164 THE UPPER AMAZONS. Chap. III. 



rest and change, and to cook our two meals — break- 

 fast and dinner. There was another passenger beside 

 myself — a cautious, middle-aged Portuguese, who was 

 going to settle at Ega, where he had a brother 

 long since established. He was accommodated in 

 the fore-cabin, or arched covering over the hold. I 

 shared the cabin-proper with Senhores Estulano and 

 Manoel, the latter a young half-caste, son-in-law to 

 the owner of the vessel, under whose tuition I made 

 good progress in learning the Tupi language during 

 the voyage. 



Our men took it in turns, two at a time, to go out 

 fishing ; for which purpose we carried a spare montaria. 

 The master had brought from Barra, as provisions, 

 nothing but stale, salt pirarucu — half-rotten fish, in 

 large, thin, rusty slabs — farinha, coffee, and treacle. In 

 these voyages passengers are expected to provide for 

 themselves, as no charge is made except for freight of 

 the heavy luggage or cargo they take with them. The 

 Portuguese and myself had brought a few luxuries, such 

 as beans, sugar, biscuits, tea, and so forth ; but we 

 found ourselves almost obliged to share them with our 

 two companions and the pilot, so that before the voyage 

 was one-third finished, the small stock of most of these 

 articles was exhausted. In return, we shared in what- 

 ever the men brought. Sometimes they were quite 

 unsuccessful, for fish is extremely difficult to procure in 

 the season of high water, on account of the lower lands 

 lying between the inlets and infinite chain of pools and 

 lakes being flooded from the main river, thus increasing 

 tenfold the area over which the finny population has 



