THE DESCENT OF THE RIO GY-PARANA 255 



waiting crowd; hammocks were stnmg from every avail- 

 able post and rafter, giving the interior a cobwebby ap- 

 pearance, and aroimd the edges of the huts, protected from 

 the rain by the low, ragged roof of grass and leaves, numer- 

 ous small fires smouldered, over which the men boiled then- 

 rations of beans or farinha. There were pure blacks, de- 

 scendants of slaves who had been imported into Brazil 

 from Africa many years before; also Indians, Portuguese, 

 and men Li whose veins flowed the blood of aU three of 

 these races. Many of them were ill with fever, and had 

 large, vile-looking ulcers or "jungle" sores, which were said 

 to result from the bite of a smaU fly. This was not surpris- 

 ing, as the place was entirely surrounded by pools of black, 

 stagnant water in which clouds of mosquitoes hatched, and 

 no sanitary precautions whatever were taken against in- 

 fection. 



The natives are very fond of pets, and numbers of ani- 

 mals taken from the forest while young were enjoying their 

 full liberty, but never ventured far from the houses. There 

 was a collared peccary, full grown and very amiable, which 

 liked to be petted, and emitted short, low moans and grunts 

 when any one was near it; three curassows, dignified but 

 restless, spent much of their time preening their feathers 

 on a half-submerged log. They were beautiful creatures 

 of a deep blue-black color, with white under parts and a 

 wonderful curled crest. A pair of trumpeters strutted 

 about the camp; monkeys of the Cebus family and parrots 

 of several species climbed about in the network of ham- 

 mocks and added their chorus of screams and squawks to 

 the general confusion. 



We had to leave the batelao at Monte Christo on account 

 of the cataract which obstructs the river at this point, and 

 carry our luggage around for a distance of half a mUe. 

 Below the rapid we found another craft similar to the one 

 we had just left — ^perhaps a trifle larger — and towed by a 

 smaU wood-burning launch. On the 18th of March all our 

 things, and the sick men, several of whom were in a serious 



