Sugar from Ite Palm. 
159 
saw them growing in the swampy areas at tlie former lieigbt in tlie 
same sur]irising perfection as we did on the Tinpnnnni and Rio Branco 
savannahs. * 
3S3. The oldest, as well ns the latest travellers in ifSonth America, r.n. 
Father Gnndlla in Iiis ''Orinoko Tllnstrado," Gili in his ''Storia Amei-i- 
cana," TTartsinck, Anblet and Alexander von Hnmholdt desci-ilie Aviih 
eqnal cntlmsiasm and delight this most glorions of all palms and mention 
tlie many qnalities and nses to winch it is applied l)_v the natives. Were the 
(Jniana Indians to stoop to Idolatry, this palm, which almost snpplies 
their eveiy lieart's desiir, would undoubtedly prove the object of their 
worship. 
384. The thick forest in this valley which likewise nurtured a 
stunted Ciirafrl]a-\m?.h. contained Mavrifia palms 100 to 120 ft. in height. 
Hardly had we reached it. than a numlter of axes were put to use: one 
of our carriers wanted new sandals, while another was dying for the 
sap which, as I soon notiMl, contained a considerable amount of sugar 
material. The enquiries that were instituted in Georgetown in connec- 
tion with the sap, have yielded far better results in respect to the 
qualities of tlie derived sugar tban what became apparent in those niado 
with that of .4ccr pseudoplafa n iis and mccliar'iniuu : the flow from the 
fruit-pedich^ {BHiflirmfandcK) at all events is the sweetest. A drink is 
prepared from the snp that can even bear comparison with cham]iagne, 
for which we o? conv-sc conhl not restrain our appetites, especially as 
the trees were bearing nothing but fr-uit, when the fluid collects all the 
quicker in the round little ]>its cut into the felled ti-unk: some of this 
wns scooped out with drinking cii])« and a ])art drnnk straight away as 
we bent down in front of it. To ensure the speedier flow of the saji, the 
Indians placed a O-iu. block under the upper end of the trunk and liglited 
n fire along its whole length. 
nS."». After we had refi-eshed ourselves sufficiently and reydnced ihe 
dnmnged sandals with new ones, we continued following the valley still 
ever in a more westerly direction until evenino' when ori the slope of ^Ft. 
V.nwnruima we again found n becdiive hut which we choose for our niglit's 
lodging. It was still n]q»arently new, but unoccn]»ied. Its considerable 
.-^ize, the neatness of its executicui, as well as the reasons that could have 
pr'om]"»ted its occupants to build in such a sterile mountain-desert, arous- 
ed onr interest and snrpi-ise. We had the builder with us: it was again 
our host from Torong-Yanwise, the owner of still other similar huts in 
the mountains, a savage gifted with the building instinct and possessing 
more architectural knowledge than I had ever hitherto found amongst 
the Indians. We unfortunately did not find at night the rest that we had 
expected, Ijecause from the very first moment that we turned into our 
liammocks until we got out of them, we were most miserably ])estered 
with a blood-sucking insect of which we sought a specimen in vain. The 
blood of the skin of the head appears to be its specially favourite dainty. 
Altliough we never came to have personal acquaintance with our torment- 
