THE CAPYBARA. 159 



blunt, rounded, and thickened muzzle, that has almost 

 a ludicrous aspect when seen from the front. 



The fur is very thick, and serves to defend the 

 animal from the action of the water. I possess a 

 quiver, given to me by the late Mr. Waterton, which 

 well illustrates the water-resisting power of the Capy- 

 bara's clothing. In order to preserve its efficiency, 

 the wourali poison must be kept dry ; which, in a 

 country of almost perpetual moisture, is a matter of no 

 small difficulty. The native hunters never lose an 

 opportunity of drying their poison, whether in store 

 or upon the weapons ; and, as soon as they light a 

 fire, they are sure to place their weapons and wourali 

 gourd close to it. 



It is to the extreme care which has been taken" in 

 preserving the dryness of the wourali, which Mr. 

 Waterton brought from Guiana some sixty years ago, 

 that its present potency is to be ascribed. I have 

 seen many descriptions of experiments with wourali, 

 both in England and France (there called "curara"), 

 but they have all been unsatisfactory, except those 

 which were made with Mr. Waterton' s poison. I am 

 perfectly certain that my own poisoned arrows are 

 just as venomous now as they were in 1812, when 

 Mr. Waterton procured them from the natives. 



Now, as it often happens that in Guiana the hunter 

 has to travel for days through water up to his knees, 

 it is of the last consequence that he shall preserve his 

 poisoned weapons absolutely dry. This is achieved 

 by placing them in a quiver woven from a split rattan, 

 and covered with a pitch-like cement. The cover is 

 made from a circular piece of Capybara skin, with the 



