320 STAY ON THE RIO GRANDE DE BELMONTE, 



was made of the tail of the great armadillo (dasypus maximus). 

 These savages use it to call their people together in the forests. 



Opposite to the Quartel, on the other side of the river, lay the 

 banana plantation, which has been mentioned above, as having 

 been made by some Botocudos ; upon it were some deserted huts, in 

 which they had buried the bodies of two women. At this time, on 

 the arrival of the Captain, these huts were burned, as they never 

 again use habitations in which corpses have been interred. A num- 

 ber of new huts were, however, now built on this spot ; life and 

 activity reigned in the shady forest, for the new comers had taken up 

 their abodes not merely on the bank, but much deeper in the wood. 

 On all sides numerous brown youths were seen, some bathing in the 

 river, some making bows and arrows, climbing the trees for fruits, 

 shooting at fish, &c. On all sides men were dispersed in the neigh- 

 bouring forest, calling to each other, gathering wood, or engaged in 

 other pursuits. It presented a striking picture of a republic of savages 

 forming a new settlement, and the bustle that prevailed among them 

 could not be witnessed without pleasure. 



When Captain Gipakeiu arrived with his people at the Quartel, 

 each of them carried a couple of long poles, as a challenge to the 

 company of Jucakemet, whom he supposed to be here, but who, as we 

 have said before, prudently kept on the Salto, on the south side of 

 the river. Captain Gipakeiu, with his people, remained for some 

 days near the station, and then retired on the north bank into the 

 forests, to gather the different fruits which were now ripening. This 

 is a custom with all the savages. They know the exact time when 

 every fruit ripens, and cannot be detained when it is at hand. At 

 present it was the season for the cipo, a parasite plant, which they 

 call ntscha*. They tie up the green stalks of this plant in bundles, 



* This plant is probably a begonia: it climbs up the trunks of the trees. 



