CHAPTER XIII.

There was a large malocca here, and a considerable number of houses. The front of the malocca was painted very tastefully in diamonds and circles, with red, yellow, white, and black. On the rocks were a series of strange figures, of which I took a sketch. The Indians were of the "Ananás" or Pineapple tribe; I bought some dresses and feather ornaments of them; and fish, mandiocca-cakes, etc., were brought me in considerable quantities, the articles most coveted in return being fish-hooks and red beads, of both of which I had a large stock. Just below the fall, the river is not more than two or three hundred yards wide; while above, it is half a mile, and contains several large islands.The large black pacu was abundant here, and, with other small fish, was generally brought us in sufficient quantity to prevent our recurring to fowls, which are considered by the traders to be the most ordinary fare a man can live on. I now ate for the first time the curious river-weed, called carurú, that grows on the rocks. We tried it as a salad, and also boiled with fish; and both ways it was excellent;—boiled, it much resembled spinach.Here, too, I first saw and heard the "Juriparí," or Devil-music of the Indians. One evening there was a caxirí-drinking; and a little before dusk a sound as of trombones and bassoons was heard coming on the river towards the village, and presently appeared eight Indians, each playing on a great bassoon-looking instrument. They had four pairs, of different sizes, and produced a wild and pleasing sound. They blew them all together, tolerably in concert, to a simple tune, and showed more taste for music than I had yet seen displayed among these people. The instruments are made of bark spirally twisted, and with a mouthpiece of leaves.In the evening I went to the malocca, and found two old men playing on the largest of the instruments. They waved them about in a singular manner, vertically and sideways, accompanied by corresponding contortions of the body, and played along while in a regular tune, accompanying each other very correctly. From the moment the music was first heard, not a female, old or young, was to be seen; for it is one of the strangest superstitions of the Uaupés Indians, that they consider it so dangerous for a woman ever to see one of these instruments, that having done so is punished with death, generally by poison. Even should the view be perfectly accidental, or should there be only a suspicion that the proscribed articles have been seen, no mercy is shown; and it is said that fathers have been the executioners of their own daughters, and husbands of their wives, when such has beenthe case. I was of course anxious to purchase articles to which such curious customs belong, and spoke to the Tushaúa on the subject. He at length promised to sell them me on my return, stipulating that they were to be embarked at some distance from the village, that there might be no danger of their being seen by the women.On the morning previous to that on which we were to leave, two more of our Indians who had received full payment on starting, were discovered to have left us. They had taken possession of a canoe, and absconded in the night; leaving me no remedy, but the chance of finding them in their houses on my return, and the still more remote chance of their having anything to pay me with.The Indians here have but little characteristic distinction from those below. The women wear more beads around their necks and arms. The lower lip is often pierced, and two or three little strings of white beads inserted; but as the nations are so mixed by inter-marriages, this custom is probably derived from the Tucanos. Some of the women and children wore two garters, one above the ankle and one below the knee—swelling out the calf enormously, which they consider a very great beauty. I did not see here so many long tails of hair; most of the men having probably been to the Rio Negro with some trader, and thence worn their hair like Christians; or perhaps because the last Tushaúa was a "homen muito civilizado" (a very well-bred person).After four days' delay, we at length started, with a comparatively small complement of Indians, but with some extra men to assist us in passing several caxoeiras, which occur near at hand. These are the "Piréwa" (Wound), "Uacorouá" (Goat-sucker), "Maniwára" (White Ant), "Matapí" (Fish-trap), "Amána" (Rain), "Tapíracúnga" (Tapir's head), "Tapíra eura" (Tapir's mouth), and "Jacaré" (Alligator). Three of these were very bad, the canoe having to be unloaded entirely, and pulled over the dry and uneven rocks. The last was the highest; the river rushing furiously about twenty feet down a rugged slope of rock. The loading and unloading of the canoe three or four times in the course of as many hours, is a great annoyance. Baskets of farinha and salt, of mandiocca-cakes and pacovas, are strewn about. Panellas are often broken; and when there comes a shower of rain, everythinghas to be heaped together in a hurry,—palm-leaves cut, and the more perishable articles covered; but boxes,rédés, and numerous other articles are sure to be wetted, rendering us very uncomfortable when again hastily tumbled into the overcrowded canoe. If I had birds or insects out drying, they were sure to be overturned, or blown by the wind, or wetted by the rain, and the same fate was shared by my note-books and papers. Articles in boxes, unless packed tight, were shaken and rumpled by not being carried evenly; so that it was an excellent lesson in patience, to bear all with philosophical serenity. We had passed all these falls by midday; and at night slept on a rock, where there was a small rapid and a house without inhabitants.On the 8th we had tolerably quiet water, with only two small rapids, the "Taiéna" (Child), and "Paroquet" caxoeiras. On the 9th, in the morning, we reached the "Pacu" fall, and then had a quiet stream, though full of rocks, till the afternoon, when we passed the "Macucú" (a tree), "Anacás" (Pineapple), and "Uacú" (a fruit) caxoeiras; all very bad and difficult ones. We had left Carurú with very little farinha, as none was to be had there, and we had seen no inhabited sitios where any could be purchased; so our Indians were now on short allowance of "beijú," which they had brought with them. Of a passing Indian I bought a basket of Ocokí, and some fish. The Ocokí is a large pear-shaped fruit, with a hard thick outer skin of almost a woody texture, then a small quantity of very sweet pulpy matter, and within a large black oval stone. The pulp is very luscious, but is so acrid as to make the mouth and throat sore, if more than two or three are eaten. When, however, the juice is boiled it loses this property; and when made into mingau with tapioca, is exceedingly palatable and very highly esteemed in the Upper Rio Negro, where it is abundant. It takes at least a peck of fruit to give one small panella of mingau.On the next day, the 10th, in the afternoon, the Indians all suddenly sprang like otters into the water, swam to the shore, and disappeared in the forest. "Ocokí," was the answer to my inquiries as to the cause of their sudden disappearance; and I soon found they had discovered an ocokí-tree, and were loading themselves with the fruit to satisfy the cravings of hunger, for an Indian's throat and mouth seem invulnerable to all thosescarifying substances which act upon civilised man. The tree is one of the loftiest in the forest, but the fruit falls as soon as ripe, and its hard woody coating preserves it from injury. Baskets, shirts, trousers, etc., were soon filled with the fruit and emptied into the canoe; and I made each of the Indians bring a small basketful for me; so that we had "mingau de ocokí" for three succeeding mornings.The rocks from Carurú often present a scoriaceous appearance, as if the granite had been remelted. Sometimes they are a mass of burnt fragments, sometimes a honeycombed rock with a shining surface. In some places there are enclosed fragments of a finer-grained rock, apparently sandstone, and numerous veins and dykes, which often cross each other in three or four sets. The rocks are, in many places, so broken and cleft vertically, as to appear stratified and thrown up on end. The rounded form and concentric arrangement, observed in the Rio Negro, is here also constantly met with. The interstices of the rounded and angular masses of rock are often filled with a curious volcanic substance, which outwardly resembles pitch, but consists of scoriae, sand, clays, etc., variously cemented together.On the 10th we passed the "Tapioca," "Tucáno" (Toucan), "Tucunaré" (a fish), "Uaracú piními" (a fish), and "Tyeassú" (Pig) caxoeiras. The first was very bad, and both difficult and dangerous to pass; it consisted of many distinct falls among huge masses of rock. At one place the canoe remained stuck fast, amidst foaming waters, on the very edge of a fall, for nearly an hour; all the efforts of the Indians could not move it forward. They heaved it over from one side to the other, but with no effect; till I began to despair of getting out of the difficulty before night. At last the canoe suddenly moved on, with apparently not so much force as had been before applied to it; but my Indians, being of several nations, did not understand any common language, and it was impossible to get them to act in concert, or obey any leader. It was probably some chance combination of forces, that at last extricated us from our unpleasant situation. At this fall, on the rocks, were very numerous figures, or picture-writings, and I stopped to make drawings of them; of which I had by this time a rather extensive collection.The next three falls were small rapids; but the last, whichwe reached late in the evening, was fearful. The river makes a sudden bend, and is confined in a very narrow channel, which is one confused mass of rocks of every size and shape, piled on one another, and heaped up in the greatest possible confusion. Every stone which rises above high-water mark is covered with vegetation; and among the whole the river rushes and foams, so as to make the task of pilot one of no ordinary difficulty. Just as it was getting dark, we passed out of these gloomy narrows into a wider and more cheerful part of the river, and stayed at a rock to sup and sleep.On the 11th, early, we reached Uarucapurí, where are a village and several maloccas. The first which we entered was inhabited by people of the Cobeu nation. There were about a dozen handsome men, all clean-limbed and well painted, with armlets and necklaces of white beads, and with the ears plugged with a piece of wood the size of a common bottle-cork, to the end of which was glued a piece of porcelain presenting a white shining surface. We agreed with these men to help to pass our canoe up the falls, and then proceeded on our walk through the village. My old friend Senhor Chagas was here, and with him I breakfasted off a fine pirahíba which his men had caught that morning, and which was the first I had eaten since my illness.With some difficulty I succeeded in buying two or three baskets of farinha; and being anxious to get to my journey's end, which was now near at hand, about midday we proceeded. Our pilot and his son left us, and we had now only six paddles; but four or five additional men came with us to pass the remaining caxoeiras, which were near. Close to the village we passed the "Cururú" (a toad), and "Murucututú" (an owl) falls, both rather bad; and, soon after, arrived at the "Uacoroúa" (Goatsucker), the last great fall on the river below the "Juruparí," which is many days further up. Here the river is precipitated over a nearly vertical rock, about ten feet high, and much broken in places. The canoe had to be entirely unloaded, and then pulled up over the rocks on the margin of the fall, a matter of considerable difficulty. To add to our discomfort, a shower of rain came on while the canoe was passing; and the Indians, as usual, having scattered the cargo about in great confusion, it had to be huddled together and covered with mats and palm-leaves, till the shower, which wasluckily a short one, passed over. Loading again and proceeding onwards, we passed three small rapids, the "Tatu" (Armadillo), "Ocokí" (a fruit), and "Piranterá" (a fish) caxoeiras; and our additional Indians here left us, with their payment of fish-hooks and arrow-heads, as we now had only smooth water before us. In the afternoon we passed a malocca, where one of the Indians wished to land to see his friends; and as we did not stay, at night he took his departure, and we saw no more of him.Early the next morning we reached Mucúra, where two young Brazilians, whom I had met with below, were residing, trading for salsa. I was now in the country of the painted turtle and the white umbrella-bird, and I determined to make a stay of at least a fortnight, to try and obtain these much-desired rarities.Messrs. Nicoláu and Bellarmine were both out, and their little palm-leaf huts were evidently quite inadequate to my accommodation. The only other house was a small Indian malocca, also made entirely of "palha;" and I agreed with the owner to let me have half of it, giving him a small knife and mirror in payment, with which he was well contented. We accordingly cleared and swept out our part of the house, unloaded and arranged our things, and I then sent my guardas to a malocca, in which there were said to be plenty of Indians, to see if they had any farinha or pacovas to dispose of; and also to let them know that I would purchase birds, or fish, or any other animals they could obtain for me. The men were all out; but the same afternoon they came in great force to see the "Branco," and make an attack on my fish-hooks and beads, bringing me fish, pacovas, farinha, and mandiocca-cake, for all of which one of these two articles was asked in exchange.I was now settled at the limit of my expedition, for I could not think of going a week further up only to see Juruparí caxoeira,—wasting the little time I had to rest, before again descending. We had made a favourable voyage, without any serious accident, up a river perhaps unsurpassed for the difficulties and dangers of its navigation. We had passed fifty caxoeiras, great and small; some mere rapids, others furious cataracts, and some nearly perpendicular falls. About twenty were rapids, up which, by the help of a long sipó attached to the canoe, instead of a rope, we were pulled without much difficulty. About eighteen were very bad and dangerous, requiring the canoe to be partially unloaded where practicable, and all the exertions of my Indians, often with additional assistance, to pass; and twelve were so high and furious as to require the canoe to be entirely unloaded, and either pulled over the dry and often very precipitous rocks, or with almost equal difficulty up the margin of the fall. At Carurú, as I have said, four-and-twenty men were scarcely able to pull my empty canoe over the rock, though plentifully strewn with branches and bushes, to smooth the asperities which would otherwise much damage the bottom: this was the reason why I purchased the Tushaúa's smaller obá, to proceed; and it was well I did, or I might otherwise have had to return without ever reaching the locality I had at length attained.The next day, the 13th, I was employed drawing some new fish brought me the preceding evening. My hunters went out and brought me nothing but a common hawk. In the afternoon, the father and brother of the Indian I had found in the house, arrived, with their wives and families; so now, with my six Indians and two hunters, we were pretty full; some of them, however, slept in a shed, and we were as comfortably accommodated as could be expected. The wives of the father and two sons were perfectly naked, and were, moreover, apparently quite unconscious of the fact. The old woman possessed a "saía," or petticoat, which she sometimes put on, and seemed then almost as much ashamed of herself as civilised people would be if they took theirs off. So powerful is the effect of education and habit!Having been told by Senhor Chagas that there was an excellent hunter in the Codiarí, a river which enters from the north a short distance above Mucúra, I sent Philippe, one of my guardas, to try and engage him, and also to buy all the living birds and animals he could meet with. The following day he returned, bringing with him one "Macaco barrigudo" (Lagothrix Humboldtii), and a couple of parrots. On most days I had a new fish or two to figure, but birds and insects were very scarce. This day Senhor Nicoláu returned. On my first arrival I had been told that he had a "tataruga pintata" (painted turtle) for me, but that he would give it me himself on his arrival; so I did not meddle with it, though my Indians saw it in a "corrál," in a small stream near the house. On arriving, he sent to fetch it, but found it had escaped,though it had been seen in its cage on the preceding day. I thus lost perhaps my only chance of obtaining a much-desired and probably undescribed river turtle, as the time of egg-laying was past, and they had now retired into the lakes, and become very scarce and difficult to be met with.As my Indians were here doing nothing, I sent three of them with Sebastião up the Codiarí, with beads, hooks, mirrors, etc., to buy monkeys, parrots, or whatever else they could meet with, as well as some farinha, which I did not wish to be in want of again. I sent them with instructions to go for five or six days, in order to reach the lastsitio, and purchase all that was to be had. In two days, however, they returned, having been no further than Philippe had gone, Sebastião saying that his companions would not go on. He brought me some parrots and small birds, bows, bird-skins, and more farinha than my canoe would carry, all purchased very dearly, judging by the remnant of articles brought back.Being now in a part of the country that no European traveller had ever before visited, I exceedingly regretted my want of instruments to determine the latitude, longitude, and height above the sea. The two last I had no means whatever of ascertaining, having broken my boiling-point thermometer, and lost my smaller one, without having been able to replace either. I once thought of sealing up a flask of air, by accurately weighing which on my return, the density of air at that particular time would be obtained, and the height at which a barometer would have stood might be deduced. But, besides that this would only give a result equal to