232 



A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



The next morning we were off early in the canoes on 

 a fish hunt ; I call it a hunt advisedly, for the fish are the 

 captives of the bow and spear, not of the net and line. 

 The Indians are very adroit in shooting the larger fish 

 with the bow and arrow, and in harpooning some of the 

 veritable monsters of their rivers, such as the Peixe-boi 

 (" fish-cow Manatee or Dugon, with the spear. We 

 made two parties this morning, some of us going in the 

 larger canoe to drag a forest lake with the net, while some 

 of the fishermen took a smaller, lighter boat, to be able to 

 approach their larger prey. Our path lay through a pretty 

 igarape, where, for the first time, I saw monkeys in a tree 

 by the water-side. On coming to the Amazons we expect 

 to see monkeys as frequently as squirrels are seen at home ; 

 but, though very numerous, they are so shy that one rarely 

 gets a fair view of them. After an hour's row we landed 

 at a little point jutting out into the water, and went through 

 the forest, the men cutting the way before us, clearing the 

 path of branches, fallen trees, and parasitic vines which 

 obstructed it. I was astonished to see the vigor and 

 strength with which Dona Maria, the mother-in-law of our 

 host, made her way through the tangled trees, helping 

 to free the road, and lopping off branches with her great 

 wood-knife. We imagine all the ladies in this warm 

 country to be very indolent and languid ; and in the cities, 

 as a general thing, their habits are much less vigorous than 

 those of our women. But here, in the Upper Amazons, the 

 women who have been brought up in the country and in 

 the midst of the Indians are often very energetic, bearing a 

 hand at the oar or the fishing-net with the strength of a 

 man. A short walk brought us out upon a shallow forest 

 lake, or, as the Indians call it, " round water." The Indian 



