Chap. II. WINDINGS OF RIVER. 115 



where the boy was left to mind the canoe whilst the man 

 entered the forest. The beaches of the TefTe form groves 

 of wild guava and myrtle trees, and during most months 

 of the year are partly overflown by the river. Whilst the 

 boy was playing in the water under the shade of these 

 trees a huge reptile of this species stealthily wound its 

 coils around him, unperceived until it was too late to 

 escape. His cries brought the father quickly to the 

 rescue ; who rushed forward, and seizing the Anaconda 

 boldly by the head, tore his jaws asunder. There appears 

 to be no doubt that this formidable serpent grows to an 

 enormous bulk and lives to a great age, for I heard of 

 specimens having been killed which measured forty- 

 two feet in length, or double the size of the largest I 

 had an opportunity of examining. The natives of the 

 Amazons country universally believe in the existence of 

 a monster water-serpent said to be many score fathoms 

 in length, which appears successively in different parts 

 of the river. They call it the Mai d'agoa — the mother 

 or spirit of the water. This fable, which was doubtless 

 suggested by the occasional appearance of Sucurujus 

 of unusually large size, takes a great variety of forms, 

 and the wild legends form the subject of conversation 

 amongst old and young, over the wood fires in lonely 

 settlements. 



August 6th and *7th. — On leaving the sitio of Antonio 

 Malagueita we continued our way along the windings of 

 the river, generally in a south-east and south-south-east 

 direction but sometimes due south, for about fifteen miles, 

 when we stopped at the house of one Paulo Christo, a 

 mameluco whose acquaintance I had made at Aveyros. 



l 2 



