THROUGH THE COASTAL WILDERNESS. 235 



the coast. At the very lowest estimate there were eight or 

 ten thousand parrots. Once and only once we saw a soli- 

 tary individual unaccompanied by a mate. While still in 

 ^iew he attempted to attach himself to a pair of birds, where- 

 upon both dashed at the unfortunate intruder and drove 

 him headlong out of sight below the level of the branches. 

 It is indeed a serious thing to loose one's mate if one is a 

 parrot! To be a widow or a widower is to be an outcast. 



At ten minutes past six the parrots vanished in the dusk 

 and true to its name a "six o'clock bee," a species of large 

 cicada, sent out its shrill whistle from the mangrove to 

 which our canoe was tied. Here for the first time since 

 we left Farnum's we encountered mosquitoes and sand ilies, 

 but oil of tar did much to discourage them. It is a curious 

 fact that although the prevailing wind blows in the direction 

 from which we had come, yet these troublesome insects art- 

 said never to pass beyond the line of the Pomeroon's mouth. 



After an hour of paddling we stopped for a supply of 

 water at a tiny Portuguese store built on piles, and going by 

 the name of Poc-a-poo. It was a weird little place with 

 rows of tiny shelves on which were bottles of lemon soda 

 which was remarkably good, and an assortment of ribbons, 

 knives and paddles for trade with the Indians. \Ye pur- 

 chased some well-made Carib Indian baskets and, stum- 

 bling over a caged Ouan 1 ' 1 or Maroodie as thev called it, 

 ordered it sent to Georgetown, where it appeared the fol- 

 lowing week and is now a contented inmate of the Xew 

 York Zoological Park. 



At nine o'clock we started on our all-night paddle up the 

 Pomeroon. Like most tropical nights near the sea the air 

 was chilly. We rolled up in our blankets, and anointed our 

 faces with the tar oil. The scientist chose as his night's 

 couch one of the long sloping side seats. The slope was 

 only a fraction of a degree, but gravity and drowsiness would 



