RORAIMA. 347 
gn 
quantity, his staff of life; all others such as yams, sweet 
potatoes, bananas, papaws, pine-apples, &c., are only of 
‘minor importance and therefore grown in but small 
quantities. Again, although the Indian can well enough 
endure privation for a few days, yet when this continues 
for any length of time he becomes very ill-humoured. 
On the fifth night after the full moon they all again 
assembled upon the hill to await the fulfilment of the 
prophecy of the Piaiman, who sat on a boulder in their 
midst. For the whole night they stood watching silently 
in anxious expe€tation, but the sun rose with AWAI- 
CAPU’S promises yet unfulfilled. At last the crowd 
became impatient, and began to doubt his magic power ; 
low murmurings were heard, becoming every moment 
louder and more threatening, until at last they broke 
forth into a dreadful howl of rage. AWAICAPU rose 
from his seat, probably intending to try and quell the 
raging crowd, but as he did so an herculean Indian 
jumped beside him and brought down his war club with 
such tremendous force that the false prophet was stretched 
dead on the spot. The man who did this was my inter- 
terpreter WEY-TORREH’S father, who had taken upon 
himself to avenge the hundreds of innocent viétims des- 
troyed by the murderous Piaiman. 
Staring as if stupified the crowd beheld the deed, ex- 
pecting every moment to see the anger of the Great 
Spirit fall upon the murderer of AWAICAPU. When, 
however, nothing happened, the people dispersed and 
went to their huts, uttering loud cries and lamentations 
over their murdered countrymen. Immediately after- 
wards the Piaiman’s seraglio was broken up, and the half- 
willing half-unwilling inmates returned to their families, 
