The same reasons that slowed our communications also delayed the publication of our work, which has to be accompanied by a number of engravings and maps. If such difficulties are met when governments are paying, how much worse they are when paid by private individuals. It would have been impossible to overcome these difficulties if the enthusiasm of the editors had not been matched by public reaction. More than two thirds of our work has now been published. The maps of the Orinoco, the Casiquiare and the Magdalena rivers, based on my astronomical observations, together with several hundred plants, have been engraved and are ready to appear. I shall not leave Europe on my Asian journey before I have finished publishing my travels to the New World.

In the port of Encaramada we met some Caribs of Panapa with their cacique on their way up the Orinoco to take part in the famous fishing of turtle eggs. His pirogue was rounded towards the bottom like a bongo, and followed by a smaller canoe called a curiara. He was sitting under a kind of tent (toldo) built, like the sails, of palm leaves. His silent, cold reserve, and the respect others gave him, denoted an important person. The cacique was dressed like his people. All were naked, armed with bows and arrows, and covered in annatto, the dye made from Bixa orellana. The chief, the servants, the furniture, the sail and boat were all painted red. These Caribs are almost athletic in build and seemed far taller than any Indians we had seen up to now. Smooth, thick hair cut in a fringe like choir boys', eyebrows painted black, and a lively and gloomy stare give these Indians an incredibly hard expression. Having seen only skulls of these Indians in European collections we were surprised to see that their foreheads were more rounded than we had imagined. The fat, disgustingly dirty women carried their children on their backs. Their thighs and legs were bound by knotted cotton ligatures, leaving space for flesh to bulge out between the strands. It is noticeable that the Caribs are as careful about their exterior and dress as naked, painted men can be. They attach great importance to the shapes of certain parts of their bodies. A mother would be accused of indifference to her children if she did not artificially bind their calves in the fashion of the country. As none of our Apure Indians spoke the Carib language we could not ask the chief where he was going to camp to gather the turtle eggs.

The lake is usually full of fish; there are three species with soft flesh, which are not very tasty: the guavina, the bagre and the sardina. The last two reach the lake from streams. The guavina, which I sketched on the spot, was some 20 inches long and 3 to 5 inches wide. It is perhaps a new species of Gronovius's Erythrina. It has silver scales bordered with green. This fish is extremely voracious and destroys other species. Fishermen assured us that a little crocodile, the bava, which often swam near as we bathed, contributed to the destruction of the fish. We never managed to catch this reptile and examine it close up. It is said to be very innocent; yet its habits, like its shape, clearly resemble the alligator or Crocodilus acutus. It swims so that only the tips of its snout and tail show: it lies at midday on deserted beaches.

April 24th. A violent rainstorm forced us to embark before dawn. We left at two in the morning and had to abandon some books, which we could not find in the dark. The river runs straight from south to north, its banks are low and lined with thick jungle.