GAMBLING ON BO AMD 41 



hammocks, usually made of grass or cotton twine, are 

 called chinchorros, the real meaning of which in Spanish 

 is fishing-nets. In the island of Margarita very good 

 chinchorros are made of twisted cotton, but the most 

 expensive hammocks come from the banks of the Rio 

 Negro, where the Indians spend many months in the 

 manufacture of one of these articles. They are decorated 

 with designs woven with the gorgeous feathers of rare 

 birds into the fine grass used in this industry. The 

 hammocks made by the Indians of Guiana for their own 

 use are small, the net itself being rarely more than four 

 feet and a half in length. In their wanderings, when 

 they carry all their belongings with them, these people 

 find it convenient to have only the lightest and smallest 

 of hammocks. 



By the time we had slung our hammocks and made 

 ourselves comfortable it was dinner-time. Dinner on 

 board of a steamer such as the * Delta ' is not a very 

 elaborate affair, although the present owners of the line 

 have made great improvements in this respect, as well 

 as in everything else connected with the working of their 

 steamers. 



Afte': dinner the table was cleared, and several of 

 the passengers engaged in a game of baccarat. A few 

 played poker. I did not see any large sums change 

 hands on this occasion, but there have been times, 

 particularly in the eighties, during the boom in the 

 Yuruari mines, when huge amounts were won and lost 

 in the course of the sixty or seventy hours occupied in 

 reaching Ciudad-Bolivar. Old gamblers recall with regret 

 those golden days, when piles of the yellow metal lay 

 heaped upon the table before the lucky players. At an 

 early hour I retired to my hammock in the bow of the 



