228 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



la carne de sus bocas."^ Fray Pedro Simon, Nat. Hist, de la Conquista 

 (1726), p. 224. 



The missionary Gili also says in his naive style: 



" II Caribito chiamasi cosi por lo strano amore que porta alle umane 

 carni. I Caribiti son piatti, del peso di una libra e piu grandi. In 

 Auvana dove si prendono con carne salata, vi sono del peso di quattro 

 libre. Chi volesse in breve scolpato bene un cadavere, basterebbe di 

 metterlo por qualche ore nelF Orinoco. Tanti e si famelici gli affol- 

 lerebbero intorno i Caribiti, qui otterebe sicuramente I'intento."' 

 ■ — Saggio di Storia Americana, Tom. i, p. 78. 



Humboldt in a foot-note states that "a young Parageni Indian, 

 whose language appeared to me a dialect of Pareni, called the con- 

 stellation of the southern cross 'Bahumedi': he added that this was 

 the name of the fish Caribe which I had drawn." 



Bancroft in his "Essay on the Natural History of Guiana," 1769, 

 p. 189, says that the "Peri" "is extremely voracious, and bites every- 

 thing which hangs in the water. The feet of ducks swimming in the 

 creeks are frequently amputated, as have been the breasts of women, 

 and the privities of men swimming in the rivers." 



Spix (Selecta Genera et Species Piscium, 1829, p. 73) says of one 

 species, probably the Pygocentriis piraya: 



"Habitat in Brasiliae sequatorialis fluviis, uti reliquiae species, 

 voracissimus, omnibus animalibus aquatilibus infestissimus, edulis." 



2 I am indebted to my friend Prof. A. Kuersteiner for the translation of the 

 Spanish. 



' Some of the Soldiers of Herera carried off (somewhere beyond Cabruta) some 

 breeches made entirely of network with very big knots, which happened to be 

 among the rest of the spoils from those people. The Indians made use of these to 

 go fishing in the mud, and with them they defended themselves against some 

 fishes which the Spaniards called Caribes, because they are so bold and ferocious 

 that they attack everything they meet in the water, and as they take hold of these 

 knots, when the fishermen go in to fish, the flesh is unharmed by their mouths.' 



This originally appeared in an account of the voyage of Alonso de Herrera 

 (1535) to the Rio Meta. 



3 Translation of the Italian. 



The Caribito is so-called because of its strange liking for human flesh. The 

 Caribitos are flat, and weigh a pound and even more. In Auvana, where they are 

 caught with salt meat, there are some that weigh four pounds. Whoever would 

 like to get rid of a corpse in a short time would merely have to put it in the Orinoco 

 for a few hours. So many and such hungry Caribitos would crowd around it, he 

 would attain his end without fail. 



