Along the Essequebo and Potaro. 149 



shot with the bow and arrow by young SCHOMBURGK ; 

 but while the fish was being skinned in the boat, and its 

 abdomen already quite cut open, an unlucky turn of the 

 hand brought it in view of the water, when, with a sudden 

 jerk, it escaped from the hand of the assistant and disap- 

 peared over the side, destined as an almost instantaneous 

 prey for the perai. A perai, a freshwater bashaw, and a 

 few shells and birds, were also obtained and preserved. 

 In order to procure a large supply of various species 

 of fishes, it had been determined to poison one of the 

 creeks near Warraputa with the haiari, but no favour- 

 able creek could be found, since, owing to the very dry 

 weather, the water was reduced to most slender propor- 

 tions in all those met with. 



The main river itself was reduced to very limited pro- 

 portions in many places, split up into small channels 

 between the great banks of sand; and at Canaruck, 

 where a huge tree-clad and broken dyke of greenstone 

 runs across a wide curve of the river, the only passable 

 channel was found at the extreme western end of the 

 curve. All along this part of the river, the scenery, 

 always varying in its character, was of the most charm- 

 ing description, the erfe6t being heightened by the 

 ranges of mountains on the western bank. 



Not far above the Ca-naruck dyke, the first small rapids 

 of the great catara6l of Warraputa are met with ; and 

 here the pacu were found in immense numbers, darting 

 and leaping nearly out of the water, and shewing their 

 deep red colour to the best advantage. Above this we 

 came to the great island that splits up the river into two 

 main channels, and we camped on the left bank, at the 

 foot of the long series of cataracls. 



