260 UPPER AMAZONS—VOYAGE TO EGA. Cap, X. 
vealed: the necessity of a theory of the earth and water has been 
felt, and a theory has been suggested. In all other matters not 
concerning the common wants of life the mind of Vicente was a blank, 
and such I always found to be the case with the Indian in his natural 
state. Would a community of any race of men be otherwise, were they 
isolated for centuries in a wilderness like the Amazonian Indians, 
associated in small numbers, wholly occupied in procuring a mere sub- 
sistence, and without a written language or a leisured class to hand 
down acquired knowledge from generation to generation ? 
One day a smart squall gave usa good lift onward; it came with a 
cold, fine, driving rain, which enveloped the desolate landscape as with 
a mist: the forest swayed and roared with the force of the gale, and 
flocks of birds were driven about in alarm over the tree tops. On 
another occasion a similar squall came from an unfavourable quarter : it 
fell upon us quite unawares, when we had all our sails out to dry, and 
blew us broadside foremost on the shore. The vessel was fairly lifted 
on to the tall bushes which lined the banks, but we sustained no injury 
beyond the entanglement of our rigging in the branches. The days 
and nights usually passed in a dead calm, or with light intermittent 
winds from up river, and consequently full against us. We landed 
twice a day, to give ourselves and the Indians a little rest and change, 
and to cook our two meals—breakfast and dinner. There was another 
passenger beside myself—a cautious, middle-aged Portuguese, who was 
going to settle at Ega, where he had a brother long since established. He 
was accommodated in the fore-cabin, or arched covering over the hold. 
I shared the cabin-proper with Senhores Estulano and Manoel, the 
latter a young half-caste, son-in-law to the owner of the vessel, under 
whose tuition I made good progress in learning the Tupi language 
during the voyage. 
Our men took it in turns, two at a time, to go out fishing, for which 
purpose we carried a spare montaria. The master had brought from 
Barra, as provisions, nothing but stale salt piraruci—half-rotten fish, in 
large, thin, rusty slabs—farinha, coffee, and treacle. In these voyages 
passengers are expected to provide for themselves, as no charge is made 
except for freight of the heavy luggage or cargo they take with them. 
The Portuguese and myself had brought a few luxuries, such as beans, 
sugar, biscuits, tea and so forth ; but we found ourselves almost obliged to 
share them with our two companions and the pilot, so that before the 
voyage was one-third finished the small stock of most of these articles 
was exhausted. In return we shared in whatever the men brought. 
Sometimes they were quite unsuccessful, for fish is extremely difficult to 
procure in the season of high water, on account of the lower lands, lying 
between the inlets and infinite chain of pools and lakes, being flooded 
from the main river, thus increasing tenfold the area over which the 
finny population has to range. On most days, however, they brought 
two or three fine fish, and once they harpooned a manatee, or Vacca 
marina. On this last-mentioned occasion we made quite a holiday ; the 
canoe was stopped for six or seven hours, and all turned out into 
the forest to help to skin and cook the animal. The meat was cut into 
cubical slabs, and each person skewered a dozen or so of these on a 
