1156 



swamps flooded by the high tides, — never on dry land. Its straight 

 cylindrical stem is sometimes used for poles and rafters ; but the tree 

 is generally considered too valuable to be cut down for such purposes. 

 A very favorite drink is made from the ripe fruit, and daily vended in 

 the streets of Para. Indian and negro girls may be constantly seen 

 walking about with small earthen pots on their heads, uttering at 

 intervals a shrill cry of Assai-i. If you call one of these dusky maid- 

 ens, she will set down her pot, and you will see it filled with a thick 

 creamy liquid, of a fine plum-colour. A pennyworth of this will fill a 

 tumbler, and you may then add a little sugar to your taste, and you 

 will find a peculiar nut-flavored liquid, which you may not perhaps 

 think a great deal of at first ; but, if you repeat your experience a few 

 times, you will inevitably become so fond of it as to consider ' Assai ' 

 one of the greatest luxuries the place produces. It is generally taken 

 with farinha, the substitute for bread prepared from the mandiocca 

 root, and with or without sugar according to the taste of the con- 

 sumer. 



" During our walks in the suburbs of Para we had frequently oppor- 

 tunities of seeing the preparation of this favorite beverage. Two or 

 three large bunches of fruit are brought in from the forest. The 

 women of the house seize upon them, shake and strip them into a 

 large earthen vessel, and pour on them warm water, not too hot to 

 bear the hand in. The water soon becomes tinged with purple, and 

 in about an hour the outer pulp has become soft enough to rub off. 

 The water is now most of it poured away, a little cold added, and a 

 damsel, with no sleeves to turn up, plunges both hands into the ves- 

 sel, and rubs and kneads with great perseverence, adding fresh water 

 as it is required, till the whole of the purple covering has been rub- 

 bed off and the greenish stones left bare. The liquid is now poured 

 through a wicker sieve into another vessel, and is then ready for use. 

 The smiling hostess will then fill a calabash, and give you another 

 with farinha to mix to your taste ; and nothing will delight her more 

 than your emptying your rustic basin, and asking her to refill it." — 

 P. 23. 



. Pashiuba miri (Iriartea setigera). — " This species is of great 

 importance to the Indian of the Rio Negro. With its stem he con- 

 structs his ' gravatana ' or blowing tube, which, with the little arrows 

 before described as made from the spines of the Patawa, forms a most 

 valuable weapon, enabling him to bring down monkeys, parrots and 

 curassow birds from their favorite stations on the summits of the lof- 

 tiest trees of the forest. 



