Ixx ITINEBART. 



Brazilians or Spaniards, were allayed, when some of the men especially 

 became exceedingly inquisitive as to all our belongings, working them- 

 selves into quite a state of excitement. Remembrance is still vivid 

 among them of the days of seizure for forced labour — and perhaps in 

 those distant parts such experiences were not merely of the far past. 



At Roraima itself the Ari-eliunas were very friendly and accessible, 

 probably owing to the visits of travellers at different times ; but it may 

 be that farther west, in their own special country, they may be much 

 less 80 with strangers, as is reported of them. They are a thick-set, 

 , sturdy, vigorous people, and as a strong mountain tribe seem to be 

 rather dreaded by the others. They are much moi-e painted ordinarily 

 with dots and stripes of red dye about the face than is customary on 

 the lower savannahs, and this gives them a rather fierce aspect— an 

 impression that would be heightened by their abi-upt manner, and 

 deep, ratlier harsh tones in speaking. 



The more open manners of the Makushis are no doubt partly due to 

 the tribe being spread over a district that has always been a passage- 

 way between the Brazils and our coast ; and they have thus been more 

 in touch with travellers, traders, and settlers, and missionaries also. 

 Articles like combs, razors, scissors, and clothes are much more in 

 common use, as the result of exchange and barter, or even of their own 

 trading on trips to the coast with hammocks, basket-work, feather- 

 crowns, and other curios, and a miscellaneous collection of macaws, 

 parrots, and other tame animals that make their boats a babel of noise 

 at times. The trimming and combing of the hair give the people quite 

 a polished appearance as contrasted with the unkempt Kotinga folk. 

 They are slighter in build than the Arr^kunas, which gives them the 

 appearance of being taller, and many of them are really quite tall, 

 though McConnell towered above them all ; and it was no wonder that 

 the boys would sometimes slink up behind him with a couple of sticks, 

 one by which to measure him and the other to mark the height, 

 scampering away laughing if they were detected or when they had 

 succeeded. 



The features in these Carib tribes are mostly strongly marked, and 

 in the men especially bold and prominent, much of the aquiline type, 

 with strongly developed brow-ridges and the temporal region wide. 

 McConnell took some very good photographs of a selected series, illus- 

 trating the various types of the Makushis, full face and profile, of both 

 sexes, young and old ; and a greatly enlarged set of them, forming a 

 fine ethnological study, together with others illustrating the expedition 

 generally, and the summit of Roraima in particular, was presented by 

 him to the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society, by whom they 

 were framed and hung in the Museum in Georgetown, where they form 

 a quite unique collection in the public galleries. 



Altogether they are a very willing folk ; and from their tribal 

 docility easy to get on with : though often, like children, they must be 

 humoure*. Judged superficially they would probably be said to be 

 taciturn, when in fact they are inclined to be rather garrulous, but 

 speaking ordinarily in quiet subdued tones to each other in conver- 

 sation, and at a little distance giving the impression of silence. Liberal 

 as they are with food and drinks in their houses, they are yet inclined 



