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diff --git a/2440-h/2440-h.htm b/2440-h/2440-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e8022b --- /dev/null +++ b/2440-h/2440-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,18804 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Naturalist on the River Amazons, by Henry Walter Bates</title> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h3 {font-size: 130%; margin-top: 1em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +.no-break {page-break-before: avoid;} /* for epubs */ + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: 90%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.center {text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +p.first { text-indent: 0%; } + +p.quote { font-size: 9pt; + line-height: 11pt; + margin-top: 3pt; } + +p.footnote {font-size: 90%; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +sup { vertical-align: top; font-size: 0.6em; } + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em;} + +p.caption {font-weight: bold; + text-align: center; } + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> +</head> + <body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Naturalist on the River Amazons, by Henry Walter Bates</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Naturalist on the River Amazons</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Henry Walter Bates</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December, 2000 [eBook #2440]<br /> +[Most recently updated: August 21, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Martin Adamson</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS ***</div> + +<p class="center">EVERYMAN’S LIBRARY<br/> +EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS<br/> +<br/> +<b>SCIENCE</b><br/> +<br/> +BATES’ NATURALIST ON<br/> +THE AMAZONS<br/> +WITH AN APPRECIATION<br/> +BY DARWIN +</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<img src="images/title1.jpg" width="305" height="470" alt= +"Hoc solum scio quod nihil scio" /><img src="images/title2.jpg" +width="302" height="468" alt="Illustrated title page" /> +</div> + +<h1>THE NATURALIST ON<br/> +THE RIVER AMAZONS</h1> + +<h2 class="no-break">By HENRY WALTER BATES</h2> + +<p class="center"> +<small>LONDON: PUBLISHED BY</small><br/> +J. M. DENT & SONS LTD<br/> +<small>AND IN NEW YORK BY</small><br/> +E. P. DUTTON & CO.<br/> +<br/> +<small>First issue of this edition 1910<br/> +Reprinted 1914</small> +</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<p> +<a href="#chap01">Chapter I—PARÁ</a><br /> +Arrival — Aspect of the Country — The Pará River — First Walk +in the Suburbs of Pará — Birds, Lizards, and Insects of the Suburbs +— Leaf-carrying Ant — Sketch of the Climate, History, and present +Condition of Pará. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap02">Chapter II—PARÁ</a><br /> +The Swampy Forests of Pará — A Portuguese Landed Proprietor — +Country House at Nazareth — Life of a Naturalist under the Equator +— The drier Virgin Forests — Magoary — Retired Creeks — +Aborigines. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap03">Chapter III—PARÁ</a><br /> +Religious Holidays — Marmoset Monkeys — Serpents — Insects. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap04">Chapter IV—THE TOCANTINS AND CAMETÁ</a><br /> +Preparations for the Journey — The Bay of Goajará — 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 +Cametá. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap05">Chapter V—CARIPÍ AND THE BAY OF MARAJÓ</a><br /> +River Pará and Bay of Marajó — Journey to Caripí — 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. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap06">Chapter VI—THE LOWER AMAZONS — PARÁ TO +OBYDOS</a><br /> +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 Pará to the +Amazons — First Sight of the Great River — Gurupá — The Great +Shoal — Flat-topped Mountains — Santarem — Obydos. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap07">Chapter VII—THE LOWER AMAZONS — OBYDOS TO MANAOS, +OR THE BARRA OF THE RIO NEGRO</a><br /> +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 — Cararaucú — A Rustic Festival — Lake of +Cararaucú — Motuca Flies — Serpa — Christmas Holidays — +River Madeira — A Mameluco Farmer — Mura Indians — Rio Negro +— Description of Barra — Descent to Pará — Yellow Fever. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap08">Chapter VIII—SANTAREM</a><br /> +Situation of Santarem — Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants — +Climate — Grassy Campos and Woods — Excursions to Mapirí, Mahicá, +and Irurá, with Sketches of their Natural History; Palms, Wild Fruit-trees, +Mining Wasps, Mason Wasps, Bees, and Sloths. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap09">Chapter IX—VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS</a><br /> +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 — Entering the River Cuparí — +Adventure with Anaconda — Smoke-dried Monkey — Boa-constrictor +— Village of Mundurucu Indians, and Incursion of a Wild Tribe — +Falls of the Cuparí — Hyacinthine Macaw — Re-emerge into the broad +Tapajos — Descent of River to Santarem. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap10">Chapter X—THE UPPER AMAZONS — VOYAGE TO +EGA</a><br /> +Departure from Barra — First Day and Night on the Upper Amazons — +Desolate Appearance of River in the Flood Season — Cucáma 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. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap11">Chapter XI—EXCURSIONS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF +EGA</a><br /> +The River Teffé — Rambles through Groves on the Beach — Excursion +to the House of a Passé Chieftain — Character and Customs of the Passé +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. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap12">Chapter XII—ANIMALS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF EGA</a><br /> +Scarlet-faced Monkeys — Paráuacu Monkey — Owl-faced Night-apes +— Marmosets — Jupurá — Bats — Birds — +Cuvier’s Toucan — Curl-crested Toucan — Insects — +Pendulous Cocoons — Foraging Ants — Blind Ants. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap13">Chapter XIII—EXCURSIONS BEYOND EGA</a><br /> +Steamboat Travelling on the Amazons — Passengers — Tunantins +— Caishána Indians — The Jutahí — The Sapó — Marauá +Indians — Fonte Boa — Journey to St. Paulo — Tucúna Indians +— Illness — Descent to Pará — Changes at Pará — +Departure for England. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<table summary="" style=""> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig1">Saüba or Leaf-carrying Ant</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig2">Saüba Ant—Female</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig3">Climbing Palm (Desmoncus)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig4">Interior of Primæval Forest on the Amazons</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig5">Amphisbæna</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig6">Acrosma Arcuatum</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig7">Assai Palm (Euterpe Oleracea)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig8">Bird-killing Spider (Mygale Avicularia) attacking Finches</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig9">Ant-eater grappling with Dog</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig10">Humming-bird and Humming-bird Hawk-moth</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig11">Soldiers of different Species of White Ants—Ordinary Shape of Worker—Winged Class</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig12">Acari Fish (Loricaria Duodecimalis)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig13">Flat-topped Mountains of Paráua-quára, Lower Amazons</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig14">Heliconius Thelxiope—Heliconius Melpomene</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig15">Musical Cricket (Chlorocœlus Tananá)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig16">Peuriríma Palm (Bactris)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig17">Peloæus Wasp building Nest</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig18">Cells of Trypoxylon Aurifrons</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig19">Melipona Bees gathering Clay</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig20">The Jacuarú (Teius Teguexim)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig21">Acará (Mesonauta Insignis)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig22">Sarapó (Carapus)—Needle-fish (Hemaramphus)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig23">Bulging-stemmed Palm: Pashiúba Barrigudo (Iriartea Ventricosa)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig24">Uikí Fruit</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig25">Pupunha Palm</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig26">Blow-gun, Quiver, and Arrow</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig27">Surubim (Pimelodus Tigrinus)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig28">Arrow used in Turtle Shooting</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig29">Turtle Fishing and Adventure with Alligator</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig30">Night Adventure with Alligator</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig31">Umbrella Bird</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig32">Scarlet-faced and Parauacú Monkeys</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig33">Curl-crested Toucan</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig34">Adventure with Curl-crested Toucans</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig35">Suspended Cocoon of Moth</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig36">Sack-bearing Caterpillar (Saccophora)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig37">Foraging Ants (Eciton Drepanophora)</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig38">Foraging Ants (Eciton Erratica) constructing a Covered Road—Soldiers sallying out on being disturbed</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig39">Masked-dance and Wedding-feast of Tucúna Indians</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig40">Map 1</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig41">Map 2</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#fig42">Map 3</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2>AN APPRECIATION</h2> + +<p class="center"> +From Natural History Review, vol. iii. 1863.<br/> +<br/> +<br/> +BY CHARLES DARWIN<br/> +<small>Author of <i>The Origin of Species,</i> +etc.</small> +</p> + +<p class="first">In April, 1848, 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 1859. Mr. Bates was also more fortunate than his +companion in bringing his gathered treasures home to England in +safety. 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 +representatives of no less than 14,712 <i>species</i> are amongst +them, of which about 8000 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 himself to his +entomological discoveries, nor to any other branch of Natural +History, but supplies a general outline of his adventures 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. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Bates landed at Pará 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 +Pará and his various excursions in the neighbourhood of that +city. The large collection made by Mr. Bates of the animal +productions of Pará enabled him to arrive at the following +conclusions regarding the relations of the Fauna of the south side +of the Amazonian delta with those of other regions. +</p> + +<p> +“It is generally allowed that Guiana and Brazil, to the +north and south of the Pará 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 of +forms peculiar to themselves, and which are supposed not to 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. Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +“Von Martius when he visited this part of Brazil forty +years ago, coming from the south, was much struck with the +dissimilarity of the animal and vegetable productions to those of +other parts of Brazil. In fact the Fauna of Pará, 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 Pará +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 to be restricted to Pará. +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 Pará 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.” +</p> + +<p> +One of the most interesting excursions made by Mr. Bates from +Pará was the ascent of the river Tocantins—the mouth +of which lies about 45 miles from the city of Pará. 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 (<i>Bertholletia excelsa</i>), 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 (<i>Ara hyacinthina</i>) 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 16° 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 (<i>Acrocomia lasiospatha</i>). “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.” +</p> + +<p> +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 +settlement on the Amazon, between the Atlantic and +Pará”—Mr. Bates made his headquarters for three +years and a half, during which time several excursions up the +little-known Tapajos were effected. Some 70 miles up the stream, on +its affluent, the Cuparí, 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 Cuparí 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. +</p> + +<p> +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’ headquarters were at Ega, on the +Teffé, 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 difficulty 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 contemplation 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 <i> +Athenæum</i> 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 from beginning to end.” +</p> + +<p> +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 the Amazons +from the Pacific. Mr. Bates’ account of the monkeys of the +genera <i>Brachyurus, Nyctipithecus</i> and <i>Midas</i> met with +in this region, and the whole of the very pregnant remarks 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 distribution. 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 derivation 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 +understands the nature of this interesting problem, and in another +passage, in which the very singular distribution of the Butterflies +of the genus <i>Heliconius</i> is enlarged upon, concludes with the +following significant remarks upon this important +subject:— +</p> + +<p class="quote">“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 reverting 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 successively, 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 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.” +</p> + +<p> +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 <i>Eciton</i> is certainly marvellous, +and would, even of itself, be sufficient to stamp the recorder of +their habits as a man of no ordinary mark. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará, 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 +incomParábly superior is civilised life to the spiritual +sterility of half-savage existence, even if it were passed in the +Garden of Eden.” +</p> + +<p class="center">* * * +</p> + +<p> +The following is the list of H. W. Bates’ published +works: +</p> + +<p class="quote">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. +</p> + +<p class="quote">Bates was for many years the editor of the <i> +Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society</i>; 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 Emin 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. +</p> + +<p class="quote">He contributed largely to the <i>Zoologist, +Entomological Society’s Journal, Annals and Magazine of +Natural History,</i> and <i>Entomologist.</i><br/> + LIFE—Memoir by E. Clodd, 1892; short notice in Clodd’s +Pioneers of Evolution, 1897. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2>AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO THE EDITION OF 1864</h2> + +<p class="first">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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +distinct 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 Pará, 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 Pará; +but the network of by-channels and lakes, which everywhere +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 the river places within +their reach. Vessels of heavy tonnage have arrived in Pará, +from England, with materials for the formation of shipbuilding +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 Pará 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 reach of all readers. +</p> + +<p class="first">L<small>ONDON</small>, <i>January</i>, 1864. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>Chapter I.<br/> +PARÁ</h2> + +<p class="letter">Arrival — Aspect of the Country — The +Pará River — First Walk in the Suburbs of Pará +— Birds, Lizards, and Insects of the Suburbs — +Leaf-carrying Ant — Sketch of the Climate, History, and +present Condition of Pará. +</p> + +<p class="first">I embarked at Liverpool, with Mr. Wallace, in a +small trading vessel, on the 26th of April, 1848; 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 Pará, the only port of entry to the vast region +watered by the Amazons. It is a small village, formerly a +missionary settlement of the Jesuits, situated a few miles to the +eastward of the Pará 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 characteristic of this +region, which contains so many wonders in its recesses, and clothes +the whole surface of the country for two thousand miles from this +point to the foot of the Andes. +</p> + +<p> +On the following day and night we sailed, with a light wind, +partly aided by the tide, up the Pará 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 +Pará river is thirty-six miles in breadth at its mouth; and +at the city of Pará, nearly seventy miles from the sea, it +is twenty miles wide; but at that point, a series of islands +commences which contracts the riverview in front of the port. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, inhabited 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, 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 earrings, 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 visible everywhere. The wooden +palings which surrounded the weed-grown gardens were strewn about +and broken; 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 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 a copious profusion of +foliage. The superb banana (Musa paradisiaca), of which I had +always read as forming one of the charms of tropical vegetation, +grew here 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 +remarkable 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 +newcomers, whose last country ramble of quite recent date was over +the bleak moors of Derbyshire on a sleety morning in April. +</p> + +<p> +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, night or day. In the 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 deathlike stillness of +summer days in the country appeared to me as strange as the ringing +uproar did on my first arrival at Pará. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará. The city lies on a +corner of land formed by the junction of the river Guam&a with +the Pará. 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 Government. The +surface, though everywhere low, is slightly undulating, 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 +Guamá, 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 1812. 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 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,<a href="#fn1.1" name="fnref1.1" id="fnref1.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +the proprietors of the water-carts, are gathered about, jabbering continually, +and taking their morning drams in dirty wine-shops at the street corners. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn1.1" id="fn1.1"></a> <a href="#fnref1.1">[1]</a> +Natives of Galicia, in Spain, who follow this occupation in Lisbon and Oporto, +as well as at Pará. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará. +</p> + +<p> +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, 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 neighbourhood. +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 climbing 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 Amazon 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 vegetation, 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 Rhamphocoelus 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. +</p> + +<p> +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—it 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 neighbourhood of habitations. But +the nests are quite differently constructed, being shaped like +purses, two feet in length, and suspended from the slender branches +all around 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 Pará—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 newspaper published at Pará, called <i> +The Japim</i>; 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. +</p> + +<p> +Of other vertebrate animals we saw very little, except of the +lizards. These are sure to attract the attention of the newcomer +from Northern Europe, by reason of their strange appearance, 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 these animals. I used often to amuse myself +in the suburbs, whilst resting in the verandah of our house during +the heat of mid-day, by watching the variegated green, brown, and +yellow ground-lizards. They would come nimbly forward, and commence +grubbing with their forefeet and snouts around the roots of +herbage, searching for insect larvae. 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. +</p> + +<p> +Next to the birds and lizards, the insects of the suburbs of +Pará 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 Mucajá +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. +</p> + +<p> +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. 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 amongst the +ants. Another far more interesting species was the Saüba +(Œcodoma 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 is almost impossible, and everywhere +complaints are heard of the terrible pest. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig1"></a> +<img src="images/fig1.jpg" width="354" height="238" alt= +"Saüba or Leaf-carrying ant.—1. Worker-minor; 2. Worker-major; 3. Subterranean worker." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 consistency, and of a pale +reddish-brown colour. The thorax or middle segment is armed with +three pairs of sharp spines; the head, also, has a pair of similar +spines proceeding from the cheeks behind. +</p> + +<p> +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 Saübas, 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, into one broad, +elaborately-worked gallery or mine, which was four or five inches +in diameter. +</p> + +<p> +This habit of the Saüba 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 processions 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 pathway, 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 their colony, the path they follow becomes in a +short time smooth and bare, looking like the impression of a +cartwheel through the herbage. +</p> + +<p> +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 burdens 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. +</p> + +<p> +The underground abodes of this wonderful ant are known to be +very extensive. The Rev. Hamlet Clark has related that the +Saüba of Rio de Janeiro, a species closely allied to ours, has +excavated a tunnel under the bed of the river Paráhyba, at a +place where it is broad as the Thames at London Bridge. At the +Magoary Rice Mills, near Pará, 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 Pará, an enterprising French gardener +tried all he could think of to extirpate the Saüba. 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. +</p> + +<p> +Besides injuring and destroying young trees by despoiling them +of their foliage, the Saüba ant is troublesome to the +inhabitants from its habit of plundering the stores of provisions +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 Sauba 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, however, 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 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 +larvae of ants are usually fed by juices secreted by the worker +nurses. +</p> + +<p> +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 propagate +their kind, flying away, previous to the act of reproduction, 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 Saüba ant to possess <i>three</i> classes +of workers. My investigations regarding them were far from +complete; I will relate, however, what I have observed on the +subject. +</p> + +<p> +When engaged in leaf-cutting, plundering farinha, and other +operations, two classes of workers are always seen (<a href= +"#fig1">Figs. 1 and 2</a>). 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. 1), 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 in 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 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 instruments of +protection to the real workers. Their enormously large, hard, and +indestructible heads may be of use in protecting 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig2"></a> +<img src="images/fig2.jpg" width="315" height="178" alt="Sauba Ant.—Female." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 +is going on, is taken off, a broad cylindrical shaft is disclosed +at a depth of about two feet from the surface. If this is 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 reminded 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 +than those here related, and what their special functions may be I +cannot divine. +</p> + +<p> +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 <i>dé</i> but of the winged males +and females depends likewise on the workers. It is amusing to see +the activity and excitement which reigns 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 Saüba 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. +</p> + +<p> +At the time of our arrival, Pará 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 embosomed 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 buildings, including the palaces of the President +and Bishop, the cathedral, the principal churches and convents, all +seemed constructed on a scale of grandeur far beyond the present +requirements 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 +overgrown 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. +</p> + +<p> +The province of which Pará 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 according to +their tribe, but all exhibiting the same general physical +characters, which are those of the American red man, somewhat +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:<a href="#fn1.2" name="fnref1.2" id="fnref1.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +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 to +prevail in the mongrel population—the negro proportion being much smaller +than in South Brazil. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn1.2" id="fn1.2"></a> <a href="#fnref1.2">[2]</a> +The mixed breeds which now form, probably, the greater part of the population, +each have a distinguishing name. Mameluco denotes the offspring 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. +</p> + +<p> +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; 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 +(1° 28′ S. lat.) the climate is not excessively hot. The +temperature during three years only once reached 95° +Fahrenheit. The greatest heat of the day, about 2 p.m., ranges +generally between 89° and 94°; but on the other hand, the +air is never cooler than 73°, so that a uniformly high +temperature exists, and the mean of the year is 81°. 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 reputation 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 Pará 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 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. Pará is free from +serious endemic disorders, and was once a resort of invalids from +New York and Massachusetts. 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 rains, make the climate one of the most enjoyable on the +face of the earth. +</p> + +<p> +The province is governed, like all others in the empire, by a +President, as chief civil authority. At the time of our arrival he +also held, exceptionally, the chief military command. This +functionary, together with the head of the police administration +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 Pará, 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 constitution 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. +</p> + +<p> +The province of Pará, or, as we may now say, the two +provinces of Pará 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 is 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 +Paráenses 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, +connected with the main rivers by narrow outlets and linking +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. +</p> + +<p> +The city of Pará was founded in 1615, and was a place of +considerable 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 proclaimed 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 Pará, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +Years of conciliatory government, the lesson learned by the +native party and the moderation of the Portuguese, aided by the +indolence and passive goodness of the Paráenses 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 transported or imprisoned, and the +remainder, after being pardoned, were converted once more into +quiet and peaceable citizens. +</p> + +<p> +I resided at Pará nearly a year and a half altogether, +returning thither and making a stay of a few months after each of +my shorter excursions into the interior, until the 6th of November, +1851, 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, Pará 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 reputation, were almost unknown. At the +same time the Pará 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 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 +shop-keeping, 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 Pará 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 Pará, I believe that an improvement is now taking +place, but formerly promiscuous intercourse seemed to be the +general rule amongst 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 inhabitants, were as pure as they are in similar +places in England. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>Chapter II.<br/> +PARÁ</h2> + +<p class="letter">The Swampy Forests of Pará — A Portuguese +Landed Proprietor — Country House at Nazareth — Life of a +Naturalist under the Equator — The drier Virgin Forests —Magoary +— Retired Creeks — Aborigines. +</p> + +<p class="first">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 Pará. