THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



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cretfons of vegetable matter, formed by 

 plants and trees growing oil a shoal. The 

 island was wooded chiefly with the trumpet- 

 tree (Cecropia peltata), which has a hollow 

 stem and smooth pale bark. The leaves are 

 similar in shape to those of the horse-chest- 

 nut, but immensely larger ; beneath they 

 are white, and when the welcome trade-wind 

 blows they show their silvery under sides a 

 pleasant signal to the weary canoe traveller. 

 The mode of growth of this tree is curious : 

 the branches are emitted at nearly right 

 angles with the stem, the branchlets in minor 

 whorls around these, and so forth, the leaves 

 growing at their extremities ; so that the 

 total appearance is that of a huge candela- 

 brum. Cecropiae of different species are 

 characteristic of Brazilian forest scenery ; 

 the kind of which I am speaking grows in 

 great numbers everywhere on the banks of 

 the Amazons where the land is low. In the 

 same places the curious monguba-tree (Bom- 

 bax ceiba) is also plentiful ; the dark-green 

 bark of its huge tapering trunk, scored with 

 gray, forming a conspicuous object. The 

 principal palm-tree on the lowlands is the 

 Jauari (Astryocaryum Jauari), whose stem, 

 surrounded by whorls of spines, shoots up to 

 a great height. On the borders of the island 

 were large tracts of arrow-grass (Gynerium 

 saccharoides), which bears elegant plumes of 

 feathers, like those of the reed, and grows to 

 a height of twenty feet, the leaves arranged 

 in a fan-shaped figure near the middle of the 

 stem. I was surprised to find on the higher 

 parts of the sand -bank the familiar foliage of 

 a willow (Salix Humboldtiaua). It is a 

 dwarf species, and grows in patches resem- 

 bling beds of osiers ; as in the English wil- 

 lows, the leaves were peopled bysmall chrys- 

 omelideous beetles. In wandering about, 

 many features reminded me of the sea-shore. 

 Flocks of white gulls were flying overhead, 

 uttering their well-known cry, and sand- 

 pipers coursed along the edge of the water. 

 Here and there lonely wading-birds were 

 stalking about ; one of these, the Curicaca 

 (Ibis melanopis), flew up with a low cackling 

 noise, and was soon joined by an unicorn- 

 bird (Palamedea cornuta), which I startled 

 up from amid the bushes, whose harsh 

 screams, resembling the bray of a jackass, 

 but shriller, disturbed unpleasantly the soli- 

 tude of the place. Among the willow-bushes 

 were flocks of a handsome bird belonging to 

 the Icterida3 or troupial family, adorned with 

 a rich plumage of black and saffron-yellow. 

 I spent some time watching an assemblage of 

 a species of bird called by the natives Tam- 

 buri-para, on the cecropia-trees. It is the 

 Monasa nigrifrons of ornithologists, and has 

 a plain slrie-colored plumage, with the beak 

 of an orange hue. It belongs to the family 

 of Barbets, most of whose members are re, 

 markable for their dull,inactive temperament. 

 Those species which are arranged by orni- 

 thologists under the genus Bucco are called 

 by the Indians, in the Tupi language, Tai- 

 assu uira, or pig- birds. They remain seated 

 sometimes for hours together on low branches 



in f he shade, and are stimulated to exertion 

 only when attracted by passing insects. 

 This flock of Tamburi-para were the reverse 

 of dull ; they were gamboling and chasing 

 each other among the branches. As they 

 sported about, each emitted a few short tune- 

 ful notes, which altogether produced a ring- 

 ing, musical chorus that quite surprised me. 



On the 27th we reached an elevated wood- 

 en promontory, called Parentins, which now 

 forms the boundary between the provinces of 

 Para and the Amazons. Here we met a 

 small canoe descending to Santarem. The 

 owner was a free negro named Lima, who, 

 with his wife, was going down the river to 

 exchange his year's crop of tobacco for Euro- 

 pean merchandise. The long shallow canoe 

 was laden nearly to the water level. He re- 

 sided on the banks of the Abacaxi, a river 

 which discharges its waters into the Canoma, 

 a broad interior channel which extends from 

 the river Madeira to the Parentins, a distance 

 of 180 miles. Penna offered him advantage- 

 ous terms, so a bargain was struck, and the 

 man saved his long journey. The negro 

 seemed a frank, straightforward fellow; he 

 was a native of Pernambuco, but had settled 

 many years ago in this part of the country. 

 He had with him a little Indian girl belong- 

 ing to the Mauhes tribe, whose native seat is 

 the district of country lying in the rear of 

 the Canoma, between the JVladeira and the 

 Tapajos. The Mauhes are considered, 1 

 think with truth, to be a branch of the great 

 Mundurucu nation, having segregated from 

 them at a remote period, and by long isola- 

 tion acquired different customs and a totally 

 different language, in a manner which seems 

 to have been general with the Brazilian abo- 

 rigines. The Mundurucus seem to have re- 

 tained more of the general characteristics of 

 the original Tupi stock than the Mauhes. 

 Senhor Lima told me, what I afterward 

 found to be correct, that there were scarcely 

 two words alike in the languages of the two 

 people, although there are words closely 

 allied to Tupi in both. The little girl had 

 not the slightest trace of the savage in her 

 appearance. Her features were finely shaped, 

 the cheek-bones not at all prominent, the lips 

 thin, and the expression of her countenance 

 frank and smiling. She had been brought 

 only a few weeks previously from a remote 

 settlement of her tribe on the banks of the 

 Abacaxi, and did not yet know five words of 

 Portuguese. The Indians, as a general rule, 

 are very manageable when they are young, 

 but it is a frequent complaint that when they 

 reach the age of puberty they become rest- 

 less and discontented. The rooted impa- 

 tience of all restraint then shows itself, and 

 the kindest treatment will not prevent them 

 running away from their masters ; they do 

 not return to the malocas of their tribes, but 

 join parties who go out to collect the prod- 

 uce of the forests and rivers, and lead a 

 wandering, semi-savage kind of life. 



We remained under the Serra dos Parentins 

 all night. Early the next morning a light 

 .mist hung about the tree-tops, and the forest. 



