Cuap. IX. THE MUNDURUCUS. 243 
finished, from fifty to sixty had assembled ; there was no pushing or 
rudeness, the grown-up women letting the young girls and children 
stand before them, and all behaved in the most quiet and orderly 
manner possible. 
The great difference in figure, shape of head, and arrangement of 
features amongst these people struck me forcibly, and showed how 
little uniformity there is in these respects amongst the Brazilian 
Indians, even when belonging to the same tribe. The only points in 
which they all closely resembled each other were the long, thick, 
straight, jet-black hair, the warm, coppery-brown tint of the skin and the 
quiet, rather dull, expression of countenance. I saw no countenance so 
debased in expression as many seen amongst the Mira tribe, and no 
head of the Mongolian type—broad, with high cheek bones, and oblique 
position of the eyes—of which single examples occur amongst the 
semi-civilised canoemen on the river. Many of them had fine oval 
faces, with rather long and well-formed features, moderately thin lips, 
and arched forehead. One little girl, about twelve years of age, had 
quite a European cast of features, and a remarkably slim figure. They 
were all clean in their persons ; the petticoats of the women being made 
of coarse cotton cloth obtained from traders, and their hair secured in a 
knot behind by combs made of pieces of bamboo. The old men had 
their heads closely cropped, with the exception of a long fringe, which 
hung down in front over their foreheads. 
The Munduructis are perhaps the most numerous and formidable 
tribe of Indians now surviving in the Amazons region. They inhabit the 
shores of the Tapajos (chiefly the right bank), from 3° to 7° south 
latitude, and the interior of the country between that part of the river 
and the Madeira. On the Tapajos alone they can muster, I was told, 
2,000 fighting men; the total population of the tribe may be about 
20,000. ‘They were not heard of until about ninety years ago, when 
they made war on the Portuguese settlements ; their hosts crossing the 
interior of the country eastward of the Tapajos, and attacking the 
establishments of the whites in the province of Maranham. The 
Portuguese made peace with them in the beginning of the present 
century, the event being brought about by the common cause of quarrel 
entertained by the two peoples against the hated Muras. They have 
ever since been firm friends of the whites. It is remarkable how 
faithfully this friendly feeling has been handed down amongst the 
Mundurucus, and spread to the remotest of the scattered hordes. 
Wherever a white man meets a family, or even an individual of the tribe, 
he is almost sure to be reminded of this alliance. They are the most 
warlike of the Brazilian tribes, and are considered also the most settled 
and industrious ; they are not, however, superior in this latter respect to 
the Juris and Passés on the Upper Amazons, or the Uapés Indians near 
the head waters of the Rio Negro. They make very large plantations 
of mandioca, and sell the surplus produce, which amounts on the 
Tapajos to from 3,000 to 5,000 baskets (60 Ib. each) annually, to traders 
who ascend the river from Santarem between the months of August and 
January. They also gather large quantities of salsaparilla, india-rubber 
and Tonka beans, in the forests. The traders, on their arrival at the 
