118 A NATURALIST IN THE GUIANAS 



liner that the httle * Caura ' was slowly laid up against 

 the steep patch of sand leading to the houses which form 

 the settlement. On the way, when time had hung heavy 

 on our hands, we had been greatly amused at the marvel- 

 lous evolutions which our skipper had practised when he 

 had had to stop anywhere. And when at Cucurital he 

 had covered himself with glory by attempting an original 

 manoeuvre, which had resulted in his running into a stack 

 of firewood at the water's edge and ramming a part of 

 the wood into the river, our joy had been boundless. 

 Now, with that contrariety of spirit characteristic of most 

 human beings, we felt quite vexed with him over this 

 strange hobby of his of handling his launch like a ten 

 thousand ton liner, and we fretted at the delay which 

 had been but a few days before the source of so much 

 amusement to us. 



By the time the ' Caura ' was securely moored, and 

 what the mate called the * bridge ' run out, it was quite 

 dark. If the captain had taken his time in getting his 

 ship into port he was determined to make up for the 

 loss of it by bundling us on shore. No sooner had we 

 balanced ourselves across the three-inch plank I had 

 heard called the bridge, than the jettisoning of our pro- 

 perty began. Luckily the landing-place at Temblador 

 is of soft powdery sand, otherwise we would have been 

 saved the trouble of carrying away a goodly portion of 

 our effects. It took me over two hours to reduce to 

 something like order the state of chaos which the casting 

 ashore of our chattels had produced. It was with a 

 feeling of relief that I recognised the box of dynamite 

 for which I had searched in vain since leaving Ciudad- 

 Bolivar, and which had caused me so much anxiety. 

 When I had seen that the pile of boxes and odds and 



