I stopped in front of a tree (_hymenaea_) belonging to the leguminous
family, the pods of which contain a sweet pulp, and from its trunk oozes
out a resin, which is much sought after by the Indians, who use it as a
cure for stomach-ache. A little farther on, a mango-tree tempted
l'Encuerado, who, like all his countrymen, was fond of its fruit. I
disliked the nauseous smell and taste of them, which reminds me of
turpentine, although in some countries, where care is taken in their
cultivation, they are said to be delicious.

Sumichrast, who was our guide, had to open a passage for us through a
perfect net-work of purple-flowered creepers. I helped him in his work,
and when we had overcome this obstacle, we found ourselves in a small
plain, in the middle of which rose a clump of palm-trees. Gringalet ran
off to the right, and soon returned with his muzzle all wet. Lucien, who
was in front of us, first reached what was a wide, deep, and
slowly-flowing stream. At this sight, l'Encuerado turned three somersets
in succession, and struck up a chant; our manifestations of delight, if
less noisy than his, were, at all events, no less sincere.

[Illustration: "L'Encuerado turned three somersets."]

A gentle breeze was blowing, while the air was cool and soft; so that,
forgetful of the past, and sanguine for the future, we built our
bivouac. While at work, our eyes were attracted on every side by the
insects and birds, whose splendid colors literally enamelled the trees
in which every shade of green blended harmoniously. It would be
difficult to describe the wild grandeur of the scene around us. We might
have fancied we were in one of those marvellous gardens which Arabian
story-tellers delight in depicting. The roaring of some wild beast
reminded us that our fire was nearly out. At last I set the example of
going to rest. We intended to pass three or four days in this spot, as
it was so favorable to our pursuits.

"Nobody can accuse us of being too fond of rest," said my friend; "this
is the 20th of April; therefore we have now been travelling
uninterruptedly forty days."

The next day at dawn I set off with Sumichrast on an exploring
expedition, leaving Lucien still fast asleep. We returned, about eleven
o'clock, with a dozen birds, among which we had a greenish-yellow
woodpecker, with a bright red tuft on its head; also a _Cuculus vetula_,
a species of cuckoo, which feeds on lizards and young serpents.

During our absence