and the Plant from which it is extracted. 409 



Guiana. I collected at Pirara, the largest Macusi village I 

 ever visited, every information on the subject, and the result 

 was, that the plant grew on the Conocon or Canuku moun- 

 tains. On our return from the cataract of the Rupununi, I 

 ascertained at a settlement of Wapisiana Indians on the east- 

 ern bank of the Rupununi, in 3° north latitude, that a journey 

 of one day and a half would bring me there. 



After 1 had engaged some guides, I started, accompanied 

 by Lieut. Haining of the 65th Regiment, in the morning of 

 the 25th of December, in search of the mysterious plant. 

 Our Avay led us first to the south, over pathless savannahs, 

 until we met with a place in the Rupununi where we could 

 ford it. As the mountains stretched their foot to the river^s 

 bank^ we expected that the ascent would immediately com- 

 mence. Our guide, however, led us through a mountain-pass, 

 and before us was a large arid savannah. We turned now to 

 the north, meeting with plains covered with wood, or low 

 shrubs and coarse grass, bounded on both sides by the moun- 

 tains; it was a wild road, crossed frequently by streams, 

 some of which were dried up and others ran turbulently over 

 numerous rocks : their banks were clothed with creepers and 

 twiners, of the extensive families of Convolvulacece, Bignoni- 

 acece and Eupatori(B : a beautiful reed raised its panicle high 

 above the creeping plants ; it was the Gynerium saccharoides, 

 which the Indians use for their arrows. 



At last, after we had walked more than five miles, the ex- 

 tent of the valley from the place where we entered it, the 

 ascent commenced. It was by no means an easy matter : the 

 path, Indian-like, quite narrow, led over fallen trees, between 

 boulders of granite, and was often so steep that we had to use 

 hands and feet. I wondered only how the Indians, with their 

 burthens, could climb up. Mountain-streams had made their 

 way over shelves of granite, forming frequent cascades, which 

 during the rainy season must be grand indeed ; at present, 

 the water only trickled down the rugged sides, and was lost 

 among numerous plants of the genera Pothos, Heliconian Ges- 

 neria, Peperoma and Canna, which, favoured by the moisture, 

 grew most luxuriantly. A Justicia with scarlet flowers, the 

 beautiful Petrea macrostachya (/5.), and the Duranta with 

 its violet blossoms, added considerably to the beauty of the 

 spot. 



At three o'clock in the afternoon, after a most fatiguing 

 march of eight hours and a half, we reached a few huts on 

 Mount Mamesua, inhabited by Wapisianas, where we in- 

 tended to rest for the night. We continued our inquiries, 

 and learned from our host Oronappi, an old acquaintance. 



