DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD.
487
t h r o w s light u p o n their origin. I n t h e h o t part o f G u i a n a w e can g o back o n l y t o the p e r i o d w h e n the Castilian a n d P o r t u g u e s e conquerors, and m o r e recently peaceful m o n k s , penetrated amid so m a n y barbarous nations. I t appears, that, t o the n o r t h o f the Cataracts, in the strait o f Baraguan, there are caverns filled with b o n e s , similar t o those I have j u s t described: b u t I was informed o f this fact only after my return; our Indian pilots did n o t mention it when we landed at the strait. T h e s e t o m b s n o d o u b t have given rise to a fable o f the O t t o m a c s , a c c o r d i n g to which the granitic and solitary r o c k s o f Baraguan, t h e forms o f which are very singular, arc regarded as the ‘ g r a n d fathers,' t h e ‘ ancient chiefs' o f the tribe. T h e c u s t o m o f separating the flesh from the hones, very anciently practised b y the M a s s a g e t e s , is still k n o w n a m o n g several hordes o f the O r i n o c o . I t is even asserted, and with some probability, that the G u a r a o n s p l u n g e their dead bodies u n d e r water enveloped in n e t s ; and, that the small caribe-fishes, o f which we saw everywhere an innumerable quantity, devour in a few days the muscular flesh, and thus prepare the skeleton. It m a y be supposed, that this operation can b e practised only in places where crocodiles are n o t c o m m o n . Some tribes, for instance the Tamanacs, are a c c u s t o m e d t o lay waste the fields o f a deceased relative, and cut d o w n the trees which he has planted. T h e y say, " that the sight o f objects, which belonged to their relation, makes them melancholy." T h e y like better t o efface than t o preserve r e m e m brances. T h e s e effects o f Indian sensibility are very detrimental t o agriculture, and the m o n k s o p p o s e with e n e r g y these superstitious practices, t o which t h e natives c o n v e r t e d to Christianity still adhere in the missions. T h e t o m b s o f the Indians o f the O r i n o c o have n o t b e e n very closely examined, because they do not contain valuable articles like those o f Peru ; and even on the spot no faith is n o w l e n t t o the chimerical ideas, which were heretofore formed o f the wealth o f the ancient inhabitants o f El D o r a d o . T h e thirst o f gold everywhere precedes the desire o f instruct i o n , a n d a taste for researches into a n t i q u i t y ; in all the m o u n t a i n o u s pat of South America, from Merida and Santa M a r t a t o t h e table-lands o f Q u i t o and U p p e r P e r u , t h e labours of absolute mining have been undertaken to discover