330 EXCURSIONS IN NEIGHBOURHOOD OF EGA. Cuap. XI. 
them all to read and write. The boys were very quick ; one of them 
afterwards became clerk to the Municipal Chamber of Ega. There was 
an air of cheerfulness and abundance about the place that was quite 
exhilarating. 
We dined, seated on a large mat, over which a clean white towel was 
spread ; the meal consisting of fowls and rice (the general entertainment 
in this country for visitors), with dessert of ‘“laranjas torradas,” or 
toasted oranges ; that is, oranges partially dried in the sun. The fruit, 
grown with a little greater care in Gaspar’s orchard than is usually 
bestowed on it in this country, was very fine in itself, but treated in this 
form its sweetness and richness of flavour were far superior to anything 
I had yet tasted. When we were about leaving, our host, having listened 
to my praises of the fruit, sent down to our canoe a large basketful as 
a present. The conversation after dinner turned on the difficulty of 
getting good houses built at Ega; on the backward condition of the 
province ; the disregard of the interests of the agricultural class shown 
by the Government in taxing all the produce of the interior on its 
reaching Pard, and so forth. Senhor Gaspar had just finished the 
erection of a substantial town-house at Ega. He told me that it was 
cheaper to send down to Parad (2800 miles there and back) for doors 
and shutters, than to make them at Ega; for, as there were no large 
saws anywhere on the Solimoens, every plank had to be hewn out of 
the tree with a hatchet. 
On our return to the mouth of the Cayambé, whilst in the middle of 
the lake, a squall suddenly arose, in the direction towards which we 
were going, and for a whole hour we were in great danger of being 
swamped. The wind blew away the awning and mats, and lashed 
the waters into foam, the waves rising to a great height. Our boat, 
fortunately, was excellently constructed, rising well towards the prow, so 
that with good steering we managed to head the billows as they arose 
and escaped without shipping much water. We reached our igarité at 
sunset, and then made all speed to Curubart, fifteen miles distant, to 
encamp for the night on the sands. We reached the praia at ro o’clock. 
The waters were now mounting fast upon the sloping beach, and we 
found on dragging the net next morning that fish were beginning to be 
scarce. Cardozo and his friends talked quite gloomily at breakfast time 
over the departure of the joyous verad, and the setting in of the dull, 
hungry winter season. 
At nine o’clock in the morning of the roth of November a light wind 
from down river sprang up, and all who had sails hoisted them. It 
was the first time during our trip that we had had occasion to use our 
sails; so continual is the calm on this upper river. We bowled along 
merrily, and soon entered the broad channel lying between Barié and 
the mainland on the south bank. The wind carried us right into the 
mouth of the Teffé, and at four o’clock p.m. we cast anchor in the 
port of Ega. 
