TRIP UP AN IGARAPE. 315 



TRIP UP AN IGARAPE INTO THE INTERIOR. 



Let us leave the mighty stream, and wander amidst the 

 picturesque windings of an igarape, into the depths of the 

 forest, with Professor Agassiz. Passing into its narrow 

 entrance, the lofty trees arching overhead shelter the voyager 

 in his light canoe from the glaring heat of the noonday sun. 

 The air is cool and refreshing. Not a ripple stirs the water, 

 save that caused by the paddles of the Indian crew. Clumps 

 of the light and exquisitely graceful assai-palm shoot up 

 everywhere on either side from the denser forest. Here and 

 there the drooping bamboo dips its feathery branches into the 

 water, covered sometimes to their very tips with the purple 

 of convolvuli ; yellow bignonias carry their golden clusters to 

 the very summits of some of the more lofty trees ; while white- 

 flowering myrtles and orange-coloured mallows border the 

 stream. Life abounds in this quiet retreat. Birds and 

 butterflies are numerous on the margin of the water. Crabs 

 of every variety of colour and size sit on the trunks of decay- 

 ing logs, watching for their prey, to make their escape, how- 

 ever, with nimble feet, when pursued. 



Or let us start before daylight, on a calm morning, along 

 the banks of a larger tributary, to proceed towards the 

 heights of the Serra Erere. As dawn begins to redden the 

 sky, large flocks of ducks and of a small Amazonian goose 

 may be seen flying towards the lake. Here and there we see 

 a cormorant, seated alone on the branch of a dead tree ; or a 

 kingfisher poises himself over the water, watching for his prey. 

 Numerous gulls are gathered in large companies on the trees 

 along the river shore. Alligators lie on its surface, diving 

 with a sudden splash at the approach of the canoe. Occasion- 



