Here my guide
quickly made a good fire, after the Indian fashion. He took a small
piece of wood, which he cut to a fine point, and then selecting a
second piece, he made in it a narrow furrow not very deep. In this
he rubbed the pointed stick until the little particles which were
detached during the operation began to smoke. These he threw into a
quantity of dry leaves and grass which he had got together for the
purpose, and swung the whole several times round in the air, until
it burst out into flames. The entire process did not take more than
two minutes.
For our supper, he gathered a few plantains and laid them on the
fire. I profited by the opportunity to dry my clothes, by sitting
down near the fire, and turning first one side towards it, and then
the other. Half wet through, and tolerably fatigued, I retired to
my couch of dry leaves immediately after partaking of our scanty
meal.
It is a fortunate circumstance that in these wild and remote
districts neither men nor beasts afford the slightest grounds for
apprehension; the former are very quiet and peaceably inclined, and,
with the exception of a few wild boars, the latter are not
dangerous.
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