296 EXCURSIONS AROUND EGA. Chap. IV. 



and sparingly scattered. My companions were greatly 

 elated, and on approaching the encampment at Catua 

 made a great commotion with their paddles to announce 

 their successful return, singing in their loudest key one 

 of the wild choruses of the Amazonian boatmen. 



The excavation of eggs and preparation of the oil 

 being finished, we left Catua on the 3rd of November. 

 Carepira, who was now attached to Cardozo's party, had 

 discovered another lake rich in turtles, about twelve 

 miles distant, in one of his fishing rambles, and my 

 friend resolved, before returning to Ega, to go there 

 with his nets and drag it as we had formerly done the 

 Aningal. Several mameluco families of Ega begged to 

 accompany us to share the labours and booty ; the 

 Shumana family also joined the party ; we therefore 

 formed a large body, numbering in all eight canoes and 

 fifty persons. 



The summer season was now breaking up ; the river 

 was rising; the sky was almost constantly clouded, and we 

 had frequent rains. The mosquitoes also, which we had 

 not felt whilst encamped on the sand-banks, now became 

 troublesome. We paddled up the north-westerly chan- 

 nel, and arrived at a point near the upper end of Catua 

 at ten o'clock p.m. There was here a very broad beach 

 of untrodden white sand, which extended quite into the 

 forest, where it formed rounded hills and hollows like 

 sand dunes, covered with a peculiar vegetation : harsh, 

 reedy grasses, and low trees matted together with lianas, 

 and varied with dwarf spiny palms of the genus Bactris. 

 We encamped for the night on the sands, finding the 



