Passing The Night Upon The
Banks Of The River We Descended It The Next Day To Our Former Rendezvous,
Schanck Forest, Pasture Plains, Where Preparations Were Made For A
General Embarkation.
"The next morning I left Colonel Paterson in company of Mr. Barrallier,
who then proceeded on the survey of the river.
On our passage down it, we
saw several natives with their canoes...In many of them we saw fires, and
in some of them observed that kind of eatable to which they give the name
of cabra.* (* Teredo.) It appears to be abominably filthy; however, when
dressed, it is not disagreeable to the taste. The cabra is a species of
worm which breeds in the wood that happens to be immersed in water, and
are found in such parts of the river wherein trees have fallen. They grow
to a great size and soon reduce timber to the appearance of a honeycomb.
They are of a glutinous substance, and after being put on the fire harden
to the consistence of the spinal marrow of animals. When fire is not at
hand, the natives eat them raw; some of them being found at a fire near
one of the canoes, I tasted them on the recommendation of one of my men
and found them not unpalatable...
"We saw several natives at a small distance; one of them looked earnestly
at us and seemed to be waiting our approach. One of my men called to him
in his own language to stop, but at length he got behind a tree whence he
presented only his head and shoulders, brandishing a fish-gig in his
hand.
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