Cuap. VI. SANTAREM. 121 
inhabitants. It lies just within the mouth of the Tapajos, and is 
divided into two parts—the town and the aldeia or village. The houses 
of the white and trading classes are substantially built, many being of 
two and three stories, and all whitewashed and tiled. Thealdeia, which 
contains the Indian portion of the population, or did so formerly, 
consists mostly of mud huts, thatched with palm-leaves. The situation 
of the town is very beautiful. The land, although but slightly elevated, 
does not form, strictly speaking, a portion of the alluvial river plains of 
the Amazons, but is rather a northern prolongation of the Brazilian 
continental land. It is scantily wooded, and toward the interior 
consists of undulating campos, which are connected with a series of 
hills extending southward as far as the eye can reach. I subsequently 
made this place my head-quarters for three years; an account of its 
neighbourhood is therefore reserved for another chapter. At the first 
sight of Santarem, one cannot help being struck with the advantages 
of its situation. Although 400 miles from the sea, it is accessible to 
vessels of heavy tonnage coming straight from the Atlantic. The river 
has only two slight bends between this port and the sea, and for five or 
six months of the year the Amazonian trade wind blows with very little 
interruption, so that sailing ships coming from foreign countries could 
reach the place with little difficulty. We ourselves had accomplished 
200 miles, or about half the distance from the sea, in an ill-rigged 
vessel, in three days and a half. Although the land in the immediate 
neighbourhood is perhaps ill adapted for agriculture, an immense tract 
of rich soil, with forest and meadow land, lies on the opposite banks of 
the river, and the Tapajos leads into the heart of the mining provinces 
of interior Brazil. But where is the population to come from to 
develop the resources of this fine country? At present the district 
within a radius of twenty-five miles contains barely 6,500 inhabitants ; 
behind the town, towards the interior, the country is uninhabited, and 
jaguars roam nightly, at least in the rainy season, close up to the ends of 
the suburban streets. , 
From information obtained here, I fixed upon the next town, Obydos, 
as the best place to stay at a few weeks, in order to investigate the 
natural productions of the north side of the Lower Amazons. We 
started at sunrise on the roth, and being still favoured by wind and 
weather, made a pleasant passage, reaching Obydos, which is nearly 
fifty miles distant from Santarem, by midnight. We sailed all day close 
to the southern shore, and found the banks here and there dotted with 
houses of settlers, each surrounded by its plantation of cacao, which is 
the staple product of the district. This coast has an evil reputation for 
storms and mosquitoes, but we fortunately escaped both. It was 
remarkable that we had been troubled by mosquitoes only on one night, 
and then to a small degree, during the whole of our voyage. 
I landed at Obydos the next morning, and then bid adieu to my kind 
friend Joao da Cunha, who, after landing my baggage, got up his anchor 
and continued on his way. The town contains about 1,200 inhabitants, 
and is airily situated on a high bluff, 90 or 100 feet above the level of 
the river. The coast is precipitous for two or three miles hence to the 
west. The cliffs consist of the parti-coloured clay, or Tabatinga, which 
