equently seen among the leaves on the ground. The bite of the red
ant caused a stinging and burning for about fifteen minutes. One of
their carriers who was bitten in the foot by a black ant suffered
intense pain for a number of hours. Not only his foot, but also
his leg and hip were affected. The savages were both fishermen and
hunters; the fish being taken with nets, the game killed with bows
and arrows. Peccaries were shot from a blind made of palm leaves a
few feet from a runway. Fishing brought rather meager results. Three
Indians fished all night and caught only one fish, a perch weighing
about four pounds.

The temperature was so high that candles could easily be tied in
knots. Excessive humidity caused all leather articles to become blue
with mould. Clouds of flies and mosquitoes increased the likelihood
of spreading communicable jungle fevers.

The river Comberciato was reached by Mr. Heller at a point not more
than a league from its junction with the Urubamba. The lower course
of the Comberciato is not considered dangerous to canoe navigation,
but the valley is much narrower than the Cosireni. The width of
the river is about 150 feet and its volume is twice that of the
Cosireni. The climate is very trying. The nights are hot. Insect
pests are numerous. Mr. Heller found that "the forest was filled with
annoying, though sting-less, bees which persisted in attempting to
roost on the countenance of any human being available." On the banks
of the Comberciato he found several families of savages. All the men
were keen hunters and fishermen. Their weapons consisted of powerful
bows made from the wood of a small palm and long arrows made of reeds
and finished with feathers arranged in a spiral.

Monkeys were abundant. Specimens of six distinct genera were found,
including the large red howler, inert and easily located by its deep,
roaring bellow which can be heard for a distance of several miles;
the giant black spider monkey, very alert, and, when frightened, fairly
flying through the branches at astonishing speed; and a woolly monkey,
black in color, and very intelligent in expression, frequently tamed
by the savages, who "enjoy having them as pets but are not averse to
eating them when food is scarce." "The flesh of monkeys is greatly
appreciated by these Indians, who preserved what they did not require
for immediate needs by drying it over the smoke of a wood fire."

On the Cosireni Mr. Maynard noticed that on