224 
We aee Punished FOß Being Greedy. 
green savannahs and flourishing woocledj oases, from the giant trees of 
which faiitastic creepers hung like the rigging of a ship, A loud shriek 
from a young Indian aa- oman who happened to be at the head of the silent 
procession, startled ns out of our reverie, and brought us quickly to her 
assistance. Devoid of speech, the terrified creature painted to the grass 
whither a rattle-snake, from the l)ite of which she had been miraculously 
saved, had made its escape : to follow it in there would not be ventured by 
us, much less l)y tlie Indians: a far more certain way of destroying it 
being to set the grass on fire. 
496. After crossing the smiling flat and passing an unoccupied settle- 
ment, we climbed the Avestern spur of Mt. Waranak, from the top of 
which we had a delightful view of Carakittta, our day's objective, that 
stood on a rise in the valley of the Yawaira before us. Even the very 
top was again occupied by that charming vegetation of shrub-like 
Ternströmia , Befaria, Bonnefia, Thihaiidia , and innnmerable SohroTia: 
amongst several Anonaccac associated witli them I need but note the 
aromatic smelling Xylopia salicifolia H.B.K. , and X. frutescens Aubl. 
which had comi>letely disappeared in the valley. In between this exquisite 
scrub, it was a case rather of sliding than of travelling Indian file down 
the steep declivity. Arrived in the valley Ave crossed the Quaima, which 
has its mouth in the Yawaira some miles further to the westward. After 
an almost two hours' march through the picturesque valley we reached 
the YaAv^aira itself which floAA's to the North, is a tributary of the Caroni,* 
and later on makes its way into the Orinoco. The Yawaira that we like- 
wise crossed may be regarded as the most south-easterly affluent of the 
Orinoco. 
497. Mr. Fryer Avas tormented l)y hunger as much as I Avas, but 
experience had taught us that this could be seldom satisfactorily satis- 
fied if we arrived at a village simultaneously with all the others, because 
there were then too many hands anxious to seize the victuals offered. Our 
idea of reaching the settlement by hook or by crook in advance of the 
rest w^as as rapidly planned as it was surreptitiously executed. The settle-- 
ment was in front, so we could not lose our way : we forged l)riskly ahead. 
Except for Moore, the Negro, who may have had a presentiment of our 
intentions and had followed us, we soon got out of sight of the remainder 
of the party, and were already rejoicing over the heaped-up pepper-pots 
and other delicacies when we suddenly struck a boggy bit of ground 
strongly impregnated with ochre. The welcoming village lay on the other 
side of the swamp and beckoned down seductively from the rise : the path- 
way, even if it was the wrong one that we had followed in our-* ardour, 
had led to this quagmire, and according to every probability must run 
its course through it. Trusting to this, we pursued our way until we 
finally sunk into the ochreous mud up to the hips. Alfter prolonged 
anxiety and exhausted strength, Mr. Fryer, with the loss of his shoes, 
managed to extricate himself out of the sticky sedgy sludge and reach 
solid ground first: I soon followed, but Moore was still worrying and 
groaning away behind. Covered A^nth sweat and dirt, we looked at our- 
selves for a long time in silence, and then burst into loudl laughter over 
i.e., Dia the Wainng and Kukenam.— (Ed.) 
