the follow¬
ing season and brought their mates with them, so that in
time there was quite a family of humming-birds perched
upon the cups and drinking.

He found, however, that they required other food besides
nectar, and discovered that they were in the habit of poising
themselves before spider-webs, and delicately picking out the
spider from the centre of its web. Mr. Gosse, who tamed
several humming-birds during his stay in Jamaica, found that
they required insects as wrell as syrup, and were especially
fond of small ants, that used to crawl into the syrup, and
nearly cover its surface with their bodies.

I may here mention that Bimiti is the native name for
Humming-birds in general. Thus K’Ara-Bimiti is ‘ The Ara
Humming-bird/ as stated by Waterton.

I.

Ibibourou. — I can only find one Jay which in the least
agrees with Waterton’ s description ; it is Cyanocorax cristatus.
But it is a North American bird, and could not live in
Guiana.

Iguana. — See “ Guana.”

India Rubber Tree ( Ficus elastica). — Sometimes called
the Caoutchouc Tree.

426

EXPLANATORY INDEX,

J.

Jabiru ( Mycteria Americana). — The Jabirus, of which there
are several species, are closely related to the well-known
adjutant birds of India, and belong to the family of storks.
Large as are several of the storks, the Jabirus are still larger,
and come next to the ostriches in point of size. They may be
easily distinguished from other storks by the shape of their
very large beaks, which turn slightly upward at the point.

One species inhabits Australia, and from the account of
Dr. Bennett, who kept one in confinement for a long time, it
almost exactly resembles the South American species, especi¬
ally in its extreme wariness. It is so cautious that even the
natives find great difficulty in procuring a specimen.

The bird became very tame, and was allowed to wander
about the house and yard. It made friends with the cook,
and when hungry, used to search for her. It never tried to
steal the meat, but waited patiently until it was cut up. Dr.
Bennett mentions that it would catch flies on the wing, and
that he has seen it, while squatting on the ground, with its
long legs doubled up beneath its body, dart its
bill into the ground, and drag out the larvae of
insects, mostly those of the great cicada.

On account of the black, bare head, the Dutch
of Surinam call it negro-cope, or black-head.

Both illustrations here given were sketched in
the Zoological Gardens from the same bird, in
order to show how completely the attitude alters
the aspect. The first shows it as it was viewed
from behind. The bird was then standing
quietly, resting the whole weight of its body on
one leg, and having the other slightly raised.
Its attention was roused by my movements as
I shifted about to procure a favourable view, and it kept a
watchful eye upon me the while.

JABIRU

CONTEMPLATIVE

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

427

The second view was taken from the front, when the Jabiru
was enjoying itself in the sun. While thus employed, it
kept up a continual shivering movement of the feathers, just
as has been related of the ibis. In its native state it is to be

JABIftl1 SUNNING ITSELF.

found on the banks of lakes, marshes, and rivers, and feeds
upon the aquatic reptiles, fish, &c., which it finds in such
localities.

Every traveller in Guiana is sure to see this splendid bird,
and Mr. C. B. Brown often met with it. He gives the
following description of the nestling : —

“ I was greatly amused with the appearance of two young
but fully fledged Jabirus, which stood on their large, flat nest,
composed of sticks entwined together, on the branch of a
large isolated tree, growing on the river’s bank. They looked
like two shipwrecked mariners on a rock in mid-ocean,
waiting to be delivered from their lonely watch by a passing
ship. They stood there as if scanning the horizon, apparently
deep in thought, shifting their position now and then from
one leg to the other, or taking a solemn or stately stroll
round the confines of their nest. Thus we left them, to await
the time when their powers of flight would be sufficiently
developed to enable them to go forth into the world and
forage for themselves. They wTere fully feathered with a
grey plumage, which on moulting would change to pure
white.’ ’

The same author mentions, on another page, the habits of

428

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

a domesticated Jabiru, which behaved very much after the
fashion of the bird described by Dr. Bennett.

“The people had a tame Jabiru, which stalked about in a
most deliberate and stately way, as if every step it took was a
matter of deep deliberation. In spite of its sage looks there
was some fun in it, as it seemed to enjoy playing a practical
joke now and then on the village dogs ; for whenever it had
a chance it stalked stealthily behind one and delivered a well
directed prod with its pointed beak, full on the dog’s back,
which caused the dog to fly and the old Jabiru to ‘smile
inwardly.’ ”

If the Jabiru can find a tall, pillar like rock, it is sure to
build its nest on it just as does the stork.

Schomburgk gives a touching account of a Jabiru which had
built its nest on the top of a tall basaltic pillar named Piere-
piapa, about fifty feet in he’ght. One young bird was in the
nest, and the mother, on seeing the travellers, flew to its
help, and stood guard over it. One of Schomburgk’s men
saw the bird standing over its young, and shot it before he
could be checked.

The Jabiru is called by the natives Tararama. Its flesh is
eatable, and is said to resemble beef.

Jacamars. — The species here described is the Great Jacamar

— (Jacamero ps grandis ) .

The mode of feeding employed by this bird, and described
by C. Kingsley in At Last , exactly corroborates Waterton’s
account. He had been startled by seeing a bat fly past
at mid-day, the shade of the tropical forest being so deep and
dark.

“And there is another! No ; as it turns, a blaze of
metallic azure off the upper side of the wings proves this one
to be no bat, but a morpho, a moth as big as a bat. And
what was that second large flash of golden green, which
dashed at the moths, and back to yonder branch not ten feet
off! A Jacamar — kingfisher, as they miscall her here, sitting
fearless of man, with the moth in her long beak. Her throat

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

429

is snowy white, her under parts a rich brown. Her breast
and all her upper plumage and long tail, glitter with golden
green. There is light enough it seems, in the forest.”

The morpho, by the way, is a butterfly, and not a moth.

GREAT JACAMAR,

Jaguar ( Leopcirdus onca). — Waterton did not see much of
the jaguars (which he sometimes calls tigers), and certainly
was not afraid of them. Mr. Brown gives the following
account of the mode in which the jaguar is successfully
hunted : —

“ On returning to the head of the Hew River for provisions,
we were followed for many miles by a Tiger, for on going
back we saw its huge tracks in the swampy places on our
path.

“ With good hunting-dogs fine Jaguar and Puma hunting
might be obtained on the banks of this river, where without
doubt they are exceedingly numerous.

“ Many of the Indian hunting-dogs, trained for deer or
tapir will hunt Tigers. When on the track of either of those
animals, should they come across the scent of a Tiger, their

430

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

eager and confident manner of pressing on after the game is
immediately changed, and with the hair on their backs erect
they become cautious and nervous to a degree, jumping at
even the snapping of a twig. Abandoning the hunt they take
up the Tiger’s track and follow it. But should the huntsman
call them from it, or not cheer them on with his voice from
time to time, they exhibit great fear, and keeping close to his
heels cannot be induced to hunt any more in that district for
that day.

“ On the contrary, if allowed to follow the Tiger, they track
it up with caution, being fully aware of the cunning dodge
practised by that animal ; which is, when the dog is close at
hand, to spring to one side and lie in ambush until it passes,
when with one spring the dog is seized.

“ Ordinary dogs would fall a prey to this trap, but not the
self-taught Tiger- dogs. Their fine powers of scent warn them
of their near approach to the quarry, when they advance with
great caution, never failing to detect the Tiger in time, and
when once their eye is upon their enemy it has no chance of
escape.

“ In its pride of strength, the Jaguar scorns the dogs, and
with a rush like a ball from a cannon springs madly at one of
them, feeling sure that it cannot escape. It has reckoned,
however, without its host, for the dog eludes the spring with
ease, and with great quickness flies on the Tiger’s flank, giving
it a severe nip. As the Tiger turns with a growl of pain and
disappointment, the dog is off to a little distance, yelping
lustily, and never remaining still an instant, bat darting first
on one side and then on the other. After one or two in¬
effectual charges the Tiger gives it up, and on the approach of
the hunter springs into the nearest suitable tree, which it
seldom leaves alive.”

It is to be wished that Waterton had secured an uninjured
specimen of a Jaguar skin, on which he might have exercised
his unrivalled powers of taxidermy.

Jumbo. — The negroes still retain this term for their chief

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

431

deity, which, of course, is a malignant one. They crouch in
abject terror before Jumbo, who, according to them, takes
possession of birds ( see Goatsucker), desolate swamps, and so
forth.

The really terrible Obeah or Fetish -worship of the negroes
is connected with Jumbies and Duppies (the spirits of the
dead), and the negroes are absolutely subservient to the
Obeah men and women, who can put Obeah into anything they
choose. Even the whites are not free from the fear of them,
and with reason, for they have an intimate knowledge of many
poisons, and will use them on either black or white. Stedman
mentions several instances of such crimes, and it was nearly
certain that his faithful Joanna fell a victim to the insidious
poisons of Obeah.

K.

Karabimiti. — See “ Humming Bird. Ara.”

Kessi-kessi. — A vast number of parrots are called Kessi-
kessis, and are very plentiful. They all may be referred to
the genus Conurus , and between forty or fifty species are
known.

They are always to be found among the forests bordering
on rivers, and are very noisy among the upper branches, the
more so as they are sociable in their habits. Some species
make their nests in the hollows of trees, upon the decaying
wood, and several pairs of birds may be found in the same
cavity. Others build in trees. Their nests are large, toler¬
ably globular in shape, made of thorny branches, and have
the entrance by an aperture at the side.

The best-known species of kessi-kessi parrots is known
scientifically as Conurus solstitialis , and is one of the most
plentiful of the parrakeets. It is a very pretty creature, its
plumage being a mixture of orange, red, and green.

King of the Vultures. — See “ Vulture, King.”

Kurumanni Wax. — This is composed of the wax of a wild bee

432

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

( Ceroxylon andicola), mixed with a pitch-like substance ob¬
tained from several trees, chiefly the Maam-tree. It is pitchy
black in colour, and when exposed to heat, looks almost
exactly like pitch. It is used for many purposes, and is
equally useful as a waterproof material or a cement. The
seams of canoes are always “ payed ” with Kurumanni wax.

L.

Labarri ( Ela-ps lemniscatus). — As is the case with most
serpents, the Labarri is & beautiful creature during life, but
shortly after death the various colours which play over its
skin begin to fade, and soon perish entirely.

Labba, sometimes spelled Lapo. — One of the Cavies ( Coelo -
genys paca) of which the common Guinea-pig is so familiar an
example. The name Ccelogenys, or Hollow-cheek, is given to
it on account of its enormously developed cheek-bones, and
large cheek-pouches. Its flesh is very delicate, being as rich
in fat as that of the Acouri is destitute of it. The mode of
hunting the Labba is described by Mr. C. B. Brown in his
work on Guiana.

“ The flesh of the Labba is considered the most delicate of
all bush animals, and is therefore much sought after. This
animal is a rodent about the size of a hare, but with a stouter
body, and more rat-like head. It is nocturnal in its habits,
spending the day in its burrow under tree-roots near the edges
of rivers. These sleeping-chambers are not very long, and
have two entrances. The huntsman rams a thin pole in at one
end, which startles the occupant, causing it to fly precipitately
from the other, like a ball from a cannon, closely followed by
the dog.

“ The Labba, when close pressed, takes to the water, and
while swimming is hunted down by the Indian sportsman in
his wood skin. Sometimes the animal escapes by diving, and
hiding amongst fallen brushwood on the river’s edge, but more
frequently falls a victim to the arrow of the Indian.”

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

433

Its colour is dark brown, with four rows of white spots on
each side. The fur is considered useless.

Lemon ( Citrus limonum.) — This tree belongs to the same
genus as the orange, and there are nearly as many varieties of
Lemons as there are of oranges.

Letter- wood ( Brosimum aubletii). — The wood of this small
tree is intensely hard and very heavy. It derives its popular
name from the colour of the wood, which is deep brown
scribbled over with reddish marks looking something like
Persian or Arabic letters. In consequence of its weight and
hardness it is much used for the “ shimara-sherie ” of the
long fish and hog arrows, q. v.

In this tree, only the heart-wood produces the beautiful
markings, and in a tree of twenty inches in diameter the
heart-wood measures barely seven inches. It runs to about
eighty feet in height, and is rather scarce. The natives call it
by the name of Buro-koro, or Paira. It may be here men¬
tioned that the native name for all heart-wood is Tacouba.

Locust-Tree (. Hymenoea courbaril). — For its use in canoe
making see Purple-heart.

The bark of this tree has but one defect. It is rarely more
than a quarter of an inch in thickness, and so is easily bent
to the required form. But it is heavier than water, so that if
the canoe be upset, it immediately sinks, and cannot be raised
without difficulty.

It is from the Locust-tree that the gum animi of commerce
is obtained. Very often, when the tree is dead and decayed,
enormous quantities of the gum may be found on the spot
which it had occupied. The wood makes excellent furniture,
being hard, heavy, brown streaked with veins, and taking a
fine polish. The tree is also known by the names of Simiri
and K’wanarri.

F F

434

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

M

Maam. See 11 Tinamou.”

Mahogany (Swietonia mahagoni.) — The tree which furnishes
the well-known mahogany wood is a very fine one, some speci¬
mens being nearly a hundred feet in height. It belongs to the
group of Cedracese. The timber is especially valuable, because,
no matter how large or long it may be, it is almost invariably
sound throughout, and free from ‘ shakes.’ A single log has
been sold for a thousand pounds. Its uses were discovered
by Sir W. Raleigh.

Rosewood, which comes from the same country is a Mimosa,
several species of which furnish the wood. It derives its
name from the rose-like smell of the freshly-cut timber.

Manakins. — These are nearly all small birds, the Cock of
the Rock, g.v., being the largest of them. In England, we
have an example of the Manakins, namely, the well-known
Waxen Chatterer (Ampelis garrula), so celebrated for the wax¬
like appendages to several of the feathers. All the manakins
are comprised in the group of Piprinre.

Maribunta. — This is merely a Portuguese word signifying a
Wasp, and is applied to all wasps indiscriminately.

Maroudi. — There are several species of Maroudis, those
which are best known being the common maroudi (Penelope
cristata), and the white-headed maroudi (Penelope pipile). Of
these birds, Mr. C. B. Brown writes as follows : —

“ The white-headed maroudi makes an extraordinary rattling
noise with its wings in early morning and late in the evening,
evidently amusing itself, or following a custom of its kind, for
when it likes, it can fiy noiselessly enough.

“ I examined their wings, and found that the males have four
curiously shaped feathers at the tip of the wing, with which
they make this noise. The end portion of these feathers is
stiff, with very short pennules. The white-headed females
have only three of these feathers in each wing, which are not

EX PL AN ATORY I NDEX.

435

so intensely modified as in the male ; while the male of the
common kind has only two of those feathers in each wing,
which are modified in a less degree than those in the females
of the white-headed species.”

WHITE-IIEADEL) MAROUDI.

If the reader will refer to the note on Pee-ay-man, lie will see
that the Maroudi is thought to be a bird of good spiritual
influence.

Moco-moco Tree ( Calladium arborescens.)

Monkey, Brown > (Cebus Apella). — This monkey is well
known in England, and is very intelligent. Some years ago
there was one in the Zoological Gardens who had been taught
to crack nuts with a stone, if he found them too hard for his
teeth. He taught a companion the same art, and it was most
absurd to see the two sitting side by side, and cracking nuts
alternately. They never seemed to quarrel about the pos¬
session of the stone, but as soon as one had cracked a nut, he
put down the stone and the other took it up. They had worn
the stone quite smooth by continual use.

f f 2

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

436

Another possessed the rather dangerous faculty of lighting
lucifer-matches, and knocking them about with his hands
while blazing. Nothing pleased him so much as a flaming
“fusee,” as it blazed more fiercely than an ordinary match,
and remained alight much longer. The sides and back of his
cage were covered with the marks of the matches which he
had lighted.

Other monkeys employ artificial methods of nut-cracking,
as is shown by Mr. C. B. Brown.

He had found a number of Brazil nuts on the ground, en¬
closed in their hard, shelly cases. “ My men used to open

BROWS MONKEY.

them by chopping off their ends with a Cutlass, which, owing
to their hardness, was no easy operation. The quatas, or
large black spider monkeys, spent a good deal of their time in
trying to open them by beating them against the branches of
trees, or on hard logs upon the ground ; and as we passed a
grove of Brazil-nut-trees it was amusing to hear the hammer¬
ing sounds produced by these fellows at their self-imposed
tasks. Where a single monkey was thus employed the blows
were most laughably ‘ few and far between,’ the creature
showing its true indolent character by the slow way in which
it performed its work, resting for a few minutes between every
blow. It also showed an amount of perseverance, however,

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

437

that one would not look for in a monkey, and a knowledge
that it would eventually reap a reward for its hard labour.

“ Goodness knows how long it takes one of these monkeys
to break a nut-case ; but the time must be great, for on one
occasion, we got quietly amongst a lot of the nut breakers,
and secured a nut-case which one in its hurry had left upon a
log, and which was worn smooth by the friction of the mon¬
key’s hands. This had evidently been pounded for a length of
time, but showed no signs of cracking. Its natural aperture
was large enough to allow the monkey’s finger to touch the
ends of the nuts inside, which were picked and worn by its
nails. Near the same place we saw a nut-case split in two,
on the flat surface of a large granite rock, that had evidently
been broken by a monkey, for there were no Brazil-nut trees
from which it could have fallen, overhanging the spot.”

There are several species belonging to the genus Cebus, and
they are called by the general name of Capucins.

Monkeys and Missiles. — Waterton, as will here be seen,
entirely denies that any monkey can use a missile, and recurs
to the subject in one of his essays. In this article he offers to
accompany any one to any collection of monkeys, and to supply
the animals with stones, tiles, lead, pewter-pots and sawdust,
all of which articles he has been told had been used as missiles
against human beings by monkeys. He offers, in his own
amusingly trenchant style, to give the monkeys every oppor¬
tunity of hurling these objects at him, and that if one of
them does so, he will admit that the knowledge which he had
acquired “ during a long sojourn in the forests of Guiana (the
native haunts of monkeys) is rotten, and not worth one single
farthing.”