that of a single barometer observation, there were insuperable difficulties in the way of sealing up the bottle, for whether sealing-wax or pitch were used, or even should the bottle be hermetically sealed, heat must be applied, and at the moment of application would, of course, rarefy the air within the bottle, and so produce in such a delicate operation very erroneous results. My observations, however, on the heights of the falls we passed, would give their sum as about two hundred and fifty feet; now if we add fifty for the fall of the river between them, we shall obtain three hundred feet, as the probable height of the point I reached above the mouth of the river; and, as I have every reason to believe that that is not five hundred feet above the sea, we shall obtain eight hundred feet as the probable limit ofthe height of the river above the sea-level, at the point I reached. Nothing, however, can accurately determine this fact, but a series of barometer or "boiling-point" observations; and to determine this height above the next great fall, and ascertain the true course and sources of this little-known but interesting and important river, would be an object worth the danger and expense of the voyage.There is said to be a week's smooth water above this place, to the Juruparí caxoeira, which is higher than any below it; and above this no other fall has been found, though traders have been ten or fifteen days up. They say the river still keeps as wide or wider than below,—that the water is as "white," or muddy, as that of the Solimões,—that many trees, birds, and fish peculiar to the Solimões are there found,—that the Indians have Spanish knives, ponchos, and coins,—and relate that, higher up, there are extensive "campos," with cattle, and men on horseback. All these interesting particulars seem to show that the river has its sources in the great plains which extend to the base of the Andes, somewhere near where the sources of the Guaviare are placed in most maps; but the latter river, from all the information I can obtain, is much smaller, and has a much shorter course. Having only a pocket surveying sextant, without any means of viewing two objects much differing in brilliancy, I endeavoured to obtain the latitude as accurately as I could, first by means of the zenith-distance at noon, obtained by a plumb-line and image of the sun, formed by a lens of about fifteen inches focus; and afterwards, by the meridian altitude of a star, obtained on a calm night, by reflection in a cuya of water. I took much care to ensure an accurate result, and have every reason to believe that the mean of the two observations will not be more than two or three minutes from the truth.My expectations of finding rare and handsome birds here were quite disappointed. My hunter and Senhor Nicoláu killed a few umbrella-birds of the Rio Negro species; but of the white bird such contradictory statements were given,—many knowing nothing whatever about it, others saying that it was sometimes, but very rarely seen,—that I am inclined to think it is a mere white variety, such as occurs at times with our blackbirds and starlings at home, and as are sometimes found among the curassow-birds and agoutis. Another bird,which I had been long searching for, the "anambé de catinga," a species ofCyanurus, was here shot; and before leaving, I obtained four or five specimens of it, and as many of the commoner black-headed species. One or two small birds, new to me, were also obtained; and these, with two or three scarce butterflies, and about a dozen new species of fish, composed my natural-history collections in this remote and unvisited district. This was entirely owing, however, to my unfortunate and unforeseen illness, for birds in great variety had been very abundant, but the time of the fruit was now over; fish and turtles, too, were in extraordinary plenty at the commencement of the fall of the river, two months back; and during that period, constituting the short summer in these districts, while I lay half dead at São Joaquim, insects were doubtless more numerous.But as there was now no remedy I made myself as contented as I could, and endeavoured at least to complete my collection of the arms, implements, and ornaments of the natives. The Indians here were mostly "Cobeus," and I obtained several of their peculiar ornaments and dresses, to add to my collection. I also took advantage of the visit of a Tushaúa, or chief, who well understood the Lingoa Geral, to obtain a vocabulary of their language.Just as I was about to leave on my voyage down, I received a note from Senhor Chagas, requesting, in the name of Tenente Jesuino, the loan of my canoe, to ascend higher up the river; which, as the time of his stay was very uncertain, I was obliged to refuse. This Tenente, an ignorant half-breed, was sent by the new Barra government to bring all the Tushaúas, or chiefs, of the Uaupés and Isanna rivers to Barra, to receive diplomas and presents. An Indian, sent by him, had arrived at Carurú caxoeira, and wished to buy the obá of the Tushaúa, after I had paid for and got possession of it, and even had the impudence to request me to give it back again, in order that he might purchase or borrow it; and my refusal was, of course, quite sufficient seriously to offend the said Tenente.On the 25th, having been just a fortnight at Mucúra, I left, much disappointed with regard to the collections I had made there. The same day I reached Uarucapurí, whence I could not proceed without a pilot, as the falls below are very dangerous. There was hardly a male in the village, Messrs.Jesuino and Chagas having taken all with them up the river, to assist in an attack on an Indian tribe, the "Carapanás," where they hoped to get a lot of women, boys, and children, to take as presents to Barra. There was scarcely anything to be had to eat: fish were not to be caught, though we sent our Indians out every day; and though fowls were abundant, their owners were out, and those in charge of them would not sell them. At length, after four days, I succeeded in persuading the son of the Tushaúa to go with me as pilot to Jauarité, he not being able to resist the knives, beads, and mirror, which I spread out before him.I had collected scarcely anything in this place, but a single specimen of the beautiful and rare topaz-throated hummer (Trochilus pyra) and a new butterfly of the genusCallithea. I heard of the handsome bronze Jacana being found here, but my hunters searched for it in vain.On the morning after we left, we saw a fine deer on a sandbank near us, so I sent Manoel into the forest to get behind it, while we remained quietly watching from the canoe. After walking about the beach a short time, it took to the water to cross the river, when we followed in pursuit; and, notwithstanding its turnings and doublings, soon came up,—when the poor animal was despatched by a blow on the head, and pulled into the canoe. The Indians then went briskly on, rejoicing in the certainty of a dinner for the next day or two, in which I heartily joined them. At Tapioca caxoeira we stayed two hours, to cook and salt the deer, and descended the fall without any accident.On April 1st we passed a host of falls, shooting most of them amidst fearful waves and roaring breakers, and arrived safely at Carurú, where the Tushaúa gave us his house; for, having two canoes, we were obliged to wait to get more Indians. I was still too weak to go out into the forest; and, besides, had my live stock to attend to, which now consisted of four monkeys, about a dozen parrots, and six or eight small birds. It was a constant trouble to get food for them in sufficient variety, and to prevent them from escaping. Most of the birds are brought up without being confined, and if placed in a cage, attempt constantly to get out, and refuse food till they die; if, on the other hand, they are loose, they wander about to the Indians' houses, or into the forest, andare often lost. I here had two new toldas made to my canoes, but all attempts to hire men were fruitless. Fowls and fish were tolerably abundant, so we were better off than at Uarucapurí.On the 4th, in the afternoon, Senhors Jesuino and Chagas arrived with a whole fleet of canoes, and upwards of twenty prisoners, all, but one, women and children. Seven men and one woman had been killed; the rest of the men escaped; but only one of the attacking party was killed. The man was kept bound, and the women and children well guarded, and every morning and evening they were all taken down to the river to bathe. At night there was abundance of caxirí and caxaça drunk in honour of the new-comers, and all the inhabitants assembled in the great house. I spoke to Jesuino about obtaining some Indians for me, which he promised to do. Next morning, however, his first act was to summon my pilot, and scold him for coming with me at all,—frightening the poor fellow so, that he immediately went off with his father down the river. Before he had left, however, having been told by my guardas what was going on, I applied to Jesuino about the matter, when he denied having said anything to the pilot, but refused to call him back, or make him fulfil his engagement with me. Soon after Jesuino left, having first sent five Indians to take me to Jauarité; so I started immediately after him. The men, however, had had instructions to go with me only a short distance, and then leave me where I could not procure any more; and about noon, much to my surprise, they got into a little obá, and intimated their intention to return, saying that they had only been told to come so far. I had overtaken Jesuino at this place, and now appealed to him; but though the men would have immediately obeyed an order from him he refused to give it, telling me that he had put them in my canoe, and now I must arrange with them as well as I could. I accordingly told the Indians, that if they came on with me to Jauarité, I would pay them well, but that, if they left me at this place, they should not have a single fish-hook; but they knew very well what Senhor Jesuino wanted, so without another word they paddled off, leaving me to get on as I could. I had now only one man and one boy in each canoe, to pass rapids which required six or eight good paddles to shoot with safety; but staying here was useless, sowe went on,—drifting down the stream after Senhor Jesuino, who, no doubt, rejoiced in the idea that I should probably lose my canoes, if not my life, in the caxoeiras, and thought himself well revenged on the stranger who had dared to buy the canoe he had wanted to purchase.In the afternoon we passed a caxoeira with considerable danger, and then, luckily, persuaded some Indians at a sitio to come with us to Jauarité. In the afternoon I stayed at several houses, purchasing fowls, parrots, bows and arrows and feathers; and at one of them I found my runaway pilot, and made him give me two baskets of farinha, instead of the payment he had received for the voyage from Carurú to Jauarité. At the last caxoeira, close to Jauarité, we were very near losing our canoe, which was let down by a rope, I remaining in it; but just in passing, it got twisted broadside, and the water rushing up from the bottom, had the curious effect of pushing it up against the fall, where it remained a considerable time completely on one side, and appearing as if every minute it would turn over. However, at last it was got out, and we reached the village, much to the surprise of Senhor Jesuino, who had arrived there but a few hours before us. My friend Senhor Augustinho, of São Jeronymo, was also there, and I spent the evening pleasantly with them.I found that we differed in our calculations of the date, there being a day's difference in our reckonings of the day of the week and the day of the month. As I had been three months up the river, it was to be supposed I was wrong; yet as I had kept a regular diary all the voyage, I could not at all make out how I had erred. This, however, is a common thing in these remote districts. When two parties meet, one going up and the other coming down the river, the first inquiry of the latter, after the usual compliments, is, "What day is it with you?" and it not unfrequently happens, that there are three parties present, all of whom make it different days; and then there is a comparison of authorities, and a determination of past Saints' days, in order to settle the correction of the disputed calendar. When at Caturú caxoeira, we had found that Messrs. Jesuino and Chagas differed from us on this important particular; but as they had been some time out, we thought they might have erred as well as ourselves. Now, however, that Senhor Augustinho, who had recently come fromSão Gabriel, whence he had brought the correct date, agreed with them, there was no withstanding such authority. A minute examination of my diary was made, and it was then found that on our first stay at Carurú we had reckoned our delay there as five days instead of six. The Indians generally keep accounts of the time very accurately on a voyage, by cutting notches on a stick, as boys do at school on the approach of the holidays. In our case, however, even they were most of them wrong, for some of them agreed with me, while others made a day in advance, and others again a day behind us, so that we got completely confused. Sometimes the traders residing at the Indian villages pass many months, without seeing a person from any civilised part, and get two or three days out in their reckonings. Even in more populous places, where all the inhabitants depend on the priest or the commandante, errors have been made, and Sundays and Saints' days have been desecrated, while Mondays and common days have been observed in their place, much to the horror of all good Catholics.The next morning I took a turn round the village,—bought some paroquets and parrots, and some feather ornaments and small pots, of the Tushaúa; and then, having nothing to keep me at Jauarité, and having vainly endeavoured to get some Indians to go with me, I left for São Jeronymo. On arriving at the first great fall of Pinupinú, we found only one Indian, and were obliged to send to the village for more. That afternoon they did not choose to come, and we lost a beautiful day. The next morning, as was to be expected, commenced a soaking rain; but as the Indians arrived we went on, and about noon, the rain clearing off a little, we passed the fall of Panoré, and arrived safely at the village of São Jeronymo. Here we disembarked, and unloaded our canoes, taking possession of the doorless "casa da nação," and made up our minds to remain quietly till we should get men to go down the river.The same afternoon Jesuino arrived, and the next morning left,—kindly inquiring when I intended to proceed, and saying, he had spoken with the Tushaúa to get me Indians. In two days, however, the Tushaúa also left for Barra, without giving me a single Indian, notwithstanding the promises and threats I had alternately employed.The two Indians who had remained with me now left, and the two boys who had come from São Joaquim ran away, leaving me alone in my glory, with my two "guardas" and two canoes. In vain I showed my axes, knives, beads, mirrors, and cloth, to every passing Indian; not one could be induced to go with me, and I might probably have remained prisoner there for months, had not Senhor Victorino, the "Juiz de Paz," arrived, and also Bernado, my old pilot, who had left me at Jauarité, and had now been down to São Joaquim. Between them, after a delay of several more days, some Indians were persuaded to receive payment to go with me as far as Castanheiro, where I hoped to get Capitão Ricardo to order them on to Barra.CHAPTER XIII.SÃO JERONYMO TO THE DOWNS.Voyage down the Rio Negro—Arrive at Barra—Obtaining a Passport—State of the City—Portuguese and Brazilian Enterprise—System of Credit—Trade—Immorality, and its Causes—Leave Barra—A Storm on the Amazon—Sarsaparilla—A Tale about Death—Pará—The Yellow Fever—Sail for England—Ship takes Fire—Ten Days in the Boats—Get picked up—Heavy Gales—Short of Provisions—Storm in the Channel—Arrive at Deal.Atlength, on the 23rd of April, I bade adieu, with much pleasure, to São Jeronymo. I stopped at several places to buy beiju, fish, pacovas, and any parrots I could meet with. My Indians went several times, early in the morning, to the gapó to catch frogs, which they obtained in great numbers, stringing them on a sipó, and, boiling them entire, entrails and all, devoured them with much gusto. The frogs are mottled of various colours, have dilated toes, and are called Juí.On the 26th we reached São Joaquim, where I stayed a day, to make some cages for my birds, and embark the things I had left with Senhor Lima.On the 28th I went on to São Gabriel, and paid my respects to the new Commandante, and then enjoyed a little conversation with my friend Mr. Spruce. Several of my birds died or were lost here, and at São Joaquim. A little black monkey killed and devoured two which had escaped from their cages, and one of my most valuable and beautiful parrots (a single specimen) was lost in passing the falls. I had left São Joaquim with fifty-two live animals (monkeys, parrots, etc.), which, in a small canoe, were no little trouble and annoyance.I was lucky enough to get the Commandante to send a soldier with me in charge of the Correio, or post, and thusensured my passage to Barra without further delays, a point on which I had been rather uneasy. Leaving São Gabriel I stayed for the night at the house of Senhor Victoríno, of whom I bought several green parrots, and a beautiful "anacá," or purple and red-necked crested parrot, in place of the one which had gone overboard while passing the falls at São Gabriel. The following day I reached the house of Senhor Palheta, and thought myself fortunate to purchase of him another anacá for seven shillings; but the very next morning it died from cold, having flown into the river, and become completely chilled before it could be rescued.On the 2nd of May I arrived at the sitio of my old friend Senhor Chagas, who made me breakfast with him, and sold me some farinha, coffee, and a lot of guinea-fowls' eggs; and embraced me with great affection at parting, wishing me every happiness. The same night I reached Castanheiro, where I particularly wished to get a pilot, to take me down the east bank of the river, for the purpose of making a sketch-survey of that side, and ascertaining the width of this extraordinary stream. Senhor Ricardo, who is the Capitão dos