342 MR. SPRUCE'S EXCURSION ON THE AMAZON. 
by fifteen inches in diameter, and that he estimated its weight ata ton. 
If this be correct, its weight, in proportion to the same bulk of water, 
is as 3584 to 1718, or more than twice as heavy ; but this is scarcely 
credible. Mr. M. took me up the igarapé which supplies his engenho 
to show me the tree, which is called Piranha-uba. It is one of the 
largest forest-trees, with slight sapopemas at the base, and from its 
leaves I do not hesitate to refer it to Rhizobolee ; possibly it may be 
a Caryocar, but it seems a different species from any I have hitherto 
gathered. The timber is excellent for mill-work, or for anything 
which requires to be kept under water. 
I will not further weary you with details of a wearisome voyage. 
The rains had lately been almost incessant, the river began to run 
furiously, and the winds were generally from above. With these 
obstructions combined against our slow-sailing craft, we did not enter 
the mouth of the Rio Negro until the morning of the 10th. The 
change from the yellow waters of the Amazon to the black waters of 
the Rio Negro is very perceptible, and indeed abrupt. The latter are 
black as ink when viewed from above, and not the deep blue of the 
waters of the Tapajoz: in shallow places they appear purple, and 
stones or sticks at the bottom seem red: when taken up into a glass 
they are of a pale amber-colour, and quite free from any admixture 
of mud. 
The Solimoés enters from the left, while the Amazon seems a more 
direct continuation of the Rio Negro. The last is broader than the 
Solimoés, but it is less deep, and its waters are placid almost as a lake. 
It was dusk when we reached the Barra, which lies two miles 
within the mouth of the Rio Negro. I went on shore immediately, 
. and waited on Senhor Henrique Antonio, an Italian merchant, to whom 
my letters of credit were addressed. From him we received a most 
. kind and cordial reception, and he immediately gave up to us three 
. rooms in one of his houses (for he owns half the Barra), where we are 
. Still residing: his reputation for princely hospitality is indeed almost 
world-wide. : 
We are gradually recovering from the weakness and exhaustion pro- 
. duced by our tedious, disagreeable voyage, and from the day of our 
. landing have been hard at work. But the weather continues exces- 
sively rainy, insomuch that we have been for three days together with- 
out being able to stir out, while at rr 
