314 TlMEHRI. 
reach of these pests ; others, among whom was myself, 
slept on a sandbank by the riverside.* 
I stopped six weeks with these Indians, who treated 
me with the greatest kindness. They lived on game, of 
which there was an abundance, fish, which they killed 
with bow and arrows, and maize, cassava and plantains. t 
* It might be interesting in this connection to recall Humboldt's 
experiences of the mosquitoes in these Orinoco districts, but due east 
of the Meta. At San Borja, for instance, he states that it was not 
possible to speak or uncover the face without getting the mouth and 
nose filled with these inse6ts ; while, at Guaripo, he and his companion 
slept on the beach, there being fewer insects in the strata of air lying 
immediately on the river than near the edge of the forests. He tells 
how the missionary Bernardo Zea, to escape these plagues, had built for 
himself near his church, on a scaffolding of trunks of palm-trees, a 
small apartment, in which he (Humboldt) was enabled to breathe 
more freely, and to which he and his companion went up in the evening 
to dry their plants and write their journal ; while, at Maypures, the 
Indians quitted the village at night to go and sleep on the little islets 
in the midst of the cataracts, where they were able to enjoy some rest. 
Perhaps the most peculiar method adopted to avoid these inse6ts, is 
that narrated of the inhabitants between the little harbour of Higuerote 
and- the mouth of the Rio Unare, who were accustomed to stretch 
themselves on the ground and pass the night buried in the sand three 
oT four inches deep, leaving out the head only, which they covered with 
a handkerchief. — Ed. 
f If this se£tion of the Guahivos {Guajibos, Guahibos or Guagivos, a 
the word is sometimes written) is representative of the tribe at the 
present day, they present a considerable advance since the time of 
Humboldt, in their cultivation of maize, cassava and plantains. Hum- 
boldt says of the Guahivos, that no tribe is more difficult to fix to the 
soil, that they would rather feed on stale fish, centipedes, and worms, 
than cultivate a little spot of ground ; and that other Indians say of 
them that '•' a Guahivo eats everything that exists, both on and under 
the ground." Possibly, however, this referred to them only in their 
connection with the mission stations, the restraints of which were 
irksome to them, accustomed as they were to be perpetually moving 
from place to place (Indios andantes). — Ed. 
