Female Strength of Character. 
273 
One of the practical jokers had probably dragged the animal into it, 
waited for the owner to come and lie down, and at the very same moment 
pulled on the rope, but had then made himself scarce because we never 
succeeded in finding the culprit. Although the poor black devil was able 
to convince himself that lie had only been made a fool of, he continued 
standing there in the same spot where we had found him shivering like 
an aspen leaf and crying like a child, and no power on earth could have 
got him into his hammock now. We were at first angered over the silly 
joke, but nevertheless had at last to join in with the general laughter 
that rose through the whole camp. In the morning we found that Hamlet 
had quietly sneaked close to us where he had made a camp for himself; 
fearing a repetition of the banter he probably did not feel too safe 
anywhere else. 
784. Our patients feeling somewhat improved by the Monday, we 
resumed our journey and found upon the sandbanks even yet numbers of 
turtle eggs, which however had to be fairly carefully examined before 
eating, because in the greatest number of cases the young animal had 
already begun to develop.* Towards mid-day we once more reached a 
settlement, this being occupied by Caribs and some Macusis jointly. The 
large houses of the Macusis varied completely in shape and construction 
from all Indian houses that I had hitherto seen in the coastal region. 
They were erected of four six-foot high clay walls, upon which the roof 
rested and the small door was the only opening to be found in the whole 
building. Had not a fire, above which a small frame with fish and flesh 
spread out on top was to be seen, been burning in the centre of the building 
and at least lighted it up somewhat, Egyptian darkness would have 
reigned inside. The door was exit and entrance not only for human beings 
and animals, but also for smoke, light and air. The Carib houses cor- 
responded entirely with those of their fellow-tribesmen elsewhere. Of 
the male residents we found at home only the chieftain and another man, 
both of them very aged people; all the others had taken a trip to George- 
town. Amongst the women, painted to an unusual extent with Gonna 
juice, Sororeng drew our attention to a young and very pretty one of 
whom he told us a fact that really betokened something more than ordin- 
ary female strength of character and endurance. Her husband had also 
undertaken the trip to town with the others and had made up his mind 
for her to accompany him, a proposition that she resisted with all her 
might and main, but to which she at last apparently was forced to submit. 
Even at the eleventh hour she showed every imaginable sign of opposition 
so as to move her husband to let her stay, but he was not to be shaken in 
his resolution. In vain they searched for her one morning in Waraputa 
where the party spent several days; the young woman had vanished and 
remained so. Through the densest of forests, across all torrents, rivers, 
% 
* Among the plants I found in this area of the Rupununi I may note here the beautiful 
Petrea macro.it achy a Benth,, Copaifera pubiflora Benth., Pithecolobium pubescen.i Benth., 
Jnssiaea afflnix T)cC., ScJtnella rvbiginosa Benth., 5 . splendens Benth., Licama aperia Benth. 
L. floribunda Benth., Faramea lonpifolia Benth., A-l.iodeia laxijfora Benth., all new species 
which my brother had already found on his first journey. 
