110 A VOYAGE TO Book IIL 



great inconvenience and even danger of the veflels ; 

 for, the greateft part of them being under water, a 

 veflel, by ftriking fuddenly on them,. is frequently 

 overfet. Another obftrudlion to the navigation of 

 this river is the races, or fwift currents, over the 

 (hallows, where thofe veflels, though built for that 

 purpofe, cannot proceed for want of a fufficient quan- 

 tity of water ; fo that they are obliged to be lightened, 

 till they have paflTed the fhallow. 



The barks employed on this river are of two kinds, 

 the chatas and bongos, called in Peru, bonques. The 

 firft are compofed of feveral pieces of timber, like 

 barks, and of a great breadth, that they may draw 

 but little water ; they carry fix or feven hundred 

 quintals. The bongos are formed out of one piece 

 of wood ; and it is furprizing to think there fhould be 

 trees of fuch a prodigious bulk, fome of them being 

 eleven Paris feet broad, and carrying conveniently 

 four or five hundred quintals. Both forts have a ca- 

 bin at the ftern, for the conveniency of the paflengers 

 and a kind of awning fupported with a wooden flanch- 

 eon reaching to the head, and a partition in the mid- 

 dle, which is alfo continued the whole length of the 

 veflfel ; and over the whole, when the vellel is loaded, 

 are laid hides, that the goods may not be damaged by 

 by the violence of the rains, which are very frequent 

 here. Each of thefe require, befides the pilot, at lead: 

 eighteen or twenty robuft Negroes ; for, without fuch 

 a number, they would not be able, in going up, to 

 make any way againfl: the current. 



All the forefts and woods near this river are full 

 of wild beafts, efpeciaily different kinds of monkieSi 

 They are of various colours, as black, brown, reddifh, 

 and ftriated ; there is alfo the fame diverfity in their 

 fize fome being a yard long, others about half a 

 yard, and others fcarce one third. The fiefii of all 

 theie difierent kinds is highly valued by the NegroeSj 

 efpeciaily that of the red but^ however delicate the 

 7 meat 



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