BARRA. 273 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Town of Barra— Foreign residents — Population— Rio Negro — Connexion with 

 the Oronoco — River Purus— Rio Branco — Vegetable productions of the Ama- 

 zon country. 



The town of Barra, capital of the province of Amazonas, is built on 

 elevated and broken ground, on the left bank of the river, and about 

 seven miles from its mouth. Its height above the level of the sea is, by 

 boiling point, one thousand four hundred and seventy-five feet. It is 

 intersected by two or three ravines, containing more or less water, 

 according to the state of the river, which are passed on tolerably con- 

 structed wooden bridges. The houses are generally of one story, though, 

 there are three or four of two, built of wood and adobe, and roofed 

 with tiles. The floors are also of tiles, and the walls are plastered with, 

 the colored earth, which abounds on the banks of the Amazon. 



Eveiy room has several hooks driven into the walls, for the purpose 

 of hanging hammocks. People find it more comfortable, on account of 

 the heat, to sleep in hammocks, though I always suffered from cold, and 

 was obliged every night to wrap myself in a blanket. There are few 

 musquitoes, these insects always avoiding black water. 



I was surprised to find, before I left Barra, that provisions were getting 

 very scarce. The supply of flour gave out, so that for some time there 

 was no bread in the city; and beef was killed but once a fortnight. 

 Even the staples of the country were difficult to procure ; and I heard 

 the President say that he was desirous of recruiting some fifty or sixty 

 tapuios to work on the new government buildings, but that he really did 

 not know where he should get a sufficient quantity of salt fish and 

 farinha to feed them on. Just before I sailed, a boat-load of turtles came 

 up from the Amazon for Henrique, and his house was besieged by the 

 poorer part of the population, begging him to sell to them. 



Soon after my arrival, the President did me the honor to ask me to 

 dine with him, to meet the officers of the new government. There 

 seemed then a great abundance of provisions. We had fish, beef, mut- 

 ton, pig, turtle, and turkey. There are very fine fish taken about Barra ; 

 they come, however, from the Amazon, and, unless cooked immediately 

 on their arrival, invariably spoil. The best fish is called pescado; it is 

 Very delicate, and quite equal, if not superior, to our striped bass, or 

 18 



