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^ r(j 1^ J^1^2l):i:£^J_ 
 
 FIFTEEN THOUSAND MILES 
 
 AMAZON AND ITS TRIBUTAKIES. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020087676 
 
FIFTEEN THOUSAND MILES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 AMAZON AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 
 
 BY 
 
 C. BAERINGTON BROWN, Assoc. R.S.M., 
 
 AUTHOR OF ' OAUOE AND CAMP LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA,' 
 
 WILLIAM LIDSTONE, C.E. 
 
 Mxi)^ 9^ atrb Waoh ^ngrafrings. 
 
 LONDON: 
 EDWAED STANFOED, 55, CHAEING CEOSS, S,W. 
 
 1878. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In the autumn of 1873 the Amazon Steam Navi- 
 gation Company (Limited) of London sent out an 
 expedition, for the purpose of selecting and reporting 
 upon certain territories, allotted to them by the 
 Government of Brazil, on the banks of the Amazon 
 and several of its tributaries. The authors of this 
 book acted, one of them in the combined capacities of 
 Chief and Geologist, and the other of Civil Engineer 
 and Draughtsman. Mr. W. H. Trail, who performed 
 the duties of Botanist and Medical Adviser, completed 
 the staff. 
 
 Although scarcely two years in that country, the 
 authors were enabled, through the great facilities for 
 travel afforded them, to see more than others visiting 
 those regions, with ordinary means at their disposal, 
 could hope to do in five. 
 
 In the course of their journeys, which extended over 
 more than 15,000 miles, they met with many amusing 
 incidents, interesting characters, and mild adventures, 
 which were duly recorded in their note-books during 
 leisure moments. 
 
VI PEEFACB. 
 
 In the hope that it may not prove uninteresting 
 to the reading public, they have from these notes 
 framed the present volume — not intended to be in 
 any sort a scientific work, but simply aiming at 
 giving, in a sketchy way, some graphic pictures of 
 scenes, persons, and circumstances, as they found them 
 in the valley of this Great Eiver. 
 
 London, November 1877. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 AT PAEA. 
 
 Land in sight — Desolate Expanse of Eiver Ocean — Arrive at 'Para — 
 Hotel do Commercio — Lizards — The Streets — Steam Tramway — 
 Struggle maintained by Vegetable Life — Street Types of Human 
 Nature — Strange Costumes — Urubus Page 1 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 FKOM PAeA to MONTE ALEGE:^. 
 
 Description of an Amazon Steamer — Breves — Network of Natural Canals 
 
 — Porto do Moz — Sun-burnt Fowl — Land at Monte Alegi-e — Our 
 House there — The Town of Monte Alegrd — Its deserted Appearance 
 
 — Its Prison — Piraruou — Heat — The "Eock Scorpion" — Raid 
 upon Goats — Hit the wrong Mark — Our Sleeping Arrangements — 
 Our Interpreter's dread of Insects 12 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 EXCUESIONS EEOM MONTE ALBGE^. 
 
 Start for Erer^ — Amazonian Horses at Paisaja — Erer^ Village — Ancient 
 Indian Eock Paintings — Levremont Pasenda — Mosquitoes — About 
 an On9a — View from Paraiso — Singular Conduct of Interpreter's 
 norse — Two other Adventures with our Horses — King Vultures on 
 the Summit of Erere Mountain — Adventure with Wasps — Pytoona 
 
 — Sketch of Geology of Erere — Getting Home on an Ox-cart — 
 Journey to Tajure Mountain — Sketch of Geology of Tajurd — Lose 
 ourselves in returning — Second Visit to Tajur6 — Attempt to Ascend 
 the Erere Eiver — Alenquorns 28 
 
■nu CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 AT PEAINHA. 
 
 Leave Monte Alegr^ — Ai-rive at Prainha — Description of Prainha — 
 Mirage — The Village Tailor — Our Quarters — "Jack-Spaniards" — 
 Slave offers Mmself for Sale — Our First Dinner at Prainha — Are 
 visited by a Snake — Postal Arrangements — Our Intei-preter — Sur- 
 veying in the Bush — Adventure with Ant-eater — Insect Pests — 
 Our little Boy Waiter — The Village Church — Its Service — Female 
 Costumes — Virulent form of Fever visits Prainha .. .. Page 57 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 EXCURSIONS FEOM PEAINHA. 
 
 Start for Jauari Eiver — Strange Crew — Frightened Dog — Negro 
 Dwelling — Difficulties Tvith Crew — Casa de Bicho — Eetum Journey 
 — Second Journey from Prainha — Paruaquara River — A Wasp in 
 Boat's Cabin — A Fasenda — Swallow's Nest — A Caooal — Third 
 Journey from Prainha — Crossing the Amazon — Uruara Eiver — 
 Senhor Gomez's — Monkeys — Night Alarms — Adventure with 
 Wasps — Eeturn to Prainha 86 
 
 CHAPTEE YI. 
 
 AT SANTAEEM. 
 
 Leave Prainha — Ascending the Amazon — Arrive at Santarem — A Stroll 
 through the Town — UnmiUtary Proceeding — The Streets — Towns- 
 people — Salutations — Strange Cookery — Food — Vegetable Boy — 
 Our House — Bathing Places — The ' Natal ' — The Band — A 
 Fashionable Marriage — Sign of Eainy Season — One of our Portuguese 
 attacked with Fever 109 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 EXCUESIONS FEOM SANTAEEM. 
 
 The 'Helvetica' — A Fiasco — Old Slave at Santa Anna — Vanquish 
 Dogs — The Barreiras — Gigantic Toad— Bacaba Drink — Accidents 
 on last Night of the Year — Freaks of httle Indian Slave — Drunken 
 old Nigger — Sailing on the Tapajos — Alter do Chao — Eccentric 
 Individual — A Native Ball — Fire - ants — Aramanahy — Sauba 
 
CONTENTS. is 
 
 Struggle — Dangers in a Tropical Storm — Adventure with a Labba — 
 View from Alter do Chao Hill — The Judge — History of American 
 Settlement — Prom Santarem to Obidos Page 125 
 
 CHAPTBE VIII. 
 
 SUEVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. 
 
 Preparations for Journey on the Tapajos — A Night at Alter do Chao] — 
 The Eccentric Individual again — Encamped at Jurucui — Boat sinks 
 — Bees attack Sugar — Bindobaldoreis — Night Adventure — Down- 
 pours — Semi-tame Eagle — A curiously chosen Camp — Tremendous 
 Thunderstorm — Camp alongside Dead Porpoise — Kindness of old 
 Indian — Portuguese Trader — Start on Return Journey — DifiBoulties 
 encountered — Warning Signals of Frog — Night of Suspense off 
 Cururu Point — Santarem in sight — Meet last and heaviest Storm — 
 Reach Santarem — Rejoin Head-quarters of the Commission . . 158 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 AT OBIDOS. 
 
 An Interloper — Discordant Noise — Itinerant Musicians — Town of Obi- 
 dos — Old Indian Chapel — The Ports — Landing Cattle — Arrival 
 and Departure of Vessels — Our Next-door Neighbours — We are taken 
 for " Sewing Machine Menders " — Our Hired Boy — A Homesick Portu- 
 guese — Depressing Weather — Adventure with Centipede — " An 
 Englishman from Ipswich " 190 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EXCUBSIONS FROM. OBIDOS. 
 
 Leave Obidos for Trombetas — Our Crew work badly — The Botanist 
 falLs through an Oven — Arrive at Iripixy — Gulls feeding on Plying 
 Ants — Vegetation bordering Lakes on Igapo Land — Our Steersman's 
 Gun falls overboard — Ascend Trombetas to Lake Caypuru — Spread- 
 ing a New Canoe — Dread of the Evil Eye — Caught in Rainstonn — 
 Return to Obidos — Visit Serra de Escama — Indian Picture-writing — 
 Are joined by the Engineer — Our Steam Launch arrives .. 204 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 ON THE TKOMBBTAS. 
 
 The ' Beija Plor ' — Captain and Crew — Death of Jos^ — Start for the 
 Trombetas — Scenery of the River — Night on board the Launch — 
 Entrapped in a Cul-de-sac — S. Antonio — Lake Arapecu — Brazil 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Nuts — Lake Jukiri — The Isle of Diamonds — Lake Tapajem — 
 Two poor old Negroes — The Launch aground — The Cataract — 
 Eunaway Slaves — Eetum — Scientific Eivalry — Palms — Adventure 
 with a Tiger — Lake Sapukia — Obidos again Page 220 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 ON THE TAPAJOS. 
 
 Journey to Santarem — Unfailing Topic of Conversation — Eocked on the 
 Waves — Itapauama — A Scare — Aveiros — Scenery of Tapajos — 
 Beds — Uricurituba — A Strange Character — Itaituba — Purchase of 
 a Pig — Maranhaozinho Cataract — A New Pest — Tattooing — Fasen- 
 das — Geology — Sugar Plantations — A Fish Pond — Haunted — 
 Festal Dinner — Piguel and Boim — Severe Storm — Eetum to San- 
 tarem — Excursion up the Ayaya — Network of Channels — News 
 from Home 243 
 
 CHAPTEE Xni. 
 
 ON THE JUEUTY. 
 
 Leave Obidos — Parana-mi rims — Parentins Hill — Site of Ancient Indian 
 Village — Escaping from Mosquitoes — Lake Juruty — Eeceive Visitors 
 — Anchor off Juruty Village — Purchase Fruit — Strange Signatures 
 to Eeceipts — Moonlight View — Service in the Church — Eemark of 
 Irrepressible Little Man — Visit Ball Eoom — Our Irrepressible Friend 
 accused of Theft — Energetic Dancing — Arrive at Villa Bella — 
 Description of the Town 267 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 ON THE JAMUNDA. 
 
 Leave Villa Bella for the Jamunda Eiver — Intricate Geography of its 
 Mouth — Night in the Caldeirao — Lake Maraoana — Faro — Wide 
 Distribution of Bottled Ale — First Cruise up the Lake — Dinner 
 and Dumplings — A Monster Spider — Second Trip on Lake — Abowu- 
 coo — An Empty Coffin — The Great Aguadua — Wild Conjectures 
 — Entertainment at Villa Bella — Swept Adrift in the Night — Up 
 the Amazon to Cararaucu — Capella — A Wily Jew — Arrival at 
 Serpa — Inspection by Custom House Officer — The Town — Tiny 
 Newspaper — Lake Serpa — " The Fighting TiSmeraire '' .. .. 282 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 ON THE MATJHBS AND ABAOAXIS. 
 
 The Eamos Parana - mirim — Enter the Mauhes River — ^Mauhes Vil- 
 lage — A Guaranazal — Guarana — Mucaja Aldea — Munduruou In- 
 dians — Different Phases of the River — Laranjal and its Inhabitants 
 
 — Paou-assu Cataract — Sketch Geology of the Mauhes — The 
 Botanist meets with an Accident — Ball at Mucaja — " Caracajas " — 
 Frighten the Inhabitants of Camarao — Run some Risk of being blown 
 up — Senhor Rosa — The Abacaxis River — Our Munduruou Pilot — 
 Incidents in connection with Three Old Men — Our Dinner at Aba- 
 caxis — Plights of Mayflies — Unfortunate Thrushes . . . . Page 304 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 ON THE MADEIRA. 
 
 Size and Character of the River Madeira — Borba — Festival of the Ascen- 
 sion — Legend of Sapukia-oroka — Difficulty with Fuel — Novel Ant's 
 Nest — Esaltaf ion — Adventure with Butterflies — Rainbow, Thunder- 
 storm, and great Variations of Temperature — A Bad Place for Mos- 
 quitoes — Starving Crato — Plentiful Humayta — Incidents of Navi- 
 gation — Savage Indians — S. Antonio — Death of Mr. Davis — The 
 Madeira and Mamor6 Railway — Unhealthiness of the District — Inci- 
 dents of the Undertaking — The Doctor busy — Start for Return — 
 Jamary — Bolivians — Lakes of Antonio — River Marmellos — Forest 
 of the Madeira — Bird Life — Geology — Designing a Church — Centi- 
 pedes — Manicord — Discovery of an Aunt — Ridiculous situation of 
 the Commission at Tabocal — Reach the Amazon — Peccary ' — Reach 
 Manaos 327 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 ON THE KIO NEGKO. 
 
 The Rio Negro above Manaos — Pedreira — Lieutenant's Account of Indian 
 Attacks upon Pedreira — Savage Tribes on the Jaupiri — Pass Mouth 
 of the Rio Branco — Carvoeira — Strange Dance — Get Pilot at Caburie 
 
 — Sad Fate of Crew of Sunken Craft — Dangerous Passage — Barcellos 
 
 — Visit the Priest and an Official — Spend a Pleasant Evening — A 
 Little Semi- wild Indian — Old St. Isabel — Commence Return Journey 
 
 Padawiry River — Piassaba — Revisit Barcellos — Fever about — 
 
 Dark Individual— Night Monkey — The 'Beija Flor ' charges the 
 Porest — Fever at Ayrao — Arrive at Manaos 360 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 AT MANAOS. 
 
 The ' Beija Plor ' exchanged for the ' G-uajard ' — Delay in fitting her out 
 
 — Description of Manaos — The Cathedral — The President of the 
 Province — Live Peixe-boi — Hoisting the Ball at Noon — Protestant 
 Services — Dr. Lee's Mission — His Colleague — A Strange Invitation 
 to Breakfast — Pio-nic on the Taruma — Water-fall — Ludicrous Scene 
 
 — Start for the Company's Territory — Camp at Marapati — Variety 
 of Pests — Life in the Forest — The Engineer stung by a Scorpion — 
 At Death's Door — Break up Camp — Stung by Caterpillars — Large 
 Toad and Worm — Trovoado on the Negro Page 389 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 ON THE PUEUS. 
 
 The ' Guajarti ' ready — Trial Trip — The President on Board — Description 
 of Steamer, Captain and Crevi' — Leave Manaos — Winding Eivers — 
 Purus Scenery — Night on the Praias — Landslips — Tiger — Fishing 
 — Catching Turtles — Pamary Indians — Singular Disease — The 
 " Doldrums " and " Roaring-forties " — Piums — Process of Manufactu- 
 ring India-rubber — Character of Men employed in the Trade — Mabi- 
 diri — Cursed by an Old Man — Meeting with Mr. Piper — A large 
 Landovrner — Silk-cotton Trees — Geology — Freaks of the Eiver — 
 Monkeys 418 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIMOES. 
 
 Valley of the Solimoes — Coary — The Village School — Teffe — The 
 Judge — Blown-up Launch — Drunken Fireman — Singular Palms — 
 Enter the Jurua — Juruapuoa — Piums and their Enemies — Orinooco 
 Geese — A Coloured Englishman — Dirt-eating Children — Eubber 
 
 Season — Reach Unibu Caxoeira — Commence Descent of Jurua 
 
 Savage Indians — Re-enter Solimoes ■ — Fonte Boa — Learn of sad 
 Death of Dr. Lee — Ipadu Chewers — Tonantins — S. Paulo — Hos- 
 pitality of Officers at Tabatinga — Geology of the SolimSes . . 448 
 
CONTENTS. XUl 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 ON THE JAVAEY. 
 
 Start for the Javary — Death of "Miss Squeers " — Character of the River 
 
 — Purchase a, Barrigudo — Canamd — The ultimate Point of our 
 Journeys — The Lingoa Qeral — A Tiny Marmozet — A Love Story 
 
 — Piririca — Geology — Down the SolimOes — Caldeirao — An Un- 
 lucky Day — Looking for the Chief's Slipper ! — News at TefiS — Lake 
 Cayamhe — A Laughable Contretemps — Arrival at Manaos Page 478 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 ON THE JUT AH Y, AND BACK TO PAEA. 
 
 Refit our Ship — Christmas Dinner — Our Interpreter resigns his Post — 
 Start for the Jutahy — Morosocas — Enter the Jutahy — Its Tribu- 
 taries — Native Indian Tribes — Rubber Collectors — Barreiras Alta 
 
 — Death of the Monkey called " Bismarck " — Description of the 
 Monkey named " Phillipe " — Descend the Jutahy and Solimoes — Leave 
 Manaos — Descend the Amazon to Para — Our Travels terminate — 
 The Botanist leaves for England — The Engineer soon follows — -The 
 Chief finally takes his departure — Concluding Remarks .. .. 497 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Manaos Frontispiece 
 
 An Urubu Page 11 
 
 Diagram of Mirage „ 59 
 
 Exterior of Prainha Church „ 80 
 
 Interior „ „ „ 81 
 
 Swallow's Nest „ 96 
 
 Obidos Tofacepage 194 
 
 Indian Picture-writing Page 218 
 
 Deck of 'Beija Flob' „ 221 
 
 The Teombetas from near Mouth of Lake Oaypubu To face page 226 
 
 The Tapajos from Aveibos „ „ 248 
 
 Ladt at a Ball at Mucaja Page 316 
 
 Baboellos „ 371 
 
 Night Monkey , „ 383 
 
 Peixe-boi „ 395 
 
 Camp at Marapata Tofacepage 408 
 
 The 'Guajaba' ,, „ 418 
 
 Saloon of 'Guajaea' Page 422 
 
 Deck of „ ,, 423 
 
 Rubber Smoking Apparatus „ 437 
 
 Stem of a Silk-cotton Tree Tofacepage '^4:4, 
 
 Mata-mata Page 461 
 
 Canama Tofacepage 484 
 
 Costa Mutum » „ 503 
 
 JJ^P At end 
 
FIFTEEN THOUSAND MILES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 AMAZON AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 AT PABi.. 
 
 Land in sight — Desolate Expanse of River Ocean — Arrive at Vari — 
 Hotel do Commercio — Lizards — The Streets — Steam Tramway — 
 Struggle maintained by Vegetable Life — Street Types of Human 
 Nature — Strange Costumes — Urubus. 
 
 To voyagers who have been some weeks at sea there 
 is usually no pleasanter announcement than that 
 dinner is ready, but on the 11th of October, when the 
 steamship ' Paraense,' in which we were passengers, 
 had been nineteen days from Liverpool, a cry was 
 raised, simultaneously with the sounding of the dinner 
 bell, which powerfully competed even with its melody 
 in attractiveness. Land was in sight ! — so the cry 
 ran, and many lingered on deck for a few minutes 
 peering through glasses, or straining to the utmost 
 their natural powers of vision to try and get some 
 more definite conception of its form and distance. It 
 was such a faint far-off line, however — so far away, 
 dim and shapeless — that the dinner speedily reasserted 
 
 B 
 
2 AT PAHl. Chap. I. 
 
 itself as of more human interest for the moment, and 
 the deck was deserted. 
 
 Two hours later we were off Salinas Lighthouse, 
 where by this time the shadowy having assumed 
 distinctness, we were able to take what to two of our 
 number was a first good look at a bit of South 
 America, consisting of a low stretch of white sandy 
 shore. On this day we had run from deep blue sea 
 into light green water, and on the following morning 
 were steaming along in the muddy estuary of the 
 Para river. Now and then we passed patches of 
 floating driftwood, composed of logs and tree branches, 
 riding swiftly out to sea with the tide. Not a sail of 
 any sort was visible to enliven the scene and relieve 
 the wild and desolate appearance of this vast expanse 
 of river-ocean. A low-lying strip of coast fringed 
 with trees lay out upon our left ; dirty looking water 
 lashed into short angry waves by a strong south-east 
 trade breeze, appeared on every other hand ; while 
 dullish coloured clouds floated overhead in the some- 
 what hazy atmosphere. Soon we sighted the forlorn 
 looking light-ship, marking the Braganza Banks, and 
 afterwards passed close to her as she rolled uneasily 
 on the short chopping sea. Gradually as we steamed 
 up the winding channel, the scene became of a more 
 cheerful character. Houses appeared here and there 
 upon the shore, while the forest assumed a more 
 decided green, and was so close at hand that we were 
 able to distinguish the feathery tops of those most 
 cbaracteristically beautiful features of a tropical forest 
 — the palms, as well as other of the more prominent 
 trees. At length the river seemed suddenly to 
 
Chap. I. HOTEL DO COMMERCIO. 3 
 
 narrow, but was iu reality divided into two streams 
 by a chain of islands which we continued to pass in 
 constant succession on our right, until we dropped 
 anchor ofif the city of Para, known to the natives by 
 the high-sounding title of Santa Maria Belem do '^i 
 Grao Para. Yery inviting was its appearance from 
 the harbour, and it may be easily understood that we 
 lost no time in going ashore with an official of the 
 Amazon Steam Navigation Company who had come 
 on board to receive us. 
 
 Para has been so often described by travellers that 
 it does not come within our province to give a minute 
 account of the city, but rather to strike off some of 
 those peculiarities which are most likely to engage the 
 attention of one who has newly arrived from a country 
 lying within the temperate zone. 
 
 The Hotel do Commercio^ which extended to us its 
 accommodation so far as to provide us with excellent 
 meals, and which was the only one of any preten- 
 sion in the city, had a strange look to English eyes. 
 The uninviting entrance led through a high arched 
 doorway, up a wide wooden staircase, into an 
 open balcony surrounding a dirty courtyard. A long 
 passage followed, which led into a spacious dining- 
 room — the principal apartment of the hotel. Though 
 only whitewashed, and furnished with the plainest 
 chairs and tables, it had a cool and comfortable look 
 in this hot climate, and its great height made it almost 
 imposing. The outlook from the three windows of 
 this room was very pleasing, especially at sunset, 
 commanding the whole of the harbour, and the wooded 
 islands which shut it in. The fleet of steamers 
 
 B 2 
 
4 AT PAEA. Chap. I. 
 
 belonging to the Company, scattered amongst the 
 other shipping in the port, painted red and white to 
 suit the climate, added a welcome touch of colour 
 to the scene. A fine fresh breeze usually blew up the 
 river, and we greatly enjoyed sitting at the open 
 windows at sunset, watching the view until it had 
 faded into darkness. 
 
 Nothing in connection with this apartment indicated 
 more strikingly that we were in a strange land than 
 the disgusting looking, drab-coloured lizards, which, 
 emerging from their hiding places after twilight, 
 chevied each other over the walls and ceilings. It 
 afforded us no little amusement, on the first evening 
 of our stay, to endeavour to capture some of these 
 creatures hy delivering a volley of table napkins at 
 them; but their feet being so well adapted for clinging 
 to the wall, we were unable to dislodge them. This 
 sport had to be abandoned at 8 p.m., when, strange as 
 it may appear, the guests were compelled to leave the 
 hotel, as the gas-lights in the dining room — the only 
 public apartment which the establishment contained — 
 were extinguished by the waiters at that hour. 
 
 Thus driven nightly into the streets, which afforded 
 but little entertainment, we usually retired to the 
 landing, and took boat to our quarters on board the 
 steamer ' Belem,' which had been temporarily assigned 
 to us by Senhor Pimenta Bueno, the able and obligiuo- 
 agent of the Company in Para, in consequence of our 
 inability to obtain lodgings at the hotel. 
 
 As we sat in the ' Belem's ' saloon, writing and 
 chatting before retiring to rest, we were much puzzled 
 by a mysterious noise, which was heard at irregular 
 
Chap. I. STEAM TRAMWAY. 5 
 
 intervals every night. It resembled a slight explosion 
 against the bottom of the ship, producing a vibration 
 of the air in the hold, and filling the whole ship with 
 a weird ringing sound. We never heard this peculiar 
 noise when lying at anchor in any place we subse- 
 quently visited ; but similar sounds have been de- 
 scribed by travellers visiting the port of G-reytown, 
 which have been variously ascribed to the agency of a 
 certain species of fish, and to bubbles of gas produced 
 by decaying vegetable matter. 
 
 The greater portion of each day was occupied in 
 making preparations for our journey up the river ; but 
 in the afternoon we usually took a constitutional 
 through the city, or into the suburbs. The streets 
 are not imposing, being full of deep ruts, and for the 
 most part unpaved. Some of them are made almost 
 dangerous for carriages and foot-passengers, in con- 
 sequence of their being traversed by the rude rails and 
 sleepers of a steam tramway line, running from the 
 fashionable suburb of Nazareth to an open space near 
 the cathedral. Late one evening we took advantage 
 of this conveyance for the purpose of testing its merits, 
 and for our temerity sustained a severe jolting. We 
 took our stand near the track at the corner of the 
 Largo da Polvora, to intercept it on its homeward 
 journey, and heard the noise of its puffing and 
 whistling a quarter of an hour before it steamed up. 
 It occurred to us that the thing had run off the line, 
 thereby hopelessly impounding itself in some one's 
 back yard ; we therefore felt relieved on seeing its 
 glaring lights, as it rounded a corner, and ran into 
 full view. One would imagine that such a noisy 
 
6 AT PAEI. Chap. I. 
 
 monster would at least require to be hailed througli a 
 speaking trumpet, or challenged by the brandishing 
 of a red flag, before it could be stopped ; but upon the 
 waving of our umbrellas, a struggle was seen to take 
 place between the engineer and the machine, resulting 
 in a victory to the former, which brought the whole 
 affair to a stand-still, sooner than might reasonably 
 have been anticipated. The train consisted of a high- 
 pressure engine, looking like a huge black bottle on a 
 covered truck, and two cars : an open one for second- 
 class passengers, and a closed one, better finished, for 
 the first class. These were coupled together by iron 
 rods five or six feet long, so that the various parts of 
 the train seemed to be holding each other at arms' 
 length. 
 
 As soon as we had stepped on board we were 
 whirled through the town, getting into the principal 
 street by a long narrow alley, where it appeared as if 
 the carriages almost touched the fronts of the houses 
 on either side. It was necessary for the little loco- 
 motive to keep up a constant screaming to warn every 
 person to get out of its way — a matter of no little 
 difficulty in this narrow place. What with the 
 whistling and snorting, the dense masses of black 
 smoke filling the streets, and the red-hot ashes falling 
 from the furnace, the traditional calm stillness of a 
 tropical night seemed to be completely outraged. Auj 
 one in search of an entirely new sensation cannot do 
 better than go to Para, and take a trip on the steam 
 tramway. 
 
 But the most singular circumstance respecting this 
 institution is, that its dirty, well-thumbed tickets pass 
 
Chap. I. VEGETATION. 7 
 
 current in Para shops for their full value of twopence 
 halfpenny each. It somewhat surprises a foreigner, 
 on making a purchase in a shop for the first time, to 
 receive amongst his change, besides the usual paper 
 currency, and some heavy copper coins (called dumps 
 by sailors), a quantity of these small dirty cards, 
 resembling in shape and size the ordinary railway 
 ticket. 
 
 One of the most noticeable things in the city is the 
 constant struggle maintained by vegetable life to 
 recover the ground from which it has been previously 
 expelled by the encroachments of civilization. Every 
 lane, yard, and square, is a battle-ground between 
 man and the progeny of the original forest. Even 
 the roofs and cornices of some of the public buildings 
 are occupied by plants and small trees, which from 
 their elevated positions — like flags planted by the 
 advance guard of the general enemy — wave their tops 
 defiantly. One large square was pointed out to us as 
 having been cleared and turfed five years previously. 
 When we looked upon it we saw nothing but tangled 
 masses of vegetation fifteen feet in height, and denser 
 than the growth of the virgin forest. It was impos- 
 sible to recognize it any longer as a square. 
 
 Whichever street leading inland one may choose as 
 a starting-point for a ramble, eventually brings him 
 to the wall of tropical forest, which hems the city in 
 with an almost impassable barrier of giant trees, 
 graceful palms, and tangled masses of creepers. This 
 forest margin is gay with bright flowers and the 
 fluttering of numerous brilliant butterflies. Pass it, 
 however, and the warmth of colouring and painted 
 
B AT PAEA. Chap. I. 
 
 forms of active life are left behind, while nought but 
 gloom, with unnatural stillness, prevails. High over- 
 head leafy branches meet together, almost excluding 
 the sun's rays, while under foot the damp ground is 
 strewn with a covering of decaying leaves. 
 
 A stroll through the streets of Para is rendered 
 interesting by the numerous types of human nature to 
 be met with, resulting from the intermixture of the 
 Portuguese, native Indian, and Negro races. One 
 never meets the ladies of the upper classes prome- 
 nading or shopping as in European towns, but their 
 humbler sisters seem almost to live in the open air, 
 and to obtain their living by the vending of fruits, 
 sweets, and other wares. Here and there may be 
 seen one of pure negro blood, with close-cropped crisp 
 wool, unhidden by the starched bandana so common in 
 the "West Indies. More numerous than these are the 
 women of pure Indian origin, characterized by their 
 long straight hair and sallow complexion. Most 
 numerous of all are the Cafuzos — the offspring of the 
 last above-mentioned races. These are decidedly 
 agreeable looking, their dark rich-toned skin giving 
 them a fine healthy appearance, and their frizzled 
 hair, usually well brushed back, stands out some six 
 inches or more all round their heads. They are 
 lightly clad in coloured cotton dresses, short, low- 
 necked, and sleeveless, and for ornaments they wear 
 red coral necklaces and bracelets. A bunch of white 
 flowers — usually double jasmine — tastefully arranged 
 in their hair, adds a pleasing feature to their toilet. 
 
 Let it not be supposed that we were entirely 
 captivated by these enslavers, for every charm they 
 
Chap. I. STRANGE COSTUMES. 9 
 
 possessed fled, when we beheld them indulging in the 
 luxury of a tranquil smoke, through the medium of 
 their long, wooden-stemmed tobacco pipes. It is not 
 pleasant to contemplate the thought that many of 
 these women were slaves, and that the bunches of 
 flowers and trays of sweets they were selling, had 
 been made up by their mistresses, who had resorted to 
 this method of obtaining a little pin-money. 
 
 Many little children are seen playing about the 
 doorsteps in a state of nudity ; while others of larger 
 growth are very lightly clad indeed. We saw one 
 youth whose sole attire consisted of a pair of patent 
 leather boots, and bright blue socks ; but the greatest 
 curiosity we witnessed in the way of costume was in 
 the case of a young man, whose dress had apparently 
 once been a light-coloured suit, of which- but little 
 now remained. His jacket consisted of a collar, a 
 bottom hem, and the various seams joining them ; 
 while his trowsers had a waistband with a pendent 
 fringe, seams down the sides, and bottom hems. Such 
 a costume more nearly resembled a harness than a 
 dress, but at least had the advantage of being cool 
 and airy. 
 
 The Cathedral and Custom House of Para are 
 imposing buildings, and the new theatre, upon which 
 a large sum of money has been expended, is an orna- 
 ment to the city, but appears to be very little used. 
 Whilst viewing this latter structure one afternoon, we 
 witnessed a curious case of seemingly wilful suicide 
 committed by a turkey buzzard, which came flying 
 across the square, and dashed itself with such im- 
 petuosity against the large white building that it fell 
 
10 AT PAEl. Chap. I. 
 
 instantly dead at our feet. Upon examination it was 
 found to be swarming Avith a singular winged parasitical 
 insect of a disgusting appearance, resembling a 
 flattened house-fly. 
 
 These Urubus or turkey buzzards, though filthy 
 creatures, are invaluable in a tropical country, and 
 such is the nature of the services which they perform, 
 that it is difficult to understand how health, or even 
 life, could be long maintained without them. Should 
 anyone interested in social science inquire of us what 
 are the sanitary arrangements of an Amazonian city, 
 town or village, we would unhesitatingly reply with 
 the one word — Urubus. In Para they may be seen 
 perched in rows upon almost every housetop, or 
 struggling with each other for their dainty food in the 
 back streets. After a tropical shower, or in the early 
 morning when their plumage is wet with dew, they 
 stand erect drying their outspread wings, and present 
 somewhat the appearance of an ornamental ridge- 
 tiling along the roofs. To see them, however, in the 
 greatest number and perfection one must pay a visit 
 to the general slaughter-house, some two miles distant, 
 down the river. There they swarm on the top of the 
 building, on the rails of the cattle pens, in the branches 
 of the adjoining trees, and upon the narrow fore-shore. 
 Numbers are also continually circling in the air over 
 this, to them, attractive spot. 
 
 Lest anyone should be unacquainted with the appear- 
 ance of these useful scavengers, we here insert a sketch 
 of one at rest, but which does not give any idea of the 
 singular look presented by them, when hopping along 
 with their awkward sidelong gait, contrasting comicallv 
 
Chap. I. URUBUS. 11 
 
 with the wise aspect lent to them by the horny cover- 
 ing of their heads and necks, which is not unlike the 
 wigs usually worn by lawyers. 
 
 For the rest Para, with its population of 35,000, is 
 a thriving city, and its importance as a port is likely 
 to be still further increased, as the trade of the Amazon 
 becomes developed. It is a singular fact that although 
 not on the borders of the great river, it nevertheless 
 controls the entire commerce of the Amazon valley — 
 a privilege, which, judging from the map, one would 
 suppose should naturally accrue to its rival Macapa, a 
 town on the north bank of the Amazon itself. This is 
 owing, we imagine, to the rapidity of the currents in 
 the mouth of the Amazon, and the consequent con- 
 tinual shifting of its sand banks, rendering it more easy 
 to enter the river by a kind of side door than through 
 the more difficult navigation of its front entrance. 
 
 AN UBTJBO. 
 
12 PROM PAEA TO JIONTE A'LEGB.t. Cuap. II. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 FBOM PArI to MONTE ALEGBE. 
 
 Description of an Amazon Steamer — Breves — Network of Natural Canals 
 — Porto doMoz — Sun-burnt Fowl — Land at Monte Alegre — Our 
 House tbere — The Town of Monte Alegre — Its deserted Appearance 
 — Its Prison — Pirarucu — Heat — The "Rock Scorpion" — Raid 
 upon Goats — Hit the wrong Mark — Our Sleeping Arrangements — 
 Our Interpreter's dread of Insects. 
 
 Nothing can well be more agreeable than a trip up 
 the Amazon in one of the Company's steamers, con- 
 structed, as they all are, with due regard to the 
 requirements of the climate, and the comfort of the 
 passengers. Their principal feature is a covered upper 
 deck forming an airy saloon, open on all sides to every 
 breeze that blows, but capable of being protected from 
 storm and sunshine by the lowering of the canvas 
 curtains with which they are provided. A long talkie 
 occupies the centre, at which meals are served, and, 
 at the corners, are huge earthenware jars in wooden 
 frames, containing drinking water — an article in 
 continual demand in this thirsty climate. In the 
 spaces between the table and the sides of the saloon, 
 the passengers suspend their hammocks, in which they 
 sleep during the night, and recline during the entire 
 day, lazily swinging backwards and forwards. In this 
 way it is possible to enjoy, absolutely without fatigue, 
 the panoramic views of the banks and islands, which 
 
Chap. II. AN AMAZON STEAMER. 13 
 
 gradually unfold themselves as the steamer holds her 
 onward course — at times almost brushing the branches 
 of the trees along the river banks, and at others tra- 
 versing wide open reaches. For those who prefer 
 berths in a less airy situation there are spacious cabins 
 on the main deck, off a large saloon, behind which is a 
 comfortable ladies' cabin. Bath rooms, and every 
 necessary accommodation for both sexes, are provided. 
 The bright colouring of the steamers, painted through- 
 out in red and white, not only imparts additional 
 coolness, but contrasts admirably with the sombre 
 green foliage of the forest. 
 
 It was in luxurious circumstances such as these that 
 we commenced our journeyings up river, after a stay 
 of only six days in Para ; but, before starting, it had 
 seemed desirable to select some name by which we 
 might be collectively known during our travels. 
 Senhor Bueno accordingly invented and bestowed upon 
 us the title of the Commissao Geologico — the Greolo- 
 gical Commission^under which sobriquet we soon 
 became widely celebrated, and are perhaps destined 
 to figure through future ages in the legends of the 
 Amazon. A red flag was at the same time put into 
 our hands that we might be enabled to stop, by hoist- 
 ing it, when occasion required, any passing steamer 
 belonging to the Company ; while a circular, issued to 
 the various captains, directed them to attend to our 
 signal, and supply us with provisions, take charge of 
 our letters, or render any assistance that might be 
 needed. 
 
 When morning broke, after our midnight departure 
 on board the ' Belem,' we found ourselves steaming 
 
14 FROM PABA TO MONTE ALEGRlS. Chap. II. 
 
 past the mouth of the Tocantins river, with water 
 horizons both before and behind us, along the wide 
 spreading Bay of Marajo — a sea-like expanse, in which 
 the waves are often of dangerous magnitude. In the 
 afternoon we entered a narrow part of the channel, 
 broken by small islands, where we ran close to one 
 bank, and were able to see that the land was swampy, 
 covered with dense forest, and not elevated more than 
 one foot above high-water mark. At 5 o'clock the 
 small village of Breves was reached, where, after the 
 hawsers of the steamer had been made fast to trees, 
 we proceeded to take in wood for the ship's furnaces. 
 Captain Tahsman of the ' Belem,' who spoke English 
 iluentlj', and was exceedingly obliging, accompanied 
 us ashore, and introduced us to the principal inhabitants 
 of the place. 
 
 The village is small and exceedingly dilapidated, 
 many of its houses having fallen so much into decay 
 that only posts and rafters remained, overgrown with 
 trailing plants and creepers. An extensive series 
 of streets, laid out with great regularity, had been 
 formed on land cleared from forest at the back of 
 the place; but, either owing to the ravages of an 
 epidemic fever which had shortly before carried off 
 a large portion of the inhabitants, or the diversion 
 of the indiarubber trade of the village into another 
 channel, these roads were never built upon. Perhaps 
 the most singular structure in Breves was the rickety 
 prison, standing in an open space near the landing, 
 constructed of upright posts placed a few inches apart, 
 and resembling a wooden cage. Here were incar- 
 cerated some ten or fifteen individuals, amongst 
 
Chap. II. NETWORK OP CANALS. . 15 
 
 whom, we were told, were two who had committed 
 murder, but all of them presented a mild appearance, 
 and it was difficult to guess which could have been 
 guilty of such a terrible crime. It appeared to us 
 that it would have been easy to effect an escape, had 
 they wished to do so, for many of the posts were 
 almost eaten away with decay at the surface of the 
 ground, and required nothing more than a strong push 
 to dislodge them, but being well fed and sheltered, 
 the prisoners seemed quite content to remain where 
 they were. The soldiers who should have been guard- 
 ing them had stacked their guns at the gaol door, and 
 were earning a trifle by assisting to hand the wood on 
 board our steamer. They only strolled back to their 
 charge when this job was completed. 
 
 Night had set in when we cast off the hawsers and 
 resumed our journey through that remarkable and con- 
 fusing network of natural canals, which connect the 
 waters of the Amazon with those of the Para river. 
 These channels are of immense depth, and so narrow 
 and winding that steamers, to avoid collision, are 
 obliged to follow one set in ascending and another 
 in returning. It was a singular sensation to stand on 
 the deck of a large steamer in the glimmering star- 
 light, and find ourselves carried, seemingly through 
 the heart of the forest, in such diminutive water lanes 
 that in some places both paddle-boxes were swept at 
 the same moment by the protruding branches of the 
 trees. Fire-flies glanced and sparkled along the gloomy 
 wall on either hand, while the chorus of crickets and 
 tree frogs could be heard above the noise produced by 
 the beat of the engine and paddles. Plere and there 
 
16 FROM PAEi. TO MONTE ALEGEi:. Chap. II. 
 
 we swept past a solitary house, standing on piles at 
 the water's edge, the safety of which appeared to be 
 endangered by the waves following in the wake of 
 our ship. The lights from their doors and windows f 
 streamed in long lines across the smooth surface of 
 the channel ; and from one of them, sounds of festivity 
 floated out upon the night air. 
 
 Gurupa, which we passed early on the following 
 morning, is rather a cheerful-looking village, situated, 
 as it is, along the margin of a yellow cliff some forty 
 feet in height, the approach from the landing place 
 being by a flight of steep steps. Five hours later we 
 turned aside into the mouth of the Xingu river — a 
 tributary which possesses the charm of mysterious- 
 ness, on account of the way in which its greater 
 portion has been securely guarded, up to the present 
 time, from the eyes of explorers, by the hordes of 
 savages which infest its banks. 
 
 It was the hottest part of the day when the ' Belem ' 
 dropped her anchor into its clear green water, off the 
 village of Porto do ^loz, and great was the change we 
 experienced, upon leaving the shade of her breezy 
 upper deck, to land at the glaring white sand beach 
 which fringed the margin of the little bay. The 
 villagers were taking their afternoon siesta when we 
 strolled through the deserted streets in the hot sun- 
 shine. We were filled with envy on beholding the 
 scanty attire of a ridiculous old fowl, wandering about 
 without a single feather, having apparently plucked 
 itself for the sake of coolness. It is doubtful, how- 
 ever, if it reaped much advantage from the chanae 
 
Chap. II. AT PORTO DO MOZ. 17 
 
 for its skin was dreadfully blistered, and burnt into 
 the hue and consistency of tanned leather. 
 
 Our captain conducted us to the house of the district 
 judge, from which we adjourned into the cool shade 
 of his fruit garden, where, in the poor-looking soil, 
 flourished cocoa-nut palms, bananas, guavas, oranges, 
 limes, papaws, cacao, and pine-apples. Two sailors 
 were sent up the coco^-nut trees, and soon rattled 
 down some fifty or sixty' of the nuts, which astonished 
 us by their great size and perfection, for it is a popular 
 belief that these palms will not bear at such a distance 
 from the sea coast. After refreshing ourselves with 
 copious draughts of the milk we returned to the 'Belem.' 
 Viewed from the deck, Porto do Moz presented a 
 pleasing appearance on account of the cleared grassy 
 spaces surrounding the village, and separating it from 
 the forest. 
 
 As we steamed out from the Xingu, we obtained a 
 distant view of the flat-topped mountains of Almeirim, 
 upon which we gazed with interest as being the first 
 high land upon the banks of the Amazon. The 
 thickening darkness soon shut them from our view, 
 and before morning they were left far behind. Our 
 next stopping place was Prainha, where the ' Belem ' 
 remained only half an hour, and, soon after leaving it, 
 entered the narrow channel leading to Monte Alegre. 
 Here there was a change in the character of the 
 scenery — stretches of savanna became mingled with 
 the forest, and gave a park-like appearance to the view, 
 while through the various openings we obtained 
 glimpses of the Tajure and Erere mountains, and the 
 
 c 
 
18 FROM PAEI to MONTE ALEGRli;. Chap. II. 
 
 huge white church of the upper village of Monte 
 Alegre. Our pleasant journey was now drawing to 
 a close, for we were near the place where we had 
 arranged to commence our labours. 
 
 On arriving about mid-day at the Port, we landed, 
 bag and baggage, and presented our letter of intro- 
 duction to Senhor Ouety — better known as Don Manoel, 
 surnames being of no account in this country. This 
 gentleman, the agent of the Amazon Steam Navigation 
 Company here, set aside for our use a part of his own 
 house — one of a row on the sand-beach, within one 
 hundred yards of the water's edge. It was a small 
 two-roomed building, with walls built of upright posts, 
 wattled and filled in with mud, neatly plastered and 
 whitewashed both inside and out. The roof was tiled, 
 and the door and two front windows had arched tops — 
 the latter unglazed, but furnished with wooden shutters. 
 A bright-coloured border round the outline of the 
 building, assisted by the green door and shutters with 
 their bright blue casings, gave the exterior a gaudy 
 appearance. There was only one story, but the rooms 
 were lofty, being devoid of ceilings, and consequently 
 open to the roof. The floor was paved with bricks. 
 We have been thus particular in describing this 
 structure, not only because it was our head-quarters 
 for a period of three weeks, but also because it is a 
 characteristic specimen of three-fourths of the houses 
 constituting the villages of the Amazon. It was 
 separated by the skeleton of an unfinished house from 
 the remainder of Senhor Onety's abode,which resembled 
 in every way a lengthened example of that already 
 described, except that it had no windows — the sole 
 
Chap. II. OUR PARTY. 19 
 
 external features consisting of five front doors. Imme- 
 diately behind was a yard enclosed by a high paling, 
 containing sheds in which the cooking operations were 
 performed, and the slaves hung their hammocks at night. 
 On taking possession of our dwelling, we found that 
 it contained only one table, and no other article of 
 furniture, but it is surprising how comfortable we 
 contrived to make it look with the help of our ship- 
 chairs and hammocks ; by a neat arrangement of our 
 empty boxes; and by hanging our meteorological 
 instruments against the walls. Besides the three 
 members of the expedition mentioned in the preface, 
 our party now consisted of an Interpreter — Senhor Vas- 
 concellos — and our faithful Indian servant, William 
 Abrahams, whose history is given in a former work 
 by one of the authors of this book. 
 
 The village in which we were now quartered was a 
 small place situated on a triangular patch of sand, 
 occupying the mouth of a sloping fan-shaped gully, 
 shut in on the east and west by high wooded bluffs, 
 and open in front to the Grurupatuba river. It was 
 known as the Port of Monte Alegre' — the town bearing 
 that name being situated on high land at a distance 
 of half a mile to the northward. Late in the afternoon 
 we sallied forth across the loose sands, the heat of 
 which even then was almost unbearable, as it radiated 
 upwards, fairly scorching our faces, and made our way 
 up a gentle incline to some pretty fountains at the 
 neck of the gully. They were shaded by palms and 
 flowering trees, and edged with ferns and mosses. 
 Several small streams burst out from beds of friable 
 pink sandstone, and fell by clear leaps of fifteen feet 
 
 c 2 
 
20 FROM par! to MONTE ALEGRlS. Chap. II. 
 
 into tubs and cisterns that had been set to catch them. 
 Picturesque groups of the inhabitants were assembled 
 here washing their clothes. 
 
 Great was our astonishment, and the shock to our 
 modesty, when upon suddenly entering one of the 
 retired hollows, we saw a light-complexioned gentle- 
 man, almost as stout as the Tichborne claimant, 
 standing in the garb of Adam under one of the jets 
 of water ; and a blaclf woman, in the equally simple 
 costume of Eve, sitting with her back to us under 
 another. They were evidently enjoying the coolness 
 of these natural shower-baths, without giving a thought 
 to the indelicacy of the situation. 
 
 Struggling up a steep and rather winding pathway, 
 overhung by trees and shrubs, we at length emerged 
 upon a large open sandy square, dotted over with 
 patches of savanna grass and the cone-shaped nests 
 of white ants, round which the town of ^lonte Alegre 
 was disposed. There was some little life and stir at 
 the Port which we had left, where an ox-cart now and 
 then moved about, or a boat-load of people landed to 
 make purchases at the shops, but here not a human 
 being was to be seen. The houses had their doors and 
 shutters closed, and the place resembled a city of the 
 dead. Lean, miserable curs lay about here and there, 
 raising their heads to gaze curionsly at us for a 
 moment, but too lazy to get out of our way. 
 
 The deserted look of the place gave us the feeling 
 that the world had grown old, and, quite worn out, 
 was about to perish of inanition. To-morrow might 
 be its last day, and, with the conviction of doom, a 
 gaunt resignation to fate had settled down upon 
 
Chap. II. VIEW PROM CHURCH TOWER. 21 
 
 everything. The suggestiveness of the scene was 
 heightened by a glimpse of the cemetery palisading, 
 which, overshadowed by a huge cross, occupied the 
 entire western side of the square. 
 
 In a corner stood the large new church, which we, 
 had seen on our way up river. It was an imposing- 
 looking building, out of all proportion to the size of 
 the town, and had two towers, one of which we 
 ascended for the sake of the view. Here at the top 
 was a fine cool breeze in which we luxuriated for 
 a time, and enjoyed the extensive prospect to the 
 southward, ranging over the wide alluvial plain of 
 the Amazon, intersected by innumerable lakes and 
 channels, with the mighty river itself flowing beyond. 
 Northward the eye travelled across a tract of 
 undulating savanna country, and rested upon the 
 wooded slopes and bald brow of Tajure mountain. 
 Beyond the cemetery, from a point of the hill which 
 enabled us to look westward, a still more beautiful 
 view was obtained, embracing the serrated outline 
 of Erere, and the gigantic artificial-looking column of 
 rock on the verge of Pytoona mountain. 
 
 The prison of the place was as dilapidated as that 
 of Breves, and to our surprise was quite untenanted. 
 On inquiring of a yawning cobbler who had just 
 come out from his afternoon's nap, we were told that 
 it claimed, at this time, only one prisoner — a murderer 
 sentenced to confinement for life. He had, however, 
 fallen into bad health, and, to save the authorities 
 trouble, had been sent home to the bosom of his 
 family, with instructions to nurse himself and be 
 ready to return when wanted ! 
 
22 FEOM par! to MONTE ALEaR^. Chap. II. 
 
 The cobbler also explained to us why so many of 
 the houses were shut up and empty. It appeared 
 that the well-to-do people were away^at their sitios, 
 or country houses, situated on the borders of the 
 Amazon amidst their cacoals, or chocolate plantations. 
 The others were engaged in fishing on the neighbour- 
 ing lakes. They only live in the town when their 
 cacoals are flooded by the rising of the river ; when 
 the fishing season is over from the same cause; and 
 upon festival occasions, such as Christmas and Easter. 
 
 As the cool shades of evening were coming on, we 
 crossed the square with the intention of returning to 
 the lower village, and observed that some of the 
 inhabitants, emerged from their retreats, were sitting 
 on rocking-chairs in front of their doors. 
 
 One of these proved to be a gentleman to whom we 
 had a letter of introduction, and who, upon its pre- 
 sentation, invited us into his house, where we conversed 
 through the medium of our Interpreter. As is -often 
 the case, the conversation took a direction one would 
 scarcely have anticipated. Our entertainer led it 
 abruptly into the subject of chess, by informing us 
 that he was a great admirer of the game, and, in fact, 
 a designer of chess problems for the journals of Europe 
 and America. Was this then the true explanation of 
 the deserted look of the town ? Were the remainder 
 of the inhabitants shut up in solitude, engaged in 
 working out these puzzling intricacies for the outside 
 world ? Monte Alegre now wore a different aspect in 
 our eyes as the possible seat and centre of a branch of 
 deep and attractive study. We felt that we had at 
 last run to earth, in a very unexpected quarter, the 
 
Chap. II. PIEARUOU. 23 
 
 origin of those mysterious columns of chequered 
 squares, seen from our childhood in the pages of the 
 ' Illustrated London News ' ! 
 
 By the time we had arrived at our house in the 
 lower village night had set in, bringing with it hosts 
 of mosquitoes, against the attacks of which we fenced 
 with vigour during dinner. We were saved from the 
 trouble of catering for ourselves during our stay in Porto 
 Alegre, our host providing us with meals, which con- 
 sisted of the usual Brazilian fare. Tough fresh beef 
 alternated with salted and dried beef; and fresh 
 pirarucu, with the same fish cured. Owing to the 
 intense heat of the climate, neither fresh meat nor fish 
 will keep more than twelve hours, consequently, when 
 an ox is killed or a pirarucu caught, we subsisted for 
 one day upon fresh food, while for several days after 
 we partook of the salted and dried remainder. For 
 . the benefit of those who have never heard of a pirarucu 
 %st^ {Suidas gigas), we may state that it is a monster of 
 ungainly shape, often attaining a length of eight feet, 
 whose iridescent scales have scarlet borders, increasing 
 in width towards the tail. Eaten fresh, its coarse 
 flaky substance has a soapy flavour, but when cured 
 it is somewhat more palatable, though never a favourite 
 food with any of us. 
 
 Perhaps the greatest drawback to the enjoyment of 
 life in Porto Alegre was the intense heat. The sun 
 rose every morning in a cloudless sky, and made its 
 power felt during the livelong day; storing up its 
 heat in the surrounding sands to be given off during 
 the darkness, thereby robbing the night air of the 
 coolness which should belong to it. Our maximum 
 
24 FROM PARi TO MONTE AL^GRli:. Chap. II. 
 
 thermometer sometimes registered 97° Fahr. in our 
 dwelling, and the minimum seldom fell below 80°. It 
 was tantalizing to see the daily breeze ruffling the 
 surface of the Gurupatuba river in front of us, and 
 waving the tall sedges on its southern bank, but 
 never deigning to fan our heated forms. 
 
 The action of the currents in this river was a great 
 mj'stery, for at times they set up the Gurupatuba for 
 days without interruption, and then as persistently 
 flowed the other way. Only one explanation occurs 
 to us of this singular phenomenon of a river running 
 backwards towards its source. Some way up, it is 
 connected by a side channel with an extensive sheet 
 of water, called the Great Lake of Monte Alegre ; 
 and we think that the enormous evaporation from 
 this wide expanse must reduce its surface at times to 
 a lower level than that of the Amazon, which then 
 rushes in through the Gurupatuba to occupy the 
 vacancy. During cloudy or wet weather, these con- 
 ditions are not fulfilled, and the Gurupatuba resumes 
 its natural flow. 
 
 On the first night of our stay here, as we strolled 
 beside the river, looking at the brilliant southern 
 constellations, we saw a shadowy form seated by the 
 embers of a wood fire which had been kindled upon 
 the beach. Believing this, as we did, to be a dog or a 
 goat, we were astonished on hearing it say to us, 
 in very good English — "Good evening, gentlemen." 
 Recovering from our surprise at being greeted in our 
 own language, when we so little expected it, we 
 advanced and entered into conversation with the figure, 
 which^ proved to be that of our nearest neighbour, 
 
Chap. II. RAID ON GOATS. 25 
 
 seated on a low chair in the smoke of the fire, for the 
 purpose of avoiding the attacks of the mosquitoes. 
 He informed us that he was a " Eock Scorpion " — that 
 is to say, a native of Gibraltar — had settled here many- 
 years ago, and was making his living as a tinsmith. 
 On all the subsequent evenings spent by us in Porto 
 Alegre, the conversation was renewed as regularly as 
 the mosquito dispersing fire was lit, and chairs brought 
 out upon the beach by his two sons. 
 
 By day all the goats of the village, headed by an 
 old billy, seemed to congregate before our door, and, 
 when opportunity offered, boldly entered the house, 
 where they perched upon our very table in search of 
 provender. At night they changed their tactics, and 
 flocked into the back yard, bleating under the window, 
 and making incursion into our store-room. On one 
 occasion the noise was so distracting that we armed 
 ourselves with decaying oranges, and, suddenly throw- 
 ing open the back door, discharged a simultaneous 
 volley for the purpose of dislodging the enemy. A 
 sudden retreat ensued, and we could see them, in the 
 indistinct light, struggling and jumping over each 
 other, in their frantic efforts to pass, as quickly as 
 possible, bs/ond our reach, through the narrow gate- 
 way. One of our missiles, however, seemed to have 
 reached a mark that we never intended, for a slave, 
 who had been lying in his hammock under an open 
 shed, suddenly sprang out, and paced up and down 
 the yard, holding his hand to his stomach as if in 
 great pain. Eecovering a little, he hastily untied his 
 hammock and beat a retreat to safer quarters, not 
 venturing to demand an explanation from us, as a free 
 
26 FROM PARA TO MONTE ALEGRE. Chap. II. 
 
 man would have assuredly done. "We never looked 
 upon slaves without feelings of pity, and regretted the 
 above mishap ; but we were pleased to observe that 
 Senhor Onety always treated his with great humanity 
 —in fact, he would not use the term " slaves," but 
 spoke of them always as belonging to his household. 
 
 It is also satisfactory to reflect upon the fact that 
 the present enlightened Government of Brazil, under 
 its able and talented Emperor, has passed a law 
 abolishing slavery within its ample dominions. Ac- 
 cording to this enactment, all children born of slave 
 parents after the 28th September, 1871, as well as 
 the whole of the slaves belonging to the nation, are 
 declared free ; and provision is made for the setting 
 at liberty of as many as possible of the remainder, 
 every year, by means of an emancipation fund, 
 derivable from various sources. 
 
 Our sitting room for the day was converted into a 
 sleeping apartment for the night, with the greatest 
 facility ; being furnished, as all others are in this 
 country, with strong ring-bolts let into the wall at 
 the precise distances apart required for slinging 
 hammocks. When the majority considered that the 
 hour for turning in had arrived, the remainder were 
 obliged perforce to set aside whatever they were 
 engaged in, and the work of hoisting hammocks, 
 encased in mosquito netting, became general. 
 
 Some of our party were as yet unused to these 
 substitutes for beds, and amusing accidents occui'red. 
 For instance, a heavy thud being heard, the Engineer 
 was discovered lying on the floor, with his pajanas in the 
 air, and head emerging thi'ough a rent in the netting, 
 
Chap. II. DREAD OP INSECTS. 27 
 
 struggling to regain his perch. The Interpreter 
 declined to sleep suspended, and had provided himself 
 with a mattress which he placed upon the floor, under 
 the table, which, like the tester of a four-post bedstead, 
 upheld his mosquito curtains. This sort of life did 
 not suit Mr. Vasconcellos, and it afforded us great 
 amusement to listen to his exclamations of impatience, 
 and tirades of abuse against it; often quite out of 
 proportion to the circumstances that called them forth. 
 Insect life was particularly disagreeable to him, and if 
 even an innocent grasshopper chanced to alight on his 
 dress, he was seized with terror, and loudly called 
 upon us to deliver him from, what he was pleased to 
 stylCj a " horrible jump devil." To the three members 
 of the Commission, notwithstanding sweltering heat 
 and some annoyance from insect pests, life in Porto 
 Alegre, diversified by the excursions to be narrated 
 in the succeeding chapter, was pleasant enough. 
 
28 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGRE. Chap. III. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 EXCDBSIONS FKOM MONTE ALEGKE. 
 
 Start for Erere — Amazonian Horses at Paisaja — Erere Village — Ancient 
 Indian Rock Paintings — Levremont Fasenda — Mosquitoes — About 
 an Oofa — View from Paraiso — Singular Conduct of Interpreter's 
 Horse — Two other Adventures with our Horses — King Vultures on 
 the Summit of Erere Mountain — Adventure with Wasps — Pytoona 
 •^ Sketch of Geology of Erere — Getting Home on an Ox-cart — ■ 
 Journey to Tajur^ Mountain — Sketch of Geology of Tajure — Lose 
 ourselves in returning — Second Visit to Tajure — Attempt to Ascend 
 the Erere River — Alenquorns. 
 
 Our object in making Monte Alegre' our first halting 
 place was for the purpose of examining the districts 
 surrounding the Erere and Tajure mountains. / ccU'uru 
 After two days' delay, we were enabled through the 
 influence of Senhor Onety to enter into an agreement 
 with a Spaniard, named Firmin, to supply us with 
 horses to convey us to the Erere district. Accord- 
 ingly on October 22nd, just as day was breaking, and 
 a rosy flush was spreading over the low-lying clouds 
 on the horizon at the far side of the Amazon, we set 
 out upon our journey. Our supplies of food, clothing 
 and hammocks were carried upon an ox-cart. Through 
 the heavy sand, up the long tiresome hill to the upper 
 town, our two-horned steeds shouldered each other 
 along at a slow and deliberate pace, stopping more 
 than once for breath. There we were joined by 
 Senhor Firmin, who was also to be our guide, and we 
 
Chap. III. HORSES AT PAISAJA. 29 
 
 pursued our course in a north-westerly direction over 
 a sandy, undulating savanna for a distance of five 
 miles, down to a level, open plain; bounded on the 
 east by Tajure mountain ; on the west by the slopes 
 of Erere ; and on the north by low ridges and 
 conical hills. After a short walk we reached the 
 Erere' river, flowing through the plain, at a point 
 where it lay in a deep still pool; and were ferried 
 across to the Fasenda of Paisaja, upon its opposite 
 bank. Here we had to remain a considerable time, 
 whilst three or four black slaves caught the horses with 
 lassoes, and placed them in a corral ready for our use. 
 
 Meanwhile we visited and tasted the tepid water of 
 a small spring, having a slight flavour of sulphuretted 
 hydrogen. 
 
 When the steeds were brought out we found them 
 to be small, wiry, unshod, and not handsome animals ; 
 while two of the saddles were of English, and two of 
 Spanish make. The latter had high peaks both in 
 front and behind, and were constructed of wood, with 
 a thin covering of leather over them, secured by rows 
 of round-headed brass nails, which gave them a 
 resemblance to old-fashioned trunks. The Chief of 
 our expedition having had a previous experience of 
 these hard seats, declined to use one, and much to the 
 annoyance of the guide, who had selected the best 
 accoutred steed for himself, insisted upon exchanging 
 with him. Senhor Firmin, in giving up his mount, 
 gravely intimated that it was exceedingly wild and 
 dangerous; but this representation had no effect, for 
 it was met by the counter statement, that a wild 
 horse is at any rate preferable to a Spanish saddle. 
 
30 EXCURSIONS PROM MONTE ALEGBfi. Chap. III. 
 
 Our Interpreter, to soften his obdurate seat, piled it 
 up level from peak to peak, with his blanket, and sat 
 on the top of all, open umbrella in one hand and reins 
 in the other, looking for all the world like a man 
 mounted upon a camel. 
 
 Our hammocks and change of clothing were made 
 into bundles lashed to the backs of our saddles, the 
 provisions placed in saddle-bags ; and, thus equipped, 
 we set off across the plain towards the broken outline 
 of Erere. 
 
 At the foot of this mountain stands the village of 
 Erere, which we soon reached, and dismounting at 
 one of the dozen or so thatched houses of which it is 
 composed, partook of the fruit of the orange trees by 
 which it is surrounded, a proceeding very refreshing to 
 our thirsty souls. The place boasts of a church — a 
 curious little whitewashed building having a detached, 
 wooden beU-tower — and a school house. 
 
 The mile and a half from Paisaja to Erere on the 
 hard saddle with very short stirrup thongs had been 
 too much for the Botanist, whose legs became so 
 cramped that he refused to ride farther, but had his 
 steed led, and walked on, until at the end of four 
 miles, owing to the great heat, he was glad to accept 
 the offer of an exchange with one of the party who 
 was more comfortably mounted. 
 
 For a considerable distance onward we passed 
 through a shady forest of thick but not tall foliage, 
 where we observed a species of small tree whose blos- 
 soms were not at all unlike gigantic buttercups. The 
 path was so narrow that we brushed against the tree 
 branches, creepers and parasitical plants on either 
 
Chap. III. LEVEEMONT FASENDA. 31 
 
 hand. Crossing some low spurs we came out on open 
 savanna country, where there was a cattle farm, and 
 rounding the western end of Erer^, passed through a 
 gap between it and Maxira -mountain . A precipice face 
 of whitish sandstone on the former was adorned with 
 a painting, consisting of a red circle standing on a 
 triangular base, said to be ancient, and the work of c 
 Indians. Higher up was a round red patch, which 
 must have been of immense size to be seen so far. 
 
 Late in the afternoon we arrived at our destination, 
 a fasenda, called Levremont,' close to the edge of a 
 large marsh, the surface of which was clothed with a 
 carpeting of grass of the brightest green imaginable, 
 contrasting in a marked manner with the withered, 
 straw-like herbage of the surrounding savanna. A 
 large herd of cattle and many horses were feeding on 
 this marsh, while others were to be seen scattered over 
 parts of the savanna (or campo as it is here called) 
 beyond, looking like little black dots in the distance. 
 
 The fasenda was composed of a mud-walled house 
 with thatched roof, and a small corral built of strong 
 rails ; but there was not a yard of fencing to mark out 
 the boundaries of the property, or form enclosed 
 pastures. The owner of the farm lives at Monte 
 Alegre, and leaves the place in charge of six negroes, 
 five of whom are slaves. These, soon after our 
 arrival, returned on horseback from tending the cattle, 
 and at once proceeded to shut up the doors and 
 windows of the house, to keep out the night mos- 
 quitoes that would make their appearance in force at 
 dusk ;— in fact, whilst we were watching the beautiful 
 sunset which lit up the distant mountains, we were 
 
32 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGRfi. Chap. III. 
 
 compelled to beat a hasty retreat to escape the vigour 
 of the first attack of these troublesome insects. Withiu 
 doors we were comparatively free from them, but were 
 almost smothered by the heat and closeness of onr 
 room ; and being without lights, we had no choice but 
 to retire at once to our hammocks, notwithstanding 
 the earliness of the hour. 
 
 On our way out, near Maxira Pass, we had seen a 
 dead half-grown On^a (Jaguar) at the pathway side, 
 hanging to a Curatella tree. It had been decapitated, 
 and one of its paws severed from the body. Whilst 
 lying in our hammocks we made inquiries respecting 
 it, of the slaves, who occupied the same apartment, 
 and were told that they themselves had met with it 
 that afternoon, had given chase, overtaken and des- 
 patched it with sticks. From a former experience of 
 the agility and tenacity of life displayed by jaguars, 
 we did not feel disposed to credit the tale. 
 
 The following morning we rode northward to Paraiso 
 mountain, and leaving our horses at the foot, ascended 
 its bare sloping side to the summit. Stretched before 
 us to the southward lay an extensive plain almost 
 reaching to the horizon, in which was situated the 
 Great Lake of Monte Alegre, its placid surface dotted 
 with numerous islands. Beyond all came the dim 
 light blue outline of the low plateau which lies behind 
 the town of Santarem, on the far side of the Amazon. 
 After enjoying this prospect for a short time, we 
 descended by a different route, and regained our horses, 
 on which we rode westward over the open plain. 
 
 The intense heat and want of water soon began to 
 tell upon us, and seeing an open-sided hut in the 
 
Chap. III. STRANGE CONDUCT OP HORSE. 33 
 
 distance, we made for it, to obtain a rest beneath its 
 friendly shade. When within a quarter of a mile of 
 it, the guide, closely followed by the Interpreter and 
 Botanist, set off at a furious gallop, while we, who had 
 instruments slung across our shoulders, were content 
 to jog on at a quiet pace. The fleeing horsemen had 
 but half covered the distance to the hut, when a com- 
 motion took place in their ranks, and the Interpreter's 
 horse was observed to be jumping in a most ridiculous 
 manner, tossing its rider up and down upon his exalted 
 seat. Suddenly lowering its head and coming to a 
 stand-still, it sent him, open umbrella in hand, flying 
 rapidly forward to the ground. 
 
 For a moment we feared that he had been hurt, but 
 were reassured when we saw him rise quickly to his 
 feet, still grasping the crushed and mangled remains 
 of his umbrella. His horse's antics now engrossed all 
 our attention, and excited our merriment, as it wheeled 
 rapidly round and round on its hind legs as a pivot, 
 with its head bent to one side, until it finally got dizzy 
 and fell on its nose. 
 
 The Botanist's horse, which had been thundering 
 behind it, took alarm at these extraordinary proceed- 
 ings, shot off to one side of the path, and, wheeling 
 round, came flying back to where we were. Its rider, 
 who had usually little control over its actions, had 
 now none whatever, and it .convulsed us to see the 
 astonished look depicted on the countenances of both 
 horse and rider as they came to a stand-still beside us. 
 
 We hastened to assist the Interpreter to readjust his 
 saddle-gear, and remount his horse, after which we 
 reached the hut without further disaster. Finding a 
 
34 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE. ALBGR]!;. Chap. III. 
 
 pond of water near by, we seated ourselves under the 
 shade of some low trees, and partook of our breakfast, 
 for which we were quite ready, as it was 2 o'clock in 
 the afternoon. 
 
 Sunset found us back again at Levremont, taking a 
 bath at the edge of the morass, by dipping water with 
 a calabash out of a sunken barrel, and throwing it 
 over our heads, whilst numerous fire-ants, which 
 resorted there for a drink^ tormented us by biting our 
 feet. 
 
 Unfortunately our dinner that night had to be post- 
 poned until after dark, on account of the lateness of 
 our breakfast, and by this time the mosquitoes had 
 come " down like a " million wolves " on the fold." 
 As we had no means of obtaining a light inside the 
 darkened house, we were obliged to walk up and down 
 under the stars, fowl-bone in one hand and biscuit in 
 the other, partaking of each, while we fruitlessly en- 
 deavoured to brush off the tormentors from our faces 
 with the backs of our occupied hands. Those mos- 
 quitoes that lit upon our food must have been consumed 
 by us, as it was impossible to see them in the im- 
 perfect light. 
 
 The next day was spent in visiting the Pytoona 
 river, a broad sluggish stream to the westward, and in 
 returning to the village of Erere'. At noon, during 
 the latter portion of this journey we reached Maxim 
 mountain, which we wished to ascend, and left our 
 horses near its foot in the shade of some trees, giving 
 the guide instructions on no account to stir from the 
 spot until our return. 
 
 The- way up, over high stones and rocks, amidst 
 
Chap. III. ASCEND MAXIEA. 35 
 
 coarse grass, almost as high as one's head, was very- 
 hot and fatiguing ; and it was as much as some of our 
 party could do to reach the top. Here we rested for 
 a time, and were refreshed by a cool breeze ; but, by 
 contrast with this, the heat in descending seemed well- 
 nigh intolerable. The sun in this equatorial region 
 poured its rays vertically upon our heads, so that we 
 cast no shadows, except a few square inches round 
 our feet, and the furnace-like temperature of the 
 atmosphere was quite as much as a white man could 
 bear. On reaching the spot where we had left our 
 horses, we were astonished to find that there was not 
 a trace of the party remaining. "We separated in 
 search of them, and, after tramping about in a most 
 unenviable frame of mind and body, discovered the 
 guide quietly seated under the shade of a large cashew 
 tree enjoying the fruit, while the horses were tethered 
 to its branches. We came down heavily on Senhor 
 Firmin, and, boiling as we were with heat and rage, 
 rated him roundly; but, as he did not understand 
 English, it was all lost upon him. 
 
 Another slight adventure occurred on mounting, 
 which, being of a highly ridiculous nature, set us 
 laughing, and put us all into good humour again. 
 
 One of the party led his horse from under the tree 
 and got into the saddle, but had scarcely taken his 
 seat before the animal, preferring the shade it had left 
 to the blazing sunshine, bolted back again, carrying 
 its rider into the low sweeping branches; which, 
 taking him in the face and chest, swept him forcibly 
 backwards over the horse's tail in a most undignified 
 manner. But this was not the only difficulty we were 
 
 D 2 
 
36 EXCURSIONS PROM MONTE ALEGRfi. Chap. III. 
 
 destined to have with our steeds that day. On one 
 occasion when we had stopped on the pathway near 
 the dry bed of a stream, the Geologist went with the 
 guide to examine some roclis, leaving his horse tied to 
 a tree. During his absence it broke loose, and made 
 a sudden attack upon the Botanist's horse. There 
 being nothing for that gentleman to do but to clear 
 out, he dropped his reins and sprang to the ground ; 
 when away went both animals at a furious gallop, and 
 were lost to view in the forest pathway. The guide 
 jumped on his horse and gave chase, while we walked 
 on, picking up here and there bundles of our baggage, 
 which had been attached to the runaways' saddles. 
 Fortunately, some horsemen, coming in the opposite 
 direction, managed to stop them before they had gone 
 very far, and soon we had the pleasure of seeing the 
 guide return with them in triumph. 
 
 We passed the night at Erere, at the house of a 
 worthy old Indian, with two intelligent little grand- 
 sons, who took a great pride in informing us that they 
 could read, having been taught by the " professor," as 
 they designated the schoolmaster of the village. 
 
 When each day's journey was finished, our horses 
 were at once turned loose upon the prairie, without 
 being hobbled, and there they roamed about wherever 
 they pleased. It was therefore little matter for wonder 
 that every morning much time was lost while men were 
 searching for them. Senhor Firmin never joined in the 
 pursuit, but lolled about, smoking cigarettes in an 
 exasperatingly cool manner, while we suffered from his 
 bad arrangements. We say this without intending to 
 speak harshlj^ of this gentleman, but we were at the 
 
Chap. III. rp^jj PACIENCIA. 37 
 
 time new to the country, and had not discovered that 
 he was but a type of all the other dwellers in the 
 Amazon valley, whose favourite phrase is tern paciencia 
 ("have patience"). Our ears subsequently became 
 accustomed to this oft-recurring answer to our pro- 
 testations regarding the loss of valuable time ; and, 
 whatever else we may forget of the Portuguese lan- 
 guage, these words, through their constant iteration and 
 reiteration, are indelibly impressed upon our memories. 
 This scene of horse-hunting was so prolonged on the 
 following morning, that we were obliged to give up 
 our proposed journey to Pytoona, and spend the 
 remainder of the day in an exploration of Erere' 
 mountain. We rode round the eastern shoulder and 
 up a long, smooth, sandy slope, at the head of which 
 we left our horses ; from thence we climbed a steep 
 and rocky acclivity, and found ourselves at the summit, 
 where an enormous rock towers upwards to a height 
 of forty feet. Underneath this is a small cave or hole, 
 the bottom of which is covered with black loam. 
 Thinking it might prove to be a place of Indian sepul- 
 ture, we dug as deeply as we could with a geological 
 pick-hammer, and were rewarded by finding some rib- 
 bones and portions of a human skull. Upon the flat 
 surfaces of the rock, at the entrance to the cave, were 
 numerous figures in red paint, representations of the 
 sun, birds, human-like forms, and an unmistakable 
 alligator, said to have been made by Indians, all 
 traditions of whose existence have completely died 
 out. Gazing upward at the pointed top of this singular 
 rock, we were fortunate enough to obtain a near view 
 of a pair of those shy and somewhat rare birds — the 
 
38 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGRiifi. Chap. III. 
 
 king vultures. Upon admiring these clean-looking 
 and bright - pluniaged creatures, one could hardly 
 believe that they are first cousins of the Urubus, and 
 belong to the great tribe of scavengers. By right of 
 kingship they claim the first alluring morsel of any 
 recently deceased animal ; and this couple evidently 
 occupied this commanding position for the purpose of 
 watching the gathering of their dark-coated subjects 
 towards the spot where some unfortunate beast had 
 perished. They would then swoop down and claim 
 their share before the others touched it. 
 
 After viewing the glorious prospect stretched out on 
 every side, to which no description can do justice, we 
 regained our horses, and rode down the opposite slope 
 of the ridge, joining the mountains of Erere and 
 Pytoona, to the vicinity of a grotto which we wished 
 to visit. Whilst scrambling up to it, our eyes were 
 gladdened with the sight of a rill of water, trickling 
 from the rock into a little basin surrounded by long 
 grass. The shapely columns at the entrance to the 
 cave now lost all their charms for us, under the force 
 of this superior attraction ; but what was our horror, 
 upon approaching the fountain, to find that it was 
 infested by hordes of wasps, as thirsty as ourselves, 
 arriving, drinking, and departing in hundreds. They 
 crowded so thickly round the pool that it was utterly 
 impossible to obtain a draught, without running the 
 risk of being terribly stung by these vicious insects. 
 But what will not human ingenuity accomplish under 
 the strain of circumstances, when pitted against such 
 diminutive, but by no means despicable foes ! With- 
 out loss of time we set fire to the surrounding grass. 
 
Chap. III. CURIOUS ROCK FORMS. 39 
 
 which advanced on the enemy in a broad red line, and 
 spread rapidly in every direction. After a reasonable 
 time had elapsed, we broke through the circle of flame 
 into the blackened area, and, seated amongst the 
 carcases of our vanquished foes, imbibed copious 
 draughts of the now somewhat tepid water. 
 
 Many curious examples of weathering are exhibited 
 in the friable sandstone rocks near by. In one place 
 two large cylindrical columns supported a massive 
 tabular rock connected with the face of the precipice, 
 and presented the appearance of an imposing entrance 
 to a building. Farther up the mountain great square 
 pillars of sandstone, a hundred feet in height, stand 
 out entirely isolated. When we had made the entire 
 circuit of Erere', which presents so many features of 
 interest, we returned once more to the village. 
 
 One day was spent in visiting the southern ex- 
 tremity of Pytoona mountain, which is formed of a 
 low escarpment of whitish sandstone, jutting out in 
 three or four points. Ascending half-way up one 
 of these we came to a small cave, called "Pytoona 
 Igreja," which, by a great stretch of imagination, is 
 supposed to resemble a church. The greater portion 
 of the beds of sandstone at this spot are very friable, 
 while some of the layers, here and there, are of a hard 
 and durable nature. From the peculiarities of struc- 
 ture, producing unequal weathering, many fantastic 
 pillars and masses of rock have been produced by 
 subaerial denudation. Foremost in singularity amongst 
 these is a mushroom-shaped pillar, standing upon the 
 top of the most easterly point, which bears the name 
 of " Pytoona Forno." ' Form in Portuguese signifies 
 
40 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGEE. Chap. III. 
 
 tiQ oven — not one of the form familial- to English eyes, 
 but of a flat pan-shaped nature, such as that used in 
 this country for the manufacture of an article of diet 
 called Farinha. 
 
 The campo in the vicinity was very sandy and 
 barren, but supported the usual growth of savanna 
 trees, amongst which were numbers of wild cashews, 
 bearing fruit. 
 
 Our stock of provisions having become well-nigh 
 exhausted we determined to return to Monte Alegre ; 
 and on the following day, long before the horses had 
 been caught and brought in, we walked on to Paisaja, 
 leaving the Interpreter and Senhor Firmin to follow 
 with the nags. On the way we attracted the atten- 
 tion and curiosity of two semi-wQd steers, which 
 advanced a short distance towards us in a most 
 threatening manner, obliging us to skirmish about 
 behind some low groves and hollows in the savanna, 
 to escape them. 
 
 By the time we reached Paisaja the rest of the 
 party with the horses caught up to us, and we took a 
 ride over the open country to the foot of the wooded 
 hills to the north. An old negro and an Indian boy 
 belonging to the farm accompanied us, and when we 
 turned back at 4 p.m. they started off to search for a 
 pair of oxen — then feeding somewhere in that vast 
 plain — for our ox-cart. We therefore began to despair 
 about getting back that night; but some two hours 
 after our return to the farm, we were agreeably sur- 
 prised to see the man and boy come up with them. 
 They swam them across the river, and harnessed them 
 to the old cart with solid wooden wheels ; and by 
 
Chap. III. ON AN OX-CART. 41 
 
 7 P.M. we were jolting frightfully along on our way to 
 Monte Alegr^. 
 
 Crossing the plain in the moonlight we commenced 
 a weary drag up the sandy hill. As the vehicle 
 twisted about, the cracks between its flooring-boards 
 opened apart and closed together again, producing no 
 very pleasant sensations to us who sat upon them. 
 The night air was fresh and balmy, and the only 
 sound that smote upon the ear was the grinding noise 
 of the ungreased cart-wheels. 
 
 Several casualties occurred on the way -which 
 delayed us a little;— one was the snapping of the 
 rope which sustained the end of the pole, whereupon 
 it dropped to the ground, giving us an awful jar, 
 while the two old oxen walked quietly on. The next 
 mishap was more serious. Our attention was attracted 
 to the curious gyrations of one of the wheels, and 
 before we had time to pull up, it " parted company 
 with the parent mass," rolled on before us, and fell 
 heavily on its side, while the cart came with a crash 
 to the ground. This accident, resulting from the loss 
 of the wooden pin that kept the wheel in its place on 
 the axle, was soon made good, — another pin being cut 
 from the stem of a neighbouring tree, to replace the 
 one that had dropped out. 
 
 As the evening wore on, we all became somewhat 
 drowsy and dozed a little, while our animals waxed 
 more and more sluggish in their movements. 
 Presently we were aroused from a nap by finding 
 that our oxen had stopped altogether, and that one 
 was lying down, having made itself comfortable for 
 the night. The guide thereupon kicked the poor 
 
42 EXCURSIONS PROM MONTE ALEGRlfi. Chap. III. 
 
 brute up, and, to our disgust, roused it to renewed 
 efforts by prodding it now and then with the sharp 
 screw-end of a ramrod. 
 
 The moon was sinking to rest as we reached the 
 town of Monte Alegre', and the darkness was so 
 intense that we had some difficulty in finding our 
 way down the hill to our quarters at the Port. 
 Thankful and glad to be quit of the rough vehicle, in 
 which we had spent so many tedious hours, we 
 bounded from it at our door, and soon after were 
 sleeping the sound sleep of men who had worked hard 
 in the open air. 
 
 The geology of the district we had just visited, 
 being of such an interesting nature, deserves much 
 more than a mere passing notice such as we can here 
 only take of it. There we find the mountains of 
 Erere', ]\laxira, &c., composed of beds of whitish sand- 
 stone identical with that of British Guiana ; while 
 the hill of Paraiso is formed of red shale belonging 
 to the same formation. At the back of Erere' there is 
 seen the edge of a thick interbedded layer of diorite, 
 portions of which, weathering into curved forms, were 
 taken for erratic boulders by the late Professor 
 Agassiz, who paid a hurried visit to the spot. In the 
 wooded plain to the northward we find blackish 
 shales; and on the open plain to the eastward of 
 Erere village a great exposure of hard bluish-grey, 
 thin-bedded, shaly sandstone, having a slaty fracture. 
 All are covered with a superficial deposit of ferruginous 
 clay, on the surface of which are small rolled portions 
 of the same substance, coated with iron oxide, and 
 
Chap. III. SKETCH OF GEOLOGY OP ERERIi;. 43 
 
 forming a shining gravel. Crossing the plain are 
 some extensive dykes, which, standing above the 
 level of the surface, look in the distance not unlike 
 common stone walls. 
 
 Professor Hartt, in his "Contributions to the 
 Geology and Physical Geography of the Lower 
 Amazon," published by the Buffalo Society of Natural 
 Science, states that on the Erere' river, and upon the 
 northern part of this plain, in one and the same layer 
 of sandstone, ten inches in thickness, he obtained 
 characteristic fossils of the Devonian epoch. Prom 
 having spent a considerable time in that neighbourhood, 
 he was able to examine the rocks more minutely than 
 we did with but a short time at our disposal. A great 
 deal of work has to be done over that neighbourhood, 
 before a complete geological map of it can be compiled. 
 About the town of Monte Alegre there are sections of 
 the recent deposits, which are also worth studying. 
 
 As the most interesting portions of the Monte 
 Alegre district lay at such a distance from our 
 head-quarters, it was not possible in the space of a 
 single day to visit them on foot, examine them, and 
 return to our quarters at night; therefore it was 
 absolutely necessary that we should be provided with 
 horses, or an ox-cart, to carry our small store of 
 provisions and our hammocks. Consequently on the 
 following day we applied once more to Senhor Onety 
 to engage either of those means of locomotion for us. 
 He tried to do so, but without success. Senhor Firmin , 
 was not going back to the Erere district for any' 
 amount of coin, and would not hire his animals out 
 
44 EXCURSIONS PROM MONTE ALEGR^. Chap. HI. 
 
 when he was not there to look after them. Other 
 people who had horses would not hire them. 
 
 In those few days that we waited for some means 
 of transport Senhor Onety worried himself greatly, 
 and was continually running in and out of our place 
 with one report or the other, upon the subject that 
 interested us all at the moment. First, it was that a 
 'man had promised him horses, and would bring them 
 to-morrow; then that the said individual found that 
 he could not do so, and would not bring them to- 
 morrow. 
 
 There was a blacksmith who would let us have two 
 ,nags for three milreis a day each; and he actually 
 sent them to Senhor Onety, who had them made fast to 
 the palings of his yard. There we saw and admired 
 their shapely forms, thinking now that two of us at 
 ' any rate could have means of travelling ,• but alas for 
 human hopes, how easily are they dashed headlong to 
 the ground ! During the night they disappeared in a 
 most mysterious manner — escaped, our landlord called 
 it — and were never seen by us again. 
 
 Senhor Onety now gave it up as a bad job, acknow- 
 ledging himself beaten, and the chances of our being 
 provided with horses as very faint indeed. The one 
 or two ox-carts of the place were constantly employed, 
 and we could get no aid from that quarter. The 
 people here, and, as we found to our cost, in other 
 parts of the Amazon valley, do not seem to care to 
 earn a little money by hiring out themselves or their 
 cattle ; they prefer to spend their time hanging about 
 in boats, fishing ; or in staying idly at their houses, 
 while the little crop of Indian corn or mandioca they 
 
Chap. III. TAJUBli; JOUENBY. 45 
 
 have planted is fit to be gathered and sold ; or the 
 cacao in their cacoals has ripened, and is ready to be 
 converted into money. A more independent lot of 
 people does not elsewhere exist; and we have seen 
 some of them, dressed in rags, refuse with scorn the 
 offer of three milreis (6s. Qd.) a day, to come as boat 
 hands, or to cut paths in the bush. 
 
 All our dreams of easy and quick travelling having 
 by this time vanished, we begged our good friend to 
 get us men, as carriers and guides to Tajure' mountain. 
 This he at last accomplished by engaging a Saudosa 
 Indian, or Tapuyu as they are here called, named 
 Kaitanie ; and hiring out to us one of his slaves, a 
 tall, powerful, old black man, named Brasfort. ' These ^ 
 two men were all that could be procured for love or 
 money, and represented in reality the army of carriers 
 that we had pictured to our mind's eye, as likely to 
 be required. However, they were better than none, 
 and with our servant William would be able to carry 
 enough food to last us for a short time. 
 
 After three days of forced inactivity, we and our 
 three carriers at last marched forth on foot at an 
 early hour in the morning, and passing through the 
 upper town came into the campo country. There we 
 followed a road leading through deep sand, where the 
 low trees gave not a particle of shelter, until we 
 arrived at a scattered village called Saudosa. Passing 
 after this through an isolated patch of forest, and two 
 open savannas, we came to the little stream called 
 Eio ' do Jacare (Alligator river), near the foot of 
 Tajure mountain, at 11 .30 a.m., having been six hours 
 on foot. 
 
46 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGR:^:. Chap. III. 
 
 After breakfasting we ascended the mountain, up a 
 steep acclivity, clothed with bush, to the top of the 
 first grass land, which extends from thence to the top, 
 and continued along it in a northerly direction towards 
 the summit. Before we had gone very far our guides, 
 whose bare feet suffered from the sharp and sun- 
 heated flinty stones which covered the slopes, came to 
 a stand-still, and took shelter in the shade to await our 
 return. We crossed two deep gullies, and gained an 
 elevation of 1005 feet-=-by aneroid — above the sea, 
 about half a mile south of, and 300 feet below," the 
 highest point of Tajure. As it was then too late to 
 reach the summit, we rested and enjoyed the sur- 
 rounding magnificent view, from our exalted position ; 
 after which we returned to our guides, and descended 
 the mountain to the Jacare river, where we camped 
 for the night. 
 
 As we were partaking of our dinner the mosquitoes 
 attacked us in thousands, and after we had turned into 
 our hammocks they came in such numbers, that un- 
 protected by nettings, which had been left behind from 
 want of carriers, we could not obtain any sleep what- 
 ever. The old slave rolled himself in his blanket on 
 the ground close to a fire ; the Indian guide stalked 
 about, amusing himself by lighting small fires of dry 
 campo grass ; while we kept swinging backwards and 
 forwards in our hammocks, trying to dodge the stings 
 and miserable buzzings of our tormentors. After a 
 time, Brasfort and Kaitanie went off over the campo 
 to search for a less mosquitory place, while we left the 
 camp also with the same object in view. The new 
 position we chose was pretty free from them at 
 
Chap. III. CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE. 47 
 
 first, but in an hour's time there were as many about 
 us as we had already run from, and we were com- 
 pelled to take down our hammocks and be off again. 
 At the third place we rolled ourselves in our ham- 
 mocks, and laid down on the clean white sand, but as 
 the heat thus engendered was too great to bear, this 
 mode of seeking rest had to be abandoned. Lighting 
 fires around us, the smoke from which kept off our 
 enemies a little, we were enabled to obtain a broken 
 nightmare-like sleep till daylight. 
 
 In ascending Tajure mountain from the Jacare, a 
 narrow strip of recent deposit was crossed over, 
 through which protruded isolated patches of true car- 
 boniferous limestone, containing characteristic fossils 
 of that formation, such as Productus, Orthis, and 
 Spirifer. As this rock is much broken up, and 
 covered with a growth of the most tangled and prickly 
 lot of vegetation imaginable, it was difiBcult to make 
 out its true mode of occurrence. In one place, where 
 its largest exposure occurs, it is overlain conformaljly 
 by beds of brownish sandstone, dipping east at an 
 angle of 32°. Above the latter rock "comes a layer of 
 diorite, which extends to the foot of Tajure, where, 
 owing to the talus and vegetation, the junction with 
 the mass of the rocks composing the mountain is lost. 
 These rocks consist, in an ascending series, of about 
 100 feet of hard, grey shale, upon which comes sand- 
 stone, to a height of 1000 feet. '■ The top is crowned 
 with a thick bed of coarse sandstone, which dips east 
 at an angle of 10°. 
 
 Next morning we explored the district, and examined 
 the interesting exposure of carboniferous limestone. 
 
48 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGBlS. Chap. III. 
 
 after which we started on our return to Monte Alegre, 
 as our provisions would only hold out till evening. 
 Passing through Saudosa we stopped at one of the 
 houses, and found the people inhabiting them a re- 
 markably plain-looking lot, quiet and dull in the 
 extreme. Confident of our power to find the short 
 cut by which we had come, we started on in advance 
 of our guide, but as its junction with the cart-road we 
 we*e on was so obscure, we passed the path without 
 noticing it. Following the road onwards it brought 
 us out of the forest upon a fine open low-lying savanna, 
 on which after a time we passed a cluster of houses, 
 nestling near a stream by a hill side — a neat and 
 pretty little place — where we inquired our way to 
 Monte Alegre'. 
 
 Upon being told that we were going right we 
 stepped out briskly, and entered a wood where the 
 road was very muddy. There we had to dodge a herd 
 of cattle, driven with much shouting by horsemen, 
 and finally emerged upon the edge of a muddy-water 
 channel, which we at once recognized as the Gruru- 
 patuba. From this we saw that we had come a long 
 way out of our course, and would have to retrace our 
 steps. 
 
 While asking at a house for advice regarding the 
 route we should take, up came our black carrier, old 
 Brasfort, apparently in a towering passion, wanting 
 to know where we were going, and whether we wished 
 to reach Monte Alegre' that night. He marched us back 
 like captured runaways through the little village, and 
 for a mile over the savanna beyond, upon the same 
 road ])y which we had come •, then striking off along a 
 
Chap. HI. SECOND VISIT TO TAJUR:^. 49 
 
 cart-road he led us for miles over a deep sandy waste, 
 up a gradual incline, to the town of Monte Alegre-, 
 at which we arrived just as the sun was going down. 
 Having recovered his good humour, lost by the miles 
 and miles of hot walking he had accomplished in 
 tracking us out, he became very facetious, and jokingly 
 remarked, that if he had not caught up to us, we 
 should undoubtedly have gone on to Marajo island, at 
 the mouth of the Amazon. Further, that he intended 
 taking us to the commandant of the town, in order 
 to claim the reward always given for capturing runa- 
 ways. 
 
 We paid a second visit to Tajure two days after 
 our return from the first, and with very great trouble 
 procured an ox-cart from Senhor Onety, who hired it to 
 us, he said, " to oblige us." Here if a man sells you 
 anything, or hires you anything, while charging an 
 exorbitant price, he always says he does so in order 
 "to oblige the Senhor." There was one condition 
 attached to the bargain, viz. that the ox was to be 
 worked only during the night or early morning, as it 
 had but lately recovered from an attack of illness ; 
 consequently it went with us by the name of the 
 " Convalescent." The excursion though pleasant was 
 devoid of incident ; we were amused, however, when 
 passing a house on the road, by the singular conduct 
 of a sheep, which charged us in company with a pack 
 of dogs. It seemed by long association with those 
 animals almost to have assumed their nature, and we 
 should scarcely have been surprised to have heard it 
 bark. 
 
 Our last excursion from Monte Alegre was an 
 
 E 
 
50 EXCURSIONS PROM MONTE ALEGRli;. Chap. III. 
 
 unsuccessful attempt to ascend the river Erere', to the 
 village of that name. A clumsy boat, but the best 
 that could be obtained, was secured for our accommo- 
 dation from the step-son of our neighbour, the " Eock 
 Scorpion " ; but neither man nor boy could be per- 
 suaded to go with us as guide, or to assist in pro- 
 pelling the montaria, so that we were entirely 
 dependent upon our own wits and exertions. At 
 nine o'clock in the morning of the appointed day, several 
 paddles, resembling large racket bats, were placed at 
 the door of our house to announce that the craft was 
 ready. Our Indian servant William accompanied us 
 to cook, assist with the paddling, and make himself, 
 as he always did, generally useful. The luggage, con- 
 sisting of food and the necessary implements for cook- 
 ing ar.d eating, packed in one tin box, and clothes 
 and hammocks in another, were stored in the centre of 
 the montaria, and off we pushed. The way lay up 
 the Gurupatuba; and the wind being fair, as it 
 always sets in that direction by day, we had only to 
 hoist our ragged sail, and the village of Porto Alegre 
 soon slid from our view behind the wooded bluff 
 which bounds it on the west. For many miles', the 
 banks on our right rose abruptly from the water, 
 and were well clothed with palms and other trees. 
 Behind the various projecting points were picturesque 
 hollows with palm-thatched Indian houses, and naked 
 children playing about the doors. On the other side 
 of the river the flat alluvial land, dotted here and 
 there with bushes, contrasted with this pleasing scene. 
 Porpoises were unusually numerous and lively that 
 morning, rising simultaneously out of the water in 
 
Chap. III. PLAYFUL PORPOISES. 51 
 
 well-dressed lines five or six abreast,'jumping into the 
 air a clean ten feet, and descending head foremost 
 with a mighty splash ; or following behind the boat, 
 to come up every now and again, with a snort, close 
 to the elbow of the steerer. One even went as far 
 as to rub his back playfully against the bottom of the 
 boat, which made us think for a moment that we had 
 run aground upon a sand bank. 
 
 In two hours we left the Gurupatuba for the 
 Pytoona river ; and as this wound about very much 
 we had to take down the sail, when the wind was not 
 fair, and paddle round the bends. This exercise is 
 sufficiently fatiguing to unaccustomed performers, the 
 strain on the arms being much greater than in rowing. 
 It is necessary to sit quite close to the side of the 
 boat, and then grasping the paddle by one hand just 
 above the blade, and by the other at the top of the 
 handle, to spoon the water backward with vigorous 
 strokes. 
 
 After a time this work made those of our party 
 who were new at it feel ready for a rest and break- 
 fast ; and we soon pulled up at a place where a 
 shelving bank for convenient landing, a clump of 
 bushes for pleasant shade, and some large logs for 
 seats, seemed to indicate a suitable spot for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Few people perhaps know how enjoyable a meal is 
 under such circumstances, when, if the fare be some- 
 what coarse, and the apparatus rude, these drawbacks 
 are more than counterbalanced by good appetites, the 
 sense of freedom, and the delights of a well-earned 
 rest. 
 
 B 2 
 
52 EXCQESIONS FEOM MONTE ALEGE]i;. Chap. III. 
 
 The fine fresh breeze waved the tall savanna grass, 
 which was so dry that our fire quickly communicated 
 itself to it, and the blaze spread until acres were 
 burning fiercely. For the whole of the remainder of 
 the day the flames and dense columns of smoke re- 
 mained in view. 
 
 Soon after we had resumed our voyage we reached 
 the mouth of a small river on our right, which we 
 took to be the Erere', and turned up it accordingly ; 
 but were soon stopped by dense tangled masses of 
 floating grass and water-weed, through which we 
 could not pass. Thinking ourselves to be mistaken in 
 the identification of this tributary, we returned to the 
 Pytoona, and paddled and sailed up its windings for 
 some five or six miles ; when we came upon another 
 stream on the right, into which we turned, without 
 much hope, however, that it was the one we sought. 
 It proved to be only a bye-channel of the Pytoona 
 itself, flowing through little lake-like expanses, so 
 shallow in parts that there was only just water 
 enough for our boat. 
 
 Numerous fish kept leaping into the air, and one 
 fine fellow with a large red spot on its tail jumped 
 quite into our boat, and imprisoned itself under our 
 baggage ; where we gladly let it be, for we knew that 
 it would be useful at dinner-time. Along the margins 
 of the pools grew the magnificent Victoria Eegia, with 
 its huge pink flowers, and floating leaves three or four 
 feet in diameter, with rims two or three inches high. 
 This queen of flowers is not frequent enough any- 
 where in the world to be common ; and many Amazon 
 travellers have been obliged after several years of 
 
Chap. III. LOSE THE WAY. 53 
 
 wandering in the valley of the great river to make a 
 special excursion, under native guidance, to see it 
 growing in some retired lake ; but we were fortunate 
 enough to come upon it quite accidentally before we 
 had been many weeks in the country ; and we sub- 
 sequently saw it in three or four other localities. 
 
 The banks of the Pytoona were flat and open, and 
 very beautiful were the views of the rugged Erere and 
 Pytoona mountains on our right. We were not far 
 from that shoulder of the latter upon which stands 
 the singular mushroom-shaped rock, which is its most 
 marked feature. 
 
 It was a long time since we had seen a house or 
 human being ; but at length a man and woman were 
 espied, sitting under a tree, near the camp which they 
 had formed for the purpose of fishing, and of them we 
 inquired our whereabouts. Our Interpreter did not 
 accompany us upon this expedition, and the conversa- 
 tion had to be conducted in broken Portuguese ; but 
 it was made clear to us that the river with the tangled 
 weeds was, after all, the Erere. At once, therefore, 
 we turned back, and by hard paddling managed to reach 
 the mouth again, just as a glorious sunset was making 
 all the sky and river flame with crimson tints, and 
 steeping the slopes of Pytoona in that soft, warm dove- 
 colour seen only in the tropics. 
 
 Here at the confluence we resolved to encamp for 
 the night, in the hope that we might be able to force 
 our way in the morning through the floating barrier, 
 and find clear water beyond. Around a small clump 
 of trees were the remains of eight fires in a circle, 
 marking the spot where other travellers had en- 
 
54 EXCURSIONS FEOM MONTE ALEGEli;. Chap. III. 
 
 camped, and we could find no better site for our own 
 resting place. Whilst we took a bath, William set 
 the self-captured fish and a fowl to roast. By the 
 time they were ready, it was quite dark, and dinner 
 had to be eaten without knives and forks. Our ham- 
 mocks were hung in an equilateral triangle between 
 the trees, and we hastened to escape within the nets 
 from the attacks of the mosquitoes, as soon as we had 
 finished the meal. 
 
 In the long night which followed, we awoke for a 
 few minutes, now and again, and heard the splashing 
 of alligators, porpoises, and pirarucus in the water 
 close b3^ The bellowing of an enraged bull sug- 
 gested a fear lest he should charge through our camp, 
 and become entangled in our mosquito netting, for 
 we did not know until the morning that he was on 
 the other side of the river. The moon, almost full, lit 
 up the broad grass lands around, and shone upon us 
 through the leafy covering which alone sheltered us ; 
 but the night was beautifully warm, and almost free 
 from dew. These things we only noted at inter- 
 vals, for through the most of the night we slept 
 soundly. 
 
 The stillness of early morning was broken by the 
 discordant sounds produced by immense numbers ■ of 
 very large birds, called by the natives Aleuquorns. 
 It somewhat resembles a turkey in form, but is much 
 larger, and is likewise provided with a fleshy appen- 
 dage on the forehead. The traveller who hears the 
 voice of this bird for the first time will probably be 
 much startled, especially should he happen to be in 
 its immediate vicinity. Series of loud notes, com- 
 
Chap. 111. EETURN TO MONTE ALBGRE. 55 
 
 mencing like the braying of a jackass, and ending like 
 the cooing of a dove, will strike upon his ear. 
 
 Other forms of bird-life were exceedingly numerous, 
 represented by white and grey cranes, spur wings, 
 stinking pheasants, ducklars, and numbers of small 
 reed birds. 
 
 Stout forked poles were the weapons with which we 
 sought, after partaking of morning coffee, to force our 
 montaria up the Erere' river, over or through the mass 
 of water weeds and grass, which had somewhat shifted 
 its position, but looked as impassable as ever. Scarcely 
 had we advanced a hundred yards, when we found 
 that the toil this kind of work involved was more than 
 we should be able long to endure ; and it seemed ad- 
 visable to land and see how far the barrier extended. 
 A lengthy walk did not bring us to the end of it, and 
 we had reluctantly to admit that the Erere was hope- 
 lessly blocked. Nothing remained but to return to 
 Monte Alegre'. 
 
