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SCIENCE 


BATES'  NATURALIST  ON 
THE  AMAZONS  ■  WITH  AN 
APPRECIATION  BY  DARWIN 


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London:  J.  M.  DENT  &  SONS,  Ltd. 
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THE®  (&>  (B 
NATURALIST 
ON  THE  RIVER 
AMAZONS^ 

HENRY^ALTER 
BATES  (&>  (& 


LONDON  &.TORONTO 
PUBLISHED  BYJ  M  DENT 
&.SONS  DP  &JN  NEWYORK 
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First  Issue  of  this  Edition     .     1910 
Reprinted  ....      1914,  1921 


AN    APPRECIATION1 

By  CHARLES  DARWIN 

Author  of  "  The  Origin  of  Species,"  etc. 

In  April,  1S4S,  the  author  of  the  present  volume  left  England 
in  company  with  Mr.  A.  R.  Wallace — "  who  has  since  acquired 
■wide  fame  in  connection  with  the  Darwinian  theory  of  Natural 
Selection" — on  a  joint  expedition  up  the  river  Amazons,  for 
the  purpose  of  investigating  the  Natural  History  of  the  vast 
wood-region  traversed  by  that  mighty  river  and  its  numerous 
tributaries.  Mr.  Wallace  returned  to  England  after  four  years' 
stay,  and  was,  we  believe,  unlucky  enough  to  lose  the  greater 
part  of  his  collections  by  the  shipwreck  of  the  vessel  in  which 
he  had  transmitted  them  to  London.  Mr.  Bates  prolonged  his 
residence  in  the  Amazon  valley  seven  years  after  Mr.  Wallace's 
departure,  and  did  not  revisit  his  native  country  again  until 
1 S59.  Mr.  Bates  was  also  more  fortunate  than  his  companion 
in  bringing  his  gathered  treasures  home  to  England  in  safetv . 
So  great,  indeed,  was  the  mass  of  specimens  accumulated  by 
Mr.  Bates  during  his  eleven  years'  researches,  that  upon  the 
working  out  of  his  collection,  which  has  been  accomplished  (or 
is  now  in  course  of  being  accomplished)  by  different  scientific 
naturalists  in  this  country,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  repre- 
sentatives of  no  less  than  14,712  species  are  amongst  them,  of 
which  about  Sooo  were  previously  unknown  to  science.  It 
may  be  remarked  that  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  these 
species,  namely,  about  14,000,  belong  to  the  class  of  Insects 
— to  the  study  of  which  Mr.  Bates  principally  devoted  his 
attention — being,  as  is  well  known,  himself  recognised  as  no 
mean  authority  as  regards  this  class  of  organic  beings.  In 
his  present  volume,  however,  Mr.  Bates  does  not  confine  him- 
self to  his  entomological  discoveries,  nor  to  any  other  branch 
of  Natural  History,  but  supplies  a  general  outline  of  his  adven- 
tures during  his  journeyings  up  and  down  the  mighty  river, 
and  a  variety  of  information  concerning  every  object  of  interest, 
whether  physical  or  political,  that  he  met  with  by  the  way. 
1  From  Natural  History  Review,  vol.  iii.  1S63. 
vii 


viii       The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

Mr.  Bates  landed  at  Para  in  May,  1848.  His  first  part  is 
entirely  taken  up  with  an  account  of  the  Lower  Amazons — 
that  is,  the  river  from  its  sources  up  to  the  city  of  Manaos  or 
Barra  do  Rio  Negro,  where  it  is  joined  by  the  large  northern 
confluent  of  that  name — and  with  a  narrative  of  his  residence 
at  Para  and  his  various  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
that  city.  The  large  collection  made  by  Mr.  Bates  of  the 
animal  productions  of  Para  enabled  him  to  arrive  at  the  follow- 
ing conclusions  regarding  the  relations  of  the  Fauna  of  the 
south  side  of  the  Amazonian  delta  with  those  of  other  regions. 

"  It  is  generally  allowed  that  Guiana  and  Brazil,  to  the  north 
and  south  of  the  Para  district,  form  two  distinct  provinces 
as  regards  their  animal  and  vegetable  inhabitants.  By  this 
it  means  that  the  two  regions  have  a  very  large  number  ol 
forms  peculiar  to  themselves,  and  which  are  supposed  not  tc 
have  been  derived  from  other  quarters  during  modern  geological 
times.  Each  may  be  considered  as  a  centre  of  distribution  in 
the  latest  process  of  dissemination  of  species  over  the  surface 
of  tropical  America.  Para  lies  midway  between  the  two 
centres,  each  of  which  has  a  nucleus  of  elevated  table-land, 
whilst  the  intermediate  river-valley  forms  a  wide  extent  of 
low-lying  country.  It  is,  therefore,  interesting  to  ascertain 
from  which  the  latter  received  its  population,  or  whether  it 
contains  so  large  a  number  of  endemic  species  as  would  warrant 
the  conclusion  that  it  is  itself  an  independent  province.  To 
assist  in  deciding  such  questions  as  these,  we  must  compare 
closely  the  species  found  in  the  district  with  those  of  the  other 
contiguous  regions,  and  endeavour  to  ascertain  whether  they 
are  identical,  or  only  slightly  modified,  or  whether  they  are 
highly  peculiar. 

"  Von  Mar  this  when  he  visited  this  part  of  Brazil  forty  years 
ago,  coming  from  the  south,  was  much  struck  with  the  dissimi- 
larity of  the  animal  and  vegetable  productions  to  those  of 
other  parts  of  Brazil.  In  fact  the  Fauna  of  Para,  and  the  lower 
part  of  the  Amazons  has  no  close  relationship  with  that  of 
Brazil  proper ;  but  it  has  a  very  great  affinity  with  that  of  the 
coast  region  of  Guiana,  from  Cayenne  to  Demerara.  If  we 
may  judge  from  the  results  afforded  by  the  study  of  certain 
families  of  insects,  no  peculiar  Brazilian  forms  are  found  in  the 
Para  district;  whilst  more  than  one-half  of  the  total  number 
are  essentially  Guiana  species,  being  found  nowhere  else  but 
in  Guiana  and  Amazonia.  Many  of  them,  however,  are 
modified  from  the  Guiana  type,  and  about  one-seventh  seem 


An  Appreciation  ix 

to  be  restricted  to  Para.  These  endemic  species  are  not 
highly  peculiar,  and  they  may  yet  be  found  over  a  great 
part  of  Northern  Brazil  when  the  country  is  better  explored. 
They  do  not  warrant  us  in  concluding  that  the  district  forms 
an  independent  province,  although  they  show  that  its  Fauna 
is  not  wholly  derivative,  and  that  the  land  is  probably  not 
entirely  a  new  formation.  From  all  these  facts,  I  think  we 
must  conclude  that  the  Para  district  belongs  to  the  Guiana 
province  and  that,  if  it  is  newer  land  than  Guiana,  it  must 
have  received  the  great  bulk  of  its  animal  population  from 
that  region.  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  Sclater  that  similar  results 
are  derivable  from  the  comparison  of  the  birds  of  these 
countries." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  excursions  made  by  Mr.  Bates 
from  Para,  was  the  ascent  of  the  river  Tocantins — the  mouth 
of  which  lies  about  45  miles  from  the  city  of  Para.  This  was 
twice  attempted.  On  the  second  occasion — our  author  being 
in  company  with  Mr.  Wallace — the  travellers  penetrated  as 
far  as  the  rapids  of  Arroyos,  about  130  miles  from  its  mouth. 
This  district  is  one  of  the  chief  collecting-grounds  of  the  well- 
known  Brazil-nut  (Bertholletia  excelsa),  which  is  here  very 
plentiful,  grove  after  grove  of  these  splendid  trees  being 
visible,  towering  above  their  fellows,  with  the  "  woody  fruits, 
large  and  round  as  cannon-balls,  dotted  over  the  branches." 
The  Hyacinthine  Macaw  {Ara  hyacinthina)  is  another  natural 
wonder,  first  met  with  here.  This  splendid  bird,  which  is 
occasionally  brought  alive  to  the  Zoological  Gardens  of  Europe, 
"  only  occurs  in  the  interior  of  Brazil,  from  160  S.L.  to  the 
southern  border  of  the  Amazon  valley."  Its  enormous  beak 
— which  must  strike  even  the  most  unobservant  with  wonder 
— appears  to  be  adapted  to  enable  it  to  feed  on  the  nuts  of  the 
Mucuja  Palm  {Acrocomia  lasiospatha).  "These  nuts,  which 
are  so  hard  as  to  be  difficult  to  break  with  a  heavy  hammer,  are 
crushed  to  a  pulp  by  the  powerful  beak  of  this  Macaw." 

Mr.  Bates'  later  part  is  mainly  devoted  to  his  residence  at 
Santarem,  at  the  junction  of  the  Rio  Tapajos  with  the  main 
stream,  and  to  his  account  of  Upper  Amazon,  or  Solimoens — 
the  Fauna  of  which  is,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  in  many 
respects  very  different  from  that  of  the  lower  part  of  the  river. 
At  Santarem — "  the  most  important  and  most  civilised  settle- 
ment on  the  Amazon,  between  the  Atlantic  and  Para  " — 
Mr.  Bates  made  his  headquarters  for  three  years  and  a  half, 
during    which  time  several  excursions  up  the  little  -  known 


x  The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

Tapajos  were  effected.  Some  70  miles  up  the  stream,  on  its 
affluent,  the  Cupari,  a  new  Fauna,  for  the  most  part  very- 
distinct  from  that  of  the  lower  part  of  the  same  stream,  was 
entered  upon.  "  At  the  same  time  a  considerable  proportion 
of  the  Cupari  species  were  identical  with  those  of  Ega,  on  the 
Upper  Amazon,  a  district  eight  times  further  removed  than 
the  village  just  mentioned."  Mr.  Bates  was  more  successful 
here  than  on  his  excursion  up  the  Tocantins,  and  obtained 
twenty  new  species  of  fishes,  and  many  new  and  conspicuous 
insects,  apparently  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  Amazonian 
valley. 

In  a  later  chapter  Mr.  Bates  commences  his  account 
of  the  Solimoens,  or  Upper  Amazons,  on  the  banks  of 
which  he  passed  four  years  and  a  half.  The  country  is  a 
"  magnificent  wilderness,  where  civilised  man  has,  as  yet, 
scarcely  obtained  a  footing  —  the  cultivated  ground,  from 
the  Rio  Negro  to  the  Andes,  amounting  only  to  a  few  score 
acres."  During  the  whole  of  this  time  Mr.  Bates'  head- 
quarters were  at  Ega,  on  the  Teffe,  a  confluent  of  the  great 
river  from  the  south,  whence  excursions  were  made  sometimes 
for  300  or  400  miles  into  the  interior.  In  the  intervals  Mr. 
Bates  followed  his  pursuit  as  a  collecting  naturalist  in  the  same 
"  peaceful,  regular  way,"  as  he  might  have  done  in  a  European 
village.  Our  author  draws  a  most  striking  picture  of  the 
quiet,  secluded  life  he  led  in  this  far-distant  spot.  The  diffi- 
culty of  getting  news  and  the  want  of  intellectual  society  were 
the  great  drawbacks — "  the  latter  increasing  until  it  became 
almost  insupportable."  "  I  was  obliged  at  last,"  Mr.  Bates 
naively  remarks,  "  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  contem- 
plation of  Nature  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  fill  the  human  heart 
and  mind."  Mr.  Bates  must  indeed  have  been  driven  to  great 
straits  as  regards  his  mental  food,  when,  as  he  tell  us,  he  took 
to  reading  the  Athencemn  three  times  over,  "  the  first  time 
devouring  the  more  interesting  articles — the  second,  the  whole 
of  the  remainder — and  the  third,  reading  all  the  advertisements 
110m  beginning  to  end." 

Ega  was,  indeed,  as  Mr.  Bates  remarks,  a  fine  field  for  a 
Natural  History  collector,  the  only  previous  scientific  visitants 
to  that  region  having  been  the  German  Naturalists,  Spix  and 
Martius,  and  the  Count  de  Castelnau  when  he  descended  t3ie 
Amazons  from  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Bates'  account  of  the  monkeys 
of  the  genera  Brachyuriis,  Nyctipithecus  and  Midas  met  with 
in  this  region,  and  the  whole  of  the  very  pregnant  remarks 


An  Appreciation  xi 

which  follow  on  the  American  forms  of  the  Quadrumana,  will 
be  read  with  interest  by  every  one,  particularly  by  those  who 
pay  attention  to  the  important  subject  of  geographical  dis- 
tribution. We  need  hardly  say  that  Mr.  Bates,  after  the 
attention  he  has  bestowed  upon  this  question,  is  a  zealous 
advocate  of  the  hypothesis  of  the  origin  of  species  by  deriva- 
tion from  a  common  stock.  After  giving  an  outline  of  the 
general  distribution  of  Monkeys,  he  clearly  argues  that  unless 
the  "  common  origin  at  least  of  the  species  of  a  family  be 
admitted,  the  problem  of  their  distribution  must  remain  an 
inexplicable  mystery."  Mr.  Bates  evidently  thoroughly  under- 
stands the  nature  of  this  interesting  problem,  and  in  another 
passage,  in  which  the  very  singular  distribution  of  the  Butter- 
Hies  of  the  genus  Heliconius  is  enlarged  upon,  concludes  with  the 
following  significant  remarks  upon  this  important  subject: — 

"  In  the  controversy  which  is  being  waged  amongst  Naturalists 
since  the  publication  of  the  Darwinian  theory  of  the  origin  of  species, 
it  has  been  rightly  said  that  no  proof  at  present  existed  of  the 
production  of  a  physiological  species,  that  is,  a  form  which  will  not 
interbreed  with  the  one  from  which  it  was  derived,  although  given 
ample  opportunities  of  doing  so,  and  does  not  exhibit  signs  of  re- 
verting to  its  parent  form  when  placed  under  the  same  conditions 
with  it.  Morphological  species,  that  is,  forms  which  differ  to  an 
amount  that  would  justify  their  being  considered  good  species,  have 
been  produced  in  plenty  through  selection  by  man  out  of  variations 
arising  under  domestication  or  cultivation.  The  facts  just  given  are 
therefore  of  some  scientific  importance,  for  they  tend  to  show  that 
a  physiological  species  can  be  and  is  produced  in  nature  out  of  the 
varieties  of  a  pre-existing  closely  allied  one.  This  is  not  an  isolated 
case,  for  I  observed  in  the  course  of  my  travels  a  number  of  similar 
instances.  But  in  very  few  has  it  happened  that  the  species  which 
clearly  appears  to  be  the  parent,  co-exists  with  one  that  has  been 
evidently  derived  from  it.  Generally  the  supposed  parent  also  seems 
to  have  been  modified,  and  then  the  demonstration  is  not  so  clear, 
for  some  of  the  links  in  the  chain  of  variation  are  wanting.  The 
process  of  origination  of  a  species  in  nature  as  it  takes  place  succes- 
sively, must  be  ever,  perhaps,  beyond  man's  power  to  trace,  on 
account  of  the  great  lapse  of  time  it  requires.  But  we  can  obtain 
a  fair  view  of  it  by  tracing  a  variable  and  far-spreading  species  over 
the  wide  area  of  its  present  distribution;  and  a  long  observation  of 
such  will  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  new  species  must  in  all  cases 
have  arisen  out  of  variable  and  widely-disseminated  forms.  It 
sometimes  happens,  as  in  the  present  instance,  that  we  find  in  one 
locality  a  species  under  a  certain  form  which  is  constant  to  all  the 
individuals  concerned;  in  another  exhibiting  numerous  varieties; 
and  in  a  third  presenting  itself  as  a  constant  form  quite  distinct 
from  the  one  we  set  out  with.  If  we  meet  with  any  two  of  these 
modifications  living  side  by  side,  and  maintaining  their  distinctive 


xii        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

• 

characters  under  such  circumstances,  the  proof  of  the  natural 
origination  of  a  species  is  complete;  it  could  not  be  much  more  so 
were  we  able  to  watch  the  process  step  by  step.  It  might  be  objected 
that  the  difference  between  our  two  species  is  but  slight,  and  that 
by  classing  them  as  varieties  nothing  further  would  be  proved  by 
them.  But  the  differences  between  them  are  such  as  obtain  between 
allied  species  generally.  Large  genera  are  composed  in  great  part 
of  such  species,  and  it  is  interesting  to  show  the  great  and  beautiful 
diversity  within  a  large  genus  as  brought  about  by  the  working 
of  laws  within  our  comprehension." 

But  to  return  to  the  Zoological  wonders  of  the  Upper 
Amazon,  birds,  insects,  and  butterflies  are  all  spoken  of  by 
Mr.  Bates  in  his  chapter  on  the  natural  features  of  the  district, 
and  it  is  evident  that  none  of  these  classes  of  beings  escaped 
the  observation  of  his  watchful  intelligence.  The  account  of 
the  foraging  ants  of  the  genus  Eciton  is  certainly  marvellous, 
and  would,  even  of  itself,  be  sufficient  to  stamp  the  recorder 
of  their  habits  as  a  man  of  no  ordinary  mark. 

The  last  chapter  of  Mr.  Bates'  work  contains  the  account  of 
his  excursions  beyond  Ega.  Fonteboa,  Tunantins — a  small 
semi-Indian  settlement,  240  miles  up  the  stream — and  San 
Paulo  de  Olivenca,  some  miles  higher  up,  were  the  principal 
places  visited,  and  new  acquisitions  were  gathered  at  each  of 
these  localities.  In  the  fourth  month  of  Mr.  Bates'  residence 
at  the  last-named  place,  a  severe  attack  of  ague  led  to  the 
abandonment  of  the  plans  he  had  formed  of  proceeding  to  the 
Peruvian  towns  of  Pebas  and  Moyobamba,  and  "  so  completing 
the  examination  of  the  Natural  History  of  the  Amazonian 
plains  up  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes."  This  attack,  which 
seemed  to  be  the  culmination  of  a  gradual  deterioration  of 
health,  caused  by  eleven  years'  hard  work  under  the  tropics, 
induced  him  to  return  to  Ega,  and  finally  to  Para,  where  he 
embarked,  on  the  2nd  June  1859,  for  England.  Naturally 
enough,  Mr.  Bates  tells  us  he  was  at  first  a  little  dismayed  at 
leaving  the  equator,  "  where  the  well-balanced  forces  of  Nature 
maintain  a  land-surface  and  a  climate  typical  of  mind,  and 
order  and  beauty,"  to  sail  towards  the  "crepuscular  skies" 
of  the  cold  north.  But  he  consoles  us  by  adding  the  remark 
that  "  three  years'  renewed  experience  of  England  "  have 
convinced  him  "  how  incomparably  superior  is  civilised  life 
to  -the  spiritual  sterility  of  half-savage  existence,  even  if  it 
were  passed  in  the  Garden  of  Eden." 


An  Appreciation  xiii 

The  following  is  the  list  of  H.  W.  Bates'  published  works: — 

Contributions  to  an  Insect  Fauna  of  the  Amazon  Valley,  Paper  read 
before  the  Linnean  Society,  June  21,  1861 ;  The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons, 
a  Record  of  Adventure,  Habits  of  Animals,  Sketches  of  Brazilian  and  Indian 
Life  .  .  .  during  Eleven  Years  of  Travel,  1863;  3rd  Edition,  1873,  with 
a  Memoir  of  the  author  by  E.  Clodd  to  reprint  of  unabridged  edition,  1892. 

Bates  was  for  many  years  the  editor  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  ;  the  following  works  were  edited  and  revised,  or 
supplemented  by  him: — Mrs.  Somerville's  Physical  Geography,  1870; 
A.  Humbert,  Japan  and  the  Japanese,  1874;  C.  Koldewey,  the  German 
Arctic  Expedition,  1874;  P.  E.  Warburton,  Journey  across  the  Western 
Interior  of  Australia,  1875;  Cassell's  Illustrated  Travels,  6  vols.,  1869-1875; 
E.  Whymper,  Travels  among  the  Great  Andes  of  the  Equator  (Introduction 
to  Appendix  volume),  1892,  etc.;  Central  America,  the  West  Indies  and 
South  America;  Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geography  and  Travel,  2nd 
revised  Ed.,  1882;  he  also  added  a  list  of  Coleoptera  collected  by  J.  S. 
Jameson  on  the  Aruwini  to  the  latter's  Story  of  the  Rear  Column  of  the 
Einin  Pasha  Relief  Expedition,  etc.,  1890;  and  an  appendix  to  a  catalogue 
of  Phytophaga  by  H.  Clark,  1866,  etc.;  and  contributed  a  biographical 
notice  of  Keith  Johnson  to  J.  Thomson's  Central  African  Lakes  and  Back, 
1881. 

He  contributed  largely  to  the  Zoologist,  Entomological  Society's  Journal, 
A  nnals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  and  Entomologist. 

Life. — Memoir  by  E.  Clodd,  1S92;  short  notice  in  Clodd's  Pioneers  of 
Evolution,  1897. 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE  TO  THE  EDITION 
OF  1864 

Having  been  urged  to  prepare  a  new  edition  of  this  work  for  a 
wider  circle  than  that  contemplated  in  the  former  one.  I  have 
thought  it  advisable  to  condense  those  portions  which,  treating 
of  abstruse  scientific  questions,  presuppose  a  larger  amount  of 
Natural  History  knowledge  than  an  author  has  a  right  to  expect 
of  the  general  reader.  The  personal  narrative  has  been  left 
entire,,  together  with  those  descriptive  details  likely  to  interest 
all  classes,  young  and  old,  relating  to  the  great  river  itself,  and 
the  wonderful  country  through  which  it  flows, — the  luxuriant 
primaeval  forests  that  clothe  almost  every  part  of  it,  the  climate, 
productions,  and  inhabitants. 

Signs  are  not  wanting  that  this  fertile,  but  scantily  peopled 
region  will  soon  become,  through  recent  efforts  of  the  Peruvian 
and  Brazilian  governments  to  make  it  accessible  and  colonise 
it,  of  far  higher  importance  to  the  nations  of  Northern  Europe 
than  it  has  been  hitherto.  The  full  significance  of  the  title,  the 
"  largest  river  in  the  world,"  which  we  are  all  taught  in  our 
schoolboy  days  to  apply  to  the  Amazons,  without  having  a  dis- 
tinct idea  of  its  magnitude,  will  then  become  apparent  to  the 
English  public.  It  will  be  new  to  most  people,  that  this  noble 
stream  has  recently  been  navigated  by  steamers  to  a  distance 
of  2200  geographical  miles  from  its  mouth  at  Para;  or  double 
the  distance  which  vessels  are  able  to  reach  on  the  Yang-tze- 
Kiang,  the  largest  river  of  the  old  world ;  the  depth  of  water  in 
the  dry  season  being  about  seven  fathoms  up  to  this  terminus 
of  navigation.  It  is  not,  however,  the  length  of  the  trunk 
stream,  that  has  earned  for  the  Amazons  the  appellation  of  the 
';  Mediterranean  of  South  America,"  given  it  by  the  Brazilians 
of  Para;  but  the  network  of  by-channels  and  lakes,  which  everv- 
where  accompanies  its  course  at  a  distance  from  the  banks,  and 
which  adds  many  thousands  of  miles  of  easy  inland  navigation 
to  the  total  presented  by  the  main  river  and  its  tributaries. 
The  Peruvians,  especially,  if  I  may  judge  from  letters  received 
within  the  past  few  weeks,  seem  to  be  stirring  themselves  to 
grasp  the  advantages  which  the  possession  of  the  upper  course  of 

xv 


xvi        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  river  places  within  their  reach.  Vessels  of  heavy  tonnage 
have  arrived  in  Para,  from  England,  with  materials  for  the 
formation  of  ship-building  establishments,  at  a  point  situated 
two  thousand  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Peruvian 
steamers  have  navigated  from  the  Andes  to  the  Atlantic,  and  a 
quantity  of  cotton  (now  exported  for  the  first  time),  the  product 
of  the  rich  and  healthy  country  bordering  the  Upper  Amazons, 
has  been  conveyed  by  this  means,  and  shipped  from  Para  to 
Europe.  The  probability  of  general  curiosity  in  England  being 
excited  before  long  with  regard  to  this  hitherto  neglected  country, 
will  be  considered,  of  itself,  a  sufficient  reason  for  placing  an 
account  of  its  natural  features  and  present  condition  within 
re  ich  of  all  readers. 
London,  January,  1864. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PARA 


P.AGE 

Arrival — Aspect  of  the  Country — The  Para  River — First  Walk  in  the 
Suburbs  of  Para — Birds,  Lizards,  and  Insects  of  the  Suburbs — 
Leaf-carrying  Ant — Sketch  of  the  Climate,  History,  and  present 
Condition  of  Para  ........         i 


CHAPTER  II 

PARA 

The  Swampy  Forests  of  Para — A  Portuguese  Landed  Proprietor — 
Country  House  at  Nazareth — Life  of  a  Naturalist  under  the 
Equator — The  drier  Virgin  Forests — Magoary — Retired  Creeks 
— Aborigines        .........       23 


CHAPTER  III 

PARA 

Religious  Holidays — Marmoset  Monkeys — Serpents — Insects  .  .       46 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE    TOCANTINS    AND    CAMETA 

Preparations  for  the  Journey — The  Bay  of  Goajara — Grove  of  Fan- 
leaved  Palms — The  lower  Tocantins — Sketch  of  the  River — 
Vista  alegre — Baiao — Rapids — Boat  Journey  to  the  Guariba 
Falls — Native  Life  on  the  Tocantins — Second  journey  to  Cameta       59 

CHAPTER  V 

CARIPf    AND    THE    BAY    OF    MARAJO 

River  Para  and  Bay  of  Marajo — Journey  to  Caripi — Negro  Observ- 
ance of  Christmas — A  German  Family — Bats — Ant-eaters — 
Humming-birds — Excursion  to  the  Murucupi — Domestic  Life 
of  the  Inhabitants — Hunting  Excursion  with  Indians — White 

Ants 92 

B  xvii 


xviii    The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    LOWER    AMAZONS PARA   TO    OBYDOS 

PAGE 

Modes  of  Travelling  on  the  Amazons — Historical  Sketch  of  the  Early 
Explorations  of  the  River — Preparations  for  Voyage — Life  on 
Board  a  large  Trading- vessel — The  narrow  Channels  joining  the 
Para  to  the  Amazons — First  Sight  of  the  Great  River — Gurupa 
—  The  Great  Shoal  —  Flat- topped  Mountains  —  Santarem — 
Obydos        .  •  .  . 116 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  LOWER  AMAZON'S — OBYDOS  TO  MANAOS,  OR  THE  BARRA 
OF  THE  RIO  NEGRO 

Departure  from  Obydos — River  Banks  and  By-channels — Cacao 
Planters — Daily  Life  on  Board  our  Vessel — Great  Storm — Sand- 
island  and  its  Birds — Hill  of  Parentins — Negro  Trader  and 
Mauhes  Indians — Villa  Nova,  its  Inhabitants,  Forest,  and 
Animal  Productions — Cararaucu — A  Rustic  Festival — Lake  of 
Cararaucii  —  Motiica  Flies  —  Serpa  —  Christmas  Holidays  — 
River  Madeira — A  Mameluco  Farmer — Mura  Indians — Rio 
Negro — Description  of  Barra — Descent  to  Pari — Yellow  Fever     141 

CHAPTER  VIII 

SANTAREM 

Situation  of  Santarem — Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Inhabitants — 
Climate — Grassy  Campos  and  Woods — Excursions  to  Mapiri, 
Mahica,  and  Irura,  with  Sketches  of  their  Natural  History; 
Palms,  Wild  Fruit-trees,  Mining  Wasps,  Mason  Wasps,  Bees, 
and  Sloths 184 

CHAPTER  IX 

VOYAGE    UP    THE    TAPAJOS 

Preparations  for  Voyage — First  Day's  Sail — Loss  of  Boat — Altar  do 
Chao — Modes  of  obtaining  Fish — Difficulties  with  Crew — 
Arrival  at  Aveyros — Excursions  in  the  Neighbourhood — White 
Cebus  and  Habits  and  Dispositions  of  Cebi  Monkeys — Tame 
Parrot — Missionary  Settlement — Enter  the  River  Cupari — 
Adventure  with  Anaconda — Smoke-dried  Monkey  —  Boa- 
constrictor — Village  of  Mundurucu  Indians,  and  Incursion  of  a 
Wild  Tribe — Falls  of  the  Cupari — Hyacinthine  Macaw — Re- 
emerge  into  the  broad  Tapajos — Descent  of  River  to  Santarem     211 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  UPPER  AMAZONS VOYAGE  TO  EGA 

Departure  from  Barra — First  Day  and  Night  on  the  Upper  Amazons 
— Desolate  Appearance  of  River  in  the  Flood  Season — Cucama 


Contents  xix 

PAGK 

Indians — Mental  Condition  of  Indians — Squalls — Manatee — 
Forest — Floating  Pumice-stones  from  the  Andes — Falling 
Banks — Ega  and  its  Inhabitants — Daily  Life  of  a  Naturalist  at 
Ega — The  Four  Seasons  of  the  Upper  Amazons        .  .  .     256 

CHAPTER  XI 

EXCURSIONS    IN    THE    NEIGHBOURHOOD    OF    EGA 

The  River  Teffe — Rambles  through  Groves  on  the  Beach — Excursion 
to  the  House  of  a  Passe  Chieftain — Character  and  Customs  of 
the  Passe  Tribe — First  Excursion  to  the  Sand  Islands  of  the 
Solimoens — Habits  of  Great  River-turtle — Second  Excursion — 
Turtle-fishing  in  the  Inland  Pools — Third  Excursion — Hunting 
Rambles  with  Natives  in  the  Forest — Return  to  Ega        .  .     295 

CHAPTER  XII 

ANIMALS  OF  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  EGA 

Scarlet-faced  Monkeys — Parauacu  Monkey — Owl-faced  Night-apes 
— Marmosets — Jupura — Bats — Birds — Cuvier's  Toucan — Curl- 
crested  Toucan — Insects — Pendulous  Cocoons — Foraging  Ants 
— Blind  Ants       .........     345 

CHAPTER  XIII 

EXCURSIONS    BEYOND    EGA 

Steamboat  Travelling  on  the  Amazcns — Passengers — Tunantins — 
Caishana  Indians — The  Jutahi — The  Sapo — Maraua  Indians — 
Fonte  Boa — Jovrney  to  St.  Paulo — Tucuna  Indians — Illness — 
Descent  to  Para — Changes  at  Para — Departure  for  England    .     378 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Finches 


Sauba  or  Leaf-carrying  Ant 

Sauba  Ant — Female  ..... 

Climbing  Palm  (Desmoncus)      .... 

Interior  of  Primaeval  Forest  on  the  Amazons 
amphisb.ena      ....... 

Acrosoma  Arcuatum  ..... 

Assai  Palm  (Euterpe  Oleracea) 

Bird-killing  Spider  (Mygale  Avicularia)  attacking 

Ant-eater  grappling  with  Dog 

Humming-bird  and  Humming-bird  Hawk-moth 

Soldiers    of    different    Species    of    White    Ants — Ordinary 

Shape  of  Worker — Winged  Class 
Acari'Fish  (Loricaria  Duodecimalis) 

Flat-topped  Mountains  of  Paraua-quara,  Lower  Amazons 
Heliconius  Thelxiope — Heliconius  Melpomene 
Musical  Cricket  (Chloroccelus  Tanana) 
PEURiRfMA  Palm  (Bactris) 
Pelop.eus  Wasp  building  Nest 
Cells  of  Trypoxylon  Aurifrons 
Melipona  Bees  gathering  Clay 
The  Jacuaru  (Teius  Teguexim) 
Acara  (Mesonauta  Insignis)     . 
Sarapo  (Carapus) — Needle-fish  (Hemaramphus) 
Bulging- stemmed     Palm:       Pashiuba     Barrigudo 

Ventuicosa)        ...... 

Uiki'  Fruit        ....... 

Pupunha  Palm  ...... 

Blow-gun,  Quiver,  and  Arrow 

Surubim  (Pimelodus  Tigrinus) 

Arrow  used  in  Turtle  Shooting     . 

Turtle  Fishing  and  Adventure  with  Alligator 

Night  Adventure  with  Alligator  . 

Umbrella  Bird         ...... 

Scarlet-faced  and  Parauacu  Monkeys   . 
Curl-crested  Toucan        ..... 

Adventure  with  Curl-crested  Toucans 
Suspended  Cocoon  of  Moth     .... 

Sack-bearing  Caterpillar  (Saccophora)  . 
Foraging  Ants  (Eciton  Drepanophora)  . 
Foraging    Ants    (Eciton    Erratica)    constructing    a    Covered 

Road — Soldiers  sallying  out  on  being  disturbed 
Masked-dance  and  Wedding-feast  of  Tucuna  Indians 

Maps 

XX 


(Iriartea 


376 
399 

409 


THE    NATURALIST    ON    THE 
AMAZONS 


CHAPTER  I 

PARA 

Arrival — Aspect  of  the  Country — The  Para  River — First  Walk  in  the 
Suburbs  of  Para — Birds,  Lizards,  and  Insects  of  the  Suburbs — Leaf- 
carrying  Ant — Sketch  of  the  Climate,  History,  and  present  Condition 
of  Para 

I  embarked  at  Liverpool,  with  Mr.  Wallace,  in  a  small  trading 
vessel,  on  the  26th  of  April,  1S48;  and,  after  a  swift  passage 
from  the  Irish  Channel  to  the  equator,  arrived,  on  the  26th  of 
May,  off  Salinas.  This  is  the  pilot-station  for  vessels  bound  to 
Para,  the  only  port  of  entry  to  the  vast  region  watered  by  the 
Amazons.  It  is  a  small  village,  formerly  a  missionary  settle- 
ment of  the  Jesuits,  situated  a  few  miles  to  the  eastward  of  the 
Para  river.  Here  the  ship  anchored  in  the  open  sea,  at  a 
distance  of  six  miles  from  the  shore,  the  shallowness  of  the 
water  far  out  around  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  not  permitting 
in  safety  a  nearer  approach;  and  the  signal  was  hoisted  for  a 
pilot.  It  was  with  deep  interest  that  my  companion  and 
myself,  both  now  about  to  see  and  examine  the  beauties  of  a 
tropical  country  for  the  first  time,  gazed  on  the  land  where  I, 
at  least,  eventually  spent  eleven  of  the  best  years  of  my  life. 
To  the  eastward  the  country  was  not  remarkable  in  appearance, 
being  slightly  undulating,  with  bare  sand-hills  and  scattered 
trees ;  but  to  the  westward,  stretching  towards  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  we  could  see  through  the  captain's  glass  a  long  line  of 
forest,  rising  apparently  out  of  the  water;  a  densely-packed 
mass  of  tall  trees,  broken  into  groups,  and  finally  into  single 
trees,  as  it  dwindled  away  in  the  distance.  This  was  the 
frontier,  in  this  direction,  of  the  great  primaeval  forest  charac- 
teristic of  this  region,  which  contains  so  many  wonders  in  its 


2  The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

recesses,  and  clothes  the  whole  surface  of  the  country  for  two 
thousand  miles  from  this  point  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 

On  the  following  day  and  night  we  sailed,  with  a  light  wind, 
partly  aided  by  the  tide,  up  the  Para  river.  Towards  evening 
we  passed  Vigia  and  Colares,  two  fishing  villages,  and  saw  many 
native  canoes,  which  seemed  like  toys  beneath  the  lofty  walls 
of  dark  forest.  The  air  was  excessively  close,  the  sky  overcast, 
and  sheet  lightning  played  almost  incessantly  around  the 
horizon,  an  appropriate  greeting  on  the  threshold  of  a  country 
lying  close  under  the  equator!  The  evening  was  calm,  this 
being  the  season  when  the  winds  are  not  strong,  so  we  glided 
along  in  a  noiseless  manner,  which  contrasted  pleasantly  with 
the  unceasing  turmoil  to  which  we  had  been  lately  accustomed 
on  the  Atlantic.  The  immensity  of  the  river  struck  us  greatly, 
for  although  sailing  sometimes  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  nine 
miles  from  the  eastern  bank,  the  opposite  shore  was  at  no  time 
visible.  Indeed,  the  Para  river  is  thirty-six  miles  in  breadth 
at  its  mouth;  and  at  the  city  of  Para,  nearly  seventy  miles 
from  the  sea,  it  is  twenty  miles  wide;  but  at  that  point  a  series 
of  islands  commences  which  contracts  the  river  view  in  front 
of  the  port. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  May  we  arrived  at  our 
destination.  The  appearance  of  the  city  at  sunrise  was  pleasing 
in  the  highest  degree.  It  is  built  on  a  low  tract  of  land,  having 
only  one  small  rocky  elevation  at  its  southern  extremity;  it 
therefore  affords  no  amphitheatral  view  from  the  river;  but 
the  white  buildings  roofed  with  red  tiles,  the  numerous  towers 
and  cupolas  of  churches  and  convents,  the  crowns  of  palm  trees 
reared  above  the  buildings,  all  sharply  defined  against  the  clear 
blue  sky,  give  an  appearance  of  lightness  and  cheerfulness 
which  is  most  exhilarating.  The  perpetual  forest  hems  the 
city  in  on  all  sides  landwards;  and  towards  the  suburbs, 
picturesque  country  houses  are  seen  scattered  about,  half  buried 
in  luxuriant  foliage.  The  port  was  full  of  native  canoes  and 
other  vessels,  large  and  small;  and  the  ringing  of  bells  and 
firing  of  rockets,  announcing  the  dawn  of  some  Roman  Catholic 
festival  day,  showed  that  the  population  was  astir  at  that 
early  hour. 

We  went  ashore  in  due  time,  and  were  kindly  received  by 
Mr.  Miller,  the  consignee  of  the  vessel,  who  invited  us  to  make 
his  house  our  home  until  we  could  obtain  a  suitable  residence. 
On  landing,  the  hot  moist  mouldy  air,  which  seemed  to  strike 
from  the  ground  and  walls,  reminded  me  of  the  atmosphere  of 


Para  3 

tropical  stoves  at  Kew.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  a  heavy 
shower  fell,  and  in  the  evening,  the  atmosphere  having  been 
cooled  by  the  rain,  we  walked  about  a  mile  out  of  town  to  the 
residence  of  an  American  gentleman  to  whom  our  host  wished  to 
introduce  us. 

The  impressions  received  during  this  first  walk  can  never 
wholly  fade  from  my  mind.  After  traversing  the  few  streets 
of  tall,  gloomy,  convent-looking  buildings  near  the  port,  in- 
habited chiefly  by  merchants  and  shopkeepers;  along  which 
idle  soldiers,  dressed  in  shabby  uniforms,  carrying  their  muskets 
carelessly  over  their  arms,  priests,  negresses  with  red  water-jars 
on  their  heads,  sad-looking  Indian  women  carrying  their  naked 
children  astride  on  their  hips,  and  other  samples  of  the  motley 
life  of  the  place,  were  seen;  we  passed  down  a  long  narrow 
street  leading  to  the  suburbs.  Beyond  this,  our  road  lay  across 
a  grassy  common  into  a  picturesque  lane  leading  to  the  virgin 
forest.  The  long  street  was  inhabited  by  the  poorer  class  of 
the  population.  The  houses  were  of  one  story  only,  and  had 
an  irregular  and  mean  appearance.  The  windows  were  without 
glass,  having,  instead,  projecting  lattice  casements.  The  street 
was  unpaved,  and  inches  deep  in  loose  sand.  Groups  of  people 
were  cooling  themselves  outside  their  doors:  people  of  all 
shades  in  colour  of  skin,  European,  Negro  and  Indian,  but 
chiefly  an  uncertain  mixture  of  the  three.  Amongst  them 
were  several  handsome  women,  dressed  in  a  slovenly  manner, 
barefoot  or  shod  in  loose  slippers ;  but  wearing  richly-decorated 
ear-rings,  and  around  their  necks  strings  of  very  large  gold 
beads.  They  had  dark  expressive  eyes,  and  remarkably  rich 
heads  of  hair.  It  was  a  mere  fancy,  but  I  thought  the  mingled 
squalor,  luxuriance  and  beauty  of  these  women  were  pointedly 
in  harmony  with  the  rest  of  the  scene;  so  striking,  in  the  view, 
was  the  mixture  of  natural  riches  and  human  poverty.  The 
houses  were  mostly  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  and  signs  of 
indolence  and  neglect  were  everywhere  visible.  The  wooden 
palings  which  surrounded  the  weed-grown  gardens  were  strewn 
about,  broken;  and  hogs,  goats,  and  ill-fed  poultry,  wandered 
in  and  out  through  the  gaps.  But  amidst  all,  and  compensating 
every  defect,  rose  the  overpowering  beauty  of  the  vegetation. 
The  massive  dark  crowns  of  shady  mangos  were  seen  everywhere 
amongst  the  dwellings,  amidst  fragrant  blossoming  orange, 
lemon,  and  many  other  tropical  fruit  trees;  some  in  flower, 
others  in  fruit,  at  varying  stages  of  ripeness.  Here  and  there, 
shooting  above  the  more  dome-like  and  sombre  trees,  were  the 


4  The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

smooth  columnar  stems  of  palms,  bearing  aloft  their  magnificent 
crowns  of  finely-cut  fronds.  Amongst  the  latter  the  slim  assai- 
palm  was  especially  noticeable,  growing  in  groups  of  four  or 
five;  its  smooth,  gently-curving  stem,  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
high,  terminating  in  a  head  of  feathery  foliage,  inexpressibly 
light  and  elegant  in  outline.  On  the  boughs  of  the  taller  and 
more  ordinary-looking  trees  sat  tufts  of  curiously-leaved 
parasites.  Slender  woody  lianas  hung  in  festoons  from  the 
branches,  or  were  suspended  in  the  form  of  cords  and  ribbons; 
whilst  luxuriant  creeping  plants  overran  alike  tree-trunks,  roofs 
and  walls,  or  toppled  over  palings  in  copious  profusion  of  foliage. 
The  superb  banana  (Musa  paradisiaca),  of  which  I  had  always 
read  as  forming  one  of  the  charms  of  tropical  vegetation,  here 
grew  with  great  luxuriance:  its  glossy  velvety-green  leaves, 
twelve  feet  in  length,  curving  over  the  roofs  of  verandahs  in  the 
rear  of  every  house.  The  shape  of  the  leaves,  the  varying  shades 
of  green  which  they  present  when  lightly  moved  by  the  wind, 
and  especially  the  contrast  they  afford  in  colour  and  form  to 
the  more  sombre  hues  and  more  rounded  outline  of  the  other 
trees,  are  quite  sufficient  to  account  for  the  charm  of  this  glorious 
tree.  Strange  forms  of  vegetation  drew  our  attention  at  almost 
every  step.  Amongst  them  were  the  different  kinds  of  Bromelia, 
or  pine-apple  plants,  with  their  long,  rigid,  sword-shaped  leaves, 
in  some  species  jagged  or  toothed  along  their  edges.  Then  there 
was  the  bread-fruit  tree — an  importation,  it  is  true;  but  remark- 
able from  its  large,  glossy,  dark  green,  strongly  digitated  foliage, 
and  its  interesting  history.  Many  other  trees  and  plants,  curious 
in  leaf,  stem,  or  manner  of  growth,  grew  on  the  borders  of  the 
thickets  along  which  lay  our  road;  they  were  all  attractive  to 
new  comers,  whose  last  country  ramble  of  quite  recent  date  was 
over  the  bleak  moors  of  Derbyshire  on  a  sleety  morning  in  April. 
As  we  continued  our  walk  the  brief  twilight  commenced,  and 
the  sounds  of  multifarious  life  came  from  the  vegetation  around. 
The  whirring  of  cicadas ;  the  shrill  stridulation  of  a  vast  number 
and  variety  of  field  crickets  and  grasshoppers,  each  species 
sounding  its  peculiar  note;  the  plaintive  hooting  of  tree  frogs 
— all  blended  together  in  one  continuous  ringing  sound, — the 
audible  expression  of  the  teeming  profusion  of  Nature.  As 
night  came  on,  many  species  of  frogs  and  toads  in  the  marshy 
places  joined  in  the  chorus:  their  croaking  and  drumming,  far 
louder  than  anything  I  had  before  heard  in  the  same  line,  being 
added  to  the  other  noises,  created  an  almost  deafening  din. 
This  uproar  of  life,  I  afterwards  found,  never  wholly  ceased, 


Para  5 

night  or  day:  in  course  of  time  I  became,  like  other  residents, 
accustomed  to  it.  It  is,  however,  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  a 
tropical — at  least,  a  Brazilian — climate  which  is  most  likely  to 
surprise  a  stranger.  After  my  return  to  England  the  death- 
like stillness  of  summer  days  in  the  country  appeared  to  me  as 
strange  as  the  ringing  uproar  did  on  my  first  arrival  at  Para. 
The  object  of  our  visit  being  accomplished,  we  returned  to  the 
city.  The  fire-flies  were  then  out  in  great  numbers,  flitting 
about  the  sombre  woods,  and  even  the  frequented  streets.  We 
turned  into  our  hammocks,  well  pleased  with  what  we  had  seen, 
and  full  of  anticipation  with  regard  to  the  wealth  of  natural 
objects  we  had  come  to  explore. 

During  the  first  few  days,  we  were  employed  in  landing  our 
baggage  and  arranging  our  extensive  apparatus.  We  then 
accepted  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Miller  to  make  use  of  his  rocinha, 
or  country-house  in  the  suburbs,  until  we  finally  decided  on  a 
residence.  Upon  this  we  made  our  first  essay  in  housekeeping. 
We  bought  cotton  hammocks,  the  universal  substitute  for  beds 
in  this  country,  cooking  utensils  and  crockery,  and  engaged  a 
free  negro,  named  Isidoro,  as  cook  and  servant-of-all-work. 
Our  first  walks  were  in  the  immediate  suburbs  of  Para.  The 
city  lies  on  a  corner  of  land  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  river 
Guama  with  the  Para.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  forest,  which 
covers  the  whole  country,  extends  close  up  to  the  city  streets; 
indeed,  the  town  is  built  on  a  tract  of  cleared  land,  and  is  kept 
free  from  the  jungle  only  by  the  constant  care  of  the  Govern- 
ment. The  surface,  though  everywhere  low,  is  slightly  un- 
dulating, so  that  areas  of  dry  land  alternate  throughout  with 
areas  of  swampy  ground,  the  vegetation  and  animal  tenants 
of  the  two  being  widely  different.  Our  residence  lay  on  the 
side  of  the  city  nearest  the  Guama,  on  the  borders  of  one  of  the 
low  and  swampy  areas  which  here  extends  over  a  portion 
of  the  suburbs.  The  tract  of  land  is  intersected  by  well- 
macadamised  suburban  roads,  the  chief  of  which,  the  Estrada 
das  Mongubeiras  (the  Monguba  road),  about  a  mile  long,  is  a 
magnificent  avenue  of  silk-cotton  trees  (Bombax  monguba  and 
B.  ceiba),  huge  trees  whose  trunks  taper  rapidly  from  the  ground 
upwards,  and  whose  flowers  before  opening  look  like  red  balls 
studding  the  branches.  This  fine  road  was  constructed  under 
the  governorship  of  the  Count  dos  Arcos,  about  the  year  181 2. 
At  right  angles  to  it  run  a  number  of  narrow  green  lanes,  and 
the  whole  district  is  drained  by  a  system  of  small  canals  or- 


6  The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

trenches  through  which  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows,  showing  the 
lowness  of  the  site.  Before  I  left  the  country,  other  enterprising 
presidents  had  formed  a  number  of  avenues  lined  with  cocoa- 
nut  palms,  almond  and  other  trees,  in  continuation  of  the 
Monguba  road,  over  the  more  elevated  and  drier  ground  to  the 
north-east  of  the  city.  On  the  high  ground  the  vegetation  has 
an  aspect  quite  different  from  that  which  it  presents  in  the 
swampy  parts.  Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  the  palm  trees, 
the  suburbs  here  have  an  aspect  like  that  of  a  village  green  at 
home.  The  soil  is  sandy,  and  the  open  commons  are  covered 
with  a  short  grassy  and  shrubby  vegetation.  Beyond  this,  the 
land  again  descends  to  a  marshy  tract,  where,  at  the  bottom  of 
the  moist  hollows,  the  public  wells  are  situated.  Here  all  the 
linen  of  the  city  is  washed  by  hosts  of  noisy  negresses,  and  here 
also  the  water-carts  are  filled — painted  hogsheads  on  wheels, 
drawn  by  bullocks.  In  early  morning,  when  the  sun  sometimes 
shines  through  a  light  mist,  and  everything  is  dripping  with 
moisture,  this  part  of  the  city  is  full  of  life :  vociferous  negroes 
and  wrangling  Gallegos,1  the  proprietors  of  the  water-carts,  are 
gathered  about,  jabbering  continually,  and  taking  their  morning 
drams  in  dirty  wine-shops  at  the  street  corners. 

Along  these  beautiful  roads  we  found  much  to  interest  us 
during  the  first  few  days.  Suburbs  of  towns,  and  open,  sunny, 
cultivated  places  in  Brazil,  are  tenanted  by  species  of  animals 
and  plants  which  are  mostly  different  from  those  of  the  dense 
primaeval  forests.  I  will,  therefore,  give  an  account  of  what  we 
observed  of  the  animal  world  during  our  explorations  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood  of  Para. 

The  number  and  beauty  of  the  birds  and  insects  did  not  at 
first  equal  our  expectations.  The  majority  of  the  birds  we  saw 
were  small  and  obscurely  coloured;  they  were  indeed  similar, 
in  general  appearance,  to  such  as  are  met  with  in  country  places 
in  England.  Occasionally  a  flock  of  small  parroquets,  green, 
with  a  patch  of  yellow  on  the  forehead,  would  come  at  early 
morning  to  the  trees  near  the  Estrada.  They  would  feed 
quietly,  sometimes  chattering  in  subdued  tones,  but  setting  up 
a  harsh  scream,  and  flying  off,  on  being  disturbed.  Humming- 
birds we  did  not  see  at  this  time,  although  I  afterwards  found 
them  by  hundreds  when  certain  trees  were  in  flower.  Vultures 
we  only  saw  at  a  distance,  sweeping  round  at  a  great  height, 
over  the  public  slaughter-houses.     Several  flycatchers,  finches, 

1  Natives  of  Galicia,  in  Spain,  who  follow  this  occupation  in  Lisbon  and 
Oporto,  as  well  as  at  Para. 


Para  7 

ant-thrushes,  a  tribe  of  plainly-coloured  birds,  intermediate  in 
structure  between  flycatchers  and  thrushes,  some  of  which 
startle  the  new-comer  by  their  extraordinary  notes  emitted 
from  their  places  of  concealment  in  the  dense  thickets;  and 
also  tanagers,  and  other  small  birds,  inhabited  the  neighbour- 
hood. None  of  these  had  a  pleasing  song,  except  a  little  brown 
wren  (Troglodytes  furvus),  whose  voice  and  melody  resemble 
those  of  our  English  robin.  It  is  often  seen  hopping  and  climb- 
ing about  the  walls  and  roofs  of  houses  and  on  trees  in  their 
vicinity.  Its  song  is  more  frequently  heard  in  the  rainy  season, 
when  the  Monguba  trees  shed  their  leaves.  At  those  times  the 
Estrada  das  Mongubeiras  has  an  appearance  quite  unusual  in 
a  tropical  country.  The  tree  is  one  of  the  few  in  the  Amazons 
region  which  sheds  all  its  foliage  before  any  of  the  new  leaf- 
buds  expand.  The  naked  branches,  the  sodden  ground  matted 
with  dead  leaves,  the  grey  mist  veiling  the  surrounding  vegeta- 
tion, and  the  cool  atmosphere  soon  after  sunrise,  all  combine 
to  remind  one  of  autumnal  mornings  in  England.  Whilst 
loitering  about  at  such  times  in  a  half-oblivious  mood,  thinking 
of  home,  the  song  of  this  bird  would  create  for  the  moment 
a  perfect  illusion.  Numbers  of  tanagers  frequented  the  fruit 
and  other  trees  in  our  garden.  The  two  principal  kinds  which 
attracted  our  attention  were  the  Rhamphoccelus  Jacapa  and 
the  Tanagra  Episcopus.  The  females  of  both  are  dull  in  colour, 
but  the  male  of  Jacapa  has  a  beautiful  velvety  purple  and 
black  plumage,  the  beak  being  partly  white,  whilst  the  same 
sex  in  Episcopus  is  of  a  pale  blue  colour,  with  white  spots  on  the 
wings.  In  their  habits  they  both  resemble  the  common  house- 
sparrow  of  Europe,  which  does  not  exist  in  South  America,  its 
place  being  in  some  measure  filled  by  these  familiar  tanagers. 
They  are  just  as  lively,  restless,  bold,  and  wary;  their  notes 
are  very  similar,  chirping  and  inharmonious,  and  they  seem  to 
be  almost  as  fond  of  the  neighbourhood  of  man.  They  do  not, 
however,  build  their  nests  on  houses. 

Another  interesting  and  common  bird  was  the  Japim,  a 
species  of  Cassicus  (C.  icteronotus).  It  belongs  to  the  same 
family  of  birds  as  our  starling,  magpie,  and  rook,  and  has  a  rich 
yellow  and  black  plumage,  remarkably  compact  and  velvety  in 
texture.  The  shape  of  its  head  and  its  physiognomy  are  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  magpie;  it  has  light  grey  eyes,  which  give 
it  the  same  knowing  expression.  It  is  social  in  its  habits ;  and 
builds  its  nest,  like  the  English  rook,  on  trees  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  habitations.    But  the  nests  are  quite  differently  con- 


8  The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

structed,  being  shaped  like  purses,  two  feet  in  length,  and 
suspended  from  the  slender  branches  all  round  the  tree,  some 
of  them  very  near  the  ground.  The  entrance  is  on  the  side 
near  the  bottom  of  the  nest.  The  bird  is  a  great  favourite  with 
the  Brazilians  of  Para:  it  is  a  noisy,  stirring,  babbling  creature, 
passing  constantly  to  and  fro,  chattering  to  its  comrades,  and 
is  very  ready  at  imitating  other  birds,  especially  the  domestic 
poultry  of  the  vicinity.  There  was  at  one  time  a  weekly  news- 
paper published  at  Para,  called  The  Japim;  the  name  being 
chosen,  I  suppose,  on  account  of  the  babbling  propensities  of 
the  bird.  Its  eggs  are  nearly  round,  and  of  a  bluish-white  colour, 
speckled  with  brown. 

Of  other  vertebrate  animals  we  saw  very  little,  except  of  the 
lizards.  These  are  sure  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  new- 
comer from  Northern  Europe,  by  reason  of  their  strange  ap- 
pearance, great  numbers,  and  variety.  The  species  which  are 
seen  crawling  over  the  walls  of  buildings  in  the  city,  are 
different  from  those  found  in  the  forest  or  in  the  interior  of 
houses.  They  are  unpleasant-looking  animals,  with  colours 
assimilated  to  those  of  the  dilapidated  stone  and  mud  walls  on 
which  they  are  seen.  The  house  lizards  belong  to  a  peculiar 
family,  the  Geckos,  and  are  found  even  in  the  best-kept  chambers, 
most  frequently  on  the  walls  and  ceilings,  to  which  they  cling 
motionless  by  day,  being  active  only  at  night.  They  are  of 
speckled  grey  or  ashy  colours.  The  structure  of  their  feet  is 
beautifully  adapted  for  clinging  to  and  running  over  smooth 
surfaces;  the  underside  of  their  toes  being  expanded  into 
cushions,  beneath  which  folds  of  skin  form  a  series  of  flexible 
plates.  By  means  of  this  apparatus  they  can  walk  or  run 
across  a  smooth  ceiling  with  their  backs  downwards ;  the  plated 
soles,  by  quick  muscular  action,  exhausting  and  admitting  air 
alternately.  The  Geckos  are  very  repulsive  in  appearance. 
The  Brazilians  give  them  the  name  of  Osgas,  and  firmly  believe 
them  to  be  poisonous;  they  are,  however,  harmless  creatures. 
Those  found  in  houses  are  small ;  but  I  have  seen  others  of  great 
size,  in  crevices  of  tree  trunks  in  the  forest.  Sometimes  Geckos 
are  found  with  forked  tails;  this  results  from  the  budding  of 
a  rudimentary  tail  at  the  side,  from  an  injury  done  to  the 
member.  A  slight  rap  will  cause  their  tails  to  snap  off;  the 
loss  being  afterwards  partially  repaired  by  a  new  growth.  The 
tails  of  lizards  seem  to  be  almost  useless  appendages  to  the 
animals.  I  used  often  to  amuse  myself  in  the  suburbs,  whilst 
resting  in  the  verandah  of  our  house  during  the  heat  of  mid-day, 


Para  9 

by  watching  the  variegated  green,  brown,  and  yellow  ground- 
lizards.  They  would  come  nimbly  forward,  and  commence 
grubbing  with  their  fore  feet  and  snouts  around  the  roots  of 
herbage,  searching  for  insect  larvje.  On  the  slightest  alarm 
they  would  scamper  off;  their  tails  cocked  up  in  the  air  as  they 
waddled  awkwardly  away,  evidently  an  incumbrance  to  them 
in  their  flight. 

Next  to  the  birds  and  lizards,  the  insects  of  the  suburbs  of 
Para  deserve  a  few  remarks.  The  species  observed  in  the  weedy 
and  open  places,  as  already  remarked,  were  generally  different 
from  those  which  dwell  in  the  shades  of  the  forest.  In  the 
gardens,  numbers  of  fine  showy  butterflies  were  seen.  There 
were  two  swallow-tailed  species,  similar  in  colours  to  the  English 
Papilio  Machaon;  a  white  Pieris  (P.  Monuste),  and  two  or  three 
species  of  brimstone  and  orange  coloured  butterflies,  which  do 
not  belong,  however,  to  the  same  genus  as  our  English  species. 
In  weedy  places  a  beautiful  butterfly,  with  eye-like  spots  on 
its  wings,  was  common,  the  Junonia  Lavinia,  the  only 
Amazonian  species  which  is  at  all  nearly  related  to  our  Vanessas, 
the  Admiral  and  Peacock  Butterflies.  One  day  we  made  our 
first  acquaintance  with  two  of  the  most  beautiful  productions 
of  nature  in  this  department;  namely,  the  Helicopis  Cupido 
and  Endymion.  A  little  beyond  our  house,  one  of  the  narrow 
green  lanes  which  I  have  already  mentioned  diverged  from  the 
Monguba  avenue,  and  led,  between  enclosures  overrun  with 
a  profusion  of  creeping  plants  and  glorious  flowers,  down  to  a 
moist  hollow,  where  there  was  a  public  well  in  a  picturesque 
nook,  buried  in  a  grove  of  Mucaja  palm-trees.  On  the  tree- 
trunks,  walls,  and  palings,  grew  a  great  quantity  of  climbing 
Pothos  plants,  with  large  glossy  heart-shaped  leaves.  These 
plants  were  the  resort  of  these  two  exquisite  species,  and  we 
captured  a  great  number  of  specimens.  They  are  of  extremely 
delicate  texture.  The  wings  are  cream-coloured;  the  hind  pair 
have  several  tail -like  appendages,  and  are  spangled  beneath  as 
if  with  silver.  Their  flight  is  very  slow  and  feeble;  they  seek 
the  protected  under-surface  of  the  leaves,  and  in  repose  close 
their  wings  over  the  back,  so  as  to  expose  the  brilliantly  spotted 
under-surface. 

I  will  pass  over  the  many  other  orders  and  families  of  insects, 
and  proceed  at  once  to  the  ants.  These  were  in  great  numbers 
everywhere,  but  I  will  mention  here  only  two  kinds.  We  were 
amazed  at  seeing  ants  an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  length,  and 
stout  in  proportion,  marching  in  single  file  through  the  thickets. 


io         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


These  belonged  to  the  species  called  Dinoponera  grandis.  Its 
colonies  consist  of  a  small  number  of  individuals,  and  are 
established  about  the  roots  of  slender  trees.  It  is  a  stinging 
species,  but  the  sting  is  not  so  severe  as  in  many  of  the  smaller 
kinds.  There  was  nothing  peculiar  or  attractive  in  the  habits 
of  this  giant  among  the  ants.  Another  far  more  interesting 
species  was  the  Saiiba  (CEcodoma  cephalotes).  This  ant  is 
seen  everywhere  about  the  suburbs,  marching  to  and  fro  in 
broad  columns.  From  its  habit  of  despoiling  the  most  valuable 
cultivated  trees  of  their  foliage,  it  is  a  great  scourge  to  the 
Brazilians.     In  some  districts  it  is  so  abundant  that  agriculture 


HI 


i. 


Saiiba  or  Leaf-carrying  ant. — i.  Worker- minor;   2.  Worker- major; 
3.  Subterranean  worker. 

is  almost  impossible,  and  everywhere  complaints  are  heard  of 
the  terrible  pest. 

The  workers  of  this  species  are  of  three  orders,  and  vary 
in  size  from  two  to  seven  lines;  some  idea  of  them  may  be 
obtained  from  the  accompanying  woodcut.  The  true  working- 
class  of  a  colony  is  formed  by  the  small-sized  order  of  workers, 
the  worker-minors  as  they  are  called  (Fig.  1).  The  two  other 
kinds,  whose  functions,  as  we  shall  see,  are  not  yet  properly 
understood,  have  enormously  swollen  and  massive  heads;  in 
one  (Fig.  2),  the  head  is  highly  polished;  in  the  other  (Fig.  3), 
it  is  opaque  and  hairy.  The  worker-minors  vary  greatly  in 
size,  some  being  double  the  bulk  of  others.  The  entire  body  is 
of  very  solid  consistence,  and  of  a  pale  reddish-brown  colour. 
The  thorax  or  middle  segment  is  armed  with  three  pairs  of 


Para  1 1 

sharp  spines;  the  head,  also,  has  a  pair  of  similar  spines  pro- 
ceeding from  the  cheeks  behind. 

In  our  first  walks  we  were  puzzled  to  account  for  large 
mounds  of  earth,  of  a  different  colour  from  the  surrounding 
soil,  which  were  thrown  up  in  the  plantations  and  woods.  Some 
of  them  were  very  extensive,  being  forty  yards  in  circumference, 
but  not  more  than  two  feet  in  height.  We  soon  ascertained 
that  these  were  the  work  of  the  Saiibas,  being  the  outworks, 
or  domes,  which  overlie  and  protect  the  entrances  to  their  vast 
subterranean  galleries.  On  close  examination,  I  found  the 
earth  of  which  they  are  composed  to  consist  of  very  minute 
granules,  agglomerated  without  cement,  and  forming  many 
rows  of  little  ridges  and  turrets.  The  difference  in  colour  from 
the  superficial  soil  of  the  vicinity  is  owing  to  their  being  formed 
of  the  undersoil,  brought  up  from  a  considerable  depth.  It  is 
very  rarely  that  the  ants  are  seen  at  work  on  these  mounds; 
the  entrances  seem  to  be  generally  closed;  only  now  and  then, 
when  some  particular  work  is  going  on,  are  the  galleries  opened. 
The  entrances  are  small  and  numerous;  in  the  larger  hillocks 
it  would  require  a  great  amount  of  excavation  to  get  at  the 
main  galleries;  but  I  succeeded  in  removing  portions  of  the 
dome  in  smaller  hillocks,  and  then  I  found  that  the  minor 
entrances  converged,  at  the  depth  of  about  two  feet,  to  one 
broad  elaborately-worked  gallery  or  mine,  which  was  four  or 
five  inches  in  diameter. 

This  habit  in  the  Saiiba  ant  of  clipping  and  carrying  away 
immense  quantities  of  leaves  has  long  been  recorded  in  books 
on  natural  history.  When  employed  on  this  work,  their  pro- 
cessions look  like  a  multitude  of  animated  leaves  on  the  march. 
In  some  places  I  found  an  accumulation  of  such  leaves,  all 
circular  pieces,  about  the  size  of  a  sixpence,  lying  on  the  path- 
way, unattended  by  ants,  and  at  some  distance  from  any  colony. 
Such  heaps  are  always  found  to  be  removed  when  the  place  is 
revisited  the  next  day.  In  course  of  time  I  had  plenty  of 
opportunities  of  seeing  them  at  work.  They  mount  the  tree 
in  multitudes,  the  individuals  being  all  worker-minors.  Each 
one  places  itself  on  the  surface  of  a  leaf,  and  cuts  with  its  sharp 
scissor-like  jaws  a  nearly  semicircular  incision  on  the  upper 
side;  it  then  takes  the  edge  between  its  jaws,  and  by  a  sharp 
jerk  detaches  the  piece.  Sometimes  they  let  the  leaf  drop  to 
the  ground,  where  a  little  heap  accumulates,  until  carried  off  by 
another  relay  of  workers ;  but,  generally,  each  marches  off  with 
the  piece  it  has  operated  upon,  and  as  all  take  the  same  road  to 


I  2         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

their  colony,  the  path  they  follow  becomes  in  a  short  time 
smooth  and  bare,  looking  like  the  impression  of  a  cart-wheel 
through  the  herbage. 

It  is  a  most  interesting  sight  to  see  the  vast  host  of  busy 
diminutive  labourers  occupied  on  this  work.  Unfortunately 
they  choose  cultivated  trees  for  their  purpose.  This  ant  is 
quite  peculiar  to  Tropical  America,  as  is  the  entire  genus  to 
which  it  belongs;  it  sometimes  despoils  the  young  trees  of 
species  growing  wild  in  its  native  forests;  but  seems  to  prefer, 
when  within  reach,  plants  imported  from  other  countries,  such 
as  the  coffee  and  orange  trees.  It  has  not  hitherto  been  shown 
satisfactorily  to  what  use  it  applies  the  leaves.  I  discovered 
this  only  after  much  time  spent  in  investigation.  The  leaves 
are  used  to  thatch  the  domes  which  cover  the  entrances  to 
their  subterranean  dwellings,  thereby  protecting  from  the 
deluging  rains  the  young  broods  in  the  nests  beneath.  The 
larger  mounds,  already  described,  are  so  extensive  that  few 
persons  would  attempt  to  remove  them  for  the  purpose  of 
examining  their  interior;  but  smaller  hillocks,  covering  other 
entrances  to  the  same  system  of  tunnels  and  chambers,  may 
be  found  in  sheltered  places,  and  these  are  always  thatched  with 
leaves,  mingled  with  granules  of  earth.  The  heavily-laden 
workers,  each  carrying  its  segment  of  leaf  vertically,  the  lower 
edge  secured  in  its  mandibles,  troop  up  and  cast  their  burthens 
on  the  hillock;  another  relay  of  labourers  place  the  leaves  in 
position,  covering  them  with  a  layer  of  earthy  granules,  which 
are  brought  one  by  one  from  the  soil  beneath. 

The  underground  abodes  of  this  wonderful  ant  are  known  to 
be  very  extensive.  The  Rev.  Hamlet  Clark  has  related  that 
the  Saiiba  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  a  species  closely  allied  to  ours, 
has  excavated  a  tunnel  under  the  bed  of  the  river  Parahyba,  at 
a  place  where  it  as  broad  as  the  Thames  at  London  Bridge. 
At  the  Magoary  rice  mills,  near  Para,  these  ants  once  pierced 
the  embankment  of  a  large  reservoir:  the  great  body  of  water 
which  it  contained  escaped  before  the  damage  could  be  repaired. 
In  the  Botanic  Gardens,  at  Para,  an  enterprising  French  gardener 
tried  all  he  could  think  of  to  extirpate  the  Saiiba.  With  this 
object  he  made  fires  over  some  of  the  main  entrances  to  their 
colonies,  and  blew  the  fumes  of  sulphur  down  the  galleries  by 
means  of  bellows.  I  saw  the  smoke  issue  from  a  great  number 
of  outlets,  one  of  which  was  seventy  yards  distant  from  the 
place  where  the  bellows  were  used.  This  shows  how  extensively 
the  underground  galleries  are  ramified. 


Para  1 3 

Besides  injuring  and  destroying  young  trees  by  despoiling 
them  of  their  foliage,  the  Sauba  ant  is  troublesome  to  the 
inhabitants  from  its  habit  of  plundering  the  stores  of  pro- 
visions in  houses  at  night,  for  it  is  even  more  active  by  night 
than  in  the  day-time.  At  first  I  was  inclined  to  discredit 
the  stories  of  their  entering  habitations  and  carrying  off  grain 
by  grain  the  farinha  or  mandioca  meal,  the  bread  of  the  poorer 
classes  of  Brazil.  At  length,  whilst  residing  at  an  Indian 
village  on  the  Tapajos,  I  had  ample  proof  of  the  fact.  One 
night  my  servant  woke  me  three  or  four  hours  before  sunrise 
by  calling  out  that  the  rats  were  robbing  the  farinha  baskets; 
the  article  at  that  time  being  scarce  and  dear.  I  got  up, 
listened,  and  found  the  noise  was  very  unlike  that  made  by 
rats.  So  I  took  the  light  and  went  into  the  store-room,  which 
was  close  to  my  sleeping-place.  I  there  found  a  broad  column 
of  Saiiba  ants,  consisting  of  thousands  of  individuals,  as  busy 
as  possible,  passing  to  and  fro  between  the  door  and  my 
precious  baskets.  Most  of  those  passing  outwards  were  laden 
each  with  a  grain  of  farinha,  which  was,  in  some  cases,  larger 
and  many  times  heavier  than  the  bodies  of  the  carriers.  Farinha 
consists  of  grains  of  similar  size  and  appearance  to  the  tapioca 
of  our  shops;  both  are  products  of  the  same  root,  tapioca  being 
the  pure  starch,  and  farinha  the  starch  mixed  with  woody 
fibre,  the  latter  ingredient  giving  it  a  yellowish  colour.  It  was 
amusing  to  see  some  of  the  dwarfs,  the  smallest  members  of 
their  family,  staggering  along,  completely  hidden  under  their 
load.  The  baskets,  which  were  on  a  high  table,  were  entirely 
covered  with  ants,  many  hundreds  of  whom  were  employed  in 
snipping  the  dry  leaves  which  served  as  lining.  This  produced 
the  rustling  sound  which  had  at  first  disturbed  us.  My  servant 
told  me  that  they  would  carry  off  the  whole  contents  of  the 
two  baskets  (about  two  bushels)  in  the  course  of  the  night,  if 
they  were  not  driven  off;  so  we  tried  to  exterminate  them  by 
killing  them  with  our  wooden  clogs.  It  was  impossible,  how- 
ever, to  prevent  fresh  hosts  coming  in  as  fast  as  we  killed  their 
companions.  They  returned  the  next  night;  and  I  was  then 
obliged  to  lay  trains  of  gunpowder  along  their  line,  and  blow 
them  up.  This,  repeated  many  times,  at  last  seemed  to 
intimidate  them,  for  we  were  free  from  their  visits  during  the 
remainder  of  my  residence  at  the  place.  What  they  did  with 
the  hard  dry  grains  of  mandioca  I  was  never  able  to  ascertain, 
and  cannot  even  conjecture.  The  meal  contains  no  gluten,  and 
therefore  would  be  useless  as  cement.     It  contains  only  a  small 


14        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

relative  portion  of  starch,  and,  when  mixed  with  water,  it 
separates  and  falls  away  like  so  much  earthy  matter.     It  may 
serve  as  food  for  the  subterranean  workers.     But  the  young  or 
larvze  of  ants  are  usually  fed  by  juices  secreted  by  the  worker   < 
nurses. 

Ants,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  consist,  in  each 
species,'  of  three  sets  of  individuals,  or,  as  some  express  it,  of 
three  sexes — namely,  males,  females,  and  workers;    the  last- 
mentioned  being  undeveloped  females.    The  perfect  sexes  are 
winged  on  their  first  attaining  the  adult  state;  they  alone  pro- 
pagate their  kind,  flying  away,  previous  to  the  act  of  repro- 
duction, from  the  nest  in  which  they  have  been  reared.    This 
winged  state  of  the  perfect  males  and  females,  and  the  habit  of 
flying  abroad  before  pairing,  are  very  important  points  in  the 
economy  of  ants;   for  they  are  thus  enabled  to  intercross  with 
members  of  distant  colonies  which  swarm  at  the  same  time,  and 
thereby  increase  the  vigour  of  the  race,  a  proceeding  essential 
to  the  prosperity  of  any  species.     In  many  ants,  especially  those 
of  tropical  climates,  the  workers,  again,  are  of  two  classes,  whose 
structure  and  functions  are  widely  different.     In  some  species 
they  are  wonderfully  unlike  each  other,  and  constitute  two  well- 
defined  forms  of  workers.     In  others,  there  is  a  gradation  of 
individuals  between  the  two  extremes.     The  curious  differences 
in  structure  and  habits  between  these  two  classes  form  an 
interesting,  but  very  difficult,  study.     It  is  one  of  the  great 
peculiarities  of  the  Saiiba  ant  to  possess  three  classes  of  workers. 
My  investigations  regarding  them  were  far  from  complete;    I 
will  relate,  however,  what  I  have  observed  on  the  subject. 

When  engaged  in  leaf-cutting,  plundering  farinha,  and  other 
operations,  two  classes  of  workers  are  always  seen  (Figs,  i  and 
2,  page  10).  They  are  not,  it  is  true,  very  sharply  defined  in 
structure,  for  individuals  of  intermediate  grades  occur.  All  the 
work,  however,  is  done  by  the  individuals  which  have  small 
heads  (Fig.  i),  whilst  those  which  have  enormously  large  heads, 
the  worker-majors  (Fig.  2),  are  observed  to  be  simply  walking 
about.  I  could  never  satisfy  myself  as  to  the  function  of  these 
worker-majors.  They  are  not  the  soldiers  or  defenders  of  the 
working  portion  of  the  community,  like  the  armed  class  m  the 
Termites,  or  white  ants;  for  they  never  fight.  The  species  has 
no  sting,  and  does  not  display  active  resistance  when  interfered 
with.  I  once  imagined  they  exercised  a  sort  of  superintendence 
over  the  others;  but  this  function  is  entirely  unnecessary  in  a 
community  where  all  work  with  a  precision  and  regularity 


Para  1 5 

resembling  the  subordinate  parts  of  a  piece  of  machinery.  I 
came  to  the  conclusion,  at  last,  that  they  have  no  very  precisely 
defined  function.  They  cannot,  however,  be  entirely  useless 
to  the  community,  for  the  sustenance  of  an  idle  class  of  such 
bulky  individuals  would  be  too  heavy  a  charge  for  the  species 
to  sustain.  I  think  they  serve,  in  some  sort,  as  passive  instru- 
ments of  protection  to  the  real  workers.  Their  enormously 
large,  hard,  and  indestructible  heads  may  be  of  use  in  protect- 
ing them  against  the  attacks  of  insectivorous  animals.  They 
would  be,  on  this  view,  a  kind  of  "  pieces  de  resistance,"  serving 
as  a  foil  against  onslaughts  made  on  the  main  body  of  workers. 
The  third  order  of  workers  is  the  most  curious  of  all.  If  the 
top  of  a  small,  fresh  hillock,  one  in  which  the  thatching  process 


/ 
4 

Saiiba  Ant. — Female. 

is  going  on,  be  taken  off,  a  broad  cylindrical  shaft  is  disclosed, 
at  a  depth  of  about  two  feet  from  the  surface.  If  this  be 
probed  with  a  stick,  which  may  be  done  to  the  extent  of  three 
or  four  feet  without  touching  bottom,  a  small  number  of  colossal 
fellows  (Fig.  3)  will  slowly  begin  to  make  their  way  up  the 
smooth  sides  of  the  mine.  Their  heads  are  of  the  same  size  as 
those  of  the  class  Fig.  2;  but  the  front  is  clothed  with  hairs, 
instead  of  being  polished,  and  they  have  in  the  middle  of  the 
forehead  a  twin  ocellus,  or  simple  eye,  of  quite  different  structure 
from  the  ordinary  compound  eyes,  on  the  sides  of  the  head. 
This  frontal  eye  is  totally  wanting  in  the  other  workers,  and  is 
not  known  in  any  other  kind  of  ant.  The  apparition  of  these 
strange  creatures  from  the  cavernous  depths  of  the  mine  re- 
minded me,  when  I  first  observed  them,  of  the  Cyclopes  of 
Homeric  fable.  They  were  not  very  pugnacious,  as  I  feared 
they  would  be,  and  I  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  few  with 
my  fingers.     I  never  saw  them  under  any  other  circumstances 


i  6         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

than  those  here  related,  and  what  their  special  functions  may 
be  I  cannot  divine. 

The  whole  arrangement  of  a  Formicarium,  or  ant-colony, 
and  all  the  varied  activity  of  ant-life,  are  directed  to  one  main 
purpose: — the  perpetuation  and  dissemination  of  the  species. 
Most  of  the  labour  which  we  see  performed  by  the  workers  has 
for  its  end  the  sustenance  and  welfare  of  the  young  brood, 
which  are  helpless  grubs.  The  true  females  are  incapable  of 
attending  to  the  wants  of  their  offspring;  and  it  is  on  the  poor 
sterile  workers,  who  are  denied  all  the  other  pleasures  of 
maternity,  that  the  entire  care  devolves.  The  workers  are  also 
the  chief  agents  in  carrying  out  the  different  migrations  of  the 
colonies,  which  are  of  vast  importance  to  the  dispersal  and 
consequent  prosperity  of  the  species.  The  successful  debut  of 
the  winged  males  and  females  depends  likewise  on  the  workers. 
It  is  amusing  to  see  the  activity  and  excitement  which  reign  in 
an  ant's  nest  when  the  exodus  of  the  winged  individuals  is 
taking  place.  The  workers  clear  the  roads  of  exit,  and  show 
the  most  lively  interest  in  their  departure,  although  it  is  highly 
improbable  that  any  of  them  will  return  to  the  same  colony. 
The  swarming  or  exodus  of  the  winged  males  and  females  of 
the  Saiiba  ant  takes  place  in  January  and  February,  that  is,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season.  They  come  out  in  the 
evening  in  vast  numbers,  causing  quite  a  commotion  in  the 
streets  and  lanes.  They  are  of  very  large  size,  the  female 
measuring  no  less  than  two-and-a-quarter  inches  in  expanse  of 
wing;  the  male  is  not  much  more  than  half  this  size.  They 
are  so  eagerly  preyed  upon  by  insectivorous  animals  that  on 
the  morning  after  their  flight  not  an  individual  is  to  be  seen,  a 
few  impregnated  females  alone  escaping  the  slaughter  to  found 
new  colonies. 

At  the  time  of  our  arrival,  Para  had  not  quite  recovered  from 
the  effects  of  a  series  of  revolutions,  brought  about  by  the  hatred 
which  existed  between  the  native  Brazilians  and  the  Portuguese; 
the  former,  in  the  end,  calling  to  their  aid  the  Indian  and  mixed 
coloured  population.  The  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  city 
had  decreased,  in  consequence  of  these  disorders,  from  24,500 
in  1819,  to  15,000  in  1848.  Although  the  public  peace  had  not 
been  broken  for  twelve  years  before  the  date  of  our  visit, 
confidence  was  not  yet  completely  restored,  and  the  Portuguese 
merchants  and  tradesmen  would  not  trust  themselves  to  live 
at  their  beautiful  country-houses  or  rocinhas,  which  lie  em- 


Para  17 

bosomed  in  the  luxuriant  shady  gardens  around  the  city.  No 
progress  had  been  made  in  clearing  the  second-growth  forest 
which  had  grown  over  the  once  cultivated  grounds,  and  now 
reached  the  end  of  all  the  suburban  streets.  The  place  had 
the  aspect  of  one  which  had  seen  better  days ;  the  public  build- 
ings, including  the  palaces  of  the  President  and  Bishop,  the 
cathedral,  the  principal  churches  and  convents,  all  seemed  con- 
structed on  a  scale  of  grandeur  far  beyond  the  present  require- 
ments of  the  city.  Streets  full  of  extensive  private  residences, 
built  in  the  Italian  style  of  architecture,  were  in  a  neglected 
condition,  weeds  and  flourishing  young  trees  growing  from  large 
cracks  in  the  masonry.  The  large  public  squares  were  over- 
grown with  weeds,  and  impassable  on  account  of  the  swampy 
places  which  occupied  portions  of  their  areas.  Commerce, 
however,  was  now  beginning  to  revive,  and  before  I  left  the 
country  I  saw  great  improvements,  as  I  shall  have  to  relate 
towards  the  conclusion  of  this  narrative. 

The  province  of  which  Para  is  the  capital  was,  at  the  time  I 
allude  to,  the  most  extensive  in  the  Brazilian  empire,  being 
about  1560  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west,  and  about  600 
in  breadth.  Since  that  date — namely  in  1853 — it  has  been 
divided  into  two  by  the  separation  of  the  Upper  Amazons  as  a 
distinct  province.  It  formerly  constituted  a  section,  capitania, 
or  governorship  of  the  Portuguese  colony.  Originally  it  was 
well  peopled  by  Indians,  varying  much  in  social  condition  accord- 
ing to  their  tribe,  but  all  exhibiting  the  same  general  physical 
characters,  which  are  those  of  the  American  red  man,  some- 
what modified  by  long  residence  in  an  equatorial  forest  country. 
Most  of  the  tribes  are  now  extinct  or  forgotten,  at  least  those 
which  originally  peopled  the  banks  of  the  main  river,  their 
descendants  having  amalgamated  with  the  white  and  negro 
immigrants:1  many  still  exist,  however,  in  their  original  state 
on  the  Upper  Amazons  and  most  of  the  branch  rivers.  On 
this  account  Indians  in  this  province  are  far  more  numerous 
than  elsewhere  in  Brazil,  and  the  Indian  element  may  be  said 

1  The  mixed  breeds  which  now  form,  probably,  the  greater  part  of  the 
population,  have  each  a  distinguishing  name.  Mameluco  denotes  the  off- 
spring of  White  with  Indian;  Mulatto,  that  of  White  with  Negro;  Cafuzo, 
the  mixture  of  the  Indian  and  Negro;  Curiboco,  the  cross  between  the 
Cafuzo  and  the  Indian;  Xibaro,  that  between  the  Cafuzo  and  Negro. 
These  are  seldom,  however,  well- demarcated,  and  all  shades  of  colour 
exist;  the  names  are  generally  applied  only  approximatively.  The  term 
Creole  is  confined  to  negroes  born  in  the  country.  The  civilised  Indian  is 
called  Tapuyo  or  Caboclo. 


1 8         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

to  prevail  in  the  mongrel  population,  the  negro  proportion 
being  much  smaller  than  in  South  Brazil. 

The  city  is  built  on  the  best  available  site  for  a  port  of 
entry  to  the  Amazons  region,  and  must  in  time  become  a  vast 
emporium;  for  the  northern  shore  of  the  main  river,  where 
alone  a  rival  capital  could  be  founded,  is  much  more  difficult 
of  access  to  vessels,  and  is  besides  extremely  unhealthy. 
Although  lying  so  near  the  equator  (i°  28'  S.  lat.)  the  climate 
is  not  excessively  hot.  The  temperature  during  three  years 
only  once  reached  950  of  Fahrenheit.  The  greatest  heat  of  the 
day,  about  2  p.m.,  ranges  generally  between  890  and  94°;  but 
on  the  other  hand,  the  air  is  never  cooler  than  730,  so  that  a 
uniformly  high  temperature  exists,  and  the  mean  of  the  year 
is  8i°.  North  American  residents  say  that  the  heat  is  not  so 
oppressive  as  it  is  in  summer  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 
The  humidity  is,  of  course,  excessive,  but  the  rains  are  not  so 
heavy  and  continuous  in  the  wet  season  as  in  many  other 
tropical  climates.  The  country  had  for  a  long  time  a  reputa- 
tion for  extreme  salubrity.  Since  the  small-pox  in  1819,  which 
attacked  chiefly  the  Indians,  no  serious  epidemic  had  visited 
the  province.  We  were  agreeably  surprised  to  find  no  danger 
from  exposure  to  the  night  air  or  residence  in  the  low  swampy 
lands.  A  few  English  residents,  who  had  been  established  here 
for  twenty  or  thirty  years,  looked  almost  as  fresh  in  colour  as 
if  they  had  never  left  their  native  country.  The  native  women, 
too,  seemed  to  preserve  their  good  looks  and  plump  condition 
until  late  in  life.  I  nowhere  observed  that  early  decay  of 
appearance  in  Brazilian  ladies,  which  is  said  to  be  so  general 
in  the  women  of  North  America.  Up  to  1848  the  salubrity  of 
Para  was  quite  remarkable  for  a  city  lying  in  the  delta  of  a 
great  river  in  the  middle  of  the  tropics  and  half  surrounded  by 
swamps.  It  did  not  much  longer  enjoy  its  immunity  from 
epidemics.  In  1850  the  yellow  fever  visited  the  province  for 
the  first  time,  and  carried  off  in  a  few  weeks  more  than  four  per 
cent,  of  the  population.  One  disease  after  another  succeeded, 
until  in  1855  the  cholera  swept  through  the  country  and  caused 
fearful  havoc.  Since  then,  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate  has 
been  gradually  restored,  and  it  is  now  fast  recovering  its  former 
good  reputation.  Para  is  free  from  serious  endemic  disorders, 
and  was  once  a  resort  of  invalids  from  New  York  and  Massa- 
chusetts. The  equable  temperature,  the  perpetual  verdure, 
the  coolness  of  the  dry  season  when  the  sun's  heat  is  tempered 
by  the  strong  sea-breezes  and  the  moderation  of  the  periodical 


Para  1 9 

rains,  make  the  climate  one  of  the  most  enjoyable  on  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

The  province  is  governed,  like  all  others  in  the  empire,  by  a 
President,  as  chief  civil  authority.  At  the  time  of  our  arrival 
he  held  also,  exceptionally,  the  chief  military  command.  This 
functionary,  together  with  the  head  of  the  police  administra- 
tion and  the  judges,  is  nominated  by  the  central  Government 
at  Rio  Janeiro.  The  municipal  and  internal  affairs  are  managed 
by  a  provincial  assembly  elected  by  the  people.  Every  villa  or 
borough  throughout  the  province  also  possesses  its  municipal 
council,  and  in  thinly-populated  districts  the  inhabitants  choose 
every  four  years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  who  adjudicates  in  small 
disputes  between  neighbours.  A  system  of  popular  education 
exists,  and  every  village  has  its  school  of  first  letters,  the  master 
being  paid  by  the  government,  the  salary  amounting  to  about 
£70,  or  the  same  sum  as  the  priests  receive.  Besides  common 
schools  a  well-endowed  classical  seminary  is  maintained  at  Para, 
to  which  the  sons  of  most  of  the  planters  and  traders  in  the 
interior  are  sent  to  complete  their  education.  The  province 
returns  its  quota  of  members  every  four  years  to  the  lower  and 
upper  houses  of  the  imperial  parliament.  Every  householder 
has  a  vote.  Trial  by  jury  has  been  established,  the  jurymen 
being  selected  from  householders,  no  matter  what  their  race 
or  colour;  and  I  have  seen  the  white  merchant,  the  negro 
husbandman,  the  mameluco,  the  mulatto,  and  the  Indian,  all 
sitting  side  by  side  on  the  same  bench.  Altogether  the  con- 
stitution of  government  in  Brazil  seems  to  combine  happily  the 
principles  of  local  self-government  and  centralisation,  and  only 
requires  a  proper  degree  of  virtue  and  intelligence  in  the  people 
to  lead  the  nation  to  great  prosperity. 

The  province  of  Para,  or,  as  we  may  now  say,  the  two  pro- 
vinces of  Para  and  the  Amazons,  contain  an  area  of  800,000 
square  miles;  the  population  of  which  is  only  about  230,000, 
or  in  the  ratio  of  one  person  to  four  square  miles !  The  country 
is  covered  with  forests,  and  the  soil  fertile  in  the  extreme  even 
for  a  tropical  country.  It  is  intersected  throughout  by  broad 
and  deep  navigable  rivers.  It  is  the  pride  of  the  Paraenses  to 
call  the  Amazons  the  Mediterranean  of  South  America.  The 
colossal  stream  perhaps  deserves  the  name,  for  not  only  have 
the  main  river  and  its  principal  tributaries  an  immense  expanse 
of  water  bathing  the  shores  of  extensive  and  varied  regions, 
but  there  is  also  throughout  a  system  of  back  channels,  con- 
nected with  the  main  rivers  by  narrow  outlets  and  linking 


20         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

together  a  series  of  lakes,  some  of  which  are  fifteen,  twenty, 
and  thirty  miles  in  length.  The  whole  Amazons  valley  is  thus 
covered  by  a  network  of  navigable  waters,  forming  a  vast 
inland  freshwater  sea  with  endless  ramifications,  rather  than  a 
river. 

The  city  of  Para  was  founded  in  1615,  and  was  a  place  of  con- 
siderable importance  towards  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  under  the  government  of  the  brother  of  Pombal,  the 
famous  Portuguese  statesman.  The  province  was  the  last  in 
Brazil  to  declare  its  independence  of  the  mother-country  and 
acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  first  emperor,  Don  Pedro. 
This  was  owing  to  the  great  numbers  and  influence  of  the 
Portuguese,  and  the  rage  of  the  native  party  was  so  great  in 
consequence,  that  immediately  after  independence  was  pro- 
claimed in  1823,  a  counter  revolution  broke  out,  during  which 
many  hundred  lives  were  lost  and  much  hatred  engendered. 
The  antagonism  continued  for  many  years,  partial  insurrections 
taking  place  when  the  populace  thought  that  the  immigrants 
from  Portugal  were  favoured  by  the  governors  sent  from  the 
capital  of  the  empire.  At  length,  in  1835,  a  serious  revolt  took 
place  which  in  a  short  time  involved  the  entire  province.  It 
began  by  the  assassination  of  the  President  and  the  leading 
members  of  the  government;  the  struggle  was  severe,  and  the 
native  party  in  an  evil  hour  called  to  their  aid  the  ignorant  and 
fanatic  part  of  the  mongrel  and  Indian  population.  The  cry 
of  death  to  the  Portuguese  was  soon  changed  to  death  to  the 
freemasons,  then  a  powerfully-organised  society  embracing  the 
greater  part  of  the  male  white  inhabitants.  The  victorious 
native  party  endeavoured  to  establish  a  government  of  their 
own.  After  this  state  of  things  had  endured  six  months,  they 
accepted  a  new  President  sent  from  Rio  Janeiro,  who,  however, 
again  irritated  them  by  imprisoning  their  favourite  leader, 
Vinagre.  The  revenge  which  followed  was  frightful.  A  vast 
host  of  half-savage  coloured  people  assembled  in  the  retired 
creeks  behind  Para,  and  on  a  day  fixed,  after  Vinagre's  brother 
had  sent  a  message  three  times  to  the  President  demanding,  in 
vain,  the  release  of  their  leader,  the  whole  body  poured  into 
the  city  through  the  gloomy  pathways  of  the  forest  which 
encircles  it.  A  cruel  battle,  lasting  nine  days,  was  fought  in 
the  streets;  an  English,  French,  and  Portuguese  man-of-war, 
from  the  side  of  the  river,  assisting  the  legal  authorities.  All 
the  latter,  however,  together  with  every  friend  of  peace  and 
order,  were  finally  obliged  to  retire  to  an  island  a  few  miles 


rara  2 1 

distant.  The  city  and  province  were  given  up  to  anarchy ;  the 
coloured  people,  elated  with  victory,  proclaimed  the  slaughter 
of  all  whites,  except  the  English,  French,  and  American  residents. 
The  mistaken  principals  who  had  first  aroused  all  this  hatred  of 
races  were  obliged  now  to  make  their  escape.  In  the  interior 
the  supporters  of  lawful  authority,  including,  it  must  be  stated, 
whole  tribes  of  friendly  Indians  and  numbers  of  the  better 
disposed  negroes  and  mulattos,  concentrated  themselves  in 
certain  strong  positions  and  defended  themselves,  until  the 
reconquest  of  the  capital  and  large  towns  of  the  interior,  in 
1836,  by  a  force  sent  from  Rio  Janeiro,  after  ten  months  of 
anarchy. 

Years  of  conciliatory  government,  the  lesson  learnt  by  the 
native  party  and  the  moderation  of  the  Portuguese,  aided  by 
the  indolence  and  passive  goodness  of  the  Paraenses  of  all 
classes  and  colours,  were  only  beginning  to  produce  their  good 
effects  about  the  time  I  am  speaking  of.  Life,  however,  was 
now  and  had  been  for  some  •  time  quite  safe  throughout  the 
country.  Some  few  of  the  worst  characters  had  been  trans- 
ported or  imprisoned,  and  the  remainder,  after  being  pardoned, 
were  converted  once  more  into  quiet  and  peaceable  citizens. 

I  resided  at  Para  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  altogether,  return- 
ing thither  and  making  a  stay  of  a  few  months  after  each  of  my 
shorter  excursions  into  the  interior,  until  the  6th  of  November, 
185 1,  when  I  started  on  my  long  voyage  to  the  Tapajos  and 
the  Upper  Amazons,  which  occupied  me  seven  years  and  a  half. 
I  became  during  this  time  tolerably  familiar  with  the  capital  of 
the  Amazons  region,  and  its  inhabitants.  Compared  with  other 
Brazilian  seaport  towns,  I  was  always  told,  Para  shone  to  great 
advantage.  It  was  cleaner,  the  suburbs  were  fresher,  more 
rural  and  much  pleasanter  on  account  of  their  verdure,  shade, 
and  magnificent  vegetation.  The  people  were  simpler,  more 
peaceable  and  friendly  in  their  manners  and  dispositions;  and 
assassinations,  which  give  the  southern  provinces  so  ill  a  reputa- 
tion, were  almost  unknown.  At  the  same  time  the  Para  people 
were  much  inferior  to  Southern  Brazilians  in  energy  and  industry. 
Provisions  and  house  rents  being  cheap  and  the  wants  of  the 
people  few — for  they  were  content  with  food  and  lodging  of  a 
quality  which  would  be  spurned  by  paupers  in  England — they 
spent  the  greater  part  of  their  time  in  sensual  indulgences  and 
in  amusements  which  the  government  and  wealthier  citizens 
provided  for  them  gratis.  The  trade,  wholesale  and  retail,  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  of  whom  there  were  about  2500 


22         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

in  the  place.  Many  handicrafts  were  exercised  by  coloured 
people,  mulattos,  mamelucos,  free  negroes,  and  Indians.  The 
better  sort  of  Brazilians  dislike  the  petty  details  of  shopkeeping, 
and  if  they  cannot  be  wholesale  merchants,  prefer  the  life  of  • 
planters  in  the  country,  however  small  may  be  the  estate  and 
the  gains.  The  negroes  constituted  the  class  of  field-labourers 
and  porters ;  Indians  were  universally  the  watermen,  and  formed 
the  crews  of  the  numberless  canoes  of  all  sizes  and  shapes  which 
traded  between  Para  and  the  interior.  The  educated  Brazilians, 
not  many  of  whom  are  of  pure  Caucasian  descent — for  the 
immigration  of  Portuguese,  for  many  years,  has  been  almost 
exclusively  of  the  male  sex— are  courteous,  lively,  and  intelligent 
people.  They  were  gradually  weaning  themselves  of  the 
ignorant,  bigoted  notions  which  they  inherited  from  their 
Portuguese  ancestors,  especially  those  entertained  with  regard 
to  the  treatment  of  women.  Formerly  the  Portuguese  would 
not  allow  their  wives  to  go  into  society,  or  their  daughters  to 
learn  reading  and  writing.  In  1848,  Brazilian  ladies  were  only 
just  beginning  to  emerge  from  this  inferior  position,  and 
Brazilian  fathers  were  opening  their  eyes  to  the  advantages 
of  education  for  their  daughters.  Reforms  of  this  kind  are 
slow.  It  is,  perhaps,  in  part  owing  to  the  degrading  position 
always  held  by  women,  that  the  relations  between  the  sexes 
were  and  are  still  on  so  unsatisfactory  a  footing,  and  private 
morality  at  so  low  an  ebb,  in  Brazil.  In  Para  I  believe  that  an 
improvement  is  now  taking  place,  but  formerly  promiscuous 
intercourse  seemed  to  be  the  general  rule  among  all  classes, 
and  intrigues  and  love-making  the  serious  business  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  population.  That  this  state  of  things  is  a 
necessity  depending  on  the  climate  and  institutions  I  do  not 
believe,  as  I  have  resided  at  small  towns  in  the  interior,  where 
the  habits,  and  the  general  standard  of  morality  of  the  in- 
habitants, were  as  pure  as  they  are  in  similar  places  in  England. 


CHAPTER  II 


PARA 


The  Swampy  Forests  "of  Para — A  Portuguese  Landed  Proprietor — Country 
House  at  Nazareth — Life  of  a  Naturalist  under  the  Equator — The 
drier  Virgin  Forests — Magoary — Retired  Creeks — Aborigines 

After  having  resided  about  a  fortnight  at  Mr.  Miller's  rocinha, 
we  heard  of  another  similar  country-house  to  be  let,  much  better 
situated  for  our  purpose,  in  the  village  of  Nazareth,  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  city  and  close  to  the  forest.  The  owner  was  an 
old  Portuguese  gentleman  named  Danin,  who  lived  at  his  tile 
manufactory  at  the  mouth  of  the  Una,  a  small  river  lying  two 
miles  below  Para.  We  resolved  to  walk  to  his  place  through  the 
forest,  a  distance  of  three  miles,  although  the  road  was  said  to 
be  scarcely  passable  at  this  season  of  the  year,  and  the  Una 
much  more  easily  accessible  by  boat.  We  were  glad,  however, 
of  this  early  opportunity  of  traversing  the  rich  swampy  forest 
which  we  had  admired  so  much  from  the  deck  of  the  ship;  so, 
about  eleven  o'clock  one  sunny  morning,  after  procuring  the 
necessary  information  about  the  road,  we  set  off  in  that  direction. 
This  part  of  the  forest  afterwards  became  one  of  my  best 
hunting-grounds.  I  will  narrate  the  incidents  of  the  walk, 
giving  my  first  impressions  and  some  remarks  on  the  wonderful 
vegetation.  The  forest  is  very  similar  on  most  of  the  low  lands, 
and  therefore  one  description  will  do  for  all. 

On  leaving  the  town  we  walked  along  a  straight,  suburban 
road  constructed  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding  land.  It 
had  low  swampy  ground  on  each  side,  built  upon,  however,  and 
containing  several  spacious  rocinhas,  which  were  embowered  in 
magnificent  foliage.  Leaving  the  last  of  these,  we  arrived  at  a 
part  where  the  lofty  forest  towered  up  like  a  wall  five  or  six 
yards  from  the  edge  of  the  path  to  the  height  of,  probably,  a 
hundred  feet.  The  tree  trunks  were  only  seen  partially  here  and 
there,  nearly  the  whole  frontage  from  ground  to  summit  being 
covered  with  a  diversified  drapery  of  creeping  plants,  all  of  the 
most  vivid  shades  of  green;  scarcely  a  flower  to  be  seen,  except 
in  some  places  a  solitary  scarlet  passion-flower  set  in  the  green 

23 


24         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

mantle  like  a  star.  The  low  ground  on  the  borders  between  the 
forest  wall  and  the  road  was  encumbered  with  a  tangled  mass 
of  bushy  and  shrubby  vegetation,  amongst  which  prickly 
mimosas  were  very  numerous,  covering  the  other  bushes  in  the* 
same  way  as  brambles  do  in  England.  Other  dwarf  mimosas 
trailed  along  the  ground  close  to  the  edge  of  the  road,  shrink- 
ing at  the  slightest  touch  of  the  feet  as  we  passed  by.  Cassia 
trees,  with  their  elegant  pinnate  foliage  and  conspicuous  yellow 
flowers,  formed  a  great  proportion  of  the  lower  trees,  and 
arborescent  arums  grew  in  groups  around  the  swampy  hollows. 
Over  the  whole  fluttered  a  larger  number  of  brilliantly-coloured 
butterflies  than  we  had  yet  seen ;  some  wholly  orange  or  yellow 
(Callidryas),  others  with  excessively  elongated  wings,  sailing 
horizontally  through  the  air,  coloured  black,  and  varied  with 
blue,  red,  and  yellow  (Heliconii).  One  magnificent  grassy- 
green  species  (Colsenis  Dido)  especially  attracted  our  attention. 
Near  the  ground  hovered  many  other  smaller  species  very 
similar  in  appearance  to  those  found  at  home,  attracted  by  the 
flowers  of  numerous  leguminous  and  other  shrubs.  Besides 
butterflies,  there  were  few  other  insects  except  dragonflies, 
which  were  in  great  numbers,  similar  in  shape  to  English 
species,  but  some  of  them  looking  conspicuously  different  on 
account  of  their  fiery  red  colours. 

After  stopping  repeatedly  to  examine  and  admire,  we  at 
length  walked  onward.  The  road  then  ascended  slightly,  and 
the  soil  and  vegetation  became  suddenly  altered  in  character. 
The  shrubs  here  were  grasses,  low  sedges  and  other  plants, 
smaller  in  foliage  than  those  growing  in  moist  grounds.  The 
forest  was  second  growth,  low,  consisting  of  trees  which  had 
the  general  aspect  of  laurels  and  other  evergreens  in  our  gardens 
at  home:  the  leaves  glossy  and  dark  green.  Some  of  them 
were  elegantly  veined  and  hairy  (Melastomae),  whilst  many, 
scattered  amongst  the  rest,  had  smaller  foliage  (Myrtles),  but 
these  were  not  sufficient  to  subtract  much  from  the  general 
character  of  the  whole. 

The  sun,  now,  for  we  had  loitered  long  on  the  road,  was 
exceedingly  powerful.  The  day  was  most  brilliant;  the  sky 
without  a  cloud.  In  fact,  it  was  one  of  those  glorious  days 
which  announce  the  commencement  of  the  dry  season.  The 
radiation  of  heat  from  the  sandy  ground  was  visible  by  the 
quivering  motion  of  the  air  above  it.  We  saw  or  heard  no 
mammals  or  birds;  a  few  cattle  belonging  to  an  estate  down  a 
shady  lane  were  congregated,  panting,  under  a  cluster  of  wide- 


rara  25 

spreading  trees.  The  very  soil  was  hot  to  our  feet,  and  we 
hastened  onward  to  the  shade  of  the  forest  which  we  could  see 
not  far  ahead.  At  length,  on  entering  it,  what  a  relief!  We 
found  ourselves  in  a  moderately  broad  pathway  or  alley,  where 
the  branches  of  the  trees  crossed  overhead  and  produced  a 
delightful  shade.  The  woods  were  at  first  of  recent  growth,, 
dense,  and  utterly  impenetrable;  the  ground,  instead  of  being 
clothed  with  grass  and  shrubs  as  in  the  woods  of  Europe,  was 
everywhere  carpeted  with  Lycopodiums  (fern-shaped  mosses). 
Gradually  the  scene  became  changed.  We  descended  slightly 
from  an  elevated,  dry,  and  sandy  area  to  a  low  and  swampy  one ; 
a  cool  air  breathed  on  our  faces,  and  a  mouldy  smell  of  rotting 
vegetation  greeted  us.  The  trees  were  now  taller,  the  under- 
wood less  dense,  and  we  could  obtain  glimpses  into  the  wilder- 
ness on  all  sides.  The  leafy  crowns  of  the  trees,  scarcely  two 
of  which  could  be  seen  together  of  the  same  kind,  were  now  far 
away  above  us,  in  another  world  as  it  were.  We  could  only 
see  at  times,  where  there  was  a  break  above,  the  tracery  of  the 
foliage  against  the  clear  blue  sky.  Sometimes  the  leaves  were 
palmate,  or  of  the  shape  of  large  outstretched  hands;  at  others, 
finely  cut  or  feathery,  like  the  leaves  of  Mimosae.  Below,  the 
tree  trunks  were  everywhere  linked  together  by  sipos;  the 
woody,  flexible  stems  of  climbing  and  creeping  trees,  whose 
foliage  is  far  away  above,  mingled  with  that  of  the  taller  inde- 
pendent trees.  Some  were  twisted  in  strands  like  cables,  others 
had  thick  stems  contorted  in  every  variety  of  shape,  entwining 
snake-like  round  the  tree  trunks,  or  forming  gigantic  loops  and 
coils  among  the  larger  branches;  others,  again,  were  of  zigzag 
shape,  or  indented  like  the  steps  of  a  staircase,  sweeping  from 
the  ground  to  a  giddy  height. 

It  interested  me  much  afterwards  to  find  that  these  climbing 
trees  do  not  form  any  particular  family.  There  is  no  distinct 
group  of  plants  whose  especial  habit  is  to  climb,  but  species  of 
many  and  the  most  diverse  families  the  bulk  of  whose  members 
are  not  climbers  seem  to  have  been  driven  by  circumstances  to 
adopt  this  habit.  There  is  even  a  climbing  genus  of  palms 
(Desmoncus),  the  species  of  which  are  called,  in  the  Tupi 
language,  Jacitara.  These  have  slender,  thickly-spined,  and 
flexuous  stems,  which  twine  about  the  taller  trees  from  one 
to  the  other,  and  grow  to  an  incredible  length.  The  leaves, 
which  have  the  ordinary  pinnate  shape  characteristic  of  the 
family,  are  emitted  from  the  stems  at  long  intervals,  instead 
of  being  collected  into  a  dense  crown,  and  have  at  their  tips  a 


26         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


s*y>^* 


^w 


i 


number  of  long  recurved  spines.  These 
structures  are  excellent  contrivances  to 
enable  the  trees  to  secure  themselves  by  in 
climbing,  but  they  are  a  great  nuisance  to 
the  traveller,  for  they  sometimes  hang  over 
the  pathway  and  catch  the  hat  or  clothes, 
dragging  off  the  one  or  tearing  the  other  as 
he  passes.  The  number  and  variety  of 
climbing  trees  in  the  Amazons  forests  are 
interesting,  taken  in  connection  with  the  fact 
of  the  very  general  tendency  of  the  animals, 
also,  to  become  climbers. 

All  the  Amazonian,  and  in  fact  all  South 
American,  monkeys  are  climbers.     There  is 
no  group  answering  to  the  baboons  of  the 
Old  World,  which  live  on  the  ground.    The 
Gallinaceous  birds  of  the  country,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  fowls  and  pheasants  of  Asia 
and  Africa,  are  all  adapted  by  the  position 
of  the  toes  to  perch  on  trees,  and  it  is  only 
on  trees,  at  a  great  height,  that  they  are  to 
be  seen.    A  genus  of  Plantigrade  Carnivora, 
allied  to  the  bears  (Cercoleptes),  found  only 
in  the  Amazonian  forests,  is  entirely  arboreal, 
and  has  a  long  flexible  tail  like  that  of  certain 
monkeys.     Many     other     similar    instances 
C       \F*     jflh  '    cou^  ^e  enumerated,  but  I  will  mention  only 
the    Geodephaga,    or    carnivorous    ground 
beetles,  a  great  proportion  of  whose  genera 
and  species  in  these  forest  regions  are,  by 
the  structure  of  their  feet,  fitted   to   live 
exclusively  on  the  branches  and   leaves  of 
trees. 
Many  of  the  woody  lianas  suspended  from  trees  are  not 
climbers,  but  the  air-roots  of  epiphytous  plants  (Aroidese),  which 
sit  en  the  stronger  boughs  of  the  trees  above,  and  hang  down 
straight  as  plumb-lines.    Some  are  suspended  singly,  others  in 


Climbing  Palm 
(Desmoncus). 


Para  27 

clusters ;  some  reach  halfway  to  the  ground  and  others  touch 
it,  striking  their  rootlets  into  the  earth.  The  underwood  in 
this  part  of  the  forest  was  composed  partly  of  younger  trees  of 
the  same  species  as  their  taller  neighbours,  and  partly  of  palms 
of  many  species,  some  of  them  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  height,, 
others  small  and  delicate,  with  stems  no  thicker  than  a  finger. 
These  latter  (different  kinds  of  Bactris)  bore  small  bunches  of 
fruit,  red  or  black,  often  containing  a  sweet  grape-like  juice. 

Further  on  the  ground  became  more  swampy,  and  we  had 
some  difficulty  in  picking  our  way.  The  wild  banana  (Urania 
Amazonica)  here  began  to  appear,  and,  as  it  grew  in  masses, 
imparted  a  new  aspect  to  the  scene.  The  leaves  of  this  beauti- 
ful plant  are  like  broad  sword-blades,  eight  feet  in  length  and 
a  foot  broad ;  they  rise  straight  upwards,  alternately,  from  the 
top  of  a  stem  five  or  six  feet  high.  Numerous  kinds  of  plants 
with  leaves  similar  in  shape  to  these  but  smaller  clothed  the 
ground.  Amongst  them  were  species  of  Marantaceae,  some  of 
which  had  broad  glossy  leaves,  with  long  leaf-stalks  radiating 
from  joints  in  a  reed-like  stem.  The  trunks  of  the  trees  were 
clothed  with  climbing  ferns,  and  Pothos  plants  with  large, 
fleshy,  heart-shaped  leaves.  Bamboos  and  other  tall  grass  and 
reed-like  plants  arched  over  the  pathway.  The  appearance  of 
this  part  of  the  forest  was  strange  in  the  extreme;  description 
can  convey  no  adequate  idea  of  it.  The  reader  who  has  visited 
Kew  may  form  some  notion  by  conceiving  a  vegetation  like  that 
in  the  great  palm-house  spread  over  a  large  tract  of  swampy 
ground,  but  he  must  fancy  it  mingled  with  large  exogenous 
trees  similar  to  our  oaks  and  elms  covered  with  creepers  and 
parasites,  and  figure  to  himself  the  ground  encumbered  with 
fallen  and  rotting  trunks,  branches,  and  leaves;  the  whole 
illuminated  by  a  glowing  vertical  sun,  and  reeking  with  moisture. 

We  at  length  emerged  from  the  forest,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Una,  near  its  mouth.  It  was  here  about  one  hundred  yards 
wide.  The  residence  of  Senhor  Danin  stood  on  the  opposite 
shore;  a  large  building,  white-washed  and  red-tiled  as  usual, 
raised  on  wooden  piles  above  the  humid  ground.  The  second 
story  was  the  part  occupied  by  the  family,  and  along  it  was  an 
open  verandah,  where  people,  maie  and  female,  were  at  work. 
Below  were  several  negroes  employed  carrying  clay  on  their 
heads.  We  called  out  for  a  boat,  and  one  of  them  crossed  over 
to  fetch  us.  Senhor  Danin  received  us  with  the  usual  formal 
politeness  of  the  Portuguese;  he  spoke  English  very  well,  and 
after  we  had  arranged  our  business  we  remained  conversing 


28         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

with  him  on  various  subjects  connected  with  the  country.  Like 
all  employers  in  this  province  he  was  full  of  one  topic — the 
scarcity  of  hands.  It  appeared  that  he  had  made  great  exertions 
to  introduce  white  labour,  but  had  failed,  after  having  brought  < 
numbers  of  men  from  Portugal  and  other  countries  under 
engagement  to  work  for  him.  They  all  left  him  one  by  one 
soon  after  their  arrival.  The  abundance  of  unoccupied  land, 
the  liberty  that  exists,  a  state  of  things  produced  by  the  half- 
wild  canoe-life  of  the  people,  and  the  ease  with  which  a  mere 
subsistence  can  be  obtained  with  moderate  work,  tempt  even 
the  best-disposed  to  quit  regular  labour  as  soon  as  they  can. 
He  complained  also  of  the  dearness  of  slaves,  owing  to  the 
prohibition  of  the  African  traffic,  telling  us  that  formerly  a 
slave  could  be  bought  for  120  dollars,  whereas  they  are  now 
difficult  to  procure  at  400  dollars. 

Mr.  Danin  told  us  that  he  had  travelled  in  England  and  the 
United  States,  and  that  he  had  now  two  sons  completing  their 
education  in  those  countries.  I  afterwards  met  with  many 
enterprising  persons  of  Mr.  Danin's  order,  both  Brazilians  and 
Portuguese;  their  great  ambition  is  to  make  a  voyage  to 
Europe  or  North  America,  and  to  send  their  sons  to  be  educated 
there.  The  land  on  which  his  establishment  is  built,  he  told 
us,  was  an  artificial  embankment  on  the  swamp;  the  end  of 
the  house  was  built  on  a  projecting  point  overlooking  the  river, 
so  that  a  good  view  was  obtained,  from  the  sitting-rooms,  of 
the  city  and  the  shipping.  We  learnt  there  was  formerly  a 
large  and  flourishing  cattle  estate  on  this  spot,  with  an  open 
grassy  space  like  a  park.  On  Sundays  gay  parties  of  forty  or 
fifty  persons  used  to  come  by  land  and  water,  in  carriages  and 
gay  galliotas,  to  spend  the  day  with  the  hospitable  owner.  Since 
the  political  disorders  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  decay 
had  come  upon  this  as  on  most  other  large  establishments  in 
the  country.  The  cultivated  grounds,  and  the  roads  leading  to 
them,  were  now  entirely  overgrown  with  dense  forest.  When 
we  were  ready  to  depart,  Senhor  Danin  lent  a  canoe  and  two 
negroes  to  take  us  to  the  city,  where  we  arrived  in  the  evening 
after  a  day  rich  in  new  experiences. 

Shortly  afterwards  we  took  possession  of  our  new  residence. 
The  house  was  a  square  building,  consisting  of  four  equal-sized 
rooms ;  the  tiled  roof  projected  all  round,  so  as  to  form  a  broad 
verandah,  cool  and  pleasant  to  sit  and  work  in.  The  cultivated 
.ground,  which  appeared  as  if  newly  cleared  from  the  forest,  was 


Para  29 

planted  with  fruit  trees  and  small  plots  of  coffee  and  mandioca. 
The  entrance  to  the  grounds  was  by  an  iron-grille  gateway  from 
a  grassy  square,  around  which  were  built  the  few  houses  and 
palm-thatched  huts  which  then  constituted  the  village.  The 
most  important  building  was  the  chapel  of  our  Lady  of  Nazareth, 
which  stood  opposite  our  place.  The  saint  here  enshrined  was 
a  great  favourite  with  all  orthodox  Paraenses,  who  attributed 
to  her  the  performance  of  many  miracles.  The  image  was  to 
be  seen  on  the  altar,  a  handsome  doll  about  four  feet  high, 
wearing  a  silver  crown  and  a  garment  of  blue  silk,  studded  with 
golden  stars.  In  and  about  the  chapel  were  the  offerings  that 
had  been  made  to  her,  proofs  of  the  miracles  which  she  had 
performed.  There  were  models  of  legs,  arms,  breasts,  and  so 
forth,  which  she  had  cured.  But  most  curious  of  all  was  a 
ship's  boat,  deposited  here  by  the  crew  of  a  Portuguese  vessel 
which  had  foundered,  a  year  or  two  before  our  arrival,  in  a 
squall  off  Cayenne;  part  of  them  having  been  saved  in  the  boat, 
after  invoking  the  protection  of  the  saint  here  enshrined.  The 
annual  festival  in  honour  of  our  Lady  of  Nazareth  is  the  greatest 
of  the  Para  holidays ;  many  persons  come  to  it  from  the  neigh- 
bouring city  of  Maranham,  300  miles  distant.  Once  the  president 
ordered  the  mail  steamer  to  be  delayed  two  days  at  Para  for 
the  convenience  of  these  visitors.  The  popularity  of  the  festa 
is  partly  owing  to  the  beautiful  weather  that  prevails  when  it 
takes  place,  namely,  in  the  middle  of  the  fine  season,  on  the  ten 
days  preceding  the  full  moon  in  October  or  November.  Para 
is  then  seen  at  its  best.  The  weather  is  not  too  dry,  for  three 
weeks  never  follow  in  succession  without  a  shower;  so  that  all 
the  glory  of  verdure  and  flowers  can  be  enjoyed  with  clear  skies. 
The  moonlit  nights  are  then  especially  beautiful;  the  atmo- 
sphere is  transparently  clear,  and  the  light  sea-breeze  produces 
an  agreeable  coolness. 

^Ye  now  settled  ourselves  for  a  few  months'  regular  work. 
We  had  the  forest  on  three  sides  of  us;  it  was  the  end  of  the 
wet  season;  most  species  of  birds  had  finished  moulting,  and 
every  day  the  insects  increased  in  number  and  variety.  Behind 
the  rocinha,  after  several  days'  exploration,  I  found  a  series  of 
pathways  through  the  woods,  which  led  to  the  Una  road ;  about 
half  way  was  the  house  in  which  the  celebrated  travellers  Spix 
and  Martius  resided  during  their  stay  at  Para,  in  1819.  It  was 
now  in  a  neglected  condition,  and  the  plantations  were  over- 
grown with  bushes.  The  paths  hereabout  were  very  productive 
of  insects,  and  being  entirely  under  shade  were  very  pleasant 
c 


30        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

for  strolling.  Close  to  our  doors  began  the  main  forest  road. 
It  was  broad  enough  for  two  horsemen  abreast,  and  branched 
off  in  three  directions;  the  main  line  going  to  the  village  of 
Ourem,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles.  This  road  formerly  extended 
to  Maranham,  but  it  had  been  long  in  disuse  and  was  now 
grown  up,  being  scarcely  passable  between  Para  and  Ourem. 

Our  researches  were  made  in  various  directions  along  these 
paths,  and  every  day  produced  us  a  number  of  new  and  interest- 
ing species.  Collecting,  preparing  our  specimens,  and  making 
notes,  kept  us  well  occupied.  One  day  was  so  much  like 
another,  that  a  general  description  of  the  diurnal  round  of 
incidents,  including  the  sequence  of  natural  phenomena,  will 
be  sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of  how  days  pass  to  naturalists 
under  the  equator. 

We  used  to  rise  soon  after  dawn,  when  Isidoro  would  go  down 
to  the  city,  after  supplying  us  with  a  cup  of  coffee,  to  purchase 
the  fresh  provisions  for  the  day.  The  two  hours  before  break- 
fast were  devoted  to  ornithology.  At  that  early  period  of  the 
day  the  sky  was  invariably  cloudless  (the  thermometer  marking 
720  or  730  Fahr.);  the  heavy  dew  or  the  previous  night's  rain, 
which  lay  on  the  moist  foliage,  becoming  quickly  dissipated  by 
the  glowing  sun,  which  rising  straight  out  of  the  east,  mounted 
rapidly  towards  the  zenith.  All  nature  was  fresh,  new  leaf  and 
flower-buds  expanding  rapidly.  Some  mornings  a  single  tree 
would  appear  in  flower  amidst  what  was  the  preceding  evening 
a  uniform  green  mass  of  forest — a  dome  of  blossom  suddenly 
created  as  if  by  magic.  The  birds  were  all  active;  from  the 
wild-fruit  trees,  not  far  off,  we  often  heard  the  shrill  yelping 
of  the  Toucans  (Ramphastos  vitellinus).  Small  flocks  of  parrots 
flew  over  on  most  mornings,  at  a  great  height,  appearing  in 
distinct  relief  against  the  blue  sky,  always  two  by  two  chattering 
to  each  other,  the  pairs  being  separated  by  regular  intervals; 
their  bright  colours,  however,  were  not  apparent  at  that  height. 
After  breakfast  we  devoted  the  hours  from  10  a.m.  to  2  or  3 
p.m.  to  entomology;  the  best  time  for  insects  in  the  forest 
being  a  little  before  the  greatest  heat  of  the  day. 

The  heat  increased  rapidly  towards  two  o'clock  (920  and  930 
Fahr.),  by  which  time  every  voice  of  bird  or  mammal  was  hushed; 
only  in  the  trees  was  heard  at  intervals  the  harsh  whirr  of  a 
cicada.  The  leaves,  which  were  so  moist  and  fresh  in  early 
morning,  now  become  lax  and  drooping;  the  flowers  shed  their 
petals.  Our  neighbours  the  Indian  and  Mulatto  inhabitants  of 
the  open  palm-thatched  huts,  as  we  returned  home  fatigued 


Para 


3* 


with  our  ramble,  were  either  asleep  in  their  hammocks  or  seated 
on  mats  in  the  shade,  too  languid  even  to  talk.  On  most  days 
in  June  and  July  a  heavy  shower  would  fall  some  time  in  the 
afternoon,  producing  a  most  welcome  coolness.  The  approach 
of  the  rain-clouds  was  after  a  uniform  fashion  very  interesting 
to  observe.  First,  the  cool  sea-breeze,  which  commenced  to 
blow  about  ten  o'clock,  and  which  had  increased  in  force  with 
the  increasing  power  of  the  sun,  would  flag  and  finally  die 
away.  The  heat  and  electric  tension  of  the  atmosphere  would 
then  become  almost  insupportable.  Languor  and  uneasiness 
would  seize  on  every  one;  even  the  denizens  of  the  forest 
betraying  it  by  their  motions.  White  clouds  would  appear  in 
the  east  and  gather  into  cumuli,  with  an  increasing  blackness 
along  their  lower  portions.  The  whole  eastern  horizon  would 
become  almost  suddenly  black,  and  this  would  spread  upwards, 
the  sun  at  length  becoming  obscured.  Then  the  rush  of  a 
mighty  wind  is  heard  through  the  forest,  swaying  the  tree  -tops ; 
a  vivid  flash  of  lightning  bursts  forth,  then  a  crash  of  thunder, 
and  down  streams  the  deluging  rain.  Such  storms  soon  cease, 
leaving  bluish-black  motionless  clouds  in  the  sky  until  night. 
Meantime  all  nature  is  refreshed;  but  heaps  of  flower-petals 
and  fallen  leaves  are  seen  under  the  trees.  Towards  evening 
life  revives  again,  and  the  ringing  uproar  is  resumed  from  bush 
and  tree.  The  following  morning  the  sun  again  rises  in  a 
cloudless  sky,  and  so  the  cycle  is  completed;  spring,  summer, 
and  autumn,  as  it  were,  in  one  tropical  day.  The  days  are 
more  or  less  like  this  throughout  the  year  in  this  country.  A 
little  difference  exists  between  the  dry  and  wet  seasons;  but 
generally,  the  dry  season,  which  lasts  from  July  to  December, 
is  varied  with  showers,  and  the  wet,  from  January  to  June, 
with  sunny  days.  It  results  from  this,  that  the  periodical 
phenomena  of  plants  and  animals  do  not  take  place  at  about 
the  same  time  in  all  species,  or  in  the  individuals  of  any  given 
species,  as  they  do  in  temperate  countries.  Of  course  there  is 
no  hybernation;  nor,  as  the  dry  season  is  not  excessive,  is 
there  any  summer  torpidity  as  in  some  tropical  countries. 
Plants  do  not  flower  or  shed  their  leaves,  nor  do  birds  moult, 
pair,  or  breed  simultaneously.  In  Europe,  a  woodland  scene 
has  its  spring,  its  summer,  its  autumnal,  and  its  winter  aspects. 
In  the  equatorial  forests  the  aspect  is  the  same  or  nearly  so 
every  day  in  the  year:  budding,  flowering,  fruiting,  and  leaf 
shedding  are  always  going  on  in  one  species  or  other.  The 
activity  of  birds  and  insects  proceeds  without  interruption, 


32         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

each  species  having  its  own  separate  times;  the  colonies  of 
wasps,  for  instance,  do  not  die  off  annually,  leaving  only  the 
queens,  as  in  cold  climates ;  but  the  succession  of  generations  and 
colonies  goes  on  incessantly.  It  is  never  either  spring,  summer, 
or  autumn,  but  each  day  is  a  combination  of  all  three.  With 
the  dav  and  night  always  of  equal  length,  the  atmospheric 
disturbances  of  each  day  neutralising  themselves  before  each 
succeeding  morn;  with  the  sun  in  its  course  proceeding  mid- 
way across  the  sky,  and  the  daily  temperature  the  same  within 
two  or  three  degrees  throughout  the  year — how  grand  in  its 
perfect  equilibrium  and  simplicity  is  the  march  of  Nature  under 
the  equator ! 

Our  evenings  were  generally  fully  employed  preserving  our 
collections,  and  making  notes.  We  dined  at  four,  and  took  tea 
about  seven  o'clock.  Sometimes  we  walked  to  the  city  to  see 
Brazilian  life  or  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  European  and  American 
society.  And  so  the  time  passed  away  from  June  15th  to 
August  26th.  During  this  period  we  made  two  excursions  of 
greater  length  to  the  rice  and  saw-mills  of  Magoary,  an  estab- 
lishment owned  by  an  American  gentleman,  Mr.  Upton,  situated 
on  the  banks  of  a  creek  in  the  heart  of  the  forest,  about  twelve 
miles  from  Para.  I  will  narrate  some  of  the  incidents  of  these 
excursions,  and  give  an  account  of  the  more  interesting  observa- 
tions made  on  the  Natural  History  and  inhabitants  of  these 
interior  creeks  and  forests. 

Our  first  trip  to  the  mills  was  by  land.  The  creek  on  whose 
banks  they  stand,  the  Iritiri,  communicates  with  the  river  Para, 
through  another  larger  creek,  the  Magoary;  so  that  there  is 
a  passage  by  water;  but  this  is  about  twenty  miles  round.  We 
started  at  sunrise,  taking  Isidoro  with  us.  The  road  plunged 
at  once  into  the  forest  after  leaving  Nazareth,  so  that  in  a  few 
minutes  we  were  enveloped  in  shade.  For  some  distance  the 
woods  were  of  second  growth,  the  original  forest  near  the  town 
having  been  formerly  cleared  or  thinned.  They  were  dense 
and  impenetrable  on  account  of  the  close  growth  of  the  young 
trees  and  the  mass  of  thorny  shrubs  and  creepers.  These 
thickets  swarmed  with  ants  and  ant-thrushes;  they  were  also 
frequented  by  a  species  of  puff-throated  manikin,  a  little  bird 
which  flies  occasionally  across  the  road,  emitting  a  strange 
noise,  made,  I  believe,  with  its  wings,  and  resembling  the 
clatter  of  a  small  wooden  rattle. 

A  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  further  on,  the  character  of  the 
woods  began  to  change,  and  we  then  found  ourselves  in  the 


Fara  33 

primaeval  forest.  The  appearance  was  greatly  different  from 
that  of  the  swampy  tract  I  have  already  described.  The  land 
was  rather  more  elevated  and  undulating;  the  many  swamp 
plants  with  their  long  and  broad  leaves  were  wanting,  and  there 
was  less  underwood,  although  the  trees  were  wider  apart. 
Through  this  wilderness  the  road  continued  for  seven  or  eight 
miles.  The  same  unbroken  forest  extends  all  the  way  to 
Maranham  and  in  other  directions,  as  we  were  told,  a  distance 
of  about  300  miles  southward  and  eastward  of  Para.  In  almost 
every  hollow  part  the  road  was  crossed  by  a  brook,  whose  cold, 
dark,  leaf-stained  waters  were  bridged  over  by  tree  trunks.  The 
ground  was  carpeted,  as  usual,  by  Lycopodiums,  but  it  was  also 
encumbered  with  masses  of  vegetable  debris  and  a  thick  coating 
of  dead  leaves.  Fruits  of  many  kinds  were  scattered  about, 
amongst  which  were  many  sorts  of  beans,  some  of  the  pods  a 
foot  long,  flat  and  leathery  in  texture,  others  hard  as  stone.  In 
one  place  there  was  a  quantity  of  large  empty  wooden  vessels, 
which  Isidoro  told  us  fell  from  the  Sapucaya  tree.  They  are 
called  Monkey's  drinking-cups  (Cuyas  de  Macaco),  and  are  the 
capsules  which  contain  the  nuts  sold  under  the  name  just 
mentioned,  in  Covent  Garden  Market.  At  the  top  of  the  vessel 
is  a  circular  hole,  in  which  a  natural  lid  fits  neatly.  When  the 
nuts  are  ripe  this  lid  becomes  loosened,  and  the  heavy  cup  falls 
with  a  crash,  scattering  the  nuts  over  the  ground.  The  tree 
which  yields  the  nut  (Lecythis  ollaria),  is  of  immense  height. 
It  is  closely  allied  to  the  Brazil-nut  tree  (Bertholletia  excelsa), 
whose  seeds  are  also  enclosed  in  large  woody  vessels;  but  these 
have  no  lid,  and  fall  entire  to  the  ground.  This  is  the  reason 
why  the  one  kind  of  nut  is  so  much  dearer  than  the  other. 
The  Sapucaya  is  not  less  abundant,  probably,  than  the  Ber- 
tholletia, but  its  nuts  in  falling  are  scattered  about  and  eaten 
by  wild  animals;  whilst  the  full  capsules  of  Brazil-nuts  are 
collected  entire  by  the  natives. 

What  attracted  us  chiefly  were  the  colossal  trees.  The 
general  run  of  trees  had  not  remarkably  thick  stems ;  the  great 
and  uniform  height  to  which  they  grow  without  emitting  a 
branch,  was  a  much  more  noticeable  feature  than  their  thick- 
ness; but  at  intervals  of  a  furlong  or  so  a  veritable  giant 
towered  up.  Only  one  of  these  monstrous  trees  can  grow 
within  a  given  space;  it  monopolises  the  domain,  and  none 
but  individuals  of  much  inferior  size  can  find  a  footing  near 
it.  The  cylindrical  trunks  of  these  larger  trees  were  generally 
about    twenty    to    twenty-five    feet    in    circumference.    Von 


34        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

Martius  mentions  having  measured  trees  in  the  Para  district 
belonging  to  various  species  (Symphonia  coccinea,  Lecythis  sp. 
and  Cratseva  Tapia),  which  were  fifty  to  sixty  feet  in  girth  at 
the  point  where  they  become  cylindrical.  The  height  of 
the  vast  column-like  stems  could  not  be  less  than  ioo  feet 
from  the  ground  to  their  lowest  branch.  Mr.  Leavens,  at  the 
saw-mills,  told  me  they  frequently  squared  logs  for  sawing 
a  hundred  feet  long,  of  the  Pao  d'Arco  and  the  Massaranduba. 
The  total  height  of  these  trees,  stem  and  crown  together,  may 
be  estimated  at  from  180  to  200  feet:  where  one  of  them 
stands,  the  vast  dome  of  foliage  rises  above  the  other  forest 
trees  as  a  domed  cathedral  does  above  the  other  buildings  in  a 
city. 

A  very  remarkable  feature  in  these  trees  is  the  growth  of 
buttress-shaped  projections  around  the  lower  part  of  their 
stems.  The  spaces  between  these  buttresses,  which  are  generally 
thin  walls  of  wood,  form  spacious  chambers,  and  may  be  com- 
pared to  stalls  in  a  stable:  some  of  them  are  large  enough  to 
hold  half-a-dozen  persons.  The  purpose  of  these  structures  is 
as  obvious,  at  the  first  glance,  as  that  of  the  similar  props  of 
brickwork  which  support  a  high  wall.  They  are  not  peculiar 
to  one  species,  but  are  common  to  most  of  the  larger  forest 
trees.  Their  nature  and  manner  of  growth  are  explained  when 
a  series  of  young  trees  of  different  ages  is  examined.  It  is 
then  seen  that  they  are  the  roots  which  have  raised  themselves 
ridge-like  out  of  the  earth;  growing  gradually  upwards  as  the 
increasing  height  of  the  tree  required  augmented  support. 
Thus  they  are  plainly  intended  to  sustain  the  massive  crown 
and  trunk  in  these  crowded  forests,  where  lateral  growth  of 
the  roots  in  the  earth  is  rendered  difficult  by  the  multitude  of 
competitors. 

The  other  grand  forest  trees  whose  native  names  we  learnt, 
were  the  Moira-tinga  (the  White  or  King-tree),  probably  the 
same  as,  or  allied  to,  the  Mora  excelsa,  which  Sir  Robert 
Schomburgk  discovered  in  British  Guiana;  the  Samaiima 
(Eriodendron  Samauma)  and  the  Massaranduba,  or  Cow-tree. 
The  last-mentioned  is  the  most  remarkable.  We  had  already 
heard  a  good  deal  about  this  tree,  and  about  its  producing 
from  its  bark  a  copious  supply  of  milk  as  pleasant  to  drink  as 
that  of  the  cow.  We  had  also  eaten  its  fruit  in  Para,  where  it 
is  sold  in  the  streets  by  negro  market  women;  and  had  heard 
a  good  deal  of  the  durableness  in  water  of  its  timber.  We 
were  glad,  therefore,  to  see  this  wonderful  tree  growing  in  its 


Para  35 

native  wilds.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  forest  monarchs, 
and  is  peculiar  in  appearance  on  account  of  its  deeply-scored 
reddish  and  ragged  bark.  A  decoction  of  the  bark,  I  was  told, 
is  used  as  a  red  dye  for  cloth.  A  few  days  afterwards  we  tasted 
its  milk,  which  was  drawn  from  dry  logs  that  had  been  stand- 
ing many  days  in  the  hot  sun,  at  the  saw-mills.  It  was 
pleasant  with  coffee,  but  had  a  slight  rankness  when  drunk 
pure;  it  soon  thickens  to  a  glue,  which  is  excessively  tenacious, 
and  is  often  used  to  cement  broken  crockery.  I  was  told  that 
it  was  not  safe  to  drink  much  of  it,  for  a  slave  had  recently 
nearly  lost  his  life  through  taking  it  too  freely. 

In  some  parts  of  the  road  ferns  were  conspicuous  objects. 
But  I  afterwards  found  them  much  more  numerous  on  the 
Maranham-road,  especially  in  one  place  where  the  whole  forest 
glade  formed  a  vast  fernery;  the  ground  was  covered  with 
terrestrial  species,  and  the  tree  trunks  clothed  with  climbing 
and  epiphytous  kinds.  I  saw  no  tree  ferns  in  the  Para  district; 
they  belong  to  hilly  regions;  some  occur,  however,  on  the  Upper 
Amazons. 

Such  were  the  principal  features  in  the  vegetation  of  the 
wilderness;  but  where  were  the  flowers?  To  our  great  dis- 
appointment we  saw  none,  or  only  such  as  were  insignificant  in 
appearance.  Orchids  are  very  rare  in  the  dense  forests  of  the 
low  lands.  I  believe  it  is  now  tolerably  well  ascertained  that 
the  majority  of  forest  trees  in  equatorial  Brazil  have  small 
and  inconspicuous  flowers.  Flower-frequenting  insects  are  also 
rare  in  the  forest.  Of  course  they  would  not  be  found  where 
their  favourite  food  was  wanting,  but  I  always  noticed  that 
even  where  flowers  occurred  in  the  forest,  few  or  no  insects 
were  seen  upon  them.  In  the  open  country  or  campos  of  San- 
tarem  on  the  Lower  Amazons,  flowering  trees  and  bushes  are 
more  abundant,  and  there  a  large  number  of  floral  insects  are 
attracted.  The  forest  bees  of  South  America  belonging  to  the 
genera  Melipona  and  Euglossa  are  more  frequently  seen  feeding 
on  the  sweet  sap  which  exudes  from  the  trees,  or  on  the  excre- 
ment of  birds  on  leaves,  than  on  flowers. 

We  were  disappointed  also  in  not  meeting  with  any  of  the 
larger  animals  in  the  forest.  There  was  no  tumultuous  move- 
ment, or  sound  of  life.  We  did  not  see  or  hear  monkeys,  and 
no  tapir  or  jaguar  crossed  our  path.  Birds,  also,  appeared  to 
be  exceedingly  scarce.  We  heard,  however,  occasionally,  the 
long-drawn,  wailing  note  of  the  Inambu,  a  kind  of  partridge 
(Crypturus  cinereus?);   and,  also,  in  the  hollows  on  the  banks 


36         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

of  the  rivulets,  the  noisy  notes  of  another  bird,  which  seemed 
to  go  in  pairs,  amongst  the  tree-tops,  calling  to  each  other  as 
they  went.  These  notes  resounded  through  the  wilderness. 
Another  solitary  bird  had  a  most  sweet  and  melancholy  song; 
it  consisted  simply  of  a  few  notes,  uttered  in  a  plaintive  key, 
commencing  high,  and  descending  by  harmonic  intervals.  It 
was  probably  a  species  of  warbler  of  the  genus  Trichas.  All 
these  notes  of  birds  are  very  striking  and  characteristic  of  the 
forest. 

I  afterwards  saw  reason  to  modify  my  opinion,  founded  on 
these  first  impressions,  with  regard  to  the  amount  and  variety 
of  animal  life  in  this  and  other  parts  of  the  Amazonian  forests. 
There  is,  in  fact,  a  great  variety  of  mammals,  birds,  and  reptiles, 
but  they  are  widely  scattered,  and  all  excessively  shy  of  man. 
The  region  is  so  extensive,  and  uniform  in  the  forest  clothing 
of  its  surface,  that  it  is  only  at  long  intervals  that  animals  are 
seen  in  abundance  when  some  particular  spot  is  found  which 
is  more  attractive  than  others.  Brazil,  moreover,  is  throughout 
poor  in  terrestrial  mammals,  and  the  species  are  of  small  size; 
they  do  not,  therefore,  form  a  conspicuous  feature  in  its  forests. 
The  huntsman  would  be  disappointed  who  expected  to  find 
here  flocks  of  animals  similar  to  the  buffalo  herds  of  North 
America,  or  the  swarms  of  antelopes  and  herds  of  ponderous 
pachyderms  of  Southern  Africa.  The  largest  and  most  interest- 
ing portion  of  the  Brazilian  mammal  fauna  is  arboreal  in  its 
habits;  this  feature  of  the  animal  denizens  of  these  forests  I 
have  already  alluded  to.  The  most  intensely  arboreal  animals 
in  the  world  are  the  South  American  monkeys  of  the  family 
Cebida^,  many  of  which  have  a  fifth  hand  for  climbing  in  their 
prehensile  tails,  adapted  for  this  function  by  their  strong 
muscular  development,  and  the  naked  palms  under  their  tips. 
This  seems  to  teach  us  that  the  South  American  fauna  has  been 
slowly  adapted  to  a  forest  life,  and,  therefore,  that  extensive 
forests  must  have  always  existed  since  the  region  was  first 
peopled  by  mammalia.  But  to  this  subject,  and  to  the  natural 
history  of  the  monkeys,  of  which  thirty-eight  species  inhabit 
the  Amazon  region,  I  shall  have  to  return. 

We  often  read,  in  books  of  travels,  of  the  silence  and  gloom 
of  the  Brazilian  forests.  They  are  realities,  and  the  impression 
deepens  on  a  longer  acquaintance.  The  few  sounds  of  birds 
are  of  that  pensive  or  mysterious  character  which  intensifies 
the  feeling  of  solitude  rather  than  imparts  a  sense  of  life  and 
cheerfulness.    Sometimes,  in  the  midst  of  the  stillness,  a  sudden 


38         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

yell  or  scream  will  startle  one;  this  comes  from  some  defence- 
less fruit-eating  animal,  which  is  pounced  upon  by  a  tiger-cat 
or  stealthy  boa-constrictor.  Morning  and  evening  the  howling 
monkeys  make  a  most  fearful  and  harrowing  noise,  under  which 
it  is  difficult  to  keep  up  one's  buoyancy  of  spirit.  The  feeling 
of  inhospitable  wildness  which  the  forest  is  calculated  to  inspire, 
is  increased  tenfold  under  this  fearful  uproar.  Often,  even  in 
the  still  hours  of  midday,  a  sudden  crash  will  be  heard  resound- 
ing afar  through  the  wilderness,  as  some  great  bough  or  entire 
tree  falls  to  the  ground.  There  are,  besides,  many  sounds  which 
it  is  impossible  to  account  for.  I  found  the  natives  generally 
as  much  at  a  loss  in  this  respect  as  myself.  Sometimes  a  sound 
is  heard  like  the  clang  of  an  iron  bar  against  a  hard,  hollow  tree, 
or  a  piercing  cry  rends  the  air;  these  are  not  repeated,  and  the 
succeeding  silence  tends  to  heighten  the  unpleasant  impression 
which  they  make  on  the  mind.  With  the  native  it  is  always 
the  Curupira,  the  wild  man  or  spirit  of  the  forest,  which  pro- 
duces all  noises  they  are  unable  to  explain.  For  myths  are  the 
rude  theories  which  mankind,  in  the  infancy  of  knowledge, 
invent  to  explain  natural  phenomena.  The  Curupira  is  a 
mysterious  being,  whose  attributes  are  uncertain,  for  they  vary 
according  to  locality.  Sometimes  he  is  described  as  a  kind  of 
orang-otang,  being  covered  with  long,  shaggy  hair,  and  living 
in  trees.  At  others  he  is  said  to  have  cloven  feet,  and  a  bright 
red  face.  He  has  a  wife  and  children,  and  sometimes  comes 
down  to  the  rocas  to  steal  the  mandioca.  At  one  time  I  had  a 
Mameluco  youth  in  my  service,  whose  head  was  full  of  the 
legends  and  superstitions  of  the  country.  He  always  went  with 
me  into  the  forest ;  in  fact,  I  could  not  get  him  to  go  alone,  and 
whenever  we  heard  any  of  the  strange  noises  mentioned 
above,  he  used  to  tremble  with  fear.  He  would  crouch  down 
behind  me,  and  beg  of  me  to  turn  back;  his  alarm  ceasing 
only  after  he  had  made  a  charm  to  protect  us  from  the 
Curupira.  For  this  purpose  he  took  a  young  palm  leaf, 
plaited  it,  and  formed  it  into  a  ring,  which  he  hung  to  a  branch 
on  our  track. 

At  length,  after  a  six  hours'  walk,  we  arrived  at  our  destina- 
tion, the  last  mile  or  two  having  been  again  through  second- 
growth  forest.  The  mills  formed  a  large  pile  of  buildings, 
pleasantly  situated  in  a  cleared  tract  of  land,  many  acres  in 
extent,  and  everywhere  surrounded  by  the  perpetual  forest. 
We  were  received  in  the  kindest  manner  by  the  overseer,  Mr. 
Leavens,  who  showed  us  all  that  was  interesting  about  the 


Para 


39 


place,  and  took  us  to  the  best  spots  in  the  neighbourhood  for 
birds  and  insects.  The  mills  were  built  a  long  time  ago  by  a 
wealthy  Brazilian.  They  had  belonged  to  Mr.  Upton  for  many 
years.  I  was  told  that  when  the  dark-skinned  revolutionists 
were  preparing  for  their  attack  on  Para,  they  occupied  the 
place,  but  not  the  slightest  injury  was  done  to  the  machinery 
or  building,  for  the  leaders  said  it  was  against  the  Portuguese 
and  their  party  that  they  were  at  war,  not  against  the  other 
foreigners. 

The  creek  Iritiri  at  the  mills  is  only  a  few  yards  wide;  it 
winds  about  between  two  lofty  walls  of  forest  for  some  distance, 
then  becomes  much  broader,  and  finally  joins  the  Magoary. 
There  are  many  other  ramifications,  creeks  or  channels,  which 
lead  to  retired  hamlets  and  scattered  houses,  inhabited  by 
people  of  mixed  white,  Indian,  and  negro  descent.  Many  of 
them  did  business  with  Mr.  Leavens,  bringing  for  sale  their 
little  harvests  of  rice,  or  a  few  logs  of  timber.  It  was  interest- 
ing to  see  them  in  their  little,  heavily-laden  montarias.  Some- 
times the  boats  were  managed  by  handsome,  healthy  young 
lads,  loosely  clad  in  straw  hat,  white  shirt,  and  dark  blue 
trousers,  turned  up  to  the  knee.  They  steered,  paddled,  and 
managed  the  varejao  (the  boating  pole),  with  much  grace  and 
dexterity. 

We  made  many  excursions  down  the  Iritiri,  and  saw  much  of 
these  creeks ;  besides,  our  second  visit  to  the  mills  was  by  water. 
The  Magoary  is  a  magnificent  channel;  the  different  branches 
form  quite  a  labyrinth,  and  the  land  is  everywhere  of  little 
elevation.  All  these  smaller  rivers,  throughout  the  Para  estuary, 
are  of  the  nature  of  creeks.  The  land  is  so  level,  that  the  short 
local  rivers  have  no  sources  and  downward  currents  like  rivers 
as  we  generally  understand  them.  They  serve  the  purpose  of 
draining  the  land,  but  instead  of  having  a  constant  current  one 
way,  they  have  a  regular  ebb  and  flow  with  the  tide.  The 
natives  call  them,  in  the  Tupi  language,  Igarapes,  or  canoe- 
paths.  The  igarapes  and  furos  or  channels,  which  are  infinite 
in  number  in  this  great  river  delta,  are  characteristic  of  the 
country.  The  land  is  everywhere  covered  with  impenetrable 
forests;  the  houses  and  villages  are  all  on  the  waterside,  and 
nearly  all  communication  is  by  water.  This  semi-aquatic  life 
of  the  people  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the 
country.  For  short  excursions,  and  for  fishing  in  still  waters, 
a  small  boat,  called  montaria,  is  universally  used.  It  is  made 
of  five  planks ;  a  broad  one  for  the  bottom,  bent  into  the  proper 


40         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

shape  by  the  action  of  heat,  two  narrow  ones  for  the  sides,  and 
two  small  triangular  pieces  for  stem  and  stern.  It  has  no 
rudder;  the  paddle  serves  for  both  steering  and  propelling. 
The  montaria  takes  here  the  place  of  the  horse,  male,  or  camel 
of  other  regions.  Besides  one  or  more  montarias,  almost  every 
family  has  a  larger  canoe,  called  Igarite.  This  is  fitted  with 
two  masts,  a  rudder,  and  keel,  and  has  an  arched  awning  or 
cabin  near  the  stern,  made  of  a  framework  of  tough  lianas, 
thatched  with  palm  leaves.  In  the  igarite  they  will  cross 
stormy  rivers  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  broad.  The  natives  are 
all  boat-builders.  It  is  often  remarked,  by  white  residents, 
that  an  Indian  is  a  carpenter  and  shipwright  by  intuition.  It 
is  astonishing  to  see  in  what  crazy  vessels  these  people  will 
risk  themselves.  I  have  seen  Indians  cross  rivers  in  a  leaky 
montaria,  when  it  required  the  nicest  equilibrium  to  keep  the 
leak  just  above  water;  a  movement  of  a  hair's  breadth  would 
send  all  to  the  bottom,  but  they  managed  to  cross  in  safety. 
They  are  especially  careful  when  they  have  strangers  under 
their  charge,  and  it  is  the  custom  of  Brazilian  and  Portuguese 
travellers  to  leave  the  whole  management  to  them.  When 
they  are  alone  they  are  more  reckless,  and  often  have  to 
swim  for  their  lives.  If  a  squall  overtakes  them  as  they  are 
crossing  in  a  heavily-laden  canoe,  they  all  jump  overboard 
and  swim  about  until  the  heavy  sea  subsides,  when  they 
re-embark. 

A  few  words  on  the  aboriginal  population  of  the  Para  estuary 
will  here  not  be  out  of  place.  The  banks  of  the  Para  were 
originally  inhabited  by  a  number  of  distinct  tribes,  who,  in 
their  habits,  resembled  very  much  the  natives  of  the  sea-coast 
from  Maranham  to  Bahia.  It  is  related  that  one  large  tribe, 
the  Tupinambas,  migrated  from  Pernambuco  to  the  Amazons. 
One  fact  seems  to  be  well-established,  namely,  that  all  the 
coast  tribes  were  far  more  advanced  in  civilisation,  and  milder 
in  their  manners,  than  the  savages  who  inhabited  the  interior 
lands  of  Brazil.  They  were  settled  in  villages,  and  addicted 
to  agriculture.  They  navigated  the  rivers  in  large  canoes, 
called  ubas,  made  of  immense  hollowed-out  tree  trunks;  in 
these  they  used  to  go  on  war  expeditions,  carrying  in  the  prows 
their  trophies  and  calabash  rattles,  whose  clatter  was  meant 
to  intimidate  their  enemies.  They  were  gentle  in  disposition, 
and  received  the  early  Portuguese  settlers  with  great  friendli- 
ness.    The  inland  savages,  on  the  other  hand,  led  a  wandering 


Para  41 

life,  as  they  do  at  the  present  time,  only  coming  down  occa- 
sionally to  rob  the  plantations  of  the  coast  tribes,  who  always 
entertained  the  greatest  enmity  towards  them. 

The  original  Indian  tribes  of  the  district  are  now  either 
civilised,  or  have  amalgamated  with  the  white  and  negro 
immigrants.  Their  distinguishing  tribal  names  have  long 
been  forgotten,  and  the  race  bears  now  the  general  appellation 
of  Tapuyo,  which  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  names  of  the 
ancient  Tupinambas.  The  Indians  of  the  interior,  still  remain- 
ing in  the  savage  state,  are  called  by  the  Brazilians  Indios,  or 
Gentios  (Heathens).  All  the  semi-civilised  Tapuyos  of  the 
villages,  and  in  fact  the  inhabitants  of  retired  places  generally, 
speak  the  Lingoa  geral,  a  language  adapted  by  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  from  the  original  idiom  of  the  Tupinambas.  The 
language  of  the  Guaranis,  a  nation  living  on  the  banks  of  the 
Paraguay,  is  a  dialect  of  it,  and  hence  it  is  called  by  philolo- 
gists the  Tupi-Guarani  language;  printed  grammars  of  it  are 
always  on  sale  at  the  shops  of  the  Para  booksellers.  The  fact 
of  one  language  having  been  spoken  over  so  wide  an  extent  of 
country  as  that  from  the  Amazons  to  Paraguay,  is  quite  an 
isolated  one  in  this  country,  and  points  to  considerable  migra- 
tions of  the  Indian  tribes  in  former  times.  At  present  the 
languages  spoken  by  neighbouring  tribes  on  the  banks  of  the 
interior  rivers  are  totally  distinct ;  on  the  Jurua,  even  scattered 
hordes  belonging  to  the  same  tribe  are  not  able  to  understand 
each  other. 

The  civilised  Tapuyo  of  Para  differs  in  no  essential  point, 
in  physical  or  moral  qualities,  from  the  Indian  of  the  interior. 
He  is  more  stoutly  built,  being  better  fed  than  some  of  them ; 
but  in  this  respect  there  are  great  differences  amongst  the 
tribes  themselves.  He  presents  all  the  chief  characteristics  of 
the  American  red  man.  The  skin  of  a  coppery  brown  colour, 
the  features  of  the  face  broad,  and  the  hair  black,  thick,  and 
straight.  He  is  generally  about  the  middle  height,  thick-set, 
has  a  broad  muscular  chest,  well-shaped  but  somewhat  thick 
legs  and  arms,  and  small  hands  and  feet.  The  cheek  bones  are 
not  generally  prominent;  the  eyes  are  black,  and  seldom  oblique 
like  those  of  the  Tartar  races  of  Eastern  Asia,  which  are  supposed 
to  have  sprung  from  the  same  original  stock  as  the  American  red 
man.  The  features  exhibit  scarcely  any  mobility  of  expression ; 
this  is  connected  with  the  excessively  apathetic  and  undemon- 
strative character  of  the  race.    They  never  betray,  in  fact  they 


42         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

do  not  feel  keenly,  the  emotions  of  joy,  grief,  wonder,  fear,  and 
so  forth.  They  can  never  be  excited  to  enthusiasm;  but  they 
have  strong  affections,  especially  those  connected  with  family. 
It  is  commonly  stated  by  the  whites  and  negroes  that  the 
Tapuyo  is  ungrateful.  Brazilian  mistresses  of  households, 
who  have  much  experience  of  Indians,  have  always  a  long  list 
of  instances  to  relate  to  the  stranger,  showing  their  base  in- 
gratitude. They  certainly  do  not  appear  to  remember  or  think 
of  repaying  benefits,  but  this  is  probably  because  they  did  not 
require,  and  do  not  value  such  benefits  as  their  would-be  masters 
confer  upon  them.  I  have  known  instances  of  attachment  and 
fidelity  on  the  part  of  Indians  towards  their  masters,  but  these 
are  exceptional  cases.  All  the  actions  of  the  Indian  show  that 
his  ruling  desire  is  to  be  let  alone;  he  is  attached  to  his  home, 
his  quiet  monotonous  forest  and  river  life;  he  likes  to  go  to 
towns  occasionally,  to  see  the  wonders  introduced  by  the  white 
man,  but  he  has  a  great  repugnance  to  living  in  the  midst  of 
the  crowd;  he  prefers  handicraft  to  field  labour,  and  especially 
dislikes  binding  himself  to  regular  labour  for  hire.  He  is  shy 
and  uneasy  before  strangers,  but  if  they  visit  his  abode,  he 
treats  them  well,  for  he  has  a  rooted  appreciation  of  the  duty 
of  hospitality ;  there  is  a  pride  about  him,  and  being  naturally 
formal  and  polite,  he  acts  the  host  with  great  dignity.  He 
withdraws  from  towns  as  soon  as  the  stir  of  civilisation  begins 
to  make  itself  felt.  When  we  first  arrived  at  Para  many  Indian 
families  resided  there,  for  the  mode  of  living  at  that  time  was 
more  like  that  of  a  large  village  than  a  city;  but  as  soon  as 
river  steamers  and  more  business  activity  were  introduced, 
they  all  gradually  took  themselves  away. 

These  characteristics  of  the  Para  Indians  are  applicable,  of 
course,  to  some  extent,  to  the  Mamelucos,  who  now  constitute 
a  great  proportion  of  the  population.  The  inflexibility  of 
character  of  the  Indian,  and  his  total  inability  to  accom- 
modate himself  to  new  arrangements,  will  infallibly  lead  to  his 
extinction,  as  immigrants,  endowed  with  more  supple  organisa- 
tions, increase,  and  civilisation  advances  in  the  Amazon  region. 
But,  as  the  different  races  amalgamate  readily,  and  the  offspring 
of  white  and  Indian  often  become  distinguished  Brazilian 
citizens,  there  is  little  reason  to  regret  the  fate  of  the  race. 
Formerly  the  Indian  was  harshly  treated,  and  even  now  he  is 
so  in  many  parts  of  the  interior.  But,  according  to  the  laws  of 
Brazil,  he  is  a  free  citizen,  having  equal  privileges  with  the 
whites;  and  there  are  very  strong  enactments  providing  against 


Para  43 

the  enslaving  and  ill-treatment  of  the  Indians.  The  residents 
of  the  interior,  who  have  no  higher  principles  to  counteract 
instinctive  selfishness  or  antipathy  of  race,  cannot  comprehend 
why  they  are  not  allowed  to  compel  Indians  to  work  for  them, 
seeing  that  they  will  not  do  it  of  their  own  accord.  The 
inevitable  result  of  the  conflict  of  interests  between  a  European 
and  a  weaker  indigenous  race,  when  the  two  come  in  contact, 
is  the  sacrifice  of  the  latter.  In  the  Para  district,  the  Indians 
are  no  longer  enslaved,  but  they  are  deprived  of  their  lands, 
and  this  they  feel  bitterly,  as  one  of  them,  an  industrious  and 
worthy  man,  related  to  me.  Is  not  a  similar  state  of  things 
now  exhibited  in  New  Zealand,  between  the  Maoris  and  the 
English  colonists? 

