168 
Quelling Incipient Mutiny. 
late as yesterday, had disappeared to-day. The essential difference 
separating the Indian character from that of the Negro had never pre- 
sented itself so vividly before me as it did on this occasion. Our Indians 
bore the pangs of hunger in silence with stoic steadfastness and tried, 
by quickening their paddle-stroke, to put an end to the trouble as quickly 
as they could. The majority of the Negroes and coloured people on the 
other hand, what with cursing and swearing, had downed paddles about 
midday, and all our warnings and entreaties to take them up again were 
met with sneers like: — “Give us something to eat first: a hungry stomach 
can't work,” or “We don’t want to work for a man from whom we get 
nothing to eat" — in short, the paddles remained idle, and if we only 
wanted to get along at all it was necessary to distribute our steady faith- 
ful Indians and the few better-minded Blacks proportionately in and 
among the boats. By evening we indeed found a dry spot for our night’s 
lodging, but could only rejoice a little over this bit of luck because our 
rebellious company sang a dissolute lullaby and actually seemed intent 
upon banishing sleep from us altogether by abusive language and the 
most senseless noise. Mr. King stood this nonsense for a long while 
without saying a word, as he attributed their impudence to the score of 
hunger: but as it ever became more evident that their troublesome be- 
haviour arose solely from ingrained evil disposition, he lost patience 
and swore solemnly that he would leave behind at the next Indian settle- 
ment everybody who refused to put up patiently with what could not be 
helped — and then each could fish for himself as to how best to find his 
way back to Georgetown. As it was, Mr. King could not legally drop 
any disturber of the peace elsewhere than at some inhabited place. The 
effect of the threat was surprising, for their fast and blaspheming mouths 
were suddenly silenced as if by magic. Only two obstinate fellows would 
not be intimidated, but continued to threaten and to curse as before. 
575. Still further pressed by hunger we resumed our journey in the 
morning, when, to the great joy of the boat-hands, we reached before 
noon the beautiful broad YVaini by way of the Sabaina and Morebo. 
We were even more delighted on unexpectedly noticing in the distance 
two small vessels paddling along. Pulling now in double quick time, we 
had got tolerably close when the Indians, who happened to be in them, 
seemed to become suspicious of our feverish and impetuous haste, and to 
fear hostilities. They accordingly tried to escape us and without doubt 
would have succeeded in doing so had not the shouting of our Indians 
that they had nothing to fear reassured and prevailed upon them to 
stop. The first question asked them was naturally whether they had 
anything to eat. Except a fair number of crabs ( Uca una Margr., 
Cancer cordatus Herbst.) which they had caught at the Waini mouth 
they had not the slightest thing to offer. We quickly swapped a boatload- 
ful for knives, beads, and looking-glasses and now looked for a place 
where we could at least soothe the rebellious maws and spend the night. 
As no suitable spot offered itself in the vicinity of the river-bank, since 
it was over-grown with an absolutely impenetrable tangle of 
Rnisophora, Avicennia and Conocarpus, and in addition avus still flooded, 
v'aberall i proposed our turning into one of the innumerable small forest 
