82 VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. Chap. II. ' 



.salt pirarucu ''for the love of God." They are not 

 quite so badly off in the dry season. The shallow 

 lakes and bays then contain plenty of fish, and the 

 boys and women go out at night to spear them by 

 torchlight ; the torches being made of thin strips of 

 green bark from the leaf-stalks of palms, tied in bun- 

 dles. Many excellent kinds of fish are thus obtained ; 

 amongst them the Pescada, whose white and flaky 

 flesh, when boiled, has the appearance and flavour of 

 cod-fish ; and the Tucunare (Cichla temensis), a hand- 

 some species, with a large prettily-coloured, eye-like 

 spot on its tail. Many small Salmonidse are also met 

 with, and a kind of sole, called Aramassa, which moves 

 along the clear sandy bottom of the bay. At these 

 times a species of sting-ray is common on the sloping 

 beach, and bathers are frequently stung most severely 

 by it. The weapon of this fish is a strong blade with 

 jagged edges, about three inches long, growing from the 

 side of the long fleshy tail. I once saw a woman 

 wounded by it whilst bathing ; she shrieked frightfully, 

 and was obliged to be carried to her hammock, where 

 she lay for a week in great pain; I have known 

 strong men to be lamed for many months by the 

 stingy. 



There was a mode of taking fish here which I had 

 not before seen employed, but found afterwards to be 

 very common on the Tapajos. This is by using a poison- 

 ous liana called Timbo (Paullinia pinnata). It will act 

 only in the still waters of creeks and pools. A few rods, 

 a yard in length, are mashed and soaked in the water, 

 which quickly becomes discoloured with the milky do- 



