3592 Some Account of the Country 



the river teems with turtle, and all the inhabitants are out on the vast 

 beaches and islands of sand exposed by the falling waters, for the pur- 

 pose of manufacturing oil from the eggs of the turtle, or salting fish 

 and manatee for consumption during the rainy season. In the month 

 of March, 1851, I left Ega finally for Pala ; the voyage to the Bana, 

 which occupied so long a time in ascending the river, we accomplish- 

 ed in descending in six days. 



Thus was occupied a whole year in this luxuriant part of the Ama- 

 zons. The whole country is nearly a dead level, the only elevations 

 being occasional cliffs of a variously-coloured clay, called Tabatinga, 

 averaging about 80 feet above high-water mark. These clayey eleva- 

 tions occupy only small tracts, both on the north and south banks of 

 the river ; probably the river frontage occupied by the cliffs does not 

 occupy more than 10 linear miles of the whole distance between the 

 mouths of the rivers Negro and Teffe. The whole remaining part of 

 the region appears to be alluvial land, that has been covered at some 

 time or other by the waters of the Amazons. This alluvial valley is of 

 immense breadth, if we may judge from the time it takes to reach the 

 high lands up the branch rivers on either side of the river. Up the 

 Japura I was told it took one month's constant travelling, in a large 

 boat, with six paddles, to reach the first rapids, although, it is true, 

 not in a due northerly direction. Up the Teffe it occupies in the same 

 way twenty days. The breadth of the valley may be estimated at 200 

 miles. On the lower Amazons, below Santarem, the alluvial valley is 

 much narrower, the high lands bounding it being visible both on the 

 north and south sides nearly at the same time. The whole of this 

 immense region is one uninterrupted, lofty, and dark, but luxuriant 

 forest. On the lower Amazons I had not seen anything to equal it, 

 in the size of the forest trees and in the depth and richness of the vir- 

 gin soil. I did not see a single acre (except the sandy islets in mid- 

 stream) throughout my rambles, that was not occupied by forest. Such 

 uniformity of scenery is of course monotonous, but the varied foliage, 

 the diversity of trees, the pendulous drapery of climbing plants cloth- 

 ing the water-frontage, the rolling crowns of the gigantic leguminous 

 trees, contrasting with the fringing fronds of the palms, all vary the 

 effect. In fact, the eyes open to the sense of beauty in form, variety, 

 and colour, would not be easily wearied, even with the constant pre- 

 sence of these interminable forests. 



Regarding the zoological denizens of these domains, I am afraid 

 what I have to say will destroy the grand picture which is generally 

 formed on the subject. The descriptions of the abundance and 