There can be no doubt that Waterton is perfectly right in
denying that a monkey either would or could, throw stones or
any missiles by way of defence. Most monkeys can catch a
missile, and many are adroit enough to catch flies on the wing.
But, although they can catch, they cannot throw. Still, they
may be able to drop branches, Ac. from the tops of trees, not

438

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

because the branches are dead and brittle, and have been
accidentally broken by the passage of the monkeys among
them, but with the deliberate intention of driving away a
supposed foe.

Waterton never saw such a feat performed, and he is right
to say so. But there are other travellers quite as worthy of
credence as Waterton, who definitely state that they have been
eye-witnesses to such a proceeding. XTo one, I would presume,
would impugn a direct assertion of Mr. Alfred L. Wallace.
Yet in his well-known work on the Malay Archipelago, among
the islands of which he was continually travelling for more
than seven years, he has the following observations : —

“I afterwards shot two adult females and two young ones
of different ages, all of which I preserved.

“ One of the females, with several young ones, was feeding
on a Durian tree with unripe fruit ; and as soon as she saw
us she began breaking off branches, and the great spiny
branches with every appearance of rage, causing such a shower
of missiles as effectually kept us from approaching too near
the tree.

“ This habit of throwing down branches when irritated has
been doubted, but I have, as here narrated, observed it my¬
self on at least three separate occasions. It was, however,
always the female Mias who behaved in this way, and it may
be that the male, trusting more to his great strength and his
powerful canine teeth, is not afraid of any other animal, and
does not want to drive them away, while the parental instinct
of the female leads her to adopt this mode of defending her¬
self and her young ones.”

Perhaps it may be said that AVallace travelled in the Malay
Archipelago, and wrote of the orang-outan, while Waterton
travelled in Guiana, and wrote of the Coaita which inhabits
that country. Still, his sweeping assertion included all
members of the monkey race, and moreover, a traveller and
naturalist, who spent much, time in Guiana, writes as follows
of the Coaiti, or Quata : —

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

439

“ When engaged in the forest, cutting our portage, we were
frequently visited by bands of large Coiata monkeys, which were
very numerous on the banks of the upper part of this river
(the Essequibo). They were the black-bodied, red-faced kind
of large spider monkey, and uttered a sort of barking grunt.
Their cry, when calling to each other, has a wailing sound,
and is very loud.

“On seeing us, they used frequently to hurl down large
dead branches, some of which came rather too close to our
heads at times to be comfortable. The manner in which
they performed this was singular : they held on by tail and
hind-feet to a live bough in a tree top, alongside of a dead
one, and pushing with their hands with all their force against
the latter, generally succeeding in breaking it off, when down
it came.” (0. B. Brown, Canoe and Camp Life in Guiana.)

Mr. Brown’s statement appears to be too definite to be re¬
jected as unworthy of belief. Putting it by the side of the
observations made independently in the Malay Archipelago,
it seems to prove beyond doubt, that monkeys can intention¬
ally drop missiles in order to annoy intruders, though they
cannot throw them.

Mora ( Mora excelsa). — One of the many giants of the
vegetable kingdom which are found in Guiana, sometimes
attaining a height of two hundred feet.

Mr. C. B. Brown gives the following description of this fine
tree : —

“ The band of Mora-trees lining both banks of the Esse¬
quibo continued along it as far up as we went, but did not
grow on the banks of the Bupununi up to Pirara landing. The
Mora grows only on a moist soil along the borders of the river,
forming a band on both sides of varying width, according to the
breadth of the band of flooded country during the rainy sea¬
son. In places it is often not more than 100 yards in width.
Up) many small side streams the Mora has marched to their
sources, while along others it has not attempted to spread.

440

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

By their solid-looking tops, composed of massive dark green
leaves, and their great height, they attract attention and
excite admiration ; and when portions of their tops are
sprouting new leaves, which are of a light liver colour at first,
turning red, and then green, a forest of them presents many
varied tints. Each branch throws out shoots and gets new
leaves at all times of the year, independent of other portions
of the same tree.”

The seeds of the Mora are rather pink inside, and used by
the natives as food, being boiled, grated, and then mixed with
cassava meal, giving it a brown colour, but a pleasant and
sweetish taste. Three varieties of this tree are recognised,
namely, the Red Mora, White Mora, and Mora Bucquia. The
timber is excellent for ship building, and is one of the eight
first class woods at Lloyd’s.

Mosquito ( Culex pipiens). — Several species of Gnats are
called by the name of Mosquito, which signifies a little fly.
They are found all over the world, and infest hot and cold
countries equally, though their bite seems to be fiercer in
the former than in the latter.

Even in England the Mosquito can be more than unpleasant.
I have had my right hand laid up for a long time by the bite
of a single Mosquito just at the base of the thumb. The
insect settled on my hand in broad daylight, and I killed it
as soon as I felt the prick of its beak ; but the mischief was
done, and I had to carry my arm in a sling and have the
hand covered with ice for several days. As to the hand, it
looked more like a discoloured boxing-glove than a hand.

It is only the female Mosquito which bites, the male being
perfectly harmless.

There is a larger and longer legged species of Mosquito in
Guiana. Its scientific name is Culex pvlicularis , and it is
popularly known as Gaily- nipper.

Musk Duck ( Cairina moschata). — Popularly, but wrongly
called the Muscovy Duck.

EXPLANATORY INDEX

441

N

Nandapoa. — Sometimes called Negrocope, i.e. Black-head
( Tantalus loculator ), a species of Ibis. The Jabiru, q. v., is
also called Negrocope.

Air. C. B. Brown’s observations on this bird agree exactly
with Waterton’s passing description. He mentions that
“ they are white, with black wings, and are frequently seen
soaring high in the heavens in circles, mounting higher and
higher till they appear like mere specks.” The head and
neck have no feathers, and are covered with a black, wrinkled
skin.

Nondescript. — This wonderful specimen of Waterton’s
skill in taxidermy is formed from the head and shoulders of
the Red Howler monkey, q. v. In manipulating it, Waterton
has so modelled the skin that he has discharged from the face
every vestige of the original features, and has substituted
those of a man, grotesque enough, but still human. As bare
skin always becomes black when dry, the contrast of the
black face with the fiery red hair has a very striking effect
and adds to the resemblance.

In his witty review of the Wanderings, to which reference
has already been made, Sydney Smith says of the frontispiece,
which represents the Nondescript, “ Upon stuffing animals we
have a word to say. Air. AVaterton has placed at the head of
his book the picture of what he is pleased to consider a non¬
descript species of monkey. In this exhibition our author is
surely abusing his stuffing talents, and laughing at the public.
It is clearly the head of a Alaster in Chancery — whom we
have often seen backing in the House of Commons after he
has delivered his message. It is foolish thus to trifle with
science and natural history.”

The principal difficulty in preparing this grotesque head
lay in the change of the facial angle from that of the monkey
to that of the man. This could not have been done if the

442

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

skull, or any part of it, Rad been allowed to remain, and tbe
really wonderful feat could only be performed by Waterton’s
system of removing tbe whole of tbe bones, and paring down
all tbe bare skin until it was not thicker than ordinary writing-
paper.

Tbe drawing of tbe bead, however, scarcely does justice to
the original, for Waterton made the nose much more aquiline
and thinner than is shown in tbe engraving, which also
makes the face look as if it were hairy, whereas it is abso¬
lutely bare. If any visitor to Ushaw College can manage to
obtain a profile view of the Nondescript, he will be greatly
struck with the ingenuity which has changed the flattened
nose of the monkey into the aquiline nose of a human being.

Many persons indeed, on seeing the Nondescript, really
thought that it was human, and said that Waterton ought not
to have been allowed to kill natives in order to show his skill
in preserving their skins.

Nutmeg ( Myristica moschata.) — Mace is the scarlet envelope
which surrounds the seed. It becomes reddish-yellow when
dry.

O

Olou, sometimes written Oolu. — The tree is a large one,
running to eighty or ninety feet in height, and found in loose
sandy soil on the Essequibo. It produces scented gum much
like that of the hayawali, and seems to be also a species of
Idea. The wood is recommended for wardrobes, entomological
cabinets, and the like.

Opossum ( Cheironectes YapocJc). — Sometimes, on account of
its predatory habits and its semi-aquatic life, it is called
the Demerara Otter. Buffon also terms it an otter.

It is really a curious being, and has greatly puzzled syste¬
matic naturalists. Most of the opossium tribe inhabit trees,
but the Yapock passes the greater part of its time in the
water, and is never found far from rivers. The feet are

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

443

webbed, the cheeks are furnished with large pouches, and the
fore-feet look exactly as if they had six toes instead of
five.

It is rather prettily marked, the ground colour being grey,
on which are bold black marks. In the young, the grey is
Lghter and the black darker than in the adult animal.

opossum.

Orange ( Citrus aurantium). — Those who have travelled in
the West Indies say that the Orange cannot be appreciated
unless eaten off the tree, and that the best “ China ” Orange
of our shops is but bad brown sugar and water to the Orange
when fresh. The only drawback is, that the aromatic oil of
the peel is so powerful that the lips are blistered, unless
every particle of peel be removed.

Otter ( Pteronura Sanbachii). — The following account of
this animal is given by Mr. C. B. Brown : —

“We frequently came up with parties of Otters, composed
of from five to eight individuals, which tried to dispute the
passage of the river with us. They used to approach the
canoes, and all popping their heads out of water together,
would snort and snarl as if trying to intimidate us. Seeing
that our advance was not to be checked, they took long dives
away, and quickly disappeared beyond a bend in the river, to
be seen no more. They were of a brownish colour, with a

444

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

patcli of white under the throat. I could not resist the temp¬
tation of haying a shot at one occasionally, but never could
tell whether it took effect, for, as they always disappeared
beneatli the surface at the instant of the report, it was diffi¬
cult to say whether they had dived at the flash or were killed
and sunk to the bottom.”

The length of one which was shot by Mr. Brown was five
feet four inches, nearly two feet more than the average
length of our English otter. The burrows seem to have two
entrances, one opening into the river and the other leading to
the bank.

Ourah ( Arundinaria Schomburgkii) . — Waterton did not
know the reed called Ourah, neither did the Macoushies,
who were in the habit of purchasing it. It is a very local
plant, and according to Schomburgk, is only to be found on a
sandstone ridge of the Upper Orinoco River. In some respects
it resembles the bamboo, and, like that plant, grows in thick
clusters, with long slender branches that wave in the wind
like magnified tufts of grass.

No where is the stem more than half an inch in diameter,
and the first joint, which is used for the blow-gun, is fifteen
or sixteen feet in length, without a single knot, hollow, and
polished within. Though its walls are very thin, they are
of great strength, owing to the tubular form of the reed, and
are thus able to uphold the slender branches, which sometimes
reach forty feet in length.

P

Pacou [Myletes pacu). — How this fish is taken by means
of poisoning the water is described under “Wourali.”
Poison, however, is not absolutely necessary, for the Pacous
have a fashion of coming to the surface of the water,
showing their heads and parts of their backs, and then dis¬
appearing. Waterton used to shoot pike in the same manner
as they came to bask on the surface of the water, after the

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

445

custom of their kind. The flesh of the Pacou affords excellent
food.

Paddle. — The Paddles are really curious objects. They are
made from the wood of the Paddle-tree (. Aspidospermum excel-
sum), a most strange-looking tree. It runs to a considerable
height, and the outline of the trunk is most remarkable.

The reader will remember that the Ceiba (see p. 395) has
the lower part of the trunk modified into buttresses, but
the Paddle-tree seems to be all buttress, and bears a curious
resemblance to the clustered pillars found in some of our old
cathedrals. Indeed, the section of the tree looks very much
like a piece of one of those intricate puzzle-maps and pictures
which used to be found in the toyshops.

As the wood is soft while fresh, an Indian, when he has to
make a new paddle, splits off one of the ‘‘flutes,” as these
buttresses are called, trims it carefully into shape, and then
hands it over to the women, who paint it in divers patterns
of black and red.

The Paddle wood tree is called by the natives Yarari or
Massara. When dry, the wood is very light, very elastic, very
hard, and very strong. The oddly-shaped tree averages sixty
or seventy feet in height, and five feet in diameter. A good
section of it is in the Technological Museum of the Crvstal
Palace.

Pappaw or Papaw-Tree ( Carica papaya). — This tree is
planted by the natives near all their permanent settlements,
and is seen in company with the cotton and red pepper. It
not only furnishes an edible fruit, but possesses the singular
property of making tough meat tender when rubbed with the
acrid juice of the unripe fruit, or even with the leaf. In fact,
as Tom Cringle says, it can convert a piece of bull’s hide into
a tender beef-steak.

Paint, Ped, used by Natives. — The natives are fond of
decorating their bodies with paints during feasting times. Ped
and black are the two chief colours. Ped is obtained from the
seeds of the Arnotto plant ( Bixa orellana), and the black from

44G

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

the juice of the fruit of the Lana tree (Genvpa Americana).
The Bixa is the plant that furnishes the annato dye, with
which we colour our cheeses. The natives call the paint by
the name of R.ucu.

Par ima, Lake. — Ever since the time of the great adven¬
turer, Raleigh, there has been great discussion as to the
Lake Paritna and El Dorado, or the Golden City. Some
geographers have denied the existence of either lake or
city, while others have been so certain as to the former, that
a map in my possession places it about forty miles north-east
of Fort St. Joachim, in the loop of the Tacatu River,
between Lat. 4 and 5 N.

Waterton could find no traces of it, and the inhabitants of
Fort St. Joachim had not been more successful. Schomburgk,

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

447

who went much by the tracks of Waterton, reached the very
spot, and found that Waterton’ s cautious suggestion was more
than correct. He has given a beautiful drawing of the spot,
which would have been the centre of the lake, had it existed,
but on which was a small settlement of native huts. Of the
lake he writes as follows : —

“ The vast savannahs upon which St. Pirara is situated, are
encompassed by the Pacaraima mountains to the north, the
Canoku and Carawaimi mountains to the south, the thick
forests of the Essequibo and isolated mountains, to the east,
and the mountains of the Mocajahi, and branches of the Sierra
Parirna to the west ; and, according to a superficial computa¬
tion, cover a space of fourteen thousand four hundred square
miles. The geological structure of this region leaves but little
doubt that it was once the bed of an inland lake, which, by
one of those catastrophes of which even later times give us
examples, broke its barriers and forced a path for its waters
to the Atlantic. May we not connect with this inland sea
that fable of El Dorado and Lake Parirna 1 ”

Thus Schomburgk has proved that Waterton’s conjecture
was correct, and that we may erase El Dorado and Lake
Parirna from our maps and memories.

Parrot, Sun, or Hia-hia ( Derotypus coronatus).- — It derives
its popular and appropriate name from the way in which
the feathers of its neck can be spread into a sort of flaming
glory round its head. There is a splendid specimen in
Waterton’s museum.

Pataca. — There seems to be no possibility of identifying
this bird. No description is given, and its name is only once
casually mentioned. As it is named in connection with the
maroudi, it may belong to the same group of birds. See
“ Maroudi.”

Peccary, sometimes called Wild Hog ( Dicoteles tajacu).
— This is not a large animal, weighing only some fifty or
sixty pounds, but it is greatly dreaded, not only by the
natives, but by Europeans. The tusks of the boars are so

448

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

small that they can scarcely be seen beyond the lips, but they
are terribly sharp, cut like lancets, and can be wielded with
singular swiftness and force.

Moreover, the Peccaries, until they have learned respect for
man from long experience, seem to be entirely without the
sense of fear, and to be in the habit of taking offence at the
least sound, and charging at the spot. There is scarcely a
hunter who has not been forced to climb into the branches of

PARROT. SUN.

trees in order to escape a herd of Peccaries, and even when
they have driven him into the tree, they will sit round it,
gnashing their tusks in anger. The sound of the clashing
tusks is well known to hunters, and warns them to prepare
for a charge.

The jaguar preys upon them, but is afraid of them. They
always go in herds, and if one be attacked, the rest are sure
to come to the rescue. So, the jaguar silently follows the
herd, strikes down a straggling Peccary and makes for the
nearest tree. There it remains until the Peccaries are tired

E X PL A N A TO I IY I X I JE X.

440

of waiting for it, and it then descends the tree, finishes the
Peccary, and then follows the herd in -search of another. In¬
stances have been however known where the jaguar has not
had time to escape, and has been cut to pieces by the lancet -
like tusks of the Peccaries.

Two species are known in Guiana, one the Collared Peccary,
having a white band over the neck, and the other the White-
lipped Peccary, which has a white streak upon the jaws. Both

PECCJAKY.

species have on the back a fetid open gland, which must be
cut out as soon as the animal is killed, as if it were allowed
to remain, the flesh would be uneatable. The White-lipped
Peccary is larger than its relative, fiercer, and more dreaded.
The natives use the white tusks for necklaces and other
ornaments.

Pee-ay-man. — The word is spelt variously by different
travellers, some using the word Piaiman. The pronunciation
however is the same in both cases.

The Pee-ay-man, or sorcerer, is a very great man indeed,
like the medicine man of North America or the prophet of
South Africa, and has to endure a curiously similar ordeal of
bodily torture and exhaustion before he can be admitted to
the coveted rank. The mode in which he exercises his art is
narrated by Mr. C. P>. Brown. lie had procured a guide who

G G

450

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

was full of wild legends relating to the locality, and would
insist on telling them.

“ He turned out to be a famed sorcerer, or Piaiman ; and at
a village called Itabay, where we stopped one night in return¬
ing, he left the house in which we had put up our hammocks,
telling the interpreter to inform me that his absence for the
night was unavoidable, owing to his having to go up amongst
the mountains to roam about for the night, whilst his good

spirit remained in one of the houses to cure a sick man,
who had demanded his good offices.

“ In two minutes after he had left us his powerful voice was
heard making the most discordant sounds imaginable, chanting,
howling, coughing, and many other diabolical noises, to these
were added the slashing sound of an instrument called a shak-
shak, made of a small round calabash filled with seeds, and
placed on a handle, by which it is shaken.

E XP L A N ATO KYI N I) E X .

