104 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
three, virgin forest full of tidal swamps; any attempt at escape 
through this endless inhospitable jungle would have ended in 
disaster, and the prisoners knew it. Many of the more trusted ones 
were allowed to wander at will on their own without guards, 
doing their various jobs. One prisoner of African descent—named 
Joe—was allotted to me to assist in any way possible. He was a 
cheery fellow, hard-working and willing, and had another nine 
years to go before being freed. It seemed that he had merely 
clubbed his wife on the head for being unfaithful, an act which, 
among his forebears, would have been deemed a normal pro- 
cedure, but the poor chap was now caught up in the meshes of 
a civilized legal code, and had to pay the consequences. 
I soon made an aviary for my hoatzins, which had by now 
become fairly tame, and so all five were allowed to mix and take 
advantage of their flying space. It was Joe’s job to go to the 
neighboring swamps and gather mucka-mucka (caladium) leaves 
daily for the birds. 
I had left Georgetown without a personal servant, being unable 
to adjust myself to local values. In the local population of Afri- 
can descent there is a proportion who lounge around waiting to 
pounce on any visitor who has to accomplish something in a 
limited period. They can always produce documents to show that 
at one time or another they have attached themselves to some 
expedition, and at an interview will laud themselves to the skies. 
The salary demanded is always out of all proportion to the ability 
(if any) of the applicant, and if some figure is agreed upon, the 
unfortunate new arrival is asked to part with a considerable sum 
in advance, so that the newly employed person can purchase 
bush clothes, food, rum, medicine, etc., and settle all his debts, 
leave money behind for his wife and relations, and for a host of 
other reasons. I was impertinent enough to ask how anyone lived 
between the visits of various missions and expeditions to the 
country, and was told quite frankly that they reckoned to make 
enough when an opportunity occurred to tide them over the 
idle months. Giving money in advance to newly employed persons 
appears to be an established system where black labor is con- 
cerned in Guiana, particularly for those employed to go inland on 
some expedition such as belata collecting, gold prospecting, or 
