lose by them, with the jaw-bone of the fish pirai
tied by a string to their brim, and a small wicker-basket of wild cotton,
which hung down to the centre; they were nearly full of poisoned arrows.
It was with difficulty these Indians could be persuaded to part with any
of the wourali-poison, though a good price was offered for it; they gave
me to understand that it was powder and shot to them, and very difficult
to be procured.

On the second day after leaving the settlement, in passing along, the
Indians show you a place where once a white man lived. His retiring so
far from those of his own colour and acquaintance seemed to carry
something extraordinary along with it, and raised a desire to know what
could have induced him to do so. It seems he had been unsuccessful, and
that his creditors had treated him with as little mercy as the strong
generally show to the weak. Seeing his endeavours daily frustrated, and
his best intentions of no avail, and fearing that when they had taken all
he had they would probably take his liberty too, he thought the world
would not be hard-hearted enough to condemn him for retiring from the
evils which pressed so heavily on him, and which he had done all that an
honest man could do to ward off. He left his creditors to talk of him as
they thought fit, and bidding adieu for ever to the place in which he had
once seen better times, he penetrated thus far into those remote and
gloomy wilds, and ended his days here.

According to the new map of South America, Lake Parima, or the White Sea,
ought to be within three or four days' walk from this place. On asking
the Indians whether there was such a place or not, and describing that
the water was fresh and good to drink, an old Indian, who appeared to be
about sixty, said that there was such a place, and that he had been
there. This information would have been satisfactory in some degree, had
not the Indians carried the point a little too far. It is very large,
said another Indian, and ships come to it. Now these unfortunate ships
were the very things which were not wanted; had he kept them out, it
might have done, but his introducing them was sadly against the lake.
Thus you must either suppose that the old savage and his companion had a
confused idea of the thing, and that probably the Lake Parima they talked
of was the Amazons, not far from the city of Para, or that it was their
intention to deceive you. You ought to be cautious in gi