like a monkey screech. Smiling at my be- 

 ginner's efforts at animal calling, Loida 

 motioned for me to move in a wide circle 

 under the trees. While Leonardo stood 

 still, she moved in the opposite direction. 



We continued calling the monkeys, 

 which began to move closer, answering 

 with their own sharp cries. Out of the cor- 

 ner of my eye, I saw Leonardo raise his 

 rifle and get off two quick shots. A mo- 

 ment later I heard a third shot, and a yel- 

 low squirrel monkey fell from the trees. 

 Loida picked it up by the tail and struck 

 the wounded animal sharply against a tree, 

 killing it instandy. Two others, apparently 

 dead, remained caught in the tangle above. 

 We cut long poles from arrow cane and, 

 after several attempts, finally dislodged 

 the remainder of our prey. After tying the 

 monkeys together with a vine, Leonardo 

 tossed them over his shoulder and we con- 

 tinued our trek. 



. Our next stop was a small pond in the 

 forest. Leonardo said we could rest there 

 and make camp while he fished. As Loida 

 and I gathered wood for a fire to roast the 

 ripe plantains we had brought along, 

 Leonardo tried his luck with his bow. 

 Within an hour he had shot three good- 

 sized sdbalo, which Loida threw whole on 

 the green-stick grill. She also took advan- 

 tage of the stop to singe the hair off the 

 monkeys — a foul-smelling chore that I 

 quickly moved away from, using as an ex- 

 cuse my curiosity about Leonardo's fish- 

 ing techniques. 



He pointed to a place in the pond where 

 there was an almost imperceptible ripple. 

 Instantly, an arrow flew into the water. The 

 long shaft shuddered a moment before the 

 fish splashed to the surface, the arrow em- 

 bedded in its side. After several misses but 

 many more successes, Leonardo had 

 caught another ten sdbalo by late after- 

 noon. These were strung whole on a vine 

 for transporting. 



Following our meal of fish and plan- 

 tains, we started back toward camp. The 

 sun was low in the sky, and the Ught was 

 coming through the trees at right angles. 

 Darkness falls quickly here. I asked Loida 

 if we would go after the honey as well, 

 now that we had fish and game to bring 

 back. She smiled and said, "Of course. If 

 we don't take it, our relatives will." The 

 bee tree had been spotted by Leonardo 

 some days before and was just off the trail 

 we were following. Leonardo cut through 

 the tree quickly while I waited with Loida 

 at its base, trying to adopt her nonchalant 

 attitude as to which way the tree might 

 fall. Within a half hour, we had our honey 



safely wrapped in palm flower sheaths and 

 were on our way home. 



In 1983, a Yuqui returning home from a 

 hunt laden with fish, game, fruit, and 

 honey was a common sight. Animals were 

 plentiful, and people seldom had to ven- 

 ture more than a day's walk from camp on 

 foraging expeditions. For a period of fifty- 

 six days, I kept track of all flie fish and 

 game brought back by the Yuqui men. 

 Most of flie fish came from the Chimore 

 River, which the Yuqui had learned to ex- 

 ploit by using hook and line and the gill 

 net supplied by the mission. At the time, 

 there were seventy-three Yuqui at the Chi- 

 more camp, and according to my figures, 

 each consumed an average of three ounces 



of animal protein per day. This was well 

 above minimum nutritional standards set 

 by the United Nations and similar agen- 

 cies and compared favorably with the con- 

 sumption rate of other Amazonian people 

 on whom similar studies have been done. 

 I returned to the Chimore River five 

 years later, in 1988, excited about meeting 

 the new Yuqui who had arrived in 1986. 1 

 expected the intervening years of perma- 

 nent settlement to have had some effect on 

 game animal densities and, therefore, on 

 Yuqui hunting strategies and success rates. 

 But I was unprepared for the degree of 

 change that had occurred. In 1983, the 

 Yuqui were still isolated from the major 

 settlements of colonists in the Chapare col- 



MOSTAUSKACRDISES 



DON'TKNOWTHEIRTLINGITS 



FROMTHEffilNNUITS. 



e Literian Registry 



Sail the S.S. Universe. Her character is true to Alaska. 



V_, ome, snare our appreciation for tkis last, magnilicent trontier. From 

 tke forgotten legend of tke Tlingit Indians, to tke li\dng lore of tke Innuits, 

 our journey takes you far keyona tke water ana delves you deep into tke legacy 

 of tke land. 



For us, unlike most skips tkat cruise Alaska, tkese aren't korrowed 

 waters. Alaska is our kome and tke only passage we sail. Ratker tkan kurry you 

 tkrougk in a week like tkose any-ocean cruises, we enrick you witk 14 days of 

 adventure, cvuture and discovery. 



Tkrougk our fascinating lecture series, our 12,000 volume on-koard 

 library and our unmatcked program of skore excursions, you'll leave Alaska 

 witk sometking more. A genuine understanding. 



Fares kegin at only $2395 P^"^ person. Lesser cruises ckarge more 

 for just 7 days and kalf tke ports. If you want autkentic Alaska, call lor our 

 free krockure. I-8OO-854-3835. 



WORLD EXPLORER CRUISES. 

 WE BELONG TO ALASKA. 



A 14 Day Adventure For The Heart, MinJAnJ Soul. 



