290 VOYAGE UP THE TAP A J OS 



of fish in the clear waters and rocky bays of the neighbour- 

 hood is no doubt partly the cause of the poverty and 

 perennial hunger which reign here. When we arrived in 

 the port our canoe was crowded with the half-naked 

 villagers — men, women, and children,' who came to beg 

 each a piece of salt pirarucu ' for the love of God They 

 a-re not quite so badly off in the dry season. The shallow 

 lakes and bays then contain plenty of fish, and the boys 

 and w^omen go out at night to spear them by torchlight ; 

 the torches being made of thin strips of green bark from 

 the leaf -stalks of palms, tied in bundles. Many excellent 

 kinds of fish are thus obtained ; amongst them the Pes- 

 cada, whose white and flaky flesh, when boiled, has the 

 appearance and flavour of cod-fish ; and the Tucunara 

 (Cichla temensis), a handsome species, with a large prettily- 

 coloured, eye-like spot on its tail. Many small Salmonidae 

 are also met with, and a kind of sole, called Aramassd, 

 which moves along the clear sandy bottom of the bay. 

 At these times a species of sting-ray is common on the 

 sloping beach, and bathers are frequently stung most 

 severely by it. The weapon of this fish is a strong blade 

 with jagged edges, about three inches long, growing from 

 the side of the long fleshy tail. I once saw a woman 

 wounded by it whilst bathing ; she shrieked frightfully, 

 and was obliged to be carried to her hammock, where she 

 lay for a week in great pain ; I have known strong men 

 to be lamed for many months by the sting. 



There was a mode of taking fish here which I had not be- 

 fore seen employed, but found afterwards to be very common 

 on the Tapajos. This is by using a poisonous liana caUed 

 Timbo (Paullinia pinnata.) It will act only in the still 

 waters of creeks and pools. A few rods, a yard in length, 

 are mashed and soaked in the water, which quickly be- 

 comes discoloured with the milky deleterious juice of the 

 plant. In about half an hour all the smaller fishes, over 

 a rather wide space around the spot, rise to the surface 

 floating on their sides, and with the gills wide open. The 

 poison acts evidently by suflocating the fishes ; it spreads 

 slowly in the water, and a very slight mixture seems 

 suflicient to stupify them. I was surprised, on beating 

 the water in places where no fishes were visible in the 

 clear depths for many yards round, to find, sooner or 

 later, sometimes 24 hours afterwards, a considerable 

 number floating dead on the surface. 



