3802 Natural-History Collectors. 



can assist a stranger, but these parties in Santarem are not at all obli- 

 ging, and I was compelled to hire two mulattoes, — one, a coarse spe- 

 cimen from the South of Brazil, the other, a harmless young fellow of 

 very little use to me. The bigger one proved a great annoyance. I 

 soon found that he understood less of navigation than myself; but he 

 was insolent, and would have his own way. Our first day's voyage 

 was very inauspicious. We weighed anchor at Santarern at 8, a.m., 

 after a good deal of trouble with the police-officers, who would not 

 let this same fellow go until I had paid his debts. At about 2, p.m., 

 the wind freshened, and the cable by which our small boat was secur- 

 ed, broke ; the boat of course fell astern, and we put in-shore towards 

 a small bay, between two cliffs, in order to cast anchor and wait until 

 the boat came up with the wind. Into this bay rolled a tremendous 

 swell, our vessel dragged its anchor, and we went ashore. It was a 

 critical situation, but we kept the boat from bumping much by the aid 

 of poles. The vessel is a stout-built one, and we were able to move 

 out of the harbour about two hours afterwards, by the aid of our jib- 

 sail, rounding a jutting ledge of rocks, with the wind nearly a-head. 

 This was only one of the dilemmas we got into through bad seaman- 

 ship ; and on reaching Aveyros, where I had previously arranged to 

 stop, I of course dismissed the men, and resolved not to move a step 

 further without two or three good Indians. 



" After our troubles on the first day's voyage, I stopped at a little 

 village called Altar do Chao, about 20 miles above Santarem, to pre- 

 pare for a better start. Here we mended the sails, fixed new cords 

 and ropes, arranged the cargo more conveniently, &c. There was ex- 

 cellent collecting-ground, and I stayed till the 17th. Although so 

 near Santarem, the Entomology of this station was totally different, 

 from the different nature of the forest and other local circumstances. 

 The place is wonderfully picturesque ; a small bay with white sandy 

 shores, isolated hills about 800 feet high, of a truncated pyramidal 

 shape, a winding creek running inland, a sloping grassy plain, upon 

 which are placed the 80 or 100 palm-thatched huts forming the vil- 

 lage, and a lofty varied forest, overrunning equally undulating plains 

 and swelling hills in the back-ground. The Callitheae, and the pecu- 

 liar Erycinidae of Santarem were absent ; but there appeared a very 

 great abundance and diversity of Erycinidae of other groups, espe- 

 cially Mesosemiae, Calospilus and Nymphidium, and of Satyri. I 

 added some three or four new species to my list, besides half-a-dozen 

 new Longicornes, and many new species of other groups of Coleo- 



