Stoic Equanimity op the Chief. 
63 
157. jS'ext to the palms and Berfhollrila ^ this >same forest still fur- 
ther interested me on account of a liujje colony of Cuscbi ants that crossed 
our path in a one-foot broad continuous column on its way to a mound 
several hundred feet in circumference and six feet hic;h. A poor licr- 
tholJctia had been chosen as the field for destruction. Thousands were 
busily occupied in bringing the little round chips bitten off the leaves 
down to the foot of the tree, where they were taken from them by others, 
that now carried them to the nest. 
15S. On the other side of the forest we once more came upon open 
Havanuah, climbed over isolated dome-like hills, strewn with cpiartz 
fragments and huge slabs of m,ica and, after clambering down the slope 
of a timbered heiglit upon which a 12(Vft. high Fievs attracted our 
attention, finally reached the Macusi village of Maripa, consisting of two 
houses situate in the adjaeent plain. Although a pack of really furious 
dogs, which was continually being increased by newcomers, tried to 
contest our right to approach, and all the tame poultry, with a 
cacophonous cackling, were scattering in the wildest confusion, the blows 
aimed by the wompn finally made a passage for us possible. During this 
scene the chief of the settlement, Tumja-Tuma, the stoutest Indian I had 
ever seen, was lying quietly in his hammock in a smiall open house, and 
regarding our arrival with the greatest indifference imaginable : he calmly 
continued puffing his cigar, even after we were all collected round his 
dwelling, and amfused himself with the blue sm'xike-clouds that he was 
blowing into the air in curls. To rouse him out of this apathy, Sororeng 
went and notified him of the ol)ject of our journey and of our presence: 
the usual "Ahem" was the only effect pro<luced by this liit of news, and 
the barely interr*upted smoke-rings gaily whirled from' out of his month 
once moi'e. We had never yet been tr-eated liy any chief with such 
persistent disrespect and indifference, although we w^ere the first 
Paranaghieris to have visited the settlement. 
159. While still annoyed over the fat chief's stoic equanimity, our 
attention ^'as drawn to a sickly-looking, thinner and younger man who 
had just emerged from' one of the houses in an extremely ridiculous 
costumje. A scarlet red night-cap was di'awn over the pale lean face as 
far down as the eyes, while a sjiotted shirt concealed the upper part 
of the body, and a pair of linen trousers tliat had once been white, and 
only reached down to the calves, covered the lower extrematies so far as 
its shortness permitted. After staring at us for a moment he camie and 
greeted us in the manner peculiar to the Macusis. He was a relative 
of the corpulent cliief and one of the miost celebrated dog-traine]\s from 
whonii the Indians far and near bought their hunting-dogs: it Avas by 
this means that he had come into ])Ossession of the costume described. 
The number of villagers amounted to t\\"euty ; that of the dogs to at least 
double. 
IGO. As the chaef's indifference did not in any way seem; to melt, 
the most sensible thing we thought we could do was to treat him in 
similar fashion: there was no difficulty in this because both the sickly 
fellow and the whole of the female population received us most friendly. 
Without taking any further notice of Tuma-Tuma we pitched our camp 
