MYSTERIOUS SOUNDS IN THE FOREST 49 



heighten the unpleasant impression which they make 

 on the mind. With the natives it is always the Curupira, 

 the wild man or spirit of the forest, which produces all 

 noises they are unable to explain. Myths are the rude 

 theories which mankind, in the infancy of knowledge, in- 

 vent to explain natural phenomena. The Curupira is a 

 mysterious being, whose attributes are uncertain, for 

 they vary according to locality. Sometimes he is de- 

 scribed as a kind of orang-otang, being covered with long, 

 shaggy hair, and living in trees. At others he is said to 

 have cloven feet, and a bright red face. He has a wife 

 and children, and sometimes comes down to the rogas 

 to steal the mandioca. At one time I had a Mameluco 

 youth in my service, whose head was full of the legends 

 and superstitions of the country. He always went with 

 me into the forest ; in fact, I could not get him to go alone, 

 and whenever we heard any of the strange noises mentioned 

 above, he used to tremble with fear. He would crouch 

 down behind me, and beg of me to turn back. He be- 

 came easy only after he had made a charm to protect us 

 from the Curupira. For this purpose he took a young 

 palm leaf, plaited it, and formed it into a ring, which he 

 hung to a branch on our track. 



At length, after a six hours' walk, we arrived at our 

 destination, the last mile or two having been again through 

 second-growth forest. The mills formed a large pile of 

 buildings, pleasantly situated in a cleared tract of land, 

 many acres in extent, and everywhere surrounded by the 

 perpetual forest. We were received in the kindest manner 

 by the overseer, Mr. Leavens, who showed us all that was 

 interesting about the place, and took us to the best spots 

 in the neighbourhood for birds and insects. The mills 

 were built a long time ago by a wealthy Brazilian. They 

 had belonged to Mr. Upton for many years. I was told 

 that when the dark-skinned revolutionists were preparing 

 for their attack on Para, they occupied the place, but not 

 the slightest injury was done to the machinery or building, 

 for the leaders said it was against the Portuguese and 

 their party that they were at war, not against the other 

 foreigners. 



The creek Iritiri at the mills is only a few yards wide ; 

 it winds about between two lofty walls of forest for some 

 distance, then becomes much broader, and finally joins 

 the Magoary. There are many other ramifications, creeks 



D 



