229 



III 1870 my time was so completely exhausted at Erero, that I 

 was obliged to return liomo without visiting the table-topped hills, 

 and one great object of my journey to the Amazonas in 1871, was 

 the examination of one of the true table-topped hills. I selected 

 Parauiiquiira, not only because it appeared to be the highest of these 

 mountains, but also because, being precipitous, it would be the 

 more likely to afford good sections. 



I left Prainha very early on the morning of the 14th of Xovem- 

 ber, in a montaria, and dropped doAvn with the current nearly to 

 the mouth of the Eio Yauari* (Javari). During the night and 

 to 7.^i o'clock the terral blew gently down stream, and it was deli- 

 ciously cool ; after that time the wind gradually lulled, the sea breeze 

 beginning to blow at about 9}i o'clock. This continues to blow all 

 day regularly during the dry season. 



The Yauari has a sort of miniature delta. Just before entering 

 the Amazonas the river bends eastward, separated from the river by 

 a grass-covered strip of alluvium, across which two channels are 

 cut. It was low tide when we arrived at the mouth of the river, 

 and we were obliged to wait for sometime before we could enter. 

 The Yauari resembles the igarape de Erere in having a very deep, 

 narrow channel, about 200 feet wide, with steep banks lined with 

 trees which are, however, larger than those of Erere, while the 

 banks are cleaner. The vegetation is largely made up of the fol- 

 lowing trees: Mututi, Acapu-rdna\ (WuUscJiIdgeUa ?), Arajyari, I 

 Caxinguha% {Pharmacosyceaf), Piran]iauba,\ Taixi^ and UapuV 



During the dry season the water of the river and its branches is 

 quite stagnant, excessively dirty, warm and fever breeding, its 



tion, oben aber mit einem lichten Walde grosser Biiume, besonders vieler castanheiros, bewach- 

 sen, auf dem steilen Wege findet man nirgends ein anderes als das angegebene sandeisenstein- 

 gebilde. Kleine Quellen kommen aus den Flanken des Berges auf die Wiosen herab, und die 

 Waldung der Iliilie hegt behagliche kiihle." — Spies u. Mart. Reise in Brasilien, Iller Tlieil, 

 S. 1326. 



* Yauari is Uie name of Uie palm Astrocaryum Javary. The Portuguese form is Javari. 



+ Called also manup6, or the yauari. v. Martius gives the following etymology: '■'■ Caa-cua : 

 acapoc: arbor fructu desiliente ; rana : spurium," which strikes me as very fanciful. 



A A A 



X This may be a corruption of ymyrA-ap&ra-y'ua, meaning bow-tree. 



A 



%Kadxingy'>ia, Lingoa geral. 



II Pirdha-y'ua, Lingoa geral, tree of the cannibal fish. 



A 



^ Taixl-y'ua, tree of the ant taixi, so called because its hollow leaf-stalks are inhabited by a 

 very venomous ant. Taixi appears to be derived from tasy ua, an ant, and i, little. 

 1 y «a-;;«i, slender tree. 



