316 WANDERINGS IN 



FOURTH Macoushi country. By having a young specimen 

 at this time of the year, it puts it out of one's 

 power to say at what precise time the old birds 

 are in full plumage. I took it on board a ship 

 with me for England, but it was so very sus- 

 ceptible of cold that it shivered and died, three 

 days after we had passed Antigua. 

 Indian If ev er there should be a great demand for 



rubber. v 



large supplies of gum elastic, commonly called 

 Indian rubber, it may be procured in abundance 

 far away in the wilds of Demerara and Essequibo. 

 An Indian Some years ago, when I was in the Macoushi 

 country, there was a capital trick played upon me 

 about Indian rubber. It is almost too good to be 

 left out of these wanderings, and it shews that 

 the wild and uneducated Indian is not without 

 abilities. Weary and sick, and feeble through 

 loss of blood, I arrived at some Indian huts, 

 which were about two hours distant from the 

 place where the gum elastic trees grew. After 

 a day and a night's rest I went to them, and 

 with my own hands made a fine ball of pure 

 Indian rubber ; it hardened immediately as it 

 became exposed to the air, and its elasticity was 

 almost incredible. 



While procuring it, exposure v to the rain, which 

 fell in torrents, brought on a return of inflamma- 

 tion in the stomach, and I was obliged to have 

 recourse again to the lancet, and to use it with 

 an unsparing hand. I wanted another ball, but 