 "With the breeze against us, paddling was hard work, 
 and when we became tired we tried what our boat 
 would do in the way of beating against the wind. 
 Her performance was none of the best, our advance 
 on each tack being a few feet only, and sometimes 
 nothing. 
 
 We always experienced much difficulty in bringing 
 her head to the wind in order to go about. This pro- 
 ceeding usually involved our running aground, and on 
 one occasion, in spite of all our efforts, she became 
 unmanageable, and, turning tail to the breeze, scudded 
 rapidly up river for some hundred yards before we 
 succeeded in stopping her headlong career, which was 
 
56 EXCURSIONS FROM MONTE ALEGR15. Chap. HI. 
 
 only accomplislied by taking down the sail. At 
 length we hit upon the plan of sailing the gaining 
 tack and paddling the losing one, and in this way got 
 back by the afternoon to Porto Alegre. 
 
 Our exploration of this district was now completed, 
 and we were about to transfer our quarters to Prainha. 
 We had already become acquainted with Senhor de 
 
 S , the Subdelegado, and consequently the highest 
 
 official of that village, who had offered to do any- 
 thing in his power for us, and promised to procure us 
 a house, to be ready on our arrival. 
 
Chap. IV. LEAVE MONTE ALBGEE. 57 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AT PEAINHA. 
 
 Leave Monte Alegr^ — Arrive at Prainha — Description of Prainha — 
 Mirage — The Village Tailor — Our Quarters — " Jack-Spaniards " — 
 Slave offers himself for Sale — Our First Dinner at Prainha — Are 
 visited by a Snake — Postal Arrangements — Our Interpreter — Sur- 
 veying in the Bush. — Adventure with Ant-eater — Insect Pests — 
 Our little Boy Waiter — The Village Church — Its Service — Female 
 Costumes — Virulent form of Fever visits Prainha. 
 
 At daybreak on the morning of November 14th, the 
 profound stillness which at that hour always brooded 
 over the little port of Monte Alegre was broken by 
 the beat of the paddles, and the scream of the 
 whistles of the Company's steamship 'Arary,' as 
 she rounded the wooded bluff to the eastward, and 
 stopped off the beach. Her captain, Commandante 
 Leal, kindly sent a boat, in which ourselves and our 
 baggage were transferred on board. Taking an affec- 
 tionate farewell of Senhor Onety on the deck, and 
 waving adieus to the senhoras of his family as the 
 ship steamed away from her anchorage, we soon found 
 ourselves running swiftly down with the current to- 
 wards Prainha, the place of our destination. 
 
 A steam of four and a half hours brought us off the 
 village, and we gazed with interest upon the spot 
 which was now to be our head-quarters for some 
 weeks^ trying to guess which of the houses might be 
 the one that had been set apart for our accommodation. 
 
58 AT PEAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 It proved to be no less a building than the school, and 
 as soon as a landing had been effected, we hastened to 
 take possession. Forms and desks were bundled out 
 to make room for us, acd in a few minutes a long 
 string of Indians from the crew of the ' Arary ' were 
 struggling up the steep path with our numerous boxes 
 and other baggage upon their shoulders. It is hoped 
 that the cause of education did not suffer on account of 
 our invasion of the school premises, for the professor 
 arranged, we believe, to carry on the work of instruc- 
 tion in his own house immediately adjoining ours ; but 
 we saw little of the business, and fear that his pupils 
 were few. 
 
 Prainha is not a pretentious or imposing-looking 
 village, and enjoys none of those glimpses of moun- 
 tain scenery which make Monte Alegre unique among 
 the Amazon towns. The houses are ranged in a 
 straight line along a cliff, very low at the western end, 
 but rising gradually to the eastward, until it attains 
 an elevation of sixty feet. Here, on the very highest 
 point, was situated our dwelling, the last in the 
 straight row facing the river. There was a back street 
 in the settlement, but it had very few houses; and 
 most of them were only skeleton remains of habita- 
 tions that had fallen into decay, or had never been 
 finished. Immediately behind was the forest, not, for 
 the most part, of virgin growth, but that lower and 
 denser vegetation which springs up on abandoned 
 clearings. In front rolled the broad, tawny waters 
 of the Amazon, but it was not possible to see across 
 to the farther shore, and take in its full width, on 
 
Chap. IV. SINGDLAE MIRAGE. 59 
 
 account of a string of large islands three miles out. 
 The view down river was cut off by a wooded pro- 
 jecting point, but looking westward one saw the water 
 and sky meet at the horizon. 
 
 A singular mirage was always visible here in the 
 daytime in ordinary weather. The line of the water 
 horizon was very distinctly marked, but the forest- 
 covered shores, instead of ending at it, or seeming to 
 drop behind it, rose up in the air beyond and hung in 
 the sky, with a faint inverted image of themselves 
 below. Islands also lying beyond the line, instead of 
 appearing to touch it, were suspended at some distance 
 above in the same kind of way. The effect is curious, 
 and forms a characteristic feature of the scenery of the 
 whole Amazon, and all its large tributaries. The 
 accompanying diagram will convey a clearer idea of 
 this phenomenon than many words could do. 
 
 We had no sooner entered upon the possession of 
 our new abode than we hastened, by a judicious dis- 
 posal of our baggage, as at Monte Alegre, to give it a 
 somewhat habitable look. In this work the tailor of 
 the village gave us much assistance ; and when it was 
 explained to him that we wanted a flat board to serve 
 as a hanging shelf for the purpose of securing our pro- 
 visions from the ravages of rats and ants, he went and 
 
61) AT PRAI.\HA. .Chap. IV. 
 
 unhung the door of the gaol, which, like another 
 Samson, he brought to us on his baclf. Certainly, it 
 was of little use to that edifice, for there were rents 
 in the walls almost large enough for an ox to pass 
 through; but it served admirably the purpose for 
 which we required it. 
 
 The tailor may almost be said to have taken up his 
 abode with us from that time forward, for he spent as 
 much time in our house as in his own. It was no un- 
 usual thing when we awoke in the morning — our doors 
 remaining open night and day — to find him com- 
 fortably seated on one of our boxes, smoking his 
 pipe ; and he seldom left us much before we retired to 
 our hammocks at night. No one invited him to come, 
 and no one thought of turning him out ; for he was 
 not by any means a nuisance, being a man more given 
 to musing than to chattering, and always ready to make 
 himself useful. He would willingly run for a pitcher 
 of water, or sweep out a room, and he performed for 
 each of us the important service of cutting our hair. 
 At times he went into the bush with us, and assisted 
 in surveying ; but for this we paid him. 
 
 Doubtless his own trade was a poor one in that hot 
 climate, and we never knew him to do any work at it ; 
 except on one occasion, when he astounded us by the 
 assertion that we must excuse his non-attendance upon 
 us, as he had six waistcoats to make ! Now this was 
 an article of costume quite unknown in Prainha — we 
 ourselves never wore it — and from whence such an 
 order could have come is inconceivable. 
 
 Less smart looking than our house at Monte Alegre, 
 our new abode was nevertheless more comfortable. 
 
Chap. IV. OUR QUARTERS. 61 
 
 It is true that its walls were nnplastered within or 
 without, so that the rough posts, and lumps of clay, 
 which composed them, were all exposed to view ; but 
 on the other hand, it had, on two of its sides, quite a 
 number of doors which could be set open to catch 
 every breeze that blew. The trade wind, setting 
 steadily up the Amazon from nine in the morning until 
 three in the afternoon, swept right through, thanks to our 
 elevated situation; and the change from Senhor Onety's 
 house on the blazing sands was most refreshing. The 
 tiled roof was not, however, as water-tight as it should 
 have been, and sometimes when heavy tropical rain 
 fell, accompanied by strong wind, the water was driven 
 through the interstices, and poured down upon us in 
 copious streams. Somewhat ridiculous was the appear- 
 ance we presented on these occasions, sitting in our 
 room with umbrellas spread and mackintoshes on, or 
 standing up in corners where the shelter was tolerably 
 perfect, while our luggage was protected by every 
 available wrapper. 
 
 Another drawback, perhaps more serious than the 
 one just mentioned, because more constantly present, 
 was the number of large wasps, known as "Jack- 
 Spaniards " in the West Indies, which had built their 
 bell-shaped nests in the roof. They were continually 
 passing in and out through openings under the eaves, 
 bringing materials for their architectural labours. 
 Had they confined themselves to this, it would have 
 been all very well, and we might have got some 
 amusement out of watching them ; but at times they 
 quarrelled, and fell struggling with one another 
 through the air. Ill betided that member of the 
 
62 AT PEAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 Commission below upon whom they happened to 
 alight, for instantly a merciless prod from their long- 
 stings made that unfortunate individual exhibit the 
 most lively emotions of pain and rage, and stamp 
 about the floor, uttering urgent requests for the 
 ammonia bottle. 
 
 On one occasion when we had some writing to do, 
 their appearance was so threatening that we were kept 
 in a constant state of nervous excitement, and it was 
 judged best to burn them out. Flambeaux of burning 
 palm-thatch were hoisted upon reeds, and great havoc 
 was wrought ; but although hundreds of dead bodies, 
 and many nests and larvte, were swept out when the 
 destruction was over, the wasps did not appear next 
 day a whit less numerous than they were before. The 
 results of the conflagration were, in fact, most unsatis- 
 factory ; for, in the first place, our own property 
 suffered considerable damage — a night shirt, the seat 
 of a cane-bottomed chair, and a railway rug, being 
 partially consumed by falling sparks. In the next 
 place, the insects, as if to revenge themselves upon us, 
 kept up a continual rain of young and half-grown 
 larvae, which they tore from the cells of their damaged 
 nests and dropped upon our now repentant heads. 
 
 Our first evening in Prainha was an ever memorable 
 one, on account of the strange incidents and characters 
 which unfolded themselves for our amusement in an 
 uninterrupted series. As soon as we had got our 
 rooms fairly in order, one and another of the in- 
 habitants of the village came and peeped in, or more 
 boldly entered, and took stock of ourselves and our 
 belongings. A youth paid us a long visit under the 
 
Chap. IV. NBGEO SLAVE. 63 
 
 pretence of arranging to supply us with fresh milk 
 every morning; but although we closed with his 
 offers, never a drop ever found its way to us. The 
 lad had the impudence to come several times subse- 
 quently and renew the arrangement, but always with 
 the same result. He tantalized us by driving cows 
 with full udders past our doors, and then we saw no 
 more of him until he turned up in the evening to 
 inquire as usual if we would not like some milk the 
 next morning ! 
 
 A merry-faced negro slave with a lame leg now 
 appeared upon the scene, and handed us a long written 
 document, which was passed to the Interpreter for 
 elucidation. The purport of it was that the mistress 
 of the said slave wished to dispose of him, and 
 considered that he was worth a sum equivalent to 
 about 95^. He earnestly entreated us to buy him, but 
 we explained that this was impossible. Subsequently 
 it transpired that the document was forged, and that 
 the negro, who was evidently very anxious to find 
 another owner, had been accustomed to take it on 
 board the steamers stopping at the place, and try to 
 sell himself to the passengers. It was also said that 
 he had formed the design of poisoning his mistress. 
 For these offences the Subdelegado ordered him to be 
 imprisoned in his own official residence (the gaol being 
 doorless and otherwise insecure), and there he remained 
 until we left Prainha. Our Interpreter was told that, 
 in addition to this, the poor wretch had been sentenced 
 to receive the extraordinary number of a gross of 
 blows on the palm of the hand twice a day ; but this 
 seems incredible. 
 
64 AT PRAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 After the slave came dinner, which had been cooked 
 for us by the wife of the Subdelegado, and sent up 
 from the far end of the village. With it came Senhor 
 
 de S himself, who had evidently been drinking 
 
 our healths in the rum of the country, and was not as 
 steady on his pins as he might have been. He came 
 for the purpose of dining with us, and we could do no 
 less than invite him to take a seat at oar board. A 
 board it literally was — in fact, a drawing-board sup- 
 ported upon a rough trestle — for we had no other 
 table. Our seats were boxes and low ship-chairs, so 
 that everyone appeared at a different elevation — some 
 with their noses almost level with their plates, and 
 others mounted up at an uncomfortable height. A 
 dish of boiled beef was passed to the worthy official 
 that he might help himself, but, after much fumbling, 
 he only succeeded in securing some of the cabbage 
 leaves. 
 
 Attention was now directed to an old man — the 
 village shoemaker, as we subsequently learned — who 
 had entered with him, and presented a most disreput- 
 able appearance. He was grizzly, dirty, and dressed 
 in a grimy suit of a muddy brown colour, while a 
 filthy rag of the same material was tied round the 
 back of his head. So much did he shake and tremble, 
 that he was obliged to clutch at the back of the first 
 chair he came to for support, and this happened to be 
 the Botanist's. His performances plainly indicated 
 that he also was on the spree. He stooped so much, 
 that at times his chin almost came into contact with 
 Mr. Trail's head; threatened every moment to fall 
 upon the floor ; and kept pointing at the various dishes 
 
Chap. IV. DISREPUTABLE OLD MAN. 65 
 
 upon the table, muttering sometMng which we sup- 
 posed to be an expression of his desire to partake. 
 All were anxious to be rid of such an undesirable 
 guest, and Mr, Trail most especially so, for his posi- 
 tion was not an enviable one, with that dreadful old 
 man in such very close proximity to his back. 
 The Interpreter was therefore requested to ask the 
 Subdelegado if the person he had introduced was a 
 friend of his. An emphatic nod indicated that he 
 owned him as such. 
 
 Here, then, was a predicament! We could not 
 presume to turn out the chosen ally of the great man 
 of the place, much as we wished to do it, and the 
 Botanist hurried on with his dinner in order to vacate 
 as soon as possible a position that was fast becoming 
 untenable. Presently the old man grew more adven- 
 turous. He quitted his holdfast, and made for a dish 
 of turtles' eggs standing on a box which did duty as a 
 sideboard ; but just as he was about to grasp them in 
 his trembling hands, he tottered and fell with a crash 
 into a heap of clean plates, knives and forks which 
 had been prepared for dessert. This was more than 
 could be endured, and when the old reprobate had 
 been set upon his feet again, instead of leading him 
 to his former position, it appeared much more de- 
 sirable to take him to the door, and leave him there 
 facing the wide Amazon prospect. To conduct him 
 farther would scarcely have been a safe proceeding, 
 for the doorstep was some two feet deep, and it was 
 hard to see how he would get down it in any other 
 fashion than headlong. This problem, however, he 
 set himself at once to solve, while we looked on with 
 
66 AT PEAINHA. Chap. TV. 
 
 deep interest, not unmixed with anxiety. There were 
 staggerings and totterings to and fro, violent jerks and 
 spasms, complicated and extraordinary movements of 
 every limb ; finally, a sort of complete collapse upon 
 himself, and then he was found to our great relief to 
 be sitting safely upon the doorstep, with his feet on 
 the roadway outside ! The Subdelegado now intimated 
 that he also must be going, and the two friends went 
 down the village together, arm locked in arm, leaving 
 us to indulge in a hearty laugh and finish our dinner 
 in peace. 
 
 But the incidents of the day were not yet over. 
 As we sat chatting in the twilight, enjoying the de- 
 licious coolness, a cry of such unwonted horror escaped 
 from the lips of Senhor Tasconcellos that it sent a 
 thrill through the whole of the party, for it was 
 evident that something more terrible than a poor 
 grasshopper had attracted his attention and excited 
 his alarm. Grazing upward in the direction in which 
 he pointed, we beheld a large snake, about five feet in 
 length, with a bright yellow underpart, gliding along 
 over our heads between the rafters and tiles of the 
 roof, so slowly that its motion could only be detected 
 by close observation. Now, until one gets used to 
 such a companion, a serpent is not exactly the kind 
 of inmate one likes to have loose about the house, 
 and it need not be wondered at if the discovery of 
 this creature caused some sensation. As for the Inter- 
 preter, however, he completely lost his self-possession 
 in the circumstances, and strode up and down the 
 room bewailing the unhappy fate which had brought 
 him amidst such untoward surroundings. " "What 
 
Chap. IV. VISITED BY SNAKE. 67 
 
 shall I do ? " he kept repeating. " 0, my dear sirs, 
 what shall I do? He must be killed, or to-night I 
 do not sleep ! " Thus urged, everyone hunted about 
 for a weapon, while neighbours and passers by, hear- 
 ing the commotion, dropped in to see what was going 
 forward. 
 
 Another alarming incident at this stage gave us 
 a fresh scare. A part of the wall dividing our house 
 from the professor's suddenly fell with a crash to the 
 floor; and tiny hands could be detected in the dim 
 light busily engaged in enlarging the aperture by 
 pushing down more of the lumps of clay. The matter 
 had a truly ghostly appearance, but we guessed at 
 once that the curiosity of the schoolmaster's children 
 had suggested to them this plan for obtaining a view 
 of our proceedings. When he was told of it next day, 
 and asked not to allow the thing to occur again, he 
 proceeded to whip all the children in the school 
 except his own, who alone could have been the guilty 
 parties; but the measure had the desired effect, for 
 our privacy was not subsequently interfered with in 
 that way. 
 
 The lamp had now been lit, and its light attracted 
 swarms of mosquitoes, moths, and other insects, 
 followed by bats in search of prey. A weapon long 
 enough to reach the snake — for our room was lofty — 
 had been secured in a stout reed, resembling a 
 bamboo for lightness and toughness; but Mr. Trail 
 was very unwilling that the animal should be roughly 
 dealt with, as he wished to preserve it, unmutilated, 
 among his collection of reptiles, accumulating day by 
 day in jars and bottles. He therefore requested to be 
 
 F 2 
 
68 AT PRAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 allowed to try to snare it, and for this purpose, 
 arranged a cunning noose at the end of the reed, 
 which could be suddenly drawn tight by a cord held 
 in his hand. Then mounting upon some high boxes, 
 he placed the loop temptingly across the line of the 
 snake's march, and waited patiently to see it go in 
 and be caught. But the proverbial " wisdom of the 
 serpent" would have been conspicuously absent had 
 the creature consented to be so easily entrapped, and, 
 as might have been guessed, it entirely declined to 
 have anything to do with the arrangement. 
 
 One of the villagers who had called with turtles for 
 sale now interposed, and said that it was a shame to 
 injure the snake, for it was not only harmless but 
 exceedingly useful in clearing the house of vermin. 
 He added that in Para a large sum would be given 
 for it on that account ; upon hearing which we all 
 voted that it should not be interfered with further, 
 except Senhor Yasconcellos, who would not agree to 
 any such proposal. " I do not sleep to-night," he 
 again urged in the quaint English which fell from him 
 in moments of excitement. " I do not sleep to-night, 
 if the beast is not killed." To satisfy him, an attempt 
 was made to dislodge and beat the creature to death, 
 but only with the result of causing it to quicken its 
 pace a little, and push its way between the tiles to the 
 outside of the roof. The absence of the reptile could 
 not make our poor friend the Interpreter forget that it 
 still lived. He was sure, he said, that it would return 
 as soon as we had retired to rest; and one gloomy 
 thought after another about the consequences that 
 might ensue crossed his mind, and were communicated 
 
OiiAP. IV. A NIGHT WATCH. 69 
 
 to US at intervals. But the climax was reached when 
 he stated, with profound gravity, his solemn conviction 
 that the serpent had "a wife " at hand ; " and then," 
 he explained, " there must, in that case you see, be 
 two of them ! " Unfeeling as it may have been, we 
 could not help receiving this fearful suggestion with 
 shouts of laughter. 
 
 That night it was expected that one of the Com- 
 pany's steamers would pass up river, and have on 
 board a packet of letters and newspapers for us. Up 
 to this time, we had received no news from home 
 since our departure from England; and we were 
 naturally anxious lest the captain, in ignorance that 
 we had shifted our quarters, should take the precious 
 parcel on to Monte Alegre'. It was agreed to watch 
 therefore by turns through the night, each one taking 
 two hours. Heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and 
 lightning, set in about ten o'clock, and lasted until 
 morning ; but we observed with satisfaction that 
 Senhor Vasconcellos slept soundly through it all, not>- 
 withstanding his fears about the snake, and was 
 slumbering so sweetly at 5 a.m., when his watch 
 should have commenced, that the Engineer had not 
 the heart to awaken him, but continued his own look- 
 out until daybreak. The steamer came whilst we 
 were at breakfast, and brought the expected packet, 
 which was eagerly seized, apportioned, and read. 
 
 There is no postal delivery in any of the Amazon 
 towns or villages. Even Para itself, with its 35,000 
 inhabitants, is no exception to this rule. It is 
 supposed to be known to everyone when a mail 
 steamer is due at the place, and whoever expects 
 
70 AT PEAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 a letter, must make application for it at the post 
 oflBce. Of course it often happens under this system, 
 that letters lie unclaimed for weeks, and it is difficult 
 to understand how they would ever all reach their 
 destined owners, if neighbours were not obliging to 
 each other in making known what they had learned 
 respecting the contents of the mail bags. We once 
 witnessed the interesting ceremony of the distribution 
 of the letters after the arrival of the steamer at 
 Prainha, The postmaster's little room was densely 
 crowded, and nearly everyone pressed as closely as 
 possible to the table at which that important personage 
 was seated. Amongst the number we observed the 
 Subdelegado, the disreputable old shoemaker, the 
 tailor, and several Indians who were employed by us 
 to assist in surveying. All listened breathlessly to 
 the names that were called out, as the contents of the 
 bag were drawn forth one by one ; although some of 
 them looked very unlikely characters to be possessed 
 of correspondents. The schoolmaster was busily 
 engaged in reading the different communications to 
 those whose education had been so far neglected that 
 they were unable to spell them out for themselves 
 Only one female of the village seemed to expect a 
 letter, and she not very confidently, for instead of 
 pressing forward with the throng, she leaned back 
 against the wall, pulling away at her pipe with an air 
 of quiet satisfaction. 
 
 "We had by no means seen the last of the snake 
 Avhose first introduction to our acquaintance has been 
 related. It returned a few evenings subsequently, 
 when the rough treatment, received at our hands, had 
 
Chap. IV. OUR INTERPRETER. 71 
 
 been forgive a or forgotten ; and thenceforward made 
 its appearance pretty regularly at dusk. At first the 
 Interpreter insisted upon having it driven out, and 
 this was done for a few times to oblige him ; but in 
 the end even he tolerated it, and some of us got to 
 look upon it almost as a friend and companion. "We 
 were told that, although not venomous, it was not 
 advisable to be near the creature when much pro- 
 voked, for it could dart out its tail with great rapidity, 
 and deliver a smart blow like the lashing of a whip. 
 It was wonderful how it managed to creep about 
 among the numerous wasps' nests without getting 
 stung, and it looked as if there must have been some 
 understanding,or even friendly alliance, between the 
 creatures. 
 
 Senhor Vasconcellos had, long before, written to 
 Para requesting to be recalled ; but as a substitute 
 could not at once be found, his miseries were pro- 
 longed through a few more weeks. Before our 
 departure from Prainha, however, he was relieved by 
 Mr. J. Cunningham, of Jamaica, who arrived by one of 
 the steamers to take the position of interpreter ; where- 
 upon Senhor Vasconcellos very gladly returned to more 
 civilized scenes. We were sorry to part with him, 
 for we had found him a pleasant and gentlemanly 
 companion, always ready to oblige when he could. 
 He amused us, moreover, by the free manner in which 
 he translated our abrupt English into sonorous mag- 
 niloquent Portuguese, suited to the tastes of the 
 natives ; and, on the other hand, by the literal trans- 
 lations of Portuguese idioms into English ; as, for 
 instance, when he informed us one day that a neigh- 
 
72 AT PEAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 bour had " killed a death " — meaning thereby that he 
 had slaughtered an ox, of which we might purchase 
 a joint. He usually spoke our language with fluency, 
 but, in moments of excitement, occasionally got into 
 verbal difficulties. One evening, when he was hanging 
 up his mosquito net, some one desired him to hurry, 
 as he was obstructing the way ; whereupon he replied, 
 evidently with some thought of the proverb "More 
 haste, less speed " in his mind, " 0, my dear sir, the 
 less I do not try to make more speed, the more I do not 
 less try to make haste ! " If we sometimes laughed at 
 these things, as assuredly we did, and at our friend's 
 ludicrous fear of insect pests, our laugh was never 
 meant to be unkindly. We all esteemed him, and 
 knew that his linguistic attainments were greater than 
 our own, nor could we blame him for having tastes 
 which inclined him rather to city life than to the free 
 and simple existence we were leading here. 
 
 A few days after our arrival at Prainha, H. E. the 
 Viscount Maua, accompanied by Senhor Pimenta 
 Bueno, whilst on his way up river, in a special 
 steamer, for the purpose of seeing the Amazon and 
 visiting the chief towns on its banks, stopped off the 
 village in order to discuss with us the prospects of our 
 expedition. His Excellency is one of the most 
 influential men in Brazil, and having the welfare of 
 his country thoroughly at heart, has done much to 
 develop its trade and natural resources. He it was, 
 in fact, who started that line of steamers upon the 
 Amazon, which, ultimately becoming too extensive 
 for a single ownership, had been taken up by the 
 Amazon Steam Navigation Company, of which he was 
 
Chap. IV. ADVENTUEE WITH ANT-EATEE. 73 
 
 at the time, and is now, the chairman. After a long 
 conversation with him, carried on entirely in our own 
 language, we retired impressed with the gracious- 
 ness of his manner, the kindliness of his expressions 
 towards us, and the value of the suggestions given for 
 the further carrying out of our labours. 
 
 Much of our time, whilst at Prainha, was spent in 
 the forest, cutting lines for the purpose of surveying, 
 and marking out the boundaries of the Company's 
 property. Although the trees were low in this part 
 of the bush, it was not quite devoid of interest ; for, 
 here and there, we came upon a grove of wild 
 plantains, a clump of elegant palms, or a cluster of 
 flowering trees, which gave picturesqueness, or added 
 a touch of colour to the scene. Two large swamps, 
 near the village, contain groves of miriti palms, and 
 the eye here ranged down long vistas, between their 
 upright columnar stems supporting the massive heads, 
 which consisted of large fan-shaped leaves. Animal 
 life, though not abundant, except in the matter of 
 insects, was not entirely wanting. Tortoises were 
 fairly plentiful, and monkeys of various kinds were not 
 unfrequently seen. Some of the latter were detected 
 in the very act of plucking up the rods, and tearing 
 in pieces the papers with which we had carefully 
 marked out the straight course of a survey line — a 
 proceeding to which they could only have been 
 prompted by sheer love of mischief. C-^^- v^c v^C 
 
 One ant-eater, of the smaller species, was captured 
 by us. It ran up a little tree close to the narrow 
 pathway, as we were going out to our work in the 
 morning; whereupon one of the men fetched the 
 
74 AT PRAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 sapling down with a single blow of a cutlass, and 
 laid hold of the creature by the tail. A trader of 
 the village, who had joined us for the day for the sake 
 of amusement, wished to take it home alive, and pro- 
 ceeded to cut a quantity of small sipos — the natural 
 cordage of the forest — for the purpose of binding its 
 feet together. He was kneeling on the ground, busily 
 engaged in securing it, when unfortunately the beast 
 managed to insert its sharp-hooked claws into the 
 backs of his hands, from which they were with diffi- 
 culty extricated, and not until deep gashes had been 
 produced, which bled profusely. The man was no 
 sooner set free from these formidable weapons, than 
 he gazed for a moment at his wounds; then, filled 
 with fury at the sight, seized a cutlass, almost severed 
 the ant-eater's head from its body at one blow, and 
 flung the carcase far away from him among the 
 bushes. 
 
 Snakes were not as common as might have been 
 expected, or, at any rate, were not often seen. A 
 glimpse was had one day, however, of a fine fellow — 
 a member of the boa tribe. It was of a slaty-bluish 
 colour, and was lying on a patch of sand stretched out 
 in a perfectly straight line, except that its head was 
 held a little off the ground. We particularly noticed 
 its bright vermilion tongue, which was being darted 
 in and out with great rapidity. The speed of " greased 
 lightning " is scarcely too bold an expression for de- 
 scribing the rate at which the serpent made off when 
 it caught sight of us. 
 
 The swamps before referred to were full of large 
 fishes, which the men easily captured by wading a 
 
Chap. IV. INSECT PESTS. 75 
 
 little way into the shallow water, and slashing right 
 and left with a cutlass. When the breakfast hour 
 came round, they were roasted on sticks, and formed 
 a pleasant addition to the meal. Occasionally we saw 
 the tracks of deer, jaguars, and tapirs; but never 
 managed, whilst at Prainha, to get a view of these 
 animals. Flocks of parrots frequently screamed in 
 the trees overhead, and humming-birds darted about 
 in the more open spaces. 
 
 With so much to interest us, a day in the forest 
 ought to have been exceedingly enjoyable, but un- 
 fortunately the plague of insects greatly diminished, 
 if it could not wholly remove, the charm of the thing. 
 In the first place, there were of course mosquitoes. 
 We already tire of mentioning these, but, as a matter 
 of fact, the shade of the trees was their haunt by day, 
 just as the houses were their places of assembly a,t 
 night ; anyone therefore who spent his nights at home 
 and his days in the forest, simply kept in the com- 
 pany of the mosquitoes throughout the twenty-four 
 hours. In the next place, there were wasps of all 
 sorts. Some little ones made nests under a single 
 leaf, and could be removed without much danger, by 
 being gently whistled to while the twig was carefully 
 broken off. Others had large dwellings — some round, 
 and some elongated — in the trees, looking like Dutch 
 cheeses or Scotch haggis puddings; and in cutting 
 our way onward, these necessarily got an occasional 
 shake, when down came the fierce occupants, and 
 stung us fearfully, nor could we pass by until they 
 had been burnt out. Ants were in far greater variety 
 than wasps, and had a large assortment of methods 
 
76 AT PEAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 for inflicting torture. Some swarmed upon us in 
 myriads, dropping from the bushes overhead, or run- 
 ning towards us from all points of the compass ; but 
 contented themselves with simply tickling. Others 
 gave forth a most sickening odour, that became at 
 times almost unbearable ; but most of the ant tribe 
 bit and stung savagely. One huge kind, fully three- 
 quarters of an inch in length, had to be very carefully 
 guarded against, as their sting is said to be almost 
 maddening. They had holes at the roots of certain 
 bushes, and rushed out when the branches were 
 shaken. When it was necessary for the men to 
 continue their cutting in the vicinity, they would at 
 once brush aside any leaves that might afford them 
 cover, and set a boy to watch that they did not 
 make a stealthy advance towards their bare feet. 
 Bees formed another class of pests. Some tiny ones 
 would cause a constant annoyance during the hottest 
 part of the day by persisting in drinking the moisture 
 of our eyes. Larger ones entangled themselves in our 
 hair, and bit our heads ; while there was a very large 
 kind — more like a beetle than a bee — which made 
 a most valiant defence of its home. This sort went 
 in couples, and built their nests in hollow trees. 
 When we passed near, they sallied forth, and swung 
 round us in great circles with a loud humming noise, 
 like the sound of a steam fan; swooping down now 
 and again upon one or other of the party — not to bite 
 or sting, but to hit a blow by the impetus of their 
 motion that would be long remembered by the un- 
 lucky receiver. The figure we cut on these occasions 
 was not heroic, for it was very laughable to see one 
 
Chap. IV. TICKS. 77 
 
 after another diligently ducking to avoid the assailants. 
 Sometimes we could not get by their place of abode 
 except by strategy. Eetiring a little way, and watch- 
 ing them return to their nest, we made a rush as soon 
 as they had got in, and stopped up their hole with 
 a wooden plug. Thus effectually shut up, they could 
 be heard humming in a terrible way inside ; but before 
 they could eat themselves out, we were far distant. In 
 some parts of the forest, where it bordered upon the 
 savanna, clouds of flies rose up out of the bushes, and 
 tickled our faces so persistently that it was difficult to 
 look through our surveying instruments, or record the 
 observations. But the worst pest of all at Prainha — 
 for almost every place has its special plague — was that 
 of the ticks. These disgusting creatures were of three 
 sizes, the smallest scarcely larger than dust, and the 
 biggest nearly the size of a pearl button. The bushes 
 swarmed with them, all standing on their hinder legs 
 to be ready to lay hold of us with the others as we 
 passed by; and, when we stood still for a moment, 
 they could be seen hastening towards us from all 
 directions. It took us a full hour, when we arrived 
 home in the evening, to pick these loathsome insects 
 from our clothes. 
 
 This description may give some faint idea of the 
 delightfulness of a day in a tropical forest ; of the way 
 in which the novelty and beauty of the scene is 
 counterbalanced by a hundred drawbacks ; and of the 
 constant vigilance with which it is necessary to watch 
 and do battle against a host of tiny, but by no means 
 despicable, enemies. Insects were the supreme rulers ; 
 the whole creation groaned because of them ; every 
 
78 AT PEAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 beast or bird had its own peculiar parasites and 
 tormentors; and it was hardly possible to find upon 
 any of the trees or bushes a perfect leaf— all were 
 marked, galled, eaten into holes, or twisted out of 
 shape by these irrepressible troublers. 
 
 At the close of the day's labours, carried out under 
 such unpleasant conditions, it was most delightful to 
 have a swim from the beach below our dwelling, out 
 into the waves of the Amazon ; notwithstanding the 
 alligators that were usually to be seen at some distance 
 from the shore, keeping vigilant watch in the hope of 
 a meal. Often it happened that the kindly villagers 
 ran down, or shouted from the top of the cliff, to warn 
 us that one of these beasts had turned round, and was -^^ 
 coming in our direction ; but we were always careful 
 to observe theif movements, and the well-meant 
 caution was hardly required. 
 
 Equally pleasant was the dinner succeeding the 
 bath, although the fare was seldom luxurious, for we 
 depended more upon potted meats during our stay at 
 Prainha, than in any other part of the time spent in 
 the country. The Subdelegado's wife continued to 
 cook our food for us, although this was hardly a con- 
 venient arrangement, on account of the great distance 
 between her residence and ours. However, it seemed 
 to be impossible to make any other in the circum- 
 stances. A poor little slave— ^half-Indian half-negro — 
 waited upon us, and went to and fro with the pro- 
 visions and dishes. He usually wore only a little 
 blue cotton shirt, so short that it scarcely reached his 
 waist ; but occasionally presented himself before us 
 with absolutely nothing. On expostulating with him 
 
Chap. IV. OUR LITTLE WAITER. 79 
 
 for coming in this unfledged condition, to which we 
 objected on principle, he explained to us that it was in 
 consequence of his garment being at the time in the 
 process of washing, and that he had no other in the 
 world to replace it. Among the pictures which 
 memory flashes across the mind's eye in connection 
 with our quiet life in this out-of-the-world place, not 
 one perhaps recurs more frequently or vividly than 
 the scene beheld by us, almost daily, when we stood 
 at the door of our house, shading our eyes with our 
 hands from the glare of the tropical sunset, and looked 
 down the village street to assure ourselves that dinner 
 was coming. Then would appear the figure of the 
 little slave, creeping slowly towards us with the trays 
 of dishes upon his head ; the whole surmounted by a 
 huge blue-and-white china teapot of antique shape — 
 evidently much venerated in the Subdelegado's family 
 circle. 
 
 Our young attendant experienced a terrible fright 
 on one occasion when washing up for us some plates 
 and dishes. He was performing this work in the 
 storeroom, close to the hanging shelf which we had so 
 providently arranged there, when suddenly it fell with 
 a crash, hardly less noisy than what might have 
 resulted from the collapse of the house itself Many 
 bottles and jars were smashed, and the whole contents 
 of the shelf scattered confusedly far and near over the 
 floor. Totally unprepared for such a shock to his 
 nerves, the poor lad was found shedding hysterical 
 tears. An inquiry into the cause of the accident 
 showed that one of the supporting ropes had happened 
 to cross a gallery constructed by white ants along the 
 
80 
 
 AT PBAINHA. 
 
 Chap. IV. 
 
 beam. Their passage had thus been completely 
 blocked, but the patient insects had slowly eaten away 
 the obstacle, so evenly that it looked as if the rope 
 had been severed by a very sharp knife. 
 
 Prainha boasted of only one shop. It was of a 
 general character, and enabled us to replenish our 
 stoi'es as occasion required. A Frenchman — Monsieur 
 Block — was the proprietor, and was exceedingly use- 
 ful to us because he spoke English fluently ; was well 
 acquainted with all the people and resources of the 
 village, and verj^ obliging. We betook ourselves to 
 him in every emergency respecting want of men or 
 means of locomotion, and it is hard to conjecture what 
 we should have done without his ready help. 
 
 rri^fe«fia^^ 
 
 EXTEKIOE OF rr,.\TNHA CHt'ECH. 
 
 Half-way down the village, and facing the water, 
 stood the church, of which we give exterior and 
 interior views — not, it may well be imagined, on 
 
Chap. IV. 
 
 THE VIT,LAGE OHUROII. 
 
 81 
 
 account of the architectural grnndeur of this structure, 
 but because it happens to be the counter])art of what 
 may be found in the smaller settlements up and down 
 the whole Amazon. It must not be supposed, how- 
 ever, as might be iaferred from the sketch, that there 
 is a real clock over the main door, giving the accurate 
 hour to the people of the village, as Big Ben does to 
 the inhabitants of London. What appears as such is 
 a mere piece of decoration — the painted semblance of 
 a clock face. Ecclesiastical time at Prainha stands 
 alwaj^s at half-past twelve precisely ; but there is 
 some advantage in this arrangement, for it must at 
 least l)e right twice during the twentv-four hours— 
 
 INTEKIOR IJF niAINIIA f^HrROH. 
 
 which is more than can l)e said for most timekeepers. 
 Perhaps there is even some deep symbolical meaning 
 ill the particular hour chosen, if one could fathom it. 
 
82 AT PRAINHA. Chap. IV. 
 
 Only the front of the church is plastered and decorated 
 — the sides show the rough materials of the adobe 
 walls, and the windows are unglazed. 
 
 In this humble edifice service is held on the even- 
 ings of the principal Roman Catholic festivals, but not 
 often on Sundays. The congregation usually embraced 
 a large proportion of the inhabitants of the village, 
 and was exceedingly devout in behaviour. No seats 
 are provided, and the worshippers have either to 
 kneel or stand, but the latter posture was selected 
 only by the men. These seldom cared to venture far 
 from the door — indeed most of them, ourselves among 
 the number, remained outside bareheaded under the 
 tropical sky. Prainha, like all the smaller Amazon 
 settlements, has no resident priest ; the service, there- 
 fore, was not mass, but a simple litany, being thus, in 
 the proper sense of the word, strictly congregational. 
 A staid man of the village — dressed in no gorgeous 
 vestments, but in the common flannel-shirt and trowsers 
 of everyday life — knelt at the altar, supported on 
 either side by two younger men, and led off in a 
 singularly nasal tone the monotonous but plaintive 
 chanting of which the entire worship consisted. 
 The refrain was taken up by the boys, who knelt on 
 the lower steps of the altar, and whose attention was 
 otherwise pretty fully occupied in keeping the mos- 
 quitoes from attacking their bare feet. The women, 
 who occupied the body of the church, next took it up, 
 and passed it on to the men standing at the door, who 
 returned it to those at the altar, when it was started 
 for a second round. At intervals of a quarter of an 
 hour, one of the young men leading the service tinkled 
 
Chap. IV. FEMALE COSTUMES. 83 
 
 a little bell ; whereupon some one in the rickety belfry 
 outside caught the signal, and set the large bells 
 there clanging for a minute or two. On very special 
 occasions this part of the performance was rendered 
 more striking by the discharge of some very noisy 
 rockets, designed, it is said, together with the clamour 
 of the bells, to make known in heaven the precise 
 progress of the service. 
 
 It may be perhaps expected that we should give 
 some criticism of the dresses of the female portion of 
 the congregation, according to the custom of church- 
 goers from time immemorial. The task is a simple 
 one, for we can dispose at once of the important 
 matter of headdresses by saying that the ladies wore 
 none, or at the most a silk handkerchief thrown care- 
 lessly over their raven locks. For the rest, their 
 attire consisted only of a bodj^^ or jacket, of light- 
 coloured cotton print, and a skirt of the same material. 
 One or two of the richer members of the congregation 
 wore muslin. There were signs that the dresses were 
 acquired ready made and not to measure, for occa- 
 sionally the jacket did not reach the top of the train 
 by some inches, and a strip of brown waist was 
 exposed to view in the interval. One stout female 
 had conspicuous difiBculties with her costume, for the 
 body could only be made to meet at the top and 
 bottom, thus revealing a lozenge-shaped expanse of 
 deeply-toned skin. A similar triangular patch of back 
 could also be seen, in consequence of the refusal of the 
 band of the skirt to join extremities, except by being 
 lengthened out with strings. These trifles might 
 attract considerable attention in a fashionable London 
 
 G 2 
 
84 AT PRAINHA. Chap. IY. 
 
 audience, but counted for nothing among the primitive 
 people of Prainha. 
 
 Many babies attended church, some in the care of 
 the women, and others looked after by the boys. In 
 any case a mat or pillow was brought with the child, 
 and on this it was laid out on its back and placed on 
 the floor by the side of its attendant. The behaviour 
 of these infants was always exemplary. A dog of the 
 village was of an exceedingly religious turn of mind 
 — perhaps because of a grievous affliction that had 
 befallen it in the matter of a lame leg — and punctually 
 attended the various services, going from worshipper 
 to worshipper and licking the faces of the babies. It 
 was not interfered with except when the disreputable 
 old shoemaker visited the church ; but he made it his 
 business when present to go in at intervals and chevy 
 the poor animal out. 
 
 On the whole, that portion of the congregation 
 standing without the door had by far the best position ; 
 for they could look around on the great temple of 
 nature whilst they glanced occasionally into the 
 hnmbler structure of man's rearing, and the contrast 
 could not fail to awaken some strange thoughts. The 
 scene still returns to our mind's eye as it appeared 
 one festal evening, when a crescent moon hung over 
 the Amazon, holding in its embrace the partially 
 illuminated remainder of the satellite ; while strange 
 fantastically-shaped clouds were piled up on the far 
 horizon, from which darted vivid and incessant light- 
 nings. The eye took in the magical beauty of all this 
 wide expanse, and the ear noted the musical plash of 
 the waves on the beach below ; then, turning round. 
 
Ohap. IV. FEVER. 85 
 
 we were struck with the dingy look of the little 
 church with its mouldy smell, and the sad monotony 
 of the weirdly nasal chant. There is something 
 affecting, however, in the constancy with which these 
 people have stuck to their simple worship, without 
 priests, teachers or scriptures to prompt them to it, or 
 to keep them enlightened respecting its meaning. 
 
 In the cliff in front of Prainha is an interesting 
 section of the recent deposit, containing well-preserved 
 leaves, and a layer of peaty matter. A short distance 
 back of the town is a low mass of white Erere sand- 
 stone, which most probably indicates the existence of 
 that rock beneath the recent deposit in this part. 
 
 An exceeding virulent form of intermittent fever 
 passed through the village towards the end of our stay 
 in it, and made almost the entire circuit of the in- 
 habitants. M. Block and every member of his house- 
 hold were laid up with it simultaneously. None of 
 the Subdelegado's family escaped its attacks. The 
 tailor came one morning to our door with his head 
 bound up, and showed for a moment a sallow, haggard 
 countenance ; then, merely ejaculating " I have the 
 fever," crept back again to his own house. We heard 
 of no deaths, but many of the people were reduced 
 almost to skeletons. None of the Commission had the 
 slightest touch of it, but one of our servants — a 
 Portuguese sailor, who had been sent up to us from 
 Para — evidently took away the seeds with him, and 
 suffered an exceedingly severe attack subsequently at 
 Santarem. 
 
86 EXCUBSIOKS FROM PRAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 EXCTJESIONS FBOM PEAINHA. 
 
 Start for Jauari River — Strange Crew — Frightened Dog — Negro 
 Dwelling — Difficulties with Crew — Casa de Bicho — Return Joiuney 
 — Second Journey from Prainha — Paruaquara River — A Wasp m 
 Boat's Cabin — A Fasenda — Swallow's Nest — A Cacoal — Third 
 Journey from Prainha — Crossing the Amazon — Uruara River — 
 Senhor Gomez's — Monkeys — Night Alarms — Adventure vrith 
 Wasps ■ — Return to Prainha. 
 
 After experiencing the usual difficulties and delays 
 in obtaining means of transit, we were at last pro- 
 vided by Senhor de S with a boat and scratch 
 
 crew, in which two of us — the Chief and Botanist — 
 started for the Jauari river, a small tributary flowing 
 into the Amazon to the eastward of Prainha. Senhor 
 Yasconcellos, who was not feeling well, did not 
 accompany us, consequently we were without an 
 interpreter. 
 
 Our boat was an old shell or dugout, called a 
 montaria, and the crew consisted of the queerest lot 
 of fellows that we ever had the misfortune to employ. 
 The steersman, a half mulatto, who held the high 
 position of postmaster at Prainha, was a curious 
 individual, and very much mutilated, having lost two 
 fingers of one hand and the foot of one leg. He 
 hobbled into the stern sheets of the l^oat by aid of his 
 crutch, which he then deposited amongst the poles of 
 
Chap. V. STRANGE CREW. 87 
 
 the sail, where it looked as if it belonged to them, in 
 its resemblance to a main boom. Of the other three, 
 one was a conceited youth, the son-and-heir of the 
 Subdelegado, another an old Zambo slave, while 
 the third was a boy of only thirteen years. 
 
 The slave did paddle a little, but the other three 
 were almost useless, being the laziest of all lazy 
 scoundrels. They would pull a stroke or two, and 
 then stop to look at their hands, which seemed 
 suddenly to have assumed some degree of importance, 
 from the manner in which they gazed upon them. 
 An arrow that they had in the boat appeared to be 
 the subject of a vast amount of criticism, for one or 
 the other was continually stopping to pick it up, 
 examine, and remark upon its merits or demerits. 
 Expostulations were in vain, and did not stir them to 
 greater efforts. When one stopped, all stopped, so. 
 that our progress was slow in the extreme; and it 
 was more by the help of the current than the work of 
 the crew, that we eventually arrived by noon at the 
 estuary of the Jauari. Entering it we sailed westward 
 over a lake-like expanse of water, and then came to 
 the actual river, a narrow winding stream. Up it our 
 progress was as slow as it could be made by our 
 wretched crew ; in fact, at times we only held our own 
 against the current. We passed a summer fishing hut 
 on the left, and some time after a wide branch — the 
 Maripa — on the right ; finally, we came to open grass 
 lands, where there was a fasenda, with lots of bellow- 
 ing'cattle, penned close to its house, and a few dirty- 
 looking people about. 
 
 Our men wanted us to stop there for the night, but 
 
88 EXCUESIONS FROM PEAIKHA. Chap. V. 
 
 as the roaring of the cattle would not be conducive to 
 sleep, nor the presence of a host of savage curs to our 
 convenience, we declined to agree to the arrangement, 
 and camped in the forest on the river's edge, a little 
 farther on. 
 
 The following morning broke dull and cloudy as 
 we left camp and continued our journey. Large 
 trees lined either bank, and threw a deep shade 
 over the narrow river; while inland were extensive 
 grass-grown plains. Soon after starting, rain began 
 to fall, lightly at first, but heavilj^ after a time, and 
 one or two loud peals of thunder warned us to seek 
 shelter. 
 
 We passed some solid ground on the west bank 
 some few feet above the level of flood mark in the 
 wet season ; the first unflooded land on this river 
 from its mouth up. From that onwards we passed 
 ibur or five squatters' huts, and, at the last one, were 
 advised by our crew to land and take shelter for the 
 day, as there was every probability of its raining 
 till nightfall. This advice seeming good, we landed 
 at a large opening cut in the forest, at the far end of 
 which stood a house. 
 
 Whilst we were overseeing the landing of our 
 things, a large yellow dog came trotting down the 
 pathway from the house, and, having its nose close to 
 the ground, was evidently unaware of our presence. 
 As it approached to within a few yards, Mr. Trail, 
 who was arrayed in a long white mackintosh, wheeled 
 round and fixed his eyes upon it just at the instant it 
 caught sight of him. Tossing its head, it gazed 
 wildly and fixedly at him for a short time, with 
 
Chap. V. NEGRO DWELLING. 89 
 
 horror depicted on its countenance. It evidently did 
 not linow at first what to make out of the Botanist 
 thus arrayed, and then seemed to conclude that he 
 was a ghost, for with a frightened yelp it turned and 
 fled along the pathway with lightning speed, its 
 course appearing to us like a long yellow stripe. 
 Eegaining the house it wheeled round and barked 
 furiously, but by the time we arrived there it had 
 entirely disappeared, nor did we see it again. 
 
 The house was occupied by a black man and woman, 
 two young negresses, and a few Tapuyus. The 
 latter, who are the direct descendants of the original 
 Indian inhabitants of the Amazon valley, are light 
 yellow in colour, with coarse straight hair, strong, 
 squat figures, and have all been civilized. Behind 
 the house came the forest, under the shade of which, 
 in the immediate vicinity, flourished a number of fine 
 coffee trees ; and around were a few fruit trees and 
 garden flowers, such as bachelor's buttons, coxcombs 
 and marigolds, while over the open space grew the 
 mandioca plant. 
 
 Pigs and fowls roamed about all over the place, the 
 latter being of a peculiar variety, with no quill feathers 
 in their wings— an invaluable breed to keep in the 
 vicinity of a low-fenced garden. 
 
 Our great difficulty at the time, when away from 
 our Interpreter, was to understand and make ourselves 
 understood in Portuguese. People would persist in 
 trying to converse with us ; and we were just able, 
 after a great deal of trouble, to make out each other's 
 meaning. A black woman of the place addressing us 
 as Brancos (Whites), made a long harangue in 
 
90 EXCURSIONS FROM PRAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 Portuguese, not one word of which could we make 
 out; we therefore remarked to her in our native 
 tongue, that if she would be kind enough to address 
 us in English, we should be able to understand what 
 she said. She seemed so intensely tickled at the 
 sound of our strange language, that she roared with 
 laughter, ran across the house, and threw herself 
 theatrically against a ladder, where she remained for 
 some time in a sloping position fairly convulsed with 
 merriment. 
 
 We spent the afternoon in watching the weather 
 and observing every change in the sky. It was not 
 until 4 P.M. that the rain ceased, and we were able 
 to go out into the open air ; by which time it was too 
 late to resume our journey. 
 
 At night a corner of the one room of the house was 
 assigned to us to hang our hammocks in, and there we 
 slept ; the rest of the place being occupied by ten of 
 the inhabitants. Amongst these was a woman suffer- 
 ing from fever and ague, who groaned continually, 
 and a child that awoke once an hour to cry, until 
 whacked into quietness by its mother. Thus the 
 night passed away, and the following morning found 
 us once more proceeding slowly up river at a snail's 
 pace, by tree-covered banks, and along short monoton- 
 ous reaches of the stream. 
 
 Our crew worked less than ever, and would not pay 
 the slightest attention to our orders to pull harder. 
 We felt inclined to pitch the miserable lot overboard, 
 but refrained from doing so because we knew that 
 they could all swim. To add to other disagreeables, 
 the crippled steersman had a horrid fashion of wagging 
 
Chap. V. CASA DE BICHO. 91 
 
 his sound leg, communicating an unpleasant vibration 
 to the canoe, which was very trying to our nerves. 
 On coming to the head of the tidal portion of the 
 river where it shallowed considerably, running with 
 a correspondingly rapid current, our men got poles, 
 and pushed the boat along for a time ; but, tiring of 
 that, they took to the paddles and conversation 
 again. 
 
 The only sound that smote upon the stillness of the 
 air was the peculiar whistle of the green-heart birds, 
 which resembled the words pi-pi-cho ; whilst the chief 
 signs of visible animal life were the stinking pheasants, 
 balancing themselves on the tree branches over the 
 water, or flapping heavily about. Our crew brought 
 the wonderful arrow into requisition about this time, 
 and one of them shot a large Salempanter lizard, 
 which they cooked and devoured. They also stopped 
 repeatedly to have shots with the same arrow at a 
 species of hourie fish, which lay close to the surface, 
 just under the leaves at the edges of the mud banks, 
 and succeeded in hitting one or two. 
 
 Stopping on one occasion to examine some rocks, 
 we saw a hole in a sand cliff, which our men said was 
 a " Oasa de bicho " (house of a beast). Bicho is the 
 term applied by the people on the Amazon to all 
 forms of animal life that are undomesticated, un- 
 common, or hurtfal — for instance, spiders, snails, ticks, 
 jiggers, water dogs, bushhogs, or tapirs, are all bichos. 
 When we were shoving off from the rocks to resume 
 our journey, the old negro slave lost his balance, fell 
 overboard, and disappeared, much to our amusement. 
 As he popped up again gasping for breath, and was 
 
92 EXCURSIONS FROM PRAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 scrambling into the boat, a shrill angry cry was heard 
 behind us issuing from a water dog, the owner of the 
 casa, which was seen swimming rapidly towards us, 
 showing its teeth. This frightened the old man so, 
 that, redoubling his exertions, he managed to get over 
 the side, and rolled into the bottom of the boat just as 
 the water dog came up close to us. 
 
 That night we camped near a sand cliff, up which 
 we climbed upon the following morning. From a hill, 
 a quarter of a mile back from the river, upon the 
 savanna, we obtained a fine view of the surrounding 
 country, which showed the river flowing in a narrow 
 valley bounded by an undulating wooded tract. Some 
 ten miles off to the northward lay a high mountain 
 called Jauari, while the flat-topped heights of Parua- 
 quara were beautifully distinct at a distance of some 
 twelve miles from us. 
 
 Beyond our camping place on the river, it was im- 
 possible for us to go; as our crew had consumed all 
 the provisions they had brought, and had nothing 
 more to eat. We therefore started down stream 
 assisted by a fine strong current. 
 
 Upon the morning of the second day of our descent, 
 so little advance was being made that we took posses- 
 sion of the seats and paddles of the two youths, and, 
 assisted at times by the slave, paddled without inter- 
 mission to the mouth of the river. The crew then 
 poled and paddled by fits and starts, while we sat on 
 our respective seats with the fierce rays of the sun 
 beating down upon us, and with hardly any move- 
 ment of the air to allay the intense heat. It was but 
 a poor consolation to reflect that we were moving 
 
Chap. V. SECOND TRIP PEOM PRAINHA. 93 
 
 towards our destination at the rate of one mile per 
 hour! That afternoon was a long one, and we were 
 beginning to think that it was never going to draw to 
 a close^ when we rounded a wooded point, and beheld 
 — oh welcome sight — the little village of Prainha 
 before us. With feelings of unbounded joy we vacated 
 our hard seats, and jumping ashore, made rapidly for 
 the shelter of our comfortable, airy quarters. 
 
 The second journey we made from Prainha was by 
 boat to the Paruaquara river ; not, however, with a 
 crew furnished by the Subdelegado, but by one pro- 
 cured for us by our worthy friend Monsieur Block. 
 The boat he let us have was his own, and was provided 
 with a large well-built wooden cabin, very superior to 
 the semi-cylindrical palm-matting affairs on ordinary 
 montarias. MoQsieur Block also hired us two Ta- 
 puyus, who were in his employ, to row us, and a 
 young Brazilian to steer ; but the latter having that 
 day met with a severe family affliction, had imbibed 
 too much cachafa in order to drown his sorrows, and 
 at the last moment was too drunk to accompany us. 
 
 Our party, consisting of the Chief and Botanist, 
 started at eight o'clock in the evening so as to escape 
 the strong breeze that blows up the Amazon by day, 
 but dies out at night. With the two men rowing, 
 and our servant William steering, we gained the mid 
 Amazon, and, hoisting sail, beat against the light 
 breeze that blew from the north-east, drifting at the 
 same time with the current down the river. The 
 water was extremely rough, owing to a wind and rain 
 squall having passed over it before we started. 
 
 Our boat was not long, but very wide and heavj^, a 
 
94 EXCURSIONS FROM PRAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 mere tub, in fact, as far as speed was concerned, but on 
 the whole comfortable and not crank. The first tack 
 we made was almost across to an island, where we 
 went about ; then we sailed back, being swept pretty 
 rapidly down towards our destination. The night was 
 dark at first, and the water and tree-clothed islands 
 loomed large and black ; presently the clouds broke, 
 and a dull glimmering of moonlight spread over every- 
 thing. 
 
 We sat on the thwarts, in front of the cabin, enjoy- 
 ing the cool night air and some pleasant conversation ; 
 after which Mr. Trail crawled into the cabin to retire 
 for the night. He had hardly stowed himself away 
 before we heard violent struggling, followed by a 
 heavy blow, as his head struck against the cabin roof, 
 and finally his voice in piteous accents saying, " I 've 
 been stung by a marabunta." He soon scuttled back- 
 wards out of the cabin, and, though smarting with 
 pain, joined us in laughing at the affair. Presently 
 in the dim light, discerning the wretched marabunta 
 crawling on his coat-collar, we brushed it off on to the 
 gunwale, from which it was quickly dislodged, and 
 washed clear of us by a wave. We then struck a 
 light, and inspected the cabin, finding to our satis- 
 faction that there were no more wasps, but only a 
 huge spider and a few ants. 
 
 At six o'clock on the following morning we entered 
 the mouth of the Paruaquara, passing through a net- 
 work of muddy channels to reach it, and found our- 
 selves on a fine black water river, up which we sailed 
 in a westerly direction. 
 
Chap. V. A FASBNDA. 95 
 
 About three-quarters of a mile on we landed at a 
 cattle fasenda, owned by an old spectacled Brazilian, 
 His house was built on posts, which raised its floor 
 some three feet above the level of the low land border- 
 ing the river, showing that during the rainy season 
 the whole neighbourhood is under water, A great 
 area of low-lying grass country stretched away almost 
 to the foot of Paruaquara mountain, upon which grazed 
 herds of cattle. Wishing to visit the mountain, we 
 asked the owner of this place to let us have horses for 
 the journey, but he refused, saying that the country 
 was too swampy to cross, and there was no pathway. 
 
 As we ascended, the river became rapidly narrower, 
 until after passing a large branch it was just wide 
 enough to enable us to use the oars. At night we 
 stopped near an old shed, on the opposite side of the 
 river to a small fasenda, preferring the quietness and 
 coolness of the spot to the noise and heat of the house. 
 The inhabitants, who were all cattle-minders and 
 their families, said that the shed was full of marabuntas, 
 which statement we found to be perfectly correct, and 
 therefore had to hang our hammocks, in the open air, 
 to posts driven into the clayey soil. The house 
 on the opposite side of the river consisted of a 
 thatched roof, supported by numerous upright posts, 
 with a floor raised a few feet from the ground. One 
 end portion was walled in with plaited palm leaves, 
 forming a mosquito-tight sleeping apartment. The 
 ground all round was beaten down, and made bare, 
 by the feet of many cattle and horses ; and garnished 
 by the bleached bones and horned skulls of departed 
 
96 EXCnr.SIONS prom PRAINHA. Chap. v. 
 
 animals. Amongst these hopped the unclean urubus, 
 while gaunt dogs prowled about ever ready to attack 
 a passing stranger. Behind came a large corral for 
 penning cattle, attached to which was a smaller one 
 containing a number of young calves. 
 
 Being unable to obtain horses we continued our 
 journey next day for a short distance, coming to a spot 
 where matted grasses and weeds growing on the surface 
 of the water shut it up to the further passage of our 
 boat. Standing on the low banks of the river we 
 could see a vast, level, grass-clothed plain, stretching 
 away northward almost to the foot of the distant 
 mountains. 
 
 Upon the branches of the alders bordering the 
 water's edge, in this part, were numerous and curious 
 clay nests of a small grey swallow. They were 
 spherical in form, and furnished with a screen at the 
 opening, which prevented a sight being obtained of the 
 esas inside. 
 
 SWALLOW S NEST. 
 
 Having fulfilled our mission, and being unable to 
 proceed any farther, we turned about, and descended 
 the river till nightfall, when we landed at a cacoal on 
 
Chap. V. A OACOAL. 97 
 
 the banks of one of the muddj channels, between the 
 mouth of the river and the Amazon. Our request 
 that we might be allowed permission to remain there 
 for the night was readily granted by the owner, a 
 little old man ; and we were made welcome in the 
 open portion of the house, where the cooking and day 
 work was done. The family consisted of the old man, 
 his wife, son, and pretty daughter. Lighting one of 
 the oil-lamps of the country — an earthenware, home- 
 made affair, shaped somewhat like the dish used in 
 civilized life for melted butter, — they kindly watched 
 us eat our dinner of potted meat and tough biscuit, 
 off our tin plates •, and, after a futile attempt to 
 converse with us, retired to their sleeping apartment 
 for the night. 
 
 Next morning we went over the cacoal, or chocolate 
 plantation, with the old man, who informed us that 
 he had 3000 cacoa trees, from which he obtained 50 
 arrobas (bushels) of chocolate bean per annum. His 
 cacoal being like those seen everywhere on the banJis 
 of the Amazon and its side channels, a description of 
 it will give a fair idea of all. 
 
 The rich alluvium forming the banks of the great 
 river attains its highest elevation along the margin, 
 where it forms a strip of land from 20 to 50 yards in 
 width, just above the level of the water in times of 
 flood. Behind it the land falls slightly, and, where 
 the alluvium is extensive, forms a wide tract of 
 swamp, supporting a growth of forest trees and tangled 
 masses of vegetation. On this narrow elevated strip 
 the cacoals are placed, the chocolate trees being 
 planted at certain distances apart, in regular straight 
 
 H 
 
98 EXCURSIONS FROM PRAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 rows. Their thick leafy tops, intermingling above, 
 form a deliciously cool shade beneath, upon which 
 nothing grows, but where it is pleasant to stroll even 
 during the mid-day heat. In so doing for the first 
 time, one is surprised to see the large yellow fruit 
 attached immediately to the stem and branches of these 
 trees, instead of at the ends of twigs, after the orthodox 
 fashion of fruit. The beans, which are the valuable 
 part, are enveloped in a juicy pulp contained in a 
 segmented rind. 
 
 These narrow bands of cacoa trees bordering the 
 edges of the Lower Amazon form one of the most ^ 
 marked and characteristic features of its scenery. 
 Their light-green leaves, tinged with brown, contrast 
 in a pleasing manner with the tall dark wall of forest 
 foliage behind. Plantations of mandioca (cassava), 
 maize, and sugar-cane frequently replace the cacoa 
 trees in these situations ; and the little palm-thatched 
 houses surrounded by this cultivation lend a civilized 
 air to the scene. 
 
 Before we left the place the pretty daughter of our 
 host presented us each with small nosegays, composed 
 of marigolds, pinks, bachelor's buttons, and variegated 
 leaves ; for which fortunately we had a sufficient com- 
 mand of Portuguese to be able to thank her. It 
 strikes one as singular that the flowers grown by these 
 people are all such as are common in English cottage 
 gardens, while we should naturally expect to see them 
 domesticate some of their own beautiful, blossoming, 
 wild shrubs and creepers. Here also, as in other parts 
 of the world, no flower is more highly prized than the 
 rose. 
 
Chap. V. CROSSING THE AMAZON. 99 
 
 Sailing slowly all day with a light breeze against 
 the strong current of the Amazon, we only passed the 
 mouth of the Jauari river at sunset. Taking turns 
 at the oars, we worked hard, and reached Prainha at 
 9.30 P.M. On the way up, in passing a white sand 
 beach, close in shore, we saw in the bright moonlight 
 a small tiger trot across the open, from one thicket to 
 the other. 
 
 One more district in the vicinity of Prainha — that 
 of the Uruara river on the opposite side of the Amazon 
 — still remained to be examined, and again we had 
 recourse to Monsieur Block to provide us with the 
 means of transport. All he could do this time was 
 to furnish us with his boat, and get one man, a native 
 of Uruara, to act as crew, but only for the voyage 
 over. Thus it will be observed, that the longer we 
 stayed in a place, the more precarious became our 
 chances of getting about. At Monte Alegre, on our - 
 last journey, we were obliged to act as our own crew, 
 and here again we were reduced almost to the same 
 low ebb. 
 
 After due preparation we hoisted sail on the French- 
 man's craft on the morning of December the 10th, 
 and, with a free sheet, scudded rapidly from the shore 
 to cross the Amazon. Soon we were nearing mid- 
 channel between Prainha and a large island, where 
 the full force of the current, being met by the strong 
 breeze, produced a chopping sea, causing our old boat 
 to dodge up and down in a most appalling manner. 
 The current having swept us down a long way, we 
 made the island at least half a mile below its upper 
 point, which we ought to have weathered. Running 
 
 F 2 
 
100 BXCUESIONS FROM PRATNHA. CuAr. V. 
 
 close ia shore in eddying water, we sailed up along 
 its side, and, rounding its end, met a fearful current 
 whicli at times brought our boat to a stand-still, 
 although the breeze was strong and fair. We passed 
 a huge cayman swimming across, which glared at us 
 with hungry eyes ; and then we started a flock of 
 geese from a grassy point. 
 
 After a sail of five miles from Prainha, we entered 
 the mouth of a channel leading into the Uruara, at the 
 head of a small delta. The wind being fair, we again 
 hoisted sail, and glided swiftly up its dark waters. 
 Both banks were clothed with forests for about two 
 miles up, but beyond that the river flowed through 
 low flooded marsh lands, covered with coarse grass 
 and reeds. At the mouth of a small tributary, where 
 there were belts of wood, we heard some black howl- 
 ing monkeys serenading, whose cries somewhat re- 
 sembled the sounds produced by the sharpening of an 
 axe on a grindstone. 
 
 We rowed on all that afternoon and evening, being 
 unable to find any dry ground on which to camp, and 
 witnessed a most beautiful sunset — the orb sinking 
 to rest behind the great watery grass-covered plain, 
 beyond a long expanse of river whose surface re- 
 sembled a sheet of glass. 
 
 At a late hour, we reached the landing place of a 
 cattle fasenda, built upon a slightly elevated patch of 
 land close to the water's edge, our approach to which 
 was announced by the barking of many dogs. As our 
 boat's prow touched the land, the proprietor — a 
 Brazilian, named Senhor Raimundo G-omez — dimly 
 seen in the starlight, greeted us, and cordially invited 
 
Chap. V. SENHOR GOMEZ'S. 101 
 
 US to laud and make his house our home for the nigbt. 
 The dogs beiug licked into comparative silence and 
 submission, we landed, and were told not to stand 
 upon any ceremonj^, so we sat down on empty boxes, 
 which did duty for chairs. 
 
 In coming along, we had eaten our dinner by lamp- 
 light on the top of our boat's cabin, and had now no- 
 thing further to do than converse a little with our host, 
 and then turn into our hammocks. We slept in the 
 open portion of the house, where pigs, a duck, and a lot 
 of snappish curs, roamed at large. The dwelling was 
 closcl}^ surrounded by a thin pole fence, beyond which 
 a herd of cattle kept tramping about, lowing and 
 bellowing. The effect produced upon our imagina- 
 tions by the close proximity of this lot of plunging, 
 restless animals, in the thick darkness at our very 
 elbows, was to engender a feeling of insecurity ; while 
 the grunting and rooting of pigs beneath our ham- 
 mocks promoted a sensation of disgust. 
 
 Next morning we departed on our way, laden with 
 bottles of milk kindly given us by Senhor Gomez, on 
 the sole condition that we returned the bottles on our 
 way down, they being scarce and valuable articles in 
 this out-of-the-way place. Eunning on before a fine 
 breeze, with partially inundated grass land stretching 
 for miles and miles on either side, we came after a 
 time to what is here called "terra firma," that is, 
 land which is never covered by water during the 
 rainy season. Here there were two houses, called 
 Povoado, at which we landed, our hired man having 
 to put ashore two bags of salt which he had brought 
 over from Monsieur Block. 
 
102 EXCUESIOXS FROM PHATNHA. Chap. V. 
 
 Two old Senhoras and a large flock of fowls were 
 the only occupants of the place at the time. The 
 Senhoras seemed to have a deeply rooted attachment 
 for their feathered friends, for no reasonable ofier of 
 money could induce them to part with either a tough 
 or tender member of their flock. 
 
 Here there was a quantity of tobacco leaves strung 
 on cords to dry. All over the Amazon valley 
 tobacco is grown and manufactured, the leaves being 
 bound round together with the split stem of a climb- 
 ing palm, into long rods of about two inches in 
 diameter, and four or five feet in length, tapering off 
 to a point at both ends. This tobacco has a peculiar 
 flavour, but is on the whole a good article, and tastes 
 its best in a cigarette. 
 
 Numbers of fine large mango and other fruit trees 
 grew about the houses, showing by their presence a 
 certain amount of forethought, on the part of former 
 proprietors of the place, for the welfare of their 
 descendants. It often struck us as strange that in a 
 country like that of the Amazon valley, where every 
 kind of tropical fruit-tree would flourish if planted, so 
 few of them are to be met with, and those only of the 
 commonest kinds. For instance, there are many old- 
 established villages, where there is not a single orange 
 or mango to be met with, and where a lime or two, 
 a cashew, and a few worthless guavas, are the sole 
 representatives of the fruit-bearing trees. The fact 
 seems to be that the people are either too indolent to 
 plant them, or conclude that it is not their place 
 to supply those that come after them with such 
 luxuries. 
 
Chai-. V. THE UPPER UUUARA. 103 
 
 Not far beyond Povoado the grass hmds terminated, 
 and forests lined both banks of the river from that 
 onwards. Here and there^ in rowing up, we passed 
 little houses and plantations nestling ou the river's 
 edge ; and late in the afternoon landed at one, where 
 permission having been cordially given, we put up for 
 the night. Senhor Manoel de Leitas, the son-in-law of 
 the owner of the place, was a very decent fellow, and 
 gave us through the Interpreter much information 
 regarding the district. In describing the wild animals 
 to be found in the forest, he mentioned the wild man 
 of the woods — a myth so generally believed in by 
 the natives all over the northern portion of South 
 America. 
 
 Two hours' pulling from Senhor de Leitas's in the 
 boat we hired there — our own being too large and 
 heavy for the portion of the river we had now to 
 traverse — brought us to Ponta da Pedreira, where 
 some highly ferruginous sandstone, the only rock met 
 with, juts out from one bank. The river up to this 
 was wide and deep, and had weeds and water lilies 
 near its edges, but here it narrowed into channels, 
 twisting about amongst little lake-like pools, sur- 
 rounded by grass and rushes. After a time it again 
 changed, and low trees of true swampy growth 
 flourished on either side. Its water was so remark- 
 ably clear, that on looking down into its depths, every 
 pebble on its white sand bottom could be seen with 
 great distinctness, with here and there a school of 
 fish darting about. These were of four kinds, viz. 
 sun-fish, perai, aroapeara,' and a large fish with broad 
 black bands encircling its body. 
 
104 EXCUESIONS FROM PRAIKHA. Chap. V. 
 
 As we advanced the river became narrower and 
 more winding, but being deep, we could not use poles 
 to propel our boat against the strong current. Two of 
 us pulled with the oars, one stood in the bow, to cut 
 off branches that were likely to catch our palm- 
 thatched toldoi, another steered, and our crew stood 
 with a forked pole to fend off with, when we were 
 swept against either bank amongst the tree branches. 
 This latter personage had provided himself with a 
 flask of rum, portions of which found their way down 
 his throat, from time to time, until at last he began to 
 get unsteady on his pins, and heavy about his upper 
 gear, rendering the task of fending off a dangerous 
 one. It was astonishing to understand how he 
 managed to regain his equilibrium when his forked 
 stick missed a tree branch, against which he attempted 
 to place it; and just as we expected to see him 
 plunge head first overboard, he would right himself 
 with a heavy lurch. 
 
 By half-past four that afternoon we had arrived at 
 a point on the river, where it had become so narrowed 
 by tree branches growing across from either side and 
 meeting in the middle, that we could not get our boat 
 any farther. We therefore landed, and clearing away 
 the undergrowth at the foot of some rising ground, 
 camped for the night. 
 
 Whilst doing so, a troop of small grey monkeys 
 passed through the tree-tops overhead, one of which 
 was shot, as the Botanist wanted it as a specimen for 
 his collections. He boiled it in a saucepan, and then 
 cut the flesh from the bones to get the skeleton, 
 tasting a Ijit oF the meat as he did so, and declaring it 
 
CuAp. V. NIGHT ALARMS. 105 
 
 delicious, trying at the same time to induce us to do 
 the same. 
 
 Before it became darlc Mr. Cimningham got William 
 to collect enough dry wood to keep the fire going all 
 night, as it was a novel situation for him to be in, who 
 had never camped out before, and he wanted as much 
 light on the scene as possible. T\'e all climbed into 
 our hammocks, which were tied from tree to tree, and 
 soon most of us were fast asleep. 
 
 During the night the Chief was awoke by hearing 
 his name called, and the voice of Mr. Cunningham in 
 dread accents say, " Do you hear a tiger coming ? " 
 He roused up and listened, only to hear the light 
 quick tread of a paca (labba), as that animal trotted 
 over the dry leaves near the encampment. Informing 
 his questioner what it was that disturbed him, he was 
 relapsing into slumber again, when the same voice 
 exclaimed, " Now ! don't you hear a tiger in the 
 tree-tops right overhead ? " He listened again, and 
 hearing the rustling of night monkeys in the boughs, 
 advised the Interpreter to go to sleep. Mr. Cunning- 
 ham replied, that though he courted it ever so much, 
 no slumber would come to his weary eyes, and in 
 spite of himself he was obliged to lie awake, listening 
 for tigers from the forest, and alligators from the 
 river, whose attacks he momentarily expected. He 
 related all his experiences of the night in a most 
 amusing manner next day. 
 
 On the following morning we came down stream, 
 by letting the boat drift with the strong current, 
 whilst we being all provided with long forked poles, 
 fended her off from the trees, giving an occasional 
 
106 EXOUESIONS FROM PEAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 assisting push when opportunity offered. As we 
 drifted along we were often swept into the inner side 
 of bends, in spite of our efforts to keep off, and 
 frequently were brought up all standing entangled in 
 a dead tree- top. 
 
 In passing under a low leaning branch we unwit- 
 tingly brushed off the nest of a large black wasp, or 
 " Yessi marabunta," but fortunately going at good 
 speed at the time, got clear away from most of those 
 enraged insects. Some, however, followed us, and we 
 had to defend ourselves I'rom their attacks by beating 
 them off with our hats. As ill-luck would have it, 
 one managed to sting Mr. Cunningham on his nose, 
 giving him great pain, and causing that organ to 
 swell up to twice its original dimensions in a very 
 short time. The effect thus produced upon the 
 expression of his visage was so utterly ridiculous, 
 that his dearest friends would not have recognized 
 him. In spite of his sufferings we were so convulsed 
 with laughter that we had to abandon the manage- 
 ment of the boat for a time, and hold oar sides whilst 
 tears poured down our cheeks. When his rage against 
 the marabunta had somewhat subsided, he good- 
 naturedly joined in the laugh as we were recovering 
 from our paroxysms of merriment, and solemnly apply- 
 ing a large lily leaf as a restorative to the injured 
 place, sent us all into fits again. 
 
 Another leaning tree, under which we passed, 
 caught the thatched toldo, and sweeping it bodily 
 backwards caused it to strike the Botanist, who was 
 aft steering, under the chin and nearly pressed him 
 backwards overboard. Grasping the sides of the boat 
 
Chap. V. HARD WORK. 107 
 
 he held on, while the toldo was gradually throttling 
 him, but we at once pushed the boat back, and 
 relieved him from his peril. 
 
 That night we spent at Senhor de Leitas's, and on 
 the next put up at an empty house above Povoado ; 
 near which, whilst obtaining meridian altitudes for 
 latitude, on a sand beach, we heard some deep growl- 
 ing sounds proceed from the forest near by, which, 
 greatly to William's amusement, we mistook for the 
 callings of a tiger. He declared them to be the night 
 cries of the ubiquitous urubus. 
 
 The following morning we started on our return to 
 Prainha, stopping at Povoado where our hired man 
 landed and left us. We had now a long way to go to 
 reach the mouth of the Uruara, after which it was 
 necessary to cross the wide stretch of Amazon before 
 we could get baek to Prainha, and all this would have 
 to be accomplished by our own unaided exertions. 
 The wind being in our teeth, and the tide setting up 
 river, forced us to have recourse to the oars in order 
 to propel our heavy old boat. From nine o'clock that 
 morning till half-past seven in the evening, we wearily 
 pulled by turns, arriving at a grove of trees a long 
 way beyond Senhor Gomez's fasenda, where we landed 
 and slung our hammocks for the night. 
 
 Four o'clock next morning found us at work again, 
 slowly wending our way to the Amazon, a task some- 
 what lightened by the deliciously cool early morning 
 air, and the contemplation of the beautiful sparkling 
 constellations overhead, amongst which was the 
 brilliant, though somewhat disappointing. Southern 
 Cross. Gaining the turbid Amazon, whose surface 
 
108 EXCURSIONS FROM PRAINHA. Chap. V. 
 
 was ruffled by a slight breeze, of which we took 
 advantage by hoisting the sail, we moved slowly 
 across towards our destination. Crossing the chops of 
 the main channel we ran on in the smooth sparkling 
 water beyond, and soon after had the pleasure of 
 beaching and taking a final farewell of our unwieldy 
 craft. 
 
 Having finished the exploration of the district, but 
 not the whole of" the surveying work in the neighbour- 
 hood of Prainha, it was arranged that the Chief, 
 Botanist, and Interpreter, should proceed by the next 
 steamer to Santarem, in order to make that place 
 their head-quarters ; while the Engineer should remain 
 to complete his survey ; after which he also would 
 pioceed to Santarem to rejoin the party. 
 
 A division being made of our stores, and small 
 supply of tin plates, cooking utensil?-, &c., we packed 
 up everything in readiness to depart, whenever the 
 steamer, then nearh' due, should arrive. 
 
Chap. VI. LEAVE PRAINHA. 109 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 AT SANTAKEM. 
 
 Leave Prainha — Ascendiag the Amazon — Arrive at Santarem — A 
 Stroll through the Town — Unmilitavy Proceeding — The Streets — 
 Townspeople — Salutations — Strange Cookery — Pood — Vegetable 
 Boy— Our House — Bathing Places — The 'Natal' — The Band — 
 A Fashionable Marriage — Signs of Eainy Season — One of our Portu- 
 guese attacked with Fever. 
 
 At au early hour on the morning of December 20th, 
 the steamer 'Belem,' commauded by our friend Captain 
 Talisman, called at Prainha, and soon after we and 
 our baggage were safely stowed on board. Three 
 Portuguese labourers had been sent up to us in her 
 from Para, to act as boat-hands or axe-men in cutting 
 paths through the forest. One of these was left with 
 the Engineer, and the other two taken on with the 
 rest of the party. 
 
 Just as the first faint glimmer of day appeared, and 
 a reddish tinge became visible in the sky to the east- 
 ward, the ' Belem ' steamed away from her anchorage, 
 and we were off once more bound westward-ho ! She 
 touched in at Monte Alegre, and from her deck we 
 recognized many old acquaintances and landmarks. 
 There was the "Rock Scorpion," various members of 
 Senhor Onety's family, some shopkeepers of the place, 
 old Brasfort, the noisy billy-goat, and the cock that 
 always would come of a morning and crow at the top 
 
110 AT SANTABEM. Chap. VI. 
 
 of his voice on our doorstep. There was our house, 
 the one solitary cocoa-nut tree, and the sand glistening 
 in the glaring sun. It was with real pleasure we 
 returned the cordial greeting of Seuhor Onety and his 
 son, who had come on board. 
 
 After taking in a supply of firewood, as well as ten 
 live cattle, and having landed some merchandise, the 
 ' Belem ' got under- weigh again. Steaming a short 
 distance down the G-urapatuba, we turned off sharply 
 to the right in a channel, and through it into the 
 Amazon, here of great width, being unobstructed by 
 islands. 
 
 Turning up stream, close to the low grassy shore on 
 the north side, our ship had a strong current to con- 
 tend with, and a short following sea in her favour. 
 The crests of the mud-coloured waves curled into 
 blossoms of foam as they drove before the strong 
 north-east breeze. Hardly a cloud floated above to 
 relieve the intense blue colour of the sky, or lessen 
 the distressing glare produced by the reflection of the 
 sun's rays from the surface of the water. 
 
 The bank near which we were steaming was 
 generally wooded to the water's edge, but in places 
 low mud tracts, clothed with a coarse kind of grass, 
 called capinga, intervened. On the far side of the 
 river, the view was bounded by a low even-topped 
 line of forest edge, darkly indistinct in the distance. 
 During the afternoon, this changed as we passed the 
 Barreiras of Monte Alegre on the south side of the 
 river, where the line of trees rose, as it were, quickly 
 up, and crested a long range of reddish and snow- 
 white sand cliffs, which presented a high perpendi- 
 
Chap. VI. ARRIVE AT SANTAREM. HI 
 
 cular face to the river. Beyond to the westward 
 they descended to the level of the water again, where 
 the high land fell back, and could be traced stretching 
 far on to the south-west. 
 
 Just after dark, we approached the mouth of the 
 Tapajos river, and soon after saw the lights of the city 
 of Santarem. As we steamed up to the anchorage 
 abreast of the town, we were agreeably surprised to 
 perceive such signs of civilized life as a row of oil- 
 lamps lighting the front street, and a three-storied and 
 some two-storied houses. 
 
 Many boats, containing all classes of inhabitants, 
 soon visited the ship, and some of the passengers 
 landed. A gentleman, acting for the agent of the 
 company, came on board to meet us, and by him we 
 
 were introduced to an American, a Doctor S . 
 
 After some conversation, the latter gentleman offered 
 to rent us a part of his house — one good-sized room, 
 with a brick floor — ^to which we thankfully agreed, 
 and by 11.30 p.m. that night were installed therein. 
 
 The following day being Sunday, we all started for 
 a stroll over the town, after partaking of our 6.30 a.m. 
 meal of coffee and biscuit. Our house being situated 
 in a street at right angles to the river in the eastern 
 end of the town, a short walk of some fifty yards, 
 leading up a low hill, took us clear of all buildings, 
 and an equal number more brought us to the ruins of 
 a fort. From it we obtained a good view of the town, 
 looking down upon its red-tiled houses and deserted- 
 looking, grassy streets ; and also of the great lake-like 
 expanse of the Tapajos river to the westward. In the 
 opposite direction was the usual characteristic view of 
 
112 AT SANTAREM. Chap. VI. 
 
 river, bounded bj the distant line of continuous forest. 
 There was, however, a new and striliing feature in the 
 scene, produced by the different colours of the waters 
 of the Amazon and its tributary the Tapajos which 
 here met; the dark, slow flowing water of the latter 
 impinging on the swift rolling muddy current of the 
 former in an almost even line. 
 
 Descending to the wide and extensive white sand 
 beach which spreads away eastward, we turned to the 
 left round the bluff's end, and re-entered the town by 
 its main street, which runs parallel to the river. In 
 this we passed the house of the Baron of Santarem, a 
 large three-storied dwelling; then a lot of low-built 
 houses with shops; and, farther on, one or two fine 
 two-storied buildings. Beyond, we came into a grass- 
 grown space, in front of the cathedral,- open down to 
 the water's edge, in which was situated a huge old 
 wooden cross, and a row of Monguba trees • rendered 
 striking by their green trunks and carmine-coloured 
 seed cases. ^, 
 
 The cathedral' is a large imposing edifice having a 
 wide front stuccoed' and whitewashed, but stained and 
 cracked by age. It originally possessed two dome- 
 topped towers flanking the front on either side, but 
 as they became unsafe their upper portions were re- 
 moved. Mass was being held at the time of our visit, 
 and, through the open doors, lights could be seen 
 twinkling far back on the altar. A room in its west 
 tower, on a level with the balcony, which ran along the 
 whole facade, contained a huge cracked bell, which 
 was rattled away upon at stated intervals. The chief 
 effect produced by these ear-harassing sounds was to 
 
Chap. VI. UNMILITARY PROCEEDINGS. 113 
 
 induce some boys to rusli from the church, discharge 
 a volley of rockets in the air, and then retire. A 
 knot of men, dressed in black cloth suits, loafed about 
 the door, and now and then a person or two dropped 
 in to the service. 
 
 Farther on was situated the Indian portion of the 
 town, characterized by its palm-thatched structures. 
 
 We now strolled up a street leading back from the 
 river, and crossed two wide thoroughfares at right 
 angles to our course, then turned to the left along 
 the back street of the place, where houses on one side 
 were faced by scrubby bush on the other. About 
 half- way along this we caught a glimpse of the 
 extensive cemetery. 
 
 We had by this time gained a good insight into the 
 condition and appearance of the town, and as the sun 
 was momentarily intensifying his increments of heat, 
 we felt compelled to retire to the shelter of our 
 temporary quarters. In doing so we passed the 
 barracks where the soldiers of the National Gruard, 
 who do duty as police, are stationed. There we 
 witnessed a distinct outrage upon all time-honoured 
 and well-established military customs, perpetrated by 
 an ofiScer, who, drilling an armed detachment, was 
 arrayed in a full suit of black cloth clothes and a tall 
 black " tile," while he gave the word of command 
 from beneath the shade of a voluminous umbrella ! 
 
 At the corner of the barracks was an open space, in 
 which were a number of large cannons mounted on 
 naval gun-carriages, their muzzles all pointing in 
 different directions from a common centre, and, being 
 slightly elevated, conveyed the impression to one's 
 
 I 
 
114 AT SANTAEEM. Chap. VI 
 
 mind that they had all just finished an exciting con- 
 versation, and were about to walk off in different 
 directions. 
 
 Sitting cooling off in our room, with all doors and 
 door-like windows thrown open to allow of the free 
 advent of any breeze that might blow, we were 
 astonished to hear the sounds of hammering proceed- 
 ing from an unfinished house near by ; and looking 
 out saw some carpenters busily engaged upon it, 
 
 although the day was Sunday. Doctor S , in 
 
 answer to our inquiries, stated that the men there 
 employed were slaves, who not being obliged by law 
 to work for their masters on Sundays, are conse- 
 quently able to hire themselves out to anyone who 
 will employ them on that day. A watchmaker living 
 over the way, who, however, was not a slave, was at 
 the time working busily at his trade. On a week 
 day shortly after he held a festa, or religious ceremony, 
 in his shop, which was dressed up with flowers and 
 dolls for the occasion. People came in — women and 
 children chiefly — and sang and prayed there, while 
 his clocks throughout the whole service ticked and 
 struck the hours merrily. 
 
 We observed during our walk that the houses of 
 the town are neatly built, with fronts plastered and 
 whitewashed ; while the doors, door-jambs, sills and 
 window casings, are painted of various colours, such 
 as red, blue, green, and yellow. The window shutters 
 are usually green, and some windows are provided 
 with small swinging jalousies, which can be shoved 
 out in a slanting direction to enable the inmates to 
 glance up and down the street. One or two houses 
 
Chap. VI. TOWNSPEOPLE. 115 
 
 of superior build have their fronts ornamented with 
 glazed tiles on which are patterns in blue. The 
 streets, which are clean and smooth, have short grass 
 upon them •, but they are badly formed, no attempt 
 having been made to raise their centres, or furnish 
 them with either pavement or gutters. In wet 
 weather the whole of the roadway, therefore, becomes 
 wet and sodden. / A few horses, some sheep and.-' 
 goats, are seen here and there browsing in the J 
 thoroughfares. There is a great want of shade in 
 the town, for with the exception of a short row of 
 almond trees in one street, and a few cocoa-nut palms 
 in the back yards, there are no trees to furnish it. 
 
 The people one chiefly sees in the town are black, 
 coloured, and Indian slaves, * whose sole object in life 
 seems to be to carry water in large earthenware jars, 
 from the river to the respective houses to which they 
 belong. Some neatly and simply dressed female 
 slaves carry about wooden traj^s containing fruits, 
 vegetables or sweetmeats for sale, and knots of them 
 may often be seen at street corners, or seated on door- 
 steps, gossiping, just as in the West Indies ; but, 
 unlike towns in that part of the world, Santarem has 
 no market, with its attendant crowd of talkative, 
 laughing, happy blacks. Here all have a quiet 
 subdued look, moving noiselessly about; and even 
 the immemorial street boy is seldom heard to whistle. 
 
 The Santarem ladies spend the greater part of each 
 afternoon at the window, or peeping through the 
 jalousies of their houses at whatever is to be seen. 
 They always greet the passers by, whether stranger 
 or friend, with the salutation of " Bom dias " (good 
 
 I 2 
 
116 AT SANTAREM. Chap. VI. 
 
 day), or " Boa tarde " (good evening), as the case may- 
 be — a curious but pleasant custom. The former greet- 
 ing is used from the hour of rising until mid-day, and 
 the latter from mid-day until the hour of retiring. It 
 is very difficult for a stranger to recollect this fine 
 distinction ; for instance, it will seem unnatural to him 
 to say " good evening " when the sun is shining verti- 
 cally upon his head, and he is sure to be greatly laughed 
 at should he unwittingly substitute the wrong term. --^ 
 
 One seldom sees the ladies walking out except in 
 the early morning or evening, when on their way to 
 church ; at which times they usually go in small -, 
 gangs, accompanied by their female slaves, who walk 
 close behind them. Their dress is plain and simple? 
 and they never wear bonnets, hats, or veils. 
 
 The first difficulties we experienced about our new 
 quarters were the absence of a cooking-place, and the 
 want of a table. The latter was supplied by the 
 watchmaker across the street, who kindly gave us to 
 understand that we must look upon the table as a 
 gratuitous loan. Our landlord — Doctor S , re- 
 lieved our anxieties on the former score, by engaging 
 an old black woman who lived near by, to cook our 
 meals when taken to her by our servant. Meat 
 having been procured at the butcher's for breakfast, it 
 was sent to her with some rice and potatoes; these 
 she all boiled together in an earthenware pot, which, 
 with its contents, she sent to us, just as she took it 
 from the fire. Though an uninviting looking mass it 
 was not badly flavoured, and served its purpose. 
 After some friendly instructions from our servant she 
 cooked things more to our taste. 
 
Chap. VI. VEGETABLE BOY. 117 
 
 Breakfast and dinner were exactly similar in com- 
 position, and, thanks to the food-producing qualities 
 of the place, we had only once or twice to resort to 
 preserved meats during our stay in the city. That 
 was when our servant, going to the butcher's at too 
 late an hour in the morning, found that every scrap of 
 meat had been sold. The price was very reasonable^ 
 a pound costing only fourpence halfpenny ; but then, 
 it had no fat about it, and was usually tough. "Well- 
 baked bread was to be got in any quantity, at all 
 hours of the day, and vegetables of various kinds, 
 such as tomatoes, pumpkins, chochos, cabbages, &c., 
 could be bought from vendors at street corners. 
 
 After having procured our vegetables from this 
 latter mentioned source for some time, we became the 
 customers of a remarkably sharp little Portuguese 
 boy, who introduced himself, and his wares, to our 
 notice in a most singular manner. Having been 
 annoyed two or three evenings in succession by 
 small stones falling on the roof of our house, we 
 concluded that they had been thrown with malicious 
 intent, and were on the watch to find out the thrower. 
 One of these missiles having come down with a bang 
 one evening after dark, we rushed out into the street 
 to look for the culprit, and there encountered this 
 little Portuguese boy, who exclaimed in one breath, 
 " I can tell you the name of the boy that threw 
 the stone — do-you-want-to-buy-any- vegetables ? — I can 
 supply you every morning." We promised to deal 
 with him, and he then took us to the house of the 
 boy's father, where he pointed out the offender. On 
 threatening to place the matter in the hands of the 
 
118 AT SANTAEEM. Chap. VI. 
 
 police, the father seized bis son by the ear in a deadly 
 grasp, and promised to punish him well, if we would 
 let the matter drop ; which we did. Upon the next, 
 and succeeding mornings at daybreak, the vegetable 
 boy was in our house with his tray, waiting to effect 
 a sale at the side of our hammocks, until we drove 
 him off with threats of vengeance. 
 
 Upon the second evening after our arrival we were 
 
 visited by an English gentleman, a Mr. P , who 
 
 had lately settled out here ; and on the following day 
 made the acquaintance of his brother-in-law, a Mr. 
 W . It was quite refreshing to meet and con- 
 verse with gentlemen from the old country away out 
 
 in these wilds. Mr. P kindly invited us to come 
 
 and see him at his place, some five miles south of the 
 town, at the edge of the elevated land. Some 
 Americans, who came from the Southern States after 
 the war, have plantations of sugar-cane out in the 
 same part of the country. 
 
 Doctor S— — also has a saw-mill in course of con- 
 struction near the same locality, which he set out for 
 on horseback one evening soon after our arrival. 
 Slung to his saddle was a large auger and a lamp. 
 When, on bidding us adieu, he explained, in answer 
 to our questionings, that the lamp was to guide him 
 on his way through the bush, Mr. Cunningham 
 facetiously inquired whether the auger was to defend 
 him from the attacks of tigers. 
 
 Calling upon the gentleman, who at the time acted 
 as agent for the Company, to whom we had a letter of 
 introduction, we found him lying on a sort of bed 
 sofa, his head bound up in a white handkerchief, and 
 
Chap. VI. OUR HOUSE. 119 
 
 his neck iu a red-silk one. He complained of rheu- 
 matism" in his side, and looked ill; but during the 
 conversation we had, he rose equal to the occasion, 
 and made a long harangue about the grandeur, 
 beauty, glory, and value of the Amazon. In this he 
 was ably supported by two of his friends, who had 
 also dropped in to visit him. 
 
 He rented us a house in the same street as his own, 
 .just about the centre of the town, into which we 
 moved on the morning of Christmas-day. In it were 
 three halls, a back verandah, and three large rooms, 
 besides smaller ones. It was as usual built with thick 
 walls, plastered inside and out, and covered in by a 
 rickety tiled roof. Behind it came a large yard 
 grown over with rank weeds and shrubs, amongst 
 which were scattered broken bricks, black bottles, 
 and bones. 
 
 On the whole we were very comfortable in it, 
 having plenty of room to move about, stow our things 
 and collections, and sling our hammocks. These 
 comforts would have been as nothing, were it not that 
 we "were never troubled by mosquitoes during our 
 stay. Santarem is happy above all other Amazonian 
 towns in having no mosquitoes, a blessing that must 
 be experienced to be fully appreciated ; for it is some- 
 thing to be in a place in that country, where one is 
 allowed to rest in peace, without being harassed by 
 blood-sucking winged insects. 
 
 Having letters of introduction to the Baron of 
 Santarem, and to a Doctor A , we called to pre- 
 sent them. We were received most cordially by the 
 Baron, who gave us a general invitation to come and 
 
120 AT SANTAEEM. Chap. VI. 
 
 see him at any time. Upon our saying how delighted 
 we- were with Santarem and the beauties of its neigh- 
 bourhood, he remarked that though well endowed by 
 nature it was far behindhand in everything, owing to 
 the wants of the population being so few that they 
 had no inducement to work and better themselves or 
 their country. In Santarem, as in the towns of most 
 tropica] countries, the hall doors stand wide open, but 
 being unprovided with either knockers or bells, the 
 caller has to stand in the doorway and announce his 
 arrival by clapping his hands. The youth who 
 
 answered oar summons at Doctor A 's, informed 
 
 us that his master was taking his afternoon nap ; and 
 as he did not offer to go and awake him, we handed 
 in our cards and retired gracefully. 
 
 In going to the public bathing place, one quarter of 
 a mile eastward of the town to take our evening bath, 
 we usually crossed a large open level space facing the 
 beach, wherein was situated a large pretentious struc- 
 ture, having columns in front ; the object for which 
 it was used puzzling us much at first. "We learned 
 that it was called the Camara Municipal, one end 
 being occupied by a court-room and offices, and the 
 other by the prison. 
 
 Lacking the free and easy disposition of the Monte 
 Alegrens in this matter, the authorities here would 
 not allow men to bathe along the wide stretch of sand 
 beach, yet they permitted people to erect frail, plaited, 
 palm-leaf bathing structures in the water directly in 
 front of the town. The washerwomen, however, 
 seemed to have it all their own way, and in the fore- 
 noons bathed and washed clothes to their heart's 
 
Chap. VI. THE BAND. 121 
 
 content, close to the fort. A curious sight was then 
 presented, by the number and varied tinted articles of 
 clothing hung up to dry, on poles and ropes, where 
 they looked like flags fluttering in the breeze. 
 
 On the two evenings preceding Christmas, whilst 
 enjoying our bath in the clear Tapajos water, small 
 montarias passed us in dozens running up to Santarera. 
 Each contained a native and his family, together with 
 many of their household gods. They were on their 
 way to join in the "festa" of "Natal" held in the 
 cathedral. Most of them were Tapuyus from Itukie 
 and Barrieras, who, on arriving at their destination, 
 camped under sails and toldos close to their boats on 
 Santarem beach. There they took up their quarters 
 for a few days and paraded the town in numbers, 
 giving the streets a more lively appearance. 
 
 About this time a band marched through the 
 streets by night, serenading the inhabitants, which 
 reminded us a little of the waits at home. Amongst 
 the vocal performers attached to it were a lot of 
 boys, whom we recognized as those who officiated as 
 choristers in the cathedral. The same band — minus 
 the choristers — gave performances in a small dancing 
 saloon in the back street of the town, nearly every 
 afternoon and evening,- which were attended by the 
 lower class of inhabitants, the entrance fee being iixed 
 at the high figure of tenpence per head. 
 
 During our stay at Santarem we witnessed a 
 fashionable marriage which perhaps merits descrip- 
 tion. Early one morning, long before daylight, we 
 were awoke by the discharge of fireworks from a yard 
 adjoining our own, and wondered what could be the 
 
122 AT SANTAREM. Chap. VI. 
 
 reason of this unusual proceeding. On inquiring, it 
 appeared that the gentleman in a neighbouring house 
 was to be married on that day, and was in this way 
 heralding the arrival of the wedding morn. The 
 ceremony itself — unlike similar events in England — 
 did not take place until twilight. There being no 
 carriages in Santarem, it was necessary for the bridal 
 parties to walk from their respective residences to the 
 church. The bride was well dressed in a white gauzy 
 material, trimmed with watered silk of the faintest 
 steely tinge, a long veil, and a wreath of orange 
 blossoms, while the bridesmaids were dressed with 
 equal taste. As soon as her procession arrived at the 
 church, which, strange to saj, was before that of the 
 bridegroom, she and her bridesmaids knelt on the 
 floor engaged in prayer, until the victim himself 
 arrived with his friends, all clad in swallow-tail coats, 
 white waistcoats, and gloves. 
 
 The whole party now advanced together to the 
 altar, ascended the spacious steps which had been 
 gorgeously carpeted for the occasion, and arranged 
 themselves before the priest, who was in his grandest 
 robes. The words of the service could not be heard, 
 as the priest spoke only in a whisper ; but as a spec- 
 tacle the thing was very effective. Only a portion of 
 the church near the altar had been lighted up, and all 
 the spectators, as well as the persons engaged in the 
 ceremony, pressed forward into this illuminated space. 
 Little naked and half-clothed children, negro women 
 with black babies sitting astride their hips, and other 
 picturesque figures, pressed boldly up the steps and 
 took up a position quite close to the bridal party, to 
 
Chap. VI. APPROAOH OP RAINY SEASON. 128 
 
 which they formed a striking and effective contrast. 
 When the ceremony was over, the newly married 
 couple with their friends and relatives walked in pro- 
 cession along the grassy streets to the house of the 
 bridegroom^ from which sounds of festivities were 
 heard to issue all night. 
 
