614 



pures. Father Bernardo Zea, missionary at the 

 Raudals, who had accompanied us to the Rio 

 Negro, though ill, would conduct us with his 

 Indians as far as Atures, One of them, Zerepe, 

 the interpreter, who had been so unmercifully 

 beaten at the beach of Pararuma*, fixed our 

 attention by an expression of deep sorrow. We 

 learned, that he had just lost a girl to whom he 

 was engaged, and he had lost her in consequence 

 of false intelligence, which had been spread re- 

 specting the direction of our voyage. Born at 

 May pures, Zerepe had been brought up in the 

 woods by his parents, who were of the tribe of 

 the Macoes. He had brought with him to the 

 mission a girl of twelve years of age, whom he 

 intended to marry at our return from the Cata- 

 racts. The Indian girl was little pleased with 

 the life of the missions, and she was told, that 

 the whites would go to the country of the Por- 

 tugueze (Brazil), and would take with them 

 Zerepe. Disappointed in her hopes, she seized 

 a boat, and, with another girl of her own age, 

 crossed the Great Cataract, and fled al monte. 

 The recital of this act of courage was the great 

 news of the place. The affliction of Zerepe 

 however was not of long duration ; born among 

 the Christians, having travelled as far as the 

 foot of the Rio Negro, understanding Spanish 

 and the language of the Macoes, he thought 



* See above, chap, xix, p. 531, 532. 



