A NATURALIST’S EXPERIENCES IN BRITISH GUIANA 
A dike extends across the Essequibo 
at the mouth of the Konawaruk. Op- 
posite the Konawaruk and below the 
dike there was a lagoon separated from 
the river by a sandy and partly wooded 
spit of land, but connected below with 
the river. Near the head of the bayou 
and connected with it by a few inches 
of water there was a pool toward the 
river side. It was not more than 50 
feet in diameter and perhaps 6 feet deep 
in its deepest part. Trees overhung it 
from the river side. 
The Indians beat some hiari roots to 
shreds. They were tied into bundles 
and the two Indian boys swam through 
the pool with them. First one species 
of fish and then another came to the 
surface, and then they came indiscrimi- 
nately. A stingaree came fluttering to 
the surface toward the last, while the 
little Corydoras punctatus withstood the 
poison to the end. Catoprion mento, a 
Mylinid Characin with a _ projecting 
chin, was particularly acceptable. The 
fish that created the greatest interest 
was. Mankhausia dichrourus, of which 
I had seen dozens of “specimens” all 
the way from Paraguay to Para, and all 
of them conveyed about as much idea 
of the appearance of the living fish as a 
dead and plucked Baltimore oriole 
would of the living bird. The base of 
the tail is bright canary yellow, the 
lobes are crossed with jet-black bands, 
and the tips are milky white. I do not 
know how long we stayed here; not over 
two hours, during which over 40 species 
were taken out of the pool. 
We continued our row to the Warra- 
puta Cataract. The river is divided here 
into several branches by wooded islands. 
The two older Indians started out to 
shoot Pacu, but bagged nothing. The 
rest of the crew.and myself set to work 
to poison a branch of the cataract, where 
we were again quite successful, securing 
a series of specimens that recalled the 
Amatuk Cataract. and also a series of 
the young of the Pacu, the first that were 
obtained or recognized as such. After 
the poisoning Cummings went to the 
sandbank to prepare supper, while I with 
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Photo by C. H. Eigenmann 
TRANSPORTING OUR GOODS BY THE USUAL 
METHODS AT KANGARUMA 
The load is limited to 60 pounds per man, 
and the package must not exceed certain 
dimensions. 
the two young Indians browsed about 
the dike which causes the cataract. On 
my return I found that no provision had 
been made for my hammock, and the 
Indians refused to go into the bush at 
night to secure palm branches. I did not 
like to risk a drenching rain so soon after 
getting rid of the fever. I insisted that 
the Indians either build me a shelter or 
take me back to their camp. Giving 
them an alternative was a mistake—they 
decided to take me back. It did not rain 
that night. It was all very well to come 
up through the gaps in the dikes in the 
daytime; it was quite another matter 
to safely guide the bateau down through 
them at night. We shot through at a 
tremendous rate, and once the boat 
touched something. The boys shouted 
with glee, while I came to a sober reali- 
