198 THE UPPER AMAZONS. Chap. III. 



know. It was inexpressibly touching to hear her as 

 she lay, repeating by the hour the verses which she had 

 been taught to recite with her companions in her native 

 village : a few sentences repeated over and over again 

 with a rhythmic accent, and relating to objects and 

 incidents connected with the wild life of her tribe. We 

 had her baptized before she died, and when this latter 

 event happened, in opposition to the wishes of the big 

 people of Ega, I insisted on burying her with the same 

 honours as a child of the whites ; that is, as an "anjinho" 

 (little angel), according to the pretty Roman Catholic 

 custom of the country. We had the corpse clothed in a 

 robe of fine calico, crossed her hands on her breast over 

 a "palma " of flowers, and made also a crown of flowers 

 for her head. Scores of helpless children like our poor 

 Oria die at Ega, or on the road ; but generally not the 

 slightest care is taken of them during their illness. 

 They are the captives made during the merciless 

 raids of one section of the Miranha tribe on the terri- 

 tories of another, and sold to the Ega traders. The vil- 

 lages of the attacked hordes are surprised, and the men 

 and women killed or driven into the thickets without 

 having time to save their children. There appears to 

 be no doubt that the Miranhas are cannibals, and, 

 therefore, the purchase of these captives probably saves 

 them from a worse fate. The demand for them at Ega 

 operates, however, as a direct cause of the supply, 

 stimulating the unscrupulous chiefs, who receive all the 

 profits to undertake these murderous expeditions. 



It is remarkable how quickly the savages of the 

 various nations, which each have their own, to all 



