COOL ORCHIDS. 95 
While I was going up to Roraima, he stayed in 
the Savannah, still too sick to go further. At 
Roraima I collected everything except Catt. Law- 
renceana, which was utterly rooted out already by 
former collectors. On my return to Osmers’ camp, 
I found him more dead than alive, thrown down by 
a new attack of sickness; but not alone that, I 
also found him abandoned by most of our Indians, 
who had fled on account of the Kanaima having 
killed three of their number. So Mr. Osmers— 
who got soon better—and I, made up our baskets 
with plants, and made everything ready. Our 
Indians returning partly, I sent him ahead with 
as many loads as we could carry, I staying behind 
with the rest of baskets of plants. Had all our 
Indians come back, we would have been all right, 
but this not being the case I had to stay until the 
Indians returned and fetched me off. After this 
we got back all right. This was before the sickness 
broke out among the Indians. 
Last year I went up with Mr. Kromer, who met 
me going up-river while I was coming down. So 
I joined him. We got up all right to the river’s 
head, but here our troubles began, as we got only 
about eight Indians to go on with us who had 
worked in the gold-diggings, and no others could 
be had, the district being abandoned. We had to 
