280 
TROOP OF IKDIAHS. 
the face of a man, the beard of a goat, and a grave demeanor 
(honrado gesto.)” Monkeys are more melancholy in pro- 
portion as they have more resemblance to man. Their 
sprightliness diminishes, as their intellectual faculties appear 
to increase. 
We stopped to observe some howling monkeys, which, to 
the number of thirty or forty, crossed the road, passing iu a 
file from one tree to another over the horizontal and inter- 
secting branches. While we were observing their move- 
ments, we saw a troop of Indians going towards the moun- 
tnins of Caripe. They were without clothing, as the natives 
of this country generally are. The women, laden with 
rather heavy burdens, closed the march. The men were all 
armed; and even the youngest boys had bows and arrows. 
They moved on in silence, with their eyes fixed on the 
ground. We endeavoured to learn from them whether we 
were yet far from the Mission of Santa Cruz, where we in- 
tended passiug the night. We were overcome with fatigue, 
and suffered from thirst. The heat increased as the storm 
drew near, and we had not met with a single spring on the 
way. The words si, patre; no, patre; which the Indians 
continually repeated, led us to think they understood a little 
Spanish. In the eyes of a native every white man is a 
monk, a padre; for in the Missions the colour of the skin 
characterizes the monk, more than the colour of the gar- 
ment. In vain we questioned them respecting the length of 
the way : they answered, as if by chance, si and no, without 
our being able to attach any precise sense to their replies. 
This made us the more impatient, as their smiles and ges- 
tures indicated their wish to direct us ; and the forest seemed 
at every step to become thicker and thicker. At length we 
separated from the Indians ; our guides were able to follow 
us only at a distance, because the beasts of burden fell at 
every step in the ravines. 
After journeying for several hours, continually descend- 
ing on blocks of scattered rock, we found ourselves unex- 
pectedly at the outlet of the forest of Santa Maria. A 
savannah, the verdure of which had been renewed by the 
whiter rains, stretched before us farther than the eye could 
reach. On the left we discovered a narrow valley, extending 
as far as the mountains of the Ouacharo, and covered with a 
