Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1854-04-20
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80 And how I got ont Of it. AS


..... ..ss And how / got ont Of it. U.s.
Perhaps few Of our colonies are so little
known as Guiana, Its, very name, ten years
ago, WAS seldom either heard or seen, except
in the contingencies and ledgers of the COM
parstively few merchants trading to one Of its
three great divisions -Demarara, Essequibo,
and. Rerbice. Il is better known amongst ns
Mess,s by name at least, as the home Of the
Victoria Regia to say nothing of the, impetus
given to its timber trade by the fine collection
of its woods shown in the Great Exhibition.
Perhaps may just say, that Guiana is the
north east portion of South America, extend
ing from the 0rinoco southwark to tbs ANA
zon.- It is divided amongst the British, Dutch,
and French. British Guiana is the most
northern portion, extending on the sea-board
from the Orinoco to the Corentyn, and inland
TO the sources of the last mentioned river and
the Essequibo-an area of perhaps $4,000
square miles. Dutch Guiana, or Surinam,
extends from the river Corentyn to the Marc
my, and between them inland to their sources
1.-The area being not much less than sc, 600
square miles. French Guiana, or Cayenne,
extends coastwise from the Marony to the
sOyapock, which separates it from Brazil. Its
extension inland is uncertain, but the area is
supposed to be IA 900 square miles. With all
these divisions of Guiana, have had occasion
10 become more or less acquainted, though
chiefly resident at Georgetown, the capital of
Demarara-indeed, of the whole colony, there
being perhaps as many whites in Georgetown
as in the whole of Essequibo and Berbice to-
igether. i ttla u l.s s.l
MY business in Guiana was an old one 1t
was the collecting of skins-alike of beasts,
birds, and reptiles-and such other specimens
of natural history as could be dried and trans
mitted to Europe, to be re-animanted in the
hands of the professional stuffer. Perhaps
do not over-estimate my success, if say that
for some twO-,hirds Of the specimens exported
from the colony were the produce Of my expe-
ditious. These were, of course, undertaken
only in the dry seasons, Of which, in Guiana,
there are twO--the long dry season, from Au-
gust to November, and the short, February
and March. The course of proceeding was
this My Indian scout, an Arrawak named
Barrz, got his corral ready, and iaid IN a sup
ply, according to the time we proposed being
absent, of Indian corn, cassava, &c. For the
meat TO accompany this, we depended upon
my double-barrelled gun or rife, as the case
might be- AS to clothes, Barra's course was
the reverse Of that usually adopted by travel
ers. Instead.o adding to. his stock, he dis
.carded the decent suit he used to wear in town
and contented himself with single strip Of
cotton cloth bound tightly round his loins, and
serving to hold large knife. My own ward
robe was somewhat of the seantiest, but we
each had bag slung round us-Barra's to
hold provisions when we left the corral for the
forest ; and mine to receive such feathered or
other spoil as we might be able to collect
One part of our equipment must not be forgot
ten-a strong, but not thick rope, about eighty
feet long, knotted at intervals of half yard,
and having at one end two pound iron ball
This was used when, by good luck, we came
on a bush-hog or other animal and did not wish
to scare the forest by our ssreaEns. 1t was Of
still more essential service in another way, to
be described presently. 6F'ai .h1Srtsan
1t was a lovely morning in August, when
Barra and stepped into the little corial, and
padded Ieisurely up the noble Essequibo.-
AS we landed at two or three islands on our
way, we had not made above twenty miles
when evening drew ins soon after which we
pulled ashore to an Arrawak aencampment for
1thenight The next day and night were spent
in the same way; and on the third morning
we padded few miles higher up still, to the
foot Of the rivers mouth, where we secured
the corral. Having slung our bags, took
the fifes Barra the fowling- piece, and we
started for the forest-which indeed came
down, to the waters edge-carrying the coil
or rope by turns. As my object was to secure
birds, we did not care to fire until we should
see something worth firing at. We had been
xracking the mazes Of the forest, assisted by
Barra' knife, for about two hours, when we
came upon small patch of savanna, at the
further side of which stood noble greenhart
(Necsendrd ROdoiD Of large girth, and with
out branch for perhaps fifty feet. The tree,
however, might have been passed unnoticed,
had it not been crowned by an unusually 6ne
group of toucans Had / fred at them from
the ground, must have used shot that would
commercially damage them !. while, if we
could only get up the tree pretty near them,
small-shot would secure them almost unin-
jured ...-,...-a..
b. Uncoiling the rope, Barra tied to the end
opposite the ball long piece of string, and
then taking the ball in his right hand retreated
some 90 PAGES from the tree, measuring with
his eve the distance from the ground of the
lowest limb Posing himself, the ball few
from his hand and fell over the limb, round
which, by. a deKterous jerk at the same in
slant, the rePe,was ooiled four or five times'--
He had hit.the distance 90 nicely, that the end
Of the rope now dahglea down TO within a
couple Offeet or soof the ground. The string
was therefore not needed, and was united, the
object in afixing it being to have a means of
readily recovering the rope from the under
wood if, as was sometimes the case, it over