656 



THE NATURALIST ON VHE RIVER AMAZONS. 



with such marvellous little sprites ready to 

 hand. 



My return- journey to Para afforded many 

 incidents characteristic of Amazonian travel- 

 ling. 1 left Cameta on the 16th of July. 

 Mr luggage was embarked in the morning 

 in the Santa Rosa, a vessel of the kind called 

 cuberta, or covered canoe. The cuberta is 

 very much used on these rivers. It is not 

 decked, but the sides forward arc raised, and 

 arched over, so as to admit of cargo being 

 piled high above the water-line. At the 

 stern is a neat square cabin, also raised, and 

 Ivtween the cabin and covered forepart is a 

 narrow piece decked over, on which are 

 placed the cooking arrangements. This is 

 culled the tombadilha or quarterdeck, and 

 when the canoe is heavily laden it goes un- 

 d jr water as the vessel heels over to the wind. 

 There are two masts, rigged with fore and 

 aft sails. The foremast has often, besides, 

 a main and top sail. The forepart is planked 

 over at the top, and on this raised deck the 

 crew work the vessel, pulling it along, when 

 there is no wind, by means of the long oars 

 already described. 



As I have just said, my luggage was em- 

 barked in the morning. I was informed that 

 we should start with the ebb-tide in the after- 

 noon, so I thought I should have time to 

 pay my respects to Dr. Angel*o and other 

 friends, whose extreme courtesy and good- 

 ness had made my residence at Cameta so 

 agreeable. After-dinner the guests, accord- 

 ing to custom at the house of the Correias, 

 walked into Hie cool veranda which over- 

 looks the river ; and there we saw the Santa 

 Rosa, a mere speck in the offing miles away, 

 tacking down river with a fine breeze. I 

 was njw iu a fix, for it would be useless at- 

 tempting to overtake the cuberta, and be- 

 sides the sea ran too high for any montaria. 

 I was then told, that I ought to have been 

 aboard hours before the time fixed for start- 

 ing, because when a breeze springs up, ves- 

 sels start before the tide turns, the last hour 

 of the flood not being very strong. All my 

 precious collections, my clothes, and other 

 necessaries were on board, and it was indis- 

 pensable that I should be at Para when the 

 things were disembarked. I tried to hire a 

 montaria and men, but was told that it would 

 be madness to cross the river in a small boat 

 with this breeze. On going^ to Senhor La- 

 roque, another of my Cameta friends, I was 

 relieved 01 my embarrassment ; for I found 

 there an English gentleman, Mr. Patchett, of 

 Pernambuo.), who was visitmg Para and its 

 neighborhood on his way to England, and 

 who, as he was going back to Para in a 

 small boat with four paddles, which would 

 start at midnight, kindly offered me a pass- 

 age. The evening from seven to teu o'clock 

 was very stormy. About seven, the night 

 became intensely dark, and a terrific squall 

 of wind buist forth, which made the loose 

 tiles fly over the house-tops ; to this succeed- 

 ed lightning and stupendous claps of 1 hurr^- 

 bi tii nearly simultaneous. "VYe had lu;~. * e " 



eral of these short and sharp storms during 

 the past month. At midnight, when we em- 

 barked, all was as calm as though a ruffle had 

 nearer disturbed air, forest, or river. The 

 boat sped along like an arrow to the rhythmic 

 paddling of the four stout youths we had 

 with us, who enlivened the pasasge with 

 their wild songs. Mr. Patchett and I tried 

 to get a little sleep, but the cabin was so 

 small and encumbered with boxes placed at 

 all sorts of angles, that we found sleep im- 

 possible. I was just dozing when the day 

 dawned, and, on awaking, the first object I 

 saw was the Santa Rosa, at anchor beside a 

 green island in mid-river. I preferred to 

 make the remainder of the voyage in com 

 pany of my collections, so bade Mr. Patchett 

 good-day. The owner of the Santa Rosa, 

 Seuhor Jacinto Machado, whom I had not 

 seen before, received me aboard, and apolo- 

 gized for having started without me. He 

 was a white man, a planter, and was now 

 taking his year's produce of cacao, about 

 twenty tons, to Para. The canoe was very 

 heavily laden, and I was rather alarmed to 

 see that it was leaking at all points. The 

 crew were all in the water, diving about to 

 feel for t"ie holes, which the} 7 " stopped with 

 pieces of rag and clay, and an old negro was 

 baling the water out of the hold. This was 

 a pleasant prospect for a three-days' voyage. 

 Senhor Machado treated it as the most ordi- 

 nary incident possible : "It was always 

 likely to leak, for it was an old vessel that 

 had been left as worthless high and dry on 

 the beach, and he had bought it very cheap." 

 When the leaks were stopped, we proceeded 

 on our journey, and at night reached the 

 mouth of the Anapu. I wrapped myself iu 

 an old sail, and fell asleep on the raised deck. 

 The next day vre threaded the Igarape-mirim 

 and on the 19th descended the Mojfu 

 Senhor Machado and I by this time had be- 

 come very good friends. At every interest- 

 ing spot on the banks of the Moju, ha 

 manned the small boat and took me ashore. 

 There are many large houses on this river, 

 belonging to what were formerly large and 

 flourishing plantations, but which, since the 

 Revolution of 1835-6, had been suffered to 

 go to decay. Two of the largest buildings 

 were constructed by the Jesuits in the early 

 part of the last century. We were told that 

 there were formerly eleven large sugar-mills 

 on the banks of the Moju, while now there 

 are only three. At Buiujuba there is a large 

 monastery in a state of ruin ; part of the 

 edifice, however, was still inhabited by s. 

 Brazilian family. The walls are four feet in 

 thickness. The long dark corridors and 

 gloomy cloisters struck rne as very inappro- 

 priate in the midst of this young and radiant 

 nature. They would be better in place on 

 some barren moor in Npithern Europe, than 

 here in the m'dst of perpetual summer. 

 The next turn in the river below Burujuba 

 brought the city of Para into view. The 

 win ' was now against us, and we were obliged 

 k a'vut. Toward evening it began to 

 ", the vessel heeled over verjr 