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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, +shrinking 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 +(Colænis 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +(Melastomæ), 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. +</p> + +<p> +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-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 underwood less dense, and we could obtain glimpses into +the wilderness 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 Mimosæ. Below, the +tree trunks were everywhere linked together by sipós; the +woody, flexible stems of climbing and creeping trees, whose foliage +is far away above, mingled with that of the taller independent +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 amongst +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 special 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, Jacitára. +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 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig3"></a> +<img src="images/fig3.jpg" width="239" height="445" alt="Climbing Palm (Desmoncus)" /> +</div> + +<p> +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 representatives 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 could be 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. +</p> + +<p> +Many of the woody lianas suspended from trees are not climbers, +but the air-roots of epiphytous plants (Aroideæ), which sit +on the stronger boughs of the trees above and hang down straight as +plumb-lines. Some are suspended singly, others in 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 beautiful 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 Marantaceæ, 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. +</p> + +<p> +At length we 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, whitewashed 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, both male 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 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 case 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 learned 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 +Paráenses, 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 Pará holidays; many persons come to it from the +neighbouring city of Maranham, 300 miles distant. Once the +President ordered the mail steamer to be delayed two days at +Pará for the convenience of these visitors. The popularity +of the festival 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. Pará 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 atmosphere is transparently clear, and the light sea-breeze +produces an agreeable coolness. +</p> + +<p> +We 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 Pará, in 1819. It was now in a +neglected condition, and the plantations were overgrown with +bushes. The paths hereabout were very productive of insects, and +being entirely under shade, were very pleasant 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 +Pará and Ourem. +</p> + +<p> +Our researches were made in various directions along these +paths, and every day produced us a number of new and interesting +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 breakfast were +devoted to ornithology. At that early period of the day the sky was +invariably cloudless (the thermometer marking 72° or 73° +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. +</p> + +<p> +The heat increased rapidly towards two o’clock (92° +and 93° 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 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 cast 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 autumn, 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, 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 day 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 midway +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! +</p> + +<p> +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 establishment owned by an +American gentleman, Mr. Upton, situated on the banks of a creek in +the heart of the forest, about twelve miles from Pará. I +will narrate some of the incidents of these excursions, and give an +account of the more interesting observations made on the Natural +History and inhabitants of these interior creeks and forests. +</p> + +<p> +Our first trip to the mills was by land. The creek on whose +banks they stand, the Iritirí, communicates with the river +Pará, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 primæval +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 +Pará. 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 <i> +débris</i> 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 to the ground intact. 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 Bertholletia, but its nuts in +falling are scattered about and eaten by wild animals; whilst the +full, whole capsules of Brazil-nuts are collected by the +natives. +</p> + +<p> +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 thickness; 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 +Martius mentions having measured trees in the Pará district +belonging to various species (Symphonia coccinea, Lecythis sp. and +Cratæva 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 100 feet from the ground +to their lowest branch. Mr. Leavens, at the sawmills, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 compared to stalls in a +stable; some of them are large enough to hold a half-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. +</p> + +<p> +The other grand forest trees whose native names we learned, were +the Moira-tinga (the White or King-tree), probably the same as, or +allied to, the Mora Excelsa, which Sir Robert Schomburgh discovered +in British Guiana; the Samauma (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 Pará, 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 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 +standing 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará district; they belong to hilly +regions; some occur, however, on the Upper Amazons. +</p> + +<p> +Such were the principal features in the vegetation of the +wilderness; but where were the flowers? To our great disappointment +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 Santarem 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 +excrement of birds on leaves, rather than on flowers. +</p> + +<p> +We were disappointed also in not meeting with any of the larger +animals in the forest. There was no tumultuous movement, 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, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 poor throughout 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 interesting 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 <i>intensely</i> arboreal +animals in the world are the South American monkeys of the family +Cebidæ, 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig4"></a> +<img src="images/fig4.jpg" width="468" height="313" alt="Interior of Primæval Forest on the Amazons" /> +</div> + +<p> +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 yell or scream +will startle one; this comes from some defenseless 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 resounding 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 Curupíra, the wild man or +spirit of the forest, which produces 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 +Curupíra 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 roças 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 Curupíra. 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. +</p> + +<p> +At length, after a six hours’ walk, we arrived at our +destination, 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 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 +Pará, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The creek Iritirí 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 interesting to see them in their little, +heavily-laden montarias. Sometimes the boats were managed by +handsome, healthy young lads, loosely clad in a 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. +</p> + +<p> +We made many excursions down the Iritirí, 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 Pará 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 +Tupí language, Igarapés, or canoe-paths. The +igarapés 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 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, +mule, or camel of other regions. Besides one or more montarias, +almost every family has a larger canoe, called Igarité. 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 igarité 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, then they +re-embark. +</p> + +<p> +A few words on the aboriginal population of the Pará +estuary will not be out of place here. The banks of the Pará +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 friendliness. The inland savages, on the other +hand, led a wandering life, as they do at the present time, only +coming down occasionally to rob the plantations of the coast +tribes, who always entertained the greatest enmity towards +them. +</p> + +<p> +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 remaining 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 Paráguay, is a dialect of it, and hence it is +called by philologists the Tupi-Guarani language; printed grammars +of it are always on sale at the shops of the Pará +booksellers. The fact of one language having been spoken over so +wide an extent of country as that from the Amazons to +Paráguay, is quite an isolated one in this country, and +points to considerable migrations 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 +Juruá, even scattered hordes belonging to the same tribe are +not able to understand each other. +</p> + +<p> +The civilised Tapuyo of Pará 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 undemonstrative character of the race. +They never betray, in fact they 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 +ingratitude. 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 Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +These characteristics of the Pará 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 accommodate himself to +new arrangements, will infallibly lead to his extinction, as +immigrants, endowed with more supple organisations, 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 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 +Pará 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? +</p> + +<p> +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 white +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 nymphæa, +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 whilst my clothes were being +dried on a bush. The creek Iritirí is not so picturesque as +many others which I subsequently 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 peacock. I often had opportunities to +observe 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Araguava, and we agreed to accompany him. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 building, 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 Pará to ship our +collections for England, and prepare for the journey to a new +region. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>Chapter III.<br/> +PARÁ</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Religious Holidays — Marmoset Monkeys — Serpents — Insects +</p> + +<p class="first"> +Before leaving the subject of Pará, 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 neighbourhood, which have hitherto been only briefly mentioned. +I reserve an account of the trade and improved condition of Pará in 1859 +for the end of this narrative. +</p> + +<p> +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 they were managed was in +this fashion. A general manager or “Juiz” for each festival 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 <i>novena</i>), and in many cases refreshments 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +was soon perceived that religion is rather the amusement of the +Paráenses, 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 conversation, 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. Thomé, and celebrate 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 proceedings, 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 interrogated, that he is going to fuddle +in honour of St. Thomé. +</p> + +<p> +In the city of Pará, the provincial government assists to augment the +splendour of the religious holidays. The processions which traverse the +principal streets consist, in the first place, of the image of the saint, and +those of several other subordinate 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 moonlit nights, the +whole scene is very striking to a newcomer. 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 moonlight 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 friendly houses. There is no boisterous +conviviality, but a quiet enjoyment 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará beauty and fashion. +</p> + +<p> +The grandest of all these festivals is that held in honour of Our Lady of +Nazareth: it is, I believe, peculiar to Pará. 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 Cathedral, 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. 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 Portuguese 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 government 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 lachrymose sermon is delivered +from the pulpit. The whole 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, upon which is an exaggerated picture of the bleeding +Christ. This act is accompanied by loud groans, which come from stout-lunged +individuals concealed 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 themselves behaved 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” +(Está todo bom; melhor nao pude ser). +</p> + +<p> +The negroes of Pará are very devout. They have built, by slow degrees, +as I was told, a fine church 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 Pará, 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. +</p> + +<p> +I will now add a few more notes which I have accumulated on the subject of the +natural history, and then we shall have done, for the present, with Pará +and its neighbourhood. +</p> + +<p> +I have already mentioned that monkeys were rare in the immediate vicinity of +Pará. I met with only three species in the forest near the city; they +are shy animals, and avoid the neighbourhood of towns, where they are subject +to much persecution 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 Cebidæ, the other family of American +monkeys; they agree with them, however, 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 Cebidæ 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 around 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 Pará, Midas ursulus is 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 are expressive of distrust, and +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 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 countenance in these small monkeys is intelligent and pleasing. +This is partly owing to the open facial angle, which is given as one of +60°; 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the Upper Amazons I once saw a tame individual of 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 everyone; 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; having 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 <i>you</i> do?” It showed more affection towards +its master than towards strangers, and would climb up to his head 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 +engraving. 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. +</p> + +<p> +Although monkeys are now rare in a wild state near Pará, 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 Pará 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 surrounding 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. +</p> + +<p> +In the wet season serpents are common in the neighbourhood of Pará. One +morning, in April, 1849, after a night of deluging rain, the lamplighter, on +his rounds to extinguish the lamps, woke 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 Sucurujú, or Water Boa +(Eunectes murinus), which sometimes attacks man; but of this I shall have to +give an account in a subsequent chapter. +</p> + +<p> +It frequently happened, in passing through the thickets, that a snake would +fall from the boughs close to me. Once for a few moments I got completely +entangled in the folds of one, a 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig5"></a> +<img src="images/fig5.jpg" width="382" height="101" alt="Amphisbæna." /> +</div> + +<p> +Amongst the most curious snakes found here were the Amphisbænæ, a +genus allied to the slow-worm of Europe. Several species occur at Pará. +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 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 Saüba ant; only coming out of their +abodes occasionally in the night time. The natives call the Amphisbæna +the “Mai das Saübas,” or Mother of the Saübas, 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 Saübas 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 contained Amphisbæna. I was, +unfortunately, not able to ascertain the exact relation which subsists between +these curious snakes and the Saüba ants. I believe however, they feed upon +the Saübas, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The neighbourhood of Pará 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 apartments. Those species of Papilio which are most +characteristic of the country, so conspicuous in their velvety-black, green, +and rose-coloured hues, which Linnæus, 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 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig6"></a> +<img src="images/fig6.jpg" width="141" height="282" alt="Acrosoma arcuatum." /> +</div> + +<p> +Bees and wasps are not especially numerous near Pará, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Pará; 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 larvæ of Coleoptera. Moreover, these active creatures have +the same functions as Coleoptera, and thus render their existence unnecessary. +The large proportion of climbing forms of carnivorous 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. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>Chapter IV.<br/> +THE TOCANTINS AND CAMETÁ</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Preparations for the journey — The Bay of Goajará — 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 26th, 1848</i>—Mr. Wallace and I started today 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 southwest of +Pará. This river, as before stated, has a course of 1600 miles, and +stands third in 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 <i> vigilinga</i> 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 then had +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 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 Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Goajará. 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 Guamá, the Acará, and the Mojú; so +that it forms a kind of sub-estuary within the grand estuary of Pará. 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 +Heliconiæ 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 Serracúra (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 otherwise be almost insupportable. We reached +the end of the Goajará about midday, and then entered the narrower +channel of the Mojú. Up this we travelled, partly rowing and partly +sailing between the same unbroken walls of forest, until the morning of the +28th. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 29th.</i>—The Mojú, a stream slightly 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 Igarapé-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 today 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 (77° 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. +</p> + +<p> +In the afternoon we reached the end of the last channel, called the +Murutipucú, which runs for several miles between two unbroken lines of +fan-leaved palms, forming colossal palisades with their straight stems. 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 lookout at the prow, shouting: +“La está o Paraná-uassú!” “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. +</p> + +<p> +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; only on the borders +was there a small number of a second kind, the equally remarkable Ubussú +palm, Manicaria saccifera. The Ubussú has erect, uncut leaves, +twenty-five feet long, and six feet wide, all arranged round the top of a +four-foot high stem, so as to form a figure like that of a colossal +shuttlecock. The fan-leaved palms, 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 +underwood 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 following morning at Cametá. 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. +</p> + +<p> +The river view from Cametá 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 Cametá 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 in the +shape of cataracts and rapids, which commence, in ascending, at about 120 miles +above Cametá, as will be seen in the sequel. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 30th.</i>—Arrived, in company with Senhor Laroque, an +intelligent Portuguese merchant, at Vista Alegre, fifteen miles above +Cametá. 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 +seParáted 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 the high-water mark. There +was a rude mill for grinding sugar-cane, worked by bullocks; but +cashaça, 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 plantations 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +distance. 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 Pará. 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 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 adaptation of the fauna to a forest +region. The Cigana lives in considerable 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 or when disturbed by passing canoes, all the individuals +sibilating as they fly heavily away from tree to tree. It is polygamous, like +other members of the same order. It is never, however, by any chance, seen on +the ground, and is nowhere domesticated. 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. +</p> + +<p> +We lost another of our crew here; and thus, at the commencement 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 Pará, 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 suspected, 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 of Baiao, where we had great hopes of +having this, our urgent want, supplied by the military commandant of the +district. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig7"></a> +<img src="images/fig7.jpg" width="182" height="439" alt= "Assai Palm (Euterpe +oleracea)." /> +</div> + +<p> +<i>September 2nd.</i>—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 Cametá, 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 Ubussú 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 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 all +be contented 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 quite 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 Ygapó +islands, as they are called, only in the hot and dry season. They live chiefly +on fish, shellfish (amongst which were large Ampullariæ, 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 Mirití 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 Tucumá (Astrocaryum tucuma), and the +Mucujá (Acrocomia lasiospatha), grow only on the mainland. Their fruits +yield a yellowish, fibrous pulp, which the natives eat in the same way as the +Mirití. They contain so much fatty matter, that vultures and dogs devour +them greedily. +</p> + +<p> +Early on the morning of September 3rd we reached the right or eastern bank, +which is forty to sixty feet high at this point. 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 enclosures 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 solely on fishing for animal food, there is +a period of the year when they suffer hunger, so that they are disposed to +highly prize 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, men coracao.” “We have none; I am sorry I cannot oblige +you;” or, “There is none, my heart.” +</p> + +<p> +<i>Sept. 3rd to 7th.</i>—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 upon 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +The prospect from the village was magnificent, over the 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 Pará. 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 +Pará this never happens; the stars and sun are as clear and sharply +defined when they peep above the distant treetops as they are at the zenith. +This beautiful transparency of the air arises, doubtless, from the equal +distribution through it of invisible vapour. I shall ever remember, in one of +my voyages along the Pará 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 as 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 employments. I asked why they allowed their +plantations to run to waste. They said that it was useless trying to plant +anything hereabout; the Sauba ant devoured the young coffee trees, and everyone +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. +</p> + +<p> +When Senhor Seixas arrived, he acted very kindly. He provided us at once with +two men, killed an ox in our honour, and treated us altogether with great +consideration. We were not, 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 backyard. +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 the dozens all +night long over the floor, up and down the edges of the doors, and along the +rafters of the open roof. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 7th.</i>—We started from Baiao at an early hour. One of our +new men was a good-humoured, willing young mulatto named José; 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 ran aground several times, and the men had to disembark and shove the vessel +off. Alexandro shot several fine fish here, 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 pineapple 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 more moist +parts, large flocks of sandpipers were running about. Alexandro and I had a +long ramble over the rolling plain, which came as an agreeable 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 bedtime in angling by moonlight. +</p> + +<p> +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 +seacoast 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 anywhere. The fact of its being the principal tree observed +floating 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. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Leavens was told that there were cedar trees at Trocará, 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 inhabitants of Cametá, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Trocará, 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 learned 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +16° 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 Mucujá (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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +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. +</p> + +<p> +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. 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 Juquerapuá, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 16th.</i>—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 José, who had fallen ill since leaving Baiao. We +had then remaining only Alexandro, 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 Tapaiunaquára. +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 whirlpools. We +were obliged to get out occasionally and walk from rock to rock, whilst the men +dragged the canoe over the obstacles. Beyond Tapaiunaquára, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 canoemen 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 wildness of the whole scene was very impressive. As +far as the eye could see, stretched range after range of wooded hills and +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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 17th.</i>—We commenced early in the morning our downward +voyage. Arroyos is situated in about 4° 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 navigate, 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 throwing +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. +</p> + +<p> +On arriving at the place where we had left our canoe, we found poor José +the mulatto much worse, so we hastened on to Juquerapuá 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 from the low bushes, which +bordered the road, at every step I took. I first heard here the notes of a +trogon; it was seated 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 “quá, quá.” 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 +somewhat remarkable in a country where all other birds are exceedingly 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 enclosed 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. +</p> + +<p> +A little distance from the house were the open sheds under which the farinha +for the use of the establishment was manufactured. 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 roça 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. +</p> + +<p> +There were other strangers under Senhor Joaquim’s roof besides +myself—mulattos, mamelucos, and Indian,—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 +in to 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 Curupíra, 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 narrative to give it the greater effect by +means of gestures; he seized a bow and a large taquará arrow to show how +he slew the beast, imitated its hoarse growl, and danced about the fire like a +demon. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +considered, I believe, in commerce, an inferior article to the India-rubber of +Pará. 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 mainland within a distance of fifty to a hundred miles to +the west of Pará; but there are plenty of untapped trees still growing +in the wilds of the Tapajos, Madeira, Juruá, and Jauarí, as far +as 1800 miles from the Atlantic coast. The tree is not remarkable 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 +until January or February. The process 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 only in this form 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 24th.</i>—Opposite Cametá, 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 occupations in the open verandas, 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 due to the number of 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 26th.</i>—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 Tucuxí (Steno tucuxi of Gray). When it comes to the +surface to breathe, it rises horizontally, showing first its back fin, then +draws an inspiration, and dives gently down, head foremost. This mode of +proceeding distinguishes the Tucuxí 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 +distinguished from the Tucuxí 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, 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 the sea exclusively. 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. 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 Anapú, and on the 30th September, after threading again the +labyrinth of channels communicating between the Tocantins and the Moju, arrived +at Pará. +</p> + +<p> +I will now give a short account of Cametá, 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, departed from Pará to explore the rivers +Guamá and Capim. I embarked as passenger in a Cametá trading +vessel, the <i>St. John</i>, 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 Cametá; the weather was again beautiful in the +extreme. We started from Pará 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 <i>cabo</i>, was a mameluco, named Manoel, a quiet, good-humoured +person, who treated me with the most unaffected 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 <i>St. +John.</i> +</p> + +<p> +In crossing to Cametá we had to await the flood-tide in a channel called +Entre-as-Ilhas, 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 Cametá; and then, as all the +hearers were Cametaenses 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 Cametá, not merely in connection with local +politics, but in relation to affairs of general concern, such as the election +of members to the Imperial Parliament, and so forth. This political strife is +partly attributable to the circumstance that a native of Cametá, 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:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +Ora paná, tana paná!, pana taná,<br/> +Joao Augusto hé bonito e homem pimpao,<br/> +Mas Pedro hé feio e hum grande ladrao,<br/> +(Chorus) Ora paná, etc.<br/> +<br/> +John Augustus is handsome and as a man ought to be,<br/> +But Peter is ugly and a great thief.<br/> +(Chorus) Ora paná, etc. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +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, 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 +Portuguese 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 quite 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, Goajará, +Tucumandúba, etc., add greatly to the charm of the wild music. Sometimes +they bring in the stars thus:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +A lua está sahindo,<br/> +Mai, Mai!<br/> +A lua está sahindo,<br/> +Mai, Mai!<br/> +As sete estrellas estao chorando,<br/> +Mai, Mai!<br/> +Por s’acharem desamparados,<br/> +Mai, Mai! +</p> + +<p class="poem"> +The moon is rising,<br/> +Mother, Mother!<br/> +The moon is rising,<br/> +Mother, Mother!<br/> +The seven stars (Pleiades) are weeping,<br/> +Mother, Mother!<br/> +To find themselves forsaken,<br/> +Mother, mother! +</p> + +<p> +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 appeared 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 <i>erva cidreira</i>, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +I stayed at Cametá until the 16th of July, and made a considerable +collection of the natural productions of the neighbourhood. The town in 1849 +was estimated to contain about 5000 inhabitants, but the municipal district of +which Cametá 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 Pará. The productions 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 Camútas, 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 considerable 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 country where perpetual summer reigns, and where the +necessities 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 Cametá. 