193 
Journal of an Excursion from SANTAREM, on the AMAZON River, to 
Onrpos and the Rio TROMBETAS ; dy RICHARD Spruce, Esa. 
I wrote to you in the early part of November last, sending at the 
same time the leaves and flowers of Victoria regia, in a cask of spirits, 
which I hope you have received in safety. Shortly afterwards, having 
nearly exhausted Santarem of its flowers at that season, I applied to 
the Commandante Militar, Senhor Antonio Joaquim Diniz, to whom I 
was recommended by the President of the Province of Parà, to assist 
me in procuring a passage to Obidos. I had not long to wait—the Ca- 
pitao dos Trabalhadores, Sr. Adriao d'Oliveira Tapajoz, was about to pro- 
ceed up the river a little beyond Obidos, in a large cattle-boat, or batelao, 
to purchase cattle for the Santarem market; and he kindly offered us 
places in his cabin. I was glad to avail myself of so large a craft ; 
but she was unfortunately made for carrying cargo rather than for 
sailing. Her captain was afraid of navigating in the night, when we 
uniformly cast anchor: by day there was either no wind, or, if any, it 
came from above, and the river runs in this part with a current of 
nearly three miles an hour, even in the dry season: the consequence . 
was, that we were no less than nine days in performing a voyage of less 
than seventy English miles! No part of the river is more infested by 
carapanás, and after what we endured from them during those nine 
days we should be pretty well seasoned. Happily, the nights were 
dry enough to enable us to sling our hammocks in the shrouds; and 
I certainly much enjoyed the sleeping under the brilliant canopy of an 
equinoctial sky. I was able to get on shore a little nearly every day ; 
but the southern shore is nearly all the way clad with cocoa-trees, 
—great harbourers, by the bye, of carapanás,—and other vegetation is — 
extinguished, except here and there a narrow strip of weeds between 
the cacoals and the river. We gathered, however, some fine grasses, — 
including two or three bamboos, and a tall grass with thick succulent 
stems, called, in lingoa géral, Canna-rana (i. e. wild sugar-cane). It 
contains a good deal of sugar, and my: specimens, until well dried, 
were much infested by ants, great lovers of sweets, and consequently 
great pests of housewives as well as of travellers. This grass is said = | 
to be the favourite food of the peixe-boy, and it is also extensively 
eut for fattening cattle, which it does with great rapidity. I have 
seen patches of many acres in extent, on the banks both of the 
VOL. II. 9c 
