ON THE AMAZON. 309 
in a basket. I was much fatigued, having been on the water from six 
-in the morning till five in the afternoon, yet I had now the soaked 
parcel to open out and the plants to transfer to dry paper, which occu- 
pied me until midnight. To some of them the mischief was already 
done—the leaves had begun to disarticulate; but you must take the 
specimens as they are, as I shall probably not find the same again. 
Whatever advantages Sad Gabriel may have as a station, on account of 
its interesting vegetation, it has disadvantages so great that if I had 
commenced my South American collections here I dare say I should have 
given them up in despair. The house I am in is very old : the thatch 
is stocked with rats, vampires, scorpions, cockroaches, and other pests 
to society; the floor (being simply mother earth) is undermined by 
Saüba ants, with whom I have had some terrible contests: in one 
night they carried off as much farinha as I could eat in a month ; then 
they found out my dried plants, and began to cut them up and carry 
them off. I have burnt them, smoked them, drowned them, trod on 
them, and in short retaliated in every possible way, so that at this 
moment I believe not a Saiiba dares show its face inside the house ; 
but they demand my constant vigilance. Then the termites, which are 
more insidious in their approaches, have covered ways along every 
post and beam: they have already eaten up a towel, and made their 
way into a deal packing-case, where fortunately they found nothing 
to their taste. But the greatest nuisance at Sad Gabriel is one I had 
not foreseen. Almost the sole inhabitants are the soldiers of the gar- 
rison, and do you know how the armies of Brazil are recruited ? When 
a man commits a crime which entitles him to transportation, he is en- 
listed and marched off to one of the frontier posts. Thus, of the four- 
teen men composing the garrison of Sad Gabriel, there is not one who 
has not committed some serious crime, and at least half of them are 
murderers. Judge with what security I can leave my house for a few 
days: it has already been twice entered during my absence, and about 
two gallons of rum, a quantity of molasses and vinegar, and some other 
things, stolen from it. T. 
I have in the house with me two Indians, a hunter and a fisherman. 
One at least is an absolute necessity, to prevent my dying of hunger, — 
for here is nothing to be bought, not even an egg or à banana; for | 
farinha I have had to send to the Rio Uaupés. The hunter I brought 
with me from the Barra: he is an excellent shot, and keeps me mostly 