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 successfully the anarchists in the great rebellion of 1835-6. Whilst +the whites of Pará were submitting to the rule of half-savage +revolutionists, the mamelucos of Cametá placed themselves under the +leadership of a courageous priest, named Prudencio; they armed themselves, +fortified the place, and repulsed the large forces which the insurgents of +Pará 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 strongholds. +</p> + +<p> +The forest behind Cametá 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 primæval 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 establishments, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. 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 Pará +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 José 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. +</p> + +<p> +The rocinha was situated near a broad grassy road bordered by lofty woods, +which leads from Cametá 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 Curimá and Pacajá, two small +settlements, several miles distant, in the heart of the forest. The +Curimá 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 +Parásites, 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 over hill and dale, +through bamboo thickets and palm swamps, for about fifteen miles. +</p> + +<p> +At Cametá 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 <i>Expedition into the Interior of Brazil</i>, 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig8"></a> +<img src="images/fig8.jpg" width="402" height="271" alt= "Bird-killing +spider (Mygale avicularia) attacking finches." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 Cametá, 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 upon the +person who attempted to advance towards it. +</p> + +<p> +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 Phæthornis 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 Heliconiæ. 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 at hand. +</p> + +<p> +My return-journey to Pará afforded many incidents characteristic of +Amazonian travelling. I left Cametá on the 16th of July. My luggage was +embarked in the morning in the <i> Santa Rosa</i>, 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 +underwater as the vessel heels over to the wind. There are two masts, rigged +with fore and aft sails. The foremast 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. +</p> + +<p> +As I have just said, my luggage was embarked in the morning. 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 Cametá 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 +<i>Santa Rosa</i>, 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 +overtake 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 Pará 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 Cametá friends, I was relieved of my embarrassment, for I +found there an English gentleman, Mr. Patchett of Pernambuco, who was visiting +Pará and its neighbourhood on his way to England, and who, as he was +going back to Pará 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 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 simultaneous. 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 +enlivened 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 <i>Santa +Rosa</i>, 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 <i>Santa Rosa</i>, 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 +production of cacao, about twenty tons, to Pará. 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-day 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.” +</p> + +<p> +When the leaks were stopped, we proceeded on our journey and at night reached +the mouth of the Anapú. I wrapped myself in an old sail, and fell asleep +on the raised deck. The next day, we threaded the Igarapé-mirim, and on +the 19th descended the Mojú. Senhor Machado and I by this time had +become very good friends. At every interesting spot on the banks of the +Mojú, 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 Mojú, whilst now there are only +three. At Burujúba, 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 if placed on some barren moor in Northern Europe than here in +the midst of perpetual summer. The next turn in the river below Burujúba +brought the city of Pará 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 afterwards 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 reaching port, I begged Senhor Machado to send me +ashore in the boat with the more precious portion of my collections. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>Chapter V.<br/> +CARAPÍ AND THE BAY OF MARAJÓ</h2> + +<p class="letter">River Pará and Bay of Marajó — +Journey to Caripí — Negro Observance of Christmas +— A German Family — Bats — Ant-eaters — +Humming-birds — Excursion to the Murucupí — +Domestic Life of the Inhabitants — Hunting Excursion with +Indians — White Ants. +</p> + +<p class="first">That part of the Pará 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 Goajará, into which +the three rivers Guamá, Mojú, and Acará +discharge their waters. The main channel of the Pará 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; on the opposite shore the +island of Marajó, being visible only in clear weather as a +line of tree-tops dotting the horizon. A little further upwards, +that is to the southwest, the mainland on the right or eastern +shore appears, this is called Carnapijó; 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 Pará in front of this coast is called +the Bahia, or Bay of Marajó. 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 scant supply of game +found in the woods. The district was originally peopled by various +tribes of Indians, of whom the principal were the Tupinambás +and Nhengahíbas. Like all the coast tribes, whether +inhabiting the banks of the Amazons or the seashore between +Pará 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 +Carnapijó, and several planters’ houses, formerly the +centres of flourishing 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 Caripí. +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 Pará had made some stay at Caripí, 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 Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Cametá), a heavily chained runaway slave, 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 +cashaça 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 morning, continuing our +voyage, entered a narrow channel which intersects the land of +Carnapijó. At 2 p.m. we emerged from this channel, which is +called the Aititúba, or Arrozal, into the broad Bahia, and +then saw, two or three miles away to the left, the red-tiled +mansion of Caripí, embosomed in woods on the shores of a +charming little bay. +</p> + +<p> +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. Remembering 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 sank the montaria almost to the +level of the water. I was kept busy bailing 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 oscillation 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 veranda, the doors +opening upon 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 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 beginning “Virgem soberana,” a trace of +whose melody springs to my recollection whenever I think on the +dreamy solitude of Caripí. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Caripí. 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 Pará 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 Pará. No one +can imagine the difficulties the poor fellow had to go through +before reaching the land of his choice. He first descended the +Mississippi, feeling sure that a passage to Pará 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 +Pará, 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 Pará, 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 thereby got another stage nearer the end of his +journey. A short time after reaching Cayenne, he shipped in a +schooner that was going to Pará, or rather the island of +Marajó, 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 Caripí, 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, 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 +neighbours 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.” +</p> + +<p> +Petzell and his family were expert insect-collectors, so I +employed them at this work during my stay at Caripí. 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 preserving 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 disappeared +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 caves 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 perceiving 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 around +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 Sassú-arána,<a href="#fn5.1" name="fnref5.1" id="fnref5.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn5.1" id="fn5.1"></a> <a href="#fnref5.1">[1]</a> +The old zoologist Marcgrave called the Puma the Cuguacuarana, probably (the +c’s being soft) a misspelling of Sassú-arána; hence, the name Cougouar +employed by French zoologists, and copied in most works on natural history. +</p> + +<p> +The only species of monkey I met with at Caripí was the +same dark-coloured little Midas already mentioned as found near +Pará. 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 learned 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 Tamanduá. I told her almost anything in +the shape of flesh would be acceptable; 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 Caripí +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 Tamanduá. 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig9"></a> +<img src="images/fig9.jpg" width="240" height="406" alt="Ant-eater grappling with dog." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 Ygapó, or flooded lands. The +Brazilians call the species the Tamanduá 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 Tamanduá-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 Caripí, 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 extremely small eyes. It remained +nearly all the time without 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 Tamanduás 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 +terrestrial 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig10"></a> +<img src="images/fig10.jpg" width="297" height="221" alt="Humming-bird and Humming-bird Hawk-moth." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 attracting a great +number of humming-birds. Every day, in the cooler hours of the +morning, and in the evening from four o’clock until 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 within their reach. The brilliant +colours with which they are adorned cannot be seen whilst they are +fluttering about, nor can the different species be distinguished +unless they have a deal of white hue in their plumage, such as +Heliothrix 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 places. The forest species +(Phaethorninæ) are seldom seen at flowers, flowers being, in +the shady places where they abide, of rare occurrence; but they +search for insects on leaves, threading the bushes and passing +above and beneath each leaf with wonderful rapidity. The other +group (Trochilinæ) 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 +Caripí, 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-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-bird 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’ +experience that I learned to distinguish 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. 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 +Phaethorninæ are certainly more numerous in the Amazons +region than the Trochilinæ. 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 +samaüma tree (Eriodendron samauma); and on the inner sides +lined with 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 Trochilinæ +which I found at Caripí were the little brassy-green +Polytmus viridissimus, the sapphire and emerald (Thalurania +furcata), and the large falcate-winged Campylopterus obscurus. +</p> + +<p> +Snakes were very numerous at Caripí; 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 +Guajará, 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 Guajará 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. Upon 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 straightway +for the water, where they swam with much grace and dexterity. +Florinda one day caught a Helicops whilst angling 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 encounter, 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 vermilion, 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. +</p> + +<p> +Petzell and I, as already mentioned, made many excursions of +long extent in the neighbouring forest. We sometimes went to +Murucupí, a creek which passes through the forest, about +four miles behind Caripí, 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 Caripí +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 Murucupí, 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 +that were plastered and whitewashed, and had 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 +Balcarem, a village eight miles distant from Murucupí, 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 accepting the invitation, a couple +of fowls were killed, and a wholesome stew of seasoned rice and +fowls soon put into 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 projecting +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 harmoniously 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 Pashiúba +(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; 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 Pashiúba. 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 consequence 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 whilst 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 Caripí. +</p> + +<p> +One of my neighbours at Murucupí was a hunter of +reputation 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 any kind, and +nothing more was to be found near Caripí, so I asked as a +favour of Senhor Raimundo permission to accompany 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. +</p> + +<p> +The locality we were to visit was situated near the extreme +point of the land of Carnapijó, where it projects +northwardly into the middle of the Pará estuary, and is +broken into a number of islands. On the afternoon of January 11th, +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 Tupí language. Raimundo and his +apprentices were employed building a canoe. Notwithstanding his +industry, he seemed to be very poor, and this was the condition of +most of the residents on the banks of the Murucupí. 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 Pará, twenty +miles distant, for their surplus produce, and a ready communication +with it by water. +</p> + +<p> +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. Thomé, the patron saint of Indians and +Mamelucos. One carried a banner, on which was crudely painted the +figure of St. Thomé 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 naturally to the Indian when occupying the position of host. The +visitors, who had come from the Villa de Condé, five miles +through the forest, were invited to rest. Raimundo then took the +image of St. Thomé 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 pirarucú, 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 upon retiring, Raimundo gave orders for their breakfast +in the morning. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Murucupí. A few yards further on we entered the broader +channel of the Aititúba. 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 watershed. 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 Jupatí 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 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 told me that all this land was owned by large +proprietors at Pará, 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 redskins, “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. +</p> + +<p> +We arrived at our hunting-ground about half-past four. The +channel was broader here 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 considering 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 Carnapijó. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Cutías; 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 tail-less 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 Cutía 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 Cutía. All the time +the dogs were yelping in the forest. Shortly afterwards 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, 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 +tinderbox 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 cutía, finishing by running a spit through +the body and fixing one end in the ground in a slanting 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 cutía +was roasted, and washed the meal down with a calabash full of the +pure water of the river. +</p> + +<p> +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 it 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará for +seven or eight shillings apiece. Raimundo and 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 neighbourhood of which I employed +myself two hours entomologising. At the end of that time my two +companions returned, having met with no game whatever. +</p> + +<p> +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 Caripí. +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 bailing 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 +beautifully, rising well with each wave, and in the course of an +hour and a half we arrived at Caripí, thoroughly tired and +wet through to the skin. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig11"></a> +<img src="images/fig11.jpg" width="314" height="299" alt="1-8. Soldiers of +different species of White Ants.—9. Ordinary shape of worker.—10. Winged class." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 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 throughout 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 +the word “Murucututú.” Sometimes the croaking +and hooting 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +I amassed at Caripí 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 Pará. 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 Caripí +were, like those of Pará, 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 +Caripí, which flew about in the evening like the Geotrupes, +the familiar “shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hum” +of our English lanes, were of colossal size and beautiful colours. +One kind had a long spear-shaped horn projecting from the crown of +its head (Phanæus 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 antennæ, 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 antennæ. 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 hebræus, 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. +</p> + +<p> +At length, on the 12th of February, I left Caripí, my +Negro and Indian neighbours bidding me a warm “adios.” +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 Pará, +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. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap06"></a>Chapter VI.<br/> +THE LOWER AMAZONS—PARÁ TO OBYDOS</h2> + +<p class="letter">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 Pará to the +Amazons — First Sight of the Great River — Gurupa +— The Great Shoal — Flat-topped Mountains — +Santarem — Obydos +</p> + +<p class="first">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 Pará 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 Pará furnished young Portuguese +with merchandise, and dispatched them to the interior to exchange +the goods for produce amongst the scattered population. The means +of communication, in fact, with the upper parts of the Amazons had +been on the decline 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, however, +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 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 Pará, 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 distance. 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 days! +</p> + +<p> +It is, perhaps, not generally known that the Portuguese, as +early as 1710, had a fair knowledge of the Amazons; but the +information gathered by their Government, from various expeditions +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 Pará by Caldeira, in 1615, +to the settlement of the boundary line between the Spanish and +Portuguese possessions, Peru and Brazil, in 1781-91, numbers of +these expeditions were undertaken in succession. 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 Pará without any +great misadventure by the same route. The success of this +remarkable undertaking 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 1541-2. 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 Andes, 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 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.<a href="#fn6.1" name="fnref6.1" id="fnref6.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn6.1" id="fn6.1"></a> <a href="#fnref6.1">[1]</a> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Maranon +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 wilderness without any kind of +inhabitants,<a href="#fn6.2" name="fnref6.2" id="fnref6.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +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 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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn6.2" id="fn6.2"></a> <a href="#fnref6.2">[2]</a> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 to start 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 Pará 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 +Pará in collecting. We weighed anchor at night, and on the +following day found ourselves gliding along the dark-brown waters +of the Mojú. +</p> + +<p> +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 to visit +his native place, Cametá, 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 +Cametá twelve days. The chief motive for prolonging the stay +to this extent was a festival at the Aldeia, two miles below +Cametá, 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 “adios” +shouted to us by Indian and mulatto sweethearts from the top of the +bank, and, tide and wind being favourable, were soon miles +away. +</p> + +<p> +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 ran aground on a shoal. Another +of our sailors was a tawny white of Cametá; 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 Pará, 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 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 just 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 commands +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 practicable, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 24th.</i>—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 +northeast there was a long sweep of horizon clear of land, and on +the southwest 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the following day (25th) we sailed towards the west, along +the upper portion of the Pará 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 Marajó, and is slightly elevated and rocky +in some parts. A series of islands conceals the southern shore from +view most 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 Pará with +the Amazons. The sudden termination of the Pará 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 Pará, and that the opinion of those geographers is an +incorrect one, who believe the Pará to be one of the mouths +of the great river. There is, however, another channel connecting +the two rivers, which enters the Pará six miles to the south +of the Breves. The lower part of its course for eighteen miles is +formed by the Uanapú, a large and independent 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Comateu, 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 Tupí +stock who practise it. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 27th-30th.</i>—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. 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 Pará. Shortly afterwards we +entered the narrow channel of the Jaburú, which lies twenty +miles above the mouth of the Breves. Here commences 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 produced 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 +Mirití 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 +Ubussú, 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 Ubussú grew here in great numbers; +the equally remarkable Jupati palm (Rhaphia taedigera), which, like +the Ubussú, 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 +Marajá-i (Bactris, many species), the Ubim (Geonoma), and a +few stately Bacábas (Œnocarpus 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 or other tree having similar fine +pinnate foliage, and thick masses of Ingá 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 +Combretaceous order. There are also a few yellow and violet +Trumpet-flowers (Bignoniæ). The blossoms of the Ingás, +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.” +</p> + +<p> +The length of the Jaburú 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 +mold, 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 Maraj&o†. In the evening of the +29th we arrived at a point where another channel joins the +Jaburú 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 +Pajé, 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 “sertaô,” 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, 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the 30th, at 9 p.m., we reached a broad channel called +Macaco, and now left the dark, echoing Jaburú. The Macaco +sends off branches towards the north-west coast of Marajó. +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 Jaburú. This is also a +winding channel, thirty-five miles in length, threading a group of +islands, but it is much narrower than the Macaco. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig12"></a> +<img src="images/fig12.jpg" width="338" height="194" alt="Acari Fish (Loricaria duodecimalis)." /> +</div> + +<p> +On emerging from the Uituquára on the 2nd, we all went +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 Bacába 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 anacá (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 anacá 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 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. Unfortunately, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>October 3rd.</i>—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 +Pará 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 +Pará system. The channel formed a splendid reach, sweeping +from south-west to north-east, with a horizon of water and sky both +upstream and down. At 11 a.m. we arrived at Gurupá, 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 Lycopodia growing to a height of eight or ten inches, and +enlivened by numbers of glossy blue butterflies of the +Theclidæ or hairstreak family. At 5 p.m. we were again under +way. Soon after sunset, as we were crossing the mouth of the +Xingú, the first of the great tributaries of the Amazons, +1200 miles in length, a black cloud arose suddenly in the +northeast. Joao da Cunha ordered all sails to be taken in, and +immediately afterwards 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. +</p> + +<p> +From the mouth of the Xingú 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 recommenced 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 consisted 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. +</p> + +<p> +The weather was now delightful for several days in succession, +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 Urucuricáya and the +Aquiquí, two channels which communicate with the +Xingú. 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 +Parána-mirims, or little rivers. By keeping to these, small +canoes can travel a 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 mantle of climbing plants that form so rich a decoration in +other parts, is encumbered at every step with piles of fallen +trees; and 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-quára, and Parauá-quára. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 landscape of broad stream and +grey mountain. Ninety miles beyond Almeyrim stands the village of +Monte Alegre, which is 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig13"></a> +<img src="images/fig13.jpg" width="367" height="252" alt="Flat-topped mountains of Paraua-quara, lower Amazons." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 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 Paraná-mirim, called Mahicá, 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 Xingú, 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 impresssion 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 undulating campos, which are connected with a series of +hills extending southward as far as the eye can reach. I +subsequently 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 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 ourselves 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 meadowland, 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. +</p> + +<p> +From information obtained here, I fixed upon the next town, +Obydos, as the best place to stay for 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 mosquitoes only on one night, and then to a +small degree, during the whole of our voyage. +</p> + +<p> +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 contains 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 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, however, 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 dimensions 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. +</p> + +<p> +I remained at Obydos from the 11th 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 naive 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 early +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, +considerable importations of negro slaves; before that time, a +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 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 enterprising young men, who had +come from Pará and Maranham to seek their fortunes in this +quarter. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará. +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. +</p> + +<p> +The forest at Obydos seemed to abound in monkeys, for I rarely +passed a day without seeing several. I noticed four species: the +Coaitá (Ateles paniscus), the Chrysothrix sciureus, the +Callithrix torquatus, and our old Pará friend, Midas +ursulus. The Coaitá 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 Coaitá (Ateles +marginatus) takes its place. The Coaitás are called by +zoologists 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 +Coaitás 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 Coaitá 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 Coaitá 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 +overhead, and Manoel soon pointed out a Coaitá 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. Coaitás 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 their 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 Coaitá. 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 intelligence 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 consequence. At length its master altered his tone. +“It’s all a lie, my old woman; you’re an angel, a +flower, a good affectionate 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 Coaitá 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, however, an arrant thief, and shows considerable +cunning in pilfering small articles of clothing, which it conceals +in its sleeping place. The natives of the Upper Amazons procure the +Coaitá, when full grown, by shooting it with the blowpipe +and poisoned darts, and restoring life by putting a little salt +(the antidote to the Urarí 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 of the time in close embrace, +folding their tails around 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig14"></a> +<img src="images/fig14.jpg" width="308" height="344" alt="Heliconius Thelxiope and Heliconius Melpomene." