A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCES IN VENEZUELA. 83 



then be killed. The performers themselves, however, will 

 never harm a snake. He told many a story of Ijlack magie 

 arts, in which he hrmly believed, of sending to one's ene- 

 mies scourges of rats or deadly diseases or departed spirits 

 to make life unendurable. 



Fig. 45. GuviRAUNO Indians coming to te.ade at Gang Colorado. 



Finally the crew would roll up in tlieir blankets in the bow, 

 the Captain would disappear beneath his mosquilaro, which 

 would tremble and quake in the moonlight until he lay quiet 

 in his hammock. We would creep beneath our tent of 

 netting to write up the last notes of the day or to listen to 

 the sounds of the night. From the bow would come a low 

 murmur of voices in some weird chanting song until the 



