260 



DEPARTURE YBARE. 



sugar-cane is generally planted on the side of the river and carried in 

 canoes. At Trapiche we found them manufacturing sugar, molasses, 

 and rum. 



I embarked in a small canoe with my gun, and a little Indian boy 

 paddled me up the Ybare to look at a field or patch of sugar-cane. 

 The Indians had just set fire to the dry weeds in it, and the light breeze 

 soon created a flame. A large black tiger rushed out on the bank, 

 plunged into the river, and swam before us to the opposite shore, where 

 he looked round crossly at the fire. Shaking himself, he proceeded up 

 the bank, and through the cane-brake, without condescending further to 

 notice us. His body appeared full five feet long, with short, heavy legs, 

 long tail, and a remarkably disagreeable expression of face, as though 

 he would like to take some revenge for being burnt out. The little 

 Indian boy looked up quickly, and simply said, in Spanish, "He is a 

 large one." 



On the banks of the Ybare we found plantains, pine-apples, papayas, 

 Spanish peppers, lemons, and oil beans ; small fish and eels in the river, 

 with poisonous snakes in the grass. 



Our baggage was stowed on board the "Igarite," over which the flag 

 of the United States was hoisted. Don Antonio embarked his cargo 

 on the "Coberta," from which the flag of Brazil was suspended. Five 

 Mojos Indians were employed in addition to the Brazilian crews. Two 

 horses and two mules affected with the peste were embarked in a canoe, 

 Four dogs and one man crowded a small batteau. Four of the Brazil- 

 ians had their wives with them. Just before the boat squadron got 

 underway, there was trouble on board the "Coberta" — the men whipped 

 their wives all around. After which they followed us down stream. 

 The noise and activity in getting off was new to us. The Indians 

 crowded the banks, while the Brazilian negroes seemed disposed to show 

 their seamanship to advantage. We were delighted to get off. 



The Ybare is a small winding stream, of fifty feet width, with perpen- 

 dicular banks thirty feet high, a depth of nine to twelve feet, and a half- 

 mile current. A short steamboat might ascend the Ybare from the 

 Mamore river to Trapiche. The turns are too short to admit a long 

 river steamer. The Indians call this distance three leagues. There are 

 a few snags, and quantities of musquitoes. The dew falls at night, and 

 the new moon appears unusually red. We noticed this peculiarity at 

 the base of the Andes east of Cuzco. 



On entering the waters of the Mamore river again, we found thirty 

 three feet water. A ship-of-the-line could float in the bottom of Madeira 

 Plate in the dry season. The current is now one mile per hour. Tern- 



