SOUTH AMERICA. 247 



We had been out from six in the morning in THIED 



JOURNEY. 



an open canoe on the sea-coast, without umbrella Reachel 

 or awning, exposed all day to the fiery rays of a 

 tropical sun. My face smarted so that I could 

 get no sleep during the night, and the next morn- 

 ing my lips were all in blisters. The Indian Yan 

 went down to the Essequibo a copper colour, but 

 the reflection of the sun from the sea, and from 

 the sand-banks in the river, had turned him nearly 

 black. He laughed at himself, and said the Indians 

 in the Demerara would not know him again. I 

 staid one day in George-town, and then set off the 

 next morning for head-quarters in Mibiri creek, 

 where I finished the cayman. 



Here the remaining time was spent in collecting 

 birds, and in paying particular attention to their 

 haunts and economy. The rainy season having 

 set in, the weather became bad and stormy ; the 

 lightning and thunder were incessant ; the days 

 cloudy, and the nights cold and misty. I had 

 now been eleven months in the forests, and col- 

 lected some rare insects, two hundred and thirty 

 birds, two land tortoises, five armadillas, two large 

 serpents, a slotn, an ant-bear, and a cayman. 



I left the wilds and repaired to George-town to 

 spend a few days with Mr. R. Edmonstone pre- 

 vious to embarking for Europe. I must here 

 return my sincerest thanks to this worthy gentle- 

 man for his many kindnesses to me ; his friendship 

 was of the utmost service to me, and he never 



