436 



DEPARTURE. 



there, because it was reported th^t the ghosts 

 of the dead Indians walked about in the night. 

 I retired to my hammock, and slept soundly, 

 without being disturbed by ghost or visited 

 by vision. The Indians spread some skins be- 

 neath them : the man lay on one side, the 

 two children in the centre, and the woman on 

 the other side — the party being covered with 

 two blankets. 



Feb. 12th. Set off with the first dawn of day. 

 Made chocolate in the canoe — an excellent for- 

 tifier of the stomach against the damp morning 

 air. Having continued our course for three 

 hours, we stopped to breakfast at a small cot- 

 tage, and afterwards continued descending the 

 river. At one o'clock, we came to the river 

 Sespida, which unites with the Rapadura, and 

 runs to the north-west, taking the name of 

 Sespida. The river now became about fifty 

 yards broad, with but few obstructions. To 

 avoid a long bend in the river, we went 

 through a narrow creek, which makes a short 

 cut ; in doing so we got aground, and the In- 

 dians had to get out to drag the canoe over. No 

 sooner had they succeeded in doing this, than 

 the steersman killed a venomous snake with 



