226 



RIO YBARE. 



he ran back and forth, receiving kindness from all sides, the dog be- 

 oame the cause of jealousy between the two crews. 



The boys had little bows and arrows and small paddles, but they 

 carried no game or fish — nothing but yuca to eat and water to drink. 

 They were fat, straight, well-built figures, with a clear molasses- and- 

 water-colored skin. When they smiled, their white teeth and handsome 

 black eyes gave them an agreeable and healthful appearance. They 

 were washed of dirt and paint. The savage custom of boring great 

 holes in their ears and noses had been cast aside, and they appeared 

 neatly in simple frock, with straw hat, bows and arrows. The dress 

 is certainly an awkward one for a man, but it is a great protection from 

 the musquitoes, while it keeps off the sun and night dews; they are 

 cool and comfortable also. 



The ancient bark dress seems to have been the custom all through 

 the interior of this plate. The Indians of the lowlands dress in bark 

 and cotton cloth, while those of the mountains use wool and the skins 

 of animals. Leather is best in a dry climate and rawhide in a wet one. 

 Straw hats are seen in the truly tropical regions, while cloth caps and 

 fur h^ts are wanted in the mountains and cold countries. Where there 

 are the greatest diversities of climate, there are required the largest as- 

 sortment of goods. 



Soon after leaving Masi, the banks of the river are seven feet high, 

 with the appearance of an overflow of as much as five feet. 



One of the Mojos Indians informed the ex-governor we could get up 

 to the town of Trinidad by a small stream which flowed by the town. 

 This interested our men, as they would be obliged to carry the baggage 

 some distance over the plain on their backs. 



They pulled with a will, and entering a small channel we crossed, 

 with the current, from the Mamore to the river Ybare. The channel 

 was four fathoms deep and just wide enough to pass. 



The Ybare is sixty yards wide, and has very little current, with twenty- 

 four feet depth of water, though it is said this stream becomes very shal- 

 low in the dry season. Descending the Ybare a short distance, we en- 

 tered a stream only twelve feet wide, where the men found great diffi- 

 culty in forcing the canoe against the current. The land on the left 

 hand side of the Ybare is an island formed by the channel we came 

 through from the Mamore. 



After the men had been working for some time up stream, they rested, 

 got breakfast, and cut several long poles, which w r ere carefully stowed 

 away in the £anoe for the purpose of carrying baggage. A trunk is 



