498 



rant of the fate of the companions of his misfor- 

 tune, and thinking more of them than of him- 

 self. If we love to indulge such melancholy 

 meditations, it is because, when just escaped 

 from danger, we seem to feel something like a 

 want of strong emotions. The minds of each 

 of us were full of what we had just witnessed. 

 There are periods in life, when, without being 

 discouraged, the future appears more uncertain. 

 It was only three clays since we had entered the 

 Oroonoko ; and there yet remained three months 

 for us to navigate rivers incumbered with rocks, 

 and in smaller boats than that in which we had 

 nearly perished. 



The night was intensely hot. We lay upon 

 skins spread on the ground, not finding any 

 trees to which we could fasten our hammocks. 

 The torments of the moschettoes increased every 

 day ; and we were surprised to find, that on this 

 spot our fires did not prevent the approach of 

 the jaguars. They swam across the arm of the 

 river that separated us from the main land. 

 Toward morning we heard their cries very near. 

 They had come to the island where we passed 

 the night. The Indians told us, that, during 

 the collecting of the turtles' eggs, tigers are 

 always more frequent in those regions, and dis- 

 play at that period the greatest intrepidity. 



April the 7th. We passed, on our right, the 

 mouth of the great Rio Arauca, celebrated on 



