CATUA 



417 



European settlers began to appropriate the eggs than they 

 do now. It is almost doubtful if this natural persecution 

 did not act as effectively in checking the increase of the 

 turtle as the artificial destruction now does. If we are 

 to believe the tradition of the Indians, however, it had not 

 this result ; for they say that formerly the waters teemed 

 as thickly with turtles as the air now does with mosquitoes. 

 The universal opinion of the settlers on the Upper Amazons 

 is, that the turtle has very greatly decreased in numbers, 

 and is still annually decreasing. 



We left Shimuni on the 20th with quite a flotilla of 

 canoes, and descended the river to Catua, an eleven 

 hours' journey by paddle and current. Catua is about 

 six miles long, and almost entirely encircled by its praia. 

 The turtles had selected for their egg-laying a part of 

 the sand-bank which was elevated at least twenty feet 

 above the present level of the river ; the animals, to 

 reach the place, must have crawled up a slope. As we 

 approached the island, numbers of the animals were seen 

 coming to the surface to breathe, in a small shoaly bay. 

 Those who had light montarias sped forward with bows 

 and arrows to shoot them. Carepira was foremost : hav- 

 ing borrowed a small and very unsteady boat of Cardozo, 

 and embarked in it with his little son. After bagging 

 a couple of turtles, and whilst hauling in a third, he 

 overbalanced himself : the canoe went over, and he with 

 his child had to swim for their lives, in the midst of 

 numerous alligators, about a mile from the land. The 

 old man had to sustain a heavy fire of jokes from his 

 companions for several days after this mishap. Such 

 accidents are only laughed at by this almost amphibious 

 people. 



The number of persons congregated on Catua was much 

 greater than on Shimuni, as the population of the banks 

 of several neighbouring lakes was here added. The line 

 of huts and sheds extended half a mile, and several large 

 sailing vessels were anchored at the place. The com- 

 mandant was Senhor Macedo, the Indian blacksmith of 

 Ega before mentioned, who maintained excellent order 

 during the fourteen days the process of excavation and 

 oil manufacture lasted. There were also many primitive 

 Indians here from the neighbouring rivers, amongst them 

 a family of Shumanas, good-tempered, harmless people 



2 D 



