200 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



huts on the heaches, and their stakes set up for spreading 

 and drying fish, which is one of the great articles of 

 commerce here. This morning we have passed several 

 hours off the town of Ega, or Toffe* as the Brazilians 

 call it. It takes its name from the river Teffe, but the 

 town itself stands on a small lake, formed by the river 

 just before it joins the Amazons. The entrance to the 

 lake, which is broken by a number of little channels or 

 igarapes, and the approach to the town, are exceedingly 

 pretty. The town itself, with a wide beach in front, stand- 

 ing on the slope of a green hill, where sheep and cattle, 

 a rare sight in this region, are grazing, looks very inviting. 

 We examined it with interest, for some of the party at 

 least will return to this station for the purpose of making 

 collections. 



September 15th. For the last two or three days we have 

 been holding frequent discussions as to the best dispo- 

 sition of our forces after reaching Tabatinga ; a source 

 of great anxiety to Mr. Agassiz, the time we have to 

 spend being so short, and the subjects of investigation 

 so various and so important. Should he give up the 

 idea of continuing, in person, his study of the fishes in 

 the upper Amazons, leaving only some parties to make 

 collections, and going himself into Peru, to visit at least 

 the first spur of the Andes, with the purpose of ascer- 

 taining whether any vestiges of glaciers are to be found 

 in the valleys, and also of making a collection of fishes 

 from the mountain streams ; or should he renounce the 

 journey into Peru for the present, and, making a station 

 somewhere in this region for the next month or two, com- 

 plete, as far as may be, his investigation of the distribution 

 and development of fishes in the Solimoens ? Had the 



