THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



age. being a native of a district near the 

 capital, Alexandra was H civilized Tapuyo, a 

 citizen a.s free as his white neighbors. He 

 spoke only Poituguese. He was a spare- 

 built man, rather under the middle height, 

 with fine regular features, and, what was 

 unusual in Indians, the upper lip decorated 

 with a mustache. Three years afterward I 

 tuw him at Para in the uniform of the Na- 

 tional Guard, and he called on me often to 

 talk about eld times. I esteemed him as a 

 quiet, sensible, manly young fellow. 



We set sail in the evening, after waiting 

 several hours in vain for one of our crew, it 

 vus soon da:k, the wind blew stiffly, and the 

 tide rushed along wilh great rapidity, carry- 

 ing us swiftly past the crowd of vessels 

 which were anchored in the port. The 

 canoe rolled a good deal. After we had 

 made five or six miles of way the tide turned, 

 and we were obliged to cast anchor. Not 

 long after, we laid ourselves down all three 

 together on the mat, which was spread over 

 the flour of our cabin, and soon fell asleep. 



On awakiug at sunrise the next morning, 

 we found cui selves gliding upward with the 

 tide, along the Bahia or Ba3 r , as it is called, 

 of Goajara. This is a broad channel lying 

 between the mainland and a line of islands 

 which extend some distance beyond the city. 

 Into it three large riveis dischaige their 

 waters, namely, the Guama, the Acara, and 

 the Moju ; so that it foims a kind of EUO- 

 estuary within the grand esluaiy of Para. It 

 is neaily four miles broad. The left bank, 

 along which we were now sailing, was beau- 

 tiful in the extreme ; not an inch of soil was 

 1o be seen ; the water frontage piesented a 

 compact wall of rich and varied forest, rest- 

 ing on the surface of the stream. It seemed 

 to form a finished border to the water scene, 

 where the dome-like, rounded shapes of ex- 

 ogenous trees which constituted the mass 

 formed the groundwork, and the endless di- 

 versity of broad-leaved Heliconian and Palms 

 each kind differing in stem, crown, and 

 fronds the rich embroideiy. The morning 

 was calm and cloudless ; and the slanting 

 beams of the early sun, striking full en the 

 front of the forest, lighted up the whole most 

 gloriously. The cnly sound of life which 

 reached us was the call of the Serracura 

 (Gallinula Cayennensis), a kind of wild fcwl ; 

 all else was so still that the voices of boatmen 

 could be plainly heard, from canoes passing 

 a mile or two distant fiom us. The sun soon 

 gains great power on the water,but with it the 

 sea-bieeze increases in strength, inoderatiDg 

 the heat which would other wise be almost in 

 supportable. We reached the end of the 

 Goajara about midday, and then ( ntered the 

 narrower channel of 'the Moju. Up this we 

 tiavelled, partly rowing and partly sailing, 

 between the same unbroken walls of forest, 

 until the morning of the 28th. , 



August 29<A. The Moju, a stream little 

 iaferior to the Thames in size, is connected 

 about twenty miles from its mouth, by means 

 of a short artificial canal, with a small 

 stream, the Tgarape-mirim. which flows Uie 



opposite way into the water S)su-inof the. 

 Tocantins. Small vessels like GUIS take this 

 route in preference to the stormy passage by 

 way of the main river, although the distance 

 is considerably greater. We passed through 

 the canal yesterday, and to-day have been 

 threading our way through a labyrinth of nai- 

 row channels, their banks all clothed with the 

 same magnificent forest, but agreeably varied 

 by houses of planters and settlers. We passed 

 many quite large establishments, besides one^ 

 pretty little village called Santa Anna. All 

 these channels are washed through by the 

 tides the ebb, contrary to what takes place 

 in the short canal, setting toward the Tocan- 

 tins. The water is almost tepid (77 Fahr.), 

 and the rank vegetation all around seems 

 reeking with moisture. The country, how- 

 ever, as we were told, is perfectly healthy. 

 Some of the houses are built on wooden piles/ 

 driven into the mud of the swamp. 



In the afternoon we leached the end of tlm- 

 last channel, called the Murutipucu, which 

 runs for several miles between two unbroken 

 lines of fan-leaved palms, forming with their 

 straight stems colossal palisades. On round- 

 icg a point of land we came in full view of 

 the Tocantins. The event was announced 

 by one of our Indians, who was on the look- 

 out at the prow, shouting, " Laesta o Purana- 

 uassvi !" " Behold the great river !" It, 

 was a grand sight a broad expanse of dark 

 waters dancing merrily to the breeze ; the 

 opposite shore, a narrow blue line, miles 

 away. 



We went ashore on an island covered with, 

 palm-trees, to make a fire and boil our ket- 

 tle for tea. 1 wandered a shoit way inland, 

 and was astounded at the prospect. The land 

 lay below the upper level of the daily tides, 

 so that there was no underwood, and tlm 

 ground wus bare. The trees weie almost all 

 of one species of Palm, the gigantic fan- 

 leaved Mauritia flexuosa ; on the borders 

 only was there a small number of a second 

 kind, the equally remarkable Ubussu palm 

 (Manic-aria saccifera). The U hussu has erect, 

 uncut leaves, twenty-five feet long, and six 

 feet wide, all arranged round the top of a 

 four-feet high stenC so as to form a figure 

 like that of a colossal shuttlecock. The fan- 

 leaved palms, which clothed nearly the entire 

 islet, had huge cylindrical smooth ste.r.s, 

 three feet in diameter, and about a hundred 

 feet high. The crowns were formed of enor- 

 mous clusters of fan-shaped leaves, the stalks 

 alone of which measured seven to tea feet in 

 length. Nothing in the vegetable world 

 could be more imposing than this grove of 

 palms. There was no underwood to obstruct 

 the view of the long perspective of towering 

 columns. The crowns, which were densely 

 packed together at an immense height over- 

 head, shut out the rays of the sun ; and tho 

 gloomy solitude beneath, through which tin 

 sound of our voices seemed to reverberate, 

 could be compared to nothing so well as a 

 solemn temple. The fruits of the two paims 

 were scattered over the ground ; those of the- 

 Ubu8d adhere together by twos anJ threes 



