SUFFEEINGS FEOM INSECTS. 147 



from the above-described in Iiaving a barbed iron point 

 fitting loosely in the shaft, to which it is attached by a 

 long cord. The smooth, hard shell of the turtle, if struck 

 obliquely, would ward off the arrow ; the hunter, there- 

 fore, calculates his distance, and, with an unerring aim, 

 sends his missile into the air, when, describing a parabola, 

 it descends with force and pierces the back of the victim 

 Immediately the animal dives, carrying with him the iron 

 point fastened in his coat of mail, imreeving the string 

 that connects it to the shaft, which floats upon the water, 

 and enables the Indian to regain the cord and secure the 

 turtle. We have often been astonished in observing at 

 how great a distance the keen eye of the Indian will de- 

 tect an object, and the precision with which he will send 

 an arrow, apparently drawn at a venture. 



Kowhere as at Atures had we suffered so severely 

 from insects, and yet we were told that the climax would 

 not be reached until we arrived at the Maypures. At 

 early dawn the mosquitoes made their appearance, nor did 

 they disappear till the shades of evening invited forth the 

 larger insects, the sancudos, which fortunately are not so 

 abundant in this season at Atures as they are during 

 the rainy months, when they swarm in clouds. The mos- 

 quitoes seem to be constant throughout the year, filling 

 the atmosphere in numbers sufficient to dim the vision, 

 "We could not breathe or speak, without taking in these 

 noxious insects ; they gathered in our eyes, and pierced 

 every exposed part of our persons. Humboldt, in speak- 

 ing of these districts, says : " The lower strata of air, 

 from the surface of the ground to the height of fifteen or 

 twenty feet, are absolutely filled with venomous insects. 

 If, in an obscure spot, for instance in the grottoes of the 

 cataracts formed by superincumbent blocks of granite, you 

 direct your eyes toward the opening enlightened by the 

 Bun, you see clouds of m.osquitocs more or less thick. At 



