LIFE IN TEFFE. 227 
Thi? was the case with several of the family whose ac- 
quaintance we made last evening, though some of them 
talked in Portuguese fluently enough, telling us about 
their life in the forest, their success in disposing of their 
fish and turtle, and inviting us to come to their house. 
They pointed out to us one of the younger girls, who 
they said had never been baptized, and they seemed to 
wish to have the rite performed. Major Coutinho promised 
to speak to the priest about it for them. So far as we can 
learn, the white population do little to civilize the Indians 
beyond giving them the external rites of religion. It is the 
old sad story of oppression, duplicity, and license on the 
part of the white man, which seems likely to last as long 
as skins shall differ, and which necessarily ends in the 
degradation of both races. 
October 4th. On Saturday morning at four o'clock, Ma- 
jor Coutinho, Mr. Agassiz, and myself left Teff in company 
with our neighbor and landlord Major Estolano, on our way 
to his " sitio," a rough sort of Indian lodge on the other 
side of the Solimoens, where he goes occasionally with 
his family to superintend the drying and salting of fish, 
a great article of commerce here. It had rained heavily 
all night, but the stars were bright, and the morning was 
cool and fresh when we put off in the canoe. When we 
issued from Teffe lake it was already broad day, and by 
the time we entered the Solimoens we began to have 
admonitions that breakfast-time was approaching. There 
is something very pleasant in these improvised meals ; the 
coffee tastes better when you have made it yourself, setting 
up the coffee-machine under the straw-roof of the canoe, 
dipping up the water from the river over the side of the 
boat, and cooking your own breakfast. One would think 
