160 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



tied up in plantain leaves, and in this way it can be kept 

 indefinitely. This is the bread of the Orinoco, and is al- 

 ways carried as the main article of provision by Indians 

 and travellers alike; when needed pieces are broken off, 

 dipped in the river to soak a few minutes and then eaten. 

 While not particularly appetizing, the slightly acid flavor 

 is not unpleasant, and if there is time to freshly toast it 

 just before using it is really quite palatable. Another arti- 

 cle commonly prepared by the Piaroas is the bark of a cer- 

 tain tree, called "tabari." Long, narrow strips are cut 

 from the trees and alternately soaked in water and beaten 

 between rocks until the thin layers separate into tissue-like 

 sheets; these are used in rolling cigarettes. 



One of the granite ledges flanking the river just above 

 the Piaroa dwelling bears on its surface a number of curious 

 figures, carved in the face of the rock; unfortunately the 

 water was so low that we passed far beneath them, and I 

 was unable to make out just what they were; but the canoe- 

 men who had seen them a number of times said they were 

 figures of men and date back to prehistoric times. 



The country now rapidly grows wilder; tall forest re- 

 places llanos or scattered growth, and the camps of rubber- 

 collectors dot the river-banks. One afternoon, as we poled 

 quietly along, we came upon a huge anaconda coiled up on 

 a sand-bank; all about were iguanas three or four feet long, 

 digging nesting burrows in the loose sand. The snake had 

 just caught one of the big lizards and was crushing it into a 

 limp mass, but the others paid not the slightest attention 

 to the tragedy which was being enacted in their midst, and 

 ran about or worked but a few feet away. When we ap- 

 proached to within twenty feet the anaconda dropped its 

 victim and flung itself into the water; some of the iguanas 

 followed it, and others scampered away over the sand. 



That night we reached the low, sandy island of Tanaja 

 and, ascending one of the branches of the river, made camp 

 on the rocky mainland. The water was sluggish and shal- 

 low, so that we could easily see the muddy bottom six or 



