Bestkicteü jo a Vegetable Diet, 
101 
249. Tlie general iniuidation. and the almost daily steady dowupoui' 
of rain bad now soaked the sultry oppressive atmosphere witli so much 
moisture that the clothes not in use went mouldy in the boxes, and to 
prevent them being completely spoilt, we had to di"y them before the tire 
every day. Iron tools that had only lain on the ground a short while were 
so destroyed by rust as to render them unlit for use, silver oxidised, my 
arsenical soap l)ecame com,pletely decomposed, and all the hopes that T 
had set on my numerous collections seemed to vanish in the damage that 
was daily making further progress. The grief that must afflict anybody 
who, when giving an airing to the Itoxes on Avhich he has built his future, 
taken so much trouble with, and planted so many hopes, recognises their 
impending ruin, can only be felt and appreciated by one who has had simi- 
lar experiences. And yet in the earnest determination to persevere inva- 
l ialdy in mastering the hostile forces of Nature, there lay a general sense 
of satisfaction, as each successful attempt at hectoring these evils out of 
hut one single plant, produced a feeling of pride and confidcMice that at 
least prevented one l>ecoming altsolutely dislieni-tened. 
250. Like ourselves, the Pirara villagers were almost restricted to a 
vegetable diet, because their suitplies of flesh and fisli were only too 
quickly consumed, and even the former N\'Ould soon l»e more tlian scarce: 
the new provision fields established since Mr. Youd's arrival and the ohl 
ones that had been cleaned up, were as yet yielding no produce except 
unripe maize. Tlie half-ripe cobs were roasted on the 
aslies, or boiled, and by whichever method prepared suj)- 
plied' quite a iialatable dish. The oily fruits of the 
Maximiliaua, Mnvniia and thq A»iroc(mium. were about the oiily 
nourishment of tlie Indians, who yet completely retained their bodily 
strength, to which the ripe nitrogenous contents of these palnvfruits i»ro- 
hal»ly^'ontributed a very great deal. When the in'ovisions brought in wer.« 
finisiied up tliey usually l)etook themselves in I'egular parties to the more 
distant forests! whence they returned aftei- a few days' time, wUli large 
quantities of the al>ove or with the fruits of a Eufiema, P.sidiiim, Hpon- 
dins;, Mimiisops or other tasty plant which Ave were unable to identify 
owing to the lack of leaves and blossoms. 
251. Soon after Mr. Youd's departure we were once more upset and 
worried by an accident that befell one of our hunters, a strong young 
fellow. As we never let any tolei ably fair day pass without going out t«) 
hunt, this man had got up at daylireak, though the weather was not 
exactly too propitious, to see if he could not find a deer perhaps on one 
of the hills that the water had not reached. The sun was already nearing 
the horizon and Essetanmipu had not yet retui-ned, a fact lliat did not 
strike us as strange until we saw one of the other Indians liurryiug over 
the rise up to the village at a very quick pace, the surest harbinger of 
some important or < vil news: for otherwise, the Indian takes his own 
time when making his way to camp. We Avere right in our oonjecturi^s. 
He had fonnd Essetamaipu, bitten by a snake, lying senseless in the 
savanual! some miles distant from Piraia. Providing ourselves witli all 
possible means of help, we hurried to where the unfortunate fellow was 
said to be, and found him lying there unconscious. A wounil oyer the 
