Mount Tenette Settlement. 
31 
guisliable not only by its glorious sweet-smelling blossoms, but especialb 
on urcount of its beautiful large glossy dark foliage, and is uiuiuestion- 
ably one of the loveliest ornamental trees of the tropics. A thick border 
of Agave v'wipam Linn, enclosing the forest edge and foruiing Avith its 
huge floral candelabra a regular abattis over wliich the Tahcnuiemon- 
tana inclined its white-bb^ssomed. limbs lent a really fairy -like charm 
to the whole. If though up to now only the lovely flank of the little 
forest had given us a smile, one of its trees that towered close to the 
village pathway oltVred a surjirise that ui/ade all of us at once express 
astonishment. It was a real giant of a Boniha.r gJohosuin Aubl. and 
notwithstanding it was l>ut 120 ft. high, its immense branches ex- 
tended over a space of 129 feet. At twelve inches from the gi-ound, the 
circumference of the trunk scaled 57 ft., and the breadth of one of its 
buttresses at the root-neck measured 8f feet. The Macusis called tbe tree 
Copalye. 
7G. After we had cut through this interesting little bit of forest 
filled with wonders of vegetation we saw the basket bee-hive like, dome- 
jähaped houses of tlie village rising above the lowly Curatella and blue- 
blossomed Boiodichia. On entering, we noticed a black figure hurr/ing 
towards us: — it was Hamlet who, just arrived, was bringing the news 
tliat Mr. Fryer had still been unable to leave poor Petri ; having soon 
recovered from his sham sickness, he had been despatched to reassure us 
about the former's long absence. Still more gratifying was a quantity 
of rice that this gentleman had forwarded at the same time by tlie two 
Indians who had shown his messenger the road : a gift that, owing to the 
scarcity prevailing, was doubly welcome. 
77. The settlement consisted of seven round dome-shaped houses of 
30 to 40 feet diameter and averaging 40 to .50 feet in heiglit. The en- 
trance, the only opening, was closed at night-fall with a sort of door 
made of palm-leaves. As with other tribes several families occupied a 
hut, inside of whicli the occupants were peacefully sequestered without 
their relative portions being separated off by partition walls. The area 
assigned to each family was distinguished by some stones, constituting 
a hearth, and three or four cross-beams, fastened with rope-vine to the 
upright supporting posts at about seven or eight feet from the ground, 
upon which were slung the hammocks and where the bows, arrows and 
-lowpipes of the respective house-mastei-s were laid: the bitter's hunt- 
ing tropliies were fastened one above the other to the u]irig]its. An enor- 
mous hollowed-out tree-trunk painted in Indian style, that served as a 
bowl in times of festivity and might certainly hold 300 'quarts, occupied 
the central portion of the large houses. The same noble presence that 
astonished us in Sororeng's companion, likewise characterized the re- 
maining villagers. All were fine, slim people with well-bred peculiar 
f(\Ttures and larüe Roman or Greek noses, on account of which they 
compared to very great advantage with the more mulatto-like type of 
Warraus, INTacusis and Arawaks; not only in their whole physiognomy, 
but also in general build of body, they generallv favoured rather a devel- 
opment towards the l^orth American tribes. The women, who regarded 
us strangers in naively bashful astonishment, possessed the same quali- 