It  is  very  interesting  to  read  of  the  bitter  contests  that 
were  carried  on  from  the  year  1570  to  1759,  between  the 
Portuguese  immigrants  in  Brazil,  and  the  Jesuit  and  other 
missionaries.  They  were  similar  to  those  which  have  recently 
taken  place  in  South  Africa,  between  the  Boers  and  the  English 
missionaries,  but  they  were  on  a  much  larger  scale.  The 
Jesuits,  as  far  as  I  could  glean  from  tradition  and  history,  were 
actuated  by  the  same  motives  as  our  missionaries;  and  they 
seemed  like  them  to  have  been,  in  great  measure,  successful, 
in  teaching  the  pure  and  elevated  Christian  morality  to  the 
simple  natives.  But  the  attempt  was  vain  to  protect  the 
weaker  race  from  the  inevitable  ruin  which  awaited  it  in  the 
natural  struggle  with  the  stronger  one:  in  1759,  the  Avhite 
colonists  finally  prevailed,  the  Jesuits  were  forced  to  leave  the 
country,  and  the  fifty-one  happy  mission  villages  went  to  ruin. 
Since  then,  the  aboriginal  race  has  gone  on  decreasing  in 
numbers  under  the  treatment  which  it  has  received ;  it  is  now, 
as  I  have  already  stated,  protected  by  the  laws  of  the  central 
government. 

On  our  second  visit  to  the  mills,  we  stayed  ten  days.  There 
is  a  large  reservoir  and  also  a  natural  lake  near  the  place,  both 
containing  aquatic  plants,  whose  leaves  rest  on  the  surface  like 
our  water  lilies,  but  they  are  not  so  elegant  as  our  nymphsea, 
either  in  leaf  or  flower.  On  the  banks  of  these  pools  grow 
quantities  of  a  species  of  fan-leaved  palm-tree,  the  Carana, 
whose  stems  are  surrounded  by  whorls  of  strong  spines.  I 
sometimes  took  a  montaria,  and  paddled  myself  alone  down 
the  creek.  One  day  I  got  upset,  and  had  to  land  on  a  grassy 
slope  leading  to  an  old  plantation,  where  I  ran  about  naked 


44         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

whilst  my  clothes  were  being  dried  on  a  bush.  The  creek 
Iritiri  is  not  so  picturesque  as  many  others  which  I  subse- 
quently explored.  Towards  the  Magoary  the  banks  at  the 
edge  of  the  water  are  clothed  with  mangrove  bushes,  and 
beneath  them  the  muddy  banks  into  which  the  long  roots  that 
hang  down  from  the  fruit  before  it  leaves  the  branches  strike 
their  fibres,  swarm  with  crabs.  On  the  lower  branches  the 
beautiful  bird,  Ardea  helias,  is  found.  This  is  a  small  heron  of 
exquisitely  graceful  shape  and  mien;  its  plumage  is  minutely 
variegated  with  bars  and  spots  of  many  colours,  like  the  wings 
of  certain  kinds  of  moths.  It  is  difficult  to  see  the  bird  in  the 
woods,  on  account  of  its  sombre  colours,  and  the  shadiness  of 
its  dwelling-places;  but  its  note,  a  soft  long-drawn  whistle, 
often  betrays  its  hiding-place.  I  was  told  by  the  Indians  that 
it  builds  in  trees,  and  that  the  nest,  which  is  made  of  clay,  is 
beautifully  constructed.  It  is  a  favourite  pet-bird  of  the 
Brazilians,  who  call  it  Pavao  (pronounced  Pavaong),  or  pea- 
cock. I  often  had  opportunities  of  observing  its  habits.  It 
soon  becomes  tame,  and  walks  about  the  floors  of  houses 
picking  up  scraps  of  food,  or  catching  insects,  which  it  secures 
by  walking  gently  to  the  place  where  they  settle,  and  spearing 
them  with  its  long,  slender  beak.  It  allows  itself  to  be  handled 
by  children,  and  will  answer  to  its  name  "Pavao!  Pavao!" 
walking  up  with  a  dainty,  circumspect  gait,  and  taking  a  fly 
or  beetle  from  the  hand. 

During  these  rambles  by  land  and  water  we  increased  our 
collections  considerably.  Before  we  left  the  mills  we  arranged 
a  joint  excursion  to  the  Tocantins.  Mr.  Leavens  wished  to 
ascend  that  river  to  ascertain  if  the  reports  were  true,  that 
cedar  grew  abundantly  between  the  lowermost  cataract  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Araguaya,  and  we  agreed  to  accompany 
him. 

Whilst  we  were  at  the  mills,  a  Portuguese  trader  arrived 
with  a  quantity  of  worm-eaten  logs  of  this  cedar,  which  he  had 
gathered  from  the  floating  timber  in  the  current  of  the  main 
Amazons.  The  tree  producing  this  wood,  which  is  named  cedar 
on  account  of  the  similarity  of  its  aroma  to  that  of  the  true 
cedars,  is  not,  of  course,  a  coniferous  tree,  as  no  member  of 
that  class  is  found  in  equatorial  America,  at  least  in  the  Amazons 
region.  It  is,  according  to  Von  Martius,  the  Cedrela  odorata, 
an  exogen  belonging  to  the  same  order  as  the  mahogany  tree. 
The  wood  is  light,  and  the  tree  is  therefore,  on  falling  into  the 
water,  floated  down  with  the  river  currents.    It  must  grow  in 


Para  45 


great  quantities  somewhere  in  the  interior,  to  judge  from  the 
number  of  uprooted  trees  annually  carried  to  the  sea,  and  as 
the  wood  is  much  esteemed  for  cabinet  work  and  canoe  build- 
ing, it  is  of  some  importance  to  learn  where  a  regular  supply 
can  be  obtained.  We  were  glad  of  course  to  arrange  with  Mr. 
Leavens,  who  was  familiar  with  the  language,  and  an  adept 
in  river-navigation;  so  we  returned  to  Para  to  ship  our 
collections  for  England,  and  prepare  for  the  journey  to  a  new 
region. 


CHAPTER -III 

PARA 

Religious  Holidays — Marmoset  Monkeys — Serpents — Insects., 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  Para,  where  I  resided,  as  already 
stated,  in  all  eighteen  months,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a 
more  detailed  account  of  several  matters  connected  with  the 
customs  of  the  people  and  the  Natural  History  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, which  have  hitherto  been  only  briefly  mentioned. 
I  reserve  an  account  of  the  trade  and  improved  condition  of 
Para  in  1859  for  the  end  of  this  narrative. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  of  our  stay  many  of  those  religious 
festivals  took  place,  which  occupied  so  large  a  share  of  the 
time  and  thoughts  of  the  people.    These  were  splendid  affairs, 
wherein  artistically-arranged  processions  through  the  streets' 
accompanied  by  thousands  of  people;    military  displays;    the 
clatter  of  fireworks,  and  the  clang  of  military  music,  were  super- 
added to  pompous  religious  services  in  the  churches.     To  those 
who  had  witnessed  similar  ceremonies  in  the  Southern  countries 
of  Europe,  there  would  be  nothing  remarkable  perhaps  in  these 
doings,  except  their  taking  place   amidst   the   splendours   of 
tropical  nature;  but  to  me  they  were  full  of  novelty,  and  were 
besides  interesting  as  exhibiting  much  that  was  peculiar  in  the 
manners   of   the   people.     The   festivals   celebrate   either   the 
anniversaries  of  events  concerning  saints,  or  those  of  the  more 
important  transactions  in  the  life  of  Christ.     To  them  have 
been  added,  since  the  Independence,  many  gala  days  connected 
with  the  events  in  the  Brazilian  national  history;    but  these 
have  all  a  semi-religious  character.    The  holidays  had  become 
so  numerous,  and  interfered  so  much  with  trade  and  industry 
towards  the  year  1852,  that  the  Brazilian  Government  was 
obliged  to  reduce  them;    obtaining  the  necessary  permission 
from  Rome  to  abolish  several  which  were  of  minor  importance. 
Many  of  those  which  have   been   retained    are   declining   in 
importance  since  the  introduction  of  railways  and  steamboats 
and  the  increased  devotion  of  the  people  to  commerce;  at  the 
time  of  our  arrival,  however,  they  were  in  full  glory.    The  way 

46 


Para  47 

they  were  managed  was  in  this  fashion.  A  general  manager 
or  "  Juiz  "  for  each  festa  was  elected  by  lot  every  year  in  the 
vestry  of  the  church,  and  to  him  were  handed  over  all  the 
paraphernalia  pertaining  to  the  particular  festival  which  he 
was  chosen  to  manage;  the  image  of  the  saint,  the  banners, 
silver  crowns  and  so  forth.  He  then  employed  a  number  of 
people  to  go  the  round  of  the  parish  and  collect  alms,  towards 
defraying  the  expenses.  It  was  considered  that  the  greater  the 
amount  of  money  spent  in  wax  candles,  fireworks,  music  and 
feasting,  the  greater  the  honour  done  to  the  saint.  If  the  Juiz 
was  a  rich  man,  he  seldom  sent  out  alms  -  gatherers,  but 
celebrated  the  whole  affair  at  his  own  expense,  which  was 
sometimes  to  the  extent  of  several  hundred  pounds.  Each 
festival  lasted  nine  days  (a  novena),  and  in  many  cases  refresh- 
ments for  the  public  were  provided  every  evening.  In  the 
smaller  towns  a  ball  took  place  two  or  three  evenings  during 
the  novena,  and  on  the  last  day  there  was  a  grand  dinner. 
The  priest,  of  course,  had  to  be  paid  very  liberally,  especially 
for  the  sermon  delivered  on  the  Saint's-day  or  termination  of 
the  festival,  sermons  being  extra  duty  in  Brazil. 

There  was  much  difference  as  to  the  accessories  of  these 
festivals  between  the  interior  towns  and  villages  and  the  capital  ; 
but  little  or  no  work  was  done  anywhere  whilst  they  lasted,  and 
they  tended  much  to  demoralise  the  people.  It  is  soon  per- 
ceived that  religion  is  rather  the  amusement  of  the  Paraenses 
than  their  serious  exercise.  The  ideas  of  the  majority  evidently 
do  not  reach  beyond  the  belief  that  all  the  proceedings  are,  in 
each  case,  in  honour  of  the  particular  wooden  image  enshrined 
at  the  church.  The  uneducated  Portuguese  immigrants  seemed 
to  me  to  have  very  degrading  notions  of  religion.  I  have  often 
travelled  in  the  company  of  these  shining  examples  of  European 
enlightenment.  They  generally  carry  with  them,  wherever 
they  go,  a  small  image  of  some  favourite  saint  in  their  trunks, 
and  when  a  squall  or  any  other  danger  arises,  their  first  impulse 
is  to  rush  to  the  cabin,  take  out  the  image  and  clasp  it  to  their 
lips,  whilst  uttering  a  prayer  for  protection.  The  negroes  and 
mulattos  are  similar  in  this  respect  to  the  low  Portuguese,  but 
I  think  they  show  a  purer  devotional  feeling;  and  in  conversa- 
tion I  have  always  found  them  to  be  more  rational  in  religious 
views  than  the  lower  orders  of  Portuguese.  As  to  the  Indians; 
with  the  exception  of  the  more  civilised  families  residing  near 
the  large  towns,  they  exhibit  no  religious  sentiment  at  all. 
They  have  their  own  patron  saint,  St.  Thome,  and  celebrate 


48 


The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


his  anniversary  in  the  orthodox  way,  for  they  are  fond  of 
observing  all  the  formalities;  but  they  think  the  feasting  to  be 
of  equal  importance  with  the  church  ceremonies.  At  some  of 
the  festivals,  masquerading  forms  a  large  part  of  the  proceed- 
ings, and  then  the  Indians  really  shine.  They  get  up  capital 
imitations  of  wild  animals,  dress  themselves  to  represent  the 
Caypor  and  other  fabulous  creatures  of  the  forest,  and  act  their 
parts  throughout  with  great  cleverness.  When  St.  Thome's 
festival  takes  place,  every  employer  of  Indians  knows  that  all 
his  men  will  get  drunk.  The  Indian,  generally  too  shy  to  ask 
directly  for  cashaca  (rum),  is  then  very  bold;  he  asks  for  a 
frasco  at  once  (two-and-a-half  bottles),  and  says,  if  inter- 
rogated, that  he  is  going  to  fuddle  in  honour  of  St.  Thome. 

In  the  city  of  Para,  the  provincial  government  assists  to 
augment  the  splendour  of  the  religious  holidays.  The  proces- 
sions which  traverse  the  principal  streets  consist,  in  the  first 
place,  of  the  image  of  the  saint,  and  those  of  several  other  sub- 
ordinate ones  belonging  to  the  same  church;  these  are  borne 
on  the  shoulders  of  respectable  householders,  who  volunteer  for 
the  purpose :  sometimes  you  will  see  your  neighbour  the  grocer 
or  the  carpenter  groaning  under  the  load.  The  priest  and  his 
crowd  of  attendants  precede  the  images,  arrayed  in  embroidered 
robes,  and  protected  by  magnificent  sunshades — no  useless 
ornament  here,  for  the  heat  is  very  great  when  the  sun  is  not 
obscured.  On  each  side  of  the  long  line  the  citizens  walk,  clad 
in  crimson  silk  cloaks,  and  holding  each  a  large  lighted  wax 
candle.  Behind  follows  a  regiment  or  two  of  foot  soldiers  with 
their  bands  of  music,  and  last  of  all  the  crowd:  the  coloured 
people  being  cleanly  dressed  and  preserving  a  grave  demeanour. 
The  women  are  always  in  great  force,  their  luxuriant  black 
hair  decorated  with  jasmines,  white  orchids  and  other  tropical 
flowers.  They  are  dressed  in  their  usual  holiday  attire,  gauze 
chemises  and  black  silk  petticoats;  their  necks  are  adorned 
with  links  of  gold  beads,  which  when  they  are  slaves  are 
generally  the  property  of  their  mistresses,  who  love  thus  to 
display  their  wealth. 

At  night,  when  festivals  are  going  on  in  the  grassy  squares 
around  the  suburban  churches,  there  is  really  much  to  admire. 
A  great  deal  that  is  peculiar  in  the  land  and  the  life  of  its 
inhabitants  can  be  seen  best  at  those  times.  The  cheerful 
white  church  is  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  the  music,  not  of  a 
very  solemn  description,  peals  forth  from  the  open  windows  and 
doors.    Numbers  of  young  gaudily-dressed  negresses  line  the 


Para 


49 


path  to  the  church  doors  with  stands  of  liqueurs,  sweetmeats, 
and  cigarettes,  which  they  sell  to  the  outsiders.  A  short 
distance  off  is  heard  the  rattle  of  dice-boxes  and  roulette  at 
the  open-air  gambling-stalls.  When  the  festival  happens  on 
moon-lit  nights,  the  whole  scene  is  very  striking  to  a  new- 
comer. Around  the  square  are  groups  of  tall  palm  trees,  and 
beyond  it,  over  the  illuminated  houses,  appear  the  thick  groves 
of  mangoes  near  the  suburban  avenues,  from  which  comes  the 
perpetual  ringing  din  of  insect  life.  The  soft  tropical  moon- 
light lends  a  wonderful  charm  to  the  whole.  The  inhabitants 
are  all  out,  dressed  in  their  best.  The  upper  classes,  who  come 
to  enjoy  the  fine  evening  and  the  general  cheerfulness,  are 
seated  on  chairs  around  the  doors  of  friendlv  houses.  There 
is  no  boisterous  conviviality,  but  a  quiet  enjovment  seems  to 
be  felt  everywhere,  and  a  gentle  courtesy  rules  amongst  all 
classes  and  colours.  I  have  seen  a  splendidly-dressed  colonel, 
from  the  President's  palace,  walk  up  to  a  mulatto,  and  politely 
ask  his  permission  to  take  a  light  from  his  cigar.  When  the 
service  is  over,  the  church  bells  are  set  ringing,  a  shower  of 
rockets  mounts  upwards,  the  bands  strike  up,  and  parties  of 
coloured  people  in  the  booths  begin  their  dances.  About  ten 
o'clock  the  Brazilian  national  air  is  played,  and  all  disperse 
quietly  and  soberly  to  their  homes. 

At  the  festival  of  Corpus  Christi  there  was  a  very  pretty 
arrangement.  The  large  green  square  of  the  Trinidade  was 
lighted  up  all  round  with  bonfires.  On  one  side  a  fine  pavilion 
was  erected,  the  upright  posts  consisting  of  real  fan-leaved 
palm  trees — the  Mauritia  flexuosa,  which  had  been  brought 
from  the  forest,  stems  and  heads  entire,  and  fixed  in  the  ground. 
The  booth  was  illuminated  with  coloured  lamps,  and  lined 
with  red  and  white  cloth.  In  it  were  seated  the  ladies,  not  all 
of  pure  Caucasian  blood,  but  presenting  a  fine  sample  of  Para 
beauty  and  fashion. 

The  grandest  of  all  these  festivals  is  that  held  in  honour  of 
Our  Lady  of  Nazareth:  it  is,  I  believe,  peculiar  to  Para.  As  I 
have  said  before,  it  falls  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  moon, 
about  the  middle  of  the  dry  season — that  is,  in  October  or 
November — and  lasts,  like  the  others,  nine  days.  On  the  first 
day  a  very  extensive  procession  takes  place,  starting  from  the 
Cathedra],  whither  the  image  of  the  saint  had  been  conveyed 
some  days  previous;  and  terminating  at  the  chapel  or  hermitage, 
as  it  is  called,  of  the  saint  at  Nazareth,  a  distance  of  more  than 
two  miles.     The  whole  population  turns  out  on  this  occasion. 


50         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

All  the  soldiers,  both  of  the  line  and  the  National  Guard,  take 
part  in  it,  each  battalion  accompanied  by  its  band  of  music. 
The  civil  authorities,  also,  with  the  President  at  their  head, 
and  the  principal  citizens,  including  many  of  the  foreign* 
residents,  join  in  the  line.  The  boat  of  the  shipwrecked  Portu- 
guese vessel  is  carried  after  the  saint  on  the  shoulders  of  officers 
or  men  of  the  Brazilian  navy,  and  along  with  it  are  borne  the 
other  symbols  of  the  miracles  which  Our  Lady  is  supposed  to 
have  performed.  The  procession  starts  soon  after  the  sun's 
heat  begins  to  moderate — that  is,  about  half-past  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  When  the  image  is  deposited  in  the  chapel  the 
festival  is  considered  to  be  inaugurated,  and  the  village  every 
evening  becomes  the  resort  of  the  pleasure-loving  population, 
the  holiday  portion  of  the  programme  being  preceded,  of  course, 
by  a  religious  service  in  the  chapel.  The  aspect  of  the  place 
is  then  that  of  a  fair,  without  the  humour  and  fun,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  without  the  noise  and  coarseness  of  similar  holidays 
in  England.  Large  rooms  are  set  apart  for  panoramic  and  other 
exhibitions,  to  which  the  public  is  admitted  gratis.  In  the 
course  of  each  evening,  large  displays  of  fireworks  take  place, 
all  arranged  according  to  a  published  programme  of  the 
festival. 

The  various  ceremonies  which  take  place  during  Lent  seemed 
to  me  the  most  impressive,  and  some  of  them  were  exceedingly 
well-arranged.  The  people,  both  performers  and  spectators, 
conduct  themselves  with  more  gravity  on  these  occasions,  and 
there  is  no  holiday-making.  Performances,  representing  the 
last  events  in  the  life  of  Christ,  are  enacted  in  the  churches  or 
streets,  in  such  a  way  as  to  remind  one  of  the  old  miracle  plays 
or  mysteries.  A  few  days  before  Good  Friday,  a  torchlight 
procession  takes  place  by  night  from  one  church  to  another, 
in  which  is  carried  a  large  wooden  image  of  Christ  bent  under 
the  weight  of  the  cross.  The  chief  members  of  the  govern- 
ment assist,  and  the  whole  slowly  moves  to  the  sound  of 
muffled  drums.  A  double  procession  is  managed  a  few  days 
afterwards.  The  image  of  St.  Mary  is  carried  in  one  direction, 
and  that  of  the  Saviour  in  another.  The  two  images  meet  in 
the  middle  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  churches,  which 
is  previously  filled  to  excess  with  the  multitudes  anxious  to 
witness  the  affecting  meeting  of  mother  and  son  a  few  days 
before  the  crucifixion.  The  images  are  brought  face  to  face 
in  the  middle  of  the  church,  the  crowd  falls  prostrate,  and  a 
Jachrymose  sermon  is  delivered  from  the  pulpit.     The  whole 


rara  5 1 

thing,  as  well  as  many  other  spectacles  arranged  during  the 
few  succeeding  days,  is  highly  theatrical,  and  well  calculated 
to  excite  the  religious  emotions  of  the  people,  although,  perhaps, 
only  temporarily.  On  Good  Friday  the  bells  do  not  ring,  all 
musical  sounds  are  interdicted,  and  the  hours,  night  and  day, 
are  announced  by  the  dismal  noise  of  wooden  clappers,  wielded 
by  negroes  stationed  near  the  different  churches.  A  sermon 
is  delivered  in  each  church.  In  the  middle  of  it,  a  scroll  is 
suddenly  unfolded  from  the  pulpit,  on  which  is  an. exaggerated 
picture  of  the  bleeding  Christ.  This  act  is  accompanied  by 
loud  groans,  which  come  from  stout-lunged  individuals  con- 
cealed in  the  vestry  and  engaged  for  the  purpose.  The  priest 
becomes  greatly  excited,  and  actually  sheds  tears.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  I  squeezed  myself  into  the  crowd,  and  watched 
the  effect  of  the  spectacle  on  the  audience.  Old  Portuguese 
men  and  Brazilian  women  seemed  very  much  affected — sobbing, 
beating  their  breasts,  and  telling  their  beads.  The  negroes 
behaved  themselves  with  great  propriety,  but  seemed  moved 
more  particularly  by  the  pomp,  the  gilding,  the  dresses,  and 
the  general  display.  Young  Brazilians  laughed.  Several 
aborigines  were  there,  coolly  looking  on.  One  old  Indian, 
who  was  standing  near  me,  said,  in  a  derisive  manner,  when 
the  sermon  was  over,  "  It's  all  very  good;  better  it  could  not 
be  "  (Esta  todo  bom;  melhor  nao  pude  ser). 

The  negroes  of  Para  are  very  devout.  They  have  built,  by 
slow  degrees,  a  fine  church,  as  I  was  told,  by  their  own  unaided 
exertions.  It  is  called  Nossa  Senhora  do  Rosario,  or  Our  Lady 
of  the  Rosary.  During  the  first  weeks  of  our  residence  at 
Para,  I  frequently  observed  a  line  of  negroes  and  negresses, 
late  at  night,  marching  along  the  streets,  singing  a  chorus. 
Each  carried  on  his  or  her  head  a  quantity  of  building  materials 
— stones,  bricks,  mortar,  or  planks.  I  found  they  were  chiefly 
slaves,  who,  after  their  hard  day's  work,  were  contributing  a 
little  towards  the  construction  of  their  church.  The  materials 
had  all  been  purchased  by  their  own  savings.  The  interior 
was  finished  about  a  year  afterwards,  and  is  decorated,  I 
thought,  quite  as  superbly  as  the  other  churches  which  were 
constructed,  with  far  larger  means,  by  the  old  religious  orders 
more  than  a  century  ago.  Annually,  the  negroes  celebrate  the 
festival  of  Nossa  Senhora  do  Rosario,  and  generally  make  it  a 
complete  success. 

I  will  now  add  a  few  more  notes  which  I  have  accumulated 


52         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

on  the  subject  of  the  natural  history,  and  then  we  shall  have 
done,  for  the  present,  with  Para  and  its  neighbourhood. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  monkeys  were  rare  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Para.  I  met  with  three  species  only  in 
the  forest  near  the  city;  they  are  shy  animals,  and  avoid  the 
neighbourhood  of  towns,  where  they  are  subject  to  much  per- 
secution by  the  inhabitants,  who  kill  them  for  food.  The  only 
kind  which  I  saw  frequently  was  the  little  Midas  ursulus,  one 
of  the  Marmosets,  a  family  peculiar  to  tropical  America,  and 
differing  in  many  essential  points  of  structure  and  habits  from 
*all  other  apes.  They  are  small  in  size,  and  more  like  squirrels 
than  true  monkeys  in  their  manner  of  climbing.  The  nails, 
except  those  of  the  hind  thumbs,  are  long  and  claw-shaped  like 
those  of  squirrels,  and  the  thumbs  of  the  fore  extremities,  or 
hands,  are  not  opposable  to  the  other  fingers.  I  do  not  mean 
to  imply  that  they  have  a  near  relationship  to  squirrels,  which 
belong  to  the  Rodents,  an  inferior  order  of  mammals;  their 
resemblance  to  those  animals  is  merely  a  superficial  one.  They 
have  two  molar  teeth  less  in  each  jaw  than  the  Cebidae,  the 
other  family  of  American  monkeys ;  they  agree  with  them,  how- 
ever, in  the  sideway  position  of  the  nostrils,  a  character  which 
distinguishes  both  from  all  the  monkeys  of  the  old  world.  The 
body  is  long  and  slender,  clothed  with  soft  hairs,  and  the  tail, 
which  is  nearly  twice  the  length  of  the  trunk,  is  not  prehensile. 
The  hind  limbs  are  much  larger  in  volume  than  the  anterior 
pair.  The  Midas  ursulus  is  never  seen  in  large  flocks;  three 
or  four  is  the  greatest  number  observed  together.  It  seems  to 
be  less  afraid  of  the  neighbourhood  of  man  than  any  other 
monkey.  I  sometimes  saw  it  in  the  woods  which  border  the 
suburban  streets,  and  once  I  espied  two  individuals  in  a  thicket 
behind  the  English  consul's  house  at  Nazareth.  Its  mode  of 
progression  along  the  main  boughs  of  the  lofty  trees  is  like  that 
of  the  squirrel;  it  does  not  ascend  to  the  slender  branches,  or 
take  those  wonderful  flying  leaps  which  the  Cebidae  do,  whose 
prehensile  tails  and  flexible  hands  fit  them  for  such  headlong 
travelling.  It  confines  itself  to  the  larger  boughs  and  trunks 
of  trees,  the  long  nails  being  of  great  assistance  to  the  creature, 
enabling  it  to  cling  securely  to  the  bark;  and  it  is  often  seen 
passing  rapidly  round  the  perpendicular  cylindrical  trunks.  It 
is  a  quick,  restless,  timid  little  creature,  and  has  a  great  share 
of  curiosity,  for  when  a  person  passes  by  under  the  trees  along 
which  a  flock  is  running,  they  always  stop  for  a  few  moments 
to  have  a  stare  at  the  intruder.     In  Para,  Midas  ursulus  is 


Para  53 

often  seen  in  a  tame  state  in  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants. 
When  full  grown  it  is  about  nine  inches  long,  independently  of 
the  tail,  which  measures  fifteen  inches.  The  fur  is  thick,  and 
black  in  colour,  with  the  exception  of  a  reddish-brown  streak 
down  the  middle  of  the  back.  When  first  taken,  or  when  kept 
tied  up,  it  is  very  timid  and  irritable.  It  will  not  allow  itself 
to  be  approached,  but  keeps  retreating  backwards  when  any 
one  attempts  to  coax  it.  It  is  always  in  a  querulous  humour, 
uttering  a  twittering,  complaining  noise;  its  dark,  watchful 
eyes,  expressive  of  distrust,  observant  of  every  movement  which 
takes  place  near  it.  When  treated  kindly,  however,  as  it 
generally  is  in  the  houses  of  the  natives,  it  becomes  very  tame 
and  familiar.  I  once  saw  one  as  playful  as  a  kitten,  running 
about  the  house  after  the  negro  children,  who  fondled  it  to 
their  hearts'  content.  It  acted  somewhat  differently  towards 
strangers,  and  seemed  not  to  like  them  to  sit  in  the  hammock 
which  was  slung  in  the  room,  leaping  up,  trying  to  bite,  and 
otherwise  annoying  them.  It  is  generally  fed  on  sweet  fruits, 
such  as  the  banana;  but  it  is  also  fond  of  insects,  especially 
soft-bodied  spiders  and  grasshoppers,  which  it  will  snap  up 
with  eagerness  when  within  'reach.  The  expression  of  coun- 
tenance in  these  small  monkeys  is  intelligent  and  pleasing. 
This  is  partly  owing  to  the  open  facial  angle,  which  is  given  as 
one  of  6o° ;  but  the  quick  movements  of  the  head,  and  the  way 
they  have  of  inclining  it  to  one  side  when  their  curiosity  is 
excited,  contribute  very  much  to  give  them  a  knowing 
expression.  . 

On  the  Upper  Amazons  I  once  saw  a  tame  individual  ot  the 
Midas  leoninus,  a  species  first  described  by  Humboldt,  which 
was  still  more  playful  and  intelligent  than  the  one  just 
described.  This  rare  and  beautiful  little  monkey  is  only  seven 
inches  in  length,  exclusive  of  the  tail.  It  is  named  leoninus 
on  account  of  the  long  brown  mane  which  depends  from  the 
neck,  and  which  gives  it  very  much  the  appearance  of  a 
diminutive  lion.  In  the  house  where  it  was  kept,  it  was  familiar 
with  every  one;  its  greatest  pleasure  seeming  to  be  to  climb 
about  the  bodies  of  different  persons  who  entered.  The  first 
time  I  went  in,  it  ran  across  the  room  straightway  to  the  chair 
on  which  I  had  sat  down,  and  climbed  up  to  my  shoulder; 
arrived  there,  it  turned  round  and  looked  into  my  face,  showing 
its  little  teeth,  and  chattering,  as  though  it  would  say,  Well, 
and  how  do  you  do?  "  It  showed  more  affection  towards  its 
master  than  towards  strangers,  and  would  climb  up  to  his  head 


54        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

a  dozen  times  in  the  course  of  an  hour,  making  a  great  show 
every  time  of  searching  there  for  certain  animalcula.  Isidore 
Geoffroy  St.  Hilaire  relates  of  a  species  of  this  genus,  that  it 
distinguished  between  different  objects  depicted  on  an  engrav- 
ing. M.  Audouin  showed  it  the  portraits  of  a  cat  and  a  wasp ; 
at  these  it  became  much  terrified;  whereas,  at  the  sight  of  a 
figure  of  a  grasshopper  or  beetle,  it  precipitated  itself  on  the 
picture,  as  if  to  seize  the  objects  there  represented. 

Although  monkeys  are  now  rare  in  a  wild  state  near  Para,  a 
great  number  may  be  seen  semi-domesticated  in  the  city.  The 
Brazilians  are  fond  of  pet  animals.  Monkeys,  however,  have 
not  been  known  to  breed  in  captivity  in  this  country.  I 
counted,  in  a  short  time,  thirteen  different  species,  whilst 
walking  about  the  Para  streets,  either  at  the  doors  or  windows 
of  houses,  or  in  the  native  canoes.  Two  of  them  I  did  not  meet 
with  afterwards  in  any  other  part  of  the  country.  One  of 
these  was  the  well-known  Hapale  Jacchus,  a  little  creature 
resembling  a  kitten,  banded  with  black  and  grey  all  over  the 
body  and  tail,  and  having  a  fringe  of  long  white  hairs  sur- 
rounding the  ears.  It  was  seated  on  the  shoulder  of  a  young 
mulatto  girl,  as  she  was  walking  along  the  street,  and  I  was 
told  had  been  captured  in  the  island  of  Marajo.  The  other 
was  a  species  of  Cebus,  with  a  remarkably  large  head.  It  had 
ruddy-brown  fur,  paler  on  the  face,  but  presenting  a  blackish 
tuft  on  the  top  of  the  forehead. 

In  the  wet  season  serpents  are  common  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Para.  One  morning,  in  April,  1849,  after  a  night  of 
deluging  rain,  the  lamplighter,  on  his  rounds  to  extinguish  the 
lamps,  knocked  me  up  to  show  me  a  boa-constrictor  he  had 
just  killed  in  the  Rua  St.  Antonio,  not  far  from  my  door.  He 
had  cut  it  nearly  in  two  with  a  large  knife,  as  it  was  making 
its  way  down  the  sandy  street.  Sometimes  the  native  hunters 
capture  boa-constrictors  alive  in  the  forest  near  the  city.  We 
bought  one  which  had  been  taken  in  this  way,  and  kept  it  for 
some  time  in  a  large  box  under  our  verandah.  This  is  not, 
however,  the  largest  or  most  formidable  serpent  found  in  the 
Amazons  region.  It  is  far  inferior,  in  these  respects,  to  the 
hideous  Sucuruju,  or  Water  Boa  (Eunectes  murinus),  which 
sometimes  attacks  man;  but  of  this  I  shall  have  to  give  an 
account  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

It  frequently  happened,  in  passing  through  the  thickets,  that 
a  snake  would  fall  from  the  boughs  close  to  me.  Once  I  got 
for  a  few  moments  completely  entangled  in  the  folds  of  one,  a 


Para  5$ 

wonderfully  slender  kind,  being  nearly  six  feet  in  length,  and 
not  more  than  half  an  inch  in  diameter  at  its  broadest  part.  It 
was  a  species  of  Dryophis.  The  majority  of  the  snakes  seen 
were  innocuous.  One  day,  however,  I  trod  on  the  tail  of  a 
young  serpent  belonging  to  a  very  poisonous  kind,  the  Jararaca 
(Craspedocephalus  atrox).  It  turned  round  and  bit  my  trousers  ; 
and  a  young  Indian  lad,  who  was  behind  me,  dexterously  cut 
it  through  with  his  knife  before  it  had  time  to  free  itself.  In 
some  seasons  snakes  are  very  abundant,  and  it  often  struck  me 
as  strange  that  accidents  did  not  occur  more  frequently  than 
was  the  case. 

Amongst  the  most  curious  snakes  found  here  were  the 
Amphisbasnse,  a  genus  allied  to  the  slow-worm  of  Europe. 
Several  species  occur  at  Para.  Those  brought  to  me  were 
generally  not  much  more  than  a  foot  in  length.  They  are  of 
cylindrical  shape,  having,  properly  speaking,  no  neck,  and  the 


Amphisbasna. 

blunt  tail  which  is  only  about  an  inch  in  length,  is  of  the  same 
shape  as  the  head.  This  peculiar  form,  added  to  their  habit  of 
wriggling  backwards  as  well  as  forwards,  has  given  rise  to  the 
fable  that  they  have  two  heads,  one  at  each  extremity.  They 
are  extremely  sluggish  in  their  motions,  and  are  clothed  with 
scales  that  have  the  form  of  small  imbedded  plates  arranged  in 
rings  round  the  body.  The  eye  is  so  small  as  to  be  scarcely 
perceptible.  They  live  habitually  in  the  subterranean  chambers 
of  the  Sauba  ant;  only  coming  out  of  their  abodes  occasionally 
in  the  night  time.  The  natives  call  the  Amphisbsena  the  "  Mai 
das  Saiibas,"  or  Mother  of  the  Saiibas,  and  believe  it  to  be 
poisonous,  although  it  is  perfectly  harmless.  It  is  one  of  the 
many  curious  animals  which  have  become  the  subject  of 
mythical  stories  with  the  natives.  They  say  the  ants  treat  it 
with  great  affection,  and  that  if  the  snake  be  taken  away  from 
a  nest,  the  Saiibas  will  forsake  the  spot.  I  once  took  one 
quite  whole  out  of  the  body  of  a  young  Jararaca,  the  poisonous 
species  already  alluded  to,  whose  body  was  so  distended  with 
its  contents  that  the  skin  was  stretched  out  to  a  film  over  the 


56        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

contained  Amphisbaena.  I  was,  unfortunately,  not  able  to 
ascertain  the  exact  relation  which  subsists  between  these  curious 
snakes  and  the  Sauba  ants.  I  believe,  however,  they  feed  upon 
the  Saiibas,  for  I  once  found  remains  of  ants  in  the  stomach  of* 
one  of  them.  Their  motions  are  quite  peculiar;  the  undilatable 
jaws,  small  eyes  and  curious  plated  integument  also  distinguish 
them  from  other  snakes.  These  properties  have  evidently  some 
relation  to  their  residence  in  the  subterranean  abodes  of  ants. 
It  is  now  well  ascertained  by  naturalists,  that  some  of  the  most 
anomalous  forms  amongst  Coleopterous  insects  are  those  which 
live  solely  in  the  nests  of  ants,  and  it  is  curious  that  an 
abnormal  form  of  snakes  should  also  be  found  in  the  society  of 
these  insects. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Para  is  rich  in  insects.  I  do  not 
speak  of  the  number  of  individuals,  which  is  probably  less 
than  one  meets  with,  excepting  ants  and  Termites,  in  summer 
days  in  temperate  latitudes ;  but  the  variety,  or  in  other  words, 
the  number  of  species  is  very  great.  It  will  convey  some  idea 
of  the  diversity  of  butterflies  when  I  mention  that  about  700 
species  of  that  tribe  are  found  within  an  hour's  walk  of  the 
town;  whilst  the  total  number  found  in  the  British  Islands 
does  not  exceed  66,  and  the  whole  of  Europe  supports  only  321. 
Some  of  the  most  showy  species,  such  as  the  swallow-tailed 
kinds,  Papilio  Polycaon,  Thoas,  Torquatus,  and  others,  are  seen 
flying  about  the  streets  and  gardens;  sometimes  they  come 
through  the  open  windows,  attracted  by  flowers  in  the  apart- 
ments. Those  species  of  Papilio  which  are  most  characteristic 
of  the  country,  so  conspicuous  in  their  velvety-black,  green, 
and  rose-coloured  hues,  which  Linnaeus,  in  pursuance  of  his 
elegant  system  of  nomenclature, — naming  the  different  kinds 
after  the  heroes  of  Greek  mythology, — called  Trojans,  never 
leave  the  shades  of  the  forest.  The  splendid  metallic  blue 
Morphos,  some  of  which  measure  seven  inches  in  expanse,  are 
generally  confined  to  the  shady  alleys  of  the  forest.  They 
sometimes  come  forth  into  the  broad  sunlight.  When  we  first 
went  to  look  at  our  new  residence  in  Nazareth,  a  Morpho 
Menelaus,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  kinds,  was  seen  flapping 
its  huge  wings  like  a  bird  along  the  verandah.  This  species, 
however,  although  much  admired,  looks  dull  in  colour  by  the 
side  of  its  congener,  the  Morpho  Rhetenor,  whose  wings,  on  the 
upper  face,  are  of  quite  a  dazzling  lustre.  Rhetenor  usually 
prefers  the  broad  sunny  roads  in  the  forest,  and  is  an  almost 
unattainable  prize,  on  account  of  its  lofty  flight;    for  it  very 


Para 


57 


rarely  descends  nearer  the  ground  than  about  twenty  feet. 
When  it  comes  sailing  along,  it  occasionally  flaps  its  wings, 
and  then  the  blue  surface  flashes  in  the  sunlight,  so  that  it  is 
visible  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off.  There  is  another  species  of  this 
genus,  of  a  satiny-white  hue,  the  Morpho  Uraneis;  this  is 
equally  difficult  to  obtain;  the  male  only  has  the  satiny  lustre, 
the  female  being  of  a  pale-lavender  colour.  It  is  in  the  height 
of  the  dry  season  that  the  greatest  number  and  variety  of 
butterflies  are  found  in  the  woods;  especially  when  a  shower 
falls  at  intervals  of  a  few  days.  An  infinite  number  of  curious 
and  rare  species  may  then  be  taken,  most  diversified  in  habits, 
mode  of  flight,  colours,  and  markings:  some  yellow,  others 
bright  red,  green,  purple,  and  blue,  and  many  bordered  or 
spangled  with  metallic  lines  and  spots  of  a  silvery  or  golden 
lustre.  Some  have  wings  transparent  as  glass;  one  of  these 
clear  wings  is  especially  beautiful,  namely,  the  Hetaira 
Esmeralda;  it  has  one  spot  only  of  opaque  colouring  on  its 
wings,  which  is  of  a  violet  and  rose  hue;  this  is  the  only  part 
visible  when  the  insect  is  flying  low  over  dead  leaves  in  the 
gloomy  shades  where  alone  it  is  found,  and  it  then  looks  like  a 
wandering  petal  of  a  flower. 

Bees  and  wasps  are  not  especially  numerous  near  Para,  and 
I  will  reserve  an  account  of  their  habits 
for  a  future  chapter.  Many  species  of 
Mygale,  those  monstrous  hairy  spiders, 
half  a  foot  in  expanse,  which  attract  the 
attention  so  much  in  museums,  are 
found  in  sandy  places  at  Nazareth. 
The  different  kinds  have  the  most 
diversified  habits.  Some  construct, 
amongst  the  tiles  or  thatch  of  houses, 
dens  of  closely-woven  web,  which,  in 
its  texture,  very  much  resembles  fine 
muslin;  these  are  often  seen  crawling 
over  the  walls  of  apartments.  Others 
build  similar  nests  in  trees,  and  are 
known  to  attack  birds.  One  very 
robust  fellow,  the  Mygale  Blondii, 
burrows  into  the  earth,  forming  a  broad, 
slanting  gallery,  about  two  feet  long,  the 
sides  of  which  he  lines  beautifully  with 
silk.  He  is  nocturnal  in  his  habits. 
Just  before  sunset  he  may  be  seen  keeping  watch  within  the 


Acrosoma  arcuatum. 


58         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

mouth  of  his  tunnel,  disappearing  suddenly  when  he  hears  a 
heavy  foot-tread  near  his  hiding-place.  The  number  of  spiders 
ornamented  with  showy  colours  was  somewhat  remarkable* 
Some  double  themselves  up  at  the  base  of  leaf-stalks,  so  as  to 
resemble  flower-buds,  and  thus  deceive  the  insects  on  which 
they  prey.  The  most  extraordinary-looking  spider  was  a 
species  of  Acrosoma,  which  had  two  curved  bronze-coloured 
spines,  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  proceeding  from  the  tip 
of  its  abdomen.  It  spins  a  large  web,  the  monstrous  appendages 
being  apparently  no  impediment  to  it  in  its  work;  but  what 
their  use  can  be  I  am  unable  to  divine. 

Coleoptera,  or  beetles,  at  first  seemed  to  be  very  scarce. 
This  apparent  scarcity  has  been  noticed  in  other  equatorial 
countries,  and  arises,  probably,  from  the  great  heat  of  the  sun 
not  permitting  them  to  exist  in  exposed  situations,  where  they 
form  such  conspicuous  objects  in  Europe.  Many  hundred 
species  of  the  different  families  can  be  found,  when  they  are 
patiently  searched  for  in  the  shady  places  to  which  they  are 
confined.  It  is  vain  to  look  for  the  Geodephaga,  or  carnivorous 
beetles,  under  stones,  or  anywhere,  indeed,  in  open,  sunny 
places.  The  terrestrial  forms  of  this  interesting  family,  which 
abound  in  England  and  temperate  countries  generally,  are 
scarce  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Para,  in  fact  I  met  with  only 
four  or  five  species;  on  the  other  hand  the  purely  arboreal 
kinds  were  rather  numerous.  The  contrary  of  this  happens  in 
northern  latitudes,  where  the  great  majority  of  the  species  and 
genera  are  exclusively  terrestrial.  The  arboreal  forms  are 
distinguished  by  the  structure  of  the  feet,  which  have  broad 
spongy  soles  and  toothed  claws  enabling  them  to  climb  over 
and  cling  to  branches  and  leaves.  The  remarkable  scarcity  of 
ground  beetles  is,  doubtless,  attributable  to  the  number  of  ants 
and  Termites  which  people  every  inch  of  surface  in  all  shady 
places,  and  which  would  most  likely  destroy  the  larvae  of 
Coleoptera.  Moreover  these  active  creatures  have  the  same 
functions  as  Coleoptera,  and  thus  render  their  existence  un- 
necessary. The  large  proportion  of  climbing  forms  of  carnivor- 
ous beetles  is  an  interesting  fact,  because  it  affords  another 
instance  of  the  arboreal  character  which  animal  forms  tend  to 
assume  in  equinoctial  America,  a  circumstance  which  points  to 
the  slow  adaptation  of  the  Fauna  to  a  forest-clad  country 
throughout  an  immense  lapse  of  geological  time. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  TOCANTINS   AND   CAMETA 

Preparations  for  the  Journey — The  Bay  of  Goajara — Grove  of  fan-leaved 
Palms — The  lower  Tocantins — Sketch  of  the  River — Vista  alegre — 
Baiao — Rapids — Boat  Journey  to  the  Guariba  Falls — Native  Life  on 
the  Tocantins — Second  Journey  to  Cameta. 

August  26th,  1848. — Mr.  Wallace  and  I  started  to-day  on  the 
excursion  which  I  have  already  mentioned  as  having  been 
planned  with  Mr.  Leavens,  up  the  river  Tocantins,  whose 
mouth  lies  about  forty-five  miles  in  a  straight  line,  but  eighty 
miles  following  the  bends  of  the  river  channels,  to  the  south- 
west of  Para.  This  river,  as  before  stated,  has  a  course  of 
1600  miles,  and  stands  third  jn  rank  amongst  the  streams 
which  form  the  Amazons  system.  The  preparations  for  the 
journey  took  a  great  deal  of  time  and  trouble.  We  had  first 
to  hire  a  proper  vessel,  a  two-masted  vigilinga  twenty-seven 
feet  long,  with  a  flat  prow  and  great  breadth  of  beam  and  fitted 
to  live  in  heavy  seas;  for,  although  our  voyage  was  only  a  river 
trip,  there  were  vast  sea-like  expanses  of  water  to  traverse.  It 
was  not  decked  over,  but  had  two  arched  awnings  formed  of 
strong  wickerwork,  and  thatched  with  palm  leaves.  We  had 
then  to  store  it  with  provisions  for  three  months,  the  time  we 
at  first  intended  to  be  away;  procure  the  necessary  passports;, 
and,  lastly,  engage  a  crew.  Mr.  Leavens,  having  had  much. 
experience  in  the  country,  managed  all  these  matters.  He 
brought  two  Indians  from  the  rice-mills,  and  these  induced 
another  to  enrol  himself.  We,  on  our  parts,  took  our  cook 
Isidoro,  and  a  young  Indian  lad,  named  Antonio,  who  had 
attached  himself  to  us  in  the  course  of  our  residence  at  Nazareth. 
Our  principal  man  was  Alexandro,  one  of  Mr.  Leavens's  Indians. 
He  was  an  intelligent  and  well-disposed  young  Tapuyo,  an 
expert  sailor,  and  an  indefatigable  hunter.  To  his  fidelity 
we  were  indebted  for  being  enabled  to  carry  out  any  of  the 
objects  of  our  voyage.  Being  a  native  of  a  district  near  the 
capital,  Alexandro  was  a  civilised  Tapuyo,  a  citizen  as  free  as 
his  white  neighbours.     He  spoke  only  Portuguese.     He  was  a 

59 


60         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

spare-built  man,  rather  under  the  middle  height,  with  fine 
regular  features,  and,  what  was  unusual  in  Indians,  the  upper 
lip  decorated  with  a  moustache.  Three  years  afterwards  I  saw 
him  at  Para  in  the  uniform  of  the  National  Guard,  and  he  called* 
on  me  often  to  talk  about  old  times.  I  esteemed  him  as  a  quiet, 
sensible,  manly  young  fellow. 

We  set  sail  in  the  evening,  after  waiting  several  hours  in 
vain  for  one  of  our  crew.  It  was  soon  dark,  the  wind  blew 
stiffly,  and  the  tide  rushed  along  with  great  rapidity,  carrying 
us  swiftly  past  the  crowd  of  vessels  which  were  anchored  in  the 
port.  The  canoe  rolled  a  good  deal.  After  we  had  made  five 
or  six  miles  of  way  the  tide  turned,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
cast  anchor.  Not  long  after,  we  lay  ourselves  down  all  three 
together  on  the  mat,  which  was  spread  over  the  floor  of  our 
cabin,  and  soon  fell  asleep. 

On  awaking  at  sunrise  the  next  morning,  we  found  ourselves 
gliding  upwards  with  the  tide,  along  the  Bahia  or  Bay,  as  it  is 
called,  of  Goajara.  This  is  a  broad  channel  lying  between  the 
mainland  and  a  line  of  islands  which  extends  some  distance 
beyond  the  city.  Into  it  three  large  rivers  discharge  their 
waters,  namely,  the  Guama,  trie  Acara,  and  the  Moju;  so  that 
it  forms  a  kind  of  sub-estuary  within  the  grand  estuary  of 
Para.  It  is  nearly  four  miles  broad.  The  left  bank,  along 
which  we  were  now  sailing,  was  beautiful  in  the  extreme;  not 
an  inch  of  soil  was  to  be  seen;  the  water  frontage  presented 
a  compact  wall  of  rich  and  varied  forest,  resting  on  the  surface 
of  the  stream.  It  seemed  to  form  a  finished  border  to  the 
water  scene,  where  the  dome-like,  rounded  shapes  of  exogenous 
trees  which  constituted  the  mass  formed  the  groundwork,  and 
the  endless  diversity  of  broad-leaved  Heliconiae  and  Palms — 
each  kind  differing  in  stem,  crown,  and  fronds — the  rich 
embroidery.  The  morning  was  calm  and  cloudless;  and  the 
slanting  beams  of  the  early  sun,  striking  full  on  the  front  of 
the  forest,  lighted  up  the  whole  most  gloriously.  The  only 
sound  of  life  which  reached  us  was  the  call  of  the  Serracura 
(Gallinula  Cayennensis),  a  kind  of  wild-fowl;  all  else  was  so 
still  that  the  voices  of  boatmen  could  be  plainly  heard  from 
canoes  passing  a  mile  or  two  distant  from  us.  The  sun  soon 
gains  great  power  on  the  water,  but  with  it  the  sea-breeze 
increases  in  strength,  moderating  the  heat  which  would  other- 
wise be  almost  insupportable.  We  reached  the  end  of  the 
Goajara  about  midday,  and  then  entered  the  narrower  channel 
of  the  Moju.     Up  this  we  travelled,  partly  rowing  and  partly 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  61 

sailing  between  the  same  unbroken  walls  of  forest,  until  the 
morning  of  the  28th. 

August  29th. — The  Moju,  a  stream  little  inferior  to  the 
Thames  in  size,  is  connected  about  twenty  miles  from  its 
mouth  by  means  of  a  short  artificial  canal  with  a  small  stream, 
the  Igarape-mirim,  which  flows  the  opposite  way  into  the 
water-system  of  the  Tocantins.  Small  vessels  like  ours  take 
this  route  in  preference  to  the  stormy  passage  by  way  of  the 
main  river,  although  the  distance  is  considerably  greater.  We 
passed  through  the  canal  yesterday,  and  to-day  have  been 
threading  our  way  through  a  labyrinth  of  narrow  channels; 
their  banks  all  clothed  with  the  same  magnificent  forest;  but 
agreeably  varied  by  houses  of  planters  and  settlers.  We  passed 
many  quite  large  establishments,  besides  one  pretty  little 
village  called  Santa  Anna.  All  these  channels  are  washed 
through  by  the  tides, — the  ebb,  contrary  to  what  takes  place 
in  the  short  canal,  setting  towards  the  Tocantins.  The  water 
is  almost  tepid  (770  Fahr.),  and  the  rank  vegetation  all  around 
seems  reeking  with  moisture.  The  country  however,  as  we 
were  told,  is  perfectly  healthy.  Some  of  the  houses  are  built 
on  wooden  piles  driven  into  the  mud  of  the  swamp. 

In  the  afternoon  we  reached  the  end  of  the  last  channel, 
called  the  Murutipucu,  which  runs  for  several  miles  between 
two  unbroken  lines  of  fan-leaved  palms,  forming  with  their 
straight  stems  colossal  palisades.  On  rounding  a  point  of  land 
we  came  in  full  view  of  the  Tocantins.  The  event  was  announced 
by  one  of  our  Indians,  who  was  on  the  look-out  at  the  prow, 
shouting,  "La  esta  o  Parana-uassu !  "  "Behold,  the  great 
river !  "  It  was  a  grand  sight — a  broad  expanse  of  dark  waters 
dancing  merrily  to  the  breeze;  the  opposite  shore,  a  narrow 
blue  line,  miles  away. 

We  went  ashore  on  an  island  covered  with  palm-trees,  to 
make  a  fire  and  boil  our  kettle  for  tea.  I  wandered  a  short 
way  inland,  and  was  astounded  at  the  prospect.  The  land 
lay  below  the  upper  level  of  the  daily  tides,  so  that  there  was 
no  underwood,  and  the  ground  was  bare.  The  trees  were 
almost  all  of  one  species  of  Palm,  the  gigantic  fan-leaved 
Mauritia  flexuosa;  on  the  borders  only  was  there  a  small 
number  of  a  second  kind,  the  equally  remarkable  Ubussu 
palm,  Manicaria  saccifera.  The  Ubussu  has  erect,  uncut 
leaves,  twenty-five  feet  long,  and  six  feet  wide,  all  arranged 
round  the  top  of  a  four-feet  high  stem,  so  as  to  form  a  figure 
like  that  of  a  colossal  shuttlecock.    The  fan-leaved  palms, 


62         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

which  clothed  nearly  the  entire  islet,  had  huge  cylindrical 
smooth  stems,  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  about  a  hundred  feet 
high.  The  crowns  were  formed  of  enormous  clusters  of  fan- 
shaped  leaves,  the  stalks  alone  of  which  measured  seven  to  ten 
feet  in  length.  Nothing  in  the  vegetable  world  could  be  more 
imposing  than  this  grove  of  palms.  There  was  no  under- 
wood to  obstruct  the  view  of  the  long  perspective  of  towering 
columns.  The  crowns,  which  were  densely  packed  together  at 
an  immense  height  overhead,  shut  out  the  rays  of  the  sun;  and 
the  gloomy  solitude  beneath,  through  which  the  sound  of  our 
voices  seemed  to  reverberate,  could  be  compared  to  nothing  so 
well  as  a  solemn  temple.  The  fruits  of  the  two  palms  were 
scattered  over  the  ground ;  those  of  the  Ubussu  adhere  together 
by  twos  and  threes,  and  have  a  rough,  brown-coloured  shell; 
the  fruit  of  the  Mauritia,  on  the  contrary,  is  of  a  bright  red  hue, 
and  the  skin  is  impressed  with  deep  crossing  lines,  which  give 
it  a  resemblance  to  a  quilted  cricket-ball. 

About  midnight,  the  tide  being  favourable,  and  the  breeze 
strong,  we  crossed  the  river,  taking  it  in  a  slanting  direction,  a 
distance  of  sixteen  miles,  and  arrived  at  eight  o'clock  the  follow- 
ing morning  at  Cameta.  This  is  a  town  of  some  importance, 
pleasantly  situated  on  the  somewhat  high  terra  firma  of  the 
left  bank  of  the  Tocantins.  I  will  defer  giving  an  account 
of  the  place  till  the  end  of  this  narrative  of  our  Tocantins 
voyage.  We  lost  here  another  of  our  men,  who  got  drinking 
with  some  old  companions  ashore,  and  were  obliged  to  start  on 
the  difficult  journey  up  the  river  with  two  hands  only,  and  they 
in  a  very  dissatisfied  humour  with  the  prospect. 

The  river  view  from  Cameta  is  magnificent.  The  town  is 
situated,  as  already  mentioned,  on  a  high  bank,  which  forms 
quite  a  considerable  elevation  for  this  flat  country,  and  the 
broad  expanse  of  dark-green  waters  is  studded  with  low,  palm- 
clad  islands,  the  prospect  down  river,  however,  being  clear,  or 
bounded  only  by  a  sea-like  horizon  of  water  and  sky.  The 
shores  are  washed  by  the  breeze-tossed  waters  into  little  bays 
and  creeks,  fringed  with  sandy  beaches.  The  Tocantins  has 
been  likened,  by  Prince  Adalbert  of  Prussia,  who  crossed  its 
mouth  in  1846,  to  the  Ganges.  It  is  upwards  of  ten  miles  in 
breadth  at  its  mouth;  opposite  Cameta  it  is  five  miles  broad. 
Mr.  Burchell,  the  well-known  English  traveller,  descended  the 
river  from  the  mining  provinces  of  interior  Brazil  some  years 
before  our  visit.  Unfortunately,  the  utility  of  this  fine  stream 
is  impaired  by  the  numerous  obstructions  to  its  navigation 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  63 

in  the  shape  of  cataracts  and  rapids,  which  commence,  in 
ascending,  at  about  120  miles  above  Cameta,  as  will  be  seen 
in  the  sequel. 

August  30th. — Arrived,  in  company  with  Senhor  Laroque, 
an  intelligent  Portuguese  merchant,  at  Vista  Alegre,  fifteen 
miles  above  Cameta.  This  was  the  residence  of  Senhor  Antonio 
Ferreira  Gomez,  and  was  a  fair  sample  of  a  Brazilian  planter's 
establishment  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  buildings 
covered  a  wide  space,  the  dwelling-house  being  separated  from 
the  place  of  business,  and  as  both  were  built  on  low,  flooded 
ground,  the  communication  between  the  two  was  by  means  of  a 
long  wooden  bridge.  From  the  office  and  visitors'  apartments 
a  wooden  pier  extended  into  the  river.  The  whole  was  raised 
on  piles  above  high-water  mark.  There  was  a  rude  mill  for 
grinding  sugar-cane,  worked  by  bullocks,  but  cashaca,  or  rum, 
was  the  only  article  manufactured  from  the  juice.  Behind  the 
buildings  was  a  small  piece  of  ground  cleared  from  the  forest, 
and  planted  with  fruit-trees,  orange,  lemon,  genipapa,  goyava, 
and  others ;  and  beyond  this,  a  broad  path  through  a  neglected 
plantation  of  coffee  and  cacao,  led  to  several  large  sheds,  where 
the  farinha,  or  mandioca  meal,  was  manufactured.  The  plan- 
tations of  mandioca  are  always  scattered  about  in  the  forest, 
some  of  them  being  on  islands  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 
Land  being  plentiful,  and  the  plough,  as  well  as,  indeed,  nearly 
all  other  agricultural  implements,  unknown,  the  same  ground 
is  not  planted  three  years  together;  but  a  new  piece  of  forest 
is  cleared  every  alternate  year,  and  the  old  clearing  suffered  to 
relapse  into  jungle. 

We  stayed  here  two  days,  sleeping  ashore  in  the  apartment 
devoted  to  strangers.  As  usual  in  Brazilian  houses  of  the 
middle  class,  we  were  not  introduced  to  the  female  members  of 
the  family,  and,  indeed,  saw  nothing  of  them  except  at  a  dis- 
tance. In  the  forest  and  thickets  about  the  place  we  were 
tolerably  successful  in  collecting,  finding  a  number  of  birds  and 
insects  which  do  not  occur  at  Para.  I  saw  here,  for  the  first 
time,  the  sky-blue  Chatterer  (Ampelis  cotinga).  It  was  on  the 
topmost  bough  of  a  very  lofty  tree,  and  completely  out  of  the 
reach  of  an  ordinary  fowling-piece.  The  beautiful  light-blue 
colour  of  its  plumage  was  plainly  discernible  at  that  distance. 
It  is  a  dull,  quiet  bird.  A  much  commoner  species  was  the 
Cigana  or  Gipsy  (Opisthocomus  cristatus),  a  bird  belonging  to 
the  same  order  (Gallinacea)  as  our  domestic  fowl.  It  is  about 
the  size  of  a  pheasant;  the  plumage  is  dark  brown,  varied  with 


64        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

reddish,  and  the  head  is  adorned  with  a  crest  of  long  feathers. 
It  is  a  remarkable  bird  in  many  respects.  The  hind  toe  is  not 
placed  high  above  the  level  of  the  other  toes,  as  it  is  in  the 
fowl  order  generally,  but  lies  on  the  same  plane  with  them; 
the  shape  of  the  foot  becomes  thus  suited  to  the  purely  arboreal 
habits  of  the  bird,  enabling  it  to  grasp  firmly  the  branches  of 
trees.  This  is  a  distinguishing  character  of  all  the  birds  in 
equinoctial  America  which  represents  the  fowl  and  pheasant 
tribes  of  the  old  world,  and  affords  another  proof  of  the  adapta- 
tion of  the  Fauna  to  a  forest  region.  The  Cigana  lives  in  con- 
siderable flocks  on  the  lower  trees  and  bushes  bordering  the 
streams  and  lagoons,  and  feeds  on  various  wild  fruits,  especially 
the  sour  Goyava  (Psidium  sp.).  The  natives  say  it  devours  the 
fruit  of  arborescent  Arums  (Caladium  arborescens),  which  grow 
in  crowded  masses  around  the  swampy  banks  of  lagoons.  Its 
voice  is  a  harsh,  grating  hiss ;  it  makes  the  noise  when  alarmed, 
all  the  individuals  sibilating  as  they  fly  heavily  away  from  tree 
to  tree,  when  disturbed  by  passing  canoes.  It  is  polygamous, 
like  other  members  of  the  same  order.  It  is  never,  however, 
by  any  chance,  seen  on  the  ground,  and  is  nowhere  domesti- 
cated. The  flesh  has  an  unpleasant  odour  of  musk  combined 
with  wet  hides — a  smell  called  by  the  Brazilians  catinga;  it 
is,  therefore,  uneatable.  If  it  be  as  unpalatable  to  carnivorous 
animals  as  it  is  to  man,  the  immunity  from  persecution  which 
it  would  thereby  enjoy  would  account  for  its  existing  in  such 
great  numbers  throughout  the  country. 

We  lost  here  another  of  our  crew;  and  thus,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  our  voyage,  had  before  us  the  prospect  of  being 
forced  to  return,  from  sheer  want  of  hands  to  manage  the 
canoe.  Senhor  Gomez,  to  whom  we  had  brought  letters  of 
introduction  from  Senhor  Joao  Augusto  Correia,  a  Brazilian 
gentlemen  of  high  standing  at  Para,  tried  what  he  could  do  to 
induce  the  canoe-men  of  his  neighbourhood  to  engage  with  us, 
but  it  was  a  vain  endeavour.  The  people  of  these  parts  seemed 
to  be  above  working  for  wages.  They  are  naturally  indolent, 
and  besides,  have  all  some  little  business  or  plantation  of  their 
own,  which  gives  them  a  livelihood  with  independence.  It  is 
difficult  to  obtain  hands  under  any  circumstances,  but  it  was 
particularly  so  in  our  case,  from  being  foreigners,  and  sus- 
pected, as  was  natural  amongst  ignorant  people,  of  being 
strange  in  our  habits.  At  length,  our  host  lent  us  two  of  his 
slaves  to  help   us   on   another  stage,  namely,  to   the   village 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta 


65 


/ 


of   Baiao,  where   we   had   great   hopes   of   having   this,  our 
urgent    want,    supplied 
by    the    military    com-  r'sr$*j. 

mandant  of  the  district. 
September  2nd.  —  The 
distance  from  Vista 
Alegre  to  Baiao  is  about 
twenty-five  miles.  We 
had  but  little  wind,  and 
our  men  were  therefore  obliged  to  row 
the  greater  part  of  the  way.  The  oars 
used  in  such  canoes  as  ours  are  made 
by  tying  a  stout  paddle  to  the  end  of  a 
long  pole  by  means  of  woody  lianas. 
The  men  take  their  stand  on  a  raised 
deck,  formed  by  a  few  rough  planks 
placed  over  the  arched  covering  in  the 
fore  part  of  the  vessel,  and  pull  with 
their  backs  to  the  stern.  We  started 
at  six  a.m.,  and  about  sunset  reached  a 
point  where  the  west  channel  of  the 
river,  along  which  we  had  been  travelling 
since  we  left  Cameta,  joined  a  broader 
middle  one,  and  formed  with  it  a  great 
expanse  of  water.  The  islands  here 
seem  to  form  two  pretty  regular  lines, 
dividing  the  great  river  into  three 
channels.  As  we  progressed  slowly,  we 
took  the  montaria,  and  went  ashore, 
from  time  to  time,  to  the  houses,  which 
were  numerous  on  the  river  banks  as 
well  as  on  the  larger  islands.  In  low 
situations  they  had  a  very  unfinished 
appearance,  being  mere  frameworks 
raised  high  on  wooden  piles,  and 
thatched  with  the  leaves  of  the  Ubussu 
palm.  In  their  construction  another 
palm-tree  is  made  much  use  of,  viz., 
the  Assai  (Euterpe  oleracea).  The 
outer  part  of  the  stem  of  this  species 
is  hard  and  tough  as  horn;    it  is  split 

into  narrow  planks,  and  these  form  a  great  portion  of  the  walls 
,and  flooring.     The  residents  told  us  that  the  western  channel 


**mL  j 


Assai  Palm  (Euterpe 
oleracea). 


66         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

becomes  nearly  dry  in  the  middle  of  the  fine  season,  but  that  at 
high  water,  in  April  and  May,  the  river  rises  to  the  level  of  the 
house-floors.  The  river  bottom  is  everywhere  sandy,  and  the 
country  perfectly  healthy.  The  people  seemed  to  be  all  con- 
tented and  happy,  but  idleness  and  poverty  were  exhibited  by 
many  unmistakeable  signs.  As  to  the  flooding  of  their  island 
abodes,  they  did  not  seem  to  care  about  that  at  all.  They 
seem  to  be  almost  amphibious,  or  as  much  at  home  on  the 
water  as  on  land.  It  was  really  alarming  to  see  men  and 
women  and  children,  in  little  leaky  canoes  laden  to  the  water- 
level  with  bag  and  baggage,  crossing  broad  reaches  of  river. 
Most  of  them  have  houses  also  on  the  terra  firma,  and  reside 
in  the  cool  palm-swamps  of  the  Ygapo  islands,  as  they  are 
called,  only  in  the  hot  and  dry  season.  They  live  chiefly  on 
fish,  shellfish  (amongst  which  were  large  Ampullariae,  whose 
flesh  I  found,  on  trial,  to  be  a  very  tough  morsel),  the  never- 
failing  farinha,  and  the  fruits  of  the  forest.  Amongst  the 
latter  the  fruits  of  palm-trees  occupied  the  chief  place.  The 
Assai  is  the  most  in  use,  but  this  forms  a  universal  article  of 
diet  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  fruit,  which  is  perfectly 
round,  and  about  the  size  of  a  cherry,  contains  but  a  small 
portion  of  pulp  lying  between  the  skin  and  the  hard  kernel. 
This  is  made,  with  the  addition  of  water,  into  a  thick,  violet- 
coloured  beverage,  which  stains  the  lips  like  blackberries.  The 
fruit  of  the  Miriti  is  also  a  common  article  of  food,  although 
the  pulp  is  sour  and  unpalatable,  at  least  to  European  tastes. 
It  is  boiled,  and  then  eaten  with  farinha.  The  Tucuma  (Astro- 
caryum  tucuma),  and  the  Mucuja  (Acrocomia  lasiospatha), 
grow  only  on  the  main  land.  Their  fruits  yield  a  yellowish, 
fibrous  pulp,  which  the  natives  eat  in  the  same  way  as  the 
Miriti.  They  contain  so  much  fatty  matter,  that  vultures  and 
dogs  devour  them  greedily. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  September  3rd  we  reached  the  right 
or  eastern  bank,  which  is  here  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  high. 
The  houses  were  more  substantially  built  than  those  we  had 
hitherto  seen.  We  succeeded  in  buying  a  small  turtle;  most 
of  the  inhabitants  had  a  few  of  these  animals,  which  they  kept 
in  little  inclosures  made  with  stakes.  The  people  were  of  the 
same  class  everywhere,  Mamelucos.  They  were  very  civil;  we 
were  not  able,  however,  to  purchase  much  fresh  food  from 
them.  I  think  this  was  owing  to  their  really  not  having  more 
than  was  absolutely  required  to  satisfy  their  own  needs.  In 
these  districts,  where  the  people  depend  for  animal  food  solely 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  67 

on  fishing,  there  is  a  period  of  the  year  when  they  suffer  hunger, 
so  that  they  are  disposed  to  prize  highly  a  small  stock  when 
they  have  it.  They  generally  answered  in  the  negative  when 
we  asked,  money  in  hand,  whether  they  had  fowls,  turtles,  or 
eggs  to  sell.  "  Nao  ha,  sinto  que  nao  posso  lhe  ser  bom;" 
or,  "  Nao  ha,  meu  coracao."  "  We  have  none;  I  am  sorry  I 
cannot  oblige  you;  "  or,  "  There  is  none,  my  heart." 

Sept.  yd  to  7th. — At  half-past  eight  a.m.  we  arrived  at 
Baiao,  which  is  built  on  a  very  high  bank,  and  contains  about 
400  inhabitants.  We  had  to  climb  to  the  village  up  a  ladder, 
which  is  fixed  against  the  bank,  and,  on  arriving  at  the  top, 
took  possession  of  a  room,  which  Senhor  Seixas  had  given 
orders  to  be  prepared  for  us.  He  himself  was  away  at  his  sitio, 
and  would  not  be  here  until  the  next  day.  We  were  now  quite 
dependent  on  him  for  men  to  enable  us  to  continue  our  voyage, 
and  so  had  no  remedy  but  to  wait  his  leisure.  The  situation 
of  the  place,  and  the  nature  of  the  woods  around  it,  promised 
well  for  novelties  in  birds  and  insects;  so  we  had  no  reason  to 
be  vexed  at  the  delay,  but  brought  our  apparatus  and  store- 
boxes  up  from  the  canoe,  and  set  to  work. 

The  easy,  lounging  life  of  the  people  amused  us  very  much. 
I  afterwards  had  plenty  of  time  to  become  used  to  tropical 
village  life.  There  is  a  free,  familiar,  pro  bono  publico  style  of 
living  in  these  small  places,  which  requires  some  time  for  a 
European  to  fall  into.  No  sooner  were  we  established  in  our 
rooms,  than  a  number  of  lazy  young  fellows  came  to  look  on 
and  make  remarks,  and  we  had  to  answer  all  sorts  of  questions. 
The  houses  have  their  doors  and  windows  open  to  the  street, 
and  people  walk  in  and  out  as  they  please;  there  is  always, 
however,  a  more  secluded  apartment,  where  the  female  members 
of  the  families  reside.  In  their  familiarity  there  is  nothing 
intentionally  offensive,  and  it  is  practised  simply  in  the  desire 
to  be  civil  and  sociable.  A  young  Mameluco,  named  Soares, 
an  Escrivao,  or  public  clerk,  took  me  into  his  house  to  show  me 
his  library.  I  was  rather  surprised  to  see  a  number  of  well- 
thumbed  Latin  classics,  Virgil,  Terence,  Cicero's  Epistles,  and 
Livy.  I  was  not  familiar  enough,  at  this  early  period  of  my 
residence  in  the  country,  with  Portuguese  to  converse  freely 
with  Senhor  Soares,  or  ascertain  what  use  he  made  of  these 
books;  it  was  an  unexpected  sight,  a  classical  library  in  a 
mud-plastered  and  palm-thatched  hut  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tocantins. 

The  prospect  from  the  village   was  magnificent,  over  the 


68         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

green  wooded  islands,  far  away  to  the  grey  line  of  forest  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  Tocantins.  We  were  now  well  out  of  the 
low  alluvial  country  of  the  Amazons  proper,  and  the  climate  was 
evidently  much  drier  than  it  is  near  Para.  They  had  had  no 
rain  here  for  many  weeks,  and  the  atmosphere  was  hazy  around 
the  horizon;  so  much  so  that  the  sun,  before  setting,  glared 
like  a  blood-red  globe.  At  Para  this  never  happens;  the  stars 
and  sun  are  as  clear  and  sharply  defined  when  they  peep  above 
the  distant  tree-tops  as  they  are  at  the  zenith.  This  beautiful 
transparency  of  the  air  arises,  doubtless,  from  the  equal  distribu- 
tion through  it  of  invisible  vapour.  I  shall  ever  remember,  in 
one  of  my  voyages  along  the  Para  river,  the  grand  spectacle 
that  was  once  presented  at  sunrise.  Our  vessel  was  a  large 
schooner,  and  we  were  bounding  along  before  a  spanking  breeze 
which  tossed  the  waters  into  foam,  when  the  day  dawned. 
So  clear  was  the  air,  that  the  lower  rim  of  the  full  moon 
remained  sharply  defined  until  it  touched  the  western  horizon, 
whilst,  at  the  same  time,  the  sun  rose  in  the  east.  The  two 
great  orbs  were  visible  at  the  same  time,  and  the  passage  from 
the  moonlit  night  to  day  was  so  gentle  that  it  seemed  to  be 
only  the  brightening  of  dull  weather.  The  woods  around 
Baiao  were  of  second  growth,  the  ground  having  been  formerly 
cultivated.  A  great  number  of  coffee  and  cotton  trees  grew 
amongst  the  thickets.  A  fine  woodland  pathway  extends  for 
miles  over  the  high,  undulating  bank,  leading  from  one  house 
to  another  along  the  edge  of  the  cliff.  I  went  into  several  of 
them,  and  talked  to  their  inmates.  They  were  all  poor  people. 
The  men  were  out  fishing,  some  far  away,  a  distance  of  many 
days'  journey;  the  women  plant  mandioca,  make  the  farinha, 
spin  and  weave  cotton,  manufacture  soap  of  burnt  cacao  shells 
and  andiroba  oil,  and  follow  various  other  domestic  employ- 
ments. I  asked  why  they  allowed  their  plantations  to  run  to 
waste.  They  said  that  it  was  useless  trying  to  plant  anything 
hereabout;  the  Saiiba  ant  devoured  the  young  coffee-trees,  and 
every  one  who  attempted  to  contend  against  this  universal 
ravager  was  sure  to  be  defeated.  The  country,  for  many  miles 
along  the  banks  of  the  river,  seemed  to  be  well  peopled.  The 
inhabitants  were  nearly  all  of  the  tawny-white  Mameluco  class. 
I  saw  a  good  many  mulattos,  but  very  few  negroes  and  Indians, 
and  none  that  could  be  called  pure  whites. 

When  Senhor  Seixas  arrived,  he  acted  very  kindly.  He  pro- 
vided us  at  once  with  two  men,  killed  an  ox  in  our  honour,  and 
treated  us  altogether  with  great  consideration.    We  were  not, 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  69 

however,  introduced  to  his  family.  I  caught  a  glimpse  once  of 
his  wife,  a  pretty  little  Mameluco  woman,  as  she  was  tripping 
with  a  young  girl,  whom  I  supposed  to  be  her  daughter,  across 
the  back  yard.  Both  wore  long  dressing-gowns,  made  of  bright- 
coloured  calico  print,  and  had  long  wooden  tobacco-pipes  in 
their  mouths.  The  room  in  which  we  slept  and  worked  had 
formerly  served  as  a  storeroom  for  cacao,  and  at  night  I  was 
kept  awake  for  hours  by  rats  and  cockroaches,  which  swarm  in 
all  such  places.  The  latter  were  running  about  all  over  the 
walls;  now  and  then  one  would  come  suddenly  with  a  whirr 
full  at  my  face,  and  get  under  my  shirt  if  I  attempted  to  jerk 
it  off.  As  to  the  rats,  they  were  chasing  one  another  by  dozens 
all  night  long,  over  the  floor,  up  and  down  the  edges  of  the 
doors,  and  along  the  rafters  of  the  open  roof. 

September  "jth. — We  started  from  Baiao  at  an  early  hour. 
One  of  our  new  men  was  a  good-humoured,  willing  young 
mulatto,  named  Jose;  the  other  was  a  sulky  Indian  called 
Manoel,  who  seemed  to  have  been  pressed  into  our  service 
against  his  will.  Senhor  Seixas,  on  parting,  sent  a  quantity 
of  fresh  provisions  on  board.  A  few  miles  above  Baiao  the 
channel  became  very  shallow;  we  got  aground  several  times, 
and  the  men  had  to  disembark  and  shove  the  vessel  off.  Alex- 
andre here  shot  several  fine  fish,  with  bow  and  arrow.  It  was 
the  first  time  I  had  seen  fish  captured  in  this  way.  The  arrow 
is  a  reed,  with  a  steel  barbed  point,  which  is  fixed  in  a  hole  at 
the  end,  and  secured  by  fine  twine  made  from  the  fibres  of 
pine-apple  leaves.  It  is  only  in  the  clearest  water  that  fish 
can  be  thus  shot:  and  the  only  skill  required  is  to  make,  in 
taking  aim,  the  proper  allowance  for  refraction. 

The  next  day  before  sunrise  a  fine  breeze  sprang  up,  and  the 
men  awoke  and  set  the  sails.  We  glided  all  day  through 
channels  between  islands  with  long,  white,  sandy  beaches,  over 
which,  now  and  then,  aquatic  and  wading  birds  were  seen 
running.  The  forest  was  low,  and  had  a  harsh,  dry  aspect. 
Several  palm  trees  grew  here  which  we  had  not  before  seen. 
On  low  bushes,  near  the  water,  pretty,  red-headed  tanagers 
(Tanagra  gularis)  were  numerous,  flitting  about  and  chirping 
like  sparrows.  About  half-past  four  p.m.,  we  brought  to  at  the 
mouth  of  a  creek  or  channel,  where  there  was  a  great  extent  of 
sandy  beach.  The  sand  had  been  blown  by  the  wind  into 
ridges  and  undulations,  and  over  the  moister  parts  large  flocks 
of  sandpipers  were  running  about.  Alexandro  and  I  had  a 
long  ramble  over  the  rolling  plain,  which  came  as  an  agree- 


jo        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

able  change  after  the  monotonous  forest  scenery  amid  which 
we  had  been  so  long  travelling.  He  pointed  out  to  me  the 
tracks  of  a  huge  jaguar  on  the  sand.  We  found  here,  also, 
our  first  turtle's  nest,  and  obtained  120  eggs  from  it,  which 
were  laid  at  a  depth  of  nearly  two  feet  from  the  surface,  the 
mother  first  excavating  a  hole,  and  afterwards  covering  it  up 
with  sand.  The  place  is  discoverable  only  by  following  the 
tracks  of  the  turtle  from  the  water.  I  saw  here  an  alligator 
for  the  first  time,  which  reared  its  head  and  shoulders  above 
the  water  just  after  I  had  taken  a  bath  near  the  spot.  The 
night  was  calm  and  cloudless,  and  we  employed  the  hours 
before  bed-time  in  angling  by  moonlight. 

On  the  10th  we  reached  a  small  settlement  called  Patos, 
consisting  of  about  a  dozen  houses,  and  built  on  a  high,  rocky 
bank,  on  the  eastern  shore.  The  rock  is  the  same  nodular 
conglomerate  which  is  found  at  so  many  places,  from  the  sea- 
coast  to  a  distance  of  600  miles  up  the  Amazons.  Mr.  Leavens 
made  a  last  attempt  here  to  engage  men  to  accompany  us  to 
the  Araguaya;  but  it  was  in  vain;  not  a  soul  could  be  induced 
by  any  amount  of  wages  to  go  on  such  an  expedition.  The 
reports  as  to  the  existence  of  cedar  were  very  vague.  All  said 
that  the  tree  was  plentiful  somewhere,  but  no  one  could  fix  on 
the  precise  locality.  I  believe  that  the  cedar  grows,  like  all 
other  forest  trees,  in  a  scattered  way,  and  not  in  masses  any- 
where. The  fact  of  its  being  the  principal  tree  observed  float- 
ing down  with  the  current  of  the  Amazons  is  to  be  explained 
by  its  wood  being  much  lighter  than  that  of  the  majority  of 
trees.  When  the  banks  are  washed  away  by  currents,  trees  of 
all  species  fall  into  the  river;  but  the  heavier  ones,  which  are 
the  most  numerous,  sink,  and  the  lighter,  such  as  the  cedar, 
alone  float  down  to  the  sea. 

Mr.  Leavens  was  told  that  there  were  cedar  trees  at  Trocara, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  near  some  fine  rounded  hills 
covered  with  forest,  visible  from  Patos;  so  there  we  went. 
We  found  here  several  families  encamped  in  a  delightful  spot. 
The  shore  sloped  gradually  down  to  the  water,  and  was  shaded 
by  a  few  wide-spreading  trees.  There  was  no  underwood.  A 
great  number  of  hammocks  were  seen  slung  between  the  tree- 
trunks,  and  the  litter  of  a  numerous  household  lay  scattered 
about.  Women,  old  and  young,  some  of  the  latter  very  good- 
looking,  and  a  large  number  of  children,  besides  pet  animals, 
enlivened  the  encampment.  They  were  all  half-breeds,  simple, 
well-disposed  people,  and  explained  to  us  that  they  were  inhabi- 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  yi 

tants  of  Cameta,  who  had  come  thus  far,  eighty  miles,  to  spend 
the  summer  months.  The  only  motive  they  could  give  for 
coming  was,  that  "  it  was  so  hot  in  the  town  in  the  verao 
(summer),  and  they  were  all  so  fond  of  fresh  fish."  Thus  these 
simple  folks  think  nothing  of  leaving  home  and  business  to 
come  on  a  three  months'  picnic.  It  is  the  annual  custom  of 
this  class  of  people  throughout  the  province  to  spend  a  few 
months  of  the  fine  season  in  the  wilder  parts  of  the  country. 
They  carry  with  them  all  the  farinha  they  can  scrape  together, 
this  being  the  only  article  of  food  necessary  to  provide.  The 
men  hunt  and  fish  for  the  day's  wants,  and  sometimes  collect  a 
little  India-rubber,  salsaparilla,  or  copaiba  oil,  to  sell  to  traders 
on  their  return;  the  women  assist  in  paddling  the  canoes,  do 
the  cooking,  and  sometimes  fish  with  rod  and  line.  The  weather 
is  enjoyable  the  whole  time,  and  so  days  and  weeks  pass  happily 
away. 

One  of  the  men  volunteered  to  walk  with  us  into  the  forest, 
and  show  us  a  few  cedar-trees.  We  passed  through  a  mile  or 
two  of  spiny  thickets,  and  at  length  came  upon  the  banks  of 
the  rivulet  Trocara,  which  flows  over  a  stony  bed,  and,  about 
a  mile  above  its  mouth,  falls  over  a  ledge  of  rocks,  thus  forming 
a  very  pretty  cascade.  In  the  neighbourhood,  we  found  a 
number  of  specimens  of  a  curious  land-shell,  a  large  flat  Helix, 
with  a  labyrinthine  mouth  (Anastoma).  We  learnt  afterwards 
that  it  was  a  species  which  had  been  discovered  a  few  years 
previously  by  Dr.  Gardner,  the  botanist,  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  Tocantins. 

We  saw  here,  for  the  first  time,  the  splendid  Hyacinthine 
macaw  (Macrocercus  hyacinthinus,  Lath.,  the  Araruna  of  the 
natives),  one  of  the  finest  and  rarest  species  of  the  Parrot 
family.  It  only  occurs  in  the  interior  of  Brazil,  from  1 6°  S.  lat. 
to  the  southern  border  of  the  Amazons  valley.  It  is  three  feet 
long  from  the  beak  to  the  tip  of  the  tail,  and  is  entirely  of  a 
soft  hyacinthine  blue  colour,  except  round  the  eyes,  where  the 
skin  is  naked  and  white.  It  flies  in  pairs,  and  feeds  on  the 
hard  nuts  of  several  palms,  but  especially  of  the  Mucuja  (Acro- 
comia  lasiospatha).  These  nuts,  which  are  so  hard  as  to  be 
difficult  to  break  with  a  heavy  hammer,  are  crushed  to  a  pulp 
by  the  powerful  beak  of  this  macaw. 

Mr.  Leavens  was  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  people  of 
Patos.  Two  men  had  come  from  below  with  the  intention,  I 
believe,  of  engaging  with  us,  but  they  now  declined.  The 
inspector,  constable,  or  governor  of  the  place  appeared  to  be  a 


72         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

very  slippery  customer,  and  I  fancy  discouraged  the  men  from 
going,  whilst  making  a  great  show  of  forwarding  our  views. 
These  outlying  settlements  are  the  resort  of  a  number  of  idle, 
worthless  characters.  There  was  a  kind  of  festival  going  on, 
and  the  people  fuddled  themselves  with  cashiri,  an  intoxicating 
drink  invented  by  the  Indians.  It  is  made  by  soaking  mandioca 
cakes  in  water  until  fermentation  takes  place,  and  tastes  like 
new  beer. 

Being  unable  to  obtain  men,  Mr.  Leavens  now  gave  up  his 
project  of  ascending  the  river  as  far  as  the  Araguaya.  He 
assented  to  our  request,  however,  to  ascend  to  the  cataracts 
near  Arroyos.  We  started  therefore  from  Patos  with  a  more 
definite  aim  before  us  than  we  had  hitherto  had.  The  river 
became  more  picturesque  as  we  advanced.  The  water  was  very 
low,  it  being  now  the  height  of  the  dry  reason;  the  islands 
were  smaller  than  those  further  down,  and  some  of  them  were 
high  and  rocky.  Bold  wooded  bluffs  projected  into  the  stream, 
and  all  the  shores  were  fringed  with  beaches  of  glistening  white 
sand.  On  one  side  of  the  river  there  was  an  extensive  grassy 
plain  or  campo  with  isolated  patches  of  trees  scattered  over  it. 
On  the  14th  and  following  day  we  stopped  several  times  to 
ramble  ashore.  Our  longest  excursion  was  to  a  large  shallow 
lagoon,  choked  up  with  aquatic  plants,  which  lay  about  two 
miles  across  the  campo.  At  a  place  called  Juquerapud  we 
engaged  a  pilot  to  conduct  us  to  Arroyos,  and  a  few  miles 
above  the  pilot's  house,  arrived  at  a  point  where  it  was  not 
possible  to  advance  further  in  our  large  canoe  on  account  of 
the  rapids. 

September  16th. — Embarked  at  six  a.m.  in  a  large  montaria 
which  had  been  lent  to  us  for  this  part  of  our  voyage  by  Senhor 
Seixas,  leaving  the  vigilinga  anchored  close  to  a  rocky  islet, 
named  Santa  Anna,  to  await  our  return.  Isidoro  was  left  in 
charge,  and  we  were  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  leave  behind  also 
our  mulatto  Jose,  who  had  fallen  ill  since  leaving  Baiao.  We 
had  then  remaining  only  Alexandra,  Manoel,  and  the  pilot,  a 
sturdy  Tapuyo  named  Joaquim;  scarcely  a  sufficient  crew  to 
paddle  against  the  strong  currents. 

At  ten  a.m.  we  arrived  at  the  first  rapids,  which  are  called 
Tapaiunaquara.  The  river,  which  was  here  about  a  mile  wide, 
was  choked  up  with  rocks,  a  broken  ridge  passing  completely 
across  it.  Between  these  confused  piles  of  stone  the  currents 
were  fearfully  strong,  and  formed  numerous  eddies  and  whirl- 
pools.    We  were  obliged  to  get  out  occasionally   and   walk 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  73 

from  rock  to  rock,  whilst  the  men  dragged  the  canoe  over  the 
obstacles.  Beyond  Tapaiunaquara,  the  stream  became  again 
broad  and  deep,  and  the  river  scenery  was  beautiful  in  the 
extreme.  The  water  was  clear  and  of  a  bluish-green  colour. 
On  both  sides  of  the  stream  stretched  ranges  of  wooded  hills, 
and  in  the  middle  picturesque  islets  rested  on  the  smooth 
water,  whose  brilliant  green  woods  fringed  with  palms  formed 
charming  bits  of  foreground  to  the  perspective  of  sombre  hills 
fading  into  grey  in  the  distance.  Joaquim  pointed  out  to  us 
grove  after  grove  of  Brazil  nut  trees  (Bertholletia  excelsa)  on 
the  mainland.  This  is  one  of  the  chief  collecting  grounds  for 
this  nut.  The  tree  is  one  of  the  loftiest  in  the  forest,  towering 
far  above  its  fellows;  we  could  see  the  woody  fruits,  large  and 
round  as  cannon-balls,  dotted  over  the  branches.  The  currents 
were  very  strong  in  some  places,  so  that  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  way  the  men  preferred  to  travel  near  the  shore,  and 
propel  the  boat  by  means  of  long  poles. 

We  arrived  at  Arroyos  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
after  ten  hours'  hard  pull.  The  place  consists  simply  of  a  few 
houses  built  on  a  high  bank,  and  forms  a  station  where  canoe- 
men  from  the  mining  countries  of  the  interior  of  Brazil  stop  to 
rest  themselves  before  or  after  surmounting  the  dreaded  falls 
and  rapids  of  Guaribas,  situated  a  couple  of  miles  further  up. 
We  dined  ashore,  and  in  the  evening  again  embarked  to  visit 
the  falls.  The  vigorous  and  successful  way  in  which  our  men 
battled  with  the  terrific  currents  excited  our  astonishment. 
The  bed  of  the  river,  here  about  a  mile  wide,  is  strewn  with 
blocks  of  various  sizes,  which  lie  in  the  most  irregular  manner, 
and  between  them  rush  currents  of  more  or  less  rapidity.  With 
an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  place  and  skilful  management, 
the  falls  can  be  approached  in  small  canoes  by  threading  the 
less  dangerous  channels.  The  main  fall  is  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  wide;  we  climbed  to  an  elevation  overlooking  it,  and 
had  a  good  view  of  the  cataract.  A  body  of  water  rushes  with 
terrific  force  down  a  steep  slope,  and  boils  up  with  deafening 
roar  around  the  boulders  which  obstruct  its  course.  The  wild- 
ness  of  the  whole  scene  was  very  impressive.  As  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  stretched  range  after  range  of  wooded  hills,  scores 
of  miles  of  beautiful  wilderness,  inhabited  only  by  scanty  tribes 
of  wild  Indians.  In  the  midst  of  such  a  solitude  the  roar  of 
the  cataract  seemed  fitting  music. 

September  17/A. — We  commenced  early  in  the  morning  our 


74        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

downward  voyage.  Arroyos  is  situated  in  about  40  10'  S.  lat.; 
and  lies,  therefore,  about  130  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Tocantins.  Fifteen  miles  above  Guaribas  another  similar 
cataract  called  Tabocas  lies  across  the  river.  We  were  told 
that  there  were  in  all  fifteen  of  these  obstructions  to  navigation 
between  Arroyos  and  the  mouth  of  the  Araguaya.  The  worst 
was  the  Inferno,  the  Guaribas  standing  second  to  it  in  evil 
reputation.  Many  canoes  and  lives  have  been  lost  here,  most 
of  the  accidents  arising  through  the  vessels  being  hurled  against 
an  enormous  cubical  mass  of  rock  called  the  Guaribinha,  which 
we,  on  our  trip  to  the  falls  in  the  small  canoe,  passed  round 
with  the  greatest  ease  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the 
main  falls.  This,  however,  was  the  dry  season;  in  the  time 
of  full  waters  a  tremendous  current  sets  against  it.  We 
descended  the  river  rapidly,  and  found  it  excellent  fun  shooting 
the  rapids.  The  men  seemed  to  delight  in  choosing  the  swiftest 
parts  of  the  current;  they  sang  and  yelled  in  the  greatest 
excitement,  working  the  paddles  with  great  force,  and  throw- 
ing clouds  of  spray  above  us  as  we  bounded  downwards.  We 
stopped  to  rest  at  the  mouth  of  a  rivulet  named  Caganxa. 
The  pilot  told  us  that  gold  had  been  found  in  the  bed  of  this 
brook;  so  we  had  the  curiosity  to  wade  several  hundred  yards 
through  the  icy  cold  waters  in  search  of  it.  Mr.  Leavens 
seemed  very  much  interested  in  the  matter;  he  picked  up  all 
the  shining  stones  he  could  espy  in  the  pebbly  bottom,  in 
hopes  of  finding  diamonds  also.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  reason 
why  both  gold  and  diamonds  should  not  be  found  here,  the 
hills  being  a  continuation  of  those  of  the  mining  countries  of 
interior  Brazil,  and  the  brooks  flowing  through  the  narrow 
valleys  between  them. 

On  arriving  at  the  place  where  we  had  left  our  canoe,  we 
found  poor  Jose  the  mulatto  much  worse,  so  we  hastened  on  to 
Juquerapua  to  procure  aid.  An  old  half-caste  woman  took 
charge  of  him;  she  made  poultices  of  the  pulp  of  a  wild  fruit, 
administered  cooling  draughts  made  from  herbs  which  grew 
near  the  house,  and  in  fact  acted  the  part  of  nurse  admirably. 
We  stayed  at  this  place  all  night  and  part  of  the  following  day, 
and  I  had  a  stroll  along  a  delightful  pathway,  which  led  over 
hill  and  dale,  two  or  three  miles  through  the  forest.  I  was 
surprised  at  the  number  and  variety  of  brilliantly-coloured 
butterflies;  they  were  all  of  small  size,  and  started  forth  at 
every  step  I  took,  from  the  low  bushes  which  bordered  the 
road.    I  first  heard  here  the  notes  of  a  trogon;   it  was  seated 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  75 

alone  on  a  branch,  at  no  great  elevation;  a  beautiful  bird, 
with  glossy-green  back  and  rose-coloured  breast  (probably 
Trogon  melanurus).  At  intervals  it  uttered,  in  a  complaining 
tone,  a  sound  resembling  the  words  "  qua,  qua."  It  is  a  dull 
inactive  bird,  and  not  very  ready  to  take  flight  when  approached. 
In  this  respect,  however,  the  trogons  are  not  equal  to  the 
jacamars,  whose  stupidity  in  remaining  at  their  posts,  seated 
on  low  branches  in  the  gloomiest  shades  of  the  forest,  is  some- 
what remarkable  in  a  country  where  all  other  birds  are  exceed- 
ingly wary.  One  species  of  jacamar  was  not  uncommon  here 
(Galbula  viridis);  I  sometimes  saw  two  or  three  together  seated 
on  a  slender  branch  silent  and  motionless  with  the  exception 
of  a  slight  movement  of  the  head;  when  an  insect  flew  past 
within  a  short  distance,  one  of  the  birds  would  dart  off,  seize 
it,  and  return  again  to  its  sitting-place.  The  trogons  are  found 
in  the  tropics  of  both  hemispheres;  the  jacamars,  which  are 
clothed  in  plumage  of  the  most  beautiful  golden-bronze  and 
steel  colours,  are  peculiar  to  tropical  America. 

At  night  I  slept  ashore  as  a  change  from  the  confinement  of 
the  canoe,  having  obtained  permission  from  Senhor  Joaquim 
to  sling  my  hammock  under  his  roof.  The  house,  like  all 
others  in  these  out-of-the-way  parts  of  the  country,  was  a  large 
open,  palm-thatched  shed,  having  one  end  inclosed  by  means 
of  partitions  also  made  of  palm-leaves,  so  as  to  form  a  private 
apartment.  Under  the  shed  were  placed  all  the  household 
utensils;  earthenware  jars,  pots,  and  kettles,  hunting  and 
fishing  implements,  paddles,  bows  and  arrows,  harpoons,  and 
so  forth.  One  or  two  common  wooden  chests  serve  to  contain 
the  holiday- clothing  of  the  females;  there  is  no  other  furniture 
except  a  few  stools,  and  the  hammock  which  answers  the 
purposes  of  chair  and  sofa.  When  a  visitor  enters  he  is  asked 
to  sit  down  in  a  hammock:  persons  who  are  on  intimate  terms 
with  each  other  recline  together  in  the  same  hammock,  one  at 
each  end;  this  is  a  very  convenient  arrangement  for  friendly 
conversation.  There  are  neither  tables  nor  chairs ;  the  cloth  for 
meals  is  spread  on  a  mat,  and  the  guests  squat  round  in  any 
position  they  choose.  There  is  no  cordiality  of  manners,  but 
the  treatment  of  the  guests  shows  a  keen  sense  of  the  duties  of 
hospitality  on  the  part  of  the  host.  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
formality  in  the  intercourse  of  these  half-wild  mamelucos,  which, 
I  believe,  has  been  chiefly  derived  from  their  Indian  forefathers, 
although  a  little  of  it  may  have  been  copied  from  the  Portuguese. 

A  little  distance  from  the  house  were  the  open  sheds  under 


76 


The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


which  the  farinha  for  the  use  of  the  establishment  was  manu- 
factured. In  the  centre  of  each  shed  stood  the  shallow  pans, 
made  of  clay  and  built  over  ovens,  where  the  meal  is  roasted. 
A  long  flexible  cylinder  made  of  the  peel  of  a  marantaceous 
plant,  plaited  into  the  proper  form,  hung  suspended  from  a 
beam;  it  is  in  this  that  the  pulp  of  the  mandioca  is  pressed, 
and  from  it  the  juice,  which  is  of  a  highly  poisonous  nature, 
although  the  pulp  is  wholesome  food,  runs  into  pans  placed 
beneath  to  receive  it.  A  wooden  trough,  such  as  is  used  in  all 
these  places  for  receiving  the  pulp  before  the  poisonous  matter 
is  extracted,  stood  on  the  ground,  and  from  the  posts  hung  the 
long  wicker-work  baskets,  or  aturas,  in  which  the  women  carry 
the  roots  from  the  roca  or  clearing;  a  broad  ribbon  made  from 
the  inner  bark  of  the  monguba  tree  is  attached  to  the  rims  of 
the  baskets,  and  is  passed  round  the  forehead  of  the  carriers,  to 
relieve  their  backs  in  supporting  the  heavy  load.  Around  the 
shed  were  planted  a  number  of  banana  and  other  fruit  trees; 
amongst  them  were  the  never-failing  capsicum-pepper  bushes, 
brilliant  as  holly-trees  at  Christmas  time  with  their  fiery-red 
fruit,  and  lemon  trees;  the  one  supplying  the  pungent,  the 
other  the  acid,  for  sauce  to  the  perpetual  meal  of  fish.  There 
is  never  in  such  places  any  appearance  of  careful  cultivation, 
no  garden  or  orchard ;  the  useful  trees  are  surrounded  by  weeds 
and  bushes,  and  close  behind  rises  the  everlasting  forest. 

There  were  other  strangers  under  Senhor  Joaquim's  roof 
besides  myself, — .mulattos,  mamelucos,  and  Indians, — so  we 
formed  altogether  a  large  party.  Houses  occur  at  rare  intervals 
in  this  wild  country,  and  hospitality  is  freely  given  to  the  few 
passing  travellers.  After  a  frugal  supper,  a  large  wood  fire 
was  lighted  in  the  middle  of  the  shed,  and  all  turned  into  their 
hammocks  and  began  to  converse.  A  few  of  the  party  soon 
dropped  asleep;  others,  however,  kept  awake  until  a  very  late 
hour  telling  stories.  Some  related  adventures  which  had 
happened  to  them  whilst  hunting  or  fishing;  others  recounted 
myths  about  the  Curupira,  and  other  demons  or  spirits  of  the 
forest.  They  were  all  very  appropriate  to  the  time  and  place, 
for  now  and  then  a  yell  or  a  shriek  resounded  through  the 
gloomy  wilderness  around  the  shed.  One  old  parchment-faced 
fellow,  with  a  skin  the  colour  of  mahogany,  seemed  to  be  a 
capital  story-teller;  but  I  was  sorry  I  did  not  know  enough  of 
the  language  to  follow  him  in  all  the  details  which  he  gave. 
Amongst  other  things  he  related  an  adventure  he  had  once  had 
with  a  jaguar.     He  got  up  from  his  hammock  in  the  course  of 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  77 

the  narrative  to  give  it  the  greater  effect  by  means  of  gestures ; 
he  seized  a  bow  and  a  large  taquara  arrow  to  show  how  he  slew 
the  beast,  imitated  its  hoarse  growl,  and  danced  about  the  fire 
like  a  demon. 

In  descending  the  river  we  landed  frequently,  and  Mr. 
Wallace  and  I  lost  no  chance  of  adding  to  our  collections;  so 
that  before  the  end  of  our  journey  we  had  got  together  a  very 
considerable  number  of  birds,  insects,  and  shells,  chiefly  taken, 
however,  in  the  low  country.  Leaving  Baiao  we  took  our  last 
farewell  of  the  limpid  waters  and  varied  scenery  of  the  upper 
river,  and  found  ourselves  again  in  the  humid  flat  region  of  the 
Amazons  valley.  We  sailed  down  this  lower  part  of  the  river 
by  a  different  channel  from  the  one  we  travelled  along  in 
ascending,  and  frequently  went  ashore  on  the  low  islands  in 
mid-river.  As  already  stated,  these  are  covered  with  water  in 
the  wet  season;  but  at  this  time,  there  having  been  three 
months  of  fine  weather,  they  were  dry  throughout,  and  by  the 
subsidence  of  the  waters  placed  four  or  five  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  river.  They  are  covered  with  a  most  luxuriant  forest, 
comprising  a  large  number  of  india-rubber  trees.  We  found 
several  people  encamped  here,  who  were  engaged  in  collecting 
and  preparing  the  rubber,  and  thus  had  an  opportunity  of 
observing  the  process. 

The  tree  which  yields  this  valuable  sap  is  the  Siphonia 
elastica,  a  member  of  the  Euphorbiaceous  order;  it  belongs, 
therefore,  to  a  group  of  plants  quite  different  from  that  which 
furnishes  the  caoutchouc  of  the  East  Indies  and  Africa.  This 
latter  is  the  product  of  different  species  of  Ficus,  and  is  con- 
sidered, I  believe,  in  commerce  an  inferior  article  to  the  india- 
rubber  of  Para.  The  Siphonia  elastica  grows  only  on  the 
lowlands  in  the  Amazons  region;  hitherto  the  rubber  has  been 
collected  chiefly  in  the  islands  and  swampy  parts  of  the  main- 
land within  a  distance  of  fifty  to  a  hundred  miles  to  the  west 
of  Para;  but  there  are  plenty  of  untapped  trees  still  growing 
in  the  wilds  of  the  Tapajos,  Madeira,  Jurua,  and  Jauari,  as  far 
as  1800  miles  from  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  tree  is  not  remark- 
able in  appearance;  in  bark  and  foliage  it  is  not  unlike  the 
European  ash;  but  the  trunk,  like  that  of  all  forest  trees, 
shoots  up  to  an  immense  height  before  throwing  off  branches. 
The  trees  seem  to  be  no  man's  property  hereabout.  The  people 
we  met  with  told  us  they  came  every  year  to  collect  rubber  on 
these  islands,  as  soon  as  the  waters  had  subsided,  namely,  in 
August,  and  remained  till  January  or  February.    The  process 


78         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

is  very  simple.  Every  morning  each  person,  man  or  woman, 
to  whom  is  allotted  a  certain  number  of  trees,  goes  the  round 
of  the  whole  and  collects  in  a  large  vessel  the  milky  sap  which 
trickles  from  gashes  made  in  the  bark  on  the  preceding  evening, 
and  which  is  received  in  little  clay  cups,  or  in  ampullaria  shells 
stuck  beneath  the  wounds.  The  sap,  which  at  first  is  of  the 
consistence  of  cream,  soon  thickens ;  the  collectors  are  provided 
with  a  great  number  of  wooden  moulds  of  the  shape  in  which 
the  rubber  is  wanted,  and  when  they  return  to  the  camp  they 
dip  them  into  the  liquid,  laying  on,  in  the  course  of  several 
days,  one  coat  after  another.  When  this  is  done  the  substance 
is  white  and  hard;  the  proper  colour  and  consistency  are  given 
by  passing  it  repeatedly  through  a  thick  black  smoke  obtained 
by  burning  the  nuts  of  certain  palm  trees,  after  which  process 
the  article  is  ready  for  sale.  India-rubber  is  known  throughout 
the  province  only  by  the  name  of  seringa,  the  Portuguese  word 
for  syringe;  it  owes  this  appellation  to  the  circumstance  that 
it  was  in  this  form  only  that  the  first  Portuguese  settlers  noticed 
it  to  be  employed  by  the  aborigines.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians 
were  first  taught  to  make  syringes  of  rubber  by  seeing  natural 
tubes  formed  by  it  when  the  spontaneously-flowing  sap  gathered 
round  projecting  twigs.  Brazilians  of  all  classes  still  use  it 
extensively  in  the  form  of  syringes,  for  injections  form  a  great 
feature  in  the  popular  system  of  cures;  the  rubber  for  this 
purpose  is  made  into  a  pear-shaped  bottle,  and  a  quill  fixed  in 
the  long  neck. 

September  24th. — Opposite  Cameta  the  islands  are  all  planted 
with  cacao,  the  tree  which  yields  the  chocolate  nut.  The 
forest  is  not  cleared  for  the  purpose,  but  the  cacao  plants  are 
stuck  in  here  and  there  almost  at  random  amongst  the  trees. 
There  are  many  houses  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  all  elevated 
above  the  swampy  soil  on  wooden  piles,  and  furnished  with 
broad  ladders  by  which  to  mount  to  the  ground  floor.  As  we 
passed  by  in  our  canoe  we  could  see  the  people  at  their  occupa- 
tions in  the  open  verandahs,  and  in  one  place  saw  a  ball  going 
on  in  broad  daylight;  there  were  fiddles  and  guitars  hard  at 
work,  and  a  number  of  lads  in  white  shirts  and  trousers  dancing 
with  brown  damsels  clad  in  showy  print  dresses.  The  cacao 
tree  produces  a  curious  impression  on  account  of  the  flowers  and 
fruit  growing  directly  out  of  the  trunk  and  branches.  There 
is  a  whole  group  of  wild  fruit  trees  which  have  the  same  habit 
in  this  country.  In  the  wildernesses  where  the  cacao  is  planted, 
the  collecting  of  the  fruit  is  dangerous  from  the  number  of 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  79 

poisonous  snakes  which  inhabit  the  places.  One  day,  when  we 
were  running  our  montaria  to  a  landing-place,  we  saw  a  large 
serpent  on  the  trees  overhead,  as  we  were  about  to  brush  past; 
the  boat  was  stopped  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  and  Mr.  Leavens 
brought  the  reptile  down  with  a  charge  of  shot. 

September  261k. — At  length  we  got  clear  of  the  islands,  and 
saw  once  more  before  us  the  sea-like  expanse  of  waters  which 
forms  the  mouth  of  the  Tocantins.  The  river  had  now  sunk 
to  its  lowest  point,  and  numbers  of  fresh-water  dolphins  were 
rolling  about  in  shoaly  places.  There  are  here  two  species, 
one  of  which  was  new  to  science  when  I  sent  specimens  to 
England ;  it  is  called  the  Tucuxi  (Steno  tucuxi  of  Gray).  When 
it  comes  to  the  surface  to  breathe,  it  rises  horizontally,  showing 
first  its  back  fin;  draws  an  inspiration,  and  then  dives  gently 
down,  head  foremost.  This  mode  of  proceeding  distinguishes 
the  Tucuxi  at  once  from  the  other  species,  which  is  called  Bouto 
or  porpoise  by  the  natives  (Inia  Geoffroyi  of  Desmarest).  When 
this  rises  the  top  of  the  head  is  the  part  first  seen;  it  then 
blows,  and  immediately  afterwards  dips  head  downwards,  its 
back  curving  over,  exposing  successively  the  whole  dorsal  ridge 
with  its  fin.  It  seems  thus  to  pitch  heels  over  head,  but  does 
not  show  the  tail  fin.  Besides  this  peculiar  motion,  it  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Tucuxi  by  its  habit  of  generally  going  in 
pairs.  Both  species  are  exceedingly  numerous  throughout  the 
Amazons  and  its  larger  tributaries,  but  they  are  nowhere  more 
.plentiful  than  in  the  shoaly  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tocantins, 
i  especially  in  the  dry  season.  In  the  Upper  Amazons  a  third 
pale  flesh  -  coloured  species  is  also  abundant  (the  Delphinus 
pallidus  of  Gervais).  With  the  exception  of  a  species  found  in 
the  Ganges,  all  other  varieties  of  dolphin  inhabit  exclusively 
the  sea.  In  the  broader  parts  of  the  Amazons,  from  its  mouth 
to  a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred  miles  in  the  interior,  one  or 
other  of  the  three  kinds  here  mentioned  are  always  heard  rolling, 
blowing,  and  snorting,  especially  at  night,  and  these  noises 
contribute  much  to  the  impression  of  sea-wide  vastness  and 
desolation  which  haunts  the  traveller.  Besides  dolphins  in  the 
water,  frigate  birds  in  the  air  are  characteristic  of  this  lower 
part  of  the  Tocantins.  Flocks  of  them  were  seen  the  last  two 
or  three  days  of  our  journey,  hovering  above  at  an  immense 
height.  Towards  night  we  were  obliged  to  cast  anchor  over 
a  shoal  in  the  middle  of  the  river  to  await  the  ebb  tide.  The 
wind  blew  very  strongly,  and  this,  together  with  the  incoming 
flow,  caused  such  a  heavy  sea  that  it  was  impossible  to  sleep. 


80         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

The  vessel  rolled  and  pitched  until  every  bone  in  our  bodies 
ached  with  the  bumps  we  received,  and  we  were  all  more  or ' 
less  sea-sick.  On  the  following  day  we  entered  the  Anapu, 
and  on  the  30th  September,  after  threading  again  the  labyrinth 
of  channels  communicating  between  the  Tocantins  and  the 
Moju,  arrived  at  Para. 

I  will  now  give  a  short  account  of  Cameta,  the  principal 
town  on  the  banks  of  the  Tocantins,  which  I  visited  for  the 
second  time,  in  June,  1849;  Mr.  Wallace,  in  the  same  month, 
departing  from  Para  to  explore  the  rivers  Guama  and  Capim. 
I  embarked  as  passenger  in  a  Cameta  trading  vessel,  the  St. 
John,  a  small  schooner  of  thirty  tons  burthen.  I  had  learnt 
by  this  time  that  the  only  way  to  attain  the  objects  for  which 
I  had  come  to  this  country  was  to  accustom  myself  to  the  ways 
of  life  of  the  humbler  classes  of  the  inhabitants.  A  traveller 
on  the  Amazons  gains  little  by  being  furnished  with  letters  of 
recommendation  to  persons  of  note,  for  in  the  great  interior 
wildernesses  of  forest  and  river  the  canoe-men  have  pretty 
much  their  own  way;  the  authorities  cannot  force  them  to 
grant  passages  or  to  hire  themselves  to  travellers,  and  therefore 
a  stranger  is  obliged  to  ingratiate  himself  with  them  in  order 
to  get  conveyed  from  place  to  place.  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the 
journey  to  Cameta;  the  weather  was  again  beautiful  in  the 
extreme.  We  started  from  Para  at  sunrise  on  the  8th  of 
June,  and  on  the  10th  emerged  from  the  narrow  channels  of 
the  Anapu  into  the  broad  Tocantins.  The  vessel  was  so  full  of 
cargo  that  there  was  no  room  to  sleep  in  the  cabin;  so  we 
passed  the  nights  on  deck.  The  captain  or  supercargo,  called 
in  Portuguese  cabo,  was  a  mameluco,  named  Manoel,  a  quiet, 
good-humoured  person,  who  treated  me  with  the  most  un- 
affected civility  during  the  three  days'  journey.  The  pilot  was 
also  a  mameluco,  named  John  Mendez,  a  handsome  young 
fellow,  full  of  life  and  spirit.  He  had  on  board  a  wire  guitar 
or  viola,  as  it  is  here  called;  and  in  the  bright  moonlight  nights, 
as  we  lay  at  anchor  hour  after  hour  waiting  for  the  tide,  he 
enlivened  us  all  with  songs  and  music.  He  was  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  the  cabo,  both  sleeping  in  the  same  hammock 
slung  between  the  masts.  I  passed  the  nights  wrapped  in  an 
old  sail  outside  the  roof  of  the  cabin.  The  crew,  five  in  number, 
were  Indians  and  half-breeds,  all  of  whom  treated  their  two 
superiors  with  the  most  amusing  familiarity,  yet  I  never  sailed 
in  a  better  managed  vessel  than  the  St.  John. 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  8  I 

In  crossing  to  Cameta  we  had  to  await  the  flood-tide  in  a 
channel  called  Entre-as-Uhas,  which  lies  between  two  islands 
in  mid-river,  and  John  Mendez,  being  in  good  tune,  gave  us  an 
extempore  song,  consisting  of  a  great  number  of  verses.  The 
crew  lay  about  the  deck  listening,  and  all  joined  in  the  chorus. 
Some  stanzas  related  to  me,  telling  how  I  had  come  all  the 
way  from  "  Inglaterra,"  to  skin  monkeys  and  birds  and  catch 
insects ;  the  last-mentioned  employment  of  course  giving  ample 
scope  for  fun.  He  passed  from  this  to  the  subject  of  political 
parties  in  Cameta;  and  then,  as  all  the  hearers  were  Came- 
taenses  and  understood  the  hits,  there  were  roars  of  laughter, 
some  of  them  rolling  over  and  over  on  the  deck,  so  much  were 
they  tickled.  Party  spirit  runs  high  at  Cameta,  not  merely  in 
connection  with  local  politics,  but  in  relation  to  affairs  of  general 
concern,  such  as  the  election  of  members  to  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment, and  so  forth.  This  political  strife  is  partly  attributable 
to  the  circumstance  that  a  native  of  Cameta,  Dr.  Angelo  Custodio 
Correia,  had  been  in  almost  every  election  one  of  the  candidates 
for  the  representation  of  the  province.  I  fancied  these  shrewd 
but  unsophisticated  canoe-men  saw  through  the  absurdities 
attending  these  local  contests,  and  hence  their  inclination  to 
satirise  them  ;  they  were,  however,  evidently  partisans  of  Dr. 
Angelo.  The  brother  of  Dr.  Angelo,  Joao  Augusto  Correia,  a 
distinguished  merchant,  was  an  active  canvasser.  The  party 
of  the  Correias  was  the  Liberal,  or,  as  it  is  called  throughout 
Brazil,  the  Santa  Luzia  faction;  the  opposite  side,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  one  Pedro  Moraes,  was  the  Conservative,  or 
Saquarema  party.  I  preserved  one  of  the  stanzas  of  the  song, 
which,  however,  does  not  contain  much  point;  it  ran  thus: — 

Ora  pana,  tana  pana,  pana  tana, 
Joao  Augusto  he  bonito  e  homem  pimpao, 
Mas  Pedro  h6  feio  e  hum  grande  ladrao, 

(Chorus)  Ora  pana,  etc. 

John  Augustus  is  handsome  and  as  a  man  ought  to  be. 
But  Peter  is  ugly  and  a  great  thief. 
(Chorus)  Ora  pana,  etc. 

The  canoe-men  of  the  Amazons  have  many  songs  and  choruses, 
with  which  they  are  in  the  habit  of  relieving  the  monotony  of 
their  slow  voyages,  and  which  are  known  all  over  the  interior. 
The  choruses  consist  of  a  simple  strain,  repeated  almost  to 
weariness,  and  sung  generally  in  unison,  but  sometimes  with 
an  attempt  at  harmony.  There  is  a  wildness  and  sadness  about 
the  tunes  which  harmonise  well  with,  and  in  fact  are  born  of, 


82         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  circumstances  of  the  canoe-man's  life:  the  echoing  channels, 
the  endless  gloomy  forests,  the  solemn  nights,  and  the  desolate 
scenes  of  broad  and  stormy  waters  and  falling  banks.  Whether 
they  were  invented  by  the  Indians  or  introduced  by  the  Portu- 
guese it  is  hard  to  decide,  as  many  of  the  customs  of  the  lower 
classes  of  Portuguese  are  so  similar  to  those  of  the  Indians  that 
they  have  become  blended  with  them.  One  of  the  commonest 
songs  is  very  wild  and  pretty.  It  has  for  refrain  the  words 
"  Mai,  Mai "  ("  Mother,  Mother  "),  with  a  long  drawl  on  the 
second  word.  The  stanzas  are  very  variable;  the  best  wit  on 
board  starts  the  verse,  improvising  as  he  goes  on,  and  the 
others  join  in  the  chorus.  They  all  relate  to  the  lonely  river 
life  and  the  events  of  the  voyage;  the  shoals,  the  wind;  how 
far  they  shall  go  before  they  stop  to  sleep,  and  so  forth.  The 
sonorous  native  names  of  places,  Goajara,  Tucumanduba,  etc., 
add  greatly  to  the  charm  of  the  wild  music.  Sometimes  they 
bring  in  the  stars  thus: — 

A  lua  esta  sahindo, 

Mai,  Mai! 
A  lua  esta  sahindo, 

Mai,  Mai! 
As  sete  estrellas  estao  chorando, 

Mai,  Mai! 
Por  s'acharem  desamparados, 

Mai,  Mai! 

The  moon  is  rising, 

Mother,  Mother! 
The  moon  is  rising, 

Mother,  Mother! 
The  seven  stars  (Pleiades)  are  weeping, 

Mother,  Mother! 
To  find  themselves  forsaken, 

Mother,  mother! 

I  fell  asleep  about  ten  o'clock,  but  at  four  in  the  morning 
John  Mendez  woke  me  to  enjoy  the  sight  of  the  little  schooner 
tearing  through  the  waves  before  a  spanking  breeze.  The 
night  was  transparently  clear  and  almost  cold,  the  moon  ap- 
peared sharply  defined  against  the  dark  blue  sky,  and  a  ridge 
of  foam  marked  where  the  prow  of  the  vessel  was  cleaving  its 
way  through  the  water.  The  men  had  made  a  fire  in  the  galley 
to  make  tea  of  an  acid  herb,  called  erva  cidreira,  a  quantity  of 
which  they  had  gathered  at  the  last  landing-place,  and  the 
flames  sparkled  cheerily  upwards.  It  is  at  such  times  as  these 
that  Amazon  travelling  is  enjoyable,  and  one  no  longer  wonders 
at  the  love  which  many,  both  natives  and  strangers,  have  for 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  83 

this  wandering  life.  The  little  schooner  sped  rapidly  on  with 
booms  bent  and  sails  stretched  to  the  utmost.  Just  as  day 
dawned,  we  ran  with  scarcely  slackened  speed  into  the  port  of 
Cameta,  and  cast  anchor. 

I  stayed  at  Cameta  until  the  16th  of  July,  and  made  a  con- 
siderable collection  of  the  natural  productions  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  town  in  1849  was  estimated  to  contain  about 
5000  inhabitants,  but  the  municipal  district  of  which  Cameta 
is  the  capital  numbered  20,000;  this,  however,  comprised  the 
whole  of  the  lower  part  of  the  Tocantins,  which  is  the  most 
thickly  populated  part  of  the  province  of  Para.  The  produc- 
tions of  the  district  are  cacao,  india-rubber,  and  Brazil  nuts. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  social  aspect  of  the  place 
is  the  hybrid  nature  of  the  whole  population,  the  amalgamation 
of  the  white  and  Indian  races  being  here  complete.  The 
aborigines  were  originally  very  numerous  on  the  western  bank 
of  the  Tocantins,  the  principal  tribe  having  been  the  Camutas, 
from  which  the  city  takes  its  name.  They  were  a  superior 
nation,  settled,  and  attached  to  agriculture,  and  received  with 
open  arms  the  white  immigrants  who  were  attracted  to  the 
district  by  its  fertility,  natural  beauty,  and  the  healthfulness  of 
the  climate.  The  Portuguese  settlers  were  nearly  all  males, 
the  Indian  women  were  good-looking,  and  made  excellent 
wives;  so  the  natural  result  has  been,  in  the  course  of  two 
centuries,  a  complete  blending  of  the  two  races.  There  is  now, 
however,  a  considerable  infusion  of  negro  blood  in  the  mixture, 
several  hundred  African  slaves  having  been  introduced  during 
the  last  seventy  years.  The  few  whites  are  chiefly  Portuguese, 
but  there  are  also  two  or  three  Brazilian  families  of  pure 
European  descent.  The  town  consists  of  three  long  streets, 
running  parallel  to  the  river,  with  a  few  shorter  ones  crossing 
them  at  right  angles.  The  houses  are  very  plain,  being  built, 
as  usual  in  this  country,  simply  of  a  strong  framework,  filled 
up  with  mud,  and  coated  with  white  plaster.  A  few  of  them 
are  of  two  or  three  stories.  There  are  three  churches,  and  also 
a  small  theatre,  where  a  company  of  native  actors  at  the  time 
of  my  visit  were  representing  light  Portuguese  plays  with  con- 
siderable taste  and  ability.  The  people  have  a  reputation  all 
over  the  province  for  energy  and  perseverance;  and  it  is  often 
said  that  they  are  as  keen  in  trade  as  the  Portuguese.  The 
lower  classes  are  as  indolent  and  sensual  here  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  province,  a  moral  condition  not  to  be  wondered  at  in  a 


84        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

country  where  perpetual  summer  reigns,  and  where  the  neces- 
saries of  life  are  so  easily  obtained.  But  they  are  light-hearted, 
quick-witted,  communicative,  and  hospitable.  I  found  here  a 
native  poet,  who  had  written  some  pretty  verses,  showing  an 
appreciation  of  the  natural  beauties  of  the  country,  and  was 
told  that  the  Archbishop  of  Bahia,  the  primate  of  Brazil,  was 
a  native  of  Cameta.  It  is  interesting  to  find  the  mamelucos 
displaying  talent  and  enterprise,  for  it  shows  that  degeneracy 
does  not  necessarily  result  from  the  mixture  of  white  and 
Indian  blood.  The  Cametaenses  boast,  as  they  have  a  right  to 
do,  of  theirs  being  the  only  large  town  which  resisted  success- 
fully the  anarchists  in  the  great  rebellion  of  1835-6.  Whilst 
the  whites  of  Para  were  submitting  to  the  rule  of  half-savage 
revolutionists,  the  mamelucos  of  Cameta  placed  themselves 
under  the  leadership  of  a  courageous  priest,  named  Prudencio; 
armed  themselves,  fortified  the  place,  and  repulsed  the  large 
forces  which  the  insurgents  of  Para  sent  to  attack  the  place. 
The  town  not  only  became  the  refuge  for  all  loyal  subjects, 
but  was  a  centre  whence  large  parties  of  volunteers  sallied 
forth  repeatedly  to  attack  the  anarchists  in  their  various  strong- 
holds. 

The  forest  behind  Cameta  is  traversed  by  several  broad  roads, 
which  lead  over  undulating  ground  many  miles  into  the  interior. 
They  pass  generally  under  shade,  and  part  of  the  way  through 
groves  of  coffee  and  orange  trees,  fragrant  plantations  of  cacao, 
and  tracts  of  second-growth  woods.  The  narrow  brook-watered 
valleys,  with  which  the  land  is  intersected,  alone  have  remained 
clothed  with  primceval  forest,  at  least  near  the  town.  The 
houses  along  these  beautiful  roads  belong  chiefly  to  mameluco, 
mulatto,  and  Indian  families,  each  of  which  has  its  own  small 
plantation.  There  are  only  a  few  planters  with  larger  estab- 
lishments, and  these  have  seldom  more  than  a  dozen  slaves. 
Besides  the  main  roads,  there  are  endless  bye-paths  which 
thread  the  forest  and  communicate  with  isolated  houses.  Along 
these  the  traveller  may  wander  day  after  day  without  leaving 
the  shade,  and  everywhere  meet  with  cheerful,  simple,  and 
hospitable  people. 

Soon  after  landing  I  was  introduced  to  the  most  distinguished 
citizen  of  the  place,  Dr.  Angelo  Custodio  Correia,  whom  I  have 
already  mentioned.  This  excellent  man  was  a  favourable 
specimen  of  the  highest  class  of  native  Brazilians.  He  had 
been  educated  in  Europe,  was  now  a  member  of  the  Brazilian 
Parliament,  and  had  been  twice  president  of  his  native  province. 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  85 

His  manners  were  less  formal,  and  his  goodness  more  thoroughly- 
genuine,  perhaps,  than  is  the  rule  generally  with  Brazilians. 
He  was  admired  and  loved,  as  I  had  ample  opportunity  of 
observing,  throughout  all  Amazonia.  He  sacrificed  his  life 
in  1855,  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-townsmen,  when  Cameta 
was  devastated  by  the  cholera;  having  stayed  behind  with  a 
few  heroic  spirits  to  succour  invalids  and  direct  the  burying 
of  the  dead,  when  nearly  all  the  chief  citizens  had  fled  from  the 
place.  After  he  had  done  what  he  could  he  embarked  for 
Para,  but  was  himself  then  attacked  with  cholera  and  died  on. 
board  the  steamer  before  he  reached  the  capital.  Dr.  Angelo 
received  me  with  the  usual  kindness  which  he  showed  to  all 
strangers.  He  procured  me,  unsolicited,  a  charming  country 
house,  free  of  rent,  hired  a  mulatto  servant  for  me,  and  thus- 
relieved  me  of  the  many  annoyances  and  delays  attendant  on 
a  first  arrival  in  a  country  town  where  even  the  name  of  an  inn 
is  unknown.  The  rocinha  thus  given  up  for  my  residence 
belonged  to  a  friend  of  his,  Senhor  Jose  Raimundo  Furtado,  a 
stout  florid-complexioned  gentleman,  such  a  one  as  might  be 
met  with  any  day  in  a  country  town  in  England.  To  him  also 
I  was  indebted  for  many  acts  of  kindness. 

The  rocinha  was  situated  near  a  broad  grassy  road  bordered 
by  lofty  woods,  which  leads  from  Cameta  to  the  Aldeia,  a 
village  two  miles  distant.  My  first  walks  were  along  this  road. 
From  it  branches  another  similar  but  still  more  picturesque 
road,  which  runs  to  Curima  and  Pacaja,  two  small  settlements,, 
several  miles  distant,  in  the  heart  of  the  forest.  The  Curima 
road  is  beautiful  in  the  extreme.  About  half  a  mile  from  the 
house  where  I  lived  it  crosses  a  brook  flowing  through  a  deep 
dell,  by  means  of  a  long  rustic  wooden  bridge.  The  virgin 
forest  is  here  left  untouched;  numerous  groups  of  slender 
palms,  mingled  with  lofty  trees  overrun  with  creepers  and 
parasites,  fill  the  shady  glen  and  arch  over  the  bridge,  forming 
one  of  the  most  picturesque  scenes  imaginable.  A  little  beyond 
the  bridge  there  was  an  extensive  grove  of  orange  and  other 
trees,  which  yielded  me  a  rich  harvest.  The  Aldeia  road  runs 
parallel  to  the  river,  the  land  from  the  border  of  the  road  to 
the  indented  shore  of  the  Tocantins  forming  a  long  slope  which 
was  also  richly  wooded;  this  slope  was  threaded  by  numerous 
shady  paths,  and  abounded  in  beautiful  insects  and  birds.  At 
the  opposite  or  southern  end  of  the  town  there  was  a  broad 
road  called  the  Estrada  da  Vacaria;  this  ran  along  the  banks 
of  the  Tocantins  at  some  distance  from  the  river,  and  continued 


86         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

over  hill  and  dale,  through  bamboo  thickets  and  palm  swamps, 
for  about  fifteen  miles. 

At  Camera  I  chanced  to  verify  a  fact  relating  to  the  habits 
of  a  large  hairy  spider  of  the  genus  Mygale,  in  a  manner  worth 
recording.  The  species  was  M.  avicularia,  or  one  very  closely 
allied  to  it;  the  individual  was  nearly  two  inches  in  length 
of  body,  but  the  legs  expanded  seven  inches,  and  the  entire 
body  and  legs  were  covered  with  coarse  grey  and  reddish  hairs. 
I  was  attracted  by  a  movement  of  the  monster  on  a  tree-trunk ; 
it  was  close  beneath  a  deep  crevice  in  the  tree,  across  which 
was  stretched  a  dense  white  web.  The  lower  part  of  the  web 
was  broken,  and  two  small  birds,  finches,  were  entangled  in 
the  pieces;  they  were  about  the  size  of  the  English  siskin,  and 
I  judged  the  two  to  be  male  and  female.  One  of  them  was 
quite  dead,  the  other  lay  under  the  body  of  the  spider  not 
quite  dead,  and  was  smeared  with  the  filthy  liquor  or  saliva 
exuded  by  the  monster.  I  drove  away  the  spider  and  took  the 
birds,  but  the  second  one  soon  died.  The  fact  of  species  of 
Mygale  sallying  forth  at  night,  mounting  trees,  and  sucking 
the  eggs  and  young  of  humming-birds,  has  been  recorded  long 
ago  by  Madame  Merian  and  Palisot  de  Beauvois;  but,  in  the 
absence  of  any  confirmation,  it  has  come  to  be  discredited. 
From  the  way  the  fact  has  been  related  it  would  appear  that 
it  had  been  merely  derived  from  the  report  of  natives,  and  had 
not  been  witnessed  by  the  narrators.  Count  Langsdorff,  in 
his  Expedition  into  the  Interior  of  Brazil,  states  that  he  totally 
disbelieved  the  story.  I  found  the  circumstance  to  be  quite 
a  novelty  to  the  residents  hereabout.  The  Mygales  are  quite 
common  insects:  some  species  make  their  cells  under  stones, 
others  form  artistical  tunnels  in  the  earth,  and  some  build 
their  dens  in  the  thatch  of  houses.  The  natives  call  them 
Aranhas  carangueijeiras,  or  crab-spiders.  The  hairs  with  which 
they  are  clothed  come  off  when  touched,  and  cause  a  peculiar 
and  almost  maddening  irritation.  The  first  specimen  that  I 
killed  and  prepared  was  handled  incautiously,  and  I  suffered 
terribly  for  three  days  afterwards.  I  think  this  is  not  owing 
to  any  poisonous  quality  residing  in  the  hairs,  but  to  their 
being  short  and  hard,  and  thus  getting  into  the  fine  creases  of 
the  skin.  Some  Mygales  are  of  immense  size.  One  day  I  saw 
the  children  belonging  to  an  Indian  family  who  collected  for 
me  with  one  of  these  monsters  secured  by  a  cord  round  its 
waist,  by  which  they  were  leading  it  about  the  house  as  they 
would  a  dog. 


88         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

The  only  monkeys  I  observed  at  Cameta  were  the  Couxio 
(Pithecia  Satanas) — a  large  species,  clothed  with  long  brownish- 
black  hair — and  the  tiny  Midas  argentatus.  The  Couxio  has  a 
thick  bushy  tail,  and  the  hair  of  the  head,  which  looks  as  if  it 
had  been  carefully  combed,  sits  on  it  like  a  wig.  It  inhabits 
only  the  most  retired  parts  of  the  forest,  on  the  terra  firma,  and 
I  observed  nothing  of  its  habits.  The  little  Midas  argentatus  is 
one  of  the  rarest  of  the  American  monkeys;  indeed,  I  have  not 
heard  of  its  being  found  anywhere  except  near  Cameta,  where  I 
once  saw  three  individuals,  looking  like  so  many  white  kittens, 
running  along  a  branch  in  a  cacao  grove:  in  their  motions 
they  resembled  precisely  the  Midas  ursulus  already  described. 
I  saw  afterwards  a  pet  animal  of  this  species,  and  heard  that 
there  were  many  so  kept,  and  that  they  were  esteemed  as  great 
•  treasures.  The  one  mentioned  was  full-grown,  although  it 
measured  only  seven  inches  in  length  of  body.  It  was  covered 
with  long,  white,  silky  hairs,  the  tail  being  blackish,  and  the 
face  nearly  naked  and  flesh-coloured.  It  was  a  most  timid 
and  sensitive  little  thing.  The  woman  who  owned  it  carried 
it  constantly  in  her  bosom,  and  no  money  would  induce  her 
to  part  with  her  pet.  She  called  it  Mico.  It  fed  from  her 
mouth  and  allowed  her  to  fondle  it  freely,  but  the  nervous 
little  creature  would  not  permit  strangers  to  touch  it.  If  any 
one  attempted  to  do  so  it  shrank  back,  the  whole  body 
trembling  with  fear,  and  its  teeth  chattered  whilst  it  uttered 
its  tremulous  frightened  tones.  The  expression  of  its  features 
was  like  that  of  its  more  robust  brother  Midas  ursulus;  the 
eyes,  which  were  black,  were  full  of  curiosity  and  mistrust,  and 
were  always  kept  fixed  on  the  person  who  attempted  to  advance 
towards  it. 

In  the  orange  groves  and  other  parts  humming-birds  were 
plentiful,  but  I  did  not  notice  more  than  three  species.  I  saw 
one  day  a  little  pigmy  belonging  to  the  genus  Phaethornis 
in  the  act  of  washing  itself  in  a  brook;  perched  on  a  thin 
branch,  one  end  of  which  was  under  water.  It  dipped  itself, 
then  fluttered  its  wings  and  pruned  its  feathers,  and  seemed 
thoroughly  to  enjoy  itself  alone  in  the  shady  nook  which  it  had 
chosen— a  place  overshadowed  by  broad  leaves  of  ferns  and 
Heliconise.  I  thought,  as  I  watched  it,  that  there  was  no  need 
for  poets  to  invent  elves  and  gnomes  whilst  Nature  furnishes 
us  with  such  marvellous  little  sprites  ready  to  hand. 

My  return-journey  to  Para  afforded  many  incidents  charac- 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  89 

teristic  of  Amazonian  travelling.  I  left  Cameta  on  the  16th  of 
July.  My  luggage  was  embarked  in  the  morning  in  the  Santa 
Rosa,  a  vessel  of  the  kind  called  cuberta,  or  covered  canoe. 
The  cuberta  is  very  much  used  on  these  rivers.  It  is  not 
decked,  but  the  sides  forward  are  raised  and  arched  over  so  as 
to  admit  of  cargo  being  piled  high  above  the  water-line.  At 
the  stern  is  a  neat  square  cabin,  also  raised,  and  between  the 
cabin  and  covered  forepart  is  a  narrow  piece  decked  over,  on 
which  are  placed  the  cooking  arrangements.  This  is  called 
the  tombadilha  or  quarterdeck,  and  when  the  canoe  is  heavily 
laden  it  goes  under  water  as  the  vessel  heels  over  to  the  wind. 
There  are  two  masts,  rigged  with  fore  and  aft  sails.  The  fore- 
mast has  often  besides  a  main  and  top  sail.  The  forepart  is 
planked  over  at  the  top,  and  on  this  raised  deck  the  crew  work 
the  vessel,  pulling  it  along,  when  there  is  no  wind,  by  means  of 
the  long  oars  already  described. 

As  I  have  just  said,  my  luggage  was  embarked  in  the  morn- 
ing. I  was  informed  that  we  should  start  with  the  ebb-tide  in 
the  afternoon;  so  I  thought  I  should  have  time  to  pay  my 
respects  to  Dr.  Angelo  and  other  friends,  whose  extreme  courtesy 
and  goodness  had  made  my  residence  at  Cameta  so  agreeable. 
After  dinner  the  guests,  according  to  custom  at  the  house  of 
the  Correias,  walked  into  the  cool  verandah  which  overlooks 
the  river;  and  there  we  saw  the  Santa  Rosa,  a  mere  speck  in 
the  offing  miles  away,  tacking  down  river  with  a  fine  breeze. 
I  was  now  in  a  fix,  for  it  would  be  useless  attempting  to  over- 
take the  cuberta;,  and  besides  the  sea  ran  too  high  for  any 
montaria.  I  was  then  told,  that  I  ought  to  have  been  aboard 
hours  before  the  time  fixed  for  starting,  because  when  a  breeze 
springs  up,  vessels  start  before  the  tide  turns;  the  last  hour 
of  the  flood  not  being  very  strong.  All  my  precious  collections, 
my  clothes,  and  other  necessaries  were  on  board,  and  it  was 
indispensable  that  I  should  be  at  Para  when  the  things  were 
disembarked.  I  tried  to  hire  a  montaria  and  men,  but  was 
told  that  it  would  be  madness  to  cross  the  river  in  a  small 
boat  with  this  breeze.  On  going  to  Senhor  Laroque,  another 
of  my  Cameta  friends,  I  was  relieved  of  my  embarrassment; 
for  I  found  there  an  English  gentleman,  Mr.  Patchett  of  Per- 
nambuco,  who  was  visiting  Para  and  its  neighbourhood  on  his 
way  to  England,  and  who,  as  he  was  going  back  to  Para  in  a 
small  boat  with  four  paddles,  which  would  start  at  midnight, 
kindly  offered  me  a  passage.  The  evening  from  seven  to  ten 
o'clock   was   very  stormy.     About  seven,   the   night   became 


90         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

intensely  dark,  and  a  terrific  squall  of  wind  burst  forth,  which 
made  the  loose  tiles  fly  over  the  housetops;  to  this  succeeded 
lightning  and  stupendous  claps  of  thunder,  both  nearly  simul- 
taneous. We  had  had  several  of  these  short  and  sharp  storms 
during  the  past  month.  At  midnight,  when  we  embarked,  all 
was  as  calm  as  though  a  ruffle  had  never  disturbed  air,  forest, 
or  river.  The  boat  sped  along  like  an  arrow  to  the  rhythmic 
paddling  of  the  four  stout  youths  we  had  with  us,  who  en- 
livened the  passage  with  their  wild  songs.  Mr.  Patchett  and 
I  tried  to  get  a  little  sleep,  but  the  cabin  was  so  small  and 
encumbered  with  boxes  placed  at  all  sorts  of  angles,  that  we 
found  sleep  impossible.  I  was  just  dozing  when  the  day 
dawned,  and,  on  awakening,  the  first  object  I  saw  was  the 
Santa  Rosa,  at  anchor  under  a  green  island  in  mid-river.  I 
preferred  to  make  the  remainder  of  the  voyage  in  company  of 
my  collections,  so  bade  Mr.  Patchett  good-day.  The  owner  of 
the  Santa  Rosa,  Senhor  Jacinto  Machado,  whom  I  had  not  seen 
before,  received  me  aboard,  and  apologised  for  having  started 
without  me.  He  was  a  white  man,  a  planter,  and  was  now  taking 
his  year's  produce  of  cacao,  about  twenty  tons,  to  Para.  The 
canoe  was  very  heavily  laden,  and  I  was  rather  alarmed  to  see 
that  it  was  leaking  at  all  points.  The  crew  were  all  in  the 
water  diving  about  to  feel  for  the  holes,  which  they  stopped 
with  pieces  of  ray  and  clay,  and  an  old  negro  was  baling  the 
water  out  of  the  hold.  This  was  a  pleasant  prospect  for  a 
three-days'  voyage!  Senhor  Machado  treated  it  as  the  most 
ordinary  incident  possible:  "  It  was  always  likely  to  leak,  for 
it  was  an  old  vessel  that  had  been  left  as  worthless  high  and 
dry  on  the  beach,  and  he  had  bought  it  very  cheap." 

When  the  leaks  were  stopped,  we  proceeded  on  our  journey, 
and  at  night  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Anapu.  I  wrapped 
myself  in  an  old  sail,  and  fell  asleep  on  the  raised  deck.  The 
next  day  we  threaded  the  Igarape-mirim,  and  on  the  19th 
descended  the  Moju.  Senhor  Machado  and  I  by  this  time  had 
become  very  good  friends.  At  every  interesting  spot  on  the 
banks  of  the  Moju,  he  manned  the  small  boat  and  took  me 
ashore.  There  are  many  large  houses  on  this  river  belonging 
to  what  were  formerly  large  and  flourishing  plantations,  but 
which,  since  the  Revolution  of  1835-6,  had  been  suffered  to 
go  to  decay.  Two  of  the  largest  buildings  were  constructed  by 
the  Jesuits  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  We  were  told 
that  there  were  formerly  eleven  large  sugar-mills  on  the  banks 
of  the  Moju,  whilst  now  there  are  only  three.     At  Burujuba 


The  Tocantins  and  Cameta  91 

there  is  a  large  monastery  in  a  state  of  ruin ;  part  of  the  edifice, 
however,  was  still  inhabited  by  a  Brazilian  family.  The  walls 
are  four  feet  in  thickness.  The  long  dark  corridors  and  gloomy 
cloisters  struck  me  as  very  inappropriate  in  the  midst  of  this 
young  and  radiant  nature.  They  would  be  better  in  place  on 
some  barren  moor  in  Northern  Europe,  than  here  in  the  midst 
of  perpetual  summer.  The  next  turn  in  the  river  below  Buru- 
juba  brought  the  city  of  Para  into  view.  The  wind  was  now 
against  us,  and  we  were  obliged  to  tack  about.  Towards 
evening  it  began  to  blow  stiffly,  the  vessel  heeled  over  very 
much,  and  Senhor  Machado,  for  the  first  time,  trembled  for  the 
safety  of  his  cargo;  the  leaks  burst  out  afresh,  when  we  were 
yet  two  miles  from  the  shore.  He  ordered  another  sail  to  be 
hoisted,  in  order  to  run  more  quickly  into  port,  but  soon  after- 
wards an  extra  puff  of  wind  came,  and  the  old  boat  lurched 
alarmingly,  the  rigging  gave  way,  and  down  fell  boom  and  sail 
with  a  crash,  encumbering  us  with  the  wreck.  We  were  then 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  oars;  and  as  soon  as  we  were  near 
the  land,  fearing  that  the  crazy  vessel  would  sink  before  reach- 
ing port,  I  begged  Senhor  Machado  to  send  me  ashore  in  the 
boat,  with  the  more  precious  portion  of  my  collections. 


CHAPTER  V 

CARIPI   AND  THE   BAY  OF  MARAj6 

River  Para  and  Bay  of  Marajo — Journey  to  Caripi — Negro  Observance  of 
Christmas — A  German  Family — Bats — Ant-eaters — Humming-birds 
— Excursion  to  the  Murucupi — Domestic  Life  of  the  Inhabitants — 
Hunting  Excursion  with  Indians — White  Ants 

That  part  of  the  Para  river  which  lies  in  front  of  the  city, 
as  I  have  already  explained,  forms  a  narrow  channel;  being 
separated  from  the  main  waters  of  the  estuary  by  a  cluster  of 
islands.  This  channel  is  about  two  miles  broad,  and  constitutes 
part  of  the  minor  estuary  of  Goajara,  into  which  the  three 
rivers  Guama,  Mojii,  and  Acara  discharge  their  waters.  The 
main  channel'  of  the  Para  lies  ten  miles  away  from  the  city, 
directly  across  the  river;  at  that  point,  after  getting  clear  of 
the  islands,  a  great  expanse  of  water  is  beheld,  ten  to  twelve 
miles  in  width;  the  opposite  shore — the  island  of  Marajo — 
being  visible  only  in  clear  weather  as  a  line  of  tree-tops  dotting 
the  horizon.  A  little  further  upwards,  that  is  to  the  south-west, 
the  mainland  on  the  right  or  eastern  shore  appears,  this  is 
called  Carnapijo;  it  is  rocky,  covered  with  the  never-ending 
forest,  and  the  coast,  which  is  fringed  with  broad  sandy  beaches, 
■describes  a  gentle  curve  inwards.  The  broad  reach  of  the 
Para  in  front  of  this  coast  is  called  the  Bahia,  or  Bay  of  Marajo. 
The  coast  and  the  interior  of  the  land  are  peopled  by  civilised 
Indians  and  Mamelucos,  with  a  mixture  of  free  negroes  and 
mulattos.  They  are  poor,  for  the  waters  are  not  abundant  in 
fish,  and  they  are  dependent  for  a  livelihood  solely  on  their 
small  plantations,  and  the  scanty  supply  of  game  found  in  the 
woods.  The  district  was  originally  peopled  by  various  tribes  of 
Indians,  of  whom  the  principal  were  the  Tupinambas  and 
Nhengahibas.  Like  all  the  coast  tribes,  whether  inhabiting  the 
banks  of  the  Amazons  or  the  sea-shore  between  Para  and  Bahia, 
they  were  far  more  advanced  in  civilisation  than  the  hordes 
scattered  through  the  interior  of  the  country,  some  of  which 
still  remain  in  the  wild  state,  between  the  Amazons  and  the 
Plata.  There  are  three  villages  on  the  coast  of  Carnapijo,  and 
several  planters'  houses,  formerly  the  centres  of  flourishing 

92 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo  93 

estates,  which  have  now  relapsed  into  forest  in  consequence  of 
the  scarcity  of  labour  and  diminished  enterprise.  One  of  the 
largest  of  these  establishments  is  called  Caripi  ?  at  the  time  of 
which  I  am  speaking  it  belonged  to  a  Scotch  gentleman,  Mr. 
Campbell,  who  had  married  the  daughter  of  a  large  Brazilian 
proprietor.  Most  of  the  occasional  English  and  American 
visitors  to  Para  had  made  some  stay  at  Caripi,  and  it  had 
obtained  quite  a  reputation  for  the  number  and  beauty  of  the 
birds  and  insects  found  there;  I  therefore  applied  for  and 
obtained  permission  to  spend  two  or  three  months  at  the  place. 
The  distance  from  Para  was  about  twenty-three  miles,  round 
by  the  northern  end  of  the  Ilha  das  oncas  (Isle  of  Tigers),  which 
faces  the  city.  I  bargained  for  a  passage  thither  with  the  cabo 
of  a  small  trading-vessel,  which  was  going  past  the  place,  and 
started  on  the  7th  of  December,  1848. 

We  were  thirteen  persons  aboard :  the  cabo,  his  pretty  mulatto 
mistress,  the  pilot  and  five  Indian  canoemen,  three  young 
mamelucos  (tailor-apprentices  who  were  taking  a  holiday  trip 
to  Cameta),  a  runaway  slave  heavily  chained,  and  myself.  The 
young  mamelucos  were  pleasant,  gentle  fellows:  they  could 
read  and  write,  and  amused  themselves  on  the  voyage  with  a 
book  containing  descriptions  and  statistics  of  foreign  countries, 
in  which  they  seemed  to  take  great  interest — one  reading  whilst 
the  others  listened.  At  Uirapiranga,  a  small  island  behind  the 
Ilha  das  oncas,  we  had  to  stop  a  short  time  to  embark  several 
pipes  of  cashaca  at  a  sugar  estate.  The  cabo  took  the  montaria 
and  two  men;  the  pipes  were  rolled  into  the  water  and  floated 
to  the  canoe,  the  men  passing  cables  round  and  towing  them 
through  a  rough  sea.  Here  we  slept,  and  the  following  morn- 
ing, continuing  our  voyage,  entered  a  narrow  channel  which 
intersects  the  land  of  Carnapij6.  At  2  p.m.  we  emerged  from 
this  channel,  which  is  called  the  Aitituba,  or  Arrozal,  into  the 
broad  Bahia,  and  then  saw,  two  or  three  miles  away  to  the  left, 
the  red-tiled  mansion  of  Caripi,  embosomed  in  woods  on  the 
shores  of  a  charming  little  bay. 

The  water  is  very  shallow  near  the  shore,  and  when  the  wind 
blows  there  is  a  heavy  ground-swell.  A  few  years  previously  an 
English  gentleman,  Mr.  Graham,  an  amateur  naturalist,  was 
capsized  here  and  drowned  with  his  wife  and  child,  whilst 
passing  in  a  heavily-laden  montaria  to  his  large  canoe.  Re- 
membering their  fate,  I  was  rather  alarmed  to  see  that  I  should 
be  obliged  to  take  all  my  luggage  ashore  in  one  trip  in  a  leaky 
little  boat.     The  pile  of  chests  with  two  Indians  and  myself 


94        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

sank  the  montaria  almost  to  the  level  of  the  water.  I  was  kept 
busy  baling  all  the  way.  The  Indians  manage  canoes  in  this 
condition  with  admirable  skill.  They  preserve  the  nicest 
equilibrium,  and  paddle  so  gently  that  not  the  slightest  oscil- 
lation is  perceptible.  On  landing,  an  old  negress  named 
Florinda,  the  feitora  or  manageress  of  the  establishment  (which 
was  kept  only  as  a  poultry-farm  and  hospital  for  sick  slaves), 
gave  me  the  keys,  and  I  forthwith  took  possession  of  the  rooms 
I  required. 

I  remained  here  nine  weeks,  or  until  the  12th  of  February, 
1849.  The  house  was  very  large  and  most  substantially  built, 
but  consisted  of  only  one  story.  I  was  told  it  was  built  by  the 
Jesuits  more  than  a  century  ago.  The  front  had  no  verandah, 
the  doors  opening  on  a  slightly  elevated  terrace  about  a  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  broad  sandy  beach.  Around  the 
residence  the  ground  had  been  cleared  to  the  extent  of  two 
or  three  acres,  and  was  planted  with  fruit-trees.  Well-trodden 
pathways  through  the  forest  led  to  little  colonies  of  the  natives 
on  the  banks  of  retired  creeks  and  rivulets  in  the  interior.  I 
led  here  a  solitary  but  not  unpleasant  life;  for  there  was  a  great 
charm  in  the  loneliness  of  the  place.  The  swell  of  the  river 
beating  on  the  sloping  beach  caused  an  unceasing  murmur, 
which  lulled  me  to  sleep  at  night,  and  seemed  appropriate  music 
in  those  midday  hours  when  all  nature  was  pausing  breathless 
under  the  rays  of  a  vertical  sun.  Here  I  spent  my  first 
Christmas-day  in  a  foreign  land.  The  festival  was  celebrated 
by  the  negroes  of  their  own  free  will  and  in  a  very  pleasing 
manner.  The  room  next  to  the  one  I  had  chosen  was  the 
capella,  or  chapel.  It  had  a  little  altar  which  was  neatly 
arranged,  and  the  room  was  furnished  with  a  magnificent  brass 
chandelier.  Men,  women,  and  children  were  busy  in  the  chapel 
all  day  on  the  24th  of  December  decorating  the  altar  with 
flowers  and  strewing  the  floor  with  orange-leaves.  They  invited 
some  of  their  neighbours  to  the  evening  prayers,  and  when  the 
simple  ceremony  began  an  hour  before  midnight,  the  chapel 
was  crowded.  They  were  obliged  to  dispense  with  the  mass,  for 
they  had  no  priest;  the  service  therefore  consisted  merely  of  a 
long  litany  and  a  few  hymns.  There  was  placed  on  the  altar  a 
small  image  of  the  infant  Christ,  the  "  Menino  Deos  "  as  they 
called  it,  or  the  child-god,  which  had  a  long  ribbon  depending 
from  its  waist.  An  old  white-haired  negro  led  off  the  litany, 
and  the  rest  of  the  people  joined  in  the  responses.  After  the 
service  was  over  they  all  went  up  to  the  altar,  one  by  one,  and 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo  95 

kissed  the  end  of  the  ribbon.  The  gravity  and  earnestness 
shown  throughout  the  proceedings  were  remarkable.  Some  of 
the  hymns  were  very  simple  and  beautiful,  especially  one  begin- 
ning "  Virgem  soberana,"  a  trace  of  whose  melody  springs  to 
my  recollection  whenever  I  think  on  the  dreamy  solitude  of 
Caripi. 

The  next  day  after  I  arrived,  two  blue-eyed  and  red-haired 
boys  came  up  and  spoke  to  me  in  English,  and  presently  their 
father  made  his  appearance.     They  proved  to  be  a  German 
family  named  Petzell,  who  were  living  in  the  woods,  Indian 
fashion,  about  a  mile  from  Caripi.     Petzell  explained  to  me 
how  he  came  here.     He  said  that  thirteen  years  ago  he  came  to 
Brazil  with  a  number  of  other  Germans  under  engagement  to 
serve  in  the  Brazilian  army.     When  his  time  had  expired  he 
came  to  Para  to  see  the  country,  but  after  a  few  months' 
rambling  left  the  place  to  establish  himself  in  the   United 
States.     There  he  married,   went  to  Illinois,  and  settled  as 
farmer  near  St.  Louis.     He  remained  on  his  farm  seven  or 
eight  years,  and  had  a  family  of  five  children.     He  could  never 
forget,  however,  the  free  river-life  and  perpetual  summer  of  the 
banks  of  the  Amazons;  so  he  persuaded  his  wife  to  consent  to 
break  up  their  home  in  North  America,  and  migrate  to  Para. 
No  one  can  imagine  the  difficulties  the  poor  fellow  had  to  go 
through  before  reaching  the  land  of  his  choice.     He  first  de- 
scended the  Mississippi,  feeling  sure  that  a  passage  to  Para 
could  be  got  at  New  Orleans.     He  was  there  told  that  the  only 
port  in  North  America  he  could  start  from  was  New  York,  so 
away  he  sailed  for  New  York;   but  there  was  no  chance  of  a 
vessel  sailing  thence  to  Para,  so  he  took  a  passage  to  Demerara, 
as  bringing  him,  at  any  rate,  near  to  the  desired  land.     There 
is  no  communication  whatever  between  Demerara  and  Para, 
and  he  was  forced  to  remain  here  with  his  family  four  or  five 
months,  during  which  they  all  caught  the  yellow  fever,  and  one 
of  his  children  died.     At  length  he  heard  of  a  small  coasting 
vessel  going  to  Cayenne,  so  he  embarked,  and  got  thereby 
another  stage  nearer  the  end  of  his  journey.     A  short  time 
after  reaching  Cayenne  he  shipped   in  a  schooner  that   was 
going  to  Para,  or  rather  the  island  of  Marajo,  for  a  cargo  of 
cattle.     He  had  now  fixed  himself,  after  all  his  wanderings,  in 
a  healthy  and  fertile  little  nook  on  the  banks  of  a  rivulet  near 
Caripi,  built  himself  a  log-hut,  and  planted  a  large  patch  of 
mandioca  and  Indian  corn.     He  seemed  to  be  quite  happy, 
but  his  wife  complained  much  of  the  want  of  wholesome  food, 


q6        The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

meat,  and  wheaten  bread.  I  asked  the  children  whether  they 
liked  the  country;  they  shook  their  heads,  and  said  they  would 
rather  be  in  Illinois.  Petzell  told  me  that  his  Indian  neigh- 
bours treated  him  very  kindly;  one  or  other  of  them  called 
almost  every  day  to  see  how  he  was  getting  on,  and  they  had 
helped  him  in  many  ways.  He  had  a  high  opinion  of  the 
Tapuyos,  and  said,  "  If  you  treat  them  well,  they  will  go 
through  fire  to  serve  you." 

