no A VOYAGE TO Book III. 



great inconvenience and even danger of the veifels ; 

 for, the greater p^irt of thcni being under water, a 

 veHel, by ñriking fnddcnly on them, is frequently 

 overfet. Another obftrudion to the navigation of this 

 river is the races, or fwift currents, over the iliallows, 

 where thofe veffels, though built for that purpofe, 

 cannot proceed for want of a lufficient quantity of 

 water; fo that they are obliged to he lightened, till 

 they have paiied the fhallov/. 



The barks employed*on this river are of two kinds, 

 the chatas and bongos, called in Peru, bonques. The 

 iiril are compofed of leveral pieces of timber, like 

 barks, and of great breadth, that they may draw but 

 little water; they carry iix or leven hundred quintals. 

 The bongos are formed out of one piece of wood ; and 

 it is furpriiing to think there fhould be trees of fuch 

 prodigious bulkj tome being eleven Paris feet broad, 

 and carrying conveniently four or five hundred 

 quintals. Both forts have a cabin at the flern, for 

 the conveniency of the patFengcrs, a kind of awning 

 fupported with a wooden llancheon reaching to the 

 head, and a partition in the middle, which is alfo con- 

 tinued the whole length of the veiTel ; and over the 

 whole, vvihen the veiiel is loaded, are laid hides, that 

 the goods may not be damaged by the violence of the 

 rains, which are very frequent here. Each of thefe 

 require, beñdes the pilot, at leail eighteen or twenty 

 robull Negroes; for, without fuch a number, they 

 would not be able, in going up, to make any way 

 again ft the current. 



All the forefts and woods near this river are full 

 of* wild beans, «?fpecially different kinds of monkies. 

 They are of various colours, as black, brown, reddifli, 

 and ftriated ; there is alfo the fame diverñty in their 

 lize ; fome being a yard long, others about half a 

 yard, and others fcarce one third. 'The flefh of all 

 thefe different kinds is highly valued by the Negroes, 

 «fpecially that of the red ; but, however delicate the 



meat 



