30 



WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



to depend more on the wourali poison for killing tlieir 

 game, than upon anything else. They had only one 

 gun, and it appeared rusty and neglected ; but their 



poisoned weapons were in fine order. Their 

 blow-pipe blow-pipes hung from the roof of the hut? 



carefully suspended by a silk grass cord ; 

 and on taking a nearer view of them, no dust seemed 

 to have collected there, nor had the spider spun the 

 smallest web on them ; which showed that they were 

 in constant use. The quivers were close by them, with 

 the jawbone of the fish Pirai tied by a string to their 

 brim, and a small wicker-basket of wild cotton, which 

 hung down to the centre ; they were nearly full of 

 poisoned arrows. It was with, difficulty these Indians 

 could be persuaded to part with any of the wourali 

 poison, though a good price was offered for ifc; they 

 gave to understand that it was powder and shot to 

 them, and very difficult to be procured. 



On the second day after leaving this settlement, in 

 passing along, the Indians show you a place where once 

 a white man lived. His retiring so far from those of 

 his own colour and acquaintance seemed to carry some- 

 thing extraordinary along with it, and raised a desire 

 to know what could have induced him to do so. It 

 seems he had been unsuccessful, and that his creditors 

 had treated him with as little mercy as the strong 

 generally show to the weak. Seeing his endeavours 

 daily frustrated, and his best intentions of no avail, 

 and fearing that when they had taken all he had, they 

 would probably take his liberty too, he thought the 

 world would not be hard-hearted enough to condemn 

 him for retiring from the evils which pressed so heavil}^ 

 on him, and which he had done all that an honest man 