Petzell  and  his  family  were  expert  insect-collectors,  so  I 
employed  them  at  this  work  during  my  stay  at  Caripi.  The 
daily  occurrences  here  were  after  a  uniform  fashion.  I  rose 
with  the  dawn,  took  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  then  sallied  forth  after 
birds.  At  ten  I  breakfasted,  and  devoted  the  hours  from  ten 
until  three  to  entomology.  The  evening  was  occupied  in  pre- 
serving and  storing  my  captures.  Petzell  and  I  sometimes 
undertook  long  excursions,  occupying  the  whole  day.  Our 
neighbours  used  to  bring  me  all  the  quadrupeds,  birds,  reptiles, 
and  shells  they  met  with,  and  so  altogether  I  was  enabled  to 
acquire  a  good  collection  of  the  productions  of  the  district. 

The  first  few  nights  I  was  much  troubled  by  bats.  The 
room  where  I  slept  had  not  been  used  for  many  months,  and 
the  roof  was  open  to  the  tiles  and  rafters.  The  first  night  I 
slept  soundly  and  did  not  perceive  anything  unusual,  but  on 
the  next  I  was  aroused  about  midnight  by  the  rushing  noise 
made  by  vast  hosts  of  bats  sweeping  about  the  room.  The  air 
was  alive  with  them;  they  had  put  out  the  lamp,  and  when 
I  relighted  it  the  place  appeared  blackened  with  the  impish 
multitudes  that  were  whirling  round  and  round.  After  I 
had  laid  about  well  with  a  stick  for  a  few  minutes  they  dis- 
appeared amongst  the  tiles,  but  when  all  was  still  again  they 
returned,  and  once  more  extinguished  the  light.  I  took  no 
further  notice  of  them,  and  went  to  sleep.  The  next  night 
several  got  into  my  hammock;  I  seized  them  as  they  were 
crawling  over  me,  and  dashed  them  against  the  wall.  The  next 
morning  I  found  a  wound,  evidently  caused  by  a  bat,  on  my 
hip.  This  was  rather  unpleasant,  so  I  set  to  work  with  the 
negroes,  and  tried  to  exterminate  them.  I  shot  a  great  many 
as  they  hung  from  the  rafters,  and  the  negroes  having  mounted 
with  ladders  to  the  roof  outside,  routed  out  from  beneath  the 
eaves  many  hundreds  of  them,  including  young  broods.  There 
were  altogether  four  species  —  two  belonging  to  the  genus 
Dysopes,  one  to  Phyllostoma,  and  the  fourth  to  Glossophaga. 
By  far  the  greater  number  belonged  to  the  Dysopes  perotis,  a 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo  97 

species  having  very  large  ears,  and  measuring  two  feet  from  tip 
to  tip  of  the  wings.  The  Phyllostoma  was  a  small  kind,  of  a 
dark-grey  colour,  streaked  with  white  down  the  back,  and 
having  a  leaf-shaped  fleshy  expansion  on  the  tip  of  the  nose.  I 
was  never  attacked  by  bats  except  on  this  occasion.  The  fact 
of  their  sucking  the  blood  of  persons  sleeping,  from  wounds 
which  they  make  in  the  toes,  is  now  well  established;  but  it 
is  only  a  few  persons  who  are  subject  to  this  blood-letting. 
According  to  the  negroes,  the  Phyllostoma  is  the  only  kind  which 
attacks  man.  Those  which  I  caught  crawling  over  me  were 
Dysopes,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  many  different  kinds  of 
bats  have  this  propensity. 

One  day  I  was  occupied  searching  for  insects  in  the  bark  of 
a  fallen  tree,  when  I  saw  a  large  cat-like  animal  advancing 
towards  the  spot.  It  came  within  a  dozen  yards  before  per- 
ceiving me.  I  had  no  weapon  with  me  but  an  old  chisel,  and 
was  getting  ready  to  defend  myself  if  it  should  make  a  spring, 
when  it  turned  round  hastily  and  trotted  off.  I  did  not  obtain 
a  very  distinct  view  of  it,  but  I  could  see  its  colour  was  that  of 
the  Puma,  or  American  Lion,  although  it  was  rather  too  small 
for  that  species.  The  Puma  is  not  a  common  animal  in  the 
Amazons  forests.  I  did  not  see  altogether  more  than  a  dozen 
skins  in  the  possession  of  the  natives.  The  fur  is  of  a  fawn 
colour.  On  account  of  its  hue  resembling  that  of  a  deer  common 
in  the  forests,  the  natives  call  it  the  Sassu-arana,1  or  the  false 
deer;  that  is,  an  animal  which  deceives  one  at  first  sight  by  its 
superficial  resemblance  to  a  deer.  The  hunters  are  not  at  all 
afraid  of  it,  and  speak  always  in  disparaging  terms  of  its  courage. 
Of  the  Jaguar  they  give  a  very  different  account. 

The  only  species  of  monkey  I  met  with  at  Caripi  was  the 

same  dark-coloured  little  Midas  already  mentioned  as  found 

near  Para.     The  great  Ant-eater,  Tamandua  of  the  natives 

(Myrmecophaga  jubata),  was  not  uncommon  here.     After  the 

first  few  weeks  of  residence  I  ran  short  of  fresh  provisions. 

The  people  of  the  neighbourhood  had  sold  me  all  the  fowls 

they  could  spare;    I  had  not  yet  learnt  to  eat  the  stale  and 

stringy  salt-fish  which  is  the  staple  food  in  these  places,  and  for 

several  days  I  had  lived  on  rice-porridge,  roasted  bananas,  and 

farinha.     Florinda  asked  me  whether  I  could  eat  Tamandua. 

I  told  her  almost  anything  in  the  shape  of  flesh  would  be  accept- 

1  The  old  zoologist  Marcgrave  called  the  Puma  the  Cuguacuarana, 
probably  (the  c's  being  soft)  a  misspelling  of  Sassu-ar&na;  hence  the 
name  Cougouar  employed  by  French  zoologists,  and  copied  in  most  works 
on  natural  history. 


98         The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

able;  so  the  same  day  she  went  with  an  old  negro  named 
Antonio  and  the  dogs,  and  in  the  evening  brought  one  of  the 
animals.  The  meat  was  stewed  and  turned  out  very  good, 
something  like  goose  in  flavour.  The  people  at  Caripi  would 
not  touch  a  morsel,  saying  it  was  not  considered  fit  to  eat  in 
these  parts ;  I  had  read,  however,  that  it  was  an  article  of  food 
in  other  countries  of  South  America.  During  the  next  two  or 
three  weeks,  whenever  we  were  short  of  fresh  meat,  Antonio 
was  always  ready,  for  a  small  reward,  to  get  me  a  Tamandua. 
But  one  day  he  came  to  me  in  great  distress,  with  the  news  that 
his  favourite  dog,  Atrevido,  had  been  caught  in  the  grip  of  an 
ant-eater,  and  was  killed.  We  hastened  to  the  place,  and  found 
the  dog  was  not  dead,  but  severely  torn  by  the  claws  of  the 
animal,  which  itself  was  mortally  wounded,  and  was  now  relaxing 
its  grasp. 

The  habits  of  the  Myrmecophaga  jubata  are  now  pretty  well 
known.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  the  drier  forests  of  the  Amazons 
valley,  but  is  not  found,  I  believe,  in  the  Ygapo,  or  flooded 
lands.  The  Brazilians  call  the  species  the  Tamandua  bandeira, 
or  the  Banner  Ant-eater,  the  term  banner  being  applied  in 
allusion  to  the  curious  colouration  of  the  animal,  each  side  of 
the  body  having  a  broad  oblique  stripe,  half  grey  and  half 
black,  which  gives  it  some  resemblance  to  a  heraldic  banner. 
It  has  an  excessively  long  slender  muzzle,  and  a  wormlike 
extensile  tongue.  Its  jaws  are  destitute  of  teeth.  The  claws 
are  much  elongated,  and  its  gait  is  very  awkward.  It  lives  on 
the  ground,  and  feeds  on  termites,  or  white  ants;  the  long 
claws  being  employed  to  pull  in  pieces  the  solid  hillocks  made 
by  the  insects,  and  the  long  flexible  tongue  to  lick  them  up  from 
the  crevices.  All  the  other  species  of  this  singular  genus  are 
arboreal.  I  met  with  four  species  altogether.  One  was  the 
Myrmecophaga  tetradactyla;  the  two  others,  more  curious 
and  less  known,  were  very  small  kinds,  called  Tamandua-i. 
Both  are  similar  in  size — ten  inches  in  length,  exclusive  of  the 
tail — and  in  the  number  of  the  claws,  having  two  of  unequal 
length  to  the  anterior  feet,  and  four  to  the  hind  feet.  One 
species  is  clothed  with  greyish-yellow  silky  hair;  this  is  of  rare 
occurrence.  The  other  has  a  fur  of  a  dingy  brown  colour, 
without  silky  lustre.  One  was  brought  to  me  alive  at  Caripi, 
having  been  caught  by  an  Indian  clinging  motionless  inside  a 
hollow  tree.  I  kept  it  in  the  house  about  twenty-four  hours. 
It  had  a  moderately  long  snout,  curved  downwards,  and  ex- 
tremely small  eyes.     It  remained  nearly  all  the  time  without 


ANT-EATER  GRAPPLING  WITH  DOG 


ioo      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

motion,  except  when  irritated,  in  which  case  it  reared  itself 
on  its  hind  legs  from  the  back  of  a  chair  to  which  it  clung,  and 
clawed  out  with  its  forepaws  like  a  cat.  Its  manner  of  clinging 
with  its  claws,  and  the  sluggishness  of  its  motions,  gave  it  a 
great  resemblance  to  a  sloth.  It  uttered  no  sound,  and  remained 
all  night  on  the  spot  where  I  had  placed  it  in  the  morning.  The 
next  day  I  put  it  on  a  tree  in  the  open  air,  and  at  night  it  escaped. 
These  small  Tamanduas  are  nocturnal  in  their  habits,  and  feed 
on  those  species  of  termites  which  construct  earthy  nests,  that 
look  like  ugly  excrescences  on  the  trunks  and  branches  of  trees. 
The  different  kinds  of  ant-eaters  are  thus  adapted  to  various 
modes  of  life,  terrestrial  and  arboreal.  Those  which  live  on 
trees  are  again  either  diurnal  or  nocturnal,  for  Myrmecophaga 
tetradactyla  is  seen  moving  along  the  main  branches  in  the 
daytime.  The  allied  group  of  the  Sloths,  which  are  still  more 
exclusively  South  American  forms  than  ant-eaters  are,  at  the 
present  time  furnish  arboreal  species  only,  but  formerly  ter- 
restrial forms  of  sloths  also  existed,  as  the  Megatherium,  whose 
mode  of  life  was  a  puzzle,  seeing  that  it  was  of  too  colossal  a 
size  to  live  on  trees,  until  Owen  showed  how  it  might  have 
obtained  its  food  from  the  ground. 

In  January  the  orange-trees  became  covered  with  blossom — 
at  least  to  a  greater  extent  than  usual,  for  they  flower  more  or 
less  in  this  country  all  the  year  round — and  the  flowers  attracted 
a  great  number  of  humming-birds.  Every  day,  in  the  cooler 
hours  of  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  from  four  o'clock  till 
six,  they  were  to  be  seen  whirring  about  the  trees  by  scores. 
Their  motions  are  unlike  those  of  all  other  birds.  They  dart 
to  and  fro  so  swiftly  that  the  eye  can  scarcely  follow  them,  and 
when  they  stop  before  a  flower  it  is  only  for  a  few  moments. 
They  poise  themselves  in  an  unsteady  manner,  their  wings 
moving  with  inconceivable  rapidity ;  probe  the  flower,  and  then 
shoot  off  to  another  part  of  the  tree.  They  do  not  proceed  in 
that  methodical  manner  which  bees  follow,  taking  the  flowers 
seriatim,  but  skip  about  from  one  part  of  the  tree  to  another 
in  the  most  capricious  way.  Sometimes  two  males  close  with 
each  other  and  fight,  mounting  upwards  in  the  struggle,  as 
insects  are  often  seen  to  do  when  similarly  engaged,  and  then 
separating  hastily  and  darting  back  to  their  work.  Now  and 
then  they  stop  to  rest,  perching  on  leafless  twigs, -where  they 
may  be  sometimes  seen  probing,  from  the  places  where  they  sit, 
the  flowers  with'-i  their  reach.  The  brilliant  colours  with 
which  they  are  adorned  cannot  be  seen  whilst  they  are  flutter- 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        101 

ing  about,  nor  can  the  different  species  be  distinguished  unless 
they  have  a  deal  of  white  hue  in  their  plumage,  such  as  Helio- 
thrix  auritus,  which  is  wholly  white  underneath,  although  of  a 
glittering  green  colour  above,  and  the  white-tailed  Florisuga 
mellivora.  There  is  not  a  great  variety  of  humming-birds  in 
the  Amazons  region,  the  number  of  species  being  far  smaller 
in  these  uniform  forest  plains  than  in  the  diversified  valleys  of 
the  Andes,  under  the  same  parallels  of  latitude.  The  family 
is  divisible  into  two  groups,  contrasted  in  form  and  habits, 
one  containing  species  which  live  entirely  in  the  shade  of  the 
forest,  and  the  other  comprising  those  which  prefer  open  sunny 


&S5s 


Humming-bird  and  Humming-bird  Hawk-moth. 

places.  The  forest  species  (Phaethorninas)  are  seldom  seen  at 
flowers,  flowers  being,  in  the  shady  places  where  they  abide, 
of  rare  occurrence;  but  they  search  for  insects  on  leaves,  thread- 
ing the  bushes  and  passing  above  and  beneath  each  leaf  with 
wonderful  rapidity.  The  other  group  (Trochilinse)  are  not 
quite  confined  to  cleared  places,  as  they  come  into  the  forest 
wherever  a  tree  is  in  blossom,  and  descend  into  sunny  openings 
where  flowers  are  to  be  found.  But  it  is  only  where  the  woods 
are  less  dense  than  usual  that  this  is  the  case;  in  the  lofty 
forests  and  twilight  shades  of  the  lowlands  and  islands  they 
are  scarcely  ever  seen.  I  searched  well  at  Caripi,  expecting  to 
find  the  Lophornis  Gouldii,  which  I  was  told  had  been  obtained 
in  the  locality.    This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  humming- 


102      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

birds,  having  round  the  neck  a  frill  of  long  white  feathers  tipped 
with  golden  green.  I  was  not,  however,  so  fortunate  as  to 
meet  with  it.  Several  times  I  shot  by  mistake  a  humming-biid 
hawk-moth  instead  of  a  bird.  This  moth  (Macroglossa  Titan) 
is  somewhat  smaller  than  humming-birds  generally  are;  but 
its  manner  of  flight,  and  the  way  it  poises  itself  before  a  flower 
whilst  probing  it  with  its  proboscis,  are  precisely  like  the  same 
actions  of  humming-birds.  It  was  only  after  many  days'  ex- 
perience that  I  learnt  to  distingiush  one  from  the  other  when 
on  the  wing.  This  resemblance  has  attracted  the  notice  of 
the  natives,  all  of  whom,  even  educated  whites,  firmly  believe 
that  one  is  transmutable  into  the  other.  They  have  observed 
the  metamorphosis  of  caterpillars  into  butterflies,  and  think  it 
not  at  all  more  wonderful  that  a  moth  should  change  into  a 
humming-bird.  The  resemblance  between  this  hawk-moth  and 
a  humming-bird  is  certainly  very  curious,  and  strikes  one  even 
when  both  are  examined  in  the  hand.  Holding  them  sideways, 
the  shape  of  the  head  and  position  of  the  eyes  in  the  moth  are 
seen  to  be  nearly  the  same  as  in  the  bird,  the  extended  proboscis 
representing  the  long  beak.  At  the  tip  of  the  moth's  body 
there  is  a  brush  of  long  hair-scales  resembling  feathers,  which, 
being  expanded,  looks  very  much  like  a  bird's  tail.  But,  of 
course,  all  these  points  of  resemblance  are  merely  superficial. 
The  negroes  and  Indians  tried  to  convince  me  that  the  two 
were  of  the  same  species.  "  Look  at  their  feathers,"  they  said; 
"  their  eyes  are  the  same,  and  so  are  their  tails."  This  belief 
is  so  deeply  rooted  that  it  was  useless  to  reason  with  them  on 
the  subject.  The  Macroglossa  moths  are  found  in  most  countries, 
and  have  everywhere  the  same  habits;  one  well-known  species 
is  found  in  England.  Mr.  Gould  relates  that  he  once  had  a 
stormy  altercation  with  an  English  gentleman,  who  affirmed 
that  humming-birds  were  found  in  England,  for  he  had  seen 
one  flying  in  Devonshire,  meaning  thereby  the  moth  Macroglossa 
stellatarum.  The  analogy  between  the  two  creatures  has  been 
brought  about,  probably,  by  the  similarity  of  their  habits,  there 
being  no  indication  of  the  one  having  been  adapted  in  outward 
appearance  with  reference  to  the  other. 

It  has  been  observed  that  humming-birds  are  unlike  other 
birds  in  their  mental  qualities,  resembling  in  this  respect  insects 
rather  than  warm-blooded  vertebrate  animals.  The  want  of 
expression  in  their  eyes,  the  small  degree  of  versatility  in  their 
actions,  the  quickness  and  precision  of  their  movements,  are 
all  so  many  points  of  resemblance  between  them  and  insects. 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        103 

In  walking  along  the  alleys  of  the  forest  a  Phaethornis  frequently 
crosses  one's  path,  often  stopping  suddenly  and  remaining  poised 
in  mid-air,  a  few  feet  distant  from  the  face  of  the  intruder. 
The  Phaethorninae  are  certainly  more  numerous  in  individuals 
in  the  Amazons  region  that  the  Trochilinae.  They  build  their 
nests,  which  are  made  of  fine  vegetable  fibres  and  lichens,  densely 
woven  together  and  thickly  lined  with  silk-cotton  from  the  fruit 
of  the  samauma  tree  (Eriodendron  samauma),  on  the  inner  sides 
of  the  tips  of  palm-fronds.  They  are  long  and  purse-shaped. 
The  young  when  first  hatched  have  very  much  shorter  bills 
than  their  parents.  The  only  species  of  Trochilinae  which  I 
found  at  Caripi  were  the  little  brassy-green  Polytmus  viri- 
dissimus,  the  sapphire  and  emerald  (Thalurania  furcata),  and 
the  large  falcate-winged  Campylopterus  obscurus. 

Snakes  were  very  numerous  at  Caripi;  many  harmless  species 
were  found  near  the  house,  and  these  sometimes  came  into  the 
rooms.  I  was  wandering  one  day  amongst  the  green  bushes  of 
Guajara,  a  tree  which  yields  a  grape-like  berry  (Chrysobalanus 
Icaco)  and  grows  along  all  these  sandy  shores,  when  I  was 
startled  by  what  appeared  to  be  the  flexuous  stem  of  a  creeping 
plant  endowed  with  life  and  threading  its  way  amongst  the 
leaves  and  branches.  This  animated  liana  turned  out  to  be  a 
pale-green  snake,  the  Dryophis  fulgida.  Its  whole  body  is  of 
the  same  green  hue,  and  it  is  thus  rendered  undistinguishable 
amidst  the  foliage  of  the  Guajara  bushes,  where  it  prowls  in 
search  of  its  prey,  tree-frogs  and  lizards.  The  forepart  of  its 
head  is  prolonged  into  a  slender  pointed  beak,  and  the  total 
length  of  the  reptile  was  six  feet.  There  was  another  kind 
found  amongst  bushes  on  the  borders  of  the  forest  closely  allied 
to  this,  but  much  more  slender,  viz.,  the  Dryophis  acuminata. 
This  grows  to  a  length  of  four  feet  eight  inches,  the  tail  alone 
being  twenty-two  inches;  but  the  diameter  of  the  thickest  part 
of  the  body  is  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  It  is  of 
light-brown  colour,  with  iridescent  shades  variegated  with 
obscurer  markings,  and  looks  like  a  piece  of  whipcord.  One 
individual  which  I  caught  of  this  species  had  a  protuberance 
near  the  middle  of  the  body.  On  opening  it  I  found  a  half- 
digested  lizard  which  was  much  more  bulky  than  the  snake 
itself.  Another  kind  of  serpent  found  here,  a  species  of  Helicops, 
was  amphibious  in  its  habits.  I  saw  several  of  this  in  wet  weather 
on  the  beach,  which,  on  being  approached,  always  made  straight- 
way for  the  water,  where  they  swam  with  much  grace  and 
dexterity.     Florinda  one  day  caught  a  Helicops  whilst  angling 


104      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

for  fish,  it  having  swallowed  the  fishhook  with  the  bait.  She 
and  others  told  me  these  water-snakes  lived  on  small  fishes,  but 
I  did  not  meet  with  any  proof  of  the  statement.  In  the  woods, 
snakes  were  constantly  occurring:  it  was  not  often,  however, 
that  I  saw  poisonous  species.  There  were  many  arboreal  kinds 
besides  the  two  just  mentioned;  and  it  was  rather  alarming, 
in  entomologising  about  the  trunks  of  trees,  to  suddenly  en- 
counter, on  turning  round,  as  sometimes  happened,  a  pair  of 
glittering  eyes  and  a  forked  tongue  within  a  few  inches  of  one's 
head.  The  last  kind  I  shall  mention  is  the  Coral-snake,  which  is 
a  most  beautiful  object  when  seen  coiled  up  on  black  soil  in  the 
woods.  The  one  I  saw  here  was  banded  with  black  and  ver- 
milion, the  black  bands  having  each  two  clear  white  rings. 
The  state  of  specimens  preserved  in  spirits  can  give  no  idea  of 
the  brilliant  colours  which  adorn  the  Coral-snake  in  life. 

Petzell  and  I,  as  already  mentioned,  made  many  excursions 
of  long  extent  in  the  neighbouring  forest.  We  sometimes  went 
to  Murucupi,  a  creek  which  passes  through  the  forest  about  four 
miles  behind  Caripi,  the  banks  of  which  are  inhabited  by  Indians 
and  half-breeds,  who  have  lived  there  for  many  generations 
in  perfect  seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  place  being 
little  known  or  frequented.  A  path  from  Caripi  leads  to  it 
through  a  gloomy  tract  of  virgin  forest,  where  the  trees  are  so 
closely  packed  together  that  the  ground  beneath  is  thrown 
into  the  deepest  shade,  under  which  nothing  but  fetid  fungi 
and  rotting  vegetable  debris  is  to  be  seen.  On  emerging  from 
this  unfriendly  solitude  near  the  banks  of  the  Murucupi,  a 
charming  contrast  is  presented.  A  glorious  vegetation,  piled 
up  to  an  immense  height,  clothes  the  banks  of  the  creek,  which 
traverses  a  broad  tract  of  semi-cultivated  ground,  and  the 
varied  masses  of  greenery  are  lighted  up  with  the  sunny  glow. 
Open  palm-thatched  huts  peep  forth  here  and  there  from  amidst 
groves  of  banana,  mango,  cotton,  and  papaw  trees  and  palms. 
On  our  first  excursion,  we  struck  the  banks  of  the  river  in  front 
of  a  house  of  somewhat  more  substantial  architecture  than  the 
rest,  having  finished  mud  walls,  plastered  and  whitewashed, 
and  a  covering  of  red  tiles.  It  seemed  to  be  full  of  children, 
and  the  aspect  of  the  household  was  improved  by  a  number  of 
good-looking  mameluco  women,  who  were  busily  employed 
washing,  spinning,  and  making  farinha.  Two  of  them,  seated 
on  a  mat  in  the  open  verandah,  were  engaged  sewing  dresses; 
for  a  festival  was  going  to  take  place  a  few  days  hence  at 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        105 

Balcarem,  a  village  eight  miles  distant  from  Murucupi,  and  they 
intended  to  be  present  to  hear  mass  and  show  their  finery. 
One  of  the  children,  a  naked  boy  about  seven  years  of  age, 
crossed  over  with  the  montaria  to  fetch  us.  We  were  made 
welcome  at  once,  and  asked  to  stay  for  dinner.  On  our  accept- 
ing the  invitation  a  couple  of  fowls  were  killed,  and  a  whole- 
some stew  of  seasoned  rice  and  fowls  soon  put  in  preparation. 
It  is  not  often  that  the  female  members  of  a  family  in  these 
retired  places  are  familiar  with  strangers ;  but  these  people  had 
lived  a  long  time  in  the  capital,  and  therefore  were  more  civilised 
than  their  neighbours.  Their  father  had  been  a  prosperous 
tradesman,  and  had  given  them  the  best  education  the  place 
afforded.  After  his  death  the  widow  with  several  daughters, 
married  and  unmarried,  retired  to  this  secluded  spot,  which 
had  been  their  sitio,  farm  or  country  house  for  many  years. 
One  of  the  daughters  was  married  to  a  handsome  young  mulatto, 
who  was  present  and  sang  us  some  pretty  songs,  accompanying 
himself  on  the  guitar. 

After  dinner  I  expressed  a  wish  to  see  more  of  the  creek;  so 
a  lively  and  polite  old  man,  whom  I  took  to  be  one  of  the 
neighbours,  volunteered  as  guide.  We  embarked  in  a  little 
montaria,  and  paddled  some  three  or  four  miles  up  and  down 
the  stream.  Although  I  had  now  become  familiarised  with 
beautiful  vegetation,  all  the  glow  of  fresh  admiration  came 
again  to  me  in  this  place.  The  creek  was  about  a  hundred 
yards  wide,  but  narrower  in  some  places.  Both  banks  were 
masked  by  lofty  walls  of  green  drapery,  here  and  there  a  break 
occurring,  through  which,  under  overarching  trees,  glimpses 
were  obtained  of  the  palm-thatched  huts  of  settlers.  The  pro- 
jecting boughs  of  lofty  trees,  which  in  some  places  stretched 
half-way  across  the  creek,  were  hung  with  natural  garlands 
and  festoons,  and  an  endless  variety  of  creeping  plants  clothed 
the  water-frontage,  some  of  which,  especially  the  Bignonias, 
were  ornamented  with  large  gaily-coloured  flowers.  Art  could 
not  have  assorted  together  beautiful  vegetable  forms  so  har- 
moniously as  was  here  done  by  Nature.  Palms,  as  usual, 
formed  a  large  proportion  of  the  lower  trees;  some  of  them, 
however,  shot  up  their  slim  stems  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet  or 
more,  and  waved  their  bunches  of  nodding  plumes  between  us 
and  the  sky.  One  kind  of  palm,  the  Pashiuba  (Iriartea  exorhiza), 
which  grows  here  in  greater  abundance  than  elsewhere,  was 
especially  attractive.  It  is  not  one  of  the  tallest  kinds,  for 
when  full-grown  its  height  is  not  more,  perhaps,  than  forty  feet; 


106      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  leaves  are  somewhat  less  drooping,  and  the  leaflets  much 
broader  than  in  other  species,  so  that  they  have  not  that 
feathery  appearance  which  those  of  some  palms  have,  but  still 
they  possess  their  own  peculiar  beauty.  My  guide  put  me 
ashore  in  one  place  to  show  me  the  roots  of  the  Pashiuba. 
These  grow  above  ground,  radiating  from  the  trunk  many  feet 
above  the  surface,  so  that  the  tree  looks  as  if  supported  on  stilts ; 
and  a  person  can,  in  old  trees,  stand  upright  amongst  the  roots 
with  the  perpendicular  stem  wholly  above  his  head.  It  adds 
to  the  singularity  of  their  appearance  that  these  roots,  which 
have  the  form  of  straight  rods,  are  studded  with  stout  thorns, 
whilst  the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  quite  smooth.  The  purpose  of 
this  curious  arrangement  is,  perhaps,  similar  to  that  of  the 
buttress  roots  already  described — namely,  to  recompense  the 
tree  by  root-growth  above  the  soil  for  its  inability,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  competition  of  neighbouring  roots,  to  extend  it 
underground.  The  great  amount  of  moisture  and  nutriment 
contained  in  the  atmosphere  may  also  favour  these  growths. 

On  returning  to  the  house,  I  found  Petzell  had  been  well 
occupied  during  the  hot  hours  of  the  day  collecting  insects  in  a 
neighbouring  clearing.  Our  kind  hosts  gave  us  a  cup  of  coffee 
about  five  o'clock,  and  we  then  started  for  home.  The  last  mile 
of  our  walk  was  performed  in  the  dark.  The  forest  in  this  part 
is  obscure  even  in  broad  daylight,  but  I  was  scarcely  prepared 
for  the  intense  opacity  of  darkness  which  reigned  here  on  this 
night,  and  which  prevented  us  from  seeing  each  other,  although 
walking  side  by  side.  Nothing  occurred  of  a  nature  to  alarm 
us,  except  that  now  and  then  a  sudden  rush  was  heard  amongst 
the  trees,  and  once  a  dismal  shriek  startled  us.  Petzell  tripped 
at  one  place  and  fell  all  his  length  into  the  thicket.  With 
this  exception,  we  kept  well  to  the  pathway,  and  in  due  time 
arrived  safely  at  Caripi. 

One  of  my  neighbours  at  Murucupi  was  a  hunter  of  reputa- 
tion in  these  parts.  He  was  a  civilised  Indian,  married  and 
settled,  named  Raimundo,  whose  habit  was  to  sally  forth  at 
intervals  to  certain  productive  hunting-grounds,  the  situation  of 
which  he  kept  secret,  and  procure  fresh  provisions  for  his  family. 
I  had  found  out  by  this  time,  that  animal  food  was  as  much  a 
necessary  of  life  in  this  exhausting  climate  as  it  is  in  the  North 
of  Europe.  An  attempt  which  I  made  to  live  on  vegetable  food 
was  quite  a  failure,  and  I  could  not  eat  the  execrable  salt-fish 
Which  Brazilians  use.     I  had  been  many  days  without  meat  of 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        107 

any  kind,  and  nothing  more  was  to  be  found  near  Caripi,  so  I 
asked  as  a  favour  of  Senhor  Raimundo  •permission  to  accom- 
pany him  on  one  of  his  hunting-trips,  and  shoot  a  little  game 
for  my  own  use.  He  consented,  and  appointed  a  day  on  which 
I  was  to  come  over  to  his  house  to  sleep,  so  as  to  be  ready  for 
starting  with  the  ebb-tide  shortly  after  midnight. 

The  locality  we  were  to  visit  was  situated  near  the  extreme 
point  of  the  land  of  Carnapijo,  where  it  projects  northwardly 
into  the  middle  of  the  Para  estuary,  and  is  broken  into  a 
number  of  islands.  On  the  afternoon  of  January  nth,  1849,  I 
walked  through  the  woods  to  Raimundo's  house,  taking  nothing 
with  me  but  a  double-barrelled  gun,  a  supply  of  ammunition, 
and  a  box  for  the  reception  of  any  insects  I  might  capture. 
Raimundo  was  a  carpenter,  and  seemed  to  be  a  very  industrious 
man;  he  had  two  apprentices,  Indians  like  himself — one  a  young 
lad,  and  the  other  apparently  about  twenty  years  of  age.  His 
wife  was  of  the  same  race.  The  Indian  women  are  not  always 
of  a  taciturn  disposition  like  their  husbands.  Senhora  Dominga 
was  very  talkative;  there  was  another  old  squaw  at  the  house 
on  a  visit,  and  the  tongues  of  the  two  were  going  at  a  great 
rate  the  whole  evening,  using  only  the  Tupi  language.  Raimundo 
and  his  apprentices  were  employed  building  a  canoe.  Notwith- 
standing his  industry,  he  seemed  to  be  very  poor,  and  this  was 
the  condition  of  most  of  the  residents  on  the  banks  of  the 
Murucupi.  They  have,  nevertheless,  considerable  plantations 
of  mandioca  and  Indian  corn,  besides  small  plots  of  cotton, 
coffee,  and  sugarcane;  the  soil  is  very  fertile,  they  have  no 
rent  to  pay,  and  no  direct  taxes.  There  is,  moreover,  always 
a  market  in  Para,  twenty  miles  distant,  for  their  surplus  pro- 
duce, and  a  ready  communication  with  it  by  water. 

In  the  evening  we  had  more  visitors.  The  sounds  of  pipe 
and  tabor  were  heard,  and  presently  a  procession  of  villagers 
emerged  from  a  pathway  through  the  mandioca  fields.  They 
were  on  a  begging  expedition  for  St.  Thome,  the  patron  saint 
of  Indians  and  Mamelucos.  One  carried  a  banner,  on  which 
was  rudely  painted  the  figure  of  St.  Thome  with  a  glory  round 
his  head.  The  pipe  and  tabor  were  of  the  simplest  description. 
The  pipe  was  a  reed  pierced  with  four  holes,  by  means  of  which 
a  few  unmusical  notes  were  produced,  and  the  tabor  was  a 
broad  hoop  with  a  skin  stretched  over  each  end.  A  deformed 
young  man  played  both  the  instruments.  Senhor  Raimundo 
received  them  with  the  quiet  politeness  which  comes  so  natural 
to   the   Indian   when   occupying   the   position   of   host.     The 


108      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

visitors,  who  had  come  from  the  Villa  de  Conde,  five  miles 
through  the  forest,  were  invited  to  rest.  Raimundo  then  took 
the  image  of  St.  Thome  from  one  of  the  party,  and  placed  it  by 
the  side  of  Nossa  Senhora  in  his  own  oratorio,  a  little  decorated 
box  in  which  every  family  keeps  its  household  gods,  finally 
lighting  a  couple  of  wax  candles  before  it.  Shortly  afterwards 
a  cloth  was  laid  on  a  mat,  and  all  the  guests  were  invited  to 
supper.  The  fare  was  very  scanty;  a  boiled  fowl  with  rice,  a 
slice  of  roasted  pirarucu,  farinha,  and  bananas.  Each  one 
partook  very  sparingly,  some  of  the  young  men  contenting 
themselves  with  a  plateful  of  rice.  One  of  the  apprentices 
stood  behind  with  a  bowl  of  water  and  a  towel,  with  which 
each  guest  washed  his  fingers  and  rinsed  his  mouth  after  the 
meal.  They  stayed  all  night:  the  large  open  shed  was  filled 
with  hammocks,  which  were  slung  from  pole  to  pole;  and  on 
retiring,  Raimundo  gave  orders  for  their  breakfast  in  the 
morning. 

Raimundo  called  me  at  two  o'clock,  when  we  embarked  (he, 
his  older  apprentice  Joaquim,  and  myself)  in  a  shady  place 
where  it  was  so  dark  that  I  could  see  neither  canoe  nor  water, 
taking  with  us  five  dogs.  We  glided  down  a  winding  creek 
where  huge  trunks  of  trees  slanted  across  close  overhead,  and 
presently  emerged  into  the  Murucupi.  A  few  yards  further  on 
we  entered  the  broader  channel  of  the  Aitituba.  This  we 
crossed,  and  entered  another  narrow  creek  on  the  opposite  side. 
Here  the  ebb-tide  was  against  us,  and  we  had  great  difficulty  in 
making  progress.  After  we  had  struggled  against  the  powerful 
current  a  distance  of  two  miles,  we  came  to  a  part  where  the 
ebb-tide  ran  in  the  opposite  direction,  showing  that  we  had 
crossed  the  water-shed.  The  tide  flows  into  this  channel  or 
creek  at  both  ends  simultaneously,  and  meets  in  the  middle, 
although  there  is  apparently  no  difference  of  level,  and  the 
breadth  of  the  water  is  the  same.  The  tides  are  extremely 
intricate  throughout  all  the  infinite  channels  and  creeks  which 
intersect  the  lands  of  the  Amazons  delta.  The  moon  now  broke 
forth  and  lighted  up  the  trunks  of  colossal  trees,  the  leaves  of 
monstrous  Jupati  palms  which  arched  over  the  creek,  and 
revealed  groups  of  arborescent  arums  standing  like  rows  of 
spectres  on  its  banks.  We  had  a  glimpse  now  and  then  into 
the  black  depths  of  the  forest,  where  all  was  silent  except  the 
shrill  stridulation  of  wood-crickets.  Now  and  then  a  sudden 
plunge  in  the  water  ahead  would  startle  us,  caused  by  heavy 
fruit  or  some  nocturnal  animal  dropping  from  the  trees.    The 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        109 

two  Indians  here  rested  on  their  paddles  and  allowed  the  canoe 
to  drift  with  the  tide.  A  pleasant  perfume  came  from  the 
forest,  which  Raimundo  said  proceeded  from  a  cane-field.  He 
toM  me  that  all  this  land  was  owned  by  large  proprietors  at 
Para,  who  had  received  grants  from  time  to  time  from  the 
Government  for  political  services.  Raimundo  was  quite  in  a 
talkative  humour;  he  related  to  me  many  incidents  of  the  time 
of  the  "  Cabanagem,"  as  the  revolutionary  days  of  1835-6  are 
popularly  called.  He  said  he  had  been  much  suspected  himself 
of  being  a  rebel,  but  declared  that  the  suspicion  was  unfounded. 
The  only  complaint  he  had  to  make  against  the  white  man  was, 
that  he  monopolised  the  land  without  having  any  intention  or 
prospect  of  cultivating  it.  He  had  been  turned  out  of  one 
place  where  he  had  squatted  and  cleared  a  large  piece  of  forest. 
I  believe  the  law  of  Brazil  at  this  time  was  that  the  new  lands 
should  become  the  property  of  those  who  cleared  and  cultivated 
them,  if  their  right  was  not  disputed  within  a  given  term  of 
years  by  some  one  who  claimed  the  proprietorship.  This  land- 
law  has  since  been  repealed,  and  a  new  one  adopted  founded  on 
that  of  the  United  States.  Raimundo  spoke  of  his  race  as  the 
red-skins,  "  pelle  vermelho;  "  they  meant  well  to  the  whites, 
and  only  begged  to  be  let  alone.  "  God,"  he  said,  "  had  given 
room  enough  for  us  all."  It  was  pleasant  to  hear  the  shrewd 
good-natured  fellow  talk  in  this  strain.  Our  companion, 
Joaquim,  had  fallen  asleep;  the  night  air  was  cool,  and  the 
moonlight  lit  up  the  features  of  Raimundo,  revealing  a  more 
animated  expression  than  is  usually  observable  in  Indian 
countenances.  I  always  noticed  that  Indians  were  more 
cheerful  on  a  voyage,  especially  in  the  cool  hours  of  night 
and  morning,  than  when  ashore.  There  is  something  in  their 
constitution  of  body  which  makes  them  feel  excessively 
depressed  in  the  hot  hours  of  the  day,  especially  inside  their 
houses.  Their  skin  is  always  hot  to  the  touch.  They  certainly 
do  not  endure  the  heat  of  their  own  climate  so  well  as  the 
whites.  The  negroes  are  totally  different  in  this  respect;  the 
heat  of  midday  has  very  little  effect  on  them,  and  they  dislike 
the  cold  nights  on  the  river. 

We  arrived  at  our  hunting-ground  about  half-past  four.  The 
channel  was  here  broader  and  presented  several  ramifications. 
It  yet  wanted  an  hour  and  a  half  to  daybreak,  so  Raimundo 
recommended  me  to  have  a  nap.  We  both  stretched  ourselves 
on  the  benches  of  the  canoe  and  fell  asleep,  letting  the  boat 
drift  with  the  tide,  which  was  now  slack.     I  slept  well  con- 


iio      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

i 

sidering  the  hardness  of  our  bed,  and  when  I  awoke  in  the 
middle  of  a  dream  about  home-scenes  the  day  was  beginning  to 
dawn.  My  clothes  were  quite  wet  with  the  dew.  The  birds 
were  astir,  the  cicadas  had  begun  their  music,  and  the  Urania 
Leilus,  a  strange  and  beautiful  tailed  and  gilded  moth,  whose 
habits  are  those  of  a  butterfly,  commenced  to  fly  in  flocks  over 
the  tree-tops.  Raimundo  exclaimed  "  Clareia  o  dia!  " — "  The 
day  brightens!  "  The  change  was  rapid:  the  sky  in  the  east 
assumed  suddenly  the  loveliest  azure  colour,  across  which  streaks 
of  thin  white  clouds  were  painted.  It  is  at  such  moments 
as  this  when  one  feels  how  beautiful  our  earth  truly  is !  The 
channel  on  whose  waters  our  little  boat  was  floating  was  about 
two  hundred  yards  wide;  others  branched  off  right  and  left, 
surrounding  the  group  of  lonely  islands  which  terminate  the 
land  of  Carnapijo.  The  forest  on  all  sides  formed  a  lofty  hedge 
without  a  break:  below,  it  was  fringed  with  mangrove  bushes, 
whose  small  foliage  contrasted  with  the  large  glossy  leaves  of 
the  taller  trees,  or  the  feather  and  fan-shaped  fronds  of  palms. 

Being  now  arrived  at  our  destination,  Raimundo  turned  up 
his  trousers  and  shirt-sleeves,  took  his  long  hunting-knife,  and 
leapt  ashore  with  the  dogs.  He  had  to  cut  a  gap  in  order  to 
enter  the  forest.  We  expected  to  find  Pacas  and  Cutias;  and 
the  method  adopted  to  secure  them  was  this:  at  the  present 
early  hour  they  would  be  seen  feeding  on  fallen  fruits,  but 
would  quickly,  on  hearing  a  noise,  betake  themselves  to  their 
burrows :  Raimundo  was  then  to  turn  them  out  by  means  of  the 
dogs,  and  Joaquim  and  I  were  to  remain  in  the  boat  with  our 
guns,  ready  to  shoot  all  that  came  to  the  edge  of  the  stream— 
the  habits  of  both  animals,  when  hard-pressed,  being  to  take  to 
the  water.  We  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  first  arrival  was  a 
Paca,  a  reddish,  nearly  tailless  Rodent,  spotted  with  white  on 
the  sides,  and  intermediate  in  size  and  appearance  between  a 
hog  and  a  hare.  My  first  shot  did  not  take  effect;  the  animal 
dived  into  the  water  and  did  not  reappear.  A  second  was 
brought  down  by  my  companion  as  it  was  rambling  about 
under  the  mangrove  bushes.  A  Cutia  next  appeared:  this  is 
also  a  Rodent,  about  one-third  the  size  of  the  Paca:  it  swims, 
but  does  not  dive,  and  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  shoot  it.  We 
obtained  in  this  way  two  more  Pacas  and  another  Cutia.  All 
the  time  the  dogs  were  yelping  in  the  forest.  Shortly  after- 
wards Raimundo  made  his  appearance,  and  told  us  to  paddle  to 
the  other  side  of  the  island.  Arrived  there,  we  landed  and 
prepared  for  breakfast.     It  was  a  pretty  spot — a  clean,  white, 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        1 1  i 

sandy  beach  beneath  the  shade  of  wide-spreading  trees. 
Joaquim  made  a  fire.  He  first  scraped  fine  shavings  from  the 
midrib  of  a  Bacaba  palm-leaf;  these  he  piled  into  a  little  heap 
in  a  dry  place,  and  then  struck  a  light  in  his  bamboo  tinder- 
box  with  a  piece  of  an  old  file  and  a  flint,  the  tinder  being 
a  felt-like  substance  manufactured  by  an  ant  (Polyrhachis 
bispinosus).  By  gentle  blowing,  the  shavings  ignited,  dry 
sticks  were  piled  on  them,  and  a  good  fire  soon  resulted.  He 
then  singed  and  prepared  the  cutia,  finishing  by  running  a  spit 
through  the  body  and  fixing  one  end  in  the  ground  in  a  slant- 
ing position  over  the  fire.  We  had  brought  with  us  a  bag  of 
farinha  and  a  cup  containing  a  lemon,  a  dozen  or  two  of  fiery 
red  peppers,  and  a  few  spoonsful  of  salt.  We  breakfasted 
heartily  when  our  cutia  was  roasted,  and  washed  the  meal 
down  with  a  calabash  full  of  the  pure  water  of  the  river. 

After  breakfast  the  dogs  found  another  cutia,  which  was 
hidden  in  its  burrow  two  or  three  feet  beneath  the  roots  of  a 
large  tree,  and  took  Raimundo  nearly  an  hour  to  disinter  it. 
Soon  afterwards  we  left  this  place,  crossed  the  channel,  and, 
paddling  past  two  islands,  obtained  a  glimpse  of  the  broad 
river  between  them,  with  a  long  sandy  spit,  on  which  stood 
several  scarlet  ibises  and  snow-white  egrets.  One  of  the 
islands  was  low  and  sandy,  and  half  of  it  was  covered  with 
gigantic  arum-trees,  the  often-mentioned  Caladium  arborescens, 
which  presented  a  strange  sight.  Most  people  are  acquainted 
with  the  little  British  species,  Arum  maculatum,  which  grows  in 
hedge-bottoms,  and  many,  doubtless,  have  admired  the  larger 
kinds  grown  in  hothouses;  they  can  therefore  form  some  idea 
of  a  forest  of  arums.  On  this  islet  the  woody  stems  of  the 
plants  near  the  bottom  were  eight  to  ten  inches  in  diameter, 
and  the  trees  were  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high;  all  growing 
together  in  such  a  manner  that  there  was  just  room  for  a  man 
to  walk  freely  between  them.  There  was  a  canoe  inshore,  with 
a  man  and  a  woman :  the  man,  who  was  hooting  with  all  his 
might,  told  us  in  passing  that  his  son  was  lost  in  the  "  aningal  " 
(arum-grove).  He  had  strayed  whilst  walking  ashore,  and  the 
father  had  now  been  an  hour  waiting  for  him  in  vain. 

About  one  o'clock  we  again  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  a  little 
creek.  It  was  now  intensely  hot.  Raimundo  said  deer  were 
found  here;  so  he  borrowed  my  gun,  as  being  a  more  effective 
weapon  than  the  wretched  arms  called  Lazarinos,  which  he,, 
in  common  with  all  the  native  hunters,  used,  and  which  sell 
at  Para  for  seven  or  eight  shillings  apiece.     Raimundo  and 


1 1 2      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

Joaquim  now  stripped  themselves  quite  naked,  and  started  off 
in  different  directions  through  the  forest,  going  naked  in  order 
to  move  with  less  noise  over  the  carpet  of  dead  leaves,  amongst 
which  they  stepped  so  stealthily  that  not  the  slightest  rustle 
could  be  heard.  The  dogs  remained  in  the  canoe,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  which  I  employed  myself  two  hours  entomologising. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  my  two  companions  returned,  having 
met  with  no  game  whatever. 

We  now  embarked  on  our  return  voyage.  Raimundo  cut  two 
slender  poles,  one  for  a  mast  and  the  other  for  a  sprit:  to  these 
he  rigged  a  sail  we  had  brought  in  the  boat,  for  we  were  to 
return  by  the  open  river,  and  expected  a  good  wind  to  carry  us 
to  Caripi.  As  soon  as  we  got  out  of  the  channel  we  began  to 
feel  the  wind — the  sea-breeze,  which  here  makes  a  clean  sweep 
from  the  Atlantic.  Our  boat  was  very  small  and  heavily  laden ; 
and  when,  after  rounding  a  point,  I  saw  the  great  breadth  we 
had  to  traverse  (seven  miles),  I  thought  the  attempt  to  cross  in 
such  a  slight  vessel  foolhardy  in  the  extreme.  The  waves  ran 
very  high:  there  was  no  rudder;  Raimundo  steered  with  a 
paddle,  and  all  we  had  to  rely  upon  to  save  us  from  falling  into 
the  trough  of  the  sea  and  being  instantly  swamped  were  his 
nerve  and  skill.  There  was  just  room  in  the  boat  for  our  three 
selves,  the  dogs,  and  the  game  we  had  killed,  and  when  between 
the  swelling  ridges  of  waves  in  so  frail  a  shell,  our  destruction 
seemed  inevitable ;  as  it  was,  we  shipped  a  little  water  now  and 
then.  Joaquim  assisted  with  his  paddle  to  steady  the  boat:  my 
time  was  fully  occupied  in  baling  out  the  water  and  watching  the 
dogs,  which  were  crowded  together  in  the  prow,  yelling  with 
fear;  one  or  other  of  them  occasionally  falling  over  the  side  and 
causing  great  commotion  in  scrambling  in  again.  Off  the  point 
was  a  ridge  of  rocks,  over  which  the  surge  raged  furiously. 
Raimundo  sat  at  the  stern,  rigid  and  silent;  his  eye  steadily 
watching  the  prow  of  the  boat.  It  was  almost  worth  the  risk 
and  discomfort  of  the  passage  to  witness  the  seamanlike  ability 
displayed  by  Indians  on  the  water.  The  little  boat  rode  beauti- 
fully, rising  well  with  each  wave,  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour 
and  a  half  we  arrived  at  Caripi,  thoroughly  tired  and  wet 
through  to  the  skin. 

On  the  16th  of  January  the  dry  season  came  abruptly  to  an 
end.  The  sea-breezes,  which  had  been  increasing  in  force  for 
some  days,  suddenly  ceased,  and  the  atmosphere  became  misty; 
at  length  heavy  clouds  collected  where  a  uniform  blue  sky 
had  for  many  weeks  prevailed,  and  down  came  a  succession  of 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        1 1  3 

heavy  showers,  the  first  of  which  lasted  a  whole  day  and  night. 
This  seemed  to  give  a  new  stimulus  to  animal  life.  On  the 
first  night  there  was  a  tremendous  uproar — tree-frogs,  crickets, 
goat-suckers,  and  owls  all  joining  to  perform  a  deafening  concert. 
One  kind  of  goat-sucker  kept  repeating  at  intervals  through- 
out the  night  a  phrase  similar  to  the  Portuguese  words,  "  Joao 
corta  pao," — "John,  cut  wood;"  a  phrase  which  forms  the 
Brazilian  name  of  the  bird.  An  owl  in  one  of  the  Genipapa 
trees  muttered  now  and  then  a  succession  of  syllables  resembling 


-8.  Soldiers   of   different  species  of  White  Ants.- 
worker. — 10.  Winged  class. 


Ordinary  shape  oi 


the  word  "  Murucututu."  Sometimes  the  croaking  and  hoot- 
ing of  frogs  and  toads  were  so  loud  that  we  could  not  hear 
one  another's  voices  within  doors.  Swarms  of  dragonflies 
appeared  in  the  daytime  about  the  pools  of  water  created  by 
the  rain,  and  ants  and  termites  came  forth  in  the  winged  state 
in  vast  numbers.  I  noticed  that  the  winged  termites,  or  white 
ants,  which  came  by  hundreds  to  the  lamps  at  night,  when 
alighting  on  the  table,  often  jerked  off  their  wings  by  a  voluntary 
movement.  On  examination  I  found  that  the  wings  were  not 
shed  by  the  roots,  for  a  small  portion  of  the  stumps  remained 
attached  to  the  thorax.     The  edge  of  the  fracture  was  in  all 


114      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

cases  straight,  not  ruptured:  there  is,  in  fact,  a  natural  seam 
crossing  the  member  towards  its  root,  and  at  this  point  the 
long  wing  naturally  drops  or  is  jerked  off  when  the  insect  has 
no  further  use  for  it.  The  white  ant  is  endowed  with  wings 
simply  for  the  purpose  of  flying  away  from  the  colony  peopled 
by  its  wingless  companions,  to  pair  with  individuals  of  the  same 
or  other  colonies,  and  thus  propagate  and  disseminate  its  kind. 
The  winged  individuals  are  males  and  females,  whilst  the  great 
bulk  of  their  wingless  fraternity  are  of  no  sex,  but  are  of  two 
castes,  soldiers  and  workers,  which  are  restricted  to  the  functions 
of  building  the  nests,  nursing  and  defending  the  young  brood* 
The  two  sexes  mate  whilst  on  the  ground  after  the  wings  are 
shed;  and  then  the  married  couples,  if  they  escape  the  numerous 
enemies  which  lie  in  wait  for  them,  proceed  to  the  task  of 
founding  new  colonies.  Ants  and  white  ants  have  much  that 
is  analogous  in  their  modes  of  life:  they  belong,  however,  to 
two  widely  different  orders  of  insects,  strongly  contrasted  in 
their  structure  and  manner  of  growth. 

I  amassed  at  Caripi  a  very  large  collection  of  beautiful  and 
curious  insects,  amounting  altogether  to  about  twelve  hundred 
species.  The  number  of  Coleoptera  was  remarkable,  seeing 
that  this  order  is  so  poorly  represented  near  Para.  I  attributed 
their  abundance  to  the  number  of  new  clearings  made  in  the 
virgin  forest  by  the  native  settlers.  The  felled  timber  attracts 
lignivorous  insects,  and  these  draw  in  their  train  the  predaceous 
species  of  various  families.  As  a  general  rule  the  species  were 
smaller  and  much  less  brilliant  in  colours  than  those  of  Mexico 
and  South  Brazil.  The  species  too,  although  numerous,  were 
not  represented  by  great  numbers  of  individuals;  they  were 
also  extremely  nimble,  and  therefore  much  less  easy  of  capture 
'than  insects  of  the  same  order  in  temperate  climates.  The 
carnivorous  beetles  at  Caripi  were,  like  those  of  Para,  chiefly 
arboreal.  Most  of  them  exhibited  a  beautiful  contrivance  for 
enabling  them  to  cling  to  and  run  over  smooth  or  flexible 
surfaces,  such  as  leaves.  Their  tarsi  or  feet  are  broad,  and 
furnished  beneath  with  a  brush  of  short  stiff  hairs;  whilst 
their  claws  are  toothed  in  the  form  of  a  comb,  adapting  them 
for  clinging  to  the  smooth  edges  of  leaves,  the  joint  of  the  foot 
which  precedes  the  claw  being  cleft  so  as  to  allow  free  play  to 
the  claw  in  grasping.  The  common  dung-beetles  at  Caripi, 
which  flew  about  in  the  evening  like  the  Geotrupes,  the  familiar 
"  shardborne  beetle  with  his  drowsy  hum  "  of  our  English  lanes, 
were  of  colossal  size  and  beautiful  colours.     One  kind  had  a 


Caripi  and  the  Bay  of  Marajo        1 15 

long  spear-shaped  horn  projecting  from  the  crown  of  its  head 
(Phanaeus  lancifer).  A  blow  from  this  fellow,  as  he  came 
heavily  flying  along,  was  never  very  pleasant.  All  the  tribes  of 
beetles  which  feed  on  vegetable  substances,  fresh  or  decayed, 
were  very  numerous.  The  most  beautiful  of  these,  but  not'  the 
most  common,  were  the  Longicornes;  very  graceful  insects, 
having  slender  bodies  and  long  antennae,  often  ornamented  with 
fringes  and  tufts  of  hair.  They  were  found  on  flowers,  on 
trunks  of  trees,  or  flying  about  the  new  clearings.  One  small 
species  (Coremia  hirtipes)  has  a  tuft  of  hairs  on  its  hind  legs, 
whilst  many  of  its  sister  species  have  a  similar  ornament  on  the 
antennae.  It  suggests  curious  reflections  when  we  see  an 
ornament  like  the  feather  of  a  grenadier's  cap  situated  on  one 
part  of  the  body  in  one  species,  and  in  a  totally  different  part  in 
nearly  allied  ones.  I  tried  in  vain  to  discover  the  use  of  these 
curious  brush-like  decorations.  On  the  trunk  of  a  living 
leguminous  tree,  Petzell  found  a  number  of  a  very  rare  and 
handsome  species,  the  Platysternus  hebneus,  which  is  of  a 
broad  shape,  coloured  ochreous,  but  spotted  and  striped  with 
black,  so  as  to  resemble  a  domino.  On  the  felled  trunks  of 
trees,  swarms  of  gilded-green  Longicornes  occurred,  of  small 
size  (Chrysoprasis),  which  looked  like  miniature  musk-beetles, 
and,  indeed,  are  closely  allied  to  those  well-known  European 
insects. 

At  length,  on  the  12th  of  February,  I  left  Caripi,  my  Negro 
and  Indian  neighbours  bidding  me  a  warm  "  adeos."  I  had 
passed  a  delightful  time,  notwithstanding  the  many  privations 
undergone  in  the  way  of  food.  The  wet  season  had  now  set  in ; 
the  lowlands  and  islands  would  soon  become  flooded  daily  at 
high  water,  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  fresh  provisions 
would  increase.  I  intended,  therefore,  to  spend  the  next  three 
months  at  Para,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which  there  was  still 
much  to  be  done  in  the  intervals  of  fine  weather,  and  then  start 
off  on  another  excursion  into  the  interior. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   LOWER  AMAZONS — PARA  TO   OBYDOS 

Modes  of  Travelling  on  the  Amazons — Historical  Sketch  of  the  early 
Explorations  of  the  River — Preparations  for  Voyage — Life  on  Board 
a  large  Trading-vessel — The  narrow  Channels  joining  the  Para  to  the 
Amazons — First  Sight  of  the  Great  River — Gurupa — The  Great 
Shoal — Flat-topped  Mountains — Santarem — Obydos 

At  the  time  of  my  first  voyage  up  the  Amazons — namely,  in 
1849 — nearly  all  communication  with  the  interior  was  by  means 
of  small  sailing-vessels,  owned  by  traders  residing  in  the  remote 
towns  and  villages,  who  seldom  came  to  Para  themselves,  but 
entrusted  vessels  and  cargoes  to  the  care  of  half-breeds  or 
Portuguese  cabos.  Sometimes,  indeed,  they  risked  all  in  the 
hands  of  the  Indian  crew,  making  the  pilot,  who  was  also 
steersman,  do  duty  as  supercargo.  Now  and  then,  Portuguese 
and  Brazilian  merchants  at  Para  furnished  young  Portuguese 
with  merchandise,  and  despatched  them  to  the  interior  to 
exchange  the  goods  for  produce  among  the  scattered  popula- 
tion. The  means  of  communication,  in  fact,  with  the  upper 
parts  of  the  Amazons  had  been  on  the  decrease  for  some  time, 
on  account  of  the  augmented  difficulty  of  obtaining  hands  to 
navigate  vessels.  Formerly,  when  the  Government  wished  to 
send  any  important  functionary,  such  as  a  judge  or  a  military 
commandant,  into  the  interior,  they  equipped  a  swift-sailing 
galliota,  manned  with  ten  or  a  dozen  Indians.  These  could 
travel,  on  the  average,  in  one  day  farther  than  the  ordinary 
sailing  craft  could  in  three.  Indian  paddlers  were  now,  how- 
ever, almost  impossible  to  be  obtained,  and  Government  officers 
were  obliged  to  travel  as  passengers  in  trading-vessels.  The 
voyage  made  in  this  way  was  tedious  in  the  extreme.  When 
the  regular  east-wind  blew — the  "  vento  geral,"  or  trade-wind 
of  the  Amazons — sailing-vessels  could  get  along  very  well;  but 
when  this  failed  they  were  obliged  to  remain,  sometimes  many 
days  together,  anchored  near  the  shore,  or  progress  laboriously 
by  means  of  the  "  espia."  The  latter  mode  of  travelling  was  as 
follows.  The  montaria,  with  twenty  or  thirty  fathoms  of  cable, 
one  end  of  which  was  attached  to  the  foremast,  was  sent  ahead 

116 


Para  to  Obydos  1 1 7 

with  a  couple  of  hands,  who  secured  the  other  end  of  the  rope 
to  some  strong  bough  or  tree-trunk;  the  crew  then  hauled  the 
vessel  up  to  the  point,  after  which  the  men  in  the  boat  re- 
embarked  the  cable,  and  paddled  forwards  to  repeat  the  process. 
In  the  dry  season,  from  August  to  December,  when  the  trade- 
wind  is  strong  and  the  currents  slack,  a  schooner  could  reach 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  a  thousand  miles  from  Para,  in 
about  forty  days ;  but  in  the  wet  season,  from  January  to  July, 
when  the  east-wind  no  longer  blows  and  the  Amazons  pours 
forth  its  full  volume  of  water,  flooding  the  banks  and  producing 
a  tearing  current,  it  took  three  months  to  travel  the  same  dis- 
tance. It  was  a  great  blessing  to  the  inhabitants  when,  in 
1853,  a  line  of  steamers  was  established,  and  this  same  journey 
could  be  accomplished  with  ease  and  comfort,  at  all  seasons,  in 
eight  daysl 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  generally  known  that  the  Portuguese,  as 
early  as  17 10,  had  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  Amazons;  but  the 
information  gathered  by  their  Government,  from  various  ex- 
peditions undertaken  on  a  grand  scale,  was  long  withheld  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  through  the  jealous  policy  which  ruled  in 
their  colonial  affairs.  From  the  foundation  of  Para  by  Caldeira, 
in  1615,  to  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  line  between 
the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  possessions,  Peru  and  Brazil,  in 
1 781-91,  numbers  of  these  expeditions  were  in  succession 
undertaken.  The  largest  was  the  one  commanded  by  Pedro 
Texeira  in  1637-9,  who  ascended  the  river  to  Quito,  by  way  of 
the  Napo,  a  distance  of  about  2800  miles,  with  45  canoes  and 
900  men,  and  returned  to  Para  without  any  great  misadventure 
by  the  same  route.  The  success  of  this  remarkable  undertak- 
ing amply  proved,  at  that  early  date,  the  facility  of  the  river 
navigation,  the  practicability  of  the  country,  and  the  good 
disposition  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants.  The  river,  however, 
was  first  discovered  by  the  Spaniards,  the  mouth  having  been 
visited  by  Pinzon  in  1500,  and  nearly  the  whole  course  of  the 
river  navigated  by  Orellana  in  154 1-2.  The  voyage  of  the 
latter  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  on  record.  Orellana 
was  a  lieutenant  of  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  Governor  of  Quito,  and 
accompanied  the  latter  in  an  adventurous  journey  which  he 
undertook  across  the  easternmost  chain  of  the  AJides,  down 
into  the  sweltering  valley  of  the  Napo,  in  search  of  the  land  of 
El  Dorado,  or  the  Gilded  King.  They  started  with  300  soldiers 
and  4000  Indian  porters;  but,  arrived  on  the  banks  of  one  of  the 


i  1 8      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

tributaries  of  the  Napo,  their  followers  were  so  greatly  decreased 
in  number  by  disease  and  hunger,  and  the  remainder  so  much 
weakened,  that  Pizarro  was  obliged  to  despatch  Orellana  with 
fifty  men,  in  a  vessel  they  had  built,  to  the  Napo,  in  search  of 
provisions.  It  can  be  imagined  by  those  acquainted  with  the 
Amazons  country  how  fruitless  this  errand  would  be  in  the 
wilderness  of  forest  where  Orellana  and  his  followers  found 
themselves  when  they  reached  the  Napo,  and  how  strong  their 
disinclination  would  be  to  return  against  the  currents  and  rapids 
which  they  had  descended.  The  idea  then  seized  them  to 
commit  themselves  to  the  chances  of  the  stream,  although 
ignorant  whither  it  would  lead.  So  onward  they  went.  From 
the  Napo  they  emerged  into  the  main  Amazons,  and,  after 
many  and  various  adventures  with  the  Indians  on  its  banks, 
reached  the  Atlantic;  eight  months  from  the  date  of  their 
entering  the  great  river.1 

Another  remarkable  voyage  was  accomplished,  in  a  similar 
manner,  by  a  Spaniard  named  Lopez  d'Aguirre,  from  Cusco,  in 
Peru,  down  the  Ucayali,  a  branch  of  the  Amazons  flowing  from 
the  south,  and  therefore  from  an  opposite  direction  to  that  of 
the  Napo.  An  account  of  this  journey  was  sent  by  D'Aguirre, 
in  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Spain,  from  which  Humboldt  has  given 
an  extract  in  his  narrative.  As  it  is  a  good  specimen  of  the 
quaintness  of  style  and  looseness  of  statement  exhibited  by 
these  early  narrators  of  adventures  in  South  America,  I  will 
give  a  translation  of  it:  "  We  constructed  rafts,  and,  leaving 
behind  our  horses  and  baggage,  sailed  down  the  river  (the 
Ucayali)  with  great  risk,  until  we  found  ourselves  in  a  gulf  of 
fresh  water.  In  this  river  Marahon  we  continued  more  than  ten 
months  and  a  half,  down  to  its  mouth,  where  it  falls  into  the 
sea.  We  made  one  hundred  days'  journey,  and  travelled  1500 
leagues.  It  is  a  great  and  fearful  stream,  has  80  leagues  of 
fresh  water  at  its  mouth,  vast  shoals,  and  800  leagues  of  wilder- 
ness without  any  kind  of  inhabitants,2  as  your  Majesty  will  see 
from  the  true  and  correct  narrative  of  the  journey  which  we 
have  made.     It  has  more  than  6000  islands.     God  knows  how 

1  It  was  during  this  voyage  that  the  nation  of  female  warriors  was  said 
to  have  been  met  with ;  a  report  which  gave  rise  to  the  Portuguese  name 
of  the  river,  Amazonas,  It  is  now  pretty  well  known  that  this  is  a  mere 
fable,  originating  in  the  love  of  the  marvellous  which  distinguished  the 
early  Spanish  adventurers,  and  impaired  the  credibility  of  their  narratives. 

2  This  account  disagrees  with  that  of  Acunna,  the  historiographer  of 
Texeira's  expedition,  who  accompanied  him,  in  1639,  on  his  return  voyage 
from  Quito.  Acunna  speaks  of  a  very  numerous  population  on  the  banks 
of  the  Amazons. 


I 


Para  to  Obydos  1 1 9 

we  came  out  of  this  fearful  sea ! "  Many  expeditions  were 
undertaken  in  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century;  in  fact, 
the  crossing  of  the  continent  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic, 
by  way  of  the  Amazons,  seems  to  have  become  by  this  time  a 
common  occurrence.  The  only  voyage,  however,  which  yielded 
much  scientific  information  to  the  European  public  was  that  of 
the  French  astronomer,  La  Condamine,  in  1743-4.  The  most 
complete  account  yet  published  of  the  river  is  that  given  by 
Von  Martius  in  the  third  volume  of  Spix  and  Martius'  Travels. 
These  most  accomplished  travellers  were  eleven  months  in  the 
country — namely,  from  July,  1819,  to  June,  1820 — and  ascended 
the  river  to  the  frontiers  of  the  Brazilian  territory.  The 
accounts  they  have  given  of  the  geography,  ethnology,  botany, 
history,  and  statistics  of  the  Amazons  region  are  the  most 
complete  that  have  ever  been  given  to  the  world.  Their 
narrative  was  not  published  until  1831,  and  was  unfortunately 
inaccessible  to  me  during  the  time  I  travelled  in  the  same 
country. 

Whilst  preparing  for  my  voyage  it  happened,  fortunately,  that 
the  half-brother  of  Dr.  Angelo  Custodio,  a  young  mestizo  named 
Joao  da  Cunha  Correia,  was  about  starting  for  the  Amazons 
on  a  trading  expedition  in  his  own  vessel,  a  schooner  of  about 
forty  tons'  burthen.  A  passage  for  me  was  soon  arranged  with 
him  through  the  intervention  of  Dr.  Angelo,  and  we  started  on 
the  5th  of  September,  1849.  I  intended  to  stop  at  some  village 
on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Lower  Amazons,  where  it  would  be 
interesting  to  make  collections,  in  order  to  show  the  relations 
of  the  fauna  to  those  of  Para  and  the  coast  region  of  Guiana. 
As  I  should  have  to  hire  a  house  or  hut  wherever  I  stayed, 
I  took  all  the  materials  for  housekeeping — cooking  utensils, 
crockery,  and  so  forth.  To  these  were  added  a  stock  of  such 
provisions  as  it  would  be  difficult  to  obtain  in  the  interior; 
also  ammunition,  chests,  store-boxes,  a  small  library  of  natural 
history  books,  and  a  hundredweight  of  copper  money.  I 
engaged,  after  some  trouble,  a  Mameluco  youth  to  accompany 
me  as  servant — a  short,  fat,  yellow-faced  boy  named  Luco, 
whom  I  had  already  employed  at  Para  in  collecting.  We 
weighed  anchor  at  night,  and  on  the  following  day  found  our- 
selves gliding  along  the  dark-brown  waters  of  the  Moju. 

Joao  da  Cunha,  like  most  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  took 
matters  very  easily.  He  was  going  to  be  absent  in  the  interior 
several  years,  and  therefore  intended  to  diverge  from  his  route 


120      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

to  visit  his  native  place,  Cameta,  and  spend  a  few  days  with  his 
friends.  It  seemed  not  to  matter  to  him  that  he  had  a  cargo 
of  merchandise,  vessel,  and  crew  of  twelve  persons,  which 
required  an  economical  use  of  time;  "  pleasure  first  and  business 
afterwards  "  appeared  to  be  his  maxim.  We  stayed  at  Cameta 
twelve  days.  The  chief  motive  for  prolonging  the  stay  to  this 
extent  was  a  festival  at  the  Aldeia,  two  miles  below  Cameta, 
which  was  to  commence  on  the  21st,  and  which  my  friend 
wished  to  take  part  in.  On  the  day  of  the  festival  the  schooner 
was  sent  down  to  anchor  off  the  Aldeia,  and  master  and  men 
gave  themselves  up  to  revelry.  In  the  evening  a  strong  breeze 
sprang  up,  and  orders  were  given  to  embark.  We  scrambled 
down  in  the  dark  through  the  thickets  of  cacao,  orange,  and 
coffee  trees  which  clothed  the  high  bank,  and,  after  running 
great  risk  of  being  swamped  by  the  heavy  sea  in  the  crowded 
montaria,  got  all  aboard  by  nine  o'clock.  We  made  all  sail 
amidst  the  "  adeos  "  shouted  to  us  by  Indian  and  mulatto 
sweethearts  from  the  top  of  the  bank,  and,  tide  and  wind  being 
favourable,  were  soon  miles  away. 

Our  crew  consisted,  as  already  mentioned,  of  twelve  persons. 
One  was  a  young  Portuguese  from  the  province  of  Traz  os 
Montes,  a  pretty  sample  of  the  kind  of  emigrants  which  Portugal 
sends  to  Brazil.  He  was  two  or  three  and  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  had  been  about  two  years  in  the  country,  dressing  and 
living  like  the  Indians,  to  whom  he  was  certainly  inferior  in 
manners.  He  could  not  read  or  write,  whereas  one  at  least 
of  our  Tapuyos  had  both  accomplishments.  He  had  a  little 
wooden  image  of  Nossa  Senhora  in  his  rough  wooden  clothes- 
chest,  and  to  this  he  always  had  recourse  when  any  squall  arose, 
or  when  we  got  aground  on  a  shoal.  Another  of  our  sailors 
was  a  tawny  white  of  Cameta;  the  rest  were  Indians,  except 
the  cook,  who  was  a  Cafuzo,  or  half-breed  between  the  Indian 
and  negro.  It  is  often  said  that  this  class  of  mestizos  is  the 
most  evilly-disposed  of  all  the  numerous  crosses  between  the 
races  inhabiting  Brazil;  but  Luiz  was  a  simple,  good-hearted 
fellow,  always  ready  to  do  one  a  service.  The  pilot  was  an  old 
Tapuyo  of  Para,  with  regular  oval  face  and  well-shaped  features. 
I  was  astonished  at  his  endurance.  He  never  quitted  the  helm 
night  or  day,  except  for  two  or  three  hours  in  the  morning. 
The  other  Indians  used  to  bring  him  his  coffee  and  meals,  and 
after  breakfast  one  of  them  relieved  him  for  a  time,  when  he 
used  to  lie  down  on  the  quarterdeck  and  get  his  two  hours' 
nap.    The  Indians  forward  had  things  pretty  much  their  own 


Para  to  Obydos  121 

way.  No  system  of  watches  was  followed;  when  any  one  was 
so  disposed,  he  lay  down  on  the  deck  and  went  to  sleep;  but 
a  feeling  of  good  fellowship  seemed  always  to  exist  amongst 
them.  One  of  them  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Indian  race:  a 
man  very  little  short  of  six  feet  high,  with  remarkable  breadth 
of  shoulder  and  full  muscular  chest.  His  comrades  called  him 
the  commandant,  on  account  of  his  having  been  one  of  the 
rebel  leaders  when  the  Indians  and  others  took  Santarem  in 
1835.  They  related  of  him  that,  when  the  legal  authorities 
arrived  with  an  armed  flotilla  to  recapture  the  town,  he  was  one 
of  the  last  to  quit,  remaining  in  the  little  fortress  which  com- 
mands the  place  to  make  a  show  of  loading  the  guns,  although 
the  ammunition  had  given  out  long  ago.  Such  were  our 
travelling  companions.  We  lived  almost  the  same  as  on  board 
ship.  Our  meals  were  cooked  in  the  galley ;  but,  where  practic- 
able, and  during  our  numerous  stoppages,  the  men  went  in 
the  montaria  to  fish  near  the  shore,  so  that  our  breakfasts  and 
dinners  of  salt  pirarucu  were  sometimes  varied  with  fresh  food. 

September  24th. — We  passed  Entre-as-Ilhas  with  the  morning 
tide  yesterday,  and  then  made  across  to  the  eastern  shore — the 
starting-point  for  all  canoes  which  have  to  traverse  the  broad 
mouth  of  the  Tocantins  going  west.  Early  this  morning  we 
commenced  the  passage.  The  navigation  is  attended  with 
danger  on  account  of  the  extensive  shoals  in  the  middle  of  the 
river,  which  are  covered  only  by  a  small  depth  of  water  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  The  wind  was  fresh,  and  the  schooner 
rolled  and  pitched  like  a  ship  at  sea.  The  distance  was  about 
fifteen  miles.  In  the  middle,  the  river-view  was  very  imposing. 
Towards  the  north-east  there  was  a  long  sweep  of  horizon  clear 
of  land,  and  on  the  south-west  stretched  a  similar  boundless 
expanse,  but  varied  with  islets  clothed  with  fan-leaved  palms, 
which,  however,  were  visible  only  as  isolated  groups  of  columns, 
tufted  at  the  top,  rising  here  and  there  amidst  the  waste  of 
waters.  In  the  afternoon  we  rounded  the  westernmost  point; 
the  land,  which  is  not  terra  firma,  but  simply  a  group  of  large 
islands  forming  a  portion  of  the  Tocantins  delta,  was  then  about 
three  miles  distant. 

On  the  following  day  (25th)  we  sailed  towards  the  west,, 
along  the  upper  portion  of  the  Para  estuary,  which  extends 
seventy  miles  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Tocantins.  It  varies 
in  width  from  three  to  five  miles,  but  broadens  rapidly  near  its 
termination,  where  it  is  eight  or  nine  miles  wide.  The  northern 
shore  is  formed  by  the  island  of  Marajo,  and  is  slightly  elevated 


122      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

and  rocky  in  some  parts.  A  series  of  islands  conceals  the 
southern  shore  from  view  most  part  of  the  way.  The  whole 
country,  mainland  and  islands,  is  covered  with  forest.  We  had 
a  good  wind  all  day,  and  about  7  p.m.  entered  the  narrow  river 
of  Breves,  which  commences  abruptly  the  extensive  labyrinth 
of  channels  that  connects  the  Para  with  the  Amazons.  The 
sudden  termination  of  the  Para  at  a  point  where  it  expands  to 
so  great  a  breadth  is  remarkable;  the  water,  however,  is  very 
shallow  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  expanse.  I  noticed, 
both  on  this  and  on  the  three  subsequent  occasions  of  passing 
this  place  in  ascending  and  descending  the  river,  that  the  flow 
of  the  tide  from  the  east  along  the  estuary,  as  well  as  up  the 
Breves,  was  very  strong.  This  seems  sufficient  to  prove  that 
no  considerable  volume  of  water  passes  by  this  medium  from 
the  Amazons  to  the  Para,  and  that  the  opinion  of  those  geo- 
graphers is  an  incorrect  one,  who  believe  the  Para  to  be  one 
of  the  mouths  of  the  great  river.  There  is,  however,  another 
channel  connecting  the  two  rivers,  which  enters  the  Para  six 
miles  to  the  south  of  the  Breves.  The  lower  part  of  its  course 
for  eighteen  miles  is  formed  by  the  Uanapu,  a  large  and  inde- 
pendent river  flowing  from  the  south.  The  tidal  flow  is  said 
by  the  natives  to  produce  little  or  no  current  up  this  river— a 
fact  which  seems  to  afford  a  little  support  to  the  view  just 
stated. 

We  passed  the  village  of  Breves  at  3  p.m.  on  the  26th.  It 
consists  of  about  forty  houses,  most  of  which  are  occupied  by 
Portuguese  shopkeepers.  A  few  Indian  families  reside  here', 
who  occupy  themselves  with  the  manufacture  of  ornamental 
pottery  and  painted  cuyas,  which  they  sell  to  traders  or  passing 
travellers.  The  cuyas— drinking-cups  made  from  gourds— are 
sometimes  very  tastefully  painted.  The  rich  black  ground- 
colour is  produced  by  a  dye  made  from  the  bark  of  a  tree 
called  Comateii,  the  gummy  nature  of  which  imparts  a  fine 
polish.  The  yellow  tints  are  made  with  the  Tabatinga  clay; 
the  red  with  the  seeds  of  the  Urucu,  or  anatto  plant;  and  the 
blue  with  indigo,  which  is  planted  round  the  huts.  The  art  is 
indigenous  with  the  Amazonian  Indians,  but  it  is  only  the 
settled  agricultural  tribes  belonging  to  the  Tupi  stock  who 
practise  it. 

September  2?th-3oih.~ After  passing  Breves  we  continued  our 
way  slowly  along  a  channel,  or  series  of  channels,  of  variable 
width  On  the  morning  of  the  27th  we  had  a  fair  wind,  the 
breadth  of  the  stream  varying  from  about  150  to  400  yards 


Para  to  Obydos  123 

About  midday  we  passed,  on  the  western  side,  the  mouth  of  the 
Aturiazal,  through  which,  on  account  of  its  swifter  current, 
vessels  pass  in  descending  from  the  Amazons  to  Para.  Shortly 
afterwards  we  entered  the  narrow  channel  of  the  Jaburu,  which 
lies  twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Breves.  Here  com- 
mences the  peculiar  scenery  of  this  remarkable  region.  We 
found  ourselves  in  a  narrow  and  nearly  straight  canal,  not  more 
than  eighty  to  a  hundred  yards  in  width,  and  hemmed  in  by 
two  walls  of  forest,  which  rose  quite  perpendicularly  from  the 
water  to  a  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet.  The  water  was  of 
great  and  uniform  depth,  even  close  to  the  banks.  We  seemed 
to  be  in  a  deep  gorge,  and  the  strange  impression  the  place  pro- 
duced was  augmented  by  the  dull  echoes  wakened  by  the  voices 
of  our  Indians  and  the  splash  of  their  paddles.  The  forest  was 
excessively  varied.  Some  of  the  trees,  the  dome-topped  giants 
of  the  Leguminous  and  Bombaceous  orders,  reared  their  heads 
far  above  the  average  height  of  the  green  walls.  The  fan-leaved 
Miriti  palm  was  scattered  in  some  numbers  amidst  the  rest,  a 
few  solitary  specimens  shooting  up  their  smooth  columns  above 
the  other  trees.  The  graceful  Assai  palm  grew  in  little  groups, 
forming  feathery  pictures  set  in  the  rounder  foliage  of  the  mass. 
The  Ubussu,  lower  in  height,  showed  only  its  shuttlecock- 
shaped  crowns  of  huge  undivided  fronds,  which,  being  of  a 
vivid  pale-green,  contrasted  forcibly  against  the  sombre  hues 
of  the  surrounding  foliage.  The  Ubussu  grew  here  in  great 
numbers;  the  equally  remarkable  Jupati  palm  (Rhaphia 
taedigera),  which,  like  the  Ubussu,  is  peculiar  to  this  district, 
occurred  more  sparsely,  throwing  its  long  shaggy  leaves,  forty 
to  fifty  feet  in  length,  in  broad  arches  over  the  canal.  An 
infinite  diversity  of  smaller-sized  palms  decorated  the  water's 
edge,  such  as  the  Maraja-i  (Bactris,  many  species),  the  Ubim 
(Geonoma),  and  a  few  stately  Bacabas  (CEnocarpus  Bacaba). 
The  shape  of  this  last  is  exceedingly  elegant,  the  size  of  the 
crown  being  in  proper  proportion  to  the  straight  smooth  stem. 
The  leaves,  down  even  to  the  bases  of  the  glossy  petioles,  are 
of  a  rich  dark-green  colour,  and  free  from  spines.  "  The  forest 
wall  " — I  am  extracting  from  my  journal — "  under  which  we 
are  now  moving,  consists,  besides  palms,  of  a  great  variety  of 
ordinary  forest-trees.  From  the  highest  branches  of  these 
down  to  the  water  sweep  ribbons  of  climbing  plants  of  the  most 
diverse  and  ornamental  foliage  possible.  Creeping  convolvuli 
and  others  have  made  use  of  the  slender  lianas  and  hanging  air- 
roots  as  ladders  to  climb  by.    Now  and  then  appears  a  Mimosa 


< 


i  24      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

or  other  tree  having  similar  fine  pinnate  foliage,  and  thick 
masses  of  Inga  border  the  water,  from  whose  branches  hang 
long  bean-pods,  of  different  shape  and  size  according  to  the 
species,  some  of  them  a  yard  in  length.  Flowers  there  are  very 
few.  I  see,  now  and  then,  a  gorgeous  crimson  blossom  on  long 
spikes  ornamenting  the  sombre  foliage  towards  the  summits  of 
the  forest.  I  suppose  it  to  belong  to  a  climber  of  the  Com- 
bretaceous  order.  There  are  also  a  few  yellow  and  violet 
Trumpet-flowers  (Bignoniae).  The  blossoms  of  the  Ingas, 
although  not  conspicuous,  are  delicately  beautiful.  The  forest 
all  along  offers  so  dense  a  front  that  one  never  obtains  a  glimpse 
into  the  interior  of  the  wilderness." 

The  length  of  the  Jaburu  channel  is  about  thirty-five  miles, 
allowing  for  the  numerous  abrupt  bends  which  occur  between 
the  middle  and  the  northern  end  of  its  course.  We  were  three 
days  and  a  half  accomplishing  the  passage.  The  banks  on  each 
side  seemed  to  be  composed  of  hard  river-mud  with  a  thick 
covering  of  vegetable  mould,  so  that  I  should  imagine  this 
whole  district  originated  in  a  gradual  accumulation  of  alluvium, 
through  which  the  endless  labyrinths  of  channels  have  worked 
their  deep  and  narrow  beds.  The  flood-tide  as  we  travelled 
northward  became  gradually  of  less  assistance  to  us,  as  it 
caused  only  a  feeble  current  upwards.  The  pressure  of  the 
waters  from  the  Amazons  here  makes  itself  felt:  as  this  is  not 
the  case  lower  down,  I  suppose  the  currents  are  diverted  through 
some  of  the  numerous  channels  which  we  passed  on  our  right, 
and  which  traverse,  in  their  course  towards  the  sea,  the  north- 
western part  of  Marajo.  In  the  evening  of  the  29th  we  arrived 
at  a  point  where  another  channel  joins  the  Jaburu  from  the 
north-east.  Up  this  the  tide  was  flowing;  we  turned  westward, 
and  thus  met  the  flood  coming  from  the  Amazons.  This  point 
is  the  object  of  a  strange  superstitious  observance  on  the  part 
of  the  canoemen.  It  is  said  to  be  haunted  by  a  Paje,  or  Indian 
wizard,  whom  it  is  necessary  to  propitiate  by  depositing  some 
article  on  the  spot,  if  the  voyager  wishes  to  secure  a  safe  return 
from  the  "  sertao,"  as  the  interior  of  the  country  is  called.  The 
trees  were  all  hung  with  rags,  shirts,  straw  hats,  bunches 
of  fruit,  and  so  forth.  Although  the  superstition  doubtless 
originated  with  the  aborigines,  yet  I  observed,  in  both  my 
voyages,  that  it  was  only  the  Portuguese  and  uneducated 
Brazilians  who  deposited  anything.  The  pure  Indians  gave 
nothing,  and  treated  the  whole  affair  as  a  humbug;  but  they 
were  all  civilised  Tapuyos. 


Para  to  Obydos  125 

On  the  30th,  at  9  p.m.,  we  reached  a  broad  channel  called 
Macaco,  and  now  left  the  dark,  echoing  Jaburu.  The  Macaco 
sends  off  branches  towards  the  north-west  coast  of  Marajo.  It 
is  merely  a  passage  amongst  a  cluster  of  islands,  between  which 
a  glimpse  is  occasionally  obtained  of  the  broad  waters  of  the 
main  Amazons.  A  brisk  wind  carried  us  rapidly  past  its 
monotonous  scenery,  and  early  in  the  morning  of  the  1st  of 
October  we  reached  the  entrance  of  the  Uituquara,  or  the 
Wind-hole,  which  is  fifteen  miles  distant  from  the  end  of  the 
Jaburu.  This  is  also  a  winding  channel,  thirty-five  miles  in 
length,  threading  a  group  of  islands,  but  it  is  much  narrower 
than  the  Macaco. 

On  emerging  from  the  Uituquara  on  the  2nd,  we  all  went 


Acari  Fish  (Loricaria  duodecimalis). 

ashore — the  men  to  fish  in  a  small  creek;  Joao  da  Cunha  and 
I  to  shoot  birds.  We  saw  a  flock  of  scarlet  and  blue  macaws 
(Macrocercus  Macao)  feeding  on  the  fruits  of  a  Bacaba  palm, 
and  looking  like  a  cluster  of  flaunting  banners  beneath  its 
dark-green  crown.  We  landed  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
place,  and  crept  cautiously  through  the  forest,  but  before  we 
reached  them  they  flew  off  with  loud  harsh  screams.  At  a 
wild-fruit  tree  we  were  more  successful,  as  my  companion  shot 
an  anaca  (Derotypus  coronatus),  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
the  parrot  family.  It  is  of  a  green  colour,  and  has  a  hood  of 
feathers,  red  bordered  with  blue,  at  the  back  of  its  head,  which 
it  can  elevate  or  depress  at  pleasure.  The  anaca  is  the  only 
new-world  parrot  which  nearly  resembles  the  cockatoo  of 
Australia.  It  is  found  in  all  the  lowlands  throughout  the 
Amazons  region,  but  is  not  a  common  bird  anywhere.     Few 


i  26      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

persons  succeed  in  taming  it,  and  I  never  saw  one  that  had 
been  taught  to  speak.  The  natives  are  very  fond  of  the  bird 
nevertheless,  and  keep  it  in  their  houses  for  the  sake  of  seeing 
the  irascible  creature  expand  its  beautiful  frill  of  feathers, 
which  it  readily  does  when  excited.  The  men  returned  with  a 
large  quantity  of  fish.  I  was  surprised  at  the  great  variety  of 
species;  the  prevailing  kind  was  a  species  of  Loricaria,  a  foot 
in  length,  and  wholly  encased  in  bony  armour.  It  abounds 
at  certain  seasons  in  shallow  water.  The  flesh  is  dry,  but  very 
palatable.  They  brought  also  a  small  alligator,  which  they 
called  Jacare  curua,  and  said  it  was  a  kind  found  only  in 
shallow  creeks.  It  was  not  more  than  two  feet  in  length, 
although  full-grown  according  to  the  statement  of  the  Indians, 
who  said  it  was  a  "  mai  d'ovos,"  or  mother  of  eggs,  as  they  had 
pillaged  the  nest,  which  they  had  found  near  the  edge  of  the 
water.  The  eggs  were  rather  larger  than  a  hen's,  and  regularly 
oval  in  shape,  presenting  a  rough  hard  surface  of  shell.  Un- 
fortunately, the  alligator  was  cut  up  ready  for  cooking  when 
we  returned  to  the  schooner,  and  I  could  not  therefore  make  a 
note  of  its  peculiarities.  The  pieces  were  skewered  and  roasted 
over  the  fire,  each  man  being  his  own  cook.  I  never  saw  this 
species  of  alligator  afterwards. 

October  yd. — About  midnight  the  wind,  for  which  we  had 
long  been  waiting,  sprang  up,  the  men  weighed  anchor,  and  we 
were  soon  fairly  embarked  on  the  Amazons.  I  rose  long  before 
sunrise,  to  see  the  great  river  by  moonlight.  There  was  a 
spanking  breeze,  and  the  vessel  was  bounding  gaily  over  the 
waters.  The  channel  along  which  we  were  sailing  was  only  a 
narrow  arm  of  the  river,  about  two  miles  in  width:  the  total 
breadth  at  this  point  is  more  than  twenty  miles,  but  the  stream  is 
divided  into  three  parts  by  a  series  of  large  islands.  The  river, 
notwithstanding  this  limitation  of  its  breadth,  had  a  most 
majestic  appearance.  It  did  not  present  that  lake-like  aspect 
which  the  waters  of  the  Para  and  Tocantins  affect,  but  had  all 
the  swing,  so  to  speak,  of  a  vast  flowing  stream.  The  ochre- 
coloured  turbid  waters  offered  also  a  great  contrast  to  the 
rivers  belonging  to  the  Para  system.  The  channel  formed  a 
splendid  reach,  sweeping  from  south-west  to  north-east,  with  a 
horizon  of  water  and  sky  both  up  stream  and  down.  At  11  a.m. 
we  arrived  at  Gurupa,  a  small  village  situated  on  a  rocky 
bank  thirty  or  forty  feet  high.  Here  we  landed,  and  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  rambling  in  the  neighbouring  woods,  which  are 
intersected  by  numerous  pathways,  and  carpeted  with  Lyco- 


Para  to  Obydos  i  27 

podia  growing  to  a  height  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  and  enlivened 
by  numbers  of  glossy  blue  butterflies  of  the  Theclida?  or  hair- 
streak  family.  At  5  p.m.  we  were  again  under  way.  Soon 
after  sunset,  as  we  were  crossing  the  mouth  of  the  Xingu  the 
first  of  the  great  tributaries  of  the  Amazons,  1200  miles  in  length, 
a  black  cloud  arose  suddenly  in  the  north-east.  Joao  da 
Cunha  ordered  all  sails  to  be  taken  in,  and  immediately  after- 
wards a  furious  squall  burst  forth,  tearing  the  waters  into  foam, 
and  producing  a  frightful  uproar  in  the  neighbouring  forests. 
A  drenching  rain  followed:  but  in  half  an  hour  all  was  again 
calm,  and  the  full  moon  appeared  sailing  in  a  cloudless  sky. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Xingu  the  route  followed  by  vessels 
leads  straight  across  the  river,  here  ten  miles  broad.  Towards 
midnight  the  wind  failed  us,  when  we  were  close  to  a  large 
shoal  called  the  Baixo  Grande.  We  lay  here  becalmed  in  the 
sickening  heat  for  two  days,  and  when  the  trade-wind  recom- 
menced with  the  rising  moon  at  10  p.m.  on  the  6th.  we  found 
ourselves  on  a  lee-shore.  Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  our 
pilot  to  avoid  it,  we  ran  aground.  Fortunately  the  bottom  con- 
sisted only  of  soft  mud,  so  that  by  casting  anchor  to  windward, 
and  hauling  in  with  the  whole  strength  of  crew  and  passengers, 
we  got  off  after  spending  an  uncomfortable  night.  We  rounded 
the  point  of  the  shoal  in  two  fathoms'  water;  the  head  of  the 
vessel  was  then  put  westward,  and  by  sunrise  we  were  bounding 
forward  before  a  steady  breeze,  all  sail  set  and  everybody  in 
good  humour. 

The  weather  was  now  delightful  for  several  days  in  succes- 
sion, the  air  transparently  clear,  and  the  breeze  cool  and 
invigorating.  At  daylight,  on  the  6th,  a  chain  of  blue  hills, 
the  Serra  de  Almeyrim,  appeared  in  the  distance  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river.  The  sight  was  most  exhilarating  after  so 
long  a  sojourn  in  a  flat  country.  We  kept  to  the  southern 
shore,  passing  in  the  course  of  the  day  the  mouths  of  the  Uru- 
curicaya  and  the  Aquiqui,  two  channels  which  communicate 
with  the  Xingu.  The  whole  of  this  southern  coast  hence  to 
near  Santarem,  a  distance  of  130  miles,  is  lowland  and  quite 
uninhabited.  It  is  intersected  by  short  arms  or  back  waters  of 
the  Amazons,  which  are  called  in  the  Tupi  language  Parana- 
mirims,  or  little  rivers.  By  keeping  to  these,  small  canoes  can 
travel  great  part  of  the  distance  without  being  much  exposed  to 
the  heavy  seas  of  the  main  river.  The  coast  throughout  has  a 
most  desolate  aspect:  the  forest  is  not  so  varied  as  on  the  higher 
land;   and  the  water-frontage,  which  is  destitute  of  the  green 


128      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

mantle  of  climbing  plants  that  form  so  rich  a  decoration  in 
other  parts,  is  encumbered  at  every  step  with  piles  of  fallen 
trees,  peopled  by  white  egrets,  ghostly  storks,  and  solitary 
herons.  In  the  evening  we  passed  Almeyrim.  The  hills, 
according  to  Von  Martius,  who  landed  here,  are  about  800  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  river,  and  are  thickly  wooded  to  the 
summit.  They  commence  on  the  east  by  a  few  low  isolated 
and  rounded  elevations;  but  towards  the  west  of  the  village 
they  assume  the  appearance  of  elongated  ridges,  which  seem  as 
if  they  had  been  planed  down  to  a  uniform  height  by  some 
external  force.  The  next  day  we  passed  in  succession  a  series 
of  similar  flat- topped  hills,  some  isolated  and  of  a  truncated- 
pyramidal  shape,  others  prolonged  to  a  length  of  several  miles. 
There  is  an  interval  of  low  country  between  these  and  the 
Almeyrim  range,  which  has  a  total  length  of  about  twenty-five 
miles:  then  commences  abruptly  the  Serra  de  Marauaqua, 
which  is  succeeded  in  a  similar  way  by  the  Velha  Pobre  range, 
the  Serras  de  Tapaiuna-quara,  and  Paraua-quara.  All  these 
form  a  striking  contrast  to  the  Serra  de  Almeyrim  in  being 
quite  destitute  of  trees.  They  have  steep  rugged  sides,  apparently 
clothed  with  short  herbage,  but  here  and  there  exposing  bare 
white  patches.  Their  total  length  is  about  forty  miles.  In  the 
rear,  towards  the  interior,  they  are  succeeded  by  other  ranges  of 
hills  communicating  with  the  central  mountain-chain  of  Guiana, 
which  divides  Brazil  from  Cayenne. 

As  we  sailed  along  the  southern  shore,  during  the  6th  and 
two  following  days,  the  table-topped  hills  on  the  opposite  side 
occupied  most  of  our  attention.  The  river  is  from  four  to 
five  miles  broad,  and  in  some  places  long,  low  wooded  islands 
intervene  in  mid-stream,  whose  light-green,  vivid  verdure 
formed  a  strangely  beautiful  foreground  to  the  glorious  land- 
scape of  broad  stream  and  grey  mountain.  Ninety  miles 
beyond  Almeyrim  stands  the  village  of  Monte  Alegre,  which 
lis  built  near  the  summit  of  the  last  hill  visible  of  this  chain. 
At  this  point  the  river  bends  a  little  towards  the  south,  and 
the  hilly  country  recedes  from  its  shores  to  re-appear  at 
Obydos,  greatly  decreased  in  height,  about  a  hundred  miles 
further  west. 

We  crossed  the  river  three  times  between  Monte  Alegre  and 
the  next  town,  Santarem.  In  the  middle  the  waves  ran  very 
high,  and  the  vessel  lurched  fearfully,  hurling  everything  that 
was  not  well  secured  from  one  side  of  the  deck  to  the  other. 
On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  October,  a  gentle  wind  carried  us 


130      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

along  a  "  remanso,"  or  still  water,  under  the  southern  shore. 
These  tracts  of  quiet  water  are  frequent  on  the  irregular  sides 
of  the  stream,  and  are  the  effect  of  counter  movements  caused 
by  the  rapid  current  of  its  central  parts.  At  9  a.m.  we  passed 
the  mouth  of  a  Parana-mirim,  called  Mahica,  and  then  found  a 
sudden  change  in  the  colour  of  the  water  and  aspect  of  the 
banks.  Instead  of  the  low  and  swampy  water-frontage  which 
had  prevailed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Xingu,  we  saw  before  us 
a  broad  sloping  beach  of  white  sand.  The  forest,  instead  of 
being  an  entangled  mass  of  irregular  and  rank  vegetation  as 
hitherto,  presented  a  rounded  outline,  and  created  an  impres- 
sion of  repose  that  was  very  pleasing.  We  now  approached,  in 
fact,  the  mouth  of  the  Tapajos,  whose  clear  olive-green  waters 
here  replaced  the  muddy  current  against  which  we  had  so  long- 
been  sailing.  Although  this  is  a  river  of  great  extent — 1000 
miles  in  length,  and,  for  the  last  eighty  miles  of  its  course,  four 
to  ten  in  breadth — its  contribution  to  the  Amazons  is  not 
perceptible  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  The  white  turbid 
current  of  the  main  river  flows  disdainfully  by,  occupying 
nearly  the  whole  breadth  of  the  channel,  whilst  the  darker 
water  of  its  tributary  seems  to  creep  along  the  shore,  and  is  no 
longer  distinguishable  four  or  five  miles  from  its  mouth. 

We  reached  Santarem  at  11  a.m.  The  town  has  a  clean 
and  cheerful  appearance  from  the  river.  It  consists  of  three 
long  streets,  with  a  few  short  ones  crossing  them  at  right  angles, 
and  contains  about  2500  inhabitants.  It  lies  just  within  the 
mouth  of  Tapajos,  and  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  town  and 
the  aldeia  or  village.  The  houses  of  the  white  and  trading 
classes  are  substantially  built,  many  being  of  two  and  three 
stories,  and  all  white-washed  and  tiled.  The  aldeia,  which 
contains  the  Indian  portion  of  the  population,  or  did  so  formerly, 
consists  mostly  of  mud  huts,  thatched  with  palm  leaves.  The 
situation  of  the  town  is  very  beautiful.  The  land,  although 
but  slightly  elevated,  does  not  form,  strictly  speaking,  a  portion 
of  the  alluvial  river  plains  of  the  Amazons,  but  is  rather  a 
northern  prolongation  of  the  Brazilian  continental  land.  It 
is  scantily  wooded,  and  towards  the  interior  consists  of  un- 
dulating campos,  which  are  connected  with  a  series  of  hills 
extending  southward  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  I  subse- 
quently made  this  place  my  head-quarters  for  three  years;  an 
account  of  its  neighbourhood  is  therefore  reserved  for  another 
chapter.  At  the  first  sight  of  Santarem,  one  cannot  help  being 
•struck  with  the  advantages  of  its  situation.     Although  400 


Para  to  Obydos  i  3  1 

miles  from  the  sea,  it  is  accessible  to  vessels  of  heavy  tonnage 
coming  straight  from  the  Atlantic.  The  river  has  only  two 
slight  bends  between  this  port  and  the  sea,  and  for  five  or  six 
months  in  the  year  the  Amazonian  trade  wind  blows  with  very 
little  interruption,  so  that  sailing  ships  coming  from  foreign 
countries  could  reach  the  place  with  little  difficulty.  We  our- 
selves had  accomplished  200  miles,  or  about  half  the  distance 
from  the  sea,  in  an  ill-rigged  vessel,  in  three  days  and  a  half. 
Although  the  land  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  is  perhaps 
ill  adapted  for  agriculture,  an  immense  tract  of  rich  soil,  with 
forest  and  meadow  land,  lies  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river, 
and  the  Tapajos  leads  into  the  heart  of  the  mining  provinces 
of  interior  Brazil.  But  where  is  the  population  to  come  from 
to  develop  the  resources  of  this  fine  country?  At  present  the 
district  within  a  radius  of  twenty-five  miles  contains  barely 
6500  inhabitants;  behind  the  town,  towards  the  interior,  the 
country  is  uninhabited,  and  jaguars  roam  nightly,  at  least  in 
the  rainy  season,  close  up  to  the  ends  of  the  suburban  streets. 

From  information  obtained  here,  I  fixed  upon  the  next  town, 
Obydos,  as  the  best  place  to  stay  at  a  few  weeks,  in  order  to 
investigate  the  natural  productions  of  the  north  side  of  the 
Lower  Amazons.  We  started  at  sunrise  on  the  10th,  and  being 
still  favoured  by  wind  and  weather,  made  a  pleasant  passage, 
reaching  Obydos,  which  is  nearly  fifty  miles  distant  from 
Santarem,  by  midnight.  We  sailed  all  day  close  to  the  southern 
shore,  and  found  the  banks  here  and  there  dotted  with  houses 
of  settlers,  each  surrounded  by  its  plantation  of  cacao,  which 
is  the  staple  product  of  the  district.  This  coast  has  an  evil 
reputation  for  storms  and  mosquitoes,  but  we  fortunately  escaped 
both.  It  was  remarkable  that  we  had  been  troubled  by  mos- 
quitoes only  on  one  night,  and  then  to  a  small  degree,  during 
the  whole  of  our  voyage. 

I  landed  at  Obydos  the  next  morning,  and  then  bid  adieu  to 
my  kind  friend  Joao  da  Cunha,  who,  after  landing  my  baggage, 
got  up  his  anchor  and  continued  on  his  way.  The  town  con- 
tains about  1200  inhabitants,  and  is  airily  situated  on  a  high 
bluff,  ninety  or  a  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river. 
The  coast  is  precipitous  for  two  or  three  miles  hence  to  the  west. 
The  cliffs  consist  of  the  parti-coloured  clay,  or  Tabatinga,  which 
occurs  so  frequently  throughout  the  Amazons  region;  the  strong 
current  of  the  river  sets  full  against  them  in  the  season  of  high 
water,  and  annually  carries  away  large  portions.  The  clay  in 
places  is  stratified  alternately  pink  and  yellow,  the  pink  beds 


132      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

being  the  thickest,  and  of  much  harder  texture  than  the  others. 
When  I  descended  the  river  in  1859,  a  German  Major  of 
Engineers;  in  the  employ  of  the  Government,  told  me  that  he 
had  found  calcareous  layers,  thickly  studded  with  marine  shells 
interstratified  with  the  clay.  On  the  top  of  the  Tabatinga  lies 
a  bed  of  sand,  in  some  places  several  feet  thick,  and  the  whole 
formation  rests  on  strata  of  sandstone,  which  are  exposed  only 
when  the  river  reaches  its  lowest  level.  Behind  the  town  rises 
a  fine  rounded  hill,  and  a  range  of  similar  elevations  extends 
six  miles  westward,  terminating  at  the  mouth  of  the  Trombetas, 
a  large  river  flowing  through  the  interior  of  Guiana.  Hills  and 
lowlands  alike  are  covered  with  a  sombre  rolling  forest.  The 
river  here  is  contracted  to  a  breadth  of  rather  less  than  a  mile 
(1738  yards),  and  the  entire  volume  of  its  waters,  the  collective 
product  of  a  score  of  mighty  streams,  is  poured  through  the 
strait  with  tremendous  velocity.  It  must  be  remarked,  how- 
ever, that  the  river  valley  itself  is  not  contracted  to  this  breadth, 
the  opposite  shore  not  being  continental  land,  but  a  low  alluvial 
tract,  subject  to  inundation  more  or  less  in  the  rainy  season. 
Behind  it  lies  an  extensive  lake,  called  the  Lago  Grande  da 
Villa  Franca,  which  communicates  with  the  Amazons,  both 
above  and  below  Obydos,  and  has  therefore  the  appearance  of 
a  by-water  or  an  old  channel  of  the  river.  This  lake  is  about 
thirty-five  miles  in  length,  and  from  four  to  ten  in  width;  but 
its  waters  are  of  little  depth,  and  in  the  dry  season  its  dimen- 
sions are  much  lessened.  It  has  no  perceptible  current,  and 
does  not  therefore  now  divert  any  portion  of  the  waters  of  the 
Amazons  from  their  main  course  past  Obydos. 

I  remained  at  Obydos  from  the  nth  of  October  to  the  19th  of 
November.  I  spent  three  weeks  here,  also,  in  1859,  when  the 
place  was  much  changed  through  the  influx  of  Portuguese 
immigrants  and  the  building  of  a  fortress  on  the  top  of  the 
bluff.  It  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  towns  on  the  river.  The 
houses  are  all  roofed  with  tiles,  and  are  mostly  of  substantial 
architecture.  The  inhabitants,  at  least  at  the  time  of  my  first 
visit,  were  nai've  in  their  ways,  kind  and  sociable.  Scarcely  any 
palm-thatched  huts  are  to  be  seen,  for  very  few  Indians  now 
reside  here.  It  was  one  of  the  earlv  settlements  of  the 
Portuguese,  and  the  better  class  of  the  population  consists 
of  old-established  white  families,  who  exhibit  however,  in  some 
cases,  traces  of  cross  with  the  Indian  and  negro.  Obydos  and 
Santarem  have  received,  during  the  last  eighty  years,  con- 
siderable importations  of  negro  slaves;    before  that  time  a 


Para  to  Obydos  i  33 

cruel  traffic  was  carried  on  in  Indians  for  the  same  purpose  of 
forced  servitude,  but  their  numbers  have  gradually  dwindled 
away,  and  Indians  now  form  an  insignificant  element  in  the 
population  of  the  district.  Most  of  the  Obydos  townsfolk  are 
owners  of  cacao  plantations,  which  are  situated  on  the  low 
lands  in  the  vicinity.  Some  are  large  cattle  proprietors,  and 
possess  estates  of  many  square  leagues'  extent  in  the  campo, 
or  grass-land  districts,  which  border  the  Lago  Grande,  and  other 
similar  inland  lakes,  near  the  villages  of  Faro  and  Alemquer. 
These  campos  bear  a  crop  of  nutritious  grass;  but  in  certain 
seasons,  when  the  rising  of  the  Amazons  exceeds  the  average, 
they  are  apt  to  be  flooded,  and  then  the  large  herds  of  half- 
wild  cattle  suffer  great  mortality  from  drowning,  hunger,  and 
the  alligators.  Neither  in  cattle-keeping  nor  cacao-growing 
are  any  but  the  laziest  and  most  primitive  methods  followed, 
and  the  consequence  is,  that  the  proprietors  are  generally  poor. 
A  few,  however,  have  become  rich  by  applying  a  moderate 
amount  of  industry  and  skill  to  the  management  of  their  estates. 
People  spoke  of  several  heiresses  in  the  neighbourhood  whose 
wealth  was  reckoned  in  oxen  and  slaves;  a  dozen  slaves  and  a 
few  hundred  head  of  cattle  being  considered  a  great  fortune. 
Some  of  them  I  saw  had  already  been  appropriated  by  enter- 
prising young  men,  who  had  come  from  Para  and  Maranham 
to  seek  their  fortunes  in  this  quarter. 

The  few  weeks  I  spent  here  passed  away  pleasantly.  I 
generally  spent  the  evenings  in  the  society  of  the  townspeople, 
who  associated  together  (contrary  to  Brazilian  custom)  in 
European  fashion ;  the  different  families  meeting  at  one  another's 
houses  for  social  amusement,  bachelor  friends  not  being  excluded, 
and  the  whole  company,  married  and  single,  joining  in  simple 
games.  The  meetings  used  to  take  place  in  the  sitting-rooms, 
and  not  in  the  open  verandahs — a  fashion  almost  compulsory 
on  account  of  the  mosquitoes;  but  the  evenings  here  are  very 
cool,  and  the  closeness  of  a  room  is  not  so  much  felt  as  it  is  in 
Para.  Sunday  was  strictly  observed  at  Obydos ;  at  least  all  the 
shops  were  closed,  and  almost  the  whole  population  went  to 
church.  The  vicar,  Padre  Raimundo  do  Sanchez  Brito,  was  an 
excellent  old  man,  and  I  fancy  the  friendly  manners  of  the 
people,  and  the  general  purity  of  morals  at  Obydos,  were  owing 
in  great  part  to  the  good  example  he  set  to  his  parishioners. 

The  forest  at  Obydos  seemed  to  abound  in  monkeys,  for  I 
rarely  passed  a  day  without  seeing  several.    I  noticed  four 


134      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

species:  the  Coaita  (Ateles  paniscus),  the  Chrysothrix  sciureus, 
the  Callithrix  torquatus,  and  our  old  Para  friend,  Midas  ursulus. 
The  Coaita  is  a  large  black  monkey,  covered  with  coarse  hair, 
and  having  the  prominent  parts  of  the  face  of  a  tawny  flesh- 
coloured  hue.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  Amazonian  monkeys  in 
stature,  but  is  excelled  in  bulk  by  the  "  Barrigudo  "  (Lagothrix 
Humboldtii)  of  the  Upper  Amazons.  It  occurs  throughout  the 
lowlands  of  the  Lower  and  Upper  Amazons,  but  does  not 
range  to  the  south  beyond  the  limits  of  the  river  plains.  At 
that  point  an  allied  species,  the  White-whiskered  Coaita  (Ateles 
marginatus)  takes  its  place.  The  Coaitas  are  called  by  zoolo- 
gists spider  monkeys,  on  account  of  the  length  and  slenderness 
of  their  body  and  limbs.  In  these  apes  the  tail,  as  a  prehensile 
organ,  reaches  its  highest  degree  of  perfection;  and  on  this 
account  it  would,  perhaps,  be  correct  to  consider  the  Coaitas  as 
the  extreme  development  of  the  American  type  of  apes.  As  far 
as  we  know,  from  living  and  fossil  species,  the  New  World  has 
progressed  no  farther  than  the  Coaita  towards  the  production 
of  a  higher  form  of  the  Quadrumanous  order.  The  tendency  of 
Nature  here  has  been,  to  all  appearance,  simply  to  perfect  those 
organs  which  adapt  the  species  more  and  more  completely  to  a 
purely  arboreal  life;  and  no  nearer  approach  has  been  made 
towards  the  more  advanced  forms  of  anthropoid  apes,  which  are 
the  products  of  the  Old  World  solely.  The  flesh  of  this  monkey 
is  much  esteemed  by  the  natives  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
and  the  Military  Commandant  of  Obydos,  Major  Gama,  every 
week  sent  a  negro  hunter  to  shoot  one  for  his  table.  One  day 
I  went  on  a  Coaita  hunt,  borrowing  a  negro  slave  of  a  friend  to 
show  me  the  way.  When  in  the  deepest  part  of  a  ravine  we 
heard  a  rustling  sound  in  the  trees  overheard,  and  Manoel  soon 
pointed  out  a  Coaita  to  me.  There  was  something  human-like 
in  its  appearance,  as  the  lean,  dark,  shaggy  creature  moved 
deliberately  amongst  the  branches  at  a  great  height.  I  fired, 
but  unfortunately  only  wounded  it  in  the  belly.  It  fell  with  a 
crash  headlong  about  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  and  then  caught  a 
bough  with  its  tail,  which  grasped  it  instantaneously,  and  then 
the  animal  remained  suspended  in  mid-air.  Before  I  could 
reload  it  recovered  itself,  and  mounted  nimbly  to  the  topmost 
branches  out  of  the  reach  of  a  fowling-piece,  where  we  could 
perceive  the  poor  thing  apparently  probing  the  wound  with  its 
fingers.  Coaitas  are  more  frequently  kept  in  a  tame  state  than 
any  other  kind  of  monkey.  The  Indians  are  very  fond  of  them 
as  pets,  and  the  women  often  suckle  them  when  young  at  then 


Para  to  Obydos  135 

breasts.  They  become  attached  to  their  masters,  and  will 
sometimes  follow  them  on  the  ground  to  considerable  distances. 
I  once  saw  a  most  ridiculously  tame  Coaita.  It  was  an  old 
female,  which  accompanied  its  owner,  a  trader  on  the  river,  in 
all  his  voyages.  By  way  of  giving  me  a  specimen  of  its  intelli- 
gence and  feeling,  its  master  set  to  and  rated  it  soundly,  calling 
it  scamp,  heathen,  thief,  and  so  forth,  all  through  the  copious 
Portuguese  vocabulary  of  vituperation.  The  poor  monkey, 
quietly  seated  on  the  ground,  seemed  to  be  in  sore  trouble  at 
this  display  of  anger.  It  began  by  looking  earnestly  at  him, 
then  it  whined,  and  lastly  rocked  its  body  to  and  fro  with 
emotion,  crying  piteously,  and  passing  its  long  gaunt  arms 
continually  over  its  forehead;  for  this  was  its  habit  when 
excited,  and  the  front  of  the  head  was  worn  quite  bald  in  con- 
sequence. At  length  its  master  altered  his  tone.  "  It's  all  a 
lie,  my  old  woman;  you're  an  angel,  a  flower,  a  good  affection- 
ate old  creature,"  and  so  forth.  Immediately  the  poor  monkey 
ceased  its  wailing,  and  soon  after  came  over  to  where  the  man 
sat.  The  disposition  of  the  Coaita  is  mild  in  the  extreme:  it 
has  none  of  the  painful,  restless  vivacity  of  its  kindred,  the 
Cebi,  and  no  trace  of  the  surly,  untameable  temper  of  its  still 
nearer  relatives,  the  Mycetes,  or  howling  monkeys.  It  is,  how- 
ever, an  arrant  thief,  and  shows  considerable  cunning  in  pilfer- 
ing small  articles  of  clothing,  which  it  conceals  in  its  sleeping 
place.  The  natives  of  the  Upper  Amazons  procure  the  Coaita, 
when  full  grown,  by  shooting  it  with  the  blowpipe  and  poisoned 
darts,  and  restoring  life  by  putting  a  little  salt  (the  antidote  to 
the  Urari  poison  with  which  the  darts  are  tipped)  in  its  mouth. 
The  animals  thus  caught  become  tame  forthwith.  Two  females 
were  once  kept  at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  of  Paris,  and  Geoffroy 
St.  Hilaire  relates  of  them  that  they  rarely  quitted  each  other, 
remaining  most  part  of  the  time  in  close  embrace,  folding 
their  tails  round  one  another's  bodies.  They  took  their  meals 
together;  and  it  was  remarked  on  such  occasions,  when  the 
friendship  of  animals  is  put  to  a  hard  test,  that  they  never 
quarrelled  or  disputed  the  possession  of  a  favourite  fruit  with 
each  other. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Obydos  was  rich  also  in  insects.  In  the 
broad  alleys  of  the  forest  a  magnificent  butterfly  of  the  genus 
Morpho,  six  to  eight  inches  in  expanse,  the  Morpho  Hecuba, 
was  seen  daily  gliding  along  at  a  height  of  twenty  feet  or  more 
from  the  ground.     Amongst  the  lower  trees  and  bushes  numerous 


136      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

kinds  of  Heliconii,  a  group  of  butterflies  peculiar  to  tropical 
America,  having  long  narrow  wings,  were  very  abundant.  The 
prevailing  ground  colour  of  the  wings  of  these  insects  is  a  deep 
black,  and  on  this  are  depicted  spots  and  streaks  of  crimson, 
white,  and  bright  yellow,  in  different  patterns  according  to 
the  species.    Their  eltsgant  shape,  showy  colours,  and  slow, 


Heliconius  Melpomene. 


sailing  mode  of  flight,  make  them  very  attractive  objects,  and 
their  numbers  are  so  great  that  they  form  quite  a  feature  in 
the  physiognomy  of  the  forest,  compensating  for  the  scarcity  of 
flowers.  Next  to  the  Heliconii  the  Catagrammas  (C.  astarte 
and  C.  peristera)  were  the  most  conspicuous.  These  have  a 
very  rapid  and  short  flight,  settling  frequently  and  remaining 
stationary  for  a  long  time  on  the  trunks  of  trees.  The  colours 
of  their  wings  are  vermilion  and  black,  the  surface  having  a 
rich  velvety   appearance.     The  genus   owes   its   Greek  name 


Para  to  Obydos  137 

Catagramma  (signifying  "  a  letter  beneath  ")  to  the  curious 
markings  of  the  underside  of  the  wings,  resembling  Arabic 
numerals.  The  species  and  varieties  are  of  almost  endless 
diversity,  but  the  majority  inhabit  the  hot  valleys  of  the 
eastern  parts  of  the  Andes.  Another  butterfly  nearly  allied  to 
these,  Callithea  Leprieurii,  was  also  very  abundant  here  at  the 
marshy  head  of  the  pool  before  mentioned.  The  wings  are  of 
a  rich  dark-blue  colour,  with  a  broad  border  of  silvery  green. 
These  two  groups  of  Callithea  and  Catagramma  are  found  only 
in  tropical  America,  chiefly  near  the  equator,  and  are  certainly 
amongst  the  most  beautiful  productions  of  a  region  where  the 
animals  and  plants  seem  to  have  been  fashioned  in  nature's 
choicest  moulds.  A  great  variety  of  other  beautiful  and  curious 
insects  adorned  these  pleasant  woods.  Others  were  seen  only 
in  the  sunshine  in  open  places.  As  the  waters  retreated  from 
the  beach,  vast  numbers  of  sulphur-yellow  and  orange  coloured 
butterflies  congregated  on  the  moist  sand.  The  greater  portion 
of  them  belonged  to  the  genus  Callidryas.  They  assembled  in 
densely-packed  masses,  sometimes  two  or  three  yards  in  circum- 
ference, their  wings  all  held  in  an  upright  position,  so  that 
the  beach  looked  as  though  variegated  with  beds  of  crocuses. 
These  Callidryades  seem  to  be  migratory  insects,  and  have  large 
powers  of  dissemination.  During  the  last  two  days  of  our 
voyage  the  great  numbers  constantly  passing  over  the  river 
attracted  the  attention  of  every  one  on  board.  They  all  crossed 
in  one  direction,  namely,  from  north  to  south,  and  the  proces- 
sions were  uninterrupted  from  an  early  hour  in  the  morning 
until  sunset.  All  the  individuals  which  resort  to  the  margins 
of  sandy  beaches  are  of  the  male  sex.  The  females  are  much 
more  rare,  and  are  seen  only  on  the  borders  of  the  forest, 
wandering  from  tree  to  tree,  and  depositing  their  eggs  on  low 
mimosas  which  grow  in  the  shade.  The  migrating  hordes,  as 
far  as  I  could  ascertain,  are  composed  only  of  males,  and  on 
this  account  I  believe  their  wanderings  do  not  extend  very  far. 
A  strange  kind  of  wood-cricket  is  found  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, the  males  of  which  produce  a  very  loud  and  not  unmusical 
noise  by  rubbing  together  the  overlapping  edges  of  their  wing- 
cases.  The  notes  are  certainly  the  loudest  and  most  extra- 
ordinary that  I  ever  heard  produced  by  an  orthopterous  insect. 
The  natives  call  it  the  Tanana,  in  allusion  to  its  music,  which  is  a 
sharp,  resonant  stridulation  resembling  the  syllables  ta-na-na, 
ta-na-na,  succeeding  each  other  with  little  intermission.  It 
seems  to  be  rare  in  the  neighbourhood.     When  the  natives 


138      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

capture  one,  they  keep  it  in  a  wicker-work  cage  for  the  sake  of 
hearing  it  sing.  A  friend  of  mine  kept  one  six  days.  It  was 
lively  only  for  two  or  three,  and  then  its  loud  note  could  be 
heard  from  one  end  of  the  village  to  the  other.  When  it  died 
he  gave  me  the  specimen,  the  only  one  I  was  able  to  procure. 
It  is  a  member  of  the  family  Locustidae,  a  group  intermediate 
between  the  Cricket  (Achetidae)  and  the  Grasshoppers  (Acri- 
diidse).  The  total  length  of  the  body  is  two  inches  and  a 
quarter;   when  the  wings  are  closed  the  insect  has  an  inflated 


Musical  Cricket  (Chloroccelus  Tanana). 
a.  b.  Lobes  of  wing-cases  transformed  into  a  musical  instrument. 

vesicular  or  bladder-like  shape,  owing  to  the  great  convexity  of 
the  thin  but  firm  parchmenty  wing-cases,  and  the  colour  is 
wholly  pale-green.  The  instrument  by  which  the  Tanana 
produces  its  music  is  curiously  contrived  out  of  the  ordinary 
nervures  of  the  wing-cases.  In  each  wing-case  the  inner  edge, 
near  its  origin,  has  a  horny  expansion  or  lobe;  on  one  wing  (b) 
this  lobe  has  sharp  raised  margins ;  on  the  other  (a),  the  strong 
nervure  which  traverses  the  lobe  on  the  under  side  is  crossed  by 
a  number  of  fine  sharp  furrows  like  those  of  a  file.  When  the 
insect  rapidly  moves  its  wings,  the  file  of  the  one  lobe  is  scraped 
sharply  across  the  horny  margin  of  the  other,  thus  producing 


Para  to  Obydos  i  39 

the  sounds;  the  parchmenty  wing-cases  and  the  hollow  drum- 
like space  which  they  enclose  assisting  to  give  resonance  to  the 
tones.  The  projecting  portions  of  both  wing-cases  are  traversed 
by  a  similar  strong  nervure,  but  this  is  scored  like  a  file  only  in 
one  of  them,  in  the  other  remaining  perfectly  smooth.  Other 
species  of  the  family  to  which  the  Tanana  belongs  have  similar 
stridulating  organs,  but  in  none  are  these  so  highly  developed 
as  in  this  insect;  they  exist  always  in  the  males  only,  the  other 
sex  having  the  edges  of  the  wing-cases  quite  straight  and  simple. 
The  mode  of  producing  the  sounds  and  their  object  have  been 
investigated  by  several  authors  with  regard  to  certain  European 
species.  They  are  the  call-notes  of  the  males.  In  the  common 
field-cricket  of  Europe  the  male  has  been  observed  to  place 
itself,  in  the  evening,  at  the  entrance  of  its  burrow,  and  stridu- 
late  until  a  female  approaches,  when  the  louder  notes  are  suc- 
ceeded by  a  more  subdued  tone,  whilst  the  successful  musician 
caresses  with  his  antennae  the  mate  he  has  won.  Any  one  who 
will  take  the  trouble  may  observe  a  similar  proceeding  in  the 
common  house-cricket.  The  nature  and  object  of  this  insect 
music  are  more  uniform  than  the  structure  and  situation  of  the 
instrument  by  which  it  is  produced.  This  differs  in  each  of  the 
three  allied  families  above  mentioned.  In  the  crickets  the 
wing-cases  are  symmetrical;  both  have  straight  edges  and 
sharply-scored  nervures  adapted  to  produce  the  stridulation.  A 
distinct  portion  of  their  edges  is  not,  therefore,  set  apart  for 
the  elaboration  of  a  sound-producing  instrument.  In  this 
family  the  wing-cases  lie  flat  on  the  back  of  the  insect,  and 
overlap  each  other  for  a  considerable  portion  of  their  extent. 
In  the  Locustidae  the  same  members  have  a  sloping  position  on 
each  side  of  the  body,  and  do  not  overlap,  except  to  a  small 
extent  near  their  bases;  it  is  out  of  this  small  portion  that  the 
stridulating  organ  is  contrived.  Greater  resonance  is  given  in 
most  species  by  a  thin  transparent  plate,  covered  by  a  mem- 
brane, in  the  centre  of  the  overlapping  lobes.  In  the  Grass- 
hoppers (Acridiidoe)  the  wing-cases  meet  in  a  straight  suture, 
and  the  friction  of  portions  of  their  edges  is  no  longer  possible. 
But  Nature  exhibits  the  same  fertility  of  resource  here  as  else- 
where; and  in  contriving  other  methods  of  supplying  the  males 
with  an  instrument  for  the  production  of  call-notes  indicates 
the  great  importance  which  she  attaches  to  this  function.  The 
music  in  the  males  of  the  Acridiidee  is  produced  by  the  scraping 
of  the  long  hind  thighs  against  the  horny  nervures  of  the  outer 
edges  of  the  wing-cases;    a  drum-shaped  organ  placed  in  a 


140      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

cavity  near  the  insertion  of  the  thighs  being  adapted  to  give 
resonance  to  the  tones. 

I  obtained  very  few  birds  at  Obydos.  There  was  no  scarcity 
of  birds,  but  they  were  mostly  common  Cayenne  species.  In 
early  morning  the  woods  near  my  house  were  quite  animated 
with  their  songs — an  unusual  thing  in  this  country.  I  heard 
here  for  the  first  time  the  pleasing  wild  notes  of  the  Carashue, 
a  species  of  thrush,  probably  the  Mimus  lividus  of  ornitholo- 
gists. I  found  it  afterwards  to  be  a  common  bird  in  the 
scattered  woods  of  the  campo  district  near  Santarem.  It  is  a 
much  smaller  and  plainer-coloured  bird  than  our  thrush,  and  its 
song  is  not  so  loud,  varied,  or  so  long  sustained ;  but  the  tone  is 
of  a  sweet  and  plaintive  quality,  which  harmonises  well  with  the 
wild  and  silent  woodlands,  where  alone  it  is  heard  in  the  morn- 
ings and  evenings  of  sultry  tropical  days.  In  course  of  time 
the  song  of  this  humble  thrush  stirred  up  pleasing  associations 
in  my  mind,  in  the  same  way  as  those  of  its  more  highly 
endowed  sisters  formerly  did  at  home.  There  are  several  allied 
species  in  Brazil;  in  the  southern  provinces  they  are  called 
Sabiahs.  The  Brazilians  are  not  insensible  to  the  charms  of 
this  their  best  songster,  for  I  often  heard  some  pretty  verses  in 
praise  of  the  Sabiah  sung  by  young  people  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  guitar.  I  found  several  times  the  nest  of  the 
Carashue,  which  is  built  of  dried  grass  and  slender  twigs,  and 
lined  with  mud;  the  eggs  are  coloured  and  spotted  like  those 
of  our  blackbird,  but  they  are  considerably  smaller.  I  was 
much  pleased  with  a  brilliant  little  red-headed  mannikin,  which 
I  shot  here  (Pipra  cornuta).  There  were  three  males  seated  on 
a  low  branch,  and  hopping  slowly  backwards  and  forwards, 
near  to  one  another,  as  though  engaged  in  a  kind  of  dance.  In 
the  pleasant  airy  woods  surrounding  the  sandy  shores  of  the 
pool  behind  the  town,  the  yellow-bellied  Trogon  (T.  viridis) 
was  very  common.  Its  back  is  of  a  brilliant  metallic-green 
colour,  and  the  breast  steel  blue.  The  natives  call  it  the 
Suruqua  do  Ygapo,  or  Trogon  of  the  flooded  lands,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  red-breasted  species,  which  are  named  Suru- 
quas  da  terra  firma.  I  often  saw  small  companies  of  half  a 
dozen  individuals  quietly  seated  on  the  lower  branches  of  trees. 
They  remained  almost  motionless  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time, 
simply  moving  their  heads,  on  the  watch  for  passing  insects; 
or,  as  seemed  more  generally  to  be  the  case,  scanning  the  neigh- 
bouring trees  for  fruit;  which  they  darted  off  now  and  then, 
at  long  intervals,  to  secure,  returning  always  to  the  same  perch. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  LOWER   AMAZONS — OBYDOS  TO  MANAOS,   OR   THE   BARRA 
OF  THE   RIO  NEGRO 

Departure  form  Obydos — River  Banks  and  By-channels — Cacao  Planters 
— Daily  Life  on  Board  our  Vessel — Great  Storm — Sand-island  and  its 
Birds — Hill  of  Parentins — Negro  Trader  and  Mauhes  Indians — Villa 
Nova,  its  Inhabitants,  Forest,  and  Animal  Productions — Cararaucu — 
A  rustic  Festival — Lake  of  Cararaucu — Motuca  Flies — Serpa — 
Christmas  Holidays — River  Madeira — A  Mameluco  Farmer — Mura 
Indians — Rio  Negro — Description  of  Barra — Descent  to  Para — 
Yellow  Fever 

A  trader  of  Obydos,  named  Penna,  was  about  proceeding  in 
a  cuberta  laden  with  merchandise  to  the  Rio  Negro,  intending 
to  stop  frequently  on  the  road;  so  I  bargained  with  him  for 
a  passage.  He  gave  up  a  part  of  the  toldo,  or  fore-cabin  as  it 
may  be  called,  and  here  I  slung  my  hammock  and  arranged 
my  boxes,  so  as  to  be  able  to  work  as  we  went  along.  The 
stoppages  I  thought  would  be  an  advantage,  as  I  could  collect 
in  the  woods  whilst  he  traded,  and  thus  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
the  productions  of  many  places  on  the  river  which  in  a  direct 
voyage  it  would  be  impossible  to  do.  I  provided  a  stock  of 
groceries  for  two  months'  consumption;  and,  after  the  usual 
amount  of  unnecessary  fuss  and  delay  on  the  part  of  the  owner, 
we  started  on  the  19th  of  November.  Penna  took  his  family 
with  him:  this  comprised  a  smart,  lively  mameluco  woman, 
named  Catarina,  whom  we  called  Senhora  Katita,  and  two 
children.  The  crew  consisted  of  three  men,  one  a  sturdy 
Indian,  another  a  Cafuzo,  godson  of  Penna,  and  the  third,  our 
best  hand,  a  steady,  good-natured  mulatto,  named  Joaquim. 
My  boy  Luco  was  to  assist  in  rowing  and  so  forth.  Penna  was  a 
timid  middle-aged  man,  a  white  with  a  slight  cross  of  Indian; 
when  he  was  surly  and  obstinate,  he  used  to  ask  me  to  excuse 
him  on  account  of  the  Tapuyo  blood  in  his  veins.  He  tried  to 
make  me  as  comfortable  as  the  circumstances  admitted,  and 
provided  a  large  stock  of  eatables  and  drinkables;  so  that 
altogether  the  voyage  promised  to  be  a  pleasant  one. 

On  leaving  the  port  of  Obydos  we  crossed  over  to  the  right 
bank,  and  sailed  with  a  light  wind  all  day,  passing  numerous 

141 


142      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

houses,  each  surrounded  by  its  grove  of  cacao  trees.     On  the 
20th  we  made  slow  progress.    After  passing  the  high  land  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Trombetas,  the  banks  were  low,  clayey,  or 
earthy  on  both  sides.    The  breadth  of  the  river  varies  here- 
about from  two  and  a  half  to  three  miles,  but  neither  coast  is 
the  true  terra  firma.     On  the  northern  side  a  by-channel  runs 
for  a  long  distance  inland,  communicating  with  the  extensive 
lake  of  Faro;   on  the  south,  three  channels  lead  to  the  similar 
fresh- water  sea  of  Villa  Franca;   these  are  in  part  arms  of  the 
river,  so  that  the  land  they  surround  consists,  properly  speaking, 
of  islands.    When  this  description  of  land  is  not  formed  wholly 
of  river  deposit,  as  sometimes  happens,  or  is  raised  above  the 
level  of  the  highest  floods,  it  is  called  Ygapd  alto,  and  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  natives  from  the  true  islands  of  mid-river, 
as  well  as  from  the  terra  firma.     We  landed  at  one  of  the 
cacao  plantations.    The  house  was  substantially  built;    the 
walls  formed  of  strong  upright  posts,  lathed  across,  plastered 
with  mud  and  whitewashed,  and  the  roof  tiled.     The  family 
were  mamelucos,  and  seemed  to  be  an  average  sample  of  the 
poorer  class  of  cacao  growers.    All  were  loosely  dressed  and 
bare-footed.    A  broad  verandah  extended  along  one  side  of  the 
house,  the  floor  of  which  was  simply  the  well-trodden  earth; 
and  here  hammocks   were   slung  between   the   bare  upright 
supports,  a  large  rush  mat  being  spread  on  the  ground,  upon 
which   the  stout  matron-like   mistress,   with  a  tame   parrot 
perched  upon  her  shoulder,  sat  sewing  with  two  pretty  little 
mulatto  girls.    The  master,  coolly  clad  in  shirt  and  drawers, 
the  former  loose  about  the  neck,  lay  in  his  hammock  smoking 
a  long  gaudily-painted  wooden  pipe.    The  household  utensils, 
earthenware  jars,  water-pots  and  saucepans,  lay  at  one  end, 
near  which  was  a  wood  fire,  with  the  ever-ready  coffee-pot 
simmering  on  the  top  of  a  clay  tripod.    A  large  shed  stood  a 
short  distance  off,  embowered  in  a  grove  of  banana,  papaw,  and 
mango  trees;  and  under  it  were  the  ovens,  troughs,  sieves,  and 
all  other  apparatus  for   the   preparation   of  mandioca.    The 
cleared  space  around  the  house  was  only  a  few  yards  in  extent; 
beyond  it  lay  the  cacao  plantations,  which  stretched  on  each 
side  parallel  to  the  banks  of  the  river.     There  was  a  path 
through  the  forest  which  led  to  the  mandioca  fields,  and  several 
miles  beyond  to  other  houses  on  the  banks  of  an  interior  channel. 
We  were  kindly  received,  as  is  always  the  case  when  a  stranger 
visits    these    out-of-the-way    habitations;     the    people    being 
invariably  civil  and  hospitable.     We  had  a  long  chat,  took 


Obydos  to  Manaos  143 

coffee,  and  on  departing  one  of  the  daughters  sent  a  basket 
full  of  oranges  for  our  use  down  to  the  canoe. 

The  cost  of  a  cacao  plantation  in  the  Obydos  district  is  after 
the  rate  of  240  reis  or  sixpence  per  tree,  which  is  much  higher 
than  at  Cameta,  where  I  believe  the  yield  is  not  so  great.  The 
forest  here  is  cleared  before  planting,  and  the  trees  are  grown 
in  rows.  The  smaller  cultivators  are  all  very  poor.  Labour 
is  scarce;  one  family  generally  manages  its  own  small  planta- 
tion of  10,000  to  15,000  trees,  but  at  the  harvest  time  neigh- 
bours assist  each  other.  It  appeared  to  me  to  be  an  easy, 
pleasant  life;  the  work  is  all  done  under  shade,  and  occupies 
only  a  few  weeks  in  the  year.  The  incorrigible  nonchalance 
and  laziness  of  the  people  alone  prevent  them  from  surrounding 
themselves  with  all  the  luxuries  of  a  tropical  country.  They 
might  plant  orchards  of  the  choicest  fruit-trees  around  their 
houses,  grow  Indian  corn,  and  rear  cattle  and  hogs,  as  intelligent 
settlers  from  Europe  would  certainly  do,  instead  of  indolently 
relying  solely  on  the  produce  of  their  small  plantations,  and 
living  on  a  meagre  diet  of  fish  and  farinha.  In  preparing  the 
cacao  they  have  not  devised  any  means  of  separating  the  seeds 
well  from  the  pulp,  or  drying  it  in  a  systematic  way;  the  con- 
sequence is  that,  although  naturally  of  good  quality,  it  moulds 
before  reaching  the  merchants'  stores,  and  does  not  fetch  more 
than  half  the  price  of  the  same  article  grown  in  other  parts  of 
tropical  America.  The  Amazons  region  is  the  original  home 
of  the  principal  species  of  chocolate  tree,  the  Theobroma  cacao ; 
and  it  grows  in  abundance  in  the  forests  of  the  upper  river. 
The  cultivated  crop  appears  to  be  a  precarious  one;  little  or 
no  care,  however,  is  bestowed  on  the  trees,  and  even  weeding 
is  done  very  inefficiently.  The  plantations  are  generally  old, 
and  have  been  made  on  the  low  ground  near  the  river,  which 
renders  them  liable  to  inundation  when  this  rises  a  few  inches 
more  than  the  average.  There  is  plenty  of  higher  land  quite 
suitable  to  the  tree,  but  it  is  uncleared,  and  the  want  of  labour 
and  enterprise  prevents  the  establishment  of  new  plantations. 

We  passed  the  last  houses  in  the  Obydos  district  on' the  20th, 
and  the  river  scenery  then  resumed  its  usual  wild  and  solitary 
character,  which  the  scattered  human  habitations  relieved, 
although  in  a  small  degree.  We  soon  fell  into  a  regular  mode 
of  life  on  board  our  little  ark.  Penna  would  not  travel  by 
night;  indeed,  our  small  crew,  wearied  by  the  day's  labour, 
required  rest,  and  we  very  rarely  had  wind  in  the  night.  We 
used  to  moor  the  vessel  to  a  tree,  giving  out  plenty  of  cable,  so 


144      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

as  to  sleep  at  a  distance  from  the  banks  and  free  of  mosquitoes, 
which  although  swarming  in  the  forest,  rarely  came  many 
yards  out  into  the  river  at  this  season  of  the  year.     The  strono- 
current  at  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the  coast 
steadied  the  cuberta  head  to  stream,  and  kept  us  from  drifting 
ashore.    We  all  slept  in  the  open  air,  as  the  heat  of  the  cabins 
was  stifling  m  the  early  part  of  the  night.     Penna,  Senhora 
Katita,  and  I,  slung  our  hammocks  in  triangle  between  the 
mainmast  and  two  stout  poles  fixed  in  the  raised  deck.     A 
sheet  was  the  only  covering  required,  besides  our  regular  cloth- 
ing; for  the  decrease  of  temperature  at  night  on  the  Amazons 
is  never  so  great  as  to  be  felt  otherwise  than  as  a  delightful 
coolness  after  the  sweltering  heat  of  the  afternoons.     We  used 
to  rise  when  the  first  gleam  of  dawn  showed  itself  above  the 
long,  dark  line  of  forest.     Our  clothes  and  hammocks  were 
then  generally  soaked  with  dew,  but  this  was  not  felt  to  be  an 
inconvenience.     The  Indian  Manoel  used  to  revive  himself  by 
a  plunge  in  the  river,  under  the  bows  of  the  vessel.     It  is  the 
habit  of  all  Indians,  male  and  female,  to  bathe  early  in  the 
morning;  they  do  it  sometimes  for  warmth's  sake,  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  being  often  considerably  higher  than  that 
of  the  air.    Penna  and  I  lolled  in  our  hammocks,  whilst  Katita 
prepared  the  indispensable  cup  of  strong  coffee,  which  she  did 
with  wonderful  celerity,  smoking  meanwhile  her  early  morning 
pipe  of  tobacco.     Liberal  owners  of  river  craft  allow  a  cup  of 
coffee  sweetened  with  molasses,  or  a  ration  of  cashaca,  to  each 
man  of  their  crews;   Penna  gave  them  coffee.     When  all  were 
served,  the  day's  work  began.     There  was  seldom  any  wind  at 
this  early  hour;  so  if  there  was  still  water  along  the  shore  the 
men  rowed,  if  not  there  was  no  way  of  progressing  but  by  espia 
In  some  places  the  currents  ran  with  great  force  close  to  the 
banks,  especially  where  these  receded  to  form  long  bays  or 
enseadas,  as  they  are  called,  and  then  we  made  very  little 
headway.    In  such  places  the  banks  consist  of  loose  earth,  a 
rich  crumbly  vegetable  mould  supporting  a  growth  of  most 
uxunant  forest,  of  which  the  currents  almost  daily  carry  away 
large  portions,  so  that  the  stream  for  several  yards  out  is 
encumbered  with  fallen  trees,  whose  branches  quiver  in  the 
current.     When  projecting  points  of  land  were  encountered   it 
was  impossible,  with  our  weak  crew,  to  pull  the  cuberta  against 
the  whirling  torrents  which  set  round  them;  and  in  such  cases 
we  had  to  cross  the  river,  drifting  often  with  the  current,  a 
mile  or  two  lower  down  on  the  opposite  shore.     There  generally 


Obydos  to  Manaos  145 

sprung  a  light  wind  as  the  day  advanced,  and  then  we  took 
down  our  hammocks,  hoisted  all  sail,  and  bowled  away  merrily. 
Penna  generally  preferred  to  cook  the  dinner  ashore,  when  there 
was  little  or  no  wind.  About  midday  on  these  calm  days  we 
used  to  look  out  for  a  nice  shady  nook  in  the  forest,  with 
cleared  space  sufficient  to  make  a  fire  upon.  I  then  had  an 
hour's  hunting  in  the  neighbouring  wilderness,  and  was  always 
rewarded  by  the  discovery  of  some  new  species.  During  the 
greater  part  of  our  voyage,  however,  we  stopped  at  the  house 
of  some  settler,  and  made  our  fire  in  the  port.  Just  before 
dinner  it  was  our  habit  to  take  a  bath  in  the  river,  and  then, 
according  to  the  universal  custom  on  the  Amazons,  where  it 
seems  to  be  suitable  on  account  of  the  weak  fish  diet,  we  each 
took  half  a  tea-cup  full  of  neat  cashaca,  the  "  abre  "  or  "  open- 
ing," as  it  is  called,  and  set  to  on  our  mess  of  stewed  pirarucu, 
beans,  and  bacon.  Once  or  twice  a  week  we  had  fowls  and 
rice;  at  supper,  after  sunset,  we  often  had  fresh  fish  caught 
by  our  men  in  the  evening.  The  mornings  were  cool  and 
pleasant  until  towards  midday;  but  in  the  afternoons  the  heat 
became  almost  intolerable,  especially  in  gleamy,  squally  weather, 
such  as  generally  prevailed.  We  then  crouched  in  the  shade 
of  the  sails,  or  went  down  to  our  hammocks  in  the  cabin,  choos- 
ing to  be  half  stifled  rather  than  expose  ourselves  on  deck  to 
the  sickening  heat  of  the  sun.  We  generally  ceased  travelling 
about  nine  o'clock,  fixing  upon  a  safe  spot  wherein  to  secure 
the  vessel  for  the  night.  The  cool  evening  hours  were  delicious  ; 
flocks  of  whistling  ducks  (Anas  autumnalis),  parrots,  and 
hoarsely-screaming  macaws,  pair  by  pair,  flew  over  from  their 
feeding  to  their  resting  places,  as  the  glowing  sun  plunged 
abruptly  beneath  the  horizon.  The  brief  evening  chorus  of 
animals  then  began,  the  chief  performers  being  the  howling 
monkeys,  whose  frightful  unearthly  roar  deepened  the  feeling 
of  solitude  which  crept  on  as  darkness  closed  around  us.  Soon 
after,  the  fireflies  in  great  diversity  of  species  came  forth  and 
flitted  about  the  trees.  As  night  advanced,  all  became  silent 
in  the  forest,  save  the  occasional  hooting  of  tree-frogs,  or  the 
monotonous  chirping  of  wood-crickets  and  grasshoppers. 

We  made  but  little  progress  on  the  20th  and  two  following 
days,  on  account  of  the  unsteadiness  of  the  wind.  The  dry- 
season  had  been  of  very  brief  duration  this  year;  it  generally 
lasts  in  this  part  of  the  Amazons  from  July  to  January,  with 
a  short  interval  of  showery  weather  in  November.  The  river 
ought  to  sink  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet  below  its  highest  point; 


146      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

this  year  it  had  declined  only  about  twenty-five  feet,  and  the 
November  rains  threatened  to  be  continuous.  The  drier  the 
weather  the  stronger  blows  the  east  wind;  it  now  failed  us 
altogether,  or  blew  gently  for  a  few  hours  merely  in  the  after- 
noons. I  had  hitherto  seen  the  great  river  only  in  its  sunniest 
aspect;  I  was  now  about  to  witness  what  it  could  furnish  in 
the  way  of  storms. 

On  the  night  of  the  22nd  the  moon  appeared  with  a  misty 
halo.  As  we  went  to  rest,  a  fresh  watery  wind  was  blowing,  and 
a  dark  pile  of  clouds  gathering  up  river  in  a  direction  opposite 
to  that  of  the  wind.  I  thought  this  betokened  nothing  more 
than  a  heavy  rain  which  would  send  us  all  in  a  hurry  to  our 
cabins.  The  men  moored  the  vessel  to  a  tree  alongside  a  hard 
clayey  bank,  and  after  supper  all  were  soon  fast  asleep,  scattered 
about  the  raised  deck.  About  eleven  o'clock  I  was  awakened 
by  a  horrible  uproar,  as  a  hurricane  of  wind  suddenly  swept 
over  from  the  opposite  shore.  The  cuberta  was  hurled  with 
force  against  the  clayey  bank;  Penna  shouted  out,  as  he  started 
to  his  legs,  that  a  trovoada  de  cima,  or  a  squall  from  up  river, 
was  upon  us.  We  took  down  our  hammocks,  and  then  all 
hands  were  required  to  save  the  vessel  from  being  dashed  to 
pieces.  The  moon  set,  and  a  black  pall  of  clouds  spread  itself 
over  the  dark  forests  and  river;  a  frightful  crack  of  thunder 
now  burst  over  our  heads,  and  down  fell  the  drenching  rain. 
Joaquim  leapt  ashore  through  the  drowning  spray  with  a 
strong  pole,  and  tried  to  pass  the  cuberta  round  a  small  pro- 
jecting point,  whilst  we  on  deck  aided  in  keeping  her  off  and 
lengthened  the  cable.  We  succeeded  in  getting  free,  and  the 
stout-built  boat  fell  off  into  the  strong  current  farther  away 
from  the  shore,  Joaquim  swinging  himself  dexterously  aboard 
by  the  bowsprit  as  it  passed  the  point.  It  was  fortunate  for 
us  that  he  happened  to  be  on  a  sloping  clayey  bank,  where 
there  was  no  fear  of  falling  trees;  a  few  yards  farther  on, 
where  the  shore  was  perpendicular  and  formed  of  crumbly 
earth,  large  portions  of  loose  soil,  with  all  their  superincumbent 
mass  of  forest,  were  being  washed  away;  the  uproar  thus 
occasioned  adding  to  the  horrors  of  the  storm. 

The  violence  of  the  wind  abated  in  the  course  of  an  hour, 
but  the  deluge  of  rain  continued  until  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning;  the  sky  being  lighted  up  by  almost  incessant 
flashes  of  pallid  lightning,  and  the  thunder  pealing  from  side  to 
side  without  interruption.  Our  clothing,  hammocks,  and  goods 
were  thoroughly  soaked  by  the  streams  of  water  which  trickled 


Obydos  to  Manaos  147 

through  between  the  planks.  In  the  morning  all  was  quiet; 
but  an  opaque,  leaden  mass  of  clouds  overspread  the  sky, 
throwing  a  gloom  over  the  wild  landscape  that  had  a  most 
dispiriting  effect.  These  squalls  from  the  west  are  always 
expected  about  the  time  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  dry  season 
in  these  central  parts  of  the  Lower  Amazons.  They  generally 
take  place  about  the  beginning  of  February,  so  that  this  year 
they  had  commenced  much  earlier  than  usual.  The  soil  and 
climate  are  much  drier  in  this  part  of  the  country  than  in  the 
region  lying  farther  to  the  west,  where  the  denser  forests  and 
more  clayey,  humid  soil  produce  a  considerably  cooler  atmo- 
sphere. The  storms  may  be  therefore  attributed  to  the  rush 
of  cold  moist  air  from  up  river,  when  the  regular  trade-wind 
coming  from  the  sea  has  slackened  or  ceased  to  blow. 

On  the  26th  we  arrived  at  a  large  sand  bank  connected  with 
an  island  in  midriver,  in  front  of  an  inlet  called  Maraca-uassu. 
Here  we  anchored  and  spent  half  a  day  ashore.  Penna's  object 
in  stopping  was  simply  to  enjoy  a  ramble  on  the  sands  with 
the  children,  and  give  Senhora  Katita  an  opportunity  to  wash 
the  linen.  The  sandbank  was  now  fast  going  under  water  with 
the  rise  of  the  river;  in  the  middle  of  the  dry  season  it  is 
about  a  mile  long  and  half  a  mile  in  width.  The  canoe-men 
delight  in  these  open  spaces,  which  are  a  great  relief  to  the 
monotony  of  the  forest  that  clothes  the  land  in  every  other 
part  of  the  river.  Farther  westward  they  are  much  more 
frequent,  and  of  larger  extent.  They  lie  generally  at  the  upper 
end  of  islands;  in  fact,  the  latter  originate  in  accretions  of 
vegetable  matter  formed  by  plants  and  trees  growing  on  a 
shoal.  The  island  was  wooded  chiefly  with  the  trumpet  tree 
(Cecropia  peltata),  which  has  a  hollow  stem  and  smooth  pale 
bark.  The  leaves  are  similar  in  shape  to  those  of  the  horse- 
chestnut,  but  immensely  larger;  beneath  they  are  white,  and 
when  the  welcome  trade-wind  blows  they  show  their  silvery 
undersides, — a  pleasant  signal  to  the  weary  canoe  traveller. 
The  mode  of  growth  of  this  tree  is  curious:  the  branches  are 
emitted  at  nearly  right  angles  with  the  stem,  the  branchlcts 
in  minor  whorls  around  these,  and  so  forth,  the  leaves  growing 
at  their  extremities;  so  that  the  total  appearance  is  that  of 
a  huge  candelabrum.  Cecropice  of  different  species  are  charac- 
teristic of  Brazilian  forest  scenery;  the  kind  of  which  I  am 
speaking  grows  in  great  numbers  everywhere  on  the  banks  of 
the  Amazons  where  the  land  is  low.  In  the  same  places  the 
curious  Monguba  tree  (Bombax  ceiba)  is  also  plentiful;    the 


148      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

dark  green  bark  of  its  huge  tapering  trunk,  scored  with  grey, 
forming  a  conspicuous  object.  The  principal  palm-tree  on  the 
lowlands  is  the  Jauari  (Astryocaryum  Jauari),  whose  stem, 
surrounded  by  whorls  of  spines,  shoots  up  to  a  great  height. 
On  the  borders  of  the  island  were  large  tracts  of  arrow-grass 
(Gynerium  saccharoides),  which  bears  elegant  plumes  of  flowers, 
like  those  of  the  reed,  and  grows  to  a  height  of  twenty  feet, 
the  leaves  arranged  in  a  fan-shaped  figure  near  the  middle  of 
the  stem.  I  was  surprised  to  find  on  the  higher  parts  of  the 
sandbank  the  familiar  foliage  of  a  willow  (Salix  Humboldtiana). 
It  is  a  dwarf  species,  and  grows  in  patches  resembling  beds  of 
osiers;  as  in  the  English  willows,  the  leaves  were  peopled  by 
small  chrysomelideous  beetles.  In  wandering  about,  many 
features  reminded  me  of  the  seashore.  Flocks  of  white  gulls 
were  flying  overhead,  uttering  their  well-known  cry,  and  sand- 
pipers coursed  along  the  edge  of  the  water.  Here  and  there 
lonely  wading-birdsj  were  stalking  about;  one  of  these,  the 
Curicaca  (Ibis  melanopis),  flew  up  with  a  low  cackling  noise, 
and  was  soon  joined  by  an  unicorn  bird  (Palamedea  cornuta), 
which  I  startled  up  from  amidst  the  bushes,  whose  harsh 
screams,  resembling  the  bray  of  a  jackass,  but  shriller,  disturbed 
unpleasantly  the  solitude  of  the  place.  Amongst  the  willow 
bushes  were  flocks  of  a  handsome  bird  belonging  to  the  Icteridae 
or  troupial  family,  adorned  with  a  rich  plumage  of  black  and 
saffron-yellow.  I  spent  some  time  watching  an  assemblage 
of  a  species  of  bird  called  by  the  natives  Tumburi-para,  on  the 
Cecropia  trees.  It  is  the  Monasa  nigrifrons  of  ornithologists, 
and  has  a  plain  slate-coloured  plumage  with  the  beak  of  an 
orange  hue.  It  belongs  to  the  family  of  Barbets,  most  of  whose 
members  are  remarkable  for  their  dull  inactive  temperament. 
Those  species  which  are  arranged  by  ornithologists  under  the 
genus  Bucco  are  called  by  the  Indians,  in  the  Tupi  language, 
Tai-assu  uira,  or  pig-birds.  They  remain  seated  sometimes 
for  hours  together  on  low  branches  in  the  shade,  and  are 
stimulated  to  exertion  only  when  attracted  by  passing  insects. 
This  flock  of  Tamburi-para  were  the  reverse  of  dull ;  they  were 
gambolling  and  chasing  each  other  amongst  the  branches.  As 
they  sported  about,  each  emitted  a  few  short  tuneful  notes, 
which  altogether  produced  a  ringing,  musical  chorus  that  quite 
surprised  me. 

On  the  27th  we  reached  an  elevated  wooded  promontory, 
called  Parentins,  which  now  forms  the  boundary  between  the 
provinces  of  Para  and  the  Amazons.    Here  we  met  a  small 


Obydos  to  Manaos  149 

canoe  descending  to  Santarem.  The  owner  was  a  free  negro 
named  Lima,  who,  with  his  wife,  was  going  down  the  river  to 
exchange  his  year's  crop  of  tobacco  for  European  merchandise. 
The  long  shallow  canoe  was  laden  nearly  to  the  water  level. 
He  resided  on  the  banks  of  the  Abacaxi,  a  river  which  dis- 
charges its  waters  into  the  Canoma,  a  broad  interior  channel 
which  extends  from  the  river  Madeira  to  the  Parentins,  a 
distance  of  180  miles.  Penna  offered  him  advantageous  terms, 
so  a  bargain  was  struck,  and  the  man  saved  his  long  journey. 
The  negro  seemed  a  frank,  straightforward  fellow;  he  was  a 
native  of  Pernambuco,  but  had  settled  many  years  ago  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  He  had  with  him  a  little  Indian  girl 
belonging  to  the  Mauhes  tribe,  whose  native  seat  is  the  district 
of  country  lying  in  the  rear  of  the  Canoma,  between  the  Madeira 
and  the  Tapajos.  The  Mauhes  are  considered,  I  think  with 
truth,  to  be  a  branch  of  the  great  Mundurucu  nation,  having 
segregated  from  them  at  a  remote  period,  and  by  long  isolation 
acquired  different  customs  and  a  totally  different  language,  in 
a  manner  which  seems  to  have  been  general  with  the  Brazilian 
aborigines.  The  Munduruciis  seem  to  have  retained  more  of 
the  general  characteristics  of  the  original  Tupi  stock  than  the 
Mauhes.  Senhor  Lima  told  me,  what  I  afterwards  found  to 
be  correct,  that  there  were  scarcely  two  words  alike  in  the 
languages  of  the  two  peoples,  although  there  are  words  closely 
allied  to  Tupi  in  both.  The  little  girl  had  not  the  slightest 
trace  of  the  savage  in  her  appearance.  Her  features  were 
finely  shaped,  the  cheek-bones  not  at  all  prominent,  the  lips 
thin,  and  the  expression  of  her  countenance  frank  and  smiling. 
She  had  been  brought  only  a  few  weeks  previously  from  a 
remote  settlement  of  her  tribe  on  the  banks  of  the  Abacaxi,  and 
did  not  yet  know  five  words  of  Portuguese.  The  Indians,  as 
a  general  rule,  are  very  manageable  when  they  are  young,  but 
it  is  a  general  complaint  that  when  they  reach  the  age  of 
puberty  they  become  restless  and  discontented.  The  rooted 
impatience  of  all  restraint  then  shows  itself,  and  the  kindest 
treatment  will  not  prevent  them  running  away  from  their 
masters;  they  do  not  return  to  the  malocas  of  their  tribes, 
but  join  parties  who  go  out  to  collect  the  produce  of  the  forests 
and  rivers,  and  lead  a  wandering  semi-savage  kind  of  life. 

