330 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [November, 
ning it ; I myself operating on the paddles and the head, 
where the greatest delicacy is required, which the In- 
dians are not accustomed to. After the skin was got 
off, a second operation was gone through, to take away 
the layer of fat beneath it, with which to fry the meat 
I intended to preserve ; the inside was then taken out, 
and the principal mass of meat at once obtained from 
the belly, back, and sides of the tail. This was all 
handed over to Senhor Joao, who undertook to prepare 
it for me ; his men being used to the work, from having 
some scores to operate upon every year. My Indians 
then cut away the remaining meat from the ribs, head, 
and arms for their own panellas, and in a very short 
- time left the skeleton tolerably bare. All this time I was 
at work myself at the paddles, and looking on to see that 
no bones were injured or carried away. I separated the 
skeleton into convenient pieces for entering into the bar- 
rel, cleaned out the spinal marrow, cleared off some more 
of the meat, and having sprinkled it over with salt, put 
it with the skin into the barrel to drain for the night, 
and left the Indians to make a good supper, and stuff 
themselves till contented. The next day, after arranging 
the skin and the bones afresh, I with some trouble fast- 
ened in the head of the barrel, when I found the brine 
that was in it oozing out in every direction, and soon 
discovered that the cask was riddled by little wood- 
boring beetles. The holes seemed innumerable, but I 
immediately set to work with two of my Indians, stop- 
ping them up with little wooden pegs. We were oc-» 
cupied at this some hours, and had pegged up I don’t^ 
know how many hundred holes, till we could not by the*^^ 
