A Swarm of Stink-Biiid m 
19 
the first of the Takutii rapids, which, however, was so insignificant that 
we were al)h' to ])ass over without stopping. Some miles farther up, on 
the same haoik as the Awarrimani, is the mouth of tlie small river 
Maripa-oute wliicii also ]:as its source on tlie western spur of tlic Canuku 
Eange. The nearer we got to the Canuku Range, the more numerous 
were the bends in the Takutu and the more difficult l)ecame our passage. 
The mighty heights of Cumucumu, the Cerro d'Eldorado or Cerio 
TJcucuamo of Santos' diary, the Acacuamo of Caulin, divide the waters 
of the Rupununi from those of the Takutu. The former has broken 
through the mountain-chain. The latter, however, after receiving the 
Mahu, makes a sharp bend from its south-easterly and subsequent west- 
erly course towards the S.W. to the Rio Branco, altliough after its 
junction with the Mahu it really no longer deserves its name : the Mahn 
at all events in the course of its continued south-westerly course ought 
to be regarded as the main stream, a view already held, according to 
Alexander von Humboldt, l)y Nicholas Hortsmann, the first European 
traveller to visit these districts. 
50.. The western extremity of the Canuku Range ends in the 2,000 
ft. high Curatawuiburi : the southern spurs are far more of the nature 
of mountains divided and isolated from one another by savannahs than 
a connected chain. 
51 . The closer we reached Curatawuiburd, the shallower became the 
water, and the greater our troubles, because we often had to empty our 
boats several times a day, and drag them over the sandbanks : on these 
occasions our persistent four-footed friend would always after a short 
while come and join us again Avith the liveliest signs of satisfaction. At 
one such spot full of sweat and sorrow my attention was forcibly drawn 
to a strikingly loud screeching and scratching that came from out of 
the wooded waterside. As I cautiously neared the spot I saw an 
immense crowd of large birds in front of me: they were Tufted Hens, 
OpiMhocnmns crlsiaiiis 111., the Stink-birds of the Colonists. Althouüh 
the former name, on account of the long head-feathers is sufficiently 
distinctive, the creolo t-erm nevertheless emphasises with still greater 
propriety one of their most predominant peculiarities, for without seeing 
them, one becomes notified of their presence even at a fair distance away, 
and even then not in the nleasantest of manners. The smell is so dis- 
agreeable that even the Indians, in spite of the abundant flesli, will not 
eat the bird under any consideration. The swarm certainly numbered 
hundreds: some were sunning themselves, others were hunting round 
in the bushfs, and others again were rising from off the ground: it 
appeared to be the pairing season. A shot from my gun into the merry 
crowd killed several at once. When the bird raises its head, it has quit-> 
a proud appearance. Amonfr the older birds, the long tail feathers had 
their tips as well as their filaments rubbed away, a demonstration that 
they commonly run alsout on the gronnd to search for food, when the 
long tail-feathers come into contact with it. The stink very much re- 
sembles that of fresh hors'' dung, and is at the same time so intense that; 
even the skin retains it for years. Except at this spot, I never found the 
bird again. 
B 3, 