451

“ All the fires in the house had been put out in anticipation
of his arrival, and the place was pitch dark, so that the illu¬
sion that he was not there in the flesh might be kept up.
Owing to the noise I did not get a wink of sleep until about
two o’clock in the morning, and often thought, during the
night, what a good thing it would have been if his spirit had
only accompanied his body to the mountains.

“ The house being close to the one I was in, the interpreter
could hear all he said, and at my request, but with evident
reluctance, told me what it was. It seems that he entered the
house silently, and then commenced the sort of din above
mentioned, beating with a palm branch on the floor. He then
asked in a deep sepulchral voice what it was that ailed the
patient, to which the sick man’s wife responded that some evil
spirits or kanaimas had ‘done him bad.’ The sorcerer then
said, ‘ Well, I don't know whether I can cure him, but I will
do my best.’

“ He then called to his aid the good spirit of a bird, called
the maroudi, the descent of which from the roof was made
known by the shaking of the palm leaf raised up and gradually
lowered to the floor.

“ On the arrival of this good spirit, it at first complained of
having had a long journey, and that it was much heated by
the haste it had been obliged to make wdien so suddenly sum¬
moned. It made the usual amount of noise, interlarded with
whistlings (in imitation of the maroudie’s call), and promised
to do its best. When its best, which consisted of discordant
sounds, had been done, its egress through the roof was made
known by the shakings of the palm-leaf, and a dead silence of
a minute’s duration succeeded, when the fluttering of the leaf
announced the arrival of the spirit of an alligator, which in
its turn was replaced by a duraquara, and so on.”

Pegall. — A native basket, very light, elastic, and strong.

Pelican ( Pelecanus onocrotalus) . — Several Pelicans are
known, such, for example, as the frigate bird, and all of
them have the under part of the skin of the neck and throat

G G I

452

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

modified into a pouch, which can be greatly distended. It is
chiefly used for carrying fish to its young, and being large
enough, when fully distended, to hold two gallons of water, it
can carry a plentiful supply.

Keepers of travelling menageries are in the habit of exhibit¬
ing the capacity of the pouch by thrusting their bent arms
into it. Yret when it is not needed for use, it can hardly be
seen, so elastic are the membranes of which it is composed,
and the pelican only looks like' a bird with a long, straight
beak.

As far as can be judged from its behaviour in captivity, it
is a playful bird, but rather quick-tempered. While watching
the pelicans at the Zoological Gardens, I was able to secure a
few of their characteristic attitudes.

Fig. 1 represents a bird that had just been fed, and was
resting after its dinner.

1

Png. 2 is the same bird as it appeared at feeding time, when
it was scolding another for eating a fish which it wanted for
itself.

Fig. 3 shows the attitude of a pelican while sunning itself,
with the pouch slightly expanded.

Fig. 4 gives the attitude when the bird is startled by an
unexpected noise.

Fig. 5 represents the bird in the act of preening the feathers
of the breast. This attitude gave rise to the fable of the

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

453

pelican feeding its young with its own blood drawn from its
breast, the red tip of the beak having a blood-like look against
the white feathers.

Fig. 6 shows the bird with the mouth half-open, and Figs.
7, 8, 9 are ordinary attitudes.

The reader will see that the pouch is scarcely shown at all
in these figures, the whole of which were sketched from the

living birds. The colour of the pelican is white with a delicate
rosy tinge.

454

EXPLANATORY I NDEX.

Pepper-Black. ( Piper nigrum.)

Pepper-Bed ( Capsicum annuum). — Few plants are more
valued both abroad and in England than the Capsicum.
In its small state it is known as “chili,” and is sometimes
gathered before it has obtained the red stage of existence.
When ground, it is sold as Cayenne pepper, the species
usually ejnployed for this purpose being Capsicum frutescens.

It grows well in England, if care be taken of it, and is a
very pretty and ornamental plant, especially when the pods
attain their brilliant red hue.

Perai ( Serrasalmus piraya). — This fish is quite as much
dreaded as the alligator or cayman in the rivers, or the
shark in the sea. Indeed, its teeth, sharply pointed and
razor edged, very much resemble those of the shark. Its
voracity seems to know no bounds. It will attack other fish,
such as the gilbacker, lovvlow, paraima, Ac., bite large pieces
out of their fins and tails. Even when scarcely larger than
an English gudgeon, the Perai, which is sometimes called the
Blood-fish of the Orinoco, can make fatal attacks on human
beings, its numbers compensatiDg for its small size.

The following account of it is taken from Mr. C. B. Brown’s
work to which reference has already been made : —

“ The Corentyne and its branches were literally teeming with
fish of various kinds, the greater number being haimara and
Perai. The latter were so abundant and ferocious that at
times it was dangerous, when bathing, to go into the water to
a greater dejjth than up to one’s knees. Even then small
bodies of these hungry creatures would swim in and make a
dash close up to our legs, and then retreat to a short distance.
They actually bit the steering paddles as they were drawn
through the water astern of the boats. A tapir which I shot
swimming across the water had its nose eaten oh' by them
whilst we were towing it to the shore.

“ Of an evening the men used to catch some of them for
sport, and in taking the hook from their mouths produce a
wound from which the blood ran freely. On throwing them

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

455

back into the water in this injured condition, they were im¬
mediately set upon and devoured by their companions. Even
as one was being hauled in on the line, its comrades, seeing
that it was in difficulties, attacked it at once. One day, when
the boat was hauled in to some rocks, a few of the men were
engaged shooting fish near by, and in so doing wounded a
large haimara.

“ Having escaped from its human tormentors, it made for
the open river, but was instantly attacked by Perai attracted
by the blood escaping from its wound, and was driven back to
the shelter of the rocks close to the boat, from which I had a

PERAI.

good view of the chase. The large fish followed by its savage,
enemies reminded me of a parallel case on land — a stricken
deer pursued by wolves.

“ The Perai, fortunately, lie only off sand-beaches and in
quiet pools, not frequenting the cataracts, where their presence
would be anything but acceptable to the men while working
in the water. I was fortunate enough to find the spawning
place of some Perai on the matted clusters of fibrous roots of
some lianes, which hung from the branches of a tree into the
water, amongst which much earthy sediment had collected,
and many small aquatic plants had grown. The sediment
gave weight to the roots which kejjt the clusters under water,
and the force of the current made them buoyant, giving the
lianes a slope when the river was high, which kept them not
far from its surface.

45(3

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

“ My attention was attracted to them by two Perai lying
close to them, with their heads up stream, as the men said,
engaged in watching their eggs. Procuring one of the roots,
I examined it, and found amongst it numbers of single eggs
and clusters of small, jelly-like young, which had been already
hatched. The eggs were white, and of about one-eighth of an
inch in diameter, with a hard exterior. The young were very
little larger, and had a glutinous surface, which caused them
to adhere together on being taken from the water. They had
not acquired any powers of locomotion, but could just wriggle
their tails like tadpoles.

“ Under a lens they resembled the egg devoid of its covering,
with a gelatinous ridge around three-quarters of its circum¬
ference, one end of which expanded into a knob (probably the
head), while the other termijiation was flattened and tail¬
like. I could not detect any e}Tes or mouth in them, but
their bodies were speckled with grey markings of colouring
matter. ’ ’

Stedman mentions the flsh under the title of Peery.

The Waraw palm-dwellers {see AEta) dispose of their dead
simply by dropping the bodies into the lake, where the flesh
is rapidly stripped from the bones by the Perai, just as our
ants can do with frogs, mice, and small birds. If the deceased
should happen to be a man of importance, the body is lowered
in a net, and the skeleton, when quite cleaned, is drawn up,
dried, painted red, and hupg in the hut.

Petrel, Stormy (Thcdassidroma pelagica). — This bird is too
well known to need description.

Phaeton. /See “Tropic Bird.”

Pi-pi-yo. Nothing is known of the bird, except that its
cry is shrill, and is thought to resemble the syllables forming
its name.

Pine Apple ( Piteairnia sp .).

Piwarri. — It is singular that a drink prepared as is Piwarri
should not only have been invented and drunk at all. but
that it should have been employed by nations who could have

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

457

had no connection with each other. Piwarri (which is also
spelled Piari or Paiworie) is prepared as follows.

Cassava bread is chewed, and then placed in a large pot, in
which is some of the expressed cassava juice already mentioned.
It is boiled for twelve hours, and then put into jars, where
fermentation takes place, and it is ready for use. It has an
intoxicating quality of a very feeble character, but the natives
compensate for lack of quality by quantity, and, by dint of
drinking successive bowls of the liquid, they do succeed in
intoxicating themselves.

AYhen the natives can get brandy, they prefer it to any
other liquid, because it makes them drunk so soon, but next to
brandy they like piwarri.

Not only is it a favourite beverage, but it has a kind of
sanctity attached to it, and is drunk at their solemn feasts.
Here we have a most singular resemblance to the kava
drinking of Polynesia. The Mexicans prepare a drink called
“ mudai ” in a similar manner, except that they employ apples
instead of cassava or kava. Those who have been obliged to
drink Piwarri for reasons of policy, say that it rather resembles
very weak table beer. In some of the larger . settlements,
they have enormous Piwarri bowls, shaped like canoes, of
about the same size, and called by the same name.

Plantain [Musa paradisaical) .

Plovers. There are many species of Plover in Guiana.
The most common are the Black-breasted ( Charadrius Virgini-
anus ), the Ping-neck ( C . semipalmatus) , and the Sandy
Plover (Strepsilus interpres).

Porcupine.— -The species mentioned by Waterton is the Tree-
Porcupine, or Coendoo ( Cercolabes prehensilis) , which, like the
sloths, finds its nutriment in the trees and not on the ground.
In Northern America there is an allied species, also living in
trees and called the urson, cawquaw, or Canadian porcupine,
from which the “ Indians,” as they are called, procure the quills
with which they decorate their dresses and other articles, pre¬
viously staining them with dyes extracted from various herbs.

458

EXPLANATORY IN DEX.

The Coendoo, however, may be distinguished by its long
prehensile tail, which can be coiled round the branches like
that of the spider-monkey and the little ant eater, which has
been already described.

Its food consists of leaves, flowers, young twigs, and similar
substances, and its flesh is said to be delicate and tender. If
so, it very much belies the odour which proceeds from its
body, and which is thus described by Charles Kingsley : —

POB.CU.PINK.

“ More than once we became aware of a keen and dreadful
scent, as of a concentrated essence of unwashed tropic
humanity, which proceeded from that strange animal, the
Porcupine with a prehensile tail, who prowls in the tree tops
all night, and sleeps in them all day, spending his idle hours
in making this hideous smell. Probably lie or his ancestors
have found it pay as a protection ; for no jaguar or tiger-cat,
it is to be presumed, would care to meddle with any thing so
exquisitely nasty, especially when it is all over sharp prickles.”

As to the theory that any animal, even the skunk itself, is

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

459

protected by an evil odour , Waterton always treats it with
contempt. In an essay on the weasel, he has the following-
remarks : —

“ Many of the weasel tribe have the power of emitting a
very disagreeable odour from the posterior part of the body.
We are gravely informed in the American Biography of Birds ,
that the pole cat has this faculty ‘given him by nature as a
defence.’ And, pray, at what old granny’s fireside in the
United States has the writer of this picked uj:> such an im¬
portant piece of information? How comes the polecat to be
aware that the emitted contents of a gland (I use gland in
the singular number, for the sake of brevity, but the animal
has two glands), inoffensive to itself, should be offensive to all
its pursuers ? I say, inoffensive to itself, because I cannot
believe that our Creator would condemn an unoffending animal
to produce its own punishment by means of a smell which
never leaves it — whether it roam up and dowm as a solitary
animal, or whether it have a partner and a family of young
ones to provide for.

“Although this odour from individuals of the weasel tribe
is very distressing to our own nasal sensibilities, it by no
means follows that the scent should have a similar effect upon
those of all other animals. For example, the smell from
purulent carrion is certainly very disagreeable to us bipeds ;
still it cannot prove so to the dog— for, in lieu of avoiding it,
this quadruped never loses an opportunity of rolling in it.
If the polecat has had the fetid gland ‘given him by nature
as a defence,’ then must nature have given a sweet one to the
civet for its destruction ; seeing that, whilst we shun the first
on account of its insupportable stench, we pursue and kill the
last in order to obtain its perfume. Now, as both these
animals are of the same family, I cannot help remarking, with
Sterne, in the case of the ‘poor negro girl,’ that nature has
put one of this tribe sadly over the head of the others, if the
North American theory be sound.

“ Again, if nature has given this abominable stench to

460

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

many of the polecat tribe ‘as a defence,’ she has cruelly
neglected our former invader, the Hanoverian rat. The pole¬
cat is not much exposed to destruction, as its movements are
chiefly nocturnal, and, in general, it is apt to shun the haunts
of men. But our Hanoverian, having a most inordinate
appetite for the good things of this world, is ever on the stir,
in the very midst of its enemies, to satisfy the cravings of its
capacious stomach ; and it will cater for itself the four-and-
twenty hours throughout. Hence your housekeeper complains
that it will try its tooth on primest Stilton in broad daylight,
and that it will have its whiskers in the creambowl, even
whilst the dairymaid is gone up stairs with butter for the
breakfast table. Still my darling Hanoverian has nothing
but an ordinary set of teeth wherewith to protect itself,
although exposed to ten times more danger than the foumart,
which last has a fetid gland given it by nature ‘ as a defence,’
—in addition, I may add, to vast muscular strength, and to
two full rows of sharp and well assorted teeth.

“ This being the case, let us reject the Transatlantic theory
as a thing of emptiness ; and if we are called upon for an
opinion as to the real uses of the fetid gland in polecats, let
us frankly own that we have it not in our power to give any¬
thing satisfactory on the subject.”

Polecat ( Galera barbara). — Called Tayra by natives. It
is an active, lively little creature, black, with a white patch
on the throat. Colonists are apt to call the opossum by the
name of polecat. See “ Opossum.”

Potato, Sweet ( Convolvulus batatas ).

Powise ( Grax alector).- — This fine bird is one of the Curas-
sows, of which there are several species. It seems to bear
our climate very well, and as it is easily tamed, and will
take its place in the poultry yard, attempts have been made
to acclimatize it like the turkey, the guinea-fowl, and the
peacock. As yet, however, the enterprise has met with small
success, which is the more to be regretted as the great size of
the bird, nearly equalling that of the turkey, and the delicacy

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

461

of its flesh, would make it a welcome addition to our
poultry.

Within the tropics, however, it is a very common inhabitant
of the poultry yard, where its only drawback is, that it
assumes authority over the turkeys and guinea fowls, and
pecks them to death if they do not obey. In many parts of

PO WISE.

Guiana there is a belief that if a dog licks up the blood of a
wounded Powise, or mumbles its bleeding feathers as dogs
love to do, it will go mad.

Purple-heart ( Copaifera publiflora).— This most useful
tree derives its name from the purple colour of its wood,
which is very hard, close grained, durable, and tough.

It is, however, chiefly valued for its bark, which is used in
making canoes. Mr. C. B. Brown gives the following account
of the manufacture : —

“ The bark canoes used by Indians are called ‘ Wood ski ns
by the Creoles, and are made of one piece of bark, stripped
from a tree called the Purple-heart ( Copaifera publiflora).

4G2

EXPLANAT< )RY INDEX.

The bark of the locust-tree or simiri (Hymencea courbaril), is
also sometimes used. This bark is from one-eighth to one-
fourth of an inch in thickness and very heavy, being of
greater specific gravity than water ; so that in the event of
the canoe shipping water to any extent, it sinks immediately,
leaving its occupants to find their way ashore.

“ They are ticklish things to travel in at first, and to stand
up in one, until acquainted with its freaks, is a dangerous
experiment, ending in an undignified exit over one side, the
canoe shooting away in the opposite direction.

“ To make one of these woodskins, a large Purple-heart tree
is cut down, and the bark of the requisite length taken off.
A wedge-shaped piece is then cut out of the trough -shaped
bark, from the top downwards, at a distance of three feet or
so from both ends on each side. The ends are then raised till
the edges of the cuts meet, when holes are pierced on either
hand, at a distance of six inches from the cut, and numbers of
turns of a strong withe or liana, called Mamurie, passed through
them and made fast in a neat manner to a small round stick
placed along the inside. Two strong pieces of wood fastened
across at the splits prevent the sides from closing in. The
ends are then trimmed down level with the sides, and a tick¬
lish but serviceable little craft is turned out. The seats are
made of curved pieces of the same bark, and are very low.

“ The whole process of making one of these woodskins,
including the drying of the bark, occupies a space of three
weeks. In this period must, I think, be included some loss
of time from laziness on the part of the Indian canoe-builder. '
Woodskins vary in size, but usually are from fifteen to twenty-
five feet in length, and an ordinary sized one will carry
three or four people with their hammocks and provisions.”

The tree when full grown, rather exceeds one hundred
and fifty feet in height, and the useful bark is smooth, and
of a dark brown colour.

Two varieties are known by the natives as Koorooboorelli
a ml Marawi naroo.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

4G3

Q.

Quail ( Ortyx virginana). — Partly migratory.

Quake. — A basket of open work and very elastic and ex¬
pansive. The drawing is from my own specimen.

QUAKE.

Quivers. — These are of two kinds, the one for holding the
arrows for the blow-gun, and the other for containing the
poisoned heads of the hog-arrows. A very fine specimen of
one of the former was given to me by Water ton, and is here
represented.

The cover is not of peccary but of capybara skin, and has
the hair inside, so that by giving it a kind of screw when put
on, it remains firmly in its place.

The layer of kurumanni wax, with which the quiver is
wholly covered, is of considerable thickness, so that if the
hunter were to allow the quiver to fall into the water, it
might float for hours without any moisture penetrating to the
interior, and so weakening the wourali on the arrows.

The coil of silk-grass, and the scraper of perai-teeth are
seen hanging to the quiver. When the scraper is used, the
arrow-point is placed between two of the teeth, which are flat,
pointed, and edged like razors. The arrow is then drawn

464

E X P L AN ATO RY I N D E X.

between two of the teeth, and is thus shaved down to the
needle like point which is required

A small basket shaped like a flask, but slightly flattened, is
mostly carried with the quiver. This basket is used to hold
the wild cotton with which the arrows are fitted to the bore
of the blow-gun. Thus, with an equipment weighing al¬
together little more than three pounds, the native hunter can

QUIVER, BLOW-GUN. QUIVER, IIOG-ARROW.

carry with him a powerful gun and about three or four
hundred deadly missiles.

