THE RIVER TROMBETAS 107 
leafless almost up to the point, where they bear a fan- 
shaped crown of large sword-shaped leaves, closely 
set in two ranks. The terminal smooth, shining, 
taper peduncle, 3 to 5 feet long, is the material of 
which the Indian forms the shaft of his arrows ; 
and it is surmounted by an ample panicle clad with 
myriads of minute purple-and-silver flowers, turned 
to one side, and waving gracefully with every breath 
of wind. 
Having gathered my specimens, we started, and 
the swift current bore us rapidly onward. In an 
hour we turned into the Igarape Acii, and it was 
barely 6|- a.m. when we reached Santarem. In 
crossing the Tapajos I obtained a better view of 
the town than I had previously done, and I was 
struck with the beauty of its site. The newly-risen 
sun illumined the lines of white houses, stretching 
parallel to the river, where numerous vessels of all 
sorts and sizes were anchored or moving about ; 
and at the back the shrubby campos swelled into 
bare hills, backed by distant blue wooded ridges. 
