314- Failure of the Dog Trade. 
of fact, this smart trader had not even been ashamed to coax out of the 
little girls their neck-chains witli the bits of money still attached in 
exchange for big metallic buttons which, on account of their brilliancy, 
sitruck the eye more than the quarter-and half-dollar pieces: they had 
not the slightest inkling that for ))nt a single silver coin of theirs they 
could buy in Georgeto\\'n, not one, but from 12 to 16 similar buttons. 
This dirty greed for gain irritated us so much that we could not resist 
reproaching him, and showing the yillagers how they were being 
swindled. The poor unfortunate fellow was indeed to be pitied, but that 
gave him no right to cheat ignorant Indians. It almost seemed how- 
ever as if every unlucky star luul liglited tlie way for him when he took 
his leave, because even a later speculation failed him on our return. 
On my brother getting back to Pirara from town he brought tlie news 
that the dogs, both thei-e as well as on the lower Essequibo, were suffering 
froni a terrible epidemic, to which tlie greatest number of them had 
alrea<ly succumbed, so tliat an animal was a rai'e thing and fetched a 
huge jirice. This infoi-inatioit awakened new hnjtcs in Leviiigsl on, who 
without furth(^r ado liasteuod to buy up all the curs in the neighbour- 
hood and take them to ( icorgetowu. The dogs which had accompanied 
my brother had become tlie objects of general adniirati<»n in the 
capital, where even So dollai's had been offered him for the faithful 
Tewanan : he nevertheless could not make up his mind to sell the 
b(\Tutiful creatu]-e, and without the slightest sign of its having been 
attacked by the disease, brought it liack with him to Pirara. Levingston 
started buying up dogs with an ardour peculiar to the speculative trader 
and we were already congratulating ourselves tliat ours, of which I was 
anxious to take several to Euro])e, had escaped tlie plague, when to our 
regTet it broke out amongst tlumi with a violent cough. Kaibra was the 
first to succumb: then came Tewanau and Levingston's pack of hounds 
AA'hich by the time we retui-ned to Pirara had dwindled down to a miser- 
able remnant. On dissectioTi we fonnd the disease to be a pulmonarv 
complaint. The lobes of both lungs were swollen and in .m advanced 
stage of decomposition: all pulmonary vessels without blood. 
750. Some days after our return, news was brouc-ht ns that the 
Brazilian Boundary Commission had arrived at the mouth of the 
Pirara, where they had pitched their camp, in order to commence th^' 
mapping of the probable Brazilian boundary. This information was soon 
followed by a visit from Colonel de Mafoz of the Engineer Corps, leader 
of the expedition. The Colonel was a man with white hair, well ad- 
vanced in years, who evidently no longer possessed the strength neces- 
sary for such a difficult: undertaking. On his very first visit he em]>loyed 
every means he could to learn from ns the geographical position of the 
points that my brother had noted Avere boundary marks of the line 
claimed by England. Though he tried on the fii-st occasion to hide his 
intentions as much as possible — for this information would certainly 
have saved him carrying out the most important and at the same time 
the most difficult part of his duties — he nevertheless made (piitc open 
profession of them on the following visits, witl) which he almost daily 
honoured us. What use lie^ made of what we told bim I do not know; 
