Farewell to Pikaka. 
and the ludiaii.s, under Basiko's orders, Avlio were to ;m company us to 
Georgetown as paddlers, were ready to leave. From cut of the rem- 
nants of our larder we were able to give Colonel de Matoz a splendid 
Tai'cwcil (linnei-, which on aecoiiut of a few hottles of w^'ue, assumed a 
eheerful character because his disappointment over the ill-success of Ms 
efforts was soon washed away, and with the assurance of his never-to- 
be-forgotten friendship Ave helped him, late at night, on to one of our 
friend Youd's liorses. These animals, in the absence of their owner, 
continued to exei-cise their liml)S around the environs of the village 
and were the only living- creatures that had not forsaken Pirara which 
they still seemed to regard as theii- centre of attraction. 8ad to relate, 
as we heard before we left next morning, the Colonel had not been able 
to stick on his saddle but had fallen off and si)rained his arm. 
762. Towards midday on the 11th June 1 eame out of my house for 
the last time, never to return to the simple palm-thatched roof under 
Avliich I had spent such monotonous, such bitter days, yet also so many 
happy and cheerful hours: a home that had sheltered both myself and 
my collections, my only riches, for months at a time from the torrential 
rains of a tropical Avinter, and had provided me Avitli every convenience 
that a contented mind could possibly wish for. To me it w^as like 
parting from an old and faithful friend. 1 was overwhelmed with 
other feelings hoAvever on making my Avay over to the charred ruins of 
the mission house. How often, within those blackened walls had I 
listened to the teaching of our zealous friend uoav mouldering in the 
grave, how of ton had his intinite patience and nol»le self-sacrifice aroused 
my admiration! The ir^ower had been called, the Heed trampled upon 
and destroyetl, and tlie ITotise where it had been sown ]>ecome a gloomy 
ruin, the site of which in the course of a fcAv months might be sought for 
in vain. These melancholy sensations became too painful at sight of 
the village rapidly hurrying, dreary and desolate, to absolute decay. 
Deserted by all its residents, a large proportion of the houses already 
tumbled down, and those still upstanding surrounded Avith a wanton 
increase of weed and bush, and the wide streets once more surrendercnl 
to the absolute sway of rank vegetable gl•o\^ill, tlie last vestige of Life 
bade farewell Avith us to the spot that once had been so full' of it, that 
but a year ago had still raised in everyliody such glorious hopes, that 
was doomed to utter ruin by the death of the one man whose energies 
had called its prosperity into being. The large wooden cross which the 
P>razilians had set up when they took possession of Pirara stood yet in 
front of the burnt-down churcli. and was to me a symbol of the hope 
that perhaps there soon would dawn another day that might prove more 
favourable for the Indian tribes, now forsaken and left to their own 
. -mr*: 
devices. 
7P)o. We tarried aAA'hile on the last hill that overlooked Pirara : it 
was hard to say ji'ood bye : it was the last look that T cast upon the 
sombre ruins, which, from in between the vigorous vegetative growth, 
from in betA\'een the thousands u])on tens of thousands of smiling 
products of continually creatiA-e Natnre. appeared still more gloomy. I 
then hastened on to the Quatata where our boats Avere lying, so as to 
