194 
Tapacuma Lake. 
lake which in the far distance was bordered by dense virgin forest. To 
guard against the want of water in the dry season which is so prejudicial 
to the prosperity of the plantations, and also interrupts communication 
between the eane-lields and working-buildings, several estates’ owners in 
1829 made up their minds to change the savannah behind their lands 
where the Tapacuma rises, into a continually tilled reservoir, and as it 
ran out into fairly high ridges, had no difficulty in carrying out their 
intention by means of the dam and lock. The water of the Tapacuma, 
thus blocked in its course to the Arapiacro, soon Hooded the savannah 
and formed a lake, from which broad trenches with sluices lead in all 
directions to the estates which are greatly benefited thereby. 
042. After dragging our corials over the dam, we made our way 
across the broad expanse of water which, except for the old strongly 
defined channel of the Tapacuma, was covered with innumerable 
2V ymphaea that opened their beautiful blossoms with the early morning 
sunshine. The Caladium arborescens formed regular islands in between. 
But the brighter the flowery veil over the surface, the sadder seemed the 
frondless stems of Mauritia flexuosa and the leafless boughs of giant 
foliage trees which were to be noted everywhere about the lake. The 
constantly uniform height of the savannah water-level had even 
destroyed the giant palms that favour swamps — how much sooner there- 
fore must it have killed the mighty foliage trees, the dried branches of 
which were thickly dotted with the nests of the ever garrulous Trupial 
( Cassicus pcrsicus and C. haeiuorrluis) . The busy pegging of a number 
of wood-peckers at the pithy and decaying thready layers of the Maurit'ui, 
together with the husky screech of several parrots ( Psittacus Makawu- 
anna Linn.) that had utilised as hatching-boxes the holes picked away 
by the former, and regarded us as enemies of their broods, was audible in 
the distance. The active life that had developed on the water in the way 
of countless flocks of duck, water-fowl, heron, etc., even harmonised with 
its fancy dress. The pretty Parra Jacana particularly presented an 
entertaining picture: it hurried on its way over the densely intricate 
A ymphaea leaves as quick as lightning, and as soon as we were recog- 
nised, uttered its peculiar warning note to draw the others’ attention to 
the danger : the latter then anxiously stretched their lanky necks to spy in 
all directions whence the disturbance threatened. If one of these birds be 
suddenly surprised it nevertheless still utters its strange note to save 
others from a similar fate before seeking to save itself. 
643. In the midst of all lids busy life we reached, at the end of a 
long journey, the lock and lock-house at Plantation Richmond. When 
the lock-keeper, le Breton, heard my name, the old boy got so terribly 
excited that I really thought he must be suffering from periodic mania: 
and yet this extraordinary behaviour was due to quite another reason. 
He was an old travelling-companion of my brother’s and had accom- 
panied him on his expedition to the sources of the Essequibo in 1837. 
As the passage through the lock necessitated some delay, le Breton re- 
gretted his inability to invite us in the meantime to his little house, . 
because unfortunately it had been taken possession of by some trouble- 
some company which, having made a surprise attack that morning, had 
