204 WANDERINGS IN 



THIRD 

 JOURNEY. 



navy to supply ; he lies in his hammock both night 

 and day, (for he has no chair or bed, neither does he 

 want them,) and in it he forms his bow, and makes 

 his arrows, and repairs his fishing tackle. But as 

 soon as he has consumed his provisions, he then 

 rouses himself, and, like the lion, scours the forest 

 in quest of food. He plunges into the river after the 

 deer and tapir, and swims across it; passes through 

 swamps and quagmires, and never fails to obtain 

 a sufficient supply of food. Should the approach 

 of night stop his career, while he is hunting the 

 wild boar, he stops for the night, and continues 

 the chase the- next morning. In my way through 

 the wilds to the Portuguese frontier, I had a proof 

 of this : we were eight in number, six Indians* 

 a negro, and myself. About ten o'clock in the 

 morning, we observed the feet-mark of the wild 

 boars ; we judged by the freshness of the marks 

 that they had passed that way early the\ same 

 morning. As we were not gifted, like the hound, 

 with scent, and as we had no dog with us, we 

 followed their track by the eye. The Indian after 

 game is as sure with his eye as the dog is with his 

 nose. We followed the herd till three in the 

 afternoon, then gave up the chase for the present ; 

 made our fires close to a creek where there was 

 plenty of fish, and then arranged the hammocks. 

 In an hour the Indians shot more fish with their 

 arrows than we could consume. The night was 

 beautifully serene and clear, and the moon shone 



