The _Guaybas_ (Guahibos) and Chiricoas dwelt originally on the broad plains between the Casanare and Meta rivers; but a number of them were converted in the latter half of the seventeenth century and persuaded to come to the missions. They soon returned to their roving life. Cassani speaks of them as of mild and friendly disposition, but incorrigible vagabonds, “the gypsies of the Indies,” constantly migrating from place to place.[414] They have never lost their love of the wilderness, and it has been their salvation, for they still survive--quite a numerous people--on the left bank of the Orinoco, from the Rio Meta to the Vichada. They are rebellious to all attempts at civilization, and the white man is not safe who ventures into their territory.[415] Humboldt, in his discussion of the tribes of the Orinoco, refers to the Guahibos as white in color, and founds some speculations on this fact. Their hue is indeed light, at times what may fairly be called a dirty white; but in this respect we are assured by recent and competent authority they do not differ from their neighbors, the Maquiritares and Piaroas. It is not a question of descent, but of climatic surroundings and mode of life.[416] The home of the _Jaruris_, Yaruras, or, as they called themselves, Japurin, was on and near the Orinoco, between the rivers Meta and Capanapaco. They depended on hunting and fishing, and were indolent and averse to agriculture. They had few arts, but were friendly in disposition, not given to drunkenness, and usually monogamous. At present they number scarcely a hundred individuals, badly formed, afflicted with contagious disease, and rapidly on the road to extinction. They have lost their trait of sobriety, and a man will readily offer his wife or daughter in exchange for a bottle of brandy. (Chaffanjon.) The _Guaraunos_, called by the English _Warraus_, continue to live in considerable numbers--some say about fifteen thousand--in and near the delta of the Orinoco. They are a thrifty, healthy people, building their houses ingeniously upon piles to protect them from the periodical overflows of the stream. This method of construction, however, was adopted only when they sought as refuge marshy and lonely spots to escape their enemies. Contrary to the statements of most travelers, those who know them best report them as preferring dry uplands, where they make clearings, plantations and houses with singular industry and skill. The favorite wood used in such construction is the _temiche_ (not the _moriche_) palm, which they call, from its magnificent fronds, “the feathers of the sun,” _ya juji_.[417]