Chap. II. POINT CURURU. 151 



appearance to the damascene plum, and not greatly 

 unlike it in taste. The Aapiranga is a bright vermilion- 

 coloured berry, with a hard skin and a sweet viscid pulp 

 enclosing the seeds. Between the point and Altar do 

 Chao was a long stretch of sandy beach with moderately 

 deep water ; our men, therefore, took a rope ashore and 

 towed the cuberta at merry speed until we reached the 

 village. A long, deeply-laden canoe with miners from 

 the interior provinces here passed us. It was manned 

 by ten Indians, who propelled the boat by poles ; the 

 men, five on each side, trotting one after the other 

 along a plank arranged for the purpose from stem to 

 stern. 



It took us two nights to double Point Cururii, where, 

 as already mentioned, the river bends from its northerly 

 course beyond Altar do Chao. A confused pile of rocks, 

 on which many a vessel heavily laden with farinha has 

 been wrecked, extends at the season of low water from 

 the foot of a high bluff far into the stream. We were 

 driven back on the first night (October 3rd) by a squall. 

 The light terral was carrying us pleasantly round the 

 spit, when a small black cloud which lay near the rising 

 moon suddenly spread over the sky to the northward ; 

 the land-breeze then ceased, and furious blasts began to 

 blow across the river. We regained, with great difficulty, 

 the shelter of the point. It blew almost a hurricane 

 for two hours, during the whole of which time the sky 

 over our heads was' beautifully clear and starlit. Our 

 shelter at first was not very secure, for the wind blew 

 away the lashings of our sails, and caused our anchor to 

 drag. Angelo Custodio, however, seized a rope which 