We  remained  under  the  Serra  dos  Parentins  all  night.  Early 
the  next  morning  a  light  mist  hung  about  the  tree-tops,  and 
the  forest  resounded  with  the  yelping  of  Whaiapu-sai  monkeys. 
I  went  ashore  with  my  gun  and  got  a  glimpse  of  the  flock,  but 


150      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

did  not  succeed  in  obtaining  a  specimen.  They  were  of  small 
size  and  covered  with  long  fur  of  a  uniform  grey  colour.  I 
think  the  species  was  the  Callithrix  donacophilus.  The  rock 
composing  the  elevated  ridge  of  the  Parentins  is  the  same 
coarse  iron-cemented  conglomerate  which  I  have  often  spoken 
of  as  occurring  near  Para  and  in  several  other  places.  Many 
loose  blocks  were  scattered  about.  The  forest  was  extremely 
varied,  and  inextricable  coils  of  woody  climbers  stretched  from 
tree  to  tree.  Thongs  of  cacti  were  spread  over  the  rocks  and 
tree-trunks.  The  variety  of  small,  beautifully-shaped  ferns, 
lichens,  and  boleti,  made  the  place  quite  a  museum  of  crypto- 
gamic  plants.  I  found  here  two  exquisite  species  of  Longicorn 
beetles,  and  a  large  kind  of  grasshopper  (Pterochroza)  whose 
broad  fore-wings  resembled  the  leaf  of  a  plant,  providing  the 
insect  with  a  perfect  disguise  when  they  were  closed;  whilst 
the  hind  wings  were  decorated  with  gaily-coloured  eye-like  spots. 
The  negro  left  us  and  turned  up  a  narrow  channel,  the 
Parana-mirim  dos  Ramos  (the  little  river  of  the  branches,  i.e., 
having  many  ramifications),  on  the  road  to  his  home,  130  miles 
distant.  We  then  continued  our  voyage,  and  in  the  evening 
arrived  at  Villa  Nova,  a  straggling  village  containing  about 
seventy  houses,  many  of  which  scarcely  deserve  the  name,  being 
mere  mud-huts  roofed  with  palm-leaves.  We  stayed  here  four 
days.  The  village  is  built  on  a  rocky  bank,  composed  of  the 
same  coarse  conglomerate  as  that  already  so  often  mentioned. 
In  some  places  a  bed  of  Tabatinga  clay  rests  on  the  con- 
glomerate. The  soil  in  the  neighbourhood  is  sandy,  and  the 
forest,  most  of  which  appears  to  be  of  second  growth,  is  traversed 
by  broad  alleys  which  terminate  to  the  south  and  east  on  the 
banks  of  pools  and  lakes,  a  chain  of  which  extends  through  the 
interior  of  the  land.  As  soon  as  we  anchored  I  set  off  with 
Luco  to  explore  the  district.  We  walked  about  a  mile  along 
the  marly  shore,  on  which  was  a  thick  carpet  of  flowering 
shrubs,  enlivened  by  a  great  variety  of  lovely  little  butterflies, 
and  then  entered  the  forest  by  a  dry  watercourse.  About  a 
furlong  inland  this  opened  on  a  broad  placid  pool,  whose  banks, 
clothed  with  grass  of  the  softest  green  hue,  sloped  gently  from 
the  water's  edge  to  the  compact  wall  of  forest  which  encom- 
passed the  whole.  The  pool  swarmed  with  water-fowl;  snowy 
egrets,  dark-coloured  striped  herons,  and  storks  of  various 
species  standing  in  rows  around  its  margins.  Small  flocks  of 
macaws  were  stirring  about  the  topmost  branches  of  the  trees. 
Long-legged  piosocas  (Perra  Jacana)  stalked  over  the  water- 


Obydos  to  Manaos  151 

plants  on  the  surface  of  the  pool,  and  in  the  bushes  on  its 
margin  were  great  numbers  of  a  kind  of  canary  (Sycalis  brasi- 
liensis)  of  a  greenish-yellow  colour,  which  has  a  short  and  not 
very  melodious  song.  We  had  advanced  but  a  few  steps  when 
we  startled  a  pair  of  the  Jaburu-moleque  (Mycteria  americana), 
a  powerful  bird  of  the  stork  family,  four  and  a  half  feet  in 
height,  which  flew  up  and  alarmed  the  rest,  so  that  I  got  only 
one  bird  out  of  the  tumultuous  flocks  which  passed  over  our 
heads.  Passing  towards  the  farther  end  of  the  pool  I  saw, 
resting  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  a  number  of  large  round 
leaves,  turned  up  at  their  edges;  they  belonged  to  the  Victoria 
water-lily.  The  leaves  were  just  beginning  to  expand  (December 
3rd),  some  were  still  under  water,  and  the  largest  of  those 
which  had  reached  the  surface  measured  not  quite  three  feet  in 
diameter.  We  found  a  montaria  with  a  paddle  in  it,  drawn  up 
on  the  bank,  which  I  took  leave  to  borrow  of  the  unknown 
owner,  and  Luco  paddled  me  amongst  the  noble  plants  to 
search  for  flowers,  meeting,  however,  with  no  success.  I  learnt 
afterwards  that  the  plant  is  common  in  nearly  all  the  lakes  of 
this  neighbourhood.  The  natives  call  it  the  furno  do  Piosoca, 
or  oven  of  the  Jacana,  the  shape  of  the  leaves  being  like  that 
of  the  ovens  on  which  Mandioca  meal  is  roasted.  We  saw 
many  kinds  of  hawks  and  eagles,  one  of  which,  a  black  species, 
the  Caracara-i  (Milvago  nudicollis),  sat  on  the  top  of  a  tall 
naked  stump,  uttering  its  hypocritical  whining  notes.  This 
eagle  is  considered  a  bird  of  ill  omen  by  the  Indians;  it  often 
perches  on  the  tops  of  trees  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  huts, 
and  is  then  said  to  bring  a  warning  of  death  to  some  member 
of  the  household.  Others  say  that  its  whining  cry  is  intended 
to  attract  other  defenceless  birds  within  its  reach.  The  little 
courageous  flycatcher  Bem-ti-vi  (Saurophagus  sulphuratus) 
assembles  in  companies  of  four  or  five,  and  attacks  it  boldly, 
driving  it  from  the  perch  where  it  would  otherwise  sit  for 
hours.  I  shot  three  hawks  of  as  many  different  species;  and 
these,  with  a  Magoary  stork,  two  beautiful  gilded-green  jaca- 
mars  (Galbula  chalcocephala),  and  half-a-dozen  leaves  of  the 
water-lily,  made  a  heavy  load,  with  which  we  trudged  off  back 
to  the  canoe. 

A  few  years  after  this  visit,  namely,  in  1854-5,  I  passed 
eight  months  at  Villa  Nova.  The  district  of  which  it  is  the 
chief  town  is  very  extensive,  for  it  has  about  forty  miles  of 
linear  extent  along  the  banks  of  the  river:   but  the  whole  does 


152      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

not  contain  more  than  4000  inhabitants.  More  than  half  of 
these  are  pure-blood  Indians,  who  live  in  a  semi-civilised  con- 
dition on  the  banks  of  the  numerous  channels  and  lakes.  The 
trade  of  the  place  is  chiefly  in  India-rubber,  balsam  of  Copaiba 
(which  are  collected  on  the  banks  of  the  Madeira  and  the 
numerous  rivers  that  enter  the  Canoma  channel),  and  salt  fish, 
prepared  in  the  dry  season,  nearer  home.  These  articles  are 
sent  to  Para  in  exchange  for  European  goods.  The  few  Indian 
and  half-breed  families  who  reside  in  the  town,  are  many 
shades  inferior  in  personal  qualities  and  social  condition  to 
those  I  lived  amongst  near  Para  and  Cameta.  They  live  in 
wretched  dilapidated  mud-hovels;  the  women  cultivate  small 
patches  of  mandioca;  the  men  spend  most  of  their  time  in 
fishing,  selling  what  they  do  not  require  themselves  and  getting 
drunk  with  the  most  exemplary  regularity  on  cashaca,  purchased 
with  the  proceeds. 

I  made,  in  this  second  visit  to  Villa  Nova,  an  extensive 
collection  of  the  natural  productions  of  the  neighbourhood. 
A  few  remarks  on  some  of  the  more  interesting  of  these  must 
suffice.  The  forests  are  very  different  in  their  general  character 
from  those  of  Para,  and  in  fact  those  of  humid  districts  generally 
throughout  the  Amazons.  The  same  scarcity  of  large-leaved 
Musaceous  and  Marantaceous  plants  was  noticeable  here  as  at 
Obydos.  The  low-lying  areas  of  forest  or  Ygapos,  which 
alternate  everywhere  with  the  more  elevated  districts,  did  not 
furnish  the  same  luxuriant  vegetation  as  they  do  in  the  Delta 
region  of  the  Amazons.  They  are  flooded  during  three  or 
four  months  in  the  year,  and  when  the  waters  retire,  the  soil 
— to  which  the  very  thin  coating  of  alluvial  deposit  imparts 
little  fertility — remains  bare,  or  covered  with  a  matted  bed 
of  dead  leaves,  until  the  next  flood  season.  These  tracts  have 
then  a  barren  appearance;  the  trunks  and  lower  branches  of 
the  trees  are  coated  with  dried  slime,  and  disfigured  by  rounded 
masses  of  fresh-water  sponges,  whose  long  horny  spicule  and 
dingy  colours  give  them  the  appearance  of  hedgehogs.  Dense 
bushes  of  a  harsh,  cutting  grass,  called  Tiririca,  form  almost 
the  only  fresh  vegetation  in  the  dry  season.  Perhaps  the  dense 
shade,  the  long  .period  during  which  the  land  remains  under 
water,  and  the  excessively  rapid  desiccation  when  the  waters 
retire,  all  contribute  to  the  barrenness  of  these  Ygapos.  The 
higher  and  drier  land  is  everywhere  sandy,  and  tall  coarse 
grasses  line  the  borders  of  the  broad  alleys  which  have  been 
cut  through  the  second-growth  woods.     These  places  swarm 


Obydos  to  Manaos  153 

with  carapatos,  ugly  ticks  belonging  to  the  genus  Ixodes,  which 
mount  to  the  tips  of  blades  of  grass,  and  attach  themselves  to 
the  clothes  of  passers-by.  They  are  a  great  annoyance.  It 
occupied  me  a  full  hour  daily  to  pick  them  off  my  flesh  after 
my  diurnal  ramble.  There  are  two  species;  both  are  much 
flattened  in  shape,  have  four  pairs  of  legs,  a  thick  short  pro- 
boscis and  a  horny  integument.  Their  habit  is  to  attach 
themselves  to  the  skin  by  plunging  their  proboscides  into  it, 
and  then  suck  the  blood  until  their  flat  bodies  are  distended 
into  a  globular  form.  The  whole  proceeding,  however,  is  very 
slow,  and  it  takes  them  several  days  to  pump  their  fill.  No 
pain  or  itching  is  felt,  but  serious  sores  are  caused  if  care  is 
not  taken  in  removing  them,  as  the  proboscis  is  liable  to  break 
off  and  remain  in  the  wound.  A  little  tobacco  juice  is  generally 
applied  to  make  them  loosen  their  hold.  They  do  not  cling 
firmly  to  the  skin  by  their  legs,  although  each  of  these  has  a 
pair  of  sharp  and  fine  claws  connected  with  the  tips  of  the 
member  by  means  of  a  flexible  pedicle.  When  they  mount  to 
the  summits  of  slender  blades  of  grass,  or  the  tips  of  leaves, 
they  hold  on  by  their  fore-legs  only,  the  other  three  pairs  being 
stretched  out  so  as  to  fasten  on  any  animal  which  comss  in 
their  way.  The  smaller  of  the  two  species  is  of  a  yellowish 
colour;  it  is  much  the  most  abundant,  and  sometimes  falls 
upon  one  by  scores.  When  distended  it  is  about  the  size  of  a 
No.  8  shot;  the  larger  kind,  which  fortunately  comes  only 
singly  to  the  work,  swells  to  the  size  of  a  pea. 

In  some  parts  of  the  interior  the  soil  is  composed  of  very 
coarse  sand  and  small  fragments  of  quartz;  in  these  places  no 
trees  grow.  I  visited,  in  company  with  the  priest,  Padre 
Torquato,  one  of  these  treeless  spaces  or  campos,  as  they  are 
called,  situated  five  miles  from  the  village.  The  road  thither 
led  through  a  varied  and  beautiful  forest,  containing  many 
gigantic  trees.  I  missed  the  Assai,  Mirti,  Paxiuba,  and  other 
palms  which  are  all  found  only  on  rich  moist  soils,  but  the 
noble  Bacaba  was  not  uncommon,  and  there  was  a  great 
diversity  of  dwarf  species  of  Maraja  palms  (Bactris),  one  of 
which,  called  the  Peuririma,  was  very  elegant,  growing  to  a 
height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  with  a  stem  no  thicker  than  a 
man's  finger.  On  arriving  at  the  campo  all  this  beautiful 
forest  abruptly  ceased,  and  we  saw  before  us  an  oval  tract  of 
land,  three  or  four  miles  in  circumference,  destitute  even  of 
the  smallest  bush.  The  only  vegetation  was  a  crop  of  coarse 
hairy  grass  growing  in  patches.     The  forest  formed  a  hedge  all 


154      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

round  the  isolated  field,  and  its  borders  were  composed  in  great 
part  of  trees  which  do  not  grow  in  the  dense  virgin  forest,  such 

as    a   great    variety   of 
bushy  Melastomas,  low 
Byrsomina   trees,   myr- 
tles,   and     Lacre-trees, 
whose     berries      exude 
globules  of  wax  resem- 
^f|p\  bling  gamboge.    On  the 
3j  margins    of  the  campo 
wild    pine  -  apples    also 
grew  in  great  quantity.     The  fruit 
was  of  the   same   shape   as   our 
cultivated  kind,  but  much  smaller, 
the  size  being  that  of  a  moderately 
large  apple.     We  gathered  several 
quite  ripe;  they  were  pleasant  to 
the  taste,  of  the  true  pine-apple 
flavour,  but  had  an  abundance  of 
fully  developed  seeds,  and  only  a 
small  quantity  of  eatable  pulp. 
There  was  no  path  beyond  this 
campo ;  in  fact  all  beyond  is  terra 
incognita   to  the   inhabitants   of 
Villa  Nova. 

The  only  interesting  Mammalian 
animal  which  I  saw  at  Villa  Nova 
was  a  monkey  of  a  species  new  to 
me ;  it  was  not,  however,  a  native 
of  the  district,  having  been 
brought  by  a  trader  from  the 
river  Madeira,  a  few  miles  above 
Borba.  It  was  a  howler,  prob- 
ably the  Mycetes  stramineus  of 
Geoffroy  St.  Hilaire.  The  howlers 
are  the  only  kinds  of  monkey 
which  the  natives  have  not  suc- 
ceeded in  taming.  They  are  often 
caught,  but  they  do  not  survive 
captivity  many  weeks.  The  one 
of  which  I  am  speaking  was  not 
quite  full  grown.  It  measured  sixteen  inches  in  length,  exclusive 
of  the  tail;   the  whole  body  was  covered  with  rather  long  and 


Peuririma  Palm  (Bactris). 


Obydos  to  Manaos  155 

shining  dingy-white  hair,  the  whiskers  and  beard  only  being  of 
a  tawny  hue.  It  was  kept  in  a  house,  together  with  a  Coaita 
and  a  Caiarara  monkey  (Cebus  albifrons).  Both  these  lively 
members  of  the  monkey  order  seemed  rather  to  court  attention, 
but  the  Mycetes  slunk  away  when  any  one  approached  it. 
When  it  first  arrived,  it  occasionally  made  a  gruff  subdued 
howling  noise  early  in  the  morning.  The  deep  volume  of  sound 
in  the  voice  of  the  howling  monkeys,  as  is  well  known,  is  pro- 
duced by  a  drum-shaped  expansion  of  the  larynx.  It  was 
curious  to  watch  the  animal  whilst  venting  its  hollow  cavernous 
roar,  and  observe  how  small  was  the  muscular  exertion  employed. 
When  howlers  are  seen  in  the  forest  there  are  generally  three  or 
four  of  them  mounted  on  the  topmost  branches  of  a  tree.  It 
does  not  appear  that  their  harrowing  roar  is  emitted  from  sudden 
alarm;  at  least,  it  was  not  so  in  captive  individuals.  It  is  pro- 
bable, however,  that  the  noise  serves  to  intimidate  their  enemies. 
I  did  not  meet  with  the  Mycetes  stramineus  in  any  other  part  of 
the  Amazons  region;  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Para  a  reddish- 
coloured  species  prevails  (M.  Belzebuth);  in  the  narrow  channels 
near  Breves  I  shot  a  large,  entirely  black  kind ;  another  yellow- 
handed  species,  according  to  the  report  of  the  natives,  inhabits 
the  island  of  Macajo,  which  is  probably  the  M.  flavimanus  of 
Kuhl;  some  distance  up  the  Tapajos  the  only  howler  found  is 
a  brownish-black  species;  and  on  the  Upper  Amazons  the  sole 
species  seen  was  the  Mycetes  ursinus,  whose  fur  is  of  a  shining 
yellowish-red  colour. 

In  the  dry  forests  of  Villa  Nova  I  saw  a  rattlesnake  for  the 
first  time.  I  was  returning  home  one  day  through  a  narrow 
alley,  when  I  heard  a  pattering  noise  close  to  me.  Hard  by 
was  a  tall  palm  tree,  whose  head  was  heavily  weighted  with 
parasitic  plants,  and  I  thought  the  noise  was  a  warning  that  it 
was  about  to  fall.  The  wind  lulled  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  there  was  no  doubt  that  the  noise  proceeded  from  the 
ground.  On  turning  my  head  in  that  direction,  a  sudden 
plunge  startled  me,  and  a  heavy  gliding  motion  betrayed  a 
ktrge  serpent  making  off  almost  from  beneath  my  feet.  The 
ground  is  always  so  encumbered  with  rotting  leaves  and 
branches  that  one  only  discovers  snakes  when  they  are  in  the 
act  of  moving  away.  The  residents  of  Villa  Nova  would  not 
believe  that  I  had  seen  a  rattlesnake  in  their  neighbourhood; 
in  fact,  it  is  not  known  to  occur  in  the  forests  at  all,  its  place 
being  the  open  campos,  where,  near  Santarem,  I  killed  several. 
On  my  second  visit  to  Villa  Nova  I  saw  another.     J  had  then 


156      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

a  favourite  little  dog,  named  Diamante,  who  used  to  accompany 
me  in  my  rambles.  One  day  he  rushed  into  the  thicket,  and 
made  a  dead  set  at  a  large  snake,  whose  head  I  saw  raised 
above  the  herbage.  The  foolish  little  brute  approached  quite 
close,  and  then  the  serpent  reared  its  tail  slightly  in  a  horizontal 
position  and  shook  its  terrible  rattle.  It  was  many  minutes 
before  I  could  get  the  dog  away;  and  this  incident,  as  well  as 
the  one  already  related,  shows  how  slow  the  reptile  is  to  make 
the  fatal  spring. 

I  was  much  annoyed,  and  at  the  same  time  amused,  with  the 
Urubu  vultures.  The  Portuguese  call  them  corvos  or  crows; 
in  colour  and  general  appearance  they  somewhat  resemble 
rooks,  but  they  are  much  larger,  and  have  naked,  black, 
wrinkled  skin  about  their  face  and  throat.  They  assemble  in 
great  numbers  in  the  villages  about  the  end  of  the  wet  season, 
and  are  then  ravenous  with  hunger.  My  cook  could  not  leave 
the  open  kitchen  at  the  back  of  the  house  for  a  moment,  whilst 
the  dinner  was  cooking,  on  account  of  their  thievish  propensities. 
Some  of  them  were  always  loitering  about,  watching  their 
opportunity,  and  the  instant  the  kitchen  was  left  unguarded, 
the  bold  marauders  marched  in  and  lifted  the  lids  of  the  sauce- 
pans with  their  beaks  to  rob  them  of  their  contents.  The  boys 
of  the  village  lie  in  wait,  and  shoot  them  with  bow  and  arrow; 
and  vultures  have  consequently  acquired  such  a  dread  of  these 
weapons,  that  they  may  be  often  kept  off  by  hanging  a  bow 
from  the  rafters  of  the  kitchen.  As  the  dry  season  advances, 
the  hosts  of  Urubus  follow  the  fishermen  to  the  lakes,  where 
they  gorge  themselves  with  the  offal  of  the  fisheries.  Towards 
February,  they  return  to  the  villages,  and  are  then  not  nearly 
so  ravenous  as  before  their  summer  trips. 

The  insects  of  Villa  Nova  are,  to  a  great  extent,  the  same  as 
those  of  Santarem  and  the  Tapajos.  A  few  species  of  all  orders, 
however,  are  found  here,  which  occurred  nowhere  else  on  the 
Amazons,  besides  several  others  which  are  properly  considered 
local  varieties  or  races  of  others  found  at  Para,  on  the  Northern 
shore  of  the  Amazons  or  in  other  parts  of  Tropical  America., 
The  Hymenoptera  were  especially  numerous,  as  they  always 
are  in  districts  which  possess  a  sandy  soil:  but  the  many 
interesting  facts  which  I  gleaned  relative  to  their  habits  will 
be  more  conveniently  introduced  when  I  treat  of  the  same  or 
similar  species  found  in  the  localities  above-named.  In  the 
broad  alleys  of  the  forest  several  species  of  Morpho  were  common. 
One  of  these  is  a  sister  form  to  the  Morpho  Hecuba,  which  I 


Obydos  to  Manaos  157 

have  mentioned  as  occurring  at  Obydos.  The  Villa  Nova 
kind  differs  from  Hecuba  sufficiently  to  be  considered  a  distinct 
species,  and  has  been  described  under  the  name  of  M.  Cisseis; 
but  it  is  clearly  only  a  local  variety  of  it,  the  range  of  the  two 
being  limited  by  the  barrier  of  the  broad  Amazons.  It  is  a 
grand  sight  to  see  these  colossal  butterflies  by  twos  and  threes 
floating  at  a  great  height  in  the  still  air  of  a  tropical  morning. 
They  flap  their  wings  only  at  long  intervals,  for  I  have  noticed 
them  to  sail  a  very  considerable  distance  without  a  stroke. 
Their  wing-muscles  and  the  thorax  to  which  they  are  attached, 
are  very  feeble  in  comparison  with  the  wide  extent  and  weight 
of  the  wings:  but  the  large  expanse  of  these  members  doubtless 
assists  the  insects  in  maintaining  their  aerial  course.  Morphos 
are  amongst  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  insect  denizens  of 
Tropical  American  forests,  and  the  broad  glades  of  the  Villa 
Nova  woods  seemed  especially  suited  to  them,  for  I  noticed 
here  six  species.  The  largest  specimens  of  Morpho  Cisseis 
measure  seven  inches  and  a  half  in  expanse.  Another  smaller 
kind,  which  I  could  not  capture,  was  of  a  pale  silvery-blue 
colour,  and  the  polished  surface  of  its  wings  flashed  like  a 
silver  speculum,  as  the  insect  flapped  its  wings  at  a  great 
elevation  in  the  sunlight. 

To  resume  our  voyage.  We  left  Villa  Nova  on  the  4th  of 
December.  A  light  wind  on  the  5th  carried  us  across  to  the 
opposite  shore  and  past  the  mouth  of  the  Parana-mirim  do  arco, 
or  the  little  river  of  the  bow,  so  called  on  account  of  its  being 
a  short  arm  of  the  main  river,  of  a  curved  shape,  rejoining  the 
Amazons  a  little  below  Villa  Nova.  On  the  6th,  after  passing 
a  large  island  in  mid-river,  we  arrived  at  a  place  where  a  line 
of  perpendicular  clay  cliffs,  called  the  Barreiros  de  Cararaucu, 
diverts  slightly  the  course  of  the  main  stream,  as  at  Obydos. 
A  little  below  these  cliffs  were  a  few  settlers'  houses:  here 
Penna  remained  ten  days  to  trade,  a  delay  which  I  turned  to 
good  account  in  augmenting  very  considerably  my  collections. 

At  the  first  house  a  festival  was  going  forward.  We  anchored 
at  some  distance  from  the  shore,  on  account  of  the  water  being 
shcaly,  and  early  in  the  morning  three  canoes  put  off,  laden 
with  salt  fish,  oil  of  manatee,  fowls  and  bananas,  wares  which 
the  owners  wished  to  exchange  for  different  articles  required  for 
the  festa.  Soon  after  I  went  ashore.  The  head  man  was  a 
tall,  well-made,  civilised  Tapuyo,  named  Marcellino,  who,  with 
his  wife,  a  thin,  active,  wiry  old  squaw,  did  the  honours  of  their 
house,  I  thought,  admirably.     The  company  consisted  of  fifty 


158      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

or  sixty  Indians  and  Mamelucos;   some  of  them  knew  Portu- 
guese, but  the  Tupi  language  was  the  only  one  used  amongst 
themselves.     The  festival  was  in  honour  of  our  Lady  of  Con- 
ception;  and  when  the  people  learnt  that  Penna  had  on  board 
an  image  of  the  saint  handsomer  than  their  own,  they  put  off 
in  their  canoes  to  borrow  it;   Marcellino  taking  charge  of  the 
doll,  covering  it  carefully  with  a  neatly-bordered  white  towel. 
On  landing  with  the  image,  a  procession  was  formed  from  the 
port  to  the  house,  and  salutes  fired  from  a  couple  of  lazarino 
guns,  the  saint  being  afterwards  carefully  deposited  in  the 
family  oratorio.    After  a  litany  and  hymn  were  sung  in  the 
evening,  all  assembled  to  supper  around  a  large  mat  spread 
on  a  smooth  terrace-like  space  in  front  of  the  house.     The 
meal  consisted  of  a  large  boiled  Pirarucu,  which  had  been 
harpooned  for  the  purpose  in  the  morning,  stewed  and  roasted 
turtle,  piles  of  mandioca-meal  and  bananas.    The  old  lady 
with  two  young  girls,  showed  the  greatest  activity  in  waiting 
on  the  guests,  Marcellino  standing  gravely  by,  observing  what 
was  wanted  and  giving  the  necessary  orders  to  his  wife.     When 
all  was  done,  hard  drinking  began,  and  soon  after  there  was 
a  dance,  to  which  Penna  and  I  were  invited.    The  liquor  served 
was  chiefly  a  spirit  distilled  by  the  people  themselves  from 
mandioca  cakes.     The  dances  were  all  of  the  same  class,  namely 
different  varieties  of  the  "  Landum,"  an  erotic  dance  similar 
to  the  fandango,  originally  learnt  from  the  Portuguese.    The 
music  was  supplied  by  a  couple  of  wire-stringed  guitars,  played 
alternately  by  the  young  men.    All  passed  off  very  quietly 
considermg  the  amount  of  strong  liquor  drunk,  and  the  ball 
was  kept  up  until  sunrise  the  next  morning. 

We  visited  all  the  houses  one  after  the  other.  One  of  them 
was  situated  in  a  charming  spot,  with  a  broad  sandy  beach 
before  it,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Parana-mirim  do  Mucambo,  a 
channel  leading  to  an  interior  lake,  peopled  by  savages  of  the 
Mura  tribe.  This  seemed  to  be  the  abode  of  an  industrious 
family,  but  all  the  men  were  absent,  salting  Pirarucu  on  the 
lakes.  The  house,  like  its  neighbours,  was  simply  a  frame- 
work of  poles  thatched  with  *palm-leaves,  the  walls  roughly 
latticed  and  plastered  with  mud :  but  it  was  larger,  and  much 
cleaner  inside  than  the  others.  It  was  full  of  women  and 
children,  who  were  busy  all  day  with  their  various  employ- 
ments; some  weaving  hammocks  in  a  large  clumsy  frame, 
which  held  the  warp  whilst  the  shuttle  was  passed  by  the  hand 
slowly  across  the  six  feet  breadth  of  web;    others  spinning 


Obydos  to  Manaos  159 

cotton,  and  others  again  scraping,  pressing,  and  roasting  man- 
dioca.  The  family  had  cleared  and  cultivated  a  large  piece  of 
ground;  the  soil  was  of  extraordinary  richness,  the  perpen- 
dicular banks  of  the  river,  near  the  house,  revealing  a  depth  of 
many  feet  of  crumbling  vegetable  mould.  There  was  a  large 
plantation  of  tobacco,  besides  the  usual  patches  of  Indian-corn, 
sugar-cane,  and  mandioca;  and  a  grove  of  cotton,  cacao,  coffee 
and  fruit-trees,  surrounded  the  house.  We  passed  two  nights 
at  anchor  in  shoaly  water  off  the  beach.  The  weather  was 
most  beautiful,  and  scores  of  Dolphins  rolled  and  snorted  about 
the  canoe  all  night. 

We  crossed  the  river  at  this  point,  and  entered  a  narrow 
channel  which  penetrates  the  interior  of  the  island  of  Tupinam- 
barana,  and  leads  to  a  chain  of  lakes  called  the  Lagos  de 
Cararaucu.  A  furious  current  swept  along  the  coast,  eating  into 
the  crumbling  earthy  banks,  and  strewing  the  river  with  debris 
of  the  forest.  The  mouth  of  the  channel  lies  about  twenty-five 
miles  from  Villa  Nova;  the  entrance  is  only  about  forty  yards 
broad,  but  it  expands,  a  short  distance  inland,  into  a  large 
sheet  of  water.  We  suffered  terribly  from  insect  pests  during 
the  twenty-four  hours  we  remained  here.  At  night  it  was 
quite  impossible  to  sleep  for  mosquitoes;  they  fell  upon  us  by 
myriads,  and  without  much  piping  came  straight  at  our  faces 
as  thick  as  raindrops  in  a  shower.  The  men  crowded  into  the 
cabins,  and  then  tried  to  expel  the  pests  by  the  smoke  from 
burnt  rags,  but  it  was  of  little  avail,  although  we  were  half 
suffocated  during  the  operation.  In  the  daytime  the  Motuca, 
a  much  larger  and  more  formidable  fly  than  the  mosquito, 
insisted  upon  levying  his  tax  of  blood.  We  had  been  tormented 
by  it  for  many  days  past,  but  this  place  seemed  to  be^  its 
metropolis.  The  species  has  been  described  by  Perty,  the 
author  of  the  Entomological  portion  of  Spix  and  Martius' 
travels,  under  the  name  of  Hadrus  lepidotus.  It  is  a  member 
of  the  Tabanidae  family,  and  indeed  is  closely  related  to  the 
Ha:matopota  pluvialis,  a  brown  fly  which  haunts  the  borders 
of  woods  in  summer  time  in  England.  The  Motuca  is  of  a 
bronzed-black  colour;  its  proboscis  is  formed  of  a  bundle  of 
horny  lancets,  which  are  shorter  and  broader  than  is  usually 
the  case  in  the  family  to  which  it  belongs.  Its  puncture  does 
not  produce  much  pain,  but  it  makes  such  a  large  gash  in  the 
flesh  that  the  blood  trickles  forth  in  little  streams.  Many 
scores  of  them  were  flying  about  the  canoe  all  day,  and  some- 
times eight  or  ten  would  settle  on  one's  ankles  at  the  same 


160      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

time.  It  is  sluggish  in  its  motions,  and  may  be  easily  killed 
with  the  fingers  when  it  settles.  Penna  went  forward  in  the 
montaria  to  the  Pirarucu  fishing  stations,  on  a  lake  lying 
further  inland;  but  he  did  not  succeed  in  reaching  them  on 
account  of  the  length  and  intricacy  of  the  channels;  so  after 
wasting  a  day,  during  which,  however,  I  had  a  profitable 
ramble  in  the  forest,  we  again  crossed  the  river,  and  on  the 
16th  continued  our  voyage  along  the  northern  shore. 

The  clay  cliffs  of  Cararaucu  are  several  miles  in  length.  The 
hard  pink-and-red-coloured  beds  are  here  extremely  thick,  and 
in  some  places  present  a  compact  stony  texture.  The  total 
height  of  the  cliff  is  from  thirty  to  sixty  feet  above  the  mean 
level  of  the  river,  and  the  clay  rests  on  strata  of  the  same 
coarse  iron-cemented  conglomerate  which  has  already  been  so 
often  mentioned.  Large  blocks  of  this  latter  have  been 
detached  and  rolled  by  the  force  of  currents  up  parts  of  the 
cliff  where  they  are  seen  resting  on  terraces  of  the  clay.  On 
the  top  of  all  lies  a  bed  of  sand  and  vegetable  mould,  which 
supports  a  lofty  forest,  growing  up  to  the  very  brink  of  the 
precipice.  After  passing  these  barreiros  we  continued  our  way 
along  a  low  uninhabited  coast,  clothed,  wherever  it  was  elevated 
above  high-water  mark,  with  the  usual  vividly-coloured  forests 
of  the  higher  Ygapo  lands,  to  which  the  broad  and  regular 
fronds  of  the  Murumuru  palm,  here  extremely  abundant,  served 
as  a  great  decoration.  Wherever  the  land  was  lower  than  the 
flood  height  of  the  Amazons,  Cecropia  trees  prevailed,  some- 
times scattered  over  meadows  of  tall  broad-leaved  grasses, 
which  surrounded  shallow  pools  swarming  with  water-fowl. 
Alligators  were  common  on  most  parts  of  the  coast;  in  some 
places  we  saw  also  small  herds  of  Capybaras  (a  large  Rodent 
animal,  like  a  colossal  Guinea-pig)  amongst  the  rank  herbage 
on  muddy  banks,  and  now  and  then  flocks  of  the  graceful 
squirrel  monkey  (Chrysothrix  sciureus),  and  the  vivacious  Caia- 
rara  (Cebus  albifrons)  were  seen  taking  flying  leaps  from  tree 
to  tree.  On  the  22nd  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  most  easterly 
of  the  numerous  channels  which  lead  to  the  large  interior  lake 
of  Saraca,  and  on  the  23rd  threaded  a  series  of  passages  between 
islands,  where  we  again  saw  human  habitations,  ninety  miles 
distant  from  the  last  house  at  Cararaucu.  On  the  24th  we 
arrived  at  Serpa. 

Serpa  is  a  small  village,  consisting  of  about  eighty  houses, 
built  on  a  bank  elevated  twenty-five  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
river.    The   beds  of  Tabatinga  clay,   which  are  here   inter- 


Obydos  to  Manaos  i  6 1 

mingled  with  scoria-looking  conglomerate,  art  in  some  parts 
of  the  declivity  prettily  variegated  in  colour;  the  name  of  the 
town  in  the  Tupi  language,  Ita-coatiara,  takes  its  origin  from 
this  circumstance,  signifying  striped  or  painted  rock.  It  is  an 
old  settlement,  and  was  once  the  seat  of  the  district  govern- 
ment, which  had  authority  over  the  Barra  of  the  Rio  Negro. 
It  was  in  1849  a  wretched-looking  village,  but  it  has  since 
revived,  on  account  of  having  been  chosen  by  the  Steamboat 
Company  of  the  Amazons  as  a  station  for  steam  saw-mills  and 
tile  manufactories.  We  arrived  on  Christmas-eve,  when  the 
village  presented  an  animated  appearance  from  the  number 
of  people  congregated  for  the  holidays.  The  port  was  full  of 
canoes,  large  and  small — from  the  montaria,  with  its  arched 
awning  of  woven  lianas  and  Maranta  leaves,  to  the  two-masted 
cuberta  of  the  peddling  trader,  who  had  resorted  to  the  place  in 
the  hope  of  trafficking  with  settlers  coming  from  remote  sitios 
to  attend  the  festival.  We  anchored  close  to  an  igarite,  whose 
owner  was  an  old  Juri  Indian,  disfigured  by  a  large  black 
tatooed  patch  in  the  middle  of  his  face,  and  by  his  hair  being 
close  cropped,  except  a  fringe  in  front  of  the  head.  In  the 
afternoon  we  went  ashore.  The  population  seemed  to  consist 
chiefly  of  semi-civilised  Indians,  living  as  usual  in  half-finished 
mud  hovels.  The  streets  were  irregularly  laid  out,  and  over- 
run with  weeds  and  bushes  swarming  with  "  mocuim,"  a  very 
minute  scarlet  acarus,  which  sweeps  off  to  one's  clothes  in 
passing,  and  attaching  itself  in  great  numbers  to  the  skin 
causes  a  most  disagreeable  itching.  The  few  whites  and  better 
class  of  mameluco  residents  live  in  more  substantial  dwellings, 
white-washed  and  tiled.  All,  both  men  and  women,  seemed  to 
me  much  more  cordial,  and  at  the  same  time  more  brusque  in 
their  manners  than  any  Brazilians  I  had  yet  met  with.  One 
of  them,  Captain  Manoel  Joaquim,  I  knew  for  a  long  time 
afterwards;  a  lively,  intelligent,  and  thoroughly  good-hearted 
man,  who  had  quite  a  reputation  throughout  the  interior  of 
the  country  for  generosity,  and  for  being  a  firm  friend  of  foreign 
residents  and  stray  travellers.  Some  of  these  excellent  people 
were  men  of  substance,  being  owners  of  trading  vessels,  slaves, 
and  extensive  plantations  of  cacao  and  tobacco. 

We  stayed  at  Serpa  five  days.  Some  of  the  ceremonies 
observed  at  Christmas  were  interesting,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
the  same,  with  little  modification,  as  those  taught  by  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  more  than  a  century  ago  to  the  aboriginal  tribes 
whom  they  had  induced  to  settle  on  this  spot.     In  the  morning 


1 62      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

all  the  women  and  girls,  dressed  in  white  gauze  chemises  and 
showy  calico  print  petticoats,  went  in  procession  to  church,  first 
going  the  round  of  the  town  to  take  up  the  different  "mor- 
domos,"  or  stewards,  whose  office  is  to  assist  the  Juiz  of  the 
festa.  These  stewards  carried  each  a  long  white  reed,  decorated 
with  coloured  ribbons;  several  children  also  accompanied 
grotesquely  decked  with  finery.  Three  old  squaws  went  in 
front,  holding  the  "  saire,"  a  large  semicircular  frame,  clothed 
with  cotton  and  studded  with  ornaments,  bits  of  looking-glass, 
and  so  forth.  This  they  danced  up  and  down,  singing  all  the 
time  a  monotonous  whining  hymn  in  the  Tupi  language,  and  at 
frequent  intervals  turning  round  to  face  the  followers,  who  then 
all  stopped  for  a  few  moments.  I  was  told  that  this  saire 
was  a  device  adopted  by  the  Jesuits  to  attract  the  savages  to 
church,  for  these  everywhere  followed  the  mirrors,  in  which 
they  saw  as  it  were  magically  reflected  their  own  persons.  In 
the  evening  good-humoured  revelry  prevailed  on  all  sides.  The 
negroes,  who  had  a  saint  of  their  own  colour— St.  Benedito— 
had  their  holiday  apart  from  the  rest,  and  spent  the  whole 
night  singing  and  dancing  to  the  music  of  a  long  drum  (gamba) 
and  the  caracasha.  The  drum  was  a  hollow  log,  having  one 
end  covered  with  skin,  and  was  played  by  the  performer  sitting 
astride  upon  it  and  drumming  with  his  knuckles.  The  cara- 
casha is  a  notched  bamboo  tube,  which  produces  a  harsh  rattling 
noise  by  passing  a  hard  stick  over  the  notches.  Nothing  could 
exceed  in  dreary  monotony  this  music  and  the  singing  and 
dancmg  which  were  kept  up  with  unflagging  vigour  all  night 
long.  I  he  Indians  did  not  get  up  a  dance;  for  the  whites  and 
mamelucos  had  monopolised  all  the  pretty  coloured  girls  for 
their  own  ball,  and  the  older  squaws  preferred  looking  on  to 
taking  a  part  themselves.  Some  of  their  husbands  joined  the 
negroes,  and  got  drunk  very  quickly.  It  was  amusing  to 
notice  how  voluble  the  usually  taciturn  redskins  became  under 
the  influence  of  liquor.  The  negroes  and  Indians  excused  their 
own  intemperance  by  saying  the  whites  were  getting  drunk  at 
the  other  end  of  the  town,  which  was  quite  true. 

We  left  Serpa  on  the  29th  of  December,  in  company  of  an 
old  planter  named  Senhor  Joao  (John)  Trinidade;  at  whose 
sitio,  situated  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Madeira,  Penna  intended 
to  spend  a  few  days.  Our  course  on  the  29th  and  30th  lay 
through  narrow  channels  between  islands.  On  the  31st  we 
passed  the  last  of  these,  and  then  beheld  to  the  south  a  sea-like 
expanse  of  water,  where  the  Madeira,  the  greatest  tributary  of 


Obydos  to  Manaos  163 

the  Amazons,  after  2000  miles  of  course,  blends  its  waters 
with  those  of  the  king  of  rivers.  I  was  hardly  prepared  for  a 
junction  of  waters  on  so  vast  a  scale  as  this,  now  nearly  900 
miles  from  the  sea.  Whilst  travelling  week  after  week  along 
the  somewhat  monotonous  stream,  often  hemmed  in  between 
islands,  and  becoming  thoroughly  familiar  with  it,  my  sense  of 
the  magnitude  of  this  vast  water  system  had  become  gradually 
deadened;  but  this  noble  sight  renewed  the  first  feelings  of 
wonder.  One  is  inclined,  in  such  places  as  these,  to  think  the 
Paraenses  do  not  exaggerate  much  when  they  call  the  Amazons 
the  Mediterranean  of  South  America.  Beyond  the  mouth  of 
the  Madeira,  the  Amazons  sweeps  down  in  a  majestic  reach,  to 
all  appearance  not  a  whit  less  in  breadth  before  than  after  this 
enormous  addition  to  its  waters.  The  Madeira  does  not  ebb 
and  flow  simultaneously  with  the  Amazons;  it  rises  and  sinks 
about  two  months  earlier,  so  that  it  was  now  fuller  than  the 
main  river.  Its  current  therefore  poured  forth  freely  from  its 
mouth,  carrying  with  it  a  long  line  of  floating  trees  and 
patches  of  grass,  which  had  been  torn  from  its  crumbly  banks 
in  the  lower  part  of  its  course.  The  current,  however,  did  not 
reach  the  middle  of  the  main  stream,  but  swept  along  nearer 
to  the  southern  shore. 

A  few  items  of  information  which  I  gleaned  relative  to  this 
river  may  find  a  place  here.  The  Madeira  is  navigable  for 
about  480  miles  from  its  mouth;  a  series  of  cataracts  and 
rapids  then  commences,  which  extends,  with  some  intervals  of 
quiet  water,  about  160  miles,  beyond  which  is  another  long 
stretch  of  navigable  stream.  Canoes  sometimes  descend  from 
Villa  Bella,  in  the  interior  province  of  Matto  Grosso,  but  not 
so  frequently  as  formerly,  and  I  could  hear  of  very  few  persons 
who  had  attempted  of  late  years  to  ascend  the  river  to  that 
point.  It  was  explored  by  the  Portuguese  in  the  early  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century;  the  chief  and  now  the  only  town  on  its 
banks,  Borba,  150  miles  from  its  mouth,  being  founded  in  1756. 
Up  to  the  year  1853,  tne  lower  part  of  the  river,  as  far  as 
about  a  hundred  miles  beyond  Borba,  was  regularly  visited  by 
traders  from  Villa  Nova,  Serpa,  and  Barra,  to  collect  sarsapa- 
rilla,  copaiiba  balsam,  turtle-oil,  and  to  trade  with  the  Indians, 
with  whom  their  relations  were  generally  on  a  friendly  footing. 
In  that  year  many  India-rubber  collectors  resorted  to  this 
region,  stimulated  by  the  high  price  (2s.  6d.  a  pound)  which 
the  article  was  at  that  time  fetching  at  Para;  and  then  the 
Araras,  a  fierce  and  intractable  tribe  of  Indians,  began  to  be 


164      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

troublesome.  They  attacked  several  canoes  and  massacred 
every  one  on  board,  the  Indian  crews  as  well  as  the  white 
traders.  Their  plan  was  to  lurk  in  ambush  near  the  sandy 
beaches  where  canoes  stop  for  the  night,  and  then  fall  upon  the 
people  whilst  asleep.  Sometimes  they  came  under  pretence  of 
wishing  to  trade,  and  then  as  soon  as  they  could  get  the  trader 
at  a  disadvantage  shot  him  and  his  crew  from  behind  trees. 
Their  arms  were  clubs,  bows,  and  Taquara  arrows,  the  latter  a 
formidable  weapon  tipped  with  a  piece  of  flinty  bamboo  shaped 
like  a  spear-head;  they  could  propel  it  with  such  force  as  to 
pierce  a  man  completely  through  the  body.  The  whites  of 
Borba  made  reprisals,  inducing  the  warlike  Mundurucus,  who 
had  an  old  feud  with  the  Araras,  to  assist  them.  This  state  of 
things  lasted  two  or  three  years,  and  made  a  journey  up  the 
Madeira  a  risky  undertaking,  as  the  savages  attacked  all  comers. 
Besides  the  Araras  and  the  Mundurucus,  the  latter  a  tribe 
friendly  to  the  whites,  attached  to  agriculture,  and  inhabiting 
the  interior  of  the  country  from  the  Madeira  to  beyond  the 
Tapajos,  two  other  tribes  of  Indians  now  inhabit  the  lower 
Madeira,  namely,  the  Parentintins  and  the  Muras.  Of  the 
former  I  did  not  hear  much;  the  Muras  lead  a  lazy  quiet  life 
on  the  banks  of  the  labyrinths  of  lakes  and  channels  which 
intersect  the  low  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river  below 
Borba.  The  Araras  are  one  of  those  tribes  which  do  not  plant 
mandioca;  and  indeed  have  no  settled  habitations.  They  are 
very  similar  in  stature  and  other  physical  features  to  the 
Mundurucus,  although  differing  from  them  so  widely  in  habits 
and  social  condition.  They  paint  their  chins  red  with  Urucu 
(Anatto),  and  have  usually  a  black  tattooed  streak  on  each 
side  of  the  face,  running  from  the  corner  of  the  mouth  to  the 
temple.  They  have  not  yet  learnt  the  use  of  firearms,  have  no 
canoes,  and  spend  their  lives  roaming  over  the  interior  of  the 
country,  living  on  game  and  wild  fruits.  When  they  wish  to 
cross  a  river,  they  make  a  temporary  canoe  with  the  thick  bark 
of  trees,  which  they  secure  in  the  required  shape  of  a  boat  by 
means  of  lianas.  I  heard  it  stated  by  a  trader  of  Santarem, 
who  narrowly  escaped  being  butchered  by  them  in  1854,  that 
the  Araras  numbered  2000  fighting  men.  The  number  I  think 
must  be  exaggerated,  as  it  generally  is  with  regard  to  Brazilian 
tribes.  When  the  Indians  show  a  hostile  disposition  to  the 
whites,  I  believe  it  is  most  frequently  owing  to  some  provoca- 
tion they  have  received  at  their  hands;  for  the  first  impulse 
of  the  Brazilian  red-man  is  to  respect  Europeans;    they  have 


Obydos  to  Manaos  165 

a  strong  dislike  to  be  forced  into  their  service,  but  if  strangers 
visit  them  with  a  friendly  intention  they  are  well  treated.  It 
is  related,  however,  that  the  Indians  of  the  Madeira  were  hostile 
to  the  Portuguese  from  the  first;  it  was  then  the  tribes  of 
Muras  and  Torazes  who  attacked  travellers.  In  1855  I  met 
with  an  American,  an  odd  character,  named  Kemp,  who  had 
lived  for  many  years  amongst  the  Indians  on  the  Madeira, 
near  the  abandoned  settlement  of  Crato.  He  told  me  his 
neighbours  were  a  kindly-disposed  and  cheerful  people,  and 
that  the  onslaught  of  the  Araras  was  provoked  by  a  trader 
from  Bara,  who  wantonly  fired  into  a  family  of  them,  killing 
the  parents,  and  carrying  off  their  children  to  be  employed  as 
domestic  servants. 

We  remained  nine  days  at  the  sitio  of  Senhor  John  Trinidade. 
It  is  situated  on  a  tract  of  high  Ygapo  land,  which  is  raised, 
however,  only  a  few  inches  above  high-water  mark.  This 
skirts  the  northern  shore  for  a  long  distance;  the  soil  consist- 
ing of  alluvium  and  rich  vegetable  mould,  and  exhibiting  the 
most  exuberant  fertility.  Such  districts  are  the  first  to  be 
settled  on  in  this  country,  and  the  whole  coast  for  many  miles 
was  dotted  with  pleasant-looking  sitios  like  that  of  our  friend. 
The  establishment  was  a  large  one,  the  house  and  out-buildings 
covering  a  large  space  of  ground.  The  industrious  proprietor 
seemed  to  be  Jack-of-all-trades ;  he  was  planter,  trader,  fisher- 
man, and  canoe-builder,  and  a  large  igarite  was  now  on  the 
stocks  under  a  large  shed.  There  was  great  pleasure  in  con- 
templating this  prosperous  farm,  from  its  being  worked  almost 
entirely  by  free  labour;  in  fact,  by  one  family,  and  its 
dependents.  John  Trinidade  had  only  one  female  slave;  his 
other  workpeople  were  a  brother  and  sister-in-law,  two  godsons, 
a  free  negro,  one  or  two  Indians,  and  a  family  of  Muras.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  were  mamelucos;  the  negro  children  called 
them  always  father  and  mother.  The  order,  abundance,  and 
comfort  about  the  place,  showed  what  industry  and  good 
management  could  effect  in  this  country  without  slave-labour. 
But  the  surplus  produce  of  such  small  plantations  is  very 
trifling.  All  we  saw  had  been  done  since  the  disorders  of 
1835-6,  during  which  John  Trinidade  was  a  great  sufferer;  he 
was  obliged  to  fly,  and  the  Mura  Indians  destroyed  his  house 
and  plantations.  There  was  a  large,  well-weeded  grove  of 
cacao  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  comprising  about  8000 
trees,  and  further  inland  considerable  plantations  of  tobacco, 


1 66      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

mandioca,  Indian  corn,  fields  of  rice,  melons,  and  water-melons. 
Near  the  house  was  a  kitchen  garden,  in  which  grew  cabbages 
and  onions,  introduced  from  Europe,  besides  a  wonderful  variety 
of  tropical  vegetables.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these 
plantations  and  gardens  were  enclosed  or  neatly  kept,  such 
is  never  the  case  in  this  country  where  labour  is  so  scarce; 
but  it  was  an  unusual  thing  to  see  vegetables  grown  at  all,  and' 
the  ground  tolerably  well  weeded.  The  space  around  the  house 
was  plentifully  planted  with  fruit-trees,  some,  belonging  to  the 
Anonaceous  order,  yielding  delicious  fruits  large  as  a  child's 
head,  and.  full  of  custardy  pulp  which  it  is  necessary  to  eat 
with  a  spoon;  besides  oranges,  lemons,  guavas,  alligator  pears, 
Abius  (Achras  cainito),  Genipapas,  and  bananas.  In  the  shade 
of  these,  coffee  trees  grew  in  great  luxuriance.  The  table  was 
always  well  supplied  with  fish,  which  the  Mura  who  was 
attached  to  the  household  as  fisherman  caught  every  morning 
a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  port.  The  chief  kinds  were  the 
Surubim,  Pira-peeua,  and  Piramutaba,  three  species  of  Siluridse, 
belonging  to  the  genus  Pimelodus.  To  these  we  used  a  sauce 
in  the  form  of  a  yellow  paste,  quite  new  to  me,  called  Arube, 
which  is  made  of  the  poisonous  juice  of  the  mandioca  root, 
boiled  down  before  the  starch  or  tapioca  is  precipitated,  and 
seasoned  with  capsicum  peppers.  It  is  kept  in  stone  bottles 
several  weeks  before  using,  and  is  a  most  appetising  relish  to 
fish.  Tucupi,  another  sauce  made  also  from  mandioca  juice,  is 
much  more  common  in  the  interior  of  the  country  than  Arube. 
This  is  made  by  boiling  or  heating  the  pure  liquid,  after  the 
tapioca  has  been  separated,  daily  for  several  days  in  succession, 
and  seasoning  it  with  peppers  and  small  fishes;  when  old  it 
has  the  taste  of  essence  of  anchovies.  It  is  generally  made  as 
a  liquid,  but  the  Juri  and  Miranha  tribes  on  the  Japura,  make 
it  up  in  the  form  of  a  black  paste  by  a  mode  of  preparation  I 
could  not  learn;  it  is  then  called  Tucupi-pixuna,  or  black 
Tucupi.  I  have  seen  the  Indians  on  the  Tapajos,  where  fish 
is  scarce,  season  Tucupi  with  Sauba  ants.  It  is  there  used 
chiefly  as  a  sauce  to  Tacaca,  another  preparation  from  mandioca, 
consisting  of  the  starch  beaten  up  in  boiling  water. 

I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  nine  days  we  spent  at  this  place. 
Our  host  and  hostess  took  an  interest  in  my  pursuit;  one  of 
the  best  chambers  in  the  house  was  given  up  to  me,  and  the 
young  men  took  me  long  rambles  in  the  neighbouring  forests. 
I  saw  very  little  hard  work  going  forward.  Everyone  rose 
with  the  dawn,  and  went  down  to  the  river  to  bathe;    then 


Obydos  to  Manaos  167 

came  the  never-failing  cup  of  rich  and  strong  coffee,  after 
which  all  proceeded  to  their  avocations.  At  this  time,  nothing 
was  being  done  at  the  plantations;  the  cacao  and  tobacco 
crops  were  not  ripe;  weeding  time  was  over,  and  the  only 
work  on  foot  was  the  preparation  of  a  little  farinha  by  the 
women.  The  men  dawdled  about;  went  shooting  and  fishing, 
or  did  trifling  jobs  about  the  house.  The  only  laborious  work 
done  during  the  year  in  these  establishments  is  the  felling  of 
timber  for  new  clearings;  this  happens  at  the  beginning  of 
the  dry  season,  namely,  from  July  to  September.  Whatever 
employment  the  people  were  engaged  in,  they  did  not  intermit 
it  during  the  hot  hours  of  the  day.  Those  who  went  into  the 
woods  took  their  dinners  with  them — a  small  bag  of  farinha, 
and  a  slice  of  salt  fish.  About  sunset  all  returned  to  the  house ; 
they  then  had  their  frugal  suppers,  and  towards  eight  o'clock, 
after  coming  to  ask  a  blessing  of  the  patriarchal  head  of  the 
household,  went  off  to  their  hammocks  to  sleep. 

There  was  another  visitor  besides  ourselves,  a  negro,  whom 
John  Trinidade  introduced  to  me  as  his  oldest  and  dearest 
friend,  who  had  saved  his  life  during  the  revolt  of  1835.  I 
have,  unfortunately,  forgotten  his  name;  he  was  a  freeman, 
and  had  a  sitio  of  his  own,  situated  about  a  day's  journey  from 
this.  There  was  the  same  manly  bearing  about  him  that  I 
had  noticed  with  pleasure  in  many  other  free  negroes;  but 
his  quiet,  earnest  manner,  and  the  thoughtful  and  benevolent 
expression  of  his  countenance,  showed  him  to  be  a  superior  man 
of  his  class.  He  told  me  he  had  been  intimate  with  our  host 
for  thirty  years,  and  that  a  wry  word  had  never  passed  between 
them.  At  the  commencement  of  the  disorders  of  1835  he  got 
into  the  secret  of  a  plot  for  assassinating  his  friend,  hatched  by 
some  villains  whose  only  cause  of  enmity  was  their  owing  him 
money  and  envying  his  prosperity.  It  was  such  as  these  who 
aroused  the  stupid  and  brutal  animosity  of  the  Muras  against 
the  whites.  The  negro,  on  obtaining  this  news,  set  off  alone 
in  a  montaria  on  a  six  hours'  journey  in  the  dead  of  night,  to 
warn  his  "  compadre  "  of  the  fate  in  store  for  him,  and  thus 
gave  him  time  to  fly.  It  was  a  pleasing  sight  to  notice  the 
cordiality  of  feeling  and  respect  for  each  other  shown  by  these 
two  old  men;  for  they  used  to  spend  hours  together  enjoying 
the  cool  breeze,  seated  under  a  shed  which  overlooked  the 
broad  river,  and  talking  of  old  times. 

John  Trinidade  was  famous  for  his  tobacco  and  cigarettes, 
as  he  took  great  pains  in  preparing  the  Tauari,  or  envelope, 


i  68      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

which  is  formed  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  separated  into 
thin  papery  layers.  Many  trees  yield  it,  amongst  them  the 
Courataria  Guianensis  and  the  Sapucaya  nut-tree,  both  belong- 
ing to  the  same  natural  order.  The  bark  is  cut  in  long  strips, 
of  a  breadth  suitable  for  folding  the  tobacco ;  the  inner  portion 
is  then  separated,  boiled,  hammered  with  a  wooden  mallet, 
and  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  few  hours.  Some  kinds  have  a 
reddish  colour  and  an  astringent  taste,  but  the  sort  prepared 
by  our  host  was  of  a  beautiful  satiny-white  hue,  and  perfectly 
tasteless.  He  obtained  sixty,  eighty,  and  sometimes  a  hundred 
layers  from  the  same  strip  of  bark.  The  best  tobacco  in  Brazil 
is  grown  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Borba,  on  the  Madeira,  where 
the  soil  is  a  rich  black  loam;  but  tobacco  of  very  good  quality 
was  grown  by  John  Trinidade  and  his  neighbours  along  this 
coast,  on  similar  soil.  It  is  made  up  into  slender  rolls,  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  diameter  and  six  feet  in  length,  tapering  at  each 
end.  When  the  leaves  are  gathered  and  partially  dried,  layers 
of  them,  after  the  mid-ribs  are  plucked  out,  are  placed  on  a 
mat  and  rolled  up  into  the  required  shape.  This  is  done  by 
the  women  and  children,  who  also  manage  the  planting,  weed- 
ing, and  gathering  of  the  tobacco.  The  process  of  tightening 
the  rolls  is  a  long  and  heavy  task,  and  can  be  done  only  by 
men.  The  cords  used  for  this  purpose  are  of  very  great  strength. 
They  are  made  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  peculiar  light-wooded  and 
slender  tree,  called  Uaissima,  which  yields,  when  beaten  out,  a 
great  quantity  of  most  beautiful  silky  fibre,  many  feet  in  length. 
I  think  this  might  be  turned  to  some  use  by  English  manu- 
facturers, if  they  could  obtain  it  in  large  quantity.  The  tree  is 
abundant  on  light  soils  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Lower 
Amazons,  and  grows  very  rapidly.  When  the  rolls  are  suffi- 
ciently well  pressed  they  are  bound  round  with  narrow  thongs 
of  remarkable  toughness,  cut  from  the  bark  of  the  climbing 
Jacitara  palm  tree  (Desmoncus  macracanthus),  and  are  then 
ready  for  sale  or  use. 

It  was  very  pleasant  to  roam  in  our  host's  cacaoal.  The 
ground  was  clear  of  underwood,  the  trees  were  about  thirty  feet 
in  height,  and  formed  a  dense  shade.  Two  species  of  monkey 
frequented  the  trees,  and  I  was  told  committed  great  depreda- 
tions when  the  fruit  was  ripe.  One  of  these,  the  macaco  prego 
(Cebus  cirrhifer?),  is  a  most  impudent  thief;  it  destroys  more 
than  it  eats  by  its  random,  hasty  way  of  plucking  and  breaking 
the  fruits,  and  when  about  to  return  to  the  forest,  carries  away 
all  it  can  in  its  hands  or  under  its  arms.     The  other  species 


Obydos  to  Manaos  169 

the  pretty  little  Chrysothrix  sciureus,  contents  itself  with 
devouring  what  it  can  on  the  spot.  A  variety  of  beautiful 
insects  basked  on  the  foliage  where  stray  gleams  of  sunlight 
glanced  through  the  canopy  of  broad  soft-green  leaves,  and 
numbers  of  an  elegant,  long-legged  tiger-beetle  (Odontocheila 
egregia)  ran  and  flew  about  over  the  herbage. 

We  left  this  place  on  the  8th  of  January,  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  9th,  arrived  at  Matari,  a  miserable  little  settlement  of 
Mura  Indians.  Here  we  again  anchored  and  went  ashore.  The 
place  consisted  of  about  twenty  slightly-built  mud-hovels,  and 
had  a  most  forlorn  appearance,  notwithstanding  the  luxuriant 
forest  in  its  rear.  A  horde  of  these  Indians  settled  here  many 
years  ago,  on  the  site  of  an  abandoned  missionary  station,  and 
the  government  had  lately  placed  a  resident  director  over  them, 
with  the  intention  of  bringing  the  hitherto  intractable  savages 
under  authority.  This,  however,  seemed  to  promise  no  other 
result  than  that  of  driving  them  to  their  old  solitary  haunts 
on  the  banks  of  the  interior  waters,  for  many  families  had 
already  withdrawn  themselves.  The  absence  of  the  usual 
cultivated  trees  and  plants  gave  the  place  a  naked  and  poverty- 
stricken  aspect.  I  entered  one  of  the  hovels  where  several 
women  were  employed  cooking  a  meal.  Portions  of  a  large 
fish  were  roasting  over  a  fire  made  in  the  middle  of  the  low 
chamber,  and  the  entrails  were  scattered  about  the  floor,  on 
which  the  women  with  their  children  were  squatted.  These 
had  a  timid,  distrustful  expression  of  countenance,  and  their 
bodies  were  begrimed  with  black  mud,  which  is  smeared  over 
the  skin  as  a  protection  against  mosquitoes.  The  children 
were  naked,  the  women  wore  petticoats  of  coarse  cloth,  ragged 
round  the  edges,  and  stained  in  blotches  with  murixi,  a  dye 
made  from  the  bark  of  a  tree.  One  of  them  wore  a  necklace 
of  monkey's  teeth.  There  were  scarcely  any  household  utensils ; 
the  place  was  bare  with  the  exception  of  two  dirty  grass 
hammocks  hung  in  the  corners.  I  missed  the  usual  mandioca 
sheds  behind  the  house,  with  their  surrounding  cotton,  cacao, 
coffee,  and  lemon  trees.  Two  or  three  young  men  of  the  tribe 
were  lounging  about  the  low  open  doorway.  They  were  stoutly- 
built  fellows,  but  less  well-proportioned  than  the  semi-civilised 
Indians  of  the  Lower  Amazons  generally  are.  Their  breadth 
of  chest  was  remarkable,  and  their  arms  were  wonderfully 
thick  and  muscular.  The  legs  appeared  short  in  proportion  to 
the  trunk;  the  expression  of  their  countenances  was  unmis- 
takably more  sullen  and  brutal,  and  the  skin  of  a  darker  hue, 


170      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

than  is  common  in  the  Brazilian  red  man.  Before  we  left  the 
hut,  an  old  couple  came  in;  the  husband  carrying  his  paddle, 
bow,  arrows,  and  harpoon,  the  woman  bent  beneath  the  weight 
of  a  large  basket  filled  with  palm  fruits.  The  man  was  of  low 
stature  and  had  a  wild  appearance  from  the  long  coarse  hair 
which  hung  over  his  forehead.  Both  his  lips  were  pierced  with 
holes,  as  is  usual  with  the  older  Muras  seen  on  the  river.  They 
used  formerly  to  wear  tusks  of  the  wild  hog  in  these  holes 
whenever  they  went  out  to  encounter  strangers  or  their  enemies 
in  war.  The  gloomy  savagery,  filth,  and  poverty  of  the  people 
in  this  place  made  me  feel  quite  melancholy,  and  I  was  glad 
to  return  to  the  canoe.  They  offered  us  no  civilities;  they  did 
not  even  pass  the  ordinary  salutes,  which  all  the  semi-civilised 
and  many  savage  Indians  proffer  on  a  first  meeting.  The  men 
persecuted  Penna  for  cashaca,  which  they  seemed  to  consider 
the  only  good  thing  the  white  man  brings  with  him.  As  they 
had  nothing  whatever  to  give  in  exchange,  Penna  declined  to 
supply  them.  They  followed  us  as  we  descended  to  the  port, 
becoming  very  troublesome  when  about  a  dozen  had  collected 
together.  They  brought  their  empty  bottles  with  them  and 
promised  fish  and  turtle,  if  we  would  only  trust  them  first  with 
the  coveted  aguardente,  or  cau-im,  as  they  called  it.  Penna 
was  inexorable:  he  ordered  the  crew  to  weigh  anchor,  and  the 
disappointed  savages  remained  hooting  after  us  with  all  their 
might  from  the  top  of  the  bank  as  we  glided  away. 

The  Muras  have  a  bad  reputation  all  over  this  part  of  the 
Amazons,  the  semi-civilised  Indians  being  quite  as  severe  upon 
them  as  the  white  settlers.  Every  one  spoke  of  them  as  lazy, 
thievish,  untrustworthy,  and  cruel.  They  have  a  greater  re- 
pugnance than  any  other  class  of  Indians  to  settled  habits, 
regular  labour,  and  the  service  of  the  whites;  their  distaste,  in 
fact,  to  any  approximation  towards  civilised  life  is  invincible. 
Yet  most  of  these  faults  are  only  an  exaggeration  of  the  funda- 
mental defects  of  character  in  the  Brazilian  red  man.  There  is 
nothing,  I  think,  to  show  that  the  Muras  had  a  different  origin 
from  the  nobler  agricultural  tribes  belonging  to  the  Tupi  nation, 
to  some  of  whom  they  are  close  neighbours,  although  the  very 
striking  contrast  in  their  characters  and  habits  would  suggest 
the  conclusion  that  their  origin  had  been  different,  in  the  same 
way  as  the  Semangs  of  Malacca,  for  instance,  with  regard  to 
the  Malays.  They  are  merely  an  offshoot  from  them,  a  number 
of  segregated  hordes  becoming  degraded  by  a  residence  most 
likely  of  very  many  centuries  in  Ygapo  lands,  confined  to  a  fish 


Obydos  to  Manaos  171 

diet,  and  obliged  to  wander  constantly  in  search  of  food.  Those 
tribes  which  are  supposed  to  be  more  nearly  related  to  the  Tupis 
are  distinguished  by  their  settled  agricultural  habits,  their  living 
in  well-constructed  houses,  their  practice  of  many  arts,  such  as 
the  manufacture  of  painted  earthenware,  weaving,  and  their 
general  custom  of  tattooing,  social  organisation,  obedience  to 
chiefs,  and  so  forth.  The  Muras  have  become  a  nation  of 
nomade  fishermen,  ignorant  of  agriculture  and  all  other  arts 
practised  by  their  neighbours.  They  do  not  build  substantial 
and  fixed  dwellings,  but  live  in  separate  families  or  small  hordes, 
wandering  from  place  to  place  along  the  margins  of  those  rivers 
and  lakes  which  most  abound  in  fish  and  turtle.  At  each 
resting-place  they  construct  temporary  huts  at  the  edge  of 
the  stream,  shifting  them  higher  or  lower  on  the  banks,  as  the 
waters  advance  or  recede.  Their  canoes  originally  were  made 
simply  of  the  thick  bark  of  trees,  bound  up  into  a  semi- 
cylindrical  shape  by  means  of  woody  lianas;  these  are  now 
rarely  seen,  as  most  families  possess  montarias,  which  they  have 
contrived  to  steal  from  the  settlers  from  time  to  time.  Their 
food  is  chiefly  fish  and  turtle,  which  they  are  very  expert  in 
capturing.  It  is  said  by  their  neighbours  that  they  dive  after 
turtles,  and  succeed  in  catching  them  by  the  legs,  which  I 
believe  is  true  in  the  shallow  lakes  where  turtles  are  imprisoned 
in  the  dry  season.  They  shoot  fish  with  bow  and  arrow,  and 
have  no  notion  of  any  other  method  of  cooking  it  than  by 
roasting.  It  is  not  quite  clear  whether  the  whole  tribe  were 
originally  quite  ignorant  of  agriculture;  as  some  families  on 
the  banks  of  the  streams  behind  Villa  Nova,  who  could  scarcely 
have  acquired  the  art  in  recent  times,  plant  mandioca;  but,  as 
a  general  rule,  the  only  vegetable  food  used  by  the  Muras  is 
bananas  and  wild  fruits.  The  original  home  of  this  tribe  was 
the  banks  of  the  Lower  Madeira.  It  appears  they  were  hostile 
to  the  European  settlers  from  the  beginning;  plundering  their 
sitios,  waylaying  their  canoes,  and  massacring  all  who  fell  into 
their  power.  About  fifty  years  ago  the  Portuguese  succeeded 
in  turning  the  warlike  propensities  of  the  Mundurucus  against 
them;  and  these,  in  the  course  of  many  years'  persecution, 
greatly  weakened  the  power  of  the  tribe,  and  drove  a  great  part 
of  them  from  their  seats  on  the  banks  of  the  Madeira.  The 
Muras  are  now  scattered  in  single  hordes  and  families  over  a 
wide  extent  of  country  bordering  the  main  river  from  Villa 
Nova  to  Catua,  near  Ega,  a  distance  of  800  miles.  Since  the 
disorders  of  1835-6,  when  they  committed  great  havoc  amongst 


172 


The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


the  peaceable  settlements  from  Santarem  to  the  Rio  Negro,  and 
were  pursued  and  slaughtered  in  great  numbers  by  the  Mun- 
durucus  in  alliance  with  the  Brazilians,  they  have  given  no 
serious  trouble. 

There  is  one  curious  custom  of  the  Muras  which  requires 
noticing  before  concluding  this  digression;  this  is  the  practice 
of  snuff-taking  with  peculiar  ceremonies.  The  snuff  is  called 
Parica,  and  is  a  highly  stimulating  powder,  made  from  the 
seeds  of  a  species  of  Inga,  belonging  to  the  Leguminous  order 
of  plants.  The  seeds  are  dried  in  the  sun,  pounded  in  wooden 
mortars,  and  kept  in  bamboo  tubes.  When  they  are  ripe,  and 
the  snuff-making  season  sets  in,  they  have  a  fuddling-bout, 
lasting  many  days,  which  the  Brazilians  call  a  Quarentena,  and 
which  forms  a  kind  of  festival  of  a  semi-religious  character. 
They  begin  by  drinking  large  quantities  of  caysuma  and  cashiri, 
fermented  drinks  made  of  various  fruits  and  mandioca,  but 
they  prefer  cashaca,  or  rum,  when  they  can  get  it.  In  a  short 
time  they  drink  themselves  into  a  soddened  semi-intoxicated 
state,  and  then  commence  taking  the  Parica.  For  this  purpose 
they  pair  off,  and  each  of  the  partners,  taking  a  reed  containing 
a  quantity  of  the  snuff,  after  going  through  a  deal  of  unintel- 
ligible mummery,  blows  the  contents  with  all  his  force  into  the 
nostrils  of  his  companion.  The  effect  on  the  usually  dull  and 
taciturn  savages  is  wonderful;  they  become  exceedingly  talka- 
tive, sing,  shout,  and  leap  about  in  the  wildest  excitement. 
A  reaction  soon  follows;  more  drinking  is  then  necessary  to 
rouse  them  from  their  stupor,  and  thus  they  carry  on  for  many 
days  in  succession.  The  Mauhes  also  use  the  Parica,  although 
it  is  not  known  amongst  their  neighbours  the  Mundurucus. 
Their  manner  of  taking  it  is  very  different  from  that  of  the 
swinish  Muras,  it  being  kept  in  the  form  of  a  paste,  and 
employed  chiefly  as  a  preventive  against  ague  in  the  months 
between  the  dry  and  wet  seasons,  when  the  disease  prevails. 
When  a  dose  is  required,  a  small  quantity  of  the  paste  is  dried 
and  pulverised  on  a  flat  shell,  and  the  powder  then  drawn  up 
into  both  nostrils  at  once  through  two  vulture  quills  secured 
together  by  cotton  thread.  The  use  of  Parica  was  found  by 
the  early  travellers  amongst  the  Omaguas,  a  section  of  the 
Tupis  who  formerly  lived  on  the  Upper  Amazons,  a  thousand 
miles  distant  from  the  homes  of  the  Mauhes  and  Muras.  This 
community  of  habits  is  one  of  those  facts  which  support  the 
view  of  the  common  origin  and  near  relationship  of  the 
Amazonian  Indians. 


Obydos  to  Manaos  173 

After  leaving  Matari,  we  continued  our  voyage  along  the 
northern  shore.  The  banks  of  the  river  were  of  moderate 
elevation  during  several  days'  journey;  the  terra  firma  lying 
far  in  the  interior,  and  the  coast  being  either  lowland  or 
masked  with  islands  of  alluvial  formation.  *  On  the  14th  we 
passed  the  upper  mouth  of  the  Parana-mirim  de  Eva,  an  arm 
of  the  river  of  small  breadth,  formed  by  a  straggling  island 
some  ten  miles  in  length,  lying  parallel  to  the  northern  bank. 
On  passing  the  western  end  of  this,  the  main  land  again 
appeared;  a  rather  high  rocky  coast,  clothed  with  a  magnifi- 
cent forest  of  rounded  outline,  which  continues  hence  for 
twenty  miles  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  forms  the 
eastern  shore  of  that  river.  Many  houses  of  settlers,  built  at  a 
considerable  elevation  on  the  wooded  heights,  now  enlivened 
the  river  banks.  One  of  the  first  objects  which  here  greeted 
us  was  a  beautiful  bird  we  had  not  hitherto  met  with,  namely, 
the  scarlet  and  black  tanager  (Ramphoccelus  nigrogularis), 
flocks  of  which  were  seen  sporting  about  the  trees  on  the  edge 
of  the  water,  their  flame-coloured  liveries  lighting  up  the 
masses  of  dark-green  foliage. 

The  weather,  from  the  14th  to  the  18th,  was  wretched;  it 
rained  sometimes  for  twelve  hours  in  succession,  not  heavily, 
but  in  a  steady  drizzle,  such  as  we  are  familiar  with  in  our 
English  climate.  We  landed  at  several  places  on  the  coast, 
Penna  to  trade  as  usual,  and  I  to  ramble  in  the  forest  in  search 
of  birds  and  insects.  In  one  spot  the  wooded  slope  enclosed 
a  very  picturesque  scene:  a  brook,  flowing  through  a  ravine 
in  the  high  bank,  fell  in  many  little  cascades  to  the  broad 
river  beneath,  its  margins  decked  out  with  an  infinite  variety 
of  beautiful  plants.  Wild  bananas  arched  over  the  water- 
course, and  the  trunks  of  the  trees  in  its  vicinity  were  clothed 
with  ferns,  large-leaved  species  belonging  to  the  genus  Lygo- 
dium,  which,  like  Osmunda,  have  their  spore-cases  collected 
together  on  contracted  leaves.  On  the  18th,  we  arrived  at  a 
large  fazenda  (plantation  and  cattle  farm),  called  Jatuarana. 
A  rocky  point  here  projects  into  the  stream,  and  as  we  found 
it  impossible  to  stem  the  strong  current  which  whirled  round  it, 
we  crossed  over  to  the  southern  shore.  Canoes,  in  approaching 
the  Rio  Negro,  generally  prefer  the  southern  side  on  account 
of  the  slackness  of  the  current  near  the  banks.  Our  progress, 
however,  was  most  tediously  slow,  for  the  regular  east  wind 
had  now  entirely  ceased,  and  the  vento  de  cima  or  wind  from 
up  river,  having  taken  its  place,  blew  daily  for  a  few  hours 


174      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

dead  against  us.  The  weather  was  oppressively  close,  and 
every  afternoon  a  squall  arose,  which,  however,  as  it  came 
from  the  right  quarter  and  blew  for  an  hour  or  two,  was  very 
welcome.  We  made  acquaintance  on  this  coast  with  a  new 
insect  pest,  the  Pium,  a  minute  fly,  two  thirds  of  a  line  in 
length,  which  here  commences  its  reign,  and  continues  hence- 
forward as  a  terrible  scourge  along  the  upper  river,  or  Soli- 
moens,  to  the  end  of  the  navigation  on  the  Amazons.  It  comes 
forth  only  by  day,  relieving  the  mosquito  at  sunrise  with  the 
greatest  punctuality,  and  occurs  only  near  the  muddy  shores 
of  the  stream,  not  one  ever  being  found  in  the  shade  of  the 
forest.  In  places  where  it  is  abundant  it  accompanies  canoes 
in  such  dense  swarms  as  to  resemble  thin  clouds  of  smoke.  It 
made  its  appearance  in  this  way  the  first  day  after  we  crossed 
the  river.  Before  I  was  aware  of  the  presence  of  flies,  I  felt 
a  slight  itching  on  my  neck,  wrist,  and  ankles,  and,  on  looking 
for  the  cause,  saw  a  number  of  tiny  objects  having  a  disgusting 
resemblance  to  lice,  adhering  to  the  skin.  This  was  my  intro- 
duction to  the  much-talked-of  Pium.  On  close  examination, 
they  are  seen  to  be  minute  two-winged  insects,  with  dark- 
coloured  body  and  pale  legs  and  wings,  the  latter  closed  length- 
wise over  the  back.  They  alight  imperceptibly,  and  squatting 
close,  fall  at  once  to  work;  stretching  forward  their  long  front 
legs,  which  are  in  constant  motion  and  seem  to  act  as  feelers, 
and  then  applying  their  short,  broad  snouts  to  the  skin.  Their 
abdomens  soon  become  distended  and  red  with  blood,  and  then, 
their  thirst  satisfied,  they  slowly  move  off,  sometimes  so  stupefied 
with  their  potations  that  they  can  scarcely  fly.  No  pain  is  felt 
whilst  they  are  at  work,  but  they  each  leave  a  small  circular 
raised  spot  on  the  skin  and  a  disagreeable  irritation.  The  latter 
may  be  avoided  in  great  measure  by  pressing  out  the  blood  which 
remains  in  the  spot;  but  this  is  a  troublesome  task  when  one 
has  several  hundred  punctures  in  the  course  of  a  day.  I  took 
the  trouble  to  dissect  specimens  to  ascertain  the  way  in  which 
the  little  pests  operate.  The  mouth  consists  of  a  pair  of  thick 
fleshy  lips,  and  two  triangular  horny  lancets,  answering  to  the 
upper  lip  and  tongue  of  other  insects.  This  is  applied  closely 
to  the  skin,  a  puncture  is  made  with  the  lancets,  and  the  blood 
then  sucked  through  between  these  into  the  oesophagus,  the 
circular  spot  which  results  coinciding  with  the  shape  of  the  lips. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  red  spots  dry  up,  and  the  skin 
in  time  becomes  blackened  with  the  endless  number  of  dis- 
coloured punctures  that  are  crowded  together.     The  irritation 


Obydos  to  Manaos  175 

they  produce  is  more  acutely  felt  by  some  persons  than  others. 
I  once  travelled  with  a  middle-aged  Portuguese,  who  was  laid 
up  for  three  weeks  from  the  attacks  of  Pium;  his  legs  being 
swelled  *>  an  enormous  size,  and  the  punctures  aggravated  into 
spreading  sores. 

A  brisk  wind  from  the  east  sprang  up  early  in  the  morning 
of  the  22nd:  we  then  hoisted  all  sail,  and  made  for  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Negro.  This  noble  stream  at  its  junction  with  the 
Amazons,  seems,  from  its  position,  to  be  a  direct  continuation 
of  the  main  river,  whilst  the  Solimoens  which  joins  at  an  angle 
and  is  somewhat  narrower  than  its  tributary,  appears  to  be  a 
branch  instead  of  the  main  trunk  of  the  vast  water-system. 
One  sees  therefore  at  once,  how  the  early  explorers  came  to 
give  a  separate  name  to  this  upper  part  of  the  Amazons.  The 
Brazilians  have  lately  taken  to  applying  the  convenient  term 
Alto  Amazonas  (High  or  Upper  Amazons)  to  the  Solimoens,  and 
it  is  probable  that  this  will  gradually  prevail  over  the  old 
name.  The  Rio  Negro  broadens  considerably  from  its  mouth 
upwards,  and  presents  the  appearance  of  a  great  lake ;  its  black- 
dyed  waters  having  no  current,  and  seeming  to  be  dammed  up 
by  the  impetuous  flow  of  the  yellow,  turbid  Solimoens,  which 
here  belches  forth  a  continuous  line  of  uprooted  trees  and 
patches  of  grass,  and  forms  a  striking  contrast  with  its  tribu- 
tary. In  crossing,  we  passed  the  line,  a  little  more  than  half- 
way over,  where  the  waters  of  the  two  rivers  meet  and  are 
sharply  demarcated  from  each  other.  On  reaching  the  opposite 
shore,  we  found  a  remarkable  change.  All  our  insect  pests  had 
disappeared,  as  if  by  magic,  even  from  the  hold  of  the  canoe: 
the  turmoil  of  an  agitated,  swiftly  flowing  river,  and  its  torn, 
perpendicular,  earthy  banks,  had  given  place  to  tranquil  water 
and  a  coast  indented  with  snug  little  bays,  fringed  with  sloping 
sandy  beaches.  The  low  shore  and  vivid  light  green,  endlessly- 
varied  foliage,  which  prevailed  on  the  south  side  of  the  Amazons, 
were  exchanged  for  a  hilly  country,  clothed  with  a  sombre, 
rounded,  and  monotonous  forest.  Our  tedious  voyage  now 
approached  its  termination;  a  light  wind  carried  us  gently 
along  the  coast  to  the  city  of  Barra,  which  lies  about  seven  or 
eight  miles  within  the  mouth  of  the  river.  We  stopped  for  an 
hour  in  a  clean  little  bay,  to  bathe  and  dress,  before  showing 
ourselves  again  among  civilised  people.  The  bottom  was 
visible  at  a  depth  of  six  feet,  the  white  sand  taking  a  brownish 
tinge  from  the  stained  but  clear  water.  In  the  evening  I  went 
ashore,  and  was  kindly  received  by  Senhor  Henriques  Antony, 


176      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

a  warm-hearted  Italian,  established  here  in  a  high  position  as 
merchant,  who  was  the  never-failing  friend  of  stray  travellers. 
He  placed  a  couple  of  rooms  at  my  disposal,  and  in  a  few  hours 
I  was  comfortably  settled  in  my  new  quarters,  sixty-rfour  days 
after  leaving  Obydos. 

The  town  of  Barra  is  built  on  a  tract  of  elevated,  but  very 
uneven  land,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  contained, 
in  1850,  about  3000  inhabitants.  There  was  originally  a  small 
fort  here,  erected  by  the  Portuguese  to  protect  their  slave- 
hunting  expeditions  amongst  the  numerous  tribes  of  Indians 
which  peopled  the  banks  of  the  river.  The  most  distinguished 
and  warlike  of  these  were  the  Manaos,  who  were  continually 
at  war  with  the  neighbouring  tribes,  and  had  the  custom  of 
enslaving  the  prisoners  made  during  their  predatory  expedi- 
tions. The  Portuguese  disguised  their  slave-dealing  motives 
under  the  pretext  of  ransoming  (resgatando)  these  captives; 
indeed,  the  term  resgatar  (to  ransom)  is  still  applied  by  the 
traders  on  the  Upper  Amazons  to  the  very  general,  but  illegal, 
practice  of  purchasing  Indian  children  of  the  wild  tribes.  The 
older  inhabitants  of  the  place  remember  the  time  when  many 
hundreds  of  these  captives  were  brought  down  by  a  single 
expedition.  In  1809,  Barra  became  the  chief  town  of  the  Rio 
Negro  district;  many  Portuguese  and  Brazilians  from  other 
provinces  then  settled  here;  spacious  houses  were  built,  and  it 
grew,  in  the  course  of  thirty  or  forty  years,  to  be,  next  to  San- 
tarem,  the  principal  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons. 
At  the  time  of  my  visit  it  was  on  the  decline,  in  consequence  of 
the  growing  distrust,  or  increased  cunning,  of  the  Indians,  who 
once  formed  a  numerous  and  the  sole  labouring  class,  but  having 
got  to  know  that  the  laws  protected  them  against  forced 
servitude,  were  rapidly  withdrawing  themselves  from  the  place. 
When  the  new  province  of  the  Amazons  was  established,  in 
1852,  Barra  was  chosen  as  the  capital,  and  was  then  invested 
with  the  appropriate  name  of  the  city  of  Manaos. 

The  situation  of  the  town  has  many  advantages;  the  climate 
is  healthy;  there  are  no  insect  pests;  the  soil  is  fertile  and 
capable  of  growing  all  kinds  of  tropical  produce  (the  coffee  of 
the  Rio  Negro,  especially,  being  of  very  superior  quality),  and 
it  is  near  the  fork  of  two  great  navigable  rivers.  The  imagina- 
tion becomes  excited  when  one  reflects  on  the  possible  future 
of  this  place,  situated  near  the  centre  of  the  equatorial  part  of 
■South  America,  in  the  midst  of  a  region  almost  as  large  as 


Obydos  to  Manaos  177 

Europe,  every  inch  of  whose  soil  is  of  the  most  exuberant 
fertility,  and  having  water  communication  on  one  side  with 
the  Atlantic,  and  on  the  other  with  the  Spanish  republics  of 
Venezuela,  New  Granada,  Ecuador,  Peru,  and  Bolivia.  Barra 
is  now  the  principal  station  for  the  lines  of  steamers  which 
were  established  in  1853,  and  passengers  and  goods  are  tran- 
shipped here  for  the  Solimoens  and  Peru.  A  steamer  runs 
once  a  fortnight  between  Para  and  Barra,  and  a  bi-monthly  one 
plies  between  this  place  and  Nauta  in  the  Peruvian  territory. 
The  steam-boat  company  is  supported  by  a  large  annual  grant, 
about  £50,000  sterling,  from  the  imperial  government.  Barra 
was  formerly  a  pleasant  place  of  residence,  but  it  is  now  in  a 
most  wretched  plight,  suffering  from  a  chronic  scarcity  of  the 
most  necessary  articles  of  food.  The  attention  of  the  settlers 
was  formerly  devoted  almost  entirely  to  the  collection  of  the 
spontaneous  produce  of  the  forests  and  rivers;  agriculture  was 
consequently  neglected,  and  now  the  neighbourhood  does  not 
produce  even  mandioca-meal  sufficient  for  its  own  consumption. 
Many  of  the  most  necessary  articles  of  food,  besides  all  luxuries, 
come  from  Portugal,  England,  and  North  America.  A  few 
bullocks  are  brought  now  and  then  from  Obydos,  500  miles 
off,  the  nearest  place  where  cattle  are  reared  in  any  numbers, 
and  these  furnish  at  long  intervals  a  supply  of  fresh  beef,  but 
this  is  generally  monopolised  by  the  families  of  government 
officials.  Fowls,  eggs,  fresh  fish,  turtles,  vegetables,  and  fruit, 
were  excessively  scarce  and  dear  in  1859,  when  I  again  visited 
the  place;  for  instance,  six  or  seven  shillings  were  asked  for  a 
poor  lean  fowl,  and  eggs  were  twopence-halfpenny  a  piece.  In 
fact,  the  neighbourhood  produces  scarcely  anything;  the  pro- 
vincial government  is  supplied  with  the  greater  part  of  its 
funds  from  the  treasury  of  Para;  its  revenue,  which  amounts  to 
about  fifty  contos  of  reis  (£5600),  derived  from  export  taxes  on 
the  produce  of  the  entire  province,  not  sufficing  for  more  than 
about  one-fifth  of  its  expenditure.  The  population  of  the  pro- 
vince of  the  Amazons,  according  to  a  census  taken  in  1858,  is 
55,000  souls;  the  municipal  district  of  Barra,  which  comprises 
a  large  area  around  the  capital,  containing  only  4500  inhabit- 
ants. For  the  government,  however,  of  this  small  number  of 
people,  an  immense  staff  of  officials  is  gathered  together  in  the 
capital,  and,  notwithstanding  the  endless  number  of  trivial 
formalities  which  Brazilians  employ  in  every  small  detail  of 
administration,  these  have  nothing  to  do  the  greater  part  of 
their  time.     None  of  the  people  who  flocked  to  Barra  on  the 


178      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

establishment  of  the  new  government,  seemed  to  care  about  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  raising  of  food,  although  these 
would  have  been  most  profitable  speculations.  The  class  of 
Portuguese  who  emigrate  to  Brazil  seem  to  prefer  petty  trading 
to  the  honourable  pursuit  of  agriculture.  If  the  English  are  a 
nation  of  shopkeepers,  what  are  we  to  say  of  the  Portuguese? 
I  counted  in  Barra  one  store  for  every  five  dwelling-houses. 
These  stores,  or  tavernas,  have  often  not  more  than  fifty  pounds' 
worth  of  goods  for  their  whole  stock,  and  the  Portuguese  owners, 
big  lusty  fellows,  stand  all  day  behind  their  dirty  counters  for 
the  sake  of  selling  a  few  coppers'  worth  of  liquors,  or  small 
wares.  These  men  all  give  the  same  excuse  for  not  applying 
themselves  to  agriculture,  namely,  that  no  hands  can  be 
obtained  to  work  on  the  soil.  Nothing  can  be  done  with 
Indians;  indeed,  they  are  fast  leaving  the  neighbourhood 
altogether,  and  the  importation  of  negro  slaves,  in  the  present 
praiseworthy  temper  of  the  Brazilian  mind,  is  out  of  the 
question.  The  problem,  how  to  obtain  a  labouring  class  for  a 
new  and  tropical  country,  without  slavery,  has  to  be  solved 
before  this  glorious  region  can  become  what  its  delightful  climate 
and  exuberant  fertility  fit  it  for — the  abode  of  a  numerous, 
civilised,  and  happy  people. 

I  found  at  Barra  my  companion,  Mr.  Wallace,  who,  since  our 
joint  Tocantins  expedition,  had  been  exploring,  partly  with  his 
brother,  lately  arrived  from  England,  the  north-eastern  coast 
of  Marajo,  the  river  Capim  (a  branch  of  the  Guama,  near  Para), 
Monte  Alegre,  and  Santarem.  He  had  passed  us  by  night 
below  Serpa,  on  his  way  to  Barra,  and  so  had  arrived  about 
three  weeks  before  me.  Besides  ourselves,  there  were  half-a- 
dozen  other  foreigners  here  congregated, — Englishmen,  Germans, 
and  Americans;  one  of  them  a  Natural  History  collector,  the 
rest  traders  on  the  rivers.  In  the  pleasant  society  of  these, 
and  of  the  family  of  Senhor  Henriques,  we  passed  a  delightful 
time ;  the  miseries  of  our  long  river  voyagesVere  soon  forgotten, 
and  in  two  or  three  weeks  we  began  to  talk  of  further  explora- 
tions. Meantime  we  had  almost  daily  rambles  in  the  neigh- 
bouring forest.  The  whole  surface  of  the  land  down  to  the 
water's  edge  is  covered  by  the  uniform  dark-green  rolling 
forest,  the  caa-apoam  (convex  woods)  of  the  Indians,  charac- 
teristic of  the  Rio  Negro.  This  clothes  also  the  extensive  areas 
of  lowland,  which  are  flooded  by  the  river  in  the  rainy  season. 
The  olive-brown  tinge  of  the  water  seems  to  be  derived  from 


Obydos  to  Manaos  179 

the  saturation  in  it  of  the  dark  green  foliage  during  these  annual 
inundations.  The  great  contrast  in  form  and  colour  between 
the  forest  of  the  Rio  Negro  and  those  of  the  Amazons  arises 
from  the  predominance  in  each  of  different  families  of  plants. 
On  the  main  river,  palms  of  twenty  or  thirty  different  species 
form  a  great  proportion  of  the  mass  of  trees;  whilst  on  the 
Rio  Negro  they  play  a  very  subordinate  part.  The  charac- 
teristic kind  in  the  latter  region  is  the  Jara  (Leopoldinia  pulchra), 
a  species  not  found  on  the  margins  of  the  Amazons,  which  has 
a  scanty  head  of  fronds  with  narrow  leaflets  of  the  same  dark 
green  hue  as  the  rest  of  the  forest.  The  stem  is  smooth,  and 
about  two  inches  in  diameter;  its  height  is  not  more  than 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet;  it  does  not,  therefore,  rise  amongst  the 
masses  of  foliage  of  the  exogenous  trees,  so  as  to  form  a  feature 
in  the  landscape,  like  the  broad-leaved  Murumuru  and  Urucuri, 
the  slender  Assai,  the  tall  Jauari,  and  the  fan-leaved  Muriti  of 
the  banks  of  the  Amazons.  On  the  shores  of  the  main  river  the 
mass  of  the  forest  is  composed,  besides  palms,  of  Leguminosse, 
or  trees  of  the  bean  family,  in  endless  variety  as  to  height,  shape 
of  foliage,  flowers,  and  fruit;  of  silk-cotton  trees,  colossal  nut- 
trees  (Lecythideae),  and  Cecropiae;  the  underwood  and  water- 
frontage  consisting  in  great  part  of  broad-leaved  Musaceae, 
Marantaceae,  and  succulent  grasses:  all  of  which  are  of  light 
shades  of  green.  The  forests  of  the  Rio  Negro  are  almost 
destitute  of  these  large-leaved  plants  and  grasses,  which  give 
so  rich  an  appearance  to  the  vegetation  wherever  they  grow; 
the  margins  of  the  stream  being  clothed  with  bushes  or  low 
trees,  having  the  same  gloomy  monotonous  aspect  as  the  man- 
groves of  the  shores  of  creeks  near  the  Atlantic.  The  uniformly 
small  but  elegantly-leaved  exogenous  trees,  which  constitute 
the  mass  of  the  forest,  consist  in  great  part  of  members  of  the 
Laurel,  Myrtle,  Bignoniaceous,  and  Rubiaceous  orders.  The 
soil  is  generally  a  stiff  loam,  whose  chief  component  part  is 
the  Tabatinga  clay,  which  also  forms  low  cliffs  on  the  coast 
in  some  places,  where  it  overlies  strata  of  coarse  sandstone. 
This  kind  of  soil  and  the  same  geological  formation  prevail, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  many  places  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons, 
so  that  the  great  contrast  in  the  forest-clothing  of  the  two 
rivers  cannot  arise  from  this  cause. 

The  forest  was  very  pleasant  for  rambling.  In  some  directions 
broad  pathways  led  down  gentle  slopes,  through  what  one 
might  fancy  were  interminable  shrubberies  of  evergreens,  to 
moist  hollows  where  springs  of  water  bubbled  up,  or  shallow 


180      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

brooks  ran  over  their  beds  of  clean  white  sand.  '  But  the  most 
beautiful  road  was  one  that  ran  through  the  heart  of  the  forest 
to  a  waterfall,  which  the  citizens  of  Barra  consider  as  the  chief 
natural  curiosity  of  their  neighbourhood.  The  waters  of  one 
of  the  larger  rivulets  which  traverse  the  gloomy  wilderness, 
here  fall  over  a  ledge  of  rock  about  ten  feet  high.  It  is  not 
the  cascade  itself,  but  the  noiseless  solitude,  and  the  marvellous 
diversity  and  richness  of  trees,  foliage,  and  flowers,  encircling 
the  water  basin,  that  form  the  attraction  of  the  place.  Families 
make  picnic  excursions  to  this  spot;  and  the  gentlemen — it  is 
said  the  ladies  also — spend  the  sultry  hours  of  midday  bathing 
in  the  cold  and  bracing  waters.  The  place  is  classic  ground  to 
the  Naturalist  from  having  been  a  favourite  spot  with  the 
celebrated  travellers  Spix  and  Martius,  during  their  stay  at 
Barra  in  1820.  Von  Martius  was  so  much  impressed  by  its 
magical  beauty  that  he  commemorated  the  visit  by  making  a 
sketch  of  the  scenery  serve  as  background  in  one  of  the  plates 
of  his  great  work  on  the  palms. 

Birds  and  insects,  however,  were  scarce  amidst  these  charm- 
ing sylvan  scenes.  I  have  often  traversed  the  whole  distance 
from  Barra  to  the  waterfall,  about  two  miles  by  the  forest  road, 
without  seeing  or  hearing  a  bird,  or  meeting  with  so  many  as  a 
score  of  Lepidopterous  and  Coleopterous  insects.  In  the  thinner 
woods  near  the  borders  of  the  forest  many  pretty  little  blue  and 
green  creepers  of  the  Dacnida?  group,  were  daily  seen  feeding 
on  berries;  and  a  few  very  handsome  birds  occurred  in  the 
forest.  But  the  latter  were  so  rare  that  we  could  obtain  them 
only  by  employing  a  native  hunter,  who  used  to  spend  a  whole 
day,  and  go  a  great  distance  to  obtain  two  or  three  specimens. 
In  this  way  I  obtained,  amongst  others,  specimens  of  the  Trogon 
pavoninus  (the  Suruqua  grande  of  the  natives),  a  most  beautiful 
creature,  having  soft  golden  green  plumage,  red  breast,  and  an 
orange-coloured  beak;  also  the  Ampelis  Pompadoura,  a  rich 
glossy-purple  chatterer  with  wings  of  a  snowy-white  hue. 

After  we  had  rested  some  weeks  in  Barra,  we  arranged  our 
plans  for  further  explorations  in  the  interior  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Wallace  chose  the  Rio  Negro  for  his  next  trip,  and  I  agreed 
to  take  the  Solimoens.  My  colleague  has  already  given  to  the 
world  an  account  of  his  journey  on  the  Rio  Negro,  and  his 
adventurous  ascent  of  its  great  tributary  the  Uapes.  I  left 
Barra  for  Ega,  the  first  town  of  any  importance  on  the  Soli- 
moens, on  the  26th  of  March,  1850.  The  distance  is  nearly 
400  miles,  which  we  accomplished  in  a  small  cuberta,  manned 


Obydos  to  Manaos  181 

by  ten  stout  Cucama  Indians,  in  thirty-five  days.  On  this 
occasion,  I  spent  twelve  months  in  the  upper  region  of  the 
Amazons;  circumstances  then  compelled  me  to  return  to  Para. 
I  revisited  the  same  country  in  1855,  and  devoted  three  years 
and  a  half  to  a  fuller  exploration  of  its  natural  productions. 
The  results  of  both  journeys  will  be  given  together  in  subse- 
quent chapters  of  this  work;  in  the  meantime,  I  will  proceed 
to  give  an  account  of  Santarem  and  the  river  Tapajos,  whose 
neighbourhoods  I  investigated  in  the  years  1851-4. 

A  few  words  on  my  visit  to  Para  in  1851,  may  be  here 
introduced.  I  descended  the  river  from  Ega  to  the  capital,  a 
distance  of  1400  miles,  in  a  heavily-laden  schooner  belonging  to 
a  trader  of  the  former  place.  The  voyage  occupied  no  less  than 
twenty-nine  days,  although  we  were  favoured  by  the  powerful 
currents  of  the  rainy  season.  The  hold  of  the  vessel  was  filled 
with  turtle  oil  contained  in  large  jars,  the  cabin  was  crammed 
with  Brazil  nuts,  and  a  great  pile  of  sarsaparilla,  covered  with 
a  thatch  of  palm  leaves,  occupied  the  middle  of  the  deck.  We 
had,  therefore,  (the  master  and  two  passengers)  but  rough 
accommodation,  having  to  sleep  on  deck,  exposed  to  the  wet  and 
stormy  weather,  under  little  toldos  or  arched  shelters,  arranged 
with  mats  of  woven  lianas  and  maranta  leaves.  I  awoke  many 
a  morning  with  clothes  and  bedding  soaked  through  with  the 
rain.  With  the  exception,  however,  of  a  slight  cold  at  the 
commencement,  I  never  enjoyed  better  health  than  during  this 
journey.  When  the  wind  blew  from  up  river  or  off  the  land, 
we  sped  away  at  a  great  rate;  but  it  was  often  squally  from 
those  quarters,  and  then  it  was  not  safe  to  hoist  the  sails.  The 
weather  was  generally  calm,  a  motionless  mass  of  leaden  clouds 
covering  the  sky,  and  the  broad  expanse  of  waters  flowing 
smoothly  down  with  no  other  motion  than  the  ripple  of  the 
current.  When  the  wind  came  from  below,  we  tacked  down 
the  stream;  sometimes  it  blew  very  strong,  and  then  the 
schooner,  having  the  wind  abeam,  laboured  through  the  waves, 
shipping  often  heavy  seas  which  washed  everything  that  was 
loose  from  one  side  of  the  deck  to  the  other. 

On  arriving  at  Para,  I  found  the  once  cheerful  and  healthy 
city  desolated  by  two  terrible  epidemics.  The  yellow  fever, 
which  visited  the  place  the  previous  year  (1850)  for  the  first 
time  since  the  discovery  of  the  country,  still  lingered,  after 
having  carried  off  nearly  5  per  cent,  of  the  population.  The 
number  of  persons  who  were  attacked,  namely,  three-fourths 


1 82      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

of  the  entire  population,  showed  how  general  is  the  onslaught 
of  an  epidemic  on  its  first  appearance  in  a  place.  At  the  heels 
of  this  plague  came  the  smallpox.  The  yellow  fever  had  fallen 
most  severely  on  the  whites  and  mamelucos,  the  negroes  wholly 
escaping;  but  the  smallpox  attacked  more  especially  the 
Indians,  negroes,  and  people  of  mixed  colour,  sparing  the  whites 
almost  entirely,  and  taking  off  about  a  twentieth  part  of  the 
population  in  the  course  of  the  four  months  of  its  stay.  I 
heard  many  strange  accounts  of  the  yellow  fever.  I  believe 
Para  was  the  second  port  in  Brazil  attacked  by  it.  The  news 
of  its  ravages  in  Bahia,  where  the  epidemic  first  appeared, 
arrived  some  few  days  before  the  disease  broke  out.  The 
government  took  all  the  sanitary  precautions  that  could  be 
thought  of;  amongst  the  rest  was  the  singular  one  of  firing 
cannon  at  the  street  corners,  to  purify  the  air.  Mr.  Norris, 
the  American  consul,  told  me,  the  first  cases  of  fever  occurred 
near  the  port,  and  that  it  spread  rapidly  and  regularly  from 
house  to  house,  along  the  streets  which  run  from  the  waterside 
to  the  suburbs,  taking  about  twenty-four  hours  to  reach  the  end. 
Some  persons  related  that  for  several  successive  evenings  before 
the  fever  broke  out  the  atmosphere  was  thick,  and  that  a  body 
of  murky  vapour,  accompanied  by  a  strong  stench,  travelled 
from  street  to  street.  This  moving  vapour  was  called  the 
"  Mai  da  peste  "  ("  the  mother  or  spirit  of  the  plague  ");  and 
it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  reason  them  out  of  the  belief  that 
this  was  the  forerunner  of  the  pestilence.  The  progress  of  the 
disease  was  very  rapid.  It  commenced  in  April,  in  the  middle 
of  the  wet  season.  In  a  few  days,  thousands  of  persons  lay 
sick,  dying  or  dead.  The  state  of  the  city  during  the  time  the 
fever  lasted,  may  be  easily  imagined.  Towards  the  end  of 
June  it  abated,  and  very  few  cases  occurred  during  the  dry 
season  from  July  to  December. 

As  I  said  before,  the  yellow  fever  still  lingered  in  the  place 
when  I  arrived  from  the  interior  in  April.  I  was  in  hopes  I 
should  escape  it,  but  was  not  so  fortunate;  it  seemed  to  spare 
no  new  comer.  At  the  time  I  fell  ill,  every  medical  man  in 
the  place  was  worked  to  the  utmost  in  attending  the  victims  of 
the^  other  epidemic;  it  was  quite  useless  to  think  of  obtaining 
their  aid,  so  I  was  obliged  to  be  my  own  doctor,  as  I  had  been 
in  many  former  smart  attacks  of  fever.  I  was  seized  with 
shivering  and  vomit  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Whilst  the 
people  of  the  house  went  down  to  the  town  for  the  medicines  I 
ordered,  I  wrapped  myself  in  a  blanket  and  walked  sharply  to 


Obydos  to  Manaos  183 

and  fro  along  the  verandah,  drinking  at  intervals  a  cup  of  warm 
tea,  made  of  a  bitter  herb  in  use  amongst  the  natives,  called 
Pajemarioba,  a  leguminous  plant  growing  in  all  waste  places. 
About  an  hour  afterwards,  I  took  a  good  draught  of  a  decoction 
of  elder  blossoms  as  a  sudorific,  and  soon  after  fell  insensible 
into  my  hammock.  Mr.  Philipps,  an  English  resident  with 
whom  I  was  then  lodging,  came  home  in  the  afternoon  and 
found  me  sound  asleep  and  perspiring  famously.  I  did  not 
wake  till  towards  midnight,  when  I  felt  very  weak  and  aching 
in  every  bone  of  my  body.  I  then  took  as  a  purgative,  a  small 
dose  of  Epsom  salts  and  manna.  In  forty-eight  hours  the  fever 
left  me,  and  in  eight  days  from  the  first  attack,  I  was  able  to 
get  about  my  work.  Little  else  happened  during  my  stay, 
which  need  be  recorded  here.  I  shipped  off  all  my  collections 
to  England,  and  received  thence  a  fresh  supply  of  funds.  It 
took  me  several  weeks  to  prepare  for  my  second  and  longest 
journey  into  the  interior.  My  plan  now  was  first  to  make 
Santarem  head-quarters  for  some  time,  and  ascend  from  that 
place  the  river  Tapajos,  as  far  as  practicable.  Afterwards  I 
intended  to  revisit  the  marvellous  country  of  the  Upper  Amazons, 
and  work  well  its  natural  history  at  various  stations  I  had  fixed 
upon,  from  Ega  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


S ANT ARE M 


Situation  of  Santarem — Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Inhabitants — 
Climate — Grassy  Campos  and  Woods — Excursions  to  Mapiri,  Mahica, 
and  Irura,  with  Sketches  of  their  Natural  History;  Palms,  wild 
Fruit-trees,  Mining  Wasps,  Mason  Wasps,  Bees,  and  Sloths 

I  have  already  given  a  short  account  of  the  size,  situation,  and 
general  appearance  of  Santarem.  Although  containing  not 
more  than  2500  inhabitants,  it  is  the  most  civilised  and  im- 
portant settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  main  river  from  Peru  to 
the  Atlantic.  The  pretty  little  town,  or  city  as  it  is  called, 
with  its  rows  of  tolerably  uniform,  white-washed  and  red-tiled 
houses  surrounded  by  green  gardens  and  woods,  stands  on 
gently  sloping  ground  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Tapajos,  close 
to  its  point  of  junction  with  the  Amazons.  A  small  eminence 
on  which  a  fort  has  been  erected,  but  which  is  now  in  a  dilapi- 
dated condition,  overlooks  the  streets,  and  forms  the  eastern 
limit  of  the  mouth  of  the  tributary.  The  Tapajos  at  Santarem 
is  contracted  to  a  breadth  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  by  an 
accretion  of  low  alluvial  land,  which  forms  a  kind  of  delta  on 
the  western  side;  fifteen  miles  further  up  the  river  is  seen  at 
its  full  width  of  ten  or  a  dozen  miles,  and  the  magnificent  hilly 
country,  through  which  it  flows  from  the  south,  is  then  visible 
on  both  shores.  This  high  land,  which  appears  to  be  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  central  table-lands  of  Brazil,  stretches  almost 
without  interruption  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  down  to 
its  mouth  at  Santarem.  The  scenery  as  well  as  the  soil,  vege- 
tation, and  animal  tenants  of  this  region,  are  widely  different 
from  those  of  the  flat  and  uniform  country  which  borders  the 
Amazons  along  most  part  of  its  course.  After  travelling  week 
after  week  on  the  main  river,  the  aspect  of  Santarem  with  its 
broad  white  sandy  beach,  limpid  dark-green  waters,  and  line  of 
picturesque  hills  rising  behind  over  the  fringe  of  green  forest, 
affords  an  agreeable  surprise.  On  the  main  Amazons,  the 
prospect  is  monotonous  unless  the  vessel  runs  near  the  shore, 
when  the  wonderful  diversity  and  beauty  of  the  vegetation 
afford  constant  entertainment.     Otherwise,  the  unvaried,  broad 

184 


Santarem  185 

yellow  stream,  and  the  long  low  line  of  forest,  which  dwindles 
away  in  a  broken  line  of  trees  on  the  sea-like  horizon  and  is 
renewed,  reach  after  reach,  as  the  voyages  advances,  weary  by 
their  uniformity. 

I  arrived  at  Santarem  on  my  second  journey  into  the  interior, 
in  November,  185 1,  and  made  it  my  head-quarters  for  a  period, 
as  it  turned  out,  of  three  years  and  a  half.  During  this  time 
I  made,  in  pursuance  of  the  plan  I  had  framed,  many  excursions 
up  the  Tapajos,  and  to  other  places  of  interest  in  the  surround- 
ing reigon.  On  landing,  I  found  no  difficulty  in  hiring  a  suitable 
house  on  the  outskirts  of  the  place.  It  was  pleasantly  situated 
near  the  beach,  going  towards  the  aldeia  or  Indian  part  of  the 
town.  The  ground  sloped  from  the  back  premises  down  to  the 
waterside,  and  my  little  raised  verandah  overlooked  a  beautiful 
flower-garden,  a  great  rarity  in  this  country,  which  belonged  to 
the  neighbours.  The  house  contained  only  three  rooms,  one 
with  brick  and  two  with  boarded  floors.  It  was  substantially 
built,  like  all  the  better  sort  of  houses  in  Santarem,  and  had  a 
stuccoed  front.  The  kitchen,  as  is  usual,  formed  an  outhouse 
placed  a  few  yards  distant  from  the  other  rooms.  The  rent 
was  12,000  reis,  or  about  twenty-seven  shillings  a  month.  In 
this  country,  a  tenant  has  no  extra  payments  to  make;  the 
owners  of  house  property  pay  a  dizimo  or  tithe,  to  the 
"  collectoria  geral,"  or  general  treasury,  but  with  this  the 
occupier  of  course  has  nothing  to  do.  In  engaging  servants, 
I  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with  a  free  mulatto,  an 
industrious  and  trustworthy  young  fellow,  named  Jose,  willing 
to  arrange  with  me;  the  people  of  his  family  cooking  for  us, 
whilst  he  assisted  me  in  collecting;  he  proved  of  the  greatest 
service  in  the  different  excursions  we  subsequently  made. 
Servants  of  any  kind  were  almost  impossible  to  be  obtained  at 
Santarem,  free  people  being  too  proud  to  hire  themselves,  and 
slaves  too  few  and  valuable  to  their  masters,  to  be  let  out  to 
others.  These  matters  arranged,  the  house  put  in  order,  and 
a  rude  table,  with  a  few  chairs,  bought  or  borrowed  to  furnish 
the  house  with,  I  was  ready  in  three  or  four  days  to  commence 
my  Natural  History  explorations  in  the  neighbourhood. 

I  found  Santarem  quite  a  different  sort  of  place  from  the 
other  settlements  on  the  Amazons.  At  Cameta,  the  lively, 
good-humoured,  and  plain-living  Mamelucos  formed  the  bulk 
of  the  population,  the  white  immigrants  there,  as  on  the  Rio 
Negro  and  Upper  Amazons,  seeming  to  have  fraternised  well 


1 86      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

with  the  aborigines.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Santarem  the 
Indians,  I  believe,  were  originally  hostile  to  the  Portuguese; 
at  any  rate,  the  blending  of  the  two  races  has  not  been  here  on 
a  large  scale.  I  did  not  find  the  inhabitants  the  pleasant,  easy- 
going, and  blunt-spoken  country  folk  that  are  met  with  in  other 
small  towns  of  the  interior.  The  whites,  Portuguese  and 
Brazilians,  are  a  relatively  more  numerous  class  here  than  in 
other  settlements,  and  make  great  pretensions  to  civilisation; 
they  are  the  merchants  and  shopkeepers  of  the  place;  owners 
of  slaves,  cattle  estates,  and  cacao  plantations.  Amongst  the 
principal  residents  must  also  be  mentioned  the  civil  and  military 
authorities,  who  are  generally  well-bred  and  intelligent  people 
from  other  provinces.  Few  Indians  live  in  the  place;  it  is 
too  civilised  for  them,  and  the  lower  class  is  made  up  (besides 
the  few  slaves)  of  half-breeds,  in  whose  composition  negro  blood 
predominates.  Coloured  people  also  exercise  the  different 
handicrafts;  the  town  supports  two  goldsmiths,  who  are  mulat- 
toes,  and  have  each  several  apprentices;  the  blacksmiths  are 
chiefly  Indians,  as  is  the  case  generally  throughout  the  province. 
The  manners  of  the  upper  class  (copied  from  those  of  Para)  are 
very  stiff  and  formal,  and  the  absence  of  the  hearty  hospitality 
met  with  in  other  places,  produces  a  disagreeable  impression  at 
first.  Much  ceremony  is  observed  in  the  intercourse  of  the 
principal  people  with  each  other,  and  with  strangers.  The 
best  room  in  each  house  is  set  apart  for  receptions,  and  visitors 
are  expected  to  present  themselves  in  black  dress  coats,  regard- 
less of  the  furious  heat  which  rages  in  the  sandy  streets  of 
Santarem  towards  mid-day,  the  hour  when  visits  are  generally 
made.  In  the  room  a  cane-bottomed  sofa  and  chairs,  all 
lacquered  and  gilded,  are  arranged  in  quadrangular  form,  and 
here  the  visitors  are  invited  to  seat  themselves,  whilst  the 
compliments  are  passed,  or  the  business  arranged.  In  taking 
leave,  the  host  backs  out  his  guests  with  repeated  bows,  finish- 
ing at  the  front  door.  Smoking  is  not  in  vogue  amongst  this 
class,  but  snuff-taking  is  largely  indulged  in,  and  great  luxury 
is  displayed  in  gold  and  silver  snuff-boxes.  All  the  gentlemen, 
and  indeed  most  of  the  ladies  also,  wear  gold  watches  and  guard 
chains.  Social  parties  are  not  very  frequent;  the  principal 
men  being  fully  occupied  with  their  business  and  families,  and 
the  rest  spending  their  leisure  in  billiard  and  gambling  rooms, 
leaving  wives  and  daughters  shut  up  at  home.  Occasionally, 
however,  one  of  the  principal  citizens  gives  a  ball.  In  the  first 
that  I  attended,  the  gentlemen  were  seated  all  the  evening  on 


Santarem  187 

one  side  of  the  room,  and  the  ladies  on  the  other,  and  partners 
were  allotted  by  means  of  numbered  cards,  distributed  by  a 
master  of  the  ceremonies.  But  the  customs  changed  rapidly  in 
these  matters  after  steamers  began  to  run  on  the  Amazons  (in 
1853),  bringing  a  flood  of  new  ideas  and  fashions  into  the 
country.  The  old,  bigoted,  Portuguese  system  of  treating 
women,  which  stifled  social  intercourse  and  wrought  endless 
evils  in  the  private  life  of  the  Brazilians,  is  now  being  gradually, 
although  slowly,  abandoned. 

The  religious  festivals  were  not  so  numerous  here  as  in  other 
towns,  and  such  as  did  take  place  were  very  poor  and  ill 
attended.  There  is  a  handsome  church,  but  the  vicar  showed 
remarkably  little  zeal  for  religion,  except  for  a  few  days  now 
and  then  when  the  Bishop  came  from  Para,  on  his  rounds 
through  the  diocese.  The  people  are  as  fond  of  holiday  making 
here  as  in  other  parts  of  the  province;  but  it  seemed  to  be  a 
growing  fashion  to  substitute  rational  amusements  for  the  pro- 
cessions and  mummeries  of  the  saints'  days.  The  young  folks 
are  very  musical,  the  principal  instruments  in  use  being  the 
flute,  violin,  Spanish  guitar,  and  a  small  four-stringed  viola, 
called  cavaquinho.  During  the  early  part  of  my  stay  at 
Santarem,  a  little  party  of  instrumentalists,  led  by  a  tall,  thin, 
ragged  mulatto,  who  was  quite  an  enthusiast  in  his  art,  used 
frequently  to  serenade  their  friends  in  the  cool  and  brilliant 
moonlit  evenings  of  the  dry  season,  playing  French  and  Italian 
marches  and  dance  music  with*  very  good  effect.  The  guitar 
was  the  favourite  instrument  with  both  sexes,  as  at  Para;  the 
piano,  however,  is  now  fast  superseding  it.  The  ballads  sung 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  guitar  were  not  learnt  from 
written  or  printed  music,  but  communicated  orally  from  one 
friend  to  another.  They  were  never  spoken  of  as  songs,  but 
modinhas,  or  "  little  fashions,"  each  of  which  had  its  day, 
giving  way  to  the  next  favourite  brought  by  some  young  fellow 
from  the  capital.  At  festival  times  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
masquerading,  in  which  all  the  people,  old  and  young,  white, 
negro,  and  Indian,  took  great  delight.  The  best  things  of  this 
kind  used  to  come  off  during  the  Carnival,  in  Easter  week,  and 
on  St.  John's  eve;  the  negroes  having  a  grand  semi-dramatic 
display  in  the  streets  at  Christmas  time.  The  more  select 
affairs  were  got  up  by  the  young  whites,  and  coloured  men 
associating  with  whites.  A  party  of  thirty  or  forty  of  these 
used  to  dress  themselves  in  uniform  style,  and  in  very  good 
taste,  as  cavaliers  and  dames,  each  disguised  with  a  peculiar 


1 88      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

kind  of  light  gauze  mask.  The  troop,  with  a  party  of  musicians, 
went  the  round  of  their  friends'  nouses  in  the  evening,  and 
treated  the  large  and  gaily-dressed  companies  which  were  there 
assembled  to  a  variety  of  dances.  The  principal  citizens,  in 
the  large  rooms  of  whose  houses  these  entertainments  were  given, 
seemed  quite  to  enjoy  them;  great  preparations  were  made  at 
each  place ;  and,  after  the  dance,  guests  and  masqueraders  were 
regaled  with  pale  ale  and  sweetmeats.  Once  a  year  the  Indians, 
with  whom  masked  dances  and  acting  are  indigenous,  had  their 
turn,  and  on  one  occasion  they  gave  us  a  great  treat.  They 
assembled  from  different  parts  of  the  neighbourhood  at  night, 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  then  marched  through  the 
streets  by  torchlight  towards  the  quarter  inhabited  by  the 
whites,  to  perform  their  hunting  and  devil  dances  before  the 
doors  of  the  principal  inhabitants.  There  were  about  a  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  in  the  procession.  Many  of  the  men 
were  dressed Jn  the  magnificent  feather  crowns,  tunics,  and  belts, 
manufactured  by  the  Mundurucus,  and  worn  by  them  on  festive 
occasions,  but  the  women  were  naked  to  the  waist,  and  the 
children  quite  naked,  and  all  were  painted  and  smeared  red  with 
anatto.  The  ringleader  enacted  the  part  of  the  Tushaua,  or 
chief,  and  carried  a  sceptre,  richly  decorated  with  the  orange, 
red,  and  green  feathers  of  toucans  and  parrots.  The  paje  or 
medicine-man  came  along,  puffing  at  a  long  tauari  cigar,  the 
instrument  by  which  he  professes  to  make  his  wonderful  cures. 
Others  blew  harsh  jarring  blasts  with  the  ture,  a  horn  made  of 
long  and  thick  bamboo,  with  a  split  reed  in  the  mouthpiece. 
This  is  the  war  trumpet  of  many  tribes  of  Indians,  with  which 
the  sentinels  of  predatory  hordes,  mounted  on  a  lofty  tree,  gave 
the  signal  for  attack  to  their  comrades.  Those  Brazilians  who 
are  old  enough  to  remember  the  times  of  warfare  between 
Indians  and  settlers,  retain  a  great  horror  of  the  ture,  its  loud 
harsh  note  heard  in  the  dead  of  the  night  having  been  often 
the  prelude  to  an  onslaught  of  bloodthirsty  Muras  on  the  out- 
lying settlements.  The  rest  of  the  men  in  the  procession  carried 
bows  and  arrows,  bunches  of  javelins,  clubs,  and  paddles.  The 
older  children  brought  with  them  the  household  pets;  some 
had  monkeys  or  coatis  on  their  shoulders,  and  others  bore 
tortoises  on,  their  heads.  The  squaws  carried  their  babies  in 
aturas,  or  large  baskets,  slung  on  their  backs,  and  secured  with 
a  broad  belt  of  bast  over  their  foreheads.  The  whole  thing  was 
accurate  in  its  representation  of  Indian  life,  and  showed  more 
ingenuity  than  some  people  give  the  Brazilian  red  man  credit 


Santarem  189 

for.    It  was  got  up  spontaneously  by  the  Indians,  and  simply 
to  amuse  the  people  of  the  place. 

The  people  seem  to  be  thoroughly  alive  to  the  advantages  of 
education  for  their  children.  Besides  the  usual  primary  schools, 
one  for  girls,  and  another  for  boys,  there  is  a  third  of  a  higher 
class,  where  Latin  and  French,  amongst  other  accomplishments, 
are  taught  by  professors,  who,  like  the  common  schoolmasters, 
are  paid  by  the  provincial  government.  This  is  used  as  a 
preparatory  school  to  the  Lyceum  and  Bishop's  seminary,  well- 
endowed  institutions  at  Para,  whither  it  is  the  ambition  of 
traders  and  planters  to  send  their  sons  to  finish  their  studies. 
The  rudiments  of  education  only  are  taught  in  the  primary 
schools,  and  it  is  surprising  how  quickly  and  well  the  little 
lads,  both  coloured  and  white,  learn  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  But  the  simplicity  of  the  Portuguese  language, 
which  is  written  as  it  is  pronounced,  or  according  to  unvarying 
rules,  and  the  use  of  the  decimal  system  of  accounts,  make 
these  acquirements  much  easier  than  they  are  with  us.  Students 
in  the  superior  school  have  to  pass  an  examination  before  they 
can  be  admitted  at  the  colleges  in  Para,  and  the  managers  once 
did  me  the  honour  to  make  me  one  of  the  examiners  for  the 
year.  The  performances  of  the  youths,  most  of  whom  were 
under  fourteen  years  of  age,  were  very  creditable,  especially  in 
grammar;  there  was  a  quickness  of  apprehension  displayed 
which  would  have  gladdened  the  heart  of  a  northern  school- 
master. The  course  of  study  followed  at  the  colleges  of  Para 
must  be  very  deficient;  for  it  is  rare  to  meet  with  an  educated 
Paraense  who  has  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  physical 
sciences,  or  even  of  geography,  if  he  has  not  travelled  out  of 
the  province.  The  young  men  all  become  smart  rhetoricians 
and  lawyers ;  any  of  them  is  ready  to  plead  in  a  law  case  at  an 
hour's  notice ;  they  are  also  great  at  statistics,  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  which  taste  there  is  ample  field  in  Brazil,  where  every 
public  officer  has  to  furnish  volumes  of  dry  reports  annually  to 
the  government;  but  they  are  wofully  ignorant  on  most  other 
subjects.  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  a  map  of  any  kind  at  San- 
tarem. The  quick-witted  people  have  a  suspicion  of  their 
deficiencies  in  this  respect,  and  it  is  difficult  to  draw  them  out 
on  geography;  but  one  day  a  man  holding  an  important  office 
betrayed  himself  by  asking  me,  "  On  what  side  of  the  river  was 
Paris  situated?"  This  question  did  not  arise,  as  might  be 
supposed,  from  a  desire  for  accurate  topographical  knowledge 
of  the  Seine,  but  from  the  idea,  that  all  the  world  was  a  great 

H 


190      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

river,  and  that  the  different  places  he  had  heard  of  must  lie  on 
one  shore  or  the  other.  The  fact  of  the  Amazons  being  a 
limited  stream,  having  its  origin  in  narrow  rivulets,  its  begin- 
ning and  its  ending,  has  never  entered  the  heads  of  most  of  the 
people  who  have  passed  their  whole  lives  on  its  banks. 

Santarem  is  a  pleasant  place  to  live  in,  irrespective  of  its 
society.  There  are  no  insect  pests,  mosquito,  pium,  sand-fly,  or 
motuca.  The  climate  is  glorious;  during  six  months  of  the 
year,  from  August  to  February,  very  little  rain  falls,  and  the 
sky  is  cloudless  for  weeks  together,  the  fresh  breezes  from  the 
sea,  nearly  400  miles  distant,  moderating  the  great  heat  of  the 
sun.  The  wind  is  sometimes  so  strong  for  days  together,  that 
it  is  difficult  to  make  way  against  it  in  walking  along  the 
streets,  and  it  enters  the  open  windows  and  doors  of  houses, 
scattering  loose  clothing  and  papers  in  all  directions.  The 
place  is  considered  healthy;  but  at  the  changes  of  season, 
severe  colds  and  ophthalmia  are  prevalent.  I  found  three 
Englishmen  living  here,  who  had  resided  many  years  in  the 
town  or  its  neighbourhood,  and  who  still  retained  their  florid 
complexions;  the  plump  and  fresh  appearance  of  many  of  the 
middle-aged  Santarem  ladies  also  bore  testimony  to  the  health- 
fulness  of  the  climate.  The  streets  are  always  clean  and  dry, 
even  in  the  height  of  the  wet  season;  good  order  is  always 
kept,  and  the  place  pretty  well  supplied  with  provisions.  None 
but  those  who  have  suffered  from  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  the 
necessaries  of  life  at  any  price  in  most  of  the  interior  settle- 
ments of  South  America,  can  appreciate  the  advantages  of 
Santarem  in  this  respect.  Everything,  however,  except  meat, 
was  dear,  and  becoming  every  year  more  so.  Sugar,  coffee,  and 
rice,  which  ought  to  be  produced  in  surplus  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, are  imported  from  other  provinces,  and  are  high  in  price ; 
sugar,  indeed,  is  a  little  dearer  here  than  in  England.  There 
were  two  or  three  butchers'  shops,  where  excellent  beef  could  be 
had  daily  at  twopence  or  twopence-halfpenny  per  pound.  The 
cattle  have  not  to  be  brought  from  a  long  distance  as  at  Para, 
being  bred  on  the  campos,  which  border  the  Lago  Grande,  only 
one  or  two  days'  journey  from  the  town.  Fresh  fish  could  be 
bought  in  the  port  on  most  evenings,  but  as  the  supply  did  not 
equal  the  demand,  there  was  always  a  race  amongst  purchasers 
to  the  water-side  when  the  canoe  of  a  fisherman  hove  in  sight. 
Very  good  bread  was  hawked  round  the  town  every  morning, 
with  milk,  and  a  great  variety  of  fruits  and  vegetables.  Amongst 
the  fruits,  there  was  a  kind  called  atta,  which  I  did  not  see  in 


Santarem  191 

any  other  part  of  the  country.  It  belongs  to  the  Anonaceous 
order,  and  the  tree  which  produces  it  grows  apparently  wild  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Santarem.  It  is  a  little  larger  than  a 
good-sized  orange,  and  the  rind,  which  encloses  a  mass  of  rich 
custardy  pulp,  is  scaled  like  the  pine-apple,  but  green  when 
ripe,  and  encrusted  on  the  inside  with  sugar.  To  finish  this 
account  of  the  advantages  of  Santarem,  the  delicious  bathing 
in  the  clear  waters  of  the  Tapajos  may  be  mentioned.  There 
is  here  no  fear  of  alligators;  when  the  east  wind  blows,  a  long 
swell  rolls  in  on  the  clean  sandy  beach,  and  the  bath  is  most 
exhilarating. 

The  country  around  Santarem  is  not  clothed  with  dense  and 
lofty  forest,  like  the  rest  of  the  great  humid  river  plain  of  the 
Amazons.  It  is  a  campo  region;  a  slightly  elevated  and 
undulating  tract  of  land,  wooded  only  in  patches,  or  with 
single  scattered  trees.  A  good  deal  of  the  country  on  the 
borders  of  the  Tapajos,  which  flows  from  the  great  campo  area 
of  Interior  Brazil,  is  of  this  description.  It  is  on  this  account 
that  I  consider  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  towards  its  mouth, 
to  be  a  northern  prolongation  of  the  continental  land,  and  not 
a  portion  of  the  alluvial  flats  of  the  Amazons.  The  soil  is  a 
coarse  gritty  sand;  the  substratum,  which  is  visible  in  some 
places,  consisting  of  sandstone  conglomerate  probably  of  the 
same  formation  as  that  which  underlies  the  Tabatinga  clay  in 
other  parts  of  the  river  valley.  The  surface  is  carpeted  with 
slender  hairy  grasses,  unfit  for  pasture,  growing  to  a  uniform 
height  of  about  a  foot.  The  patches  of  wood  look  like  copses 
in  the  middle  of  green  meadows;  they  are  called  by  the  natives 
"  ilhas  de  mato,"  or  islands  of  jungle;  the  name  being,  no 
doubt,  suggested  by  their  compactness  of  outline,  neatly  de- 
marcated in  insular  form  from  the  smooth  carpet  of  grass 
around  them.  They  are  composed  of  a  great  variety  of  trees, 
loaded  with  succulent  parasites,  and  lashed  together  by  woody 
climbers  like  the  forest  in  other  parts.  A  narrow  belt  of  dense 
wood,  similar  in  character  to  these  ilhas,  and  like  them  sharply 
limited  along  its  borders,  runs  everywhere  parallel  and  close  to 
the  river.  In  crossing  the  campo,  the  path  from  the  town 
ascends  a  little  for  a  mile  or  two,  passing  through  this  marginal 
strip  of  wood ;  the  grassy  land  then  slopes  gradually  to  a  broad 
valley,  watered  by  rivulets,  whose  banks  are  clothed  with  lofty 
and  luxuriant  forest.  Beyond  this,  a  range  of  hills  extends  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  towards  the  yet  untrodden  interior. 
Some  of  these  hills  are  long  ridges,  wooded  or  bare;  others  are 


192      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

isolated  conical  peaks,  rising  abruptly  from  the  valley.  The 
highest  are  probably  not  more  than  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  river.  One  remarkable  hill,  the  Serra  de  Muruaru, 
about  fifteen  miles  from  Santarem,  which  terminates  the 
prospect  to  the  south,  is  of  the  same  truncated  pyramidal  form 
as  the  range  of  hills  near  Almeyrim.  Complete  solitude  reigns 
over  the  whole  of  this  stretch  of  beautiful  country.  The  in- 
habitants of  Santarem  know  nothing  of  the  interior,  and  seem  to 
feel  little  curiosity  concerning  it.  A  few  tracks  from  the  town 
across  the  campo  lead  to  some  small  clearings  four  or  five  miles 
off,  belonging  to  the  poorer  inhabitants  of  the  place;  but, 
excepting  these,  there  are  no  roads,  or  signs  of  the  proximity 
of  a  civilised  settlement. 

The  appearance  of  the  campos  changes  very  much  according 
to  the  season.  There  is  not  that  grand  uniformity  of  aspect 
throughout  the  year  which  is  observed  in  the  virgin  forest,  and 
which  makes  a  deeper  impression  on  the  naturalist  the  longer 
he  remains  in  this  country.  The  seasons  in  this  part  of  the 
Amazons  region  are  sharply  contrasted,  but  the  difference  is 
not  so  great  as  in  some  tropical  countries,  where,  during  the 
dry  monsoon,  insects  and  reptiles  go  into  a  summer  sleep,  and 
the  trees  simultaneously  shed  their  leaves.  As  the  dry  season 
advances  (August,  September),  the  grass  on  the  campos  withers, 
and  the  shrubby  vegetation  near  the  town  becomes  a  mass  of 
parched  yellow  stubble.  The  period,  however,  is  not  one  of 
general  torpidity  or  repose  for  animal  or  vegetable  life.  Birds 
certainly  are  not  so  numerous  as  in  the  wet  season,  but  some 
kinds  remain  and  lay  their  eggs  at  this  time — for  instance,  the 
ground  doves  (Chamaepelia).  The  trees  retain  their  verdure 
throughout,  and  many  of  them  flower  in  the  dry  months. 
Lizards  do  not  become  torpid,  and  insects  are  seen  both  in  the 
larva  and  the  perfect  states,  showing  that  the  aridity  of  the 
climate  has  not  a  general  influence  on  the  development  of  the 
species.  Some  kinds  of  butterflies,  especially  the  little  hair- 
streaks  (Theclse),  whose  caterpillars  feed  on  the  trees,  make 
their  appearance  only  when  the  dry  season  is  at  its  height. 
The  land  molluscs  of  the  district,  are  the  only  animals  which 
activate;  they  are  found  in  clusters,  Bulimi  and  Helices,  con- 
cealed in  hollow  trees,  the  mouths  of  their  shells  closed  by  a 
film  of  mucus.  The  fine  weather  breaks  up  often  with  great 
suddenness  about  the  beginning  of  February.  Violent  squalls 
from  the  west  or  the  opposite  direction  to  the  trade-wind  then 
occur.    They  give  very  little  warning,  and  the  first  generally 


Santarem  193 

catches  the  people  unprepared.  They  fall  in  the  night,  and 
blowing  directly  into  the  harbour,  with  the  first  gust  sweep  all 
vessels  from  their  anchorage;  in  a  few  minutes,  a  mass  of 
canoes,  large  and  small,  including  schooners  of  fifty  tons 
burthen,  are  clashing  together,  pell-mell,  on  the  beach.  I  have 
reason  to  remember  these  storms,  for  I  was  once  caught  in  one 
myself,  whilst  crossing  the  river  in  an  undecked  boat  about  a 
day's  journey  from  Santarem.  They  are  accompanied  with 
terrific  electric  explosions,  the  sharp  claps  of  thunder  falling 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  blinding  flashes  of  lightning. 
Torrents  of  rain  follow  the  first  outbreak;  the  wind  then 
gradually  abates,  and  the  rain  subsides  into  a  steady  drizzle, 
which  continues  often  for  the  greater  part  of  the  succeeding 
day.  After  a  week  or  two  of  showery  weather  the  aspect  of 
the  country  is  completely  changed.  The  parched  ground  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Santarem  breaks  out,  so  to  speak,  in  a 
rash  of  greenery:  the  dusty,  languishing  trees  gain,  without 
having  shed  their  old  leaves,  a  new  clothing  of  tender  green 
foliage;  a  wonderful  variety  of  quick-growing  leguminous 
plants  springs  up,  and  leafy  creepers  overrun  the  ground,  the 
bushes,  and  the  trunks  of  trees.  One  is  reminded  of  the  sudden 
advent  of  spring  after  a  few  warm  showers  in  northern  climates ; 
I  was  the  more  struck  by  it  as  nothing  similar  is  witnessed  in 
the  virgin  forests  amongst  which  I  had  passed  the  four  years 
previous  to  my  stay  in  this  part.  'The  grass  on  the  campos  is 
renewed,  and  many  of  the  campo  trees,  especially  the  myrtles, 
which  grow  abundantly  in  one  portion  of  the  district,  begin  to 
flower,  attracting  by  the  fragrance  of  their  blossoms  a  great 
number  and  variety  of  insects,  more  particularly  Coleoptera. 
Many  kinds  of  birds;  parrots,  toucans,  and  barbets,  which  live 
habitually  in  the  forest,  then  visit  the  open  places.  A  few 
weeks  of  comparatively  dry  weather  generally  intervene  in 
March,  after  a  month  or  two  of  rain.  The  heaviest  rains  fall 
in  April,  May,  and  June;  they  come  in  a  succession  of  showers, 
with  sunny  gleamy  weather  in  the  intervals.  June  and  July 
are  the  months  when  the  leafy  luxuriance  of  the  campos,  and 
the  activity  of  life,  are  at  their  highest.  Most  birds  have  then 
completed  their  moulting,  which  extends  over  the  period  from 
February  to  May.  The  flowering  shrubs  are  then  mostly  in 
bloom,  and  numberless  kinds  of  Dipterous  and  Hymenopterous 
insects  appear  simultaneously  with  the  flowers.  This  season 
might  be  considered  the  equivalent  of  summer  in  temperate 
climates,  as  the  bursting  forth  of  the  foliage  in  February  re- 


194      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

presents  the  spring;  but  under  the  equator  there  is  not  that 
simultaneous  march  in  the  annual  life  of  animals  and  plants, 
which  we  see  in  high  latitudes;  some  species,  it  is  true,  are 
dependent  upon  others  in  their  periodical  acts  of  life,  and  go 
hand-in-hand  with  them,  but  they  are  not  all  simultaneously 
and  similarly  affected  by  the  physical  changes  of  the  seasons. 

I  will  now  give  an  account  of  some  of  my  favourite  collect- 
ing places  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Santarem,  incorporating 
with  the  description  a  few  of  the  more  interesting  observations 
made  on  the  Natural  History  of  the  localities.  To  the  west  of 
the  town  there  was  a  pleasant  path  along  the  beach  to  a  little 
bay,  called  Mapiri,  about  five  miles  within  the  mouth  of  the 
Tapajos.  The  road  was  practicable  only  in  the  dry  season. 
The  river  at  Santarem  rises  on  the  average  about  thirty  feet, 
varying  in  different  years  about  ten  feet;  so  that  in  the  four 
months,  from  April  to  July,  the  water  comes  up  to  the  edge 
of  the  marginal  belt  of  wood  already  spoken  of.  This  Mapiri 
excursion  was  most  pleasant  and  profitable  in  the  months 
from  January  to  March,  before  the  rains  became  too  con- 
tinuous. The  sandy  beach  beyond  the  town  is  very  irregular; 
in  some  places  forming  long  spits  on  which,  when  the  east 
wind  is  blowing,  the  waves  break  in  a  line  of  foam;  at  others 
receding  to  shape  out  quiet  little  bays  and  pools.  On  the 
outskirts  of  the  town  a  few  scattered  huts  of  Indians  and 
coloured  people  are  passed,  prettily  situated  on  the  margin  of 
the  white  beach,  with  a  background  of  glorious  foliage;  the 
cabin  of  the  pure-blood  Indian  being  distinguished  from  the 
mud  hovels  of  the  free  negroes  and  mulattoes  by  its  light  con- 
struction, half  of  it  being  an  open  shed  where  the  dusky  tenants 
are  seen  at  all  hours  of  the  day  lounging  in  their  open-meshed 
grass  hammocks.  About  two  miles  on  the  road  we  come  to 
a  series  of  shallow  pools,  called  the  Laguinhos,  which  are 
connected  with  the  river  in  the  wet  season,  but  separated  from 
it  by  a  high  bank  of  sand  topped  with  bushes  at  other  times. 
There  is  a  break  here  in  the  fringe  of  wood,  and  a  glimpse  is 
obtained  of  the  grassy  campo.  When  the  waters  have  risen  to 
the  level  of  the  pools  this  place  is  frequented  by  many  kinds  of 
wading-birds.  Snow-white  egrets  of  two  species  stand  about 
the  margins  of  the '  water,  and  dusky-striped  herons  may  be 
seen  half  hidden  under  the  shade  of  the  bushes.  The  pools  are 
covered  with  a  small  kind  of  water-lily,  and  surrounded  by  a 
dense  thicket.     Amongst  the  birds  which  inhabit  this  spot  is 


Santarem  195 

the  rosy-breasted  Troupial  (Trupialis  Guianensis),  a  bird  re- 
sembling our  starling  in  size  and  habits,  and  not  unlike  it  in 
colour,  with  the  exception  of  the  rich  rosy  vest.  The  water  at 
this  time  of  the  year  overflows  a  large  level  tract  of  campo 
bordering  the  pools,  and  the  Troupials  come  to  feed  on  the 
larvae  of  insects  which  then  abound  in  the  moist  soil. 

Beyond  the  Laguinhos  there  succeeds  a  tract  of  level  beach 
covered  with  trees  which  form  a  beautiful  grove.  About  the 
month  of  April,  when  the  water  rises  to  this  level,  the  trees 
are  covered  with  blossom,  and  a  handsome  orchid,  an  Epiden- 
dron  with  large  white  flowers,  which  clothes  thickly  the  trunks, 
is  profusely  in  bloom.  Several  kinds  of  kingfisher  resort  to 
the  place:  four  species  may  be  seen  within  a  small  space:  the 
largest  as  big  as  a  crow,  of  a  mottled-grey  hue,  and  with  an 
enormous  beak;  the  smallest  not  larger  than  a  sparrow.  The 
large  one  makes  its  nest  in  clay  cliffs,  three  or  four  miles 
distant  from  this  place.  None  of  the  kingfishers  are  so 
brilliant  in  colour  as  our  English  species.  The  blossoms  on 
the  trees  attract  two  or  three  species  of  humming-birds,  the 
most  conspicuous  of  which  is  a  large  swallow-tailed  kind 
(Eupetomena  macroura),  with  a  brilliant  livery  of  emerald 
green  and  steel  blue.  I  noticed  that  it  did  not  remain  so  long 
poised  in  the  air  before  the  flowers  as  the  other  smaller  species ; 
it  perched  more  frequently,  and  sometimes  darted  after  small 
insects  on  the  wing.  Emerging  from  the  grove  there  is  a  long 
stretch  of  sandy  beach;  the  land  is  high  and  rocky,  and  the 
belt  of  wood  which  skirts  the  river  banks  is  much  broader 
than  it  is  elsewhere.  At  length,  after  rounding  a  projecting 
bluff,  the  bay  at  Mapiri  is  reached.  The  river  view  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  Tapajos:  the  shores  are  wooded,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  is  a  line  of  clay  cliffs,  with  hills  in  the  back- 
ground clothed  with  a  rolling  forest.  A  long  spit  of  sand 
extends  into  mid-river,  beyond  which  is  an  immense  expanse 
of  dark  water,  the  further  shore  of  the  Tapajos  being  barely 
visible  as  a  thin  grey  line  of  trees  on  the  horizon.  The  trans- 
parency of  air  and  water  in  the  dry  season  when  the  brisk  east 
wind  is  blowing,  and  the  sharpness  of  outline  of  hills,  woods, 
and  sandy  beaches,  give  a  great  charm  to  this  spot. 

Whilst  resting  in  the  shade  during  the  great  heat  of  the 
early  hours  of  afternoon,  I  used  to  find  amusement  in  watching 
the  proceedings  of  the  sand  wasps.  A  small  pale  green  kind  of 
Bembex  (Bembex  ciliata),  was  plentiful  near  the  bay  of  Mapiri. 


196      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

When  they  are  at  work,  a  number  of  little  jets  of  sand  are 
seen  shooting  over  the  surface  of  the  sloping  bank.  The  little 
miners  excavate  with  their  fore  feet,  which  are  strongly  built 
and  furnished  with  a  fringe  of  stiff  bristles;  they  work  with 
wonderful  rapidity,  and  the  sand  thrown  out  beneath  their 
bodies  issues  in  continuous  streams.  They  are  solitary  wasps, 
each  female  working  on  her  own  account.  After  making  a 
gallery  two  or  three  inches  in  length  in  a  slanting  direction 
from  the  surface,  the  owner  backs  out  and  takes  a  few  turns 
round  the  orifice  apparently  to  see  whether  it  is  well  made, 
but  in  reality,  I  believe,  to  take  note  of  the  locality,  that  she 
may  find  it  again.  This  done  the  busy  workwoman  flies  away; 
but  returns,  after  an  absence  varying  in  different  cases  from  a 
few  minutes  to  an  hour  or  more,  with  a  fly  in  her  grasp,  with 
which  she  re-enters  her  mine.  On  again  emerging,  the  entrance 
is  carefully  closed  with  sand.  During  this  interval  she  has  laid 
an  egg  on  the  body  of  the  fly  which  she  had  previously  benumbed 
with  her  sting,  and  which  is  to  serve  as  food  for  the  soft,  footless 
grub  soon  to  be  hatched  from  the  egg.  From  what  I  could 
make  out,  the  Bembex  makes  a  fresh  excavation  for  every  egg 
to  be  deposited;  at  least  in  two  or  three  of  the  galleries  which 
I  opened  there  was  only  one  fly  enclosed. 

I  have  said  that  the  Bembex  on  leaving  her  mine  took  note 
of  the  locality:  this  seemed  to  be  the  explanation  of  the  short 
delay  previous  to  her  taking  flight;  on  rising  in  the  air  also 
the  insects  generally  flew  round  over  the  place  before  making 
straight  off.  Another  nearly  allied  but  much  larger  species, 
the  Monedula  signata,  whose  habits  I  observed  on  the  banks 
of  the  Upper  Amazons,  sometimes  excavates  its  mine  solitarily 
on  sand-banks  recently  laid  bare  in  the  middle  of  the  river, 
and  closes  the  orifice  before  going  in  search  of  prey.  In  these 
cases  the  insect  has  to  make  a  journey  of  at  least  half  a  mile 
to  procure  the  kind  of  fly,  the  Motuca  (Hadrus  lepidotus),  with 
which  it  provisions  its  cell.  I  often  noticed  it  to  take  a  few 
turns  in  the  air  round  the  place  before  starting;  on  its  return 
it  made  without  hesitation  straight  for  the  closed  mouth  of  the 
mine.  I  was  convinced  that  the  insects  noted  the  bearings  of 
their  nests  and  the  direction  they  took  in  flying  from  them. 
The  proceeding  in  this  and  similar  cases  (I  have  read  of  some- 
thing analogous  having  been  noticed  in  hive  bees)  seems  to  be 
a  mental  act  of  the  same  nature  as  that  which  takes  place  in 
ourselves  when  recognising  a  locality.  The  senses,  however, 
must  be  immeasurably  more  keen  and  the  mental  operation 


Santarem  197 

much  more  certain  in  them  than  it  is  in  man;  for  to  my  eye 
there  was  absolutely  no  land-mark  on  the  even  surface  of  sand 
which  could  serve  as  guide,  and  the  borders  of  the  forest  were 
not  nearer  than  half  a  mile.  The  action  of  the  wasp  would  be 
said  to  be  instinctive;  but  it  seems  plain  that  the  instinct  is 
no  mysterious  and  unintelligible  agent,  but  a  mental  process 
in  each  individual,  differing  from  the  same  in  man  only  by  its 
unerring  certainty.  The  mind  of  the  insect  appears  to  be  so 
constituted  that  the  impression  of  external  objects  or  the  want 
felt,  causes  it  to  act  with  a  precision  which  seems  to  us  like 
that  of  a  machine  constructed  to  move  in  a  certain  given  way, 
I  have  noticed  in  Indian  boys  a  sense  of  locality  almost  as  keen 
as  that  possessed  by  the  sand- wasp.  An  old  Portuguese  and 
myself,  accompanied  by  a  young  lad  about  ten  years  of  age, 
were  once  lost  in  the  forest  in  a  most  solitary  place  on  the  banks 
of  the  main  river.  Our  case  seemed  hopeless,  and  it  did  not  for 
some  time  occur  to  us  to  consult  our  little  companion,  who 
had  been  playing  with  his  bow  and  arrow  all  the  way  whilst  we 
were  hunting,  apparently  taking  no  note  of  the  route.  When 
asked,  however,  he  pointed  out,  in  a  moment,  the  right  direction 
of  our  canoe.  He  could  not  explain  how  he  knew;  I  believe 
he  had  noted  the  course  we  had  taken  almost  unconsciously: 
the  sense  of  locality  in  his  case  seemed  instinctive. 

The  Monedula  signata  is  a  good  friend  to  travellers  in  those 
parts  of  the  Amazons  which  are  infested  by  the  blood-thirsty 
Motuca.  I  first  noticed  its  habit  of  preying  on  this  fly  one 
day  when  we  landed  to  make  our  fire  and  dine  on  the  borders 
of  the  forest  adjoining  a  sand-bank.  The  insect  is  as  large  as 
a  hornet,  and  has  a  most  waspish  appearance.  I  was  rather 
startled  when  one  out  of  the  flock  which  was  hovering  about 
us  flew  straight  at  my  face:  it  had  espied  a  Motuca  on  my 
neck  and  was  thus  pouncing  upon  it.  It  seizes  the  fly  not 
with  its  jaws,  but  with  its  fore  and  middle  feet,  and  carries  it 
off  tightly  held  to  its  breast.  Wherever  the  traveller  lands  on 
the  Upper  Amazons  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  sand-bank  he  is 
sure  to  be  attended  by  one  or  more  of  these  useful  vermin- 
killers. 

The  bay  of  Mapiri  was  the  limit  of  my  day  excursions  by 
the  river-side  to  the  west  of  Santarem.  A  person  may  travel, 
however,  on  foot,  as  Indians  frequently  do,  in  the  dry  season 
for  fifty  or  sixty  miles  along  the  broad  clean  sandy  beaches 
of  the  Tapajos.     The  only  obstacles  are  the  rivulets,  most  of 


198      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

which  are  fordable  when  the  waters  are  low.  To  the  east  my 
rambles  extended  to  the  banks  of  the  Mahica  inlet.  This 
enters  the  Amazons  about  three  miles  below  Santarem,  where 
the  clear  stream  of  the  Tapajos  begins  to  be  discoloured  by  the 
turbid  waters  of  the  main  river.  The  Mahica  has  a  broad 
margin  of  rich  level  pasture,  limited  on  each  side  by  the  straight, 
tall  hedge  of  forest.  On  the  Santarem  side  it  is  skirted  by  high 
wooded  ridges.  A  landscape  of  this  description  always  pro- 
duced in  me  an  impression  of  sadness  and  loneliness  which  the 
riant  virgin  forests  that  closely  hedge  in  most  of  the  by-waters 
of  the  Amazons  never  created.  The  pastures  are  destitute  of 
flowers,  and  also  of  animal  life,  with  the  exception  of  a  few. 
small  plain-coloured  birds  and  solitary  Caracaia  eagles  whining 
from  the  topmost  branches  of  dead  trees  on  the  forest  borders. 
A  few  settlers  have  built  their  palm-thatched  and  mud-walled 
huts  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahica,  and  occupy  themselves  chiefly 
in  tending  small  herds  of  cattle.  They  seemed  to  be  all 
wretchedly  poor.  The  oxen  however,  though  small,  were  sleek 
and  fat,  and  the  district  most  promising  for  agricultural  and 
pastoral  employments.  In  the  wet  season  the  waters  gradually 
rise  and  cover  the  meadows,  but  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  the 
removal  of  the  cattle  to  higher  ground.  The  lazy  and  ignorant 
people  seem  totally  unable  to  profit  by  these  advantages.  The 
houses  have  no  gardens  or  plantations  near  them.  I  was  told 
it  was  useless  to  plant  anything,  because  the  cattle  devoured 
the  young  shoots.  In  this  country,  grazing  and  planting  are 
very  rarely  carried  on  together;  for  the  people  seem  to  have 
no  notion  of  enclosing  patches  of  ground  for  cultivation.  They 
say  it  is  too  much  trouble  to  make  enclosures.  The  construc- 
tion of  a  durable  fence  is  certainly  a  difficult  matter,  for  it  is 
only  two  or  three  kinds  of  tree  which  will  serve  the  purpose  in 
being  free  from  the  attacks  of  insects,  and  these  are  scattered 
far  and  wide  through  the  woods. 

Although  the  meadows  were  unproductive  ground  to  a 
Naturalist,  the  woods  on  their  borders  teemed  with  life;  the 
number  and  variety  of  curious  insects  of  all  orders  which 
occurred  here  was  quite  wonderful.  The  belt  of  forest  was 
intersected  by  numerous  pathways .  leading  from  one  settler's 
house  to  another.  The  ground  was  moist,  but  the  trees  were 
not  so  lofty  or  their  crowns  so  densely  packed  together  as  in 
other  parts;  the  sun's  light  and  heat  therefore  had  freer  access 
to  the  soil,  and  the  underwood  was  much  more  diversified  than 
in  the  virgin  forest.    I  never  saw  so  many  kinds  of  dwarf 


Santarem 


199 


palms  together  as  here;  pretty  miniature  species;  some  not 
more  than  five  feet  high,  and  bearing  little  clusters  of  round 
fruit  not  larger  than  a  good  bunch  of  currants.  A  few  of  the 
forest  trees  had  the  size  and  strongly-branched  figures  of  our 
oaks,  and  a  similar  bark.  One  noble  palm  grew  here  in  great 
abundance,  and  gave  a  distinctive  character  to  the  district. 
This  was  the  CEnocarpus  distichus,  one  of  the  kinds  called 
Bacaba  by  the  natives.  It  grows  to  a  height  of  forty  to  fifty 
feet.  The  crown  is  of  a  lustrous  dark-green  colour,  and  of  a 
singularly  flattened  or  compressed  shape;  the  leaves  being 
arranged  on  each  side  in  nearly  the  same  plane.  When  I  first 
saw  this  tree  on  the  campos,  where  the  east  wind  blows  with 
great  force  night  and  day  for  several  months,  I  thought  the 
shape  of  the  crown  was  due  to  the  leaves  being  prevented  from 
radiating  equally  by  the  constant  action  of  the  breezes.  But 
the  plane  of  growth  is  not  always  in  the  direction  of  the  wind, 
and  the  crown  has  the  same  shape  when  the  tree  grows  in  the 
sheltered  woods.  The  fruit  of  this  fine  palm  ripens  towards 
the  end  of  the  year,  and  is  much  esteemed  by  the  natives,  who 
manufacture  a  pleasant  drink  from  it  similar  to  the  assai 
described  in  a  former  chapter,  by  rubbing  off  the  coat  of  pulp 
from  the  nuts,  and  mixing  it  with  water.  A  bunch  of  fruit 
weighs  thirty  or  forty  pounds.  The  beverage  has  a  milky 
appearance,  and  an  agreeable  nutty  flavour.  The  tree  is  very 
difficult  to  climb,  on  account  of  the  smoothness  of  its  stem; 
consequently  the  natives,  whenever  they  want  a  bunch  of  fruit 
for  a  bowl  of  Bacaba,  cut  down  and  thus  destroy  a  tree  which 
has  taken  a  score  or  two  of  years  to  grow,  in  order  to  get  at  it. 

