336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 39 



level ; some do not touch the ground at all but stand supported on a 

 multipod of roots. 



Creepers vary in size from the thickness of a man's thigh to that 

 of a shoelace. Some are coarse ribbons 4 inches wide and half an 

 inch thick, their centers indescribably tuckered to look like a fairy 

 staircase; others are large and soft like the warps of a ship. One 

 freak 6 inches in diameter tied itself in a perfect thumb knot 20 feet 

 above ground, then continued upward, to curl around its host, the 

 tree. One kind of creeper contains water, and if a length is cut and 

 inverted over the mouth, it gushes out, giving a satisfying drink. In 

 its struggle to reach the upper air and sunshine, the creeper often kills 

 its host, the tree. The gaunt trunk remains standing connected to its 

 fellows by a hundred ropes till a sudden squall of wind will bring it 

 and many of the supporting neighbors crashing down in tangled 

 confusion. 



Amongst this riot of vegetation surprisingly little food edible by 

 man is found. A wild red plum and a green bean appear in isolated 

 places. The plum has a tart sickly taste, and the pod of the bean is 

 very sweet. Neither can be recommended. The Brazil nut is unfor- 

 tunately rare, but each tree yields an immense number of nuts. 

 Monkeys pick the ripe pods, the size of small melons, and hammer 

 them against the trunk till they break, when there is a wild scramble 

 for the falling contents. A few of the palms have edible cabbages, 

 rather like celery and quite pleasant to eat. Only one wild cocoa tree 

 was found. The soil is said to be poor, but if a clearing is made, pine- 

 apples, bananas, tomatoes, and the starchy vegetables peculiar to the 

 colony can be readily grown. There are very few flowers on the forest 

 floor, but many of tree and creeper can be seen from the air in the 

 forest roof. 



The results accomplished in the first season's work were disappoint- 

 ing ; base camp was established at King Frederick William Falls and 

 the trijunction party started upriver from there at the end of October. 

 The Dutch and Brazilian sections were met at the source of the Kutari 

 at the end of the year. The source of the Courantyne was decided 

 upon and an astronomical fix obtained. A large concrete pillar was 

 constructed there and suitably engraved. The Dutch then departed to 

 the east along their boundary, while the British began to work west- 

 ward. In the meantime the second British party explored the Arama- 

 tau, marked its source, and started to trace the boundary eastward. 

 Some idea of traveling speeds can be obtained from the progress of this 

 party : Aramatau Camp was left on January 16, but the boundary was 

 not reached until April 14. The Oronoque was also explored and sur- 

 veyed to within 10 miles of its source in preparation for the following 



