232 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 
The next morning we were off early in the canoes on 
a fish hunt ; I call it a hunt advisedly, for the fish are the 
captives of the bow and spear, not of the net and line. 
The Indians are very adroit in shooting the larger fish 
with the bow and arrow, and in harpooning some of the 
veritable monsters of their rivers, such as the Peixe-boi 
("fish-cow"), Manatee or Dugon, with the spear. We 
made two parties this morning, some of us going in the 
larger canoe to drag a forest lake with the net, while some 
of the fishermen took a smaller, lighter boat, to be able to 
approach their larger prey. Our path lay through a pretty 
igarape, where, for the first time, I saw monkeys in a tree 
by the water-side. On coming to the Amazons we expect 
to see monkeys as frequently as squirrels are seen at home ; 
but, though very numerous, they are so shy that one rarely 
gets a fair view of them. After an hour's row we landed 
at a little point jutting out into the water, and went through 
the forest, the men cutting the way before us, clearing the 
path of branches, fallen trees, and parasitic vines which 
obstructed it. I was astonished to see the vigor and 
strength with which Dona Maria, the mother-in-law of our 
host, made her way through the tangled trees, helping 
to free the road, and lopping off branches with her great 
wood-knife. We imagine all the ladies in this warm 
country to be very indolent and languid ; and in the cities, 
as a general thing, their habits are much less vigorous than 
those of our women. But here, in the Upper Amazons, the 
women who have been brought up in the country and in 
the midst of the Indians are often very energetic, bearing a 
hand at the oar or the fishing-net with the strength of a 
man. A short walk brought us out upon a shallow forest 
lake, or, as the Indians call it, " round water." The Indian 
