176 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



wrongs done to a poor ill-treated slave, and shows that his 

 heart grieves for him by causing immediate redress, and 

 preventing a repetition. 



Long may ye flourish, peaceful and liberal inhabitants of 

 Demerara ! Your doors are ever open to harbour the har- 

 bourless ; your purses never shut to the wants of the 

 distressed: many a ruined fugitive from the Oroonoque 

 will bless your kindness to him in the hour of need, when 

 flying from the woes of civil discord, without food or 

 raiment, he begged for shelter underneath your roof. The 

 poor sufferer in Trinidad, who lost his all in the devouring 

 flames, will remember your charity to his latest moments. 

 The traveller, as he leaves your port, casts a longing, linger- 

 ing look behind ; your attentions, your hospitality, your 

 pleasantry and mirth, are uppermost in his thoughts : 

 your prosperity is close to his heart. Let us now, gentle 

 reader, retire from the busy scenes of man, and journey on 

 towards the wilds in quest of the feathered tribe. 



Leave behind you your high-seasoned dishes, your wines 

 and your delicacies ; carry nothing but Avhat is necessary 

 for your own comfort and the object in view, and depend 

 upon the skill of an Indian, or your own, for fish and game. 

 A sheet, about twelve feet long, ten wide, painted, and with 

 loop-holes on each side, will be of great service ; in a few 

 minutes you can suspend it betwixt two trees in the shape 

 of a roof. Under this, in your hammock, you may defy 

 the pelting shower, and sleep heedless of the dews of night. 

 A hat, a shirt, and a light pair of trousers, will be all the 

 raiment you require. Custom will soon teach you to tread 

 lightly and barefoot on the little inequalities of the ground, 

 and show you how to pass on, unwounded, amid the mantling 

 briers. 



Snakes in these wilds are certainly an annoyance, though 

 perhaps more in imagination than reality; for you must 