Trabalhadores, immediately gave me an order to embark a man, whose house I should pass the next day, and who, he said, was perfectly acquainted with that side of the river. After breakfasting with him the next morning, I left, well satisfied to have a prospect of accomplishing this long-cherished scheme. On arriving at the house, however, it was empty, and there was no sign of it having been inhabited for some weeks, so that I had to give up all hopes of completing my project.I applied again to the Subdelegarde, João Cordeiro, whose house I reached the next day, and also to the lieutenant of Senhor Ricardo, but without effect; all making the usual reply, "Não ha gente nenhum aqui" (there is not a single person about there); so I was reluctantly compelled to proceed down the river by the same course which I had already traversed three times, as, by attempting to go on the other route without a pilot, I might lose my way, and not get to Barra for a month.The fever and ague now attacked me again, and I passed several days very uncomfortably. We had almost constant rains; and to attend to my numerous birds and animals was a great annoyance, owing to the crowded state of the canoe, and the impossibility of properly cleaning them during the rain.Some died almost every day, and I often wished I had had nothing whatever to do with them, though, having once taken them in hand, I determined to persevere.On the 8th I reached Barcellos, and here I was annoyed by having to give an account of what I had in my canoes, and pay duty, the new Government of Barra not allowing anything to escape without contributing its share.On the 11th we passed the mouth of the Rio Branco, and I noticed for the first time the peculiar colour of the water, which is a very pale yellow-olive, almost milky, very different from, and much whiter than, the waters of the Amazon, and making its name of the "White River" very appropriate. In the dry season the waters are much clearer.In the morning I reached Pedreiro, and purchased a turtle, which we stopped to cook, a short distance below the village; it was a very large and fat one, and we fried the greater part of the meat in fat for the rest of the voyage. At a sitio, in the evening, I bought two parrots, and the next morning, at Ayrão, five more; and in the afternoon, at another sitio, a blue macaw, a monkey, a toucan, and a pigeon. At night we had a storm of rain and wind, and for a long time beat about in the middle of the river, tossed by the waves, without being able to find the shore.On the 15th we reached "Ai purusá," where I bought some fish and maize. Here was lying a fine harpy eagle, which Senhor Bagatta had shot the day before, and, having plucked out some of the wing-feathers, had left it to rot; I thus just missed, by a day, getting a specimen of this bird, which I so much desired, and which I had never been able to procure during a four years' residence in the country. We had plenty more rain every night, making the journey very disagreeable; and at length, on the 17th, reached Barra do Rio Negro, now the capital of the new Province of Amazonas.I was here kindly received by my friend Henrique Antony; and I spent all the day in searching for some house or lodging, which was very hard to be procured, every house being occupied, and rents having much risen, from the influx of strangers and traders consequent on the arrival of the new Government. However, by the evening I succeeded in getting a small mud-floored, leaky-roofed room, which I was glad to hire, as I did not know how long I might be obliged to remain in Barra,before I could obtain a passage to Pará. The next morning I could not disembark my things till the new Custom-house opened, at nine o'clock; when I had to pay duties on every article, even on my bird-skins, insects, stuffed alligators, etc., and so it was night before I got everything on shore. The next day I paid off my Indians, and settled myself to wait patiently and attend to my menagerie, till I could get a passage to Pará.For three weeks I had been nearly lame, with a sore and inflamed toe, into which the chegoes had burrowed under the nail, and rendered wearing a shoe, or walking, exceedingly painful; having been compelled to move about the last few days, it had inflamed and swelled, and I was now therefore glad to remain quietly at home, and by poultices and plaisters endeavour to cure it. During the short time the Indians had remained in charge of my canoe, while I was looking after a house, they had lost three of my birds; but I soon found I had quite enough left to keep me constantly employed attending to them. My parrots, in particular, of which I had more than twenty, would persist in wandering about into the street, and I lost several of my best, which were, no doubt, safely domiciled in some of the adjoining houses. I was much annoyed, too, by persons constantly coming to me, to sell them parrots or monkeys; and my repeated assurances, that I myself wanted to buy more, did not in the least check the pertinacity of my would-be customers.The city was now full of fashionably-dressed young men, who received the public money for services they did not know how to perform. Many of them could not fill up a few dozen words in a printed form without making blunders, or in a shorter time than two or three hours; their contemplations seeming scarcely to rise beyond their polished-leather boots and gold watch-chains. As it was necessary to get a passport, I presented myself at the office of the "Chef de Policia," for the purpose; but was told that I must first advertise my intention of leaving in the newspaper. I accordingly did so, and about a week after went again. I was now requested to bring a formal application in writing, to have a passport granted me: I returned, and prepared one, and the next day went with it; now the Chef was engaged, and he must sign the requisition before anything else could be done. I called again the nextday, and now that the requisition was signed, I had a blank form given me to go and get stamped in another office, in a distant part of the city. Off I had to go,—get the stamp, which took two clerks to sign, and paid my eight vintems for it; armed with this, I returned to the police-office, and now, to my surprise, the passport was actually made out and given me; and on paying another twelve vintems (sixpence), I was at liberty to leave Barra whenever I could; for as to leaving it whenever I pleased, that was out of the question.The city of Barra, the capital of the Province and the residence of the President, was now in a very miserable condition. No vessel had arrived from Pará for five months, and all supplies were exhausted. Flour had been long since finished, consequently there was no bread; neither was there biscuit, butter, sugar, cheese, wine, nor vinegar; molasses even, to sweeten our coffee, was very scarce; and the spirit of the country (caxaça) was so nearly exhausted, that it could only be obtained retail, and in the smallest quantities: everybody was reduced to farinha and fish, with beef twice a week, and turtle about as often. This state of destitution was owing to there having been a vessel lost a month before, near Barra, which was coming from Pará; and at this time of the year, when the river is full, and the winds adverse, the passage frequently takes from seventy days to three months,—having to be performed almost entirely by warping with a rope sent ahead in a canoe, against the powerful current of the Amazon. It may therefore be well imagined that Barra was not the most agreeable place in the world to reside in, when, joined to the total absence of amusement and society which universally prevails there, the want of the common necessaries of life had also to be endured.Several vessels were leaving for Pará, but all were so completely filled as not to have room for me or my baggage; and I had to wait in patience for the arrival of a small canoe from the Solimões, in which Senhor Henrique guaranteed me a passage to Pará.Before proceeding with my journey, I will note the few observations that occur to me on the character and customs of the inhabitants of this fine country. I of course speak solely of the province of Pará, and it is probable that to the rest of Brazil my remarks may not in the least apply; so different inevery respect is this part of the Empire from the more southern and better-known portion. There is, perhaps, no country in the world so capable of yielding a large return for agricultural labour, and yet so little cultivated; none where the earth will produce such a variety of valuable productions, and where they are so totally neglected; none where the facilities for internal communication are so great, or where it is more difficult or tedious to get from place to place; none which so much possesses all the natural requisites for an immense trade with all the world, and where commerce is so limited and insignificant.This may well excite some wonder, when we remember that the white inhabitants of this country are the Portuguese and their descendants,—the nation which a few centuries ago took the lead in all great discoveries and commercial enterprises,—which spread its colonies over the whole world, and exhibited the most chivalric spirit of enterprise in overcoming the dangers of navigation in unknown seas, and of opening a commercial intercourse with barbarous or uncivilised nations.But yet, as far as I myself have been able to observe, their national character has not changed. The Portuguese, and their descendants, exhibit here the same perseverance, the same endurance of every hardship, and the same wandering spirit, which led and still leads them to penetrate into the most desolate and uncivilised regions in pursuit of commerce and in search of gold. But they exhibit also a distaste for agricultural and mechanical labour, which appears to have been ever a part of their national character, and which has caused them to sink to their present low condition in the scale of nations, in whatever part of the world they may be found. When their colonies were flourishing in every quarter of the globe, and their ships brought luxuries for the supply of half the civilised world, a great part of their population found occupation in trade, in the distribution of that wealth which set in a constant stream from America, Asia, and Africa, to their shores; but now that this stream has been diverted into other channels by the energy of the Saxon races, the surplus population, averse from agriculture, and unable to find a support in the diminished trade of the country, swarm to Brazil, in the hope that wealth may be found there, in a manner more congenial to their tastes.Thus we find the province of Pará overrun with traders, thegreater part of whom deserve no better name than pedlars, only they carry their goods in a canoe instead of upon their backs. As their distaste for agriculture, or perhaps rather their passionate love of trade, allows scarcely any of them to settle, or produce anything for others to trade in, their only resource is in the indigenous inhabitants of the country; and as these are also very little given to cultivation except to procure the mere necessaries of life, it results that the only articles of commerce are the natural productions of the country, to catch or collect which requires an irregular and wandering life, better suited to an Indian's habits than the settled and continued exertions of agriculture. These products are principally dried fish, and oil from the turtles' eggs and cow-fish, for the inland trade; and sarsaparilla, piassaba, india-rubber, Brazil-nuts, balsam of capivi, and cacao, for the exports. Though the coffee-plant and sugar-cane grow everywhere almost spontaneously, yet coffee and sugar have to be imported from other parts of Brazil for home consumption. Beef is everywhere bad, principally because there are no good pastures near the towns where cattle brought from a distance can be fattened, and no one thinks of making them, though it might easily be done. Vegetables are also very scarce and dear, and so are all fruits, except such as the orange and banana, which once planted only require the produce to be gathered when ripe; fowls in Pará are 3s.6d.each, and sugar as dear as in England. And all this because nobody will make it his business to supply any one of these articles! There is a kind of gambling excitement in trade which outshines all the steady profits of labour, and regular mechanics are constantly leaving their business to get a few goods on credit and wander about the country trading.There is, I should think, no country where such a universal and insecure system of credit prevails as here. There is hardly a trader, great or small, in the country, that can be said to have any capital of his own. The merchants in Pará, who have foreign correspondents, have goods out on credit; they sell on credit to the smaller merchants or shopkeepers of Pará; these again supply on credit the negociantes in the country towns. From these last the traders up the different rivers get their supplies also on credit. These traders give small parcels of goods to half-civilised Indians, or to any one who will takethem, to go among the wild Indian tribes and buy up their produce. They, however, have to give credit to the Indians, who will not work till they have been paid six months beforehand; and so they are paid for sarsaparilla or oil, which is still in the forest or the lake. And at every step of this credit there is not the slightest security; and robbery, waste, and a profuse squandering away of the property of others, is of constant occurrence. To cover all these chances of loss, the profits are proportionably great at every step, and the consumer often has to pay two shillings a yard for calico worth twopence, and everything else in like proportion. It is these apparently enormous profits that lead mechanics and others into trade, as they do not consider the very small business that can be done in a given time, owing to the poverty of the country and the enormous number of traders in proportion to the purchasers. It seems a very nice and easy way of getting a living, to sell goods at double the price you pay for them, and then again to sell the produce you receive at double what you pay for it; but as the greater part of the small traders do not get rid of more than a hundred pounds' worth of goods in a year, and the expenses of Indians and canoes, their families and bad debts, wines and liquors, and the waste which always takes place where everything is obtained upon credit, are often double that sum, it is not to be wondered at that they are almost all of them constantly in debt to their correspondents, who, when they have once thus got a hold on them, do not allow them easily to get free.It is this universal love of trade which leads, I think, to three great vices very prevalent here—drinking, gambling, and lying,—besides a whole host of trickeries, cheatings, and debaucheries of every description. The life of a river trader admits of little enjoyment to a man who has no intellectual resources; it is not therefore to be wondered at that the greater part of these men are more or less addicted to intoxication; and when they can supply themselves on credit with as much wine and spirits as they like, there is little inducement to break through the habit. A man who, if he had to pay ready money, would never think of drinking wine, when he can have it on credit takes twenty or thirty gallons with him in his canoe, which, as it has cost him nothing, is little valued, and he perhaps arrives at the end of his voyage without a drop.In the towns in the interior every shop sells spirits, and numbers of persons are all day drinking, taking a glass at every place they go to, and, by this constant dramming, ruining their health perhaps more than by complete intoxication at more distant intervals. Gambling is almost universal in a greater or less degree, and is to be traced to that same desire to gain money by some easier road than labour, which leads so many into commerce; and the great number of traders, who have to get a living out of an amount of business which would not be properly sufficient for one-third the number, leads to the general use of trickery and lying of every degree, as fair means to be employed to entrap a new customer or to ruin a rival trader. Truth, in fact, in matters of business is so seldom made use of, that a lie seems to be preferred even when it can serve no purpose whatever, and where the person addressed must be perfectly aware of the falsehood of every asseveration made; but Portuguese politeness does not permit him by word or look to throw any doubt on his friend's veracity. I have been often amused to hear two parties endeavouring to cheat each other, by assertions which each party knew to be perfectly false, and yet pretended to receive as undoubted fact.On the subjects of the most prevalent kind of immorality, it is impossible to enter, without mentioning facts too disgusting to be committed to paper. Vices of such a description as at home are never even alluded to, are here the subjects of common conversation, and boasted of as meritorious acts, and no opportunity is lost of putting the vilest construction upon every word or act of a neighbour.Among the causes which tend to promote the growth of such wide-spread immorality, we may perhaps reckon the geographical position and political condition of the country, and the peculiar state of civilisation in which it now exists. To a native, a tropical climate certainly offers fewer pleasures, pursuits, and occupations than a temperate one. The heat in the dry, and the moisture in the rainy season do not admit of the outdoor exercise and amusements, in which the inhabitants of a temperate zone can almost constantly indulge. The short twilights afford but a few moments between the glare of the descending sun and the darkness of night. Nature itself, dressed in an eternal and almost unchangeable garb of verdure, presents but a monotonous scene to him who has beheld itfrom childhood. In the interior of the country there is not a road or path out of the towns, along which a person can walk with comfort or pleasure; all is dense forest, or more impassable clearings. Here are no flower-bespangled meadows, no turfy glades, or smooth shady walks to tempt the lover of nature; here are no dry gravelled roads, where, even in the intervals of rain, we may find healthy and agreeable exercise; here are no field-side paths among golden