In  the  lower  part  of  the  Mahica  woods,  towards  the  river, 
there  is  a  bed  of  stiff  white  clay,  which  supplies  the  people  of 
Santarem  with  material  for  the  manufacture  of  coarse  pottery 
and  cooking  utensils :  all  the  kettles,  saucepans,  mandioca  ovens, 
coffee-pots,  washing-vessels,  and  so  forth,  of  the  poorer  classes 
throughout  the  country,  are  made  of  this  same  plastic  clay, 
which  occurs  at  short  intervals  over  the  whole  surface  of  the 
Amazons  valley,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Para  to  within  the 
Peruvian  borders,  and  forms  part  of  the  great  Tabatinga  marl 
deposit.  To  enable  the  vessels  to  stand  the  fire,  the  bark  of 
a  certain  tree,  called  Caraip6,  is  burnt  and  mixed  with  the 
clay,  which  gives  tenacity  to  the  ware.  Caraipe  is  an  article 
of  commerce,  being  sold,  packed  in  baskets,  at  the  shops  in 
most  of  the  towns.  The  shallow  pits,  excavated  in  the  marly 
soil  at  Mahica,  were  very  attractive  to  many  kinds  of  mason 


200      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 


bees  and  wasps,  who  made  use  of  the  clay  to  build  their  nests 
with.  So  that  we  have  here  another  example  of  the  curious 
analogy  that  exists  between  the  arts  of  insects  and  those  of 
man.  I  spent  many  an  hour  watching  their  proceedings:  a 
short  account  of  the  habits  of  some  of  these  busy  creatures  may 
be  interesting. 

The  most  conspicuous  was  a  large  yellow  and  black  wasp, 
with  a  remarkably  long  and  narrow  waist,  the  Pelopaeus  fistu- 
laris.  This  species  collected  the  clay 
in  little  round  pellets,  which  it  carried 
off,  after  rolling  them  into  a  convenient 
shape,  in  its  mouth.  It  came  straight 
to  the  pit  with  a  loud  hum,  and,  on 
alighting,  lost  not  a  moment  in  begin- 
ning to  work;  finishing  the  kneading  of 
its  little  load  in  two  or  three  minutes. 
The  nest  of  this  wasp  is  shaped  like  a 
pouch,  two  inches  in  length,  and  is 
attached  to  a  branch  or  other  project- 
ing object.  One  of  these  restless 
artificers  once  began  to  build  on  the 
handle  of  a  chest  in  the  cabin  of  my 
canoe,  when  we  were  stationary  at  a 
place  for  several  days.  It  was  so 
intent  on  its  work  that  it  allowed  me 
to  inspect  the  movements  of  its  mouth 
with  a  lens  whilst  it  was  laying  on  the  mortar.  Every  fresh 
pellet  was  brought  in  with  a  triumphant  song,  which  changed 
to  a  cheerful  busy  hum  when  it  alighted  and  began  to  work. 
The  little  ball  of  moist  clay  was  laid  on  the  edge  of  the  cell, 
and  then  spread  out  around  the  circular  rim  by  means  of  the 
lower  lip  guided  by  the  mandibles.  The  insect  placed  itself 
astride  over  the  rim  to  work,  and,  on  finishing  each  addition  to 
the  structure,  took  a  turn  round,  patting  the  sides  with  its  feet 
inside  and  out  before  flying  off  to  gather  a  fresh  pellet.  It 
worked  only  in  sunny  weather,  and  the  previous  layer  was 
sometimes  not  quite  dry  when  the  new  coating  was  added. 
The  whole  structure  takes  about  a  week  to  complete.  I  left 
the  place  before  the  gay  little  builder  had  quite  finished  her 
task:  she  did  not  accompany  the  canoe,  although  we  moved 
along  the  bank  of  the  river  very  slowly.  On  opening  closed 
nests  of  this  species,  which  are  common  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Mahica,  I  always  found  them  to  be  stocked  with  small 


Pelopasus  Wasp  building 
nest. 


Santarem  201 

spiders  of  the  genus  Gastracantha,  in  the  usual  half-dead  state 

to  which  the  mother  wasps  reduce  the  insects  which  are  to 

serve  as  food  for  their  progeny. 

Besides  the  Pelopaeus  there  were  three  or  four  kinds  of 

Trypoxylon,  a  genus  also  found  in  Europe,  and  which  some 

Naturalists  have  supposed  to  be  parasitic,  because  the  legs  are 

not  furnished  with  the  usual  row  of  strong  bristles  for  digging, 

characteristic  of  the  family  to 

which  it  belongs.     The  species 

of  Trypoxylon,   however,  are 

all  building  wasps ;  two  of  them 

which  I  observed  (T.  albitarse 

and   an   undescribed    species) 

.1     •  .   r      •  /  Cells  of  Trypoxylon  aunfrons. 

provision     their    nests    with 

spiders,  a  third  (T.  aurifrons)  with  small  caterpillars.     Their 

habits  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Pelopaeus;  namely,  they  carry 

off  the  clay  in  their  mandibles,  and  have  a  different  song  when 

they  hasten  away  with  the   burden  to  that  which  they  sing 

whilst  at  work.     Trypoxylon  albitarse,  which  is  a  large  black 

kind,  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  makes  a  tremendous 

fuss  whilst  building  its  cell.     It  often  chooses  the  walls  or  doors 

of  chambers  for  this  purpose,  and  when  two  or  three  are  at 

work  in  the  same  place  their  loud  humming  keeps  the  house  in 

an  uproar.     The  cell  is  a  tubular  structure  about  three  inches 

in  length.     T.  aurifrons,  a  much  smaller  species,  makes  a  neat 

little  nest  shaped  like  a  carafe;  building  rows  of  them  together 

in  the  corners  of  verandahs. 

But  the  most  numerous  and  interesting  of  the  clay  artificers 

are  the  workers  of  a  species  of  social  bee,  the  Melipona  fasci- 

culata.     The  Meliponse  in  tropical  America  take  the  place  of 

the  true  Apides,  to  which  the  European  hive-bee  belongs,  and 

which  are  here  unknown;    they  are  generally  much  smaller 

insects  than  the  hive-bees  and  have  no  sting.     The  M.  fasci- 

culata  is  about  a  third  shorter  than  the  Apis  mellifica:    its 

colonies  are  composed  of  an  immense  number  of  individuals; 

the  workers  are  generally  seen  collecting  pollen  in  the  same 

way  as  other  bees,  but  great  numbers  are  employed  gathering 

clay.     The  rapidity  and  precision  of  their  movements  whilst 

thus  engaged  are  wonderful.     They  first  scrape  the  clay  with 

their  jaws:   the  small  portions  gathered  are  then  cleared  by  the 

anterior  paws  and  passed  to  the  second  pair  of  feet,  which,  in 

their  turn,  convey  them  to  the  large  foliated  expansions  of  the 

hind  shanks  which  are  adapted  normally  in  bees,  as  every  one 


202      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

knows,  for  the  collection  of  pollen.  The  middle  feet  pat  the 
growing  pellets  of  mortar  on  the  hind  legs  to  keep  them  in  a 
compact  shape  as  the  particles  are  successively  added.  The 
little  hodsmen  soon  have  as  much  as  they  can  carry,  and  they 
then  fly  off.  I  was  for  some  time  puzzled  to  know  what  the 
bees  did  with  the  clay;  but  I  had  afterwards  plenty  of  oppor- 
tunity for  ascertaining.  They  construct  their  combs  in  any 
suitable  crevice  in  trunks  of  trees  or  perpendicular  banks,  and 
the  clay  is  required  to  build  up  a  wall  so  as  to  close  the  gap, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  orifice  for  their  own  entrance  and 
exit.  Most  kinds  of  Meliponse  are  in  this  way  masons  as  well 
as  workers  in  wax  and  pollen-gatherers.  One  little  species 
(undescribed)  not  more  than  two  lines  long,  builds  a  neat 
tubular  gallery  of  clay,  kneaded  with  some  viscid  substance, 


Melipona  Bees  gathering  clay. 

outside  the  -entrance  to  its  hive,  besides  blocking  up  the  crevice 
in  the  tree  within  which  it  is  situated.  The  mouth  of  the  tube 
is  trumpet-shaped,  and  at  the  entrance  a  number  of  pigmy 
bees  are  always  stationed,  apparently  acting  as  the  sentinels. 

A  hive  of  the  Melipona  fasciculata,  which  I  saw  opened, 
contained  about  two  quarts  of  pleasantly-tasted  liquid  honey. 
The  bees,  as  already  remarked,  have  no  sting,  but  they  bite 
furiously  when  their  colonies  are  disturbed.  The  Indian  who 
plundered  the  hive  was  completely  covered  by  them;  they  took 
a  particular  fancy  to  the  hair  of  his  head,  and  fastened  on  it  by 
hundreds.  I  found  forty-five  species  of  these  bees  in  different 
parts  of  the  country;  the  largest  was  half  an  inch  in  length; 
the  smallest  were  extremely  minute,  some  kinds  being  not  more 
than  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  in  size.  These  tiny  fellows  are 
often  very  troublesome  in  the  woods,  on  account  of  their 
familiarity;  for  they  settle  on  one's  face  and  hands,  and,  in 
crawling  about,  get  into  the  eyes  and  mouth,  or  up  the  nostrils. 


Santarem  203 

The  broad  expansion  of  the  hind  shanks  of  bees  is  applied  in 
some  species  to  other  uses  besides  the  conveyance  of  clay  and 
pollen.  The  female  of  the  handsome  golden  and  black  Euglossa 
Surinamensis  has  this  palette  of  very  large  size.  This  species 
builds  its  solitary  nest  also  in  crevices  of  walls  or  trees;  but 
it  closes  up  the  chink  with  fragments  of  dried  leaves  and  sticks 
cemented  together,  instead  of  clay.  It  visits  the  caju  trees, 
and  gathers  with  its  hind  legs  a  small  quantity  of  the  gum 
which  exudes  from  their  trunks.  To  this  it  adds  the  other 
materials  required  from  the  neighbouring  bushes,  and  when 
laden  flies  off  to  its  nest. 

To  the  south  my  rambles  never  extended  further  than  the 
banks  of  the  Irura,  a  stream  which  rises  amongst  the  hills 
already  spoken  of,  and  running  through  a  broad  valley,  wooded 
along  the  margins  of  the  water-courses,  falls  into  the  Tapajos, 
at  the  head  of  the  bay  of  Mapiri.  All  beyond,  as  before  re- 
marked, is  terra  incognita  to  the  inhabitants  of  Santarem.  The 
Brazilian  settlers  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons  seem  to  have 
no  taste  for  explorations  by  land,  and  I  could  find  no  person 
willing  to  accompany  me  on  an  excursion  further  towards  the 
interior.  Such  a  journey  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  in  this 
country,  even  if  men  could  be  obtained  willing  to  undertake 
it.  Besides,  there  were  reports  of  a  settlement  of  fierce  run- 
away negroes  on  the  Serra  de  Mururaru,  and  it  was  considered 
unsafe  to  go  far  in  that  direction,  except  with  a  large  armed 
party. 

I  visited  the  banks  of  the  Irura  and  the  rich  woods  accompany- 
ing it,  and  two  other  streams  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  one 
called  the  Panema,  and  the  other  the  Urumari,  once  or  twice 
a  week  during  the  whole  time  of  my  residence  in  Santarem,  and 
made  large  collections  of  their  natural  productions.  These 
forest  brooks,  with  their  clear  cold  waters  brawling  over  their 
sandy  or  pebbly  beds  through  wild  tropical  glens,  always  had 
a  great  charm  for  me.  The  beauty  of  the  moist,  cool,  and 
luxuriant  glades  was  heightened  by  the  contrast  they  afforded 
to  the  sterile  country  around  them.  The  bare  or  scantily 
wooded  hills  which  surround  the  valley  are  parched  by  the  rays 
of  the  vertical  sun.  One  of  them,  the  Pico  do  Irura,  forms  a 
nearly  perfect  cone,  rising  from  a  small  grassy  plain  to  a  height 
of  500  or  600  feet,  and  its  ascent  is  excessively  fatiguing  after 
the  long  walk  from  Santarem  over  the  campos.  I  tried  it  one 
day,  but  did  not  reach  the  summit.    A  dense  growth  of  coarse 


204      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

grasses  clothed  the  steep  sides  of  the  hill,  with  here  and  there 
a  stunted  tree  of  kinds  found  in  the  plain  beneath.  In  bared 
places,  a  red  crumbly  soil  is  exposed;  and  in  one  part  a  mass 
of  rock,  which  appeared  to  me,  from  its  compact  texture  and 
the  absence  of  stratification,  to  be  porphyritic;  but  I  am  not 
Geologist  sufficient  to  pronounce  on  such  questions.  Mr. 
Wallace  states  that  he  found  fragments  of  scoriae,  and  believes 
the  hill  to  be  a  volcanic  cone.  To  the  south  and  east  of  this 
isolated  peak,  the  elongated  ridges  or  table-topped  hills  attain 
a  somewhat  greater  elevation. 

The  forest  in  the  valley  is  limited  to  a  tract  a  few  hundred 
yards  in  width  on  each  side  the  different  streams:  in  places 
where  these  run  along  the  bases  of  the  hills,  the  hill-sides  facing 
the  water  are  also  richly  wooded,  although  their  opposite  de- 
clivities are  bare  or  nearly  so.  The  trees  are  lofty  and  of  great 
variety;  amongst  them  are  colossal  examples  of  the  Brazil  nut 
tree  (Bertholletia  excelsa),  and  the  Pikia.  This  latter  bears  a 
large  eatable  fruit,  curious  in  having  a  hollow  chamber  between 
the  pulp  and  the  kernel,  beset  with  hard  spines  which  pro- 
duce serious  wounds  if  they  enter  the  skin.  The  eatable  part 
appeared  to  me  not  much  more  palatable  than  a  raw  potato; 
but  the  inhabitants  of  Santarem  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  under- 
take the  most  toilsome  journeys  on  foot  to  gather  a  basketful. 
The  tree  which  yields  the  tonka  bean  (Dipteryx  odorata),  used 
in  Europe  for  scenting  snuff,  is  also  of  frequent  occurrence  here. 
It  grows  to  an  immense  height,  and  the  fruit,  which,  although 
a  legume,  is  of  a  rounded  shape,  and  has  but  one  seed,  can  be 
gathered  only  when  it  falls  to  the  ground.  A  considerable 
quantity  (from  iooo  to  3000  pounds)  is  exported  annually  from 
Santarem,  the  produce  of  the  whole  region  of  the  Tapajos. 
An  endless  diversity  of  trees  and  shrubs,  some  beautiful  in 
flower  and  foliage,  others  bearing  curious  fruits,  grow  in  this 
matted  wilderness.  It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  many  of 
them.  I  was  much  struck  with  the  variety  of  trees  with  large 
and  diversely-shaped  fruits  growing  out  of  the  trunk  and 
branches,  some  within  a  few  inches  of  the  ground,  like  the 
cacao.  Most  of  them  are  called  by  the  natives  Cupu,  and  the 
trees  are  of  inconsiderable  height.  One  of  them  called  Cupu-ai 
bears  a  fruit  of  elliptical  shape  and  of  a  dingy  earthen  colour 
six  or  seven  inches  long,  the  shell  of  which  is  woody  and  thin, 
and  contains  a  small  number  of  seeds  loosely  enveloped  in  a 
juicy  pulp  of  very  pleasant  flavour.  The  fruits  hang  like 
clayey   ants'-nests   from   the   branches.     Another   kind   more 


Santarem  205 

nearly  resembles  the  cacao;  this  is  shaped  something  like  the 
cucumber,  and  has  a  green  ribbed  husk.  It  bears  the  name  of 
Cacao  de  macaco,  or  monkey's  chocolate,  but  the  seeds  are 
smaller  than  those  of  the  common  cacao.  I  tried  once  or  twice 
to  make  chocolate  from  them.  They  contain  plenty  of  oil  of 
similar  fragrance  to  that  of  the  ordinary  cacao-nut,  and  make 
up  very  well  into  paste;  but  the  beverage  has  a  repulsive 
clayey  colour  and  an  inferior  flavour. 

My  excursions  to  the  Irura  had  always  a  picnic  character. 
A  few  rude  huts  are  scattered  through  the  valley,  but  they  are 
tenanted  only  for  a  few  days  in  the  year,  when  their  owners 
come  to  gather  and  roast  the  mandioca  of  their  small  clearings. 
We  used  generally  to  take  with  us  two  boys — one  negro,  the 
other  Indian — to  carry  our  provisions  for  the  day;  a  few 
pounds  of  beef  or  dried  fish,  farinha  and  bananas,  with  plates, 
and  a  kettle  for  cooking.  Jose  carried  the  guns,  ammunition 
and  game-bags,  and  I  the  apparatus  for  entomologising — the 
insect  net,  a  large  leathern  bag  with  compartments  for  corked 
boxes,  phials,  glass  tubes,  and  so  forth.  It  was  our  custom 
to  start  soon  after  sunrise,  when  the  walk  over  the  campos  was 
cool  and  pleasant,  the  sky  without  a  cloud,  and  the  grass  wet 
with  dew.  The  paths  are  mere  faint  tracks;  in  our  early 
excursions  it  was  difficult  to  avoid  missing  our  way.  We  were 
once  completely  lost,  and  wandered  about  for  several  hours 
over  the  scorching  soil  without  recovering  the  road.  A  fine 
view  is  obtained  of  the  country  from  the  rising  ground  about 
half  way  across  the  waste.  Thence  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley 
is  a  long,  gentle,  grassy  slope,  bare  of  trees.  The  strangely- 
shaped  hills;  the  forest  at  their  feet,  richly  varied  with  palms; 
the  bay  of  Mapiri  on  the  right,  with  the  dark  waters  of  the 
Tapajos  and  its  white  glistening  shores,  are  all  spread  out  before 
one,  as  if  depicted  on  canvas.  The  extreme  transparency  of 
the  atmosphere  gives  to  all  parts  of  the  landscape  such  clear- 
ness of  outline  that  the  idea  of  distance  is  destroyed,  and  one 
fancies  the  whole  to  be  almost  within  reach  of  the  hand. 
Descending  into  the  valley,  a  small  brook  has  to  be  crossed, 
and  then  half  a  mile  of  sandy  plain,  whose  vegetation  wears  a 
peculiar  aspect,  owing  to  the  predominance  of  a  stemless  palm, 
the  Curua  (Attalea  spectabilis),  whose  large,  beautifully  pinnated, 
rigid  leaves  rise  directly  from  the  soil.  The  fruit  of  this  species 
is  similar  to  the  coco-nut,  containing  milk  in  the  interior  of  the 
kernel,  but  it  is  much  inferior  to  it  in  size.  Here,  and  indeed 
all  along  the  road,  we  saw,  on  most  days  in  the  wet  season, 


206      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

tracks  of  the  Jaguar.  We  never,  however,  met  with  the  animal, 
although  we  sometimes  heard  his  loud  "  hough  "  in  the  night 
whilst  lying  in  our  hammocks  at  home,  in  Santarem,  and  knew 
he  must  be  lurking  somewhere  near  us. 

My  best  hunting  ground  was  a  part  of  the  valley  sheltered 
on  one  side  by  a  steep  hill  whose  declivity,  like  the  swampy 
valley  beneath,  was  clothed  with  magnificent  forest.  We  used 
to  make  our  halt  in  a  small  cleared  place,  tolerably  free  from 
ants  and  close  to  the  water.  Here  we  assembled  after  our  toil- 
some morning's  hunt  in  different  directions  through  the  woods, 
took  our  well-earned  meal  on  the  ground — two  broad  leaves  of 
the  wild  banana  serving  us  for  a  tablecloth — and  rested  for  a 
couple  of  hours  during  the  great  heat  of  the  afternoon.     The 


The  Jacuaru  (Teius  teguexim). 

diversity  of  animal  productions  was  as  wonderful  as  that  of  the 
vegetable  forms  in  this  rich  locality.  It  was  pleasant  to  lie 
down  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day,  when  my  people  lay 
asleep,  and  watch  the  movements  of  animals.  Sometimes  a 
troop  of  Anus  (Crotophaga),  a  glossy  black-plumaged  bird, 
which  lives  in  small  societies  in  grassy  places,  would  come  in 
from  the  campos,  one  by  one,  calling  to  each  other  as  they  moved 
from  tree  to  tree.  Or  a  Toucan  (Rhamphastos  ariel)  silently 
hopped  or  ran  along  and  up  the  branches,  peeping  into  chinks 
and  crevices.  Notes  of  solitary  birds  resounded  from  a  distance 
through  the  wilderness.  Occasionally  a  sulky  Trogon  would 
be  seen,  with  its  brilliant  green  back  and  rose-coloured  breast, 
perched  for  an  hour  without  moving  on  a  low  branch.  A 
number  of  large,  fat  lizards  two  feet  long,  of  a  kind  called  by 
the  natives  Jacuaru  (Teius  teguexim)  were  always  observed  in 
the  still  hours  of  mid-day  scampering  with  great  clatter  over 


Santarem  207 

the  dead  leaves,  apparently  in  chase  of  each  other.  The  fat  of 
this  bulky  lizard  is  much  prized  by  the  natives,  who  apply  it  as 
a  poultice  to  draw  palm  spines  or  even  grains  of  shot  from  the 
flesh.  Other  lizards  of  repulsive  aspect,  about  three  feet  in 
length  when  full  grown,  splashed  about  and  swam  in  the  water: 
sometimes  emerging  to  crawl  into  hollow  trees  on  the  banks  of 
the  stream,  where  I  once  found  a  female  and  a  nest  of  eggs. 
The  lazy  flapping  flight  of  large  blue  and  black  morpho  butter- 
flies high  in  the  air,  the  hum  of  insects,  and  many  inanimate 
sounds,  contributed  their  share  to  the  total  impression  this 
strange  solitude  produced.  Heavy  fruits  from  the  crowns  of 
trees  which  were  mingled  together  at  a  giddy  height  overhead, 
fell  now  and  then  with  a  startling  "  plop  "  into  the  water.  The 
breeze,  not  felt  below,  stirred  in  the  topmost  branches,  setting 
the  twisted  and  looped  sipos  in  motion,  which  creaked  and 
groaned  in  a  great  variety  of  notes.  To  these  noises  were  added 
the  monotonous  ripple  of  the  brook,  which  had  its  little  cascade 
at  every  score  or  two  yards  of  its  course. 

We  frequently  fell  in  with  an  old  Indian  woman,  named 
Cecilia,  who  had  a  small  clearing  in  the  woods.  She  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a  witch  (feiticeira),  and  I  found,  on  talking 
with  her,  that  she  prided  herself  on  her  knowledge  of  the  black 
art.  Her  slightly  curled  hair  showed  that  she  was  not  a  pure- 
blood  Indian:  I  was  told  her  father  was  a  dark  mulatto.  She 
was  always  very  civil  to  our  party;  showing  us  the  best  paths, 
explaining  the  virtues  and  uses  of  different  plants,  and  so 
forth.  I  was  much  amused  at  the  accounts  she  gave  of  the 
place.  Her  solitary  life  and  the  gloom  of  the  woods  seemed  to 
have  filled  her  with  superstitious  fancies.  She  said  gold  was 
contained  in  the  bed  of  the  brook,  and  that  the  murmur  of  the 
water  over  the  little  cascades  was  the  voice  of  the  "  water- 
mother  "  revealing  the  hidden  treasure.  A  narrow  pass  between 
two  hill  sides  was  the  portao  or  gate,  and  all  within,  along  the 
wooded  banks  of  the  stream,  was  enchanted  ground.  The  hill 
underneath  which  we  were  encamped  was  the  enchanter's  abode, 
and  she  gravely  told  us  she  often  had  long  conversations  with 
him.  These  myths  were  of  her  own  invention,  and  in  the  same 
way  an  endless  number  of  other  similar  ones  have  originated 
in  the  childish  imaginations  of  the  poor  Indian  and  half-breed 
inhabitants  of  different  parts  of  the  country.  It  is  to  be 
remarked,  however,  that  the  Indian  men  all  become  sceptics 
after  a  little  intercourse  with  the  whites.  The  witchcraft  of 
poor  Cecilia  was  of  a  very  weak  quality.    It  consisted  of  throw- 


208      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

ing  pinches  of  powdered  bark  of  a  certain  tree,  and  other 
substances,  into  the  fire  whilst  muttering  a  spell — a  prayer 
repeated  backwards — and  adding  the  name  of  the  person  on 
whom  she  wished  the  incantation  to  operate.  Some  of  the 
feiticeiras,  however,  play  more  dangerous  tricks  than  this  harm- 
less mummery.  They  are  acquainted  with  many  poisonous 
plants,  and  although  they  seldom  have  the  courage  to  administer 
a  fatal  dose,  sometimes  contrive  to  convey  to  their  victim 
sufficient  to  cause  serious  illness.  The  motive  by  which  they 
are  actuated  is  usually  jealousy  of  other  women  in  love  matters. 
Whilst  I  resided  in  Santarem  a  case  of  what  was  called  witch- 
craft was  tried  by  the  sub-delegado,  in  which  a  highly  respectable 
white  lady  was  the  complainant.  It  appeared  that  some  feiti- 
ceira  had  sprinkled  a  quantity  of  the  acrid  juice  of  a  large  arum 
on  her  linen  as  it  was  hanging  out  to  dry,  and  it  was  thought 
this  had  caused  a  serious  eruption  under  which  the  lady 
suffered. 

I  seldom  met  with  any  of  the  larger  animals  in  these  excur- 
sions. We  never  saw  a  mammal  of  any  kind  on  the  campos; 
but  tracks  of  three  species  were  seen  occasionally  besides  those 
of  the  Jaguar;  these  belonged  to  a  small  tiger  cat,  a  deer,  and 
an  opossum;  all  of  which  animals  must  have  been  very  rare, 
and  probably  nocturnal  in  their  habits,  with  the  exception  of 
the  deer.  I  saw  in  the  woods,  on  one  occasion,  a  small  flock  of 
monkeys,  and  once  had  an  opportunity  of  watching  the  move- 
ments of  a  sloth.  The  latter  was  of  the  kind  called  by  Cuvier 
Bradypus  tridactylus,  which  is  clothed  with  shaggy  grey  hair. 
The  natives  call  it,  in  the  Tupi  language,  Ai'  ybyrete  (in  Portu- 
guese, Preguica  da  terra  firme),  or  sloth  of  the  mainland,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Bradypus  infuscatus,  which  has  a  long, 
black  and  tawny  stripe  between  the  shoulders,  and  is  called 
Ai  Ygapo  (Preguica  das  vargens),  or  sloth  of  the  flooded  lands. 
Some  travellers  in  South  America  have  described  the  sloth  as 
very  nimble  in  its  native  woods,  and  have  disputed  the  justness 
of  the  name  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  it.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  Amazons  region,  however,  both  Indians  and  descendants 
of  the  Portuguese,  hold  to  the  common  opinion,  and  consider  the 
sloth  as  the  type  of  laziness.  It  is  very  common  for  one  native 
to  call  another,  in  reproaching  him  for  idleness,  "  bicho  do 
Embatiba "  (beast  of  the  Cecropia  tree);  the  leaves  of  the 
Cecropia  being  the  food  of  the  sloth.  It  is  a  strange  sight 
to  watch  the  uncouth  creature,  fit  production  of  these  silent 
shades,  lazily  moving  from  branch  to  branch.     Every  move- 


Santarem  209 

ment  betrays,  not  indolence  exactly,  but  extreme  caution.  He 
never  looses  his  hold  from  one  branch  without  first  securing 
himself  to  the  next,  and  when  he  does  not  immediately  find  a 
bough  to  grasp  with  the  rigid  hooks  into  which  his  paws  are 
so  curiously  transformed,  he  raises  his  body,  supported  on  his 
hind  legs,  and  claws  around  in  search  of  a  fresh  foothold.  After 
watching  the  animal  for  about  half  an  hour  I  gave  him  a  charge 
of  shot;  he  fell  with  a  terrific  crash,  but  caught  a  bough,  in  his 
descent,  with  his  powerful  claws,  and  remained  suspended.  Our 
Indian  lad  tried  to  climb  the  tree,  but  was  driven  back  by 
swarms  of  stinging  ants ;  the  poor  little  fellow  slid  down  in  a  sad 
predicament,  and  plunged  into  the  brook  to  free  himself.  Two 
days  afterwards  I  found  the  body  of  the  sloth  on  the  ground: 
the  animal  having  dropped  on  the  relaxation  of  the  muscles  a 
few  hours  after  death.  In  one  of  our  voyages,  Mr.  Wallace  and 
I  saw  a  sloth  (B.  infuscatus)  swimming  across  a  river,  at  a  place 
where  it  was  probably  300  yards  broad.  I  believe  it  is  not 
generally  known  that  this  animal  takes  to  the  water.  Our 
men  caught  the  beast,  cooked,  and  ate  him. 

In  returning  from  these  trips  we  were  sometimes  benighted 
on  the  campos.  We  did  not  care  for  this  on  moonlit  nights, 
when  there  was  no  danger  of  losing  the  path.  The  great  heat 
felt  in  the  middle  hours  of  the  day  is  much  mitigated  by  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon;  a  few  birds  then  make  their  appear- 
ance; small  flocks  of  ground  doves  run  about  the  stony  hillocks; 
parrots  pass  over  and  sometimes  settle  in  the  ilhas;  pretty 
little  finches  of  several  species,  especially  one  kind,  streaked 
with  olive-brown  and  yellow,  and  somewhat  resembling  our 
yellow-hammer,  but  I  believe  not  belonging  to  the  same  genus, 
hop  about  the  grass,  enlivening  the  place  with  a  few  musical 
notes.  The  Carashue  (Mimus)  also  then  resumes  its  mellow, 
blackbird-like  song;  and  two  or  three  species  of  humming-bird, 
none  of  which,  however,  are  peculiar  to  the  district,  flit  about 
from  tree  to  tree.  On  the  other  hand,  the  little  blue  and 
yellow-striped  lizards,  which  abound  amongst  the  herbage 
during  the  scorching  heats  of  midday,  retreat  towards  this  hour 
to  their  hiding-places;  together  with  the  day-flying  insects  and 
the  numerous  campo  butterflies.  Some  of  these  latter  resemble 
greatly  our  English  species  found  in  heathy  places,  namely,  a 
fritillary,  Argynnis  (Euptoieta)  Hegesia,  and  two  smaller  kinds, 
which  are  deceptively  like  the  little  Nemeobius  Lucina.  After 
sunset  the  air  becomes  delightfully  cool,  and  fragrant  with  the 
aroma  of  fruits  and  flowers.     The  nocturnal  animals  then  come 


210      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

forth.  A  monstrous  hairy  spider,  five  inches  in  expanse,  of  a 
brown  colour  with  yellowish  lines  along  its  stout  legs — which 
is  very  common  here,  inhabiting  broad  tubular  galleries 
smoothly  lined  with  silken  web — may  be  then  caught  on  the 
watch  at  the  mouth  of  its  burrow.  It  is  only  seen  at  night, 
and  I  think  does  not  wander  far  from  its  den;  the  gallery  is 
about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  runs  in  a  slanting  direction, 
about  two  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  soil.  As  soon  as  it  is 
night,  swarms  of  goat-suckers  suddenly  make  their  appearance, 
wheeling  about  in  a  noiseless,  ghostly  manner,  in  chase  of 
night-flying  insects.  They  sometimes  descend  and  settle  on 
a  low  branch,  or  even  on  the  pathway  close  to  where  one  is 
walking,  and  then  squatting  down  on  their  heels,  are  difficult 
to  distinguish  from  the  surrounding  soil.  One  kind  has  a  long 
forked  tail.  In  the  daytime  they  are  concealed  in  the  wooded 
ilhas,  where  I  very  often  saw  them  crouched  and  sleeping  on 
the  ground  in  the  dense  shade.  They  make  no  nest,  but  lay 
their  eggs  on  the  bare  ground.  Their  breeding  time  is  in  the 
rainy  season,  and  fresh  eggs  are  found  from  December  to  June. 
Later  in  the  evening,  the  singular  notes  of  the  goat-suckers 
are  heard,  one  species  crying  Quao,  Quao,  another  Chuck-co-co- 
cao; and  these  are  repeated  at  intervals  far  into  the  night  in 
the  most  monotonous  manner.  A  great  number  of  toads  are 
seen  on  the  bare  sandy  pathways  soon  after  sunset.  One  of 
them  was  quite  a  colossus,  about  seven  inches  in  length  and 
three  in  height.  This  big  fellow  would  never  move  out  of  the 
way  until  we  were  close  to  him.  If  we  jerked  him  out  of  the 
path  with  a  stick,  he  would  slowly  recover  himself,  and  then 
turn  round  to  have  a  good  impudent  stare.  I  have  counted  as 
many  as  thirty  of  these  monsters  within  a  distance  of  half  a 
mile. 


CHAPTER  IX 

VOYAGE    UP   THE   TAPAJOS 

Preparations  for  Voyage — First  Day's  Sail — Loss  of  Boat — Altar  do  Chao 
— Modes  of  obtaining  Fish — Difficulties  with  Crew — Arrival  at 
Aveyros — Excursions  in  the  Neighbourhood — White  Cebus  and 
Habits  and  Dispositions  of  Cebi  Monkeys — Tame  Parrot — Missionary 
Settlement — Enter  the  River  Cupari — Adventure  with  Anaconda — 
Smoke  -  dried  Monkey  —  Boa-constrictor  —  Village  of  Mundurucu 
Indians,  and  Incursion  of  a  Wild  Tribe — Falls  of  the  Cupari — Hyacin- 
thine  Macaw — Re-emerge  into  the  broad  Tapajos — Descent  of  River 
to  Santarem 

June,  1852 — I  will  now  proceed  to  relate  the  incidents  of  my 
principal  excursion  up  the  Tapajos,  which  I  began  to  prepare 
for,  after  residing  about  six  months  at  Santarem. 

I  was  obliged,  this  time,  to  travel  in  a  vessel  of  my  own; 
partly  because  trading  canoes  large  enough  to  accommodate  a 
Naturalist  very  seldom  pass  between  Santarem  and  the  thinly- 
peopled  settlements  on  the  river,  and  partly  because  I  wished 
to  explore  districts  at  my  ease,  far  out  of  the  ordinary  track  of 
traders.  I  soon  found  a  suitable  canoe;  a  two-masted  cuberta, 
of  about  six  tons'  burthen,  strongly  built  of  Itaiiba  or  stone- 
wood,  a  timber  of  which  all  the  best  vessels  in  the  Amazons 
country  are  constructed,  and  said  to  be  more  durable  than  teak. 
This  I  hired  of  a  merchant  at  the  cheap  rate  of  500  reis,  or  about 
one  shilling  and  twopence  per  day.  I  fitted  up  the  cabin,  which, 
as  usual  in  canoes  of  this  class,  was  a  square  structure  with  its 
floor  above  the  water-line,  as  my  sleeping  and  working  apart- 
ment. My  chests,  filled  with  store-boxes  and  trays  for  speci- 
mens, were  arranged  on  each  side,  and  above  them  were  shelves 
and  pegs  to  hold  my  little  stock  of  useful  books,  guns,  and 
game  bags,  boards  and  materials  for  skinning  and  preserving 
animals,  botanical  press  and  papers,  drying  cages  for  insects 
and  birds  and  so  forth.  A  rush  mat  was  spread  on  the  floor, 
and  my  rolled-up  hammock,  to  be  used  only  when  sleeping 
ashore,  served  for  a  pillow.  The  arched  covering  over  the  hold 
in  the  fore  part  of  the  vessel  contained,  besides  a  sleeping  place 
for  the  crew,  my  heavy  chests,  stock  of  salt  provisions  and 


2 1  2      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

groceries,  and  an  assortment  of  goods  wherewith  to  pay  my 
way  amongst  the  half-civilised  or  savage  inhabitants  of  the. 
interior.  The  goods  consisted  of  cashaca,  powder  and  shot,  a 
few  pieces  of  coarse  checked-cotton  cloth  and  prints,  fish-hooks, 
axes,  large  knives,  harpoons,  arrow-heads,  looking-glasses, 
beads,  and  other  small  wares.  Jose  and  myself  were  busy  for 
many  days  arranging  these  matters.  We  had  to  salt  the  meat 
and  grind  a  supply  of  coffee  ourselves.  Cooking  utensils, 
crockery,  water- jars,  a  set  of  useful  carpenter's  tools,  and  many 
other  things  had  to  be  provided.  We  put  all  the  groceries  and 
other  perishable  articles  in  tin  canisters  and  boxes,  having  found 
that  this  was  the  only  way  of  preserving  them  from  damp  and 
insects  in  this  climate.  When  all  was  done,  our  canoe  looked 
like  a  little  floating  workshop. 

I  could  get  little  information  about  the  river,  except  vague 
accounts  of  the  difficulty  of  the  navigation,  and  the  famito  or 
hunger  which  reigned  on  its  banks.  As  I  have  before  mentioned, 
it  is  about  iooo  miles  in  length,  and  flows  from  south  to 
north;  in  magnitude  it  stands  the  sixth  amongst  the  tributaries 
of  the  Amazons.  It  is  navigable,  however,  by  sailing  vessels 
only  for  about  160  miles  above  Santarem.  The  hiring  of  men 
to  navigate  the  vessel  was  our  greatest  trouble.  Jose  was  to 
be  my  helmsman,  and  we  thought  three  other  hands  would  be 
the  fewest  with  which  we  could  venture.  But  all  our  endeavours 
to  procure  these  were  fruitless.  Santarem  is  worse  provided 
with  Indian  canoemen  than  any  other  town  on  the  river.  I 
found  on  applying  to  the  tradesmen  to  whom  I  had  brought 
letters  of  introduction  and  to  the  Brazilian  authorities,  that 
almost  any  favour  would  be  sooner  granted  than  the  loan  of 
hands.  A  stranger,  however,  is  obliged  to  depend  on  them; 
for  it  is  impossible  to  find  an  Indian  or  half-caste  whom  some 
one  or  other  of  the  head-men  do  not  claim  as  owing  him  money 
or  labour.  I  was  afraid  at  one  time  I  should  have  been  forced 
to  abandon  my  project  on  this  account.  At  length,  after  many 
rebuffs  and  disappointments,  Jose  contrived  to  engage  one  man, 
a  mulatto,  named  Pinto,  a  native  of  the  mining  country  of 
Interior  Brazil,  who  knew  the  river  well;  and  with  these  two 
I  resolved  to  start,  hoping  to  meet  with  others  at  the  first 
village  on  the  road. 

We  left  Santarem  on  the  8th  of  June.  The  waters  were  then 
at  their  highest  point,  and  my  canoe  had  been  anchored  close 
to  the  back  door  of  our  house.  The  morning  was  cool  and  a 
brisk  wind  blew,  with  which  we  sped  rapidly  past  the  white- 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  213 

washed  houses  and  thatched  Indian  huts  of  the  suburbs.  The 
charming  little  bay  of  Mapiri  was  soon  left  behind;  we  then 
doubled  Point  Maria  Josepha,  a  headland  formed  of  high  cliffs 
of  Tabatinga  clay,  capped  with  forest.  This  forms  the  limit  of 
the  river  view  from  Santarem,  and  here  we  had  our  last  glimpse, 
at  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight  miles,  of  the  city,  a  bright  line 
of  tiny  white  buildings  resting  on  the  dark  water.  A  stretch 
of  wild,  rocky,  uninhabited  coast  was  before  us,  and  we  were 
fairly  within  the  Tapajos. 

Our  course  lay  due  west  for  about  twenty  miles.  The  wind 
increased  as  we  neared  Point  Cururu,  where  the  river  bends 
from  its  northern  course.  A  vast  expanse  of  water  here 
stretches  to  the  west  and  south,  and  the  waves,  with  a  strong 
breeze,  run  very  high.  As  we  were  doubling  the  Point,  the 
cable  which  held  our  montaria  in  tow  astern,  parted,  and  in 
endeavouring  to  recover  the  boat,  without  which  we  knew  it 
would  be  difficult  to  get  ashore  on  many  parts  of  the  coast,  we 
were  very  near  capsizing.  We  tried  to  tack  down  the  river;  a 
vain  attempt  with  a  strong  breeze  and  no  current.  Our  ropes 
snapped,  the  sails  flew  to  rags,  and  the  vessel,  which  we  now 
found  was  deficient  in  ballast,  heeled  over  frightfully.  Contrary 
to  Joke's  advice,  I  ran  the  cuberta  into  a  little  bay,  thinking 
to  cast  anchor  there  and  wait  for  the  boat  coming  up  with  the 
wind;  but  the  anchor  dragged  on  the  smooth  sandy  bottom, 
and  the  vessel  went  broadside  on  to  the  rocky  beach.  With 
a  little  dexterous  management,  but  not  until  after  we  had 
sustained  some  severe  bumps,  we  managed  to  get  out  of  this 
difficulty,  clearing  the  rocky  point  at  a  close  shave  with  our 
jib-sail.  Soon  after,  we  drifted  into  the  smooth  water  of  a 
sheltered  bay  which  leads  to  the  charmingly  situated  village  of 
Altar  do  Chao;  and  we  were  obliged  to  give  up  our  attempt  to 
recover  the  montaria. 

The  little  settlement,  Altar  do  Chao  (altar  of  the  ground,  or 
Earth  altar),  owes  its  singular  name  to  the  existence  at  the 
entrance  to  the  harbour  of  one  of  those  strange  flat-topped  hills 
which  are  so  common  in  this  part  of  the  Amazons  country, 
shaped  like  the  high  altar  in  Roman  Catholic  churches.  It  is 
an  isolated  one,  and  much  lower  in  height  than  the  similarly 
truncated  hills  and  ridges  near  Almeyrim,  being  elevated  prob- 
ably not  more  than  300  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  It 
is  bare  of  trees,  but  covered  in  places  with  a  species  of  fern. 
At  the  head  of  the  bay  is  an  inner  harbour,  which  communicates 
by  a  channel  with  a  series  of  lakes  lying  in  the  valleys  between 


214      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

hills,  and  stretching  far  into  the  interior  of  the  land.  The 
village  is  peopled  almost  entirely  by  semi-civilised  Indians,  to 
the  number  of  sixty  or  seventy  familes;  and  the  scattered 
houses  are  arranged  in  broad  streets  on  a  strip  of  greensward, 
at  the  foot  of  a  high,  gloriously-wooded  ridge. 

I  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  situation  of  this  settlement, 
and  the  number  of  rare  birds  and  insects  which  tenanted  the 
forest,  that  I  revisited  it  in  the  following  year,  and  spent  four 
months  making  collections.  The  village  itself  is  a  neglected, 
poverty-stricken  place :  the  governor  (Captain  of  Trabalhadores, 
or  Indian  workmen)  being  an  old,  apathetic,  half-breed,  who 
had  spent  all  his  life  here.  The  priest  was  a  most  profligate 
character;  I  seldom  saw  him  sober;  he  was  a  white,  however, 
and  a  man  of  good  ability.  I  may  as  well  mention  here,  that  a 
moral  and  zealous  priest  is  a  great  rarity  in  this  province:  the 
only  ministers  of  religion  in  the  whole  country  who  appeared 
sincere  in  their  calling  being  the  Bishop  of  Para  and  the  Vicars 
of  Ega  on  the  Upper  Amazons  and  Obydos.  The  houses  in  the 
village  swarmed  with  vermin;  bats  in  the  thatch;  fire-ants 
(formiga  de  fogo)  under  the  floors;  cockroaches  and  spiders  on 
the  walls.  Very  few  of  them  had  wooden  doors  and  locks. 
Altar  do  Chao  was  originally  a  settlement  of  the  aborigines, 
and  was  called  Burari.  The  Indians  were  always  hostile  to  the 
Portuguese,  and  during  the  disorders  of  1835-6  joined  the 
rebels  in  their  attack  on  Santarem.  Few  of  them  escaped  the 
subsequent  slaughter,  and  for  this  reason  there  is  now  scarcely 
an  old  or  middle-aged  man  in  the  place.  As  in  all  the  semi- 
civilised  villages,  where  the  original  orderly  and  industrious 
habits  of  the  Indian  have  been  lost  without  anything  being 
learnt  from  the  whites  to  make  amends,  the  inhabitants  live  in 
the  greatest  poverty.  The  scarcity  of  fish  in  the  clear  waters 
and  rocky  bays  of  the  neighbourhood  is  no  doubt  partly  the 
cause  of  the  poverty  and  perennial  hunger  which  reign  here. 
When  we  arrived  in  the  port  our  canoe  was  crowded  with  the 
half-naked  villagers — men,  women,  and  children,  who  came  to 
beg  each  a  piece  of  salt  pirarucu  "  for  the  love  of  God."  They 
are  not  quite  so  badly  off  in  the  dry  season.  The  shallow  lakes 
and  bays  then  contain  plenty  of  fish,  and  the  boys  and  women 
go  out  at  night  to  spear  them  by  torchlight;  the  torches  being 
made  of  thin  strips  of  green  bark  from  the  leaf-stalks  of  palms, 
tied  in  bundles.  Many  excellent  kinds  of  fish  are  thus  obtained; 
amongst  them  the  Pescada,  whose  white  and  flaky  flesh,  when 
boiled,  has  the  appearance  and  flavour  of  cod-fish;    and  the 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  215 

Tucunare  (Cichla  temensis),  a  handsome  species,  with  a  large 
prettily-coloured,  eye-like  spot  on  its  tail.  Many  small  Salmonidae 
are  also  met  with,  and  a  kind  of  sole,  called  Aramassa,  which 
moves  along  the  clear  sandy  bottom  of  the  bay.  At  these  times 
a  species  of  sting-ray  is  common  on  the  sloping  beach,  and 
bathers  are  frequently  stung  most  severely  by  it.  The  weapon 
of  this  fish  is  a  strong  blade  with  jagged  edges,  about  three 
inches  long,  growing  from  the  side  of  the  long  fleshy  tail.  I  once 
saw  a  woman  wounded  by  it  whilst  bathing;  she  shrieked  fright- 
fully, and  was  obliged  to  be  carried  to  her  hammock,  where  she 
lay  for  a  week  in  great  pain;  I  have  known  strong  men  to  be 
lamed  for  many  months  by  the  sting. 

There  was  a  mode  of  taking  fish  here  which  I  had  not  before 
seen  employed,  but  found  afterwards  to  be  very  common  on  the 
Tapajos.  This  is  by  using  a  poisonous  liana  called  Timbo 
(Paullinia  pinnata).  It  will  act  only  in  the  still  waters  of 
creeks  and  pools.  A  few  rods,  a  yard  in  length,  are  mashed 
and  soaked  in  the  water,  which  quickly  becomes  discoloured 
with  the  milky  deleterious  juice  of  the  plant.  In  about  half  an 
hour  all  the  smaller  fishes,  over  a  rather  wide  space  around  the 
spot,  rise  to  the  surface  floating  on  their  sides,  and  with  the 
gills  wide  open.  The  poison  acts  evidently  by  suffocating  the 
fishes;  it  spreads  slowly  in  the  water,  and  a  very  slight  mixture 
seems  sufficient  to  stupefy  them.  I  was  surprised,  on  beating 
the  water  in  places  where  no  fishes  were  visible  in  the  clear 
depths  for  many  yards  round,  to  find,  sooner  or  later,  sometimes 
twenty-four  hours  afterwards,  a  considerable  number  floating 
dead  on  the  surface. 

The  people  occupy  themselves  the  greater  part  of  the  year 
with  their  small  plantations  of  mandioca.  All  the  heavy  work, 
such  as  felling  and  burning  the  timber,  planting  and  weeding, 
is  done  in  the  plantation  of  each  family  by  a  congregation  of 
neighbours,  which  they  call  a  "  pucherum:  " — a  similar  custom 
to  the  "  bee  "  in  the  backwood  settlements  of  North  America. 
They  make  quite  a  holiday  of  each  pucherum.  When  the 
invitation  is  issued,  the  family  prepares  a  great  quantity  of 
fermented  drink,  called  in  this  part  Taroba,  from  soaked  man- 
dioca cakes,  and  porridge  of  Manicueira.  This  latter  is  a  kind 
of  sweet  mandioca,  very  different  from  the  Yuca  of  the  Peruvians 
and  Macasheira  of  the  Brazilians  (Manihot  Aypi),  having 
oblong  juicy  roots,  which  become  very  sweet  a  few  days  after 
they  are  gathered.  With  these  simple  provisions  they  regale 
their  helpers.     The  work  is  certainly  done,  but  after  a  very 


2i 6      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

rude  fashion;    all  become  soddened  with  Taroba.,  and  the  day 
finishes  often  in  a  drunken  brawl. 

The  climate  is  rather  more  humid  than  that  of  Santarem.  I 
suppose  this  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  neighbouring  country- 
being  densely  wooded,  instead  of  an  open  campo.  In  no  part 
of  the  country  did  I  enjoy  more  the  moonlit  nights  than  here, 
in  the  dry  season.  After  the  day's  work  was  done,  I  used  to 
go  down  to  the  shores  of  the  bay,  and  lie  at  full  length  on 
the  cool  sand  for  two  or  three  hours  before  bed-time.  The  soft 
pale  light,  resting  on  broad  sandy  beaches  and  palm-thatched 
huts,  reproduced  the  effect  of  a  mid-winter  scene  in  the  cold 
north  when  a  coating  of  snow  lies  on  the  landscape.  A  heavy 
shower  falls  about  once  a  week,  and  the  shrubby  vegetation 
never  becomes  parched  up  as  at  Santarem.  Between  the  rains 
the  heat  and  dryness  increase  from  day  to  day :  the  weather  on 
the  first  day  after  the  rain  is  gleamy,  with  intervals  of  melting 
sunshine  and  passing  clouds;  the  next  day  is  rather  drier,  and 
the  east  wind  begins  to  blow;  then  follow  days  of  cloudless 
sky,  with  gradually  increasing  strength  of  breeze.  When  this 
has  continued  about  a  week,  a  light  mistiness  begins  to  gather 
about  the  horizon;  clouds  are  formed;  grumbling  thunder  is 
heard,  and  then,  generally  in  the  night-time,  down  falls  the 
refreshing  rain.  The  sudden  chill  caused  by  the  rains  produces 
colds,  which  are  accompanied  by  the  same  symptoms  as  in  our 
own  climate;  with  this  exception  the  place  is  very  healthy. 

June  ijth. — The  two  young  men  returned  without  meeting 
with  my  montaria,  and  I  found  it  impossible  here  to  buy  a  new 
one.  Captain  Thomas  could  find  me  only  one  hand.  This  was 
a  blunt-spoken  but  willing  young  Indian,  named  Manoel.  He 
came  on  board  this  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  and  we  then  got 
up  our  anchor  and  resumed  our  voyage. 

The  wind  was  light  and  variable  all  day,  and  we  made  only 
about  fifteen  miles  by  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  coast 
formed  a  succession  of  long,  shallow  bays  with  sandy  beaches, 
on  which  the  waves  broke  in  a  long  line  of  surf.  Ten  miles 
above  Altar  do  Chao  is  a  conspicuous  headland,  called  Point 
Cajetuba.  During  a  lull  of  the  wind,  towards  midday,  we  ran 
the  cuberta  aground  in  shallow  water  and  waded  ashore,  but 
the  woods  were  scarcely  penetrable,  and  not  a  bird  was  to 
be  seen.  The  only  thing  observed  worthy  of  note,  was  the 
quantity  of  drowned  winged  ants  along  the  beach;  they  were 
all  of  one  species,  the  terrible  formiga  de  fogo  (Myrmica  saevis- 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  217 

sima);  the  dead,  or  half-dead  bodies  of  which  were  heaped  up 
in  a  line  an  inch  or  two  in  height  and  breadth,  the  line  con- 
tinuing without  interruption  for  miles  at  the  edge  of  the  water. 
The  countless  thousands  had  been  doubtless  cast  into  the  river 
whilst  flying  during  a  sudden  squall  the  night  before,  and  after- 
wards cast  ashore  by  the  waves.  We  found  ourselves  at  seven 
o'clock  near  the  mouth  of  a  creek  leading  to  a  small  lake,  called 
Aramana-i,  and  the  wind  having  died  away,  we  anchored, 
guided  by  the  lights  ashore,  near  the  house  of  a  settler,  named 
Jeronymo,  whom  I  knew,  and  who,  soon  after,  showed  us  a 
snug  little  harbour,  where  we  could  remain  in  safety  for  the 
night.  The  river  here  cannot  be  less  than  ten  miles  broad ;  it 
is  quite  clear  of  islands  and  free  from  shoals  at  this  season  of  the 
year.  The  opposite  coast  appeared  in  the  daytime  as  a  long 
thin  line  of  forest,  with  dim  grey  hills  in  the  background. 

To-day  (19th)  we  had  a  good  wind,  which  carried  us  to  the 
mouth  of  a  creek,  culled  Paquiatuba,  where  the  "  inspector  "  of 
the  district  lived,  Senhor  Cypriano,  for  whom  I  had  brought  an 
order  from  Captain  Thomas  to  supply  me  with  another  hand. 
We  had  great  difficulty  in  finding  a  place  to  land.  The  coast 
in  this  part  was  a  tract  of  level,  densely-wooded  country, 
through  which  flowed  the  winding  rivulet,  or  creek,  which 
gives  its  name  to  a  small  scattered  settlement  hidden  in  the 
wilderness;  the  hills  here  receding  two  or  three  miles  towards 
the  interior.  A  large  portion  of  the  forest  was  flooded,  the 
trunks  of  the  very  high  trees  near  the  mouth  of  the  creek 
standing  eighteen  feet  deep  in  water.  We  lost  two  hours  work- 
ing our  way  with  poles  through  the  inundated  woods  in  search  of 
the  port.  Every  inlet  we  tried  ended  in  a  labyrinth  choked  up 
with  bushes,  but  we  were  at  length  guided  to  the  right  place 
by  the  crowing  of  cocks.  On  shouting  for  a  montaria  an  Indian 
boy  made  his  appearance,  guiding  one  through  the  gloomy 
thickets;  but  he  was  so  alarmed,  I  suppose  at  the  apparition 
of  a  strange-looking  white  man  in  spectacles  bawling  from  the 
brow  of  the  vessel,  that  he  shot  back  quickly  into  the  bushes. 
He  returned  when  Manoel  spoke,  and  we  went  ashore:  the 
montaria  winding  along  a  gloomy  overshadowed  water-path, 
made  by  cutting  away  the  lower  branches  and  underwood. 
The  foot-road  to  the  houses  was  a  narrow,  sandy  alley,  bordered 
by  trees  of  stupendous  height,  overrun  with  creepers,  and 
having  an  unusual  number  of  long  air-roots  dangling  from  the 
epiphytes  on  their  branches. 

After  passing  one  low  smoky  little  hut,  half-buried  in  foliage, 


21 8      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  path  branched  off  in  various  directions,  and  the  boy  having 
left  us,  we  took  the  wrong  turn.  We  were  brought  to  a  stand 
soon  after  by  the  barking  of  dogs;  and  on  shouting,  as  is1 
customary  on  approaching  a  dwelling,  "0  da  casa!"  (Oh  of 
the  house!)  a  dark-skinned  native,  a  Cafuzo,  with  a  most  un- 
pleasant expression  of  countenance,  came  forth  through  the 
tangled  maze  of  bushes,  armed  with  a  long  knife,  with  which  he 
pretended  to  be  whittling  a  stick.  He  directed  us  to  the  house 
of  Cypriano,  which  was  about  a  mile  distant  along  another 
forest  road.  The  circumstance  of  the  Cafuzo  coming  out  armed 
to  receive  visitors  very  much  astonished  my  companions,  who 
talked  it  over  at  every  place  we  visited  for  several  days  after- 
wards; the  freest  and  most  unsuspecting  welcome  in  these 
retired  places  being  always  counted  upon  by  strangers.  But, 
as  Manoel  remarked,  the  fellow  may  have  been  one  of  the  un- 
pardoned rebel  leaders  who  had  settled  here  after  the  recapture 
of  Santarem  in  1836,  and  lived  in  fear  of  being  inquired  for  by 
the  authorities  of  Santarem.  After  all  our  troubles  we  found 
Cypriano  absent  from  home.  His  house  was  a  large  one,  and 
full  of  people,  old  and  young,  women  and  children,  all  of  whom 
were  Indians  or  mamelucos.  Several  smaller  huts  surrounded 
the  large  dwelling,  besides  extensive  open  sheds  containing 
mandioca  ovens  and  rude  wooden  mills  for  grinding  sugar-cane 
to  make  molasses.  All  the  buildings  were  embosomed  in  trees: 
it  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  find  a  more  retired  nook,  and 
an  air  of  contentment  was  spread  over  the  whole  establishment. 
Cypriano's  wife,  a  good-looking  mameluco  girl,  was  superintend- 
ing the  packing  of  farinha.  Two  or  three  old  women,  seated 
on  mats,  were  making  baskets  with  narrow  strips  of  bark  from 
the  leaf-stalks  of  palms,  whilst  others  were  occupied  lining  them 
with  the  broad  leaves  of  a  species  of  maranta,  and  filling  them 
afterwards  with  farinha,  which  was  previously  measured  in  a 
rude  square  vessel.  It  appeared  that  Senhor  Cypriano  was  a 
large  producer  of  the  article,  selling  300  baskets  (sixty  pounds' 
weight  each)  annually  to  Santarem  traders.  I  was  sorry  we 
were  unable  to  see  him,  but  it  was  useless  waiting,  as  we  were 
told  all  the  men  were  at  present  occupied  in  "  pucherums,"  and 
he  would  be  unable  to  give  me  the  assistance  I  required.  We 
returned  to  the  canoe  in  the  evening,  and,  after  moving  out 
into  the  river,  anchored  and  slept. 

June  20th. — We  had  a  light,  baffling  wind  off  shore  all  day 
on  the  20th,  and  made  but  fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  by  six  p.m.; 
when,  the  wind  failing  us,  we  anchored  at  the  mouth  of -a 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  219 

narrow  channel,  called  Tapaiuna,  which  runs  between  a  large 
island  and  the  mainland.  About  three  o'clock  we  passed  in 
front  of  Boim,  a  village  on  the  opposite  (western)  coast.  The 
breadth  of  the  river  is  here  six  or  seven  miles:  a  confused 
patch  of  white  on  the  high  land  opposite  was  all  we  saw  of  the 
village,  the  separate  houses  being  undistinguishable  on  account 
of  the  distance.  The  coast  along  which  we  sailed  to-day  is  a 
continuation  of  the  low  and  flooded  land  of  Paquiatuba. 

June  21st. — The  next  morning  we  sailed  along  the  Tapaiuna 
channel,  which  is  from  400  to  600  yards  in  breadth.  We 
advanced  but  slowly,  as  the  wind  was  generally  dead  against 
us,  and  stopped  frequently  to  ramble  ashore.  Wherever  the 
landing-place  was  sandy  it  was  impossible  to  walk  about,  on 
account  of  the  swarms  of  the  terrible  fire-ant,  whose  sting  is 
likened  by  the  Brazilians  to  the  puncture  of  a  red-hot  needle. 
There  was  scarcely  a  square  inch  of  ground  free  from  them. 
About  three  p.m.  we  glided  into  a  quiet,  shady  creek,  on  whose 
banks  an  industrious  white  settler  had  located  himself.  I  re- 
solved to  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  and  night  here,  and  endeavour 
to  obtain  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions,  our  stock  of  salt  beef 
being  now  nearly  exhausted.  The  situation  of  the  house  was 
beautiful;  the  little  harbour  being  gay  with  water  plants, 
Pontederiae,  now  full  of  purple  blossom,  from  which  flocks  of 
stilt-legged  water-fowl  started  up  screaming  as  we  entered. 
The  owner  sent  a  boy  with  my  men  to  show  them  the  best 
place  for  fish  up  the  creek,  and  in  the  course  of  the  evening 
sold  me  a  number  of  fowls,  besides  baskets  of  beans  and  farinha. 
The  result  of  the  fishing  was  a  good  supply  of  Jandia,  a  hand- 
some spotted  Siluride  fish,  and  Piranha,  a  kind  of  Salmon. 
Piranhas  are  of  several  kinds,  many  of  which  abound  in  the 
waters  of  the  Tapajos.  They  are  caught  with  almost  any  kind 
of  bait,  for  their  taste  is  indiscriminate  and  their  appetite  most 
ravenous.  They  often  attack  the  legs  of  bathers  near  the  shore, 
inflicting  severe  wounds  with  their  strong  triangular  teeth.  At 
Paquiatuba  and  this  place  I  added  about  twenty  species  of 
small  fishes  to  my  collection ;  caught  by  hook  and  line,  or  with 
the  hand  in  shallow  pools  under  the  shade  of  the  forest. 

My  men  slept  ashore,  and  on  the  coming  aboard  in  the 
morning  Pinto  was  drunk  and  insolent.  According  to  Jose, 
who  had  kept  himself  sober,  and  was  alarmed  at  the  other's 
violent  conduct,  the  owner  of  the  house  and  Pinto  had  spent 
the  greater  part  of  the  night  together,  drinking  aguardente  de 
beiju,— a  spiiit  distilled  from  the  mandioca  root.    We  knew 


220      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

nothing  of  the  antecedents  of  this  man,  who  was  a  tall,  strong, 
self-willed  fellow,  and  it  began  to  dawn  on  us  that  this  was  not 
a  very  safe  travelling  companion  in  a  wild  country  like  this.  < 
I  thought  it  better  now  to  make  the  best  of  our  way  to  the  next 
settlement,  Aveyros,  and  get  rid  of  him.  Our  course  to-day  lay 
along  a  high  rocky  coast,  which  extended  without  a  break  for 
about  eight  miles.  The  height  of  the  perpendicular  rocks  was 
from  ioo  to  150  feet;  ferns  and  flowering  shrubs  grew  in  the 
crevices,  and  the  summit  supported  a  luxuriant  growth  of 
forest,  like  the  rest  of  the  river  banks.  The  waves  beat  with 
loud  roar  at  the  foot  of  these  inhospitable  barriers.  At  two  p.m. 
we  passed  the  mouth  of  a  small  picturesque  harbour,  formed  by 
a  gap  in  the  precipitous  coast.  Several  families  have  here 
settled;  the  place  is  called  Ita-puama,  or  "standing  rock," 
from  a  remarkable  isolated  cliff,  which  stands  erect  at  the 
entrance  to  the  little  haven.  A  short  distance  beyond  Ita- 
puama  we  found  ourselves  opposite  to  the  village  of  Pinhel, 
which  is  perched,  like  Boim,  on  high  ground,  on  the  western 
side  of  the  river.  The  stream  is  here  from  six  to  seven  miles 
wide.  A  line  of  low  islets  extends  in  front  of  Pinhel,  and  a 
little  further  to  the  south  is  a  larger  island,  called  Capitari, 
which  lies  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 

June  2yd. — The  wind  freshened  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  23rd.  A  thick  black  cloud  then  began  to  spread 
itself  over  the  sky  a  long  way  down  the  river;  the  storm  which 
it  portended,  however,  did  not  reach  us,  as  the  dark  threatening 
mass  crossed  from  east  to  west,  and  the  only  effect  it  had  was 
to  impel  a  column  of  cold  air  up  river,  creating  a  breeze  with 
which  we  bounded  rapidly  forward.  The  wind  in  the  after- 
noon strengthened  to  a  gale;  we  carried  on  with  one  foresail 
only,  two  of  the  men  holding  on  to  the  boom  to  prevent  the 
whole  thing  from  flying  to  pieces.  The  rocky  coast  continued 
for  about  twelve  miles  above  Ita-puama:  then  succeeded  a 
tract  of  low  marshy  land,  which  had  evidently  been  once  an 
island  whose  channel  of  separation  from  the  mainland  had 
become  silted  up.  The  island  of  Capitari  and  another  group 
of  islets  succeeding  it,  called  Jacare,  on  the  opposite  side, 
helped  also  to  contract  at  this  point  the  breadth  of  the  river, 
which  was  now  not  more  than  about  three  miles.  The  little 
cuberta  almost  flew  along  this  coast,  there  being  no  perceptible 
current,  past  extensive  swamps,  margined  with  thick  floating 
grasses.  At  length,  on  rounding  a  low  point,  higher  land  again 
appeared  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  the  village  of 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  221 

Aveyros  hove  in  sight,  in  the  port  of  which  we  cast  anchor 
late  in  the  afternoon. 

Aveyros  is  a  small  settlement,  containing  only  fourteen  or 
fifteen  houses  besides  the  church;  but  it  is  the  place  of  residence 
of  the  authorities  of  a  large  district;  the  priest,  Juiz  de  Paz, 
the  subdelegado  of  police,  and  the  Captain  of  the  Trabalhadores. 
The  district  includes  Pinhel,  which  we  passed  about  twenty 
miles  lower  down  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  Five  miles 
beyond  Aveyros,  and  also  on  the  left  bank,  is  the  missionary 
village  of  Santa  Cruz,  comprising  thirty  or  forty  families  of 
baptised  Mundurucu  Indians,  who  are  at  present  under  the 
management  of  a  Capuchin  Friar,  and  are  independent  of  the 
Captain  of  Trabalhadores  of  Aveyros.  The  river  view  from 
this  point  towards  the  south  was  very  grand;  the  stream  is 
from  two  to  three  miles  broad,  with  green  islets  resting  on  its 
surface,  and  on  each  side  a  chain  of  hills  stretches  away  in  long 
perspective.  I  resolved  to  stay  here  for  a  few  weeks  to  make 
collections.  On  landing,  my  first  care  was  to  obtain  a  house 
or  room,  that  I  might  live  ashore.  This  was  soon  arranged; 
the  head  man  of  the  place,  Captain  Antonio,  having  received 
notice  of  my  coming,  so  that  before  night  all  the  chests  and 
apparatus  I  required  were  housed  and  put  in  order  for  working. 

I  here  dismissed  Pinto,  who  again  got  drunk  and  quarrel- 
some a  few  hours  after  he  came  ashore.  He  left  the  next  day, 
to  my  great  relief,  in  a  small  trading  canoe  that  touched  at  the 
place  on  its  way  to  Santarem.  The  Indian  Manoel  took  his 
leave  at  the  same  time,  having  engaged  to  accompany  me  only 
as  far  as  Aveyros;  I  was  then  dependent  on  Captain  Antonio 
for  fresh  hands.  The  captains  of  Trabalhadores  are  appointed 
by  the  Brazilian  Government,  to  embody  the  scattered  Indian 
labourers  and  canoe-men  of  their  respective  districts,  to  the 
end  that  they  may  supply  passing  travellers  with  men  when 
required.  A  semi-military  organisation  is  given  to  the  bodies; 
some  of  the  steadiest  amongst  the  Indians  themselves  being 
nominated  as  sergeants,  and  all  the  members  mustered  at  the 
principal  village  of  their  district  twice  a-year.  The  captains, 
however,  universally  abuse  their  authority,  monopolising  the 
service  of  the  men  for  their  own  purposes,  so  that  it  is  only  by 
favour  that  the  loan  of  a  canoe-hand  can  be  wrung  from  them. 
I  was  treated  by  Captain  Antonio  with  great  consideration,  and 
promised  two  good  Indians  when  I  should  be  ready  to  continue 
my  voyage. 

Little  happened  worth  narrating  during  my  forty  days'  stay 


222      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

at  Aveyros.  The  time  was  spent  in  the  quiet,  regular  pursuit 
of  Natural  History:  every  morning  I  had  my  long  ramble  in 
the  forest,  which  extended  to  the  back-doors  of  the  houses,  and 
the  afternoons  were  occupied  in  preserving  and  studying  the 
objects  collected.  The  priest  was  a  lively  old  man,  but  rather 
a  bore  from  being  able  to  talk  of  scarcely  anything  except 
homoeopathy,  having  been  smitten  with  the  mania  during  a 
recent  visit  to  Santarem.  He  had  a  Portuguese  Homoeopathic 
Dictionary,  and  a  little  leather  case  containing  glass  tubes 
filled  with  globules,  with  which  he  was  doctoring  the  whole 
village.  A  bitter  enmity  seemed  to  exist  between  the  female 
members  of  the  priest's  family  and  those  of  the  captain's;  the 
only  white  women  in  the  settlement.  It  was  amusing  to  notice 
how  they  flaunted  past  each  other,  when  going  to  church  on 
Sundays,  in  their  starched  muslin  dresses.  I  found  an  intel- 
ligent young  man  living  here,  a  native  of  the  province  of  Goyaz, 
who  was  exploring  the  neighbourhood  for  gold  and  diamonds. 
He  had  made  one  journey  up  a  branch  river,  and  declared  to 
me  that  he  had  found  one  diamond,  but  was  unable  to  continue 
his  researches,  because  the  Indians  who  accompanied  him 
refused  to  remain  any  longer:  he  was  now  waiting  for  Captain 
Antonio  to  assist  him  with  fresh  men,  having  offered  him  in 
return  a  share  in  the  results  of  the  enterprise.  There  appeared 
to  be  no  doubt,  that  gold  is  occasionally  found  within  two  or 
three  days'  journey  of  Aveyros;  but  all  lengthened  search  is 
made  impossible  by  the  scarcity  of  food  and  the  impatience  of 
the  Indians,  who  see  no  value  in  the  precious  metal,  and  abhor 
the  tediousness  of  the  gold-searcher's  occupation.  It  is  im- 
possible to  do  without  them,  as  they  are  required  to  paddle  the 
canoes. 

The  weather,  during  the  month  of  July,  was  uninterruptedly 
fine;  not  a  drop  of  rain  fell,  and  the  river  sank  rapidly.  The 
mornings,  for  two  hours  after  sunrise,  were  very  cold;  we  were 
glad  to  wrap  ourselves  in  blankets  on  turning  out  of  our  ham- 
mocks, and  walk  about  at  a  quick  pace  in  the  early  sunshine. 
But  in  the  afternoons  the  heat  was  sickening;  for  the  glowing 
sun  then  shone  full  on  the  front  of  the  row  of  whitewashed 
houses,  and  there  was  seldom  any  wind  to  moderate  its  effects. 
I  began  now  to  understand  why  the  branch  rivers  of  the 
Amazons  were  so  unhealthy,  whilst  the  main  stream  was  pretty 
nearly  free  from  diseases  arising  from  malaria.  The  cause  lies, 
without  doubt,  in  the  slack  currents  of  the  tributaries  in  the 
dry  season,  and  the  absence  of  the  cooling  Amazonian  trade- 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  223 

wind,  which  purifies  the  air  along  the  banks  of  the  main  river. 
The  trade-wind  does  not  deviate  from  its  nearly  straight 
westerly  course,  so  that  the  branch  streams,  which  run  generally 
at  right  angles  to  the  Amazons,  and  have  a  slack  current  for  a 
long  distance  from  their  mouths,  are  left  to  the  horrors  of 
nearly  stagnant  air  and  water. 

Aveyros  may  be  called  the  head-quarters  of  the  fire-ant, 
which  might  be  fittingly  termed  the  scourge  of  this  fine  river. 
The  Tapajos  is  nearly  free  from  the  insect  pests  of  other  parts, 
mosquitoes,  sand-flies,  Motucas  and  piums;  but  the  formiga  de 
fogo  is  perhaps  a  greater  plague  than  all  the  others  put  together. 
It  is  found  only  on  sandy  soils  in  open  places,  and  seems  to 
thrive  most  in  the  neighbourhood  of  houses  and  weedy  villages, 
such  as  Aveyros:  it  does  not  occur  at  all  in  the  shades  of  the 
forest.  I  noticed  it  in  most  places  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons, 
but  the  species  is  not  very  common  on  the  main  river,  and  its 
presence  is  there  scarcely  noticed,  because  it  does  not  attack 
man,  and  the  sting  is  not  so  virulent  as  it  is  in  the  same  species 
on  the  banks  of  the  Tapajos.  Aveyros  was  deserted  a  few 
years  before  my  visit  on  account  of  this  little  tormentor,  and 
the  inhabitants  had  only  recently  returned  to  their  houses, 
thinking  its  numbers  had  decreased.  It  is  a  small  species,  of 
a  shining  reddish  colour,  not  greatly  differing  from  the  common 
red  stinging  ant  of  our  own  country  (Myrmica  rubra),  except 
that  the  pain  and  irritation  caused  by  its  sting  are  much  greater. 
The  soil  of  the  whole  village  is  undermined  by  it:  the  ground 
is  perforated  with  the  entrances  to  their  subterranean  galleries, 
and  a  little  sandy  dome  occurs  here  and  there,  where  the  insects 
bring  their  young  to  receive  warmth  near  the  surface.  The 
houses  are  overrun  with  them;  they  dispute  every  fragment 
of  food  with  the  inhabitants,  and  destroy  clothing  for  the  sake 
of  the  starch.  All  eatables  are  obliged  to  be  suspended  in 
baskets  from  the  rafters,  and  the  cords  well  soaked  with  copaiiba 
balsam,  which  is  the  only  means  known  of  preventing  them 
from  climbing.  They  seem  to  attack  persons  out  of  sheer 
malice:  if  we  stood  for  a  few  moments  in  the  street,  even  at 
a  distance  from  their  nests,  we  were  sure  to  be  overrun  and 
severely  punished,  for  the  moment  an  ant  touched  the  flesh, 
he  secured  himself  with  his  jaws,  doubled  in  his  tail,  and  stung 
with  all  his  might.  When  we  were  seated  on  chairs  in  the 
evenings  in  front  of  the  house  to  enjoy  a  chat  with  our  neigh- 
bours, we  had  stools  to  support  our  feet,  the  legs  of  which  as 
well  as  those  of  the  chairs,  were  well  anointed  with  the  balsam. 


224      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

The  cords  of  hammocks  are  obliged  to  be  smeared  in  the  same 
way  to  prevent  the  ants  from  paying  sleepers  a  visit. 

The  inhabitants  declare  that  the  fire-ant  was  unknown  on 
the  Tapajos  before  the  disorders  of  1835-6,  and  believe  that 
the  hosts  sprang  up  from  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered  Cabanas 
or  rebels.  They  have,  doubtless,  increased  since  that  time, 
but  the  cause  lies  in  the  depopulation  of  the  villages  and  the 
rank  growth  of  weeds  in  the  previously  cleared,  well-kept 
spaces.  I  have  already  described  the  line  of  sediment  formed 
on  the  sandy  shores  lower  down  the  river  by  the  dead  bodies  of 
the  winged  individuals  of  this  species.  The  exodus  from  their 
nests  of  the  males  and  females  takes  place  at  the  end  of  the 
rainy  season  (June),  when  the  swarms  are  blown  into  the  river 
by  squalls  of  wind,  and  subsequently  cast  ashore  by  the  waves, 
I  was  told  that  this  wholesale  destruction  of  ant-life  takes 
place  annually,  and  that  the  same  compact  heap  of  dead  bodies 
which  I  saw  only  in  part,  extends  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
for  twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 

The  forest  behind  Aveyros  yielded  me  little  except  insects, 
but  in  these  it  was  very  rich.  It  is  not  too  dense,  and  broad 
sunny  paths  skirted  by  luxuriant  beds  of  Lycopodiums,  which 
form  attractive  sporting  places  for  insects,  extend  from  the 
village  to  a  swampy  hollow  or  ygapo,  which  lies  about  a  mile 
inland.  Of  butterflies  alone  I  enumerated  fully  300  species, 
captured  or  seen  in  the  course  of  forty  days  within  a  half-hour's 
walk  of  the  village.  This  is  a  greater  number  than  is  found  in 
the  whole  of  Europe.  The  only  monkey  I  observed  was  the 
Callithrix  moloch — one  of  the  kinds  called  by  the  Indians 
Whaiapu-sai.  It  is  a  moderate-sized  species,  clothed  with  long 
brown  hair,  and  having  hands  of  a  whitish  hue.  Although 
nearly  allied  to  the  Cebi  it  has  none  of  their  restless  vivacity, 
but  is  a  dull  listless  animal.  It  goes  in  small  flocks  of  five  or 
six  individuals,  running  along  the  main  boughs  of  the  trees. 
One  of  the  specimens  which  I  obtained  here  was  caught  on  a 
low  fruit-tree  at  the  back  of  our  house  at  sunrise  one  morning. 
This  was  the  only  instance  of  a  monkey  being  captured  in  such 
a  position  that  I  ever  heard  of.  As  the  tree  was  isolated  it 
must  have  descended  to  the  ground  from  the  neighbouring 
forest  and  walked  some  distance  to  get  at  it.  The  species  is 
sometimes  kept  in  a  tame  state  by  the  natives:  it  does  not 
make  a  very  amusing  pet,  and  survives  captivity  only  a  short 
time. 

I  heard  that  the  white  Cebus,  the  Caiarara  branca,  a  kind  of 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  225 

monkey  I  had  not  yet  seen,  and  wished  very  much  to  obtain, 
inhabited  the  forests  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river;  so  one 
day,  on  an  opportunity  being  afforded  by  our  host  going  over 
in  a  large  boat,  I  crossed  to  go  in  search  of  it.  We  were  about 
twenty  persons  in  all,  and  the  boat  was  an  old  rickety  affair 
with  the  gaping  seams  rudely  stuffed  with  tow  and  pitch.  In 
addition  to  the  human  freight  we  took  three  sheep  with  us, 
which  Captain  Antonio  had  just  received  from  Santarem  and 
was  going  to  add  to  his  new  cattle  farm  on  the  other  side. 
Ten  Indian  paddlers  carried  us  quickly  across.  The  breadth 
of  the  river  could  not  be  less  than  three  miles,  and  the  current 
was  scarcely  perceptible.  When  a  boat  has  to  cross  the  main 
Amazons,  it  is  obliged  to  ascend  along  the  banks  for  half  a 
mile  or  more  to  allow  for  drifting  by  the  current;  in  this  lower 
part  of  the  Tapajos  this  is  not  necessary.  When  about  half- 
way, the  sheep,  in  moving  about,  kicked  a  hole  in  the  bottom 
of  the  boat.  The  passengers  took  the  matter  very  coolly, 
although  the  water  spouted  up  alarmingly,  and  I  thought  we 
should  inevitably  be  swamped.  Captain  Antonio  took  off 
his  socks  to  stop  the  leak,  inviting  me  and  the  Juiz  de  Paz, 
who  was  one  of  the  party,  to  do  the  same,  whilst  two  Indians 
baled  out  the  water  with  large  cuyas.  We  thus  managed  to 
keep  afloat  until  we  reached  our  destination,  when  the  men 
patched  up  the  leak  for  our  return  journey. 

The  landing-place  lay  a  short  distance  within  the  mouth  of 
a  shady  inlet,  on  whose  banks,  hidden  amongst  the  dense  woods, 
were  the  houses  of  a  few  Indian  and  mameluco  settlers.  The 
path  to  the  cattle  farm  led  first  through  a  tract  of  swampy 
forest;  it  then  ascended  a  slope  and  emerged  on  a  fine  sweep 
of  prairie,  varied  with  patches  of  timber.  The  wooded  portion 
occupied  the  hollows  where  the  soil  was  of  a  rich  chocolate- 
brown  colour,  and  of  a  peaty  nature.  The  higher  grassy,  un- 
dulating parts  of  the  campo  had  a  lighter  and  more  sandy  soil. 
Leaving  our  friends,  I  and  Jose  took  our  guns  and  dived  into 
the  woods  in  search  of  the  monkeys.  As  we  walked  rapidly 
along  I  was  very  near  treading  on  a  rattlesnake,  which  lay 
stretched  out  nearly  in  a  straight  line  on  the  bare  sandy  path- 
way. It  made  no  movement  to  get  out  of  the  way,  and  I 
escaped  the  danger  by  a  timely  and  sudden  leap,  being  unable 
to  check  my  steps  in  the  hurried  walk.  We  tried  to  excite  the 
sluggish  reptile  by  throwing  handsfull  of  sand  and  sticks  at  it, 
but  the  only  notice  it  took  was  to  raise  its  ugly  horny  tail  and 
shake  its  rattle.    At  length  it  began  to  move  rather  nimbly, 


226      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

when  we  despatched  it  by  a  blow  on  the  head  with  a  pole,  not 
wishing  to  fire  on  account  of  alarming  our  game. 

We  saw  nothing  of  the  white  Caiarara;  we  met,  however, 
with  a  flock  of  the  common  light-brown  allied  species  (Cebus 
albifrons?),  and  killed  one  as  a  specimen.  A  resident  on  this 
side  of  the  river  told  us  that  the  white  kind  was  found  further 
to  the  south,  beyond  Santa  Cruz.  The  light-brown  Caiarara 
is  pretty  generally  distributed  over  the  forests  of  the  level 
country.  I  saw  it  very  frequently  on  the  banks  of  the  Upper 
Amazons,  where  it  was  always  a  treat  to  watch  a  flock  leaping 
amongst  the  trees,  for  it  is  the  most  wonderful  performer  in 
this  line  of  the  whole  tribe.  The  troops  consist  of  thirty  or 
more  individuals,  which  travel  in  single  file.  When  the  fore- 
most of  the  flock  reaches  the  outermost  branch  of  an  unusually 
lofty  tree,  he  springs  forth  into  the  air  without  a  moment's 
hesitation  and  alights  on  the  dome  of  yielding  foliage  belong- 
ing to  the  neighbouring  tree,  maybe  fifty  feet  beneath;  all  the 
rest  following  the  example.  They  grasp,  on  falling,  with  hands 
and  tail,  right  themselves  in  a  moment,  and  then  away  they  go 
along  branch  and  bough  to  the  next  tree.  The  Caiarara  owes 
its  name  in  the  Tupi  language,  macaw  or  large-headed  (Acain, 
head,  and  Arara  macaw),  to  the  disproportionate  size  of  the 
head  compared  with  the  rest  of  the  body.  It  is  very  frequently 
kept  as  a  pet  in  houses  of  natives.  I  kept  one  myself  for  about 
a  year,  which  accompanied  me  in  my  voyages  and  became  very 
familiar,  coming  to  me  always  on  wet  nights  to  share  my 
blanket.  It  is  a  most  restless  creature,  but  is  not  playful  like 
most  of  the  American  monkeys;  the  restlessness  of  its  disposi- 
tion seeming  to  arise  from  great  nervous  irritability  and  dis- 
content. The  anxious,  painful,  and  changeable  expression  of 
its  countenance,  and  the  want  of  purpose  in  its  movements, 
betray  this.  Its  actions  are  like  those  of  a  wayward  child;  it 
does  not  seem  happy  even  when  it  has  plenty  of  its  favourite 
food,  bananas;  but  will  leave  its  own  meal  to  snatch  the 
morsels  out  of  the  hands  of  its  companions.  It  differs  in  these 
mental  traits  from  its  nearest  kindred,  for  another  common 
Cebus,  found  in  the  same  parts  of  the  forest,  the  Prego  monkey 
(Cebus  cirrhifer?),  is  a  much  quieter  and  better-tempered  animal; 
it  is  full  of  tricks,  but  these  are  generally  of  a  playful  character. 

The  Caiarara  keeps  the  house  in  a  perpetual  uproar  where  it 
is  kept :  when  alarmed,  or  hungry,  or  excited  by  envy,  it  screams 
piteously;  it  is  always,  however,  making  some  noise  or  other, 
often  screwing  up  its  mouth  and  uttering  a  succession  of  loud 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  227 

notes  resembling  a  whistle.  My  little  pet,  when  loose,  used  to 
run  after  me,  supporting  itself  for  some  distance  on  its  hind 
legs,  without,  however,  having  been  taught  to  do  it.  He 
offended  me  greatly,  one  day,  by  killing,  in  one  of  his  jealous 
fits,  another  and  much  choicer  pet — the  nocturnal  owl-faced 
monkey  (Nyctipithecus  trivirgatus).  Some  one  had  given  this 
a  fruit,  which  the  other  coveted,  so  the  two  got  to  quarrelling. 
The  Nyctipithecus  fought  only  with  its  paws,  clawing  out  and 
hissing  like  a  cat;  the  other  soon  obtained  the  mastery,  and 
before  I  could  interfere,  finished  his  rival  by  cracking  its  skull 
with  his  teeth.     Upon  this  I  got  rid  of  him. 

On  recrossing  the  river  to  Aveyros  in  the  evening,  a  pretty 
little  parrot  fell  from  a  great  height  headlong  into  the  water 
near  the  boat;  having  dropped  from  a  flock  which  seemed  to 
be  fighting  in  the  air.  One  of  the  Indians  secured  it  for  me, 
and  I  was  surprised  to  find  the  bird  uninjured.  There  had 
probably  been  a  quarrel  about  mates,  resulting  in  our  little 
stranger  being  temporarily  stunned  by  a  blow  on  the  head  from 
the  beak  of  a  jealous  comrade.  The  species  was  the  Conurus 
guianensis,  called  by  the  natives  Maracana;  the  plumage  green, 
with  a  patch  of  scarlet  under  the  wings.  I  wished  to  keep  the 
bird  alive  and  tame  it,  but  all  our  efforts  to  reconcile  it  to 
captivity  were  vain;  it  refused  food,  bit  every  one  who  went 
near  it,  and  damaged  its  plumage  in  its  exertions  to  free  itself. 
My  friends  in  Aveyros  said  that  this  kind  of  parrot  never 
became  domesticated.  After  trying  nearly  a  week  I  was 
recommended  to  lend  the  intractable  creature  to  an  old  Indian 
woman,  living  in  the  village,  who  was  said  to  be  a  skilful  bird- 
tamer.  In  two  days  she  brought  it  back  almost  as  tame  as  the 
familiar  love-birds  of  our  aviaries.  I  kept  my  little  pet  for 
upwards  of  two  years;  it  learned  to  talk  pretty  well,  and  was 
considered  quite  a  wonder  as  being  a  bird  usually  so  difficult 
of  domestication.  I  do  not  know  what  arts  the  old  woman 
used:  Captain  Antonio  said  she  fed  it  with  her  saliva.  The 
chief  reason  why  almost  all  animals  become  so  wonderfully 
tame  in  the  houses  of  the  natives  is,  I  believe,  their  being 
treated  with  uniform  gentleness,  and  allowed  to  run  at  large 
about  the  rooms.  Our  Maracana  used  to  accompany  us  some- 
times in  our  rambles,  one  of  the  lads  carrying  it  on  his  head. 
One  day,  in  the  middle  of  a  long  forest  road,  it  was  missed, 
having  clung  probably  to  an  overhanging  bough  and  escaped 
into  the  thicket  without  the  boy  perceiving  it.  Three  hours 
afterwards,  on  our  return  by  the  same  path,  a  voice  greeted  us 


228      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

in  a  colloquial  tone  as  we  passed  "  Maracana !  "  We  looked 
about  for  some  time,  but  could  not  see  anything,  until  the 
word  was  repeated  with  emphasis  "  Maracana-a !  "  when  we 
espied  the  little  truant  half  concealed  in  the  foliage  of  a  tree. 
He  came  down  and  delivered  himself  up,  evidently  as  much 
rejoiced  at  the  meeting  as  we  were. 

After  I  had  obtained  the  two  men  promised,  stout  young 
Indians,  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age,  one  named  Ricardo 
and  the  other  Alberto,  I  paid  a  second  visit  to  the  western  side 
of  the  river  in  my  own  canoe;  being  determined,  if  possible,  to 
obtain  specimens  of  the  White  Cebus.  We  crossed  over  first  to 
the  mission  village,  Santa  Cruz,  which  consists  of  thirty  or  forty 
wretched-looking  mud  huts,  closely  built  together  in  three 
straight  ugly  rows  on  a  high  gravelly  bank.  The  place  was 
deserted,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  old  men  and 
women  and  a  few  children.  A  narrow  belt  of  wood  runs  behind 
the  village;  beyond  this  is  an  elevated  barren  campo,  with  a 
clayey  and  gravelly  soil.  To  the  south,  the  coast  country  is 
of  a  similar  description;  a  succession  of  scantily-wooded  hills, 
bare  grassy  spaces,  and  richly-timbered  hollows.  We  traversed 
forest  and  campo  in  various  directions  during  three  days  with- 
out meeting  with  monkeys,  or  indeed  with  anything  that  repaid 
us  the  time  and  trouble.  The  soil  of  the  district  appeared  too 
dry;  at  this  season  of  the  year  I  had  noticed,  in  other  parts  of 
the  country,  that  mammals  and  birds  resorted  to  the  more 
humid  areas  of  forest;  we  therefore  proceeded  to  explore  care- 
fully the  low  and  partly  swampy  tract  along  the  coast  to  the 
north  of  Santa  Cruz.  We  spent  two  days  in  this  way,  landing 
at  many  places,  and  penetrating  a  good  distance  in  the  interior. 
Although  unsuccessful  with  regard  to  the  White  Cebus,  the 
time  was  not  wholly  lost,  as  I  added  several  small  birds  of 
species  new  to  my  collection.  On  the  second  evening  we 
surprised  a  large  flock,  composed  of  about  fifty  individuals,  of 
a  curious  eagle  with  a  very  long  and  slender  hooked  beak,  the 
Rostrhamus  hamatus.  They  were  perched  on  the  bushes 
which  surrounded  a  shallow  lagoon,  separated  from  the  river 
by  a  belt  of  floating  grass:  my  men  said  they  fed  on  toads 
and  lizards  found  at  the  margins  of  pools.  They  formed  a 
beautiful  sight  as  they  flew  up  and  wheeled  about  at  a  great 
height  in  the  air.     We  obtained  only  one  specimen. 

Before  returning  to  Aveyros,  we  paid  another  visit  to  the 
Jacare  inlet,  leading  to  Captain  Antonio's  cattle  farm,  for  the 
sake  of  securing  further  specimens  of  the  many  rare  and  hand- 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  229 

some  insects  found  there;  landing  at  the  port  of  one  of  the 
settlers.  The  owner  of  the  house  was  not  at  home,  and  the 
wife,  a  buxom  young  woman,  a  dark  mameluca,  with  clear 
though  dark  complexion  and  fine  rosy  cheeks,  was  preparing, 
in  company  with  another  stout-built  Amazon,  her  rod  and  lines 
to  go  out  fishing  for  the  day's  dinner.  It  was  now  the  season 
for  Tucunares,  and  Senhora  Joaquina  showed  us  the  fly  baits 
used  to  take  this  kind  of  fish,  which  she  had  made  with  her 
own  hands  of  parrots'  feathers.  The  rods  used  are  slender 
bamboos,  and  the  lines  made  from  the  fibres  of  pine-apple 
leaves.  It  is  not  very  common  for  the  Indian  and  half-caste 
women  to  provide  for  themselves  in  the  way  these  spirited 
dames  were  doing,  although  they  are  all  expert  paddlers,  and 
very  frequently  cross  wide  rivers  in  their  frail  boats  without 
the  aid  of  men.  It  is  possible  that  parties  of  Indian  women, 
seen  travelling  alone  in  this  manner,  may  have  given  rise  to 
the  fable  of  a  nation  of  Amazons,  invented  by  the  first  Spanish 
explorers  of  the  country.  Senhora  Joaquina  invited  me  and 
Jose  to  a  Tucunare  dinner  for  the  afternoon,  and  then  shoulder- 
ing their  paddles  and  tucking  up  their  skirts,  the  two  dusky 
fisherwomen  marched  down  to  their  canoe.  We  sent  the  two 
Indians  into  the  woods  to  cut  palm-leaves  to  mend  the  thatch 
of  our  cuberta,  whilst  I  and  Jose  rambled  through  the  woods 
which  skirted  the  campo.  On  our  return,  we  found  a  most 
bountiful  spread  in  the  house  of  our  hostess.  A  spotless  white 
cloth  was  laid  on  the  mat,  with  a  plate  for  each  guest  and  a 
pile  of  fragrant  newly-made  farinha  by  the  side  of  it.  The 
boiled  Tucunares  were  soon  taken  from  the  kettles  and  set 
before  us.  I  thought  the  men  must  be  happy  husbands  who 
owned  such  wives  as  these.  The  Indian  and  mameluco  women 
certainly  do  make  excellent  managers;  they  are  more  industrious 
than  the  men,  and  most  of  them  manufacture  farinha  for  sale 
on  their  own  account,  their  credit  always  standing  higher  with 
the  traders  on  the  river  than  that  of  their  male  connections. 
I  was  quite  surprised  at  the  quantity  of  fish  they  had  taken; 
there  being  sufficient  for  the  whole  party,  including  several 
children,  two  old  men  from  a  neighbouring  hut,  and  my 
Indians.  I  made  our  good-natured  entertainers  a  small  present 
of  needles  and  sewing-cotton,  articles  very  much  prized,  and 
soon  after  we  re-embarked,  and  again  crossed  the  river  to 
Aveyros. 

August  2nd. — Left  Aveyros;    having  resolved  to  ascend  a 
branch  river,  the  Cupari,  which  enters  the  Tapajos  about  eight 


230      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

miles  above  this  village,  instead  of  going  forward  along  the 
main  stream.  I  should  have  liked  to  visit  the  settlements  of 
the  Mundurucu  tribe  which  lie  beyond  the  first  cataract  of  the 
Tapajos,  if  it  had  been  compatible  with  the  other  objects  I  had 
in  view.  But  to  perform  this  journey  a  lighter  canoe  than 
mine  would  have  been  necessary,  and  six  or  eight  Indian 
paddlers,  which  in  my  case  it  was  utterly  impossible  to  obtain. 
There  would  be,  however,  an  opportunity  of  seeing  this  fine 
race  of  people  on  the  Cupari,  as  a  horde  was  located  towards 
the  head  waters  of  this  stream.  The  distance  from  Aveyros 
to  the  last  civilised  settlement  on  the  Tapajos,  Itaituba,  is 
about  forty  miles.  The  falls  commence  a  short  distance  beyond 
this  place.  Ten  formidable  cataracts  or  rapids  then  succeed 
each  other  at  intervals  of  a  few  miles;  the  chief  of  which  are 
the  Coaita,  the  Bubure,  the  Salto  Grande  (about  thirty  feet 
high),  and  the  Montanha.  The  canoes  of  Cuyaba  tradesmen 
which  descend  annually  to  Santarem  are  obliged  to  be  un- 
loaded at  each  of  these,  and  the  cargoes  carried  by  land  on 
the  backs  of  Indians,  whilst  the  empty  vessels  are  dragged  by 
ropes  over  the  obstruction.  The  Cupari  was  described  to  me 
as  flowing  through  a  rich  moist  clayey  valley,  covered  with 
forests  and  abounding  in  game;  whilst  the  banks  of  the 
Tapajos  beyond  Aveyros  were  barren  sandy  campos,  with 
ranges  of  naked  or  scantily-wooded  hills,  forming  a  kind  of 
country  which  I  had  always  found  very  unproductive  in 
Natural  History  objects  in  the  dry  season,  which  had  now 
set  in. 

We  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Cupari  on  the  evening  of  the 
following  day  (August  3rd).  It  was  not  more  than  a  hundred 
yards  wide,  but  very  deep:  we  found  no  bottom  in  the  middle 
with  a  line  of  eight  fathoms.  The  banks  were  gloriously  wooded ; 
the  familiar  foliage  of  the  cacao  growing  abundantly  amongst  the 
mass  of  other  trees,  reminding  me  of  the  forests  of  the  main 
Amazons.  We  rowed  for  five  or  six  miles,  generally  in  a  south- 
easterly direction,  although  the  river  had  many  abrupt  bends, 
and  stopped  for  the  night  at  a  settler's  house,  situated  on  a 
high  bank,  and  accessible  only  by  a  flight  of  rude  wooden  steps 
fixed  in  the  clayey  slope.  The  owners  were  two  brothers, 
half-breeds,  who  with  their  families  shared  the  large  roomy 
dwelling;  one  of  them  was  a  blacksmith,  and  we  found  him 
working  with  two  Indian  lads  at  his  forge,  in  an  open  shed 
under  the  shade  of  mango  trees.  They  were  the  sons  of  a 
Portuguese  immigrant,  who  had  settled  here  forty  years  pre- 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  231 

viously,  and  married  a  Mundurucu  woman.  He  must  have 
been  a  far  more  industrious  man  than  the  majority  of  his 
countrymen  who  emigrate  to  Brazil  nowadays,  for  there  were 
signs  of  former  extensive  cultivation  at  the  back  of  the  house 
in  groves  of  orange,  lemon,  and  coffee  trees,  and  a  large  planta- 
tion of  cacao  occupied  the  lower  grounds. 

The  next  morning  one  of  the  brothers  brought  me  a  beautiful 
opossum,  which  had  been  caught  in  the  fowl-house  a  little 
before  sunrise.  It  was  not  so  large  as  a  rat,  and  had  soft  ' 
brown  fur,  paler  beneath  and  on  the  face,  with  a  black  stripe 
on  each  cheek.  This  made  the  third  species  of  marsupial  rat 
I  had  so  far  obtained :  but  the  number  of  these  animals  is  very 
considerable  in  Brazil,  where  they  take  the  place  of  the  shrews 
of  Europe,  shrew  mice  and,  indeed,  the  whole  of  the  insecti- 
vorous order  of  mammals,  being  entirely  absent  from  Tropical 
America.  One  kind  of  these  rat-like  opossums  is  aquatic,  and 
has  webbed  feet.  The  terrestrial  species  are  nocturnal  in  their 
habits,  sleeping  during  the  day  in  hollow  trees,  and  coming 
forth  at  night  to  prey  on  birds  in  their  roosting  places.  It 
is  very  difficult  to  rear  poultry  in  this  country  on  account  of 
these  small  opossums,  scarcely  a  night  passing,  in  some  parts, 
in  which  the  fowls  are  not  attacked  by  them. 

August  5th.— The  river  reminds  me  of  some  parts  of  the 
Jaburu  channel,  being  hemmed  in  by  two  walls  of  forest,  rising 
to  the  height  of  at  least  a  hundred  feet,  and  the  outlines  of  the 
trees  being  concealed  throughout  by  a  dense  curtain  of  leafy 
creepers.  The  impression  of  vegetable  profusion  and  over- 
whelming luxuriance  increases  at  every  step.  The  deep  and 
narrow  valley  of  the  Cupari  has  a  moister  climate  than  the  banks 
of  the  Tapajos.  We  have  now  frequent  showers,  whereas  we 
left  everything  parched  up  by  the  sun  at  Aveyros. 

After  leaving  the  last  sitio  we  advanced  about  eight  miles, 
and  then  stopped  at  the  house  of  Senhor  Antonio  Malagueita,  a 
mameluco  settler,  whom  we  had  been  recommended  to  visit. 
His  house  and  outbuildings  were  extensive,  the  grounds  well 
weeded,  and  the  whole  wore  an  air  of  comfort  and  well-being 
which  is  very  uncommon  in  this  country.  A  bank  of  indurated 
white  clay  sloped  gently  up  from  the  tree-shaded  port  to  the 
house,  and  beds  of  kitchen-herbs  extended  on  each  side,  with 
(rare  sight!)  rose  and  jasmine  trees  in  full  bloom.  Senhor 
Antonio,  a  rather  tall  middle-aged  man,  with  a  countenance 
beaming  with  good  nature,  came  down  to  the  port  as  soon  as 
we  anchored.     I  was  quite  a  stranger  to  him,  but  he  had 


232      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

heard  of  my  coming,  and  seemed  to  have  made  preparations.  I 
never  met  with  a  heartier  welcome.  On  entering  the  house, 
the  wife,  who  had  more  of  the  Indian  tint  and  features  than 
her  husband,  was  equally  warm  and  frank  in  her  greeting. 
Senhor  Antonio  had  spent  his  younger  days  at  Para,  and  had 
acquired  a  profound  respect  for  Englishmen.  I  stayed  here  two 
days.  My  host  accompanied  me  in  my  excursions;  in  fact, 
his  attentions,  with  those  of  his  wife,  and  the  host  of  relatives 
of  all  degrees  who  constituted  his  household,  were  quite  trouble- 
some, as  they  left  me  not  a  moment's  privacy  from  morning 
till  night. 

We  had,  together,  several  long  and  successful  rambles  along 
a  narrow  pathway  which  extended  several  miles  into  the  forest. 
I  here  met  with  a  new  insect  pest,  one  which  the  natives  may 
be  thankful  is  not  spread  more  widely  over  the  country :  it  was 
a  large  brown  fly  of  the  Tabanidse  family  (genus  Pangonia), 
with  a  proboscis  half  an  inch  long  and  sharper  than  the  finest 
needle.  It  settled  on  our  backs  by  twos  and  threes  at  a  time, 
and  pricked  us  through  our  thick  cotton  shirts,  making  us 
start  and  cry  out  with  the  sudden  pain.  I  secured  a  dozen  or 
two  as  specimens.  As  an  instance  of  the  extremely  confined 
ranges  of  certain  species  it  may  be  mentioned  that  I  did  not 
find  this  insect  in  any  other  part  of  the  country  except  along 
half  a  mile  or  so  of  this  gloomy  forest  road. 

We  were  amused  at  the  excessive  and  almost  absurd  tame- 
ness  of  a  fine  Mutum  or  Curassow  turkey,  that  ran  about  the 
house.  It  was  a  large  glossy-black  species  (the  Mitu  tuberosa), 
having  an  orange-coloured  beak,  surmounted  by  a  bean-shaped 
excrescence  of  the  same  hue.  It  seemed  to  consider  itself  as 
one  of  the  family:  attended  at  all  the  meals,  passing  from  one 
person  to  another  round  the  mat  to  be  fed,  and  rubbing  the 
sides  of  its  head  in  a  coaxing  way  against  their  cheeks  or 
shoulders.  At  night  it  went  to  roost  on  a  chest  in  a  sleeping- 
room  beside  the  hammock  of  one  of  the  little  girls,  to  whom  it 
seemed  particularly  attached,  following  her  wherever  she  went 
about  the  grounds.  I  found  this  kind  of  Curassow  bird  was 
very  common  in  the  forest  of  the  Cupari;  but  it  is  rare  on  the 
Upper  Amazons,  where  an  allied  species,  which  has  a  round 
instead  of  a  bean-shaped  waxen  excrescence  on  the  beak  (Crax 
globicera),  is  the  prevailing  kind.  These  birds  in  their  natural 
state  never  descend  from  the  tops  of  the  loftiest  trees,  where 
they  live  in  small  flocks  and  build  their  nests.  The  Mitu 
tuberosa  lays  two  rough-shelled,  white  eggs;  it  is  fully  as  large 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  233 

a  bird  as  the  common  turkey,  but  the  flesh  when  cooked  is 
drier  and  not  so  well  flavoured.  It  is  difficult  to  find  the 
reason  why  these  superb  birds  have  not  been  reduced  to 
domestication  by  the  Indians,  seeing  that  they  so  readily 
become  tame.  The  obstacle  offered  by  their  not  breeding  in 
confinement,  which  is  probably  owing  to  their  arboreal  habits, 
might  perhaps  be  overcome  by  repeated  experiment;  but  for 
this  the  Indians  probably  had  not  sufficient  patience  or  intelli- 
gence. The  reason  cannot  lie  in  their  insensibility  to  the 
value  of  such  birds,  for  the  common  turkey,  which  has  been 
introduced  into  the  country,  is  much  prized  by  them. 

We  had  an  unwelcome  visitor  whilst  at  anchor  in  the  port  of 
Antonio  Malagueita.  I  was  awoke  a  little  after  midnight,  as  I 
lay  in  my  little  cabin,  by  a  heavy  blow  struck  at  the  sides  of 
the  canoe  close  to  my  head,  which  was  succeeded  by  the  sound 
of  a  weighty  body  plunging  in  the  water.  I  got  up;  but  all 
was  again  quiet,  except  the  cackle  of  fowls  in  our  hen-coop, 
which  hung  over  the  side  of  the  vessel  about  three  feet  from 
the  cabin  door.  I  could  find  no  explanation  of  the  circum- 
stance, and,  my  men  being  all  ashore,  I  turned  in  again  and 
slept  till  morning.  I  then  found  my  poultry  loose  about  the 
canoe,  and  a  large  rent  in  the  bottom  of  the  hen-coop,  which 
was  about  two  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  water:  a  couple  of 
fowls  were  missing.  Senhor  Antonio  said  the  depredator  was 
a  Sucuruju  (the  Indian  name  for  the  Anaconda,  or  great  water 
serpent— Eunectes  murinus),  which  had  for  months  past  been 
hauntin?  this  part  of  the  river,  and  had  carried  off  many  ducks 
and  fowls  from  the  ports  of  various  houses.  I  was  inclined 
to  doubt  the  fact  of  a  serpent  striking  at  its  prey  from  the 
water,  and  thought  an  alligator  more  likely  to  be  the  culprit, 
although  we  had  not  yet  met  with  alligators  in  the  river. 
Some  days  afterwards  the  young  men  belonging  to  the  different 
sitios  agreed  together  to  go  in  search  of  the  serpent.  They 
began  in  a  systematic  manner,  forming  two  parties,  each  em- 
barked in  three  or  four  canoes,  and  starting  from  points  several 
miles  apart,  whence  they  gradually  approximated,  searching  all 
the  little  inlets  on  both  sides  the  river.  The  reptile  was  found 
at  last,  sunning  itself  on  a  log  at  the  mouth  of  a  muddy  rivulet, 
and  despatched  with  harpoons.  I  saw  it  the  day  after  it  was 
killed:  it  was  not  a  very  large  specimen,  measuring  only 
eighteen  feet  nine  inches  in  length,  and  sixteen  inches  in  circum- 
ference at  the  widest  part  of  the  body.  I  measured  skins  of 
the  Anaconda  afterwards,  twenty-one  feet  in  length  and  two 


234      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

feet  in  girth.  The  reptile  has  a  most  hideous  appearance, 
owing  to  its  being  very  broad  in  the  middle  and  tapering 
abruptly  at  both  ends.  It  is  very  abundant  in  some  parts  of 
the  country;  nowhere  more  so  than  in  the  Lago  Grande,  near 
Santarem,  where  it  is  often  seen  coiled  up  in  the  corners  of 
farm-yards,  and  is  detested  for  its  habit  of  carrying  off  poultry, 
young  calves,  or  whatever  animal  it  can  get  within  reach  of. 

At  Ega,  a  large  Anaconda  was  once  near  making  a  meal  of 
a  young  lad  about  ten  years  of  age,  belonging  to  one  of  my 
neighbours.  The  father  and  his  son  went,  as  was  their  custom, 
a  few  miles  up  the  Teffe  to  gather  wild  fruit;  landing  on  a 
sloping  sandy  shore,  where  the  boy  was  left  to  mind  the  canoe 
whilst  the  man  entered  the  forest.  The  beaches  of  the  Teffe 
form  groves  of  wild  guava  and  myrtle  trees,  and  during  most 
months  of  the  year  are  partly  overflown  by  the  river.  Whilst 
the  boy  was  playing  in  the  water  under  the  shade  of  these  trees, 
a  huge  reptile  of  this  species  stealthily  wound  its  coils  around 
him,  unperceived  until  it  was  too  late  to  escape.  His  cries 
brought  the  father  quickly  to  the  rescue;  who  rushed  forward, 
and  seizing  the  Anaconda  boldly  by  the  head,  tore  his  jaws 
asunder.  There  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  this  formidable 
serpent  grows  to  an  enormous  bulk,  and  lives  to  a  great  age, 
for  I  heard  of  specimens  having  been  killed  which  measured 
forty-two  feet  in  length,  or  double  the  size  of  the  largest  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  examining.  The  natives  of  the  Amazons 
country  universally  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  monster  water- 
serpent,  said  to  be  many  score  fathoms  in  length,  which  appears 
successively  in  different  parts  of  the  river.  They  call  it  the 
Mai  d'agoa — the  mother,  or  spirit,  of  the  water.  This  fable, 
which  was  doubtless  suggested  by  the  occasional  appearance  of 
Sucurujus  of  unusually  large  size,  takes  a  great  variety  of 
forms,  and  the  wild  legends  form  the  subject  of  conversation 
amongst  old  and  young,  over  the  wood  fires  in  lonely  settle- 
ments. 

August  6th  and  ytk. — On  leaving  the  sitio  of  Antonio  Mala- 
gueita  we  continued  our  way  along  the  windings  of  the  river, 
generally  in  a  south-east  and  south-south-east  direction,  but 
sometimes  due  north,  for  about  fifteen  miles,  when  we  stopped 
at  the  house  of  one  Paulo  Christo,  a  mameluco  whose  acquaint- 
ance I  had  made  at  Aveyros.  Here  we  spent  the  night  and 
part  of  the  next  day;  doing  in  the  morning  a  good  five  hours' 
work  in  the  forest,  accompanied  by  the  owner  of  the  place.  In 
the  afternoon  of  the  yth  we  were  again  under  way:   the  river 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  235 

makes  a  bend  to  the  east-north-east  for  a  short  distance  above 
Paulo  Christo's  establishment,  it  then  turns  abruptly  to  the 
south-west,  running  from  that  direction  about  four  miles.  The 
hilly  country  of  the  interior  then  commences:  the  first  token 
of  it  being  a  magnificently-wooded  bluff,  rising  nearly  straight 
from  the  water  to  a  height  of  about  250  feet.  The  breadth  of 
the  stream  hereabout  was  not  more  than  sixty  yards,  and  the 
forest  assumed  a  new  appearance  from  the  abundance  of  the 
Urucuri  palm,  a  species  which  has  a  noble  crown  of  broad 
fronds,  with  symmetrical  rigid  leaflets. 

We  reached,  in  the  evening,  the  house  of  the  last  civilised 
settler  on  the  river,  Senhor  Joao  (John)  Aracu,  a  wiry,  active 
fellow  and  capital  hunter,  whom  I  wished  to  make  a  friend  of 
and  persuade  to  accompany  me  to  the  Mundurucu  village  and 
the  falls  of  the  Cupari,  some  forty  miles  further  up  the  river. 

I  stayed  at  the  sitio  of  John  Aracu  until  the  19th,  and  again, 
in  descending,  spent  fourteen  days  at  the  same  place.  The 
situation  was  most  favourable  for  collecting  the  natural  pro- 
ducts of  the  district.  The  forest  was  not  crowded  with  under- 
wood, and  pathways  led  through  it  for  many  miles  and  in 
various  directions.  I  could  make  no  use  here  of  our  two  men 
as  hunters,  so,  to  keep  them  employed  whilst  Jose  and  I  worked 
daily  in  the  woods,  I  set  them  to  make  a  montaria  under  John 
Aracu's  directions.  The  first  day  a  suitable  tree  was  found  for 
the  shell  of  the  boat,  of  the  kind  called  Itauba  amarello,  the 
yellow  variety  of  the  stone-wood.  They  felled  it,  and  shaped 
out  of  the  trunk  a  log  nineteen  feet  in  length:  this  they  dragged 
from  the  forest,  with  the  help  of  my  host's  men,  over  a  road 
they  had  previously  made  with  cylindrical  pieces  of  wood  to  act 
as  rollers.  The  distance  was  about  half  a  mile,  and  the  ropes 
used  for  drawing  the  heavy  load  were  tough  lianas  cut  from 
the  surrounding  trees.  This  part  of  the  work  occupied  about 
a  week:  the  log  had  then  to  be  hollowed  out,  which  was  done 
with  strong  chisels  through  a  slit  made  down  the  whole  length. 
The  heavy  portion  of  the  task  being  then  completed,  nothing 
remained  but  to  widen  the  opening,  fit  two  planks  for  the  sides 
and  the  same  number  of  semicircular  boards  for  the  ends,  make 
the  benches,  and  caulk  the  seams. 

The  expanding  of  the  log  thus  hollowed  out  is  a  critical 
operation,  and  not  always  successful,  many  a  good  shell  being 
spoilt  by  its  splitting  or  expanding  irregularly.  It  is  first 
reared  on  tressels,  with  the  slit  downwards,  over  a  large  fire, 
which  is  kept  up  for  seven  or  eight  hours,  the  process  requiring 


236      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

unremitting  attention  to  avoid  cracks  and  make  the  plank  bend 
with  the  proper  dip  at  the  two  ends.  Wooden  straddlers,  made 
by  cleaving  pieces  of  tough  elastic  wood  and  fixing  them  with 
wedges,  are  inserted  into  the  opening,  their  compass  being 
altered  gradually  as  the  work  goes  on,  but  in  different  degree 
according  to  the  part  of  the  boat  operated  upon.  Our  casca 
turned  out  a  good  one:  it  took  a  long  time  to  cool,  and  was 
kept  in  shape  whilst  it  did  so  by  means  of  wooden  cross-pieces. 
When  the  boat  was  finished  it  was  launched  with  great  merri- 
ment by  the  men,  who  hoisted  coloured  handkerchiefs  for  flags, 
and  paddled  it  up  and  down  the  stream  to  try  its  capabilities. 
My  people  had  suffered  as  much  inconvenience  from  the  want 
of  a  montaria  as  myself,  so  this  was  a  day  of  rejoicing  to  all 
of  us. 

I  was  very  successful  at  this  place  with  regard  to  the  objects 
of  my  journey.  About  twenty  new  species  of  fishes  and  a  con- 
siderable number  of  small  reptiles  were  added  to  my  collection; 
but  very  few  birds  were  met  with  worth  preserving.  A  great 
number  of  the  most  conspicuous  insects  of  the  locality  were 
new  to  me,  and  turned  out  to  be  species  peculiar  to  this  part  of 
the  Amazons  valley.  The  most  interesting  acquisition  was  a 
large  and  handsome  monkey,  of  a  species  I  had  not  before  met 
with — the  white-whiskered  Coaita,  or  spider-monkey  (Ateles 
marginatus).  I  saw  a  pair  one  day  in  the  forest  moving  slowly 
along  the  branches  of  a  lofty  tree,  and  shot  one  of  them;  the 
next  day  John  Aracu  brought  down  another,  possibly  the  com- 
panion. The  species  is  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  common 
black  kind,  of  which  I  have  given  an  account  in  a  former 
chapter,  and  has  a  similar  lean  body,  with  limbs  clothed  with 
coarse  black  hair;  but  it  differs  in  having  the  whiskers  and  a 
triangular  patch  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  a  white  colour. 
I  thought  the  meat  the  best  flavoured  I  had  ever  tasted.  It 
resembled  beef,  but  had  a  richer  and  sweeter  taste.  During  the 
time  of  our  stay  in  this  part  of  the  Cupari,  we  could  get 
scarcely  anything  but  fish  to  eat,  and  as  this  diet  ill  agreed 
with  me,  three  successive  days  of  it  reducing  me  to  a  state  of 
great  weakness,  I  was  obliged  to  make  the  most  of  our  Coaita 
meat.  We  smoke-dried  the  joints  instead  of  salting  them; 
placing  them  for  several  hours  on  a  framework  of  sticks  arranged 
over  a  fire,  a  plan  adopted  by  the  natives  to  preserve  fish  when 
they  have  no  salt,  and  which  they  call  "  muquiar."  Meat 
putrefies  in  this  climate  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  and 
salting  is  of  no  use,  unless  the  pieces  are  cut  in  thin  slices  and 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  237 

dried  immediately  in  the  sun.  My  monkeys  lasted  me  about 
a  fortnight,  the  last  joint  being  an  arm  with  the  clenched  fist, 
which  I  used  with  great  economy,  hanging  it  in  the  intervals 
between  my  frugal  meals  on  a  nail  in  the  cabin.  Nothing  but  the 
hardest  necessity  could  have  driven  me  so  near  to  cannibalism 
as  this,  but  we  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  obtaining  here  a 
sufficient  supply  of  animal  food.  About  every  three  days  the 
work  on  the  montaria  had  to  be  suspended,  and  all  hands 
turned  out  for  the  day  to  hunt  and  fish,  in  which  they  were 
often  unsuccessful,  for  although  there  was  plenty  of  game  in 
the  forest,  it  was  too  widely  scattered  to  be  available.  Ricardo 
and  Alberto  occasionally  brought  in  a  tortoise  or  ant-eater, 
which  served  us  for  one  day's  consumption.  We  made  acquaint- 
ance here  with  many  strange  dishes,  amongst  them  Iguana  eggs ; 
these  are  of  oblong  form,  about  an  inch  in  length,  and  covered 
with  a  flexible  shell.  The  lizard  lays  about  two  score  of  them 
in  the  hollows  of  trees.  They  have  an  oily  taste;  the  men 
ate  them  raw,  beaten  up  with  farinha,  mixing  a  pinch  of  salt 
in  the  mess;  I  could  only  do  with  them  when  mixed  with 
Tucupi  sauce,  of  which  we  had  a  large  jar  full  always  ready  to 
temper  unsavoury  morsels. 

One  day  as  I  was  entomologising  alone  and  unarmed,  in  a  dry 
Ygapo,  where  the  trees  were  rather  wide  apart  and  the  ground 
coated  to  the  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches  with  dead  leaves,  I 
was  near  coming  into  collision  with  a  boa  constrictor.  I  had 
just  entered  a  little  thicket  to  capture  an  insect,  and  whilst 
pinning  it  was  rather  startled  by  a  rushing  noise  in  the  vicinity. 
I  looked  up  to  the  sky,  thinking  a  squall  was  coming  on,  but 
not  a  breath  of  wind  stirred  in  the  tree-tops.  On  stepping  out 
of  the  bushes  I  met  face  to  face  a  huge  serpent  coming  down  a 
slope,  and  making  the  dry  twigs  crack  and  fly  with  his  weight 
as  he  moved  over  them.  I  had  very  frequently  met  with  a 
smaller  boa,  the  Cutim-boia,  in  a  similar  way,  and  knew  from 
the  habits  of  the  family  that  there  was  no  danger,  so  I  stood 
my  ground.  On  seeing  me  the  reptile  suddenly  turned,  and 
glided  at  an  accelerated  pace  down  the  path.  Wishing  to  take 
a  note  of  his  probable  size  and  the  colours  and  markings  of  his 
skin,  I  set  off  after  him;  but  he  increased  his  speed,  and  I  was 
unable  to  get  near  enough  for  the  purpose.  There  was  very 
little  of  the  serpentine  movement  in  his  course.  The  rapidly 
moving  and  shining  body  looked  like  a  stream  of  brown  liquid 
flowing  over  the  thick  bed  of  fallen  leaves,  rather  than  a 
serpent  with  skin  of  varied  colours.     He  descended  towards  the 


238      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

lower  and  moister  parts  of  the  Ygapo.  The  huge  trunk  of  an 
uprooted  tree  here  lay  across  the  road;  this  he  glided  over  in 
his  undeviating  course,  and  soon  after  penetrated  a  dense 
swampy  thicket,  where  of  course  I  did  not  choose  to  follow 
him. 

I  suffered  terribly  from  heat  and  mosquitoes  as  the  river 
sank  with  the  increasing  dryness  of  the  season,  although  I 
made  an  awning  of  the  sails  to  work  under,  and  slept  at  night 
in  the  open  air,  with  my  hammock  slung  between  the  masts. 
But  there  was  no  rest  in  any  part;  the  canoe  descended  deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  gulley,  through  which  the  river  flows 
between  high  clayey  banks,  as  the  water  subsided,  and  with 
the  glowing  sun  overhead  we  felt  at  midday  as  if  in  a  furnace. 
I  could  bear  scarcely  any  clothes  in  the  daytime  between  eleven 
in  the  morning  and  five  in  the  afternoon,  wearing  nothing  but 
loose  and  thin  cotton  trousers  and  a  light  straw  hat,  and  could 
not  be  accommodated  in  John  Aracu's  house,  as  it  was  a  small 
one  and  full  of  noisy  children.  One  night  we  had  a  terrific 
storm.  The  heat  in  the  afternoon  had  been  greater  than  ever, 
and  at  sunset  the  sky  had  a  brassy  glare:  the  black  patches  of 
cloud  which  floated  in  it  being  lighted  up  now  and  then  by 
flashes  of  sheet  lightning.  The  mosquitoes  at  night  were  more 
than  usually  troublesome,  and  I  had  just  sunk  exhausted  into 
a  doze  towards  the  early  hours  of  morning  when  the  storm 
began;  a  complete  deluge  of  rain,  with  incessant  lightning  and 
rattling  explosions  of  thunder.  It  lasted  for  eight  hours;  the 
grey  dawn  opening  amidst  the  crash  of  the  tempest.  The  rain 
trickled  through  the  seams  of  the  cabin  roof  on  to  my  collec- 
tions, the  late  hot  weather  having  warped  the  boards,  and  it 
gave  me  immense  trouble  to  secure  them  in  the  midst  of  the 
confusion.  Altogether  I  had  a  bad  night  of  it;  but  what  with 
storms,  heat,  mosquitoes,  hunger,  and,  towards  the  last,  ill 
health,  I  seldom  had  a  good  night's  rest  on  the  Cupari. 

A  small  creek  traversed  the  forest  behind  John  Aracu's 
house,  and  entered  the  river  a  few  yards  from  our  anchoring 
place;  I  used  to  cross  it  twice  a  day,  on  going  and  returning 
from  my  hunting  ground.  One  day  early  in  September,  I 
noticed  that  the  water  was  two  or  three  inches  higher  in  the 
afternoon  than  it  had  been  in  the  morning.  This  phenomenon 
was  repeated  the  next  day,  and  in  fact  daily,  until  the  creek 
became  dry  with  the  continued  subsidence  of  the  Cupari,  the 
time  of  rising  shifting  a  little  from  day  to  day.  I  pointed  out 
the  circumstance  to  John  Aracu,  who  had  not  noticed  it  before 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  239 

(it  was  only  his  second  year  of  residence  in  the  locality),  but 
agreed  with  me  that  it-must  be  the  "mare."  Yes,  the  tide! 
the  throb  of  the  great  oceanic  pulse  felt  in  this  remote  corner, 
530  miles  distant  from  the  place  where  it  first  strikes  the  body 
of  fresh  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  Amazons.  I  hesitated  at 
first  at  this  conclusion,  but  on  reflecting  that  the  tide  was 
known  to  be  perceptible  at  Obydos,  more  than  400  miles  from 
the  sea;  that  at  high  water  in  the  dry  season  a  large  flood  from 
the  Amazons  enters  the  mouth  of  the  Tapajos,  and  that  there 
is  but  a  very  small  difference  of  level  between  that  point  and 
the  Cupari,  a  fact  shown  by  the  absence  of  current  in  the  dry 
season;  I  could  have  no  doubt  that  this  conclusion  was  a 
correct  one. 

The  fact  of  the  tide  being  felt  530  miles  up  the  Amazons, 
passing  from  the  main  stream  to  one  of  its  affluents  380  miles 
from  its  mouth,  and  thence  to  a  branch  in  the  third  degree,  is 
a  proof  of  the  extreme  flatness  of  the  land  which  forms  the 
lower  part  of  the  Amazonian  valley.  This  uniformity  of  level 
is  shown  also  in  the  broad  lake-like  expanses  of  water  formed 
near  their  mouths  by  the  principal  affluents  which  cross  the 
valley  to  join  the  main  river. 

August  21st. — John  Aracu  consented  to  accompany  me  to 
the  falls  with  one  of  his  men  to  hunt  and  fish  for  me.  One  of 
my  objects  was  to  obtain  specimens  of  the  hyacinthine  macaw, 
whose  range  commences  on  all  the  branch  rivers  of  the  Amazons 
which  flow  from  the  south  through  the  interior  of  Brazil,  with 
the  first  cataracts.  We  started  on  the  19th;  our  direction  on 
that  day  being  generally  south-west.  On  the  20th  our  course 
was  southerly  and  south-easterly.  This  morning  (August  21st) 
we  arrived  at  the  Indian  settlement,  the  first  house  of  which 
lies  about  thirty-one  miles  above  the  sitio  of  John  Aracu.  The 
river  at  this  place  is  from  sixty  to  seventy  yards  wide,  and 
runs  in  a  zigzag  course  between  steep  clayey  banks,  twenty  to 
fifty  feet  in  height.  The  houses  of  the  Mundurucus,  to  the 
number  of  about  thirty,  are  scattered  along  the  banks  for  a 
distance  of  six  or  seven  miles.  The  owners  appear  to  have 
chosen  all  the  most  picturesque  sites — tracts  of  level  ground 
at  the  foot  of  wooded  heights,  or  little  havens  with  bits  of 
white  sandy  beach — as  if  they  had  an  appreciation  of  natural 
beauty.  Most  of  the  dwellings  are  conical  huts,  with  walls  of 
framework  filled  in  with  mud  and  thatched  with  palm  leaves, 
the  broad  eaves  reaching  halfway  to  the  ground.  Some  are 
quadrangular,  and  do  not  differ  in  structure  from  those  of  the 


240      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

semi-civilised  settlers  in  other  parts;  others  are  open  sheds  or 
ranchos.  They  seem  generally  to  contain  not  more  than  one  or 
two  families  each. 

At  the  first  house  we  learnt  that  all  the  fighting  men  had 
this  morning  returned  from  a  two  days'  pursuit  of  a  wandering 
horde  of  savages  of  the  Pararauate  tribe,  who  had  strayed  this 
way  from  the  interior  lands  and  robbed  the  plantations.  A 
little  further  on  we  came  to  the  house  of  the  Tushaua,  or  chief, 
situated  on  the  top  of  a  high  bank,  which  we  had  to  ascend  by 
wooden  steps.  There  were  four  other  houses  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, all  filled  with  people.  A  fine  old  fellow,  with  face, 
shoulders,  and  breast  tattooed  all  over  in  a  cross-bar  pattern, 
was  the  first  strange  object  that  caught  my  eye.  Most  of  the 
men  lay  lounging  or  sleeping  in  their  hammocks.  The  women 
were  employed  in  an  adjoining  shed  making  farinha,  many  of 
them  being  quite  naked,  and  rushing  off  to  the  huts  to  slip  on 
their  petticoats  when  they  caught  sight  of  us.  Our  entrance 
aroused  the  Tushaua  from  a  nap;  after  rubbing  his  eyes  he 
came  forward  and  bade  us  welcome  with  the  most  formal  polite- 
ness, and  in  very  good  Portuguese.  He  was  a  tall,  broad- 
shouldered,  well-made  man,  apparently  about  thirty  years  of 
age,  with  handsome  regular  features,  not  tattooed,  and  a  quiet 
good-humoured  expression  of  countenance.  He  had  been  several 
times  to  Santarem  and  once  to  Para,  learning  the  Portuguese 
language  during  these  journeys.  He  was  dressed  in  shirt  and 
trousers  made  of  blue-checked  cotton  cloth,  and  there  was  not 
the  slightest  trace  of  the  savage  in  his  appearance  or  demeanour. 
I  was  told  that  he  had  come  into  the  chieftainship  by  inheritance, 
and  that  the  Cupari  horde  of  Mundurucus,  over  which  his  fathers 
had  ruled  before  him,  was  formerly  much  more  numerous, 
furnishing  300  bows  in  time  of  war.  They  could  now  scarcely 
muster  forty;  but  the  horde  has  no  longer  a  close  political 
connection  with  the  main  body  of  the  tribe,  which  inhabits 
the  banks  of  the  Tapajos,  six  days'  journey  from  the  Cupari 
settlement. 

I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day  here,  sending  Aracu  and 
the  men  to  fish,  whilst  I  amused  myself  with  the  Tushaua  and 
his  people.  A  few  words  served  to  explain  my  errand  on  the 
river;  he  comprehended  at  once  why  white  men  should  admire 
and  travel  to  collect  the  beautiful  birds  and  animals  of  his 
country,  and  neither  he  nor  his  people  spoke  a  single  word 
about  trading,  or  gave  us  any  trouble  by  coveting  the  things 
we  had  brought.    He  related  to  me  the  events  of  the  preceding 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  241 

three  days.  The  Pararauates  were  a  tribe  of  intractable  savages, 
with  whom  the  Mundurucus  have  been  always  at  war.  They 
had  no  fixed  abode,  and  of  course  made  no  plantations,  but 
passed  their  lives  like  the  wild  beasts,  roaming  through  the 
forest,  guided  by  the  sun:  wherever  they  found  themselves  at 
night-time  there  they  slept,  slinging  their  bast  hammocks, 
which  are  carried  by  the  women,  to  the  trees.  They  cross  the 
streams  which  lie  in  their  course  in  bark  canoes,  which  they 
make  on  reaching  the  water,  and  cast  away  after  landing  on  the 
opposite  side.  The  tribe  is  very  numerous,  but  the  different 
hordes  obey  only  their  own  chieftains.  The  Mundurucus  of 
the  upper  Tapajos  have  an  expedition  on  foot  against  them  at 
the  present  time,  and  the  Tushaua  supposed  that  the  horde 
which  had  just  been  chased  from  his  maloca  were  fugitives 
from  that  direction.  There  were  about  a  hundred  of  them — 
including  men,  women,  and  children.  Before  they  were  dis- 
covered the  hungry  savages  had  uprooted  all  the  macasheira, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  sugar  cane,  which  the  industrious  Mundu- 
rucus had  planted  for  the  season,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
As  soon  as  they  were  seen  they  made  off,  but  the  Tushaua 
quickly  got  together  all  the  young  men  of  the  settlement, 
about  thirty  in  number,  who  armed  themselves  with  guns, 
bows  and  arrows,  and  javelins,  and  started  in  pursuit.  They 
tracked  them,  as  before  related,  for  two  days  through  the  forest, 
but  lost  their  traces  on  the  further  bank  of  the  Cuparitinga, 
a  branch  stream  flowing  from  the  north-east.  The  pursuers 
thought,  at  one  time,  they  were  close  upon  them,  having  found 
the  unextinguished  fire  of  their  last  encampment.  The  foot- 
marks of  the  chief  could  be  distinguished  from  the  rest  by  their 
great  size  and  the  length  of  the  stride.  A  small  necklace  made 
of  scarlet  beans  was  the  only  trophy  of  the  expedition,  and  this 
the  Tushaua  gave  to  me. 

I  saw  very  little  of  the  other  male  Indians,  as  they  were 
asleep  in  their  huts  all  the  afternoon.  There  were  two  other 
tattooed  men  lying  under  an  open  shed,  besides  the  old  man 
already  mentioned.  One  of  them  presented  a  strange  appear- 
ance, having  a  semicircular  black  patch  in  the  middle  of  his 
face,  covering  the  bottom  of  the  nose  and  mouth;  crossed  lines 
on  his  back  and  breast,  and  stripes  down  his  arms  and  legs. 
It  is  singular  that  the  graceful  curved  patterns  used  by  the 
South  Sea  Islanders  are  quite  unknown  among  the  Brazilian 
red  men;  they  being  all  tattooed  either  in  simple  lines  or 
patches.    The  nearest  approach  to  elegance  of  design  which  I 


242      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

saw,  was  amongst  the  Tucunas  of  the  Upper  Amazons,  some  of 
whom  have  a  scroll-like  mark  on  each  cheek,  proceeding  from 
the  corner  of  the  mouth.  The  taste,  as  far  as  form  is  con- 
cerned, of  the  American  Indian,  would  seem  to  be  far  less 
refined  than  that  of  the  Tahitian  and  New  Zealander. 

To  amuse  the  Tushaua,  I  fetched  from  the  canoe  the  two 
volumes  of  Knight's  Pictorial  Museum  of  Animated  Nature. 
The  engravings  quite  took  his  fancy,  and  he  called  his  wives, 
of  whom,  as  I  afterwards  learnt  from  Aracu,  he  had  three  or 
four,  to  look  at  them;  one  of  them  was  a  handsome  girl, 
decorated  with  necklace  and  bracelets  of  blue  beads.  In  a  short 
time  others  left  their  work,  and  I  then  had  a  crowd  of  women 
and  children  around  me,  who  all  displayed  unusual  curiosity 
for  Indians.  It  was  no  light  task  to  go  through  the  whole  of 
the  illustrations,  but  they  would  not  allow  me  to  miss  a  page, 
making  me  turn  back  when  I  tried  to  skip.  The  pictures  of 
the  elephant,  camels,  orang-otangs,  and  tigers,  seemed  most  to 
astonish  them;  but  they  were  interested  in  almost  everything, 
down  even  to  the  shells  and  insects.  They  recognised  the 
portraits  of  the  most  striking  birds  and  mammals  which  are 
found  in  their  own  country;  the  jaguar,  howling  monkeys, 
parrots,  trogons,  and  toucans.  The  elephant  was  settled  to  be 
a  large  kind  of  Tapir;  but  they  made  but  few  remarks,  and 
those  in  the  Mundurucu  language,  of  which  I  understood  only 
two  or  three  words.  Their  way  of  expressing  surprise  was  a 
clicking  sound  made  with  the  teeth,  similar  to  the  one  we  our- 
selves use,  or  a  subdued  exclamation,  Hm!  hm!  Before  I 
finished,  from  fifty  to  sixty  had  assembled;  there  was  no  push- 
ing or  rudeness,  the  grown-up  women  letting  the  young  girls 
and  children  stand  before  them,  and  all  behaved  in  the  most 
quiet  and  orderly  manner  possible. 

The  Mundurucus  are  perhaps  the  most  numerous  and  formid- 
able tribe  of  Indians  now  surviving  in  the  Amazons  region. 
They  inhabit  the  shores  of  the  Tapajos  (chiefly  the  right  bank), 
from  30  to  70  south  latitude,  and  the  interior  of  the  country 
between  that  part  of  the  river  and  the  Madeira.  On  the  Tapajos 
alone  they  can  muster,  I  was  told,  2000  fighting  men;  the  total 
population  of  the  tribe  may  be  about  20,000.  They  were  not 
heard  of  until  about  ninety  years  ago,  when  they  made  war 
on  the  Portuguese  settlements;  their  hosts  crossing  the  interior 
of  the  country  eastward  of  the  Tapajos,  and  attacking  the 
establishments  of  the  whites  in  the  province  of  Maranham. 
The  Portuguese  made  peace  with  them  in  the  beginning  of  the 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  243 

present  century,  the  event  being  brought  about  by  the  common 
cause  of  quarrel  entertained  by  the  two  peoples  against  the 
hated  Muras.  They  have  ever  since  been  firm  friends  of  the 
whites.  It  is  remarkable  how  faithfully  this  friendly  feeling 
has  been  handed  down  amongst  the  Mundurucus,  and  spread 
to  the  remotest  of  the  scattered  hordes.  Wherever  a  white 
man  meets  a  family,  or  even  an  individual  of  the  tribe,  he  is 
almost  sure  to  be  reminded  of  this  alliance.  They  are  the 
most  warlike  of  the  Brazilian  tribes,  and  are  considered  also 
the  most  settled  and  industrious;  they  are  not,  however,, 
superior  in  this  latter  respect  to  the  Juris  and  Passes  on  the 
Upper  Amazons,  or  the  Uapes  Indians  near  the  head  waters  of 
the  Rio  Negro.  They  make  very  large  plantations  of  mandioca, 
and  sell  the  surplus  produce,  which  amounts  on  the  Tapajos  to 
from  3000  to  5000  baskets  (60  lbs.  each)  annually,  to  traders 
who  ascend  the  river  from  Santarem  between  the  months  of 
August  and  January.  They  also  gather  large  quantities  of 
sarsaparilla,  India-rubber,  and  Tonka  beans,  in  the  forests. 
The  traders,  on  their  arrival  at  the  Campinas  (the  scantily 
wooded  region  inhabited  by  the  main  body  of  Mundurucus 
beyond  the  cataracts)  have  first  to  distribute  their  wares — 
cheap  cotton  cloths,  iron  hatchets,  cutlery,  small  wares,  and 
cashaca — amongst  the  minor  chiefs,  and  then  wait  three  or 
four  months  for  repayment  in  produce. 

A  rapid  change  is  taking  place  in  the  habits  of  these  Indians 
through  frequent  intercourse  with  the  whites,  and  those  who 
dwell  on  the  banks  of  the  Tapajos  now  seldom  tattoo  their 
children.  The  principal  Tushaua  of  the  whole  tribe  or  nation, 
named  Joaquim,  was  rewarded  with  a  commission  in  the 
Brazilian  army,  in  acknowledgment  of  the  assistance  he  gave 
to  the  legal  authorities  during  the  rebellion  of  1835-6.  It  would 
be  a  misnomer  to  call  the  Mundurucus  of  the  Cupari  and  many 
parts  of  the  Tapajos,  savages;  their  regular  mode  of  life,  agri- 
cultural habits,  loyalty  to  their  chiefs,  fidelity  to  treaties,  and 
gentleness  of  demeanour,  give  them  a  right  to  a  better  title. 
Yet  they  show  no  aptitude  for  the  civilised  life  of  towns,  and, 
like  the  rest  of  the  Brazilian  tribes,  seem  incapable  of  any 
further  advance  in  culture.  In  their  former  wars  they  exter- 
minated two  of  the  neighbouring  peoples,  the  Jumas  and  the 
Jacares;  and  make  now  an  annual  expedition  against  the  Para- 
rauates,  and  one  or  two  other  similar  wild  tribes  who  inhabit 
the  interior  of  the  land,  but  are  sometimes  driven  by  hunger 
towards  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers  to  rob  the  plantations  of 


244      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  agricultural  Indians.  These  campaigns  begin  in  July,  and 
last  throughout  the  dry  months;  the  women  generally  accom- 
panying the  warriors  to  carry  their  arrows  and  javelins.  They 
had  the  diabolical  custom,  in  former  days,  of  cutting  off  the 
heads  of  their  slain  enemies,  and  preserving  them  as  trophies 
around  their  houses.  I  believe  this,  together  with  other  savage 
practices,  has  been  relinquished  in  those  parts  where  they  have 
had  long  intercourse  with  the  Brazilians,  for  I  could  neither 
see  nor  hear  anything  of  these  preserved  heads.  They  used  to 
sever  the  head  with  knives  made  of  broad  bamboo,  and  then, 
after  taking  out  the  brain  and  fleshy  parts,  soak  it  in  bitter 
vegetable  oil  (andiroba),  and  expose  it  for  several  days  over 
the  smoke  of  a  fire  or  in  the  sun.  In  the  tract  of  country 
between  the  Tapajos  and  the  Madeira,  a  deadly  war  has  been 
for  many  years  carried  on  between  the  Mundurucus  and  the 
Araras.  I  was  told  by  a  Frenchman  at  Santarem,  who  had 
visited  that  part,  that  all  the  settlements  there  have  a  military 
organisation.  A  separate  shed  is  built  outside  each  village, 
where  the  fighting  men  sleep  at  night,  sentinels  being  stationed 
to  give  the  alarm  with  blasts  of  the  Ture  on  the  approach  of 
the  Araras,  who  choose  the  night  for  their  onslaughts. 

Each  horde  of  Mundurucus  has  its  paje  or  medicine  man, 
who  is  the  priest  and  doctor;  fixes  upon  the  time  most  pro- 
pitious for  attacking  the  enemy;  exorcises  evil  spirits,  and 
professes  to  cure  the  sick.  All  illness  whose  origin  is  not  very 
apparent  is  supposed  to  be  caused  by  a  worm  in  the  part  affected. 
This  the  paje  pretends  to  extract;  he  blows  on  the  seat  of  pain 
the  smoke  from  a  large  cigar,  made  with  an  air  of  great  mystery 
by  rolling  tobacco  in  folds  of  Tauari,  and  then  sucks  the  place, 
drawing  from  his  mouth,  when  he  has  finished,  what  he  pretends 
to  be  the  worm.  It  is  a  piece  of  very  clumsy  conjuring.  One 
of  these  pajes  was  sent  for  by  a  woman  in  John  Aracu's  family, 
to  operate  on  a  child  who  suffered  much  from  pains  in  the  head. 
Senhor  John  contrived  to  get  possession  of  the  supposed  worm 
after  the  trick  was  performed  in  our  presence,  and  it  turned 
out  to  be  a  long  white  air-root  of  some  plant.  The  paje  was 
with  difficulty  persuaded  to  operate  whilst  Senhor  John  and  I 
were  present.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  he,  as  well  as  all 
others  of  the  same  profession,  are  conscious  impostors,  handing 
down  the  shallow  secret  of  their  divinations  and  tricks  from 
generation  to  generation.  The  institution  seems  to  be  common 
to  all  tribes  of  Indians,  and  to  be  held  to  more  tenaciously 
than  any  other. 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  245^ 

I  bought  of  the  Tushaua  two  beautiful  feather  sceptres,  with 
their  bamboo  cases.  These  are  of  cylindrical  shape,  about  three 
feet  in  length  and  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  are  made  by- 
gluing  with  wax  the  fine  white  and  yellow  feathers  from  the 
breast  of  the  toucan  on  stout  rods,  the  tops  being  ornamented 
with  long  plumes  from  the  tails  of  parrots,  trogons,  and  other 
birds.  The  Mundurucus  are  considered  to  be  the  most  expert 
workers  in  feathers  of  all  the  South  American  tribes.  It  is 
very  difficult,  however,  to  get  them  to  part  with  the  articles, 
as  they  seem  to  have  a  sort  of  superstitious  regard  for  them. 
They  manufacture  head-dresses,  sashes  and  tunics,  besides 
sceptres;  the  feathers  being  assorted  with  a  good  eye  to  the 
proper  contrast  of  colours,  and  the  quills  worked  into  strong 
cotton  webs,  woven  with  knitting  sticks  in  the  required  shape. 
The  dresses  are  worn  only  during  their  festivals,  which  are 
celebrated,  not  at  stated  times,  but  whenever  the  Tushaua 
thinks  fit.  Dancing,  singing,  sports,  and  drinking,  appear  to 
be  the  sole  objects  of  these  occasional  holidays.  When  a  day 
is  fixed  upon,  the  women  prepare  a  great  quantity  of  taroba, 
and  the  monotonous  jingle  is  kept  up,  with  little  intermission, 
night  and  day  until  the  stimulating  beverage  is  finished. 

We  left  the  Tushaua's  house  early  the  next  morning.  The 
impression  made  upon  me  by  the  glimpse  of  Indian  life  in  its 
natural  state  obtained  here,  and  at  another  cluster  of  houses 
visited  higher  up,  was  a  pleasant  one,  notwithstanding  the 
disagreeable  incident  of  the  Pararauate  visit.  The  Indians  are 
here  seen  to  the  best  advantage;  having  relinquished  many  of 
their  most  barbarous  practices,  without  being  corrupted  by  too 
close  contact  with  the  inferior  whites  and  half-breeds  of  the 
civilised  settlements.  The  manners  are  simpler,  the  demeanour 
more  gentle,  cheerful,  and  frank,  than  amongst  the  Indians 
who  live  near  the  towns.  I  could  not  help  contrasting  their 
well-fed  condition,  and  the  signs  of  orderly,  industrious  habits, 
with  the  poverty  and  laziness  of  the  semi-civilised  people  of 
Altar  do  Chao.  I  do  not  think  that  the  introduction  of  liquors 
has  been  the  cause  of  much  harm  to  the  Brazilian  Indian. 
He  has  his  drinking  bout  now  and  then,  like  the  common 
working  people  of  other  countries.  It  was  his  habit  in  his 
original  state,  before  Europeans  visited  his  country;  but  he  is 
always  ashamed  of  it  afterwards,  and  remains  sober  during 
the  pretty  long  intervals.  The  harsh,  slave-driving  practices  of 
the  Portuguese  and  their  descendants  have  been  the  greatest 
curses  to  the  Indians;   the  Mundurucus  of  the  Cupari,  how- 


246      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

ever,  have  been  now  for  many  years  protected  against  ill- 
treatment.  This  is  one  of  the  good  services  rendered  by  the 
missionaries,  who  take  care  that  the  Brazilian  laws  in  favour 
of  the  aborigines  shall  be  respected  by  the  brutal  and  un- 
principled traders  who  go  amongst  them.  I  think  no  Indians 
could  be  in  a  happier  position  than  these  simple,  peaceful,  and 
friendly  people  on  the  banks  of  the  Cupari.  The  members  of 
each  family  live  together,  and  seem  to  be  much  attached  to 
each  other;  and  the  authority  of  the  chief  is  exercised  in  the 
mildest  manner.  Perpetual  summer  reigns  around  them;  the 
land  is  of  the  highest  fertility,  and  a  moderate  amount  of  light 
work  produces  them  all  the  necessaries  of  their  simple  life.  It 
is  difficult  to  get  at  their  notions  on  subjects  that  require  a 
little  abstract  thought;  but  the  mind  of  the  Indian  is  in  a 
very  primitive  condition.  I  believe  he  thinks  of  nothing  except 
the  matters  that  immediately  concern  his  daily  material  wants. 
There  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  curiosity  in  his  mental 
disposition,  consequently  he  troubles  himself  very  little  concern- 
ing the  causes  of  the  natural  phenomena  around  him.  He  has 
no  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being;  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  is  free 
from  revolting  superstitions — his  religious  notions  going  no 
farther  than  the  belief  in  an  evil  spirit,  regarded  merely  as  a 
kind  of  hobgoblin,  who  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  his  little  failures, 
troubles  in  fishing,  hunting,  and  so  forth.  With  so  little  mental 
activity,  and  with  feelings  and  passions  slow  of  excitement,  the 
life  of  these  people  is  naturally  monotonous  and  dull,  and  their 
virtues  are,  properly  speaking,  only  negative;  but  the  picture 
of  harmless  homely  contentment  they  exhibit  is  very  pleasing, 
compared  with  the  state  of  savage  races  in  many  other  parts  of 
the  world. 

The  men  awoke  me  at  four  o'clock  with  the  sound  of  their 
oars  on  leaving  the  port  of  the  Tushaua.  I  was  surprised  to 
find  a  dense  fog  veiling  all  surrounding  objects,  and  the  air 
quite  cold.  The  lofty  wall  of  forest,  with  the  beautiful  crowns 
of  Assai  palms  standing  out  from  it  on  their  slender,  arching 
stems,  looked  dim  and  strange  through  the  misty  curtain. 
The  sudden  change  a  little  after  sunrise  had  quite  a  magical 
effect;  for  the  mist  rose  up  like  the  gauze  veil  before  the 
transformation  scene  at  a  pantomime,  and  showed  the  glorious 
foliage  in  the  bright  glow  of  morning,  glittering  with  dew 
drops.  We  arrived  at  the  falls  about  ten  o'clock.  The  river 
here  is  not  more  than  forty  yards  broad,  and  falls  over  a  low 
ledge  of  rock  stretching  in  a  nearly  straight  line  across. 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  247 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  navigation  for  large 
vessels — a  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  according  to  a 
rough  calculation,  of  a  little  over  seventy  miles.  I  found  it 
the  better  course  now  to  send  Jose  and  one  of  the  men  forward 
in  the  montaria  with  John  Aracu,  and  remain  myself  with  the 
cuberta  and  our  other  man,  to  collect  in  the  neighbouring 
forest.  We  stayed  here  four  days;  one  of  the  boats  returning 
each  evening  from  the  upper  river  with  the  produce  of  the 
day's  chase  of  my  huntsmen.  I  obtained  six  good  specimens 
of  the  hyacinthine  macaw,  besides  a  number  of  smaller  birds, 
a  species  new  to  me  of  Guariba,  or  howling  monkey,  and  two 
large  lizards.  The  Guariba  was  an  old  male,  with  the  hair 
much  worn  from  his  rump  and  breast,  and  his  body  disfigured 
with  large  tumours  made  by  the  grubs  of  a  gad-fly  (Oestrus). 
The  back  and  tail  were  of  a  ruddy-brown  colour;  the  limbs 
and  underside  of  the  body,  black.  The  men  ascended  to  the 
second  falls,  which  form  a  cataract  several  feet  in  height,  about 
fifteen  miles  beyond  our  anchorage.  The  macaws  were  found 
feeding  in  small  flocks  on  the  fruit  of  the  Tucuma  palm 
(Astryocaryum  Tucuma),  the  excessively  hard  nut  of  which  is 
crushed  into  pulp  by  the  powerful  beak  of  the  bird.  I  found 
the  craws  of  all  the  specimens  filled  with  the  sour  paste  to 
which  the  stone-like  fruit  had  been  reduced.  Each  bird  took 
me  three  hours  to  skin,  and  I  was  occupied  with  these  and  my 
other  specimens  every  evening  until  midnight,  after  rav  own 
laborious  day's  hunt;  working  on  the  roof  of  my  cabin  by  the 
light  of  a  lamp. 

The  place  where  the  cuberta  was  anchored  formed  a  little 
rocky  haven,  with  a  sandy  beach  sloping  to  the  forest,  withm 
which  were  the  ruins  of  an  Indian  Maloca,  and  a  large  weed- 
grown  plantation.  The  port  swarmed  with  fishes,  whose  move- 
ments it  was  amusing  to  watch  in  the  deep,  clear  water.  The 
most  abundant  were  the  Piranhas.  One  species,  which  varied 
in  length,  according  to  age,  from  two  to  six  inches,  but  was 
recognisable  by  a  black  spot  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  was  always 
the  quickest  to  seize  any  fragment  of  meat  thrown  into  the 
water.  When  nothing  was  being  given  to  them,  a  few  only 
were  seen  scattered  about,  their  heads  all  turned  one  way  in 
an  attitude  of  expectation;  but  as  soon  as  any  offal  fell  from 
the  canoe,  the  water  was  blackened  with  the  shoals  that  rushed 
instantaneously  to  the  spot.  Those  who  did  not  succeed  in 
securing  a  fragment,  fought  with  those  who  had  been  more 
successful,  and  many  contrived  to  steal  the  coveted  morsels 


248      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

from  their  mouths.  When  a  bee  or  fly  passed  through  the  air 
near  the  water,  they  all  simultaneously  darted  towards  it 
-as  if  roused  by  an  electric  shock.  Sometimes  a  larger  fish 
approached,  and  then  the  host  of  Piranhas  took  the  alarm  and 
flashed  out  of  sight.  The  population  of  the  water  varied  from 
day  to  day.  Once  a  small  shoal  of  a  handsome  black-banded 
fish,  called  by  the  natives  Acara  bandeira  (Mesonauta  insignis, 
of  Gimther),  came  gliding  through  at  a  slow  pace,  forming  a 
very  pretty  sight.  At  another  time,  little  troops  of  needle-fish, 
eel-like  animals  with  excessively  long  and  slender  toothed  jaws, 
sailed  through  the  field,  scattering  before  them  the  hosts  of 
smaller  fry;    and  in  the  rear  of  the  needle-fishes  a  strangely- 


Acara  (Mesonauta  insignis). 

shaped  kind  called  Sarapo  came  wriggling  along,  one  by  one, 
with  a  slow  movement.  We  caught  with  hook  and  line,  baited 
with  pieces  of  banana,  several  Curimata  (Anodus  Amazonum), 
a  most  delicious  fish,  which,  next  to  the  Tucunare  and  the 
Pescada,  is  most  esteemed  by  the  natives.  The  Curimata 
seemed  to  prefer  the  middle  of  the  stream,  where  the  waters 
were  agitated  beneath  the  little  cascade. 

The  weather  was  now  settled  and  dry,  and  the  river  sank 
Tapidly — six  inches  in  twenty-four  hours.  In  this  remote  and 
solitary  spot  I  can  say  that  I  heard  for  the  first  and  almost  the 
only  time  the  uproar  of  life  at  sunset,  which  Humboldt  describes 
as  having  witnessed  towards  the  sources  of  the  Orinoco,  but 
which  is  unknown  on  the  banks  of  the  larger  rivers.  The  noises 
of  animals  began  just  as  the  sun  sank  behind  the  trees  after  a 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  249 

sweltering  afternoon,  leaving  the  sky  above  of  the  intensest 

shade  of  blue.     Two  flocks  of  howling  monkeys,  one  close  to- 

our  canoe,  the  other  about  a  furlong  distant,  filled  the 

echoing  forests  with  their  dismal  roaring.     Troops  of 

parrots,  including  the  hyacinthine  macaw  we  were  in 

search  of,  began  then  to  pass  over;   the  different  styles 

of  cawing  and  screaming  of  the  various  species  making 

a  terrible   discord.     Added   to   these  noises  were   the 

songs  of  strange  Cicadas,  one  large  kind  perched  high 

on  the  trees  around  our  little  haven  setting  up  a  most 

piercing  chirp;    it  began  with  the  usual  harsh  jarring 

tone  of  its  tribe,  but  this  gradually  and  rapidly  became 

shriller,  until  it  ended  in  a  long  and  loud  note  resembling 

the  steam-whistle  of  a  locomotive  engine.     Half-a-dozen 

of  these  wonderful  performers  made  a  considerable  item 

in  the  evening  concert.     I  had  heard  the  same  species 

before  at  Para,  but  it  was  there  very  uncommon:    we 

obtained  here  one  of  them  for  my  collection 

by  a  lucky  blow  with  a  stone.     The  uproar 

of  beasts,  birds,  and  insects  lasted  but  a 

short  time :  the  sky  quickly  lost  its  intense 

hue,  and  the  night  set  in.     Then  began  the 

tree-frogs — quack-quack,  drum-drum,  hoo- 

hoo;   these,  accompanied  by  a  melancholy 

night-jar,  kept  up  their  monotonous  cries 

until  very  late. 

My  men  encountered  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream  a  Jaguar  and  a  black  Tiger,  and 
were  very  much  afraid  of  falling  in  with 
the  Pararauates,  so  that  I  could  not,  after 
their  return  on  the  fourth  day,  induce  them 
to  undertake  another  journey.  We  began 
our  descent  of  the  river  in  the  evening  of 
the  26th  of  August.  At  night  forest  and 
river  were  again  enveloped  in  mist,  and  the 
air  before  sunrise  was  quite  cold.  There  is 
a  considerable  current  from  the  falls  to  the 
house  of  John  Aracu,  and  we  accomplished 
the  distance,  with  its  aid  and  by  rowing, 
in  seventeen  hours.  Sarap6 

September  21st.— At  five  o'clock  in  the       (Carapus). 
afternoon  we  emerged  from  the  confined 
and  stifling  gully  through  which  the  Cupari  flows,  into  the  broad 


250      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

Tapajos,  and  breathed  freely  again.  How  I  enjoyed  the  ex- 
tensive view  after  being  so  long  pent  up:  the  mountainous 
coasts,  the  grey  distance,  the  dark  waters  tossed  by  a  refreshing 
breeze!  Heat,  mosquitoes,  insufficient  and  bad  food,  hard 
work  and  anxiety,  had  brought  me  to  a  very  low  state  of  health; 
and  I  was  now  anxious  to  make  all  speed  back  to  Santarem. 

We  touched  at  Aveyros,  to  embark  some  chests  I  had  left 
there  and  to  settle  accounts  with  Captain  Antonio:  finding 
nearly  all  the  people  sick  with  fever  and  vomit,  agaiist  which 
the  Padre's  homoeopathic  globules  were  of  no  a  'ail.  The 
Tapajos  had  been  pretty  free  from  epidemics  for  sone  years 
past,  although  it  was  formerly  a  very  unhealthy  river.  A 
sickly  time  appeared  to  be  now  returning:  in  fact,  the  year 
following  my  visit  (1853)  was  the  most  fatal  one  ever  experienced 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  A  kind  of  putrid  fever  broke  out, 
which  attacked  people  of  all  races  alike.  The  accounts  we 
received  at  Santarem  were  most  distressing:  my  Cupari  friends 
especially  suffered  very  severely.  John  Aracu  and  his  family 
all  fell  victims,  with  the  exception  of  his  wife:  my  kind  friend 
Antonio  Malagueita  also  died,  and  a  great  number  of  people  in 
the  Mundurucu  village. 

