442 EXPLANATORY INDEX. 



skull, or any part of it, had been allowed to remain, and the 

 really wonderful feat could only be performed by Waterton's 

 system of removing the whole of the bones, and paring down 

 all the bare skin until it was not thicker than ordinary writing- 

 paper. 



The drawing of the head, however, scarcely does justice to 

 the original, for Waterton made the nose much more aquiline 

 and thinner than is shown in the engraving, which also 

 makes the face look as if it were hairy, whereas it is abso- 

 lutely bare. If any visitor to Ushaw College can manage to 

 obtain a profile view of the Nondescript, he will be greatly 

 struck with the ingenuity which has changed the flattened 

 nose of the monkey into the aquiline nose of a human being. 



Many persons indeed, on seeing the Nondescrijit, really 

 thought that it was hviman, and said that Waterton ought not 

 to have been allowed to kill natives in order to show his skill 

 in preserving their skins. 



Nutmeg (Myristica moschata.) — Mace is the scarlet envelope 

 which surrounds the seed. It becomes reddish-yellow when 

 dry, 



O 



Olou, sometimes written Oolu. — The tree is a large one, 

 running to eighty or ninety feet in height, and found in loose 

 sandy soil on the Essequibo. It produces scented gum much 

 like that of the hayawah, and seems to be also a species of 

 Idea. The wood is recommended for wardrobes, entomological 

 cabinets, and the like. 



Opossum (Cheironecfes Yapocic). — Sometimes, on account of 

 its predatory habits and its semi aquatic life, it is called 

 the Demerara Otter. Buffon also terms it an otter. 



It is really a curious being, and has greatly puzzled syste- 

 matic naturalists. Most of the opossum tribe inhabit trees, 

 but the Yapock passes the greater part of its time in the 

 water, and is never found far from rivers. The feet are 



