The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-08-29
AMONG CURIOUS PEOPLE.
QUEER INDIAN TRIBES LIVING NEAR
the ORlkoc0 RIVER


Twelve hundred miles frou the mouth
Of the Orinoco River vas q far a. ex-
tended my explorations toward the
sources Of that great stream" said En-
sign Roger Welles, who has Just returned
from the region mentioned. He l. the
only white man that has penetrated these
w1lds, At all events since the days OF The
early Spaniards.
The Orinoco b one Of the biggest
rivers in the world, a. you may Sc by
glancing 1t map Of south America II
= dotted all along its course with numer-
Gus small islands. and its upper waters
are onstructed By many cataracts. Dur
ing my long journey toward its sources
my canoe had often been carried over
land around impassable falls. BY the
time one reaches the Rio Meta, which
Y the largest tribut1ry of the Orinoco,
navigation 4 further interfered with by
the Wild and savage Indians Who ~
poisoned arrows, - that traders Who
buy and sell goods siong the stream
anchor the sailing scows out In the
middle Of It 1t night. keeping guard
with rifles against possible surprise.
In that part Of the country .and be-
yond toward the interior. WHITTIER psns-
trated, nakedness i the rule among the
natives, neither men nor women wearing
anything besides loin cloth Of the most
restricted dimensions. Here b one Of the
ioin cloths, which represents the height
OF fashion - 70 dress among those people.
You zee II Is but : Rectangular scrap Of
beadwork fastened bya string. The bead
work, however, i very beautiful, being
done In IN exquisite pattern. Two hun
dred miles beyond the mouth Of the Rio
Meta the Infrida River enters ths Orinoco.
started up that stream with my canoe
loaded with trinkets for exchange with
the natives, who live IN Q condition of
extreme savagery, although they are
amiably disposed and usually harmless.
They 60 entirely nude, save for the loin
cloths, as have described, and get their
Subsistence by hunting and fishing.
chiefly by the latter.
was much interested In their method
Of taking fish by the use of the bow and
arrow. For this purpose they employ ar
rows six feet In length, made of reeds
tipped with iron. While . canoe Is pad
died gently along in the shadows .
marksman stands ready with his arrow
on the string Of the bow. As soon e Q
large fish i seen, II the approach can be
made within range, the arrow il let hy,
and rarely fails to strike the prey. These
Indians hunt with blowguns made out Of
young stalks OF q certain kind OF palm,
from which the pith Is removed. The ar
rows employed as proiectiles are simple
splipters Of reed, sharpened at one end,
the other end being wrapped with
enough silk cotton obtained from another
kind Of palm to nil up the bore Of the
bioWgun. The arrows are about ten
inches long and very light. They are
tipped with the famous and deadly
: woorari' poison. Used by one Of these
naked sayages, the blowgun Is . weapon
of great accuracy and effectiveness, even
. small bird on a tree being brought down
by the skilled sharpshooter with reason
able certainty at the first try.
"These primitive aborigines dwell in
huts built OF palm leaves mostly. Each
family has its little garden patch. which
is chiefly devoted to raising the root from
which cassaya is made. They depend
upon this root almost entirely for food,
apart from what they get by hunting and
fishing. It Is prepared by grating to be-
gin with. The Crater. employed Is Of the
most primitive possible description, being
simply plank with perforations, small,
sharp pieces of flint being inserted in the
holes. Being reduced to q sort Of meal
by rubbing on this crater, the cassaya Is
pressed to get the water out of it, because
the root Is as watery rs the potato. Then
it is sifted and formed for cooking into
what looks like an enormous griddle cake,
two or three feet in diameter. The cake
is baked on . fat piece Of earthenware Of
corresponding size.
An Indian will go on for . weeks
hunting with no other food than guam
tity of cassava prepared in this fashion.
myself was obliged to live upon it al
most wholly for months. At first did
not find it palatable, but after awhile l
acquired the taste, and became quite
fond of it. The chief trouble was that it
was cooked on the bare ground, and al
ways contained considerable percentage
of dirt. However, one must not be too
particular about ones diet when travel
ing in the wilds. These savages are quite
cleanIy, so far as bathing is concerned,
but their habits # living, serwise, are
not such as to promote the virtue which
is next to godIiness.
Matrimonial methods are extremely
simple among these natives. When
young man and young woman wish to
and that is all there is OF it. Often .
youth Of one village win WOO and win .
maiden of q village hundreds Of miles
distant along the river. As rule they
seem to enjoy as uninterrupted q domes-
tic felicity as civilized couples obtain.
The Indians are gradually retiring toward
the higher sources of the Orinoco be-
cause Of the harsh and dishonest treat
nent which they receive st the hands Of
the white men and half-castes ofVene-
zuela.
"Cassaya is an important food Of the
poorer classes all through Venezuela, be-
ing ground by machines in factories.
Among the curiosities which ! obtained
from these savages are number Of inter-
esting musical instruments, such as red
flutes and drums made out Ola kind Of
corkEood. "-Washingto Star.
saved.
Warden-Your aged mother is, outside
and wants to see you. She says she hasn't