1850.J UNWILLING SERVANTS. 145 



sufficient abundance to give me much occupation. In a few 

 days, Senhor L. got a couple of Indians to come and hunt for 

 me, and I hoped then to have plenty of birds. They used the 

 gravatana, or blow-pipe, a tube ten to fifteen feet in length, 

 through which they blow small arrows with such force and 

 precision, that they will kill birds or other game as far off, and 

 with as much certainty, as with a gun. The arrows are all 

 poisoned, so that a very small wound is sufficient to bring 

 down a large bird. I soon found that my Indians had come at 

 Senhor L.'s bidding, but did not much like their task ; and they 

 frequently returned without any birds, telling me they could 

 not find any, when I had very good reason to believe they had 

 spent the day at some neighbouring sitio. At other times, 

 after a day in the forest, they would bring a little worthless 

 bird, which can .be found around every cottage. As they had 

 to go a great distance in search of good birds, I had no hold 

 upon them, and was obliged to take what they brought me, and 

 be contented. It was a great annoyance here, that there were 

 no good paths in the forest, so that I could not go far myself, 

 and in the immediate vicinity of the village there is little to be 

 obtained. 



I found it more easy to procure fishes, and was much pleased 

 by being frequently able to add to my collection of drawings. 

 The smaller species I also preserved in spirits. The electrical 

 eel is common in all the streams here; it is caught with a 

 hook, or in weirs, and is eaten, though not much esteemed. 

 When the water gets low, and leaves pools among the rocks, 

 many fish are caught by poisoning the waters with a root called 

 " timbo." The mouths of the small streams are also staked 

 across, and large quantities of all kinds are obtained. The 

 fish thus caught are very good when fresh, but putrefy sooner 

 than those caught in weirs or hooked. 



Not being able to do much here, I determined to take a 

 trip up a small stream to a place where, on a lonely granite 

 mountain, the "Cocks of the Rock" are found. An Indian, 

 who could speak a little Portuguese, having come from a 

 village near it, I agreed to return with him. Senhor L. lent 

 me a small canoe ; and my two hunters, one of whom lived 

 there, accompanied me. I took with me plenty of ammunition, 

 a great box for my birds, some salt, hooks, mirrors, knives, etc., 

 for the Indians, and left Guia early one morning. Just 



10 



