OBIDOS. 



297 



was very kind to me during my stay in Obidos. He gave me some 

 specimens of Indian pottery; and his wife, a thin, delicate-looking lady, 

 apparently much oppressed with s^re eyes and children, (there being 

 nine of the latter, the oldest only thirteen years of age,) gave me a very 

 pretty hammock. 



Senhor Joao Valentin de Couto, whose acquaintance I made by acci- 

 dent, gave me a live young Peixe-boi, which unfortunately died after 

 it had been in my possession but a day. He also made me a present of 

 some statistical tables of the affairs of the province ; and not being able 

 to find, at the time, the report of the President that accompanied these 

 tables, he had the courtesy to send it to me in a canoe, after I had left 

 the place and was engaged in sounding the river. 



It will be seen that here, as elsewhere, during my travels, I met with 

 personal attention, kindness, and liberality. Every one whom I con- 

 versed with on the subject of the Amazon advocates with earnestness 

 the free navigation of the river, and says that they will never thrive 

 until the river is thrown open to all, and foreigners are invited to settle 

 on its banks. think that they are sincere, for they have quite intelli- 

 gence enough to see that they will be benefitted by calling out the 

 resources of the country. 



Obidos has a college, lately established, which has some assistance 

 from the government. It has yet but twenty- four scholars, and one 

 professor — a young ecclesiastic, modest and intelligent; and enthusiastic 

 and hopeful about the affairs of his college. 



Antonio, a Portuguese, with whom I generally got my breakfast, told 

 me that there were many poisonous serpents in the neighborhood of 

 Obidos, and showed me a black swelling on the arm of his little son, 

 the result of the bite of a scorpion. In five minutes after the boy was 

 bitten, he became cold and senseless, and foamed at the mouth, so that 

 for some hours his life was despaired of. The remedies used were 

 homoeopathic, and, what is a new thing to me, were put in the corners 

 of the eye, as the boy could not swallow. I found homoeopathy a 

 favorite mode of practice from Barra downwards. It was introduced 

 by a Frenchman, a few years ago, and there are now several amateur 

 practitioners of it. 



We left Obidos, in the rain, at 1 p. m., on the 29th February. Our 

 long stay at Barra had brought the rains upon us, and we now had rain 

 every day. 



We travelled all night, and at half past 9 a. m., on the 1st of March, 

 we entered a furo of the Tapajos, which, in one hour and three-quar- 

 ters, conducted us into that river opposite the town of Santarem. This 