The  descent  of  the  Tapajos  in  the  height  of  the  dry  season, 
which  was  now  close  at  hand,  is  very  hazardous  on  account 
of  the  strong  winds,  absence  of  current,  and  shoaly  water  far 
away  from  the  coasts.  The  river  towards  the  end  of  September 
is  about  thirty  feet  shallower  than  in  June;  and  in  many 
places,  ledges  of  rock  are  laid  bare,  or  covered  with  only  a  small 
depth  of  water.  I  had  been  warned  of  these  circumstances  by 
my  Cupari  friends,  but  did  not  form  an  adequate  idea  of  what 
we  should  have  to  undergo.  Canoes,  in  descending,  only  travel 
at  night,  when  the  terral,  or  light  land-breeze,  blows  off  the 
eastern  shore.  In  the  day-time  a  strong  wind  rages  from 
down  river,  against  which  it  is  impossible  to  contend,  as  there 
is  no  current,  and  the  swell  raised  by  its  sweeping  over  scores 
of  miles  of  shallow  water  is  dangerous  to  small  vessels.  The 
coast  for  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  affords  no  shelter: 
there  are,  however,  a  number  of  little  harbours,  called  esperas, 
which  the  canoe-men  calculate  upon,  carefully  arranging  each 
night-voyage  so  as  to  reach  one  of  them  before  the  wind  begins 
the  next  morning. 

We  left  Aveyros  in  the  evening  of  the  21st,  and  sailed  gently 
down  with  the  soft  land-breeze,  keeping  about  a  mile  from  the 
eastern  shore.     It  was  a  brilliant  moonlit  night,  and  the  men 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  251 

worked  cheerfully  at  the  oars,  when  the  wind  was  slack;  the 
terral  wafting  from  the  forest  a  pleasant  perfume  like  that  of 
mignonette.  At  midnight  we  made  a  fire  and  got  a  cup  of 
coffee,  and  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  reached  the  sitio  of 
Ricardo's  father,  an  Indian  named  Andre,  where  we  anchored 
and  slept. 

September  22nd. — Old  Andre  with  his  squaw  came  aboard 
this  morning.  They  brought  three  Tracajas,  a  turtle,  and  a 
basketful  of  Tracaja  eggs,  to  exchange  with  me  for  cotton  cloth 
and  cashaca.  Ricardo,  who  had  been  for  some  time  very  dis- 
contented, having  now  satisfied  his  longing  to  see  his  parents, 
cheerfully  agreed  to  accompany  me  to  Santarem.  The  loss  of 
a  man  at  this  juncture  would  have  been  very  annoying,  with 
Captain  Antonio  ill  at  Aveyros,  and  not  a  hand  to  be  had 
anywhere  in  the  neighbourhood;  but  if  we  had  not  called  at 
Andre's  sitio,  we  should  not  have  been  able  to  have  kept 
Ricardo  from  running  away  at  the  first  landing-place.  He  was 
a  lively,  restless  lad,  and  although  impudent  and  troublesome 
at  first,  had  made  a  very  good  servant;  his  companion,  Alberto, 
was  of  quite  a  different  disposition,  being  extremely  taciturn, 
and  going  through  all  his  duties  with  the  quietest  regularity. 

We  left  at  11  a.m.,  and  progressed  a  little  before  the  wind 
began  to  blow  from  down  river,  when  we  were  obliged  again  to 
cast  anchor.  The  terral  began  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  we  sailed  with  it  past  the  long  line  of  rock-bound  coast  near 
Itapuama.  At  ten  o'clock  a  furious  blast  of  wind  came  from 
a  cleft  between  the  hills,  catching  us  with  the  sails  close-hauled, 
and  throwing  the  canoe  nearly  on  its  beam-ends,  when  we  were 
about  a  mile  from  the  shore.  Jose  had  the  presence  of  mind 
to  slacken  the  sheet  of  the  mainsail,  whilst  I  leapt  forward  and 
lowered  the  sprit  of  the  foresail;  the  two  Indians  standing 
stupefied  in  the  prow.  It  was  what  the  canoe-men  call  a 
trovoada  secca  or  white  squall.  The  river  in  a  few  minutes 
became  a  sheet  of  foam ;  the  wind  ceased  in  about  half  an  hour, 
but  the  terral  was  over  for  the  night,  so  we  pulled  towards  the 
shore  to  find  an  anchoring  place. 

We  reached  Tapaiuna  by  midnight  on  the  23rd,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  24th  arrived  at  the  Retiro,  where  we  met  a 
shrewd  Santarem  trader,  whom  I  knew,  Senhor  Chico  Honorio, 
who  had  a  larger  and  much  better  provided  canoe  than  our  own. 
The  wind  was  strong  from  below  all  day,  so  we  remained  at 
this  place  in  his  company.  He  had  his  wife  with  him,  and  a 
number  of  Indians,  male  and  female.    We  slung  our  hammocks 


252      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

under  the  trees,  and  breakfasted  and  dined  together,  our  cloth 
being  spread  on  the  sandy  beach  in  the  shade;  after  killing  a  t 
large  quantity  of  fish  with  iimbd,  of  which  we  had  obtained  a 
supply  at  Itapuama.  At  night  we  were  again  under  way  with 
the  land  breeze.  The  water  was  shoaly  to  a  great  distance  off 
the  coast,  and  our  canoe  having  the  lighter  draught  went  ahead, 
our  leadsman  crying  out  the  soundings  to  our  companion:  the 
depth  was  only  one  fathom,  half  a  mile  from  the  coast.  We 
spent  the  next  day  (25th)  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek  called  Pini, 
which  is  exactly  opposite  the  village  of  Boim,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing night  advanced  about  twelve  miles.  Every  point  of  land 
had  a  long  spit  of  sand  stretching  one  or  two  miles  towards  the 
middle  of  the  river,  which  it  was  necessary  to  double  by  a  wide 
circuit.  The  terral  failed  us  at  midnight  when  we  were  near 
an  espera,  called  Mara'i,  the  mouth  of  a  shallow  creek. 

September  26th. — I  did  not  like  the  prospect  of  spending  the 
whole  dreary  day  at  Mara'i,  where  it  was  impossible  to  ramble 
ashore,  the  forest  being  utterly  impervious,  and  the  land  still 
partly  under  water.  Besides,  we  had  used  up  our  last  stick  of 
firewood  to  boil  our  coffee  at  sunrise,  and  could  not  get  a  fresh 
supply  at  this  place.  So  there  being  a  dead  calm  on  the  river 
in  the  morning,  I  gave  orders  at  ten  o'clock  to  move  out  of 
the  harbour,  and  try  with  the  oars  to  reach  Paquiatuba,  which 
was  only  five  miles  distant.  We  had  doubled  the  shoaly  point 
which  stretches  from  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  and  were  making 
way  merrily  across  the  bay,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  port 
of  the  little  settlement,  when  we  beheld  to  our  dismay,  a  few 
miles  down  the  river,  the  signs  of  the  violent  day  breeze  coming 
down  upon  us — a  long,  rapidly  advancing  line  of  foam  with  the 
darkened  water  behind  it.  Our  men  strove  in  vain  to  gain  the 
harbour;  the  wind  overtook  us,  and  we  cast  anchor  in  three 
fathoms,  with  two  miles  of  shoaly  water  between  us  and  the 
land  on  our  lee.  It  came  with  the  force  of  a  squall :  the  heavy 
billows  washing  over  the  vessel  and  drenching  us  with  the 
spray.  I  did  not  expect  that  our  anchor  would  hold;  I  gave 
out,  however,  plenty  of  cable  and  watched  the  result  at  the 
prow;  Jose  placing  himself  at  the  helm,  and  the  men  standing 
by  the  jib  and  foresail,  so  as  to  be  ready  if  we  dragged  to 
attempt  the  passage  of  the  Mara'i  spit,  which  was  now  almost 
dead  to  leeward.  Our  little  bit  of  iron,  however,  held  its  place ; 
the  bottom  being  fortunately  not  so  sandy  as  in  most  other 
parts  of  the  coast;  but  our  weak  cable  then  began  to  cause  us 
.anxiety.     We  remained  in  this  position  all  day  without  food, 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  253 

for  everything  was  tossing  about  in  the  hold;  provision-chests, 
baskets,  kettles,  and  crockery.  The  breeze  increased  in  strength 
towards  the  evening,  when  the  sun  set  fiery  red  behind  the 
misty  hills  on  the  western  shore,  and  the  gloom  of  the  scene 
was  heightened  by  the  strange  contrasts  of  colour;  the  inkv 
water  and  the  lurid  gleam  of  the  sky.  Heavy  seas  beat  now 
and  then  against  the  prow  of  our  vessel  with  a  force  that  made 
her  shiver.  If  we  had  gone  ashore  in  this  place,  all  my  precious 
collections  would  have  been  inevitably  lost;  but  we  ourselves 
could  have  scrambled  easily  to  land,  and  re-embarked  with 
Senhor  Honorio,  who  had  remained  behind  in  the  Pini,  and 
would  pass  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days.  When  night 
came  I  lay  down  exhausted  with  watching  and  fatigue,  and  fell 
asleep,  as  my  men  had  done  some  time  before.  About  nine 
o'clock,  I  was  awoke  by  the  montaria  bumping  against  the 
sides  of  the  vessel,  which  had  veered  suddenly  round,  and  the 
full  moon,  previously  astern,  then  shone  full  in  the  cabin.  The 
wind  had  abruptly  ceased,  giving  place  to  light  puffs  from  the 
eastern  shore,  and  leaving  a  long  swell  rolling  into  the  shoaly 
bay. 

After  this  I  resolved  not  to  move  a  step  beyond  Paquiatuba 
without  an  additional  man,  and  one  who  understood  the  navi- 
gation of  the  river  at  this  season.  We  reached  the  landing- 
place  at  ten  o'clock,  and  anchored  within  the  mouth  of  the 
creek.  In  the  morning  I  walked  through  the  beautiful  shady 
alleys  of  the  forest,  which  were  water-paths  in  June  when  we 
touched  here  in  ascending  the  river,  to  the  house  of  Inspector 
Cypriano.  After  an  infinite  deal  of  trouble  I  succeeded  in 
persuading  him  to  furnish  me  with  another  Indian.  There  are 
about  thirty  families  established  in  this  place,  but  the  able- 
bodied  men  had  been  nearly  all  drafted  off  within  the  last  few 
weeks  by  the  Government,  to  accompany  a  military  expedition 
against  runaway  negroes,  settled  in  villages  in  the  interior. 
Senhor  Cypriano  was  a  pleasant-looking  and  extremely  civil 
young  Mameluco.  He  accompanied  us,  on  the  night  of  the 
28th,  five  miles  down  the  river  to  Point  Jaguarari,  where  the 
man  lived  whom  he  intended  to  send  with  me.  I  was  glad  to 
find  my  new  hand  a  steady,  middle-aged  and  married  Indian; 
his  name  was  of  very  good  promise,  Angelo  Custodio  (Guardian 
Angel). 

Point  Jaguarari  forms  at  this  season  of  the  year  a  high  sand- 
bank, which  is  prolonged  as  a  narrow  spit,  stretching  about 
three  miles  towards  the  middle  of  the  river.     We  rounded  this 


254      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

with  great  difficulty  in  the  night  of  the  29th;  reaching  before 
daylight  a  good  shelter  behind  a  similar  sandbank  at  Point 
Acaratingari,  a  headland  situated  not  more  than  five  miles  in 
a  straight  line  from  our  last  anchoring  place.  We  remained 
here  all  day:  the  men  beating  timbd  in  a  quiet  pool  between 
the  sandbank  and  the  mainland,  and  obtaining  a  great  quantity 
of  fish,  from  which  I  selected  six  species  new  to  my  collection. 
We  made  rather  better  progress  the  two  following  nights,  but 
the  terral  now  always  blew  strongly  from  the  north-north-east 
after  midnight,  and  thus  limited  the  hours  during  which  we 
could  navigate,  forcing  us  to  seek  the  nearest  shelter  to  avoid 
being  driven  back  faster  than  we  came. 

On  the  2nd  of  October  we  reached  Point  Cajetuba,  and  had 
a  pleasant  day  ashore.  The  river  scenery  in  this  neighbour- 
hood is  of  the  greatest  beauty.  A  few  houses  of  settlers  are 
seen  at  the  bottom  of  the  broad  bay  of  Aramana-i  at  the  foot 
of  a  range  of  richly-timbered  hills,  the  high  beach  of  snow- 
white  sand  stretching  in  a  bold  curve  from  point  to  point.  The 
opposite  shores  of  the  river  are  ten  or  eleven  miles  distant,  but 
towards  the  north  is  a  clear  horizon  of  water  and  sky.  The 
country  near  Point  Cajetuba  is  similar  to  the  neighbourhood 
of  Santarem:  namely,  campos  with  scattered  trees.  We 
gathered  a  large  quantity  of  wild  fruit:  Caju,  Umiri,  and 
Aapiranga.  The  Umiri  berry  (Humirium  floribundum)  is  a 
black  drupe  similar  in  appearance  to  the  Damascene  plum,  and 
not  greatly  unlike  it  in  taste.  The  Aapiranga  is  a  bright  ver- 
milion-coloured berry,  with  a  hard  skin  and  a  sweet  viscid  pulp 
enclosing  the  seeds.  Between  the  point  and  Altar  do  Chao  was 
a  long  stretch  of  sandy  beach  with  moderately  deep  water;  our 
men,  therefore,  took  a  rope  ashore  and  towed  the  cuberta  at 
merry  speed  until  we  reached  the  village.  A  long,  deeply- 
laden  canoe  with  miners  from  the  interior  provinces  here  passed 
us.  It  was  manned  by  ten  Indians,  who  propelled  the  boat 
by  poles;  the  men,  five  on  each  side,  trotting  one  after  the 
other  along  a  plank  arranged  for  the  purpose  from  stem  to  stern. 

It  took  us  two  nights  to  double  Point  Cururu,  where,  as 
already  mentioned,  the  river  bends  from  its  northerly  course 
beyond  Altar  do  Chao.  A  confused  pile  of  rocks,  on  which 
many  a  vessel  heavily  laden  with  farinha  has  been  wrecked, 
extends  at  the  season  of  low  water  from  the  foot  of  a  high 
bluff  far  into  the  stream.  We  were  driven  back  on  the  first 
night  (October  3rd)  by  a  squall.  The  light  terral  was  carry- 
ing us  pleasantly  round  the  spit,  when  a  small  black  cloud 


Voyage  up  the  Tapajos  255 

which  lay  near  the  rising  moon  suddenly  spread  over  the  sky 
to  the  northward;  the  land  breeze  then  ceased,  and  furious 
blasts  began  to  blow  across  the  river.  We  regained,  with  great 
difficulty,  the  shelter  of  the  point.  It  blew  almost  a  hurricane 
for  two  hours,  during  the  whole  of  which  time  the  sky  over 
our  heads  was  beautifully  clear  and  starlit.  Our  shelter  at  first 
was  not  very  secure,  for  the  wind  blew  away  the  lashings  of 
our  sails,  and  caused  our  anchor  to  drag.  Angelo  Custodio, 
however,  seized  a  rope  which  was  attached  to  the  foremast  and 
leapt  ashore;  had  he  not  done  so,  we  should  probably  have  been 
driven  many  miles  backwards  up  the  storm-tossed  river.  After 
the  cloud  had  passed,  the  regular  east  wind  began  to  blow,  and 
our  further  progress  was  effectually  stopped  for  the  night.  The 
next  day  we  all  went  ashore,  after  securing  well  the  canoe,  and 
slept  from  eleven  o'clock  till  five  under  the  shade  of  trees. 

The  distance  between  Point  Cururu  and  Santarem  was  accom- 
plished in  three  days,  against  the  same  difficulties  of  contrary 
and  furious  winds,  shoaly  water,  and  rocky  coasts.  I  was 
thankful  at  length  to  be  safely  housed,  with  the  whole  of  my 
collections,  made  under  so  many  privations  and  perils,  landed 
without  the  loss  or  damage  of  a  specimen.  The  men,  after  un- 
loading the  canoe  and  delivering  it  to  its  owner,  came  to  receive 
their  payment.  They  took  part  in  goods  and  part  in  money, 
and  after  a  good  supper,  on  the  night  of  the  7th  October, 
shouldered  their  bundles  and  set  off  to  walk  by  land  some 
eighty  miles  to  their  homes.  I  was  rather  surprised  at  the 
good  feeling  exhibited  by  these  poor  Indians  at  parting.  Angelo 
Custodio  said  that  whenever  I  should  wish  to  make  another 
voyage  up  the  Tapajos,  he  would  be  always  ready  to  serve  me 
as  pilot.  Alberto  was  undemonstrative  as  usual;  but  Ricardo, 
with  whom  I  had  had  many  sharp  quarrels,  actually  shed  tears 
when  he  shook  hands  and  bid  me  the  final  "  adeos." 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  UPPER  AMAZONS — VOYAGE  TO  EGA 

Departure  from  Barra — First  Day  and  Night  on  the  Upper  Amazons — 
Desolate  Appearance  of  River  in  the  Flood  Season — Cucama  Indians 
— Mental  Condition  of  Indians — Squalls — Manatee — Forest — Float- 
ing Pumice-stones  from  the  Andes — Falling  Banks — Ega  and  its 
Inhabitants — Daily  Life  of  a  Naturalist  at  Ega — The  Four  Seasons  of 
the  Upper  Amazons 

I  must  now  take  the  reader  from  the  picturesque,  hilly  country 
of  the  Tapajos,  and  its  dark,  streamless  waters,  to  the  boundless 
wooded  plains,  and  yellow  turbid  current  of  the  Upper  Amazons 
or  Solimoens.  I  will  resume  the  narrative  of  my  first  voyage 
up  the  river,  which  was  interrupted  at  the  Barra  of  the  Rio 
Negro  in  the  seventh  chapter  to  make  way  for  the  description  of 
Santarem  and  its  neighbourhood. 

I  embarked  at  Barra  on  the  26th  of  March,  1850,  three  years 
before  steamers  were  introduced  on  the  upper  river,  in  a  cuberta 
which  was  returning  to  Ega,  the  first  and  only  town  of  any 
importance  in  the  vast  solitudes  of  the  Solimoens,  from  San- 
tarem, whither  it  had  been  sent  with  a  cargo  of  turtle  oil  in 
earthenware  jars.  The  owner,  an  old  white-haired  Portuguese 
trader  of  Ega  named  Daniel  Cardozo,  was  then  at  Barra,  attend- 
ing the  assizes  as  juryman,  a  public  duty  performed  without 
remuneration,  which  took  him  six  weeks  away  from  his  business. 
He  was  about  to  leave  Barra  himself,  in  a  small  boat,  and 
recommended  me  to  send  forward  my  heavy  baggage  in  the 
cuberta  and  make  the  journey  with  him.  He  would  reach  Ega, 
370  miles  distant  from  Barra,  in  twelve  or  fourteen  days;  whilst 
the  large  vessel  would  be  thirty  or  forty  days  on  the  road.  I 
preferred,  however,  to  go  in  company  with  my  luggage,  looking 
forward  to  the  many  opportunities  I  should  have  of  landing  and 
making  collections  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 

I  shipped  the  collections  made  between  Para  and  the  Rio 
Negro  in  a  large  cutter  which  was  about  descending  to  the 
capital,  and  after  a  heavy  day's  work  got  all  my  chests  aboard 
the  Ega  canoe  by  eight  o'clock  at  night.  The  Indians  were 
then  all  embarked,  one  of  them  being  brought  dead  drunk  by 

256 


Voyage  to  Ega  257 

his  companions,  and  laid  to  sober  himself  all  night  on  the  wet 
boards  of  the  tombadilha.  The  cabo,  a  spirited  young  white, 
named  Estulano  Alves  Carneiro,  who  has  since  risen  to  be  a 
distinguished  citizen  of  the  new  province  of  the  Upper  Amazons, 
soon  after  gave  orders  to  get  up  the  anchor.  The  men  took 
to  the  oars,  and  in  a  few  hours  we  crossed  the  broad  mouth  of 
the  Rio  Negro;  the  night  being  clear,  calm,  and  starlit,  and 
the  surface  of  the  inky  waters  smooth  as  a  lake. 

When  I  awoke  the  next  morning,  we  were  progressing  by 
espia  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Solimoens.  The  rainy  season 
had  now  set  in  over  the  region  through  which  the  great  river 
flows;  the  sand-banks  and  all  the  lower  lands  were  already 
under  water,  and  the  tearing  current,  two  or  three  miles  in 
breadth,  bore  along  a  continuous  line  of  uprooted  trees  and 
islets  of  floating  plants.  The  prospect  was  most  melancholy; 
no  sound  was  heard  but  the  dull  murmur  of  the  waters;  the 
coast  along  which  we  travelled  all  day  was  encumbered  every 
step  of  the  way  with  fallen  trees,  some  of  which  quivered  in  the 
currents  which  set  around  projecting  points  of  land.  Our  old 
pest,  the  Motuca,  began  to  torment  us  as  soon  as  the  sun  gained 
power  in  the  morning.  White  egrets  were  plentiful  at  the  edge 
of  the  water,  and  humming-birds,  in  some  places,  were  whirring 
about  the  flowers  overhead.  The  desolate  appearance  of  the 
landscape  increased  after  sunset,  when  the  moon  rose  in  mist. 

This  upper  river,  the  Alto-Amazonas,  or  Solimoens,  is  always 
spoken  of  by  the  Brazilians  as  a  distinct  stream.  This  is  partly 
owing,  as  before  remarked,  to  the  direction  it  seems  to  take  at 
the  fork  of  the  Rio  Negro;  the  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
from  their  partial  knowledge,  not  being  able  to  comprehend 
the  whole  river  system  in  one  view.  It  has,  however,  many 
peculiarities  to  distinguish  it  from  the  lower  course  of  the  river. 
The  trade- wind,  or  sea-breeze,  which  reaches,  in  the  height  of 
the  dry  season,  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  900  or 
1000  miles  from  the  Atlantic,  never  blows  on  the  upper  river. 
The  atmosphere  is  therefore  more  stagnant  and  sultry,  and  the 
winds  that  do  prevail  are  of  irregular  direction  and  short 
duration.  A  great  part  of  the  land  on  the  borders  of  the 
Lower  Amazons  is  hilly;  there  are  extensive  campos,  or  open 
plains,  and  long  stretches  of  sandy  soil  clothed  with  thinner 
forests.  The  climate,  in  consequence,  is  comparatively  dry, 
many  months  in  succession  during  the  fine  season  passing  with- 
out rain.     All  this  is  changed  on  the  Solimoens.      A  fortnight 


258      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

of  clear  sunny  weather  is  a  rarity:  the  whole  region  through 
which  the  river  and  its  affluents  flow,  after  leaving  the  eastern- 
most ridges  of  the  Andes,  which  Poppig  describes  as  rising  like 
a  wall  from  the  level  country,  240  miles  from  the  Pacific,  is  a 
vast  plain,  about  1000  miles  in  length,  and  500  or  600  in  breadth, 
covered  with  one  uniform,  lofty,  impervious,  and  humid  forest. 
The  soil  is  nowhere  sandy,  but  always  either  a  stiff  clay,  alluvium, 
or  vegetable  mould,  which  latter,  in  many  places,  is  seen  in 
water-worn  sections  of  the  river  banks  to  be  twenty  or  thirty 
feet  in  depth.  With  such  a  soil  and  climate,  the  luxuriance  of 
vegetation,  and  the  abundance  and  beauty  of  animal  forms 
which  are  already  so  great  in  the  region  nearer  the  Atlantic, 
increase  on  the  upper  river.  The  fruits,  both  wild  and  culti- 
vated, common  to  the  two  sections  of  the  country,  reach  a  pro- 
gressively larger  size  in  advancing  westward,  and  some  trees 
which  blossom  only  once  a  year  at  Para  and  Santarem,  yield 
flower  and  fruit  all  the  year  round  at  Ega.  The  climate  is 
healthy,  although  one  lives  here  as  in  a  permanent  vapour  bath. 
I  must  not,  however,  give  here  a  lengthy  description  of  the  region 
whilst  we  are  yet  on  its  threshold.  I  resided  and  travelled  on 
the  Solimoens  altogether  for  four  years  and  a  half.  The  country 
on  its  borders  is  a  magnificent  wilderness  where  civilised  man, 
as  yet,  has  scarcely  obtained  a  footing;  the  cultivated  ground 
from  the  Rio  Negro  to  the  Andes  amounting  only  to  a  few 
score  acres.  Man,  indeed,  in  any  condition,  from  his  small 
numbers,  makes  but  an  insignificant  figure  in  these  vast  solitudes. 
It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  Solimoens  is  2130  miles  in  length, 
if  we  reckon  from  the  source  of  what  is  usually  considered  the 
main  stream  (Lake  Lauricocha,  near  Lima);  but  2500  miles  by 
the  route  of  the  Ucayali,  the  most  considerable  and  practicable 
fork  of  the  upper  part  of  the  river.  It  is  navigable  at  all  seasons 
by  large  steamers  for  upwards  of  1400  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Negro. 

On  the  28th  we  passed  the  mouth  of  Ariauu,  a  narrow  inlet 
which  communicates  with  the  Rio  Negro,  emerging  in  front  of 
Barra.  Our  vessel  was  nearly  drawn  into  this  by  the  violent 
current  which  set  from  the  Solimoens.  The  towing-cable  was 
lashed  to  a  strong  tree  about  thirty  yards  ahead,  and  it  took 
the  whole  strength  of  crew  and  passengers  to  pull  across.  We 
passed  the  Guariba,  a  second  channel  connecting  the  two  rivers, 
on  the  30th,  and  on  the  31st  sailed  past  a  straggling  settlement 
called  Manacapuru,  situated  on  a  high,  rocky  bank.     Many 


Voyage  to  Ega  259 

citizens  of  Barra  have  sitios,  or  country-houses,  in  this  place, 
although  it  is  eighty  miles  distant  from  the  town  by  the  nearest 
road.  Beyond  Manacapuru  all  traces  of  high  land  cease;  both 
shores  of  the  river,  henceforward  for  many  hundred  miles,  are 
flat,  except  in  places  where  the  Tabatinga  formation  appears  in 
clayey  elevations  of  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  above  the  line  of 
highest  water.  The  country  is  so  completely  destitute  of  rocky 
or  gravelly  beds  that  not  a  pebble  is  seen  during  many  weeks' 
journey.  Our  voyage  was  now  very  monotonous.  After  leaving 
the  last  house  at  Manacapuru  we  travelled  nineteen  days  with- 
out seeing  a  human  habitation,  the  few  settlers  being  located 
on  the  banks  of  inlets  or  lakes  some  distance  from  the  shores 
of  the  main  river.  We  met  only  one  vessel  during  the  whole 
of  the  time,  and  this  did  not  come  within  hail,  as  it  was  drifting 
down  in  the  middle  of  the  current  in  a  broad  part  of  the  river, 
two  miles  from  the  bank  along  which  we  were  laboriously 
warping  our  course  upwards. 

After  the  first  two  or  three  days  we  fell  into  a  regular  way  of 
life  aboard.  Our  crew  was  composed  of  ten  Indians  of  the 
Cucama  nation,  whose  native  country  is  a  portion  of  the  borders 
of  the  upper  river  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Nauta,  in  Peru. 
The  Cucamas  speak  the  Tupi  language,  using,  however,  a 
harsher  accent  than  is  common  amongst  the  semi-civilised 
Indians  from  Ega  downwards.  They  are  a  shrewd,  hard-work- 
ing people,  and  are  the  only  Indians  who  willingly  and  in  a 
body  engage  themselves  to  navigate  the  canoes  of  traders.  The 
pilot,  a  steady  and  faithful  fellow  named  Vicente,  told  me  that 
he  and  his  companions  had  now  been  fifteen  months  absent 
from  their  wives  and  families,  and  that  on  arriving  at  Ega  they 
intended  to  take  the  first  chance  of  a  passage  to  Nauta.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  appearance  of  these  men  to  distinguish  them 
from  canoemen  in  general.  Some  were  tall  and  well  built, 
others  had  squat  figures  with  broad  shoulders  and  excessively 
thick  arms  and  legs.  No  two  of  them  were  at  all  similar  in 
the  shape  of  the  head:  Vicente  had  an  oval  visage,  with  fine 
regular  features,  whilst  a  little  dumpy  fellow,  the  wag  of  the 
party,  was  quite  a  Mongolian  in  breadth  and  prominence  of 
cheek,  spread  of  nostrils,  and  obliquity  of  eyes;  but  these  two 
formed  the  extremes  as  to  face  and  figure.  None  of  them  were 
tattooed  or  disfigured  in  any  way;  and  they  were  all  quite 
destitute  of  beard.  The  Cucamas  are  notorious  on  the  river 
for  their  provident  habits.  The  desire  of  acquiring  property  is 
so  rare  a  trait  in  Indians,  that  the  habits  of  these  people  are 


260      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

remarked  on  with  surprise  by  the  Brazilians.  The  first  posses- 
sion which  they  strive  to  acquire,  on  descending  the  river  into 
Brazil,  which  all  the  Peruvian  Indians  look  upon  as  a  richer 
country  than  their  own,  is  a  wooden  trunk  with  lock  and  key; 
in  this  they  stow  away  carefully  all  their  earnings  converted 
into  clothing,  hatchets,  knives,  harpoon  heads,  needles  and 
thread,  and  so  forth.  Their  wages  are  only  fourpence  or  six- 
pence a  day,  which  is  often  paid  in  goods  charged  a  hundred 
per  cent,  above  Para  prices,  so  that  it  takes  them  a  long  time 
to  fill  their  chest. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  better-behaved  set  of  men  in  a 
voyage  than  these  poor  Indians.  During  our  thirty-five  days' 
journey  they  lived  and  worked  together  in  the  most  perfect 
good  fellowship.  I  never  heard  an  angry  word  pass  amongst 
them.  Senhor  Estulano  let  them  navigate  the  vessel  in  their 
own  way,  exerting  his  authority  only  now  and  then  when  they 
were  inclined  to  be  lazy.  Vicente  regulated  the  working  hours. 
These  depended  on  the  darkness  of  the  nights.  In  the  first 
and  second  quarters  of  the  moon  they  kept  it  up  with  espia,  or 
oars,  until  towards  midnight;  in  the  third  and  fourth  quarters 
they  were  allowed  to  go  to  sleep  soon  after  sunset,  and  aroused 
at  three  or  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  resume  their  work. 
On  cool,  rainy  days  we  all  bore  a  hand  at  the  espia,  trotting 
with  bare  feet  on  the  sloppy  deck  in  Indian  file,  to  the  tune  of 
some  wild  boatman's  chorus.  We  had  a  favourable  wind  for 
two  days  only  out  of  the  thirty-five,  by  which  we  made  about 
forty  miles;  the  rest  of  our  long  journey  was  accomplished 
literally  by  pulling  our  way  from  tree  to  tree.  When  we 
encountered  a  remanso  near  the  shore,  we  got  along  very 
pleasantly  for  a  few  miles  by  rowing:  but  this  was  a  rare 
occurrence.  During  leisure  hours  the  Indians  employed  them- 
selves in  sewing.  Vicente  was  a  good  hand  at  cutting  out 
shirts  and  trousers,  and  acted  as  master  tailor  to  the  whole 
party,  each  of  whom  had  a  thick  steel  thimble  and  a  stock  of 
needles  and  thread  of  his  own.  Vicente  made  for  me  a  set  of 
blue-check  cotton  shirts  during  the  passage. 

The  goodness  of  these  Indians,  like  that  of  most  others 
amongst  whom  I  lived,  consisted  perhaps  more  in  the  absence 
of  active  bad  qualities,  than  in  the  possession  of  good  ones ;  in 
other  words,  it  was  negative  rather  than  positive.  Their  phleg- 
matic, apathetic  temperament;  coldness  of  desire  and  dead- 
ness  of  feeling;  want  of  curiosity  and  slowness  of  intellect, 
make  the  Amazonian  Indians  very  uninteresting  companions 


Voyage  to  Ega  261 


anywhere.  Their  imagination  is  of  a  dull,  gloomy  quality,  and 
they  seemed  never  to  be  stirred  by  the  emotions: — love,  pity, 
admiration,  fear,  wonder,  joy,  enthusiasm.  These  are  character- 
istics of  the  whole  race.  The  good  fellowship  of  our  Cucamas 
seemed  to  arise,  not  from  warm  sympathy,  but  simply  from  the 
absence  of  eager  selfishness  in  small  matters.  On  the  morning 
when  the  favourable  wind  sprung  up,  one  of  the  crew,  a  lad  of 
about  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  absent  ashore  at  the  time  of 
starting,  having  gone  alone  in  one  of  the  montarias  to  gather 
wild  fruit.  The  sails  were  spread  and  we  travelled  for  several 
hours  at  great  speed,  leaving  the  poor  fellow  to  paddle  after  us 
against  the  strong  current.  Vicente,  who  might  have  waited  a 
few  minutes  at  starting,  and  the  others,  only  laughed  when  the 
hardship  of  their  companion  was  alluded  to.  He  overtook  us 
at  night,  having  worked  his  way  with  frightful  labour  the  whole 
day  without  a  morsel  of  food.  He  grinned  when  he  came  on 
board,  and  not  a  dozen  words  were  said  on  either  side. 

Their  want  of  curiosity  is  extreme.  One  day  we  had  an 
unusually  sharp  thunder-shower.  The  crew  were  lying  about 
the  deck,  and  after  each  explosion  all  set  up  a  loud  laugh;  the 
wag  of  the  party  exclaiming  "  There's  my  old  uncle  hunting 
again !  "  an  expression  showing  the  utter  emptiness  of  mind  of  the 
spokesman.  I  asked  Vicente  what  he  thought  was  the  cause  of 
lightning  and  thunder?  He  said,  "  Timaa  ichoqua," — I  don't 
know.  He  had  never  given  the  subject  a  moment's  thought! 
It  was  the  same  with  other  things.  I  asked  him  who  made  the 
sun,  the  stars,  the  trees?  He  didn't  know,  and  had  never  heard 
the  subject  mentioned  amongst  his  tribe.  The  Tupi  language,  at 
least  as  taught  by  the  old  Jesuits,  has  a  word — Tupana — signi- 
fying God.  Vicente  sometimes  used  this  word,  but  he  showed 
by  his  expressions  that  he  did  not  attach  the  idea  of  a  Creator 
to  it.  He  seemed  to  think  it  meant  some  deity  or  visible  image 
which  the  whites  worshipped  in  the  churches  he  had  seen  in 
the  villages.  None  of  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  Upper  Amazons 
have  an  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  and  consequently  have  no 
word  to  express  it  in  their  own  language.  Vicente  thought  the 
river  on  which  we  were  travelling  encircled  the  whole  earth, 
and  that  the  land  was  an  island  like  those  seen  in  the  stream, 
but  larger.  Here  a  gleam  of  curiosity  and  imagination  in  the 
Indian  mind  is  revealed :  the  necessity  of  a  theory  of  the  earth 
and  water  has  been  felt,  and  a  theory  has  been  suggested.  In 
all  other  matters  not  concerning  the  common  wants  of  life  the 
mind  of  Vicente  was  a  blank,  and  such  I  always  found  to  be 


262      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  case  with  the  Indian  in  his  natural  state.  Would  a  com- 
munity of  any  race  of  men  be  otherwise,  were  they  isolated  for 
centuries  in  a  wilderness  like  the  Amazonian  Indians,  associated 
in  small  numbers  wholly  occupied  in  procuring  a  mere  sub- 
sistence, and  without  a  written  language,  or  a  leisured  class  to 
hand  down  acquired  knowledge  from  generation  to  generation? 

One  day  a  smart  squall  gave  us  a  good  lift  onward;  it  came 
with  a  cold,  fine,  driving  rain,  which  enveloped  the  desolate 
landscape  as  with  a  mist:  the  forest  swayed  and  roared  with  the 
force  of  the  gale,  and  flocks  of  birds  were  driven  about  in  alarm 
over  the  tree  tops.  On  another  occasion  a  similar  squall  came 
from  an  unfavourable  quarter:  it  fell  upon  us  quite  unawares, 
when  we  had  all  our  sails  out  to  dry,  and  blew  us  broadside 
foremost  on  the  shore.  The  vessel  was  fairly  lifted  on  to  the 
tall  bushes  which  lined  the  banks,  but  we  sustained  no  injury 
beyond  the  entanglement  of  our  rigging  in  the  branches.  The 
days  and  nights  usually  passed  in  a  dead  calm,  or  with  light 
intermittent  winds  from  up  river,  and  consequently  full  against 
us.  We  landed  twice  a  day,  to  give  ourselves  and  the  Indians 
a  little  rest  and  change,  and  to  cook  our  two  meals — breakfast 
and  dinner.  There  was  another  passenger  beside  myself — a 
cautious,  middle-aged  Portuguese,  who  was  going  to  settle  at 
Ega,  where  he  had  a  brother  long  since  established.  He  was 
accommodated  in  the  fore-cabin,  or  arched  covering  over  the 
hold.  I  shared  the  cabin-proper  with  Senhores  Estulano  and 
Manoel,  the  latter  a  young  half-caste,  son-in-law  to  the  owner 
of  the  vessel,  under  whose  tuition  I  made  good  progress  in 
learning  the  Tupi  language  during  the  voyage. 

Our  men  took  it  in  turns,  two  at  a  time,  to  go  out  fishing; 
for  which  purpose  we  carried  a  spare  montaria.  The  master 
had  brought  from  Barra,  as  provisions,  nothing  but  stale,  salt 
pirarucu — half  rotten  fish,  in  large,  thin,  rusty  slabs — farinha, 
coffee,  and  treacle.  In  these  voyages,  passengers  are  expected 
to  provide  for  themselves,  as  no  charge  is  made  except  for 
freight  of  the  heavy  luggage  or  cargo  they  take  with  them. 
The  Portuguese  and  myself  had  brought  a  few  luxuries,  such 
as  beans,  sugar,  biscuits,  tea,  and  so  forth;  but  we  found  our- 
selves almost  obliged  to  share  them  with  our  two  companions 
and  the  pilot,  so  that  before  the  voyage  was  one-third  finished, 
the  small  stock  of  most  of  these  articles  was  exhausted.  In 
return,  we  shared  in  whatever  the  men  brought.  Sometimes 
they  were  quite  unsuccessful,  for  fish  is  extremely  difficult  to 
procure  in  the  season  of  high  water,  on  account  of  the  lower 


Voyage  to  Ega  263 

lands  lying  between  the  inlets  and  infinite  chain  of  pools  and 
lakes  being  flooded  from  the  main  river,  thus  increasing  tenfold 
the  area  over  which  the  finny  population  has  to  range.  On 
most  days,  however,  they  brought  two  or  three  fine  fish,  and 
once  they  harpooned  a  manatee,  or  Vacca  marina.  On  this  last- 
mentioned  occasion  we  made  quite  a  holiday;  the  canoe  was 
stopped  for  six  or  seven  hours,  and  all  turned  out  into  the 
forest  to  help  to  skin  and  cook  the  animal.  The  meat  was  cut 
into  cubical  slabs,  and  each  person  skewered  a  dozen  or  so  of 
these  on  a  long  stick.  Fires  were  made,  and  the  spits  stuck  in 
the  ground  and  slanted  over  the  flames  to  roast.  A  drizzling 
rain  fell  all  the  time,  and  the  ground  around  the  fires  swarmed 
with  stinging  ants,  attracted  by  the  entrails  and  slime  which 
were  scattered  about.  The  meat  has  somewhat  the  taste  of 
very  coarse  pork;  but  the  fat,  which  lies  in  thick  layers  between 
the  lean  parts,  is  of  a  greenish  colour,  and  of  a  disagreeable, 
fishy  flavour.  The  animal  was  a  large  one,  measuring  nearly 
ten  feet  in  length,  and  nine  in  girth  at  the  broadest  part.  The 
manatee  is  one  of  the  few  objects  which  excite  the  dull  wonder 
and  curiosity  of  the  Indians,  notwithstanding  its  commonness. 
The  fact  of  its  suckling  its  young  at  the  breast,  although  an 
aquatic  animal  resembling  a  fish,  seems  to  strike  them  as  some- 
thing very  strange.  The  animal,  as  it  lay  on  its  back,  with  its 
broad  rounded  head  and  muzzle,  tapering  body,  and  smooth, 
thick,  lead-coloured  skin,  reminded  me  of  those  Egyptian  tombs 
which  are  made  of  dark,  smooth  stone,  and  shaped  to  the 
human  figure. 

Notwithstanding  the  hard  fare,  the  confinement  of  the  canoe, 
the  trying  weather, — frequent  and  drenching  rains,  with  gleams 
of  fiery  sunshine, — and  the  woeful  desolation  of  the  river  scenery, 
I  enjoyed  the  voyage  on  the  whole.  We  were  not  much  troubled 
by  mosquitoes,  and  therefore  passed  the  nights  very  pleasantly, 
sleeping  on  deck  wrapped  in  blankets  or  old  sails.  When  the 
rains  drove  us  below  we  were  less  comfortable,  as  there  was 
only  just  room  in  the  small  cabin  for  three  of  us  to  lie  close 
together,  and  the  confined  air  was  stifling.  I  became  inured 
to  the  Piums  in  the  course  of  the  first  week;  all  the  exposed 
parts  of  my  body,  by  that  time,  being  so  closely  covered  with 
black  punctures  that  the  little  bloodsuckers  could  not  very 
easily  find  an  unoccupied  place  to  operate  upon.  Poor  Miguel, 
the  Portuguese,  suffered  horribly  from  these  pests,  his  ankles 
and  wrists  being  so  much  inflamed  that  he  was  confined  to  his 
hammock,  slung  in  the  hold,  for  weeks.    At  every  landing- 


264      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

place  I  had  a  ramble  in  the  forest  whilst  the  redskins  made 
the  fire  and  cooked  the  meal.  The  result  was  a  large  daily- 
addition  to  my  collection  of  insects,  reptiles,  and  shells.  Some- 
times the  neighbourhood  of  our  gipsy-like  encampment  was  a 
tract  of  dry  and  spacious  forest,  pleasant  to  ramble  in;  but 
more  frequently  it  was  a  rank  wilderness,  into  which  it  was 
impossible  to  penetrate  many  yards,  on  account  of  uprooted 
trees,  entangled  webs  of  monstrous  woody  climbers,  thickets  of 
spiny  bamboos,  swamps,  or  obstacles  of  one  kind  or  other. 
The  drier  lands  were  sometimes  beautified  to  the  highest  degree 
by  groves  of  the  Urucuri  palm  (Attalea  excelsa),  which  grew 
by  thousands  under  the  crowns  of  the  lofty,  ordinary  forest 
trees;  their  smooth  columnar  stems  being  all  of  nearly  equal 
height  (forty  or  fifty  feet),  and  their  broad,  finely-pinnated 
leaves  interlocking  above  to  form  arches  and  woven  canopies  of 
elegant  and  diversified  shapes.  The  fruit  of  this  palm  ripens 
on  the  upper  river  in  April,  and  during  our  voyage  I  saw  im- 
mense quantities  of  it  strewn  about  under  the  trees  in  places 
where  we  encamped.  It  is  similar  in  size  and  shape  to  the 
date,  and  has  a  pleasantly-flavoured  juicy  pulp.  The  Indians 
would  not  eat  it;  I  was  surprised  at  this,  as  they  greedily 
devoured  many  other  kinds  of  palm  fruit  whose  sour  and  fibrous 
pulp  was  much  less  palatable.  Vicente  shook  his  head  when  he 
saw  me  one  day  eating  a  quantity  of  the  Urucuri  plums.  I  am 
not  sure  they  were  not  the  cause  of  a  severe  indigestion  under 
which  I  suffered  for  many  days  afterwards. 

In  passing  slowly  along  the  interminable  wooded  banks  week 
after  week,  I  observed  that  there  were  three  tolerably  distinct 
kinds  of  coast  and  corresponding  forest  constantly  recurring  on 
this  upper  river.  First,  there  were  the  low  and  most  recent 
alluvial  deposits, — a  mixture  of  sand  and  mud,  covered  with 
tall,  broad-leaved  grasses,  or  with  the  arrow-grass  before 
described,  whose  feathery-topped  flower-stem  rises  to  a  height 
of  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet.  The  only  large  trees  which  grow  in 
these  places  are  the  Cecropias.  Many  of  the  smaller  and  newer 
islands  were  of  this  description.  Secondly,  there  were  the 
moderately  high  banks,  which  are  only  partially  overflowed 
when  the  flood  season  is  at  its  height;  these  are  wooded  with  a 
magnificent,  varied  forest,  in  which  a  great  variety  of  palms 
and  broad-leaved  Marantacece  form  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  vegetation.  The  general  foliage  is  of  a  vivid  light-green 
hue;  the  water  frontage  is  sometimes  covered  with  a  diversified 
mass  of  greenery;   but  where  the  current  sets  strongly  against 


Voyage  to  Ega 


265 


the  friable,  earthy  banks,  which  at  low  water  are  twenty-five  to 
thirty  feet  high,  these  are 
cut  away,  and   expose  a 
section  of  forest  where  the 
trunks    of    trees    loaded 
with  epiphytes  appear  in 
massy  colonnades.      One 
might    safely    say     that 
three-fourths  of  the  land  bordering  the 
Upper  Amazons,  for  a  thousand  miles, 
belong  to  this  second  class.     The  third 
description  of  coast  is  the  higher,  undu- 
lating, clayey  land,  which  appears  only 
at  long  intervals,  but  extends  sometimes 
for  many  miles  along  the  borders  of  the 
river.    The    coast    at    these    places    is 
sloping,  and  composed  of  red  or  varie- 
gated clay.     The  forest  is  of  a  different 
character  from  that  of  the  lower  tracts: 
it  is  rounder  in  outline,  more  uniform  in 
its  general  aspect;   palms  are  much  less 
numerous  and  of  peculiar  species — the 
strange  bulging-stemmed  species,  Iriartea 
ventricosa,  and  the  slender,  glossy-leaved 
Bacaba-i     (CEnocarpus     minor),     being 
especially  characteristic;    and,  in  short, 
animal  life,  which  imparts  some  cheerful- 
ness to  the  other  parts  of  the  river,  is 
seldom  apparent.     This  "  terra  firme," 
as  it  is  called,  and  a  large  portion  of  the 
fertile  lower  land,  seemed  well  adapted 
for  settlement;   some  parts  were  origin- 
ally peopled  by  the  aborigines,  but  these 
have  long  since  become  extinct  or  amalga- 
mated with  the  white   immigrants.      I 
afterwards  learnt  that  there  were  notmore 
than  eighteen  or  twenty  families  settled 
throughout    the    whole    country    from 
Manacapuru  to  Quary,  a  distance  of  240 
miles;  and  these,  as  before  observed,  do  Bulging-stemmed  Palm: 

.  ,.  .,      ,    '  .        ,  . ,  '  Pa^hiuba  barngudo 

not  live  on  the  banks  of  the  main  stream,      (iriartea  ventricosa). 
but  on  the  shores  of  inlets  and  lakes. 

The  fishermen  twice  brought  me  small  rounded  pieces  of  very 


266      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

porous  pumice-stone,  which  they  had  picked  up  floating  on  the 
surface  of  the  main  current  of  the  river.  They  were  to  me 
objects  of  great  curiosity  as  being  messengers  from  the  distant 
volcanoes  of  the  Andes:  Cotopaxi,  Llanganete,  or  Sangay, 
which  rear  their  peaks  amongst  the  rivulets  that  feed  some  of 
the  early  tributaries  of  the  Amazons,  such  as  the  Macas,  the 
Pastaza,  and  the  Napo.  The  stones  must  have  already  travelled 
a  distance  of  1200  miles.  I  afterwards  found  them  rather 
common;  the  Brazilians  use  them  for  cleaning  rust  from  their 
guns,  and  firmly  believe  them  to  be  solidified  river  foam.  A 
friend  once  brought  me,  when  I  lived  at  Santarem,  a  large  piece 
which  had  been  found  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  below  Monte 
Alegre,  about  900  miles  further  down  the  river :  having  reached 
this  distance,  pumice-stones  would  be  pretty  sure  of  being 
carried  out  to  sea,  and  floated  thence  with  the  north-westerly 
Atlantic  current  to  shores  many  thousand  miles  distant  from 
the  volcanoes  which  ejected  them.  They  are  sometimes  stranded 
on  the  banks  in  different  parts  of  the  river.  Reflecting  on  this 
circumstance  since  I  arrived  in  England,  the  probability  of 
these  porous  fragments  serving  as  vehicles  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  seeds  of  plants,  eggs  of  insects,  spawn  of  fresh-water 
fish,  and  so  forth,  has  suggested  itself  to  me.  Their  rounded, 
water-worn  appearance  showed  that  they  must  have  been 
rolled  about  for  a  long  time  in  the  shallow  streams  near  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  at  the  feet  of  the  volcanoes,  before  they 
leapt  the  waterfalls  and  embarked  on  the  currents  which  lead 
direct  for  the  Amazons.  They  may  have  been  originally  cast 
on  the  land  and  afterwards  carried  to  the  rivers  by  freshets; 
in  which  case  the  eggs  and  seeds  of  land  insects  and  plants 
might  be  accidentally  introduced  and  safely  enclosed  with 
particles  of  earth  in  their  cavities.  As  the  speed  of  the  current 
in  the  rainy  season  has  been  observed  to  be  from  three  to  five 
miles  an  hour,  they  might  travel  an  immense  distance  before 
the  eggs  or  seeds  were  destroyed.  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that 
I  neglected  the  opportunity,  whilst  on  the  spot,  of  ascertaining 
whether  this  was  actually  the  case.  The  attention  of  Naturalists 
has  only  lately  been  turned  to  the  important  subject  of  occa- 
sional means  of  wide  dissemination  of  species  of  animals  and 
plants.  Unless  such  be  shown  to  exist,  it  is  impossible  to  solve 
some  of  the  most  difficult  problems  connected  with  the  distri- 
bution of  plants  and  animals.  Some  species,  with  most  limited 
powers  of  locomotion,  are  found  in  opposite  parts  of  the  earth, 
without  existing  in  the  intermediate  regions;   unless  it  can  be 


Voyage  to  Ega  267 

shown  that  these  may  have  migrated  or  been  accidentally 
transported  from  one  point  to  the  other,  we  shall  have  to  come 
to  the  strange  conclusion  that  the  same  species  had  been  created 
in  two  separate  districts. 

Canoemen  on  the  Upper  Amazons  live  in  constant  dread  of 
the  "  terras  cahidas,"  or  landslips,  which  occasionally  take  place 
along  the  steep  earthy  banks;  especially  when  the  waters  are 
rising.  Large  vessels  are  sometimes  overwhelmed  by  these 
avalanches  of  earth  and  trees.  I  should  have  thought  the 
accounts  of  them  exaggerated  if  I  had  not  had  an  opportunity 
during  this  voyage  of  seeing  one  on  a  large  scale.  One  morning 
I  was  awoke  before  sunrise  by  an  unusual  sound  resembling  the 
roar  of  artillery.  I  was  lying  alone  on  the  top  of  the  cabin;  it 
was  very  dark,  and  all  my  companions  were  asleep,  so  I  lay 
listening.  The  sounds  came  from  a  considerable  distance,  and 
the  crash  which  had  aroused  me,  was  succeeded  by  others  much 
less  formidable.  The  first  explanation  which  occurred  to  me  was 
that  it  was  an  earthquake;  for,  although  the  night  was  breath- 
lessly calm,  the  broad  river  was  much  agitated  and  the  vessel 
rolled  heavily.  Soon  after,  another  loud  explosion  took  place, 
apparently  much  nearer  than  the  former  one;  then  followed 
others.  The  thundering  peal  rolled  backwards  and  forwards, 
now  seeming  close  at  hand,  now  far  off;  the  sudden  crashes 
being  often  succeeded  by  a  pause  or  a  long-continued  dull 
rumbling.  At  the  second  explosion,  Vicente,  who  lay  snoring 
by  the  helm,  awoke  and  told  me  it  was  a  "  terra  cahida  ";  but 
I  could  scarcely  believe  him.  The  day  dawned  after  the  uproar 
had  lasted  about  an  hour,  and  we  then  saw  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion going  forward  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  about  three 
miles  off.  Large  masses  of  forest,  including  trees  of  colossal 
size,  probably  200  feet  in  height,  were  rocking  to  and  fro,  and 
falling  headlong  one  after  the  other  into  the  water.  After  each 
avalanche  the  wave  which  it  caused  returned  on  the  crumbly 
bank  with  tremendous  force,  and  caused  the  fall  of  other  masses 
by  undermining  them.  The  line  of  coast  over  which  the  land- 
slip extended,  was  a  mile  or  two  in  length;  the  end  of  it, 
however,  was  hid  from  our  view  by  an  intervening  island.  It 
was  a  grand  sight;  each  downfall  created  a  cloud  of  spray; 
the  concussion  in  one  place  causing  other  masses  to  give  way 
a  long  distance  from  it,  and  thus  the  crashes  continued,  swaying 
to  and  fro,  with  little  prospect  of  a  termination.     When  we 


268      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

glided  out  of  sight,  two  hours  after  sunrise,  the  destruction  was 
still  going  on. 

On  the  22nd  we  threaded  the  Parana-mirim  of  Arauana-i,  one 
of  the  numerous  narrow  by-waters  which  lie  conveniently  for 
canoes  away  from  the  main  river,  and  often  save  a  considerable 
circuit  round  a  promontory  or  island.  We  rowed  for  half  a 
mile  through  a  magnificent  bed  of  Victoria  water-lilies;  the 
flower-buds  of  which  were  just  beginning  to  expand.  Beyond 
the  mouth  of  the  Catua,  a  channel  leading  to  one  of  the  great 
lakes  so  numerous  in  the  plains  of  the  Amazons,  which  we 
passed  on  the  25th,  the  river  appeared  greatly  increased  in 
breadth.  We  travelled  for  three  days  along  a  broad  reach 
which  both  up  and  down  river  presented  a  blank  horizon  of 
water  and  sky:  this  clear  view  was  owing  to  the  absence  of 
islands,  but  it  renewed  one's  impressions  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  stream,  which  here,  1200  miles  from  its  mouth,  showed  so 
little  diminution  of  width.  Further  westward  a  series  of  large 
islands  commences,  which  divides  the  river  into  two  and  some- 
times three  channels,  each  about  a  mile  in  breadth.  We  kept 
to  the  southernmost  of  these,  travelling  all  day  on  the  30th  of 
April  along  a  high  and  rather  sloping  bank. 

In  the  evening  we  arrived  at  a  narrow  opening,  which  would 
be  taken,  by  a  stranger  navigating  the  main  channel,  for  the 
outlet  of  some  insignificant  stream:  it  was  the  mouth  of  the 
Teffe,  on  whose  banks  Ega  is  situated,  the  termination  of  our 
voyage.  After  having  struggled  for  thirty-five  days  with  the 
muddy  currents  and  insect  pests  of  the  Solimoens,  it  was  un- 
speakably refreshing  to  find  one's-self  again  in  a  dark-water 
river,  smooth  as  a  lake,  and  free  from  Pium  and  Motuca.  The 
rounded  outline,  small  foliage,  and  sombre-green  of  the  woods, 
which  seemed  to  rest  on  the  glassy  waters,  made  a  pleasant 
contrast  to  the  tumultuous  piles  of  rank,  glaring,  light-green 
vegetation,  and  torn,  timber-strewn  banks  to  which  we  had 
been  so  long  accustomed  on  the  main  river.  The  men  rowed 
lazily  until  nightfall,  when,  having  done  a  laborious  day's  work, 
they  discontinued  and  went  to  sleep,  intending  to  make  for 
Ega  in  the  morning.  It  was  not  thought  worth  while  to  secure 
the  vessel  to  the  trees  or  cast  anchor,  as  there  was  no  current. 
I  sat  up  for  two  or  three  hours  after  my  companions  had  gone 
to  rest,  enjoying  the  solemn  calm  of  the  night.  Not  a  breath 
of  air  stirred ;  the  sky  was  of  a  deep  blue,  and  the  stars  seemed 
to  stand  forth  in  sharp  relief;  there  was  no  sound  of  life  in  the 


Voyage  to  Ega  269 

woods,  except  the  occasional  melancholy  note  of  some  nocturnal 
bird.  I  reflected  on  my  own  wandering  life :  I  had  now  reached 
the  end  of  the  third  stage  of  my  journey,  and  was  now  more 
than  half  way  across  the  continent.  It  was  necessary  for  me, 
on  many  accounts,  to  find  a  rich  locality  for  Natural  History 
explorations,  and  settle  myself  in  it  for  some  months  or  years. 
Would  the  neighbourhood  of  Ega  turn  out  to  be  suitable,  and 
should  I,  a  solitary  stranger  on  a  strange  errand,  find  a  welcome 
amongst  its  people? 

Our  Indians  resumed  their  oars  at  sunrise  the  next  morning 
(May  1st),  and  after  an  hour's  rowing  along  the  narrow  channel, 
which  varies  in  breadth  from  100  to  500  yards,  we  doubled  a 
low  wooded  point,  and  emerged  suddenly  on  the  so-called  Lake 
of  Ega:  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water,  five  miles  broad — the 
expanded  portion  of  the  Teffe.  It  is  quite  clear  of  islands,  and 
curves  away  to  the  west  and  south,  so  that  its  full  extent  is 
not  visible  from  this  side.  To  the  left,  on  a  gentle  grassy  slope 
at  the  point  of  junction  of  a  broad  tributary  with  the  Teffe, 
lay  the  little  settlement:  a  cluster  of  a  hundred  or  so  of  palm- 
thatched  cottages  and  white-washed  red-tiled  houses,  each  with 
its  neatly-enclosed  orchard  of  orange,  lemon,  banana,  and  guava 
trees.  Groups  of  palms,  with  their  tall  slender  shafts  and 
feathery  crowns,  overtopped  the  buildings  and  lower  trees.  A 
broad  grass-carpeted  street  led  from  the  narrow  strip  of  white 
sandy  beach  to  the  rudely-built  barn-like  church,  with  its 
wooden  crucifix  on  the  green  before  it,  in  the  centre  of  the 
town.  Cattle  were  grazing  before  the  houses,  and  a  number 
of  dark-skinned  natives  were  taking  their  morning  bath  amongst 
the  canoes  of  various  sizes  which  were  anchored  or  moored  to 
stakes  in  the  port.  We  let  off  rockets  and  fired  salutes,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  in  token  of  our  safe  arrival,  and  shortly  after- 
wards went  ashore. 

A  few  days'  experience  of  the  people  and  the  forests  of  the 
vicinity  showed  me  that  I  might  lay  myself  out  for  a  long, 
pleasant,  and  busy  residence  at  this  place.  An  idea  of  the 
kind  of  people  I  had  fallen  amongst  may  be  conveyed  by  an 
account  of  my  earliest  acquaintances  in  the  place.  On  landing, 
the  owner  of  the  canoe  killed  an  ox  in  honour  of  our  arrival, 
and  the  next  day  took  me  round  the  town  to  introduce  me  to 
the  principal  residents.  We  first  went  to  the  Delegado  of 
police,  Senhor  Antonio  Cardozo,  of  whom  I  shall  have  to  make 
frequent  mention  by-and-by.  He  was  a  stout,  broad-featured 
man,  ranking  as  a  white,  but  having  a  tinge  of  negro  blood; 


270      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

his  complexion,  however,  was  ruddy,  and  scarcely  betrayed  the 
mixture.  He  received  us  in  a  very  cordial,  winning  manner: 
I  had  afterwards  occasion  to  be  astonished  at  the  boundless 
good  nature  of  this  excellent  fellow,  whose  greatest  pleasure 
seemed  to  be  to  make  sacrifices  for  his  friends.  He  was  a 
Paraense,  and  came  to  Ega  originally  as  a  trader;  but  not  suc- 
ceeding in  this,  he  turned  planter  on  a  small  scale,  and  collector 
of  the  natural  commodities  of  the  country,  employing  half-a- 
dozen  Indians  in  the  business.  We  then  visited  the  military 
commandant,  an  officer  in  the  Brazilian  army,  named  Praia. 
He  was  breakfasting  with  the  vicar,  and  we  found  the  two  in 
dishabille  (morning-gown,  loose  round  the  neck,  and  slippers), 
seated  at  a  rude  wooden  table  in  an  open  mud-floored  verandah, 
at  the  back  of  the  house.  Commander  Praia  was  a  little  curly- 
headed  man  (also  somewhat  of  a  mulatto),  always  merry  and 
fond  of  practical  jokes.  His  wife,  Donna  Anna,  a  dressy  dame 
from  Santarem,  was  the  leader  of  fashion  in  the  settlement. 
The  vicar,  Father  Luiz  Gonsalvo  Gomez,  was  a  nearly  pure- 
blood  Indian,  a  native  of  one  of  the  neighbouring  villages,  but 
educated  at  Maranham,  a  city  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  I 
afterwards  saw  a  good  deal  of  him,  as  he  was  an  agreeable, 
sociable  fellow,  fond  of  reading  and  hearing  about  foreign 
countries,  and  quite  free  from  the  prejudices  which  might  be 
expected  in  a  man  of  his  profession.  I  found  him,  moreover,  a 
thoroughly  upright,  sincere,  and  virtuous  man.  He  supported 
his  aged  mother  and  unmarried  sisters  in  a  very  creditable  way 
out  of  his  small  salary  and  emoluments.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  be 
able  to  speak  in  these  terms  of  a  Brazilian  priest,  for  the  oppor- 
tunity occurs  rarely  enough. 

Leaving  these  agreeable  new  acquaintances  to  finish  their 
breakfast,  we  next  called  on  the  Director  of  the  Indians  of  the 
Japura,  Senhor  Jose  Chrysostomo  Monteiro,  a  thin  wiry  Mame- 
luco,  the  most  enterprising  person  in  the  settlement.  Each  of 
the  neighbouring  rivers  with  its  numerous  wild  tribes  is  under 
the  control  of  a  Director,  who  is  nominated  by  the  Imperial 
Government.  There  are  now  no  missions  in  the  regions  of 
the  Upper  Amazons;  the  "  gentios  "  (heathens,  or  unbaptised 
Indians)  being  considered  under  the  management  and  protec- 
tion of  these  despots,  who,  like  the  captains  of  Trabalhadores, 
before  mentioned,  use  the  natives  for  their  own  private  ends. 
Senhor  Chrysostomo  had,  at  this  time,  200  of  the  Japura 
Indians  in  his  employ.  He  was  half  Indian  himself,  but  was 
a  far  worse  master  to  the  redskins  than  the  whites  usually  are. 


Voyage  to  Ega  271 

We  finished  our  rounds  by  paying  our  respects  to  a  venerable 
native  merchant,  Senor  Romao  de  Oliveira,  a  tall,  corpulent, 
fine-looking  old  man,  who  received  us  with  a  naive  courtesy 
quite  original  in  its  way.  He  had  been  an  industrious,  enter- 
prising man  in  his  younger  days,  and  had  built  a  substantial 
range  of  houses  and  warehouses.  The  shrewd  and  able  old 
gentleman  knew  nothing  of  the  world  beyond  the  wilderness  of 
the  Solimoens  and  its  few  thousands  of  isolated  inhabitants; 
yet  he  could  converse  well  and  sensibly,  making  observations 
on  men  and  things  as  sagaciously  as  though  he  had  drawn 
them  from  long  experience  of  life  in  a  European  capital.  The 
semi-civilised  Indians  respected  old  Romao,  and  he  had,  con- 
sequently, a  great  number  in  his  employ  in  different  parts  of 
the  river:  his  vessels  were  always  filled  quicker  with  produce 
than  those  of  his  neighbours.  On  our  leaving  he  placed  his 
house  and  store  at  my  disposal.  This  was  not  a  piece  of  empty 
politeness,  for  some  time  afterwards,  when  I  wished  to  settle  for 
the  goods  I  had  had  of  him,  he  refused  to  take  any  payment. 

I  made  Ega  my  headquarters  during  the  whole  of  the  time 
I  remained  on  the  Upper  Amazons  (four  years  and  a  half).  My 
excursions  into  the  neighbouring  region  extended  sometimes 
as  far  as  300  and  400  miles  from  the  place.  An  account  of  these 
excursions  will  be  given  in  subsequent  chapters ;  in  the  intervals 
between  them  I  led  a  quiet,  uneventful  life  in  the  settlement; 
following  my  pursuit  in  the  same  peaceful,  regular  way  as  a 
Naturalist  might  do  in  a  European  village.  For  many  weeks 
in  succession  my  journal  records  little  more  than  the  notes  made 
on  my  daily  captures.  I  had  a  dry  and  specious  cottage,  the 
principal  room  of  which  was  made  a  workshop  and  study; 
here  a  large  table  was  placed,  and  my  little  library  of  reference 
arranged  on  shelves  in  rough  wooden  boxes.  Cages  for  drying 
specimens  were  suspended  from  the  rafters  by  cords  well 
anointed,  to  prevent  ants  from  descending,  with  a  bitter  vege- 
table oil:  rats  and  mice  were  kept  from  them  by  inverted 
cuyas,  placed  half  way  down  the  cords.  I  always  kept  on  hand 
a  large  portion  of  my  private  collection,  which  contained  a  pair 
of  each  species  and  variety,  for  the  sake  of  comparing  the  old 
with  the  new  acquisitions.  My  cottage  was  whitewashed  inside 
and  out  about  once  a  year  by  the  proprietor,  a  native  trader; 
the  floor  was  of  earth;  the  ventilation  was  perfect,  for  the  out- 
side air,  and  sometimes  the  rain  as  well,  entered  freely  through 
gaps  at  the  top  of  the  walls  under  the  eaves  and  through  wide 


272      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

crevices  in  the  doorways.  Rude  as  the  dwelling  was,  I  look 
back  with  pleasure  on  the  many  happy  months  I  spent  in  it.  I 
rose  generally  with  the  sun,  when  the  grassy  streets  were  wet 
with  dew,  and  walked  down  to  the  river  to  bathe:  five  or  six 
hours  of  every  morning  were  spent  in  collecting  in  the  forest, 
whose  borders  lay  only  five  minutes'  walk  from  my  house:  the 
hot  hours  of  the  afternoon,  between  three  and  six  o'clock,  and 
the  rainy  days,  were  occupied  in  preparing  and  ticketing  the 
specimens,  making  notes,  dissecting,  and  drav/ing.  I  frequently 
had  short  rambles  by  water  in  a  small  montaria,  with  an  Indian 
lad  to  paddle.  The  neighbourhood  yielded  me,  up  to  the  last 
day  of  my  residence,  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  new  and 
curious  forms  in  the  different  classes  of  the  animal  kingdom, 
but  especially  insects. 

I  lived,  as  may  already  have  been  seen,  on  the  best  of  terms 
with  the  inhabitants  of  Ega.  Refined  society,  of  course,  there 
was  none;  but  the  score  or  so  of  decent  quiet  families  which 
constituted  the  upper  class  of  the  place  were  very  sociable; 
their  manners  offered  a  curious  mixture  of  nai've  rusticity  and 
formal  politeness;  the  great  desire  to  be  thought  civilised  leads 
the  most  ignorant  of  these  people  (and  they  are  all  very  ignorant, 
although  of  quick  intelligence)  to  be  civil  and  kind  to  strangers 
from  Europe.  I  was  never  troubled  with  that  impertinent 
curiosity  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  these  interior  places  which 
some  travellers  complain  of  in  other  countries.  The  Indians 
and  lower  half-castes — at  least  such  of  them  who  gave  any 
thought  to  the  subject — seemed  to  think  it  natural  that  strangers 
should  collect  and  send  abroad  the  beautiful  birds  and  insects 
of  their  country.  The  butterflies  they  universally  concluded 
to  be  wanted  as  patterns  for  bright-coloured  calico-prints.  As 
to  the  better  sort  of  people,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  making  them 
understand  that  each  European  capital  had  a  public  museum, 
in  which  were  sought  to  be  .stored  specimens  of  all  natural  pro- 
ductions in  the  mineral,  animal,  and  vegetable  kingdoms.  They 
could  not  comprehend  how  a  man  could  study  science  for  its 
own  sake;  but  I  told  them  I  was  collecting  for  the  "  Museo  de 
Londres,"  and  was  paid  for  it;  that  was  very  intelligible.  One 
day,  soon  after  my  arrival,  when  I  was  explaining  these  things 
to  a  listening  circle  seated  on  benches  in  the  grassy  street,  one 
of  the  audience,  a  considerable  tradesman,  a  Mameluco  native 
of  Ega,  got  suddenly  quite  enthusiastic,  and  exclaimed,  "  How 
rich  are  these  great  nations  of  Europe!  We  half-civilised 
creatures  know  nothing.     Let  us  treat  this  stranger  well,  that 


Voyage  to  Ega  273 

he  may  stay  amongst  us  and  teach  our  children."  We  very 
frequently  had  social  parties,  with  dancing  and  so  forth;  of 
these  relaxations  I  shall  have  more  to  say  presently.  The 
manners  of  the  Indian  population  also  gave  me  some  amuse- 
ment for  a  long  time.  During  the  latter  part  of  my  residence, 
three  wandering  Frenchmen,  and  two  Italians,  some  of  them 
men  of  good  education,  on  their  road  one  after  the  other  from 
the  Andes  down  the  Amazons,  became  enamoured  of  this 
delightfully  situated  and  tranquil  spot,  and  made  up  their 
minds  to  settle  here  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Three  of 
them  ended  by  marrying  native  women.  I  found  the  society 
of  these  friends  a  very  agreeable  change. 

There  were,  of  course,  many  drawbacks  to  the  amenities  of 
the  place  as  a  residence  for  a  European;  but  these  were  not  of 
a  nature  that  my  readers  would  perhaps  imagine.  There  was 
scarcely  any  danger  from  wild  animals :  it  seems  almost  ridiculous 
to  refute  the  idea  of  danger  from  the  natives  in  a  country  where 
even  incivility  to  an  unoffending  stranger  is  a  rarity.  A  Jaguar, 
however,  paid  us  a  visit  one  night.  It  was  considered  an  extra- 
ordinary event,  and  so  much  uproar  was  made  by  the  men  who 
turned  out  with  guns  and  bows  and  arrows  that  the  animal 
scampered  off  and  was  heard  of  no  more.  Alligators  were  rather 
troublesome  in  the  dry  season.  During  these  months  there  was 
almost  always  one  or  two  lying  in  wait  near  the  bathing  place 
for  anything  that  might  turn  up  at  the  edge  of  the  water;  dog, 
sheep,  pig,  child,  or  drunken  Indian.  When  this  visitor  was 
about  every  one  took  extra  care  whilst  bathing.  I  used  to 
imitate  the  natives  in  not  advancing  far  from  the  bank,  and 
in  keeping  my  eye  fixed  on  that  of  the  monster,  which  stares 
with  a  disgusting  leer  along  the  surface  of  the  water;  the  body 
being  submerged  to  the  level  of  the  eyes,  and  the  top  of  the 
head,  with  part  of  the  dorsal  crest,  the  only  portions  visible. 
When  a  little  motion  was  perceived  in  the  water  behind  the 
reptile's  tail,  bathers  were  obliged  to  beat  a  quick  retreat.  I 
was  never  threatened  myself,  but  I  often  saw  the  crowds  of 
women  and  children  scared,  whilst  bathing,  by  the  beast  making 
a  movement  towards  them ;  a  general  scamper  to  the  shore  and 
peals  of  laughter  were  always  the  result  in  these  cases.  The 
men  can  always  destroy  these  alligators  when  they  like  to  take 
the  trouble  to  set  out  with  montarias  and  harpoons  for  the 
purpose;  but  they  never  do  it  unless  one  of  the  monsters, 
bolder  than  usual,  puts  some  one's  life  in  danger.  This  arouses 
them,  and  they  then  track  the  enemy  with  the  greatest  perti- 


274      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

nacity;  when  half  killed  they  drag  it  ashore  and  dispatch  it 
amid  loud  execrations.  Another,  however,  is  sure  to  appear 
some  days  or  weeks  afterwards,  and  take  the  vacant  place  on 
the  station.  Besides  alligators,  the  only  animals  to  be  feared 
are  the  poisonous  serpents.  These  are  certainly  common  enough 
in  the  forest,  but  no  fatal  accident  happened  during  the  whole 
time  of  my  residence. 

I  suffered  most  inconvenience  from  the  difficulty  of  getting 
news  from  the  civilised  world  down  river,  from  the  irregularity 
of  receipt  of  letters,  parcels  of  books  and  periodicals,  and 
towards  the  latter  part  of  my  residence  from  ill  health  arising 
from  bad  and  insufficient  food.  The  want  of  intellectual 
society,  and  of  the  varied  excitement  of  European  life,  was  also 
felt  most  acutely,  and  this,  instead  of  becoming  deadened  b)r 
time,  increased  until  it  became  almost  insupportable.  I  was 
obliged,  at  last,  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  contempla- 
tion of  Nature  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  fill  the  human  heart 
and  mind.  I  got  on  pretty  well  when  I  received  a  parcel  from 
England  by  the  steamer,  once  in  two  or  four  months.  I  used 
to  be  very  economical  with  my  stock  of  reading  lest  it  should 
be  finished  before  the  next  arrival,  and  leave  me  utterly  destitute. 
I  went  over  the  periodicals,  the  AthencBum,  for  instance, 
with  great  deliberation,  going  through  every  number  three 
times;  the  first  time  devouring  the  more  interesting  articles; 
the  second,  the  whole  of  the  remainder;  and  the  third,  reading 
all  the  advertisements  from  beginning  to  end.  If  four  months 
(two  steamers)  passed  without  a  fresh  parcel,  I  felt  discouraged 
in  the  extreme.  I  was  worst  off  in  the  first  year,  1850,  when 
twelve  months  elapsed  without  letters  or  remittances.  Towards 
the  end  of  this  time  my  clothes  had  worn  to  rags;  I  was  bare- 
foot, a  great  inconvenience  in  tropical  forests,  notwithstand- 
ing statements  to  the  contrary  that  have  been  published  by 
travellers;  my  servant  ran  away,  and  I  was  robbed  of  nearly 
all  my  copper  money.  I  was  obliged  then  to  descend  to  Para, 
but  returned,  after  finishing  the  examination  of  the  middle 
part  of  the  Lower  Amazons  and  the  Tapajos,  in  1855,  with  my 
Santarem  assistant  and  better  provided  for  making  collections 
on  the  upper  river.  This  second  visit  was  in  pursuit  of  the 
plan  before  mentioned,  of  exploring  in  detail  the  whole  valley 
of  the  Amazons,  which  I  formed  in  Para  in  the  year  1851. 

During  so  long  a  residence  I  witnessed,  of  course,  many 
changes  in  the  place.  Some  of  the  good  friends  who  made  me 
welcome  on  my  first  arrival,  died,  and  I  followed  their  remains 


Voyage  to  Ega  275 

to  their  last  resting-place  in  the  little  rustic  cemetery  on  the 
borders  of  the  surrounding  forest.  I  lived  there  long  enough, 
from  first  to  last,  to  see  the  young  people  grow  up,  attended 
their  weddings,  and  the  christenings  of  their  children,  and, 
before  I  left,  saw  them  old  married  folks  with  numerous 
families.  In  1850  Ega  was  only  a  village,  dependent  on  Para 
1400  miles  distant,  as  the  capital  of  the  then  undivided  pro- 
vince. In  1852,  with  the  creation  of  the  new  province  of  the 
Amazons,  it  became  a  city;  returned  its  members  to  the  pro- 
vincial parliament  at  Barra;  had  it  assizes,  its  resident  judges, 
and  rose  to  be  the  chief  town  of  the  comarca  or  county.  A  year 
after  this,  namely,  in  1853,  steamers  were  introduced  on  the 
Solimoens;  and  from  1855,  one  ran  regularly  every  two  months 
between  the  Rio  Negro  and  Nauta  in  Peru,  touching  at  all  the 
villages,  and  accomplishing  the  distance  in  ascending,  about 
1200  miles,  in  eighteen  days.  The  trade  and  population,  how- 
ever, did  not  increase  with  these  changes.  The  people  became 
more  "  civilised,"  that  is,  they  began  to  dress  according  to  the 
latest  Parisian  fashions,  instead  of  going  about  in  stockingless 
feet,  wooden  clogs,  and  shirt  sleeves;  acquired  a  taste  for 
money-getting  and  office-holding;  became  divided  into  parties, 
and  lost  part  of  their  former  simplicity  of  manners.  But  the 
place  remained,  when  I  left  it  in  1859,  pretty  nearly  what  it 
was  when  I  first  arrived  in  1850 — a  semi-Indian  village,  with 
much  in  the  ways  and  notions  of  its  people  more  like  those 
of  a  small  country  town  in  Northern  Europe  than  a  South 
American  settlement.  The  place  is  healthy,  and  almost  free 
from  insect  pests:  perpetual  verdure  surrounds  it;  the  soil  is 
of  marvellous  fertility,  even  for  Brazil;  the  endless  rivers  and 
labyrinths  of  channels  teem  with  fish  and  turtle;  a  fleet  of 
steamers  might  anchor  at  any  season  of  the  year  in  the  lake, 
which  has  uninterrupted  water  communication  straight  to  the 
Atlantic.  What  a  future  is  in  store  for  the  sleepy  little  tropical 
village ! 

After  speaking  of  Ega  as  a  city,  it  will  have  a  ludicrous  effect 
to  mention  that  the  total  number  of  its  inhabitants  is  only 
about  1200.  It  contains  just  107  houses,  about  half  of  which 
are  miserably  built  mud-walled  cottages,  thatched  with  palm- 
leaves.  A  fourth  of  the  population  are  almost  always  absent, 
trading  or  collecting  produce  on  the  rivers.  The  neighbour- 
hood within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles,  and  including  two  other 
small  villages,  contains  probably  2000  more  people.  The 
settlement  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  country,  having  been 


276      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

founded  in  1688  by  Father  Samuel  Fritz,  a  Bohemian  Jesuit, 
who  induced  several  of  the  docile  tribes  of  Indians,  then  scattered 
over  the  neighbouring  region,  to  settle  on  the  site.  From  100 
to  200  acres  of  sloping  ground  around  the  place  were  after- 
wards cleared  of  timber;  but  such  is  the  encroaching  vigour 
of  vegetation  in  this  country,  that  the  site  would  quickly 
relapse  into  jungle  if  the  inhabitants  neglected  to  pull  up  the 
young  shoots  as  they  arose.  There  is  a  stringent  municipal  law 
which  compels  each  resident  to  weed  a  given  space  around  his 
dwelling.  Every  month,  whilst  I  resided  here,  an  inspector 
came  round  with  his  wand  of  authority,  and  fined  every  one 
who  had  not  complied  with  the  regulation.  The  Indians  of  the 
surrounding  country  have  never  been  hostile  to  the  European 
settlers.  The  rebels  of  Para  and  the  Lower  Amazons,  in 
1835-6,  did  not  succeed  in  rousing  the  natives  of  the  Solimoens 
against  the  whites.  A  party  of  forty  of  them  ascended  the 
river  for  that  purpose,  but  on  arriving  at  Ega,  instead  of  meet- 
ing with  sympathisers  as  in  other  places,  they  were  surrounded 
by  a  small  body  of  armed  residents,  and  shot  down  without 
mercy.  The  military  commandant  at  the  time,  who  was  the 
prime  mover  in  this  orderly  resistance  to  anarchy,  was  a 
courageous  and  loyal  negro,  named  Jose  Patricio,  an  officer 
known  throughout  the  Upper  Amazons  for  his  unflinching 
honesty  and  love  of  order,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  making  at  St.  Paulo  in  1858.  Ega  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  great  scientific  commission,  which  met  in  the 
years  from  1781  to  1791,  to  settle  the  boundaries  between  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  territories  in  South  America.  The 
chief  commissioner  for  Spain,  Don  Francisco  Requena,  lived 
some  time  in  the  village  with  his  family.  I  found  only  one 
person  at  Ega,  my  old  friend  Romao  de  Oliveira,  who  recol- 
lected, or  had  any  knowledge  of  this  important  time,  when  a 
numerous  staff  of  astronomers,  surveyors,  and  draughtsmen, 
explored  much  of  the  surrounding  country,  with  large  bodies 
of  soldiers  and  natives. 

More  than  half  the  inhabitants  of  Ega  are  Mamelucos;  there 
are  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  pure  whites;  the  number  of 
negroes  and  mulattos  is  probably  a  little  less,  and  the  rest  of 
the  population  consists  of  pure  blood  Indians.  Every  house- 
holder, including  Indians  and  free  negroes,  is  entitled  to  a  vote 
in  the  elections,  municipal,  provincial,  and  imperial,  and  is 
liable  to  be  called  on  juries,  and  to  serve  in  the  national  guard. 
These  privileges  and  duties  of  citizenship  do  not  seem  at  present 


Voyage  to  Ega  277 

to  be  appreciated  by  the  more  ignorant  coloured  people.  There 
is,  however,  a  gradual  improvement  taking  place  in  this  respect. 
Before  I  left  there  was  a  rather  sharp  contest  for  the  Presidency 
of  the  Municipal  Chamber,  and  most  of  the  voters  took  a  lively 
interest  in  it.  There  was  also  an  election  of  members  to  repre- 
sent the  province  in  the  Imperial  Parliament  at  Rio  Janeiro,  in 
which  each  party  strove  hard  to  return  its  candidate.  On  this 
occasion,  an  unscrupulous  lawyer  was  sent  by  the  government 
party  from  the  capital  to  overawe  the  opposition  to  its  nominee : 
many  of  the  half-castes,  headed  by  my  old  friend  John  da  Cunha, 
who  was  then  settled  at  Ega,  fought  hard,  but  with  perfect 
legality  and  good  humour,  against  this  powerful  interest.  They 
did  not  succeed;  and  although  the  government  agent  committed 
many  tyrannical  and  illegal  acts,  the  losing  party  submitted 
quietly  to  their  defeat.  In  a  larger  town,  I  believe,  the  govern- 
ment would  not  have  dared  to  attempt  thus  to  control  the 
elections.  I  think  I  saw  enough  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that 
the  machinery  of  constitutional  government  would,  with  a  little 
longer  trial,  work  well  amongst  the  mixed  Indian,  white,  and 
negro  population,  even  of  this  remote  part  of  the  Brazilian 
empire.  I  attended,  also,  before  I  left,  several  assize  meetings 
at  Ega,  and  witnessed  the  novel  sight  of  negro,  white,  half-caste, 
and  Indian,  sitting  gravely  side  by  side  on  the  jury  bench. 

The  way  in  which  the  coloured  races  act  under  the  condi- 
tions of  free  citizenship,  is  a  very  interesting  subject.  Brazilian 
statesmen  seem  to  have  abandoned  the  idea,  if  they  ever  enter- 
tained it,  of  making  this  tropical  empire  a  nation  of  whites,  with 
a  slave  labouring  class.  The  greatest  difficulty  on  the  Amazons 
is  with  the  Indians.  The  general  inflexibility  of  character 
of  the  race,  and  their  abhorrence  of  the  restraints  of  civilised 
life,  make  them  very  intractable  subjects.  Some  of  them,  how- 
ever, who  have  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  whose  dislike  to 
live  in  towns  has  been  overcome  by  some  cause  acting  early  in 
life,  make  very  good  citizens.  I  have  already  mentioned  the 
priest,  who  is  a  good  example  of  what  early  training  can  do. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  if  the  docile  Amazonian  Indians 
were  kindly  treated  by  their  white  fellow-citizens,  and  educated, 
they  would  not  be  so  quick  as  they  have  hitherto  shown  them- 
selves to  be  to  leave  the  towns  and  return  into  their  half  wild 
condition  on  the  advancing  civilisation  of  the  places.  The 
inflexibility  of  character,  although  probably  organic,  is  seen  to 
be  sometimes  overcome.  The  principal  blacksmith  of  Ega, 
Senhor  Macedo,  was  also  an  Indian,  and  a  very  sensible  fellow. 


278      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

He  sometimes  filled  minor  offices  in  the  government  of  the 
place.  He  used  to  come  very  frequently  to  my  house  to  chat, 
and  was  always  striving  to  acquire  solid  information  about 
things.  When  Donati's  comet  appeared,  he  took  a  great 
interest  in  it.  We  saw  it  at  its  best  from  the  3rd  to  the  10th 
of  October  (1858),  between  which  dates  it  was  visible  near  the 
western  horizon,  just  after  sunset;  the  tail  extending  in  a 
broad  curve  towards  the  north,  and  forming  a  sublime  object. 
Macedo  consulted  all  the  old  almanacs  in  the  place  to  ascertain 
whether  it  was  the  same  comet  as  that  of  181 1,  which  he  said 
he  well  remembered.  Before  the  Indians  can  be  reclaimed  in 
large  numbers,  it  is  most  likely  they  will  become  extinct  as  a 
race;  but  there  is  less  difficulty  with  regard  to  the  Mamelucos, 
who,  even  when  the  proportion  of  white  blood  is  small,  some- 
times become  enterprising  and  versatile  people. 

Many  of  the  Ega  Indians,  including  all  the  domestic  servants, 
are  savages  who  have  been  brought  from  the  neighbouring 
rivers;  the  Japura,  the  Issa,  and  the  Solimoens.  I  saw  here 
individuals  of  at  least  sixteen  different  tribes;  most  of  whom 
had  been  bought,  when  children,  of  the  native  chiefs.  This 
species  of  slave-dealing,  although  forbidden  by  the  laws  of 
Brazil,  is  winked  at  by  the  authorities,  because,  without  it, 
there  would  be  no  means  of  obtaining  servants.  They  all 
become  their  own  masters  when  they  grow  up,  and  never  show 
the  slightest  inclination  to  return  to  utter  savage  life.  But  the 
boys  generally  run  away  and  embark  on  the  canoes  of  traders; 
and  the  girls  are  often  badly  treated  by  their  mistresses,  the 
jealous,  passionate,  and  ill-educated  Brazilian  women.  Nearly 
all  the  enmities  which  arise  amongst  residents  at  Ega  and  other 
places,  are  caused  by  disputes  about  Indian  servants.  No  one 
who  has  lived  only  in  old  settled  countries,  where  service  can 
be  readily  bought,  can  imagine  the  difficulties  and  annoyances 
of  a  land  where  the  servant  class  are  ignorant  of  the  value  of 
money,  and  hands  cannot  be  obtained  except  by  coaxing  them 
from  the  employ  of  other  masters. 

Great  mortality  takes  place  amongst  the  poor  captive  children 
on  their  arrival  at  Ega.  It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  that  the 
Indians  residing  on  the  Japura  and  other  tributaries  always  fall 
ill  on  descending  to  the  Solimoens,  whilst  the  reverse  takes 
place  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  banks  of  the  main  river,  who 
never  fail  of  taking  intermittent  fever  when  they  first  ascend 
these  branch  rivers,  and  of  getting  well  when  they  return.  The 
finest  tribes  of  savages  who  inhabit  the  country  near  Ega  are 


Voyage  to  Ega  279 

the  Juris  and  Passes:  these  are  now,  however,  nearly  extinct, 
a  few  families  only  remaining  on  the  banks  of  the  retired  creeks 
connected  with  the  Teffe,  and  on  other  branch  rivers  between 
the  Teffe  and  the  Jutahi.  They  are  a  peaceable,  gentle,  and 
industrious  people,  devoted  to  agriculture  and  fishing,  and  have 
always  been  friendly  to  the  whites.  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
speak  again  of  the  Passes,  who  are  a  slenderly-built  and  superior 
race  of  Indians,  distinguished  by  a  large,  square  tattooed  patch 
in  the  middle  of  their  faces.  The  principal  cause  of  their  decay 
in  numbers  seems  to  be  a  disease  which  always  appears  amongst 
them  when  a  village  is  visited  by  people  from  the  civilised 
settlements — a  slow  fever,  accompanied  by  the  symptoms  of  a 
common  cold,  "  defluxo,"  as  the  Brazilians  term  it,  ending 
probably  in  consumption.  The  disorder  has  been  known  to 
break  out  when  the  visitors  were  entirely  free  from  it;  the 
simple  contact  of  civilised  men,  in  some  mysterious  way,  being 
sufficient  to  create  it.  It  is  generally  fatal  to  the  Juris  and 
Passes:  the  first  question  the  poor,  patient  Indians  now  put 
to  an  advancing  canoe  is,  "  Do  you  bring  defluxo?  " 

My  assistant,  Jose,  in  the  last  year  of  our  residence  at  Ega, 
"  resgatou  "  (ransomed,  the  euphemism  in  use  for  purchased) 
two  Indian  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  through  a  Japura  trader. 
The  boy  was  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  of  an  unusually 
dark  colour  of  skin:  he  had,  in  fact,  the  tint  of  a  Cafuzo,  the 
offspring  of  Indian  and  negro.  It  was  thought  he  had  belonged 
to  some  perfectly  wild  and  houseless  tribe,  similar  to  the  Para- 
rauates  of  the  Tapajos,  of  which  there  are  several  in  different 
parts  of  the  interior  of  South  America.  His  face  was  of  regular, 
oval  shape,  but  his  glistening  black  eyes  had  a  wary,  distrustful 
expression,  like  that  of  a  wild  animal;  and  his  hands  and  feet 
were  small  and  delicately  formed.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  find- 
ing that  none  of  the  Indian  boys  and  girls  in  the  houses  of 
our  neighbours  understood  his  language,  he  became  sulky  and 
reserved;  not  a  word  could  be  got  from  him  until  many  weeks 
afterwards,  when  he  suddenly  broke  out  with  complete  phrases 
of  Portuguese.  He  was  ill  of  swollen  liver  and  spleen,  the 
result  of  intermittent  fever,  for  a  long  time  after  coming  into 
our  hands.  We  found  it  difficult  to  cure  him,  owing  to  his 
almost  invincible  habit  of  eating  earth,  baked  clay,  pitch,  wax, 
and  other  similar  substances.  Very  many  children  on  the 
upper  parts  of  the  Amazons  have  this  strange  habit;  not  only 
Indians,  but  negroes  and  whites.  It  is  not,  therefore,  peculiar 
to  the  famous  Otomacs  of  the  Orinoco,  described  by  Humboldt, 


280      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

or  to  Indians  at  all,  and  seems  to  originate  in  a  morbid  craving, 
the  result  of  a  meagre  diet  of  fish,  wild-fruitS)  and  mandioca- 
meal.  We  gave  our  little  savage  the  name  of  Sebastian.  The 
use  of  these  Indian  children  is  to  fill  water-jars  from  the  river, 
gather  firewood  in  the  forest,  cook,  assist  in  paddling  the 
montaria  in  excursions,  and  so  forth.  Sebastian  was  often  my 
companion  in  the  woods,  where  he  was  very  useful  in  finding  the 
small  birds  I  shot,  which  sometimes  fell  in  the  thickets  amongst 
confused  masses  of  fallen  branches  and  dead  leaves.  He  was 
wonderfully  expert  at  catching  lizards  with  his  hands,  and  at 
climbing.  The  smoothest  stems  of  palm-trees  offered  little 
difficulty  to  him:  he  would  gather  a  few  lengths  of  tough, 
flexible  lianas;  tie  them  in  a  short,  endless  band  to  support  his 
feet  with,  in  embracing  the  slippery  shaft,  and  then  mount 
upwards  by  a  succession  of  slight  jerks.  It  was  very  amusing, 
during  the  first  few  weeks,  to  witness  the  glee  and  pride  with 
which  he  would  bring  to  me  the  bunches  of  fruit  he  had  gathered 
from  almost  inaccessible  trees.  He  avoided  the  company  of 
boys  of  his  own  race,  and  was  evidently  proud  of  being  the 
servant  of  a  real  white  man.  We  brought  him  down  with  us 
to  Para:  but  he  showed  no  emotion  at  any  of  the  strange 
sights  of  the  capital;  the  steam-vessels,  large  ships  and  houses, 
horses  and  carriages,  the  pomp  of  church  ceremonies,  and  so 
forth.  In  this  he  exhibited  the  usual  dulness  of  feeling  and 
poverty  of  thought  of  the  Indian;  he  had,  nevertheless,  very 
keen  perceptions,  and  was  quick  at  learning  any  mechanical  art. 
Jose,  who  had  resumed,  some  time  before  I  left  the  country, 
his  old  trade  of  goldsmith,  made  him  his  apprentice,  and  he 
made  very  rapid  progress ;  for  after  about  three  months'  teach- 
ing he  came  to  me  one  day  with  radiant  countenance  and 
showed  me  a  gold  ring  of  his  own  making. 

The  fate  of  the  little  girl,  who  came  with  a  second  batch  of 
children  all  ill  of  intermittent  fever,  a  month  or  two  after 
Sebastian,  was  very  different.  She  was  brought  to  our  house, 
after  landing,  one  night  in  the  wet  season,  when  the  rain  was 
pouring  in  torrents,  thin  and  haggard,  drenched  with  wet  and 
shivering  with  ague.  An  old  Indian  who  brought  her  to  the 
door,  said  briefly,  "  ecui  encommenda  "  (here's  your  little  parcel, 
or  order),  and  went  away.  There  was  very  little  of  the  savage 
in  her  appearance,  and  she  was  of  a  much  lighter  colour  than 
the  boy.  We  found  she  was  of  the  Miranha  tribe,  all  of  whom 
are  distinguished  by  a  slit,  cut  in  the  middle  of  each  wing  of 
the  nose,  in  which  they  wear  on  holiday  occasions  a  large 


n    Voyage  to  Ega  281 

button  made  of  pearly  river-shell.  We  took  the  greatest  care 
of  our  little  patient;  had  the  best  nurses  in  the  town,  fomented 
her  daily,  gave  her  quinine  and  the  most  nourishing  food;  but 
it  was  all  of  no  avail :  she  sank  rapidly ;  her  liver  was  enormously 
swollen,  and  almost  as  hard  to  the  touch  as  stone.  There  was 
something  uncommonly  pleasing  in  her  ways,  and  quite  unlike 
anything  I  had  yet  seen  in  Indians.  Instead  of  being  dull  and 
taciturn,  she  was  always  smiling  and  full  of  talk.  We  had  an 
old  woman  of  the  same  tribe  to  attend  her,  who  explained  what 
she  said  to  us.  She  often  begged  to  be  taken  to  the  river  to 
bathe ;  asked  for  fruit,  or  coveted  articles  she  saw  in  the  room 
for  playthings.  Her  native  name  was  Oria.  The  last  week 
or  two  she  could  not  rise  from  the  bed  we  had  made  for  her 
in  a  dry  corner  of  the  room:  when  she  wanted  lifting,  which 
was  very  often,  she  would  allow  no  one  to  help  her  but  me, 
calling  me  by  the  name  of  "  Cariwa  "  (white  man),  the  only 
word  of  Tupi  she  seemed  to  know.  It  was  inexpressibly  touch- 
ing to  hear  her,  as  she  lay,  repeating  by  the  hour  the  verses 
which  she  had  been  taught  to  recite  with  her  companions  in 
her  native  village:  a  few  sentences  repeated  over  and  over 
again  with  a  rhythmic  accent,  and  relating  to  objects  and 
incidents  connected  with  the  wild  life  of  her  tribe.  We  had 
her  baptised  before  she  died,  and  when  this  latter  event  happened, 
in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  big  people  of  Ega,  I  insisted 
on  burying  her  with  the  same  honours  as  a  child  of  the  whites; 
that  is,  as  an  "  anjinho  "  (little  angel),  according  to  the  pretty 
Roman  Catholic  custom  of  the  country.  We  had  the  corpse 
clothed  in  a  robe  of  fine  calico,  crossed  her  hands  on  her  breast 
over  a  "  palma  "  of  flowers,  and  made  also  a  crown  of  flowers 
for  her  head.  Scores  of  helpless  children  like  our  poor  Oria  die 
at  Ega,  or  on  the  road;  but  generally  not  the  slightest  care  is 
taken  of  them  during  their  illness.  They  are  the  captives  made 
during  the  merciless  raids  of  one  section  of  the  Miranha  tribe 
on  the  territories  of  another,  and  sold  to  the  Ega  traders.  The 
villages  of  the  attacked  hordes  are  surprised,  and  the  men  and 
women  killed  or  driven  into  the  thickets  without  having  time 
to  save  their  children.  There  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Miranhas  are  cannibals,  and,  therefore,  the  purchase  of  these 
captives  probably  saves  them  from  a  worse  fate.  The  demand 
for  them  at  Ega  operates,  however,  as  a  direct  cause  of  the 
supply,  stimulating  the  unscrupulous  chiefs,  who  receive  all  the 
profits,  to  undertake  these  murderous  expeditions. 

It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  the  savages  of  the  various 


282      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

nations,  which  each  have  their  own,  to  all  appearance,  widely 
different  language,  learn  Tupi  on  their  arrival  at  Ega,  where  it 
is  the  common  idiom.  This  perhaps  may  be  attributed  chiefly 
to  the  grammatical  forms  of  all  the  Indian  tongues  being  the 
same,  although  the  words  are  different.  As  far  as  I  could  learn, 
the  feature  is  common  to  all,  of  placing  the  preposition  after  the 
noun,  making  it,  in  fact,  a  /^/-position,  thus:  "  He  is  come  the 
village  from  ;  "  "  Go  him  with,  the  plantation  to,"  and  so  forth. 
The  ideas  to  be  expressed  in  their  limited  sphere  of  life  and 
thought  are  few;  consequently  the  stock  of  words  is  extremely 
small;  besides,  all  Indians  have  the  same  way  of  thinking,  and 
the  same  objects  to  talk  about;  these  circumstances  also  con- 
tribute to  the  ease  with  which  they  learn  each  other's  language. 
Hordes  of  the  same  tribe  living  on  the  same  branch  rivers, 
speak  mutually  unintelligible  languages;  this  happens  with  the 
Miranhas  on  the  Japura,  and  with  the  Collinas  on  the  Juriia; 
whilst  Tupi  is  spoken  with  little  corruption  along  the  banks  of 
the  main  Amazons  for  a  distance  of  2500  miles.  The  purity  of 
Tupi  is  kept  up  by  frequent  communication  amongst  the  natives, 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  main  river;  how  complete  and 
long-continued  must  be  the  isolation  in  which  the  small  groups 
of  savages  have  lived  in  other  parts,  to  have  caused  so  complete 
a  segregation  of  dialects!  It  is  probable  that  the  strange  in- 
flexibility of  the  Indian  organisation,  both  bodily  and  mental, 
is  owing  to  the  isolation  in  which  each  small  tribe  has  lived, 
and  to  the  narrow  round  of  life  and  thought,  and  close  inter- 
marriages for  countless  generations,  which  are  the  necessary 
results.  Their  fecundity  is  of  a  low  degree,  for  it  is  very  rare 
to  find  an  Indian  family  having  so  many  as  four  children,  and 
we  have  seen  how  great  is  their  liability  to  sickness  and  death 
on  removal  from  place  to  place. 

I  have  already  remarked  on  the  different  way  in  which  the 
climate  of  this  equatorial  region  affects  Indians  and  negroes. 
No  one  could  live  long  amongst  the  Indians  of  the  Upper 
Amazons,  without  being  struck  with  their  constitutional  dislike 
to  the  heat.  Europeans  certainly  withstand  the  high  tempera- 
ture better  than  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  country:  I 
always  found  I  could  myself  bear  exposure  to  the  sun  or  un- 
usually hot  weather  quite  as  well  as  the  Indians,  although  not 
well-fitted  by  nature  for  a  hot  climate.  Their  skin  is  always 
hot  to  the  touch,  and  they  perspire  little.  No  Indian  resident 
of  Ega  can  be  induced  to  stay  in  the  village  (where  the  heat  is 
felt  more  than  in  the  forest  or  on  the  river),  for  many  days 


Voyage  to  Ega  283 

together.  They  bathe  many  times  a  day,  but  do  not  plunge  in 
the  water,  taking  merely  a  sitz-bath,  as  dogs  may  be  seen  doing 
in  hot  climates,  to  cool  the  lower  parts  of  the  body.  The 
women  and  children,  who  often  remain  at  home,  whilst  the 
men  are  out  for  many  days  together  fishing,  generally  find  some 
excuse  for  trooping  off  to  the  shades  of  the  forest  in  the  hot 
hours  of  the  afternoons.  They  are  restless  and  discontented  in 
fine  dry  weather,  but  cheerful  in  cool  days,  when  the  rain  is 
pouring  down  on  their  naked  backs.  When  suffering  under 
fever,  nothing  but  strict  watching  can  prevent  them  from  going 
down  to  bathe  in  the  river,  or  eating  immoderate  quantities  of 
juicy  fruits,  although  these  indulgences  are  frequently  the  cause 
of  death.  They  are  very  subject  to  disorders  of  the  liver, 
dysentery,  and  other  diseases  of  hot  climates,  and  when  any 
epidemic  is  about,  they  fall  ill  quicker,  and  suffer  more  than 
negroes  or  even  whites.  How  different  all  this  is  with  the 
negro,  the  true  child  of  tropical  climes!  The  impression 
gradually  forced  itself  on  my  mind  that  the  red  Indian  lives  as 
a  stranger,  or  immigrant  in  these  hot  regions,  and  that  his  con- 
stitution was  not  originally  adapted,  and  has  not  since  become 
perfectly  adapted,  to  the  climate. 

The  Indian  element  is  very  prominent  in  the  amusements  of 
the  Ega  people.  All  the  Roman  Catholic  holidays  are  kept  up 
with  great  spirit;  rude  Indian  sports  being  mingled  with  the 
ceremonies  introduced  by  the  Portuguese.  Besides  these,  the 
aborigines  celebrate  their  own  ruder  festivals:  the  people  of 
different  tribes  combining;  for,  in  most  of  their  features,  the 
merry-makings  were  originally  alike  in  all  the  tribes.  The 
Indian  idea  of  a  holiday  is  bonfires,  processions,  masquerading, 
especially  the  mimicry  of  different  kinds  of  animals,  plenty  of 
confused  drumming  and  fifing,  monotonous  dancing,  kept  up 
hour  after  hour  without  intermission,  and,  the  most  important 
point  of  all,  getting  gradually  and  completely  drunk.  But  he 
attaches  a  kind  of  superstitious  significance  to  these  acts,  and 
thinks  that  the  amusements  appended  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
holidays  as  celebrated  by  the  descendants  of  the  Portuguese,  are 
also  an  essential  part  of  the  religious  ceremonies.  But  in  this 
respect,  the  uneducated  whites  and  half-breeds  are  not  a  bit 
more  enlightened  than  the  poor  dull-souled  Indian.  All  look 
upon  a  religious  holiday  as  an  amusement,  in  which  the  priest 
takes  the  part  of  director  or  chief  actor. 

Almost  every  unusual  event,  independent  of  saints'  days,  is 
made  the  occasion  of  a  holiday  by  the  sociable,  easy-going 


284      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

people  of  the  white  and  Mameluco  classes;  funerals,  christen- 
ings, weddings,  the  arrival  of  strangers,  and  so  forth.  The 
custom  of  "  waking  "  the  dead  is  also  kept  up.  A  few  days 
after  I  arrived,  I  was  awoke  in  the  middle  of  a  dark  moist  night 
by  Cardozo,  to  sit  up  with  a  neighbour  whose  wife  had  just 
died.  I  found  the  body  laid  out  on  a  table,  with  crucifix  and 
lighted  wax-candles  at  the  head,  and  the  room  full  of  women 
and  girls  squatted  on  stools  or  on  their  haunches.  The  men 
were  seated  round  the  open  door,  smoking,  drinking  coffee,  and 
telling  stories;  the  bereaved  husband  exerting  himself  much  to 
keep  the  people  merry  during  the  remainder  of  the  night.  The 
Ega  people  seem  to  like  an  excuse  for  turning  night  into  day; 
it  is  so  cool  and  pleasant,  and  they  can  sit  about  during  these 
hours  in  the  open  air,  clad  as  usual  in  simple  shirt  and  trousers, 
without  streaming  with  perspiration. 

The  patron  saint  is  Santa  Theresa;  the  festival  at  whose 
anniversary  lasts,  like  most  of  the  others,  ten  days.  It  begins 
very  quietly  with  evening  litanies  sung  in  the  church,  which 
are  attended  by  the  greater  part  of  the  population,  all  clean  and 
gaily  dressed  in  calicos  and  muslins;  the  girls  wearing  jasmines 
and  other  natural  flowers  in  their  hair,  no  other  head-dress 
being  worn  by  females  of  any  class.  The  evenings  pass 
pleasantly;  the  church  is  lighted  up  with  wax  candles,  and 
illuminated  on  the  outside  by  a  great  number  of  little  oil  lamps 
— rude  clay  cups,  or  halves  of  the  thick  rind  of  the  bitter  orange, 
which  are  fixed  all  over  the  front.  The  congregation  seem  very 
attentive,  and  the  responses  to  the  litany  of  Our  Lady,  sung  by 
a  couple  of  hundred  fresh  female  voices,  ring  agreeably  through 
the  still  village.  Towards  the  end  of  the  festival  the  fun 
commences.  The  managers  of  the  feast  keep  open  houses, 
and  dancing,  drumming,  tinkling  of  wire  guitars,  and  unbridled 
drinking  by  both  sexes,  old  and  young,  are  kept  up  for  a  couple 
of  days  and  a  night  with  little  intermission.  The  ways  of  the 
people  at  these  merry-makings,  of  which  there  are  many  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  always  struck  me  as  being  not  greatly 
different  from  those  seen  at  an  old-fashioned  village  wake  in 
retired  parts  of  England.  The  old  folks  look  on  and  get  very 
talkative  over  their  cups ;  the  children  are  allowed  a  little  extra 
indulgence  in  sitting  up;  the  dull,  reserved  fellows  become  loqua- 
cious, shake  one  another  by  the  hand  or  slap  each  other  on  the 
back,  discovering,  all  at  once,  what  capital  friends  they  are. 
The  cantankerous  individual  gets  quarrelsome,  and  the  amorous 
unusually  loving.     The  Indian,  ordinarily  so  taciturn,  finds  the 


Voyage  to  Ega  285 

use  of  his  tongue,  and  gives  the  minutest  details  of  some  little 
dispute  which  he  had  with  his  master  years  ago,  and  which 
every  one  else  had  forgotten;  just  as  I  have  known  lumpish 
labouring  men  in  England  do,  when  half-fuddled.  One  cannot 
help  reflecting,  when  witnessing  these  traits  of  manners,  on  the 
similarity  of  human  nature  everywhere,  when  classes  are  com- 
pared whose  state  of  culture  and  conditions  of  life  are  pretty 
nearly  the  same. 

The  Indians  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  amusements  at 
St.  John's  eve,  and  at  one  or  two  other  holidays  which  happen 
about  that  time  of  the  year — the  end  of  June.  In  some  of  the 
sports  the  Portuguese  element  is  visible,  in  others  the  Indian; 
but  it  must  be  recollected  that  masquerading,  recitative  sing- 
ing, and  so  forth,  are  common  originally  to  both  peoples.  A 
large  number  of  men  and  boys  disguise  themselves  to  represent 
different  grotesque  figures,  animals,  or  persons.  Two  or  three 
dress  themselves  up  as  giants,  with  the  help  of  a  tall  frame- 
work. One  enacts  the  part  of  the  Caypor,  a  kind  of  sylvan 
deity  similar  to  the  Curupira  which  I  have  before  mentioned. 
The  belief  in  this  being  seems  to  be  common  to  all  the  tribes 
of  the  Tupi  stock.  According  to  the  figure  they  dressed  up  at 
Ega,  he  is  a  bulky,  misshapen  monster,  with  red  skin  and  long 
shaggy  red  hair  hanging  half  way  down  his  back.  They  believe 
that  he  has  subterranean  campos  and  hunting  grounds  in  the 
forest,  well  stocked  with  pacas  and  deer.  He  is  not  at  all  an 
object  of  worship  nor  of  fear,  except  to  children,  being  con- 
sidered merely  as  a  kind  of  hobgoblin.  Most  of  the  masquers 
make  themselves  up  as  animals — bulls,  deer,  magoary  storks, 
jaguars,  and  so  forth,  with  the  aid  of  light  frameworks,  covered 
with  old  cloth  dyed  or  painted  and  shaped  according  to  the 
object  represented.  Some  of  the  imitations  which  I  saw  were 
capital.  One  ingenious  fellow  arranged  an  old  piece  of  canvas 
in  the  form  of  a  tapir,  placed  himself  under  it,  and  crawled 
about  on  all  fours.  He  constructed  an  elastic  nose  to  resemble 
that  of  the  tapir,  and  made,  before  the  doors  of  the  principal 
residents,  such  a  good  imitation  of  the  beast  grazing,  that 
peals  of  laughter  greeted  him  wherever  he  went.  Another  man 
walked  about  solitarily,  masked  as  a  jabiru  crane  (a  large  animal 
standing  about  four  feet  high),  and  mimicked  the  gait  and 
habits  of  the  bird  uncommonly  well.  One  year  an  Indian  lad 
imitated  me,  to  the  infinite  amusement  of  the  townsfolk.  He 
came  the  previous  day  to  borrow  of  me  an  old  blouse  and  straw 
hat.     I  felt  rather  taken  in  when  I  saw  him,  on  the  night  of 


286      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  performance,  rigged  out  as  an  entomologist,  with  an  insect 
net,  hunting  bag,  and  pincushion.  To  make  the  imitation 
complete,  he  had  borrowed  the  frame  of  an  old  pair  of  spectacles, 
and  went  about  with  it  straddled  over  his  nose.  The  jaguar 
now  and  then  made  a  raid  amongst  the  crowd  of  boys  who 
were  dressed  as  deer,  goats,  and  so  forth.  The  masquers  kept 
generally  together,  moving  from  house  to  house,  and  the  per- 
formances were  directed  by  an  old  musician,  who  sang  the 
orders  and  explained  to  the  spectators  what  was  going  forward 
in  a  kind  of  recitative,  accompanying  himself  on  a  wire  guitar. 
The  mixture  of  Portuguese  and  Indian  customs  is  partly  owing 
to  the  European  immigrants  in  these  parts  having  been  un- 
educated men,  who,  instead  of  introducing  European  civilisation, 
have  descended  almost  to  the  level  of  the  Indians,  and  adopted 
some  of  their  practices.  The  performances  take  place  in  the 
evening,  and  occupy  five  or  six  hours ;  bonfires  are  lighted  along 
the  grassy  streets,  and  the  families  of  the  better  class  are  seated 
at  their  doors,  enjoying  the  wild  but  good-humoured  fun. 

We  lived  at  Ega,  during  most  part  of  the  year,  on  turtle. 
The  great  fresh-water  turtle  of  the  Amazons  grows  on  the  upper 
river  to  an  immense  size,  a  full-grown  one  measuring  nearly 
three  feet  in  length  by  two  in  breadth,  and  is  a  load  for  the 
strongest  Indian.  Every  house'  has  a  little  pond,  called  a 
curral  (pen),  in  the  backyard  to  hold  a  stock  of  the  animals 
through  the  season  of  dearth — the  wet  months ;  those  who  have 
a  number  of  Indians  in  their  employ  send  them  out  for  a 
month  when  the  waters  are  low,  to  collect  a  stock,  and  those 
who  have  not,  purchasing  their  supply;  with  some  difficulty, 
however,  as  they  are  rarely  offered  for  sale.  The  price  of  turtles, 
like  that  of  all  other  articles  of  food,  has  risen  greatly  with 
the  introduction  of  steam-vessels.  When  I  arrived  in  1850  a 
middle-sized  one  could  be  bought  pretty  readily  for  ninepence, 
but  when  I  left  in  1859,  they  were  with  difficulty  obtained  at 
eight  and  nine  shillings  each.  The  abundance  of  turtles,  or 
rather  the  facility  with  which  they  can  be  found  and  caught, 
varies  with  the  amount  of  annual  subsidence  of  the  waters. 
When  the  river  sinks  less  than  the  average,  they  are  scarce; 
but  when  more,  they  can  be  caught  in  plenty,  the  bays  and 
shallow  lagoons  in  the  forest  having  then  only  a  small  depth  of 
water.  The  flesh  is  very  tender,  palatable,  and  wholesome; 
but  it  is  very  cloying:  every  one  ends,  sooner  or  later,  by 
becoming  thoroughly  surfeited.  I  became  so  sick  of  turtle  in 
the  course  of  two  years  that  I  could  not  bear  the  smell  of  it, 


Voyage  to  Ega  287 

although  at  the  same  time  nothing  else  was  to  be  had,  and  I 
was  suffering  actual  hunger.  The  native  women  cook  it  in 
various  ways.  The  entrails  are  chopped  up  and  made  into  a 
delicious  soup  called  sarapatel,  which  is  generally  boiled  in  the 
concave  upper  shell  of  the  animal  used  as  a  kettle.  The  tender 
rlesh  of  the  breast  is  partially  minced  with  farinha,  and  the 
breast  shell  then  roasted  over  the  fire,  making  a  very  pleasant 
dish.  Steaks  cut  from  the  breast  and  cooked  with  the  fat  form 
another  palatable  dish.  Large  sausages  are  made  of  the  thick- 
coated  stomach,  which  is  filled  with  minced  meat  and  boiled. 
The  quarters  cooked  in  a  kettle  of  Tucupi  sauce  form  another 
variety  of  food.  When  surfeited  with  turtle  in  all  other  shapes, 
pieces  of  the  lean  part  roasted  on  a  spit  and  moistened  only  with 
vinegar  make  an  agreeable  change.  The  smaller  kind  of  turtle, 
the  tracaja,  which  makes  its  appearance  in  the  main  river,  and 
lays  its  eggs  a  month  earlier  than  the  large  species,  is  of  less 
utility  to  the  inhabitants  although  its  flesh  is  superior,  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  keeping  it  alive;  it  survives  captivitv 
but  a  very  few  days,  although  placed  in  the  same  ponds  in 
which  the  large  turtle  keeps  well  for  two  or  three  years. 

Those  who  cannot  hunt  and  fish  for  themselves,  and  whose 
stomachs  refuse  turtle,  are  in  a  poor  way  at  Ega.  Fish, 
including  many  kinds  of  large  and  delicious  salmonidas,  is 
abundant  in  the  fine  season;  but  each  family  fishes  only  for 
itself,  and  has  no  surplus  for  sale.  An  Indian  fisherman  remains 
out  just  long  enough  to  draw  what  he  thinks  sufficient  for  a 
couple  of  days'  consumption.  Vacca  marina  is  a  great  resource 
in  the  wet  season;  it  is  caught  by  harpooning,  which  requires 
much  skill,  or  by  strong  nets  made  of  very  thick  hammock 
twine,  and  placed  across  narrow  inlets.  Very  few  Europeans 
are  able  to  eat  the  meat  of  this  animal.  Although  there  is  a 
large  quantity  of  cattle  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town,  and 
pasture  is  abundant  all  the  year  round,  beef  can  be  had  only 
when  a  beast  is  killed  by  accident.  The  most  frequent  cause  of 
death  is  poisoning  by  drinking  raw  Tucupi,  the  juice  of  the 
mandioca  root.  Bowls  of  this  are  placed  on  the  ground  in  the 
sheds  where  the  women  prepare  farinha;  it  is  generally  done 
carelessly,  but  sometimes  intentionally  through  spite  whan  stray 
oxen  devastate  the  plantations  of  the  poorer  people.  The  juice 
is  almost  certain  to  be  drunk  if  cattle  stray  near  the  place,  and 
death  is  the  certain  result.  The  owners  kill  a  beast  which 
shows  symptoms  of  having  been  poisoned,  and  retail  the  beef 
in  the  town.     Although  every  one  knows  it  cannot  be  whole- 


288      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

some,  such  is  the  scarcity  of  meat  and  the  uncontrollable  desire 
to  eat  beef,  that  it  is  eagerly  bought,  at  least  by  those  residents 
who  come  from  other  provinces  where  beef  is  the  staple  article 
of  food.  Game  of  all  kinds  is  scarce  in  the  forest  near  the 
town,  except  in  the  months  of  June  and  July,  when  immense 
numbers  of  a  large  and  handsome  bird,  Cuvier's  toucan  (Ram- 
phastos  Cuvieri)  make  their  appearance.  They  come  in  well- 
fed  condition,  and  are  shot  in  such  quantities  that  every  family 
has  the  strange  treat  of  stewed  and  roasted  toucans  daily  for 
many  weeks.  Curassow  birds  are  plentiful  on  the  banks  of  the 
Solimoens,  but  to  get  a  brace  or  two  requires  the  sacrifice  of 
several  days  for  the  trip.  A  tapir,  of  which  the  meat  is  most 
delicious  and  nourishing,  is  sometimes  killed  by  a  fortunate 
hunter.  I  have  still  a  lively  recollection  of  the  pleasant  effects 
which  I  once  experienced  from  a  diet  of  fresh  tapir  meat  for  a 
few  days,  after  having  been  brought  to  a  painful  state  of  bodily 
and  mental  depression  by  a  month's  scanty  rations  of  fish  and 
farinha. 

We  sometimes  had  fresh  bread  at  Ega  made  from  American 
flour  brought  from  Para,  but  it  was  sold  at  ninepence  a  pound. 
I  was  once  two  years  without  tasting  wheaten  bread,  and 
attribute  partly  to  this  the  gradual  deterioration  of  health  which 
I  suffered  on  the  Upper  Amazons.  Mandioca  meal  is  a  poor, 
weak  substitute  for  bread;  it  is  deficient  in  gluten,  and  con- 
sequently cannot  be  formed  into  a  leavened  mass  or  loaf,  but  is 
obliged  to  be  roasted  in  hard  grains  in  order  to  keep  any  length 
of  time.  Cakes  are  made  of  the  half-roasted  meal,  but  they 
become  sour  in  a  very  few  hours.  A  superior  kind  of  meal  is 
manufactured  at  Ega  of  the  sweet  mandioca  (Manihot  Aypi); 
it  is  generally  made  with  a  mixture  of  the  starch  of  the  root, 
and  is  therefore  a  much  more  wholesome  article  of  food  than 
the  ordinary  sort  which,  on  the  Amazons,  is  made  of  the  pulp 
after  the  starch  has  been  extracted  by  soaking  in  water.  When 
we  could  get  neither  bread  nor  biscuit,  I  found  tapioca  soaked 
in  coffee  the  best  native  substitute.  We  were  seldom  without 
butter,  as  every  canoe  brought  one  or  two  casks  on  each  return 
voyage  from  Para,  where  it  is  imported  in  considerable  quantity 
from  Liverpool.  We  obtained  tea  in  the  same  way;  it  being 
served  as  a  fashionable  luxury  at  wedding  and  christening 
parties;  the  people  were  at  first  strangers  to  this  article,  for 
they  used  to  stew  it  in  a  saucepan,  mixing  it  up  with  coarse  raw 
sugar,  and  stirring  it  with  a  spoon.  Sometimes  we  had  milk, 
but  this  was  only  when  a  cow  calved;  the  yield  from  each  cow 


Voyage  to  Ega  289 

was  very  small,  and  lasted  only  for  a  few  weeks  in  each  case, 
although  the  pasture  is  good,  and  the  animals  are  sleek  and  fat. 
Fruit  of  the  ordinary  tropical  sorts  could  generally  be  had. 
I  was  quite  surprised  at  the  variety  of  the  wild  kinds,  and  of 
the  delicious  flavour  of  some  of  them.  Many  of  these  are 
utterly  unknown  in  the  regions  nearer  the  Atlantic;  being  the 
peculiar  productions  of  this  highly  favoured,  and  little  known, 
interior  country.  Some  have  been  planted  by  the  natives  in 
their  clearings.  The  best  was  the  Jabuti-puhe,  or  tortoise-foot; 
a  scaled  fruit  probably  of  the  Anonaceous  order.  It  is  about 
the  size  of  an  ordinary  apple ;  when  ripe  the  rind  is  moderately 
thin,  and  encloses,  with  the  seeds,  a  quantity  of  custardy  pulp 
of  a  very  rich  flavour.  Next  to  this  stands  the  Cuma  (Collo- 
phora  sp.)  of  which  there  are  two  species,  not  unlike,  in  appear- 
ance, small  round  pears;  but  the  rind  is 
rather  hard,  and  contains  a  gummy  milk, 
and  the  pulpy  part  is  almost  as  delicious 
as  that  of  the  Jabuti-puhe.  The  Cuma 
tree  is  of  moderate  height,  and  grows 
rather  plentifully  in  the  more  elevated 
and  drier  situations.  A  third  kind  is  the 
Pama,  which  is  a  stone  fruit,  similar  in 
colour  and  appearance  to  the  cherry,  but  „., .  F    .. 

of  oblong  shape.     The  tree  is  one  of  the 

loftiest  in  the  forest,  and  has  never,  I  believe,  been  selected  for 
cultivation.  To  get  at  the  fruit  the  natives  are  obliged  to  climb 
to  the  height  of  about  a  hundred  feet,  and  cut  off  the  heavily 
laden  branches.  I  have  already  mentioned  the  Umari  and  the 
Wishi:  both  these  are  now  cultivated.  The  fatty,  bitter  pulp 
which  surrounds  the  large  stony  seeds  of  these  fruits  is  eaten 
mixed  with  farinha,  and  is  very  nourishing.  Another  cultivated 
fruit  is  the  Puruma  (Puruma  cecropiaefolia,  Martius),  a  round 
juicy  berry,  growing  in  large  bunches  and  resembling  grapes  in 
taste.  Another  smaller  kind,  called  Puruma-i,  grows  wild  in 
the  forest  close  to  Ega,  and  has  not  yet  been  planted.  The 
most  singular  of  all  these  fruits  is  the  Uiki,  which  is  of  oblong 
shape,  and  grows  apparently  crosswise  on  the  end  of  its  stalk. 
When  ripe  the  thick  green  rind  opens  by  a  natural  cleft  across 
the  middle,  and  discloses  an  oval  seed  the  size  of  a  damascene 
plum,  but  of  a  vivid  crimson  colour.  This  bright  hue  belongs  to 
a  thin  coating  of  pulp  which,  when  the  seeds  are  mixed  in  a  plate 
of  stewed  bananas,  gives  to  the  mess  a  pleasant  rosy  tint,  and 
a  rich  creamy  taste  and  consistence.     Mingua    (porridge)    of 


290      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

bananas  flavoured  and  coloured  with  Uiki  is  a  favourite  dish 
at  Ega.  The  fruit,  like  most  of  the  others  here  mentioned, 
ripens  in  January.  Many  smaller  fruits  such  as  Wajuru  (prob- 
ably a  species  of  Achras),  the  size  of  a  gooseberry,  which  grows 
singly  and  contains  a  sweet  gelatinous  pulp,  enclosing  two  large, 
shining  black  seeds;  Cashipari-arapaa,  an  oblong  scarlet  berry; 
two  kinds  of  Bacuri,  the  Bacuri-siuma  and  the  B.  curua,  sour 
fruits  of  a  bright  lemon  colour  when  ripe,  and  a  great  number 
of  others,  are  of  less  importance  as  articles  of  food. 

The  celebrated  "  Peach  palm,"  Pupunha  of  the  Tupi  nations 
(Guilielma  speciosa),  is  a  common  tree  at  Ega.  The  name,  I 
suppose,  is  in  allusion  to  the  colour  of  the  fruit,  and  not  to  its 
flavour,  for  it  is  dry  and  mealy,  and  in  taste  may  be  compared 
to  a  mixture  of  chestnuts  and  cheese.  Vultures  devour  it 
eagerly,  and  come  in  quarrelsome  flocks  to  the  trees  when  it  is 
ripe.  Dogs  will  also  eat  it:  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  cats  do  the 
same,  although  they  go  voluntarily  to  the  woods  to  eat  Tucuma, 
another  kind  of  palm  fruit.  The  tree,  as  it  grows  in  clusters 
beside  the  palm-thatched  huts,  is  a  noble  ornament,  being, 
when  full  grown,  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  in  height  and  often  as 
straight  as  a  scaffold-pole.  A  bunch  of  fruit  when  ripe  is  a 
load  for  a  strong  man,  and  each  tree  bears  several  of  them. 
The  Pupunha  grows  wild  nowhere  on  the  Amazons.  It  is  one 
of  those  few  vegetable  productions  (including  three  kinds  of 
mandioca  and  the  American  species  of  banana)  which  the 
Indians  have  cultivated  from  time  immemorial,  and  brought 
with  them  in  their  original  migration  to  Brazil.  It  is  only, 
however,  the  more  advanced  tribes  who  have  kept  up  the 
cultivation.  The  superiority  of  the  fruit  on  the  Solimoens  to 
that  grown  on  the  Lower  Amazons  and  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Para  is  very  striking.  At  Ega  it  is  generally  as  large  as  a 
full-sized  peach,  and  when  boiled  almost  as  mealy  as  a  potato; 
whilst  at  Para  it  is  no  bigger  than  a  walnut,  and  the  pulp  is 
fibrous.  Bunches  of  sterile  or  seedless  fruits  sometimes  occur 
in  both  districts.  It  is  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  food  at 
Ega  when  in  season,  and  is  boiled  and  eaten  with  treacle  or 
salt.  A  dozen  of  the  seedless  fruits  makes  a  good  nourishing 
meal  for  a  grown-up  person.  It  is  the  general  belief  that  there 
is  more  nutriment  in  Pupunha  than  in  fish  or  Vacca  marina. 

The  seasons  in  the  Upper  Amazons  region  offer  some  points 
of  difference  from  those  of  the  lower  river  and  the  district  of 
Para,  which  two  sections  of  the  country  we  have  already  seen 
also  differ  considerably.     The  year  at  Ega  is  divided  according 


Voyage  to  Ega 


291 

to  the  rises  and  falls  of  the  river,  with  which  coincide  the  wet 
and  dry  periods.  All  the  principal  transactions  of  life  of  the 
inhabitants  are  re- 
gulated by  these 
yearly  recurring  ^== 
phenomena.  The  <^ 
peculiarity  of  this  ^ 
upper  region  con- 
sists in  there  being 
two  rises  and  two 

falls  within  the  year.  The  great  annual 
rise  commences  about  the  end  of  February 
and  continues  to  the  middle  of  June, 
during  which  the  rivers  and  lakes,  con- 
fined during  the  dry  periods  to  their 
ordinary  beds,  gradually  swell  and  over- 
flow all  the  lower  lands.  The  inundation 
progresses  gently  inch  by  inch,  and  is  felt 
everywhere,  even  in  the  interior  of  the 
forests  of  the  higher  lands,  miles  away 
from  the  river;  as  these  are  traversed  by 
numerous  gullies,  forming  in  the  fine 
season  dry,  spacious  dells,  which  become 
gradually  transformed  by  the  pressure  of 
the  flood  into  broad  creeks  navigable  by 
small  boats  under  the  shade  of  trees.  All 
the  countless  swarms  of  turtle  of  various 
species  then  leave  the  main  river  for  the 
inland  pools;  the  sand-banks  go  under 
water,  and  the  flocks  of  wading  birds  i  fl  ■,  1 
migrate  northerly  to  the  upper  waters  of  "  :«r\\] 
the  tributaries  which  flow  from  that  direc- 
tion, or  to  the  Orinoco;  which  streams 
during  the  wet  period  of  the  Amazons  are 
enjoying  the  cloudless  skies  of  their  dry 
season.  The  families  of  fishermen  who 
have  been  employed,  during  the  previous 
four  or  five  months,  in  harpooning  and 
salting  pirarucu  and  shooting  turtle  in  the 
great  lakes,  now  return  to  the  towns  and  upun       a  m' 

villages;  their  temporarily  constructed  fishing  establishments 
becoming  gradually  submerged,  with  the  sand  islets  or  beaches 
on  which  they  were  situated.     This  is  the  season,  however,  in 


2Q2      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

which  the  Brazil  nut  and  wild  cacao  ripen,  and  many  persons  go 
out  to  gather  these  harvests,  remaining  absent  generally  through- 
out the  months  of  March  and  April.  The  rains  during  this  time 
are  not  continuous:  they  fall  very  heavily  at  times,  but  rarely 
last  so  long  at  a  stretch  as  twenty-four  hours,  and  many  days 
intervene  of  pleasant,  sunny  weather.  The  sky,  however,  is 
generally  overcast  and  gloomy,  and  sometimes  a  drizzling  rain 
falls. 

About  the  first  week  in  June  the  flood  is  at  its  highest;  the 
water  being  then  about  forty-five  feet  above  its  lowest  point; 
but  it  varies  in  different  years  to  the  extent  of  about  fifteen  feet. 
The  "  enchente,"  or  flow,  as  it  is  called  by  the  natives,  who 
believe  this  great  annual  movement  of  the  waters  to  be  of  the 
same  nature  as  the  tide  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Amazons,  is 
then  completed,  and  all  begin  to  look  forward  to  the  "  vasante," 
or  ebb.  The  provision  made  for  the  dearth  of  the  wet  season  is 
by  this  time  pretty  nearly  exhausted;  fish  is  difficult  to  procure 
and  many  of  the  less  provident  inhabitants  have  become 
reduced  to  a  diet  of  fruits  and  farinha  porridge. 

The  fine  season  begins  with  a  few  days  of  brilliant  weather — 
furious,  hot  sun,  with  passing  clouds.  Idle  men  and  women, 
tired  of  the  dulness  and  confinement  of  the  flood  season,  begin 
to  report,  on  returning  from  their  morning  bath,  the  cessation 
of  the  flow:  as  agoas  estao  paradas,  "  the  waters  have  stopped." 
The  muddy  streets,  in  a  few  days,  dry  up:  groups  of  young 
fellows  are  now  seen  seated  on  the  shady  sides  of  the  cottages 
making  arrows  and  knitting  fishing-nets  with  tucum  twine; 
others  are  busy  patching  up  and  caulking  their  canoes,  large 
and  small:  in  fact,  preparations  are  made  on  all  sides  for  the 
much  longed-for  "  verao,"  or  summer,  and  the  "  migration,"  as 
it  is  called,  of  fish  and  turtle;  that  is,  their  descent  from  the 
inaccessible  pools  in  the  forest  to  the  main  river.  Towards  the 
middle  of  July  the  sand-banks  begin  to  reappear  above  the 
surface  of  the  waters,  and  with  this  change  come  flocks  of  sand- 
pipers and  gulls,  which  latter  make  known  the  advent  of  the 
fine  season,  as  the  cuckoo  does  of  the  European  spring;  utter- 
ing almost  incessantly  their  plaintive  cries  as  they  fly  about 
over  the  shallow  waters  of  sandy  shores.  Most  of  the  gaily- 
plumaged  birds  have  now  finished  moulting,  and  begin  to  be 
more  active  in  the  forest. 

The  fall  continues  to  the  middle  of  October,  with  the  inter- 
ruption of  a  partial  rise  called  "  repiquet,"  of  a  few  inches  in 
the  midst  of  very  dry  weather  in  September,  caused  by  the 


Voyage  to  Ega  293 

swollen  contribution  of  some  large  affluent  higher  up  the  river. 
The  amount  of  subsidence  also  varies  considerably,  but  it  is 
never  so  great  as  to  interrupt  navigation  by  large  vessels.  The 
greater  it  is  the  more  abundant  is  the  season.  Every  one  is 
prosperous  when  the  waters  are  low;  the  shallow  bays  and  pools 
being  then  crowded  with  the  concentrated  population  of  fish  and 
turtle.  All  the  people,  men,  women,  and  children,  leave  the 
villages  and  spend  the  few  weeks  of  glorious  weather  rambling 
over  the  vast  undulating  expanses  of  sand  in  the  middle  of  the 
Solimoens,  fishing,  hunting,  collecting  eggs  of  turtle  and  plovers 
and  thoroughly  enjoying  themselves.  The  inhabitants  pray 
always  for  a  "  vasante  grande,"  or  great  ebb. 

From  the  middle  of  October  to  the  beginning  of  January, 
the  second  wet  season  prevails.  The  rise  is  sometimes  not 
more  than  about  fifteen  feet,  but  it  is,  in  some  years,  much 
more  extensive,  laying  the  large  sand  islands  under  water  before 
the  turtle  eggs  are  hatched.  In  one  year,  whilst  I  resided  at 
Ega,  this  second  annual  inundation  reached  to  within  ten  feet 
of  the  highest  water  point  as  marked  by  the  stains  on  the  trunks 
of  trees  by  the  river  side. 

The  second  dry  season  comes  on  in  January,  and  lasts  through- 
out February.  The  river  sinks  sometimes  to  the  extent  of  a 
few  feet  only,  but  one  year  (1856)  I  saw  it  ebb  to  within  about 
five  feet  of  its  lowest  point  in  September.  This  is  called  the 
summer  of  the  Umari,  "  Verao  do  Umari."  after  the  fruit  of 
this  name  already  described,  which  ripens  at  this  season.  When 
the  fall  is  great,  this  is  the  best  time  to  catch  turtles.  In  the 
year  above  mentioned,  nearly  all  the  residents  who  had  a  canoe, 
and  could  work  a  paddle,  went  out  after  them  in  the  month  of 
February,  and  about  2000  were  caught  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days.  It  appears  that  they  had  been  arrested  in  their  migration 
towards  the  interior  pools  of  the  forest  by  the  sudden  drying 
up  of  the  water-courses,  and  so  had  become  easy  prey. 

Thus  the  Ega  year  is  divided  into  four  seasons;  two  of  dry 
weather  and  falling  waters,  and  two  of  the  reverse.  Besides 
this  variety,  there  is,  in  the  month  of  May,  a  short  season  of 
very  cold  weather,  a  most  surprising  circumstance  in  this  other- 
wise uniformly  sweltering  climate.  This  is  caused  by  the  con- 
tinuance of  a  cold  wind,  which  blows  from  the  south  over  the 
humid  forests  that  extend  without  interruption  from  north  of 
the  equator  to  the  eighteenth  parallel  of  latitude  in  Bolivia. 
I  had,  unfortunately,  no  thermometer  with  me  at  Ega;  the  only 
one  I  brought  with  me  from  England  having  been  lost  at  Para. 


294      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

The  temperature  is  so  much  lowered  that  fishes  die  in  the  river  , 
Teffe,  and  are  cast  in  considerable  quantities  on  its  shores. 
The  wind  is  not  strong;  but  it  brings  cloudy  weather,  and  lasts 
from  three  to  five  or  six  days  in  each  year.  The  inhabitants 
all  suffer  much  from  the  cold,  many  of  them  wrapping  them- 
selves up  with  the  warmest  clothing  they  can  get  (blankets  are 
here  unknown),  and  shutting  themselves  in-doors  with  a  char- 
coal fire  lighted.  I  found,  myself,  the  change  of  temperature 
most  delightful,  and  did  not  require  extra  clothing.  It  was  a 
bad  time,  however,  for  my  pursuit,  as  birds  and  insects  all 
betook  themselves  to  places  of  concealment,  and  remained  in- 
active. The  period  during  which  this  wind  prevails  is  called 
the  "  tempo  da  friagem,"  or  the  season  of  coldness.  The 
phenomenon,  I  presume,  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
in  May  it  is  winter  in  the  southern  temperate  zone,  and  that  the 
cool  currents  of  air  travelling  thence  northwards  towards  the 
equator,  become  only  moderately  heated  in  their  course,  owing 
to  the  intermediate  country  being  a  vast,  partially-flooded  plain 
covered  with  humid  forests. 


CHAPTER  XI 

EXCURSIONS   IN   THE   NEIGHBOURHOOD   OF   EGA 

The  River  Teffe — Rambles  through  Groves  on  the  Beach — Excursion  to 
the  House  of  a  Passe  Chieftain — Character  and  Customs  of  the  Passe 
Tribe — First  Excursion  to  the  Sand  Islands  of  the  Solimoens — 
Habits  of  Great  River-turtle — Second  Excursion — Turtle-fishing  in 
the  Inland  Pools — Third  Excursion — Hunting-rambles  with  Natives 
in  the  Forest — Return  to  Ega 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the  more  interest- 
ing of  my  shorter  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ega.  The 
incidents  of  the  longer  voyages,  which  occupied  each  several 
months,,  will  be  narrated  in  a  separate  chapter. 

The  settlement,  as  before  described,  is  built  on  a  small  tract 
of  cleared  land  at  the  lower  or  eastern  end  of  the  lake,  six  or 
seven  miles  from  the  main  Amazons,  with  which  the  lake  com- 
municates by  a  narrow  channel.  On  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
broad  expanse  stands  a  small  village,  called  Nogueira,  the 
houses  of  which  are  not  visible  from  Ega,  except  on  very  clear 
days;  the  coast  on  the  Nogueira  side  is  high,  and  stretches 
away  into  the  grey  distance  towards  the  south-west.  The 
upper  part  of  the  river  Teffe  is  not  visited  by  the  Ega  people, 
on  account  of  its  extreme  unhealthiness,  and  its  barrenness  in 
sarsaparilla  and  other  wares.  To  Europeans  it  would  seem  a 
most  surprising  thing  that  the  people  of  a  civilised  settlement, 
a  hundred  and  seventy  years  old,  should  still  be  ignorant  of  the 
course  of  the  river  on  whose  banks  their  native  place,  for  which 
they  proudly  claim  the  title  of  city,  is  situated.  It  would  be 
very  difficult  for  a  private  individual  to  explore  it,  as  the  neces- 
sary number  of  Indian  paddlers  could  not  be  obtained.  I  knew 
only  one  person  who  had  ascended  the  Teffe  to  any  considerable 
distance,  and  he  was  not  able  to  give  me  a  distinct  account  of 
the  river.  The  only  tribe  known  to  live  on  its  banks  are  the 
Catauishis,  a  people  who  perforate  their  lips  all  round,  and 
wear  rows  of  slender  sticks  in  the  holes:  their  territory  lies 
between  the  Purus  and  the  Jurua,  embracing  both  shores  of 
the  Teffe.  A  large,  navigable  stream,  the  Bararua,  enters  the 
lake  from  the  west,  about  thirty  miles  above  Ega;  the  breadth 

295 


296      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

of  the  lake  is  much  contracted  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  this 
tributary,  but  it  again  expands  further  south,  and  terminates 
abruptly  where  the  Teffe  proper,  a  narrow  river  with  a  strong 
current,  forms  its  head  water. 

The  whole  of  the  country  for  hundreds  of  miles  is  covered 
with  picturesque  but  pathless  forests,  and  there  are  only  two 
roads  along  which  excursions  can  be  made  by  land  from  Ega. 
One  is  a  narrow  hunter's  track,  about  two  miles  in  length, 
which  traverses  the  forest  in  the  rear  of  the  settlement.  The 
other  is  an  extremely  pleasant  path  along  the  beach  to  the  west 
of  the  town.  This  is  practicable  only  in  the  dry  season,  when 
a  flat  strip  of  white  sandy  beach  is  exposed  at  the  foot  of  the 
high  wooded  banks  of  the  lake,  covered  with  trees,  which,  as 
there  is  no  underwood,  form  a  spacious  shady  grove.  I  rambled 
daily,  during  many  weeks  of  each  successive  dry  season,  along 
this  delightful  road.  The  trees,  many  of  which  are  myrtles 
and  wild  Guavas,  with  smooth  yellow  stems,  were  in  flower  at 
this  time;  and  the  rippling  waters  of  the  lake,  under  the  cool 
shade,  everywhere  bordered  the  path.  The  place  was  the  resort 
of  kingfishers,  green  and  blue  tree-creepers,  purple-headed 
tanagers,  and  humming-birds.  Birds  generally,  however,  were 
not  numerous.  Every  tree  was  tenanted  by  Cicadas,  the  reedy 
notes  of  which  produced  that  loud,  jarring,  insect  music  which 
is  the  general  accompaniment  of  a  woodland  ramble  in  a  hot 
climate.  One  species  was  very  handsome,  having  wings  adorned 
with  patches  of  bright  green  and  scarlet.  It  was  very  common ; 
sometimes  three  or  four  tenanting  a  single  tree,  clinging  as 
usual  to  the  branches.  On  approaching  a  tree  thus  peopled,  a 
number  of  little  jets  of  a  clear  liquid  would  be  seen  squirted 
from  aloft.  I  have  often  received  the  well-directed  discharge 
full  on  my  face;  but  the  liquid  is  harmless,  having  a  sweetish 
taste,  and  is  ejected  by  the  insect  from  the  anus,  probably  in 
self-defence,  or  from  fear.  The  number  and  variety  of  gaily- 
tinted  butterflies,  sporting  about  in  this  grove  on  sunny  days, 
were  so  great  that  the  bright  moving  flakes  of  colour  gave 
quite  a  character  to  the  physiognomy  of  the  place.  It  was 
impossible  to  walk  far  without  disturbing  flocks  of  them 
from  the  damp  sand  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  where  they  con- 
gregated to  imbibe  the  moisture.  They  were  of  almost  all 
colours,  sizes,  and  shapes:  I  noticed  here  altogether  eighty 
species,  belonging  to  twenty-two  different  genera.  It  is  a 
singular  fact  that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  all  the  individuals 
of  these  various  species  thus  sporting  in  sunny  places  were  of 


Excursions  around  Ega  297 

the  male  sex;  their  partners,  which  are  much  more  soberly 
dressed  and  immensely  less  numerous  than  the  males,  being 
confined  to  the  shades  of  the  woods.  Every  afternoon,  as  the 
sun  was  getting  low,  I  used  to  notice  these  gaudy  sunshine- 
loving  swains  trooping  off  to  the  forest,  where  I  suppose  they 
would  find  their  sweethearts  and  wives.  The  most  abundant, 
next  to  the  very  common  sulphur-yellow  and  orange-coloured 
kinds,  were  about  a  dozen  species  of  Eunica,  which  are  of  large 
size,  and  are  conspicuous  from  their  liveries  of  glossy  dark-blue 
and  purple.  A  superbly-adorned  creature,  the  Callithea  Markii, 
having  wings  of  a  thick  texture,  coloured  sapphire-blue  and 
orange,  was  only  an  occasional  visitor.  On  certain  days,  when 
the  weather  was  very  calm,  two  small  gilded-green  species 
(Symmachia  Trochilus  and  Colubris)  literally  swarmed  on  the 
sands,  their  glittering  wings  lying  wide  open  on  the  flat  surface. 
The  beach  terminates,  eight  miles  beyond  Ega,  at  the  mouth  of 
a  rivulet;  the  character  of  the  coast  then  changes,  the  river 
banks  being  masked  by  a  line  of  low  islets  amid  a  labyrinth  of 
channels. 

In  all  other  directions  my  very  numerous  excursions  were  by 
water;  the  most  interesting  of  those  made  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  were  to  the  houses  of  Indians  on  the  banks  of 
retired  creeks;  an  account  of  one  of  these  trips  will  suffice. 

On  the  23rd  of  May,  1850, 1  visited,  in  company  with  Antonio 
Cardozo,  the  Delegado,  a  family  of  the  Passe  tribe,  who  live 
near  the  head  waters  of  the  Igarape,  which  flows  from  the  south 
into  the  Teffe,  entering  it  at  Ega.  The  creek  is  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  broad  near  the  town,  but  a  few  miles  inland 
it  gradually  contracts,  until  it  becomes  a  mere  rivulet  flowing 
through  a  broad  dell  in  the  forest.  When  the  rjver  rises  it  fills 
this  dell;  the  trunks  of  the  lofty  trees  then  stand  many  feet 
deep  in  the  water,  and  small  canoes  are  able  to  travel  the 
distance  of  a  day's  journey  under  the  shade,  regular  paths  or 
alleys  being  cut  through  the  branches  and  lower  trees.  This 
is  the  general  character  of  the  country  of  the  Upper  Amazons; 
a  land  of  small  elevation  and  abruptly  undulated,  the  hollows 
forming  narrow  valleys  in  the  dry  months,  and  deep  navigable 
creeks  in  the  wet  months.  In  retired  nooks  on  the  margins  of 
these  shady  rivulets,  a  few  families  or  small  hordes  of  aborigines 
still  linger  in  nearly  their  primitive  state,  the  relicts  of  their 
once  numerous  tribes.  The  family  we  intended  to  visit  on  this 
trip  was  that  of  Pedro-uassu  (Peter  the  Great,  or  Tall  Peter), 
an  old  chieftain  or  Tushaua  of  the  Passes. 


298      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

We  set  out  at  sunrise,  in  a  small  igarite,  manned  by  six  young 
Indian  paddlers.  After  travelling  about  three  miles  along  the 
broad  portion  of  the  creek — which,  being  surrounded  by  woods, 
had  the  appearance  of  a  large  pool — we  came  to  a  part  where 
our  course  seemed  to  be  stopped  by  an  impenetrable  hedge 
of  trees  and  bushes.  We  were  some  time  before  finding  the 
entrance,  but  when  fairly  within  the  shades,  a  remarkable 
scene  presented  itself.  It  was  my  first  introduction  to  these 
singular  water-paths.  A  narrow  and  tolerably  straight  alley 
stretched  away  for  a  long  distance  before  us ;  on  each  side  were 
the  tops  of  bushes  and  young  trees,  forming  a  kind  of  border  to 
the  path,  and  the  trunks  of  the  tall  forest  trees  rose  at  irregular 
intervals  from  the  water,  their  crowns  interlocking  far  over  our 
heads,  and  forming  a  thick  shade.  Slender  air  roots  hung  down 
in  clusters,  and  looping  sipos  dangled  from  the  lower  branches; 
bunches  of  grass,  tillandsiae,  and  ferns,  sat  in  the  forks  of  the 
larger  boughs,  and  the  trunks  of  trees  near  the  water  had 
adhering  to  them  round  dried  masses  of  freshwater  sponges. 
There  was  no  current  perceptible,  and  the  water  was  stained  of 
a  dark  olive-brown  hue,  but  the  submerged  stems  could  be  seen 
through  it  to  a  great  depth.  We  travelled  at  good  speed  for 
three  hours  along  this  shady  road;  the  distance  of  Pedro's 
house  from  Ega  being  about  twenty  miles.  When  the  paddlers 
rested  for  a  time,  the  stillness  and  gloom  of  the  place  became 
almost  painful:  our  voices  waked  dull  echoes  as  we  conversed, 
and  the  noise  made  by  fishes  occasionally  whipping  the  surface 
of  the  water  was  quite  startling.  A  cool,  moist,  clammy  air 
pervaded  the  sunless  shade. 

The  breadth  of  the  wooded  valley,  at  the  commencement,  is 
probably  more  than  half  a  mile,  and  there  is  a  tolerably  clear 
view  for  a  considerable  distance  on  each  side  of  the  water-path 
through  the  irregular  colonnade  of  trees:  other  paths  also,  in 
this  part,  branch  off  right  and  left  from  the  principal  road, 
leading  to  the  scattered  houses  of  Indians  on  the  mainland. 
The  dell  contracts  gradually  towards  the  head  of  the  rivulet, 
and  the  forest  then  becomes  denser;  the  water-path  also 
diminishes  in  width,  and  becomes  more  winding,  on  account  of 
the  closer  growth  of  the  trees.  The  boughs  of  some  are  stretched 
forth  at  no  great  height  over  one's  head,  and  are  seen  to  be 
loaded  with  epiphytes;  one  orchid  I  noticed  particularly,  on 
account  of  its  bright  yellow  flowers  growing  at  the  end  of  flower- 
stems  several  feet  long.  Some  of  the  trunks,  especally  those 
of  palms,  close  beneath  their  crowns,  were  clothed  with  a  thick 


Excursions  around  Ega  299 

mass  of  glossy  shield-shaped  Pothos  plants,  mingled  with  ferns. 
Arrived  at  this  part  we  were,  in  fact,  in  the  heart  of  the  virgin 
forest.  We  heard  no  noises  of  animals  in  the  trees,  and  saw 
only  one  bird,  the  sky-blue  chatterer,  sitting  alone  on  a  high 
branch.  For  some  distance  the  lower  vegetation  was  so  dense 
that  the  road  runs  under  an  arcade  of  foliage,  the  branches 
having  been  cut  away  only  sufficiently  to  admit  of  the  passage 
of  a  small  canoe.  These  thickets  are  formed  chiefly  of  Bamboos, 
whose  slender  foliage  and  curving  stems  arrange  themselves  in 
elegant,  feathery  bowers:  but  other  social  plants,— slender  green 
climbers  with  tendrils  so  eager  in  aspiring  to  grasp  the  higher 
boughs  that  they  seem  to  be  endowed  almost  with  animal 
energy,  and  certain  low  trees  having  large  elegantly-veined 
leaves,  contribute  also  to  the  jungly  masses.  Occasionally 
we  came  upon  an  uprooted  tree  lying  across  the  path,  its 
voluminous  crown  still  held  up  by  thick  cables  of  sipo, 
connecting  it  with  standing  trees:  a  wide  circuit  had  to  be 
made  in  these  cases,  and  it  was  sometimes  difficult  to  find 
the  right  path  again. 

At  length  we  arrived  at  our  journey's  end.  We  were  then  in 
a  very  dense  and  gloomy  part  of  the  forest:  we  could  see,  how- 
ever, the  dry  land  on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and  to  our  right 
a  small  sunny  opening  appeared,  the  landing-place  to  the  native 
dwellings.  The  water  was  deep  close  to  the  bank,  and  a  clean 
pathway  ascended  from  the  shady  port  to  the  buildings,  which 
were  about  a  furlong  distant.  My  friend  Cardozo  was  god- 
father to  a  grandchild  of  Pedro-uassu,  whose  daughter  had 
married  an  Indian  settled  in  Ega.  He  had  sent  word  to  the 
old  man  that  he  intended  to  visit  him:  we  were  therefore 
expected. 

As  we  landed,  Pedro-uassu  himself  came  down  to  the  port  to 
receive  us;  our  arrival  having  been  announced  by  the  barking 
of  dogs.  He  was  a  tall  and  thin  old  man,  with  a  serious,  but 
benignant  expression  of  countenance,  and  a  manner  much  freer 
from  shyness  and  distrust  than  is  usual  with  Indians.  He  was 
clad  in  a  shirt  of  coarse  cotton  cloth,  dyed  with  murishi,  and 
trousers  of  the  same  material  turned  up  to  the  knee.  His 
features  were  sharply  delineated — more  so  than  in  any  Indian 
face  I  had  yet  seen ;  the  lips  thin  and  the  nose  rather  high  and 
compressed.  A  large,  square,  blue-black  tattooed  patch  occupied 
the  middle  of  his  face,  which,  as  well  as  the  other  exposed  parts 
of  his  body,  was  of  a  light  reddish-tan  colour,  instead  of  the 
usual  coppery-brown  hue.     He  walked  with  an  upright,  slow 


300      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

gait,  and  on  reaching  us  saluted  Cardozo  with  the  air  of  a  man 
who  wished  it  to  be  understood  that  he  was  dealing  with  an 
equal.  My  friend  introduced  me,  and  I  was  welcomed  in  the 
same  grave,  ceremonious  manner.  He  seemed  to  have  many 
questions  to  ask:  but  they  were  chiefly  about  Senhora  Felippa, 
Cardozo's  Indian  housekeeper  at  Ega,  and  were  purely  compli- 
mentary. This  studied  politeness  is  quite  natural  to  Indians 
of  the  advanced  agricultural  tribes.  The  language  used  was 
Tupi:  I  heard  no  other  spoken  all  the  day.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  Pedro-uassu  had  never  had  much  intercourse  with 
whites :  he  was,  although  baptised,  a  primitive  Indian,  who  had 
always  lived  in  retirement;  the  ceremony  of  baptism  having 
been  gone  through,  as  it  generally  is  by  the  aborigines,  simply 
from  a  wish  to  stand  well  with  the  whites. 

Arrived  at  the  house,  we  were  welcomed  by  Pedro's  wife:  a 
thin,  wrinkled,  active  old  squaw,  tattooed  in  precisely  the  same 
way  as  her  husband.  She  had  also  sharp  features,  but  her 
manner  was  more  cordial  and  quicker  than  that  of  her  husband : 
she  talked  much,  and  with  great  inflection  of  voice;  whilst  the 
tones  of  the  old  man  were  rather  drawling  and  querulous.  Her 
clothing  was  a  long  petticoat  of  thick  cotton  cloth,  and  a  very 
short  chemise,  not  reaching  to  her  waist.  I  was  rather  surprised 
to  find  the  grounds  around  the  establishment  in  neater  order 
than  in  any  sitio,  even  of  civilised  people,  I  had  yet  seen  on  the 
Upper  Amazons:  the  stock  of  utensils  and  household  goods  of 
all  sorts  was  larger,  and  the  evidences  of  regular  industry  and 
plenty  more  numerous  than  one  usually  perceives  in  the  farms 
of  civilised  Indians  and  whites.  The  buildings  were  of  the 
same  construction  as  those  of  the  humbler  settlers  in  all  other 
parts  of  the  country.  The  family  lived  in  a  large,  oblong,  open 
shed  built  under  the  shade  of  trees.  Two  smaller  buildings, 
detached  from  the  shed  and  having  mud- walls  with  low  door- 
ways, contained  apparently  the  sleeping  apartments  of  different 
members  of  the  large  household.  A  small  mill  for  grinding 
sugar-cane,  having  two  cylinders  of  hard  notched  wood;  wooden 
troughs,  and  kettles  for  boiling  the  guardpa  (cane  juice),  to 
make  treacle,  stood  under  a  separate  shed,  and  near  it  was  a 
large  enclosed  mud-house  for  poultry.  There  was  another  hut 
and  shed  a  short  distance  off,  inhabited  by  a  family  dependent 
on  Pedro,  and  a  narrow  pathway  through  the  luxuriant  woods 
led  to  more  dwellings  of  the  same  kind.  There  was  an  abundance 
of  fruit  trees  around  the  place,  including  the  never-failing 
banana,  with  its  long,  broad,  soft  green  leaf-blades,  and  groups 


Excursions  around  Ega  301 

of  full-grown  Pupunhas,  or  peach  palms.  There  was  also  a 
large  number  of  cotton  and  coffee  trees.  Amongst  the  utensils 
I  noticed  baskets  of  different  shapes,  made  of  flattened  maranta 
stalks,  and  dyed  various  colours.  The  making  of  these  is  an 
original  art  of  the  Passes,  but  I  believe  it  is  also  practised  by 
other  tribes,  for  I  saw  several  in  the  houses  of  semi-civilised 
Indians  on  the  Tapajos. 

