234 The Andes and the Amazon. 



only about half a mile wide. Here our passports, which 

 had been signed at Maucallacta and Loreto, were indorsed 

 by the commandante. They were afterward examined at 

 Ega, Manaos, and Para. The mean temperature of Taba- 

 tinga we found to be 82°.* Some rubber and salt fish are 

 exported, but nothing of consequence is cultivated. Grapes, 

 the people say, grow well, but are destroyed by the ants. 

 The only fruit-trees we noticed were the mamai (in Span- 

 ish, papaya), araca, and abio. The papaw-tree bears male 

 and female flowers on different trees, and hence receives 

 the name oi ])a])aya or mamdi^ according to one's view of 

 the pre-eminence of the sex. The juice of this tree is used 

 by the ladies of the West Indies as a cosmetic, and by the 

 butchers to render the toughest meat tender. The fruit is 

 melon-shaped, and of an orange-yellow color. Yauquelin 

 discovered in iifihrine, till lately supposed to be confined 

 to the animal kingdom. 



The Peruvian steamers connect at Tabatinga with the 

 Brazilian line. There are eight imperial steamers on the 

 Amazon : the " Icamiaba," running between Tabatinga and 

 Manaos; the "Tapajos" and "Belem," plying between Ma- 

 naos and Para ; the " Inca" and " Manaos," between Obidos 

 and Para ; besides two steamers on the Tocantms, one be- 

 tween Para and Chares, and projected lines for the jSTegro, 

 Tapajos, and Madeira. The captains get a small salary, 

 but the perquisites are large, as they have a percentage on 

 the freight. One captain pocketed in one year $9000. 



We embarked, December 12, on the " Icamiaba," which 

 promptly arrived at Tabatinga. The commander, former- 

 ly a lieutenant in the Imperial l^a^^^, and for twelve years 

 a popular officer on the Upper Amazon, was a polished 

 gentleman, but rigid disciplinarian. As an example of 



* According to Lieutenant Azevedo, the latitude of Tabatinga is 4° 14' 

 30"; longitude, 70° 2' 24"; magnetic variation, 6° 35' 10" N.E. 



