86 TlMEHRI. 
whether we are interested in gold ; and perhaps a narra- 
tive in regard to the search for the precious metal may 
not be amiss. 
We will start from the beginning ; and after having 
formed our Company and secured a good prospe6tor, (a 
most difficult thing nowadays,) we proceed to buy pro- 
visions, our boat having in the meantime been ordered. 
The boat is a stumbling block, and on it everything 
depends. There are boats, and there are boats ! A run 
to Bartica will show boats from the tiny woodskin to the 
mammoth coal barge, all intended for use in the trade, 
and each thought by the owner to be the one par excel- 
lence. The best boat is the one made on the model of 
those used by the canal men, but a greater breadth can 
be obtained, if deemed desirable. 
Our boat is on board the contract steamer, and we 
start for Bartica at 8 a.m. via Tuschen stelling. Our 
passengers are all in high glee, some under the influence 
of spirits, some with spirits elated at the new life before 
them, and some calculating with far-seeing eyes the 
probable find. There are the European enjoying his 
Havanna, the ever-bustling Yank with his " I guess," 
the black man glad of a walk, and the stolid Chinese 
taking in for future consideration the talk that is going 
on around him. 
Tuschen is reached about 9.30 a.m., and more passengers 
embark. Soon after this we bid good-bye to Demerara ; 
and our eyes, so long accustomed to its muddy waters, 
are gladdened by the bright sparkling cascades formed at 
the bow of our vessel as she cuts her way through the 
dark waters of the Essequebo. After awhile the blue 
mountains loom in sight, and we expeft soon to see their 