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 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 +elegant shape, showy colours, and slow, 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 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 circumference, 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 processions +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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig15"></a> +<img src="images/fig15.jpg" width="332" height="279" alt="Musical Cricket +(Chloorocoelus Tanana). a. b. Lobes of wing-cases transformed into a musical instrument." /> +</div> + +<p> +A strange kind of wood-cricket is found in this neighbourhood, +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 extraordinary that I ever +heard produced by an orthopterous insect. The natives call it the +Tananá, in allusion to its music, which is a sharp, resonant +stridulation resembling the syllables ta-na-ná, +ta-na-ná, succeeding each other with little intermission. It +seems to be rare in the neighbourhood. When the natives 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 +Locustidæ, a group intermediate between the Cricket +(Achetidæ) and the Grasshoppers (Acridiidæ). The total +length of the body is two inches and a quarter; when the wings are +closed the insect has an inflated 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 (<i>b</i>) this lobe has sharp raised margins; on the other +(<i>a</i>), 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 the sounds; the parchmenty wing-cases and the hollow +drum-like space which they enclose assist in giving 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 Tananá 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 stridulate until +a female approaches, when the louder notes are succeeded by a more +subdued tone, whilst the successful musician caresses with his +antennæ the mate he has won. Anyone 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 Locustidæ 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 membrane, in the +centre of the overlapping lobes. In the Grasshoppers +(Acridiidæ) 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 elsewhere; +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 Acridiidæ 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 cavity near the +insertion of the thighs being adapted to give resonance to the +tones. +</p> + +<p> +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 ornithologists. 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 mornings 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 accompaniment of the +guitar. I found several times the nest of the Carashué, +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 Suruquá do Ygapó, or Trogon of +the flooded lands, in contradistinction to the red-breasted +species, which are named Surtiquás 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 neighbouring trees for fruit, which they darted off +now and then, at long intervals, to secure, returning always to the +same perch. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap07"></a>Chapter VII.<br/> +THE LOWER AMAZONS—OBYDOS TO MANAOS, OR THE BARRA OF THE RIO NEGRO</h2> + +<p class="letter">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 Mauhés +Indians — Villa Nova, its Inhabitants, Forest, and Animal +Productions — Cararaucú — A rustic Festival +— Lake of Cararaucú — Motúca Flies +— Serpa — Christmas Holidays — River Madeira +— A Mameluco Farmer — Múra Indians — Rio +Negro — Description of Barra — Descent to Pará +— Yellow Fever. +</p> + +<p class="first">A trader of Obydos, named Penna, was proceeding +about 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 on a direct voyage 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. +</p> + +<p> +On leaving the port of Obydos, we crossed over to the right bank +and sailed with a light wind all day, passing numerous 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 hereabout 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 <i>Ygapó +alto</i>, and is distinguished 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 coffee, +and upon departing, one of the daughters sent a basket full of +oranges for our use down to the canoe. +</p> + +<p> +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 Cametá, 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 plantation of +10,000 to 15,000 trees, but at the harvest time neighbours 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 +consequence is that, although naturally of good quality, it molds +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 strong 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 in 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 clothing, 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 temperature 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 <i> +enseadas</i>, as they are called, and then we made very little +headway. In such places the banks consist of loose earth, a rich +crumbly vegetable mold supporting a growth of most luxuriant +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 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 cashaça, the “abre” or +“opening,” as it is called, and set to on our mess of +stewed pirarucú, 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, choosing 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 up 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. +</p> + +<p> +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; 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 afternoons. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 gathered 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 projecting 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 was 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 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 atmosphere. 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the 26th we arrived at a large sand bank connected with an +island in mid-river, in front of an inlet called +Maracá-uassú. 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 branchlets 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. Cecropiæ of different species are characteristic +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 dark green bark of its huge tapering +trunk, scored with grey, forming a conspicuous object. The +principal palm tree on the lowlands is the Jauarí +(Astryocaryum Jauarí), 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 sandpipers +coursed along the edge of the water. Here and there lonely +wading-birds were stalking about; one of these, the Curicáca +(Ibis melanopis), flew up with a low cackling noise, and was soon +joined by a 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 Icteridæ 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 +Tumburí-pará, 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 Tupí language, Tai-assú uirá, 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 +Tamburí-pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the 27th we reached an elevated wooded promontory, called +Parentins, which now forms the boundary between the provinces of +Pará and the Amazons. Here we met a small 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 +Abacaxí, a river which discharges its waters into the +Canomá, 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 Mauhés tribe, whose +native seat is the district of country lying in the rear of the +Canomá, between the Madeira and the Tapajos. The +Mauhés are considered, I think with truth, to be a branch of +the great Mundurucú 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 Mundurucús seem +to have retained more of the general characteristics of the +original Tupí stock than the Mauhés. 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 Tupí 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 Abacaxí, +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Whaiápu-sai monkeys. I went +ashore with my gun and got a glimpse of the flock, but 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 +Pará 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 cryptogamic 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. +</p> + +<p> +The negro left us and turned up a narrow channel, the +Paraná-mirim dos Ramos (the little river of the branches, +<i>i.e.</i>, 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 conglomerate. 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 +encompassed 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 +piosócas (Perra Jacana) stalked over the water plants on the +surface of the pool, and in the bushes on its margin were great +numbers of a kind of canary (Sycalis brasiliensis) 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 Jaburú-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 learned 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 Caracára-í (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 jacamars (Galbula +chalcocephala), and half-a-dozen leaves of the water-lily, made a +heavy load, with which we trudged off back to the canoe. +</p> + +<p> +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 not contain more than +4000 inhabitants. More than half of these are pure-blood Indians +who live in a semi-civilised condition 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 Canomá +channel), and salt fish, prepared in the dry season, nearer home. +These articles are sent to Pará 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 Pará and +Cametá. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Pará, 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 Ygapós, 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 spiculæ and dingy colours give them the appearance of +hedgehogs. Dense bushes of a harsh, cutting grass, called +Tiriríca, 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 +Ygapós. 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 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 proboscis 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 forelegs only, the other three pairs being stretched out so +as to fasten onto any animal which comes their way. The smaller of +the two species is of a yellowish colour; it is 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, Mirtí, Paxiúba, and other palms which are all +found only on rich moist soils, but the noble Bacába was not +uncommon, and there was a great diversity of dwarf species of +Marajá palms (Bactris), one of which, called the +Peuriríma, 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 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, myrtles, and Lacre-trees, whose +berries exude globules of wax resembling gamboge. On the 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 ones; 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig16"></a> +<img src="images/fig16.jpg" width="210" height="472" alt="Peuririma Palm (Bactris)." /> +</div> + +<p> +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, probably the +Mycetes stramineus of Geoffroy St. Hilaire. The howlers are the +only kinds of monkey which the natives have not succeeded 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 shining dingy-white +hair, the whiskers and beard only being of a tawny hue. It was kept +in a house, together with a Coaitá and a Caiarára +monkey (Cebus albifrons). Both these lively members of the monkey +order seemed rather to court attention, but the Mycetes slunk away +when anyone 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 produced 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 probable, +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 Pará 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 Macajó, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 large 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. I had then 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. +</p> + +<p> +I was much annoyed, and at the same time amused, with the +Urubú 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 kitchen open 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 +off the saucepans 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 Urubús 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Paraná-mirím 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, and 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 Cararaucú, 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. +</p> + +<p> +At the first house a festival was going forward. We anchored at +some distance from the shore, on account of the water being shoaly, +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 or sixty Indians and +Mamelucos; some of them knew Portuguese, but the Tupí +language was the only one used amongst themselves. The festival was +in honour of our Lady of Conception; 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 Pirarucú, 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 learned 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 considering the amount of strong +liquor drunk, and the ball was kept up until sunrise the next +morning. +</p> + +<p> +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 Paraná-mirím do Mucambo, a +channel leading to an interior lake, peopled by savages of the +Múra tribe. This seemed to be the abode of an industrious +family, but all the men were absent, salting Pirarucú on the +lakes. The house, like its neighbours, was simply a framework 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 employments; some weaving hammocks in a +large clumsy frame, which held the warp whilst the shuttle was +passed by the hand slowly across the six foot breadth of web; +others were spinning cotton, and others again scraping, pressing, +and roasting mandioca. The family had cleared and cultivated a +large piece of ground; the soil was of extraordinary richness, the +perpendicular 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. +</p> + +<p> +We crossed the river at this point, and entered a narrow channel +which penetrates the interior of the island of +Tupinambarána, 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 Motúca, 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 Tabanidæ family, and indeed +is closely related to the Hæmatopota 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 sometimes eight or +ten would settle on one’s ankles at the same 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. +</p> + +<p> +The clay cliffs of Cararaucú 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 mold, 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 Ygapó lands, to which +the broad and regular fronds of the Murumurú palm, here +extremely abundant, served as a great decoration. Wherever the land +was lower than the flood height of the Amazons, Cecropia trees +prevailed, sometimes 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 also saw 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), whilst the vivacious Caiarára (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 Saracá, 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 +Cararaucú. On the 24th we arrived at Serpa. +</p> + +<p> +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 Tabatínga clay, which are here +intermingled with scoria-looking conglomerate, are in some parts of +the declivity prettily variegated in colour; the name of the town +in the Tupí language, Ita-coatiára, takes its origin +from this circumstance, signifying striped or painted rock. It is +an old settlement, and was once the seat of the district +government, 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 igarité, whose owner was an old Jurí 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 overrun 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, 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 “mordomos,” 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 +“sairé,” a large semi-circular 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 Tupí 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 (gambá) and the caracashá. 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 caracasha 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 +dancing, which were kept up with unflagging vigour all night long. +The 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, the 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 +sarsaparilla, copauba 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 Pará; and then the +Araras, a fierce and intractable tribe of Indians, began to be +troublesome. They attacked several canoes and massacred everyone 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 Taquára +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 +Mundurucús, who had an old feud with the Aráras, 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 Aráras and the +Mundurucús, 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 +Múras. Of the former I did not hear much; the Múras +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 Aráras 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 +Mundurucús, although differing from them so widely in habits +and social condition. They paint their chins red with Urucú +(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 learned 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 +provocation they have received at their hands; for the first +impulse of the Brazilian red-man is to respect Europeans; they have +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 +Múras 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. +</p> + +<p> +We remained nine days at the sitio of Senhor John Trinidade. It +is situated on a tract of high Ygapó land, which is raised, +however, only a few inches above high-water mark. This skirts the +northern shore for a long distance; the soil consisting 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, fisherman, and +canoe-builder, and a large igarité was now on the stocks +under a large shed. There was great pleasure in contemplating 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 Múras. 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 Múra 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, mandioca, Indian corn, fields +of rice, melons, and watermelons. 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, Abíus (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 Múra 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-peëua, and Piramutába, three species of +Siluridæ, belonging to the genus Pimelodus. To these we used +a sauce in the form of a yellow paste, quite new to me, called +Arubé, 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. +Tucupí, another sauce made also from mandioca juice, is much +more common in the interior of the country than Arubé. 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 Jurí and Miranha tribes on the Japurá make it +up in the form of a black paste by a mode of preparation I could +not learn; it is then called Tucupí-pixúna, or black +Tucupí. I have seen the Indians on the Tapajos, where fish +is scarce, season Tucupí with Saüba ants. It is there +used chiefly as a sauce to Tacacá, another preparation from +mandioca, consisting of the starch beaten up in boiling water. +</p> + +<p> +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 +on 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Múras 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. +</p> + +<p> +John Trinidade was famous for his tobacco and cigarettes, as he +took great pains in preparing the Tauarí, or envelope, 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 belonging to the same natural +order. The bark is cut into 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, weeding, 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 +Uaissíma, 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 manufacturers, 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 sufficiently well pressed, they are bound round +with narrow thongs of remarkable toughness, cut from the bark of +the climbing Jacitára palm tree (Desmoncus macracanthus), +and are then ready for sale or use. +</p> + +<p> +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 depredations 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, 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. +</p> + +<p> +We left this place on the 8th of January, and on the afternoon +of the 9th, arrived at Matari, a miserable little settlement of +Múra 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 murixí, 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 unmistakably more +sullen and brutal, and the skin of a darker hue 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 Múras +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 cashaça, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The Múras 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. Everyone spoke of them as lazy, thievish, +untrustworthy, and cruel. They have a greater repugnance 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 fundamental defects of +character in the Brazilian red man. There is nothing, I think, to +show that the Múras had a different origin from the nobler +agricultural tribes belonging to the Tupí 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 +Ygapó lands, confined to a fish diet, and obliged to wander +constantly in search of food. Those tribes which are supposed to be +more nearly related to the Tupís 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 Múras 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 Múras 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 +Mundurucús 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 Múras are now scattered in single hordes and +families over a wide extent of country bordering the main river +from Villa Nova to Catuá, near Ega, a distance of 800 miles. +Since the disorders of 1835-6, when they committed great havoc +amongst the peaceable settlements from Santarem to the Rio Negro, +and were pursued and slaughtered in great numbers by the +Mundurucús in alliance with the Brazilians, they have given +no serious trouble. +</p> + +<p> +There is one curious custom of the Múras which requires +noticing before concluding this digression; this is the practice of +snuff-taking with peculiar ceremonies. The snuff is called +Paricá, 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 <i>Quarentena</i>, and which forms a kind of +festival of a semi-religious character. They begin by drinking +large quantities of caysúma and cashirí, fermented +drinks made of various fruits and mandioca, but they prefer +cashaça, 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 Paricá. 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 unintelligible 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 talkative, 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 Mauhés +also use the Paricá, although it is not known amongst their +neighbours the Mundurucús. Their manner of taking it is very +different from that of the swinish Múras, 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 Paricá was +found by the early travellers amongst the Omaguas, a section of the +Tupís who formerly lived on the Upper Amazons, a thousand +miles distant from the homes of the Mauhés and Múras. +This community of habits is one of those facts which support the +view of the common origin and near relationship of the Amazonian +Indians. +</p> + +<p> +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 +magnificent 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 +riverbanks. One of the first objects which greeted us here 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. +</p> + +<p> +The weather, from the 14th to the i8th, 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 watercourse, and the trunks of the trees in its +vicinity were clothed with ferns, large-leaved species belonging to +the genus Lygodium, 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 around 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 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 Piúm, a minute fly, two thirds of a +line in length, which here commences its reign, and continues +henceforward as a terrible scourge along the upper river, or +Solimoens, 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 introduction to the much-talked-of +Piúm. On close examination, they are seen to be minute +two-winged insects, with dark-coloured body and pale legs and +wings, the latter closed lengthwise 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 discoloured punctures that are crowded together. The irritation +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 Piúm; his legs being swelled +to an enormous size, and the punctures aggravated into spreading +sores. +</p> + +<p> +A brisk wind from the east sprang tip 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 tributary. In +crossing, we passed the line, a little more than halfway 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 amongst 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, 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-four days after leaving Obydos. +</p> + +<p> +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 Manáos, who were continually at war with the +neighbouring tribes, and had the custom of enslaving the prisoners +made during their predatory expeditions. The Portuguese disguised +their slave-dealing motives under the pretext of ransoming +(<i>resgatando</i>) these captives; indeed, the term <i> +resgatar</i> (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 Santarem, 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 +Manáos. +</p> + +<p> +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 imagination 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 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 transhipped here for the Solimoens and Peru. A steamer runs +once a fortnight between Pará 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 provincial government is supplied with the +greater part of its funds from the treasury of Pará; 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 province 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 inhabitants. 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 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 <i>tavernas</i>, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 northeastern coast of +Marajó, the river Capim (a branch of the Guamá, near +Pará), 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 voyages were soon forgotten, and in two or three weeks +we began to talk of further explorations. Meantime we had almost +daily rambles in the neighbouring forest. The whole surface of the +land down to the water’s edge is covered by the uniform +dark-green rolling forest, the <i>caá-apoam</i> (convex +woods) of the Indians, characteristic 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 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 characteristic +kind in the latter region is the Jará (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 Murumurú and Urucurí, the slender +Assaí, the tall Jauarí, and the fan-leaved +Murití of the banks of the Amazons. On the shores of the +main river the mass of the forest is composed, besides palms, of +Leguminosæ, 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 (Lecythideæ), and Cecropiæ; +the underwood and water-frontage consisting in great part of +broad-leaved Musaceæ, Marantaceæ, 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 mangroves 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 Martins 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. +</p> + +<p> +Birds and insects, however, were scarce amidst these charming +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 Dacnidæ 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 +Suruquá 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Uapés. I left Barra for Ega, the +first town of any importance on the Solimoens, on the 26th of +March, 1850. The distance is nearly 400 miles, which we +accomplished in a small cuberta, manned 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 Pará. 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 subsequent 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. +</p> + +<p> +A few words on my visit to Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +On arriving at Pará, 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 of the entire +population, showed how general the onslaught is 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 Pará 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 “Maî 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +newcomer. 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 and fro along the veranda, +drinking at intervals a cup of warm tea, made of a bitter herb in +use amongst the natives, called Pajémarióba, 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 until almost 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 headquarters 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. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap08"></a>Chapter VIII.<br/> +SANTAREM</h2> + +<p class="letter">Situation of Santarem — Manners and Customs +of the Inhabitants — Climate — Grassy Campos and Woods +— Excursions to Mapirí, Mahicá, and +Irurá, with Sketches of their Natural History; Palms, Wild +Fruit Trees, Mining Wasps, Mason Wasps, Bees, and Sloths +</p> + +<p class="first">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 +important 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 dilapidated 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 from ten to 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 continuation 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, vegetation, 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 +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. +</p> + +<p> +I arrived at Santarem on my second journey into the interior, in +November, 1851, 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 surrounding region. 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 veranda 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 José, willing to arrange +with me; the people of his family cooked 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. +</p> + +<p> +I found Santarem quite a different sort of place from the other +settlements on the Amazons. At Cametá, 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 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 mulattoes, 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 +Pará) 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, regardless 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, finishing 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +The religious festivals were not so numerous here as in other +towns, and when they 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 Pará 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 processions 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 Pará; the piano, however, is now fast +superseding it. The ballads sung to the accompaniment of the guitar +were not learned from written or printed music, but communicated +orally from one friend to another. They were never spoken of as +songs, but <i>modinhas</i>, 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 kind of light gauze mask. +The troop, with a party of musicians, went the round of their +friends’ houses 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 in the magnificent feather crowns, tunics, and belts, +manufactured by the Mundurucús, 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 pajé or medicine-man came along, +puffing at a long tauarí cigar, the instrument by which he +professes to make his wonderful cures. Others blew harsh, jarring +blasts with the turé, 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 turé, its loud, harsh note heard in the dead +of the night having been often the prelude to an onslaught of +bloodthirsty Múras on the outlying 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 +for. It was got up spontaneously by the Indians, and simply to +amuse the people of the place. +</p> + +<p> +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 Pará, 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 +Pará, 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 +schoolmaster. The course of study followed at the colleges of +Pará 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 gratification 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 woefully ignorant on most other subjects. +I do not recollect seeing a map of any kind at Santarem. 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 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 beginning and its ending, has never entered the heads +of most of the people who have passed their whole lives on its +banks. +</p> + +<p> +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 +healthfulness 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 necessities +of life at any price in most of the interior settlements 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 neighbourhood, 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 Pará, 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 waterside 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 +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 pineapple, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +demarcated 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 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 Muruarú, 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 inhabitants 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 (Chamæpelia). 