Cuap. IX. AVEYROS. 225 
called Ita-puama, or ‘‘ standing rock,” from a remarkable isolated cliff, 
which stands erect at the entrance to the little haven. <A short distance 
- beyond Ita-pudma we found ourselves opposite to the village of Pinhel, 
which is perched, like Boim, on high ground, on the western side of the 
river. ‘The stream is here from six to seven miles wide. A line of low 
islets extends in front of Pinhel, and a little further to the south is a 
larger island, called Capitari, which lies nearly in the middle of the 
LIVEL: 
June 23rda.—The wind freshened at ten o’clock in the morning of the 
23rd. A thick black cloud then began to spread itself over the sky a 
long way down the river; the storm which it portended, however, did 
not reach us, as the dark threatening mass crossed from east to west, 
and the only effect it had was to impel a column of cold air up the 
river, creating a breeze with which we bounded rapidly forward. The 
wind in the afternoon strengthened to a gale; we carried on with one 
foresail only, two of the men holding on to the boom to prevent the 
whole thing from flying to pieces. The rocky coast continued for about 
‘welve miles above Ita-pudma, then succeeded a tract of low marshy 
land, which had evidently been once an island whose channel of 
separation from the mainland had become silted up. The island of 
Capitari and another group of islets succeeding it, called Jacaré, on the 
opposite side, helped also to contract at this point the breadth of 
the river, which was now not more than about three miles. The little 
cuberta almost flew along this coast, there being no perceptible current, 
past extensive swamps, margined with thick floating grasses. At length, 
on rounding a low point, higher land again appeared on the right bank 
of the river, and the village of Aveyros hove in sight, in the port of 
which we cast anchor late in the afternoon. 
Aveyros is a small settlement, containing only fourteen or fifteen 
houses besides the church; but it is the place of residence of the 
authorities of a large district ; the priest, Juiz de Paz, the subdelegado 
of police, and the Captain of the Trabalhadores. The district includes 
Pinhel, which we passed about twenty miles lower down on the left 
bank of the river. Five miles beyond Aveyros, and also on the left 
bank, is the missionary village of Santa Cruz, comprising thirty or forty 
families of baptised Munduructi Indians, who are at present under the 
management of a Capuchin Friar, and are independent of the Captain of 
Trabalhadores of Aveyros. The river view from this point towards the 
south was very grand ; the stream is from two to three miles broad, 
with green islets resting on its surface, and on each side a chain of hills 
stretches away in long perspective. I resolved to stay here for a few 
weeks to make collections. On landing, my first care was to obtain a 
house or room, that I might live ashore. This was soon arranged ; the 
head man of the place, Captain Antonio, having received notice of my 
coming, so that before night all the chests and apparatus I required 
were housed and put in order for working. 
I here dismissed Pinto, who again got drunk and quarrelsome a few 
hours after he came ashore. He left the next day, to my great relief, in 
a small trading canoe that touched at the place on its way to Santarem. 
The Indian, Manoel, took his leave at the same time, having engaged 
Ls 
