486 Foreign Notices : — South America. 



The celebrated Indian drink called piewarrie is produced from the cassava 

 bread ; but the cakes, instead of being dried in the sun, are baked upon a sort 

 of baking pan made of hardened clay, and are generally hung up in plantain 

 leaves for a few days before using. Then the females, having prepared a large 

 bowl, commence the operation of chewing the cakes ; and, after the incessant 

 labours of six or eight women have accumulated a considerable quantity of 

 the masticated material, a little water, I believe, is added, and the contents of 

 the bowl are suffered to ferment for some days. The mass is then boiled, 

 and, when cool, the piewarrie is ready for consumption ; but it improves 

 greatly if kept a few weeks. In my opinion, the piewarrie is very agreeable 

 and wholesome ; for I drank it in large quantities at the different Indian set- 

 tlements which I visited, considering that if there were anything objectionable in 

 the process, it would have been removed by the boiling and the fermentation ; 

 and, having once tasted it, I liked it too well to allow any prejudice to make 

 me refrain from its use. There are not, however, many Europeans who can 

 overcome their repugnance at the idea of the preparatory process sufficiently 

 to be able to drink the piewarrie. The worst of this preparation is, that the 

 teeth of the Indian women are destroyed by it. 



The Indian methods of taking fish are rather singular. One of the principal 

 modes is, shooting them with the bow and arrow. This is practised with the 

 best effect in parts of the rivers which abound in falls and sunken rocks; for 

 upon the rocks, under water, grows a moss which the fish are fond of; and, 

 when they come up to the surface of the water to feed on this moss, they fall 

 an easy prey to the wily and skilful Indian. The Indians of Guiana, located 

 invariably upon the banks of the magnificent river by which that country is 

 intersected, and being accustomed, from their earliest youth, to be in and upon 

 the water, possess the power of distinguishing objects below its surface in a 

 degree which, to Europeans, is perfectly astonishing ; and, in paddling up "a 

 river, they can observe a fish at a considerable distance from their canoe. As 

 soon as the Indian in the bows of the canoe sees a fish ahead, a motion of 

 his finger conveys the knowledge to his companions, and, at the same time, 

 points out the direction in which the canoe must move : the Indians then 

 paddle with the greatest silence and caution, obeying all the motions of the 

 bowman ; their faces exhibiting the most intense interest in the sport. The 

 bowman, in the meantime, having his bow and barbed arrow ready, stands up 

 in the canoe, forming a highly interesting object, as he bends forward, with his 

 eye riveted on his intended prey. When he judges himself within the proper 

 distance, the bow is quickly drawn, and the arrow seldom fails to pierce 

 through the unsuspecting fish ; and the Indian, throwing down his bow, 

 plunges into the river, and, seizing the arrow near its head, secures the prize. 

 Sometimes, however, a strong fish will swim a considerable distance with the 

 current ; in which case a sharp look out must be kept for the head of the arrow 

 when the fish again rises near the surface : when seen, the canoe is gently 

 paddled up to it ; and, if the Indian gets within a spring of it, he seldom, if 

 ever, misses his hold. We once saw the head of an arrow floating down the 

 river, and, paddling quietly up to it, secured a fine fish which had baffled the 

 pursuit of some other Indians. Some of the principal fish in the Demerara 

 rivers are the pachu, the caterback, the sunfish, and the salu, all of which are 

 delicious and plentiful. 



Among several other Indian methods of taking fish, one is, I think, esj^e- 

 cially worthy of notice, as showing the acu^.eness of the Indian in adapting 

 and reducing to practice his observations of nature. The fish are, at certain 

 seasons, fond of the various fruits of the trees overhanging the river; and the 

 Indian, having provided himself with a pliant rod and a strong line and hook, 

 attaches to the latter one of the said fruits ; and, suffering his canoe to glide 

 down the stream, with a jerk of his wrist, causes the bait to fall into the water 

 with a loud pop, similar to that caused by the fruit falling from the tree : at 

 this well-known signal the fish seldom fails to rise and take the bait ; and 



