256 CHANGE OF SCENERY. 
a great change in the scenery, the colour of the 
stream, and the constitution of the atmosphere. The 
trees were of a different species ; the mosquitoes had 
entirely disappeared, and the waters, instead of be- 
ing turbid, and loaded with earthy matter, were of 
a dark colour, clear, agreeable to the taste, and two 
degrees cooler. So great is their transparency, that 
the smallest fishes are distinguishable at the depth 
of twenty or thirty feet, and the bottom, which 
consists of white quartzy sand, is usually visible. 
The banks covered with plants, among which rise 
numerous palms, are reflected by the surface of the 
river with a vividness almost as bright as that of 
the objects themselves. Above the mission no cro- 
codiles occur, but their place is supplied by bavas 
and fresh-water dolphins. The chiguires, howling- 
monkeys, and zamuro-vultures had disappeared, 
though jaguars were still seen, and the water-snakes 
were extremely numerous. 
On the 26th the travellers advanced only two or 
three leagues, and passed the night on a rock near 
the Indian plantations of Guapasoso. At two in 
the morning they again set out, and continued to 
ascend the river. About noon they passed the gra- — 
nitic rock named Piedra del Tigre, and at the close 
of the day had great difficulty in finding a suitable 
place for sleeping, owing to the inundation of the 
banks. It rained hard from sunset, and as the mis- 
sionary had a fit of tertian fever they re-embarked 
immediately after midnight. At dawn they landed 
to examine a gigantic ceiba-tree, which was nearly 
128 feet in height, with a diameter of fifteen or six- 
teen feet. On the 29th the air was cooler, but loaded . 
with vapours, and the current being strong they ad- 
6 
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