 Before we left Santarem many warnings of the 
 approach of the rainy season were given, in the shape 
 of heavy afternoon showers and one or two wholly 
 wet days. Winged termites began to quit their nests 
 in the campo near the town, and fly about in great 
 numbers, coming into the houses, and crawling over 
 everything as they divested themselves of their wings. 
 After unhooking these appendages, an act which 
 always reminded us of the process of throwing off a 
 coat, they became quiescent for a time between the 
 pages of books, under the edges of the table, and in 
 cracks of the wall ; and then after a day or two 
 entirely disappeared. Still we did not experience any 
 constant heavy rains at Santarem — those were re- 
 served for us at Obidos. 
 
 One of our Portuguese men, named Martinho, was 
 attacked with fever during the last week of our stay, 
 
 and became so alarmingly ill that Doctor S was 
 
 called in, and pronounced it a case of " a typhoid form 
 of intermittent fever." We applied to the agent for 
 advice, and he communicated with the Grovernment 
 
 medical ofiBcer, Doctor A , whose duty it was 
 
 to attend to Portuguese and other immigrants. 
 
 Dr. A 's treatment, judging from its effect upon 
 
 the poor man, chiefly consisted in the administration 
 of some strong emetic, which seemed at the time to 
 
124 AT SANTAEEM. Chap. VI. 
 
 aggravate the symptoms. Before we left we hired a 
 Portuguese nurse who lived opposite — the mother, in 
 fact, of our little vegetable boy — to attend to him ; 
 got leave to retain a room in our house for him ; and 
 then made him over to the tender mercies of the 
 Doctor. Seventeen days afterwards he joined us at 
 Obidos in a very weak and emaciated condition, and 
 not entirely free from slight attacks of fever. Finding 
 he did not regain his health he returned to Para, and 
 as we subsequently learnt left that place for Lisbon. 
 
 The prospects before us regarding our sanitary 
 status were not cheering at the time, for a fever, called 
 the " Black fever," had been very prevalent, and still 
 remained in some places on the river ; while the 
 smaU-pox was carrying off daily a few victims in 
 Manaos, the capital of the province of Amazonas, a 
 city which in the course of a month or two we should 
 have to visit. 
 
Chap. VII. THE 'HELVETICA.' 125 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 EXCURSIONS FROM SANTAREM. 
 
 The ' Helvetica ' — A Fiasco — Old Slave at Santa Anna — Vanquish 
 Dogs — The Barreiras — Gigantic Toad — Bacaba Drink — Accidents 
 on last Night of the Tear — Freaks of little Indian Slave — Drunken 
 old Nigger — Sailing on the Tapajos — Alter do Ohao — Eccentric 
 Individual — A Native Ball — Fire - ants — Aramanahy — Sauba 
 Struggle — Dangers in a Tropical Storm — Adventiue with a Labba 
 — View from Alter do Ohao Hill — The Judge — History of American 
 Settlement — From Santarem to Obidos. 
 
 Not having been able to obtain the means of visit- 
 ing the Barreiras from Monte Alegre, we had now to 
 endeavour to reach that place by some means or 
 
 another. Having been informed by Dr. S , whom 
 
 we consulted in the matter, of the whereabouts of a 
 man owning a steam launch, we visited and concluded 
 a bargain with him for its hire for the proposed trip. 
 This man — a Swiss named Pedro — was a mechanical 
 engineer, who had himself constructed the engines of 
 his craft, to which he had given the name of the 
 ' Helvetica.' It could have been no easy matter in a 
 place like Santarem, with the slender means at hand, 
 to perform such a work as the construction of a steam 
 engine ; and it redounded much to his credit that he 
 was able to overcome the difficulties incident to this 
 task. 
 
 We had to wait patiently until the ' Helvetica ' 
 
126 EXCURSIONS PROM SANTAREM. Chap. YII. 
 
 underwent some necessary' repairs, and finally made a 
 start on the day after Christmas. Upon our arrival 
 on board, we found the steam gauge promisingly 
 standing at 40 lbs. pressure, while steam fizzed off 
 from the safety-valve, and the furnace roared merrily 
 as if promising a further supply. Although the 
 launch -was a clumsily built wooden one, of some 
 40 feet in length, covered with a flat awning supported 
 on iron rods, yet it looked as if it could steam along 
 at a reasonable rate. Little did we think that we 
 were to be undeceived in that respect. 
 
 A crowd lined the beach to witness our departure, 
 and thus kill some of that time that hung so heavily 
 on their hands. 
 
 Pedro acted in the capacity of engineer, while our 
 two Portuguese men, Jose and Antonio, performed the 
 duties of sailor and fireman. After nearly driving us 
 mad by unnecessarily blowing the steam whistle, Pedro 
 started his engine, the screw revolved rapidly, and we 
 were off at full speed. Now we felt at last that we 
 had a means of getting rapidly to our destination, and 
 congratulated each other accordingly. How much 
 more comfortable, we all agreed, it was than the 
 Frenchman's montaria of the Prainha days. But, 
 alas! we had not gone many boat's lengths before 
 a violent struggle occurred in the furnace, steam blew 
 out of its door, followed by water, and then down went 
 the steam gauge to 8 lbs. Pedro immediately stopped 
 the engine, which had hardly a kick left in it, and 
 there, almost before that expectant crowd, we floated 
 like a log on the river. 
 
 If they enjoyed this fiasco, or looked laughingly 
 
Chap. VII. SANTA ANNA. 127 
 
 upon our sudden collapse, we can here assure them 
 that it was a most solemn joke to us. 
 
 After Pedro had accounted to the Interpreter, in 
 some way, for the late disturbance, and said that it 
 would not occur again, we anchored most ignomini- 
 ously off the fort for half an hour, until the fire burnt 
 up and generated enough steam to take us on. 
 
 Progressing at the rate of one quarter of a mile per 
 hour, we got a little way beyond our bathing place, 
 when we came to a stop, and took on board a pile of 
 wood that had been cut for us. This wood being 
 drier than that which we had previously used, it was 
 supposed that we could get up more steam, and con- 
 sequently go faster, but our rate of travelling did not 
 improve much. 
 
 We entered the Itukie channel which runs be- 
 tween Itukie island and the southern mainland of 
 the Amazon, and steamed slowly down it. Sheltered 
 from the breeze by the trees lining the sides of the 
 narrow channel, and subjected to the influence of 
 the launch's furnace, we felt the heat exceedingly -, 
 and were not sorry, when Pedro stopped at a place 
 where large trees had been cut down in order to 
 procure firewood, to go on shore, and get some shelter 
 beneath the forest's edge. 
 
 At dusk that evening, we reached a place where 
 a fasenda, called Santa Anna, is situated on high 
 ground, and dropped anchor for the night, as Pedro 
 did not know what intricacies of navigation there 
 might be to contend with farther on in the darkness. 
 
 A black man boarding us, we returned with him to 
 the shore, and there were furnished by him with a 
 
128 EXCUESIOXS FROM SANTAEEM. Chap. VII. 
 
 room in Santa Anna house, the sole occupants of 
 which were numerous bats and a bench. This negro, 
 who has the entire charge of the place for its non- 
 resident proprietor — a dweller in Santarem — was very 
 amusing and comical. He gave us a slight sketch of 
 his life, the gist of which was, that he had originally 
 been a slave in Pard, had run away, and gone up 
 the Amazon to Tabatinga — a distance of 2000 miles. 
 Eeturning after a time to Pard, he gave himself up, 
 and was sold to the owner of Santa Anna who placed 
 him here, where he had remained for fourteen years. 
 Five of his fellow slaves have run away, and settled 
 far up a neighbouring river, called the Curua ; but, as 
 he did not like a wild bush life, he had not followed 
 their example. 
 
 Next day, while our men were busily engaged 
 cutting more wood, we had an opportunity of look- 
 ing over the place. It had some cleared grounds 
 around it, and a few cattle, but on the whole was 
 in a dilapidated and neglected condition. The wreck 
 of an old schooner, lying half under water off the 
 shore, did not enliven its general decayed look. The 
 old slave showed us a room in the house, which he 
 called the chapel of St. Benedicto ; while the large 
 wooden cross in front of it had, he said, been " erected 
 to the angels," and shadowed a small burial-ground 
 lor the reception of children. 
 
 We eventually got wood, and continued our journey 
 at an exceedingly slow rate, yet much faster than we 
 could have gone in a montaria. Clearing the lower 
 end of the Itukie, we entered the Amazon, and went 
 on past the Curua river mouth to the upper end of 
 
OiiAP. VII. AT SENHOll MANGEL'S. 129 
 
 the Barreiras, where the low land on our left gave 
 way to picturesque cliffs. Very pleasant it was as 
 we passed close along to gaze up at these, with 
 their varied coloured faces of different shades of red, 
 white, and grey, sloping and patched with vegeta- 
 tion in some places, and steep or perpendicular in 
 others. 
 
 In two hours after first reaching them, we came to 
 their eastern termination, and dropped anchor close in 
 shore off a small settlement, where a Senhor Antonio 
 Manoel, to whom we had a letter from the Santarem 
 Agent, resided. He kindly offered us the shelter of 
 his house ; but, as he was himself ill and as yellow as 
 a guinea with jaundice, his son had just died of fever, 
 and his house was close shut up and stuffy, we 
 declined with thanks, and hung our hammocks for 
 the night under an old open shanty near by. The 
 ground beneath this was strewn with poles, and a 
 heap of palm thatch occupied a portion of it, giving 
 the place an air of a home for insects, and fearfully 
 suggestive of scorpions, snakes, and spiders. 
 
 Showers of rain during the night wetted the forest, 
 and delayed our exploring through it on the following 
 morning; but the interval was occupied by another 
 visit to the owner of the jDlace, who gave us much 
 information about the surrounding district. Two old 
 ladies, his wife and sister, lived with him, and had as 
 an attendant a sprightly young woman with a fairj'- 
 like face and form. 
 
 The place had evidently been settled for many 
 j^ears, for mango and other fruit trees grew about it. 
 An attempt at a flower garden near the house had 
 
 K 
 
130 EXCURSIONS PROM SANTAREM. Chap. VII. 
 
 been pre-eminently successful, and red and white 
 roses bloomed in it in profusion. 
 
 Before leaving the place to go inland we were 
 warned that we should meet a settlement where there 
 were some savage dogs, the owners of which were not 
 at home. Knowing that Amazonian dogs cannot 
 stand a charge from a band of pale-faces, even though 
 those faces be crimsoned and peeled by the sun, we 
 were not only not afraid, but anticipated some fun 
 from the encounter. This was fully realized upon our 
 arrival at the place, when some six or eight dogs and 
 a half-grown puppy advanced to the attack, with 
 deafening barks and snarls. Instead of being brought 
 to a stand-still by this demonstration, we made towards 
 them at a run, keeping well in line, armed with 
 various implements, amongst which was a geological 
 hammer and a cutlass. The nearer we got to them, 
 the less confident became their tone of bark, until as 
 we were within a few feet, it assumed the sound of a 
 semi-howl as they turned and fled in a most panic- 
 stricken condition, and in a sort of each-dog-for-him- 
 self style. The puppy, brave as a lion at first, now 
 took refuge beneath an oven, from which it uttered 
 the most heartrending cries, while we dodged round 
 the houses after the demoralized dog army ; and never 
 rested until every member of it had disappeared in the 
 depths of the forest, leaving us masters of the deserted 
 village. 
 
 Situated, as it was,- on the southern slope of the 
 high land, it commanded a view of a great morass 
 reaching far off to the southward. All this was level 
 as a carpet, and of a brownish-green colour from its 
 
Chap. VII. THE BARREIRAS. 131 
 
 clothing of reeds and sedges. The water of a small 
 lake sparkled in the sun in one portion of it ; and the 
 whole had a watery look suggestive of malaria-pro- 
 ducing qualities. 
 
 After another night spent at Senhor Antonio's, we 
 sent our launch on to the upper end of the Barreiras, 
 and explored the face of the cliffs from a boat. Their 
 upper portion was composed of red loam, passing down- 
 wards into white sands, which in their turn rested 
 upon grey clays, forming a recent deposit of consider- 
 able thickness, which spreads over the whole Amazon 
 valley. One portion which we climbed, hj cutting 
 holes in the clay and earth, was found to be 177 feet 
 in height. Two valleys, scooped out of the cliffs, 
 formed low level areas, upon which there were two or 
 three houses and large cultivated patches. 
 
 Entering the Caparanga, a small river a short 
 distance above the Barreiras, after regaining the 
 ' Helvetica,' we steamed slowly up its narrow course for 
 about half a mile, until the grass growing upon either 
 side prevented our launch from forcing her way any 
 farther; and there we anchored. Being close to a 
 house on the mainland we landed, and gaining per- 
 mission, hung our hammocks in a large clean open 
 shed, where we spent a comfortable niglit. The 
 'Helvetica' looked from the landing as if she was 
 high and dry in a meadow, nothing but grass being 
 seen about her. 
 
 On the following morning we went inland along 
 forest paths, guided by the son of a coloured man, 
 named de Brito, to whom we had a letter from the 
 Agent, and did not get back to our steamer till late 
 
 K 2 
 
132 EXCURSIONS PROM SANTAREM. Ciup. VII. 
 
 in the afternoon. On our way we encountered a 
 huge toad, a great brown and drab-coloured, blotched- 
 looking thing, some ten inches long in the back. 
 Thinking it would be a great prize for the Botanist, 
 who seized all the snakes, small frogs, and insects he 
 fell in with for his collections, the Interpreter and the 
 Chief gleefully pointed it out to him, feeling that they 
 deserved great credit for such a valuable find. To 
 our utter astonishment he only poked it in the ribs 
 with a stick, gazed sadly at it, and then left it, instead 
 of grasping it as we fully expected he would have 
 done. In answer to our exclamations of surprise at 
 his strange conduct, he said regretfully, " It is too 
 large to go into any jar of spirits that I have got." 
 "Then," said the Interpreter, "all I can say is you 
 have met your match at last, but it is the first time I 
 have seen you beaten." At this the old toad winked 
 his eyes, raised the fore part of his ponderous frame 
 slowly up till the points of his toes only touched the 
 ground, swayed a little from side to side with his 
 shoulders up to his ears, kicked himself into the air, 
 and came down flop, some three feet on. Another 
 wink of his glittering eyes, two more flops, and he 
 was lost to sight in the undergrowth. 
 
 Whilst resting at de Brito's house on our way 
 back, one of his daughters presented each of us with a 
 cuya or drinking vessel, made from the calabash. 
 This was very tastefully painted on the inside, with 
 patterns in red, blue, and yellow on a black ground. 
 Everywhere on the Amazon these bowl-shaped vessels 
 are in constant use, and form very frequently the only 
 substitute for cups or tumblers in the houses of the 
 
Chap. VII. FRIGHT OF OUR PORTUQUESE. 133 
 
 Tapuyus; while every montaria is furnished with 
 one as a bailer. 
 
 In descending the Caparanga next day, we had to 
 get the launch towed down the narrow channel for a 
 short distance by our Portuguese sailors Jose' and 
 Antonio ; and were afforded much amusement by 
 their frantic efforts to escape being run down, when 
 Pedro, without any warning, started the engines 
 ahead at full speed. They never paddled with a 
 better will in their lazy lives, as the bow of the 
 ' Helvetica ' loomed above and threatened them with 
 instant destruction. When the engine was stopped 
 they came hurriedly and thankfully on board. 
 
 As an illustration of the great power of the 
 ' Helvetica's ' engine, we here record an incident that 
 took place as we were descending the Caparanga. 
 With a full head of steam she was going merrily 
 along, when, without any warning, the engine came 
 suddenly and unaccountably to a full stop. Rushing 
 to learn the cause of the apparent break-down, we 
 discovered that one of the pieces of firewood, quite a 
 small stick, had tumbled into the machinery, and 
 getting caught against the crank of the screw shaft 
 had brought it up all standing. 
 
 Steaming down to the first valley in the Barreiras 
 we landed with young de Brito as guide, and went 
 off through the forest southward, until we reached the 
 border of the great morass called Lago Cu9ary. In 
 returning, de Brito and his companion climbed tall 
 palm trees, called Bacabas, and cut from them 
 branches of ripe purple berry-like nuts, which they 
 carried out of the forest. Obtaining an earthen basin 
 
134 EXCURSIONS FROM SNATAREM. Chap. VII. 
 
 at a house on the river's edge, they rubbed the nuts 
 up together in water, thus detaching the thin pulpy- 
 covering from the seed, and mixing it intimately with 
 the water, produced a yellowish pea-soupy looking 
 liquid. Sweetened with sugar, this made a cool 
 luscious beverage of rather a too oily richness to be 
 palatable to those tasting it for the first time. 
 
 By two o'clock that afternoon we were under-weigh 
 on our return journey to Santarem, and at the mouth 
 of the Caparanga bade adieu to our guide de Brito 
 and his companion Antonio, as fine and intelligent a 
 couple of young fellows as one could meet with in any 
 part of the world, and kind withal. 
 
 Now commenced the most memorable portion of 
 this to us most memorable trip — a night journey in a 
 slow-going launch against the strong current of the 
 mighty river. After a still, roasting afternoon, night 
 — cool refreshing night — came down upon us as we 
 made the lower point of Itukie island. There was not 
 a breath of wind, and the sky being overcast made 
 the evening intensely dark. For some unaccountable 
 reason Pedro elected to follow the shore of Itukie island 
 in the main Amazon, where the current ran strong, 
 instead of taking the Itukie channel, where the water 
 did not flow with anything like as great a force. 
 Thus through the livelong night that wound up the 
 remnant of the old year of 1873, and ushered in the 
 beginning of 1874, were we struggling onwards, foot 
 by foot, fighting for every inch of progress towards 
 our goal — the town of Santarem, 
 
 In the darkness it was difficult to judge our distance 
 from the bank, to evade the semi-submerged logs, or 
 
Chap. VII. SBEING THE OLD YEAR OUT. 135 
 
 to perceive where sand shallows were situated. We 
 agreed to keep watch in case Pedro should fall asleep, 
 and whilst the Chief and Mr. Cunningham were 
 engaged sitting and chatting aft, we were informed 
 by that individual that there was something wrong 
 with the feed-pump. He further said that he should 
 have to stop the engine to examine it. Hardly were 
 the words out of his mouth before the launch, as if in 
 anticipation of his intentions, ran itself hard and fast 
 aground on a sandbank, coming suddenly to a stand. 
 We at once got out the long poles carried for such an 
 emergency, and after a deal of poking and pushing 
 against the bottom, assisted in our endeavours by the 
 reversed action of the screw, succeeded in getting her 
 afloat. 
 
 Dropping anchor we made all snug, while Pedro 
 examined his feed-pump, finding a chip of wood 
 propping open its fixed valve, and thus preventing it 
 from drawing up water. How the chip came there 
 puzzled him much, and he could only account for its 
 presence by supposing that it had been in the pipe 
 before it was placed in his launch. After the obstruc- 
 tion had been got out, and the pump screwed together 
 again, orders were given to hoist anchor. 
 
 Just at the time when the old year was sighing 
 away its last breath in a gentle wind that moaned 
 over the broad bosom of the Amazon, and regretfully 
 stirred the leaves of the adjacent forest, we fell to 
 work at the anchor's cable, and to the Jamaican nigger 
 tune of " Rosie, walk along," we tried to get it on 
 board. In it came inch by inch up to a certain point, 
 but then refused to come any farther, thereby an- 
 
136 EXCURSIONS FROM SANTAEEM. Chap. YH. 
 
 nouncing plainly that the anchor was hooked on a 
 sunken log. 
 
 The new year had thoroughly established itself, and 
 was over an hour old, by the time we had induced the 
 anchor to quit its hold and come quietly up. No 
 little exercise of ingenuity and seamanship had to 
 be employed before this became an accomplished fact; 
 and our ultimate success must be attributed to a 
 manoeuvre, called " tripping the anchor," which bore 
 fruit only after having been tried some twenty times. 
 We rewarded ourselves for our strenuous exertions 
 with a cup of coffee each, and then had a snooze of a 
 few hours' duration. - 
 
 Daylight found us pounding away off a point near 
 the head of Itukie island, where the current was so 
 strong that we thought we should never weather it. 
 After repeated spurts of the engine, and rushings of 
 the launch at the swirling waters, where at times we 
 held our own, but at others were washed ignomini- 
 ously back, we succeeded in passing the point just as 
 it occurred to us that we were fated to be another 
 " Flying Dutchman." 
 
 Beyond the mouth of the Itukie, we landed to 
 cut wood for the launch, for the last and probably 
 hundredth time ; and by 2 p.m. that afternoon reached 
 Santarem, where we bundled ashore, glad to get rid of 
 the ' Helvetica,' the very name of which offended our 
 ears as much as the horrid garlic consumed by Pedro 
 — surmounting the smell of bad engine-oil — had 
 offended our noses during the momentous voyage. 
 Hurrying up to our house, we gained its hospita))le 
 shelter, and, flinging ourselves into chairs, rested and 
 " cooled out " for a time. 
 
Chap. VH. FREAKS OP INDIAN BOY. 137 
 
 When we left this mansion, we had secured the 
 back door with a sloping pole jammed against the 
 inside, and had locked the front door ; now we found 
 the former wide open, showing that " some person or 
 persons unknown," had forcibly effected an entrance 
 during our absence. With what object it was hard 
 to say, for he or they had not touched any of our 
 personal effects; but, on the contrary, had added a 
 contribution to our glassware, in the shape of a broken 
 gin-bottle, which was placed in the centre of the floor 
 of one of the rooms. The culprit we strongly suspected 
 to be an Indian slave-boy, with a horrible squint, 
 belonging to our next door neighbours, who usually 
 played about our back yard or on our front door step, 
 calling in frequently with religious regularity to in- 
 quire whether we had any eggs to sell. We could 
 never fathom the meaning of this curious inquiry, for 
 he must have seen that we had no hens, and the only 
 inhabitant of our back yard was a most unfowl-like 
 old tom cat. 
 
 Two days after our return, we experienced the 
 pleasure of having our party all together again, as 
 the Engineer, having finished his labours at Prainha, 
 had come on in the steamer ' Arary,' and rejoined us. 
 
 Having work to do on the east bank of the Tapajos, 
 at no very great distance from our head-quarters, we 
 decided to make our way to the place by boat ; and, 
 through the assistance of the agent, procured a small 
 montaria suitable for the purpose. In a country where 
 no one hurries, it is difficult to prepare to effect a 
 movement from one place to another without the loss 
 .of much time. The preparations for this journey to a 
 territory lying between Alter do Chao and Aramanahy 
 
138 EXCURSIONS FROM SAXTAEEM. Chap. VII. 
 
 Avere no exception to the general rule, consequently it 
 was the evening of the 5 th of January, four days after 
 our return, that a feeble old nigger, much the worse 
 for drink, came to inform us that the boat was ready, 
 and he was to be our guide. Becoming noisy over his 
 demand for money to buy food — we fear he meant 
 drink — we turned him out of our house, and did not 
 see him again until we were ready to start on the 
 following morning. Then we gave orders to a shop- 
 keeper to supply him with the necessary quantity of 
 provisions to last him for the voyage. When he 
 returned from getting these, he smelt very strongly 
 of rum, and at once said that our boat was too small, 
 therefore we must hire a large two-masted one, of 
 some five tons burthen, which was lying at anchor 
 near by. As this boat belonged to the al30ve-men- 
 tioned shopkeeper, and had been already offered to 
 us, it was evident that its owner had given the old 
 nigger rum as a bribe to get him to induce us to hire 
 it. As the device of Senhor Shopkeeper was so very 
 transparent, we saw completely through it, and, angrily 
 ordering the nigger on board, put off from the beach. 
 
 The strong breeze wafting us on our way raised 
 very respectable waves, which came now and then on 
 board, owing to our boat being too heavily laden. 
 Before we had cleared the upper end of the town it 
 occurred to us that some one of the lot, with his traps, 
 must be put on shore in order to lighten the boat, and 
 that some one must be the old nigger. Eunning in to 
 the beach we landed him and his provisions, and again 
 resumed our voyage, feeling that we could find our 
 way just as well without a guide. 
 
CiiAP. VII. SAILING ON THE TAPAJOS. 139 
 
 Sailing westward ou the clear olive-green waters of 
 the Tapajos, not far from its southern shore, near low 
 cliffs fringed here and there by long sand spits, the 
 tree-elothed land on our right receded as we advanced, 
 so that it at last dwindled down in the distance to 
 minute isolated clumps of forest, and vanished finally 
 in a flickering mirage. With the wide vista of water 
 horizon in front we could almost imagine ourselves 
 approaching some inland sea, instead of being as we 
 were, only in the entrance of a tributary of the Amazon. 
 As our craft danced along on the crests of the waves, 
 which were quite as heavy as she could stand, and 
 scudded before a fresh breeze under the bluest of all 
 blue skies, we enjoyed the panoramic view of the 
 pleasing coast from Santarem to Point Cururu. 
 
 We had become so dreadfully tired of the dead 
 level tracts of the Amazonian valley, smothered as 
 they were with a sort of blanket of vegetation, that 
 when campo country was met with we always hailed 
 its advent with delight, and never tired of admiring 
 its open cheerful appearance, thus making the most of 
 it. No matter how grand the idea may be of tra- 
 versing a country where nature still holds complete 
 sway, one at last wearies of it, and longs for signs of 
 human life, such as fields, pastures, and houses. Thus 
 the rolling campo with its scattered groves, when seen 
 in the distance, takes the form of cultivated country, 
 and is welcomed accordingly. Even sand beaches, 
 where one may shake himself clear of forest leaves, 
 and stroll over smooth uninterrupted areas, is a great 
 boon. Consequently we admired in turn, as we passed 
 along, the great sand spits of Maria Josepha, Maria 
 
140 EXCURSIONS PROM SANTAREM. Chap. VII. 
 
 Thereza, and a number of others, with deep bays 
 between ; the red and white cliffs sometimes capped 
 with groves, at others backed by rolling grass lands ; 
 and the singular bare red and white roof-shaped hill 
 of Alter do Chao. 
 
 By 4.30 P.M. we had rounded Cururu point, and 
 entirely changing our course to due south could no 
 longer take advantage of the breeze. We, therefore, 
 paddled along under the lee of the land heading up 
 for the little village of Alter do Chao. 
 
 Cururu point is formed by a knee of land on the 
 inner or eastern side of the Tapajos, which there 
 changes its course from due south to due east. From 
 this point looking up river a water horizon meets the 
 view, while glancing across westward the line of the 
 opposite coast is only just distinguishable. As we 
 wended our way along we obtained a fine view of 
 Alter do Chao hill, and soon after entered the little 
 land-locked port of the village bearing the same name. 
 Making our way from the landing to the most pre- 
 tentious house in the place, one little less thatchy 
 looking than its neighbours, we made the acquaintance 
 of its owner, who, upon our stating that we were 
 travellers in want of a place to sling our hammocks 
 for the night, kindly apportioned us a large empty 
 airy room, in which his servant placed a table and 
 a few chairs. 
 
 It was quite 9 p.m. before we had our dinner, 
 owing to the lateness of the hour at which we landed. 
 Whilst partaking of it a short man with a sort of 
 deformed arm came to visit us, who, being rather 
 inquisitive at first, was voted a bore ; but he soon 
 
Chap. VII. ECCENTRIC INDIVIDUAL. 141 
 
 improved upon acquaintance, and turned out rather a 
 jolly personage than otherwise. 
 
 He was very talkative, giving an outline of his 
 historj^, to the effect that at one time he had lots of 
 money, but while travelling in Europe and America 
 had squandered it all ; and wound up by saying, " I 
 now find myself in my native province with only 
 enough money to buy myself melons ; but until I have 
 done some good to my fellow-creatures here I will not 
 return to the bosom of my family at Para." At the 
 time he was trjang to make a living by selling mer- 
 chandise, and teaching a school. He blandly informed 
 us that " Eio de Janeiro is a second small Paris, but 
 the Amazonian part of Brazil is very far behind time 
 and miserable." "When in the course of conversation 
 watchmakers were, mentioned, he said, "The watch- 
 makers of Para are only parasites of the Watchmakers' 
 Company, and should rather be termed watch- 
 breakers." 
 
 Having amused us during our meal, he proposed at 
 its termination to conduct us to a ball that was then 
 going on in the village, to which invitation we readily 
 assented. Accompanying him to one of the detached 
 houses forming the front row of the village, where the 
 festive gathering was being held, we stood for a time 
 at its door and witnessed a few of the dances. 
 
 The ball-room, occupying the whole floor of the 
 house, which was of smoothly beaten-down clay, was 
 cool and airy, from the open nature of its palm- 
 thatched sides, through the interstices of which nume- 
 rous native on-lookers gazed. The lady guests were 
 neatly dressed in coloured cottons, ornamented with 
 
142 EXCURSIONS FROM SANTAREM. Uhap. YU. 
 
 ribbons, while the gentlemen wore black cut-away 
 coats and white trowsers. We arrived in time to 
 witness a quadrille, danced with much solemnity and 
 precision, by all but one man, who, skipping about in 
 an extraordinary style, gave us the impression that his 
 knees were furnished with wire springs. After a 
 waltz they danced their great national dance, the 
 Fandanga. ^. They did it thus : a lady and gentleman 
 faced each other, and then, dancing short steps, ad- 
 vanced and retired, swayed sideways without hardly 
 moving the feet for a time ; then advanced and retired 
 again, keeping all the while their arms raised above 
 their heads, with bent elbows, while they snapped 
 their fingers to the tune. The Fandanga is worth 
 looking at when danced with spirit, but not as they 
 crawled through it. Now and then a lady would 
 come up and cut out the one dancing, as in a jig, and 
 a gentleman would act in a similar manner; thus 
 keeping it going for a lengthened period, until the 
 band, consisting of a flute and two guitars, became 
 temporarily exhausted. 
 
 When the ladies imbibed coffee during the intervals 
 between dances, the gentlemen tossed ofi" drams of 
 cachafa ; and when the latter smoked cigarettes, the 
 former — must we tell it — took whiffs from long pipes. 
 Every now and then two men came hastily into the 
 street in front of the house, discharged a rocket and 
 a gun into the air, and as quickly withdrew again. 
 
 After a short stay at the ball-room door, we re- 
 turned to our temporary quarters. During the night 
 the reports of the firearms repeatedly awoke us ; and 
 once we were all aroused, and somewhat startled, by a 
 
Chap. VII. FIRE-ANTS. 143 
 
 pitched battle of village dogs under our hammocks. 
 These animals had made their way through openings 
 between the upright posts which formed the walls of 
 our room, by pushing aside the dry palm leaves which 
 hung loosely in them. 
 
 A Senhor de Paz, head man of the place, to whom 
 we had a letter from the agent, furnished us with 
 a guide next morning; and, taking advantage of a 
 strong fair breeze, we sailed on our way, arriving 
 in due time at Jurucuie bay, not many miles on, where 
 we landed. During the afternoon we were engaged in 
 cutting our way inland through the thick forest ; and, 
 returning to our boat at night, we camped on the 
 white sand beach, under two canvas awnings which 
 we had brought with us for that purpose. To our 
 surprise we were attacked by mosquitoes, which some- 
 what astonished us, because we had been told that 
 there were no mosquitoes on dark-water risers. Part 
 of the early portion of the night was occupied in 
 taking observations of north and south stars for lati- 
 tude, after which we slept the sleep of the just. 
 
 The shore line southward, consisting of cliffs and 
 wooded slopes, the latter often faced by broad white 
 sand beaches, was explored on the following day, 
 as far as the little settlement of Samauma, where we 
 took up our quarters in an untenanted open-sided 
 house for the night. Here, though protected from the 
 elements should storms arise, we were subjected to 
 the annoying and painful attacks of a small red ant, 
 called the "Formiga d o Eogo," or fire-ant. They 
 made no attempt to follow and attack us in our ham- 
 mocks, but only seemed to nip when in their wander- 
 
144 BXCUESIONS FROM SANTAREM. Chap. VII, 
 
 ings they rau up our legs. The provision box soon 
 swarmed with them, their great centres of attraction 
 being the lard used for cooking, or any other greasy 
 substance. A hairy brute of a poisonous tarantula 
 spider, which came out of the thatch to look at us, 
 was fortunately despatched. It was of great size, and 
 differed from the generality of its kind in having bands 
 of yellow-coloured hair around its legs. 
 
 On the following day, when we arrived at the little 
 village of Aramanahy, consisting only of some half- 
 dozen thatched houses, built upon a sand beach, we 
 got permission to occupy an empty dwelling; and 
 arranged with one of the inhabitants to guide us inland 
 on the morrow. 
 
 Aramanahy is prettily situated at the mouth of a 
 wide gully, whose high sloping sides are clothed with 
 trees, and whose front opens on a wide sandy bay. 
 Riding at anchor in the offing was a smart trading 
 schooner of some twenty tons burthen, which boasted of 
 topsail yards, and had much useless head-gear and 
 rigging. To the different coloured paints applied to 
 its sides and deck cabins did it owe its smart appear- 
 ance, for its hull, having no lines, and being scow-like at 
 both ends, was clumsily formed enough. Its deck was 
 so built over with high cabins, curved coverings, and 
 hurricane decks, that its hull was sunk deep in the 
 water. This style of craft, in various sizes, is met 
 with on all parts of the Lower Amazon and its tribu- 
 taries. They are, in fact, floating shops, commanded 
 by the trader who owns them and their contents. He 
 goes from place to place where shops do not abound, 
 and barters his goods for country produce, such as 
 
Chap. VII. SAUBAS. 145 
 
 farinha, salt pirarucu, &c. The only other " shipping 
 in port," besides small montarias, was a large scow, 
 used for carrying cattle. 
 
 A beautiful spreading tree near the front of our 
 house produced a deliciously cool shade, uuder which, 
 whilst resting for a time, we were greatly amused by 
 a singular struggle going on between a soldier-saiiba 
 ant and his working fellows, at the mouth of their 
 underground nest. Some eight or ten of the workers 
 clung on to his legs and antennge, and tried to drag 
 him back as he endeavoured to come out of the hole. 
 Though furnished with huge mandibles, he never lost 
 his temper or tried to bite them, and it was evident, 
 though they detained him by force, they never nipped 
 him hard. During the struggle they allowed two or 
 three other soldiers to saunter out past them, and go 
 roaming by themselves. It appeared as if this parti- 
 cular individual had behaved badly, was under arrest, 
 and was now being prevented from breaking barracks. 
 The end of the struggle was not witnessed by us, and 
 it will never be known who gained the day, but, from 
 all appearances, it went against the soldier. Interest- 
 ing as these saiibas are, they are the curse of the 
 country, from the rapid and heartless manner in which 
 they strip the leaves off all cultivated plants, and thus 
 destroy them. In a single night a large party of 
 them will devastate a small plantation of mandioca. 
 
 Early in the morning we commenced our walk from 
 the river inland, accompanied by our guide Jose de 
 Castro (a pure Tapuyu), and his three companions. 
 One was a light-coloured young man in whom we re- 
 cognized the flute player at Alter do Chao ball ; and 
 
146 EXCURSIONS FROM SANTAEEM. Chap. VIL 
 
 the other two were curly -haired, bearded, Spanish- 
 looking meE. Traversing the gully close to a swamp 
 for about h quarter of a mile, we ascended a steep 
 slope to the top of a level plateau 350 feet above the 
 river, from some old clearings on which we obtained 
 a good view of the Tapajos. Crossing the old fields, 
 the soil of which was black and filled with pieces of 
 broken pottery, showing that it had in bygone days 
 been the site of an Indian village, we went in an 
 easterly direction through the forest; and having a 
 fairly well beaten path to follow were enabled to go 
 many miles back. 
 
 In no part of our wanderings did we meet with such 
 a splendid growth of lofty and magnificent trees, many 
 of which must have been little less than 200 feet ia 
 height, with trunks of four feet in diameter. This 
 plateau forms a fine region, which is a perfect paradise 
 of vegetation, and richly endowed by nature as a spot 
 par excellence for tropical agriculture. In one respect 
 only is it lacking; it has no streams on its almost 
 level surface, and the only water we met with was in 
 a rain pool where a herd of peccaries came to wallow. 
 
 Having completed our investigations of this fertile 
 spot, we made our way back to Aramanahy, and 
 taking to our boat again sailed up river. On the way 
 we experienced a heavy tropical shower, falling from 
 an intensely black mass of clouds, which, after it had 
 passed us, wended its way up river — the rain descend- 
 ing in broad, black, ever changing-bands. Meeting 
 with a breeze — plainly discernible to us by its ripple 
 on the water — it became shunted, and took a diagonal 
 course to the other side of the river. There it covered 
 
Chap. VII. TROPICAL STORM. 147 
 
 the sky, obscuring the afternoon sun, whose rays 
 shining upon the broad black rain-bands lit up their 
 edges like lines of silver, and produced a very beauti- 
 ful effect. 
 
 Near sundown we began to cast about for a roosting 
 place, and perceiving a banaboo on one of the curious 
 sand bars which are offshoots of the broad sand 
 beaches, we landed to take possession thereof, but 
 finding 2* swarming with jiggers we fled to our boat 
 again. Not far on we found a landing place on 
 sands, with two more jiggery banaboos, which we tore 
 down, and with the eight posts thereof planted in a 
 fresh place, manufactured our sleeping apartments. 
 
 Before starting next morning we ascertained that 
 there were two empty houses not 200 yards inland, in 
 which we might have lodged for the night, but 
 which had been hidden from our view on the previous 
 evening by trees. Another half day sailing along the 
 coast brought us to the termination of our voyage in 
 the bay of Jaguarary; and from that we turned 
 about upon our return journey with the wind against 
 us, but with the very slight current in our favour. 
 
 From the point at the northern end of the bay ran 
 a long sand spit for at least two miles across the bay's 
 entrance, parts of which were just below the surface of 
 the water. Through one of these gaps we had paddled 
 our way, and were trying to beat to windward, 
 when a heavy rain squall came up river, preceded 
 by strong gusts of wind, which forced us to lower 
 the sail and pull for the land. Down came the rain 
 in enormous drops, and the breeze blew even stronger 
 than before, just as we were within twenty yards of the 
 
 L 2 
 
148 EXCURSIONS FROM SANTAREM. Chap. VII. 
 
 beach. Then it was that our two Portuguese men 
 jeopardized the lives of all in the boat, by putting 
 down their paddles, and taking the sail poles to push 
 the boat along, thinking that the water was shallow. 
 The poles did not reach the bottom, so that the unpro- 
 pelled boat drifted rapidly before the gale, right for a 
 part of the sand spit over which the waves beat with 
 fury enough to overwhelm her, should she unfortunately 
 drift upon it. Our men, urged by us to strenuous 
 efforts, worked with the only two paddles the boat 
 possessed for about a quarter of an hour, during 
 which our fate hung upon a thread, and at last 
 succeeded in bringing the boat under the lee of the 
 point, where she rode out the remainder of the 
 squall. 
 
 In two hours from the time that the storm had first 
 reached us it had all passed away, the sun had burst 
 out again, and only a long low swell sweeping over 
 the oily-looking surface of the river, remained to 
 mark the late commotion. 
 
 A southerly wind springing up we took advantage 
 of it, and by dusk got back to the place where we had 
 camped upon the previous night. There we found an 
 old Indian man, six women and three children, pre- 
 paring to hang their hammocks to poles stuck in the 
 beach ; and ascertained that they were the owners of 
 the adjacent houses. We naturally expressed our 
 surprise to the old man at his camping out when he 
 had a house to go to ; upon which he informed us 
 that he did so owing to the numerous mosquitoes in 
 his dwellings, which prevented him from obtaining 
 any sleep. That could not have been the right 
 
Chap. VII. ABVENTURE WITH LABBA. 149 
 
 reason, or it would apply equally as well to every 
 night of the year, in which case he would have no 
 occasion to own a house at all. We therefore con- 
 cluded that it was the jiggers and fleas that had 
 accumulated on the house-floors during his absence 
 that proved the true stumbling-block to its occu- 
 pation. 
 
 This old Indian or Tapuyu informed us that he 
 held the post of " Captain of the forest " in this region, 
 and on the following day we went with him up the 
 Igaripe Jamaraqua, and through the bush to the high 
 lands. 
 
 When we quitted the place we got out a tow rope, 
 with which our men, walking on the beaches, pulled 
 us more rapidly along than we could have gone by 
 aid of the paddles alone. 
 
 In passing Aramanahy we saw our guide and two 
 friends stretched out beneath the shade of the spread- 
 ing tree on the beach, taking their afternoon nap. 
 The port now looked deserted, the schooner and 
 scow having taken their departure, while only two 
 montarias remained hauled up on the beach. 
 
 We spent a night for the second time at Samaiima 
 in the fire-ant house, and next morning went back in 
 the country guided by an old man who lived near. In 
 walking along near the top of a recently fallen tree 
 we heard some animal rush from beneath it, producing 
 a great noise as it tore along through the under- 
 growth. Catching a glimpse of its retreating figure, 
 disclosing a brownish creature, the Interpreter, who 
 had a dread of tigers, made sure that it was one of 
 those savage animals. As we all stood trying to get 
 
150 EXCURSIONS FROM SANTAREM. Chap. VII. 
 
 a sight of it, it suddenly wheeled about and came in 
 our direction along the path, making for the Inter- 
 preter, who now felt convinced that his surmise was 
 correct, and that it was flying straight at him. 
 Springing upwards with a yell, to save himself, he 
 allowed the animal to pass directly beneath his feet ; 
 when holding its headlong course, it came banging 
 sideways right against the Chiefs shins, nearly bowl- 
 ing him over and giving him such a blow that he feit 
 the pain for some minutes afterwards. Then it made 
 off to the right, running straight into a small tree with 
 force enough, we thought, to brain itself, though it 
 did not, for we heard it crashing along through the 
 bush for some little time. When brought up stand- 
 ing for an instant against the tree, we were able to 
 make out what manner of animal it was that had 
 caused such confusion in our ranks, and were surprised 
 -to find that it was only a labba. Being a nocturnal 
 animal its eyesight in the daytime was defective, 
 consequently when aroused from a sleep under the 
 tree-top, by the sound of our footsteps, it had made off 
 to escape us ; and, not being able to see exactly where 
 it was going, had run into our arms. 
 
 After passing the pretty harbour of Alter do Chao 
 late in the afternoon, we landed near the hill of the 
 same name, and ascended it. As it was then ten 
 minutes to six, and darkness we knew would cover 
 the face of nature by a quarter to seven, we ran most 
 of the way across the half mile of campo to its foot, 
 and then ascended it as rapidly as the very steep 
 nature of its grass-covered sides would permit. Upon 
 its roof-like summit, at a height of 315 feet above the 
 
Chap. VII. VIEW FEOM HILL. 151 
 
 river, we sat down to get breath, and admire the fine 
 bird's-eye view which, as it were, lay at our feet. 
 
 The lake of Alter do Chao with its white beaches, 
 the sand bar across its mouth dividing it from the 
 harbour, and its two broad regularly shaped southern 
 arms, formed a very striking part of the view. Then 
 our vision spread over the wide Tapajos, whose bright- 
 coloured stretch of water, bounded on the west by a 
 low dark-blue line of forest covering its opposite bank, 
 is over eight miles in width. White sand beaches 
 and curious curved sand spits are characteristic objects 
 of the view ; and these, shelving out beneath the 
 surface, lend some fine tints of various shades of green 
 to the river's surface, as coral reefs do to a tropical sea. 
 A small schooner, lying under the lee of Caruru sand 
 spit, looked to us like a little toy boat. Next we 
 noticed the dark sombre-looking forest covering the 
 table-lands we had lately visited ; the small smooth 
 isolated hills to the east and south-east ; and the 
 pretty grass lands sprinkled with small trees and 
 groves, which spread away towards Santarem. 
 
 As night closed in we descended the hill, and 
 regaining our boat sailed on to Cururu point, where, 
 in the inky darkness which by that time prevailed, 
 we had great difficulty in finding the narrow winding 
 boat channel which crosses the spit and saves a long 
 journey round. Paddling, poling, and towing, as cir- 
 cumstances allowed, we toiled on pretty nearly all 
 night. At one period we tried to sail, and thus 
 getting far out from shore had to give it up and 
 paddle back, a feat that occupied a considerable time, 
 and gave us some anxiety, as we thought in the dark- 
 
152 EXCURSIONS FEOM SANTAEEM. Chap. VIL 
 
 ness that we had lost our way. In so doing we passed 
 a schooner with an open iire on deck, which gave it, 
 and its crew who stood within the reflection of the 
 flame, a very fiendish appearance. Having gained 
 the coast at four o'clock in the morning, we were 
 threatened with a rain storm, and so ran into a little 
 cove for shelter. There we made the boat fast, and 
 crawled in under its toldo, when, being weary, we 
 dozed for a short period. The rain did not fall 
 heavily, but drizzled away until daylight, at which 
 time we continued our journey. 
 
 As the morning wore on, the breeze got up, and by 
 the time we came to a point in sight of Santarem, the 
 waves were so high that we could make no headway 
 against them, nor attempt to tow near the shore 
 without being swamped. We therefore had to wait 
 until the breeze fell in the afternoon, and then finish 
 our journey, arriving at our domicile in Castle Street 
 at dusk, in a weather-beaten, sun-dried, though happy 
 condition. 
 
 Wishing to see the table-lands and settlements to 
 the southward, we were kindly provided with horses 
 by the agent ; and the Chief, Engineer, and Interpreter 
 set forth on this journey together, at an early hour 
 one morning, a few days after our return from the 
 Tapajos. Leaving the scrubby bush at the back of the 
 town, we emerged upon fine open campo country, where 
 the cool morning air waved the thin blades of grass 
 springing up here and there through the hard sun- 
 baked soil. Presently the curatella and other campo 
 trees became more numerous, and shut in the view, 
 
Chap. VII. THE JUDGE. 153 
 
 but still we had some fine glimpses of low, conical, 
 red -earth hills, some little distance to the south- 
 west. 
 
 Descending gradually we entered a true forest 
 growth, traversed by the cart-road we had followed. 
 Many pretty glades opened up before us as we rode 
 along, and in one or two places — at the crossing of 
 a limpid brook, and at a hurdle-gate — had it not been 
 for the surrounding wealth of creepers and profusion 
 of tropical trees and shrubs, we could almost have 
 fancied ourselves in an English wooded lane. 
 
 One and a half hour's ride from Santarem brought 
 us out of the forest upon a large clearing, at the very 
 foot of the table-land, where there was a good-sized 
 thatched house and some outbuildings. Seated in a 
 rocking chair in the verandah of the house was a thin 
 elderly gentleman — an American, known amongst the 
 others of his countrymen hereabout as " the judge." 
 
 We inquired of him the way to Mr. P 's house, 
 
 but strange to say he could not give us much infor- 
 mation about it, merely waving his hand towards the 
 wooded hill-side, and saying it was " somewar thar." 
 
 We went on along a narrow road which wound 
 upward upon the hill-side, and soon reached the level 
 top of the table-land, which is evidently continuous 
 with that of Aramanahy, having the same rich soil 
 and a similar growth of large forest trees. There the 
 road terminated in a large clearing containing fine, 
 well-grown sugar-cane, and a small upright wooden 
 mill which lent a plantation air to the spot. Leading 
 from the mill down the slope to the judge's premises 
 
154 EXCUESIONS PEOM SANTAllEM. Chap. VII. 
 
 was a wooden trough, some 300 j^ards or so in length, 
 by which the cane juice is conducted to a small still, 
 and there manufactured into white rum. 
 
 We retraced our steps down the hill, making on 
 the way a detour to a house, which proved to be the 
 one we sought, but unfortunately its owner was absent 
 for the day. As we were repassing the judge's house, 
 that gentleman invited us to " onlight," and we sat 
 for some time, in veritable Yankee rocking chairs, in 
 his cool verandah conversing with him. 
 
 In answer to our inquiries about the American Settle- 
 ment here, he kindly gave us an outline of its history. 
 Some five years before the period of which we now 
 write, a Major Warren Hastings made a contract with 
 the Brazilian Government to bring out to this district 
 a certain number of American immigrants in a given 
 time, for which service he was to receive for himself 
 and them a grant of sixty square miles of land in 
 rear of Itukie and Santarem. He died when he had 
 supplied only a portion of the requisite number, so 
 that the contract has not been fulfilled, and the land 
 still remains Grovernment property, with the exception 
 of those small portions which have been purchased by 
 the American immigrants, and some English gentle- 
 men who have settled there. Of those brought out 
 many are dead, a considerable number have gone 
 away, and the colony now numbers hardly fifty indi- 
 viduals. A large portion of them were " Mobile 
 wharf rats," who did not come to work and earn an 
 honest living; they fought nightly with the Brazilians, 
 and amongst themselves, in Santarem streets, many 
 falling victims in these brawls. The Brazilian Grovern- 
 
Chap. VII. COUNTRY HOUSE. 155 
 
 ment got rid of them as fast as they could induce 
 them to go, paying even their expenses back to 
 America. 
 
 Thus the honest and industrious portion of the 
 original lot had to work hard to earn a livelihood, 
 as well as to live down the bad name the "wharf 
 rats" had bequeathed them. It is encouraging to 
 learn that those now left there are doing well. 
 
 On our homeward way in the afternoon we turned 
 off the cart-road to the left, and came to the agent's 
 country house, a large one-storied edifice, pleasantly 
 situated close to the bank of a small stream. The 
 thatched roof of the house, being continued a good 
 way beyond the eaves, made a wide verandah in front, 
 which was walled in and had a small gate entrance. 
 The rooms were large and gloomy, and there was a 
 great dearth of windows. 
 
 A son of the agent, who happened to be in at the 
 time, gave us a delicious drink, made of a fruit called 
 Atter, which was very refreshing after our hot ride. 
 
 Accompanied by this gentleman we walked up a 
 bare conical hill near by, composed of highly ferru- 
 ginous sandstone in its upper portion, from the top of 
 which we had a fine view of the surrounding country. 
 On descending we passed through a plantation of 
 cashew and other fruit trees. 
 
 Remounting our nags we set off at a gallop, and did 
 not draw rein until we arrived at the door of our own 
 mansion, at four o'clock in the afternoon, as hungry as 
 troopers, not having partaken of any food from the 
 time we had had our morning coffee at six o'clock. 
 
 On the day succeeding the one on which we rode to 
 
156 EXCURSIONS FEOM SANTAREM. Chap. VII. 
 
 the table-land and agent's sitio, the Chief, Botanist, 
 and Interpreter prepared for departure from Santarera, 
 by packing up, in order to be in readiness to start 
 by the steamer, due on the following day, for new 
 head-quarters at Obidos. 
 
 At the appointed time the steamer of the regular 
 line arrived, and as we were getting ready to leave 
 our quarters, in walked Mr. Davis, our fellow-passenger 
 from Liverpool to Para in the ' Paraense,' with 
 whom we had contracted a most sincere friendship. 
 Mutually delighted at meeting, we all gave up our 
 several employments, and crowding round him learned 
 the latest news, and then chatted over old reminis- 
 cences. He informed us that he was on his way up 
 to St. Antonio, on the Madeira river, having been 
 engaged in the capacity of civil engineer by two 
 Yankees who were going up to examine the site of 
 the proposed Madeira and Marmore railway, for the 
 purpose of seeing whether the undertaking which had 
 failed in English hands, could be turned to account by 
 Americans. 
 
 We then went together on board, and at 2 a.m. 
 turned into our hammocks on the awning deck, the 
 steamer being still at anchor discharging cargo. It 
 was fully eight o'clock on the following morning before 
 all the cargo was out, and we were under-weigh. 
 
 There was nothing of interest to be seen in the portion 
 of the Amazon between Santarem and Obidos, a distance 
 of eighty miles, as, with the exception of a line of red 
 cliffs some fifty feet in height, crowned with culti- 
 vation and a few houses, at one place on the south 
 side of the river, all was a repetition of what we had 
 
Chap. VII. AREIVE AT OBIDOS. 157 
 
 previously seen in travelling between Monte Alegr^ 
 and Santarem, 
 
 The Amazon narrowed as we approached Obidos, 
 becoming quite free from islands, and the town could 
 then be seen at a considerable distance, nestling on 
 the eastern slope of a hill, which presents a series of 
 red and white cliffs to the river in its western exten- 
 sion. We steamed along the south side, nearly brushing 
 the low clay capinga-covered bank, till almost opposite 
 the town ; and then slipping across, dropped anchor 
 close to the beach. 
 
158 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIH. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 SXTKVEXraO ON, THE TAPAJOS. 
 
 Preparations for Journey on the Tapajos — A Night at Alter do Chao — 
 The Eccentric Individual again — Encamped at Jurucui — Boat sinks 
 ■ — Bees attack Sugar — Bindobaldoreis — Night Adventure — Down- 
 pours — Semi-tame Eagle — A curiously chosen Camp — Tremendous 
 Thunderstorm — Camp alongside Dead Porpoise — Kindness of old 
 Indian — Portuguese Trader — Start on Eeturn Journey — DifBoulties 
 encountered — Warning Signals of Frog — Night of Suspense off 
 Cururu Point — Santarem in sight — Meet last and heaviest Storm — 
 Keach Santarem — Eejoin Head-quarters of the Commission. 
 
 When the Chief and Botanist proceeded to shift their 
 quarters from Santarem to Obidos, as narrated in the 
 previous chapter, it was decided that, instead of ac- 
 companying them, the Engineer should go np the 
 Tapajos river for the purpose of making a survey of 
 the Company's territory thereon. It was not without 
 much discussion and some anxiety that this arrange- 
 ment was agreed to, for many objections and difficul- 
 ties presented themselves, which rather increased than 
 diminished upon reflection. In the first place, we were 
 now in the midst of the rainy season, and could not 
 expect settled weather, while, on the contrary, it might 
 possibly be very stormy indeed. In the next place, 
 no good boat could be secured. Santarem had been 
 thoroughly searched, and only one approaching suit- 
 ability had been met with, but she was clumsy, leaky, 
 and without a toldo, or covering, while her sail was a 
 
Chap. VIII. DIFFICULTIES. 159 
 
 mere rag. Another formidable difficulty was tlie want 
 of a good crew. The best of our three Portuguese 
 sailors was struck down by fever, and the Engineer 
 would have to rely upon the other two for everything, 
 including assistance in surveying, management of the 
 boat, preparation of meals, and formation of camps. 
 Neither of them knew a word of English, and, in the 
 absence of the Interpreter, communication between 
 master and men would have to be carried on chiefly 
 by means of signs. 
 
 Against these difficulties, and others of the kind 
 which started up as the matter was considered, we had 
 simply to place the one fact that the woi'k to be done 
 seemed important, and, if not set about at once, could 
 not be attempted for another six months, on account 
 of the rapid rise of the river, already commencing. 
 Yery shortly it would cover the whole of the beach 
 skirting the Company's territory, along which the sur- 
 vey was to be made. It was felt that, in the face of 
 this one fact, obstacles and difficulties must be over- 
 come, and the preparations for a start were hurried 
 forward, though not without some misgivings as to the 
 issue of the journey. The owner of the boat consented 
 to rig up a rough palm- thatched toldo, to piece out the 
 fragmentary sail with some coarse sacking, and to 
 make an attempt to stop some of the leaks. Provisions 
 for a month were got together, consisting mainly of salt 
 beef, cod-fish, biscuits, coffee, and potatoes. Only such 
 goods and chattels as were absolutely required could be 
 taken on the voyage, and it was necessary to rent again 
 
 the room at Dr. S 's for the purpose of depositing 
 
 there the remainder of the baggage. This arrange- 
 
160 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 ment had the advantage of securing quarters for the 
 Engineer, when he should return from his expedition. 
 All being ready, a start was effected on January 
 23rd, about nine o'clock in the morning, and after a 
 pleasant sail of two hours with a fair breeze, Ponta 
 Maria Josepha was reached. This is the cape that 
 bounds the view up river from Santarem, and upon it 
 the boat was beached, and breakfast prepared and 
 eaten. On resuming the journey it was found that the 
 wind had become very light, and the sun scalded so 
 fearfully that it was painful to touch any part of the 
 woodwork of the boat fully exposed to its rays. To 
 escape the intense heat the Engineer crept under the 
 toldo, leaving to Jose and Antonio the easy task of 
 keeping a straight course ; and there, in spite of all 
 effort to the contrary, fell into a sound sleep. When 
 he awoke a further change had set in ; the breeze had 
 entirely died away, the sky was of a leaden hue, and 
 uniformly overcast, and the wide surface of the Tapa- 
 jos was as smooth as glass. That uncanny stillness 
 which, all the world over, precedes a thunderstorm 
 was making itself felt, and the weird silence seemed 
 scarcely to be disturbed, or rendered less intense, by 
 the few sounds that fell upon the ear, such as the 
 croaking of the frogs on the distant shore, and the 
 occasional snort of a porpoise following the boat. It 
 was near sunset, and Cururu point, where the Tapajos 
 makes its great right-angled bend, was not far distant. 
 The night promised to be an ugly one for encamping 
 on an open beach, and it was therefore plainly wise to 
 take to the oars and endeavour to reach the little 
 settlement of Alter do Chao before the storm should 
 
Chap. VIII. AT ALTER DO CHAO. 161 
 
 burst. Progress was, however, slow, owing to the 
 heaviness of the boat, and the monotonous dip and 
 creak of the paddles became prolonged far into the 
 evening hours. Happily the rain kept off, although 
 the lightning and thunder had become incessant long 
 before a landing was effected on the beach of the little 
 village. 
 
 Jose' and Antonio had visited this place before, in 
 the trip already described, and were therefore able to 
 find their way at once to the house used by the party 
 on that occasion. It was now shut up and the owner 
 away, but the schoolmaster, who lived close by, said 
 that doubtless it might be used again, and directed his 
 youthful slave, who bore the grand name of Floren- 
 tinus, to fetch a lamp and remove the screen of palm- 
 thatch blocking the doorway. This appeared to be very 
 unnecessary Jabour, for the vivid lightning revealed 
 quite a number of apertures in the side of the building, 
 any one of which might have served as an entrance 
 for the party. The big empty rooms looked very 
 gaunt and uninviting as Florentinus flashed the light 
 of his lamp around them, but they would at any rate 
 be better than a frail tent in such a storm as had now 
 fairly commenced. A rough dinner was fetched up 
 from the boat, and the schoolmaster, who had obligingly 
 sent to his house for a chair and bottle of water, stood 
 by throughout the whole meal, prepared to make the 
 most of the opportunity now afforded him of learning 
 the English language. He inquired what every article 
 of food, and every vessel or implement " called itself" 
 in the tongue he was anxious to acquire, and ap- 
 peared to retire reluctantly from his lesson when his 
 
 M 
 
162 SURVEYING OX THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIIT. 
 
 tutor, for the occasion, hung his hammock under the 
 soundest part of the roof, and proceeded to lay himself 
 out for rest. 
 
 Profound was the solitude in which the Engineer 
 passed that night, all alone in the great house, for Jose 
 and Antonio had to sleep under the tolda of the boat 
 to guard the baggage. A deluge of rain fell, and had 
 not entirely ceased at dawn, when the schoolmaster 
 was heard at the door of his quarters, saying in the 
 best English he could muster, " Grood morning, sir ; 
 how do you do ? " On being invited in, and con- 
 gratulated upon the rapid progress he was evidently 
 making with the language, he laughed very heartily, 
 and seemed to regard the compliment as one of the 
 best jokes ever perpetrated. He accompanied the 
 Engineer round the little settlement, introduced him to 
 the highest official of the place, and then stood under 
 his umbrella on the beach to give the expedition a 
 parting salute as it started again in a dull, dispiriting, 
 though not heavy rain. 
 
 Jurucui bay, where the Company's territory com- 
 mences, and where consequently the work of surveying 
 would begin, was not far distant, but there was no 
 wind to speed the bark onward, and in the slow pro- 
 gress made by pulling, some hours were consumed. 
 The sun shone out for a few minutes, and raised the 
 spirits of the party during the process of preparing 
 breakfast on the spot where the Chief and Botanist had 
 encamped a fortnight before ; but the hopes of fine 
 weather caused by the brief brightness were quickly 
 dashed to the ground, for a thorough downpour set in 
 at noon and lasted until sunset. The day was passed 
 
Chap. VIII. SINKING OP BOAT. 163 
 
 under the shelter of the trees or toldo, until it was 
 evident that no advance could be made with the 
 work, when the tent was erected and dinner partaken 
 of. Darkness had no sooner set in than everyone 
 retired to rest, for the melancholy light of one poor 
 candle in a lantern was the sole illumination of the 
 camp; conversation was impossible, on account of 
 differing languages, and no employment of any kind 
 could be devised to pass the tedious hours. In the 
 long night which ensued, wakefulness must have 
 characterized a part of it, even had not sleep been 
 effectually broken by the roar of tropical rain falling 
 upon the canvas of the tent. 
 
 Towards early morning the Engineer was roused 
 from his last nap by the sound of excited, not to say 
 frantic, talking ; and on looking out was horrified to 
 observe that a serious disaster had occurred — the boat 
 had sunk, with many valuable possessions on board ! 
 The scalding sun of the first day had opened her seams, 
 renewing all her former leakiness, and this, combined 
 with the heavy rain that had fallen into her during 
 the nightj had proved too much. Fortunately the 
 bay was shallow, and the floor of the toldo high, 
 so that some of the cargo escaped serious damage, 
 though much provision was irretrievably spoiled. The 
 men were actually asleep on board when the mis- 
 fortune occurred, but speedily scrambled ashore with 
 no worse experience than an unexpected ducking. It 
 was necessary to take immediate steps for bringing 
 the boat to the beach and getting her bailed out. 
 When this had been accomplished, the soaked provi- 
 sions, clothes, and other goods were spread out upon 
 
 M 2 
 
164 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 the sands, or hung upon bushes, to dry : then to avoid, 
 if possible, another such catastrophe in the future, the 
 Engineer sacrificed a towel, for want of better caulking 
 material, and directed the men to stuff strips of it with 
 clay into the gaping seams of the craft. He intimated 
 that it was Sunday, and no attempt would be made to 
 move forward ; consequently they might take their 
 time, and do the work leisurely and thoroughly. 
 
 Sitting in the shade of the tent in full view of the 
 cargo-strewn beach, he opened a little Portuguese 
 Testament and commenced to read. The very first 
 words he lighted upon, and began to translate, were 
 these : — " Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with 
 hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and 
 ship, but also of our lives." It was impossible to 
 avoid being startled by the appropriateness of the 
 first part of the sentence in the circumstances, and, 
 though by no means superstitious, to consider some- 
 what carefully whether the latter part might not have 
 been directed to catch the eye as a warning of danger. 
 All the familiar stories, in which intimations of peril 
 had been conveyed to people in this particular way 
 flashed across his mind, only to be set peremptorily 
 aside as he reached the conviction that the whole thing 
 was a mere coincidence. It may be well, however, to 
 mention at once, without attaching any special signi- 
 ficance to the fact, that the words, as the sequel will 
 show, were literally fulfilled, one member of the little 
 party losing his life through this expedition. 
 
 Jose and Antonio, who catered for themselves, had 
 brought with them a large box of brown sugar for 
 the purpose of sweetening their coiFee ; but the water 
 
Chap. VIII. BEES AND SUGAE. 165 
 
 had unfortunately got into it, and the whole was now 
 reduced to a liquid of a most uninviting appearance, 
 resembling greenish-brown mud. To throw it away, 
 however, was not to be thought of, for no other could 
 be procured, and the nasty -looking compound was 
 placed on the beach exposed to the san's rays, in the 
 hope that it might recrystallize. Before long a swarm 
 of bees was seen to issue from the forest, either 
 attracted by the smell, or warned of the existence of 
 this treasure by some wandering scout, and at once 
 proceed to revel in the delights so unexpectedly opened 
 up to them. The men hastened to the rescue of their 
 property, but the bees resented this interference, and 
 for a long time the scene was a lively one. At length 
 the cover was placed upon the box, and the enemy 
 effectually shut out, but they hovered round until 
 sunset, in the hope of again effecting an entrance into 
 the paradise from which they had been excluded after 
 but a brief glimpse of its joys. The sugar subsequently 
 lessened daily by consumption, but, to the end of the 
 voyage, never became a dry substance again, and the 
 difficulty with the bees was continually repeated when- 
 ever an attempt was made to expose it to the air or 
 sunshine. 
 
 Fortunately the whole of Sunday was fine, with the 
 exception of some trifling showers, and most of the 
 things got fairly dry ; but troubles in the matter of 
 rain were by no means over, indeed, were only just 
 beginning. Monday broke gloomily, and heavy rain 
 fell from dawn until noon ; but after mid- day it cleared, 
 and a fair start was made with the survey. Lines were 
 set out and measured round the rocky headland with 
 
166 SURVEYING ON THE TAP A JOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 the singular name of Bindobaldoreis, forming the 
 south-western extremity of the little bay of Jurucui. 
 The sua set magnificently that evening, but, whatever 
 of promise there was about it, proved to be miserably 
 delusive, for the worst storm yet experienced fell 
 during the night on the encampment. The most un- 
 pleasant feature of it was the high wind, which slanted 
 the rain so much that a tent, open at the sides and 
 ends, proved almost valueless for shelter. It lashed 
 the waters of the Tapajos into such fury that huge 
 rollers, like sea billows, broke upon the beach, and the 
 roar was almost deafening, completely drowning the 
 pealing of the thunder. 
 
 The Engineer kept himself dry as best he could 
 in these untoward circumstances, by spreading a 
 waterproof coat over his hammock, and wrapping 
 himself in his rug. In a temporary lull he dozed for 
 a moment, and, with the strange inconsequence of 
 dreams, was at once in England, sitting with his 
 friends by a comfortable fire-side relating the incidents 
 of his travel. Some one was complaining of the crude- 
 ness of the letters he had sent home from time to time, 
 alleging that there was nothing in them but relative 
 pronouns, " who, whose, whom, which, and sometimes 
 what," (presumably a relic of school grammar washed 
 up from the past), when suddenly he was awakened by 
 a fresh outburst of tempest, and, at the same instant, 
 felt something poking and prodding his ribs from be- 
 neath his hammock. For a moment he was startled, 
 thinking that some wandering jaguar had taken shelter 
 with him, and had just discovered that board, as well 
 as lodging, was to be had in the tent. Great was the 
 
Chap. VIII. SCENE AFTER STORM. 167 
 
 relief to find that no such formidable visitor had turned 
 in, but only Jose' and Antonio. They had been sleep- 
 ing on board the boat, until she had threatened to 
 dash herself in pieces upon the beach ; when, after 
 anchoring her in deep water, they had come ashore to 
 secure a refuge for themselves, and a safe place for 
 their as yet undamaged bread. No other protection 
 than such as the tent afforded offered itself, and this 
 was very limited and indifferent; but, making the 
 best of it, they had proceeded to arrange some sort of 
 bed for themselves on the sands under the Engineer's 
 hammock. In doing this they had not succeeded in 
 keeping their elbows from coming, somewhat un- 
 pleasantly, into contact with his body. 
 
 The scene in the morning was suggestive of the 
 escape to shore of a shipwrecked party. All the 
 baggage had been got out of the boat lest she should 
 go down again, and was scattered about the sands in 
 little heaps, covered with every available wrapper. 
 Big waves were rolling in along the curved sweep of 
 sand fringing the bay, and as the Tapajos is so wide 
 in this part that the farther shore can only be seen in 
 fine weather, it presented all the appearance of the 
 sea itself. The boat was tossing wildly, and tagging 
 so furiously at her anchor that it could well be under- 
 stood why she had been provided with such a heavy 
 one and a cable stout enough for a small schooner : 
 Jose' and Antonio were on their knees, frantically 
 blowing at some tiny sparks to try to kindle a fire ; 
 and black clouds were driving across the sky, evidently 
 threatening another discharge. A cup of coffee was 
 secured at last, but all the crockery-ware had been 
 
168 SUEVETING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIIT. 
 
 smashed in the first few lurches given by the boat, as 
 the storm swept down upon her. Thenceforth it 
 would be necessary to rely entirely upon the tin mugs 
 and plates, with which fortunately the expedition was 
 provided. 
 
 The downpour which shortly recommenced was 
 exceedingly heavy, and lasted the entire day. Now 
 this constant succession of bad weather had not been 
 bargained for, and a retreat upon Santarem began to 
 suggest itself as a desirable step. According to plan, 
 this little bay should only have been touched at for 
 getting breakfast, and starting the work •, but already 
 the camp had occupied it four days. However, 
 "hope springs eternal in the human breast," and the 
 clouds had scarcely shrivelled up at sunset, giving 
 place to a magnificent show of stars as the night 
 deepened, before the conviction was formed that, after 
 this last severe outburst, the adverse elements must 
 for a time have spent themselves. To a certain extent 
 this proved correct, for the succeeding few days were 
 characterized rather by heavy showers than by inces- 
 sant rain. 
 
 Throwing away all the provision that was too 
 sodden to be of use, and the fragments of the broken 
 china, the remaining goods were stowed in the boat, 
 and quarters shifted to the Indian village of Samaiima, 
 some four miles up river. Here, advantage was taken 
 of the shed, at the rear of the unoccupied house, used 
 by the former expedition ; and as this afforded better 
 shelter than the tent, while the nights continued to be 
 somewhat stormy, it was used as a lodging place for 
 the remainder of the week. Every day, the whole of 
 
Chap. VIII. SEMI-TAME EAGLE. 169 
 
 the party went out, and prosecuted the survey in fine 
 intervals ; leaving all the baggage unwatched in the 
 open shed. Not a single article was, however, at any 
 time missed, so honest were the inhabitants of the 
 neighbouring little houses scattered along the low 
 cliff, buried in palms, plantains, guavas, and other 
 tropical growth, which formed the little settlement of 
 Samaiima. 
 
 A semi-tame eagle was attached to this village, 
 having a snowy breast and plume of feathers on its 
 head, while its back was a mottled grey. This ancient- 
 looking bird appeared to take a great interest in the 
 surveying, and accompanied the measuring party for 
 two entire days, eyeing their proceedings from the 
 rear of bushes, in a suspicious manner. In the evening 
 it flew on before them as they returned to their 
 quarters, alighting on the top of the mast of the boat 
 to await their approach, and remaining there, appa- 
 rently absorbed in meditation upon the mysterious 
 doings of the day, until startled thence by the plunge 
 of the Engineer into the Tapajos for his evening bath. 
 
 Sunday was again spent in resting, and repairing 
 the damages of the week, but on Monday morning 
 orders were given to put everything on board and 
 shift camp. Just as a start was about to be made, 
 the rudder of the boat was found to be missing. It 
 had been lying on the sands on the previous day, and 
 used as a bathing board ; but a storm of wind and 
 rain had swept up the Tapajos during the night, which 
 had greatly altered the conformation of the beach. It 
 was a cumbrous affair, as much as a man could lift, 
 and made of a wood the specific gravity of which was 
 
170 . SURVEYIKG ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 almost as great as that of water, consequently it ap- 
 peared impossible that it could have gone far. The 
 shore was searched for a quarter of a mile in both 
 directions without discovering a trace of it; and it 
 then seemed certain that it must have been buried 
 under the shifted sand. This was poked and probed, 
 for a whole hour, with pointed sticks and cutlasses; 
 but no better success attended this labour, as far as 
 the finding of the rudder was concerned. However, the 
 time and trouble were not altogether wasted, for a good 
 cutlass was dug up, such as the men used for cutting 
 their way through the forest, and worth in that country 
 about four milreis (8s. Sd.). Yery reluctantly the 
 search had to be abandoned, and the journey resumed 
 in this crippled condition. At noon, whilst continuing 
 the survey of the beach, an igaripe was reached, and 
 there, at the head of a tiny inlet, lay the truant 
 rudder, placidly reposing on the sand, with a don't- 
 come-troubling-me sort of look about it, which was 
 sufiBciently provoking after all the worry it had caused. 
 Had there been any hope of making it feel, one would 
 have been tempted to bestow upon it a hearty kick. 
 How it could have reached that spot was a mystery, 
 for it was more than two miles from the place where 
 it had been lost, and all the intervening shore was 
 fringed with trees and bushes, growing far out into 
 the water, in any of which it might have caught, and 
 been held fast. However, it was at once joyfuUy 
 secured, and thenceforth more carefully watched. 
 
 In the afternoon Jose was sent forward to find a 
 suitable place for a camp and prepare dinner, while 
 the survey was being prosecuted in the same direction. 
 
Chap. VIII. ILL-CHOSEN CAMP. 171 
 
 It was only a short walk from the place where work 
 was finished for the day to the spot he had selected ; 
 but why he had chosen it was an insoluble mystery, 
 for a more exposed position could not have been 
 found. He had settled down on the extreme point of 
 Cajetuba, one of the capes which project farthest into 
 this lake-like portion of the Tapajos, The forest- 
 covered part of the promontory runs out boldly in 
 advance of the general line of coast ; but beyond it, 
 stretches a long sandy undulation covered with stunted 
 bushes; while, beyond that again, the cape still pro- 
 longs itself in a great weary waste of white sand, 
 intersected by large pools. Out on the very apex 
 of this spit, one saw considerably more of water 
 than of land, and the forest was so far away that 
 suitable tent poles were unprocurable. Jose' was doing 
 the best he could with the spars and paddles of the 
 boat, but the only available ridge pole was so slight 
 that it bent in an alarming manner under the weight 
 of the canvas. It was too late to alter his arrange- 
 ments, however, for the short twilight had quite faded, 
 and night set in ; but it was not until many experi- 
 ments had been tried with the frail structure of the 
 tent, that the Engineer ventured to commit his weight 
 to it. He could only hope that the night would be 
 fine, and that it might escape the additional strain of 
 tropical wind and showers. Such a happy immunity 
 from trial was, however, more than could be expected. 
 Thunderstorms had been drifting about all the after- 
 noon, and soon after midnight a remarkably persistent 
 one came over the camp, and proceeded there to dis- 
 charge itself. When awoke by the blinding flashes, 
 
172 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 and the patter of the rain, he remembered that he had 
 recently taken occasion to make some disrespectful 
 remarks in his note-book about tropical thunder and 
 lightning — which, though exceeding his expectations 
 in frequency, did not, he alleged, come up to them in 
 the matter of intensity — and it at once occurred to 
 him that the electric forces had only waited to catch 
 him thus at a disadvantage to take the opportunity of 
 giving a specimen of what they could really do. 
 Fearing every moment that the slight ridge pole 
 would snap and impale him, he hastened to get up, 
 array himself in a waterproof coat, and go out upon, 
 the beach to view the strife of the elements. For 
 hours the focus of the storm seemed to remain exactly 
 in one spot, just off the point; for the lightnings 
 darted forth from one centre, and the intervals between 
 flash and thunder-peal were always of just the same 
 length. The fancy haunted him, as he strode up and 
 down, that the camp resembled a little Ashantee 
 village, and the storm a British ironclad engaged in 
 bombarding it. 
 
 This was not the only occasion on which Jose made 
 an unfortunate selection of a camping ground — in fact, 
 he had rather an unhappy gift that way. A few 
 evenings later it was found that he had erected the 
 tent alongside a huge dead porpoise which the waves 
 had cast upon the beach. The monster was beginning 
 to smell a little strong ; but again- it was too late to 
 alter Jose's arrangements, and, as the Engineer sat 
 down in the twilight to his dinner, which happened to 
 be of salt fish, his appetite for once was not equal to 
 the occasion. Before morning the turkey buzzards 
 
Chap. VIII. A DISAPPOINTMENT. 173 
 
 had scented their prey, and when he jumped from his 
 hammock at sunrise, there was a great flapping of 
 wings, as a considerable flock of these unclean birds 
 rose heavily and alighted on the neighbouring trees ; 
 from which, however, they soon returned to the 
 carcase, where they resumed their singular hopping 
 and skipping around it, while they tore off here and 
 there some choice morsel. It was pleasant to get 
 away from this sickening scene. 
 
 On another afternoon of this week, Jose was sent to 
 remove the tent from the cove in which it was stand- 
 ing, and take it forward as usual ; but before he could 
 get back to the spot, a heavy ground swell suddenly 
 set in — the efi'ect, it may be presumed, of a severe 
 storm in some other part of the vast river expanse. 
 The surf was exceedingly high and dangerous, 
 although hardly a breath of air stirred ; but instead of 
 accepting the situation, and allowing the tent to 
 remain where it was, Jose must needs carry out his 
 instructions at the risk of his life. Consequently, 
 when the surveying party returned, quite expecting to 
 find the old camp still extant and dinner prepared, 
 they beheld the form of the boat against the sunset 
 sky, kicking and plunging in the breakers, utterly 
 beyond the control of one man. Some current seemed 
 to be drifting her from the shore, and the chance of 
 getting anything to eat, or any shelter for that night, 
 looked very remote. It was in fact long after dark 
 before these desirable things were attained. 
 
 On all such occasions as these, Antonio, who was 
 a man with a temper, did not fail to rate his comrade 
 so soundly in flowing Portuguese, that it was un- 
 
174 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIU. 
 
 necessary for the Engineer to draw upon his limited 
 vocabulary of the language for expletives to bestow 
 upon poor Jose'. 
 
 One night of this week was passed in a mandioca 
 shed at the Indian village of Aramanahy, and a 
 pleasant camp was secured for the following Sunday, 
 in a sandy cove sheltered by trees and bushes. It 
 was on a cape called Ponta Magoary, and commanded 
 a view of the whole of the pleasant forest-clad coast, 
 with its charming bays fringed with graceful sweeps 
 of sand, back to Cajetuba, some eight miles distant. 
 
 Not far from the tent was an Indian's house, with 
 poles stuck upright in the sand before it, to which 
 the inhabitants hung their hammocks at night. 
 Although the weather was now so showery, it was 
 noticed that they continued to leave the shelter of 
 their roof to sleep under the stormy looking sky. 
 Whenever the Engineer passed the house that Sunday, 
 the little naked children ran after him, holding out 
 their hands and bowing their heads for his blessing, 
 which he very readily bestowed. 
 
 The early part of the following week was, in the 
 matter of weather, favourable for work, but the 
 Tapajos was rising so rapidly that the beach was 
 becoming narrowed to a very little strip ; and there 
 were several wide igaripe' mouths to cross, which had 
 to be measured by triangulation. By noon on Thurs- 
 day the little settlement of Jamaraqua was reached, 
 consisting of two houses occupied by the Indian with 
 a numerous family, whose acquaintance had been 
 made by the other members of the Commission on the 
 occasion of their visit to this locality. There were 
 
Chap. VIII. FIEB-ANTS. 175 
 
 also some remains of deserted dwellings, abandoned 
 probably on account of the fire-ants, and a tiny lone- 
 some-looking cemetery with a child's grave under the 
 shadow of the usual large cross. 
 
 Hitherto, both master and men of the surveying 
 party had been going without shoes or stockings, on 
 account of the numerous quicksands and pools of water 
 through which it was necessary to measure, rendering 
 these articles — so essential in civilized life — mere 
 nuisances. The presence of the fire-auts, however, 
 completely altered the state of affairs; for these 
 vicious creatures objected so strongly to the passage 
 of the chain across their territory, and made such 
 fierce attacks upon their disturbers, that it was not 
 only needful to be well shod, but substitutes for 
 gaiters had to be devised as an additional protection. 
 
 The lower part of the Tapajos is so unusually free 
 from other pests, that it may be regarded as a 
 paradise compared with other places in which the 
 Commission had sojourned ; and the fire-ant is by no 
 means confined to the neighbourhood of this river, as 
 many writers on the Amazon seem to infer. 
 
 The Indian at the head of the household at Jama- 
 raqua showed much kindness to the surveying expe- 
 dition, for it happened that a spell of stormy weather 
 again set in about this time ; and he evinced much 
 anxiety to make the little tent as secure as possible 
 against passing showers. Fetching a screen of palm 
 thatch, he fastened it securely at the exposed end in 
 such a manner as to make all perfectly secure and 
 water-tight. This considerateness he supplemented by 
 the presentation of a slab of dried peixe-boi, or fish- 
 
176 SUEVETING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 COW — otherwise variously known as the dugong, laman- 
 tine, or manatee— that strange beast of the whale 
 tribe which frequents the waters of the Amazon and 
 its tributaries. 
 
 It formed the principal dish at two dinners and a 
 breakfast, and was esteemed at the time as a pleasant 
 change from salt beef and cod-fish ; but when critically 
 reviewed as an article of diet, and its toughness, indi- 
 gestibility, and utter want of distinct flavour are taken 
 into account, it must be confessed that the entire 
 absence of peixe-boi from bills of fare in England is 
 not a matter for keen regret. 
 
 The camp remained at this place two nights, de- 
 tained by stress of weather. Perhaps Jamaraqua was 
 never more lively than on this occasion ; for, in addi- 
 tion to the surveying party, a Portuguese trader from 
 Para, travelling in a small schooner, smartly painted 
 in green, red, white, and black, and as neat and trim 
 as a new pin, was paying it a visit. Scarcely less 
 smart than his craft was the gentleman himself, with 
 his brightly-polished boots, silk umbrella — open alike 
 in rain and sunshine — and his full costume, including 
 coat, collar, and necktie, so rarely seen in these regions. 
 He was disposing of combs, ribbons, and doubtful 
 jewellery, and receiving in return baskets of farinha. 
 After his departure, our old acquaintance, the ' Helve- 
 tica,' came up river on some unknown errand, and 
 stopped for a few minutes. 
 
 A somewhat lively scene was witnessed on Saturday 
 morning, when, in a temporary burst of sunshine', the 
 camp was removed, and the survey recommenced. 
 The women of Jamaraqua suddenly issued from the 
 
Chap. VIII. SINGULAE MODE OP FISHING. 177 
 
 house, armed with lances or pointed sticks, and ran 
 down to the beach to hunt fish. The younger ones 
 threw off all their clothing, while the remainder gathered 
 their garments up and around them, and every one 
 waded into the shallow water, where they proceeded, 
 with great dexterity, to spear the fish, which they had 
 probably observed to be visiting the shore in unusual 
 numbers. As the sport advanced they grew quite 
 excited, rushed about with great rapidity, and made 
 the air ring with their shouts. It was so important to 
 get on with the survey that time could not be spared 
 to observe the result of their efforts. 
 
 That night, in his hammock, the Engineer made a 
 full and anxious review of the situation, and decided 
 to start for Santareni early on the following morning. 
 Another week had come to an end ; bad weather had 
 again set in, the day having been stormy like its two 
 predecessors ; provisions had been much damaged, and 
 were beginning to run short, and Jose had developed 
 obstinate symptoms of dysentery, which made it im- 
 portant to get him rest and proper shelter as quickly 
 as possible. In the intervals of fine weather afforded 
 during three stormy weeks, the important work of 
 accurately surveying twenty-two miles of beach had 
 been accomplished, and it seemed very unadvisable to 
 commence in the circumstances the further task of 
 marking boundary lines in the forest-covered interior. 
 
 The entire distance to Santarem scarcely exceeded 
 fifty miles, and it did not appear too much to hope 
 that the return journey might be made in from two 
 to three days, especially if, as sometimes happened, 
 though very occasionally, a storm before which the 
 
178 SDBVEYIXG ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 boat might scud by the help of her ragged sail, 
 chanced to take the down river direction. But such 
 a happy incident was not destined to mark this 
 voyage, which, from first to last, was characterized by 
 misfortune, and more than a usual share of that crooked- 
 ness which so often mars the best-laid plans in this 
 crooked world. 
 
 Soon after starting, a stiff breeze sprang up, of 
 course in an adverse direction, but it was thought 
 that the boat, in the wide sea-room, might be able to 
 beat against it. While the sail was being set for this 
 purpose, a heavy wave swept away one of the oars, 
 which it seemed to be absolutely necessary to recover, 
 inasmuch as there was left, without it, only an odd 
 one on board. Nothing apparently was easier, for 
 there the oar lay on the surface of the heaving water 
 at no great distance behind, and it was only to put the 
 boat about and pass close alongside. Every hand was 
 stretched out to secure the prize as soon as the oar 
 came near, but somehow everyone missed it, and of 
 course laid the blame of the failure upon the others. 
 A series of tacks led to no better result; several 
 times the truant seemed to be within easy grasp, but 
 some lurch in the wrong direction took it in a moment 
 beyond reach. At length it was lost sight of alto- 
 gether whilst fetching about in a more than usually 
 clumsy manner, and much scanning of the waste of 
 surround ing water failed to give a hint of the direction 
 in which it now lay. Meanwhile the boat had, unob- 
 served, greatly increased her distance from the shore, 
 and was tossing about on billows of even dangerous 
 dimensions for such an untrustworthv craft. A whole 
 
Chap. VIII. PASS AEAMANAHY. 179 
 
 hour or more had been wasted ia fruitless efforts, and 
 the breakfast hour had fully arrived. In order to 
 prepare this meal, as well as to escape the heavy sea, 
 it was absolutely necessary to get back to the beach, 
 even if some progress in the direction of Santarem had 
 to be sacrificed in accomplishing it. Not until two 
 o'clock was land reached, at a narrow unshaded sand 
 spit, dividing a small lagoon from the Tapajos, at no 
 great distance from Ponta Magoary. 
 
 After breakfast a short rest was taken in order to 
 allow the high wind to drop, as it usually did by 
 degrees after 3 p.m. No means of progression were 
 now available, except to tow the boat from the beach, 
 where the sands remained above water and were free 
 from bushes, or to pole her along in the shallows. By 
 these means, Aramanahy was reached soon after dark, 
 and a mandioca shed in the village again used for a 
 resting place. 
 
 Antonio rigged up a rough oar before starting on 
 the following morning, by nailing the cover of a box 
 to the end of a pole. It answered admirably, and the 
 spirits of the little party rose, as fair progress was 
 made in the few calm hours succeeding dawn. About 
 eight o'clock, however, the usual high adverse wind of 
 the day sprung up and soon made rowing toilsome. 
 Just in advance was the long projection of Cajetuba 
 point, where the camp had been bombarded by the 
 thunderstorm a fortnight before. This the men pro- 
 posed to sail round, notwithstanding that it had been 
 fully proved on the previous day that the boat would 
 not beat against a wind dead ahead. The Engineer 
 felt that the attempt was hopeless, but could not 
 
 N 2 
 
180 SURVBYINa ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 forbid them to make it, for Jose was too much 
 weakened by his complaint to do his share of pulling. 
 
 Up went the sail, and from that time until three in 
 the afternoon — seven long hours — not a single step 
 in advance was made. The boat only drifted farther 
 and farther from the land, and got among great crested 
 waves that threatened to capsize her. It was hope- 
 less to think of getting ashore for breakfast; some 
 potted meat and biscuit were therefore divided out 
 and made to do duty for that meal. Fortunately a 
 rain squall passed up river in the afternoon, which 
 carried the wind round for half an hour, to a slightly 
 more favourable quarter. Advantage was taken of 
 this temporary change to make towards the shore, and 
 in this way the spot was regained, as nearly as could 
 be told, from which the sailing had been commenced 
 at eight in the morning. 
 
 Jose and Antonio, still untaught by failure, were 
 even then shifting the sheet to make the outward tack 
 for about the twentieth time, but the Engineer put 
 an authoritative veto upon this, and Oajetuba was 
 mastered bj^ rowing, just before sunset. 
 
 To save the trouble of forming a camp, and to 
 redeem the day, if possible, from utter failure, the 
 journey was resumed in the starlight — after dinner 
 had been disposed of — as far as the village of 
 Samaiima. A frog that had got into the boat and 
 hidden itself under the planks, croaked dismally in 
 concert with the creaking oars, but not a ripple now 
 disturbed the face of the Tapajos. By nine o'clock the 
 shed was reached that had afforded shelter for several 
 successive nights during the first week of the survey. 
 
Chap. VIII. CHANGE OF TACTICS. 181 
 
 Fourteen hours had been consumed in laborious 
 effort and incessant pushing on, since starting from 
 Aramanahy in the morning, and, as a total result, the 
 magnificent distance of seven miles had been accom- 
 plished ! It was clear that something must be done, 
 or this journey to Santarem would be an affair of a 
 week ; in which case the next steamer up the Amazon 
 would be missed, and poor Jose was evidently unfitted 
 to bear the toil and exposure through so many more 
 days. 
 
 That night the Engineer could not sleep, but kept 
 turning over the whole matter, and trying to devise 
 some plan for more rapid progress. Of late the days 
 had been excessively windy, but the nights, on the 
 other hand, unusually calm and placid. Plainly, 
 therefore, the best arrangement seemed to be to rest 
 by day, and travel during the darkness. In pursuance 
 of this plan he resolved to go on the following morn- 
 ing, before the wind should rise, only as far as the site 
 of his first camp in Jurucui bay, rest there until 
 sunset, and then make a push for Santarem, which 
 ought almost to be reached by the succeeding sunrise. 
 
 The early journey, and the rest for the day under 
 the shelter of Bindobaldoreis point, were carried out 
 exactly as devised. A fair start was also effected, in 
 seemingly favourable circumstances, onward again in 
 the twilight. The usual high wind had blown until 
 sunset, but now there was only a faint breeze remain- 
 ing, and, strange to say, it was from a quarter which 
 allowed the sail to be used ; although not very 
 effectively, for it was scarcely filled. The bow of the 
 boat was kept straight across the bay, for the ex- 
 
182 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 tremity of Cururu point, while far away on the right 
 gleamed a few faint lights, marking the position of the 
 little harbour and village of Alter do Chao, which 
 was thus being passed without a visit. 
 
 The frog in the bottom of the boat croaked dis- 
 mally, and a few ominous looking clouds streaked the 
 sky, but in other respects the aspect of affairs was 
 encouraging. The position of the great sand bank off 
 Cururu point could not well be determined in the 
 darkness, and upon it the boat ran aground, but she 
 was got off without much delay, and the channel found 
 which carried her through. The course was now 
 entirely different, for the great right-angled bend had 
 been made, and the wind was directly contrary, so that 
 the sail had to be lowered. There was a high sea 
 running on this side of the point, and an ominous mur- 
 muring and blackness down river, that betokened the 
 approach of a trovoado, or tempest. Before the men had 
 pulled many hundred yards, it burst upon the boat in 
 full fury, making the Tapajos hiss, and lashing it into 
 a mass of white foam. In such a storm progress was 
 not to be thought of, for stern battle had to be 
 done for existence itself. The little craft was swept 
 irresistibly towards the inhospitable looking shore, 
 which here rose abruptly from the water — a mingled 
 mass of trees and rocks, with huge boulders encum- 
 bering the base of the cliff, between which the waves 
 sucked, lapped, splashed, and roared. Even had there 
 been any hope of escaping this Scylla, the boat must 
 have got into the Charybdis formed by the high surf, 
 now breaking upon the sand bank beyond. 
 
 Only one thing could be done in the circumstances, 
 
Chap. VIII. NIGHT OP SUSPENSE. 183 
 
 and that was to cast overboard the heavy anchor, 
 
 attached to its stout cable, in the hope that it might 
 
 catch in something, and save the craft from actually 
 
 touching rock or sand. This operation was promptly 
 
 performed, and the result watched with an anxiety 
 
 fully proportioned to the extremity of the peril. 
 
 G-reat was the relief when the boat brought up, at 
 
 scarcely more than her own length from the boulders, 
 
 and remained firmly held fast notwithstanding the 
 
 frantic manner in which she tugged at the rope. In 
 
 this position it was necessary to remain all night — 
 
 one of the longest, perhaps, on record. Sleep was 
 
 out of the question, for the short, jerky motion was 
 
 most disagreeable, and the noise of the breakers, only 
 
 a few yards distant, almost deafening. The boat 
 
 required to be constantly bailed out, to keep her free 
 
 from the water which leaked through, or splashed in 
 
 over her sides. 
 
 The wished-for day dawned at last, and a compre- 
 hensive survey could be made of the situation. The 
 wind had lost its first fury, but was still high, and the 
 Tapajos rough. It was feared that the anchor might 
 be jammed between rocks, so effectually, perhaps, that 
 it would have to be cut away and abandoned ; but 
 fortunately this was not the case. At no great 
 distance was a little rocky cove, with a sand beach at 
 the end, and by great exertion the boat was got into 
 it, and brought so near the beach that it was possible 
 to jump ashore as the surf retired. 
 
 When all were landed, morning coffee was prepared, 
 and then, as it was impossible to start until wind and 
 waves had further abated, the Engineer took the oppor- 
 
184 SURVEYING ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 tunity of climbing up to the summit of Cururu, which, 
 unlike most of the headlands of the Tapajos, has a 
 bald pate rising above the fringe of the trees at its 
 base to a height of nearly two hundred feet. The 
 view towards Alter do Chao, eml^racing its singular 
 hill, and the quiet little village and double harbour, 
 was striking ; but in every other direction the eye 
 roved over a vast expanse of water, whitened by crested 
 waves — a sight not pleasant to look upon when the 
 beholder was impatient to resume his voyage in the 
 very direction from which they all kept rolling up. 
 
 Breakfast was disposed of upon the little beach, and 
 about noon Jose and Antonio thought that it would 
 be possible to effect a start. It was a difficult matter 
 to pull out of the cove, but beyond it there Avere sand 
 beaches, along which it was feasible to tow. The 
 weather slowly improved, and fair progress was made 
 until dinner-time. The evening seemed very calm 
 and quiet, and it was resolved to push on two more 
 hours before encamping, notwithstanding that the 
 frog seemed to be giving warning of fresh troubles by 
 a more than usually lugubrious croaking. 
 
 After leaving Ponta Arapary, where dinner had 
 been eaten, the men had to pull across a wide but 
 shallow bay, fringed with bushes growing far out into 
 the water. Scarcely was the middle reached before 
 the usual signs of a trovoado made their appearance, 
 and advanced with such rapidity that the storm struck 
 the boat long before she had reached the other side of 
 the bay. Down had to go the anchor again, as on the 
 previous night, and although there was not the same 
 alarming peril of shipwreck, the sense of safety was 
 
Chap. VIII. SANTAREM IN SIGHT. 185 
 
 almost overbalanced by the discomfort of the heavy 
 rain which accompanied this storm, rendering it neces- 
 sary to cover the whole boat with the sail, as with 
 an awning, under which the heat was stifling. 
 
 The fifth day of the return journey now dawned, 
 and it was resolved to make it the last, if that could be 
 effected by any amount of ingenuity or exertion. The 
 look of things at sunrise was, however, most dis- 
 couraging, for the wind and rain had but little mode- 
 rated. A passage was found through the bushes and 
 trees growing in the water to the land, and there it 
 was necessary to remain until after breakfast. That 
 meal was hurried forward about half-past ten, when 
 the weather gave evident signs of improvement. Slow 
 but steady progress was made all through the re- 
 mainder of the day, until, at one hour before sunset, 
 Ponta Maria Josepha was reached, and there Santarem 
 appeared in full view — a most joyful sight. Jose, 
 however, was much exhausted, and the others not very 
 fresh, consequently the Engineer gave orders to go 
 ashore for dinner and a rest of two hours. 
 
 Twilight had deepened into night when a start was 
 effected for the last vigorous push. A crescent moon 
 hung in the sky, in that position which is known in 
 some parts of England as "lying on her back," and is 
 variously regarded as a sign of both fair and foul 
 weather. The frog was, as usual, sending melancholy 
 croaks from its place of concealment, but not a ripple, 
 except those caused by the oars, ruffled the face of 
 the deceitful Tapajos, which looked as if a storm never 
 had disturbed its composure. The steer er brought the 
 bow of the boat to bear directly upon Santarem, 
 
186 SURVEYINa ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 represented by a row of faint far-distant lights, which 
 were gazed at so long and auxiously that they became 
 stereotyped upon the memory for ever — ^eight tiny 
 specks of brightness ranged in a straight row, six 
 together, and one on either flank at greater distance, 
 with as many dim lines of reflection upon the water 
 below. Tery gradually they widened out and became 
 more distinct, indicating a closer approach to the town ; 
 but half the distance had scarcely been completed, 
 when an ominous sigbt presented itself to view — a 
 long flat arch of inky blackness, heaviag up behind 
 the lights, blotting out the stars, and slowly advancing 
 to take possession of the entire sky. The rowers saw 
 it, and increased their speed, putting still greater energy 
 into their exertions every time they glanced round to 
 mark the progress of the cloud, until the heavy old 
 boat spun along through the water in a way she had 
 never before been got to do during the whole voj'age. 
 But the storm was the destined winner of the race, 
 though by a few minutes only. The Santarera beach 
 was just abreast of the boat, so near that the people 
 on the shore could be easily hailed •, it was only ne- 
 cessary to pull on to the slip-way, which formed the 
 most convenient landing ; when suddenly the wind and 
 rain burst simultaneously, with such fury that the 
 little craft brought up at once, staggered, and refused 
 to face it. No previous storm, throughout the whole 
 expedition, at all equalled in intensity this last Ijitter 
 experience, especially in the matter of rain, which 
 poured down in sheets, as though the whole Tapajos 
 had been caught up into the sky, and was descending 
 in one wild deluge. With the utmost difBculty the 
 
Chap. VIII. AEKIVE AT SANTAREM. 187 
 
 boat was got to the shore somehow. The Engineer 
 sprang to land, drew around him the skirts of his 
 mackintosh, and made a desperate rush, with Jose' 
 
 at his heels, straight for Dr. S 's house, splashing 
 
 through water a foot deep — the streets being for the 
 time converted into rivers by the terrible downpour. 
 
 The Doctor could not at first recognize the two 
 dripping figures standing at his door, and shook 
 hands with master and man in an equally affec- 
 tionate manner ; but as soon as names were men- 
 tioned, and he had recovered from the confusion of 
 this very natural mistake, his hearty " Come right 
 along in " sounded cheering, and was very promptly 
 responded to. 
 
 That night, when the Engineer had changed his wet 
 and travel-stained garments for dry and clean ones, 
 and had sunk into an easy chair, it seemed to him as 
 if he had got home, so great was the contrast of his 
 circumstances when compared with the lonely tent 
 experiences of the previous month. Only to sit once 
 more on a chair, or take his meals from a table, or 
 glance down the columns of a New York paper of 
 rather ancient date, seemed to him like novel luxuries ; 
 but the greatest pleasure of all was to recover the use 
 of his tongue, and hear and speak once more his own 
 language. 
 
 The Doctor, it appeared, had re-let the room engaged 
 
 by the Engineer to a Mr. C , of the South American 
 
 Missionary Society, but he gave him the use of his 
 dispensary instead, and for a stay of one or two days 
 this arrangement did well enough. It was delightful 
 that night, as he lay in his hammock, to listen to the 
 
188 SURVEYma ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. VIII. 
 
 steady beat of the rain upon the tiled roof, thinking 
 how little it now mattered what outrageous weather 
 might be in store, and defying it to do its worst 
 in familiar quotations from King Lear. Jose was at 
 once placed under the Doctor's care, but it was evi- 
 dent that shelter and rest were what he most particu- 
 larly required. 
 
 The steamer due to pass Santarem on her way up 
 river on the following day did not arrive until the 
 succeeding noon. She proved to be the ' Belem,' 
 and in tow behind her was a steam launch, which was 
 at once rightly guessed to be the one expected for 
 the use of the Commission. The Engineer lost no 
 time in placing his luggage on board, being ably 
 assisted in the matter by the little vegetable boy, 
 who procured the use of a horse and cart for the 
 service, and nobly exerted himself in helping Antonio 
 to transfer the various boxes and packages to the 
 agent's boat, which was to convey it to the launch. 
 As the Engineer was subsequently stepping on board, 
 to go himself to the ' Belem,' the lad advanced, 
 holding out a small, but, with him, unusually grimy 
 hand for a parting shake, and that man would have 
 been excessively churlish who could in the circum- 
 stances have drawn back from his hearty salute, on 
 account of the dirt that might change hands in the 
 process, but which a little water would speedily 
 remove. 
 
 A steam up the Amazon of twenty-three hours 
 brought the ' Belem ' off Obidos, where Captain 
 Talisman kindly went ashore with the Engineer, and 
 assisted him in finding the house occupied by his 
 
Chap. VIII. AREIVE AT OBIDOS. 189 
 
 companions, who, as it was after midnight, were 
 sleeping soundly in their hammocks. There was no 
 necessity to remove the bulk of his luggage, for that 
 was on board the launch, which was here cast off from 
 the ' Belem,' and anchored at a short distance from 
 the beach. More than a month had elapsed since the 
 now reunited Commission had separated. 
 
