284 
AiYUK-ANTE Eights the TempesI*. 
afforded tliem just as little protection owiuj,' to their being unable to 
withstand such masses of water. All üres were extinguished, and the 
dense obscurity was only now and then torn asunder by the Hash of the 
convulsive lightning. To prevent our corials sinking, we did not dare 
stop bailing out the rainwater tor a second. Aiyukante, Avho once more 
happened to be in our party, and believed that in tlie do^A iipour he had 
again found a good opportunity for convincing us of his powers over 
the elements, exerted himself in vain to exorcise the storm. As the 
sheet lightning shot through the horrible darkness one could see him 
blowing and shrieking aA\ ay at the same üime that he did his utmost 
by s\\ inging his arms, and cutting all kinds of capers, to drive it 
elsewhere: he himself finally seemed to recognise that he had come 
off second-best, and growling and morose crept back into our tent. 
After some hours the i-ain abated a little, only to break out again sub- 
sequently with redoubled fury: the quantity that fell that night amount- 
ed to certainly 5 or 6 inches. The thermometer at break of day read 65° F. 
and the wet Inilb 64.7°. Shivering and shaking Avith cold, we exam- 
ined the baggage and started once more on the way. Here and there 
the bank was regularly covered with the beautiful Maadmiliana regia. 
In the course of the morning we passed the mouth of the Maurukiamu, 
the banks of which were occupied by Macusis. According to the state- 
ment of the Indians, it takes its rise on the eastern spurs of the Canuku 
Range whereupon it weuds its way through the savannahs to the 
Rupununi. While travelling in my corial along the western bank, I 
saw the head of a kaiman raised above the surface of the water: I at 
first took it for a piece of wood until one of my Indians taught me 
otherwise. Each barrel of my double-barrelled gun was loaded with two 
balls, and struck in the head, the creature lashed the water with a 
terrific twisting of its tail : turning round, it came so close to our corial 
that we were afraid of getting upset by the struggles of the dving l)rute. 
It finally swam to the bank when it sank, the shallowness of the water 
in its neighbourhood and the continually rising air-bubbles showing us 
the spot where it lay. We landed. A fresh shot in the head could not 
have killed it yet, because the furious movements commenced anew. At 
last these stopped and with difficulty it dragged itself nearer the bank 
so as to rest its head on land, where with a violent snap of the jaws and 
powerful blows of the tail, it looked done for. Just as we were busy 
slinging a rope round its body we heard a loud noise behind us, and a 
second kaiman with somewhat obliquely raised tail splashing up the 
M'ater rame inshing on towards us. 
666. On recovering from our fright we made arrangements to drag 
the fallen creature, out of which the last spark of life seemed to have 
flown, behind the corial, but we had deceived ourselves, for the stunned 
vital powers suddenly returned and with a single blow, all six of iis men 
who were dragging at the rope, were thrown flat upon the ground and 
in a moment the animal had disappeared under water, only to show its 
head sooji after in another spot. A double charge of shot that pierced 
both eyes seemed to have finally killed it, and we dragged it quietly to 
shore. Its length measured 14 ft. 6 in. and its girth 4 ft. 3 in. As we 
