244 
TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO, 
\Fehrmry^ 
dias/’ and asked me where I was going, and if I wanted 
anything at the village, for that the Commissario was 
away, and he was the Capitao. I replied in the best 
Spanish I could muster up for the occasion, and we 
managed to understand each other pretty well. He was 
rather astonished when I told him I was going to stay 
at the village, and seemed very doubtful of my inten- 
tions. I informed him however that I was a Natu- 
ralista,’^ and wanted birds, insects, and other animals ; 
and then he began to comprehend, and at last promised 
to send me some men the day after the next, to carry 
over my luggage. I accordingly turned back without 
going to the village, which was still nearly a mile off. 
On my return to Pimichin I found that my Indians 
had had but little success in fishing, three or four small 
perch being all we could muster for supper. As we had 
the next day to spare, I sent them early to get some 
timbo” to poison the water, and thus obtain some 
more fish. While they were gone, I amused myself 
with walking about the village, and taking notes of its ^ 
peculiarities. Hanging up under the eaves of our shed ^ 
was a dried head of a snake, which had been killed a 
short time before. It was a jararaca, a species of Cras- 
jpedocephalus, and must have been of a formidable size, 
for its poison-fangs, four in number, were nearly an inch 
long. My friend the deserter informed me that there jj 
were plenty like it in the mass of weeds close to the \ 
house, and that at night they came out, so that it was 
necessary to keep a sharp watch in and about the^ 
house. The bite of such a one as this would be certain ;; 
death. 