190 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 AT OBIDOS. 
 
 An Interloper — Discordant Xoise — Itinerant Musicians — Town of 
 Obidos — Old Indian Chapel — The Forts — Landing Cattle — Arrival 
 and Departure of Vessels — Our next door Neighbours — We are taken 
 for " Sewing Machine Menders " — Our hired Boy — A Homesick 
 Portuguese — Depressing Weather — Adventure with Centipede — 
 " An Englishman from Ipswich." 
 
 It is necessary now to go back a little, and take up 
 the narrative of events happening to the portion of 
 the Commission Vtho had removed their head-quarters 
 to Obidos, during the period when the Engineer was 
 engaged on his duties on the Tapajos. 
 
 On presenting a letter of introduction to the agent, 
 Senhor Mirelles, he kindly accompanied us ashore, and 
 showed us a house which he had engaged for us. He 
 then sent a friend to show us another, which we could 
 have in the event of the first not meeting with our 
 approval. 
 
 Whilst looking over the second house a man of the 
 upper class, judging from his dress, came in and seemed 
 interested in the matter. The dwelling being too large 
 and gloomy for us, though one of the principal edifices 
 in the place, we did not like it, more especially as the 
 rent was high. When this fact was communicated to 
 the agent's friend by the Interpreter, the interloper 
 above mentioned burst out like a volcano with a 
 jumble of Portuguese, the interpretation of which was. 
 
Chap. IX. DISCORDANT NOISES. 191 
 
 " The rent is not too high^you should remember 
 that you are not now in England." He was promptly 
 suppressed, and advised not to interfere; when our 
 friend Mr. Davis who was with us, in order to put us in 
 a good humour again, exclaimed in American style, 
 " 1 say, you fellers, don't get so mad." It was enough 
 to make us lose our tempers to be interfered with in 
 this way, especially when it was not the first time 
 such a thing had occurred. 
 
 Making up our minds to take the house first shown 
 us, which had a more central position, we returned 
 on board the steamer at dusk to await the debarka- 
 tion of our traps and instruments. Mr. Davis's two 
 American friends also returned from a stroll on shore, 
 and gave an amusing account of their idea of the ap- 
 pearance of the place. Referring to the fort, which they 
 had visited, one remarked that he guessed he could 
 capture it if only armed with a toasting fork. 
 
 At a late hour our things were sent ashore in the 
 agent's lighter along with other packages, and bidding 
 good-bye to our friend Mr. Davis we quitted the 
 steamer. Our luggage we found in the lighter in the 
 mouth of a little creek, and the niggers in charge of 
 it informed us that they were awaiting the arrival of 
 an ox-cart to take it to oar house, so we sat down on 
 a log, and patiently waited with them. 
 
 Presently the most discordant noises were heard 
 proceeding from the town above us, which somewhat 
 resembled the braying of some half-dozen jackasses 
 afflicted with hoarseness. It was faint at first, but got 
 gradually louder and louder, until it suddenly ceased 
 close at hand ; but in the intense darkness we could 
 
192 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 not see what manner of beast it was, until on ap- 
 proachiQg the spot we discovered the ox-cart, and then 
 were made aware that the noise was produced by its 
 ungreased wheels. 
 
 In it, accompanied by the sound, our things were 
 taken to the house and stowed away. During our stay 
 in the place we suffered daily from the ear-piercing 
 clamour of that ox-cart. TVe could trace its course by 
 the row it kicked up, beginning when away back of 
 the town in the bush, like an elephant trumpeting, 
 then merging into the jackass bray as it came out on 
 the open behind the town, and finally passing our door 
 with the noise of seven devils. Sometimes a troop of 
 red howling monkeys in the neighbouring forest would 
 cast in their voices with it, and the combined effect 
 thus produced was very musical. 
 
 Having left one of our instruments in the steamer, 
 the Chief returned to the landing, and hiring a little 
 montaria, not capable of carrying more than three 
 people, went on board. Whilst getting the instru- 
 ment, two musicians, who had been plying their trade 
 on the deck, jumped into his boat, where they stood 
 up armed with fiddle and harp. Seeing them, and 
 feeling sure that the crank skiff would not carry more, 
 the Chief, in broken Portuguese, ordered them out. 
 They would not budge an inch, but remained standing. 
 Just then the montaria tipped a little on one side, 
 and both musicians fell prostrate ; the harper and his 
 instrument, going partially overboard, hung on the 
 gunwale in a semi-submerged state. With the assist- 
 ance of the owner of the craft he was dragged from 
 his perilous position, and lost no time in climbing 
 
Chap. IX. THE TOWN. 193 
 
 back into the steamer in a dripping wet condition, 
 followed by his friend the fiddler. The Chief, taking 
 advantage of the clearance thus efi'ected, quickly- 
 jumped into the boat and was paddled on shore. 
 Though pitying the foolish itinerants, he could not 
 resist having a laugh over the episode. 
 
 Our house was on a much smaller scale than the 
 one we occupied at Santarem, having only one fairly 
 sized room, a small back one, and a hall on one side. 
 Behind came a yard, with kitchen and servants' rooms 
 on either hand, terminating on the top of a low cliff 
 looking down upon the level area bordering the river. 
 As this yard also backed upon another house, 
 tenanted by a Portuguese youth, only one half of it 
 belonged to us. 
 
 On the first day of our occupation we took a walk 
 through the town, and ascertained the " lay of the land." 
 "We found that, though straggling-looking from the 
 water, the streets have been laid out with some degree of 
 regularity. There is a row of shops facing the river on 
 the level area bordering the beach, forming the chief 
 commercial portion of the town, which is shaded by a 
 line of fine almond trees. Behind is a cliif which 
 becomes higher and higher in a westerly direction, 
 and decreases in a corresponding ratio to the eastward. 
 From the ends of the street just described, two others 
 lead up to the higher land on which the greater 
 portion of the town is built. One of these — that on 
 the west — is more properly speaking only a road, 
 having no houses on either hand. 
 
 Our domicile was reached from the landing in the 
 course of a couple of minutes' walk, by following the 
 
 
 
194 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 street on the east, and was situated in the first of the 
 two long ones, running parallel to the river, which 
 traverse the main town. Here and there in these 
 streets are likewise shops, placed chiefly at corners, 
 which, like those on the shore, are small but good, 
 and well supplied with merchandise. 
 
 One or two houses have two stories, while many of 
 them have a small room with glass windows placed on 
 their tops. They are chiefly built of a soft sandstone 
 procured in the vicinity, and have tiled roofs and 
 plastered fronts ; the latter being washed or painted 
 in different colours. One we observed had its front 
 painted with broad vertical bands of alternate red and 
 black, an arrangement which did doubtful credit to 
 the taste of its owner. 
 
 At the western end of the town is a large grass- 
 covered square, upon which faced the Igreja de Matriz 
 or chief church of the district, a large decayed looking 
 stone building, with tiled roof and side buttresses. The 
 north side of the square is occupied by ordinary 
 houses ; the south by the barracks ; while the western 
 is unoccupied by any buildings, and terminates at 
 the cliff edge, from which a fine view up the Amazon, 
 to the mouth of its branch, the Trombetas, is obtained. 
 At the point of the bluff amongst some shrubs are the 
 ruins of an old Indian chapel, built by the priests, who 
 some two hundred years ago formed a mission amongst 
 the Pixuna Indians then inhabiting the spot. The 
 walls of the ruins are made of clay, faced inside and 
 out with square tiles. In front of it is a burial- 
 ground ; and, where the cliff has fallen away, human 
 bones can be seen protruding from the soil. Within 
 
Chap. IX. THE PORTS. 195 
 
 twenty yards of the front of the large church there 
 are also two graves and the stone pedestal of a cross. 
 
 From the blufif at the cliff edge, about one hundred 
 feet in height, one looks down upon the muddy water 
 of the Amazon washing its base, and gliding noise- 
 lessly but swiftly past on its path to the ocean, 
 bearing on its bosom countless small islands of float- 
 ing grass, and huge logs of wood. To the eastward 
 of the bluff is a small fort, having a powder magazine 
 strangely placed close behind its guns. This fort, and 
 another of peculiar construction on the beach at the 
 foot of the cliff beneath, command the passage of 
 the Amazon, which is here only 1730 yards wide. 
 The beach fort, manned by soldiers of the " Guarda 
 Nacional," has no embrasures, and its small guns, 
 mounted on high iron carriages, are quite exposed. 
 It was built to prevent an enemy's ship from passing 
 up in shore, and thus avoiding the guns of the upper 
 fort, as was once effected by a smart Peruvian gun- 
 boat. 
 
 From the western end of the longest street, at no 
 great distance from the church, a steep path, with 
 stone steps here and there, leads down to the beach 
 on the west of the bluff, where, faced by a stone 
 embankment, and clinging as it were to the base of 
 the cliff, is a two-storied building. Why a house 
 should have been built in such a confined positiou, 
 in a country where there is so much spare room, it 
 is difficult to understand. The cliff extends a long 
 way up river, and is composed of pink, red, and 
 white sand and clay beds of the recent deposit, over- 
 lyiDg a soft sandstone of older date, little of which 
 
 2 
 
196 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 could be seen at the time, owing to the height of the 
 water in the Amazon. 
 
 The town boasts of a large tile factory, which turns 
 out all sorts of articles of earthenware of the flower- 
 pot variety, as well as jars for carrying water and 
 water-coolers. Situated on high open ground in rear 
 of the town is a small church, called " Bom Jesus," in 
 the cool portico of which one can sit and enjoy the 
 view of the town, and the Amazon beyond, as well as 
 of the thick forests which close it in on the land 
 side. 
 
 There was some little stir about the landing part of 
 the town ; small montarias, with parties of moradores, 
 whose homes are on the river's bank in the vicinity, 
 constantly arriving or departing. These montarias 
 can often be seen gliding down mid-river with the 
 current, or being paddled laljoriously across from 
 shore to shore. Some small schooners which had 
 brought cattle to the port from fasendas on the lakes 
 across the river, or from the Sapukia district, lay at 
 anchor off the town. From one of these we saw 
 cattle disembarked in a most rough-and-ready fashion. 
 They were hoisted by their horns with block and 
 tackle, swung out over the bulwarks, their necks 
 being stretched by the procedure almost as long as 
 their bodies, and then dropped suddenly into the 
 river. Two lassoes, previously thrown over their 
 horns, were held by two men on the shore ; and as 
 soon as the animal operated upon gained the beach, 
 it dashed madly about in a semi-bewildered state, 
 charging at one or other of the lasso men, who, 
 pulling in opposite directions, were able to keep out 
 
Chap. IX. STRONG CURRENT. 197 
 
 of reach of its horns, but were at the same time 
 dragged about in a most ridiculous way. 
 
 A steamer calling now and then was not an un- 
 common sight during our stay ; but the arrival of a 
 large brigantine, which sailed slowly under a full 
 spread of canvas along the southern shore, and then 
 bowled across to the anchorage off the beach, was 
 quite an event. It was an interesting thing to see 
 a vessel leave port for the purpose of going up river. 
 The current on the Obidos side being so strong, it was 
 necessary for her to cross the Amazon, and then take 
 advantage of the backwater. To accomplish this, she 
 set all her sails to catch the breeze when the wind 
 was blowing strongly up river, and boldly pushed out 
 into the stream. An immediate conflict took place 
 for the mastery of the vessel between the wind and 
 current, and the latter, being the more powerful of the 
 two, the unfortunate craft was swept down river. If 
 she was successful, and the wind held, she was able 
 after some time .to accomplish her object, reaching the 
 other shore some five or six miles below her starting 
 point. On the contrary, should the wind happen to 
 drop, she was left at the mercy of the current, and 
 swept quite out of sight ; but at the end of twenty- 
 four hours she might be seen crawling slowly up the 
 other shore. 
 
 When we returned from viewing the lay of the land 
 we found the young Portuguese, our next door neigh- 
 bour, busily spreading out some cowhides in the yard 
 to dry. No sooner were they down than a crowd of 
 Urubus pounced on them, and fruitlessly endeavoured 
 to obtain a meal therefrom. It was not pleasant to 
 
198 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 see the manner in which these birds jostled and fought 
 together, uttering a hissing sound as they struggled to 
 disengage a morsel from the tough hides. From that 
 time forth our yard was the centre of attraction to aU 
 the Urubus of the district, and consequently no article 
 of food could be left in the kitchen for a moment un- 
 guarded, without their finding it out and carrying it off. 
 
 The father of the spreader of cowhides arrived at 
 Obidos after we did, and opened a wholesale shop next 
 door. No sooner did he get his goods unpacked than 
 the son came rushing frantically into our house with 
 samples of them, to inform us of the fact, and solicit 
 our custom. His stock consisted of Dutch cheeses, 
 gin, claret, onions and sugar. 
 
 Subsequently, when a set of altitudes of the sun were 
 being taken for the purpose of rating the chronometers, 
 the old man and his son emerged from one of their out- 
 rooms with cowhides. Unfortunately our Interpreter 
 being out at the time we could not have the situation 
 explained to them, but begged them in the little Portu- 
 guese at our command to remain quiet for a few minutes, 
 as their walking about shook the mercury in the arti- 
 ficial horizon. This they could not understand, but 
 thinking we meant that their assistance was wanted they 
 came rushing towards us, and thus spoilt a splendid 
 contact of sun images. Finding that words did not 
 convey to them what we required, we thought that 
 actions might, so we tried to explain by stamping, 
 that when they put their feet down it shook the ground 
 and stopped our work. To our horror and dismay 
 they misunderstood even this, and, evidently thinking 
 that they had caught our meaning, both began to 
 
Chap. IX. PUZZLE THE NATIVES^ 199 
 
 stamp upon the ground like a pair of prisoners in a 
 treadmill. We felt that we had never seen such a 
 pair of utter idiots in our lives ; and as by the delay 
 we had lost our chance of obtaining good altitudes, 
 we put our instruments in their cases, and, boiling 
 over with heat and anger, gave up the attempt. 
 
 The first day of our sojourn in the town, whilst 
 sitting writing after dinner, a native came in and 
 inquired if we were " sewing machine menders." Of 
 all the trades in the world to have pitched upon and 
 assigned to us, this tailorish one was too much to be 
 borne in silence, so we indignantly answered. No ! and 
 then went off into fits of laughter. "We were by this 
 prepared for the worst, and were not the least taken 
 aback a few days subsequently, when a young woman 
 came to inquire if we had any jewellery for sale. No 
 doubt the advent of three Inglesas (Englishmen) in 
 their midst was an event for which the inhabitants 
 had much difficulty in accounting. They could only 
 do so, by supposing that we had come for the pur- 
 pose of trading in some sort of way ; and seeing our 
 meteorological instruments hanging against the walls 
 of our room, they no doubt took them to be a part of 
 our stock-in-trade. We felt this come down, from the 
 high pedestal we had been placed on by all the polite 
 people we had hitherto met, who addressed the Geolo- 
 gist as " Senhor Chefe " ; the Botanist as " Senhor 
 i Dotour Botanista " ; and the Engineer as " Senhor 
 Dotour Enginheiro." This was to be expected in a 
 country where a letter to a most ordinary individual 
 bears on its envelope the prefix of, " lUustrissirao 
 Senhor," before the person's name. 
 
200 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 Unfortunately for all parties our faithful servant 
 William began to^suffer from a disordered liver, and 
 could only just perform tlie duties of cook. "We had 
 therefore to hire a town boy to do our marketing, and 
 bring a supply of water for drinking and household 
 purposes. This lad worked for one day and then dis- 
 appeared for ever, consequently on the following day 
 we were without drinking water. An old blacksmith 
 — a Prussian — who lived opposite, kindly procured us 
 a little boy, a sharp youngster with smiling face, 
 light mahogany coloured skin, and piercing black eyes, 
 who thought of nothing but play. When wanted he 
 was only to be found by searching in the adjoining 
 streets, where he was invariably discovered amusing 
 himself with a lot of other street Arabs. Expostulation 
 was useless, and only called up a cunning grin on his 
 visage. 
 
 His costume consisted solely of a pair of trowsers, 
 kept up by a cord round his waist. At rare intervals 
 he would appear on the scene crowned with a very 
 dilapidated old beaver hat. He, however, did our 
 marketing faithfully, and, with much hounding, kept 
 us supplied with water from the fine clear stream that 
 ran from a little lake in the woods behind the town, 
 into the Amazon, not more than one hundred yards 
 from our house. 
 
 This stream supplies the whole town with drinking 
 water, and the portion of it at the end of our street 
 was the haunt of washerwomen. Troops of negro and 
 Indian slaves, both male and female, tramped past our 
 door each morning and evening, carrying great earthen 
 jars on their heads to and from this water. 
 
Chap. IX. DISPIEITING WBATHBE. 201 
 
 In the bush, about one hundred yards up, was the 
 bathing pool where we took our afternoon dip ; and 
 there on one occasion we met a young Portuguese 
 shopkeeper, who strongly advised us not to bathe, as 
 he was told there were both biting fish and snakes in 
 its depths. The reputed presence of these injurious 
 creatures did not affect him in any way, for like all 
 his tribe he did not wash ; neither did it prevent us 
 from continuing our daily plunge, as we felt the neces- 
 sity of a swim, snakes or no snakes. The poor fellow 
 was evidently home-sick, for after informing us that he 
 had only arrived from Portugal the previous month, 
 he burst out into a tirade of abuse of the country, the 
 Amazon, and the Brazilians. 
 
 During our sojourn in the town we had much rainy 
 weather, a sort of short rainy season in fact, amongst 
 which were two days of the most distressing, spirit- 
 lowering weather that could anywhere be experienced. 
 Though no rain fell upon those dreadful days, the sky 
 was covered with a cloak of uniform leaden clouds, 
 which seemed to hang without motion just above the 
 houses, and exert a downward pressure on one's spirits, 
 promoting the blues. The air felt moist, and the heat 
 was intense. 
 
 The feelings thus engendered were that some great 
 meteorological disturbance was about to take place, 
 such as a hurricane or a fearful tornado. Happily 
 this state of things passed quietly away, with nothing 
 worse than thunder and rain storms. 
 
 One of these, occurring in the night, was a particu- 
 larly furious one, as flash succeeded flash, and one roll 
 of thunder merged into the next. It was accompanied 
 
202 AT OBIDOS. Chap. IX. 
 
 by terrific gusts of wind which caused the rain to drift 
 under the tiles of our roof, obliging us to move for 
 safety any perishable articles from the windward side 
 of our room. At one time we thought the whole roof 
 would be blown off, and one tile was actually dislodged, 
 falling with a crash on our brick -paved floor. 
 
 These rains drove many insects into our house for 
 shelter, where they took up their abode in cracks and 
 crannies. Among these was a centipede, which leav- 
 ing its hiding place one evening for a ramble, made 
 its way up the Chiefs leg, and out of sheer devilment 
 buried its fangs deeply in his knee. With a shout of 
 agony he sprang up, the book he had been quietly 
 reading flying from his grasp, and seizing his leg 
 tightly with one hand to prevent the further ascent of 
 his tormentor, he began to try and rub the insect's 
 life out with the other. 
 
 Centipedes have a hard shelly skin, are tough and 
 tenacious of life, and refuse to be crushed ; conse- 
 quently he did not kill, though he somewhat 
 bewildered the creature. The rest of the party at 
 first viewed his antics with alarm, thinking he had 
 suddenly gone mad, but getting some idea of the 
 reason of the struggle, were unfeeling enough to look 
 upon it as a cause for exceeding merriment, and aban- 
 doned themselves to the fall enjoyment of the scene 
 accordingly. 
 
 By careful manipulation and with much dexterity, 
 he was enabled to extract himself from his nether 
 garments, still grasping the part where the insect 
 was located in one hand. Dashing them down he 
 skipped nimbly on one pido, while the seemingly un- 
 
Chap. IX. VISITED BY AN ENGLISHMAN. 203 
 
 injured centipede rushed off, as fast as its numerous 
 legs could carry it. It did not get far before the 
 Botanist, with an eye to procure it as a specimen, 
 pounced upon and transferred it to a bottle of spirits 
 of wine, in which the Chief viewed its dying struggles 
 with as near an approach to delight as the sharp pain 
 in his knee would permit. 
 
 One evening we observed a human visage, peering in 
 at our one front window, which was quickly withdrawn 
 on our observing it. When it a second time appeared, 
 after a long interval, one of the party went to see who 
 on earth was taking such an' interest in the internal 
 economy of our dwelling, and was accosted with the 
 well-known English words, " Good night, sir." On 
 inquiring who was there, the answer came back from 
 the darkness, " An Englishman, sir, from Ipswich ; " 
 whereupon the owner of the voice was asked in, and 
 provided with a chair. He proved to be a sailor, who 
 had come out in a Brazilian gunboat from England 
 in 1862 •, had been in Peru for a time ; and latterly 
 on the Amazon, in the employment of a Brazilian 
 living not far from Obidos. He said he had heard 
 that some Englishmen had arrived at this place, and 
 he had come to see them ; l)ut not liking to intrude, 
 had been enjoying himself in listening near our window 
 to the sound of his mother tongue. After some con- 
 versation and a glass of brandy he took his departure, 
 and we never saw the poor fellow again. 
 
204 EXCURSIONS FEOM OBIDOS. Chap. X. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 EXOUESIONS FKOM OBIDOS. 
 
 Leave Obidos for Trombetas — Our Crew work badly — The Botanist falls 
 through an Oven — Arrive at Iripixy — GuUs feeding on Flying Ants 
 — Vegetation bordering Lakes on Igapo Land — Our Steersman's Gun 
 falls overboard — Ascend Trombetas to Lake Caypuni — Spreading a 
 !N"ew Canoe — Dread of the Evil Eye — Caught in Eainstorm — Eetum 
 to Obidos — Visit Serra de Bscama — Indian Picture-writing — Are 
 joined by the Engineer — Our Steam Launch arrives. 
 
 From Obidos we made a journey up the Trombetas 
 river to examine some lands on its east bank, lying 
 between the lakes of Iripixy and Caypuru. The 
 agent procured us a large two-masted boat, having a 
 wooden-roofed cabin aft, into which we could crawl, 
 when overtaken by rain. It was manned by a crew 
 of four individuals, two being soldiers obtained from 
 the Commandante of the fort, the third a youth, and 
 the fourth an individual of a certain stamp which 
 is unfortunately too common on the Amazon. He 
 was a "low white" Brazilian, of slight build, un- 
 prepossessing appearance, very self-opinionated, and a 
 loafer at heart. His duties were to steer the craft 
 and make himself useful ; instead of which he ren- 
 dered himself, eventually, not only useless but ob- 
 structive. 
 
 Gretting started we paddled close in shore, against 
 the current along the front of the cliffs, until after a 
 
Chap. X. THE COLONIA. 205 
 
 time we passed them and came to an open space 
 called the Colonia, where a good-sized house, with 
 glass windows — a rarity on the Amazon — some ruins, 
 and the standing walls of a large church, alone are 
 left of the edifices of a colony of Portuguese. Of the 
 human beings themselves who inhabited them, only 
 the captain of Portuguese trabalhadors (workmen) 
 remains. Immediately after passing the Colonia we 
 rounded a high wooded bluff, and turned up one of the 
 two channels into which the Trombetas is divided by 
 a long and narrow island. 
 
 About half a mile on we landed, late in the evening, 
 at a place where there was a good house a few hundred 
 yards back from the river, surrounded by a low paling 
 and garden, with a row of small trees in front, and 
 where everything was neat and well kept. A wide 
 space of grass land lay between it and the river, 
 dotted here and there with solitary members of the 
 ancient forest that once covered the whole. Upon 
 this grazed a small herd of cattle, which gave a farm- 
 like aspect to the spot. The owner, a Portuguese, 
 was away, but his wife and mother welcomed us, and 
 apportioned to us a room in the house for the night. 
 The moon and a few stars tried their best to shine, 
 whilst we were taking dinner in the open air, at the 
 late hour of 8.30 p.m., but by nine o'clock the clouds 
 had got the better of them, and rain fell, continuing 
 apparently all night ; for it was hard at it when we 
 awoke on the following morning. 
 
 Continuing our journey at an early hour, as soon as 
 the rain had ceased, we followed a channel between a 
 small island and the one above mentioned : and 
 
206 EXCURSIONS FEOM OBIDOS. Chap. X. 
 
 eventually came upon the main river, in a part no 
 longer impeded by islands, but where its banks are 
 about half a mile apart. Its water is very turbid, 
 being discoloured by a large volume of Amazon water 
 which flows into it through the Cachiury channel. 
 Portions of the sides of the long island had houses 
 upon them here and there, while but few buildings 
 were to be seen on the low banks of the Trombetas. 
 At the mouth of Lake Tapacuru, which we crawled 
 past early in the afternoon, we saw some cattle 
 feeding. Directly opposite were a few houses, and 
 a little farther up two fasendas, one on either side 
 of the river. ^\',- ■• " 
 
 Our men worked very badly, paddling when and 
 as they pleased, and resting as often as they liked. 
 Nothing we could say would incite them to the least 
 exertion. They were fair samples of the working, or 
 rather what ought to be called resting, population of 
 the Amazon. "With them money is no object, and 
 they only took to the paddles "to oblige the Senhors." 
 The two soldiers, natives of the neighbourhood, were 
 at the time performing their annual service of a month 
 or two in the Obidos garrison ; and had it not been 
 for the Commandante's sending them, we should have 
 been unable to procure a crew at all. 
 
 Heavy rain falling during the afternoon, we were 
 obliged to crawl into our cabin, and there recline for 
 a lengthened period. At dusk we turned off from 
 the main river into a little creek, in order to get 
 shelter for the night at a house whose VThereabouts 
 was known to our steersman. Coming to a landing 
 we found the onward path completely under water. 
 
Chap. X. A PALL THROUGH AN OVEN. 207 
 
 owing to the river having risen almost to its flood 
 level from recent rains ; and we were obliged to wade 
 ashore barefooted for about three hundred yards, 
 finding our way by aid of a very dim moonlight. 
 
 Late as it was we found, on arriving, that the 
 inhalntants of the house were sitting out of doors 
 plaiting palm leaves for thatch. There were two men 
 and four women in all, who received us kindly, and 
 gave us permission to remain for the night. 
 
 Whilst waiting for dinner, which our servant was 
 busily engaged in cooking, the Botanist sat on the 
 edge of a large baked clay farinha oven to rest. His 
 weight being too much for the structure to bear, it 
 gave way, and he was suddenly precipitated earthward 
 in a most undignified manner, landing right upon a 
 large white dog which had been sleeping beneath ; 
 while three bottles that had been reposing on the 
 oven, rolled over and fell heavily upon his prostrate 
 form. Uttering most startling yells, the astonished 
 dog struggled from beneath him, and with surprising 
 agility for an animal in so crushed a condition, shot 
 off into the neighbouring forest, where for a time it 
 howled mournfully. When the Botanist emerged from 
 the bottom of the oven, slightly coated with dusty 
 wood-ashes, we ascertained that he was uninjured. 
 Then it was that the ladies of the place gave way to 
 unbounded merriment, and for a time fairly screamed 
 with laughter. Even the old lady whose oven was 
 thus partially destroyed, seemed to enjoy the scene 
 most thoroughly. 
 
 We partook of our dinner at 9.30 p.m., but the 
 natives outdid us in lateness by commencing to cook 
 
208 EXCURSIONS PROM OBIDOS. Chap. X. 
 
 theirs at 10 p.m. This was owing to their having 
 obtained some pirarucu from us, and to their having 
 been without animal food for two days in consequence 
 of their montaria from which they fished having been 
 lent to a neighbour. 
 
 We all turned in at last for the night in one large 
 room, our hammocks and those of our crew being 
 suspended in a row along one side ; while the in- 
 habitants hung theirs along the other. That evening 
 the sky cleared at nine o'clock and so remained till 
 morning, producing the first fine night we had seen 
 since our advent into Obidos. 
 
 On arriving at the narrow entrance to Lake Iripixy 
 (pronounced E-re-pe-she), we crossed over to the western 
 side of the river, and landed at the house of a Senhor 
 Vincente, to whom we had a letter from the agent at 
 Obidos. The establishment of this man consisted of 
 a recently-erected dwelling house and shop, situated 
 in a large clearing on the low alluvial land bordering 
 the river. He had lived, he said, for years on the 
 shore of Iripixy, but had been obliged to leave the 
 spot owing to the saiiba ants, which had become nume- 
 rous, destroying everything he planted. 
 
 On applying to him for a guide to the forest at the 
 head of the lake, which we were about to visit, he 
 accompanied us back to Iripixy, and, leaving us at his 
 former dwelling, went on in a small montaria to pro- 
 cure a suitable man. By the time he had returned 
 with one, it was too late to do anything, so we made 
 arrangements for the guide to start with us at an 
 early hour on the following morning. 
 
 We took up our quarters in the above-mentioned 
 
Chap. X. GULLS FEEDING ON ANTS. 209 
 
 house, a well-built mud-walled edifice, fronting a fine 
 white sand beach on the western side of the lake. 
 Near by were the dwellings of one or two Tapuyus, 
 who, in spite of the saiibas, had some cultivation, and 
 a small plantation of coffee trees. 
 
 Farther up the lake was an old deserted house, on 
 the earthen floor of which we saw fresh deer tracks. 
 In front of this, near the edge of a cliff, our attention 
 was attracted to a very large flock of Gaivotas — com- 
 mon grey river gulls — which were wheeling and circling 
 about in a most excited manner, at a distance of some 
 fifteen to twenty yards above the ground. On ap- 
 proaching the spot we were surprised to find that 
 these birds, which we supposed fed exclusively on fish, 
 were in the act of enjoying a meal of male and female 
 winged saiiba ants, as the latter rose, two or three at 
 a time, from holes in the ground. 
 
 The ants were quitting their home with the intention 
 of forming other colonies at a distance, and the females 
 were distended with eggs. Each insect emerged fussily 
 from a nest orifice, trimmed its wings with a buzzing 
 sound, and then flew slowly up into the air to meet its 
 doom. 
 
 The gulls were not at all disturbed by our presence, 
 but swooped after them over our heads as they rose, 
 catching the insects with great dexterity in their long 
 pointed beaks, with which they made a slight clicking 
 noise, and then uttered low squeaks suggestive of satis- 
 faction. Once, for a short time, a small bluish pigeon- 
 hawk joined in the work of slaughter, acting in a most 
 friendly manner towards the gulls, and not in any way 
 interfering with them, as he swooped about in their 
 
 p 
 
210 EXCURSIONS FROM OBIDOS. Chap. X. 
 
 midst procuring his share of the insect feast. An old 
 yellowish kite also wheeled amongst them once or 
 twice, but, not being agile enough to catch much, soon 
 took his departure. 
 
 Three Qu'-est-que-ce-dits and two Blue Sackies, who 
 made catches at a lower elevation than the gulls, soon 
 became so gorged that they had to seek tree branches 
 and rest, eyeing most wistfully the waste of such deli- 
 cious food, which they could no longer enjoy. For 
 hours the gulls could be seen wheeling over the spot, 
 until night put an end to their orgie. It is very 
 evident that hardly an ant escaped slaughter during 
 the day, but if they continued to emerge from their 
 nests at night, they must have been able to get safely 
 away. 
 
 Iripixy is a pretty sheet of black water, some three 
 miles in length by half a mile in width, with numerous 
 arms and sand beaches, and with low wooded hills 
 rising from its northern edge. A single house and 
 plantation here and there along its banks add a little 
 life to the quiet scene. 
 
 Conducted by our guide we arrived at the head 
 of the lake, and entered a large creek, where the land 
 was flooded far away amongst the trees on either side. 
 The vegetation on these lands, fringing black-water 
 lakes and rivers, that for some months of the year lie 
 under water, is peculiar, consisting of soft-wooded 
 trees of various kinds, amongst which the members of 
 a few species of dwarf monkey-pots are very numerous. 
 The brown curiously-shaped nut-cases on these are 
 quite a pleasing feature in the scene, while amongst 
 them the red tassel-shaped blossoms of another kind 
 
CiiAP. X. aATO AND THE GUN. 211 
 
 of tree add effective touches of colouring to the various 
 shades of sombre green. 
 
 The difficulties attending the passage of a boat 
 through such places are greatly enhanced by the masses 
 of climbing razor grass, which hang in festoons from 
 every branch, and which when brushed against are 
 capable of inflicting very painful cuts. 
 
 With some trouble our boat was got a short way 
 up the creek to a place where dry ground came to 
 its edge. There we landed, and traversed the forest 
 along the boundary of the Company's extensive pro- 
 perty, which, having been opened up some years 
 before, formed a rough pathway by which we were 
 enabled to proceed, without having to cut our way as 
 hitherto. It was late in the afternoon before we got 
 back to our boat, everyone smarting more or less from 
 the stings of some marabuntas, which had viciously 
 and unjustly attacked us when harmlessly passing 
 their nest on our return. 
 
 Beaching the open lake we were paddling down its 
 southern side, when the steersman espied a pigeon 
 sitting in a low tree top. He took aim at it with a gun 
 he had borrowed from Senhor Vincente, while the crew 
 watched the result with anxiety. We heard the gun 
 snap without the charge exploding, and saw the pigeon 
 fly. As Eaimundo Gato — Raymond Cat — for such was 
 our steersman's name, was sitting in the stern, he was 
 hidden from our view, and his movements were con- 
 cealed from us •, but presently we heard a tremendous 
 explosion in his vicinity, followed by dead silence. 
 We stood up, looking over the cabin to learn the 
 cause, and there saw — not a blackened corpse, as we 
 
 p 2 
 
212 EXCURSIONS FROM OBIDOS. Chap. X- 
 
 expected — but only Mr. Gato looking down foolishly 
 at his empty hands. Suddenly he recovered from his 
 bewildered condition, and springing hastily to his feet, 
 proclaimed that the gun had fallen overboard. The 
 fact was that in trying to prime it the charge had 
 exploded, and the recoil thus produced had carried it 
 out of his hands into the depths of the lake. We all 
 felt that we had had a narrow escape, and were 
 thankful that we were not then suffering from the 
 effects of stray pellets of shot in our backs. 
 
 As the gun was a borrowed one he did not seem to 
 feel its loss at all, or think it necessary to take any 
 steps towards its recovery. Being shamed into taking 
 some action in the matter, he tried to induce the 
 soldiers to join him in diving for it, but they scorn- 
 fully refused to risk their lives to serve him. They 
 said that the terrible " Sucuruju," or water-boa, would 
 seize anyone attempting to dive in the lake. We 
 asked William if he thought he could recover the 
 missing article, as it was the property of Senhor Vin- 
 cente, who had been civil and obliging to us ; and he 
 expressed his willingness to try. His first effort 
 proved unsuccessful, but on his second appearance at 
 the surface he held the gun safely in his hand, having 
 brought it up from a depth of twelve feet. 
 
 Sailing down the lake we reached our quarters of 
 the previous night, where we again sought shelter, and 
 were fortunate in having such a good roof above us, as 
 it rained heavily. 
 
 Leaving the lake we continued up the Trombetas, 
 along the base of the red cliffs, which extend from the 
 Iripixy mouth for a few miles northward, and pursued 
 
Chap. X. DREAD OP EVIL EYE. 213 
 
 our journey to the end of a long wooded island ; from 
 near which the view across the Trombetas is very fine, 
 embracing, as it does, the full width of the river, and 
 the hills of Sapukia on the opposite side. Following 
 the wide channel between the main and the island, we 
 passed a low-lying swampy tract backed by high 
 land, and rounding a point opposite the end of the 
 island entered a large and spacious bay, at the mouth 
 of Lake Caypuru. Kf ' /- '^ '' ^'- '■ 
 
 At the house of a negro, on a point, we obtained 
 shelter for the night, and next morning crossed over 
 to the dwelling of a man named Calistro, in order to 
 get him to accompany us as guide to the head of 
 the lake. He promised to come if we would wait 
 for a short time, until he had finished spreading a 
 canoe, which he was making from a hoUowed-out log. 
 We asked to be allowed to see the process, but our 
 request was at first refused. Upon asking why such 
 a slight favour was not granted, he said that as the 
 operation was a delicate one, the liability of the 
 log's splitting was very great, especially under the 
 influence of some people's glance ; and he could not 
 tell whether any of our party possessed an evil 
 eye or not. He went to the place where the em- 
 bryonic canoe was in process of construction, to 
 ask one of his assistants if he minded our seeing the 
 operation, and returned to say that we could not be 
 allowed to do so. After some further consultation it 
 became evident that they feared it would be more 
 unlucky for our eyes to be refused a sight of the pro- 
 cess than to be fixed upon the work ; for in the end 
 they actually solicited our presence at the perform- 
 
214 EXCURSIONS PKOM OBIDOS. Chap. X. 
 
 ance. We in our turn then refused to go, saying, that 
 if we went and the canoe unfortunately split, they 
 would undoubtedly blame us for the mishap. To this 
 they replied, " If it is going to split, let it split ; but 
 in any case you must now come and look on." 
 
 We therefore gladly adjourned to the spot, a de- 
 lightfully cool one beneath a huge Tonkin bean tree, 
 whose branches spread out over a great extent of sur- 
 face, the 'end of one reaching a distance of nineteen 
 paces from the stem. There we saw the narrow 
 hollowed log, shaped into a prow at one end and 
 stern at the other, and very trough-like in form, re- 
 posing bottom upwards upon two crossed poles driven 
 into the ground. A fire of palm leaves, the full 
 length of the boat, blazed fiercely upon the sand 
 beneath. As soon as the wood had been rendered 
 sufficiently pliant, they turned the canoe up, and with 
 large semi-split logs, resembling old-fashioned wooden 
 clothes' pins, placed at three spots along each side, 
 they gradually pryed it open, giving it the form of 
 an ordinary montaria. Making the ends of the clothes' 
 pins fast by ropes to the ground, they left it to cool 
 and harden in that position. Fortunately none of us 
 possessed the evil or unlucky eye, as it turned out, 
 and therefore the canoe did not split. 
 
 The trying moment being over, Calistro became 
 cheerful, and soon prepared himself to start with us. 
 We got off in two small montarias, leaving our large 
 boat at his place. One of these was so deeply laden, 
 from carrying four persons, that its sides were not 
 an inch above water. No incidents attended our 
 journey up, or through the forest, except that the 
 
Chap. X. CAUGHT IN A STORM. 215 
 
 Botanist discovered his first new palm upon that 
 occasion. 
 
 In the afternoon we heard thunder rumbling in the 
 distance, and saw every prospect of a storm coming 
 on, therefore entering our boats at the head of the lake, 
 we set out for a hard pull, in order to try and get 
 to Calistro's before the rain came on, in which we 
 were unsuccessfal. The canoe with the Botanist in it, 
 paddled by our soldiers, ran a race with the other, 
 pulled by William and Calistro, and, getting in front, 
 nearly swamped the latter with its wash. The men 
 had taken off their hats, and we observed that 
 although their hair was quite wet, yet portions of 
 it stood straight on end, and by its tendency to 
 separate, showed that the phenomenon was evidently 
 owing to the presence of electricity in the atmosphere. 
 
 By this time the rain had reached us, the inky 
 clouds above rendering the sky as dark as night ; and 
 the strong gusts of wind, accompanying the storm, so 
 ruffled the bosom of the lake, that our craft could 
 no longer weather the short chopping waves. We 
 therefore pulled madly to the shore — our boat sinking 
 just as we gained the beach — and rushing up to an 
 untenanted house in a soaking condition, took shelter 
 from the driving storm. 
 
 After the war of the elements had ceased, we raised 
 the canoe, freed it from water, and went on to 
 Calistro's ; from which we crossed over to the house 
 on the point in our own boat. 
 
 We had got thoroughly disgusted by this time with 
 our lazy, worthless crew, and the foolish steersman ; 
 and anticipated with pleasure an immediate return to 
 
216 EXCUESIONS FBOM OBIDOS. Chap. X, 
 
 Obidos, which would free us from their company. 
 One of the soldiers named Antonio, the steersman, 
 and the youth Juvencio, were quite mutinous ; while 
 Sivrian, the other soldier, would have nothing to do 
 with them, but remained faithful to us. 
 
 Hoisting sail on the following morning, we com- 
 menced our return journey with a leading wind as far 
 as the Sapukia mouth, where it failed us. From 
 that on we sailed at times, and paddled at others, just 
 as the wind suited, but more frequently only drifted 
 along with the current ; until a little before dusk we 
 came to a huge flotilla of grass islands, seemingly at a 
 stand-still, the wind keeping them against the current. 
 Just then a strong breeze readied us, which came 
 from a black storm that for some time had been 
 gathering to the northward, and, being fair, our crew 
 hoisted the foresail. They were also going to set the 
 large mainsail, but we prevented them, knowing what 
 fearful blasts often precede and accompany these rain 
 storms ; Ijesides, we had not a particle of ballast in our 
 boat. Presently the water up river behind us became 
 lashed into seething foam, and the approaching storm 
 could be heard singing through the tree-tops as it 
 came along. It soon reached us, coming down with 
 such force that the foreboom bent like a whip, and the 
 sail was nearly carried away. Off we scudded rapidly 
 with the gale abeam, and soon entered the long narrow 
 channel between the two islands in the Trombetas' 
 mouth, where the wind left us, being succeeded by 
 heavy rain. We stopped at a landing place near a 
 house on the island till the rain ceased, and there par- 
 took of our frugal repast of biscuit and salt fish. 
 
Chap. X. INDIAN PICTURE-WRITING. 217 
 
 The moon rose, and was shining pretty fairly by 
 the time we entered the Amazon. Getting into the 
 strong current, with a light wind on our larboard 
 bow, we proceeded down stream, arriving at Obidos 
 at 11 P.M. Our contemptible steersman leaped ashore 
 as the boat's bow grated on the beach and dis- 
 appeared in the darkness. The streets of the little 
 town were dark, silent, and deserted, as we carried 
 our traps through them to our house, where we made 
 ourselves comfortable for the night. 
 
 A few days after our return, in company with 
 
 our friend Dr. B , the Glovernment botanist from 
 
 Rio de Janeiro, who at the time was making col- 
 lections on the Amazon, we visited the isolated hill 
 called Serra de Escama, which lies close to the town, 
 in order to view the Indian picture-writing on some 
 rocks upon its summit. Following a good cart-road 
 until it terminated at a quarry, some distance on the 
 hill's southern side, we struck off up an open grassy 
 slope to its clear top, 300 feet above the river, where 
 amongst a few scattered trees lay large blocks of 
 coarse, ferruginous sandstone, upon which were de- 
 picted numerous inscriptions of scroll-work, and, in 
 one or two instances, rude representations of birds' 
 heads. These forms were very similar to those seen 
 in British Guiana, but instead of being cut in very 
 hard rock were deeply grooved in soft ones, evidently 
 because there were no harder rocks in the neighbour- 
 hood. One block showed plainly that a large portion 
 of it had cracked, and subsided to a slightly lower 
 level, since the writing was made upon it ; while 
 a large basin-shaped cavity, formed by subsequent 
 
218 
 
 EXCURSIONS PROM OBIDOS. 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 weathering, attests the great antiquity of the sculp- 
 turing. 
 
 The view from the spot was very fine, the distant 
 line of faint blue hills behind Santarem being plainly 
 visible ; while in another direction we looked dovra 
 upon the Amazon and town of Obidos. 
 
 One finely-sculptured rock, figured below, we coveted 
 greatly, and saw no reason why it could not be re- 
 moved, for the purpose of being conveyed to the 
 British Museum. On returning to the town we made 
 an agreement with an individual to bring it down for 
 us to the water's edge ; but, as he never tried to per- 
 form his part of the contract, it still remains a dead 
 letter, and the stone reposes where nature placed it. 
 
 ^ 
 
 INDIAS PIOTnEE-WRlTING. 
 
 At this stage of our journey ings it was necessary 
 that we should have a small steamer, or good-sized 
 launch, at our disposal, to enable us to perform our 
 work in a satisfactory manner. One of the latter kind 
 had been chartered for us by Captain Crozier, E.N., 
 
Chap. X. STEAM LAUNCH AERIVES. 219 
 
 the Superintendent of the Company in Par^, and we 
 had therefore to remain at Obidos until it arrived. 
 
 Early in the morning on the 22nd of February, or 
 rather during what is usually called the small hours of 
 the night, we were aroused by a terrific knocking at our 
 door. Turning out, we lit our veteran paraffin lamp, 
 and undid the bolt, when there entered on the threshold, 
 before our blinking eyes, the manly and welcome forms 
 of Captain Talisman and the Engineer. Prom the 
 latter we learned that his pickets having been driven 
 in by continual rains, he had been obliged to give up 
 a portion of his work, and come on to join us ; and 
 that the steam launch, for which we had been so long 
 looking, had been towed up from Para by the steamer 
 in which he had come as a passenger. 
 
 This was indeed most welcome news to men who 
 had but recently suffered from the slow motions of a 
 heavy montaria, manned by the laziest wretches in 
 the world, and steered by the redoubtable Eaimundo 
 Gato. It is not yet a recorded fact in history, but 
 there is every reason to believe, that when this good 
 news was announced, the Obidosian members of the 
 usually staid Geological Commission, performed an 
 Indian war dance around the bodies of their comrade 
 and the worthy captain. 
 
220 ON THE TBOMBETAS. Uhap. XI. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 ON THE TBOMBETAS. 
 
 The 'Beija Mor' — Captain and Crew — Death of Jos6 — Start for the 
 I'rom'betas — Scenery of the Eiver — Night on hoavd the Launch — 
 Entrapped in a Cul-de-sac — S. Antonio — Lake Arapecn — Brazil 
 Nuts — Lake Jukiri — The Isle of Diamonds — Lake Tapajem — Two 
 poor old Negroes — The Launch aground — The Cataract — Eunaway 
 Slaves — Eeturn — Scientific Eivalry — Palms — Adventure with a 
 Tiger — Lake Sapukia — Obidos again. 
 
 A NEW era had now dawned upon the Geological 
 Commission. Hitherto we had been compelled to 
 work from certain fixed head-quarters, making from 
 thence various excursions into the surrounding district, 
 as far as the length of our tether would allow ; but 
 continually falling back upon our centre as stress of 
 weather, want of provisions, failure of means of loco- 
 motion, or other untoward circumstances necessitated. 
 Henceforth, however, we were to carry our head- 
 quarters with us, and thus be free to lengthen our 
 journey to an almost indefinite extent. It may be 
 imagined therefore with what delight the arrival of 
 the ' Beija Flor ' upon the scene was hailed. There was 
 poetry in her very name—the Kiss Flower, that is to 
 say, in more prosaic English, the Humming Bird — a 
 sobriquet which may be taken as suggesting, not 
 inaptly, the manner in which she flitted about from 
 place to place while under the control of the Com- 
 mission. 
 
Chap. XT. 
 
 THE 'BEI.JA PLOE.' 
 
 221 
 
 The ' Beija Flor ' was of no ordinary build ; she had 
 been designed and constrncted in France, but the 
 artist would appear to have taken for his model 
 a turtle from the Amazon, which in shape she greatly 
 resembled. Her deck was a perfect ellipse, shaded 
 hy an iron awning, or roof, of the same form. A little 
 
 DECK or ' BEIJA nOK.' 
 
 high-pressure engine, placed in the centre of the ship, 
 worked the screw which propelled her, and was 
 divided off from the stern portion hj a large cupboard, 
 serving the Commission both as a pantry and as a 
 screen from the heat and noise of boiler and 
 machinery. This after part of the launch was 
 furnished with a taljle and easy chairs, and was 
 devoted to the exclusive use of the three members of 
 the Commission and their Interpreter. The captain, 
 engineer, and crew occupied the bow, and on fine 
 
222 ON THE TEOMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 nights some of them slept on the top of the roof. 
 Our craft was gaily painted throughout in red and 
 white ; but the most singular arrangement was that a 
 ledge, about eighteen inches wide, made the entire 
 circuit of her on the outside of the bulwarks. This 
 was probably intended by the builder to keep her 
 from turning over when caught by a squall, but in 
 many other ways it proved of great value to us. 
 When the deck was blocked by stacks of wood for 
 the engine fire, a ready communication fore and aft 
 was still kept open by means of this projecting flange ; 
 and the whole party could step from it simultaneously 
 into a boat alongside, thus saving the time that would 
 be spent in disembarking one by one through a 
 narrow gangway. The steering wheel was in the bow 
 — an arrangement which enabled the man who guided 
 the launch "to keep a good look-out ahead for snags, 
 floating logs, and other impediments to navigation. 
 
 The captain of the ' Beija Flor ' — one of the most 
 trusty pilots of the Company — was of mixed Indian and 
 Portuguese blood, and acted his part in an eflBcient, 
 though unassuming manner. He had a thoroughly 
 hearty laugh, which it was pleasant to evoke by getting 
 up some trifling joke, of which he seldom failed to see 
 the point. The crew were mostly Tapuyus, and had 
 their teeth filed into triangles like those of a saw, a 
 fashion which added a touch of wildness to their smiles. 
 Were we writing a romance, instead of a veritable 
 story, it would not be easy to find a more high-sound- 
 ing set of names to bestow upon our heroes than those 
 that actually belonged to the crew of the ' Beija Flor.' 
 Jose Mamede Groncjalves appeared first on the list. 
 
Chap. XI. DEATH OP JOSJi). 223 
 
 as captain ; then followed Domingos S. Ramao — 
 engineer ; Raimundo R. Figueiredo — fireman ; Rai- 
 mundo Dias do Silva and Ambrosio A. dos Santos — 
 sailors ; and Serelho Alves de Mello — boy. After 
 these, our own patronymics seemed exceedingly tame 
 a,nd commonplace ! 
 
 William still accompanied us in the capacity of 
 cook and general servant, but as he was overtasked, 
 we purposed to retain the services of our Portuguese 
 sailor Antonio. To our surprise, however, he 
 developed a sudden attachment to his comrade Jose — 
 quite unexpected after the bickerings and scornful 
 looks that had always been passing between them — 
 and declared that he would go no farther unless he 
 might have his company. Jose was quite willing to 
 proceed, but was evidently not in a fit condition. 
 None of us, however, suspected that he was within a 
 few days of his end^ but such was the case. He went 
 with Antonio as a passenger in the next steamer to 
 Para, and died soon after reaching it — the disease 
 brought on by exposure and toil during the stormy 
 expedition to the Tapajos having never loosed its hold 
 upon him. 
 
 Our first voyage in the ' Beija Flor' was to be up the 
 Trombetas river, as far as the launch would take us 
 — that is to say, to the first falls. Our friend Dr. 
 
 B , the Brazilian botanist, had readily caught at a 
 
 hint that he might accompany us if he were willing to 
 put up with very limited accommodation, and was on 
 the beach with his hammock, portfolio, and other 
 baggage at the time appointed for starting on the 
 morning of February the 24th. His servant, a young 
 
224 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XL 
 
 Indian soldier of the name of Violante, assisted in 
 stowing the various articles on board, and was pressed 
 into our service to make the trip with us and give 
 "William all the help he could. 
 
 Heavy tropical rain had been falling all the pre- 
 vious night, but was just ceasing when the ' Beija Flor ' 
 raised her anchor and puffed away from Obidos. A 
 spell of fine weather succeeded, which lasted, with 
 trifling exceptions, through the whole eleven days 
 occupied by this expedition ; this pleasant change 
 made our first trip in the new launch very agreeable. 
 The scenery of the Trombetas appeared to us some- 
 what monotonous at the time, on account of the 
 unbroken forest on its banks ; but, when subsequently 
 recalled and compared with that of other tributaries 
 of the Amazon, it left quite a different impression. 
 The occasional glimpses of hills of respectable 
 elevation ; the changes from straight reaches to more 
 picturesque windings, and from narrow channels to 
 wider expanses with islands ; and the retired lakes so 
 frequent in the vicinity of the river, all combined 
 to make it a river of fairly diversified beauty and 
 interest. We are not prepared to join in the ardent 
 raptures with which a Brazilian writer — Senhor Penna 
 of Para — dwells upon its various features ; as, for 
 instance, when he speaks of some gentle undulations, 
 certainly not two hundred feet high, as "the magni- 
 ficent Cumina mountains " ; but we cheerfully allow 
 that in many respects the Trombetas is a very charm- 
 ing stream. 
 
 During the progress of our voyage on this, as on 
 all the other rivers subsequently explored, we were 
 
Chap. XI. STOWING OURSELVES AT NIGHT. 225 
 
 engaged ia making a geographical map of our course, 
 on a scale sufficiently large to be used for purposes of 
 navigation. At night the work of the day was cor- 
 rected, and our exact position ascertained by obser- 
 vations of the stars for latitude and longitude. The 
 Trombetas, in the part laid down by us, flows in an 
 east-south-easterly direction — not from north to south 
 nearly, as shown on most maps. 
 
 A steam of six hours, on the first day, took us 
 easily over that portion connected with such toilsome 
 and tiresome experiences in our previous expedition 
 with a boat and inefficient crew, up the river to 
 the Company's territory. After landing at one or two 
 parts of the property, we turned into Parawacu . 
 Igaripe, and there dropped anchor before a cottage, 
 having completed a run of thirty-five miles. 
 
 It had been our purpose to ask leave to hang our 
 hammocks in the house, fearing that we should be 
 much cramped on board ; but when the time for 
 retiring arrived, it was thought best to make some 
 experiments with the view of determining exactly 
 what amount of space the ' Beija Flor' afforded, for we 
 knew that generally it would be necessary for all 
 to find sleeping room in her somehow. The hammocks 
 were to be suspended from the iron rods supporting 
 the awning, and, to make space for them, the chairs 
 
 and table had to be packed out of the way. Dr. B 
 
 promptly fixed upon a site for himself where no one 
 was likely to annoy him, and stowed himself away in 
 a surprisingly limited area. The four members of the 
 Commission found the remaining room more ample 
 than they had anticipated ; and all difficulty was got 
 
 Q 
 
226 ON THE TEOMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 over by hanging two hammocks straight across the 
 deck, at some little distance apart, and placing the 
 two others in the intervening space, somewhat in the 
 shape of the letter X. Undoubtedly it was rather a 
 tight fit, but there was, at any rate, a plentiful supply 
 of fresh air, the deck being quite open, except for 
 the awning. We slept, in fact, in full view of forest, 
 sky, and water, unless the night happened to be 
 stormy, when a curtain could be let down on the 
 exposed side as a shelter from wind and rain. In a 
 very short time we became accustomed to this close 
 packing ; and when next the Commission occupied a 
 house, it was unanimously agreed that it was less 
 pleasant to spend the night shut up between walls 
 than on the unenclosed deck of the ' Beija Flor.' 
 
 Some hours were spent, on the morning of the 
 second day up river, in exploring Parawacu Igaripe 
 by means of our montaria. The owner of the house 
 before which we had anchored for the night piloted 
 us along the intricate maze of low-arched passages 
 between the trees and bushes — many of which were 
 covered with dense masses of the dangerous piririca, 
 or razor grass — and back again to our launch. It was 
 pleasant on resuming our voyage to leave the narrow 
 Igaripe with its limited views, and emerge upon the 
 main river, which here widens out considerably, and 
 presents the appearance represented in the accompany- 
 ing engraving. 
 
 A little farther on, the Trombetas appeared to be 
 divided by a string of islands along the centre, and, as 
 far as we could tell, it was a matter of perfect indif- 
 ference whether we took the channel on the left or the 
 
Chap. XI. a PAVOUEITB NAME. 227 
 
 one on the right. "We chose the latter, and steamed 
 on for an hour, little suspecting that the islands had 
 given place to a peninsula or long wooded spit, and 
 that we had really got into a backwater, running 
 parallel with the main river for a distance of twelve 
 miles ; from which there was no exit except at the 
 head of the estuary through a shallow ditch, available 
 only for boats in the wet season. As soon as this dis- 
 covery was made, orders were given to put about, and 
 the 'Beija Flor' skirted the narrow peninsula, making 
 several efforts to push through, where it was sub- 
 merged by the rising floods, before she finally suc- 
 ceeded in getting again into the main river. 
 
 This extensive cul-de-sac is known as Lake CurupirS, 
 and there is a similar though smaller one on the 
 opposite side of the Trombetas at this part, called 
 Lake Achipica. : Seeing a house standing on high 
 ground at the entrance to the latter, we stood across 
 for it ; and our montaria took us under a long archway 
 of bushes, through beds of wild rice to the landing 
 place. From the house we had a fine view over this 
 singular region, embracing a wide extent of the 
 Trombetas flowing between its two lagoons, and the 
 long separating strips of forest. The name of this 
 place we were told was S. Antonio, and as such it was 
 set down on our map ; but when we subsequently 
 landed at house after house on this and other rivers, 
 and were informed in answer to our invariable in- 
 quiry, that each was called S. Antonio, we saw that 
 little of distinctiveness attached to the title. No other 
 saint on the calendar is nearly as popular as this 
 much enduring old monk, perhaps because his peculiar 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 virtues appear quite miraculous and altogether unat- 
 tainable to the native mind. 
 
 Before leaving this first S. Antonio in the long suc- 
 cession, we took altitudes of the sun for longitude, 
 and then resumed our journey up river ; but only 
 pursued it as far, that day, as the mouth of an im- 
 portant tributary called the Cumina, where the ' Beija 
 Flor' dropped anchor before a house built on the 
 margin of a small stream with an inch or two of water 
 in it, which we were told was the head of Lake 
 Curupira before referred to. On the opposite side of 
 the river, the so-called " magnificent Cumina moun- 
 tains " were in full view, but did not, as already 
 intimated, overawe and oppress the spirits by a display 
 of sky-piercing summits and beetling cliffs. 
 
 From this point onward, the Trombetas became for 
 a time more winding, and passed through the region 
 which chiefly supplies the remainder of the world with 
 Castanhas, or Brazil-nuts. All the houses along the 
 banks had great heaps of them, in their hard outer 
 cases, piled up in fi-ont or alongside, looking like heaps 
 of cannon balls, and suggesting the idea that the 
 difi'erent places were prepared for a siege. In the 
 afternoon Lake Arapecu was reached, a fine sheet of 
 water of irregular outline, dotted with numerous 
 islands. Its name is well kno^vn as being that of the 
 very nucleus of the Brazil-nut district, and the place to 
 which vessels resort for cargoes of this much-esteemed 
 product. We here turned aside and explored the lake 
 for some distance, stopping finally at a house on a 
 prominent point for the purpose of inquiring for a 
 guide. Close by was a group of fine Castanheiros, or 
 
Ohap. XI. BEAZIL-NUTS. 229 
 
 Brazil-nut trees, which had been apparently struck by 
 lightning, in such a manner that one was quite dead, 
 and another had one side torn away. 
 
 Behuid the house the forest consisted almost en- 
 tirely of groves of the same timber, and much of the 
 undergrowth had been cleared off to facilitate the 
 picking up of the nuts when they fell, for no attempt 
 is made to gather them. We risked a walk among 
 the stately trunks, where the falling of a nut upon 
 one's head would of course have been fatal ; but the 
 day was calm, and the danger therefore very slight. 
 The trees must have been fully one hundred feet high 
 up to the point where they branched, and one hundred 
 and fifty feet to the top. We measured the girth of 
 one of them, and found it to be twenty-three feet above 
 the projecting buttresses that widened out towards 
 the roots to give it additional support. In all 
 directions lay great piles of nuts, and a large shed 
 near the house contained plentiful stores of such as 
 had undergone the toilsome process of being extracted 
 from their hard and tough outer shells. We were told 
 by the owner of the place that a trader lately pur- 
 chased from the people on this spot 400 arrobas 
 (bushels) of these shelled nuts, which he took to Para 
 to sell. He paid at the rate of two milreis an arroba, 
 and sold them for ten, clearing more than 3001. by the 
 transaction. 
 
 We were interested, though at the same time greatly 
 shocked, at this place, by an unfortunate man who 
 approached the 'Beija Flor' in his canoe to beg for 
 money. He was a leper, in the last stage of that 
 loathsome disease, without lips, nose, or fingers of 
 
230 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 one hand. Everyone hastened to throw him a few 
 coppers, and entreated him to leave us, lest he should 
 follow up his importunity by stepping on board. 
 
 When the launch resumed her journey, she had 
 an additional passenger, for the old Indian who lived 
 at the place we were leaving, and who stated that he 
 knew the river thoroughly up to the falls, had con- 
 sented to accompany us thither as guide. The day 
 was now so far advanced that, after a run of seven 
 miles from the mouth of Arapecu, we inquired for 
 a convenient anchorage for the night, and the old man 
 pointed out a narrow opening between the trees, 
 which led to a sheet of water of the same character 
 as Lake Arapecu, though of less dimensions. One 
 would never have guessed that it was anything more 
 than the mouth of a little brook ; and we quite 
 expected, notwithstanding our guide's assurances, to 
 be soon brought to a stand-still; but after several 
 intricate turns, the water of the lake gleamed before 
 us, and several houses made their appearance scat- 
 tered along the margin. Before two of these, standing 
 side by side, we dropped anchor, but at considerable 
 distance from the shore, as the captain had been 
 alarmed by some idle tales about the dangerous cha- 
 racter of the inhabitants of the Trombetas. 
 
 During the evening several canoes came round the 
 ' Beija Flor,' fuU of Indian men and boys, who clus- 
 tered upon the projecting ledge, resting their elbows 
 upon the bulwarks, and took a comprehensive survey 
 of ourselves and our belongings. A few questions 
 about their lake set all their tongues going, and 
 strange tales were told of the varied wonders of the 
 
Chap. XI. ISLE OP DIAMONDS. 231 
 
 place, which was called, it seems, Lake Jukiri. One 
 said that he knew a place in the forest where there 
 was a quantity of pottery, principally consisting of 
 grotesque imitations of the human form, which might 
 have been the idols of the natives before the introduc- 
 tion of Christianity. We asked him to get us some 
 specimens on the following moruing. Another alleged 
 that he knew of an island in the lake called the Isle 
 of Diamonds, because there was a kind of soft clay 
 found on its beach, which, when exposed to heat, 
 became a clear, green stone, so hard that only a 
 diamond could scratch it. We had heard of this 
 before, and even seen some specimens, consequently 
 we engaged this man to show us the place. 
 
 Next morning we waited awhile to give these men 
 an opportunity of keeping their engagements, but, as 
 they did not turn up, we went ashore to look for 
 them. The hero of the pottery was now in a different 
 mood ; he had lost, he said, the bearings of the spot 
 of which he had spoken, and the images which he had 
 preserved for a time in his house had been broken or 
 lost by his children, who were fond of playing with 
 them. The guide to the Isle of Diamonds had also 
 entirely dropped the confident tone of the previous 
 eveniDg, went on board with seeming reluctance, and 
 then answered our pressing inquiries respecting the 
 direction in which it would be necessary to steer, by 
 exclaiming with naive simplicity, "Heaven alone 
 knows!" When reminded of his assertions of the 
 previous evening, he pointed to the only island which 
 happened to be in sight, and said he thought that was 
 the one. The ' Beija Flor ' was soon alongside it, and 
 
232 ON THE TEOMBETAS. Cbap. XI. 
 
 made the entire circuit, but there was no beach in the 
 existing condition of the water level. The trees 
 dipped their branches straight down into the lake 
 in tangled masses, and it was evidently useless to 
 attempt a landing, consequently the guide was at once 
 transferred to his canoe, and progress resumed. 
 
 In passing out through the narrow winding channel 
 communicating with the Trombetas, we were struck 
 with the English look of the foliage forming the 
 steep wooded slopes on either hand. It was not diffi- 
 cult to select close resemblances to the elm, oak, ash, 
 and sycamore; and, as it happened, there was an 
 entire absence of palms. Perhaps the scenery ap- 
 peared all the more homelike on account of the grey, 
 murky sky, which, after a night of rain, was still 
 hanging over the landscape. 
 
 Very few houses were seen during this day's voyage 
 along the banks of the river, here more than usually 
 draped and festooned with enormous masses of creeper. 
 In the evening we turned into another lake with an 
 insignificant entrance, called Tapajem,f and made for 
 the only house in sight. A canoe, full of Brazil-nuts, 
 was being urged towards the same point by two very 
 aged negroes, who seemed to view us with considerable 
 alarm, and increased their speed to the utmost; but 
 we gradually gained upon them, and arrived off the 
 landing exactly as they touched the shore. Our Inter- 
 preter hastened to assure them that we were not 
 dangerous, and asked permission to cut into logs, for 
 the use of the 'Beija Flor,' some of the felled timber 
 which encumbered the clearing around their house. 
 The old men readily assented to this, and their own 
 
Chap. XI. TWO AGED NEGROES. 233 
 
 feeble services were secured to assist with the task, by 
 the offer of a fair remuneration, whereupon the sound 
 of chopping and splitting wood at once commenced, 
 and resounded across the lake until the twilight had 
 quite faded away. 
 
 At night, when we went ashore to take observations 
 of the stars, the two grey-headed negroes were sitting 
 over a brazier, warm as the atmosphere seemed to us, 
 driving away the chills of age by means of some 
 glowing embers. They seemed to live alone, and we 
 wondered what one would do when, in the course of 
 nature, the other died and left him still more lonely — 
 an event which could not be far distant. Their house 
 was only a skeleton, a roof on wooden posts, but the 
 floor, and all their small possessions, looked scrupu- 
 lously clean. The two hammocks in which they slept 
 at night, were hung side by side, close under the eaves, 
 some ten or twelve feet above the ground, and a rude 
 ladder led up to some horizontal poles serving as a 
 bedroom floor. This arrangement, they told us^ had 
 been contrived on account of the tigers. We further 
 learned that they were brothers, had no other relations 
 in the world, as far as they knew, and had run away 
 from slavery many years before. 
 
 A delay of some hours had to be made on the 
 following morning to get the wood on board, and we 
 spent the time in exploring the forest and recesses of 
 the lake. At one place a large black monkey objected 
 to our landing, and pelted us with sticks from the tops 
 of the trees. Before noon we were again on our way 
 up river, the two negroes promising to prepare more 
 wood, to be ready for the ' Beija Flor ' on our return. 
 
234 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 Above Lake Tapajem the Trombetas ceased to 
 wind about, and took to long, straight, wide reaches, 
 at the ends of which we could see the tops of the hills 
 in the vicinity of the falls. A change in the colour of 
 the water, soon after starting, seemed to indicate 
 shallows, and our guide from Arapecu was questioned 
 about it; but he declared that there was sufficient 
 depth for the launch on the side of the river we were 
 keeping. Scarcely had he made this statement before 
 she ran aground ; fortunately, however, speed had been 
 reduced, and she was soon got off. He then intimated 
 that he had mistaken the sides, but if we crossed and 
 kept close along by the other bank, we should be safe. 
 This was done, but with no better result, for we were 
 soon stuck fast again near a little island of singularly 
 round shape. It was now clear that the guide did 
 not know the river as well as he had pretended, and 
 the montaria was sent off with a sounding line to find 
 the channel, which, in reality, zigzagged from side to 
 side. Happily the shoals were of soft sand and the 
 ' Beija Flor ' sustained no damage. 
 
 In the afternoon the guide was asked how far the 
 falls were distant, but he no longer kept up any 
 pretence of being acquainted with the river, and 
 simply answered "I don't know." It appeared cer- 
 tain, however, when we stopped at dusk that they 
 could not be far off; for we had already reached a 
 rocky district rendering it necessary to proceed 
 cautiously, and the surface of the water was covered 
 with lines of bubbles and patches of froth. There was 
 no lake or harbour at hand, but the ' Beija Flor ' was 
 simply tied up to the trees under the bank, and as 
 
Chap. XI. THE CATARACT. 235 
 
 the stillness of night deepened, the noise of the 
 cataract could be heard with great distinctness. 
 
 On the following mbrning a steam of half an hour 
 brought us within sight, and our montaria set us 
 ashore upon a level platform of hard sandstone rock 
 just in the line of the falls. The scene could scarcely 
 be called imposing, for the descent of the water, 
 measured vertically, is hardly four feet ; but the river, 
 here a mile in width, is broken and fretted into foam 
 by numerous rocks and bushy islands in its bed, and 
 with the background of wooded hills — steep though 
 not lofty — it makes up a fairly pleasing picture. West- 
 ward the mouth of a large tributary could be seen, 
 entering the Trombetas just above the cataract, which 
 our guide insisted was a branch sent off by the 
 Jamunda. He seems to have followed a common 
 opinion in the district, but one for which there is no 
 foundation. 
 
 It was Sunday morning, and we congratulated our- 
 selves upon having reached such a pleasant spot for 
 spending the day. The tents were got out, and a 
 camp formed on a sandy patch adjoining the rocky 
 platform, for the convenience of those who would be 
 engaged in taking altitudes of the stars at night. 
 Everyone then occupied himself according to his 
 tastes, and the hours flew swiftly by. On one of the 
 trees overhanging the river we observed a magnificent 
 flower, which must have been at least a foot in length, 
 and of a rich chocolate colour. It appeared to be the 
 only one on the tree, and it was growing in such a 
 position that it could not be reached. Not far off, 
 a troop of monkeys were gambolling in the branches. 
 
236 ON THE TEOMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 During the day we saw some negroes wading in the 
 water, and easing their boat down the cataract ; but 
 when they observed us they went back again. This 
 part of the Trombetas has been, for years, the point 
 for which all the runaway slaves of Brazilf were 
 accustomed to make, just as fugitive negroes from 
 the United States used to turn their steps towards 
 Canada. Many had settled on the retired lakes 
 already visited by the ' Beija Flor ' — as, for instance, 
 our two old friends on Lake Tapajem — but we were 
 told that more considerable colonies of them were 
 
 living above the falls. Dr. B informed us that 
 
 an old lady of Santarem gave liberty to her slaves — 
 120 in number — on the condition that they should 
 surrender all their children to her sons, as they 
 became old enough for service. But the bargain was 
 never carried out, and the lady learned what it was to 
 be herself " sold," for the enfranchised slaves all fled 
 to this river, and took good care not to show them- 
 selves in the neighbourhood of Santarem again. 
 
 Besides slaves, there are many desperate characters 
 — such as soldiers who have misbehaved, and mur- 
 derers fleeing from justice — concealed in snug hiding 
 places near the river. The Brazilian government 
 formerly sent occasional expeditions against them, but 
 effected little, as the fugitives easily eluded their 
 pursuers in the trackless forest: since slavery has 
 been doomed, they have been left alone. It was 
 no doubt the remembrance of these attempts to re- 
 capture them, and the fear that the ' Beija Flor ' might 
 be a small gunboat, that accounted for the scarcity of 
 young able-bodied negroes at the houses at which we 
 
Chap. XI. aEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 237 
 
 touched. Hardly any were to be seen, and no doubt 
 they were hiding until we had passed on. Even the 
 aged couple at Tapajem had disappeared, when we 
 visited their quarters on our return journey punctually 
 at the time we had mentioned ; and as they had 
 promised to prepare more wood for us, their absence 
 was a disappointment. 
 
 On Monday, March 2nd, we turned about, and 
 commenced the descent of the Trombetas. It would 
 have been easy, had we kept going continuously, to 
 have reached Obidos with the help of the current, in 
 half the time we had taken on the upward voyage ; 
 but several points had been marked upon our map, at 
 which it was judged desirable to land, for the purpose 
 of examining the geology, botany and physical features 
 of the place. In doing this, the up and down journeys 
 were made of equal length. 
 
 The cliff sections upon the greater portion of the 
 Trombetas disclose the usual deposits of red clay 
 and sand, seen everywhere in the Amazon valley ; 
 while high up river near the fall, horizontally 
 bedded black shale is met with, succeeded by sand- 
 stone, which in appearance greatly resembles that of 
 Brere. The rock at the fall itself is composed of thin 
 bedded whitish quartzose sandstone, dipping in a 
 S.S.E. direction at a gentle angle. It contains no 
 fossil shells, but has undoubted worm tracks and 
 burrows, with abundant ripple marks. 
 
 Very amusing was it to the remainder of the party 
 to witness the scientific rivalry of the two botanical 
 gentlemen, whenever there was an opportunity of 
 ranging about the forest. Dr. B , notwithstand- 
 
238 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 ing the patient way in which he had settled himself 
 down in Obidos, was possessed of energy and ardour 
 almost portentous, when he once got to work. He 
 was usually the foremost in jumping ashore, and 
 drawing aside the first native who chanced to make 
 his appearance. He would seat himself upon a log or 
 other convenient perch, and proceed to note down in 
 his pocket book whatever answers he could obtain to 
 his numerous questions, fixing the unfortunate man 
 to the spot all the time by the earnest way in which 
 he eyed him through his gold -rimmed spectacles. 
 After everyone else had come to the conclusion that 
 the information obtained in this way was wholly 
 untrustworthy, his confidence remained unshaken, and 
 it was impossible to help thinking of Mr. Pickwick 
 and his unfortunate note book, at the commencement 
 of the travels of the Club. 
 
 Both the botanists were especially interested in the 
 subject of palms, and more particularly in the dis- 
 covery of new species. There was quite a scramble 
 for the first and best specimens, and for the honour of 
 preparing the first description. When one gentleman 
 was fortunate enough, in the course of his rambles, to 
 meet with an undoubtedly new variety, the other, who 
 had been less lucky, would exhibit all the marks of 
 extreme depression ; but, on the following day, the 
 turning of the whirligig of fortune would elevate the 
 one who had been cast down, and rob the other of his 
 high spirits. On one occasion the two botanists went 
 off together, and were so much interested in their 
 scientific pursuits, that they entirely lost their marks 
 and bearings, and wandered about the forest in a com- 
 
Chap. XI. RESULT OF BOTANICAL LABOUES. 239 
 
 pletely bewildered state. Happily they came out, 
 after a time, upon the margin of the river, but not 
 before they had experienced a considerable scare. 
 One hears much on the Amazon and its tributaries of 
 people who have gone off into the forest and never 
 returned, presumably because they have lost their 
 way, and these stories naturally put one into a state 
 of nervous excitement directly one gets at all in doubt 
 about the points of the compass. 
 
 The net result of the labours of the two gentlemen 
 in the matter of palms was the discovery of three new 
 species in this short expedition. Some genera of palms, 
 doubtless, were very much like others to an untrained 
 eye ; but the difference between most can usually be 
 observed at a glance, even by unscientific persons, so 
 varied are these graceful ornaments of the tropical 
 forest, which the untravelled often imagine to be all 
 one pattern. Every odd corner of the 'Beija Flor' 
 got filled up in time with the leaves, stems, fruit, and 
 spadices of palms, which were tolerated as cheerfully 
 as possible in the interests of science, but it must be 
 confessed they were, in many respects, a very unde- 
 sirable cargo. Several of them were formidably armed 
 with long prickles of amazing sharpness, rendering 
 contact with them exceedingly disagreeable, if not 
 dangerous. It is all very well for him to " bear the 
 palm who deserves it," but let him be careful how 
 he brandishes his victorious symbol if it happen to 
 be one of the prickly sort ! 
 
 Yery little of interest occurred during the return 
 trip •, but one morning there was considerable excite- 
 ment for a time, consequent upon the announcement 
 
240 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 that a tiger was swimming across the TrombetaSj just 
 in advance of us. All the guns were eagerly seized, 
 but there was not time to reload them with heavier 
 shot. The ' Beija Flor' was put to her best speed, 
 and everyone crowded forward to the bow, gazing 
 fixedly at the noble beast gallantly breasting the 
 current of the river, here rather more than half a mile 
 in width. No member of the party was more excited 
 
 than Dr. B , whose stock of " paciencia " on this 
 
 occasion fell so far short of the usual Brazilian stan- 
 dard, that he discharged his gun long before we had 
 got within range, making the jaguar quicken its pace 
 at the sound of the report. The steerer of the launch 
 now turned her head towards the same point of the 
 bank as that for which the animal was swimming; 
 there was a simultaneous discharge of guns ; the tiger 
 gave a wild leap out of the water, and fell back again 
 wdth a mighty splash. Hit on the head, with small 
 shot only, its wounds were not serious, and a few 
 tremendous strokes brought it to the margin of the 
 forest. The wall of creepers divided, there was a 
 crashing of branches, and the tiger disappeared where 
 it was hopeless to attempt to follow it, not many yards 
 from the bow of the ' Beija Flor.' 
 
 At one place at which we landed, the people were 
 manufacturing planks out of large felled trees, and 
 their toilsome and wasteful method of procedure struck 
 us much. Each tree yielded only one plank, the 
 remainder of the trunk being slowly chopped away 
 piecemeal in order to obtain it. 
 
 Several lakes which had not been explored on the 
 
Chap. XI. SAPUKIA. 241 
 
 upward journey were visited on our way back; and 
 one considerable detour was made. Opposite the 
 Company's territory a cliannel enters the Trombetas, 
 flowing with a strong eastward current, and pours into 
 it a large volume of water, sent off by the Amazon 
 and Jamunda. It is known as the Sapukia channel, 
 and is of considerable importance, inasmuch as it flows 
 through a large tract of alluvial land, free from forest 
 and therefore suitable for cattle farms. We wished to 
 have an opportunity of noting the main features of 
 the district, and turned aside here for the purpose. 
 After the ' Beija Flor ' had advanced against the cur- 
 rent nearly four miles, and had passed about a dozen 
 farms, we came to an opening on our right which led 
 us into a noble lake, called Sapukia like the channel. -^ 
 On the north bank were some fine bold hills, known 
 as the Ounury mountains, the highest we had seen in 
 the vicinity of the Trombetas, and probably reaching 
 four hundred feet. A landing was effected at one of the 
 houses surrounded by a coffee plantation, at the base 
 of the loftiest hill, and an attempt made to climb to 
 the summit ; but this was frustrated by heavy showers. 
 Close to the house stood a fine large tree, very much 
 like a Castanheiro, to which it is closely allied, bearing 
 a great pot-like fruit, enclosing numbers of small nuts, 
 which are delicious eating. Unfortunately, however, 
 it is difficult to obtain them, for when ripe the lid of 
 the pot drops out, and all the contents are scattered 
 upon the ground, to be caught up and eaten at once 
 by wild animals, who are quite as fond of them as 
 human beings seem to be. This is the Sapukia, 
 
 R 
 
242 ON THE TROMBETAS. Chap. XI. 
 
 and, on account of the great quantity growing upon 
 its shores, the lake derives its name from it, but in 
 Demerara it is known as the monkey-pot tree. 
 
 At this point the noble expanse of water was about 
 four miles wide^ and stretched away westward to a 
 water horizon, so that it was impossible to guess its 
 length. All the northern shore appeared to be wooded, 
 but the southern was open grass land, quite flat, and 
 studded with farms and cattle. This district supplies 
 beef to many of the towns higher up the Amazon, 
 including Manaos. 
 
 From Lake Sapukia we returned direct to Obidos, 
 and cast anchor in our old moorings off the fort, after 
 an extremely agreeable excursion, occupying eleven 
 days, and extending over more than three hundred 
 miles. The sun was setting, and we were seated at 
 dinner as we thus happily brought our voyage to a 
 close. Upon the beach strolled the commandant of 
 
 the fortress, who, recognizing Dr. B who was 
 
 greeting him with friendly signals, put off in his 
 boat, and honoured the Commission by joining us at 
 coffee, and congratulating us upon our safe return to 
 the important town of Obidos. 
 
Chap. XII. JOURNEY TO SANTAEEM. 243 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 ON THE TAPAJOS. 
 
 Journey to Santavem — Unfailing Topic of Conversation — Booked on the 
 Waves — Itapauama — A Scare — Aveiros — Scenery of Tapajos — 
 Beds — Uricurituba — A Strange Cliaraoter — Itaituba — Purchase of a 
 Pig — Maranhaozinho Cataract — A New Pest — Tattooing — Fasendas 
 — Q-eology — Sugai Plantations — A Pish Pond — Haunted — Festal 
 Dinner — Pignel and Boim — Severe Storm — Eeturu to Santarem — 
 Excursion up the Ayaya — Network of Channels — News from Home. 
 
 Two expeditions had already been made by different 
 members of the Commission up the Tapajos, but 
 neither of these trips had extended much beyond fifty 
 miles above Santarem, whereas this noble tributary 
 is navigable for a distance of nearly 160 miles beyond 
 the farthest point reached on either occasion. Our 
 instructions required us to explore the whole course 
 of the river below its falls, and by the help of the 
 'Beija Flor' this could be easily accomplished. Plainly 
 it was desirable to undertake it before advancing 
 farther up the Amazon, and this trip was therefore 
 the next upon the programme. 
 
 After a stay of only two days — one of which was a 
 Sunday — at Obidos, the 'Beija Flor' weighed anchor, 
 and steamed down river to Santarem. The high wind, 
 meeting the strong current, raised large waves which, 
 striking our bow, flung masses of water quite over our 
 awning ; but nothing daunted by this, the little launch 
 kept out in the full swing of the stream, and by its aid 
 
 R 2 
 
244 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 completed the journey in the short space of nine and a 
 half hours. 
 
 We could not fail to notice, on our arrival, the 
 change in the appearance of things that had taken 
 place during the short interval of our absence, through 
 the rising of the river towards its flood level. Where 
 long sloping beaches had been in our remembrance, 
 there was nothing now but a waste of water reaching 
 quite into the back yards of the row of houses nearest 
 the river. The streets of the familiar city, however, 
 presented their usual respectably quiet appearance as 
 we passed along them that evening on our way to 
 
 visit former friends. Dr. S was at his country 
 
 house, but we spent some time chatting with Mr. 
 
 C , of the South American ]\Iissionary Society, 
 
 who was still occupying the room in which we had 
 been for a short period lodged. This gentleman is of 
 such a genial disposition that, should he ever see our 
 narrative, he wiU no doubt excuse our mentioning 
 that one slight circumstance in connection with this 
 interview formed a topic of conversation, whenever 
 other matter failed, as long as the Commission re- 
 mained together. In one corner of the room stood 
 several boxes of singular shape, being only a few 
 inches wide and deep, but several yards in length, 
 and marked S. A. M. S. — the initials of the mission. 
 Curiosity is certainly an essential part of human 
 nature, and it is not therefore surprising that, on the 
 ■way back to the launch, some one started the query — 
 what could possibly be in those boxes. So great was 
 the variety and incongruity of the guesses that the 
 question inevitably cropped up again in a dull hour. 
 
Chap. XII. STAETING CONVERSATION. 245 
 
 Few people can understand how thoroughly thread- 
 bare all subjects of social intercourse become, after 
 some months, in a party such as ours, always together 
 night and day, and engaged in the same pursuits. 
 Often it happened that a lengthened silence settled 
 down upon the little group, which became quite 
 oppressive ; but by degrees it was seen that the most 
 successful method of breaking the spell was for some 
 one to throw out, in a promiscuous manner, the 
 
 fruitful inquiry, " I wonder what Mr. keeps 
 
 in those boxes?" The question seldom failed to 
 effect the desired purpose. 
 
 At eight o'clock on the following morning, we 
 started for our trip up the Tapajos with the usual 
 fair breeze for those ascending the river. The ' Beija 
 Plor ' sped along, and easily passed in one day all 
 the scenes of our former labours and voyagings : 
 crossed the pleasing bays above Santarem ; turned 
 the great right-angled bend of Cururu point; gave 
 us a glimpse of the harbour and village of Alter 
 do Chao, backed by its remarkable hill ; doubled 
 Cajetuba cape ; and, still speeding onward, left in the 
 rear Jaguarary, the farthest point previously reached 
 by us. But by this time a cloudy twilight was 
 setting rapidly in, and it was necessary to select 
 moorings for the night. 
 
 Trovoados of the usual character had been flying 
 about all day, though none had happened to burst 
 upon us; but they had left a ground swell, from 
 which it appeared to be desirable to seek some 
 shelter. With this object, the 'Beija Flor' turned 
 into the mouth of a little inlet — the mouth of Pakia- 
 
246 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 tuba Igaripe — and pushed up it until stopped by 
 bushes growing in the water. Here the waves were 
 less high than in the open river, but still had roll 
 enough to give the launch a considerable rocking. 
 It was usual, however, for the Tapajos to settle down 
 into smoothness as the night set in, and hoping that 
 it would follow this very desirable precedent, we con- 
 tented ourselves with this little haven, in spite of the 
 insufiSciency of its shelter. Former experiences ought, 
 perhaps, to have convinced us that with this capricious 
 river " it is always the unforeseen that happens " ; 
 at any rate it so proved on this occasion, for the 
 swell of the waves rather increased than diminished, 
 and rendered our evening somewhat uncomfortable. 
 "When the hour for retiring arrived, hammocks were 
 slung as usual, but no sooner had we got into them 
 than they became pendulums with rapidly increasing 
 oscillations, and everyone bumped against his neigh- 
 bour, as well as against such fixed parts of the launch 
 as happened to be in his vicinity, in a manner that 
 would have been highly ridiculous and amusing had 
 it not also been considerably annoying. There was a 
 general turn out, and arranging of stay lines, for the re- 
 duction of the motion to a minimum ; but, with all con- 
 trivances, our rest that night was not very satisfactory. 
 The chief feature of our voyage on the following 
 day was the range of steep wooded hills, broken here 
 and there into cliffs and precipices of red consolidated 
 sands, which stretched along the eastern shore of the 
 river for a distance of about twenty miles. The 
 harmony of colour between the brilliant red and dark 
 green, the abrupt irregular outline of the hills, and 
 
Chap. XII. TIMBO. 247 
 
 the numerous palin-thatched cottages nestling in the 
 hollows, gave a charmingly picturesque appearance 
 to this line of coast. Perhaps the prettiest bit of all 
 was that described so vividly by Mr. Bates in his 
 interesting work, 'The Naturalist on the Amazon.' 
 Here a large outstanding rock gives shelter and a 
 name to the little bay of ItapauamaJ in which a single 
 house is snugly ensconced. 
 
 At this place we landed, but the owner, who was 
 an old man, did not welcome us with much warmth. 
 He appeared in fact to be exceedingly apprehensive 
 respecting the object of our visit, and trembled from 
 head to foot. It happened that the Botanist was 
 anxious to obtain a specimen of the plant known 
 as Timbo, used for poisoning fish ; and as it was said 
 to flourish well in this district, he was inquiring for 
 it at all the points at which we touched. Now, it 
 seems that the cultivation of this shrub is prohibited 
 by a recent law, and the old man was apparently con- 
 firmed by Mr. Trail's queries in his fears that the 
 purpose of our visit might Ije hostile, for he trembled 
 still more, as he assured us, with somewhat too much 
 of protestation, that he had not any of the plant. A 
 pathway led up from the house along the crest of 
 a narrow ridge, which sloped steeply to a valley on 
 either hand, and conducted us to the level of the 
 table-land where we saw a considerable field of it 
 flourishing luxuriantly ; but of course we did not 
 inquire who the owner might be, or mention to any 
 one our discovery. No doubt the inhabitants of 
 Itapauama were relieved when the 'Beija Flor' re- 
 sumed her journey. 
 
248 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 Nearly opposite this place, on the other side of the 
 Tapajos, was the little village of Pignel on high 
 ground ; and earlier in the day we had noticed 
 Boim ; but no further acquaintance was made, at this 
 time, with either of those places, except what could be 
 obtained by peering at them through our field glasses. 
 The ' Beija Flor ' was kept continuously along the 
 eastern or sheltered side of the river, and in the 
 course of the afternoon reached Aveiros, where she 
 was moored for the night in an Igaripe at the southern 
 end of the village. We at once made the acquaint- 
 ance of a shopkeeper, who told us he was a French- 
 man, but had much more the appearance of a G-erman. 
 He spoke in an indescribably soft manner, accom- 
 panying all he said by an unhealthy-looking smile, but 
 was able to give us much information about the place 
 and its inhabitants. 
 
 This we supplemented by taking a walk ourselves 
 through the straggling village, and entering into con- 
 versation with several of the people. An unusually 
 large number of skeleton houses mingled irregularly 
 with the others, and this, with the dilapidated look of 
 even the best dwellings and the mouldiness of the 
 church, gave the place a decaying aspect, producing a 
 feeling of melancholy in the mind of the visitor who 
 strolls along the single attenuated street. The charm- 
 ing view of the river, looking southward, should, how- 
 ever, do something to drive away extreme depression. 
 Aveiros is situated at the head of the lake-like portion 
 of the Tapajos, which here becomes reduced to a 
 width of about two and a half miles, and begins to be 
 Ijroken by islands from which up to this point it has 
 
Chap. XII. SCENERY. 249 
 
 been almost free. With a level light throwing these 
 into distinctness, and giving perspective and shadow 
 to the folds of the hills and projecting headlands, the 
 prospect as beheld from the village is very pleasing. 
 A certain trim and almost artificial appearance is 
 noticeable here as on many of the clear water 
 tributaries of the Amazon, which is somewhat un- 
 expected where there is so little of man's work in the 
 landscape, and convinces one that nature, when left 
 to herself, is quite as ready to produce effects which 
 charm by their neatness and regularity as to revel in 
 wild wildernesses and scenes of rugged grandeur. 
 
 On our way back to the launch we were courteously 
 invited by a stout elderly gentleman to rest awhile 
 in his house. He proved to be the Captain Antonio 
 mentioned by Mr. Bates, and we were able to show 
 him a copy of the valuable book in which his name 
 occurs, but he could not read sufficiently well even to 
 spell it out. Later in the evening he accepted 
 hospitality from us on board the ' Beija Flor,' and 
 brought some of his friends with him. 
 
 Aveiros is said to be the very head-quarters of the 
 fire-ant, which partly accounts for its decaying con- 
 dition and the number of its deserted houses, but the 
 pest did not strike us as being worse here than in 
 other places we had visited. One thing in the village 
 attracted our attention on account of its unusualness, 
 and that was that there were beds in several of the 
 houses. These rare articles of furniture in this 
 hammock-given country do not appear to be often 
 occupied, even when people possess them ; but simply 
 serve instead of sofas or couches. They are generally 
 
250 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 covered with a smart counterpane, on the top of which 
 the person reclines, and a rug or blanket lies rolled 
 up at the foot, ready for use should the night be 
 chilly. We have heard of a Brazilian gentleman who, 
 on visiting England for the first time, put up at a 
 large hotel in Liverpool. It was in the winter season, 
 and his first care on retiring to his bedroom was to 
 look for the roll of blankets, which, according to his 
 notions, should have been placed at the foot of the bed. 
 Not seeing them, however, and little suspecting that 
 they were spread out beneath the counterpane, he 
 arrayed himself in his greatcoat, and stretched himself 
 according to wonted custom on the top of the coverlet, 
 where he passed a very uncomfortable night. In the 
 morning he appeared downstairs blue and shivering, 
 and lost no time in making his complaints. His 
 mistake was soon discovered ; whereupon the landlord 
 conducted him to his bedroom and duly instructed 
 him, by word and sign, how to insert himself, 
 sandwich fashion, between the sheets. 
 
 Early in the morning after our stay at Aveiros we 
 passed the mouth of the Cupari river on our left, and 
 a little later, stopped at a large fasenda on the right, 
 called Uricurituba, belonging to the Messrs. Franco 
 and Sons. These gentlemen had a large cattle-farm 
 ,on the low-lying level land, between the river and the 
 range of hills running parallel with it at a distance of 
 a mile and a half, and an extensive cacoal adjoining 
 their house. They also supplied wood to passing 
 steamers, and of this it was necessary for the ' Beija 
 Flor ' to take in a supply, so that we were delayed for 
 some hours at this pleasant place. One of the sons 
 
Chap. XII. A STEANGE OHAHACTEB. 251 
 
 received us and conducted us round the estate, which 
 had a prosperous, well-to-do appearance, such as we 
 rarely witnessed in the whole course of our travels. 
 We were told that forty men were employed on it, 
 some of whom were slaves, and others friendly Indians 
 who were willing to work at the rate of a milreis per 
 day and their rations. The house was a large one, 
 and in the verandah stretching along the front of it, a 
 number of children were being taught to read and 
 write by a young man, who was understood to be 
 another of the sons. They were at work in full view 
 of the Tapajos, and of a pleasant lawn sloping down 
 to it, planted with ornamental trees, amongst which 
 were two palms brought by the owner, who had 
 travelled in the Old World, from Tangiers in Africa ; 
 but they were far less graceful than the majority of 
 the palms growing so luxuriously, and in such great 
 variety, in the forests of the Amazon valley. 
 
 On resuming our voyage, we crossed to the eastern 
 bank of the river, which was high, and continued along 
 it until the evening, when we dropped anchor in a 
 little bay surrounded by limestone hills, on the slope 
 of which was a small store kept by a Portuguese. 
 This place was called Trovadore, and when we went 
 ashore at night to get our usual observations of the 
 stars, we made the acquaintance of the proprietor, 
 who welcomed us in his shop, where he was sitting 
 with three or four other men ; but whether these were 
 friendly visitors, servants, or customers, did not 
 transpire. He himself was a man of such marked 
 individuality, that it would be difficult to forget him, 
 notwithstanding the shortness of our acquaintance. 
 
252 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 Black glaring eyes that seemed to be starting from 
 his head, and dishevelled hair, gave him a fierce- 
 looking aspect ; and he talked so furiously — vs^ith such 
 vehement gestures and actions — that he had all the 
 appearance of being in a towering passion. On the 
 other hand, what he said was exceedingly kind and 
 friendly, and the contrast between his words and his 
 manner was of the most marked and singular kind. 
 For instance, he was oflFering us hospitality, and his 
 sentences ran somewhat thus : " Should you wish to 
 sleep ashore, I can offer you rooms and hammocks ; 
 pray, regard my house as at your disposal. If you 
 wish for wine or cacha9a, only ask for it. Look for no 
 compliments from me, and do not stand upon 
 ceremony." All this was said, however, with the 
 strange accompaniments of arms flung wildly about, 
 eyes flashing and rolling, and voice raised to the 
 highest pitch as if in angry dispute. Hardly would 
 it have been possible, had we sought the world over, 
 to find anyone differing more completely from the 
 smiling, soft-spoken French shopkeeper of Aveiros, 
 whose acquaintance we had made only on the pre- 
 vious evening. 
 
 It was a short day's steam from Trovadore to 
 Itaituba, the principal town on the Tapajos, seated on 
 its western bank at a distance of about 175 miles from 
 Santarem. A straight row of one-storied, neatly built 
 houses, running parallel with the river for a length of 
 nearly half a mile, constitutes the principal part of 
 the settlement. A pleasant green slope declines gently 
 from the buildings to the edge of the water, and cocoa- 
 nut and other palms make a graceful background. 
 
Chap. XTI. SECURING A PIG. 253 
 
 The church was a very extraordinary edifice, for a 
 new front appeared to have been in course of erection, 
 when, for some reason, it was abandoned, and left 
 incomplete and unattached to the remainder of the 
 building. In other respects Itaituba was colourless, 
 nor did any of its inhabitants leave a very distinct 
 impression upon the memory. 
 
 Three important matters of business were attended 
 to before we retired to rest : a pilot was engaged to 
 go with us to the falls, the latitude and longitude of 
 the place were ascertained, and provisions were taken 
 on board, including a little sucking pig. This last 
 matter we regarded as a great achievement. We 
 met the drove of youthful grunters, to which the 
 victim belonged, passing along the street as if making 
 for some definite point ; and being instantly desirous 
 to secure one for a certain commemoration dinner 
 nearly due, we watched to see whither they were 
 bound, and hoped by that means to ascertain their 
 owner. They turned in at the priest's, and that 
 gentleman. — who had spiritual jurisdiction over nearly 
 the whole of the Tapajos, though very unecclesiastical in 
 appearance — came to the window and owned to the pos- 
 session of the pigs. He readily agreed to dispose of one 
 or more at the rate of two milreis (45. 4c?.) per head. 
 
 From Itaituba to the first cataract is a distance of 
 only thirty miles, and as we had now reached the last 
 day of the week, it was intended to repeat our expe- 
 rience at the Trombetas Falls by resting through the 
 Sunday within sight and sound of the rushing waters •, 
 but for the realization of this purpose circumstances 
 proved unfavourable. The Tapajos, which up to 
 
254 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 Itaituba is so free from insect pests, is infested above 
 it by tlie pium, a new acquaintance to some of us, but 
 destined to become subsequently only too well known 
 on the tributaries of the Upper Amazon. It is a small 
 but disgusting - looking black fly, whose puncture, 
 scarcely felt at the time of the operation, leaves a 
 little round spot of blood under the skin, which itches 
 in various degrees with different persons. The wrists 
 and neck are the favourite points of attack, and it is 
 not unusual to see people, who have been travelling in 
 a region where piums abound, with those parts of the 
 body almost black by reason of the innumerable 
 specks of coagulated blood which lie as thickly together 
 as they could well be placed, without transfusing them- 
 selves into one dark mass. Not many of these unde- 
 sirable guests came on board the ' Beija Flor,' as long 
 as she was pushing onward, but as soon as we stopped 
 near Maranhaozinho cataract, they began to arrive in 
 considerable quantities. 
 
 The place at which we had come to an anchor was 
 off the point of an island, where a considerable clearing 
 had been made by Colonel Dobbins, an American, who 
 had purposed to erect a saw-mill on it, and use the 
 rushing water as a motive power ; but he was hot- 
 tempered — so the story ran — and could not get on 
 with his Indian labourers. From this point we went 
 forward in our raontaria to see what we could of the 
 Falls, but they were almost obliterated by the flood, 
 now nearly at its highest level. A strong rapid 
 between wooded islands was all that could be dis- 
 tinguished. The whole of the rocks were covered, 
 and it was impossible to find a place from which a 
 
Chap. XII. A TATTOOED INDIAN. 255 
 
 general view might be obtained, nor did any Inviting 
 spot offer itself for the site of a camp. We were much 
 disappointed with the place, and as the piums became 
 increasingly troublesome, it was clearly unadvisable to 
 spend Sunday in such a locality. Accordingly when 
 we had succeeded in paddling against the furious cur- 
 rent more than half-way up the fall, and had shot 
 safely back again, we re-embarked in the 'Beija Flor ' 
 and dropped down river to the nearest fasenda, at the 
 distance of about a mile. 
 
 At this place, which was called Jacare, a party of 
 six Indians were just beginning to start on an expe- 
 dition up river, for the purpose of joining the proprietor, 
 who was at his summer residence, where he had been 
 procuring indiarubber. One of the men was tattooed 
 after the pattern of the Mundurucu Indians. The 
 whole of that part of the face which with Europeans is 
 usually free from hair was one large dark patch, 
 and the remainder was crossed by thick lines. The 
 body down to the waist was covered by diamond- 
 shaped spots, broken at regular intervals by bands 
 passing quite round it. We were told that this man 
 was not a Mundurucu, but had been seized by that 
 tribe when young, and marked, against his will, with 
 their peculiar design. He evidently shrank from 
 observation, and felt ashamed of his adornment. 
 
 A part of our Sunday was spent at this place, and 
 a part at another fasenda, called Barrazinha, a little 
 farther down river. This latter stood pleasantly on a 
 high ridge cleared of timber, sloping on the one side 
 steeply to the Tapajos, and on the second more gra- 
 dually to a deep dell, at the bottom of which was a 
 
256 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 small lake shaded by graceful palms, and bearing on 
 its bosom the enormous leaves and flowers of the 
 Yictoria Eegia. The house itself, like most of the 
 fasendas on this part of the Tapajos, had its roof 
 brought down very low in front, and supported by 
 pillars standing on a dwarf wall, in such a manner 
 that a roomy verandah or piazza was formed. This 
 arrangement was not only useful in keeping the inner 
 rooms cool, but provided also a pleasant place for the 
 family meals in full view of the river, and a convenient 
 haunt for the pets of the house, which at Barrazinha 
 consisted of a great variety of monkeys, parrots, and 
 dogs. In the evening we returned to Itaituba. 
 
