220 THE UPPER AMAZONS. Chap. III. 



we have already seen also differ considerably. The year 

 at Ega is divided according to the rises and falls of the 

 river, with which coincide the wet and dry periods. All 

 the principal transactions of life of the inhabitants are 

 regulated by these yearly recurring phenomena. The 

 peculiarity of this upper region consists in there being 

 two rises and two falls within the year. The great 

 annual rise commences about the end of February, and 

 continues to the middle of June, during which the rivers 

 and lakes, confined during the dry periods to their 

 ordinary beds, gradually swell and overflow all the 

 lower lands. The inundation progresses gently inch by 

 inch, and is felt everywhere, even in the interior of the 

 forests of the higher lands, miles away from the river ; 

 as these are traversed by numerous gullies, forming 

 in the fine season dry, spacious dells, which become 

 gradually transformed by the pressure of the flood into 

 broad creeks navigable by small boats under the shade 

 of trees. All the countless swarms of turtle of various 

 species then leave the main river for the inland pools : 

 the sand-banks go under water, and the flocks of wading 

 birds migrate northerly to the upper waters of the 

 tributaries which flow from that direction, or to the 

 Orinoco ; which streams during the wet period of the 

 Amazons are enjoying the cloudless skies of their dry 

 season. The families of fishermen who have been em- 

 ployed, during the previous four or five months, in 

 harpooning and salting pirarucu and shooting turtle in 

 the great lakes, now return to the towns and villages ; 

 their temporarily constructed fishing establishments 

 becoming gradually submerged, with the sand islets or 



