372 EXCURSIONS BEYOND EGA. Cuap. XIII. 
a large chrysalis suspended from a leaf, which he placed carefully in my 
hands, saying, “‘ Pana-pand curi” (Tupi: butterfly by-and-by). Thus I 
found that the metamorphoses of insects were known to these savages ; 
but being unable to talk with my new friend, I could not ascertain what 
ideas such a phenomenon had given rise to in his mind. The good 
fellow did not leave my side during the remainder of our stay ; but, 
thinking apparently that I had come here for information, he put him- 
self to considerable trouble to give me all he could. He made a 
quantity of Hypadt powder, that I might see the process ; going about 
the task with much action and ceremony, as though he were a conjurer 
performing some wonderful trick. 
We left these friendly people about four o’clock in the afternoon, and 
in descending the umbrageous river, stopped, about half-way down, at 
another house, built in one of the most charming situations I had yet 
seen in this country. A clean, narrow, sandy pathway led from the 
shady port of the house, through a tract of forest of indescribable 
luxuriance. The buildings stood on an eminence in the middle of a 
level cleared space ; the firm sandy soil, smooth as a floor, forming a 
broad terrace around them. ‘The owner was a semi-civilised Indian, 
named Manoel ; a dull, taciturn fellow, who, together with his wife and 
children, seemed by no means pleased at being intruded on in their 
solitude. The family must have been very industrious ; for the planta- 
tions were very extensive, and included a little of almost all kinds of 
cultivated tropical productions : fruit trees, vegetables, and even flowers 
for ornament. ‘The silent old man had surely a fine appreciation of the 
beauties of nature: for the site he had chosen commanded a view of 
surprising magnificence over the summits of the forest; and, to give 
finish to the prospect, he had planted a large quantity of banana trees in 
the foreground, thus concealing the charred and dead stumps which 
would otherwise have marred the effect of the rolling sea of greenery. 
The only information I could get out of Manoel was, that large flocks of 
richly-coloured birds came down in the fruit season and despoiled his 
trees. I collected here a great number of insects, including several new 
species. The sun set over the tree tops before we left this little Eden, and 
the remainder of our journey was made slowly and pleasantly, under the 
chequered shades of the river banks, by the light of the moon. 
December 7th.—Arrived at Fonte Boa; a wretched, muddy, and 
dilapidated village, situated two or three miles within the mouth of a 
narrow by-stream called the Cayhiar-hy, which runs almost as straight as 
an artificial canal between the village and the main Amazons. The ~ 
character of the vegetation and soil here was different from that of all 
other localities I had hitherto examined ; I had planned, therefore, to 
devote six weeks to the place. Having written beforehand to one of 
the principal inhabitants, Senhor Venancio, a house was ready for me on 
landing. The only recommendation of the dwelling was its coolness. 
It was, in fact, rather damp; the plastered walls bore a crop of green 
mould, and a slimy moisture oozed through the black, dirty floor ; the 
rooms were large, but lighted by miserable little holes in place of 
windows. The village is built on a clayey plateau, and the ruinous 
