212 



THE LOWER AMAZONS 



shape of a boat by means of lianas. I heard it stated 

 by a trader of Santarem, who narrowly escaped being 

 butchered by them in 1854, that the Araras numbered 

 two thousand fighting men. The number I think must 

 be exaggerated as it generally is with regard to Brazilian 

 tribes. When the Indians show a hostile disposition to 

 the whites, I believe it is most frequently owing to some 

 provocation they have received at their hands ; for the 

 first impulse of the Brazilian red-man is to respect Euro- 

 peans ; they have a strong dislike to be forced into their 

 service, but if strangers visit them with a friendly in- 

 tention they are well treated. It is related, however, 

 that the Indians of the Madeira were hostile to the Portu- 

 guese from the first ; it was then the tribes of Muras 

 and Torazes who attacked travellers. In 1855 I met 

 with an American, an odd character, named Kemp, who 

 had lived for many years amongst the Indians on the 

 Madeira, near the abandoned settlement of Crato. He 

 told me his neighbours were a kindly-disposed and cheer- 

 ful people, and that the onslaught of the Araras was 

 provoked by a trader from Barra, who wantonly fired 

 into a family of them, killing the parents, and carrying 

 off their children to be employed as domestic servants. 



We remained nine days at the sitio of Senhor Joao 

 Trinidade. It is situated on a tract of high Ygapo land, 

 which is raised, however, only a few inches above high- 

 water mark. This skirts the northern shore for a long 

 distance ; the soil consisting of alluvium and rich vege- 

 table mould, and exhibiting the most exuberant fertility. 

 Such districts are the first to be settled on in this country, 

 and the whole coast for many miles was dotted with 

 pleasant-looking sitios like that of our friend. The es- 

 tablishment was a large one, the house and out-buildings 

 covering a large space of ground. The industrious pro- 

 prietor seemed to be Jack-of-all-trades ; he was planter, 

 trader, fisherman, and canoe-builder, and a large igarite 

 was now on the stocks under a large shed. There was 

 greater pleasure in contemplating this prosperous farm 

 from its being worked almost entirely by free labour ; 

 in fact, by one family, and its dependents. Joao Trini- 

 dade had only one female slave ; his other workpeople 

 were a brother and sister-in-law, two godsons, a free 

 negro, one or two Indians, and a family of Muras. Both 



