THE ORCHID WORLD. 



57 



Massaruni and Essequibo is admitted to be 

 the most picturesque of any in the colony ; 

 and, straiTig'e to say, but not without reason, 

 this dehghtful spot had been chosen by the 

 governing authorities as a site for a convict 

 settlement and an asylum for lepers ! For 

 the Orchid collector, also, this district 

 years ago offered a good field for operation. 

 Here used to grow! in abundajnce Epidendrum 

 bicornutum Scuticaria Steelii, Zygopetalum 

 rostratum, Onciduim Lanceanum, Stanhopea 

 eburnea, Burlmgtonia Candida, Bifrenaria 

 aurantiaca, Coryanthes maculata, Brassavolas, 

 Brassias and a large number of other species 

 of more botanical than horticultural value. 



From Bartika Grove two different routes 

 lead to the interior and the savannahs : one 

 by way of the Essequibo and the Potaro river 

 as far as thie Kaieteur Fall and then overland, 

 this is a shorter route by water but longer 

 overland, and this was the route taken on my 

 first expedition. The second route is by way 

 of the Massaruni and then up the Curubun,g 

 river as far as the Mecrebeh Fall and then 

 overland. This route is longer by water but 

 shorter overland, and has the disadvantage of 

 being considerably more expensive. Much as 

 I should have preferred to follow my first 

 route I was forcibly obliged to desist from it. 

 I was informed that the two mission stations, 

 Ichowra and Chinapau on the Potaro river, 

 where formerly I found every help and assist- 

 ajice, were given up and completely deserted 

 by Indians, and that it would have been out 

 of the question to get there sufficient hands as 

 carriers and guides. For this reason I selected 

 the second route by way of the Massaruni. 



On the 24th September at last everything 

 was made ready for a start, the huge stock of 

 barter goods, provisions, baggage, etc., was 

 transferred to a big boat, manned by a mixed 

 crew of all colours, black, white, and red and 

 intermediate shades, and consisting of a 

 captain, who was a half-caste, a bowman, who 

 was a nigger, 12 pullers, and a smart young 

 Indian fellow, named Peter, whom I engaged 

 as interpreter and cook for the journey. On 

 the way, while the crew were busy in building 

 for my comfort a sort of a roof against the 

 hot sun, I spent a last hour with an old 



acquaintance, Dr. Law, at the convict settle- 

 ment ; then we were really off, leaving soon 

 all traces of civilised life behind, meeting still 

 for the first few days an occasional boatful of 

 gold-diggers returning from their placers, and 

 paddled along through the dark tropical forest 

 with the monkeys and macaws keeping up a 

 lively music over our heads. 



Now, before going any further, a word of 

 explanation, what that stock of barter goods, 

 with which payments had to be effected, con- 

 sisted of might be of some interest ; one or 

 another mi,ght feel a craving to make a similar 

 journey one day. It is a curious and varied 

 list. The one precious article mostly coveted 

 by an Indian is, of course, a gun ; in proud 

 possession of a gun the Indian considers him- 

 self the acme of creation. Therefore we have : 

 I doz. single-barrel muzzle-loading Buck guns 

 (at 7 dollars each), i doz. bags of shot, h cwt. 

 gunpowder in I lb. flasks, 10 doz. boxes of 

 caps, 2 boxes of gunnipples, i doz. packets of 

 fishhooks, in various sizes, i doz. axes, i doz. 

 cutlasses, i doz. American hatchets, 6 doz. 

 butcher knives, in various sizes, 3 doz. pocket 

 knivesi, h doz. saws, 3 doz. scissors, 3 doz. 

 razors, 3 doz. files, 6 doz. pipes, 3 doz. tin 

 whistles, 2 or 3 musical boxes, a collection of 

 cheap Birmingham jewellery, 6 gross common 

 glass buttons, 6 doz. combs, in various sizes, 

 6 doz. small mirrors, 6 doz. small packets of 

 needles, ditto pins, 6 doz. reels of thread, white 

 and black, 2 doz. blue or khaki drill trousers, 

 3 doz. vests, 75 lb. small glass beads, in blue, 

 white and red, 6 pieces red and white calico 

 prints, 6 pieces blue drill (salemporas), 6 doz. 

 red or coloured large handkerchiefs, and a few 

 more odds and ends. All these articles must 

 be of good quality and of a neat pattern. 

 But the most important article — next to the 

 guns — and at the same time the most useful 

 article for everybody of the expedition is — 

 salt. When you consider that Indians don't 

 know salt at all, or only from hearsay, and, once 

 tasted, look upon it as a first-class delicacy, to 

 the same degree as our youngsters appreciate 

 chocolate, you will soon find out that a spoon- 

 ful of salt goes a long way, and you cannot 

 have enough of it. 



( To be continued.) 



VOL. 11. 



9 



