Chap, II. 
WINDmaS OF RIVER. 
115 
where the boy was left to mind the canoe whilst the man 
entered the forest. The beaches of the Teffe form groves 
of wild guava and myrtle trees, and during most months 
of the year are partly overflown by the river. Whilst the 
boy was playing in the water under the shade of these 
trees a huge reptile of this species stealthily wound its 
coils around him, unperceived until it was too late to 
escape. His cries brought the father quickly to the 
rescue ; who rushed forward, and seizing the Anaconda 
boldly by the head, tore his jaws asunder. There appears 
to be no doubt that this formidable serpent grows to an 
enormous bulk and lives to a great age, for I heard of 
specimens having been killed which measured forty- 
two feet in length, or double the size of the largest I 
had an opportunity of examining. The natives of the 
Amazons country universally believe in the existence of 
a monster water-serpent said to be many score fathoms 
in length, which appears successively in different parts 
of the river. They call it the Mai d'agoa — the mother 
or spirit of the water. This fable, which was doubtless 
suggested by the occasional appearance of Sucurujus 
of unusually large size, takes a great variety of forms, 
and the wild legends form the subject of conversation 
amongst old and young, over the wood fires in lonely 
settlements. 
August 6th and 7tk — On leaving the sitio of Antonio 
Malagueita we continued our way along the windings of 
the river, generally in a south-east and south-south-east 
direction but sometimes due south, for about fifteen miles, 
when we stopped at the house of one Paulo Christo, a 
mameluco whose acquaintance I had made at Aveyros. 
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