330 TIMEHRI. 
pie 
tion of my delicate supper, which came quite soon enough. 
The cook brought me on a plate two specimens of the 
cavia, which immediately affected my nose, smelling as 
they did like old mouldy skins. Since however game is 
never as sweet as Eau de Cologne, I did not blame the 
meat for its pungent smell, but tried by breathing it 
several times to accustom my nose to it, at the same 
time dire€ting my thoughts to pickled cabbage (Sauer- 
kraut), cheese and other viands which smell just as nasty 
but nevertheless taste very good. Gaining courage from 
this I quickly cut off a piece of this odorous meat and 
swallowed it without much chewing. The first bite did not 
give me the proper flavour, but the second piece which 
quickly followed it to the stomach did not remain there 
long. I jumped up quickly, and in the darkness of the 
forest, which seemed in unison with my feelings, quickly 
eje€ted it through the mouth. Although I had never 
eaten a rat, this meat seemed like what the flesh of 
that animal might be, its repugnant sweetness and 
penetrating skin-like odour affe€ting my stomach in such 
a way that the very sight of the cooked animals was 
disgusting, and I ordered my servant to remove them 
before I re-entered my tent. 
I had finally to content myself with a supper of 
cassava bread and to put away the thoughts of my dis- 
gusting meal by a good sleep from which I was awakened 
towards morning by the arrival of a party of strange 
Arekunas, They came from a settlement on the Kuke- 
naam and had been attraéted by the fire on Roraima, 
which could be seen at night from a great distance, they 
thinking on seeing this, that I was on the mountain. 
To our great joy they had some baskets of barbecued 
