AMONG THE YURACAR^ INDIANS 319 



chilla. Apparently they are luiacquainted with the use of 

 poison. 



Probably the Guarayos suffer more at the hands of the 

 Sirionos than the Yuracarfe, because the former two tribes 

 come in contact more frequently. Padre Wolfgang, in 

 charge of one of the missions of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 

 was on one occasion attacked and several of his men were 

 captured. A few days later he found them nailed to trees 

 with mmierous long thorns. On another occasion he sur- 

 prised a party of Sirionos and succeeded in capturing seven; 

 these he took back to the mission, but they proved to be 

 intractable. He foimd it necessary to tie them to posts 

 in order to prevent them from escaping. They steadily re- 

 fused food and water, and after a few days four died of 

 starvation, and suUenness. The priest took pity on the 

 remaining three and released them. 



After five pleasant days crowded with interesting and 

 unusual experiences on the Chimor^ we returned to the 

 mission and spent a few days there packing the valuable 

 zoological collections. We then went back to our base on 

 the Chapare; for this journey we decided to go by way of 

 the Coni, a small stream emptying into the Chapar^, a few 

 miles above Todos Santos. We followed a path through 

 the forest for a distance of three miles, arriving at a large 

 clearing which was planted in sugar-cane; but what sur- 

 prised us greatly was the fact that the owner was a Quechua, 

 who had deserted his home in one of the high valleys near 

 Cochicancha, and had come to live in the hot tropics.. He 

 had constructed a crude wooden mill for expressing the 

 juice from the cane-stalks, erected a still, and was making 

 alcohol. We had gone to the mission with the intention 

 of remaining a week, and filled with many misgivings as to 

 the outcome of our visit; but the good missionary had 

 proved to be one of the most kind-hearted and generous of 

 men imaginable, and more than three weeks had flown 

 before the many and imperative duties ahead forced us to 

 return reluctantly to the port. 



