431 



having- ever quitted the banks of the Apure, he 

 took a lively interest " in the news of Madrid, 

 in those wars which never ended, and in every 

 thing down yonder ; todas las cosas de alia!' 

 He knew, that the king was soon to come and 

 visit " the grandees of the country of Caraccas," 

 but, added he with some pleasantry, " as the 

 people of the court can eat only wheaten bread, 

 they will never pass beyond the town of Victoria, 

 and we shall not see them here." I had brought 

 with me a chiguire, which I had intended to 

 have roasted; but our host assured us, that 

 such " Indian game" was not food fit for nos 

 otros cavalleros blancos, u white gentlemen like 

 him and me." Accordingly he offered us some 

 venison, which he had killed the day before 

 with an arrow, for he had neither powder nor 

 firearms. 



We supposed, that a small wood of plantain 

 trees concealed from us the hut of the farm : 

 but this man, so proud of his nobility and the 

 colour of his skin, had not taken the trouble of 

 constructing an ajowpa of palm-leaves. He in- 

 vited us to have our hammocks hung near his 

 own, between two trees ; and he assured us with 

 an air of complacency, that, if we came up the 

 river in the rainy season, we should find him 

 beneath a roof # . We soon had reason to com- 



* Baxo techo. 



