112 LOWER AMAZONS—PARA TO OBYDOS. Cuap. VI, 
a small library of natural history books, and a hundredweight of copper 
money. I engaged, after some trouble, a Mameluco youth to accom- 
pany me as servant—a short, fat, yellow-faced boy named Luco, whom 
I had already employed at Para in collecting. We weighed anchor at 
night, and, on the following day, found ourselves gliding along the dark- 
brown waters of the Mojt. 
Joad da Cunha, like most of his fellow-countrymen, took matters very 
easily. He was going to be absent in the interior several years, and 
therefore intended to diverge from his route to visit his native place, 
Cametd, and spend a few days with his friends. It seemed not to 
matter to him that he had a cargo of merchandise, vessel, and crew of 
twelve persons, which required an economical use of time; ‘‘ pleasure 
first and business afterwards ” appeared to be his maxim. We stayed 
at Cameta twelve days. The chief motive for prolonging the stay to 
this extent was a festival at the Aldeia, two miles below Cameta, which 
was to commence on the 21st, and which my friend wished to take part 
in. On the day of the festival the schooner was sent down to anchor 
off the Aldeia, and master and men gave themselves up to revelry. In 
the evening a strong breeze sprang up, and orders were given to embark. 
We scrambled down in the dark through the thickets of cacao, orange, 
and coffee trees which clothed the high bank, and, after running great 
risk of being swamped by the heavy sea in the crowded montaria, got all 
aboard by nine o’clock. We made all sail amidst the “ adeos ” shouted 
to us by Indian and mulatto sweethearts from the top of the bank, and, 
tide and wind being favourable, were soon miles away. 
Our crew consistéd, as already mentioned, of twelve persons. One 
was a young Portuguese from the province of Traz os Montes, a pretty 
sample of the kind of emigrants which Portugal sends to Brazil. He 
was two or three and twenty years of age, and had been about two 
years in the country, dressing and living like the Indians, to whom he 
was certainly inferior in manners. He could not read or write, whereas 
one at least of our Tapuyos had both accomplishments. He had a 
little wooden image of Nossa Senhora in his rough wooden clothes-chest, 
and to this he always had recourse when any squall arose, or when 
we got aground ona shoal. Another of our sailors was a tawny white 
of Cameta ; the rest were Indians, except the cook, who was a Cafuzo, 
or half-breed between the Indian and negro. It is often said that this 
class of mestizos is the most evilly disposed of all the numerous crosses 
between the races inhabiting Brazil; but Luiz was a simple good- 
hearted fellow, always ready to do one a service. The pilot was an old 
Tapuyo of Pard, with regular oval face and well-shaped features. I was 
astonished at his endurance. He never quitted the helm night or day, 
except for two or three hours in the morning. The other Indians used 
to bring him his coffee and meals, and after breakfast one of them 
relieved him for a time, when he used to lie down on the quarterdeck and 
get his two hours nap. The Indians forward had things pretty much 
their own way. No system of watches was followed: when any one was 
so disposed, he lay down on the deck and went to sleep ; but a feeling 
of good fellowship seemed always to exist amongst them. One of them 
was a fine specimen of the Indian race: a man very little short of six 
