AND AMONG THE BOTOCUDOS. 



281 



eagerly sought after by the fishermen.* When night set in, it began 

 to rain violently, and we fled for shelter to some old deserted fisher- 

 mens' huts, in which, however, we were annoyed by numberless fleas, 

 and sand-fleas. Muskitos also tormented us, and nothing but the suf- 

 focating smoke of our fire procured us some respite from their attacks. 

 These insects were the most intolerable on the skirts of the wood, 

 where we saw also the vampyre hovering about. During the night 

 we constantly kept in view our canoes with the baggage; we were 

 consequently all wet through, and had to pass the night in our wet 

 clothes. 



The following morning we found our great canoe half full of water, 

 and all our baggage wet ; we had scarcely been able to keep our fire- 

 arms and powder dry, in the huts. The water was baled out as soon as 

 possible, and, to our general joy, the sun broke through the thick 

 clouds, and warmed and dried our half-benumbed limbs. We then 

 proceeded in good spirits. 



As we had heard on the Rio Doce the cries of the monkeys, especi- 

 ally the guaribas, and the sauassus, so here, the ancient forests re- 

 sounded with the loud piercing cries of the araras, the anacans, (psitta- 

 cus severus, hm.J and many other parrots. On the flat sand-banks, 

 which, the water being low, now appeared in the river that was di- 

 versified with beautiful islands, the yellow-billed tern f stejma Jlavi- 

 rostris ) sat in pairs : it hovers in the air, and darts down perpendi- 

 cularly on the fish in the water, and if any person approaches its nest, 

 it pounces down on him as if it would pierce his skull, a design which 

 the inhabitants, in fact, ascribe to it. 



* These eggs are those of the species of tortoise which we had taken in the Mucuri, Avith 

 a hook and line. It seems to be a hitherto unknown species, distinguished by two short 

 beards under the chin, and a very flat shell. 



2 O 