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 +hairstreaks (Theclæ), 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 +æstivate; they are found in clusters, Bulimi and Helices, +concealed 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 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 +represents 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. +</p> + +<p> +I will now give an account of some of my favourite collecting +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 +Mapirí, 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 continuous. 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 construction, 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 the rosy-breasted +Troupial (Trupialis Gulanensis), a bird resembling 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 larvæ of insects which then abound in the +moist soil. +</p> + +<p> +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 Epidendron 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 hummingbirds, +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 Mapirí +is reached. The river view is characteristic of the Tapajos; the +shores are wooded, and on the opposite side is a line of clay +cliffs with hills in the background 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 transparency 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Mapirí. 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 forefeet, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Motúca (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 something 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 +much more certain in them than it is in man, for to my eye there +was absolutely no landmark 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. +</p> + +<p> +The Monedula signata is a good friend to travellers in those +parts of the Amazons which are infested by the blood-thirsty +Motúca. 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. +</p> + +<p> +The bay of Mapirí 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 which are +fordable when the waters are low. To the east my rambles extended +to the banks of the Mahicá 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 Mahicá 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 produced in me an impression of sadness and +loneliness which the luxuriant 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 +Caracára 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 Mahicá, 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 construction 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 Œnocarpus distichus, one of the kinds called +Bacába 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 +Bacába, cut down and thus destroy a tree which has taken a +score or two of years to grow, in order to get at it. +</p> + +<p> +In the lower part of the Mahicá 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 Pará 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 Caraipé, is burned and mixed with the +clay, which gives tenacity to the ware. Caraipé 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 +Mahicá, were very attractive to many kinds of mason bees and +wasps, who made use of the clay to build their nests with. So 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig17"></a> +<img src="images/fig17.jpg" width="154" height="263" alt="Pelopæus Wasp building nest." /> +</div> + +<p> +The most conspicuous was a large yellow and black wasp, with a +remarkably long and narrow waist, the Pelopæus fistularis. +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 beginning 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 projecting 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 Mahicá, I always found them to be +stocked with small 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig18"></a> +<img src="images/fig18.jpg" width="207" height="94" alt="Cells of Trypoxylon aurifrons." /> +</div> + +<p> +Besides the Pelopæus, 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) provision their +nests with spiders, a third (T. aurifrons) with small caterpillars. +Their habits are similar to those of the Pelopæus; 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. +</p> + +<p> +But the most numerous and interesting of the clay artificers are +the workers of a species of social bee, the Melipona fasciculata. +The Meliponæ 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. fasciculata 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 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 opportunity 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 Meliponæ 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, 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig19"></a> +<img src="images/fig19.jpg" width="349" height="168" alt="Melipona Bees gathering clay." /> +</div> + +<p> +A hive of the Melipona fasciculata, which I saw opened, +contained about two quarts of pleasant-tasting 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +To the south my rambles never extended further than the banks of +the Irurá, 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 Mapirí. All beyond, as before remarked, 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 runaway negroes on the Serra de +Mururarú, and it was considered unsafe to go far in that +direction, except with a large armed party. +</p> + +<p> +I visited the banks of the Irurá and the rich woods +accompanying it, and two other streams in the same neighbourhood, +one called the Panéma, and the other the Urumarí, +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 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 geologically sufficient to pronounce on such questions. Mr. +Wallace states that he found fragments of scoriæ, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 declivities +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 Pikiá. This latter bears a +large eatable fruit, curious in having a hollow chamber between the +pulp and the kernel, beset with hard spines which produce 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 undertake 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 1000 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 Cupú, and the trees are of +inconsiderable height. One of them called Cupú-aï 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +My excursions to the Irurá 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. José 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 Mapirí 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 clearness 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 +Curuá (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, 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 he lurking somewhere near us. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig20"></a> +<img src="images/fig20.jpg" width="370" height="197" alt="The Jacuaru (Teius teguexim)." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 toilsome 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 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 Anús +(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 Jacuarú (Teius teguexim) were always +observed in the still hours of midday scampering with great clatter +over 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 butterflies 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 +sipós 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 hillsides 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 throwing 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 +harmless 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 witchcraft was tried by the +sub-delegado, in which a highly respectable white lady was the +complainant. It appeared that some feiticeira 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. +</p> + +<p> +I seldom met with any of the larger animals in these excursions. +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 movements 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 Tupí +language, Aï ybyreté (in Portuguese, Preguiça 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 Aï Ygapó +(Preguiça 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 Embaüba” +(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 movement 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 appearance; 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 Carashué (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 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-cococao; 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. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap09"></a>Chapter IX.<br/> +VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS</h2> + +<p class="letter">Preparations for Voyage — First Day’s +Sail — Loss of Boat — Altar de 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 — Entering the River +Cuparí — Adventure with Anaconda — Smoke-dried +Monkey — Boa-constrictor — Village of Mundurucú +Indians, and Incursion of a Wild Tribe — Falls of the +Cuparí — Hyacinthine Macaw — Re-emerge into the +broad Tapajos — Descent of River to Santarem. +</p> + +<p class="first"><i>June, 1852.</i>—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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Itauba or stonewood, 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 +waterline, as my sleeping and working apartment. My chests, filled +with store-boxes and trays for specimens, 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 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, arrowheads, looking-glasses, beads, and other small +wares. José 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 dampness and insects in this climate. When all +was done, our canoe looked like a little floating workshop. +</p> + +<p> +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 1000 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. José 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 +someone 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, José 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. +</p> + +<p> +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-washed houses and +thatched Indian huts of the suburbs. The charming little bay of +Mapirí 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. +</p> + +<p> +Our course lay due west for about twenty miles. The wind +increased as we neared Point Cururú, 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 José’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. +</p> + +<p> +The little settlement, Altar de 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 probably 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 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 families; +and the scattered houses are arranged in broad streets on a strip +of greensward, at the foot of a high, gloriously-wooded ridge. +</p> + +<p> +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 de Chao was originally a settlement of the aborigines, +and was called Burarí. 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 learned 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 Tucunaré (Cichla temensis), a handsome +species, with a large prettily-coloured, eye-like spot on its tail. +Many small Salmonidæ are also met with, and a kind of sole, +called Aramassá, 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 +frightfully, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Timbó (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, upon 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Tarobá, made from soaked mandioca 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 rude fashion; all become soddened +with Tarobá, and the day finishes often in a drunken +brawl. +</p> + +<p> +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 bedtime. 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>June 17th.</i>—The two young men returned without +meeting with my montaria, and I found it impossible here to buy a +new one. Captain Thomás 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, upon +which the waves broke in a long line of surf. Ten miles above Altar +de Chao is a conspicuous headland, called Point Cajetúba. +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 sævissima); the dead, or half-dead bodies of +which were heaped up in a line an inch or two in height and +breadth, the line continuing 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 afterwards, cast ashore by the waves. We found +ourselves at seven o’clock near the mouth of a creek leading +to a small lake, called Aramána-í, 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. +</p> + +<p> +To-day (19th) we had a good wind, which carried us to the mouth +of a creek, culled Paquiatúba, where the +“inspector” of the district lived, Senhor Cypriano, for +whom I had brought an order from Captain Thomás 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 working 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. +</p> + +<p> +After passing one low smoky little hut half-buried in foliage, +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 is customary on +approaching a dwelling, “O da casa!” (Oh of the house!) +a dark- skinned native, a Cafuzo, with a most unpleasant 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 afterwards, 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 +unpardoned 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 superintending the packing of farina. 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 farina, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>June 20th.</i>—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 +narrow channel, called Tapaiúna, 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 here is 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 today is a continuation +of the low and flooded land of Paquiatúba. +</p> + +<p> +<i>June 21st.</i>—The next morning we sailed along the +Tapaiúna 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 resolved 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, Pontederiæ, 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 farina. The +result of the fishing was a good supply of Jandiá, a +handsome spotted Siluride fish, and Piránha, a kind of +Salmon. Piránhas 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 +Paquiatúba 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. +</p> + +<p> +My men slept ashore, and upon the coming aboard in the morning, +Pinto was drunk and insolent. According to José, 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 +beijú,—a spirit distilled from the mandioca root. We +knew 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 100 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 a 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 +Itá-puáma, or “standing rock,” from a +remarkable isolated cliff, which stands erect at the entrance to +the little haven. A short distance beyond Itá-puáma +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 Capitarí, which lies nearly +in the middle of the river. +</p> + +<p> +<i>June 23rd.</i>—The wind freshened at ten o’clock +in the morning 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 afternoon +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 Itá-puáma, 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 +Capitarí and another group of islets succeeding it, called +Jacaré, 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 Aveyros hove in sight, in the port of which we cast +anchor late in the afternoon. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Mundurucú 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. +</p> + +<p> +I here dismissed Pinto, who again got drunk and quarrelsome 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. +</p> + +<p> +Little happened worth narrating during my forty days’ stay +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 +intelligent 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 impossible to do without +them, as they are required to paddle the canoes. +</p> + +<p> +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 hammocks, 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-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. +</p> + +<p> +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, Motúcas 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 copauba 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 neighbours, we had stools to +support our feet, the legs of which, as well as those of the +chairs, were well anointed with the balsam. The cords of hammocks +are obliged to be smeared in the same way to prevent the ants from +paying sleepers a visit. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 ygapó, 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 +“Whaiápu-saí”. 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. +</p> + +<p> +I heard that the white Cebus, the Caiarára branca, a kind +of 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 +halfway, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, undulating parts of the campo had a +lighter and more sandy soil. Leaving our friends, José and I +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 +pathway. 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, when we despatched it by a +blow on the head with a pole, not wishing to fire on account of +alarming our game. +</p> + +<p> +We saw nothing of the white Caiarára; 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 Caiarára 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 foremost 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 belonging to the neighbouring tree, maybe fifty +feet beneath; all the rest following the example. They grasp, upon +falling, with hands and tail, right themselves in a moment, and +then away they go along branch and bough to the next tree. The +Caiarára owes its name in the Tupí language, macaw or +large-headed (Acain, head, and Arára 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 +disposition seeming to arise from great nervous irritability and +discontent. 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. +</p> + +<p> +The Caiarára 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 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). Someone 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Maracaná; 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 everyone 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 Maracaná +used to accompany us sometimes 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 +using a colloquial tone as we passed “Maracaná!” +We looked about for some time, but could not see anything, until +the word was repeated with emphasis +“Maracaná-á!” 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 without +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 carefully 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. +</p> + +<p> +Before returning to Aveyros, we paid another visit to the +Jacaré inlet, leading to Captain Antonio’s cattle +farm, for the sake of securing further specimens of the many rare +and handsome 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 Tucunarés, +and Senora 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 +José to a Tucunaré dinner for the afternoon, and then +shouldering 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 José and I 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 Tucunarés 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 2nd.</i>—Left Aveyros; having resolved to ascend +a branch river, the Cuparí, which enters the Tapajos about +eight miles above this village, instead of going forward along the +main stream. I should have liked to visit the settlements of the +Mundurucú 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 +Cuparí, 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 Coaitá, the Buburé, +the Salto Grande (about thirty feet high), and the Montanha. The +canoes of Cuyabá tradesmen which descend annually to +Santarem are obliged to be unloaded 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 +Cuparí 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. +</p> + +<p> +We entered the mouth of the Cuparí 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, 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 +previously, and married a Mundurucú 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 plantation of cacao occupied +the lower grounds. +</p> + +<p> +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 insectivorous 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 5th.</i>—The river reminds me of some parts of +the Jaburú 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 overwhelming +luxuriance increases at every step. The deep and narrow valley of +the Cuparí 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 +Pará, 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 +troublesome, as they left me not a moment’s privacy from +morning till night. +</p> + +<p> +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 Tabanidæ 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. +</p> + +<p> +We were amused at the excessive and almost absurd tameness 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 +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, regularly following her +wherever she went about the grounds. I found this kind of Curassow +bird was very common in the forest of the Cuparí; 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 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 +intelligence. 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. +</p> + +<p> +We had an unwelcome visitor whilst at anchor in the port of +Antonio Malagueita. I was awakened 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 into 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 circumstance, and, my men being +all ashore, I turned in again and slept until 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 Sucurujú (the Indian name for the Anaconda, +or great water serpent—Eunectes murinus), which had for +months past been haunting 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 embarked 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 circumference at the widest part of the body. I measured +skins of the Anaconda afterwards, twenty-one feet in length and two +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Teffé 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 Teffé 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 to examine. The natives of the Amazons country +universally believe in the existence of a monster water-serpent, +said to be many score fathoms in length and 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 settlements. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 6th and 7th.</i>—On leaving the sitio of Antonio +Malagueita 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 acquaintance 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 7th, +we were again under way; the river makes a bend to the +east-north-east for a short distance above Paulo Christo’s +establishment, and 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. +</p> + +<p> +We reached, in the evening, the house of the last civilised +settler on the river, Senhor Joao (John) Aracú, a wiry, +active fellow and capital hunter, whom I wished to make a friend of +and persuade to accompany me to the Mundurucú village and +the falls of the Cuparí, some forty miles further up the +river. +</p> + +<p> +I stayed at the sitio of John Aracú until the 19th, and +again, in descending, spent fourteen days at the same place. The +situation was most favourable for collecting the natural products +of the district. The forest was not crowded with underwood, 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 José and I worked daily in the woods, I set +them to make a montaria under John Aracú’s directions. +The first day a suitable tree was found for the shell of the boat, +of the kind called Itaüba amarello, the yellow variety of the +stonewood. 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 acting 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. +</p> + +<p> +The expanding of the log thus hollowed out is a critical +operation, and not always successful, many a good shell being +spoiled from 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 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 degrees 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 merriment 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. +</p> + +<p> +I was very successful at this place with regard to the objects +of my journey. About twenty new species of fishes and a +considerable 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 Coaitá, 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 companion. 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 +Cuparí, we could get scarcely anything but fish to eat, and +as this diet disagreed with me, three successive days of it +reducing me to a state of great weakness, I was obliged to make the +most of our Coaitá meat. We smoke-dried the joints instead +of salting them, placing them for several hours upon 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 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 acquaintance +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 Tucupí sauce, of which we +had a large jar full always ready to temper unsavoury morsels. +</p> + +<p> +One day as I was entomologising alone and unarmed, in a dry +Ygapó, 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, 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 lower and moister parts of +the Ygapó. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 collections, 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 +Cuparí. +</p> + +<p> +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 Cuparí, the time of rising shifting a +little from day to day. I pointed out the circumstance to John +Aracú, who had not noticed it before (it was only his second +year of residence in the locality), but agreed with me that it must +be the “maré”; 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 in 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 Cuparí, a fact shown by the +absence of current in the dry season. I could have no doubt that +this conclusion was a correct one. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>August 21st.</i>—John Aracú 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 southwest. On the 20th, our course was +southerly and southeasterly. 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 Aracú. 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 Mundurucús, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Parárauáte 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 +Tushaúa, 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 neighbourhood, 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 +Tushaúa from a nap; after rubbing his eyes he came forward +and bade us welcome with the most formal politeness, 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 +Pará, 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 Cuparí horde +of Mundurucús, 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 Cuparí settlement. +</p> + +<p> +I spent the remainder of the day here, sending Aracú and +the men to fish, whilst I amused myself with the Tushaúa 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 three days. The Parárauátes +were a tribe of intractable savages, with whom the +Mundurucús 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 +Mundurucús of the upper Tapajos have an expedition on foot +against them at the present time, and the Tushaúa 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 +discovered, the hungry savages had uprooted all the macasheira, +sweet potatoes, and sugar cane, which the industrious +Mundurucús had planted for the season, on the east side of +the river. As soon as they were seen they made off, but the +Tashaúa 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 northeast. The pursuers thought, at one +time, they were close upon them, having found the inextinguished +fire of their last encampment. The footmarks 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 Tashaúa gave to +me. +</p> + +<p> +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 appearance, 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 amongst +the Brazilian red men; they being all tattooed either in simple +lines or patches. The nearest approach to elegance of design which +I 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 concerned, of the +American Indian, would seem to be far less refined than that of the +Tahitian and New Zealander. +</p> + +<p> +To amuse the Tashaúa, 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 learned from Aracú, 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 Mundurucú 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 ourselves use, or a +subdued exclamation, Hm! hm! Before I finished, from fifty to sixty +had assembled; there was no pushing 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. +</p> + +<p> +The Mundurucús are perhaps the most numerous and +formidable tribe of Indians now surviving in the Amazons region. +They inhabit the shores of the Tapajos (chiefly the right bank), +from 3° to 7° 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 present century, the event +being brought about by the common cause of quarrel entertained by +the two peoples against the hated Múras. They have ever +since been firm friends of the whites. It is remarkable how +faithfully this friendly feeling has been handed down amongst the +Mundurucús, 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 Jurís and +Passés on the Upper Amazons, or the Uapés Indians +near the headwaters of the Rio Negro. They make very large +plantations of mandioca, and sell the surplus produce, which +amounts to, on the Tapajos, 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 +Mundurucús beyond the cataracts) have first to distribute +their wares—cheap cotton cloths, iron hatchets, cutlery, +small wares, and cashaça—amongst the minor chiefs, and +then wait three or four months for repayment in produce. +</p> + +<p> +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 Tashaúa 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 +Mundurucús of the Cuparí and many parts of the +Tapajos savages; their regular mode of life, agricultural 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 exterminated two of the neighbouring +peoples, the Júmas and the Jacarés, and make now an +annual expedition against the Parárauátes, and one or +two other similar wild tribes who inhabit the interior of the land. +Additionally they are sometimes driven by hunger towards the banks +of the great rivers to rob the plantations of the agricultural +Indians. These campaigns begin in July, and last throughout the dry +months; the women generally accompanying 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 Mundurucús +and the Aráras. 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 Turé on the +approach of the Aráras, who choose the night for their +onslaughts. +</p> + +<p> +Each horde of Mundurucús has its pajé or medicine +man, who is the priest and doctor; he fixes upon the time most +propitious 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 pajé 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 Tauarí, 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 pajés 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 +pajé 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. +</p> + +<p> +I bought of the Tashaúa 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 +Mundurucús 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 Tashaúa 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 tarobá, and the monotonous jingle is kept up, +with little intermission, night and day, until the stimulating +beverage is finished. +</p> + +<p> +We left the Tashaúa’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 Parárauáte 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 Mundurucús of the Cuparí, +however, 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 unprincipled +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 Cuparí. 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 concerning 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. +</p> + +<p> +The men awoke me at four o’clock with the sound of their +oars on leaving the port of the Tashaúa. 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. +</p> + +<p> +We had now arrived at the end of the navigation for large +vessels—a distance from the mouth of the river, according to +our rough calculation, of a little over seventy miles. I found it +the better course now to send José and one of the men +forward in the montaria with John Aracú, 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 Guaríba, or howling monkey, and two large lizards. +The Guaríba 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 (Œstrus). 