3o6 
NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
by Senhor Gama and the newly-arrived trader. In 
returning we were overtaken by a tremendous 
tornado, which in two minutes left us without a 
dry thread about us. Rain beat into the men's 
eyes so that they could scarcely see how they were 
rowing. The roar of the thunder was scarcely 
distinguishable from that of the rapids. Night 
was coming on, but the lightning every few seconds 
illumined every object and lit up our faces with a 
spectral red glare. I was sitting in the canoe with 
my head resting on my hands and my hands on my 
knees — the usual position in these small craft — and 
when we reached our destination my clothes were 
so surcharged with wet that I could scarcely step on 
shore, and the rain ran off my trousers in streams. 
The Saturday, too, was gloomy and showery. 
On Sunday morning, March 14, at 7 I started 
for the serra, accompanied by Senhor Gama and 
four Indians (my Uaupe Indian hid himself in 
a neighbouring sitio in order not to go on the 
dreadful enterprise, and whilst assisting some 
women to crush cane came a detachment of soldiers 
and seized him and two others to row in a canoe 
about to be dispatched to the Barra with the post). 
We carried farinha for three days, roast fish for 
one, a bottle of rum, and as much salt and capsi- 
cum as we were likely to need. Our arms were 
three muskets, two cutlasses, and four carving- 
knives. We had gone but a little way when I 
found it necessary to walk barefoot on account of 
the number of streams to be crossed, and the hav- 
ing in many places to walk for some distance along 
them. We crossed streams above twenty times ; 
the last we encountered had to be forded four or 
