WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 237 



immediately set to work, head foremost, and in about 

 half an hour he had completely buried himself in the skin. 

 I then let him feel the point of my knife, and exterminated 

 him. 



More than once, after sitting down upon a rotten stump, 

 I have found myself covered with Ticks. There is a short 

 and easy way to get quit of these unwelcome adherents. 

 Make a large fire and stand close to it, and if you be 

 covered with ticks, they will all fall off. 



Let us now forget for a while the quadrupeds, serpents, 

 and insects, and take a transitory view of the native In- 

 dians of these forests. 



There are five principal nations or tribes of Indians in 

 ci-dcvant Dutch Guiana, commonly known by the name 

 of Warow, Arowack, Acoway, Carib, and IVIacoushi. They 

 live in small hamlets, which consist of a few huts, never 

 exceeding twelve in number. These huts are always in 

 the forest, near a river or some creek. They are open on 

 all sides, (except those of the Macoushi,) and covered with 

 a species of palm leaf. 



Their principal furniture is the hammock. It serves 

 them both for chair and bed. It is commonly made of 

 cotton ; though those of the Warows are formed from the 

 feta tree. At night they always make a fire close to it. 

 The heat keeps them warm, and the smoke drives away 

 the mosquitos and sand-flies. You sometimes find a table 

 in the hut ; but it was not made by the Indians, but by 

 some negro, or mulatto carpenter. 



They cut down about an acre or two of the trees which 

 surround the huts, and there plant Pepper, Papaws, Sweet 

 and Bitter Cassava, Plantains, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, 

 Pine-Apples, and Silk-Grass. Besides these, they gene- 

 rally have a few acres in some fertile part of the forest for 

 their cassava, which is as bread to them. They make 