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 +Tucumá palm (Astryocaryum Tucumá), 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 my own +laborious day’s hunt; working on the roof of my cabin by the +light of a lamp. +</p> + +<p> +The place where the cuberta was anchored formed a little rocky +haven, with a sandy beach sloping to the forest, within which were +the ruins of an Indian Maloca, and a large weed-grown plantation. +The port swarmed with fishes, whose movements it was amusing to +watch in the deep, clear water. The most abundant were the +Piránhas. 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 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 Piránhas 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 +Acará bandeira (Mesonauta insignis, of Günther), 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 at the +rear of the needle-fishes, a strangely-shaped kind called +Sarapó came wriggling along, one by one, with a slow +movement. We caught with hook and line, baited with pieces of +banana, several Curimatá (Anodus Amazonum), a most delicious +fish, which, next to the Tucunare and the Pescada, is most esteemed +by the natives. The Curimatá seemed to prefer the middle of +the stream, where the waters were agitated beneath the little +cascade. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig21"></a> +<img src="images/fig21.jpg" width="303" height="203" alt="Acará (Mesonauta insignis)." /> +</div> + +<p> +The weather was now settled and dry, and the river sank +rapidly— 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 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 Pará, but it +was there very uncommon: we obtained one of them here 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig22"></a> +<img src="images/fig22.jpg" width="430" height="116" alt="Sarapó (Carapus). Needle-fish (Hemaramphus)." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 +Parárauátes, 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 Aracú, and we +accomplished the distance, with its aid and by rowing, in seventeen +hours. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 21st.</i>—At five o’clock in the +afternoon we emerged from the confined and stifling gully through +which the Cuparí flows, into the broad Tapajos, and breathed +freely again. How I enjoyed the extensive 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. +</p> + +<p> +We touched at Aveyros, to embark some chests I had left there +and to settle accounts with Captain Antonio, and found nearly all +the people sick with fever and vomit, against which the +Padre’s homoeopathic globules were of no avail. The Tapajos +had been pretty free from epidemics for some 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 Cuparí friends especially suffered very severely. John +Aracú 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 Mundurucú village. +</p> + +<p> +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 Cuparí 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 <i>esperas</i>, which the canoemen calculate upon, +carefully arranging each night-voyage so as to reach one of them +before the wind begins the next morning. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 André, where we anchored and +slept. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 22nd.</i>—Old André with his squaw +came aboard this morning. They brought three Tracajás, a +turtle, and a basketful of Tracajá eggs, to exchange with me +for cotton cloth and cashaça. Ricardo, who had been for some +time very discontented, 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 André’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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Itapuáma. 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. José 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 +<i>trovoada secca</i> 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 under the trees, and breakfasted and dined +together, our cloth being spread on the sandy beach in the shade +after killing a large quantity of fish with <i>timbó</i>, of +which we had obtained a supply at Itapuáma. 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 +following 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 <i> +espera</i>, called Maraï, the mouth of a shallow creek. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 26th.</i>—I did not like the prospect of +spending the whole dreary day at Maraï, 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 +Paquiatúba, 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, José 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 +Maraï 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, 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 +inky 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 Piní, 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 +sometime before. About nine o’clock, I was awakened 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. +</p> + +<p> +After this I resolved not to move a step beyond +Paquiatúba without an additional man, and one who understood +the navigation 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 +Jaguararí, 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). +</p> + +<p> +Point Jaguararí forms at this season of the year a high +sandbank, which is prolonged as a narrow spit, stretching about +three miles towards the middle of the river. We rounded this with +great difficulty on the night of the 29th, reaching before daylight +a good shelter behind a similar sandbank at Point +Acarátingari, 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 <i>timbó</i> 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the 2nd of October, we reached Point Cajetúba and had +a pleasant day ashore. The river scenery in this neighbourhood is +of the greatest beauty. A few houses of settlers are seen at the +bottom of the broad bay of Aramána-í 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 +Cajetúba is similar to the neighbourhood of Santarem: +namely, campos with scattered trees. We gathered a large quantity +of wild fruit: Cajú, Umirí, and +Aápiránga. The Umirí berry (Humirium +floribundum) is a black drupe similar in appearance to the +Damascene plum, and not greatly unlike it in taste. The +Aápiránga is a bright vermilion-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 +passed us here. 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. +</p> + +<p> +It took us two nights to double Point Cururú, 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 carrying us pleasantly round the spit, when a +small black cloud 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. +</p> + +<p> +The distance between Point Cururú and Santarem was +accomplished 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 unloading +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 +“adios.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap10"></a>Chapter X.<br/> +THE UPPER AMAZONS—VOYAGE TO EGA</h2> + +<p class="letter">Departure from Barra — First Day and Night +on the Upper Amazons — Desolate Appearance of River in the +Flood Season — Cucáma 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. +</p> + +<p class="first">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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Santarem, +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 attending 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. +</p> + +<p> +I shipped the collections made between Pará 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Motúca, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 without rain. All this is changed on the Solimoens. A +fortnight of clear sunny weather is a rarity: the whole region +through which the river and its affluents flow, after leaving the +easternmost ridges of the Andes, which Pöppig 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 mold, which the 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 cultivated, +common to the two sections of the country, reach a progressively +larger size in advancing westward, and some trees, which blossom +only once a year at Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +On the 28th we passed the mouth of Ariauü, 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 +Manacápurú, situated on a high, rocky bank. Many +citizens of Barra have <i>sitios</i>, or country-houses, in this +place, although it is eighty miles distant from the town by the +nearest road. Beyond Manacápurú 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 Manacápurú, we travelled +nineteen days without 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. +</p> + +<p> +After the first two or three days we fell into a regular way of +life on board. Our crew was composed of ten Indians of the +Cucáma nation, whose native country is a portion of the +borders of the upper river in the neighbourhood of Nauta, in Peru. +The Cucámas speak the Tupí language, using, however, +a harsher accent than is common amongst the semi-civilised Indians +from Ega downwards. They are a shrewd, hard-working 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 Cucámas 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 remarked on with +surprise by the Brazilians. The first possession 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 sixpence a day, which is often paid in goods +charged one hundred per cent above Pará prices, so that it +takes them a long time to fill their chest. +</p> + +<p> +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 <i>espia</i>, or oars, until almost midnight; in +the third and fourth quarters they were allowed to go to sleep soon +after sunset, and were 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 <i>espia</i>, trotting with bare feet on the sloppy +deck in Indian file to the tune of some wild boatman’s +chorus. We had a favorable wind for only two days 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 <i>remanso</i> 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 +themselves 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 phlegmatic, apathetic +temperament, coldness of desire and deadness of feeling, want of +curiosity and slowness of intellect, make the Amazonian Indians +very uninteresting companions 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, or +enthusiasm. These are characteristics of the whole race. The good +fellowship of our Cucámas 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 labor 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, “Timaá +ichoquá,”—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 Tupí language, at least as taught by +the old Jesuits, has a word—Tupána—signifying +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 +the case with the Indian in his natural state. Would a community 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 subsistence, and without a +written language, or a leisured class to hand down acquired +knowledge from generation to generation? +</p> + +<p> +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 +besides 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 Tupí language during the voyage. +</p> + +<p> +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 provision, nothing but stale, salt +pirarucú—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 +ourselves 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 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 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 something 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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. Sometimes 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 Urucurí palm (Attalea excelsa), which grew by the +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 immense 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 Urucurí plums. I am not sure they were not the cause of +a severe indigestion under which I suffered for many days +afterwards. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig23"></a> +<img src="images/fig23.jpg" width="191" height="469" alt="Bulging-stemmed Palm: Pashiúba barrigudo (Iriartea ventricosa)." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 Cecropiæ. 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 Marantaceæ +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 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, undulating, 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 variegated 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 Bacába-í +(Œnocarpus minor), being especially characteristic; and, in +short, animal life, which imparts some cheerfulness 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 +originally peopled by the aborigines, but these have long since +become extinct or amalgamated with the white immigrants. I +afterwards learned that there were not more than eighteen or twenty +families settled throughout the whole country from +Manacápurú to Quary, a distance of 240 miles; and +these, as before observed, do not live on the banks of the main +stream, but on the shores of inlets and lakes. +</p> + +<p> +The fishermen twice brought me small rounded pieces of very +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 transportation +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 occasional +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 distribution 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 awakened 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 breathlessly 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 destruction 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 landslip extended, was a mile or two in +length; the end of it, however, was hidden 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 +glided out of sight, two hours after sunrise, the destruction was +still going on. +</p> + +<p> +On the 22nd we threaded the Paraná-mirim of +Arauána-í, one of the numerous narrow bywaters which +lie conveniently for canoes away from the main river, and often +save a considerable circuit around a promontory or island. We rowed +for half a mile through a magnificent bed of Victoria waterlilies, +the flower-buds of which were just beginning to expand. Beyond the +mouth of the Catuá, 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 sometimes 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. +</p> + +<p> +In the evening we arrived at a narrow opening, which would be +taken by a stranger navigating the main channel for the cutlet of +some insignificant stream: it was the mouth of the Teffé, 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 unspeakably refreshing to +find one’s-self again in a dark-water river, smooth as a +lake, and free from Pium and Motúca. 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 +worthwhile 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 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? +</p> + +<p> +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 Teffé. 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 Teffé, 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, +according to custom, in token of our safe arrival, and shortly +afterwards went ashore. +</p> + +<p> +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, 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 succeeding 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 opportunity occurs rarely +enough. +</p> + +<p> +Leaving these agreeable new acquaintances to finish their +breakfast, we next called on the Director of the Indians of the +Japura, Senhor José Chrysostomo Monteiro, a thin wiry +Mameluco, 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 protection 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. We finished our rounds by paying our respects to a +venerable native merchant, Senhor 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, +enterprising 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, consequently, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +vegetable oil; rats and mice were kept from them by inverted <i> +cuyas</i>, 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 outside air, and +sometimes the rain as well, entered freely through gaps at the top +of the walls under the eaves and through wide 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 drawing. 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, and especially insects. +</p> + +<p> +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 naive 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 productions 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; <i> +that</i> 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 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 +amusement 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 extraordinary 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 pertinacity; 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 by time, increased until it +became almost insupportable. I was obliged, at last, to come to the +conclusion that the contemplation 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 <i>Athenæum</i>, +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 +barefoot, a great inconvenience in tropical forests, +notwithstanding 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 Pará, 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 Pará in the year 1851. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 Pará 1400 miles distant, as the +capital of the then undivided province. In 1852, with the creation +of the new province of the Amazons, it became a city; returned its +members to the provincial parliament at Barra; had it assizes, its +resident judges, and rose to be the chief town of the <i> +comarca</i> 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, +however, 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! +</p> + +<p> +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 neighbourhood 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 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 afterwards 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 Pará 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 meeting 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 José +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 headquarters +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 recollected, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 householder, 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 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 represent 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 +government 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 in 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. +</p> + +<p> +The way in which the coloured races act under the conditions of +free citizenship is a very interesting subject. Brazilian statesmen +seem to have abandoned the idea, if they ever entertained 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, however, 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 themselves 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. 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 1811, 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, sometimes become enterprising and versatile people. +</p> + +<p> +Many of the Ega Indians, including all the domestic servants, +are savages who have been brought from the neighbouring rivers; the +Japurá, the Issá, 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 place, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 the Jurís and +Passés: these are now, however, nearly extinct, a few +families only remaining on the banks of the retired creeks +connected with the Teffé, and on other branch rivers between +the Teffé and the Jutahí. 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 Passés, 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 Jurís and +Passés; the first question the poor, patient Indians now put +to an advancing canoe is, “Do you bring defluxo?” +</p> + +<p> +My assistant, José, 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 +Japurá 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 +Parárauátes 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; his +hands and feet were small and delicately formed. Soon after his +arrival, finding 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, 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 Pará, 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 dullness of feeling and poverty of thought of the Indian; he +had, nevertheless, very keen perceptions, and was quick at learning +any mechanical art. José, 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’ teaching he came to me one day with radiant +countenance and showed me a gold ring of his own making. +</p> + +<p> +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 Miránha 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 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 “Caríwa” +(white man), the only word of Tupí she seemed to know. It +was inexpressibly touching 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 +Miránha 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 +Miránhas 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. +</p> + +<p> +It is remarkable how quickly the savages of the various nations, +which each have their own, to all appearance, widely different +language, learn Tupí 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 <i>after</i> +the noun, making it, in fact, a <i>post</i>-position, thus: +“He is come the village <i>from</i>;” “Go him <i> +with</i>, the plantation <i>to</i>,” 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 contribute to the case 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 Miránhas on +the Japurá, and with the Collínas on the +Jurúa; whilst Tupí is spoken with little corruption +along the banks of the main Amazons for a distance Of 2500 miles. +The purity of Tupí 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 inflexibility 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 +intermarriages 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 temperature better than the +original inhabitants of the country; I always found I could myself +bear exposure to the sun or unusually 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 together. They bathe many times a day, but do not plunge in +the water, taking merely a <i>sitz-bath</i>, 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 constitution was not originally adapted, and has not since +become perfectly adapted, to the climate. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +Almost every unusual event, independent of saints’ days, +is made the occasion of a holiday by the sociable, easy-going +people of the white and Mameluco classes; funerals, christenings, +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 headdress 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 loquacious, 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 use of his tongue, and gives the +minutest details of some little dispute which he had with his +master years ago, and which everyone 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 compared whose state of culture and conditions of life are +pretty nearly the same. +</p> + +<p> +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 singing, 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 framework. One enacts the part of +the Caypór, a kind of sylvan deity similar to the +Curupíra which I have before mentioned. The belief in this +being seems to be common to all the tribes of the Tupí +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 considered 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 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 +performances 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 uneducated 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, 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 <i>sarapatel</i>, which is +generally boiled in the concave upper shell of the animal used as a +kettle. The tender flesh 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 Tucupí 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 captivity but a very +few days, although placed in the same ponds in which the large +turtle keeps well for two or three years. +</p> + +<p> +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 salmonidæ, 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 Tucupí, 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 when 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 wholesome, 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 (Ramphastos 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. +</p> + +<p> +We sometimes had fresh bread at Ega made from American flour +brought from Pará, 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 consequently 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 +Pará, 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 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig24"></a> +<img src="images/fig24.jpg" width="106" height="105" alt="Uikí Fruit." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 <i>Jabutí-púhe</i>, 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 +Cumá (Collophora sp.) of which there are two species, not +unlike in appearance, 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 Jabutí-púhe. The Cumá +tree is of moderate height, and grows rather plentifully in the +more elevated and drier situations. A third kind is the +Pamá, which is a stone fruit, similar in colour and +appearance to the cherry but 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 Umarí +and the Wishí: 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 Purumá (Puruma cecropiæfolia, +Martius), a round juicy berry, growing in large bunches and +resembling grapes in taste. Another smaller kind, called +Purumá-i, grows wild in the forest close to Ega, and has not +yet been planted. The most singular of all these fruits is the +Uikí, 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. <i> +Mingua</i> (porridge) of bananas flavoured and coloured with +Uikí is a favourite dish at Ega. The fruit, like most of the +others here mentioned, ripens in January. Many smaller fruits such +as Wajurú (probably a species of Achras), the size of a +gooseberry, which grows singly and contains a sweet gelatinous +pulp, enclosing two large, shining black seeds; +Cashipári-arapaá, an oblong scarlet berry; two kinds +of Bacurí, the Bacurí-siúma and the B. +curúa, sour fruits of a bright lemon colour when ripe, and a +great number of others, are of less importance as articles of +food. +</p> + +<p> +The celebrated “Peach palm,” <i>Pupunha</i> of the +Tupí 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 +Tucumá, 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 +Pará 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 Pará 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig25"></a> +<img src="images/fig25.jpg" width="215" height="448" alt="Pupunha Palm." /> +</div> + +<p> +The seasons in the Upper Amazons region offer some points of +difference from those of the lower river and the district of +Pará, which two sections of the country we have already seen +also differ considerably. The year at Ega is divided according 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 regulated by these yearly recurring phenomena. The +peculiarity of this upper region consists 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, confined during the dry periods +to their ordinary beds, gradually swell and overflow 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 migrate north to the upper +waters of the tributaries which flow from that direction, 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 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 which the Brazil nut and +wild cacao ripen, and many persons go out to gather these harvests, +remaining absent generally throughout 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +The fine season begins with a few days of brilliant +weather—furious, hot sun, with passing clouds. Idle men and +women, tired of the dullness and confinement of the flood season, +begin to report, on returning from their morning bath, the +cessation of the flow: <i>as agoas estao paradas</i>, “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 sandpipers and gulls, which latter make known the advent +of the fine season, as the cuckoo does of the European spring; +uttering 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. +</p> + +<p> +The fall continues to the middle of October, with the +interruption of a partial rise called “repiquet” of a +few inches in the midst of very dry weather in September, caused by +the 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. Everyone 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +The second dry season comes on in January, and lasts throughout +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 +Umarí, “Veraó do Umarí,” 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 otherwise uniformly +sweltering climate. This is caused by the continuance 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 Pará. 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 themselves up with the warmest clothing they can +get (blankets are here unknown), and shutting themselves indoors +with a charcoal 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 inactive. +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. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap11"></a>Chapter XI.<br/> +EXCURSIONS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF EGA</h2> + +<p class="letter">The River Teffé — Rambles through +Groves on the Beach — Excursion to the House of a +Passé Chieftain — Character and Customs of the +Passé 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. +</p> + +<p class="first">I will now proceed to give some account of the +more interesting 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 communicates +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 southwest. The upper part of the river Teffé 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 necessary number of Indian paddlers could not be +obtained. I knew only one person who had ascended the Teffé +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 Catauishís, a people who perforate their lips +all round, and wear rows of slender sticks in the holes: their +territory lies between the Purús and the Juruá, +embracing both shores of the Teffé. A large, navigable +stream, the Bararuá, enters the lake from the west, about +thirty miles above Ega; the breadth 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 Teffé +proper, a narrow river with a strong current, forms its head +water. +</p> + +<p> +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 hummingbirds. 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 congregated 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +On the 23rd of May, 1850, I visited, in company with Antonio +Cardozo, the Delegado, a family of the Passé tribe, who live +near the head waters of the Igarapé, which flows from the +south into the Teffé, 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 river 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-uassú (Peter the Great, or Tall Peter), an old +chieftain or Tushaúa of the Passés. +</p> + +<p> +We set out at sunrise, in a small igarité, 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 sipós dangled +from the lower branches; bunches of grass, tillandsiæ, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, especially those of palms, close beneath their +crowns, were clothed with a thick 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 sipó, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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, however, +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 godfather to a grandchild of +Pedro-uassú, 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. +</p> + +<p> +As we landed, Pedro-uassú 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 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 +complimentary. 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-uassú 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 also had 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 doorways, 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 <i>guarápa</i> (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 of full-grown +Pupúnhas, 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 +Passés, but I believe it is also practised by other tribes, +for I saw several in the houses of semi-civilised Indians on the +Tapajos. +</p> + +<p> +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 <i>compadre.</i> The old woman was occupied, when +we entered, in distilling spirits from cará, an edible 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 tucúm 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-uassú, and Cardozo now began a long +conversation on the subject of their deceased wife, daughter, and +<i>comadre.</i><a href="#fn11.1" name="fnref11.1" id="fnref11.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +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 <i>cauím</i> (grog) had a good deal to do with the flow of talk +and warmth of feeling of all three; the widower drank and wailed until he +became maundering, and finally fell asleep. