105 



use of alcoholic liquors, by the habit of scratch- 

 ing the wounds, and lastly, and this physiologi- 

 cal observation is the result of my own experi- 

 ence, that of baths taken at too short intervals. 

 In places where the absence of crocodiles per- 

 mits people to enter the river, Mr. Bonpland 

 and myself observed, that the immoderate use 

 of baths, while it moderated the pain of old 

 stings of zancudoes, rendered us more sensible 

 to new. By bathing more than twice a day, 

 the skin is brought into a state of nervous irrita- 

 bility, of which no idea can be formed in Eu- 

 rope. It would seem as if all feeling were car- 

 ried toward the integuments. 



As the moschettoes and gnats pass two thirds 

 of their lives in the water, we must not be sur- 

 prised, that in the forests crossed by great rivers 

 these noxious insects become more rare in pro- 

 portion as you remove from the shore. They 

 seem to prefer the spots where their metamor- 

 phosis took place, and where they go to deposit 

 their eggs. In fact, the wild Indians (Indios 

 Monteros) accustom themselves with so much 

 more difficulty to the life of the missions, as they 

 feel in the Christian establishments a torment, 

 which they scarcely know in their own inland 

 dwellings. The natives at Maypures, Atures, 

 and Esmeralda, have been seen fleeing almonte*, 

 solely from the dread of moschettoes. Unfortu- 



* " To the woods," 



