DEPARTURE FROM TRINIDAD 89 



and from month to month, the poHce were unable to 

 obtain such evidence as would secure a conviction. The 

 Venezuelans who were on board on the day of the fray 

 had made up their minds that they were going to do 

 without British justice or interference. They had had 

 their family quarrel. A man had been killed. Some 

 two or three had been wounded. While the prisoners 

 were being tried the revolution had succeeded. Those 

 who had been injured during the encounter were unwilling 

 that their fellow-countrymen should be the victims of a 

 British court of justice. So they very wisely refused to 

 recognise any of the prisoners when they were called upon 

 to give evidence. Eventually the lucky thirteen — for who 

 can say that thirteen is an unlucky number after this ? — 

 found that they were free to depart, which they did 

 precipitately. 



In going into these details I have drawn attention to 

 the fact that a passenger on board an Orinoco steamer 

 may get a good deal of excitement for his passage-money, 

 not to speak of the risk of being hit by a stray bullet. 



When we boarded the steamer ' Delta ' on the after- 

 noon of the 29th (November) our party consisted of an 

 American gentleman, Mr. Orleans Longacre, who, as I 

 have already said, was to accompany me as far as the 

 Nichare for the purpose of inspecting some rubber forests 

 on the banks of that river ; Mr. Jacobson (a photographer), 

 a Mr. Villegente (a taxidermist), and five men. Two 

 of these were expert hunters who had accompanied me 

 on former expeditions into Venezuela and Colombia. Of 

 the other three, one was an East Indian whom I had 

 employed once before to collect butterflies ; the other 

 two men were strangers to me, but they were supposed 

 to be able to make themselves generally useful. 



