GURUPA. 



323 



Qudo.) I was always reminded of the Peruvian Indian with his hay 

 platan® s, hay yuccas, hay todo. 



Our pilot, however, told me that the river was navigable for large 

 vessels twenty days to the first rapids; that the current was very strong; 

 that there was much sezoens on it; and that much sarsaparilla and 

 cloves could be collected there. 



The immediate banks of the river at its mouth are low ; but close to 

 the left bank commences a short bat quite high range of hills, that runs 

 parallel to the Amazon. 



Six miles below this we passed the village of Almeirim, on the left 

 bank, but did not stop. A little above the town, and a quarter of a mile 

 from shore, there was a strong ripple, which the pilot said was caused 

 by a ledge of rocks that are bare when the river is low. There is plenty 

 of water on each side of it. 



Fifty miles below Almeirim we steered across the river for Gurupa, 

 running under sail from island to island. The river here is about ten 

 miles wide. Large islands divide it into the Macapa and Gurupa chan- 

 nels ; the latter conducting to Para, the former running out to sea by 

 the shores of Guyana. 



After crossing, and at half a mile from the right bank, we fell into the 

 dark waters of the Xingu, whose mouth we could see some six or eight 

 mil.s above. Fifteen miles further brought us to Gurupa, where we 

 arrived at a quarter past 9 p. m. 



Gurupa is a village of one street, situated on a high grassy point on 

 the right bank, with large islands in front, diminishing the width of the 

 river to about a mile and a half. It contains about three hundred in- 

 habitants, though the sub-delegado said it had two or three thousand ; 

 and the official report states the number at over one thousand. 



The principal trade of the place is in India-rubber, obtained on the 

 Xingu and the neighboring smaller streams. We found at this place, 

 as at every other place below Barra, a great demand for salt fish. 

 Everybody' asked us if we had any to sell ; and we could readily have 

 obtained three dollars the arroba, for which we had paid but seventy- 

 five cents in Barra. The scarcity of the fish is attributable to the fact 

 that the river has fallen very little this year; but I incline to believe 

 that the fish are not so plentiful, and that the people are not so active 

 in taking them as before. It was amusing at Santarem to see the 

 gathering of the population around a canoe, recently arrived with fish, 

 as if this were a thing of rare occurrence. The people seemed so lazy 

 that they would prefer eating farinha alone, rather than take the trouble 

 to go down to the Amazon and catch fish. 