corn or luxuriant clover. Here are no long summer evenings, to wander in at leisure, and admire the slowly changing glories of the sunset; nor long winter nights, with the blazing hearth, which, by drawing all the members of a family into close contact, promote a social intercourse and domestic enjoyment, which the inhabitants of a tropical clime can but faintly realise.At length the canoe arrived in which I was to go to Pará, and I soon agreed for my passage, and set to work getting my things together. I had a great number of cases and boxes, six large ones which I had left with Senhor Henrique the year before, being still in his possession, because the great men of Barra were afraid they might contain contraband articles, and would not let them pass.I now got them embarked, by making a declaration of their contents, and paying a small duty on them. Out of a hundred live animals which I had purchased or had had given to me, there now only remained thirty-four, consisting of five monkeys, two macaws, twenty parrots and paroquets of twelve different species, five small birds, a white-crested Brazilian pheasant, and a toucan.On the 10th of June we left Barra, commencing our voyage very unfortunately for me; for, on going on board, after bidding adieu to my friends, I missed my toucan, which had, no doubt, flown overboard, and not being noticed by any one, was drowned. This bird I esteemed very highly, as he was full-grown and very tame, and I had great hopes of bringing him alive to England.On the 13th we reached Villa Nova, at which place, being the last in the new Province, we had to disembark to show our passports, as if entering into another kingdom; and not content with this, there is another station half a day further down, on the exact boundary-line, where all vessels have to stay a second time, and again present their papers, as if the great object ofthe Government were to make their regulations as annoying and expensive as possible. At Villa Nova I was glad to get some butter and biscuits; quite a treat, after the scanty luxuries of Barra. Here, too, I met the kind priest, Padre Torquato, who had entertained us so hospitably on our ascent of the river. He received me with great kindness, and regretted I could not stay longer with him; he gave me a curious animal, which I had heard of but never seen before, a forest-dog,—an animal somewhat resembling a fox, in its bushy tail and great taste for poultry, and apparently very tame and docile.The next day we passed Obydos, the strong current of the river, now at its height, carrying us down with great rapidity; and the succeeding night we had a tremendous storm, which blew and tossed our little vessel about in a very alarming manner. The owner of the canoe, an Indian, was much frightened; he called upon the Virgin, and promised her several pounds of candles, if she would but save the canoe; and, opening the door of the little cabin where I was sleeping, cried out in a most piteous voice, "Oh! meu amigo, estamos perdidos" (Oh! my friend, we are all lost). In vain I tried to comfort him with assurances that, as the vessel was new and strong, and not too heavily laden, there was no danger,—although the night was pitch dark, and the wind blew in the most fierce and furious gusts imaginable. We did not know whether we were in the middle of the river or near the side, and the only danger we were exposed to, was of our drifting ashore or running aground. After about an hour, however, the canoe came to a stop, without any shock whatever, and remained perfectly still, although the wind still blew. It was so dark that nothing was to be seen, and it was only by stretching his arm down over the side, that the master ascertained that we had drifted into one of the large compact beds of floating grass which, in many places, line the banks of the Amazon for hundreds of yards from the shore. Here, therefore, we were safely moored, and waited for the morning, sleeping comfortably, with the knowledge that we were out of all danger.The next day, by noon, we reached the mouth of the Tapajoz, and went in the montaria to Santarem, to make some purchases and visit my friends. I found old Captain Hislop; but Mr. Bates, whom I most wished to see, had left a week before on an excursion up the Tapajoz. Having laid in a stockof sugar, vinegar, oil, biscuits, and fresh bread and meat, we proceeded on our journey, which we were anxious to complete as soon as possible.On the 18th we passed Gurupá; and on the 19th entered the narrow channels which form the communication with the Pará river,—bidding adieu to the turbid mighty flood of the never-to-be-forgotten Amazon.We here met a vessel from Pará, fifty days out, having made a much shorter distance than we, descending the river, had come in five.On the 22nd we reached Breves, a neat little village with well-supplied shops, where I bought half a dozen of the pretty painted basins, for the manufacture of which the place is celebrated; we here also got some oranges, at six for a halfpenny.The next day we stayed at a sitio built upon piles, for the whole country about here is covered at spring-tides. The master of the canoe had a lot of sarsaparilla to put up properly for the Pará market, and stayed a day to do it. The sarsaparilla is the root of a prickly, climbing plant, allied to our common black bryony; the roots are dug by the Indians, and tied up in bundles of various lengths and sizes; but, as it is a very light cargo, it is necessary to form it into packages of a convenient and uniform size and length, for closer stowage;—these are cylindrical, generally of sixteen pounds each, and are about three and a half feet long and five or six inches in diameter, cut square and even at the ends, and wound round closely from end to end with the long flexible roots of a species ofPothos, which, growing on the tops of lofty trees, hang down often a hundred feet or more, and, when the outer bark is scraped off, are universally used for this purpose. It was to do this binding we stayed here, the sarsa having been already done up in proper packages; and while the crew were busy about it, I occupied myself making some sketches of palms, which were yet wanting to complete my collection.In two days more we reached the mouth of the Tocantíns, where there is a great bay,—so wide, that the further shore is not visible. As there are some dangerous sandbanks here, there is a pilot who takes canoes over, and we waited all day in order to start with the morning's tide, which is considered the most favourable for the passage. While here I got a few shells, and amused myself by talking with the pilot, his wife,and two very lively daughters. Our conversation turned upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; which the old woman illustrated by a tale, which seemed to be another version of the "three warnings.""A man and his wife were conversing together, and remarking on the unpleasantness of being subject to death. 'I should like to make friends with Death, some way,' said the man; 'then perhaps he will not trouble me.' 'That you can easily do,' said his wife; 'invite him to be padrinho (godfather) to our little boy, who is to be baptized next week; you will then be able to talk to him on the subject, and he will surely not be able to refuse a slight favour to his "compadre."' So he was invited accordingly, and came; and after the ceremony and the feast were over, as he was going away, the man said to him, 'Compadre Death, as there are plenty of people in the world for you to take, I hope you will never come for me.' 'Really, Compadre,' replied Death, 'I cannot promise you that, for when God sends me for anybody I must go. However, I will do all I can, and I will at all events promise you a week's notice, that you may have time to prepare yourself.' Several years passed on, and Death at last came to pay them a visit. 'Good-evening, Compadre,' says he, 'I'm come on a disagreeable business: I have received orders to fetch you this day week, so I'm come to give you the notice I promised you.' 'Oh! Compadre,' said the man, 'you'vecome very soon; it's exceedingly inconvenient for me to go just now, I'm getting on very nicely, and shall be a rich man in a few years, if you will but let me alone: it's very unkind of you, Compadre; I'm sure you can arrange it if you like, and take some one else instead of me.' 'Very sorry,' said Death, 'but it can't be done, nohow: I've got my orders, and I must obey them. Nobody ever gets off when the order's once given, and very few get so long a notice as I've been able to give you. However, I'll try all I can, and if I succeed, you won't see me this day week; but I don't think there's any hope,—so goodbye.'When the day came, the man was in a great fright, for he did not expect to escape; his wife, however, hit upon a plan, which they resolved to try. They had an old Negro man in the house, who used to be generally employed in the kitchen. They made him exchange clothes with his master, and senthim away out of the house; the master then blacked his face, and made himself as much like the old nigger as he could. On the evening appointed Death came. 'Good-evening,Compadre,' said he; 'where is my compadre?—I'm obliged to take him with me.' 'Oh! Compadre,' said she, 'he didn't at all expect you, and is gone on some business into the village, and won't be back till late.' 'Now I'm in a pretty mess,' said Death; 'I did not expect my compadre would have treated me so; it's very ungentlemanly of him to get me into this scrape after all I've done for him. However, I must take somebody;—who is there in the house?' 'The woman was rather alarmed at this question, for she expected he would immediately have started off to the village in search of her husband: however, she considered it best to be civil, so replied, 'There's only our old nigger, that's in the kitchen, getting supper ready. Sit down, Compadre, and take a bit, and then perhaps my husband will be in; I'm very sorry he should give you so much trouble.' 'No, I can't stay,' said Death; 'I've got a long way to go, and must take somebody, so let's see if the old nigger will do?' and he walked into the kitchen, where the man was pretending to be busily engaged over the fire. 'Well, if Compadre won't come, I suppose I must take the old nigger,' said Death; and before the wife could speak a word, he stretched out his hand, and down fell her husband a corpse.""So you see," said the old woman to me, "when a man's time is come he must go: neither doctors nor anything else can stop him, and you can't cheat Death nohow." To which sentiment I did not think it worth while to make any objection.About two days before had been St. John's day, when it is the custom to make bonfires and jump over and through them, which act is considered by the common people as an important religious ceremony. As we were talking about it, the old lady gravely asked if we knew that animals also passed through the fire? We replied that we were not aware of the fact; upon which she informed us that we might hereafter believe it, for that she had had ocular demonstration of it. "It was last year," said she, "on the day after St. John's, my son went out to hunt, and brought home a cotía and a pacá, and both of them were completely scorched all along the belly: they had evidently passed through the fire the night before." "Butwhere do they get the fire from?" I asked. "Oh! God prepares it for them," said she; and on my hinting that fires were not often found in the forest unless lit by human hands, she at once silenced my objections by triumphantly asking me, "if anything was impossible with God?" at the same time observing that perhaps I was a Protestant, and did not believe in God or the Virgin. So I was obliged to give up the point; and though I assured her that Protestants did generally believe in God and went to church, she replied that she did not know, but had always heard to the contrary.At length, on the 2nd of July, we reached Pará, where I was kindly received by my friend Mr. C, and was glad to learn that there was a vessel in port that would probably sail for London in about a week. Several times on the voyage down I had had fits of ague, and was still very weak and quite unable to make any exertion. The yellow fever, which the year before had cut off thousands of the inhabitants, still attacked new-comers, and scarcely a ship was in port but had a considerable portion of her crew in the hospital. The weather was beautiful; the summer or dry season was just commencing, vegetation was luxuriantly verdant, and the bright sky and clear fresh atmosphere seemed as if they could not harbour the fatal miasma which had crowded the cemetery with funeral crosses, and made every dwelling in the city a house of mourning. Once or twice I attempted to walk out into the forest, but the exertion generally brought on shiverings and sickness, so I thought it best to remain as quiet as possible till the time of my departure.Since I had left the city it had been much improved. Avenues of almond and other trees had been formed along the road to Nazaré and round the Largo de Palacio; new roads and drives had been made, and some new buildings erected: in other respects the city was the same. The dirty, straggling, uncovered market, the carts of hacked beef, the loud chanting of the Negro porters, and the good-humoured smiling faces of the Indian and Negro girls selling their fruits and "doces," greeted me as of old. Fowls had risen in price from about 2s.to 3s.6d., and fruits and vegetables in about the same proportion; while in changing English money for Brazilian I now got about ten per cent. less than I used, and yet everybody complained of trade being very bad, and pricesquite unremunerative. I heard many stories of miraculous cures of the yellow fever, when at its worst stage, and after the parties had been given up by the doctors. One had been cured by eating ices, another by drinking a bottle of wine; ices, in fact, had got into great favour as a fine tonic, and were taken daily by many persons as a most useful medicine.I agreed for my passage in the brigHelen, two hundred and thirty-five tons, Captain John Turner, whose property she was; and on the morning of Monday, the 12th of July, we got aboard, and bade adieu to the white houses and waving palm-trees of Pará. Our cargo consisted of about a hundred and twenty tons of india-rubber, and a quantity of cocoa, arnotto, piassaba, and balsam of capivi. About two days after we left I had a slight attack of fever, and almost thought that I was still doomed to be cut off by the dread disease which had sent my brother and so many of my countrymen to graves upon a foreign shore. A little calomel and opening medicines, however, soon set me right again; but as I was very weak, and suffered much from sea-sickness, I spent most of my time in the cabin. For three weeks we had very light winds and fine weather, and on the 6th of August had reached about latitude 30° 30´ north, longitude 52° west.On that morning, after breakfast, I was reading in the cabin, when the Captain came down and said to me, "I'm afraid the ship's on fire; come and see what you think of it," and proceeded to examine the lazaretto, or small hole under the floor where the provisions are kept, but no signs of fire were visible there. We then went on deck to the forepart of the ship, where we found a dense vapoury smoke issuing from the forecastle. The fore hatchway was immediately opened, and, the smoke issuing there also, the men were set to work clearing out part of the cargo. After throwing out some quantity without any symptom of approaching the seat of the fire, we opened the after hatchway; and here the smoke was much more dense, and in a very short time became so suffocating, that the men could not stay in the hold to throw out more cargo, so they were set to work pouring in water, while others proceeded to the cabin, and now found abundance of smoke issuing from the lazaretto, whence it entered through the joints of the bulkhead which separated it from the hold. Attempts were now made to break this bulkhead down; butthe planks were so thick and the smoke so unbearable that it could not be effected, as no man could remain in the lazaretto to make more than a couple of blows. The cabin table was therefore removed, and a hole attempted to be cut in the cabin floor, so as to be able to pour water immediately on the seat of the fire, which appeared to be where the balsam was stowed. This took some time, owing to the suffocating smoke, which also continued to pour in dense volumes out of the hatchway. Seeing that there was now little chance of our being able to extinguish the fire, the Captain thought it prudent to secure our own safety, and called all hands to get out the boats, and such necessaries as we should want, in case of being obliged to take to them. The long-boat was stowed on deck, and of course required some time to get it afloat. The gig was hung on davits on the quarter, and was easily let down. All now were in great activity. Many little necessaries had to be hunted up from their hiding-places. The cook was sent for corks to plug the holes in the bottoms of the boats. Now no one knew where a rudder had been put away; now the thowl-pins were missing. The oars had to be searched for, and spars to serve as masts, with proportionate sails, spare canvas, twine, cordage, tow-ropes, sail-needles, nails and tacks, carpenters' tools, etc. The Captain was looking after his chronometer, sextant, barometer, charts, compasses, and books of navigation; the seamen were getting their clothes into huge canvas bags; all were lugging about pilot-coats, blankets, south-westers, and oilskin coats and trousers; and I went down into the cabin, now suffocatingly hot and full of smoke, to see what was worth saving. I got my watch and a small tin box containing some shirts and a couple of old note-books, with some drawings of plants and animals, and scrambled up with them on deck. Many clothes and a large portfolio of drawings and sketches remained in my berth; but I did not care to venture down again, and in fact felt a kind of apathy about saving anything, that I can now hardly account for. On deck the crew were still busy at the boats; two barrels of bread were got in, a lot of raw pork, some ham and cases of preserved meats, some wine and a large cask of water. The cask had to be lowered into the boat empty, for fear of any accident, and after being securely fixed in its place, filled with buckets from those on board.

