THE RIVER TROMBETAS 85 
third, who was to be pilot, would be nearer 
sixty ; he had ascended high up the river, and 
was familiar with its navigation. My desire was 
to go, if possible, as far up as to where the river 
began to have rocks in its bed and hills on its 
banks ; and from the pilot I learnt that at a few 
days' navigation up the Trombetas, a large tribu- 
tary, the Aripecurii, entered it on the left, by 
ascending which I should find what I sought 
much sooner than by keeping up the main stream. 
So the caxoeiras or rapids of the Aripecurii were 
fixed on as our goal, and I laid in a stock of the 
indispensable pirarucii and farinha for food on the 
way. 
We got off on the 1 7th of December, at about 
10 A.M., and it was 3^ p.m. when we reached the 
mouth of the Trombetas, although only six miles 
away in a direct line from Obidos. The Trom- 
betas is there about a mile across, including a small 
island. 
At 8J P.M. we reached the mouth of an igarape 
and lake called Quiriquiry, where our pilot's brother 
had a sitio, in which we were glad to take refuge 
from the rain and the carapanas. It was decided 
to remain here the whole of the following day, in 
order to make yapas or mats wherewith to shelter 
the fore-part of the galiota, where our provisions 
were stowed, for the rain had wetted them con- 
siderably. 
Dec. 18. — This day (I quote now from my 
Journal) on the igarape and Lake QuiriquirJ^. Our 
host, Elisardo, is a carpenter and a very ingeni- 
ous fellow. He is also something of a farmer, and 
a luxuriant meadow of Canna-rana, bordering the 
