308 THE LOWER AMAZOXS. Chap. YII. 



vividly-coloured forests of the higher Ygapo lands, to 

 which the broad and regular fronds of the Murumuru 

 palm, here extremely abundant, served as a great de- 

 coration. Wherever the land was lower than the flood 

 height of the Amazons, Cecropia trees prevailed, some- 

 times scattered over meadows of tall broad-leaved 

 grasses, which surrounded shallow pools swarming with 

 water-fowl. Alligators were common on most parts 

 of the coast ; in some places we saw also small herds 

 of Capybaras (a large Rodent animal, like a colossal 

 Guinea-pig) amongst the rank herbage on muddy 

 banks, and now and then flocks of the graceful squirrel 

 monkey (Chrysothrix sciureus), and the vivacious Caia- 

 rara (Cebus albifrons) were seen taking flying leaps 

 from tree to tree. On the 22nd we passed the mouth 

 of the most easterly of the numerous channels which 

 lead to the large interior lake of Saraca, and on the 

 23rd threaded a series of passages between islands, 

 where we again saw human habitations, ninety miles 

 distant from the last house at Cararaucu. On the 24th 

 we arrived at Serpa. 



Serpa is a small village consisting of about eighty 

 houses, built on a bank elevated twenty-five feet above 

 the level of the river. The beds of Tabatinga clay, which 

 are here interminoied with scoria-lookinsf cono^lomerate, 

 are in some parts of the declivity prettily variegated in 

 colour ; the name of the town in the Tupi language, 

 Ita-coatiara, takes its origin from this circumstance, 

 signifying striped or painted rock. It is an old settle- 

 ment, and was once the seat of the district govern- 

 ment, which had authority over the Barra of the Rio 



