260 
Packs of Pretty SackawinkIS. 
stations as far as Arinda. My brother had visited the island on his 
previous journey and had still found undoubted traces of a pond as well as 
several fruit trees and non-indigenous ornamental plants run wild. On 
the eastern bank were several mountains with a name received from a 
little stream which the Indians, in connection with its dark brown waters, 
called Siroppa,* because it seemed to bear resemblance to the syrup 
probably seen by them in Georgetown. Upon the tongue of land which 
we had chosen for our night's camp there also bloomed the dainty 
Tabernaemontana alba Mill., the Deguelia scandens Aubl., Eugenia 
Salzmanni, vismiaefolia Benth., EUsabetha coccinea Sclioinb., Inga 
floribunda Benth., Spaniern disophylla Benth., and Andira laurifolia 
Benth. And now, there were we in the midst of this lovely floral finery 
puffing and sweating under the exertions of bringing the empty boats out 
of reach of destruction, a labour that we only managed to complete by 
afternoon : we had had to do without the powerful services of a Waika and 
a Warrau who since last night had been attacked with violent dysentery. 
759. Behind the Siroppa and Omughou mountain-system on the 
eastern bank certain picturesque heights, the Maccari Mountains, soon 
towered up in the S.E. and we were able to get an extensive view of the 
beautiful landscape: the river, still 1,400 yards wide here, once more 
presented an unbroken surface having its banks fringed with innumerable 
groups of palms, amongst which Badris pgdinata and tomentosa 
Mart., as well as Astrocaryum gynacanthum and vulgare Mart., 
were particularly noticeable. We likewise came across a number of 
Rhynchops , Plotus, Carbo, Ardea and Alcedo , especially A. torquata t 
which often caught fish much larger than it could swallow, and after 
strangling and struggling would then perch upon the boughs of a tree 
close to the water-side. The mammals were represented here by large 
packs of pretty sackawinkis ( Callithrix sciurea) which swung themselves 
with inconceivable agility from branch to branch, and from tree to tree, 
searching every leaf, every spider's Aveb for caterpillars, beetles and 
spiders. On drawing near one of these merry companies we every time 
heard a grunting note with which probably the sentinels made the careless 
ones cognisant of the danger threatening, for all at once a deep sudden 
silence would set in : this w T as only now and again broken bv the springing 
from tree to tree, as w T ell as by the squeaking of a weaker animal wflien 
in its flight it happened to get in the way of a stronger one which had 
bitten it. I w*as also witness here of the sacrificing love of these 
creatures for one another. Having crawled unnoticed on to one of these 
parties we managed to shoot several, amongst which was one, how r ever, 
that w f as only badly wounded. It made several attempts at escape and 
when all failed raised a lamentable cry w r hereupon tw r o others returned 
from the fairly distant pack, probably w*ith a view* to its assistance 
wdiich, however, proved to be useless : without my having noticed it, one 
of the Indians out of the boats had pointed his flint-lock at them, and the 
* The Macusi Indians call it Ouropocarior Kurtipukari Creek after the Falls: they 
do not know it under the other name. (Ed.) 
