PIAKO INDIANS. 151 



negroes obtain theirs from an allied species, viz., by boil- 

 ing the fruit in water, and crushing it in a wooden mortar, 

 until the sarcocarp is separated from the seed, and the oil 

 floats on the surface of tlie liquid mass thus produced. 



Discovering smoke curling upward from the trees of a 

 forest-island, we landed and found a large palm-hut, in- 

 habited by several families of Piaroas, who were living in 

 a patriarchal community. Hearing us disembark, the 

 naked inmates came swarming out from their wretched 

 dAvelling. The women were unornamented ; but the men, 

 imitating Nature, who adorns the male in the gayest 

 robes, were decorated in a most fantastic manner. A neck- 

 lace of tiger or crocodile teeth was worn around the neck, 

 with bands of the same on the wrists. Upon the head 

 was a wreath, made by weaving in a circular band the 

 variegated plumage of the bright-colored macaw ; while 

 down the back hung a bunch of feathers, tails of animals, 

 beautiful humming-birds, and trinkets of various kinds. 

 We were to them objects of the greatest curiosity ; they 

 examining our persons, clothes, and things, with the ut- 

 most delight and childish admiration. Our watches es- 

 pecially excited their attention ; but their utility, besides 

 subserving the purpose of ornamentation, they could not 

 comprehend. From these Indians we supplied ourselves 

 with a number of candalas, or torches, which consisted 

 of a strip of bark a yard long, rolled into a tube three 

 inches in diameter, filled with a resinous substance, which 

 in burning gives out more smoke than light. The natives 

 of the Orinoco often make use of phosphorescent insects 

 {^pyrophorus noctilucus), as a substitute for artificial light. 

 A number of these natural lamps placed in a calabash, and 

 shaken when wanted for use, Avill emit light sufficient to 

 make visible all objects within the hut. 



Late in the afternoon of the 27th, gathering clouds 

 indicating a heavy storm, we hastened to a large rock and 