 Our plan in descending the river was similar to 
 that pursued on the Trombetas. The places which had 
 attracted our attention on the way up were touched at 
 and explored on the way down ; so that we were able 
 to acquire a very fair idea of the character of the 
 river's banks. The cliffs between Santarem and 
 Cururu point are composed of soft laminated argilla- 
 ceous sandstone beds, with grey clays on top, which 
 are older than the red sand and clay deposit, and are 
 probably extensions westward of the sandstones of 
 Porto Alegre' bluffs. At one place some broken, though 
 probably horizontal beds of Erere' sandstone are seen, 
 and this rock evidently underlies the rocks of the 
 whole district. In many places where cliff sections 
 occur, we saw the usual clay and sand deposits covering 
 and completely hiding the older ones ; but the under- 
 lying rocks were not met with much below Trovadore. 
 There, exposed in a cliff, was horizontally-bedded 
 carboniferous limestone, containmg some of the charac- 
 
Chap. XII. GEOLOGY. 257 
 
 teristic fossils of that formation. At this place the 
 limestone has been quarried for many years, and sent 
 down iu small crafts to the kilns at Pouto do Sale, 
 near Santarera, where it is converted into a very pure 
 lime. We believe that Professor C. F. Hartt was the 
 first to point out that this rock, which also occurs at a 
 few other places both higher up and lower down river, 
 was undoubted carboniferous limestone. 
 
 At some quarries at Bom Jardim above Itaituba, 
 we obtained specimens of that far-famed old fossil, 
 Productus semi-reticulatus ; while from amongst the 
 beach gravel at Itaituba town we found a variety of 
 other fossils of the limestone. Above Bom Jardim 
 towards the falls we passed sections of sandstone, then 
 black shale, and again sandstone, all lying in a hori- 
 zontal position. At Uricurituba, and also at the base 
 of a bluff not far from it, large blocks of greenstone 
 are seen. Finally we saw rocks of another character 
 in the reddish quartz porphyry of Maranhaozinho 
 cataract. 
 
 On leaving Itaituba, on Monday morning, the ' Beija 
 Flor ' stood directly across the river to the high land 
 on the other side, where a number of plantations 
 occupied the flat summit, while the houses attached to 
 them nestled in the snug valleys. The early mists 
 had not yet cleared off, but hung about Itaituba in 
 fleecy masses, giving it the appearance, with its formal 
 row of neat houses and cocoa-nut palm trees, of being 
 a toy village packed in cotton wool, ready to be put 
 back into its box. A tall young American, who had 
 observed the approach of the launch, met it on the 
 shore as we got alongside, and accompanied us to the 
 
 s 
 
258 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 top of the hill, where mandioca, sugar- cane, and rice 
 were flourishing luxuriantly — the latter finding enough 
 moisture for its exceptional requirements in the heavy 
 rains and dews. The blackness of the earth indicated 
 the site of an ancient Indian settlement, and much 
 broken pottery lay about, amongst which we dis- 
 covered portions of a stone hatchet and flint knife. 
 The young American desired the men to take a load 
 of sugar-cane down to the steamer for our use, and 
 varied our route in descending the hill, so that in the 
 course of the walk we had the opportunity of being 
 introduced to most of his neighbours. Lastly, he made 
 us acquainted with a new drink, peculiar to the dis- 
 trict, prepared in some way from the mandioca root. 
 It was sufficiently nasty on a first trial, and the wry 
 faces made by some of our party after a draught 
 caused intense amusement amongst the on-lookers. 
 
 At Santa Cruz, a little farther down river, the 
 inhabitants seemed to consider their cemeterj* the 
 chief point of attraction, and conducted us thither by 
 a long road cleared through the forest. "We detected 
 nothing of interest in it, nor indeed in the small village 
 itself, and hastened to cross the river to a house which, 
 with its surrounding fruit trees, looked a pleasant 
 object. Close by was a fish-pond, which had been 
 formed by placing a dam across a stream at the bottom 
 of a little valley. The owner kindh' let off the water 
 to give us a view of the fish it contained, among which 
 was a half-grown pirarucu that had lived there three 
 years. Another fish, of a grey colour, probably a 
 lau-lau, whose head was furnished with six long- 
 feelers, which it sometimes laid back along its sides, 
 
Chap. XII. TWO LITTLE BOYS. 259 
 
 but at others carried forward, plaj'fully tickled its 
 smaller companions, making frequent dashes in pursuit 
 of them. 
 
 It was at this place that we were haunted by two 
 little boys, perfectly naked, and of portentously solemn 
 demeanour. They addressed no word to us or to each 
 other, but simply stared out of their large eyes in an 
 impassive manner ; and although we always saw them 
 as motionless as statues, yet we went nowhere but 
 they contrived to be at the spot before us. Their 
 first appearance was at the fish-pond ; then we took a 
 walk into the forest, and there they were, hand in 
 hand. On our return to the launch we found them on 
 board to confront us, and when last seen they were 
 sitting side by side in a canoe, each holding a biscuit 
 we had given him, without any relaxation of that 
 stolid gravity which they had maintained from the 
 first. 
 
 That evening at Aveiros the little roaster was 
 served up which we had pm^chased of the priest at 
 Itaituba. Six months of our engagement with the 
 Company had now exactly closed, and this was the 
 commemoration festival — an occasion when it seemed 
 fitting, after partaking of the best fare that could be 
 provided, to congratulate each other on the progress 
 of our mission. So eloquent were the speeches which 
 were made, that it was confidently predicted that 
 something abnormal would follow in the wa}^ of wind, 
 rain, lightning, thunder, or other elemental strife. 
 
 Pignel and Boim, the two conspicuous villages on 
 the western coast, were both visited on the following 
 day. They proved to be composed, on a nearer 
 
 s 2 
 
260 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 acquaintance, of very dilapidated houses, very few of 
 which were occupied, probably because it was not the 
 festa season, and most of the inhabitants would con- 
 sequently be away at their plantations. And yet, if 
 one might have judged by the condition of the people 
 who remained in the villages, it would not have been 
 unreasonable to infer that they were engaged in 
 keeping high festival, for drunken men were as nume- 
 rous as sober ones, and lay about in couples in the 
 shade, or declaimed in the otherwise solitary streets. 
 In the whole course of our journeying, we did not 
 again see so many inebriated persons as on this and 
 the previous day, in the little settlements of the 
 Tapajos. On the whole, the Amazon valley is fairly 
 free from the vice of intoxication. 
 
 Simultaneously with our arrival at Boim, a trovoado 
 of great intensity was observed coming up river, and 
 was at once declared to be the one which had hourly 
 been expected after the rhetorical excesses of the 
 previous evening. From the inky blackness of the 
 sky, it was evident that the rain accompanying it was 
 unusually heavy ,• and the distjnct line of rough 
 water rapidly approaching showed the wind was 
 raising a very high sea ; consequently we delayed 
 our landing until the wild outburst should have passed 
 on. Five young men of the place were less wise, or 
 were ignorant of the extent to which the elements had 
 been provoked to this display, for they, in their 
 eagerness to board the ' Beija Flor,' put off at once in 
 a canoe, pulling vigorously to outrace the storm. But 
 they had miscalculated the length of the fine interval, 
 and were caught midway by the wind and waves — as 
 
Chap. XII. STRUCK BY A STORM. 261 
 
 vigorous in their first assault as in any subsequent 
 part of the tempest. In a moment their montaria was 
 filled, and went down without further warning, 
 leaving the late occupants struggling in the breakers, 
 where, however, they seemed to be quite at home; 
 and, after some leisurable paddling and some frolick- 
 ing with one another, we had the satisfaction of 
 seeing the whole five effect a safe landing upon the 
 beach. 
 
 Attention was now diverted to our own condition, 
 which was far from being a pleasant one. The fierce 
 rain, carried almost horizontally by the wind, was 
 being driven under our awning, threatening to wet us 
 to the skin and damage our goods. Everyone hastened 
 to pull down the curtains, but these when lowered 
 acted as sails, and as the ' Beija Flor ' was lying off 
 the exposed coast, she was in danger of being forced 
 from her moorings, and cast as a wreck upon the 
 beach. In this critical situation, it afforded some 
 amusement to the remainder of the party, to see the 
 Chief gravely pulling off his boots, and replacing 
 them by slippers, as if he had made up his mind from 
 the look of things that he would soon have to swim 
 for his life. When questioned about his fears, however, 
 he declared that he had performed the operation quite 
 unconsciously. For years he had been accustomed, 
 while travelling in British Gruiana, to unlace his 
 boots in order to be prepared for the worst when 
 it became necessary to shoot a cataract, and the sense 
 of danger had led him, quite without thought, to take 
 the same precaution on this occasion. The launch 
 rolled heavily in the big waves, but the anchor held 
 
262 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 her stoutly, and the trovoado passed by without doing 
 us any damage. 
 
 As soon as the surf had sufficiently abated we went 
 ashore, but there was little of interest in the village. 
 No inhabitants could be seen for some time, the five 
 adventurous youths having probably retired to their 
 hammocks whilst their clothes were being dried. 
 Presently a drunken man made his appearance, reeling 
 from side to side of the street, inveighing in choice 
 Portuguese, with more than the eloquence of Demos- 
 thenes, against aU foreigners — a theme no doubt sug- 
 gested by the advent of the ' Beija Flor.' Farther on, 
 in the gloomy-looking grassy square with the ruinous 
 church occupying one side of it, some boys were 
 playing, amongst whom we noticed a lad who at first 
 sight seemed to belong to one of the fairest-com- 
 plexioned races of Europe, but on a closer approach 
 he turned out to be that singular mrity — an albino 
 Indian. He was shy, however, and shunned our 
 observation. 
 
 The Tapajos behaved exceedingly well that night. 
 It was necessary for us to remain at Boim, and had 
 fresh storms assailed us on this lee shore, or had the 
 swell continued, we should have passed a very uncom- 
 fortable time ; but the river smoothed out all its 
 wrinkles as the sun went down, and became as still as 
 a mill-pond. To complete our map, it was desirable 
 to run down on this exposed side, if the trovoados would 
 allow us, as far as Yilla Franca. Accordingly an early 
 start was effected, in order to take advantage of the ex- 
 ceptionally amiable mood of the weather •, but it soon 
 became clear that this was not destined to last, for the 
 
Chap. XII. BEACH SANTARBM. 263 
 
 water-horizon line was seen to turn perfectly black 
 down the river, as in a badly executed landscape 
 by an inferior artist — a sure sign that a squall was 
 approaching. The ' Beija Flor ' battled against it as 
 long as the captain thought it prudent to expose her 
 to the increasingly lumpy water, and then stood out 
 from the dangerous coast, of which we had seen 
 enough to convince us that it was more populous than 
 we had expected, although naturally more weather- 
 beaten than the other. Meeting the waves full face, 
 the launch ploughed her way steadily onward, cross- 
 ing the wide expanse of river diagonally, until she got 
 into smoother water under the shelter of our old 
 acquaintance — Cajetuba point. 
 
 At 6 P.M. we dropped anchor at Santarem, and 
 thus brought to a close our experience of the Tapajos, 
 which from first to last had been pretty extensive. 
 Notwithstanding its capricious temper, and the rude 
 rockings and buffetings we had so often endured upon 
 its stormy waters, this noble river left the impression, 
 which still endures, that it is by far the most charm- 
 ing of the Amazon tributaries. Its wide expanse of 
 clear water, the varied outline of its coast, its grace- 
 fully curved sand-beaches fringing the little bays, its 
 pleasant fasendas and numerous villages, dwell in the 
 memory, and furnish it with a series of pictures lit up 
 by high tropical lights, with which one would not 
 willingly part. 
 
 Before returning to Obidos, one short excursion 
 was made from Santarem, which occupied us an entire 
 day, and though devoid of incident was by no means 
 barren of interest. Making a very early start, just as 
 
264 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 a heavy storm of thunder, lightning and rain was 
 coming to a close, the 'Beija Flor' sped down the 
 Amazon, and turning into the Itukie channel, had 
 by breakfast-time reached nearly the far end of it. 
 This Parana-mirim had been formerly visited by us in 
 the ' Helvetica,' and it was impossible to help contrast- 
 ing favourably our present rate of speed with the 
 slow progress that had to content us on that occasion. 
 Before re-entering the Amazon, the Itukie receives 
 the waters of a stream, called on our map the Ayaya, 
 believed by us to be a small river. The object of our 
 trip was to see how close it was possible to get, by 
 water, to the high ground forming the eastern prolonga- 
 tion of the table-land of the Tapajos •, and as it seemed 
 that the Ayaya must come from thence, we turned 
 into it. At the end of an hour we skirted the hill at 
 a point where a large house with a sugar-mUl attached, 
 belonging to the Baron of Santarem, stood at the foot, 
 and plantations sloped steeply up the sides. Our 
 course now led us farther and farther away from the 
 high ground, which, however, we could still see on our 
 left, clothed with forest, and presenting a fine contrast 
 to the flat grassy land on our right, stretching away 
 to the Itukie channel. Sometimes the windings of 
 the Ayaya made us believe, for a moment, that we 
 were nearing the hill, but a sudden turn took us away 
 again ; and as the volume of the current, against 
 which we were steaming, rather increased than 
 diminished, we concluded that it was not a river but 
 a channel. The clearness of the water showed that it 
 could not flow from the Amazon, and we began 
 greatly to wonder where we should turn up. Now 
 
Chap. XII. RETURN TO OBIDOS. 265 
 
 and again little lakes were crossed, and it was difficult 
 to find their outlets, which, in some cases, involved 
 acute-angled turns. Most of the party had clambered 
 to the top of the awning for a more comprehensive 
 view of what was ahead, with the object of solving the 
 mystery of our destination. Along the low banks 
 the houses were standing in the water, deserted on 
 account of the flood ; and for the same reason, the 
 cattle which usually pasture here in the dry season 
 had been removed, except at one farm which happened 
 to be somewhat higher in level. Quantities of water- 
 fowl, cranes, ducks, and caraows, were disturbed as 
 we passed onward ; and large porpoises plaj^ed before 
 the ' Beija Flor.' 
 
 At length, about sunset, we emerged upon the 
 Tapajos, not far below Santarem, through the mouth 
 of a channel known as the Mahica. Evidently this 
 and the Ayaya are the same Parana-mirim, though 
 differently named — probably through ignorance of this 
 fact — at the entrance and exit. We had been steam- 
 ing steadily for thirteen hours, and must have traversed 
 a distance of at least seventy miles. 
 
 Very rough stormy weather set in subsequently to 
 this expedition, and as one of the Company's steamers 
 was expected up river, we preferred to send on the 
 ' Beija Flor,' and take our passage to Obidos in her. 
 She proved to be a fine ship called the ' Manaos,' 
 under the command of Captain Talisman, and was the 
 bearer of quite a large packet of letters and papers for 
 the Commission — a most welcome arrival, for we had 
 long been without news from England. Truly, the 
 great world had been moving on apace, while we had 
 
266 ON THE TAPAJOS. Chap. XII. 
 
 been far away from its stir in these remote regious. 
 At home a general election had taken place, involving 
 a change of Ministry : in Spain and Africa, the Carlist 
 and Ashantee wars had entered upon new phases ; 
 the Bengal famine had assumed serious proportions ; 
 Dr. Livingstone was dead, the Duke of Edinburgh 
 married, and the Tichborne trial was drawing to a 
 close. 
 
Chap. XIII. LEAVE OBIDOS. 267 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 ON THE JTJKTJTY. 
 
 Leave Obidos — Pavana-mirims — Parentins Hill — Site of Ancient Indian 
 Village — Escaping from Mosquitoes — Lake Juruty — -Receive Visitors 
 — Anchor off Jviruty Village — Purchase Fruit — Strange Signatures 
 to Receipts — Moonlight View — Service in the Church — Remark of 
 Irrepressible Little Man — Visit Ball Boom — Our Irrei>ressible Friend 
 accused of Theft — Energetic Dancing — Arrive at Villa Bella — De- 
 scription of the Town. 
 
 After a short stay in Obidos, we hoisted anchor, and 
 were once again pursuing our course up river. We 
 dashed off gaily past the fort and bluff point beyond, 
 and then crossed the Amazon to its southern shore. 
 Before we had got three-quarters of the way over, the 
 pressure of the steam, and consequently the launch's 
 speed, became greatly diminished. Captain Mamede' 
 stated that it was owing to the circumstance of the 
 soft and green condition of the furnace wood, which 
 prevented its burning rapidly enough to give suffi- 
 cient heat beneath the boiler. This was quite a new 
 experience to us, for hitherto we had been able to 
 procure good, hard, dry wood, which gave plenty of 
 steam ; and we naturally supposed that all sticks cut 
 for steamers were alike in quality. The ' Beija Flor ' 
 worked very slowly up stream close to the shore, and 
 once or twice was obliged to be stopped to enable the 
 steam to accumulate, an act which reminded us verv 
 
268 ON THE JUEUTY. Chap. XIII. 
 
 forcibly of the similar but chronic condition of the 
 despised ' Helvetica.' 
 
 It being then one of the cacoa seasons, we saw, as 
 we passed along close to the cacoals, people engaged 
 in gathering and cutting open the ripe fruit of the 
 chocolate tree, preparatory to washing the pulp from 
 the beans, and drying them on stagings ready for 
 market. The huge heaps of seed covers, or pods, 
 thus accumulated, appeared to be thrown into the 
 river, and not applied to the roots of the trees as one 
 would naturally suppose should have been the case. 
 
 The entire bank of the Amazon passed during this 
 day's journey was occupied by cacoals, most of which 
 belong to Obidos people. After proceeding a con- 
 siderable distance, we left the main Amazon, and 
 entered one of its side channels, called a Parana- 
 mirim, which lay between the island of De Cima and 
 the mainland. These Parana-mirims are deep, and 
 being comparatively narrow, are sheltered from the 
 strong winds ; hence they are always followed by 
 small craft when ascending and descending the 
 Amazon. Generally they are simple channels, but 
 in some places have bifurcations which produce a 
 regular network of natural canals ; and they usually 
 bear the name of the island along which they run. 
 At the time of our journey the Amazon was pretty 
 high, its level being within two feet of the water- 
 mark of floods. 
 
 Leaving the De Cima channel and passing up a mile 
 or two of the main river, at a place where the island 
 of Bom Jardim was seen on the opposite side across 
 the watery waste, we entered and proceeded along the 
 
Chap. XIII. JURUTY HILL. 269 
 
 Parana-mirira Maracca-assu, in which we passed a 
 small village, situated on high ground on the main- 
 land. This village, or Aldea, as it is called, was 
 formed at the expense of Jurnty village on the lake of 
 that name, by many of the people leaving that place 
 and coming here to settle. Then the rights of the 
 former place were taken from it, and granted to this 
 one, while the Government of the province issued a 
 decree that the old village no longer existed in the 
 eye of the law ; although, as we subsequently found, it 
 still had an existence in fact. 
 
 Arriving at the mouth of a narrow black-water 
 river, called Juruty, which runs from Lago do Juruty, 
 we entered it. Not far up we came to the entrance 
 of a small lake on our left, into which we turned, and, 
 crossing it, soon arrived at a settlement at the foot of 
 Juruty hills. Landing, we ascended a pathway up the 
 steep slope to the level top of the table-land, there 
 270 feet above the lake below, and walked back some 
 two miles in the forest^ along a well-beaten track. 
 The soil on the hill's brow was of a rich, black nature, 
 containing broken Indian pottery, and on it the people 
 living by the borders of the lake had a large cassava 
 plantation. 
 
 Continuing our journey, after regaining the Juruty 
 river, we entered the large lake of the same name, 
 and were much struck with the placid beauty of its 
 scenery, as we steamed across it to the remains of the 
 old village on its western shore, off which we dropped 
 anchor for the night. Landing on the white sand 
 beach, we took a stroll through the Aldea, composed 
 of some twenty houses ; and, calling on the chief man 
 
270 o:^ THE JURUTY. Chap. XIII. 
 
 of the place, were cordially received. He took us to 
 see the church, situated in the large open grass- 
 covered space above the village, which having been 
 recently repaired and whitewashed, presented a neat 
 and creditable appearance, of which he seemed justly 
 proud. There were very few inhabitants in the 
 village at the moment, but at dusk canoe after canoe 
 arrived from all parts of the lake, bringing home the 
 villagers, who had been either fishing or working in 
 their plantations in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Next morning we returned to the Amazon, and 
 ascended it for a distance of some seven miles, until 
 we reached a place where the river washes the foot of 
 the Parentins hill. 
 
 Fortunately on landing at the spot, we found a path 
 leading to its top, which we followed, coming upon 
 the table-land at a height of 280 feet above the river. 
 The surface along the vicinity of the hill's edge was as 
 usual covered with a black soil, which changed 
 gradually as one receded into the forest, until it 
 assumed its natural condition, showing plainly that it 
 is undoubtedly of artificial origin. Searching in this 
 black soil we were rewarded by finding in it, even to 
 a depth of eighteen inches, the remains of earthen- 
 ware cooking utensils, similar to those strewing its 
 surface. Pieces of broken bones of various animals, 
 with a stone implement or two, plainly denoted that 
 the spot, like that on many other elevations bordering 
 the Amazon and its branches, was the favourite 
 dwelling-place of Indians in bygone days ;, Indians 
 whose implements of warfare and industry were 
 made of polished greenstone — a rock of infrequent 
 
Chap. Xlll. SITES OF ANCIENT VILLAGES. 271 
 
 occurrence in the Amazon valley, but existing in great 
 quantity far to the northward. Tillages must have 
 stood upon these spots for ages, to have accumulated 
 such a depth of soil about them ; and probably their 
 original founders were of a race that has now com- 
 pletely vanished. 
 
 At the present day these localities are highly 
 prized as agricultural grounds,- owing to their 
 fertility ; and the}' bear the name of " Terras pretas " 
 (black earths). We have observed them occurring in 
 many places almost too numerous to mention, and 
 generally upon elevated commanding positions. 
 
 When we returned to the river's edge, we went in 
 our montaria up a small creek, into a sort of pond 
 covered with the Victoria Regia ; and in so doing met 
 a woman with a lot of children coming down it in a 
 canoe ; the stream being narrow and the canoe close 
 to its bank, one of the children, on seeing us, jumped 
 overboard, and quickly darted off into the bush. 
 
 Ascending the Parentins Parana-mirim we rounded 
 the upper end of the island of that name, and scudded 
 down the Amazon until we arrived, at dark, at the 
 lower end of the same island, where we made our 
 launch fast to trees for the night. 
 
 Next day we explored the western face of the 
 Parentins hill, by ascending a small lake in our 
 montaria, and forcing it through the Igapo, or flooded 
 bush, to the foot of the high ground ; and then, 
 descending the Amazon to the Juruty river, returned 
 to Juruty lake. Following its northern side, where 
 the land between it and the Amazon is low and 
 swampy, we came upon a small and recently-established 
 
272 ON THE JQRUTY. Chap. XIII. 
 
 fasenda, upon which were some twenty cattle, one 
 horse, aud a few sheep. Upon a pole, close by its 
 house, was a skull of a huge jaguar, which had been 
 shot by the owner whilst prowling about bent upon 
 securing one of his cows. Up an arm of the lake we 
 made fast for the night, expecting there to be free 
 from the attacks of the mosquitoes, according to the 
 tradition that none are found over black water ; but, 
 to our disgust, when the moon rose, they came upon 
 us in myriads. Reading and writing were out of the 
 question, and, as the night was so beautifully fine, 
 the surface of the lake being like a mirror, we stepped 
 into the montaria, and amused ourselves by paddling 
 about amongst the tops of the now submerged igapo 
 trees, until the hour for slinging hammocks arrived. 
 
 Let no reader, we pray, become impatient at the 
 frequent occurrence in this volume of our complaints 
 against mosquitoes and other pests, for some allow- 
 ance must be made for us in the matter. Harassed 
 day and night by some sort or other of insect- 
 fiends, our sufferings have become so indelibly im- 
 pressed upon our memories, that our minds must be 
 unburdened when an opportunity offers. Besides, we 
 became so accustomed to speak of them in daily 
 conversation, that we cannot throw off the habit all 
 of a sudden. Upon the Amazon, conversation is in- 
 variably commenced by referring to the numbers and 
 ferocity of mosquitoes on the previous day or night, 
 just as in England we greet a friend with some remark 
 or other upon the state of the weather. 
 
 Next day we made one excursion from the head 
 of this arm through the forest, and another from the 
 
CriAP. XIII. JURUTY LAKE. 273 
 
 upper end of a similar branch more to the eastward. 
 After that we ascended the main lake, which trends 
 in an E.S.E. and W.N.W. direction for about fifteen 
 miles, and then, sweeping round, lies at right angles to 
 this direction for some distance. Above the village it 
 keeps a pretty uniform width of about a mile, and, at 
 short intervals, has deep bays or arms, with little 
 creeks at their heads, which occur directly opposite 
 each other, on both sides, with extraordinary regu- 
 larity. These arms are wide at their mouths, and 
 taper gradually to a point inland, at distances of from 
 one to two miles back. Low hills come everywhere 
 to the water's edge. This singular lake, like many 
 others in the Amazon valley, resembles the course of 
 an ancient river, of much greater magnitude than the 
 present one, that runs into its upper end and flows out 
 at its mouth. Again, when we view the diminutive 
 streams now running into the heads of its long arms, it 
 seems difficult to understand how they could have cut 
 out such deep and wide channels. 
 
 Descending the lake we anchored off the village, 
 which presented a very animated appearance, owing 
 to the number of people dressed in their best attire, 
 who were strolling about ; reminding us that the day 
 was Good Friday, and, consequently, that the inha- 
 bitants of the Aldea were keeping high festival. We 
 had hardly made all snug, before three women and 
 some young men came on board to pay us a visit. 
 We did the honours, providing the ladies with chairs, 
 and all with a cup of coffee each. One of the party 
 gave the ladies a book on Natural History, which was 
 copiously illustrated with sketches of birds, beasts, 
 
274 ON THE JURUTY. Chap. XIII. 
 
 and reptiles, in order to amuse them ; but they quickly 
 got tired of it and put it down. There they sat 
 quietly for a time, without uttering a word, but gazing 
 at things around them. All our attempts at amusing 
 them were of no avail, and, as they appeared only 
 to wish to be allowed to remain in quietude, we 
 refrained from further efforts in that direction. After 
 they had been sitting like statues for nearly an hour, 
 one of the men came aft and asked them if they were 
 ready to go, upon which they replied that they wished 
 to remain a little longer. Thus it was evident that 
 they were enjoying themselves, notwithstanding all 
 the appearances to the contrary. Presently they arose 
 with one accord, shook hands with us all round, and, 
 with the rest of their party, went ashore in their canoe. 
 
 Accompanied l)y a guide, on the following day we 
 explored the land on the north side of the lake, some 
 three miles from the village. To do so we had to 
 force our montaria up a flooded creek, at the head 
 of one of the arms, before reaching dry land ; the water 
 being ten feet or more above its usual level and almost 
 up to flood-mark. In so doing our boat took on board 
 a small cargo of leaves, dead twigs, ants, spiders, 
 and all manner of creeping things. Upon the edges 
 of a small stream, which we crossed in the forest, 
 we saw two very fine tree-ferns, the presence of 
 which, at so low a level, somewhat surprised the 
 Botanist. 
 
 After finishing our work there, we crossed the 
 lake, and walked by land from its western side to 
 the little Parentins lake, and by 6 p.m. were back at 
 our anchorage off the village. Having in the morning 
 
Chap. XIII. THE IRREPRESSIBLE MAN. 275 
 
 sent word on shore that we would buy a certain 
 quantity of furnace wood, the men of the place had 
 been engaged all day in cutting some for us. As soon 
 as we arrived, quite a little fleet of canoes put off from 
 the beach laden with the results of the day's chopping, 
 and soon their owners were busily engaged passing it 
 on board ; one of our crew calling out the number of 
 each piece as it was passed along, thus keeping tally. 
 
 During this process a boat came alongside, half 
 laden with oranges and avacado pears, almost the 
 entire quantity of which was purchased by ourselves 
 and crew. It must seem strange to those who 
 connect oranges and other luscious fruit with tropical 
 climes, to think that our purchase on this occasion 
 was worthy of record. But, as a matter of fact, fruit 
 is a rarity on the Amazon, owing to the improvidence 
 of the inhabitants bordering its banks. 
 
 As the proprietors of the wood were numerous, we 
 had considerable difiSculty in arranging the payments, 
 and had some trouble in getting^ the receipt signed. 
 However, one irrepressible little man of broad build, 
 who, from having imbibed a trifle too much cacha9a, 
 was very amusing, was induced to undertake the task. 
 He seized the pen, waved it in the air with a grand 
 flourish, and seating himself at the table, dashed off a 
 quantity of writing on various parts of the papers, in 
 a surprisingly good hand. We hoped that his signature 
 might be somewhere amongst it, but on after-examina- 
 tion found that one account was signed with the 
 name of the village, and the duplicate with some 
 record of the other men who had been engaged with 
 him. One of them drew out from his pocket a heavy 
 
 T 2 
 
276 ON THE JTJEUTY. Chap. XIII. 
 
 copper coin, equivalent in value to an English penny, 
 and offered it to the member of the Commission who 
 had drawn up the receipts, intimating that it was in 
 payment for his trouble. 
 
 It being the second day of the festa, j\rass was 
 about to be held in the church, and a dance would 
 take place afterwards, at which we were expected to 
 attend. After dinner we all landed l)v moonlight, 
 accompanied by our Captain, and strolling through 
 the village went to the church to see the Mass per- 
 formed. The scene from the front of this building, 
 looking upon the still, calm lake, spread out before 
 us, and bathed in the silvery light of the full moon, 
 then just risen above tbe distant horizon, was one of 
 great beauty. The lights from the village, and those 
 from our little steamer in the ofiBng, added some life 
 to the picture, but without injuring the primitive tone 
 of the whole. 
 
 The service was conducted entirely by laymen — no 
 priest, we were informed, ever coming near the place — 
 and though not according with our notions of religious 
 worship, was nevertheless conducted with decorum 
 and sincerity. A lot of women knelt in the body of 
 the church, while a row of men stood in front of the 
 altar and chanted a Litany ; one being provided with 
 a huge drum, which was now and then beaten 
 furiously, and rather discordantly, with what object 
 we could not ascertain. When this was over, those 
 \A ho had officiated advanced to the altar railing and 
 chanted a melancholy dirge of fearfully prolonged 
 and dismal notes, which was not improved by the 
 monotonous beating of the discordant drum. 
 
Chap. XIII. STRANGE REMARK. 277 
 
 A filagree crown — that of the Virgin, it was said — 
 was now brought down from the altar, to the middle 
 of the church, and there held by one man, while two 
 others, each holding a candle, stood on either side. 
 One by one, many of the worshippers advanced and 
 knelt before the crown^ then kissed it and retired. 
 The broad-shouldered irrepressible little man, before 
 spoken of, who with some other men had been seen at 
 intervals loafing about the doorway during service, 
 kissed the crown more ardently than any of his 
 fellows ; and in passing us at the door, struck a 
 theatrical attitude, and said, " One thought for heaven 
 and one for earth ; " a remark which had a more 
 emphatic meaning in the light of subsequent events. 
 One gentlemanly man, dressed in a black coat, white 
 waistcoat, and nautical straw hat, was seen to approach 
 and kiss the crown. We wondered who this swell 
 could be, so superior in appearance to the inhabitants 
 of the place, who were all as usual coatless ; but as he 
 turned to come out, we were surprised to recognize in 
 him our Portuguese engineer. 
 
 All then left the church and marched in procession 
 down to the village^ headed by the drummer, singing 
 as they went along, while we followed in their train. 
 Arriving at the house where the ball was to be held, 
 most of them went in and sat on benches along its 
 walls. Coffee was then handed round, and after a 
 time dancing began, being kept up, as we afterwards 
 learned, until the morning. 
 
 A short time after we entered the ball-room an 
 amusing scene occurred. It seemed that one of the men 
 who had received money from us for wood left it on 
 
278 ON THE JURUTY. Chap. XIII. 
 
 a table in his house, and upon returning found that it 
 was gone. He came and accused our broad-shouldered 
 friend with having taken it, whilst all were at church, 
 but the latter, with much levity, denied having 
 touched it, walking up and down the room, and 
 haranguing on the subject most eloquently. It was 
 evident that his comrades believed him to be guilty, 
 but his wit was so keen that he contrived to turn the 
 laugh against his denouncer. The whole affair ended 
 after much talk, excitement, and flying round of various 
 indignant individuals. 
 
 The dances consisted of valses and quadrilles, 
 polkas and fandangos ; and never on any occasion did 
 we witness the latter performed with such spirit. Of 
 the men, the engineer of our launch decidedly carried 
 off the palm. He danced high in the air, and close 
 down to the ground ; spread out his coat-tails like 
 sails-, and went through the most fantastic hops and 
 flings. His energy seemed untiring, but he was cut 
 out at last by the irrepressible little man, who also 
 did the thing well ; but the engineer would not allow 
 him much time for the display of his talents. Fling- 
 ing off his coat he went at it again, superseding his 
 antagonist, and throwing himself about more vigor- 
 ously than ever, until the spectators were tired, and 
 the music stopped to announce the end of that dance. 
 
 After looking on for a short time we adjourned to 
 the beach, and whilst taking observations of stars for 
 latitude, the lively strains of dance music and the 
 murmurs of merriment reached us from the village 
 from time to time, showing that the revellers were 
 enjoying themselves, and making the most of it. 
 
Chap. XIII. KESULTS OF ALLIGATOR BITES. 279 
 
 By 3 P.M. on the following day we reached Villa 
 Bella, a small town situated on the south bank of the 
 Amazon, not very far past the Serra de Parentins. 
 We went ashore, and entering a shop, inquired for the 
 house of a doctor to whom we had a letter of intro- 
 duction from the agent at Obidos. There were three 
 gentlemen in their shirt-sleeves behind the counter 
 playing cards, one of whom, speaking in very fair 
 English, informed us that the doctor was at the time 
 away from home. We were rather surprised to hear 
 our language in the mouth of an Amazonian 
 Brazilian, for hitherto we had not met a single 
 instance of a native speaking English, from the time 
 of our leaving Para. Most, or perhaps all, educated 
 Brazilians on the Amazon speak French, but very few 
 know a word of English. This is to be wondered at, 
 when one reflects that the chief amount, if not all, of 
 the trade of the country is carried on with England 
 and the United States. 
 
 On our way back again we followed the second, or 
 back street of the town, which runs parallel to the 
 river's bank, and visited the cemetery in the forest at 
 the end of a broad wide road in rear of all. We 
 were joined in our walk by a young man — a friend of 
 Captain Mamede' — who had lost one arm at the 
 shoulder, which he said had been bitten off by an 
 alligator. This unfortunate occurrence took place 
 when he was in the act of fording a river on horse- 
 back, at a cattle farm in the neighbourhood. Most 
 probably the arm was only crushed by the alligator, 
 but so injured that it had to be amputated. 
 
 We also saw a horse — feeding along with some 
 
280 ON THE JURUTY. Ohap. Xlll. 
 
 others upon the fine pasturage afforded by the grass in 
 the streets — which had no tail whatever, while on one 
 of its hind-quarters there was a large scar. This 
 damage had also been done by an alligator, when the 
 horse was feeding in a morass. 
 
 A wide road cut in the forest ran about half a mile 
 back to a lake of black water, upon the opposite side 
 of which was a good house and cattle-farm. 
 
 A shower of rain, which soon rendered the path in 
 the middle of the streets almost impassable with 
 soapy mud, drove us back to the shelter of our home 
 in the ' Beija Flor,' where we spent our Sunday after- 
 noon in rest and quietness. 
 
 Villa Bella da Imperatrix — as the official name of 
 the town runs — is by no means a lively place, in fact 
 it may be said to be quite dead. It is built upon 
 ground varying in height from 20 to 40 feet above 
 the water-mark of floods, which presents a cliff of red 
 and yellow clay to the Amazon. When the river is 
 low an extensive sand beach fronts it. Some 
 ferruginous sandstone is seen in one part of the cliff, 
 which, extending under water off the port, causes con- 
 siderable annoyance to the captains of steamers, by 
 holding their anchors in its grasp. Owing to the 
 strong current, steamers stopping there are always 
 obliged to cast anchor, and their captains never feel 
 sure of getting them on board again. It is said that 
 there are quantities reposing on the bottom, which 
 have been lost by fouling these rocks. 
 
 Two main streets run parallel to the river, which 
 are only partially built on, so that there are gaps 
 in many places. The principal one faces the river. 
 
Chap. XIII. STRANGE-LOOKING CHURCH. 281 
 
 and contains some well-built houses of the Amazonian 
 type. The second street has buildings only on its 
 eastern side, and therefore faces the forest. Four or 
 five shops and a wretched church complete the list of 
 the noteworthy buildings which it contains. A 
 peculiarity attaches to this church, from the fact that 
 its porch is almost as large as the body of the build- 
 ing, and contains a small mounted cannon, probably 
 used in connection with the services, or for the pur- 
 pose of blowing up the refractory parishioners ! 
 
282 ON THE JAMUNDA. " Chap. XIV. 
 
 CHAPTEK XIV. 
 
 ON THE JAMUNDA. 
 
 Leave Villa Bella for the Jamunda Eiver — iDtricate Geography of its 
 Mouth — Night in the Caldeirao — Lake MaraoanA — Faro — Wide 
 Distribution of Bottled Ale — First Cruise up the Lake — Dinner and 
 Dumplings — A Monster Spider — Second Trip on Lake — Abowucoo 
 — An Empty Coffin — The Great Aguadua — Wild Conjectures — 
 Entertainment at Villa Bella — Swept Adrift in the Night — Up the 
 Amazon to Cararaucu — Capella — A Wily Jew — Arrival at Serpa — 
 Inspection by Custom House Officer — The Town — Tiny Newspaper 
 —Lake Serpa — " The Fighting Tem^raire." 
 
 No unnecessary time was lost at Yilla Bella, for at 
 noon, on the day succeeding that of our arrival there, 
 we started again upon a fresh expedition of a week's 
 duration ; so that the ' Beija Flor ' may be described as 
 having only touched at the place, and then, humming- 
 bird-like, flitted away again. Brief, however, as had 
 been our stay in port, the one purpose of our visit had 
 been attained, for the Company's steamship ' Belem ' 
 had, according to expectation, passed up river in the 
 interval, leaving with us a bundle of letters and 
 papers from England. Our new destination was Lake 
 Maracana, a place which, though mentioned in our 
 instructions, we had failed to find on any map in our 
 possession ; but, after much inquiry, definite informa- 
 tion had been obtained to the effect that it was con- 
 nected with the Jamunda river, at no great distance 
 from the Amazon. 
 
 On leaving Villa Bella it was necessary to betake 
 
Chap. XIV. INTRICATE GEOGRAPHY. 283 
 
 ourselves once more down river to a point opposite 
 the mouth of the Juruty, where a Parana-mirim, called 
 the Caldeirao, re-enters the Amazon opposite the 
 eastern end of a cluster of islands, known also as the 
 Caldeiraos, or " Whirlpools," from some miniature 
 maelstroms formed by swirling currents in their 
 vicinity. The geography of the mouth of the Jamunda 
 is exceedingly intricate, as may be judged when we 
 mention that in order to get into this river we were 
 obliged to enter the Caldeirao channel, pass from it 
 into another, called the Bom Jardim, and from thence 
 into our old acquaintance the Sapukia, which brought 
 us before long to the Jamunda itself. Why it should 
 not form a direct junction with the Amazon, and have 
 a decent respectable mouth of its own, it is difficult to 
 tell, for the tributary bears down directly towards the 
 main river, until only a narrow neck of swampy land, 
 some three or four miles in width, intervenes ; and 
 then turns sharply round, to distribute its waters by 
 the Bom Jardim into the Amazon much lower down, 
 and by the Sapukia into the Trombetas as already 
 described, without, however, perceptibly swelling the 
 volume of either of the channels. This is perhaps 
 owing to the numerous lakes of immense extent, 
 adjoining the river in its lower part, in which the 
 evaporation must be enormous ; thus dispersing much 
 of its water into the atmosphere, and leaving only a 
 small contribution for the Amazon — quite out of 
 proportion to the length and importance of the Ja- 
 munda itself. 
 
 Darkness overtook us on the first day of our journey 
 before we had got through the Caldeirao. It was with 
 reluctance that we were compelled to come to a halt 
 
284 ON THE JAMUNDl. Chap. XIV. 
 
 for the night in its narrow muddy channel, for we had 
 been pressing onward in the hope of reaching the 
 clear water of the river, where, we well knew, the 
 plague of mosquitoes would be far less intolerable than 
 •here ; but to have gone on after the light had faded 
 away would have broken the continuity of our map, 
 which was not to be thought of. Our forebodings 
 respecting the number of pests likely to come on board 
 thirsting for our blood were fully realized, and after 
 an uncomfortable evening we were glad to take shelter 
 within our mosquito nets at an early hour. To our 
 surprise the stillness of the night had been broken, 
 just before, by the passing of a small steamer along 
 the narrow channel, where we had little expected to 
 see anything of the sort. As she passed by, snorting 
 and saluting us by harsh whistling, the light from her 
 boiler fire and the sparks from the funnel lit up with 
 a red glare the walls of forest that hemmed us in, and 
 gleamed upon the muddy water. The perfume left 
 behind her on the still, moist air would have suffi- 
 ciently informed us that she was a cattle boat, had 
 we not already arrived, by a process of reasoning, at 
 the conclusion that her business in this retired place 
 must be connected with the cattle farms on the Sapukia. 
 Some days later we learned that she was called the 
 ' Progress,' and became acquainted with her owner — 
 
 Mr. S , an American, residing in Serpa. 
 
 On the following morning we made the curious and 
 abrupt turns through the intricate channels leading to 
 the Jamunda, and, entering that river, found it to be 
 about a quarter of a mile in width ; whilst on either 
 hand stretched away, as far as the eye could reach, the 
 
Chap. XIV. LAKE MARACANA. 285 
 
 lagoon-like lakes already referred to, divided from it 
 only by narrow spits, in most cases submerged by the 
 floods, but having their position indicated by the 
 strips of forest growing along them. At mid-day the 
 ' Beija Flor ' reached Lake Maracana, which proved to 
 be somewhat like Lake Juruty in character, having 
 numerous creeks running up among low wooded hills, 
 but was rather less extensive. Eainy weather set in 
 soon after our arrival, and somewhat delayed the 
 exploration of these branches and of the adjoining 
 forests, which occupied the fine intervals of two entire 
 days. 
 
 Maracana was rather thickly populated, for although 
 there was no village upon its banks, detached houses 
 were numerous, and occurred at tolerably regular 
 distances, especially upon the portion nearest the 
 entrance. The people were very friendly, and clus- 
 tered around the ' Beija Flor ' in their canoes, offering 
 fowls, eggs, and vegetables for sale more readily than 
 any with whom we came into contact either before this 
 time or subsequently. Numbers of women came 
 freely on board to see what our craft was like, dressed 
 in their best, and often bringing their babies with 
 them. Those of Indian blood were very quiet, and 
 simply took in all they could through their eyes and 
 ears, and without asking any questions ; but one rather 
 good-looking female— half- Negro and half-Indian — 
 was very lively. She handled everything, wanted to 
 know what it was called in English, and declared her 
 intention of learning the language. The grotesque 
 pronunciation, however, which she contrived to give 
 the few words she picked up, by no means promised 
 
286 ON THE JAMUNDA. Chap. XIV. 
 
 that she would be an apt scholar. The men were all 
 anxious to have a ride in the ' Beija Flor,' and when 
 they found that we were going up any particular 
 arm of the lake, declared that they had business in 
 that very direction, and asked if it would " do harm " 
 if they hitched up their canoes behind the launch and 
 went with us. It was amusing to see how proudly 
 they waved to their friends upon the shore as the 
 ' Beija Flor ' swept by at her usual smart pace ; nor 
 did they ever express a desire to be set down at any 
 particular spot, their one wish evidently being to get 
 as long a turn as possible. 
 
 From Maracana we continued our voyage up the 
 Jamunda, which preserved its narrow windings 
 between 41at banks, until it suddenly opened out upon 
 the wide expanse of Lake Faro — one of the prettiest 
 in the Amazon valley. On a point, at no great 
 distance on our right, backed by hills of fair eleva- 
 tion, stood the little town of Faro, presenting rather a 
 good appearance, with its grassy slope in front 
 stretching down to the margin of the water, and a 
 park-like lawn at one end. Unfortunatelj', as the 
 ' Beija Flor ' drew nearer, it became evident that 
 many of the houses, perhaps one half of them, were in 
 ruins. There was one decent-looking store at the far 
 end of the place, to which we betook ourselves when we 
 had landed, and, by way of opening up a conversation 
 which might afford us some information about the 
 district, inquired of the proprietor if he had any 
 English beer, without much expectation that such an 
 article could be obtained in this remote settlement. 
 To our surprise, however, it was at once forthcoming, 
 
Chap, XIV. DISTRIBUTION OF BOTTLED ALE. 287 
 
 and we often subsequently met with it in much 
 more unlikely places ; yet it is difficult to understand 
 why it should be so widely diffused, for it can only be 
 sold at a price which would seem to put it beyond the 
 reach of the natives, even if it agreed with their 
 tastes. Bass' Pale Ale, Peek and Frean's or Huntley 
 and Palmer's biscuits, and commodities of that kind, are 
 your true travellers, continually turning up on the very 
 confines of civilization to surprise the adventurous 
 wanderer, at the very moment, perhaps, when he is 
 congratulating himself that he has got far beyond the 
 limits of manufactured articles of this sort. Should 
 the North Pole ever be discovered, it would scarcely 
 surprise us to hear that a bottle of ale, a tin of 
 biscuits, or a packet of corn-flour, had been there to 
 confront the successful explorers ! 
 
 Nothing of special interest claimed our attention in 
 Faro, and as there were yet two hours before sunset, 
 it was resolved to go a little farther along the lake, 
 for the purpose of seeing what was beyond the turn 
 which cut off the view a little above the town. The 
 Botanist, however, had strolled off into the forest, and 
 it was necessary to set the whistle going to recall him 
 The signal brought down upon us, at a smart trot, a 
 young man who introduced himself to us as the " son- 
 in-law of an Englishman," and learning that we were 
 about to take a short cruise up the lake, he asked if it 
 would " do harm " if he went with us. Put in that 
 way, it was of course difficult to refuse his company, 
 and as soon as Mr. Trail had turned up, we were off, 
 with this addition to our number. The reach of Faro 
 lake opening up to view as we rounded the bend, was 
 
288 ON THE JAMUNDA. Chap. XIV. 
 
 bordered with bold bluffs, and presented a fine appear- 
 ance in the level sunset light. As it was found to 
 trend towards the Maracana hills, we resolved to 
 extend our exploration of it on the following day 
 farther than we were now able to do. The dinner 
 hour had fully arrived when we again dropped anchor 
 off the town, and as our self-introduced acquaintance 
 showed no disposition to go ashore, it was necessary 
 to ask him to join us, which he did with great 
 alacrity. 
 
 Many persons imagine that in a region immediately 
 bordering upon the Equator the heat must be too 
 great for the development of a good healthy appetite ; 
 but the contrary was the case in our experience. 
 Living, as we did, entirely in the open air, exposed 
 usually to a brisk wind, and with sufficient occupation 
 to keep us from ever falling into a lethargic state, it 
 was often positively difiBcult to satisfy the cravings of 
 hunger. To remedy this undesirable state of things, 
 William was accustomed to make us a dish of boiled 
 dumplings, simply composed of flour, lard, and water, 
 and of such compactness and ponderosity, that one 
 would inevitably turn away from them at home with 
 frightful visions of indigestion. These made their 
 appearance towards the end of meals, and were eaten 
 with preserve, or a mixture of butter and sugar, until 
 all hunger pangs were finally allayed. On the 
 present occasion, they were brought forward when we 
 had done full justice to a couple of fowls from Mara- 
 cana, and the son-in-law of an Englishman at once 
 went into raptures over them. Never had he tasted 
 anything so delightful, and would we object to his 
 
Chap. XIV. A MONSTER SPIDER. ■ 289 
 
 wrapping one in paper to take home to his English 
 wife? William at once made up a parcel for him, 
 which he transferred to his pocket ; but before he 
 retired to the shore with this treasure, he invited him- 
 self to join us on the following morning, in our pro- 
 posed walk into the forest at the back of the town. 
 He would take his gun, he said, and grew quite voluble 
 respecting the sport we should have ; not, he explained, 
 that he meant to spoil our chance by anticipating our 
 shots, but whatever we missed, that he would fire at 
 and kill ! 
 
 Next morning the intended walk came off at an 
 early hour, but it is hardly necessary to say that we 
 did not call for our talkative acquaintance, and thus 
 afford him the opportunity of fastening himself upon 
 us for the whole of another day ; on the contrary, we 
 were undignified enough to make a considerable 
 detour for the sake of giving him the slip. The chief 
 incident of the ramble was the capture of a large 
 spider— the biggest we had ever seen or heard 
 of. It covered, when standing in its Hsual posi- 
 tion, a space ten inches long, by eight wide, but 
 could be stretched out to a total length of eleven 
 and a half inches. Its body measured two and a half 
 Inches in length by one inch across the thorax. 
 
 As we steamed awaj'^ from Faro for our more pro- 
 longed trip up the lake, we could distinguish, through 
 our glasses, the young man whose further companion- 
 ship we had eluded standing disconsolately in his 
 doorway, gazing after the retreating form of the 
 ' Beija Flor.' Our journey extended about fifteen 
 miles, at the end of which we still saw the lake 
 
 V 
 
290 ON THE JAMUNDA. Chap. XIV. 
 
 stretching before us as far as the eye could reach, the 
 charming vista between the folding hills seeming to 
 beckon us onward; but to have gone farther would 
 have been exceeding our instructions. The portion 
 we had traversed was shaped like a reversed letter S, 
 and averaged about two miles in width. Four large 
 hills, all flat-topped, dwarfed the lesser elevations ; 
 and were known respectively as the Serras do Medea, 
 Copo, Maracana, and Ajurua. The former was 
 ascended, and found by the evidence of the aneroid to 
 be 376 feet in height. The principal tributary of the 
 lake is the great Waiebee river, which we turned 
 aside to explore ; but it developed nothing of interest, 
 except the quantities of ancient pottery scattered 
 about on a sandy point at the mouth, showing that 
 this must have been the site of an Indian village — 
 one of the very few cases in which we found these 
 relics at a low elevation. 
 
 On our way back to Faro many landings were 
 effected, and short walks undertaken into the forest. 
 The lake is very thinly inhabited, which gives it a 
 somewhat lonesome appearance, the only drawback to 
 its beauty. Meanwhile the weather had been gradually 
 getting more and more showery, and, on our return to 
 the town, settled into a very wet night. This was much 
 to be regretted, for not a single observation for latitude 
 and longitude had been taken since we left Villa 
 Bella, every night having been either rainy or cloudy, 
 consequently we were unable to correct our map, 
 and can only speak approximately of distances on the 
 Jamunda. 
 
 On our return journey, commenced on the following 
 
Chap. XIV. AN EMPTY COFFIN. 291 
 
 morning, we passed the mouth of Maracand, and 
 entered the next lake on the same side of the river, 
 the name of which was Abowucoo. This proved to be 
 of very irregular outline, and the whole of the re- 
 mainder of the day was occupied in exploring its 
 numerous branches, all very thickly inhabited. As 
 we were anxious to get at least one set of star obser- 
 vations before quitting these regions, we looked about 
 at sunset for a house with a cleared space near it, 
 facing in a suitable direction, with the intention of 
 anchoring off it for the night. One that seemed in 
 every way suitable was at length observed at the head 
 of a small, still inlet; and, as the 'Beija Flor' turned 
 aside to enter the snug harbour, all eyes were fixed 
 upon the building, which had a thatched roof, brought 
 down very low in front, supported by pillars after the 
 fashion of the Tapajos fasendas. What was the strange- 
 looking object which occupied the verandah thus 
 formed ? Glasses were brought into use, and the 
 mysterious thing resolved itself into a large black 
 coffin, with white tape adornments, standing upon a 
 pair of tressels. No one came out of the dwelling to 
 see who we might be, but some of us landed and 
 ascertained that the " narrow house " was without a 
 tenant, and that it had been prepared for a young 
 woman, who, after an illness of six years, was now 
 thought to be near her end. It is astonishing how 
 gloomy the little haven had suddenly seemed to grow, 
 after thus becoming associated with the memorials of 
 death. The water was now observed to be of inky 
 blackness, the overhanging trees were of an unusually 
 dark and sombre green, and the house had a stained 
 
 u 2 
 
292 ON THE JAMUNDA. Chap. XIV, 
 
 and mouldering appearance. Everyone agreed that 
 the place looked like a " fever hole," and the Captain 
 received orders to find some more cheerful anchorage 
 for the * Beija Flor.' Finally, we came to moorings 
 off a dwelling in the main lake, where we were 
 much annoyed by mosquitoes of the slender poisonous 
 description, commonly known in English colonies as 
 " gallinippers " ; but succeeded in obtaining fair obser- 
 vations of the Southern Cross, though the Great Bear 
 was unpropitious. 
 
 Next to Lake Abowucoo, keeping still on the 
 eastern side of the river, comes the great Aguadua, 
 which we entered on the following morning; not -by 
 its proper inlet, but by a short cut across the sub- 
 merged land intervening between the lake and river. 
 It was a rectangular sheet of water, about four miles 
 long by three broad, surrounded by low-lying flat 
 land, except on the northern side, where it sends off 
 two long arms running up between the hills. One of 
 these had numerous inhabitants, who pressed round 
 us with eggs and oranges for sale, among whom was a 
 rather good-looking woman. Some one chanced to 
 remark on her appearance, and she inquired of the 
 Interpreter what had been said. Upon learning that 
 she had been spoken of as very pretty, she seemed to 
 be greatly delighted, and replied in a most innocent 
 manner, " Tell the Senhor, then, that I am very much 
 obliged." 
 
 Near the only house on the eastern shore of the 
 Great Aguadua, we noticed a huge bell, looking almost 
 as large as Big Ben, suspended from the horizontal 
 branch of a great tree. Why it was hung there, or 
 
Chap. XIV. STRANGE TOWN-CRIER. 293 
 
 what the use of it might be, was more than we could 
 guess. 
 
 At the place at which we anchored that night the 
 people said that they had heard that the Emperor of 
 Brazil had sold all the inhabitants of the Amazon 
 valley to the English, and that we had arrived in our 
 launch in connection with this matter, probably to 
 count the heads of those who had been thus trans- 
 ferred ! This was only one of the wild conjectures 
 started to account for our mysterious proceedings. 
 Perhaps the most favourite idea was that we had to 
 do with the sale and repair of sewing machines. 
 
 From this halting place we made a direct and unad- 
 venturous journey back to Villa Bella, where we spent 
 two entire days in preparing reports and copies of 
 maps. When these had been completed, and got ready 
 for the steamer, now due to pass up river, we took 
 a stroll through the town, and were surprised to see a 
 female parading the streets in a huge and very ugly 
 mask, sounding a large bell, and bearing on her back 
 a green placard inscribed with the legend " Theatro 
 hoje" from all which it appeared that the people of 
 Villa Bella were to be gratified and enlivened that 
 evening by some sort of public spectacle. We further 
 learned where the, so-called, theatre was situated, and 
 that the performance, consisting of conjuring, was to 
 commence at the somewhat late hour of 9 p.m. Now, 
 no opportunity of attending a public entertainment 
 had been afforded us in all the seven months since we 
 had sailed from England, and it need not be wondered at 
 that we at once resolved to patronize this one, as much 
 for the sake of linking ourselves on with the past, and 
 
294 ON THE JAMUNDl. Chap. XIV. 
 
 seeing the character and conduct of the audience, as for 
 any amusement likely to arise from the performance 
 itself. 
 
 Betaking ourselves to the place in good time, we 
 found a sprinkling of gentlemen gathered in the narrow- 
 apartment digniiied by the name of the Theatre, and 
 soon afterwards the whole of the female portion of the 
 audience arrived en masse ; whereupon the gentlemen 
 rising, gave them the choice of the best seats, with a 
 politeness in striking contrast to the behaviour usually 
 witnessed in an assembly of the same class in England. 
 The ladies were better attired than we had expected 
 to see, in somewhat old-fashioned garments, it is true, 
 but none the less becoming on that account •, and, on 
 the whole, the audience, which numbered about eighty 
 persons, had such a respectable appearance, that it was 
 difficult to believe ourselves to be in a small Amazo- 
 nian town. The variety of complexions was, however, 
 sufficient to remind us that we were far from home ; 
 for all shades were represented, from the fairness of 
 a Swiss lady, who had come to this country, we 
 learned, as servant to the Bishop of Para, but had 
 since married a native Indian, to the darkness of the 
 pure negroes. 
 
 The orchestra, consisting of a fiddle and two guitars, 
 now took their seats ; and very little seat one of them 
 had to take, for the cane had entirely disappeared 
 from the bottom of his chair, so that he was obliged 
 to balance himself all the evening on the front bar. 
 A signal whistle sounded out loud and long, and 
 invisible strings slowly drew back the drop scene, 
 which was evidently by a native artist, and repre- 
 
Chap. XIV. THE WIZARD. 295 
 
 sented, apparently, a man ofifering a woman tumbling 
 from the sky the choice of a dagger or a penny bun, 
 while an old-fashioned table stood between them to 
 keep the peace. The wizard himself, a tall gentle- 
 man with a hooked nose, now stood disclosed, and at 
 once commenced the series of tricks announced upon 
 the programme ; resorting, to our surprise, to the English 
 language for the cabalistic words at the critical parts 
 of his feats. These deceptions were of the usual kind, 
 and did not interest us greatly, but the audience 
 greeted them with liberal applause. It was twelve 
 o'clock when we returned to the ' Beija Flor,' and very 
 soon afterwards were resting in our hammocks. 
 
 Our slumbers lasted only until 4 a.m., for at that 
 hour a considerable noise and bustle arose on board 
 the launch, and speedily aroused us all. The Amazon 
 being now in flood, and continually rising, a large 
 number of patches of coarse grass, or capinga, washed 
 out from the banks and retired pools, as well as much 
 timber, floated on its bosom. Some of the patches 
 were small, but others were nearly an acre in extent, 
 and as the current set in towards Yilla Bella, many 
 of them passed close to the cliff upon which the town 
 stands. Cattle are very fond of the grass, and may 
 often be seen wading out into the stream to secure a 
 mouthful ; but it is a great nuisance to the owners of 
 boats and barges, often sweeping these craft from 
 their moorings. To guard against any accident of this 
 kind, the ' Beija Flor,' besides being anchored, had 
 been fastened to the shore by a stout rope at the bow 
 and another at the stem. But these precautions 
 proved unavailing ; during the night a floating island 
 
296 ON THE JAMUNDl. Chap. XIV. 
 
 had caught upon our bow, and gradually wedged itself 
 between us and the beach. The bow line could not 
 stand the ever-increasing strain, and, as soon as it had 
 given way, the anchor dragged. So quickly does the 
 shore shelve, that this was soon hanging in deep 
 water, where it could not touch bottom ; and we were 
 awoke just in time to see the stern rope snap, as the 
 ' Beija Plor,' now fairly adrift, started down stream. 
 Fortunately the grass acted as a buffer, and kept the 
 launch from the rocky headland projecting into the 
 river a little below the town ; but at the same time it 
 pushed us out into the middle of the current, where, 
 as there was no steam up, nor any fire in the furnace, 
 we were perfectly helpless. It was a difficult matter 
 to get clear of the grass that had wrought the mischief, 
 for the anchor could not be drawn through without 
 cutting a way for it. To do this a man was obliged 
 to risk himself upon the floating island, but it easily 
 bore up his weight, so dense was the mass, without 
 letting him sink below the waist. Round and round, 
 the river swirls carried us like a teetotum, as we sped 
 along at the rate of four miles an hour. Happily 
 there was no danger in such a broad sea-way, and the 
 engineer and fireman displayed unusual energy in 
 getting up steam, so that at the end of two hours we 
 succeeded in getting back to our anchorage, none the 
 worse for our involuntary cruise, except that our rest 
 had been broken somewhat before we wished ; but, in 
 our mode of life, this was a circumstance to which we 
 had become accustomed. 
 
 On our return we learned that the steamer we had 
 expected had passed on during the night without 
 
Chap. XIV. CARARAUCU. 297 
 
 stopping, and, much disappointed, we hastened to bid 
 farewell to Yilla Bella, and resume our voj^aging. 
 Little need be said about the remainder of the day — a 
 most disagreeable one. Heavy rain set in, rendering 
 it necessary to pull down the curtains to shelter 
 ourselves from the drift ; consequently we could see 
 nothing, but sat stewing in almost unbearable heat. 
 Crossing the Amazon to the mouth of the Mocambo 
 channel, we continued our journey along it, until we 
 emerged during the afternoon, once more upon the 
 main river. At Pinery point commenced a district 
 which it was necessary for us to explore, and as the 
 weather had now improved, we landed and climbed to 
 the top. It is a boldly projecting headland with a 
 gradual grassy slope on the eastern side, and an 
 abrupt precipice on the other, from which we looked 
 straight down into some considerable whirlpools in 
 the sharp bend of the shore. Beginning where we 
 stood, and stretching onward far up river, were the 
 picturesque cliffs of the Cararaucu Barreiras. That 
 night we anchored in the sheltered mouth of Paura 
 Igaripe, not far from Pinery, where we suffered much 
 from mosquitoes, but were safe from the dangers 
 attending the grass islands. 
 
 Eising to a height of 200 feet in some places, richly 
 coloured everywhere in bright tints of yellow and red 
 shading into crimson, and haunted by large flocks of 
 kingfishers, the Cararaucu cliffs present an attractive 
 appearance, and impart dignity to this portion of the 
 Amazon. Here and there they are broken by gaps, 
 which are found to communicate with lakes embosomed 
 in low hills, most of which were entered and explored 
 
298 ON THE JAMUNDA. Chap. XIV. 
 
 by us. The largest is named after the Barreiras, and 
 has two narrow arms, each about three miles in 
 length. The inhabitants expressed themselves to the 
 effect that it was " an admiration " to see the ' Beija 
 Flor ' turn into their lake, for no steamer had ever 
 visited them before, but they were puzzled to know 
 how she was propelled. The paddle-wheel steamers 
 passing up and down the Amazon were familiar to 
 them, and their action easily understood ; but a 
 vessel worked by a screw had not come under their 
 notice before. Some of the Indians stretched them- 
 selves out flat upon the flange of the launch outside 
 the bulwarks, and hung over the water, peering into 
 its depths to try to fathom the mystery ; while others 
 were similarly occupied in their boats and canoes. 
 The thing seemed to be about as insoluble to these 
 simple people as was the nature of our proceedings, 
 when taking observations of stars that evening, to the 
 pigs who stood round in a semicircle on the shore to 
 watch the business. 
 
 Two days were spent in this district, and another 
 two in getting to Serpa. Yery little of the Amazon 
 was seen on the voyage, for the ' Beija Flor ' took the 
 route of the Capella and Silves channels. In the 
 former a little settlement of the same name stands on 
 a steep bank at the mouth of the Uatima river, and, 
 with its row of newly built houses facing the water, 
 presents a neat and somewhat flourishing appearance. 
 The church, however, sadly needs restoration to enable 
 it to compare well with the village itself. Marabuntas 
 have taken entire possession of it, building freely in 
 every part, and great nerve must be required to 
 
Chap. XIV. A WILY JEW. 299 
 
 worship there undistracted. One would enter the 
 gallery, or the pulpit, at the risk of his life, not only 
 on account of the numerous wasps' nests infesting the 
 stairs, but also on account of the ruinous character of 
 those structures, which have already parted so far 
 from the walls that the least weight would detach 
 them entirely, and bring them down with a crash. 
 
 Our stay at this little place was prolonged beyond 
 our intention by the craft of an old Jew, who, when 
 asked if he had any fresh provisions to sell, replied 
 that he could offer us a sucking pig. He professed to 
 send a man to fetch it, but time passed on and no signs 
 of the porker appeared. On being again questioned 
 about the matter, he took us out and showed us a full- 
 grown animal ; upon which we expostulated with him 
 for representing this to us as a small roaster. His 
 subtlety was, however, not exhausted, for he humbly 
 begged pardon, and said that he had only asked us to 
 look at the parent in the absence of the offspring, which 
 having strolled into the forest, was being searched 
 for in every direction. Again we waited, until our 
 suspicions were aroused by observing that the Jew 
 was continually going over to the ' Beija Flor,' and 
 talking earnestly with Captain Mamede. The truth 
 then came out that he was bargaining for a passage to 
 Serpa, but required time to put his things together, 
 and had invented the myth of the little pig for the 
 purpose of delaying our departure. As soon as we 
 had discovered his devices we hurried on board and 
 left Oapella. 
 
 A short excursion was made up the Uatima, which 
 presented no features of interest, and a pleasant 
 
300 ON THE JAMUNDl. Chap. XIV. 
 
 glimpse was obtained of the Silves lake, in which is 
 situated the town of that name. From its mouth we 
 journeyed direct, in very rainy weather, to Serpa, 
 where notice was at once given to us that no one 
 would be allowed to land until the ' Beija Flor ' had 
 been duly inspected by a Custom House officer ; for 
 this small place, situated on the banks of the main 
 Amazon, is near the confluence of the Madeira river 
 — the great highway into Bolivia. Happily our 
 desires to stroll through the streets of the town were not 
 sufficiently ardent to make it any very great hardship 
 to be compelled to wait, while that official went through 
 the somewhat lengthy process of arraying himself in a 
 black coat and waistcoat, adorned with buttons of 
 bright green glass, and crowning his head with a 
 chimney-pot hat — an uncomfortable costume in these 
 regions, which plainly testified to the solemnity of the 
 occasion. However, the gentleman was exceedingly 
 polite, very civilly took our word for it that there was 
 nothing of a contraband nature on board, and, after 
 awing us by an ostentatious display of a gold watch, 
 betook himself to the shore again. 
 
 We were now free to follow him, and a very short 
 turn enabled us to see all of interest that Serpa had to 
 show. The town occupies high ground, presenting a 
 steep face to the Amazon, rough with iron-cemented 
 rocks at the eastern end, but grassy elsewhere. As 
 the river was nearly at its highest flood level at the 
 time of our visit, the cliff was only 30 feet in eleva- 
 tion, but in the dry season it is as much as 57 feet. 
 We were not able to see the rocks on the beach, 
 inscribed with Indian picture-writings, which gave 
 
Chap. XIV. SERPA. 301 
 
 the old name of Itacoatiara, or Painted-stone, to the 
 place, for these were now submerged. It is a mistake 
 to suppose, as more than one traveller has alleged, 
 that the title was derived from the bright colours in 
 the cliff section, for these do not exist. 
 
 The town is scarcely as regularly built as most 
 Amazon settlements, for the houses facing the water 
 are less straight and regular than usual, and a street 
 turns off at an acute angle leading down to the margin 
 of a small lake. "We were surprised to see that the 
 Custom House employed four, clerks, and wondered 
 how occupation could be found for them. The muni- 
 cipal building was a great curiosity, for the whole of 
 the front had fallen out; notwithstanding which a 
 gentleman was occupying one room, calmly seated at 
 a desk writing. It looked like a child's doll's house 
 with the front removed for play. 
 
 Next morning the arrival of the Gleological Com- 
 mission was set forth and announced to the world in 
 the Serpa newspaper — a tiny sheet called the " Ita- 
 coatiara." It is about the size of a page of foolscap 
 paper, is issued twice a week, and sells for a sum 
 equivalent to nearly sixpence in English money. The 
 news to be found in its columns is strictly of a local 
 nature ; but inasmuch as the record of events happen- 
 ing here would not nearly fill it, a large portion of its 
 space is occupied by a highly sensational tale, in 
 which the interest is well sustained by numerous notes 
 of admiration and interrogation. 
 
 Before leaving Serpa, a few days were spent in 
 exploring the lake and high land to the westward. 
 The Lago do Serpa is a pretty sheet of black water 
 
302 ON THE JAMUNDl. Chap. XIV. 
 
 some two and a half miles from tlie town, lying in a 
 general N.W. direction, and having a width varying 
 from a quarter to one-half mile. Its sides are in- 
 dented with numerous deep bays or arms, and it is 
 surrounded by high ground, rising in some places to 
 50 feet above its level. It appeared to have no 
 current, though, at the time, a considerable body 
 of Amazon water was flowing through the narrow 
 winding channel by which we had entered it in our 
 montaria. This channel will only admit of the 
 passage of boats when the Amazon is at a certain 
 height, for the ordinary outlet of the lake is, we were 
 told, at the other end, where it joins the Silves 
 Parana-mirim. From the quantity of mud-coloured 
 fluid it was receiving, the water was then turbid at 
 its southern end ; but the particles held in suspension 
 have time to subside in the still water of the lake, so 
 that it gradually becomes clearer as one advances, 
 until, at a distance of two miles on, it loses all signs of 
 turbidity. 
 
 When it became necessary to wood the ' Beija Flor ' 
 for the continuance of her journey, the people, instead 
 of bringing the logs in a large boat, which would have 
 been quite sufficient for the purpose, fetched out the 
 immense bateloe used by them to take fuel to one of 
 the great steamers of the Company. This unwieldy 
 craft was towed alongside with great toil, and com- 
 pletely dwarfed the launch, outspanning her in length, 
 and overtopping her in height. The comparatively 
 small amount of wood required looked a mere handful 
 in the vast hold, and was got up from its depths, and 
 down again to the deck of the 'Beija Flor,' with a 
 
Chap. XIV. THE FiaHTING TljfiM^RAIRE. 303 
 
 fearful amount of labour. At the close of the day, 
 her burden discharged, she was dragged back again to 
 her moorings. Some one sportively named her the 
 " Fighting Teme'raire tugged to her last Berth " when 
 suddenly there flamed out, as the appropriate back- 
 ground, the most brilliant sunset imaginable. It was 
 perhaps too gorgeous to be beautiful, for the display 
 was too dazzling to admit of any delicate gradations 
 of colours and tints. The whole sky was a mass of 
 fleecy cloud of the brightest crimson, under which the 
 Amazon waves rolled onward like blood, and even the 
 forest-clad shores assumed a reddish blush. 
 
304 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. 
 
 The Ramos Parana-mirim — ■ Enter the Mauhes Eiver — Mantes Village — 
 A Guaranazal — Guarana — Mucaja Aldea — Munduruou Indians — 
 Different Phases of the Kiver — Laranjal and its Inhabitants — Pacu- 
 assu Cataract — Sketch Geology of the Mauhes — The Botanist meets 
 ■with an Accident — Ball at Mucaja — " Caracajas " — Frighten the 
 Inhabitants of Camarao — Eun some Risk of being Blown up — Senhor 
 Eosa — The Abacaxis Eiver — Our Mundurucu Pilot — Incidents in 
 connection with Three Old Men — Our Dinner at Abacaxis —Flights 
 of Mayiiies — Unfortunate Thrushes. 
 
 Leavixg Serpa a little after mid-day on April 2oth, we 
 steamed down the Amazon, and in three hours arrived 
 at the head of the Eamos Parana-mirim, which we 
 entered. This channel, having a width of 300 yards, 
 carries a portion of Amazon water away through a 
 low-lying plain far from its main course, to which it 
 eventually returns at a short distance below the town 
 of Villa Bella. It is joined, not many miles after it 
 leaves the Amazon, by a wider channel, having various 
 names in its different sections, which flows from the 
 Madeira river at a distance of fifty miles from its 
 mouth, and receives on its way the waters of the 
 Mauhes, Abacaxis, and Canuma rivers. This latter 
 Parana-mirim, here called the Mauhes channel, is about 
 600 yards in width, and runs a very tortuous course. 
 
 When we reached it we turned up stream against 
 its strong current, and steaming along all day, arrived 
 late in the afternoon at the mouth of the Mauhes 
 
Chap. XV. ENTER THE MAUHES. 305 
 
 river. Here our eyes, weary of gazing on the rao- 
 notouous parallel-sided Parana-mirim, with its low and 
 partially flooded banks clothed with luxuriant foliage, 
 which became tiresome by constant repetition, were 
 relieved by a complete change of view. Leaving the 
 muddy channel, we turned south, and entered upon 
 the black-looking, though pure, water of the Mauhes, 
 feeling thankful for the change. 
 
 Just inside its mouth, the river opened out into a 
 lake-like expanse, with deep indented bays here and 
 there, and islands in the distance. Nestling on the 
 right bank off these, in a bright green open area, some 
 two miles on before us, was the village of Mauhes ; 
 the whitewashed houses of which gave it the appear- 
 ance in the distance of being a very pretty place. It 
 need hardly be said that it did not keep up this 
 pleasant illusion when closely approached — no Ama- 
 zonian town ever does. At 6 p.m. we dropped anchor 
 close to it, creating quite a sensation amongst the 
 inhabitants, who turned out to look at us, wondering 
 what could have brought our launch to their port. 
 Three well-dressed men came on board, and inquired 
 the object of our visit. One being the Subdelegado of 
 the town, we applied to him for a guide or pilot, who 
 was acquainted with the river. From our anchorage 
 we looked upon the back yards of the houses in the 
 main street, which, contrary to the general rule, faced 
 inwards instead of towards the river. 
 
 Next morning we landed, and took a walk through 
 the village, which we found to be irregularly laid out, 
 and though not so large as Serpa, still somewhat 
 resembling it in character. Its streets are neat and 
 
 X 
 
306 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 clean, and its houses well built. It boasts of a cliurcli, 
 and has the usual large cemetery, surrounded by a 
 high wall, situated on the sloping forest's edge ; staring 
 in the face of the townspeople as if inviting them to 
 come and lay their bones to rest there. A good strong 
 prison, guarded by soldiers, stands near the middle of 
 the village, and had at the time a large stock of 
 inmates, amongst whom were some murderers. 
 
 The Subdelegado sent his son, a good-looking young 
 man, to be our pilot, and we started on our journey- 
 first crossing to the opposite side of the lake-like 
 expanse of river to see the Guarayiazal, or Guarana 
 plantation, of a certain Captain M , The Sub- 
 delegado accompanied us, and introduced us to the 
 Captain, who was a tall strongly-built man, singularly 
 dressed in a loose shirt and trowsers, made of blue 
 calico, dotted over with a pattern of white leaves. He 
 bade us enter his house and sit down, showing us into 
 a room having a back, front, and two side doors. The 
 latter gave admission into similar chambers on either 
 hand ; and of five such chambers ranged in a line was 
 the house composed. An old unclerical-looking man 
 then came forward, and was introduced to us as the 
 Priest of Conceicao. 
 
 The village of Mauhes, like most small towns on 
 the Amazon, rejoices in a variety of names, and is 
 called indiscriminately Mauhes, Conceicao, or Santa 
 Lusia. 
 
 It seemed to be a gala day at the Captain's, for 
 a party of well-dressed people came over in a boat 
 from ?ilauhes ; and in one room we saw a number of 
 well-dressed Indian-looking ladies. 
 
Chap. XV. GUAEANA. 307 
 
 Our host very kindly took us through his guarana 
 plantation, where the shrub of that name was regularly 
 planted. It bears a curious red fruit, with three seeds 
 inside, which when ripe are pounded in a mortar and 
 dried in shapes, where they become hard and resemble 
 long, straight, brown sausages. This substance, called 
 guarana, is grated into powder when required for 
 use ; and a teaspoonful, mixed in a tumbler of water, 
 when sweetened, produces a very grateful, cooling 
 drink, which has the effect of allaying nervous head- 
 aches. Gruarana is imported into Europe, and is 
 there employed as a medicine. It is, however, chiefly 
 used in South America as a drink, having similar 
 effects upon the system to those produced by tea and 
 coffee, and commands a high price in the market. 
 Upon the banks of the Mauhes it flourishes, and there 
 is more extensively cultivated than in any other part 
 of the country. 
 
 We were also shown many useful forest trees that 
 the Captain had planted — trees producing valuable 
 fruits, oils, and gums. 
 
 Like many other people we had met at the mouths 
 of rivers, the Captain warned us against the bad fevers 
 which float about the vicinity of the Mauhes falls, and 
 said that brandy and cachaga were the best pre- 
 ventatives against them. At Obidos we were likewise 
 told that fever abounded at the first cataracts on the 
 Trombetas, but fortunately we did not meet with it. 
 
 Bidding adieu to this gentleman we steamed away 
 up the river, which resembles the Tapajos on a small 
 scale, being of great width and of lake-like pro- 
 portions. High land rose gradually from the water's 
 
 X 2 
 
808 ON THE MAUHE8 AND ABAOAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 edge on either side, which was all densely covered 
 with forests. The average width of the river is about 
 two miles, and in many places its sides are indented 
 with deep bays and arms. One or two long white 
 sand beaches were to be seen bounding its shore, but 
 at the time, owing to the height of the river, most of 
 these were covered with water. 
 
 In the afternoon we passed the mouth of a large 
 branch river called the Rio Pareka, coming in on the 
 left ; and, not far on, landed at the Indian aldea of 
 Mucaja, situated upon high level ground presenting a 
 cliff to the river. It is what is termed a Mundurucu 
 village, from its inhabitants being civilized Indians of 
 the Mundurucu tribe. They were once a wild and 
 warlike people, noted for disfiguring their faces, 
 arms, and chests, with blue tattooed patterns of great 
 intricacy ; but are now reduced by civilization to the 
 level of the ordinary Tapuyu of the country. Some 
 twenty high mud-walled thatch-roofed houses and a 
 church form the village, which at the time of our 
 visit was but sparsely inhabited. A small flock of 
 sheep, and some fowls and turkeys, roamed over the 
 open grass area about the village, none of which could 
 we induce the owners thereof to sell. 
 
 After getting the village head man to promise to 
 have some firewood cut for us by our return, we went 
 on, and anchored for the night in an arm called the 
 Jacunda ; where, from the open space in front of an 
 uninhabited house, the Chief and Engineer, whilst 
 procuring altitudes of stars, took in their toes a goodly 
 stock of jiggers, which they did not discover until the 
 following morning. 
 
Chap. XV. LAEANJAL MUNDURUCUS. 309 
 
 From this on for many miles the river assumed a 
 new phase, by losing its lake-like character, narrow- 
 ing considerably, and flowing in channels between 
 long, curved, tree-clothed tongues of land; which 
 running in spits from alternate bends parallel to its 
 banks, formed perfect cul-de-sacs, called resacas. It 
 was only by carefully noting the existence of a slight 
 motion in the water, denoting its flow^ that we could 
 distinguish the difference between the mouth of these 
 blind channels and the true river ; and although our 
 Captain worked his steamer carefully, we were once 
 or twice partially entrapped by them. Of these 
 tongues only their tree coverings stood above water 
 at the time, but when the river is low they are 
 probably either sand spits, or land fringed with sand 
 beaches. 
 
 Upon arriving at a large house with neatly kept 
 grounds, called Laranjal, where some twenty Mun- 
 durucus lived, we got a guide, as the river had now 
 become most puzzling with its blind channels and 
 numerous islands. We were rather disappointed to 
 find that, like the Mucaja Mundurucus, these people 
 were not tattooed, nor pleasing looking either, though 
 a very friendly and worthy lot. 
 
 They liberally presented us with oranges, pumpkins, 
 and fruit of the Pupunha or Peach palm, remarking at 
 the time that they were sorry they had "nothing 
 whatever to give us." One of them — the head man 
 — told us that they had fled to this place twenty 
 years before, in consequence of getting into some 
 trouble at a rebellion in Santarem ; and added con- 
 fidentially, " my brother, you know, is a little silly, 
 
310 ON THE MAUHES AND ABAOAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 but I am used to Mm." It is only right to say that 
 the brother appeared to be quite sane, and that it was 
 merely a peculiarity of the elder, to imagine that the 
 younger was at all insane. They asked us if we 
 would like to see the females of their family, and 
 on our assenting ordered them on board. An elderly 
 woman and three young ones, dressed in the material 
 known in England as "workhouse blue," appeared upon 
 the scene, and stood like culprits with their eyes cast 
 down to the deck. It was impossible to engage them 
 in conversation, and they appeared to be glad when 
 allowed to return to the shore. 
 
 Next day, in passing close to a house — one of the 
 few buildings we might say on the river's bank^ — -we 
 saw a woman with a beautiful blue tattooed chin and 
 lower jaw ; noue of your bars and patterns, but all 
 made solidly blue. How strange and ghastly she 
 looked ; and how perverted must be the taste of the 
 members of this tribe who look upon such disfigurement 
 in the light of personal adornment ! 
 
 During the forenoon of the day following, the one 
 in which we stopped at Laranjal, the river entered on 
 another phase, by narrowing to one-eighth of a mile in 
 width, losing its tongues of land and islands, and 
 flowing in a single tortuous channel. High wooded 
 slopes, which bordered it at some distance back lower 
 down, here closed in, showing in places precipitous 
 fronts composed of red clay and sand ; first on the 
 east side, then on the west, as the river flowed alter- 
 nately on either side of its valley. These general 
 conditions, with the exception of the further narrowing 
 of the river, remained in force until we reached the 
 
Chap. XV. GEOLOGY. 311 
 
 foot of the first cataract, called Pacu-assu ; which was 
 nothing more than a strong rapid, owing probably to 
 the height of the river ; but at the same time formed 
 an effectual bar to the further progress of our launch. 
 
 Upon our last day's journey, before arriving at the 
 fall, we passed all the recent deposits forming cliffs on 
 the river's edge, and arrived at that part of the Amazon 
 valley on the south, where sections of the old under- 
 lying rocks are exposed. These first met with were 
 composed of red and grey shaley sandstone ; while at 
 the second exposure they were of beds of carboniferous 
 limestone, dipping N.B. at a gentle angle. Then 
 came false bedded, soft, white, and pinkish sandstone ; 
 and finally, friable, purplish, horizontally bedded 
 sandstone, at the fall itself. 
 
 There were long breaks between each section, where 
 cliffs gave way to densely wooded slopes, which quite 
 prevented any attempt at working out the sequence of 
 the strata. The height of the river also obscured 
 many feet (probably forty) of the lower portion of 
 each section, and placed an insurmountable barrier to 
 the proper study of these interesting rocks. 
 
 The same disagreeable conditions were in force 
 upon the Trombetas and Tapajos rivers, on the occa- 
 sion of our visits to them. We werej however, able to 
 see enough, in order to identify the rocks met with on 
 the branches to the north of the Amazon, with those 
 on the southern side; all, in fact, but the limestone, 
 which, unfortunately, was not seen on the Trombetas. 
 There is no doubt that it there exists, and would be 
 met with when the river is low, before reaching the 
 black shale district. 
 
312 ON THE MAUHBS AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 We were told by Dr. B that he had found it on 
 
 the Urubu river^ a branch of the Amazon, not far 
 from Serpa. 
 
 If there are no serious faults in the strata, there 
 is little doubt but the black shale lies beneath the 
 limestone-, and that the Amazon river flows, in this 
 portion, in a synclinal trough in Palaeozoic rocks. 
 
 The interesting district of Monte Alegre contains all 
 these formations, and holds the key to the geology of 
 the Amazon. 
 
 In returning a day was spent some twelve miles 
 below the fall, while our men were cutting firewood on 
 the edges of a clearing near an uninhabited house. 
 This domicile was well built and neatly roofed, and 
 only temporarily abandoned. Stuck under its eaves 
 were the skulls of small animals and birds, whose 
 original possessors had been killed and eaten by the 
 dwellers in the house. This custom of preserving 
 the solid remains of a repast is common enough 
 amongst Guiana Indians, but was never observed else- 
 where by us in the valley of the Amazon. 
 
 On our way down river we landed at the house of a 
 Mundurucu Indian, a sketch of whom, along with that 
 of his wife, appears in Professor Agassiz's work 
 on the Amazon. The poor fellow appeared much 
 cast down, having lost his wife only a few days 
 before. His head had been shaved, and was bound 
 up in a handkerchief, to relieve the pain of a headache 
 from which he was suffering ; and, thus adorned, his 
 blue tattooed face had a most ghastly look. A little 
 boy who was in the house, had his face stained of 
 
Chap. XV. ACCIDENT TO THE BOTANIST. 313 
 
 a black colour with the juice of some berry or other, 
 and, from the stains having been applied to certain 
 parts of it in imitation of the tattoo-markings, we con- 
 cluded that a trace of the former habits of his race 
 was cropping up in the lad. The females did not 
 appear at first, but remained in a closed room until 
 we were leaving, when, their curiosity getting the 
 better of them, they turned out to see our steamer 
 off. 
 
 The afternoon of the day on which we got back 
 to Mucaja, an accident occurred to the Botanist, 
 which, for a time, caused us intense anxiety, but, most 
 providentially, terminated harmlessly. The canvas 
 curtains, which on one side had been let down to keep 
 off the afternoon sun, prevented our seeing at first 
 what had happened, when we heard a heavy splash. 
 We, however, felt sure that some one had fallen over- 
 board, and, rushing aft to the stern, saw Mr. Trail 
 struggling in the water. As good luck would have it, 
 William, and Angelo one of our men, were at the 
 time washing clothes in the raontaria, which was 
 towing astern ; and, on our casting off the boat's 
 painter, they seized the paddles and pulled back 
 towards him as hard as they could. The launch's 
 engines were promptly stopped, and then turned astern 
 full speed ; but the way she had on was so great, that 
 we had left the boat far behind before she was brought 
 to a stand-still, and began to obey the reversed engine. 
 We felt our utter inability to render assistance most 
 distressingly, and would have given much to have been 
 pulling in the montaria at the time; but had we 
 
314 ON THE MAL'HES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 attempted to have hauled it close up to the steamer, 
 in order to jump in, when letting go the painter, much 
 valuable time would have been lost. Besides, the two 
 men in it were well able to perform the duty required 
 of them. Knowing that Mr. Trail could only swim a 
 little, having but commenced to learn since we came 
 to the Amazon, we greatly feared that, weighted with 
 his clothes, he would have been unable to have kept 
 up until the boat reached him. In a short time, which 
 seemed an age to us, we saw the boat stop and take 
 him on board, when the painful tension on our nerves 
 relaxed, and we breathed freely again. 
 
 When our companion arrived once more in our 
 midst, he told us that he had been standing on the 
 ledge outside the bulwark, engaged in trimming some 
 small palms before putting them to press, when he lost 
 his balance and fell over, but how he came to do so he 
 could not tell. The river being calm at the time, and 
 hardly any current running at the spot, which was at 
 least half a mile from shore, he was enabled to keep 
 up longer than if there had been waves. By the time 
 the boat reached him, which was certainly not long, 
 he was nearly exhausted, but kept up his pluck man- 
 fully. Congratulating him upon his return amongst 
 us after the danger he had run, we administered a glass 
 of brandy to him, and he was himself again. 
 
 There was a dance going on in one of the houses at 
 ilucaja when we arrived there, to which, after finishing 
 our star-gazing, we went — not with any intention of 
 joining in the revels, but merely to look on for a time. 
 The members of the band which played, and also sang 
 
Chap. XV. BALL AT MUCAJA. 315 
 
 tunes having a mournful ring iu them, deserved much 
 credit, for their instruments were of the roughest 
 and most primitive kind imaginable. There were 
 two drums, made of long hollow logs, with skin 
 stretched across one end only, upon which the 
 drummers performed as they sat straddled legs upon 
 their reclining instruments. A third implement, called 
 a caracaja (tiger cat), was certainly a most primitive- 
 looking thing, made of a short piece of bamboo, ser- 
 rated on one side. The man who played upon it 
 rubbed a short piece of hard wood vigorously across 
 its notches, producing a rattling sound, and keeping 
 time with the drums. The fourth instrument was a 
 common banjo, which does not require any description. 
 There was only one light in the large room where the 
 festivities were held, emanating from the wick of an 
 ancient oil-lamp of most rude construction, consisting 
 only of an earthen bowl containing oil, in which lay a 
 twist of cotton, whose lighted end hung over one side. 
 In one corner sat the ladies who were not dancing, 
 some thirteen in number, sleepily smoking their long 
 pipes, as seen in the portrait of one shown on the 
 next page ; while many of them held their young 
 children in their arms. 
 
 The gentlemen sat on benches placed round the 
 walls, and across the middle of the room. 
 
 When we entered a couple were dancing a fandango, 
 and when that ended the company danced in a circle, 
 holding hands, while one placed in the middle tried to 
 break through. Then they performed a second circular 
 affair, which terminated by the men all joining hands 
 
316 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 behind the ladies' backs, while the latter put an arm out 
 on each side round the former's necks ; then to the tune, 
 as they danced round, they all stretched apart hoisting 
 the ladies off their feet. The latter in their turn, 
 taking hands, tried to perform a similar hoist to the 
 men, but failed; and the dance terminated midst 
 much laughter. Fandango dancing being resumed we 
 left and went on board. 
 
 Sfc-^ 
 
 LADY AT THE BALL. 
 
 Taking in the firewood cut for us by the Mucaja 
 people, we steamed on down river, landing and 
 examining many places, besides exploring a creek 
 called Eonaldo-do-Cruz. Being in the vicinity of a 
 place at dusk called Camarao, where there was an 
 open space from which to take altitudes of stars, we 
 anchored off it for the night. Our young Subdelegado 
 guide told us that the sole occupants of the place, were 
 two women — an old and a young one ; but all we saw 
 there, in looking up from our steamer's deck, in the shape 
 of living beings, were two dogs engaged in barking at 
 us. The house was situated upon the top of a cliff 
 
Chap. XV. FRIGHTEN THE NAITVES. 317 
 
 some ninety feet in height, and was approached by- 
 steps cut in the clay composing the cliff's face. 
 
 Late in the evening we went ashore in the boat to 
 take astronomical observations, and as we were in 
 doubt as to the reception we should meet with from 
 the ladies, who might oppose our landing, the Engineer 
 with the boat lamp as a sort of flag of truce went 
 first ; while the Chief carrying the sextant and arti- 
 ficial horizon brought up the rear. We concluded 
 that, should we be fired upon on scaling the steps, 
 the lamp would be aimed at ; and should the 
 Engineer fall a victim, at any rate the instruments 
 would be saved. Reaching the top of the cliff we 
 found the house wrapped in darkness, with no signs of 
 anyone about. Whilst arranging the instruments 
 preparatory to taking our observations, we heard the 
 muffled bark of a dog proceed from the house, but as it 
 was instantly hushed, we felt sure that it was the 
 ladies who suppressed it. What the poor creatures 
 imagined we were doing can never be known ; but that 
 they had seen us by the light of our own lamp, 
 through cracks in their house, pour out the mercury 
 into our artificial horizon, and then gaze skywards 
 through a brass, spider-like instrument, cannot be 
 doubted. Naturally enough they would suppose that 
 we were holding converse with some mysterious star 
 spirits, or performing a species of witchcraft, and 
 were dangerous customers. However that may be, we 
 infer from the result that they dreaded us, for after 
 we had got on board again and settled down for the 
 night, they were heard to take to their boat, and make 
 
318 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 quickly off, paddling down along shore. Goodness 
 knows where the poor scared creatures went, dogs 
 and all, that night ; but to them it was evident that 
 out on the dark river, or off to a neighbouring house, 
 was better than staying at home, whilst that 
 mysterious steam craft, with its strauge, unearthly 
 crew, rode at anchor off their premises. 
 
 After one day spent in exploring the Camarao and 
 Limao branch rivers, which are lake-like with many 
 wide arms, being in fact. the Mauhes in miniature, we 
 arrived at Conceicao ; and next day re-entered the 
 Parana-mirim leading to the Madeira river, which in 
 this portion is called the Abacaxis channel. Steam- 
 ing up against its strong muddy current we arrived, 
 early in the afternoon, at a small fasenda on its bank, 
 where the ground is elevated a few feet above the 
 highest floods, and there stopped in order to trade 
 with the owner for a cow, as it was highly necessary 
 to I'eplenish our stock of meat, then reduced to a 
 small quantity. 
 
 The owner of the place, an old well-to-do Indian, 
 immediately offered to sell us one for forty mUreis 
 (about 4l. 8s.), and with this we at once closed. 
 Soon after our crew were seen, along with some 
 cattle-minders of the fasenda, armed with lassoes, 
 tearing madly over the place after a small herd of 
 cattle, a member of which they eventually lassoed and 
 brought in. Yery quickly and neatly was the poor 
 cow killed, skinned, and cut up where she lay. Then 
 the meat was stripped from the bones, divided into 
 thin flakes, rubbed with salt, and placed in our beef- 
 kegs. 
 
Chap. XV. MUNDDBUCU EAIDS. 319 
 
 Whilst this work was progressing we had some 
 conversation with the owner of the farm, who con- 
 firmed what we had heard from the Mauhes Sub- 
 delegado, about the annual raids made by the Mundu- 
 rucus upon the far interior tribes inhabiting the upper 
 parts of the Madeira, Purus, and other rivers. He 
 said that between the months of June and July, these 
 Mundurucus assemble together, and march off through 
 the forest to the above-mentioned rivers, where, 
 coming upon their enemies, a fight ensues, in which 
 they are invariably successful. We inquired the 
 reason of these raids, because to us they seemed to be 
 both cruel and senseless, and were told that they were 
 undertaken in order to civilize the savages, and give a 
 vent to the martial spirit of the Mundurucus. 
 
 By the time the salting operation was over, it was 
 quite dark, so we remained made fast to the clay 
 bank, off the fasenda. We may here mention that its 
 name was, " Barreiras do Bom Estade do St. 
 Domingo," and yet we slept well that night ! 
 
 Another day and a half of slow steaming, produced 
 by bad firewood, brought us to the mouth of the 
 Abacaxis river, a black-water sheet like the Mauhes, 
 flowing in on the south. On the way up, the only 
 incident that occurred which made any impression on 
 our minds was one that might have had a very 
 serious result. When our launch was made fast for 
 the night the evening after wejleft the fasenda, our 
 engineer was told by the Captain to get steam up at 
 daybreak next morning, instead of which he, in a 
 most unaccountable manner, 'lit his furnace fires at 
 three o'clock in the morning, and soon after fell asleep. 
 
320 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 Fortunately one of the party happened to awake, and 
 hearing the roaring of the furnace and hissing of 
 steam, but seeing no one in attendance, could not 
 make it all out. He therefore rose, and taking the 
 engine-room lamp looked at the steam gauge, which 
 to his horror was standing at over 60 lbs. pressure. 
 It was not many seconds before the engineer was 
 roused up, and had opened a valve to let off the 
 steam, while the donkey engine was set going to 
 pump more water into the boiler. Had things gone 
 on as they were, a little longer, the boiler must have 
 burst, for the water in it was being rapidly boiled 
 down, and would soon have been in a fit condition to 
 be turned suddenly into steam, when up we should all 
 most assuredly have gone. 
 
 Entering the narrow mouth of the Abacaxis we 
 stopped at the village on its eastern side, close to its 
 junction with the channel we had just quitted, in 
 order to purchase furnace wood, a goodly pile of that 
 article being stacked there. This belonged to a 
 Portuguese merchant, a Senhor Rosa, to whose house 
 we went on landing, and by whom we were most 
 cordially received. He was generosity itself, present- 
 ing us with a piece of venison, some fowls' eggs, sticks 
 of guarana, rods of native tobacco, tapir sausages, 
 peixe-boi steak, and a bowl of assai beverage, besides 
 giving us a cup of coffee each as we sat and conversed 
 with him. He came to this place in 1837, and has 
 resided in it ever since, making one journey to Lisbon 
 during the time, and constant trips to and from Para, 
 He accompanied us round the village, and took us to 
 see some tattooed Mundurucus One of these men. 
 
CiiAP. XV. TATTOOING. 321 
 
 whose face and neck were so closely covered with blue 
 lines, that they all looked of one uniform bluish 
 colour, he induced to show us the tattooing on 
 his body, which was composed of most regular lines 
 crossing each other diagonally, commencing at a ring 
 round his neck, and terminating at another round his 
 waist. In fact, it looked somewhat like the imprint of 
 a Guernsey shirt upon his skin. Some of the women 
 had blue chins and cheeks, with a ring round each 
 eye, from which a line led along the side of the face 
 to the top of the ear, making them look as if they 
 were using spectacles ; while a few had angular holes 
 cut in their ear lobes. Senhor E.osa sent some of the 
 men to pick oranges for us, saying, that he knew 
 Englishmen were fond of that fruit ; and in a short 
 time they returned with about a bushel, which were 
 duly transferred to our ship. 
 
 The village is small, having only one street, with 
 houses in a most dilapidated state, and a church which 
 is rapidly falling into decay. A fine flock of sheep, 
 seen browsing about the village, was the property of 
 the Mundurucus, who, strange to relate, never sell or 
 make any use whatever of these animals. 
 
 We invited Senhor Rosa to dine with us and take 
 pot-luck, which meant salt beef and potatoes, with 
 tinned meat if requisite. We say if requisite, but 
 with us it seldom was, for we never troubled the 
 greasy contents of tins when newly salted beef was to 
 be procured. He accepted our invitation on condition 
 that we would allow him to have his own dinner 
 brought on board, as an adjunct to ours ; and a 
 splendid adjunct it was, consisting of venison, maam, 
 
 y 
 
322 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 curri-curi'i, and cabbage. In the event of a reader 
 not being acquainted with tropical game and vege- 
 tables, we will state, that the venison is obtained 
 from a small forest deer j the maam is a full-breasted 
 bird of most delicious flavour ; the curri-curri is a 
 bush ibis, not unlike a cm'lew in taste ; and the 
 cabbage is a caljbage without a head. A small crowd 
 of villagers sat on the wood pile on shore, and for a 
 time watched us feeding, but a heavy thunder and 
 rain storm coming on they dispersed, while we, 
 having to let down our awning curtains, were nearly 
 smothered by the heat during the latter portion of our 
 sumptuous repast. 
 
 Senhor Eosa kindly procured us an Indian guide 
 for the Abacaxis river, who came on board next 
 morning neatly dressed in a white shirt and trowsers, 
 and crowned v-ith a tall, creased, chimney-pot hat, 
 which, placed jauntily over his blue tattooed, stolid 
 countenance — a countenance that seemed incapable of 
 being moved by any amount of joy or grief — gave 
 him a most ridiculous appearance. We then started 
 up river, steaming as far as we could go in one day ; 
 and next morning commenced our return, being occu- 
 pied for two days in examining the adjoining country 
 on our way down. 
 
 A short description of Abacaxis river, owing to its 
 somewhat peculiar features, may not here be out of 
 place. Its mouth has a tree-covered bar, extending 
 from its western to within 300 yards of its eastern 
 side at the village, inside of which it has a breadth of 
 three-quarters of a mile. At a distance of two and a 
 half miles to the southward, it suddenly expands into 
 
Chap. XV. LUDICROUS SGKNE. 323 
 
 a sort of lake of varying width, but generally about 
 two miles across, which ultimately narrows, becoming 
 lined with curved, tree-clothed tongues of land, like 
 those on the Mauhes. A large branch, called the 
 Marimari, joins it on the west not far from its mouth, 
 and it has numerous deep bays bordered by igapo. 
 Where the elevated land comes to its edge, it 
 frequently shows sections of from five to thirty feet 
 in height, composed of red and yellow clay cliffs. Its 
 banks are very sparsely inhabited, and all the sur- 
 rounding country is densely wooded. In the dry 
 season, when its waters are low and vast sand beaches 
 are exposed, it must be a singularly pretty river. 
 
 Whilst returning, we landed at many places, and 
 where we could see a house or settlement, always 
 stopped to take advantage of the paths which lead 
 back from them into the forest depths. At one of 
 these places, called Juruty, we saw our guide's father 
 — a most singular-looking old individual, with a blue 
 face and remarkably long down-pointing nose. His 
 peculiar expression of countenance betokened a deep- 
 seated melancholy, and gave one the idea that he was 
 always on the point of weeping. 
 
