Ixxvi ITINERARY. 



through his extortionate demands, which he seemed to regard as 

 excusable because, as he reminded McConnell, we had camped in his 

 church. Schoolmaster was going to Georgetown with us to be paid off 

 for all the things his people had supplied during our long staj^. It had 

 been a very convenient arrangement for us, leaving our barter for 

 eventualities, and a good one for the chief also as he had never been 

 to town. He and his goods would go to the Rupununi with Ritchie 

 in the return boats, and his people would meet him at our old 

 camp at Kwaimatta, where he and his party had been so ill while 

 waiting for us on the first journey. We had been so trusted, 

 McConnell was especially careful in all the arrangements for him and 

 his things. 



It is unnecessary to say much of the return journey to the 

 Kurubung Creek, which we all reached safely. The walk to the 

 Aruparu had been a very severe trial to me through weakness, and it 

 was with the greatest relief that the tramp was ended and the wood- 

 skins reached. At the mouth of the creek we found such a splendidly 

 exposed bank from the low water that we gladly made a very early 

 camp to have a good drying of all our things. The picturesque scene 

 was photographed by McConnell from the opposite bank ; facing 

 p. XX, Vol. I., an illustration is given, where the woodskins are seen in 

 the foreground, and the drying of plant papers and the changing of 

 plants in the presses are in process farther back. From the Itiiko, 

 Lanceman travelled with us on his way to the gold-mining camp on the 

 Mazaruni to change the silver into barter. 



At the camp on the Kurubung we had an extremely unpleasant 

 surprise. Pembroke and Adam had not only finished all the food put 

 aside to last them till our return, but had broached cargo ; and about 

 half of the food for the return journey to Bartika had disappeared. 

 True, we had exceeded our estimate of time through the extra days on 

 both journeys and during my illness, but it was not merely a case of 

 extra food for two men in that time, which would have made not very 

 much difference. It appeared that many people had passed through 

 the camp, and even stopped there ; and the men had always cooked a 

 large quantity of food to supply them, probably with the object of 

 conciliating the strangers, of whom they would be somewhat afraid. 

 Each blamed the other, and it might seem a case of the pot calling the 

 kettle black ; but McConnell knew Pembroke well, and it was out of 

 the question that the Indian could have influenced him in any vvay. 

 As it happened also, when we had reached the camp early, the big 

 pot was on the fire being tended by Pembroke, and it was full of rice 

 with salt fish and pork for breakfast, and enough for several people. 

 McConnell already had cause against him for malingering, but that was 

 as nothing in comparison : and Pembroke had a bad time of it when he 

 was called up. 



The predicament was really a very serious one, for we had returned, 

 with , practically nothing in the way of food, expecting to find full 

 supplies. The only thing to be done was to go at once on half- 

 rations— which is very short commons for men in hard work — and to 

 speed up the return as much as possibk, starting as early as light 

 would allow and camping later than usual. We therefore wasted no 



