268 
The Bell-Bird’s Fairy-Like Cling- Clang. 
engaged in plaiting. Now although our party numbered more than 
forty persons, representing a real colour chart from white to black, and 
filled the whole of the vacant space in front of ihe building, its owner did 
not vouchsafe us t lie slightest attention, but continued calmly working 
away as if he were the only person in the whole place. Zeno himself could 
not have been more indifferent to the outside world than this Carib was. 
iWhen our Negroes burst out laughing at anything which they particu- 
larly did, on finding in the background a whole troupe of women, with 
many a very pretty face amongst them, staring up at us full of surprise, 
each one cast a contemptuous look upon the laughers and the next 
moment turned their eyes back upon their work. 
771. Irritated by his neglect we might have been standing close to 
the gentleman for about a quarter of an hour without his putting aside 
his assumed indifference when I at last remembered that irresistible 
magic key, which had previously rendered such signal service in the 
Carib settlement Kai-tan on the Cuyuni. This was produced, and as 
happened there, it opened all the locks and bars that had hitherto closed 
his speechless lips. The surly fellow suddenly got up, became talkative, 
called us his “mattis,” dropped his work, ordered his wives to bring 
plantains, bananas and yams, to catch the fowls that were running about 
in plenty — in fact, proved himself as obliging as we could possibly wish. 
Whilst making a mental note of the altered behaviour of this son of 
nature, which was solely due to his learning that strong liquor was 
present, there fell upon my ear from out. of the near forest some 
wondrous note such as T had never before heard. It was as if someone 
were striking several harmonically tuned glass bells. I now heard them 
again, and after a minute’s pause, once more and yet again; there was 
then a longer interval of from six to eight minutes, when the clear full 
harmonic notes rang out afresh. I stood a long while spell-bound in the 
hope of hearing the fairy-like cling-clang sound just once more — 
silence alone followed, and I anxiously turned to my brother 
from whom I now learnt that it was the voice of the Chas marh ynehos 
carunculatus or Bell-bird as the coloured people call it. It took me but 
a minute to get ray gun out of the boat and ask Sororeng to accompany 
me, because his sharp eyes would certainly discover the bird amidst the 
green foliage more easily than mine: the latter, however, smilingly 
intimated that I might just as well remain quiet where I was because 
all attempts to kill the lovely songster would l>e fruitless, owing to its 
perching only upon the extreme tree tops, where it was well out of range. 
My attempt even to find it was in vain, for the limbs of the trees were so 
interlaced with one another that my view was already blocked by the 
first branches. No song, no note of anv one of the feathered residents 
of the Guiana forests, not even the goat-sucker’s voice, so distinctlv 
articulate, had set me in such astonishment as the tintinnabulary peal 
of the bell-bird. I had already learnt when first stepping upon this 
remarkable portion of the globe that the birds of Guiana possessed the 
gift of speech, but a voice such as this had hitherto remained absolutely 
unknown to me. My attention was now wholly and solely directed upon 
this marvellous songster; it could not be withdrawn from it by anything 
