Lippincotts Magazine, February 1873 | Page 9

true
that their ingenuity in gliding through the labyrinth resembled magic.
However the forest might bristle with undergrowth, they never thought
of breaking down obstacles or of cutting them, as the equally practiced
Bolivians did, with a knife. They contented themselves with putting
aside with one hand the tufts of foliage as if they had been curtains or
draperies, and that with an easy decision of gesture and an elegance of
attitude which are hardly found outside of certain natural tribes.
The city of Huatinmio proved to be a group of seven large sheds
perched among plaintains and bananas, divided into stalls, and
affording shelter for a hundred individuals. The most sordid
destitution--if ignorance of comfort can be called destitution--reigned
everywhere around. The women were especially hideous, and on
receipt of presents of small bells and large needles became additionally
disagreeable in their antics of gratitude. The bells were quickly inserted

in their ears, and soon the whole village was in tintinnabulation.
A night was passed in the hospitality of these barbarians, who vacated
their largest cabin for their guests. A repast was served, consisting of
stewed monkey: no salt was used in the cookery, but on the other hand
a dose of pimento was thrown in, which brought tears to the eyes of the
strangers and made them run to the water-jar as if to save their lives.
The evening was spent in a general conversation with the Siriniris, who
were completely mystified by the form and properties of a candle
which Mr. Marcoy drew from his baggage and ignited. The wild men
passed it from hand to hand, examining it, and singeing themselves in
turn. Still another marvel was the sheet of paper on which the artist
essayed a portrait of one of his hosts. The finished sketch did not
appear to attract them at all, or to raise in their minds the faintest
association with the human form, but the texture and whiteness of the
sheet excited their lively admiration, and they passed it from one to
another with many exclamations of wonder. Meantime, a number of
questions were suggested and proposed through the interpreter.
The formality of marriage among the Siriniris was found to be quite
unknown; the most rudimentary idea of divine worship could not be
discovered; the treatment of the aged was shown to be contemptuous
and neglectful in the extreme; and the lines of demarcation with the
beasts seemed to be but feebly traced. Finally, Mr. Marcoy begged the
interpreter to propound the delicate inquiry whether, among the viands
with which they nourished or had formerly nourished themselves,
human flesh had found a place. Garcia hesitated, and at first declined to
push the interrogation, but after some persuasion consented. The
Siriniris were not in the least shocked at the question, and answered
that the flesh of man, especially in infancy, was a delicious food, far
better than the monkey, the tapir or the peccary; that their nation, in the
days of its power, frequently used it at the great feasts; but that the
difficulty of procuring such a rarity had increased until they were now
forced to strike it from their bill of fare.
The night passed without disturbance, and the next day's parting was
accompanied by reiterated requests for a repetition of the visit. The
Panther, who since their arrival had oppressed the travelers with a
multitude of officious attentions, escorted them into the woods, and
there took leave of them with a gesture of his hand, relieving their eyes

of his slippery, snake-like robe of spots. A knife from their stores,
slung round his neck like a locket, smote his breast at each step as he
danced backward, and a couple of large fish-hooks glanced in his ears.
With a feeling of relief and satisfied curiosity the exploring party left
behind them the traces of these children of Nature, and returned toward
the river. The cascarilleros, all for their business, had regretted the
waste of time, and now betook themselves to an examination of the
woods with all their energy. After several hours of march their efforts
were crowned with success. Eusebio presently rejoined his employers,
showing leaves and berries of the Cinchona scrobiculata and
_pubescens_: the peons, on their side, had discovered isolated
specimens of the _Calisaya_, which, joined with those found on Mount
Camanti, indicated an extended belt of that precious species. This was
not the best. A veritable treasure which they had unearthed, worth all
the others put together, was a line of those violet cinchonas which the
native exporters call _Cascarilla morada_, and the botanists Cinchona
Boliviana. The trees of this kind were grouped in threes and fours, and
extended for half a mile. This repeated proof that the most valuable of
all the cinchonas, together with nearly every