CHAPTER IX

THE EVENING OF THE FIFTH OF JUNE

WHILE THE master's house was being constructed, Joam Garral was also
busied in the arrangement of the out-buildings, comprising the
kitchen, and offices in which provisions of all kinds were intended
to be stored.

In the first place, there was an important stock of the roots of that
little tree, some six or ten feet in height, which yields the manioc,
and which form the principal food of the inhabitants of these
inter-tropical countries. The root, very much like a long black
radish, grows in clumps like potatoes. If it is not poisonous in
Africa, it is certain that in South America it contains a more
noxious juice, which it is necessary to previously get rid of by
pressure. When this result is obtained, the root is reduced to flour,
and is then used in many ways, even in the form of tapioca, according
to the fancy of the natives.

On board the jangada there was a huge pile of this useful product
destined for general consumption.

As for preserved meats, not forgetting a whole flock of sheep, kept
in a special stable built in the front, they consisted principally of
a quantity of the _"presunto"_ hams of the district, which are of
first-class quality; but the guns of the young fellows and of some of
the Indians were reckoned on for additional supplies, excellent