210 The Andes and the Aiviazon. 



of cliicha for use on tlieir return. The mass breeds wori^s 

 so rapidly, however, as Edwards informed ns, that after the 

 lapse of a month or two it is a jumble of yuca scraps and 

 writhing articulates. But the owner of the heap coolly 

 separates the animal from the vegetable, adds a httle wa- 

 ter, and drinks his chicha without ceremony. During lei- 

 sm-e hours the Indians busied themselves plaiting palm 

 leaves into ornaments for their arms and heads. 'Not a 

 note did they whistle or sing. Yet they were always in 

 good humor, and during the whole voyage we did not see 

 the slightest approach to a quarrel. At no time did we 

 have the least fear of treachery or violence. 



The Xapos are not savages. Their goodness, however, 

 as Bates says of the Cucama tribe, consists more in the ab- 

 sence of active bad qualities than in the possession of good 

 ones. Of an apathetic temperament and dull imagination, 

 we could not stir them into admiration or enthusiam by 

 any scientific wonder; the utmost manifestation of sur- 

 prise was a cluck with the tongue.* Upon presenting the 

 governor with a vest, he immediately cut off the buttons, 

 and, dividing the cloth into four parts, shared it with his 

 fellows. t When it rained they invariably took off their 

 ponchos, but in all our intercourse with these wild men 

 we never noticed the slightest breach of modesty. They 

 strictly maintained a decent arrangement of such apparel 

 as they possessed. A canoe containing a young Indian, 

 his bride, and our governor's wife and babe, accompanied 

 us down to the Maranon, They w^ere going after a load 

 of salt for Sandoval. The girl was a graceful paddler, and 



* Bates says the Mundurucvis express surprise by making a clicking sound 

 •mih. their teeth, and Darwin observes that the Fuegians have the habit of 

 making a chuckling noise when pleased. 



t The like perfect equality exists among the Fuegian tribes. "A piece of 

 cloth given to one is torn into shreds and distributed, and no one individual 

 becomes richer than another." — Darwin. 



