THE MACUSIS. 675 



the split trunks of smaller palms for flooring. Above it a 

 roof is formed, thatched with the leaves of the same tree, 

 from which they also procure their chief means of subsistence. 

 From the upper beams the hammocks are suspended ; while on 

 the flooring a hearth of clay is formed, on which fires are lit 

 for cooking their food. Then their canoes, or woibakas, as 

 they are called, enable them to procure food from the water, 

 and give them the means of moving from place to place. 



No tree is more useful to the natives than the mauritia. 

 Before unfolding its leaves its blossoms contain a sago-like 

 meal, which is dried in thin, bread-like slices. The sap is 

 converted into palm-wine. The narrow scaled fruit, which 

 resembles reddish pine-cones, yields different articles of food 

 according to the period at which it is gathered whether the 

 saccharine properties are fully matured, or whether it is still 

 in a farinaceous condition. 



The Guaranis have of late years come under the influence 

 of Christian Protestant missions. 



THE MACUSIS. 



In the neighbourhood of the Lake Parima, the Macusis, as 

 well as other tribes, have their homes. The former are noted 

 for being the manufacturers of the celebrated wourali poison 

 described by Waterton. Numerous other tribes, or sections of 

 tribes with different names, exist in the far interior, both 

 westward and to the north and south. Those inhabiting the 

 Lower Amazon possess some degree of civilization, and are 

 known under the general name of Tapuyos from a once power- 

 ful nation of that name, existing towards the southern part of 

 the Brazilian coast, and driven northward by still fiercer 

 hordes. 



