194 A NATURALIST IN THE GUIANAS 



La Prision. I bade adieu to Longacre with feelings of 

 genuine regret, for in addition to being a good companion 

 he had nursed me through my illness with rare devotion, 

 spending many a sleepless night near my hammock after 

 a hard day's tramp through the forest. * The Pirate ' and 

 his companions were instructed to return as quickly as 

 possible after completing the purchase of the articles 

 required for the trip. As Medina had an ox he wanted to 

 get rid of, I bought it, and we prepared our own meat. 

 The doomed beast having been tied by the head to the 

 trunk of a mango-tree near the house, was stabbed behind 

 the horns, dividing the spinal column. When his throat 

 was cut some of the women caught the blood in gourds 

 in which a little pepper and salt had been put. The 

 clotted mass was fried and eaten as a delicacy. The tripe 

 was thrown away. So far as I have been able to judge 

 tripe is rarely eaten in Venezuela. After the meat had 

 been cut into strips and salted it was dried for several days 

 in the sun. Only one incident worth recording occurred 

 after I had sent to Puerto Antonio Liccioni for supplies. 

 One day at noon the clearing was invaded by a band 

 of peccaries numbering at least 100 individuals. In a 

 moment the whole settlement was in an uproar. The 

 peccaries scampered about, grunting and uprooting the 

 provisions ; the men shouted ; the women shrieked ; 

 while the boys and girls yelled. Had the settlers been 

 properly armed quite a number of the animals might have 

 been killed. As it was four were secured before they took 

 to flight. Some of the men followed them into the forest 

 and slew three more. That day and for a couple of days 

 after we feasted on peccary. 



' The Pirate ' and his companions returned from 

 Puerto Antonio Liccioni on the 20th. The 21st was 