The Quiver for the heads of hog- arrows is very much
smaller, and is only a piece of bamboo about seven or eight
inches in length, and having a cover to guard it from damp.
The Indian generally ornaments it by wrapping cotton-strings
round it in patterns, as is seen in the illustration, which is
taken from one of my specimens.

EX PLAN ATOPY IND E X .

465

I

R.

Rattlesnake ( Uropsophus durissus). — This is so familiar
a reptile, that I shall not occupy valuable space by describing
it.

I have already mentioned that when the sloth arrived in
England, Water ton was able to point to it as a proof that he
had been right in his description of that animal. Similarly,
when a box of live Rattlesnakes, twenty-seven in number,
were exhibited at Leeds, he had an opportunity of proving
that he was not romancing when he described his encounters
with deadly snakes.

He invited a large party of friends and scientific men to
meet him at Leeds, whither he had sent a large glass case, so
that the snakes might be properly seen. After cautioning
the visitors to refrain from moving or speaking, he, with his
bare hands, transferred the snakes from the box to the glass
case and back again.

He explained his mode of handling a venomous serpent by
the following illustration. He assumed my hand, wrist, and
arm to be part of a Rattlesnake, the hand being the head, the
wrist the neck, and the arm part of the body. He then
approached his hand silently, slowly, and quietly to my
wrist, which he by degrees clasped, but did not press. He
next lifted the arm gently from the table on which it was
resting, and put it down again in the same slow and cautious
manner. He trusted for his immunity to the sluggish nature
of the serpents generally, which if disturbed, will glide gently
away, but if they are trodden upon or hurt, will, in self-
defence, strike at their assailant.

He said that after that lesson, I should be as able to carry
living Rattlesnakes as he was. Perhaps so, but I should
feel rather nervous about trying it.

J n

Red Howler. See 11 Howler, Red.”

H H

EX P LAN ATO ll Y IN DEX.

400

Redstart ( Setophaga or Muscicapa ruticilla). It has
nothing to do with the English Redstart.

Rhinoceros Beetle ( Megasoma Titan), popularly called the
Great Brown Sawyer.

Roucou. — See “Paint.”

S.

Sacawinki. — One of the Squirrel Monkeys.

This tiny monkey, several times mentioned by Waterton,
is plentiful in Guiana, and is noticed by Schomburgk.

“A troop of little Sacowinkis, or squirrel monkeys, some
of the most beautiful and active of their kind, leaped with
the agility of a tame squirrel from branch to branch, and,

SACAWINKI.

alarmed by our appearance, uttered their painful call, re¬
sembling much more the cry of a bird than that of an animal,
and then, hastening away, were soon hidden among the thick
foliage of the large forest trees.”

Several species of squirrel-monkey appear to be included in
the general name of Sakawinki. Steelman figures the Marmoset
( Jacchus vulgaris) under the name of Sakawinki, while
Waterton, who mentions it as being black, and scarcely six
inches in length, evidently refers to the White-whiskered
Tamarin ( Jacchus leucogenys) , which exactly accords with his
description and has accordingly been figured.

EX PLAN ATOPY IN DEX.

4G7

Salempenta ( Teius Teguexin ). — This fine lizard is some¬
times called the Safeguard, because it is supposed to give
notice of the approach of the alligator, just as the African
monitors are believed to warn travellers against the crocodile.

It is a large animal, stoutly made, and reaching five feet
or more in length. It is handsomely coloured with black.

SALEM PENTA.

yellow, green, and white, arranged so variously that hardly
any two specimens are alike. For this reason it is called the
Variegated Lizard.

Like the iguana, the Salempenta affords very delicate food,
which is thought to resemble the flesh of a very delicate
young chicken. New comers are at first averse to eating a
lizard of any description, but they very soon find out their
mistake, and would even prefer an iguana or Salempenta
cutlet to a chicken.

Samourah. — The palm which is known by this name is
called Ireartia setigera , and like the ourah, is of very small
diameter ih proportion to its length.

Sand Fly ( Simidia Pertinax), called by the natives Mapire,
and mostly haunting the sea shore. What the mosquito is by
night, the Sand Fly is by day, and is a still greater pest. It flies
very rapidly, settles, bites, and fills itself with blood almost
instantaneously, having nothing of the deliberate action of
the mosquito. The bites afterwards become exceedingly
painful.

II H

468

Sangre do Buey ( Pyranga rubra). — Sometimes called
the Scarlet Tanager. As is the case with many brilliant
birds, the splendid lines of the plumage belong only to the
adult male, the female having the body dull green and yellow
instead of scarlet, and the wings and tail brown instead of
black. It is about six inches in length.

Sawari or Souari ( Caryocar tomentosum.) — This is the tree
which furnishes the well-known butter-nuts. The nuts grow
in the interior of large fruits, filled with a whitish meal. The
roots are used for making floors, and in the futtocks of ships.
It thrives best on the hills. The natives are so fond of the
nuts, that the possession of the finest trees is said to be an
acknowledged cause of war. When the nut is cracked, the
kernel is found to be filled with a white almond-like jelly.

Scarlet Grosbeak. — See “ Grosbeak. Scarlet.”

SCARLET GROSBEAK.

Scirou (Rhamphastos toco). — See “Toucans.”

Screamer, Horned ( Palamedea cornuta). — This fine bird
is about as large as a turkey, and derives its popular name
from a small horn-like appendage situate upon the upper
part of the head. The object of this appendage is absolutely

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

4G9

unknown. Some zoologists believed it to be employed as a
weapon, but such an opinion is simply absurd, as no bird
strikes with any part of its head except the beak, and even
if the Screamer did so, the horn would be quite inadequate a
a weapon of offence.

HORNED SCREAMER.

When it wishes to attack any foe, it uses the sharp spurs,
which are attached to the wings, are very strong, and about
an inch in length.

The natives call it by the name of Ivamichi.

Silk-Grass. — This peculiarly useful fibre is obtained from
the leaf of one of the Aloe tribe (. Agave vivipara).

The fibres run nearly parallel to each other throughout the
whole length of the leaf, and are extracted by steeping the
leaves in water until they are quite soft, and then drawing them
through a loop of cord, so as to clear off the decayed pulp
and preserve the fibres. These are then dried in the sun and
tied in bundles.

The Silk-grass is of incalculable value to the natives, who
always have a supply on hand. The strength of the fibre is
really wonderful, and though so fine that it seems as if it
would snap at a touch, it seems more like steel wire than a
vegetable fabric. A coil of it is always attached to the
quiver. Why it is not largely used in this country I cannot

470

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

imagine. It grows in the greatest abundance, can be easily
extracted from the leaf, and is not only strong, but light.

•A

SILK-GR AfcjS.

Siloabali. — This name is sometimes spelt as Ciroubali, or
Siruabali. There are several trees going by this name, all be¬
longing to the genus Eperna , and therefore allied to the
wallaba tree, q.v. The wood is excellent for ship building,
and Mr. McTurk, who collected specimens of Guianan woods
for the Paris Exhibition of 1878, says that it is even better
than greenheart, q.v., and ought to be classed at Lloyds among
the A 1 woods. As the wood is light, and floats well, it is
much used for boat-building.

When freshly cut, it has a strong aromatic scent, and the
juice is bitter. The ship-worm (Teredo) will not touch it,
and it is therefore useful for planking boats.

Slotii, Three-toed, or At (Bradypus tridactylus) . —
Waterton’s account of this animal is so full and accurate
that little needs to be added. The mark on the back of the

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

471

male is most singular, and looks exactly as if it had been
stamped with an oval- shaped iron, very hot along the centre,
so as to burn away the hair nearly to the skin, and blacken
it. Then, if the iron be not quite so hot on either part of
the centre, it would press down the fur and turn it brown.
Lastly, supposing the iron to be only hot enough towards the
edges to scorch the fur slightly, we shall produce a fair
imitation of the mark impressed by nature upon the other¬
wise lon<x, and hav-like fur.

o 7 J

AT.

The central line then is black, and very decidedly marked.
On either side, the fur is still short, but of a creamy colour,
and it fades by short bands of brown into the grey hue of
the fur.

Stedman says that the animal is popularly called the
Loggurree or Sheep-Sloth, and that the names Ai, or Heeay,
are given to it on account of its plaintive cry. The natives
seemed to be very much afraid of its claws, and the first
specimen which was brought to him had been deprived of all
its feet, so as to render it harmless.

The illustrations are taken from a specimen in Waterton’s

472

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

museum, and are given in order to show one of the charac¬
teristic attitudes assumed by the animal, as well as the
position and shape of the mark on the back of the male.

Sloth, Two-toed (Brady pus didactylus). — It is well known
that Waterton was the original discoverer of the real habits
of the Sloth, and showed how entirely false were the accounts
of Buffon and others. So full is his description that no
traveller has been able to add any important particulars which
Waterton has not mentioned.

In Surinam, the popular name for this animal is Dog-Sloth.
When motionless, it clings to the branches in such a manner,
that even if seen, it would be mistaken by most persons
for a mere excrescence on the bark. The specimen which I
saw in the Zoological Gardens was remarkable for the ex¬
tremely wet state of the muzzle.

Spoonbill ( Platalea leucorodia).

Spur-wing. — See “Water Hen, Spur- winged.”

Stabroek. — The reader will bear in mind that the
country now known as British Guiana, was originally
Dutch Guiana. The capital of Demerara then was called
Stabroek, but since Guiana has passed into the possession of

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

473

England, the name of the capital was changed, and it is now
called Georgetown.

Sting Hay {Try yon vastinaca). — Many species of Sting Ray
are known, and they all belong to the Skate family. They
are well known by their long whip-like tails, and the sharp,
doubly barbed bone which proceeds from the base of the tail,
and becomes a weapon which can be wielded with terrible
effect.

As a rule, the Guianan natives are not a warlike race, but
when war is forced upon them, their weapons are very
formidable. War arrows, for example, are sometimes headed
with the bone of the Sting Ray, and are nearly sure to cause
death, as, when the arrow strikes the enemy, the force of the
blow causes its very brittle head to snap asunder, and to
leave several barbs imbedded in the body. The Polynesian
warriors probably took the bone of the Sting Ray as a model
for their many-barbed spears.

Sugar-cane. — The principal plant which is used for the
production of sugar is the gigantic grass known as Sugar-cane
{Saccharinum officinarum) . It was originally brought from
the E. Indies to Southern Europe by the Crusaders, and so
made its way into the colonies. There are many species of
saccharinum, or sugar-grasses. Some of our own grasses have
a perceptible saccharine flavour.

Sun-bird. — A kind of Heron {Helias eurypyga).- — In Bar-
badoes it is called Tigri-Fowlo.

The following account of the bird is from C. Kingsley’s At
Last :

“These are strange birds too. One, whom you may see in
the Zoological Gardens, like a plover with a straight beak and
bittern’s plumage, whose business it is to walk about the table
at meals uttering sad metallic noises and catching flies.

“ Its name is Sun-Bird, ‘ sun-fowlo,’ of the Surinam negroes,
according to dear old Stedman, ‘because, when it extends its
wings, which it often does, there appears on the interior part
of each wing a most beautiful representation of a sun. This

474

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

bird/ he continues very truly, ‘ might be styled the perpetual
motion, its body making a continual movement, and its tail
keeping time like the pendulum of a clock/ ”

Stedman also calls it by the name of Flycatcher, one of
the many instances of misleading nomenclature which are to
be found in books of travel. The colour of the sun-bird is
reddish, spotted with black, and there is a round black spot
on the small head. The beak and legs are green.

T.

Tangara. — Mis-spelling for Tanager. — See “ Sangre do
Buey.”

Tapir ( Tapirus terrestris). — The Tapirs form one of the
links connecting the elephants with the swine, and the
only two species which survive, one in Tropical America, and
the other in Malacca and Sumatra, really look as if they were
extinct pachyderms that had been restored to the world.

The Tapir is never found far from the water, in which it
disports itself as if it belonged naturally to that element. If
alarmed on land, it always makes for the river, into which it
plunges, and then can escape from any foe except man. It is
a vegetable eater, feeding mostly on wild gourds, melons, and
similar fruits. It is easily tamed, and soon becomes as
familiar as a dog.

Tauronira {Humirium Jtoribundmn). — Found plentifully
in sandy ground near swamps, but not in them.

The natives perfume their hair with a minute fungus which
always grows in the newly-cut wood of the Tauronira. The
timber is chiefly used for house-frames and wheel-spokes.
The tree is about ninety feet in height.

Tiger. — See “Jaguar.”

Tiger-Bird. — There are several species of these birds,
which derive their popular name from the peculiar cry
which they utter. This call resembles the -cry of the jaguar,
popularly called the tiger, and, like the jaguar, the Tiger-Bird

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

475

utters its cry in the early morning and late in the evening.
Two species are tolerably common. One ( Tigrisoma Brazil -
iense ) is simply brown in colour, but another ( Tigrisoma
tigrinum ) is dull yellow, with a number of short black bars
across the feathers.

Tiger-cat. — One of the small Leopards known as Margays
( Leopardus tigrinus). Several species of leopard are called by
this name. Waterton tamed one of them, brought it home,
and actually trained it to run with the fox hounds. It was
very useful as a rat-catcher.

Tinamou. — These birds all belong to the genus Tinamotis ,
and are all natives of South America. They are on an
average about the size of a grouse. They have very short
tails, which gives them rather a lumpish appearance. They
seem to be rather stupid birds, and can be caught by a
noose fixed to the end of a long stick. The species which is
mentioned by Waterton under the name of Maam is probably
Tinamotis elegans.

Tirana. — See “ Sun bird.”

Tortoise. — This is the Box-Tortoise ( Cistuda Carolina),
so called because it can not only draw its limbs and head

TORTOISE.

within the shell, but can fold the shell together, so that it
is quite invulnerable. — See Sydney Smith’s simile on page 19.
The negroes call it by the name of Cooter.

470

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

It is always to be found in dry situations, preferring the
pine forests, because they also love a dry soil. It is of small
size, and as it is very prettily coloured, it is sometimes manu¬
factured into a snuff-box, being mounted in silver, and having
the movable plates fitted with hinges, and spring-clasps.
The colour is most variable, but black and yellow are the
most conspicuous hues.

Toucan. — Tropical America produces an inexhaustible
variety of living creatures, and there is perhaps none more
remarkable than that extraordinary group of birds known as
Toucans, from the native name Toco.

TOUCAN.

Kingsley seems to have been greatly impressed with the
appearance of the toucan, and agrees with Waterton that it is
essentially a fruit-eating bird : —

“A Toucan out of the primaeval forest, as gorgeous in
colour as he is ridiculous in shape. His general plumage is
black, set off by a snow-white gorget fringed with crimson ;
crimson and green tail coverts, and a crimson and green beak,
with blue cere about his face and throat.

EX PL A NATOEY I NDEX.

477

“ His enormous and weak bill seems made for the purpose
of swallowing bananas whole ; how he feeds himself with it
in the forest is difficult to guess ( see “ Banana ”) ; and when he
hops up and down on his great clattering feet— two toes turned
forward and two back — twisting head and beak right and left
(for he cannot well see straight before him) to see whence the
bananas are coming ; or when again, after gorging a couple,
he sits gulping and winking, digesting them in serene satis¬
faction, he is as good a specimen as can be seen of the
ludicrous — dare I say the intentionally ludicrous? — element in
nature.”

It is true that in confinement the Toucan will eat little
birds, just as a monkey will eat a mouse, but I very much
doubt whether either toucan or monkey touches animal food
in its native woods. Toucans make great inroads on the
plantations of oranges, guavas, and other fruit, but, as they
are shot in considerable numbers, the delicacy of their flesh
makes amends for their depredations. Waterton seems to
have eaten his Toucans boiled.

There are many species of Toucan. The Bouradi of Water-
ton is Rhamphastos erythrorhynchus , and the Scirou is
Rhamythastos Ariel , as shown in the illustration. The
Toucanet is Rhamphastos vitellinus. It is an active little
bird, uttering its yelping cry either by day or in the evening,
and jerking its head about in a most ludicrous fashion.

Tribes, Native. — The five great tribes are given on p. 237.
Taking them in their order, the Waraws, or Guaraons, as
Humboldt calls them, are more exclusively aquatic than the
others, one great division of them living wholly in lake
dwellings built in the stems of the ita or moriche palm. Ree
“HCta.” They are also the best canoe makers, and can carve
canoes out of tree trunks, some of which are able to carry
very large numbers of men. They sell these canoes to other
tribes.

The Arowacks are taller and fairer than the other tribes,
averaging from 5 ft. 4 in. to 5 ft. 6 in. in he’ght, and the mixed

478

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

progeny of Arowack and European is said to be remarkable
for its beauty and intellect. The Acoways wear scarcely
any clothing, and indeed, when no white men are near, do
not trouble themselves about clothes at all. They wear their
coarse black hair very long, and are accustomed to carry a
piece of wood in the cartilage of the nose.

REAL AND IDEAL.

The Caribs are also nude, and wear ornaments in their
under lips. Lastly, come the Macoushies, who are the best
wourali makers, and sell it to other tribes.

In the accompanying illustration -I have brought together
three figures, in order to show the difference between the
Phiropean and Guianan types of the human frame. The
“ Painter’s Ideal ” is copied from an imaginative drawing
of a young Indian girl, as depicted by a well-known artist.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

470

The model is clearly of an English type, with the abundant
wavy hair, sloping shoulders, ample brow, full eyes, and
straight delicate nose. Substitute an English archery dress
for the skin robe, and a bow for the spear, and there is a
handsome English girl at an archery meeting.

The Sculptor’s Ideal of the same subject is wholly Greek.
Substitute a crescent diadem for the plumed circlet, a light
classical chiton for the feather apron, and there is Diana.

