THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



three males seated on a low branch, and hop- 

 ping slowly backward and forward, near to 

 one another, as though engaged in a kind of 

 dance. la the pleasant airy woods surround- 

 ing the sandy shores of the pool behind the 

 town, the yellow-bellied Trogou (T. viridis) 

 was very common. Its back is of a brilliant 

 metallic green color, and the breast steel 

 blue. The natives call it the Suruqua do 

 Ygapo, or Trogon of the flooded lands, in 

 contradistinction to the various red- breasted 

 species, which are named Suruquas da terra 

 firma. I often saw small companies of half 

 a dozen individuals, quietly seated on the 

 lower branches of trees. They remained 

 almost motionless for an hour or two at a 

 time, simply moving their heads, on the 

 watch for passing insects, or, as seemed 

 more generally to be the case, scanning the 

 neighboring trees for fruit, which they dart 

 off now and then, at long intervals, to se- 

 cure, returning always to the same perch. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE LOWER AMAZONS OBYDOS TO MANAOS, 

 OR THE BARKA OF THE KIO NEGRO. 



Departure from Obydos River Banks and By-chan- 

 nels Cacao Planters Daily Life on Board our Ves- 

 selGreat Storm Sand Island and its^Bircls HilJ 

 1 of Parenting Negro Trader and Mauhes Indians-* 

 Villa Nova, its Inhabitants, Forest, and Animal 

 Productions Cararaucfi A Rustic Festival Lake 

 of Cararauru Motuca Flies Scrpa Christmas 

 Holidays Kiver Madeira A Mamelnco Farmer 

 Mura Indians Rio Negro Description of Barra 

 Descent to Para Yellow Fever. 



A TRADER of Obydos, named Menna, was 

 hbout proceeding in a cuberta laden with 

 merchandise to the Rio Negro, intending to 

 stop frequently on the road, so I bargained 

 with him far a passage. He gave up a part 

 of the toldo, or fore-cabin as it may be called, 

 and here I slung my hammock and arranged 

 my boxes, so as to be able to work as we 

 went along. The stoppages I thought would 

 be an advantage, as 'I could collect in the 

 woods while he traded, and thus acquire a 

 knowledge of the productions of many places 

 on the river which, in a direct voyage, it 

 would be impossible to do. I provided a 

 stock of groceries for two months' consump- 

 tion ; and, after the usual amount cf unneces- 

 sary fuss and delay on the part of the owner, 

 we started on the 19th of November. Penna 

 took his family with him ; this comprised a 

 smart, lively mameluco woman, named, 

 Catariua, whom we called Senhora Katita. 

 and two children. The crew consisted of 

 three men, one a sturdy Indian, another a 

 Cafuzo, godson of Penna, and the third, our 

 best hand, a steady, good-natured mulatto, 

 named Joaquim. My boy Luco was to 

 assist in rowing and so forth. Penna was a 

 timid middle-aged man, a white with a slight 

 cross Ot Indian ; when he was surly and ob- 

 stinate, he used to ask me to excuse him on 

 'account of the Tapuyo blood in his veins. 

 He tried to make me as comfortable as the 

 circumstances adjiitted, and provided a large 

 stock of eatables and drinkables ; so that al- 

 together the voyage promised to oe a [ 



ant one. 



On leaving the port of Obydos we crossed: 

 over to the right bank, and sailed with a 

 light wind all day, passing numerous houses, 

 each surrounded by its grove of cacao trees. 

 On the 20th we made sbw progress. After 

 passing the high land at the mouth of the 

 Trombetits, the banks were low, clayey, or 

 earthy on both sides. The breadth' of the 

 river varies hereabout from two and a half to 

 three miles, but neither coast is the true terra 

 firma. On the northern side a by -channel 

 runs for a long distance inland, communicat- 

 ing with the extensive lake of Faro ; on the 

 south, three channels lead to the similar 

 fresh water sea of Villa Franca ; these are 

 in part arms of the river, so that the land 

 they surround consists, properly speaking, of 

 islands. When this description of land is..- 

 not formed wholly of river deposit, as some- 

 times happens, or is raised above the level of 

 the highest floods, it is called Ygapo alto, and 

 is distinguished by the naUves from the true 

 islands of mid-river, as well as from the terra, 

 firma. We landed at one of the cacao plan- 

 tations. The house was substantially built ,* 

 the walls formed of strong upright posts,, 

 lathed across, plastered with mud, and white- 

 washed, and the roof tiled. The family 

 were mamelucos, and seemed to be an ave- 

 rage sample of the poorer class of cacao-grow- 

 ers. All were loosely dressed and barefooted 

 A broad veranda extended along one sidb 

 of the house, the floor of which was simply 

 the well-trodden earth : and here hammocks 

 were slung between the bare upright sup- 

 ports, a large rush mat being spread on the 

 ground, upoa which the stout matron-like 

 mistress, with a tame parrot perched upon 

 her shoulder, sat sewing with two pretty lit- 

 tle mulatto girls. The master, coolly clad in 

 shirt and draweis, the former loose about the 

 neck, lay in his hammock smoking a long,, 

 gaudily-painted wooden pipe. The house- 

 hold utensils, earthenware jars, water-pots^ 

 and saucepans, lay at one end, near which 

 was a wood fire, with the ever-ready coffee* 

 pot simmering on the top of a clay tripod. 

 A large shed stood a short distance off, em- 

 bowered in a grove of banana, papaw, and 

 mango trees ; and under it were the ovens, 

 troughs, sieves, and all other apparatus for 

 the preparation of mandioca. The cleared 

 space around the house was only a few yaids 

 in extent ; beyond it lay the cacao planta- 

 tions, which stretched on each side parallel 

 to the banks of the river. There was a path 

 through the forest which led to the mandioca 

 fields, and several miles beyond to other 

 houses on the banks of an interior channel. 

 We were kindly received, as is always the 

 case when a stranger visits these out-of-the- 

 way habitations, the people being invariably 

 civil and hospitable. We had a long chat, 

 took coffee, and on departing one of the 

 daughters sent a basketful of oranges for our 

 use down to the canoe. 



The cost of a cacao plantation in the- 

 ,pbydos district is after the rate of 240 leis of 



