THE HAIMURA. 255 



the eye ; eye large ; air-bag obtuse above, pointed 

 below. 



" The haimura is one of the most delicious fresh- 

 water fishes of Guiana, and the head is particularly 

 recommended to all gourmands. It is generally 

 caught in the neighbourhood of falls and rapids, 

 and reaches sometimes a length of from three and a 

 half to four feet. Its flesh is firm and well-tasted, 

 and at certain seasons is so numerous that it consti- 

 tutes the principal article of food with the In-' 

 dians. It is very voracious, and is taken with the 

 hook, as well as in traps and with spring-hooks. 

 These traps are most ingenious, and consist gene- 

 rally of a cylinder made of bark, or frequently of a 

 branch of the trumpet-tree {Cecropia pellata)^ which 

 is hollowed out. The cylinder is about five feet 

 long, and from six to seven inches in diameter. 

 The lower end is stopped up, and a live fish is fast- 

 ened to the bottom. It is now tied horizontally to 

 a tree which stands on the bank of the river, and 

 kept about two feet below the surface. The hai- 

 mura, attracted by the bait, enters the cylinder; 

 but scarcely has it put its head beyond the centre, 

 when the lower end of the cylinder sinks and be- 

 comes vertical, and the fish being enclosed with its 

 head downwards, it cannot make its escape, and is 

 secured. The river Berbice, beyond the cataract 

 Itabru, and the Cuyuwini, a tributary of the Upper 

 Essequibo, abounded in haimuras, and we some- 

 times caught a hundred weight in the course of 

 an hour or two. Their teeth and jaws are very 