There was a large malocca here, and a considerable number of houses. The front of the malocca was painted very tastefully in diamonds and circles, with red, yellow, white, and black. On the rocks were a series of strange figures, of which I took a sketch. The Indians were of the "Ananás" or Pineapple tribe; I bought some dresses and feather ornaments of them; and fish, mandiocca-cakes, etc., were brought me in considerable quantities, the articles most coveted in return being fish-hooks and red beads, of both of which I had a large stock. Just below the fall, the river is not more than two or three hundred yards wide; while above, it is half a mile, and contains several large islands.

The large black pacu was abundant here, and, with other small fish, was generally brought us in sufficient quantity to prevent our recurring to fowls, which are considered by the traders to be the most ordinary fare a man can live on. I now ate for the first time the curious river-weed, called carurú, that grows on the rocks. We tried it as a salad, and also boiled with fish; and both ways it was excellent;—boiled, it much resembled spinach.

Here, too, I first saw and heard the "Juriparí," or Devil-music of the Indians. One evening there was a caxirí-drinking; and a little before dusk a sound as of trombones and bassoons was heard coming on the river towards the village, and presently appeared eight Indians, each playing on a great bassoon-looking instrument. They had four pairs, of different sizes, and produced a wild and pleasing sound. They blew them all together, tolerably in concert, to a simple tune, and showed more taste for music than I had yet seen displayed among these people. The instruments are made of bark spirally twisted, and with a mouthpiece of leaves.

In the evening I went to the malocca, and found two old men playing on the largest of the instruments. They waved them about in a singular manner, vertically and sideways, accompanied by corresponding contortions of the body, and played along while in a regular tune, accompanying each other very correctly. From the moment the music was first heard, not a female, old or young, was to be seen; for it is one of the strangest superstitions of the Uaupés Indians, that they consider it so dangerous for a woman ever to see one of these instruments, that having done so is punished with death, generally by poison. Even should the view be perfectly accidental, or should there be only a suspicion that the proscribed articles have been seen, no mercy is shown; and it is said that fathers have been the executioners of their own daughters, and husbands of their wives, when such has beenthe case. I was of course anxious to purchase articles to which such curious customs belong, and spoke to the Tushaúa on the subject. He at length promised to sell them me on my return, stipulating that they were to be embarked at some distance from the village, that there might be no danger of their being seen by the women.

On the morning previous to that on which we were to leave, two more of our Indians who had received full payment on starting, were discovered to have left us. They had taken possession of a canoe, and absconded in the night; leaving me no remedy, but the chance of finding them in their houses on my return, and the still more remote chance of their having anything to pay me with.

The Indians here have but little characteristic distinction from those below. The women wear more beads around their necks and arms. The lower lip is often pierced, and two or three little strings of white beads inserted; but as the nations are so mixed by inter-marriages, this custom is probably derived from the Tucanos. Some of the women and children wore two garters, one above the ankle and one below the knee—swelling out the calf enormously, which they consider a very great beauty. I did not see here so many long tails of hair; most of the men having probably been to the Rio Negro with some trader, and thence worn their hair like Christians; or perhaps because the last Tushaúa was a "homen muito civilizado" (a very well-bred person).

After four days' delay, we at length started, with a comparatively small complement of Indians, but with some extra men to assist us in passing several caxoeiras, which occur near at hand. These are the "Piréwa" (Wound), "Uacorouá" (Goat-sucker), "Maniwára" (White Ant), "Matapí" (Fish-trap), "Amána" (Rain), "Tapíracúnga" (Tapir's head), "Tapíra eura" (Tapir's mouth), and "Jacaré" (Alligator). Three of these were very bad, the canoe having to be unloaded entirely, and pulled over the dry and uneven rocks. The last was the highest; the river rushing furiously about twenty feet down a rugged slope of rock. The loading and unloading of the canoe three or four times in the course of as many hours, is a great annoyance. Baskets of farinha and salt, of mandiocca-cakes and pacovas, are strewn about. Panellas are often broken; and when there comes a shower of rain, everythinghas to be heaped together in a hurry,—palm-leaves cut, and the more perishable articles covered; but boxes,rédés, and numerous other articles are sure to be wetted, rendering us very uncomfortable when again hastily tumbled into the overcrowded canoe. If I had birds or insects out drying, they were sure to be overturned, or blown by the wind, or wetted by the rain, and the same fate was shared by my note-books and papers. Articles in boxes, unless packed tight, were shaken and rumpled by not being carried evenly; so that it was an excellent lesson in patience, to bear all with philosophical serenity. We had passed all these falls by midday; and at night slept on a rock, where there was a small rapid and a house without inhabitants.

On the 8th we had tolerably quiet water, with only two small rapids, the "Taiéna" (Child), and "Paroquet" caxoeiras. On the 9th, in the morning, we reached the "Pacu" fall, and then had a quiet stream, though full of rocks, till the afternoon, when we passed the "Macucú" (a tree), "Anacás" (Pineapple), and "Uacú" (a fruit) caxoeiras; all very bad and difficult ones. We had left Carurú with very little farinha, as none was to be had there, and we had seen no inhabited sitios where any could be purchased; so our Indians were now on short allowance of "beijú," which they had brought with them. Of a passing Indian I bought a basket of Ocokí, and some fish. The Ocokí is a large pear-shaped fruit, with a hard thick outer skin of almost a woody texture, then a small quantity of very sweet pulpy matter, and within a large black oval stone. The pulp is very luscious, but is so acrid as to make the mouth and throat sore, if more than two or three are eaten. When, however, the juice is boiled it loses this property; and when made into mingau with tapioca, is exceedingly palatable and very highly esteemed in the Upper Rio Negro, where it is abundant. It takes at least a peck of fruit to give one small panella of mingau.

On the next day, the 10th, in the afternoon, the Indians all suddenly sprang like otters into the water, swam to the shore, and disappeared in the forest. "Ocokí," was the answer to my inquiries as to the cause of their sudden disappearance; and I soon found they had discovered an ocokí-tree, and were loading themselves with the fruit to satisfy the cravings of hunger, for an Indian's throat and mouth seem invulnerable to all thosescarifying substances which act upon civilised man. The tree is one of the loftiest in the forest, but the fruit falls as soon as ripe, and its hard woody coating preserves it from injury. Baskets, shirts, trousers, etc., were soon filled with the fruit and emptied into the canoe; and I made each of the Indians bring a small basketful for me; so that we had "mingau de ocokí" for three succeeding mornings.

The rocks from Carurú often present a scoriaceous appearance, as if the granite had been remelted. Sometimes they are a mass of burnt fragments, sometimes a honeycombed rock with a shining surface. In some places there are enclosed fragments of a finer-grained rock, apparently sandstone, and numerous veins and dykes, which often cross each other in three or four sets. The rocks are, in many places, so broken and cleft vertically, as to appear stratified and thrown up on end. The rounded form and concentric arrangement, observed in the Rio Negro, is here also constantly met with. The interstices of the rounded and angular masses of rock are often filled with a curious volcanic substance, which outwardly resembles pitch, but consists of scoriae, sand, clays, etc., variously cemented together.

On the 10th we passed the "Tapioca," "Tucáno" (Toucan), "Tucunaré" (a fish), "Uaracú piními" (a fish), and "Tyeassú" (Pig) caxoeiras. The first was very bad, and both difficult and dangerous to pass; it consisted of many distinct falls among huge masses of rock. At one place the canoe remained stuck fast, amidst foaming waters, on the very edge of a fall, for nearly an hour; all the efforts of the Indians could not move it forward. They heaved it over from one side to the other, but with no effect; till I began to despair of getting out of the difficulty before night. At last the canoe suddenly moved on, with apparently not so much force as had been before applied to it; but my Indians, being of several nations, did not understand any common language, and it was impossible to get them to act in concert, or obey any leader. It was probably some chance combination of forces, that at last extricated us from our unpleasant situation. At this fall, on the rocks, were very numerous figures, or picture-writings, and I stopped to make drawings of them; of which I had by this time a rather extensive collection.

The next three falls were small rapids; but the last, whichwe reached late in the evening, was fearful. The river makes a sudden bend, and is confined in a very narrow channel, which is one confused mass of rocks of every size and shape, piled on one another, and heaped up in the greatest possible confusion. Every stone which rises above high-water mark is covered with vegetation; and among the whole the river rushes and foams, so as to make the task of pilot one of no ordinary difficulty. Just as it was getting dark, we passed out of these gloomy narrows into a wider and more cheerful part of the river, and stayed at a rock to sup and sleep.

On the 11th, early, we reached Uarucapurí, where are a village and several maloccas. The first which we entered was inhabited by people of the Cobeu nation. There were about a dozen handsome men, all clean-limbed and well painted, with armlets and necklaces of white beads, and with the ears plugged with a piece of wood the size of a common bottle-cork, to the end of which was glued a piece of porcelain presenting a white shining surface. We agreed with these men to help to pass our canoe up the falls, and then proceeded on our walk through the village. My old friend Senhor Chagas was here, and with him I breakfasted off a fine pirahíba which his men had caught that morning, and which was the first I had eaten since my illness.

With some difficulty I succeeded in buying two or three baskets of farinha; and being anxious to get to my journey's end, which was now near at hand, about midday we proceeded. Our pilot and his son left us, and we had now only six paddles; but four or five additional men came with us to pass the remaining caxoeiras, which were near. Close to the village we passed the "Cururú" (a toad), and "Murucututú" (an owl) falls, both rather bad; and, soon after, arrived at the "Uacoroúa" (Goatsucker), the last great fall on the river below the "Juruparí," which is many days further up. Here the river is precipitated over a nearly vertical rock, about ten feet high, and much broken in places. The canoe had to be entirely unloaded, and then pulled up over the rocks on the margin of the fall, a matter of considerable difficulty. To add to our discomfort, a shower of rain came on while the canoe was passing; and the Indians, as usual, having scattered the cargo about in great confusion, it had to be huddled together and covered with mats and palm-leaves, till the shower, which wasluckily a short one, passed over. Loading again and proceeding onwards, we passed three small rapids, the "Tatu" (Armadillo), "Ocokí" (a fruit), and "Piranterá" (a fish) caxoeiras; and our additional Indians here left us, with their payment of fish-hooks and arrow-heads, as we now had only smooth water before us. In the afternoon we passed a malocca, where one of the Indians wished to land to see his friends; and as we did not stay, at night he took his departure, and we saw no more of him.

Early the next morning we reached Mucúra, where two young Brazilians, whom I had met with below, were residing, trading for salsa. I was now in the country of the painted turtle and the white umbrella-bird, and I determined to make a stay of at least a fortnight, to try and obtain these much-desired rarities.

Messrs. Nicoláu and Bellarmine were both out, and their little palm-leaf huts were evidently quite inadequate to my accommodation. The only other house was a small Indian malocca, also made entirely of "palha;" and I agreed with the owner to let me have half of it, giving him a small knife and mirror in payment, with which he was well contented. We accordingly cleared and swept out our part of the house, unloaded and arranged our things, and I then sent my guardas to a malocca, in which there were said to be plenty of Indians, to see if they had any farinha or pacovas to dispose of; and also to let them know that I would purchase birds, or fish, or any other animals they could obtain for me. The men were all out; but the same afternoon they came in great force to see the "Branco," and make an attack on my fish-hooks and beads, bringing me fish, pacovas, farinha, and mandiocca-cake, for all of which one of these two articles was asked in exchange.

I was now settled at the limit of my expedition, for I could not think of going a week further up only to see Juruparí caxoeira,—wasting the little time I had to rest, before again descending. We had made a favourable voyage, without any serious accident, up a river perhaps unsurpassed for the difficulties and dangers of its navigation. We had passed fifty caxoeiras, great and small; some mere rapids, others furious cataracts, and some nearly perpendicular falls. About twenty were rapids, up which, by the help of a long sipó attached to the canoe, instead of a rope, we were pulled without much difficulty. About eighteen were very bad and dangerous, requiring the canoe to be partially unloaded where practicable, and all the exertions of my Indians, often with additional assistance, to pass; and twelve were so high and furious as to require the canoe to be entirely unloaded, and either pulled over the dry and often very precipitous rocks, or with almost equal difficulty up the margin of the fall. At Carurú, as I have said, four-and-twenty men were scarcely able to pull my empty canoe over the rock, though plentifully strewn with branches and bushes, to smooth the asperities which would otherwise much damage the bottom: this was the reason why I purchased the Tushaúa's smaller obá, to proceed; and it was well I did, or I might otherwise have had to return without ever reaching the locality I had at length attained.

The next day, the 13th, I was employed drawing some new fish brought me the preceding evening. My hunters went out and brought me nothing but a common hawk. In the afternoon, the father and brother of the Indian I had found in the house, arrived, with their wives and families; so now, with my six Indians and two hunters, we were pretty full; some of them, however, slept in a shed, and we were as comfortably accommodated as could be expected. The wives of the father and two sons were perfectly naked, and were, moreover, apparently quite unconscious of the fact. The old woman possessed a "saía," or petticoat, which she sometimes put on, and seemed then almost as much ashamed of herself as civilised people would be if they took theirs off. So powerful is the effect of education and habit!

Having been told by Senhor Chagas that there was an excellent hunter in the Codiarí, a river which enters from the north a short distance above Mucúra, I sent Philippe, one of my guardas, to try and engage him, and also to buy all the living birds and animals he could meet with. The following day he returned, bringing with him one "Macaco barrigudo" (Lagothrix Humboldtii), and a couple of parrots. On most days I had a new fish or two to figure, but birds and insects were very scarce. This day Senhor Nicoláu returned. On my first arrival I had been told that he had a "tataruga pintata" (painted turtle) for me, but that he would give it me himself on his arrival; so I did not meddle with it, though my Indians saw it in a "corrál," in a small stream near the house. On arriving, he sent to fetch it, but found it had escaped,though it had been seen in its cage on the preceding day. I thus lost perhaps my only chance of obtaining a much-desired and probably undescribed river turtle, as the time of egg-laying was past, and they had now retired into the lakes, and become very scarce and difficult to be met with.

As my Indians were here doing nothing, I sent three of them with Sebastião up the Codiarí, with beads, hooks, mirrors, etc., to buy monkeys, parrots, or whatever else they could meet with, as well as some farinha, which I did not wish to be in want of again. I sent them with instructions to go for five or six days, in order to reach the lastsitio, and purchase all that was to be had. In two days, however, they returned, having been no further than Philippe had gone, Sebastião saying that his companions would not go on. He brought me some parrots and small birds, bows, bird-skins, and more farinha than my canoe would carry, all purchased very dearly, judging by the remnant of articles brought back.

