ON THE AMAZON. 3d 
swam to his assistance, and providentially the two reached the shore 
without being further attacked. I was shown the wounds—every tooth 
had told ; and some idea may be formed of this one terrible gripe, when 
I state that the wounds inflicted by it extended from the collar-bone 
downwards to the elbow and the hip. All were now healed, except one 
very bad one in the'armpit, where at least one sinew was completely 
severed. Even this seemed to me in a fair way to heal soon; but 
though this should be the case, the deep scars and the useless arm (for 
it seems improbable that he will ever again be able to move his elbow 
or his shoulder) will ever remain to tell the tale. "The only remedy 
applied was the milk of a tree called Acaraipu-rana, which I much 
wished to see, but was told it was a long distance by water to the 
place where it grew. 
The sight of the wounded man was no encouragement to prosecute 
my enterprise, but I was very desirous to procure the fruit of the 
Victoria, and as three of the little fellows who were running about “ao 
fresco," offered to row me over, and their grandfather made no objec- 
tion, I did not hesitate to avail myself of their services. The outlet 
of the lake was speedily reached, when we disembarked and followed 
the dried bed of the igarapé, in which my guides were not slow to 
detect the recent footsteps of a jacaré. In five minutes more we 
reached the lake, and embarked in the frail montaria, in which it was 
necessary so to place ourselves before starting as to preserve an exact 
balance, and then coasted along towards the Victoria, which appeared 
at a distance of some 150 yards. We had made but a few strokes, 
when we perceived by the muddy water ahead of us that some animal 
had just dived. As we passed cautiously over the troubled water a 
large jacaré came to the surface a few yards from the off-side of our 
montaria, and then swam along parallel to our course, apparently — 
watching our motions very closely. Although the little fellows were — 
frightened at the proximity of the jacaré, their piscatorial instincts —— 
were so strong, that at sight of a passing shoal of fish they threw _ 
down their paddles and seized their mimic bows and arrows (the latter 
being merely strips of the leaf-stalk of the Bacüba, with a few notches 
cut near the point), and one of them actually succeeded in piercing and 
securing an Aruaná, of about eighteen inches long. Our scaly friend 
still stuck to us and took no notice of our shouting and splashing in 
the water. At length the eldest lad bethought him of a large harpoon 
