124 THE TOCANTINS. Chap. IV. 



and May, the river rises to the level of the house- 

 floors. The river bottom is everywhere sandy, and 

 the country perfectly healthy. The people seemed 

 to be all contented and happy, but idleness and po- 

 verty were exhibited by many unmistakeable signs. 

 As to the flooding of their island abodes, they did not 

 seem to care about that at all. They seem to be 

 almost amphibious, or as much at home on the water 

 as on land. It wa^ really alarming to see men and 

 women and children, in little leaky canoes laden to 

 the water-level with bag and baggage, crossing broad 

 reaches of river. Most of them have houses also on 

 the terra firma, and reside in the cool palm-swamps of 

 the Ygapo islands, as they are called, only in the hot and 

 dry season. They live chiefly on fish, shellfish (amongst 

 which were large Ampullarise, whose flesh I found, 

 on trial, to be a very tough morsel), the never-failing 

 farinha, and the fruits of the forest. Amongst the latter 

 the fruits of palm-trees occupied the chief place. The 

 Assai is the most in use, but this forms a universal article 

 of diet in all parts of the country. The fruit, which is 

 perfectly round, and about the size of a cherry, contains 

 but a small portion of pulp lying between the skin and the 

 hard kernel. This is made, with the addition of water, 

 into a thick, violet-coloured beverage, which stains the 

 lips like blackberries. The fruit of the Miriti is also 

 a common article of food, although the pulp is sour and 

 unpalatable, at least to European tastes. It is boiled, 

 and then eaten with f^irinha. The Tucuma (Astro- 

 caryum tucuma), and the Mucuja (Acrocomia lasio- 

 spatha), grow only on the main land. Their fruits yield 



