166 
THE IGUAWA. 
nor the chrnnek, nor any of the Ateles. Our Indians them- 
selves had never seen any that resembled them. Monkeys, 
especially those living in troops, make long emigrations 
at certain periods, and consequently it happens that at the 
beginning of the rainy seasons the natives discover round 
their huts different kinds which they have not before 
observed. On this same bank our guides showed us a 
nest of young iguanas only four inches long. It was 
difficult to distinguish them from common lizards. There 
was no distinguishing mark yet formed but the dewlap 
below the throat. The dorsal spines, the large erect scales, 
all those appendages that render the iguana so remarkable 
when it attains its full growth, were scarcely traceable. 
The flesh of this animal of the saurian family appeared to 
us to have an agreeable taste in every country where the 
climate is very dry ; we even found it so at periods when wo 
were not in want of other food. It is extremely white, and 
next to the flesh of the armadillo, one of the best kinds of 
food to be found in the huts of the natives. 
It rained toward evening, and before the rain fell, swal- 
lows, exactly resembling our own, skimmed over the surface 
of the water. We saw also a flock of paroquets pursued by 
little goshawks without crests. The piercing cries of these 
paroquets contrasted singularly with the whistling of the 
birds of prey. We passed the night in the open air, upon 
the beach, near the island of Carizales. There were several 
Indian huts in the neighbourhood, surrounded with plan- 
tations. Our pilot assured us beforehand that we should 
not hear the cries of the jaguar, which, when not extremely 
pressed by hunger, withdraws from places where he does 
not reign unmolested. “Men put him out of humour” 
(los hombres lo enfadan), say the people in the Missions. A 
pleasant and simple expression, that marks a well-observed 
fact. 
Since our departure from San Fernando we had not met 
a single boat on this fine river. Everything denoted the 
most profound solitude. On the morning of the 3rd of 
April our Indians caught with a hook the fish known in the 
country by the name of cartbe,* or caribito, because no other 
fish has such a thirst for blood. It attacks bathers and 
* Caribt in the Spanish language signifies cannibal. 
