Cuap. XIII. CAISHANA INDIANS. 367 
side of the Solimoens, and as many of these were “representative 
forms” * of others found on the opposite banks of the broad river, I 
concluded that there could have been no land connection between the 
two shores during, at least, the recent geological period. This con- 
clusion is confirmed by the case of the Uakari monkeys described in the 
last chapter. All these strongly modified local races of insects confined 
to one side of the Solimoens (like the Uakaris), are such as have not 
been able to cross a wide treeless space such asa river. The acquisition 
which pleased me most, in this place, was a new species of butterfly (a 
Catagramma), which has since been named C. excelsior, owing to its 
surpassing in size and beauty all the previously-known species of its 
singularly beautiful genus. The upper surface of the wings is of the 
richest blue, varying in shade with the play of light, and on each side 
is a broad curved stripe of an orange colour. It is a bold flier, and is 
not confined, as I afterwards found, to the northern side of the river, for 
once I saw a specimen amidst a number of richly-coloured butterflies, 
flying about the deck of the steamer when we were anchored off Fonte 
Boa, 200 miles lower down the river. 
With the exception of three mameluco families and a stray Portuguese 
trader, all the inhabitants of the village and neighbourhood are semi- 
civilised Indians of the Shumdna and Passé tribes. The forests of the 
Tunantins, however, are inhabited by a tribe of wild Indians called 
Caishanas, who resemble much, in their social condition and manners, 
the debased Maras of the Lower Amazons, and have, like them, shown 
no aptitude for civilised life in any shape. Their huts commence at the 
distance of an hour’s walk from the village, along gloomy and narrow 
forest- paths. The territory of the tribe extends to the Moco, an 
affluent of the Japura, with which there is communication by land 
higher up the Tunantins, the two rivers approximating within about 
fifteen miles. From what I saw and heard of the Caishanas, I was led 
to the conclusion that they had no close genealogical relationship with 
the Maras, but were more likely a degraded section of the Shumana, or 
some other neighbouring tribe. Scarcely any of them had the coarse 
features, the large trunk, broad chest, thick arms, and protuberant 
abdomen of the Maras, and their features, although presenting a wild, 
unsteady, and distrustful expression like the Maras, were often as finely 
shaped as those of the Shumanas and Passés. Senhor Bitancourt told 
me their “ girio,” or tribal language, had much resemblance to that of 
the Shumanas. I have before shown how scattered hordes have 
segregated from their original tribes, and by long isolation, themselves 
become tribes, acquiring totally different languages, habits, and, to a 
lesser extent, different corporeal structure. 
My first and only visit to a Caishana dwelling was accidental. One 
day, having extended my walk farther than usual, and followed one of 
the forest-roads until it became a mere ficada, or hunters’ track, I came 
suddenly upon a well-trodden pathway, bordered on each side with 
Lycopodia of the most elegant shapes, the tips of the fronds stretching 
almost like tendrils down the little earthy slopes which formed the edge 
* Species or races which take the place of other allied species or races. 
