A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCES IN VENEZUELA. 85 



cries of unknown birds and beasts, the impressive southern 

 cross and the extraordinary brilliancy of the moonlight shin- 

 ing down upon the tiny deck of the " Josefa Jacinta," and 

 upon us and the sleeping forms of its dusky crew. 



\Ye were sometimes awakened in the night by a sudden 

 bright light in our faces. It was Maestro making a fire, in 



FIG. 46. GUARAUNO SQUAWS AND CHILD WITH MONKEY. 



which operation he used alarming quantities of kerosene, to 

 prepare the midnight repast for the crew, who win-never they 

 woke in the night would call loudly "Maestro cafe!" 



Again the sound of an unusually heavy downpour of trop- 

 ical rain on the tarpaulin overhead would waken us, and I 

 would occasionally discover that my feet were in a puddle of 

 water. A shifting of beds to prevent our being drowned 

 while we slept would invariably result in our feet being 



