Chap. VI. FLAT-TOITED .^lOUNTAINS. 231 



arms or back waters of the Amazons, which are called 

 in the Tupi language Paran^-mirims or little rivers. 

 By keeping to these, small canoes can travel great part 

 of the distance without being much exposed to the 

 heavy seas of the main river. The coast throughout 

 has a most desolate aspect : the forest is not so varied 

 as on the higher land ; and the water frontage, which is 

 destitute of the green mantle of climbing plants that 

 form so rich a decoration in other parts, is encumbered 

 at every step with piles of fallen trees, peopled by 

 white egTets, ghostly storks, and solitary herons. In 

 the evening we passed Almeyrim. The hills, according 

 to Von Martins, who landed here, are about 800 feet 

 above the level of the river and are thickly wooded to 

 the summit. They commence on the east by a few low 

 isolated and rounded elevations ; but towards the west 

 of the village they assume the appearance of elongated 

 ridges, which seem to have been planed down to a uni- 

 form height by some external force. The next day we 

 passed in succession a series of similar flat-topped hills, 

 some isolated and of a truncated-j)3n:amidal shape, 

 others prolonged to a length of several miles. Thei-e 

 is an interval of low country between these and the 

 Almeyrim range, which has a total length of about 25 

 miles : then commences abruptly the Serra de Marau- 

 aqua, which is succeeded in a similar way by the Velha 

 Pobre range, the Serras de Tapaiuna-quara, and Paraua- 

 quara. All these form a striking contrast to the Serra 

 de Almeyrim in being quite destitute of trees. They 

 have steep, rugged sides, apparently clothed with short 

 herbage, but here and there exposing bare white 