 As we approached our next landing place, a canoe 
 containing two women and an old man was seen in 
 front, the women who wielded the paddles making 
 most frantic efforts to reach the landing before us. 
 The reason for this exercise of haste was puzzling at 
 first, but soon became most ludicrously apparent, 
 when, on gaining upon them, we saw that the aged 
 gentleman sitting steering in the canoe was in a nude 
 condition, though quite collected, and wearing an 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 ON THE MAUHES AND ABACAXIS. Chap. XY. 
 
 expression of countenance which plainly denoted that 
 he knew he was unclothed, that it was his pleasure to 
 be so, and that he did not care a fig who saw him. 
 Whilst our launch's anchor was being let go close in 
 shore, the canoe was beached, and the women landed 
 hurriedly. One of them rushed up to the house, and 
 presently tore back with a shirt and trowsers, which 
 she gave to the old chap, who was then stoically walk- 
 ing up with his paddle under his arm, and a large 
 straw hat on his head. He took the proffered clothes, 
 and, carrying them in his hand, stalked coolly up to 
 his house, and through the midst of a knot of women 
 and children, who seemed not to notice him, as if his 
 get-up was an every-day affair. When we landed we 
 found him sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, and 
 not a bad old fellow after all. 
 
 Another old gentleman, of not quite such eccentric 
 habits as the above, whose acquaintance we made, 
 was the father-in-law of the Captain of the Mundurucu 
 tribe on this river, and his peculiarity was the 
 possession of remarkably long finger-nails, which, 
 extending quite an inch beyond his finger ends, 
 resembled bird's claws. 
 
 Upon our return to Abacaxis village we were 
 welcomed back by our good friend Senhor Eosa, who, 
 as before, most kindly loaded us with edible presents, 
 and again dined with us, he supplying the greater 
 portion of the feast. On the first occasion, it may be 
 remembered, we had been incommoded by rain, while 
 on this we were visited by a plague of large May- 
 flies, which, attracted by our lamp, visited us in 
 thousands, and fell bv hundreds into onr food. We 
 
Chap. XV. LARGE MAYFLIES. 325 
 
 had to have the lamp removed, and finished our 
 dinner in partial darkness. 
 
 These curious insects have no legs whatever, and 
 are full of eggs. Flying about over the river they 
 were frequently attracted by our lights, and came 
 buzzing around it for a time. Then, seeming to lose 
 the power of flight, they fell on the table, where they 
 whirled about like mad creatures until thoroughly 
 exhausted. There they lay in a quiescent condition, 
 their eggs bursting out on both sides of the abdomen, 
 until death relieved them of their sufferings. None 
 that flew towards our lamps ever flew away again, 
 but all died, leaving sometimes a layer of corpses half 
 an inch in depth on our table. On the night in 
 question they came in greater numbers than we had 
 ever seen before, or have seen since, and their bodies 
 lay in such numbers on our deck, that the steward 
 had to sweep them up with the broom. 
 
 Bidding our friend Senhor Eosa adieu, we steamed 
 next day into the channel by which we had come, 
 and which from this to the Madeira river bears the 
 name of the Canuma channel, from receiving the 
 waters of a river of that name — a sister stream to 
 the Abacaxis. We ran on all day, passing the 
 entrance to the Canuma river in the afternoon, and 
 making fast to a tree when night fell. By 7 a.m. on 
 the following day we ran out of the channel into the 
 Madeira river. 
 
 Whilst at Juruty lake we had purchased a pair of 
 young birds, somewhat resembling the English thrush. 
 They were placed in a wicker basket, when William, 
 pitying their crowded condition, proposed to make a 
 
326 ox THE MAUIIES AND ABAOAXIS. Chap. XV. 
 
 cage for them of the pith of the Ita palm. Many 
 hindrances and accidents to his work occurred, and it 
 Avas not until we reached the Canuma channel that 
 he had completed his task, when the thrushes were 
 introduced into their new home. Unfortunately on the 
 succeeding night, an unusual quantity of mosquitoes 
 came on board, and settled on the two poor birds, 
 which in the morning were found dead and bloodless 
 beneath their perches. 
 
 The Parana-mirim by which we had come from the 
 Amazon to the Madeira is a most peculiar one, 
 because it is bordered in parts on both hands by 
 elevated land composed of red loam and clay — a 
 deposit of much greater antiquity than the alluvia of 
 which recent Amazonian banks and islands are formed. 
 A great deal of the land on the north side of this 
 channel, stretching away to the great river, is of 
 recent alluvium, but that portion of it near the 
 Madeira is all of the older deposit. As this high land 
 cannot therefore be looked upon as a delta, at the 
 mouths of the Canuma, Abacaxis, and ^lauhes rivers, 
 it makes the origin of the Parana-mirim a matter very 
 difficult of explanation. It must have been cut 
 through the high land at a time when the Madeira 
 river ran at a much higher level than it does at 
 present. 
 
Chap. XVI. THE MADEIRA. 327 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ON THE MADEIKA. 
 
 Size and Character of the Eiver Madeira — Borba — Festival of the Ascen- 
 sion — Legend of Sapukia-oroka — Difficulty with Fuel — Novel Ant's 
 Nest — Esaltafiou — Adventure with Butterflies — Rainbow, Thunder- 
 storm, and great Variations of Temperature — A Bad Place for Mos- 
 quitoes — Starving Crato — Plentiful Humayta — Incidents of Navi- 
 gation — Savage Indians — S. Antonio — Death of Mr. Davis — The 
 Madeira and Mamore Railway — Unhealthiness of the District — Inci- 
 dents of the Undertaking — The Doctor busy — Start for Return — 
 Jamary — Bolivians — Lakes of Antonio — River Marmellos — Forest 
 of the Madeira — Bird Life — Geology — Designing a Church — Centi- ' 
 pedes — Manicore — Discovery of an Aunt — Ridiculous situation of 
 the Commission at Tabocal — Reach the Amazon — Peccary — Reach 
 Manaos. 
 
 The Madeira, though only one of the many great 
 tributaries flowing into the Amazon, is itself larger 
 than either the Danube or Volga, and, in fact, takes 
 rank among the principal rivers of the world. It 
 offers unobstructed navigation below the Falls of S. 
 Antonio for a distance of 663 miles, and although its 
 course is from thence for 230 miles upward impeded 
 by cataracts, it is said to provide most of the various 
 provinces of Bolivia with uninterrupted water commu- 
 nication by means of its numerous branches. So 
 little, however, is known of the river above the falls, 
 that the very existence of a large tributary usually 
 shown on the maps and called the Madre de Dios, has 
 been doubted, and is still disputed. Towards the 
 solution of this geographical mystery nothing was 
 
328 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 done by the cruise of the ' Beija Flor,' which neces- 
 sarily terminated at S. Antonio. 
 
 It may be said, we think, without unfairness, that 
 the Madeira, though a very large, is a very nasty 
 river. Its water is far more muddy than that of the 
 Amazon itself, which is quite dirty enough •, and no 
 variety of scenery occurs to break up the long mo- 
 notony of its banks, or impress one portion more 
 vividly upon the memory than another. Here and 
 there the river washes the foot of a steep bank rising 
 slightly above the level of the alluvial soil of the 
 valley, but nothing like a hill is to be seen below the 
 first cataract. Mosquitoes swarm on it, and there is 
 .no regular trade wind to moderate the temperature. 
 Like the Amazon, it holds on its way with such a 
 strong steady flow, and apparently with such an 
 earnest purpose, that it is seldom seduced into devious 
 windings, delighting rather in straight canal-like 
 reaches between parallel forest-covered shores ; but 
 it wants the vast proportions of the main river to give 
 it sufficient dignity for impressiveness. It is only fair 
 to say, however, that many persons must regard the 
 Madeira as a desirable place of residence, for numerous 
 villages and fasendas are found along its Ijauas, oc- 
 cupied principally by Bolivians of Spanish or Indian 
 extraction. 
 
 It will be remembered that we had emerged upon 
 the Madeira, in the early morning, from the narrow 
 Canuma channel, at a distance of fifty miles from th^ 
 river's mouth. On the afternoon of the same day the 
 ' Beija Flor ' cast anchor at Borba, the most important 
 settlement on this great tributary, and, in fact, the 
 
Chap. XVI. BORBA. 329 
 
 only one which by any stretch of courtesy may be 
 called a town. Unlike most of the places on the river, 
 and on the Amazon, it does not face the water, but 
 chooses rather to look in upon certain enclosed weedy 
 spaces, believed by the inhabitants to be streets and 
 squares — a preference Avhich gives it a dull and even 
 mournful appearance, for in this way the animation 
 that might be imparted by passing boats and steamers 
 is sacrificed. The church is a large building, in course 
 of construction or alteration, presenting, at the time 
 of our visit, a strange-looking mixture of substantial 
 stone towers and unsubstantial walls of palm thatch. 
 
 Borba has a resident priest, and adjoining his house 
 is a small chapel with an open space before it, on 
 which we observed, as we sauntered through the town, 
 a number of people collected togetlier. They were 
 engaged in hoisting a pole, decorated with garlands 
 and a white flag, uuder the supervision of the eccle- 
 siastic himself, in preparation for the celebration of the 
 Feast of the Ascension. He was a pleasant and even 
 jovial-looking young man, and no sooner had he 
 observed that there were strangers watching the pro- 
 ceedings than he advanced with great politeness, and 
 invited us to join the dancing party about to assemble 
 at his house in the evening. 
 
 Such an invitation was not to be refused, and after 
 attending to the essential business of fixing the exact 
 position of Borba by observations of the stars, we 
 hastened towards the scene of the festivities. It 
 was no easy matter to find our way in the darkness 
 through those weedy streets, full of traps for the 
 unwary in the shape of pools and quagmires, concealed 
 
330 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 under the rank vegetation, but it was at last accom- 
 plished, just as an illumination of rude and tiny lamps 
 set on split sticks round the garlanded pole had died 
 out. Service had been held in the chapel, and now 
 the dance was commencing in the house, whose doors 
 stood open to the general public. A front room was 
 reserved for the dispensing of refreshments, and the 
 ball was enjoyed in a long but narrow back kitchen, 
 open on one side to the air, and on the other tenanted 
 by numerous pigeons roosting in their cots. At one 
 end stood the spectators, consisting of a mixture of all 
 races, classes, and ages, in picturesque undress ; and 
 round the remainder of the apartment sat the ladies 
 and gentlemen of Borba, in the very uninteresting 
 costumes of Europe, ready to join in the dance. The 
 priest played the part of host remarkably well, moving 
 about among his guests with a pleasant word for 
 everyone. Polkas, quadrilles, and the like familiar 
 movements were the order of the evening ; and very 
 tame and commonplace did they appear, after the 
 lively performances of the Indians which we had been 
 privileged to witness. A perfectly upright gentleman 
 led the various movements, giving notice in a dry 
 official voice — the intonation of which yet lingers in 
 our ears — what was to be done next. The festivity 
 was still proceeding, although the hour was late, when 
 we started to scramble back, as best we could, through 
 those terrible streets to our home on board the launch. 
 Had we stopped again at Borba on our way down 
 river, it was our intention to have gone up in a body 
 and pressed that jolly young priest to come down and 
 dine with us, but circumstances did not permit. 
 
Chap. XVI. LEGEND. 331 
 
 The next day's journey was to a village called 
 Sapukia-oroka, consisting of about thirty poor houses, 
 stretched out in a straight line along the top of a bank 
 of stiff clay, which a heavy shower had made almost as 
 persistently adhesive as glue itself. A legend is ,told 
 about this place to account for its name, not, perhaps, 
 more silly or improbable than such stories usually are. 
 Near the site of the present settlement, it is said, 
 stood a former village, the inhabitants of which were 
 so notoriously wicked that the ground gave way 
 beneath thera, and the whole place was 'engulfed in 
 deep water, leaving only a little bay, surrounded by 
 nearly perpendicular banks, to mark the scene of the 
 catastrophe. The founders of the existing village, whilst 
 engaged in erecting the first houses, distinctly heard a 
 cock crowing beneath the waters at this particular 
 spot, from which circumstance they named the place 
 Sapukia-oroka, signifying, in their language, the Lin- 
 goa geral, a " Keeper of fowls." 
 
 It had been necessary to take in wood here, but the 
 new supply proved to be of very indifferent quality, 
 and this was only the commencement of our troubles 
 in the matter of fuel. Nearly all the wood purchased 
 on this river was of a kind affording very little heat in 
 the process of combustion, owing, we were told, to the 
 marshy nature of the soil in which it had been grown. 
 Now the current of the Madeira is, as we have remarked, 
 strong and steady, consequently a good pressure of 
 steam was required to enable the launch to make 
 headway against it. When, as often happened, this 
 was not forthcoming, she was brought to a stand, and 
 would have drifted back had not her anchor been 
 
332 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 dropped, or a hawser run out and passed round the 
 boughs of some projecting tree. In this ignominious 
 situation she was compelled to wait until she had 
 taken breath for a fresh start ; and it is hard to say how 
 much time might not have been lost in these enforced 
 pauses, had there not happily been a small supply of 
 coal on board to be used on an emergency. Doubtless 
 the fault was not all in the wood, for the launch had 
 never been intended to stem such a fierce current day 
 after day. Just as her namesake is able to flit about 
 with wonderful rapidity in sunny and sheltered spots, 
 but would cut a sorry figure in attempting a long 
 journey in the teeth of a steady gale, so the poor little 
 ' Beija Flor' was well qualified for quiet harbour work, 
 but scarcely fitted to do battle with the strong flow of 
 the Madeira. 
 
 One day of slow progress from Sapukia-oroka, brought 
 us to a large island called Araras, fourteen miles in 
 length, belonging to the Company. Our servant 
 William, who had long been ailing and greatly de- 
 pressed in spirits, seemed somewhat better at the time 
 of our arrival at this place, and drew forth from the 
 cupboard, in which it had for some days been stowed 
 away, a flute of his own manufacture, from which he 
 had been accustomed, as he lay in his hammock at the 
 end of his day's work, to produce a species of music 
 more satisfactory to himself than to his masters. Grreat 
 was his surprise to find that the holes upon which he 
 had been wont to place his fingers, as well as the 
 one at the end, had disappeared ; and that only the 
 aperture, to which he had so often applied his lips, 
 remained. It turned out, on examination, that some 
 
Chap. XVI. BUTTERFLIES. 333 
 
 black ants had made the instrument their home, but, 
 finding their snugness impaired by the too numerous 
 doors, they had very patiently and carefully stopped 
 up all but one for ingress and exit. 
 
 The next stock of wood was taken in at a large 
 fasenda, called Esalta9ion, belonging to a Bolivian 
 gentleman of Spanish extraction, who has cleared a 
 large space from the forest, and is endeavouring to 
 breed cattle for the supply of meat to the settlements 
 of the Madeira. Near the house a new boat was 
 being painted, in most gaudy colours, by a party of 
 Indians. Upon our remarking that they were finishing 
 their work well, the owner replied with true Spanish 
 scornfulness, " Yes, though brutes, they are able to do 
 some things fairly." 
 
 The quality of the fuel purchased at this place was 
 even worse than that of Sapukia-oroka, and before we 
 had got out of sight of Esalta9ion, the 'Beija Flor' 
 was brought to a dead stand, and had to be tied up to 
 the trees on the bank. The water of the river had 
 begun to subside from its flood level on the very day 
 on which we had entered it, and by this time had 
 fallen about seven feet. Along the muddy margin 
 thus left exposed, immense numbers of butterflies 
 fluttered about, evincing a strange preference for these 
 slimy-looking spots. Among those disporting them- 
 selves within a few feet of the launch, were two of 
 surpassing beauty, upon which the Botanist gazed 
 with a covetous eye, until it became utterly impossible 
 to resist the temptation to endeavour to effect a 
 capture. At this particular place the bank appeared 
 to be somewhat firmer than at others, and bore up 
 
334 ON THK MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 fairly well the end of a plank which he had caused to 
 be run out from the ' Beija Flor.' Advancing along 
 this, net in hand, with his eyes still fixed upon the 
 two gorgeous butterflies, he reached the shore ; but, at 
 the next step, the thin crust coating the surface of the 
 mud gave way, and down he went at once to his 
 knees. So firmly was he held fast by the tenacious mass, 
 that it was long before he could even turn round, and 
 his extraction therefrom was a work of difficulty. 
 When at length he regained the deck, in a plight 
 which may be imagined, even the poor consolation 
 of being in possession of the two dazzling flutterers 
 was denied him, for they still spread their gorgeous 
 wings to the sunlight upon the shore— not butterflies at 
 all, we suggested, but mischievous sprites bent on 
 luring him to destruction. To complete the incident, 
 scarcely had Mr. Trail got on board, when one of 
 the sailors, who had been leaning forward, greatly 
 interested in the scene, found that he had overbalanced 
 himself; and, to escape falling into the water, was 
 obliged to spring upon that same mud bank, where he 
 went as much deeper into the mud than the Botanist, 
 as his momentum was proportionately greater in 
 alighting there. The difficulty of extracting him from 
 the slough was, of course, increased, and so was the 
 merriment accompanying the task. 
 
 On the following day we passed the villages of 
 Manicore and Bullymentoo, and reached the great 
 bend, the only one of any^consequence on the Brazilian 
 portion of the river. It is a double bend in the shape 
 of a very curly S, so much twisted, that in order to 
 make a clear distance of fifteen miles, it is necessary 
 
Chap. XVI. CURIOUS RAINBOW. 335 
 
 to make a journey of thirty-five. During the after- 
 noon, a very bright rainbow stretched itself before us 
 across the river, and seemed to bridge it, the two ends 
 resting exactly on the opposite shores. The great 
 altitude of the sun gave the bow a flatness such as 
 is never seen in temperate regions, the centre being 
 apparently only a few feet above the water. This 
 phenomenon was succeeded by a thunderstorm, which 
 growled away in the distance, until we were anchoring 
 close to the shore for the night, when a flash of rose- 
 coloured lightning seemed to envelope us all in a 
 blinding blaze, and at the same instant the thunder 
 crashed with a sharp rattling report, like the snapping 
 of all the trees in the forest. None of us had ever 
 experienced such a flash and crash, and it was difficult 
 for the moment to realize that we had escaped unhurt. 
 The storm in our immediate vicinity exhausted itself 
 in that one tremendous effort, and quickly died away 
 in very distant mutterings. 
 
 Very abnormal weather followed this electrical out- 
 break. The thermometer rose day by day until it stood 
 at 107 degrees in the shade on the deck of our launch, 
 and not a particle of breeze ever sprang up for a 
 moment to mitigate the intolerable heat. Appetite 
 and spirits flagged, and no one felt disposed to do any 
 work. The discomfort of this part of our trip was also 
 much increased by the numerous mosquitoes at night. 
 One place, off which we anchored at the close of a very 
 hot day, has particularly impressed itself upon our 
 memories, as the spot most troubled by these pests 
 of any touched at in the whole course of our wan- 
 derings. It was named, in a descriptively matter-of- 
 
336 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 fact manner, Tres Casas — three houses — and a single 
 glance at the group of inhabitants watching us from 
 the shore sufBced to enlighten us respecting the cha- 
 racteristics of the settlement. All of them were 
 slapping their knees, elbows, and other prominent 
 portions of the body, where the dress, fitting tightlj 
 upon the skin, gave the mosquitoes an opportunity of 
 biting through. The people performed this operation 
 in a steady and monotonous manner, as if it had 
 become wholly mechanical with them, and habit had 
 made it second nature. The thought at once occurred 
 to us, that our travels through these pest-haunted 
 regions might be sufficiently prolonged to fasten the 
 same habit upon each one of us, thereby making our 
 demeanour, after our return, a great puzzle to English 
 friends, who would naturally feel a difficulty in ac- 
 counting for such strange antics. 
 
 It happened that a shoal lying off Tres Casas enabled 
 us to anchor the ' Beija Flor ' at a considerable dis- 
 tance — perhaps a full furlong — from the shore, con- 
 sequently we had some hope that the mosquitoes 
 would fail to find us out. In this, however, we were 
 wofuUy disappointed : no sooner were the lamps lit 
 than they swarmed across the water in myriads, 
 rendering our evening miserable, and keeping up a 
 loud hum of baffled malice outside our nets all night. 
 In the morning they showed no signs of leaving us, 
 and, as the air was thick with perfect clouds of them, 
 no work could be attempted until their numbers had 
 been lessened. Seizing his butterfly net, the Botanist 
 passed it swiftly to and fro in the spaces where the 
 enemy swarmed most densely, pausing now and again 
 
Chap. XVI. CEATO. 337 
 
 to turn out from the corners solid masses of the slain 
 as big as walnuts. When he tired, some one relieved 
 him, and in this manner the slaughter continued for 
 about half an hour, when the plague was reduced to 
 reasonable dimensions. 
 
 The intense heat was about at its worst when we 
 arrived, on the tenth day of our voyage, at Orato. 
 Every map in our possession showed this place, and 
 some of them indicated no other along the whole 
 Madeira. Naturally, therefore, we were expecting 
 something very superior in the way of a town or 
 village, and the favourite question at every stopping 
 place had been for some time, " How far is it to 
 Crato?" Some had boldly denied the existence of 
 such a place, others had magnified its importance, 
 but now we were at last able to judge for ourselves. 
 It proved to be a decent little village, with perhaps 
 twenty houses, standing on high ground on the western 
 shore. The chief feature was a long wooden staging, 
 constructed by some ingenious individual for the pur- 
 pose of connecting the lower swell of the bank to the 
 higher elevation beyond the intervening hollow. It 
 was thus a kind of primitive Holborn Viaduct, and 
 conveyed us by a gentle incline to the church and 
 principal house of the settlement, situated on the very 
 summit of the rise. Provisions were getting low on 
 board the launch, and we had trusted to Crato — 
 judging it by the fine appearance it cut upon our 
 maps — for the replenishing of our stores. Seeing a 
 gentleman standing in an elevated porch at the great 
 house referred to, we approached and asked what food 
 was procurable. He seemed to regard our inquiries 
 
338 ON THE MADEIKA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 as mockery, and replied that it was useless to pro- 
 pound such a question in such a place, for everyone 
 was starving, and if the expected visit of the Com- 
 pany's steamer were much longer delayed, the con- 
 sequences would be serious if not fatal. 
 
 In full view of Crato, situated upon the same high 
 bank, and scarcely more than a mile distant, was 
 another little settlement, called Humayta, off which 
 a short steam quiekh' brought us. To our surprise, 
 after our recent experience of destitution, it had a 
 thoroughly thriving appearance, and proved to be 
 a veritable land of plenty. The place had been 
 created by an enterprising Bolivian — Senhor Mon- 
 teira — who occupied the principal house, to which a 
 store was attached, the remaining buildings being the 
 dwellings of his workpeople. He was the owner of 
 a little steamer, called the 'Myacas,' trading with 
 Para, and in which he was away at the time. We 
 had no difficulty in procuring provisions, including 
 fresh bread, butter, flour, turtles, and plantains, as 
 well as a stock of superior wood for the ' Beija Flor.' 
 Why Crato should remain in a famishing condition, 
 in full view of well-stored Humayta, is a mystery ; 
 unless it be that the former is jealous of its rival, and 
 will rather perish than have anj' dealings with it. 
 
 Above this point the Madeira for some distance 
 was less thickly populated, and its banks were more 
 than usually abraded by the current. Fallen trees 
 formed snags, and impeded navigation near the shore. 
 As many of them were somewhat below the surface 
 of the water, it was difficult to avoid occasionally 
 striking upon them ; but the progress of the launch 
 
Chap. XVI. INCIDENTS OF NAVIGATION. 339 
 
 against the stream was so slow that no damage was 
 done. It was amusing to witness the anger of Captain 
 Mamede' when this happened whilst a sailor was steer- 
 ing, and to hear how soundly he rated the poor fellow : 
 yet, when he himself was at the wheel and the same 
 thing occurred, he assumed a look of blank astonish- 
 ment, verging upon incredulity, and his face said, as 
 plainly as any face could, "Don't tell me that we 
 struck a log just then ; that is impossible whilst I 
 am at the helm ! " 
 
 On one occasion, when a smart shock seemed to 
 indicate that the ' Beija Plor ' had come into collision 
 with a snag more forcibly than usual, a large turtle 
 was seen to rise behind her in an apparently be- 
 wildered condition, and it became evident that she 
 had really struck its back in passing. At another 
 time the launch suddenly and unaccountably came 
 to a dead stop, the screw refusing to revolve any 
 longer. The engineer, who went down into the water 
 to discover the cause, reported that a turtle was 
 caught and held fast there ; but unfortunately in 
 freeing it the creature managed to escape. 
 
 On the day succeeding our departure from Humayta, 
 a sadden and unexpected change took place in the 
 weather. A brisk steady wind swept down river 
 directly in our faces, making the thermometer fall 
 rapidly. Day after day a uniform mass of cloud of 
 a dull grey tint covered the sky, concealing the sun ; 
 and night after night no stars appeared. The leaves 
 of many of the forest trees began to shrivel with the 
 cold, and the white cranes and other birds along the 
 shore remained huddled up, too benumbed to fly away 
 
 z 2 
 
340 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XYI. 
 
 as tlie ' Beija Flor ' approached. Mosquitoes entirelj" 
 disappeared. One after another, the shivering mem- 
 bers of the Commission assumed their coats, never re- 
 quired before or subsequently, for the sake of warmth. 
 Our day temperature was, however, never less than 66 
 degrees, which in England would be considered rather 
 high ; but it must be remembered that we had just 
 before been perspiring in a temperature of 107, and 
 the loss of more than 40 degrees of heat was no slight 
 matter. We were told that at this time of the year 
 it is not unusual for a cold wind, of the kind we were 
 experiencing, to sweep down from the table-land of 
 Bolivia, and that it was occasionally piercing enough 
 even to kill some of the fish in the river. 
 
 The part of the Madeira now reached was said to 
 be infested by a savage and much-dreaded tribe of 
 Indians, called the Parentintins. At all our stopping 
 places for a considerable distance, we had noticed that 
 the people kept huge bloodhounds, intended for their 
 protection ; and it had been a source of anxiety to us, 
 when effecting a landing, lest these brutes should 
 come to the conclusion that we belonged to some 
 unknown and probably unfriendly tribe, and set their 
 teeth in us accordingly. In fact, we had dreaded 
 the dogs much more than the Parentintins them- 
 selves ; but it was far otherwise with our Captain, 
 whose feelings had been harrowed up, and fears ex- 
 cited, by the horrible tales of recent massacre and 
 outrage said to have been perpetrated, at various 
 points along the river, by these savages. Accordingly 
 when we came to an anchor each evening, he care- 
 fully selected a spot at which, in his opinion, we were 
 
Chap. XVI. SAINT ANTONIO. 341 
 
 least exposed to attacks, and all night the sailors 
 watched^ turn by turn, to guard us from danger. 
 The peril was most likely very trifling, for had the 
 savages seen us, they would probably have believed 
 the 'Beija Flor' to be a Government gunboat, able 
 to open fire upon them at a moment's notice, and have 
 steered clear of us accordingly. At any rate, we 
 pursued our way without a single glimpse of these 
 ferocious Indians. 
 
 At length, on the fourteenth day of our journey up 
 river, when the cold wind to which we have referred 
 was blowing most keenly, we caught sight of S. 
 Antonio — a confused cluster of houses and sheds, 
 backed by some low hills, and flanked by the Madeira 
 cataract stretching away on the right. It was with 
 great eagerness that we had looked forward to our 
 arrival at this place, partly because it was the turn- 
 ing-point of our journey on this river, of which we 
 were getting not a little tired ; and partly because it 
 offered in itself various points of interest — the rail- 
 way, the falls, and the granite rocks. A. third reason, 
 perhaps stronger than any, made us wish for S. 
 Antonio, namely, the expectation of meeting, and 
 renewing intercourse there, with our lively friend Mr. 
 Davis. Newspapers and bottles of ale had been care- 
 fully saved for his entertainment; and as we drew 
 near the landing place, everyone had his field glass in 
 use, trying to discover him amongst the groups 
 awaiting our arrival^ but without success. 
 
 Stepping hastily ashore, as soon as the ' Beija Flor' 
 touched land, we encountered a gaunt-looking French- 
 man, with a long beard, sallow face, and head roughly 
 
342 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 bound up in a handkerchief, of whom we hastened to 
 make inquiries of our friend. Great was the shock to 
 us all when the old man told us he was dead. We 
 were incredulous — hoped there might be some mis- 
 take, and appealed to the next man we met, who 
 happened to be the foreman in charge of the property 
 belonging to the Railway Company. He confirmed the 
 sad intelligence, and taking us into the office, showed 
 us his name on a scrap of paper, and told us that he 
 had died on April 11th — the day on which we had 
 seen the empty black coffin so grimly waiting for its 
 tenant on Lake Abowucoo. It only then remained to 
 ask to be taken to his grave. 
 
 The Frenchman was our guide, and led us across a 
 partially cleared space behind the village, strewn with 
 granite rocks and fallen tree-trunks, to the house 
 built for the use of the Engineers — now deserted, as all 
 had gone away. Here he pointed out the room in which 
 our friend had departed ; and then brought us to the 
 grave, at no great distance, but a little in the rear of the 
 building, on the edge of the unenclosed forest. It had 
 been railed off roughly, and a neat wooden cross placed 
 at the head, by the English carpenter who had since 
 hurried from the place. We were all much moved, 
 for when we last saw Mr. Davis, he had been full of 
 energy and merriment, and it seemed a hard thing 
 that he should die in this wretched spot, so far away 
 from his friends. Our ghastly-looking guide relieved 
 the embarrassment of our constrained silence, by 
 volubly dwelling upon the great grief they all felt in 
 the little settlement when they laid him in his solitary 
 grave, and describing the affection with which every- 
 one reGjarded him. 
 
Chap. XVI. MADEIRA RAILWAY. 343 
 
 The undertaking, in connection with which Mr. 
 Davis sacrificed his life, is no doubt one of consider- 
 able importance. Bolivia with its three millions of 
 inhabitants, and wealth of animal, vegetable, and 
 mineral products, has unfortunately hardly any sea 
 coast. The lofty range of the Andes, intervening 
 between this and the remainder of the country, 
 renders the few indifferent ports unavailable for 
 commerce, and trade languishes from want of com- 
 munication with the markets of the world. Could the 
 obstruction, caused by the eighteen large cataracts 
 which impede the navigation of the Madeira for a 
 distance of 230 miles, be removed, Bolivia would at 
 once be provided with that connection with the out- 
 side world she so much needs. For this purpose, a 
 line of railway has been projected, to be called the 
 Madeira and Mamore' railway, with a capital of 
 625,000Z., which, starting from S. Antonio, shall cross 
 the bend by a short cut, and after a course of about 
 170 miles terminate above the falls. 
 
 To the achievement of this obviously desirable 
 work, the nature of the ground to be traversed offers 
 no impediment. Slight undulations of the land occur, 
 and a few small tributaries have to be crossed, but 
 nothing that can be called an engineering difficulty 
 arises along the whole route. And yet the under- 
 taking, though vigorously grappled with, has been 
 hitherto an entire failure, on account especially of one 
 unlooked-for obstacle — the unhealthiness of the region. 
 It would appear that wherever cataracts are found in 
 ti'opical countries, falling over granite rocks, their im- 
 mediate vicinities are the haunts of terrible fevers. 
 This may, perhaps, be accounted for by the fact that 
 
344 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 hollows usually occur between the rocks, which retain 
 the water as the floods sink from their highest level, 
 thus forming stagnant pools in which vegetation 
 decays and gives off miasma under the glare of the 
 tropical sun. Whether this be the cause or not, it is 
 certain that at S. Antonio the labourers died so 
 rapidly that the undertaking had to be abandoned, 
 after something like 90,000Z. had, it is said, been 
 spent, for which there is now nothing to show but a 
 slight scratch in the ground — representing the first 
 cutting — a house, a few rough sheds, some cleared 
 land, two wrecks in the harbour, and several great 
 heaps of the cases of tinned meats and broken 
 bottles. 
 
 Our friend, Mr. Davis, had accepted the theory, 
 given above, of the cause of the unhealthiness of 
 S. Antonio, and with characteristic vigour, had set 
 about remedying it, immediately after his arrival there. 
 At every important pool he had blown up some of the 
 surrounding rock, thus completely draining it ; and 
 where this was not possible he had set men to pump 
 it dry. Around the house he had enlarged the clear- 
 ing and planted bananas and vegetables for the use of 
 the settlement. In the midst of these labours, in 
 which he had taken more than his proper personal 
 share, he was suddenly struck down, — the victim, not 
 so much of the prevalent fever, as of a general prostra- 
 tion of the system through excessive fatigue. It is 
 painful to think of the uselessness of this sacrifice of a 
 valuable life; for the American engineers reported 
 against the feasibility of the undertaking, and it was 
 once more abandoned. 
 
Chap. XVI. SPANISH NAVVIES. 345 
 
 Should the scheme ever be resumed, as doubtless it 
 must be, more will have to be done, after the method 
 pursued by Mr. Davis, for removing the unhealthiness 
 of the district. It will plainly be wise to bring the 
 northern terminus farther down river than S. Antonio, 
 and temporary villages for workmen must be located 
 along the line, at points as far removed as possible 
 from the neighbourhood of cataracts. G-reat care 
 should be taken to provide them sufficient and proper 
 food. Most of the required labour must be obtained 
 from the sturdy Indians of Bolivia, and this being the 
 case, a rough tramway should be run through as 
 speedily as possible, to enable an engine and trucks to 
 run forward and backward. The ample supply of 
 timber for sleepers and temporary bridges would 
 make this an easy matter ; and, when once through 
 communication had been established, the workmen 
 might be frequently changed as their health required, 
 until the permanent railway had been leisurely and 
 efificiently completed. 
 
 The English Company, who failed to bring the 
 undertaking to a successful issue, drew their labourers 
 from all sources. We heard much of a number of 
 Spanish emigrants, of the very lowest class, who were 
 induced to go out as navvies. On arriving at Para, 
 one half of them refused to go farther, until they had 
 received some report of the place for which they were 
 bound, from the other half who were willing to 
 proceed. It was a difficult matter to convey such an 
 unruly lot to their destination, and could only be 
 managed by great firmness ; but they had scarcely 
 been set on shore, when they began to die off rapidly. 
 
346 <JN THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 until only a handful remained. These returned to 
 Para by the next steamer, giving of course no very 
 enthusiastic account of the land in which they had 
 made a brief sojourn. 
 
 One formidable difficulty in connection with the 
 making of the railway has probably been overcome. 
 The district through which it has to pass is infested 
 by the dreaded Parentintin and Araras Indians, who 
 frequently attack the boats passing up and down the 
 falls. They made an assault upon the Engineer's 
 settlement at S. Antonio, which turned out very 
 disastrously for themselves. In a little hut standing 
 apart, and not far from the point where they issued 
 from the forest, the Doctor was at the time attending a 
 poor man, who was lying there in the last extremity 
 of small-pox. Hearing the war whoop, he fled from 
 his patient towards the village, followed by a shower 
 of arrows, all of which luckily missed their mark. 
 The Engineers and Artizans, now aroused, seized 
 their guns and prepared to defend themselves ; where- 
 upon the baffled savages hastened the end of the 
 dying man, and carried off his clothes as the sole 
 trophy of their exploit. It proved to be a fatal 
 memento, for the loathsome disease of small-pox spread 
 rapidly among them, carrying off many victims, and 
 doubtless impressing them with the belief that the 
 vengeance of heaven rested upon them for attacking 
 the white men. 
 
 Our first impulse, as soon as we had heard of the 
 death of our friend, and visited his grave, was to flee 
 at once from S. Antonio with all possible speed. We 
 were hurrying on board the ' Beija Flor ' with this 
 
Chap. XVI. THE DOCTOR BUSY. 347 
 
 object, when the Foreman accosted us, and asked, 
 with great earnestness, if any of our number knew 
 anything of medicines. He stated that he had a 
 whole room full, left there by the English Doctor, but 
 did not know how to use them. The village was full 
 of sick persons, and he begged us to point out, if we 
 possibly could, what remedies to apply. Such an 
 appeal could not be disregarded, and, turning back 
 with him, Mr. Trail spent a whole hour in picking out 
 the simplest and most valuable physics, labelling each 
 with a description of the cases in which it might be 
 useful, and what dose to give. 
 
 While this task was being accomplished, the 
 patients began to gather, one by one, around the door, 
 asking for advice. Several had fever, or were suffer- 
 ing from weakness consequent upon it. Some had 
 ulcers, others bad eyes, and one man opened his shirt 
 and pointed out the spot where a bullet lay concealed 
 underneath the skin. It appeared that there were 
 only three sound persons in the settlement, and two 
 of them were black soldiers attached to the Custom 
 House, who had not been there long. All were pre- 
 scribed for as far as possible ; and this done, we once 
 more hastened our return to the 'Beija Flor.' 
 
 Before we could effect a start, however, numbers of 
 grateful patients flocked on board with presents of 
 bananas, pumpkins, and bottled peppers of preter- 
 natural hotness. They appeared so much to enjoy look- 
 ing round the launch and chatting with us, that we 
 could not hurry them ashore directly ; but the desire to 
 put as much distance as possible between ourselves and 
 S. Antonio by nightfall grew momentarily stronger, 
 
348 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 and the casting off of the mooring lines presently gave 
 them warning that we were on the point of departure. 
 As long as our steamer remained in sight, they con- 
 tinued to watch us from the landing place with a 
 wistful gaze. Short as our stay had been, the Inter- 
 preter was troubled, for several succeeding days, with 
 attacks of intermittent fever, which he attributed to 
 the bad air he had breathed during the few hours 
 spent in the settlement. 
 
 Descending the Madeira by the aid of the current 
 was a very easy matter, compared with the toilsome 
 process of working slowly up against it, and we some- 
 times accomplished, between sunrise and sunset, what 
 had occupied us two and a half days when ascending 
 the river. Some delay was caused, however, by our 
 numerous landings, and by three important side 
 explorations. 
 
 The first of these was up the river Jamary, which 
 enters the Madeira on the eastern side, at a point fifty 
 miles from S. Antonio. It is one of the so-called 
 white-water rivers — the actual tint being a kind of 
 greyish green — and winds very much. At the mouth 
 is a large house occupied by the Bolivian Consul, 
 whose district embraces the whole of the Madeira from 
 the Amazon to the falls. He was an exceedingly 
 gentlemanly man, and entertained us in a pleasant 
 upstairs room, open on three sides to the air, except 
 that curtains could be lowered for shelter when 
 required, and commanding views both of the Madeira 
 and Jamary. Tea was handed round on a silver 
 salver, and everything about the place betokened 
 prosperity. The Consul's wife — like all Bolivian 
 
Chap. XVI. BOLIVIANS. 349 
 
 ladies, but unlike the Portuguese or Brazilian — con- 
 versed freely with us, and even entertained us for a 
 considerable time before her husband made his 
 appearance. She was dressed in a singular garment, 
 common upon this river, and doubtless in Bolivia also, 
 which although far from being becoming^ is probably 
 very comfortable. It was of cotton, printed in grey 
 and green stripes, and without a waist, so that it 
 gradually spread, extinguisher fashion, from the 
 shoulders to the ground, giving the wearer a very odd 
 appearance. 
 
 The Consul was able to afford us much information 
 about the Madeira, and when he saw that we dabbled 
 a little in oil painting, pressed us much to remain 
 some days with him, and make a picture of his 
 pleasant place. He may well be proud of the people 
 on whose behalf he acts, for the Bolivians are a fine 
 race — well grown, energetic, and thrifty. They form 
 a large proportion of the inhabitants of the river, and 
 build for themselves comfortable houses, always with 
 some of the rooms raised on staging above the level of 
 the flood. Large mosquito curtains form an invariable 
 feature in their domestic arrangements, and flourish- 
 ing plantations are usually seen in the neighbourhood 
 of their homes. The dress of the men is very simple, 
 consisting only of one garment — a narrow strip of 
 calico some seven feet in length. In the middle is a 
 slit through which the head is put, and one half of the 
 material then hangs down in front, while the other 
 falls to a similar length behind, like the ecclesiastical 
 vestment known as a chasuble, except that the 
 Bolivians confine it at the waist with a girdle. In 
 
350 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 the case of very poor Indians, the garment, instead of 
 being cotton, is made of the bark of a tree, and the 
 waistband is simply a piece of bush rope. 
 
 The second side exploration undertaken by us was 
 on the lakes of Antonio. Entering from the Madeira 
 hj a very narrow igaripe', we continued along it until 
 we suddenly emerged upon a wider space filled by 
 several small islands. Beyond this was the clear 
 expanse of the first lake, about a mile in width, and 
 five miles in length. Near the islands were a number 
 of canoes, each furnished with a small board projecting 
 over the water at the bow. Upon this narrow perch 
 stood, in every case, an Indian, quite upright and as 
 still as a statue, with an arrow placed against the 
 drawn string of his bow. His gaze was 'fixed with 
 great intensity upon the surface of the lake, in order 
 to note the first sj^mptoms of the rise of a turtle, when 
 the arrow would be at once discharged to fall upon its 
 unlucky back. Although the missile must be sent up 
 to an immense elevation, so that it may descend with 
 sufficient force to penetrate the hard shell of the 
 turtle's back, the Indians, it is said, become so 
 dexterous by long practice that they seldom miss 
 their mark. 
 
 The left bank of the lake was raised about sixty 
 feet above the water- level. At the far end was a 
 village on the top, commanding a fine view, and 
 occupied by Mura Indians — a tribe with whom 
 we had not previouslj' made acquaintance. They 
 appeared to be exceedingly fond of pets. Nearly all 
 th.e women were nursing monkeys, while several more 
 of these amusing animals were playing with the 
 
Chap. XVI. MADEIRA FORESTS. 351 
 
 numerous dogs, and seeminglj^ on the best of terms 
 with them. Parrots were scarcely less common than 
 monkeys. We saw nothing of the alleged habit of 
 this tribe of blowing snuff through bent tubes into 
 each other's nostrils. 
 
 On leaving the iirst lake we entered again the 
 narrow winding igaripe, and emerged upon the second, 
 greatly resembling the other in size and appearance. 
 The puffing of the ' Beija Flor ' startled the immense 
 flocks of white cranes along the margin of the water ; 
 and these, rising simultaneously into the air, betook 
 themselves with much flapping of wings to the branches 
 of the adjacent trees. 
 
 The river Marraellos, entering the Madeira a little 
 above its great double bend, was the third place at 
 which we turned aside. It is a clear black-water 
 river with many resacas and wooded spits, giving it a 
 strong resemblance to the Mauhes and Abacaxis. 
 Although we followed it for a considerable distance, 
 we saw no houses or human inhabitants. 
 
 The name of the Madeira, signifying wood, naturally 
 led us to look for fine forest along its banks, nor were 
 we disappointed. That valuable tree the red cedar is 
 particularly common. No one ever thinks of going 
 into the bush to fell it, for sufficient quantities fall 
 every year into the river as the banks crumble, and 
 are swept down by the rising floods. Any person 
 needing this timber keeps watch in the proper season, 
 and, upon observing a big log floating down stream, 
 puts off in his canoe and tows it to the shore. The 
 most striking looking tree in the Madeira forest is, 
 however, the " pao-mulatto " or black-tree. Its bark 
 
352 ON THE MADEIHA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 is peculiarly smooth and shining — at times of a reddish 
 brown colour, but more usually quite black, as if 
 polished with black-lead. This peculiarity gives it 
 a marked appearance, distinguishing it from the white- 
 stemmed zeringas, and the ordinary rough brown- 
 trunked trees. It grows to an immense height, 
 spreading gracefully, and would be a magnificent 
 object in an English park, could it be induced to grow 
 there. Wild cacao abounds along the shores of the 
 Madeira, and, with its light green leaves tinged with 
 pink or brown, gives welcome variety to the unbroken 
 line of foliage. 
 
 Bird life is abundant on this river, especially on the 
 middle portion. Here, in quiet side igaripes, numbers 
 of roseate spoonbills fringed the margin of the water, 
 looming large against the dark forest background. On 
 the mud flats at the ends of the large islands which 
 frequently occur in the Madeira, as in the Amazon 
 itself, quantities of negrocopes, white cranes, and 
 small gulls, gave animation to the scene. Eing-necked 
 plovers, and a large kind of grej' and white goatsucker 
 which flies about in the afternoon, frequented the 
 drier flats of a more sandy nature. Perched on dead 
 tree trunks sticking up through the water, was another 
 species of goatsucker, which we saw nowhere but on 
 this river above Sapukia-oroka. 
 
 At intervals along the whole course of the Madeira, 
 we observed cliff sections of the red clays, and varie- 
 gated sands deposit, but owing to the height of the water 
 at the time, were unable to see its base. Not far 
 lielow S. Antonio, on the south-east side of the river, 
 is a boss of grey granitic gneiss, containing bands of 
 
Chap. XVI. DESIGNING A CHURCH. 353 
 
 hornblendic gneiss, the foliation of which runs in a 
 S.S.W. and N.N.E. direction. Beyond this was one 
 exposure of finely crystalline red syenite. The rocks 
 forming the first cataract, and the low rolling area at 
 S. Antonio, are composed of a coarse variety of por- 
 phyritic granite. Strangely enough, we saw nothing 
 of the limestone on the banks of the Madeira before 
 coming to the granite rocks. It is either cut off by a 
 great fault, or is hidden by the recent deposit. 
 
 On our return journey we touched again at Humayta 
 for provisions and wood, and found that Senhor Mon- 
 teira had now come back. His foreman paid a visit 
 to the ' Beija Flor,' and happened to see one of the 
 Commission engaged in sketching the group of men 
 handing the logs on board, whereupon he stated that 
 his master had long been waiting for some one to 
 design a church for the settlement, and asked the 
 sketcher to undertake the task. It was pointed out 
 that the launch was almost ready to start, and in a 
 quarter of an hour would be off; but no excuse of 
 that kind availed. Something very rough was all that 
 would be required, the foreman urged, and there 
 was nothing for it but to dash off some sort of front 
 elevation, adding a touch of colour to give effect to 
 the pencil outline. Senhor Monteira received it with 
 polite oblivion of its many necessary defects, and 
 asked us to accompany him to the top of the plateau 
 to choose the site. A workman was requested to 
 follow with a mallet and bundle of pegs, and when 
 a spot had been selected which seemed to meet with 
 general approval, the foundations were solemnly staked 
 out in the presence of numerous spectators. Before we 
 
 2 A 
 
354 ON THE MADBIEA. Chap. XYI- 
 
 left Brazil, we heard that the church had actually 
 been built. Travellers who observe it standing con- 
 spicuously on the summit of the high bank as they 
 pass along the river below, if not overpowered by the 
 magnificence of its architecture, may at least regard it 
 as a monument of what can be done in the way of 
 design in a busy quarter of an hour. 
 
 In taking down the pile of wood at one place at 
 which we touched for fuel, two large centipedes were 
 disclosed in hollows in the ground, coiled round their 
 young, which were snowy white, very small, and 
 apparently thousands in number. As fast as we scat- 
 tered them with a stick, the old ones gathered them 
 together again, tucked them up lietween their legs, 
 and resumed their former positions. When the ants, 
 which had also been disturbed by the removal of the 
 logs, ran over the young, the centipedes attacked them 
 savagely with their mouths. At leugth we dispatched 
 one of the loathsome creatures, but the other contrived 
 to escape, and their progeny were left to fry in 
 the sun. 
 
 Manicore' had struck us as a pleasant-looking place, 
 going up the river, and we were glad to have the 
 opportunity of landing there on our way down. The 
 village stretches for a considerable length along a 
 bank, which is higher and more abrupt than usual. 
 Seats placed here and there on the brow seemed to 
 indicate that the inhabitants were proud of their view 
 from thence, and not altogether without reason. As 
 we made our peregrination along the single street, a 
 school attracted our attention, into which we entered, 
 for the purpose of seeing what progress was being 
 
Chap. XVI. MANICORl!;. 355 
 
 made with education on the Madeira, The lads at 
 once clustered round us, begging for our blessing, 
 ■which we freely bestowed, and hope it may do them 
 good. The schoolmaster was occupied in his own 
 house, and did not make his appearance until we had 
 been some time in the place, yet the boys were be- 
 having in a quiet and orderly manner. We examined 
 the copy books, and were surprised at the neatness of 
 the writing, which was in a freer and more elegant 
 hand than would be produced by lads of the same age 
 in England. The sententious aphorisms forming the 
 copy slips were nearly all directed against lying or 
 laziness, probably because it was considered that these 
 were the vices to which the youngsters were most 
 prone. 
 
 One of the largest Brazilian tributaries of the Ma- 
 deira is the Uaripuana. We could not spare time 
 to explore it, but landed at a house, near its mouth, to 
 ask for any information about its course that might be 
 forthcoming. No sooner, however, did we step ashore, 
 than all the inhabitants fled and hid themselves ; 
 a little naked boy, with a naked baby astride his hips, 
 being the bravest of the lot, and therefore the last to 
 beat a retreat. Nothing could be seen at the house of 
 a single human being, and it only remained to take a 
 stroll in the forest before re-embarking. A strange 
 transformation had, however, taken place when we 
 returned from this short ramble. Our Captain was 
 seated on a high form before the house, and round 
 him were clustered the women and children, all de- 
 cently clad, down to the baby itself. It appeared 
 that the Captain had discovered an elderly aunt, for 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 whom he had been searching for years, and no end of 
 cousins, whose existence even had been previously 
 unknown to him. The men of the place were still 
 hiding, but had been sent for, and we learned that the 
 cause of the general alarm on the arrival of the ' Beija 
 Flor,' was owing to the belief that we had come to 
 look up deserters. A vivid remembrance is still 
 cherished of the legal levies made for service against 
 Lopez in the Paraguayan war. Of course it was 
 not thought that we meant to carry ofi" the women 
 and children, but they might be somewhat seriously 
 questioned respecting the whereabouts of their male 
 relations, and hence the general stampede of both 
 sexes. 
 
 Tabocal was another place whose look had pleased 
 us on our ascent of the river, chiefly because of its 
 magnificent palms. Close by the landing was a grand 
 ita palm, in full flower, scenting the air for a consider- 
 able distance round. Not far from this was a 
 splendid group of assais, the most graceful and elegant 
 of all Amazonian palms. The village, like Humayta, 
 seemed to belong to one person, but in this case the 
 owner was a lady. She greeted us from a high 
 balcony of the principal house, and sent a man to be 
 our guide round the settlement. He took us to the 
 church, and three young women followed us thither, 
 one of whom we thought rather pretty. Some one was 
 remarking as much, when she suddenly smiled, and, 
 in one moment, dissolved the charm. The parting of 
 her lips displayed two rows of teeth filed to sharp 
 points, like those of a saw. One grew accustomed to 
 the look of this strange practice with men, but it was 
 
Chap. XVI. EIDICULOUS SITUATION. 357 
 
 more difficult to reconcile oneself to it in individuals 
 of the fairer sex. As we repassed the house of the 
 old lady, she sent out servants with chairs for our 
 whole party, but what to do with them we hardly 
 knew. Possibly she meant us to sit down and enjoy 
 the view, but in order to do this it would be necessary 
 to turn our backs upon our entertainer — which was 
 not to be thought of. Leaving the prospect to take 
 care of itself, we seated ourselves with our faces 
 towards the lady ; when a sudden sense of the ridicu- 
 lousness of the situation flashed simultaneously across 
 our minds. The Commission was, in fact, sitting in a 
 straight row, staring solemnly up at a very stout 
 elderly female, at too great a distance to exchange a 
 single word of conversation with her. Nothing could 
 well be more absurd, and, rising hastily, we made our 
 profoundest bows and hurried away from Tabocal, 
 never in all probability to see it ag-ain. 
 
 On the evening of our twenty-third day on the 
 river, we found ourselves back again at the place 
 where we had entered it by the Canuma channel. 
 One more day took us over the portion hitherto 
 unvisited by the ' Beija Flor,' and brought us out on 
 the wide expanse of water at the junction of the 
 Amazon with its greatest tributary. A large island, 
 called Autaz Island, lies immediately above the 
 Madeira mouth ; and we turned up the Autaz parana- 
 mirim, between it and the mainland. On many maps, 
 a channel of this name is shown connecting the 
 Amazon near its junction with the Negro, and the 
 Madeira at a point near Borba ; but we saw nothing 
 of this link, and very much doubt its existence. 
 
858 ON THE MADEIRA. Chap. XVI. 
 
 Certainly there is no channel joining the Canuma 
 river near its source to the Madeira at Manicore', as 
 shown on almost all maps of Brazil. 
 
 From the Autaz, up the Amazon to Manaos, was a 
 long day's steam for the ' Beija Flor ' ; but by start- 
 ing at 4 A.M., she succeeded in accomplishing it by 
 dusk. During the afternoon a cry was raised that a 
 peccary, or bush-hog, was floating down river on the 
 trunk of a tree, and the canoe was sent to capture it. 
 The Chief fired, but the animal, only wounded, jumped 
 into the water, where it persisted in trying to swim 
 against the current. For this its strength was wholly 
 insufficient, and it was soon overtaken and dragged on 
 board. It proved to be one of the largest size, but so 
 thin that it was evident it must have been for a long 
 time prisoner on the drifting log. 
 
 Low hills made their appearance on the northern 
 bank during the afternoon, and continued all the way to 
 Manaos. At five o'clock we passed across the mouth of 
 the Solimoes, or High Amazon, forming a junction at 
 an exact right angle. The Negro, up which our course 
 lay, looks at the first glance like the main river, on 
 account of its great width, and the way in which it joins 
 the Amazon in the exact line of its general direction ; 
 but the change of colour in the water, and the absence 
 of any very strong current, would soon convince the 
 most superficial observer that, by keeping straight on, 
 he had left the main river for a sluggish tributary. 
 
 Lights gleaming across a wide and smooth expanse 
 of water, from street lamps, windows of houses, and 
 steamers anchored in the port, indicated our approach 
 to the capital of Amazonia, and made an imposing 
 
Chap. XVI. REACH MANAOS. 359 
 
 display to eyes long familiar only with tiny settle- 
 ments, carefully darkened at night on account of the 
 mosquitoes. It was a pleasant sound to hear the 
 anchor go down, thus bringing to a close the longest 
 trip we had yet undertaken. A few minutes later, 
 when we had assumed coats and collars, and landed in 
 search of letters, we felt more civilized in ourselves 
 and our surroundings than had been the case with us 
 for many a long day. 
 
360 ON THE RIO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 ON THE KIO NEGRO. 
 
 The Rio Negro above Manaos — Pedreira — Lieutenant's Account of 
 Indian Attacks upon Pedreira — Savage Tribes on the Jaupiri — Pass 
 Mouth of the Rio Branco — Carvoeira — Strange Dance — Get Pilot at 
 Caburie — Sad Pate of Crew of Sunken Craft — Dangerous Passage — 
 Barcellos — Visit the Priest and an Official — Spend a Pleasant Even- 
 ing — A Little Semi-wUd Indian — Old St. Isabel — Commence Re- 
 turn Journey — Padawiry River — Piassaba — Revisit Barcellos — 
 Fever about — Dark Individual — Night Monkey — The ' Beija Flor ' 
 charges the Forest — Fever at Ayrao — Anive at Manaos. 
 
 Our stay at Manaos after our arrival from the Madeira 
 was of short duration, but we subsequently spent a 
 lengthened period in this city, and therefore have 
 reserved a description of the place for the following 
 chapter. 
 
 On June 14th we left Manaos in the ' Beija Flor ' on 
 a journey up the Eio Negro, and as the river is lake- 
 like, flowing with an almost imperceptible current, 
 we kept well out from shore. A mile or so above 
 the city the Negro widened considerably, and for 
 fifteen miles is free from islands. Beyond that it is so 
 studded with them that at very few places can its full 
 width be seen. Gaining the lower end of the large 
 island of Anavilana we took a channel along the north 
 bank, leaving the great broad expanse of river on. the 
 left, with its water horizon, to the westward. On the 
 way up we saw but few houses on its banks, and no 
 signs of life, everything about the majestic river 
 
Chap. XVII. AYRAO. 361 
 
 wearing a sombre aspect, looking lonely and deserted. 
 That night a rain and thunder storm, accompanied by- 
 strong wind, kicked up such a rolling sea in the 
 channel where we had made fast that none of us got 
 much sleep. We had to stuff articles of clothing 
 alongside us in our hammocks, to act as buffers, as 
 we swung uneasily backwards and forwards against 
 opposing articles of ship's furniture. 
 
 All the following day we were steaming on the 
 deep black water amongst numerous islands clothed 
 with luxuriant vegetation ; and late in the afternoon, 
 after passing a few straggling houses, came to a 
 fasenda, called Concei9ao, on the northern main. 
 There, in front of its cheerful grass-covered area, we 
 anchored for the night, and, landing, paid its owner 
 a visit. Some fifty head of cattle grazing on the 
 grassy slopes added life to the scene. 
 
 On our third day out from Manaos we began to get 
 short of wood, and so crossed the river, threading our 
 way through little channels amongst vast numbers of 
 islands, until we arrived at the small village of Ayrao, 
 consisting of ten houses, situated on high land on the 
 river's southern bank. A number of people were col- 
 lected in front of one house, amongst a lot of boxes, 
 bales, and bags of goods, of which they were taking 
 an inventory. They said that these were the stock- 
 in-trade of a shopkeeper who had just died of fever. 
 It looked to us like dividing the spoil amongst them- 
 selves ; but perhaps the most charitable view to take 
 of this proceeding is, that they were making a list of 
 the late shopkeeper's effects previous to settling up his 
 affairs in a legal manner. 
 
362 
 
 ON THE EIO NEGEO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 No wood was to be got at the village, but at the 
 mouth of the Jau river, near by, we were furnished 
 with as much as we required. Whilst taking it in, a 
 Chinaman came to us in a montaria, and talked in 
 Portuguese to the Interpreter. He told us that he 
 came from Peru, and was engaged in getting india- 
 rubber, but had not settled on the river. This was the 
 only representative of the great Celestial Empire that 
 we fell in with during our journeying in this country. 
 
 After leaving the Jaii we kept along the southern 
 shore of the river in order to examine it, and find the 
 positions of the villages on our way up, so that in 
 returning along the uninhabited northern shore we 
 should be able to know where to cross over amongst 
 the labyrinth of islands, in order to reach a village 
 when short of wood. 
 
 Below Anavilaua island the width of the Eio 
 Negro is about twelve miles, while in this part it is 
 five ; but so studded is it with tree-clothed islands 
 that neither bank can be seen at once. Some idea of 
 the great size of the Negro may be gathered from the 
 fact, that Anavilana is forty miles in length. Being 
 in flood at the time, aU these islands, and the lower por- 
 tions of the river's bank, were some feet under water. 
 
 The next village we came to, some thirty-eight 
 miles on, is called Pedreira, from the fact that close to 
 it some bosses of gneissose granite come to the surface. 
 Upon a smooth almost perpendicular face of this rock, 
 at the village landing, are some ancient Indian picture 
 writings, chiefly composed of circular forms. 
 
 Pedreira village, even with the cheering condition 
 of fine sunny weather, must be a wretched-looking 
 
Chap. XVII. ATTACKS ON PBDREIEA. 363 
 
 place, but viewed as it was by us under the evil 
 influence of a leaden sky, from which showers of fine 
 rain fell at intervals of a few minutes each, it wore a 
 most dreary, tumble-down aspect. It has one street 
 facing the river, in which is a two-storied dwelling 
 that at one time must have possessed considerable 
 pretensions. 
 
 Whilst taking a stroll through the sloppy place, a 
 particularly heavy shower fell, causing us to accept 
 the shelter of a house proffered by its occupant, the 
 Lieutenant in charge of a small squad of soldiers 
 garrisoning the place. This gentleman told us that he 
 and his eight men were stationed here to protect it 
 from the inroads of some savage tribes of Indians, 
 called respectively the Andiras, Peras, and "Wamiris, 
 who live far up the Jaupiri, a river which empties 
 itself into the Rio Negro almost opposite Pedreira. 
 From the time that the Rio Negro was first settled by 
 the Portuguese to the present, these Indians have 
 refused to have any dealings whatever with them or 
 their descendants. Every expedition that has been 
 made up their river, for the purposes of trade or 
 otherwise, has been immediately attacked and driven 
 back. It seems not at all unlikely that a slave- 
 hunting raid, perpetrated by the Portuguese many 
 years ago upon those tribes, has so embittered them, 
 that, dreading another, they are on the alert to attack 
 anyone who comes into their territory; and for the 
 same reason have 'until recently been afraid to come 
 down to the Rio Negro to trade peaceably. The last 
 attempt to visit them was made a few years ago by 
 an Italian friar, who, like many others, met with his 
 
364 ON THE EIO NBaEO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 death at their hands. Their tactics seem to have 
 changed, for in January 1873 they, for the first time, 
 took the initiative in an attack upon the Brazilians 
 who inhabit Pedreira. 
 
 A considerable force of them landed there at night, 
 surrounded the place, and, taking the few inhabitants 
 by surprise, drove them for refuge into the neigh- 
 bouring forest, killing two women and one child. 
 After taking every article of iron that they could lay 
 their hands on, such as knives and axes, and playfully 
 ringing the church bells, they departed as suddenly as 
 they came. Having been so successful in the matter 
 of loot they paid the village a second visit, during 
 which they removed the entire contents of a black- 
 smith's forge, brutally murdering the unfortunate 
 owner and his boy. We paid a visit to the spot, and 
 saw how thoroughly they had devastated the interior 
 of this building, even extracting the nails and staples 
 from the woodwork. To prevent a repetition of these 
 outrages the Grovernment at Manaos sent up eight 
 soldiers for the protection of the place. The Indians 
 crossed the river for the third time, but did not land, 
 as they probably saw the soldiers. They, however, 
 went to a house some distance below Pedreira., and 
 there killed two women, carrying off the leg bone of 
 one ; a part of the human frame which they appear to 
 covet as a suitable material for the construction of 
 flutes, or arrow heads. In recrossing the river on a 
 raft some of their party got drowned, and their bodies 
 were found next day. The Government determined 
 to stop this sort of thing, and sent a small launch, 
 containing a pivot gun, and some ten soldiers, under 
 
Chap. XVII. PASS THE RIO BRANCO. 365 
 
 the command of our friend tlie Lieutenant, to search 
 for the dwelling place of the tribe, in order to punish 
 them. This expedition had only returned a few days 
 before our arrival, after having been ninety miles up 
 the Jaupiri, ascending as far as the foot of its first 
 cataract. No villages were seen, and only one canoe 
 containing Indians was met with, all of whom jumped 
 overboard and escaped into the bush. The canoe, in 
 which was a huge bow and some arrows, and a " shak- 
 shak," made of a piece of a small cecropia stem, was 
 brought down as a trophy. The Lieutenant affirmed 
 that these people use stone hatchets, and wear small 
 aprons made of a cloth woven from palm fibre. It is 
 therefore obvious that their object in making attacks 
 on the settlements of the Rio Negro was for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining iron of every sort. 
 
 After wooding we continued our journey, the Lieu- 
 tenant, who wished for a passage up to the next 
 village of Carvoeira, accompanying us, and performing 
 the duties of a pilot. 
 
 In passing the mouth of the Eio Branco, we ob- 
 served that its waters, though muddy and turbid, had 
 but a very slight whitish tinge. The full width of 
 the Negro near this is two miles, and both banks can 
 be seen at one time, owing to its being unobstructed 
 by islands. In no other place from Anavilana up can 
 both banks be seen. We regretted not seeing the 
 well-known sculptured rocks off the mouth of the 
 Rio Branco, but as they were at the time completely 
 hidden by the water, it was impossible to obtain even 
 a glimpse of them. 
 
 It was well that there was some one on board who 
 
366 ON THE EIO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 knew tlie way, otherwise we should most certainly 
 have lost ourselves amongst the innumerable little 
 islands that studded the river in this part, from above 
 the Rio Branco to Carvoeira. We arrived the same 
 afternoon at the latter mentioned village — a small 
 slushy, grassy place, at this time an island, composed 
 of mud walled houses in bad repair, and a large 
 church in a good state of preservation. 
 
 We were introduced to the chief man of the dis- 
 trict, a Major M , who has a house here, and a 
 
 cattle farm on the Rio Branco, He appeared to be 
 a most gentlemanly man, polite, and all that sort of 
 thing; but his tongue ran so very rapidly that he 
 was simply overpowering at times. In speaking of 
 the district of Fort St. Joaquim, on the Rio Branco, 
 he mentioned having met Sir Robert Schomburgk 
 there, and then detailed the story of the occupation 
 of Pirara by the Brazilians, from his own country- 
 men's point of view. According to this, the soldiers 
 from Georgetown had been sent to drive away his 
 relative, the peaceable and pious Frei Jose dos Santo 
 Innocentos, who had gone to Pirara to set up a 
 mission and convert the Macusi Indians. He ap- 
 peared not to be aware of the fact that Mr. Youd 
 had first formed the mission, and that it was the 
 Frei Jose who had him ousted before the latter was 
 made to leave in his turn. 
 
 We remained that night at the village, and saw a 
 service held at the church; in front of which was 
 a high pole, dressed out with leaves and flowers, like a 
 may-pole, but having besides some bananas and plan- 
 tains attached to it. A ball was afterwards held, at 
 
Chap. XVII. A STEANGB DANCE. 367 
 
 which was a dance unlike any we had hitherto seen, 
 which attracted our attention by its amusing nature 
 and the clever way in which it was executed. It was 
 danced by eight men, two with drums, four with 
 caracajas, one with a stick, and the last unarmed. 
 The last individual kept behind the six dancing 
 musicians, who had to perform in pairs, imitating the 
 example of the leader who had the stick. The object 
 of this person was, by performing intricate figures 
 rapidly, to get within reach of the man behind, and 
 so rap him with the stick ; while the latter in- 
 dividual's sole object was to dance in time, and 
 evade his pursuer. As the leader went to the right 
 or left, so did the musicians ; and when he went side- 
 ways to the ground, they did the same. He then 
 sprang up, and they imitated his example, commencing 
 to revolve in two circles, round and between which 
 the man with the stick chased the other, until the 
 movement became so rapid that the music could no 
 longer be kept up. 
 
 We retired early, and during the night were awoke 
 by a tremendous noise, and, looking out, saw a boat 
 coming towards us full of people holding lights, shout- 
 ing in prolonged yells, and discharging rockets. They 
 were the dancers, who, having just broken up their 
 festa, took this opportunity of saluting us. After 
 making a circuit of the ' Beija Flor,' they returned 
 down river, leaving a golden silence after the hideous 
 uproar. 
 
 The Major suggested the advisability of our having 
 a pilot, and procured us one under whose guidance 
 we threaded our way amongst the innumerable small 
 
368 ON THE RIO KEGEO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 islands, which studded the river, on the following 
 morning. Some twelve miles on, we got into a more 
 open portion where the islands were fewer and larger. 
 
 About forty-five miles above Carvoeira we came 
 to a run of high ground called Caburie, presenting 
 a clifi" of red clay some thirty feet in height to the 
 river, upon which there are a few houses, here and 
 there, at long intervals apart. These high lands, with 
 cliffs of differently coloured sand and clay beds, some- 
 times grey, but usually yellow and red, occur at 
 intervals all along the southern bank of the Negro, 
 as far up almost as we went. They are from three 
 to five miles in length, with equal distances of low 
 swampy igapo lauds intervening. Each has a few 
 houses and clearings along its edge ; while on some 
 are situated the small villages of the river. Anchored 
 off one of the houses at the Caburie highland, or bar- 
 reiras, we spent the night. 
 
 During the evening, whilst ashore obtaining alti- 
 tudes of stars, the owner of the house, an elderly 
 man, with whom we had some conversation, informed 
 us that he had come from Venezuela, and knew the 
 river well. We engaged him as a pilot after he had 
 obtained leave fi"om his wife, a fat chubby young 
 woman, to go. He sold us a pair of fowls, which we 
 considered great delicacies owing to their rarity ; and 
 our Captain, a river turtle, which he had in a small 
 crawle. It appeared from what he said that he had 
 been engaged by Mr. Wallace to procure specimens of 
 birds and animals for him. 
 
 He also told us that the small-pox was prevalent 
 amongst the children of the few families living on 
 
Chap. XVII. A SAD PICTURE. 369 
 
 their barreiras, but judging from the marks on a 
 child's face, who had been recently ill, Mr. Trail 
 pronounced it to be chicken-pox. These people were 
 dreadfully afraid of the small-pox, having lieard of the 
 ravages it had effected at Manaos, where it carried off 
 one out of every three of the inhabitants. 
 
 There was a sad picture of the effects of this dire 
 disease in the wreck of a small trading schooner, 
 which we passed next day, with only its masts above 
 water, as it lay in a small bay on the river side ; and 
 with whatever remaiaed of the corpses of its crew — 
 the victims to small-pox — still on board. This craft 
 had left Manaos during the epidemic, and the disease, 
 which her crew had contracted at that place, sub- 
 sequently broke out amongst them, completely over- 
 powering them by the time they reached this spot. 
 There they had made their vessel fast to the trees, 
 and there they had all perished. The infectious 
 nature of their complaint kept from them any aid 
 that should have come from the Caburie people, or 
 any passers by; so they had died in as deserted a 
 state as if they had been away out in mid-ocean, 
 beyond the reach of human succour. The hot sun 
 had opened the seams in the vessel's sides, thus allow- 
 ing the water to gain an entrance, and sink her at her 
 moorings. 
 
 On coming to the lower end of Manaca-arca island, 
 our recently acquired pilot advised Mamede to take 
 the narrow channel between it and the mainland. He 
 had been through it in a small montaria, and evidently 
 imagined himself still in one. "We were at breakfast 
 at the time when our ship was run into it, and were 
 
 2 B 
 
370 ON THE EIO NEGEO. Ghap. XVII. 
 
 somewhat startled at first to find that tree boughs 
 were brushing and switching against us on both sides 
 at the same time. Then it became dangerous work, as 
 larger and more protruding branches were met with 
 which threatened to brain us, and actually commenced 
 to sweep our breakfast off the table. Each one seized 
 a dish, and dashed with it to the pantry, behind which 
 edifice we all took shelter while the storm of boughs 
 lasted. As the channel was some five miles in length, 
 we were kept in a state of anxiety, and even danger, 
 for some time, for we had to pass over many fallen tree- 
 tops, whose branches sticking up through the water 
 threatened to damage the launch's screw; and on 
 these occasions the engine had to be stopped. But 
 the worst misfortune that befel us in this exciting 
 passage, was in taking on board a large red ants' nest, 
 brushed by our awning from a tree branch. On 
 getting clear of the trees and out upon open river 
 again, all hands had to wage war against the countless 
 hordes of ants that emerged from that nest; and 
 trample them, crush them, sweep them overboard, do 
 anything in fact to eject them from our ship. Though 
 we worked hard, and were pretty successful, yet we 
 never entirely got rid of them; and some always 
 remained in the ' Beija Flor ' to the very last day we 
 were in her. 
 
 In the afternoon on our seventh day from Manaos 
 we arrived at the town of Barcellos, once the capital 
 of the Rio Negro district. When the Portuguese 
 owned the country they intended making a large and 
 important town on the spot, and imported materials 
 from their native country for the construction of large 
 
OiiAP. XVII. 
 
 BARCELLOS. 
 
 371 
 
 public buildings, wiiicli it is iicetlless to say were 
 never erected. 
 
 Mr. Wallace, who travelled on the Amazon and 
 Rio Negro some twenty years ago, and who has given 
 us a delightful record of his journey up this river, in 
 his work entitled ' Travels on the Amazon and Rio 
 Negro,' found Barcellos almost abandoned. Since 
 
 liAnr'FT.T.op. 
 
 that time it has looked up a little, and now contains 
 some thirty well-built, plastered and whitewashed 
 houses, placed along a street facing the river, from 
 which one or two short side-streets lead back. The 
 chief trade of the place consists in piassaba and india- 
 
 2 j; 2 
 
372 ON THE RIO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 rubber. The former substa"nce, the natural product 
 of a palm of the district, is used for making ropes and 
 brooms. The accompanying sketch of Barcellos will 
 give the reader an idea of the general appearance of 
 a portion of the front street, together with a sample 
 of one of those curious native trading crafts called 
 Cubertas, which is placed in the foreground. 
 
 Whilst our steamer was taking in a supply of wood 
 we strolled through the place ; and having some 
 
 letters of Major M 's to put in the post office, 
 
 inquired the way to that edifice, which we found was 
 in one of the side streets, in the house of the priest, 
 who acted also as postmaster. "We were asked in and 
 made welcome by this gentleman, who soon became 
 on very friendly terms with us through his winning 
 manners. Unlike others of his profession whom we 
 had seen in out-of-the-way places in this country, he 
 dressed in a style suited to his office, and wore a 
 broad-brimmed orthodox hat. -Accompanied by him 
 we visited and presented a letter of introduction to an 
 official of the district, who immediately began to 
 bewail to us how sad was his fate in being posted at 
 such a miserable, unhealthy, out-of-the-way spot, as he 
 termed it, and he had our sympathies at once enlisted 
 in his favour. His wife also came into the room to 
 see us, a proceeding that somewhat astonished us, for 
 as a rule the ladies of a house at which we called 
 were never visible. Perhaps it was a knowledge of 
 good manners, as practised in other lands, that led 
 this young lady to honour us with her presence. 
 
 Our launch, having finished wooding, dropped down 
 alongside a trestle bridge across an igaripe or creek. 
 
CiJAP. XVII. LITTLE INDIAN SERVANT. 373 
 
 that divided one portion of the town from tlie other, 
 and there was made fast for the night. The official, 
 his wife, and the priest, then accompanied us on 
 board, and honoured us with a visit, which they 
 seemed to enjoy as a break in the dull routine of their 
 dreary Barcellos life. After the gentlemen had 
 smoked cigars and partaken of some slight refresh- 
 ment, the official and his wife took their departure, 
 cordially inviting us to spend the evening at their 
 house, which we thankfully accepted. The priest 
 remained and dined with us, while a row of natives 
 stood on the bridge, I^^utving down upon us as we 
 partook of our repast, the gleam of our lamp showing 
 their faces above the parapet-railing. 
 
 The weather being too cloudy to get observations 
 of stars, we adjourned to the official's residence, where 
 we spent a most pleasant evening, a,nd looked over his 
 collection of native products and Indian curiosities. 
 There was a youth there, some relation of our host's, 
 who had been ill with fever, and though possessed of 
 a handsome face, was the most original looking young 
 man we ever beheld. Although the evening was hot, 
 yet he wore a heavy bluish overcoat of very rough 
 material, which came almost to his heels, and had a 
 white handkerchief tied round his face. He was very 
 friendly, and when amused laughed in a most insane 
 manner, although just recovering from fever, and 
 actually suffering at the time from toothache. The 
 chief source of his amusement was the behaviour of a 
 little Indian servant, or slave, who was seized with 
 a spirit of mischief, and went round the room playing 
 all sorts of tricks upon the visitors, such as pinching 
 
374 ON THE RIO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 our backs, biting our calves, and trying to pull off 
 our boots, keeping at the time out of tlie gaze of 
 her master. Not wishing to have the little fiend 
 punished, we took no notice of her proceedings. Our 
 host, however, eventually observing that she was in a 
 lively humour, induced her to speak in her own 
 language and imitate different characters for our 
 entertainment. "We had tea and sweetmeats at 9 p.m., 
 and soon after retired to our ship. 
 
 Another day's steaming along the river, amongst 
 large islands and wide channels, brought us to 
 Cabuquem village, a deserted looking - place of ten 
 houses, only two of which were inhabited at the time. 
 The dilapidated church seemed only to be used as a 
 dressing (or rather undressing) room for reptiles, for on 
 its floor lay the recently thrown-off skin of a snake, 
 six feet in length. The stir, bustle, and commercial 
 activity of the place, at the time, were all merged into 
 the labours of one man, who was making a four-inch 
 piassaba rope, in a sort of rope-walk. From the top 
 of the high red clay cliffs upon which the village is 
 seated, is a fine view looking up a long and wide 
 reach of river, between the main and an island. 
 
 The following evening we stopped at Thomar 
 village, also situated on a barreiras, another tumble- 
 down place where there was only one really good 
 building, owned by a Portuguese merchant, Senhor 
 
 da S , whose combined shop and house were in 
 
 an exceptionally clean and neat condition. He was 
 dressed entirely in black, even to his shirt, being in 
 mourning for the late partner of his joys and sorrows. 
 
 We passed some large rafts, made of the trunks of 
 
Chap. XVII. OLD ST. ISABEL. 375 
 
 cecropia trees, floating on the edge of the river. 
 These had been used by the natives for carrying loads 
 of piassaba to the villages at which the Company's 
 steamers call. When done with, the rafts, being of 
 no further use, are cut adrift and allowed to float 
 away. Upon the low portions of the banks of the 
 river, our attention was attracted to the singularly 
 pretty palms, of two species, which abound there, and 
 which were discovered by Mr. Wallace ; one is a 
 Mauritia, and the other a Leopoldinia, 
 
 A day and a half's journey above Thomar brought 
 us to a part of the river where there were masses of 
 gneissose granite rocks above water, while some 
 were hidden beneath. Over one of the latter we 
 grated, the launch's keel just touching it, without 
 however sustaining any damage. Beyond this on the 
 mainland there were some low rounded white sand 
 hills, sparsely clothed with vegetation, rising to a 
 height of eighty-seven feet above the river. A few 
 miles on we passed a place called Guianaria, where a 
 Captain Cordeiro lives ; off a point a little above 
 which the current ran with such force, that our launch 
 could just stem it. 
 
 We had now passed all the villages on the south 
 bank, and were making for St. Isabel, which is situated 
 on the other shore. That evening we arrived at the 
 site of the old village of the same name, which has 
 long since been abandoned, its inhabitants moving to 
 a place some miles on, which now bears its name. 
 We spent the night off the old place, long since 
 overgrown with bush, shrubs, and arrow grass; and 
 obtained some observations for latitude and longitude 
 
376 ON THE EIO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 from the surface of a large flat granite rock on the 
 water's edge. 
 
 A short run next day brought us to the foot of 
 the small rapid of Tapuraquara, where the river ran 
 with considerable force. Both captain and engineer 
 doubted whether it was safe to try the ascent of this 
 rapid ; the latter being of the opinion, that if he 
 worked his engine at full speed, the defective bush of 
 the screw, giving the shaft too much play, would be 
 very apt to cause the screw's shaft to snap. We 
 thought it best to make the attempt, allowing the 
 Engineer to work his engine with such speed as he 
 safely could, without endangering the machinery. 
 This he did, and the result was that the speed did not 
 enable the launch to stem the fierce current, so that 
 after getting half-way up she fell back. Thus we were 
 obliged to content ourselves with having got this far 
 up the river, a distance of 454 miles from its mouth ; 
 and after a short stay at the foot of the rapid, com- 
 menced our return journey. 
 
 On our way down, in landing at Captain Cordeiro's, 
 the launch was headed for a low tree growing on 
 flooded land, in order to be there made fast ; when, as 
 we approached it, the Captain called out that there 
 was a huge marabunta's nest on it, and then had the 
 helm jammed hard up, in order if possible to avoid it. 
 Most of the launch's way being lost she just sheered 
 by, and turning slowly with the current brushed the 
 tree, causing a swarm of angry wasps to board us. 
 In an instant the wheel and engine were deserted, 
 while all on board were crouching on the flange 
 outside of the loiilwarks, with coats thrown over their 
 
Chap. XVII. DIFPIOITLT NAVIGATION. 377 
 
 heads, in anticipation of a severe stinging, and ready- 
 to plunge overboard. By thus remaining perfectly 
 quiet, the insects merely buzzed about without sting- 
 ing, while the launch slowly drifted away from their 
 house ; and after enduring what seemed to us to be 
 hours of suspense, but was in reality minutes, we had 
 the satisfaction of seeing them depart. The men then 
 returned to their posts, the engine was set in motion, 
 and we backed gracefully away from their vicinity. 
 We had every reason to act in the gingerly manner 
 we did, for the nest was large, and contained the 
 elements of death for all on board. 
 
 G-etting bej^ond the part where the large granite 
 rocks abounded, we took a channel leading to the 
 northern side of the river, so as to follow that bank in 
 our descent, and after a time got into a region of 
 other granite rocks, where the navigation was both 
 difficult and dangerous. There was every reason to 
 be very cautious in a place like that, for the launch's 
 hull being built of steel plates of only one-eighth 
 of an inch in thickness, would not stand much of a 
 blow against a rock without coming to grief. Fortu- 
 nately at this stage of the proceedings we met a man 
 fishing from a montaria, whom we hailed, in order to 
 inquire of him our way to a better channel. He came 
 slowly towards us ia a timid and distrustful manner, 
 wearing a very severe countenance, and sitting bolt 
 upright in his montaria, as if he had recently swal- 
 lowed a ramrod. Judging from his salutations, he 
 was polite withal, and gave our Captain directions 
 how to steer so as to clear the rocks, which was soon 
 effected. 
 
378 ON THE EIO NEaEO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 On the following day we arrived at the mouth of a 
 small river called the Padawiry, which we ascended 
 for a considerable distance, being two and a half days 
 upon it, and then returning to the Eio Negro, con- 
 tinued our journey. The Padiwiry is a gloomy river, 
 having only a few inhabitants, who live iu houses 
 near its mouth, situated on the site of an ancient 
 Indian village, where black soil and pieces of pottery 
 abound. These houses were empty at the time, 
 their owners being probably up the river gathering 
 piassaba, for which article of commerce it is famous. 
 Not far up, on its east bank, there is an extensive 
 sandy campo, containing many shrubs, numbers of a 
 stunted species of urua palm, and but little grass. 
 
 Whilst we were ashore on this campo, our sailors 
 caught a matamata turtle of good size, being about 
 three feet in length. It was an ugly salamander-like 
 thing, its neck being large and out of all proportion to 
 its body. Warty appendages ornamented its head 
 and neck, while its wide mouth, drawn back into a 
 broad grin, terminated close beneath the back of each 
 eye. The latter were situated on a high ridge, so that 
 the tears which it occasionally shed flowed backward, 
 and rested in the depression on the top of its head. It 
 had a most peculiar india-rubbery-looking snout ; in 
 fact, the whole animal looked as if made out of gutta- 
 percha. When we turned it upon its back, it emitted 
 a most disagreeable pungent smell, somewhat re- 
 sembling that made by the peccary. 
 
 At the farthest point which we reached on this 
 river, close to some granite rocks which have the 
 honour of lying just under the equator, we saw smoke 
 
Chap. XVII. PIASSABA PALMS. 379 
 
 issuing from the trees on the edge of the forest, and 
 landing, perceived an old man and woman engaged in 
 gathering piassaba. 
 
 The grove of piassaba palms was only a few yards 
 back in the forest, and presented a most singular 
 appearance, the stem of each tree being thickly 
 wrapped in a naturally woven matting of a brown 
 colour, enclosing countless long, vertical little rods of 
 pliable material — the piassaba of commerce. The dia- 
 meter of the unclothed stem of one of these palms did 
 not much exceed six inches, while with its coating of 
 fibre and matting it averaged from two feet six to 
 three feet. As the stems are, roughly speaking, ten 
 to fifteen feet in height, the quantity of useful materials 
 obtainable from each is very great, and most easily 
 procured, it being only necessary to cut through the 
 matting down one side to the stem, and then strip it 
 off. Tied into large bundles, it is placed upon rafts 
 for transportation. 
 
 The northern shore of the Rio Negro downwards 
 was principally low flooded land, and very sparsely 
 inhabited, for from the mouth of the Padawiry to the 
 settlements above Conceicao at Anavilana river, we 
 did not see any houses whatever. 
 
 In descending we had to cross over to Barcellos and 
 Carvoeira for wood, and also to Oaburie to land our 
 pilot at his home. Barcellos we found had received 
 an accession of population, people having returned 
 from somewhere or the other to their homes during 
 our absence ; and quite a number of individuals 
 turned out to watch our launch approach. Landing 
 at Senhor Da Silva's wood pile, we went to pay our 
 
380 ON THE RIO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 friend the priest a visit, and found him as jolly as 
 ever. At the official's the whole family were down 
 with fever, and the light of day was almost ex- 
 cluded from their dwelling by the close fastening of 
 doors and window-shutters. The youth mentioned in 
 the account of our previous visit opened the door, 
 and then closed it quickly behind us, as if dreading 
 the entry of the least breath of wind from without, 
 laden with more malaria. He, poor fellow, looked 
 awfully thin and pale, and still wore his long overcoat, 
 together with a cap of red and blue striped Berlin 
 wool. The official came out of his room to see us, 
 looking very pale and ill, and evidently much alarmed 
 about the fever which all his family and servants had 
 taken. He seemed to feel it cold, for he also wore a 
 grey overcoat and a hat, although the temperature 
 was about 82°. He had written to the President at 
 Manaos to remove him to another district, and intended 
 leaving this place by the next steamer, never to 
 return. 
 
 Lots of people in the village were suffering from 
 fever at the time, and a partner of Senhor Da Silva's, 
 the man who supplied us with wood, had just died, 
 leaving three small children, one of whom was a very 
 pretty little boy. 
 
 Whilst taking altitudes of the sun from some open 
 ground near a house at the back of the town, a very 
 thin old man, with an eagle nose, put his head out of 
 a window, and gazed at our proceedings with a puz- 
 zled look. We addressed him, saying that we were 
 taking longitude by the sun, thinking that the infor- 
 mation might be useful to him ; at which he wearily 
 
Chap. XVIT. PEVBE AND FOOD. 881 
 
 shook his head, and, holding up a thin trembling hand, 
 said, "This is a very sickly season, much fever is 
 about, and the sun is very hot." We observed a 
 patch of ink on the inside of the second finger of his 
 right hand, betokening that he had been lately occu- 
 pied in writing, most likely getting out a draft of his 
 will. Withdrawing his head, he closed his window- 
 shutter, and disappeared as quietly as he came. The 
 dread of the malady had probably extended itself to 
 our friend the priest, for though he came to see us at 
 dinner-time, he would not partake of anything, in- 
 forming us that he used to have fever when he came 
 to Barcellos nineteen years before ; but as he was 
 careful in what he ate, he never had any now. He 
 mentioned the flesh of bush animals as being a great 
 fever producer. We had no bush animals on our 
 table at the time, nothing, in fact, but some aged salt 
 meat and salt codfish, so we concluded that if it was 
 not the coarseness of our fare that prevented his 
 joining us, it must have been that fear of fever had 
 taken away his appetite. Perhaps a fit of indigestion 
 had followed the first repast partaken of at our table, 
 and had made him cautious. We were quite ready to 
 risk catching any amount of fever, by partaking of the 
 flesh of bush animals, if we could only purchase it 
 anywhere. Certainly we did fare badly for want 
 of fresh food whilst journeying upon this river, and 
 though we never missed an opportunity of asking for 
 fowls, turtle, fresh fish, or vegetables, were only able 
 to purchase three miserable fowls during a period ex- 
 tending over more than three weeks. 
 
 When the priest first came on board, there were 
 
382 ON THE RIO NEGEO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 two individuals present, who had come to see us, out of 
 curiosity. One was a very ugly chap, the head-tailor 
 of Barcellos, the other a dark-looking stunted indi- 
 vidual, who, hearing that we were "exploradores," 
 had brought an old tracing of the Xingu river to show 
 us. This work of art, he said, had been executed by 
 Prince Aldabert, who, he informed us, had travelled 
 on the Amazon and Xingu rivers in company with 
 Bismarck. The fact of Bismarck's having ever 
 travelled on the Amazon was news to us, and most 
 probably would be news to that distinguished indi- 
 vidual himself. As soon as the priest saw our 
 visitors, he grasped the Interpreter by the arm, and 
 with him fled. Graining a safe distance he explained 
 that the cause of his sudden flight was the presence of 
 the dark individual, who was a villain, and had 
 threatened his life, forcing him to carry a dagger about 
 his person, to be drawn at any moment in self- 
 defence. 
 
 We went in the evening to purchase some articles 
 of native manufacture, at a small shop kept by an old 
 man, and there saw the ugly head-tailor playing cards 
 with him across the counter. The old man had some 
 large musical boxes, probably worth about five pounds 
 each, which, he informed us, met with a ready sale' to 
 indiarubber gatherers, at 200 milreis (twenty-two 
 pounds apiece). 
 
 On our return we found the Captain in possession of 
 a pretty little night monkey. It turned out to be very 
 gentle and affectionate, and soon made friends with all. 
 By day it slept in a dark corner, but awoke at sunset, 
 
Chap. XVII. NIGHT MONKEY. 383 
 
 and became lively at night. It amused us to put it 
 on the table and watch it catching the insects which 
 alv/ays swarmed so numerously around our lamp. 
 
 
 NIGHT MONKEY. 
 
 At an early hour next morning we left old 
 Barcellos, and wending our way through channels to 
 the opposite shore descended along near it. The next 
 occasion on which we visited the south side was to 
 land our pilot at Caburie. There an unfortunate 
 quarrel occurred between our Captain and one of the 
 sailors, resulting in the immediate discharge of the 
 latter, who was somewhat under the influence of 
 Barcellos rum. He was paid off, and sent ashore bag 
 and baggage by the Captain, without any ceremony ; 
 and our Spanish labourer Angelo was put in his 
 place. 
 
 Whether this sailor placed an evil spell upon us or 
 not, can never be known, as we did not see him again 
 to enable us to make inquiries to that effect; but 
 certain it is, that on the following day we met with an 
 
384 ON THE rjO NEGRO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 accident which might have had very serious results. 
 It occurred in this wise: — "We had entered a large 
 channel, and were nearing what was either a river's 
 mouth or a side channel. Thinking it necessary to 
 determine which of the two it was, orders were given 
 to run the launch in shore so as to pass close to the 
 opening. This was done, and when she had ap- 
 proached within forty yards of the forest's edge, the 
 steersman tried to run the helm hard over, in order 
 to turn her parallel to the bush ; but, as ill-luck would 
 have it, the steering gear got jammed, and the rudder 
 became immovable. Seeing that a collision between 
 our launch and the trees was imminent, we all rushed 
 as far aft as possible, with feelings, as the novelists 
 say, more easily imagined than described, while the 
 engine was stopped and quickly reversed. Clearing 
 the intervening space in less than no time, she plunged 
 headlong into the forest, which, fortunately being 
 flooded to a depth of some four to six feet, saved her 
 a bump against hard ground, and a shattered bottom. 
 Bang ! crash ! whiz ! and branches, leaves, and twigs 
 switched madly about our ears ; while our poor 
 launch dashed violently against a forest father on one 
 side, and glancing off caught its neighbour in the ribs 
 — or rather stem — on the other. By the violence of 
 the contact and the reversed engine, her speed was 
 considerably lessened just as she came bow on to a 
 tree, some eight inches in diameter, which bent Avith 
 the force of the blow, and thus in part broke it. Tlie 
 launch's mad career was now at an end, and when 
 the bent tree suddenly sprang back, assuming its 
 original upright position, the rebound, assisted by the 
 
Chap. XVII. CRIPPLED STATE OF ' BEIJA FLOE.' 385 
 
 sternway, shot us nearly out of the forest. Eegaining 
 the river we were considerably relieved to find that no 
 serious damage had been done to the hull, while what 
 was done to the upper works, though deplorable, 
 would not render our launch unseaworthy. 
 
 A trim neat little craft was the * Beija Flor ' when 
 she gamely charged the bush ; but, worsted by the 
 encounter, she was after that a crippled, twisted thing, 
 looking at least ten years older. The damage done 
 was all forward, where stout iron stanchions, support- 
 ing the metal awning, were bent like hoops ; the 
 awning itself was twisted ; the sheet-iron bulwarks 
 were cocked up bodily in front, some two feet off the 
 deck ; and worst of all, the wheel was reclining fiat 
 on its back, its stout cast-iron stand having snapped 
 off. Our Captain was in despair, quite beside himself, 
 in fact, though it was all a pure accident. He took 
 such pride in his command, that to see it in such 
 a crippled condition moved him greatly. Eushing aft, 
 he pointed forwards, and said with bitter irony, 
 " Bstava prompto agora ! ! ! " — (We are ready now), 
 — as much as to say, our ship is in a condition to go 
 anywhere at present. We did not view things in the 
 same light as Mamede, but in a more cheerful manner, 
 feeling somewhat jolly after our miraculous escape, 
 on finding that we had not been knocked on the head, 
 or blown up, or impaled by a tree branch, or other- 
 wise damaged. 
 
 Word was passed to " clear the wreck," and soon all 
 hands were busily engaged in so doing. The rudder 
 chains were unshackled, and the iron tiller rigged on 
 the rudder head^ the bulwarks were partially replaced, 
 
 2 c 
 
386 oy THE RIO NEGRO. Ohap. XVII. 
 
 and things rendered as ship-shape as possible under 
 the existing conditions. Fortunately the wheel stand 
 was broken square off near its base, so that when put 
 back in its original position, and lashed with ropes, 
 the pressure upon it, acting in a vertical direction, 
 tended to keep it firmly in its place. Then the steer- 
 ing chains, the cause of the accident, were looked to, 
 and it was found that, from being too slack, they had 
 got off a wheel which guided them, and were thus 
 rendered non-effective. This also was soon remedied, 
 and connection being made between them and the 
 wheel, the " Beija Flor " was almost in statu quo 
 again. 
 
 We stoppeil that night at Ayrao, and on the follow- 
 ing morning, before leaving, saw some men digging a 
 grave in the cemetery, Avhere there were four others, 
 newly made, which had within the last week or so 
 received their unfortunate tenants. In passing along 
 the street, we saw the corpse — that of a woman who 
 had died of fever — for which the grave was intended, 
 shrouded and placed in a coffin of rough boards, which 
 stood upon a bench in the open doorway of a house. 
 The coffin's lid, being propped up, one could look in 
 and see the face of the poor woman. 
 
 From Ayrao onwards, we coasted along the southern 
 shore, stopping at Kazareth, a small settlement near 
 the Paclaria river; Cashimbo; Tauapasse-assu, a small 
 aldeia of six houses, the most easterly village of the 
 jSTegro ; S. xVutonio, a settlement •, and various other 
 places. We also ascended and explored Tomboueira, 
 Taruma, and other igaripe's ; and passed the channel 
 which runs from the Amazon or Solimoes into the 
 
Chap. XVIL GEOLOGY. 387 
 
 Rio Negro, some thirty miles from its mouth. This 
 singular channel, named Aruan, runs a long distance, 
 passing through lakes in which the sediment in suspen- 
 sion in its muddy water, is deposited, and it then 
 flows into the Negro in a clear condition. As night 
 closed in on the seventh da}' of July, we arrived at 
 the city of Manaos, where we were boarded by our 
 good friend Captain Bloem, the Assistant Superin- 
 tendent of Marine of the Company, who was now 
 stationed here. This gentleman placed at our dis- 
 posal one of the Company's ships — the ' Ariman ' — 
 which was anchored off the town, as a dwelling place 
 pro temp. ,• and, instead of having to take up our 
 quarters in the hot town, we were thereby enabled 
 to live coolly and comfortably in the steamer. 
 
 The geology of the Negro is not very interesting, 
 and a general description of it can be given in a few 
 words. At Larges point, near Manaos, the Caxoeira 
 Grande, a point near the Igaripe Taruma, Concei9ao, 
 and Ayrao, low-lying expanses of Erere, or Gruiana 
 sandstone are seen. Upon it, at Manaos, is a red and 
 white variegated friable sandstone, probably belonging 
 to the Monte Alegre fountain beds. 
 
 The red and white sands and clays of the recent 
 deposit are seen forming barreirases at numbers of 
 places along the borders of the Negro. 
 
 At Pedreira, a gneissose granite sets in, and the 
 only rocks we saw from that to St. Isabel were all of 
 similar composition. 
 
 We did not meet with the carboniferous limestone 
 on the Negro, so that if not hidden by the recent 
 deposits, it does not extend so far to the westward, 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 ON THE EIO NBGEO. Chap. XVII. 
 
 having either not been deposited in this district, or 
 else has been cut off by some great fault. It may be 
 that, where the river crosses the limestone outcrop, 
 it runs in the middle of its valley, and gives no cliff 
 sections of that rock. Far back on either of its sides, 
 in the forest, the limestone may form old cliffs. 
 
Chap. XVIll. CHANGE OF SHIPS. 389 
 
 GHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 AT MANAOS. 
 
 The ' Beija Flor ' exchanged for the ' Guajari ' — Delay in fitticg her out 
 
 — Description of Manaos — The Cathedral — The President of the 
 Province — Live Peixe-boi — Hoisting the Ball at Noon — Protestant 
 Services — Dr. Lee's Mission — His Colleague — A Strange Invitation 
 to Breakfast — Pic-nic on the Taruma — Waterfall — Ludicrous Scene 
 
 — Start for the Company's Territory — Camp at Marapata — Variety 
 of Pests — Life in the Forest — The Engineer stung by a Scorpion — 
 At Death's Door — Break up Camp — Stung by Caterpillars — Large 
 Toad and Worm — Trovoado on the Negro. 
 
 The time had at length arrived when it was possible, 
 and even necessary, for the Commission to pause awhile 
 from that incessant journeying about which had now 
 for several months characterized their proceedings. 
 The 'Beija Flor' had been engaged from her owner 
 for a half year only, and of this period a very small 
 portion remained — no more in fact than would be 
 required to repair the damages caused by wear and 
 tear, and the slight accidents which had befallen her, 
 during the prosecution of her arduous labours. 
 
 It is possible that the little craft, to which we had 
 become much attached, might have been re-hired for 
 some months had this been deemed advisable ; but in- 
 asmuch as there were yet longer journeys before us, it 
 was judged better to give us a larger and somewhat 
 stronger steamer. The Company had just acquired 
 
390 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 the vessels of a competing line, and, amongst these 
 was one which seemed to be in every way suitable for 
 our purpose. She had not, however, yet arrived in 
 Manaos from her last trip for her former owners, 
 though overdue, and there were sinister rumours 
 that she had got aground on a sand-bank, where she 
 would be compelled to remain until the return of the 
 rainy season raised the level of the river and floated 
 her off. 
 
 Nearly a raonth elapsed before she turned up to 
 refute this unpleasant report, and then she came in 
 such a dirty and dilapidated condition that several 
 weeks were occupied in cleaning and putting her into 
 an efficient state of repair. In this manner our stay 
 at Manaos was prolonged over a period of just two 
 months. This time was, however, by no means passed 
 idly by any of us. It can well be understood that, in 
 our extensive and continual wanderings, a vast mass 
 of information had been collected which needed to be 
 put into shape, and embodied in reports. Numerous 
 observations for latitude and longitude had to be 
 worked out, and our maps of various rivers carefully 
 laid down by the results. The Botanist was engaged 
 in sorting his large collections, and sending off boxes 
 of specimens to Kew. In the neighbourhood of Manaos 
 itself, there was also much work to be done, as will 
 be presently more particularly described. 
 
 Questions had arisen respecting our future plans, 
 which it seemed desirable to discuss with Senhor 
 Bueno at Para, and for this purpose the Chief during 
 these two months undertook a journey thither. A 
 trip of 2000 miles when performed by land is usually 
 
Chap. XVIII. MANAOS. 391 
 
 very fatiguing; and by sea, monotonous, and more 
 or less uncomfortable ; but here, in the well-appointed 
 steamers of the Company, these various unpleasant- 
 nesses are hardly felt, for the special disadvantages 
 incidental to sea and land travelling are both happily 
 avoided. In no part of the world perhaps can a 
 journey of the same length be performed with greater 
 ease. 
 
 It has been already explained that we did not, 
 whilst at Manaos, seek for quarters on shore. A 
 roomy and comfortable steamer, called the ' Ariman,' 
 which happened to be in port, was placed at our dis- 
 posal; and when she had to leave for Para, a still 
 more spacious steamer — the ' Icamiaba '—was given 
 us in exchange. It thus happened that the aspect of 
 the capital city of Amazonia with which we grew most 
 familiar, was the one it presented when viewed from 
 the harbour. Stretching, as it did, along a consider- 
 able extent of shore, and occupying ground which rose 
 in gradual undulations from the river, the appearance 
 of the place was not a little imposing. 
 
