205 



mouth of the Curnpatuha; these plains liaving been formed by tlie 

 growth and fusion of islands in the silting up of the valley. 



The villa of Monte-Alegre * is divided into two parts, the upper or 

 principal town, and the lower town or port. The latter is situated 

 on the left bank of the river, while the upper town, distant about 

 a mile to the north, and reached by a steep, weary, sandy ascent, is 

 built on the edge of a high, broad, flattened ridge or plateau, extend- 

 ing northward from the river to the serra of Tauajnri, distant some 

 eighteen miles.f 



This ridge, which has a height of five or six hundred feet, more 

 or less, is composed of horizontal beds of clays and sands, of proba- 

 ble Tertiary age, and is, as I suppose, a degraded outlier of the once 

 extensive formation of the Serras de Pani. On top it is very flat, 

 but the surface is gently rounded, descending to the plains, both to 

 the east and west, by gradual slopes, abrupt descents being infre- 

 quent, except on the southern side, which, having been encroached 

 upon by the Amazonas, is steep, sometimes precipitous along the 

 base, and gullied by many ravines. 



The npper town of j\Ionte-Alegre is composed of some fifty, for 

 the most part shabby, tumble-down houses and vendas, together with 

 a handsome new church and a curious, little, old, barn-like chapel, 

 surrounding an immense, shadeless, sandy, Sahara of a square. The 

 inhabitants are principally of Indian descent, but among the white 

 families there are a few of education and refinement. The town 

 has been ruined by the rubber trade, and is fast going to decay. 

 The people are chiefly engaged in grazing, fishing and trade. 



From the villa there is a magnificent view over the Amazonian 

 valley. Below is the Curupatuba, which one may trace far to the 

 south-westward, winding, tree-fringed, over the verdant, grassy, 

 alluvial plain, Avhich, level as the sea and variegated by forest patches 

 and mirror-like lagoons, stretches southward for miles to the turbid 

 flood of the mighty river, while awa}" beyond in the south-west, are 



* Happy mount. The name sounds strangely to the traveler who has enjoyed its delectable 

 nights, the cheerful serenades of its carapaniis and the moon worship of its numerous canine 

 population ! 



tl regret very much that I shall be obliged to estimate all the distances given in this paper, 

 and that I can furnish nothing more than a rough sketch-map of the district examined. The 

 region has never been surveyed and mapped, and I have hence labored under a very great dis- 

 advantage. All my work on land was done on foot, many days often being spent in a fruitless 

 search for rock expi>snreR. 



