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PROVINCE OF PARA. 



Axilla Vicoza, originally called Cameta, and one of the most ancient towns 

 of the province, is flourishing, and well situated upon the left margin of the Tu- 

 cantins, ninety miles south-west of the capital, and is a port for the canoes 

 navigating towards Goyaz and the High Maranham, as well as a depository 

 for various productions cultivated within its fertile district. It has a church 

 dedicated to St. Joam Baptista, and was for some time the capital of a small 

 capitania known by the same name. The Tucantins is here ten miles in 

 width, being an archipelago. Fifteen miles to the north-east, which is 

 the direction it takes from this town to the ocean, is the island of Ararahy, 

 or Aragacy, ten miles in length, narrow and flat, dividing the river into two 

 currents, the eastern one improperly called the bay of Marapata, and the 

 western the bay of Limoeira. 



A short distance from the southern point of the island of Ararahy, on the 

 eastern bank of the Tucantins, is the southern entrance of the before-mentioned 

 Igarape Mirim, (Narrow Strait,) and in front of it, on the opposite margin, 

 another, called the Furo do Japim, which is extensive, and flows into the 

 large channel that waters the southern coast of Marajo. 



Eighty miles, by water, above Villavicoza, upon the same margin of the 

 Tucantins, is the fort of Alcobaca, for the purpose of registering the canoes 

 from Goyaz ; and three miles further there is another, denominated Arroyos, 

 for the same object: here the tide is occasionally perceptible. 



Gurupu is a small town, with a church of St. Antonio upon the banks of the 

 Amazons, twenty-five miles below the mouth of the Zingu. Some earthen ware 

 is here made, and tiles and bricks are exported to different parts, constituting 

 a branch of its commerce, besides cocoa and cloves. From hence is distin- 

 guished, far to the north, the serra of Velha, almost always enveloped in mist, 

 and beyond it the serra of Paru, upon whose summits the electric fluid finds a 

 vehicle in airy vapour, giving them additional grandeur by the vibrating thunder- 

 peels that strike upon the distant ear. They are both of considerable altitude, 

 and the only mountains which the navigator sees from Para to the city of 

 Borja. 



Melgaco, a town in a state of mediocrity, abounding with fish, is situated 

 upon the western side of lake Annapu, and watered by the river of that 

 name, fifteen miles above its embouchure. Its church is dedicated to St. 

 Michael, and the inhabitants cultivate vegetables, grain, &c. peculiar to the 

 country, and extract many articles of commerce from the woods, 



Fortel, a small town, is situated on the eastern side of the lake Annapu, 



