232 



BRAZILIAN TRADER. 



dug out of one stick, long and narrow. When the crew drag the canoe 

 over shallows in the river, she may lodge on a rock under the centre ; 

 the heavy weights fore and aft, on a boat forty feet long, break her back 

 in two. The heft, as well as the length of these canoes, make them 

 unmanageable among the rapids. When we come to navigate the land, 

 he said, she might go along as well as other boats, but they were unfit 

 for the waters of the Madeira. 



Don Antonio was a trader; he had brought up a cargo of fancy glass- 

 ware ; liquors of different kinds — French wines, brandy, gin, and sweet 

 wines. The Indians drink chicha ; they are unaccustomed to the taste 

 of good wine, and care little for it ; they also use earthenware. For 

 four months he has been here with goods exposed to view in a house on 

 the corner of the square. He has sold but little. The iron he brought 

 sells at eighteen and twenty cents the pound. He has but a few pounds 

 that is not sold. Sweet oil is used among the few Creoles, but they re- 

 fuse to take it by the bottle ; so he retails it out, six cents a wineglassful. 



He invites the people to purchase fire-rockets by setting off a few now 

 and then at the corner of the plaza. A Creole comes along and gives him 

 so many pounds of cacao for so many rockets, which he takes, knowing 

 he will have to send the cacao to Santa Cruz to get money for it. 



I lived with Don Antonio, and mention with confidence and respect, 

 that when we had eggs they were purchased with a handful of salt for 

 two ; a wineglass four times filled with sweet oil paid for a chicken ; 

 two glasses bought a pound of sugar. A jar of molasses was offered 

 us as a present from the correjidor ; and a lady sent a pair of ducks, for 

 which a bottle of sweet wine was returned. In this act Don Antonio dis- 

 played the most exquisite gallantry and generosity, so considered by her 

 lady friends next door. 



Don Antonio owned the only two boats from the Amazon on the 

 upper waters, which were of the proper build for the falls in the Madeira. 

 He offered me one of his small boats when it returned from the Itenez 

 river, but he had no men. I was obliged to wait and go with him to 

 Brazil to get them. 



We met an Englishman here who had made a voyage over the falls 

 in the Madeira and back with Senor Palacios. He also advised me not 

 to trust the Mojos Irdians on such a journey. This was discouraging, 

 for I was uncertain how long we might be kept without knowing whether 

 we would eventually succeed or not. This was the dry season, and the 

 proper time to move forward. Should we be delayed until December in 

 this plate, our chances were over until next year. 



The Department of the Beni has a population of 30,148 friendly 



