a flattering tale by the village Indians, which eventually caused
me to abandon the proposed journey to the Rio Negro. These
Indians wore necklets, like nearly all the Guayana savages; but
one, I observed, possessed a necklet unlike that of the others,
which greatly aroused my curiosity. It was made of thirteen gold
plates, irregular in form, about as broad as a man's thumb-nail,
and linked together with fibres. I was allowed to examine it,
and had no doubt that the pieces were of pure gold, beaten flat
by the savages. When questioned about it, they said it was
originally obtained from the Indians of Parahuari, and Parahuari,
they further said, was a mountainous country west of the Orinoco.
Every man and woman in that place, they assured me, had such a
necklet. This report inflamed my mind to such a degree that I
could not rest by night or day for dreaming golden dreams, and
considering how to get to that rich district, unknown to
civilized men. The Indians gravely shook their heads when I
tried to persuade them to take me. They were far enough from the
Orinoco, and Parahuari was ten, perhaps fifteen, days' journey
further on--a country unknown to them, where they had no
relations.

In spite of difficulties and delays, however, and not without
pain and some perilous adventures, I succeeded at last in
reaching the upper Orinoco, and, eventually, in crossing to the
other side. With my life in my hand I struggled on westward
through an unknown difficult country, from Indian village to
village, where at any moment I might have been murdered with
impunity for the sake of my few belongings. It is hard for me to
speak a good word for the Guayana savages; but I must now say
this of them, that they not only did me no harm when I was at