How different is the real figure of the Guianan type of female
beauty, copied exactly from a photograph in my possession !
Note the difference of size, the coarse, straight hair, the little
eyes, the high cheek-bones, the short neck, the square shoulders,
the in-turned feet, and the spreading toes. Dress her as you
will, or even change her complexion, she can never look
English or Greek.

Troely. — This is a palm with very long and wide leaves,
which are much used in the construction of houses. Stedman
mentions the palm under the name of Trooly, and states that
the leaves diverge directly from the ground, like those of the
young coucourite. The leaves are known by the name of tas.
It is probably one of the fan-palms ( Thrinax ), the leaves of
which are more than twelve feet in width, and proportionately
long. When young, it has no stem, so that it answers both
to Stedman’s and Waterton’s descriptions.

Tropic Bird ( Phaeton cethereus).- — This beautiful bird is
one of the Pelican family, and derives its popular name from
the fact that it is never seen outside the tropics unless blown
by gales too violent to be resisted, even by its powerful wings.
Like its relative, the frigate bird, it can remain on the wing
during the whole day, and has been met at sea at least a
thousand miles from the nearest land. It can, however, rest
its wings by sitting on the water.

There are several species of these birds, one named the
Roseate Tropic Bird, being in great request among the natives
of the South Seas, who use their long tail-plumes as ornaments
in their head-dresses of ceremony. In this species, the tail

4 SO

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

feathers are scarlet, and are fastened into a plaited fillet
which surrounds the head, very much as the Guianan natives
make their feather-crowns with the tail-feathers of macaws.

On account of the aerial habits of the bird, it is not easy to
procure these feathers, and these islanders manage to supply
themselves by watching their nesting-places, crawling up to
them, and jerking out the feathers as they sit on their eggs.

Waterton had great difficulty in obtaining one of these
birds, but at last shot one, in a voyage across the Atlantic.

tkopic Binr>.

He offered a guinea for the recovery of the bird, when a
Danish sailor plunged into the sea after it. He nearly lost
not only the reward, but his life, for no boat could be launched,
and the ship was going so fast through the water, that in trying
to back, she missed stays, and they had to wear her. How¬
ever, the man kept himself afloat, and delivered the bird to

481

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

Waterton, who had a special affection for it ever afterwards.
The illustration is taken from a sketch of this very specimen,
as it stood in his museum.

Troupials. — There are many of these birds, the best known
of which is the Pace Troupial ( Dolichonyx orizivorus).

It obtains its name from its extreme fondness for rice, and
is sometimes called the rice-bunting. As it has a very wide
range, is extremely plentiful, and possesses a beautiful voice, it
has received a variety of popular names, such as butter-bird,
because it becomes so fat in harvest time ; reed-bird, because it
is fond of settling in vast numbers among seeds ; bob-o-link,
bob-linkum, Ac.

Trumpeter, sometimes called Waracaba ( Psopliia crepitans).

THU M PET.

- — This bird is allied to the crane. Waterton mentions that
it can be domesticated, and in such cases, it usually considers
the house as its own, and is madly jealous of any other pet
which it fancies may deprive it of its master’s affections. As
for cats, it cannot bear them, and always turns them out of

482

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

the room if possible. Even dogs yield to it unless they are
very courageous, for the Trumpeter attacks them after a very
peculiar fashion, jumping on its foe’s back, and kicking and
pecking him until he is quite bewildered.

It is usually a beautiful bird, especially in the breast, where
the black feathers are richly glossed with gold and purple
upon their edges.

Turtle, Fresh-water. — Several reptiles are known by this
name. That to which Waterton here refers is probably the
larger of the two ( Podocnemis expansa), called Sachapana by
the natives. Its eggs are large, spherical, and with white
shells. The smaller species ( Emys tracaxa), called by the
natives Taracai, lays soft oval eggs. The eggs of both
species are valued as food, and only the yolk is eaten. It is
allied to the well-known chicken tortoise of North America.

V.

Vampire ( Vampirus spectrum). — As to the Vampire bats
which would not bite Waterton, who did his best to allure
them, and would insist on biting everybody else, who did not
wish to be bitten, 0. Kingsley has the following remarks : —

‘‘Then we inspected a coolie’s great toe, which had been
severely bitten by a Vampire in the night.

“And here let me say that the popular disbelief of Vampire
stories is only owing to English ignorance, and disinclination
to believe any of the many quaint doings which John Bull
has not seen, because he does not care to see them. If he
comes to these parts, he must be careful not to leave his feet
or hands out of bed without mosquito curtains ; if he has
good horses, he ought not to leave them exposed at night
without wire-gauze round the stable- shed — a plan which, to
my surprise, I never saAv used in the West Indies.

“ Otherwise, he will be but too likely to find in the morning
a, triangular bit cut out of his own flesh, or even worse, out of

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

483

his horse’s withers or throat, whose twisting and lashing cannot
shake the tormentor off ; and must be content to have himself
lamed, or his horses weakened to staggering and thrown out
of collar-work for a week, as I have seen happen more than
once or twice. The only method of keeping off the Vampire
yet employed in stables is light ; and a lamp is usually kept
burning there. But the negro — not the most careful of men
— is apt not to fill and trim it ; and if it goes out in the small
hours, the horses are pretty sure to be sucked, if there is a
forest near.

“ So numerous and troublesome, indeed, are the Vampires,
that there are pastures in Trinidad in which, at least till the
adjoining woods were cleared, the cattle would not fatten, or
even thrive ; being found, morning after morning, weak and
sick from the bleeding which they had endured at night.”

The coolie in question — a Hindoo — made very light of the
injury, although the toe bled considerably, and the wound
could scarcely be healed. Why the Vampire should always
select the withers of the horse and the toes of the human
being is a problem as yet unsolved. Neither do we know
how the Vampires lived when they had neither horses, cattle,
nor human beings to suck, any more than we know how count¬
less millions of mosquitos, fleas, land-leeches, and other
noxious creatures contrive to exist without the blood of man
or beast.

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia). — The plant which furnishes
the well known Vanilla, so much used by pastry-cooks, is a
curious parasitic orchid.

It originally starts from the ground, and then ascends the
trunk of a tree. The stem is square, and throws out a number
of little rootlets, which make their way into the bark and
drain the tree of its sap.

Indeed, so entirely does it depend upon the juices of the
tree for its life, that if it be cut away below, so as to sever its
connection with the ground, it will continue to grow as well
as ever. Our ivy, il' cut, always dies, because it derives its

484

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

whole subsistence from the ground, and none from the tree,
and, as is shown by the sketches of the Ivy Tower on pages
43 and 66, flourishes as well on stone walls as on trees.

The flowers grow in spikes, and are richly perfumed, and
the pods are very flat, and open along the side. Very little
genuine vanilla finds its way into England, not more than a
few hundred-weight being imported. Its place is supplied by
the common and much cheaper balsam of Peru.

Vulture, Aura ( Catharistes aura). — The name of this bird
will always call to mind the memorable controversy between

VULTURE, AURA.

Water ton and Audubon, in which the former came off the
victor. The whole controversy is printed in the volumes of
Essays, and it is too long to be inserted in this book, and too
valuable to be judged by means of extracts. I strongly
recommend the reader to procure these essays, and admire the
masterly manner in which Waterton handled the subject, and
the completeness with which he cut away the ground from
under the feet of his antagonist.

EXPLANATORY INDEX

485

The Aura Vulture, popularly known as the Turkey Buzzard,
is very common in its own country, and in civilized places is
protected by law, on account of its value as a scavenger,.
Waterton states, in corroboration of his own view of the case,
that during the dreadful plague in Malaga, which has already
been mentioned on p. 11, the Vulture did inestimable service.

“ So great was the daily havoc of death, that no private
burials could be allowed, and many a corpse lay exposed in
the open air until the dead carts made their rounds at night¬
fall to take them away to their last resting-place, which was
a large pit, prepared by the convicts in the day time.

“ During this long- continued scene of woe and sorrow, which
1 saw and felt, I never could learn that the Vultures preyed
upon the dead bodies which had not had time enough to
putrefy. But, when the wind blew in from the Mediterranean,
and washed ashore the corrupted bodies of those who died of
the pestilence, and had been thrown overboard from the
shipping, then it was that the vultures came from the neigh¬
bouring hills to satisfy their hunger.”

The popular name of turkey buzzard is given to the bird
on account of its resemblance to the common turkey, and
many a new comer has found himself an object of derision
because he has shot an Aura Vulture, taking it for a
turkey.

VULTURE SUNNING ITSELF

The smaller illustration is taken from a sketch at the
Zoological Gardens, representing the Vulture in a favouiite
attitude, sitting on its ankles, with its wings half spread,
rejoicing in the sun.

Vulture, King ( Sarcorh a m ph u s papa). — Being one of the

486

E X P L A NATOR Y I N D E X .

longest and most powerful of the Vulture tribe, this bird has
derived its name from the tyranny which it exercises over the
aura and black vultures, not allowing them to eat until its
own hunger is satisfied. The beautiful colours which adorn
the beak are well and accurately described by AVaterton, and
it is on account of these fleshy excrescences that the bird is
called by the scientific name of Sarcorhamphus, or “flesh-
beaked.” These colours, however, are not to be found in the
young bird, and do not make their appearance until the fourth
year. The name of papa is equivalent to that of pope, and
signifies that the bird is a sort of pope among the other vul¬
tures. Its curious facility for discovering dead carrion and
snakes has already been mentioned on p. 380.

AY.

YVallaba Tree (Eperna falcata). — So called from the shape
of the pods, which resemble a sickle, Lat. falx. “ I passed
. . . the Wallaba Tree, wflth its thin curved pods dangling
from innumerable bootlaces six feet long.” — C. Kingsley.
The wood of the wallaba splits freely, and is used for staves
and shingles. The oily resin exudes from the tree when
wounded. Also, see “ Siloabali.”

Wallababa. — See “ Cotinga, Pompadour.”

Waeacaba. — See “ Trumpeter.”

Water-Hen, Spur-winged ( Parra Jacana). — Several species
of Jacana are known, and are at once recognizable by the
enormous proportionate length and slenderness of the toes.

This provision of nature enables them to walk with safety
upon the floating leaves of water-plants, and so to procure its
food, which consists of aquatic insects, Ac. It is a good
swimmer and diver, but its powers of wing are trifling. The
magnificent leaf of the Victoria regia is a great favourite with
the Jacana, which finds a firm footing on a leaf which is able to
sustain the weight of a little girl some six or seven years old.

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

487

On each wing is a sharp and rather strong spur, which has
earned for the bird the popular name of Spur-wing. It is
also remarkable for a curious leathery excrescence, which rises
from the base of the beak, both above and below.

SPUR-WINGED WATER-HEN.

Watermamma. — Throughout the whole of Guiana there is
a superstitious dread of some strange being which, like the
nippen of Norway, the gnomes, goblins, and other malignant
semi-spiritual beings of Europe, the jinns of Asia, and the
jumbies of Africa, take a demoniacal delight in waylaying and
murdering travellers.

The Watermamma seems to be able to assume various
forms, though it generally prefers that of a human being.
Air. Brown mentions it under the name of water-child.

“ On our way we passed a deep pool, where there was an
eddy, in which the guide informed us there lived a “ water-
child” covered with long hair. A woodskin (i.e. canoe) with
Indians was passing the spot one day, when the water-child
came to the surface, caught hold of, and upset the canoe. One

488

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

of its occupants sank with it, and, being seized by the child,
never came up to the surface again.”

This account, it will be seen, tallies exactly with that of
Water ton.

The same writer mentions this semi-supernatural being
under another name, i.e. “didi.”

‘‘The first night after leaving Peaimah we heard a long,
loud, and most melancholy whistle, proceeding from the
direction of the depths of the forest, at which some of the
men exclaimed, in an awed tone of voice, ‘The didi! ’ Two
or three times the whistle was repeated, sounding like that
made by a human being, beginning in a high key, and dying
slowly and gradually away in a low one. There were con¬
flicting opinions amongst the men regarding the origin of
these sounds. Some said they proceeded from the wild hairy
man, or ‘ didi/ of the Indians ; others that they were pro¬
duced by a large and poisonous snake which lives in one tree
from its youth up, when it attains a great size, living upon
birds which are so unfortunate as to alight near it, and thus
become victims to its power of fascination. The ‘didi’ is
said by the Indians to be a short, thick-set, and powerful
wild man, whose body is covered with hair, and who lives in
the forest. A belief in the existence of this fabulous creature
is universal over the whole of British, Venezuelan, and
Brazilian Guiana. On the Demerara river, some years after
this, I met a half-bred woodcutter, who related an encounter
that he had with two didis — a male and female — in which he
successfully resisted their attacks with his axe. In the fray,
he stated that he was a good deal scratched. His story
requires to be taken with a very large grain of salt.”

Wax of Wild Bee. — See “Kurumanni.”

Whi p-foor-AV ill. — See “ Goatsuckers. ’ ’

Whip-Snake ( Philodryas viridissimus). — Several Snakes are
called by this name, because their long, slender bodies look
very much like the plaited thong of a hunting-whip. Indeed,
more than once a Whipsnake has been grasped under the

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

489

impression that it was a whip-thong, which had been dropped
in the path.

Some of them are venomous, but that which is mentioned
by Waterton is perfectly harmless. It is about two feet in
length, of a lovely green colour, and very active, darting
among the leaves and branches with such rapid agility, that
the slightest twig scarcely bends under its weight.

Who-are-you. — A Goatsucker; species uncertain.

W ILLY-COME-GO. — Ditto.

Woodpecker, Red-headed ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus) .

Wcodsktn. — Popular name for a Bark Canoe. See
“ Purple- Heart.”

Work-away.— A Goatsucker; species uncertain.

Wourali. — The information acquired by Waterton is most
interesting, and it is to his energy and perseverance that we
owe our knowledge of the most wonderful poison ever invented
by savage races. As may be seen from Waterton’s account,
its manufacture is evidently the result of experience. More
than one substance is used in it, and as the Wourali made by
the Macoushis, one of the five great tribes, is so superior in
quality that the other tribes are glad to buy it, there is no
doubt that very great skill is required for its preparation.
Even among the Macoushis there are some families which are
celebrated for the strength of the Wourali made by them, and
the secret of its manufacture is said to be handed down from
father to son, the pi-ay men, or conjurors, being the chief
manufacturers.

Several instances are known of experiments made in Europe
with Wourali, and which have failed. I have little doubt that
the poison with which they were made was not genuine, or that
it had been neglected. The savages of Guiana are quite as
expert at adulteration as the civilized milkman, publican, or
grocer, and are perfectly capable of making Wourali for the
market, but not for use.

Waterton never failed with the experiments which he made
with the poison which he himself obtained from the Macoushis

490

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

while dwelling among them. Nor, as far as I know, has
any one failed with Water ton’s poison. I made a few ex¬
periments with some of it, and found that his account of it
was literally true.

Death was not instantaneous, but the creature which was
wounded seemed to be immediately deprived of all wish to
move. On the spot it was wounded, there it remained, its
eyes giving no indication of sensitiveness when touched, and
its limbs gradually relaxing as if in sleep. Yet the poison
which I used had been preserved nearly forty years at Wal¬
ton Hall, but it had been carefully kept from damp, which
injures, even if it does not destroy its powers.

In his essay on the Monkey family, Waterton makes a
passing, but valuable remark on the Wourali : —

“ If you are in want of a tender monkey, a month old or so,
to boil for broth or to educate as a pet, your only chance of
success is to shoot the poor mother, but not with a fowling-
piece. Nine times out of ten the wounded mother would
stay in the clefts of the trees, where she would ultimately
perish with her progeny. An arrow, poisoned with Wourali,
is your surest weapon.

“ Take a good aim, and in a few minutes the monkey will
be lying dead at your feet. The Wourali poison totally
destroys all tension in the muscles. Now, a gun-shot wound,
even though it be mortal, has not such an immediate effect.

“ Knowing this to be the case, whenever a monkey was
wanted, recourse was had to poisoned arrows. By this pre¬
caution, the ill-fated animal’s existence was not prolonged
under the painful anguish of a deadly wound. The Wourali
poison would act as a balmy soporific, and the victim would
be dead at your feet in a very short space of time.”

The necessity for some such poison is evident from the
fact that on account of the exuberant luxuriance of tropical
vegetation, a mortally wounded monkey, if only able to
traverse a couple of hundred yards, would be hopelessly lost,
and whether the body remained wedged among the boughs or

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

491

fell to the ground would be a secret only known to the
vultures and carrion-feeding insects.

The peculiar “ Quake ” or basket into which the Wourali-
rnaker puts his materials, is shown on page 463.

Chief among the materials is the Wourali Vine ( Strychnos
toxifera). This, as its name imports, is allied to the plant
which furnishes the well-known strychnine poison.

When full grown, its vine-like stem is about three inches in
diameter, covered with a rough greyish bark, like that of the
vine. The dark -green leaves are oval in shape, and are set
opposite to each other. It is a tolerably common plant in
certain places, but it is very local, and among the abundance
of herbage is not readily distinguishable. It bears a round
fruit, shaped like an apple, and containing seeds imbedded in
a very bitter pulp.

The “ root of a very bitter taste ” is evidently the hyarri,
or haiarri, a plant belonging to the genus Lonchocarpus,
chiefly used in poisoning fish. Of this plant the following
description is given by the Rev. J. H. Bernau, in his Mission¬
ary Labours in British Guiana : —

“The haiarri is a papilionaceous vine, bearing a small
bluish cluster of blossoms, producing a pod about two inches
in length, containing some small grey seeds. The root itself
is stronger in its effects than the vine, and is always preferred
by the Indians. A solid cubic foot of this root will poison
an acre of water, even in the rapids. In creeks and standing
water, its effects are still more extensive.”

When used, the soft yellow roots are pounded with a
stone or mallet and steeped in water, which is then thrown
into the river. Heaps of the pounded roots are often found
on the stones on the river bank, showing that the fish have
been lately poisoned. They appear to be stupefied by the
poison, and float on the surface, when they are either shot
with arrows or simply lifted out by hand.

