130 AMAZONIA AND LA PLATA. 



by the E,io das Mortes. They call themselves Akué, aud to the same group 

 belong the Chikriabas of the divide between the Paranatinga and Paranahyba 

 rivers, the Akroas and Cherentes of the Ptio do Sorano and of the Tocantins above 

 the " Two Bars," and the Apinages, naked savages of the hilly district between 

 the Araguaya and the Tocantins. Couto de Magalhâes asserts that the Chavantes 

 eat their dead children in order to again assimilate them. At Goyaz, Castelnau 

 saw a Obèrent captive with nearly two hundred scars on his breast indicating the 

 number of men he had killed and eaten. Those on the right side represented the 

 " Christians," those on the left the natives. 



The Carayas, who also roam the right bank of the Xingu, have their chief 

 tribes on the western slopes of the Araguaya valley, in Bananul Island, and, 

 east of the Tocantins, on the borders of the provinces of Para and Maranhâo. 

 They are regarded as of different stock from the Ges, Tupi, and Carib races, and 

 their polysyllabic language appears to be fundamentally distinct from all other 

 South American tongues. Most of the Carayas have very narrow skulls, upturned 

 nose, small and slightly oblique eyes, and much less coarse hair than that of most 

 other natives. 



Amongst the numerous Caraya tribes, who muster altogether about 4,000 

 " bows," the Chamboas appear to be the most mixed, owing to numerous alli- 

 ances with the Cayapos and the frequent adoption of captive children. The 

 Ccirayas are probably the most skilled craftsmen of all the Brazilian aborigines ; 

 they are also expert boatmen, and the tribes formerly known as Canoeiros (" Canoe- 

 men") belonged probably to this race. Morally the Carayas are distinguished 

 by their sober habits, truthfulness, and contempt of stratagem. Their dead are 

 buried in a vertical position, the head being left above ground, so that they can 

 still be fed with bananas and other food. 



In South Goyaz the Negro element was at one time relatively ver}^ numerous. 

 But most of the slaves perished without leaving any issue ; over 100,000 were 

 said to be employed on the plantations of the comarca of Goyaz at the beginning 

 of the nineteenth century, and of these not more than 4,000 were still alive at 

 the time of the emancipation. Hence there is but a slight strain of black blood 

 in the half-caste Brazilian pojDulutions of Goyaz, who are chiefl}^ descended from 

 white fathers and Indian mothers. In all the districts where the waters are 

 charged with magnesium goitre is very prevalent amongst these somewhat 

 degenerate mestizoes. Owing to the demoralisation attending the working of 

 gold mines, Francis de Castelnau declares that in his time the country had 

 reverted to "a complete state of barbarism." 



TOPOGKAPHY OF GoYAZ. 



According to an article of the new republican constitution, the future federal 

 capital is to be founded near the sources of the Maranhâo, and in 1892 a space 

 of about 6,000 square miles was here marked out as a federal district, the 

 common property of the nation. This region appears to enjoy an excellent climate, 

 and also possesses an abundance of good water, am^jle for the requirements of the 



