RESIDENCE AT TARAPOTO 65 



excretions. To remedy this, I prepared a decoction 

 of an aromatic pepper (a species of Artanthe) that 

 I had seen growing close by, and knew to be a 

 powerful diuretic, and made him drink largely of it. 

 In twelve hours the skin and the excretions were 

 restored to their normal state. 



On the second day he could take a little broth, 

 and on the third he again ate heartily. For a 

 month afterwards he had occasional acute pains in 

 the arm and about the region of the heart, but at 

 the end of two months he was quite restored, and 

 avowed that his arm was as strong as it had ever 

 been. 



Chumbi had caught a glimpse of the snake, and 

 recognised it as the Urrito-machacui or Parrot 

 snake, so called from being coloured like the com- 

 mon green parrot, and thus rendered scarcely dis- 

 tinguishable from the foliage among which it lurks. 

 It grows to a yard or more long, and its bite is con- 

 sidered incurable. Several fatal cases had occurred 

 in the country adjacent to the river Mayo. 



It may well be imagined that until Chumbi was 

 fairly out of danger I felt no small anxiety, and it 

 was not lessened by gathering from the whispers 

 of his relatives that they considered me responsible 

 for the accident that had befallen him. 

 him into the forest, and had wished that the 

 might bite him. If he had died, my life 

 been in imminent danger. Nelson and I could 

 probably have defended ourselves against any open 

 attack of the few inhabitants of Lirio-pampa, 

 we could hardly have made head against Chumb 

 numerous relatives at Tabalosos. 



When I reached Lamas on my way back, 



VOL. II 