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn11.1" id="fn11.1"></a> <a href="#fnref11.1">[1]</a> +Co-mother; the term expressing the relationship of a mother to the godfather of +her child. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig26"></a> +<img src="images/fig26.jpg" width="390" height="103" alt="Blow-gun, quiver, and arrow." /> +</div> + +<p> +I left them talking, and took 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 <i>Zarabatana</i>, or blow-gun. This instrument is +used by all the Indian tribes on the Upper Amazons. It is 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 Páca and Cutía. The +two half tubes, when finished, are secured together by a very close +and tight spirally-wound strapping, consisting of long flat strips +of Jacitára, 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 +<i>Zarabatana</i> 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 Jurí Indian, +then 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 samaüma silk (from the seed-vessels +of the silk-cotton tree, Eriodendron samauma), cotton being too +heavy. The ball of samauma 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 Urarí poison. The quiver was an ornamental affair, the +broad rim being made of highly-polished wood of a rich cherry-red +colour (the Moira-piránga, or redwood of the Japurá). +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. +</p> + +<p> +We walked about two miles along a well-trodden pathway, through +high caapoeira (second-growth forest). A large proportion of the +trees were Melastomas, which bore a hairy yellow 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 Lycopodiums. 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 +Pará. 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 caäpoeira of various ages, the sites of old +plantations. The only fruits of our ramble were a few rare insects +and a Japú (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 Japurá. 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 Urarí, and of an expedition +undertaken in search of the tree in Guiana, has been given by Sir +Robert Schomburgk.<a href="#fn11.2" name="fnref11.2" id="fnref11.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn11.2" id="fn11.2"></a> <a href="#fnref11.2">[2]</a> +<i>Annals and Magazine of Natural History,</i> vol. vii. p. 411. +</p> + +<p> +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 full of grog in +his hands; his broad honest face all of a glow, and the +perspiration streaming down his uncovered breast, the unbuttoned +shirt having slipped half-way over his broad shoulders. +Pedro-uassú had not drunk much; he was noted, as I +afterwards learned, 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 tupé, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The horde of Passés of which Pedro-uassú was +Tushaúa 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 had also 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 +Caríwas (whites), but before my grandchildren are old like +me the name of Passé will be forgotten.” In so far as +the Passés 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 large extent, for Passés 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 cast +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 Yurimaúas, or +Sorimóas, from which the river Solimoens derives its name, +according to traditions extant at Ega, resembled the Passés +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 Passés existed in their primitive state on the banks of +the Issá, 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 Japurá, 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 Japurá and its extensive delta lands formed the +original home of this gentle tribe of Indians. +</p> + +<p> +The Passés 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 +Passés, 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, +consequently, 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. +</p> + +<p> +Very little is known of the original customs of the +Passés. The mode of life of our host Pedro-uassú did +not differ much from that of the civilised Mamelucos; but he and +his people 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 Tushaúas, 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 Passés 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 punishments, +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 Passés from some early missionary or traveller. I +never found that the Passés 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 Passés 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, and masterful as the +Mundurucús, but they are more easily taught, because their +disposition is more yielding than that of the Mundurucús or +any other tribe. +</p> + +<p> +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 adios: “Ikuána Tupána eirúm” +(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 disregarding the +inconvenience of having to bend down almost every minute to pass +under the boughs of hanging sipós 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 overboard +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. 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. +</p> + +<p> +A few months after the excursion just narrated, I accompanied +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 sandbanks, having been elected commandante for the year by the +municipal council of Ega, of the “praia real” (royal +sand-island) of Shimuní, 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 collecting eggs and extracting +oil from their yolks. Each has its commander, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 igarité, arranged for ten paddlers, and having +a large arched toldo at the stern under which three persons could +sleep pretty comfortably. Emerging from the Teffé we +descended rapidly on the swift current of the Solimoens to the +south-eastern or lower end of the large wooded island of +Bariá, which here divides the river into two great channels. +We then paddled across to Shimuní, which lies in the middle +of the north-easterly channel, reaching the commencement of the +praia an hour before sunset. The island proper is 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 sandbank, 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, Shimuní and Bariá, is not +much less than a mile. +</p> + +<p> +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 sandbank. The men, during +this time, take care not to show themselves 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 sandbank, 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. +</p> + +<p> +One of the sentinels was a taciturn, morose-looking, but sober +and honest Indian, named Daniel; the other was a noted character of +Ega, a little wiry Mameluco, named Carepíra (Fish-hawk); +known for his waggery, propensity for strong drink, and +indebtedness to Ega traders. Both were intrepid canoemen and +huntsmen, and both perfectly at home anywhere in these fearful +wastes of forest and water. Carepíra 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 Cardozo and I 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 +Carepíra’s stories. +</p> + +<p> +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 prevision. 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 corner, 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 <i>taboleiro</i>) over which they have excavated is +distinguishable from the rest of the praia only by signs of the +sand having been a little disturbed. +</p> + +<p> +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 morning. The sky was +cloudless; the just-risen sun was hidden behind the dark mass of +woods on Shimuní, but the long line of forest to the west, +on Bariá, 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 drying 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +I spent the morning of the 27th collecting insects in the woods +of Shimuní; and assisted my friend in the afternoon to beat +a large pool for Tracajás, 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, Tracajás, +and Aiyussás.<a href="#fn11.3" name="fnref11.3" id="fnref11.3"><sup>[3]</sup></a> +The turtles and Aiyussás crawl out voluntarily in the course of a few days, and +escape to the main river, but the Tracajás remain and become an easy prey to +the natives. The ordinary mode of obtaining them is to whip the water in every +part with rods for several hours during the day; 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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn11.3" id="fn11.3"></a> <a href="#fnref11.3">[3]</a> +Specimens of this species of turtle are named in the British Museum collection, +<i>Podocnemis expansa.</i> +</p> + +<p> +We did not succeed, after all our trouble, in getting many +Tracajás. 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 +grasping 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 +lá?” (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 +Tracajás; 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Tracajás. 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 Japurá. We travelled for five hours +along the desolate, broken, timber-strewn shore of Bariá. +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 Teffé by a broad transverse channel +running between Bariá and another island called +Quanarú. There is a small sand-bank at the north-westerly +point of Bariá, called Jacaré; we stayed here to dine +and afterwards 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 Piraepiéüa (species of Pimelodus), very +handsome fishes, four feet in length, with flat spoon-shaped heads, +and prettily-spotted and striped skins. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig27"></a> +<img src="images/fig27.jpg" width="373" height="173" alt="Surubin (Pimelodus tigrinus.)" /> +</div> + +<p> +On our way from Jacaré to the mouth of the Teffé +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 “Ecuí +Jauareté; Jauarípixúna!” (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 retracing 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 BB 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 <i>restingas</i> 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 that night. +</p> + +<p> +On the 6th of October we left Ega on a second excursion; the +principal object of Cardozo being, this time, to search certain +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 Shimuní 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 disagreeably, and shipped a great deal of water. On +passing the lower end of Shimuní, a long reach of the river +was before us, undivided by islands; a magnificent expanse of water +stretching 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 Japurá. +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 Japurá, or at least, are connected with that river by +means of the interior water-system of the Cupiyó. This +inhospitable tract of country extends for several hundred miles, +and contains 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 Shimuní, and a short distance from the +mouth of the Ananá, one of the channels just alluded to as +connected with the Japurá. After travelling for three hours +in midstream 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 disembarked 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Matupá. 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 palisade. Around the whole stood the +taller forest trees; palmate-leaved Cecropiæ 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Sirirí; 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 +marksmen preferred a longish range, because the arrow then fell +more perpendicularly on the shell and entered it more deeply. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig28"></a> +<img src="images/fig28.jpg" width="84" height="475" alt="Arrow used in turtle shooting." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 +pineapple 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, humouring +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Matupá, 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 showing +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 +enclosure, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 migrate with +their elders on the sinking of the waters, but remain in the tepid +pools, fattening on fallen fruits, and, according 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 Capitarí0s, 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 unwholesome, especially to sick people having +external signs of inflammation. 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 Capitarí is settled by unanimous consent as +belonging to the “hot” list. +</p> + +<p> +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 waterside, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Miránha, +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 overcome, 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 +Jacaré-uassú of the Amazonian Indians (Jacare +nigra). +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +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. I saw only +three, and of these two only are common: one, the +Jacaré-tinga, a small kind (five feet long when full grown), +having a long slender muzzle and a black-banded tail; the other, +the Jacaré-uassú, to which these remarks more +especially relate and the third the Jacaré-curúa, +mentioned in a former chapter. The Jacaré-uassú, 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig29"></a> +<img src="images/fig29.jpg" width="391" height="266" alt="Turtle fishing and adventure with alligator." /> +</div> + +<p> +The natives at once despise and fear the great cayman. I once +spent a month at Caiçara, a small village of semi-civilised +Indians, about twenty miles to the west of Ega. My entertainer, the +only white in the place, and one of my best and most constant +friends, Senhor Innocencio Alves Faria, one day proposed 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 number of the reptiles of different ages +and sizes, some of them Jacaré-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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Caiçara, 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 appearance 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 whilst 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 +everyone 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 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 Jesús!” 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 upon 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Shimuní would commence on the 17th of +October, and on Catuá, sixty miles below Shimuní, on +the 25th. We set out on the 16th, and passed on the road, in our +well-manned igarité, a large number of people, men, women, +and children in canoes of all sizes, wending their way as if to a +great holiday gathering. By the morning of the 17th, some 400 +persons were assembled on the borders of the sand-bank; 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 down 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 defraying the expense of sentinels. The +whole were then allowed to go to the taboleiro. They arranged +themselves around 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 animating sight to behold the wide circle of rival +diggers throwing 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 midday, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 discoverable +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. +</p> + +<p> +The destruction of turtle eggs every year by these proceedings +is enormous. At least 6000 jars, holding each three gallons of the +oil, are exported annually from the Upper Amazons and the Madeira +to Pará, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +We left Shimuní on the 20th with quite a flotilla of +canoes, and descended the river to Catuá, an eleven +hours’ journey by paddle and current. Catuá 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. Carepíra 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 companions for several days after +this mishap. Such accidents are only laughed at by this almost +amphibious people. +</p> + +<p> +The number of persons congregated on Catuá was much +greater than on Shimuní, 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 +Shumánas, good-tempered, harmless people from the Lower +Japurá. All of them were tattooed around 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 Passés of +Perdo-uassú’s family; but their features deviated +quite as much as those of the Passés 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, extremely 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. +</p> + +<p> +It was not all work at Catuá; 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 subscribing 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +The favourite sport was the Pira-purasséya, 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, singing 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 succeeds 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. +Tupí 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 Jarakí (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 Blanca, or the +white rose; a young fellow who had recently singed his eyebrows by +the explosion of fireworks, was dubbed Pedro queimado (burnt +Peter); in short every one got a nickname, and each time the +cognomen was introduced into the chorus as the circle marched +round. +</p> + +<p> +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 Shimuní, 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; catching 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig30"></a> +<img src="images/fig30.jpg" width="386" height="266" alt="Night adventure with alligator." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 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 necessary +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. +</p> + +<p> +The young men made several hunting excursions during the +fourteen days of our stay on Catuá, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The first, which was made to the interior of the wooded island +of Catuá, 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 cashaça 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 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 footmarks of jaguars on the sand. +</p> + +<p> +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 <i>restinga</i>, 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig31"></a> +<img src="images/fig31.jpg" width="218" height="278" alt="Umbrella Bird." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 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 (Catagramma Peristera, male and +female) were settled on the smooth, white trunks of these trees. I +had also here the great pleasure 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 +skinning specimens) with an unusual development of the trachea and +vocal organs, to which the bird doubtless owes its singularly deep, +loud, and long-sustained fluty note. The Indian name of this +strange creature is Uirá-mimbéu, or fife-bird,<a href="#fn11.4" name="fnref11.4" id="fnref11.4"><sup>[4]</sup></a> +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 altogether than the +male. The range of this bird appears to be quite confined to the plains of the +Upper Amazons (especially the Ygapó forests), not having been found to the east +of the Rio Negro. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn11.4" id="fn11.4"></a> <a href="#fnref11.4">[4]</a> +Mimbéu is the Indian name for a rude kind of pan-pipes used by the +Caishânas and other tribes. +</p> + +<p> +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 companions of the other +division to join us at midday, 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 previously), 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, having wrapped the cool leaves +of Heliconiæ 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 waterside from the place where we then stood +was not difficult, as a thick bed of a flowering shrub, called +tintarána, 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 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. Everyone enjoys the +most lusty health whilst living this free and wild life on the +rivers. +</p> + +<p> +The other hunting trip which I have alluded to was undertaken in +company with three friendly young half-castes. Two of them were +brothers, namely, Joao (John) and Zephyrino Jabutí: +Jabutí, 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 +José 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. +</p> + +<p> +Our proposed hunting-ground on this occasion lay across the +water, about fifteen miles distant. We set out in a small montaria, +at four o’clock in the morning, again leaving the encampment +asleep, and travelled at a good pace up the northern channel of the +Solimoens, or that lying between the island Catuá 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 +Carapanatúba,<a href="#fn11.5" name="fnref11.5" id="fnref11.5"><sup>[5]</sup></a> +a channel some 150 yards in width, which, like the Ananá already mentioned, +communicates with the Cupiyó. 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 +Tambakí, 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, producing 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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn11.5" id="fn11.5"></a> <a href="#fnref11.5">[5]</a> +Meaning, in Tupí, the river of many mosquitoes: from carapaná, mosquito, and +itúba, many. +</p> + +<p> +We ran ashore in a most lonely and gloomy place, on a low +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 Jabutí 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 considering 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. +</p> + +<p> +The tract of forest through which we passed was Ygapó, +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 Jauarí, 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 remarkable tree was +the Assacú (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 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 Assacú +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. +</p> + +<p> +After walking about half a mile we came upon a dry watercourse, +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 discovery 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 Jacarétinga). 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 +carcase; 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 +Ygapó forests by rubbing together two eggs in this way, she +being never far off, and attracted by the sounds. +</p> + +<p> +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 +“Jararáca!” This is the name of a poisonous +snake (genus Craspedocephalus), 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 us: +Frazao killed it with a charge of shot, shattering it completely, +and destroying, to my regret, its value as a specimen. In +conversing on the subject of Jararácas as we walked onwards, +every one of the party was ready to swear that this snake attacks +man without provocation, leaping towards him from a considerable +distance when he approaches. I met, in the course of my daily +rambles in the woods, many Jararácas, 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 Jararácas 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 movements 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 (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 sipós, and hung them on the +trees to await our return later in the day. +</p> + +<p> +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 completely 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 approaching its +banks. My friends made an arrangement on the spot for returning to +this pool, after the termination of the egg harvest on +Catuá. +</p> + +<p> +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. José 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 topmost 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 +screaming to the ground. 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 confervæ or traces of oil revealing animal +decomposition on the surface of these waters, nor was there ever +any foul smell perceptible. 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! +</p> + +<p> +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 Mongúba 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 disinterestedness +in negro slaves or half-castes. We had to wait two hours for the +return of our companions; during part of this time I 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 Quandú, 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 resembled very much those of the gecko lizards. The bird +was kept as a pet in Jabutí’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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +everyone at Catuá 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 Catuá, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The excavation of eggs and preparation of the oil being +finished, we left Catuá on the 3rd of November. +Carepíra, 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 +Shumána family also joined the party; we therefore, formed a +large body, numbering in all eight canoes and fifty persons. +</p> + +<p> +The summer season was now breaking up; the river was rising; the +sky was almost constantly clouded, and we had 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 Catuá 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 +burned for a few minutes, the flame was extinguished and each one +helped himself by dipping a tea-cup into the vessel. +</p> + +<p> +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, 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 morning I +had a ramble along the borders of the jungle, and found the tracks +very numerous and close together on the sandy soil. +</p> + +<p> +We remained in this neighbourhood four days, and succeeded in +obtaining many hundred turtles, but we were obliged to sleep two +nights within the Carapanatúba 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 discomfort, +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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Catuá, 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 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 mosquitoes; 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. +</p> + +<p> +The weather cleared up at ten o’clock a.m. At three p.m. +we arrived at the mouth of the Cayambé, 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 Cayambé 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 +Tamburí-parás 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 igarité at sunset, and then made all +speed to Curubarú, 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 morning that fish was beginning to be +scarce. Cardozo and his friends talked quite gloomily at breakfast +time over the departure of the joyous <i>verao</i>, and the setting +in of the dull, hungry winter season. +</p> + +<p> +At nine o’clock in the morning of the 10th 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 Bariá and the mainland on the south bank. The +wind carried us right into the mouth of the Teffé and at +four o’clock p.m. we cast anchor in the port of Ega. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap12"></a>Chapter XII.<br/> +ANIMALS OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF EGA</h2> + +<p class="letter">Scarlet-faced Monkeys — Parauacú +Monkey — Owl-faced Night-apes — Marmosets — +Jupurá — Bats — Birds — Cuvier’s +Toucan — Curl-crested Toucan — Insects — +Pendulous Cocoons — Foraging Ants — Blind Ants. +</p> +<p class="first">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 +learned 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Scarlet-faced Monkeys.</i>—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 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, meeting under the chin, and +reddish-yellow eyes. These red-faced apes belonged to a species +called by the Indians Uakarí, 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig32"></a> +<img src="images/fig32.jpg" width="261" height="435" alt="Scarlet-faced and Parauacú Monkeys." /> +</div> + +<p> +The scarlet-faced monkey belongs, in all essential points of +structure, to the same family (Cebidæ) 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 +specimens arrived in Europe, that the member had been shortened +artificially. Nevertheless, the Uakarí 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 Cebidæ (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 Uakarí having it much shorter than +usual. All the Cebidæ, 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 habits, as it is in the +Macaques and Baboons of the Old World. It differs a little from +the typical Cebidæ 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. +</p> + +<p> +The white Uakarí (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. Individuals are +obtained alive by shooting them with the blow-pipe and arrows +tipped with diluted Urarí poison. They run a considerable +distance after being pierced, and it requires an experienced +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 specimens which formed +his unique and princely gift. When an independent hunter obtains +one, a very high price (thirty to forty milreis<a href="#fn12.1" name="fnref12.1" id="fnref12.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a>) +is asked, these monkeys being in great demand for presents to persons of +influence down the river. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn12.1" id="fn12.1"></a> <a href="#fnref12.1">[1]</a> +Three pounds seven shillings to four pounds thirteen shillings. +</p> + +<p> +Adult Uakarís, caught in the way just described, very +rarely become tame. They are peevish and sulky, resisting all +attempts to coax them, and biting anyone 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. 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. +</p> + +<p> +After seeing much of the morose disposition of the +Uakarí, 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, turning 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. +</p> + +<p> +The Uakarí is one of the many species of animals which +are classified by the Brazilians as “mortál,” +or of delicate constitution, in contradistinction to those which +are “duro,” or hardy. A large proportion of the +specimens sent from Ega die before arriving at Pará, and +scarcely one in a dozen succeeds in reaching Rio Janeiro alive. +The difficulty it has of accommodating 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 Uakarí, 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 morning, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Parauacú Monkey.</i>—Another Ega monkey, nearly +related to the Uakarís, is the Parauacú (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 Parauacú 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 Teffé, 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 Parauacú +is also a very delicate animal, rarely living many weeks in +captivity; but any one who succeeds 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, whilst he was at work on his board. +Nevertheless, it showed 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 +Coaitá has perhaps the most gentle and impressible +disposition; but the Parauacú, 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 Parauacú +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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Owl-faced Night Apes.</i>—A third interesting genus of +monkeys found near Ega, are the Nyctipitheci, or night apes, +called Ei-á 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +I kept a pet animal of the N. trivirgatus for many months, a +young one having been given to me by an Indian <i>compadre</i>, 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 everyone, from the cleanliness of its habits to 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-á 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 pet was killed +by a jealous Caiarára monkey, which was kept in the house +at the same time. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Barrigudo Monkeys.</i>—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 Parárauáte 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 +Coaitás, 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 Coaitás. Owing to these traits, +the Barrigudo is much sought after for pets; but it is not hardy +like the Coaitás, and seldom survives a passage down the +river to Pará. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Marmosets.</i>—It now only remains to notice the Marmosets, +which form the second family of American monkeys. Our old friend +Midas ursulus, of Pará 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 +around, 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 exception 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 pygmæus, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Jupurá.