350 



Lower Guainia, signifies also black water*. The 

 junction of the Guainia or Rio Negro with the 

 Amazon is considered of such importance in the 

 government of Grand Para, that the Rio das 

 Amazonas loses it's name west of the Rio Ne- 

 gro, and takes that of the Rio dos Solimoes (pro- 

 perly Sorimoes, in allusion to the poison of the 

 nation of the Sorimans). The Amazon, to the 

 west of the Ucayale, is called Rio Maranhao, or 

 Maranon. The banks of the upper Guainia in 

 general abound much less in fishing birds, than 

 those of the Cassiquiare, the Meta, and the 

 Arauca, where ornithologists would find suffici- 

 ent to enrich immensely the collections of Eu- 

 rope. This scarcity of animals arises no doubt 

 from the want of shoals and flat shores, as well as 

 from the quality of the black waters, which (on 

 account of their very purity) furnish less aliment 

 to aquatic insects and fish. Notwithstanding 

 this scarcity, the Indians of these countries, dur- 

 ing two periods of the year, feed on birds of pas- 

 sage, which repose in their long migrations on 

 the waters of the Rio Negro. When theOroonoko 

 begins to swellf*, that is after the vernal equinox, 



* Even farther north, the root cur, in the Maypure lan- 

 guage, indicates what is black j for in curikini (black colour) 

 the last two syllables are but a termination of quality, as is 

 proved by the words marakini, white ; evakini, yellow ; 

 coanitukini, married. 



f The swellings of the Nile take place much later than 