No injurious effect on the flesh is produced by the poison,
which has been conjectured to paralyse the gills, and so to

402

EXPLANATORY INDEX.

kill the fish, or at least to render it senseless, by asphyxiation.
Perhaps the paralysing effect of the Wourali may be due to
the haiarri juice.

In Mr. C. B. Brown’s work on Guiana, there is an interest¬
ing account of this mode of fish killing : —

“ I set out at an early hour one morning, with Ben, Eruma,
and Yackarawa, in a wood-skin, for a place where the Cowen-
amon Indians were going to poison a pool so as to obtain its
fish. After about two hours hard paddling we arrived at a
large cataract, called Cartoweire, and, taking our canoe into
smooth water above, found the Indians, eleven in number,
busily engaged in beating bundles of a soft yellow root
with sticks. These liaharie roots were each about two inches
in diameter, and of a light yellow colour, containing a yellow
creamy juice, having a disagreeable raw smell. Each bundle
was about a foot in diameter and two feet in length. When
thoroughly pounded into pulp, they were thrown into canoes,
in which a little water had been previously placed, and then
the juice was wrung from them. The enclosure to be acted
upon was of an irregular shape, occupying about two acres of
river, and formed by dams of rock, built into the spaces be¬
tween rocky areas and small islands. In building this the
Indians had left two large gaps open, one being where the
greatest body of water ran in, and the other where it flowed
out. When we arrived they had closed these gaps with a
wattle arrangement, so that all chances of escape for the fish
were cut off. Three canoes, containing the juice of six bundles
of haiarie, were then taken to the upper end of the enclosure,
and the subtle poison discharged from them. It was borne
down by the slight current, and mingled rapidly with the
pure dark water. Most of the Indians then got into the
canoes and pushed out, bows and arrows in hand, into the
middle of the enclosure, whilst the remainder, with my men
also furnished with the same weapons, stood upon the rocks
at the edge. In ten minutes time numbers of small fish came
to the surface, and swam uneasily about, trying to rise above

EXPLANATORY INDEX

493

water ; tlien soon were floating about quite dead. After an
interval of five minutes more, a single pacu showed its back
fin, and also tried to raise its head above water. An instant
more, and the whole place swarmed alive with large fish, pacu
and cartabac, all struggling and flapping at the surface or
whirling round and round. Many tried to force themselves
out of the water up the sloping surface of the rocks, and two
were successful in this, dying on the strand. From the
excited manner in which they struggled, it seemed to me as if
the poison had an intoxicating effect upon them. It might
have been that the contact of the poison with their gills had
produced a feeling of suffocation— hence their endeavours to
escape from their native element.

“ It was a most exciting scene for a time, as the Indians
shot arrow after arrow into the bewildered dying fish and
hunted them ashore or into the canoe. In about an hour the
murderous work was over, and 150 fine pacu and cartabac
were lying dead upon the rocks around the pool, the victims
of Indian prowess and poison. During the whole proceedings
I stood on the rocks at the upper end of the pool, and had a
fine view of the scene, the finest part of which was to see the
naked savage, in all his glory, drawing his bow wfith strength
and ease and letting fly his arrows with unerring aim.”

Another plant, called Konamie, is used for the same pur¬
pose. It belongs to the Composite.

The “ two bulbous plants” which supply the glutinous matter
I cannot identify.

As to the red pepper, ants, and snake-fangs, I do not believe
that they have any effect in strengthening the poison. AVhen
rightly prepared, it has about the consistence of treacle, and
possesses a fragrant and penetrating odour peculiarly its own.
Although so deadly when it directly enters the blood, it is,
like the poison of snakes, harmless when swallowed. I have
tasted some with which Waterton furnished me, and found it
to be intensely bitter, with somewhat of a quassia-like aroma,
and that its taste was as unique as its smell.

494

EX PL AN ATO E Y I ND EX.

Waterton not only succeeded in procuring the manufactured
poison, but also the whole of the materials of which it is made.
Unfortunately, the canoe was capsized in the falls of the
Essequibo river, the precious parcel was lost, and there was
no second opportunity of replacing it. As to the abandon¬
ment of the temporary hut after the Wourali has been made,
subsequent travellers have said that the hut is not only aban¬
doned, but burned to the ground, so as not to leave a trace of
the mode by which the poison was prepared.

"Ween ( Troglodytes eudon).

Y

Yam (Dio scorea sp.).

Yawaraciris. — All these little birds are Manakins, q.v.,
and belong to the genus Pipra .

TAXIDERMY.

TAXIDERMY.

The late Arthur Strickland, of whom Waterton speaks in
such high praise as to say that “ he had more orthodox orni¬
thology in his little finger than most of our mighty closet
naturalists have in their entire carcass,” and that his collec¬
tion of British birds was without a rival ; never would have
his birds stuffed, keeping the skins in drawers.

Many years ago, when he was showing me his collection,
I rather wondered to find that the skins had only just enough
cotton wool in them to keep them slightly open, but soon found
that he was right. Could he have put them all under Water-
ton’s magic fingers he would have been glad enough that they
should be “ set up,” but he was too good a naturalist to entrust
them to ordinary bird stuffers.

In the chapter added to the Wanderings, and to be found on
page 335, Waterton gives the first account of the art which he
created, and even with the aid of those few pages, any one
with ordinary intellect, a thorough knowledge of the animal,
and a fair acquaintance with anatomy, especially that of the
skeleton, would be able to produce specimens of taxidermy
far superior to those which are ordinarily to be found in
museums. But art must be progressive, and as he gained ex¬
perience Waterton was perpetually discovering improvements
in taxidermy. Most of these improvements are given in one
or two portions of his Essays, the principal part of which
will presently be extracted.

K K

498

TAXIDERMY.

First, we come to his mode of preparing birds’ eggs. When
I was a boy, I used to be terribly annoyed to find that
valuable eggs, which had been obtained almost at the risk of
my life, were putrid, and swarming with maggots, owing to
the decay of the lining membrane. Waterton’s gradual im¬
provement in egg preservation was very interesting, as
showing the growth of the art.

Of course, he introduced the solution of corrosive sublimate,
but he did so by sucking it into the egg by a hole at one end,
while the lips were applied to the other. Now, he soon found
that making a hole at the end of the egg spoiled its contour,
and he then made the two holes at one side. Afterwards, he
only employed one rather large hole, and emptied the egg by
shaking it in water.

I have found, however, that a single small hole on the side
will suffice. Get a piece of ordinary glass tubing, about
eighteen inches long, and not more than a quarter of an inch
in diameter, heat it red-hot in a spirit lamp or a gas flame,
and then draw it out in the shape of an elongated hour-glass.
Break it asunder, and you have a tube with a point about as
large as a darning needle.

Now break up the yolk of the egg with your needle, intro¬
duce the glass point, and you can suck out the contents of the
egg in the tube. Inject water once or twice so as to clean it
completely, and then, by the same means, introduce the poison.

For soft -shell eggs like those of the snake or turtle, the
best plan is to empty them, poison them, fill them with sand,
and let them dry, hanging them separately in pieces of net or
muslin to keep them from flattening. When quite dry, the
sand can be shaken out and the egg will ever afterwards re¬
tain its shape. If the egg be “ hard set,” the best plan is to cut
out a small piece of the shell, dry it on a curved surface, lest
it should lose its shape, and extract the contents through the
opening. When it is dry, the piece of shell can be replaced
with a little thin paper and diamond cement, and if neatly
done, the junction will scarcely be visible.

TAXIDERMY.

499

There are some eggs, notably those of the kingfisher, which
alter their colour when empty. The kingfisher’s egg, when
fresh, is almost translucent, and a beautiful rosy white, but
when blown, it becomes as opaque and as dead white as the egg
of a fowl. I hit upon a plan of restoring the colour which
answered admirably, and is very easy. Mix carmine powder
with melted white wax, and make it much darker than the
required hue, as the shell absorbs much of the colour.

Empty and poison the eggs as before, and get the wax to
boiling point. Heat the egg and glass tube as much as they
will bear, draw a few drops of the wax into the tube, blow it
into the egg, and keep turning the egg over and over in front
of a fire until every part of it is equally coloured. Remove it
from the fire and continue to turn it until it is cold, and the
colour will then be so perfectly restored that if it be placed
among a number of fresh eggs, the keenest eye will not be able
to distinguish it. If the egg be laid down before it is cold,
the wax will run downwards and make the colour streaky
instead of regular.

Here is Waterton’s account of the improvements which he
made in taxidermy after he published the Wanderings.

“ Those who preserve quadrupeds for cabinets of natural
history seem not to be aware that, after the skin of the
animal has been taken off, there is a necessity for some parts
of it to be pared down from within. These parts are chiefiy
the nose, the lips, and the soles of the feet. Unless they be
rendered thin by the operation of the knife, there will be no
possibility of restoring to them that natural appearance which
they were seen to possess in life. The inner skin of the ears,
too, must be separated from the outer one, until you come
close to the extreme edge. Nothing short of this operation
can save the ear from becoming a deformity.

“ Every bone in the skin, to the last joint of the toe, next
the claw, must be taken out, in order to allow the operator
an opportunity of restoring the skin to its former just
proportion.

K K

9

500

TAXIDERMY.

“ The mouth must be sewed up from the inside (the skin
being inside out when you sew it), beginning exactly in the
front, and continuing the operation each way to the end of the
gape. When the skin is taken out of the solution, it must be
filled quite full of chaff or saw- dust (but I prefer chaff), not
minding whether the fur be wet or dry. When this has been
done, the skin has almost the appearance of an inflated bag,
quite deficient in feature and in muscular appearance.

“ There are now no obstacles either from without or from
within, to impede the artist’s progress. The skin is perfectly
free from all chance of putrefaction, is quite supple, and will
remain so as long as required. There is no hard body inside
to obstruct the transit of a working iron ; there is not any¬
thing in the shape of wires to prevent him from lengthening
or shortening the neck, body, thigh, and legs, according to his
own judgments.

“Now we proceed to support the skin in any attitude the
artist may wish to place it in.

“Join two pieces of wood in the shape of a carpenter’s
gimlet, and of size corresponding to the size of the animal.
When you have nearly filled the abdomen with chaff, introduce
this machine, and let the shank hang down outside of the
skin, just as though it were a fifth leg in the centre of the body,
equi-distant from the fore and hind legs. This fifth leg, or
what may be called the shank of the gimlet, is of any suffi¬
cient length, and is passed through a hole in the table before
you, and then fastened with a couple of wedges. By this
contrivance you can raise the animal as high as you wish, or
you can lower it at your pleasure, and the feet will just touch
the table, without requiring any wire inside to support them.

“ Everything is now ready for the artist to exercise his
abilities.

“ With a piece of iron, from the size of a large darning
needle to that of a ramrod (or larger and thicker still, if the
bulk of the animal require it), and shaped at one end like a
carpenter’s pricker, he will push out every part of the skin

TAXIDERMY.

501

which ought to be pushed out, and then reduce with the end of
his finger any part that may be too prominent j having al¬
ready made divers small holes in the skin with his penknife,
in order to afford entrance to the working iron. Thus, a small
hole on the top of the head will enable him to reach the nose,
upper lip>, and cheeks ; another behind the root of each ear ;
another under the jaws ; others, again, on the back, that he
may reach the legs, and the remaining parts of the body.
Under each foot there will also be a hole, to give him the op¬
portunity of getting at the toes. The lips are by far the most
difficult part to manage. The operator must have a working
iron in both hands. One of these will do the w’ork within the
head, and the other that without, for the lips require to be
reformed with a beautiful rotundity, and this can only be
effected by means of the inner and the outer irons working in
opposite directions. During the actual operation, the animal
need not be kept in its original position. A smaller animal
may be placed on the operator’s lap, the larger may be thrown
on the ground, or on the table. Every day the nose, and lips,
and orbits, ought to be touched with the oil and turpentine, in
order to keep them moist. At first, after you have used the
working iron in every quarter where it is required, there will
be no appearance of a re-formation of the features. Never¬
theless, in the due course of time, as the skin stiffens, the
artist wfill see the features gradually appear ; and every day he
wall be more and more content with his work. At last, the
skin will retain the slightest impression communicated to
it by the touch of the working iron. Then the artist will
have it fully in his power to reproduce wrinkles, or warts, or
hollow's, or a smooth surface, just as occasion may require.

“The fur will be equally under his command. He will
raise it, or depress it, according to circumstances, and it will
retain the position ever after. Thus a stuffed cat in anger
will exhibit a tail of the same extraordinary bulk which it
does when a dog threatens its existence.

“As there are parts of a quadruped’s skin which are bound

502

TAXIDERMY.

down, as it were, to the bone (at the eyes for example), it will
be necessary to pass a thread, with a sufficient knot at one
end, through these parts, and to let the end without a knot
hang loose after it has been drawn out at the opposite quarter.
Thus, there must be a thread in the extremities at the gape of
the mouth, and one at the corners of the eyes ; and others in
different parts of the body, according to the operator’s judg¬
ment. By pulling these at the end which hangs out, he will
be enabled to depress the parts into their natural shape.

The artificial eyes must be put in on the first day of the
operation, and taken out and put back again every time the
head of the specimen is modelled.

“ When all is completed, and the skin has become perfectly
dry, the artist takes out the chaff or saw-dust, and he finds
that the specimen is quite firm enough to stand without any
support from wires. He cuts three sides of a square hole
under the feet, to let out the chaff, and when this is done, he
returns the skin to its place.

“ A slit must be made in the crown of the head, or under
the jaws, to allow him to fit the artificial eyes with a little
putty or wax. The slit, if properly done, will leave no mark
on the fur.

“ If the quadruped be stuffed in distant countries, with an
intention to be sent home, it may be cut up, when finished,
into three or four different pieces, and this will facilitate the
carriage. When dividing it, the operator must take care to
hold his knife so as to humour the angle which the fur forms
with the skin. Thus, were I to cut a preserved skin in two
parts, the blade of my knife would point to the head, and the
haft to the tail of the animal. By attention to this, not a
hair of the fur will be cut during the operation.

“ I will just add here (although it be a digression), that
there is no difficulty in making the legs and feet of eagles,
turkeys, and other large birds, retain their natural size.
You may go through every known museum, and you will find
that the legs of these, and of all large birds, are dried and

TAXIDERMY

503

shrivelled, as though they belonged to the mummies of
ancient days. In order to give the legs of birds a natural
appearance, and a natural size, the skin from the very claws
to the top of the leg must be separated from the bone by
running a working-iron betwixt it and the bone, and then
modelling the skin with the working iron.

“The wattles of fowl, the caruncles of turkeys, and the
combs of cocks, by the simple process of internal modelling,
may be made to retain their natural size.”

PEGGY.

All improvements are gained by experience, and, when
I first knew Waterton, he had abandoned the box of cot¬
ton wool, and employed a far superior mode of fixing his
subject.

Instead of a box, he had made a simple framework, as here
shown, both ends being open and the upper part projecting
considerably. This was bored full of holes at irregular inter-

504

TAXIDERMY.

vals, so that an upright rod might be inserted into any of
them. An ordinary wine cork was bored and passed over the
rod, so as to slide rather stiffly up and down. A stout pin was
stuck into the cork, a piece of twine tied to it, and the simple
apparatus was complete.

The sketch was taken while Waterton was preparing a phea¬
sant. A large lump of wax is pressed on the beak and from
it projects a sharp needle point, which can be thrust into the
cork. It will be seen that the bird can be thus supported in
any position, and the wings raised or depressed at pleasure.
For convenience sake, Waterton usually placed his bird-stand
on a little oak table, which he called “ Peggy,” and which
could be turned about so as to enable him to reach every
part of the bird. The piece of twdne attached to the pin
was used for giving the proper position of the head, the twine
being hitched into notches cut in the side of the stand.

On such a stand I have prepared birds in the act of stand¬
ing, flying, swimming or feeding, and found it to be in¬
valuable. It also answers well for the smaller animals, but
the larger kinds must necessarily have stands of correspond¬
ing size.

I found it better to wash all birds and animals in soft, warm
water and soap, then rinse them thoroughly, and then, if birds,
soak them in the poison. I used generally to dry them by
tying a piece of strong tape to their legs and swinging them
backwards and forwards, so that not even the most delicate
down was matted. It was wonderful to see how beautifully
their colours came out after the washing.

It is better to make absolutely sure of the various parts
of the skin to be noted, such as the position of the joints, Ac.
A very simple way of doing so is by fixing the animal in the
required attitude before skinning it, and passing a fine white
thread through the skin at the different points, letting the
ends hang down. They will come out easily when the opera¬
tion is completed. Measurements, and if possible, a sketch
to scale should be taken, so as to guard against the usual

TAXIDERMY.

505

error of making the body too long, legs unequal, and, if a
bird, the wings too wide apart or too close together.

Now for the poison.

Corrosive sublimate is not easy to procure, and the shortest
way is to get an order from a medical man to purchase a
pound or two at Apothecaries’ Hall. Chemists may not sell
it without such an order. Being very difficult to dissolve, it
must be reduced to an almost impalpable powder. It is
better to have this done by a chemist, as the powder is apt to
fly about and is very dangerous.

Alcohol, even when methylated, is rather costly. Waterton
suggested to me to try water instead of spirit. I did so, and
found it answer for all kinds of fur and most kinds of feathers.
But, owing to the closeness of the plumage of water-birds,
spirit is absolutely necessary for them, and they must not
only be thoroughly steeped, but continually turned and the
feathers repeatedly raised and pressed. As long as a single
bubble of air is left among the feathers, there will be a spot
which the poison has not reached, and which the moth or
mite is sure to find out.

Take great care not to dip the hands in the solution.
Should there be a scratch on them, they will suffer intense
pain for a long while, and the nails will always be stained a
deep brown which cannot be removed but by the gradual
growth of a new nail. Good India-rubber gloves are very
useful.

The right strength of the poison is of very great import¬
ance, and can be secured by Waterton’s plan of making it too
strong at first, and then adding spirit until it leaves no white
deposit on a black feather which has been dipped in it and
dried.

