190 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



He retreated as usual, and came back again in about 

 an hour. We paid him every attention till three 

 o'clock in the morning; when, worn out with disappoint- 

 ment, we went to the hammocks, turned in, and fell 

 asleep. 



When day broke, we found that he had contrived to 

 get the bait from the hook, though we had tied it on 

 with string. We had now no more hopes of taking a 

 cayman till the return of night. The Indian took off 

 into the woods, and brought back a noble supply of 

 game. The rest of us went into the canoe, and pro- 

 ceeded up the river to shoot fish. We got even more 

 than we could use. 



As we approached the shallows, we could see the 

 large sting-rays moving at the bottom. The coloured 

 man never failed to hit them with his arrow. The 

 weather was delightful. There was scarcely a cloud to 

 intercept the sun's rays. 



I saw several scarlet aras, anihingas, and 

 ducks, but could not get a shot at them. 

 The parrots crossed the river in innumerable quantities, 

 almost flying in pairs. Here, too, I saw the Sun-bird, 

 called Tirana by the Spaniards in the Oroonoque, and 

 shot one of them. The black and white scarlet -headed 

 finch was very common here. I could never see this 

 bird in the Demerara, nor hear of its being there. 



We at last came to a large sand-bank, probably two 

 miles in circumference. As we approached it we could 

 see two or three hundred fresh- water turtle on the edge 

 of the bank. Ere we could get near enough to let fly 

 an arrow at them, they had all sunk into the river, and 

 appeared no more. 



