196 THE UPPER AMAZONS. Chap. III. 



so forth. Sebastian was often my companion in the 

 woods, where he was very useful in finding the small 

 birds I shot, which sometimes fell in the thickets 

 amongst confused masses of fallen branches and dead 

 leaves. He was wonderfully expert at catching lizards 

 with his hands, and at climbing. The smoothest stems 

 of palm-trees offered little difficulty to him : he would 

 gather a few lengths of tough, flexible lianas ; tie them 

 in a short, endless band to support his feet with in 

 embracing the slippery shaft, and then mount upwards 

 by a succession of slight jerks. It was very amusing, 

 during the first few weeks, to witness the glee and pride 

 with which he would bring to me the bunches of fruit 

 he had gathered from almost inaccessible trees. He 

 avoided the company of boys of his own race, and was 

 evidently proud of being the servant of a real white man. 

 We brought him down with us to Para: but he showed 

 no emotion at any of the strange sights of the capital ; 

 the steam-vessels, large ships and houses, horses and 

 carriages, the pomp of church ceremonies, and so forth. 

 In this he exhibited the usual dulness of feeling and 

 poverty of thought of the Indian ; he had, neverthe- 

 less, very keen perceptions, and was quick at learning 

 any mechanical art. Jose, who had resumed, some time 

 before I left the country, his old trade of goldsmith, 

 made him his apprentice, and he made very rapid pro- 

 gress ; for after about three months' teaching he came 

 to me one day with radiant countenance and showed me 

 a gold ring of his own making. 



The fate of the little girl, who came with a second 

 batch of children all ill of intermittent fever, a month 



