126 



Louis Agassiz. 



interested in the natives, from whom he obtained 

 many peculiar fish that were not included in the 

 Spix collection with which he was so familiar. Their 

 plan of work amused him not a little. This was to 

 stretch a seine across the river, then go up stream by 

 the bank and come down in the water, shouting and 

 driving the fish before them — catching in this way 

 sufficient to fill their canoes. 



One rare fish observed here by Agassiz for the 

 first time was what the Indians called Tralhote^ being 

 the Anableps tctrophtlialmMS of science. The term 

 implies four-eyed,'' from the peculiar structure of 

 the organs of vision which are divided by a mem- 

 branous fold into two halves, which is supposed to 

 allow the fish to see in the air as well as in the water. 

 The anableps was often observed hopping along at 

 the surface, as if trying to see objects out of the 

 water. 



Agassiz was happy and fortunate in the presence 

 in the party of a Brazilian naturalist, Major Coutinho, 

 who gave him no little aid, possessing a knowledge 

 of the Indian language that was invaluable, and 

 made collections for him of all kinds. 



Agassiz was constantly on the lookout for evi- 

 dences of the drift and of glacial action, and was 

 not a little puzzled by the peculiar deposit found in 

 the valley of the Amazon. In a letter to the Em- 

 peror he wrote : I am as far as ever from being 

 able to point out the origin of these materials and 

 the direction of their transportation. Now that 

 Major Coutinho has learned to distinguish the drift 

 from the decomposed rocks, he assures me that we 



