Guiana: The Wild and Wonderful. 239 
round them in ways quite impossible for any serpent. I have seen a 
picture of such an attack where the reptile has its back arched like that 
of a cat! 
Bush negroes were a real danger to the early colonists and were 
probably responsible for stories of jumbis, duppis, didies and akreos. 
They were the wild men of the bush and in most cases were inuch dreaded 
by the plantation slaves. In 1793 it was reported that a slave sent 
aback of Peter's Hall to cut bush-ropes was almost frightened to death. 
In pushing his way through the tangle he heard a hell ring overhead, 
and at once a frightful naked monster appeared and pointed a oun at 
him. The slave ran back without his bush-ropes and was too much 
afraid of the bush negro to go back alone. An expedition to the place 
ended in the capture of a gang of these savages and destruction of their 
hiding-place. 
The Indian Kanaima, or avenger of blood, has helped to frighten 
the negro and boviander, as well as his possible victim, This tiger or 
camoudi kanaina is considered something more than the mere man—he 
is a demon, or possessed by one. When a glimpse of him is obtained 
eyeryone in the neighbourhood fears to go out alone. My boatmen have 
told me stories of these dreadful personages and of their tracking their 
victims, which suggest cunning and endurance almost preternatural. 
One old black man had seen a didi peeping round a tree-trunk, but of 
course be did not attempt to find out whether it was a kanaima. It 
was as far as he could see ina frightened glance, a small hairy man. 
He dared not look farther but ran off for it was highly dangerous to 
even peep at it. A month or two ago a balata-bleeder hinted to me that 
there were still didis, akreos, duppies and other strange and dreadful 
creatures to be found. He was of course braye enough to run the great 
risk of encountering such monsters, but he hesitated when asked to give 
some idea of the locality. As for taking anyone to investigate, that 
would bring trouble and make his work impossible. 
Charles Waterton tried to poke fun at these wild men of the woods. 
His “‘ Nondescript ” was a triumph of the art of taxidermy, the head and 
shoulders of a red howler ; he spoke of it in a very ambiguous way in the 
“Wanderings, but here in Georgetown he put it on show as the head of 
the real wild man of the woods, and gave an account of its capture. 
Hundreds of people went to see it; some wondered at such a curiosity, 
others wanted to find out how it wasdone. Letters were written to the 
Guiana “ Chronicle,” poking fun at Waterton and his wild man; we can 
picture the genial traveller quietly chuckling at their mystification. 
Waterton did much to put naturalists right on many points. His 
writings on monkeys, the sloth and snakes, show that he was a most 
careful observer. He crititised the pictures accepted by the closet 
naturalists, as well as specimens in the Museums. Everything was wrong 
and he was able to tell them how they could be put right. When attacked 
