137 
Hamlet Loses His Tempee. 
Easterly direction. 'As a result of the almost incessant rain its hanks 
were no longer in a condition to regulate and curb the mass of water and 
our paddlers had to exert all their efforts to resist the force of the dark 
waters bearing down on them. The vegetation towering above the sur- 
face of the water, Rlikophora, ’Avicennia, Laguncularia and Conocarpus 
continued to display quite the character of a coastal stream exposed to 
tidal influence. Our progress also felt its effects for, with the entrance 
of the flood, the waves which had hindered our advance, started to stream 
in the direction we wanted and our corial followed in rapid course. 
475. Evening soon drew nigh and found us still searching in vain for 
a dry and safe spot where we could light a fire and sling our hammocks 
for the night: we saw nothing but a huge stretch of water until at last a 
cry of delight on the part of the Indians showed that they had found one. 
We noticed on our right a dark place prominent above the water, and we 
eagerly paddled in its direction. Several palm-trunks laid one over the 
other showed that the situation had already served as a night-shelter for 
travelling Indians, and although the last few days’ rising flood had al- 
ready repeatedly submerged this temporary bridge, and the spot was 
hardly visible above the surface of the water, we nevertheless determin- 
ed to put in here: naturally not even a comfortable fire was permitted 
us, because the heavy showers of rain in the afternoon had soaked the 
wood, and all attempts at lighting it only produced regular thick clouds 
of smoke, but no flame. Even Hamlet, the imperturbable and indefati- 
gable Hamlet lost his temper: his subdued cursing betrayed the bitter- 
ness with which he regarded the moist timber, and lie ineffectually squan- 
dered the breath of his powerful chest in trying to provide the fire re- 
quisite for a warm supper. 
47G. The myriads of mosquitoes, the distant din and crashing to- 
gether of the trees on the riverside uprooted bv the flood, together with 
the noisy fall of rain banished sleep from our eyes and made the night 
one of the most horrible through which I had vet had to keep awake. 
477. With darkness hiding the swelling of the stream, we were not 
a little surprised when an Indian, who by chance had left his hammock 
before dawn, called to warn us that the waters had commenced to sink 
the camp. We naturally hurried as quickly as possible to our corials, 
while Hamlet, swearing away, was searching for kitchen-ware in mud and 
water mixed. “Well! I’m damned.” he called out: “everyone wants me 
to help him with his feed, but nobody wants to help me with my pots and 
pans.” 
478- After reaching the edge of the bank, we followed it, very glad 
at having escaped the insidious water. Countless swarms of the dainty 
swallow, Hirundo fasciata Lath., joined in our rejoicings : they had perch- 
ed upon the barren branches of trees, long since isunk, projecting out of 
the water, and flew for a few minutes from their favourite resting-places 
as we approached, but quickly returned almost before we had passed. 
479. In the course of this monotonous day during which we only 
came across isolated specimens of the large king-fisher, Alcedo torquata 
Linn. Gm., we reached the mouth of the Kaituma which flows into the 
Barirna from the South on its left bank. According to the edging of its 
shores, the width of its mouth must amount to -00 feet. My Warraus 
informed me that the Kaituma banks were occupied by Warraus and 