 Quite in the centre, on the crest of a small hill, 
 stood the cathedral. At the time of our visit it was 
 unfinished, though sufficiently advanced to enable us 
 to judge what the building was intended to be like. 
 We were told that the large sum of 80,000^. had 
 already been spent upon it, for which amount a very 
 handsome structure ought to have been secured, but 
 unfortunately the design was not good. A school- 
 boy might have dashed off such an elevation upon 
 his slate, had he been asked to draw a church, but 
 it was difiicult to conceive of an architect perpetrating 
 
392 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 such a piece of bad taste. Windows ranged at even 
 distances in straight rows, and vast surfaces of un- 
 recessed wall, sacrificed entirely the effects of pic- 
 turesqueness and light and shade ; while a glare of 
 whitewash enveloped the whole exterior and interior. 
 Handsome casings of white marble for the doors and 
 windows had been sent, ready carved, from Lisbon, 
 but these were lost sight of in the one snowy tint 
 which spread itself over the entire building. 
 
 On the left of the cathedral was a pleasant grassy 
 square, planted with an avenue of palms, open to the 
 river at the general landing place, near which stood 
 the market. Facing the water, on the quay, was an 
 hotel, announcing itself as such by conspicuous letters 
 on the end wall ; and inasmuch as this is, with the 
 exception of a small hostelry in a back street of the 
 city, the onlv place of the kind in the Brazilian portion 
 of the Amazon valley above Para, it could not fail to 
 attract our attention as a sort of novelty, though at 
 the same time stirring memories of a not very distant 
 past. Houses stretched away from thence westward 
 over a low cliif, on which was also a tiny fort ; and at 
 the extreme left was the military hospital on a little 
 island. 
 
 On the right of the cathedral one noticed the 
 custom-house, a three-storied building, standing on 
 the bank of a wide igaripe' spanned by a wooden 
 bridge. Then followed a row of offices and shops 
 reaching far away along the low shore to the eastward, 
 broken only by another igaripe and bridge. On 
 the hill behind could be seen the tower of the old 
 church, rising above a mass of surrounding foliage. 
 
Chap. XVIII. A VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT. 893 
 
 Not far from it is the elevated point from which 
 the view of Manaos was sketched which forms the 
 frontispiece. 
 
 One long straight road, called Brazil Street, runs 
 through the city, dipping sharply to the two igaripes. 
 Near the western end was the palace of the President 
 of the province, but a more handsome structure was 
 in course of erection on another site at the time of our 
 visit. The houses of Manaos are not crowded together, 
 as in the towns and cities of the old world, conse- 
 quently it covers an area, and makes a display, quite 
 out of proportion to the number of its inhabitants. 
 The trade of the place is also very considerable. At 
 one time we counted as many as ten large steamers in 
 the port, besides a number of small launches — prin- 
 cipally gunboats belonging to the Grovernment. 
 Doubtless there is a fine future before this little city, 
 but during the past its fortunes and population have 
 greatly fluctuated. The latter, when we saw the 
 place, was exceedingly small, owing to the recent 
 ravages of the small-pox, which, however, had entirely 
 ceased. 
 
 During our first short stay in Manaos we had been 
 introduced to the President, by the Company's Agent, 
 and subsequently paid him a few visits at the palace. It 
 was no very formidable matter to approach the highest 
 official in this the largest province of the empire. A 
 word to the soldier on guard at the outer door was 
 sufficient to procure admission to the state residence — 
 the answer to our request to see the President being 
 usually only a wave of the hand towards the staircase. 
 Mounting the steps unattended, we paused at the 
 
394 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 upper landiug, and commenced vigorously to clap 
 our hands, whereupon a servant perhaps, or more pro- 
 bably the President himself, put aside the heavy green 
 hangings, embroidered with the imperial arms of 
 Brazil which occupied each doorway, and looked out 
 to see who might be there. Yery warm was the 
 President's greeting, for one of our hands was usually 
 seized by both his, and vigorously shaken, while many 
 expressions of regard and welcome were showered 
 upon us. At times he even saluted us after the 
 fashion of his countrymen, by throwing his arms 
 around us, patting our backs with his hands, and 
 exclaiming, " 0, my friend, my friend ! " Doubtless it 
 was very flattering to be so well received by so exalted 
 an individual, and yet perhaps nine Englishmen out of 
 ten would feel, as we did, a considerable amount of 
 embarrassment in the circumstances, combined with a 
 difficulty about gracefully disposing their hands during 
 the process of embracing. 
 
 The President was always pleased to show us the 
 curiosities which he had collected during his adminis- 
 tration of the affairs of the province. Conspicuous 
 among his treasures were some hammocks magnifi- 
 cently bordered with feather-work by Indians on the 
 Rio Negro. The patterns represented flowers, leaves, 
 and birds, and the colours were most gorgeous •, but 
 such was the labour connected with procuring the 
 great variety of brilliant feathers in the first place, 
 and that of arranging them afterwards, that the ham- 
 mocks were of almost fabulous value. In a gallery 
 at the back of the house were several handsome 
 birds, peculiar to the province, living in cages ; 
 
Chap. XVIII. 
 
 PEIXE-BOI. 
 
 395 
 
 and in the yard below was a fine ,young tapir, with a 
 beautifully sleek coat. It recognized at once the 
 President's voice, and whinnied pleasantly in answer 
 to his call. 
 
 On board the 'Icaraiaba' — our floating home — lived 
 another of the strange aiiimals of these regions. It 
 was a young peixe-boi, about four feet in length, and 
 one of the baths was devoted to its exclusive occu- 
 pancy. We were not sorry to have the opportunity 
 of becoming familiar with a live specimen of this little- 
 known creature. On grasping it by the middle, and 
 lifting it bodily out of the water, where it lay con- 
 
 rEI.XE-EOI. 
 
 cealed under the floating weeds introduced from time 
 to time as food, it remained quite quietly in our arms 
 without a struggle to free itself. This gave us time 
 to note its general shapelessness ; the smoothness of 
 its thick skin, except where at regular intervals a 
 small lump occurred ; the smallness of its eyes ; 
 and its curious cow-like muzzle, the nostrils of which 
 could be closed by a valve and made entirely to 
 disappear. 
 
396 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 The foregoing sketch was made by the Engineer 
 ^Yhile the Botanist held it in his arms to facilitate the 
 process of portrait taking. 
 
 Every day, by the request of Captain Bloem — who 
 stated that the President and many of the inhabitants 
 of Manaos wished it — we hoisted a large canvas 
 ball to the top of the mast of our steamer at five 
 minutes before twelve, and dropped it at exact noon. 
 Our cook immediately struck eight bells, and all the 
 other steamers in port at once followed suit. Some- 
 times a gun or pistol was fired to give additional 
 emphasis to the performance. It was amusing to see 
 through our field-glasses the inhabitants standing at 
 the doors of their houses or shops, with their 
 watches in hand, waiting for the ball to drop, then 
 instantly returning satisfied to their several occupa- 
 tions. 
 
 On one occasion none of us remembered to attend 
 to this important duty until fully ten minutes after 
 the sun had passed its meridian altitude. Of course 
 it was then too late to do anything, although several 
 persons still remained at their doors waiting in vain 
 for the usual signal. During the afternoon many sent 
 to inquire of Captain Bloem the cause of the omission ; 
 but he, considering himself as closely identified with 
 the business, cunningly dissembled, and replied to his 
 questioners that they must have made a mistake ; at 
 the same time advising them to keep a sharper look- 
 out on the following day ! 
 
 One circumstance specially marked our stay at 
 ^Manaos, namely this, that there and there only had 
 we the opportunity of attending Protestant services. 
 
Chap. XVIII. DR. LEE'S MISSION. 397 
 
 Dr. Lee, of the same mission as that with which 
 
 Mr. at Santarem was connected, was at the 
 
 time in the city, and as there were a few other English 
 people in the place, he kindly offered to conduct 
 worship for us, every Sunday morning, at the house of 
 a Grerman merchant. Our congregation never amounted 
 to more than nine persons, and the service consisted, 
 besides a short sermon, of the American version of the 
 morning prayers of the English Church. It is well 
 known that the principal difference consists in the 
 mention of the name of the President of the United 
 States instead of that of Queen Victoria ; but perhaps 
 the most striking alteration is the changing of the 
 word "wealth," wherever it occurs, into "prosperity." 
 It would appear that our American cousins do not 
 desire wealth ! 
 
 Dr. Lee was engaged at the time of our arrival in 
 arranging to start a mission among semi-civilized 
 Indians, but was puzzled to know where to locate 
 himself. Although the Eoman Catholic religion is 
 predominant, and almost universal, in Brazil, the 
 Grovernment tolerates other faiths, and many of the 
 people possess liberal views on the matter. It is 
 necessary, however, for a Protestant missionary to 
 consult the President of the province in which he 
 intends to labour, respecting the scene of his opera- 
 tions. Obviously, therefore, it is in the power of a 
 man with bigoted opinions, or limited knowledge, to 
 assign a sphere of action of a very unfavourable 
 nature, one in which the utmost zeal and wisdom 
 might be expended without securing a single convert. 
 Dr. Lee, for instance, had been recommended — perhaps 
 
398 AT MAXAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 in good faith, but through defective information— to 
 talie up his quarters on the Abacaxis : before deciding 
 on this course, however, he did us the honour of 
 asking our opinion. When we explained to him that 
 it was the least populous of all the rivers we had 
 visited, and that it seemed to be used only as a high- 
 way by which the Muudurucus might go up, once a 
 year, to attack the unfortunate Araras, who had 
 necessarily to conceal themselves in the most secret 
 recesses of the forest, he at once abandoned the idea. 
 
 ITe recommended the colonies of runaway slaves and 
 other fugitives on the Trombetas as a people among 
 whom much good might be done ; but their district 
 was in another province, and it was ultimately de- 
 cided to start the mission near the head waters of the 
 Purus. 
 
 Dr. Lee was accompanied by a gentleman, a native 
 of Surinam, whose- acquaintance we had already 
 made at a time when he was acting as colleague 
 
 to Mr. C of Santarem. He always seemed 
 
 to us very straightforward, earnest, painstaking, and 
 devoted — one who in due course would make a suit- 
 able leader for a mission. Mr. R might be met 
 
 every evening, about nine o'clock, passing along the 
 streets of Manaos — with a little saucer containing a 
 cake of soap in his hand, and a towel thrown over 
 his arm — on his way to bathe and wash on the steps 
 of the quay, which was, at that time, deserted. Here, 
 in a dark corner, and in perfect solitude, such as his 
 modesty preferred, he went through his ablutions, and 
 then returned refreshed to his lodgings. But it happened 
 one evening, while in his favourite spot, a large 
 
Chap. XVIII. AWKWAKD POSITION. 399 
 
 steamer came up river, and turned into the port. Of 
 this, however, he took no notice, as he concluded that 
 she would go as usual to one of the mooring buoys far 
 out in the stream. Now, she had never been in 
 Manaos before, and for some reason preferred the 
 quay, to which she suddenly curved round, at the 
 same time sending up a great discharge of rockets to 
 announce her arrival. All the inhabitants of the city 
 flocked to the place to see and criticise ttie new comer, 
 
 and poor Mr. R found himself, before he well knew 
 
 how it had all happened, in the very centre of a large 
 and bustling crowd. 
 
 Dr. Lee had wished to accompany us up the Purus, 
 which was the next expedition on our programme, but 
 the delay in our preparations proved too great for 
 him, and the President gave a free passage to himself 
 and his colleague in the next steamer making that 
 trip. At sunset one evening we waved our adieus to 
 them from the deck of the ' Icamiaba,' as they steamed 
 away down towards the mouth of the Negro, thus 
 making a start on their arduous, and, as it turned out, 
 disastrous enterprise. 
 
 Owing to the isolation of our floating home, we had 
 little opportunity of being brought into very close 
 acquaintance with the people of Manaos. The few 
 English residents, or visitors to the city, came off to 
 see us almost daily, but the natives honoured us with 
 little of their presence. In any case it would have 
 been difficult to obtain much social intercourse with 
 the latter, for the Brazilian's "house is his castle" in a 
 sense in which the Englishman's certainly is not, and 
 we were only once invited, whilst at Manaos, to spend 
 
400 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 a quiet evening in a family circle. One morning 
 when transacting some business with a gentleman in 
 the city we were pressed by him to remain to break- 
 fast. Now we had been long enough in the country 
 to know that such an invitation means nothing, and at 
 once declined it ; but this gentleman feigned sincerity 
 so admirably, that we were at last deceived. He 
 urged us to assign a reason for our refusal, and as we 
 had none to give, except the unmentionable one that 
 we doubted if he meant what he said, we at length 
 yielded an assent to his proposal. Instantly there 
 was a change in his manner ; he muttered something 
 about another day being more convenient, and then 
 hastily bid us good morning. As far as we could 
 judge, this kind of thing does not arise from inhospi- 
 talitj', as much as from a certain unwillingness to 
 admit strangers into the privacy of domestic life ; for 
 the same gentleman afterwards took us out for a day's 
 excursion, and performed the part of host liberally, 
 away from his own house. 
 
 One pic-nic, which brought us into brief contact 
 with some of the leading gentlemen of the city, was of 
 such a pleasant nature, and afforded us such a hearty 
 laugh that we may be pardoned for dwelling upon it. 
 The affair was arranged by our friends. Captain Bloem 
 and Captain Talisman, in conjunction with Dr. 
 Canavaro — a benevolent gentleman who now practises 
 only gratuitously, and is well known and widely 
 honoured for his kindness to the sick poor. He has a 
 pleasant house in the neighbourhood of Manaos, but 
 spends most of his time, we were told, in visiting his 
 numerous friends, receiving everywhere a warm 
 
Chap. XVIII. A PIC-NIC. ' 401 
 
 welcome. The Doctor is also fond of arranging en- 
 tertainments for strangers visiting the capital of 
 Amazonia, in which capacity he has already appeared 
 before the world in Professor and Mrs. Agassiz's 
 ' Journey in Brazil.' 
 
 The ' Beija Flor ' had been sufficiently repaired and 
 renovated to be available for the trip, and the hour 
 fixed for starting was the early one of 5 a.m. It 
 seems an odd thing, to an Englishman, for deliberate 
 choice to be made of a time of day when the dawn has 
 not yet begun to appear, for commencing a pleasure 
 excursion ; but Brazilians invariably do this on 
 account of the great heat of mid-day, and their custom 
 of taking a siesta during the afternoon. On this 
 occasion, however, there was considerable delay in the 
 assembling of the guests, and the real hour of starting 
 was something more nearly in accord with English 
 notions. 
 
 The party on board the launch consisted wholly of 
 gentlemen, amongst whom were the Postmaster of 
 Manaos, the Commandant of the militia, and the 
 Inspector of the Treasury of the Province of 
 Amazonas. Dr. Canavaro was not present at the 
 start — his appearance upon the scene being reserved 
 for a later stage of the day's proceedings. Captains 
 Bloem and Talisman had entire charge of the ar- 
 rangements, the remainder of the excursionists 
 scarcely knowing whither they were bound. Two 
 musical firemen from one of the Company's vessels 
 had been engaged to go with us, and enliven us with 
 the strains of flute, cornet, and harmonica. 
 
 A short run up the Negro brought us to the mouth 
 
 2 D 
 
402 ' AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 of the Taruma, the last igaripe' we liad turned aside 
 to explore on our way down this river. Our atten- 
 tion had then been attracted to a house of picturesque 
 appearance, on a point near the entrance of the 
 creek, pleasantly shaded by two fine inaja palms ; 
 but we had much greater reason to notice it now, by 
 the somewhat extraordinary behaviour of a number 
 of people at its front. They were engaged in letting 
 off a number of very noisy rockets, under the in- 
 stigation, and with the active assistance, of one of the 
 oddest-looking little men imaginable. He was short 
 and rotund, and had a clean-shaven countenance of 
 most comical expression, greatly aided by a huge 
 jolly-looking nose bestridden by spectacles. A boy 
 by his side was adding to the din by continually 
 loading a gun, and firing it into the air with great 
 rapidity. In the rear stood a number of men armed 
 with the instruments of a brass band, and, at the door 
 of the house, could be seen an elderly gentleman of 
 dignified appearance, though clad in the not very 
 imposing costume of a loose brown holland suit. It 
 soon became clear that all these strange proceedings, 
 and this large concourse, were in some way connected 
 with our advent ; for the ' Beija Flor ' was steered 
 towards the landing, whilst the two firemen struck up 
 the Brazilian national air, to be chimed in with, and 
 almost drowned, by the more powerful band on the 
 shore. The Commission, on landing, were at once 
 introduced, severally and collectively, to the gentle- 
 man in brown holland, who proved to be Dr. 
 Caiiavaro. He was about to entertain us here at the 
 house of a friend, with the assistance of the comical- 
 
Chap. XVIII. WATER-PALL. 403 
 
 looking little man, a citizen of Manaos, who often, we 
 were told, lent Ms aid to the Doctor on similar festive 
 occasions, and who was appropriately named Senhor 
 Banda — in English, Mr. Lard. 
 
 The next thing upon the programme was to visit a 
 water-fall farther up the igaripe. All the original 
 party, with the addition of Dr. Canavaro, therefore 
 returned to the launch ; and when it was announced 
 that anyone who chose might accompany us, several 
 Indian men, women, boys, and babies came on board. 
 The brass band also reinforced our own, and struck up 
 a lively air as we steamed off ; Senhor Banda, and the 
 remnant left upon the beach, discharging at the same 
 moment another volley of rockets. From the Taruma 
 we turned up a branch on the right, and were soon 
 stopped by trees growing in the water ; when we at 
 once divided into two parties, and entered the canoes 
 which had been towed behind for the purpose. As we 
 paddled along, under the low leafy achway of the 
 igapo, it was pleasing to watch the other montaria 
 glide swiftly between the bushes and tree trunks ; its 
 form, with that of its occupants, and all the surround- 
 ing foliage, so clearly reflected in the smooth inky- 
 black water as to form a perfect reversed picture. 
 Merry shouts of laughter, mingled with the strains of 
 the band, rung through the watery glades, breaking 
 the uncanny stillness of the place. A short climb, 
 after landing, up a forest path, brought us to the edge 
 of the fall, which far exceeded in beauty the expecta- 
 tions of those who made its acquaintance for the first 
 time. Strange to say, this included nearly the whole 
 of the excursionists, for although at no great distance 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIIT. 
 
 from Manaos, it is rather too far to be reached in one 
 day by paddling, and a little steamer for the trip is of 
 course not often procurable. No road leads out from 
 the city in that direction, nor indeed, very far, in any 
 direction whatever. 
 
 A large brook, coming to the edge of an over- 
 hanging shelf of sandstone rock, then plunging 
 straight down to alight upon some huge moss-covered 
 stones, and at once disappearing amongst them — this 
 was the scene that met our view. Not a very grand 
 one, perhaps, even with the added gloom of the over- 
 shadowing tropical forest, but still, as we have in- 
 timated, better than we had anticipated in this com- 
 paratively level country. It was possible to stand in 
 the water, exactly where it fell over, and look down 
 into the hollow without fear of slipping ; whilst below, 
 one could walk quite round the little cascade, so 
 thoroughly did it descend clear of the precipice. In 
 fact, here was a fall that could be minutely examined, 
 and so to speak, handled with a facility which is rarely 
 afforded elsewhere. 
 
 All the gentlemen bathed in the deliciously cool 
 water of the brook, and then hastened back to the 
 'Beija Flor,' with a vivid consciousness that the 
 breakfast hour must have arrived. It was, in truth, 
 high noon, and no time was lost in attacking the pro- 
 visions as soon as we had got on board. During the 
 meal the launch returned to the house at the mouth 
 of the Taruma, and there the gentlemen proceeded to 
 hang up the hammocks which, in some cases, they had 
 brought with them, and, in others, had borrowed from 
 the people of the house. The members of the Com- 
 
Chap. XVIII. TOASTS. 405 
 
 mission, who had never allowed themselves to get into 
 the habit of retiring in the afternoon, amused them- 
 selves in sketching or botanizing, and so the hours 
 passed until dinner was announced. 
 
 Senhor Banda had superintended the preparation of 
 the feast, and had spread it for us on a long table, 
 under the shade of the trees on the beach. He now 
 proceeded to act as head waiter, and acquitted him- 
 self in a most jovial, active, and generous manner, 
 pressing dishes of fowl, turtle, or pork upon the atten- 
 tion of people who already had their plates loaded, 
 and keeping everyone's glass charged to the brim 
 with sauterne. Toasts followed the meal, and it was 
 in connection with this business that the hearty laugh 
 of the day occurred. The Amazon Steam Navigation 
 Company, the Viscount de Maua, the Commission 
 jointly and individually, and several of the guests, 
 were drunk to with musical honours. Then came the 
 toast of the day, the health of our host, Dr. Canavaro. 
 The greatest orator of the party, the Inspector of the 
 Treasury, was put up to propose it, and no one who 
 has not heard an after-dinner speech by a Brazilian 
 or Portuguese can possibly form the remotest concep- 
 tion of the eloquence, the pathos, the passionate 
 vehemence, the wealth of appropriate action and 
 gesture, which were displayed on this occasion. The 
 Doctor, at the head of the table, sat modestly looking 
 down, meditating his reply. Senhor Banda, who had 
 for a moment gone aside, and ordered the band to 
 play, the gun to be fired, and a rocket to be discharged 
 at the proper time, was standing by his master's side, 
 with glass in hand, and enthusiasm on his face, gesti- 
 
406 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 dilating in concert with the orator, and expressing in 
 every v^aj approval of his lofty sentiments. The 
 Inspector's peroration drew to a close, and everyone 
 rose to his feet ; off went the loand, bang went the 
 gun, whiz went the rocket ; but the latter, instead of 
 taking to the air, as any proper rocket would have 
 done, came scudding along level with the ground, and 
 hit Senhor Banda with considerable force, causing 
 him to fall backward upon the ground through fright. 
 Glancing from this broad target, it facetiously poked 
 the worthy Doctor under the ribs, and shot under 
 the table, entangling itself between his legs. All 
 the party now covered their heads, awaiting with 
 trepidation the final bang of the wayward firework, 
 but luckily it turned out tame and harmless. No 
 injury was done, and, seeing this, everyone burst 
 into uncontrollable laughter. For a few moments 
 the Doctor was wroth, and began to scold the unfor- 
 tunate man who had added such an anti-climax to 
 the Inspector's brilliant speech ; but the utter ridi- 
 culousness of the whole affair soon flashed upon him, 
 and he had, perforce, to join in our uproarious merri- 
 ment. 
 
 It was now time to return to Manaos, and everyone 
 hastened on board. Scarcely had the 'Beija Flor' 
 made a turn of her screw, however, when Dr. Canavaro 
 stepped forward, and stopped her with a commanding 
 gesture. He advanced to the edge of the water with 
 a bottle and glass, and said that he could not let us go 
 without one more parting toast. At the close of his 
 neat speech there was a grand display of rockets, all, 
 happily, taking the right direction, and a tableau of 
 
Chap. XVIII. START FOR MARAPATl. 407 
 
 the worthy Doctor waving his glass over his head, 
 with Senhor Banda lying on the beach by his side, 
 energetically kicking his legs towards the sky in time 
 with the Brazilian national air played by the com- 
 bined bands. 
 
 The 'Beija Flor' quickly took us back in the 
 deepening twilight to our quarters on board the 
 ' Icamiaba ' ; and this was our last experience in con- 
 nection with the launch, for a few days later she 
 started ofi" to return to her owner at Pard. 
 
 In the immediate vicinity of Manaos are two other 
 small water falls, which, though greatly inferior to the 
 Taruma, are favourite resorts of the inhabitants, on 
 account of their proximity and pleasant surroundings. 
 They are known respectively as the Great and Little 
 Cascade, but both were drowned out at this time by 
 the flood, now at its highest level, and it was not until 
 a subsequent visit to the city, that we had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing them. 
 
 The latter portion of the time occupied in fitting 
 out the 'Gruajara' for our use was spent by us in 
 marking out the boundaries of a large territory belong- 
 ing to the Company, in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 Manaos. It has an extensive river frontage along the 
 Negro, opposite the mouth of the Solimoes, and several 
 visits were paid by us to the place. Explorations 
 were made of the creeks and igaripes indenting the 
 coast, as well as of the forest-covered interior ; and 
 then it was decided to form a camp upon the spot, to 
 enable us to grapple with the more laborious task 
 of cutting a line through the forest, to define the limit 
 of the property on the side nearest to the city. Three 
 
408 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 men, a Negro and two natives of Ceara, were en- 
 gaged to assist us with this work, but they would 
 not start upon it until they had kept the festival of 
 some saint, and we were obliged to wait two or three 
 days whilst they conscientiously attended to this im- 
 portant matter. 
 
 At length we got a start, early one Monday morning, 
 in the middle of August ; the party consisting of the 
 Chief and Engineer, Mr. Cunningham to interpret for 
 UR, William to cook, and our three men to clear 
 the bush. Near the mouth of the Negro is an island 
 called Marapata — lying off a lagoon and igaripe of 
 the same name. Up the latter, right into the heart 
 of the forest, our two heavily-laden canoes were urged, 
 until they reached the head of the inlet — the point 
 from which our labours would commence. 
 
 The first business was to erect the tents, for which 
 purpose a space in the forest had to be cleared, and 
 swept bare of leaves and twigs that might shelter 
 vermin. One small snake was, in fact, uncovered in 
 the process, a handsome little reptile, with a red and 
 black head, and alternate bars of black and primrose 
 colour down the body to the tail. A convenient path 
 down to the boats had to be formed to facilitate the un- 
 lading, and it was necessary to dig a hole in the bed of the 
 little stream to provide the camp with water. William 
 devoted his energies to preparing a kind of kitchen, 
 rigging up the cooking apparatus, devising ingenious 
 shelves, and arranging all the utensils in a neat and 
 workmanlike manner. Everyone was so busy that 
 the time flew by we hardly knew how, and the break- 
 fast hour had so far passed befoi'e we were aware of 
 
Chap. XVIII. THE MOTUCA-GRANDB. 409 
 
 it, that this meal had to be amalgamated with dinner. 
 At the close of our exertions, the new camp presented 
 the appearance shown in the cut. 
 
 Perhaps there never was a place cursed with a 
 greater variety of pests. Besides nearly all those pre- 
 viously mentioned — such as mosquitoes, piuums, ants, 
 wasps, ticks, and bees— others, which had hitherto 
 been less familiar to us, haunted this spot. One was 
 the motuca, a green and black fly, larger than a com- 
 mon house-fly, whose wings are opaque in parts, but 
 transparent towards the tips, presenting the appear- 
 ance of having been cut off short and square by means 
 of a pair of scissors. It is seldom seen much below 
 Manaos, but is the peculiar pest of the Solimoes, and 
 troubled us somewhat here at Marapata. It is always 
 sneaking about one, as if it meant no mischief, but 
 really looking out for the most unguarded place, which 
 found, it quietly introduces its sucker, and will take a 
 large amount of blood if undiscovered. Its bite, though 
 many persons make light of it, was to some of us 
 very painful, often swelling and itching through several 
 succeeding days ; and it is able to fly so cunningly to 
 the right or left, backward or forward, that one can 
 seldom manage to kill it. A still more formidable 
 pest was the motuca-grande, a species of large cow-fly, 
 with a bill fully a quarter of an inch in length. The 
 shrivelled transparent look of its body suggests that 
 it could hold a whole spoonful of blood when fully 
 distended; but, happily, the insect can never draw 
 that quantity from human subjects, for the insertion 
 of its long sharp lancet must be at once felt, and cause 
 the instant destruction of the creature. It flies with 
 
410 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 great rapidity, making a loud hum ; and when some 
 five or six of these wretches are buzzing about one, 
 threatening at any moment to give a vicious prod at 
 any portion of the body — for clothes are little pro- 
 tection against such a length of proboscis — they keep 
 one in a constant state of nervous excitement. Mr. 
 Bates mentions that he met with this pest only in 
 a small portion of forest on the Cupari, a tributary 
 of the Tapajos, but since then it must have become dis- 
 tributed more widely, for we often fell in with it, and 
 nowhere found it more troublesome than in the vicinity 
 of Manaos, and here at Marapata. The most charac- 
 teristic plague of our camp has, however, yet to be 
 mentioned ; a plague scarcely experienced, as such, in 
 any other part of our journey. It consisted of blue- 
 bottle flies, which arrived during the daytime in swarms, 
 and deposited their eggs on everything. A coat hung 
 up in the tents would be so covered by nightfall, as 
 to have changed colour, and a bag of potatoes in 
 "William's kitchen was favoured by them to such an 
 extent, that it was absolutely corrugated with ridged 
 masses of these disgusting fly-blows. 
 
 Not much work could, of course, be done to the 
 boundary line on the first afternoon, but after that 
 we kept steadily on at the rate of about three-quarters 
 of a mile daily. The Ceara men used long-handled 
 bill-hooks instead of the cutlasses commonly used in the 
 Amazon valley, and it is difilcult to say which made 
 the better weapon. They were willing to commence 
 work at daylight, but refused to continue it after four 
 o'clock; and they seemed to know, by a kind of 
 instinct, exactly when that hour had arrived. We 
 
Chap. XVIII. NIGHT IN CAMP. 411 
 
 usually took our breakfast with us, and ate it in the 
 forest, but alwaj^s returned to the tents in time to get 
 a bath and our dinner, before the darkness suddenly 
 set in. It was difficult to know what to do with 
 ourselves afterwards, for the mind recoiled from the 
 idea of turning into our hammocks at half-past six ; 
 yet the camp was almost intolerable with its one 
 dim light, and host of mosquitoes. The Chief and 
 Engineer usually did their best to while away an 
 hour or two with a game of ecarte', but the others 
 gave up the struggle against the unfavourable cir- 
 cumstances of the place, and retired within their nets 
 at the early hour mentioned. 
 
 The forest was intensely silent at night, except for 
 the humming of the mosquitoes, the croaking of a 
 few frogs, and the reiterated notes of an inquisitive, 
 " Who-are-you." It was also intensely dark after our 
 fire had died out, for the sparkles of the blinkers 
 among the leaves only made the gloom more palpable. 
 Our men, who had brought no nets with them, at- 
 tempted to evade the mosquitoes by keeping up a 
 dense smoke, and hanging their hammocks in the 
 drift of it ; but during the first two nights they kept 
 us awake by their groaning. After that they would 
 sleep in the place no longer, but took one of the 
 canoes, and paddled away towards Manaos. 
 
 On the third day, the work was interrupted by 
 numerous heavy showers. Although there is no op- 
 portunity in the forest of watching the advance of the 
 clouds, there is usually fair warning of approachiog 
 rain. It may, in the ordinary intense stillness, be 
 distinctly heard pattering upon the leaves far away, 
 
412 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 many minutes before it actually arrives. The foliage 
 of tropical trees affords but little shelter — less than 
 can, as a rule, be obtained in an English wood — and 
 it is necessary, therefore, to take some precautions, 
 when showers are threatening, to avoid a wetting. 
 This is never difficult, for it is only requisite to cut 
 a few palm leaves, place them one over the other, 
 and tie them up by means of a piece of bush rope in a 
 slanting position. Underneath their ample spread, two 
 or three persons may stand snugly sheltered from the 
 heaviest shower. 
 
 That night the mosquitoes soon compelled us to 
 throw aside our cards, and we could only amuse our- 
 selves by pacing up and down for a few minutes 
 before retiring. We noted and remarked to each 
 other that there was just one rift in the trees over- 
 head, of such form and dimensions that it was exactly 
 filled by the constellation of the Scorpion, one of the 
 most splendid of all constellations, with its grace- 
 fully curved shape and brilliant stars. The old 
 astrological notion that the events of men's lives are 
 moulded by the influence of the heavenly bodies, 
 wild as it seems, was probably based upon many a 
 well-authenticated coincidence ; and it was somewhat 
 singular that the occurrence which marked the suc- 
 ceeding day, in our experience, should have been pre- 
 ceded by the shining upon our camp of fiery Antares 
 and the other constituents of the Scorpion, alone of 
 all the hosts of heaven. 
 
 It was rather a lengthy walk, along the straight 
 but rough path we had cut through the forest, to 
 the place where we recommenced our labours in the 
 
Chap. XVIII. STUNG BY SCORPION. 413 
 
 morning. The Engineer as usual went to the front, 
 to direct the operations of the men, so that the line 
 might be kept perfectly straight ; and after some 
 hours a small stream was reached. To cross this more 
 easily, he was slightly shifting a log to form a bridge, 
 when suddenly something stung one of the fingers of his 
 left hand, so severely that the pain at once flew to the 
 armpit. After sucking the small puncture vigorously, 
 he turned over the log to look for the enemy, and 
 destroy it ; but could find nothing. Aware, however, 
 from the agony he suffered, that the sting was a 
 serious one, he turned back immediately to look for 
 his companions, and ask their advice. They were not 
 far off, but by the time the Engineer reached them, 
 he was breathing like a distressed horse; and the 
 Chief at once pronounced from this symptom, and 
 the appearance of the wound, that the bite was that 
 of a scorpion. No remedy of any sort was at hand, 
 but it was hoped that the creature who had done the 
 mischief was one of the white, and least venomous 
 species, in which case the unpleasant effects would 
 soon pass away ; at any rate there was nothing to do 
 but rest and wait the issue. 
 
 All now turned back together towards the place 
 where William had spread breakfast for us. To reach 
 it, a wide brook had to be crossed by means of a 
 fallen tree, and the Chief observing that the Engineer 
 was trembling through excessive pain, asked if he could 
 manage to pass it without help. " I am afraid not," 
 was his reply, as he fell at the same moment upon his 
 knees, and then forward upon his face in the marsh, 
 completely doubled up with cramp, which appeared 
 
414 AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII 
 
 to seize every muscle of the body simultaneously. 
 His comrades, much alarmed, hastened to place him 
 upon a litter of palm leaves, and spread out his rigid 
 limbs, rubbing vigorously the parts most drawn and 
 contracted. The tongue was so twisted out of shape 
 that the Engineer could with difficulty articulate, 
 "I am dying;" to which his companions replied by 
 encouraging words, without feeling more hopeful than 
 he did that he would survive. 
 
 At the end of an hour, in spite of all exertions to 
 maintain circulation — one relieving another in the 
 process of chafing, and calling in the assistance of 
 the men — the Engineer was growing quite white and 
 cold, though still conscious. One of the Indians now 
 found in his pocket a small piece of ginger, and sug- 
 gested that it should be administered. Only too 
 pleased to try any reasonable remedy, this was done, 
 and proved to be the very thing needed. Scarcely 
 had its heat begun to make itself felt, when vitality 
 seemed to return, and more favourable symptoms set 
 in rapidly. Meanwhile men had been sent off to the 
 camp in hot haste for brandy and a hammock, but 
 the place was so far distant that before they returned 
 the crisis had passed. The hammock was, however, 
 slung in the shade of the trees, and the patient lifted 
 into it. Painful vomiting soon set in, accompanied 
 by raging thirst, and a heat like that of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar's furnace. Later in the afternoon, a pole was 
 put through the rings of the hammock, which in 
 this way could be borne, with its occupant, on the 
 shoulders of two men ; and the whole party returned 
 to the tents. 
 
 It was at once decided to break up the Marapata 
 
Chap. XVIII. STUNG BY CATERPILLARS. 415 
 
 camp, for in truth it was full time to do so. The 
 insect pests, daily increasing, had made the place 
 untenable ; and the distance along the line was be- 
 coming too great to be traversed with comfort. All 
 our goods and chattels were quiclily stowed in the 
 two montarias, and very pleasant to everyone was 
 it to leave the shadow of the forest, and emerge first 
 upon the igarip^ and then upon the wide Negro. 
 Our cool airy quarters on board the ' Icaraiaba ' never 
 seemed more delightful than that night, after our 
 recent experiences of gloom and discomfort. 
 
 The Engineer was obliged, after his severe suffer- 
 ing, to lie by quietly for one day, gradually getting 
 into tone again as the hours wore on, but on the 
 succeeding morning he was able to continue his 
 work upon the boundary line. The men received him 
 almost as if he had returned from the grave, the eldest 
 of them taking off his hat, and making a kindly speech 
 about the pleasure they felt in seeing him to the fore 
 again. No attempt was made to form a fresh camp, 
 but daily as the line progressed towards the back of 
 the city, we paddled up the nearest igaripe as far as 
 we could go, and then struck off, through forest trails, 
 towards the place where we had finished on the pre- 
 vious evening. 
 
 A streak of misfortune seemed to hang about the 
 Engineer until the close of the week ; for on the last 
 day of it, he was directing his men to cut down a 
 small tree, and slapped it with his hand as he gave 
 the order, without noticing a large mass of hairy cater- 
 pillars, of the same colour as the bark, collected upon 
 it. The open palm was instantly stung as if by nettles, 
 and a white rash made its appearance, which itched for 
 
41(J AT MANAOS. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 a long time most disagreeably. This, however, was a 
 trifle, after the more serious accident which had so 
 nearly brought to a close the life of one of the authors 
 of this book, and made the 20th August, 1874, a 
 memorable day to him for ever. 
 
 Several more days were spent in completing the 
 line, but little of interest occurred. On one occasion 
 we met with another huge toad, like the one seen at 
 the Barreiras, Avith immense knobs on its shoulders, of 
 the size and shape of hens' eggs. Either some one 
 had played upon it the disreputable trick which 
 destroyed the agility of Mark Twain's "jumping 
 frog," or else the feebleness of old age had overtaken 
 it, for the poor animal's attempts to leap resulted in 
 the most lamentable failure. With the utmost exer- 
 tions it could only flop onward some three inches. 
 
 On another occasion, we came upon a common earth- 
 worm, crawling on the pathway, of such Amazonian 
 proportions that it measured just two feet six inches 
 in length, and was as thick as one's finger. 'We some- 
 times saw, in the forest, hollow tubes of moist clay 
 rising in the form of a human finger from four to six 
 inches above the ground, and more than an inch in 
 external diameter. They were closed at the top, quite 
 smooth on the inside, but somewhat rough, though 
 of regular shape, without. These must be the homes 
 of just such huge worms, but on breaking off a tube 
 we could never see the tenant, nor could we, with 
 rough tools, dig deep enough to unearth it. At the 
 first suggestion of danger, the worm must withdraw 
 with great rapidity to the bottom of its run. 
 
 When our forest work was completed, the end of 
 
Chap. XVIII. SUDDEN STORM. 417 
 
 our stay at Manaos was drawing near. We shall ever 
 remember the look of the wide expanse of harbour 
 before the city, as we so often beheld it from the open 
 saloon of the ' Icamiaba ' ; the gaily painted steamers 
 reflected on the inky-black surface, and the water 
 horizon up river receiving into its bosom every evening 
 the blood-red orb of the sun setting in full glory. A 
 very different aspect was presented to our view on one 
 of the last evenings of our stay in the place, when a 
 trovoado of unusual severity swept suddenly down 
 upon the Negro, lashing the dark water into white 
 foam, and drifting from their moorings the Company's 
 steamer ' luca,' the ' Guajara,' and a large bateloe ; 
 placing all in imminent peril of shipwreck. The loud 
 shouts of the sailors, and the rattling of chains, as 
 anchors were run out, mingling with the uproar of 
 the tempest, were in keeping with the wildness of 
 the scene. The steamers were happily secured, with- 
 out injury, but no one looked after the bateloe, which 
 was driven far away down river and stranded in the 
 forest near the mouth of the Solimoes. 
 
 2 B 
 
418 ON THE PUKUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 OHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 ON THE PDEUS. 
 
 The ' Guajar& ' ready — Trial Trip — The President on Board — Descrip- 
 tion of Steamer, Captain, and Crew — Leave Manaos — Winding 
 Eivers — Purus Scenery — Night on the Praias — Landslips — Tiger 
 
 — Fishing — Catching Turtles — Pamary Indians — Singular Disease 
 
 — The " Doldrums '' and " Roaring-forties " — Piums — Process of 
 Manufacturing India-ruhber — Character of Men employed in the Trade 
 
 — Mabidiri — Cursed by an Old Man — Meeting with Mr. Piper — A 
 large Landowner — Silk-cotton Trees — Geology — Freaks of the 
 River — Monkeys. 
 
 The montli of August had nearly drawn to a close 
 when it Avas at last announced that the ' Guajara ' was 
 ready for the use of the Cojumission. So extensive, 
 however, had been the repairs and alterations carried 
 out in her —involving, amongst other things, the partial 
 taking to pieces and putting together again of the 
 engine — that it was judged necessary to pass her, like 
 a new ship, through the ordeal of a trial trip. It was 
 decided to make a kind of pic-nic excursion of the 
 event, and to issue our invitations to many of those 
 friends who had helped to make our stay at Manaos 
 so pleasant. First, there was the President of the 
 Province, whose urbanity and friendliness had been 
 sufficiently experienced to make us feel sure that he 
 would, if asked, consent to honour us with his 
 presence ; nor were we disappointed in this, for his 
 prompt reply was in the invariable formula used by 
 Brazilian gentlemen when accepting an invitation — 
 
1 'a 
 
Chap. XIX. TRIAL TRIP. 419 
 
 " Pois nao ? " (Why not ?) Dr. Canavaro was unfor- 
 tunately absent from home ; but Captain Bloem, 
 Senhor Gruimaraes the Company's Agent in the city, 
 Captain Haag of the Commission engaged in survey- 
 ing the lands of the Madeira, and other gentlemen, 
 were able to be with us on the occasion. 
 
 The party assembled between seven and eight in the 
 morning — a somewhat early hour, though hardly up 
 to the usual mark in these tropical lands. Our new 
 steamer — the ' Gruajara ' — was of course looking her 
 very best ; brilliant with her new red and white paint, 
 her upper deck covered with a snowy canvas awning, 
 and Brazilian flags flying both at her bow and stern in 
 honour of the President's visit. Her speed at starting 
 was not, however, in accordance with her showy 
 appearance, for all the joints of the engine were 
 naturally stiff, after tbe treatment to which it had 
 been recently subjected, but as the day wore on they 
 grew more pliant. 
 
 Unfortunately no definite plan had been arranged 
 for the day's proceedings, and the choice of a destina- 
 tion was submitted to the company. The President 
 had brought with him a gentleman of very sociable 
 temperament, who at once suggested Lake Hyanuary 
 as a suitable place for a pic-nic, and with his proposal 
 everyone fell in. It is a small sheet of water, whose 
 lianks appear to be rather thickly inhabited, lying 
 between the Negro and Solimoes, and connected with 
 the former river by a narrow winding channel. Into 
 this channel the ' Gruajara ' turned, but just as every- 
 one was admiring its beauty, our course was suddenly 
 arrested by dense masses of floating grass (capinga) 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 ON THE PURUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 which filled the whole passage as far as the eye could 
 reach. It was useless to attempt to get through such 
 a barrier, and we were compelled to return to the 
 Negro, from which we went on to the Solimoes. 
 
 Breakfast was now announced, and all descended to 
 the saloon, where the President took his place at the 
 head of the table. The dishes then uncovered before 
 the guests were a somewhat strange mixture of cheap- 
 ness and costliness. The most prominent was a roasted 
 pig, which had come into our possession free of charge ; 
 for the poor little thing had been found struggling 
 with the current far out in the river off Manaos, and 
 having been rescued from thence, but no owner found 
 to claim it, had been fattened on board the ' Icamiaba ' 
 for this occasion. On the other hand, there were fowls 
 and ducks upon the table, each one of which had cost 
 no less a sum than four milreis (8s. 8d.). 
 
 No stiff formality was observed in connection with 
 the meal, the President himself setting the example of 
 the free and easy. The ' G-uajara ' had now turned 
 into the channel, leading from the Solimoes into the 
 Amazon, which appears to be an excellent place for 
 catching a fish called the tambaki. It is not much 
 unlike a salmon, and is usually caught by rather a 
 strange stratagem. The food of the fish is the fruit of 
 a certain palm, whose fall into the water, when ripe, 
 instantly attracts the attention of the tambaki, which 
 makes a rush upon it and devours it eagerly. This 
 falling of fruit is therefore simulated by the fisherman, 
 who taps the surface of the river with one of these 
 berries placed at the end of a rod, while the hook 
 attached to the line held in the other hand is baited in 
 
Chap. XIX. INCIDENTS. 421 
 
 a similar manner. Tlie fish deceived into the belief 
 that the palm is shedding its seeds, swims eagerly to 
 the spot from which the sound proceeds, and is caught 
 by swallowing that in which the hook is concealed. 
 Numbers of men were seen engaged in this way, as 
 the ' Gruajara ' steamed onward, when the President, 
 rising frequently from his chair, rushed to the nearest 
 window of the saloon, and thrusting his head and 
 body far out, waved his hands to attract attention, 
 calling in a stentorian voice, " my countrymen, 
 have you any fish ? " His high example, of course, 
 made this proceeding fashionable, and everyone was 
 soon running to and fro between the table and 
 windows^ watching the scenes we were passing, and 
 repeating the inquiry " ! meu patricio — tem 
 peixe ? " Several toasts and sentiments were pro- 
 posed and honoured at the end of the breakfast, but 
 set speeches were not in favour. 
 
 After the gentlemen had returned to the upper 
 deck, it was proposed to visit another lake on the 
 opposite side of the Amazon ; but here we were as 
 unfortunate as at Hyanuary, for a large tree had 
 fallen quite across the narrow entrance. "We were 
 now at the end of our resources in this direction, and 
 turned about for Manaos, skirting the high coast on 
 our right. Upon the beach at one place, under the 
 shadow of some trees, sat a gentleman comfortably 
 swinging in his hammock. He had evidently landed 
 from his boat for a rest ; and some suspicion that we 
 know who this individual must be, made us level our 
 field glasses at him, and exclaim almost simultaneously 
 — " Canavaro ! " It was indeed the Doctor, and the 
 
422 
 
 OX THE PURU; 
 
 CnAP. XIX. 
 
 ' Griiajara ' was put about to greet him. Seeing this, tlie 
 worthy man grasped at once a bottle and a glass, which 
 he had placed conveniently by his side, and rising in a 
 dignified attitude, went through the mimic performance 
 of drinking all our healths. Repeatedly he waved 
 both bottle and glass above his head, and there is no 
 knowing to what lengths he might not have proceeded 
 
 SALOOX OF • GrAJAEA 
 
 in doing us honour, had not a violent trovoado at that 
 moment struck us, driving us all to the shelter of the 
 saloon, and ol)ligiug the Doctor to hurry down his 
 hammock before it Ijecame soaked by the pitiless 
 rain. The storm was only just abating as we reached 
 Manaos, and l)rought our trial trip to a close. 
 
 It was agreed on all hands that the ' Gruajara ' had 
 behaved verv creditablv. that it was oulv necessarv 
 
GiiAP. XIX. 
 
 THE 'OUAJARA. 
 
 423 
 
 to tighten a screw here, or oil a bearing there, and 
 that we might arrange definitely to start on the long 
 voyaging yet before ns, directly after the arrival of 
 the next steamer from Para. The Commission was 
 therefore on the threshold of its third era, each period 
 excelling in grandeur that which went before it. In 
 the first, we had trusted chiefly to boats ; in the 
 
 DECK OP ' GfAJABA. 
 
 second, we had our little launch, the ' Beija Flor ' •, 
 and now, we were aljont to start in a steamer of very 
 fair dimensions, providing us with ample accommoda- 
 tion. The ' Guajara ' had two decks. The lower one 
 was partly enclosed I>y jalousies, forming a neat 
 saloon, and two large caljins in the stern Ijchind it. 
 The upper deck was open, except that the part l)cfore 
 the funnel was shaded Ijy an awning. It was also 
 
424 ON THE PUEtJS. Chai>. XIX. 
 
 furnished with chairs and a table, for here the im- 
 portant work of mapping was performed, and this 
 airy spot was the favourite haunt of the Commission. 
 All this was a great improvement upon the cramped 
 condition in which we had been obliged to live in the 
 former periods, and had our stay in Amazonia been 
 much more prolonged, and similar progress been made, 
 there is no telling to what a pitch of grandeur we 
 might not have arrived ! 
 
 In truth, some amount of comfort was needed to 
 make this last part of our voyaging tolerable, for 
 the interest of the Amazon valley lessens consider- 
 ably after passing Manaos. The Solimoes or High 
 Amazon is, as will be seen, not an attractive river, 
 nor are any of its tributaries very interesting. No 
 hills of any sort are encountered, towns are small and 
 far between, and pests abound to a most disagreeable 
 extent. 
 
 Daybreak had not yet appeared on the morning of 
 September 4th, when the ' Guajara ' weighed anchor 
 and started at last, fully prepared and equipped for a 
 journey of several months. The steam to the mouth 
 of the Purus, against the swift Solimoes current, 
 occupied three entire days, but opened up to us 
 nothing of interest, except, perhaps, the pleasant peep 
 of Lake Manacaparu when we turned into its mouth to 
 obtain wood. During these days, however, we were 
 able to settle ourselves comfortably into our new 
 quarters, and to make the acquaintance of our new 
 crew. All those who had been with us on board the 
 ' Beija Flor,' had the option of going with us again 
 if they pleased; but the Indians of South America 
 have no dog-like attachment to persons, nor cat- 
 
Chap. XIX. CAPTAIN AND CREW. 425 
 
 like attachment to places, their delight being ap 
 parently to revel in constant change, both of their 
 homes and friends. Not one therefore returned to us 
 — a fact that might have occasioned some surprise had 
 we not long before noted their characteristics, in con- 
 nection with the oft-changing crews of the Company's 
 larger steamers. 
 
 The 'Gruajara' was commanded by Captain 
 Hoepfaer — a German, speaking both English and 
 Portuguese in addition to his own language. We 
 found him excitable, but agreeable, and turned even 
 the first quality to good service, by often drawing 
 him, in an otherwise dull hour, into some political 
 discussion, when the warmth with which he usually 
 expressed himself afforded us much amusement. The 
 engineer was an Englishman, and had the help of an 
 assistant. A boatswain, two firemen, two sailors, two 
 wood carriers, a steward, a cook, and our servant 
 William made up eighteen as the total number of 
 persons on board the steamer. 
 
 Of these — omitting the captain, engineer, and our- 
 selves — the two men of most distinctly marked in- 
 dividuality were perhaps the boatswain and cook. 
 The former was probably of Portuguese extraction — a 
 short man with a black beard and grave appearance. 
 Possibly he never smiled in his life. All his work 
 was performed in an earnest business-like way, as if 
 under a stern sense of duty, and entirely without 
 regard to the manner in which it might affect the 
 comfort of any bystander. If he happened to pitch 
 a pail of water over one, or to knock one on the head 
 with a spar, or to trip one up with a rope, he asked 
 no pardon^ for he regarded it as an unavoidable 
 
426 ON THE PURUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 accompaniment of his work, which in his eyes was the 
 all-important matter. 
 
 The cook was a lithe young fellow of sallow com- 
 plexion and curly hair. He really did seem to 
 become attached to the Commission, and frequently 
 made presents to one or other of its members, notwith- 
 standing that his wildness and audacity often got 
 him into trouble. He seemed most himself when 
 splashing about in the water, where the fishes them- 
 selves appeared scarcely less at home. When diving, 
 swimming, or aqueous business of any sort, had to be 
 done, he was worth any two of the sailors, and 
 dashed into it with all his heart, leaving the Com- 
 mission's breakfast or dinner to burn and spoil, unless 
 the threatened mischief were happily averted by some 
 other person. 
 
 Early on the morning of September 7th we entered 
 the mouth of the Purus, the most important repre- 
 sentative of a class of river with which we were now 
 to become familiar, but of which we had hitherto seen 
 no examples. These are the muddy-water tributaries 
 of the Solimoes, whose whole course is through the 
 Amazon plain, touching no hill from their source to 
 their junction with the main river, but winding so 
 excessively that they are the true Serpentines or 
 Meanders of the world. Our maps of these streams, 
 showing their elaborate double and triple curves, 
 resembled patterns for ladies' braid-work ; and it often 
 happened that a hard day's steaming, round their 
 involved bends, brought us at night to a point only 
 a few miles, in a direct line, from the place we had 
 left in the morning. 
 
Chap. XIX. THE PURUS. 427 
 
 The Purus itself has a straight and somewhat wide 
 reach or two near its confluence with the Solimoes, to 
 which it is joined by several channels, both above and 
 below its proper mouth. Beyond these reaches the 
 great sweeps at once commence, the river being here 
 from half a mile to three-quarters in width. From 
 thence onwards it narrows slowly and almost imper- 
 ceptibly, until at the point at which we turned back 
 — about one thousand miles from the Solimoes — it has 
 diminished to a breadth of one-sixth of a mile. The 
 valley of the Purus averages probably twenty miles 
 across, and in its voluminous windings the channel 
 sometimes touches the limit on one side, and some- 
 times on the other. The river in the wet season is 
 sixty feet higher than in the dry — an enormous rise, 
 which may give some idea of the amazing rainfall of 
 these regions, for none of the water is derived from 
 springs, or melting snow. During these floods the 
 Purus is not content to occupy the comparatively 
 narrow bed of which we have spoken, but overflows 
 its banks, fills its entire valley, and leaves the mark 
 of its highest level on the trunks of the trees in the 
 forest, about five feet from the ground. It chanced 
 that our voyage upon the river was at a time when it 
 was shrinking to its smallest size ; but it can easily 
 be understood that it is possible to be there when 
 dry land is a rarity, only to be met with at intervals 
 of fifty or a hundred miles. 
 
 When one glimpse has been obtained of the scenery 
 of the Purus, or its sister streams, all has been, 
 practically, secured of what they have to offer in this 
 way : a description, therefore, of any one part may 
 
428 ON THE PUEUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 serve for the whole. On the outer or concave side of 
 each bend might be seen a clay bank, about forty or 
 fifty feet in elevation, surmounted by an even wall of 
 perpendicular forest, about a hundred feet high. On 
 the other side was a large crescent-shaped sand bank 
 or praia, behind which was a perfectly regular line of 
 alders, then a higher line of cecropias, backed by the 
 forest rising gradually to its uniform level. Some- 
 times the sweep of the river was to the right, 
 sometimes to the left ; and occasionally the more 
 elevated terra firma at the valley's margin replaced 
 the usual bank, or the house of an india-rubber 
 collector made its appearance ; but except these slight 
 variations there was absolutely nothing to break the 
 long monotony. Although we had necessarily to 
 observe the objects on the bank very closely on our 
 way up, in connection with the making of the map, it 
 was almost impossible to identify any particular spot 
 in returning, without taking compass bearings, or 
 reckoning where we ought to be by our running time. 
 
 There is not a single town or village upon the 
 Purus. Here and there several houses may occupy 
 the same barrieras, but there is no street or church, 
 neither do the inhabitants seem to hold any social 
 intercourse with each other. We never had the 
 opportunity of witnessing a festive dance, as in former 
 trips ; and our evenings would have been excessively 
 dull but for the glorious runs we got upon the praias, 
 when we landed to take star observations. Some of 
 these gracefuU}' curved sand banks; occupying invari- 
 ably the inner side of the river's sweep, are fully two 
 miles in length ; and, though slightly corrugated by 
 
Chap. XIX. NIGHT ON THE PEIAS. 429 
 
 the action of the current, are composed of fine firm 
 sand, pleasant to walk over. Here we could stretch 
 our legs, little exercised during the day, and, after 
 attending to our business with the sextant, indulge in 
 the letting ofif of some effervescence of spirit. Small 
 practical jokes were not infrequent, such as the imita- 
 tion of the cries of a tiger-cat from behind a bush, to 
 startle other members of the party who had gone off 
 for a separate stroll, and enjoy the sight of their 
 sudden stampede. It was not difficult to personate a 
 jaguar to the eye of a somewhat distant comrade by 
 going down on all fours and scampering along in a 
 rollicking manner, for objects loomed large and in- 
 distinct in the flickering moonligbt. On one occasion, 
 some of us felt sure we saw a woman sitting alone, 
 statue-like, upon a rise in the sands, but, on a nearer 
 approach, it proved to be only a demi-john, or large 
 black bottle used for cacha§a, called here a garafao. 
 
 Noises, like loud and prolonged thunder, startled us 
 one evening as we were getting observations. The 
 sky was cloudless, so that they could not proceed 
 from a storm ; and on listening more attentively the 
 sounds resolved themselves into three distinct kinds 
 — grinding, snapping, and splashing. Then we knew 
 that it was a landslip •, a portion of the river-bank on 
 the other side was giving way, with the giant trees 
 growing upon it, and becoming engulfed in the water. 
 Huge waves rolling in presently upon the sand bank 
 where we stood confirmed this view of the case, and 
 in the morning we saw the new scar along the shore. 
 This kind of thing is often happening upon the 
 Amazon, and the muddy-water tributaries, but we 
 
430 ON THE PUEUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 only once had the opportunity of actually witnessing 
 it in progress. 
 
 On another occasion, when the night was very dark, 
 a tiger noted the light of our lantern as we went 
 ashore, and roared at us from the opposite bank. It 
 continued to do so as long as we remained on the 
 sands, and seemed to be marching up and down, look- 
 ing for a place to cross, for sometimes its greeting 
 came from a point farther up river, and, at others, 
 lower down. 
 
 Our sailors usually spent their evenings upon the 
 praia also, catching iish by means of a circular throw 
 net, under the superintendence of our steward; and 
 usually captured great quantities. It is well known 
 that the variety of fishes in the Amazon and its 
 tributaries is wonderfully great. Many of them, how- 
 ever, are not very good eating, on account of their 
 numerous bones, or the softness of their flesh. A 
 very large proportion have skin instead of scales, often 
 fantastically and gaily marked; and long whiskers 
 give them an odd appearance to English eyes. About 
 this time the turtles were in the midst of the business 
 of laying their eggs, and soft places in the sand indi- 
 cated to us the locality of their nests, out of one of 
 which as many as one hundred and fifty could often 
 be taken. The sailors sometimes nearly filled a 
 montaria in the course of a night, and as we could not 
 eat a tenth part, placed them over the engine to dry, 
 that they might take them back to their friends at the 
 end of the voyage. The turtle's egg is round, and 
 provided with a skin instead of a sheU. Only the 
 yolk is good, for the white never solidifies in cooking, 
 and must be poured off. 
 
Chap. XIX. CATCHING TURTLES. 431 
 
 The early morning is the favourite time for de- 
 positing the eggs, and sometimes the men went ashore 
 a little before we weighed anchor, to intercept the 
 turtles on their way back to the water. They some- 
 times picked up one or two, but at length a morning 
 arrived when we got a glorious haul. The ' Guajara ' 
 swept round a bend, soon after starting, and opened a 
 praia that was literally black with hundreds of them. 
 The heads of hundreds more appeared above the 
 surface just off the sand bank, like so many corks 
 floating upon the water. At this amazing sight the 
 steam was shut off, both boats quickly lowered, and 
 several men dispatched to capture all they could. The 
 moment they landed, the bulk of the turtles scuttled 
 into the river, but others were too far away, and the 
 sailors ran from one to the other turning them over 
 upon their backs, where they lay quite helpless. In 
 this way more than forty were placed hors de combat ; 
 but now began the most laborious part of the work — 
 that of getting them on board. A full-grown turtle 
 is about four feet in length and a heavy burden for a 
 man, consequently it was necessary to turn them over 
 one by one, and let them walk down to the water's 
 edge, gently pinching their tails if they showed any 
 obstinacy, and taking care not to let them escape into 
 the river at the last moment. The solemn way in 
 which the boatswain, according to his custom, went 
 about this task greatly amused us : others were full of 
 fun and excitement, but he smiled not, nor exhibited 
 the least enthusiasm. Performing his duty, as he did, 
 with a stern air of determination, he was nevertheless 
 more unfortunate than the lighter-hearted workers, 
 and sometimes allowed his victim to elude his care. 
 
432 ON THE PUEUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 Once, the turtle lie was driving observed a side creek, 
 ^hich he had failed to notice, and made a bolt for it, 
 scuttling down the steep sand-slope that enclosed it. 
 The boatswain under the obligations of duty followed, 
 and found himself in a moment up to his middle in 
 water. He managed to grasp the turtle, however, and 
 the two struggled awhile for the mastery ; but victory 
 rested with the one that fought in its own element, for 
 the other, fast sinking to his throat, was obliged to 
 turn his attention to the question of self-preservation. 
 At the end of an hour thirty large turtle had been 
 got on board the ' Gruajara ' — as many as we could 
 conveniently carry — and the others were turned over 
 on their feet and allowed to escape. A supply of 
 fresh meat had thus been laid in for many a day, the 
 total value of the catch being, according to Manaos 
 prices, about 251. The victims were penned in the 
 bow, on the lower deck, and required no further atten- 
 tion than to be occasionally refreshed by having a pail 
 of water thrown over them. We frequently saw on 
 this and other tributaries, as well as on the main 
 river itself, small enclosed ponds behind the people's 
 houses, with turtle stored in them ; and often heard 
 them called, as a kind of mild joke, the " cattle of the 
 Amazon." The legs of the turtle form fair-sized joints 
 for roasting or boiling, but the favourite dish consists 
 of some of the flesh minced small, placed on the lower 
 shell, covered up with farinha (a rough species of 
 tapioca), and baked. There is a smaller kind of turtle 
 than the one we have been describing, known as the 
 "tracaja." It is quite as good eating as its larger 
 relative, but one tires of either after tasting no other 
 
Chap. XIX. PAMAUY INDIANS. 433 
 
 sort of meat for several weeks-, not more quickly, 
 however, thau one would, perhaps, grow weary of any 
 other animal food, after a long continuance of the 
 same. 
 
 Upon several of the praias we saw encampments of 
 Pamary Indians, bearing a striking resemblance to 
 gipsy camps at home. This tribe is only just be- 
 ginning to take on a slight varnish of civilization, 
 but retains most of its old habits, and consequently 
 interested us more than almost any other that we 
 saw. They have the peculiarity of not using ham- 
 mocks, but sleep on the floor of their tents, which 
 are built of the same form and size as gipsy huts 
 in England, though of a different material ; mats of 
 plaited palm leaves being the chief component. Large 
 boughs of trees, stuck about here and there in the 
 sands, provide some slight shelter from the glare of 
 the vertical sim, and in the shadow of them the 
 women and children sit, carrying on their various 
 occupations, for the heat would be intolerable under 
 their low tents. At nearly all the encampments, we 
 noticed several curved sticks, like croquet hoops, 
 arranged along the praia, the remains of former 
 camps. When the river rises, the huts are placed 
 upon rafts, floating upon some retired lake, where 
 they remain all through the wet season. 
 
 A singular disease attacks the skin of the Pamary 
 Indians, from which scarcely a single member of the 
 tribe seemed to be free. It is a kind of leprosj^, 
 appearing at first in blue patches, wliich gradually 
 turn to white, forming a marked tint upon their 
 dark skins and causing them to present a singular 
 
 2 F 
 
434 ON I'HE PURUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 mottled appearance. The complaint must be infec- 
 tious, for we observed a young Brazilian, who em- 
 ployed some Pomares in wood-cutting, with the spots 
 appearing upon the backs of his hands. It is known 
 as the pomare or puru-purus disease, after the different 
 names of the tribe. On one occasion we met as many 
 as nineteen canoes filled with these Indians coming 
 down river. In most cases the women were paddling, 
 and the men standing out on the little shelves in 
 advance of the l^ows, ready to shoot fish or turtle. 
 An elderly man amongst these had made himself a 
 ghastly object, by painting the whole of his face 
 a deep blood red ; but it was probably done to hide 
 what he considered the greater disfigurement of the 
 leprous patches. 
 
 At a place called S. Yincente, a party of Pamarys, 
 six or seven in number, handed the wood on board 
 the ' Guajara,' and we then had a good opportunity 
 of observing them closely. They wore their coarse 
 black hair very long, except that it was cut in a 
 straight line on their foreheads, just above their 
 eyes. One old man of the party was, we were told, 
 the chief of the tribe, but he was only distinguished 
 by having the shabbiest suit — denoting that he had 
 taken to clothes longer than the others — and by the 
 intelligent way in which he smiled when anything 
 amusing occurred, whereas his companions took no 
 note of it, but worked on stolidly. There must have 
 been a terrible tragedy at some time or other in the 
 history of this tribe, for an island — one of the very 
 few in this river — which we appropriately saw in 
 the light of a blood-red sunset, bears the terribly 
 
C HAP. XIX. THE " DOLDRUMS." 435 
 
 significant name of the "Island of the slaughtering of 
 the Puru-purus"; but we could learn nothing of the 
 story. 
 
 Tales were not wanting on the Purus of really- 
 savage Indians, but as usual we saw them not. We 
 passed, however, two unfinished houses from which 
 the people had fled, because they had heard during 
 the night the sound of a horn in the forest, the usual 
 signal of attack with the particular tribe they dreaded. 
 They were still staying with a neighbour, unable to 
 summon up sufficient resolution to go back and re- 
 sume their building. 
 
 The wood on this river, as on others, was often of 
 indifferent quality. It appears to be much easier to 
 split and chop the kind which scarcely produces any 
 heat, consequently there was great temptation to 
 palm off upon us this inferior article ; and once we 
 took a cargo on board which was such wretched stuff 
 that it would not even carry us down river. The flow 
 of the Pnrus is, as far as we could determine it, at 
 about the rate of one and a third mile per hour — not 
 a very swift current, but one that we could do little 
 to dodge, as we were compelled, in the absence of a 
 pilot, and the low state of the river, to keep in the 
 run of the stream. When we could do little more 
 than crawl round the great bends, we were accustomed 
 to describe ourselves as being " in the doldrums " ; 
 but when, by good hap, more rapid progress was 
 possible, we rejoicingly alleged that we were " in the 
 roaring-forties." 
 
 The worst of going slowly was that it gave oppor- 
 tunity for hosts of piums — the peculiar pest of the 
 
 2 F 2 
 
436 ON THE PURUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 tributaries of the Solimoes — to come on board, and 
 make life a burden to us. These indefatigable little 
 creatures, already described in our chapter on the 
 Tapajos, as punctual as any clock, commenced opera- 
 tions at six in the morning, and, after twelve hours of 
 activity, retired to rest at six in the evening. They 
 often came in such numbers as to make the air thick, 
 and on these occasions the Commission presented a 
 strange appearance; for it was necessary to wear 
 a handkerchief, like a hood, over the head, for the 
 purpose of guarding the neck and ears, and stockings 
 on the hand to cover well the wrists. On the upper 
 part of the river, we were occasionally troubled by 
 very minute sand-flies. 
 
 Every afternoon we observed, as we steamed along, 
 wisps of smoke rising from the banks at frequent 
 intervals. These indicated the places where men 
 were engaged in the process of manufacturing india- 
 rubber — the Purus being quite the head-quarters of 
 this business. Anyone who wishes to engage in it 
 selects a district of, perhaps, thirty or fifty square 
 miles— as much as he thinks he can work — and re- 
 gisters it for a trifling sum, by which means it is 
 secured to him as long as he wants it. He builds 
 a rough house upon it, and engages all the Indians, 
 both men and women, who reside in the neighbour- 
 hood to help him. These sally out, every morning, 
 for a round through the forest, tapping the zeringas, 
 and bringing home the juice, which is a perfectly 
 white liquid, of the consistency of goat's milk. It is 
 now necessary to turn this fluid into a solid, for which 
 purpose the seeds of certain palms (only two sorts 
 
OiiAP. XIX. INDIA-RUBBER. 437 
 
 will do) are taken, and placed in an earthenware jar, 
 of the shape shown in the annexed diagram. Here 
 they are burnt, the square holes at the bottom of the 
 jar admitting a draught, and causing a dense smoke to 
 issue from the neck — the smoke to which we have 
 alluded, as seen by us from the river. 
 
 EUEEER SMOKING APPARATVS. 
 
 The operator now takes a kind of paddle or racket 
 bat, and holds the blade over the jar, pouring the 
 zeringa juice, cup by cup, upon it, and turning it 
 deftly round to bring all parts into contact with the 
 smoke. The effect is like magic, for the fluid instantly 
 fixes and adheres to the wood, or to the rubber already 
 formed. Thus the process goes on until a solid lump 
 is made, about half an arroba (16 lbs.) in weight, when 
 a slit is cut near the handle, and the blade drawn out; 
 leaving a piece of india-rubber, roughly shaped like 
 a cheese, ready for market. It is the solidifying 
 of the rubber, layer by layer, in the smoke, which 
 gives it the laminated and dark-coloured appearance 
 with which everyone is familiar. By pouring the 
 juice in the same way on clay models of birds, beasts, 
 
438 ON THE PUEUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 and fishes, the Indians make playthings for their 
 children ; and in a similar manner boots and shoes 
 are manufactured. 
 
 It is said that the rubber improves in quality the 
 farther one goes up river to get it, consequently the 
 Purus is less thickly inhabited on the lower portion 
 than above. During the wet season, when the valley 
 is flooded, the process of tapping the zeringas is 
 stopped, while pests become intolerable, so that it 
 becomes necessary for all the rubber merchants to 
 return to their homes at Para, or in the towns along 
 the Amazon or Solimoes. This emigration causes the 
 Company's steamers at times to be densely crowded. 
 No fruit trees or plantations are seen round the houses 
 on the Purus, for they are only meant to be of a 
 temporary character, abandoned half the year, and 
 intended to be given up altogether when the owner has 
 made his fortune. We found the men who occupied 
 them as uninteresting a class as possible, with no 
 thoughts beyond the india-rubber trade. Their one 
 topic of conversation was about the number of " contos 
 dos reis " (roughly, " hundreds of pounds ") they were 
 making yearl}^ ; whereas their neighbour, they usually 
 averred, was on the verge of bankruptcy. The said 
 neighbour, when we reached him, had the same tale to 
 tell, but with a reverse application. 
 
 There were, of course, some exceptions — some men 
 of more general intelligence and wider views. We 
 spent, for instance, a pleasant time, both in going up 
 and returning, with Senhor Fonseca of Mabidiri, who 
 sends off yearly as many as 1200 arrobas of rubber to 
 Para— the largest amount, we were told, produced on 
 
Chap. XIX. MABADIRI. 439 
 
 the river, except the 2000 arrobas exported annually 
 by the Senhors Eamos of Sepatynim. Mabidiri is a 
 picturesque three-storied house, placed at a very sharp 
 bend in the river, in such a manner that the occupier 
 can, so to speak, get a view up and down river at one 
 glance. It is only a thatched open-sided shed, fur- 
 nished with empty boxes, Avhich form chairs, tables, 
 couches, sideboards, and what-nots, according to their 
 size or shape. Senhor Fonseca, whose acquaintance 
 we had previously made on board one of the Com- 
 pany's steamers, spoke English, and treated us very 
 hospitably. He had spent a night in catching turtles 
 just before our first visit, and had secured the enormous 
 number of 500, of which he pressed us to take as 
 many as we pleased, but we were already supplied ; 
 he therefore sent on board instead some fruit, a cheese, 
 and a bottle of wine. On our second visit he was 
 entertaining a priest from Manaos, who was taking a 
 turn on the river, in a neat little cuberta, resplendent 
 with light-blue paint, and a flag with a red cross, for 
 the purpose of marrying or baptizing any who were 
 willing to engage his services for the purpose. His 
 charge for tying a matrimonial knot was, we were 
 informed, 100 milreis, about ten guineas. 
 
 Our journey up river occupied twenty-one entire 
 days, and we turned about to come back at a point 
 a little above Hytanahan, a single house which forms 
 the limit of the Company's line on this river. We had 
 expected to see something of Dr. Lee and his colleague 
 at this place, but learned that they had embraced the 
 opportunity offered them of going farther on in a 
 private launch. 
 
440 ON THE PUEUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 Incidents of travel were not likely to be very 
 numerous on a river such as the Purus, or on board a 
 well-appointed steamer like the ' Gruajara,' but we 
 occasionally varied our proceedings by some slight 
 accident. 
 
 We were all standing chatting together on the 
 upper deck one evening, enjoying the sunset hour and 
 the cool breeze produced l^y the rapid motion of the 
 ' Gruajara ' as she steamed down river in the roaring- 
 forties, when suddenly — ^jnst as the conversation had 
 touched upon stranded ships — she ran over a sub- 
 merged tree, of which there was not a sign upon the 
 surface of the water. The deck seemed to heave 
 beneath us as the ' Gruajara ' climbed a foot higher in 
 the water, then tilted over on one side at a frightful 
 angle as she threatened to capsize, and, finally, 
 resumed her normal condition as she righted again. It 
 was all over in a moment, but we looked at each 
 other with blank consternation, for it was impossible 
 to say what damage might not have been done by 
 such a performance. The holds were searched at once 
 for leaks, but nothing discovered, and we congratulated 
 ourselves upon getting off so easily. These felicita- 
 tions proved premature, however, for when the ' Grua- 
 jara ' rounded her first bend next morning she heeled 
 over terribly, and remained on her side, until a sweep 
 in the opposite direction carried her over the other 
 way, and left her there. It was now found that she 
 had eight inches of water in her forward hold ; but 
 fortunately she was built inwater-tight compartments, 
 and the leak proved to be at a part where it could be 
 easily got at and stopped. 
 
Chap. XIX. RESULTS OP A CURSE. 441 
 
 One afternoon, when creeping up river in the 
 doldrums, we noticed upon the bank close to which 
 we were keeping, an elderly man engaged with others 
 in making rope. He appeared to take great offence at 
 the numbers of field glasses levelled at him, and 
 coming to the edge, shouted down to us, " I hope you 
 may run aground on a sand bank," adding his curse ; 
 but, as on another celebrated occasion, at Rheims, for 
 a long time " nobody seemed a penny the worse." 
 His evil wishes must, however, have lingered in the 
 air to catch us on our return, for, just three weeks 
 later, shortly after we had passed the old man's house 
 we touched bottom, and, a few hours later, ran hard 
 aground on the shallows near a difficult piece of navi- 
 gation, called the "Narrows of Itaitulw." Anchors 
 and hawsers were got out, and every effort made to 
 get the ' Gruajara ' afloat again, but in vain. Our 
 only hope now seemed to lie in emptying the boiler 
 and putting all the fuel and baggage ashore ; but 
 before this work had advanced very far it was dis- 
 covered that the quiet operations of nature were slowly 
 effecting for us what was beyond our own strength. 
 The steamer was lying broadway to the current, which 
 forced itself through the corrugations of the bank 
 under her keel, moving the fine particles of sand, and 
 slowly deepening the water beyond. Inch by inch, 
 almost imperceptibly, the ' Gruajara ' was moving on- 
 ward as this change was accomplished, and it was only 
 necessary for us to wait patiently the issue. About 
 10 P.M. the Captain, who had been all the time in a 
 state of wild excitement, joyfully announced that we 
 were afloat. We had been aground seven hours. 
 
442 ON THE PUEUS. Chap. XIS. 
 
 One of the memorable things on this river was our 
 meeting Mr. Piper, the American, whose name is so 
 well known in connection with schemes of Bolivian 
 colonization. A rumour had shortly before been cir- 
 culated, and had gone the rounds of European and 
 American papers, to the effect that he had been killed 
 by savage Indians at the head waters of the Purus ; 
 but happily he had just turned up to refute it. We 
 noticed his little launch lying under the bank, at a 
 place called Labria after the owner, as we went up 
 river, and had smiled at its rough appearance, its 
 innocence of paint, its funnel rudely constructed of 
 biscuit tins, its ragged curtains, and its untidy awning 
 of dried palm leaves. At this time, however, it was 
 not convenient to stop to form the acquaintance of its 
 master, but a few weeks later, on our way down, we 
 made a point of doing so. 
 
 The people of Labria, to whom we first paid a visit 
 on landing, told us that ]Mr. Piper was Ul^ and alone ; 
 but knew nothing more about him. We found him, 
 on our return to the waterside, standing on the shore, 
 feelDly endeavouring to haul the launch nearer to the 
 lauding, but the task was evidently too much for his 
 strength, and he was glad to accept our offer to manage 
 it for him. He now accompanied us on board the 
 ' Gruajara,' and as he sank wearily into a chair, we 
 were able to note how ill he looked, and that he had 
 fallen into that unkempt condition of dress and person 
 natural to an invalid who is too weak to help himself, 
 and too indifferent to care about his appearance. He 
 explained that he had not, until then, felt able to get 
 up and leave the launch, since he had arrived at this 
 
Chap. XIX. MEET MR. PIPER. 443 
 
 place, some weeks before. He had been deserted by 
 everyone up river, but had managed to get back thus 
 far alone, v^^orking his craft entirely without other 
 assistance, and being his own captain, engineer, stoker, 
 and steersman. The fire-ants, which swarmed on 
 board, had bitten his feet and legs until they had 
 become swollen and ulcerated ; and the strain upon the 
 system of such continuous labour had at last broken 
 him down. Senhor Labria was a friend of his, and he 
 had hoped to receive help and attention here, but 
 unfortunately he had gone to Rio de Janeiro, and the 
 people he had left in charge cared nothing for him, and 
 had not even visited the launch to see if he were alive 
 or dead. 
 
 Notwithstanding his wretched appearance and sur- 
 roundings, Mr. Piper was able to speak proudly of 
 the immense territory he possessed in Bolivia, covering 
 100,000 square miles, and occupying the whole of 
 that country north of the twelfth parallel of latitude. 
 He took a pencil and marked out its boundaries on a 
 map. It is to be his for life in any case, and if he 
 succeeds in colonizing it, it will be confirmed to his 
 heirs and descendants. One could not but be struck 
 with the energy of the man who, after repeated failures, 
 and now in ill-health, still spoke of his enterprise 
 as feasible, and was devising schemes for its prose- 
 cution. There had been, it seems, some foundation for 
 the report representing him as killed, for a negro in 
 his employ had administered poison to himself and his 
 engineer, of such potency that they both lay at the 
 point of death for three months. This attempt on 
 their life had been committed, Mr. Piper said, at the 
 
444 ON THE PUllUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 instigation of a man, well known on the Purus, who 
 was jealous of his reputation as an explorer, and 
 wished to keep the monopoly of the india-rubber trade 
 on the upper portion in his own hands. 
 
 We altered the hour for dining that Mr. Piper 
 might join us at that meal, and then, as he told us 
 he was entirely without provisions, presented him 
 with a turtle, a bag of biscuits, and a bottle of brandy, 
 with which he returned to his launch. Some months 
 later we had the satisfaction of meeting him in Para, 
 looking much better. 
 
 The forest of the Purus, though interesting, is not 
 strikingly different from what we saw elsewhere. 
 Here, as on many rivers, the Samalima, or West Indian 
 silk-cotton tree, is by far the grandest object, tower- 
 ing above all the others; its vast dome-shaped top 
 forming quite a hillock of foliage above the general 
 level. The appearance of its immense buttressed 
 stem may be gathered from the accompanying cut, 
 which represents a trunk against which a hut for 
 smoking the india-rubber had been built. Sometimes 
 when a trovoado passes up river, it blows off the 
 white silky down from which the tree derives its 
 name, and produces all the effect of a snow shower at 
 a little distance. 
 
 The variety of ferns in a tropical forest is very 
 great ; but, inasmuch as they seldom grow together in 
 any considerable quantities, and many of the species 
 are very diminutive, they make a less effective display 
 than might be anticipated — far inferior, in fact, to that 
 which may be seen in any Devonshire wood. Next to 
 the tree ferns, those which have the peculiarity of 
 
\\ Lidstone del 
 
 STEM OF A SILK-COTTON TREE. 
 
Chap. XIX. GEOLOGY. 445 
 
 climbing up trees and shrubs will, undoubtedly, strike 
 an Englishman most. 
 
 Birds were plentiful on the banks of the river, 
 and we often had a shot at mutums or curassows. 
 These are not infrequently kept at English farms, and 
 reckoned as good as turkeys, which they strongly 
 resemble. Cranes and stinking-pheasants were, of 
 course, numerous. The former frequently took alarm 
 as the ' Gruajara ' approached, and flew on to the next 
 sand bank, only to be driven forward again by the 
 advance of the steamer. In this manner they often 
 kept a little way ahead of us for hours, passing on 
 from praia to praia, until they became aware, by some 
 strange instinct, that the convolutions of the river had 
 brought them back nearly to their former haunts ; 
 when, rising high into the air, they sailed over the 
 intervening neck of forest, and thus regained by a 
 short cut the point from whence they had started. 
 
 Owing to the lowness of the water at the time of 
 our visit to the Purus, we were enabled to see the 
 base of the recent deposit of variegated sands and 
 clays which spreads over the Amazonian valley. This 
 consists of a hard bluish unfossiliferous clay, upon 
 which the above beds rest un conformably. At Berury 
 barreiras, near the Purus mouth, where the water stood 
 at a level of fifty-nine feet below its high-water mark 
 of floods, were soDie good sections showing this ujicon- 
 formability. There we saw a layer of leaves lying in 
 a hollow in the blue clay, beneath the upper beds. 
 From one section of yellow sands we obtained spe- 
 cimens of fossilized tree stems. No underlying rocks 
 were met with on this river. 
 
446 ON THE PtJEUS. Chap. XIX. 
 
 The action of the current of the Purus, continually 
 abrading the bank on the concave side of the river, 
 tends to enlarge the sweeps until they approach each 
 other from opposite sides, and the river rushes through 
 the gap to cut itself off. There are places where the 
 voyager has the choice of either going round the old 
 bend in still water, or taking the short cut. These 
 places are called "saccados." In course of time the 
 river builds a dam across the deserted bed, which 
 thus becomes an isolated lake ; and the whole valley 
 is full of such sheets of water, showing by their regular 
 curves and uniform widths that they are deserted 
 channels. The river performs a strange freak at the 
 place passed by us on the sixth day of our journey up. 
 Here the Purus divides, without apparent reason, 
 into two equal streams, one of which turns abruptly 
 westward, and the other eastward. They wander 
 away until they are as much as eleven miles from 
 each other, then suddenly return, and form a junction 
 again at a point only one mile from where they sepa- 
 rated. The enclosed strip of land is known as G-uaja- 
 ratuba Island. 
 
 It was on the Purus that the Commission took first 
 to keeping pets to enliven the monotonous hours. 
 We began by buying a little female monkey of the 
 Prega kind, which was very tame, and soon took 
 affectionately to us. The Captain then purchased a 
 male of the same-sort, but he was wild, and declined 
 for many days to make friends, even going so far, on 
 one occasion when he broke loose, as to jump over- 
 board. At length he took a fancy to the Engineer, 
 to whom, therefore, the Captain made him a present, 
 
Chap. XIX. MONKEYS. 447 
 
 and, in return, the little fellow was named " Bismarck," 
 after the giver's great countryman. This monkey 
 would never make friends with any other person, but 
 exhibited the utmost distress when the Engineer went 
 out of the ship. The Captain who was greatly interested 
 at the time in 'Nicholas Nickleby,' insisted upon 
 having the other called "Miss Squeers." The crew 
 soon followed the lead of the Commission, and in a 
 short time our ship was a perfect menagerie. 
 
448 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. CuAr. XX. 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIHOES. 
 
 Valley of the SoUmDea — Coaiy — The Tillage School — Teffe — The 
 Judge — Blown-up Launch — Drunken Fireman — Singular Palms — 
 Enter the Jurua — Juruapuca — Piums and their Enemies — Orinooco 
 Geese — A Coloured Englishman — Dirt-eating Children — Kubber 
 Season — Peach Urubu Caxoeira — Commence Descent of Juma — 
 Savage Indians — Pe-enter Solimoes — Fonte Boa — Learn of sad 
 Death of Dr. Lee — Ipadu Chewers — Tonantins — S. Paulo — Hospi- 
 tality of Officers at Tabatinga — • Geology of the Solimues. 
 
 Steaming up the Solimoes, on our way to the Jurua, 
 after our journey on the winding Pnrus, was a great 
 relief to us, aifording, as it did, a pleasant change of 
 scene. Here the eye was treated to long vistas of 
 ocean-like river, where to the westward sky and water 
 met at the horizon, giving some idea of the vastness of 
 the Great Eiver. Here a tree-clothed island of great 
 extent met the view ; there was visible a long praia of 
 sand, covering a space of hundreds of acres, left bare 
 by the subsidence of the river, which had fallen some 
 thirty feet since last we floated upon it. At intervals, 
 and very rare ones, a moradores house was seen on 
 the banks, shadowed by the great wall of forest trees 
 whose Avhitish stems had a bleached and wintry look. 
 In places along the bank, masses of the clayey allu- 
 vium of which it is composed, becoming undermined 
 by the sweeping current, have subsided into the river 
 
Chap. XX. VALLEY OF THE SOLIMUBS. ' 449 
 
 with their freight of trees, which, dying in an upright 
 position, have studded the water in that part with 
 their tall gaunt skeletons, and added to the forlorn 
 devastated look of the forest's edge. An absence of 
 human forms, vast unreclaimed tracts of land, wastes 
 of muddy waters, and islands and praias, are the chief 
 characteristics of this portion of the Solimoes. 
 
 The waters sparkled under a bright cloudless sky 
 and fresh easterly breeze, while we ran along as close 
 to the bank as sunken tree stems would admit. The 
 wind being fair, the sparks from the ' Gruajara's ' 
 funnel blew forward, many dropping upon our upper 
 deck awning which they riddled with holes, and, 
 falling through, made the place beneath almost un- 
 tenable. Despite the annoying sparks, the wild scenes 
 around looked pleasant enough under the enlivening 
 effects of the bright sunshine ; but when viewed, as 
 was afterwards the case for days together, beneath a 
 murky sky and steady drizzling rain, they took on 
 a most bleak and dreary aspect, quite depressing in its 
 effects on one's spirits. Then, with wind howling and 
 rain beating up it; dark-looking floating logs stealing 
 down on its current; the weather-beaten dead trees 
 on its banks, and never a house to grace its low shores, 
 the Solimoes wore its worst and wintry garb. 
 
 In order to give the reader some idea of the nature 
 of the country through which the Solimoes runs, we 
 here broadly state that it flows through a vast tract of 
 alluvium, deposited by itself, in a valley cut out of an 
 older, but, geologically speaking, recent deposit, which, 
 rising to a height of one hundred feet or so above the 
 alluvium, stretches away as a level wooded plain both 
 
 2 G 
 
450 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 northward and southward, the limits of which have 
 never been determined. The width of the alluvial 
 tract varies, but is generally of great extent, and has 
 likewise never been determined, except, of course, in 
 settled parts, or where the older deposit bordering it 
 closes in on both sides, as at Coarr. When such 
 is the case, or the river is flowing on one or the 
 other edge of its alluvial plain, the older deposit is 
 disclosed, forming high cliffs of red, white, and grey 
 clays and sands, called Barreirases. All the branches 
 of the Amazon flow in similar plains bounded by the 
 same low table-land, which, closing gradually in the 
 farther you ascend, at last are seen on both hands at 
 one and the same time. The surface of the alluvium 
 on the Parus, Jurua, and Solimoes, is below the level 
 of the high water of floods, so that for some months of 
 each year it is submerged, and thus rendered unin- 
 habitable. 
 
 On the day following the one upon which we re- 
 entered the Solimoes, we passed a neat-looking little 
 village called Codajaz, situated on a strip of land 
 slightly raised above flood mark ; and on the succeed- 
 ing one entered the mouth of the Coary river, where 
 we anchored off the town of that name. This river is 
 narrow at its entrance, but expands into a large bay a 
 short way up, upon the eastern side of which, on high 
 ground sloping gradually down to a fine beach, is the 
 town of Coary, a scattered place containing some six 
 hundred inhabitants. 
 
 The Chief having made the acquaintance of Senhor 
 Yalente — Captain of the Guarda Nacional of this 
 district — during his voyage from Manaos to Para, we 
 
,Uhap. XX. COARY SCHOOL. 451 
 
 now paid that gentleman a visit whilst our steamer 
 was wooding. Senhor Yalente received us cordially, 
 did the honours, and showed us over the place. 
 
 With him we went to the house of a shopkeeper, a 
 tall, strongly built man, where we saw for the first 
 time some Miranha Indians, among whom were three 
 stout girls sitting on the floor near the lady of the 
 house, sewing. 
 
 These Miranhas came originally from villages above 
 the cataracts of the Japura — an immense tributary on 
 the north, side of the Amazon, having its sources in the 
 mountains of New Grenada. They were not good 
 looking, having low foreheads and a cast of coun- 
 tenance of rather an inferior type. They were not 
 tattooed, but had small holes bored quite through the 
 sides of their noses. 
 
 As we sat conversing with Senhor Valente, we 
 looked from his open doorway across a little ravine, 
 upon the opposite side of which was the school-house, 
 an old thatched dwelling in a most dilapidated con- 
 dition. Its clay walls having tumbled away from its 
 upright posts on all sides, the whole internal economy 
 of the establishment was exposed to our view. The 
 boys looked more like wild animals in a cage than the 
 frequenters of a quiet village school. At the time, 
 the scholars were engaged in shouting their lessons all 
 together at the top of their shrill voices, and raised a 
 din which resounded through the whole place, but 
 above which the commands of the master could be 
 distinguished at times. 
 
 The larger portion of the inhabitants of the town, 
 like those of all other Solimoes towns, are essentially 
 
 2 a 2 
 
452 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 fishermen, making their living by catching pirarucu, 
 and likewise gathering turtles' eggs on the praias of the 
 Solimoes during the laying season of those reptiles, 
 from which they manufacture an oil called the oleo de 
 Tartaruga. At the time of our visit, as the praias 
 were bare and the river falling, many of the people 
 were away engaged in those occupations, but a goodly 
 number remained, whom we saw fishing at the mouths 
 of two little bays near the entrance of the river. 
 
 As we left the bay-like expanse of black water off 
 the town, we were much struck by its resemblance to 
 a tidal bay, some recently exposed sand flats suggest- 
 ing that idea. Soon we passed through the straits, 
 where for a short distance the banks on both sides of 
 the river rise up in high red cliffs of the older deposit. 
 Above this they recede, and no high land is seen 
 again on both sides at one time. 
 
 Two days' steaming against the strong current, 
 along an almost deserted portion of the river, relieved 
 in some parts by long stretches of Barreiras — whose 
 red cliffs contrasted with the green of the forest, and 
 lent some colouring to the view — brought us to Teffe'. 
 This village, which is called the Cidade de Teffe', is 
 prettily situated upon the black -water river of the 
 same name, not far up from its junction with the 
 Solimoes ; and like the town of Coary, is placed on 
 elevated ground where that river widens out and 
 becomes lake-like. It is exceedingly difficult to 
 understand why these small rivers, having such 
 diminutive exits —showing that the body of water 
 they contain is not large — should a mile or two up 
 from their mouths assume such gigantic dimensions. 
 
Chap. XX. _ TPIB JUDGE. 453 
 
 The "City", fronted by a wide white sand beach, 
 and with its houses mixed up with vegetation, amongst 
 Avhioh are some fine cocoa-nut palms, looks well 
 enough from the water — quite inviting, in fact ; but 
 when once you enter its streets, all its charms are 
 destroyed bj^ the air of neglect and decay, which 
 hangs about the place like a deadly miasma. 
 
 It was a beautiful Sunday evening when we dropped 
 anchor off the place ; and one would have thought the 
 arrival of a steamer in the port was not such an 
 every-day event as to be I'egarded with indifference. 
 But such was the case, no one seeming to take any 
 interest in our coming, save a knot of four or five 
 people who stood at a street corner. We landed at 
 dusk, and walking up to the group, inquired of a 
 grey-headed individual the way to the house of the 
 Judge of the district, to whom we had a letter. The 
 old gent, who answered our questions in a peculiarly 
 weak and raspy voice, kindly showed us the way 
 himself Crossing an open square, all grass-grown 
 and deserted, we arrived at a row of better built 
 houses, and were shown into one of them as being 
 " the house of the Judge." Presently we were intro- 
 duced to the Judge himself, a little, old, half negro- 
 lookiiig man, having the lid of one eye held open by a 
 strip of sticking-plaster between it and the eyebrow. 
 This naturally gave that eye a glassy stare, as it could 
 never be winked. He complained of being ill, and 
 was evidently rheumatic, for when he tried to walk he 
 brought himself up with a hitch, as if his legs had 
 suddenly kinked. Upon reading the letter of introduc- 
 tion he at once placed himself, house and belongings 
 
454 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 at our service, in the usual set phrases and in true 
 Amazonian style — high-sounding oflfers, as empty as a 
 drum, and light as air. 
 
 Then he proceeded to inform us that he was in 
 great trouble, owing to the strange conduct of a 
 prisoner, who upon his term of imprisonment being 
 curtailed, had flatly refused to leave the gaol. The 
 Judge's great difficulty was in devising some legal 
 measures to evict him, and thus get rid of the expense 
 of his keep. "We afterwards visited the prison, and 
 there saw the culprit sitting on the doorstep, with a 
 happy look on his face, enjoying the cool evening air. 
 
 Next morning, whilst our steamer was wooding — 
 which wood, b3'"-the-bye, was sold us by our friend the 
 Judge — we strolled over the place, past an old 
 decayed church and tumbling houses ; then out to 
 some extensive cleared slopes at the back, where the 
 drought and sun had withered up the grass. Upon 
 the recollections of what this short grass had been 
 before it withered, and in anticipation of the next 
 year's crop, subsisted a herd of cadaverous cattle, to 
 which Pharaoh's lean kine must have been mere child's 
 play. When we say that the substance of their frames 
 was just suflEicient to cast a shadow, we have said all 
 that is necessary about them. 
 
 Whilst crossing the meadow in a hollow that had 
 been a little bay when the river was in flood, but 
 was now fully thirty feet above the water level, we 
 saw the remains of a large steam launch, which had 
 been destroyed by the bursting of its boiler some 
 five months previously. Of four men who were on 
 board at the time of the accident, two had unfor- 
 
Chap. XX. BLOWN-UP LAUNCH. 455 
 
 tunately been killed, while two were miraculously- 
 saved. The main and after portions of the iron hull 
 lie in one spot, and the bow part some fifty yards 
 from it ; while the steam chest is at least one hundred 
 yards off in another direction, whither it was blown 
 by the explosion. The boiler, which was lying in the 
 main part of the wreck, is laid flat open, having given 
 way all along the centre line of its upper portion. 
 
 We were much struck with a neat device upon the 
 door of a small chapel in the cemetery, consisting of a 
 death's head and cross bones painted in black, remind- 
 ing us of the emblem that from childhood we had 
 associated in our minds with the dreadful flag of 
 Captain Kidd, and others of that piratical fraternity. 
 
 In returning through the town we followed another 
 street, and thus passed a large gaudily-painted build- 
 ing with the Brazilian coat-of-arms over the door, 
 which we found was the Camera Municipal. Just 
 opposite was a shop kept by two young men, one of 
 whom addressed us in English. In answer to our 
 inquiries they said that they were natives of Tangiers, 
 and that the old man with the raspy voice came from 
 Gribraltar. 
 
 On steaming out from the mouth of the Teffe river, 
 we were shown a channel leading into the Amazon, 
 whereby a mile or so of journey is saved to steamers 
 taking it in the rainy season. At its mouth is a 
 small sand bank, upon which a year or two before our 
 visit, a screw steamer, called the ' Augusto,' had lain 
 aground for nine months. She had kept too close to 
 the point whilst turning into the channel, and had 
 grounded when the river was falling rapidly. Her 
 
456 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 stern hung over the round high sand-bank, and when 
 the waters were at their lowest, boats on the way 
 up the Teffe used to sail under her stern, which was 
 then eighteen feet above water. She was got off all 
 right when the river rose, and now plies upon the 
 Amazon. 
 
 Not having been able to procure a sufiBcient 
 quantity of wood at Teffe', we had to stop at a place 
 some three and a half hours' journey on, where a 
 Brazilian named Joao da Cunha lives. He has a fine 
 large clearing with a good house and garden, placed 
 upon high ground on the south bank of the Solimoes, 
 almost directly opposite the mouth of the Japura 
 river. We learnt from him that he had ascended the 
 Jurua farther than anyone else ; farther, he said, 
 even than the point attained by that enterprising and 
 talented traveller, Mr. E. Chandless. He had there 
 encountered tribes of wild but friendly Indians, who 
 were unprovided with knives or axes, and who cut 
 down small trees with instruments made of labba 
 teeth fixed in wood. Senhor da Cunha's stout wife 
 did the overseeing part of the work of the place, if we 
 may judge from the manner in which she looked after 
 the eighteen men, boys, and women passing the sticks 
 of wood on board our steamer ; and judging from the 
 neat way in which everything was kept, we cannot be 
 far wrong in our supposition. Sitting on the bank, 
 she gave directions to her workpeople from beneath 
 the shade of an extensive umbrella. 
 
 An unfortunate occurrence took place on our way 
 up from Teffe'. One of our firemen, the best one of 
 course — a man who could get more steam up with bad 
 
Chap. XX. DRUNKEN FIREMAN. 457 
 
 wood than the other fireman, who also worked hard, 
 could do with that of medium quality — went almost 
 raving mad with drink imbibed before leaving that 
 town. He got hold of a knife, and with fearful yells 
 ran a sort of a muck. The steward, who had some 
 influence over him, induced him to take more cacha9a 
 in order to make him dead drunk and helpless, which 
 it fortunately did ; and the ship's crew were relieved 
 of all anxiety when they saw him stretched out on 
 the deck in stupefied slumber. On the following morn- 
 ing at Joao da Cunha's he was paid off, and sent ashore 
 by the Captain, while a man then in da Cunha's em- 
 ploy was hired in his place. This man was a civilized 
 Pamary Indian, named Macario, from the Purus, who 
 like all members of that tribe had a discoloured skin 
 from the puru-purus disease. 
 
 We had seen, on our way up from Coary, many 
 praias inhabited for the season by a few fishermen and 
 their families ; but, on the day we left Senhor da 
 Cunha's, in passing a large stretch of sand at Capaca 
 island, we observed quite a temporary village of huts, 
 where Teffe fishermen were sojourning. There a re- 
 cently killed pirarucu had been hauled up on the 
 beach, close to which sat three men, who were watch- 
 ing our steamer pass. Within ten yards of them 
 were twenty-three alligators with their heads above 
 water and their noses almost touching the sand, 
 patiently waiting till the fish was cut up, when they 
 would come in for their share of it, in the parts 
 thrown away by the men. A few urubus, that had 
 been hopping about, also waiting for tit-bits, had be- 
 come impatient at the delay caused by the passing of 
 
458 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 our steamer, and, emboldened by hunger, had com- 
 menced the onslaught on the carcase, by pecking at 
 its eyes. 
 
 Upon all the high lands on the edge of the river, in 
 this part, we observ^ed for the first time those beautiful 
 and singular palms called Barrigudas (Iriatea ven- 
 tricosa) by the natives. The peculiar feature of these 
 is in their stems, which are small near the base but 
 increase in size at some few feet from the ground to 
 almost twice their ordinary diameter, and tapering off 
 upwards resume their original size. 
 
 After wooding at the mouth of Gruara lake, we 
 entered the Jurua on the morning of October 23rd, 
 and found it to be a muddy-water river, resembling 
 the Purus in every respect but that of size, being on 
 a somewhat smaller scale. For instance, its width 
 at its mouth is half a mile, narrowing soon to a 
 quarter of a mile ; while that of the Purus is be- 
 tween three-quarters and a half mile. It has the 
 same low swampy adjoinicg lands, which are flooded 
 to a depth of from five to ten feet in the rainy season. 
 Also here and there similar red cliffs on either side — 
 few and far between near its lower portion, but more 
 and more numerous the higher up one ascends — and 
 extensive praias at the convex sides of its bends. In 
 fact, it is so similar in every respect to the Purus, 
 that it would be a mere repetition of the description 
 of that river were we to enter into details upon its 
 physical features. 
 
