148 VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. Chap. II. 



Heavy seas beat now and then against the prow of our 

 vessel with a force that made her shiver. If we had 

 gone ashore in this place, all my precious collections 

 would have been inevitably lost ; but we ourselves could 

 have scrambled easily to land, and re-embarked with 

 Senhor Honorio, who had remained behind in the Pini, 

 and would pass in the course of two or three days. 

 When night came I lay down exhausted with watching 

 and fatigue, and fell asleep, as my men had done some 

 time before. About nine o'clock, I was awoke by the 

 montaria bumping against the sides of the vessel, 

 which had veered suddenly round, and the full moon, 

 previously astern, then shone full in the cabin. The 

 wind had abruptly ceased, giving place to light puffs 

 from the eastern shore, and leaving a long swell rolling 

 into the shoaly bay. 



After this I resolved not to move a step beyond 

 Paquiatuba without an additional man, and one who 

 understood the navigation of the river at this season. 

 We reached the landing-place at ten o'clock, and 

 anchored within the mouth of the creek. In the 

 morning I walked through the beautiful shady alleys 

 of the forest, which were water-paths in June when 

 we touched here in ascending the river, to the house 

 of Inspector Cypriano. After an infinite deal of trouble 

 I succeeded in persuading him to furnish me with 

 another Indian. There are about thirty families esta- 

 blished in this place, but the able-bodied men had been 

 nearly all drafted off within the last few weeks by the 

 Government, to accompany a military expedition against 

 runaway negroes, settled in villages in the interior. 