Being now in a part of the country that no European traveller had ever before visited, I exceedingly regretted my want of instruments to determine the latitude, longitude, and height above the sea. The two last I had no means whatever of ascertaining, having broken my boiling-point thermometer, and lost my smaller one, without having been able to replace either. I once thought of sealing up a flask of air, by accurately weighing which on my return, the density of air at that particular time would be obtained, and the height at which a barometer would have stood might be deduced. But, besides that this would only give a result equal to that of a single barometer observation, there were insuperable difficulties in the way of sealing up the bottle, for whether sealing-wax or pitch were used, or even should the bottle be hermetically sealed, heat must be applied, and at the moment of application would, of course, rarefy the air within the bottle, and so produce in such a delicate operation very erroneous results. My observations, however, on the heights of the falls we passed, would give their sum as about two hundred and fifty feet; now if we add fifty for the fall of the river between them, we shall obtain three hundred feet, as the probable height of the point I reached above the mouth of the river; and, as I have every reason to believe that that is not five hundred feet above the sea, we shall obtain eight hundred feet as the probable limit ofthe height of the river above the sea-level, at the point I reached. Nothing, however, can accurately determine this fact, but a series of barometer or "boiling-point" observations; and to determine this height above the next great fall, and ascertain the true course and sources of this little-known but interesting and important river, would be an object worth the danger and expense of the voyage.

There is said to be a week's smooth water above this place, to the Juruparí caxoeira, which is higher than any below it; and above this no other fall has been found, though traders have been ten or fifteen days up. They say the river still keeps as wide or wider than below,—that the water is as "white," or muddy, as that of the Solimões,—that many trees, birds, and fish peculiar to the Solimões are there found,—that the Indians have Spanish knives, ponchos, and coins,—and relate that, higher up, there are extensive "campos," with cattle, and men on horseback. All these interesting particulars seem to show that the river has its sources in the great plains which extend to the base of the Andes, somewhere near where the sources of the Guaviare are placed in most maps; but the latter river, from all the information I can obtain, is much smaller, and has a much shorter course. Having only a pocket surveying sextant, without any means of viewing two objects much differing in brilliancy, I endeavoured to obtain the latitude as accurately as I could, first by means of the zenith-distance at noon, obtained by a plumb-line and image of the sun, formed by a lens of about fifteen inches focus; and afterwards, by the meridian altitude of a star, obtained on a calm night, by reflection in a cuya of water. I took much care to ensure an accurate result, and have every reason to believe that the mean of the two observations will not be more than two or three minutes from the truth.

My expectations of finding rare and handsome birds here were quite disappointed. My hunter and Senhor Nicoláu killed a few umbrella-birds of the Rio Negro species; but of the white bird such contradictory statements were given,—many knowing nothing whatever about it, others saying that it was sometimes, but very rarely seen,—that I am inclined to think it is a mere white variety, such as occurs at times with our blackbirds and starlings at home, and as are sometimes found among the curassow-birds and agoutis. Another bird,which I had been long searching for, the "anambé de catinga," a species ofCyanurus, was here shot; and before leaving, I obtained four or five specimens of it, and as many of the commoner black-headed species. One or two small birds, new to me, were also obtained; and these, with two or three scarce butterflies, and about a dozen new species of fish, composed my natural-history collections in this remote and unvisited district. This was entirely owing, however, to my unfortunate and unforeseen illness, for birds in great variety had been very abundant, but the time of the fruit was now over; fish and turtles, too, were in extraordinary plenty at the commencement of the fall of the river, two months back; and during that period, constituting the short summer in these districts, while I lay half dead at São Joaquim, insects were doubtless more numerous.

But as there was now no remedy I made myself as contented as I could, and endeavoured at least to complete my collection of the arms, implements, and ornaments of the natives. The Indians here were mostly "Cobeus," and I obtained several of their peculiar ornaments and dresses, to add to my collection. I also took advantage of the visit of a Tushaúa, or chief, who well understood the Lingoa Geral, to obtain a vocabulary of their language.

Just as I was about to leave on my voyage down, I received a note from Senhor Chagas, requesting, in the name of Tenente Jesuino, the loan of my canoe, to ascend higher up the river; which, as the time of his stay was very uncertain, I was obliged to refuse. This Tenente, an ignorant half-breed, was sent by the new Barra government to bring all the Tushaúas, or chiefs, of the Uaupés and Isanna rivers to Barra, to receive diplomas and presents. An Indian, sent by him, had arrived at Carurú caxoeira, and wished to buy the obá of the Tushaúa, after I had paid for and got possession of it, and even had the impudence to request me to give it back again, in order that he might purchase or borrow it; and my refusal was, of course, quite sufficient seriously to offend the said Tenente.

On the 25th, having been just a fortnight at Mucúra, I left, much disappointed with regard to the collections I had made there. The same day I reached Uarucapurí, whence I could not proceed without a pilot, as the falls below are very dangerous. There was hardly a male in the village, Messrs.Jesuino and Chagas having taken all with them up the river, to assist in an attack on an Indian tribe, the "Carapanás," where they hoped to get a lot of women, boys, and children, to take as presents to Barra. There was scarcely anything to be had to eat: fish were not to be caught, though we sent our Indians out every day; and though fowls were abundant, their owners were out, and those in charge of them would not sell them. At length, after four days, I succeeded in persuading the son of the Tushaúa to go with me as pilot to Jauarité, he not being able to resist the knives, beads, and mirror, which I spread out before him.

I had collected scarcely anything in this place, but a single specimen of the beautiful and rare topaz-throated hummer (Trochilus pyra) and a new butterfly of the genusCallithea. I heard of the handsome bronze Jacana being found here, but my hunters searched for it in vain.

On the morning after we left, we saw a fine deer on a sandbank near us, so I sent Manoel into the forest to get behind it, while we remained quietly watching from the canoe. After walking about the beach a short time, it took to the water to cross the river, when we followed in pursuit; and, notwithstanding its turnings and doublings, soon came up,—when the poor animal was despatched by a blow on the head, and pulled into the canoe. The Indians then went briskly on, rejoicing in the certainty of a dinner for the next day or two, in which I heartily joined them. At Tapioca caxoeira we stayed two hours, to cook and salt the deer, and descended the fall without any accident.

On April 1st we passed a host of falls, shooting most of them amidst fearful waves and roaring breakers, and arrived safely at Carurú, where the Tushaúa gave us his house; for, having two canoes, we were obliged to wait to get more Indians. I was still too weak to go out into the forest; and, besides, had my live stock to attend to, which now consisted of four monkeys, about a dozen parrots, and six or eight small birds. It was a constant trouble to get food for them in sufficient variety, and to prevent them from escaping. Most of the birds are brought up without being confined, and if placed in a cage, attempt constantly to get out, and refuse food till they die; if, on the other hand, they are loose, they wander about to the Indians' houses, or into the forest, andare often lost. I here had two new toldas made to my canoes, but all attempts to hire men were fruitless. Fowls and fish were tolerably abundant, so we were better off than at Uarucapurí.

On the 4th, in the afternoon, Senhors Jesuino and Chagas arrived with a whole fleet of canoes, and upwards of twenty prisoners, all, but one, women and children. Seven men and one woman had been killed; the rest of the men escaped; but only one of the attacking party was killed. The man was kept bound, and the women and children well guarded, and every morning and evening they were all taken down to the river to bathe. At night there was abundance of caxirí and caxaça drunk in honour of the new-comers, and all the inhabitants assembled in the great house. I spoke to Jesuino about obtaining some Indians for me, which he promised to do. Next morning, however, his first act was to summon my pilot, and scold him for coming with me at all,—frightening the poor fellow so, that he immediately went off with his father down the river. Before he had left, however, having been told by my guardas what was going on, I applied to Jesuino about the matter, when he denied having said anything to the pilot, but refused to call him back, or make him fulfil his engagement with me. Soon after Jesuino left, having first sent five Indians to take me to Jauarité; so I started immediately after him. The men, however, had had instructions to go with me only a short distance, and then leave me where I could not procure any more; and about noon, much to my surprise, they got into a little obá, and intimated their intention to return, saying that they had only been told to come so far. I had overtaken Jesuino at this place, and now appealed to him; but though the men would have immediately obeyed an order from him he refused to give it, telling me that he had put them in my canoe, and now I must arrange with them as well as I could. I accordingly told the Indians, that if they came on with me to Jauarité, I would pay them well, but that, if they left me at this place, they should not have a single fish-hook; but they knew very well what Senhor Jesuino wanted, so without another word they paddled off, leaving me to get on as I could. I had now only one man and one boy in each canoe, to pass rapids which required six or eight good paddles to shoot with safety; but staying here was useless, sowe went on,—drifting down the stream after Senhor Jesuino, who, no doubt, rejoiced in the idea that I should probably lose my canoes, if not my life, in the caxoeiras, and thought himself well revenged on the stranger who had dared to buy the canoe he had wanted to purchase.

In the afternoon we passed a caxoeira with considerable danger, and then, luckily, persuaded some Indians at a sitio to come with us to Jauarité. In the afternoon I stayed at several houses, purchasing fowls, parrots, bows and arrows and feathers; and at one of them I found my runaway pilot, and made him give me two baskets of farinha, instead of the payment he had received for the voyage from Carurú to Jauarité. At the last caxoeira, close to Jauarité, we were very near losing our canoe, which was let down by a rope, I remaining in it; but just in passing, it got twisted broadside, and the water rushing up from the bottom, had the curious effect of pushing it up against the fall, where it remained a considerable time completely on one side, and appearing as if every minute it would turn over. However, at last it was got out, and we reached the village, much to the surprise of Senhor Jesuino, who had arrived there but a few hours before us. My friend Senhor Augustinho, of São Jeronymo, was also there, and I spent the evening pleasantly with them.

I found that we differed in our calculations of the date, there being a day's difference in our reckonings of the day of the week and the day of the month. As I had been three months up the river, it was to be supposed I was wrong; yet as I had kept a regular diary all the voyage, I could not at all make out how I had erred. This, however, is a common thing in these remote districts. When two parties meet, one going up and the other coming down the river, the first inquiry of the latter, after the usual compliments, is, "What day is it with you?" and it not unfrequently happens, that there are three parties present, all of whom make it different days; and then there is a comparison of authorities, and a determination of past Saints' days, in order to settle the correction of the disputed calendar. When at Caturú caxoeira, we had found that Messrs. Jesuino and Chagas differed from us on this important particular; but as they had been some time out, we thought they might have erred as well as ourselves. Now, however, that Senhor Augustinho, who had recently come fromSão Gabriel, whence he had brought the correct date, agreed with them, there was no withstanding such authority. A minute examination of my diary was made, and it was then found that on our first stay at Carurú we had reckoned our delay there as five days instead of six. The Indians generally keep accounts of the time very accurately on a voyage, by cutting notches on a stick, as boys do at school on the approach of the holidays. In our case, however, even they were most of them wrong, for some of them agreed with me, while others made a day in advance, and others again a day behind us, so that we got completely confused. Sometimes the traders residing at the Indian villages pass many months, without seeing a person from any civilised part, and get two or three days out in their reckonings. Even in more populous places, where all the inhabitants depend on the priest or the commandante, errors have been made, and Sundays and Saints' days have been desecrated, while Mondays and common days have been observed in their place, much to the horror of all good Catholics.

The next morning I took a turn round the village,—bought some paroquets and parrots, and some feather ornaments and small pots, of the Tushaúa; and then, having nothing to keep me at Jauarité, and having vainly endeavoured to get some Indians to go with me, I left for São Jeronymo. On arriving at the first great fall of Pinupinú, we found only one Indian, and were obliged to send to the village for more. That afternoon they did not choose to come, and we lost a beautiful day. The next morning, as was to be expected, commenced a soaking rain; but as the Indians arrived we went on, and about noon, the rain clearing off a little, we passed the fall of Panoré, and arrived safely at the village of São Jeronymo. Here we disembarked, and unloaded our canoes, taking possession of the doorless "casa da nação," and made up our minds to remain quietly till we should get men to go down the river.

The same afternoon Jesuino arrived, and the next morning left,—kindly inquiring when I intended to proceed, and saying, he had spoken with the Tushaúa to get me Indians. In two days, however, the Tushaúa also left for Barra, without giving me a single Indian, notwithstanding the promises and threats I had alternately employed.

The two Indians who had remained with me now left, and the two boys who had come from São Joaquim ran away, leaving me alone in my glory, with my two "guardas" and two canoes. In vain I showed my axes, knives, beads, mirrors, and cloth, to every passing Indian; not one could be induced to go with me, and I might probably have remained prisoner there for months, had not Senhor Victorino, the "Juiz de Paz," arrived, and also Bernado, my old pilot, who had left me at Jauarité, and had now been down to São Joaquim. Between them, after a delay of several more days, some Indians were persuaded to receive payment to go with me as far as Castanheiro, where I hoped to get Capitão Ricardo to order them on to Barra.

SÃO JERONYMO TO THE DOWNS.

Voyage down the Rio Negro—Arrive at Barra—Obtaining a Passport—State of the City—Portuguese and Brazilian Enterprise—System of Credit—Trade—Immorality, and its Causes—Leave Barra—A Storm on the Amazon—Sarsaparilla—A Tale about Death—Pará—The Yellow Fever—Sail for England—Ship takes Fire—Ten Days in the Boats—Get picked up—Heavy Gales—Short of Provisions—Storm in the Channel—Arrive at Deal.

Atlength, on the 23rd of April, I bade adieu, with much pleasure, to São Jeronymo. I stopped at several places to buy beiju, fish, pacovas, and any parrots I could meet with. My Indians went several times, early in the morning, to the gapó to catch frogs, which they obtained in great numbers, stringing them on a sipó, and, boiling them entire, entrails and all, devoured them with much gusto. The frogs are mottled of various colours, have dilated toes, and are called Juí.

On the 26th we reached São Joaquim, where I stayed a day, to make some cages for my birds, and embark the things I had left with Senhor Lima.

On the 28th I went on to São Gabriel, and paid my respects to the new Commandante, and then enjoyed a little conversation with my friend Mr. Spruce. Several of my birds died or were lost here, and at São Joaquim. A little black monkey killed and devoured two which had escaped from their cages, and one of my most valuable and beautiful parrots (a single specimen) was lost in passing the falls. I had left São Joaquim with fifty-two live animals (monkeys, parrots, etc.), which, in a small canoe, were no little trouble and annoyance.

I was lucky enough to get the Commandante to send a soldier with me in charge of the Correio, or post, and thusensured my passage to Barra without further delays, a point on which I had been rather uneasy. Leaving São Gabriel I stayed for the night at the house of Senhor Victoríno, of whom I bought several green parrots, and a beautiful "anacá," or purple and red-necked crested parrot, in place of the one which had gone overboard while passing the falls at São Gabriel. The following day I reached the house of Senhor Palheta, and thought myself fortunate to purchase of him another anacá for seven shillings; but the very next morning it died from cold, having flown into the river, and become completely chilled before it could be rescued.

