TARAPOTO TO CANELOS 119 
entered the water and attempted to pass down- 
stream. At this moment we poured in shots upon 
him from musket and pistol, which, however, did 
not disable him, and he dived out of sight, but on 
coming up near one of the canoes, an Indian 
planted a lance in his breast. Several Indians then 
leaped into the water, which was scarcely breast- 
high, and speedily dispatched him. When swim- 
ming he had only his head above water, and his 
mouth wide open displayed a formidable set of 
teeth. At the first reach we went ashore and cut 
him up ; he was a fat, well-grown male ; few of the 
shots had gone much beyond his thick skin. The 
finest pieces were salted down and the rest partly 
consumed on the spot and partly roasted for the 
morrow. 
May 19 {Tuesday). — . . . We stopped to break- 
fast at io\ A.M., in the mouth of a stream called 
Sara-yacu, which enters on the left bank. It is 
of considerable size, with clear water and pebbly 
bed. Here was a house and chacra with several 
people. ... In the canoes moored here I saw 
several bateas (wooden dishes) for gold- washing ; 
they were made of some light wood, and were 
about i\ feet in diameter — either in the form of a 
meniscus or of a very low cone — and two projecting 
pieces had been left on the margin for handles. 
The gold found here is only in small quantity and 
in very minute fragments. My companions washed 
two or three pans of gravel, and in each found 
three or four grains of gold ; but it would be 
necessary to go to a considerable depth to wash 
with any chance of success, for the gravel is very 
