THE MAQUIRITARES' LAND 167 



hole; the eggs, twenty to a hundred in number, are then 

 deposited, after which the sand is scooped back into place 

 and patted down so carefully that it takes a very experi- 

 enced eye to locate the spot. The turtle then hurries 

 back to the water, where it apparently remains until the 

 following year. When the eggs, warmed by the sun's 

 rays, finally hatch, the playas swarm with small turtles 

 which are eagerly collected by the natives, boiled entire and 

 eaten. The egg contains a great deal of oil, and although 

 cooked a long time always remains soft. Iguana eggs are 

 taken, also, and boiled and eaten, even when about to 

 hatch. 



Besides the turtles there were many other signs of life 

 on the sand-banks. Water-birds, squatting low in some 

 cup-shaped hollow, looked stupidly at the dazzling light of 

 the gas-lamps, and could be approached to within a few 

 feet; downy young birds waited quietly until nearly touched 

 with the hand and then ran away into the darkness, like 

 puffballs rolling before a breeze. 



The Randal de Santa Barbara is a wicked stretch of 

 water. The Ventuari, coming from the neighborhood of 

 the Brazilian border, forms an extensive delta near its 

 mouth. There are many islands, some of great size, and 

 all heavily forested. The Orinoco is very wide, and hun- 

 dreds of sharp, tall rocks protrude above the water, causing 

 a series of rapids which are hard to ascend. It took us 

 three days of the most trying kind of work to traverse this 

 stretch of agitated water, and finally to haul the boat up 

 the falls, which come as a sort of climax at the end. A 

 strong wind blows from the north almost constantly, whip- 

 ping the water into a choppy sea. On the bank stands a 

 good-sized rubber-camp, and extra hands can usually be 

 secured to help pull the boat through the rapids. The men 

 from this place had just returned from a hunt in the forest, 

 bringing two jaguars and an armadillo weighing sixty-five 

 pounds. One of the jaguars was black. All of these ani- 

 mals were eaten, and of the two species the flesh of the 