On the 2nd of May I arrived at the sitio of my old friend Senhor Chagas, who made me breakfast with him, and sold me some farinha, coffee, and a lot of guinea-fowls' eggs; and embraced me with great affection at parting, wishing me every happiness. The same night I reached Castanheiro, where I particularly wished to get a pilot, to take me down the east bank of the river, for the purpose of making a sketch-survey of that side, and ascertaining the width of this extraordinary stream. Senhor Ricardo, who is the Capitão dos Trabalhadores, immediately gave me an order to embark a man, whose house I should pass the next day, and who, he said, was perfectly acquainted with that side of the river. After breakfasting with him the next morning, I left, well satisfied to have a prospect of accomplishing this long-cherished scheme. On arriving at the house, however, it was empty, and there was no sign of it having been inhabited for some weeks, so that I had to give up all hopes of completing my project.

I applied again to the Subdelegarde, João Cordeiro, whose house I reached the next day, and also to the lieutenant of Senhor Ricardo, but without effect; all making the usual reply, "Não ha gente nenhum aqui" (there is not a single person about there); so I was reluctantly compelled to proceed down the river by the same course which I had already traversed three times, as, by attempting to go on the other route without a pilot, I might lose my way, and not get to Barra for a month.

The fever and ague now attacked me again, and I passed several days very uncomfortably. We had almost constant rains; and to attend to my numerous birds and animals was a great annoyance, owing to the crowded state of the canoe, and the impossibility of properly cleaning them during the rain.Some died almost every day, and I often wished I had had nothing whatever to do with them, though, having once taken them in hand, I determined to persevere.

On the 8th I reached Barcellos, and here I was annoyed by having to give an account of what I had in my canoes, and pay duty, the new Government of Barra not allowing anything to escape without contributing its share.

On the 11th we passed the mouth of the Rio Branco, and I noticed for the first time the peculiar colour of the water, which is a very pale yellow-olive, almost milky, very different from, and much whiter than, the waters of the Amazon, and making its name of the "White River" very appropriate. In the dry season the waters are much clearer.

In the morning I reached Pedreiro, and purchased a turtle, which we stopped to cook, a short distance below the village; it was a very large and fat one, and we fried the greater part of the meat in fat for the rest of the voyage. At a sitio, in the evening, I bought two parrots, and the next morning, at Ayrão, five more; and in the afternoon, at another sitio, a blue macaw, a monkey, a toucan, and a pigeon. At night we had a storm of rain and wind, and for a long time beat about in the middle of the river, tossed by the waves, without being able to find the shore.

On the 15th we reached "Ai purusá," where I bought some fish and maize. Here was lying a fine harpy eagle, which Senhor Bagatta had shot the day before, and, having plucked out some of the wing-feathers, had left it to rot; I thus just missed, by a day, getting a specimen of this bird, which I so much desired, and which I had never been able to procure during a four years' residence in the country. We had plenty more rain every night, making the journey very disagreeable; and at length, on the 17th, reached Barra do Rio Negro, now the capital of the new Province of Amazonas.

I was here kindly received by my friend Henrique Antony; and I spent all the day in searching for some house or lodging, which was very hard to be procured, every house being occupied, and rents having much risen, from the influx of strangers and traders consequent on the arrival of the new Government. However, by the evening I succeeded in getting a small mud-floored, leaky-roofed room, which I was glad to hire, as I did not know how long I might be obliged to remain in Barra,before I could obtain a passage to Pará. The next morning I could not disembark my things till the new Custom-house opened, at nine o'clock; when I had to pay duties on every article, even on my bird-skins, insects, stuffed alligators, etc., and so it was night before I got everything on shore. The next day I paid off my Indians, and settled myself to wait patiently and attend to my menagerie, till I could get a passage to Pará.

For three weeks I had been nearly lame, with a sore and inflamed toe, into which the chegoes had burrowed under the nail, and rendered wearing a shoe, or walking, exceedingly painful; having been compelled to move about the last few days, it had inflamed and swelled, and I was now therefore glad to remain quietly at home, and by poultices and plaisters endeavour to cure it. During the short time the Indians had remained in charge of my canoe, while I was looking after a house, they had lost three of my birds; but I soon found I had quite enough left to keep me constantly employed attending to them. My parrots, in particular, of which I had more than twenty, would persist in wandering about into the street, and I lost several of my best, which were, no doubt, safely domiciled in some of the adjoining houses. I was much annoyed, too, by persons constantly coming to me, to sell them parrots or monkeys; and my repeated assurances, that I myself wanted to buy more, did not in the least check the pertinacity of my would-be customers.

The city was now full of fashionably-dressed young men, who received the public money for services they did not know how to perform. Many of them could not fill up a few dozen words in a printed form without making blunders, or in a shorter time than two or three hours; their contemplations seeming scarcely to rise beyond their polished-leather boots and gold watch-chains. As it was necessary to get a passport, I presented myself at the office of the "Chef de Policia," for the purpose; but was told that I must first advertise my intention of leaving in the newspaper. I accordingly did so, and about a week after went again. I was now requested to bring a formal application in writing, to have a passport granted me: I returned, and prepared one, and the next day went with it; now the Chef was engaged, and he must sign the requisition before anything else could be done. I called again the nextday, and now that the requisition was signed, I had a blank form given me to go and get stamped in another office, in a distant part of the city. Off I had to go,—get the stamp, which took two clerks to sign, and paid my eight vintems for it; armed with this, I returned to the police-office, and now, to my surprise, the passport was actually made out and given me; and on paying another twelve vintems (sixpence), I was at liberty to leave Barra whenever I could; for as to leaving it whenever I pleased, that was out of the question.

The city of Barra, the capital of the Province and the residence of the President, was now in a very miserable condition. No vessel had arrived from Pará for five months, and all supplies were exhausted. Flour had been long since finished, consequently there was no bread; neither was there biscuit, butter, sugar, cheese, wine, nor vinegar; molasses even, to sweeten our coffee, was very scarce; and the spirit of the country (caxaça) was so nearly exhausted, that it could only be obtained retail, and in the smallest quantities: everybody was reduced to farinha and fish, with beef twice a week, and turtle about as often. This state of destitution was owing to there having been a vessel lost a month before, near Barra, which was coming from Pará; and at this time of the year, when the river is full, and the winds adverse, the passage frequently takes from seventy days to three months,—having to be performed almost entirely by warping with a rope sent ahead in a canoe, against the powerful current of the Amazon. It may therefore be well imagined that Barra was not the most agreeable place in the world to reside in, when, joined to the total absence of amusement and society which universally prevails there, the want of the common necessaries of life had also to be endured.

Several vessels were leaving for Pará, but all were so completely filled as not to have room for me or my baggage; and I had to wait in patience for the arrival of a small canoe from the Solimões, in which Senhor Henrique guaranteed me a passage to Pará.

Before proceeding with my journey, I will note the few observations that occur to me on the character and customs of the inhabitants of this fine country. I of course speak solely of the province of Pará, and it is probable that to the rest of Brazil my remarks may not in the least apply; so different inevery respect is this part of the Empire from the more southern and better-known portion. There is, perhaps, no country in the world so capable of yielding a large return for agricultural labour, and yet so little cultivated; none where the earth will produce such a variety of valuable productions, and where they are so totally neglected; none where the facilities for internal communication are so great, or where it is more difficult or tedious to get from place to place; none which so much possesses all the natural requisites for an immense trade with all the world, and where commerce is so limited and insignificant.

This may well excite some wonder, when we remember that the white inhabitants of this country are the Portuguese and their descendants,—the nation which a few centuries ago took the lead in all great discoveries and commercial enterprises,—which spread its colonies over the whole world, and exhibited the most chivalric spirit of enterprise in overcoming the dangers of navigation in unknown seas, and of opening a commercial intercourse with barbarous or uncivilised nations.

But yet, as far as I myself have been able to observe, their national character has not changed. The Portuguese, and their descendants, exhibit here the same perseverance, the same endurance of every hardship, and the same wandering spirit, which led and still leads them to penetrate into the most desolate and uncivilised regions in pursuit of commerce and in search of gold. But they exhibit also a distaste for agricultural and mechanical labour, which appears to have been ever a part of their national character, and which has caused them to sink to their present low condition in the scale of nations, in whatever part of the world they may be found. When their colonies were flourishing in every quarter of the globe, and their ships brought luxuries for the supply of half the civilised world, a great part of their population found occupation in trade, in the distribution of that wealth which set in a constant stream from America, Asia, and Africa, to their shores; but now that this stream has been diverted into other channels by the energy of the Saxon races, the surplus population, averse from agriculture, and unable to find a support in the diminished trade of the country, swarm to Brazil, in the hope that wealth may be found there, in a manner more congenial to their tastes.

Thus we find the province of Pará overrun with traders, thegreater part of whom deserve no better name than pedlars, only they carry their goods in a canoe instead of upon their backs. As their distaste for agriculture, or perhaps rather their passionate love of trade, allows scarcely any of them to settle, or produce anything for others to trade in, their only resource is in the indigenous inhabitants of the country; and as these are also very little given to cultivation except to procure the mere necessaries of life, it results that the only articles of commerce are the natural productions of the country, to catch or collect which requires an irregular and wandering life, better suited to an Indian's habits than the settled and continued exertions of agriculture. These products are principally dried fish, and oil from the turtles' eggs and cow-fish, for the inland trade; and sarsaparilla, piassaba, india-rubber, Brazil-nuts, balsam of capivi, and cacao, for the exports. Though the coffee-plant and sugar-cane grow everywhere almost spontaneously, yet coffee and sugar have to be imported from other parts of Brazil for home consumption. Beef is everywhere bad, principally because there are no good pastures near the towns where cattle brought from a distance can be fattened, and no one thinks of making them, though it might easily be done. Vegetables are also very scarce and dear, and so are all fruits, except such as the orange and banana, which once planted only require the produce to be gathered when ripe; fowls in Pará are 3s.6d.each, and sugar as dear as in England. And all this because nobody will make it his business to supply any one of these articles! There is a kind of gambling excitement in trade which outshines all the steady profits of labour, and regular mechanics are constantly leaving their business to get a few goods on credit and wander about the country trading.

There is, I should think, no country where such a universal and insecure system of credit prevails as here. There is hardly a trader, great or small, in the country, that can be said to have any capital of his own. The merchants in Pará, who have foreign correspondents, have goods out on credit; they sell on credit to the smaller merchants or shopkeepers of Pará; these again supply on credit the negociantes in the country towns. From these last the traders up the different rivers get their supplies also on credit. These traders give small parcels of goods to half-civilised Indians, or to any one who will takethem, to go among the wild Indian tribes and buy up their produce. They, however, have to give credit to the Indians, who will not work till they have been paid six months beforehand; and so they are paid for sarsaparilla or oil, which is still in the forest or the lake. And at every step of this credit there is not the slightest security; and robbery, waste, and a profuse squandering away of the property of others, is of constant occurrence. To cover all these chances of loss, the profits are proportionably great at every step, and the consumer often has to pay two shillings a yard for calico worth twopence, and everything else in like proportion. It is these apparently enormous profits that lead mechanics and others into trade, as they do not consider the very small business that can be done in a given time, owing to the poverty of the country and the enormous number of traders in proportion to the purchasers. It seems a very nice and easy way of getting a living, to sell goods at double the price you pay for them, and then again to sell the produce you receive at double what you pay for it; but as the greater part of the small traders do not get rid of more than a hundred pounds' worth of goods in a year, and the expenses of Indians and canoes, their families and bad debts, wines and liquors, and the waste which always takes place where everything is obtained upon credit, are often double that sum, it is not to be wondered at that they are almost all of them constantly in debt to their correspondents, who, when they have once thus got a hold on them, do not allow them easily to get free.

It is this universal love of trade which leads, I think, to three great vices very prevalent here—drinking, gambling, and lying,—besides a whole host of trickeries, cheatings, and debaucheries of every description. The life of a river trader admits of little enjoyment to a man who has no intellectual resources; it is not therefore to be wondered at that the greater part of these men are more or less addicted to intoxication; and when they can supply themselves on credit with as much wine and spirits as they like, there is little inducement to break through the habit. A man who, if he had to pay ready money, would never think of drinking wine, when he can have it on credit takes twenty or thirty gallons with him in his canoe, which, as it has cost him nothing, is little valued, and he perhaps arrives at the end of his voyage without a drop.In the towns in the interior every shop sells spirits, and numbers of persons are all day drinking, taking a glass at every place they go to, and, by this constant dramming, ruining their health perhaps more than by complete intoxication at more distant intervals. Gambling is almost universal in a greater or less degree, and is to be traced to that same desire to gain money by some easier road than labour, which leads so many into commerce; and the great number of traders, who have to get a living out of an amount of business which would not be properly sufficient for one-third the number, leads to the general use of trickery and lying of every degree, as fair means to be employed to entrap a new customer or to ruin a rival trader. Truth, in fact, in matters of business is so seldom made use of, that a lie seems to be preferred even when it can serve no purpose whatever, and where the person addressed must be perfectly aware of the falsehood of every asseveration made; but Portuguese politeness does not permit him by word or look to throw any doubt on his friend's veracity. I have been often amused to hear two parties endeavouring to cheat each other, by assertions which each party knew to be perfectly false, and yet pretended to receive as undoubted fact.

On the subjects of the most prevalent kind of immorality, it is impossible to enter, without mentioning facts too disgusting to be committed to paper. Vices of such a description as at home are never even alluded to, are here the subjects of common conversation, and boasted of as meritorious acts, and no opportunity is lost of putting the vilest construction upon every word or act of a neighbour.

Among the causes which tend to promote the growth of such wide-spread immorality, we may perhaps reckon the geographical position and political condition of the country, and the peculiar state of civilisation in which it now exists. To a native, a tropical climate certainly offers fewer pleasures, pursuits, and occupations than a temperate one. The heat in the dry, and the moisture in the rainy season do not admit of the outdoor exercise and amusements, in which the inhabitants of a temperate zone can almost constantly indulge. The short twilights afford but a few moments between the glare of the descending sun and the darkness of night. Nature itself, dressed in an eternal and almost unchangeable garb of verdure, presents but a monotonous scene to him who has beheld itfrom childhood. In the interior of the country there is not a road or path out of the towns, along which a person can walk with comfort or pleasure; all is dense forest, or more impassable clearings. Here are no flower-bespangled meadows, no turfy glades, or smooth shady walks to tempt the lover of nature; here are no dry gravelled roads, where, even in the intervals of rain, we may find healthy and agreeable exercise; here are no field-side paths among golden corn or luxuriant clover. Here are no long summer evenings, to wander in at leisure, and admire the slowly changing glories of the sunset; nor long winter nights, with the blazing hearth, which, by drawing all the members of a family into close contact, promote a social intercourse and domestic enjoyment, which the inhabitants of a tropical clime can but faintly realise.

