RETURN TO MANAOS. 



263 



are almost unknown ; and there are none so poor as not 

 to possess two or three of the strong and neat twine 

 hammocks made by the Indians themselves from the fibres 

 of the palm. Then the open character of the houses and 

 the personal cleanliness of the Indians make the atmos- 

 phere fresher and purer in their houses than in those of 

 our poor. However untidy they may be in other respects, 

 they always bathe once or twice a day, if not oftener, 

 and wash their clothes frequently. We have never yet 

 entered an Indian house where there was any disagree- 

 able odor, unless it might be the peculiar smell from the 

 preparation of the mandioca in the working-room outside, 

 which has, at a certain stage of the process, a slightly 

 sour smell. We certainly could not say as much for 

 many houses where we have lodged when travelling in 

 the West, or even " Down East," where the suspicious 

 look of the bedding and the close air of the room often 

 make one doubtful about the night's rest. 



This morning we were up at five o'clock, and at six we 

 had had coffee and were ready for the various projects sug- 

 gested for our amusement. Our sportsmen were already in 

 the forest, others had gone off on a fishing excursion in a 

 montaria, and I joined a party on a visit to a sitio higher 

 up on the lake. Mr. Agassiz was obliged to deny himself 

 all these parties of pleasure, for the novelty and variety 

 of the fish brought in kept him and his artist constantly 

 at work. In this climate the process of decomposition 

 goes on so rapidly, that, unless the specimens are attended 

 to at once, they are lost ; and the paintings must be made 

 while they are quite fresh, in order to give any idea of 

 their vividness of tint. Mr. Burkhardt is indefatigable, 

 always busy with his drawing, in spite of heat, mosquitoes, 



