Almost all the natives of this part of Guiana live in a state of nudity; and those around the missions are generally, like their wilder brethren, without clothes. The vanity indulged in adorning their" bo dies, by painting them, is, however, fully equal to that practised in more civilized society. This rage for finery is carried so far, that Humboldt says it re quires the labour of a fortnight for an Indian to get as much of the red paint, called by them chica, as is sufficient to paint himself over ; and the first shower of rain to which he is exposed renders it necessary to repeat the costly operation.
The natives of the upper province are a stronger and more laborious race than those on the lower parts of the Orinoco. Those who are in the missions, if they had liberty to do so, would desert them to live among the Spaniards in the lower province, where, by their industry, they enjoy more comforts than in their own districts. Humboldt found them both faithful and tractable, though he did not think it necessary to treat them with that severity which the Spaniards recommended and practised. Whilst the missions of this country were under the guidance of the Jesuits, force was used, and arms employed, to seize the Indians, and compel them to embrace the Catholic religion ; and though the court of Ma drid most rigidly forbade the practice, it was con tinued after their dissolution, by the Dominicans and Franciscans, who succeeded them ; nor has the sys tem been wholly abandoned till within the last thirty years. Of the effects of the labours of these mission aries, we may form some idea from the account of Humboldt, who saw some of the Indians,.wbilst mass was performing. " Without having any notion of the practices of the Christian religion, they behaved with the utmost decency at church. They love to exhi bit themselves, and will submit temporarily to any restraint or subjection, provided they are sure of drawing attention. At the moment of the consecra tion, they made signs to one another,. to indicate, beforehand, that the priest was going to carry the chalice to his lips. With the exception of this ges ture, they remained motionless, and in a state of complete apathy." The natural history of this country presents many curious specimens of the animal kingdom. The beau tiful birds called genitor (rock manakins) are abun dant, the males of which are of a beautiful saran colour, the females of an olive brown, with yellow on the under wing coverts, and on the tips of the wings. The monkeys are of numerous tribes, most of which our European zoologists are acquainted with, though some had been either ill-described or unknown, till Humboldt's expedition; of these the Titi of the Orinoco (Simi° sciurea) is the most canoes. Its face is white; and a small bluish spot covers the mouth and the tip of the nose. No other of the monkey tribe has so much the physiognomy of a child. It has the same expression of innocence, the same playful smile, and the same rapidity in the transition from joy to sorrow. Its large eyes are in stantly filled with tears, when it is seized with fear. The sagacity of this little animal is great. It is very fond of spiders and other insects, and upon seeing drawings of them, though not coloured, it stretched out its hand in hopes of catching them, but remain ed in the greatest indifference when shown skeletons or heads of mammiferous animals. Itsuffersso severe
ly from cold, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to convey it to our climate alive.
Another species, called the viudita (widow in mourning), has hair soft, glossy, and black. Its face is covered with a mask of a square form, of a whitish colour, tinged with blue, which contains the eyes, nose, and mouth. The neck of the widow presents, in front, a white band, an inch broad, and forming a semicircle. The feet. or rather the hind hands, are black, like the rest of the body, but the fore hands are white without, and of a glossy black within. It has a wild yet timid air, and often refuses aliment when in company, though tormented by a ravenous hunger, but when alone, and left to itself, becomes furious at the aspect of a bird, runs and climbs with astonishing rapidity, darts upon its prey like a cat, and kills whatever it can seize. The sight of the smallest Titi puts him instantly to flight.
The most curious and novel species of electrical fish, the gymnoti, are found in stagnant pooh in the plains, and possess a degree of electrical or galvanic force far greater than has been recorded of any other kind of torpedo. The mode of catching these eels, and the experiments made on them by Hum? boldt, are among the most singular narrations of that most observing and intelligent traveller.. Aftes unsuccessful attempts to take some of these fish, for the purpose of experiments, with nets and with lines, recourse was had to the following plan. About thirty horses were turned into a pond, the noise oc casioned by whose- hoof): made the animals issue from. the mud, and, by their electric strokes, de fend themselves from them. The horses became terrified by the shocks that were communicated, but were prevented from escaping from- the pond by the loud shouts and long staffs of numerous In dians who surrounded it.. The eels, though alarm ed by the defended themselves by the re peated discharge of the electrical battery, and for a long time seemed to be victorious. Several horses sunk under the violence of the invisible strokes, which they received on all sides, in organs the most essential to life ; and, stunned by their force and frequency,disappeared under the water. Others, panting, with manes erect, and haggard eyes, at tempted to escape. Most of them were driven back ; but the few that were able to regain the shore stum bled at every step, and stretched themselves on the sand ; evidently exhausted by the electric shocks. The stroke of the eel was given by pressing itself against the belly of the horse, and making a dis charge along the whole extent of its electric organ, attacking at once the heart, the intestines, and the plezus coelicus of the abdominal nerves. In a few minutes, two horses were drowned, probably from the impossibility of rising when they had fallen, amidst the prolonged struggle betwixt the eels and them. The gymnoti require long rest and abundant nourishment to repair what they have lost of galva nic force. They became ultimately exhausted, and approached the borders of the pool, where some of them were taken by means of a line by the Indians. Their force was so much impaired, that the Indians who drew them out felt but a very slight shock, if the line was dry.