320 



VOYAGE ON THE TAPAJOS. 



martyr. They encourage and support him, often by dancing at his 

 side.) At length he came to the last cabin; he was pallid; his teeth 

 chattered ; his arms were swollen ; he went to lay the gloves before the 

 old chief, where he still had to endure the congratulations of all the 

 Indians of the Malocca. Even the young girls mercilessly embraced 

 him, and dragged him through all their circles ; but the Indian, insensi- 

 ble to their caresses, sought only one thing — to escape. At length he 

 succeeded, and, throwing himself into the stream, remained there until 

 niglit. 



" The Tocandeira ants not only bite, but are also armed with a sting 

 like the wasp ; but the pain felt from it is more violent. I think it equal 

 to that occasioned by the sting of the black scorpion. 



" In one of my excursions in the environs of the Malocca of Mandu- 

 assu, I had occasion to take several of them. I enclosed them in a 

 small tin box. I afterwards let one bite me, that I might judge in a 

 slight degree what it costs the young Mahues to render themselves 

 acceptable. I was bitten at 10 a. m. I felt an acute pain from it until 

 evening, and had several hours' fever. 



" At Mandu-assu I was invited to a great festival of the Malocca. 

 The chief kept me company ; the people remained standing, and ate 

 afterwards. s the Mahues are less filthy than the Mundrucus, I ate 

 with a little less disgust than with the last, who never took the trouble to 

 skin the monkeys or deer they killed, but were contented with cutting 

 them to pieces, and throwing them pell-mell in large earthen pots, where 

 meat, hair, feathers, and all, were cooked together. The Mahues at 

 least, though they did not pick the game, burnt the hair and roasted the 

 meat. 



" The next day I departed for the Socano country. The Indians who 

 accompanied me, having no curiosity to see the old Indian king, already 

 tired of the journey, and seeing it prolonged four or five days independ- 

 ent of the eleven it would require to reach Itaituba, concerted to deceive 

 me by conducting me through a pathway which they thought led to a 

 port of the river Tapajos, and where they hoped to find some Brazilians 

 of Itaituba with their canoes loaded with sarsaparilla. 



"In trying to lead me by a false route, they deceived themselves; for 

 we walked two long days, and the pathway, which was but a hunter's 

 track, finally entirely disappears i. T was ignorant of the position of 

 the Malocca 1 was seeking. I only heard it would be found nearer 

 the river Madeira tiian the Tapajos. 1 wished to cut across the woods 

 and journey towards the w r est; the. Indians were discouraged, and fol- 



