JOURNEY. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 41 



There are.no sand-flies, nor bete-rouge, nor 



. 



mosquitos in this pretty spot. The fire -flies, 

 during the night, vie in numbers and brightness 

 with the stars in the firmament above ; the air is 

 pure, and the north-east breeze blows a refreshing 

 gale throughout the day. Here the white-crested 

 maroudi, which is never found in the Demerara, 

 is pretty plentiful; and here grows the tree which 

 produces the moran, sometimes called balsam-capivi. 



Your route lies south from this place ; and at Route. 

 the extremity of the savanna, you enter the forest, 

 and journey along a winding path at the foot of 

 a hill. There is no habitation within this day's 

 walk. The traveller, as usual, must sleep in the 

 forest; the path is not so good the following 

 day. The hills, over which it lies, are rocky, 

 steep, and rugged ; and the spaces betwixt them 

 swampy, and mostly knee-deep in water. After 

 eight hours' walk, you find two or three Indian 

 huts, surrounded by the forest ; and in little more 

 than half an hour from these, you come to ten or 

 twelve others, where you pass the night. They 

 are prettily situated at the entrance into a savanna. 

 The eastern and western hills are still covered with 

 wood; but on looking to the south-west quarter, 

 you perceive it begins to die away. In these 

 forests you may find plenty of the trees which 

 yield the sweet-smelling resin called Acaiari, and 

 which, when pounded and burnt on charcoal, gives 

 a delightful fragrance. 



