XI 
SAN CARLOS 
363 
supposed to be caused by a snake, until springing 
up I saw that my feet and legs were being covered 
by the dreaded tucandera. There was nothing 
but flight for it, and I accordingly ran off as quickly 
as I could among the entangling branches, and 
finally succeeded in beating off the ants, but not 
before I had been dreadfully stung about the feet, 
for I wore only slippers without heels and these 
came off in the struggle. I was little more than 
five minutes' walk from my house (for I was 
returning when the circumstance occurred), and I 
wished to walk rapidly but could not. I was in 
agonies, and had much to do to keep from throwing 
myself on the ground and rolling about as I had 
seen the Indians do when suffering from the stings 
of this ant. I had in my way to cross a strip of 
burning sand and then to wade through a lagoon, 
partly dried up and not more than two feet deep. 
Both these increased the torture : I thought the 
contact with the water would have alleviated it, but 
it was not so. 
When I reached my house I immediately had 
recourse to hartshorn. No one was near but an 
Indian woman (my cook), and she, without my 
telling her (though I was about to do it), bound a 
ligature tightly above each ankle. After rubbing 
for some time with the hartshorn, and experiencing 
no relief, I caused her to rub with oil, and then 
with oil and hartshorn mixed. None of these 
seemed to have any effect ; when the oil was made 
hot it relieved me a little, but very little indeed, 
and the wounds which were least rubbed, ceased to 
pain me the soonest, one that had not been touched 
being the first cured. 
