304 VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS 



the Iguana family, from the trunk of a tree, and I filled 

 my insect box with new and rare species (including an 

 extremely beautiful butterfly of the genus Heliconius, 

 H. Hermathena), we rejoined our companions at a hut, 

 in the middle of the campo, where the Indians lived 

 who had charge of the cattle. A tract of land like this, 

 several miles in extent, alternating prairie and woodland, 

 would be a rich possession in a better peopled country. 

 The few oxen seemed to thrive on the nutritious grasses, 

 and to make all complete there was a little lake in the 

 low grounds, surrounded by fan-leaved Carana palms, 

 where the cattle could be watered all the year round. 

 The farm was at present new, and the men said they had 

 not yet been visited by jaguars. The poor fellows seemed 

 to fare very badly. Captain Antonio treated all his 

 Indians like slaves ; paying them no wages and stinting 

 them to scanty rations of salt fish and farinha. There 

 was an air of poverty and misery over the whole establish- 

 ment, which produced a very disagreeable impression : 

 these are certainly not the people to develop the re- 

 sources of a fine country like this. 



On recrossing the river to Aveyros in the evening, a 

 pretty little parrot fell from a great height headlong into 

 the water near the boat ; having dropped from a flock 

 which seemed to be fighting in the air. One of the In- 

 dians secured it for me, and I was surprised to find the 

 bird uninjured. There had probably been a quarrel 

 about mates, resulting in our little stranger being tem- 

 porarily stunned by a blow on the head from the beak 

 of a jealous comrade. The species was the Conurus 

 guianensis, called by the natives Maracana ; the plumage 

 green, with a patch of scarlet under the wings. I wished 

 to keep the bird alive and tame it, but all our efforts to 

 reconcile it to captivity were vain ; it refused food, bit 

 every one who went near it, and damaged its plumage 

 in its exertions to free itself. My friends in Aveyros said 

 that this kind of parrot never became domesticated. 

 After trying nearly a week I was recommended to lend the 

 intractable creature to an old Indian woman, living in 

 the village, who was said to be a skilful bird-tamer. In 

 two days she brought it back almost as tame as the 

 familiar love-birds of our aviaries. I kept my little pet 

 for upwards of two years ; it learned to talk pretty well, 

 and was considered quite a wonder as being a bird usually 



