76 
Indians’ Dogs. 
panions' interest — but not a sound passed their lips — and in silence they 
continued to paddle on. Although the majority are quite conversant 
with the English language they nevertheless prefer to seize the oppor- 
tunity of conversing in their mother-tongue, for which reason the mem- 
bers of one and the same tribe at the Institution always keep together 
as much as possible. 
265. As the sun was already beginning to slip behind the tree-tops 
and some houses were noticed along the bank, we determined on putting 
in there for the night. We were received on landing with the tempes- 
tuous howl of several dogs that fairly threatened to tear us to pieces. 
The less satisfied we were with their overtures the more gratified were 
we over the friendly welcome of the dear young coloured woman who 
immediately gave up her sitting-room for us to sling our hammocks in. 
The husband was a boatbuilder and the workshop therefore the best 
camp for our crew who were especially delighted because my brother 
had promised to reward them for their strenuous exertions with the ham 
that was still left amongst the provisions brought from Georgetown. 
He accordingly sent one of the boys down to the boat to fetch it from 
his servant. The boy took the opportunity of bringing, in addition to 
the ham, some bread and rice, and at the same time his own hammock 
which, when he got near the shed, he thought it wiser to sling before the 
others had time to pick the best places. He therefore put the ham on 
a piece of timber and tied the hammock. This done, he proposed carry- 
ing out his orders, but what he looked for had disappeared : the servant 
following him of course must have taken the ham to the cook — the only 
consolation that was left him. But the latter had done no such 
thing: — the ham and bread were gone, and the rice spilt on the ground, 
showing clearly enough that the dogs, now quiet, had just devoured it. 
How mad both we and the boys were can well be imagined! In spite of 
their mistress calling them, and notwithstanding every search of the dis- 
appointed lads who gladly would have saved at least a piece, the thieves 
were neither to be brought back, nor discovered. In the course of half 
an hour the brutes returned, licking their greasy snouts. The thieving 
instinct of the Indian dogs is greater by far than that of our cats: the 
meat in the cooking pots, indeed the whole pot on the fire is not safe 
from them, and only the most extreme caution saves anything eatable 
from their lust for theft, as we subsequently learnt on many an occasion 
by experience. 
266. The dainty dish had disappeared and rice boiled in water had 
to take its place : owing to the young woman being kept on such short 
commons that she was unable in the morning to give us a single piece of 
cassava for the journey, we had to resume our voyage with empty stom- 
achs, but yet with the certainty of finding along the bank during the 
course of the day a store kept by a coloured man who dealt in bread 
and provisions. 
267. Comforted and consoled with this reflexion we made a start — * 
but as the hour went by when the healthy appetites of the boys were ac- 
customed to be satisfied with breakfast, their strength and exertions 
also slackened. Yet however plainly their hunger manifested itself in 
their faces, not a complaint, not a murmur passed their lips. But what 
a shock when we reached the place we had depended on and the peevish 
