STORMS ON THE AMAZON 55 



flight over its fish-teeming waters. As over the ocean, or in 

 the desert, the illusions of the mirage are also produced over 

 the surface of the Maranon. The distant banks, not always 

 clearly defined even in the morning, disappear wholly at noon, 

 and the rays of the sun are then so refracted that the long rows 

 of palms appear in an inverted position. 



The dreadful storms which burst suddenly over the Amazon, 

 likewise recal to memory the tornados of the ocean. The 

 bowlings of the monkeys, the shrill tones of the mews, and the 

 \isible terror of all animals, first announce the approaching 

 cuiiflict of the elements. The crowns of the palms rustle and 

 beM, while as yet no breeze is perceptible on the surface of 

 the stream ; but, like a warning voice, a hollow murmur in 

 the air precedes the black clouds ascending from the horizon, 

 like grim warriors ready for battle. And now the old forest 

 groans under the shock of the hurricane ; a night-like darkness 

 veils the face of nature ; and, while torrents of rain descend 

 ;!inid uninterrupted sheets of lightning and terrific peals of 

 thunder, the river rises and falls in waves of a dangerous 

 licight. Then it requires a skilful hand to preserve the boat 

 from sinking ; but the Indian pilots steer with so masterly a 

 liand, and understand so well the first symptoms of the storm, 

 tliat it seldom takes them by surprise, or renders them victims 

 of its fury. 



Among the dangers of the Amazon, the rapids must not be 

 forgotten that frequently arise where large tracts of the bank, 

 undermined by the floods, have been cast into the river. The 

 boat is almost unavoidably lost when carried by the current 

 among the branches of the trees, which, though submerged, still 

 remain attached to the ground, and sweep furiously through 

 the eddy, overturning or smashing all that comes within their 

 reach. 



If the Nile — so remarkable for its historical recollections, 

 which carry us far back into the by-gone ages — and the Thames, 

 unparalleled by the greatness of a commerce which far eclipses 

 that of ancient Carthage or Tyre — may justly be called the 

 rivers of the 'past and the 'present, the Amazon has equal 

 claims to be called the stream of the future; for a more 

 splendid field nowhere lies open to the enterprise of man. 



All the gifts of Nature are scattered in profusion over the 



E 4 