</i>—A curious animal, known to +naturalists as the Kinkajou, but called Jupurá by the +Indians of the Amazons, and considered by them as a kind of +monkey, may be mentioned 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 +relationship 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 Teffé 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 Ygapó shores of the Teffé, +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 Cajú 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 Jupurás, 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 confidence it showed 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 to the natives, that I was unable +to procure a second living specimen. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Bats.</i>—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 themselves +by day under the broad leaf-blades of Heliconiæ 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Vampire Bat.</i>—The little grey blood-sucking +Phyllostoma, mentioned in a former chapter as found in my chamber +at Caripí, 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 countenance 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 neighbours. I opened the stomachs of several +of these bats, and found them to contain a mass of pulp and seeds +of fruits, mingled with a few remains of insects. The natives say +they devour ripe cajús 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 +abides in the woods. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Birds.</i>—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 newcomer 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 frugivorous 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 proceedings of these associated bands +of insect-hunters are not a little curious, and merit a few +remarks. +</p> + +<p> +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 Dendrocolaptidæ +(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 visit every clayey +nest of termites on the trees which lie in 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 associated 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 +Uirá-pará, which fascinates all the rest, and leads +them a weary dance through the thickets. There is certainly some +appearance 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 inhabitants of the towns, attach a superstitious value +to the skin and feathers of the Uirá-pará, 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 Uirá-pará, I gave up the +story as a piece of humbug. The simplest explanation appears to be +this: the birds associate in flocks from the instinct of +self-preservation in order to be a less easy prey to hawks, +snakes, and other enemies than they would be if feeding alone. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Toucans.—Cuvier’s Toucan.</i>—Of this family of +birds, so conspicuous 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 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 Tocáno, +Tocáno, 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 underwood, 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 Ygapó 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 +everyone 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 <i>virtuosi</i> of the 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<a href="#fn12.2" name="fnref12.2" id="fnref12.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a>), +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 wading bird. +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 +remasticating 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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn12.2" id="fn12.2"></a> <a href="#fnref12.2">[2]</a> +<i>Capitoninæ</i>, G. R. Gray. +</p> + +<p> +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 corresponding +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 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 surrounding +trees, darting off, as if with an effort, every time they wish to +seize a mouthful, and returning to the same perch. Barbets +(Capitoninæ) 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 disadvantage 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 intelligence and +confiding disposition under domestication, in which qualities my +pet seemed to be almost equal to parrots. I allowed Tocáno +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, 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 +troublesome. We tried to shut him out by enclosing him in the +backyard, 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 +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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig33"></a> +<img src="images/fig33.jpg" width="260" height="171" alt="Curl-crested Toucan." /> +</div> + +<p> +<i>The Curl-crested Toucan (Pteroglossus Beauharnaisii).</i>—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 +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 +Arassarís, 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 croaking 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig34"></a> +<img src="images/fig34.jpg" width="242" height="403" alt="Adventure with Curl-crested Toucans." /> +</div> + +<p> +<i>Insects.</i>—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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig35"></a> +<img src="images/fig35.jpg" width="307" height="474" alt="Suspended cocoon of Moth." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 the +vegetation, the varied nature of the land, the perennial warmth +and humidity of the climate. But no description can convey an +adequate notion of the beauty and diversity in form and colour of +this class of insects in the neighbourhood of Ega. I paid special +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 modifications which all species undergo in +nature, under changed local conditions. This accidental +superiority is owing partly to the simplicity and distinctness 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 breathing 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 conditions to +which the species are exposed. It may be said, therefore, that on +these expanded membranes 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 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig36"></a> +<img src="images/fig36.jpg" width="308" height="306" alt="Sack-bearing Caterpillar (Saccophora)." /> +</div> + +<p> +Before proceeding to describe the ants, a few remarks may be +made on the singular cases and cocoons woven by the caterpillars +of certain moths found at Ega. The first that may be mentioned is +one of the most beautiful examples of insect workmanship 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 slatey colour, and belongs to the Lithosiide group of the +silk-worm family (Bombycidæ). 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 Melastoniæ, and as in crawling, the weight of +so large a dwelling would be greater than the contained +caterpillar could sustain, the insect attaches the case by one or +more threads to the leaves or twigs near which it is feeding. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Foraging Ants.</i>—Many confused statements have been +published in books of travel, and copied in Natural History works, +regarding these ants, which appear to have been confounded with +the Saüba, a sketch of whose habits has been given in the +first chapter of this work. The Saüba 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 +foraging ants, a totally different group of this tribe of insects. +The Ecitons are called Tauóca 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. +</p> + +<p> +Like many other ants, the communities of Ecitons are composed, +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 separation 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 in the habits of the Eciton genus is their hunting for +prey in regular bodies, or armies. It is this which chiefly +distinguishes 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Eciton rapax.</i>—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, 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 defenseless 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Eciton legionis.</i>—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 respect, 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 disturbed, 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 to watch 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 +larvæ and pupæ 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 around the +orifices of the mines, some assisting their comrades to lift out +the bodies of the Formicæ, 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 +Formicæ, with grubs and cocoons, which the Ecitons were thus +invading, at a depth of about eight inches from the surface. The +eager freebooters rushed in as fast as I excavated, and seized the +ants in my fingers as I picked them out, so that I had some +difficulty in rescuing a few intact 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 +carrying 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 conveyors of the +spoil. +</p> + +<p> +In about two hours, all the nests of Formicæ 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 +constructed 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 +therefore, in the middle of the base of the stony hillock. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Eciton drepanophora.</i>—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 +intermingle, 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, a distinct +separation of classes, individuals existing which connect 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig37"></a> +<img src="images/fig37.jpg" width="339" height="224" alt="Foraging ants (Eciton drepanophora)." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 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 “Tauóca!” 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 their 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, larvæ 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 ascertained 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 larvæ, a delay takes place, and a very strong force +of ants is concentrated 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 larvæ, pupæ, 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. Sometimes two ants join together in carrying +one piece, but the worker-majors, with their unwieldy and +distorted jaws, are 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; whenever the Ecitons were seen, they were always on +the march. +</p> + +<p> +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 ascending 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 +along 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 antennæ; 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 +disturbance 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 larvæ of their own colony, but afterwards +found reason to conclude were the grubs of some other species +whose nests they had been plundering, the procession being most +likely not a migration, but a column on a marauding expedition. +</p> + +<p> +The position of the large-headed individuals in the marching +column was rather curious. There was one of these extraordinary +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 of +soldiers. It was easy to be tolerably exact in this observation, +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 considered 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 community, 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 possible 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 ascertain whether this was really the +fact. +</p> + +<p> +The life of these Ecitons is not all work, for I frequently saw +them very leisurely employed in a way that looked like recreation. +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 positions; 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 antennæ with their forefeet; 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, and finishing by +giving the antennæ 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 what is required for +labours absolutely necessary to the welfare of their species, and +do they thus expend it in mere sportiveness, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Eciton prædator.</i>—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 confused 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, occupies 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Blind Ecitons.</i>—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 foraging expeditions like +the rest of its tribe, and attacks even the 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. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig38"></a> +<img src="images/fig38.jpg" width="360" height="232" alt="Foraging ants (Eciton erratica) constructing a covered road—Soldiers sallying out on being disturbed." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 +disappeared, 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 upon 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 distinguishes them +from the similar covered roads made by Termites, 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, 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. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap13"></a>Chapter XIII.<br/> +EXCURSIONS BEYOND EGA</h2> + +<p class="letter">Steamboat Travelling on the Amazons — +Passengers — Tunantins — Caishána Indians +— The Jutahí — The Sapó — +Marauá Indians — Fonte Boa — Journey to St. +Paulo — Tucúna Indians — Illness — Descent +to Pará — Changes at Pará — Departure for +England +</p> + +<p class="first"><i>November 7th, 1856.</i>—Embarked on the +Upper Amazons steamer, the <i>Tabatinga</i>, for an excursion to +Tunantins, a small semi-Indian settlement, lying 240 miles beyond +Ega. The <i>Tabatinga</i> 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 bedtime, and feel one’s +sense of comfort increased by having cheated the thirsty swarms of +mosquitoes which fill the chamber. +</p> + +<p> +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 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 seaboard, 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 difference not +being counter-balanced by increased expense of transit, on account +of weight, over the passes of the Andes. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 grouping 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 +firewood, 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>November 11th to 30th.</i>—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. +</p> + +<p> +On landing, I presented myself to Senhor Paulo Bitancourt, a +good-natured half-caste, director of Indians of the neighbouring +river Issá, 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 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. +</p> + +<p> +I remained here nineteen days, and, considering the shortness 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”<a href="#fn13.1" name="fnref13.1" id="fnref13.1"><sup>[1]</sup></a> +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 Uakarí monkeys, described in the last chapter. All these strongly +modified local races of insects confined to one side of the Solimoens (like the +Uakarís), 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 surpassing 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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn13.1" id="fn13.1"></a> <a href="#fnref13.1">[1]</a> +Species or races which take the place of other allied species or races. +</p> + +<p> +With the exception of three Mameluco families and a stray +Portuguese trader, all the inhabitants of the village and +neighbourhood are semi-civilised Indians of the Shumána and +Passé tribes. The forests of the Tunantins, however, are +inhabited by a tribe of wild Indians called Caishánas, who +resemble much, in their social condition and manners, the debased +Murás of the Lower Amazons, and have, like them, shown no +aptitude for civilised life in any shape. Their huts commence at +the distance of an hour’s walk from the village, along gloomy +and narrow forest paths. My first and only visit to a +Caishána dwelling was accidental. One day, having extended +my walk further than usual, and followed one of the forest-roads +until it became a mere <i>picada</i>, or hunters’ track, I +came suddenly upon a well-trodden pathway, bordered on each side +with Lycopodia of the most elegant shapes, the tips of the fronds +stretching 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 habitations. 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 neighbourhood, the children gaining sufficient +confidence to come and help me to search for insects. The only +weapon used by the Caishánas 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 Japurá +and Issá. +</p> + +<p> +The whole tribe of Caishánas does not exceed 400 souls in +number. 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 Pajés, or medicine-men, those rudest beginnings of +a priest class. Symbolical or masked dances, and ceremonies in +honour of the Juruparí, or demon, customs which prevail +amongst all the surrounding tribes, are unknown to the +Caishánas. There is among 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 Jurís Passés, and +Tucúnas. 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 Caishánas 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 earthenware 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>November 30th.</i>—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 Jutahí, 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 Ucayáli. We remained at anchor four days within the +mouth of the Sapó, a small tributary of the Jutahí +flowing from the south-east; Senhor Raiol having to send an +igarité to the Cupatána, 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 Sapó, +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 Jutahí, 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 Marauá tribe, +whose original territory comprised all the small by-streams lying +between the Jutahí and the Juruá, 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 Jurí 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. +</p> + +<p> +We reached the last house, or rather two houses, about ten +o’clock, and spent several hours there during the great heat +of midday. 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 Marauás, 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. 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 cohabiting 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 Sapó +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. +</p> + +<p> +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, “Pána-paná curí” +(Tupí: butterfly by-and-by). Thus I found that the +metamorphoses of insects were known to these savages; but being +unable to talk with my new friend, I could not ascertain what ideas +such a phenomenon 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 Hypadú 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. +</p> + +<p> +We left these friendly people about four o’clock in the +afternoon, 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, 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 intruded 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 productions: 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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>December 7th.</i>—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 +mold, 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 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 inhabitants 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +Notwithstanding damp and mosquitoes, I had capital health, and +enjoyed myself much at Fonte Boa; swampy and weedy 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 paradises of leafiness 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. +</p> + +<p> +The village was formerly a place of more importance than it now +is, a great number of Indians belonging to the most industrious +tribes, Shumánas, Passés, and Cambévas, 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 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 +Pará. 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 +Pará, 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 <i>Illustrated London +News</i>, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 morning all the women and children of the +village were busy decorating 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 afterwards, dressed in their best, the women with +flowers in their 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 reaching 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. +</p> + +<p> +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. +</p> + +<p> +<i>September 5th, 1857.</i>—Again embarked on the <i> +Tabatinga</i>, this time for a longer excursion than the last, +namely to St. Paulo de Olivença, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 Paraná 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 shooting at them from the deck with a +double-barrelled rifle we had on board. The sign of a mortal hit +was the monster turning 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 estimation +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. +</p> + +<p> +We had on board, amongst our deck-passengers, a middle-aged +Indian, of the Jurí tribe; a short, thickset man, with +features resembling much those of the late Daniel O’Connell. +His name was Caracára-í (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 Issá from +Pará, 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 +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 commonplace people everywhere, most +uninteresting companions. Caracá-í disembarked at +Tunantins with his cargo, which consisted of a considerable number +of packages of European wares. +</p> + +<p> +The river scenery about the mouth of the Japurá 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 Issá, 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. Fortunately, 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. +</p> + +<p> +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 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 circuitous 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 Tucúna and +Collína 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 substantial 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 Pará, 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 promoting industry, adopted the lazy +mode of life of the Indians, spiced with the practice of a few +strong vices of their own introduction. +</p> + +<p> +The head-man of the village, Senhor Antonio Ribeiro, half-white +half-Tucúna, 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 contained were well wrapped in leaves. Six degrees further +westward, 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 sugar, in a few +days, dissolved into syrup, and the best gunpowder 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 overnight could +very seldom be fired off in the morning. +</p> + +<p> +The principal residents at St. Paulo were the priest, a white +from Pará, 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 +José 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 morning with Cashaça +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 +indoors 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. +</p> + +<p> +The only companionable man I found in the place, except +José 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 +Pará 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. When he visited me at +night he used to knock at my shutters 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 +Pará, 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 degrading 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 continued 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 Pará, 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. +</p> + +<p> +I remained at St. Paulo five months; five years would not have +been sufficient to exhaust the treasures of its neighbourhood 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 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 constantly 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 Tucúnas 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 Tucúnas, +all half-buried in the leafy wilderness, the scattered families +having chosen the coolest and shadiest nooks for their abodes. +</p> + +<p> +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 impression +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 playing 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 commencement of an air; one listens expecting to +hear a complete 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. +</p> + +<p> +The Tucúna Indians are a tribe resembling much the +Shumánas, Passés, Jurís, and Mauhés in +their physical appearance and customs. They lead, like those +tribes, a settled agricultural life, each horde obeying a chief of +more or less influence, according to his energy and ambition, and +possessing its pajé 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 Mundurucús, although resembling +them in many respects, nor have they the slender figures, dignified +mien, and gentle disposition of the Passés; 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 subsequent days they +became more familiar, and I found them a harmless, good-natured +people. +</p> + +<p> +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 on one side is an elevated stage +(<i>girao</i>) overhead, formed of split palm-stems. The +Tucúnas excel over most of the other tribes in the +manufacture of pottery. They make broad-mouthed jars for Tucupi +sauce, caysúma 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<a href="#fn13.2" name="fnref13.2" id="fnref13.2"><sup>[2]</sup></a> +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. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a name="fn13.2" id="fn13.2"></a> <a href="#fnref13.2">[2]</a> +These bags are formed of remarkably neat twine made of Bromelia fibres +elaborately knitted, all in one piece, with sticks; a belt of the 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 +Tucúnas also possess the art of skinning and stuffing birds, the handsome kinds +of which they sell in great numbers to passing travellers. +</p> + +<p> +The semi-religious dances and drinking bouts usual amongst the +settled tribes of Amazonian Indians are indulged in to greater +excess by the Tucúnas than they are by most other tribes. +The Juruparí 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 Tucúna 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 +headdress 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 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 Uaissíma tree. +Sometimes grotesque head-dresses, representing monkeys’ busts +or heads of other animals, made by stretching cloth or skin over a +basketwork frame, are worn at these holidays. The biggest and +ugliest mask represents the Juruparí. In these festival +habiliments the Tucúnas 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 paricá powder. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig39"></a> +<img src="images/fig39.jpg" width="387" height="263" alt="Masked-dance and wedding-feast of Tucúna Indians." /> +</div> + +<p> +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 Juruparí, 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 festiva: weddings amongst the best. A young man +who wishes to wed a Tucúna 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 Tucúnas +have the singular custom, in common with the Collínas and +Mauhés, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The only other tribe of this neighbourhood concerning which I +obtained any information were the Majerónas, whose territory +embraces several hundred miles of the western bank of the river +Jauarí, an affluent of the Solimoens, 120 miles beyond St. +Paulo. These are a fierce, indomitable, and hostile people, like +the Aráras of the river Madeira; they are also cannibals. +The navigation of the Jauaarí is rendered impossible on +account of the Majerónas lying in wait on its banks to +intercept and murder all travellers, especially whites. +</p> + +<p> +Four months before my arrival at St. Paulo, two young +half-castes (nearly white) of the village went to trade on the +Jauaarí the Majerónas 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 settlement 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 Jauaarí, that the young men had brought their fate on +themselves through improper conduct towards the Majeróna +women. The girl, on arriving at St. Paulo, was taken care of by +Senhor José 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 goodwill by extracting the grub of an +Œstrus 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 +neighbour of mine, happened to be present during the narrative, and +showed her interest in it by laughing at the broken Portuguese in +which the girl related the horrible story. +</p> + +<p> +In the fourth 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 Jauaarí 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 Pará; 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, sufficient 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 Pará 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. +</p> + +<p> +I always carried a stock of medicines with me; and a small phial +of quinine, which I had bought at Pará 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 and brave it out. When the +steamer 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, <i>en +route</i> for England. +</p> + +<p> +I arrived at Pará 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 principal people of my +labours; but, in fact, the interior of the country is still the +“sertao” (wilderness)—a <i>terra incognita</i> 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 Pará greatly changed and +improved. It was no longer the weedy, ruinous, village-looking +place that it appeared to be when I first knew it in 1848. The +population had been increased to 20,000 by an influx of Portuguese, +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 in a very few years had grown to a height sufficient +to afford agreeable shade; one of these, the Estrada de Sao +José, had been planted with cocoa-nut palms. Sixty public +vehicles, light cabriolets (some of them built in Pará), now +plied in the streets, increasing much the animation of the +beautified squares, streets, and avenues. +</p> + +<p> +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 direction, 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 newspapers. The health of the +place had greatly improved since 1850, the year of the yellow +fever, and Pará was now considered no longer dangerous to +newcomers. +</p> + +<p> +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. Pará, 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; 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 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 +circumstances; 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. +</p> + +<p> +In rambling over my old ground in the forests of the +neighbourhood, 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 undisturbed 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 +Pará, 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 Pará. +</p> + +<p> +<i>June 2, 1859.</i>—At length, on the 2nd of June, I left +Pará, probably forever; embarking in a North American +trading-vessel, the <i>Frederick Demming</i>, for New York, the +United States route being the quickest as well as the pleasantest +way of reaching 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 proverb, +“Quem vai para (o) Pará para,” “He who +goes to Pará 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 +Pará 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, 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. +</p> + +<p> +The following day, having no wind, we drifted out of the mouth +of the Pará 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 +7° 55′ N. lat. and 52° 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 Ubussú palm; this was the last +I saw of the Great River. +</p> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig40"></a> +<a href="images/fig40.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig40.jpg" width="600" height="374" alt="Illustration:" /></a> +</div> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig41"></a> +<a href="images/fig41.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig41.jpg" width="600" height="370" alt="Illustration:" /></a> +</div> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<a name="fig42"></a> +<a href="images/fig42.jpg"> +<img src="images/fig42.jpg" width="516" height="350" alt="Illustration:" /></a> +<p class="caption">Water system of the Amazons +</p> +</div> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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