THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONb. 767 



to be nearly all mamelucos, and were a loose- erabie expense, I thought ii wpoko well for 

 living, rustic, plain-spoken, and ignorant se' the good intentions and simplicity of heart of 

 of people. There was no priest or school these poor neglected villagers, 

 master within 150 miles, and had not been I left Fonte Boa, for Ega, on the 25th of 

 any for inany years , the people seemed to be January, making the passage by steamer, 

 almost without government of any kind, and down the middle of the current, in sixteen 

 .yet crime and deeds of violence appeared to hours. The sight of the clean and neat little 

 be of very rare occurrence. The principal town, with its open spaces, close-cropped 

 man of the village, one Senhor Jtisto, was ?, Tass, broad lake, and white sandy shores, 

 Hg, coarse, energetic fellow, sub-delegadc Uad a most exhilarating effect, after my trip 

 of police, and the only tradesman who owner, into the wilder paits of the country. The 

 a large vessel running* directly between Foute district between Ega and Loretj, the first 

 JBoa and Para. He had recently built a large Peruvian village on the river, is, indeed, the 

 liouse, in the style of middle-class dwellings most remote, thinly-peopled, and barbarous 

 of towns, namely, with brick floors and tiled f the whole Hue of the Amazons, from ocean 

 roof, the bricks and tiles having been brought to ocean. Beyond Loreto, signs of civiliza- 

 from Para, 1,500 miles distant, the nearest tioii, from the side of the Pacific, begin to be 

 place where they are manufactured in sur- numerous ; and from Ega, downward, the 

 plus. When Senhor Justo visited me, he improvement i, felt from the side of the AU 

 was much struck with the engravings in a lantic iSkattwifr I Ik ' 



iile of Illustrated London News, which lay on September &th, 1857.--Ag^neunSrfte\rW 

 my table. It was impossible to resist his the Tabatinga, this time for a longer ex- 

 urgent entreaties to let him have some of cursion than the last, namely, to St. Paulo 

 them " to look at," so one day he carried off de Olivenpa, a village higher up than any 1 

 n portion of the papers on loan. A fort- had yet visited, being 2(50 miles distant in a 

 night afterward, on going to request him to straight line from Ega, or about 400 miles, 

 return them, I found the engravings had been following the bends of the river, 

 -cut out, and stuck all over the newly white- T ne waters are now nearly at their lowest 

 washed walls of his chamber, many of them point ; but this made no difference to the rate 

 upside down. He thought a room thus of travelling, night or day. Several of the 

 decorated with foreign views would increase Parana-mirims, or by-channels, which the 

 -his importance among his neighbors, and steamer threads in the season of full-water, 

 when I yielded to his wish to keep them, was to save a long circuit, were now dried up, 

 boundless in demonstrations of gratitude, their empty beds looking like deep sandy 

 ending by shipping a boat load of **inles for ravines in the midst of the thick forest. The 

 my use at Ega. large sand islands, and miles of sandy beach, 



These neglected and rude villagers still re< were also uncovered ; and these, with the 

 iained many religious practices which former swarms of large aquatic birds, storks, her- 

 missionaries or priests had taught them, ons, ducks, vaders, and spoon-bills, which 

 The ceremony which they observed at Christ- lined their margins in certain places, made 

 mas, like that described as practised by the river view much more varied and ani- 

 negroes in a former chapter, was very pleas- mated than it is in the season of the flood, 

 irig for its simplicity, and for the heartiness Alligators of large size were common near 

 with which it was conducted. The church the shores, lazily floating, an I heedless of 

 was opened, dried, and swept clean a few the passing steamer. The passengers amused 

 days before Chi istmas eve, and on the morn- themselves by shooting at them from the 

 ing all the women and children of the village deck with a double-barrelled rifle we ha.l 

 ivere busy decorating it with festoons of on board. The sign of a mortal hit was thu 

 leaves and wild flowers. Toward midnisrht monster turning suddenly over, and remain- 

 it Was illuminated inside and out with little ing floating, with its white belly upward, 

 oil lamps, made of clay, and the image of the Lieutenant Nuues wished to have one of the 

 4t Menioo Deus.' or Child-God, in its cradle, dead animals on board, for the purpose of 

 Tvas placed below the altar, which was opening the abdomen, and, if a male, cxtract- 

 iiglited up with rows of wax candles very ing a part which is held in great estimation 

 lean ones, but the best the poor people could among Brazilians as a " remedio," charm or 

 afford. All the villagers assembled soon medicine. The steamer was stopped, and a 

 afterward, dressed in their best, the women b>at sent, with four strong men. to embark 

 with flowers in their hair, and a few simple the beast the body, however, was found loo 

 hymns, totally irrelevant to the occasion, but heavy to be lifted into the boat ; so a rore 

 probably the only ones known by them, were was passed round it, and the hideous creat 

 sung kneeling ; an old half-caste, with black urc towed alongside, and hoisted on deck by 

 spoiled face, leading off the tunes. This fin- means of the crane, which was rigged for the 

 (shed, the congregation rose, and then purpose. It had still some sparks of life, and 

 marched in single file up one side of the when the knife was applied, lashed its taii, 

 church and down the other, singing together and opened its enormous jaws, sending the 

 a very pretty marching chorus, and each one, crowd of bystanders flying in all directions, 

 on reaching the little image, stooping to kiss A blow with a Imtchet, on the crown of the 

 the end of a ribbon which was tied round its head, gave him his quietus at lust. The 

 w*ist. Considering that the ceremony was l<"iglh "f tlm animal was fifteen feet ; but 

 got up of their own free will, and at coosid^, v**~> atattMiieul can give but an imperfect idea 



