220 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [November, 
Our luggage was soon unpacked, our redes hung, a fire 
lighted, and the pig taken down to the brook, which ran 
at the lower end of the cave, to be skinned and prepared 
for cooking. 
The animal was very like a domestic pig, but with a 
higher back, coarser and longer bristles, and a most 
penetrating odour. This I found proceeded from a gland 
situated on the back, about six inches above the root of 
the tail: it was a swelling, with a large pore in the 
centre, from which exuded an oily matter, producing a 
most intense and unbearable pig-sty smell, of which the 
domestic animal can convey but a faint idea. The first 
operation of the Indians was to cut out this part com- 
pletely, and the skin and flesh for some inches all round 
it, and throw the piece away. If this were not done, 
they say, the pitiu’' {eatinga, Port.), or bad smell, would 
render all the meat uneatable. The animal was then 
skinned, cut up into pieces, some of which were put into 
an earthen pot to stew, while the legs and shoulders 
were kept to smoke over the fire till they were thoroughly 
dry, as they can thus be preserved several weeks without 
salt. 
The greater number of the party had not yet arrived, 
so we ate our suppers, expecting to see them soon after 
sunset. However, as they did not appear, we made up 
our fires, put the meat on the moqueen,” or smoking- 
stage, and turned comfortably into our redes. The next 
morning, while we were preparing breakfast, they all 
arrived, with the produce of their hunting expedition. 
They had killed three hogs, but as it was late and they 
were a long way off, they encamped for the night, cut 
