f of a species of palm, hard and brittle,
and pointed as sharp as a needle. At the butt-end some wild cotton is
twisted round, to fit the tube. About an inch of the pointed end is
poisoned. Quivers are made to hold five or six hundred of these darts.
The slightest wound causes certain death within a few minutes, as the
poison mixes with the blood, and completely paralyses the system,
causing, probably, little or no pain. The _pacuna_ is very similar to
the _sumpitan_, used by the inhabitants of Borneo and other people in
the Eastern Archipelago, though the latter are not acquainted with the
wourali poison.

I must hurry on, I find, with my adventures. For several days we
proceeded down the Ucayali, till we arrived at a point where a small
river, called the Shaunga, falls into it. The stream was broad and
tranquil, and vast trees grew down to the water's edge; while in the far
distance, to the south and east, rose ranges of lofty mountains,
reminding us of the distant Andes in miniature. Manco pointed them out
to Nita.

"There," he said, "is our future home, till the Spaniards have learned
not to despise the Indian race. Then we will return, and once more
endeavour to regain liberty for Peru, and to restore the dominion of the
Incas."

We here landed, and built some huts to last us a few days, while Manco
sent one of our Indians as an ambassador to the chiefs of the villages,
to crave the hospitality of the tribe. We employed the time till the
return of the messenger in fishing and shooting, and in preparing the
canoe for a longer voyage; for which purpose we fitted her with a mast
and sail, a very patch-work affair, made out of our saddle-cloths and
some bits of cotton stuff, which Manco had brought with him.

One day about noon, the sound of an Indian trumpet was heard; and soon
afterwards, a dozen warriors appeared, their faces and bodies highly
painted, and adorned with a profusion of beads. They were clothed in
the usual loose tunics, and armed with shields and clubs, ornamented
with the antlers of a stag and richly tinted feathers, one end being
sharp, to use as a spear; as also with bows and arrows, and lances.
They were, I found, of the Sencis tribe. These people live in good
houses, cultivate the ground, and use canoes, and are a very intelligent
and warlike people.

The present party came to welcome Manco to their country, and to express
their willingness to afford him an asylum as long as he c