— mixed with water and applied 
* 
GUIANA. 
cultivated condition. The juice of lemons or limes, 
to the skin, is at once 
the best remedy for their stings, and a tolerable pre- 
servative against their attacks, Covk-roaches are found 
from one to two inches in length, which make their 
way into chests and boxes, and besides destroying 
cloths of every description, render every kind of vic- 
tuals which the utterly disgusting, by the nau- 
seous smell which they leave behind. As this creature 
is seldom seen to fly, the best preservative against its 
Favages is to- the boxes or trunks upon empty 
wine bottles, kept free from dust, so as by their smooth- 
~ ness to render its ascent more difficult. Ants of many 
different kinds are extremely numerous, and prove very 
destructive to the stores, (especially of sugar,) in the 
tations. Their immense nests of black earth, built 
on the trunks of the trees, are often so high as te re- 
semble | black bears at a distance ; and some of 
their hillocks on the ground have been seen as high as 
15 or 20 feet, and nearly 100 feet in circumference. 
Some of these insects are above an inch in length, and 
cause great pain by their bite. A small species, eall- 
ed the fire-ant, ich flies in great numbers, oecasions 
a burning sensation resembling that produced by boil- 
ing water, s to proceed from some venomous 
fluid injected into the wound. There are two kinds of 
fire-flies, the smallest of which seen only during night, 
emits sparks of fire at intervals; but the larger kind, 
which is more than an inch in length, affords so steady 
and clear a light, that two or three of them put into 
a glass will enable a person to read or write without 
difficulty. The bees of Guiana are very small, of a 
black colour, and armed with powerful stings ; and one 
Species, mentioned by Stedman, which builds: its nest 
in the roofs of houses, is said to attaek every stranger 
with the greatest fury, while it never molests the regu- 
lar occupiers of the habitation, in which it has taken 
up itsabode, The grasshopper tribe is sufficiently nu- 
merous; but two kinds are peculiarly worthy of notice, 
one called “the walking leaf,” from its wings, about 
three inches in length, being so folded on. its back, as 
to give it a close resemblance to a brown leaf; the 
other, called in, Surinam “ S juffer,” has a body 
about seyen inches in length, not thicker than a com- 
mon quill; has no wings, but is mounted like a spider 
on six legs, nearly six inches long, and has on its head 
four anternine, two of which are about five inches in 
length. An enormous and hideous looking spider, 
called the bush-spider, is found in the forests ; and is 
of such a size, that one of them, when put into a case 
bottle eight inches high, actually reached the tep with 
some of its claws, while its feet were resting on the. 
Bottom. It feeds upon all kinds of insects, and is said 
even to suck the blood of young birds. Its bite is'so 
‘venomous, as to be supposed to Ee sometimes fatal, 
and always at least occasions a fever. The groe-groe, 
‘or palm-tree worm, about three inches long, and thick 
‘as aman’s thumb, of a light yellow colour, with a 
black head, breeds in the cabbage tree after it is cut 
down, is roasted and eaten as a great delicacy, equal to 
‘the finest marrow ; and sometimes its fat, melted and 
‘clarified, is used instead of butter. There are centi- 
les. pedes above six inches in length, which move with 
‘equal rapidity backwards or forwards, and whose bite 
is venomous. Scorpions, also, are frequently found 
‘among old trees and rubbish ; but their sting, though 
very mental and apt to occasion fever, is said not to be 
morta £34 
VOL, X. PART Il. 
545 
For an account of the native human inhabitants of Gniana. 
this country, we refer to the general description of the ~~ 
Natives. 
American Indians, given under the article Amenica; 
and shall only notice here, in a cursory manner, the 
len tribes which occupy the interior of Guiana, 
ut occasionally visit the European settlements on the 
coast. The chief of these are the Caribs, Accawaws, 
Arrowawes, and Worrows, The Caribs inhabit that Catibs. 
part of the coast which lies between the Essequibo and 
the Orinoco, and are by far the most numerous, warlike, 
and active of the natives. Their stature is taller, their 
complexion lighter, and their features more rightly 
and agreeable than those of the other tribes. They are 
also more industrious, and, besides the ordinary Indian 
oecupations of hunting and fishing, they cultivate 
fields of plaintains and cassava around their dwellings. 
They carry on constant hostilities against the Spaniards ; 
but are considered as allies of the Dutch. They fre- 
quently go to war also with the other tribes; and, in 
some instances, have been known to devour their ene- 
mies slain in battle. 
land districts behind the Caribs, and adjacent to the 
sources of the Essequibo, Demerary, and Berbice. 
They bear a nearer resemblance in their persons to the 
-Caribs than the other tribes; but are more grave in 
their aspect and manners, and remarkable for their su- 
perior cunning. They are also addicted, more than 
any of their neighbours, to the use of poison, both 
against their enemies, and those of their own people 
who may have done them any injury. The Worrows Worrows. 
occupy the coast between Demerary and Surinam, and 
are much darker in their colour, disagreeable in their 
aspect, and dirty in their habits, than any of the other 
tribes. They are said to be extremely pusillanimous 
and lazy, scarcely exerting themselves to provide any 
other clothing than the bark of trees, or to procure any 
better food than crabs and fresh water. 
wawes reside behind the Worrows, at the back of the 
settlements of Surinam and Demerary, and are descri« 
bed as the most gentle in manners, lively in temper, 
and handsome in person, of all the Indians of Guiana. 
They are remarkably friendly to the Europeans, and 
peaceable in their intercourse with the other Indian na- 
tions. Besides these four tribes, who are most fre- 
quently seen at the settlements on the coast, other two 
have been mentioned, namely, the Taiiras, residing on 7,j; 
the sea-cvast between Surinam and the river Amazon, 
who are said to be extremely numerous, but peace- 
able and indolent, resembling very much the Worrow 
tribe ; and the Piannacotaws, who live far inland, and pjany 
are violent enemies to all Europeans, with whom they taws. 
obstinately refuse to have any kind of intercourse. It 
has long been the policy of the Dutch settlements to 
cultivate the friendship of these native tribes ; and an 
annual sum is.expended in purchasing blue cloth, 
beads, hatchets, ribbons, and other ornaments and im- 
plements as gifts to their Indian neighbours. They 
come down to the colonies occasionally in small par- 
ties, and make engagements to cut wood, an operation 
at which they are remarkably expert ; but they soon 
become impatient ofthe restraint of regular industry ; 
and sometimes take their departure suddenly without 
any apparent reason. They frequently appear also as 
traders, bringing as their merchandize, cotton ham- 
mocks, canoes, baskets, wax, balsam of capivi, arnotto, 
wild nutmeg, wild cinnamon, parrots, monkeys, ebony, 
and other curious woods; for which they receive, in 
return, chequered cloth, fire-arms, gunpowder, hatch 
32 
The Accawaws inhabit the in- Accawaws. 
The Arro- Arrowawes. 
