PROVINCE OF GOYAZ. 



237 



fathoms in width ; a little above, it runs through a bed of rock so contracted 

 that its width is only fifty feet. At this confluence, where it becomes very con- 

 siderable, it flows northward, describing gentle windings, and augmenting by 

 the many streams which unite themselves with it, especially by the eastern 

 side. 



A little below the confluence of the Almas with the Maranham, when the 

 latter traverses a range of small hills, is the cataract of Facao, which prevents 

 the progress of canoes in either direction. 



One hundred and forty miles below the said confluence the large river Para- 

 natinga falls into it on the right margin, which takes this name nearly thirty 

 miles above its embouchure, at the junction of the Parannan and the Palma, the 

 latter flowing westward, and the other, which is much larger, north-west from its 

 origin in the General Serra ; traversing an unwholesome country, abounding 

 with pasturage, where a prodigious number of cattle and mules are bred. 



At the confluence of the Paranatinga, which is said to be in 12° 20' latitude, 

 the Maranham takes the name of Tucantines, which it preserves until its large 

 volume of water is mingled with the ocean below the city of Para. Nearly 

 seventy miles north of the last confluence the large river Cannabrava discharges 

 itself into the Tucantines by the left margin, and a little lower by the right the 

 considerable river Manuel Alvez, which issues from the Duro Serra, a portion 

 of the Cordillera which bounds the province, bringing the waters of many small 

 streams that unite themselves with it on both sides in the space of one hundred 

 and fifty miles, the extent of its course. 



A little further to the north, the abundant river Tabocas disembogues by the 

 left, having its heads near the serra of Estrondo. One hundred and forty miles 

 to the north of the said river Manuel Alvez, also by the eastern margin, the 

 Somno (Sleep) adds its abundant waters ; and, after a little farther distance, 

 the other Manuel Alvez discharges itself, being larger than the first, and serves, 

 up to the present period, as the northern limit of the eastern portion of the 

 province. Both those rivers flow from the boundary, traversing a territory 

 inhabited by malevolent Indians. A party proceeded up the first, with the 

 intention of exploring its margins and extent, under the influence of such an 

 unpropitious star that they were never more heard of; from which circumstance 

 the river received the name by which it is designated. 



A few miles below the Manuel Alvez (the northern) the Tucantines describes 

 a considerable winding towards the east, almost circular, again approximating 

 very near to the place where it had on a sudden changed its direction, and im- 