For moths and butterflies, spirit is also necessary, as water
glides off their scale covered wings, leaving no poison behind
it. They should, when “set,” be dipped in the solution, and
placed to dry just inside the window, with their heads inwards,
so that a draught of air shall blow up the hairy down with

506

TAXIDERMY.

which so many are adorned, and which will be matted together
if this precaution be not taken. A pair of small bellows
will be found very useful, especially if the nozzle be kept
heated with a spirit lamp. A drop of the solution is sure to
form at the end of the wing, and should be removed with
blotting paper, as it is apt to bend the tip downwards and
spoil the shape.

Large-bodied moths should have the abdomen removed,
the contents extracted through the wound, the inside painted
with poison, and stuffed with cotton-wool. When body and
abdomen are both dry, they can be joined by diamond cement.
Not a trace of the junction will be visible. The insect will
not only be impervious to mites, but it will always preserve
its shape, and it will never be subject to “ grease,” that
terror of all entomologists.

Eyes will be found exceedingly troublesome, and the
very greatest care is needed, especially in the management
of the skin at the corners. Always let it be remembered
that eyes in life never start spherically out of circular sockets.
Care must be taken to have the eyes of the right colour.
Most eyes can be procured from the shops, but there are
some, notably those of the toads and snakes, which must be
made by the operator. The best plan is to have a number of
little hollow glass globes, like those used for doll’s eyes.
Paint them on the inside, till them with melted wax, push a
piece of iron wire into the wax, and they will answer ad¬
mirably, giving a life-like aspect which can never be obtained
by the glass eyes of the shops.

Two golden maxims for the followers of Waterton, are,
first, never be discouraged ; second, never be in a hurry.

There is need for them both, especially the former.
Nothing can be more discouraging to a beginner than the look
of a bird newly skinned, and partly filled with cotton-wool.
It is more like a bundle of miscellaneous feathers than a bird.
The upper and lower beaks are quite independent of each
other, the neck looks like a sausage, the wings are turned

TAXIDERMY.

507

in different directions, and the legs and tail dangle about
helplessly. No vestige of an attitude can be seen, and
the operator feels very much inclined to give it up in
despair.

Day after day he works at it according to instructions, and
seems to make no progress whatever. Presently, however, he
is encouraged by finding that the skin begins to respond to
liis touch, and before very long, it becomes as plastic as clay
in the hands of the sculptor.

Now conies the time for the second maxim. The skin, as
Dickens’s butcher said of his meat, “ must be humoured, not
drove,” and if any attempt is made at hurrying, it will be
totally spoiled.

Waterton’s deliberation while preparing a bird or animal
was almost exasperating. He would give it a touch here and
a touch there, smooth down a starting feather with the instru ¬
ment which he mostly used, a blow-gun arrow from which
the poison had been removed ; or, he would slightly alter the
pose of the head, or mould afresh a piece of skin which was
beginning to shrivel. He thus kept every feather and hair
under command, and put in touch after touch to the skin just
as a painter does to his canvas. The result was absolute
perfection, but the means appeared strangely inadequate.

No one could prepare a humming-bird like Waterton.
Except in his collection, it is next to impossible to find a
stuffed humming-bird in which the glittering gorget is not
disfigured by little dark spots. Each such spot shows that
a feather is missing.

Now Waterton found that such missing feathers had
rarely been pulled out of their sockets and lost, but had
been dragged under the other feathers by the contraction
of the skin. He always searched for them, found them,
drew them from their concealment and laid them in their
places. So, the breasts of his humming-birds simply blazed
with gold, ruby, azure, or emerald, according to their species,
as they did in life.

508

TAXIDERMY.

The same patient care enabled him to give to all feathers
and furs the “flow’’ which they possessed in life, and which
no method except his own has been able to restore.

Waterton also found that two pieces of skin if properly
moulded together while wTet, would adhere to each other firmly,
and that a little fine glue would cause them to unite as one
piece. It was through the knowledge of this fact that he was
able to produce the ludicrous combinations of different crea¬
tures which he placed in his museum and ticketed with all
kinds of quaint names.

There was for example, “ Noctifer,” or the Spirit of Night,
made of portions of a bittern and an eagle owl, both nocturnal
birds.

Then he had an absurd group of John Bull surrounded by
difficulties. John Bull was a tortoise with the head of an

NOCTl I'ER.

exceedingly stout but exceedingly worried man. He was sup¬
porting the eight hundred millions of national debt, to which
such frequent reference is made both in the Wanderings
and Essays. Clinging to his back, and driving its claws
into him, is perched “ Diabolus bellicosus,” a sort of grin¬
ning lizard all over abnormal spikes and horns. Before him

TAXIDERMY.

500

goes “ Diabolus ambitiosus,” with outspread wings. “ Dia-
bolus illudens ” is guiding him on his path, and “ Diabolus
eseruleus,” with its open mouth and sharp teeth, is bringing
up the rear.

The museum was full of these taxidermal jokes, and not
long before his death I procured for him a quantity of the
exuvne of the serpents in the Zoological Gardens, so that lie
might work them into new combinations. Whether he did
so I do not know.

Not least of the excellences of his system was the porta¬
bility of the objects prepared by it. We know how heavy is

POLECAT.

even a stuffed dog of ordinary size, with all its internal para¬
phernalia of iron bars, wood, tow, Ac. But Waterton’s
specimens are absolutely empty, the skin depending wholly on
itself for support, and being as light and elastic as thin
horn.

Moreover, his plan of cutting the prepared skins to pieces
which could be packed within a small compass, reduced their
volume as well as weight. They could be taken to pieces
and put together again in a few minutes, without showing
the least sign of a junction. Such, for example, is the speci¬
men here given. No one would ever suspect that it was not
an unbroken skin, so admirably has it been prepared, and so
perfectly are the junctions concealed by the fur.

Marvellous, however, as were Waterton’s achievements in
taxidermy, there was one problem which he never succeeded
in solving, namely, how to prevent bare skin from turning

510

TAXIDERMY.

black. He could model the form of a hand, a lip, or an ear,
to the minutest wrinkle, but, do what he would, the skin
always turned black. It is much the same with insects, such
as dragon flies, the colour of which depends on living tissues
under the skin. He suggested that the body might be taken
to pieces, cleaned, painted on the inside, and put together
again. I tried this plan, and it answered very well as far as
the abdomen went, but utterly failed in the thorax and head,
which persisted in turning black. For the solution of this
and other problems in taxidermy, we want another Waterton.
Where shall we find him ?

INDEX.

A.

Aborigines, 89.

Acaiari, 118, 238, 353.

Accident at Dover, 26.

Mount Cenis, 28.
Fatal, 81.
on “ Pollux,” 26.
to foot, 213.
with gun, 30.
with ladder, 31.

Acouri, 104, 354.

Teeth of, 135.

Acoways, 237, 477.

Acuero, 133, 354.

Adventure near Piome, 28.
on Orinoco, 15.
with Labarri, 15.

TEta, 120, 121, 355.

Agave vivipara, 469.

Ague, Tertian, 150.

Ai, 140, 357, 470.

Ai killed by Wourali, 141.
Albicore, 156, 357.

Alligator, 120, 357.

American ladies, 292, 299, 303.
Anaconda, 380.

Anhingas, 203, 266, 357.

Anolis, 385.

Anoints bullaris, 385
Ants, 129, 222, 358.

Black, 358.

Coushie, 228, 358.

ISTests of, 121.

Eanger, 228, 358.

Small red, 360.

Wood, 93.

Ant-bears, 93, 223, 231, 269, 361.
Large, 93, 361.

Ant-bear, Small, 93, 363.
Ant-birds, 364.

Antidotes to Wourali, 143.
Antigua, 310.

Apes, Barbary, 10.

of Gibraltar, 9.

Apoura-poura, 112.

Apron, Indian, 238, 364.

Aquiro, 354.

Aras, 113, 121, 156, 196, 365.

Ara ararauna, 365.
macao , 365.

Ara humming-bird, 178, 423.

Ara, Scarlet, 111, 123, 266,

319, 365.

Arapunga alba, 380.

Ardea egrelta, 405.
leucogaster, 420.
virescens, 420.

Armadillo, 93, 229, 231, 366.
Arnotto, 445.

Arowacks, 237, 477.

Arrow reed, 372.

Arrows, 137, 240, 366.

Blow-gun, 366.

Fish, 368.

Hog, 370.

Poison-wood, 371.

Rappu, 371.

Wourali, 133.

Arrowroot, 119, 372.

Arundinaria Schomburgkii, 44 4.
Ash, decayed, 53.

Aspidospermum excel sum, 445.
Astrocaryon aculeatum, 354.
Attagen aquila, 411.

Aura Vulture, 484.

Avicennia nitida, 400,

Awning, Canvas, 372.

512

INDEX.

B.

Balsam-capivi, 117.

Bamboo, 373.

Bavibusa arundinacea , 373.

Banana, 226, 373.

Banks, Sir Joseph, 214.

Barbadoes, 313.

Barbary Ape, 10.

Bats, 97.

Bearded Saki, 374.

Beeshn monkey, 374.

Beetle, Rhinoceros, 312, 466.
Bell-bird, 180, 374.

Bete-rouge, 98, 117, 235, 374.
Bibiri, 414.

Bill of Toucan, 182.

Biography of Waterton, 1.
Bird’s eggs, Mode of preparing, 498.
Birds of Demerara, 94, 177.

Bird -stuffing, 214, 335, 497.
Bird-vine, 106.

Bisa, 93, 374.

Bittern, 197.

Bixa orellana, 445.

Blackbirds, 166.

Black-breasted Plover, 457.

Black Pepper, 454.

“ Black Vomit” in Spain, 11.
Blow-pipe, 113, 133, 374.

Arrows of, 366.

Blue Heron, 197, 420.

Boa Constrictor, 231.

Boa imperator , 400.

Boat-bill, 197, 376, 401.
Bob-o-link, 481.

Boclora, 186, 376.

Bois Immortelles, 177, 377.

Bornbax ceiba, 395.

Bonito, 156, 377.

Bouradi, 181, 377, 477.

Bows, 137, 240.

Box-tortoise, 475.

Brachyurus satanas, 374.

Brady pus didactylus, 472.

tridactylus, 470.

Broadway, 303.

Brosimum aubletii, 433.

Brown Heron, 420.

Monkey, 93, 435.

Buffalo Town, 291.

Buletre, 105, 377.

Buro-koro, 433.

Burueli, 377

Bush-master, 96, 378, 398.
Bush-rope, 91, 92, 106, 378.
Buzzard, Turkey, 4S5.

C.

Cabbage-tree, 101, 379.

Cairina moschata, 410.

Calladium arboresccns , 435.
Camoudi, 95, 380.

Camouni, R,, 195.

Campanero, 97, 180, 262, 380.
Canadians, 296.

Carter oma cancropliaga, 401.

Canoe, 120.

Canvas awning, 372.

Caoutchouc, 425.

Capivi, 381.

Capsicum annuum, 454.
frutcscetts, 454.

Caprimulgus, 111, 233, 381, 413.
Capture of Cayman, 272.

Caracara, 261, 381.

Carapa Guianenais , 400.

Cardinal bird, 415.

Cardinalis Virginianus, 415.
Caribs, 237, 477.

Carica papaya, 445.

Carriage pond, 77.

Cartabac, 369.

Caryocar tomentosum, 468.
CaryophyJlus aromaticus, 390.
Cassava, 381.

Bitter, 237.

Sweet, 237.

Cassareep, 382.

Cassiques, 188, 383.

Castor-oil, 213, 383.

Castries, 313.

Catharistes aura, 484.

Cats, 48.

Cayenne, 170.

Cayman, 17, 96, 232, 264, 270,
384.

Back of, 276.

Capture of, 272.

Hook, 270, 385.

Noise of, 264.

Teeth of, 276.

Ccbus apella, 435.

Cercolabes prehensilis, 457.
Ceroxylon andicola, 432.

INDEX.

f> 13

Cervus hu mills, 402,

Chameleon, 96, 385.

Champsa nigra, 384.

Charadrius scmipalmatus, 457.

Virginianus, 457.

Cheironedes Yapoclc, 442.

Chigoe, 236, 385.

Childhood, 5.

Cicadas, 401.

Cinnamon, 170, 172, 390.
Cinnamonum Zeylanicum, 390.
Cirouabali, 470.

Cistuda Carolina, 475.

Citrus aurantium, 443.

limonum, 433.

Climate of New York, 305.

Clock of Sir Thomas More, 2.
Clove-tree, 170, 172, 390.

Clusia alba, 406.

Cocal, 392.

Coccygus Americanus, 401.
Cocoa-nut, 164, 390.

Cock of the Rock, 113, 172, 330, 392.
Cocos nucifera, 390.

Ccelogenys paca, 432.

Coendoo, 457.

Cofl'cea Arabica, 393.

Coffee-trees, 89, 393.

Collared Peccary, 449.

Conurus solstitialis, 431.
Convolvulus batatas, 460.

Coot, 203.

Cooter, 475.

Copaiba, 381.

Copaifera publi flora, 461.

Copaifera sp., 381.

Copal, 90, 394.

Coral snake, 96, 394.

Corrosive sublimate, 340.
Coryphene, 404.

Cory phene hippuris, 404.

Cotton, 101, 396.

Cotingas, 156, 179, 394.
Pompadour, 179, 394.
Purple-breasted, 179
Purple-throated, 179, 394.
Scarlet, 179
Cotinga cayenna, 394.

' pompadoura, 394.

Cotton-tree, 395.

Couanacouchi, 96, 129, 132, 398
Coucourite, 121, 123, 134, 398.
Couguar, 267, 399.

Coulacanara, 249, 255, 400.
Courada-tree, 94, 400.

Cousliie ant, 228.

Crab, 318.

Crabier, 94, 203, 401.

Crabwood, 103.

Cranes, 203.

Crax alector, 460. '

Crickets, 98, 401.

Cuckoo, 313, 401.

Cucujo, 406.

Cuia, 187, 400.

Culex pulicularis, 440.
pipiens, 440.

Culverin found in lake, 45.

Curial, 120.

Curlews, 203.

Curlew, Black, 121.

Scarlet, 94, 121, 170, 203, 401.
Curucuru, 398.

Custom-house duties, 281.

Cutlass or Machete, 92.

Cuxio, 374.

Cyanocorax cristatus, 425.
Cyclothu/rus didactylus, 363.

D.

Daddy Quashi, 233.

Dara, 180.

Darter, 358.

Dasyproda acouchi, 354.

Dasypus sexcindus, 366.

Death of Waterton, 81.

Deer, 92, 121, 402.

Demerara, 173.

Otter, 442.

Voyage to, 13.

Derotypus coronatus, 447.

Descent of Waterton, 2.

Diamond Rock, 313, 402.

Dicotelcs tajacu, 447.

Didi, 487.

Diet and raiment, 210.

Dioscorea sp., 494.

Diospyros ebenum, 404.

Dissecting, Requisites for, 335.
Divers, 154.

Dodges, The “Squire’s,” 72.

Dog, Experiment on with Wourali,

102.

in Guiana, 146.

Sloth, 472.

L L

514

INDEX.

Dolichonyx orizivorus, 481.
Dolphin, 156, 404.

Dominica, 311.

Dry-rot, 56.

Ducalabali, 90, 404.

Ducks, 203, 266, 440.

Duck, Muscovy, 121, 197, 440.

Musk, 440.

Ducklar, 358.

Duraquara, 201, 404.

Duty on specimens, 281.

E.

Eagles, 202, 302, 404.

Eagle, White-headed, 302, 404.
Ebony, 90, 404.

Echo stone, 46.

Edmonstone, Charles, 240.
Egret, 94, 121, 170, 197, 405.
Flaps lemniscatus, 432.

El Dorado, 125, 446.
Emigrants, Irish, 297.

Frays tracaxa, 432.

Eperna falcata, 486.

Eperna, sp., 470.

Erythrina umbrosa, 377.

Escape from Spain, 12.
Essequibo, Falls of, 110, 277.
Eunectes marinus , 380.
Explanatory Index, 353.
Exoccetus volitans, 410.

Eyes, False, 345, 506.

F.

Face of Country, 290.

Falcons, 202.

False eyes, 345, 506.

Falls, 102, 112.

Essequibo, 110, 277.

Fever at Demerara, Yellow, 209.

Severe attack of, 211.

Ficus elastica, 425.

Fiery Topaz, 423.

Fig, Wild, 90, 91, 180, 194, 406.
Finch, Pted-headed, 164, 266, 406.
Firefly, 99, 117, 406.

First Journey, 87.

Fish, 96.

Fish, Flying, 156, 410.

Fish arrow, 368.

Flamingo, 94, 170, 203, 407.

Fly, 119.

Sand, 98, 117, 467.

Flying Fish, 156, 410.

Forest on banks of Demerara, 88.
Fort St. Joachim, 124.

Fourth Journey, 285.

Fowls, Malay, 282.

Fox, 93, 412.

Fox, Savannah, 412.

Fresh-water Turtle, 482.

Frigate Pelican, 158, 170, 411.
Frogs, 97, 264, 312.

Fungus, Trees killed by, 52.

G.

Oalera barbara, 460.

Gally-nipper, 440.

Gannets, 154.

Gateway, 43.

Gauldin, Grey, 420.

White, 406.

Geese, 203.

Genipa Americana, 446.
Georgetown, 240, 473.

Giant Pitta, 364.

Gibraltar apes, 9.

Goat, 94.

Goatsuckers, 97, 197, 262, 264, 381,
413.

Gobe-mouche, 173.

Godiva, Lady, 33.

Gossypium, sp., 3C8, 394.

tricuspidatum, 39 5.
Green-heart, 90, 105, 414.

Grey Gauldin, 420.

Grosbeak, scarlet, 317, 415, 468.
Grotto, 67.

Guadaloupe, 311.

Guana, 93, 267, 415, 425.

Nest of, 267.

Guaraons, 237, 477.

Guava, Perfumed, 418.

Water, 418.

Wild, 180, 417.

Gulls, 154, 158, 203.

Gyncecium saccharinum , 372.

TNDEX.

515

H.

Habitations, Indian, 101.

Hackea, 90, 418.

Haiarri, 418, 491.

Haliaetus leucocephalus, 404.
Hammock, 418.

Hannaquoi, 97, 98, 201, 419.
Hawks, 202, 257.

