EXPEDITION TO SURINAM. 239 



night -owl of Guiana regularly paid us his notSlumal vi- C l\ k F. 

 fits, even in the apartment where we lay, pourincr out his 

 melancholy hootings, until he was killed by one of my 

 black attendants. This bird is here called Ooroocoocoo^ 

 from its note, to which this word has fome affinity. It 

 is about the fize of a pigeon ; the bill is yellow, and 

 hooked like that of a fparrow-hawk ; the eyes are alfo 

 yellow ; the tongue is cloven ; the ears very vifible ; the 

 legs flrong, fliort, and armed with fliarp claws : the ge- 

 neral colour of this bird is a pale brown, except the bread 

 and belly, which are white, intermixed with fome fpots 

 of amber. The fuperftitious negroes generally believe 

 that where the night-owl makes his appearance morta- 

 lity muft enfue: which prejudice is the more excufable, 

 as this creature only frequents the apartments of the 

 Hck ; but the real canfe which attradts the animal, I ap- 

 prehend to be the lights that upon thefe occafions are 

 generally kept burning all night, or poffibly the morbid 

 and putrid air, which excites its appetite for prey. 



An old Indian woman of Joanna's acquaintance being 

 now fent for to the Hope, I myfelf was foon cured by her 

 fkill and attention ; but my little family continued fo very 

 unwell, that I thought it right to fend them to Parama- 

 ribo before it was too late. And on the loth of July I 

 fent all my llieep and poultry to Fauconberg, one couple 

 of fat ewes excepted, which I killed, and with which, by 

 the addition of filh and venifon, I entertained for two 

 days following twenty -four of the moft refpedtable inha- 



•bitants 



