166 THE IGUAFA. 



nor the chcutnek^ nor any of the Ateles. Our Indians them- 

 selves had never seen any that resembled them. Monkeys, 

 especially those living in troops, make long emigrations 

 at certain periods, and consequently it happens that at the 

 beginning of the rainy seasons the natives discover round 

 their huts different kinds which they have not before 

 observed. On this same bank our guides showed us a 

 nest of young iguanas only four inches long. It was 

 difficult to distinguish them from common lizards. There 

 was no distinguishing mark yet formed but the dewlap 

 below the throat. The dorsal spines, the large erect scales, 

 all those appendages that render the iguana so remarkable 

 when it attains its full growth, were scarcely traceable. 



The flesh of this animal of the saurian family appeared to 

 us to have an agreeable taste in every country where the 

 climate is very dry ; we even found it so at periods when we 

 were not in want of other food. It is extremely white, and 

 next to the flesh of the armadillo, one of the best kinds of 

 food to be found in the huts of the natives. 



It rained toward evening, and before the rain fell, swal- 

 lows, exactly resembling our own, skimmed over the surface 

 of the water. We saw also a flock of paroquets pursued by 

 little goshawks without crests. The piercing cries of these 

 paroquets contrasted singularly with the whistling of the 

 birds of prey. We passed the night in the open air, upon 

 the beach, near the island of Carizales. There were several 

 Indian huts in the neighbourhood, surrounded with plan- 

 tations. Our pilot assured us beforehand that we should 

 not hear the cries of the jaguar, which, when not extremely 

 pressed by hunger, withdraws from places where he does 

 not reign unmolested. " Men put him out of humour" 

 (los hombres lo enfadan), say the people in the Missions. A 

 pleasant and simple expression, that marks a well-observed 

 fact. 



Since our departure from San Fernando we had not met 

 a single boat on this fine river. Everything denoted the 

 most profound solitude. On the morning of the 3rd of 

 April our Indians caught with a hook the fish known in the 

 country by the name of caribe* or caribito, because no other 

 fish has such a thirst for blood. It attacks bathers and 

 * Caribe in the Spanish language signifies cannibal. 



