.1852.J 



DESCENDING THE RIVER. 



257 



ensured my passage to Barra without further delays, a point 

 on which I had been rather uneasy. Leaving Sao Gabriel 

 I stayed for the night at the house of Senhor Victorino, of 

 whom I bought several green parrots, and a beautiful " anaca," 

 or purple and red-necked crested parrot, in place of the one 

 which had gone overboard while passing the falls at Sao 

 Gabriel. The following day I reached the house of Senhor 

 Palheta, and thought myself fortunate to purchase of him 

 another anaca for seven shillings ; but the very next morning 

 it died from cold, having flown into the river, and become 

 completely chilled before it could be rescued. 



On the 2nd of May I arrived at the sitio of my old friend 

 Senhor Chagas, who made me breakfast with him, and sold 

 me some farinha, coffee, and a lot of guinea-fowls' eggs ; and 

 embraced me with great affection at parting, wishing me every 

 happiness. The same night I reached Castanheiro, where 

 I particularly wished to get a pilot, to take me down the east 

 bank of the river, for the purpose of making a sketch-survey 

 of that side, and ascertaining the width of this extraordinary 

 stream. Senhor Ricardo, who is the Capitao dos Trabalha- 

 dores, immediately gave me an order to embark a man, whose 

 house I should pass the next day, and who, he said, was per- 

 fectly acquainted with that side of the river. After breakfast- 

 ing with him the next morning, I left, well satisfied to have a 

 prospect of accomplishing this long-cherished scheme. On 

 arriving at the house, however, it was empty, and there was no 

 sign of it having been inhabited for some weeks, so that I had 

 to give up all hopes of completing my project. 



I applied again to the Subdelegarde, Joao Cordeiro, whose 

 house I reached the next day, and also to the lieutenant of 

 Senhor Ricardo, but without effect ; all making the usual reply, 



Nao ha gente nenhum aqui " (there is not a single person 

 about there) ; so I was reluctantly compelled to proceed down 

 the river by the same course which I had already traversed three 

 times, as, by attempting to go on the other route without a 

 pilot, I might lose my way, and not get to Barra for a month. 



The fever and ague now attacked me again, and I passed 

 several days very uncomfortably. We had almost constant 

 rains ; and to attend to my numerous birds and animals was a 

 great annoyance, ov/ing to the crowded state of the canoo^ and 

 the impossibility of properly cleaning them during the rain. 



