30 



TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. 



guinea-pig and a hare, but with longer legs. It is abundant, 

 and considered good eating, but the meat is rather dry and 

 tasteless. 



One day we took the montaria and started to pay a visit to 

 the Commandante at I^arangeiras. The morning was beautiful ; 

 swallows and kingfishers flew before us, but the beautiful 

 pavon {Eurypygia helias)^ which I most wanted, wisely kept 

 out of the way. The banks of the igaripe were covered with a 

 species of Liga^ in flower, from which Mr. B. obtained some 

 fine floral beetles. Among the roots of the mangroves 

 numbers of calling crabs " were running about ; their one 

 large claw held up, as if beckoning, having a very grotesque 

 appearance. At Larangeiras the Commandante welcomed us 

 with much politeness in his palace of posts and clay, and 

 offered us wine and bananas. He then produced a large bean, 

 very thick and hard, on breaking which, with a hammer, the 

 whole interior was seen to be filled with a farinaceous yellow 

 substance enveloping the seeds : it has a sweet taste, and is 

 eaten by the Indians with much relish. On our expressing 

 a wish to go into the forest, he kindly volunteered to accom- 

 pany us. We soon reached a lofty forest-tree, under which 

 lay many of the legumes, of which we collected some fine 

 specimens. The old gentleman then took us along several 

 paths, showing us the various trees, some useful as timber, 

 others as remedios " for all the ills of life. One tree, which 

 is very plentiful, produces a substance intermediate between 

 camphor and turpentine. It is called here white pitch, and 

 is extensively collected, and when melted up with oil, is used 

 for pitching boats. Its strong camphor-like odour might, 

 perhaps, render it useful in some other way. 



In the grounds around the house were a breadfruit-tree, 

 some cotton-plants, and a fine castanha, or Brazil-nut tree, on 

 which were several large fruits, and many nests of the yellow 

 troupial, which seems to prefer the vicinity of houses. Finding 

 in Mr. Edwards's book a mention of his having obtained some 

 good shells from Larangeiras, we spoke to Senhor C. about 

 them, when he immediately went to a box and produced two 

 or three tolerable specimens; so we engaged his son, a boy 

 of eleven or twelve, to get us a lot at a vintem (halfpenny) 

 each, and send them to Mr. Leavens at the mill, which, how- 

 ever, he never did. 



