5 §6 MR. weir's journal. 



that scarcely a year passes "without some of them entering 

 tilfe huts of the miserable people that lire in the iroods, and 

 occasionally of the small fazenderias and settlers on the outskirts 

 of civilisation, and murdering them. About two months ago, his 

 hrother and several others ^vho have purchased Idrid here, seeing a 

 party of Indians on the other side of the river, and anxious to con- 

 ciliate them, took some pieces of cloth and a few articles which the 

 Indians are known to value, and went over to them, carrying their 

 guns also, by .way of precaution. Having given them the articles 

 they had taken for the purpose, and given them to understand that 

 they wished to be friendly with them, they left them to return, 

 but the canoe was no sooner at what the Indians thought a safe 

 distance, than they let fly several arrows after them, and making 

 other demonstrations of defiance, they fled into the forest, I 

 saw one of the arrows ; it is about 6 feet long, the point is iSiade 

 of polished bone, with a little groove in one side, filled with a 

 dark broim substance, supposed to be poison ; it is lashed to the 

 shaft With the bark of the long pendent roots of a Philodendron, 

 common in all the woods here. 



Jan, 26t7i. — The weather Still continues so very wet, that it is 

 impossible to go out to the forest. 



Jan, ^Ith. — The rain to-day, instead of abating, is heavier than 

 ever, accompanied by occasional violent gusts of wind. Many of 

 the large trees in the forest, being heavily loaded with rain-drops, 

 are blown down or broken by tliese winds. At each successive 

 blast the thunder of some of them falling is heard resounding 

 through the forest. 



Jan. ^X^ih, — The rain has continued to fall heavily the whole 

 day without intermission. 



Jan. 29th, — The weather, although not quite fair, was some- 

 thing better this morning, and as I was anxious to examine some 

 of the wood on the brim of the river, I got a couple of blacks and 

 started in a canoe for this purpose. The day turned out bad, 

 with thunder and lightning. We went about three leagues down 

 the river, and not seeing anything particular, we turned again 

 about mid-day. The voyage down- was easy enough, but the 

 return was very slow, the canoe having to be hauled along by 

 catching hold of the overhanging trees and bushes. 



The trees are all loaded with the CattUya No. 121. No. 136 

 grows also plentifully on the water*s edge, and assumes here the 

 size of a shrub, growing D to 6 feet high. 



Jan, 30eA, — Incessant and heavy rain all day. 