At length the canoe arrived in which I was to go to Pará, and I soon agreed for my passage, and set to work getting my things together. I had a great number of cases and boxes, six large ones which I had left with Senhor Henrique the year before, being still in his possession, because the great men of Barra were afraid they might contain contraband articles, and would not let them pass.

I now got them embarked, by making a declaration of their contents, and paying a small duty on them. Out of a hundred live animals which I had purchased or had had given to me, there now only remained thirty-four, consisting of five monkeys, two macaws, twenty parrots and paroquets of twelve different species, five small birds, a white-crested Brazilian pheasant, and a toucan.

On the 10th of June we left Barra, commencing our voyage very unfortunately for me; for, on going on board, after bidding adieu to my friends, I missed my toucan, which had, no doubt, flown overboard, and not being noticed by any one, was drowned. This bird I esteemed very highly, as he was full-grown and very tame, and I had great hopes of bringing him alive to England.

On the 13th we reached Villa Nova, at which place, being the last in the new Province, we had to disembark to show our passports, as if entering into another kingdom; and not content with this, there is another station half a day further down, on the exact boundary-line, where all vessels have to stay a second time, and again present their papers, as if the great object ofthe Government were to make their regulations as annoying and expensive as possible. At Villa Nova I was glad to get some butter and biscuits; quite a treat, after the scanty luxuries of Barra. Here, too, I met the kind priest, Padre Torquato, who had entertained us so hospitably on our ascent of the river. He received me with great kindness, and regretted I could not stay longer with him; he gave me a curious animal, which I had heard of but never seen before, a forest-dog,—an animal somewhat resembling a fox, in its bushy tail and great taste for poultry, and apparently very tame and docile.

The next day we passed Obydos, the strong current of the river, now at its height, carrying us down with great rapidity; and the succeeding night we had a tremendous storm, which blew and tossed our little vessel about in a very alarming manner. The owner of the canoe, an Indian, was much frightened; he called upon the Virgin, and promised her several pounds of candles, if she would but save the canoe; and, opening the door of the little cabin where I was sleeping, cried out in a most piteous voice, "Oh! meu amigo, estamos perdidos" (Oh! my friend, we are all lost). In vain I tried to comfort him with assurances that, as the vessel was new and strong, and not too heavily laden, there was no danger,—although the night was pitch dark, and the wind blew in the most fierce and furious gusts imaginable. We did not know whether we were in the middle of the river or near the side, and the only danger we were exposed to, was of our drifting ashore or running aground. After about an hour, however, the canoe came to a stop, without any shock whatever, and remained perfectly still, although the wind still blew. It was so dark that nothing was to be seen, and it was only by stretching his arm down over the side, that the master ascertained that we had drifted into one of the large compact beds of floating grass which, in many places, line the banks of the Amazon for hundreds of yards from the shore. Here, therefore, we were safely moored, and waited for the morning, sleeping comfortably, with the knowledge that we were out of all danger.

The next day, by noon, we reached the mouth of the Tapajoz, and went in the montaria to Santarem, to make some purchases and visit my friends. I found old Captain Hislop; but Mr. Bates, whom I most wished to see, had left a week before on an excursion up the Tapajoz. Having laid in a stockof sugar, vinegar, oil, biscuits, and fresh bread and meat, we proceeded on our journey, which we were anxious to complete as soon as possible.

On the 18th we passed Gurupá; and on the 19th entered the narrow channels which form the communication with the Pará river,—bidding adieu to the turbid mighty flood of the never-to-be-forgotten Amazon.

We here met a vessel from Pará, fifty days out, having made a much shorter distance than we, descending the river, had come in five.

On the 22nd we reached Breves, a neat little village with well-supplied shops, where I bought half a dozen of the pretty painted basins, for the manufacture of which the place is celebrated; we here also got some oranges, at six for a halfpenny.

The next day we stayed at a sitio built upon piles, for the whole country about here is covered at spring-tides. The master of the canoe had a lot of sarsaparilla to put up properly for the Pará market, and stayed a day to do it. The sarsaparilla is the root of a prickly, climbing plant, allied to our common black bryony; the roots are dug by the Indians, and tied up in bundles of various lengths and sizes; but, as it is a very light cargo, it is necessary to form it into packages of a convenient and uniform size and length, for closer stowage;—these are cylindrical, generally of sixteen pounds each, and are about three and a half feet long and five or six inches in diameter, cut square and even at the ends, and wound round closely from end to end with the long flexible roots of a species ofPothos, which, growing on the tops of lofty trees, hang down often a hundred feet or more, and, when the outer bark is scraped off, are universally used for this purpose. It was to do this binding we stayed here, the sarsa having been already done up in proper packages; and while the crew were busy about it, I occupied myself making some sketches of palms, which were yet wanting to complete my collection.

In two days more we reached the mouth of the Tocantíns, where there is a great bay,—so wide, that the further shore is not visible. As there are some dangerous sandbanks here, there is a pilot who takes canoes over, and we waited all day in order to start with the morning's tide, which is considered the most favourable for the passage. While here I got a few shells, and amused myself by talking with the pilot, his wife,and two very lively daughters. Our conversation turned upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; which the old woman illustrated by a tale, which seemed to be another version of the "three warnings."

"A man and his wife were conversing together, and remarking on the unpleasantness of being subject to death. 'I should like to make friends with Death, some way,' said the man; 'then perhaps he will not trouble me.' 'That you can easily do,' said his wife; 'invite him to be padrinho (godfather) to our little boy, who is to be baptized next week; you will then be able to talk to him on the subject, and he will surely not be able to refuse a slight favour to his "compadre."' So he was invited accordingly, and came; and after the ceremony and the feast were over, as he was going away, the man said to him, 'Compadre Death, as there are plenty of people in the world for you to take, I hope you will never come for me.' 'Really, Compadre,' replied Death, 'I cannot promise you that, for when God sends me for anybody I must go. However, I will do all I can, and I will at all events promise you a week's notice, that you may have time to prepare yourself.' Several years passed on, and Death at last came to pay them a visit. 'Good-evening, Compadre,' says he, 'I'm come on a disagreeable business: I have received orders to fetch you this day week, so I'm come to give you the notice I promised you.' 'Oh! Compadre,' said the man, 'you'vecome very soon; it's exceedingly inconvenient for me to go just now, I'm getting on very nicely, and shall be a rich man in a few years, if you will but let me alone: it's very unkind of you, Compadre; I'm sure you can arrange it if you like, and take some one else instead of me.' 'Very sorry,' said Death, 'but it can't be done, nohow: I've got my orders, and I must obey them. Nobody ever gets off when the order's once given, and very few get so long a notice as I've been able to give you. However, I'll try all I can, and if I succeed, you won't see me this day week; but I don't think there's any hope,—so goodbye.'

When the day came, the man was in a great fright, for he did not expect to escape; his wife, however, hit upon a plan, which they resolved to try. They had an old Negro man in the house, who used to be generally employed in the kitchen. They made him exchange clothes with his master, and senthim away out of the house; the master then blacked his face, and made himself as much like the old nigger as he could. On the evening appointed Death came. 'Good-evening,Compadre,' said he; 'where is my compadre?—I'm obliged to take him with me.' 'Oh! Compadre,' said she, 'he didn't at all expect you, and is gone on some business into the village, and won't be back till late.' 'Now I'm in a pretty mess,' said Death; 'I did not expect my compadre would have treated me so; it's very ungentlemanly of him to get me into this scrape after all I've done for him. However, I must take somebody;—who is there in the house?' 'The woman was rather alarmed at this question, for she expected he would immediately have started off to the village in search of her husband: however, she considered it best to be civil, so replied, 'There's only our old nigger, that's in the kitchen, getting supper ready. Sit down, Compadre, and take a bit, and then perhaps my husband will be in; I'm very sorry he should give you so much trouble.' 'No, I can't stay,' said Death; 'I've got a long way to go, and must take somebody, so let's see if the old nigger will do?' and he walked into the kitchen, where the man was pretending to be busily engaged over the fire. 'Well, if Compadre won't come, I suppose I must take the old nigger,' said Death; and before the wife could speak a word, he stretched out his hand, and down fell her husband a corpse."

"So you see," said the old woman to me, "when a man's time is come he must go: neither doctors nor anything else can stop him, and you can't cheat Death nohow." To which sentiment I did not think it worth while to make any objection.

About two days before had been St. John's day, when it is the custom to make bonfires and jump over and through them, which act is considered by the common people as an important religious ceremony. As we were talking about it, the old lady gravely asked if we knew that animals also passed through the fire? We replied that we were not aware of the fact; upon which she informed us that we might hereafter believe it, for that she had had ocular demonstration of it. "It was last year," said she, "on the day after St. John's, my son went out to hunt, and brought home a cotía and a pacá, and both of them were completely scorched all along the belly: they had evidently passed through the fire the night before." "Butwhere do they get the fire from?" I asked. "Oh! God prepares it for them," said she; and on my hinting that fires were not often found in the forest unless lit by human hands, she at once silenced my objections by triumphantly asking me, "if anything was impossible with God?" at the same time observing that perhaps I was a Protestant, and did not believe in God or the Virgin. So I was obliged to give up the point; and though I assured her that Protestants did generally believe in God and went to church, she replied that she did not know, but had always heard to the contrary.

At length, on the 2nd of July, we reached Pará, where I was kindly received by my friend Mr. C, and was glad to learn that there was a vessel in port that would probably sail for London in about a week. Several times on the voyage down I had had fits of ague, and was still very weak and quite unable to make any exertion. The yellow fever, which the year before had cut off thousands of the inhabitants, still attacked new-comers, and scarcely a ship was in port but had a considerable portion of her crew in the hospital. The weather was beautiful; the summer or dry season was just commencing, vegetation was luxuriantly verdant, and the bright sky and clear fresh atmosphere seemed as if they could not harbour the fatal miasma which had crowded the cemetery with funeral crosses, and made every dwelling in the city a house of mourning. Once or twice I attempted to walk out into the forest, but the exertion generally brought on shiverings and sickness, so I thought it best to remain as quiet as possible till the time of my departure.

Since I had left the city it had been much improved. Avenues of almond and other trees had been formed along the road to Nazaré and round the Largo de Palacio; new roads and drives had been made, and some new buildings erected: in other respects the city was the same. The dirty, straggling, uncovered market, the carts of hacked beef, the loud chanting of the Negro porters, and the good-humoured smiling faces of the Indian and Negro girls selling their fruits and "doces," greeted me as of old. Fowls had risen in price from about 2s.to 3s.6d., and fruits and vegetables in about the same proportion; while in changing English money for Brazilian I now got about ten per cent. less than I used, and yet everybody complained of trade being very bad, and pricesquite unremunerative. I heard many stories of miraculous cures of the yellow fever, when at its worst stage, and after the parties had been given up by the doctors. One had been cured by eating ices, another by drinking a bottle of wine; ices, in fact, had got into great favour as a fine tonic, and were taken daily by many persons as a most useful medicine.

I agreed for my passage in the brigHelen, two hundred and thirty-five tons, Captain John Turner, whose property she was; and on the morning of Monday, the 12th of July, we got aboard, and bade adieu to the white houses and waving palm-trees of Pará. Our cargo consisted of about a hundred and twenty tons of india-rubber, and a quantity of cocoa, arnotto, piassaba, and balsam of capivi. About two days after we left I had a slight attack of fever, and almost thought that I was still doomed to be cut off by the dread disease which had sent my brother and so many of my countrymen to graves upon a foreign shore. A little calomel and opening medicines, however, soon set me right again; but as I was very weak, and suffered much from sea-sickness, I spent most of my time in the cabin. For three weeks we had very light winds and fine weather, and on the 6th of August had reached about latitude 30° 30´ north, longitude 52° west.

On that morning, after breakfast, I was reading in the cabin, when the Captain came down and said to me, "I'm afraid the ship's on fire; come and see what you think of it," and proceeded to examine the lazaretto, or small hole under the floor where the provisions are kept, but no signs of fire were visible there. We then went on deck to the forepart of the ship, where we found a dense vapoury smoke issuing from the forecastle. The fore hatchway was immediately opened, and, the smoke issuing there also, the men were set to work clearing out part of the cargo. After throwing out some quantity without any symptom of approaching the seat of the fire, we opened the after hatchway; and here the smoke was much more dense, and in a very short time became so suffocating, that the men could not stay in the hold to throw out more cargo, so they were set to work pouring in water, while others proceeded to the cabin, and now found abundance of smoke issuing from the lazaretto, whence it entered through the joints of the bulkhead which separated it from the hold. Attempts were now made to break this bulkhead down; butthe planks were so thick and the smoke so unbearable that it could not be effected, as no man could remain in the lazaretto to make more than a couple of blows. The cabin table was therefore removed, and a hole attempted to be cut in the cabin floor, so as to be able to pour water immediately on the seat of the fire, which appeared to be where the balsam was stowed. This took some time, owing to the suffocating smoke, which also continued to pour in dense volumes out of the hatchway. Seeing that there was now little chance of our being able to extinguish the fire, the Captain thought it prudent to secure our own safety, and called all hands to get out the boats, and such necessaries as we should want, in case of being obliged to take to them. The long-boat was stowed on deck, and of course required some time to get it afloat. The gig was hung on davits on the quarter, and was easily let down. All now were in great activity. Many little necessaries had to be hunted up from their hiding-places. The cook was sent for corks to plug the holes in the bottoms of the boats. Now no one knew where a rudder had been put away; now the thowl-pins were missing. The oars had to be searched for, and spars to serve as masts, with proportionate sails, spare canvas, twine, cordage, tow-ropes, sail-needles, nails and tacks, carpenters' tools, etc. The Captain was looking after his chronometer, sextant, barometer, charts, compasses, and books of navigation; the seamen were getting their clothes into huge canvas bags; all were lugging about pilot-coats, blankets, south-westers, and oilskin coats and trousers; and I went down into the cabin, now suffocatingly hot and full of smoke, to see what was worth saving. I got my watch and a small tin box containing some shirts and a couple of old note-books, with some drawings of plants and animals, and scrambled up with them on deck. Many clothes and a large portfolio of drawings and sketches remained in my berth; but I did not care to venture down again, and in fact felt a kind of apathy about saving anything, that I can now hardly account for. On deck the crew were still busy at the boats; two barrels of bread were got in, a lot of raw pork, some ham and cases of preserved meats, some wine and a large cask of water. The cask had to be lowered into the boat empty, for fear of any accident, and after being securely fixed in its place, filled with buckets from those on board.

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