Hawthorn hedges, 57.

Hayawa, 90, 100, 111, 238, 420.
Hclias eurypyga, 473.

Herons, 40, 420.

Blue, 197, 420.

Brown, 420.

Hia-liia Parrot, 196, 420, 447.
Hiawa, 353.

Hills, 111.

Hitia, 179, 180, 420.

Hocco, 201, 420.

Hog arrow, 370.

Hog, Wild, 92, 101, 104, 420, 417.
Holly-trees, 57.

Hook, Cayman, 270, 385.

Horned Screamer, 202, 468.

Hotels in New York, 305.

H ouse, Ugliness of, 35.

Houtou, 97, 113, 185, 420.

Howler Monkey, 92, 97, 269, 322,
421, 441.

Huillia, 380.

Humirium floribunclum, 474.
Humming-birds, 94, 156, 177, 312,
321.

Ara, 178, 423.

Nests, 321.

Huts, Indian, 101.

Hyarri, 491.

Hyawa, 353.

Hymcncca courbaril, 433, 461.

I.

Ibibibott, 186, 425.

Ibis infuscatis, 402.

Ibis, River, 402.

Scarlet, 401.

Idea heptaphylla , 353.

Iguana, 93, 267, 415, 425.

Iguana tuberculata, 415.

Index, Explanatory, 353.
India-rubber, 113, 331, 425.
Indians, Acoway, 237, 478.

Indians, Arowack, 237, 477.

Carib, 237, 478.

Macoushi, 112, 126, 237, 478.
Waraw, 237, 477.

Religion of, 237.

Indian apron, 238.

Huts, 101.

Tribes, 237, 477.

Insects, 97, 177.

Instructions to adventurers, 176.
Ireartia sdigera, 467.

Irish emigrants, 297.

Ita palm, 355.

Ivy tower, 44.

J.

Jabiru, 118, 119, 121, 203, 425.
Jacamar, 192, 315, 428.
Jacamcrops grandis, 428.

Jacchus leucogenys, 466.
vulgaris, 466.

Jaguar, 260, 264, 267, 272, 429.
Jatropha manihot, 381.

Jay, 186, 425.

Jesuits in Pernambuco, 160.
Jigger, 385.

John Bull in difficulties, 508.
Journey first, 87.
second, 154.
third, 208.
fourth, 285.

Jumbo, 199, 430.

K.

Kamichi, 469.

Karabimiti, 178, 321, 423, 431.
Kessi-kessi, 112, 123, 431.

King, Savage, 115.

King Vulture, 94, 431, 485.
Kingfisher, 192.

Konamie, 493.

Koorooboorelli, 462.

Kurumanni wax, 431.

K’wanarri, 433.

L.

Labarri, 15, 96, 129, 132, 234,
432.

Adventure with, 15.

INDEX.

510

Labarri, poison of, 235
Labba, 92, 104, 432.

Lachesis mutus, 398.

Ladies, American, 292, 299, 303.

La Gabrielle, 170.

La Souffriere, 311.

Lake, 46.

Lake Parima, 446.

Lana-tree, 446.

Lapo, 432.

Laurel hedges, 57.

Leopardus , concolor , 399.
onca, 429.
tigrinus , 475.

Leeches, 17.

Lemon-trees, 164, 433.

Letter-wood, 90, 433.

Leofric, 33.

Liana, 378.

Linnets, 165.

Lizards, 96.

Locust-tree, 90, 433, 461.

Lone kocar pus sp., 491.

M.

Maam, 97, 104, 111, 201, 434, 475.
Macacque, 10.

Macaws, 365.

Macoushi Indians, 112, 126.

Magot, 10.

Mahogany, 434.

Malay fowls, 282.

Mamouril, 379.

Manakins, 194, 435.

Maou, R., 122.

Mapire, 467.

Maranta arundinacea, 371.
Marawinaroo, 462.

Maribuntas, 233, 132.

Marigalante, 311.

Margays, 474.

Marmoset, 466.

Maroudi, 17, 97, 105, 201, 135, 434.
Maroudi, White-crested, 117.

White-headed, 434.

Martinico, 313.

Massara, 445.

Matatoro, 95.

Mauritia flexuosa, 355.
Maximiliana regia , 398.

Megasoma Titan, 466.

Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 489.

Merles, 383.

Metallic Cuckoo, 401.

Mikang, 412.

Mill-stone and nut-tree, 69.
Mimusops Batata , 377.

Missiles, Monkeys and, 437.

Moat, 42.

Moca-moca, 189, 435.

Monkeys, 240, 322, 415.

Monkey, Bisa, 374.

Brown, 93, 415.

Flesh of, 323.

Howler, 441.

Red, 92, 97, 269, 322, 441.
Monkeys and missiles, 437.
Monteiro, 166.

Mora, 90, 91, 105, 116, 256, 261,
439.

Mora excel sa, 439.

Moran, 117.

More, Sir Thomas, 2.

Mosquitos, 98, 117, 440.

Mother Carey’s chicken, 154.
Motmot, 419.

Mountain Cabbage, 379.
Mouse-traps, 76.

Musa par adisaica, 374, 457.

scipientum, 373.

Muscicapa ruticilla, 466.

Muscovy duck, 121, 197, 440.
Musk duck, 440.

Mycetcs ur sinus, 421.

Myderia Americana, 426.

Myletes pacu, 369, 444.

Myristica moschata, 442.
Myrmecopliaga jubata, 361.
Myrmica scevissima, 360.

N.

Nakdapoa, 203, 441.

Lative tribes, 477.

Ncdandru rodeei, 414
Negrocope, 441.

Negroes, runaway, 240.

New York, 303.

Climate of, 305.

Hotels, 305.

Streets of, 303.

Niagara, 291, 294.

Nightingale, Virginian, 415.
Noctifer, 508.

Nomenclature, 77.

INDEX.

51

Nondescript, 324, 441.

Nut-tree and mill-stone, 69.
Nutmeg, 170, 172, 442.

0.

Obeah, 431.

Objects of Wanderings, 87.
Odontophorus Guianensis, 404.
CEcodoma cephalotes, 358.

Olou, 90, 442.

Oolo, 442.

Opossum, 93, 442.

Orange-trees, 164, 443.

Oreodoxa oleracca, 379.

Ortalidci motmot, 419,

Ortyx V'irginiana, 463.

Otters, 96, 443.

Demerara, 442.

Ourah, 133, 444.

Owl, 55, 97, 99, 264, 318.

Ox killed by Wourali, 142.

P.

Pacotj, 112, 261, 369, 444.

Paddles, 445.

Paddle-tree, 445.

Paint, 445.

Paira, 433.

Paiworie, 238, 457.

Palamedea cornuta, 468.

Palms, 164.

Palm, Cocoa-nut, 390.

Coucourite, 398,

Papaw, 101, 237, 445.

Paramaribo, 173.

Parima, 114, 121, 125, 446.

Parra Jacana, 486.

Parroquets, 98, 112, 123, 196, 255.
Parrots, 98, 196, 240, 266.

Parrot, Hia-hia, 196.

Sun, 447.

Partridge, 201
Passerina gularis, 405.

Pataca, 97, 447.

Peccary, 92, 447.

Collared, 449.

White-lipped, 449.

Pedigree of Waterton, 2.
Pee-ay-man, 239, 449.

Pegalls, 240, 451.

Peggy, 503.

Pelamys sarda, 377.

Pelecanus onocrotalus, 451.
Pelican, 94, 203, 451.

Frigate, 158, 170, 411.
Penelope cristata, 434.
pipile , 434.

Pepper, 129, 170, 172, 237, 454.
Black, 454.

Red, 454

Perfumed Guava, 418.
Pernambuco, 158.

Jesuits in, 160.

Port of, 159.

Pestilence in Spain, 11.

Petrel, Stormy, 155, 456.
Phaeton, 170, 454.

Phaeton cetliercus , 479.
Pheasants, Wooden, 59.
Philadelphia, 301.

Museum at, 301.

Philodryas viridissimus, 488.
Phceiiicopterus ruber , 407.
Piaiman, 449.

Piapoco, 181.

Piari, 457.

Picnic, 68.

Pigeon-houses, 73.

Pigeons, Mode of feeding, 75.
Pigstye, Adventure in, 6.

Arrangement of, 24.

Pike, 47.

Piile-apples, 237, 456.

Piper nigrum, 454.

Pi-pi-yo, 97, 249, 456.

Pipra sp., 493.

Pirai, 113, 134, 454.

Pirarara, R. 122.

Pitta, Giant, 364.

Pitcairnia sp., 456.

Piwarri, 238, 456.

Plague in Spain, 11.

Plantains, 237, 457.

Plantations of Stabroek, 175.
Platalea leucorodia, 472.

Plotus anhinga, 357.

Plover, 94, 203, 457.
Black-breasted, 457.
Ring-neck, 457.

Sandy, 457.

Spur- winged, 121.

Poachers, 59.

Podocnemis expansa, 482.
Poison-bowl, 75.

Poison- wood arrow, 371.

/

518

INDEX,

Polecat, 93, 460.

Pompadour Cotinga, 394.

P oner a grandis, 358.

Pope, Presentation to, 25.
Porcupine, 93, 457.

Potato, Sweet, 237, 460.

Powises, 104, 135, 201, 460.
Priotelus temnurus, 420.

Psidium fiuviatile, 418.

pomiferum , 417.

Psophia crepitans, 481.

Pteronura Sanbachii, 443.

Pucuna, 374.

Pulex penetrans, 385.
Purple-breastecl Cotinga, 179.
Purple-throated Cotinga, 179, 394.
Purple-heart, 105, 120, 461.
Pyranga rubra, 468.

Pyrophorus luminosus, 406.

Q.

Quadrupeds, 92.

Quail, 201, 463.

Quake, 129, 463.

Quebec, 297.

Queyou, 365.

Quiver, 134, 463.

R.

Rails, 203.

Raiment and diet, 210.

Rappu arrowy 371.

Rattlesnake, 95, 167, 465.

Adventure with, 167.

Rapids of Essequibo, 110.

Rat, Hanoverian, 8.

Ray, Sting, 266, 473.

Recluse, White, 114.

Red-Headed Finch, 164, 406.
Red-Headed Woodpecker, 213, 489.
Red Howler, 421, 441.

Red Monkey, 92, 97, 269, 322.

Red Pepper, 454.

Red Start, 311, 466
Reed Arrow, 372.

Reformation, the Watertons in, 4.
Remarks on First Journey, 148.
Bhamphastos Ariel, ill.
erythrorhynchus, ill.
toco, 468.

■vitellinus, ill .

Rhinoceros beetle, 312, 466.

Rice bird, 188.

Rice Troupial, 481.

Bicinus communis, 383.
Ring-neck Plover, 457.

River Ibis, 402.

Rome, adventure near, 28.
Roseau, 311.

Roucou, 238, 466.

Runaway negroes, 240.

Bupicola aurantia, 392.

S.

Saba, 89.

Saccharinum officinarum, 473.
Sacawinki, 23, 466.

Sage, red, 178.

Saintes, 311.

Saki, Bearded, 374.

Salempenta, 93, 467.

Samourah, 133, 467.

Sandflies, 98, 117, 467.
Sandpiper, 94, 203.

Sandy Plover, 457.

Sangre do Buey, 165, 468.
Saratoga, 298.

Sarcor/iamphus papa, 485.
Saiiba, 360.

Savage King, 115.

Savanna, 116.

Savannah Fox, 412.

Sawari, 105, 226, 468.

Scarlet Ara, 111, 266, 365.
Curlews, 203, 401.
Grosbeak, 317, 415, 468.
Ibis, 401.

Tanager, 468.

Scenery, 261, 287.

Schnella, sp. 381.

brachystacliya, 378.

School life at Stonyliurst, 7.
Tudhoe, 6.

Scientific names, Hatred of, 77.
Scirou, 181, 468, 477.
Screamer, Horned, 202, 468.
Second Journey, 154.
Serrasalmo piraya, 454.

Sharks, 158, 168.
Shimara-sherie, 369.

Shrikes, 202.

Siderodendron triflorum, 418.
Silk-grass, 133, 134, 237, 469.
Siloabali, 105, 179, 180, 470.

Bastard, 179, 180, 186.
Simiri, 433, 461.

INDEX.

519

Simulia pcrtinax, 467.

Siparouni, 112.

Sir Joseph Banks, 214.

Slavery, 175, 314.

Sloth, $3, 175, 215, 231, 314.
Habits of, 215.

Killed by Wourali, 141.
Two-toed, 220, 472.
Three-toed, 316, 470.
Snakes, 95, 176, 234, 248.

Snipes, 203.

Soil, 92.

Sounds, Strange, 104.

Explanation of, 149.

Souari, 468.

Spain, Stay in, 9.

Spikes for arrows, 137.

Spoonbill, 94, 170, 202, 472.
Spur- wing, 472, 485.

Spur- winged plover, 121.
Stabroek, 173, 472.

Starling tower, 65.

Sting-ray, 266, 473.

St. Joachim, Fort, 122, 124.

St. John’s, Antigua, 310.

St. Lucia, 313.

Storm, 149.

Stormy Petrel, 154, 456.

Strange sounds, 104.

Explanation of, 149.
Strepsilus interpres, 457.
Strychnos toxifera, 491.

St. Thomas’s Tower, 150.
Stuffing, Bird, 214, 335, 497.

Materials for, 336.

Sugar Cane, 473.

Sun-bird, 266, 318, 473.
pari’ot, 447.

Sivietonia mahagoni, 434.

T.

Tacatou, R., 122.

Tacouba, 433.

Tamarin, White-whiskered, 466.
Tanager, Scarlet, 468.

Tangara, 165.

Tantalus loculator, 441.
ruber, 401.

Tapir, 92, 101, 123, 474.
Tapirus terrestris, 47 4.

Taracai, 482.

Tararama, 428.

Tauronira, 105, 106, 474.

Taxidermal jokes, 508.

Taxidermy, 335.

Notes to, 495.

Tayra, 460.

Telus Tcguexin, 467.

Termites, 360.

Tertian ague, 150.

Tetragonopterus latus , 369.
Thalassidroma pelagica, 456.

Third Journey, 208.

Thrinax sp, 479.

Thrush, 99, 165.

Thynnus pad ficus, 357.

Ticks, 237.

Ticonderago, 298.

'Tiger, 92, 94, 177, 263, 474.

Bird, 195, 474.

Cats, 92, 475.

Tigri-fowlo, 473.

Tigrisoma, Braziliense, 475.

tigrinum, 475.

Tinamotis elegans , 475.

Tinamous, 97, 104, 111, 204, 475.
Great, 318.

Small, 319.

Tirana, 266, 475.

Titmouse and Woodpecker, 50.
Toco, 475.

Topaz, Fiery, 423.

Topaza pella, 423.
pyra, 423.

Tortoise, Land, 230, 263, 475.
Tortrix Scytalc, 394.

Toucan, 90, 97, 121, 156, 181, 475.

Bill of, 182.

Toucanet, 477.

Tower, Ivy, 44. ,

Starling, 65.

Traps, Mouse, 76.

Tribes, Indian, 237, 477.

Troely, 99, 233, 478.

Troglodytes eudon, 493.

Trogon melanopterus, 376.

Tropic bird, 158, 479.

Troupials, 123, 164, 193, 481.
Troy, 299.

Trumpeter, 202, 481.

Trygon vastinaca, 473.

Tschiko, 385.

Turkey Buzzard, 485.

Turtle, 266, 482.

Nest of, 266.

520

INDEX.

U.

ITna-waya-adoucati, 316.

Uropsophus durissus, 465.

V.

Vampire, 95, 97, 226, 229, 319, 482.

Teeth of, 321.

Vampirus spectrum, 482.

Vanilla, 232, 483.

Vanilla planifolia, 483.

Vines, 91.

Vine, Wourali, 129.

Virginian nightingale, 415.

Voyage to Denierara, 13.

Vulpes cancrivora , 412.

Vulture, Aura, 257, 484.

Common, 94, 119, 202, 256.
King, 94, 256, 485.

Beak of, 256.

W.

AVallaiu, 105, 106, 319, 466.

Bird, 401.

Wall ababa, 180, 486.

Wall round park, 39.

Walton Hall, ugliness of, 35.
Wanderings, objects of, 87.
Waracaba, 105, 135, 202, 481, 486.
Waraws, 237, 456, 477.

Wasps, 233.

Water Guava, 418.

Water-hen, Spur-winged, 197, 486.
Waterton at home, 35.

Death of, 81.

Eccentricity, 23.

Funeral of, 83.

Love of trees, 49.

Marriage of, 32.

Mode of life, 36.
Tree-climbing, 62.

Waterm amnia, 115, 487.

Wax, 133, 134.

Kurumanni, 431.

00(j[s 9 2 •

‘‘Whip-poor- Will,” 99, 111, 199,

488. '

Whipsnake, 96, 488.

White Gauldin, 406.

White-headed Eagle, 302, 404.
White-lipped Peccary, 449.

White recluse, 114.

“ Who-are-you,” 199, 262, 489.
Wild Beasts, 234.

Eig, 406.

Hogs, 138, 245, 420, 447. '
Man, 160,

“ Willy- come-go,” 99, 199, 262,

489.

'Wire-cash, 369.

Wiriebiserie, 402.

Wood ants, 93.

Wooden pheasants, 59.
Woodpeckers, 190.

Bed-headed, 105, 213, 489.
and Titmice, 50.

Woodskins, 120, 461, 489.
“Work-away,” 199, 489.

"Wourali, 101, 112, 113, 122, 126,
140, 489.

Antidotes, 143.

Experiment on Ai, 141.

Ass, 151.

Dog, 102.

Ox, 142.

Sloth, 141.
Preparation of, 129.

Strength of, 102.

Vine, 129, 491.

Wouralia, 151.

Wren, 99, 111, 165, 494.

Y.

Yabahotj, 130, 199.

Yams, 237, 494.

Yarari, 445.

Yawaraciris, 195, 494.
Yellow-fever at Deinerara, 209.
Yew-tree, 63.

LONDON : K. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, BREAD STREET HILL.

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