Habits of 1'he HaCca. 
195. To prevent the meat from spoiling, we exerted our utmost to 
reacli tlie ^^'apisialla settlement at t!ie foot of the Auuru-paru (Kange). 
Shortly before entering, and in a small oasis our dogs started a glutton 
whieh they drove into the savannah, but from which it escaped as quickly 
as possible back into the oasis, and there into a hollow tree, where it was 
nevertheless killed by its pursuers. It was (J hJo harhunia, a completely 
full-groAvn specimen. The length from tip of snout to root of tail 
amounted to L'j ft.: the tail itself measured Hi inches. The white-grey 
head, as well as the yellowish Avhite patches on the breast, stood out in 
marked contrast with the lirilliant black colouring of the rest of the pelt. 
As in the fox, there are two glands on its seat that contain a sickly- 
smelling moisture. I subsequently found tamed gluttons ani,ongst the 
Indians. Their usual fofid t^)nsists of rats, m,ice, birds, insects, fruits, 
and honey : they lie in wait for the first mentioned just as our cats do. 
They are excellent cliuLbers, and clanilier up the highest trees to plunder 
birds' nests or to search for hoiu'y, and always climb down head lirst . 
They mostly go on the [trowl during the day-time and sleep the night 
in hollow trees where they are said to litter three young. When pursued 
or irritated they raise up on end the luiir of the tail. The Macusis called 
them Maikoug, but the Arawaks Hacca. By 5 o'clock we had' reached 
the wished-for settlement, whose aged occujiaiits we once m'ore found 
in their hammocks. The old man alllicted AVith dropsy, was still alive it 
is true, but judging from tlie lifeless eyes and difficulty in breathing, 
seemed to be only a few steps from the grave. His wife was squatting on 
the ground near the hammock and the imbecile boy at the fire under the 
death-l)ed : the latter, on noticing me enter, uttered some inarticulate 
sounds and ruslu d again to the darkest corner of the house. To recall 
the younger residents who were not present, I fired off my gun, produc- 
ing thereby a faithful repetition of the previous state of uproar, and in 
the cour.se of quarter of an hour they came in : during the interval our 
companions had already requisitioned the smoking-frames (boucans) 
that had been left from our previous stay. We had just exchanged reci- 
procal greetings when a loud shout drew both the young men and some of 
our party back again into the savannah. I was too exhausted to follow, 
although the word "Poinka'' promised another performance of the Kai- 
runi chase. The hunters soon brought in two animals, one of which I also 
found to be a sow pregnant with a full-grown youngster: June and July 
would seem to be the time when they drop. The superabundance of meat 
so unexpectedly fallin;; to our lot naturally prevented the Indians from 
thinking at all about their hammocks or of sleep. 
19G. While we were just about to strike camp on the following morn- 
ing, the young Indian Avas telling me that if I wanted to travel down the 
Takutu to Tenette, he could hire me for the purpose a corial that was 
large enough to carry not only myself and two paddles, but also a part 
of our baggage. My exhausted condition made the proposition very wel- 
come: the others of the party would follow the road along the banks. 
After half-an-hour's march in a north-easterly direction we reached the 
Takutu. The l)ed of the river here was regularly filled uj) with granite 
boulders, between which the water forced its way through 3 to 4 ft. broad 
