632 



THE NATURALIST O^. THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



contorted in every variety of shape, entwin- 

 ing snake-like round the tree trunks, or form- 

 ing gigantic loops and coils among the larger 

 branches ; others, again, were of zigzag 

 shape, or indented like the steps of a stair- 

 case, sweeping from the ground to a giddy 

 height. 



It interested me much afterward to find 

 that these climbing trees do not form any 

 particular family. There is no distinct group 

 of plants whose especial habit is to climb, 

 but species of many and the most diverse 

 families, the bulk of whose members are 

 not climbers, seem to have been driven 

 by circumstances to adopt this habit. 

 There is even a climbing genus of palms 

 (Desmoncus), the species of which are call- 

 ed, in the Tupi language, Jacitara. These 

 have slender, thickly-spined, and flexuous 

 stems, which twine about the taller trees from 

 one to the other, and grow to an incredible 

 length. The leaves, which have the ordinary 

 pinnate shape characteristic of the family, 

 are emitted from the stems at long intervals, 

 instead of being collected into a dense crown, 

 and have at their tips a number of long re- 

 curved spines. These structures are excel- 

 lent contrivances to enable the trees to secure 

 themselves by in climbing, but they are a 

 great nuisance to the travei.er, for they some 

 times hang over the pathway, and catch the 

 hat or clothes, dragging off the one or tear- 

 ing the other as he passes. The number and 

 variety of climbing trees in the Amazons 

 forests are interesting taken in connection 

 with the fact of the very general tendency of 

 the animals also to become dimbers. 



All the Amazonian, and in fact all South 

 American, monkeys are climbers. There is 

 no group answering to the baboons of the 

 Old World, which live on the ground. The 

 Gallinaceous birds of the country, the repre- 

 sentatives of the fowls and pheasants of Asia 

 and Africa, are all adapted by the position 

 of the toes to perch on trees, and it is only 

 on trees, at a great height, that they are to 

 be seen. A genus of Plantigrade Carnivora, 

 allied to the bears (Cercoleptes), found only 

 in the Amazonian forests, is entirely arboreal, 

 and has a tong flexible tail like that of certain 

 monkeys. Many other similar instances 

 could be enumerated, but I will mention only 

 the Geodephaga, or carnivorous ground 

 beetles, a great proportion of whose genera 

 and species in these forest regions are, by the 

 structure of their feet.fitted to live exclusively 

 on the branches and leaves of trees. 



Many of the woody lianas suspended from 

 trees are not climbers, but the air-roots of 

 epiphytous plants (Aroidese), which sit on the 

 stronger boughs of the trees above, and hang 

 down straight as plumb-lines. Some are sus- 

 pended singly, others in clusters ; some reach 

 half way to the ground and others touch it, 

 striking their rootlets into the earth. The 

 underwood in this part of the forest was com- 

 posed partly of younger trees of the same 

 species as their taller neighbors, and partly of 

 palms of many species, some of them twenty 

 to thirty feet 'n height, others small and del- 



icate, with stems no thicker than a finger. 

 These latter (different kinds of ^actris) bore- 

 small bunches of fruit, red or black, often 

 containing a sweet grape-like juice. 



Further on the ground became more 

 swampy, and we had some difficulty in pick- 

 ing our way. The wild banana (Urania Am- 

 azonica) heie began to appear, and, as it grew 

 in masses, imparted a new aspect to the scene. 

 The leaves of this beautiful plant are like 

 broad sword- blades, eight feet in length arid 

 a foot broad ; they rise straight upward, al- 

 ternately, from the top of a stem five or six 

 feet high. Numerous kinds of plants with 

 leaves similar in shape to these, but smaller, 

 clothed the ground. Among them were spe- 

 cies of Marantacese, some of which had broad 

 glossy leaves, with long leaf-stalks radiating 

 from joints in a reed-like stem. The trunks 

 of the trees were clothed with climbing ferns, 

 and Pothos plants with large, fleshy, heait- 

 shaped leaves. Bamboos and other tall. grass 

 and reed-like plants arched over the path way. 

 The appearance of this part of the fore'st 

 was strange in the extreme ; description can- 

 convey no adequate idea of it. The reader 

 who has visited Kew may form some notion 

 by conceiving a vegetation like that in the 

 great palm-house spread over a large tract 

 of swampy ground, but he must fancy it 

 mingled with Jarge exogenous trees similar to: 

 our oaks and elms covered with creepers and 

 parasites, and figure to himself the ground 

 incumbered with fallen and rotten trunks, 

 branches, and leaves ; the whole illuminate I 

 by a glowing vertical sun, and reeking with, 

 moisture. 



We at length emerged from the forest, or*, 

 the banks of the Una, near its mouth. It 

 was here about one hundred yards wide. T he- 

 residence of Senbor Danin stood on the op- 

 posite shore ; a large building, whitewashed 

 and red-tiled as usual, raised on wooden piles- 

 above the humid ground. The second story 

 was the part occupied by the family, and 

 along it was an open veranda, where people, 

 male and female, were at work. Below were- 

 several negroes employed carrying clay oa 

 their heads. We called out for a boat, and 

 one of them crossed over to fetch us^ 

 Senhor Danin received us with the usual for- 

 mal politeness of the Portuguese ; he spoke- 

 English very well, and after wehadarraiged 

 our business we remained conversing wit Ik 

 him on various subjects 4 connected with the; 

 country. Like all employers in this prov- 

 ince, he was full of one topic the scarcity 

 of hands. It appeared that he had made 

 great exertions to introduce white labor, but 

 had failed, after having brought numbers of 

 men from Portugal and other countries un- 

 der engagement to work for him. They alt 

 left him one by one soon after their arrival. 

 The abundance of unoccupied laud, the lib- 

 erty that exists, a state of things produced 

 by the half-wild canoe-life of the people, and 

 the ease with which a mere subsistence can. 

 be obtained with moderate work, tempt everi 

 the best-disposed to quit regular labor as 

 soon as they can. 



