7 
j?. Schomburgk, Dr. Phil. 
would find with us. But when he saw that the roasted ducks 
were more patronized by us Europeans^ he exclaimed in 
anger that white people did not know what was good.’^ 
Heavy rain kept us the next day until one o’clock p.m. in 
Clementy’s place, when we started in company with the 
chieftain, whose canoes increased our flotilla. In addition to 
his two sons-in-law, and his two favorite wives, he took all 
his wardrobe, which consisted of some colored printed shirts, 
a white jacket, his blue dress coat, and several white trousers, 
and a hat-box, from which he took a blue felt hat, in despite 
of its evident age, carefully wrapped up in paper in which it 
had been bought in Georgetown. With folded arms he let 
his wives pack all these treasures, with his hammock, in 
a large, neatly-plaited basket. Now and then he favored us 
with a look to see what impression the sight of these treasures 
made on us. The women had supplied themselves with the 
necessary utensils for cooking, some implements for fishing, 
and a large quantity of Cassava bread. They had a hard 
fight with their dogs, which had looked at these preparations 
of the journey with impatience, and now set up a howling*, 
seeing their expectation frustrated. 
During our progress up the Barima, a large dead tree on 
the bank attracted my attention. Hundreds of the long purse- 
formed nests of the Cassicits cristatus, Baud., were suspended 
from its branches. After a hasty counting, I numbered 
about three hundred. Equally remarkable as the asso- 
ciation of these birds in breeding time, like C, persiciis 
and haemorrhus^ is their instinct in choosing the branches of 
a tree, on which already exists the nests of the dangerous 
wasps, Ves2:)ci nidulans and 3Iorw, with which the birds, it 
seems, enter into a league of protection. None of their 
numerous enemies, monkeys, tiger cats, would venture to 
come near the nests for the sake of the eggs or young ones 
as long as the allies live in harmony. It w^as now the breeding 
time, and the most stirring life reigned in this colony. 
We landed at a small Warraii settlement. The huts were 
among the most miserable we had ever met with, and they, 
as well as their inhabitants, were so glutted with filth that 
we Europeans could not bear the sight of it. But a more 
terrible sight was the frightful opthalmia by v/hich the whole 
population suffered. The eyes of some of them were blood- 
shot, whilst in others, especially the poor children, the eye-ball 
seemed forced out of socket. The mothers, not caring for the 
