336 
Manufacture of Wax Candles. 
wai-dly converted Carib. Next day, in tlie course of my botanical 
excursion, I stumbled up against the very liermitage — of women. 
808. I have already remarked that the Caribs differ essentially in 
their appearance from other tribes. Their skin-colour is much darker, 
their build of body much more robust, and their facial expression has 
more of repulsiveness than of charm in it. The unnatural overgrowth 
of the calves among the female sex makes it positively disgusting. 
809. Vanity appears to be the liereditaiy failing of every fenuile, for 
even the woinc^i and girls of Kuamuta wanted nothing but tlic siimll 
mirrors which I liad taken with me for trade, and then sat for hours at 
a time in front of lliem, i>laiting their beautiful hair and looking at 
themselves. 
810. Judging from the large lumps of wax that were seen at Kuamu- 
ta, the bees already mentioned must be unusually plentiful in tlie forests. 
The residents collected it partly for trade, and partly for illumination. 
A fcAV long threads of cotton avooI are for this ])urpose rolled in the 
melted wax until they attain the thickness required. 
811. A sharp attack of fever which not only afflicted me Imt also 
Stöckle, made us stay longer in the village than I had intended. On 
the day before leaving I Avent with some Indians to a settlement a few 
miles farther distant where, judging from tlie confused noSise that 
reached us during the stilly night, a drinking feast must have been held. 
I liO])ed to be al)le to receive in exchange some interesting ethnographi- 
cal objects. 
812. As we were making oui* way Ihrough the forest and my eyes 
were searching the top of a tree, I felt myself suddenly held fast by the 
Indian behind me. A large black snake was crossing the path in front 
of my feet. A shot from my gun killed the seven-foot long creature. 
The Caribs called it Tapurauma and assured me. in spite of all my 
remonsti-ances that it was of the most poisonous kind and that a friend 
of theirs had died from the bite of one only a short while before. My 
contradiction availed nothing: the Cohiher pltonhnis Pr. Neuwied had 
to be, and must be, poisonous. The .-inegation that this snake com- 
mences to pick a quarrel and fight with every other snake that it meets 
was strange to me. The statement of my companions about its danger- 
ous character was a fresh demonstration as to how little one can depend 
upon what Indians say in regard to poisonous or non-poisonous snakes: 
their inherent, horror of these reptiles recognises every one as 
venomous. 
813. The pathway connecting the two settlements led through rank 
virgin forest with giant trees, amongst which even the Mora Avas not 
wanting and through liroad swampy ground overgrown with palms 
and Scitaviincae. ATe again came across a huge army of wandering ants 
the approach of which Avas already indicated at some distance away 
t»y the crackling noise and rustling caused by their advance over the dry 
leaves lying on the ground. Tlie procession AAas here also accompanied 
by a number of those interesting birds of the genus Myiothera. I 
managed to shoot some specimens of the beautiful Pitliys leucops. 
