CANELOS TO BANGS 151 



to be met with, nor even a palm-leaf wherewith to 

 thatch a rancho. Our Indians therefore made the 

 roofs by tying long slender sticks across each other, 

 so as to form small squares, and then overlaying 

 them with such large leaves of terrestrial and 

 epiphytal Aroideae (chiefly species of Anthurium) 

 as they could meet with. Roofs so constructed 

 are not proof against heavy rains, and the leaves 

 soon begin to shrivel and rot. Our huts being put 

 up, we cooked our humble supper and lay down to 

 sleep. At 9 r.M. heavy rain came on and continued 

 without intermission till daybreak (5 A.M.) of the 

 27th. When we looked out in the morning we 

 saw that the river had risen still higher, and there 

 was no hope of getting across this day. Our pro- 

 visions began to run low. The Indians had drank 

 their last chicha, and they had all along kept 

 robbing me of such eatable things as I could not 

 keep under lock and key, so that my stock of salt 

 fowls was reduced to three, and I had only besides 

 a few dried plantains in a tin secured by a padlock ; 

 with their usual carelessness for the morrow, 

 they had already eaten up the large monkeys killed 

 at Casha-urcu, and all their provision consisted ol 

 a few baked plantains. 



The day continued gloomy, but no more rain 

 fell. I sallied forth along the river-bank to see if I 

 could meet with anything eatable. Rude granite 

 blocks, often with quartz veins, and here and there 

 small masses of pure quartz, were so heaped up as 

 not to be passed without difficulty and clanger. 

 Among them grew scattered plants of a small 

 Cardamine, of which I gathered all I could find to 

 eat as salad. I then struck into the forest and 



