246 



TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO, 



[March, 



luckily a short one, passed over. Loading again and proceeding 

 onwards, we passed three small rapids, the " Tatu " (Armadillo), 

 "Ocoki" (a fruit), and "Pirantera" (a fish) caxoeiras; and our 

 additional Indians here left us, with their payment of fish-hooks 

 and arrow-heads, as we now had only smooth water before us. In 

 the afternoon we passed a malocca, where one of the Indians 

 wished to land to see his friends ; and as we did not stay, at 

 night he took his departure, and we saw no more of him. 



Early the next morning we reached Mucura, where two 

 young Brazihans, whom I had met with below, were residing, 

 trading for salsa. I was now in the country of the painted 

 turtle and the white umbrella-bird, and I determined to make 

 a stay of at least a fortnight, to try and obtain these much- 

 desired rarities. 



Messrs. Nicolau and Bellarmine were both out, and their little 

 palm-leaf huts were evidently quite inadequate to my accom- 

 modation. The only other house was a small Indian malocca, 

 also made entirely of " palha ; " and I agreed with the owner 

 to let me have half of it, giving him a small knife and mirror 

 in payment, with which he was well contented. We accordingly 

 cleared and swept out our part of the house, unloaded and 

 arranged our things, and I then sent my guardas to a malocca, 

 in which there were said to be plenty of Indians, to see if they 

 had any farinha or pacovas to dispose of ; and also to let them 

 know that I would purchase birds, or fish, or any other 

 animals they could obtain for me. The men were all out; 

 but the same afternoon they came in great force to see the 

 " Branco," and make an attack on my fish-hooks and beads, 

 bringing me fish, pacovas, farinha, and mandiocca-cake, for all 

 of which one of these two articles was asked in exchange. 



I was now settled at the limit of my expedition, for I could 

 not think of going a week further up only to see Juruparf 

 caxoeira, — wasting the little time I had to rest, before again 

 descending. We had made a favourable voyage, without any 

 serious accident, up a river perhaps unsurpassed for the 

 difficulties and dangers of its navigation. We had passed fifty 

 caxoeiras, great and small ; some mere rapids, others furious 

 cataracts, and some nearly perpendicular falls. About twenty 

 were rapids, up which, by the help of a long sipo attached to 

 the canoe, instead of a rope, we were pulled without much 

 difficulty. About eighteen were very bad and dangerous, re- 



