484 NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
I have many times seen Indians eat the saiiba 
ant (called bachaco in Venezuela). The large 
kinds only are eaten, and at those times when the 
bachacos pour from their holes in great numbers 
(probably sending forth colonies after the manner 
of bees), if it be near any pueblo all the unoccupied 
Indians in the place turn out to collect them. The 
head and thorax is the part eaten, the abdomen 
being nipped off (at San Carlos I constantly see 
them eaten entire), and it is eaten uncooked. The 
taste to me is strong, fiery, and disagreeable, but 
those who have eaten the bachaco fried in turtle 
oil tell me it is quite palatable. 
Certain frogs called Jui are also eaten wherever 
I have been. They seem most abundant in the 
wet season, and when they begin to croak much 
by night in the gapo it is certain that the waters 
have risen considerably and that winter has set in. 
The Indians fill a pan with them, all alive and 
entire, and set it on the fire to boil. 
There are at least two species on the Uaupes ; 
one very large, of which I made trial, taking care 
to have the intestines well cleared away and the 
residue roasted on a spit. No chicken could be 
more delicate. 
Remarkable Thunderstorms at San Carlos 
- iyjournal) 
Sept. 27, 1853. — Last night after sundown much 
lightning was seen to the east, and a little after 
7 P.M. the squall commenced at San Carlos with 
such force as to threaten to upset the houses (a 
house had been blown down a few days before). The 
