BEGGARS IN A BOAT. 



157 



native man. The old woman was a small romance in herself. I had 

 looked at her with interest as she cooked our supper. She wore a 

 costume that is sometimes, though not often, seen in this country. The 

 body, or upper part of the dress, which was black, consisted of two 

 parts — one coming up from the waist behind and covering the back, 

 the other in front, covering the breast ; the two tied together over each 

 shoulder with strings, leaving her lank sides and long skinny arms 

 perfectly bare. 



August 17. — We procured a canoe sufficiently large to carry all our 

 baggage, (we had hitherto had two,) with eight peons. We found 

 hills now on both sides of the river, which a little below Lupuna has 

 one hundred and twenty yards of breadth and thirty feet of depth. We 

 passed a small raft, with a house built of cane and palm upon it, con- 

 taining an image of the Virgin, which was bound up the river seeking 

 contributions. The people buy a step towards Heaven in this way with 

 their little balls of cotton. 



We passed abreast of Juan Juy ; but, a long island intervening, we did 

 not see it. It is a large village of five hundred inhabitants ; it is situated 

 in a plain, a great part of which is overflowed by the river at the full ; 

 and much rice is cultivated there. I have met with the rice of Juan 

 Juy everywhere on the river. Soon after we passed the mouth of the 

 river Sapo, which is fifty yards broad, and muddy ; navigable for large 

 canoes for twenty miles to the town of Saposoa, which contains one 

 thousand inhabitants, and is the capital of the comparatively populous 

 district of that name. 



The Huallaga, which for some miles above this has but six feet of 

 water, at this place has eighteen ; but it soon diminishes to six again. 



We stopped at a collection of three or four huts called Oge, where 

 there was a trapiche to grind sugar-cane ; but the people only made bad 

 rum of it. We tried to purchase yuccas and plantains ; but though they 

 had them, they did not care to sell. They only plant enough for their 

 own necessities. Great quantities of yuccas are used to make their 

 masato. Below this we passed a rancho on the right-hand side, where 

 there was a fine field of maize. This is the first settlement we have 

 seen on that bank; fear of the savages, (or Infidels,) as they are called, 

 who dwell on that side, preventing it. 



We stopped for the night at Juan Comas, a small village situated on 

 a bluff of light sandy soil, on the left bank. The hills on the other 

 side are much more bare than is common, having only a few small trees 

 and scattering bushes on them. We were quite objects of curiosity, 

 and most of the people of the village came in to see us ; one man, a 



