142 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



in the market is by no means what one would expect it 

 to be. To-night Mr. Agassiz goes off with a party of 

 gentlemen on an excursion to some of the islands in the 

 harbor. This first expedition in the neighborhood of Par, 

 from which the Professor promises himself much pleasure, 

 is planned by Dr. Couto de Magalhaes, President of the 

 Province.* 



August 14^. We are very agreeably surprised in the 

 climate here. I had expected from the moment of our 

 arrival in the region of the Amazons to be gasping in a 

 fierce, unintermitting, intolerable heat. On the con- 

 trary, the mornings are fresh ; a walk or ride between 

 six and eight o'clock is always delightful ; and though 

 during the middle of the day the heat is certainly very 

 great, it cools off again towards four o'clock ; the even- 

 ings are delightful, and the nights always comfortable. 

 Even in the hottest part of the day the heat is not dead ; 

 there is always a breeze stirring. Mr. Agassiz returned 

 this afternoon from his excursion in the harbor, more 

 deeply impressed than ever with the grandeur of this 

 entrance to the Amazons and the beauty of its many 

 islands, " An archipelago of islands," as he says, " in an 

 ocean of fresh water." He describes the mode of fishing 

 of the Indians as curious. They row very softly up the 



* To Dr. Conto de Magalhaes Mr. Agassiz was indebted for unremitting 

 attentions during our stay in the region of the Amazons. He never failed to 

 facilitate the success of the expedition by every means in his power, and the 

 large collections made under his directions during our sojourn upon the 

 Upper Amazons were among the most valuable contributions to its scientific 

 results. When he heard that Mr. Ward, one of our young companions, was 

 coming down the Tocantins, he sent a boat and boatmen to meet him, and 

 on his arrival in Para received him in his own house, where he remained his 

 guest during his stay in the city. 



