36 PARA. Cuap. IL. 
imparts a sense of life and cheerfulness. Sometimes, in the midst of 
the stillness, a sudden yell or scream will startle one ; this comes from 
some defenceless fruit-eating animal, which is pounced upon by a tiger- 
cat or stealthy boa-constrictor. Morning and evening the howling 
monkeys make a most fearful and harrowing noise, under which it is 
difficult to keep up one’s buoyancy of spirit. The feeling of inhospitable 
wildness which the forest is calculated to inspire is increased tenfold 
under this fearful uproar. Often, even in the still hours of midday, a 
sudden crash will be heard resounding afar through the wilderness, as 
some great bough or entire tree fallstothe ground. There are, besides, 
many sounds which it is impossible to account for. I found the natives 
generally as much at a loss in this respect as myself. Sometimes a 
sound is heard like the clang of an iron bar against a hard, hollow tree, 
or a piercing cry rends the air; these are not repeated, and the suc- 
ceeding silence tends to heighten the unpleasant impression which they 
make on the mind. With the natives it is always the Curupira, the 
wild man or spirit of the forest, which produces all noises they are 
unable to explain. Myths are the rude theories which mankind, in 
the infancy of knowledge, invent to explain natural phenomena. The 
Curupira is a mysterious being, whose attributes are uncertain, for 
they vary according to locality. Sometimes he is described as a kind of 
orang-outang, being covered with long shaggy hair, and living in trees. 
At others he is said to have cloven feet and a bright red face. He has 
a wife and children, and sometimes comes down to the rocas to steal 
the mandioca. At one time I had a mameluco youth in my service, 
whose head was full of the legends and superstitions of the country. 
He always went with me into the forest ; in fact, I could not get him to 
go alone, and whenever we heard any of the strange noises mentioned 
above, he used to tremble with fear. He would crouch down behind 
me, and beg of me to turn back; he became easy only after he had 
inade a charm to protect us from the Curupira. For this purpose he 
took a young palm leaf, plaited it, and formed it into a ring, which he 
hung to a branch on our track. 
At length, after a six hours’ walk, we arrived at our destination, the 
last mile or two having been again through second-growth forest. The 
mills formed a large pile of buildings, pleasantly situated in a cleared 
tract of land, many acres in extent, and everywhere surrounded by the 
perpetual forest. We were received in the kindest manner by the over- 
seer, Mr. Leavens, who showed us all that was interesting about the 
place, and took us to the best spots in the neighbourhood for birds and 
insects. The mills were built a long time ago by a wealthy Brazilian. 
They had belonged to Mr. Upton for many years. I was told that when 
the dark-skinned revolutionists were preparing for their attack on Para, 
they occupied the place, but not the slightest injury was done to the 
machinery or building, for the leaders said it was against the Portuguese 
and their party that they were at war, not against the other foreigners. 
The creek Iritiri at the mills is only a few yards wide ; it winds about 
between two lofty walls of forest for some distance, then hecomes much 
broader, and finally joins the Magoary. ‘There are many other rami- 
fications, creeks or channels, which lead to retired hamlets and scattered 
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