294 A NATURALIST IN THE GUIANAS 



Para and had returned. In reply to my suggestion that 

 another attempt should be made to get beyond Para, they 

 declared with one voice that any such attempt would be 

 madness, and that they would not undertake it. Isidor 

 added that he felt certain the men had not followed the 

 river, as they would have reached the island had they 

 done so, and he would have been able to see them from 

 the opposite bank. Where were those poor men at the 

 moment we were discussing their fate? Had they 

 perished or were they still struggling through the forest 

 in the hope of reaching some human habitation ? In 

 spite of the terrible misgivings I felt regarding them, 

 I determined to wait two or three weeks more on the 

 chance of their reaching us. 



On the day after Isidor's arrival Augustin informed 

 me that he would not be able to continue to help me in 

 my orchid collecting. He had promised to deliver by the 

 middle of the month a ciiriara on which he had been 

 working when I arrived, and if he did not attend to it 

 daily he said he would not be able to meet his engage- 

 ment. He took me to see his handiwork and detailed 

 the process of making curiaras or dug-outs. Cedar and 

 sassafras are the best timbers for making these boats ; 

 preferably the former, as it is lighter and more durable. 

 A suitable tree having been selected is felled and the 

 portion for the dug-out cut away. This is rounded and 

 shaped into the form of a canoe, after which it is hollowed 

 out. With a gimlet or a hot iron holes are bored in the 

 shell so that the builder may be able to regulate its 

 thickness as he proceeds. When the curiara is con- 

 sidered sufficiently hollowed out a fire is made through- 

 out its whole length with sticks and logs of wood. Finally 

 the glowing coals are removed and the dug-out forced 



