NOTES—CuUYUNI GOLD MINING DISTRICT. 81 
lines of russet brown and light bluish French grey. Its 
cry resembled that of the adult bird with the exception 
of the trumpeting which gives the animal its name. 
Like most of my pets it has since unfortunately met with ° 
an untimely death. 
During my stay in the distriét there was but little to 
be observed of inseé life, with the exception of the ever 
present crickets. The only uncommon inseét I captured 
was a trap-door spider, whose curiously construéted den, 
some five-eighths of an inch in diameter, by three and a 
half inches in depth, I discovered in a gloomy part of 
the forest, close by a path, leading from one claim to 
another. I am not aware if the species has been found 
before, or if so, whether it has been noticed in this 
colony. The specimen I possess is remarkable chiefly 
for its very powerful mandibles if I may call them so, 
which to all appearance are much stronger than those of 
the largest tarantula or bird eating spider (Mygale avicu- 
laria) | have seen. In faét so strong are they that in 
consideration of the habits of the inseét, I conclude its 
prey consist chiefly of coleopterous inseéts, so admirably 
are its mandibles adapted for piercing their hard elytra. 
I was unable to secure the nest owing to the difficulties 
of carriage over miles of rough pathway, but hope the 
inse€t itself may prove useful to identify its species. 
The Cuyuni diggings are somewhat unfortunately 
situated as regards the regular despatch of supplies to 
them ; for in the heavy rainy season, the river becomes 
so rapidly flooded and remains at a dangerous height for 
so long a period, that it is almost impossible for loaded 
boats to ascend it ; and were it not that a portion of the 
Camaria road—so called on account of its upper end being 
Le 