There  were  only  three  persons  in  the  house  besides  the  old 
couple,  the  rest  of  the  people  being  absent;  several  came  in, 
however,  in  the  course  of  the  day.  One  was  a  daughter  of 
Pedro's,  who  had  an  oval  tattooed  spot  over  her  mouth;  the 
second  was  a  young  grandson;  and  the  third  the  son-in-law 
from  Ega,  Cardozo's  compadre.  The  old  woman  was  occupied, 
when  we  entered,  in  distilling  spirits  from  card,  an  eatable  root 
similar  to  the  potato,  by  means  of  a  clay  still,  which  had  been 
manufactured  by  herself.  The  liquor  had  a  reddish  tint,  but 
not  a  very  agreeable  flavour.  A  cup  of  it,  warm  from  the  still, 
however,  was  welcome  after  our  long  journey.  Cardozo  liked 
it,  emptied  his  cup,  and  replenished  it  in  a  very  short  time. 
The  old  lady  was  very  talkative,  and  almost  fussy  in  her  desire 
to  please  her  visitors.  We  sat  in  tucum  hammocks,  suspended 
between  the  upright  posts  of  the  shed.  The  young  woman  with 
the  blue  mouth — who,  although  married,  was  as  shy  as  any 
young  maiden  of  her  race — soon  became  employed  in  scalding 
and  plucking  fowls  for  the  dinner,  near  the  fire  on  the  ground 
at  the  other  end  of  the  dwelling.  The  son-in-law,  Pedro-uassu, 
and  Cardozo  now  began  a  long  conversation  on  the  subject  of 
their  deceased  wife,  daughter,  and  comadre.1  It  appeared  she 
had  died  of  consumption — "  tisica,"  as  they  called  it,  a  word 
adopted  by  the  Indians  from  the  Portuguese.  The  widower 
repeated  over  and  over  again,  in  nearly  the  same  words,  his 
account  of  her  illness,  Pedro  chiming  in  like  a  chorus,  and 
Cardozo  moralising  and  condoling.  I  thought  the  canim  (grog) 
had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  flow  of  talk  and  warmth  of  feel- 
ing of  all  three:  the  widower  drank  and  wailed  until  he  became 
maundering,  and  finally  fell  asleep. 

I  left  them  talking,  and  went  a  long  ramble  into  the  forest, 
Pedro  sending  his  grandson,  a  smiling  well-behaved  lad  of  about 
fourteen  years  of  age,  to  show  me  the  paths,  my  companion 
taking  with  him  his  Zarabalana,  or  blow-gun.  This  instrument 
is  used  by  all  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  Upper  Amazons.     It  is 

1  Co-mother;  the  term  expressing  the  relationship  of  a  mother  to  the 
godfather  of  her  child. 


302      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

generally  nine  or  ten  feet  long,  and  is  made  of  two  separate 
lengths  of  wood,  each  scooped  out  so  as  to  form  one-half  of  the 
tube.  To  do  this  with  the  necessary  accuracy  requires  an 
enormous  amount  of  patient  labour,  and  considerable  mechanical 
ability,  the  tools  used  being  simply  the  incisor  teeth  of  the 
Paca  and  Cutia.  The  two  half  tubes,  when  finished,  are  secured 
together  by  a  very  close  and  tight  spirally-wound  strapping, 
consisting  of  long  flat  strips  of  Jacitara,  or  the  wood  of  the 
climbing  palm-tree;  and  the  whole  is  smeared  afterwards  with 
black  wax,  the  production  of  a  Melipona  bee.  The  pipe  tapers 
towards  the  muzzle,  and  a  cup-shaped  mouthpiece,  made  of 
wood,  is  fitted  in  the  broad  end.  A  full-sized  Zarabatana  is 
heavy,  and  can  only  be  used  by  an  adult  Indian  who  has  had 
great  practice.  The  young  lads  learn  to  shoot  with  smaller 
and  lighter  tubes.  When  Mr.  Wallace  and  I  had  lessons  at 
Barra  in  the  use  of  the  blow-gun,  of  Julio,  a  Juri  Indian,  then 


Blow-gun,  quiver,  and  arrow. 

in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Hauxwell,  an  English  bird-collector,  we 
found  it  very  difficult. to  hold  steadily  the  long  tubes.  The 
arrows  are  made  from  the  hard  rind  of  the  leaf-stalks  of  certain 
palms,  thin  strips  being  cut,  and  rendered  as  sharp  as  needles 
by  scraping  the  ends  with  a  knife  or  the  tooth  of  an  animal. 
They  are  winged  with  a  little  oval  mass  of  samaiima  silk  (from 
the  seed-vessels  of  the  silk-cotton  tree,  Eriodendron  samaiima), 
cotton  being  too  heavy.  The  ball  of  samaiima  should  fit  to  a 
nicety  the  bore  of  the  blowgun;  when  it  does  so,  the  arrow  can 
be  propelled  with  such  force  by  the  breath  that  it  makes  a  noise 
almost  as  loud  as  a  pop-gun  on  flying  from  the  muzzle.  My 
little  companion  was  armed  with  a  quiver  full  of  these  little 
missiles,  a  small  number  of  which,  sufficient  for  the  day's  sport, 
were  tipped  with  the  fatal  Urari  poison.  The  quiver  was  an 
ornamental  affair,  the  broad  rim  being  made  of  highly-polished 
wood  of  a  rich  cherry-red  colour  (the  Moira-piranga,  or  red- 
wood of  the  Japura).  The  body  was  formed  of  neatly-plaited 
strips  of  Maranta  stalks,  and  the  belt  by  which  it  was  suspended 
from  the  shoulder  was  decorated  with  cotton  fringes  and  tassels. 
We  walked  about  two  miles  along  a  well-trodden  pathway, 


Excursions  around  Ega  303 

through  high  caapoeira  (second-growth  forest).  A  large  pro- 
portion of  the  trees  were  Melastomas,  which  bore  a  hairy  vellow 
fruit,  nearly  as  large  and  as  well  flavoured  as  our  gooseberry. 
The  season,  however,  was  nearly  over  for  them.  The  road  was 
bordered  every  inch  of  the  way  by  a  thick  bed  of  elegant  Lyco- 
podiums.  An  artificial  arrangement  of  trees  and  bushes  could 
scarcely  have  been  made  to  wear  so  finished  an  appearance  as 
this  naturally  decorated  avenue.  The  path  at  length  terminated 
at  a  plantation  of  mandioca,  the  largest  I  had  yet  seen  since  I 
left  the  neighbourhood  of  Para.  There  were  probably  ten  acres 
of  cleared  land,  and  part  of  the  ground  was  planted  with  Indian 
corn,  water-melons,  and  sugar-cane.  Beyond  this  field  there 
was  only  a  faint  hunter's  track,  leading  towards  the  untrodden 
interior.  My  companion  told  me  he  had  never  heard  of  there 
being  any  inhabitants  in  that  direction  (the  south).  We  crossed 
the  forest  from  this  place  to  another  smaller  clearing,  and  then 
walked,  on  our  road  home,  through  about  two  miles  of  caapoeira 
of  various  ages,  the  sites  of  old  plantations.  The  only  fruits  of  our 
ramble  were  a  few  rare  insects  and  a  Japu  (Cassicus  cristatus), 
a  handsome  bird  with  chestnut  and  saffron-coloured  plumage, 
which  wanders  through  the  tree-tops  in  large  flocks.  My  little 
companion  brought  this  down  from  a  height  which  I  calculated 
at  thirty  yards.  The  blow-gun,  however,  in  the  hands  of  an 
expert  adult  Indian,  can  be  made  to  propel  arrows  so  as  to 
kill  at  a  distance  of  fifty  and  sixty  yards.  The  aim  is  most 
certain  when  the  tube  is  held  vertically,  or  nearly  so.  It  is  a 
far  more  useful  weapon  in  the  forest  than  a  gun,  for  the  report 
of  a  firearm  alarms  the  whole  flock  of  birds  or  monkeys  feeding 
on  a  tree,  whilst  the  silent  poisoned  dart  brings  the  animals 
down  one  by  one  until  the  sportsman  has  a  heap  of  slain  by  his 
side.  None  but  the  stealthy  Indian  can  use  it  effectively.  The 
poison,  which  must  be  fresh  to  kill  speedily,  is  obtained  only  of 
the  Indians  who  live  beyond  the  cataracts  of  the  rivers  flowing 
from  the  north,  especially  the  Rio  Negro  and  the  Japura.  Its 
principal  ingredient  is  the  wood  of  the  Strychnos  toxifera,  a 
tree  which  does  not  grow  in  the  humid  forests  of  the  river  plains. 
A  most  graphic  account  of  the  Urari,  and  of  an  expedition  under- 
taken in  search  of  the  tree  in  Guiana,  has  been  given  by  Sir 
Robert  Schomburgk.1 

When  we  returned  to  the  house  after  mid-day,  Cardozo  was 
still  sipping  cauim,  and  now  looked  exceedingly  merry.  It  was 
fearfully  hot:   the  good  fellow  sat  in  his  hammock  with  a  cuya 

1  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  vol.  vii.  p.  4ZI. 


304      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

full  of  grog  in  his  hands;  his  broad  honest  face  all  of  a  glow,  and 
the  perspiration  streaming  down  his  uncovered  breast,  the  un- 
buttoned shirt  having  slipped  half-way  over  his  broad  shoulders. 
Pedro-uassu  had  not  drunk  much;  he  was  noted,  as  I  afterwards 
learnt,  for  his  temperance.  But  he  was  standing  up  as  I  had 
left  him  two  hours  previous,  talking  to  Cardozo  in  the  same 
monotonous  tones,  the  conversation  apparently  not  having 
flagged  all  the  time.  I  had  never  heard  so  much  talking 
amongst  Indians.  The  widower  was  asleep:  the  stirring, 
managing  old  lady  with  her  daughter  were  preparing  dinner. 
This,  which  was  ready  soon  after  I  entered,  consisted  of  boiled 
fowls  and  rice,  seasoned  with  large  green  peppers  and  lemon 
juice,  and  piles  of  new,  fragrant  farinha  and  raw  bananas.  It 
was  served  on  plates  of  English  manufacture  on  a  tupe,  or 
large  plaited  rush  mat,  such  as  is  made  by  the  natives  pretty 
generally  on  the  Amazons.  Three  or  four  other  Indians,  men 
and  women  of  middle  age,  now  made  their  appearance,  and 
joined  in  the  meal.  We  all  sat  round  on  the  floor:  the  women, 
according  to  custom,  not  eating  until  after  the  men  had  done. 
Before  sitting  down,  our  host  apologised  in  his  usual  quiet, 
courteous  manner  for  not  having  knives  and  forks;  Cardozo 
and  I  ate  by  the  aid  of  wooden  spoons,  the  Indians  using  their 
fingers.  The  old  man  waited  until  we  were  all  served  before  he 
himself  commenced.  At  the  end  of  the  meal,  one  of  the  women 
brought  us  water  in  a  painted  clay  basin  of  Indian  manufacture, 
and  a  clean  coarse  cotton  napkin,  that  we  might  wash  our  hands. 
The  horde  of  Passes  of  which  Pedro-uassu  was  Tushaiia  or 
chieftain,  was  at  this  time  reduced  to  a  very  small  number  of 
individuals.  The  disease  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  had 
for  several  generations  made  great  havoc  amongst  them;  many, 
also,  had  entered  the  service  of  whites  at  Ega,  and,  of  late  years, 
intermarriages  with  whites,  half-castes,  and  civilised  Indians 
had  been  frequent.  The  old  man  bewailed  the  fate  of  his  race 
to  Cardozo  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  "  The  people  of  my  nation," 
he  said,  "  have  always  been  good  friends  to  the  Cariwas  (whites), 
but  before  my  grandchildren  are  old  like  me  the  name  of  Passe 
will  be  forgotten."  In  so  far  as  the  Passes  have  amalgamated 
with  European  immigrants  or  their  descendants,  and  become 
civilised  Brazilian  citizens,  there  can  scarcely  be  ground  for 
lamenting  their  extinction  as  a  nation;  but  it  fills  one  with 
regret  to  learn  how  many  die  prematurely  of  a  disease  which 
seems  to  arise  on  their  simply  breathing  the  same  air  as  the 
whites.     The  original  territory  of  the  tribe  must  have  been  of 


Excursions  around  Ega  305 

large  extent,  for  Passes  are  said  to  have  been  found  by  the  early- 
Portuguese  colonists  on  the  Rio  Negro;  an  ancient  settlement 
on  that  river,  Barcellos,  having  been  peopled  by  them  when  it 
was  first  established;  and  they  formed  also  part  of  the  original 
population  of  Fonte-boa  on  the  Solimoens.  Their  hordes  were 
therefore  spread  over  a  region  400  miles  in  length  from  east  to 
west.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  they  have  been  confounded 
by  the  colonists  with  other  neighbouring  tribes  who  tattoo  their 
faces  in  a  similar  manner.  The  extinct  tribe  of  Yurimauas,  or 
Sorimoas,  from  which  the  river  Solimoens  derives  its  name, 
according  to  traditions  extant  at  Ega,  resembled  the  Passes  in 
their  slender  figures  and  friendly  disposition.  These  tribes 
(with  others  lying  between  them)  peopled  the  banks  of  the  main 
river  and  its  by-streams  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro  to 
Peru.  True  Passes  existed  in  their  primitive  state  on  the  banks 
of  the  Issa,  240  miles  to  the  west  of  Ega,  within  the  memory  of 
living  persons.  The  only  large  body  of  them  now  extant  are 
located  on  the  Japura,  at  a  place  distant  about  150  miles  from 
Ega:  the  population  of  this  horde,  however,  does  not  exceed, 
from  what  I  could  learn,  300  or  400  persons.  I  think  it  probable 
that  the  lower  part  of  the  Japura  and  its  extensive  delta  lands 
formed  the  original  home  of  this  gentle  tribe  of  Indians. 

The  Passes  are  always  spoken  of  in  this  country  as  the  most 
advanced  of  all  the  Indian  nations  in  the  Amazons  region. 
Under  what  influences  this  tribe  has  become  so  strongly  modified 
in  mental,  social,  and  bodily  features  it  is  hard  to  divine.  The 
industrious  habits,  fidelity,  and  mildness  of  disposition  of  the 
Passes,  their  docility  and,  it  may  be  added,  their  personal  beauty, 
especially  of  the  children  and  women,  made  them  from  the  first 
very  attractive  to  the  Portuguese  colonists.  They  were,  con- 
sequently, enticed  in  great  number  from  their  villages  and 
brought  to  Barra  and  other  settlements  of  the  whites.  The 
wives  of  governors  and  military  officers  from  Europe  were  always 
eager  to  obtain  children  for  domestic  servants;  the  girls  being 
taught  to  sew,  cook,  weave  hammocks,  manufacture  pillow-lace, 
and  so  forth.  They  have  been  generally  treated  with  kindness, 
especially  by  the  educated  families  in  the  settlements.  It  is 
pleasant  to  have  to  record  that  I  never  heard  of  a  deed  of  violence 
perpetrated,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  in  the  dealings  between 
European  settlers  and  this  noble  tribe  of  savages. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  original  customs  of  the  Passes. 
The  mode  of  life  of  our  host  Pedro-uassu  did  not  differ  much 
from  that  of  the  civilised  Mamelucos;  -but  he  and  his  people 


306      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

showed  a  greater  industry,  and  were  more  open,  cheerful,  and 
generous  in  their  dealings  than  many  half-castes.  The  authority 
of  Pedro,  like  that  of  the  Tushauas  generally  was  exercised  in 
a  mild  manner.  These  chieftains  appear  able  to  command  the 
services  of  their  subjects,  since  they  furnish  men  to  the  Brazilian 
authorities  when  requested;  but  none  of  them,  even  those  of 
the  most  advanced  tribes,  appear  to  make  use  of  this  authority 
for  the  accumulation  of  property;  the  service  being  exacted 
chiefly  in  time  of  war.  Had  the  ambition  of  the  chiefs  of  some 
of  these  industrious  tribes  been  turned  to  the  acquisition  of 
wealth,  probably  we  should  have  seen  indigenous  civilised 
nations  in  the  heart  of  South  America  similar  to  those  found  on 
the  Andes  of  Peru  and  Mexico.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
Passes  adopted  from  the  first  to  some  extent  the  manners  of  the 
whites.  Ribeiro,  a  Portuguese  official  who  travelled  in  these 
regions  in  1774-5,  and  wrote  an  account  of  his  journey,  relates 
that  they  buried  their  dead  in  large  earthenware  vessels  (a 
custom  still  observed  amongst  other  tribes  on  the  Upper 
Amazons),  and  that,  as  to  their  marriages,  the  young  men 
earned  their  brides  by  valiant  deeds  in  war.  He  also  states 
that  they  possessed  a  cosmogony,  in  which  the  belief  that  the 
sun  was  a  fixed  body  with  the  earth  revolving  around  it,  was 
a  prominent  feature.  He  says,  moreover,  that  they  believed  in 
a  Creator  of  all  things;  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, and  so  forth.  These  notions  are  so  far  in  advance  of  the 
ideas  of  all  other  tribes  of  Indians,  and  so  little  likely  to  have 
been  conceived  and  perfected  by  a  people  having  no  written 
language  or  leisured  class,  that  we  must  suppose  them  to  have 
been  derived  by  the  docile  Passes  from  some  early  missionary 
or  traveller.  I  never  found  that  the  Passes  had  more  curiosity 
or  activity  of  intellect  than  other  Indians.  No  trace  of  a  belief 
in  a  future  state  exists  amongst  Indians  who  have  not  had  much 
intercourse  with  the  civilised  settlers,  and  even  amongst  those 
who  have  it  is  only  a  few  of  the  more  gifted  individuals  who 
show  any  curiosity  on  the  subject.  Their  sluggish  minds  seem 
unable  to  conceive  or  feel  the  want  of  a  theory  of  the  soul,  and 
of  the  relations  of  man  to  the  rest  of  Nature  or  to  the  Creator. 
But  is  it  not  so  with  totally  uneducated  and  isolated  people 
even  in  the  most  highly  civilised  parts  of  the  world  ?  The  good 
qualities  of  the  Passes  belong  to  the  moral  part  of  the  character: 
they  lead  a  contented,  unambitious,  and  friendly  life,  a  quiet, 
domestic,  orderly  existence,  varied  by  occasional  drinking  bouts 
and  summer  excursions.     They  are  not  so  shrewd,  energetic, 


Excursions  around  Ega  307 

and  masterful  as  the  Mundurucus,  but  they  are  more  easily 
taught,  because  their  disposition  is  more  yielding  than  that  of 
the  Mundurucus  or  any  other  tribe. 

We  started  on  our  return  to  Ega  at  half-past  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  Our  generous  entertainers  loaded  us  with 
presents.  There  was  scarcely  room  for  us  to  sit  in  the  canoe, 
as  they  had  sent  down  ten  large  bundles  of  sugar-cane,  four 
baskets  of  farinha,  three  cedar  planks,  a  small  hamper  of  coffee, 
and  two  heavy  bunches  of  bananas.  After  we  were  embarked 
the  old  lady  came  with  a  parting  gift  for  me — a  huge  bowl  of 
smoking  hot  banana  porridge.  I  was  to  eat  it  on  the  road  "  to 
keep  my  stomach  warm."  Both  stood  on  the  bank  as  we  pushed 
off.  and  gave  us  their  adeos,  "  Ikuana  Tupana  eirum  "  (Go  with 
God):  a  form  of  salutation  taught  by  the  old  Jesuit  missionaries. 
We  had  a  most  uncomfortable  passage,  for  Cardozo  was  quite 
tipsy,  and  had  not  attended  to  the  loading  of  the  boat.  The 
cargo  had  been  placed  too  far  forward,  and  to  make  matters 
worse  my  heavy  friend  obstinately  insisted  on  sitting  astride 
on  the  top  of  the  pile,  instead  of  taking  his  place  near  the  stern ; 
singing  from  his  perch  a  most  indecent  love-song,  and  disre- 
garding the  inconvenience  of  having  to  bend  down  almost  every 
minute  to  pass  under  the  boughs  of  hanging  sipos  as  we  sped 
rapidly  along.  The  canoe  leaked,  but  not,  at  first,  alarmingly. 
Long  before  sunset,  darkness  began  to  close  in  under  those 
gloomy  shades,  and  our  steersman  could  not  avoid  now  and 
then  running  the  boat  into  the  thicket.  The  first  time  this 
happened  a  piece  was  broken  off  the  square  prow  (rodella);  the 
second  time  we  got  squeezed  between  two  trees.  A  short  time 
after  this  latter  accident,  being  seated  near  the  stern  with  my 
feet  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  I  felt  rather  suddenly  the  cold 
water  above  my  ankles.  A  few  minutes  more  and  we  should 
have  sunk,  for  a  seam  had  been  opened  forward  under  the  pile 
of  sugar-cane.  Two  of  us  began  to  bale,  and  by  the  most 
strenuous  efforts  managed  to  keep  afloat  without  throwing  over- 
board our  cargo.  The  Indians  were  obliged  to  paddle  with 
extreme  slowness  to  avoid  shipping  water,  as  the  edge  of  our 
prow  was  nearly  level  with  the  surface;  but  Cardozo  was  now 
persuaded  to  change  his  seat.  The  sun  set,  the  quick  twilight 
passed,  and  the  moon  soon  after  began  to  glimmer  through  the 
thick  canopy  of  foliage.  The  prospect  of  being  swamped  in  this 
hideous  solitude  was  by  no  means  pleasant,  although  I  calculated 
on  the  chance  of  swimming  to  a  tree  and  finding  a  nice  snug 
place  in  the  fork  of  some  large  bough  wherein  to  pass  the  night. 


308      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

At  length,  after  four  hours'  tedious  progress,  we  suddenly 
emerged  on  the  open  stream  where  the  moonlight  glittered  in 
broad  sheets  on  the  gently  rippling  waters.  A  little  extra  care 
was  now  required  in  paddling.  The  Indians  plied  their  strokes 
with  the  greatest  nicety;  the  lights  of  Ega  (the  oil  lamps  in  the 
houses)  soon  appeared  beyond  the  black  wall  of  forest,  and  in  a 
short  time  we  leapt  safely  ashore. 

A  few  months  after  the  excursion  just  narrated,  I  accom- 
panied Cardozo  in  many  wanderings  on  the  Solimoens,  during 
which  he  visited  the  praias  (sand-islands),  the  turtle  pools  in 
the  forests,  and  the  by-streams  and  lakes  of  the  great  desert 
river.  His  object  was  mainly  to  superintend  the  business  of 
digging  up  turtle  eggs  on  the  sand-banks,  having  been  elected 
commandante  for  the  year,  by  the  municipal  council  of  Ega,  of 
the  "  praia  real  "  (royal  sand-island)  of  Shimuni,  the  one  lying 
nearest  to  Ega.  There  are  four  of  these  royal  praias  within  the 
Ega  district  (a  distance  of  150  miles  from  the  town),  all  of  which 
are  visited  annually  by  the  Ega  people  for  the  purpose  of  collect- 
ing eggs  and  extracting  oil  from  their  yolks.  Each  has  its  com- 
mander, whose  business  is  to  make  arrangements  for  securing 
to  every  inhabitant  an  equal  chance  in  the  egg  harvest  by 
placing  sentinels  to  protect  the  turtles  whilst  laying,  and  so 
forth.  The  pregnant  turtles  descend  from  the  interior  pools  to 
the  main  river  in  July  and  August,  before  the  outlets  dry  up, 
and  then  seek  in  countless  swarms  their  favourite  sand  islands; 
for  it  is  only  a  few  praias  that  are  selected  by  them  out  of  the 
great  number  existing.  The  young  animals  remain  in  the  pools 
throughout  the  dry  season.  These  breeding  places  of  turtles 
then  lie  twenty  to  thirty  or  more  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river, 
-and  are  accessible  only  by  cutting  roads  through  the  dense 
forest. 

We  left  Ega  on  our  first  trip,  to  visit  the  sentinels  whilst  the 
turtles  were  yet  laying,  on  the  26th  of  September.  Our  canoe 
was  a  stoutly  built  igarite,  arranged  for  ten  paddlers,  and 
having  a  large  arched  toldo  at  the  stern,  under  which  three 
persons  could  sleep  pretty  comfortably.  Emerging  from  the 
Teffe  we  descended  rapidly  on  the  swift  current  of  the  Soli- 
moens to  the  south-eastern  or  lower  end  of  the  large  wooded 
island  of  Baria,  which  here  divides  the  river  into  two  great 
channels.  We  then  paddled  across  to  Shimuni,  which  lies  in  the 
middle  of  the  north-easterly  channel,  reaching  the  commence- 
ment of  the  praia  an  hour  before  sunset.     The  island  proper  is 


Excursions  around  Ega  309 

about  three  miles  long  and  half  a  mile  broad:  the  forest  with 
which  it  is  covered  rises  to  an  immense  and  uniform  height, 
and  presents  all  round  a  compact,  impervious  front.  Here  and 
there  a  singular  tree,  called  Pao  mulatto  (mulatto  wood),  with 
polished  dark-green  trunk,  rose  conspicuously  amongst  the 
mass  of  vegetation.  The  sand-bank,  which  lies  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  island,  extends  several  miles,  and  presents  an  irregular, 
and  in  some  parts,  strongly-waved  surface,  with  deep  hollows 
and  ridges.  When  upon  it,  one  feels  as  though  treading  an 
almost  boundless  field  of  sand:  for  towards  the  south-east, 
where  no  forest-line  terminates  the  view,  the  white,  rolling  plain 
stretches  away  to  the  horizon.  The  north-easterly  channel  of 
the  river  lying  between  the  sands  and  the  further  shore  of  the 
river  is  at  least  two  miles  in  breadth;  the  middle  one,  between 
the  two  islands,  Shimuni  and  Baria,  is  not  much  less  than  a  mile. 

We  found  the  two  sentinels  lodged  in  a  corner  of  the  praia, 
where  it  commences  at  the  foot  of  the  towering  forest-wall  of 
the  island;  having  built  for  themselves  a  little  rancho  with 
poles  and  palm-leaves.  Great  precautions  are  obliged  to  be 
taken  to  avoid  disturbing  the  sensitive  turtles,  who,  previous  to 
crawling  ashore  to  lay,  assemble  in  great  shoals  off  the  sand- 
bank. The  men,  during  this  time,  take  care  not  to  show  them- 
selves and  warn  off  any  fishermen  who  wishes  to  pass  near  the 
place.  Their  fires  are  made  in  a  deep  hollow  near  the  borders 
of  the  forest,  so  that  the  smoke  may  not  be  visible.  The 
passage  of  a  boat  through  the  shallow  waters  where  the  animals 
are  congregated,  or  the  sight  of  a  man  or  a  fire  on  the  sand- 
bank, would  prevent  the  turtles  from  leaving  the  water  that 
night  to  lay  their  eggs,  and  if  the  causes  of  alarm  were  repeated 
once  or  twice,  they  would  forsake  the  praia  for  some  other 
quieter  place.  Soon  after  we  arrived,  our  men  were  sent  with 
the  net  to  catch  a  supply  of  fish  for  supper.  In  half  an  hour, 
four  or  five  large  basketsful  of  Acari  were  brought  in.  The  sun 
set  soon  after  our  meal  was  cooked;  we  were  then  obliged  to 
extinguish  the  fire  and  remove  our  supper  materials  to  the 
sleeping  ground,  a  spit  of  sand  about  a  mile  off;  this  course 
being  necessary  on  account  of  the  mosquitoes  which  swarm  at 
night  on  the  borders  of  the  forest. 

One  of  the  sentinels  was  a  taciturn,  morose-looking,  but  sober 
and  honest  Indian,  named  Daniel;  the  other  was  a  noted  char- 
acter of  Ega,  a  little  wiry  Mameluco,  named  Carepira  (Fish- 
hawk);  known  for  his  waggery,  propensity  for  strong  drink,  and 
indebtedness  to  Ega  traders.    Both  were  intrepid  canoemen 


310      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

and  huntsmen,  and  both  perfectly  at  home  anywhere  in  these 
fearful  wastes  of  forest  and  water.  Carepira  had  his  son  with 
him,  a  quiet  little  lad  of  about  nine  years  of  age.  These  men  in 
a  few  minutes  constructed  a  small  shed  with  four  upright  poles 
and  leaves  of  the  arrow-grass,  under  which  I  and  Cardozo  slung 
our  hammocks.  We  did  not  go  to  sleep,  however,  until  after 
midnight:  for  when  supper  was  over  we  lay  about  on  the  sand 
with  a  flask  of  rum  in  our  midst,  and  whiled  away  the  still 
hours  in  listening  to  Carepira's  stories. 

I  rose  from  my  hammock  by  daylight,  shivering  with  cold;  a 
praia,  on  account  of  the  great  radiation  of  heat  in  the  night 
from  the  sand,  being  towards  the  dawn  the  coldest  place  that  can 
be  found  in  this  climate.  Cardozo  and  the  men  were  already 
up  watching  the  turtles.  The  sentinels  had  erected  for  this 
purpose  a  stage  about  fifty  feet  high,  on  a  tall  tree  near  their 
station,  the  ascent  to  which  was  by  a  roughly-made  ladder  of 
woody  lianas.  They  are  enabled,  by  observing  the  turtles  from 
this  watch-tower,  to  ascertain  the  date  of  successive  deposits  of 
eggs,  and  thus  guide  the  commandante  in  fixing  the  time  for 
the  general  invitation  to  the  Ega  people.  The  turtles  lay  their 
eggs  by  night,  leaving  the  water  when  nothing  disturbs  them, 
in  vast  crowds,  and  crawling  to  the  central  and  highest  part  of 
the  praia.  These  places  are,  of  course,  the  last  to  go  under 
water  when,  in  unusually  wet  seasons,  the  river  rises  before  the 
eggs  are  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sand.  One  could  almost 
believe,  from  this,  that  the  animals  used  forethought  in  choosing 
a  place ;  but  it  is  simply  one  of  those  many  instances  in  animals 
where  unconscious  habit  has  the  same  result  as  conscious  pre- 
vision. The  hours  between  midnight  and  dawn  are  the  busiest. 
The  turtles  excavate  with  their  broad,  webbed  paws,  deep  holes 
in  the  fine  sand:  the  first  comer,  in  each  case,  making  a  pit 
about  three  feet  deep,  laying  its  eggs  (about  120  in  number) 
and  covering  them  with  sand;  the  next  making  its  deposit  at 
the  top  of  that  of  its  predecessor,  and  so  on  until  every  pit  is  full. 
The  whole  body  of  turtles  frequenting  a  praia  does  not  finish 
laying  in  less  than  fourteen  or  fifteen  days,  even  when  there  is 
no  interruption.  When  all  have  done,  the  area  (called  by  the 
Brazilians  taboleiro)  over  which  they  have  excavated  is  distin- 
guishable from  the  rest  of  the  praia  only  by  signs  of  the  sand 
having  been  a  little  disturbed. 

On  rising  I  went  to  join  my  friends.  Few  recollections  of 
my  Amazonian  rambles  are  more  vivid  and  agreeable  than 
that  of  my  walk  over  the  white  sea  of  sand  on  this  cool  morn- 


Excursions  around  Ega  311 

ing.  The  sky  was  cloudless;  the  just-risen  sun  was  hidden 
behind  the  dark  mass  of  woods  on  Shimuni,  but  the  long  line 
of  forest  to  the  west,  on  Baria,  with  its  plumy  decorations  of 
palms,  was  lighted  up  with  his  yellow,  horizontal  rays.  A  faint 
chorus  of  singing  birds  reached  the  ears  from  across  the  water, 
and  flocks  of  gulls  and  plovers  were  crying  plaintively  over  the 
swelling  banks  of  the  praia,  where  their  eggs  lay  in  nests  made 
in  little  hollows  of  the  sand.  Tracks  of  stray  turtles  were 
visible  on  the  smooth  white  surface  of  the  praia.  The  animals 
which  thus  wander  from  the  main  body  are  lawful  prizes  of  the 
sentinels;  they  had  caught  in  this  way  two  before  sunrise,  one 
of  which  we  had  for  dinner.  In  my  walk  I  disturbed  several 
pairs  of  the  chocolate  and  drab-coloured  wild-goose  (Anser 
jubatus)  which  set  off  to  run  along  the  edge  of  the  water.  The 
enjoyment  one  feels  in  rambling  over  these  free,  open  spaces,  is 
no  doubt  enhanced  by  the  novelty  of  the  scene,  the  change  being 
very  great  from  the  monotonous  landscape  of  forest  which 
everywhere  else  presents  itself. 

On  arriving  at  the  edge  of  the  forest  I  mounted  the  sentinel's 
stage,  just  in  time  to  see  the  turtles  retreating  to  the  water  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  sand-bank,  after  having  laid  their  eggs. 
The  sight  was  well  worth  the  trouble  of  ascending  the  shaky 
ladder.  They  were  about  a  mile  off,  but  the  surface  of  the 
sands  was  blackened  with  the  multitudes  which  were  waddling 
towards  the  river;  the  margin  of  the  praia  was  rather  steep, 
and  they  all  seemed  to  tumble  head  first  down  the  declivity  into 
the  water. 

I  spent  the  morning  of  the  27  th  collecting  insects  in  the 
woods  of  Shimuni ;  assisting  my  friend  in  the  afternoon  to  beat 
a  large  pool  for  Tracajas,  Cardozo  wishing  to  obtain  a  supply 
for  his  table  at  home.  The  pool  was  nearly  a  mile  long,  and  lay 
on  one  side  of  the  island  between  the  forest  and  the  sand-bank. 
The  sands  are  heaped  up  very  curiously  around  the  margins  of 
these  isolated  sheets  of  water;  in  the  present  case  they  formed 
a  steeply-inclined  bank,  from  five  to  eight  feet  in  height. 
What  may  be  the  cause  of  this  formation  I  cannot  imagine. 
The  pools  always  contain  a  quantity  of  imprisoned  fish,  turtles, 
Tracajas,  and  Aiyussas.1  The  turtles  and  Aiyussas  crawl  out 
voluntarily  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  and  escape  to  the  main 
river,  but  the  Tracajas  remain  and  become  an  easy  prey  to  the 
natives.     The  ordinary  mode  of  obtaining  them  is  to  whip  the 

1  Specimens  of  this  species  of  turtle  are  named  in  the  British  Museum 
collection,  Podocnemis  expansa. 


312      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

water  in  every  part  with  rods  for  several  hours  during  the  day;  4 
this  treatment  having  the  effect  of  driving  the  animals  out. 
They  wait,  however,  until  the  night  following  the  beating  before 
making  their  exit.  Our  Indians  were  occupied  for  many  hours 
in  this  work,  and  when  night  came  they  and  the  sentinels  were 
placed  at  intervals  along  the  edge  of  the  water  to  be  ready  to 
capture  the  runaways.  Cardozo  and  I,  after  supper,  went  and 
took  our  station  at  one  end  of  the  pool. 

We  did  not  succeed,  after  all  our  trouble,  in  getting  many 
Tracajas.  This  was  partly  owing  to  the  intense  darkness  of 
the  night,  and  partly,  doubtless,  to  the  sentinels  having  already 
nearly  exhausted  the  pool,  notwithstanding  their  declarations 
to  the  contrary.  In  waiting  for  the  animals  it  was  necessary 
to  keep  silence:  not  a  pleasant  way  of  passing  the  night; 
speaking  only  in  whispers,  and  being  without  fire  in  a  place 
liable  to  be  visited  by  a  prowling  jaguar.  Cardozo  and  I  sat 
on  a  sandy  slope  with  our  loaded  guns  by  our  side,  but  it  was 
so  dark  we  could  scarcely  see  each  other.  Towards  midnight  a 
storm  began  to  gather  around  us.  The  faint  wind  which  had 
breathed  from  over  the  water  since  the  sun  went  down,  ceased ; 
thick  clouds  piled  themselves  up,  until  every  star  was  obscured, 
and  gleams  of  watery  lightning  began  to  play  in  the  midst  of  the 
black  masses.  I  hinted  to  Cardozo  that  I  thought  we  had  now 
had  enough  of  watching,  and  suggested  a  cigarette.  Just  then 
a  quick  pattering  movement  was  heard  on  the  sands,  and  grasp- 
ing our  guns,  we  both  started  to  our  feet.  Whatever  it  might 
have  been  it  seemed  to  pass  by,  and  a  few  moments  afterwards 
a  dark  body  appeared  to  be  moving  in  another  direction  on  the 
opposite  slope  of  the  sandy  ravine  where  we  lay.  We  prepared 
to  fire,  but  luckily  took  the  precaution  of  first  shouting  "  Quem 
vai  la?  "  (Who  goes  there?)  It  turned  out  to  be  the  taciturn 
sentinel,  Daniel,  who  asked  us  mildly  whether  we  had  heard  a 
"  raposa  "  pass  our  way.  The  raposa  is  a  kind  of  wild  dog, 
with  very  long  tapering  muzzle,  and  black  and  white  speckled 
hair.  Daniel  could  distinguish  all  kinds  of  animals  in  the  dark 
by  their  footsteps.  It  now  began  to  thunder,  and  our  position 
was  getting  very  uncomfortable.  Daniel  had  not  seen  anything 
of  the  other  Indians,  and  thought  it  was  useless  waiting  any 
longer  for  Tracajas;  we  therefore  sent  him  to  call  in  the  whole 
party,  and  made  off  ourselves,  as  quickly  as  we  could,  for  the 
canoe.  The  rest  of  the  night  was  passed  most  miserably;  as 
indeed  were  very  many  of  my  nights  on  the  Solimoens.  A 
furious  squall  burst  upon  us;   the  wind  blew  away  the  cloths 


Excursions  around  Ega  3 1  3 

and  mats  we  had  fixed  up  at  the  ends  of  the  arched  awning  of 
the  canoe  to  shelter  ourselves,  and  the  rain  beat  right  through 
our  sleeping-place.  There  we  lay,  Cardozo  and  I,  huddled 
together,  and  wet  through,  waiting  for  the  morning. 

A  cup  of  strong  and  hot  coffee  put  us  to  rights  at  sunrise; 
but  the  rain  was  still  coming  down,  having  changed  to  a  steady- 
drizzle.  Our  men  were  all  returned  from  the  pool,  having 
taken  only  four  Tracajas.  The  business  which  had  brought 
Cardozo  hither  being  now  finished,  we  set  out  to  return  to  Ega, 
leaving  the  sentinels  once  more  to  their  solitude  on  the  sands. 
Our  return  route  was  by  the  rarely  frequented  north-easterly 
channel  of  the  Solimoens,  through  which  flows  part  of  the  waters 
of  its  great  tributary  stream,  the  Japura.  We  travelled  for 
five  hours  along  the  desolate,  broken,  timber-strewn  shore  of 


Surubim  (Pimelodus  tigrinus). 

Baria.  The  channel  is  of  immense  breadth,  the  opposite  coast 
being  visible  only  as  a  long,  low  line  of  forest.  At  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  we  doubled  the  upper  end  of  the  island,  and 
then  crossed  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Teffe  by  a  broad  trans- 
verse channel  running  between  Baria  and  another  island  called 
Quanaru.  There  is  a  small  sand-bank  at  the  north-westerly 
point  of  Baria,  called  Jacare;  we  stayed  here  to  dine  and  after- 
wards fished  with  the  net.  A  fine  rain  was  still  falling,  and  we 
had  capital  sport,  in  three  hauls  taking  more  fish  than  our  canoe 
would  conveniently  hold.  They  were  of  two  kinds  only,  the 
Surubim  and  the  Piraepieua  (species  of  Pimelodus),  very  hand- 
some fishes,  four  feet  in  length,  with  flat  spoon-shaped  heads, 
and  prettily-spotted  and  striped  skins. 

On  our  way  from  Jacare  to  the  mouth  of  the  Teffe'  we  had  a 
little  adventure  with  a  black  tiger  or  jaguar.  We  were  paddling 
rapidly  past  a  long  beach  of  dried  mud,  when  the  Indians 
became  suddenly  excited,  shouting  "  Ecui  Jauarete;    Jauari- 


314      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

pixuna!"  (Behold  the  jaguar,  the  black  jaguar!)  Looking 
ahead  we  saw  the  animal  quietly  drinking  at  the  water's  edge. 
Cardozo  ordered  the  steersman  at  once  to  put  us  ashore.  By 
the  time  we  were  landed  the  tiger  had  seen  us,  and  was  retrac- 
ing his  steps  towards  the  forest.  On  the  spur  of  the  moment, 
and  without  thinking  of  what  we  were  doing,  we  took  our  guns 
(mine  was  a  double-barrel,  with  one  charge  of  B  B  and  one  of 
dust-shot)  and  gave  chase.  The  animal  increased  his  speed, 
and  reaching  the  forest  border  dived  into  the  dense  mass  of 
broad-leaved  grass  which  formed  its  frontage.  We  peeped 
through  the  gap  he  had  made,  but,  our  courage  being  by  this 
time  cooled,  we  did  not  think  it  wise  to  go  into  the  thicket 
after  him.  The  black  tiger  appears  to  be  more  abundant  than 
the  spotted  form  of  jaguar  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ega.  The 
most  certain  method  of  finding  it  is  to  hunt,  assisted  by  a 
string  of  Indians  shouting  and  driving  the  game  before  them, 
in  the  narrow  restingas  or  strips  of  dry  land  in  the  forest,  which 
are  isolated  by  the  flooding  of  their  neighbourhood  in  the  wet 
season.     We  reached  Ega  by  eight  o'clock  at  night. 

On  the  6th  of  October  we  left  Ega  on  a  second  excursion; 
the  principal  object  of  Cardozo  being,  this  time,  to  search  cer- 
tain pools  in  the  forest  for  young  turtles.  The  exact  situation 
of  these  hidden  sheets  of  water  is  known  only  to  a  few  practised 
huntsmen;  we  took  one  of  these  men  with  us  from  Ega,  a 
Mameluco  named  Pedro,  and  on  our  way  called  at  Shimuni  for 
Daniel  to  serve  as  an  additional  guide.  We  started  from  the 
praia  at  sunrise  on  the  7th  in  two  canoes  containing  twenty- 
three  persons,  nineteen  of  whom  were  Indians.  The  morning 
was  cloudy  and  cool,  and  a  fresh  wind  blew  from  down  river, 
against  which  we  had  to  struggle  with  all  the  force  of  our  paddles, 
aided  by  the  current;  the  boats  were  tossed  about  most  dis- 
agreeably, and  shipped  a  great  deal  of  water.  On  passing  the 
lower  end  of  Shimuni,  a  long  reach  of  the  river  was  before  us, 
undivided  by  islands;  a  magnificent  expanse  of  water  stretch- 
ing away  to  the  south-east.  The  country  on  the  left  bank  is  not, 
however,  terra  firma,  but  a  portion  of  the  alluvial  land  which 
forms  the  extensive  and  complex  delta  region  of  the  Japura. 
It  is  flooded  every  year  at  the  time  of  high  water,  and  is  traversed 
by  many  narrow  and  deep  channels,  which  serve  as  outlets  to 
the  Japura,  or  at  least,  are  connected  with  that  river  by  means 
of  the  interior  water-system  of  the  Cupiyo.  This  inhospitable 
tract  of  country  extends  for  several  hundred  miles,  and  contains 


Excursions  around  Ega  315 

in  its  midst  an  endless  number  of  pools  and  lakes  tenanted 
by  multitudes  of  turtles,  fishes,  alligators,  and  water  serpents. 
Our  destination  was  a  point  on  this  coast  situated  about  twenty 
miles  below  Shimuni,  and  a  short  distance  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Anana,  one  of  the  channels  just  alluded  to  as  connected 
with  the  Japura.  After  travelling  for  three  hours  in  mid- 
stream we  steered  for  the  land,  and  brought  to  under  a  steeply- 
inclined  bank  of  crumbly  earth,  shaped  into  a  succession  of 
steps  or  terraces,  marking  the  various  halts  which  the  waters 
of  the  river  make  in  the  course  of  subsidence.  The  coast  line 
was  nearly  straight  for  many  miles,  and  the  bank  averaged 
about  thirty  feet  in  height  above  the  present  level  of  the  river: 
at  the  top  rose  the  unbroken  hedge  of  forest.  No  one  could 
have  divined  that  pools  of  water  existed  on  that  elevated  land. 
A  narrow  level  space  extended  at  the  foot  of  the  bank.  On 
landing  the  first  business  was  to  get  breakfast.  Whilst  a  couple 
of  Indian  lads  were  employed  in  making  the  fire,  roasting  the 
fish,  and  boiling  the  coffee,  the  rest  of  the  party  mounted  the 
bank,  and  with  their  long  hunting  knives  commenced  cutting  a 
path  through  the  forest;  the  pool,  called  the  Aningal,  being 
about  half  a  mile  distant.  After  breakfast  a  great  number  of 
short  poles  were  cut  and  were  laid  crosswise  on  the  path,  and 
then  three  light  montarias  which  we  had  brought  with  us  were 
dragged  up  the  bank  by  lianas,  and  rolled  away  to  be  embarked 
on  the  pool.  A  large  net,  seventy  yards  in  length,  was  then  dis- 
embarked and  carried  to  the  place.  The  work  was  done  very 
speedily,  and  when  Cardozo  and  I  went  to  the  spot  at  eleven 
o'clock  we  found  some  of  the  older  Indians,  including  Pedro 
and  Daniel,  had  begun  their  sport.  They  were  mounted  on 
little  stages  called  moutas,  made  of  poles  and  cross-pieces  of 
wood  secured  with  lianas,  and  were  shooting  the  turtles  as  they 
came  near  the  surface,  with  bows  and  arrows.  The  Indians 
seemed  to  think  that  netting  the  animals,  as  Cardozo  proposed 
doing,  was  not  lawful  sport,  and  wished  first  to  have  an  hour  or 
two's  old-fashioned  practice  with  their  weapons. 

The  pool  covered  an  area  of  about  four  or  five  acres,  and  was 
closely  hemmed  in  by  the  forest,  which  in  picturesque  variety 
and  grouping  of  trees  and  foliage  exceeded  almost  everything 
I  had  yet  witnessed.  The  margins  for  some  distance  were 
swampy,  and  covered  with  large  tufts  of  a  fine  grass  called 
Matupa.  These  tufts  in  many  places  were  overrun  with  ferns, 
and  exterior  to  them  a  crowded  row  of  arborescent  arums, 
growing  to  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  formed  a  green 


316      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

palisade.    Around   the   whole   stood   the   taller   forest  trees; 

palmate-leaved  Cecropiae;  slender  Assai  palms,  thirty  feet  high, 
with  their  thin  feathery  heads  crowning  the 
gently-curving,  smooth  stems;  small  fan-leaved 
palms;  and  as  a  background  to  all  these  airy 
shapes,  lay  the  voluminous  masses  of  ordinary 
forest  trees,  with  garlands,  festoons,  and  streamers 
of  leafy  climbers  hanging  from  their  branches. 
The  pool  was  nowhere  more  than  five  feet  deep, 
one  foot  of  which  was  not  water,  but  extremely 
fine  and  soft  mud. 

Cardozo  and  I  spent  an  hour  paddling  about. 
I  was  astonished  at  the  skill  which  the  Indians 
display  in  shooting  turtles.  They  did  not  wait 
for  their  coming  to  the  surface  to  breathe,  but 
watched  for  the  slight  movements  in  the  water, 
which  revealed  their  presence  underneath.  These 
little  tracks  on  the  water  are  called  the  Siriri ;  the 
instant  one  was  perceived  an  arrow  flew  from  the 
bow  of  the  nearest  man,  and  never  failed  to  pierce 
the  shell  of  the  submerged  animal.  When  the 
turtle  was  very  distant,  of  course  the  aim  had  to  be 
taken  at  a  considerable  elevation,  but  the  marks- 
men preferred  a  longish  range,  because  the  arrow 
then  fell  more  perpendicularly  on  the  shell  and 
entered  it  more  deeply. 

The  arrow  used  in  turtle  shooting  has  a  strong 
lancet-shaped  steel  point,  fitted  into  a  peg  which 
enters  the  tip  of  the  shaft.  The  peg  is  secured 
to  the  shaft  by  twine  made  of  the  fibres  of  pine- 
apple leaves,  the  twine  being  some  thirty  or  forty 
yards  in  length,  and  neatly  wound  round  the  body 
of  the  arrow.  When  the  missile  enters  the  shell 
the  peg  drops  out,  and  the  pierced  animal  descends 
with  it  towards  the  bottom,  leaving  the  shaft 
floating  on  the  surface.  This  being  done  the 
sportsman  paddles  in  his  montaria  to  the  place, 
and  gently  draws  the  animal  by  the  twine,  humour- 
ing it  by  giving  it  the  rein  when  it  plunges,  until 
it  is  brought  again  near  the  surface,  when  he 
strikes  it  with  a  second  arrow.     With  the  increased 

hold  given  by  the  two  cords  he  has  then  no  difficulty  in  landing 

his  game. 


Arrow  used 
in  turtle 
shooting. 


Excursions  around  Ega  317 

By  mid-day  the  men  had  shot  about  a  score  of  nearly  full- 
grown  turtles.  Cardozo  then  gave  orders  to  spread  the  net. 
The  spongy,  swampy  nature  of  the  banks  made  it  impossible 
to  work  the  net  so  as  to  draw  the  booty  ashore;  another  method 
was  therefore  adopted.  The  net  was  taken  by  two  Indians  and 
extended  in  a  curve  at  one  extremity  of  the  oval-shaped  pool, 
holding  it  when  they  had  done  so  by  the  perpendicular  rods 
fixed  at  each  end;  its  breadth  was  about  equal  to  the  depth  of 
the  water,  its  shotted  side  therefore  rested  on  the  bottom, 
whilst  the  floats  buoyed  it  up  on  the  surface,  so  that  the  whole, 
when  the  ends  were  brought  together,  would  form  a  complete 
trap.  The  rest  of  the  party  then  spread  themselves  around  the 
swamp  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  pool  and  began  to  beat,  with 
stout  poles,  the  thick  tufts  of  Matupa,  in  order  to  drive  the 
turtles  towards  the  middle.  This  was  continued  for  an  hour  or 
more,  the  beaters  gradually  drawing  nearer  to  each  other,  and 
driving  the  host  of  animals  before  them;  the  number  of  little 
snouts  constantly  popping  above  the  surface  of  the  water  show- 
ing that  all  was  going  on  well.  When  they  neared  the  net  the 
men  moved  more  quickly,  shouting  and  beating  with  great 
vigour.  The  ends  of  the  net  were  then  seized  by  several  strong 
hands  and  dragged  suddenly  forwards,  bringing  them  at  the  same 
time  together,  so  as  to  enclose  all  the  booty  in  a  circle.  Every 
man  now  leapt  into  the  inclosure,  the  boats  were  brought  up, 
and  the  turtles  easily  captured  by  the  hand  and  tossed  into  them. 
I  jumped  in  along  with  the  rest,  although  I  had  just  before 
made  the  discovery  that  the  pool  abounded  in  ugly,  red,  four- 
angled  leeches,  having  seen  several  of  these  delectable  animals, 
which  sometimes  fasten  on  the  legs  of  fishermen,  although  they 
did  not,  on  this  day,  trouble  us,  working  their  way  through 
cracks  in  the  bottom  of  our  montaria.  Cardozo,  who  remained 
with  the  boats,  could  not  turn  the  animals  on  their  backs  fast 
enough,  so  that  a  great  many  clambered  out  and  got  free  again. 
However,  three  boat-loads,  or  about  eighty,  were  secured  in 
about  twenty  minutes.  They  were  then  taken  ashore,  and  each 
one  secured  by  the  men  tying  the  legs  with  thongs  of  bast. 

When  the  canoes  had  been  twice  filled,  we  desisted,  after  a 
very  hard  day's  work.  Nearly  all  the  animals  were  young  ones, 
chiefly,  according  to  the  statement  of  Pedro,  from  three  to  ten 
years  of  age ;  they  varied  from  six  to  eighteen  inches  in  length, 
and  were  very  fat.  Cardozo  and  I  lived  almost  exclusively  on 
them  for  several  months  afterwards.  Roasted  in  the  shell  they 
form  a  most  appetising  dish.  These  younger  turtles  never 
H 


3 1 8      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

migrate  with  their  elders  on  the  sinking  of  the  waters,  but 
remain  in  the  tepid  pools,  fattening  on  fallen  fruits,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  natives,  on  the  fine  nutritious  mud.  We  captured  a 
few  full-grown  mother-turtles,  which  were  known  at  once  by 
the  horny  skin  of  their  breast-plates  being  worn,  telling  of  their 
having  crawled  on  the  sands  to  lay  eggs  the  previous  year. 
They  had  evidently  made  a  mistake  in  not  leaving  the  pool  at 
the  proper  time,  for  they  were  full  of  eggs,  which,  we  were  told, 
they  would,  before  the  season  was  over,  scatter  in  despair  over 
the  swamp.  We  also  found  several  male  turtles,  or  Capitaris, 
as  they  are  called  by  the  natives.  These  are  immensely  less 
numerous  than  the  females,  and  are  distinguishable  by  their 
much  smaller  size,  more  circular  shape,  and  the  greater  length 
and  thickness  of  their  tails.  Their  flesh  is  considered  unwhole- 
some, especially  to  sick  people  having  external  signs  of  inflam- 
mation. All  diseases  in  these  parts,  as  well  as  their  remedies 
and  all  articles  of  food,  are  classed  by  the  inhabitants  as  "  hot  " 
and  "  cold,"  and  the  meat  of  the  Capitari  is  settled  by  unanimous 
consent  as  belonging  to  the  "  hot  "  list. 

We  dined  on  the  banks  of  the  river  a  little  before  sunset. 
The  mosquitoes  then  began  to  be  troublesome,  and  finding  it 
would  be  impossible  to  sleep  here,  we  all  embarked  and  crossed 
the  river  to  a  sand-bank,  about  three  miles  distant,  where  we 
passed  the  night.  Cardozo  and  I  slept  in  our  hammocks  slung 
between  upright  poles,  the  rest  stretching  themselves  on  the 
sand  round  a  large  fire.  We  lay  awake  conversing  until  past 
midnight.  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to  listen  to  the  stories  told 
by  one  of  the  older  men,  they  were  given  with  so  much  spirit. 
The  tales  always  related  to  struggles  with  some  intractable 
animal — jaguar,  manatee,  or  alligator.  Many  interjections  and 
expressive  gestures  were  used,  and  at  the  end  came  a  sudden 
"Pa!  terra!  "  when  the  animal  was  vanquished  by  a  shot  or  a 
blow.  Many  mysterious  tales  were  recounted  about  the  Bouto, 
as  the  large  Dolphin  of  the  Amazons  is  called.  One  of  them  was 
to  the  effect  that  a  Bouto  once  had  the  habit  of  assuming  the 
shape  of  a  beautiful  woman,  with  hair  hanging  loose  to  her  heels, 
and  walking  ashore  at  night  in  the  streets  of  Ega,  to  entice  the 
young  men  down  to  the  water.  If  any  one  was  so  much  smitten 
as  to  follow  her  to  the  water-side,  she  grasped  her  victim  round 
the  waist  and  plunged  beneath  the  waves  with  a  triumphant  cry. 
No  animal  in  the  Amazons  region  is  the  subject  of  so  many 
fables  as  the  Bouto;  but  it  is  probable  these  did  not  originate 
with  the  Indians,  but  with  the  Portuguese  colonists.    It  was 


Excursions  around  Ega  319 

several  years  before  I  could  induce  a  fisherman  to  harpoon 
Dolphins  for  me  as  specimens,  for  no  one  ever  kills  these  animals 
voluntarily,  although  their  fat  is  known  to  yield  an  excellent 
oil  for  lamps.  The  superstitious  people  believe  that  blindness 
would  result  from  the  use  of  this  oil  in  lamps.  I  succeeded  at 
length  with  Carepira,  by  offering  him  a  high  reward  when  his 
finances  were  at  a  very  low  point;  but  he  repented  of  his  deed 
ever  afterwards,  declaring  that  his  luck  had  forsaken  him  from 
that  day. 

The  next  morning  we  again  beat  the  pool.  Although  we  had 
proof  of  there  being  a  great  number  of  turtles  yet  remaining, 
we  had  very  poor  success.  The  old  Indians  told  us  it  would  be 
so,  for  the  turtles  were  "  ladino  "  (cunning),  and  would  take  no 
notice  of  the  beating  a  second  day.  When  the  net  was  formed 
into  a  circle,  and  the  men  had  jumped  in,  an  alligator  was  found 
to  be  inclosed.  No  one  was  alarmed,  the  only  fear  expressed 
being  that  the  imprisoned  beast  would  tear  the  net.  First  one 
shouted,  "  I  have  touched  his  head;  "  then  another,  "  he  has 
scratched  my  leg;  "  one  of  the  men,  a  lanky  Miranha,  was  thrown 
off  his  balance,  and  then  there  was  no  end  to  the  laughter  and 
shouting.  At  last  a  youth  of  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  on 
my  calling  to  him,  from  the  bank,  to  do  so,  seized  the  reptile  by 
the  tail,  and  held  him  tightly  until,  a  little  resistance  being  over- 
come, he  was  able  to  bring  it  ashore.  The  net  was  opened,  and 
the  boy  slowly  dragged  the  dangerous  but  cowardly  beast  to  land 
through  the  muddy  water,  a  distance  of  about  a  hundred  yards. 
Meantime,  I  had  cut  a  strong  pole  from  a  tree,  and  as  soon  as 
the  alligator  was  drawn  to  solid  ground,  gave  him  a  smart  rap 
with  it  on  the  crown  of  his  head,  which  killed  him  instantly. 
It  was  a  good-sized  individual;  the  jaws  being  considerably 
more  than  a  foot  long,  and  fully  capable  of  snapping  a  man's 
leg  in  twain.  The  species  was  the  large  cayman,  the  Jacare- 
uassu  of  the  Amazonian  Indians  (Jacare  nigra). 

On  the  third  day  we  sent  our  men  in  the  boats  to  net  turtles 
in  a  larger  pool,  about  five  miles  further  down  the  river,  and  on 
the  fourth  returned  to  Ega. 

It  will  be  well  to  mention  here  a  few  circumstances  relative 
to  the  large  Cayman,  which,  with  the  incident  just  narrated, 
afford  illustrations  of  the  cunning,  cowardice,  and  ferocity  of 
this  reptile. 

I  have  hitherto  had  but  few  occasions  of  mentioning  alligators, 
although  they  exist  by  myriads  in  the  waters  of  the  Upper 
Amazons.     Many  different  species  are  spoken  of  by  the  natives. 


320      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

I  saw  only  three,  and  of  these  two  only  are  common:  one,  the 
Jacare-tinga,  a  small  kind  (five  feet  long  when  full  grown), 
having  a  long  slender  muzzle  and  a  black-banded  tail ;  the  other, 
the  Jacare-uassu,  to  which  these  remarks  more  especially  relate; 
and  the  third  the  Jacare-curua,  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter. 
The  Jacare-uassu,  or  large  Cayman,  grows  to  a  length  of  eighteen 
or  twenty  feet,  and  attains  an  enormous  bulk.  Like  the  turtles, 
the  alligator  has  its  annual  migrations,  for  it  retreats  to  the 
interior  pools  and  flooded  forests  in  the  wet  season,  and  descends 
to  the  main  river  in  the  dry  season.  During  the  months  of 
high  water,  therefore,  scarcely  a  single  individual  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  main  river.  In  the  middle  part  of  the  Lower  Amazons, 
about  Obydos  and  Villa  Nova,  where  many  of  the  lakes  with 
their  channels  of  communication  with  the  trunk  stream,  dry  up 
in  the  fine  months,  the  alligator  buries  itself  in  the  mud  and 
becomes  dormant,  sleeping  till  the  rainy  season  returns.  On 
the  Upper  Amazons,  where  the  dry  season  is  never  excessive,  it 
has  not  this  habit,  but  is  lively  all  the  year  round.  It  is  scarcely 
exaggerating  to  say  that  the  waters  of  the  Solimoens  are  as  well 
stocked  with  large  alligators  in  the  dry  season,  as  a  ditch  in 
England  is  in  summer  with  tadpoles.  During  a  journey  of  five 
days  which  I  once  made  in  the  Upper  Amazons  steamer,  in 
November,  alligators  were  seen  along  the  coast  almost  every 
step  of  the  way,  and  the  passengers  amused  themselves,  from 
morning  till  night,  by  firing  at  them  with  rifle  and  ball.  They 
were  very  numerous  in  the  still  bays,  where  the  huddled  crowds 
jostled  together,  to  the  great  rattling  of  their  coats  of  mail,  as 
the  steamer  passed. 

The  natives  at  once  despise  and  fear  the  great  cayman.  I 
once  spent  a  month  at  Caicara,  a  small  village  of  semi-civilised 
Indians,  about  twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  Ega.  My  enter- 
tainer, the  only  white  in  the  place,  and  one  of  my  best  and  most 
constant  friends,  Senhor  Innocencio  Alves  Faria,  one  day  pro- 
posed a  half-day's  fishing  with  net  in  the  lake, — the  expanded 
bed  of  the  small  river  on  which  the  village  is  situated.  We  set 
out  in  an  open  boat  with  six  Indians  and  two  of  Innocencio's 
children.  The  water  had  sunk  so  low  that  the  net  had  to  be 
taken  out  into  the  middle  by  the  Indians,  whence  at  the  first 
draught,  two  medium-sized  alligators  were  brought  to  land. 
They  were  disengaged  from  the  net  and  allowed,  with  the  coolest 
unconcern,  to  return  to  the  water,  although  the  two  children 
were  playing  in  it,  not  many  yards  off.  We  continued  fishing, 
Innocencio  and  I  lending  a  helping  hand,  and  each  time  drew  a 


322      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

number  of  the  reptiles  of  different  ages  and  sizes,  some  of  them 
Jacare-tingas ;  the  lake,  in  fact,  swarmed  with  alligators.  After 
taking  a  very  large  quantity  of  fish,  we  prepared  to  return,  and 
the  Indians,  at  my  suggestion,  secured  one  of  the  alligators  with 
the  view  of  letting  it  loose  amongst  the  swarms  of  dogs  in  the 
village.  An  individual  was  selected  about  eight  feet  long:  one 
man  holding  his  head  and  another  his  tail,  whilst  a  third  took 
a  few  lengths  of  a  flexible  liana,  and  deliberately  bound  the  jaws 
and  the  legs.  Thus  secured,  the  beast  was  laid  across  the 
benches  of  the  boat,  on  which  we  sat  during  the  hour  and  a 
half's  journey  to  the  settlement.  We  were  rather  crowded,  but 
our  amiable  passenger  gave  us  no  trouble  during  the  transit.  On 
reaching  the  village,  we  took  the  animal  into  the  middle  of  the 
green,  in  front  of  the  church,  where  the  dogs  were  congregated, 
and  there  gave  him  his  liberty,  two  of  us  arming  ourselves  with 
long  poles  to  intercept  him  if  he  should  make  for  the  water,  and 
the  others  exciting  the  dogs.  The  alligator  showed  great  terror, 
although  the  dogs  could  not  be  made  to  advance,  and  made  off 
at  the  top  of  its  speed  for  the  water,  waddling  like  a  duck.  We 
tried  to  keep  him  back  with  the  poles,  but  he  became  enraged, 
and  seizing  the  end  of  the  one  I  held  in  his  jaws,  nearly  wrenched 
it  from  my  grasp.  We  were  obliged,  at  length,  to  kill  him  to 
prevent  his  escape. 

These  little  incidents  show  the  timidity  or  cowardice  of  the 
alligator.  He  never  attacks  man  when  his  intended  victim  is 
on  his  guard :  but  he  is  cunning  enough  to  know  when  this  may 
be  done  with  impunity:  of  this  we  had  proof  at  Caicara,  a  few 
days  afterwards.  The  river  had  sunk  to  a  very  low  point,  so 
that  the  port  and  bathing-place  of  the  village  now  lay  at  the 
foot  of  a  long  sloping  bank,  and  a  large  cayman  made  his  appear- 
ance in  the  shallow  and  muddy  water.  We  were  all  obliged  to 
be  very  careful  in  taking  our  bath;  most  of  the  people  simply 
using  a  calabash,  pouring  the  water  over  themselves  while 
standing  on  the  brink.  A  large  trading  canoe,  belonging  to  a 
Barra  merchant  named  Soares,  arrived  at  this  time,  and  the 
Indian  crew,  as  usual,  spent  the  first  day  or  two  after  their 
coming  into  port  in  drunkenness  and  debauchery  ashore.  One 
of  the  men,  during  the  greatest  heat  of  the  day,  when  almost 
every  one  was  enjoying  his  afternoon's  nap,  took  it  into  his 
head  whilst  in  a  tipsy  state  to  go  down  alone  to  bathe.  He  was 
seen  only  by  the  Juiz  de  Paz,  a  feeble  old  man  who  was  lying  in 
his  hammock,  in  the  open  verandah  at  the  rear  of  his  house  on 
the  top  of  the  bank,  and  who  shouted  to  the  besotted  Indian  to 


Excursions  around  Ega  323 

beware  of  the  alligator.  Before  he  could  repeat  his  warning, 
the  man  stumbled,  and  a  pair  of  gaping  jaws,  appearing  suddenly- 
above  the  surface,  seized  him  round  the  waist  and  drew  him 
under  the  water.  A  cry  of  agony  "  Ai  Jesus !  "  was  the  last 
sign  made  by  the  wretched  victim.  The  village  was  aroused: 
the  young  men  with  praiseworthy  readiness  seized  their 
harpoons  and  hurried  down  to  the  bank;  but  of  course  it  was 
too  late,  a  winding  track  of  blood  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
was  all  that  could  be  seen.  They  embarked,  however,  in 
montarias,  determined  on  vengeance:  the  monster  was  traced, 
and  when,  after  a  short  lapse  of  time,  he  came  up  to  breathe — 
one  leg  of  the  man  sticking  out  from  his  jaws — was  despatched 
with  bitter  curses. 

The  last  of  these  minor  excursions  which  I  shall  narrate,  was 
made  (again  in  company  of  Senhor  Cardozo,  with  the  addition 
of  his  housekeeper  Senhora  Felippa)  in  the  season  when  all  the 
population  of  the  villages  turns  out  to  dig  up  turtle  eggs,  and 
revel  on  the  praias.  Placards  were  posted  on  the  church  doors 
at  Ega,  announcing  that  the  excavation  on  Shimuni  would 
commence  on  the  17th  of  October,  and  on  Catua,  sixty  miles 
below  Shimuni,  on  the  25th.  We  set  out  on  the  16th,  and 
passed  on  the  road,  in  our  well-manned  igarite,  a  large  number 
of  people,  men,  women,  and  children  in  canoes  of  all  sizes,  wend- 
ing their  way  as  if  to  a  great  holiday  gathering.  By  the  morn- 
ing of  the  17th,  some  400  persons  were  assembled  on  the  borders 
of  the  sandbank:  each  family  having  erected  a  rude  temporary 
shed  of  poles  and  palm  leaves  to  protect  themselves  from  the 
sun  and  rain.  Large  copper  kettles  to  prepare  the  oil,  and 
hundreds  of  red  earthenware  jars,  were  scattered  about  on  the 
sand. 

The  excavation  of  the  taboleiro,  collecting  the  eggs  and 
purifying  the  oil,  occupied  four  days.  All  was  done  on  a 
system  established  by  the  old  Portuguese  governors,  probably 
more  than  a  century  ago.  The  commandante  first  took  d<>wn 
the  names  of  all  the  masters  of  households,  with  the  number  of 
persons  each  intended  to  employ  in  digging;  he  then  exacted  a 
payment  of  140  reis  (about  fourpence)  a  head,  towards  defray- 
ing the  expense  of  sentinels.  The  whole  were  then  allowed  to 
go  to  the  taboleiro.  They  ranged  themselves  round  the  circle, 
each  person  armed  with  a  paddle,  to  be  used  as  a  spade,  and 
then  all  began  simultaneously  to  dig  on  a  signal  being  given — 
the  roll  of  drums — by  order  of  the  commandante.     It  was  an 


324      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

animating  sight  to  behold  the  wide  circle  of  rival  diggers  throw- 
ing up  clouds  of  sand  in  their  energetic  labours,  and  working 
gradually  towards  the  centre  of  the  ring.  A  little  rest  was  taken 
during  the  great  heat  of  mid-day,  and  in  the  evening  the  eggs 
were  carried  to  the  huts  in  baskets.  By  the  end  of  the  second 
day,  the  taboleiro  was  exhausted:  large  mounds  of  eggs,  some 
of  them  four  to  five  feet  in  height,  were  then  seen  by  the  side  of 
each  hut,  the  produce  of  the  labours  of  the  family. 

In  the  hurry  of  digging  some  of  the  deeper  nests  are  passed 
over;  to  find  these  out  the  people  go  about  provided  with  a 
long  steel  or  wooden  probe,  the  presence  of  the  eggs  being  dis- 
coverable by  the  ease  with  which  the  spit  enters  the  sand. 
When  no  more  eggs  are  to  be  found,  the  mashing  process  begins. 
The  egg,  it  may  be  mentioned,  has  a  flexible  or  leathery  shell; 
it  is  quite  round,  and  somewhat  larger  than  a  hen's  egg.  The 
whole  heap  is  thrown  into  an  empty  canoe  and  mashed  with 
wooden  prongs;  but  sometimes  naked  Indians  and  children 
jump  into  the  mass  and  tread  it  down,  besmearing  themselves 
with  yolk  and  making  about  as  filthy  a  scene  as  can  well  be 
imagined.  This  being  finished,  water  is  poured  into  the  canoe, 
and  the  fatty  mess  then  left  for  a  few  hours  to  be  heated  by  the 
sun,  on  which  the  oil  separates  and  rises  to  the  surface.  The 
floating  oil  is  afterwards  skimmed  off  with  long  spoons,  made 
by  tying  large  mussel-shells  to  the  end  of  rods,  and  purified  over 
the  fire  in  copper  kettles. 

The  destruction  of  turtle  eggs  every  year  by  these  proceed- 
ings is  enormous.  At  least  6000  jars,  holding  each  three  gallons 
of  the  oil,  are  exported  annually  from  the  Upper  Amazons  and 
the  Madeira  to  Para,  where  it  is  used  for  lighting,  frying  fish, 
and  other  purposes.  It  may  be  fairly  estimated  that  2000  more 
jars-full  are  consumed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  villages  on  the 
river.  Now,  it  takes  at  least  twelve  basketsful  of  eggs,  or  about 
6000,  by  the  wasteful  process  followed,  to  make  one  jar  of  oil. 
The  total  number  of  eggs  annually  destroyed  amounts,  therefore, 
to  48,000,000.  As  each  turtle  lays  about  120,  it  follows  that  the 
yearly  offspring  of  400,000  turtles  is  thus  annihilated.  A  vast 
number,  nevertheless,  remain  undetected;  and  these  would 
probably  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  turtle  population  of  these 
rivers  up  to  the  mark,  if  the  people  did  not  follow  the  wasteful 
practice  of  lying  in  wait  for  the  newly-hatched  young,  and 
collecting  them  by  thousands  for  eating;  their  tender  flesh  and 
the  remains  of  yolk  in  their  entrails  being  considered  a  great 
delicacy.     The  chief  natural  enemies  of  the  turtle  are  vultures 


Excursions  around  Ega  325 

and  alligators,  which  devour  the  newly-hatched  young  as  they 
descend  in  shoals  to  the  water.  These  must  have  destroyed  an 
immensely  greater  number  before  the  European  settlers  began 
to  appropriate  the  eggs  than  they  do  now.  It  is  almost  doubtful 
if  this  natural  persecution  did  not  act  as  effectively  in  checking 
the  increase  of  the  turtle  as  the  artificial  destruction  now  does. 
If  we  are  to  believe  the  tradition  of  the  Indians,  however,  it  had 
not  this  result;  for  they  say  that  formerly  the  waters  teemed 
as  thickly  with  turtles  as  the  air  now  does  with  mosquitoes. 
The  universal  opinion  of  the  settlers  on  the  Upper  Amazons  is, 
that  the  turtle  has  very  greatly  decreased  in  numbers,  and  is 
still  annually  decreasing. 

We  left  Shimuni  on  the  20th  with  quite  a  flotilla  of  canoes, 
and  descended  the  river  to  Catua,  an  eleven  hours'  iourney  by 
paddle  and  current.  Catua  is  about  six  miles  long,  and  almost 
entirely  encircled  by  its  praia.  The  turtles  had  selected  for 
their  egg-laying  a  part  of  the  sand-bank  which  was  elevated 
at  least  twenty  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  river;  the 
animals,  to  reach  the  place,  must  have  crawled  up  a  slope.  As 
we  approached  the  island,  numbers  of  the  animals  were  seen 
coming  to  the  surface  to  breathe,  in  a  small  shoaly  bay.  Those 
who  had  light  montarias  sped  forward  with  bows  and  arrows  to 
shoot  them.  Carepira  was  foremost:  having  borrowed  a  small 
and  very  unsteady  boat  of  Cardozo,  and  embarked  in  it  with 
his  little  son.  After  bagging  a  couple  of  turtles,  and  whilst 
hauling  in  a  third,  he  overbalanced  himself;  the  canoe  went 
over,  and  he  with  his  child  had  to  swim  for  their  lives,  in  the 
midst  of  numerous  alligators,  about  a  mile  from  the  land.  The 
old  man  had  to  sustain  a  heavy  fire  of  jokes  from  his  com- 
panions for  several  days  after  this  mishap.  Such  accidents  are 
only  laughed  at  by  this  almost  amphibious  people. 

The  number  of  persons  congregated  on  Catua  was  much 
greater  than  on  Shimuni,  as  the  population  of  the  banks  of 
several  neighbouring  lakes  were  here  added.  The  line  of  huts 
and  sheds  extended  half  a  mile,  and  several  large  sailing  vessels 
were  anchored  at  the  place.  The  commandante  was  Senhor 
Macedo,  the  Indian  blacksmith  of  Ega  before  mentioned,  who 
maintained  excellent  order  during  the  fourteen  days  the  process 
of  excavation  and  oil  manufacture  lasted.  There  were  also 
many  primitive  Indians  here  from  the  neighbouring  rivers, 
amongst  them  a  family  of  Shumanas,  good-tempered,  harmless 
people  from  the  Lower  Japura.    All  of  them  were  tattooed 


326      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

round  the  mouth,  the  bluish  tint  forming  a  border  to  the  lips, 
and  extending  in  a  line  on  the  cheeks  towards  the  ear  on  each 
side.  They  were  not  quite  so  slender  in  figure  as  the  Passes  of 
Perdo-uassu's  family ;  but  their  features  deviated  quite  as  much 
as  those  of  the  Passes  from  the  ordinary  Indian  type.  This 
was  seen  chiefly  in  the  comparatively  small  mouth,  pointed  chin, 
thin  lips,  and  narrow,  high  nose.  One  of  the  daughters,  a 
young  girl  of  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  a  real  beauty. 
The  colour  of  her  skin  approached  the  light  tanned  shade  of  the 
Mameluco  women;  her  figure  was  almost  faultless,  and  the  blue 
mouth,  instead  of  being  a  disfigurement,  gave  quite  a  captivating 
finish  to  her  appearance.  Her  neck,  wrists,  and  ankles  were 
adorned  with  strings  of  blue  beads.  She  was,  however,  ex- 
tremely bashful,  never  venturing  to  look  strangers  in  the  face, 
and  never  quitting,  for  many  minutes  together,  the  side  of  her 
father  and  mother.  The  family  had  been  shamefully  swindled 
by  some  rascally  trader  on  another  praia;  and,  on  our  arrival, 
came  to  lay  their  case  before  Senhor  Cardozo,  as  the  delegado 
of  police  of  the  district.  The  mild  way  in  which  the  old  man, 
without  a  trace  of  anger,  stated  his  complaint  in  imperfect  Tupi 
quite  enlisted  our  sympathies  in  his  favour.  But  Cardozo 
could  give  him  no  redress;  he  invited  the  family,  however,  to 
make  their  rancho  near  to  ours,  and  in  the  end  gave  them  the 
highest  price  for  the  surplus  oil  which  they  manufactured. 

It  was  not  all  work  at  Catua;  indeed  there  was  rather  more 
play  than  work  going  on.  The  people  make  a  kind  of  holiday 
of  these  occasions.  Every  fine  night  parties  of  the  younger 
people  assembled  on  the  sands,  and  dancing  and  games  were 
carried  on  for  hours  together.  But  the  requisite  liveliness  for 
these  sports  was  never  got  up  without  a  good  deal  of  preliminary 
rum-drinking.  The  girls  were  so  coy  that  the  young  men  could 
not  get  sufficient  partners  for  the  dances,  without  first  sub- 
scribing for  a  few  flagons  of  the  needful  cashaca.  The  coldness 
of  the  shy  Indian  and  Mameluco  maidens  never  failed  to  give 
way  after  a  little  of  this  strong  drink,  but  it  was  astonishing 
what  an  immense  deal  they  could  take  of  it  in  the  course  of  an 
evening.  Coyness  is  not  always  a  sign  of  innocence  in  these 
people,  for  most  of  the  half-caste  women  on  the  Upper  Amazons 
lead  a  little  career  of  looseness  before  they  marry  and  settle 
down  for  life ;  and  it  is  rather  remarkable  that  the  men  do  not 
seem  to  object  much  to  their  brides  having  had  a  child  or  two 
by  various  fathers  before  marriage.  The  women  do  not  lose 
reputation  unless  they  become  utterly  depraved,  but  in  that 


Excursions  around  Ega  327 

case  they  are  condemned  pretty  strongly  by  public  opinion. 
Depravity  is,  however,  rare,  for  all  require  more  or  less  to  be 
wooed  before  they  are  won.  I  did  not  see  (although  I  mixed 
pretty  freely  with  the  young  people)  any  breach  of  propriety  on 
the  praias.  The  merry-makings  were  carried  on  near  the 
ranchos,  where  the  more  staid  citizens  of  Ega,  husbands  with 
their  wives  and  young  daughters,  all  smoking  gravely  out  of 
long  pipes,  sat  in  their  hammocks  and  enjoyed  the  fun. 
Towards  midnight  we  often  heard,  in  the  intervals  between 
jokes  and  laughter,  the  hoarse  roar  of  jaguars  prowling  about 
the  jungle  in  the  middle  of  the  praia.  There  were  several 
guitar-players  amongst  the  young  men,  and  one  most  persevering 
fiddler,  so  there  was  no  lack  of  music. 

The  favourite  sport  was  the  Pira-purasseya,  or  fish-dance, 
one  of  the  original  games  of  the  Indians,  though  now  probably 
a  little  modified.  The  young  men  and  women,  mingling 
together,  formed  a  ring,  leaving  one  of  their  number  in  the 
middle,  who  represented  the  fish.  They  then  all  marched 
round,  Indian  file,  the  musicians  mixed  up  with  the  rest,  sing- 
ing a  monotonous  but  rather  pretty  chorus,  the  words  of  which 
were  invented  (under  a  certain  form)  by  one  of  the  party  who 
acted  as  leader.  This  finished,  all  joined  hands,  and  questions 
were  put  to  the  one  in  the  middle,  asking  what  kind  of  fish  he 
or  she  might  be.  To  these  the  individual  has  to  reply.  The 
end  of  it  all  is  that  he  makes  a  rush  at  the  ring,  and  if  he  suc- 
ceeds in  escaping,  the  person  who  allowed  him  to  do  so  has  to 
take  his  place ;  the  march  and  chorus  then  recommences,  and  so 
the  game  goes  on  hour  after  hour.  Tupi  was  the  language 
mostly  used,  but  sometimes  Portuguese  was  sung  and  spoken. 
The  details  of  the  dance  were  often  varied.  Instead  of  the 
names  of  fishes  being  called  over  by  the  person  in  the  middle, 
the  name  of  some  animal,  flower,  or  other  object  was  given  to 
every  fresh  occupier  of  the  place.  There  was  then  good  scope 
for  wit  in  the  invention  of  nicknames,  and  peals  of  laughter 
would  often  salute  some  particularly  good  hit.  Thus  a  very 
lanky  young  man  was  called  the  Magoary,  or  the  grey  stork; 
a  moist  grey-eyed  man  with  a  profile  comically  suggestive  of  a 
fish  was  christened  Jaraki  (a  kind  of  fish),  which  was  considered 
quite  a  witty  sally;  a  little  Mameluco  girl,  with  light-coloured 
eyes  and  brown  hair,  got  the  gallant  name  of  Rosa  branca,  or 
the  white  rose;  a  young  fellow  who  had  recently  singed  his  eye- 
brows by  the  explosion  of  fireworks  was  dubbed  Pedro  queimado 
(burnt  Peter);  in  short  every  one  got  a  nickname,  and  each  time 


328      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazorib 

the  cognomen  was  introduced  into  the  chorus  as  the  circle 
marched  round. 

Our  rancho  was  a  large  one,  and  was  erected  in  a  line  with 
the  others,  near  the  edge  of  the  sand-bank  which  sloped  rather 
abruptly  to  the  water.  During  the  first  week  the  people  were 
all,  more  or  less,  troubled  by  alligators.  Some  half-dozen  full- 
grown  ones  were  in  attendance  off  the  praia,  floating  about  on 
the  lazily-flowing,  muddy  water.  The  dryness  of  the  weather 
had  increased  since  we  had  left  Shimuni,  the  currents  had 
slackened,  and  the  heat  in  the  middle  part  of  the  day  was  almost 
insupportable.  But  no  one  could  descend  to  bathe  without 
being  advanced  upon  by  one  or  other  of  these  hungry  monsters. 
There  was  much  offal  cast  into  the  river,  and  this,  of  course, 
attracted  them  to  the  place.  One  day  I  amused  myself  by 
taking  a  basketful  of  fragments  of  meat  beyond  the  line  of 
ranchos,  and  drawing  the  alligators  towards  me  by  feeding 
them.  They  behaved  pretty  much  as  dogs  do  when  fed ;  catch- 
ing the  bones  I  threw  them  in  their  huge  jaws,  and  coming 
nearer  and  showing  increased  eagerness  after  every  morsel. 
The  enormous  gape  of  their  mouths,  with  their  blood-red  lining 
and  long  fringes  of  teeth,  and  the  uncouth  shapes  of  their  bodies, 
made  a  picture  of  unsurpassable  ugliness.  I  once  or  twice  fired 
a  heavy  charge  of  shot  at  them,  aiming  at  the  vulnerable  part 
of  their  bodies,  which  is  a  small  space  situated  behind  the  eyes, 
but  this  had  no  other  effect  than  to  make  them  give  a  hoarse 
grunt  and  shake  themselves;  they  immediately  afterwards 
turned  to  receive  another  bone  which  I  threw  to  them. 

Every  day  these  visitors  became  bolder;  at  length  they 
reached  a  pitch  of  impudence  that  was  quite  intolerable. 
Cardozo  had  a  poodle  dog  named  Carlito,  which  some  grateful 
traveller  whom  he  had  befriended  had  sent  him  from  Rio 
Janeiro.  He  took  great  pride  in  this  dog,  keeping  it  well 
sheared,  and  preserving  his  coat  as  white  as  soap  and  water 
could  make  it.  We  slept  in  our  rancho  in  hammocks  slung 
between  the  outer  posts;  a  large  wood  fire  (fed  with  a  kind  of 
wood  abundant  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  keeps  alight 
all  night)  being  made  in  the  middle,  by  the  side  of  which  slept 
Carlito  on  a  little  mat.  Well,  one  night  I  was  awoke  by  a  great 
uproar.  It  was  caused  by  Cardozo  hurling  burning  firewood 
with  loud  curses  at  a  huge  cayman  which  had  crawled  up  the 
bank  and  passed  beneath  my  hammock  (being  nearest  the 
water)  towards  the  place  where  Carlito  lay.  The  dog  had  raised 
the  alarm  in  time;   the  reptile  backed  out  and  tumbled  down 


330      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  bank  to  the  water,  the  sparks  from  the  brands  hurled  at  him 
flying  from  his  bony  hide.  To  our  great  surprise  the  animal 
(we  supposed  it  to  be  the  same  individual)  repeated  his  visit  the 
very  next  night,  this  time  passing  round  to  the  other  side  of  our 
shed.  Cardozo  was  awake,  and  threw  a  harpoon  at  him,  but 
without  doing  him  any  harm.  After  this  it  was  thought  neces- 
sary to  make  an  effort  to  check  the  alligators ;  a  number  of  men 
were  therefore  persuaded  to  sally  forth  in  their  montarias  and 
devote  a  day  to  killing  them. 

The  young  men  made  several  hunting  excursions  during  the 
fourteen  days  of  our  stay  on  Catua,  and  I,  being  associated  with 
them  in  all  their  pleasures,  made  generally  one  of  the  party. 
These  were,  besides,  the  sole  occasions  on  which  I  could  add 
to  my  collections,  whilst  on  these  barren  sands.  Only  two 
of  these  trips  afforded  incidents  worth  relating. 

The  first,  which  was  made  to  the  interior  of  the  wooded 
island  of  Catua,  was  not  a  very  successful  one.  We  were  twelve 
in  number,  all  armed  with  guns  and  long  hunting-knives.  Long 
before  sunrise,  my  friends  woke  me  up  from  my  hammock, 
where  I  lay,  as  usual,  in  the  clothes  worn  during  the  day;  and 
after  taking  each  a  cup-full  of  cashaca  and  ginger  (a  very  general 
practice  in  early  morning  on  the  sand-banks),  we  commenced 
our  walk.  The  waning  moon  still  lingered  in  the  clear  sky,  and 
a  profound  stillness  pervaded  sleeping  camp,  forest,  and  stream. 
Along  the  line  of  ranchos  glimmered  the  fires  made  by  each 
party  to  dry  turtle-eggs  for  food,  the  eggs  being  spread  on  little 
wooden  stages  over  the  smoke.  The  distance  to  the  forest  from 
our  place  of  starting  was  about  two  miles,  being  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  the  sand-bank,  which  was  also  a  very  broad  one ; 
the  highest  part,  where  it  was  covered  with  a  thicket  of  dwarf 
willows,  mimosas,  and  arrow  grass,  lying  near  the  ranchos.  We 
loitered  much  on  the  way,  and  the  day  dawned  whilst  we  were 
yet  on  the  road:  the  sand  at  this  early  hour  feeling  quite  cold 
to  the  naked  feet.  As  soon  as  we  were  able  to  distinguish 
things,  the  surface  of  the  praia  was  seen  to  be  dotted  with  small 
black  objects.  These  were  newly-hatched  Aiyussa  turtles, 
which  were  making  their  way  in  an  undeviating  line  to  the  water, 
at  least  a  mile  distant.  The  young  animal  of  this  species  is 
distinguishable  from  that  of  the  large  turtle  and  the  Tracaja, 
by  the  edges  of  the  breast-plate  being  raised  on  each  side,  so 
that  in  crawling  it  scores  two  parallel  lines  on  the  sand.  The 
mouths  of  these  little  creatures  were  full  of  sand,  a  circumstance 
arising  from  their  having  to  bite  their  way  through  many  inches 


Excursions  around  Ega  331 

of  superincumbent  sand  to  reach  the  surface  on  emerging  from 
the  buried  eggs.  It  was  amusing  to  observe  how  constantly 
they  turned  again  in  the  direction  of  the  distant  river,  after 
being  handled  and  set  down  on  the  sand  with  their  heads  facing 
the  opposite  quarter.  We  saw  also  several  skeletons  of  the 
large  cayman  (some  with  the  horny  and  bony  hide  of  the  animal 
nearly  perfect)  embedded  in  the  sand :  they  reminded  me  of  the 
remains  of  Ichthyosauri  fossilised  in  beds  of  lias,  with  the 
difference  of  being  buried  in  fine  sand  instead  of  in  blue  mud. 
I  marked  the  place  of  one  which  had  a  well-preserved  skull,  and 
the  next  day  returned  to  secure  it.  The  specimen  is  now  in 
the  British  Museum  collection.  There  were  also  many  foot- 
marks of  Jaguars  on  the  sand. 

We  entered  the  forest,  as  the  sun  peeped  over  the  tree-tops 
far  away  down  river.  The  party  soon  after  divided ;  I  keeping 
with  a  section  which  was  led  by  Bento,  the  Ega  carpenter,  a 
capital  woodsman.  After  a  short  walk  we  struck  the  banks  of 
a  beautiful  little  lake,  having  grassy  margins  and  clear  dark 
water,  on  the  surface  of  which  floated  thick  beds  of  water-lilies. 
We  then  crossed  a  muddy  creek  or  watercourse  that  entered  the 
lake,  and  then  found  ourselves  on  a  restinga,  or  tongue  of  land 
between  two  waters.  By  keeping  in  sight  of  one  or  the  other 
of  these  there  was  no  danger  of  our  losing  our  way:  all  other 
precautions  were  therefore  unnecessary.  The  forest  was 
tolerably  clear  of  underwood,  and  consequently  easy  to  walk 
through.  We  had  not  gone  far  before  a  soft,  long-drawn  whistle 
was  heard  aloft  in  the  trees,  betraying  the  presence  of  Mutums 
(Curassow  birds).  The  crowns  of  the  trees,  a  hundred  feet  or 
more  over  our  heads,  were  so  closely  interwoven  that  it  was 
difficult  to  distinguish  the  birds:  the  practised  eye  of  Bento, 
however,  made  them  out,  and  a  fine  male  was  shot  from  the 
flock;  the  rest  flying  away  and  alighting  at  no  great  distance: 
the  species  was  the  one  of  which  the  male  has  a  round  red  ball 
on  its  beak  (Crax  globicera).  The  pursuit  of  the  others  led  us 
a  great  distance,  straight  towards  the  interior  of  the  island,  in 
which  direction  we  marched  for  three  hours,  having  the  lake 
always  on  our  right. 

Arriving  at  length  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  Bento  struck  off 
to  the  left  across  the  restinga,  and  we  then  soon  came  upon  a 
treeless  space  choked  up  with  tall  grass,  which  appeared  to  be 
the  dried-up  bed  of  another  lake.  Our  leader  was  obliged  to 
climb  a  tree  to  ascertain  our  position,  and  found  that  the  clear 
space  was  part  of  the  creek,  whose  mouth  we  had  crossed  lower 


332      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

down.  The  banks  were  clothed  with  low  trees,  nearly  all  of 
one  species,  a  kind  of  araca  (Psidium),  and  the  ground  was 
carpeted  with  a  slender  delicate  grass,  now  in  flower.  A  great 
number  of  crimson  and  vermilion-coloured  butterflies  (Cata- 
gramma  Peristera,  male  and  female)  were  settled  on  the  smooth, 
white  trunks  of  these  trees.     I  had  also  here  the  great  pleasure 


Umbrella  Bird. 

of  seeing  for  the  first  time,  the  rare  and  curious  Umbrella  Bird 
(Cephalopterus  ornatus),  a  species  which  resembles  in  size, 
colour,  and  appearance  our  common  crow,  but  is  decorated  with 
a  crest  of  long,  curved,  hairy  feathers  having  long  bare  quills, 
which,  when  raised,  spread  themselves  out  in  the  form  of  a 
fringed  sunshade  over  the  head.  A  strange  ornament,  like  a 
pelerine,  is  also  suspended  from  the  neck,  formed  by  a  thick 
pad  of  glossy  steel-blue  feathers,  which  grow  on  a  long  fleshy 
lobe  or  excrescence.    This  lobe  is  connected  (as  I  found  on 


Excursions  around  Ega  333 

skinning  specimens)  with  an  unusual  development  of  the  trachea 
and  vocal  organs,  to  which  the  bird  doubtless  owes  its  singu- 
larly deep,  loud,  and  long-sustained  fluty  note.  The  Indian 
name  of  this  strange  creature  is  Uira-mimbeu,  or  fife-bird,1  in 
allusion  to  the  tone  of  its  voice.  We  had  the  good  luck,  after 
remaining  quiet  a  short  time,  to  hear  its  performance.  It  drew 
itself  up  on  its  perch,  spread  widely  the  umbrella-formed  crest, 
dilated  and  waved  its  glossy  breast-lappet,  and  then,  in  giving 
vent  to  its  loud  piping  note,  bowed  its  head  slowly  forwards. 
We  obtained  a  pair,  male  and  female:  the  female  has  only  the 
rudiments  of  the  crest  and  lappet,  and  is  duller-coloured  alto- 
gether than  the  male.  The  range  of  this  bird  appears  to  be 
quite  confined  to  the  plains  of  the  Upper  Amazons  (especially 
the  Ygapo  forests),  not  having  been  found  to  the  east  of  the 
Rio  Negro. 

Bento  and  our  other  friends  being  disappointed  in  finding  no 
more  Curassows,  or  indeed  any  other  species  of  game,  now 
resolved  to  turn  back.  On  reaching  the  edge  of  the  forest  we 
sat  down  and  ate  our  dinners  under  the  shade;  each  man  having 
brought  a  little  bag  containing  a  few  handsfull  of  farinha,  and 
a  piece  of  fried  fish  or  roast  turtle.  We  expected  our  com- 
panions of  the  other  division  to  join  us  at  mid-day,  but  after 
waiting  till  past  one  o'clock  without  seeing  anything  of  them 
(in  fact,  they  had  returned  to  the  huts  an  hour  or  two  pre- 
viously), we  struck  off  across  the  praia  towards  the  encampment. 
An  obstacle  here  presented  itself  on  which  we  had  not  counted. 
The  sun  had  shone  all  day  through  a  cloudless  sky  untempered 
by  a  breath  of  wind,  and  the  sands  had  become  heated  by  it  to 
a  degree  that  rendered  walking  over  them  with  our  bare  feet 
impossible.  The  most  hardened  footsoles  of  the  party  could 
not  endure  the  burning  soil.  We  made  several  attempts;  we 
tried  running:  wrapped  the  cool  leaves  of  Heliconice  round  our 
feet,  but  in  no  way  could  we  step  forward  many  yards.  There 
was  no  means  of  getting  back  to  our  friends  before  night,  except 
going  round  the  praia,  a  circuit  of  about  four  miles,  and  walking 
through  the  water  or  on  the  moist  sand.  To  get  to  the  water- 
side from  the  place  where  we  then  stood  was  not  difficult,  as  a 
thick  bed  of  a  flowering  shrub,  called  tintarana,  an  infusion  of 
the  leaves  of  which  is  used  to  dye  black,  lay  on  that  side  of  the 
sand-bank.  Footsore  and  wearied,  burthened  with  our  guns, 
and  walking  for  miles  through  the  tepid  shallow  water  under 

1  Mimbeu  is  the  Indian  name  for  a  rude  kind  of  pan-pipes  used  by  the 
Caishanas  and  other  tribes. 


334      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  brain-scorching  vertical  sun,  we  had,  as  may  be  imagined; 
anything  but  a  pleasant  time  of  it.  I  did  not,  however,  feel  any 
inconvenience  afterwards.  Every  one  enjoys  the  most  lusty 
health  whilst  living  this  free  and  wild  life  on  the  rivers. 

The  other  hunting  trip  which  I  have  alluded  to  was  under- 
taken in  company  with  three  friendly  young  half-castes.  Two 
of  them  were  brothers,  namely,  Joao  (John)  and  Zephyrino 
Jabuti:  Jabuti,  or  tortoise,  being  a  nickname  which  their 
father  had  earned  for  his  slow  gait,  and  which,  as  is  usual  in 
this  country,  had  descended  as  the  surname  of  the  family.  The 
other  was  Jose  Frazao,  a  nephew  of  Senhor  Chrysostomo,  of 
Ega,  an  active,  clever,  and  manly  young  fellow,  whom  I  much 
esteemed.  He  was  almost  a  white,  his  father  being  a  Portuguese 
and  his  mother  a  Mameluca.  We  were  accompanied  by  an 
Indian  named  Lino,  and  a  Mulatto  boy,  whose  office  was  to 
carry  our  game. 

Our  proposed  hunting-ground  on  this  occasion  lay  across  the 
water,  about  fifteen  miles  distant.  We  set  out  in  a  small  mon- 
taria,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  again  leaving  the  encamp- 
ment asleep,  and  travelled  at  a  good  pace  up  the  northern 
channel  of  the  Solimoens,  or  that  lying  between  the  island 
Catua  and  the  left  bank  of  the  river.  The  northern  shore  of 
the  island  had  a  broad  sandy  beach  reaching  to  its  western 
extremity.  We  gained  our  destination  a  little  after  daybreak; 
this  was  the  banks  of  the  Carapanatuba,1  a  channel  some  150 
yards  in  width,  which,  like  the  Anana  already  mentioned,  com- 
municates with  the  Cupiyo.  To  reach  this  we  had  to  cross  the 
river,  here  nearly  two  miles  wide.  Just  as  day  dawned  we  saw 
a  Cayman  seize  a  large  fish,  a  Tambaki,  near  the  surface;  the 
reptile  seemed  to  have  a  difficulty  in  securing  its  prey,  for  it 
reared  itself  above  the  water,  tossing  the  fish  in  its  jaws  and 
making  a  tremendous  commotion.  I  was  much  struck  also  by 
the  singular  appearance  presented  by  certain  diving  birds  having 
very  long  and  snaky  necks  (the  Plotus  Anhinga).  Occasionally 
a  long  serpentine  form  would  suddenly  wriggle  itself  to  a  height 
of  a  foot  and  a  half  above  the  glassy  surface  of  the  water,  pro- 
ducing such  a  deceptive  imitation  of  a  snake  that  at  first  I  had 
some  difficulty  in  believing  it  to  be  the  neck  of  a  bird;  it  did  not 
remain  long  in  view,  but  soon  plunged  again  beneath  the  stream. 

We  ran  ashore  in  a  most  lonely  and  gloomy  place,  on  a  low 

1  Meaning,  in  Tupi,  the  river  of  many  mosquitoes:  from  carapana. 
mosquito,  and  ituba,  many. 


Excursions  around  Ega  335 

sand-bank  covered  with  bushes,  secured  the  montaria  to  a  tree 
and  then,  after  making  a  very  sparing  breakfast  on  fried  fish 
and  mandioca  meal,  rolled  up  our  trousers  and  plunged  into  the 
thick  forest,  which  here,  as  everywhere  else,  rose  like  a  lofty 
wall  of  foliage  from  the  narrow  strip  of  beach.  We  made 
straight  for  the  heart  of  the  land,  John  Jabuti  leading,  and 
breaking  off  at  every  few  steps  a  branch  of  the  lower  trees,  so 
that  we  might  recognise  the  path  on  our  return.  The  district 
was  quite  new  to  all  my  companions,  and  being  on  a  coast 
almost  totally  uninhabited  by  human  beings  for  some  300  miles, 
to  lose  our  way  would  have  been  to  perish  helplessly.  I  did 
not  think  at  the  time  of  the  risk  we  ran  of  having  our  canoe 
stolen  by  passing  Indians;  unguarded  montarias  being  never 
safe  even  in  the  ports  of  the  villages,  Indians  apparently  con- 
sidering them  common  property,  and  stealing  them  without 
any  compunction.  No  misgivings  clouded  the  lightness  of 
heart  with  which  we  trod  forward  in  warm  anticipation  of  a 
good  day's  sport. 

The  tract  of  forest  through  which  we  passed  was  Ygapo,  but 
the  higher  parts  of  the  land  formed  areas  which  went  only  a 
very  few  inches  under  water  in  the  flood  season.  It  consisted 
of  a  most  bewildering  diversity  of  grand  and  beautiful  trees, 
draped,  festooned,  corded,  matted,  and  ribboned  with  climbing 
plants,  woody  and  succulent,  in  endless  variety.  The  most 
prevalent  palm  was  the  tall  Astryocaryum  Jauari,  whose  fallen 
spines  made  it  necessary  to  pick  our  way  carefully  over  the 
ground,  as  we  were  all  barefooted.  There  was  not  much  green 
underwood,  except  in  places  where  Bamboos  grew;  these 
formed  impenetrable  thickets  of  plumy  foliage  and  thorny, 
jointed  stems,  which  always  compelled  us  to  make  a  circuit  to 
avoid  them.  The  earth  elsewhere  was  encumbered  with  rotting 
fruits,  gigantic  bean-pods,  leaves,  limbs,  and  trunks  of  trees; 
fixing  the  impression  of  its  being  the  cemetery  as  well  as  the 
birthplace  of  the  great  world  of  vegetation  overhead.  Some  of 
the  trees  were  of  prodigious  height.  We  passed  many  specimens 
of  the  Moratinga,  whose  cylindrical  trunks,  I  dare  not  say  how 
many  feet  in  circumference,  towered  up  and  were  lost  amidst  the 
crowns  of  the  lower  trees,  their  lower  branches,  in  some  cases, 
being  hidden  from  our  view.  Another  very  large  and  remark- 
able tree  was  the  Assacu  (Sapium  aucuparium).  A  traveller  on 
the  Amazons,  mingling  with  the  people,  is  sure  to  hear  much  of 
the  poisonous  qualities  of  the  juices  of  this  tree.  Its  bark 
exudes,  when  hacked  with  a  knife,  a  milky  sap,  which  is  not 


336      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

only  a  fatal  poison  when  taken  internally,  but  is  said  to  cause 
incurable  sores  if  simply  sprinkled  on  the  skin.  My  companions 
always  gave  the  Assacu  a  wide  berth  when  we  passed  one.  The 
tree  looks  ugly  enough  to  merit  a  bad  name,  for  the  bark  is  of 
a  dingy  olive  colour,  and  is  studded  with  short  and  sharp, 
venomous-looking  spines. 

After  walking  about  half  a  mile  we  came  upon  a  dry  water- 
course, where  we  observed,  first,  the  old  footmarks  of  a  tapir, 
and,  soon  after,  on  the  margin  of  a  curious  circular  hole  full  of 
muddy  water,  the  fresh  tracks  of  a  Jaguar.  This  latter  dis- 
covery was  hardly  made,  when  a  rush  was  heard  amidst  the 
bushes  on  the  top  of  a  sloping  bank  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
dried  creek.  We  bounded  forward;  it  was,  however,  too  late, 
for  the  animal  had  sped  in  a  few  minutes  far  out  of  our  reach. 
It  was  clear  we  had  disturbed,  on  our  approach,  the  Jaguar, 
whilst  quenching  his  thirst  at  the  water-hole.  A  few  steps 
further  on  we  saw  the  mangled  remains  of  an  alligator  (the 
Jacaretinga).  The  head,  fore-quarters,  and  bony  shell  were 
the  only  parts  which  remained;  but  the  meat  was  quite  fresh, 
and  there  were  many  footmarks  of  the  Jaguar  around  the  car- 
case ;  so  that  there  was  no  doubt  this  had  formed  the  solid  part 
of  the  animal's  breakfast.  My  companions  now  began  to  search 
for  the  alligator's  nest,  the  presence  of  the  reptile  so  far  from  the 
river  being  accountable  for  on  no  other  ground  than  its  maternal 
solicitude  for  its  eggs.  We  found,  in  fact,  the  nest  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  yards  from  the  place.  It  was  a  conical  pile 
of  dead  leaves,  in  the  middle  of  which  twenty  eggs  were  buried. 
These  were  of  elliptical  shape,  considerably  larger  than  those 
of  a  duck,  and  having  a  hard  shell  of  the  texture  of  porcelain, 
but  very  rough  on  the  outside.  They  make  a  loud  sound  when 
rubbed  together,  and  it  is  said  that  it  is  easy  to  find  a  mother 
alligator  in  the  Ygapo  forests  by  rubbing  together  two  eggs  in 
this  way,  she  being  never  far  off,  and  attracted  by  the  sounds. 

I  put  half-a-dozen  of  the  alligator's  eggs  in  my  game-bag  for 
specimens,  and  we  then  continued  on  our  way.  Lino,  who  was 
now  first,  presently  made  a  start  backwards,  calling  out  "  Jara- 
raca!  "  This  is  the  name  of  a  poisonous  snake  (genus  Craspe- 
docephalus),  which  is  far  more  dreaded  by  the  natives  than 
Jaguar  or  Alligator.  The  individual  seen  by  Lino  lay  coiled 
up  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  and  was  scarcely  distinguishable,  on 
account  of  the  colours  of  its  body  being  assimilated  to  those  of 
the  fallen  leaves.  Its  hideous,  flat  triangular  head,  connected 
with  the  body  by  a  thin  neck,  was  reared  and  turned  towards 


Excursions  around  Ega  337 

us:  Frazao  killed  it  with  a  charge  of  shot,  shattering  it  com- 
pletely, and  destroying,  to  my  regret,  its  value  as  a  specimen. 
In  conversing  on  the  subject  of  Jararacas  as  we  walked  onwards, 
every  one  of  the  party  was  ready  to  swear  that  this  snake  attacks 
roan  without  provocation,  leaping  towards  him  from  a  con- 
siderable distance  when  he  approaches.  I  met,  in  the  course 
of  my  daily  rambles  in  the  woods,  many  Jararacas,  and  once  or 
twice  narrowly  very  escaped  treading  on  them,  but  never  saw 
them  attempt  to  spring.  On  some  subjects  the  testimony  of 
the  natives  of  a  wild  country  is  utterly  worthless.  The  bite  of 
the  Jararacas  is  generally  fatal.  I  knew  of  four  or  five  instances 
of  death  from  it,  and  only  of  one  clear  case  of  recovery  after 
being  bitten;  but  in  that  case  the  person  was  lamed  for  life. 

We  walked  over  moderately  elevated  and  dry  ground  for 
about  a  mile,  and  then  descended  (three  or  four  feet  only)  to 
the  dry  bed  of  another  creek.  This  was  pierced  in  the  same 
way  as  the  former  water-course,  with  round  holes  full  of  muddy 
water.  They  occurred  at  intervals  of  a  few  yards,  and  had  the 
appearance  of  having  been  made  by  the  hand  of  man.  The 
smallest  were  about  two  feet,  the  largest  seven  or  eight  feet  in 
diameter.  As  we  approached  the  most  extensive  of  the  larger 
ones,  I  was  startled  at  seeing  a  number  of  large  serpent-like 
heads  bobbing  about  the  surface.  They  proved  to  be  those  of 
electric  eels,  and  it  now  occurred  to  me  that  the  round  holes 
were  made  by  these  animals  working  constantly  round  and 
round  in  the  moist  muddy  soil.  Their  depth  (some  of  them 
were  at  least  eight  feet  deep)  was  doubtless  due  also  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  eels  in  the  soft  soil,  and  accounted  for  their  not 
drying  up,  in  the  fine  season,  with  the  rest  of  the  creek.  Thus, 
whilst  alligators  and  turtles  in  this  great  inundated  forest  region 
retire  to  the  larger  pools  during  the  dry  season,  the  electric  eels 
make  for  themselves  little  ponds  in  which  to  pass  the  season  of 
drought. 

My  companions  now  cut  each  a  stout  pole,  and  proceeded  to 
eject  the  eels  in  order  to  get  at  the  other  fishes,  with  which  they 
had  discovered  the  ponds  to  abound.  I  amused  them  all  very 
much  by  showing  how  the  electric  shock  from  the  eels  could 
pass  from  one  person  to  another.  We  joined  hands  in  a  line 
whilst  I  touched  the  biggest  and  freshest  of  the  animals  on  the 
head  with  the  point  of  my  hunting-knife.  We  found  that  this 
experiment  did  not  succeed  more  than  three  times  with  the 
same  eel  when  out  of  the  water;  for,  the  fourth  time,  the  shock 
was  scarcely  perceptible.    All  the  fishes  found  in  the  holes 


338      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

(besides  the  eels)  belonged  to  one  species,  a  small  kind  of  Acari; 
or  Loricaria,  a  group  whose  members  have  a  complete  bony 
integument.  Lino  and  the  boy  strung  them  together  through 
the  gills  with  slender  sipos,  and  hung  them  on  the  trees  to  await 
our  return  later  in  the  day. 

Leaving  the  bed  of  the  creek,  we  marched  onwards,  always 
towards  the  centre  of  the  land;  guided  by  the  sun,  which  now 
glimmered  through  the  thick  foliage  overhead.  About  eleven 
o'clock  we  saw  a  break  in  the  forest  before  us,  and  presently 
emerged  on  the  banks  of  a  rather  large  sheet  of  water.  This 
was  one  of  the  interior  pools  of  which  there  are  so  many  in  this 
district.  The  margins  were  elevated  some  few  feet,  and  sloped 
down  to  the  water,  the  ground  being  hard  and  dry  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  covered  with  shrubby  vegetation.  We  passed  com- 
pletely round  this  pool,  finding  the  crowns  of  the  trees  on  its 
borders  tenanted  by  curassow  birds,  whose  presence  was 
betrayed  as  usual  by  the  peculiar  note  which  they  emit.  My 
companions  shot  two  of  them.  At  the  further  end  of  the  lake 
lay  a  deep  watercourse,  which  we  traced  for  about  half  a  mile, 
and  found  to  communicate  with  another  and  smaller  pool. 
This  second  one  evidently  swarmed  with  turtles,  as  we  saw  the 
snouts  of  many  peering  above  the  surface  of  the  water:  the 
same  had  not  been  seen  in  the  larger  lake,  probably  because  we 
had  made  too  much  noise  in  hailing  our  discovery,  on  approach- 
ing its  banks.  My  friends  made  an  arrangement  on  the  spot 
for  returning  to  this  pool,  after  the  termination  of  the  egg 
harvest  on  Catua. 

In  recrossing  the  space  between  the  two  pools,  we  heard  the 
crash  of  monkeys  in  the  crowns  of  trees  overhead.  The  chase 
of  these  occupied  us  a  considerable  time.  Jose  fired  at  length 
at  one  of  the  laggards  of  the  troop,  and  wounded  him.  He 
climbed  pretty  nimbly  towards  a  denser  part  of  the  tree,  and  a 
second  and  third  discharge  failed  to  bring  him  down.  The 
poor  maimed  creature  then  trailed  his  limbs  to  one  of  the  top- 
most branches,  where  we  descried  him  soon  after,  seated  and 
picking  the  entrails  from  a  wound  in  his  abdomen;  a  most 
heart-rending  sight.  The  height  from  the  ground  to  the  bough 
on  which  he  was  perched  could  not  have  been  less  than  150  feet, 
and  we  could  get  a  glimpse  of  him  only  by  standing  directly 
underneath,  and  straining  our  eyes  upwards.  We  killed  him 
at  last  by  loading  our  best  gun  with  a  careful  charge,  and  resting 
the  barrel  against  the  tree-trunk  to  steady  the  aim.  A  few 
shots  entered  his  chin,  and  he  then  fell  heels  over  head  scream- 


Excursions  around  Ega  339 

ing  to  the  gronnd.  Although  it  was  I  who  gave  the  final  shot, 
this  animal  did  not  fall  to  my  lot  in  dividing  the  spoils  at  the 
end  of  the  day.  I  regret  now  not  having  preserved  the  skin, 
as  it  belonged  to  a  very  large  species  of  Cebus,  and  one  which  I 
never  met  with  afterwards. 

It  was  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  we  again 
reached  the  spot  where  we  had  first  struck  the  banks  of  the 
larger  pool.  We  had  hitherto  had  but  poor  sport,  so  after  dining 
on  the  remains  of  our  fried  fish  and  farinha,  and  smoking  our 
cigarettes,  the  apparatus  for  making  which,  including  bamboo 
tinder-box  and  steel  and  flint  for  striking  a  light,  being  carried 
by  every  one  always  on  these  expeditions,  we  made  off  in 
another  (westerly)  direction  through  the  forest  to  try  to  find 
better  hunting-ground.  We  quenched  our  thirst  with  water 
from  the  pool,  which  I  was  rather  surprised  to  find  quite  pure. 
These  pools  are,  of  course,  sometimes  fouled  for  a  time  by  the 
movements  of  alligators  and  other  tenants  in  the  fine  mud 
which  settles  at  the  bottom,  but  I  never  observed  a  scum  of 
confervae  or  traces  of  oil  revealing  animal  decomposition  on  the 
surface  of  these  waters,  nor  was  there  ever  any  foul  smell  per- 
ceptible. The  whole  of  this  level  land,  instead  of  being  covered 
with  unwholesome  swamps  emitting  malaria,  forms  in  the  dry 
season  (and  in  the  wet  also)  a  most  healthy  country.  How 
elaborate  must  be  the  natural  processes  of  self-purification  in 
these  teeming  waters ! 

On  our  fresh  route  we  were  obliged  to  cut  our  way  through 
a  long  belt  of  bamboo  underwood,  and  not  being  so  careful  of 
my  steps  as  my  companions,  I  trod  repeatedly  on  the  flinty 
thorns  which  had  fallen  from  the  bushes,  finishing  by  becoming 
completely  lame,  one  thorn  having  entered  deeply  the  sole  of 
my  foot.  I  was  obliged  to  be  left  behind;  Lino,  the  Indian, 
remaining  with  me.  The  careful  fellow  cleaned  my  wounds 
with  his  saliva,  placed  pieces  of  isca  (the  felt-like  substance 
manufactured  by  ants)  on  them  to  staunch  the  blood,  and 
bound  my  feet  with  tough  bast  to  serve  as  shoes,  which  he  cut 
from  the  bark  of  a  Monguba  tree.  He  went  about  his  work  in 
a  very  gentle  way  and  with  much  skill,  but  was  so  sparing  of 
speech  that  I  could  scarcely  get  answers  to  the  questions  I  put 
to  him.  When  he  had  done  I  was  able  to  limp  about  pretty 
nimbly.  An  Indian  when  he  performs  a  service  of  this  kind 
never  thinks  of  a  reward.  I  did  not  find  so  much  disinterested- 
ness in  negro  slaves  or  half-castes.  We  had  to  wait  two  hours 
for  the  return  of  our  companions;    during  part  of  this  time  I 


34°      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

was  left  quite  alone,  Lino  having  started  off  into  the  jungle 
after  a  peccary  (a  kind  of  wild  hog)  which  had  come  near  to 
where  we  sat,  but  on  seeing  us  had  given  a  grunt  and  bounded 
off  into  the  thickets.  At  length  our  friends  hove  in  sight, 
loaded  with  game;  having  shot  twelve  curassows  and  two 
cujubims  (Penelope  Pipile),  a  handsome  black  fowl  with  a  white 
head,  which  is  arboreal  in  its  habits  like  the  rest  of  this  group 
of  Gallinaceous  birds  inhabiting  the  South  American  forests. 
They  had  discovered  a  third  pool  containing  plenty  of  turtles. 
Lino  rejoined  us  at  the  same  time,  having  missed  the  peccary, 
but  in  compensation  shot  a  Quandu,  or  porcupine.  The 
mulatto  boy  had  caught  alive  in  the  pool  a  most  charming  little 
water-fowl,  a  species  of  grebe.  It  was  somewhat  smaller  than 
a  pigeon,  and  had  a  pointed  beak ;  its  feet  were  furnished  with 
many  intricate  folds  or  frills  of  skin  instead  of  webs,  and  re- 
sembled very  much  those  of  the  gecko  lizards.  The  bird  was 
kept  as  a  pet  in  Jabuti's  house  at  Ega  for  a  long  time  afterwards, 
where  it  became  accustomed  to  swim  about  in  a  common  hand- 
basin  full  of  water,  and  was  a  great  favourite  with  everybody. 

We  now  retraced  our  steps  towards  the  water-side,  a  weary 
walk  of  five  or  six  miles,  reaching  our  canoe  by  half-past  five 
o'clock,  or  a  little  before  sunset.  It  was  considered  by  every 
one  at  Catua  that  we  had  had  an  unusually  good  day's  sport. 
I  never  knew  any  small  party  to  take  so  much  game  in  one  day 
in  these  forests,  over  which  animals  are  everywhere  so  widely 
and  sparingly  scattered.  My  companions  were  greatly  elated, 
and  on  approaching  the  encampment  at  Catua  made  a  great 
commotion  with  their  paddles  to  announce  their  successful 
return,  singing  in  their  loudest  key  one  of  the  wild  choruses  of 
the  Amazonian  boatmen. 

The  excavation  of  eggs  and  preparation  of  the  oil  being 
finished,  we  left  Catua  on  the  3rd  of  November.  Carepira,  who 
was  now  attached  to  Cardozo's  party,  had  discovered  another 
lake  rich  in  turtles,  about  twelve  miles  distant,  in  one  of  his 
fishing  rambles,  and  my  friend  resolved,  before  returning  to 
Ega,  to  go  there  with  his  nets  and  drag  it  as  we  had  formerly 
done  the  Aningal.  Several  Mameluco  families  of  Ega  begged 
to  accompany  us  to  share  the  labours  and  booty;  the  Shumana 
family  also  joined  the  party;  we  therefore  formed  a  large  body, 
numbering  in  all  eight  canoes  and  fifty  persons. 

The  summer  season  was  now  breaking  up;  the  river  was 
rising;    the  sky  was  almost  constantly  clouded,  and  we  had 


Excursions  around  Ega  341 

frequent  rains.  The  mosquitoes  also,  which  we  had  not  felt 
whilst  encamped  on  the  sand-banks,  now  became  troublesome. 
We  paddled  up  the  north-westerly  channel,  and  arrived  at  a 
point  near  the  upper  end  of  Catua  at  ten  o'clock  p.m.  There 
was  here  a  very  broad  beach  of  untrodden  white  sand,  which 
extended  quite  into  the  forest,  where  it  formed  rounded  hills 
and  hollows  like  sand  dunes,  covered  with  a  peculiar  vegetation : 
harsh,  reedy  grasses,  and  low  trees  matted  together  with  lianas, 
and  varied  with  dwarf  spiny  palms  of  the  genus  Bactris.  We 
encamped  for  the  night  on  the  sands,  finding  the  place  luckily 
free  from  mosquitoes.  The  different  portions  of  the  party  made 
arched  coverings  with  the  toldos  or  maranta-leaf  awnings  of 
their  canoes  to  sleep  under,  fixing  the  edges  in  the  sand.  No  one, 
however,  seemed  inclined  to  go  to  sleep,  so  after  supper  we  all 
sat  or  lay  around  the  large  fires  and  amused  ourselves.  We  had 
the  fiddler  with  us,  and  in  the  intervals  between  the  wretched 
tunes  which  he  played,  the  usual  amusement  of  story-telling 
beguiled  the  time:  tales  of  hair-breadth  escapes  from  jaguar, 
alligator,  and  so  forth.  There  were  amongst  us  a  father  and 
son  who  had  been  the  actors,  the  previous  year,  in  an  alligator 
adventure  on  the  edge  of  the  praia  we  had  just  left.  The  son, 
whilst  bathing,  was  seized  by  the  thigh  and  carried  under  water: 
a  cry  was  raised,  and  the  father,  rushing  down  the  bank,  plunged 
after  the  rapacious  beast,  which  was  diving  away  with  his  victim. 
It  seems  almost  incredible  that  a  man  could  overtake  and  master 
the  large  cayman  in  his  own  element;  but  such  was  the  case  in 
this  instance,  for  the  animal  was  reached  and  forced  to  release 
his  booty  by  the  man's  thrusting  his  thumb  into  his  eye.  The 
lad  showed  us  the  marks  of  the  alligator's  teeth  on  his  thigh. 
We  sat  up  until  past  midnight  listening  to  these  stories  and 
assisting  the  flow  of  talk  by  frequent  potations  of  burnt  rum. 
A  large  shallow  dish  was  filled  with  the  liquor  and  fired :  when 
it  had  burnt  for  a  few  minutes  the  flame  was  extinguished  and 
each  one  helped  himself  by  dipping  a  tea-cup  into  the  vessel. 

One  by  one  the  people  dropped  asleep,  and  then  the  quiet 
murmur  of  talk  of  the  few  who  remained  awake  was  interrupted 
by  the  roar  of  jaguars  in  the  jungle  about  a  furlong  distant. 
There  was  not  one  only,  but  several  of  the  animals.  The  older 
men  showed  considerable  alarm,  and  proceeded  to  light  fresh 
fires  around  the  outside  of  our  encampment.  I  had  read  in 
books  of  travel  of  tigers  coming  to  warm  themselves  by  the  fires 
of  a  bivouac,  and  thought  my  strong  wish  to  witness  the  same 
sight  would  have  been  gratified  to-night.    I  had  not,  however, 


342      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

such  good  fortune,  although  I  was  the  last  to  go  to  sleep,  and  my 
bed  was  the  bare  sand  under  a  little  arched  covering  open  at 
both  ends.  The  jaguars,  nevertheless,  must  have  come  very 
near  during  the  night,  for  their  fresh  footmarks  were  numerous 
within  a  score  yards  of  the  place  where  we  slept.  In  the  morn- 
ing I  had  a  ramble  along  the  borders  of  the  jungle,  and  found 
the  tracks  very  numerous  and  close  together  on  the  sandy  soil. 

We  remained  in  this  neighbourhood  four  days,  and  succeeded 
in  obtaining  many  hundred  turtles,  but  we  were  obliged  to 
sleep  two  nights  within  the  Carapanatiiba  channel.  The  first 
night  passed  rather  pleasantly,  for  the  weather  was  fine,  and  we 
encamped  in  the  forest,  making  large  fires  and  slinging  our 
hammocks  between  the  trees.  The  second  was  one  of  the  most 
miserable  nights  I  ever  spent.  The  air  was  close,  and  a  drizzling 
rain  began  to  fall  about  midnight,  lasting  until  morning.  We 
tried  at  first  to  brave  it  out  under  the  trees.  Several  very  large 
fires  were  made,  lighting  up  with  ruddy  gleams  the  magnificent 
foliage  in  the  black  shades  around  our  encampment.  The  heat 
and  smoke  had  the  desired  effect  of  keeping  off  pretty  well  the 
mosquitoes,  but  the  rain  continued  until  at  length  everything 
was  soaked,  and  we  had  no  help  for  it  but  to  bundle  off  to  the 
canoes  with  drenched  hammocks  and  garments.  There  was 
not  nearly  room  enough  in  the  flotilla  to  accommodate  so  large 
a  number  of  persons  lying  at  full  length;  moreover  the  night 
was  pitch  dark,  and  it  was  quite  impossible  in  the  gloom  and 
confusion  to  get  at  a  change  of  clothing.  So  there  we  lay, 
huddled  together  in  the  best  way  we  could  arrange  ourselves, 
exhausted  with  fatigue  and  irritated  beyond  all  conception  by 
clouds  of  mosquitoes.  I  slept  on  a  bench  with  a  sail  over  me, 
my  wet  clothes  clinging  to  my  body,  and  to  increase  my  dis- 
comfort, close  beside  me  lay  an  Indian  girl,  one  of  Cardozo's 
domestics,  who  had  a  skin  disfigured  with  black  diseased  patches, 
and  whose  thick  clothing,  not  having  been  washed  during  the 
whole  time  we  had  been  out  (eighteen  days),  gave  forth  a  most 
vile  effluvium. 

We  spent  the  night  of  the  7th  of  November  pleasantly  on  the 
smooth  sands,  where  the  jaguars  again  serenaded  us,  and  on  the 
succeeding  morning  we  commenced  our  return  voyage  to  Ega. 
We  first  doubled  the  upper  end  of  the  island  of  Catua,  and  then 
struck  off  for  the  right  bank  of  the  Solimoens.  The  river  was 
here  of  immense  width,  and  the  current  was  so  strong  in  the 
middle  that  it  required  the  most  strenuous  exertions  on  the 
part  of  our  paddlers  to  prevent  us  from  being  carried  miles  away 


Excursions  around  Ega  343 

down  the  stream.  At  night  we  reached  the  Juteca,  a  small 
river  which  enters  the  Solimoens  by  a  channel  so  narrow  that  a 
man  might  almost  jump  across  it,  but  a  furlong  inwards  expands 
into  a  very  pretty  lake  several  miles  in  circumference.  We  slept 
again  in  the  forest,  and  again  were  annoyed  by  rain  and  mos- 
quitoes; but  this  time  Cardozo  and  I  preferred  remaining 
where  we  were  to  mingling  with  the  reeking  crowd  in  the  boats. 
When  the  grey  dawn  arose  a  steady  rain  was  still  falling,  and 
the  whole  sky  had  a  settled  leaden  appearance,  but  it  was 
delightfully  cool.  We  took  our  net  into  the  lake  and  gleaned 
a  good  supply  of  delicious  fish  for  breakfast.  I  saw  at  the 
upper  end  of  this  lake  the  native  rice  of  this  country  growing 
wild. 

The  weather  cleared  up  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.  At  three  p.m. 
we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cayambe,  another  tributary 
stream  much  larger  than  the  Juteca.  The  channel  of  exit  to  the 
Solimoens  was  here  also  very  narrow,  but  the  expanded  river 
inside  is  of  vast  dimensions:  it  forms  a  lake  (I  may  safely 
venture  to  say),  several  score  miles  in  circumference.  Although 
prepared  for  these  surprises,  I  was  quite  taken  aback  in  this 
case.  We  had  been  paddling  all  day  along  a  monotonous  shore, 
with  the  dreary  Solimoens  before  us,  here  three  to  four  miles 
broad,  heavily  rolling  onward  its  muddy  waters.  We  come  to 
a  little  gap  in  the  earthy  banks,  and  find  a  dark,  narrow  inlet 
with  a  wall  of  forest  overshadowing  it  on  each  side;  we  enter  it, 
and  at  a  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  yards  a  glorious  sheet 
of  water  bursts  upon  the  view.  The  scenery  of  Cayambe  is  very 
picturesque.  The  land,  on  the  two  sides  visible  of  the  lake,  is 
high,  and  clothed  with  sombre  woods,  varied  here  and  there 
with  a  white-washed  house,  in  the  middle  of  a  green  patch  of 
clearing,  belonging  to  settlers.  In  striking  contrast  to  these 
dark,  rolling  forests,  is  the  vivid,  light-green  and  cheerful  foliage 
of  the  woods  on  the  numerous  islets  which  rest  like  water- 
gardens  on  the  surface  of  the  lake.  Flocks  of  ducks,  storks,  and 
snow-white  herons  inhabit  these  islets,  and  a  noise  of  parrots 
with  the  tingling  chorus  of  Tamburi-paras  was  heard  from  them 
as  we  passed.  This  has  a  cheering  effect  after  the  depressing 
stillness  and  absence  of  life  in  the  woods  on  the  margins  of  the 
main  river. 

Cardozo  and  I  took  a  small  boat  and  crossed  the  lake  to  visit 
one  of  the  settlers,  and  on  our  return  to  our  canoe,  whilst  in  the 
middle  of  the  lake,  a  squall  suddenly  arose,  in  the  direction 
towards  which  we  were  going,  so  that  for  a  whole  hour  we  were 


344      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

in  great  danger  of  being  swamped.  The  wind  blew  away  the 
awning  and  mats,  and  lashed  the  waters  into  foam:  the  waves 
rising  to  a  great  height.  Our  boat,  fortunately,  was  excellently 
constructed,  rising  well  towards  the  prow,  so  that  with  good 
steering  we  managed  to  head  the  billows  as  they  arose  and 
escaped  without  shipping  much  water.  We  reached  our  igarite 
at  sunset,  and  then  made  all  speed  to  Curubaru,  fifteen  miles 
distant,  to  encamp  for  the  night  on  the  sands.  We  reached  the 
praia  at  ten  o'clock.  The  waters  were  now  mounting  fast  upon 
the  sloping  beach,  and  we  found  on  dragging  the  net  next  morn- 
ing that  fish  was  beginning  to  be  scarce.  Cardozo  and  his  friends 
talked  quite  gloomily  at  breakfast  time  over  the  departure  of 
the  joyous  verao,  and  the  setting  in  of  the  dull,  hungry  winter 
season. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  ioth  of  November  a 
light  wind  from  down  river  sprang  up,  and  all  who  had  sails 
hoisted  them.  It  was  the  first  time  during  our  trip  that  we  had 
had  occasion  to  use  our  sails:  so  continual  is  the  calm  on  this 
upper  river.  We  bowled  along  merrily,  and  soon  entered  the 
broad  channel  lying  between  Baria  and  the  mainland  on  the 
south  bank.  The  wind  carried  us  right  into  the  mouth  of  the 
Teffe  and  at  four  o'clock  p.m.  we  cast  anchor  in  the  port  of  Ega. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ANIMALS  OF  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  EGA 

Scarlet  -  faced  Monkeys  —  Parauacii  Monkey  —  Owl -faced  Night- apes — ■ 
Marmosets — Jupura — Bats — Birds — Cuvier's  Toucan — Curl-crested 
Toucan — Insects — Pendulous  Cocoons — Foraging  Ants — Blind  Ants 

As  may  have  been  gathered  from  the  remarks  already  made, 
the  neighbourhood  of  Ega  was  a  fine  field  for  a  Natural  History 
collector.  With  the  exception  of  what  could  be  learnt  from  the 
few  specimens  brought  home,  after  transient  visits,  by  Spix  and 
Martius  and  the  Count  de  Castelnau,  whose  acquisitions  have 
been  deposited  in  the  public  museums  of  Munich  and  Paris, 
very  little  was  known  in  Europe  of  the  animal  tenants  of  this 
region;  the  collections  that  I  had  the  opportunity  of  making 
and  sending  home  attracted,  therefore,  considerable  attention. 
Indeed,  the  name  of  my  favourite  village  has  become  quite  a 
household  word  amongst  a  numerous  class  of  Naturalists,  not 
only  in  England  but  abroad,  in  consequence  of  the  very  large 
number  of  new  species  (upwards  of  3000)  which  they  have  had 
to  describe,  with  the  locality  "  Ega  "  attached  to  them.  The 
discovery  of  new  species,  however,  forms  but  a  small  item  in  the 
interest  belonging  to  the  study  of  the  living  creation.  The 
structure,  habits,  instincts,  and  geographical  distribution  of 
some  of  the  oldest-known  forms  supply  inexhaustible  materials 
for  reflection.  The  few  remarks  I  have  to  make  on  the  animals 
of  Ega  will  relate  to  the  mammals,  birds,  and  insects,  and 
will  sometimes  apply  to  the  productions  of  the  whole  Upper 
Amazons  region.  We  will  begin  with  the  monkeys,  the  most 
interesting,  next  to  man,  of  all  animals. 

Scarlet-faced  Monkeys. — Early  one  sunny  morning,  in  the 
year  1855,  I  saw-  in  the  streets  of  Ega  a  number  of  Indians, 
carrying  on  their  shoulders  down  to  the  port,  to  be  embarked 
on  the  Upper  Amazons  steamer,  a  large  cage  made  of  strong 
lianas,  some  twelve  feet  in  length  and  five  in  height,  containing 
a  dozen  monkeys  of  the  most  grotesque  appearance.  Their 
bodies  (about  eighteen  inches  in  height,  exclusive  of  limbs) 
were  clothed  from  neck  to  tail  with  very  long,  straight,  and 
shining  whitish  hair;    their  heads  were  nearly  bald,  owing  to 

345 


346      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  very  short  crop  of  thin  grey  hairs,  and  their  faces  glowed 
with  the  most  vivid  scarlet  hue.  As  a  finish  to  their  striking 
physiognomy,  they  had  bushy  whiskers  of  a  sandy  colour,  meet- 
ing under  the  chin,  and  reddish-yellow  eyes.  These  red-faced 
apes  belonged  to  a  species  called  by  the  Indians  Uakari,  which 
is  peculiar  to  the  Ega  district,  and  the  cage  with  its  contents 
was  being  sent  as  a  present  by  Senhor  Chrysostomo,  the 
Director  of  Indians  of  the  Japura,  to  one  of  the  Government 
officials  at  Rio  Janeiro,  in  acknowledgment  of  having  been 
made  colonel  of  the  new  national  guard.  They  had  been 
obtained  with  great  difficulty  in  the  forests  which  cover  the 
lowlands,  near  the  principal  mouth  of  the  Japura,  about  thirty 
miles  from  Ega.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  this  most 
curious  of  all  the  South  American  monkeys,  and  one  that  appears 
to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  Spix  and  Martius.  I  afterwards 
made  a  journey  to  the  district  inhabited  by  it,  but  did  not  then 
succeed  in  obtaining  specimens;  before  leaving  the  country, 
however,  I  acquired  two  individuals,  one  of  which  lived  in  my 
house  for  several  weeks. 

The  scarlet-faced  monkey  belongs,  in  all  essential  points  of 
structure,  to  the  same  family  (Cebidae)  as  the  rest  of  the  large- 
sized  American  species;  but  it  differs  from  all  its  relatives  in 
having  only  the  rudiment  of  a  tail,  a  member  which  reaches  in 
some  allied  kinds  the  highest  grade  of  development  known  in 
the  order.  It  was  so  unusual  to  see  a  nearly  tailless  monkey 
from  America,  that  naturalists  thought,  when  the  first  speci- 
mens arrived  in  Europe,  that  the  member  had  been  shortened 
artificially.  Nevertheless,  the  Uakari  is  not  quite  isolated  from 
its  related  species  of  the  same  family,  several  other  kinds,  also 
found  on  the  Amazons,  forming  a  graduated  passage  between 
the  extreme  forms  as  regards  the  tail.  The  appendage  reaches 
its  perfection  in  those  genera  (the  Howlers,  the  Lagothrix  and 
the  Spider  monkeys)  in  which  it  presents  on  its  under-surface 
near  the  tip  a  naked  palm,  which  makes  it  sensitive  and  useful 
as  a  fifth  hand  in  climbing.  In  the  rest  of  the  genera  of  Cebidae 
(seven  in  number,  containing  thirty-eight  species),  the  tail  is 
weaker  in  structure,  entirely  covered  with  hair,  and  of  little  or 
no  service  in  climbing,  a  few  species  nearly  related  to  our  Uakari 
having  it  much  shorter  than  usual.  All  the  Cebidae,  both  long- 
tailed  and  short-tailed,  are  equally  dwellers  in  trees.  The 
scarlet-faced  monkey  lives  in  forests,  which  are  inundated  during 
great  part  of  the  year,  and  is  never  known  to  descend  to  the 
ground ;  the  shortness  of  its  tail  is  therefore  no  sign  of  terrestrial 


SCARLET-FACED    AND    PARAUACU    MONKEYS 


348       The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

habits,  as  it  is  in  the  Macaques  and  Baboons  of  the  Old  World. 
It  differs  a  little  from  the  typical  Cebidse  in  its  teeth,  the  incisors 
being  oblique  and,  in  the  upper  jaw,  converging,  so  as  to  leave 
a  gap  between  the  outermost  and  the  canine  teeth.  Like  all 
the  rest  of  its  family,  it  differs  from  the  monkeys  of  the  Old  World, 
and  from  man,  in  having  an  additional  grinding-tooth  (premolar) 
in  each  side  of  both  jaws,  making  the  complete  set  thirty-six 
instead  of  thirty-two  in  number. 

The  white  Uakari  (Brachyurus  calvus),  seems  to  be  found  in 
no  other  part  of  America  than  the  district  just  mentioned, 
namely,  the  banks  of  the  Japura,  near  its  principal  mouth;  and 
even  there  it  is  confined,  as  far  I  could  learn,  to  the  western 
side  of  the  river.  It  lives  in  small  troops  amongst  the  crowns 
of  the  lofty  trees,  subsisting  on  fruits  of  various  kinds.  Hunters 
say  it  is  pretty  nimble  in  its  motions,  but  is  not  much  given  to 
leaping,  preferring  to  run  up  and  down  the  larger  boughs  in 
travelling  from  tree  to  tree.  The  mother,  as  in  other  species 
of  the  monkey  order,  carries  her  young  on  her  back.  Indivi- 
duals are  obtained  alive  by  shooting  them  with  the  blow-pipe 
and  arrows  tipped  with  diluted  Urari  poison.  They  run  a  con- 
siderable distance  after  being  pierced,  and  it  requires  an  experi- 
enced hunter  to  track  them.  He  is  considered  the  most  expert 
who  can  keep  pace  with  a  wounded  one,  and  catch  it  in  his  arms 
when  it  falls  exhausted.  A  pinch  of  salt,  the  antidote  to  the 
poison,  is  then  put  in  its  mouth,  and  the  creature  revives.  The 
species  is  rare,  even  in  the  limited  district  which  it  inhabits. 
Senhor  Chrysostomo  sent  six  of  his  most  skilful  Indians,  who 
were  absent  three  weeks  before  they  obtained  the  twelve  speci- 
mens which  formed  his  unique  and  princely  gift.  When  an 
independent  hunter  obtains  one,  a  very  high  price  (thirty  to 
forty  milreis  *)  is  asked,  these  monkeys  being  in  great  demand 
for  presents  to  persons  of  influence  down  the  river. 

Adult  Uakaris,  caught  in  the  way  just  described,  very  rarely 
become  tame.  They  are  peevish  and  sulky,  resisting  all 
attempts  to  coax  them,  and  biting  any  one  who  ventures 
within  reach.  They  have  no  particular  cry,  even  when  in  their 
native  woods ;  in  captivity  they  are  quite  silent.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  days  or  weeks,  if  not  very  carefully  attended  to,  they 
fall  into  a  listless  condition,  refuse  food  and  die.  Many  of  them 
succumb  to  a  disease  which  I  suppose  from  the  symptoms  to  be 
inflammation  of  the  chest  or  lungs.  The  one  which  I  kept  as 
a  pet  died  of  this  disorder  after  I  had  had  it  about  three  weeks. 
1  Three  pounds  seven  shillings  to  four  pounds  thirteen  shillings. 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  349 

It  lost  its  appetite  in  a  very  few  days,  although  kept  in  an  airy 
verandah;  its  coat,  which  was  originally  long,  smooth,  and 
glossy,  became  dingy  and  ragged  like  that  of  the  specimens  seen 
in  museums,  and  the  bright  scarlet  colour  of  its  face  changed  to 
a  duller  hue.  This  colour,  in  health,  is  spread  over  the  features 
up  to  the  roots  of  the  hair  on  the  forehead  and  temples,  and 
down  to  the  neck,  including  the  flabby  cheeks  which  hang  down 
below  the  jaws.  The  animal,  in  this  condition,  looks  at  a  short 
distance  as  though  some  one  had  laid  a  thick  coat  of  red  paint 
on  its  countenance.  The  death  of  my  pet  was  slow;  during  the 
last  twenty-four  hours  it  lay  prostrate,  breathing  quickly,  its 
chest  strongly  heaving;  the  colour  of  its  face  became  gradually 
paler,  but  was  still  red  when  it  expired.  As  the  hue  did  not 
quite  disappear  until  two  or  three  hours  after  the  animal  was 
quite  dead,  I  judged  that  it  was  not  exclusively  due  to  the  blood, 
but  partly  to  a  pigment  beneath  the  skin  which  would  probably 
retain  its  colour  a  short  time  after  the  circulation  had  ceased. 

After  seeing  much  of  the  morose  disposition  of  the  Uakari,  I 
was  not  a  little  surprised  one  day  at  a  friend's  house  to  find  an 
extremely  lively  and  familiar  individual  of  this  species.  It  ran 
from  an  inner  chamber  straight  towards  me  after  I  had  sat 
down  on  a  chair,  climbed  my  legs  and  nestled  in  my  lap,  turn- 
ing round  and  looking  up  with  the  usual  monkey's  grin,  after 
it  had  made  itself  comfortable.  It  was  a  young  animal  which 
had  been  taken  when  its  mother  was  shot  with  a  poisoned 
arrow;  its  teeth  were  incomplete,  and  the  face  was  pale  and 
mottled,  the  glowing  scarlet  hue  not  supervening  in  these 
animals  before  mature  age;  it  had  also  a  few  long  black  hairs 
on  the  eyebrows  and  lips.  The  frisky  little  fellow  had  been 
reared  in  the  house  amongst  the  children,  and  allowed  to  run 
about  freely,  and  take  its  meals  with  the  rest  of  the  household. 
There  are  few  animals  which  the  Brazilians  of  these  villages 
have  not  succeeded  in  taming.  I  have  even  seen  young  jaguars 
running  loose  about  a  house,  and  treated  as  pets.  The  animals 
that  I  had  rarely  became  familiar,  however  long  they  might 
remain  in  my  possession,  a  circumstance  due  no  doubt  to  their 
being  kept  always  tied  up. 

The  Uakari  is  one  of  the  many  species  of  animals  which  are 
classified  by  the  Brazilians  as  "  mortal,"  or  of  delicate  constitu- 
tion, in  contradistinction  to  those  which  are  "  duro,"  or  hardy. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  specimens  sent  from  Ega  die  before 
arriving  at  Para,  and  scarcely  one  in  a  dozen  succeeds  in  reach- 
ing Rio  Janeiro  alive.     The  difficulty  it  has  of  accommodating 

wr 


35°      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

itself  to  changed  conditions  probably  has  some  connection  with 
the  very  limited  range  or  confined  sphere  of  life  of  the  species 
in  its  natural  state,  its  native  home  being  an  area  of  swampy 
woods,  not  more  than  about  sixty  square  miles  in  extent, 
although  no  permanent  barrier  exists  to  check  its  dispersal, 
except  towards  the  south,  over  a  much  wider  space.  When  I 
descended  the  river  in  1859,  we  had  with  us  a  tame  adult 
Uakari,  which  was  allowed  to  ramble  about  the  vessel,  a  large 
schooner.  When  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  we 
had  to  wait  four  days  whilst  the  custom-house  officials  at 
Barra,  ten  miles  distant,  made  out  the  passports  for  our  crew, 
and  during  this  time  the  schooner  lay  close  to  the  shore,  with 
its  bowsprit  secured  to  the  trees  on  the  bank.  Well,  one  morn- 
ing, scarlet-face  was  missing,  having  made  his  escape  into  the 
forest.  Two  men  were  sent  in  search  of  him,  but  returned 
after  several  hours'  absence  without  having  caught  sight  of  the 
runaway.  We  gave  up  the  monkey  for  lost,  until  the  following 
day,  when  he  re-appeared  on  the  skirts  of  the  forest,  and  marched 
quietly  down  the  bowsprit  to  his  usual  place  on  deck.  He  had 
evidently  found  the  forests  of  the  Rio  Negro  very  different  from 
those  of  the  delta  lands  of  the  Japura,  and  preferred  captivity 
to  freedom  in  a  place  that  was  so  uncongenial  to  him. 

The  Parauacu  Monkey. — Another  Ega  monkey,  nearly  related 
to  the  Uakaris,  is  the  Parauacu  (Pithecia  hirsuta),  a  timid 
inoffensive  creature,  with  a  long  bear-like  coat  of  harsh  speckled- 
grey  hair.  The  long  fur  hangs  over  the  head,  half  concealing 
the  pleasing  diminutive  face,  and  clothes  also  the  tail  to  the  tip, 
which  member  is  well  developed,  being  eighteen  inches  in  length, 
or  longer  than  the  body.  The  Parauacu  is  found  on  the  "  terra 
firma  "  lands  of  the  north  shore  of  the  Solimoens  from  Tunantins 
to  Peru.  It  exists  also  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  namely, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Teffe,  but  there  under  a  changed  form,  which 
differs  a  little  from  its  type  in  colours.  This  form  has  been 
described  by  Dr.  Gray  as  a  distinct  species,  under  the  name  of 
Pithecia  albicans.  The  Parauacu  is  also  a  very  delicate  animal, 
rarely  living  many  weeks  in  captivity;  but  any  one  who  suc- 
ceeds in  keeping  it  alive  for  a  month  or  two,  gains  by  it  a  most 
affectionate  pet.  One  of  the  specimens  of  Pithecia  albicans 
now  in  the  British  Museum  was,  when  living,  the  property  of  a 
young  Frenchman,  a  neighbour  of  mine  at  Ega.  It  became  so 
tame  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  that  it  followed  him  about  the 
streets  like  a  dog.  My  friend  was  a  tailor,  and  the  little  pet 
used  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  the  day  seated  on  his  shoulder, 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  351 

whilst  he  was  at  work  on  his  board.  It  showed,  nevertheless, 
great  dislike  to  strangers,  and  was  not  on  good  terms  with  any 
other  member  of  my  friend's  household  than  himself.  I  saw  no 
monkey  that  showed  so  strong  a  personal  attachment  as  this 
gentle,  timid,  silent,  little  creature.  The  eager  and  passionate 
Cebi  seem  to  take  the  lead  of  all  the  South  American  monkeys 
in  intelligence  and  docility,  and  the  Coaita  has  perhaps  the  most 
gentle  and  impressible  disposition ;  but  the  Parauacu,  although 
a  dull,  cheerless  animal,  excels  all  in  this  quality  of  capability 
of  attachment  to  individuals  of  our  own  species.  It  is  not 
wanting,  however,  in  intelligence  as  well  as  moral  goodness, 
proof  of  which  was  furnished  one  day  by  an  act  of  our  little  pet. 
My  neighbour  had  quitted  his  house  in  the  morning  without 
taking  Parauacu  with  him,  and  the  little  creature  having  missed 
its  friend,  and  concluded,  as  it  seemed,  that  he  would  be  sure  to 
come  to  me,  both  being  in  the  habit  of  paying  me  a  daily  visit 
together,  came  straight  to  my  dwelling,  taking  a  short  cut  over 
gardens,  trees,  and  thickets,  instead  of  going  the  roundabout 
way  of  the  street.  It  had  never  done  this  before,  and  we  knew 
the  route  it  had  taken  only  from  a  neighbour  having  watched 
its  movements.  On  arriving  at  my  house  and  not  finding  its 
master,  it  climbed  to  the  top  of  my  table,  and  sat  with  an  air 
of  quiet  resignation  waiting  for  him.  Shortly  afterwards  my 
friend  entered,  and  the  gladdened  pet  then  jumped  to  its  usual 
perch  on  his  shoulder. 

Owl-faced  Night  Apes. — A  third  interesting  genus*  of  monkeys, 
found  near  Ega,  are  the  Nyctipitheci,  or  night  apes,  called  Ei-a 
by  the  Indians.  Of  these  I  found  two  species,  closely  related  to 
each  other  but  nevertheless  quite  distinct,  as  both  inhabit  the 
same  forests,  namely,  those  of  the  higher  and  drier  lands,  without 
mingling  with  each  other  or  intercrossing.  They  sleep  all  day 
long  in  hollow  trees,  and  come  forth  to  prey  on  insects  and  eat 
fruits  only  in  the  night.  They  are  of  small  size,  the  body  being 
about  a  foot  long,  and  the  tail  fourteen  inches,  and  are  thickly 
clothed  with  soft  grey  and  brown  fur,  similar  in  substance  to 
that  of  the  rabbit.  Their  physiognomy  reminds  one  of  an  owl, 
or  tiger-cat:  the  face  is  round  and  encircled  by  a  ruff  of  whitish 
fur;  the  muzzle  is  not  at  all  prominent;  the  mouth  and  chin  are 
small;  the  ears  are  very  short,  scarcely  appearing  above  the 
hair  of  the  head;  and  the  eyes  are  large  and  yellowish  in  colour, 
imparting  the  staring  expression  of  nocturnal  animals  of  prey. 
The  forehead  is  whitish,  and  decorated  with  three  black  stripes, 
which  in  one  of  the  species  (Nyctipithecus  trivirgatus)  continue 


352      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

to  the  crown,  and  in  the  other  (N.  felinus)  meet  on  the  top  of 
the  forehead.  N.  trivirgatus  was  first  described  by  Humboldt, 
who  discovered  it  on  the  banks  of  the  Cassiquiare,  near  the 
head  waters  of  the  Rio  Negro. 

I  kept  a  pet  animal  of  the  N.  trivirgatus  for  many  months,  a 
young  one  having  been  given  to  me  by  an  Indian  compadre,  as 
a  present  from  my  newly-baptised  godson.  These  monkeys, 
although  sleeping  by  day,  are  aroused  by  the  least  noise;  so 
that,  when  a  person  passes  by  a  tree  in  which  a  number  of  them 
are  concealed,  he  is  startled  by  the  sudden  apparition  of  a  group 
of  little  striped  faces  crowding  a  hole  in  the  trunk.  It  was  in 
this  way  that  my  compadre  discovered  the  colony  from  which 
the  one  given  to  me  was  taken.  I  was  obliged  to  keep  my  pet 
chained  up;  it  therefore  never  became  thoroughly  familiar.  I 
once  saw,  however,  an  individual  of  the  other  species  (N.  felinus) 
which  was  most  amusingly  tame.  It  was  as  lively  and  nimble 
as  the  Cebi,  but  not  so  mischievous  and  far  more  confiding  in  its 
disposition,  delighting  to  be  caressed  by  all  persons  who  came 
into  the  house.  But  its  owner,  the  Municipal  Judge  of  Ega, 
Dr.  Carlos  Mariana,  had  treated  it  for  many  weeks  with  the 
greatest  kindness,  allowing  it  to  sleep  with  him  at  night  in  his 
hammock,  and  to  nestle  in  his  bosom  half  the  day  as  he  lay 
reading.  It  was  a  great  favourite  with  every  one,  from  the 
cleanliness  of  its  habits  and  the  prettiness  of  its  features  and 
ways.  My  own  pet  was  kept  in  a  box,  in  which  was  placed  a 
broad-mouthed  glass  jar;  into  this  it  would  dive,  head  foremost, 
when  any  one  entered  the  room,  turning  round  inside,  and 
thrusting  forth  its  inquisitive  face  an  instant  afterwards  to  stare 
at  the  intruder.  It  was  very  active  at  night,  venting  at  frequent 
intervals  a  hoarse  cry,  like  the  suppressed  barking  of  a  dog,  and 
scampering  about  the  room,  to  the  length  of  its  tether,  after 
cockroaches  and  spiders.  In  climbing  between  the  box  and  the 
wall,  it  straddled  the  space,  resting  its  hands  on  the  palms  and 
tips  of  the  out-stretched  fingers  with  the  knuckles  bent  at  an 
acute  angle,  and  thus  mounted  to  the  top  with  the  greatest 
facility.  Although  seeming  to  prefer  insects,  it  ate  all  kinds  of 
fruit,  but  would  not  touch  raw  or  cooked  meat,  and  was  very 
seldom  thirsty.  I  was  told  by  persons  who  had  kept  these 
monkeys  loose  about  the  house,  that  they  cleared  the  chambers 
of  bats  as  well  as  insect  vermin.  When  approached  gently,  my 
Ei-a  allowed  itself  to  be  caressed;  but  when  handled  roughly,  it 
always  took  alarm,  biting  severely,  striking  out  its  little  hands, 
and  making  a  hissing  noise  like  a  cat.    As  already  related,  my 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  353 

pet  was  killed  by  a  jealous  Caiarara  monkey,  which  was  kept  in 
the  house  at  the  same  time. 

Barrigndo  Monkeys. — Ten  other  species  of  monkeys  were  found, 
in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned,  in  the  forests  of  the 
Upper  Amazons.  All  were  strictly  arboreal  and  diurnal  in  their 
habits,  and  lived  in  flocks,  travelling  from  tree  to  tree,  the 
mothers  with  their  children  on  their  backs;  leading,  in  fact,  a 
life  similar  to  that  of  the  Pararauate  Indians,  and,  like  them, 
occasionally  plundering  the  plantations  which  lie  near  their  line 
of  march.  Some  of  them  were  found  also  on  the  Lower  Amazons, 
and  have  been  noticed  in  former  chapters  of  this  narrative.  Of 
the  remainder,  the  most  remarkable  is  the  Macaco  barrigudo,  or 
bag-bellied  monkey  of  the  Portuguese  colonists,  a  species  of 
Lagothrix.  The  genus  is  closely  allied  to  the  Coaitas,  or  spider 
monkeys,  having,  like  them,  exceedingly  strong  and  flexible 
tails,  which  are  furnished  underneath  with  a  naked  palm  like  a 
hand,  for  grasping.  The  Barrigudos,  however,  are  very  bulky 
animals,  whilst  the  spider  monkeys  are  remarkable  for  the 
slenderness  of  their  bodies  and  limbs.  I  obtained  specimens  of 
what  have  been  considered  two  species,  one  (L.  olivaceus  of  Spix  ?) 
having  the  head  clothed  with  grey,  the  other  (L.  Humboldtii) 
with  black  fur.  They  both  live  together  in  the  same  places,  and 
are  probably  only  differently-coloured  individuals  of  one  and 
the  same  species.  I  sent  home  a  very  large  male  of  one  of  these 
kinds,  which  measured  twenty-seven  inches  in  length  of  trunk, 
the  tail  being  twenty-six  inches  long;  it  was  the  largest  monkey 
I  saw  in  America,  with  the  exception  of  a  black  Howler,  whose 
body  was  twenty-eight  inches  in  height.  The  skin  of  the  face  in 
the  Barrigudo  is  black  and  wrinkled,  the  forehead  is  low,  with 
the  eyebrows  projecting,  and,  in  short,  the  features  altogether 
resemble  in  a  striking  manner  those  of  an  old  negro.  In  the 
forests,  the  Barrigudo  is  not  a  very  active  animal;  it  lives 
exclusively  on  fruits,  and  is  much  persecuted  by  the  Indians,  on 
account  of  the  excellence  of  its  flesh  as  food.  From  information 
given  me  by  a  collector  of  birds  and  mammals,  whom  I  employed, 
and  who  resided  a  long  time  amongst  the  Tucuna  Indians,  near 
Tabatinga,  I  calculated  that  one  horde  of  this  tribe,  200  in 
number,  destroyed  1200  of  these  monkeys  annually  for  food. 
The  species  is  very  numerous  in  the  forests  of  the  higher  lands, 
but,  owing  to  long  persecution,  it  is  now  seldom  seen  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  larger  villages.  It  is  not  found  at  all  on 
the  Lower  Amazons.  Its  manners  in  captivity  are  grave,  and 
its  temper  mild  and  confiding,  like  that  of  the  Coaitas.    Owing 


354      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

to  these  traits,  the  Barrigudo  is  much  sought  after  for  pets;  but 
it  is  not  hardy  like  the  Coaitas,  and  seldom  survives  a  passage 
down  the  river  to  Para. 

