40 



WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



but he added, as there were two canoes, one of them 

 might be despatched with a letter, and then we could 

 proceed slowly on in the other. 



About three hours from this settlement, there is a 

 river called Pirarara; and here the soldiers had left 

 their canoes while they were making the new one. 

 From the Pirarara you get into the river Maou, and 

 then into the Tacatou ; and just where the Tacatou 

 falls into the Eio Branco, there stands the Portuguese 

 frontier fort, called Fort St. Joachim. Prom the time 

 of embarking in the river Pirarara, it takes you four 

 days before you reach this fort. 



There was nothing very remarkable in passing down 

 these rivers. It is an open country, producing a coarse 

 grass, and interspersed with clumps of trees. The 

 banks have some wood on them, but it appears stinted 

 and crooked, like that on the bleak hills in England. 



The tapir frequently plunged into the river ; he was 

 by no means shy, and it was easy to get a shot at him 

 on land. The kessi-kessi paroquets were in great 

 abundance ; and the fine scarlet aras innumerable in 

 the coucourite trees at a distance from the river's bank. 

 In the Tacatou was seen the troupiale. It was charm- 

 ing to hear the sweet and plaintive notes of this pretty 

 songster of the wilds. The Portuguese call it the 

 nightingale of Guiana. 



Towards the close of the fourth evening, the canoe, 

 which had been sent on with a letter, met us 



Message 7 



from the Por- with the commander's answer. During its 



tuguese com- ° 



mander. absence, the nights had been cold and stormy, 

 the rain had fallen in torrents, the days cloudy, and 

 there was no sun to dry the wet hammocks. Ex- 

 posed thus, day and night, to the chilling blast and 



