668 



1HE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



was scattered in some numbers amid the 

 rest, a few solitary specimens shooting up 

 their smooth columns above the other trees. 

 The graceful Assai palm grew in little 

 groups, forming feathery pictures set in the 

 rounder foliage of the mass. The Ubussu, 

 lower in height, showed only its shuttlecock- 

 shaped crowns of huge undivided fronds, | 

 which, being of a vivid pale-green, contrasted 

 forcibly against the sombre hues of the sur- 

 rounding foliage. The Ubussu grew here in 

 great numbers ; the equally remarkable 

 Jupali palm (Rhaphia taedigera), which, like 

 the Ubussu, is peculiar to this district, oc- 

 curred more sparsely, throwing its long 

 shaggy leaves, forty to fifty feet in length, in 

 broad arches over the canal. An infinite di- 

 versity of smaller-sized palms decorated the 

 water's edge, such as the Maraja-i (Bactris, 

 many species), the Ubim (Geonoma), and a 

 few stately Bacabas ((Enocarpus bacaba). 

 The shape of this last is exceedingly elegant, 

 the size of the crown being in proper pro- 

 portion to the straight smooth stem. The 

 leaves, down even to the bases of the glossy 

 petioles, are of a rich dark -green color, and 

 free from spines. " The forest wall " I am 

 extracting from rny journal " under which, 

 we are now moving, consists, besides palms, 

 of a great variety of ordinary forest-trees. 

 Prom the highest branches of these down to 

 the water sweep ribbons of climbing plants, 

 of the most diverse and ornamental foliage 

 possible. Creeping convolvuli and others 

 have made use of the slender lianas and hang- 

 ing air-roots as ladders to climb by. Now 

 and then appears a Mimosa or other tree hav- 

 ing similar fine pinnate foliage, and thick; 

 masses of Inga border the water, from whose 

 branches hang long bean-pods, of different 

 shape and size, according to the species, 

 some of them a yard in length. Flowers 

 there are very few. I see, now and then, a 

 gorgeous crimson blossom on long spikes 

 ornamenting the sombre foliage toward the 

 summits of the forest. I suppose it to be- 

 long to a climber of the Combretaceous or- 

 der. There are also a few yellow and violet 

 Trumpet-flowers (Bignoniae). The blossoms of 

 the Ingas, although not conspicuous, are del- 

 icately beautiful. The forest all along offers 

 so dense a front that one never obtains a 

 glimpse into the interior of the wilderness." 

 The length of the Jaburu channel is about 

 35 miles, allowing for the numerous abrupt 

 bends which occur between the middle and 

 the northern end of its course. We were 

 three days and a half accomplishing the pas- 

 sage. The banks on each side seemed to be 

 composed of hard river-mud, with a thick 

 Covering of vegetable mould, so that I should 

 imagine this whole district originated in a 

 gradual accumulation of alluvium, through 

 which the endless labyrinths of channels 

 have worked their deep and narrow beds. 

 The flood-tide, as we travelled northward, be- 

 came gradually of less assistance to us, as it 

 caused only a feeble current upward. The 

 pressuie of the waters from the Amazons 

 here makes itself foH. As this is not the case 



lower down, I suppose the currents are di- 

 verted through some of the numerous chan- 

 nels which we passed on our right, and which 

 traverse, in their course, toward the sea, the 

 north-western part of Maiaj6. In the even- 

 ing of the 29th we arrived at a point where 

 another channel joins the Jaburii from the 

 .north-east. Up this the tide was flowing ; 

 we turned westward, and thus met the flood 

 coming from the Amazons. This point is 

 the object of a strange superstitious observ- 

 ance on the pait of the canoe-men. It is said 

 to be haunted by a Paje, or Indian wizard, 

 whom it is necessary to propitiate, by depos- 

 iting some article on the spot, if the voyager 

 wishes to secure a safe return from the 

 " sertao," as the interior of the country is 

 called. The trees were all hung with rags, 

 shirts, straw hats, bunches of fruit, and so 

 forth. Although the superstition doubtless 

 originated with the aborigines, yet I ob- 

 served, in both my voyages, that it was only 

 the Portuguese and uneducated Brazilians 

 who deposited anything. The pure Indians 

 gave nothing, and treated the whole affair as 

 a humbug ; but they were all civilized 

 Tapuyos. 



On the 30th, at nine P.M., we reached a 

 broad channel called Macaco, and now left 

 the dark, echoing Jaburii. The Macaco 

 sends off branches tow.ard the north- west 

 coast of Marajo. It is merely a passage 

 among a cluster of islands, between which a 

 glimpse is occasionally obtained of the broad 

 waters of the main Amazons. A brisk wind 

 carried us rapidly past its monotonous 

 scenery, and early in the morning of the 1st 

 of October we reached the entrance of the 

 Uituquara, or the Wind-hole, which is 15 

 miles distant from the end of the Jaburu, 

 This is also a winding channel, 35 miles in 

 length, threading a group of islands, but it is 

 much narrower than the Macaco. 



On emerging from the Uituquara on the 

 2d, we all went ashore the men to fish in a 

 small creek, JoaO da Cunha and I to shoot 

 birds. We saw a flock of scarlet and blue 

 macaws (Macrocercus macao) feeding on the 

 fruits of a bacaba palm, and looking like a 

 cluster of flaunting banners beneath its dark- 

 green crown. We landed about fifty yards 

 from the place, and crept cautiously through 

 the forest, but before we reached them they 

 flew off with loud harsh screams. At a wild- 

 fruit tree we were more successful, as my 

 companion shot an anaca (derotypus corona- 

 tus), one of the most beautiful of the parrot 

 family. It is of a green color, and has a 

 hood of feathers, red bordered with blue, at 

 the back of its head, which it can elevate or 

 depress at pleasure. The anaca is the only 

 new-world parrot which nearly resembles the 

 cockatoo of Australia. It is found in all the 

 lowlands throughout the Amazons region, 

 but is not a common bird anywhere. Few 

 persona succeed in taming it, and I never saw 

 one that had been taught to speak. The na- 

 tives are very fond of the bird nevertheless, 

 and keep it in their houses for the sake of 

 seeing the irascible creature expand its beau- 

 tiful frill of feathers, which it readily does 



