140 



VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. 



Chap. II. 



from their mouths. When a bee or fly passed through 

 the air near the water, they all simultaneously darted 

 towards it as if roused by an electric shock. Sometimes 

 a larger fish approached, and then the host of Piranhas 

 took the alarm and flashed out of sight. The popula- 

 tion of the water varied from day to day. Once a small 

 shoal of a handsome black-banded fish, called by the 



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WV 



Acara (Mesonauta insignis). 



natives Acara bandeira (Mesonauta insignis, of Gunther), 

 came gliding through at a slow pace, forming a very 

 pretty sight. At another time, little troops of needle 

 fish, eel-like animals, with excessively long and slender 

 toothed jaws, sailed through the field, scattering before 

 them the hosts of smaller fry ; and in the rear of the 

 needle-fishes a strangely-shaped kind called Sarapo 

 came wriggling along, one by one, with a slow move- 

 ment. We caught with hook and line, baited with 

 pieces of banana, several Curimata (Anodus Ama- 



