466 



physiognomy a singular hardness of expression. 

 Having till then seen only the skulls of some 

 Caribbees of the West India islands preserved 

 in the collections of Europe, we were surprised 

 to find, that these Indians, who were of pure 

 race, had the forehead much more rounded than 

 it has been described. The women, very tall, 

 but disgusting from their want of cleanliness, 

 carried their infants on their backs, having their 

 thighs and legs bound at certain distances by 

 broad strips of cotton cloth. The flesh, strongly 

 compresed beneath the ligatures, was swelled in 

 the interstices. It is generally to be observed, 

 that the Caribbees are as attentive to their ex- 

 terior, and their ornaments, as it is possible for 

 men to be, who are naked and painted red. 

 They attach great importance to certain forms 

 of the body ; and a mother would be accused 

 of culpable indifference toward her children, if 

 she did not employ artificial means, to shape the 

 calf of the leg after the fashion of the country. 

 As none of our Indians of Apure understood the 

 Caribbee language, we could obtain no informa- 

 tion from the Cacique of Panama respecting the 

 encampments, that are made at this season in 

 several islands of the Oroonoko for collecting 

 turtles' eggs. 



Near Encaramada a very long island divides 

 the river into two branches. We passed the 

 night in a rocky creek, opposite the mouth of 



