110 
VOYAGE UP THE TAPAJOS. 
Chap. II. 
The next morning one of the brothers brought me a 
beautiful opossum which had been caught in the fowl- 
house a little before sunrise. It was not so large as a 
rat, and had soft brown fur, paler beneath and on the 
face, with a black stripe on each cheek. This made 
the third species of marsupial rat I had so far obtained : 
but the number of these animals is very considerable in 
Brazil, where they take the place of the shrews of 
Europe, shrew mice and, indeed, the whole of the in- 
sectivorous order of mammals, being entirely absent 
from Tropical America. One kind of these rat-like 
opossums is aquatic, and has webbed feet. The terres- 
trial species are nocturnal in their habits, sleeping 
during the day in hollow trees, and coming forth at 
night to prey on birds in their roosting places. It is 
very difficult to rear poultry in this country on account 
of these small opossums, scarcely a night passing in 
some parts in which the fowls are not attacked by 
them. 
August 5th. — The river reminds me of some parts 
of the Jaburu channel, being hemmed in by two walls 
of forest rising to the height of at least 100 feet, and 
the outlines of the trees being concealed throughout by 
a dense curtain of leafy creepers. The impression of 
vegetable profusion and overwhelming luxuriance in- 
creases at every step. The deep and narrow valley of 
the Cupari has a moister climate than the banks of the 
Tapajos. We have now frequent showers, whereas we 
left everything parched up by the sun at Aveyros. 
After leaving the last sitio we advanced about eight 
miles and then stopped at the house of Senhor Antonio 
