210 
The Trials oe a Collector. 
their hammocks and make up for the sleep of which we had been 
deprived by the early departure. The certain hope, perhaps by next 
morning, of getting into Georgetown and of finding after a long, long 
interval, letters from home and news of all the loved ones from whom 
we had heard nothing since March, made me feel so excited however, 
that I disdained the proffered rest, left my slung hammock undisturbed, 
and strolled along the bank of the little stream. The Calathea lutea 
and C. juncea Meyer reached a truly giant height here. Out of curiosity I 
measured one such long 18-foot stem that up to this height was still 
leafless, and was just about proceeding on my way when I saw something 
move on a decaying tree trunk lying in front of me, and recognised a 
poison viper ( TrigonocepJialus atrox) just ready to spring and drive 
me out of its vicinity. Fortunately I got ahead of it, hurried back for 
my gun and shot it through the head. Had I noticed it but a few seconds 
later, I probably would not have seen Georgetown again. 
670. Commencing ebb gave the signal for departure and we rapidly 
made our way down stream along the eastern bank which was hedged in 
witli Caladium arborescent* (Mucu-mucu of the Colonists) until nightfall 
when, on reaching Plantation Greenwich Park, Mr. Van Günthern, the 
manager, offered us a friendly night’s lodging: on the following morning 
we once more saw Georgetown ahead of us. On arrival at our quarters, 
to which we furtively sneaked on account of our clothes having got so 
terribly ragged on the journey, we found Mr. Goodall already installed 
there: this was the artist recently appointed by the Government who had 
only just arrived from England in the packet! boat bringing letters from 
Germany. 
671. I naturally devoted my first care to the collections which I had 
entrusted to the schooner on the Pomeroon. Unfortunately it Avas no 
pleasure to examine their contents: the salt water had made its way into 
almost every case and had even destroyed much that had not previously 
become sacrificed to the rain and moist temperature. As the schooner 
had already set. sail again, the responsibility for the damage could not be 
fixed : nor could I learn whether the captain, in spite of his solemn 
promise, had got them shifted from where they had been packed by us 
and brought on deck, or whether the water had found its way into the 
vessel through a leak. I lost 80 species of living orchids alone, amongst 
which some 20 were new: the winter’s cold in Berlin killed the remainder 
of those saved here, amongst them the beautiful new Cory ant Jms. The 
salt water had destroyed a number of bird skins, a large portion of my 
dried plants, the biggest half of my insects and the whole wealth of my 
ethnological collection, so far as mildew was concerned. Only one who 
is himself a collector can really appreciate my feelings when I once more 
scanned my treasures, collected at the cost of so much sacrifice and 
danger, in such a sad condition. Instead of from the six to eight cases 
that I had hoped to despatch to Berlin, only four went by the next ship. 
And yet misfortune did not cease to follow in their wake even on the 
farther side of the Ocean because, arrived safely in Berlin, my collection 
of living orchids that filled two large cases was killed by frost. 
672. The depressing news we had received on the Pomeroon con- 
cerning the health conditions of Georgetown had unfortunately not been 
