PLAN 0E OTJK ENCAMPMENT. 
407 
of its beak, to swallow its food by throwing it up into the 
air. It raises it indeed with some difficulty from the 
ground, but, having once seized it with the point of its 
enormous beak, it has ouly to lift it up by throwing back 
its head, and holding it perpendicularly whilst in the act of 
swallowing. This bird makes extraordinary gestures when 
preparing to drink. The monks say that it makes the sign 
of the cross upou the water; and this popular belief has 
obtained for the toucan, from the creoles, the singular name 
of diostede* 
Most of our animals were confined in small wicker cages ; 
others ran at full liberty in all parts of the boat. _ At the 
approach of rain tho macaws sent forth noisy cries, the 
toucan wanted to reach the shore to fish, and the little 
monkeys (the titis) went in search of bather Zea, to take 
shelter in the large sleeves of his Franciscan habit. These 
incidents sometimes amused us so much that we forgot the 
torment of the mosquitos. At night we placed a ieather 
case (petaca), containing our provisions, in the centre ; then 
our instruments, and the cages ol our animals ; our ham- 
mocks were suspended around the cages, and beyond were 
those of the Indians. The exterior circle was formed by the 
fires which are lighted to keep off the jaguars. Such was the 
order of our encampment on the banks of the Cassiquiare. 
The Indians often spoke to ns of a little nocturnal animal, 
with a long nose, which surprises tlie young parrots in their 
nests, and in eating makes use of its hands like the monkeys 
and the maniveris, or kinkajous. They call it the guachi; 
it is, no doubt, a coati, perhaps the Viverra nasua, which I 
saw ’wild in Mexico. The missionaries gravely prohibit the 
natives from eating the flesh of the guachi, to which, 
according to far-spread superstitious ideas, they attribute 
the same stimulating qualities which the people of the East 
believe to exist in the skink, and the Americans in the flesh 
of the alligator. ’ 
On the 11th of May, we left the mission ol San Fran- 
cisco Solano at a late hour, to make but a short day s 
journey. The uniform stratum of vapours began to be 
divided into clouds with distinct outlines : and there was a 
* Dios le (U, God gives it tliee. 