Marmosets. — It  now  only  remains  to  notice  the  Marmosets, 
which  form  the  second  family  of  American  monkeys.  Our  old 
friend  Midas  ursulus,  of  Para  and  the  Lower  Amazons,  is  not 
found  on  the  Upper  river,  but  in  its  stead  a  closely-allied  species 
presents  itself,  which  appears  to  be  the  Midas  rufoniger  of 
Gervais,  whose  mouth  is  bordered  with  longish  white  hairs. 
The  habits  of  this  species  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  M.  ursulus, 
indeed  it  seems  probable  that  it  is  a  form  or  race  of  the  same 
stock,  modified  to  suit  the  altered  local  conditions  under  which 
it  lives.  One  day,  whilst  walking  along  a  forest  pathway,  I  saw 
one  of  these  lively  little  fellows  miss  his  grasp  as  he  was  passing 
from  one  tree  to  another  along  with  his  troop.  He  fell  head 
foremost,  from  a  height  of  at  least  fifty  feet,  but  managed 
cleverly  to  alight  on  his  legs  in  the  pathway;  quickly  turning 
round  he  gave  me  a  good  stare  for  a  few  moments,  and  then 
bounded  off  gaily  to  climb  another  tree.  At  Tunantins,  I  shot  a 
pair  of  a  very  handsome  species  of  Marmoset,  the  M.  rufiventer, 
I  believe,  of  zoologists.  Its  coat  was  very  glossy  and  smooth; 
the  back  deep  brown,  and  the  underside  of  the  body  of  rich 
black  and  reddish  hues.  A  third  species  (found  at  Tabatinga, 
200  miles  further  west)  is  of  a  deep  black  colour,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  patch  of  white  hair  around  its  mouth.  The  little 
animal,  at  a  short  distance,  looks  as  though  it  held  a  ball  of 
snow-white  cotton  in  its  teeth.  The  last  I  shall  mention  is  the 
Hapale  pygma^us,  one  of  the  most  diminutive  forms  of  the 
monkey  order,  three  full-grown  specimens  of  which,  measuring 
only  seven  inches  in  length  of  body,  I  obtained  near  St.  Paulo. 
The  pretty  Lilliputian  face  is  furnished  with  long  brown 
whiskers,  which  are  naturally  brushed  back  over  the  ears.  The 
general  colour  of  the  animal  is  brownish-tawny,  but  the  tail  is 
elegantly  barred  with  black.  I  was  surprised,  on  my  return 
to  England,  to  learn,  from  specimens  in  the  British  Museum, 
that  the  pigmy  Marmoset  was  found  also  in  Mexico,  no  other 
Amazonian  monkey  being  known  to  wander  far  from  the  great 
river  plain.  Thus  the  smallest  and  apparently  the  feeblest, 
species  of  the  whole  order,  is  one  which  has,  by  some  means, 
become  the  most  widely  dispersed. 

The  Jupurd. — A  curious  animal,  known  to  naturalists  as  the 
Kinkajou,  but  called  Jupura  by  the  Indians  of  the  Amazons, 
and  considered  by  them  as  a  kind  of  monkey,  may  be  mentioned 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  355 

in  this  place.  It  is  the  Cercoleptes  caudivolvus  of  zoologists, 
and  has  been  considered  by  some  authors  as  an  intermediate 
form  between  the  Lemur  family  of  apes  and  the  plantigrade 
Carnivora,  or  Bear  family.  It  has  decidedly  no  close  relation- 
ship to  either  of  the  groups  of  American  monkeys,  having  six 
cutting  teeth  to  each  jaw,  and  long  claws  instead  of  nails,  with 
extremities  of  the  usual  shape  of  paws  instead  of  hands.  Its 
muzzle  is  conical  and  pointed,  like  that  of  many  Lemurs  of 
Madagascar;  the  expression  of  its  countenance,  and  its  habits 
and  actions,  are  also  very  similar  to  those  of  Lemurs.  Its  tail 
is  very  flexible  towards  the  tip,  and  is  used  to  twine  round 
branches  in  climbing.  I  did  not  see  or  hear  anything  of  this 
animal  whilst  residing  on  the  Lower  Amazons,  but  on  the  banks 
of  the  Upper  river,  from  the  Teffe  to  Peru,  it  appeared  to  be 
rather  common.  It  is  nocturnal  in  its  habits,  like  the  owl-faced 
monkeys,  although,  unlike  them,  it  has  a  bright,  dark  eye.  I 
once  saw  it  in  considerable  numbers,  when  on  an  excursion  with 
an  Indian  companion  along  the  low  Ygapo  shores  of  the  Teffe, 
about  twenty  miles  above  Ega.  We  slept  one  night  at  the 
house  of  a  native  family  living  in  the  thick  of  the  forest,  where 
a  festival  was  going  on,  and  there  being  no  room  to  hang  our 
hammocks  under  shelter,  on  account  of  the  number  of  visitors, 
we  lay  down  on  a  mat  in  the  open  air,  near  a  shed  which  stood 
in  the  midst  of  a  grove  of  fruit-trees,  and  pupunha  palms.  Past 
midnight,  when  all  became  still,  after  the  uproar  of  holiday- 
making,  as  I  was  listening  to  the  dull,  fanning  sound  made  by 
the  wings  of  impish  hosts  of  vampire  bats  crowding  round  the 
Caju  trees,  a  rustle  commenced  from  the  side  of  the  woods,  and 
a  troop  of  slender,  long-tailed  animals  were  seen  against  the 
clear  moonlit  sky,  taking  flying  leaps  from  branch  to  branch 
through  the  grove.  Many  of  them  stopped  at  the  pupunha 
trees,  and  the  hustling,  twittering,  and  screaming,  with  sounds 
of  falling  fruits,  showed  how  they  were  employed.  I  thought,  at 
first,  they  were  Nyctipitheci,  but  they  proved  to  be  Jupuras, 
for  the  owner  of  the  house  early  next  morning  caught  a  young 
one,  and  gave  it  to  me.  I  kept  this  as  a  pet  animal  for  several 
weeks,  feeding  it  on  bananas  and  mandioca-meal  mixed  with 
treacle.  It  became  tame  in  a  very  short  time,  allowing  itself  to 
be  caressed,  but  making  a  distinction  in  the  degree  of  con- 
fidence it  snowed  between  myself  and  strangers.  My  pet  was 
unfortunately  killed  by  a  neighbour's  dog,  which  entered  the 
room  where  it  was  kept.  The  animal  is  so  difficult  to  obtain 
alive,  its  place  of   retreat   in   the  daytime  not  being  known 


356      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

to  the  natives,  that  I  was  unable  to  procure  a  second  living 
specimen. 

Bats. — The  only  other  mammals  that  I  shall  mention  are  the 
bats,  which  exist  in  very  considerable  numbers  and  variety  in 
the  forest,  as  well  as  in  the  buildings  of  the  villages.  Many 
small  and  curious  species,  living  in  the  woods,  conceal  them- 
selves by  day  under  the  broad  leaf-blades  of  Heliconias  and  other 
plants  which  grow  in  shady  places ;  others  cling  to  the  trunks 
of.  trees.  Whilst  walking  through  the  forest  in  the  daytime, 
especially  along  gloomy  ravines,  one  is  almost  sure  to  startle 
bats  from  their  sleeping-places ;  and  at  night  they  are  often  seen 
in  great  numbers  flitting  about  the  trees  on  the  shady  margins 
of  narrow  channels.  I  captured  altogether,  without  giving 
especial  attention  to  bats,  sixteen  different  species  at  Ega. 

The  Vampire  Bat. — The  little  grey  blood-sucking  Phyllostoma, 
mentioned  in  a  former  chapter  as  found  in  my  chamber  at 
Caripi,  was  not  uncommon  at  Ega,  where  everyone  believes  it 
to  visit  sleepers  and  bleed  them  in  the  night.  But  the  vampire 
was  here  by  far  the  most  abundant  of  the  family  of  leaf-nosed 
bats.  It  is  the  largest  of  all  the  South  American  species, 
measuring  twenty-eight  inches  in  expanse  of  wing.  Nothing 
in  animal  physiognomy  can  be  more  hideous  than  the  counte- 
nance of  this  creature  when  viewed  from  the  front;  the  large, 
leathery  ears  standing  out  from  the  sides  and  top  of  the  head, 
the  erect  spear-shaped  appendage  on  the  tip  of  the  nose,  the 
grin  and  the  glistening  black  eye,  all  combining  to  make  up  a 
figure  that  reminds  one  of  some  mocking  imp  of  fable.  No 
wonder  that  imaginative  people  have  inferred  diabolical  instincts 
on  the  part  of  so  ugly  an  animal.  The  vampire,  however, 
is  the  most  harmless  of  all  bats,  and  its  inoffensive  character 
is  well  known  to  residents  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazons.  I 
found  two  distinct  species  of  it,  one  having  the  fur  of  a  blackish 
colour,  the  other  of  a  ruddy  hue,  and  ascertained  that  both  feed 
chiefly  on  fruits.  The  church  at  Ega  was  the  headquarters  of 
both  kinds ;  I  used  to  see  them,  as  I  sat  at  my  door  during  the 
short  evening  twilights,  trooping  forth  by  scores  from  a  large 
open  window  at  the  back  of  the  altar,  twittering  cheerfully  as 
they  sped  off  to  the  borders  of  the  forest.  They  sometimes 
enter  houses ;  the  first  time  I  saw  one  in  my  chamber,  wheeling 
heavily  round  and  round,  I  mistook  it  for  a  pigeon,  thinking  that 
a  tame  one  had  escaped  from  the  premises  of  one  of  my  neigh- 
bours. I  opened  the  stomachs  of  several  of  these  bats,  and 
found  them  to  contain  a  mass  of  pulp  and  seeds  of  fruits, 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  357 

mingled  with  a  few  remains  of  insects.  The  natives  say  they 
devour  ripe  cajus  and  guavas  on  trees  in  the  gardens,  but  on 
comparing  the  seeds  taken  from  their  stomachs  with  those  of 
all  cultivated  trees  at  Ega,  I  found  they  were  unlike  any  of 
them;  it  is  therefore  probable  that  they  generally  resort  to  the 
forest  to  feed,  coming  to  the  village  in  the  morning  to  sleep, 
because  they  find  it  more  secure  from  animals  of  prey  than  their 
natural  abodes  in  the  woods. 

Birds. — I  have  already  had  occasion  to  mention  several  of 
the  more  interesting  birds  found  in  the  Ega  district.  The  first 
thing  that  would  strike  a  new-comer  in  the  forests  of  the  Upper 
Amazons  would  be  the  general  scarcity  of  birds;  indeed,  it 
often  happened  that  I  did  not  meet  with  a  single  bird  during  a 
whole  day's  ramble  in  the  richest  and  most  varied  parts  of  the 
woods.  Yet  the  country  is  tenanted  by  many  hundred  species, 
many  of  which  are,  in  reality,  abundant,  and  some  of  them 
conspicuous  from  their  brilliant  plumage.  The  cause  of  their 
apparent  rarity  is  to  be  sought  in  the  sameness  and  density  of 
the  thousand  miles  of  forest  which  constitute  their  dwelling- 
place.  The  birds  of  the  country  are  gregarious,  at  least  during 
the  season  when  they  are  most  readily  found;  but  the  frugi- 
vorous  kinds  are  to  be  met  with  only  when  certain  wild  fruits 
are  ripe,  and  to  know  the  exact  localities  of  the  trees  requires 
months  of  experience.  It  would  not  be  supposed  that  the 
insectivorous  birds  are  also  gregarious;  but  they  are  so; 
numbers  of  distinct  species,  belonging  to  many  different  families, 
joining  together  in  the  chase  or  search  of  food.  The  proceed- 
ings of  these  associated  bands  of  insect-hunters  are  not  a  little 
curious,  and  merit  a  few  remarks. 

Whilst  hunting  along  the  narrow  pathways  that  are  made 
through  the  forest  in  .the  neighbourhood  of  houses  and  villages, 
one  may  pass  several  days  without  seeing  many  birds;  but  now 
and  then  the  surrounding  bushes  and  trees  appear  suddenly  to 
swarm  with  them.  There  are  scores,  probably  hundreds  of 
birds,  all  moving  about  with  the  greatest  activity — woodpeckers 
and  Dendrocolaptidae  (from  species  no  larger  than  a  sparrow  to 
others  the  size  of  a  crow)  running  up  the  tree  trunks ;  tanagers, 
ant-thrushes,  humming-birds,  fly-catchers,  and  barbets  flitting 
about  the  leaves  and  lower  branches.  The  bustling  crowd  loses 
no  time,  and  although  moving  in  concert,  each  bird  is  occupied, 
on  its  own  account,  in  searching  bark  or  leaf  or  twig;  the  barbets 
visiting  every  clayey  nest  of  termites  on  the  trees  which  lie  in 


358      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  line  of  march.  In  a  few  minutes  the  host  is  gone,  and  the 
forest  path  remains  deserted  and  silent  as  before.  I  became, 
in  course  of  time,  so  accustomed  to  this  habit  of  birds  in  the 
woods  near  Ega,  that  I  could  generally  find  the  flock  of  asso- 
ciated marauders  whenever  I  wanted  it.  There  appeared  to 
be  only  one  of  these  flocks  in  each  small  district;  and,  as  it 
traversed  chiefly  a  limited  tract  of  woods  of  second  growth,  I 
used  to  try  different  paths  until  I  came  up  with  it. 

The  Indians  have  noticed  these  miscellaneous  hunting  parties 
of  birds,  but  appear  not  to  have  observed  that  they  are  occupied 
in  searching  for  insects.  They  have  supplied  their  want  of 
knowledge,  in  the  usual  way  of  half-civilised  people,  by  a  theory 
which  has  degenerated  into  a  myth,  to  the  effect  that  the 
onward  moving  bands  are  led  by  a  little  grey  bird,  called  the 
Uira-para,  which  fascinates  all  the  rest,  and  leads  them  a  weary 
dance  through  the  thickets.  There  is  certainly  some  appear- 
ance of  truth  in  this  explanation;  for  sometimes  stray  birds, 
encountered  in  the  line  of  march,  are  seen  to  be  drawn  into  the 
throng,  and  purely  frugivorous  birds  are  now  and  then  found 
mixed  up  with  the  rest,  as  though  led  away  by  some  will-o'-the- 
wisp.  The  native  women,  even  the  white  and  half-caste  in- 
habitants of  the  towns,  attach  a  superstitious  value  to  the  skin 
and  feathers  of  the  Uira-para,  believing  that  if  they  keep  them 
in  their  clothes'  chest,  the  relics  will  have  the  effect  of  attracting 
for  the  happy  possessors  a  train  of  lovers  and  followers.  These 
birds  are  consequently  in  great  demand  in  some  places,  the 
hunters  selling  them  at  a  high  price  to  the  foolish  girls,  who 
preserve  the  bodies  by  drying  flesh  and  feathers  together  in  the 
sun.  I  could  never  get  a  sight  of  this  famous  little  bird  in  the 
forest.  I  once  employed  Indians  to  obtain  specimens  for  me; 
but,  after  the  same  man  (who  was  a  noted  woodsman)  brought 
me,  at  different  times,  three  distinct  species  of  birds  as  the 
Uira-para,  I  gave  up  the  story  as  a  piece  of  humbug.  The 
simplest  explanation  appears  to  be  this ;  that  the  birds  associate 
in  flocks  from  the  instinct  of  self-preservation,  and  in  order  to  be 
a  less  easy  prey  to  hawks,  snakes,  and  other  enemies  than  they 
would  be  if  feeding  alone. 

Toucans. — Cuvier's  Toucan. — Of  this  family  of  birds,  so  con- 
spicuous from  the  great  size  and  light  structure  of  their  beaks, 
and  so  characteristic  of  tropical  American  forests,  five  species 
inhabit  the  woods  of  Ega.  The  commonest  is  Cuvier's  Toucan, 
a  large  bird,  distinguished  from  its  nearest  relatives  by  the 
feathers  at  the  bottom  of  the  back  being  of  a  saffron  hue,  instead 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  359 

of  red.  It  is  found  more  or  less  numerously  throughout  the 
year,  as  it  breeds  in  the  neighbourhood,  laying  its  eggs  in  holes 
of  trees,  at  a  great  height  from  the  ground.  During  most 
months  of  the  year,  it  is  met  with  in  single  individuals  or  small 
flocks,  and  the  birds  are  then  very  wary.  Sometimes  one  of 
these  little  bands  of  four  or  five  is  seen  perched,  for  hours 
together,  amongst  the  topmost  branches  of  high  trees,  giving 
vent  to  their  remarkably  loud,  shrill,  yelping  cries,  one  bird, 
mounted  higher  than  the  rest,  acting,  apparently,  as  leader  of 
the  inharmonious  chorus;  but  two  of  them  are  often  heard 
yelping  alternately,  and  in  different  notes.  These  cries  have  a 
vague  resemblance  to  the  syllables  Tocano,  Tocano,  and  hence 
the  Indian  name  of  this  genus  of  birds.  At  these  times  it  is 
difficult  to  get  a  shot  at  Toucans,  for  their  senses  are  so 
sharpened  that  they  descry  the  hunter  before  he  gets  near 
the  tree  on  which  they  are  perched,  although  he  may  be  half- 
concealed  amongst  the  under- wood,  150  feet  below  them. 
They  stretch  their  necks  downwards  to  look  beneath,  and  on 
espying  the  least  movement  amongst  the  foliage,  fly  off  to 
the  more  inaccessible  parts  of  the  forest.  Solitary  Toucans 
are  sometimes  met  with  at  the  same  season,  hopping  silently 
up  and  down  the  larger  boughs,  and  peering  into  crevices  of 
the  tree-trunks.  They  moult  in  the  months  from  March  to 
June,  some  individuals  earlier,  others  later.  This  season  of 
enforced  quiet  being  passed,  they  make  their  appearance 
suddenly  in  the  dry  forest,  near  Ega,  in  large  flocks,  probably 
assemblages  of  birds  gathered  together  from  the  neighbouring 
Ygapo  forests,  which  are  then  flooded  and  cold.  The  birds 
have  now  become  exceedingly  tame,  and  the  troops  travel 
with  heavy  laborious  flight  from  bough  to  bough  amongst 
the  lower  trees.  They  thus  become  an  easy  prey  to  hunters, 
and  every  one  at  Ega,  who  can  get  a  gun  of  any  sort  and  a  few 
charges  of  powder  and  shot,  or  a  blow-pipe,  goes  daily  to  the 
woods  to  kill  a  few  brace  for  dinner;  for,  as  already  observed, 
the  people  of  Ega  live  almost  exclusively  on  stewed  and  roasted 
Toucans  during  the  months  of  June  and  July;  the  birds  being 
then  very  fat,  and  the  meat  exceedingly  sweet  and  tender. 

No  one,  on  seeing  a  Toucan,  can  help  asking  what  is  the  use 
of  the  enormous  bill,  which,  in  some  species,  attains  a  length  of 
seven  inches,  and  a  width  of  more  than  two  inches.  A  few 
remarks  on  this  subject  may  be  here  introduced.  The  early 
naturalists,  having  seen  only  the  bill  of  a  Toucan,  which  was 
esteemed  as  a  marvellous  production  by  the  virtuosi  of  the 


360      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  concluded  that  the  bird 
must  have  belonged  to  the  aquatic  and  web-footed  order,  as 
this  contains  so  many  species  of  remarkable  development  of 
beak,  adapted  for  seizing  fish.  Some  travellers  also  related 
fabulous  stories  of  Toucans  resorting  to  the  banks  of  rivers  to 
feed  on  fish,  and  these  accounts  also  encouraged  the  erroneous 
views  of  the  habits  of  the  birds  which  for  a  long  time  prevailed. 
Toucans,  however,  are  now  well  known  to  be  eminently  arboreal 
birds,  and  to  belong  to  a  group  (including  trogons,  parrots,  and 
barbets 1),  all  of  whose  members  are  fruit-eaters.  On  the 
Amazons,  where  these  birds  are  very  common,  no  one  pretends 
ever  to  have  seen  a  Toucan  walking  on  the  ground  in  its  natural 
state,  much  less  acting  the  part  of  a  swimming  or  wadingbird. 
Professor  Owen  found,  on  dissection,  that  the  gizzard  in 
Toucans  is  not  so  well  adapted  for  the  trituration  of  food  as  it 
is  in  other  vegetable  feeders,  and  concluded,  therefore,  as 
Broderip  had  observed  the  habit  of  chewing  the  cud  in  a  tame 
bird,  that  the  great  toothed  bill  was  useful  in  holding  and  re- 
masticating  the  food.  The  bill  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  a 
very  good  contrivance  for  seizing  and  crushing  small  birds, 
or  taking  them  from  their  nests  in  crevices  of  trees,  habits 
which  have  been  imputed  to  Toucans  by  some  writers.  The 
hollow,  cellular  structure  of  the  interior  of  the  bill,  its  curved 
and  clumsy  shape,  and  the  deficiency  of  force  and  precision 
when  it  is  used  to  seize  objects,  suggest  a  want  of  fitness,  if 
this  be  the  function  of  the  member.  But  fruit  is  undoubtedly 
the  chief  food  of  Toucans,  and  it  is  in  reference  to  their  mode 
of  obtaining  it  that  the  use  of  their  uncouth  bills  is  to  be  sought. 
Flowers  and  fruit  on  the  crowns  of  the  large  trees  of  South 
American  forests  grow,  principally,  towards  the  end  of  slender 
twigs,  which  will  not  bear  any  considerable  weight;  all  animals, 
therefore,  which  feed  upon  fruit,  or  on  insects  contained  in 
flowers,  must,  of  course,  have  some  means  of  reaching  the  ends 
of  the  stalks  from  a  distance.  Monkeys  obtain  their  food  by 
stretching  forth  their  long  arms  and,  in  some  instances,  their 
tails,  to  bring  the  fruit  near  to  their  mouths.  Humming-birds 
are  endowed  with  highly-perfected  organs  of  flight,  with  corre- 
sponding muscular  development,  by  which  they  are  enabled  to 
sustain  themselves  on  the  wing  before  blossoms  whilst  rifling 
them  of  their  contents.  These  strong-flying  creatures,  however, 
will,  whenever  they  can  get  near  enough,  remain  on  their  perches 
whilst  probing  neighbouring  flowers  for  insects.  Trogons  have 
1  Captioning,  G.  R.  Gray. 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  361 

feeble  wings,  and  a  dull,  inactive  temperament.  Their  mode  of 
obtaining  food  is  to  station  themselves  quietly  on  low  branches 
in  the  gloomy  shades  of  the  forest,  and  eye  the  fruits  on  the  sur- 
rounding trees,  darting  off,  as  if  with  an  effort,  every  time  they 
wish  to  seize  a  mouthful,  and  returning  to  the  same  perch. 
Barbets  (Capitoninae)  seem  to  have  no  especial  endowment, 
either  of  habits  or  structure,  to  enable  them  to  seize  fruits;  and 
in  this  respect  they  are  similar  to  the  Toucans,  if  we  leave  the 
bill  out  of  question,  both  tribes  having  heavy  bodies,  with  feeble 
organs  of  flight,  so  that  they  are  disabled  from  taking  their  food 
on  the  wing.  The  purpose  of  the  enormous  bill  here  becomes 
evident.  It  is  to  enable  the  Toucan  to  reach  and  devour  fruit 
whilst  remaining  seated,  and  thus  to  counterbalance  the  dis- 
advantage which  its  heavy  body  and  gluttonous  appetite  would 
otherwise  give  it  in  the  competition  with  allied  groups  of  birds. 
The  relation  between  the  extraordinarily  lengthened  bill  of  the 
Toucan  and  its  mode  of  obtaining  food,  is  therefore  precisely 
similar  to  that  between  the  long  neck  and  lips  of  the  Giraffe  and 
the  mode  of  browsing  of  the  animal.  The  bill  of  the  Toucan  can 
scarcely  be  considered  a  very  perfectly-formed  instrument  for 
the  end  to  which  it  is  applied,  as  here  explained;  but  nature 
appears  not  to  invent  organs  at  once  for  the  functions  to  which 
they  are  now  adapted,  but  avails  herself,  here  of  one  already- 
existing  structure  or  instinct,  there  of  another,  according  as 
they  are  handy  when  need  for  their  further  modification  arises. 
One  day,  whilst  walking  along  the  principal  pathway  in  the 
woods  near  Ega,  I  saw  one  of  these  Toucans  seated  gravely  on 
a  low  branch  close  to  the  road,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  seizing 
it  with  my  hand.  It  turned  out  to  be  a  runaway  pet  bird;  no 
one,  however,  came  to  own  it,  although  I  kept  it  in  my  house 
for  several  months.  The  bird  was  in  a  half-starved  and  sickly 
condition,  but  after  a  few  days  of  good  living  it  recovered  health 
and  spirits,  and  became  one  of  the  most  amusing  pets  imaginable. 
Many  excellent  accounts  of  the  habits  of  tame  Toucans  have 
been  published,  and  therefore  I  need  not  describe  them  in  detail, 
but  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  seen  any  notice  of  their  intelli- 
gence and  confiding  disposition  under  domestication,  in  which 
qualities  my  pet  seemed  to  be  almost  equal  to  parrots.  I 
allowed  Tocano  to  go  free  about  the  house,  contrary  to  my 
usual  practice  with  pet  animals;  he  never,  however,  mounted 
my  working-table  after  a  smart  correction  which  he  received 
the  first  time  he  did  it.  He  used  to  sleep  on  the  top  of  a  box 
in  a  corner  of  the  room,  in  the  usual  position  of  these  birds, 


362      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

namely,  with  the  long  tail  laid  right  over  on  the  back,  and  the 
beak  thrust  underneath  the  wing.  He  ate  of  everything  that 
we  eat;  beef,  turtle,  fish,  farinha,  fruit,  and  was  a  constant 
attendant  at  our  table — a  cloth  spread  on  a  mat.  His  appetite 
was  most  ravenous,  and  his  powers  of  digestion  quite  wonderful. 
He  got  to  know  the  meal  hours  to  a  nicety,  and  we  found  it  very 
difficult,  after  the  first  week  or  two,  to  keep  him  away  from  the 
dining-room,  where  he  had  become  very  impudent  and  trouble- 
some. We  tried  to  shut  him  out  by  enclosing  him  in  the  back- 
yard, which  was  separated  by  a  high  fence  from  the  street  on 
which  our  front  door  opened,  but  he  used  to  climb  the  fence  and 
hop  round  by  a  long  circuit  to  the  dining-room,  making  his 


Curl-crested  Toucan. 

appearance  with  the  greatest  punctuality  as  the  meal  was  placed 
on  the  table.  He  acquired  the  habit,  afterwards,  of  rambling 
about  the  street  near  our  house,  and  one  day  he  was  stolen,  so 
we  gave  him  up  for  lost.  But  two  days  afterwards  he  stepped 
through  the  open  doorway  at  dinner  hour,  with  his  old  gait, 
and  sly  magpie-like  expression,  having  escaped  from  the  house 
where  he  had  been  guarded  by  the  person  who  had  stolen  him, 
and  which  was  situated  at  the  further  end  of  the  village. 

The  Curl-crested  Toucan  (Pteroglossus  Beauharnaisii). — Of 
the  four  smaller  Toucans,  or  Arassaris,  found  near  Ega,  the 
Pteroglossus  flavirostris  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  in 
colours,  its  breast  being  adorned  with  broad  belts  of  rich  crimson 
and  black;  but  the  most  curious  species,  by  far,  is  the  Curl- 
crested,  or  Beauharnais  Toucan.  The  feathers  on  the  head  of 
this  singular  bird  are  transformed  into  thin,  horny  plates,  of  a 


ADVENTURE    WITH    CURL-CRESTED    TOUCANS 


364      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

lustrous  black  colour,  curled  up  at  the  ends,  and  resembling 
shavings  of  steel  or  ebony -wood :  the  curly  crest  being  arranged 
on  the  crown  in  the  form  of  a  wig.  Mr.  Wallace  and  I  first  met 
with  this  species,  on  ascending  the  Amazons,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Solimoens;  from  that  point  it  continues  as  a  rather  common 
bird  on  the  terra  firma,  at  least  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  as 
far  as  Fonte  Boa,  but  I  did  not  hear  of  its  being  found  further  to 
the  west.  It  appears  in  large  flocks  in  the  forests  near  Ega  in 
May  and  June,  when  it  has  completed  its  moult.  I  did  not  find 
these  bands  congregated  at  fruit-trees,  but  always  wandering 
through  the  forest,  hopping  from  branch  to  branch  amongst  the 
lower  trees,  and  partly  concealed  amongst  the  foliage.  None 
of  the  Arassaris,  to  my  knowledge,  make  a  yelping  noise  like 
that  uttered  by  the  larger  Toucans  (Ramphastos);  the  notes  of 
the  curl-crested  species  are  very  singular,  resembling  the  croak- 
ing of  frogs.  I  had  an  amusing  adventure  one  day  with  these 
birds.  I  had  shot  one  from  a  rather  high  tree  in  a  dark  glen  in 
the  forest,  and  entered  the  thicket  where  the  bird  had  fallen  to 
secure  my  booty.  It  was  only  wounded,  and  on  my  attempting 
to  seize  it,  set  up  a  loud  scream.  In  an  instant,  as  if  by  magic, . 
the  shady  nook  seemed  alive  with  these  birds,  although  there 
was  certainly  none  visible  when  I  entered  the  jungle.  They 
descended  towards  me,  hopping  from  bough  to  bough,  some  of 
them  swinging  on  the  loops  and  cables  of  woody  lianas,  and  all 
croaking  and  fluttering  their  wings  like  so  many  furies.  If  I 
had  had  a  long  stick  in  my  hand  I  could  have  knocked  several 
of  them  over.  After  killing  the  wounded  one  I  began  to  prepare 
for  obtaining  more  specimens  and  punishing  the  viragos  for 
their  boldness;  but  the  screaming  of  their  companion  having 
ceased,  they  remounted  the  trees,  and  before  I  could  reload, 
every  one  of  them  had  disappeared. 

Insects. — Upwards  of  7000  species  of  insects  were  found  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Ega.  I  must  confine  myself  in  this  place 
to  a  few  remarks  on  the  order  Lepidoptera,  and  on  the  ants, 
several  kinds  of  which,  found  chiefly  on  the  Upper  Amazons, 
exhibit  the  most  extraordinary  instincts. 

I  found  about  550  distinct  species  of  butterflies  at  Ega. 
Those  who  know  a  little  of  Entomology  will  be  able  to  form 
some  idea  of  the  riches  of  the  place  in  this  department,  when  I 
mention  that  eighteen  species  of  true  Papilio  (the  swallow-tail 
genus)  were  found  within  ten  minutes'  walk  of  my  house.  No 
fact  could  speak  more  plainly  for  the  surpassing  exuberance  of 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega 


365 


the  vegetation,  the  varied  nature  of  the  land,  the  perennial 
warmth  and  humidity  of  the  climate.  But  no  description  can 
convey    an    ^  * 

sityinform         :;      '^^^^f^^?^.--  '^-\^^l-' 

and  colour  ■t^^_^^\  . 'v"^.nV^  ^f£i  ^"^ 
ofthisclass     ^i^  -.^4X|      '"^Ulfc^ 

of  insects  in  "^ 

the  neighbourhood  of  Ega.  I  paid  especial  attention 
to  them,  having  found  that  this  tribe  was  better 
adapted  than  almost  any  other  group  of  animals  or 
plants  to  furnish  facts  in  illustration  of  the  modifi- 
cations which  all  species  undergo  in  nature,  under 
changed  local  conditions.  This  accidental  superi- 
ority is  owing  partly  to  the  simplicity  and  distinct- 
ness of  the  specific  character  of  the  insects,  and 
partly  to  the  facility  with  which  very  copious 
series  of  specimens  can  be  collected  and  placed  side 
by  side  for  comparison.  The  distinctness  of  the 
specific  characters  is  due  probably  to  the  fact  that 
all  the  superficial  signs  of  change  in  the  organisation 
are  exaggerated,  and  made  unusually  plain  by 
affecting  the  framework,  shape,  and  colour  of  the 
wings,  which,  as  many  anatomists  believe,  are 
magnified  extensions  of  the  skin  around  the  breath- 
ing orifices  of  the  thorax  of  the  insects.  These 
expansions  are  clothed  with  minute  feathers  or 
scales,  coloured  in  regular  patterns,  which  vary  in 
accordance  with  the  slightest  change  in  the  con- 
ditions to  which  the  species  are  exposed.  It  may 
be  said,  therefore,  that  on  these  expanded  mem- 
branes Nature  writes,  as  on  a  tablet,  the  story  of 
the  modifications  of  species,  so  truly  do  all  changes 
of  the  organisation  register  themselves  thereon. 
Moreover,  the  same  colour-patterns  of  the  wings 
generally  show,  with  great  regularity,  the  degrees 
of  blood-relationship  of  the  species.  As  the  laws  of 
Nature  must  be  the  same  for  all  beings,  the  conclusions  furnished  , 
by  this  group  of  insects  must  be  applicable  to  the  whole  organic 
world;    therefore,  the  study  of  butterflies — creatures  selected 


Suspended 
cocoon  of  .Moth. 


366      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

as  the  types  of  airiness  and  frivolity — instead  of  being  despised, 
will  some  day  be  valued  as  one  of  the  most  important  branches 
of  Biological  science. 

Before  proceeding  to  describe  the  ants,  a  few  remarks  may  be 
made  on  the  singular  cases  and  cocoons  woven  by  the  cater- 
pillars of  certain  moths  found  at  Ega.  The  first  that  may  be 
mentioned  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  examples  of  insect  work- 
manship I  ever  saw.  It  is  a  cocoon,  about  the  size  of  a  sparrow's 
egg,  woven  by  a  caterpillar  in  broad  meshes  of  either  buff  or 
rose-coloured  silk,  and  is  frequently  seen  in  the  narrow  alleys 
of  the  forest,  suspended  from  the  extreme  tip  of  an  outstanding 
leaf  by  a  strong  silken  thread  five  or  six  inches  in  length.  It 
forms  a  very  conspicuous  object,  hanging  thus  in  mid-air. 
The  glossy  threads  with  which  it  is  knitted  are  stout,  and  the 
structure  is  therefore  not  liable  to  be  torn  by  the  beaks  of 
insectivorous  birds,  whilst  its  pendulous  position  makes  it 
doubly  secure  against  their  attacks,  the  apparatus  giving  way 
when  they  peck  at  it.  There  is  a  small  orifice  at  each  end  of  the 
egg-shaped  bag,  to  admit  of  the  escape  of  the  moth  when  it 
changes  from  the  little  chrysalis  which  sleeps  tranquilly  in  its 
airy  cage.  The  moth  is  of  a  dull  slaty  colour,  and  belongs  to 
the  Lithosiide  group  of  the  silk-worm  family  (Bombycidae). 
When  the  caterpillar  begins  its  work,  it  lets  itself  down  from 
the  tip  of  the  leaf  which  it  has  chosen,  by  spinning  a  thread  of 
silk,  the  thickness  of  which  it  slowly  increases  as  it  descends. 
Having  given  the  proper  length  to  the  cord,  it  proceeds  to  weave 
its  elegant  bag,  placing  itself  in  the  centre  and  spinning  rings  of 
silk  at  regular  intervals,  connecting  them  at  the  same  time  by 
means  of  cross  threads ;  so  that  the  whole,  when  finished,  forms 
a  loose  web,  with  quadrangular  meshes  of  nearly  equal  size 
throughout.  The  task  occupies  about  four  days :  when  finished, 
the  enclosed  caterpillar  becomes  sluggish,  its  skin  shrivels  and 
cracks,  and  there  then  remains  a  motionless  chrysalis  of  narrow 
shape,  leaning  against  the  sides  of  its  silken  cage. 

Many  other  kinds  are  found  at  Ega  belonging  to  the  same 
cocoon-weaving  family,  some  of  which  differ  from  the  rest  in 
their  caterpillars  possessing  the  art  of  fabricating  cases  with 
fragments  of  wood  or  leaves,  in  which  they  live  secure  from  all 
enemies  whilst  they  are  feeding  and  growing.  I  saw  many 
species  of  these;  some  of  them  knitted  together,  with  fine 
silken  threads,  small  bits  of  stick,  and  so  made  tubes  similar  to 
those  of  caddice-worms;  others  (Saccophora)  chose  leaves  for 
the  same  purpose,  forming  with  them  an  elongated  bag  open  at 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  367 

both  ends,  and  having  the  inside  lined  with  a  thick  web.  The 
tubes  of  full-grown  caterpillars  of  Saccophora  are  two  inches  in 
length,  and  it  is  at  this  stage  of  growth  that  I  have  generally 
seen  them.  They  feed  on  the  leaves  of  Melastomae,  and  as,  in 
crawling,  the  weight  of  so  large  a  dwelling  would  be  greater  than 
the  contained  caterpillar  could  sustain,  the  insect  attaches  the 


Sack-bearing  Caterpillar  (Saccophora). 


case  by  one  or  more  threads  to  the  leaves  or  twigs  near  which 
it  is  feeding. 

Foraging  Ants. — Many  confused  statements  have  been  pub- 
lished in  books  of  travel,  and  copied  in  Natural  History  works, 
regarding  these  ants,  which  appear  to  have  been  confounded 
with  the  Saiiba,  a  sketch  of  whose  habits  has  been  given  in  the 
first  chapter  of  this  work.  The  Saiiba  is  a  vegetable  feeder,  and 
does  not  attack  other  animals;  the  accounts  that  have  been 
published  regarding  carnivorous  ants  which  hunt  in  vast  armies, 
exciting  terror  wherever  they  go,  apply  only  to  the  Ecitons,  or 


368      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

foraging  ants,  a  totally  different  group  of  this  tribe  of  insects. 
The  Ecitons  are  called  Tauoca  by  the  Indians,  who  are  always 
on  the  look-out  for  their  armies  when  they  traverse  the  forest, 
so  as  to  avoid  being  attacked.  I  met  with  ten  distinct  species 
of  them,  nearly  all  of  which  have  a  different  system  of  marching ; 
eight  were  new  to  science  when  I  sent  them  to  England.  Some 
are  found  commonly  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and  one  is 
peculiar  to  the  open  campos  of  Santarem ;  but,  as  nearly  all  the 
species  are  found  together  at  Ega,  where  the  forest  swarmed 
with  their  armies,  I  have  left  an  account  of  the  habits  of  the 
whole  genus  for  this  part  of  my  narrative.  The  Ecitons  resemble, 
in  their  habits,  the  Driver  ants  of  Tropical  Africa;  but  they 
have  no  close  relationship  with  them  in  structure,  and  indeed 
belong  to  quite  another  sub-group  of  the  ant-tribe. 

Like  many  other  ants,  the  communities  of  Ecitons  are  com- 
posed, besides  males  and  females,  of  two  classes  of  workers,  a 
large-headed  (worker-major)  and  a  small-headed  (worker-minor) 
class;  the  large-heads  have,  in  some  species,  greatly  lengthened 
jaws,  the  small-heads  have  jaws  always  of  the  ordinary  shape; 
but  the  two  classes  are  not  sharply-defined  in  structure  and 
function,  except  in  two  of  the  species.  There  is  in  all  of  them 
a  little  difference  amongst  the  workers  regarding  the  size  of  the 
head ;  but  in  some  species  this  is  not  sufficient  to  cause  a  separa- 
tion into  classes,  with  division  of  labour;  in  others  the  jaws  are 
so  monstrously  lengthened  in  the  worker-majors,  that  they  are 
incapacitated  from  taking  part  in  the  labours  which  the  worker- 
minors  perform;  and  again,  in  others  the  difference  is  so  great 
that  the  distinction  of  classes  becomes  complete,  one  acting  the 
part  of  soldiers,  and  the  other  that  of  workers.  The  peculiar 
feature  ifi  the  habits  of  the  Eciton  genus  is  their  hunting  for 
prey  in  regular  bodies,  or  armies.  It  is  this  which  chiefly  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  the  genus  of  common  red  stinging-ants, 
several  species  of  which  inhabit  England,  whose  habit  is  to 
search  for  food  in  the  usual  irregular  manner.  All  the  Ecitons 
hunt  in  large  organised  bodies ;  but  almost  every  species  has  its 
own  special  manner  of  hunting. 

Eciton  rabax. — One  of  the  foragers,  Eciton  rapax,  the  giant 
of  its  genus,  whose  worker-majors  are  half-an-inch  in  length, 
hunts  in  single  file  through  the  forest.  There  is  no  division 
into  classes  amongst  its  workers,  although  the  difference  in  size 
is  very  great,  some  being  scarcely  one-half  the  length  of  others. 
The  head  and  jaws,  however,  are  always  of  the  same  shape,  and 
a  gradation  in  size  is  presented  from  the  largest  to  the  smallest, 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  369 

so  that  all  are  able  to  take  part  in  the  common  labours  of  the 
colony.  The  chief  employment  of  the  species  seems  to  be 
plundering  the  nests  of  a  large  and  defenceless  ant  of  another 
genus  (Formica),  whose  mangled  bodies  I  have  often  seen  in 
their  possession,  as  they  were  marching  away.  The  armies  of 
Eciton  rapax  are  never  very  numerous. 

Eciton  legionis. — Another  species,  E.  legionis,  agrees  with  E. 
rapax  in  having  workers  not  rigidly  divisible  into  two  classes; 
but  it  is  much  smaller  in  size,  not  differing  greatly,  in  this  re- 
spect, from  our  common  English  red  ant  (Myrmica  rubra),  which 
it  also  resembles  in  colour.  The  Eciton  legionis  lives  in  open 
places,  and  was  seen  only  on  the  sandy  campos  of  Santarem. 
The  movement  of  its  hosts  were,  therefore,  much  more  easy  to 
observe  than  those  of  all  other  kinds,  which  inhabit  solely  the 
densest  thickets;  its  sting  and  bite,  also,  were  less  formidable 
than  those  of  other  species.  The  armies  of  E.  legionis  consist 
of  many  thousands  of  individuals,  and  move  in  rather  broad 
columns.  They  are  just  as  quick  to  break  line,  on  being  dis- 
turbed, and  attack  hurriedly  and  furiously  any  intruding  object, 
as  the  other  Ecitons.  The  species  is  not  a  common  one,  and 
I  seldom  had  good  opportunities  of  watching  its  habits.  The 
first  time  I  saw  an  army  was  one  evening  near  sunset.  The 
column  consisted  of  two  trains  of  ants,  moving  in  opposite 
directions;  one  train  empty-handed,  the  other  laden  with  the 
mangled  remains  of  insects,  chiefly  larvae  and  pupae  of  other  ants. 
I  had  no  difficulty  in  tracing  the  line  to  the  spot  from  which 
they  were  conveying  their  booty:  this  was  a  low  thicket;  the 
Ecitons  were  moving  rapidly  about  a  heap  of  dead  leaves;  but 
as  the  short  tropical  twilight  was  deepening  rapidly,  and  I  had 
no  wish  to  be  benighted  on  the  lonely  campos,  I  deferred  further 
examination  until  the  next  day. 

On  the  following  morning,  no  trace  of  ants  could  be  found 
near  the  place  where  I  had  seen  them  the  preceding  day,  nor 
were  there  signs  of  insects  of  any  description  in  the  thicket; 
but  at  the  distance  of  eighty  or  one  hundred  yards,  I  came  upon 
the  same  army,  engaged,  evidently,  on  a  razzia  of  a  similar  kind 
to  that  of  the  previous  evening;  but  requiring  other  resources 
of  their  instinct,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground.  They  were 
eagerly  occupied,  on  the  face  of  an  inclined  bank  of  light  earth, 
in  excavating  mines,  whence,  from  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches, 
they  were  extracting  the  bodies  of  a  bulky  species  of  ant,  of  the 
genus  Formica.  It  was  curious  to  see  them  crowding  round  the 
orifices  of  the  mines,  some  assisting  their  comrades  to  lift  out 


37°      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

the  bodies  of  the  Formicae,  and  others  tearing  them  in  pieces,  on 
account  of  their  weight  being  too  great  for  a  single  Eciton;  a 
number  of  carriers  seizing  each  a  fragment,  and  carrying  it  off 
down  the  slope.  On  digging  into  the  earth  with  a  small  trowel 
near  the  entrances  of  the  mines,  I  found  the  nests  of  the  Formicae, 
with  grubs  and  cocoons,  which  the  Ecitons  were  thus  invading,  at 
a  depth  of  about  eight  inches  from  the  surface.  The  eager  free- 
booters rushed  in  as  fast  as  I  excavated,  and  seized  the  ants  in 
my  fingers  as  I  picked  them  out,  so  that  I  had  some  difficultv 
in  rescuing  a  few  entire  for  specimens.  In  digging  the  numerous 
mines  to  get  at  their  prey,  the  little  Ecitons  seemed  to  be 
divided  into  parties,  one  set  excavating,  and  another  set  carry- 
ing away  the  grains  of  earth.  When  the  shafts  became  rather 
deep,  the  mining  parties  had  to  climb  up  the  sides  each  time 
they  wished  to  cast  out  a  pellet  of  earth;  but  their  work  was 
lightened  for  them  by  comrades,  who  stationed  themselves  at 
the  mouth  of  the  shaft,  and  relieved  them  of  their  burthens, 
carrying  the  particles,  with  an  appearance  of  foresight  which 
quite  staggered  me,  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  edge  of  the 
hole  to  prevent  them  from  rolling  in  again.  All  the  work 
seemed  thus  to  be  performed  by  intelligent  co-operation  amongst 
the  host  of  eager  little  creatures;  but  still  there  was  not  a  rigid 
division  of  labour,  for  some  of  them,  whose  proceedings  I 
watched,  acted  at  one  time  as  carriers  of  pellets,  and  at  another 
as  miners,  and  all  shortly  afterwards  assumed  the  office  of  con- 
veyors of  the  spoil. 

In  about  two  hours,  all  the  nests  of  Formicae  were  rifled, 
though  not  completely,  of  their  contents,  and  I  turned  towards 
the  army  of  Ecitons,  which  were  carrying  away  the  mutilated 
remains.  For  some  distance  there  were  many  separate  lines  of 
them  moving  along  the  slope  of  the  bank ;  but  a  short  distance 
off,  these  all  converged,  and  then  formed  one  close  and  broad 
column,  which  continued  for  some  sixty  or  seventy  yards,  and 
terminated  at  one  of  those  large  termitariums  or  hillocks  of 
white  ants  which  are  contructed  of  cemented  material  as  hard 
as  stone.  The  broad  and  compact  column  of  ants  moved  up 
the  steep  sides  of  the  hillock  in  a  continued  stream;  many, 
which  had  hitherto  trotted  along  empty-handed,  now  turned 
to  assist  their  comrades  with  their  heavy  loads,  and  the  whole 
descended  into  a  spacious  gallery  or  mine,  opening  on  the  top 
of  the  termitarium.  I  did  not  try  to  reach  the  nest,  which  I 
supposed  to  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  broad  mine,  and  there- 
fore in  the  middle  of  the  base  of  the  stony  hillock. 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  371 

Eciton  drepanophora. — The  commonest  species  of  foraging 
ants  are  the  Eciton  hamata  and  E.  drepanophora,  two  kinds 
which  resemble  each  other  so  closely  that  it  requires  attentive 
examination  to  distinguish  them;  yet  their  armies  never  inter- 
mingle, although  moving  in  the  same  woods  and  often  crossing 
each  other's  tracks.  The  two  classes  of  workers  look,  at  first 
sight,  quite  distinct,  on  account  of  the  wonderful  amount  of 
difference  between  the  largest  individuals  of  the  one,  and  the 
smallest  of  the  other.  There  are  dwarfs  not  more  than  one- 
fifth  of  an  inch  in  length,  with  small  heads  and  jaws,  and  giants 
half  an  inch  in  length  with  monstrously  enlarged  head  and 
jaws,  all  belonging  to  the  same  brood.     There  is  not,  however, 


Foraging  ants  (Eciton  drepanophora). 

a  distinct  separation  of  classes,  individuals  existing  which  con- 
nect together  the  two  extremes.  These  Ecitons  are  seen  in 
the  pathways  of  the  forest  at  all  places  on  the  banks  of  the 
Amazons,  travelling  in  dense  columns  of  countless  thousands. 
One  or  other  of  them  is  sure  to  be  met  with  in  a  woodland 
ramble,  and  it  is  to  them,  probably,  that  the  stories  we  read 
in  books  on  South  America  apply,  of  ants  clearing  houses  of 
vermin,  although  I  heard  of  no  instance  of  their  entering  houses, 
their  ravages  being  confined  to  the  thickest  parts  of  the  forest. 

When  the  pedestrian  falls  in  with  a  train  of  these  ants,  the 
first  signal  given  him  is  a  twittering  and  restless  movement  of 
small  flocks  of  plain-coloured  birds  (ant-thrushes)  in  the  jungle. 
If  this  be  disregarded  until  he  advances  a  few  steps  farther,  he 
is  sure  to  fall  into  trouble,  and  find  himself  suddenly  attacked 
by  numbers  of  the  ferocious  little  creatures.     They  swarm  up- 


372       The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

his  legs  with  incredible  rapidity,  each  one  driving  his  pincer- 
like  jaws  into  his  skin,  and  with  the  purchase  thus  obtained, 
doubling  in  its  tail,  and  stinging  with  all  its  might.  There  is 
no  course  left  but  to  run  for  it;  if  he  is  accompanied  by  natives 
they  will  be  sure  to  give  the  alarm,  crying  "Tauoca!"  and 
scampering  at  full  speed  to  the  other  end  of  the  column  of  ants. 
The  tenacious  insects  who  have  secured  themselves  to  his  legs 
then  have  to  be  plucked  off  one  by  one,  a  task  which  is 
generally  not  accomplished  without  pulling  them  in  twain, 
and  leaving  heads  and  jaws  sticking  in  the  wounds. 

The  errand  of  the  vast  ant-armies  is  plunder,  as  in  the  case 
of  Eciton  legionis;  but  from  their  moving  always  amongst 
dense  thickets,  their  proceedings  are  not  so  easy  to  observe  as 
in  that  species.  Wherever  they  move,  the  whole  animal  world 
is  set  in  commotion,  and  every  creature  tries  to  get  out  of  then- 
way.  But  it  is  especially  the  various  tribes  of  wingless  insects 
that  have  cause  for  fear,  such  as  heavy-bodied  spiders,  ants  of 
other  species,  maggots,  caterpillars,  larva?  of  cockroaches  and 
so  forth,  all  of  which  live  under  fallen  leaves,  or  in  decaying 
wood.  The  Ecitons  do  not  mount  very  high  on  trees,  and 
therefore  the  nestlings  of  birds  are  not'  much  incommoded  by 
them.  The  mode  of  operation  of  these  armies,  which  I  ascer- 
tained only  after  long-continued  observation,  is  as  follows.  The 
main  column,  from  four  to  six  deep,  moves  forward  in  a  given 
direction,  clearing  the  ground  of  all  animal  matter  dead  or 
alive,  and  throwing  off  here  and  there  a  thinner  column  to 
forage  for  a  short  time  on  the  flanks  of  the  main  army,  and  re- 
enter it  again  after  their  task  is  accomplished.  If  some  very 
rich  place  be  encountered  anywhere  near  the  line  of  march,  for 
example,  a  mass  of  rotten  wood  abounding  in  insect  larvae,  a 
delay  takes  place,  and  a  very  strong  force  of  ants  is  concen- 
trated upon  it.  The  excited  creatures  search  every  cranny  and 
tear  in  pieces  all  the  large  grubs  they  drag  to  light.  It  is  curious 
to  see  them  attack  wasps'  nests,  which  are  sometimes  built  on 
low  shrubs.  They  gnaw  away  the  papery  covering  to  get  at 
the  larvae,  pupae,  and  newly-hatched  wasps,  and  cut  everything 
to  tatters,  regardless  of  the  infuriated  owners  which  are  flying 
about  them.  In  bearing  off  their  spoil  in  fragments,  the  pieces 
are  apportioned  to  the  carriers  with  some  degree  of  regard  to 
fairness  of  load:  the  dwarfs  taking  the  smallest  pieces,  and  the 
strongest  fellows  with  small  heads  the  heaviest  portions.  Some- 
times two  ants  join  together  in  carrying  one  piece,  but  the 
-worker-majors,  with  their  unwieldy  and  distorted,  jaws  are 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  373 

incapacitated  from  taking  any  part  in  the  labour.  The  armies 
never  march  far  on  a  beaten  path,  but  seem  to  prefer  the 
entangled  thickets  where  it  is  seldom  possible  to  follow  them. 
I  have  traced  an  army  sometimes  for  half  a  mile  or  more,  but 
was  never  able  to  find  one  that  had  finished  its  day's  course  and 
returned  to  its  hive.  Indeed,  I  never  met  with  a  hive;  when- 
ever the  Ecitons  were  seen,  they  were  always  on  the  march. 

I  thought  one  day,  at  Villa  Nova,  that  I  had  come  upon  a 
migratory  horde  of  this  indefatigable  ant.  The  place  was  a 
tract  of  open  ground  near  the  river  side,  just  outside  the  edge 
of  the  forest,  and  surrounded  by  rocks  and  shrubbery.  A  dense 
column  of  Ecitons  was  seen  extending  from  the  rocks  on  one 
side  of  the  little  haven,  traversing  the  open  space,  and  ascend- 
ing the  opposite  declivity.  The  length  of  the  procession  was 
from  sixty  to  seventy  yards,  and  yet  neither  van  nor  rear  was 
visible.  All  were  moving  in  one  and  the  same  direction,  except 
a  few  individuals  on  the  outside  of  the  column,  which  were 
running  rearward,  trotting  alcng  for  a  short  distance,  and  then 
turning  again  to  follow  the  same  course  as  the  main  body. 
But  these  rearward  movements  were  going  on  continually  from 
one  end  to  the  other  of  the  line,  and  there  was  every  appearance 
of  there  being  a  means  of  keeping  up  a  common  understanding 
amongst  all  the  members  of  the  army,  for  the  retrograding  ants 
stopped  very  often  for  a  moment  to  touch  one  or  other  of  their 
onward-moving  comrades  with  their  antennae;  a  proceeding 
which  has  been  noticed  in  other  ants,  and  supposed  to  be  their 
mode  of  conveying  intelligence.  When  I  interfered  with  the 
column  or  abstracted  an  individual  from  it,  news  of  the  dis- 
turbance was  very  quickly  communicated  to  a  distance  of 
several  yards  towards  the  rear,  and  the  column  at  that  point 
commenced  retreating.  All  the  small-headed  workers  carried 
in  their  jaws  a  little  cluster  of  white  maggots,  which  I  thought, 
at  the  time,  might  be  young  larvae  of  their  own  colony,  but 
afterwards  found  reason  to  conclude  were  the  grubs  of  some 
other  species  whose  nests  they  had  been  plundering,  the  pro- 
cession being  most  likely  not  a  migration,  but  a  column  on  a 
marauding  expedition. 

The  position  of  the  large-headed  individuals  in  the  marching 
column  was  rather  curious.  There  was  one  of  these  extraordi- 
nary fellows  to  about  a  score  of  the  smaller  class ;  none  of  them 
carried  anything  in  their  mouths,  but  all  trotted  along  empty- 
handed  and  outside  the  column,  at  pretty  regular  intervals 
from  each  other,  like  subaltern  officers  in  a  marching  regiment 


374      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

of  soldiers.  It  was  easy  to  be  tolerably  exact  in  this  observa- 
tion, for  their  shining  white  heads  made  them  very  conspicuous 
amongst  the  rest,  bobbing  up  and  down  as  the  column  passed 
over  the  inequalities  of  the  road.  I  did  not  see  them  change 
their  position,  or  take  any  notice  of  their  small-headed  comrades 
marching  in  the  column,  and  when  I  disturbed  the  line,  they 
did  not  prance  forth  or  show  fight  so  eagerly  as  the  others. 
These  large-headed  members  of  the  community  have  been  con- 
sidered by  some  authors  as  a  soldier  class,  like  the  similarly- 
armed  caste  in  Termites;  but  I  found  no  proof  of  this,  at  least 
in  the  present  species,  as  they  always  seemed  to  be  rather  less 
pugnacious  than  the  worker-minors,  and  their  distorted  jaws 
disabled  them  from  fastening  on  a  plane  surface  like  the  skin 
of  an  attacking  animal.  I  am  inclined,  however,  to  think  that 
they  may  act,  in  a  less  direct  way,  as  protectors  of  the  com- 
munity, namely,  as  indigestible  morsels  to  the  flocks  of  ant- 
thrushes  which  follow  the  marching  columns  of  these  Ecitons, 
and  are  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  the  species.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  hooked  and  twisted  jaws  of  the  large-headed  class 
may  be  effective  weapons  of  annoyance  when  in  the  gizzards  or 
stomachs  of  these  birds,  but  I  unfortunately  omitted  to  ascer- 
tain whether  this  was  really  the  fact. 

The  life  of  these  Ecitons  is  not  all  work,  for  I  frequently  saw 
them  very  leisurely  employed  in  a  way  that  looked  like  recrea- 
tion. When  this  happened,  the  place  was  always  a  sunny  nook 
in  the  forest.  The  main  column  of  the  army  and  the  branch 
columns,  at  these  times,  were  in  their  ordinary  relative  posi- 
tions j  but,  instead  of  pressing  forward  eagerly,  and  plundering 
right  and  left,  they  seemed  to  have  been  all  smitten  with  a 
sudden  fit  of  laziness.  Some  were  walking  slowly  about,  others 
were  brushing  their  antennae  with  their  fore-feet;  but  the 
drollest  sight  was  their  cleaning  one  another.  Here  and  there 
an  ant  was  seen  stretching  forth  first  one  leg  and  then  another, 
to  be  brushed  or  washed  by  one  or  more  of  its  comrades,  who 
performed  the  task  by  passing  the  limb  between  the  jaws  and 
the  tongue,  finishing  by  giving  the  antennae  a  friendly  wipe. 
It  was  a  curious  spectacle,  and  one  well  calculated  to  increase 
one's  amazement  at  the  similarity  between  the  instinctive 
actions  of  ants  and  the  acts  of  rational  beings,  a  similarity 
which  must  have  been  brought  about  by  two  different  processes 
of  development  of  the  primary  qualities  of  mind.  The  actions 
of  these  ants  looked  like  simple  indulgence  in  idle  amusement. 
Have  these  little  creatures,  then,  an  excess  of  energy  beyond 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  375 

what  is  required  for  labours  absolutely  necessary  to  the  welfare 
of  their  species,  and  do  they  thus  expend  it  in  mere  sportive- 
ness,  like  young  lambs  or  kittens,  or  in  idle  whims  like  rational 
beings?  It  is  probable  that  these  hours  of  relaxation  and 
cleaning  may  be  indispensable  to  the  effective  performance  of 
their  harder  labours,  but  whilst  looking  at  them,  the  conclusion 
that  the  ants  were  engaged  merely  in  play  was  irresistible. 

Eciton  prcedator. — This  is  a  small  dark-reddish  species,  very 
similar  to  the  common  red  stinging-ant  of  England.  It  differs 
from  all  other  Ecitons  in  its  habit  of  hunting,  not  in  columns, 
but  in  dense  phalanxes  consisting  of  myriads  of  individuals, 
and  was  first  met  with  at  Ega,  where  it  is  very  common. 
Nothing  in  insect  movements  is  more  striking  than  the  rapid 
march  of  these  large  and  compact  bodies.  Wherever  they  pass 
all  the  rest  of  the  animal  world  is  thrown  into  a  state  of  alarm. 
They  stream  along  the  ground  and  climb  to  the  summits  of  all 
the  lower  trees,  searching  every  leaf  to  its  apex,  and  whenever 
they  encounter  a  mass  of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  where 
booty  is  plentiful,  they  concentrate,  like  other  Ecitons,  all  their 
forces  upon  it,  the  dense  phalanx  of  shining  and  quickly-moving 
bodies,  as  it  spreads  over  the  surface,  looking  like  a  flood  of 
dark-red  liquid.  They  soon  penetrate  every  part  of  the  con- 
fused heap,  and  then,  gathering  together  again  in  marching 
order,  onward  they  move.  All  soft-bodied  and  inactive  insects 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  them,  and,  like  other  Ecitons,  they  tear 
their  victims  in  pieces  for  facility  of  carriage.  A  phalanx  of 
this  species,  when  passing  over  a  tract  of  smooth  ground,  occu- 
pies a  space  of  from  four  to  six  square  yards;  on  examining 
the  ants  closely  they  are  seen  to  move,  not  altogether  in  one 
straightforward  direction,  but  in  variously-spreading  contiguous 
columns,  now  separating  a  little  from  the  general  mass,  now 
re-uniting  with  it.  The  margins  of  the  phalanx  spread  out  at 
times  like  a  cloud  of  skirmishers  from  the  flanks  of  an  army. 
I  was  never  able  to  find  the  hive  of  this  species. 

Blind  Ecitons. — I  will  now  give  a  short  account  of  the  blind 
species  of  Eciton.  None  of  the  foregoing  kinds  have  eyes  of 
the  facetted  or  compound  structure  such  as  are  usual  in  insects, 
and  which  ordinary  ants  (Formica)  are  furnished  with,  but  all 
are  provided  with  organs  of  vision  composed  each  of  a  single 
lens.  Connecting  them  with  the  utterly  blind  species  of  the 
genus,  is  a  very  stout-limbed  Eciton,  the  E.  crassicornis,  whose 
eyes  are  sunk  in  rather  deep  sockets.  This  ant  goes  on  forag- 
ing expeditions  like  the  rest  of  its  tribe,  and  attacks  even  the 


376      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

nests  of  other  stinging  species  (Myrmica),  but  it  avoids  the 
light,  moving  always  in  concealment  under  leaves  and  fallen 
branches.  When  its  columns  have  to  cross  a  cleared  space, 
the  ants  construct  a  temporary  covered  way  with  granules  of 
earth,  arched  over,  and  holding  together  mechanically;  under 
this  the  procession  passes  in  secret,  the  indefatigable  creatures 
repairing  their  arcade  as  fast  as  breaches  are  made  in  it. 

Next  in  order  comes  the  Eciton  vastator,  which  has  no  eyes, 
although  the  collapsed  sockets  are  plainly  visible;  and,  lastly, 
the  Eciton  erratica,  in  which  both  sockets  and  eyes  have  dis- 


Foraging  ants  (Eciton  erratica)  constructing  a  covered  road — Soldiers 
sallying  out  on  being  disturbed. 


appeared,  leaving  only  a  faint  ring  to  mark  the  place  where 
they  are  usually  situated.  The  armies  of  E.  vastator  and  E. 
erratica  move,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  wholly  under  covered 
roads,  the  ants  constructing  them  gradually  but  rapidly  as  they 
advance.  The  column  of  foragers  pushes  forward  step  by  step, 
under  the  protection  of  these  covered  passages,  through  the 
thickets,  and  on  reaching  a  rotting  log,  or  other  promising 
hunting-ground,  pour  into  the  crevices  in  search  of  booty.  I 
have  traced  their  arcades,  occasionally,  for  a  distance  of  one  or 
two  hundred  yards;  the  grains  of  earth  are  taken  from  the 
soil  over  which  the  column  is  passing,  and  are  fitted  together 
without  cement.  It  is  this  last-mentioned  feature  that  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  the  similar  covered  roads  made  by  Ter- 
mites, who  use  their  glutinous  saliva  to  cement  the  grains 
together.  The  blind  Ecitons,  working  in  numbers,  build  up 
simultaneously  the  sides  of  their  convex  arcades,  and  contrive, 


Animals  in  and  around  Ega  377 

in  a  surprising  manner,  to  approximate  them  and  fit  in  the 
key-stones  without  letting  the  loose  uncemented  structure  fall 
to  pieces.  There  was  a  very  clear  division  of  labour  between 
the  two  classes  of  neuters  in  these  blind  species.  The  large- 
headed  class,  although  not  possessing  monstrously-lengthened 
jaws  like  the  worker-majors  in  E.  hamata  and  E.  drepanophora, 
are  rigidly  defined  in  structure  from  the  small-headed  class, 
and  act  as  soldiers,  defending  the  working  community  (like 
soldier  Termites)  against  all  comers.  Whenever  I  made  a 
breach  in  one  of  their  covered  ways,  all  the  ants  underneath 
were  set  in  commotion,  but  the  worker-minors  remained  behind 
to  repair  the  damage,  whilst  the  large-heads  issued  forth  in  a 
most  menacing  manner,  rearing  their  heads  and  snapping  their 
jaws  with  an  expression  of  the  fiercest  rage  and  defiance. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


EXCURSIONS   BEYOND   EGA 


Steamboat  Travelling  on  the  Amazons — Passengers — Tunantins — Caishana 
Indians — The  Jutahi — The  Sapo — Maraud  Indians — Fonte  Boa — 
Journey  to  St.  Paulo — Tucuna  Indians — Illness — Descent  to  Para — 
Changes  at  Para — Departure  for  England 

November  yth,  1856. — Embarked  on  the  Upper  Amazons 
steamer,  the  Tabatinga,  for  an  excursion  to  Tunantins,  a  small 
semi-Indian  settlement,  lying  240  miles  beyond  Ega.  The 
Tabatinga  is  an  iron  boat  of  about  170  tons  burthen,  built  at 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  fitted  with  engines  of  fifty  horse-power. 
The  saloon,  with  berths  on  each  side  for  twenty  passengers,  is 
above  deck,  and  open  at  both  ends  to  admit  a  free  current  of 
air.  The  captain  or  "  commandante,"  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Brazilian  navy,  a  man  of  polished,  sailor-like  address,  and  a 
rigid  disciplinarian;  his  name,  Senhor  Nunes  Mello  Cardozo. 
I  was  obliged,  as  usual,  to  take  with  me  a  stock  of  all  articles 
of  food,  except  meat  and  fish,  for  the  time  I  intended  to  be 
absent  (three  months);  and  the  luggage,  including  hammocks, 
cooking  utensils,  crockery,  and  so  forth,  formed  fifteen  large 
packages.  One  bundle  consisted  of  a  mosquito  tent,  an  article 
I  had  not  yet  had  occasion  to  use  on  the  river,  but  which  was 
indispensable  in  all  excursions  beyond  Ega,  every  person,  man, 
woman  and  child,  requiring  one,  as  without  it  existence  would 
be  scarcely  possible.  My  tent  was  about  eight  feet  long  and 
five  feet  broad,  and  was  made  of  coarse  calico  in  an  oblong 
shape,  with  sleeves  at  each  end  through  which  to  pass  the  cords 
of  a  hammock.  Under  this  shelter,  which  is  fixed  up  every 
evening  before  sundown,  one  can  read  and  write,  or  swing  in 
one's  hammock  during  the  long  hours  which  intervene  before 
bed-time,  and  feel  one's  sense  of  comfort  increased  by  having 
cheated  the  thirsty  swarms  of  mosquitoes  which  fill  the  chamber. 
We  were  four  days  on  the  road.  The  pilot,  a  Mameluco  of 
Ega,  whom  I  knew  very  well,  exhibited  a  knowledge  of  the 
river  and  powers  of  endurance  which  were  quite  remarkable. 
He  stood  all  this  time  at  his  post,  with  the  exception  of  three 
or  four  hours  in  the  middle  of  each  day,  when  he  was  relieved 

378 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  379 

by  a  young  man  who  served  as  apprentice,  and  he  knew  the 
breadth  and  windings  of  the  channel,  and  the  extent  of  all  the 
yearly-shifting  shoals  from  the  Rio  Negro  to  Loreto,  a  distance 
of  more  than  a  thousand  miles.  There  was  no  slackening  of 
speed  at  night,  except  during  the  brief  but  violent  storms 
which  occasionally  broke  upon  us,  and  then  the  engines  were 
stopped  by  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Nunes,  sometimes 
against  the  wish  of  the  pilot.  The  nights  were  often  so  dark 
that  we  passengers  on  the  poop  deck  could  not  discern  the 
hardy  fellow  on  the  bridge,  but  the  steamer  drove  on  at  full 
speed,  men  being  stationed  on  the  look-out  at  the  prow,  to 
watch  for  floating  logs,  and  one  man  placed  to  pass  orders  to 
the  helmsman;  the  keel  scraped  against  a  sand-bank  only  once 
during  the  passage. 

The  passengers  were  chiefly  Peruvians,  mostly  thin,  anxious, 
Yankee-looking  men,  who  were  returning  home  to  the  cities  of 
Moyobamba  and  Chachapoyas,  on  the  Andes,  after  a  trading 
trip  to  the  Brazilian  towns  on  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  whither 
they  had  gone  six  months  previously,  with  cargoes  of  Panama 
hats  to  exchange  for  European  wares.  These  hats  are  made  of 
the  young  leaflets  of  a  palm-tree,  by  the  Indians  and  half-caste 
people  who  inhabit  the  eastern  parts  of  Peru.  They  form 
almost  the  only  article  of  export  from  Peru  by  way  of  the 
Amazons,  but  the  money  value  is  very  great  compared  with 
the  bulk  of  the  goods,  as  the  hats  are  generally  of  very  fine 
quality,  and  cost  from  twelve  shillings  to  six  pounds  sterling 
each;  some  traders  bring  down  two  or  three  thousand  pounds' 
worth,  folded  into  small  compass  in  their  trunks.  The  return 
cargoes  consist  of  hardware,  crockery,  glass,  and  other  bulky  or 
heavy  goods,  but  not  of  cloth,  which,  being  of  light  weight, 
can  be  carried  across  the  Andes  from  the  ports  on  the  Pacific 
to  the  eastern  parts  of  Peru.  All  kinds  of  European  cloth  can 
be  obtained  at  a  much  cheaper  rate  by  this  route  than  by  the 
more  direct  way  of  the  Amazons,  the  import  duties  of  Peru 
being,  as  I  was  told,  lower  than  those  of  Brazil,  and  the  differ- 
ence not  being  counter-balanced  by  increased  expense  of  transit, 
on  account  of  weight,  over  the  passes  of  the  Andes. 

There  was  a  great  lack  of  amusement  on  board.  The  table 
was  very  well  served,  professed  cooks  being  employed  in  these 
Amazonian  steamers,  and  fresh  meat  insured  by  keeping  on 
deck  a  supply  of  live  bullocks  and  fowls,  which  are  purchased 
whenever  there  is  an  opportunity  on  the  road.  The  river 
scenery  was  similar  to  that  already  described  as  presented 


380      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

between  the  Rio  Negro  and  Ega :  long  reaches  of  similar  aspect, 
with  two  long,  low  lines  of  forest,  varied  sometimes  with  cliffs 
of  red  clay,  appearing  one  after  the  other;  an  horizon  of  water 
and  sky  on  some  days  limiting  the  view  both  up  stream  and 
down.  We  travelled,  however,  always  near  the  bank,  and,  for 
my  part,  I  was  never  weary  of  admiring  the  picturesque  group- 
ing and  variety  of  trees,  and  the  varied  mantles  of  creeping 
plants  which  clothed  the  green  wall  of  forest  every  step  of  the 
way.  With  the  exception  of  a  small  village  called  Fonte  Boa, 
retired  from  the  main  river,  where  we  stopped  to  take  in  fire- 
wood, and  which  I  shall  have  to  speak  of  presently,  we  saw  no 
human  habitation  the  whole  of  the  distance.  The  mornings 
were  delightfully  cool;  coffee  was  served  at  sunrise,  and  a 
bountiful  breakfast  at  ten  o'clock;  after  that  hour  the  heat 
rapidly  increased  until  it  became  almost  unbearable;  how  the 
engine-drivers  and  firemen  stood  it  without  exhaustion  I  cannot 
tell;  it  diminished  after  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  about 
which  time  dinner-bell  rung,  and  the  evenings  were  always 
pleasant. 

November  nth  to  30th. — The  Tunantins  is  a  sluggish  black- 
water  stream,  about  sixty  miles  in  length,  and  towards  its  mouth 
from  100  to  200  yards  in  breadth.  The  vegetation  on  its  banks 
has  a  similar  aspect  to  that  of  the  Rio  Negro,  the  trees  having 
small  foliage  of  a  sombre  hue,  and  the  dark  piles  of  greenery 
resting  on  the  surface  of  the  inky  water.  The  village  is  situated 
on  the  left  bank,  about  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and 
contains  twenty  habitations,  nearly  all  of  which  are  merely 
hovels,  built  of  lath-work  and  mud.  The  short  streets,  after  rain, 
are  almost  impassable,  on  account  of  the  many  puddles,  and 
are  choked  up  with  weeds, — leguminous  shrubs,  and  scarlet- 
flowered  asclepias.  The  atmosphere  in  such  a  place,  hedged  in 
as  it  is  by  the  lofty  forest,  and  surrounded  by  swamps,  is  always 
close,  warm,  and  reeking;  and  the  hum  and  chirp  of  insects  and 
birds  cause  a  continual  din.  The  small  patch  of  weedy  ground 
around  the  village  swarms  with  plovers,  sandpipers,  striped 
herons,  and  scissor-tailed  fly-catchers ;  and  alligators  are  always 
seen  floating  lazily  on  the  surface  of  the  river  in  front  of  the 
houses. 

On  landing,  I  presented  myself  to  Senhor  Paulo  Bitancourt, 
a  good-natured  half-caste,  director  of  Indians  of  the  neighbour- 
ing river  Issa,  who  quickly  ordered  a  small  house  to  be  cleared 
for  me.  This  exhilarating  abode  contained  only  one  room,  the 
walls  of  which  were  disfigured  by  large  and  ugly  patches  of 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  381 

mud,  the  work  of  white  ants.  The  floor  was  the  bare  earth, 
dirty  and  damp;  the  wretched  chamber  was  darkened  by  a 
sheet  of  calico  being  stretched  over  the  windows,  a  plan  adopted 
here  to  keep  out  the  Pium-flies,  which  float  about  in  all  shady 
places  like  thin  clouds  of  smoke,  rendering  all  repose  impossible 
in  the  daytime  wherever  they  can  effect  an  entrance.  My 
baggage  was  soon  landed,  and  before  the  steamer  departed  I  had 
taken  gun,  insect-net,  and  game-bag,  to  make  a  preliminary 
exploration  of  my  new  locality. 

I  remained  here  nineteen  days,  and,  considering  the  short- 
ness of  the  time,  made  a  very  good  collection  of  monkeys,  birds, 
and  insects.  A  considerable  number  of  the  species  (especially 
of  insects)  were  different  from  those  of  the  four  other  stations, 
which  I  examined  on  the  south  side  of  the  Solimoens,  and  as 
many  of  these  were  "  representative  forms  " x  of  others  found 
on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  broad  river,  I  concluded  that  there 
could  have  been  no  land  connection  between  the  two  shores 
during,  at  least,  the  recent  geological  period.  This  conclusion 
is  confirmed  by  the  case  of  the  Uakari  monkeys,  described  in 
the  last  chapter.  All  these  strongly  modified  local  races  of 
insects  confined  to  one  side  of  the  Solimoens  (like  the  Uakaris), 
are  such  as  have  not  been  able  to  cross  a  wide  treeless  space 
such  as  a  river.  The  acquisition  which  pleased  me  most,  in 
this  place,  was  a  new  species  of  butterfly  (a  Catagramma), 
which  has  since  been  named  C.  excelsior,  owing  to  its  surpass- 
ing in  size  and  beauty  all  the  previously-known  species  of  its 
singularly  beautiful  genus.  The  upper  surface  of  the  wings  is 
of  the  richest  blue,  varying  in  shade  with  the  play  of  light,  and 
on  each  side  is  a  broad  curved  stripe  of  an  orange  colour.  It 
is  a  bold  flyer,  and  is  not  confined,  as  I  afterwards  found,  to 
the  northern  side  of  the  river,  for  I  once  saw  a  specimen  amidst 
a  number  of  richly-coloured  butterflies,  flying  about  the  deck 
of  the  steamer  when  we  were  anchored  off  Fonte  Boa,  200  miles 
lower  down  the  river. 

With  the  exception  of  three  Mameluco  families  and  a  stray 
Portuguese  trader,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  and  neigh- 
bourhood are  semi-civilised  Indians  of  the  Shumana  and  Passe 
tribes.  The  forests  of  the  Tunantins,  however,  are  inhabited 
by  a  tribe  of  wild  Indians  called  Caishanas,  who  resemble  much, 
in  their  social  condition  and  manners,  the  debased  Muras  of 
the  Lower  Amazons,  and  have,  like  them,  shown  no  aptitude 
for  civilised  life  in  any  shape.     Their  huts  commence  at  the 

1  Species  or  races  which  take  the  place  of  other  allied  species  or  races. 


382       The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

distance  of  an  hour's  walk  from  the  village,,  along  gloomy  and 
narrow  forest-paths.  My  first  and  only  visit  to  a  Caishana 
dwelling  was  accidental.  One  day,  having  extended  my  walk 
further  than  usual,  and  followed  one  of  the  forest-roads  until 
it  became  a  mere  fiicada,  or  hunters'  track,  I  came  suddenly 
upon  a  well-trodden  pathway,  bordered  on  each  side  with  Lyco- 
podia  of  the  most  elegant  shapes,  the  tips  of  the  fronds  stretch- 
ing almost  like  tendrils  down  the  little  earthy  slopes  which 
formed  the  edge  of  the  path.  The  road,  though  smooth,  was 
narrow  and  dark,  and  in  many  places  blocked  up  by  trunks  of 
felled  trees,  which  had  been  apparently  thrown  across  by  the 
timid  Indians  on  purpose  to  obstruct  the  way  to  their  habita- 
tions. Half-a-mile  of  this  shady  road  brought  me  to  a  small 
open  space  on  the  banks  of  a  brook  or  creek,  on  the  skirts  of 
which  stood  a  conical  hut  with  a  very  low  doorway.  There 
was  also  an  open  shed,  with  stages  made  of  split  palm-stems, 
and  a  number  of  large  wooden  troughs.  Two  or  three  dark- 
skinned  children,  with  a  man  and  woman,  were  in  the  shed; 
but,  immediately  on  espying  me,  all  of  them  ran  to  the  hut, 
bolting  through  the  little  doorway  like  so  many  wild  animals 
scared  into  their  burrows.  A  few  moments  after,  the  man  put 
his  head  out  with  a  look  of  great  distrust;  but,  on  my  making 
the  most  friendly  gestures  I  could  think  of,  he  came  forth  with 
the  children.  They  were  all  smeared  with  black  mud  and 
paint;  the  only  clothing  of  the  elders  was  a  kind  of  apron 
made  of  the  inner  bark  of  the  sapucaya-tree,  and  the  savage 
aspect  of  the  man  was  heightened  by  his  hair  hanging  over  his 
forehead  to  the  eyes.  I  stayed  about  two  hours  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, the  children  gaining  sufficient  confidence  to  come 
and  help  me  to  search  for  insects.  The  only  weapon  used  by 
the  Caishanas  is  the  blow-gun,  and  this  is  employed  only  in 
shooting  animals  for  food.  They  are  not  a  warlike  people,  like 
most  of  the  neighbouring  tribes  on  the  Japura  and  Issa. 

The  whole  tribe  of  Caishanas  does  not  exceed  in  number  400 
souls.  None  of  them  are  baptised  Indians,  and  they  do  not 
dwell  in  villages,  like  the  more  advanced  sections  of  the  Tupi 
stock;  but  each  family  has  its  own  solitary  hut.  They  are 
quite  harmless,  do  not  practise  tattooing,  or  perforate  their 
ears  and  noses  in  any  way.  Their  social  condition  is  of  a  low 
type,  very  little  removed,  indeed,  from  that  of  the  brutes  living 
in  the  same  forests.  They  do  not  appear  to  obey  any  common 
chief,  and  I  could  not  make  out  that  they  had  Pajes,  or  medicine- 
men, those  rudest  beginnings  of  a  priest  class.     Symbolical  or 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  383 

masked  dances,  and  ceremonies  in  honour  of  the  Jurupari,  or 
demon,  customs  which  prevail  amongst  all  the  surrounding 
tribes,  are  unknown  to  the  Caishanas.  There  is  amongst  them 
a  trace  of  festival  keeping;  but  the  only  ceremony  used  is 
the  drinking  of  cashiri  beer,  and  fermented  liquors  made  of 
Indian-corn,  bananas,  and  so  forth.  These  affairs,  however, 
are  conducted  in  a  degenerate  style,  for  they  do  not  drink  to 
intoxication,  or  sustain  the  orgies  for  several  days  and  nights  in 
succession,  like  the  Juris,  Passes,  and  Tucunas.  The  men  play 
a  musical  instrument,  made  of  pieces  of  stem  of  the  arrow-grass 
cut  in  different  lengths  and  arranged  like  Pan-pipes.  With 
this  they  wile  away  whole  hours,  lolling  in  ragged  bast  hammocks 
slung  in  their  dark,  smoky  huts.  The  Tunantins  people  say  that 
the  Caishanas  have  persecuted  the  wild  animals  and  birds  to 
such  an  extent  near  their  settlements  that  there  is  now  quite  a 
scarcity  of  animal  food.  If  they  kill  a  Toucan,  it  is  considered 
an  important  event,  and  the  bird  is  made  to  serve  as  a  meal 
for  a  score  or  more  persons.  They  boil  the  meat  in  earthen- 
ware kettles  filled  with  Tucupi  sauce,  and  eat  it  with  beiju,  or 
mandioca-cakes.  The  women  are  not  allowed  to  taste  of  the 
meat,  but  forced  to  content  themselves  with  sopping  pieces  of 
cake  in  the  liquor. 

November  $oth. — I  left  Tunantins  in  a  trading  schooner  of 
eighty  tons  burthen  belonging  to  Senhor  Batalha,  a  tradesman 
of  Ega,  which  had  been  out  all  the  summer  collecting  produce, 
and  was  commanded  by  a  friend  of  mine,  a  young  Paraense, 
named  Francisco  Raiol.  We  arrived,  on  the  3rd  of  December, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Jutahi,  a  considerable  stream  about  half  a 
mile  broad,  and  flowing  with  a  very  sluggish  current.  This  is 
one  of  the  series  of  six  rivers,  from  400  to  1000  miles  in  length, 
which  flow  from  the  south-west  through  unknown  lands  lying 
between  Bolivia  and  the  Upper  Amazons,  and  enter  this  latter 
river  between  the  Madeira  and  the  Ucayali.  We  remained  at 
anchor  four  days  within  the  mouth  of  the  Sapo,  a  small  tributary 
of  the  Jutahi  flowing  from  the  south-east;  Senhor  Raiol  having 
to  send  an  igarite  to  the  Cupatana,  a  large  tributary  some  few 
miles  farther  up  the  river,  to  fetch  a  cargo  of  salt  fish.  During 
this  time  we  made  several  excursions  in  the  montaria  to  various 
places  in  the  neighbourhood.  Our  longest  trip  was  to  some 
Indian  houses,  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  up  the 
.  a  journey  made  with  one  Indian  paddler,  and  occupying 
a  whole  day.  The  stream  is  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  yards 
broad;  its  waters  are  darker  in  colour  than  those  of  the  Jutahi, 


384      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

and  flow,  as  in  all  these  small  rivers,  partly  under  shade  between 
two  lofty  walls  of  forest.  We  passed,  in  ascending,  seven 
habitations,  most  of  them  hidden  in  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  the 
banks;  their  sites  being  known  only  by  small  openings  in  the 
compact  wall  of  forest,  and  the  presence  of  a  canoe  or  two  tied 
up  in  little  shady  ports.  The  inhabitants  are  chiefly  Indians 
of  the  Maraud  tribe,  whose  original  territory  comprised  all  the 
small  by-streams  lying  between  the  Jutahi  and  the  Jurua,  near 
the  mouths  of  both  these  great  tributaries.  They  live  in 
separate  families  or  small  hordes;  have  no  common  chief,  and 
are  considered  as  a  tribe  little  disposed  to  adopt  civilised  customs 
or  be  friendly  with  the  whites.  One  of  the  houses  belonged  to 
a  Juri  family,  and  we  saw  the  owner,  an  erect,  noble-looking  old 
fellow,  tattooed,  as  customary  with  his  tribe,  in  a  large  patch 
over  the  middle  of  his  face,  fishing  under  the  shade  of  a  colossal 
tree  in  his  port  with  hook  and  line.  He  saluted  us  in  the  usual 
grave  and  courteous  manner  of  the  better  sort  of  Indians  as  we 
passed  by. 

We  reached  the  last  house,  or  rather  two  houses,  about  ten 
o'clock,  and  spent  there  several  hours  during  the  great  heat  of 
mid-day.  The  houses,  which  stood  on  a  high  clayey  bank, 
were  of  quadrangular  shape,  partly  open  like  sheds,  and  partly 
enclosed  with  rude  mud- walls,  forming  one  or  more  chambers. 
The  inhabitants,  a  few  families  of  Marauds,  comprising  about 
thirty  persons,  received  us  in  a  frank,  smiling  manner:  a 
reception  which  may  have  been  due  to  Senhor  Raiol  being  an 
old  acquaintance  and  somewhat  of  a  favourite.  None  of  them 
were  tattooed;  but  the  men  had  great  holes  pierced  in  their 
ear-lobes,  in  which  they  insert  plugs  of  wood,  and  their  lips 
were  drilled  with  smaller  holes.  One  of  the  younger  men,  a 
fine  strapping  fellow  nearly  six  feet  high,  with  a  large  aquiline 
nose,  who  seemed  to  wish  to  be  particularly  friendly  with  me, 
showed  me  the  use  of  these  lip-holes,  by  fixing  a  number  of 
little  white  sticks  in  them,  and  then  twisting  his  mouth  about 
and  going  through  a  pantomime  to  represent  defiance  in  the 
presence  of  an  enemy.  Nearly  all  the  people  were  disfigured 
by  dark  blotches  on  the  skin,  the  effect  of  a  cutaneous  disease 
very  prevalent  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  face  of  one 
old  man  was  completely  blackened,  and  looked  as  though  it  had 
been  smeared  with  black  lead,  the  blotches  having  coalesced  to 
form  one  large  patch.  Others  were  simply  mottled;  the  black 
spots  were  hard  and  rough,  but  not  scaly,  and  were  margined 
with  rings  of  a  colour  paler  than  the  natural  hue  of  the  skin. 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  385 

I  had  seen  many  Indians  and  a  few  half-castes  at  Tunantins, 
and  afterwards  saw  others  at  Fonte  Boa,  blotched  in  the  same 
way.  The  disease  would  seem  to  be  contagious,  for  I  was  told 
that  a  Portuguese  trader  became  disfigured  with  it  after  co- 
habiting some  years  with  an  Indian  woman.  It  is  curious 
that,  although  prevalent  in  many  places  on  the  Solimoens, 
no  resident  of  Ega  exhibited  signs  of  the  disease:  the  early 
explorers  of  the  country,  on  noticing  spotted  skins  to  be  very 
frequent  in  certain  localities,  thought  they  were  peculiar  to  a 
few  tribes  of  Indians.  The  younger  children  in  these  houses 
on  the  Sapo  were  free  from  spots;  but  two  or  three  of  them, 
about  ten  years  of  age,  showed  signs  of  their  commencement  in 
rounded  yellowish  patches  on  the  skin,  and  these  appeared 
languid  and  sickly,  although  the  blotched  adults  seemed  not  to 
be  affected  in  their  general  health.  A  middle-aged  half-caste 
at  Fonte  Boa  told  me  he  had  cured  himself  of  the  disorder  by 
strong  doses  of  sarsaparilla ;  the  black  patches  had  caused  the 
hair  of  his  beard  and  eyebrows  to  fall  off,  but  it  had  grown 
again  since  his  cure. 

When  my  tall  friend  saw  me,  after  dinner,  collecting  insects 
along  the  paths  near  the  houses,  he  approached,  and,  taking 
me  by  the  arm,  led  me  to  a  mandioca  shed,  making  signs,  as 
he  could  speak  very  little  Tupi,  that  he  had  something  to  show. 
I  was  not  a  little  surprised  when,  having  mounted  the  girao,  or 
stage  of  split  palm-stems,  and  taken  down  an  object  transfixed 
to  a  post,  he  exhibited,  with  an  air  of  great  mystery,  a  large 
chrysalis  suspended  from  a  leaf,  which  he  placed  carefully  in 
my  hands,  saying,  "  Pana-pana  curi "  (Tupi:  butterfly  by- 
and-by).  Thus  I  found  that  the  metamorphoses  of  insects 
were  know  to  these  savages;  but  being  unable  to  talk  with 
my  new  friend,  I  could  not  ascertain  what  ideas  such  a  pheno- 
menon had  given  rise  to  in  his  mind.  The  good  fellow  did  not 
leave  my  side  during  the  remainder  of  our  stay;  but,  thinking 
apparently  that  I  had  come  here  for  information,  he  put  himself 
to  considerable  trouble  to  give  me  all  he  could.  He  made  a 
quantity  of  Hypadu  or  Coca  powder,  that  I  might  see  the 
process;  going  about  the  task  with  much  action  and  ceremony, 
as  though  he  were  a  conjuror  performing  some  wonderful  trick. 

We  left  these  friendly  people  about  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  in  descending  the  umbrageous  river,  stopped,  about 
half-way  down,  at  another  house,  built  in  one  of  the  most 
charming  situations  I  had  yet  seen  in  this  country.  A  clean, 
narrow,  sandy  pathway  led  from  the  shady  port  to  the  house, 


386       The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

through  a  tract  of  forest  of  indescribable  luxuriance.  The 
buildings  stood  on  an  eminence  in  the  middle  of  a  level  cleared 
space;  the  firm  sandy  soil,  smooth  as  a  floor,  forming  a  broad 
terrace  around  them.  The  owner  was  a  semi-civilised  Indian, 
named  Manoel;  a  dull,  taciturn  fellow,  who,  together  with  his 
wife  and  children,  seemed  by  no  means  pleased  at  being  in- 
truded on  in  their  solitude.  The  family  must  have  been  very 
industrious;  for  the  plantations  were  very  extensive,  and 
included  a  little  of  almost  all  kinds  of  cultivated  tropical  pro- 
ductions :  fruit  trees,  vegetables,  and  even  flowers  for  ornament. 
The  silent  old  man  had  surely  a  fine  appreciation  of  the  beauties 
of  nature:  for  the  site  he  had  chosen  commanded  a  view  of 
surprising  magnificence  over  the  summits  of  the  forest;  and, 
to  give  finish  to  the  prospect,  he  had  planted  a  large  quantity 
of  banana  trees  in  the  foreground,  thus  concealing  the  charred 
and  dead  stumps  which  would  otherwise  have  marred  the  effect 
of  the  rolling  sea  of  greenery.  The  only  information  I  could 
get  out  of  Manoel  was,  that  large  flocks  of  richly-coloured  birds 
came  down  in  the  fruit  season  and  despoiled  his  trees.  The 
sun  set  over  the  tree-tops  before  we  left  this  little  Eden,  and 
the  remainder  of  our  journey  was  made  slowly  and  pleasantly, 
under  the  chequered  shades  of  the  river  banks,  by  the  light  of 
the  moon. 

December  7th. — Arrived  at  Fonte  Boa;  a  wretched,  muddy, 
and  dilapidated  village,  situated  two  or  three  miles  within  the 
mouth  of  a  narrow  by-stream  called  the  Cayhiar-hy,  which  runs 
almost  as  straight  as  an  artificial  canal  between  the  village  and 
the  main  Amazons.  The  character  of  the  vegetation  and  soil 
here  was  different  from  that  of  all  other  localities  I  had  hitherto 
examined ;  I  had  planned,  therefore,  to  devote  six  weeks  to  the 
place.  Having  written  beforehand  to  one  of  the  principal 
inhabitants,  Senhor  Venancio,  a  house  was  ready  for  me  on 
landing.  The  only  recommendation  of  the  dwelling  was  its 
coolness.  It  was,  in  fact,  rather  damp;  the  plastered  walls 
bore  a  crop  of  green  mould,  and  a  slimy  moisture  oozed  through 
the  black,  dirty  floor;  the  rooms  were  large,  but  lighted  by 
miserable  little  holes  in  place  of  windows.  The  village  is  built 
on  a  clayey  plateau,  and  the  ruinous  houses  are  arranged  round 
a  large  square,  which  is  so  choked  up  with  tangled  bushes  that 
it  is  quite  impassable,  the  lazy  inhabitants  having  allowed  the 
fine  open  space  to  relapse  into  jungle.  The  stiff  clayey  eminence 
is  worn  into  deep  gullies  which  slope  towards  the  river,  and  the 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  387 

ascent  from  the  port  in  rainy  weather  is  so  slippery  that  one  is 
obliged  to  crawl  up  to  the  streets  on  all  fours.  A  large  tract 
of  ground  behind  the  place  is  clear  of  forest,  but  this,  as  well  as 
the  streets  and  gardens,  is  covered  with  a  dense,  tough  carpet 
of  shrubs,  having  the  same  wiry  nature  as  our  common  heath. 
Beneath  its  deceitful  covering  the  soil  is  always  moist  and  soft, 
and  in  the  wet  season  the  whole  is  converted  into  a  glutinous 
mud  swamp.  There  is  a  very  pretty  church  in  one  corner  of 
the  square,  but  in  the  rainy  months  of  the  year  (nine  out  of 
twelve)  the  place  of  worship  is  almost  inaccessible  to  the  in- 
habitants on  account  of  the  mud,  the  only  means  of  getting  to 
it  being  by  hugging  closely  the  walls  and  palings,  and  so 
advancing  sideways  step  by  step. 

I  remained  in  this  delectable  place  until  the  25th  of  January, 
1857.  Fonte  Boa,  in  addition  to  its  other  amenities,  has  the 
reputation  throughout  the  country  of  being  the  headquarters 
of  mosquitoes,  and  it  fully  deserves  the  title.  They  are  more 
annoying  in  the  houses  by  day  than  by  night,  for  they  swarm 
in  the  dark  and  damp  rooms,  keeping,  in  the  daytime,  near  the 
floor,  and  settling  by  half-dozens  together  on  the  legs.  At 
night  the  calico  tent  is  a  sufficient  protection;  but  this  is 
obliged  to  be  folded  every  morning,  and  in  letting  it  down 
before  sunset,  great  care  is  required  to  prevent  even  one  or  two 
of  the  tormentors  from  stealing  in  beneath,  their  insatiable 
thirst  for  blood,  and  pungent  sting,  making  these  enough  to 
spoil  all  comfort.  In  the  forest  the  plague  is  much  worse;  but 
the  forest-mosquito  belongs  to  a  different  species  from  that  of 
the  town,  being  much  larger,  and  having  transparent  wings;  it 
is  a  little  cloud  that  one  carries  about  one's  person  every  step  on  a 
woodland  ramble,  and  their  hum  is  so  loud  that  it  prevents  one 
hearing  well  the  notes  of  birds.  The  town-mosquito  has  opaque 
speckled  wings,  a  less  severe  sting,  and  a  silent  way  of  going 
to  work;  the  inhabitants  ought  to  be  thankful  the  big,  noisy 
fellows  never  come  out  of  the  forest.  In  compensation  for  the 
abundance  of  mosquitoes,  Fonte  Boa  has  no  piums;  there  was, 
therefore,  some  comfort  outside  one's  door  in  the  daytime;  the 
comfort,  however,  was  lessened  by  their  being  scarcely  any  room 
in  front  of  the  house  to  sit  down  or  walk  about,  for,  on  our  side 
of  the  square,  the  causeway  was  only  two  feet  broad,  and  to 
step  over  the  boundary,  formed  by  a  line  of  slippery  stems  of 
palms,  was  to  sink  up  to  the  knees  in  a  sticky  swamp. 

Notwithstanding  damp  and  mosquitoes,  I  had  capital  health, 
and  enjoyed  myself  much  at  Fonte  Boa;   swampy  and  weedy 


388      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

places  being  generally  more  healthy  than  dry  ones  in  the 
Amazons,  probably  owing  to  the  absence  of  great  radiation  of 
heat  from  the  ground.  The  forest  was  extremely  rich  and 
picturesque,  although  the  soil  was  everywhere  clayey  and  cold, 
and  broad  pathways  threaded  it  for  many  a  mile  over  hill  and 
dale.  In  every  hollow  flowed  a  sparkling  brook,  with  perennial 
and  crystal  waters.  The  margins  of  these  streams  were  para- 
dises of  leanness  and  verdure;  the  most  striking  feature  being 
the  variety  of  ferns,  with  immense  leaves,  some  terrestrial, 
others  climbing  over  trees,  and  two,  at  least,  arborescent.  I 
saw  here  some  of  the  largest  trees  I  had  yet  seen;  there  was  one 
especially,  a  cedar,  whose  colossal  trunk  towered  up  for  more 
than  a  hundred  feet,  straight  as  an  arrow;  I  never  saw  its 
crown,  which  was  lost  to  view,  from  below,  beyond  the  crowd 
of  lesser  trees  which  surrounded  it.  Birds  and  monkeys  in 
this  glorious  forest  were  very  abundant;  the  bear-like  Pithecia 
hirsuta  being  the  most  remarkable  of  the  monkeys,  and  the 
Umbrella  Chatterer  and  Curl-crested  Toucans  amongst  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  birds.  The  Indians  and  half-castes  of 
the  village  have  made  their  little  plantations,  and  built  huts  for 
summer  residence  on  the  banks  of  the  rivulets,  and  my  rambles 
generally  terminated  at  one  or  other  of  these  places.  The  people 
were  always  cheerful  and  friendly,  and  seemed  to  be  glad  when 
I  proposed  to  join  them  at  their  meals,  contributing  the  contents 
of  my  provision-bag  to  the  dinner,  and  squatting  down  amongst 
them  on  the  mat. 

The  village  was  formerly  a  place  of  more  importance  than 
it  now  is,  a  great  number  of  Indians  belonging  to  the  most 
industrious  tribes,  Shumanas,  Passes,  and  Cambevas,  having 
settled  on  the  site  and  adopted  civilised  habits,  their  industry 
being  directed  by  a  few  whites,  who  seem  to  have  been  men  of 
humane  views  as  well  as  enterprising  traders.  One  of  these 
old  employers,  Senhor  Guerreiro,  a  well-educated  Paraense, 
was  still  trading  on  the  Amazons  when  I  left  the  country,  in 
1859:  he  told  me  that  forty  years  previously  Fonte  Boa  was  a 
delightful  place  to  live  in.  The  neighbourhood  was  then  well 
cleared,  and  almost  free  from  mosquitoes,  and  the  Indians  were 
orderly,  industrious,  and  happy.  What  led  to  the  ruin  of  the 
settlement  was  the  arrival  of  several  Portuguese  and  Brazilian 
traders  of  a  low  class,  who  in  their  eagerness  for  business  taught 
the  easy-going  Indians  all  kinds  of  trickery  and  immorality. 
They  enticed  the  men  and  women  away  from  their  old  employers, 
and  thus  broke  up  the  large  establishments,  compelling  the 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  389 

principals  to  take  their  capital  to  other  places.  At  the  time  of 
my  visit  there  were  few  pure-blood  Indians  at  Fonte  Boa,  and 
no  true  whites.  The  inhabitants  seemed  to  be  nearly  all 
Mamelucos,  and  were  a  loose-living,  rustic,  plain-spoken  and 
ignorant  set  of  people.  There  was  no  priest  or  schoolmaster 
within  150  miles,  and  had  not  been  any  for  many  years:  the 
people  seemed  to  be  almost  without  government  of  any  kind, 
and  yet  crime  and  deeds  of  violence  appeared  to  be  of  very  rare 
occurrence.  The  principal  man  of  the  village,  one  Senhor  Justo, 
was  a  big,  coarse,  energetic  fellow,  sub-delegado  of  police,  and 
the  only  tradesman  who  owned  a  large  vessel  running  directly 
between  Fonte  Boa  and  Para.  He  had  recently  built  a  large 
house,  in  the  style  of  middle-class  dwellings  of  towns,  namely, 
with  brick  floors  and  tiled  roof,  the  bricks  and  tiles  having  been 
brought  from  Para,  1500  miles  distant,  the  nearest  place  where 
they  are  manufactured  in  surplus.  When  Senhor  Justo  visited 
me  he  was  much  struck  with  the  engravings  in  a  file  of 
Illustrated  London  News,  which  lay  on  my  table.  It  was 
impossible  to  resist  his  urgent  entreaties  to  let  him  have  some 
of  them,  "  to  look  at,"  so  one  day  he  carried  off  a  portion  of  the 
papers  on  loan.  A  fortnight  afterwards,  on  going  to  request 
him  to  return  them,  I  found  the  engravings  had  been  cut  out, 
and  stuck  all  over  the  newly  whitewashed  walls  of  his  chamber, 
many  of  them  upside  down.  He  thought  a  room  thus  decorated 
with  foreign  views  would  increase  his  importance  amongst  his 
neighbours,  and  when  I  yielded  to  his  wish  to  keep  them,  was 
boundless  in  demonstrations  of  gratitude,  ending  by  shipping  a 
boat-load  of  turtles  for  my  use  at  Ega. 

These  neglected  and  rude  villagers  still  retained  many 
religious  practices  which  former  missionaries  or  priests  had 
taught  them.  The  ceremony  which  they  observed  at  Christmas, 
like  that  described  as  practised  by  negroes  in  a  former  chapter, 
was  very  pleasing  for  its  simplicity,  and  for  the  heartiness  with 
which  it  was  conducted.  The  church  was  opened,  dried,  and 
swept  clean  a  few  days  before  Christmas  Eve,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing all  the  women  and  children  of  the  village  were  busy  decorat- 
ing it  with  festoons  of  leaves  and  wild  flowers.  Towards 
midnight  it  was  illuminated  inside  and  out  with  little  oil  lamps, 
made  of  clay,  and  the  image  of  the  "  menino  Deus,"  or  Child-God, 
in  its  cradle,  was  placed  below  the  altar,  which  was  lighted  up 
with  rows  of  wax  candles,  very  lean  ones,  but  the  best  the  poor 
people  could  afford.  All  the  villagers  assembled  soon  after- 
wards, dressed  in  their  best,  the  women  with  flowers  in  their 


390      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

hair,  and  a  few  simple  hymns,  totally  irrelevant  to  the  occasion, 
but  probably  the  only  ones  known  by  them,  were  sung  kneeling; 
an  old  half-caste,  with  black-spotted  face,  leading  off  the  tunes. 
This  finished,  the  congregation  rose,  and  then  marched  in  single 
file  up  one  side  of  the  church  and  down  the  other,  singing 
together  a  very  pretty  marching  chorus,  and  each  one,  on  reach- 
ing the  little  image,  stooping  to  kiss  the  end  of  a  ribbon  which 
was  tied  round  its  waist.  Considering  that  the  ceremony  was 
got  up  of  their  own  free  will,  and  at  considerable  expense,  I 
thought  it  spoke  well  for  the  good  intentions  and  simplicity  of 
heart  of  these  poor,  neglected  villagers. 

I  left  Fonte  Boa,  for  Ega,  on  the  25th  of  January,  making 
the  passage  by  steamer,  down  the  middle  of  the  current,  in 
sixteen  hours.  The  sight  of  the  clean  and  neat  little  town, 
with  its  open  spaces,  close-cropped  grass,  broad  lake,  and  white 
sandy  shores,  had  a  most  exhilarating  effect,  after  my  trip  into 
the  wilder  parts  of  the  country.  The  district  between  Ega  and 
Loreto,  the  first  Peruvian  village  on  the  river,  is,  indeed,  the 
most  remote,  thinly-peopled,  and  barbarous  of  the  whole  line  of 
the  Amazons,  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Beyond  Loreto,  signs  of 
civilisation,  from  the  side  of  the  Pacific,  begin  to  be  numerous, 
and,  from  Ega  downwards,  the  improvement  is  felt  from  the 
side  of  the  Atlantic. 

September  §ih,  1857. — Again  embarked  on  the  Tabatinga, 
this  time  for  a  longer  excursion  than  the  last,  namely  to  St. 
Paulo  de  Olivenca,  a  village  higher  up  than  any  I  had  yet 
visited,  being  260  miles  distant,  in  a  straight  line,  from  Ega, 
or  about  400  miles  following  the  bends  of  the  river. 

The  waters  were  now  nearly  at  their  lowest  point;  but  this 
made  no  difference  to  the  rate  of  travelling,  night  or  day. 
Several  of  the  Parana  mirims,  or  by-channels,  which  the  steamer 
threads  in  the  season  of  full-water,  to  save  a  long  circuit,  were 
now  dried  up,  their  empty  beds  looking  like  deep  sandy  ravines 
in  the  midst  of  the  thick  forest.  The  large  sand-islands,  and 
miles  of  sandy  beach,  were  also  uncovered,  and  these,  with  the 
swarms  of  large  aquatic  birds;  storks,  herons,  ducks,  waders, 
and  spoon-bills,  which  lined  their  margins  in  certain  places, 
made  the  river  view  much  more  varied  and  animated  than  it 
is  in  the  season  of  the  flood.  Alligators  of  large  size  were 
common  near  the  shores,  lazily  floating,  and  heedless  of  the 
passing  steamer.  The  passengers  amused  themselves  by  shoot- 
ing at  them  from  the  deck  with  a  double-barrelled  rifle  we  had 
on  board.     The  sign  of  a  mortal  hit  was  the  monster  turning 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  391 

suddenly  over,  and  remaining  floating,  with  its  white  belly 
upwards.  Lieutenant  Nunes  wished  to  have  one  of  the  dead 
animals  on  board,  for  the  purpose  of  opening  the  abdomen, 
and,  if  a  male,  extracting  a  part  which  is  held  in  great  estima- 
tion amongst  Brazilians  as  a  "  remedio,"  charm  or  medicine. 
The  steamer  was  stopped,  and  a  boat  sent,  with  four  strong 
men,  to  embark  the  beast;  the  body,  however,  was  found  too 
heavy  to  be  lifted  into  the  boat;  so  a  rope  was  passed  round  it. 
and  the  hideous  creature  towed  alongside,  and  hoisted  on  deck 
by  means  of  the  crane,  which  was  rigged  for  the  purpose.  It 
had  still  some  sparks  of  life,  and  when  the  knife  was  applied, 
lashed  its  tail,  and  opened  its  enormous  jaws,  sending  the 
crowd  of  bystanders  flying  in  all  directions.  A  blow  with  a 
hatchet  on  the  crown  of  the  head  gave  him  his  quietus  at  last. 
The  length  of  the  animal  was  fifteen  feet;  but  this  statement 
can  give  but  an  imperfect  idea  of  its  immense  bulk  and  weight. 
The  numbers  of  turtles  which  were  seen  swimming  in  quiet 
shoaly  bays  passed  on  the  road,  also  gave  us  much  amusement. 
They  were  seen  by  dozens  ahead,  with  their  snouts  peering  above 
the  surface  of  the  water;  and,  on  the  steamer  approaching, 
turning  round  to  stare,  but  not  losing  confidence  till  the  vessel 
had  nearly  passed,  when  they  appeared  to  be  suddenly  smitten 
with  distrust,  diving  like  ducks  under  the  stream. 

We  had  on  board,  amongst  our  deck-passengers,  a  middle- 
aged  Indian,  of  the  Juri  tribe;  a  short,  thickset  man,  with 
features  resembling  much  those  of  the  late  Daniel  O'Connell. 
His  name  was  Caracara-i  (Black  Eagle),  and  his  countenance 
seemed  permanently  twisted  into  a  grim  smile,  the  effect  of 
which  was  heightened  by  the  tattooed  marks — a  blue  rim  to  the 
mouth,  with  a  diagonal  pointed  streak  from  each  corner  towards 
the  ear.  He  was  dressed  in  European  style — black  hat,  coat, 
and  trousers — looking  very  uncomfortable  in  the  dreadful  heat 
which,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say,  exists  on  board  a  steamer,  under 
a  vertical  sun,  during  mid-day  hours.  This  Indian  was  a  man 
of  steady  resolution,  ambitious  and  enterprising;  very  rare 
qualities  in  the  race  to  which  he  belonged,  weakness  of  resolution 
being  one  of  the  fundamental  defects  in  the  Indian  character. 
He  was  now  on  his  return  home  to  the  banks  of  the  Issa  from 
Para,  whither  he  had  been  to  sell  a  large  quantity  of  sarsaparilla 
that  he  had  collected,  with  the  help  of  a  number  of  Indians, 
whom  he  induces,  or  forces,  to  work  for  him.  One  naturally  feels 
inclined  to  know  what  ideas  such  a  favourable  specimen  of  the 
Indian  race  may  have  acquired  after  so  much  experience  amongst 


392      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

civilised  scenes.  On  conversing  with  our  fellow  -  passenger, 
I  was  greatly  disappointed  in  him;  he  had  seen  nothing,  and 
thought  of  nothing,  beyond  what  concerned  his  little  trading 
speculation,  his  mind  being,  evidently,  what  it  had  been  before, 
with  regard  to  all  higher  subjects  or  general  ideas,  a  blank. 
The  dull,  mean,  practical  way  of  thinking  of  the  Amazonian 
Indians,  and  the  absence  of  curiosity  and  speculative  thought 
which  seems  to  be  organic  or  confirmed  in  their  character, 
although  they  are  improvable  to  a  certain  extent,  make  them, 
like  common-place  people  everywhere,  most  uninteresting  com- 
panions. Caracara-i  disembarked  at  Tunantins  with  his  cargo, 
which  consisted  of  a  considerable  number  of  packages  of 
European  wares. 

The  river  scenery  about  the  mouth  of  the  Japura  is  extremely 
grand,  and  was  the  subject  of  remark  amongst  the  passengers. 
Lieutenant  Nunes  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  there  was  no 
diminution  of  width  or  grandeur  in  the  mighty  stream  up  to 
this  point,  a  distance  of  1500  miles  from  the  Atlantic;  and  yet 
we  did  not  here  see  the  two  shores  of  the  river  on  both  sides  at 
once;  lines  of  islands,  or  tracts  of  alluvial  land,  having  by- 
channels  in  the  rear,  intercepting  the  view  of  the  northern 
mainland,  and  sometimes  also  of  the  southern.  Beyond  the 
Issa,  however,  the  river  becomes  evidently  narrower,  being 
reduced  to  an  average  width  of  about  a  mile;  there  were  then 
no  longer  those  magnificent  reaches,  with  blank  horizons, 
which  occur  lower  down.  We  had  a  dark  and  rainy  night  after 
passing  Tunantins,  and  the  passengers  were  all  very  uneasy  on 
account  of  the  speed  at  which  we  were  travelling,  twelve  miles 
an  hour,  with  every  plank  vibrating  with  the  force  of  the  engines. 
Many  of  them  could  not  sleep,  myself  amongst  the  number.  At 
length,  a  little  after  midnight,  a  sudden  shout  startled  us: 
"  Back  her!  "  (English  terms  being  used  in  matters  relating  to 
steam-engines).  The  pilot  instantly  sprung  to  the  helm,  and 
in  a  few  moments  we  felt  our  paddle-box  brushing  against  the 
wall  of  forest  into  which  we  had  nearly  driven  headlong.  For- 
tunately the  water  was  deep  close  up  to  the  bank.  Early  in 
the  morning  of  the  10th  of  September  we  anchored  in  the  port 
of  St.  Paulo,  after  five  days'  quick  travelling  from  Ega. 

St.  Paulo  is  built  on  a  high  hill,  on  the  southern  bank  of  the 
river.  The  hill  is  formed  of  the  same  Tabatinga  clay,  which 
occurs  at  intervals  over  the  whole  valley  of  the  Amazons,  but 
nowhere  rises  to  so  great  an  elevation  as  here,  the  height  being 
about  100  feet  above  the  mean  level  of  the  river.    The  ascent 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  393 

from  the  port  is  steep  and  slippery;  steps  and  resting-places 
have  been  made  to  lighten  the  fatigue  of  mounting,  otherwise 
the  village  would  be  almost  inaccessible,  especially  to  porters 
of  luggage  and  cargo,  for  there  are  no  means  of  making  a  cir- 
cuitous road  of  more  moderate  slope,  the  hill  being  steep  on  all 
sides,  and  surrounded  by  dense  forests  and  swamps.  The  place 
contains  about  500  inhabitants,  chiefly  half-castes  and  Indians 
of  the  Tucuna  and  Collina  tribes,  who  are  very  little  improved 
from  their  primitive  state.  The  streets  are  narrow,  and  in 
rainy  weather  inches  deep  in  mud;  many  houses  are  of  sub- 
stantial structure,  but  in  a  ruinous  condition,  and  the  place 
altogether  presents  the  appearance,  like  Fonte  Boa,  of  having 
seen  better  days.  Signs  of  commerce,  such  as  meet  the  eye  at 
Ega,  could  scarcely  be  expected  in  this  remote  spot,  situate 
1800  miles,  or  seven  months'  round  voyage  by  sailing-vessels/ 
from  Para,  the  nearest  market  for  produce.  A  very  short 
experience  showed  that  the  inhabitants  were  utterly  debased, 
the  few  Portuguese  and  other  immigrants  having,  instead  of  pro- 
moting industry,  adopted  the  lazy  mode  of  life  of  the  Indians, 
spiced  with  the  practice  of  a  few  strong  vices  of  their  own 
introduction. 

The  head-man  of  the  village,  Senhor  Antonio  Ribeiro,  half- 
white  half-Tucuna,  prepared  a  house  for  me  on  landing,  and 
introduced  me  to  the  principal  people.  The  summit  of  the 
hill  is  grassy  table-land,  of  two  or  three  hundred  acres  in  extent. 
The  soil  is  not  wholly  clay,  but  partly  sand  and  gravel;  the 
village  itself,  however,  stands  chiefly  on  clay,  and  the  streets 
therefore,  after  heavy  rains,  become  filled  with  muddy  puddles. 
On  damp  nights  the  chorus  of  frogs  and  toads  which  swarm  in 
weedy  back-yards  creates  such  a  bewildering  uproar  that  it  is 
impossible  to  carry  on  a  conversation  indoors  except  by  shouting. 
My  house  was  damper  even  than  the  one  I  occupied  at  Fonte 
Boa,  and  this  made  it  extremely  difficult  to  keep  my  collections 
from  being  spoilt  by  mould.  But  the  general  humidity  of  the 
atmosphere  in  this  part  of  the  river  was  evidently  much  greater 
than  it  is  lower  down;  it  appears  to  increase  gradually  in 
ascending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Andes.  It  was  impossible 
at  St.  Paulo  to  keep  salt  for  many  days  in  a  solid  state,  which 
was  not  the  case  at  Ega,  when  the  baskets  in  which  it  is  con- 
tained were  well  wrapped  in  leaves.  Six  degrees  further  west- 
ward, namely,  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes,  the  dampness  of  the 
climate  of  the  Amazonian  forest  region  appears  to  reach  its 
acme,  for  Poeppig  found  at  Chinchao  that  the  most  refined 


394      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

sugar,  in  a  few  days,  dissolved  into  syrup,  and  the  best  gun- 
powder became  liquid,  even  when  enclosed  in  canisters.  At 
St.  Paulo  refined  sugar  kept  pretty  well  in  tin  boxes,  and  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  keeping  my  gunpowder  dry  in  canisters,  although 
a  gun  loaded  over-night  could  very  seldom  be  fired  off  in  the 
morning. 

The  principal  residents  at  St.  Paulo  were  the  priest,  a  white 
from  Para,  who  spent  his  days  and  most  of  his  nights  in  gambling 
and  rum-drinking,  corrupting  the  young  fellows  and  setting  the 
vilest  example  to  the  Indians;  the  sub-delegado,  an  upright, 
open-hearted,  and  loyal  negro,  whom  I  have  before  mentioned, 
Senhor  Jose  Patricio;  the  Juiz  de  Paz,  a  half-caste  named 
Geraldo,  and  lastly,  Senhor  Antonio  Ribeiro,  who  was  Director 
of  the  Indians.  Geraldo  and  Ribeiro  were  my  near  neighbours, 
but  they  took  offence  at  me  after  the  first  few  days,  because  I 
would  not  join  them  in  their  drinking  bouts,  which  took  place 
about  every  third  day.  They  used  to  begin  early  in  the  morn- 
ing with  Cashaca  mixed  with  grated  ginger,  a  powerful  drink, 
which  used  to  excite  them  almost  to  madness.  Neighbour 
Geraldo,  after  these  morning  potations,  used  to  station  himself 
opposite  my  house  and  rave  about  foreigners,  gesticulating  in  a 
threatening  manner  towards  me  by  the  hour.  After  becoming 
sober  in  the  evening,  he  usually  came  to  offer  me  the  humblest 
apologies,  driven  to  it,  I  believe,  by  his  wife,  he  himself  being 
quite  unconscious  of  this  breach  of  good  manners.  The  wives 
of  the  St.  Paulo  worthies,  however,  were  generally  as  bad  as  their 
husbands;  nearly  all  the  women  being  hard  drinkers,  and 
corrupt  to  the  last  degree.  Wife-beating  naturally  flourished 
under  such  a  state  of  things.  I  found  it  always  best  to  lock 
myself  in-doors  after  sunset,  and  take  no  notice  of  the  thumps 
and  screams  which  used  to  rouse  the  village  in  different  quarters 
throughout  the  night,  especially  at  festival  times. 

The  only  companionable  man  I  found  in  the  place,  except 
Jose  Patricio,  who  was  absent  most  part  of  the  time,  was  the 
negro  tailor  of  the  village,  a  tall,  thin,  grave  young  man,  named 
Mestre  Chico  (Master  Frank),  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made  at 
Para  several  years  previously.  He  was  a  free  negro  by  birth, 
but  had  had  the  advantage  of  kind  treatment  in  his  younger  days, 
having  been  brought  up  by  a  humane  and  sensible  man,  one 
Captain  Basilio,  of  Pernambuco,  his  padrinho,  or  godfather. 
He  neither  drank,  smoked,  nor  gambled,  and  was  thoroughly 
disgusted  at  the  depravity  of  all  classes  in  this  wretched  little 
settlement,  which  he  intended  to  quit  as  soon  as  possible. 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  395 

When  he  visited  me  at  night  he  used  to  knock  at  my  shutter; 
in  a  manner  we  had  agreed  on,  it  being  necessary  to  guard 
against  admitting  drunken  neighbours,  and  we  then  spent  the 
long  evenings  most  pleasantly,  working  and  conversing.  His 
manners  were  courteous,  and  his  talk  well  worth  listening  to. 
for  the  shrewdness  and  good  sense  of  his  remarks.  I  first  met 
Mestre  Chico  at  the  house  of  an  old  negress  of  Para,  Tia  Rufina 
(Aunt  Rufina),  who  used  to  take  charge  of  my  goods  when  I  was 
absent  on  a  voyage,  and  this  affords  me  an  opportunity  of  giving 
a  few  further  instances  of  the  excellent  qualities  of  free  negroes 
in  a  country  where  they  are  not  wholly  condemned  to  a  degrad- 
ing position  by  the  pride  or  selfishness  of  the  white  race.  This 
old  woman  was  born  a  slave,  but,  like  many  others  in  the  large 
towns  of  Brazil,  she  had  been  allowed  to  trade  on  her  own 
account,  as  market-woman,  paying  a  fixed  sum  daily  to  her 
owner,  and  keeping  for  herself  all  her  surplus  gains.  In  a  few 
years  she  had  saved  sufficient  money  to  purchase  her  freedom, 
and  that  of  her  grown-up  son.  This  done,  the  old  lady  con- 
tinued to  strive  until  she  had  earned  enough  to  buy  the  house 
in  which  she  lived,  a  considerable  property  situated  in  one  of  the 
principal  streets.  When  I  returned  from  the  interior,  after 
seven  years'  absence  from  Para,  I  found  she  was  still  advancing 
in  prosperity,  entirely  through  her  own  exertions  (being  a 
widow)  and  those  of  her  son,  who  continued,  with  the  most 
regular  industry,  his  trade  as  blacksmith,  and  was  now  building 
a  number  of  small  houses  on  a  piece  of  unoccupied  land  attached 
to  her  property.  I  found  these  and  many  other  free  negroes 
most  trustworthy  people,  and  admired  the  constancy  of  their 
friendships  and  the  gentleness  and  cheerfulness  of  their  manners 
towards  each  other.  They  showed  great  disinterestedness  in 
their  dealings  with  me,  doing  me  many  a  piece  of  service  without 
a  hint  at  remuneration;  but  this  may  have  been  partly  due 
to  the  name  of  Englishman,  the  knowledge  of  our  national 
generosity  towards  the  African  race  being  spread  far  and  wide 
amongst  the  Brazilian  negroes. 

I  remained  at  St.  Paulo  five  months;  five  years  would  not 
have  been  sufficient  to  exhaust  the  treasures  of  its  neighbour- 
hood in  Zoology  and  Botany.  Although  now  a  forest-rambler 
of  ten  years'  experience,  the  beautiful  forest  which  surrounds 
this  settlement  gave  me  as  much  enjoyment  as  if  I  had  only 
just  landed  for  the  first  time  in  a  tropical  country.  The 
plateau  on  which  the  village  is  built  extends  on  one  side  nearly 
a  mile  into  the  forest,  but  on  the  other  side  the  descent  into  the 


396       The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

lowland  begins  close  to  the  streets;  the  hill  sloping  abruptly 
towards  a  boggy  meadow  surrounded  by  woods,  through  which 
a  narrow  winding  path  continues  the  slope  down  to  a  cool  shady 
glen,  with  a  brook  of  icy-cold  water  flowing  at  the  bottom.  At 
mid-day  the  vertical  sun  penetrates  into  the  gloomy  depths  of 
this  romantic  spot;  lighting  up  the  leafy  banks  of  the  rivulet  and 
its  clean  sandy  margins,  where  numbers  of  scarlet,  green,  and 
black  tanagers  and  brightly-coloured  butterflies  sport  about  in 
the  stray  beams.  Sparkling  brooks,  large  and  small,  traverse 
the  glorious  forest  in  almost  every  direction,  and  one  is  con- 
stantly meeting,  whilst  rambling  through  the  thickets,  with 
trickling  rills  and  bubbling  springs,  so  well-provided  is  the 
country  with  moisture.  Some  of  the  rivulets  flow  over  a  sandy 
and  pebbly  bed,  and  the  banks  of  all  are  clothed  with  the  most 
magnificent  vegetation  conceivable.  I  had  the  almost  daily 
habit,  in  my  solitary  walks,  of  resting  on  the  clean  banks  of 
these  swift-flowing  streams,  and  bathing  for  an  hour  at  a  time 
in  their  bracing  waters;  hours  which  now  remain  amongst  my 
most  pleasant  memories.  The  broad  forest  roads  continue,  as 
I  was  told,  a  distance  of  several  days'  journey  into  the  interior, 
which  is  peopled  by  Tucunas  and  other  Indians,  living  in 
scattered  houses  and  villages  nearly  in  their  primitive  state,  the 
nearest  village  lying  about  six  miles  from  St.  Paulo.  The  banks 
of  all  the  streams  are  dotted  with  palm-thatched  dwellings  of 
Tucunas,  all  half-buried  in  the  leafy  wilderness,  the  scattered 
families  having  chosen  the  coolest  and  shadiest  nocks  for  their 
abodes. 

I  frequently  heard  in  the  neighbourhood  of  these  huts,  the 
"  realejo "  or  organ  bird  (Cyphorhinus  cantans),  the  most 
remarkable  songster,  by  far,  of  the  Amazonian  forests.  When 
its  singular  notes  strike  the  ear  for  the  first  time,  the  impres- 
sion cannot  be  resisted  that  they  are  produced  by  a  human 
voice.  Some  musical  boy  must  be  gathering  fruit  in  the 
thickets,  and  is  singing  a  few  notes  to  cheer  himself.  The 
tones  become  more  fluty  and  plaintive;  they  are  now  those  of 
a  flageolet,  and  notwithstanding  the  utter  impossibility  of  the 
thing,  one  is  for  the  moment  convinced  that  somebody  is  play- 
ing that  instrument.  No  bird  is  to  be  seen  however  closely 
the  surrounding  trees  and  bushes  may  be  scanned,  and  yet  the 
voice  seems  to  come  from  the  thicket  close  to  one's  ears.  The 
ending  of  the  song  is  rather  disappointing.  It  begins  with  a  few 
very  slow  and  mellow  notes,  following  each  other  like  the  com- 
mencement of  an  air;   one  listens  expecting  to  hear  a  complete 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  397 

strain,  but  an  abrupt  pause  occurs,  and  then  the  song  breaks 
down,  finishing  with  a  number  of  clicking  unmusical  sounds  like 
a  piping  barrel  organ  out  of  wind  and  tune.  I  never  heard  the 
bird  on  the  Lower  Amazon,  and  very  rarely  heard  it  even  at 
Ega;  it  is  the  only  songster  which  makes  an  impression  on  the 
natives,  who  sometimes  rest  their  paddles  whilst  travelling  in 
their  small  canoes,  along  the  shady  by-streams,  as  if  struck  by 
the  mysterious  sounds. 

The  Tuciina  Indians  are  a  tribe  resembling  much  the 
Shumanas,  Passes,  Juris,  and  Mauhes  in  their  physical  appear- 
ance and  customs.  They  lead  like  those  tribes  a  settled  agri- 
cultural life,  each  horde  obeying  a  chief  of  more  or  less  influence, 
according  to  his  energy  and  ambition,  and  possessing  its  paje 
or  medicine-man,  who  fosters  its  superstitions;  but  they  are 
much  more  idle  and  debauched  than  other  Indians  belonging 
to  the  superior  tribes.  They  are  not  so  warlike  and  loyal  as  the 
Mundurucus,  although  resembling  them  in  many  respects,  nor 
have  they  the  slender  figures,  dignified  mien,  and  gentle  dis- 
position of  the  Passes;  there  are,  however,  no  trenchant  points 
of  difference  to  distinguish  them  from  these  highest  of  all  the 
tribes.  Both  men  and  women  are  tattooed,  the  pattern  being 
sometimes  a  scroll  on  each  cheek,  but  generally  rows  of  short 
straight  lines  on  the  face.  Most  of  the  older  people  wear 
bracelets,  anklets,  and  garters  of  tapir-hide  or  tough  bark;  in 
their  homes  they  wear  no  other  dress  except  on  festival  days, 
when  they  ornament  themselves  with  feathers  or  masked  cloaks 
made  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree.  They  were  very  shy  when 
I  made  my  first  visits  to  their  habitations  in  the  forest,  all 
scampering  off  to  the  thicket  when  I  approached,  but  on  sub- 
sequent days  they  became  more  familiar,  and  I  found  them  a 
harmless,  good-natured  people. 

A  great  part  of  the  horde  living  at  the  first  Maloca  or  village 
dwell  in  a  common  habitation,  a  large  oblong  hut  built  and 
arranged  inside  with  such  a  disregard  of  all  symmetry  that  it 
appeared  as  though  constructed  by  a  number  of  hands,  each 
working  independently,  stretching  a  rafter  or  fitting  in  a  piece 
of  thatch,  without  reference  to  what  his  fellow-labourers  were 
doing.  The  walls  as  well  as  the  roof  are  covered  with  thatch 
of  palm-leaves;  each  piece  consisting  of  leaflets  plaited  and 
attached  in  a  row  to  a  lath  many  feet  in  length.  Strong  upright 
posts  support  the  roof,  hammocks  being  slung  between  them, 
leaving  a  free  space  for  passage  and  for  fires  in  the  middle,  and 


398      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

on  one  side  is  an  elevated  stage  (girao)  overhead,  formed  of  split 
palm-stems.  The  Tucunas  excel  most  of  the  other  tribes  in  the 
manufacture  of  pottery.  They  make  broad-mouthed  jars  for 
Tucupi  sauce,  caysuma  or  mandioca  beer,  capable  of  holding 
twenty  or  more  gallons,  ornamenting  them  outside  with  crossed 
diagonal  streaks  of  various  colours.  These  jars,  with  cooking- 
pots,  smaller  jars  for  holding  water,  blow-guns,  quivers,  matiri 
bags  l  full  of  small  articles,  baskets,  skins  of  animals,  and  so 
forth,  form  the  principal  part  of  the  furniture  of  their  huts  both 
large  and  small.  The  dead  bodies  of  their  chiefs  are  interred, 
the  knees  doubled  up,  in  large  jars  under  the  floors  of  their  huts. 
The  semi-religious  dances  and  drinking  bouts  usual  amongst 
the  settled  tribes  of  Amazonian  Indians  are  indulged  in  to 
greater  excess  by  the  Tucunas  than  they  are  by  most  other 
tribes.  The  Jurupari  or  Demon  is  the  only  superior  being 
they  have  any  conception  of,  and  his  name  is  mixed  up  with 
all  their  ceremonies,  but  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  what  they 
consider  to  be  his  attributes.  He  seems  to  be  believed  in 
simply  as  a  mischievous  imp,  who  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  those 
mishaps  of  their  daily  life,  the  causes  of  which  are  not  very 
immediate  or  obvious  to  their  dull  understandings.  It  is  vain 
to  try  to  get  information  out  of  a  Tucuna  on  this  subject;  they 
affect  great  mystery  when  the  name  is  mentioned,  and  give  very 
confused  answers  to  questions:  it  was  clear,  however,  that  the 
idea  of  a  spirit  as  a  beneficent  God  or  Creator  had  not  entered 
the  minds  of  these  Indians.  There  is  great  similarity  in  all 
their  ceremonies  and  mummeries,  whether  the  object  is  a 
wedding,  the  celebration  of  the  feast  of  fruits,  the  plucking  of 
the  hair  from  the  heads  of  their  children,  or  a  holiday  got  up 
simply  out  of  a  love  of  dissipation.  Some  of  the  tribe  on  these 
occasions  deck  themselves  with  the  bright-coloured  feathers  of 
parrots  and  macaws.  The  chief  wears  a  head-dress  or  cap  made 
by  fixing  the  breast-feathers  of  the  Toucan  on  a  web  of  Bromelia 
twine,  with  erect  tail  plumes  of  macaws  rising  from  the  crown. 
The  cinctures  of  the  arms  and  legs  are  also  then  ornamented  with 
bunches  of  feathers.  Others  wear  masked  dresses:  these  are 
long  cloaks  reaching  below  the  knee,  and  made  of  the  thick 

1  These  bags  are  formed  of  remarkably  neat  twine  made  of  Br^meiia 
fibres  elaborately  knitted,  all  in  one  piece,  with  sticks;  a  belt  of  thj  same 
material,  but  more  closely  woven,  being  attached  to  the  top  to  suspend 
them  by.  They  afford  good  examples  of  the  mechanical  ability  of  these 
Indians.  The  Tucunas  also  possess  the  art  of  skinning  and  stuffing  birds, 
the  handsome  kinds  of  which  they  sell  in  great  numbers  to  passing 
travellers. 


400      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

whitish-coloured  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  the  fibres  of  which  are 
interlaced  in  so  regular  a  manner  that  the  material  looks  like 
artificial  cloth.  The  cloak  covers  the  head;  two  holes  are  cut 
out  for  the  eyes,  a  large  round  piece  of  the  cloth  stretched  on  a 
rim  of  flexible  wood  is  stitched  on  each  side  to  represent  ears, 
and  the  features  are  painted  in  exaggerated  style  with  yellow, 
red,  and  black  streaks.  The  .dresses  are  sewn  into  the  proper 
shapes  with  thread  made  of  the  inner  bark  of  the  Uaissima  tree. 
Sometimes  grotesque  head-dresses,  representing  monkeys' 
busts  or  heads  of  other  animals,  made  by  stretching  cloth  or 
skin  over  a  basket-work  frame,  are  worn  at  these  holidays.  The 
biggest  and  ugliest  mask  represents  the  Jurupari.  In  these 
festival  habiliments  the  Tucunas  go  through  their  monotonous 
see-saw  and  stamping  dances  accompanied  by  singing  and 
drumming,  and  keep  up  the  sport  often  for  three  or  four  days 
and  nights  in  succession,  drinking  enormous  quantities  of 
caysuma,  smoking  tobacco,  and  snuffing  parica  powder. 

I  could  not  learn  that  there  was  any  deep  symbolical  meaning 
in  these  masked  dances,  or  that  they  commemorated  any  past 
event  in  the  history  of  the  tribe.  Some  of  them  seem  vaguely 
intended  as  a  propitiation  of  the  Jurupari,  but  the  masker  who 
represents  the  demon  sometimes  gets  drunk  along  with  the  rest, 
and  is  not  treated  with  any  reverence.  From  all  I  could  make 
out,  these  Indians  preserve  no  memory  of  events  going  beyond 
the  times  of  their  fathers  or  grandfathers.  Almost  every  joyful 
event  is  made  the  occasion  of  a  festival :  weddings  amongst  the 
rest.  A  young  man  who  wishes  to  wed  a  Tucuna  girl  has  to 
demand  her  hand  of  her  parents,  who  arrange  the  rest  of  the 
affair,  and  fix  a  day  for  the  marriage  ceremony.  A  wedding 
which  took  place  in  the  Christmas  week  whilst  I  was  at  St. 
Paulo  was  kept  up  with  great  spirit  for  three  or  four  days; 
flagging  during  the  heats  of  mid-day,  but  renewing  itself  with 
increased  vigour  every  evening.  During  the  whole  time  the 
bride,  decked  out  with  feather  ornaments,  was  under  the  charge 
of  the  older  squaws,  whose  business  seemed  to  be,  sedulously 
to  keep  the  bridegroom  at  a  safe  distance  until  the  end  of  the 
dreary  period  of  dancing  and  boosing.  The  Tucunas  have  the 
singular  custom,  in  common  with  the  Collinas  and  Mauhes,  of 
treating  their  young  girls,  on  their  showing  the  first  signs  of 
womanhood,  as  if  they  had  committed  some  crime.  They  are 
sent  up  to  the  girao  under  the  smoky  and  filthy  roof,  and  kept 
there  on  very  meagre  diet,  sometimes  for  a  whole  month.  I 
heard  of  one  poor  girl  dying  under  this  treatment. 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  401 

The  only  other  tribe  of  this  neighbourhood  concerning  which 
I  obtained  any  information  were  the  Majeronas,  whose  territory 
embraces  several  hundred  miles  of  the  western  bank  of  the  river 
Jauari,  an  affluent  of  the  Solimoens,  120  miles  beyond  St.  Paulo. 
These  are  a  fierce,  indomitable,  and  hostile  people,  like  the 
Araras  of  the  river  Madeira;  they  are  also  cannibals.  The 
navigation  of  the  Jauari  is  rendered  impossible  on  account  of 
the  Majeronas  lying  in  wait  on  its  banks  to  intercept  and  murder 
all  travellers,  especially  whites. 

Four  months  before  my  arrival  at  St.  Paulo,  two  young  half- 
castes  (nearly  white)  of  the  village  went  to  trade  on  the  Jauari; 
the  Majeronas  having  shown  signs  of  abating  their  hostility  for 
a  year  or  two  previously.  They  had  not  been  long  gone,  when 
their  canoe  returned  with  the  news  that  the  two  young  fellows 
had  been  shot  with  arrows,  roasted,  and  eaten  by  the  savages. 
Jose  Patricio,  with  his  usual  activity  in  the  cause  of  law  and 
order,  despatched  a  party  of  armed  men  of  the  National  Guard 
to  the  place  to  make  inquiries,  and,  if  the  murder  should  appear 
to  be  unprovoked,  to  retaliate.  When  they  reached  the  settle- 
ment of  the  horde  who  had  eaten  the  two  men,  it  was  found 
evacuated,  with  the  exception  of  one  girl,  who  had  been  in  the 
woods  when  the  rest  of  her  people  had  taken  flight,  and  whom 
the  guards  brought  with  them  to  St.  Paulo.  It  was  gathered 
from  her,  and  from  other  Indians  on  the  Jauari,  that  the  young 
men  had  brought  their  fate  on  themselves  through  improper 
conduct  towards  the  Majerona  women.  The  girl,  on  arriving 
at  St.  Paulo,  was  taken  care  of  by  Senhor  Jose  Patricio,  baptised 
under  the  name  of  Maria,  and  taught  Portuguese.  I  saw  a  good 
deal  of  her,  for  my  friend  sent  her  daily  to  my  house  to  fill  the 
water-jars,  make  the  fire,  and  so  forth.  I  also  gained  her  good- 
will by  extracting  the  grub  of  an  CEstrus  fly  from  her  back,  and 
thus  cured  her  of  a  painful  tumour.  She  was  decidedly  the 
best-humoured  and,  to  all  appearance,  the  kindest-hearted 
specimen  of  her  race  I  had  yet  seen.  She  was  tall  and  very 
stout;  in  colour  much  lighter  than  the  ordinary  Indian  tint,  and 
her  ways  altogether  were  more  like  those  of  a  careless,  laughing 
country  wench,  such  as  might  be  met  with  any  day  amongst  the 
labouring  class  in  villages  in  our  own  country,  than  a  cannibal. 
I  heard  this  artless  maiden  relate,  in  the  coolest  manner  possible, 
how  she  ate  a  portion  of  the  bodies  of  the  young  men  whom  her 
tribe  had  roasted.  But  what  increased  greatly  the  incongruity 
of  this  business,  the  young  widow  of  one  of  the  victims,  a  neigh- 
bour of  mine,  happened  to  be  present  during  the  narrative,  and 


402      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

showed  her  interest  in  it  by  laughing  at  the  broken  Portuguese 
in  which  the  girl  related  the  horrible  story. 

In  the  fourtn  month  of  my  sojourn  at  St.  Paulo  I  had  a  serious 
illness,  an  attack  of  the  "  sizoens,"  or  ague  of  the  country,  which, 
as  it  left  me  with  shattered  health  and  damped  enthusiasm,  led 
to  my  abandoning  the  plan  I  had  formed  of  proceeding  to  the 
Peruvian  towns  of  Pebas  and  Moyobamba,  250  and  600  miles 
further  west,  and  so  completing  the  examination  of  the  Natural 
History  of  the  Amazonian  plains  up  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes. 
I  made  a  very  large  collection  at  St.  Paulo,  and  employed  a 
collector  at  Tabatinga  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Jauari  for  several 
months,  so  that  I  acquired  a  very  fair  knowledge  altogether  of 
the  productions  of  the  country  bordering  the  Amazons  to  the 
end  of  the  Brazilian  territory,  a  distance  of  1900  miles  from  the 
Atlantic  at  the  mouth  of  the  Para;  but  beyond  the  Peruvian 
boundary  I  found  now  I  should  be  unable  to  go.  My  ague 
seemed  to  be  the  culmination  of  a  gradual  deterioration  of  health, 
which  had  been  going  on  for  several  years.  I  had  exposed 
myself  too  much  in  the  sun,  working  to  the  utmost  of  my 
strength  six  days  a  week,  and  had  suffered  much,  besides,  from 
bad  and  insufficient  food.  The  ague  did  not  exist  at  St.  Paulo; 
but  the  foul  and  humid  state  of  the  village  was,  perhaps,  suffi- 
cient to  produce  ague  in  a  person  much  weakened  from  other 
causes.  The  country  bordering  the  shores  of  the  Solimoens 
is  healthy  throughout;  some  endemic  diseases  certainly  exist, 
but  these  are  not  of  a  fatal  nature,  and  the  epidemics  which 
desolated  the  Lower  Amazons  from  Para  to  the  Rio  Negro, 
between  the  years  1850  and  1856,  had  never  reached  this 
favoured  land.  Ague  is  known  only  on  the  banks  of  those 
tributary  streams  which  have  dark-coloured  water. 

I  always  carried  a  stock  of  medicines  with  me;  and  a  small 
phial  of  quinine,  which  I  had  bought  at  Para  in  1851,  but  never 
yet  had  use  for,  now  came  in  very  useful.  I  took  for  each  dose 
as  much  as  would  lie  on  the  tip  of  a  penknife-blade,  mixing  it 
with  warm  camomile  tea.  The  first  few  days  after  my  first 
attack  I  could  not  stir,  and  was  delirious  during  the  paroxysms 
of  fever;  but  the  worst  being  over,  I  made  an  effort  to  rouse 
myself,  knowing  that  incurable  disorders  of  the  liver  and  spleen 
follow  ague  in  this  country  if  the  feeling  of  lassitude  is  too  much 
indulged.  So  every  morning  I  shouldered  my  gun  or  insect-net, 
and  went  my  usual  walk  in  the  forest.  The  fit  of  shivering  very 
often  seized  me  before  I  got  home,  and  I  then  used  to  stand  still 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  403 

and  brave  it  out.  When  the  stea*mer  ascended  in  January,  1858, 
Lieutenant  Nunes  was  shocked  to  see  me  so  much  shattered,  and 
recommended  me  strongly  to  return  at  once  to  Ega.  I  took  his 
advice,  and  embarked  with  him,  when  he  touched  at  St.  Paulo 
on  his  downward  voyage,  on  the  2nd  of  February.  I  still  hoped 
to  be  able  to  turn  my  face  westward  again,  to  gather  the  yet 
unseen  treasures  of  the  marvellous  countries  lying  between 
Tabatinga  and  the  slopes  of  the  Andes;  but  although,  after  a 
short  rest  in  Ega,  the  ague  left  me,  my  general  health  remained 
in  a  state  too  weak  to  justify  the  undertaking  of  further  journeys. 
At  length  I  left  Ega,  on  the  3rd  of  February,  1859,  en  route  for 
England. 

I  arrived  at  Para  on  the  17th  of  March,  after  an  absence  in 
the  interior  of  seven  years  and  a  half.  My  old  friends,  English, 
American,  and  Brazilian,  scarcely  knew  me  again,  but  all  gave 
me  a  very  warm  welcome,  especially  Mr.  G.  R.  Brocklehurst  (of 
the  firm  of  R.  Singlehurst  and  Co.,  the  chief  foreign  merchants, 
who  had  been  my  correspondents),  who  received  me  into  his 
house,  and  treated  me  with  the  utmost  kindness.  I  was  rather 
surprised  at  the  warm  appreciation  shown  by  many  of  the  prin- 
cipal people  of  my  labours;  but,  in  fact,  the  interior  of  the 
country  is  still  the  "  sertao  "  (wilderness), — a  terra  incognita  to 
most  residents  of  the  seaport, — and  a  man  who  had  spent  seven 
years  and  a  half  in  exploring  it  solely  with  scientific  aims  was 
somewhat  of  a  curiosity.  I  found  Para  greatly  changed  and 
improved.  It  was  no  longer  the  weedy,  ruinous,  village-looking 
place  that  it  appeared  when  I  first  knew  it  in  1848.  The 
population  had  been  increased  (to  20,000)  by  an  influx  of  Portu- 
guese, Madeiran,  and  German  immigrants,  and  for  many  years 
past  the  provincial  government  had  spent  their  considerable 
surplus  revenue  in  beautifying  the  city.  The  streets,  formerly 
unpaved  or  strewn  with  loose  stones  and  sand,  were  now  laid 
with  concrete  in  a  most  complete  manner;  all  the  projecting 
masonry  of  the  irregularly-built  houses  had  been  cleared  away, 
and  the  buildings  made  more  uniform.  Most  of  the  dilapidated 
houses  were  replaced  by  handsome  new  edifices,  having  long 
and  elegant  balconies  fronting  the  first  floors,  at  an  elevation 
of  several  feet  above  the  roadway.  The  large,  swampy  squares 
had  been  drained,  weeded,  and  planted  with  rows  of  almond 
and  casuarina  trees,  so  that  they  were  now  a  great  ornament  to 
the  city,  instead  of  an  eyesore  as  they  formerly  were.  My  old 
favourite  road,  the  Monguba  avenue,  had  been  renovated  and 
joined  to  many  other  magnificent  rides  lined  with  trees,  which 


404      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

in  a  very  few  years  had  grown  to  a  height  sufficient  to  afford 
agreeable  shade;  one  of  these,  the  Estrada  de  Sao  Jose,  had 
been  planted  with  cocoa-nut  palms.  Sixty  public  vehicles,  light 
cabriolets  (some  of  them  built  in  Para),  now  plied  in  the  streets, 
increasing  much  the  animation  of  the  beautified  squares,  streets, 
and  avenues. 

I  found  also  the  habits  of  the  people  considerably  changed. 
Many  of  the  old  religious  holidays  had  declined  in  importance, 
and  given  way  to  secular  amusements;  social  parties,  balls, 
music,  billiards,  and  so  forth.  There  was  quite  as  much  pleasure- 
seeking  as  formerly,  but  it  was  turned  in  a  more  rational  direc- 
tion, and  the  Paraenses  seemed  now  to  copy  rather  the  customs 
of  the  northern  nations  of  Europe  than  those  of  the  mother- 
country,  Portugal.  I  was  glad  to  see  several  new  booksellers' 
shops,  and  also  a  fine  edifice  devoted  to  a  reading-room  supplied 
with  periodicals,  globes,  and  maps,  and  a  circulating  library. 
There  were  now  many  printing-offices,  and  four  daily  news- 
papers. The  health  of  the  place  had  greatly  improved  since 
1850,  the  year  of  the  yellow  fever,  and  Para  was  now  considered 
no  longer  dangerous  to  newcomers. 

So  much  for  the  improvements  visible  in  the  place,  and  now 
for  the  dark  side  of  the  picture.  The  expenses  of  living  had 
increased  about  fourfold,  a  natural  consequence  of  the  demand 
for  labour  and  for  native  products  of  all  kinds  having  augmented 
in  greater  ratio  than  the  supply,  through  large  arrivals  of  non- 
productive residents,  and  considerable  importations  of  money 
on  account  of  the  steamboat  company  and  foreign  merchants. 
Para,  in  1848,  was  one  of  the  cheapest  places  of  residence  on  the 
American  continent;  it  was  now  one  of  the  dearest.  Imported 
articles  of  food,  clothing,  and  furniture  were  mostly  cheaper, 
although  charged  with  duties  varying  from  18  to  80  per  cent., 
besides  high  freights  and  large  profits,  than  those  produced 
in  the  neighbourhood.  Salt  codfish  was  twopence  per  pound 
cheaper  than  the  vile  salt  pirarucu  of  the  country.  Oranges, 
which  could  formerly  be  had  almost  gratis,  were  now  sold  in  the 
streets  at  the  rate  of  three  for  a  penny;  large  bananas  were  a 
penny  each  fruit;  tomatoes  were  from  two  to  three  pence  each, 
and  all  other  fruits  in  this  fruit-producing  country  had  advanced 
in  like  proportion.  Mandioca-meal,  the  bread  of  the  country, 
had  become  so  scarce  and  dear  and  bad  that  the  poorer  classes 
of  natives  suffered  famine,  and  all  who  could  afford  it  were  obliged 
to  eat  wheaten  bread  at  fourpence  to  fivepence  per  pound,  made 
from  American  flour,  1200  barrels  of  which  were  consumed 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  405 

monthly;  this  was  now,  therefore,  a  very  serious  item  of  daily 
expense  to  all  but  the  most  wealthy.  House-rent  was  most 
exorbitant;  a  miserable  little  place  of  two  rooms,  without 
fixtures  or  conveniences  of  any  kind,  having  simply  blank  walls, 
cost  at  the  rate  of  £18  sterling  a  year.  Lastly,  the  hire  of 
servants  was  beyond  the  means  of  all  persons  in  moderate  cir- 
cumstances ;  a  lazy  cook  or  porter  could  not  be  had  for  less  than 
three  or  four  shillings  a  day,  besides  his  board  and  what  he  could 
steal.  It  cost  me  half-a-crown  for  the  hire  of  a  small  boat  and 
one  man  to  disembark  from  the  steamer,  a  distance  of  100 
yards. 

In  rambling  over  my  old  ground  in  the  forests  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, I  found  great  changes  had  taken  place — to  me, 
changes  for  the  worse.  The  mantle  of  shrubs,  bushes,  and 
creeping  plants  which  formerly,  when  the  suburbs  were  undis- 
turbed by  axe  or  spade,  had  been  left  free  to  arrange  itself  in 
rich,  full,  and  smooth  sheets  and  masses  over  the  forest  borders, 
had  been  nearly  all  cut  away,  and  troops  of  labourers  were  still 
employed  cutting  ugly  muddy  roads  for  carts  and  cattle, 
through  the  once  clean  and  lonely  woods.  Houses  and  mills 
had  been  erected  on  the  borders  of  these  new  roads.  The  noble 
forest-trees  had  been  cut  down,  and  their  naked,  half-burnt 
stems  remained  in  the  midst  of  ashes,  muddy  puddles,  and  heaps 
of  broken  branches.  I  was  obliged  to  hire  a  negro  boy  to  show 
me  the  way  to  my  favourite  path  near  Una,  which  I  have 
described  in  the  second  chapter  of  this  narrative;  the  new 
clearings  having  quite  obliterated  the  old  forest  roads.  Only 
a  few  acres  of  the  glorious  forest  near  Una  now  remained  in 
their  natural  state.  On  the  other  side  of  the  city,  near  the  old 
road  to  the  rice  mills,  several  scores  of  woodsmen  were  employed 
under  Government,  in  cutting  a  broad  carriage-road  through 
the  forest  to  Maranham,  the  capital  of  the  neighbouring  province, 
distant  250  miles  from  Para,  and  this  had  entirely  destroyed  the 
solitude  of  the  grand  old  forest  path.  In  the  course  of  a  few- 
years,  however,  a  new  growth  of  creepers  will  cover  the  naked 
tree-trunks  on  the  borders  of  this  new  road,  and  luxuriant 
shrubs  form  a  green  fringe  to  the  path:  it  will  then  become  as 
beautiful  a  woodland  road  as  the  old  one  was.  A  naturalist 
will  have,  henceforward,  to  go  farther  from  the  city  to  find  the 
glorious  forest  scenery  which  lay  so  near  in  1848,  and  work 
much  more  laboriously  than  was  formerly  needed  to  make  the 
large  collections  which'  Mr.  Wallace  and  I  succeeded  in  doing  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Para. 


406      The  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons 

June  2,  1859. — At  length^  on  the  2nd  of  June,  I  left  Para, 
probably  for  ever;  embarking  in  a  North  American  trading- 
vessel,  the  Frederick  Demming,  for  New  York,  the  United  States 
route  being  the  quickest  as  well  as  the  pleasantest  way  of  reach- 
ing England.  My  extensive  private  collections  were  divided  into 
three  portions  and  sent  by  three  separate  ships,  to  lessen  the 
risk  of  loss  of  the  whole.  On  the  evening  of  the  3rd  of  June, 
I  took  a  last  view  of  the  glorious  forest  for  which  I  had  so  much 
love,  and  to  explore  which  I  had  devoted  so  many  years.  The 
saddest  hours  I  ever  recollect  to  have  spent  were  those  of 
the  succeeding  night  when,  the  Mameluco  pilot  having  left  us 
free  of  the  shoals  and  out  of  sight  of  land  though  within  the 
mouth  of  the  river  at  anchor  waiting  for  the  wind,  I  felt  that  the 
last  link  which  connected  me  with  the  land  of  so  many  pleasing 
recollections  was  broken.  The  Paraenses,  who  are  fully  aware 
of  the  attractiveness  of  their  country,  have  an  alliterative  pro- 
verb, "  Quern  vai  para  (0)  Para  para,"  "  He  who  goes  to  Para 
stops  there,"  and  I  had  often  thought  I  should  myself  have  been 
added  to  the  list  of  examples.  The  desire,  however,  of  seeing 
again  my  parents  and  enjoying  once  more  the  rich  pleasures  of 
intellectual  society,  had  succeeded  in  overcoming  the  attractions 
of  a  region  which  may  be  fittingly  called  a  Naturalist's  Paradise. 
During  this  last  night  on  the  Para  river,  a  crowd  of  unusual 
thoughts  occupied  my  mind.  Recollections  of  English  climate, 
scenery,  and  modes  of  life  came  to  me  with  a  vividness  I  had 
never  before  experienced,  during  the  eleven  years  of  my  absence. 
Pictures  of  startling  clearness  rose  up  of  the  gloomy  winters, 
the  long  grey  twilights,  murky  atmosphere,  elongated  shadows, 
chilly  springs,  and  sloppy  summers;  of  factory  chimneys  and 
crowds  of  grimy  operatives,  rung  to  work  in  early  morning  by 
factory  bells;  of  union  workhouses,  confined  rooms,  artificial 
cares,  and  slavish  conventionalities.  To  live  again  amidst  these 
dull  scenes  I  was  quitting  a  country  of  perpetual  summer,  where 
my  life'  had  been  spent  like  that  of  three-fourths  of  the  people 
in  gipsy  fashion,  on  the  endless  streams  or  in  the  boundless 
forests.  I  was  leaving  the  equator,  where  the  well-balanced 
forces  of  Nature  maintained  a  land-surface  and  climate  that 
seemed  to  be  typical  of  mundane  order  and  beauty,  to  sail 
towards  the  North  Pole,  where  lay  my  home  under  crepuscular 
skies  somewhere  about  fifty- two  degrees  of  latitude.  It  was 
natural  to  feel  a  little  dismayed  at  the  prospect  of  so  great  a 
change;  but  now,  after  three  years  of  renewed  experience  of 
England,  I  find  how  incomparably  superior  is  civilised  life, 


Excursions  beyond  Ega  407 

where  feelings,  tastes,  and  intellect  find  abundant  nourishment, 
to  the  spiritual  sterility  of  half-savage  existence,  even  though 
it  be  passed  in  the  garden  of  Eden.  What  has  struck  me 
powerfully  is  the  immeasurably  greater  diversity  and  interest 
of  human  character  and  social  conditions  in  a  single  civilised 
nation,  than  in  equatorial  South  America,  where  three  distinct 
races  of  man  live  together.  The  superiority  of  the  bleak  north 
to  tropical  regions,  however,  is  only  in  their  social  aspect,  for 
I  hold  to  the  opinion  that,  although  humanity  can  reach  an 
advanced  state  of  culture  only  by  battling  with  the  inclemencies 
of  nature  in  high  latitudes,  it  is  under  the  equator  alone  that 
the  perfect  race  of  the  future  will  attain  to  complete  fruition  of 
man's  beautiful  heritage,  the  earth. 

The  following  day,  having  no  wind,  we  drifted  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Para  with  the  current  of  fresh  water  that  is  poured 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  in  twenty-four  hours  advanced 
in  this  way  seventy  miles  on  our  road.  On  the  6th  of  June, 
when  in  f  55'  N.  lat.  and  520  30'  W.  long.,  and  therefore  about 
400  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  main  Amazons,  we  passed 
numerous  patches  of  floating  grass  mingled  with  tree-trunks 
and  withered  foliage.  Amongst  these  masses  I  espied  many 
fruits  of  that  peculiarly  Amazonian  tree  the  Ubussu  palm;  this 
was  the  last  I  saw  of  the  Great  River. 


MAP  OF  THE  AMAZONS 

This  Map  is  in  continuous  sections  in  the  following  pages 


875  lB«-]fl|j 

02/2B/9B  41245    *T 


THE    TEMPLE    PRESS,    PRINTERS,    LETCHWORTH,    ENGLAND 


EVERYMAN . 
I  WILL  GO  WITH 

•THEE. 
&  BE  THY  GVIDE 
■IN  THY  MOST  NEED 
[TOGO  BY  THY  5)  VE 


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