314 THE LOWEE AMAZONS. 



fected by the wet season : thus, at three hundred miles from 

 the mouth of the Amazons, there is no perceptible change 

 in the level of the river, except through tidal influence. 



At the narrowest part of tlie strait, upon the north 

 bank, stands posted upon a high bluff the neat little town 

 of Obidos. The village is quite regularly laid out and 

 free from that rank growth of vegetation which defaces 

 the squares and streets of most Amazonian towns. Seventy 

 miles below Obidos v.'e cast anchor off Santarem, located 

 just at the mouth of the Tapajos, one of the great south- 

 ern tributaries of the Amazons, whose apparently black, 

 yet clear-blue waters, form a strange contrast to the turbid 

 current of the Great River. The town has a mixed Por- 

 tuguese and Negro population of over two thousand ; being, 

 next to Para, the largest city upon the Amazons. Grassy 

 plains stretch out from the town, and enable cattle-raising 

 to be carried on extensively. Cacao is largely cultivated ; 

 while recent experiments prove that the sugai--cane can be 

 even more successfully raised here than in our Southern 

 States. 



At Santarem we found a large number of rebel emi- 

 grants who were there seeking a home. This suggests 

 one word relative to that colonization scheme, which has 

 met with such indifferent success. When recent political 

 movements in our country culminated in emancipation, it 

 was not strange that former slave-holders should look 

 about to see where they might be allowed the privilege 

 of enjoying their favorite institvition. Brazil, as an open- 

 ing field for enterprise, immediately presented itself. The 

 Brazilian Government extended every inducement, de- 

 fraying expenses of transportation, offering bounties, and 

 giving grants of land. Every thing seemed to favor the 

 plan of colonization ; and large numbers of emigrants 

 from the South, burning with hatred toward the old flag, 

 because it now gave liberty and equal rights to all, estab- 



