HUNTING THE JAGUAR 49 



For four days we continued on through this 

 delightful waterway, so rich with medley of 

 sight and sound. At times we stopped to shoot 

 a few muscovy ducks, which were frequently met 

 with, and now and then I would go a short dis- 

 tance into the jungle to bag a few "Maam," 

 properly called "Tinamou," which are birds about 

 the size of a chicken and make a very savory 

 dish. 



Having ascended the river some seventy miles, 

 we now packed our outfit and portaged through 

 a cut in the jungle everything across to the 

 Essequibo River, some fifteen miles to the west. 

 John Charley advised us that we could procure 

 boats from the Indians there, so it was not neces- 

 sary to transport the curial. The scenery in the 

 Essequibo is still more awe-inspiring by force of 

 its wild magnificence, due largely to the over- 

 powering effect of the huge forest monarchs 

 the greenheart, purpleheart and mora, which, 

 once viewed in all their stately grandeur, make a 

 lasting impression upon the traveler. Their 

 trunks frequently exceed six feet in diameter, 

 while the silk-cotton tree is often more than a 

 dozen feet through at the base. Most of us now 

 are familiar with the invaluable qualities of the 

 greenheart wood, so dear to the angler ; its tough- 



