340 



THE UPPER AMAZONS 



vapour bath. I must not, however, give here a lengthy 

 description of the region whilst we are yet on its threshold. 

 I resided and travelled on the Solimoens altogether for 

 four years and a half. The country on its borders is a 

 magnificent wilderness where civilized man, as yet, has 

 scarcely obtained a footing ; the cultivated ground from 

 the Rio Negro to the Andes amounting only to a few score 

 acres. Man, indeed, in any condition, from his small 

 numbers, makes but an insignificant figure in these vast 

 solitudes. It may be mentioned that the Solimoens is 

 2130 miles in length, if we reckon from the source of what 

 is usually considered the main stream (Lake Lauricocha, 

 near Lima) ; but 2500 miles by the route of the Ucayali, 

 the most considerable and practicable fork of the upper 

 part of the river. It is navigable at all seasons by large 

 steamers for upwards of 1400 miles from the mouth of the 

 Rio Negro. 



On the 28th we passed the mouth of Ariauii, a narrow 

 inlet which communicates with the Rio Negro, emerging 

 in front of Barra. Our vessel was nearly drawn into this 

 by the violent current which set from the Solimoens. 

 The towing-cable was lashed to a strong tree about thirty 

 yards ahead, and it took the whole strength of crew and 

 passengers to pull across. We passed the Guariba, a 

 second channel connecting the two rivers, on the 30th, 

 and on the 31st sailed past a straggling settlement called 

 Manacapuru, situated on a high, rocky bank. Many 

 citizens of Barra have sitios, or country-houses, in this 

 place, although it is eighty miles distant from the town 

 by the nearest road. They come here for a few weeks in 

 the fine season to economise, and pass the time in planting 

 on a small scale, fishing, and trading. The custom of 

 having two places of residence is very general throughout 

 the country, and exists amongst the aborigines, at least 

 the more advanced tribes. Some of the establishments 

 at Manacapuru are large and of old date, shown by the 

 number and size of the mangos and other introduced 

 fruit-trees. The houses, though spacious, were now in 

 a neglected and ruinous condition. Estulano and I 

 landed at one of them, and dined off roasted wild hog with 

 the owner, an uncommonly lively little old man, named 

 Feyres. The place looked dirty and desolate ; the stucco 

 and whitewash had peeled off in great pieces from the 



