The Four Deseuters from Eort Sao Joaqcjim. ^^1 
549. The uufortimate remnants of my rich coUectious of fisli from 
the mountain streams of Kovaima and Huniirida, of scaly and 
smooth Amphibia and inserts — I had paid special attention to collecting 
all the different midges, flies, ants, etc. — ^\eve soon put in order. They 
were sad depressing days w hen the casks were opened for the purpose 
specified, because almost everything that had been collected at such an 
infinite cost of lal)Our and of which I was so proud in the certain knoAV- 
ledge that at least two-thirds of it was new, proved to be rotten and 
spoiled and all tlie hopes that I had set u])on this costly treasure, upon 
this witness of my bona fides, were destroyed. By its means I had 
thought of refunding all the losses entailed by its ti'ansport from the 
coast to England, and of counterl)alancing the dissatisfaction already 
expressed in Berlin, and now after all to find that, through no fault of 
mine, the largest ])orti()n (if the rare specimens w-ere spoilt. The dried 
plants, owing to the moist tem])erature in tlie environs of Roraima, had 
also suffered a good deal, and many were quite useless. Only the living 
orchids had kept in tolerable condition and flourished 'quite vigorously 
in the shady spots where I had planted them at the time we left. Of such 
are the experiences, the i-eward, the sorrows and joys of a collector. 
.550. The days ran their course slowly and lazily. T had already 
made the most of the surroundings of Pirara in the botanical and zoologi- 
cal line, and only the visits of isolated parties of Indians now and again 
brought a little change in the relaxing monotony. All the more then 
did we welcome the soun.d of a strange voiice that I heard in front of my 
house one morning. Inqnisitive, I jnm])ed out of my hammock and came 
outside the door, wlierc 1 Avas met l)y fonr young men each with a pack 
on his back, and two of them armed with guns, who represented them- 
selves as deserters from Sao Joaqnira and asked us to helj) them in tbeir 
fiight to Waraputa. According to theiir own statement, they had left 
the Fort five days before, had, continued their progress by night and 
hidden themselves in tlie oases by day. Pai-tly to kill the game uecessai'y 
to keep themselves going and i»artly also to pay for the assistance of the 
Indians in case it should be reqnired, they had come away with their 
gnns in addition to their nnliforiiis. Tlie famished fignres, who unbur- 
dened themselves of their ti-onbU's and misfovtunes, moved us to render 
them the assistance sough! , ami brave old chief Basiko (Vol. I Sect. 855)' 
who, with a party of Iiis men, ]iap[>cned to be with us at the time, like- 
wise let himself be inlincncc<l l y tlie pi'omise of one of the gnns to fake 
them as quickly as jiossible to Mari, because it was quite intelligible 
that search would be first of all made for them at Pirara. Two days later 
Basiko returned triuni]duintly Avith the gun and with the information 
that at Mari some Indians had also been found who, wb'th the promise 
of the second musket, had taken the four deserters on to Waraputa. Our 
conjectures proved only too true, because on the very day after Basiko's 
return Major Coelho in company with Captain Leal and a party of sol- 
diers came to us on the look out for their men. 
551. We had no reason to hide from the angered officers the fact that 
the four deserters had been here : A\ e however antedated their presence 
by two days, so as to stop them being pursued further, It was lucky we 
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