io8 TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. [November, 



We continued hard at work till about two or three in the 

 afternoon, generally procuring some new and interesting insects, 

 Here was the haunt of the beautiful Callithea sapp/iira, one of 

 the most lovely of butterflies, and of numerous curious and 

 brilliant X\\.\\&\Erycinidce. As we returned we stayed to bathe in 

 the Tapajoz, and on arriving at home immediately ate a water- 

 melon, which was always ready for us, and which at that time 

 we found most grateful and refreshing. We then changed our 

 clothes, dined, set out our insects, and in the cool of the 

 evening took tea, and called on or received visits from our 

 Brazilian or English friends — among whom was now Mr. 

 Spruce, the botanist, who arrived here from Para shortly after 

 we had returned from Montealegre. 



The constant hard exercise, pure air, and good living, not- 

 withstanding the intense heat, kept us in the most perfect 

 health, and I have never altogether enjoyed myself so much. 

 In Santarem there is an abundance of beef, fish, milk, and 

 fruits, a dry soil, and clear water, — a conjunction of advantages 

 seldom to be met with in this country. There were some 

 boggy meadows here, more like those of Europe than one often 

 sees so near the equator, on which were growing pretty small 

 Melastomas and other flowers. The paths and campes were 

 covered with flowering myrtles, tall Melastomas, and numbers 

 of passion-flowers, convolvuluses, and bignonias. At the back 

 of the town, a mile or two off, were some bare conical hills, to 

 which I paid some visits. They were entirely formed of 

 scoriae, and were as barren and uninviting as can possibly be 

 imagined. A curious tidal phenomenon was to be seen here : 

 the tide rises in the Amazon to considerably above Santarem, 

 but it never flows up, the water merely rising and falling. The 

 river Tapajoz had now very little water, and its surface was 

 below the level of the Amazon at high water, so that the tide 

 was every day seen to flow up the Tapajoz, while a hundred 

 yards out in the stream of the Amazon it was still flowing 

 rapidly down. 



It was now November, and as some rain had fallen, and 

 gloomy weather had set in, we determined to start for the Rio 

 Negro as soon as we could. Our canoe was at length ready, 

 having taken us a long time to repair the bottom, which was 

 quite rotten. After much delay the Commandante had pro- 

 cured us three Indians, who were to go with us only to Obydos, 



