EXPLANATORY INDEX. 447 



who went much by the tracks of Waterton, reached the very 

 spot, and found that Waterton' s cautious suggestion was more 

 than correct. He has given a beautiful drawing of the spot, 

 which would have been the centre of the lake, had it existed, 

 but on which was a small settlement of native huts. Of the 

 lake he writes as follows : 



" The vast savannahs upon which St. Pirara is situated, are 

 encompassed by the Pacaraima mountains to the north, the 

 Canoku and Carawaimi mountains to the south, the thick 

 forests of the Essequibo and isolated mountains, to the east, 

 and the mountains of the Mocajahi, and branches of the Sierra 

 Parima to the west ; and, according to a superficial computa- 

 tion, cover a space of fourteen thousand four hundred square 

 miles. The geological structure of this region leaves but little 

 doubt that it was once the bed of an inland lake, which, by 

 one of those catastrophes of which even later times give us 

 examples, broke its barriers and forced a path for its waters 

 to the Atlantic. May we not connect with this inland sea 

 that fable of El Dorado and Lake Parima 1 " 



Thus Schomburgk has proved that Waterton' s conjecture 

 was correct, and that we may erase El Dorado and Lake 

 Parima from our maps and memories. 



PARROT, SUN, or HIA-HIA (Deroptyus accipitrinus). It de- 

 rives its popular and appropriate name from the way in which 

 the feathers of its neck can be spread into a sort of naming 

 glory round its head. There is a splendid specimen in 

 Waterton' s museum. It is sometimes called Anaca. 



PATACA. There seems to be no possibility of identifying 

 this bird. No description is given, and its name is only once 

 casually mentioned. As it is named in connection with the 

 maroudi, it may belong to the same group of birds. See 

 " Maroudi." 



PECCARY, sometimes called Wild Hog (Dicoteles tajacu). 

 This is not a large animal, weighing only some fifty or 

 sixty pounds, but it is greatly dreaded, not only by the 

 natives, but by Europeans. The tusks of the boars are so 