 The chief peculiarity in the scenery of the banks of 
 the lower portion of this river is to be found in the 
 preponderance of palms over other forest trees, and in 
 
Chap. XX. JUEUAPUCA. 459 
 
 the low open nature of the latter. Grass, low willows, 
 wild canes, and cecropias, flourish on the newly formed 
 portions of alluvium. Another peculiarity in this 
 river is that it does not possess one tributary of any 
 size in the 600 miles of its course which we explored. 
 Those it has are nothing more than mere good-sized 
 brooks. 
 
 On the morning of our sixth day upon the Jurua, 
 during which time we had not met with a single 
 human habitation, our wood became exhausted; and 
 we were compelled to stop alongside of the bank, 
 where from a number of dead trees our men cut some 
 300 sticks of wood, which enabled us to get on to a 
 wooding station called Juruapuca. The only house 
 which graces this place is built upon a sand bank at a 
 sharp bend, where within the last six years the river 
 has altered its course, by cutting through a neck of 
 land, thereby taking a short cut and abandoning a 
 long curve. Mr. Chandless, in his interesting report 
 on this river in the Journal of the Geographical 
 Society, mentions that in 1867 a small portion of 
 water at this place was flowing across the neck. 
 Since that time it has cut down the barrier, and 
 built a sand bar in the upper end of its old curve, 
 which almost fills it up, and which is clothed with 
 grass and willows. 
 
 The owner of the Borracha, or india-rubber establish- 
 ment, like all other sojourners on this river, resides 
 here only during the dry season, and goes' to his 
 permanent dwelling on the banks of the Solimoes 
 upon the rising of the waters. This river is essentially 
 an india-rubber growing one — even more so than the 
 
460 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 Purus— and, were it not for the attraction of the 
 zeringa trees on its banks, would not have a single 
 inhabitant. 
 
 Whilst our steamer was taking in wood, we walked 
 up to the house, finding its windows covered with a 
 fine gauze, and its door with curtains to keep out 
 that dreadful pest the pium, which torments one so 
 that life becomes really a grievous Ijurden. Cursed 
 as this river is with piums Ijy day, it is blessed 
 — " thrice blessed " — in having no mosquitoes at 
 night. 
 
 On our way back across the sands, surrounded by 
 black clouds of piums, which were so numerous that 
 many lit upon our clothes in order to search for feed- 
 ing grounds, we observed amongst them great num- 
 bers of small, wasp-like flies, which also lit upon us. 
 Thinking that we had made the acquaintance of a 
 new sort of pest, we stopped to see what they were 
 after, and learn the worst ; when to our delight we 
 observed that they were busily engaged in seizing 
 the piums, tucking them up between their legs, and 
 carrying them off. Our pleasure at the discovery that 
 our enemies had tormentors of their own was very 
 great, and if the little wasp-like flies had been pro- 
 vided with hands, we felt as if we could have clasped 
 them then and there. Catching one, we found it to be 
 a small species of ichneumon fly ; and then we knew 
 that their object in capturing the piums, was, after 
 stinging them into a comatose state, to store them up 
 as food for their larvee. 
 
 Above Juruapuca, houses were seen only at long 
 intervals (of which the accompany ing sketch of one 
 
CiiAP. XX. 
 
 OrJNOOCO GEESE. 
 
 461 
 
 of tliem, called Mata-mata, gives a good idea of all), 
 and the river wore a desolate look. 
 
 MATA-MATA. 
 
 Were it not for numbers of Orinooco geese — called 
 Maricongos — frequenting the praias at every bend, and 
 other birds, there would be but little in the form of 
 life to look at. Nearly every praia had a flock of 
 these geese, in the shape of Ijroods in various stages 
 of development, from small downy goslings of two 
 weeks old, to young full-feathered birds. It was 
 amusing to see the manner in which the full-grown 
 birds scudded along from one end of the praia to 
 another on our approach, before they eventually took 
 to the water, and by diving or crossing the river 
 
462 ON THE JQEUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 evaded our ship. The young ones also took to the 
 water, and dived as the steamer approached them, 
 scattering in every direction ; while the parent birds 
 flapped along the water in front of her bow, shamming 
 a wounded condition in order to divert attention from 
 their young. All these manoeuvres were quite un- 
 necessary, for as the flesh of the Maracongo is not 
 esteemed as an article of diet, they are never 
 molested. Sometimes a small flock of muscovy ducks 
 would fly past within shot, and would be popped at 
 by some one or other from the deck, but never did we 
 know an instance in which one was killed. Ducklars, 
 perched in old dead limbs over the water, were fre- 
 quently made targets for our Captain's gun, but they 
 invariably escaped slaughter: though from the manner 
 in which they dropped into the water at the flash, one 
 would think that they had been killed, until he saw 
 them rise again at a distance, and swim away. Grey 
 river gulls, and scissor-bills abounded in this region, 
 and we also saw the species of powis (curassow) with 
 sealing-wax coloured bill. 
 
 At one place, called Curemata, when we made fast 
 for the night after wooding, the owner, a short, elderly 
 Spaniard, and a middle-sized Brazilian with a large, 
 brown beard, came on board, and dined with us. We 
 do not mention that they partook of a meal with us, 
 because it was a rarity for us to have guests — on the 
 contrary, it was quite the opposite, for at every place 
 at which we stopped there was always one or more to 
 drop on board at meal times, in order to partake of 
 our hospitality, to which they were very welcome. 
 The gentleman with the brown beard, who proved to 
 be a Major Estalano of Teffe, informed us that he was 
 
Chap. XX. RTJBBEE GATHERINa. 463 
 
 the individual who brought Mr. Bates up in his small 
 vessel from Manaos to that city ; a journey which has 
 been so delightfully described in that celebrated book 
 of travels, ' The Naturalist on the Amazon.' 
 
 As we were making fast to the landing place of 
 Uru9aca, our next wooding station, a light-coloured 
 man who caught the bow hawser on shore for us, 
 instead of calling out in Portuguese that it was tied, 
 to our astonishment proclaimed that fact, together 
 with an intimation to the crew to haul taught, with the 
 English, but somewhat inelegant expression, " let it 
 rip." He came on board, and on being questioned said 
 he was a native of G-ravesend, that he had come out in 
 one of the Peruvian steamers some years ago, and, 
 changing from place to place, at last came here to try his 
 hand at collecting india-rubber. Senhor Thomaz, the 
 owner of the Borracha, to whom he sells his rubber, 
 pays him twenty miireis (2^.) for every thirty-two 
 pounds of that article which he procures. He gets all 
 his supplies of clothing, food, &c., from Senhor Thomaz, 
 to whom he gives all the rubber he manufactures. 
 The supplies are very expensive, every article being 
 placed at the highest possible and therefore most un- 
 conscionable figure, so that in many places the poor 
 rubber gatherer, when he thinks he has a large sum to 
 draw, finds that he is really in debt to his supplier. 
 This man and another young man, his partner, live 
 together on the borders of a small lake near by, from 
 which they start every morning at six, and making 
 the rounds of two hundred rubber trees each, tapped 
 on the previous day, collect the milk in a can. As 
 they do so they make fresh openings in the tree stems, 
 and place little tins to collect the milk for the fol- 
 
464 ON THE JUETJA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 lowing morning. Each thus, from one and a half 
 gallon of milk, makes on an average sixteen pounds 
 of rubber per day. 
 
 At Uru5aca there were three or four children with 
 yellowish, bloodless countenances, protruding stomachs 
 and colourless lips, who, we thought, were suffering 
 from fever ; but we were told that their appearance 
 was owing to the habit they had contracted of eating 
 clay, of which they could not be broken. 
 
 On the fourth day after leaving Urugaca our wood 
 was all finished, and in order to reach a wooding 
 station, called Pupunha, just in sight, all the empty 
 barrels, boxes and scraps of wood on board had to be 
 burnt as fuel. Arriving there, we had a lot of trouble 
 to induce the owner of the wood to part with any, as 
 he was keeping it for the steamer ' Jamary,' then on 
 its way up river. We at last induced him to let us 
 have two thousand pieces. He was an old gentleman 
 who looked as if his blood was in a very poor con- 
 dition, while the piums had played sad ravages with 
 his face and hands. By profession he was a civil 
 engineer ; and having, he said, spent his money in 
 educating his two sons, was no longer able to live " in 
 the highest society of" his "country." Therefore he 
 had come to this out-of-the-way place, and built a good 
 house upon the low barreiras of Pupunha, which he 
 had been told was never submerged. On the first rainy 
 season the water rose over the land, the whole bank 
 gave way, and his edifice was precipitated into the 
 river. Moving then to this place, he had only erected 
 a temporary dwelling. 
 
 He complained of the unhealthiness of the spot, and 
 
Chap. XX. URUBU RAPIDS. 465 
 
 said that his worltpeople collecting india-rubber back 
 on the borders of the lakes, or ancient courses of the 
 river, were all suffering from intermittent fever. Five 
 years before this time, forty people had died of that 
 disease at a lake close by. From him we also learnt 
 that the inhabitants of the Jurua leave it in January, 
 and return again in June ; and that from February to 
 May its alluvial banks are completely submerged, 
 being thus rendered uninhabitable. 
 
 Not far on, above Pupunha, we passed the steamer 
 terminus on this river — a place called Marary — con- 
 sisting of one house built on posts, near the mouth of 
 a lake. It is the last house on the Jurua's bank, and 
 wears a gloomy, desolate look. Soon after we came 
 to the " Urubu cachoeira " or Urubu rapids, where, 
 owing to the lowness of the water, the river was 
 shallow and ran swiftly. Its width from bank to bank 
 in this part, a distance of 564 miles from its mouth, 
 we found to be 425 yards, while the portion actually 
 occupied by water was only 313 yards. Its banks 
 were 43 feet above the water's level, and by marks on 
 the tree stems growing thereon, we ascertained that 
 they are submerged in times of flood to a depth of 
 3| feet ; showing how vast must be the volume of 
 water descending this river during the rainy season. 
 The depth of water in the middle of the stream below 
 the rapids was 5|- fathoms. 
 
 Our upward journey terminating at this spot, we 
 turned about after a time, and commenced our descent 
 of the river. Assisted by the strong current, we 
 steamed rapidly along in mid-stream, a pleasing con- 
 trast to our slow movement in ascending, whilst 
 
 2 H 
 
466 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 crawling along close to either bank. When anchored 
 that night off a praia near Lago Mari-mari, we saw 
 the lights of a steamer which was slowly making its 
 way up river. Coming to a stop just abreast of us, 
 it lowered a boat, which crossed over to the ' Guajara,' 
 bringing our friend Captain Bloem to pay us a visit. 
 We were delighted to see him and have a chat, as 
 well as learn the news stirring in the outer world. 
 Our friend was on an ofiBcial visit to the river in the 
 steamer ' Jamary,' which was performing the monthly 
 service from Manaos to Marary and back. After a 
 short visit he returned to his ship, which, getting up 
 anchor, went on again. 
 
 As the ' Jamary ' on the way up had taken all the 
 sticks of wood at the upper wooding stations, we could 
 not procure any of that necessary article, and therefore 
 had to stop for a day at a deserted place called 
 Pupunhazinha, while our men cut enough to take us 
 on to Uru9aca. This wood-cutting process was a most 
 tedious affair, and submitted us to the persistent attacks 
 of heartless piums, whilst our steamer lay alongside 
 the river's bank. 
 
 This was not the only occasion on which we had to 
 cut wood for ourselves on this river, for at another 
 place we spent half a day at the same occupation. 
 Not having got the wood on board by the evening we 
 remained at the spot all night, in order to finish the 
 work in the morning. We then crossed the river to a 
 praia on its opposite side — a low moist stretch of sand 
 ■ — and whilst sitting down heard a curious sound, re- 
 sembling the pattering of little feet, for which it 
 seemed difficult to account. Taking the boat's lamp 
 
Chap. XX. YOUNG TURTLES. 467 
 
 we held it over the spot, and to our astonishment be- 
 held a perfect stream of little turtles, each not two 
 inches in length, bursting up through the compact 
 sand, struggling out through it, and toddling off at a 
 good pace to the river, into which they ran. They 
 were the products of a turtle nest which had hatched 
 out, and was now pouring forth its contents into the 
 world. The spot from which they emerged had a few 
 moments before looked smooth and firm, not hinting 
 in the least at the existence of any kind of life beneath. 
 Our cabin boy caught most of them, about one hundred 
 in number, and put them into a large pudding pan 
 used as a bailer to the boat, where he had great dif- 
 ficulty in keeping them till he got on board, as all 
 were scrambling about one upon the other, and con- 
 tinually getting over the pan's edge. The sailors 
 were very fond of young turtles, roasting them whole, 
 and then eating them ; but as we did not fancy their 
 infantile appearance we never even tasted them. 
 
 At Gaviao Barreiras, where we subsequently stopped 
 for fuel, Senhor Sousa, its owner, related to us some 
 anecdotes of savage Indians who from time to time 
 make their appearance on the praias, or barreirases, of 
 the river, coming from the interior of the country. 
 He said that whenever they meet with people they 
 fall upon and slay them. A trader with his men, in 
 going up the river, had camped one night on a praia, 
 where they were attacked by a party of native savages, 
 having large ears, belonging to some unknown tribe. 
 The trader, wounded in many places by arrows, sought 
 refuge beneath the toldo of his boat, while one of his 
 slaves, getting alongside of it in the water, managed 
 
 2 H 2 
 
468 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 to drag it off, and thus they were able to escape. 
 For this act of bravery the slave was granted his 
 freedom. 
 
 Senhor Sousa assured us that the semi-civilized 
 Catauisis Indians, inhabiting the borders of the Jurua 
 in this part, are a treacherous lot, and are not to be 
 trusted. He stated that a young Portuguese who had 
 gone up to one of their villages, situated on the 
 borders of a small stream not far off, and hired three 
 of the members of that tribe to come and gather 
 rubber for him, had, on the way back, been brutally 
 murdered by them. 
 
 Thus dwelling as it were in the " midst of alarms " 
 Senhor Sousa, who was the only person that remained 
 on the Jurua all the year round, had not a very 
 pleasant time of it, living as he did in constant dread 
 of an attack at any moment from wily savages. 
 
 On the morning of November the 15th, we arrived 
 at the mouth of the Jurua, and re-entering the Solimoes 
 turned up it, keeping along its southern shore until 
 we arrived in the forenoon at the Barreiras of Araras. 
 This place, a wooding station, is the residence of a 
 
 Portuguese trader, one Senhor S . He has a long, 
 
 narrow, little steamer, and a house upon the high 
 ground of somewhat similar proportions, being like- 
 wise long and narrow. The steamer was laden with 
 firewood, which was passed on board the 'Gruajara' 
 by a gang of young women employed by Senhor 
 S . 
 
 Our next stopping place was at the Barreiras Yer- 
 melna de Fonte Boa, where a merchant named Kebello 
 has erected a substantial dwelling-house and shop. 
 
Chav. XX. FONTS BOA. 469 
 
 The principal room in the former had its walls deco- 
 rated with curious stiff paintings, by some native 
 artist, intended to represent trees, men, and four- 
 footed animals. These were painted in a variety of 
 colours on the whitewashed plaster, and occupied only 
 the lower portion of the walls to a height of about 
 three feet. Senhor Eebello was very generous, pre- 
 senting us with a piece of fresh beef, a sucking pig, 
 and some oranges. 
 
 We made an abortive effort to continue our journey, 
 but our wood was so bad that it would not get up 
 steam. A day had therefore to be spent at the above- 
 mentioned place, while our men and some natives were 
 cutting dry wood to mix with our green stuff. While 
 this work was in progress, we took the opportunity of 
 visiting the town of Fonte Boa, which is situated on 
 the east bank of a small river called the Caiarara, some 
 few miles on. On arriving there in our montaria, we 
 landed, and were somewhat surprised to meet our 
 friend Senhor Valente, of Coary, who was there on 
 business. 
 
 The town, chiefly consisting of two long rows of 
 houses and a church, was at the time almost deserted, 
 by its inhabitants being away, either up the Jurua, 
 rubber collecting, or on praias fishing. 
 
 Grlancing over a late Manaos paper of Senhor 
 Valente's, we were shocked to read of the death of 
 Dr. Lee, a gentleman whose acquaintance we had 
 made at Manaos, and who had gone up the Purus a 
 month before us to establish a Mission under the 
 auspices of the South American Missionary Society. 
 In this paper but a slight mention of the sad affair 
 
470 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 was made, but we subsequently perused a full account 
 written by Mr. Eesyek, Dr. Lee's assistant, which 
 appeared in the Eeport of the above Society for the 
 year 1874. It would appear that after the Mission- 
 aries had been a short time on the Purus, at a distance 
 of over 1000 miles from its mouth, they met with 
 so many difficulties and disappointments in trying 
 to carry out their task, that they decided to return to 
 Manaos. They took passage in a little trading launch, 
 and had accomplished but a small portion of their 
 journey, when a stoppage was made one night at a 
 place called Saccado. It was usual for all the pas- 
 sengers, some eight or ten in number, to go on shore 
 at night to sleep, as the space in the boat was so 
 confined by being crowded with deck cargo ; but, 
 strange to say, on this occasion Dr. Lee unfortu- 
 nately elected to sleep in a hammock slung under the 
 awning, or toldo, of the launch. The fireman, a 
 negro, also slept in her, beneath the toldo, while two 
 boys slept on its top. During the night, as she lay in 
 the eddy in deep water, at a distance of only six feet 
 from the shore, she suddenly sank, carrying down with 
 her both Dr. Lee and the negro. The boys who 
 were sleeping on the toldo escaped to the shore, 
 giving the alarm at once, but too late, unfortunately, 
 to permit any attempt being made to rescue the un- 
 fortunate men, who had been dragged beneath the 
 waters. Mr. Eesyek and the others, at once ran to 
 the river side, only to see in the dim light the turbid 
 river flowing silently over the spot where the ill-fated 
 craft had foundered. On the following day the launch 
 was hoisted to the surface by ropes, from a staging 
 
Chap. XX. CATAUKIN INDIANS. 471 
 
 built out to her ; when it was discovered that through 
 a cock, which had been left open, the water had flowed 
 steadily in, and thus caused her to sink. 
 
 In the same paper we saw a paragraph stating that 
 the Jaupiri Indians on the Negro had again attacked 
 Pedreira, and were giving the Provincial Government 
 some trouble. 
 
 The old town of Fonte Boa, like that of Juruty, no 
 longer exists in the eye of the law, for Senhor Rebello 
 has got the Government of the province of Amazonas 
 to proclaim his place as the real Fonte Boa, and take 
 all ancient rights away from the settlement we had just 
 visited, granting them to the new locality. In a short 
 time most of the people of the old town will move 
 down to the new one, which is more conveniently 
 situated, and less infested with insect pests. 
 
 Three days' slow steaming, produced by very bad 
 wood as fuel, along a bleak portion of the Solimoes, 
 where hardly a house was to be seen on its banks, or 
 fisherman on its praias, and with abominably dull 
 rainy weather, brought us to the Barreiras of Jutahy, 
 where some delay was experienced in cutting wood 
 at the mouth of the Sappo. Whilst this was being 
 done we landed at the house of the chief man of the 
 district, a Senhor Moreira, who had a large plantation 
 behind his house, and a lot of Cataukin Indians 
 working for him. These Indians belong to a tribe 
 frequenting the lower part of the Jutahy river, and 
 are a clean -looking, light -coloured lot, with holes 
 drilled through their upper lips. Besides these he 
 had three Miranhas, whose cheeks were puffed out in 
 a most remarkable manner. At first we thought this 
 
472 ON THE JUKUA AND SOLIMUES. Chap. XX 
 
 was owing to the natural shape of their faces, but 
 soon perceived that their mouths were full of that 
 curious vegetable product, called ipadu, or coco, 
 which they were sucking. This substance has been 
 used, it is said with success, for warding off fatigue, by 
 a great pedestrian quite recently in England. 
 
 One and a half day's steaming, with good fiiel, 
 brought us to the mouth of the Tonantins river, a 
 narrow black-water stream on the north bank of the 
 Solitnoes, into which we turned, and soon arrived at 
 the town of the same name. The day happened to be 
 fine, and under the influence of the sunshine, the 
 small, scattered town looked clean and bright. Each 
 house is provided with a picket enclosure behind it, 
 containing fruit trees and a pond with turtles. 
 Though the town boasts of 500 inhabitants, yet we 
 only saw three men, viz. a Portuguese ; a Dane, who 
 came from Xew Grenada ; and an unfortunate old 
 white man, of unknown nationality, who was suffering 
 from some horrible skin disease. Besides these, there 
 were a few women and children. ^lost of the people 
 were away on praias catching turtle, and we were told 
 that one large praia had no less than eighty people 
 encamped upon it. 
 
 On the top of the cliff near the town, in black soil, 
 are quantities of Indian pottery, amongst which we 
 found several pieces painted with very delicate and 
 intricate markings, some arranged like scales on a fish, 
 whUe others were of the Grecian pattern. 
 
 A small Government latmch, carrying a bow pivot- 
 giiii, came to Tonantins from the river lea during our 
 short stay, and, after embarking the carriage of a field- 
 
Chap. XX. GRANDEUR OP THE AMAZON. 473 
 
 piece, started on her return to that river. We had 
 some conversation with the oificer in charge of her, 
 who informed us that the Grovernment had lately made 
 a military station some three days' journey up the 19a, 
 and were now fortifying it. 
 
 The next town we passed was S. Antonio, near 
 the mouth of the above-named river, at which not a 
 human being was to be seen. From the time of 
 our leaving Tonantins, until we got to the end of our 
 journey up the Solimoes, we had generally beautiful 
 weather, and, save a thunderstorm or two, had sun- 
 shine by day and moon-shine by night, when the river 
 wore its pleasantest garb. 
 
 We frequently, during our journey, took advantage 
 of small parana-mirims, between islands and either 
 main, which are very numerous in this part. When 
 on them, one could almost suppose himself to be upon 
 an independent river ; but when out on the open 
 Solimoes, where there is no parallelism of banks, but 
 only great wide irregular stretches of water, one 
 would hardly think that he was upon a river at all. 
 Some idea may be conveyed of the immense size of 
 the Amazon by the statement that above S. Paulo, at 
 a distance of over 1900 miles from the ocean, from the 
 deck of onr steamer we saw, at one time, a wide water 
 horizon before and behind us. 
 
 The town of S. Paulo, our next stopping place, is 
 the exact counterpart of all other towns on the banks 
 of the Solimoes ; having a few good, though small, white- 
 washed houses, and a greater number of mud-walled 
 huts and grass-grown streets, all conveying to the 
 mind the idea that it has seen better d ays. An air of 
 
474 ON THE JUEUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 utter neglect and almost total abandonment pervades 
 the place. But there is no actual reason to suppose 
 that it ever ^vas more flourishing than at present, for 
 it is the temporary nature of the houses, and mode of 
 life of the inhabitants, that give it the appearance of 
 being out at elbows ; for such is the nature of the 
 construction of its edifices, that in two or three years 
 after one is built, decay commences, its sides crumble 
 off, its thatch becomes attenuated and rotten, and a 
 new one has to be built near by to replace it. Then 
 again, the inhabitants who amount in number to 
 between four and five hundred, are generally away, 
 mostly fishing, or living at small sitios and plantations 
 on land that will be flooded during the rainy season ; 
 at which time they return to their town dwellings. 
 
 S. Paulo is prettily situated on a small plateau, 
 much cut up by ravines, upon the southern bank of 
 the j^mazon; where, from its elevated position, it 
 commands a fine view of river scenery. From it the 
 high land has a long slope to the water's edge covered 
 with grass, with little hollows here and there in which 
 small shrubs and trees nestle. The white arenaceous 
 clay showing through the grass here and there, gives 
 this some resemblance to the slopes of a chalk down •, 
 while the shrubs, in their general similarity to gorse, 
 help still further to carry out the illusion. 
 
 The chief man of the town is a dark mulatto 
 merchant, from whom we purchased the wood we 
 required. Although probably rich in worldly goods, 
 and with a number of workmen at his command, he 
 was dressed as if he were in poor circumstances, 
 actually going barefooted. 
 
Chap. XX. ARRIVE AT TABATINGA. 475 
 
 After leaving S. Paulo we passed a place called 
 Rita Barreiras, where we encountered an exceedingly- 
 strong current, which gave the ' Gruajara ' as much 
 work as she could do to stem it. As a rule in strong 
 currents she did not behave well, for as the swirl of 
 them caught her on either side of the bow, she heeled 
 over at a considerable and most uncomfortable angle. 
 She was most difficult to steer, and it was curious 
 to see the manner in which the steersman had then to 
 whirl the wheel round, first in one direction, then in 
 the other. 
 
 In two and a half days' steaming from S. Paulo we 
 reached the village and fort of Tabatinga, situated at 
 the boundary line between the great Empire of Brazil 
 and Republic of Peru, at a distance of 2070 miles 
 from the Atlantic Ocean. Some few miles below it 
 the Solimoes has a sharp bend, above some remark- 
 ably large islands near the mouth of the Javary river ; 
 and flows past the fort in a northerly direction, with a 
 width of three-quarters of a mile. At the bend just 
 mentioned it loses its name of Solimoes, and takes 
 that of Maranhao ; just as above the mouth of the Rio 
 Negro the Amazon takes the name of Solimoes. Give 
 it what name you please, it still remains one and the 
 same river — the mighty Amazon. 
 
 Dropping anchor oif the place near a small gunboat 
 and a bataloe — which, with some montarias, repre- 
 sented the shipping of the port — and under the muzzles 
 of a row of field-pieces behind a low earthwork, we 
 terminated our ascent of the Amazon. A flight of 
 steps led up from the landing to the level of the fort, 
 some thirty feet above high-water mark of floods, near 
 
476 ON THE JURUA AND SOLIMOES. Chap. XX. 
 
 the head of which a sentry was posted. "We ascended 
 to the top and took a stroll through the place, which is 
 mostly composed of barracks for some eighty soldiers 
 who are stationed there. The town is divided by a 
 gully into two portions — civil and military. The 
 civil portion consists of only eight or ten houses, of 
 which three are shops, and one a school ; all in a 
 neglected state and partially overgrown with weeds 
 and shrubs. The military portion consists of an 
 earthwork along the river's bank, a range of barracks 
 and officers' quarters, together with a fine range of 
 new brick barracks in course of construction. 
 
 In passing the officers' quarters we were invited 
 in, and very kindly treated. After coffee and some 
 desultory conversation, they took us to see their 
 brick and tile manufactory and carpenter's shop, where 
 their soldiers work in gettiDg out materials for the 
 completion of the new barracks. One of the three 
 who accompanied us — an engineer officer — accepted 
 our invitation to come on board, and we spent a 
 pleasant evening chatting together. 
 
 Not being able to get wood for our steamer, the 
 Commandante, next morning, sent nine of his soldiers 
 to cut that necessary article for us, and gave us all he 
 had, some YOO pieces in number belonging to the gun- 
 boat, for which he would not take any other payment 
 but thanks. He kindly invited us to dine with him 
 that evening, but as we were bound for the Javary 
 river we could not spare time to stop and avail our- 
 selves of his proffered hospitality. 
 
 In looking up the Maranhao, a barreiras is seen 
 some three or four miles off, upon which is the 
 
Chap. XX. GEOI.OGY. 477 
 
 Peruvian frontier fort of Leticias, at which is stationed 
 only one officer of the army of Peru. We met this 
 gentleman at Tabatinga, whither he had come for com- 
 panionship and change, his own quarters being so dull 
 and lonely. 
 
 After partaking of a bread, cheese, and beer lunch 
 with the Commandante, we bid adieu to our kind 
 friends ; and after running a short way down river, 
 took in the soldiers' wood. 
 
 We saw no beds of sandstone or limestone on the 
 banks of the Solimoes. A little below S. Paulo 
 there is a section of dark clay which greatly resembles 
 the Tertiary deposit of the Javary. It contains a layer 
 of impure lignite and calcareous nodules, but has no 
 signs of fossil shells. 
 
 The fossiUferous Tertiary deposit is, however, seen 
 on the south bank of the Solimoes at Major Rebeiros, 
 not far from the mouth of the Javary. 
 
 In most sections of the variegated sands and clays, 
 on the upper part of the Solimoes, a bluish clay 
 weathering of a brownish green hue underlies them 
 unconforraably. It may perhaps belong to the upper 
 portion of the Tertiary beds. 
 
 The composition of the banks of the Jurua is so 
 similar in every way to those of the Purus, that it is 
 unnecessary to touch upon them in this chapter. 
 
478 ON THE JAVARY. CuAf. XXI. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 ON THE JAVAEY. 
 
 Start for the Javary — Death of " Miss Squeers " — Character of the River 
 — Purchase a Barrigudo — Canama — The ultimate Point of our 
 Journeys — The Lingoa Oertil — A Tiny Marmozet — A Love Story — 
 Piririca — Geology — Down the SolimSes — Caldeirao — An Unlucky 
 Day — Looking for the Chiefs Slipper ! — Xews at Tefife — Lake 
 Cayambe — A Laughable Contretemps — Arrival at Manaos. 
 
 Seldom had we been more pleased on leaving any 
 place than we were on getting finally free from Taba- 
 tinga and its neighbourhood, where the intense heat 
 and numerous piums, as we lay under the sheltered 
 bank taking wood on board, had combined to make 
 oar situation well-nigh intolerable. Only an hour 
 remained to sunset when the last log had been passed 
 into the ' Gruajara ' ; but we felt that, far as the day had 
 advanced, we must make a start, if we only reached 
 across to the mouth of the Javary — the river we were 
 now about to explore. As a matter of fact, we got no 
 farther, but anchored off a sand bank, at the point of 
 an island; judging it to be a suitable place from 
 which to get observations for fixing accurately the 
 position of the confluence of this tributary. In some 
 respects this proved a less easy matter than we had 
 anticipated, for the bank had, as it turned out, a wide 
 margin of soft mud round it, and through this we were 
 obliged to wade to reach the firmer nucleus. The 
 mosquitoes at once attacked our bare feet savagely, 
 
Chap. XXI. DEATH OF " MISS SQUEEES." 479 
 
 and it was necessary for us to bury them in the sand 
 all the time we were at work; but we succeeded in 
 recording the altitude of some of the stars, and arrived 
 at the result that we were almost exactly 70 degrees 
 west from Glreenwich, and rather more than 4 degrees 
 south of the Equator. 
 
 During that night, November 30th, our poor little 
 monkey, " Miss Squeers," departed this life. She had 
 been slowly wasting away, for no apparent reason, 
 ever since she came on board, and was now reduced 
 to a mere shadow. For several days she had passed 
 most of her time lying quietly in a patch of sunshine 
 in one of the cabins ; but if either of us went near her, 
 she would get up at once and patter after us, crying 
 piteously to be taken on our knees, nursed, and petted 
 — a plea for sympathy which we could seldom alto- 
 gether resist. It would seem that she had felt un- 
 equal to the strain of entering upon a new month and 
 a new river, but weary and worn had laid the burden 
 of life down, without a struggle, on the threshold. 
 
 Very unfavourable accounts had often been given 
 us of the Javary — accounts which had made us sorae- 
 Avhat dread the time when we should enter upon its 
 exploration. Hordes of cannibals, we were told, in- 
 fested its banks, dismal swamps spread themselves out 
 on either hand, and fever would certainly attack any- 
 one who remained on it long. One pictured it unin- 
 habited, sunless and desolate — a kind of "Yalley of 
 the shadow of death " ; it had been therefore a great 
 relief to us to find that our instructions did not re- 
 quire us to ascend it for any considerable distance. 
 Great was our surprise to discover that this bad 
 
480 OX THE JATAEY. Chap. XXI. 
 
 character was wholly undeserved, and that it was in 
 many respects a far pleasanter stream than either the 
 Jurua or Purus. Though smaller than those river.?, it 
 resembled them in being muddy and winding, as we.ll 
 as in most of its general characteristics ; but what 
 gave it greater favour in our eyes was that it flowed 
 through a narrower and deeper valley, and more 
 frequently touched the side of it, so that we oftener 
 had a view of elevated land. A still more commend- 
 able feature of the Javary is that the houses upon its 
 banks are of a less temporary nature than those which 
 we had been accustomed to see upon the other rivers, 
 having large plantations and numerous fruit trees sur- 
 rounding them, while several of them have the look of 
 being long-established dwelling places. A third fact 
 lent interest to this tributary, namely, that it is a 
 border river, separating two important countries. 
 Doubtless we were influenced largely by imagination, 
 but the Javary seemed certainly to wear a different 
 aspect when we regarded it in this light, and said to 
 ourselves as we steamed up it, " Here to our left is 
 Brazil — a great empire with some of whose provinces 
 we have grown familiar ; and there on our right is 
 Peru — a new and, to us, unknown land." 
 
 The Javary has three mouths, at no great distance 
 apart, of which the eastern is the most important, and 
 it was necessary for us to pass the other two in order 
 to reach it. All day we steamed steadily up river, 
 except that we made one halt for a few minutes at a 
 large house to ask the owner if he would be good 
 enough to get some wood cut for us by the time we 
 returned. It was necessary to take precautions of 
 
Chap. XXI. BARRIGUDO M0NKP:Y. 481 
 
 this sort to secure a supply of fuel on the Javary, for 
 no steamers run regularly upon it, and no stock of 
 prepared wood is therefore to be met with. This place 
 was called Piririca (razor-grass) — an unpleasantly sug- 
 gestive name — but whatever quantities of that danger- 
 ous forest creeper may have once flourished upon the 
 spot, they had been cleared off to make room for ex- 
 tensive plantations of maize, tobacco, and mandioca. 
 
 A number of pets were kept at Piririca, and our 
 Captain at once set his affections upon a large bar- 
 rigudo monkey, which after some bargaining was 
 handed over to him, and conveyed on board, to be 
 added to the ' Guajara's ' fast increasing menagerie. 
 We, on the other hand, desired to get possession of a 
 very tiny marmozet, no bigger than a mouse, with 
 which the Major — for by this title the owner was 
 known — seemed less willing to part •, but he eventually 
 agreed to sell it on the somewhat strange condition 
 that we should leave it with him until we returned to 
 get the wood. The barrigudo could not be called a 
 handsome animal, the large stomach from which the 
 species takes -its name giving him an ungainly appear- 
 ance, and his coat seeming to be too thick and warm 
 for these tropical regions. He was of a dark grey 
 colour, approaching black, and had a countenance 
 wearing an expression of stupid good-humour, which 
 very fairly represented his character. Displaying no 
 special affection for anyone in particular, he never- 
 theless was willing, and even anxious, to be on the best 
 of terms with everybody. At times he would come 
 hopping along the deck, and observe one of us resting 
 on an easy chair, when instantly he would clamber up, 
 
 2 I 
 
482 ON THE JAYARY. Chap. XXI. 
 
 and seat himself upon our kuees, quite regardless of 
 the fact that his bulk and weight made him somewhat 
 too much of a lap-ful. To dislodge him from thence 
 was, however, no easy matter, for he held on by all 
 his four hands, and, still more tightly, by his pre- 
 hensile tail. During meals it often happened that 
 one of the windows of the saloon would be suddenly 
 darkened, and harsh discordant screams would strike 
 upon our ear. These phenomena announced the 
 arrival of the barrigudo upon the scene, and his 
 desire to have a yam or potato, with which to stay 
 the cravings of his appetite. He was holding on 
 to the bars of the railing of the awning deck by 
 means of his tail, and swinging to and fro through 
 the open window, with all his hands free and ready 
 to clutch whatever might be offered. 
 
 During the afternoon of this first day's voyage we 
 passed the mouth of a very large tributary, called the 
 Taquahy, beyond which the size of the Javary sen- 
 sibly diminished. Always there was, on one side, the 
 ste^ep bank with its high surmounting wall of forest, 
 wonderfully beautiful with its palms and creepers; 
 and on the other side the gradual slope of the bush 
 from alders through cecropias up to the higher trees ; 
 just as we had been accustomed to see these things, 
 through several weeks, on the Purus and Jurua. In 
 the same way, the different characteristics of the two 
 shores kept changing sides with each other, as we 
 swept round in reversed curves, now to the right, now 
 to the left ; and the only thing wanting to complete 
 the general resemblance was the praia along the edge 
 of the alders. There is not space in the Javary for 
 
Chap. XXI. ULTIMATE POINT OP JOURNEYS. 483 
 
 very extensive sand banks, and the rise of the river was 
 already sufficient to cover up most of the narrow strips 
 visible in the height of the dry season. The majority 
 of the houses were upon the Peruvian bank. 
 
 On the third day our wood began to give out soon 
 after noon, for we had not been able to obtain as large 
 a supply as we wished at Tabatinga. Whilst passing 
 a house, called S. Sebastian, standing on high ground 
 in a, remarkably abrupt bend, a discussion arose re- 
 specting the possibility of getting farther ; and whilst 
 the decision of the matter hung in the balance, the 
 Captain shouted so many contradictory orders to the 
 engineer and steersman that the ' Gruajara ' backed, 
 shot forward, halted, and spun round and round, in 
 a manner that must have been wholly inexplicable to 
 the people who were watching us from the shore. 
 After we had amused them some minutes with our 
 strange gyrations, it was decided that we might get 
 on somewhat farther before we absolutely reached the 
 end of our fuel resources. 
 
 Before dusk we were compelled, perforce, to come 
 to a stand at a place called Canama, consisting of one 
 or two small houses in a clearing on a high bank on 
 the Peruvian side. We were now about 110 miles 
 from the mouth of the Javary, and this was to be the 
 ultimate point of our long wanderings. All the work 
 laid down for us in our instructions was now accom- 
 plished, and we believed that when we left this place 
 we should be homeward-bound. It seemed, in some 
 respects a pity, now that we had got so far across 
 this continent of South America, to turn back without 
 catching a glimpse of the Andes ; but our mission was 
 
 2 I 2 
 
484 ON THE JAVARY. Chap. XXI. 
 
 confined to Brazil, and it is necessary to advance many 
 hundreds of miles into Peru — beyond Nauta on the 
 main river — before the mighty mountain chain comes 
 within sight. TVe had been by this time so long 
 and so continuously cruising about, that perhaps the 
 thought of home and rest loomed more pleasantly 
 before us than the prospect of witnessing the marvels 
 of the Andes could possibly have done, had that been 
 the next thing on our programme. 
 
 The Javary itself, although so far westward on the 
 S. American continent, does not flow from the moun- 
 tain range, or touch any of its spurs ; but^ like the 
 Purus and Jurua, has its course wholly in the plain. 
 We were told that in the wet season it is possible to 
 pass in a canoe from the head waters of the Jurua to 
 those of the Javary ; the intervening land being flat 
 and swampy. Information of this sort is, however, 
 rarely reliable ; we have already referred to several 
 cases in which channels, joining rivers together in a 
 very unlikely way, appear on maps, but have no 
 existence in fact. 
 
 A whole day was spent at Canama in cutting wood, 
 without which the ' Gruajara ' could not get away from 
 the place. This pause, tiresome to most of us, was as 
 usual highly prized by Mr. Trail, enabling him to 
 pursue his botanical researches, which had already 
 resulted in the discovery of more than thirty new 
 species of palms. The Javary just below Canama is 
 rather less sudden than usual in its bends, conse- 
 quently a vista along it is opened up from the top 
 of the bank, and forms a pleasant river landscape. 
 In the accompanying engraving, which represents this 
 
Chap. XXI. LINGOA GEEAL. 485 
 
 view, the shore on the left-hand side is the Peruvian, 
 and the other the Brazilian. 
 
 On Saturday morning, December 5th, we commenced 
 our return journey, and soon reached S. Sebastian, 
 whose inhabitants we had surprised and puzzled two 
 days previously. They had now an opportunity of 
 judging whether our singular movements resulted from 
 insanity, as perhaps they had been tempted to believe, 
 for we landed and paid them a visit. To communicate 
 with them, however, it was necessary to employ, as 
 interpreter, the sailor whom we had engaged tem- 
 porarily from John da Cunha's, for they spoke the 
 lingoa geral. This language seems to have been at 
 one time the almost universal tongue in the Amazon 
 valley, but is being slowly replaced by the Por- 
 tuguese. It is very well known that it was invented 
 and taught by the Jesuits, who, on attempting to 
 found missions in these regions, were at first baffled by 
 the great variety of Indian dialects. They also formed 
 the reasonable theory that the desolating strife which 
 had always existed between the several tribes and 
 threatened their destruction, arose out of the fact that 
 they necessarily misunderstood each other, because 
 they could not interchange their ideas by means of 
 speech. Half the quarrels that take place in the 
 world, even among civilized peoples, arise, they 
 alleged, from trifling misunderstandings. Never, per- 
 haps, was there a bolder scheme formed than that of 
 creating a new language out of various Indian tongues, 
 and inducing all the scattered tribes to give up their 
 peculiar speech in its favour. The success of their 
 undertaking must ever be regarded as one of the most 
 
486 ON THE JAVARY. Chap. XXI. 
 
 marvellous instances of missionary zeal and perse- 
 verance, although the means adopted to attain their 
 end were certainly not such as would be regarded 
 with favour in the present day. 
 
 The Indians at S. Sebastian readily disposed of 
 such possessions as we wished to secure for curiosities. 
 The Botanist purchased of them a blow-tube and 
 quiver of poisoned arrows — the gun and shot of the 
 Amazon, so often described by travellers ; as well as 
 strings of hard seeds with rattling kernels, used to tie 
 round their legs to make a noise when dancing. The 
 Chief bought a marmozet, like the one waiting for us 
 at Piririca, and almost as small. It had a little white 
 patch, like whiskers, on each side of its mouth, but 
 was otherwise of a dark colour, and had black parallel 
 lines running down its back from the shoulders to the 
 tail. Its head seemed wide and large, on account of 
 the mane-like way in which the fur lengthened out at 
 that part. Little " Quis-queo," for so the Chief named 
 it, was tame and affectionate, liking nothing better 
 than to be on his shoulder night and day. 
 
 Our wood ran short again during the afternoon, for 
 the ' Gruajara ' could easily burn in nine hours as much 
 as our men could cut in twelve. It was necessary to 
 stop, as it chanced, at a place called S. Antonio Boa 
 Ventura, and here we were detained until noon on 
 Monday. The owner of the place hoisted the Peruvian 
 flag on a pole near his house, from which we under- 
 stood that he acted as consul on this river. On Sunday 
 evening we paid him a visit, and found him lying in 
 his hammock twanging a guitar ; but he rose at once, 
 and received us with a warmth slightly suggestive of 
 cacha^a. Inquiring if we objected to a tune, he. 
 
Chap. XXI. AN ENCHANTRESS. 487 
 
 without waiting for an answer, proceeded to play a 
 favourite air several times over, swaying his body to 
 and fro to assist the performance. He then fell back 
 into his hammock and thrummed away some "cele- 
 brated reverie " on one note. This may have been all 
 very delightful to the gentleman himself, but was not 
 very lively for us, and grew monotonous after a while ; 
 so we bade him good evening, and took our de- 
 parture. 
 
 At this place there was an Indian girl, who was 
 rather good looking, and seemed to know it ; for she 
 had arrayed herself in a spotless white dress and 
 placed a flower in her hair, thereby setting off her 
 charms to the best advantage. Several of our crew 
 completely lost their hearts, and it was amusing to 
 watch their jealous rivalry. Shortly before we started 
 on Monday, one of the sailors came to the saloon 
 where the Engineer was writing, and, trembling with 
 excitement, entreated him to take the portrait of the 
 " white girl," for by this name she was known, on 
 account of her snowy attire. As she stood at the top 
 of the bank, resting one elbow on the stump of a tree, 
 and waving a handkerchief as a farewell salute, she 
 was not an unpicturesque figure ; and the Engineer 
 hastened to dash off a rough but sufficiently recog- 
 nizable sketch for the sailor who had been so smitten, 
 and who most likely would never have any other 
 memorial than this poor drawing of his ardent attach- 
 ment. He received it very thankfully, drew out a 
 handkerchief, and, after wrapping it carefully therein, 
 placed the parcel in his bosom. Then pulling out 
 some crumpled milreis notes he inquired how much 
 there was to pay, and seemed surprised when he was 
 
488 ON THE JAVARY. Chap. XXL 
 
 asked to accept it as a free gift. His rivals clustered 
 round him, begging for a sight of the portrait, but he 
 would not allow them to profane it by so much as a 
 glance. 
 
 On arriving at Piririca the Major announced that 
 our marmozet was dead, and in proof thereof produced 
 the skin, which he had roughly stuffed. He professed 
 great sorrow, and explained that in order to do his 
 best to keep it alive for us he had given it in charge 
 to a slave girl, with strict injunctions to tend it care- 
 fully. She was carrying it about on her head, when 
 it unfortunately fell off, and died of the injuries 
 sustained in the accident. He had caused a large 
 quantity of wood to be cut for us, and as we were 
 detained at the place one night for the purpose of 
 taking it on board, he got up a dance for us, which 
 proved to be a very tame affair. 
 
 That morning we had ascended the Taquahy for a 
 distance of sixteen miles, and found that it wound 
 about very much, though carefully avoiding the sides 
 of its valley. Our exploration of the Javary was now 
 complete. It possesses some very interesting sections 
 of blue clay beds, containing immense numbers of 
 brackish and fresh water shells in a good state of 
 preservation, as well as layers of impure lignite and 
 nodular masses of grey limestone. Similar beds had 
 been previously found on the Maranhao, and their 
 fossils have been pronounced by Mr. H. Woodward to 
 be of Tertiary age. We examined sections on the 
 sides of the Javary, where the red loam and white 
 sands of the recent deposit rested upon these beds, 
 but, unfortunately, owing to the fallen nature of the 
 clifi's we could not see the actual junction. 
 
Chap. XXI. DESCENDING THE SOLIMOES. 489 
 
 Heavy thunderstorms, accompanied by muck rain, 
 had been frequent during our short trip on this river, 
 announcing the approach of the wet season. Showery 
 and gloomy weather also characterized our voyage 
 down the Solimoes to Manaos ; nevertheless, it was a 
 pleasant thing to glide swiftly, by the help of the 
 current, down the broad reaches of the great river, 
 meeting the trade wind full in our faces, and rejoicing 
 in the immunity from pests secured to us by the 
 breeze and rapid motion. This state of things was a 
 great contrast to what we had endured on our way up, 
 when we sometimes saw before us some projecting 
 point only a few hundred yards ahead, and struggled 
 for hours with the stream before we had succeeded in 
 doubling it. Now islands appeared far away in the 
 distance, lifted into the air by the mirage ; in a few 
 minutes they had dropped down and made a dent in 
 the water line ; and, very shortly, we were rapidly 
 passing them by. 
 
 A marked feature of this river is the number of logs 
 floating down on the tawny water, with rows of gulls 
 upon them, all standing in an even line, and with their 
 faces in the direction in which they are travelling. At 
 times when the ' Gruajara ' was stopped, for some purpose 
 or another, they came into sight far up river, passed 
 us by, and were lost in the dim distance down river ; 
 but the gulls never seemed to move. It looked as if 
 they were voyaging onward for some definite purpose, 
 and one wondered whither they were bound. They 
 must, of course, at the end of several hours find them- 
 selves far away from their former haunts ; — do they 
 ever return ? 
 
 On the morning after leaving the Javary we 
 
490 ON THE JAVAEY. Chap. XXI. 
 
 touched at the village of Caldeirao, on the north bank, 
 standing new and neat on a high barreiras. A priest 
 in some monkish costume stepped out of a house to 
 receive us, and advised us to visit the sugar mill and 
 distillery at the back of the place. As we were on 
 our way thither along a broad cart-road through the 
 forest, sloppy with recent rain, we met the young 
 proprietor, who turned back to show us the place. It 
 was new, and everything in excellent order, but not 
 working. The cane seemed to flourish luxuriantly, 
 and the young man told us that it was easy to grow 
 any amount, but he complained much of the scarcity 
 of labour, and the difficulty of getting his machinery 
 repaired if any little part gave way. He accepted 
 an invitation to breakfast with us on board the 
 ' Gruajara ' with the invariable " pois nao," but the 
 priest declined. 
 
 We made some stay both at S. Paulo and Tonan- 
 tins, and the morning of the sixth day of our voyage 
 down the Solimoes, found us at the mouth of the Sappo, 
 taking in wood which had been ordered on our way up. 
 This place and day proved most unlucky for us. At 
 half-past eight we were, we thought ready to leave 
 with all the wood on board, but as soon as we attempted 
 to move, it was found that the 'Guajara' was hard 
 aground. She had been floating in shallow water, but 
 the extra weight of the fuel had sunk her somewhat in 
 the water, and fixed her firmly on the bottom. A 
 scene of confusion ensued : by ten o'clock, however, 
 the Captain had succeeded in his efforts, and again we 
 attempted to make a start; but scarcely had the 
 order " full speed " been given, when wc struck 
 
Chap. XXI. AN UNLUCKY DAY. 491 
 
 violently upon the point of a submerged tree, and the 
 cry was at once raised that the water was rushing into 
 the forward hold. Before we could turn round and 
 regain the beach there was ample time for the steamer 
 to have sunk, had she not been built in water-tight 
 compartments. As it was, there were seven or eight 
 feet of water in the front hold, and the bow was much 
 depressed before we reached the shore. 
 
 The cooli, true to his invariable instincts, had at 
 once flung himself into the submerged portion of the 
 ship, and was busy rescuing such articles as had been 
 stowed therein ; at the same time attempting to fit 
 something into the great holes through which the 
 water had rushed. The sailors presently comprehended 
 the situation, and went to his assistance ; but all day 
 he was the leading man, handing up buckets of water 
 with surprising agility, and apparently insensible of 
 fatigue or hunger, the one fact that he was thoroughly 
 wet being enough to satisfy and make him happy. An 
 examination of the injury showed that there were three 
 holes of considerable dimensions, which could only be 
 stopped by plates of iron, padded with sheets of india- 
 rubber, securely bolted across them. This work oc- 
 cupied the entire day, which was a most disagreeable 
 one to us on account of the clouds of piums that 
 flocked on board and added their torments to our other 
 misfortunes. 
 
 The succeeding night was however calm and lovely, 
 and the moon almost full. Down river the view was 
 most majestic, the high land which formed the southern 
 bank of the Solimoes stretching away, point beyond 
 point, to the far water horizon. One got a sense of 
 
492 ON THE JAVARY. Chap. XXL 
 
 space and distance in this soft light such as cannot be 
 obtained in the glare of the vertical sun. We sat upon 
 the upper deck in our ship chairs, resting our feet 
 upon the bars of the railing, and chatting about the 
 sorrows of the past twelve hours. Suddenly one of 
 the Chief's slippers fell off and disappeared, but, hoping 
 that it might have caught upon the sponson below, he 
 called to the cook and asked him to look for it. 
 Presently we all heard a loud splash, followed by 
 another at a short interval, and then a third. On 
 looking down to see what it all meant, we found that 
 the cook was diving, rising to the surface, coming on 
 board again through the door of the paddle-boxes ; and 
 then recommencing the process by diving once more. 
 He said, in answer to our inquiries, that he was 
 " looking for the Chief's slipper ! " — it was not upon 
 the sponson, and he supposed that it must be some- 
 where at the bottom. Numbers of alligators, as 
 numerous here as at any spot we had visited, were 
 watching his proceedings, and the black water had a 
 very uncanny and uninviting aspect in the moonlight ; 
 but these were trifles in connection with his favourite 
 element of which he took no note. It is impossible to 
 say how long he might not have continued his per- 
 formance, and endangered his life, had he not been 
 peremptorily ordered to desist. 
 
 Two or three days later we touched at Teffe, which 
 looked very pleasant, lit up as it was by a burst of 
 morning sunshine of unusual brightness in the dull 
 weather now so prevalent. All the people seemed to 
 have taken advantage of it to come out upon the 
 beach, and wash themselves and their clothes. Letters 
 
Chap. XXI. NEWS AT TEFPE, 493 
 
 were waiting for us at the Judge's house, one of which 
 was of great importance, inasmuch as it iuvolved a 
 considerable alteration of our future plans. It re- 
 quested us to add the Jutahy, a, large tributary between 
 the Jurua and Javary, to the list of rivers to be ex- 
 plored by us, so that our labours were by no means as 
 near their end as we had believed. Now that we had 
 returned thus far down the Solimoes, however, it was 
 necessary to go on to Manaos for a renewal of our 
 stores before we could undertake this additional trip. 
 
 While we were detained at Teffe, the cook again 
 exhibited his eccentricities for our amusement. He 
 was returning from the town with his arms full of 
 ^vater- melons, and found a difficulty in getting off 
 from the beach to the ' Gruajara,' in consequence of both 
 the boats being away fetching wood. Two boys, who 
 had left their clothes at home, and were splashing 
 about in the river, were induced to paddle him across ; 
 but, on arriving at the ship's side, it seemed to be a 
 matter of indifference to him whether he stepped upon 
 the gangway ladder or into the water. Accordingly 
 he did the latter, and floundered about for a moment, 
 but managed to save himself without relaxing his hold 
 upon the melons, one of which he immediately handed 
 to the Engineer, who happened to be looking on, asking 
 him to accept it for his monkey Bismarck. The two 
 naked youngsters had now to be paid for their services, 
 and the cook was not the man to neglect this duty. 
 He accordingly handed to each the smallest of Bra- 
 zilian coins, about half a farthing in value, a sum 
 with which they seemed fully satisfied. It was in 
 act what our French neighbours call an " embarrass- 
 
494 ON THE JAVAET. Chap. XXI, 
 
 ment of riches " to them, for they had no pockets in 
 which to deposit it; and each one, on taking to his 
 paddle, was obliged to place his earnings on the seat 
 by his side. 
 
 On the following morning the ' Gruajara ' stopped off 
 the mouth of Lake Cayambe, and we entered it in one 
 of our montarias. The channel connecting it with the 
 Solimoes is small and narrow, but the lake itself is a 
 vast sheet of dark clear water surrounded by high 
 land, and bears a striking resemblance to the widest 
 part of the Mauhes. As we returned, a gull swooped 
 down to the water a little in advance of us and caught 
 a fish, which its companions endeavoured to snatch 
 from it. In the struggle it was dropped, so near to 
 the canoe that we at once picked it up without turn- 
 ing out of our course. There was no trace of a wound 
 of any sort, but the fish, which was large and hand- 
 some, was quite dead. 
 
 Often when we anchored at night on the Solimoes 
 near the bank, we were visited by vast numbers of 
 brown insects about three-quarters of an inch in 
 length, with hard wing-cases. They usually fre- 
 quented the capinga growing along the shore, or 
 floating in masses on the surface of the river ; but left 
 these favourite haunts to swarm into our saloon, 
 attracted by the light of the lamps. Round these 
 they hopped in the liveliest manner, often falling 
 down the chimneys in their eagerness to get close to 
 the flame, which in course of time they usually 
 extinguished. The white tint of the saloon's walls 
 and ceiUng pleased them much, and they settled upon 
 them in such quantities as to completely cover the 
 
Chap. XXI. A CONTRETEMPS. 495 
 
 whole surface. If anyone opened a book for the 
 purpose of reading or writing, they came hopping and 
 dancing upon the white pages, tickling the face of the 
 unfortunate individual until he was compelled to give 
 up the attempt. To get rid of our visitors it was 
 necessary to darken the room at intervals, when they 
 at once rose with a whizzing kind of noise and dis- 
 appeared through the open windows. 
 
 As soon as we had passed Codajas, an active 
 scrubbing and cleaning of the ' Guajara ' from stem to 
 stern was commenced — a sufficient token that we 
 were near the end of our voyage, and approaching 
 civilization. The uncompromising manner in which 
 the boatswain set about his part of the duties was the 
 cause of a contretemps of a very laughable nature. 
 The Botanist was descending the steep ladder-like 
 steps leading from the upper to the lower deck, when 
 his foot happened to slip, and he came down upon the 
 deck beneath in a sitting posture. At that moment 
 the boatswain had a pail of water ready, and dis- 
 charged it with full force right against the middle of 
 our fallen comrade's back. The impetus thus given, 
 combined with that acquired in the descent, shot him 
 along the deck into the saloon beyond, where his 
 sudden and undignified entrance caused much amuse- 
 ment, the Botanist himself leading off the merry 
 laughter. The absurdness of the situation was greatly 
 enhanced by the phlegmatic manner in which the 
 boatswain continued his work as if nothing had 
 happened. 
 
 Manaos looked more agreeable and imposing than 
 ever, when, at sunset on the evening of December 
 
496 ON THE JAVAEY. Chap. XXI. 
 
 22nd, we dropped anchor before it again. Since we 
 liad seen it last, we had travelled nearly 5500 miles. 
 Often the days had seemed long, and the way weari- 
 some to us ; but now, as we passed it in review, the 
 whole trip appeared as brief as is usually the case 
 with " a tale that is told." 
 
Chap. XXII. REFIT OUR SHIP. 497 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 ON THE JUTAHT, AND BACK TO PArI. 
 
 Refit our Ship — Christmas Dinner — Our Interpreter resigns his Post — 
 Start for the Jutahy — Morosooas — Enter the Jutahy — Its Tribu- 
 taries — Native Indian Tribes — Rubber Collectors — Barreiraa Alta 
 
 — Death of the Monkey called "Bismarck" — Description of the 
 Monkey named "Phillipe" — Descend the Jutahy and SolimOes 
 
 — Leave Manaos — Descend the Amazon to Para — Our Travels 
 terminate — The Botanist leaves for England — The Engineer soon 
 follows — The Chief finally takes his departure — Concluding Remarks. 
 
 When we arrived at Manaos we were under orders 
 for the Jutahy river, for which trip we had to refit our 
 ship, take in coal and supplies, and await for a few 
 days the starting of the steamer ' Icamiaba,' by which 
 we were to be towed up as far as the mouth of that 
 river. By this towing process much time and 
 expense would be saved, and a long monotonous 
 journey for our slow-going ' Gruajara ' got over in a 
 few days. 
 
 After the second day succeeding our arrival came 
 that great festival of the year called Christmas, when, 
 in northern climes, all is good cheer and mirth, and 
 roast turkey and plum-pudding are in the ascendant — 
 or more literally in the descendant. It had been our 
 intention to have Christmas dinner on board the 
 ' Gruajara ' ; but two English engineers of the fine 
 steamer ' Marajo ' then in port, came to ask us to join 
 with other English-speaking dwellers, or visitors 
 at Manaos, in a dinner on shore, to be partaken of in 
 
 2 K 
 
498 ON THE JUTAHT, AND BACK TO PAEl. Chap. XXII. 
 
 a comfortable house lent for the occasion by Herr 
 
 M , a G-erman resident. Of course in honour of 
 
 the day and of our nationality we joined, and the 
 dinner, almost a complete success, came off. We say 
 almost a success advisedly, for by some oversight on 
 the part of the executive no bread had been provided ; 
 but this was soon remedied by one of our numerous 
 waiters— firemen of the ' Marajo ' — rushing off to a 
 baker's shop and bringing in as much as was required. 
 Then the fish was cold, and no wonder, for having 
 been cooked on board that ship, lying a quarter of 
 a mile out in the stream, it had been conveyed on 
 shore by boat, and carried by waiters almost another 
 quarter of a mile on land, to the dinner-table ; by 
 which time it had entirely parted with its caloric. 
 Further, there was no turkey — not one existed in the 
 town or even within fifty miles of it. Those we saw 
 at Mucaja on the Mauhes were probably the only 
 members of that family near to Manaos, and most 
 likely the next lot resided in the city of Para. We 
 therefore could not reasonably be hard on the ex- 
 ecutive for not having provided a turkey. 
 
 Eoast beef " a la Amazon," noted for its extreme 
 hardness and power of resisting the process of masti- 
 cation; veteran fowls — old fellows that had seen 
 many Christmas days come and go ; and a roast suck- 
 ing pig — about the only animal you can trust in that 
 country to retain all the qualities of flavour and 
 tenderness inherited by suckers in other parts of the 
 world, formed our repast: probably the most exten- 
 sive one of its kind partaken of upon that day in any 
 portion of the Amazon valley. 
 
Chap. XXII. CHRISTMAS DINNER. 499 
 
 Amongst our party, which numbered eleven in- 
 dividuals in all, were two G-ermans and a Brazilian, 
 constituting the foreign element. The last-mentioned, 
 an ofiQcer in one of the Company's steamers, com- 
 menced to propose toasts and make long speeches at a 
 very early stage of the proceedings, and though not 
 generally listened to he was in no way disconcerted, 
 but went gallantly on. After every speech he left his 
 seat, and advancing to the individual who had the 
 honour to preside at the head of the table, would 
 persist in touching glasses with him and drinking 
 before he sat down again. Brazilians as a rule are 
 afflicted with a mania for speech-making and toast- 
 drinking, and exercise their powers of oratory on 
 every festive occasion, no matter how trivial its 
 nature. Everything, with the trifling exceptions 
 mentioned, passed off well; as well in fact as a 
 Christmas can, where the thermometer stands at 80°, 
 the doors and windows are wide open to the night, 
 and the buzzing sounds of numerous insects plainly 
 heard without, indicate that there is not the faintest 
 similitude between it and the Christmas days of one's 
 youth, when frost and snow, drawn curtains and cheerful 
 fires were the order of the day. The townspeople 
 likewise kept Christmas after their own fashion, by 
 having a masquerade, the members of which we met 
 marching in procession through the principal streets, 
 all clothed in gaudy spangled dresses. Sounds of 
 dance-music proceeded from many houses, showing that 
 the natives were enjoying themselves. 
 
 By the ' Marajo,' which sailed for Para on the 
 following day, went Mr. Cunningham, who, having 
 
 2 K 2 
 
500 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PARI. Chap. X5II. 
 
 become tired of voyaging in the ' G-uajara,' and not 
 relishing the idea of another trip up the Solimoes, had 
 resigned his post of Interpreter to the Commission. 
 
 Some time after, we left Manaos in tow of the 
 'Icamiaba,' on board of which the President of the 
 province of Amazonas was travelling on an official 
 tour to Tabatinga. The Captain of the ' Icamiaba,' 
 an exceedingly timid man, did not like the risk of 
 towing, small as it was, and by keeping well out from 
 shore in the strong current, lost a good deal of time 
 during the first twenty-four hours of the voyage. 
 Then making out that he would lose five days in the 
 run to Tabatinga, he got the President to authorize him 
 to refuse to tow us farther, after we had only gone 
 some 150 miles from Manaos. We therefore handed 
 him a written protest against this high-handed pro- 
 ceeding, wherein we clearly showed that any loss of 
 time suffered had been entirely through bad seaman- 
 ship ; and then getting up steam continued the journey 
 without further interruption. 
 
 Nine days and twenty hours' voyaging, by day and 
 Ijy night, from Manaos brought us to the mouth of 
 the Sappo at the entrance to the Jutahy. The night 
 work on the way was very unpleasant when pounding 
 along against the strong current, close to the semi- 
 submerged tree-stems lining the river's brink, which 
 were at times hardly discernible in the surrounding 
 darkness ; and we then remembered with regret the 
 quiet nights spent at anchor on our last trip up the 
 Solimoes, when the swash of the river against 
 the paddle-floats was the only souud that broke the 
 stillness of the night. Now there was the beat of the 
 
Chap XXII. ' MOEOSOCAS. 501 
 
 engine, the pounding of the paddles, and tbe thoughts 
 of torpedo-lilse snags and sawyers to disturb our 
 repose. But, to make up for these disagreeables, there 
 was an immunity from the attacks of those huge 
 mosquitoes of a peculiarly large and venomous kind, 
 called Morosocas, which formerly boarded us when we 
 anchored at night off places where capinga abounded. 
 They were sluggish insects and could easily be killed 
 when seen, but they resorted to the mean dodge of 
 swarming beneath the saloon table, from which 
 vantage ground they drove their long bills into our 
 knees. One was aware of the attack at once, for 
 their bills felt as if they had been recently dipped 
 into some strong acid, and made us jump accordingly. 
 We had to ward off their attacks by wrapping mackin- 
 toshes or sheets of newspaper around our legs. 
 
 We were furnished at Manaos with a pilot who soon 
 proved to be of little use, for twice in broad daylight 
 he ran the 'Guajara' hard and fast on mud bank^, 
 from which she was only extricated after much loss of 
 time. 
 
 At the Sappo we filled our ship up with wood, 
 which, in addition to the twenty tons of coal left from 
 the stock taken in at Manaos, we hoped would carry 
 us as far up the river as it was navigable. We there 
 engaged our former acquaintance, Senhor Moreira, to 
 accompany us as pilot, as he knew the river from 
 having often been up it collecting india-rubber. 
 
 On the morning of January 19th we entered the 
 mouth of the Jutahy, which we found to be a large 
 black-water river, about one mile wide at its mouth; 
 while the channel leading to it past the Sappo has 
 
502 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PAEl. Chap. XXII. 
 
 only one-half that width. Owing to the height of the 
 river, all its praias were covered, and its banks were 
 low. On our third day up, we traversed a reach some 
 nine miles in length, which, Senhor Moreira said, has 
 only a depth of one and a half fathom in the dry 
 season. 
 
 We passed the mouth of the first large tributary on 
 our fifth day, a black-water stream called the Upiah, 
 coming in on the eastern side, and having a width as 
 great as that of the main river itself. Above the 
 junction the water of the Jutahy is turbid, being of a 
 light muddy brown. Four days afterwards, we passed 
 another black water branch, called the Mutum, which 
 is 200 yards in width, and also of equal size to the 
 Jutahy at the junction. 
 
 Beyond, as we ascended, the river became more 
 and more turbid and mud-coloured, until at the 
 farthest point we reached, some 450 miles up, it is 
 almost as much discoloured as the Amazon itself. 
 Most of its sediment in suspension must therefore 
 settle as it flows along its winding course with a slow 
 current, tiU all has subsided in resacas and corners by 
 the time it reaches its junction with the Upiah, when 
 it becomes a true black water-river. 
 
 It somewhat resembles the middle part of the 
 Mauhes on a large scale, in that it has resacas and 
 old abandoned portions of river course, in such num- 
 bers that we could not have found our way without 
 the aid of a pilot. Besides this, it is like the Purus in 
 having many parana-mirims. 
 
 We followed its winding course for ten days, arriv- 
 ing at a part where it was joined by a branch river 
 
Chap. XXII. INDIAN TRIBES. 503 
 
 called the Coroem. In navigating it, we were very suc- 
 cessful, only getting once aground, hard and fast, on a 
 sand bank ; a mishap which exercised all the Captain's 
 ingenuity to remedy, but with much laying out of 
 anchors, and heavings thereon, our ship was eventually 
 hauled off. 
 
 We fell in with some native Indian tribes in a few 
 places, all of whom were clothed, and either spoke 
 Portuguese or Lingoa G-eral. The tribes living low 
 down the river, whose villages we visited, were Ma- 
 rawas and Cataukins, who cut wood for us, which we 
 took in on our downward voyage. 
 
 The last lot we fell in with, far up river, were 
 members of the Baua tribe. They told Senhor Mo- 
 reira, with whom they conversed in Lingoa Greral, 
 that they had been attacked by another tribe called 
 Tecunas, from whom they were fleeing for safet3% 
 Some savage tribes live far up, which are respectively 
 named the Periquitos, Tecunas, and Mazarines. They 
 have never interfered as yet with the few rubber col- 
 lectors who visit the river in the dry season. 
 
 Of the latter personages we only saw one family on 
 the river, who resided in a thatched house on Costa 
 Mutum, having determined to remain and brave out the 
 long, dull, rainy season in that desolate watery spot. 
 We give an illustration of this place, in which a small 
 wigwam-like structure may be noticed to the left of 
 the dwelling. This is an almost invariable adjunct to 
 homesteads on the margin of the forest, and is built 
 for the purpose of sheltering the fowls at night from 
 the attacks of insects, vampires, and tiger-cats. The 
 only remnants of the other rubber collectors were 
 
504 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PARI. Chap. XXII. 
 
 some nineteen similar houses, scattered along the 
 margin of the upper part of the river ; but as these 
 were not built upon high land, most of them were at 
 the time in a semi-submerged state. 
 
 The barreirases that were seen were generally low, 
 and did not expose good sections of the recent de- 
 posit, the greater portion of them being hidden by 
 the height of the water at the time, then within a few 
 feet of its highest point. Barreiras Alta, however, 
 rose to a height of 120 feet, and was composed of 
 white sands above passing into pink sands below to 
 the water's level. In the former were thin layers of 
 white clay, and in the latter were also layers of pink 
 clay. From the top of this high land a fine view of 
 the country to the eastward was obtained, showing the 
 low, level, wooded valley bottom in which the river 
 winds, bounded in the far distance by barreiras land, 
 stretching away to the south, as far as the eye could 
 reach, in an unbroken outline all clothed with dense 
 forest. 
 
 Upon the night that we remained, at the termi- 
 nation of our upward journey, a sad accideut happened 
 to the monkey named Bismarck, which terminated 
 fatally on the following day. As before mentioned, 
 Bizzy had become deeply attached to the Engineer, 
 who treated him more like a spoilt child than a 
 monkey. When the Engineer was preparing to go 
 into the forest to survey, Bizzy would watch his move- 
 ments narrowly, and was one of the first to jump into 
 the boat which was to carry the party to the shore. 
 During the time spent in the bush, he occupied him- 
 self in running up trees, and catching spiders or other 
 
CiiAP. XXII. DEATH OF " BISMARCK." 505 
 
 insects, in which pastime he was a perfect adept ; but 
 should he for a moment lose sight of his master, he 
 immediately began to utter heartrending cries of dis- 
 tress. He used frequently to watch his chance when 
 the Engineer was not looking, and slip off to the Chiefs 
 cabin, where, out of sheer spite, he committed all sorts 
 of depredations, beginning with biting off the ends of 
 all the drawing pencils, and winding up with scrub- 
 bing the deck with a toothbrush ; when he was at once 
 chased with a view to capture. 
 
 On the evening in question he had been particularl}"^ 
 mischievous, and had been chevied considerably all 
 over the ship. Being naturally of a very excitable 
 temperament, this severe hunt seemed to have fright- 
 ened him rather more than usual, so that he became 
 bewildered, and in making a journey on deck after 
 dark, fell overboard. He swam to the bank, against 
 which the bow of the steamer was resting, and there 
 cried dolefully. His master was on shore, engaged 
 with the Chief in taking star observations, and so for 
 a time there was no one to hasten to his rescue. So 
 heartrending were his cries, however, that a sailor 
 turned out of his hammock, and, passing a pole over 
 the bow, waited till Bizzy clung to it; then, drawing 
 it in, landed the poor half-drowned, shivering creature 
 on board. When the Engineer returned he found his 
 pet in a fit, and did all he could for him, but without 
 any good result, for after a succession of similar 
 attacks he breathed his last. 
 
 Whilst on the subject of monkeys, we here give an 
 account of one of the most amusing and vivacious 
 specimens of the tribe that we ever met with, which 
 
506 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PAEl. Chap. XXII. 
 
 happened to be purchased by the Botanist at Coary, 
 on our first visit to that place. It was a Caiarara, of 
 a light drab colour, with a clean but somewhat colour- 
 less face, and rejoiced in the name of Phillipe. With 
 the most diabolical expression of countenance — one 
 that in a human being would at once proclaim the 
 murderer — a low knitted forehead and searching eyes, 
 it possessed one of the gentlest natures imaginable, 
 quite devoid of the least spark of spite or revenge. 
 Tease him as you would, and play what tricks you 
 liked upon him, if he did show any heat of temper or 
 ebullition of wrath at the time, all was gone and 
 forgotten in a moment. For tricks and rolicking fun 
 Phil was ever ready, and always up to some mischief 
 or other. He was usually tied to an iron rod over 
 the top of the engine-room, near by poor Bizzy, wliom 
 he delighted in teasing ; or else during the day on 
 deck. Nothing seemed to be beyond his reach, and 
 he was for ever getting into trouble by tearing out 
 botanical specimens of his master's from between the 
 sheets of brown paper where they were being pressed. 
 The punishment awarded him on these occasions was 
 to have an alligator's skin held out towards him, whose 
 huge wide jaws seemed to terrify him greatly, as it was 
 slowly but surely approached towards him. Skipping 
 from side to side^ and holding out his hands to ward 
 off the coming enemy, he groaned out " oh ! oh ! ! " as 
 he vainly endeavoured to escape ; until, with a yell of 
 agony, as the thing was pushed rudely against him, he 
 threw both arms over his head, and looked between his 
 legs at the foe, trying to prevent its approach with his 
 prehensile tail. Upon the withdrawal of the alligator's 
 
Chap. XXII. " PHILLIPE." 507 
 
 skin^ he uttered a few complaining ohs ! rubbed his 
 hands together, and was himself again. 
 
 It was customary for one or other of the party to 
 take him into the saloon of an evening, so that he 
 might get a feed of insects which were buzzing round 
 the light. The end of his string was so held that he 
 could not reach the lamp, or else he would soon have 
 dragged it over with delight; and many were the 
 narrow escapes it had too. When boancing round on 
 the table like an imp, his string was frequently jerked, 
 a proceeding most distasteful to him, for like a flash 
 of lightning he would clear the intervening space, 
 and settle heavily on the offender's head, where he 
 grasped two hand-fuls and two foot-fuls of hair, which 
 he tugged at merrily. 
 
 Sometimes he got loose and disappeared so noise- 
 lessly that no one missed him, until on hearing a 
 chuckle of delight, he would be seen emerging from 
 the store-room in the after-hold, running on his hind 
 legs with an egg, or some other dainty article of food, 
 in either hand. Eggs could never be got from him 
 when once in his grasp, for when cornered, and he 
 knew he could retain them no longer, he cunningly 
 broke them on the deck, as much as to say, "If I am 
 not to have them, you shan't." He seemed to enjoy 
 being pelted with seeds, skipping about and avoiding 
 them with great agility, but yelling like mad if hit, 
 and the next moment dodging about to court another 
 pelting. When sitting on the lap of a person smoking, 
 he screwed up his face and worked himself about in 
 the smoke, rubbing it into his fur with both hands, 
 showing every token of intense delight, coughing and 
 
508 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PAHl. Chap. XXII. 
 
 spluttering till water ran from the corners of his 
 mouth. To stop him, the person smoking would take 
 his tail, and bring it slowly into contact with the hot 
 end of the cigar — a process which Phil ever watched 
 with a puzzled expression of countenance, as much as 
 to say, " I wonder what he is going to do now." As he 
 felt the pain of the burn he yelled boisterously, and 
 dragged away his tail ; but as soon as it had subsided, 
 he quietly and earnestly submitted to the same process 
 again — a process which soon denuded every particle 
 of hair from the tip of that appendage. 
 
 When loose he never entered cabins or touched 
 private property, all his energies being devoted to 
 emptying the store-room of tit-bits, or catching cock- 
 roaches and spiders therein. 
 
 Fowls and pigs he was not afraid of, running 
 after and pulling the tails of any on board ; but from 
 cattle and goats he had an especial aversion, one 
 that even amounted to dread. He was provided 
 with a little swinging hammock in which he usually 
 slept, but in which he only rested the greater 
 part of the night when cattle were on board, leaning 
 on one elbow like a human being, to see that those 
 terrible cows were not coming after him. It amused 
 us on those occasions to watch him, unawares, lean on 
 his elbow, and peep cautiously round towards the bow 
 to see what possible plots his supposed enemies were 
 hatching against him. Then as he came to the con- 
 clusion in his mind that it was all nonsense to be 
 afraid, as they would not hurt him, he would turn 
 round to settle himself to sleep ; but the moment his 
 back was towards them, he again doubted their pacific 
 
Chap. XXII. " PHILLIPB." 509 
 
 intentions, and was obliged to take another peep. 
 This probably went on till the poor fellow got worn 
 out and fell asleep. He had a decided aversion from 
 water, and kicked up an awful row when plunged 
 into the river for a bath every evening. He was 
 never more in need of a good wash than on occasions 
 of our taking in coal, when he got himself in such a 
 filthy state, by tossing about the lumps and rubbing 
 himself with the dust that he more nearly resembled 
 a chimney sweep than a monkey. 
 
 Almost a volume might be written about Senhor 
 Phil, his tricks and teasings, and his subsequent 
 doings at Para. 
 
 After a day spent in cutting wood near the Coroem, 
 during which we were fearfully tormented by piums, 
 we commenced our return journey, and in due course 
 arrived once more upon the Solimoes. There our 
 pilot, Senhor Moreira, left us at his home, and we 
 ran on to the Barreiras of Jutahy, where we took in a 
 supply of wood from a Peruvian. We were much 
 struck with the appearance of two old Miranha 
 Indian men, belonging to the Peruvian, who passed 
 wood on board, and who were ridiculously alike. They 
 were a most curious pair, their faces being devoid of 
 expression of any kind whatever, having a general 
 washed-out look. They worked steadily and well, but 
 in a mechanical way, throwing no life into the matter. 
 
 We left Jutahy Barreiras on Saturday, February 6th, 
 and arrived at Manaos on the following Wednesday, 
 at four o'clock in the morning. On our way down we 
 wooded at the mouth of Gruara lake, where we shipped 
 the coloured Englishman, named Gasco, whom we 
 
510 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PARI. Chap. XXII. 
 
 had met up the Jurua, in the place of Macario, who 
 was to land next day at Joao daCunha's. At Manaos 
 all was made snug, and coal taken on board for our 
 run down to Para ; when, after bidding adieu to our 
 good friend Captain Bloem, the President, and Senhor 
 Guimaraes, we hoisted anchor, and quitted the dark 
 waters of the beautiful Negro for ever. The faint 
 glimmer of dawn was just beginning to assert itself; 
 the cocks over the length and breadth of the sleeping 
 city were heralding the coming morn ; stray dogs 
 were giving the finishing touches to their night's 
 howling; and a few early risers were yawning on 
 their doorsteps, as the ' Guajara's ' paddles beat the 
 black water into foam and propelled her rapidly away. 
 The Commission, standing in a little group on the 
 awning deck, took their last look of the dim outlines 
 of the city wrapped in gloomy twilight, enjoying the 
 while the cool refreshing morning air ; and, with a 
 faint shade of regret, such as always tinges pleasant 
 thoughts of the past, turned their gaze eastward ho. 
 Luck be with thee always, old Manaos, and may you 
 prosper in proportion as we wish you well — then will 
 you become a queen amongst the cities of the great 
 South American continent ! 
 
 Gaining the turbid strong-flowing Amazon, the 
 ' Guajara ' hastened her pace, and spun along merrily 
 in the "roaring-forties." Passing dark-looking logs, 
 and large grass islands, we ran on all day, and by 
 evening reached Serpa. Having some inquiries to make 
 of an official of the place, we remained there all Sun- 
 day, but left at three o'clock on the following morning. 
 When ready to start it was found that the cook — that 
 
Chap. XXII. DESCENDINa THE AMAZON. 511 
 
 curious character before described — was not on board, 
 and as, on the steam whistle being blown repeatedly, 
 he did not turn up, we left without him, G-asco being 
 put in his place. We never learnt the cause of his 
 detention, but he subsequently sent a note to Captain 
 Hoepfner at Para asking him to forward his kit to 
 Manaos, and present his two pets, a labba and a 
 parrot, to the Chief of the Commission, thus exhibiting 
 to the last the eccentricities of his character. Unfor- 
 tunately both had disappeared, the labba by drowning 
 and the parrot bj' flight. 
 
 We passed Yilla Bella at night, and got to Obidos 
 on the following morning, where we stopped to take 
 in wood. There we bade adieu to Senhor Mirelles, and 
 took a look at our old quarters. Then we steamed on 
 to Santarem, at which place we remained one day, 
 having the pleasure of meeting our good friend Dr. 
 
 S once more ; after which we continued our 
 
 journey, and in passing Prainha in the afternoon were 
 permitted to take our last view of that spot, which 
 will ever be famous in the annals of the Commission. 
 
 Between Villa Bella and Obidos we had encountered 
 dirty weather, consisting of strong breezes and per- 
 tinacious rains, which accompanied us for the greater 
 portion of our voyage to Para. After passing Prainha, 
 however, and getting into a wide reach, the wind, which 
 was directly in our teeth, amounted in force to half a 
 gale, causing the surface of the river to become exceed- 
 ingly rough, and producing such ocean-like waves that 
 the 'Guajara' began to pitch merrily. Things became 
 at last so uncomfortable on board, that we made for the 
 shelter of Juaupary island, where we anchored in a 
 
512 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PARA. Chap. XXII. 
 
 little parana-rairim. The temperature became very 
 low for this part of the world, the thermometer in our 
 saloon registering only 74° Fah. Next morning, in 
 passing, we visited the old village of Almerim, a small 
 semi-deserted place. After a few hours' stay, during 
 which we went inland to the mountain, we continued 
 our journey, and reached that enormous expanse of 
 the Amazon from which two diverging courses lie 
 open to the ocean; one leading to the heads of the 
 network of channels above Breves, the highway to 
 Para ; and the other, on the left, leading down the 
 main Amazon, past the town of Macapa. There we 
 had to steam a distance of some twenty miles in the 
 teeth of a strong breeze, which, blowing against the 
 current, produced large waves, causing the ' Grua;jara ' 
 to pitch and roll so, that during a great portion of 
 the night we were unable to sleep in our hammocks, 
 owing to the manner in which they swung about, bang- 
 ing frequently against opposing substances, such as 
 cabin walls and stanchions. After passing G-urupa, 
 we steamed down narrow channels well sheltered from 
 the wind, and on the following evening arrived at 
 Breves, where we wooded. 
 
 On Sunday, the 21st of February, we crossed the 
 extensive bay of Marajo, and, passing through the 
 Carnepijo channel into the Para estuary, finally 
 arrived at our destination — the City of Para — off 
 which we anchored for the night. Next day we 
 landed, and bade adieu to the old ' GTuajara ' for ever> 
 transferring our quarters to a house in the possession 
 of Captain Pomroy, an official of the Company, in the 
 suburb of Para at Largo S. Joao. 
 
Chap. XXII. AT PARA. 513 
 
 The travels of the Commission here terminated, and 
 with them the labours of the Botanist, who awaited 
 the arrival of the steamer ' Maranhense,' in which he 
 subsequently started on his homeward voyage to 
 Liverpool, on March 11th. 
 
 The Engineer had unfortunately been attacked some 
 time previously with a most singular disease, which 
 being a painless one, and coming on so gradually, was 
 not noticed, until it by degrees rendered him almost 
 helpless. It first began to manifest itself before we 
 left Manaos on our trip to the Jutahy, but its progress 
 was so slow, that it was not until we were returning 
 from that river that it became noticeable, and alarmed 
 us all. Its chief effect was to take away the motive 
 power of the extremities. The principal doctor of 
 Para was consulted, and he pronounced it to be a case 
 of Beri-beri, a disease peculiar to tropical climes, 
 advising the Engineer to leave the country at once, 
 and go home, assuring him that in that way only 
 could he regain his health. He therefore took passage 
 in the ' Jerome,' and left Para on the 2nd of March for 
 England by way of Maranham and Ceara, the longer 
 sea voyage being strongly recommended. Though 
 thus cast for a period of six weeks entirely amongst 
 strangers, ke experienced so much help and care, that 
 he felt it to be almost worth while to be reduced, for 
 once, to a log-like condition, in order to know the 
 essential kindliness of this often maligned world ; and 
 he here takes the opportunity of expressing his in- 
 debtedness, especially to Captain Hutchinson of the 
 ' Jerome ' for his unremitting attention ; to the other 
 officers of the good ship ; and to Senhor Jerome 
 
 2 L 
 
514 ON THE JUTAHY, AND BACK TO PARI. Chap. XXII. 
 
 Travares, United States Consul at Maranham, for the 
 way in which he enabled him, at considerable personal 
 trouble and expense, to see the whole of that beautiful 
 city. 
 
 The Chief, now the sole representative of the Com- 
 mission, remained in Para for two months and a half, 
 to complete the ofBce work resulting from our labours 
 in the field ; and on the 5th of May, 1875, he likewise 
 sailed on his homeward voyage. 
 
 A singular interest attaches to tropical lands, such 
 as those we have attempted to describe, where nature, 
 little interfered with, displays so much luxuriance and 
 such an almost infinite variety of animal and vegetable 
 life. Additional impressiveness is imparted when, as 
 was the case here, some great natural wonder, passing 
 through the entire region, gives dignity and unity to 
 the whole, and helps to fix it indelibly upon the 
 memory. The Amazon is without doubt the world's 
 mightiest river, far beyond all rivalry, and it flows 
 through the world's grandest and most extensive 
 forest. It must have been already made clear to our 
 readers that much of this attractive country is per- 
 fectly accessible, and may be easily and enjoyably 
 visited by anyone who, tired of narrower tourist routes, 
 desires to make himself acquainted with its marvels. 
 The traveller who thus partially follows our footsteps 
 will probably return, like us, with his memory stored 
 with cherished pictures of vast reaches of tawny water 
 flowing onward, from horizon to horizon, between 
 lines of forest, under a vertical sun ; of mighty tribu- 
 taries, winding with the sinuosities of a serpent or 
 spreading out lake-like, all pouring their variously 
 
Chap. XXII. CONCLUDING EEMARKS. 515 
 
 tinted contributions into the giant river; of wide 
 distances seen under bright but mellow moonlight ; 
 of shadowy and mysterious forest glades ; of wooded 
 islands and quiet lakes ; of singular and unfamiliar 
 animals, trees, insects, and flowers ; of dusky races, 
 and human life under the simplest and most unsophis- 
 ticated conditions ; and of all those other interesting 
 features, faintly portrayed upon our pages, which help 
 to make up the undeniable charm of the Amazon 
 valley. 
 
 2 h 2 
 
( 517 ) 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Aeaoaxis channel, 318. 
 
 river, 322. 
 
 village, 321. 
 
 Abowuooo lake, 291. 
 
 Aguadua lake, 292. 
 
 Alenquoms, 54. 
 
 Alligators, 100, 279, 457, 492. 
 
 Alluvium, 97, 326, 449. 
 
 Alta barreiras, 504. 
 
 Alter do Chao hill, 140, 150. 
 
 viUage, 140, 161, 245. 
 
 Amazonian craft, 144. 
 Anavilana island, 360, 362. 
 Ant-eater, 73. 
 Antonio lake, 350. 
 Ants, 76, 143, 145, 209. 
 Aramanahy, 144, 179. 
 Arapecu lake, 228. 
 Araras barreiras, 467. 
 
 Indians, 346. 
 
 island, 832. 
 
 Aruan channel, 387. 
 Atter, 155. 
 Autaz island, 357. 
 Aveiros, 248. 
 Ayaya river, 264. 
 Ayrao, 361, 386. 
 
 Bacaba drink, 134. 
 
 nuts, 133. 
 
 BaroeUos, 371, 379. 
 Barrazinha, 255. 
 Barreirases, 450. 
 Barreiras of Monte Alegre, 129. 
 Barrigudo monkey, 481. 
 
 palms, 458. 
 
 Bateloe, 302. 
 
 Bathing, 20, 120, 201. 
 
 Baua Indians, 503. 
 
 Bees, 76, 165. 
 
 ' Beija Flor,' 220. 
 
 Beri-beri disease, 514. 
 
 Berury, 445. 
 
 Birds, 55, 91, 265, 351, 352, 445. 
 
 Blow-tubes, 486. 
 
 Boim, 260. 
 
 Bolivians, 349. 
 
 Borba, 328, 329. 
 Bragauza, 2. 
 Breves, 14. 
 Butterflies, 7, 333. 
 
 Cabdquem, 374. 
 
 Caburie, 368. 
 
 Caoha9a, 252, 307. 
 
 Caooals, 22, 97, 268. 
 
 Cafuzos, 8. 
 
 Cajetuba, 174, 179. 
 
 Calabash, 132. 
 
 Camarao, 316. 
 
 Campos, 378. 
 
 Canama, 483. 
 
 Canoe making, 213. 
 
 Canumd channel, 325, 357. 
 
 Capaca praia, 457. 
 
 Caparanga river, 131. 
 
 Capella, 298. 
 
 Capinga, 110. 
 
 Caracajas, 315, 367. 
 
 Cararaucu, 297. 
 
 Camepijo channel, 513. 
 
 Carvoeira, 366. 
 
 Cascades, 407. 
 
 Castanhas, 228. 
 
 Castanheiros, 229. 
 
 Cataracts, 235, 254. 
 
 Cataukin Indians, 468, 471 , 503. 
 
 Caterpillars, 415. 
 
 Cayambe lake, 494. 
 
 Caypuru lake, 213. 
 
 Cecropias, 374, 482. 
 
 Centipedes, 202, 354. 
 
 Chinaman, 362. 
 
 Christmas, 497. 
 
 Coary, 450. 
 
 Codajas, 450. 
 
 Collision, 384. 
 
 Colonia, the, 205. 
 
 Ooroem river, 503. 
 
 Costa Mutum, 503. 
 
 Costumes, 9, 83. 
 
 Orato, 337. 
 
 Cubertas, 371, 439. 
 
 Cumina, 228. 
 
518 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cunury hills, 241. 
 
 Curupira lake, 227. 
 
 Cururu point, 140, 151, 160, 182, 245. 
 
 Dauoes, 142, 278, 315, 330, 367 
 Diorite, 42 
 Dirt eaters, 464. 
 Dogs, 88, 101, 130. 
 Drunkenness, 260, 262, 457. 
 Dwelling-house, 18. 
 Dykes, 43. 
 
 Eagle, 169. 
 
 Brere mountain, 37. 
 
 river, 50. 
 
 village, 30, 36. 
 
 Eaalta^ion, 333. 
 
 FAKDANaA, 142, 315. 
 Faro, 286. 
 
 lake, 286. 
 
 Fasenda, 95. 
 
 Feather-work, 394. 
 
 Perns, 444. 
 
 Fevers, 85, 123, 348, 380. 
 
 FQed teeth, 356. 
 
 Fish, 52, 103, 258, 430, 494. 
 
 Fishing, 420, 430. 
 
 Flowers, 98. 
 
 Fonte Boa, 469 
 
 Food, 23, 116, 117, 321, 381, 498. 
 
 Forest, 73. 
 
 Formiga do Fogo, 34, 143, 175. 
 
 Forts, 195. 
 
 Fossils, 47, 257. 
 
 Frog-hoppers, 494. 
 
 Fruit, 275, 321. 
 
 trees, 102. 
 
 GaviIo Bakkeieas, 466. 
 
 Geology, 42, 43, 85, 237, 256, 311, 352, 
 
 387, 445, 477, 488. 
 Gneiss, 352. 
 Goatsuckers, 352. 
 
 Granite, 353, 362, 375, 377, 378, 387. 
 ' Guajara,' the, 422. 
 Guarana, 307. 
 Guaranazal, 306. 
 Guianaria, 375. 
 Gulls, 209, 462, 489. 
 Gurnpa, 16. 
 Gurupatuba, 24, 48, 50. 
 
 Houses, 33, 29. 
 
 Houses, 18, 114, 119, 155, 194, 474. 
 
 Howliug monkeys, 100, 192. 
 
 Humayta, 338, 353. 
 
 Hyauuary lake, 419. 
 
 Ichneumon flies, 460. 
 Igapo, 271, 323. 
 Igaripe, 408. 
 Improvidence, 102. 
 Indian pottery, 472. 
 
 picture-writing, 217, 362. 
 
 raids, 363, 364. 
 
 Indians, 8. 
 India-rubber, 438. 
 
 collecting, 436, 463. 
 
 manufacturing, 437. 
 
 Ipadu, 472. 
 Iripixy, 208, 210. 
 Ita palm, 356. 
 Itaituba, 252. 
 
 . narrows, 441. 
 
 Itapauma, 247. 
 Itukie channel, 127. 
 
 Jaoars eivee, 45. 
 Jaguarary bay, 147. 
 Jaguars, 240, 430. 
 Jamaraqua, 174. 
 Jamary river, 348. 
 Jamundi river, 284. 
 Jauari river 87. 
 Jaupiri Indians, 363. 
 Javary river, 479. 
 Jiggers, 147, 308. 
 Joao da Gunha's, 456. 
 Jukiri lake, 231. 
 Juma river, 458. 
 Juruapuca, 459. 
 Jurucuie, 143, 162. 
 Juruty lake, 269, 273. 
 
 river, 269. 
 
 Jutahy river, 501. 
 
 King vultures, 38. 
 
 Laeba, 150. 
 
 Landslip, 429. 
 
 Laranjal, 309. 
 
 Laulau, 258. 
 
 Leopoldiuia, 375. 
 
 Leprosy, 229. 
 
 Levremont, 31. 
 
 Limestone, 47, 256, 311, 387, 488. 
 
 Lingoa geral, 485. 
 
 Lizards, 4, 91. 
 
 Mabadiei, 439. 
 Macapa, 11. 
 Madeira railway, 343. 
 
 river, 327. 
 
 Magnificent trees, 140. 
 Manaca-arca channel, 369. 
 Manacaparu lake, 424. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 519 
 
 Manaos, 358, 387, 391, 495, 511. 
 Mandioca, 258, 481. 
 ManicoriS, 384, 354. 
 Maracana lake, 285. 
 Marajo, bay of, 14. 
 Maranhao river, 475. 
 Maranhaozinho cataract, 254. 
 Marapati, 408. 
 Marawa Indians, 503. 
 Marl-mari lake, 466. 
 Marmellos river, 351. 
 Marmozets, 481, 486, 488. 
 Marriage ceremony, 121, 122. 
 Matamata, 461. 
 
 turtle, 378. 
 
 Mauhes, 305. 
 
 river, 308. 
 
 Mauritia, 375. 
 Maxira pass, 32, 35. 
 Mayflies, 325. 
 Mirage, 59, 139, 489. 
 Miranha Indians, 451, 471. 
 Mocambo channel, 297. 
 Monguba trees, 112. 
 Monkey-pot trees, 210. 
 Monkeys, 73, 447, 479, 481, 505. 
 Monte Alegre', 20. 
 
 lake, 32. 
 
 Moradores, 448. 
 
 Morosocas, 501. 
 
 Mosquitoes, 46, 75, 272, 336, 411. 
 
 Motuca, 409. 
 
 grande, 409. 
 
 Mucaja village, 308. 
 
 Mundumcu Indians, 308, 312, 319. 
 
 raids, 319. 
 
 Mura Indians, 350. 
 Mutum river, 502. 
 
 National Guard, 113. 
 Navvies, 345. 
 Negroes, 89, 233. 
 New palms, 215, 239, 484. 
 Night monkey, 382. 
 
 Obidos, 193, 512. 
 Oleo do Tartaruga, 452. 
 On(;a, 32. 
 Orinooco geese, 461. 
 
 Padawiet, 378. 
 Paisaja, 29, 40. 
 Pamary Indians, 433, 434. 
 Pao-mulattos, 351. 
 Pari, 3, 11, 513. 
 
 river, 2. 
 
 Parana -mirims, 268. 
 Parawacu igarip^, 226. 
 
 Pareka river, 308. 
 Parentins hill, 270. 
 Parentiatin Indians, 340, 346. 
 Paruaquara river, 94. 
 Pedreira, 362. 
 Peixe-boi, 175, 395. 
 Piassaba, 374, 379. 
 Pignel, 259. 
 Pigs, 253. 
 Pirara, 366. 
 Piraruou, 23, 258, 457. 
 Pii-irica, 226, 481. 
 Piums, 254, 435, 460. 
 Porpoises, 50, 172. 
 Porto Alegr4 19. 
 
 do Moz, 16. 
 
 Prainha, 17, 58. 
 Prias, 428. 
 Pupunha 464. 
 
 palm, 309. 
 
 Pupunhazinha, 466. 
 Puru-purus disease, 433. 
 Purus river, 426. 
 Pytoona Forno, 39. 
 ■ ■ river, 34, 51. 
 
 Eafts, 374. 
 
 Rains, 201. 
 
 Ramos channel, 304. 
 
 Recent deposit, 43, 131, 195, 311, 352, 
 
 445, 450, 488, 504. 
 Red cedar, 351. 
 Eesacas, 309. 
 Eio Branco, 365. 
 
 ■ Negro, 358, 362. 
 
 Rita barreiras, 475. 
 Rubber merchants, 438. 
 
 Saooados, 446. 
 
 St. Antonio, 341. 
 
 St. Antonio Boa Ventura, 4S6. 
 
 St. Isabel, 375. 
 
 St. Paulo, 473. 
 
 St. Sebastian, 483. 
 
 Salempanter, 91. 
 
 Salinas, 2. 
 
 Samauma settlement, 143, 169. 
 
 Sandstone, 39, 42, 43, 47, 256, 311, 
 
 387. 
 Santa Anna, 127. 
 Santarem, 111, 512. 
 Sappo river, 471, 490, 500. 
 SapuMa lake, 241. 
 
 tree, 241. 
 
 Sapukia-oroka, 331. 
 Saiibas, 145. 
 Saudosa, 45, 48. 
 Scissor-bills, 462. 
 
520 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Scorpion, 413. 
 Serpa, 300. 
 
 lake, 302. 
 
 Serra Esoama, 217. 
 
 Shale, 42. 
 
 Silk-cotton tree, 444. 
 
 Silves channel, 298. 
 
 Sites of ancient villages, 258, 271. 
 
 Snags and sawyers, 501. 
 
 Snakes, 66, 74, 374. 
 
 SoUmoes, 358, 448, 471, 489. 
 
 valley, 449. 
 
 Spiders, 144, 289. 
 Steamers, 12. 
 Stinking pheasants, 91. 
 Sngar-cane, 153, 258, 490. 
 Supplies, 463. 
 Syenite, 353. 
 
 Taeatinga, 475. 
 Tabooal, 356. 
 Tajure mountain, 45, 46. 
 Tambaki, 420. 
 Tapajem lake, 232. 
 Tapir, 394. 
 
 Tapuraquara rapids, 376. 
 Tapuyus, 89, 121. 
 Taquahy, 482, 488. 
 Taruma, 386, 407. 
 Tattooings, 255, 310, 321. 
 Tauapasse-assu, 386. 
 Teouna Indians, 503. 
 Teffe, 453, 492. 
 
 river, 452. 
 
 Termites, 123. 
 Terras pretas, 271. 
 Tertiary deposits, 477, 488. 
 Thomar, 374. 
 Thrushes, 325. 
 Ticks, 77. 
 
 Timbo, 247. 
 
 Toads, 132, 416. 
 
 Tobacco, 102. 
 
 Tocantins, 14. 
 
 Tomboueira, 386. 
 
 Tonantins, 472. 
 
 Townspeople, 115. 
 
 Tree ferns, 274. 
 
 Tree Casas, 336. 
 
 Trombetag river, 224. 
 
 Tropical storms, 146, 172. 
 
 Trovadoie, 251. 
 
 Trovoado, 170, 260. 
 
 Turtle eggs, 430. 
 
 Turtles, 339, 350, 431, 432, 466. 
 
 Uakipuana rivek, 355. 
 Uatima river, 299. 
 XJpiah river, 502. 
 TJricurituba, 250. 
 Uruara river, 100. 
 XJrubu caxoeii'a, 465. 
 Urubus, 10, 198, 457. 
 Urucjaca, 464. 
 
 Verhelha baeeeiras, 468. 
 Victoria Eegia, 52, 271. 
 Villa Bella, 279, 293. 
 
 Wasps, 38, 61, 75, 94, 106, 211, 376. 
 
 Water dog, 91. 
 
 Water-fall, 403. 
 
 Whirlpools, 283. 
 
 Willows, 459. 
 
 Worm. 416. 
 
 ■ • tubes, 416. 
 
 XiNGU, 16. 
 
 Zekinga trees, 352, 436. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED BT EDWAUD .STANFORD, 55, CnAEING CKOSS, S.W. 
 
MAP OF THE KWKll yVMAZON AND ITS THIBUTARIKS. 
 
MAP OF THE KIVEU AMAZON AND ITS TRIBUTARiES. 
 
 Stan/brd^ Gm^ Rstah'^. S5 Charmg C^ss 
 
 100 80 60 
 
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