Chap. IV. A NIGHT JOURNEY. 245 



of sugar-cane, four baskets of farinha, three cedar planks, 

 a small hamper of coffee, and two heavy bunches of 

 bananas. After we were embarked the old lady came 

 with a parting gift for me — a huge bowl of smoking- 

 hot banana porridge. I was to eat it on the road " to 

 keep my stomach warm." Both stood on the bank as we 

 pushed off, and gave us their adeos, " Ikuana Tupana 

 eirum " (Go with God) : a form of salutation taught by 

 the old Jesuit missionaries. We had a most uncom- 

 fortable passage, for Cardozo was quite tipsy and had 

 not attended to the loading of the boat. The cargo had 

 been placed too far forward, and to make matters worse 

 my heavy friend obstinately insisted on sitting astride 

 on the top of the pile, instead of taking his place near 

 the stern ; singing from his perch a most indecent love- 

 song, and disregarding the inconvenience of having to 

 bend down almost every minute to pass under the boughs 

 and hanging sipos as we sped rapidly along. The canoe 

 leaked, but not, at first, alarmingly. Long before sunset, 

 darkness began to close in under these gloomy shades, 

 and our steersman could not avoid now and then run- 

 ning the boat into the thicket. The first time this 

 happened a piece was broken off the square prow 

 (rodella) ; the second time we got squeezed between 

 two trees. A short time after this latter accident, 

 being seated near the stem with my feet on the bottom 

 of the boat, I felt rather suddenly the cold water above 

 my ankles. A few minutes more and we should have 

 sunk, for a seam had been opened forward under the 

 pile of sugar-cane. Two of us began to bale, and by 

 the most strenuous efforts managed to keep afloat with- 



