234 VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. Cuap. IX 
shrews of Europe; shrew mice, and, indeed, the whole of the insec- 
tivorous order of mammals, being entirely absent fromTropical America. 
One kind of these rat-like opossums is aquatic, and has webbed feet. 
The terrestrial species are nocturnal in their habits, sleeping during the 
day in hollow trees, and coming forth at night to prey on birds in their 
roosting places. It is very difficult to rear poultry in this country, on 
account of these small opossums, scarcely a night passing, in some parts, 
in which the fowls are not attacked by them. 
August 5th.—The river reminds me of some parts of the Jaburt 
channel, being hemmed in by two walls of forest, rising to the height of 
at least 100 feet, and the outlines of the trees being concealed through- 
out by a dense curtain of leafy creepers. The impression of vegetable 
profusion and overwhelming luxuriance increases at every step; the 
deep and narrow valley of the Cupari has a moister climate than the 
banks of the Tapajos. We have now frequent showers, whereas we left 
everything parched up by the sun at Aveyros. : 
After leaving the last sitio we advanced about eight miles, and then 
stopped at the house of Senhor Antonio Malagueita, a mameluco settler, 
whom we had been recommended to visit. His house and outbuild- 
ings were extensive, the grounds well weeded, and the whole wore an 
air of comfort and well-being which is very uncommon in this country. 
A bank of indurated white clay sloped gently up from the tree-shaded 
port to the house, and beds of kitchen-herbs extended on each side, 
with (rare sight!) rose and jasmine trees in full bloom. — Senhor 
Antonio, a rather tall middle-aged man, with a countenance beaming 
with good nature, came down to the port as soon as we anchored. I 
was quite a stranger to him, but he had heard of my coming, and 
seemed to have made preparations. I never met with a heartier 
welcome. On entering the house, the wife, who had more of the 
Indian tint and features than her husband, was equally warm and frank 
in her greeting. Senhor Antonio had spent his younger days at Para, 
and had acquired a profound respect for Englishmen. I stayed here 
two days. My host accompanied me in my excursions ; in fact, his 
attentions, with those of his wife and the host of relatives of all degrees 
who constituted his household, were quite troublesome, as they left me 
not a moment’s privacy from morning till night. 
We had together several long and successful rambles, along a narrow 
pathway which extended several miles into the forest. I here met with 
a new insect pest, one which the natives may be thankful is not spread 
more widely over the country ; it was a large brown fly of the Tabanidz 
family (genus Pangonia), with a proboscis half an inch long and 
sharper than the finest needle. It settled on our backs by twos and 
threes at a time, and pricked us through our thick cotton shirts, making 
us start and cry out with the sudden pain. I secured a dozen or two 
as specimens. As an instance of the extremely confined ranges of 
certain species, it may be mentioned that I did not find this insect in 
any other part of the country, except along half a mile or so of this 
gloomy forest road. 
We were amused at the excessive and almost absurd tameness of a 
fine Mutum or Curassow turkey that ran about the house. It was a 
