374 SOUTH AMEEICA— THE ANDES REGIONS. 



made by tlie whites to secure their services, with the result that many of their 

 separate commuuities have been broken up, while their customs have generally 

 undergone a rapid change. The Mojos boatmen, seen at all riverine ports of the 

 Beni, the Madeira and the Amazons as far as Manaos, are the admiration of all 

 travellers. They are clothed in a comfortable smock, made by themselves from 

 the bark of some forest giant. In a few hoiirs a tree suitable for the purpose is 

 felled, and a strip of the bast or under-bark about 12 or 14 feet long is detached. 

 This substance, which shines like silk, is then made pliable by pounding with 

 mallets, after which the best and most elegant of ponchos is made by merely 

 effecting an opening for the head. 



The Canicïianas and Guarayos. 



D'Orbigny classes with the Mojos other tribes resembling them in various 

 physical traits, and perhaps of the same origin, although differing greatly from 

 them at present. Such are the Canichanas, who have the reputation of being 

 cannibals, and who in any case are still fierce marauders, often lurking behind 

 the trees to waylay passing whites. Unless they keep a sharp look-out travellers 

 are in a moment deprived of their arms and of all iron implements in their 

 possession. 



The Canichanas speak a language quite distinct from that of the Mojos, as do 

 also the Itonamas, another tribe also much dreaded for their treacherous ways 

 and thievish propensities. They have not yet abandoned the horrible practice of 

 smothering the sick to prevent death from escaping and passing into other bodies. 

 The Ite, or Itenes, another people, who have given their name to the river also 

 called the Rio Guapore, have persisted in their hostile attitude towards the whites, 

 traders and missionaries. They are often called Guarayos, a name wrongly 

 applied to several different tribes, as are such designations as Arawaks and 

 Guaycurus in other parts of South America. 



The true Guarayos, who occupy the heights of the Amazonian water-parting, 

 belong undoubtedly to the great Guarani family, which is dominant in Paraguay, 

 in the Argentine province of Corrientes and the conterminous regions of Brazil. 

 They are a small tribe (estimated by D'Orbigny at not more than 1,100 souls), 

 who, according to their traditions, came originally from the south-east. But the 

 migration must have taken place in pre-Columbian times, for the first pioneers 

 found them in the same district which they still occup}^ between the Chiquitos 

 and the Mojos. The vast territory over which their little hamlets and camping- 

 grounds are thinly scattered resembles the lands inhabited by the Chiquitos — the 

 same low hills and fertile glens, the same patches of woodlands, the same 

 picturesque and sunny landscapes. 



The Guarayos, that is, Guara-Yù, or " Yellow Men," have really an extremely 

 light complexion, so that were they transported to Europe they would easily be 

 confounded with the rest of the population. Although akin to the Guarani of 

 Paraguay, the Guarayos are of taller stature. With their robust and, at the 



