248 EXCURSIONS AROUND EGA. Chap. IV. 



of Shimuni lies in the middle of the north-easterly 

 channel, and is reached by passing round the end of 

 Baria. Two miles further down the broad, wild, and 

 turbid river, lies the small island of Curubaru, skirted 

 like the others by a large praia ; this is not, however, 

 frequented by turtles, on account of the coarse, gritty 

 nature of the deposit. The sand-banks appear to be 

 formed only where there is a remanso or still water, 

 and the wooded islands to which they are generally 

 attached probably first originated in accumulations of 

 sand. 



We landed on Curubaru ; Cardozo wishing to try the 

 pocos (wells, or deep pools) which lie here as in other 

 praias between the sand-bank and its island, for fish and 

 tracajas. The sun was now nearly vertical, and the 

 coarse, heated sand burnt our feet as we trod. We 

 Avalked or rather trotted nearly a mile before reaching 

 the pools : there was not a breath of wind nor a cloud 

 to moderate the heat of mid-day, and the Indians who 

 carried the fishing-net suffered greatly. On arriving at 

 the ponds we found the water was quite warm ; the 

 net brought up only two or three small fishes, and we 

 thus had our toilsome journey for nothing. 



Re-embarking, we paddled across to Shimuni, reaching 

 the commencement of the praia an hour before sunset. 

 The island-proper is about three miles long and half 

 a mile broad : the forest with which it is covered rises 

 to an immense and uniform height, and presents all 

 round a compact, impervious front. Here and there a 

 singular tree, called Pao mulatto (mulatto wood), with 

 polished dark-green trunk, rose conspicuously amongst 



