Handsome Tam ^nua's Bair is Cut. 
225 
our frustrated designs and misplaced zeal. Ashamed and abashed, we 
climbed the rising ground on which stood the village where, contraiy to 
expectation, the others had not yet arrived. Instead of meeting Goodall's 
bitter chaff we were received by the smiling residents, who had been 
watching us in our troubles, with Avell-filled cups and still more welcome 
pepper-pots. The contents of the latter looked so inviting that we sat 
down to business around the biggest one, without l)Othering over a change 
of clothes, and bravely helped ourselves with our fingers, according to 
Indian fashion, but never enquired beforehand as to what we were eating. 
Our hunger appeased, we became curious to know what we had satisfied 
it with. We learnt that it was a real olla podrida to be sure, made up of 
several monkeys, an ant-bear and a kainum tail, but we found it excellent, 
and it proved equally as tasty to the caravan that followed. 
498. The Carakitta residents, ha^^ing visited us at Our Village were 
almost all known to us. The settlement consisted of five fine large bee- 
hive houses, one of which was put at our disposal. This kind of archi- 
tecture appears to be peculiar to the Macusis and Arekunas, they not 
being met with moreover in any other tribe. From the village w^e had 
a lovely view over the smiling savannahs, which were still enclosed on all 
sides by picturesque wavy mountains, al)0ve which the high Pa-Eppin» 
towered in S. by E. Eminently thriving provision fields planted up 
with cassava, yams, potatoes, and sugar-cane lay along the banks of the 
small stream Corabo, a tributary of the Yawaira in close connection 
with which was a thick fence of arrow reed, Gi/nerlum saccheroides 
Humb. Bonp. The glorious foliage of the trees covering the southern 
hills, their rank grassy flats and the numerous creeks and streams, as 
clear as crystal, which meandered through the refreshing wealth of 
pasture — everything reminded me vividly of the valleys of the Harz, 
while a giant Riplionia rlafttira Pers. with its widely outspread limbs 
bade me remember that I was many thousand miles away from 
my native mountains. 
499. I could hardly lielieve my eyes when, a little later on, I was 
visited by a fr'iendly shame-faced l)oy, with a bundle of tobacco leaf in 
his hand, whom, after long reflection I recognised at last as handsome 
Tamanua: I soundly rated the puzzled parents who, iu order to make 
more sure of our not taking him away, had cut off the Tad's chief beauty, 
his lovely hair. 
500. With the readv consent of the chief, nil our hopos and wants for 
a Rupnly of food from the rich provision fields were fulfilled. Bv next 
morning a commencement was made with the scraning and crrating of 
the roots, and tlie bakinü' of the liread. the old chief liavin<r at the same 
time informed us that he and some of his subordinates would be accom- 
panying TIS to Pirara and NapiVi to barter some urari poison: a double 
supply of rations was therefore required. A young man of from 18 to 
20 years of age, here also attracted our attention on account of his 
faultless proportions and handsome features, but who in his whole 
behaviour, in his movements and attitudes, was so affected and dandified 
as to keep us in a continual state of laughter. Though a civilised idiot 
may have more than enough ridiculous foibles, such weaknesses are com- 
0 1. 
