234 THE LOWER AMAZONS. Chap. VI. 



four to ten in breadth — its contribution to the Amazons 

 is not perceptible in the middle of the stream. The 

 white turbid current of the main river flows disdain- 

 fully by, occupying nearly the whole breadth of the 

 channel, whilst the darker water of its tributary 

 seems to creep along the shore, and is no longer dis- 

 tinguishable four or five miles from its mouth. 



We reached Santarem at 11 a.m. The town has 

 a clean and cheerful appearance from the river. It 

 consists of three long streets, with a few short ones 

 crossing them at right angles, and contains about 

 2500 inhabitants. It lies just within the mouth of 

 Tapajos, and is divided into two parts, the town and 

 the aldeia or village. The houses of the white and 

 trading classes are substantially built, many being of 

 two and three stories, and all white-washed and tiled. 

 The aldeia, which contains the Indian portion of the 

 population, or did so formerly, consists mostly of mud 

 huts, thatched with palm leaves. The situation of 

 the town is very beautiful. The land, although but 

 slightly elevated, does not form, strictly speaking, a 

 portion of the alluvial river plains of the Amazons, 

 but is rather a northern prolongation of the Brazilian 

 continental land. It is scantily wooded, and towards 

 the interior consists of undulating campos, which are 

 connected with a series of hills extending south- 

 ward as far as the eye can reach. I subsequently 

 made this place my head-quarters for three years ; 

 an account of its neighbourhood is therefore reserved 

 for another chapter. At the first sight of Santarem, 

 one cannot help being struck with the advantages of 



