SOUTH AMERICA. 3 



a needy savage, the heir-apparent, nothing to R8T 

 inherit but his father's club and bow and arrows, 

 and his officers of state wild and uncultivated as 

 the forests through which they strayed. 



There was nothing in the hut of this savage, 

 saving the presents he had received from govern- 

 ment, but what was barely sufficient to support 

 existence ; nothing that indicated a power to 

 collect a hostile force ; nothing that showed the 

 least progress towards civilization. All was rude 

 and barbarous in the extreme, expressive of the 

 utmost poverty, and a scanty population. 



You may travel six or seven days without 

 seeing a hut, and when you reach a settlement, it 

 seldom contains more than ten. 



The further you advance into the interior, the 

 more you are convinced that it is thinly inhabited. 



The day after passing the place where the 

 white man lived, you see a creek on the left 

 hand, and shortly after the path to the open 

 country. Here you drag the canoe up into the 

 forest, and leave it there. Your baggage must 

 now be carried by the Indians. The creek you 

 passed in the river, intersects the path to the next 

 settlement ; a large mora has fallen across it, and 

 makes an excellent bridge. After walking an 

 hour and a half, you come to the edge of the 

 forest, and a savanna unfolds itself to the view. 



The finest park that England boasts, falls far 

 short of this delightful scene. There are about 



